Thus begins Halloween weekend...

It's Friday, everybody! It's undoubtably Halloween party day for every kid who attends public school. I had no trouble getting the girls out of bed this morning. Lauren had perma-smile and kept fingering the make-up and wondering what she would look like with it on. Emily was a little more subdued, but then, she's going to be 10 in 3 days. I can hardly believe my baby will be that old already! The excitement of Halloween parties and parades and trick-or-treat is not the same as when she was 7. It's still fun to dress up, though.

Emily is a huge history buff. She soaks up everything she can about important time periods and people that have shaped the world as we now know it. This year, she wanted to be a colonial girl.

Lauren, on the other hand, is all about bright colors, frills, sparkles, and all the rest of it. She's very feminine and loves pretty things. She couldn't wait to wear this Mexican Can-Can Dancer outfit. Especially the clip-on earings. Those of you who know us well, would understand why. She reminds me of my grandma Bassham in this photo. I think it's her exuberance and excitement about looking pretty and getting ready to have a good time. Grandma was that way, too. And, Lauren also looks a good bit like her, anyway.

Here are the girls together this morning shortly before leaving for the bus. They said even the bus driver would be dressed up!
I've been busy cooking up a few things I wanted to try. One is Orange Sherbet (perhaps a post on this one coming soon). Nelly likes to perch on the countertop while I make things. She wants to watch. It keeps her out of trouble, and maybe she'll learn something over time.
This, my friends, is a lovely little thermos that has come in handy many, many times over the last few years. My Mom gave me our first one (this one happens to be the other one I purchased so I would have two). They are perfect for school lunches! Emily is very picky about what she will eat for lunch (no typical stuff like sandwiches or crackers and cheese/peanut butter). Packing a school lunch for her is very challenging. She does, however, like spaghetti, stroganoff and oatmeal, to name just a few things. Those are hard to pack in school lunches, though, unless you have one of these. Pour boiling water in the thermos and let it sit about 5 min. to warm it up, then empty the water and fill with hot food. It'll stay hot until lunchtime, and Voila! Your kid has a nutritious, warm meal. Just make sure you put your name on the thermos.
Today's recipe post is certainly nothing unusual or fancy (and I'll admit the photo looks disgusting to me, but it's just after breakfast, so I'm not in the mood for this type of food at the moment). It's stroganoff. My own recipe, but probably not much different, if at all, to any stroganoff you've made or had. Just thought I'd post it incase you maybe hadn't eaten it for a while and needed something quick and easy for supper tonight. It's yummy, despite the photo. :-) And it makes good school lunches. Cheers! Have a fun weekend! Maybe I'll get another post in before the weekend's over, but don't hold your breath. At this point, I'm just hoping to survive until Monday.

STROGANOFF

1 pound ground beef

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4-1/2 tsp. pepper

1 can cr. mushroom soup

3/4 c. sour cream

egg noodles

Brown ground beef in a skillet and sprinkle with seasonings. While beef is cooking, boil noodles according to pkg. directions. Drain fat from beef and return to skillet. Add mushroom soup and sour cream, mix into meat until it's all coated. Simmer until noodles are done. Drain noodles, and add to meat mixture. Stir to combine. Serve.

*sometimes I sprinkle a little shredded cheddar on top*