Pumpkin Pie

I think it is safe to say that Fall is the most popular season. If it isn't already your favorite then it should be! What's not to like? The leaves turn beautiful colors, the hot sweaty air turns crisp and cool, and we trade in sunburn and swimming for bonfires and hayrides! But most importantly, Fall brings with it the best food! Apple crisp, apple cider, big bowls of soup, corn bread, and best of all, pumpkin pie!
... which brings me to my story...
I was picking up the kids from school, there are four of them 6, 9, 10, and 13, it's always a lovely ride home, full of stories from the school day, loud music, and some bickering. But this Tuesday had been different for Luke, the youngest because he had been on a field trip and what he came away with was a small pumpkin. His teacher must have explained that these small pumpkins are the best for making pumpkin pie, because the first thing he said when he got into the car was, "Tracie, will you make me a pie with this pumpkin?" I should have paused before I answered this question, but instead I said, "Yes!"
So when we got home he was anxious to begin, but being the good babysitter that I am, I made him finish his homework first. When he was finished, we began! While he was working I had "googled" the directions- Step 1: Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds and "innards". Sounds simple enough, I had done this many times when carving a pumpkin, plus I had Luke to help me right? No, much to my surprise he was squeamish about touching the slimy pumpkin guts! So much for our bonding and learning experience!
Ok so once that was done it was time to cook the pumpkin, we found a dish and put it in the microwave, for 20 minutes, not a long time, but to a  6 year old, an eternity! He was entertained, however, for a few minutes standing on a footstool by the microwave smelling the pumpkin! He kept saying, "Tracie, doesn't it smell good!?" to which I would reply, "yes!" and he would say, "no! come smell this black part!" He was convinced the actual door of the microwave was what smelled good!
Now, what followed the pumpkin gutting and cooking process was an hour of mahem! The mahem was induced by me trying to find all of the ingredients for the pie, all of the equipment needed, while also making sure 4 kids were getting there homework done! The 13 and 9 year old became interested, Luke had disappeared, and where helping me find things, until they rediscovered their cereal box project from the day before... about 30 minutes later the pumpkin was cooked and cooled and it was time to puree it! So we loaded it in the blender, pressed start, and the only result was a very loud noise and smoke!! Oh boy! I had Corey (the oldest) go read the instructions and it said if you do not have a blender mash it with a hand masher, and be patient! This was more than Luke could handle, so he left to go play in the sand box and said, "just tell me when it's time to crack the eggs!"
I proceeded to mash the pumpkin goo while Corey made dinner for everyone and got them ready for soccer! He was yelling, "this is speed quesadilla making!" and "Josh and Aly, get ready for soccer! you have 5 minutes!" Yes, deciding to make a pumpkin pie on soccer night was a bad idea! While the kids were eating, I assembled the rest of the pie, gave them a dinner break to each come crack an egg (luckily the recipe called for four!) and put the pies in the oven! (oh and by the way, we had to make 2 crusts somewhere in there too!)
Once the pies were in the oven and two of the four kids were off to soccer, I had time to look around and see the mess we had made!! This part of the process was definitely too boring for Luke!
Somehow I got it cleaned up and it was time for me to leave, I had to leave Corey with the baking instructions and I left praying that those pies wouldn't be disastrous!
On Wednesday when I got there I could not wait to taste one! Much to my delight, it was actually good!!

I know this may sound like a miserable afternoon, but it really was fun! It allowed me to do something fun with the kids! And while they were not entertained during the entire process they enjoyed it and I enjoyed working through it with them.  The slimy pumpkin, the broken blender, having to make crust, not have all of the ingredients, they were all fun challenges, and having their minds with me to come up with a solution made it so much more fun! So next time you're cooking with you kids or babysitting, bake a pumpkin pie!