Chocolate Pie Success!

Sunday I was brave and attempted the chocolate pie baking again! And this time I had great success. So, on thanksgiving I'm going to attempt the chocolate pie backing again just this time I'm going to make Auntie M's graham cracker crust because that is really what was missing. Thanks for all of your encouragement!

In December, my good friend Marcia and I are taking a living social baking class. Clearly just what I needed it. Backing is not easy but honestly the most rewarding. Yum!

Chocolate Pie Failure #1

We are having friends over for Thanksgiving this year. They are French and I wanted them to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving. Turkey, smashed potatoes, stuffing, Jason's famous green bean casserole, football, the works. Of course we will have pumpkin pie. I will buy one from Whole Foods because they were rated as having the best Pumpkin Pie in the DC area. But, not everyone likes pumpkin pie so I thought I would try to make a chocolate pie à la Auntie M. I don't have Auntie M.'s recipe but I googled "best chocolate pie recipe" and this one was rated 5 starts. Trust me, its not the recipe, its the Baker!

I, smart as I am, thought it might be best that I try to make one before Thanksgiving so I gave it a go today. No beating around the bush...it was a big, fat failure! My home made whip cream, à la Auntie Pam, on the other hand was pretty delish. Of course not as good as Auntie Pams but good nonetheless.

I shall not give up! And my friends and co-workers will love me by the end of it all because they will be fed chocolate pie testers!

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving ya'all (I can't help that i watched Paula Deen today).

Aidan's Karate Belt Exam

Tonight Aidan and his best friend Max are taking their first karate belt exam. Aidan feels good. He's practiced a lot to prepare. He's ready to trade in his white belt for a yellow belt.












Aidan getting his yellow belt! He and Max skipped the orange belt and went right to yellow.

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Location:Norbeck Rd,Aspen Hill,United States

VOTE

Exercise your right! Get out there and vote. We did! We took the boys with us and they joined us in the polling booth. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait to cast our votes. Now we just sit back, wait and hope for the best.


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Halloween

Hi ya' all. I meant to add Halloween pictures last weekend but the weekend passed me by. At the expense of being late, I'm going to post them any way.

The boys both had Halloween parties at school. They got to dress up and play games. They had a good time.

Aidan looking cool as a storm trooper (kinda Luke Skywalkerish) as he parades throught the school parking lot.

 

Aidan and his best bud Max at school.

 



 

Leo chillin' in his class party. Clearly he is having a rockin' good time (*ahem*)

Leo leading the way through the Halloween parade parking lot walk. Don't ask me why they walked through the school parking lot.

 

Halloween night, I took Aidan, William and Leo out trick-or-treating. We hit up our neighborhood and the neighborhood down the street. They came home with their bags full of candy.  They ran from house to house trick or treating.

 

Doris and Jason stayed home and gave out candy. We always have the best decorated house so I heard from our neighbors that their kids couldn't wait to go to our house. It was really cute!

 

Two ninjas and a Toronto Maple Leaf



The weekend after Halloween we were invited to our friends house for a Halloween party. We all wore costumes and had a super fun time. They had the most awesome spider webs through out the house and the table was decorated fabulously. Our menu consisted of:

Devil drink

Witch fingers

Slug and spider soup

Human arm with mashed toda and mashed slug

Mold

Dirty cup

It was super fun!

 

 Trampire a la Kristen Stewart. My red fangs were my favorite!

 

 

 It's a bird, it's a plane, wait...no it's super Jason!

 

 

Look at these two awesome women and the spider webs!

 

 



After the Storm

We were lucky. So far, so good. We still have power.  Phew! I went to bed around 11:30pm and it was really windy. At one point, I thought I heard a tree branch splitting. It sounded like a loud crack or tear. We also heard the trash can fall over which scared the bejeebers out of me. It wasn't from the wind...it was from a big, wet raccoon trying to get in our trash can!

We slept in the basement again. The boys were happy about that. I'm going to have to get them to shower and dress today (not an easy feat). I've heard from a few friends and Marc and Cindy and we all luckily have power. I haven't heard from Dorisita this morning and she is notorious for loosing power during storms.

Apparently, there are 7 million people across the eastern seaboard without power. The other danger is down trees and wires. We got a list from our county of road closures separated by those that were closed because of a fallen tree with downed wires and those with just downed trees. They also broke the list down by roads closed because of flooding. Truth be told, I'm quite impressed that the county has the information and in a timely enough manner to send it out over the county listserv.

We're all doing great and I think a little ambivalent about what the outside world holds. Jason wants to go drive around but he is resisting because it's safer to stay home.

Thanks for checking on us and making sure we are safe. We feel super lucky to have weathered the storm so well, especially as we watch some of the devastation on the news especially in NY and NJ.

Love to all!

Here is a quick video of a walk I took in the neighborhood. When we woke up I checked our car to make sure no trees feel on the big red car and then checked the backyard to make sure our deck was okay. After that I walked down through our complex to make sure everyone else was okay.

Hurricane Sandy Update

It's about 4:30 pm and we are doing well. We still have power. The boys are enjoying their 4 day weekend. The federal government just announced that we will be closed tomorrow. The worst of the storm is supposed to occur from now until 2am but I think more so between 6-8pm.

Here is a little video of the storm from our backyard. It was really cold recording the video and I got quite wet! We'll update you in the next few hours. Our lights just flickered. Let the fun begin...

Frankenstorm

We are waiting for the arrival of Frankenstorm, Hurricane Sandy, the worst hurricane since Isabel...and what ever other name she has taken.

There is no water, no bread, no candles, no ice, and no big batteries to be found. Well the only water that still rests on the shelves is Fiji water which runs about $6 a bottle. People have limits you know. Apparently it is spending $6 for a bottle of water. Some people started preparing on Friday. We couldn't really even think about it. We found a couple gallons of water at the target early this morning and ice at a small gas station near our house. Why do you need extra gallons of water in a hurricane? Is the water system somehow disrupted during a hurricane?

As a precaution we're camping out in our basement (we have a walkout basement so we are not really worried about flooding). We have a lot of large trees in our back.



Aidan and Leo's school is closed tomorrow and Tuesday (10/29). They announced it at 2:36pm today before it even started raining. At 5:38pm, when we started getting a little sprinkle they announced that the Federal Government would be closed tomorrow. Everything is closed, closed, closed.

We'll make sure that we update you via the blog. As long as we have telephone service I will be able to update the blog. We're keeping in touch with all of our friends in area and Marc and Cindy. They are hunkered down as well. We will stay safe and keep in touch. Right now, all is quiet on the eastern front.

Getting ready for Halloween

Last week we decorated for Halloween. This weekend we got skeleton and pumpkin lights to line the walkway. They are so awesome! 👻 I think we have best decorated house in the neighborhood. One that would make Crow proud! Aidan says we have the best decorated house because its the only decorated house. That little Turkey--it may be true but it's still pretty cool.



The only thing we needed were Pumpkins! So today we went to homestead farms to pick pumpkins. We went with Aidan's best friend Max and his family. They are especially awesome so we had a super great time. We played in the hay, took a hay ride to a pumpkin patch, and ate caramel apples!









Stay tuned to find out what Aidan and Leo are going to be for Halloween. One costume requires mom to hand sew! Ack! I really should have worked harder to learn how to sew when Auntie Pam tried to teach me.

Jayson Werth

For the last couple of years, since we started going to the Nats games more and more, my favorite player has been Jayson Werth.  For my birthday I even got my first baseball jersey to wear to Nats games and yes, it says "Werth" on the back!

 

And boy did he show his Werth last night! Woo-Hoo!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/jayson-werths-redeeming-moment/2012/10/11/0aea502a-1411-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story.html

GO NATS!!!

Charm City

I ❤Baltimore




We're in Charm City celebrating Aidan's birthday. And the Ravens and the Orioles. We stayed in a fantastic hotel right on the Harbor. We had dinner at an Irish pub and had the pleasure of sitting at Governor O'Malley's table. (He wasn't there)



This morning/afternoon we had brunch at Mother's. If you ever visited us in B'more you have been to Mother's. I had a bacon Bloody Mary and a shrimp and crab omelette. There are some serious Ravens fans in this city. its fantastic! Did I say I ❤ Baltimore?





We're walking around our old hood in Federal Hill watching a Columbus Day parade.



We've had such a great weekend!

Go O's!
Go Ravens!
Go Nats!




Raven's cheerleaders at Mother's. Ravens are in KC.

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Location:S Charles St,Baltimore,United States

Two Down

Well that's two! Leo lost his second tooth today. It was just hanging there but he didn't want to pull it out. This morning at breakfast it hurt and got in the way of eating his waffle but he wasn't ready to pull it out.

Finally at about 11am he'd had it with the darn tooth and agreed to let me pull it. It was the easiest tooth I've ever pulled and it was out before he knew it. He was stunned but very Happy!






I like this one but he wanted me to take another!

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A glimpse into my morning commute

In the morning, to get into work, I take the redline train about 30 minutes to metro center, a major connection hub, and switch from the redline to the blue/orange line for another 5 minutes or so.

On nice days, I get off at metro center, stop at the Firehook or Starbucks for coffee and walk in. Today, is a beautiful day! Below is a glimpse into my morning commute when the weather is nice!





It makes me feel lucky.

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Location:12th St Expy,Washington,United States

Soccer Saturdays

Now for the next couple of months we have soccer Saturdays. Both Leo and Aidan have soccer games every Saturday.

Aidan's team played at 9 am this morning. The really got served. The score was something like 0-10. His team could not keep the other team out of their end of the field. And while they took a beating, the goalies were really the stars of the game and I'm not just saying that because Aidan played goalie for the first half of the game. For every one goal scored, Aidan blocked 5. One, he jumped up and deflected with his hands. It was awesome! The other goalie on his team dove and saved one!

(sorry, I didn't take a pic of Aidan)



Leo's game is today at 1:30 pm!

Go Leo!

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Happy Labor Day

Happy Labor Day to all you hard workers out there!!

We spent the long weekend down in Richmond, VA with Unca Marc and Auntie Cindy.


We drove down early Saturday morning. Had lunch at Bottoms Up Pizza again. We shopped around Cary Town which is agreat little street/neighborhood with lots of unique shops. We also shopped around for some water socks/shoes to wear down to the river.

We finally found some and went down to the river to play and swim. The boys had fun sliding down a little rock slide. The first time Leo did it, he popped up laughing! It was funny!

Cindy and I also started a puzzle AND finished it! Honestly, I didn't think we would finish it but we did!

Here are the puzzle over achievers!


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Location:S Thompson St,Richmond,United States

First Day of School Work

Aidan filled out this paper on his first day of school. Jason and I thought it was interesting and we learned a little more about Aidan...like that he is afraid of clowns! When I was young we used to have this velvet brightly painted clown picture that I was afraid of too! Guess it runs in the family!




Here is Leo's drawing from the first day of school too (it's sideways):



And here is his note (also sideways):



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Two 1,000 Piece Puzzles

While my mom was here we worked on two 1,000 piece puzzles!

Here is our or second puzzle: butterflies!




Today my mom leaves and no one is happy about it!

But we had a great, great time while she was here.

Off to the airport...

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First Day of School

Today was the first day school. No one was really looking forward to it (except for me and Jason-ha!). The morning started out well by waking Crow up with the pillow. They had a good breakfast of pancakes and chocolate milk. Everyone got a little quiet in the car and the nerves were on high but they went in the front door together and we picked them up at 3:05pm.

The boys seemed to have a great day at school. Aidan wasn't thrilled he had a substitute today but he's happy to be home and to go out for I've cream after school. Tomorrow is a new day!

Don't they look awesome for their first day of 1st grade and 4th grade?








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Luray Caverns

Crow saw pictures from Ethan and Grandpa Russ' trip East and she really wanted to see Luray Caverns too.

It's such a great place to visit we don't get tired of seeing it either.






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Location:1, West Luray,United States

GO DC United!

Here's us at the DC United Game! Drinking domestic brew (a whopping $8), eating Papusas and Nachos, drinking Gatoraid and getting us a little DC United action!

They are playing the Chicago Fire and really need to win!




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Location:East Capitol St NE,Washington,United States

At Last...

The sun came out!



We played beach volleyball, frisbee, made sand castles, swam in the ocean, jumped some waves, made it to pool...we did it all!!!

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Location:Ocean Front Ave,Virginia Beach,United States

Rain, rain go away!

We are in Virginia Beach and it's raining, raining, raining. I think Crow might have brought the rain with her (but don't tell her I said that!).


It hasn't stopped us from enjoying ourselves! We went out on the beach yesterday and this morning, rain or shine, I mean rain or clouds.

Leo and Crow shared a bed last night. Poor Crow. Leo is a bed hog and a back kicker. His head was down where his feet were supposed to be! Half the bed was empty because poor crow was sleeping on the edge. Aidan got the roll away bed and was a happy camper.


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Location:Laskin Rd,Virginia Beach,United States

Virginia Beach

We're on our way to Virginia Beach! Cars packed up, it's 10am and we're on 95 S headed for the ocean. As usual, there is traffic on 95 S. I don't understand why but I just take it for a given now.

It's okay because we have the DSs, books, nooks, magazines, iPods, best of Queen CDs, kids bop CDs, snacks, etc. AND Crow!



It's a bit overcast and a lot cooler but we're hoping for a little sun and lots of fun to wrap up our summers.

More soon!!!





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Location:Eisenhower Cir,Woodbridge,United States

Taking it Easy

The boys slept great last night on the back porch except for the rain, thunder and lightening at 5am. I woke up from the rain and thunder to see if they were wet but they were still sleeping. Marc and I were trying to decide if they should go in and Leo and Aidan woke up. Leo wanted to come in and Aidan wanted to stay out. Leo and I headed in and a huge crackle of thunder sounded and Aidan said "I'm coming in!!!"

Today we had pizza and Blue Moon at Bottom's Up brewery and then we went to play on the rocks in the James river. It was fun laying on the rocks, with our backs to the rapids and floating around. It was super humid and raining a little. The boys said it was kinda scary but also very fun! We headed home when we heard thunder!

Tonight we made delish S'mores! Its an awesome saturday treat! I think the boys will sleep inside. It's crazy humid this weekend. Squatches don't really like humidity. It's bad for their hair-it makes their fur frizzy!



PS Squatches like PB&J

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Squatch Watch

The boys and I are in Richmond spending the weekend with Uncle Marc and Aunt Cindy.

Uncle Marc convinced Aidan and Leo to sleep on the porch-a little camping style. They agreed. What?!?




They put some sandwich out in the backyard to entice the squatch. Now their sleeping on the covered porch with flash lights carrying out squatch watch.

Let's see how it goes! Uncle Marc might be in for a wild night!

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Poutine and Donuts

So, Saturday, as many of you know is our diet day off so it was no holds barred.

We started the morning with Tim Horton's donuts which is a donut shop all over the city. Our favorite was the donut holes! They have raspberry, lemon, cinnamon, chocolate, powdered...my favorite was the cinnamon.

Next we did a little research to find the best place for Poutine: French fries, cheese curds and gravy. Oh my!! We went downtown to Caplansky's Deli. It was the best thing I have eaten in a long time! The key is the gravy and the squeaky curds!



Then we walked around the waterfront and contemplated taking a ferry boat to the little islands but everyone and their brother had the same idea so we walked more in town to check out the free Inuit art gallery exhibit at a bank. It was mostly sculpture and I prefer painting but it was interesting still.



Then we headed over to a very trendy neighborhood called the historic distillery district which has a number of shops and restaurants and ice cream! Chocolate, cinnamon, toasted marshmallow, vanilla, orange cream, yum!



Finally, we headed back to the hotel for one last go in the pool and dinner of fish and chips!

Today, Sunday, we are on our way back home! It just took us an hour to get through the border crossing. Oh boy.

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