Why did I have to break THAT ornament?!

I broke one of my favorite ornaments this year. I was pretty upset about it, and still haven't thrown it away. Don't ask me why.

Even though it's not exactly like the old one, I bought one to replace it.

Things I don't understand...

I feel like it's time for a random list on here, so here you go.

I don't understand...

• the media's fascination with the Kardashians, Kayne West, anyone with the last name Hilton
• bumper stickers- (is that really what you want me to know about you?!)
• why I can't drive around with a bullhorn and let everyone know how to improve their driving
• why people complain about the weather ALL THE TIME! (hot, cold, rainy, snowy, dry... it just doesn't matter. someone is going to complain)
• stupid people
• why zits can be SO painful!
• how to keep my house clean...seriously
• people that have to be in the very front of the line to drop their kids off at school. seriously, they'll be fine walking a few feet, even if it's a little cold.
  
• how teachers are able to teach the kids anything between Thanksgiving and Christmas
• why it has taken me almost 35 years to accept me, the way I am????????????? :)
• why there's a show called the real housewives, when it really should be called...rich women who have nothing better to do than spend money they may, or may not have, talk about their "friends", drink, get plastic surgery, and in general, act completely idiotic. guess that would be too long.
  

Homemade muffins

I recently tried a new recipe for muffins. It's actually the first from scratch muffin recipe I've ever tried. I've always used the mixes because they're easy, and my kids love them, but I'm always interested in seeing if I can make one from scratch that we like just as much, if not more. I think I've found it on the first try! I was in the store a while back, and blackberries were on sale, so I thought it would be a good time to find a recipe and make blackberry muffins. Luckily, I found one pretty easily. I like this one because it's not overly sweet. I do have two kids that weren't a huge fan of the blackberries, but you can use this as a basic muffin recipe, and add whatever you want(chocolate chips work well). Avery and I really want to try a banana/choc. chip muffin, or at least some kind of banana muffin.

Here's the recipe:

Blackberry muffins

2.5 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
.5 tsp salt
.5 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp milk
1 cup sugar
8 Tbsp warm melted butter (1 stick)
1 tsp vanilla
1.5 cups of fresh blackberries (about 5-6oz.) You can use frozen blackberries if fresh are not available. Defrost and drain them first.

Preheat to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin pan or line with paper muffin cups.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, sugar, butter and vanilla.
Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the berries. (If you are using frozen berries, defrost first, then drain the excess liquid, then coat them lightly in flour.) Do not overmix! Overmixing will cause the muffins to be dense, not fluffy. The batter should not be smooth.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, 17-20 minutes(or longer). Let cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack.
Serve as soon as possible, preferably within a few hours of baking.
Makes about 18 muffins.

*So, that's the actual recipe, but here's what I did differently.
The second time I made these, I added more cinnamon, probably about a tablespoon. We didn't think half a teaspoon was enough.
Also, the first time I made these, I didn't have any sour cream. I looked online for substitutes, and I just happened to have buttermilk (that I bought for something else). I don't remember how much I added, but it worked fine. (you can find equivalent amounts online) I've now made it both ways, and I didn't notice a difference.
Lastly, this makes anywhere from 18-24 muffins, depending on how big you make them.

Enjoy!

Archery competition

Brady recently (ok, a month ago) had an archery competition. This is the first year that his school has had an archery club. The resource officer (is that what you call the police officer at the school?) got it going at two schools in the county. Brady was interested in giving it a try, and we didn't already have enough going on, so we said sure! (sarcasm alert!) He has really enjoyed it, and he's pretty good at it too. He won third place at his competition! He has fun with it, and I think it's cool that he's learning something new.

Avery's a teenager!!

Today is Avery's birthday, and he's 13! I can't believe it!! I certainly don't feel old enough to have a son that's a teenager!! He's an amazing kid, and I'm so proud of who he is becoming!
Here are a few pictures of him, from the past few years. Enjoy!
He's gonna kill me for some of these! :)

a poem

i feel like crud
i have a lot of snot
my eyes are watery
and my mind is shot

the coughing i can't stop
nor the sneezing and the dripping
it's not very fun
it feels like i am tripping

my eyes just want to close
and get a little rest
but breathing is required
and the boogers make a nest

my mind is a little jumbled
poems are not my forte
but laughing always helps
make me forget and to snorte

now that my poem is all finished
some rest i'm after now
no coughing, sneezing or snotting
will be great, right after some chow

The end of an era...

okay, not really, but it is the end of football for this year! Brady had his last game this past Saturday. They ended the season with a win, and a great record 5-2. I was really hoping that Brady would not like football, but it didn't happen. At all. He loves it! It was more fun to watch then I thought. I know that will change as he gets older, and they start hitting harder. I have a video to put on here, but it's not cooperating this morning, so I'll keep working on that.
This is our first week with no practices since the beginning of August. I'm not sure what we're going to do with all our time. Brady is still doing archery through the school, but he just stays late one day a week, and there's no running involved!! Cross country and soccer are finished for Avery too. I really don't think we remember what life is like without all that going on. I'm very excited to be reminded though!
Here are just a few of the things I'm looking forward to...

• family dinners at the table
• not having to make sure uniforms are clean
• not living in the van
• not eating out as much
• we can get all the chairs, blankets and equipment out of the back of the van
• more relaxing afternoons/evenings
• not having to worry about when homework is going to get done
• we might actually have time to play outside together
• not being so exhausted all the time from the constant running
• not driving to the other side of town every day(50-60 minutes round trip)
  
• saving on gas
• knowing that everyone is in one place :)