Five Brown Kids

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Tyrone worked on Thanksgiving day, but after he got home we packed our bags in the van, took a bit of a nap and left around 1 am Friday morning. We arrived in Pennsylvania around 9 am. Andrew had no idea that his two best NC friends were on their way. He just knew his holiday dinner was late and a big surprise was coming. The boys knocked on the door and Andrew could hardly believe it. They were off playing in a minute and we rarely saw them all weekend - too busy out running in the woods. Matt and Courtney whipped up an amazing Thanksgiving feast - with stuffing to die for and sweet potatoes so good they made Tyrone a fan. The Fosters were in the area visiting family and they came and joined us too. We dined like kings. Courtney is a fabulous host. Tyrone feels totally relaxed at her house and I always feel like someone is just busy taking care of me. And I don't feel like that often. Saturday we headed into the big city. We picnick...

In case you have left-over cans of pumpkin from Thanksgiving these muffins are a terrific way to use it up. Yum, Yum! 2 cups pureed pumpkin (aprox one small can) 1 cup applesauce 4 eggs 1/2 cup oil 2 cups sugar 1 cup chocolate chips 3 cups flour 2 tsp baking soda 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt Blend pumpkin, applesuace, eggs and oil. Stir in sugar. Add remaining dry ingredients that have ben mixed together and then fold in the cholocate chips. Bake at 400 for 15-20 mins. Makes 2 dozen.

The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven The turkey shot out of the oven And rocketed into the air, It knocked every plate off the table And partly demolished a chair. It ricocheted into a corner And burst with a deafening boom, Then splattered all over the kitchen, Completely obscuring the room. It stuck to the walls and the windows, It totally coated the floor, There was turkey attached to the ceiling, Where there'd never been turkey before. It blanketed every appliance, It smeared every saucer and bowl, There wasn't a way I could stop it, That turkey was out of control. I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure, And thought with chagrin as I mopped, That I'd never again stuff a turkey With popcorn that hadn't been popped! Jack Prelutsky

We hit up the local Christmas parade on Saturday. It was great fun - we all loved the drums in the umpteen high school marching bands. Taye was busying trying to figure out if the Santa was real or not. Does the real Santa really have time to visit all these parades and parties? He's getting closer to cracking the great secret but not quite. Tyrone cheered loudly for the McDonald's float. "Yeah, McDonald's! Your artery clogging food is keeping me in business!" I counted inappropriate cell phone use - the old man in denim overalls driving a tractor who whipped out his phone for a crucial phone call, little miss ridiculous in a white bouffant dress with blond hair curled to the nines playing games on an iPhone while her float rolled down the route, and of course the local celebrity news anchor who couldn't leave her blackberry alone for a second. Seriously?!?

I overheard this conversation between Scotia and Tyrone last night as he was tucking her into bed. Dad - Scotia, pick a book to read Quiet Dad - No, that's a catalog I can't read that, pick a real book to read Quiet Dad - Do you want to read this one? Quiet Dad - Okay, fine, I'll read the catalog.... Scotia has been quite enamored with the American Girl catalog that arrived in the mail this week.

Here's our first decoration of the season. Taye found this little treasure on a walk and since I wouldn't let him bring it in the house he draped it over the little tree next to the front door.

Just becuase it's so delicious here's a repost of the freshest cranberry sauce you can get. HOMEMADE WHOLE BERRY CRANBERRY SAUCE INGREDIENTS: 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 12-ounce package (or 3 cups) fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained (pick out all the soft and mushy ones) DIRECTIONS:Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 1/4 cups. Double or triple recipe as needed. Enjoy! Here I am with a school friend, Scott, out at the Western Head lighthouse picking cranberries for Thanksgiving dinner (the back of the photo says 1990). Scott is a geologist for Exxon now, living in Australia. I'm a mom of three living in the South. Who knew such talent could come out of such a small town :-)

My washing machine died this week. Overworked from two loads a day for the past five plus years (me too!). It turned out to be a quick fix when the repairman arrived on Saturday am, but oh the mountain of laundry I'm wading through now. Lovely photo courtesy of my web cam .

Fascinating book with all the details and insider scoop on last year's election. It's a great read if you had fun following all the events. Of course I loved the Obama speeches but my favorite quote from the book, from one of the debates, was Mike Huckabee talking about letting children of illegal immigrants apply for college scholarships. " I'm standing here tonight on this stage because I got an education. If I hadn't had the education, I wouldn't be standing on this stage. I might be picking lettuce... In all due respect, we're a better country than to punish children for what their parents did."

A few fall updates big mirror bigger magazine basket new window seat cover rules hanging on the kitchen wall (boys - please refer to rule number 3) huge light in boys room

If you're just doing spaghetti for supper, spice it up a bit with recipe. This makes spaghetti special. 4 oz cooked spaghetti 1 tbsp butter 1 egg, beaten 1/4 grated Parmesan cheese 1 cup cottage cheese 1/2 lb browned hamburger 2 cups spaghetti sauce Grease 9" pie plate. Put spaghetti , margarine, egg and Parmesan cheese in pie plate, mixing it together and then press to form a kind of crust. Spread cottage cheese on top. Mix spaghetti sauce and hamburger and pour on top. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese and cook at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

I see that Sesame Street is having a big anniversary this week and that reminded me... In my toddler days I lived in the Musquodobit Valley of Nova Scotia . My parents were raging hippies (don't tell my mom I said that, she'll deny it) and we lived in a sweet little tin covered, passive solar bungalow at the top of a large hill. We lived without electricity and obviously without TV. Our closest neighbours down the hill were a wonderful old couple named John and Emmy Wilson. They were winding down years of hard work, self sufficiency and frugality on their own property/farm at the same time my parents were just getting started. They were my adopted grandparents and we loved them. They also had a daughter Mary who lived with them, who must have been in her 40's and had downs syndrome. Their other children were long since grown and gone. So about Sesame Street - they had electricity and a TV and Mary liked to watch Sesame Street. And that is my memory - that on the few occa...

Isn't this recipe in every Mormon mom's rotation? We love it and make it lots. Especially since Taye can whip it up by himself. Here he is chopping onions with swim goggles on for protection. 1 lb hamburger (or less) 1/4 cup diced onions 1 can diced tomatoes 1 can corn 1 can kidney beans, drained 1 11.5 oz can of V8 juice 1 package/envelope taco seasoning Corn chips, sour cream, chopped green onions and/or grated cheddar cheese for toppings. Brown hamburger in a large soup pot. Add onions and cook for a minute or two. Add in seasoning and stir. Add remaining ingredients except toppings and bring to a boil.

We dressed up this year as The Brown Family Circus - the craziest house on earth! We made it to our ward Trunk R Treat in full costume-two clowns, a lion and an acrobat (Dad was working) and by the time we won the award for best family costume, the kids had not a shred of decoration left on. Just shirts and shorts. For Halloween, the next night, Scotia refused to wear the Lion outfit so she went as a ballerina and Jaxon opted for a pirate outfit instead of his clown gear. I can be flexible right?