I always thought that I would have made a good hippie

Here I am in probably 1976 with my friend Kelli K.  I loved that wallpaper.  Please note the plaid PANTS. 

Well, I was born in the 60s and all, 1966 to be precise, but I was a little young to be hitting Haight- Ashbury during the Summer of Love. 

I did have parents who LOVED folk music though and I remember many, many nights as a young child as we listened to Peter, Paul and Mary, Woody Guthrie, The Kingston Trio, The Limelighters, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Mamas & The Papas on my parents LPs on the big console stereo.  My older brother is only 18 months older than me, and my younger sister didn't come along until 1970 (and my younger brother didn't arrive until 1977.) So for those first few years (my parents married in 1964), it was just the 4 of us.

No, by being a young child of the 60s, I would not be able to be at protests or travel around in a VW bug.  My first memory (at almost 3) is my mom picking me up and putting me in front of our big TV and saying "This Is Important." It was July 20th, 1969.  (Do you know what was so important?) So I was alive for some of the big events of the 1960s, including the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.  And I was alive when Richard Nixon was elected. (And when he resigned.)  But I didn't really know anything about it until I was in junior high and high school, many years later.  And although I was alive during much of Vietnam War, I didn't really realize it.  In fact, by the time I really "knew" about the Vietnam War, everyone acted like it had been so long ago. But I didn't get to wear those cool dresses that the women wore in 1960s or the gloves or the hats.  I didn't get to  wear flowers in my hair.

No, I was a child of the 70s really.  And still too young to do things to "change the world." As a kid, we did talk about not littering. A lot as I recall. (Anybody else remember "Give a hoot, don't pollute!") But there was little else that I remember about any other social and culural issues of the 1970s.

The kids weren't listening to folk music then.  They listened to stuff like Bread. (Not my parents, of course, we were still listening to folk music at home.  Although my parents had added the folk country singer - John Denver - to their collection.) We sang "Time In A Bottle" at one of my chorus concerts.  And then at the end of the decade, kids were listening to stuff like - disco.  Thankfully, for a very short time, and thankfully, before I really became a teenager.

The only 70s fashion that I wore was LOTS of plaid. (At least I wasn't the only kid. When you look at my school pictures from elementary school, it is a big sea of blue/orange/purple/green/red/pink plaid.) At my elementary school anyway, we weren't wearing bell bottoms or halter tops. More like Toughskins jeans and polyester plaid shirts.

And so by the time I was a teenager and a young adult, it was the 1980s.  The 80s were NOT a decade like the 1960s.  Or even the 1970s.  It was all about technology. And money. And NOT doing things the "old fashioned way." It was about being better than the next person - in one way or another.  It was about excess and greed. 

But even though I had my collar up and had a boombox, the 80s didn't fit me.  I was, even back then, into wanting to fight for what I believed, but I seemed to be the only one who didn't agree with the "older" generation.  I still wanted to be like the Lorax and but my friends just laughed at me.  I fit more in the naturalness of the 1960s and the back to basics of the 1970s, but I couldn't find hardly anyone who was like me. 

And so, eventually, I mostly gave up.  I did, however, very quietly, very personally, protest against the things that didn't fit me in the 1980s.  And the 1990s.  And I read.

And things gradually changed. Oh, not back to the 1960s or the 1970s. And I don't think that is bad either.  I, and my family, still have plenty of technology in our lives, mostly for the good.  And my daughters sometimes wear skinny jeans (I, thankfully for the general public in my city, do NOT. LOL) But I see that spark in people coming back where they are willing to fight for what fits THEM- and I mean all kinds of people from all ends of the political spectrum.  I see people who care about the land again and their food and where things come from.  I see people who want to have less.  I see people who want to know how to make things and not just always buy things.  I see people who do things because they are passionate about it and not because it will make them the most money.  And I see people trying to do more to HELP each other and not just look out for themselves.

And I'm trying to teach my children the good from this time.  I want them to realize they can have a voice.  They can question the status quo.  I want them to be able to look at all the options that they have in these times.  I want to show my children that even during times of economic struggle, there is much good. I want to show my children that I am willing to do what I am passionate about and that they can too. I want to show my children that there are things that we have now that can make their lives easier and bring us closer.  I want to teach my children to fight for what would do the most good for the world,  and not necessarily because it is part of one side's agenda or the other.

And I make them listen to a little "Puff The Magic Dragon" now and again too. :)

It is Valentine's Day and nothing says Valentine's Day like

LOVE!

I'm all about lists lately, so I'm making a list of things that I love. 

1 - well, of course, my family.  Mr. Simple, Flower, Jelly Bean, Super.  What would I do without all of you? And of course, little Christopher too.  We love and miss you! And my mom and dad, my sister and two brothers.  And my in-laws and other extended family.  Big Hugs!

2 - My friends.  Too many to list here.  But so many of you have helped me in so many ways.  And if you think you've never helped me, trust me, you have. If nothing else, you've helped put a smile on my face, and trust me, some days, that is HUGE.

3 - I'm loving my new kitchen stuff! I've got quality knives for the first time in my adult life.  I always thought that spending money on knives was silly.  And a waste.  I plan on having these knives for the rest of my life and I'm glad that I finally invested in something.  And the stainless steel pots and stoneware.  I've used that stuff daily since I got it.  How did I live without it??

4 - I love Netflix.  I know. It sounds funny.  But I love that I can watch old TV shows, some of which I never watched the first time around, and all without commercials.  And my kids love Netflix too.  And all for less than $10 a month.  Love it!

5 - I love wool.  It helps make winter bearable.  Well, almost.  But it certainly helps.

6 - I love to run.  I'm saying this here to remind myself.  I haven't run in way too long.  Running has helped me so many times.  It has made made me strong. It has given me somewhere safe to go when I had nowhere else but to that place I go when I run.  It has helped me see so many beautiful things in the outdoors. 

7 - I love to cook.  I didn't used to.  In fact, I used to dislike it.  Quite a bit.  But now, I get a big kick out of taking ingredients and putting it together and making something yummy.  I also love that you can make something at home that tastes way better than something that you buy at the store.

8 - I love Swiss Miss hot chocolate.  Sorry, it had to be said.  And York Peppermint patties.  And Diet Pepsi.  I'm all about whole, natural foods, but I love these things in all their processed glory too. :)

9 - I love writing. I love training.  Funny how you love something more when you have been away from it for a long time and all of a sudden, it is back in your life.  But I'm also loving learning how to combine in it my life today.  And that includes working around my family.  And combining with Simply Living In The City.

10 - I love my life.  Today anyway.  LOL.  No, really.  There have been tons of times when I didn't.  Lots of days when I felt like things were unfair for me. And they were. I've had my share (and sometimes more) of bad things happen.  And things are far from perfect too.  Our money situation isn't perfect.  My kids aren't perfect. I'm not perfect. But I'm at a place where I'm happy and grateful and looking towards the future.

How I have changed since I started writing on this blog . . .

I have a friend who was recently celebrating her 43rd birthday (youngster LOL.  I'm 45!) and she was complaining about how she had noticed that she needed to use reading glasses sometimes.  And we were laughing and saying how she needed a chain so she could wear them around her neck, like my piano teacher always did. 

I was thinking that I wasn't 40 when I started this blog, but you know what? I was! I was actually just turned 42! I started this blog way back in August of 2008.  Sometimes, that sounds like a lifetime ago, and sometime it sounds like it was just a few months ago.

So how have I changed in the past few years?

- Well, workwise, things have only recently changed, and not completely.  Back in 2008, I had recently started having full-time daycare students instead of just teaching preschool out of my home.  I'm still doing daycare/preschool now, but I've been doing some freelance training and I'm working to so that Simply Living In The City will be its own business (classes, online store and book!)

- Speaking of Simply Living In The City, I think I knew that I wanted to do something like that way back in 2008, but didn't really understand how to make it a reality.  Plus, I was relatively new to the "simple living" scene myself.  I was still trying to find my way and discover how to make the simple life work for our family.

- Mr. Simple's work has changed over the years.  In 2008, he was in his 8th year of working as a fire inspector/public safety officer for our city's fire department.  In 2010, he took another job working as a manager of media relations for a large company (no, not THAT large company in my city), and then he became unemployed in June of 2011.  But he has since started his own business, and is doing quite well! In 2008, he was also broadcasting for the local arena football team, and he continues to do that as well as starting as the broadcaster for the basketball team too.

- My kids (sniff!) have grown up a lot since August 2008.  Super was 3, almost 4 when I started and Jelly Bean was 6, and Flower was 8, almost 9.  Now they are 7, newly 10, and 12! I don't have "little" kids anymore. They are still mostly "simple" kids though.  Flower has an iPod Touch (that she bought herself) and we were gifted a Kinect by a generous family member in December, but my kids still LOVE to play outside, still LOVE to read, still LOVE to make gifts and still LOVE to spend hours drawing (especially Jelly Bean.)  But lest you think that they are "simply perfect", they also appear to LOVE to annoy each other too. :)

- When I started blogging, I was starting out my first year of homeschooling and it was just Flower.  The next year, it was Jelly Bean and Flower.  Last school year, it was just Jelly Bean. And this school year? Everyone is in public school.  I miss homeschooling.  I still, every once in awhile, wonder if we made the right decision.

- I have really made great strides in living a simple life that fits OUR life.  Which for us, means thrifting for clothes and housewares.  Buying less.  And when we do, it is a NEED.  And it is something that fits our lifestyle, so it probably means that it is quality.  And natural materials.  But bought as frugally as possible.  Eating whole foods.  Using our cars less and walking and biking more.  Learning how to make things.  Like dairy products.  Soap.  Dishcloths. Mustard. Tomato sauce :)  Learning to make the best use of our space inside and outside of our home.  Coming to peace with living in THIS home and in THIS city. 

- When I started this blog, we had just started digging out of the financial hole we were in.  Being mostly debt-free still seemed impossible.  And we only had one car back then (and it was not paid for either.) Now we have two cars (both paid for), and no debt besides our mortgage.  We pay cash for everything.  We save up if we don't have all the money.  Or we decide we don't need it.
- I have had bumps in my relationships in the past few years.  But I'm pleased to say that I haven't lost a relationship with anyone. (At least I don't think so!) Some have faded a little, and some I'm still trying to figure things out, some are new, and some are stronger than ever.

- I've had some loss over the years.  I lost our son to stillbirth, actually a few months before I started this blog.  I'm not as sad as I was in those early days of his loss, but I still think of him every day.  And I still wish that he had lived.  I lost my grandmother in September 2009.

- I have had some health problems over the years.  I had a heart scare in early 2010 and then I lost a bunch of weight in 2010 and 2011.  Also in 2010 and early 2011, I was dealing with terrible allergies & sinus infections.  And I was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2010 and had it removed in early 2011.  And I was diagnosed with Meniere's in Fall of 2010.  And 2011 was the year that I got tendinitis.  And burned 25% of my body.  Here is to hoping to a healthier 2012!

- There have been other changes, in particular one that took place in 2011, but I'm not ready to share about EVERYTHING yet.  Baby steps.  I didn't used to share anything personal here, and so I've made changes with sharing things more here too, I guess.

But I am happier.  Happier than I was in 2008.  And we are better off financially than we were in 2008.  And we are simpler too.  Oh, and older too. But I still don't need reading glasses. :)

Time Management

I am the first one to admit that I don't always manage my time well. I am often "just a little late" or I think that I can squeeze just one more thing in when I really can't. I all too often take too many things on, and then do none of them well. Not one of my better qualities, that is certain. Especially since it ends up making me feel bad about myself and it isn't good for the people that asked me to do it either.

I also tend to have my children do too many activities, although I'm finally getting to the point that I'm o.k. with the fact that my children are into swimming. The girls are also in Girl Scouts and a girls group at church. That is all that we are going to take on for the next while. It keeps us busy, but one is a physical activity, one is an activity to do with girls in our neighborhood and that they enjoy, and one is with church. I think it is a good mix.

Anyway . . . back to my time management issues. I think that I've honestly made things too complicated. I've given myself too many choices in what I take on. I don't always need to check my schedule and see if I can fit it in. I don't need to go to every event just because all the people I know are going. I need to realize that it is O.K. to say no. And sometimes, it is better for everyone involved to say no. And most importantly, it is often better for my family if I say no. I need to think about them first, always, before I say yes.

The Simple Family - 2009 in Review

January 2009 - Jelly Bean's Party

Her birthday is in December, but

we celebrated in January with a

fun bowling party!

February 2009 - We tried to stay warm.

Lots of baking done.

March 2009 - A visit down to Springfield, Illinois.

This picture taken at President Lincoln's Tomb

April 2009 - Easter Sunday

May 2009 - Camping with friends

That is Super stretching in the yellow shirt,

our orange tent on the right.

June 2009 - Chicago Trip

We went to Shedd Aquarium, Buckingham

Fountain and Millennium Park as part of

Jelly Bean's Girl Scout Field Trip

July 2009 - Gardening

Jelly Bean holding one of the zucchinis

August 2009 - Super hitting the ball.

We kept busy this summer going to

Swim Team, Pre-Ball, and

Wee Ball practices.

September 2009 - Harvesting

We grew tomatoes, beans, onions,

broccoli, cauliflower, herbs, and zucchini.

October 2009 - One of the Fall Festivals

November 2009 - Thanksgiving

in Chicago with Family

December 2009 - Christmas

We were lucky to have lots of family visit us

in December - relatives from

of both Mr. Simple and my side.

This is Grandpa and Grandma N - my parents.

and the Simple kids.

Happy Birthday Lisa!

I have 3 siblings - one sister and two brothers. One of my brothers is 20 months older than I am. He and his family are currently living in Florida but will be moving to Texas soon. My sister is four years younger. She and her family currently live in the same town as I do. And I have a younger brother who is 10 years younger than I am. He lives with his wife in Ogden, Utah.

My older brother and I were close for most of the time that I was growing up. We were close in age, and there were few girls in the neighborhood, so I learned to love football, cars, legos, and Stratego. And then when I had just turned 4, here this other girl shows up. (I swear I don't remember my mom ever being pregnant. Just coming into my parents' room one day and there was a BABY laying on the bed.)

I was less than thrilled about her arrival. At one point when she was just a few months old, I picked her up out of the cradle, and then took her to my mom. By dragging her by one of her feet.

I embarrassed to say that my treatment of her didn't improve much over the next few years. My brother and I would play all sorts of pranks on her, and would do things that we knew would probably make her cry. (Sorry Lisa!)

Then, she had the audacity to be REALLY annoying too. She always wanted the hall light on and the door open, and I wanted it dark and the door shut. She was uh, not neat, and I wanted everything perfect. She liked Barbies. And Dolls. She was the typical "want to hang out with the older kids" younger sister, and it drove me crazy. We fought and fought and fought. We fought so much that my dad had to build a room in the basement so that he could separate us.

And then when she got to be a teenager, she got me back. We won't go into details, o.k.?? But needless to say, we weren't exactly friends. She was my sister, and I knew I was supposed to love her, but UGH.

Around this point, my parents moved to Illinois and my younger brother came with them because he was still living at home. After about 6 months, I decided to move back home so that I could finish my undergraduate degree. A year later, my sister moved back.

Somewhere during that time that we were apart, we both became normal people. I could now see what a wonderful person that my sister was. I LIKED being around her. She made me laugh. I could talk to her when I knew that no one else would understand.

After a couple more years, I got married and moved to Chicago and then Springfield. Then my sister got married. I decided to move back to this town and through some strange twist of fate, we both ended up buying a condo at the same complex, in the same building, and she lived right above me. She had just had her first, and I was 6 months pregnant with Flower. It was so wonderful to be able to have someone SO close, both physically and family-wise, who was going through the same sort of thing. We lived close enough that one couple could run out and just leave the baby monitor with the other couple and you wouldn't have to leave your own place unless the baby woke up. We lived in this upstairs/downstairs arrangement until we had/were pregnant with our 2nd babies. And then she moved, first to Peoria, then to Utah, and then to Ohio. And then she said she was moving back. By this point, we had moved into our home. And when they moved back here, they rented a house that was a block away! They've since moved across town, but it is still only a 10 minute drive away. Plus with us co-homeschooling, I see her and most of her children every day!

Now, when I was 13 years, did I ever envision that 30 years later, I would CHOOSE to spend every day with my sister??? That I would actually have a good time on a regular basis with my sister??? That I would come to want to emulate many of her qualities??? Uh, that would be NO.

But thankfully, gratefully, we have had the opportunity to become friends as adults. I have wondered on more than one occasion what our relationship would be like if she hadn't moved back as a young adult. We may have been cordial. I probably would have realized that she was not the annoying sister that would steal my clothes, but I wouldn't have realized what a good person she is - so caring, such a good listener, and such a great capacity to love her family. Including me.

Happy Birthday Lisa! I hope that this is a GREAT year.

Love always,

Your Favorite Sister :)

My grandma died yesterday (m)

She was 91 years old. I had a long, lovely relationship with her. When I was growing up living in Nebraska, every year, we would camp for two weeks in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, etc., and then spend a week at my grandparents in Utah. I remember having water fights with my grandpa in the back yard, and my grandma bringing us out vanilla ice cream in plastic cups afterwards. I remember my grandma being able to fall asleep anywhere and her snoring, and then her always saying that she wasn't asleep. I remember her giving me the complete set of Trixie Belden books one summer.

One year, when I was 13, my parents let me fly out by myself and stay for a month before they came out. My grandma took me to lots of plays, including As You Like It in a local Shakespeare In The Park show. She loved acting, and did acting in the area up until she was in her 70s

When I was older, and living in Utah, my sister and I spent one summer living with my grandparents. I remember going down to the basement at night to watch the news and cool off and crochet. Lots of crocheting.

My grandpa died shortly after Mr. Simple and I got engaged. But my grandma flew out to be with me when we got married. One of my favorite pictures from that day is one of her and I standing together. Here it is:

August 1995 - Me and my Grandma

We went out to visit a few times over the years. She got to meet all of the children. Our most recent visit was in 2006. I remember going to her house and it seeming so different. But it really wasn't. I'd just grown up.

I have a picture somewhere from that day of all the Beth's - my grandma's first name is Beth, and my mom's first name is Beth (but she goes by her middle name) and Jelly Bean's middle name is Beth.

My grandparents had 7 children, and my mom is the oldest child. I am the oldest female grandchild. Grandma Beth was my only living grandparent. I was so lucky to have so many experiences with her.

She took a turn for the worst suddenly this afternoon. My dad left a message at 7:05 pm saying that she had gotten ill, and that they didn't expect her to live more than 24 hours. By the time my dad called my sister at 7:10 pm, she had died.

I love you Grandma. Rest In Peace.

White Space

No, I'm not talking about the snow outside (although I'm sure I will in another post).

When I hear the word white space, it takes me back to my days of desktop publishing courses back in the early 90s. Here's a quote about white space from "Looking Good In Print", a book that I used often back when I started as a technical writer.

"White space - or blank space free of text or artwork - is one of the most undervalued tools of graphic design. White space provides contrast, as well as a resting point for readers' eyes, as they begin moving through the publication."

I read a blog called Camp Creek, and it discusses applying Reggio Emilia philosophy to homeschooling. I use some Reggio Emilia ideas with my children and with the preschool children. Anyway, I was reading this post the other day on her blog called "White Space" and it really made me think, yet again, about mine and my children's daily lives.

She said:

"When we talk about overscheduled kids, I think about white space.

When we cram too many experiences into a child’s day/week/life, we don’t leave time for them to think about what they’ve experienced — they just move on to the next thing, letting the previous thing drop away.

Refilling the well, being inspired, making connections, reflecting … these aren’t things that are easily acknowledged and checked off a list. They need time — empty, unfilled, unscheduled time.

White space. Without the white space, there’s no balance.

Rather than thinking about quantity — of ideas, of experiences, of work produced — we need to think about quality. Spending more time doing less, so we can do better and appreciate more. A single experience, really and truly had and understood, is more valuable than weeks and weeks of rushed, unconnected, random experiences."

This is one of my goals for this year: To spend more time doing less, so we can do better and appreciate more.

I didn't mean to take such a long break

But we were busy with Advent activities, Jelly Bean's birthday on December 17th, helping to take care of Mr. Simple and my sister, Christmas, New Year, plans for life and school for 2009.
I'm going to work on getting some photo posts up this week, and then next week, I'll get back to daily/almost daily posts about our Simple Life. I've got lots of news on that front!

But I'll leave you with one picture to entice you to start checking back in again.

Flower dressed up on St. Lucia's Day

Busy day

We had Jelly Bean's first basketball game this morning. Everyone had fun, and JB even scored a basket!

Then we went to the local Museum of History (housed in the old Courthouse). Wow! What a great place! We had a wonderful time, and plan to go again. Today it was Christmas at the Courthouse, so there were crafts on each floor, music, and Santa in addition to the normal exhibits. We also got to go on a carriage ride. It would have been fun, but it was SOOO cold.

Then Flower had a Christmas craft party to attend, and Jelly Bean and Super napped. After they got up, I did my Town Day of shopping, although I concentrated on doing shopping at Walgreens and Kroger with my coupons.

I don't do a lot of coupon shopping because I find that I can do better by buying the store brands or shopping at Aldi's, but this week, there was a lot of coupons for things/brands that I use anyway, and I ended up getting some great deals. It took me awhile, which was a pain, because uh, I hate to shop. It wouldn't be cost-effective, but it would almost be worth it to me to pay someone to shop for me. But I was pretty excited about my deals. I ended up getting $20 off my original $35 at Walgreens, and $50 off my original $125 at Kroger. So I ended up saving $70 and only spending a total of $85. I could have done better, I'm sure, but it isn't worth it to me to do all the things that the hard-core couponers do.

I grocery shop at Aldi's for my stockpile and things that don't need to be name brand. I shop at Kroger for the other grocery items. Since I shop often at Kroger, they send me coupons on at least a montly basis, and often they are coupons that are specific to the items that I regularly shop for. And then, I will occassionally use a manufacturer coupon from the paper or the Internet. At Walgreens, I use the coupons from flyers/rebate book, etc., and manufacturer coupons.

I probably won't be posting much for the next few days. Mr. Simple is having surgery to repair a torn tendon in his shoulder on Monday, and my sister is having major surgery (liver resection) on Wednesday, and I'll be watching her girls for the next couple weeks.

Yes, I'm so lucky

Super: Mommy, I love you.
Me: Are you sure?
Super: Yes, I love for 5 years.
Me: Just 5 years? How about a million years?
Super: Yes, I love you for a million years.
Me: Thank you! I love you for a million years too.
Super: Mommy, you are lucky.
Me: Yes, I am. (Tears welling up.)
Super: And Mommy, I'm lucky too.
Me: (Gives him a hug to try and hide the tears)


I haven't always felt lucky in life, and I certainly haven't felt very lucky this year. But Super is right. I'm so lucky to have him - and all of my family and friends. Love to you all for a million years.

Our Trip to St. Louis

We live about 3 hours from St. Louis, MO. When we were first married, we would go down every year for our anniversary, and we have done a couple of trips as a couple since we had children, but for some reason, we had never gotten down there with the kids. We finally went this weekend with the whole family. We had a wonderful day, and we have plans to go down in a couple of months to see the Science Center and the Arch. It is so hard for me to pick just a few pictures from our day, but I'll try. We went to the St. Louis Zoo and the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

At the front of the Zoo. You can't see us very well, but the leaves are finally starting to turn around here.

We sat on the front row at the Sea Lion show.

A bunch of monkeys escaped from the Primate House.

You could get so close to the penguins and the puffins. It was amazing.

Doing our own March of the Penguins

Super looking at some big fish


The Botanical Gardens is made up of several different gardens.

Here are the three little Simples on the throne at the Ottoman Garden.

A butterfly on a flower.

Jelly Bean in the Woodland Garden

Feeding the fish in the Japanese Garden

A view across the lake in the Japanese Garden

Mr. Simple's Karate Kid impression

I can hardly wait until we go again. If you are within 3 or 4 hours of St. Louis, I would highly recommend going for a visit. There is so much to do, and many of the activities are free! My kind of price!

So in honor of Apple Dumpling Day, my sister and I made Apple Dumplings yesterday

See this post (under Food) for why we were celebrating Apple Dumpling Day.

First, we went over to the church and picked apples off the trees at the church. I JUST noticed on Saturday that there were even apples on the trees at church, and on Monday, my sister asked if we wanted to go over there to pick apples. We went out there and it was so much fun. We got out there about 6 pm, and picked apples for a little while, and we found a frisbee and the kids and the dads threw that around for a little while while my sister and I just chatted. There was a cool breeze in the air, and my kids all had hooded sweatshirts on, and the smell, and the giggling, and just being there was just perfect for a late summer night.

Yesterday, my sister came over around 2 pm to help me peel the apples. We found this recipe for Apple Dumplings, but we didn't have the recipe upstairs where we were peeling the apples, so we ended up peeling 16+ apples each because we were each going to make a double recipe and we thought that the recipes said 8 apples, not 8 slices. Whoops!

It was sort of an adventure because my sister had her baby there, who is 3 months old, and her 4 year old and I had the baby that I watch there, who is 4 months old, and then Super and the two other kids that I watch woke up from nap at 2:30, and then Jelly Bean, and my sister's two other kids came here after school at 3 pm, and between taking care of all the children, it took us until 4 pm to get the apples sliced and the pans loaded. I put the leftover slices in the dehydrator, so they didn't go to waste.

I put the two pans (we decided to just make a batch for each of our families, so we didn't end up doubling the recipe for each of us.) in my oven, and she took her kids and went home and ate dinner at their house, and we had dinner at our house, and then they came back over at 6:30 for dessert.

I took one taste, and seriously about fainted. It was SOOOOOOOOO good. I ate a whole piece because it was SOOOOOOOOOOOO good, but I had a tremendous belly ache afterwards. Which was totally worth it, but I think I will stop after a half a piece next time. Everyone agreed that it was one of the best things that they have ever had.

We will definitely be celebrating this holiday next year, and I anticipate that we will have Apple Dumplings a couple of more times during Autumn. Anybody else celebrate the day? If not, go ahead and celebrate it this week. The recipe is easy, and the results are SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good (did I mention that already?)