And the Survey says....

Just lifted this little questionnaire off of another blog. Thought it would be fun to do with the kids. Feel free to copy and paste onto your blog.
1. What is something mom always says to you?
Brooke- No.
Blake - Please.

2. What makes mom happy?
Brooke- when we are in good moods
Blake- being nice

3. What makes mom sad?

Brooke- fighting

Blake- fighting

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

Brooke- By laughing with me
Blake- saying funny things

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Brooke- short
Blake - nice

6. What is her favorite thing to do?
Brooke- decorating the house
Blake- go shopping

7. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Brooke- clean the house

Blake- go shopping

8. What is your mom really good at?

Brooke - making hashbrowns
Blake -teaching

9. What is your mom not very good at?
Brooke- running

Blake- getting things done when we have friends over

10. What does your mom do for her job?
Brooke - mentor

Blake - teach

11. What is your mom's favorite food?
Brooke- salad
Blake - spaghetti

12. What makes you proud of your mom?
Brooke- She's a good cook.
Blake- She's a good teacher.

13. What do you and your mom do together?
Brooke - Watch tv
Blake - Go to parties.

14. How are you and your mom the same?
Brooke - We look like each other.
Blake - We love each other.

15. How are you and your mom different?
Brooke - We have different insurance. I go to St. Mary's and she goes to Cottage.

Blake - We don't look alike

16. How do you know your mom loves you?

Brooke - When she says "I love you, Brooke Ryner"
Blake - She says "I love you, Blake"

17. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Brooke - Applebee's
Blake - the mall

Cute

Just thought this picture was cute. This is Blake and his friend Evan. They play on the same flag football team. Evan was over yesterday to play.

Our New Favorite Breakfast!

Thanks to my friend, Mindy, we have a new favorite breakfast around here! My kids are pancake fanatics so I thought I would take Mindy's advice and try "pumpkin pancakes". I did a recipe search for them since I didn't have a couple of the ingredients that her recipe called for. She became a fan of them at IHOP. I wasn't too sure of them as I was pouring this orange batter onto the griddle. I gave Brooke hers first and when I saw her eyes light up and a big smile upon her face when she took her first bite, I knew they must be pretty good! Blake is a very picky eater, but he liked them, too! I thought they were wonderful. Jeff is going to be mad if he finds out I made them because he is such a pumpkin freak! I thought I'd share my recipe with you. You really need to try them! Another great fall recipe!

Pumpkin Pancakes
1 3/4 c. bisquick
1 T. sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. pumpkin

Mix well and pour onto hot sprayed griddle. Brown on both sides. Serve hot.

Enjoy!!!

Pooped.

Yep, that's what we are tonight. Pooped. Blake had a flag football game this morning at 8:00 am which means he has to be there at 7:30 am. I know I must have asked him 10 times if he was sure
he had to be to this game 1/2 hour early. Needless to say, he did. Darn was it cold! So we didn't get to sleep in this morning. Maybe tomorrow.

Brooke and her friend Claire spent the night at Grandma Wanda's last night so they didn't have to go to the 8:00 game. I thought that was a great idea - they'd get to sleep in. Well, Wanda woke up at 5:00 am and they were in the other room watching tv. She did make them go back upstairs and go back to sleep. Brooke said they woke up at 8:36. That sounds like a much better time. So Brooke and Claire played today. She's in the bathtub right now, I'm afraid she's going to fall asleep in there! She's pooped.

Blake played last night with his friend Evan. He really wanted him to spend the night, but we didn't think that was too good of an idea since they both had to play football at 8 am this morning. Evan left about 9:30 and I'm sure that Blake was asleep before their van got to Alexis. He then got up at 6:45 this morning. He's pooped.

Now for Jeff and I.... we're just pooped. I can't say I did too much today to wear myself out, but I sure feel like I did. Maybe it was just having extra bodies around. Jeff has picked 120 acres of beans and 38 acres of corn. The crops just aren't dry enough, but he really thinks he needs to start picking. He said he'll still be in the field in mid-November. Fun times. I'm not sure if he will pick tomorrow, but now I have to start thinking of meals to take to them in the evenings and on weekends. I really enjoy doing that, but I guess I just haven't given it too much thought this year. I need to get on the ball and think about what I can get tomorrow at the store.

Tomorrow we're off to town to look for a fire pit for my patio. I am soooooo excited about having a patio and having a fire pit. I don't know why I want one so bad, but I do. I think it will be fun to be able to sit out there and roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Although the rate we're going, we'll be sitting out there in our stockin' hats, gloves, and winter coats. Oh well!

Two of My Girls!

Pepper and her friend, Brooke! Just a casual shot! Ha! Brooke really wants to be in every picture I take. Isn't she cute? Oh, Pepper too?!

Some Recent Pics!

Just thought I'd show you some of the things going on around here.....

I just love Fall and love decorating for it! This is my new wreath that my friends Emily, Maggie, & Carrie gave me for my birthday. Isn't it awesome! I just love it. I think it looks awesome on my front door! Welcome Fall!










Ok, so I bought myself a little gift recently. I am an avid reader of Lisa Leonard's blog. She is a really cool mom and even cooler jewelry designer. My friend Mindy has a really great necklace with her kids' names on it so I decided I needed one! Lisa hand pounds them so each one is just personalized for you. Too cool!

We have a little project going on here. It was suppose to be done by now, but contractors are never on the same time frame as me! We re-roofed two small sheds, one by the house/pool and one that we call the "chicken house" where the kids park their bikes and fourwheelers. I have been wanting a patio .... somewhere, didn't care where.... that I could use for a space with some outside furniture and fire pit. I finally convinced Jeff that I needed one, so we start pouring concrete Monday morning. The forms are set. The patio itself is going to be pretty big, but it's in a spot where the yard is low and it's not much good for anything. The other spot is going to be behind the chicken house and will be 25'x25'. The kids can have a basketball hoop there and Blake will be able to ride his skateboard. By the way, farm boys aren't as good on skateboards as they think! Don't tell him that though! He's always wanting me to take him to Knoxville to the Skate Park over there. Whatever! You're a farm kid, remember!! So here are a few "before" pictures. I'll post "after" ones at the beginning of the week. Pray for NO rain on Monday!!

Where the heck have I been?

Gosh, if I could just remember what I've been doing that has stood in the way of my blogging? I am just not very good at this. I don't remember to update, then when I do, I'm in bed and don't want to get up to do it. Yes, Cathi (my dear older sister who is a blog-stalker but doesn't have a blog herself? what the heck?) has been reminding me daily to update. If I could only get the gumption to do it when she reminds me. She's the type of blog-reader that expects every blogger to just sit and blog all day long, along with snapping pictures and posting them, too. Well, you can see that I don't have any pictures this time either! There are a few things I want to take snaps of so I promise that I will do that this weekend!

My last week has mainly consisted of apples, apples, and more apples! Last Sunday we went to Carrie and Larry's to make cider. Yes, Cathi, I did go there to MAKE cider, not just to sit and watch, but how many people can you have around a cider press? Anyway, we made 23 gallons of cider out of red delicious apples! And boy was it good! I also had Carrie pick me up a bushel of apples (honeycrisp/empire) from this little orchard outside Burlington. The little old man has an orchard as a hobby and sells all of his apples for 30 cents a pound! Even honeycrisp! Yes, I bought 5 honeycrisp at the store for a mere $8.46! For 5 apples!!! I couldn't believe that this man sells them for 30 cents a pound! Bargain!

So.... Monday night was applesauce, Tuesday was apple crisp, took a break Wednesday night, and tonight I made an apple pie and 2 more apple crisps! They are so yummy, and it makes the house smell sooooo good while they are all baking!

At least it is finally fall. I just love baking in the fall - apple recipes, pumpkin recipes, chili - you name it, I like to make it! And I have some great new recipes to try thanks to my friend Mindy who put some recipes on her blog! There is this awesome little potato recipe that I've just been dying to try! Speaking of fall, it has finally cooled off in the Midwest so yesterday morning I decided to open up the house before school to air this place out! Needless to say, when I got home at 5:00 yesterday, it was 54 degrees in here! Yikes! It was a bit chilly. I think we were all aired out though!

Jeff started harvest yesterday. He is starting with beans, but isn't sure where he will go next as our crops just aren't quite dry enough for his liking. Blake rode in the combine tonight for a couple hours. I found out everything that I didn't know about farming when I picked him up! So I will be busy now on the weekends making meals to take to the field. I really like doing that, and Jeff's mom helps me out a lot. I should say that she is good at preparing the meals, and I help her out!

We are finally getting around to our "concrete" project. I will take some pictures and post more about that later. Yes, Cathi, I promise that I will. Until next time.... hopefully a little sooner than later!