Mushroom Picking

From Sunday, October 17th:

It was a beautiful fall day, and we skipped church...one of the reasons being that Synnove was sick with a fever the day before. So, instead of spending a lazy day at home, Adam decided he wanted to take the kids out hunting for chanterelles. Adam and the kids got started mushroom hunting when my Dad took them out last fall. Adam has always been interested in mushrooms, but never found the time to start a new hobby (imagine that). Adam and the kids went out with the kids a few weeks prior and found quite a few, so he wanted to try his luck again.

I had never been, and had a great time on our little treasure hunt. I snapped quite a few pictures and found quite a few species of mushrooms. They are all so interesting and different. Of course, we stuck to what we knew, and only picked the chanterelles. We could have picked for hours, but decided that two bucket-fulls was MORE than enough. Thank goodness they are tasty, because we were drowning in mushrooms for over a week!

Adam let each of the kids have a semi-dull knife to cut their plunder. More mushrooms will grow if you leave part of the stem...and they are easier to clean!

Adam cleaned mushrooms for a looooong time. Below is only 2/3 of a bucket-full and we had TWO buckets! Thankfully, we found lots of takers.

Dentist and Salmon

Yesterday, Synnove and I went to the dentist for our 6-month cleaning. I was planning on going home right afterwards to cook up the rest of the salmon Synnove caught on Saturday. While waiting for her cleaning to finish, I browsed through the May issue of Food Network Magazine. As I was drooling over all the pages, I came across a recipe for curried salmon cakes with mango salad. They looked absolutely delicious! So, I snapped a photo of the recipe with my trusty iPhone and headed to the store to pick up the ingredients. I had planned to mow the lawn that evening, but the prep for these cakes/salad took up quite a bit of time and the kitchen was a disaster when I was done. They were really good, and even the kids liked them! I found the recipe on a blog HERE.

They turned out so fabulously that I had to put them on a fancy platter and take a picture. The picture doesn't do the cakes justice :)

A is for Apple Pie

I made apple pie today with the apples from my Mom and Dad's house. I must have over mixed the pastry, cause it kept tearing in places and I had to patch it several times. I also got all preschooly and put an "A" and some little apples on it. I thought it was cute, so I snapped a pic.

Happy Birthday to ME!

The day (Thursday, the 17th) started off with me sleeping in a bit. The kids played quietly while I got up on my own terms...it was great. I finally rolled out of bed around 9ish and started the day. My MIL and SIL were planning to come sometime in the late morning to take me out to lunch, so I had time to spare. While frosting the cake my husband made the night before (for me), the phone rang and I had the joy of spending the next hour chatting with one out of the four of my dearest Grandmothers. We set a lunch date for next week and said our goodbyes. By now it's about 10:30 and I've got to hurry and get ready before my in-laws arrive to poke fun at tardiness. Halfway through I get a call from another one of my dearest Grandmothers. By now I'm feeling pretty special and the day is only beginning! We chat a while, my in-laws arrive, and I finish getting ready for the day.

The kids were enjoying spending some time with their cousin Alice and ogling over new baby Cash. I received some lovely gifts and another deliciously homemade CAKE! It's not even noon yet and I've got visitors, 3 phone calls (one also from my mom), gifts, and TWO cakes! We all hop in the car and head into town to get some lunch.

I didn't want to eat anything big since I knew that dinner was going to be even bigger and my newest weight loss strategy was/is working fabulously. Ruining my weekly weigh-in on an overindulgent birthday just wasn't part of the day's goal. Since we had 3+ kids with us, we opted to pick up sandwiches at Weesie's shop and go to Tapiola Park. We all stopped in to visit with Mom and Elise, and Mom and I made sandwiches to go. I even had the pleasure of being sung to by one of the Wheelhouse Coffee regulars!

We ate, the kids played...did I mention it was a beautiful day!? Anyway, we headed back to my house to eat some of the cake my MIL made. I allowed myself a sliver...*sigh* it was good. We continued to visit and Adam came home. I had told him the week before NOT to get me a gift since his gift to me would be purchasing the remainder of the flooring that wasn't going to be covered by various birthday gifts of money (will explain in a bit). It was just like him to buy me something anyway. Fortunately, it was something inexpensive that I needed...a shop light for my little work area in the garage. It may not seem like something you would want...but to me, it was a very thoughtful gift.

Cash, Alice, Synnove, Soren

We said goodbye to Patty, Faith, Alice, and Cash and headed into Warrenton for a big birthday dinner. A day or two prior to my birthday my dad smoked his 4-H bacon. So, I decided that breakfast for dinner would be the perfect birthday meal. I was dying to try Dad's newest smoked treat, and eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns are likely my favorite menu items EVER! Why I have never asked for breakfast as my birthday dinner in the past is really quite puzzling to me. It's a new tradition! Dinner was hands-down awesome and I ate way too much. I even had a piece of the cake Adam and the kids made me. It was a very nice time...even Grandma Barb came!

It's after 7:00 and the day still isn't over. In fact, we've gotten to the best part...the part where we take a trip to Costco to buy new laminate flooring for Synnove's room!!! I was, and still am beyond excited about this purchase. If you are a regular "In The Sticks" reader, you know how badly I've been itching to do various projects in the house...but funds have fizzled, and unnecessary projects have been put on hold...indefinitely. It's a depressing prospect that has me searching for ways to, well...*ahem*...get my way. Long story short, after some searching, I decided upon flooring I found at Costco that was going on sale ON my birthday! All of the generous gifts of money I received went towards the purchase (a little over half the total!).

This year my Birthday was made extra special by many of the loving people in my extra-large family. I loved it! There was never a dull moment in my day...even at 10:30 PM when I ate my 3rd "sliver" of cake!

Singing and Special Sauces

Synnove's newest thing is dipping her food in whatever is within reach. Her latest dips have been:

-Teriyaki stick dipped in vanilla yogurt

-Apples dipped in ketchup

-A cheeseburger dipped in applesauce

Soren LOVES to sing. He sings in the car with the music, sings to his teddy bears, sings while he and Synnove dance, etc. It is especially cute in the car when he's trying to pick up lyrics here and there with that serious singing face. Anyway, here's Soren (and I) singing Jesus Loves Me...