The sweet, the good, and the disgusting...

My little sweetheart, taking an impromptu nap. I just could resist his cuteness. I just don't know how he managed to sleep that way...


An inspirational idea from Melinda (thank you!!). I made stuffed french toast...kind of. It's two slices of bread, both pieces covered in cream cheese and a dollop of strawberry preserves in the center. I used a pumpkin cookie cutter to seal the edges down (never mind it was a cute cutter), and cooked them up. I asked Josh to taste them before I took the picture, and I barely got to take it before he gobbled them up! I used the last of the cream cheese mixture to draw the pumpkin lines and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Very delicious!
What proper fall season would be complete without caramel apples? I admit to being a little disappointed because Dallas didn't want to help me unwrap them, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to keep him away. Dallas also didn't want one once I was finished. Bummer! But Josh and I enjoyed them, and I can make more!

In search of somewhere new (we're trying new places to eat since it's so easy to fall back on your favorite places without trying anything different) we went to a Mongolian BBQ. I haven't been in years, and I don't know about Josh. It was good. We all ate with chopsticks, although Dallas had to give that up because he wasn't actually getting anything:( Josh and I especially enjoyed the egg drop soup (anyone happen to have a recipe for that?), but when we were nearly done, Josh decided to go around again (all-you-can-eat special). That's where the next picture comes in. I had beef and Josh had chicken the first time. But then he decided he wanted the seafood. When he brought his bowl back we realized this did not mean just some shrimp, crab, or calamari. No these were actual baby squid. I don't know what that other thing was, but suffice it to say we suddenly had an urgent appointment elsewhere. Yuck!

At Last!

As of an hour ago, I once again have internet in the house. Despite not leaving comments, I have been able to check everyone's blog and am completely caught up. And on that note.....

Dallas. Oh what word that has become. It really says it all. It's goes from a name, to a description, to an explanation, an expletive, and finally a reason in two easy syllables. I still haven't found my camera cord, so I don't have pictures of it, but Dallas's birthday went off splendidly. I made food--potato salad, jello salad, chips, dip, fresh watermelon, and burgers and dogs (ok, so Josh did the grilling). Josh invited a friend from work and his wife and their two kids and we all had a blast. There wasn't a set thing, and I didn't do games or an outside party (way too hot!) but we all sat together and a great time while the kids tore Dallas's room apart (really, isn't that why I cleaned it in the first place?). I also made a dirt cake which was a total hit! Dallas got a bunch of clothes, remote control dump truck and track hoe, movies (bee movie, Shark Tale, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Monsters, Inc.), Big Boy pants, and a cute lunch box. For such a small party he made a pretty good haul:).
However, he has also been given some brand new restrictions. It was a good morning. The weather was cooling off, Josh was at work, there wasn't a lot to do in the house, and Dallas wasn't in a mood. I took the opportunity to clear out some of the junk that had accumulated on the kitchen counter. Dallas made an appearance every five minutes or so, but only to run his cars on the floor, and was pretty quiet while in his room (rare occurances for any of you who have boys). I should have known something was up. When he hadn't shown his face for about seven minutes and I couldn't hear him, I decided to peak in and see what he was up to. So I did. His room was empty. I knew where he'd gone, though, he'd left me a clue: the open window with the screen pushed out. Oh, yeah. I panicked, ran straight out the front door, calling him, frantic...and he was across the street playing with a little boy who obviously knew better than to do something like this. I know that because said little boy was playing with Dallas through the rails of his patio, instead of climbing out his window. My heart having resumed it's pounding, I retrieved my little scamp, and explained very carefully (while squeezing the breath out of him) why we don't do
things like that. The new restriction: he now has an alarm on his window, a really loud one.

Josh is going direct! He's been a contractor for Aerotek for the last six months, this means he gets paid every week and only gets taxed on half of it. But it also means that the paychecks are stingy. Very soon, he'll be going direct with Bombardier (bom-bar-dee-ay), and get better insurance, more pay, better hours, more pay, and possibly be moved to a day shift. There are only two shifts there: 6:30-7:00. The am and pm are interchangeable. He's actually just been moved to days, as of yesterday, but because he's contractor now that may change once he starts direct. A little confusing, but when you live it day in and out you get used to it. Bombardier is the third largest aircraft maker, the first and second are Boeing and Airbus respectively.

We are also all looking forward to a visit from Josh's Grandparents next week. They winter here in Arizona and they'll come through Tucson to see us. We'll be spending Christmas with them too, no details worked out yet, but we get them all to ourselves this year and we're really excited!

On a side note, 'stupid' is not a nice word, why is it the one word I can't get Dallas to stop saying?

This is the longest post I've written in months, I'll do better, I promise, and I am going to work on getting those pictures up pronto.