Blue Photo Challenge

When I saw that the challenge over at I Heart Faces was blue I immediately thought of this picture. This is my youngest when he was little, maybe 2 years old.

I love it when he wears something blue to bring out the brightness in his eyes.

Go see what others are doing for their entries at I Heart Faces, you won't be disappointed.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Do you see that? A cupcake challenge! Brought to you by Little Miss Baker and Dollface Delights.

I love me a good cupcake, so I thought I would share my fave for the theme of this challenge, Fall/Autumn. Ready to know what that is? Okay, it's pumpkin. I love pumpkin cupckaes with the cream cheese frosting.

Here is the recipe:
2 1/4 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
1 tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. pumpkin
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c. canola oil
1 1/2 c. sugar (I only use 1 cup)
3 lg. egg whites
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine wheat and white flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, set aside.
Combine pumpkin and applesauce, set aside.
Cream together canola oil and sugar until well blended. Beat in egg whites and vanilla extract.
Gradually stir in flour and pumpkin mixtures. Spoon into muffin tins, bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes.

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix well until frosting consistency.

If that recipe is too much for you go HERE for another pumpkin recipe that I use. It is just as good! In fact, I typically use this recipe vs. the one above.

And here are my Fall/Autumn cupcakes. They are delish!

I encourage you to give them a try. You won't be disappointed.

10 Miles and a Wanker

As many of you know, I am training for two 1/2 marathons with in two weeks of each other. So yesterday I set out to do 10 miles of running. In my head it was a piece of cake. For my body it proved to be tough at around mile 8. I did do a bit of walking, but I did do a whole lot of running. My route? It was a nice one. It involved some country back drops as well as some residential zones.

I started off at a good steady pace. I was proud of myself for doing so well in the beginning. As the miles toiled on I started to do my typical self talk:

Me: Come on Suzi, you can do this.
Alter Ego: Yeah, but I really don't want to.
Me: Just keep running.
Alter Ego: Why run, when I can walk and give myself a bit of a break?
Me: The more you run, the quicker you get this over with.
Alter Ego: Good point.

This conversation is one that is played in my head over and over. I have to tell myself to "Just keep running!" and I do, for the most part. I am about 3.5 miles into run on a beautiful road, hills on my right and subdivisions on my left. The weather is cool, comfortable, with splashes of clouds in the bright blue sky. Lots of people run and ride their bikes around my town, but I was totally unprepared and a bit disturbed after one bike rider.

I am a pretty polite person, even while I am running. I always acknowledge people who are around me.....dog walkers, runners, bikers, etc. This particular morning is no different than any other, I greeted all as usual. Well this one biker nodded at me in greeting and I followed suit. As my head nodded my eyes tracked with the angle of my head and holy crap what was that?

Mr. Biker Man was in uber short shorts and he was totally exposed. Riding along on his seat was his "unit". Holy crap was I seeing things? Well let me tell you I was a bit disturbed and kept a good eye over my shoulder to make sure he didn't make a U-Turn and follow my route. Could he have not known? He was riding his bike, minding his business as if it was just a leisurely bike ride. Totally bizarre.

I told my dear loving hubby about the incident and the only advise he had for me is "Well, you better make sure you have pepper spray with you." He wasn't a bit concerned. Humph!

Shhhh........don't tell

But I am on the computer again and it's not to do the invoicing. I am trying to be sneaky, but seem to get caught, regularly. I hate it when I get caught......so much shame. Anytime I hear someone walking through the house or opening the door to come inside I switch to my home page, jump up, and act like I am doing something useful. Most of the time I am not doing anything useful.....but that's between you and me, okay?

At least now I have an excuse for getting caught. I am working on the auction for our school and I am in charge of registration as well as inputting some of the items procured. That is ALL done on the computer. So when Jeff comes in I fudge the truth a little....I tell him it's for the auction. But that's not going to last long, my job for the auction will end October 2, then I won't have an excuse.

Ooohh, I hear someone! Shhh, don't tell I was blogging. See, my family, especially Jeff and Trevor, seem to think I have an addiction and they feel that it is with the computer. Hmmmm......they might have a point. Hey, it could be worse, you know, drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. Or I could be having an affair. At least it's with words on a computer. I could be out on the town while I leave my hubby at home to fend for himself AND deal with the boys, but it's just the computer.

From what I understand my sister is being accused with the same thing! Imagine that. She told me she also clicks back to the home page and bolts out of her chair when she hears her dear, loving hubby come through the restaurant. Hey don't worry Erika, I won't tell if you don't. Okay, I better go........see you all later!

My Poor Baby

My poor baby took a header. He is certainly following in my foot steps in the injury arena. Not. Good. I have certainly done worse, but if this is any indication then I am in for it.

Monday, Labor Day, we went to a friends place to BBQ and just enjoy the great outdoors. Jeff took the boys up early so they could ride their dirt bikes around the property. I stayed home, did some cleaning, preparing of foods, packing of coolers, and vegging in front of the TV....just to take a break. All was well with the world.

So I get up there and crack open a beer. Mmm, good old Sam Adams made my evening. As the afternoon progressed the boys went for more dirt bike rides and then the adults did some target practice. My kids were masters at pulling the string for the clay pigeons. I did fairly well, about 70% of the targets hit. Not bad since I haven't been shooting since December....and that was for a pheasant. Still the evening is shaping up to be pleasant.

The boys, throughout the afternoon, had been riding their bikes down a steep hill and applying breaks when necessary. They were all pros. No speed wobbles, no, veering off the beaten path, no bumps in the road..........until we start packing it in to head home.

Adam, who had been going down the hill all afternoon, took a header. He got the speed wobbles towards the end of the hill and just lost it. He landed spread eagle, but his face broke the fall. Road rash? Nope. Impact fall? Absolutely! It didn't look so bad that evening, swelling to a minimum, very little bleeding at his mouth. The only other visible injury was a bruise on his leg where his handle bar jabbed into his thigh. That is still tender.

He woke up Tuesday morning with lots of swelling, a black eye, and a bit of self consciousness. I was volunteering in his class that morning, so we went to school. I left him after recess and then the "mother's guilt" set in. Should I have brought him home? Probably. I know my friend Laura scolded me from here to Timbuktu and back, she thought I was crazy, probably thinks I am insensitive and maybe I am. I talked with Adam's teacher, she had my number, I know she would have called if Adam showed any sign of discomfort or acted unusual. What I need to remember is that Adam is a tough kid, probably tougher than any of the other boys and he isn't any worse for the wear. My biggest concern was a fractured cheek bone. I called the advice nurse and based on our discussion we are going to watch and wait.

Today, swelling has come down, his eye is a bit more purple, and his lips are looking more normal. He is one tough cookie. He went to school like a trooper....no self consciousness today. Nope. None. Kids are resilient. As for a fractured cheek bone. Not likely. Thank goodness.

Friday Fill Ins

It is late in the day and I came across this:

Graphic courtesy of Tonya!

And...here we go!

1. I feel good.

2. Skinny dipping is always fun.

3. Right now, I can hear these things: kids playing in the living room.

4. I ran 5 miles and I'm glad I had somone to do it with.

5. The last time I snow skied was before kids.

6. I am going to make cookies this Labor day weekend.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching a movie, tomorrow my plans include the Farmer's Market and Sunday, I want to go for a run!

Germs.......or Dinner?

It's official, school is back in session....and so is the germ factor. Trevor came home today, like any other day. He wandered around with all the care in the world, you see he was stuck inside the house for 98% of the afternoon. It was my mission to get the boys to clean up the room they share. Nobody could go out to play until 2 things were done, homework and clean up their room.

Trevor takes the path of the MOST resistance. He likes to think he is SO much smarter than me, get the feeling he is pulling the wool over my eyes. I just wonder when he is going to get that I am on to him. Instead of putting his clothes neatly in his drawers he shoves them under his bed and calls it good. I, on the other hand, disagree, NOT done. So I do what a horrible mother does and call him on it, send him back to his room to do the job right. Next step, get everything from under his bed and shove them between the wall and Adam's bed. I go in for an inspection and again have him pull it all out and put it away properly. You think he learned from the first 2 times of trying to hide his things? Nope. He tried to get away with it a 3rd time. This time he moved Adam's bed (it's a captain's bed) and shoves it all behind and under that bed. Again, I KNOW what the little monkey is up to and again call him out. Meanwhile, Trevor is crying and telling me how horrible I am for making him clean up. He is also telling me that he needs to get outside to feel the fresh air on his skin. The fresh air on his skin doesn't happen til after dinner and only for about 10 minutes at that.

On to dinner. We had BLT's with some green beans. Trevor is not a big fan of green beans and was trying his best to eat them, but did a few gags getting them down. He managed to get mostof them down, but he also managed to "throw" some up onto his plate. Dinner and veggies are always interesting.

This is where the vomit comes in. Trevor wanders into my room at about 10:30 :

Trevor: Mom my belly hurts.
Me: It does?
Trevor: Yeah.
Me: What does it feel like?
Trevor: I don't know, it just hurts.
Me: Okay, come lay down.
Trevor: Will you rub my belly?
Me: Sure, do you feel like you need to throw up?
Trevor: No.

I should have known better to take No for an answer. As I was rubbing his belly he did the all knowing burp that tells me he is going to blow.

Me: Trevor, do you need to throw up?
Trevor: No.
Me: Are you sure?

Too late, blows all over the wall and floor next to my bed. All over the floor at the base of the bed. All over the bathroom floor. Poor guy.

Now here is the question, is this a one time deal? Did he blow because of dinner? OR did he pick something up from school? Or could it be the beginning of Swine Flu? I hope it was just dinner.