Red Sky in Morning

This is what our sky looked like this morning. Absolutely beautiful. I wish my camera was better because it just doesn't capture the color that was so vivid.

The poem says,

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning”

This came to mind after I had been dealing with the two impossibles (Jonah and Freya). They have been aggravating each other, putting her feet on him, tripping her, random smacks here and there. I have sent them to their rooms multiple times, have yelled so much that I have given myself a headache and have gone from a good mood to this nasty one.

When Raita called and I complained about the woes of parenting, his words of wisdom were, "ya got any booze?" It's official, the drinking lamp is lit.

Today is Raita's Birthday. I made him a lemon meringue pie and a margarita. He isn't too hard to please.

He has been talking about this T-shirt he wants to make. So, I went ahead and made one for him. He is all about the stacation or staycation which ever you prefer.....

My dad is visiting this week. We went to a little Halloween party yesterday. I started face painting and got sucked in as I always do. It is so fun, I love to do it.

Anyway, my dad got in line and requested a giant zit. Hopefully I'll get pictures of the other faces I did, it was fun to see all these made up little kids walking around.

Hook 'em!

Yes, I said it. Next thing you know I'll be wearing the burnt orange and saying Y'all along with it.

We went to the Woman's soccer game, Longhorns vs. Aggies. It was exciting to say the least, well of what I was able to watch of the game. Between getting popcorn and making sure all the kids were staying close I watched a bit of the game.

Some of the girl scouts in Chloe's troop came along. They all earned a great burnt orange patch with a long horn on it. Perfect addition to the brownie vest! I think the girls were inspired as they were being a bit more aggressive at today's game.

We saw the cheer leaders and the long horn. It was so fun to see so much team spirit!

I was "this close" to getting a burnt orange soccer shirt but I just wasn't ready for that leap in my life yet. That would mean I was fully crossing over to the burnt orange atmosphere. I still get excited when I see someone wearing a yellow and green DUCKS shirt. Surprisingly I see quite a few of them around the Austin area, I always yell, "Go Ducks!" when I see one.

For now, get your pinky and pointer out, make those horns and yell, "Hook 'em!"

What a great day to go on a bike ride. It wasn't so hot but still warm enough to be in our shorts! We played in the sand for a bit and waited for the sprinkler to come on but I guess it is too cold for that now. Ya know, 85 is just too chilly for the Texans. They need it to be at least triple digits out to get wet!

Freya caught a lizard. It's missing it's tail and is tiny but amazingly still alive. She had it in the house and was hiding it in her pudgy little hands. I told her to take it outside and she pitched a fit because she really wants to show Chloe. So we put it in a jar with holes in the lid. We also had to feed it grass. We read Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse last night and I am wondering if she thinks it is the magic lizard in the book. HMMMMMM



And on to pumpkins and baking.
My dad use to always make us pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. They were the absolute best cookies. You just make your standard CCC and then add half a can of pumpkin to the batter. I saw this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. Chloe really wanted to take a picture of the batter. It looks pretty disgusting but I am telling you, these are better than pumpkin pie.

Today we went kayaking with Uncle Brian.

It wasn't too hot, about 93 or so. That definitely made the breeze appreciated. Brian and Jonah handled the two man pretty well while Freya sat between my legs on the single.

Last time we went, I had Jonah to help me. Needless to say, it was a bit more difficult for me this time around without his help!




We saw lots of wild life; Blue Herons, turtles, ducks and the occasional fish jumping out of the water. Can you find the turtle and the heron in the last picture?

Friday Night Pizza!

We love to make our own pizza. Toss the dough in the bread machine, get a can of pizza sauce, some cheese, pepperoni and olives and the kids are in heaven. I always get them to add something like a pepper or mushroom to make sure we have some veggies in there. Today I made myself an eggplant tomato pizza as well.

This recipe will make 4 decent sized pizzas. My three kids and I can eat 2 of the pizzas with 2 left over for lunch or maybe we will save some for my husband when he gets home. OH and I may save him a beer too!

Here is the recipe I use for the crust, it is actually a focaccia bread recipe but works so well for pizza.

Bread Machine pizza crust or Focaccia bread recipe:

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten (optional)

• 4 cups whilte flour (I use 3 cups unbleached and 1 cup whole wheat)

• 3 Tablespoons sugar

• 2 Tablespoons instant skim milk powder

• 2 teaspoons yeast

Put ingredients in machine in order above. Set to "dough" setting.


For Pizza:
cut into 4 pieces. This will roll out to about a 12" diameter thin crust. Put this on either a pizza stone or pan with some cooking spray or corn meal. Bake at 450 F for 3 minutes. Take out of oven and put your pizza toppings on it (light sauce, at least 1 cup of cheese, your other toppings and then light cheese) then bake for 6-7 more minutes. You can put fresh basil on top for a lovely flavor.

For the Focaccia Bread:
cut the dough in half, spread into squares on baking sheets or pizza pans. Brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle on: garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, basil, rosemary, feta or Parmesan cheese (or both!) and a little coarse salt. Bake in an oven preheated to 450 F for 10 - 12 minutes. Enjoy with soup, cheese or a really good olive oil with salt and pepper. This is also fabulous with home made hummus.