And then there was one

Chuggie misses his sisters when they are at school.
Isn't that a sad picture? He went outside to pout, bless his lonely heart.

Don't worry, Corbin, you'll be starting preschool next week and will have a house full of friends to play and learn with.

"What they'd give just for the right to hold you..."

My little Quincy-bee went back to preschool yesterday! She is so proud to finally be in the "butterfly class". (yes, my children attend my preschool, but I have always sent them to another school on different days of the week so they can have the experience of having a teacher that is not their mom and a classroom that isn't their own home.)
Here is her teacher, Mrs. Shaefer.

Doesn't she look sweet?

Look out, this little bee packs a stinger and she's not afraid to use it. I love that about her. Quincy, you are a girl with zest!

She's ready to FLY!

Under the Carrot Top

We are harvesting carrots and there are many many more where these came from!
Anyone have a yummy recipe for glazed carrots?

Speaking of "carrot tops"....I colored my hair red yesterday. It's not as bright or as red as I woul like for it to to be, but it's a nice rich auburn. I'm welcoming the winds of change, this fall.

I'll take PMS for 1000, Alex

-After a tragic sunday evening with no brownies in the house, I realized I am completely unprepared for disaster. Monday morning arrived and I booked it to walmart and stocked up on Little Debbi Fudge Brownies.

-Big Brother is on tonight. Don't call. Yup. I watch Big Brother.

-It was decided in a recent discussion that Aaron would make a MUCH better contestant on Big Brother than I would.

-This discussion took place right after I cried because there weren't any brownies in our house. Brownies. Well---LACK of brownies, actually....and I think that should count for something, but really? Tears? Uhhhh Hormones anyone? Congratulations, Aaron, you've won tonight's Daily Double!

STATUS UPDATE: Big Brother was in fact, NOT on that evening. I had my days mixed up. Don't even ask about the meltdown that followed.

Swappy

My sister has a blog. Do you read it? You should! She is cute and fun and she gives away like a fazillion things every single week! I love her Happy List posts the most because they are such a nice contrast to all of the whining and complaining on the internet (um...scroll down on my blog to see what I'm talking about. guilty as charged.).

Another thing she is great at is hosting good mail swaps! Who doesn't love to get a package in the mail? Presents? Sign me up!
This particular swap is a favorite color swap....meaning I get to shop around and fill a package of cute stuff in my partner's favorite color, and she will do the same for me.

A box full of spicy orange fun for me!

I'm so excited about this (can you tell?). It's been a few years since I've done one of HolleeAnn's swaps, but last time, I made a new friend. Lately, I've trying to reach out of my comfort zone a little to really get to know other people. I am aware that I am much better at talking than listening, so I'm hoping this swap will be a lil' step toward changing that. I can't wait to see who my partner will be this time and put together a fab package for her!

Thanks, HolleeAnn, for hosting!

Eat This: Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

I'm always left with a bunch of too-ripe-to-really-enjoy tomatoes at this time of year. The weeds, blistering sun, bugs, and humidity try to take hold of my garden. Even with my best efforts to maintain the garden this year, I still had a share of less-than-sightly tomatoes. This was the perfect fix for them, and this has been the first year that every last tomato we picked has been used. We had close to 200 this year. The harvest is winding down, but I still get 1 or 2 every day.

Adapted from an Ina Garten recipe:
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, remove stems and quarter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
6 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) canned tomatoes, with their juice
4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 quart chicken stock

1 tsp fresh oregano

1/3-1/2 c half and half

1 red bell pepper cut into 1 inch chunks.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together the red pepper, tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

In an 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, oregano, and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes.

Blend

Return to pot heat to med-low (no boil) and add half and half. Whisk up for minute and enjoy with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Say, "I can't believe how GOOD this soup is!" like 100 times.

Enjoy.

Things I Survived

I threw my back out yesterday. I've narrowed the cause down to either wrestling with Corbin or lifting the freezer by myself to level it. Either way, It hurts like nothing I've ever experienced, and I spent my day changing ice packs and hittin' the ibuprofen.

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We took a small outing to the library, this morning. Corbin's behavior there could be compared to that of a fire breathing dragon in a ...well a library still works for this comparison. The good news is that I scored 2 movies (Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life to add to our Christmas movie collection) and 3 hard cover books (The Secret, The Glass Castle, The Thirteenth Tale) for $8 total from the For Sale section in the back. Hopefully, it will take me a month or two to get through them, because it's going to be as long before we are welcomed back into the library with a smile from the ladies behind the counter.

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During naptime today, Quincy wandered out and said, "Mom, there's poop in my room."
Me: Poop? In your room? Why? Hey. You've got chocolate on your face..."

Wait.
Noooo.

I went back to her bedroom.

no.
No.
NOOOOO.

It was like a minefield.
I don't even know how she did it, I really don't. More than anything, though, I wish she hadn't tried to clean it up herself.

With ALL of the clothes from the dirty hamper.

and her bedding.
and the curtains.
and Reese's bedding.
and all of the stuffed animals from Reese's bed.

No surface was left untouched.
Is I scrubbed (which my back did not appreciate) and started a 2nd load of laundry (this is not including the pieces I simply threw away because there was just no coming back from the devastation), I looked around and seriously considered just closing the door and boarding that bedroom up.

Why, Quincy? Whyyyyyyyyy???!!!!

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We fed the sister missionaries dinner the other night. As soon as they entered the kitchen, the girls ran up to them and announced, "Guess what?! We have a rat in our kitchen!" Nice.

Stay Classy San Diego.