WHAT IS THAT THUMPING?

My son, Adam, has the room next to ours. Last week we painted it, and in doing so, we rearranged the furniture. Now his bed isn’t in the middle of the room anymore, it’s against the wall that he shares with us. I’ve noticed lately that throughout the night, I hear THUMPS on that wall.

Now let’s rewind about 40 or so years.

I used to share a room with my sister, Margee. She was on the side of the room that shared a wall with my parents. Guess what they heard during the night? Yep! They heard THUMPS! For the longest time my mom thought Margee was banging her head against the wall. But finally, and I have absolutely NO idea how she figured this out, Mom decided it was Margee’s knees knocking the wall, not her head. (Mindy and I begged to differ, but Mom insisted. We still think we’re right on this one!)

So, I’m wondering how Mom knew and if she can figure it out for Adam next time she comes in town.

Mom? Mom? Are you reading this???

THUMP! THUMP!

 

Karen

BY THE BOOK IS ON SALE!!! TODAY ONLY!!!

How many times have you left tons of notes for the sitter, only to realize halfway through dinner that you forgot to tell her that ONE most important thing? You should be relaxed when you get time away from the kiddos.

Melissa and I want to help every parent out there get more organized when it comes to childcare so that you CAN be relaxed, whether you get away from your kids everyday or once a year! (Oh, but if it’s only once a year, you need to get out more, girlfriend!)

By The Book: How To Take Care of MY Kids is a workbook for parents to fill out with information about THEIR children to give to their caregiver. This could be a full time nanny, occasional babysitter or even Grandma. (Okay, let’s be honest. It could even help Daddy, right?) Having everything organized will give you peace of mind when somebody else is watching your children.

TODAY ONLY we will be selling the hardbound book at HALF PRICE! Only $9.95 plus s/h. Just go to http://www.bythebookkids.com/ and use coupon code OCTSALE for your 50% discount!

And if you don’t have small children, do you know anyone who does? Or do you know anybody who is about to be a mom for the first time? This makes a GREAT gift!

Karen

Cooking and Apple Picking. WHAT?

I am not a good cook. But in my defense, I didn’t have a great role model! Now, I love my mother, and when we were young, she cooked dinner every night for the family, but it wasn’t very good. The funny thing is, we didn’t realize how bad her cooking was this until we were much older and had some great home cooking! (See how bewildered we both look in the picture? And I was only 8 years old there!) And now, since she lives alone, the only cooking she does is maybe pasta or hard boiled eggs. Things that involve water! In fact, her oven is actually a storage area. I’m not even sure it works!

But, the one thing she made that she is still known for today (even if she hasn’t made it in 20 years or so) is her homemade applesauce. I can still taste it now! It was passed down from her mother to her and then to us girls.

So why am I thinking of this now? Because we went apple picking this past weekend, and the only apples available this time of year were Honeycrisp (which are fabulous by the way!) and Jonathon apples. As far as I know, the only thing I know about Jonathon is that they are what Mom used when she made applesauce.

So off I went to my sister’s house to get the recipe and Mom’s old food mill. (Do they still sell these things? It creaks and groans when I turn it!) I haven’t made it yet, so I can’t tell you how it turned out. My sister said it’s easy to make but Mom always made such a big deal about how difficult it was, so who should I believe? (It reminds me of that commercial where the mom was making Rice Krispie Treats and wanted her family to think she went to SO much trouble for them!)

So wish me luck! If it turns out okay and Mom agrees, I’ll share the recipe with you!

Karen