Three Thought Thursday: Episode 44

1. By a rare and somewhat absurd stroke of good fortune, as of Sunday we have a sweet 42" HDTV living in our family room. Yes, us. People that would never in a million years think if owning something like that at this point in our lives. Don't get me wrong. We've dreamed about it while gazing at our old school box-style 27 incher, but it was always a "maybe someday we'll be able to get a fancy TV" kind of thing. I don't think I'm exactly at liberty to disclose how we happened upon such an item, but I'll divulge before too long. Yes, it cost us nothing. And no, we didn't do anything illegal to obtain it. Let's just say a far-to-kind-someone-we-know thought it might look good in our house. Though we certainly feel completely unworthy. I keep glancing over at it and thinking what is that sweet TV doing in the poor-folk's house!?! A totally huge surprise, not expecting it, what-just-happened kind of addition to our week.

2. Did any of you make pumpkin seeds this past weekend after carving your jack-o-lanterns? Growing up, my mom always used to make us a batch while we worked on our pumpkins. I remember a few years when I was really little, thinking they were nasty. Then the older I got, the better they tasted. Kind of like Corn Nuts. I'm not sure what was going on, but I didn't make them last year. This year, I had to revive the tradition. You just can't go wrong with crispy, crunchy, salty, and buttery all in one. Yuuuummmm! The recipe we use is pretty simple:

• boil a quart of water
• add an eigth cup of salt and the cleaned pumpkin seeds
• allow to boil for 10 minutes stirring occassionally
• drain the water and add 2 tbs of melted butter
• spread seeds out on a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt (we use Lowrey's Seasoning Salt too)
• place in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, flipping half way through.
• Watch carefully! Seeds may need a few more minutes or a few less. You know they're done when they're a crispy golden brownish color.
• Enjoy!

If you haven't tried it out, do! They're so good!

3. And lastly, I really haven't had much to whine about with motherhood lately. But alas, a new dilemma has arrive. This past week, our dear sweet RudyRoo figured out how to climb out of his crib. We knew the day was coming but I was just hoping and praying that it wouldn't be till he was at least two. Here we are- twenty months old- and he has it figured out. And the fact that we're so shocked about it just encourages him all the more. Of course we all know that this is dangerous and we can't just let him sleep in his crib and tumble out at night, right? Especially since I've seen him do it will my own two eyes and it's no graceful fall. So a few nights ago I took the front railings off of his crib, turning it in to a toddler bed. And now I'm back to having to sit inside their room or outside the door in order to keep monkeys from escaping. And yes, Kolbe still gets out of bed every.single.night. But he knows what's going on. When we say, "Go get back in bed," he knows that we mean business. Rudy, I'm sure, will figure this out too. But right now, he thinks this is some game. Some adventure where he has free reign of the house. Why stay in bed when there's so much to explore!?! In the dark! And just to think...potty training: round 2 is just around the corner!