Birthday boy

Happy 10th birthday to Liam! I can't believe we've had this kid for a decade already...

He got a lot of cool gifts this year, but he's been after a light saber for months so he was super excited that Dada had a moment of weakness and got him one. Here's the card from his sister:

One of the fun items in the bag of goodies from Grandmama:

Oh dear, I didn't order these well at all. Sorry. Trick or Treat was Saturday and it was coldish but calm and the imminent rain held off after some sprinkles. I thought this tree was really cool in the streetlight:

...but it's shadow was even better! And look! A Cap'n Jack sighting! Fancy that!

We decided a bowling party for Liam would be perfect as he hasn't been bowling in ages and he loves it. Plus, everyone can eat pizza and cake at the bowling alley and I don't have to clean the house. *WIN!* Oh, that was my out loud voice again, my bad. So here's the crew:

As I mentioned, he got a lot of cool loot. He'd asked for Pokemon cards, Minecraft anything, Lego stuff. He got all that and more, including minion jammies (adorable!) and a heavy duty flashlight, compass, firestarter, Boy Scoutish things. All in all, he was pretty delighted with his birthday.

Candy from Trick or Treat and the parade and party at school on Friday weren't bad, either. 

So, we had Darth Vader (That Asthma Guy, as he's known in some circles- you know who you are), a satyr (our mythology obsessed Thing One) and Superman. And Dumbledore and Cap'n Jack. Not a bad mix, savvy?

Shoot, that's an upside down Yoda. *sigh* Anyway, it was green cake (yellow + food dye) with cream cheese icing dyed to whatever color, and we found dark chocolate mint m&m's for our Mister Minty's decorations, hehe! It was quite tasty!

Plutonium jelly, origami fireballs, and broccoli soup

Since it's Autumn, again, and the heat's on and the fireplace is occupied with cheery flames, and the heavier covers are on the beds, the dry-cracking skin game has also begun around here. My fingertips are so snaggy that I hate to touch anything soft lest I velcro myself to it. Liam's poor lips are already chapped and sore. He about had a fit when we suggested he put on some petroleum jelly, even when we assured him it would sting way less than chapstick. 

"I don't WANT to use plutonium jelly!"

...

Yes. Well. 

After trying it for an overnight or two, his lips are a little better and aren't stinging quite so much. Enough better that he put some on himself yesterday without a knockout-dragout fight. Small victories, people.

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So some of you have snow. SNOW. Unreal. You can keep it.

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Do you know what this is?

That would be what I confiscated from the Damonater. He's been rolling up toilet paper and calling them Origami Fireballs. 

... again.

I have no idea if it's from a book or a show or a friend or what, but he thinks balled up TP is absolutely hilarious and wants to make them for his siblings. 

Please do not submit to the urge to place an order. I will hunt you down.

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I spotted broccoli for 99 cents a head at Aldi a few weeks back. I grabbed three of them, washed them up and froze them once I was back home, and pulled a bag out yesterday to whip up some imitation Panera broccoli cheese soup.

Since Dada is trying to minimize carbs, we substituted almond flour for the regular all-purpose stuff. We also were out of half and half, so the heavy whipping cream went into the pot instead. We figured they'd kind of cancel each other out. 

It didn't quite thicken up as much as I'd hoped for, but the flavor is very good and because we doubled the recipe we even have some for the freezer. It's definitely soup season!

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Dada and Liam sold popcorn for the Boy Scouts this weekend at our local Bass Pro Shop. Fortunately, it was sunny and not as windy as it is today. This coming weekend will be Boy Scout camp, which I know someone is looking forward to. I hope they don't turn into Scoutsicles. 

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Our sweet Nina turned 10 last week and Liam's birthday is rapidly approaching. We'll be bowling, in costumes, so be sure to check back here for a post about that. My money's on those pictures definitely being worth 1,000 words. 

Until then, we'll keep processing apples, slogging through homework, driving to and from karate, and being up to our usual shenanigans. Have a terrific week! And stay toasty!

Happy birthday to Carson!

Our buddy Carson turned 4 on Saturday and invited us to his birthday party. It was the first time the kids have been bowling in real life. They've practiced on the Wii often. They very much enjoyed it.

And Damon discovered the joys of pizza crusts. He made two whole pizza slice crusts disappear, and is looking for more!