laborofwonder

Where Whine Meets Wine

Nov 16

You’ve Gotta be Kidding Me!

by motherofwonder

Have you ever had one of those days where every time you turn around something happens that makes you throw your hands up in the air and ask the age-old question- Are You kidding me?! Well, that was my day yesterday…Dog completely emptying a full bag of trash and drag it all over freshly vacuumed kitchen and living room? Check. Children discovering where the suckers were hidden, and their sneaky-ness not being discovered until the 3rd sucker? Check and check. (hey, I was doing the laundry and they were the small suckers!) Baby repeatedly taking off freshly changed diaper, only to pee on the floor? Check. Check. And check.  Voices in the monitor when no one was in the room? Check.

Not the deer from my yard, but it coulda been! Imagine this running straight for you- from 15 yards away! (Clicking on the photo will take you to its source!)

8 point buck traipse through the yard? Check. Lady honk her horn long and loud enough to scare the deer from the road and instead straight back at me? Check. Life-flashing-before-eyes scream? Check.  Dog come out of nowhere to growl/bark/defend/scare away the deer? Check! (He may have redeemed himself a little here.) Deer continue to meander its way through the street, moseying from one yard to another. Sigh. And check. Check please?

Does saving my life cancel out the garbage dumping? I haven't decided yet.

Nap time? Check…. crap. No check.

Family Life According To Me

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Nov 15

A Letter To My (Former) Self

by motherofwonder

Have you ever thought about all the things that you wish you’d known: a) as a child; b) in high school; c) in college; d) when you woke up this morning? I have. More than once. Now I know that you can’t really go back and redo things otherwise you wouldn’t be where you are now… and really, I’m happy where I am now. But it would be nice if I could go back in time and at least some of the heartbreak, or worry less, or something.  And so if I could whisper in the ear of my former self, during some life-changing moments, these are some of the things I would say.

  • You will recover. You will move on. You will be safe.
  • Childhood really doesn’t last forever… enjoy every carefree moment you have.
  • Do not let anyone treat you as disposable. You are not.
  • Dispose of him. Dispose of him quickly.
  • You will not have to make excuses for someone who really loves you.
  • Be loud! Be funny! Be you and enjoy being you!
  • Their opinions of you are less important than the way you feel about being you. Focus on that.
  • You really can love your first kiss forever.
  • You can think feministically while holding on to your desire for children. You don’t have to choose one or the other.
  • You don’t have to have it all figured out all the time.
  • Marriage is going to be harder than you ever imagined and better than you ever dreamed.
  • There is an adjustment period when he comes home from a deployment. Prepare for it.
  • Your husband is never going to be able to read your mind.
  • I repeat: your husband is never going to be able to read your mind.
  • Children are going to change your views and opinions on so many things, people, and ideas.
  • Peanut butter on a spoon and applesauce will get you through your pregnancies buy in bulk.
  • Your children will make you feel like you are the most impatient person in the world. Start praying for patience now.
  • Eventually, they will start picking up their own toys.
  • Your husband will never learn the workings of a laundry basket/hamper. So just give it up.
  • The people you love will not be here indefinitely. Love them all you can, every minute.
  • Life goes by faster than you can ever imagine. So hold them close, cuddle them all you can, always be willing to dole out kisses to the owwies, keep your camera in hand, and love like crazy.

Family Life According To Me Marriage Things You Should Say

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Nov 14

Anniversary Bliss

by motherofwonder

This weekend the unimaginable happened- Littlest E I survived an overnight away. And hubbyman only had to tell me once that I couldn’t talk about how I missed him. I think I faired pretty well. With the exception of being restless the first half of the night, he had a marvelous time, as did his grandparents who had him in their care. They got to witness the hilarity that we see on a daily basis. (I got text messages of his funniness. They are discovering what we’ve known for a while- he tries to be funny.) He did shriek when he saw me and has been showering me with kisses. But he also reacts that way when I return from a trip to the grocery store. The Big 2 got to stay at home with The Uncles. (They also sent me text messages of the funny things they’d say. And said they plan to record their answers to questions from hereon out. I’m thinking humor is in the genes.) They all had a fabulous time. They got boxed macaroni, lots and lots of movies, and the Uncles even brought over a huuuuge bowl of fruit that they basically consumed on their own. (by they, I mean Big E and Miss E. Hopefully no tummy issues play out today!) Ok, so we’ve established that I survived, they survived, and we’re all a big, funny family…

But the point of it all is, hubbyman and I had an amazing time in honor of our 7th wedding anniversary! Now we always enjoy our time together, and we always have fun…. but this time just seemed a little above & beyond. Hubbyman even kept repeating, I’m having such a good time! We always stay at the same hotel (it’s our tradition- to stay at the hotel we stayed on our wedding night.), which while you might think it could get monotonous, it doesn’t. In fact, this trip reaffirmed why we always continue to stay there.

We got there and snuggled into a booth, ate a mediocre dinner (we’ve never had any complaints about their food before, which is maybe why we were so nonplussed at the fact that it was just kind of…okay.) and headed to our room. We were just unloading and regrouping before heading down to the courtyard for their “manager’s reception” (read: open bar) when there was a knock at the door. Someone from the wait staff was at our door with champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries! Compliments of the hotel in celebration of our anniversary! (When I made the reservation, I noted that a) it was our anniversary and b) we stay here every year for our anniversary. A good hotel with take note!)

Photo from phone. Camera was forgotten.

We were pretty excited about that! At the “reception” the bartender remembered us! And was such a sweetheart! We talked about how it was things like that, that makes us continue returning year after year! So we had an evening of laughter, games, chatter…and just an overall good time! Our only complaint was that the room was a little chilly. And no matter how high we cranked the thermostat, the room didn’t change temperature. By the end of the night we had it cranked to 90. And it was definitely not 90 degrees. Maybe 65ish. But anyways, the next morning we ate our way through their huge, made-to-order breakfast, went back to our room to shower and head out. Hubbyman basically jumped in and out of the shower, because you could hardly even call it warm. I stuck it out long enough to wash and condition my hair, and by the very end (after maybe 20 minutes of water running) it was warm. I had it cranked all the way and it never moved past warm (muchlike the heat!). Now maybe these sound like big issues, and if we’d of been there as a family, it probably would have felt like a bigger deal. But we were just enjoying each other and our time away, and having such a good time that we didn’t really think much of it.

So we go down to check out and Hubbyman just mentions that they might want to send someone up to look at the thermostat because we couldn’t get it to change the heat, no matter how high we put it. And I piped up with, and the shower had no hot water either. I was afraid she would think we were just complainers… so I quickly added, we stay here every year and have never had complaints, so this is a first. Well, to make up for it, she comped our room. We were surprised, excited, and thankful. And made us even more sure of the fact that we will definitely be going back next year. Since Littlest E will be over 2 next year, maybe we can even turn it into a whole weekend get away! You know, if I can stand to be away from the the little ones for that long! As much as I miss them, these quick little escapes are so vital to our marriage!

Since I forgot to on Friday, I will add my thankful list here and now:

*For a husband who has stood beside me all these years (kissing partner of 14 years, husband of 7)

*That my husband still enjoys spending time with me- and I with him!

*For 3 beautiful, healthy children who bless me more than i could’ve ever imagined!

*For wonderful, willing, helpful family members! (Whether it’s a quick visit at a craft fair, to babysitting 2 wiggley monkeys, to enduring a little ones first overnight away from his parents)

Family Life According To Me Marriage

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Nov 10

Lasagna Cupcakes!

by motherofwonder

I almost posted a recipe for my quiche, but it’s not exactly perfect. And I’d really rather not share it with you until I can come up with the exact way I’d like to share it with my family. If it’s not how I want it to be for my family, why would I let you test out a version that’s less than? Don’t get me wrong, it is sooo yummy. But I just need to have better ratios for the crust to eggs. I am excited to figure it out and share it with you! It met rave reviews from hubbyman and my daughter- so it will be coming to you soon! In the meantime, since I combined my Wednesday and Thursday dinner plans (spinach and mushroom quiche and pumpkin waffles) into one meal, tonight when I was thinking about what to have for dinner, I felt at a loss. I’ve been craving lasagna and so I decided to try something new. Now to make gluten free noodles, I have 2 recipes. One is in a recipe book and the other is one on a post it note, attached to the recipe books version. I lost my post it note! I have no idea if I found it somewhere online or if I made it up! I was so disappointed, and I didn’t have 2 of the necessary 4 flours (that’s right, four!) to make the noodles from scratch. So I decided on lasagna cupcakes. I’d made a new pizza crust a week or two ago, and I decided to try that as the noodles. So it’s not quite a noodle, and that did throw my husband off a little, but it was still good. And he if I’d of thrown in the elbow noodles I’d made for the kids (I was not sure how it would turn out, so for the first time in my cooking career, I made a back up meal) that it would have been perfect. When making these in the past, I cook lasagna noodles (for those of you lucky wheat eaters, you can use your normal lasagna noodles, for those of you who cannot, can make them -that’s right make them- from the noodle recipe I posted in this post here. Hey wait a minute! There’s my long lost pasta recipe! Whew!)

It’s really very, very simple. I like to use my large muffin pan for this. I spray it and then put in cooked noodles in an x pattern (start with 2 and you can add a 3rd if 2 doesn’t cover the base). Then I add the layers- Parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta cheese, and sauce (with or without browned hamburger meat). I only use a couple tbs per layer. Just enough to cover. Top with the parm and mozz. Then fold the noodles that are hanging out over the top (so it’s basically enclosed). Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, or until cheese is brown and sauce is bubbling. If you want to make it just the way I did, you can either throw in some noodles or not, and make the crust I made from this cookbook.)

How I made my crust:

1 1/2 cups almond flour, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 egg, 1 tbs grape seed extract

Mix egg and grape seed extract and add to dry ingredients. I sprayed my tins with olive oil (I’m not sure it’s necessary, but I figured it was better than finding out the crust was impossible to get out of the tin) and then press dough into each muffin mold. I didn’t make it very thick, but didn’t want it to be thin enough to see through either as I wanted it to hold its form. So about 1/4ish inch thick (I know, I’m so precise- sorry!).

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Spoon filling in. (you can do it in layers or mix it all together… either way would be delicious!)

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, or until cheese browns and sauce is bubbling.

It is delicious with noodles, and with the crust! It’s more like a lasagna pie with the crust, but it was still delicious! Unfortunately, I left my camera at my parents’ and so my only picture (I really am very sad about this, because it just looked so pretty every step of the way) is from my camera. Next time I will well document my steps!

Gluten Free Impressively Simple Life According To Me Pasta Recipes

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Nov 10

The 7 Year Itch

by motherofwonder

Sunday is the anniversary of the day I became a wife! 7 years ago! My sister-in-law make a comment about 7 being “the year of the promise,” and it got me thinking. Not about all the promises that you make on your wedding day, though those are good too. But about the promise of a future together. While I know that we will look back and say, 7 years?! That was nothin’! At least in comparison to the 50 or more years I hope we spend together. But 7 years, is still 7 years. And at this point, 7 years is a quarter of my life. That’s a fairly big chunk.

The first five years are kind of “newlywed” years. Learning how to live together, to love together, to grow together…and most importantly, how to stay together. Does that mean that we’ve passed some boundary where we’re no longer susceptible to disagreement or strife within our marriage? Absolutely not. But what it does mean is that we have almost a decade of foundation underneath us now to help carry us through.

I think the first couple years can be hard for the “getting used to” and accommodating to each other reasons, but the last couple years and the next decade, will probably be hard years. Not because of our marriage itself, rather where we are in our lives. He had a demanding job and often works long hours. And I’m at home. All. Day. with our 3 young children. It’s a trying time in our lives. But I’m certain these times will also contain some of our most cherished, beloved, and thought of memories of all, as well. The day we became parents. The day we became parents to a daughter. The day we lost a baby. The day we witnessed a miracle (Littlest E). The family trips. The birthday parties. The surprise birthday parties. The family movie nights. The weekend breakfasts. The staying up way too late after the kids have gone to bed, just to have an hour or two together. The laughter. The tears. The hard work. The lack of sleep… it’s all a part of the promise of the future we have together. As parents, as a family, and as partners.

Do we meet all of each other’s needs? Not always. Do things go the way we’d envisioned them? Rarely. Will life move along at a pace close to that of the speed of sound? Indefinitely. The moral of the story is this- I chose him 7 years ago and have chosen him every day since. Just as I believe he will continue to choose me as well. As long as I keep cooking. ♥

Family Life According To Me Marriage

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Nov 9

How We Survive

by motherofwonder

So as I was doing the dishes, I thought I was overhearing a rather sweet moment passing between Littlest E and MissE. I poked my head into the living room to catch them in a hug, smiled at their sweetness, and went back to the dishes. Only to catch the last few words of what MissE was actually saying.

That’s right you little boy, I’m never going to let you go. You’re not going to get passed me and get my dolly.

That’s right that sweet moment I’d just witnessed was really a hostage situation. She was afraid he was going to get her doll (probably with good reason, they do tend to want whatever toy is prized.) and she was going to do anything she could to make sure that didn’t happen. Apparently including keeping him clamped in her grip.  Finally Littlest started to fuss and complain about the hostage situation and so I poked my head back in. saying, “Miss E, you know if you’d let go of your brother you’d have a free hand to actually play with your dolly.” To which she scrunched up her pretty little face, heaved a huge sigh, and spouted off with, Ahh! This is never going to work! I tried to stifle my laughter and asked her, What isn’t going to work? I want to play with Littlest. Well, it looks like he wants to play with you too. But he keeps touching my toys. You want him to play with you without touching the toys? Yeah. I just want him to watch me play with my toys. That’s how he can play with me. 

With his ever-perfecting comedic timing, Littlest walks back in with his sister’s trash can, takes one look at her, shakes his head, and sticks the basket on his head (it goes to his belly) and walks out.  *Sigh* I know how he feels. So if you happen to see me walking around with a trash can or basket on my head, don’t worry about it, it’s a means of survival around here.

Family Life According To Me Things Kids Say

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Nov 7

Wheelin’ And Dealin’

by motherofwonder

So I’m trying to make a deal with Littlest E about wearing his diapers, and if he’s not wearing them, where he should be going potty. Right now it seems like we’re at floor 12 – potty 4. He really is young for potty training, but he hates diapers. He takes them off as soon as a droplet of anything hits the diaper, if he leaves it on long enough for any droplets to hit. He frequently can be found stripping off his diaper and then taking aim at the floor. Thankfully it’s just the pee version that hits the floor. The other form of potty is saved for the actual potty. Which is awesome! I should mention, he is 15 months old, so the fact that he uses and wants to use, and requests to use, the potty at all is pretty freakin’ amazing/exciting. So how exactly do you make a deal with a 15 month old? I’m not sure. If you have any ideas, feel free to send them my way!  I’m thinking I’ll test out duct tape and super tight pants. Skinny jeans would be hard to peel off (especially over cloth diapers!), right?? Maybe I could make pants with the duct tape? Lets see him shimmy outta that!

As soon as I’d typed these words in, I turned around to see Littlest Man sans diaper and hunched over….

Me: Ah!! *Littlest E*!!

MissE: Mom, he doesn’t like diapers. But don’t let him go potty on the floor. That’s gross.

Me: I know.

MissE: Then don’t let him do that.

Me: I didn’t let him do that. 

MissE: Then why didn’t you put him on the potty?

Me: I thought he was wearing a diaper, and he’s still kinda little to understand when to use the potty. And Ididn’t think he could get his diaper off while it was under his pants.

MissE: You were wrong.

Me: Obviously. Let’s get his diaper with the snaps, and go find some duct tape.

In other news, we may be getting some snow tonight and tomorrow… any chance anyone knows a good deal I can make to have two summers in a row, instead?

Happy Monday folks! May your day be filled with clean clothes, fresh food, and dry floors.

Family Life According To Me Things Kids Say

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Nov 4

TGFG

by motherofwonder

And here we are again. Amazing how this happens week after week, Friday comes around and we heave out a sigh of relief- Finally, it’s Friday! Almost as if we were half afraid that it would decide not to come this week, or somehow get skipped over. Alas, the worry was needless, because it IS Friday! And even though I was woken by a little person pulling my laptop off the window ledge, and onto my head, I have been in a relatively good mood. I attribute this to the fact that we are leaving for vacation this afternoon. Ok, so not really a vacation, but we are traveling the 2 1/2 hrs to my in-laws. My mother-in-law is much like me, in the sense that she enjoys cooking and planning all the fun meals we could try while visiting. I also enjoy that there is always an abundance of coffee. That is if you’re quick. They make my coffee addiction look mediocre. I love that about them.  TGFG!(Thank God For Grandparents!)

Anyhow, hubbyman found out there was a political thing going on near his parents and he gets priority seating, tickets, something due to his being a veteran. So our 2nd “date” in the last year will be to a political rally. I must really love my husband. I told Big E this morning that we’d be going out on Saturday morning and he’d stay at Grandma’s. He was thrilled. Seriously, when we go there, he gets MAD when he finds out that his parents are staying too. He would like to enjoy all the benefits of grandma’s without having to worry about the rules of his parents. I can respect that. Or at least understand and be amused by that. At any rate, I am glad that they are always excited about going to grandma’s and I never have to convince them to stay with their grandparents while we go out. I also happen to love that whenever they’re asked, they’re EXCITED about the prospect of babysitting! It’s heartwarming. And appreciated!

So today I am thankful for my in-laws, and their enthusiasm for their grandchildren! I am thankful that Littlest E thinks the potty is so exciting- and he likes to use it! (Did I mention he’s not quite 16 months!) While I know this doesn’t mean he’ll be potty trained any day soon, it is a start, and a good one at that! I’ve been struggling with my biggest boy this week, but I really am thankful that he feels safe and comfortable enough to talk to me about his feelings and share his emotions so easily with me. I know this will not always be the case. I am also thankful that when he gets into one of those moods, he just needs some time alone and then he’ll come back to me as my sweet boy. (Today’s meltdown was because he was so proud of himself when he told me he’d packed himself for the trip to Grandma’s….and so brokenhearted when I suggested maybe he’d need something to wear other than the 8 shirts and 10 pairs of socks. He did remember jammie pants at least.) My MissE has been sweet and cuddly this morning, and I don’t think I’ve heard any whining out of her this morning- and for that I am extremely thankful! I am also thankful for some time with my honey… even if it will be politic-filled.

Life According To Me Thankful Fridays

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Nov 2

Funny Bunny, Silly Goose (Or Dragon)

by motherofwonder

Did everyone have a terrific Halloween? I enjoyed our weekend soooo much!! Friday we spent it with good friends!!  (I’m pretty sure the kids thoroughly worse them out as the big 2 had him being their personal horsey all evening and Littlest E has declared her his favorite person!) We are so blessed to have friends that are so much like family to us and our children. Saturday I don’t know why, but I just woke up kind of cranky. (Probably the limited number of hours I actually slept!) It didn’t help that Littlest E refused to nap until a most inconvenient time. But it worked out fine in the end, hubbyman sent me out without baby, and i got to enjoy some errand running and margaritas with some very lovely ladies. I was in a good mood again by the time I returned home! (Sometimes I just need a brief reprieve!) Followed by an evening of a bonfire, roasting marshmallows and hotdogs with one of my favorite cousins! Ok, so actually, I watched from the window and he and Erik did this with the “big kids.” I did so, because Littlest E is not afraid of fire. In fact, he looooves it. And it is impossible to keep him up on the bench or in your arms because he’s kind of a strongwilled boy. I quickly became tired of fighting him and just went inside. I was a little cranky about this fact, but he and I really had a nice, quiet time. And I played Mario while he yelled “It’s a go!” Sunday Funday was a lot of fun. Miss E, Littlest E, and I went out to run some errands and pick up some last minute candy while Hubbyman and Big E designed and carved pumpkins.

hubbyman's pumpkin (Big E gave detail suggestions- like the scar)

What he looked like all lit up!

Monday was an action packed day! I had high hopes of accomplishing more than was humanly possible. It didn’t go so well. But by noon I did have dinner made (well, cooking in the crockpot) and the kids and I made Black Velvet Cupcakes (the same as red velvet, just without the food coloring). We had one brief moment of panic as I found the sweatshirt part of Big E’s costume was missing…. after tearing apart lots of rooms, closets, and tearing through our vehicle in a frantic search, I remembered I’d put it in my room so he wouldn’t play with it/misplace it before Halloween. Thankfully, crisis averted and the rest of the evening went off without a hitch! They even had family and friends come to see them all dressed up.  Here are some highlights that made walking in the chill of the evening worthwhile:

Littlest E waving at everyone who’d come to the door and shouting bumble, bumble, bumble! Bee!

It had little wings in the back. He was not thrilled with it. He did however appreciate when he found out the arms had gloves attached.

Miss E is probably our shiest child. (Until you get to know her, at that point we have no quiet children.) The first few houses were our neighbors, that she knows, and when it would come time to say “Thank you!” for the candy she’s just been given, she’d look at them and say (to them), I’m too shy to say thank you! and then run away… thankfully they know her and just laughed and by the time we got to houses where she didn’t actually know them she’d loosened up… by the 4th house (that was answered by a woman in an 80s outit, complete with hair) she chimed in with her brother to shout Trick or treat! And then when the lady answered the door she (very loudly) exclaimed, You have weird hair! So much for being shy…

Share Bear the CareBear

And when asked what she was, Big E  exclaimed, She’s a carebear! Don’t you see her belly badge?!  The lady at the door commented on Big E’s cool tail. At which point My sweet little girl turned around, bent over, stuck her butt in the air, wiggled it around and said, Yeah and I have a little tail! (this was all at the same house, the lady laughed a lot during our brief interaction.) We’ve watched Gnomeo and Juliet a few times this last month and so when Big E saw his Papa had put on a hat that stood up of his head, he was so excited! He told his Papa, I didn’t know you were going to be a Gnome for Halloween!

Dragon Boy (With his black velvet cupcake!)

And then these are just two more of my favorite photos of the night, and they seemed too good not to share!

Hubbyman and the boys

my little trick or treators!

What was your favorite part of Halloween? Mine was listening to all the funny things they said! Do you do store-bought or homemade costumes? Littlest E’s is storebought (MissE worse it 2 years ago!), but Big E and Miss E’s were made with love! And lots of man hours (literally- hubbyman made them! I knew what I wanted them to look like, and he has the patience and perfectionism to get them there!)

Family Life According To Me Marriage Things Kids Say

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Oct 31

Busy Hallowday!

by motherofwonder

This is going to be a great day (*fingers crossed, prayers prayed!*)!!  I am so looking forward to all the fun things we have going on today! First I have to do some general after-the-weekend-cleaning, but then we’re going to make delicious black velvet Halloween cupcakes. And then we’re going to do some decorating with the big box of Halloween decorations that included lots of cute pumpkins. And a skeleton who is so old that only one of his eyes work anymore (he glows in the dark and thanks to batteries, his eyes flash), so it just looks like he’s winking. Which Big E totally loves, because that is his specialty.

I may have mentioned this before, but my hubby does not like soup. If I make soup he’ll look all over the kitchen and ask, What else did you make? Unfortunately, I looove soup, as do the kids. So while I don’t make it very often, I do still make it. I just tell him to (as my 12 yr old brother loves to say:) Grab a straw and suck it up! Anyways, because of his non-love of soup, I have turned an old favorite, into a casserole dish. Ham and potato. It’s sooo yummy. And I’m thinking it will be perfect before heading out into the cold tonight! And today, since I love finding ways to simplify things, especially recipes, I am attempting it in the crockpot! And I am anticipating a huge success!!

I am so excited to get the little ones all dressed in their costumes and take millions of pictures of their sweet little faces! So excited!! And we didn’t even wait until the night before to finish any costumes! Pumpkins are all carved, painted, glow-lighted and ready to be carried outside!! Which reminds me- I have some pumpkin seeds to toast! Which brings me back to all I have to do today…. oooh and find my camera!! I better get right on that… as soon as I finish this sooooo yummmy pumpkin pie latte! Hope you all have a happy, safe, and well (photo) documented day!!! Be sure to post pictures on the page (http://www.facebook.com/laborofwonder) of you and yours!! And be sure to  tell me what your Halloween meal looks like!! Growing up we always had chili and pumpkin pie. As an adult I normally make my hubby a pumpkin cheesecake… hmm, I really better get moving.

Family Life According To Me

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