Soon

(This post written on 9/23/08 is from the old blog I used to have. Complete with the old comments.)

In Up-State New York,

The crisp Fall air will arrive.

Leaves will begin to change to beautiful hues of orange, yellow and red.

Everyone will exchange their summer wardrobes for winter.

Elementary students will be preserving leaves in wax paper.

Grandmothers will create delicious stews in their special Le Creuset french ovens.

Mothers are going to begin dipping candy apples.

Daughters will start baking apple crisp.

Couples should be stopping in at Kelly's Apple Farm to pick pumpkins and watch the apple pressing. Afterwards they'll sit around the fire to eat hot donuts and fresh apple cider.

Some Families may even go to Letchworth State Park to see the beautiful scenes and take some breath taking photo's of their children.

These are just some of the things I LOVE and miss about Autumn back in Upstate New York.


POSTED BY SUZI AT 3:51 PM
8 COMMENTS:
Teri~Facedown said...
It is will look very pretty around here soon too! C'mon up for a visit!
SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 6:17 PM

Tiffany said...
Ummm...o.k., now I want to live in New York. Hey, when our hubbies are rich and famous, I guess we can live wherever we WANT!! He,he,he...Oh, and feel free to copy away on the picture of the guys. I loved the photo too. I'm so proud and happy for them!! The only thing that would have made it better is if it had included their stylin'-matchin'-gold detailed SHOES!!! ha! Those shoes make me laugh so hard. Please tell Jeremiah to do the shoe shopping from now on if they are going to be matchy-matchy! :)
SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 6:21 PM

Profbaugh said...
Fall is my favorite!! I suspect it's not quite the same in Texas as it is in the midwest.
Thanks for reminding me that Fall is just around the corner for me. Ah, I can smell it in the air.
~Cheryl
SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 7:47 PM

Jenna said...
Oh, I miss it too at this time of year! Sometimes i get sick of no change here!
SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 9:02 PM

Darlene R. said...
We will be seeing that very soon around here!
I love Fall, it is my favorite time of year.
Missing you all today!
Love ya,
Darlene
SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 12:50 PM

Megan said...
Oh you make me want to go for a visit. The fact that Texas only has two seasons (hot and cool) is something Tim and really dislike. We would love to be somewhere with the fall colors and snow on the ground for Christmas. Maybe someday...
SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 1:00 PM

Alana said...
I love fall!!!
OCTOBER 2, 2008 7:30 PM

Dan and Alenna said...
I have never enjoyed fall in NY until this year. I always took it for granted and disliked that I was (once again) cold all the time. But after 4 years in Texas, I am thrilled to be back where autumn is actually another season, not just an extension of summer!
OCTOBER 4, 2008 9:06 PM

My Baby Boy is 4...gasp!!!!!

Feel free to just skip to the pictures!! I wrote this LONG post SO that I can always remember our baby boys simple, yet wonderful b-day.

I don't know why but I can never wrap my mind around my children growing older. I know i've said this before but I truly feel like I could sob with each passing birthday. I don't let myself go there but I could. In some way it's kind of painful. I don't want my babies to grow up and leave the nest. They give me so much purpose and make up so much of who I am, I'm just so proud to be their mama...sigh.

Anyway, enough with the melancholy melodramatics! It's time for the worlds longest blog post.

Joshua turned 4 on February 23rd!!

At midnight I snuck into his room and hung streamers and balloons like I do for each of the kids birthdays every year. Unfortunately he woke up before us in the morning, so I didn't get to see the expression on his face when he first blinked his beautiful blue eyes.

As soon as he woke up he (and Noah) came running into our room. First thing out of Joshua's mouth was him requesting that I let him have pizza for breakfast. Of course I obliged (don't judge-ha!).

The weather man predicted snow for the day. Of course they are very often wrong so I didn't get all of our hopes up.

However I thought that would be so very fun if it did for Josh's big day!

We were all cuddled in my bed, (Jeremiah still home). I told Noah to go open up our blinds to see if it was snowing. Imagine how pleasantly surprised we were when Noah drew up the blinds to discover BIG WHITE snowflakes! To say we were excited would be a major understatement!

After we had our "breakfast of champions"-pizza, I fervently put all the kids coats, shoes, hats and gloves (Aliya had to wear soxs as mittens) on over their Pj's.

Living in Texas there's just no telling when it would all be gone and we DID not want to miss it!

Once outside we threw snowballs, made snow angels, caught snow on our tongues and did some taste testing-it was SO fun! Joshua was convinced that God made it snow just for his birthday-it was SO special!

It wasn't long before we came back inside-we got cold so fast.

Once inside I made the kids Hershey's hot cocoa from scratch-it was SO good that I don't know if i'll ever buy store bought again.

I turned on The Polar Express and got us all ready for the day.

Now that it was time to leave, we hopped in the car ready to do whatever Joshua's little heart desired.

He chose to go to McDonald's for lunch. There he got chicken nuggets, french fries and Power Aid.

From there it was off to his favorite indoor play place called Jungle Java. Since there was a winter storm advisory in effect we basically had the entire place to ourselves! The kids played and we bought some rice crispy treat snacks. We were probably there for about 2 1/2 hours when a little boy came in ran around with the my boys and then suddenly puked on the floor. That was are Que to leave. I felt so bad for the dad and boy they left immediately.

It was now around 4 o'clock and we were headed to Toys R Us. My in-laws sent Josh two gift cards and he was just dying to spend them. He went straight to the Thomas aisle and picked out this Thomas roller coaster toy. Then we walked around some more and he found a Diego dinosaur house and lastly he picked out a play-dough ice cream shop. We had a few dollars left over so I let them pick out candy.

I stopped at Red Box to get a b-day movie. It was "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs".

Then it was time to pick up Jeremiah from work. Once we got him we stopped at Baskin Robins and got an ice cream cake.

Jeremiah wanted to take Josh to Chuck E Cheese's for dinner but he didn't want to go. He wanted steak for dinner. So we made are way to HEB to get steaks and bread.

We got home and quickly, cooked everything up then sat at the table together to eat. He ate an ENTIRE piece of steak!!:)

It was getting late.

Grandma, Papa, Grandmas Sue and Pap (who are all on vacation together) wanted to chat with the b-day boy on Skype so we set that up. He wanted to show them the new toys that he picked out earlier in the day from the gift cards they had sent.

Cake time!

Josh insisted that I put five candles on top of his cake. Oh, and all day he told me that he was turning 5 NOT 4.:) I put one of his little Thomas trains on top and brought it over to the computer where we all (including the family on Skype ) sang to him.

Josh loved it. The cake was delicious. I think it was called vanilla chocolate fudge.

After cake we talked to Uncle Jake and Aunt Cheryl on Skype as well.

He wanted to play with his new play-dough set so we all did that for a bit. We had a ball and made a huge mess.

It was getting really late (thankfully none of the kids are in school yet).

I put Aliya to bed, she was pooped!

It was finally time for the movie! We watched together all cuddled up on the couches. The boys kept cracking up, it was a cute movie!

Jeremiah and me got into bed with the boys and talked about the great day that we had celebrating Joshy. We told some jokes, laughed and snuggled. Jeremiah tucked them into bed and we all sang happy birthday one last time for the day. I said a special little prayer of thanksgiving and blessing over my boy and said goodnight.

It truly was a wonderful, perfect as it gets day, just celebrating our boy!! I so thankful and blessed.

I am going to have a small dinosaur party with some of his friends next weekend.

Blue eyed B-day boy!



Yay-snow angels!



Hershey's hot cocoa!



The clan watchin' The Polar Express!




Drivin' through the "storm"!


Java Jungle


Havin' a ball!



Toys R Us-fun!


Steak Dinner



Skype and Thomas ice-cream cake!


What you're into these days in list form

-Favorite Toys
Thomas (still)
Diego
Dinosaurs

-Favorite Food, Snacks & Drinks (Read:the ONLY things he'll eat!)
Steak
Chicken nuggets
Rotisserie chicken
Vanilla yogurt
Mashed potatoes
Apples
Broccoli (only veggie that you'll eat)
Eggs with Parmesan cheese on top
Peanut butter and toast
Mac and cheese
Hot dogs
Spaghetti w/ meat sauce
Pizza
Honey nut and regular cheerios
goldfish
pretzels
cheese
brisket
Juice
Chocolate milk


-Fun Facts About YOU!!
*You have been waking up early every morning (you sometimes like to turn on every single light in the house) and then get in bed with us to sleep a couple more hours.
*You beg me to let you wake up Aliya-I always say "not yet."-when I do give you the ok you go running!
*You are a daddies boy! Every morning you have got to hug daddy and say goodbye before he leaves for work. You then run to the front window and wave to him.
*You adore Noah as much as Aliya. You are a loving sibling and are almost always willing to share your toys with them.
*You love to have your picture taken.
*You laugh hysterically when I turn on photo booth on my MAC and we make funny faces.
*You still love baby Praise, one day I found you bouncing on the bed singing "shout to the Lord" while watching it on your little DVD player.
*You love your friends
*You make friends easily
*You are very stubborn and particular:)
*The pickiest eater EVER!!!!!
*You LOVE to read, wheter it's me or daddy reading to you or you just sitting on the floor, couch or bed making the story up as you go along.
*You love to watch movies and will sit still the entire time.
*You love your stuffed animals and have to have them at night, you keep some under your pillow, some at your side and you hold onto one tight. It's never the same combination of creatures.
*You're a sweet boy, you are not selfish, you love deeply and make it known!
*You're so smart.
*You bring your family so much joy Joshy boy! And you're growing up before our eyes! We love you so!!

I Love you To The Moon And Back
-Mommy
XOXOXO

(we always repeat that saying over & over FAST- the moon and back, the moon and back, the moon and back!!!)

Garbage Plates

(I know the name is repulsive and they don't even look appetizing but I promise that they're good! Haha!!!)

If you were to say "I want a Garbage Plate!" to anyone from upstate NY, they would know exactly what you were talking about.

A Garbage plate is a popular meal for when you are STARVING since it is full of fat and carbs (sounds wonderful huh?) that makes it so very filling. Not the prettiest dish to look at, hence the name "garbage plate" but oh so tasty!

Last night we were beyond starving so I got the brilliant idea to make us some. They hit the spot and turned out great! Not as good as Nick Tahou's but as good as it gets living 1,800 miles away!

Here are a couple pictures of the plates I made last night.


This is how it is traditionally served



This is how my darling husband likes to eat his-bleh!


So what exactly does a garbage plate consist of you ask? I copied and pasted below what the writer from this site wrote. I think it describes it perfectly.

"1st layer: Home Fries and Macaroni/mayo (very slippery macaroni and mayonnaise) a little celery and carrots in the macaroni (very little). No unusual taste with the macaroni, just like all the take out fillers we've ever had. The home fries are crisp and delicious just like homemade.

2ND Layer: Two hamburger patties medium well done covered with melted cheese, a mustard horseradish sauce, and then covered with chili hot sauce. The mustard horseradish sauce is delicious - more horsey than mustard in flavor. The hot sauce is like every ground beef hot sauce you can imagine. Typical and very good. Not too hot, very zesty and rich.

The garbage plate also comes with a side of old fashioned Italian bread to help it down. The bread is freshly made at a bakery right next door."

If you are brave and would like to try and make this meal yourself, I added the recipe below!

This is the recipe I followed. I found it HERE

NOTE: This recipe is for one serving so you will have to double it as needed. Let me know if you try it!

Ingredients:

For The Macaroni
1-1 1/2 cup cooked macaroni
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons diced celery
1 tablespoon chopped carrot
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For The Home-fries
1 large potato, baked and cubed
1 tablespoon butter

For The Cheese Burgers
2 hamburger patties
2 slices cheese
mustard
horseradish
ketchup
2 slices of Italian bread

Special Sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon oil
1 lb ground beef
1 cup water
12 ounces tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered clove

Directions
1TO MAKE SPECIAL SAUCE:.
2In large skillet fry chopped onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add meat, stirring constantly with fork to keep its texture fine.
3Once meat is cooked add water and tomato paste, cook for 10 minutes.
4Then add sugar and spices. Cook 30 minutes, adding water if needed.
5ASSEMBLY:.
6Mix together the noodles, mayo, celery, seasoning, and carrots and place into a large square foam container (or plate, but not as authentic).
7Fry potatoes in butter until very crispy then put next to mac salad on plate.
8Cook hamburger until well done and top with sliced cheese.
9Then place burgers ON TOP of the mac salad and home fries.
10Mix together about equal parts mustard and horseradish and pour on top of burgers and top with optional onions.
11Pour hot sauce or VERY LARGE spoonfuls of special sauce and a HUGE glob of ketchup over burgers (some like to stir everything together so its one huge mess).

It's Gone!!!

"Where's your tooth buddy?!?!"


"Let me see."


"You think what????"


"You swallowed it with your banana!?!?"


"Mommy my tooth is loose too!" ***Big Crocodile Tears***


"Don't worry buddy, yours will fall out real soon too..."


**wiping tears away** "Maybe it will get loose when you eat that marshmallow!"


"That's better, now let me see!"


"Hey you handsome big boys, both of you smile and show me your teeth!" (Joshy thinks his big brother is just the coolest ever!)


"See mommy, see!"


"Let me see Aliya!" (don't mind her messy face-she has a nasty cold!)


"Yay! Everyone show me your teeth!" (YES, the boys shirts are horrendous-this was just after dinner and chocolate covered marshmallows and and well, they're boys!! What can I say!)


Noah was very concerned that the tooth fairy might not come since he swallowed his tooth, so he had his daddy pen his words to her in a letter. (If you click on the picture you will be able to read it. Or just read the translation below.)


Letter Translation:
Dear Tooth Fairy,
I lost my tooth. I don't know where it went. So now I losed it and I am so sad. Maybe it went in my ear, or in my nose or in my eye. Maybe you can use batmans belt or maybe you can sniff for it to find it. Put you hand by my other tooth and wiggle it but be careful cause it's sharp! Maybe it went in my hair or in my shirt. I lost my tooth and I think it went in my throat and into my belly. I really want to buy a batman with no helmet. The helmet is called a mask. Logan has a mask. I am so sad that I don't know where my tooth is. Maybe it fell in the garbage. I am so sad I losed it. I really, really want it back. Can you please give me a batman with no helmet still?
Noah Fabry (5 1/2 YRS)