The KAT's Meow

Jr.: Whenever someone asks, "May I have some condiments?" I'll answer, "I don't know. Mayo have some condiments?" 

Jr.: I don't know if I like Miracle Whip. I mayo may not.

Jr.: If a pregnant woman is making an ice sculpture, goes into labor, then knocks it over, doesn't that mean that her water broke twice? 

Jr.: Apatosaurus, the gentler cousin to Aslaposaurus.

Jr. Jr.: That was an awesome expression. I know because I made it.

Jet: More ice cream?

Me: How do you ask nicely?

Jet: Please.

Jet (as I'm dishing out his ice cream): Ice cream for me?

Jr. Jr.: Nichole, you like sweet tea because you are a sweetie.

Everyone: Awwww.

 

 

 

Jet: Let's watch a movie. And the popcorn can join us! 

Jet had something like a manual he was unfolding and looking at.

Me: What does Jet have?

Jr. Jr.: I don't know.

Jet: A paper.

Jr. Jr. was carrying Jet.

Jr. Jr.: Look up. What do you see? Do you see the sky?

I leaned over because I was a step above.

Me: Look up. What do you see? Do you see Mommy?

Jet: Mommy can fly like a bird. Jr. Jr. can fly like an eagle. Jr. Jr. can bawk like a chicken. Bawk. Bawk.

Musical Cuteness

Jet: The triceratops is a trumpet.

(proceeds to make musical instrument noises)

Jet (holding Spinosaurus): This is a flute.

(more musical instrument noises)

Later...

Jet: Can you take a picture of me playing the tuba? 

More Fall Colors

Jet and I went for a drive up South Fork Road one day to look at the Fall colors up there. Gorgeous.

Happily, we were able to see turkeys on the road and to the side of the road. Love it.

It's fun when you have an excuse to stop and look at the birds because they're crossing the road in front of you.

 

Some More September Holidays

September 25 was National Daughters Day. I wished a Happy National Daughters Day to my daughter.

 

September 26 was National Pancake Day. We had pancakes. It was also Johnny Appleseed Day. I gave everyone the option of drinking apple cider. Jet got a hold of the box and flung apple cider packets all over the place.

 

September 27 was Crush a Can Day. Nichole was busy with midterms so we brought her some taco pizza and a can of pop. She very obligingly took a picture after celebrating Crush a Can Day. That's my girl.

Bluebird of Happiness

September 24 was Bluebird of Happiness Day.

 

I found it. I found the bluebird of happiness. 

And isn't it so cute?

Total coincidence that he wore so much blue that day. He even had a blue shirt under his jacket.

This little bluebird is happy visiting a local library.

 

This little bluebird went for a walk around the neighborhood where we heard several scrub jays, which are blue birds.

This bluebird is happy when he's helping.

Another recipe from A Season of Family Meal Plans by Jordan page while doing Shelftember.

Honey Mustard Pork Chops

Used pork chops from the freezer, lettuce (which my bluebird helped with) for salad before it went bad, homemade dough sitting in the fridge to make garlic rolls.

Now It Is Fall!

September 22 was Hobbit Day. Jr. played LEGO Hobbit.

I wore my bow earrings to celebrate my sister's birthday.

The Autumnal Equinox/First Day of Fall was also on September 22. We didn't do anything except mention it.

The next day, however, Jet and I went for a drive up Kyhv Peak Road to see the beautiful Fall colors.

Gorgeous.

That day, September 23, was Great American Pot Pie Day. I made chicken pot pie and for Family Home Evening on National Family Day (also on the 23rd) we played Pictionary drawing by mouse on the computer.

Guess what the word was for this picture:

 

I yelled out, "Trogdor!" then calmly said, "Dragon," to get it right.

We Won! We Won! We Won! We Won!

I mentioned back in September (September 2, 2024) that Jeremy won a movie night at the Orem Library through the Summer Reading Program.

He was allowed to have 20 people for the movie night, so each of us in the family were able to invite two or three people. So on a Saturday afternoon in September, our group of 20 met together at the auditorium at Orem Library to watch the movie, Wonka, and eat chocolatey treats that Jeremy put together for everyone.

It was a nice activity. We really like that movie.

picture taken by Stephanie Goodman

This is what Stephanie sent to us after the movie was over. Some of us got a quick picture together.

Friends Helping Friends

September 19 was International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Often we'll do pirate themed food but we didn't this year. Instead my friend, Stephanie, and I got together to make a meal. I supplied ingredients for making an Instant Pot dish, my go to honey garlic chicken from sixsistersstuff.com because she wasn't as familiar with using the Instant Pot as I am so I wanted to teach her. She supplied ingredients for making cauliflower rice. 

So we each learned a new recipe, had great bonding time together, and each went away with a meal for our families.

 

I did celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day by putting on some Monkey Island music.

 

September 19 was also Slimey the Worm's Birthday. This is how Jr. celebrated when I reminded him who Slimey the Worm was. 

Jr.: Oh, I love trash. I love you, Mom.

Then he realized what he said and corrected himself.

Jr.: AND I love you, Mom. AND I love you.

 

September 20 was Pepperoni Pizza Day, String Cheese Day, and Fried Rice Day. We didn't have string cheese but had shredded mozzarella cheese (string cheese is usually made of mozzarella cheese) which we put in the pizza crust. For the fried rice, I threw together whatever stuff in it. We had lots of frozen corn that needed to be used, etc. #shelftember

Do you remember... the 21st night of September? I went around singing that song that day.

Holidays, Shelf Cooking, and Bonding Time

September 10 was Ants on a Log Day. We had fluffernutter sandwiches and ants on a log. See my blog post for September 14, 2020 for an explanation why we celebrate with fluffernutter sandwiches on that day. We didn't have any marshmallow fluff so we used real marshmallows. #shelftember

 

Other Shelftember foods we had near that time:

Start with a box pasta meal. Add cooked pasta, some extra seasonings, and cooked bacon from the freezer. It stretches a lot farther. That's shelf cooking!

 

Sometimes I forget that something as simple as beans and rice works for a quick lunch.

 

Homemade bread, spinach before it goes bad made into a salad, casserole from the freezer (tortellini casserole from A Season of Family Meal Plans), and a banana.

 

My husband has always been better at throwing things together to make a good meal. He knows how to do shelf cooking. He took my leftover black beans and some polish sausages and veggies and made some yummy yummy food. He's awesome.

September 11, we remembered.

September 12 was National Video Games Day. I had every intention of playing video games that day but by the end of the day I was too tired. Sigh.

It was also Hug and High Five Day and National Chocolate Milkshake Day. 

Jet helped me make cornbread muffins to go with our dinner of Sausage Veggie Skillet (with extra zucchini because it was cheaper than yellow squash) and rice-n-cheese (instead of orzo-n-cheese because we have rice, not orzo). Both those recipes came from A Season of Family Meal Plans, volume 3, of course. Our chocolate milkshakes were yummy.

September 13 was the Anniversary of The Animaniacs premiere in 1993 so we listened to Animaniacs music. It was also Roald Dahl Day so I put on music from Wonka.

After after school snack of parfaits to celebrate International Chocolate Day and National Peanut Day (and quoting the movie Shrek about how ogres, onions, and parfaits all have layers), I let the kids have the kitchen for Kids Take Over the Kitchen Day and they made pizza. 

September 14 was Eat a Hoagie Day so I made hoagies/buns for people to use and it was National Parents Day Off but I really don't remember what Jeremy and I ended up doing, if anything. I did get a picture late at night of the moon and clouds.

September 15 was Double Cheeseburger Day and National Linguine Day. We had spaghetti with sauce (it had hamburger in it- well, ground turkey, tee hee) and two types of cheese (double cheese, tee hee). #shelftember

September 16 was Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day and National Play-Doh Day. I was complaining about not having time to make play doh and Jeremy pointed out that I played with dough in order to make cinnamon raisin bread which tasted so good by the way.

 

September 17 was Monte Cristo Day. Did you know there is a Count of Monte Cristo musical? I found out when I tried to get Alexa to play music from The Count of Monte Cristo while I was making food and it put on songs from a musical. Fun. I decided to do something new this year and made Monte Cristo Slider Sandwiches from sixsistersstuff.com

Yumm. I made more later to freeze so we could pull out sandwiches when we wanted them.

 

September 18 was National Cheeseburger Day. So we pulled hamburger out of the freezer (ground turkey) and made smothered beef burritos from... you guessed it... A Season of Family Meal Plans, volume 3.

Of course walks, snuggles, and other kinds of bonding have continued. I love my family.

My parents made a quick trip to Utah for my dad's 60th high school reunion. They stopped by to see Jet and me one day. I love my parents.