Pumpkin Chip Cookies

This is a great recipe I found in one of my Taste Of Home cookbooks. I was going to email Kara the recipe, but then I thought I should share it with all of you faithful blog readers. Be warned, this recipe makes 10 dozen cookies!

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 tsps. baking soda
2 tsps. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 35o for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Enjoy!

A Chance Encounter

I keep telling myself that I should sleep when Will goes to bed, but I just can't do it. I must blog! We got a break from the rain today and it was wonderful. The thing about being an Oregonian is that you really appreciate the sunshine and can be grateful for it. I looked in the mirror tonight to see that my cheeks were even a little pink from being outside. Anyway, about my chance encounter... I was running some errands today, but it was so beautiful I just had to slow down and go hang out with my little boy at the park. I was roasting in my sweatshirt, but it was worth it. The first thing I see at the park is this super cute person, who I thought was a mom playing with a little girl on the slide. She was so cute in her mannerisms and the way she was talking with the girl. She was being so imaginative with her and silly in such a sweet way. She even offered to go down the slide with Will, which I thought was pretty cute. I was feeling a little run down, but this gal reminded me to put a little pep in my step, if you know what I mean. After being there for a while, Will wandered over to where she was sitting with the little girl. She then proceeded to introduce herself in a very perky way. She was so dang friendly. I love people like this! Sometimes I feel so shy. Sometimes I don't and I go ahead and strike up a conversation, but it isn't always reciprocated with much enthusiasm. This gal, however, renewed my faith in all humankind. She was so friendly, outgoing, and imaginative with the little girl who she just happened to be watching. Even though she wasn't the girl's mother I observed her talking kindly with her, dancing around and talking gibberish and just laughing and having a good old time. If only everyone enjoyed kidlets as much as this woman, every child would feel loved. Hmmm...that sounds so cheesy, but sometimes thoughts like this go through my head. So, I'm glad that people like this exist in this crazy world of ours and inspire me to be a better person too. Kristin (that was her name), whoever you are, wherever you are, thanks for the little pick me up that I needed today. Mike just looked over my shoulder and gave me a look. Yep, this entry is cheesy to the max, but hey, that's me and it's my blog, so I can do whatever I want!

Bold and Brazen

This title actually refers to Daisy. In case you can't tell from the picture she is actually drinking from my cup of water. She must have been thirsty! Instead of scolding her like I should have, I took this picture. It doesn't quite capture the moment as well as I would have liked, but for some reason this just cracked me up today. She thinks she's human sometimes! I'm glad we have our little pooch around because she is great entertainment for Will and me during the day!

I also posted a picture of Will because I wanted to write about some new things that he has been doing lately. This could be boring to some of you, but I want to keep things well documented. He has started saying, "hot, ouch" when he gets close to the oven or the fireplace. Mike and I think this is pretty adorable. He is dancing up a storm and somehow learned the sprinkler. Will loves his music and knows how to turn on the radio and get down with his bad self. He likes books and will sometimes sit down by himself and read. Will is still calling Mike, "mama", which cracks us up! I think he likes to call everyone mama right now. We like to play soccer outside and he can kick the ball. In fact, he loves being outside period. The boy is in constant motion. I feel very blessed that he has such a great disposition. He is very sweet, laughs easily, and has a lot of energy. Of course I am very biased!

The Pumpkin Patch

Will is excited about picking out his very own pumpkin
Will and his Daddy have made their decision. Will looks pretty serious about the whole matter, doesn't he?
Woo-hoo! We made it to the top!
Will and Daddy trying to find their way out of the corn maze
My boys

This weekend we went to the pumpkin patch, as you can tell from the pictures. We had a good time and it was a nice family outing. We couldn't find our way out of the corn maze, so we cheated by plowing through some corn stalks. I suppose if we had been more patient going through with a toddler we could have figured it out! Will definitely enjoyed the pumpkin patch more than he did last year. It was fun to have a toddler. He was excited about the tractor ride out to the pumpkins. The day before I was teaching him to blow kisses. Well, I guess he learned his lesson well because on the way back he blew a kiss to the baby girl sitting next to us on the hay ride. What a ham!

Playing Catch Up

Mike and William at the Portland Marathon. William paced Mike the last 6 miles to push him to the end. It worked...Mike finished in 3:04:26, which is a P.R.!

Kristin helped me out with Will. What a great little auntie! Apparently toddlers don't like to sit around and be spectators for too long! Kristin and I were there to cheer on our men. Carlos also ran the marathon. This was his first time. We are so proud of him!!! Unfortunately, I was a slacker with the camera and didn't capture him on film. He is on video though!

The classic birthday cake picture. Don't count the candles!

Mom and I celebrated our birthdays together. I was her late birthday present many years ago. It was such a nice night hanging out, eating pizza peddler pizza and laughing with my family. Jeff gave mom a new nickname of Grandma Fonzarelli. I think that's where the laughing came in!

Some of you may have noticed that it's been a while since my last blog. Hmmm...I won't give you too many lame excuses. I do have to tell you that it has been pretty busy around here. Mike has run a marathon, I turned another year older, and I also helped put on an inservice conference for teachers last Friday. I am the president of my local reading council this year so my responsibilities have grown quite a bit! Anyway, here are some photos of the past week or so...

The New Look

Thanks for the comments to all of you who are leaving them for me! Some of you have complimented the new look of the old blog. Well, I have a confession to make. I was checking out some websites, surfing from link to link when I found this one...

http://www.matiekay.blogspot.com/

It is from a blog that I clicked on from Kara's site. It sounded like they wanted to advertise this website. Hopefully if they read this they won't think I'm too much of a stalker. Actually if they read this it means they are stalking me too. All's fair game in this crazy blogging world! So check out this site. She tells you exactly how to change your background, step by step. It's pretty easy and I'm glad I found it. Thought some of you fellow bloggers might enjoy it as well.