Muffins of corn

Yesterday was Nathaniel's Thanksgiving celebration at school (Hi, Miss H!), and we were assigned to bring a dozen corn muffins for the event.

I just bought a couple of those Mrs. White cornbread mixes, and I intended for Nathaniel to mix them up for me in a bowl and I'd pop them in the oven -- but then he got tied up in homework and I ended up mixing them up myself while he did his practice spelling test. (He LIVES for the practice spelling test. He was the only one in after-school care who voted to do the practice spelling test instead of watching a movie. The vote was 11 to 1. That's why we ended up doing it at home.)

Anyway, I was intrigued by the baking note on the bag that you could add two tablespoons of honey to the mix to make it a little sweeter. YOU BET YOUR BUNS I ADDED IT. (And if you're not allergic to nuts, the bag also said you can add crushed pecans. I was worried about kids with nut allergies, so I left those out.)



I let Nathaniel choose whether to use our muffin pan, mini-muffin pan, or brick pan. He chose bricks.



I love my DeMarle flex molds ... everything bakes so evenly in them, and you don't even use cooking spray or shortening or anything. (I know they're expensive ... I bought them from a friend when she was starting to sell for them, but they've turned out to be worth every penny.)



Muffins pop right out, leaving just a few crumbs behind.



It's amazing, really. When I got done popping out all of our cornbread bricks, this is what was left!



And we ended up with 12 perfect little bricks for him to take to school yesterday.


They were a big hit! And the next time I make cornbread, I will DEFINITELY be adding the honey. YUM-MY.

His ship(ment) has come in

Every year for each boy's birthday, they get to wear a special shirt to their party and to school the first day after their party.

Exhibit A (Nick):

Exhibit B (Nick):



Exhibit C (Nathaniel):



Exhibit D (Nathaniel):



It's a tradition I started when Nathaniel turned 1, and they get SO excited every year when we whip out the shirts. The company I've always ordered them from stops making them at age 6, so this year I ordered one from Smitten & Co. (I've wanted to order from Smitten for the last year, but I already had the shirts through age 6, so I had to wait. AREN'T I THE VERY MODEL OF THRIFTINESS?)

Anyway, Nathaniel's shirt just arrived, and it's adorable.

His face just lit up when he saw it.

And here's one of the things I love most about buying from etsy sellers:

A personal note from the seller, Tara, was enclosed with the shirt. What a sweetie!

And in case you were wondering at all, here are a few of her other adorable designs that I would buy from Tara if I needed them ... for a little girl's birthday:

For Jake:

For a little girl to wear in December:

For me to wear in December:

For the boys to wear in December and on Christmas morning:

For the boys to wear every day:

For a little girl to wear every day:

Seriously, I think I could just buy one of everything in the shop.

Ten things

Amy at Wade's World gave me an award last week, and I'm just now getting around to posting about it. Thanks, Amy!



There are apparently some rules I have to follow in order to accept the award:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link to their blog. (Done.)
2. Share 10 honest things about yourself. (Huh. I will attempt to do that without boring the yoga pants off all 12 people who read my blog.)
3. Present this award to 7 other whose blogs you find brilliant in design or content. (I am uncomfortable doing that to people I don't know, so it might be a shorter list than seven. We'll see.)
4. Tell those 7 people they have been awarded. (Noted.)

Here goes ... 10 honest things about myself ...

1. So when I popped over to Amy's blog and read her 10 Honest Things, she started off with a real humdinger: "We have lived in our house for 6 years now, and I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never cleaned the oven." O to the M to the G. I had no idea that was something to be ashamed of. I have been in my house for 10 years and have never cleaned my oven, either, but I would never have thought to mention it. Want to know what I do? I have aluminum foil laid in the bottom of my oven. Anything that drips, drops or splatters off of a pan, the foil catches. When it gets icky, I throw it away and replace it. I've been doing that since about 1993 (when I moved to an apartment in college), and I've never had to clean any of my ovens. That's like 16 years without cleaning an oven. SCORE!

2. I think people who don't read any blogs at all are missing out on something. I know lots of people who don't read blogs. Actually, the MAJORITY of people I know don't read blogs. And it's not like I think that every blog has something to offer ... I've visited probably hundreds that didn't inspire me to visit again. But I have found so many that brighten my day, broaden my worldview, inspire me and evoke emotion in me, and I know that I would be absolutely devastated if they were all to disappear tomorrow. Assignment America: Find a new-to-you blog that resonates with you and subscribe to it.

3. I'm terrible at math, which I think I've mentioned before. But I'm not SO bad at basic addition. I can add all the numbers between one and nine together in my head without using my fingers, EXCEPT for my Achilles heel: 8+5 = 13. I either have to start with eight and count the other five on my fingers, or I have to go 8+8-3 = 13. I do not know why my brain refuses to memorize that one little fact, but I'm 36 and I don't see myself learning it magically now.

4. I got on the boat late for a few TV comedies that now rank among my favorites. I bought them all on iTunes well after they debuted, and I'm totally hooked: The Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother. Thank you, iTunes.

5. I've never seen a single episode of House or NCIS. As a matter of fact, I have a hard time remembering that Mark Harmon is even ON a current TV show. That is very unusual for someone who is basically a walking TV encyclopedia.

6. I hate pennies, but I can't stop using them. If my Chick-fil-A order comes to $4.61, I give the cashier $5.01. If it's $8.84, I give her $10.04. "Thank you for visiting Chick-fil-A." "No, thank YOU for letting me get rid of some of these PENNIES."

7. I have some SERIOUS night-blindness. It's worse in the rain. I hate driving at night because I always feel like I'm subjecting myself and my passengers to unnecessary risk. However, that feeling is not strong enough to override my Need to Control Everything nor my conviction that I am the best driver in our house, so I still insist on driving everywhere we go, even at night.

8. I am overwhelmed by large groups of people. I am much more a "small group person." I enjoy small groups of people even more than I enjoy one-on-one time with people, in general. Small groups have the potential for great storytelling and gut-busting laughter, two of my favorite things on Earth.

9. Speaking of small groups, that term is relative. A small group of people at a party might be 10 people sitting in a loose circle, and hopefully all of them can make me laugh. A small group of people at my table at a restaurant is a maximum of four. A table of six is the most I can do without feeling enormous pressure to choose the "right" seat. I want to sit in the chair that has the access to the most people -- preferably the FUNNIEST people -- which at a table of four is a moot point, at a table of six is any of the four chairs in the middle, and at a table of eight is a total crapshoot.

10. I absolutely cannot BELIEVE how blessed I am to have the family I have. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would have three beautiful boys who throw their arms around me every night and who love me with far more fervor than I am worthy. I never thought that I would have a husband who loves me so much, despite all my flaws (and despite the fact that I think and state that I am a better driver than he is), and I thank God that He put all of these people -- My People -- in my life. He is Good!

Now, I'm awarding ...

1. Patrice at The Williams Family Blog
2. Megan at Hold It Up to the Light
3. Lora Lynn at Vitafamiliae (who I don't think even reads my blog so I don't know how she'll find out about this)
4. I'm a Mom!? at The Incoherent Ramblings of a Stay-at-Home Mom (and a language warning if you happen to pop over there)

A word to the wise

I had to laugh at this one over at Fail Blog ... this is what happens if you accidentally try to bake cookies on a cutting board instead of a cookie sheet:

How bad do you think that STANK UP THE HOUSE?

Minus 24.6 and an announcement (I am not pregnant)

The "big" announcement of the morning is that last week I officially ended my very-profitable-for-them relationship with Jenny Craig. I have not stopped dieting, though, and in the last week have lost another pound on my own ... bringing me to within a centimeter of 25 pounds total.

The deal is (if you care) that when I reached the halfway mark of my weightloss with Jenny, they started transitioning me to half Jenny food, half food I prepare on my own. And it didn't take me long to figure out that if I'm doing half the work, I don't want to keep paying them any money.

Since you lose weight more slowly the closer you get to your goal weight, I knew that I was probably going to continue to lose at about a pound to a pound-and-a-half a week ... and I felt like if I continued to make good food choices at home and counted calories, I could probably maintain the pound-per-week on my own. I know that Thanksgiving is coming, and I know I'll eat more than I should next week, but I'll be miserable if I don't make some concessions over the holidays. And I flat out just don't want to be sad while everyone else is eating sweet potato casserole!

So anyway, I ordered my last Jenny shipment and have about 40 meals in my deep freezer, so if I eat some on my own and eat some Jenny meals on a schedule, that food should last me until about Christmas. That's my plan. We have some time coming up -- between Thanksgiving, Christmas and Disney -- during which Grayson will take unpaid time off, and it just doesn't make sense to keep paying so much to do something I feel pretty confident that I can now do on my own.

I have to give Jenny props, though ... I did lose almost 25 pounds on the program, and it taught me much better eating habits. I highly recommend trying it if you have weight to lose and you're wealthy. I do NOT recommend it if you live paycheck-to-paycheck and/or if you have good self-control on your own.

I'll continue to keep you posted ... maybe not weekly, but in general!

DisneyWatch 2010: Parks

I am working on making our dinner reservations based on everyone's recommendations last week. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your input! I don't know what I'd do without you.

This week I'd love to know what parks we should be sure to hit, and what rides are Totally Unskippable. If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know that the boys are all about Star Wars, and they also love the Disney Pixar movies. We'll want to be sure to hit those things.

But I don't know where any of the exhibits and rides are located, and I haven't had time to look them up yet. So any information you want to give me about which parks to hit and which rides we must ride would be GREAT!

Also, how has your experience been with FastPass?

Next week: Events.

An open letter to Twitter

Dear Twitter,

I regret to inform you that I think you've been hacked.

Last Friday, I received an e-mail in my inbox titled "Amy Grant (amygrant) is now following you on Twitter."


I thought to myself, "I follow Amy Grant -- the famous singer -- on Twitter, and that's her Twitter name. How odd."

So I clicked through to see what was going on, and I found that Amy Grant (THE FAMOUS ONE) was indeed following me. From her Verified account. Here is what I looked like at that moment:


Clearly there has been some kind of mistake. I've given her several days to realize that she made some sort of mis-click. I mean, if she's smart she's already figured it out on her own ... unless she's interested in weather conditions on local soccer fields and could benefit from Tweets like the one I sent from my phone on Nov. 12: Wiping mud off my ankles at Nathaniel's soccer game. Ida dumped more rain on the fields, and they're a MESS!

But seriously, Twitter, you really ought to run some QA on your site and make sure nothing's amiss. I'm relatively certain you've been compromised.

Sincerely,
Katherine (@grass_stains)

It's time to shake it

No one likes Mondays. And I'm feeling particularly crummy on this Monday morning, with a runny nose and a really sore throat.

I think a little home remedy is in order for all of us. Nicholas is convinced that he can make us SMILE as we greet this week.

He says, "It's Monday! Everybody shake your bootie!"

It's literally like living with Beyonce. And right after he finished it, he turned around and said, "Mommy, now put it in an envelope and mail it to 'If You Think You Can Dance'."

I think I'd cook more if I were cooking here

One of the design blogs I read linked to Sugar Pie Farmhouse this week, and I thought I'd give you a peek at it today.

The author ("Aunt Ruthie") lives in Branson, Missouri, a place I've never had the urge to visit ... but maybe I SHOULD. And it should be in the Fall, clearly, because the colors are stunning. This is the road in front of her house:



And speaking of her house, it's sort of like if Cracker Barrel Restaurant was a private family home. Front porch, rocking chairs, lots of wood beams and an American flag ...

And this is the view from the front porch:

This is the kitchen. Now, if this were MY kitchen, I'd have about one-twentieth of the accessories in it that she does. However, I love the windows and especially the farmhouse sink. I could definitely work well with all that natural light pouring in on me.

Especially if I were looking at THIS VIEW out of those windows:

I would be willing to sweat over this stove, I think ... again, too many accessories for my taste, but pared down I think this would be even more beautiful. And glass-front cabinets ... squee!

Here's another quick peek at a separate part of the house that I love: I love the windows on the interior with the shutters! (Plus, of COURSE we know I love the interior paint choices, because I'm in complete love with All Rooms Brown with Crisp White Trim.) But SERIOUSLY. Windows inside. Love 'em.

So on this fine Fall Sunday, I wish you all happy homemaking and cooking. May we all one day have the kitchens of our dreams ...

Reasons I am nuts

Because clearly we need more proof:

When I'm walking through a store and I get a pack of gum or my phone out of my purse, it's all good until I go to put the item back in my purse. Are they going to see me put something in my purse on the security camera? Are they going to send a security guard out to check my purse as I try to exit the store because they saw me stash my phone and think I'm shoplifting? To counteract this possible scenario, I find my ridiculous self sometimes exaggerating my movements and visibly holding my phone or whatever aloft for a moment before putting it away.

Related: When I leave a department store and the shoplifting buzzers don't go off, I feel strangely proud. WHY? I have no idea. It's not like I'm pulling one over on someone ... I'M NOT TAKING ANYTHING I DIDN'T PAY FOR. I suppose it's just the blush of being a law-abiding citizen.

Unrelated: You know what really throws me off? When a friend who has lived in the same house FOREVER moves somewhere else. It's not the actual move that kills me. It's the fact that I've gone for years looking up their address on Page 1 of the Ns in my address book, and now they're on Page 3 of the Ns. Disconcerting. It will take me two years to get used to flipping that extra page to find them.

I give way too much thought to things that most people probably don't think about at all. I know this. I have accepted it about myself. I AM BONKERS. But I am very encouraged that -- aside from one or two things in this category -- someone else out there has admitted to having similar thoughts. Thank you for sharing your Crazy with me, too.