So glad the week is over

Go go go. It feels like the theme of the last few days has been "go." I am tired of going and even more tired of spending money on gas. Wednesday was the day to volunteer with Dylan's class. We made it out the door in time to drop Ethan off with Ryan's mom. Before I even set Ethan down, he started to whine. He knew I was leaving. He has it all figured out now. I guess he only cried for about 10 minutes or so this time. Not too bad I guess. Things went well with Dylan's class. I sure was ready to get out of there though. I started the day pretty tired, and had no coffee. So I only became more tired. After class we had some time to kill before Dylan's 5 year checkup with the doctor. So we ran to the bank and the went to Bob Evans for a sit down lunch. He and I both had spaghetti. The waitress was so nice. Its refreshing to get a friendly face these days. After lunch we headed to Walmart. For his birthday my Aunts had sent him some money and a note in the card to go get him a game for his new Leapfrog game system. So while I had him with me, alone, I wanted to get over there so he could pick one out himself. He looked at a few and finally settled on one. I also picked up the AC adapter for the thing so that we weren't constantly recharging the batteries. To the appointment we went. Our appointment was at 2:15. We waited 15 minutes in the waiting room to be called back, and then waited for even longer in the room for the doctor to come in. She wasn't in there long. Then we waited again for the nurse to come back and give the vaccines. Which he hated. He is just now 40 pounds and is 42 inches tall (I think). We didn't get into the parking lot until 3:50! We were in there way too long. Why do doctors offices make you wait so long? I hate the afternoon appointments too. If I can, I always try to get one of the first few appointments of the day to prevent the waiting. It just wasn't possible this time.
After we finally got out of that place we went to go pick up Ethan. We sat there for a little while before going back to meet up with Ryan and watch a load of cattle come in. It was one of the first few loads coming in, so I wanted to be there and take a few pictures. Unfortunately, it was pouring down rain, just as it had been the entire day. So we all sat in the car the whole time. After sitting for a while the boys were getting antsy so we started to leave. The truck pulled in finally. Once they started unloading the cattle, the boys were totally interested. I don't know how long it took, but not long. As soon as they were done, we left. By the time we got home that day it was 6:30. We had left the house at 8:30. We were all pretty tired and the boys were starving. Thank heavens for leftovers! Ryan ended up being up there until 1 am or so waiting on more cattle. Talk about being tired.
Thursday we did nothing. I did nothing. A load of laundry I guess. And I did make dinner. But not much else! We would have left that day to take warmer clothes up to Ryan, but I guess while up at the cattle barn the night before I picked up a nail in the tire. The tire was flat. Completely. So Thursday was a nothing day, but that was great.
Ryan got home after dark last night and didn't get a chance to change the tire. So this morning before we all left, he was out there changing that damn tire. It took him a bit, but he got it. Off to preschool we went. After dropping Dylan, Ethan and I went to have the bad tire fixed and put back on. And errands for Ryan. I had a few things to do as well, so we rushed around to get everything done and get back to pick up Dylan. I don't know how we managed it all, but we did. We are home now and don't have any plans to leave again for a while. I want a nap. Not that I will get one, but I want one.
I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Pizza Sub Sandwiches

I wanted a pizza for lunch. I just didn't want to take the extra time to make a dough. Or dirty all of those dishes. So I took some hoagie rolls that I had bought, and made a sub! I enjoy pizza subs from time to time. I like the crispiness of the subs that you get from a pizza place. I just haven't had much success in making them here at home. They tend to be soggy. So anyway, today was my best result so far.
I used my little toaster oven today. I like how quick it is. I opened the hoagie rolls and then spread a very small amount of butter on them. I stuck them in the toaster oven on "toast" setting for about 5 minutes or so, to get the bread a bit crispy. After that, I topped them with pepperoni.

Then I put on a small amount of pizza sauce (maybe 2-3 tsp) over the pepperoni.

Next of course is the cheese. I used Mozzarella.

Then I put them back in the toaster oven on the "broil" setting to get the cheese brown and bubbly. I don't remember how long, but I didn't walk away from the toaster oven. I stayed and watched them cook to keep from forgetting about them and burning them.

Once they were done, I let them cool a bit before putting the 2 halves together.

I made 3 sandwiches. One for me and one each for the boys. Both are great eaters, so yes, they got their own sandwich. And they ate every last bite too, plus an apple. They like to eat!

I had to do the top halves of the rolls together and then do the bottom part of the rolls together. For one, the tops and bottoms were different thickness, so I didn't want the uneven doneness. And two, I just didn't have enough room in the toaster oven to do all of them together. Next time, I think I would sprinkle on some garlic powder after I buttered them for a little added flavor.

Give it a try! They hit the pizza craving spot pretty well and took no time at all to make!

Relaxing

It is so nice just to sit here and do nothing. To be nowhere but home. I mentioned the other day that I am kind of tired of running around. Today, I am doing nothing. There is a sink full of dishes to do but I am not doing it until I go to start dinner. They can wait. I know I have a load of laundry that needs to be done, but  will put it off until later.
Tomorrow will be a busy day. It is my day of the month to go volunteer in Dylan's class. After we get out of there, we will grab a quick lunch and go to his doc for his 5 year check up. Since the appointment is in the afternoon, I am sure the office will be behind, and I will wait longer than the appointment itself lasts. Dylan doesn't know about the doctor part yet. Im sure there will be shots involved, so I haven't told him yet. Ethan is spending the day with Ryan's mom. Feel bad for her. Ethan can be a turd. He tends to cry a lot. I mean a lot after I leave. His crying drives me insane. I feel bad that she has to listen to it too. But he needs to get used to not being up my butt his whole life. I don't think that I am asking much from him when I leave him once a month (ok maybe a few other times too). So yeah, wish her luck with him!
This morning I let the boys decorate thier pumpkins that we got on Dylan's field trip. No paint here. Only washable markers. I am not brave enough to get paint and let them have at it. So they got to use washable markers. I did take pictures of course but, they didn't amount to much. the decorating lasted all of 10 minutes and both boys were done with it. The pumpkins are filled with scribbles, and Dylan added a couple smiley faces to his pumpkin. I had them set the pumpkins out on the porch. It is supposed to rain tomorrow. Im curious to see how the washable markers stand up. If it washes off, then I guess we get another 10 minute activity one day.
Happy Tuesday!

Weekend Picture Post

We had a decent weekend. My mood could be a bit better, but overall a pleasant weekend. Saturday we had Dylan's birthday. He enjoyed himself. Ethan was a turd and spent half the time in his room. So lets talk about Sunday!
Sunday I went with a friend of mine and her kids to a pumpkin patch. The boys already had their pumpkin from Dylan's field trip. So we didn't need to worry about that. We were just there for the fun. Both boys had a lot of fun. We weren't there long, because it was getting sooooo busy, but we were there long enough for them to have a lot of fun. Here are the pictures!

As you can see, neither boy really paid much attention to me. I have so many pictures of them looking away and of their backs, haha! It was a bit chilly out, but no one noticed. I was worried that Ethan wouldn't stay near me, but he did great.
This week is a bit slower thankfully. I am kind of tired of running around and spending money on gas.

Field Trip Day

Today was Dylan's first field trip with his class. It is a cool and very windy day. But at least it wasn't raining. We had just gotten some rain the other day, so I packed Dylan extra clothes, because I had no idea what we were getting into. I dropped Ethan off with Ryan's Mom. When everyone arrived they pretty much had free play. There were a lot of things for the kids to play on and with. The big draw for all of the kids was a huge slide that they had built into a hill. It went underground and came out at the bottom of the hill. All of the kids loved it. We also got a short tour of the barns with the animals inside and then were given a chance to pick a pumpkin before we all left. Dylan had a great day and the kids seemed to enjoy it all.
Here are the pictures!
*edited to add: I uploaded these same pictures to facebook and they look fine, yet HERE on blogger, they look out of focus and wonky. Damn you blogger.*

Fall

I've been seeing photos lately of the changing leaves in the northern New England states. I swear we get cheated in Ohio. At least we are teased. We get the changing leaves and all, and some trees are gorgeous. But we never get color like they do up north. All of the colors are much much more vibrant. In my area of the state, I haven't been all that impressed so far this year. Most of the trees just seem to be losing their leaves right when they start to change. I would love to take a vacation one year up there and see those gorgeous colors.
I wish we could have 70 degree days plus the changing leaves. Part of me enjoys fall, because it brings in the holidays. What I don't enjoy is that for us, here in Ohio, it means colder weather. It all leads to snow. I am not a fan of cold weather. I would like to venture out on Thanksgiving day wearing t-shirts and jeans. That is great weather. One exception I would make it on Christmas morning. A light dusting of snow, that covers nearly all of the grassy surfaces. I can complain about the cold weather, but I still hope for snow every Christmas morning.
Do you look forward to the holidays each year?

I want to sleep all day

Busy, tired, achy. Ryan tried to start harvest. They worked yesterday and got a little bit done. Overnight it rained and things are still wet. We are supposed to get more rain tomorrow. So it will be a few days before they get back at it. It usually only takes a few weeks. By then, he will be done with the time consuming part of the other project he has been working on. By then, things will be returning to normal.
I am so tired. I don't know why. This past week or so. In the afternoons when they boys are in their rooms, all I want to do is lay down and take a nap. I try. But I can't fall asleep. But at least I get that time to lay down and rest. I need it. I have most of the stuff for Dylan's small party Saturday ready. Saturday it will be Ryan's side of the family. There is just too many people in both families to have everyone over at once. Although I have no idea when to do my side of the family. I just don't know.
I did finally get his gift. I got it ready and all it needs is to be wrapped. When he opens it, it will be ready to go. We got him a game system thing from Leapfrog. It looks pretty cool. I think he will like that. His cake is ordered and I will pick it up Saturday morning. Just a few last minute things to do around here. I hope to get it all done tomorrow.