The Wonder Spot: October 2005

I don't think we're in Kansas any more...

We went to Microsoft for trick-or-treating this afternoon. Campbelle loved all the decorations - each MS team competed for hallway decorations, etc... Then had games for the kids, face painting, crafts and more candy then imaginable.

Doing crafts at Microsoft

Toddler Time Halloween

Laurel, Mike and their boys with Leif and Christian. On Friday we went for pizza and then to a Halloween party at the youth center for Toddlers. The kids had a blast

A loveable little lion.

That's my girl!!

Bean bag toss..... maybe bending the rules a bit!

I love it when they play nice together!!

You have to read this book!!

Hands down, this is the best book I've read in years!! Truly it is. I know, I know what your thinking, it's the Oprah book and it seems to be everywhere, but with very good reason. It is an amazingly powerful book. You can not put this book down. You actually become addicted to this book!

Here is the synopsis from the publishers:
Imagine waking up on a plane. You have no idea where you have been or where you are going, you have no memory of the preceding two weeks." "Imagine that your front four teeth have been knocked out, your nose is broken, and there is a gash on your cheek. Imagine that you have no wallet, no money, no job." "Imagine the police in three states are looking for you." "Imagine that you have been an alcoholic for ten years and a crack addict for three. What would you do? What would you do?" When he entered a residential treatment center at the age of twenty-three, James Frey had destroyed his body and his mind almost beyond repair. He faced a stark choice: accept that he wasn't going to see twenty-four or step into the fallout of his smoking wreck of a life and take drastic action. Surrounded by patients as troubled as he - including a judge, a mobster, a former world-champion boxer, and a fragile former prostitute - and a droning dogma of How to Recover, Frey had to fight to find his own way to confront the consequences of the life he had lived so far, and to determine what future, if any, he holds. A Million Little Pieces is an uncommonly genuine account of a life destroyed and a life reconstructed.

Baked Ziti

Here is a recipe that my sister Tammy shared with me. There are times when the two of us don't always agree on a good dish, but this one we do. It's simple and easy and makes enough for a week of lunches for Leif - which he LOVES!! ;-) haha

1 lb ziti pasta
1 onion
1 lb ground beef or turkey
2 (26 oz) jars spaghetti sauce
6 oz provolone cheese
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 oz mozzarella cheese
2 tbl parmesan cheese

1. Cook noodles according to package.
2. In skillet, brown onion and beef over medium heat. Add sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350. Butter 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 ziti, provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce, remaining ziti, mozzarella, remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted.

I also added garlic to the browning onions, and then some fresh herbs (parsely and oregano) to the sauce as it simmered.

PEPs Halloween Party

There is Campbelle and the gang at PEPs today. They had a blast

Preschool Halloween Party

It's Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. At first she kept telling people she was dressing up like Dorothy the Dinosaur (from the Wiggles) - she didn't quite have this Oz thing figured out. But then figured if she can wear those red sparkling shoes.... she'd be Dorthoy from wherever we wanted her to be!!

Halloween party at preschool. All the kids were dressed so cute! Their teacher was dressed up like Elvis. She had a wig on when Campbelle first came in the door and it took her a little bit to realize that it was really Ms Stacie... then she really laughed!

Too cute little man....

Pumpkin Carving Party

Today we got together with several friends for an annual tradition of carving pumpkins. We first went to a nearby pumpkin patch to find the perfect one. While we were there, Campbelle and I went on a hay ride. Then came home and went to work. The neighborhood kids were the judges and the winner gets the utmost respect and bragging rights for the year.

This year, Leif - who was clearly the underdog and a very humble competitor - won 1st place. YEAH!! His is the last one on the right, top step. A pumpkin within a pumkin. Prisoner Pumpkin. He had tough competition in the likes of Sponge Bob Square Pants and the disgusting Cow Tongue one!! ha ha

Gina made a Dora pumpkin for Campbelle, and of course Campbelle thought that should be the winner. It was a great day with a group of great friends.

Even Campbelle, or should we say Picaso, created a jack-o-lantern.

The contestants!

Everyone is busy... the competition is fierce.

Our group had quite the load of pumpkins

Susan, Gina, Campbelle, Leif and Christian ... looks like we picked out the perfect pumpkins

on a hay ride...

Wine and Cheese Party

Last night I hosted a Wine and Cheese party for 10 of my women friends. I served 2 cheese from 3 different countries. From Spain we had Manchego and Cabrales; From Italy we had Pecorino Tuscano and Talleggio; and From France we had Cheveres and Brie. It was a fun night of tasting new cheeses (some good, some really stinky and some stinky but really good (Talleggio))!

More importanly it was a fun night of celebration of the great women friends that I have here.

The party lasted until after 1:30am! Needless to say that I'll have to take a nap this afternoon.

Leif took the kids to Gina's apartment for a 'Party' of their own. :-)

Norwegian Princess

Norway's Princess Martha Louise was in Seattle for a book signing event for her new Children's book "Why Kings and Queens Don't Wear Crowns." She first read her book to all the children and then personally signed them; "Till Campbelle og Christian Klem fra Martha Louise". It is a cute book and tells about Norway's first royal family. Campbelle practice her "Hei og ha det bra, Prinsesse!" but was apparently too star-struck to speak! Christian gave her a nice big grin though, and she thought him pretty cute.

My three favorite people!!

Child's Play Cafe

This morning we went to a place called Child's Play Cafe... what a great set up. There is a huge playroom for the kids to play, supervised by staff, while the mom's can sit and relax with a cup of coffee, read a magazine, surf the net, or just visit... it was fantastic and the kids all loved it. They had a special room for crawlers and babies... so fun!! We'll have to go back. Here Campbelle is in the kitchen/dress up room - loved it!!

Taylor and Christian...

Davis, Campbelle and Cameron... too busy to look at the camera.

Campbelle's Breakfast

Glass Blowing

Leif and his collegues went on a team building event in celebration of having reached a milestone point in their project. They went to a glassblowing studio and each got to create two pieces of art. He made a pumpkin and a paperweight. I'm anxious to see his work...look out Dale Chihuly!! :-)

Book Club

Last night was my book club and we discussed last month's book 'The Wine Maker's Daughter" by Timothy Eagan. The book was an easy read, but certainly not one of my favorites. It was set in the Pacific Northwest and was intersting to read about local places and events that I hear about daily; and the beatuful descriptions he uses for wine and Italy and Seattle were fantastic... but there were some major character flaws and some disconnection among story lines. For a quick, easy read I recommend read it... but for depth - find something else.

Next month's selection is Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach. She is the author of the acclaimed book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. In Spook Roach now turns her sharp eye and droll observations to what happens to a person's essence after death. Roach travels the world in search of answers: she heads to India to conduct research with a doctor who investigates cases of children whose families claim they are reincarnations of people from nearby villages and have the memories to prove it; she goes to the University of Arizona and meets with mediums currently working today; she tries her hand at telecommunication with the dead in the forests of California; and she even tries her hand at getting in touch with her own inner medium at a school in England. Roach is dogged in her approach as she examines each phenomenon through the lens of scientific fact. In the end, she usually walks away skeptical. The journey itself, however, is gripping, and Roach's witty asides liven up an already interesting and unusual read.

Sounds like an intersting read... and maybe just perfect for Halloween month.

Remlinger Farms Day

This morning we went to Remlinger Farms, just twenty minutes outside Issaquah. It was Toddler Day and my group of mom friends and all 13 kids.. yes 13!! ... spent the morning going through hay mazes, petting goats, and going on rides. It was a fun and exhausting morning (as my two peacefully napping angels can attest). Campbelle really liked the scarecrows and the pumpkin ride.