I'm at Valley Fest and DSM Roosevelt just massacred John Williams for 15 mins!

When the Caged Bird Sings... or Not

Last night I had a wonderful time out to dinner with my good friend April. She and Weston had their usual fun and we got to talk. So, I was driving home in the almost dark from Pleasant Hill (about a 15-20 minute drive into my garage) and I was chatting with my mom on the phone.
As I pulled up to my garage I noticed some feather coming out of Scott's garage door. It looked like he had caught a bird in the garage door! I was mortified. I thought the bird was dead. So, as soon as I pull in, I'm hollering (best word for this, trust me) at Scott to open his garage door. I rush over and what do I see? A tiny baby bird, fully awake now and alive. All fluffy and still looking like she has the soft baby feathers. She hops about 2 feet away to hide by our recycling bin. So, Scott shuts the garage door and we go see that she has once again buried herself in the corner of the door. So, I snapped a few pictures and talked to her. I wasn't sure she could fly, you see. Well, I got close enough for a picture, and I was stupid (like a child) and reached my hand out (I know, it's a bird, not a kitten) and she freaked out and flew to the tree (or giant twig) in our front yard. Guess that answers the question as to whether or not she was old enough to fly. :) Here she is though, all tiny and round and fluffy. I know, I'm a dork.

An addition to the world of Social Networking...

My brother has finally joined the social networking revolution. He joined Facebook and finally made me his friend. Yea... I'm "friends" with my little brother on a social networking site!
Ha. I'm just happy that he finally got online. Even if he has issues scanning pictures. :)

Here's his profile pic with my niece Paisley, who looks adorable here!

My morning...

Back to work... yuck. It's such a downer to be here now.
But at home? This is what I had to play with around 7 am this morning:

And after the fun weekend we had.... I did not want to come into work this morning.

He started to eat all by himself with a spoon (and it was a huge hilarious mess!)

And then he started making faces at me and squealing just for fun! He was such a blast this weekend. So much fun to be around! I wish I could have video on him all the time.

This is one of those pictures that he is going to kill me for later! :)

Fall has Officially Arrived!

... Not by the crisp chill to the air. Though I swear that 45 degrees could be -5 as far as my reaction to the cold is concerned; seriously, I'd be wearing skirts and sandals in April when it's 45 degrees, but in October? I turn the heat on and pull out my fleece jammies just to wear around the house. Yeah... I'm alternating between freezing and wanting the windows open every 30 minutes right now.
But no... the weather warns of Fall, or more appropriately, Winter. Cooking is the first sign of Fall. I'm not a person who generally enjoys soups. I pretty much avoid them after March, they just don't seem right. But once Fall arrives for me... I start up the big, huge pots and start blending. This morning I started my first batch of Fall Chili. Cut up 4 onions and let 3lbs of hamburger come to room temperature while whipping up breakfast for my boys. (Weston actually ate all of his scrambled egg. By choice.) So, I sauteed the onions and browned the seasoned hamburger. I added 3 cans each of diced and stewed tomatoes to the onions, as well as a large can of tomato paste (I love tomatoes.) And then I began to add my spices: liberal amounts of salt and pepper, 1/3 cup of Splenda (Lila adds a handful of brown sugar, which is amazing, but I'm out at the moment), some Old Bay, garlic, and finally Chili powder. Except when I splashed the Chili powder into the pot it didn't look quite right. Maybe that was because I grabbed the wrong container right next to it... yeah, I added a dash (ok, a large dash) of Cinnamon to my Chili. Cinnamon!
So... now I am tasting every 90 minutes, trying to bring it right back to ok, adding additional amounts of Chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper. I've added the 3 cans of rinsed Light Kidney beans and the seasoned hamburger. And it's getting better. Scott likes it, but says its sweet (which for once isn't true, it's the Cinnamon. My palette is pretty good lately, and I know the difference between Sweet and Cinnamon.) So... I'm going to check again. If the last re-seasoning didn't fix it, I think I will actually be adding some Louisiana Hot Sauce. Yeah, that's right, I actually have Hot Sauce in my fridge. Shocking I know. Wish me luck. It's really not that bad, but since I intend to freeze probably 60% of this batch, I don't want it too sweet upon reheating.
We'll see I guess.

Wish me luck! I am braving my first 90 minute car ride with Weston alone. Headed to Cedar Rapids to spend the night and Friday with Aunt Linda. Either this is a breakthrough or i am nuts for doing this at dinner time alone. Oy!

Weston playing in the Alligator stroller in Williamsburg! Guess we'll have to rent one of those next time. (probably next spring if this weather keeps up!)
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Post Script: Weston did fairly well. He started to fuss just past Newton (20 minutes from our start.) So I handed him some Goldfish and a sippy of water and we talked and danced most of the way there. All in all, it was fairly easy. I would do it again. The ride home yesterday was much better since it was nap time. So, he talked and then threw his water where I couldn't get it (and I have become a front seat contortionist, I swear) and finally passed out 20 minutes from our exit.

Weston fast asleep in the back of the car... 20 minutes from our exit.

Happy October!!!

Ok, I'm a day early. But I love Halloween! So, in honor of the new month tomorrow, here's a new background!!! and the Halloween card we are sending out. Enjoy the month!!!

It says:

When Dragon soar and knights' swords gleam, let luck be yours on Halloween!