Happy Halloween!

Presenting....

Our Halloween Season In Pictures!

Big A's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip (B was lucky enough to attend!)

Little A's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip (I got to attend!)

Rob Roy Boo Bash With Grandpa Jim and Sinda

Big A's Halloween Parade At School (I got to attend!)

Little A's Halloween Parade (Grandma got to attend!)

Trick-or-Treating With Grandma and Grandpa and the Sodens

Dr. Berger's Candy Buy-Back With Molly!

Happy Halloween! 1 Strawberry Shortcake, 1 soldier, 2 pumpkin patch field trips, 3 halloween carnivals and 9 pounds of candy... Another successfull Halloween, I'd say!!

A Quiz For People Who Know Everything

There are only nine questions in this quiz for people who know everything... These are not trick questions. They are straight forward questions with straight forward answers. GOOD LUCK!

QUESTIONS

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3 Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ' dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'


ANSWERS

1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends: Boxing

2. North American landmark constantly moving backward: Niagara Falls - The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.

3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons: Asparagus and rhubarb

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside: Strawberry

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle: It grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.

6. Three English words beginning with 'dw': Dwarf, dwell and dwindle

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar: Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation mark, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh: Lettuce

9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with 'S': Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

I found out in a hurry that I don't know everything... Darn it! I was CERTAIN that I DID know everything. HA!

Wordless Wednesday - Creepy Cross Eyed Cutie

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

I have a beef stroganoff recipe that I have used in the past and REALLY like. While this was not QUITE as good as my original recipe, it was still yummy and it's SUPER easy! There's nothing like having dinner ready for you when you walk in the front door. (And of course thank you to Molly for cooking the noodles!)

2 pounds beef stew or stir fry meat
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed onion soup
2 4 ounce cans sliced mushrooms, drained
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
8 ounces sour cream
6 cups hot cooked wide egg noodles


In 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-quart slow cooker, mix beef, onion, soups, mushrooms and pepper.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until beef is very tender.

Stir cream cheese into beef mixture until melted. Stir sour cream into beef mixture. Serve over noodles.



Both kids ate two helpings of this meal so they were either "starving to death" or they REALLY liked it! The only think I would do differently next time is to add a bit of beef consume just to give it all a tad bit more flavor but overall? Two thumbs up!

Chicken Pot Pie

I LOVE chicken pot pie and have wanted to make my own for a long time. I finally found a recipe and tried it out... SUCCESS!

Crust

1 box refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1/3cup butter or margarine
1/3cup chopped onion
1/3cup all-purpose flour
1/2teaspoon salt
1/4teaspoon pepper
1 3/4cups chicken broth
1/2cup milk
2 1/2cups shredded cooked chicken (You could use turkey, but then it wouldn't be "Chicken Pot Pie"... I'm just sayin'...)
2cups Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan.

In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.

Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

FYI - 15 points for 1/6 of the pie. Not a bad deal considering that a) 1/8 is PLENTY filling and b) it's a complete meal in one dish!

ENJOY!!

My Handsome Nephew

Kids grow up TOO fast! See the cute, young, smiling boy on the right side of this picture???

LOOK AT HIM NOW!

Today that cute little boy is 6'3" and playing football for his high school! That's right, I said HIGH SCHOOL! I remember the night I got the call that my sister was in labor with this cute boy. I was sitting at my kitchen table doing math homework. I was in my senior year in college and so excited to be an auntie again. I can't believe how quickly the years have flown by!

His world has gone from Thomas and Duplo to football, video games and... GIRLS!

Wow, Bud! I love watching you grow up and seeing the fine young man you're becoming. Keep up the good work!

Beef And Spinach Enchiladas

I kept seeing this recipe and finally decided to try it. It must have been a hit if B is asking me to make it again!

1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
9 oz frozen spinach
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles, undrained
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic-pepper blend
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
8 flour tortillas (soft taco size)
1/2 cup chunky salsa

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown.

Stir in spinach; cook, stirring frequently, until thawed. Stir in green chiles, cumin, garlic-pepper blend, sour cream and 1 cup of the cheese.

Spread about 1 teaspoon enchilada sauce on each tortilla. Top each with about 1/2 cup beef mixture. Roll up tortillas; place seam sides down in baking dish. In small bowl, mix remaining enchilada sauce and the salsa; spoon over enchiladas. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.

Spray sheet of foil with cooking spray; cover baking dish with foil. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until thoroughly heated.


FYI - 11 points PER enchilada.

ENJOY!

Albert J. "Al" Ziebell

Albert J. "Al" Ziebell took his most beautiful flight, with angels as his co-pilots, on October 10, 2011. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, mentor, and friend who enriched the lives of all who were blessed to know him. Al was the essence of gentleness, love, strength, and humility.

Born on December 5, 1915, in Oshkosh, to Harvey and Helen ( Frank) Ziebell, Al married Willetta Mae James in 1940 and together they raised six children. Survivors are his daughter, Mary (Rick) Bowman of Oshkosh; two sons, John (Donna) Ziebell of Winneconne, and Jim Ziebell of Cobb, California; and two daughters-in-law, Connie Ziebell and Peggy Ziebell. He is further survived by 15 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. Preceding Al in death is his wife; three sons, Mike Ziebell, Pete Ziebell, and Jeff Ziebell; his parents; and two brothers, Hubert and Ralph Ziebell.

Al attended Oshkosh Public Schools, as well as the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. In his early years, he worked for the Leach Company. In 1946, Al went to work for SNC manufacturing, where he worked for over 50 years. He retired from SNC as Vice-President of Methods and Equipment. An engineer and inventor, Al was well respected in his field for ingenuity and ability to fix anything and everything.

Hunting, Fishing, and all types of boating were among Al's pleasures. He passed on the joys and skills of these hobbies to his children and many others along the way. But, his real passion was for flying. His absolute joy in life was giving a kid (or adult) their very first plane ride. It was even better if it was in his seaplane! Al was a long time member of EAA and co-founded the Vette Seaplane Base in 1949. There, he volunteered endless hours and made life-long friends from all over the United States and Canada.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 14, 2011, at 3:00 p.m. in Seefeld Family of Funeral Chapels, 1025 Oregon Street, with Father Luke Ferris officiating. A time of visiting and sharing of memories will be held on Friday from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the funeral chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Al's memory may be given to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, American Heart Association, or a charity of your choice…or simply do something kind for someone in honor and remembrance of Al.

A special note of thanks to the Park View Health Center aides and nurses for their kindness and loving care shown to Al. Please visit www.seefeldfuneral.com to send online condolences to the family.

I love you, Granpda. I'll always remember your ear and nose wiggling as well as flying with you in your sea plane and riding in the back of your van, rolling around on the bed with the curves in the road.

Columbus Day Or Conferences?

The federal government told me today was Columbus Day but Big A's school told me it was conference day. Whatever the reason, Big A didn't have school today and I DID meet with his teacher for a conference. Turns out my little pill is somewhat of a super star when it comes to school!

The first thing out of his teacher's mouth was, "HE CRACKS ME UP! Some of the things he comes out with are SO adult!" Yes, yes... We've been saying this since he was two... A little scary at times, to say the least!

She showed me some writing he'd done at the beginning of the year and told me how impressed she is with his detail and how much he writes. Next she showed me a math assessment they'd taken at the beginning of the year that covers ALL of the math concepts they'll cover this year in first grade (basically things he's never seen before). He got 15 correct out of 20... 75%. She moved him up to challenge spelling words and challenge reading packets. All of this puts him as one of the top eight 1st graders in the school (There are 60+ 1st graders...) and qualified him for the new GATE (Gifted And Talented Education) program that the school is starting.

Now I love my son, and I KNOW that he's smart, but to hear someone talk like this about him kind of made my jaw drop. I had NO idea that he performed this way at school. It's not that I don't know he's capable of performing this way, it's just that I didn't think he actually applied himself. Boy was I wrong!

Big A, keep up the good work! I'm SOOO proud of you and I love you SOOO much! I can't wait to see all the things that you'll do and all the places you'll go!

Harvest Fair

Today we attended a Harvest Fair/visited Grandpa Jim at a winery in Lake County. What a FUN day!

We had planned to take the kids up to visit Grandpa Jim as he was finally home and able to have more visitors. I was hesitant to take the kids up because I didn't want to do anything that may cause him discomfort or wear him out but I really wanted the kids to be able to see him and figured that it might do him good to see them as well. When we found out there was a harvest fair going on and that we should bring the kids, it sounded perfect! We'd go to the harvest fair then visit Grandpa for a few minutes before heading home. Weren't we surprised when Grandpa Jim showed up AT the harvest fair! He only stayed for a few minutes, but it was long enough to...

Watch the kids stomp grapes (and KICK BUTT!)...

Get their faces painted...

Participate in the hula-hoop contest (Not so much butt kickin' there.... They need practice!)

And gulp down some pie in the pie eating contest! (And by the way... Girls are too dainty for pie eating contests... That was left all to the boys in our family! But grown men against little kids is NOT a fair match-up... B won that competition HANDS DOWN! No pun intended...)