Stuff that happened in October

My mother always loved this quote, and now that Im an adult I see how true this was of her- 

And to keep her spirit alive, I made something from my childhood- whoopie pies!

 My mom loved to bake, and rarely bough store bought treats for us. I remember one year my mom made whoopie pies for my halloween party at school and dyed the frosting orange- I thought she was magical! I felt so proud and special that day. For my wedding gift, my mom hand wrote recipes of hers (many of which were my grandmothers) and filled a recipe box. I love using the cards and seeing her handwriting....

With Brian gone, I miss eating great food. And I have limited time to meal plan, grocery shop, etc. So I decided to try one of the "meal in a box" options out there. Blue Apron and Hello Fresh seem to be the most popular. I went with Blue Apron because they are GMO free. I did the 2 meals for 4 people weekly option, and it was worth every penny. The portions are generous (especially the pasta) so I always had leftovers- often which Tate would ask to bring the following day for lunch!

 My first try- Shrimp & Squid Ink Pasta-

It was so good! Tate still talks about it and wants me to make it again. What I like about this, is that it gets me away from my go-to meals, and gives us some variety. I am also learning new cooking skills- like frying catfish (Macy's favorite meal) and roasting tomatillos for an enchilada sauce- 

When I mentioned to a friend that I was doing this Blue Apron service, she had heard a down fall of it was "chopping all the ingredients. " Yes. That is true. The ingredients are fresh. It is not rice-a-roni and hot dogs. The Blue Apron meals are how/what we typically eat, so I'm used to all the prep needed to prepare fresh, homemade foods. But now I just don't have to meal plan or grocery shop- win win!

I went in late night to tuck in Tate, and this is how I found him-

 Will he ever outgrow his love of stuffed animals? That Spidey has been around since before kindergarten- a great find at the German thrift store on base. Groot is new-ish, but certainly a favorite.

Hades came back this year! I wasn't on my game without Brian here, and he didn't appear until Oct 11th, but the kids loved finding him around the house each day. This particular day he even scared me repeatedly because I kept forgetting that I had put him in there-

Guess what instrument Tate tested above average on for band this year?

Yup, the tuba! He was really hoping for the drums, but didn't test so well for percussion. He is psyched for the tuba now! I had to rent two- one for school, and one to keep at home. Sigh.