Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!

I've just smeared nutella all over my keyboard because...

+

= HEAVEN!!

My Must Have Fall Accessory

Forget knitted cowls and leather riding boots, this is my must have fall accessory!

That's right. Coffee-mate's newest addition to their winter line up is 

Warm Cinnamon Sugar Cookie creamer.

Aaaahhh. Doesn't that just make you tingle?

By the time I got to the A in cinnamon my sweet tooth was already reaching in to grab one. The name says it all. In fact let's examine the name for a second. Take away the 'warm' and it's just a Cinnamon Sugar Cookie creamer. Not that appealing huh? 

I  say they were geniuses to add the warm. Give that person a promotion Coffee Mate!!!

So how does it taste? Delish. It's the perfect touch to my coffee and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted in tea!

Our very own harvest hoedown!

You guys, we had such a fun weekend. We threw a harvest party sleepover and I'm not sure who had more fun, all the kids running around or all the adults sitting, talking, drinking and eating.

From the moment Tanya and Camille arrived they found themselves hip hopping to Superbass and assisting Eugene in the kitchen as he whipped up his own fresh batch of pasta. 

Now, that's fresh. 

Then the Olsen's arrived along with a buffalo ranch dip, fudge brownies, and a tray of rice krispie treats. Oh how the indulgence began. So did the laughter. 

About two bottles of wine later we headed up to the Children's Farm for some country fun.

I reckon I oughta get me some hay piles for the backyard since them there kids loved it so much!  

Isn't this such a great picture!

Why does she always go for the pole? 

Please don't answer! :)

Here Piggy, Piggy

Camille, the Baby Whisperer

Isn't Kallan the cutest?

Wanna pet my bunny?

That same caption is much creepier when next to this picture

And for their final destination, the children frolicked as they swam in a vat of cork kernels.

Confused, Mia?

The farm was a perfect getaway. The kids had a blast and our mission to tire them out early was a success. When we arrived home we feasted on another amazing meal by Eugene and proceeded to sit outside by the bonfire laughing for hours. P.S. Tiffany Olsen is the perfect party accessory. She had us all rolling!!  And with so many speech alums around we convinced Camille to perform some late night speeches. She's awesome!

We all woke a little dazed the next morning, but perked up when 1) had a cup of coffee and 2) smelled what Eugene had brewing.

Yeah, see that avocado and carne asada breakfast skillet? It was awesome!

Thank you family and friends for making it such a memorable weekend. Until next time!!

Apple Mouthed Girls

Gina and sitting in a tree. 

K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

I'm telling you I've got some serious co-dependency issues with this website. My newest find also happens to be the greatest tasting snack ever! At first glance I thought my kids would totally love this because of how funny it looked. And boy did they! 

Low and behold, the apple mouths. 

But after the second day of making this as a snack I decided to actually taste it. Holy mother of pearl. These flavor combinations are awesome! There's something about the way the marshmallows and peanut butter react together and I'm telling ya, it's better than a caramel apple!

A sure hit! See?

Okay, so clearly my apple mouths turned out looking like some hillbilly apple mouths,
but you get the jist.

Ahoy Christoforo Colombo!

I heard the sound of an old car alarm going off somewhere in the distance. I slightly opened my eyes, registered the amount of darkness outside and slammed my head back on the pillow. Surely, I have a solid three more hours of sleep. But that car alarm....it's just so annoying. Uh-oh. All of this thinking is beginning to wake me up. Stop thinking Gina. Stop. Go back to sleep. It must be 3AM.

And then, in a moment of hazy clarity it occurred to me that it's not a car alarm that I'm hearing, IT'S MY DAUGHTER.

Crapper.

Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom is all I could hear over the monitor. Then the fast foot steps down the hall. Before I had the chance to lock the door (j/k) she came barreling through

"Moooooom, I'm so excited for school. I'm so excited. SOOOOO EXCITED."

But child, I thought, it's dark. And really early. And why the hell are they giving you sugar cubes in your milk at snack time because this is clearly an unhealthy level of excitement.

Crap, crapper. I realized that I had to break the news that she didn't have school today because it was Christopher Columbus Day.

"Whaaaaaaat? No schoooool? But, I HAVE to go to school Mom. And who is Columbus?"

OH, FOR THE LOVE. IT'S TOO DAMN EARLY FOR A HISTORY LESSON. IN FACT NO TIME IS GOOD FOR A HISTORY LESSON, THAT'S WHY WE SEND YOU TO SCHOOL. BUT JACK NABBIT THERE'S NO SCHOOL TODAY!

I stretch. I yawn. "He discovered America. Well, sort of. He was an explorer from Italy or Spain, I dunno, one of the two, and came here with three boats, The Nina, The Pinta and The Santa Maria."

Bella thought for a moment then spoke very confidently, "I think you mean the Pinto."

Oh lord. Here we go.

Before I could even get a cup of coffee the argument over The Pinto vs. The Pinta went on for several minutes. My two other kids began to chime in and all of a sudden it was a history smackdown with a 5 year old, 3 year old and a 1 year old.

The only way I could make all the sound go away was to yell,


"Zoo? Who wants to go to the zoo?"


And there we were on our way to the Brookfield Zoo, along with every other parent in the Chicagoland area. But that's what I love about the zoo membership, I can go for two hours and leave a happy, tantrum free family. We usually pick about three different animals that we want to see and then leave for nap time, a perfect morning getaway. But on this particular day we accidentally spent all three hours in the Hamill Family Play Zoo. The weather was perfect!!!

We had our lunch on the bench

And played

I'm loving the bond that's growing between these two

Not kidding when I say we spent a good 25 minutes in this undiscovered corner

Face paint = make up to Mia!!!

And after some crafts and a little more exploring we, much like Christopher Columbus, packed up and headed west in our Santa Honda Mother Ship to rediscover our home territory. And nap. All of us. 

Happy Columbus Day!

Excuses, Excuses

Okay, let's just get right to it, shall we. There's a reason why I haven't blogged in awhile. Actually, ten of them. So, I present to you, my 3 faithful followers, the top ten reasons why I'm a lazy ass blogger:

10. I've been too busy eating these to blog. Which would almost always prompt a tooth ache. Which would eventually make me emotionally eat another handful. Vicious cycle candy corn is.

9. I was on the edge of my seat (on the couch, or the bed, or in the car) as I read this. Loved every single word of it. And it was on the last page that I realized it wasn't a stand alone book--oh no, there were three of them.

8. Which meant that I proceeded to spend as much time as I could find to finish reading the second book in her series. Which was very, very good. Not as good as the first but still really good.

Her third book is on hold at the library and I am chomping at the bits to get my hands on it. Thank you Tanya for recommending these.....it's put the fun back in fiction. Cuz seriously folks,  I couldn't bear to read another page of Sarah's Key. It's just so SAD. I know I have to finish it, but these books were a nice distraction.

7. I've found myself chasing this little dude ALL OVER THE HOUSE. I should be more specific, because that almost sounds cute, as if it were all just a game of cat and mouse. Oh no, this dude causes major destruction. I swear to god, if Chance dumps the dog bowl out one more time or if I find one more random shoe swimming in the toilet I'm liable to handcuff him. Not really of course. But I just laughed at the thought of it. You have the right to remain...absolutely useless without your hands!!! Take that, sucka!

6. Another big blogging distraction? Mother Effing PINTEREST!!!

I am in love with this god forsaken time sucker. I could spend HOURS on this website just losing myself in pictures of food, crafts, fashion, architecture, even pot holders look exciting on this site. I love it, I love it, I love it. And to boot, my kids reap the benefits. Just the other night they were greeted at dinner with some spooky ooky mummy dogs. Here's the picture from Pinterest:

And here's mine:

Pretty neat way to eat a hot dog and a bun, right? And this next one? I mean, come on!!! Who wouldn't appreciate a piece of greasy bacon surrounded by a fluffy little pancake. DELICIOUS and CREATIVE!!

But this next one takes the cake! GENIUS, I SAY! 

Why didn't I think of this before we connected 45 different plugs into our monster outlet that could potentially wipe out all the power on our block? This is an awesome idea. Now all I have to do is consume about 5 loaves of bread to acquire it. 

6. We're in a Halloween frenzy over here. Decorating pumpkins, and ghosts and making some fun banners. 

5.  I've been glued to the TV, thanks to The X Factor. Seriously, I have a whole new love for TV again. And singing competitions. And TALENTED people with great stories. It's like the 5th season of Idol all over again. And Simon? I've actually missed you. This is going to be a good ride. 

4. I've also spent a ton of time just keeping up with the pressures of kindergarten. For real. And she only goes half day. I'm totally screwed next year. This was taken on her picture day--HOURS before she actually smiled for the camera. I guarantee her school picture will not look nearly as cute. After ya know, sweaty recess and all.

3. I've also been busy being sad and lonely without Mia around. This is her first time in preschool and we decided to send her to school 5 days a week. I miss her. But I know this is a good experience. The other day the local fire department and ambulance stopped by her school to give the kids a tour. How cute, huh? I've never really touched on safety prevention with the kiddos (I always meant to), so I'm kinda glad they've got that covered.

She's "officially" a Junior Firewoman

2. Rather than spending quality time on the computer, I could also be found making out with this little guy. He is so kissable and so affectionate and so squishy. I just know this phase will pass so I'm milkin' it for all I can. I know, borderline inappropriate. Borderline.

1. With my favorite season of all upon us and AMAZING 75 degree weather, it's no wonder I'd rather be playing with leaves than blogging about it.

But excuses, schmexcuses. I'm back!!