Friday fav!

O.k....time for another Friday fav! This week's is.....

My Blue KitchenAid stand mixer!

I just love this thing. Since I bake a lot, I use it often. It got used it last night for both the cupcakes and the frosting. We got this 7 years ago when we got married and it is still going strong. During Christmas cookie season, I use it nearly every day. If I bake after the kids go to bed, my daughter will come down the stairs and tell me she can hear the mixer and would like to know what I am making. It is not cheap, but worth every penny. :)






On a completely different subject...I am always surprised and amused by things that kids say. We have been potty training Bubby. When he goes on the potty, he gets lots of "Good job!'s and high fives. So...today we were shopping at Wegman's when I had to use the bathroom. He was in the stall with me and just as I started to go, he yelled "Good job Mama!! Go pee pee! Good job Mama!!" It was so funny, also a bit embarrassing!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Pumpkin Fun and Cupcakes!

Tonight we carved the Jack-o-lantern! Actually, I was out for a run, so Daddy and MissyMiss carved it while Bubby played. MissyMiss drew on the face and Daddy carved it out. Here she is with her creation.

This is MissyMiss pretending that the pumpkin is eating her finger.

Tomorrow is MissyMiss's fall party at school. I volunteered to do the cupcakes. I did chocolate chip cupcakes with orange buttercream. They got a thumbs-up all around.

Does anyone else have this Cupcake Carrier?? I LOVE it! It holds 36 cupcakes and they don't touch each other, so the frosting stays perfect! I just saw some at Home Goods for $10 less than I paid. :)

MissyMissy can't wait to bring them to school tomorrow!

Grocery Store Trick-or-Treating

So...if you have never been to Wegman's, you just aren't living! Wegman's is the most wonderful grocery store. The have all the normal grocery store items at normal prices, but they also have LOTS more. They have a fantastic bakery, a large cafe where I love to take the kids for dinner, a delicious coffee bar, etc. Wegman's is a whole shopping experience. They do a "Breakfast with the Easter bunny" and a "Breakfast with Santa"...we have gone to both and they are great.

This year, they also decided to do trick-or-treating in the store. You went during the hours of 4:30-6:30, picked up a map of treat locations and walked the store, stopping at the various spots for treats.

Here is Bubby..he was Handy Manny.

Here is MissyMiss....she was Kim Possible.






They had such fun! Wegman's did such an awesome job! In produce they gave out bananas, in the bakery they gave out cookies, by the organic section they gave out organic fruit snacks, and lots of the stations gave out good old-fashioned CANDY!



This is my favorite picture from the night. I love it when they hold hands. :) Bubby has really been missing her lately. This morning at around 10:00 he kept saying "Pick up Sissy school. Come on...pick up Sissy. Play Sissy". He was really missing her.

Me too, Bubby.

A Yummy Surprise

So...I was shopping at Sam's Club last night with Bubby. We had only 2 things on my list. But..we were both happy to wander and browse. As I turned a corner, I stumbled upon a display of these:

Now...I LOVE hot chocolate! I love Starbucks the best...made from scratch with milk, choc syrup and a squirt of vanilla. But, I have no problem with the instant stuff either. The box contained 3 different flavored cocoas and 6 chocolate-dipped peppermint sticks...yummo! I quickly loaded it into my cart.

I got home and showed MissyMiss and she was very excited...I seem to have passed on my love of hot cocoa to her. She gets to stay up later on the weekends and last night was her night to stay up late with me. She picked the movie (Santa Claus 3) and I made the cocoa. It is too funny that she is already picking Christmas movies...yet another gene I passed on to her. I have a great Christmas DVD collection and I get a new one every year. I usually start watching mid-Nov.

This is her enjoying the cocoa and peppermint stick.

So...I did get my 2 items on my list. Also, this cocoa set and the softest, furriest pair of slippers. Ya gotta love Sam's Club!

Friday Fav!

So...many people have asked me how I have the time to run and train for races, since I am a stay-at-home mom of two young kids. Well....here is one of the ways I can do it...my "dreadmill". We have a love/hate relationship...I don't like having to run on the treadmill. I much prefer running outside. But...if it is pouring, or late, or there is a foot of snow on the ground...then the treadmill it is. Here it is, in all its glory.





Which brings me to my Friday Fav. I love to run outside best...but since my husband doesn't always have the most consistent schedule sometimes the only time I have to run is when I am home alone with the kiddies. This week's Friday Fav is......

My BOB double jogger!!!

I LOVE it. It easily fits both of my kids, rolls smoothly, turns on a dime, folds up to fit in my trunk, and has a space for a waterbottle and iPod....what more could I ask for? When I was first looking at double joggers I was a bit turned off by the price of this one. But..it was the only one that got consistently good reviews. So...I ordered it and LOVE it. Now that MissyMiss is in school, I usually have just Bubby with me. He uses her spot for snacks and toys.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Welcome to the world nephew!

Well, I am officially an aunt! My little nephew was born this afternoon! Since my brother lives several states away, I don't get to be there. :( I am looking forward to seeing some pictures though!



As I was thinking of my sister-in-law giving birth today, I was reminded of the days when my kiddos were born. Here are pics of each:

They look so similar! I quizzed my husband and he got it right..the top one is MissyMiss and the bottom is Bubby. They both had a ton of hair when they were born!

Anyhow, welcome to the world little nephew!

Yumm-O!!!

I have many very happy memories from my childhood. As I was walking through the store yesterday, I spotted one of them...




Yes, that's right...Entenmann's holiday cupcakes!!!! I remember these from when I was little. They usually appeared around Halloween and Valentine's Day. There are 5 kids in my family and when my mom came home with these bad boys it was a big deal. So...you can imagine how excited I was to find them. I spoke to my brother yesterday on the phone...it went something like this:

Me: Hey, do you remember those Entenmann's cupcakes?...
Bro: You mean the ones with all the frosting?
Me: Yes! I just bought the Halloween ones!!!!
Bro: Do they still have the gummy candy on top??
Me: Nope, candy corn.
Bro: Those were awesome...

When I got home I gathered everyone around and whipped out the cupcakes. My husband let out the biggest "Woo Hoo!!"

I should mention here that I love to bake and usually frown upon store bought baked goods. I would just rather make them myself. But, I just love these cupcakes!






Here is my daughter trying to lick every last bit of fudgy goodness off of the wrapper. Ahh...a girl after my own heart.


Here is Bubby showing me his cupcake. He licked off all the frosting then left the cake at the table.



Hope your Sunday was as delicious as ours. :)

Friday Fav!

I know you all have been looking forward to this all week...time for this week's Friday Fav! This week's is.....


Drum roll please...........


STARBUCKS!!!!

I can't help it...I just love that stuff!!!! My usual drink is "Tall, non-fat, no whip, no foam hot chocolate". I am rather embarrassed to admit that I am in there nearly every day! They actually know me by name.....they know my drink...they even know my kid's names!!! I know....I know...I have issues. It is just so yummy!

One time my husband, who despises Starbucks, drove through the drive-thru with me. We pulled up to the spot where you order (they have a camera there)...and the girl said "Hey Sarah...do you want you usual?" My husband turned to me and said "They know you???" Then...we pulled up to the widow to get my drink and the girl said "Hi MissyMiss and Bubby!!!" Hubby then turned to me with a look of shock and said "How often are you here???"

So..there you have it. If you like hot cocoa and haven't had it at Starbucks yet, try it for goodness sake!!! You won't be sorry. :)

Leaf Jumping

Well...a lot of the leaves have fallen and the kids are loving it! We raked them into a huge pile and the kids have been having a ball jumping in the pile. They go out every day to play in the leaves.




But...here are some scary thoughts. See how huge the pile the kids are in is??? Well...that is only the leaves from a small part of the yard. Here is more of the backyard and it is covered in leaves too!


And...here are the trees. There are still a lot up there. Also, there are leaves in both the front and side yards...ugh!

Going Dutch!

We took the kids to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA and the kids had a great time on all of the rides. For those not familiar with the park, it is an amusement park for kids. MissyMiss and Bubby loved the rides. Bubby could go on most rides and MissyMiss could go on almost all of them. MissyMiss even went on her first roller coaster and thought it was awesome! Here are a few pics of the kids on the rides.

The both went on the bulldozers. MissyMiss worked the controls like an expert, raising and lowering the bucket. Bubby didn't quite understand the controls, but loved it nonetheless.




MissyMiss went on the Frog Hopper! We were at that ride when the park first opened and she rode it by herself. She had fun waving to us from way up high.


There is a little train that circles the park...here is MissyMiss and Bubby on the train.



It was a beautiful day at the park. It was warm for the fall..about 70 degrees. Perfect weather for walking around. We can't wait to go back next year!

Friday fav!

O.k....so I am about an hour early...but I have a crazy day tomorrow...so here it is, my Friday Fav! This week's is..........



King of Queens!!!!!!!!

I can't help it...I love that show! I didn't discover until after it was over, so now I have been collecting the seasons on DVD. So far, I have 6 of the 9. Part of the reason I love it is that I grew up on Long Island and hubby grew up in Queens. I have been to many of the places that are seen on the show...Lemon Ice King of Corona, Queens Center Mall, etc. I also love it because it is hysterical!

I just got seasons 1 and 3 from Amazon and have been getting little done at night, because I have been curling up the on the couch with my hot cocoa and laughing my tush off...if you have never seen the show before, give it a try! Hope you love it as much as me. :)

Our Favorite Apple Cake!

Back in our pre-kids days when my husband and I were both in college, we had no money. I used to budget $35 a week for groceries. We survived on pasta and peanut butter and jelly (Both of which we still eat a lot of. :)) Anyhow, a friend gave me this recipe and since it didn't require any expensive ingredients or fancy equipment, I made it. My husband LOVED it. I have made it every fall ever since. MissyMiss calls it "Daddy's cake". It is very simple, but delicious! Here is a pic of my 2 little helpers. This was the first time Bubby got to help with baking.



This is the cake prior to baking. The batter is VERY thick. It is so thick that you think you must have forgotten a liquid ingredient, or that you put in too much flour. It is so thick, but it comes out perfect.


Below is a picture of the cake after baking. It looks very similar to pre-baking in the picture. :) But I assure you, once it is baked it has a crispy, golden top and your house will have a delicious smell.


Here is the piece that I just ate....yummo! It is delicious with vanilla ice cream on top. I didn't have any, so I used Cool Whip...in a can! Who doesn't love Cool Whip in a can??



Anyhow, here is the recipe. The recipe is VERY simple. It is a hearty cake...very comfort food-ish. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
3 apples, cut up
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease 13X9 pan.
2. Mix wet ingredients
3. In a different bowl, mix dry ingredients
4. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
5. Fold in apples
6. Spoon into pan
7. Bake 45 min

Enjoy! (see...I told the recipe is very simple!)

Another Family Day!

Last weekend we took the kiddos to the pumpkin farm. It is one of our yearly fall traditions. (I LOVE traditions!). There is much more than just pumpkins....there is a hay ride, farm animals to feed, a hay jump, corn maze, mini train and lots of yummy food!

My favorite part is feeding the goats. The goats walk around on elevated walkways. There are pulley systems set up to feed them. So...you get some feed, put it in the can and pull the string to send it up to the goat. The kids (and adults) love it! Below is a pic of one of the goats waiting for MissyMiss to send up some food!

Here is Bubby in his stroller. He was looking at all the farm animals. He looks a bit perplexed I would say. Goats walking around above you is a lot for a 2-year-old to take in.





Here is MissyMiss standing on the pile of hay in the hay jump. She LOVED it! She likes to wear her overalls when we go to farms because "That is what the farmers wear!" See those corn stalks in the back?? I took her into the corn maze...Bubby and Daddy waited outside. Daddy said he doesn't like corn mazes....what a smart guy he is. MissyMiss and I were having lots of fun in the maze, for a while. Then we were really truly lost. The corn was really high and there was no way I could see over it. I actually started to panic...would I be stuck in there forever? I hadn't even had my Whoopie Pie yet! Just as I was about to yell "HELP!", I spotted the exit and Daddy was standing just past it with a big grin on his face. I must have looked quite terrified, because the first thing he said was "Now you know why I don't go in those things."


Finally, here is me and the kiddos on the hay ride...one of the best parts. There are pumpkin displays set up along the way. MissyMiss loved looking at them all. Bubby kept staring at the tractor and repeating "Bubby ride tractor!"


Before we could call it a day, we got our usual kettle corn, apple cider and whoopie pies...can't wait to go again next year!

My First 10K!

Well, I DID IT!!! I completed my first 10K this morning! Here is my race report:

I woke up this morning with a lot of anxiety about the race. After last weekend's 10 miler I had been dealing with knee and leg pain all week. I only ran once this past week and did a lot of icing and stretching. I was concerned about my ability to finish, due to these injuries. I didn't have much pain anymore, but since I hadn't run all week, I was worried about how I would feel once I started running.

I got to the race about 30 min before my start...it was COLD! The temp was 37-degrees, but it was a beautiful, sunny day. I had signed up for the early start, for those who estimated to finish around 1:15 or later. I started with 5 other women at 8:50 am.

I felt great the at the start...no aches or pains at all. I was running about 11 min miles for the first few, without any problem. The 5K started 10 min after my start, so it was not long before I was being passed by the fast 5K runners. I should mention scenery here. Fall here in upstate NY is gorgeous...the leaves are all changing and watching the scenery helped keep my mind off of my anxiety. Now, I mentioned scenery because when the fast guys in the 5K started passing me, the scenery got even better. :) I know, I know....I need help....just keepin' it real. :)

O.k...back to my race. Once I got to the halfway point I was feeling great! I decided to speed up a bit and was running about 10:00 miles. I finished strong and felt great at the end. I did 6.25 miles in 1:06! I am very happy with my time. It was my first 10K and now I have a good starting point from which to work. I had my usual post-race juice and bagel and then cheered for those finishing after me.

By the time I got home, my legs felt tired and a little sore in the quads, but not bad at all. There was a fire fighter expo here I wanted to take the kiddos to, so I took a quick shower and drove them over to go look at firetrucks.

I am thrilled to have the 10K under my belt. The race today had both a 5K and a 10K. Last year I did the 5K...it was my first 5K in 12 years! I remember thinking that I could never do the 10K. This past year I have gotten more into running and realized that anything is possible. I have met runners who didn't start running until their 40s and have since completed many marathons. My biggest enemy was myself...now I am realizing that if I train right, there is no limit on what I can do. I have a magnet on my fridge that says:

"In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can"

I am trying to stick with that and see how far I get.

I am planning on taking this week off from running. I have had a busy summer/fall racing season and think my body needs a break. My next goal is a half marathon this summer...only time will tell. :)

Friday Favs

So...I am starting something new today! Every Friday I will be doing a "Friday Favs" post. I will highlight one of my favorite things. I always love it when people say things like "This is my favorite recipe!", or "These are my favorite socks!". To be deemed a favorite, something must be pretty darn good.

So, here is my first Friday Fav...........

My Janome Sewing Machine! Here is a pic of it in all its sewing machine glory:



My wonderful husband surprised me with it this past fall! MissyMiss was in on the surprise and was so excited to give it to me. About 3 years ago, I decided that I wanted to learn to sew/quilt. I bought an inexpensive Brother machine from Wal-Mart and taught myself. Once I got really into it, I thought about an upgrade....and then my wonderful husband surprised me with one.

See the table the machine is sitting in...also a surprise from Hubby...for Mother's Day. He is so thoughtful...sometimes. :)



Below is a pic of my cutting table. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.


This awesome cabinet I got at a garage sale for $20! It is from Pier 1...it was marked $35, but they were starting to close up and I offered $20 and got it! It works great for organizing all of my little stuff and my scraps.


This is my fabric cabinet. It is a reproduction icebox that I got at a local furniture store...I LOVE it!






This is the cabinet opened up. Look at all that fabric!!! Sometimes I just open it and stare at it all. If I am having a bad day, it makes me happy just to look at all of my fabric...seriously.



This little shelf has all of my sewing/quilting books. Nothing fancy either...


Well...that is it for today. Tune in next week for my next Friday Fav!

I have officially been initiated...

...into the "Mothers of 2-year-old Boys" club. Bubby had to have his head glued back together on Monday. He was playing with his sis in her room and I heard lots of laughing and giggling...it sounded like all was good. Then all of a sudden I heard a thump and crying...not so good anymore. Bubby fell into Missymiss's bed frame and cut his head...bad enough to require the use of super glue.





Now, I should note here that he is not the only clumsy one in the family. It seems he may have inherited those genes from me. I once fell flat on my rear while dancing at a Bar Mitzvah...I was completely mortified. The picture below is me about a month ago. I was trying to drag our Little Tykes basketball hoop out into the driveway when the backboard popped off and hit me in the eye. I had an awful bruise for a good 2 weeks. The picture below does not do the bruise justice.
I kinda liked how tough I looked with the bruise. Like people would know not to mess with me. The funny thing is, I am not at all a violent person. I can't even watch violent movies...not even the Karate Kid. At the time when my bruise was at its worse I was buying some running clothes at an Under Armour outlet. One teenage boy was ringing up my purchases and another was behind the counter...staring at my tough black eye. I could tell he was wondering why someone who looked like your typical stay-at-home, 30-year-old mom would have such a bruise. I wanted to say "You should have seen the other chick"...but couldn't quite bring myself to do it. I enjoyed looking tough for a while...




On a completely different note...we have been watching my neighbor's tree change colors. It is now the most beautiful shade of orange/yellow/red...just gorgeous. But, it has already started dropping leaves...won't be long before it is covered in snow. :(