Happy 30 Birthday Jeremiah

Great Movie but boy am I tired

What are you doing tomorrow at midnight????

Now you may be asking yourself "why would I care what Missy is doing tomorrow at midnight" and you may also be asking yourself "what is Missy doing up that late, unless it is TPing someones house". Which by the way I haven't TP any ones house in about 8 years but tried to talk some friends into it last year and they were too chicken. Anyway after asking yourself all these great questions I will inform you what I will be up too. I am attending the first showing of the TWILIGHT movie in Casper. HURRAY. I know, I know, you must be so jealous. A friend from my ward invited me to attend with some friends. I am so excited. I am expecting the film to be stupid and not to meet my expectations. I am just afraid they are going to change it too much. So at 9:30 PM I will be picked up to head off to the movie that starts at 12 AM. Yes I do feel that we need to get there 2 1/2 hours early. We have to take pictures to remember this blessed occasion. I can not wait. I have to try to take a nap tomorrow in preparations for the late night. Now I just have to get my sister-in-law Erin to get up here to visit me so we can go see The Secret Life Of Bees.

How much are you paying for Gas????

As of today our gas has dropped to $1.69 per gallon. And if you have a Smiths savings card you get 3 cents off per gallon. And if you spent around $100 at smiths (which is pretty easy for me to do), you can save an additional 15 cents per gallon. So yes that is $1.51 per gallon. So if you are paying more then that you should move to Casper. Sucka!

The Argument

Every morning in the car the kids have some kind of argument. Today's was 'Who's cousin was Who's'. Joseph is under the impression that everyone has their own cousin. He was informing the rest of the kids who belonged to which cousin. And the whole time William is saying "No everyone belongs to every cousin. We share our cousins. Mom do we share our cousins?" I had to insure William that we share all our cousins. And remind him that Joseph is still young and trying to figure it all out. For those who want to know this is how Joseph split up the cousins.
Joseph -Micheal you get Peter he is your cousin.
Mom what is Peter's sister name?
Me -Marie
Joseph- Right. Isabelle Marie is your cousin.
Mom what is Peters brothers name?
Me - Oliver
Joseph- Oh right. William you get Oliver
And my cousins are Roman and Issac (the two cousins we see the most)
I try to remind him of his other cousins but since he hasn't seen them in the last 6 months he dismissed it. I am sure we will have this discussion again soon since we have had a few times already.

Back to Denver

Joseph and I headed back to Denver Tuesday night. We got into Denver just in time to hear president elect Barack Obama give his acceptance speech. Joseph and I had to be at the hospital Wednesday at 6:30 am. This time they were doing an examination under anesthesia.

Joseph giving a thumbs up while waiting to be brought back

In Utah when we would take him in they wouldn't let Jeremiah or I go along. Well, at the Children's hospital in Denver, I was allowed to go with while they were putting him to sleep. I got to wear this beautiful get up and hold him until he was out.

Joseph waking up, afterward, holding tight to his Popsicle.

Dr. Cohen informed me his retina is clear but he still has inflammation around his eyes. They gave him more steroid injections in both eyes. He wanted me to come back to his office in 10 days until I reminded him I lived 4 1/2 hours away. So instead I will be calling him in 10 days to let him know how Joseph is feeling and setting up an appointment to go down again in a month or so.

These were pictures I took on the drive home. They sky was so pretty. Though a lot of parts of Wyoming are ugly there are some really pretty parts of it. On the way home I went through a wind storm and two hail storms. Very exciting. I was happy to get home.

A few Halloween projects

I just wanted to put up pictures of some of the things the kids and I made getting ready for Halloween. I enjoyed making the treats the best.Black cat and Pumpkin LanternsPumpkin sugar cookies

Spider Cupcakes

We also made streamers made with orange, black and white construction paper. But the boys ruined them before I could get a picture of them.

Black Cats and Dead Man Over Worms.

Can I tell you how much I LOVE HALLOWEEN. I found some new recipes to use for treats and meals. I love to do anything that make Halloween more fun.

Dead Man Over Worms I found on Emeril Live.

It was so fun to make and serve. Everyone thought it was a bit desturbing but it tasted great.

I didn't get a picture of it when I served it but thought this was a great pic.

Dead Man Over Worms
Ingredients
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 slices French bread torn into pieces
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup shredded Cheddar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bouquet garni ( I am not sure what this was so I didn't use it)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 pound mild Italian sausage
1(16 ounce) package spaghetti noodles
Topping:
1 cup tomato ketchup
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add milk, bread, and oatmeal. Stir in carrots, onions, cheese, herbs, and seasonings. Add beef and sausage and mix well. In a shallow baking dish, shape beef mixture into the shape of a body. Round ball for head, oval shape for body, mounding up for tummy. Shape arms and place next to body. Shape legs and place next to each other, not apart. Smooth meatloaf so the "seams" are not apparent. Bake for 45 minutes, until meat is cooked through.
While baking combine topping ingredients. Cook spaghetti noodles, according to package directions, rinse and set aside. After 45 minutes, spoon half of the topping over the meatloaf. Return to the oven and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes

My friend had the recipe for Black Cat Cookies on her Blog and I couldn't resist.

This one Jeremiah made for Julia

I thought these were fun and adorable but the kids couldn't help to much. Maybe in a year or two when I can feel more comfortable about them helping around the oven.

Black Cat Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
24 wooden craft sticks
48 pieces candy corn
24 red-hot candies (I used M&Ms instead)
DIRECTIONS
1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Roll dough into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place 3 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets.
2. Insert a wooden stick into each cookie. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar. Pinch top of cookie to form ears. For whiskers, press a fork twice into each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set. Remove from the oven; immediately press on candy corn for eyes and red-hots for noses. Remove to wire racks to cool.

For Halloween Dinner we are having Dinner in a Pumpkin.