Blizzards and Name Changes

See this picture?  This is Cort and Lisa watching Little House on the Prairie, the latest obsession in our house.  Cort and....Lisa, you ask?  Why, yes.  Reid has informed us all that his name is now Lisa.  He gets mad if you don't call him that.  Even his twin brother, Cort, has taken to calling him Lisa. 

So they sit, side by side and sharing a blankie, watching the Survivor episode.  It's the one where the Ingalls are traveling and a surprise blizzard hits.  Most of the commentary as Cort and Lisa watch the show consists of Cort yelling over and over, "The ALIEN!  I want to see the ALIEN!"  Now I know what you're thinking.  You think there are no aliens on Little House on the Prairie, don't you?  Technically, that would be correct.  "Alien" is Cort's way of saying "Indian" which he apparently can't pronounce yet.  This episode has a Sioux Indian that saves Pa's life when he gets stranded in the blizzard while hunting for food. 

I so secretly love when Cort and Lisa can't pronounce words right. 

And now, I guess it's time for Ma to go switch out some laundry, thankfully in a machine, not in a bucket... 

If you want to enter a fun giveaway, I have one for a Zombie Cupcake Kit running through Friday on my Facebook page! 

Maple Leaves Muffin Tin Monday

The leaves are officially falling all over the place now!  The other day I was making homemade tortillas and as I rolled out the dough, it occured to me that I could cut them out into fall shapes before cooking them.  So I dug out my maple leaf cookie cutter and proceeded to do just that.

Pierce had two homemade tortillas topped with refried beans, melted cheese, and of course olives (the boy is crazy for olives!).  He also had a heart muffin cup with corn, and sliced tomatoes and green peppers from the garden.  My garden was pitiful this year, but I did get a few tomatoes and green peppers at least.  Pierce ate everything but a few bites of the corn.

For more fun lunch ideas for kids, check out Muffin Tin Mom. 

NoviPet Dog Vitamin Review and Giveaway (2 Winners!)

You know we love our border collie, Scooter.  We adopted him from an animal shelter several years ago and he's been the perfect dog for our family.  When I was recently contacted by Novipet about their multi vitamins for dogs, I was interested in trying them.  They also offer a supplement for joint support and one for Omega 3 & 6. 

 The vitamins are individually packaged and you feed them just like you would a dog snack.  I took a sniff, and it smelled kind of beefy and vitaminy to me.

Scooter was only too happy to test it - the vitamin was soft and easy to chew, in case you have a dog with sensitive (or missing) teeth.

A few minutes later....yes, I'm thinking he was pretty happy about what he thinks is a dog treat. 

I won't tell him that his treat is actually providing all the good vitamins and minerals he needs if you won't....

Want a chance to win one of the Novipet supplements of your choice?  I hope so!  Check out my Rafflecopter giveaway for a variety of ways to enter - there will be TWO lucky winners!

Disclaimer:  I was provided with a box of NoviPet multi vitamins and a couple of joint support samples for review purposes.  The opinions above are my own (and my dog's).  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Twins on Tractor - Rural Thursday

Vroom Vroom!

Vroomy Vroom Vroom!

Cort at the Wheel!

But wait!  It's Reid's turn!

Unassuming border collie in the line of fire...

May little things make you smile today!

In other news, PBS Parents has republished one of my crafts I did with the boys a while back.  If you'd like to - go check out how to make a rocket ship craft out of tissue boxes!

It's Rural Thursday!  Time to link up with myself and Nancy from A Rural Journal.  Just grab the code beneath the button and paste it into your blog post about rural life.  Then come back and add your direct url to the linky.  Please remember to visit and comment on the blogs of at least 5 other participants.  Have fun!    

Veggie Tales Little Ones Can Do Big Things Too DVD

The boys just love the last Veggie Tales dvd we reviewed, so when given the opportunity to review their newest release, I was excited.  Little Ones Can Do Big Things Too is a collection of stories about little ones who did BIG things with God's help.  Each story has an underlying lesson, such as learning to listen to your parents, or the importance of kindness.  It includes fun and catchy songs, like the other Veggie Tales dvds, and the running time is 95 minutes.  This was a little lengthy for my three boys, so we tended to watch half of it at a time.

 

 

When I asked Pierce about his favorite part, he immediately referred to the story Pistachio: The Little Boy who Woodn't.  It's an off-shoot in some ways of Pinocchio, as Pistachio is created from wood by Gelato, but then doesn't want to have to listen or respect Gelato. 

 

 

My boys were completely captivated by Little Ones Can do Big Things Too, and I approve of its wholesome lessons and messages.  You can find it at retailers for $12.99. 

 

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this dvd for review purposes.  The opinions stated above are my own.



Running, and More Running, Recap for September

Well the hardest part of my marathon training is done.  I ran 161 miles in September.  On most days, my legs were full of fatigue, and just getting off the floor after 30 minutes of story time at the library offered new challenges.  But I had a great month.  I did all of my long runs on the Blue Ridge parkway, so I could be fully immersed in hill training.  I started at the break of dawn.

 Later in the month, I was lucky enough to see cooler morning temperatures, which certainly made the long runs go by more smoothly.  After my longest run, of 20 miles, I treated myself that evening to a Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale.  I rarely drink, but I do enjoy a pumpkin beer each autumn to celebrate the arrival of Fall, and I earned this one!

 Besides, it gives me an opportunity to use our cute little English bull dog beer opener. 

Now that the hard part is done, I am tapering.  This means I'm significantly cutting back on mileage so my legs will be rested for my marathon.  Sometimes tapering involves a lot of mental anguish.  Feelings of insecurity can set in - doubts that I've trained hard enough, doubts that I can do another marathon.  It's very common, too, for runners to feel the niggles of an injury that wasn't there before.  Yes, tapering does strange things to the runner's mind.  Mostly, though, I'm just very excited to be registered for marathon #9.  Hopefully I'll have good weather and good health on the day of the race, and all those rumored hills will be just hills and not mountains! 

Do you have anything exciting scheduled for October, readers?

Happy October - Muffin Tin Monday

Another Muffin Tin Monday bento lunch for Pierce! 

Pierce really loves grilled cheeses.  This was a simple lunch.  Grilled cheese on homemade bread, carrots, grapes, and a marshmallow for dessert.  The carrots and grapes were in spider muffin tin cups.  I added a couple of Halloween picks to jazz this up a bit, especially now that it's October! 

For more fun lunch ideas for kids, check out Muffin Tin Mom.