Great Recipe!

I went to a baby Shower and had the best dip ever...Serioulsly, the best.

Feta/Pesto Dip

1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
3 tablespoons dry vermouth
ground white pepper, to taste
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (I used sliced almonds roasted in a little olive oil & salt)
1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
3/4 cup pesto sauce
In a food processor, combine the butter, feta cheese, cream cheese, garlic, shallot, vermouth, and white pepper. Process until smooth. (I just used a mixer)
Oil a medium bowl, or gelatin mold, and line with plastic wrap for easy removal. Layer the dip into the mold as follows: Sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, pesto, cheese mixture. Repeat. Pat down into the mold, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Turn the dip out onto a serving plate, and remove plastic wrap. Serve with crackers.

Nickelodeon hosts this Kid's choice awards (kind of like the Grammy's, but for kids shows on Nickelodeon). Leading up to the big night, the kids are able to get online and vote for their favorite bands, cartoons, actresses and so forth. This year, I thought it would be fun to have a party for the kids and their friends. It was a blast. A continuous theme of the Kids choice awards is SLIME. We made slime cupcakes, had green slime juice (Gatorade), made homemade slime, and ate Doritos. Yes, I know, Doritos have nothing to do with slime, but 9 boys under the age of 8 love Doritos.

Even though the kids had a great time hanging out with one another, I am not sure if I will have another one of these parties devoted to the Kids Choice Awards. I was a bit disappointed by some of the nominations and performance choices. For one, I am not a big fan of the Pussycat Dolls. They hardly ever wear clothing, and when they do...it is like they are dressed in toddler size clothes. Anyway, I had no clue that they were going to perform. At the very beginning, after they announced them, I looked at Aaron and we silently make the choice to turn the TV off and direct the kids to make their slime. I mean come on...there are so many other people that they could have chosen over this group...Jonas Brothers or Miranda Cosgrove. Even though they say "KIDS" choice awards, they have definitely targeted the pre-teen/teen audience this year. I plan to write to Nick and let them know of my thoughts and you can too by clicking on this link.

I guess I will have to find a different reason to have a party. ho humm.

I think the highlight of the night was when we had a burping contest. On the show, there were these 4 animated penguins that were having a burping contest. We lined the kids up and this is what happened. I almost peed my pants. The winner, as I beam with joy, was my Andrew. He gets those skills from his mama. Below is a video of what life was like for about 2 hours. No joke. I love boys.

6 months and counting...

We were done at this point...

Catching up

That Larry the Leprechaun struck again. The boys set up a trap to catch him this year. They made it out of a basket, and a container of dental floss. We put some fake Gold coins under the basket in hopes that it would lure that darn Larry in.

The boys woke up the next morning to find the gold GONE and a note that said "ha ha ha ha ha ha ha". Humph. The nerve of that Larry. He left hi hat behind in trying to escape the basket.

Taking the Gold wasn't enough for that Larry. The boys went to use the restroom and that Larry changed the toilet water GREEN! As Owen peed in it, the water turned a different yellow-green. He thought Larry put a magic solution in the toilet.

We will get him next year for sure.

Ketchup for the soul.

This post has no special meaning nor will it cause you to think. It simply is a confession. "My name is Judy and I am addicted to Ketchup". I absolutely love when I can bring someone over to the "dark side" with me. I have been known to make small children into addicts like myself. sigh.

Tonight, Aaron is working late so I made my favorite all time dish. Macaroni and cheese...with Heinz Ketchup DRENCHED all over it. It is pretty too. Yum


Aaron will still be gone later this evening. I think I may just indulge and fix me a little Ketchup sauce. I usually have a nice bowl of ice cream, but since he is gone, I must take advantage of every opportunity to eat ketchup. If you want the recipe for ketchup bread, I can get it to you. Awe, shucks..I will just give it to you. A bit of ketchup, a bit of water and a bit of butter. Microwave until scorching hot. Dip WONDER bread into the Ketchup sauce. If you burn the roof of your mouth or your tongue, you made it right.

If you haven't guessed, Aaron hates Ketchup. That is why I practically bathe in it when he is gone.

Told you...nothing profound.

NO PEAS FOR YOU!

Click on this video to find out who doesn't care for the veggie of the Jolly Green Giant. Poor guy.

memorial for grandpa...

Grandma helped by picking some of their favorire songs....
Here is the Video

Goodbye Grandpa...

Aaron's Granpa Passed away yesterday evening. What a great man.


Ross McCullough, Jr., 88, passed away peacefully Sunday evening, March 15, surrounded by family at Mt Carmel East Hospital in Columbus from pulmonary complications. Ross was born October 5, 1920, in Coshocton to Ross McCullough Sr and Alpha (Davis) McCullough (who preceded him in death) and farmed in Coshocton until 1964 when the family moved to Wayne County, where he continued farming. In September 2008 he and his wife moved to Gahanna OH. He served on the Boards of Education of Roscoe/Three Rivers Schools and Coshocton County Schools, and was a member of Shreve United Methodist Church, Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star. Ross enjoyed gathering with his family for games and cards and shuffle boarding when they wintered in Florida. Ross is survived by his wife of 67 years, Phyllis (Gilmore) McCullough, daughters Barbara (Rodger) Crawford of Columbus, Nancy (Milton) Coninx of Johnstown , William (Shiela) of Coshocton, Kim (LuAnn) of Shreve, and Karl (Terri) of Johnstown, Ohio, eight grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his brother John McCullough, and sisters Mary Brubaker and Maxine Wright. Calling hours will be held Wednesday, March 18, from 4 to 7 PM Schlabach Funeral Home 212 Jones St. Shreve, Ohio. The funeral will held Thursday at 11:00 a.m., with calling hours at 10:00, at Shreve United Methodist Church, 430 N Main St, Shreve, OH 44676. Donations may be made to individual’s charity of choice.

what will larry do this year?

hmmm. Remember that naughty leprechaun from Last year? The boys are already asking about him this year...I wonder what is up his sleeve?

I am a big boy!

Reaching for his toes. Outfit compliments of the Gerbicks.

So many things to write about. Today, my entry is about Elliott and only Elliott. My baby is getting so big. He is so fun to have around here. You forget how much you miss having a baby until you have one. This week, Elliott got a big boy high chair. I have been searching high and low for one on Craigslist and found this great deal FINALLY. When the other boys were little, we had the basic, ugly high chair. This high chair is one heck of a chair with all of the bells and whistles companies make you believe that you need. It reclines in like 5 different positions, it raises and lowers, it has a removable tray that goes right into the dishwasher, and it even has these appendages that feed the baby too. Just kidding on that last one, but it practically has every feature you can imagine. I have to say, I am not one to usually be suckered into these bells and whistles...but I have to admit, they are NICE. Elliott loves it too. He loves to sit and watch everybody. I am sure he feels special.

In other news about Elliott, he isn't putting pantyhose on his head or digging up Guinea pig Carcases (refer to previous posts), but he is eating 2 jars of food per day...sometimes 3. I plan to make my own baby food starting this week. I did with Andrew (Owen went from formula to Pork chops and never could stand mushy food). Elliott is so funny when he eats food. He does this thing that is just so bizarre...see for yourself in the first part of this video. Also, one question...have you ever watched someone feed a baby? Why do we open our mouths when we are feeding them? We really look ridiculous. I was pretending to video tape Elliott eating, but couldn't resist to keep the camera on Aaron. Seriously, next time someone feeds a baby watch them...

You may pee your pants while watching the second part of this video. Beware.

brilliant.

Gimme all your money!!!

Last year I made a giant sling shot for one of Owen's birthday party games. It didn't work, but it was a good attempt. I thought using pantyhose would be a great way to get that stretch of a giant sling shot. I was wrong. Anyhow, that detail wasn't that important but it leads me to the next topic of discussion. The pantyhose.
Andrew found the pantyhose legs near the play set this afternoon. He wanted to make a ninga mask out of them. Oh, they were new pantyhose by the way. When he came in, I mentioned to him the little trick of putting pantyhose over your face and looking like a creepy person. I also was reminded that a few friends of mine in college thought it would be funny to put pantyhose on our heads and scare people as they walked by in the dark. Ok, how stupid was that...but it was funny. Prankster me. I didn't share that story with him knowing what he might have said at school tomorrow.
So,
It wasn't enough to just tell the story, but Aaron thought he would make our children into robbers. He sent them over to our neighbors house and told them to say "GIMME ALL YOUR MONEY" when they answered the door. Fortunately, our sweet neighbors saw the kids before they rang the doorbell or we could have had a tragedy here on our street. They thought it to be very humorous.
Here are the robbers.

CRASH!!! BOOM!!! OH *&@#!

We had alot of wind last night. I was awaken by the howling several times over the period of my 7 hours of sleep. I actually had a dream that the boys basketball and soccer balls were rolling all over the neighborhood and that I needed to go out and gather them up. When I got up to feed Els at 3:30 ish, I looked outside to see the balls rolling all over the neighborhood. I briefly glanced at our portable basketball hoop hovering over our Accord and thought that we should have moved it before we went to bed. I fed Elliott, and headed back to bed. Within about 5 minutes, I hear this LOUD **CRACK**. Yep. You got it...the basketball hoop bounced off the hood of the car and onto the ground. Now, we have this great, impressive dent in the car accompanied by a few heavy scratches and some chipped paint. There were a few chosen words exchanged among my husband and the basketball hoop at 3:30 in the morning. (It was kind of funny to see him in his gingerbread pajama pants though. It was a little hard to take him seriously).
The boys are home from school today. Rumor has it that there was a kid at school with strep last week. Lovely. They slept in until about 8:30 and have been on the couch all morning. I rigged up their portable dvd players to their bunk beds so later this afternoon, they can go up to their room and relax a bit...and maybe fall asleep. I plan to take them to the dr. to get strep tests. My doctor really loves our family lately. I think we may be paying for his upcoming golf trip with the amount of money we have contributed to him. Fortunately, my friend Angela (Thanks Angela) told me that Amoxicillin is FREE at Meijer. You can find the list of free prescriptions here. Prenatal vitamins are also free there as well (not that I have to think about that).

Gotta go, Owen needs snuggles and more Tylenol.

Boys will be Boys.

OK. Here it goes....the drum roll please.
I know this may seem disturbing to some of you, but I live in a house full of boys. The same boys that are made of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails, or in this case...guinea pig carcass's.
Andrew has been asking me if he can dig up his guinea pig that died a couple of years ago. I kept telling him no...yuck, disgusting, morbid. I honestly couldn't believe he would suggest such thing. Once in a while I see him poking sticks at Stuarts grave. Today, I jokingly told him that he could dig Stu up. I really wanted to "test" him to see how he would respond since he had the "go" to do it. He sat there for a minute and shrugged his shoulders. I told him that I was just kidding but obviously he didn't hear that. As I was making my cup of coffee, I looked back to see 3 little boys with huge contractor shovels digging away.

Aaron was totally grossed out, but eventually was a observer in on the excavation.
At that point, I just laughed and realized that boys are totally gross.
Andrew and his friend Evan actually turned this into quite the archaeological endeavor. They were looking at the bones, looking at the teeth, and how things should be put together. They are pretty stoked about the whole thing and it got them interested in science.


(the red thing you see is nothing gross...just the blanket that Stu was wrapped in for the burial.

Good people do exist.

This year, I am in charge of organizing the boys school carnival. This is a highly anticipated event for the kids at the school. I have a lot of fun things planned this year. It has been very fun in the past, but change is always a good thing. Anyhow....
I posted an ad on Craigslist for anybody who has a collection of beanie babies to donate as prizes. If you are a collector or past collector, you realize that the beanie hype was just that..a hype. The collection didn't make you rich, nor will it ever make you rich. Well, within 5 minutes of my post, I received 2 emails from college girls wanting to give away their treasured, new beanie baby collection for prizes for our carnival. As the night progressed, I received a few more. I think we will end up with more than the needed amount of beanie babies for our carnival which is awesome. The Kids will be ecstatic!
In addition to the beanie baby donations, someone is also going to donate about $400.00 in toys that they have laying around. It sounds like this person is going to give away samples that they receive from various companies. HOW AWESOME IS THAT!

Welcome to my world...

At any given time during the week, this is what I see in our foyer. A couple of years ago I purchased a gazillion baskets to organize things in our house. One purpose for the baskets was to organize our shoes. My shoes in one basket, Aaron's shoes in another and so on. Everyone that comes over says..."What a great idea, I bet that keeps things nice and tidy". Yeah right.