Merry Christmas one and all!

leaving cookies and milk for Santa...

Caught in the act!

Charles in charge

Woe is me. Bob is in Vegas for 7 days. I must clarify that this is for work, but I am no less feeling abandoned and a bit jealous. He's staying in the Trump tower in a gorgeous room and gets to be wined and dined by pharmacy equipment sales reps. Well, he does also have to sit through boring lectures such as: Metformin use in renal dysfunction or Withdrawal symptoms after dicontinuation of transdermal scopolamine therapy. But, he probably gets to listen in while consuming unlimited amounts of good coffee and probably mini muffins. Anyway, we're here on our own for the week and Bob made the 'mistake' of telling Charlie that he was "in charge" while he was gone. This morning as we left for church and I gave my usual, "You need to listen to Mommy and be quiet" speech, Charlie informed me, "But Mom, you need to listen to me because remember Daddy said that I'm in charge?" On a sweeter note, Charlie gave Bob his stuffed penguin ornament "Pengly" to take with him and "keep him company." So, Bob has been sending shots of Pengly in Vegas to humor us all while he's away.

As if I'm not forlorn enough, Amelia has officially grown out of the cutest boots ever (a gift from Aunty Beth). Boo hoo below:

But, as usual, there are too many cheery things in the world to stay gloomy for long...


Charlie came home from pre-school the other day "hee-hawing" and told me that he is going to be a donkey in the school Christmas play. It is embarrassing to admit how excited I was and am--to see my little boy in a play.


A Christmas house is so heart-warming. We have this little mantle advent calendar of sorts where a ceramic snowman slides along the dates. Somehow, the snowman keeps ending up on Christmas (hmmm, Charlie)? Here he is, once again, sliding Frosty back to his rightful spot on the calendar.

“Sweet is the breath of vernal shower,
The bee's collected treasures sweet,
Sweet music's melting fall,
but sweeter yet
The still small voice of gratitude.” –Thomas Gray

Fall is such a wonderful time of year. It's also my favorite time to cook and bake because there are such wholesome and yummy foods to pick up at the market. I've gotten into butternut squash this year, pumpkin, apples of course, and leeks. Mmmm, I would love to make a different soup every day. Just the other day I saw a recipe for Pumpkin Shallot Soup that you actually bake in the pumpkin--probably not going to make in to our table, but how cool! There is also that subtle air of expectancy because Thanksgiving and Christmas are just a smidge away and there are projects to be dreamed up, started (and maybe finished); parties to plan; lists to make and revise; halls to deck; Christmas movies to watch; food food food; and visits to Wegmans galore--all of which are my favs. Of course none of this is related to the pics I posted below. I'm catching up to make sure that I've shared some Halloween photos and the shots of Charlie at his preschool "farm party"--love those! Heard on Halloween:

• Aaron: "Charlie, you picked fruit snacks? That's not even candy!"
• Charlie the Turtle when asked what (ninja) turtle he was: "I'm not any kind of turtle. (pause) Oh, I'm a snapping turtle!"
• Amelia: Silent because she was too busy eating through the packaging of each candy she received. See last pic below of what we found in her bag, already sampled.
  

Feeling Thankful

...for my husband this morning. Maybe since he ran to Wegmans after work late last night to get me the ricotta I needed, then also picked up some muffins and left them out on the counter to greet the kiddos and me when we got up in the morning. Oh and also because he and another brave dad are watching a gaggle of kids (8 total!) today so that us gals can go out and spend the day with our pal who is up from S.C. The great thing is, these little greatnesses happen often and sure do a lot to make life grand. I'm a lucky gal...oh, and the kids like him quite a bit too.

Carsada Farms Fall 2009

three kiddos (on one chair) surveying the farm out our window on Friday morning...

We jumped at the chance, this Fall, for a long weekend up at the farm in Malone. Not-so-perfect timing though, Uncle David and Carl were headed out for an international cow show in Wisconsin. I kind of wondered what kind of animals were represented there; any Holsteins from Bangladesh or Guernseys from Timbuktu? he he. We did come on a weekend when there was a Huskies home football home game though, so we got to see cousin Sam "the slam" Moore in action on the field. We stayed at the cozy blue house, on the property of the farm, which is so cutely decorated and is the perfect little farm cottage. Charlie and Aaron loved roaming around and I believe Charlie may have added "hay mow" to his list of all-time favorite places.

Baling twine, favorite thing.

Poor Sam had an injury during the game -- he plays both offensive and defensive line--fortunately it was minor and the team still pulled off a win! Poor Aunt Kris (Sam's mom) was in a tough spot and, when the injury occurred, worriedly asked if she should go down to the sideline to check on him. Sam's younger bro Aaron said firmly, "Mom, he said you should never go down there EVER." Kind of made me chuckle;)

Rollin' down the hill at Malone High.

Super fans, Great Gram and Amelia.

Amelia and her Papa.

Calf feeding time. Our fam loves being part of this twice-daily fun. I'm sure our city slicker enjoyment entertains our rellies to no end. Mom (a farm girl at heart since she grew up here) and I always take charge of the bottle-feeding for those little spindly-legged newborns. It is a sloppy job (lots of calf slobber and I think a rowdy bull may have bit a hole in my jacket) but makes you feel very alive and utilitarian. Bob even set his alarm so he could get over early to do "chores" before we left Sunday. Needless to say, Mom and Mia slept in. Yeah, we're not that dedicated.

Loved to see little Ry Guy in the barn. He had no fear of the calves and stood there patiently as this particular Holstein sucked the life out of his fingers!

Till next time, we love you Moore fam!

Apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze

I myself don't really subscribe to the cheese and apples rule, but my Grandma always recites that saying and it makes me laugh!

I just could not get over the size of these apples! Uncle Rog has a bumper crop and their pickin' is in full swing with Jayne at the helm of the pallet sled. It was cool to watch them all in action. These apples are awesome for pie-baking, you can scale down your peelin' and corin' from 5-6 apples to just 3-4 of these monsters. For kid snackin', I liked this idea...

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/mini-caramel-apples-688916/

And if you're swimming in red and golden goodness like we are (but don't need to make applesauce because your 91-year-old Grandmother supplies the entire family!), here's another winner recipe:

Apple cake
2 C sugar
2/3 C oil
2 C flour
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
C chopped walnuts
5 green apples, thinly sliced

Beat eggs and oil until foamy, Add rest of ingredients. Bake in a greased 9 x12 pan 45 min. at 350 degrees. Frosting (If you're lucky enough to have Manda's frosting recipe, I substitute that instead--) Beat 2 C powdered sugar. 3 Tsp melted buter, 2 tsp vanilla and 6 oz cream cheese. Frost cake. Eat. Enjoy, Then eat another piece.

This recipe is pretty good too, Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/caramel-apple-cheesecake-bars-with-streusel-topping-recipe/index.html. *If you're appletite is still unsatisfied, you can always try your hand at Apple Brandy, recipe below.

This piece of fruit is amazing, crazy to think that China produces more apples than we do!

• The apple is a pomaceous fruit, prized for its high yields and long storage life. It is easy to ship, resistant to disease, and popular for its flavor which can be sweet or tart, depending on the varietal. Roughly 55 million tons of apples are produced each year.

• Fast Facts

  1. China is the largest grower, followed by the U.S.
  2. Washington State accounts for 60% of the U.S. commercial apple market
  3. Often made into apple pie, applesauce, apple juice and vinegar.
  4. High in fiber
  5. Fermented apple juice becomes Hard Cider
  6. Fermented and distilled apple juice produces Applejack or Apple Brandy
  7. Pippin is the name used instead of apple for several tart varieties.

• Top 10 Apple Producers

  1. China
  2. United States (Top Grower: Excelsior Farms)
  3. Turkey
  4. Iran
  5. Italy
  6. France
  7. Poland
  8. Russia
  9. Germany
  10. India

  
  

  Popular Apple Varieties

  1. Granny Smith Apple
  2. Gala Apple
  3. Golden Delicious Apple
  4. Red Delicious Apple
  5. Fuji Apple
  6. Braeburn Apple
  7. Pinata Apple
  8. Empire Apple
  9. McIntosh Apple
  10. Pink Lady Apple
  11. Rome Beauty Apple
  12. Pippin Apple
  13. Ginger Gold Apple
  14. Gravenstein Apple
  15. Honeycrisp Apple
  16. Jonagold Apple

What's yer favorite flavor???? I vote for Empire and Honeycrisp, although I love the name Pippin Apple...

Moo is 2

Sweet Amelia M. Moo is officially 2! We celebrated with a "Tu-2 Tea Party" for the gals. When did my little bald babbling baby turn into a walking, talking, willful and wonderful toddler (no connection between the willful and wonderful obviously)? Between these birthday and pre-school milestones, I'm getting way too sentimental. Perhaps it's time for another baby...

Returning from upstairs to continue post...or perhaps the perceived "maturity" of my growing kids is just a mirage after all. I just ran up to check on Charlie who was moaning loudly in his bunk. He was obviously having a bad dream so I pulled him down to comfort him. He was muttering senseless dream mumbles in his sleepy state and it was kind of nice to snuggle with him for a minute. And then I realized he was peeing on me.

Almost 2!

In Aunt Kat's tradition, she took Amelia to Build-A-Bear to 'construct' an animal for her 2-year-old birthday (Sweet Auntie that she is). Kathleen left Monday for Kentucky to start her travel P.T. job. We miss her terribly--seeing her little blue car in the driveway, her happy greetings each day after work, play time and tub time with the kiddos and, her scrubbing of my kitchen sink until it gleamed like the noonday sun.

Amelia chose to stuff a cat, no surprises there. The kid is in love with cats or "meows." Two of my girlfriends have cats and whenever she is at their homes, she follows the poor animals around chatting it up with them in a high screechy voice. Nana would be proud!!

We tried repeatedly to get her to name her cat, but she just kept saying, "Girl." This is also her reply whenever anyone asks her name. She likes to be very clear about gender--must be her brother's influence. A couple times of day, most days, she recites her creed of, "Mia-girl. Mommy-big girl. Char Char-boy. Daddy-big boy." Sometimes she mixes it up though. Poor Aunt Kat, for some reason, usually gets placed in the "boy" category--most likely because that statement results in a long tickling session with the offended Aunt;)