Don’t Count Your Brownies … lessons learned from half-term break

1. It is wonderful when the hour changes over a half-term break – gives all of us more time to adjust, although for a certain 5 year old in our house it is taking MUCH later than it should!

2. When you plan to post a lesson about how much more delicious home-made chocolate brownies will be when made my your husband and your kids DON’T count your chickens (or should that be brownies!).

Error 1 One daughter measured out (almost) all of the ingredients
Error 2 Rely on your husband to supervise (in his defense he said he was only superficially supervising)
Error 3 Suggest they make DOUBLE the quantity (that was me – oops)
Error 4 Take a large mouthful of warm brownie AND THEN realize that someone forgot to add sugar!

No names mentioned to protect the guilty! They were certainly the most memorable brownies that have ever been made in our home.

3. When on holidays at the cottage it is wonderful when your husband offers to do ALL the menu planning, grocery shopping and cooking. Yes – I appreciate him!

4. It is amazing how much jewellery/jewelery you can make when you get a few undisturbed hours – I don’t think I have EVER been so productive.

5. Geocaching is great fun for all the family, and can be done using your iphone! (as the add says – there’s an app for that). We met up with friends who took us to a small forest and lake. The kids did not seem to notice how far we walked (not that far…but NO complaining!) especially when they found their first “treasure”.

Definitely something we will be repeating lots – maybe even tomorrow if it is not raining.

6. Pumpkin carving – greatly enjoyed by kids and husband!

Although someone got a little bored as Daddy was having more fun!

It always make my husband and I reminisce about how, as children, we only had turnips to make lanterns with. Lots of bent metal spoons and aching arms, if you have never the fortune/misfortune to attempt to hollow out a turnip – imagine trying to carve out a brick!

Think that is your lot except to add a few photos from our Half-term break.

Coming soon – to a blog near you…..

Lots of new jewellery/jewelery to share – I have some lovely new beads and designs
A giveaway – Marks and Spencers Vouchers to be won!
Fall Fest – our church is having an alternative community event for Halloween.

For more lessons learned, visit the lovely Jo-Lynne

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16 Comments

  1. OK, cooking with kids can STINK! Big time. But it is good for them! and your family is SO SO cute!

  2. Chloe prefers crunchy things so if she ever makes fairy cakes for you, tread carefully and keep an eye out for egg shells.

    I still maintain that every child should experience the joy of arms like popeye and the smell of burnt turnip at least once in their lives. Besides turnips are more traditional:)

  3. Great Photos!
    I would love to try Geocaching if I can get someone to do it with. Seems like a lot of fun.

  4. Love all your photos. And sorry about the brownies. There’s nothing like the anticipation of a sweet, warm brownie. Hopefully they gave it another try?

  5. Great pumpkins!! Geocaching is lots of fun! I need to get to back to it, now that it’s cooler around here and I’m out walking twice a week!

  6. I’m sure the failed brownies will never be forgotten in your family. And the geocaching.

    That’s funny about the turnips–it does sound like a losing proposition.

  7. Oh no! I get the brownie thing. After you crave them, and smell them, ugh. I think you deserve a triple-batch made from the bakery!

    I love the picture of the pumpkin carving. He looked so bored! I am sure it only lasted a minute, though!

  8. I love the photos at the end of your post. Just beautiful! At least they tried to make you brownies, right? And I am so jealous that your husband not only did the grocery shopping but the meal planning too. Definitely a keeper!

  9. Oh wow. I don’t even want to imagine sugarless brownies. Thankfully you all survived. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Great pictures as always. I was about to get my husband to go letterboxing with me when there was a crime show about someone getting killed while…letterboxing.

    I hope everything is still going well for you all. I am still praying for you and your family.

  10. Nate and my youngest geocache and they love it! I don’t participate because there seems to be some unwritten rule that the caches are located in swampy, bug-infested, hiking trails.

    We will, however, be carving our pumpkins tonight!

  11. Umm – did you fit all this in in ONE WEEK, my friend? Why, I’m exhausted just reading about it!

    LOL – oh my, have I made this mistake before of leaving out a KEY ingredient? So, they were DIABETIC brownies, you could market them. Certainly better for the teeth.

    Funny, but Miles has been cooking for me lately as well. Is it the change in the weather? And as I have been so busy doing yardwork round our church he’s taken me out for lunches. Its almost worth the back breaking effort.

    Your photos are lovely – I like the smushy coloured lights in the background.

    GeoCaching – something I have not tried yet, would love to actually!

    I bet you would love the newest app I downloaded – its another free one and its called Christmas. It counts the days down and has music and snowflakes. You can adjust the size of flakes and the frequency. ๐Ÿ™‚

    I’ll bet your new creations are very pretty. I’ve been working on some pretties myself – of a different sort, between other things.

    Thx for sharing JM – as I told you, you’re my ‘cup of coffee’ in the day. I’m always looking forward to my time here.

    ~ Barb

  12. We haven’t carved pumpkins yet this year : ) We might do it today. You know, since it is AFTER Halloween and everything and I am SO behind… : )

  13. That photo of the three kiddos together with their pumpkins is wonderful!

    Stopping by from SITS!

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