Totally Pampered and Spoiled Halloween

I had quite a wonderful Halloween!!! It's now Wednesday and I'm finally getting around to writing about it. 

Yes, Halloween is my birthday! And it was so nice that it happened to land on a Sunday, so that way our family could join us throughout the day. I woke up to coffee and a donut, and an envelope from my darling husband. He said to get out of bed and get ready because the kids are coming to pick me up! Inside the envelope was a gift certificate to Hollywood Nails, a manicure & pedicure salon down in Green Bay.

It was time to get totally pampered and enjoy a "Girls Morning". Not only did we get a wonderful pedicure, it also included a delightful foot massage and a lotion treatment that soaked in while wrapped in plastic bags and hot towels.  I have never had that before. 

Chelsea opted to only have her nails done, but the rest of us all had our feet done. She has suddenly decided that she doesn't like her feet touched anymore. 

She finished earlier than us,  so she laughed at us and took pictures.  For a Sunday morning, we were the only ones in the place and had a really fun time. It was especially delightful to get pampered because I only do this once every couple years.

Littlest Claire got to sit in the Hello Kitty massage chair. She had both her fingernails and toenails done. She even had cute little daisies added to hers.  Quite the diva... she is used to getting this done with her mommy.

Daughter Erin and I relaxed back in our massaging chairs, and let ourselves get pampered!  Each chair has a remote control, with multiple settings of what kind of massage you want, as well as the incline angle and heat.  I could use that at home! What a nice relaxing way to spend the morning.

Here are my beautiful bronze colored toes. All pampered and refreshed and looking young as 21 years old. (the pedicure gal said that)  I'm happy I don't have old lady toes yet, even though I'm 61. No bunions or corns either. LOL 

~~~~~~~~~

After our spa time, we went out for a nice relaxing lunch together. Some of us had breakfast and some of us had lunch because it was that time of the day. Again, the kids treated me, so I was the Birthday Queen for the Day. 

But it was also time to head on back home because we had a big evening ahead of us. The kids were all fired up about going trick or treating. But the oldest granddaughter Chelsea was also fired up about coming to my house to help cook dinner for the evening. She was going to stop by and do all of the meal prep work and then go back home to trick or treat for a couple hours.

One of her specialties that she likes to make with me is what she called "Sleeping Bag Lasagna".   It's where each lasagna noodle is rolled up in an individual roll and set into the pan to bake.

We made two pans of shredded chicken with alfredo sauce and cheese. Then we also did two pans of traditional Italian style with meat and spaghetti sauce and ricotta cheese.  

Here is a video that she made one other time of the process:

Once the pans were all prepped up and set into the refrigerator, Chelsea was able to go join the rest of her family to go trick-or-treating. I got the dining room ready and set up for the evening.  I am so glad to have a large enough diningroom for everyone.  The table expands with two more leaves and two more chairs if more family were here to join us. 

In the kitchen, I set up mini pizza crusts, packets of sauce, and containers of pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. The grandkids were going to make their own mini pizzas!  Aldi's sells the pizza crusts 3 to a pack and includes the little packets of sauce. All you need to do is add your choice of toppings. What a great way for kids to have control over their own little dinner, and it saves this grandma from having to make it.

Now we were all set! 

~~~~~~~~~~

The trick-or-treating began between 3 and 4 we had a few stragglers come in the first hour. Then we had this big wagon pull up with a whole bunch of kids. They would flop down the back stairs and the kids would spread out in every direction and hit up all of the houses. What a great way for parents to take the children trick-or-treating. They had music playing, (it was the Monster Mash song), and the adults were enjoying their own beverages while their children were safely trick-or-treating at each stop.

Pretty soon some of my own little grandchildren trick-or-treaters showed up on my porch. Clomp clomp clomp up the stairs they came. I am SO glad we moved closer to the grandkids, to share in these days. 

I believe that Whitney is Anna, who is from the movie Frozen. Claire was Ladybug, who is some kind of crime fighter, but then later she had to take her costume off and she also had her Halloween pumpkin pajamas underneath.

Heather and Jessie wore these silly lit up masks from some movie or game called The Purge? I don't know a lot about those things, but the masks were kind of cute.  They lit up with batteries, and Heather said they got steamy underneath the plastic. 

Chelsea was a Camouflaged Hunter and had a bow but no arrows. Clayton had a superhero crime-fighting costume, I forget what it was called, because I know that I'm not up on these things. But I did have to sew on some parts of it and add some ties on the back earlier in the week. It was only held together with velcro. What nine-year-old can be contained with velcro? And Mommy Erin was the Cat Noir, who is some other crime-fighting character that I really don't know who that is either. Guess I got to catch up on these things?  Soninlaw Waylen stayed home at their house to hand out candy.

Oldest grandson Jameson, again is a some other character that I don't know on the right, he went out with his best buddy to go trick-or-treating. He would join us later.

Steve said that that is a real sign of getting old, because I don't know any of these new modern up-to-date crime fighting characters.  

Just give me Batman, Superman, and Tom and Jerry cartoons???

The two littlest granddaughters were all excited about playing with some stickers that they got from somebody's house. They weren't even interested in their bags of candy. They were more involved in building little twin skeletons out of stickers to hang on my refrigerator.

The next two grandkids, Chelsea and Clayton, of course had to sit down and sort through their candy and make trades back and forth. They picked out favorites for Grandpa (Smarties), and favorites for Grandma (Kit Kats and Swedish Fish). They sure made a haul and they were quite excited to know that there was still half a bucket full of candy out in front of our house that was unclaimed. I think they had visions of dumping all the rest of that into their own bags. Haha! But no, we said that was going to be saved for Grandpa and Grandma to snack on for the next couple weeks.

The lasagna pans were cooking in the oven along with trays of garlic knots. The grandkids put away their candy bags and set to making their own pizzas. They really enjoyed having the chance to arrange and choose their own toppings.

We laid each one of them on a large tray to go into the oven. To make sure each child got their own pizza back, we wrote their names on the parchment paper with an arrow aiming at their pizza creation. That way there would be no arguments later if somebody was eating someone else's pizza!

Just as the pizza started baking, Jameson showed up after trick-or-treating with his friend. So we quick had to add one more pizza and shift them over a little bit and write another name. It all worked out, and in the end everybody had their own pizza.

We have lots of giggles and laughs around the table in the kitchen, while the kids ate their pizzas, all very sugared up high from their candy as well.  I didn't mind one bit. Having the house full of laughter and kids is something to be cherished. 

In the dining room, we had a nice evening meal with all of the grown-ups around the dining room table. We set up a salad bar along the buffet and had beverages of our choice. It was so nice to have both of our daughters and sons in laws together having a family evening.  

It was time for them to bestow gifts upon me, Heather and Jesse with the kids gave me a huge basket of vanilla scented bath items. I just love they know that is my most delighted pastime in the late evenings is to soak in my tub, enjoying the bubbles and bath salts and lotions and creams that go along with it. My oh my, I sure am pampered!

Erin, Waylen and their kids gave me a big case of my most favorite wine, Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck. Actually it's called Charles Shaw white zinfandel. Trader Joe's is so far away that I never get there. The closest ones are either Milwaukee or Madison. So they managed to pick me up a case and sneak it in. The kids unloaded the bottles into my wine rack in the kitchen. All set with another dozen. Should last me a year?

The silly little grandkids had to sing me Happy Birthday

After everything was done and the guys cleaned up the kitchen, it was time for a picture with all the five grandkids together. I will print this one out for my photo coffee mug insert because the last one was from about 5 years ago. Then I can look at their smiling faces any time to remember this day.

As the parents were getting ready to leave, I looked at Grandpa and asked him how much energy did he have? He wasn't sure what I was alluding to it first. LOL But it turns out that there happened to be no school on Monday. It was a teacher in-service day. So all five of these little grandkids had absolutely nothing to do the next day. Perhaps they would enjoy a sleepover? The squeals of delight and shouts of joy were deafening. The parents scuttled home to grab them some extra pajamas and all five kids were extremely excited to be able to be spending a sleepover together at Grandma and Grandpa's house. FIVE at a time. What are we thinking?

We sure had a lot of fun, and everybody bunk'd out here there and everywhere in the house. Everyone slept in till at least 6:30 which was a nice treat. All of these kids are used to getting up very early to get to school or daycare. We set up a big breakfast buffet in the kitchen where each one can choose what they want for breakfast with no arguments. Do you think they would do that anyhow? Not really. They all play together and cooperate very well. They also help clean up which is a wonderful way to say thanks.

For some reason, the underside circular base of our kitchen table has become a popular spot to hang out. It's good for two little cousins to sit together and giggle and share their breakfast juice and fruit, apple slices

It's even a fun spot for the bigger kids to hang out and stay close while we are in the kitchen but still have their own space with their electronics. I don't think when this table was created, that designer ever thought it would become the perfect spot for a kid's butt in the middle circle?

The teenager and pre teenager hung out to watch some fun YouTube's in the morning. They were looking at a bunch of fun videos of animals doing silly things. It was good to hear them laugh like children, even if they try to act "cool" now.

Clayton's kind of "in-between" the older kids and the younger kids. He like to run around and play hide and seek with the younger ones, but he also tries to act like he's pretty cool like the older ones. It's hard to be 9 and in the middle.

Everybody helped clean up and pick up, and then they did a couple projects for us around the house. Before we knew it, the parents came to pick them up. Then this Grandma and Grandpa toddled off to bed and took a nice long nap themselves.

~~~~~~~~

Now it is Wednesday and I am treating myself to the very last piece of birthday carrot cake. It sure was a wonderful birthday celebration and I am so blessed to have such loving children and grandchildren

The next blog will be about our adventures

 in tearing down the narrow doorway 

and putting up the French doors.

Day 61 - Lug Nuts and Picnics

Day 61 -  Yesterday, Flowergirl asked if our outing to the greenhouse ended our quarantine.  I don't really think so. We didn't have any physical contact. The young gal glanced over our cart to add things up. We left a check with the total on the open countertop at the doorway to the greenhouse, while we loaded the plants into our car.

Actually for the last 2 months, we didn't go indoors to any public places or into any peoples houses, or have people into our home. We didn't go shopping or to any social events.  Just going to an outdoor setting of a green house where nobody else was around.  So I think we are still quarantining in my mind.  We are socially distant and not touching others or being inside their buildings or homes.

Anyhow, Saturday we had a neato adventure. It started out at 7 am with Steve turning on the furnace in the motorhome to warm it up. It was only 28 degrees... brrrrr but soon the heat was warming up the motorhome and we loaded up some supplies and headed on out for our adventure.

Our first stop was at Oconto Truck and Power Center, a mile or so away. This business is owned by Nick Badendick, the husband of the realtor, Amy, who sold us our home.  Since Steve had the wheels off to do the calipers, he put them back on as tight as his torque multiplier tool could go, but he wanted them to be correct and safe.  So they needed to be torqued to the proper specs before we could safely travel anywhere. Nick said he could torque up our lug nuts on the motorhome for us.

We were parked outside and didn't go in... Nick came out and took care of things right in the parking lot.

While the guys were doing that, and checking the tire inflations, I baked some scrumptious apple turnovers in the little oven in the motorhome.   Once they were done conducting their business, I had coffee and turnovers ready for our early morning.

Steve fired up the rig and off we went...  

just look at the Happy Motorhoming Man!

It's been a long long winter,

and he needed to "break free"! 

We needed to test out the brakes and calipers and some new brake lines Steve installed last week. We are happy to report that everything is working fine and up to snuff.  I knew Steve did a great job, and its nice to feel secure in knowing the brakes are fully functioning and reliable. 

We drove over to a nice secluded little parking lot we knew of, about 10 miles away.  It was just below the hydro-electric dam on the Oconto River.  This is a small co-op owned power company. We used to be shareholders in the co-op when we lived down the river years ago.  It's nice to see it still operating today. 

We found a nice little quiet spot to park and enjoy our coffee and apple turnovers.  Ahhhhh  It was all warmed up and comfortable in the rig. Our great smelling coffee sure made the morning. 

Of course,

the dogs were along for the ride! 

We got out and walked around, and although it was sunshiney, the wind was bitterly cold!  We were wearing our winter coats and mittens and hats.  I can not believe this is MAY?

The trees were dipping and swaying, and the fishermen were huddled on the opposite shore.  I guess they were out of the wind over there, and I hope the fish were biting.  Do you think they are 6 feet apart?

We went back in and Steve started cooking up a nice breakfast.  We had brought along bacon, eggs and bread, along with our carafe of coffee.  The sunshine streaming in was so pleasant.  We were "camping" in our minds, even if we were only 10 miles from home.  The motorhome smelled like rich bacon, fresh coffee and frying eggs and scrumptious toast.  It don't get much better than that.

The view out the front windshield was pleasant. We could pretend we were somewhere wayyyy out in the woods, up north some place.  Getting away and getting some relaxing camping for the weekend.

After breakfast, we took a little walk with the dogs. The winds had not let up yet, but it felt good to get out and about.  Two cars came into the parking lot, so we retreated back into our motorhome, to stay out of the way. 

Brrrrrrr we went back in to the inviting warmth. We actually curled up together on the loveseat and took a little nap!   It was such a good time to get away, forgetting about all of the stress in the world, and all the crazy negativity. This was such a nice escape.


All too soon, it was time to get back home.  We stopped on the way back to fill the motorhome up with fresh premium diesel fuel. The price was amazingly $1.95 a gallon.  It was good to top off the tank, and mix it with the current fuel from last fall (when it was probably over $3.00 a gallon!)


The weather reports were full of gloom and doom about freezing and frost and awful predictions of *S*N*O*W*!!!   After spending all that money the day before at the greenhouse, I was not about to put my plants in danger by leaving them in the garage.  Yup, into the She Shed they came!  All of them. Safe and sound.

Last week, our granddaughter Chelsea had taken part in planting a little garden at the daycare, and fencing it off from the other kids and yard toys etc.  The day care director sent me these photos.  My oh my, what a little green thumb.

Because the weather report was awful, and she was worried about her little garden.  They were out of town for the weekend.  Awwwwww So it was Grandma and Grandpa to the rescue!  We went over to the little daycare yard and covered the plants up for the night, and then uncovered them for the day, once things warmed up.

Let us hope the plants grow and prosper and they can harvest their bounty come this fall.

~~~~~~~

Today is Mother's Day! 

Here are our lovely two daughters,

Erin and Heather...

Since I haven't been out shopping or spending a lot of money, I decided to do something for them as a gift, something that was of my time. Something that would give them time.  Time to be with their families!

This morning, I started simmering up a pot of spaghetti sauce, and boiling up some lasagna noodles on the stove.  The house smelled great, and it felt good to create something that would bring smiles to their faces.

While the traditional italian tomato type sauce was simmering, I got out shredded chicken from the freezer, and some jars of alfredo sauce.  This is my setup for making my special rolled up lasagna pans.

I use a plastic tray drawer organziner that is just the right size for the lasagna noodles.  I only cook them about 3/4 of the way, so they are still firm enough to not rip or tear.  I rinse them well and cool them a bit, so they can be handled with the fingers.

I put the noodle in the bottom of the tray, and add the shredded cooked chicken, some parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and some dollops from a jar of alfredo sauce.   Then I carefully roll them up in the tray, which keeps the filling from falling out the edges.  Quickly I lift them up and transfer them into a glass casserole pan, which has been sprayed with some non-stick cooking spray and a little sauce in the bottom to keep the noodles from sticking.

Rolled up noodles are easier to serve, and seem to bake better than flat layers of lasagna in the more common way. I saw this trick on tv a long time ago, on Cooking with Amy on WLUK channel 11.

I top off each pan with more sauce and mozzarella and then some bread crumbs, along with some extra italian seasoning and dried parsley for color.

Once I had two pans of the chicken alfredo completed, now the other sauce was ready for the traditional tomato italian type of lasagna.  To these, I add a few dollops of ricotta cheese to each roll-up. Not too much, just some for flavor.

In no time, I had four pans all ready. 

 Two of the traditional 

and two of the alfredo. 

I added a layer of tin foil for baking later,

 and then these labels 

underneath the lids. 

I had also baked up a pan of toffee bars, with fun colorful sprinkles on top.  I promised granddaughter Whitney that I would put sprinkles on them. These I cut into squares and set into the little boxes to deliver with the pans of lasagna and a couple boxes of frozen garlic bread toasts.

Steve helped load up the treats, and we called ahead to each of our daughters' homes.  Items were delivered onto their porches with social distancing, and we were happy in knowing that we gave them a bit of time, a bit of love, and a bit of nourishment. 

I got giggly silly phone calls and text messages and video clips and sweet gifts and flowers from the grandkids, along with heartfelt thanks and love from our girls.  That is what being a mother is all about. 

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY