Day 215 (10/21): Karaoke SuperFreaks

And the weirdness continues from my child and my neice.  I'm going to have to give them lessons on video recorder placement so we can check out all their moves but it is still hilarious!

Day 214 (10/20): Weirdos!

Last time we went down to El Dorado, we left Colton at my brothers house.  And this is what they did...


Oh I wonder what they will think about this video when they get older? 

Day 213 (10/18): Crazy Hair Day

Our morning routine is usually filled with a flurry of activity with both Colton and I not wanting to get up in the morning.  So we both wait until the last minute and then have to rush to get everything done - shower, get ready, sign the planner, finish up homework (Colton) or finish up grading (me), take the trash out, or whatever other duties around the house need to be completed before we leave for the day.

Today Colton asks me to spike his hair.  I got so excited...it was like having a girl for a day...I got to do his hair!  I wondered what the occasion was because he doesn't even let the barber spike it and then I found out when I picked up the neighbors - Crazy Hair Day at school.

The pictures are horrible as they were taken in the car with a phone but you get the idea.  Spiking his hair was a whole heck of a lot easier than putting all these ponytails in my neighbors hair!  So maybe I don't want to have girls every morning and all that hair!

Day 212 (10/12): Wanted: Snake Wrangler

Do you know of any good snake hunters?   If so, could you send them my way...and fast!  Tonight I took the clothes out of the hamper and put them in the washing machine.  I reached down seeing something black in the bottom of the basket and realized quickly it was not a sock!  It was a slithering snake sticking it's tongue out at me.  I'm sure the neighbors heard me scream at the top of my lungs when I about grabbed that slippery legless carnivorous beast!

I remember one night watching TV at my moms house and a mouse plopped on my lap as I was laying on the couch.  I also screamed like they do in scary movies when that happened and proceeded to sleep in the car until that mouse was caught!  So the thought crossed my mind tonight and I thought about sleeping in my car.  I needed to stay strong for Colton, right?  Inside I was a quivering wimpy kid.  I wanted to sleep in that car so bad instead of the snake infested house.  On the outside I was telling myself that there could only be one, right?  I had contained it to the porch in the basket waiting for Colton to take care of it and I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

My mom wanted me to kill it.  First off mom, I'm not a murderer.  Second...um...how?  I can't even stand to look at it, let alone, try to touch it.  

Now I'm left wondering...how did that thing get in my laundry basket?  How long has it been living in there?  Just creepy.  I won't be able to do laundry without a 10 ft. grabber to pick through it hoping another snake doesn't pop out at me.  I won't be able to walk through my house with the lights off in the middle of the night for fear of stepping on a slimy slitherer.  I won't be able to sit down on the toilet without checking and double checking what might be swimming down in there.  I will have to check my covers every night for creepy crawlers looking for a warm place to hole up at night.  Uggghhhh.......wish me luck!

Day 211 (10/10): Love my little football player

Saturday we spent another day "footballing" - watching Colton play and then watching the Wildcats with another KSU win!  The Manhattan Indians did not get as lucky - they fought hard but their game ended in a tie.

The parents watched in anticipation as the first overtime started.  It was nerve wracking.  This was a team that had beat us 3 times last year. I really wanted them to win. The first overtime ended with both teams scoring so we went into a second overtime. 

The opposing team had the ball first and they did not score.  My hopes were high that we could punch one in and beat this team.  Stalemate - we didn't score either - so we ended in a tie.  Did I mention I hate ties?  I always feel like it was a waste of time, waste of fight to end in a tie.  It leaves you with this empty hollow feeling.  Ever think of how lousy Rocky IV would be if it ended in a draw?  There was a Navy football coach that said games ending in a deadlock were like kissing your sister.  I wouldn't know anything about that but...well....gross.  Let the kids play it out until there is a winner.  There's no kissing in football besides the opposing team kissing the field while we tackle them.

Now onto bigger and better things.  We played the cowboys from Abilene on Sunday.  The boys played AWESOME!  It was like everyone was playing as a team, the linemen were keeping their blocks and we were scoring!  It was a fun game to watch. Colton was excited because his teacher came to watch.

I like it when I get to see the big boys of KSU running a football across that goal line but I LOVE it when it is my own kiddo running across that goal line.  Colton scored!  It was off of a play that they had been practicing this past week.  He didn't think it would work and I think he was surprised at how open he was to receive the pass and run it in.  It was a flawless play!  Yea INDIANS! 

I guess the tie must have lit a fire in our team and they were bound and determined to win.  So maybe tiees can be good sometimes...although I hope we don't get another one.

Day 210 (10/9): Who's ringing your bells?

I was a member of the bell choir when I attended First United Methodist Church in El Dorado so I was super excited to hear that Colton would be playing bells at church as part of the youth group.  Saturday night I got a chuckle from the following conversation:

Me:  What notes do you play - like A-flat, C, E-sharp?
Colton:  I don't know
Me:  So what bells do you play - are they big or little?
Colton:  I don't know
Me:  So how do you know when you are supposed to play?
Colton:  I don't know
Me:  So do you play at the right time in the music?
Colton:  Sometimes

Oh boy..I thought this ought to be interesting sounding at church.  Who knows if he even knows how to read music? 

He also told me how the girl standing next to him was in 6th grade and she was always on her phone so she would always ask him where they were at in the music.  That gave me hope at least he knows that much so it can't sound that bad, right?

Well here it is...his bell playing debut.  He liked playing the chime better so he practiced with the bell and got out the chime for the real performance.  The song was called Amazing Love and it didn't sound too bad.  I love the head bobbing and the sheer concentration on counting the beat. 

Day 209 (10/7): Tailgate Goodies

It costs approximately $500 to be a part of a traveling baseball team to pay for the tournaments, uniform and equipment.  So starting in the Fall we start raising money.  The most time consuming and back breaking...literally...is putting the chairbacks in the KSU stadium.  And then in December we get to take them all back out again. My thighs, quads, back and other muscles or lack there of hurt for 3 days after we put them in.  It was torture and after I thought about it for a while..oh like 2 seconds..I think it would be easier to just pay the money for that fundraiser rather than put the chairs in.

So in a few weeks we are having a bake sale and I wanted to try out some new recipes by bringing them to the tailgate tomorrow.  GO CATS! 

Brownie Covered Oreos

Ingredients:
Package of Oreos - I used the halloween orange ones
Brownie Mix (9 x 13 pan size)
Ingredients to make brownies - usually eggs, oil and water
Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix up the brownies according to the directions.  I added the extra egg to make the cake like brownies.
3. Spray a muffin tin generously with Pam or other cooking spray.
4. Take your oreos and dunk them in the brownie batter.  I found that using a fork was less messy than a spoon.
5. Put a brownie covered oreo in each muffin tin.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes.
7. Take a knife and run around the edges of the brownie oreo in order to loosen it from the sides.  This is important  - you cannot skip this step or they will separate in the middle.  I had to taste this one!  :)

The oreos turn into a cakey goodness.  I decorated mine with an icing pen and tried to make KSU, football laces, wildcat paws.  The icing pen was too runny and the KSU looked like a blob so I ended up just drizzling them.  Now if only I could get OREO to make some purple oreos these would be perfect for tailgating.

Fall Snack Mix

Ingredients
12 c. popped popcorn
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 c. cinnaomon chips
1 c. toffee bits
1 c. whole nuts - I used almonds and cashews because that's what I had on hand.
1 c. dried apple chips

Directions

1. Place the brown sugar, light corn syrup, salt and butter in a microwave safe bowl.
2. Microwave for about a minute or until the butter is melted.  Stir together until well mixed
3. Return to microwave and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir and then cook for an additional 1 minute.
4. Add the baking soda and vanilla to the caramel.  Stir until well mixed.
5. Place your popped popcorn in a bowl and drizzle the caramel over  the popcorn. 
6. Add the apples and nuts.  Mix the caramel into the popcorn mixture.
7. Add the cinnamon chips and toffee bits.  Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

This was different and good.  I added the cinnamon chips too early and they seemed to melt but it was still good.  I think it will be cute in some see-through bags tied with a pretty ribbon for the bake sale.  I also made my own apple chips.  When I went to the store they only had that brand that was chewy and thick.  I thought these apple chips needed to be crispy. 

Apple Chips

Core a couple of apples.  I lined a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice your apples thin!  You can use a mandolin but I was too lazy to get mine out but I realize it would have made it easier to keep them similar in size.  Lay your apples on the parchment paper.  Spray with canola spray or cooking spray.  I made a cinnamon/sugar mixture and sprinkled on the apples.  Bake in a 200 degree oven for about 2 hours.

Day 208 (10/6): Crockpot Lasagne

I have to be better prepared and organized now that Colton is playing sports.  I've been trying out recipes especially crockpot ones where I can set it and forget it.  I've also been trying to walk while he is at practice so I can't go back home and have supper ready for him when he gets home so crockpot and oven baked casseroles will be on the menus probably 2-3 nights a week.

I was a little leary about crockpot lasagne but I was willing to give it a try. I had some french bread and salad ready when we got home and it was a complete meal.There are a few modifications for next time but overall it turned out pretty good and it was easy.  One modification is to remember to plug in the crockpot.  I turned it on but forgot to plug it in and had to cook it on high for 30 minutes for the hour that I noticed it was not plugged in.

Crockpot Lasagne

Ingredients:
1 box of oven ready lasagna noodles
jar of spaghetti sauce
2 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese (whatever you prefer)
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1/4 c. water
1 crockpot bag
veggies such as mushrooms or black olives (unless you have picky eaters like I do!)

Directions:

1. Place the crockpot liner in the crockpot.  This is important for two reasons - seems to keep the mixture from burning on the bottom and makes it very easy to clean afterwards!
2. Combine the cooked ground beef, spaghetti sauce and water.  Mix thoroughly.  You can add the veggies to your meat mixture or layer them when you create your layers.
3. Mix your ricotta/cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese.
4. Place enough sauce mixture in the bottom of the crockpot to cover the base.
5. Lay your noodles over the layer of sauce.  You can break up the noodles so they fit better.  Feel free to overlap them too.
6. Spoon your cheese mixture on top of the noodles and then another layer of noodles.
7. Pour some meat mixture over your noodle layer.
8. Repeat layers making sure you end on a sauce layer. 
9. Cook on low for 4 hours. 

Modifications that I would make next time:  Don't buy cheap sauce.  If you do make sure you season it.  I used a store brand for $0.99 and it tasted pretty plain.  I'm not sure if it is because I added the water to it to soak into the noodles and essentially cook them.  I imagine if you made a runnier spaghetti sauce of your own it would taste fantastic!

Day 207 (10/3): Football weekend

I am absolutely in love with this Fall weather.  We usually get a week of 70-80 degree weather but we are going on week 2!  I have been sleeping with the windows open and breathing in the fresh air.  I'd like to say it makes me just pop out of the bed in the morning but that has yet to happen.  It does feel good to wake up in the middle of the night and hear the crickets chirping or leaves russeling in the wind. 

This past weekend we had 3 football games - 2 of Colton's and my alma mater - KSU!  I'm working on my football taking picture skills but I am so easily distracted.  I start watching a play and get into and then forget to snap that perfect shot.

So here's what I did get....

The coach always gets them pumped up before the game.  They run that flag down the field, meet in the middle, and then do a  "Are you ready to kick some butt" cheers.

Colton is #19.  He always picks a pro player for each sport and then wears that number.  #19 is Miles Austin on the Dallas Cowboys.

We raced from the game in Topeka to the KSU game back in Manhattan.  After a loss, we were ready to see a Win.  It was one of the best football games I had been to - Baylor and KSU kept going back and forth in scoring and it came down to the last few plays in the 4th quarter.  I bet you are wondering about that picture up there.  This was what kept Mark and his dad entertained throughout the game.  The binoculars were really zooming to see the camera woman for the game.  She was very...um...well-endowed.  I think they were waiting for her to get excited and give herself a black eye or knock herself out with those knockers.

One of my favorite things about getting to play in Manhattan is that they get to play at Bill Snyder stadium and run out of the tunnel like the "big boys" do on Saturdays.

The boys were discussing the upcoming plays of the game. 

Colton had a few good runs with the football but the game still resulted in another loss.  Thank goodness KSU won!  It would have been a long football weekend without that win.  And thank goodness the weather is staying perfect for this football season!