mya's monkey muffins and much more

Wow, what a couple of weeks it has been. Both in the country and in our lives. Every day I had more to add to this blog post and it just kept growing. So it's a bit long. 

Mya dreams of opening a bakery one day called "Mya's Monkey Muffins and Much More." So I'm having her get in on the baking these days. Our next item in our cookbook was biscuits and gravy. It came out great. I like the biscuits. Very buttery. The gravy was a little heavy on the sausage because I accidentally put in way more than I was supposed to. Dan says you can never have too much sausage though. It was supposed to be pork sausage but I used turkey since I don't eat pig. It would have probably tasted better if I used the pork kind.

And after that I made a spinach, swiss cheese, mushroom quiche. (The next item in the cookbook) It turned out amazing. And I made the pie crust. I already know it's going to be a favorite of mine. Unfortunately, no one in my house will eat breakfast casseroles so I gave most of it away to an appreciative friend. Something I've learned about quiches and most egg casseroles over the years is that they almost always take longer than the recipe says they're going to take. I usually cook them for about 15 minutes longer on average.

Winter loves grown-up lady things like makeup, high heels, and fake nails. These are her first press on fake nails and she couldn't love them more. She also loves bugs, dirt, Roblox and playing cops and robbers with Angus. She's balanced.

Speaking of dirt...

That works too...

My mom is in town! And my aunt Debie (mom's sis). I didn't tell the kids and it was the sweetest surprise ever. We haven't seen them since March. The kids had never gone even two weeks without hugging their grandma. This was a hard 6 months too.

My mom has watched this video about 30 times. It's the best.

For Halloween, I made them work with what we had in the house this year. We didn't buy anything since there wasn't really anywhere to wear the costumes.

Mya was Princess Leah. We used my white blouse, a white sheet, and a gray pillowcase for her dress. And for her hair, I braided brown felt together to plumpen up her braided buns. I felt more creative than I have in years.

Addie has been sporting "mixed up girl" for over a year now and she's very proud of the costume.

Winter was a jaguar for the 3rd or 4th year in a row. I lost track. And Angus was a red power ranger. Then he was a blue power ranger and also a swat guy. They did some church trick-or-treating and some covid friendly neighborhood trick or treating and we had more candy left over than ever so I think the kids were happy. Oh and I bought some Halloween easter eggs and we did a Halloween egg hunt in the back yard.

The neighbor dropped off this Halloween gingerbread house that the kids put together all by themselves while I went for a walk with my mom. I can't say it enough. I love that Mya and Winter are old enough to do this stuff without my help.

Crazy hair day. Celebrating the letter C.

These two continue to be the cutest little buddies.

Addie continues to impress me with her art skills. This is Jonah and the whale.

Sometimes Addie jumps in and joins Angus's Kinder art assignments.

Sometimes when Mya is bored, she puts on theme outfits... 

like "farm Mya."

and "beach Mya."

Speaking of the beach, Dan and I took advantage of the free babysitter staying with us and headed down to the beach for the afternoon.

Mom and Deb came to town for a wedding. My little bro's wedding! We're so happy for you Mike and Haide!

And after the wedding, we said good-bye and they moved to Arkansas! We'll miss you guys! But not a bad time to move. I'm jealous of all the city noise you'll be getting away from.

I have lots of recommendations.

This stuff has been around for years and it's delish and I can't believe I've never recommended it. If you like the sweet corn taste, this is your salsa. I eat it with quesadillas, nachos and anything Mexican food related. Sometimes just tortilla chips is a good enough excuse to dig in. It's kind of spicy. I'd say medium. It's one of my fave TJ's things.

These nuts are weird and delightful. But only if you like the taste of rosemary. I like them on a charcuterie plate. Cheese and some sweet jam and other little bits of goodness compliment these nicely.

I found this at Target. If it's still there, buy it immediately. It's the best coffee drink I've had in a long time.

I tried this at someone's house the other day and it is delicious. Maybe a little too delicious. So if you're in the mood for something festive and boozy, you can find it at Aldi.

And since my vegan mom is in town, we got some dairy-free ice cream. I was so confused and pleasantly surprised to try this heavenly dairy-free ice cream. I'm slightly lactose intolerant. That never ever stops me from inhaling ice cream or milkshakes because they're worth the pain. But this stuff is some of the BEST ice cream I think I've ever had, ever. Please buy it as soon as possible. You can find it at any grocery store or Target.

Happy Thursday Night! (Or Friday depending on when you're reading this)