Fall Festivities :: What's your Favorite?

October 16: Walter's Pumpkin Patch 

Swinging

Slinging

Jumping


Sliding

Climbing

Thinking

October 25: Prairie Pines

Goofing

Teasing

Posing

Riding

Listening

Painting

Snuggling

Mediocre Rules

This cartoon from mommytracked.com is so me. It's two women with kids in tow talking about how great it is that one of them is doing a "mediocre" job at everything. The other woman congratulates her on her efforts.

I don't think I am GREAT at anything. I'm an OK cook, but not a fabulous chef who whips up healthy gourmet food for fun. I can bake and frost a cake, but if you want it to be fancy, well, you better call Cheri's Bakery. I clean...sort of. I take good pictures, but only because I take hundreds to get the right shot. I try to exercise on a regular basis, but I'm no Jullian Michaels. My garden produced some vegetables but I won't become a master gardener. I try and keep up with the latest and greatest technology, but I'm definitely not a techno geek, contrary to what this post says. I manage to wear something that matches and is halfway in style, but "chic" is not a word I would use to describe my wardrobe.

Who are these Wonder Women? You've seen them at the grocery store. Or maybe they are the head room parent in your child's class. They might even be your best friend. They are moms who sew their kid's Halloween costumes. They make fun and nutritious lunches with little cut out cheese hearts and animal shapes made out of vegetables. These Supermoms keep a spotless house that begs the question...do children actually "live" here? They show up in their cute little workout outfits and perky ponytails, and look like a model when they got out at night. Their holiday decor looks like something out of the Pottery Barn catalog.

These women intimidate me. But I'll admit, I'm a little jealous of their accomplishments. How come they have the drive, energy and spunk to do it all? Maybe they really do have secret powers. Next time I come across one of these modern marvels, I'll ask her.

Just call me a Techno Maestro

I am awesome. Genius, might be a better word. I figured out how to convert a seemingly un-editable video file to a format which can be edited, viewed and uploaded to a computer. Please hold your applause until the end of this post.

I do have to thank the anonymous person who posted a video on YouTube titled "How to Convert VOB files to WMV or MPEG for Free Part 1," which did get me started, but didn't quite work the way I wanted it to. So I played around and was able to convert the file...on my own. Since I now have the new found talent, rest assured I will be converting and uploading the best from the Dyer movie reels.

So, for your viewing pleasure...this video of Adam was taken in August of 2003, just before his first birthday. It shows that Adam has always been a "Daddy's boy." And yes, he is eating broccoli.

If you are receiving this via e-mail, and cannot see the video, click here.

You'll put an eye out...

(UPDATE: We made it into Family Fun Magazine!)

Zach and I made Forked Eyeballs, as seen in the October issue of Family Fun magazine. It's a pretty easy recipe: donut holes, melted white chocolate, regular chocolate chips (for the eye) and red frosting in a tube. Our eyeballs didn't turn out as "pretty" as the magazine, but the boys thought they were cool and gross because "the red frosting looks like REAL blood!"

I usually don't attempt recipes I find in magazines, because I'm not much of a cook and my creations never look as good as the picture in the magazine. But I will probably do this one again. It might even become a Halloween tradition.

At least I had the "gross out" factor in my favor.