feeding the family

 So there has been a bit of a food theme in our life this last month.  

I thought I would combine all the photographic evidence, and blog about it.

 For Halloween my mom sent us apples and caramels so we could make caramel apples.  

 As the boys and I unwrapped all those tiny caramels I was taken right back to my childhood, sitting beside my mom on the white and blue stool that lived in the kitchen, unwrapping a caramel... eating a caramel... unwrapping a caramel... eating a caramel.

 When we were done covering our apples in caramel, we decided they needed a little pizzaz, so we added M & M's to them. And voila! Super fancy Caramel Apples ala Cunningham style.  The big boys enjoyed trying to eat them, and Wyatt liked the M & M bits we passed his way.

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I had mentioned that while Josh's parents were here I tried my hand at homemade lasagna. For that lasagna I used pre-made spaghetti sauce and moose meat, and was not happy with the results. So when I tried again last week I used sausage and made my own spaghetti sauce- from tomato sauce, canned tomatoes and all the seasonings Josh brought back from Anchorage. It was much, much better.

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Every Sunday I wake up and make bread.  I usually get five loaves, but last Sunday the dough kept rising and rising and I got five loaves of bread, plus 24 rolls.  I decided to share with our neighbors who so generously shared some of their seal with us. (That will be on another post!)

As a general rule, I hate making bread every week. It's a lot of work, I have to get my hands dirty, and it gets flour all over the kitchen.  And if the kids are in there, it can be even more challenging.  This is why I do it on Sundays when Josh is there to help.

His love of the homemade bread, the fact that we need it, and the smell of it baking are why I do it. 

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I usually also try to make tortillas on Sunday since, like I said, Josh is here to man the children. The tortillas are also a pain to make. (I do the dough in the bread machine, which is nice, but I have to hand-roll out 24 tortillas and cook them up on the stove top.) It is time consuming and I get really hot standing by the stove flipping tortillas.

These are my favorite thing to eat, though, so they are worth the effort. And we found, when we went home this summer, that homemade tortillas have ruined us for store bought. We can't stomach store bought any more now that we have been spoiled by homemade!

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So I know this isn't a picture of food, but it is a super fun, easy project you can do with your littles for Halloween. The boys and I took a bunch of Q Tips, Wax paper and Elmer's glue, and made these adorable little skeletons. We let them dry on the wax paper overnight, and the next morning were able to peel them off and set them in the window.

Fun!

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 Josh has started tutoring.  He tutors three times a week, for an hour and a half. Last year this meant he was gone Monday, Tuesday & Thursday until 5pm or so.  This year, he doesn't want to compete with sports (which all practice after school from 3:30 to 4:30) so he isn't starting tutoring until 4:30. Which means he isn't home to us until after 6:00pm three times a week.

This is challenging to me, as making dinner without him here is VERY stressful.  Especially since so much of the cooking I do here is from scratch.  But I am working on it, trying to make the "easier" dinners on those nights, and just doing what I have to do to survive.

To show his appreciation for my hard work, he brought home ICE CREAM. And not just any ice cream, but Lucerne Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream, which he found miraculously at the co-op. I was so excited I told him he had to take a picture of me with it!

(FYI- this ice cream cost $13.30, plus tax)

The boys were equally excited for ice cream to make an appearance! 

Add a little Hershey syrup and a chocolate eyeball, and you have one awesome dessert!

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And finally, there is this picture. 

I sat down to eat my cereal the other morning, and saw this. 

Two spoons.

I decided that I was either REALLY hungry or REALLY tired.  I am guessing I was really tired, as Wyatt's teething has kept me up the last few nights, but I really do love me some shredded wheat...

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With Josh's trip to Anchorage the pantry is completely stocked, and from our Span Alaska order, our freezer is full, so we are feeling fully prepared for the impending onset of winter.

The only thing I am NOT ready for is the time change tomorrow.  

This means that my children, who normally wake up at 6am, will now try to wake up at 5am. 

Not.fun.

Such is life with small children.