Oh Christmas tree...

Yesterday, we went to our local florist shop and bought our Christmas tree. It’s a smaller that normal tree for us but I was happy with it. Elliott wasn’t as I found out when we all climbed back into the truck with the tree in the back. He looked grumpy with his head down so I asked him what was wrong. He told me, rather loudly, “I don’t like the tree!” I told him it’ll look nice once we have it decorated. He wasn’t convinced; however, he helped John cut the stump and get the stand attached.

Once inside, and placed in the corner, I strung lights around it. This year they wanted colored lights because we have decorated with white lights for the last couple of years. So colored lights, and some blinking lights, wrap the tree. Once I moved out of the way, they decorated the tree with ornaments from their boxes (I buy them an ornament every year, a tradition that my aunt started for her nieces and nephews – thank you Aunt Shirley, I love and miss you!)
End result – beautiful. Just BEAUTIFUL.


It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Saturday, Olivia made sugar cookies. Little snowmen, stars and trees. She decorated them yesterday. They turned out fabulous and so very tasty.

John hunted Saturday morning and it was a cold (brrr) one. I am glad I am not a hunter. I would have to bundle up to stay warm. I’d look like a camouflaged stay-puff marshmallow man. I definitely would not attempt climbing up a ladder to sit in a tree stand. I planned a nice dinner for him as he worked on the window sills and trim all afternoon. They are looking very nice. He stains them to match the cabinets and then applies a finish to them so it is a time-consuming project. No we won’t have the three windows trimmed before the family Christmas gathering, but we might have one completely trimmed. In the meantime, I am in love with the sill above the sink. It is beautiful.


So dinner was parmesan chicken, roasted potatoes, corn and bread. I tried a new recipe – triple cheese bread. It was delicious. I know that because we all ate two slices.

Triple Cheese Bread
¾ cup water
2 tsp. yeast
3 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter, soft
½ cup cheddar, shredded
½ cup cottage cheese
3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan

Dissolve the yeast in ¼ cup of the lukewarm water. Add the remaining ingredients and mix and knead by hand, in your mixer or in your bread machine on the dough cycle to make a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured board and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Place on a greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Punch down the dough, form it into a 9-inch log and place it in a greased 9”x5” loaf pan. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until the bread domes an inch above the rim of the pan. Bake the risen dough in a preheated 350˚F oven for 30-35 minutes.

If making dinner rolls, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape into rolls. Place the rolls on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake the risen dough in a preheated 350˚F oven for 20-25 minutes for rolls.

Remove from the oven, and serve rolls warm; or let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before tipping out of the pan to cool on a rack before slicing.

Yield: 12 rolls or 1 loaf. (This recipe was clipped from the side of a King Arthur flour bag.) This recipe is a keeper!

I tried another recipe Sunday morning. I found it on Pinterest while browsing that site. Cinnamon Roll Cake. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Just measure, mix, pour, top, bake then drizzle. Well, it smelled good and baked nicely. I drizzled it after baking and Olivia and I tried it. We were…disappointed. I’m not sure what I really expected. Can you really have a quick recipe when the traditional recipe is dough not cake? It cooled and I covered the pan. John tried it when he came up from working. He ate two pieces and said it was really good. Same cake? So Olivia and I tried a bite of the now cool cake. Yes, it was better. Apparently this is a cake you need to eat once it is cool (although peoples comments about the delicious hot cake were posted). Cinnamon buns you eat warm from the oven. I like to unroll them as I eat as the center part has the most cinnamon-sugar. But that’s just me! Elliott has not tried this cake yet so I’ll wait to see what his thoughts are about it before I poll for votes.


If you’d like to try it yourself, here’s the recipe for Cinnamon Roll Cake:

Cake:
3 c. flour
1/4 tsp.salt
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. butter, melted

Topping:
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes.

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

While warm, drizzle the glaze over the cake.

Other weekend activities - painting new bird feeders




Decorating trees for the bay window
Elliott's tree:


Olivia's tree:



Notice my new curtains also. We love them!

Relaxing in front of the television



Busy, busy, busy!

Facing Giants

We all have giants we face throughout our lives. Bad people. Bad things. Obstacles that make us stronger. The Panthers faced giants on October 30. It was their second play off game. Win this game, they go to the Super Bowl. We are so proud of the 7 and 8-year old football team. (As well as the 9-10 year old team (working hard) and the 11-12 year old team (undefeated!)

We had a drive that morning. It was a cold drive and as we got closer to the area they'd be playing in, 2 inches of snow (or more) covered the ground and the trees and fields were covered with a thick layer of frost. As we continued to drive up and out into the backwoods to Jackson Pond, I laughed and said, "I hope they plow the field." It was no laughing matter, the field had been plowed.



We came prepared. Some what. Almost. Parents brought food for the tailgate since the last game we attended did not have a concession stand. We took meatballs and rolls, cookies, mini cupcakes and bags of popcorn. We had fun decorating the bags. Just a simple way to show our school spirit and support for this team that has worked to become a great team.



The field was plowed, the field was wet and the opposing team on the field was HUGE compared to our team. To put some perspective to the players, I think the heaviest player on our team weighed 85 pounds. The other team, had numerous players that tipped the scale at 125 pounds. Yep, one proud father told parents on our sideline that. Not only were they heavier but taller. I wondered if they were actually the 7 and 8 year old team. Nevertheless, our sons and daughter, were facing giants today. The temperature and wet field did not help but we were all cheering them on.

They lost this game. This loss ended their season. They were upset. To come one game away from the Super Bowl playoff, is nothing but disappointing but their fans were and are so proud of them. They held the giants and managed to put a score on the board. Not a total loss. Not a shutout! They learned a lot about their game and how they play it on that day. So proud of you Panthers!

Trophies

Yesterday we attended our son’s football banquet. He was so excited because he was going to get a trophy. The weather was very nice for mid-November in upstate New York. As dishes and crockpots were carried inside, the boys gathered outside. After calling the football players inside, the extremely long line formed for to weave through tables weighed down with lots of great smelling (and tasty) food. Our son wasn’t hungry. He wanted to go outside to play football. He complained about the room being hot, too many people and we really shouldn’t ask him another question pertaining to food or drink ‘cause he was not hungry! So he sat at the table quietly. I think he was stewing. He was upset. He wanted his trophy and he wanted to leave. Forget the pomp and circumstance. Inside I was giggling at him. If he only knew. He wasn’t hungry until I offered him a piece of ham and a sweet butter roll. And he ate more than one sweet dessert when his sister brought baked items to the table. Not hungry – yeah right.

After eating, the coaches had the lights turned off and they started a video presentation. The music was BOOMING. It was too loud for me even with my ears plugged. We watched the great video and then trophies were handed out to the football players on the 7 and 8 year old team. As he handed a trophy to each player, the head coach said nice things about each of them. Elliott returned to our table with a huge grin and he wouldn’t put the trophy on the table. He did once, but quickly took it off when his sister touched it.

Here he is – ready to go since he has his trophy – his FIRST trophy in hand.


I attempted to take a picture of Elliott and his best bud but the lights went out to start the next presentation. Below are the two pictures I managed to get:




Go Panthers! See you next year on the football field.

One Game at a Time

Our routine has been out-of-sync since mid-August due to football practice three times a week. Weekend games. We miss the sit-down dinners with the four of us at the table. Usually the guys eat a quick, thrown-together dinner. They are getting ready to drive away when I pull in the driveway. Olivia and I then eat, clean up and have the evening together. The guys arrive home talking loudly about practice and the pending game. It’s hard to get them focused on what needs to be done – snack, dressed for bed, teeth brushed then tuck-in time. I try to maintain some form of schedule with this new addition to our family life. We have become proud parents of an athlete. Our daughter has been a silent supporter.

And over time, the enjoyment of watching these young seven and eight year olds play this game, increases. Their first game was terrible. They did not know where they were to stand on the field or what to do. Running around like chickens with their heads cut off comes to mind when I think back to that game in early September. They lost that one. Back to the practice field. Second game was different. They won. They played better and the score boosted their confidence. Game three was almost a blow-out, 37-6. The fourth game was my favorite. They were all working together. The other team scored once and our team took the game from there. They listened to their coaches; they even passed the ball and ran with it. They walked off the field winners once again. The next game was an edge-of-the-seat game. Tied at 18-18 with six minutes left. It was cold and starting to rain. The other team was working their way down the field. We were not holding them. Then their little lightning bolt got his hands on the ball and he was gone. Some of those boys run so fast it is incredible. It was another loss for the Panthers but they are having a great season overall. They won their last game. They shut the other team out, 18-0. And so, this team continues to go to practice as they played their way into the playoffs. Incredible! All the focus is on getting to the Super Bowl.

I have to say, our youth teams get support not only from their parents and family but from the school district as well. They get to play on the high school football field. The concession stand is manned during all three youth games. The teams were announced during half-time at one of the high school games. They were in uniform and ran from the end zone to the 50 yard line when their name was announced. Win or lose, when the players came off the field, spectators lined up to cheer for them, clap them on the back and say good game to each and every one of them. Isn’t that great? We want them to have fun, learn how to play the game and know that they are doing a great job.

It’s been a pleasure watching this young group of boys and girl, develop into a winning team. A team that plays by the rules. A team that plays hard. A team that plays together.

They had their first play-off game this past Sunday. Once again, they played the team that they played first this season. We played at their home stadium. On turf. We went. They played. Panthers won! 26 to 12. Their little lightning boy intercepted the ball and ran to the end zone. Panthers understood this and came together to stop this boy and they succeeded. It was a great win!

I have supported the team by attending every game, cheering from the bleachers or sidelines until hoarse, baking items for the concession stand and working the concession stand. It has been a fun experience for me and our family.

And if I am not crazy enough, I thought I should make jersey cookies for the team. Twenty-nine numbered cookies. Originally, I wanted to decorate the cookies to look like the back of their jerseys. They have sharp looking uniforms! Black, white and red. However, Elliott wanted me to make the cookies look like the front of their jerseys. So together we designed how I would decorate the cookies. I was going to frost the cookies by flooding them with frosting. A technique that I tried only once before and I used a different frosting. Obviously, I did not think this through very well. I decided to use another frosting and I was not happy with it but I had 29 players that I wanted to gift so I did not give up. Pictures of the cookies becoming Panther jerseys:

I wanted to give up on these cookies but when my little guy kept checking on my progress and saying how wonderful they were and he loved me, I was motivated to finish each and every one of them. Elliott, I love you too and you and your teammates are all WINNERS in my book. Just like the tag on their cookie bag said! Go Panthers! We are so proud of all of you.










And here are the Panthers lining up to say Good Game to the other team:


Good Luck Sunday - we'll be cheering you on! Go Panthers!!!

Rolling through

Flu shots for the kids tomorrow. No sleeping in as I want to be at doctors’ office at 7:45. In and out so we can get back home. Pumpkins to carve. Baking to do. Football on Sunday. The list goes on and on.

And time is flying by!

October is almost over. Halloween is creeping up on us. Treat-or-treaters will be out knocking on doors soon. Are they coming to your house? We, living out in the country, don’t get costumed children knocking on our door. I still buy some candy because I have to have something when our kids knock on the door. Ahha. Real reason I buy candy? The Big Guy likes to eat it and the kids don’t necessarily like that he eats it so fast. We do put all their goodies in a bowl so everyone can enjoy it so what candy I buy, supplements their fun.

Last weekend we decorated for the fall/Halloween season. We need to get pumpkins this weekend as we have a carving kit (first time I have bought one) so some serious carving will take place. I usually make templates but this kit has templates and the kids have already chosen their design. Oh, costumes and our kids. Well, Elliott, once again, plans to be a football player. Olivia is going to throw something together but she isn’t going to go trick-or-treating. Elliott said, “That’s weird”. Honestly, I have to agree with him.

Good news for our first year football player. This Sunday, his team starts their play-off games. Can the Panthers make it to the Super Bowl? We’ll be cheering them on! Our 11-12 year old Panther team is undefeated and they are the number one team in the western, central and eastern regions of NYS.

The school year is going very well. Olivia brought home her 5-week marking period grades last week. She is so focused on her academics. All A’s and wonderful comments from all of her teachers. We attended Open House at the elementary school this past Wednesday. Elliott is doing very well also. I have a parent-teacher conference next month. He is excelling in his spelling (advanced spelling lists and he has a 100% average). Can school life get any better than this? I came home last night and the house was quiet. Hey, I'm home. They were both snuggled in a quiet place...reading. My little book worms. Olivia’s almost to the end of her mystery book and she believes she knows who committed the crime. She cannot finish is fast enough. Elliott is half-way through his book and read more than 50 pages yesterday. I love book club time in our house.

Progress in the kitchen has been slow. We did however get a light purchased and installed. It is above the sink and I love it. I was skeptical buying one pendant light for that location. But I am happy I took a chance and ordered the perfect light that I wanted. I just love it and it goes well with the others in the kitchen. We have one more light to buy. We need a large light above the cooktop and island. We have decided on one light, so I’ll get it ordered soon.

Progress on my baking through the alphabet has been slow. A lot slower than I planned. Actually it has been stalled for some time. That doesn’t mean I am not baking. (I have been whispering to myself – bake that J recipe.) Oh no, I have been busy in the kitchen. The oven has been allowed to cool down. I just have not tried any NEW recipes. I am on J. I had a cheesecake picked out – Jolene’s apple-caramel cheesecake recipe that I clipped from a magazine. Well, I decided I will make a cheesecake but not that one. At work, in another office, they have the Junior’s Cheesecake cookbook. So I will be making a Junior’s cheesecake at home. I drooled through this cookbook. I copied a pumpkin swirl cheesecake and an apple caramel cheesecake. I want to make every recipe in this cookbook. Just look at these photos:








Are you drooling too?

Makes you want to buy all the cream cheese your local store has and lock yourself in the kitchen, doesn't it? Oh, that would be a great weekend. I’d make more than just cheesecake too. That weekend will happen, just not this weekend.

So I’ll leave you with sweet, smooth cravings of cheesecake on your mind and I’ll check back in next week.

Needing to sleep

Life has been fast-paced these last few weeks for our family. No time to blog or when I do, the desire is not there. Sorry. Football practice is three times a week so as I pull into the driveway, the guys are getting ready to leave. Quick hellos and in passing we chat: how was your day, good luck and see you when you get home. We two girls are getting to spend a lot of time with Ruddie. Not that we signed up for that. He is a good pup though. He needs his exercise so we get out and play with him after we eat dinner and clean up. Add school work on top of this, papers to sign, days and other things to talk about. I feel like we all hold our breath until the weekend arrives. Are we living for the weekends? It feels like it. Yet they are just as busy. This weekend we had shopping to do as they both needed jeans. We found some and on sale. Smile! Olivia also shopped with her birthday gift cards and she got her ears pierced. She called her father to make sure it would be okay and he approved. She did it! She has beautiful September birthstones in her lobes. She felt faint after the piercings but lunch and the car headed toward home made her feel better.

The night before, that would be Friday night, she had a dance to go to and Elliott’s team was invited to the varsity football game after their practice. It was a dreary rainy night. Not cold but damp and wet. The youth football teams were introduced during halftime! Here he is waiting for half-time:

Below, in the dark picture, they are getting ready to line up and walk to the end zone.

What a great way to show support for the up-and-coming football players and cheerleaders. Go Panthers! So after that excitement, I went to pick up our dancing girl. I was escorted by a football player.

Besides running the roads, and settling into a some-what routine, we have been a sickly bunch. Olivia was sniffling the night of her slumber party. The two girls were picking on her saying “what do you expect when you sit by so and so and they are sick?” They had a fun time – lots of food, cake and a late night. Elliott decided to be the photographer as a way to hang out with them for a while.

Three raccoon-looking girls sat at our breakfast bar that morning. So after one day of school, one child was sick. The first week of school (the week started on a Wednesday) was very short. Due to the rain and flooding, school was cancelled Thursday and Friday. We had lots of rain, our lower pond flooded over but we did not suffer damage as surrounding towns did.

Our drainage ditch, trying to keep up with the water fall

Second sickness hit Monday night after football practice. His system cleaned itself thoroughly. I was home Tuesday, shampooing carpets, washing bedding, cleaning bathrooms…just a busy day. He bounced right back and wanted to go to school but I told him he needed the rest and he couldn’t share this with his classmates. Wednesday, I woke up with a terrible cold. I am still fighting it but we all seem to be on the road to health again.

Before we got sick, I made a loaf of bread that was soooo good. I had made it years ago but as I browsed through my collection, I noted it and made it for Sunday afternoon. Yummy – light and airy. Great warm with lots of butter. Great toasted with butter too. It disappeared real quick.

I have yet to make my J recipe. Why? It’s a good one; rather, it looks to be a good one. This weekend I will make it. We have a football game to go to as a family and then Elliott’s game is Sunday. The weather looks to be wet and rainy so I hope we don’t have to endure the game undercover. Although, if the game is played like this past Saturday's game (37-6), I won't care what the weather is like!

Winners walking off the field


Hot and happy - another win!

Rain, Rain, Rain

Today is our third day of rain. Dark days and lots of water falling from the sky. Today was the first day of school! Guess what? Due to the weather, the schools were closed early today. That decision only affected our daughters’ school day. If that wasn’t enough, I received an email stating the bus that I usually take to and from work, was picking up early – 3 hours earlier – due to the weather. I called my Big Guy and told him about the closings and the early bus route. As I type this, he is on his way home. He’s going to call me to tell me if I need to leave work early. I don’t mind rain, but I don’t like being stranded AWAY from my family and home because a creek is flooded.

Labor Weekend is behind us. We labored some. We played some. We relaxed and celebrated! Our son had his first football game on Sunday. It was a hot and humid day. 88˚ plus humidity. Dressed in black from head to toe, he played almost the whole game. Not bad for his first year. Although his team lost, we are proud of their effort and sportsmanship. It is hard to watch those little guys walk off that field with sad eyes. Our son just wanted to go home and we weren’t supposed to talk to him about the game. We talked later after he cooled off – in more ways than one. He is now looking forward to winning his next game (fingers crossed, so are we) this Saturday. We saw improvement from the first quarter to the last in his first game. Way to go!


Look for 43 (pre-game warmup).

We also celebrated our daughters’ eleventh birthday on September 6. WOW! Where have those eleven years gone? She is a beauty. For their birthday, they get to chose their cake (or pie) and dinner. She wanted steak, mashed potatoes and corn. She is a pie person. She has a favorite - coconut cream pie. I however, suggested making an Impossible Pie. It has coconut in it (selling point) and it can be my I recipe! She agreed. I was happy. As her brother and I mixed this one-bowl (thus impossible) pie up, she got busy frosting her cupcakes. Her brother is not a fan of pie, so to include him in the celebration, she made cupcakes and then got to practice her frosting techniques. (She plans to have her own cupcake bakery but that’s another story). So after mixing all the ingredients together, dumping it into a pie plate, I put it in the oven for 1 hour. It smelled delicious and looked delicious.
What do you think?



Impossible Pie
recipe submission-Ruth Phillips from The Joy of Sharing Cookbook, Magnolia United Methodist Church – a gift from my sister)

4 eggs
¼ cup butter
1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking powder
2 cups milk
1 cup coconut
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients well in a blender (we mixed in a bowl). Pour into a 10-inch pie plate. Bake 1 hour at 350˚. Cool complete. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Well, I have to say…I LOVE THIS PIE. It has a wonderful flavor. A custard base and the sweet flavor of coconut tops it off. Unfortunately, our daughter said she did not like it after eating her birthday slice. The Big Guy tried a bite and said he is not fond of custard. The Little Big Guy, even though we made him a small coconut-free pie, ate a cupcake. Yet this is a KEEPER, selfish that I am; however, I was kind enough to share this pie with my co-workers, as I would have eaten it all by myself and that is a no-no.

It’s quick. Easy. Okay, it has to bake for one hour and then cool but hey, it might be good warm too?! I might have to find out.

I am signing off with some pictures of the birthday girl who showered before we celebrated her birthday with yummy pie, cupcakes and presents.





First day of school pictures:


Not sure if she is trying to look cool or if I captured her attitude? (Actually, she was mad at me because I asked her to wear her new rain jacket to school. After all, it was pouring outside and she wanted me to order it.) Still love her though.

H.I.

What a weekend! We survived!

Big game on Sunday. Our son’s first football game – cancelled. Thanks Irene! I think it was just as well. To be honest, he was having second-thoughts about playing and said he was going to quit. I told him he could not quit. The team needed him. He is a first-string player. I did not want to stand in the rain to watch the game. I would have but I am glad I did not have to. Smile! Then he said I didn’t have to go. I told him, I was not going to miss a game. I also talked to him about practice and how it is different than the actual game. The games are fun. They are hard but they are fun. So now his first game will be Sunday, September 4. Three more practices to go before he hits the game field.

We were quite busy on Saturday. We all slept in – even the Big Guy! Then we went to the electrical store to look at lights. We mowed the lawn, cleaned gutters, and weeded the gardens. Our son was a big help. He asked to learn how to push mow. I let him push the mower a few times. Then he asked to help his father clean the gutters. He enjoyed getting up on the roof. He now wants to climb up there at night to lay there and watch the stars. Not sure that will happen. It would be just as enjoyable to spread a blanket down and lie on the ground and gaze at the stars. No fear of falling off a roof and getting injured. It was a beautiful, sunny day. We enjoyed the outdoors and had a nice dinner followed by a peaceful evening.

The rains came sometime in the wee morning hours. I heard the pitter-pitter of the rain drops. I heard swish-swish of the tree branches. We woke to a dark, wet morning. I wanted to crawl back into bed and stay there all day. It was a long day. I did get up. I did loads of laundry, I baked cookies, I made dinner, I cleaned, I sorted, and I read, knitted, puttered. I made dessert. Sunday was a long day. Irene came and went. We had a day of rain, rain and rain. Gusts of wind and lots of rain. No power outages. No downed trees. Our basement and garage stayed dry. We are thankful for that.

H.I. Hot Fudge Pudding Cake and Irene. What a mix, huh?

It was a perfect way to end the day. A keeper. Chocolately, fudgy, hot cake over vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
1 ¼ cup sugar, divided
1 cup flour
7 Tbsp. Hershey’s cocoa, divided
* (I used Wilbur's Breakfast Cocoa - it has a richer chocolate flavor)
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 ¼ cup hot water

Heat oven to 350˚F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ¾ cup sugar, flour, 3 Tbsp. cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend in the milk, melted butter and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour the batter into a square 8x8x2-inch pan.


In a small bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup sugar, brown sugar and remaining 4 Tbsp. cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter.


Pour the hot water over the top. DO NOT STIR!




Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes.



Spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from the bottom of the pan. Garnish as desired.



This is a rich dessert. Small servings are recommended but ENJOY!

Practice, practice, practice

Are you familiar with that old saying, Practice makes perfect?

To be good at anything, you need to practice.
It takes time. Dedication. Commitment.

It is a hard lesson to teach. A lesson that both of our children have difficulty wrapping their brain around. They want to be GREAT at whatever their particular interest may be – football, baking, drawing, running – right away. The first time they try an activity they want to ace it. Then they get upset because they cannot reach their expectations. They put too much pressure on themselves. They get discouraged quickly. Too quickly. Patiently, we have to explain to them that their father, myself and any other person, cannot do something perfect on the first try. Just give it your best shot each and every time and you’ll reach your potential. Just give it the best you have.

Since they are living the lesson now, I think they are starting to understand that practice does make one better. They improve a little each time at practice. Our Little Big Guy has football practice three times each week for 2 hours. That is a long practice for a 7 ½ year old. And at first, he wasn’t sure about committing to the sport. He wanted to play. He did not want to play. A few weeks back, we asked him to go to practice one more time and then he could tell us whether he wanted to quit or continue. We are proud to say, he is not a quitter. I think the team concept unnerved him a little. He was afraid he would not be good enough. We told him you are playing to have fun, to learn the game and be a good sport. It’s not about winning but how you play the game. It’s all about effort and still having fun. With each practice, he has become more confident. He knows what to do and what is expected of him. He listens and executes. He loves it and comes home pumped and excited. It’s hard to get the guys to stop talking and demonstrating. Practice nights make it a late night for our son. He falls into bed asleep!

Monday night, he floated into the house. His sister and I failed to notice. Yes, we heard them come home – talking loudly and dropping equipment to the floor. Then he loudly asked us, “Did you notice my jersey?” With that, you bet we did. Number 43 . What a sharp jersey too! I had the camera out so I asked if I could take a picture. This is what I got...




After snapping one, he wanted to get his football. Only two more practices before his first, FIRST, game this Sunday. We’ll be supporting the whole team and cheering #43 on.




Go Panthers go!

While the guys were at practice, our daughter was practicing herself. She was in the kitchen. Baking. She wanted to bake all by herself. So while I washed dishes, she dirtied dishes. It was a great night in the kitchen. She went to work and did not ask many questions. I watched her from sink side; trying not to hover. She did not like my way of filling the cupcake forms, but it worked. She wants a scoop like the scoop the bakers use on Food Network Cupcake Wars. That show is currently her favorite! Once the cupcakes were put in the oven, we mixed up the frosting together. She now knows my secret to homemade frosting. No secret, but because I pulled out a recipe instead of mixing ingredients up until they tasted right...she knows! She added green food coloring, filled the frosting bag and set to work. I left her to practice her technique as I took Ruddie out to play.

She did a fantastic job! The 24 cupcakes look marvelous. She'll be treating our daycare family to some tomorrow. I am not surprised but more importantly, she was pleased with the finished results. Makes me happy!









Some of her decorated cupcakes. Great job, don't you think?



Looks like she is pleased.

The night ended with each of us eating a deliciously decorated cupcake!

Here's to practice. I look forward to the next time she wants to practice...so are her brother and father.