Turkey, Pilgrim, & Indians—Oh My!

This Thanksgiving goes down in the Leone family record book as one that was thoroughly relaxing and utterly memorable. Sure, Joe and I did our annual, sometimes-tiring kitchen marathon in the 48 hours leading up to Thanksgiving, but we had all the dishes prepared in advance, and we benefitted in the form of a relaxed Thanksgiving that allowed us time to really savor the holiday with the kids and our guests.

Unfortunately, my parents and my grandmother were unable to make it for dinner. However, our close friends the Daniels—John, Claudia, and Jen—filled our house with great merriment and good cheer. And they arrived bearing sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, chocolate cranberry tart, wine, flowers, and a Claudia Daniel original drawing! What's not to love about these people? The Daniels are, indeed, like family, and we were honored to have them here for Thanksgiving this year. Together, we enjoyed great food, excellent wine, football passes in the living room, crazy Photo Booth snapshots on the mac, and general mirth and pandemonium.

The photos that follow provide a flavor of the Leone Thanksgiving this year.

Funny Kid Quips

Mom: "Why are you out of bed, William?"

Perfectly healthy six-year-old son: "I feel like I'm going to throw up, Mom."

Mom: "If you're going to throw up, then go into the bathroom."

Mom: "Andrew, now what are you doing up?"

Perfectly healthy three-year-old boy: "I feel like I'm going to throw up too."

Mom: "It seems to be quite popular around here to pretend like you're sick just so you can get out of bed."

Perfectly healthy three-year-old revising story on the spot: "Oh, I got mixed up, Mom. Actually, I meant to say I really like seeing people throw up, so I'm going to go watch William."

Mom: "Good one, Andrew." [Mom sends two perfectly healthy boys back to bed and tries to hide smile.]

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The kids are looking through a Christmas cookie cookbook, trying to decide what recipes we'll use for Christmas baking this year.

Three-year-old Andrew runs across a photo of a cut-out cookie shaped as a fleur-di-lis.

With great glee, Andrew shouts, "Look! We can make stabbing cookies!"

Apparently, the fleur de lis looked a bit sword-like to little Andrew.

The Candy Man

I asked Andrew yesterday what he is going to be when he grows up.

He replied, without any hesitation, "A candy character."

"What's a candy character?" I asked.

"A guy who gives out candy, of course," exclaimed little Andrew.

I've learned something new today. Here's hoping that Andrew saves the Heath Bars for me.

Can I Tell You How Much I Love this Girl?

Sweet Therese. Some days I just want to hold her, and hug her, and snuggle with her, stalling time and savoring all her toddler cuteness before she grows up on me.



Here we are playing "nuzzle," where I kiss her firmly right on the neck where it tickles most.







Playing on the floor.

They Sew!

Our girls have turned into little sewing fiends. I love it! We've been working on sewing skills for the last year or so, but so sporadically that it had not gotten us very far.

Things took a turn this summer when I signed my two oldest girls up for a four-day sewing camp and, in move of perfect timing, Grandma Kate bought Anna Marie and Kathleen a sewing machine on the occasion of Anna Marie's birthday. (The Grandma Kate machine is a huge improvement over my old clunker which was mostly frustrating for the girls and for me.)

Anna Marie has been sewing everything from doll clothes to little purses to pajama bottoms. Kathleen has followed suit, learning alongside Anna Marie. Here are a couple fun little bags that Anna Marie whipped up for her twin cousins, purposely setting the pockets askew. Great fun!

Hey, Look at my Friend, Mom!

On Sunday, William came running into the house with this large "friend." I was a little taken aback at the size. I've never seen such a large caterpillar.


Nature sleuth, Barb, helped us identify it as a Crecopia Moth Caterpillar. This means it will become the largest moth in North America! We have discovered that it likes maple leaves and buckthorn. It should spin a cocoon soon, and then we'll have to wait until spring or summer to see it in its mothly glory.

We learned that it does well in very cold temperatures (more than 30 degrees below zero) and needs the colder temperatures for proper metamorphosis. For that reason, we will be placing our "friend" on the shaded north-facing front porch in the nice little home we've made him. We will await warm weather and the emergence of Mr. Moth.

When I was checking favorite blogs this morning, I stumbled upon a similar post by my friend, Andrea, who lives only about 15 minutes from us. It must be the year of the Crecopia Moth in our area!

Taking Back His Words

We were having a simple lunch of bean and cheese quesadillas today. As I was spreading the refried black beans on the tortilla, three-year-old Andrew came along, took one look, and exclaimed,

"Eeeew! That looks like cat poo..." [stopping himself before the final consonant]

[pause, quick mental check]...

"Um, Mom, I didn't actually say that..."

[another pause, wheels rapidly turning]...

"I love you soooo much, Mom."

Nice save, little guy.

Praying for Erin

Please pray for sweet baby Erin, who is undergoing heart surgery this Wednesday. Erin, our prayers are with you!

Entertainment a la Andrew

You know, you don't have to look far for entertainment and laughs in this family of seven. Especially when you have a resident ham for a three-year-old.

Andrew has taken to hanging off the counter by the pouch of his rotund belly, his feet a good twelve inches off the floor. He climbs up on a stool, takes his hanging-position when no one is looking, scoots the stool away with his feet, and then hangs there unassuming, not making a peep, until someone walks by and takes notice. It's a riot.

If you care to see a three-year-old-hanging-by-his-belly, c'mon over. You simply don't know what you're missing.

Aaaaaaaw! Isn't that NICE?

Well, waddya know? My pal, Andrea over at Gray Family Circus, tagged me for a NICE award. How nice of you, Andrea! (I simply pale in the face of Andrea's "niceness." I'm convinced that she's never raised her voice at her children.)

Without further ado, I will pass on the nice award torch to the following very nice bloggers who regularly inspire me to be a better --yes, even a nicer-- mother and/or homeschooler:

Alice at Cottage Blessings
Meredith at Homework
Margaret at Minnesota Mom
Cheryl at My Thoughtful Spot

Packers vs. Bears

After first giving birth to two girls who adore dolls and all things girlie, I am finally feeling right at home having two rough-and-tumble boys. After all, I grew up in a house with six brothers and no sisters.

This is what simple playtime at our house looks like. The Packer (Andrew) and the Bear (William) snarl at each other; the ensuing "tackles" then break out.

No, it doesn't look much like a real football game, but it is a hoot to witness.

Crayon Pouches

I was feeling a little crafty yesterday, and decided to take a stab at making my own crayon pouches—four of them! The idea came from the 4 Real forum and the Nested site. I must say, I was tickled with the results. They are quite easy.

The first two photos show the little boys' pouches -- small and perfect for crayons. The second two show my older girls' pouches. My oldest requested one with larger slots for bundles of colored pencils.

My husband is now requesting a customized pouch for his wrenches.

Please Pray

Please keep this family in your prayers. The parents are the brother- and sister-in-law of my cousin, and I can't imagine their grief. We can all learn from this sad story.

Music Man

Our budding musician who remembers every song he hears and makes music by ear was given a mini-trumpet by his grandfather. It was love at first sight. We have to keep it in the case on a very high shelf, to be used only when the littlest ones are occupied, as it otherwise gets dropped and dinged. The requests to "get the trumpet down" are daily, even hourly. And when it comes out, we can't hear ourselves think. But our music man is in heaven.

Pickles—Part II

This is how we solve the dilemma of the smooth-top electric stove not being hot enough for canning. Joe does his canning outside, on the deck, using the camp stove. It works like a charm and doesn't heat up the kitchen! Voila!

It's Pickle Time!

Joe, the resident Italian in the family, is a canner extraordinaire. (It seems that every "good Italian" I know is a canner.) By mid-summer, Joe is usually hip-deep in pickling and canning. By August, he's at least elbow-deep. Here, the kids display the beginning of the cucumber harvest. On the agenda this afternoon: Bread & Butter Pickles (recipe courtesy of Joe's secretary, Marcia).


Bread & Butter Pickles

Ingredients

4 quarts Sliced, unpeeled medium cucumbers
6 medium White onions sliced -- (6 cups)
⅓ cup Pickling salt
5 cups Sugar
3 cups Cider vinegar
1 ½ tsp Turmeric
1 ½ tsp Celery Seed
2 tablespoons Mustard Seed

Instructions

Combine cucumbers and onions. Add salt, cover with cracked ice, mix thoroughly. Let stand 3 hours and drain well. Combine remaining ingredients, pour over cucumber mixture and bring to a boil.

Fill hot jars to 1/2 inch from top, adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling).

Makes 8 pints.

Nutrition Summary by Recipe (Excluding Unknown Items)
4029.5 Calories (67.7 Calories From Fat - 1.68 percent of total); 7.5 g Fats; 6.4 g Protein; 1019.0 g Carbohydrates; 0.0 mg Cholesterol; 4.3 g Fiber; 7.2 mg Sodium

Exported from A Cook's Books -- Recipe management for Macintosh

Spending Time With Family

Since my parents live in Kansas, I get to see them far too infrequently. We had such a nice time visiting with Mom and Dad, watching Joe and Dad ("Poppy" to the kids) show off their July 4th pyrotechnics, and generally catching up. These photos were taken the morning that Mom and Dad were checking out of their hotel to head back home. We will miss them!

Isn't this what it's all about?

Steamy summer days, outdoor fun, barefoot activities, brotherly love, splashing in water, completely fallin' for Mom's "white-washin' the fence" routine...

Mary's Anawim

I am pleased to announce that one of my favorite priests, Fr. Rick Heilman, right here in the Diocese of Madison, has begun to blog. His new blog, Mary's Anawim promises to be a great place to find authentic Catholic teaching and a bolstering of those Catholic clergy who take sometimes-unpopular positions in their fidelity to Christ's Church. Do check out Fr. Rick's blog!

Neon Jewelry

These are our two girls on the 4th of July evening, bedecked for the home-grown fireworks show orchestrated by Papa Del and Daddy. What? You say you don't recognize them? Please.