Columbus Day parade

It was a rainy day for a parade so we left our one year old with Grandma and headed out with Sean, 3, to Cleveland's Little Italy. This was my first Columbus Day Parade; I'm usually in the classroom teaching students about the parts of a cell. The high school bands were drumming, politicians were glad-handing and candy was flying. The regal Christopher Columbus rode past Holy Rosary followed by pink-haired stylists from La Barberia riding Rocket Cars. Then came the Orlando Bread truck. What a sight! Loaves of Italian bread and bags of rolls were flying through the air into a crowd of flailing arms. Lucky were the few who snagged a loaf. We were witnessing the Pied Piper of Little Italy. It was worth standing in the cold rain.

After the parade, we ate some pizza and headed to Gallucci's on Euclid Avenue. Sean was impressed by all of the salami, pepperoni and large chunks of mozzarella. Aisles of pasta in every shape and size, San Marzano tomatoes and red wine made me want to rush home to make meatballs.

caramel apple cookies

I am bringing cookies to my nephew's first birthday party today. We still have apples from the farm so I thought this would be a delicious and kid-friendly recipe to try. I found it on an inspiring blog by Katie Goodman called Goodlife Eats. Her recipes are both her own and adapted from other recipes out there but what really sells them are the photos. Here is the caramel apple cookie photo and recipe.

My cookies did not look like this until the last tray came out of the oven. The first batch spread out and formed one sheet of thin cookies. My guess is that I did not wait the entire hour for the dough to chill. The dough went back into the fridge for another 30 minutes. This time I placed only one tray into the oven and they did not spread. For the last tray, I rolled the chilled dough into balls and increased the temperature to 375 degrees. This worked the best. So, out of 3 1/2 dozen cookies, about 5 cookies look like the photo. They all taste good (if you don't mind a little caramel gripping your teeth), flat or rounded. There's something about oats that conveys warmth and coziness to a cookie.

I checked Heinen's and Giant Eagle for the Kraft caramel baking bits but came home with a bag of individually wrapped caramels. I cut them into quarters last night. Before kids, I would have embarked on a quest to find the baking bits even if the search monopolized my day. I'm thinking maybe Target...

king and queen

These kids love their chairs from Grandma. It makes them feel like they are the king and queen of the castle. Do they need a chair for that?

apple prints

We experimented with different surfaces for the acrylic paints. Paper towels worked the best, followed by construction paper. The printer paper produced dull and messy prints. Check out Martha's apple printing on brown lunch bags, tote bags, and napkins here. Perhaps we can replicate them one day. Overall, Sean had more fun painting the outside of the apple than stamping the apple. Give the boy a brush and some paint and he's happy.

apple picking

As we (me, my mom and kids) headed east on Route 82 to Hiram, we passed several small stands selling cornstalks and pumpkins. Anticipation was building for a day of apple picking. As soon as we pulled into Monroe's Orchard and Farm, I knew that we had chosen the right place. Looked to the left- a huge pumpkin patch. Straight ahead- apple trees. On the right- the cider house. Apple crates filled with gourds and apples and squash and Indian corn surround the farm market. There are no corn mazes or pony rides. They do not charge for hayrides or face painting. You simply board the tractor pulled hayride that takes you out in the orchard and lets you loose to pick apples. We picked enough apples to comfortably fill a small crate, half a bushel. Apples were plentiful; yellow jackets were not. The limbs almost tickled the grass and provided an easy reach for one-year-old Kate to grab a Yellow Delicious. Three-year-old Sean, who likes red apples, climbed up on a branch to sit and watch for the tractor to return. Back at the market, we bought fresh cider and goodies. Sean weighed a pumpkin using a good ol' fashioned scale and didn't see the Great Pumpkin. We missed the cider making but all are welcome to watch it being pressed.

a cornbox?

We went to Sirna's farm market for zucchini and instead played with the spunky kitten that was stalking us in the pumpkin display. We had the place to ourselves on this lovely Autumn Saturday. I suppose people are waiting for their Fall Fest next weekend. This crazy cat provided more entertainment for the kids than any corn maze or hayride.

Next stop was Derthick Farm since it was just a few minutes further down SR 44 in Mantua. Now they do have a corn maze. A huge one. Plus a mini maze for the wee ones, hay rides, petting barn, educational story boards and 2 large cornboxes. Not a sandbox but a cornbox. The kids spent almost the entire time digging and raking corn kernals. It was pretty cool. I never got to play in a cornbox growing up. I just had to get in. It was like quicksand. It brought back memories of trudging through the balls at Captain Kid's World at Sea World of Ohio when time was up.

Good Fall day.

birthday angel

One of my girlfriends had a collection of birthday angel figurines. Each angel held on to a number. They were up high on the top shelf of the hutch resting on her dresser. I enviously stared at the sparkly numbers and wondered who gave them to her each year. I coveted those angels.

Kate’s first birthday was on Wednesday and she received one of those angels! I love tradition and family heirlooms so I am thrilled for Kate to have this keepsake. My sister in law, who seems to read my mind when it comes to gifts, found them at Chasing Fireflies.