Country Weekends in the Summer

 

 This is what our weekends have been looking like so far this summer.  

 

 Our twelve year old son dug us a much bigger fire pit, so we've been having campfires galore.

 

 With so many flowers and shrubs blooming, the bumblebees are swarming around our farmhouse.

 

 And with so many summer birthdays around here, our resident cupcake baker has been quite busy.

 

This weekend she made chocolate cupcakes stuffed with her special peanut butter frosting, topped with chocolate shavings.  They were to die for and worth every gram of carbohydrates.

 

 Our grandson has been cruising and crawling around, and fortunately, we have many energetic bodies to keep up with him because he is busy!

 

All kinds of things are hatching out and metamorphosing. 

There have been some tricky puzzles that only a few family members could solve.  She, by the way, figured out to open this almost immediately.  It was putting it back together that made everyone a bit crazy.

 

We've had some adorable baby interactions going on between the species.

 

 It wouldn't be a summer weekend without plenty of front porch sitting.  But I'll have more on that in my next post.

 

 How did you spend your weekend?

A Few of My New Favorite Things

 

After three very full days of Christmas celebrations, I am using today to catch up...on overflowing baskets of laundry, journaling and blogging, exercising and dieting, and relaxing.  I'm sure most of you can relate.  We had a terrific Christmas, and I'll fill you in on the highlights later, but today I just had to share my excitement about some of my favorite gifts I received.

This Sony camera is something I've been wanting, but I felt too guilty to spend the money for myself.  I've been blogging for 20 months and using my outdated Samsung tablet and a cheap Smartphone for nearly all my photography.  My husband surprised me with this Sony a 6000 camera and accessories, and I am so eager to get outside and see what it can do.  I took dozens of pictures with it over the past couple of days of family and food and celebrating, but I have so much to learn about photography and this camera's features.  I now have a new challenging project going into 2017.

 

Along with the camera, I have new reading material for the weeks ahead.  I have always been drawn to colonial America and love to study that period of time.  Although our farmhouse was built in the late 1880s, it was renovated in an early American style, and there is so much more I'd like to do with it.  I really wish Chip and Joanna Gaines could come to the Alleghenies and tackle our farmhouse for their next project.  I absolutely love watching Fixer Upper and was going to buy their new book, The Magnolia Story, myself if it wasn't under our Christmas tree.  Finally, my sister spent the better part of this year researching our family's genealogy and created a scrapbook of our family tree and lots of old photos, newspaper clippings, and old legal documents.  She was able to trace both sides of our family as far back as 1570.  It turns out that the vast majority of our ancestors settled in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the 30-50 years prior to the Revolutionary War.  It's fascinating to read some of the stories, and I can't imagine how many hours of tedious work my sister put in, but I'm so grateful she did.  I can't wait to curl up on my favorite chair with a gourmet Cappuccino (also a new gift) and these books.

And you can see how badly I needed a camera after looking at the photo above.

 

Not only is my sister a talented writer, but she is an artist and wood crafter as well.  This wall hanging was another total surprise Christmas gift she made for me in a farmhouse chic style, and it's hanging in our dining room above the piano.  I got all the kids and she got all the talent in the family. 

 

Our house was full this Christmas---with gifts, food, holiday spirits (both kinds), and family.  Yesterday we had 17 people crammed into our dining room around our main Christmas tree opening gifts.  Our farmhouse was full of life and love and laughter, just the way I've always hoped it would be.  The best part was sharing it with our first grandchild who truly brightens the room with his squeals and energy and innocence.  I'll share some of the details of both the high points and the mishaps later, but today I'm just going to savor all of it while the memories are fresh and the house is a bit more quiet.

And I'm going to play with my new "toy" so I can get more great shots like the one above.  I hope you're all able to bask in this post-Christmas euphoria and relax a bit as we finish up this year.

Gathered Together After a Turkey Trot

 

Wow.  It feels like forever since my last post.  I hope every one of you American readers had a marvelous Thanksgiving.  Ours was filled with family time, drizzly weather, and good food and wine.

 

Our cool, rainy Thursday morning began with six members of our family headed off to an annual turkey trot.  Two of our sons ran this 5K, two people volunteered as course marshals, and two were bystanders who cheered the runners on.  This was the first race ever for our ten year old who has boundless energy and can literally run circles around me any day.  Our older son hung near him through the race, and both crossed the finish line within seconds of each other with quite a bit of energy left.  They finished in the top half of the 234 runners, which wasn't bad for two amateurs who really don't train for these things, and the entry fees went to non-profit organizations.

 

When they all returned, cold and damp from the November rain, I had the turkey roasting in the oven and appetizers/light lunch on the table.

 

I cheated this year and picked up most of the appetizers from the deli and bakery sections of the supermarket.  The cherry cordial Hershey's Kisses were the favorite new item of the morning.

 

Our traditional Thanksgiving dinner was scheduled to be held at 3 PM, but as usual, we didn't sit down to eat until a bit later.

 

That was because we were waiting on these two casseroles to finish baking.  I always need to double the recipes, and the vegetable dishes always seem to need more time to set up than I predict.  The sweet potato casserole on the right is the one I make every year, along with millions of other Americans, I'm sure.  This year I made a corn casserole instead of green bean casserole, which pleased my children tremendously.  There were a lot of these recipes on Pinterest, but the one I used can be found here at www.stuckonsweet.com. The only change I made was doubling the recipe, and I had to nearly double the bake time.

 

My little ones were standing close by, salivating and very eager for the dinner bell to ring.

 

Hubby did the traditional turkey carving, with the assistance of his dad, while I performed all those last minute tasks with the help of my mother-in-law and teenage daughter.  

 

But in the end, it all came together seamlessly, and we gave thanks and began eating around 3:30.  It looked like we had enough food to feed us all for a week, but as it turned out, everything was gone within two days.

 

After dinner and kitchen cleanup, there were Christmas movies, games of Phase 10, pumpkin pie and dessert wine, and just more family time in general.

 

My day was complete after getting to hold this sweet baby boy in my arms while he slept peacefully amidst all the ruckus around him.

And for all these things, I am thankful.

Of Thanksgivings Past

 

Thanksgiving is just a week away, and the only thing I've done to prepare is buy the turkey.  In case I don't have time to do any blogging between now and then, I thought I'd leave you with a few pictures of some of our Thanksgivings we've celebrated since we moved into our farmhouse ten years ago.

 

Let me start by saying that the images in my head of what our Thanksgiving should be like are similar to last year's Land's End cover of one of their holiday catalogs.  But the reality is that our celebrations really look like this...

 

Our youngest son was actually baptized over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2006, which is a beautiful thing, but he screamed throughout most of it.

 

This was the children's table in 2007, back when we had a smaller kitchen table and we could squeeze in a kids' table.  Now that our table seats 10-12, there really isn't room for much else in our farmhouse kitchen.  When we have lots of family here, we now have to split up into two rooms.

 

We have actually spent a number of Thanksgivings at Disney World.  The kiddos love it, but I never quite feel like it's really Thanksgiving when we have dinner there.  These three are all preteens and teens now.  How I wish I could have just one of those days back again, preferably without the tantrums.

 

Our only orange-haired son has majorly loved food all his life.  When his siblings and cousins were finished and playing, he continued to sit at the table and clean his plate...and completely devour this turkey leg.

 

 For many years when my house was full of toddlers and little ones, this is what our Thanksgiving dinner table really looked like.  Definitely nothing fancy, mismatched everything, sippy cups, and if you look closely you'll see that our one year old has her bare foot propped up on the table.  I'm fairly certain the vino got me through.

 

Remember that this is what I really wanted to see at our Thanksgiving dinner table.

 

In 2013 we were back at Disney and had reservations to eat at Mickey's outdoor barbecue.  There was a Thanksgiving buffet, and our table was right next to the dance floor so we could be up close to all of the Disney characters.  Unfortunately, our youngest was, and still is, afraid of nearly every person dressed up in a full costume.  She was in hysterics when Donald Duck tried to get her to dance with him, and we had to carry her out of there with her screaming at the top of her lungs. 

 

Thanksgiving 2014 brought us six inches of heavy snow, which was kind of fun since there was nowhere else we had to be.

 

It was the only year that our children got to go sledding before they ate Thanksgiving dinner.

 

Last year my youngest was six, and I had a Pinterest board full of Thanksgiving pins I wanted to try, so in addition to our traditional turkey dinner, I also tried out some new things earlier in the day, and had a great time.  With the children older now, I feel like all the traditional trimmings are getting kind of boring and I could make them in my sleep, but my kids have begged me not to change the menu.  I've agreed to only try one new dish this year, and it's only allowed to replace the green bean casserole.

So just in case I am frantically cleaning, cooking, baking, and decorating over the next week and don't get back to my blog, May All of You Have a Happy Thanksgiving with blessings in abundance.

 

Feeling Mama Pride and Teary Eyed

 

I admit that I've never been a sporty person.  Watching sports on TV bores me to tears.  Sitting at a soccer field or the bleachers at a football game makes me wish I had a good book in my hands.  The only high school sports I participated in at all was cheerleading---as the mascot.  It was the only way I could get through an entire game.  When our older children played soccer, ran track, and swam on swim team I went to a number of their events, but I always had babies or toddlers in tow, which meant I was chasing after them the whole time.  But last weekend when we attended our daughter's cross country district meet on a soggy field on an unusual balmy fall day, I understood.

We thought we got there late because we got lost numerous times.  When we found out we actually had hours to wait until our daughter ran, I had that feeling of dread that I get at sporting events.  What in the world were we going to do with ourselves for four hours?  No chairs, no book, no Internet.  It turned out that we ran into a number of old friends whom we hadn't seen in a long time, so we followed their children's races while we caught up and ate concession food.  When it was finally time for our daughter's race, I felt nervous and excited for her, and I offered up a prayer.  A prayer that she would do well.  That she would be able to finish.  That she wouldn't throw up and be embarrassed.   That she wouldn't be last.

Because she's running with a very good team of extremely fast girls.  She used to be the last one to cross the finish line when she ran track in middle school.  She'd be near the end of the line of boys and girls when the track team practiced.  She was usually the last one to reach the school in the evening at the end of their cross country practices.  But she persevered.

And because she has persevered in a way that I've never seen her do before, I wanted so badly for her to do well.  She has pushed through the sore muscles.  She has run in the rain and the wind.  She has covered miles that I never imagined she could just a few short months ago.  She never quit.  And this is the girl who used to go up to strangers to show them a hangnail and dramatically go on about how much it hurt until they offered her a bandaid.  But this fall, I've watched her turn into a young woman with stamina, dedication, and fortitude.

I held my breath as I saw her running up that first steep hill.  We ran farther up the field to see her again, and she wasn't near the back of the line.  We crossed the muddy fields again to see her make that final stretch before she reached the finish line.  And we waited.  And waited.  So many runners passed us.  My heart sank.  Did she fall?  Did she stop?  Was she sick?  Finally, finally we saw her...but she was walking!  Her dad started cheering her on.  Her coaches cheered her on.  Her fellow team mates who had finished cheered her on.  Her little sister and I cheered her on.  And I wished her all the positive energy I had inside of me and hoped she could feel it.

And she started running again.  I hurried to the finish line so I could see her cross, and I made it just in the nick of time.  As I approached, she was coming across, and she was not walking, but... sprinting.  She was hurting.  She was sweating.  But she was running, and she didn't throw up.  And she beat her personal record by two whole minutes.  I was so proud of her, and I couldn't stop the tears from coming.

 

It turned out that she placed high enough to earn her very first medal.  And her team finished first in their division, so along with the rest of the girls, she got another medal.

And I finally got why people like sports.  Or at least why parents enjoy watching their children play in sports.  It was exciting.  It was nerve-wracking.  It was exhilarating.  And with every photo I looked at, I cried some more.  And I'm tearing up now while I write this blog post.

So I have a whole new respect and appreciation for athletes, and for all those parents who spend countless hours in the gyms, the pools, and on the fields.  And I am awed by the transformation I've seen in my daughter this season.  And I am humbled by the eye opening I received on those rural, muddy cross country fields last weekend.

Sunday Brunch With 4 Generations

 

It might have been rainy and cool outside this weekend, but inside our farmhouse we were enjoying time with extended family and four generations under one roof.  Sunday morning I tried a few new recipes that I found on Pinterest: Cinnamon French Toast Bake, Baked Ham & Cheese Rollups, along with some cut fresh fruit, and Mimosas.

 

I needed to prepare enough food for eleven of us, but I also wanted plenty of time to hold our grandson, so these dishes were simple enough to make before everyone arrived.

 

The Baked Ham & Cheese Rollups consisted of Pillsbury crescent dough, thinly sliced ham, Swiss cheese, and a sauce made of butter, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, poppy seeds, and dried onion.  The full recipe can be found at http://www.highheelsandgrills.com/.  I doubled the recipe and made a total of twenty of these delicious rollups.

I forgot to take a closeup of the Baked French Toast, but you can see it in the first photo. You simply use two cans of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and soak them in an egg/milk/cinnamon mixture.  This recipe is at http://www.mightymrs.com/.  This was the favorite with my kiddos, and I definitely should have filled two baking dishes with a double batch.

 

This was the first time we've all been together in the past few months, so we officially toasted the birth of our grandson with the parents and great-grandparents.

 

The guest of honor slept through my brunch.

 

But he was awake the night before for a Four Generations Photo Shoot.

 

And he even smiled for his delighted aunties and uncles.

This was the only weekend since school started that we had absolutely nothing on our calendar, and it was truly amazing that everyone else was free as well.  It was a rare treat for sure.

 

A Weekend of Firsts

 

We're wrapping up summer and getting ready to start new fall routines, but this weekend was full of many first-time events for us.  

 

A new Mexican restaurant opened up not too far from us, so my husband and I decided to give it a try Thursday evening.  I had a delicious chicken fajita salad, and my husband had an enormous burrito topped with a mango salsa.

 

But what we really enjoyed was the extensive margarita list they had.  We tried some varieties we've never had before; Pama Margarita for me, and Caliente Margarita for Hubby.  They were perfect for a late summer dinner, and we're looking forward to returning and trying some of the others.

 

The next day after cross-country practice, I took our new high school freshman to finally get her first professional manicure.  She chose her new school colors to show her school spirit.  

 

On Saturday, my son and I visited the grounds of the Pennsylvania Military Museum in Boalsburg, PA.  I have been here before...

 

...but it's been years...

 

...and I really went to walk these beautiful walking paths around the grounds for a change of scenery from our mountain trails.  I couldn't help myself and had to stop frequently to take pictures.  What a beautiful place.

 

Afterwards, my son ran in a race to benefit a local food pantry.  The first mile he ran in a little over six minutes and came in second place.  The second mile he ran while carrying a full gallon jug of water along with all the other participants.  The water jugs were then donated to the food pantry.  This was his first one-mile race and definitely the first time he's ever run while carrying an additional 8 pounds in his arms.  Since I've done my share of running while carrying extra pounds each time I was pregnant, I sat out this part of the race and talked to another mom.

 

Saturday night my husband and I tried a new distillery and tapas restaurant.  We had already eaten dinner earlier at home, so we decided to sample a dessert after drinks.

 

We had never seen or heard of semifreddo before.  I sat at the table and googled it to determine whether or not it was something I wanted to try.  This was a saffron semifreddo topped with cherry cardamom syrup, salted chocolate hazelnuts, and whipped cream.  It was delicious, and I scraped every last little bit out of that bowl.

Our weekend culminated with a visit from our new grandson who will be one month old tomorrow.  What was so great about this visit was that he actually had his eyes open for awhile, which is the first time that has happened when we've been together.

I find this time of year so exciting and full of hope and new beginnings.  I can't wait to see what life brings our way next.