My Favorite Day So Far This Season

View from my front yard.

Driving down the block from my house.

Today is my biweekly shopping day. I awoke to a twenty degree drop in temperature since yesterday. It's cold and rainy and the sky is completely blanketed by grey gloom. I had three stores to hit up before coming back home to unload a trunk and back seat full of groceries, while dragging my two year old along. I looked outside as I was getting the kids out the door for school, and was immediately struck by how beautiful the day is! The grey and gloomy backdrop seems to brighten the red, orange and yellow of the fall leaves and the crisp chill in the air gives me a burst of energy. While my pictures from inside my car, behind the rain spattered windshield, can hardly do it justice, I had to try to capture the essence of the day. Inspiration struck and I had to act. I hope someone else is enjoying the day as much as I am!

Yummy Snack In A Hurry

Everyday I have to endure the same questions from my children. It's inevitable and not extraordinary in anyway, but there are days when I think I can't stand to hear the same questions even once more. They usually come in this order :

1. What's for breakfast?
2. What's for snack?
3. What's my daily chore?
4. Can I turn on the t.v.?
And the one that so stresses me out...
5. What's for dinner?

These are simple requests and when you have children who are still largely reliant upon you for everything, it isn't really their fault. The dinner question really only stresses me because we have some very picky people in this family, so most days I tell them they'll find out when it hits the table. Otherwise, I run the risk that by telling them, I get the slump of the shoulders and the eye roll if the menu doesn't meet their approval. I'm rather old-school, in that, I think we are to be thankful for everything provided and eat what's prepared. It doesn't mean I don't dread that reaction when they don't want what I've spent two hours making.
So, today we walked in after school and question number two popped up. Tomorrow is my big, twice a month shopping trip, so the pantry is desperately low on snack items. Much to my chagrin, so is the fruit drawer. When I realized there was nothing quick and available for the hungry bunch, I jumped on Supercook.com, where there is the handiest little tool called a recipe finder. You just type in your ingredients and it pulls up all the recipes that you could make. I entered brown sugar, milk, eggs, flour and peanut butter, hoping for some quick cookie or other item that I could throw together. I found an easy recipe for butterscotch pudding on AllRecipes.com. It turned out great and I end up with kid points for the day. I must say that usually I try to make healthier snacks, fruit and cheese, granola, yogurt, etc. In a pinch, though, I'm not above making something sweet just to get by until grocery day!
Here's the recipe:

Butterscotch Pudding
Ingredients:

• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour, eggs, salt and milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to bubble and thicken. Remove from heat. Blend in vanilla with hand beater. Pour into dessert cups and chill.