That's My Boy

He combed his own hair tonight....

The Longest Day

Yesterday was The Longest Day for me, bookended by terror. Ok, maybe I exaggerate just a bit, but it was definitely bookended by some scary moments. From the time we woke up a little after 2am with the 4.7 earthquake to the time we tried to go to sleep after the next earthquake a little after 11pm, I was busy with many activities such as shuttling the eldest to her soccer game and baking bread.

It was a very satisfying day despite the fact that I had 2 snot-nosed kids confined to the car during the soccer game due to very cold temps and high winds AND the fact that I didn't get a shower in until after dinner last night. Bygones.

We were laying in bed watching SNL. I was luxuriating under my giraffe duvet cover (sans duvet currently) almost in an alpha state with my side of the heated mattress pad on 2, my eyes were rolling back into my head...I was drifting off to slumberland when I heard the rumble of the traffic leaving the stadium. Except it wasn't the traffic and the house was shaking and swaying. We were suddenly out of our bed freaking out then walking around the house checking on all of the sleeping kids and dogs.

Emi slept through this one, a 5.6 magnitude earthquake - the biggest in Oklahoma history, and when I went up to her room, I could feel the house swaying from North to South and back. It was very unsettling to say the least. At least the news broke about this earthquake immediately and some of my FaceBook friends reported feeling queasy and seasick. I felt this way too and my very tired eyes wanted to go to sleep but my mind was worried that the house would shake again and that we hadn't done enough to educate the kids on what to do doing an earthquake (namely not to panic). We are more than versed in what to do in the case of a tornado.

I was trying to brace myself for any aftershocks but if there were any, I slept right through them...

A check of the house and yard revealed some earthquake damage:

We will survive!

Pumpkin Bread & Butter

When I was a little girl, my Nanny got me hooked on apple butter (and sweet tea, bourbon balls, loose meat sandwiches, etc). I don't have apple butter often, but I came across this recipe for pumpkin butter and decided to try it out. Actually, the recipe I found on La Fuji Mama was for pumpkin bread with a link to a complimentary pumpkin butter. The bread includes pumpkin and coconut milk, but does not really taste of either.  But it tastes great and I love knowing that some extra goodness is included in this bread. My whole family loved the bread and butter and the aroma in the house really got me in the mood for Thanksgiving!

I followed the bread recipe exactly and the loaves and rolls came out perfect. I deviated from the pumpkin butter recipe a little because I had apple cider, not apple juice (no biggie) and I also did not have any ground ginger or ground cloves (also no biggie). The butter came out delicious despite the omissions. Reminded me of breakfast with my grandmother...

Pumpkiny Goodness

Pumpkin Bread + Butter + Pumpkin Butter = Pumpkin Heaven

Not the traditional pumpkin bread but definitely a keeper recipe...

Shaken AND Stirred

I'll be honest, earthquake was not my first thought when Emi came into our room a few hours ago. Something stirred me from sleep - maybe the house settling? - it sounded like a chandelier shaking (but we don't have any chandeliers) just before she shot into our room. She was audibly shaken, saying "Daddy, I can't sleep. My bed is shaking!" Oh Lord, this is just how it started in The Exorcist! We followed her back upstairs to her room and saw a sleeping Kirby laying on the floor close to her bed. So whatever it was didn't disturb his slumber.

We inspected her bed - nothing but toys and trash and man, she really needs to clean her room. We checked outside and the garage (her room is above the garage and the door opening would have shaken her bed) but she reported no noise, just her bed shaking. We checked the time and thankfully it was only a little after 2am (not the unholy 3-4am) and asked her about her dreams. She said she was dreaming that she had it all, a very good dream and then she woke up to a shaking bed. {freaky!} We convinced her that she probably shook her bed herself and woke herself up but she still wanted to sleep in our bed. Daddy stayed in her bed and she came back to bed with me.

My heart was still racing and my mind was wandering so I decided to check out FaceBook and TV (nothing) to see if there were any unusual activities going on that might corroborate Emi's accounts. And wouldn't you know it, a 4.7 earthquake just after 2 (with an aftershock of 3.4 20 minutes later). After I let Emi know what happened, I went to Emi's room to let Scott know that it was an earthquake and not demons so he could get some rest....whew! I think we need to lay off of those horror movies so my mind doesn't instantly go to demonic possession in every situation...

Not a Baby Anymore

Aubri is 3 now and I can't believe it! She was just a round faced little baby when she came to us.

18 months

3 Years, baby!

Happy Birthday, Aubrianna!