Cooking Class

Our home school group has a cooking class series starting up.  My friend said that it was really fun, so we decided to try it.  I took all three youngins.  We all met at the lady's home.  I was a bit apprehensive because of Mischief Marley, but this lady handled all of them well.  We were making Empanadas for this class.

First they measured out everything they would need to make the empanada dough.  Each kid took turns adding ingredients to make it.

Marley and E got to mix the dough by hand.  :)

They decided to make sweet and savory empanadas.  On the menu were apple ones and tomato, basil, and mozzarella ones.  She gave apples to almost everyone and had them cut the apples up into tiny chunks.  Logan and Marley got plastic knives.  They did great!

Logan and his friend, J, also got to tear up some basil.  Did you know it changes the taste depending on whether you cut it or tear it?  New things everyday, folks!

Rory and E go to blanch the tomatoes, peel the skin off, and deseed them.

The girls got commended on how well they removed the seeds and cut up the tomatoes.  Next they rolled out the dough, filled, and sealed the empanadas.

                                 
They all like the tomato, basil, and mozzarella ones best.  Go figure!  They thought they tasted like little pizzas.  I was surprised they didn't like the sweet apple ones.

I don't know what country or food is coming up next, but we had a GREAT time.  The kids are looking forward to going back!

 

Lesson Learned

Rory is interested in playing basketball this year.  She's tall and has long fingers, so we're going to give it a try.  We bought her a basketball, and she's practicing in the house.  My parents NEVER allowed ball in the house, so I squirm every time that darn thing hits the hardwood floor.  

I took her out to the park today to practice some.  Logan and Marley weren't really patient, but they let us get in some shots.  I really enjoy basketball.  When I was younger my school had tryouts.  I went to the tryouts but I didn't tryout.  I just hung out because I didn't want to join the team.  I was shy, and I didn't like any attention.  I ended up joining in on the practice.  I did pretty good.  I made the team, but I didn't join it.  I couldn't bring myself to do it.  I didn't have the self-esteem.  I don't want that for Rory.  If I had a do-over, I would play basketball.  Lesson learned.  The end.

Thirty-One Hot-lanta

So I went to the Thirty-One conference in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago.  I ended up promoting this year, so I got to walk across the stage and get recognized.  Kevin ended up flying in for the night, so he could cheer me on.  It was great!  Here are some pics and such.

 This is JCK(The infamous Jordan) and Crabby Patty (Megan).

This is Angie.  She's on my team and is from Illinois.

This is JCK again and my momma, Christie.  She's not my real mom, but my Thirty-One mom.

This is my Thirty-One great grandma.  She's the top of my line.

 This is me and Kevin the night of my recognition.  We got all fancied up, and I even wore my hair down with makeup!  I know...crazy.

Next up are some videos.  I work for an amazing company when this is what we do at conference.  This is the president of the company's husband, Scott Monroe. 

It was a huge sleepover.  We stayed up too late and got up too early.  It was a lot of fun, and it was even better that I got to spend one night with Kevin with no kids.  We couldn't even sleep in because I had to be up for training, and he had to get on the road and drive back home.  I had driven in to fly home, and he flew down to drive home.  We're efficient that way.  If you want to visit my Thirty-one site, it's mythirtyone.com/norabucy.  :)  

The Worm

****FIRST...THE DISCLAIMER****

It is with love for all of you that I post the following entry.  Embarrassment is just the beginning in a long line of emotions felt from posting this.  I believe that as a blogger, you make a promise with your audience to be real, so this is me in my truest form.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  :)

 The other day I announced to the kids that I was going to teach them how to do the worm (yes, the one where you make your body do the wave on the floor).  Kevin said that he didn't think this was a good idea because I'm *ahem* 35.  It was this statement that brought out my sass.  Don't tell me I can't do something because of my age.  I preceded to get down on the floor and show the kids in slow motion.  Even Kaelyn came out of her room for this entertainment.  I tried to speed up the action, but my body didn't do what I was telling it to do.  I looked forward (biggest mistake in the worm rule book) and busted my lip.  I knew I had hit it, but it wasn't until Logan asked me why my lip was bleeding that I paid attention.  Kaelyn snapped a shot of it.

Just from this picture alone, you HAVE to feel loved.  Do you?

Afterwards, Kevin did his little "I told you so" without saying the actual words.  Something that started with, "Well, honey.  What did you think would happen?" or something like that.  I complained that it was the lack of carpeting in the living room since it was just an area rug.  Marley and I went downstairs where I did the worm successfully three times in a row.  It probably didn't look pretty, but I did it.  Marley is my witness.  :)

Later that evening, I asked Kaelyn if she did indeed get a video of the whole incident.  She had her phone held up, and I told her she better not be taking video.  She said she wasn't...for the record.  She fessed up and showed it to me.  So...here it goes.  Here's the video.  

Every now and then I get really excited for a blog.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I am embarrassed from it.  
 

Family Reunions and the Good-bye

My sister and her family are home in Canada now.  We all gathered for one last hurrah.  The kids swam, we ate, we took pics.  It was a nice closing ceremony.  I shed more than a few tears as we drove away from my parents that evening.  It was harder to say bye to them this year than it normally is.  Maybe because we spent so much time together and our kids got along better this age than before.  Before I start crying again, let's roll some pics.

 In Filipino fashion we did a wacky photo.

And in the beginning...

Fall Forward?

I know it's spring forward, fall back...but I LOVE fall.  I couldn't wait to update my post page.  I hope you like it.  Here is a list of why fall is my most wonderful time of the year.

1. Bugs start to die
2. Smores
3. The air gets crisp
4. Bugs start to die
5. Leaf rubbing
6. Sweaters
7. Back to school shopping (which I think is worse when you home school!)
8. Bugs start to die
9. Caramel Apples
10. Hot chocolate on chilly mornings

And last but not least....

Bugs start to die.

I know it'll be a while before the chill really moves in, but I'm getting excited.

Check In

Hey folks,

It's been awhile.  I'll be back full swing on Monday.  My summer is done as far as being busy and traveling.  I've got lots to show and a couple weeks of relaxing ahead of me.  I can't wait to share it with you.