Daddy Apples and Baby Apples!

Last week the boys the kids (damn, I have to stop doing that!) and I, and a friend and her kids went apple picking.

This has become an annual tradition, and the two of ALWAYS go apple picking together. We got lucky with wonderful weather, nice and cool, but very sunny.

We reminisced about years past.... how last year, while in the midst of picking apples, she figured out that I was pregnant but not publicizing it yet! (We were there with other friends, and I SWORE her to secrecy!!).


Since then I've been making applesauce for Izzy, and today we made Raspberry Applesauce for the boys. (Since we have at least 10 gallon bags of raspberries in the freezer from this summer, from our bushes!).

As we made applesauce this afternoon: I was peeling, and the boys were measuring. The apples that weren't peeled yet, were waiting patiently in line (as the boys "asked" them to do), in order from smallest to largest. One of the smallest apples suddenly started talking to the Daddy apple (way in the back of the line), "Daddy, Daddy.... save me! I don't want to get killed [peeled]. I don't want to have my heart cut out [get cored]. Save me! SAAAAAAVVVVVEEEEE MMMMMMEEEEE!!!"
Boys!!!! Seriously, where do they come up with this stuff!!! Gotta love it!!!

Apples, Apples, Apples

You may recall, that I briefly mentioned (during a much more important post about TV!) that we went apple picking. In fact, it deserves more than such a slight mention!!

We joined 2 close friends and their 3 kids, and hit a great apple orchard/commercial fall play area known as Apple Holler. It's fun, it's a good size, and it's not too far from home. We met there after lunch early last week. The 5 kids get along WONDERFULLY! Seriously. Trevor loves the one girl who is his age. We tackily (is that a word?) joke that they are boyfriend and girlfriend (I swore I wouldn't do that as a mom! Ooops!), and he acts like a big brother to the other little girl. Blake
usually doesn't mind much who we are with, and this time was no exception.

We walked and we walked, and finally found a section with apples still for picking. It was somewhat surprising how few there were, as it was early in the season. We ended up picking 1/2 a bushel for us, and the other 2 mom's shared a 1/2 bushel.

Note for next year: don't be greedy....share!! 1/2 a bushel is too much for us!

Eventually, we found a great section and picked and picked and picked.... Jonathon's and Golden Delicious. The kids ate and ate as we picked, and I think in the end Blake had 3 BIG apples! Then of course, it was time for the commercial play-time. We shelled out money for 'train' rides (a lawn tractor pulling wagons), a maze, pony rides, and more. But the kids really had a good time, so I guess it was worth it.

We brought home our 1/2 bushel, and stuck them in the extra fridge. T & B also got to pick out 1 item from the gift shop, and they chose....Taffy Apples. (An aside, Steve and I have discovered another East coast/mid-west difference: Candy vs Taffy Apples. Holy Hannah....I had no idea it was such a big deal. It's an apple covered with sugar....move on people!!).

Fast forward 1 week...

Oops, I still have 1/2 a bushel of apples in my fridge. Now what do I do????

Ah....make Applesauce, Apple Crisp, and Carmel Apple Bars. YUMMY! The applesauce recipe is an easy one, I found on AllRecipes.com. The Apple Crisp recipe comes from Grandma, and I'm not sure I can share it.... oops, bad blogging protocol probably, but there ya go. Old family secret and all! But the Carmel Apple Bars, well I found that one in the newspaper, so I'll share, willingly.

The kids helped make all 3. They really enjoy mashing the apples for the applesauce after they were cooked down... they really enjoyed that. But it was a little to messy for a photo op (don't want to get the camera covered in apples!). They helped mix and pour all the other things to, but again, I'm not good at getting photos while coordinating recipes! And most importantly (to my sanity and fingernails), they unwrapped all 14 ounces of carmels for the Carmel Apple Bars!! Yay!!


Carmel Apple Bars
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional-I didn't use)
4 1/2 cups chopped, peeled apples
14 oz carmels
3 tbsp margarine

Cream together 1/2 cup margarine and brown sugar. Add flour, oats, salt, baking soda and mix well. Stir in pecans. Set aside 2 cups of this mixture. Press remaining mix in greased 9x13 pan.
Toss apples in 3 tbsp flour. Spoon over crust.
Melt carmels and margarine together. Drizzle over apples. Top with rest of flour/oat mixture.
Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting.

Oh my goodness....it's like heaven. ESPECIALLY, to a pregnant woman who hasn't been craving any food, or even wanting to eat. I could eat the whole 9x13 pan of this tonight!! Time to stop blogging, and eat!

Apples and Dancing, and Cubbies, Oh My!

Well, another week and a lack of blogging. I'm really slacking here aren't I? No new excuses, see last week's post for my pathetic list of reasons!

Anyway, I must do a little update, mostly on my reality TV watching.

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Amazing Race....good episode. Sorry that we didn't lose either the blondes, or the newly dating couple-Terrence and Sarah.

The blondes drove me a little nutty with the boat challenge.....if you don't think you can do it, fine....go do the other one!!

The divorcees, Kelly & Christy, drove me CRAZY with their lack of reading-skills.... geez! How many more clue blunders can you make in an episode.

But Terrence & Sarah took this cake this week. Seriously, he's got issues....a baby after the cab trunk hit him in the head-demading 'mothering' from Sarah; over-emotional in line for the airplane (not that Tina wasn't a PITA!); rude to Sarah constantly; goes the wrong way leaving the detour and then has a fit in the middle of town; and they end up coming in third!!! GEEZ... I could stand to see them leave!!

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I quite enjoyed DWTS tonight. My favorite 4: Lance & Lacey-I'm glad they went traditional, Maurice & Cheryl, Warren & Kym-god he can dance, and Brooke & Derek. It was sad to see Misty go, and I hope she'll recover and come back to jive on a future season results show. Sorry to say, it's still time for me to see Cloris go. I don't really appreciate her humor and bottom line it's a dancing competition and she didn't do much dancing!

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As for baseball..... Damn the Cubs. What a depressing end to a phenomenal season. And when my darling, but sports inept, husband says to me, "Why are you surprised? It's been 100 years!", I want to smack him!! Aside from that response, I think it's harder for me this year because they were so good and so consistent all season long. To go 3 and out is just killer. Add to that 9 straight post-season losses, well.... 'nuff said. Trevor is bummed, and if he continues as a Cubs fan, I guess he'll learn that is a way of life.

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Finally.... on a much more interesting note, and less TV related. The boys and I enjoyed a gorgeous fall day picking apples. We picked a 1/2 bushel....that's a lot of apples! And had a great time. We met friends there, and thank god they brought cameras, cause I forgot. So pictures will be coming soon. Trevor ate about 3 apples, while picking, and Blake probably 2. They adore this kind of stuff, and now I just have to figure out what to make with so many apples!!!