Hearty and Delicious!

Dear Grandma,

When I was a kid Mom used to make Chili Over Fritos, and it was so good I had a friend who requested it whenever she came to spend the night!  I make it now for my family and we all love it, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.  It's awesome all year round, even if it's base is chili.  It'd make a really fun menu option for a concession stand, kind of like Walking Taco's, but with chili and fritos instead.  Here it is:

Chili Over Fritos

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained

1 pint tomato juice

1 small can tomato paste

1 can chili beans

2 T chili powder

1 bag Fritos corn chips

cheddar cheese

pickle relish

Add the juice, paste, beans and chili powder to your drained beef and bring to a boil.  Reduce to low and let simmer for 1 hour for the flavors to marry together.  When ready to serve crush up a handful or 2 of Fritos into a bowl.  Pour a heaping serving spoon full of chili over the top, then a sprinkling of cheddar cheese.  The pickle relish is optional but man does it add some good flavor to this dish.  Eat and enjoy!  So simple and delicious!

Here's the chili simmering -- mmm!

I add the cheese before the chili so it gets all melty and yummy!

Here it is, sooo good!

I hope you give this a try, it's so simple to make and tastes amazing.  My mouth is watering for it, wish I hadn't sent the leftovers with Andy to work!

Love,

Erin

Good Rule Of Thumb

Dear Grandma,

Do you remember how I always sent you a thank you card for any gift you gave me?  Writing thank you's is something I have always loved to do and so I am passing this kind gesture down to my boys.  This morning Aiden made a thank you for everyone who gave him a gift this Christmas.  With all of my scrap booking supplies I had plenty of material for him to use.  Then I wrote out a short, simple thank you for him to write on the back.  I should have taken a picture of his finished product to show you, they were funny.

I'm making a roast for supper tonight.  I usually either throw it in a roasting pan and roast it for 3hrs at 350 degrees or put it in the crock pot for all day with a little water and a packet of dry onion soup mix on top.  These methods work great because I think to make the roast the day of when it's frozen solid in the bottom of my freezer.  But today I planned ahead.  Today I am going to brown the meat in a skillet first, then cook it in my roasting pan "low and slow", the way  you're supposed to cook a roast.  Can't wait til 6:00 when it's ready!

Love,
Erin

Post-Holiday Let Down

Dear Grandma,
Every year after Christmas there's always such a let down feeling of "Wow, that went fast. It's over already."  You plan and plan all month (or, like me, for several months) and the anticipation builds and builds and then Wham!  It's over.  Kind of a like a wedding.  Which is why every year I can't wait to take down my decorations that day after Christmas -- right after I get back from shopping for 50% deals on wrapping papers, bows, ribbon and tags.  Aww, it feels so nice to have it all put away and to return to some normalcy.  The shelves are bare (yay!) and the floor feels bigger without the tree taking up space.  It feels like January.  I can't wait to start burning my 'January scents' in my Scentsy warmers. 

We had a wonderful Christmas, though.  The boys ended up with so much stuff!  Every year I tell myself that next Christmas I will hold back and try to buy only a couple of things, but then the next year comes and I go overboard again.  But that's what Christmas is all about, right?  It's fun seeing their faces light up when they look over their pile of un-opened gifts wondering what could be inside. 

It always drives me nuts when kids tear open a gift, barely look at what it is, then toss it aside to go on to the next one.  We've drilled it into the boys to open one gift, really look it over and play with it if they can before opening another one.  It doesn't matter how many pieces the gift has, we let them open it right there on Grandma's floor and play with it in the middle of all the wrapping paper to show the gift giver how much they appreciate it.  And really, how can you teach them to appreciate the gift if you say, "No, you can't open it until we get home, you just have to look at it longingly through the plastic that is containing it into a nice, neat, easy to carry home package."? 

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, Grandma.  We still carry on the "Wehr Tradition" of wadding up the wrapping paper and throwing it at each other.  It wouldn't feel like Christmas if someone didn't get beaned in the head by a wrapping paper missile!

Love,
Erin

Christmas Stress?

Dear Grandma,

I don't understand why people get so stressed out during the Christmas season.  Andy and I were talking about it last night.  We wish we had more going on during the month.  Two weekends ago we had our annual family Tree Hop (on my mom's side of the family we go to each aunt/uncle's house to see their tree and eat snacks, a fun tradition started over 15 years ago) and that's the last Christmas event we have until this Sunday when we get together with Dad's side of the family for Sunday dinner.  We don't exchange gifts so it's more about getting together as a family, which is awesome. 

I don't go Black Friday shopping, which I know would cause me holiday stress.  I get all of my shopping done early because I love picking out gifts for family and friends.  I usually get those gifts wrapped fairly early, too, because I hate to see a beautiful Christmas tree with no presents underneath it.  I get together with my sister and mom to make cookies and candies early in the month.  Hmm, I'm sensing a trend here -- I get my stuff done early!  Even so, if I waited until later in the month I don't think I'd be stressed out at all, because it's such a happy, joyous season! 

The Friday after Thanksgiving our hometown has a lighted Christmas parade, and the last float in the parade always carries Santa in to town.  After the parade we hot-footed it over to Santa's house and were first in line to see Santa and give him the boys' wish list.  It was a fun evening, and the weather was outstanding (nice and mild)!  It's such a nice way to kick off the Christmas season. 

Here are a couple of pictures I thought you'd like to see, Grandma.  This first one is of us at the Christmas parade. 

The second one is the picture I put in our Christmas cards this year.

Merry Christmas!
Love,
Erin

Tough Times

Dear Grandma,

I am afraid I have passed on one of my worst personality traits to Aiden - my fear of not fitting in.  2 times in the last week Aiden has said he was worried his classmates would laugh at him for something he was wearing or doing.  First it was about his jacket.  It is a khaki color and has a small, orange dinosaur silhouette on one of the sleeves.  It's very inconspicuous and I doubt most kids would even notice it.  But poor Aiden didn't want to wear it because he was worried his friends would laugh at him because of the dinosaur.  Where did that come from?  Why would he be worried about being laughed at?  He's never told me he was laughed at before.  Being a victim of bullying I know all too well the bad feelings they can impress upon you.  It is the last thing I want for my children and I try to do superficial things to prevent any reason for them to be picked on.  Example:  I buy them Sketcher shoes because they are the 'in' shoe to wear.  It's so sad that I feel the need to worry about it, but because of my traumatic experience with mean girls I want to do any and all things to keep them from that pain.

People think that once you grow up and get away from those bullies you magically get over those bad feelings of being rejected, but you don't.  I have constant anxiety when I leave the house, and it used to be so bad that I'd make myself feel sick whenever we were going to be around a big group of people or go do something new.  That anxiety has kept me from doing so many things, which in turn has kept my husband from doing those things as well.  I have a fear of being rejected by everyone around me.  Those bullies took more than just my fun in grade school, they have taken many, many years of emotional freedom from me as well. 

I pray that poor Aiden never has to go through these feelings and hope that his being worried about being laughed at is just a phase.  He's a fun, bright boy and I can't imagine why anyone would want to be mean to him.  Then again, I can't understand why anyone would want to be mean to any other human being.  Why can't we all just get along?

Love,
Erin

Time For A Change

Dear Grandma,

I need to lose weight!  This is getting ridiculous and I'm about to the point where I don't want to see myself in the mirror anymore.  I'm embarrassed that I let myself get this far.  I know I don't eat enough fruit and vegetables, but I don't eat an overabundance of bad stuff either.  I'm really a bird when it comes to eating so how in the world did I get like this??  Oh yea, pop.  Now I remember my previous post.  Bummer, I DID do this to myself.  :( 

No, I'm not active enough.  If I could get my lazy self up out of this chair while Brennan is napping and actually pop in that dusty Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD I'd probably start to feel a little more energy and have more of that energy to keep moving after it's over and get some things done around here.  It's a vicious cycle. 

Our local Y is offering a Zumba class, which actually started last week but isn't too late to sign up for.  It's 2 nights a week, I want to do it but our schedule this week is so crazy I feel guilty adding 2 more busy nights to it.  Ugh, what to do, what to do?

I'm going to shut off the computer, turn the music channel on and get up.  It might not by a workout DVD but not sitting on my duff is a small start.

Love,
Erin

Do As I Say, Not As I Do.

Dear Grandma,

Hello, my name is Erin and I am a Mt Dew addict.  There, I said it.  I am an Mt Dew addict!  Ok, so I don't drink can after can after can, all day long.  But I cannot go a day without having a Mt Dew.  It's sad.  And I know it's unhealthy.  So I told Andy I was giving up pop.  Ha! Yea right.  I ended up talking Andy into stopping and getting me a pop one night after work and the next night I drove to the convenience store and bought us each a bottle then. So I decided it was better to buy a 12pk of pop and have it here at the house so I didn't drive us to bankruptcy by getting 2 bottles of pop every day.  Sad, isn't it?  I have no willpower to do something good for myself and my kids.  Because you know what I do is teaching them eventually do the same thing.  And with the boys I'm a bit of a freak about what they eat and drink.  Aiden is allowed a Sprite/7-Up at a restaurant once in a while but otherwise he only gets milk and water with the occoasional cup of 100% juice.  I feed them fruit like it's going out of style, which is something I never eat.  Is this where I say "Do as I say, not as I do"?  My poor body, I know I need to treat it better.  I need help.  Hello, my name is Erin and I need to eat healthier.

Talk soon, Grandma!
Love,
Erin

Once A Friend, Always A Friend

Dear Grandma,

I went to lunch with a good friend of mine today, who I haven't seen in months.  We had a great time chatting and catching up.  It felt like we just saw each other yesterday.  That's the great part about our friendship -- no matter how much time passes since we spoke last we always pick up where we left off and it feels like no time has passed.  I love that I laugh a lot when we're together and can say anything to her and she knows exactly how to take it.  I'm lucky to have her in my life.

Short afternoon since Aiden got out of school early, I'll write you more later!
Love,
Erin

It's Sticking!

Dear Grandma,

We're in for a cold spell for a few days.  They're even talking about a chance of frost tomorrow night, which is about 3 weeks early for our average 'first frost' date.  We might not even get out of the 50's for highs tomorrow!  That's crazy.  I love fall but I have to say I am not ready for summer to end yet.  I'm afraid with an early fall that will mean we're in for an early winter, and I'm definately not ready for that!

Aiden has been learning sight words at school.  So far he's learned is, the, my, like, yellow and on.  So this morning with his flash cards of those words I laid out "I like yellow" and he was able to read it, his first sentance!!!  I was so proud of him!  I am so glad we decided to go ahead with kindergarten.  Next week I might change my mind about that but today I'm happy with our decision.

Brennan surprised me today by knowing the color 'black'.  I have not been very good about working with him on his colors so I was happy when he told me a marble was black.  Some days he knows green and every day he knows pink!  He surprised me about a week ago by counting to 14 all by himself.  We do a lot of counting so I'm happy to see it's stuck with him.

I need to mop the kitchen floor, have a great afternoon!
Love,
Erin

9/11 - A Day Never To Be Forgotten

Dear Grandma,

I remember wondering as a kid if my generation would have a 'Pearl Harbor' in our time.  A significant event that we would never forget, always remember where we were when it happened, and think of on every anniversary.  September 11, 2001 is that event. Where was I when it happened?  At the salon, just starting my day.  I remember a state trooper came in for his monthly haircut and asked me what was going on, he'd heard a short clip of it on the news.  That was all I had heard, too, listening to the local radio station and them telling that a plane had hit the tower.  At that time we had no idea it was a terrorist attack or that a second plane was about to hit the second tower, a third plane was going to hit the Pentagon or that a fourth plane was filled with heroes who were trying to overtake the hijackers and crashed their plane in a field.  As the day wore on the news came in.  All I wanted was to get to a television so I could see what was going on.  I remember going to another salon after work that night and everyone talking about how you'd better fill your car up with gas because there was going to be a gas shortage, something that never did happen. 

Every year on the anniversary I think of those who died, but this year, being the 10th anniversary, is weighing more heavily on my mind.  Every news and talk show are doing features on the anniversary and telling their stories about where they were, or how they covered the story.  It's so hard to watch again, and I can't imagine being a survivor or a widow or a parent-less child having to re-watch the horrors.  It's hard to get away from it this year.  This is an event that will be with our country forever and ever and we should not forget it or what it meant for our country -- our sense of safety was taken away, our freedom was challenged.  Because of this event so many of our servicemen and women have lost their lives in the war that followed, which has left that many more widows and parent-less children.  It breaks my heart. 

I will never forget.

Praying for our country,
Erin

Dear Grandma,

I wish you could see Aiden playing flag football!  All of those boys are so funny playing out there, chasing each other around.  Last night they played the 'Red' team, both teams scored 2 touchdowns and Aiden was the quarterback on our teams first touchdown! We were so proud of him.  He really loves playing any sport but I think it's going to be a toss up as to whether T-Ball or Football is his favorite.

The other night Aiden and Andy were playing catch with a full size football and Aiden was worried it'd hit him in the head so he put on his bike helmet.  :)  Here's a picture of that. His mouth looks full because he's wearing his mouth guard.

And here are some pictures of their game last night.

Time to get Brennan down for his nap.
Love,
Erin

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like.... Fall!

Dear Grandma,

Awww, it feels like Fall today!  Last night the low was the mid 40's and today's high will barely make it to 70 degrees.  It feels amazing!  Brennan and I have jeans on today and at 2:00 this afternoon I'm still wearing long sleeves.  That might be overkill but the point is it's not hot enough to have to take it off! 

Another sign of Fall is that I planted mums in my big pot in front of the house.  I was going to take a picture for you but my camera's batteries died and I can't find any double A's in the house to replace them (mental note, put that on my list for next trip to town!).  I also planted a hardy mum in my flower bed along the fence so next year I'll have some Fall color.  The hardy mum is a rust/burnt orange color and the two in my pot are deep red and white.  Nothing says Fall to me like mums. 

This weekend we removed wallpaper and border that was in our front living room.  Then we painted the walls Prairie Sage.  I LOVE it!  Again, I wish I had a camera to take pictures for you.  It's a nice soft sage green.  Because we didn't finish until supper time last night we didn't get the pictures hung back up.  Aiden has flag football practice tonight so I'm guessing they won't get up tonight either.  I'm just glad that wallpaper is down!  Next room to paint is Brennan's, then ours, then we'll tackle the kitchen and dining room.  The house is feeling more and more like our own. 

I have a few things to finish up before I have to go get Aiden from school. Enjoy the beautiful weather!
Love,
Erin

Dear Grandma,

I am getting more and more frustrated with Aiden's school.  It seems like they have forgotten that we have not all gone through this school system.  I feel like they should have had a new student orientation before school started so us 'newbies' could ask all the silly questions we wanted.  Everything that's bothered me has been little, but many little things can add to up to one big thing over time and today I about blew my top.  I just want to know the 'routine' so I'm not surprised and made to feel stupid again.

I'm sorry, I had to get that off my chest.  Moving on...

Brennan and I made some amazing Banana Muffins today.  They were your typical banana bread recipe but you made them into muffins and added a crumb coat to the top that put them over the top.  I found the recipe on AllRecipes.com.  It's a great website that has 1000's of recipes, I've used it quite a few times and have never been disappointed.  To get your mouth watering here's a couple pictures:

Now that Bren's napping I'd better go get the kitchen cleaned up from our muffin mess.
Love,
Erin

Rain Is A Good Thing!

Dear Grandma,

IT'S RAINING!!!  We have been here over a month and the day we moved in was the last time it rained.  And that day it didn't rain enough to make much difference in the brown, dying grass.  So today it is raining.  It's a nice, gentle rain that will soak in, not just run off.  I wish it would rain like this for 3 days.  Lets hope this is the beginning of a new, wetter, pattern.

Aiden started flag football last night.  (THUNDER!!!! YAY!!!)  I wasn't sure what to expect but they actually had them practice hiking the ball (playing center I guess), running and catching the ball, and at the beginning stretching.  I wish I had taken my camera!  They are having 3 practices before their first game next week so I'll try to get some good shots and post them for you to see.  They have to wear mouth guards, which cracks me up to see little Aiden with that mouth full of plastic!  All the little boys thought they were big and bad with those mouth guards. 

Enjoy the rainy afternoon!
Love,
Erin

Sick :(

Dear Grandma,

Do you remember how often I used to get colds when I was a kid?  I walked around looking like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer half of the winter at least 3 times every summer.  Since having Aiden I seem to get colds less and less often, and they seem to get shorter and shorter each time.  Last week when Aiden started school he had a cold -- it didn't seem to be too bad and honestly, with kids it doesn't seem like being sick affects them at all.  Thursday I woke up with the sniffles and by Thursday night I was SICK.  Friday I didn't do much but take Aiden to school and run Brennan back and forth to the bathroom.  This cold really knocked me for a loop.  Finally Saturday morning I started to feel like myself again and have some energy to clean that pit that once was our house.  Then my husband and Brennan got it, but they were both able function with theirs.  Eck, I hate colds!  My nose was bright red for 3 days and I went through 2 boxes of Kleenex by myself.  I'm glad I lived through this virus to tell the tale.

Because half of us were fighting colds this weekend we didn't do too much.  Saturday we went to church and supper, Sunday we worked on prepping the deck to stain and water seal it.  We are going to rent a big belt sander used to refinish hardwood floors because the previous owners hadn't stained or sealed it in years and it is really showing some weather damage.  So hopefully by sanding the top layer off it'll get rid of that gray weathered look and it'll accept the stain and hold it better.  With the football games starting this weekend (and Andy having season tickets) who knows when we'll find time to get this job done.  This time of year the weekends really fill up for us.

Mom gave me some starts to plants at lunch today so I need to go get them planted. 
Love,
Erin

First Day Report

Dear Grandma,

Aiden's first day of Kindergarten was a success -- I know because he chattered non-stop for 10 minutes about his day (I usually have to drag it out of him) and he told me this morning he was excited to go back.  He told me he liked the lunch but that he didn't get to finish it because they were told lunch was over.  He learned the word 'the' but I'm guessing just to recognize it by sight, not how to spell it.  He played with one boy, then another boy and girl at recess, but doesn't remember their names.  They walked, them jumped, then walked again in PE.  Their classroom is HUGE.  Hmm, what else did he tell me?  To sum it up, he had a busy but wonderful day!

It is one of those picture perfect days today.  Bright blue sky, temps in the 70's, very low humidity and a soft, gentle breeze.  If the ground wasn't so darn dry I'd go out and dig in the flowerbeds while Brennan naps.  But the cracks are so deep and the dirt so hard.  I'm sure you went through a few droughts in your life, how did you cope with everything turning brown and the corn baking out in the fields?

I need to wash up the lunch dishes, I'll talk to you soon.
Love,
Erin

First Day of Kindergarten

Dear Grandma,

Today Aiden started Kindergarten.  :(  The sad face is for me.  I was ready for Aiden to be around kids again (he's been so bored this summer) but you know how emotional I am, I can't stand the thought of me or the boys growing up so this huge milestone was a doozie!  But, he was so excited this mornng (and for the entire summer) that it didn't take me long to get past the crying and think about all the fun he is having. 

Brennan has had a great time by himself today -- he hasn't had to share one single thing, not even me!  No fighting, no "Mom! Brennan took my toy!", no hollering to stop running in the house.  It's been fairly quiet around here, I think I like it.  Shhh, don't tell anyone!  Honestly, that makes me feel very guilty.  But I guess I could look at it like Aiden is having this great adventure that we don't get to go on with him so we shouldn't have to sit at home and be sad, lonely and miserable.  So we'll contine to have fun, just me and Brennan, and do fun things with Aiden on the weekends to spoil him then.

Better take Brennan to use the potty before we go get Aiden. 
Love,
Erin

Potty Training - Ugh!

Dear Grandma,

Well, I decided to take the plunge and work on potty training Brennan.  He'll be 2 1/2 next month, which is how old Aiden was when I trained him.  Aiden was EASY!  He never had an accident and had it down-pat within a week.  I just knew with Aiden he was ready.  Brennan, I'm not so sure.  About a month ago he went on the potty about 6 times, then through a fit and I didn't want to push it so let it go and didn't try again.  Now with Aiden starting school I decided it was time. 

We started yesterday, and he did pretty good, just one accident.  He went on the potty before bed last night and woke up dry today (yay!!).  He went this morning a couple of times, then got busy playing with play dough and had a double accident (BM and potty).  He went in the potty, then had another accident.  I don't think the wet undies are bothering him, either.  Not a good thing when you're training.  And every time I tell him it's time to try going he throws a fit.  So before nap time I tried a different approach -- he was to teach his doll how to go potty in the toilet.  He loved that!  So I'm hoping this helps him want to go on the potty instead of throwing a fit every time I tell him it's time to try.

Aiden's been a big help with this, too. Every time Brennan goes in the potty Aiden cheers and gives him a big high-five! Aiden's a great big brother.

Wish us luck and send us prayers over the next couple of weeks!
Love,
Erin

Weekends Go Too Fast

Dear Grandma,

How was your weekend?  Ours went by way too fast.  Ever since I quit my job to stay home with the boys (a year now!!) I've had nice, long weekends.  Probably because I'm home during the week so it doesn't feel like I have to jam so much into those 2 short days.  But this weekend just flew by!  Nicole (my sister) and Nora (her daughter/my niece) came by Saturday morning to stay for the day so Nicole and I could get some scrapbooking done.  We always have a good time when we do this but we never get more than 2 or 3 pages done because we have to chase after Nora and Brennan the whole time.  Now that they're 2 1/2 they're a little easier to have around for this because they don't require as much attention, they pretty much entertain themselves.  Then her husband and son, Pat and Charley, came over for supper and to hang out so we didn't scrap at all in the evening.  But it was a fun day.

Sunday we went to our hometown to visit my in-laws, have lunch with them and run to the awesome grocery store garden center to get some end of season bargains.  I bought 4 perennials for $8 to plant in the flower bed Mom and I were cleaning out.  They all attract butterflies and hummingbirds and bloom at different times throughout the spring, summer and fall, so I'll have a lot of color in that bed.  Then my husband's brother and his family came over late afternoon for supper and to visit.  My sister in law and nieces had not seen the house yet so they were anxious to come visit.

Speaking of the new house, we've been here for a month already!  Where did that month go??  I don't feel like we've accomplished anything we wanted to get done in here yet.  It all takes money and time, so eventually it'll all get done, but in the meantime we're living with someone else's curtains, wall colors and taste.  We did get some of the window treatments down yesterday, they just did not fit our style.  It really opened up the formal living room, I think I like the window without any curtains.

After today there is one more day of 'freedom' for Aiden before he starts 13 years of school (plus 4 more for college).  I keep thinking of all the 'lasts' we're having together -- last time he goes with me to get groceries, last time he goes with me to meet Daddy for lunch, etc.  I should think of all his 'firsts'.  I keep thinking of your story about Dad, how he didn't want to go to school because he'd miss you and then when he came home the first day he said school was okay but "I really missed you!"  That story breaks my heart and is exactly how I will feel about Aiden on Wednesday. But! He will have a great time and get to make new friends and get to learn so many neat things!  I really am happy and excited for him, but feel sad and sorry for me.  :( 

Time to put laundry away!
Love,
Erin

No Respect

Dear Grandma,
It's starting already, Aiden is saying hurtful things to me.  Yesterday we walked down to the mailbox to get the mail and he was mad at me for letting Brennan get the bag of ads out of the bottom holder.  He started complaining to me about how unfair it was and I told him to quiet down, he was embarrassing me.  Brennan and I started back to the house without Aiden and that just made him madder.  I asked him to ride his bike back to the house and go to his room for being disrespectful in public.  He rode off, then turned his head around to yell back at me "I don't like you anymore!"  Because I knew he was mad I didn't let it bother me.  But when we told Andy about it last night Andy told Aiden he needed to tell me he was sorry, and he wouldn't do it.  Where did we go wrong with this boy?  He's forgotten all about being respectful and treating people kindly.  And then this morning he accused me of lying about whether or not his TV show was on.  That one bothered me.  I asked him where he came up with the idea that I would ever lie to him.  He didn't answer.  I honestly do not know what to do about this.  I wish you were here to give me advice.  Aiden was always such a sweet, kind little boy, he never gave us any trouble.  Then this crazy summer hit and all heck broke loose.  I pray that with school starting next week he'll snap back to his sweet little self.

I had to bring 'Mean Mommy' out today.  I asked the boys to pick up their toys in the living room so I could vacuum but they just laid there.  So I grabbed all the toys, put them in a box and went about my business.  After lunch, same thing - I asked them to pick up their toys and they didn't, so into the box they went. This time Aiden realized what I was doing and asked me if I was giving those toys to another little boy since he didn't pick them up.  I told him I didn't know what I was doing with them but since they didn't care enough about the toys to pick them up I was going to take them away.  The contents of the box includes their favorite tractors and wagon, their Nerf gun and a bunch of random 'junk' that they don't care too much about.  We'll see if this makes any difference next time I ask them to pick up.

Have a great weekend, Grandma!
Love,
Erin

Playground Fun

Dear Grandma,

Today I took the boys to a new playground.  Every time we drive over to get groceries we go by this playground and Brennan yells "There it is!", like we were looking for it. :)  Anyway, today we had to run to town to get a couple of things at the store so we stopped at the playground on the way.  This playground was put in with money raised at a Memorial Golf Tournament.  In 2006 or 07 a couple lost their baby shortly after he was born, so to keep his memory alive they started up an annual golf tournament and the money raised goes back to their small town. From those funds they built this playset.  It's a really neat set, the boys just loved it!

One of the neat things about this playset is it's location -- it's right next to Dad's elementary school!  I remember playing on the old playground equipment when I was a kid (the jungle gym, monkey bars, swing set) so it's neat to come full circle with the boys.  I think we're going to meet Mom and Dad there for a picnic lunch or supper sometime so the boys can play, it'll be a fun time to listen to Dad reminisce.

I hope you're enjoying this beautiful day, the weather is almost perfect today!

Clothesline, Anniversary and Lunch

Dear Grandma,
I finally have my clothesline!  I've waited 5 long years to have another one since moving out of our first house, and now I have one!  Dad made it for me, told me it was my housewarming gift. So today I was finally able to hang the boys' sheets out to dry -- this will be the first time in their lives that they've had line dried sheets and clothes, isn't that a crazy thought?  It surprises me how many people do not have a clothesline.  But in our new neighborhood almost all of the houses have a line in their backyard and about half of them use them.  I am so excited to bring Aiden's comforter in this afternoon and put it on his bed!  It's the little things for me. :)

We went to meet Andy for lunch today.  It's been hard to not get to see him a few times during the week for lunch so it was a nice treat for all of us.  We went to a restaurant that is a lot like one of our favorite restaurants in our hometown.  The pizza was really good!  And they have sandwiches and steaks, too.  That town has such a cute downtown area, I hope they have a committee to keep it looking nice and moving forward.

Met another neighbor today, although this gal lives a few blocks away.  Her mother-in-law lives across the street from us but is currently in a long term care unit.  They found she has cancer and are treating it.  She is 90 years old and up until she went to LTC she push mowed her own lawn!  This gal said her MIL is a spunky gal, I hope I get to meet her and that she gets to move back home.

Today is my 1 year anniversary of staying home with the boys.  I can't believe it's been a year already!  It's been challenging, for sure, but I am so happy that I have been given this opportunity.  I love spending time with the boys and I love that we can go do whatever we want to now (visit family, go to the park, get groceries, etc).  I wish I could ask you how it was for you when you raised your boys.

I'd better go get the kitchen cleaned up.  Talk to you tomorrow,

Making New Friends

Today we met up with an old classmate of mine who's little boy will be in Kindergarten with Aiden.  The boys hit it off and seemed to really get along well.  They both love to be outside so it was a match made in heaven.  My classmate, Brooke, brought along her sister-in-law, Jill, and her 2 little girls.  All 6 kids played and played and played.  And I was able to have some adult conversation without one of the boys begging to leave.  Jill grew up here and Brooke has lived here for quite a few years so they both have a lot of knowledge about the town and people here.  It's nice to finally know some 'locals.'

Yesterday my mom came over to help me in my overgrown flower beds.  The previous homeowners didn't have a lot of time to garden -- they had 4 year old triples and a 2 year old.  Needless to say all the flower beds are overgrown and just need to be redone. So my mom came over while Brennan napped and we dug and dug and dug....and dug some more.  The one bed we worked in is about 15'x8'.  It has 3 big spirea bushes in a row planted from the back to the front, which seemed really strange to us. And it had hostas overtaking the rest of the bed.  So we decided after we finally get some rain to soften the ground we'll dig up 2 of the spireas and plant them next to the other one forming a back border along the house.  We dug up most of the hostas and while doing this found 2 little rose bushes that were hidden among the hostas and being eaten alive by them.  One is about to bloom so after that has happened I'll transplant it to a better spot within the bed.  We moved a birdbath to this bed to give it a centerpiece and in the spring I'll go to our Master Gardener's annual sale and buy up a bunch of beautiful plants to complete this bed.  For right now it looks a little empty, but give it a year and it'll be amazing! 

State Fair Fun!

We had a fabulous day at the State Fair Saturday! The weather was beautiful, the crowd wasn't so big that you couldn't walk down Main Street, the boys were really good and had a lot of fun and the food, as always, was delicious!  I had my hot beef sundae so I can live through another year.

This year, for the first time, we went down "The Big Slide".  It was FAST!  First my husband and oldest son went.  They held hands on the way down.  (They are the 2 on the left hand side of picture, right in the middle.)

Then I took our youngest.  When we finally made it to the top I looked down and thought "Is he going to scream from terror or laugh the whole way down?"  My husband said he had a big smile on his face the whole way down, but you'd never know it from the pictures Andy took.  He's not the best photographer. :)

All four of us climbed on all the John Deere equipment and the boys got funny foam J.D. visors (you can't see it in these pics but the back has a deer tail sticking up, pretty cute!).  Brennan wasn't happy that we made him sit for a picture, he wanted to sit up in that big 'ol Deere!

We arrived at 9 and left at 2, same as every year.  And we even thought we walked slower and added a couple new buildings to walk thru.  One of my favorite buildings to walk through is the 4-H building, it always gets me motivated to make a quilt or refinish some furniture.  But I have set a goal for myself first -- I have to finish all of my unfinished sewing projects first.  Now I know what I'll be doing during Brennan's nap when Aiden starts school next week! 

All in all, another successful year at the fair.

What's for supper?

Does anyone else struggle with coming up with supper ideas?  I have found making a weekly menu before I go to the grocery store helps me quite a bit (it also saves me money because then I just buy what I need for these meals and not random ingredients hoping they'll turn into something amazing to feed my family).  But this week I ran out of ideas so I didn't make a menu.  And now it's almost 1 in the afternoon and I have nothing thawed or even imagined for supper.  I always seem to have a harder time coming up with meal ideas in the summer because I just don't feel like cooking.  It's so much easier in the fall and winter when you want to fix something hearty to warm you up from the inside out. 

Tomorrow we are going to our state fair.  There is a chance of spotty showers in the morning but there are so many buildings to go in and explore that I don't think that will be a problem.  I am excited to watch the boys experience the fair.  Aiden remembers some things from last year but now that he is 5 I think he will really hold on to his memories of our day and look back on it for years to come.  I remember going with my parents and sister as a kid.  We didn't go every year but when we did it was always the same -- we always ate at the same booth, always walked the same route, always ran into my grandpa picking up as many pens and pencils as he could from the different booths.  Aww, memories. They keep you warm at night. :)

Old Friends and New Friends

Another perk of living so close to home is getting to see old friends again.  Only now we have kids and they get to form a friendship.  This morning an old friend of mine, Lexie, and her two kids, Hannah and Eli, stopped by with a plate full of delicious brownies.  Our kids had never met before so it was fun to see how quickly they took to each other.  Hannah is the oldest of the group, she is one year older than Aiden.  And Eli is a few months older than Brennan.  I think they'll be good buddies for years to come. 

The weather here this week has been amazing!  70's and sunny, no humidity.  We've had a very hot, humid summer so this has been a nice reprieve.  The boys and I ran to town today to run a couple of errands after our friends left and stopped by the park to play.  They had a great time running and going down the slides.  It's been so nice to be able to stay outside as long as we want and not feel like we're melting.  We haven't been for a walk since we've moved, I think tonight would be a perfect night to get that started again.

Rectory Down!

Today the boys and I went to watch our church's rectory be torn down.  Our church is going through a growing phase where they have added a hall onto the church, connecting it to the school next to it, which provided office and gathering space for our congregation and church employees.  Now they are tearing down the old rectory that sits next to the church to create more parking space.  I don't have any emotional attachment to the building but it was still a little hard watching it be torn down. My husband and I had our pre-marriage counseling there and also took our baptism class there for our oldest son.  It was built in the early 1900's so it had a lot of beautiful woodwork in it.  A couple in our parish who are building a house were able to salvage the old staircase and some of the wood trim from the house to put into their new house - I would love to see how that all comes together!  Another parish member salvaged all of the bathroom fixtures (toilet and all).  It's neat to think that some parts of this old house will live on.

I wish I had taken my camera, my boys and their cousin had a lot of fun while they were tearing that old house down by.... playing with their tractors!  I thought they would have thought it really neat to see that excavator tearing into that house but no, they were more interested in planting their fields and hauling their grain. Boys. :)

Moved In

For the last 5 years we have lived an hour away from our family, and for the last 5 years all I wanted was to move back home.  It's finally happend ... almost!  We are about 20 minutes away from our hometown now and are all adjusting very well to living in a small town again.  This small town, though, is SMALL.  There are 1000 residents in this town, compared to about 7500 in our hometown, and over 100,000 in the city we moved from.  There is a small grocery store, but it seems to only have the essentials.  There is a gas station, a post office, a school and an auto body shop.  But there is not a Target or WalMart, well known grocery store or restaurant.  Everyone in town is used to driving the 20 minutes to our hometown for groceries, eating out, etc so we will get used to it as well.  That has been the hardest adjustment for me.  I make a list for everything so when I do make the weekly trip to twon I don't forget anything.  I do love a small town, though, and won't have any trouble fitting in. 

One of the funniest things about moving to a small town is that everyone knows who we are already, but of course we know none of them.  Everyone is very friendly and I am sure it won't take long to get to know people.  The hardest thing will be to remember both their names -- yes, I said both.  Everyone here seems to have a nickname (will they give me, my husband and my kids one?). 

On a different note, my mom came yesterday to pick up my oldest son, Aiden, for a sleep over and some Grandma spoiling.  (That's one of the many exciting things about being so close to family again, they can drop in and visit or pick up the grandbabies whenever they want!)  She also picked up my nephew, Charley, so I'm sure the boys have been playing outside on the farm since they got there.  It's been nice and quiet around here -- I haven't had to break up any fights between Aiden and my youngest son, Brennan.  This has also been a nice trial run for me and Brennan for when Aiden starts kindergarten in 2 weeks.  We have had fun playing outside, cleaning the house (Brennan LOVES to help clean) and breaking down boxes from our move.  My folks will bring Aiden back tonight around supper time.  My dad made me some clothesline poles so him and my husband are going to 'plant' them tonight.  I can't wait!  I've begged for a clothesline for Mother's Day for the last 3 years but instead I was given them by my dad for a housewarming gift! Thanks, Dad!

While Brennan is napping I'd better get a few more boxes unloaded.