a work in progress...

menu monday

2011-10-24T23:49:00.000-05:00

party prep + soccer + halloween costumes + work + grumpiest baby EVER = pizza, sandwiches, veggie burgers, etc. i'm looking forward to having some time to do some real cooking, hopefully there will be a better menu next week!

anyone want to bounce a baby while i sew?

halloween crafting

2011-10-19T11:36:00.001-05:00

$2 wreath! i found this idea on pinterest. i used a wreath i already had, $1 black streamers, and a $1 crow from dollar tree. it went quickly (got it done while alice was napping) and was so easy. i think it will be nice on the door to greet our guests for the halloween party!

halloween party

2011-10-18T23:36:00.000-05:00

i've been busy busy trying to get things in order for our halloween party that's coming up. robyn made us some awesome, batty save the date cards, so we wanted to do a bat in the invitation as well. i did a pop-up bat with a couple other raised things.

i also used some fun halloweeny fonts on the envelopes.

i'm so looking forward to the beginning of november. partly because family is visiting and partly because that means i survived october. with soccer, work (and lots of home and hospital visits), a party coming up, and 3 costumes i still need to make, i'm feeling stressed!! i think i'm going to have a few late nights!

menu monday

2011-10-17T09:47:00.000-05:00

another busy week coming up with soccer games, parent meeting at school, work and trying to get halloween stuff done - i haven't started sewing costumes yet! eek!

thursday - after work, hospital visit, and grocery shopping, i didn't get home until around 9 something. i have no idea what was for dinner but i missed it.

friday - fluffy french toast and peaches. best french toast ever.

saturday - bell pepper egg in a hole w/ whole wheat english muffins. we did these as a sandwich with some salad greens.

sunday - baked chicken, shells and cheese, and roasted brussel sprouts.

monday - greek chicken pasta

tuesday - tacos

wednesday - spaghetti & salad - maybe lemon garlic spaghetti, i'm not sure. something quick though.

butternut squash and spicy sausage soup

2011-10-17T09:10:00.000-05:00

i've been a huge fan of this soup for years now, so it's about time i post a recipe of sorts. this soups tastes like fall. it's based on this recipe.

gather the supplies. butternut squash, chicken broth, potatoes, corn, sausage, cream, onion, olive oil, salt & pepper.

cut squash, scoop out seeds and put it in a pan w/ some water. bake it until mushy.

scoop out the goodness

chop your onion and sausage into bite-size pieces

saute them in a little bit of olive oil

toss in the corn and potatoes and cook a bit more

puree the squishy squash and the chicken broth

stir it in with your sausage/onion/potato/corn mixture. season with salt and pepper - lots of pepper. let it cook for a little bit (especially if you use fresh potatoes). i'm too impatient to let it cook very long.

add about 1/2 c. of heavy whipping cream and enjoy!

butternut squash and spicy sausage soup

1 butternut squash (i've also used pumpkin)
1 box o' chicken broth
1 Tbs olive oil
12 oz. pack of turkey sausage
1 onion
2 cans of potatoes (or fresh cubed - add some extra cooking time before adding the cream) i've also used sweet potatoes
corn - as much as you want - i do about the same amount as the potatoes
salt & pepper - lots of pepper
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

criss-cross apron tutorial

2011-10-12T08:50:00.004-05:00

if you're like me and you dont like an apron strap tugging at your neck, this is the perfect apron! ignore the wrinkles... i had been cooking when i remembered to take a picture of the finished product.

gather your supplies - 2yds fabric for front and back. some looong fabric for the straps, or something you can piece together. extra fabric for pockets, loops, and hang tag. some cotton filler cord (i'm sure you could find something else around the house for this....). and thread.

find an apron pattern. the one on the left is this one folded up to be shorter. the one on the right is a plus size apron.

make a pocket pattern. this was 8 1/2" x 9" and the top piece was 2 5/8" x 9" cut on a fold. you could even use the baker's apron pattern and fold and sew as instructed and skip making these pockets. in which case you'll need more fabric for your apron.

you also need a strap pattern. the straps on mine were 2 1/2" x 61 1/2"

cut all the pieces out. front and back, 2 pockets, 2 pocket tops, 4 straps, 2 - 1 1/4" x 6" for loops, 1 - 2" x 6" for hang tag.

sew pocket tops to pockets, turn edges under and iron (and pin the hell outta them so they stay), fold top down and sew onto inside of pocket.

pin onto front of apron and sew them down. dont sew them closed.

sew straps right sides together, trim and turn. i like to sew the end on an angle because it makes me feel fancy.

make green beans*. these are the loops your straps will go through.

sew the hang tag.

put apron pieces right sides together

sew along the black lines leaving openings for loops, straps, hang tag, and turning.

so now you should have your apron with pockets sewn on, straps sewn and turned, two green beans* and one hang tag.

turn your apron right side out, press, pin the straps to the tops and the loops on the sides.

pin your hang tag underneath one strap. since this apron doesnt have a closed loop for the neck, you'll want something to hang it with. (thank you for the idea, robyn!)

here is what that process looks like. start with the edges pressed under, pin your pieces in, and then top stitch around the entire apron. make sure you reinforce the pieces by sewing over them a few times. you dont want to pull a loop off while you're tying your apron!

and then you're done. put your apron on and go cook something yummy.

*your green beans do not have to be green.

8 months

2011-10-11T10:10:00.000-05:00

another month older already! eek! at last weigh in, alice was 14lbs 13oz and 25 inches long. it still seems awfully shrimpy to me, but the fat rolls on her legs are still reassuring. she seems healthy and usually happy.

we think she may have said her first words "bye bye" - but she only did it for one day. she was waving at people that had left when she did it, so we're pretty sure it was the real thing. jeremy also thinks she says "mama" she also says dada, but we're not sure if that's just babbles or not.

she is scooting/army crawling all over the place (she followed oscar all the way into his room the other day). she gets up on her knees and rocks back and forth, but hasn't actually done any real crawling.

she got tooth number FIVE on october 9th for gramma and grandpa's anniversary. tooth number 6 will be arriving shortly - i wonder if she'll manage to save it for a special occasion or if it will break through before one comes along. oscar was just getting his first tooth at 8 months!

and now she LOVES to eat yummy foods. she has become a cheerio fiend. i was concerned that she was only going to want cheerios, but it turns out that she just likes being able to pick up things that size and eat them. we mostly skipped over the spoon-feeding. her favorites are cubes of sweet potato, carrot, apple, and avocado coated with cheerio crumbs (so they aren't too slimy to pick up). bananas and peaches were followed by an unhappy tummy, so we're going to wait and try those again later.

menu monday - on tuesday

2011-10-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

this has not been a week of healthy eating so far.. i'm having a rough time juggling cooking with work, soccer, teething baby, costume making and party planning. i dont look for things to easier this month, so i'm going to have to figure out how to get it all done!

thursday - jeremy brought a pizza surprise home. i got home late-ish from work and grocery shopping and all alice wanted to do was nurse the rest of the night. i think work days are a bit rough on her as well - all those people trying to get her to smile all day... (and she wont. she does NOT smile at strangers unless that are really good at peek-a-boo)

friday - corned beef and cabbage

saturday - lemon garlic spaghetti and salad

sunday - crock pot - pot roast w/ potatoes and carrots

monday - junk. i need to come up with some sort of plan for mondays. soccer games at 5:30 mean we need to be leaving home at about 10 til 5 - no time for dinner! i think i need to either pack a picnic dinner for after the game or have something ready in the crock pot. suggestions?

tuesday - meatloaf, roasted herbed potatoes and green beans

wednesday - tuna salad sandwiches and salad

Menu Monday

2011-10-03T22:17:00.001-05:00

Alice has been super grumpy (i suspect tooth #5 will show up soon), so I'm attempting to blog from my phone/bed. Since grocery shopping will be happening Thursdays, I think menu Monday will be Thursday - Wednesday instead of Saturday - Friday.

Thursday - lemon garlic spaghetti - I think this is becoming one of my favorite quick meals!

Friday - turkey meatloaf, roasted herbed potatoes, green beans - I had my first official home visit as lactation specialist that night and was able to prep most of the food in the twenty minutes before I ran out the door. All Jeremy had to worry about were the green beans.

Saturday - bell pepper egg in a hole on mixed greens and a whole wheat English muffin - this was another yummy one I saw on shutterbean.

Sunday - quinoa and Jake crustless quiche - found on pinterest

Monday - grilled swiss and cheddar cheese sandwiches, tomato soup concoction, and kale chips

Tuesday - pizza and green beans

Wednesday - tuna sandwiches and...?

menu monday

2011-09-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

mondays keep coming and all the posts i've been wanting to do just aren't getting done! so here's another menu monday - shopping and meal planning is currently weird. i'm thinking about switching to a mid-week shopping trip since i've been promoted to lactation specialist and will be working in waynesboro one day a week. it seems silly to drive back a day or two later to pick up groceries if i'm already going to be in town anyway!

saturday - tortilla pinwheels and pringles - this was really a last minute meal of leftovers and junk - but that's ok. we spent the whole day in hattiesburg at the LLL family day breastfeeding awareness celebration and then doing some shopping for halloween supplies.

sunday - toasted roast beef, tomato, and swiss sandwiches with roasted green beans.

monday - veggie burgers on flat buns and sweet potato fries - i forgot to get avocado! boo!

tuesday - pizza and green beans

wednesday - butternut squash and spicy sausage soup

thursday - lemon garlic spaghetti and some sort of vegetable

friday - meatloaf, roasted herbed potatoes and green beans

my co-worker's last day is thursday, and i'm excited to be starting the new job! i love meeting the clients in person instead of on the phone all the time. also, i'll have an office - which means i'll have less work stuff taking up space in my bedroom! yay!

1st day of school

2011-09-20T11:47:00.007-05:00

**this blog is from september 20th but somehow didn't get posted!**

thought i would go ahead and post pictures from oscar's first day of school.... which was a month ago.

oscar is doing a great job in school and we always get positive reports from his teacher. they are working on the letter D this week and have all sorts of fun things coming up in the next month! there will be a field trips and lunches with family members and fall photos! i volunteered to be the parent representative for oscar's classroom - i have no idea what's involved in that, but no one else wanted to do it! and i think jeremy is planning on building some cubbies for the classroom for their bookbags and blankets and such.

and here is oscar's first day riding the school bus!

menu monday

2011-09-19T23:42:00.000-05:00

let's see.. i don't have any yummy pictures for this week - oops! but here is alice after a bath after being covered in sweet potato - see - food related. i was so hungry for pasta when i made the shopping list this week!

saturday - lemon garlic spaghetti - found this one on pinterest and it was delicious!

sunday - greek chicken pasta - please put gloria's harvest pitted salad mix in there. we didn't know we liked anything besides black olives before trying those - i'm hooked now. yum. i dont think the chicken is necessary in this (jeremy does - of course). but definitely put in some yummy olives!

monday - tuna salad sandwiches and green beans - a quick dinner before a meeting at school

tuesday - spaghetti and meatballs and salad - pasta pasta pasta!

wednesday - sweet potato burritos - had an earlier soccer practice last week, so these got bumped from the rotation. i did cook the beans and get them divided up in the freezer for faster prep time. these might get bumped again since i'll be working wednesday and i'm thinking about doing the grocery shopping that night to save a trip to town.

thursday - jalapeno shrimp and pasta - this one is in a cookbook. i'll try to blog it if it's a success.

friday - pizza and green beans - we're doing homemade pizza this week (oscar's request - he wants to put his basil leaves on it)

saturday morning we'll be headed to a breastfeeding awareness walk and la leche league potluck. i'm thinking about taking one savory and one sweet dish - any suggestions? we have some errands to run afterwards (fabric store! craft store!), so i need something that will get eaten and not go to waste in a hot car! i'm thinking chocolate truffle pie and..........?

7 months

2011-09-13T09:22:00.000-05:00

i think alice is going to be an actress - check out this five minute photo shoot. we've got happy

surprised

serious

inquisitive

angelic

and drunken silliness (which reminded me of another cute kid i know.....)

anyway... alice is awesomeness. she's been rolling and scooting all over the place. she's trying lots of new foods - though still getting mainly breast milk - not much else actually gets in. if i peel a whole apple and give it to her she likes to hold it and gnaw at it. she's been doing lots of talking and shouting and still adores her big brother.

menu monday

2011-09-12T20:50:00.000-05:00

super boring this week - was trying for simple things since jeremy expects to be in birmingham part of the week.

saturday - molasses-orange-glazed-chicken salads. mixed greens, sliced glazed chicken, tomato, onion, orange chunks, toasted walnuts, homemade croutons and honey mustard dressing. this was danielle's birthday dinner request and was mmm mmm good. for dessert we had the above tiramisu layer cake which was SO good. jeremy's mom requested one for her birthday and the whole cake was finished off before everyone left that night.

sunday - tuna salad sandwiches and green beans. snore. (so boring that we almost forgot to eat dinner)

monday - pizza and green beans (oscar's request, of course!)

tuesday - whole grain banana walnut pancakes. these are already done and in the freezer - just need to heat and serve with some bananas. i should have extra cream from the soup, so i may be able to whip up some maple whipped cream...

wednesday - butternut squash and spicy sausage soup. i took pictures - i think i even arranged them in a blog post... now i just need to finish the post so that you can make some of this. because it's good. really good.

thursday - sweet potato burritos. uh oh - i think i forgot cilantro. i think i need to buy some cilantro in a tube for times like these. i almost bought some a couple months ago, but stopped after looking at the ingredients.

friday - ???? this will probably be quesadillas - probably tuesday or wednesday night - probably just me and oscar (and alice)

menu monday

2011-09-05T15:29:00.000-05:00

this week i'm trying to use up some things in the pantry and freezer.

saturday - fresh tomato basil soup, grilled mozzarella and gouda cheese sandwiches, roasted asparagus. oscar requested grilled cheese, and we ha a ton of bread to use up. the fresh homemade tomato soup was yum-eee

sunday - cajun baked catfish, smoked gouda cheese grits, cool southwestern salad. i guess i was feeling ambitious to try three new recipes in one night. the catfish was not my favorite - but jeremy said it probably had more to do with the fish than with the recipe. the southwestern salad was ok - i really expected to love it, but i think i was a bit too heavy-handed with the dressing. the cheese grits were AWESOME. i ate the leftovers for breakfast. this used up a big bag of catfish and cleared out some freezer space.

monday - we're invited to a luau today!

tuesday - venison roast with carrots, onions, and potatoes in the slow cooker. i think this is the last of our venison stash.

wednesday - cabbage roll casserole - cabbage roll flavors in a lasagna layout. this will use up a bag of chopped cabbage that's in the fridge.

thursday - rice pasta w/ homemade spaghetti sauce and sauteed mushrooms, spinach salad. that rice pasta has been in my cupboard for ages! i also already have the sauce frozen.

friday - chicken stir fry. this will use up chicken and veggies in the freezer, teriyaki sauce, and whatever other veggies didnt make it into other meals this week.

menu monday!

2011-08-29T17:45:00.001-05:00

i was thinking i might start posting our menu every week since i like reading other people's menus for ideas. i usually just list out 7 meals and then make them on any night i feel like it. i do my shopping on friday or saturday, so i'll list what we already had to eat on saturday and sunday.

saturday - corn zucchini lime pizza - this was really yummy!! oscar made a separate pizza - just for fun - with tomatoes and basil that he grew. he spread the dough out perfectly and had all the ingredients spaced evenly on top. i was seriously impressed! we were so wrapped up in pizza making that i forgot a veggie for a side dish.

sunday - greek frittata, roasted green beans, crusty bread - this frittata is amazing and easy, we love it.

monday - butternut squash and spicy sausage soup - i use an altered version of this recipe. i've mentioned it a couple times before - perhaps it's time i post an actual recipe.

tuesday - sweet potato burritos - these are yummy, i've made the two weeks in a row already. i add cheese and olives to the top along with the olive oil and cilantro.

wednesday - pizza and green beans - every week i ask oscar what he wants for dinner the next week and he usually tells me pizza and green beans (or broccoli.. or peas..). he understands that we have to have a vegetable with it and it gives me an easy cooking night, so i dont complain!

thursday - quesadillas - jeremy will be out of town and i have extra tortillas, so i'll probably make up some sort of quesadilla with what we have on hand.

friday - fluffy french toast with maple whipped cream (leftover cream from squash soup), eggs and cherries. we actually ate this last friday night. the sourdough bread i got on the discount cart needed to be eaten, and so did the cherries that i splurged on (mmm).

so that's our menu! i have a surplus of canned tuna - so if you have any recipes that use canned tuna, let me know!

snickers cupcakes for crafty day

2011-08-22T11:03:00.002-05:00

one crafty day i mentioned these snickers cupcakes i had seen a video about to danielle. they turned into my craft for the day! jeremy bought the ingredients on the way home and i spent the evening mixing up batter, filling and frosting.

these were SUPER sweet cupcakes. they got rave reviews. i think the best part about them was the brown sugar frosting. i had never made a frosting like that before, and it was scrumptious! i actually used the same frosting recipe for a birthday cake i made a week or so later. i think it would be good on something like banana bread.

6 months

2011-08-21T22:56:00.000-05:00

we've made it a half a year! since last month alice has gotten a lot better at sitting up. she isnt quite as interested in sucking on her thumb and fingers, but has done some serious teething. on paw paw's birthday - august 13th - she got her first tooth! and then today - on uncle pete's birthday - she got tooth number two! eek! she has been pretty grumpy about the whole situation. i got her a little toothbrush/nubby thing and she LOVES to brush her new teeth.

even though she has two new chompers, she doesnt seem to be quite ready for solid foods yet. we're just offering every now and then to see what she thinks, but nothing serious in the grocery department so far.

i believe her last stats were 13lbs 14oz and 24in long. though i think the week before she was 25in long, so you never know about those measurements... i'm not sure what the percentiles are. she seems like she's awfully small and tons of people comment on how small she is, but the chubby cheeks and thigh rolls are reassuring.

fresh from the garden

2011-07-11T13:52:00.002-05:00

last night we had some peas and turnip greens fresh from jeremy's garden. gardening in 90+ weather is not my idea of fun, but i'm glad that jeremy likes to.

4th weekend

2011-07-11T02:47:00.000-05:00

to the circus

a few photos from our 4th of july weekend

checking out the pre-show

a 4th of july festival for oscar's 1st ferris wheel ride and some wimpy fireworks

4th of july bbq with grumpy alice

much better fireworks in state line

5 months

2011-07-10T15:31:00.038-05:00

here is alice at 5 months old. i just posted the 4 month photos 2 seconds ago and these 5 month ones look about the same. her chubby cheeks kill me. i kiss them ALL THE TIME. i also smoosh our cheeks together and enjoy the smooth smooshiness. i'm trying to soak up every second i can of this baby stage (which is quite obvious by the state of our home - but i can clean when she starts school, right?)

her biggest new trick is sitting up unassisted. she hasn't perfected it yet, and only lasts for a minute before doing a face plant, but she's getting better and better at it. she is still loving sucking her thumb and fingers and is interested in grabbing EVERYTHING. breastfeeding is going great - it's hard to believe we were having troubles to begin with. after having such major supply issues with oscar, i can't believe she has had nothing but my milk! and i put those fat rolls on her thighs! ME! but soon she'll be wanting to try other foods (she is already watching closely). i'm going to put it off until she shows us she is ready and then we're thinking about trying baby led weaning.

4 months

2011-07-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

i'm behind on posting alice's monthly photos! (and just posting in general) here she is at 4 months

we had a busy month with a lot of work and play, out and about. alice is a great baby to have on the go. people always comment when i've been somewhere for awhile and they haven't heard her fussing or crying. of course i'm always wearing her and nursing her, so maybe i'm just a great mama to have on the go. she HATES coming home in her car seat. she will be fine when we go somewhere but the trip home usually includes screaming.

this month, alice started sucking her thumb and fingers a lot.

and also sucking on her top lip.. very strange, but cute.

easy greek frittata

2011-06-25T13:59:00.005-05:00

easy greek frittata

a month or so ago, robyn emailed me this greek frittata recipe since it looked so good but is something her boys wont eat. my boys are not at all picky, so i made it right away and it was delicious! and so easy! we all loved it, even though it was super salty. i should have read the reviews that warned against adding all the salt. the feta has plenty of salt and it was fine without any extra added the second time i made it. but i think maybe 1/2 tsp is about right for our tastes.

10 eggs

whisk whisk whisk - dont add that salt!

spinach, tomatoes, feta and onion ready to go

cut the tomatoes and toss them in

throw in some onion - it calls for scallions and i can't always get those

crumble and add feta (and eat a piece)

throw in the spinach

mix it a bit

dump it into your hot olive oily casserole dish

and bake

this has become a family favorite and is really easy to throw together after a long day. thank you, robyn!

greek frittata from real simple

3 tablespoons olive oil
10 large eggs
2 teaspoons kosher salt (no way! maybe 1/2 tsp.)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 5-ounce bag baby spinach
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
4 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced (or any oniony substance)
8 ounces feta, crumbled

Heat oven to 350° F.
Add the oil to a 2-quart casserole and transfer to oven for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, and pepper. Add the spinach, tomatoes, and scallions and combine. Gently stir in the feta.
Remove casserole from oven. Pour the egg mixture into casserole. Bake until the frittata is browned around the edges and slightly puffed and a knife comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

homemade laundry soap

2011-06-24T14:21:00.003-05:00

the soap that is impossible to find around here

about a month ago danielle and i got together to make a batch of laundry soap. i had seen a video that candidmommy made about it on youtube, and got the recipe from the duggars website. the soap has worked just as well as the ones we buy from the store, but is so much cheaper! this recipe makes TEN GALLONS of detergent.

ready to grate

easier than we thought it would be

cheese?

whisk whisk whisk

into the 5 gallon bucket

the other magic ingredients

a final stir

divvy it up

some additions for later

so easy! we will be doing it again.

we have a winner!

2011-06-23T23:22:00.001-05:00

and according to random.org, our winner is #4 - danielle rudd! i'll be contacting the winner shortly.

awesome water bottle giveaway!!! - ENDED!

2011-06-09T00:00:00.003-05:00

happy birthday to me!! i turn 30 today, so i thought i would do something fun and have my first giveaway! yay! now i know it's a bit silly to have a giveaway on my little bitty barely ever updated blog, but that's ok - i'm a bit silly myself.

so i've got one of these awesome thermos roho hydration bottles up for grabs. i got one for mother's day 2010 and have been pretty much attached to it since then (alice was the other thing i asked for for mother's day, and i've pretty much been attached to her too). a second one followed for christmas so that i can rotate them out. they are stainless steel. they have a really neato lid so you dont have to unscrew the top all the time (i hate that). you can open the bottle and take a drink one-handed. a ring on the lid pops up so you can grab it with just one free finger when you're carrying 20 things, two bags and a baby. plus it fits in cup holders. and looks pretty nice, too.

i love these water bottles!

so all you have to do to win this fabulous piece of hydration equipment is leave a comment telling me your name and something interesting about yourself. everyone besides jeremy can enter (he asked - he likes these water bottles too). i'll pick a random winner on june 23rd.

aren't you so excited?! i am!

doll diapers

2011-05-27T22:35:00.012-05:00

oscar has been asking for cloth diapers for his baby for ages. he really wanted me to order him a robot diaper to match the one alice has, but they were out of stock for so long that i decided to make him some instead. i made this at night (finished around 4 in the morning), so the lighting wasnt so great for taking pictures.

i started with gerber prefold that got taken apart, a fat quarter of some cute fabric, and a strip of velcro.

i made a pattern on notebook paper for a diaper that will fit both of oscar's baby dolls.

i cut out one layer of cute fabric, two of the diaper fabric and i also cut a strip of the padding to fit down the middle of the diaper (in case oscar's dolls are heavy wetters)

i sewed the extra padding between the two inner layers

and then pinned the inside and outside right sides together, sewed them leaving a space for turning, and trimmed the corners and edges.

turned it right side out, sewed up the opening in the back, and placed the velcro. i did the soft velcro all the way across the front and the grabby side as tabs.

and here are the babies trying it out! oscar was excited about it and wants a whole bunch of them. i'm working on a second one so that both dolls will each have a diaper and will probably do a third, so that he can have a clean one to change them into.

basket babies

2011-05-24T09:09:00.002-05:00

alice in her easter basket - 3 months old

oscar in his easter basket - 2 wks old

not sure what we'll do if we ever have a summer or fall baby.....

zoo!

2011-05-23T16:41:00.007-05:00

here are some pics from our trip to the zoo - gramma and grampa pointing out the lemurs to oscar

the alligator was in a great spot for looking at, but was so still that oscar thought it was a statue

oscar and grampa being prairie dogs

a train ride around the zoo

checking out our wingspan. oscar didnt want to stand there and get a picture, so gramma did it first...

and grampa...

and finally we talked oscar into it.

gramma and grampa visit!

2011-05-23T14:36:00.006-05:00

gramma and grampa finally got to come visit and meet alice after a couple delays. it probably is best that the trip was delayed, because a 3month old alice is more fun for company than a 1 month old alice.

grampa spent a lot of time entertaining boys. here they are watching a movie and grampa is about to take an afternoon nap. aaron also calls them gramma and grampa - so cute! it works out though, because he has nanas and a pawpaw, but no gramma or grampa.

aunt robyn sent down a bumbo for alice and she loves it! she likes to be a big girl and sit up and observe - no laying down - that's for babies!

i think grampa and alice hit it off alright..

here they are getting to know each other

and here is the momentous occasion - gramma started alice's gramma quilt! i'm so excited! oscar loves his gramma quilt and sleeps with it every night!

we had a little photo shoot on one of the last days and got some cute photos.

3 months

2011-05-19T16:51:00.006-05:00

alice is still smiling more and more every day. she has found her hands (and toes) and is grabbing rattles and teethers and hair. she can get toys and fingers in her mouth and already likes to chomp on things. aunt robyn sent down a bumbo and alice LOVES it (when she's in a good mood). she loves sitting straight up and watching everything that's going on. still loves to be worn in a carrier - we're currently favoring our moby for at home and a lil peepers keeper cotton gauze wrap for activities that take us out of the a/c.

have been unable to select text and make links in blogger, and unable to even post (so i may just be wasting my time with this post). any suggestions as to what in the world is wrong with this crazy thing?

rock'm sock'm chili

2011-05-16T14:32:00.004-05:00

Lately we've been eating a lot of rock'm sock'm chili based on a recipe from the barleyfoods website. (http://www.barleyfoods.org/) I've added some ingredients to add more flavor and some ingredients to help with milk supply. Like the lactation granola bites, the additions of brewer's yeast and flax seed can be left out, but are healthy additions even if you aren't working on your milk supply.

Rock'm Sock'm Chili

2 tsps olive oil

1 lb. lean ground meat (we usually use turkey)

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup pearl barley

1 28oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup water

2 Tbs chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne

4 Tbs brewer's yeast

3 Tbs milled flax seed

2 15oz cans of beans (recipe calls for pinto and/or red - i usually do one of black beans)

optional garnish suggestions: cheese, sour cream, avocado

heat oil in a pot. cook the meat and onion. add everything else except the beans and garnishes. cover and cook 30 min over medium-low heat. add undrained beans (when using black beans i drain and rinse them) and cook 15-20 more minutes. serve in bowls with desired garnishes.

SUPER easy meal!

lactation granola bites

2011-04-21T22:09:00.003-05:00

since alice was tongue tied and had a tough time removing milk and i have supply issues to begin with, i've been trying to eat lots of things to help up my supply. some of them are yummy - like this recipe - and some not so much (fennel/barley water - ew.) i was thinking about making lactation cookies, but every time i thought about the 2 cups of sugar that most recipes call for and my complete lack of self control around cookies*, i decided to try something different. this recipe was adapted from shutterbean's peanut butter granola ball recipe that became an instant favorite of mine. i think i made it the very same day she blogged about it, and have been making it for meetings and classes and such that i'm supposed to take food to. so i just added the brewer's yeast and flax seed that is in most lactation cookies and - tada!

lactation granola bites

1/3 cup honey / agave nectar

1/3 cup natural peanut butter (crunchy, please!)

2 Tbs. butter

3 Tbs. brewer's yeast (i'm going to try 4 next time)

3 Tbs. milled flax seed

1 cup oats

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1/3 cup dried fruit (mmm raisins - heaping 1/3 cup for me)

melt together the butter, honey/agave, and peanut butter on the stove or in the microwave. stir in everything else. this time dumped it all in at once - next time i might stir in the brewer's yeast and flax seed first. scoop out tablespoon fulls and put them in mini muffin papers (or use a little ice cream scoop if you have one - i wish i did!) refrigerate until they firm up a bit and then enjoy!

*i dont really have much self control around these granola bites either.. but they are at least a bit healthier!

2 months

2011-04-21T11:19:00.000-05:00

alice at 2 months old

she got upset during her photo shoot and had to be nursed to sleep

sleepy girl

she seems to smile more and more every day. her favorite place to be is still next to me, and she spends quite a few hours every day being worn. in fact, she doesnt nap very well during the day unless she is in a carrier of some sort. sometimes she'll chill out propped up in the recliner - especially in the morning while i round up breakfast for the boys. the boys do all sorts of crazy dances to keep her entertained (and me entertained as well). i think at some point we might invest in a bumbo, because she loves to be sitting upright - but i'm not sure what age those are recommended for.

camp recipe

2011-04-21T09:31:00.001-05:00

i can't remember what website i saw this on, but we gave this camp meatloaf a try and it was YUM.

first you get two or three layers of an onion and chop up some of the onion innards to add to some meat. i did three onions but didnt use all the onion innards. i used some ground turkey - added the onion, salt and pepper, egg, some crushed up sun chips (i was going to throw in some bread crumbs, but the boys were gone in the car which had the bread in it) and i'm not sure what else.

then you stuff the onions with your meatloafy mixture and wrap it all up in foil.

then you put jeremy to work making fire and cooking up all the goodies you've prepped. we ate this meatloaf with the potato and asparagus packs that i showed in the last post.

i think we cooked it at least 30 min or so... i'm not really sure. a meat thermometer would have come in handy here.

and then the boys gave it a test run. jeremy said it was the best meatloaf he had ever had! and oscar finished his meatloaf way before any of his potatoes and asparagus were gone. for dessert we had banana smiles - we went through a lot of foil that night.

springtime camping

2011-04-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

we were really looking forward to going camping this spring since we didnt get to do any camping last year. also, we got some new camping gear money from mom and dad for our birthdays and christmas, so we wanted to test out our new stuff! plus it was alice's first camping trip!

oscar, alice and i went the the campground on friday to pick out a site and get some things set up. it's hard finding a site that has room for a tent, but finally we found a nice one.

then alice took a nap just long enough for me to set up the new tent

and then it was oscar's turn for a nap

and later (much later) we had hobo pies by candlelight

we zipped our giant sleeping bags together into a huge family sleeping bag and it was so snuggly! oscar spent most of the night in his wall-e sleeping bag which is made of the slippery stuff, so he slid all over the tent. jeremy tucked him in with me and alice when he left to go fishing in the morning.

we went over by the playground and grilled hot dog and hamburgers for lunch. oscar's favorite part of the trip was probably playing on the playground.

alice and i did some food prep while oscar and jeremy went fishing. mmm... asparagus!

alice spent a little bit of time with jeremy, but most of her time was spent in a baby carrier attached to me!

tongue tied

2011-04-11T14:09:00.004-05:00

so it turned out that alice (like oscar before her) was born tongue tied. i knew from birth we were having issues with latch, but when i looked at her tongue (apparently not closely enough) while we were in the hospital, it didnt have the heart shape that oscar's had when he was born. so 8 weeks later she was finally diagnosed. and this time around i knew of an excellent dr that specializes in breastfeeding medicine, so off we went! (oscar is still tongue tied - when i asked the dr in town about clipping it when oscar was a baby (because we were having so many breastfeeding issues) he scoffed at me and told me that people dont do that anymore!) here are some photos from alice's frenotomy-

here is a before

and another before picture - can you see how the tongue goes down in the center instead of lifting up?

and here you can see the frenulum

and just a quick snip snip - which takes less than a minute

and then back to nursing, which helps control any bleeding. oscar took these last 3 pictures for me

she still had to re-learn how to nurse, and STILL doesnt latch on right sometimes, but we're getting better at it every day!

alice handled it like a champ and it didnt seem to bother her. i expected there to be at least some extra grumpiness, but she maintained her normal amount of grumpiness!

the ladies at the mississippi breastfeeding medicine clinic were wonderful! i'm so glad i knew about them this time around. head on over to facebook and like their page for great breastfeeding info!

other party stuff

2011-03-21T11:24:00.001-05:00

the birthday signage. printed and cut letters, robot cutouts from craft store painted with letter glued on top.

lots of robots, balloons, garlands and stars around. was bummed i couldnt get any green balloons.. but no one else seemed to mind.

the plates, napkins and juicebot army

oscar blowing out his birthday candles. you'll notice the table is fairly empty. i went easy on the food this year. we heated frozen pizzas, made dessert pizzas (sugar cookie, fruit dip, fruit), and had 'nuts and bolts' (chex mix).

alice's robot diaper, which provided the color scheme. when oscar told me he wanted a robot party, i automatically thought of this diaper. and it gave me a good excuse to buy one! shortly after i placed my order i found out they have the robotronic print in a doll diaper, and i wish i had ordered one for oscar's babies!

building robots

2011-03-20T10:53:00.000-05:00

last year when we had oscar's dinosaur party, the crafting time was a big hit. so this year i wanted to do that again and unleash the kiddos for some mess-making. i set out a big bowl full of 3 different sizes of marshmallows, pretzel sticks, various candies (sixlets, jelly beans, fruit roll-ups, airheads, and little candy eyes from the craft store) and let them build some edible robots. they each had a bag of buttercream with the corner snipped to use as glue and there was a bowl of little tubes of decorator gels.

they went all out with it and had tons of fun. oscar made his all by himself! check out that fruit roll-up scarf!

aaron made this awesome octobot and ate a lot of candy. then he ate the octobot and made another one just like it.

here is scotie's robot with airhead legs - very nice!

and two of lane's robots - he ended up making a few more.

they had so much fun building and eating that it was hard to get them to move on to the next activity. i thought surely yelling 'pinata time!' would have them running from the table, but they wanted to keep making edible robots!

robot pinata

2011-03-19T10:37:00.002-05:00

i thought it would be fun to have a pinata for oscar's party this year, since he didn't have one at his other parties. so oscar and nana both helped me paper mache our robot. oscar wasn't sure about sticking his hands in goo, but then had lots of fun with it until the goo started drying on his arms and making him itchy.

here is the finished robot. i did ribbons on the bottom for the kids to pull. we had to make this an indoor activity, otherwise as soon as we went outside with a pinata, all the kids from the apartments would swarm to us. i had two big fears 1) the ribbon to open the trap door would get pulled first or 2) the door wouldnt open when the right ribbon was pulled.

jeremy held it up for us since we didnt have a good place to tie it. they all got to pull 3 strings before lane finally pulled the winner.....

unfortunately, #2 was the case and the ribbon broke. paper mache is really strong when dry - lesson learned! so we let oscar yank the bottom open and chaos ensued over candy and toys!

cakebot

2011-03-18T13:00:00.001-05:00

this year oscar wanted a strawberry-vanilla robot cake. i swirled together strawberry cake batter and vanilla cake batter into two 9 x 13 pans and that made enough cake for the head, body and legs. the arms were made out of rice krispie treats. i used fondant for the silver parts, because there was no other way to make them silver, and for some reason i really wanted them silver! i used edible marker to write the birthday greeting - how is it that i've never had any of these things before? they're awesome.

giant robot

2011-03-17T13:41:00.001-05:00

i used some boxes i had been saving to make a giant robot decoration for the party. everything got covered in foil, holes were cut for buttons (little food container lids), a mirror, and lights. dryer vent arms. and jeremy put that awesome light-up belt on. the kids liked playing with buttons and looking in the mirror. oscar pretends that the robot gives you candy bars when you push the buttons.

juicebots

2011-03-16T13:09:00.000-05:00

so i think this was one of my favorite things from this party.. i got some apples and eve juice boxes from dollar tree and turned them into juicebots! i usually find most of my ideas online and then just do my best to personalize them, but this one i actually came up with on my own for once! i spent quite awhile wrapping them all up in foil, but it was so worth it. we had tea and water for the adults, but they all wanted to drink juicebots too!

they looked a bit sad and worried when they were sitting in the trash can - or maybe that was just my imagination.

party favors

2011-03-15T13:00:00.003-05:00

with most of oscar's robot party i tried to keep it as easy and as manageable as possible since there's a baby in the house and i dont have as much time to work on things. on the other hand, i wanted his party be be extra awesome because i didnt want him to feel like his party wasnt as good because there is a baby in the house.

these favor boxes were really easy. i ordered some mini rock'em sock'em robot rings, found some little candies, and used store bought chex mix. the containers were 3/$1 from dollar tree and i printed the labels up with each kid's name. and that was it. at first i thought there should be more stuff in it, but since they would also be getting a bag of pinata goodies, i'm sure this was plenty! plus, oscar LOVES playing rock'em sock'em robots and always asks to play it when he sees it in the closet, so those were right up his alley.

robot invitations

2011-03-14T13:04:00.001-05:00

here are oscar's invitations for his robot birthday party! these were pretty quick to make, as word is actually pretty great for building robots. i used one sheet per invite, cut open the doors, glued the back piece on the front and was done.

it probably took longer to fold up the envelopes than it did to assemble the invitations. oscar loved these invites and wanted to push the buttons on the robot.

1 month

2011-03-13T22:28:00.003-05:00

here is alice at 1 month old.

she looks just like oscar did at this age

and oscar looks so HUGE now.

the plan

2011-03-13T20:40:00.004-05:00

here is the birth plan we came up with to prepare for Alice's arrival. I went over this with both Cynthia and Dr. Brett a few weeks before my due date to make sure everyone was on board. I knew that everything would most likely not go quite as planned, but just the whole exercise of figuring what I wanted and discussing it with those involved helped me to feel involved myself. It also made a big difference in the hospital - they don't normally get moms with birth plans, so I guess they really paid attention to it. (I'm going to add some notes as to how things actually went, in italics)

Birth Plan for Melissa (Missy) Henderson and Jeremy Jones

Location: Wayne General Hospital

Primary Care Providers: Cynthia Odom or Dr. Brett

Labor Support: Jeremy Jones, partner and father-to-be, and Michelle Brooks, doula. They are to stay at my side at all times, even in an emergency.

To the staff at Wayne General: My partner and I understand that childbirth is full of surprises and that decisions may need to be made in the labor room. We intend to work with everyone present to make good decisions if need arises. The following items are our preferences if the birth goes smoothly.

We'd like to have dim lighting and music of our choice. No loud talking or noises. (didn't end up using any music)
I would prefer to wear my own clothing.
I would like to stay hydrated by sipping small amounts of clear liquids. (the nursing staff seemed to have a hard time believing that this was ok)
IV only in the case of dehydration or for the administration of medication. A heparin lock is fine. (it was so nice not having to drag an IV around as I walked the hallways..)
Electric fetal monitoring is fine as long as I am able to change positions. (this was something I had to agree to for Cynthia and Dr. Brett to work with me on a VBAC. As often as the thing was reading incorrectly, I'm not sure why they even bother..)
I would like the minimal number of vaginal exams required for you to assess my progress.

Labor and Delivery:

No induction of labor. (this obviously didn't happen..)
Spontaneous onset of labor. If it is delayed or there are complications, we would like to discuss our options at the time. (they were very understanding that I was upset by the induction and we did discuss options)
No artificial rupturing of membranes without first explaining why and getting my permission. (we had a big discussion about this as well and everyone voiced their concerns and talked about pros and cons)
If my water breaks and I am not fully dilated for a long stretch of time, I'd like to discuss the pros and cons of taking antibiotics.
We do not wish labor to be hurried, unless signs show our baby is in trouble. (our labor was hurried. this was because they did not want to have a mom with a previous c-section on pitocin for more than 12 hours at a time, i guess)
Except for an emergency, I do not wish for my labor to be augmented. If there is a need to speed labor, I would like the option of trying a different position.
I am having a natural birth. Please do not offer me any pain-relieving medications unless I specifically request them. (they didn't ask me - not even once! when i was in with Oscar all they did was offer pain meds all the time!)
To relieve pain, my partner and doula will help apply counter pressure, apply hot and cold packs, and help with various positions and deep breathing.
Freedom of movement is important to me, as I am planning to move freely during the first stage of labor. Unless there is a serious contraindication, I don't wish to be still or lie in bed. (this worked out alright. it was rough with the EFM cords, pitocin drip and BP cuff, but i got to use my birth ball, a rocking chair and do some dancing with Jeremy. I ended up being most comfortable sit/squatting straight up in bed)
I plan to let my body guide me to the most comfortable positions during labor and birth.
Please allow my perineum time to expand around my baby's head as it is crowning. As long as there are no signs of fetal distress, I would prefer not to rush the baby out.
As long as the baby is OK, I am not overly fatigued, there is no pain at my earlier cesarean site, and my contractions are continuing productively, I ask that my second stage of labor be allowed to continue without intervention for as along as it takes, even if it is four hours or more.
No instrumental birth, except as a final recourse. In which case vacuum extraction is preferred to forceps.
I would prefer to tear instead of an episiotomy. (only a teeny tiny tear!)
I request that the doctor, nurse, midwife, or assistant massage and apply hot compresses to my perineum before and especially during the pushing stage to reduce the possibility of tearing. (we didn't end up doing this)
My body knows instinctively how to push. I would like to first try self-directed pushing before resorting to directed pushing.
Jeremy would like to help "catch" the baby.
No routine pitocin following delivery unless bleeding is excessive. I plan to do immediate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding, which lessen the need for such an intervention. (this was really didn't make much difference since i had been hooked up to pitocin for so long already. plus I had some seriously excessive bleeding going on anyway)

Cesarean Section: (didn't need this section!! I'm glad it was in there though. as i said in the birth story, i think i would have felt a lot better about a c-section that i was involved in)

In the event a cesarean section is necessary, Jeremy will accompany me. I would like my doula, Michelle to be ready to join me when/if Jeremy must leave my side.
If possible, I would prefer spinal anesthesia over general anesthesia.
Though I would prefer not to be able to see the majority of the surgery, I would like the screen to be lowered so I may observe the actual moment of birth.
Following the birth, if the baby's condition permits, we would like the baby to be given directly to Jeremy for skin-to-skin contact. He will stay with the baby while I go to recovery.

Postpartum and Breastfeeding:

As soon as the baby is delivered, she should be placed skin on skin with Missy and they should not be separated. Newborn evaluations and care can take place there. (this was just NOT standard practice for this hospital, so it was all new to them)
We choose to wait to clamp and cut the umbilical cord until after it stops pulsing. Jeremy would like the option to cut the cord.
No routine suctioning of the baby's mouth or nose unless medically necessary. (Cynthia did suction her mouth when she was born, but it didn't really bug me)
We would prefer to postpone the administration of vitamin K and eye drops until at least 1 hour after birth. Erythromycin is preferred over silver nitrate.
We wish to postpone the first bath until we are ready to do it ourselves.
The baby is to remain in our presence at all times and room-in with us. If mother and baby must be separated, Jeremy will escort the baby.
Our baby should be given no substance by mouth other than colostrum and breast milk. At no time should sterile water, glucose water, or formula of any kind be given. The baby should be allowed to nurse on demand and no artificial nipples should be given. If the baby's blood sugar level is of concern, more frequent nursing will be encouraged as maternal colostrum provides a more healthy and stable blood sugar level than processed glucose.

(so some things went as planned and some didn't but it ended up being perfect!)

alice's birth story

2011-03-13T18:46:00.006-05:00

As soon as we found out that we were expecting baby number two, I began to study up. After having a traumatic c-section experience with Oscar, it was important to me to research and do all I could do to have a more positive birth the second time around. I think one of the biggest factors in having a successful VBAC was to have the right support team to work with me. I chose to work with Cynthia, a CNM, and Dr. Brett an OB that practice with the closest hospital. Jeremy read The Birth Partner to get ready for the baby's arrival, and we enlisted the help of a doula, Michelle.

On Monday, January 31st, the day after my due date, I went to an appointment with Cynthia. I was expecting a quick measuring of the belly, listening to the heartbeat and then back home again for more waiting. I was still hoping that baby would come at their own time (and I didn't think that would be for another week or so). Apparently they do a routine ultrasound around 38wks to see if the baby's growing well and I missed mine, so they took me over to the ultrasound room and Dr. Brett did an ultrasound. She was awfully quiet during the ultrasound and told me that the baby was measuring small and that my placenta was old and crusty. (ok.. no one ever said my placenta was old and crusty except me.. but she did say that it wasn't looking good). She said that if they didn't induce me there was the possibility that my placenta would stop functioning and that we could lose the baby. She estimated the baby's weight at around 6lbs and told me to come back in the evening for a non-stress test and to let her know whether or not I planned to be induced.

I cried a bunch because I was worried about the baby and worried about induction (have had a bad experience there before) and went and bought a couple pairs of preemie seized pants and a sleeper thinking I was going to have a teeny tiny baby that would be swallowed alive by newborn sized clothing. (Oscar had some preemie clothes that he fit in perfectly when he was born, and he was 8lbs!) I talked it over with Jeremy and Michelle, and everyone was in agreement that they may be completely wrong, but it wasn't a chance that we wanted to take.

We checked in at the hospital for the non-stress test and talked to Dr. Brett on the phone about starting the induction with a foley bulb. They admitted me to the hospital and Dr. Brett came and put in the foley bulb around 7. The contractions started up fairly quickly, and we spent the evening walking around the 3rd floor of the hospital, wishing we had eaten before we came. The night was fairly awful with rather intense contractions all the way up until morning. We woke up early and started walking the halls again. Things seemed to slow down after awhile and we laid down for a nap. We hadn't really heard anything from Dr. Brett about starting pitocin, and the foley bulb was still in, so I finally talked Jeremy into going to get something to eat. Michelle was in town, but hadn't come by the hospital yet since nothing was happening at the moment. While Jeremy was gone the foley bulb came out and I celebrated by taking a picture of it. I was so excited that finally something had happened! Everyone figured I was at 4cm at least.

Unfortunately, I wasn't. We agreed to go ahead and start the pitocin around noon and I stayed at 3cm all day! It was so discouraging! I was having lots of contractions, but they weren't even as intense as the ones the night before were. Around 6 or 7 Dr. Brett came in and I was still at a 3. She said they would let me go until about 12:30am on the pitocin and then turn it off for the night, let me eat some food (yay!!!) and then give me some sleeping pills. In the morning we would start again at 6am with the pitocin and if nothing was happening by 4 we would be having a different conversation. I was so worried we were headed for the operating room again. I posted to facebook that my labor had stalled and asked for suggestions - and boy was I glad I did! It helped to get all the suggestions and options from people and to know I had so many women rooting for me! Michelle got in touch with Cynthia, who said she had seen a lot of women stall out and then start over in the morning and have a great birth. I labored the rest of the evening with contractions finally getting more and more intense shortly before 12:30. At that time they came in, turned off the pitocin, gave me a couple sleeping pills and I got to eat the best sandwich and french fries ever. mmm. I was so hungry! The sleeping pills knocked me out in no time.

I'm really not big on taking pills (especially when pregnant), but I'm so glad I did. The next morning I felt quite wonky from the pills, but ready to get going again. I was feeling very optimistic because I knew Cynthia would be in to see me and the nurse that came on was my favorite when I had Oscar. Things were definitely looking up!

They started the pitocin and contractions started again. When Cynthia came in I was still at 3cm, so we discussed putting the foley bulb back in while I was on pitocin. We did that and a few hours later (I don't really know if it was a few hours... time that day was very strange and parts just flew by. I'm pretty sure it was a few hours though) I was at 5cm! yay! Celebration! The next conversation we had to have was about breaking my water. I decided to wait a little bit to see if things progressed on their own. Since time was NOT on our side, and our 4pm deadline was looming in front of us, I let her rupture my membranes, fully aware that things were about to get rough.

And boy did they! The next four hours(?) or so were hard, but as long as I stayed in a sit/squat position I could get through the contractions. Jeremy and Michelle stayed by my side and Jeremy put pressure on my back during contractions when I wanted. I have no idea how far apart contractions were because I felt like I blacked out in between and only came to when another one was starting. I think i was at 7 or 8cm the next time Cynthia checked me, and she wanted me to lie on my side for awhile, as my cervix was swelling a bit. I did NOT handle contractions well when on my side and did a lot of screaming. At some point another nurse came in and started getting the room ready for the baby to come. I couldn't stop looking at her and wondering what she was doing and could I really be about to have this baby?? unfortunately there was a shift change at 7 and I probably didn't make the best impression on the nurses that came on with all my yelling. There are hardly any noisy, unmedicated births at that hospital!

The next time Cynthia checked me I still had a lip left and she pulled it back and it was time for Alice to arrive! Everything was sort of a blur, but I remember everyone kept telling me to breathe. They sent Jeremy off to wash his hands (Cynthia game him the option earlier about whether or not he wanted to wear gloves and such) and I knew we were almost done! Shortly after, Jeremy was helping to pull her out (yes, pull her out.. Cynthia doesn't think I can have a baby any bigger than Alice was...) and he got to "catch" her. And then she was on me - all goopy and alive and awesome. We left her cord attached until it was finished pulsing and then Jeremy cut it (he had been a bit worried about cutting the cord, but after catching the baby, cutting the cord seemed like nothing). Alice self-latched and nursed and nursed and nursed.

It was a long 48 hours, but such a HEALING experience! We were so happy with the birth and all the attendants were so cooperative with us - even though we were doing things very different than they were used to. (I talked to one of the nurses later and she said she had read my birth plan and was terrified to do something wrong and upset me! But then she thanked me for the experience, because it was not their normal routine.) I'm so glad we had a birth plan, Cynthia and Michelle. I'm so glad Jeremy read The Birth Partner so that he knew things he could do that would help me and felt more confident in his role. I think those things made all the difference. I have a feeling that even if things had gone differently and I ended up with a c-section, it still would have been ok, just because I was actually involved in the process and decision making this time.

Alice Edith Jones was 8lbs 7 1/2oz and 20in long and was too big for those preemie clothes.

oscar's valentines

2011-02-28T13:56:00.002-06:00

since we were busy with an itty bitty baby before valentine's day, i used this idea i saw from design mom last year for valentines for oscar to give out. it was quick and easy and oscar felt like a rockstar because he had a photo shoot. and everyone LOVED them!

39 wks

2011-02-16T15:00:00.003-06:00

sorry for the lack of posts! alice has arrived, but i guess i'll try to do a few catch-up posts for those that havent seen everything on facebook. hopefully i can get her birth story written up soon as well. here was my belly at 39 weeks (and 4 days).

37wks

2011-01-18T15:02:00.003-06:00

here are a couple pictures from 37weeks and 4days. my fashion tip for expectant moms - dont buy baggy grey shirts that might look like wrinkly elephant skin. thoughts of elephants when you see yourself in the mirror are not good when you already feel huge!

am officially 38weeks and 2 days now - 12 days and counting until the due date. i'm ready for her to get here - even though the house may not be (and our bags aren't all packed, either).

oscar day

2011-01-18T14:12:00.004-06:00

we planned a special day for oscar since he wont be an only child much longer! we went and had some pizza buffet, since pizza seems to be his favorite food. after that we went and played a bunch of games at chuck e. cheese's. he loves the driving games, but can't reach the pedals on most of them. this time he wanted to just shift gears instead of steering. we had lots of fun playing games, even though it was insanely crowded on a saturday afternoon. (last time we went was a tuesday evening and there were only a handful of other kiddos)

after chuck e. cheese's, we went to toys r us and let him look around for something to buy with his christmas gift card from uncle pete. he had so much fun carrying his gift card and swiping it like a grown up AND got some power tools, too. he was completely spoiled by the end of the day and we had as much fun doing it as he did!

i'm a bit nervous about how his transition to big brother will go. i'm wishing we had bought more books about babies joining the family, we have one about being a big brother that we've read quite a few times. i want to get him a present from the baby that he'll get either at the hospital or when we come home from the hospital. i'm not sure what it should be, but i thought about a new doll perhaps. it seems like it should be something baby/nurturing related... yes? we plan to have him at the hospital a lot while we're there so that he'll feel involved with greeting the baby. nana is going to come and help keep him entertained.

any suggestions on helping him adjust would be greatly appreciated!

new year's party

2011-01-18T13:41:00.003-06:00

i remembered to pull out the camera at the last minute and get some pictures of our new year's eve celebration. it's basically the same thing every year, but this year i made us some new star garlands and bought some balloons for fun.

the puzzle was only 750 pieces, so we almost got it finished by midnight! we were only 30 minutes late getting it done. usually we have 1000 pieces and stay up a whole lot later working on it (and then sometimes get up in the morning and finish it).

i just thought this picture of lane was amusing... doesn't he look thrilled?

making christmas - harry potter wands

2011-01-01T12:09:00.000-06:00

when i was re-doing the master wish list, lane saw on the old list that he had wanted a harry potter wand and he said he still wanted one. so i was looking online to see about buying one when i stumbled on some tutorials.

since we thought gavin might like one as well, we worked on his first so we could ship it off. we used this tutorial for a light-up harry potter wand. it worked out great, and seemed to be a huge hit. but when we got around to making one for lane and oscar, we ran into problems with light bulbs not working right. finally lane just ended up with a wand from this tutorial. since he hadn't known about the light up wands he was just as happy with the regular one, but we were quite bummed.

i'm thinking about trying to make him one that looks like the elder wand for his birthday, but with so many baby things on my brain i'm not sure if i'll get to it or not!

making christmas - bible tote bag

2011-01-01T12:04:00.000-06:00

when i told danielle that i was making things for people for christmas, she requested a small bag that would be big enough to fit a composition notebook and her bible for taking to church with her.

so that's what she got! i even added pockets and slots for pens or pencils. i bought a few fat quarters for the project, but had so much leftover fabric that i use it for nana's rice bags as well.

making christmas - crocheted scarf

2010-12-31T12:00:00.000-06:00

after doing so much sewing, it was really really nice to take a break and crochet this scarf for aunt janie. i was a bit sad when it was finished because it was such a nice change of pace! i used the same pattern that i'm doing for the baby's sweater - i figured if i did that, i'd be able to remember pattern when i picked it up again after the new year!

making christmas - wool dryer balls

2010-12-31T11:43:00.000-06:00

for mom i made some wool dryer balls. these are another fun little project, and we've been using some for a few months now. you really just get 100% wool yarn and make balls and let them get all felty by running them through the washer and dryer. i was so happy to find that scrap of fabric and that one piece of brown cardstock to package them up with. i also felted the cord for the bag!

making christmas - car playmats

2010-12-30T13:44:00.000-06:00

so these were a really fun project to work on.. i made car playmats for sammy, aaron, and oscar.

sammy's was finished first (since it needed to be shipped to ohio) and i used ribbon ties on his. he also got a park with a lake that he could drive to and a store.

after making his and having a couple weeks of other projects in between, i decided to use something different to fasten the folded mat together:

aaron and oscar got tabs on theirs with velcro. i liked this solution a lot more, and wish i had thought of it the first time around.

instead of a park, they both got a used car lot. aaron loves to line up all this cars in a row, so he needed some extra parking lots. i was working on oscar's at the same time, so i made it the same as aaron's in hopes that he wouldnt figure out it was his.

he did notice there were two different ones, but figured that one of them was for sammy.

making christmas - pj pants

2010-12-30T13:39:00.001-06:00

and for dad and the brothers, some soft flannel pajama pants. it is so hard to come up with ideas of things to make for men!

trapping

2010-12-30T11:28:00.003-06:00

one night oscar and jeremy set traps all over the apartment using oscar's stacking cups and play food.

then while they weren't looking, i snuck in oscar's room and grabbed a pile of stuffed animals and filled all the traps.

trapping became oscar's favorite activity for the next few days.

i bet you didn't know you could catch giraffes with shrimp and frogs with english muffins!

stash update!

2010-12-29T16:59:00.004-06:00

so today i was washing baby clothes and diapers and thought i'd share an update of the fluff stash! i bought 2 dozen newborn prefolds and 2 dozen small prefolds from green mountain diapers because i had read really great reviews about their prefolds. kristen had a baby that outgrew the newborn prefolds in no time, so i bought 11 more from her. i have 5 covers with velcro and 3 covers with snaps, and that should be plenty! other new additions to the stash are the various prefolds, the two brown/pink fitted diapers, and a bag full of rockin' green detergent from the baby shower. also, i bought an orange fuzzi bunz diaper - love it! and when i bought that i got a free light purple bum genius 4.0. i also got a wet bag to shove yucky diapers in in my diaper bag and a pail liner to haul those stinky pants downstairs.

here they are all washed, sorted and ready to go. the small and regular sized prefolds dont fit in there, but by the time i'm using them, most of the newborn size can come out. (there's also a cameo of the belly in that shot)

tada!

things still on my list to get: the pail to put the pail liner IN, diaper sprayer, wipes, some sort of wipe solution (though i will probably try making my own), and maybe some diaper rash cream that's ok to use w/ cloth diapers.

busy boys

2010-12-29T16:51:00.002-06:00

i haven't been the only busy one this month, i've also put the boys to work crafting-

oscar and aaron both made some martha stewart puppets that i had picked up on clearance a couple years ago. oscar did santa

aaron made a reindeer.

it was a really easy craft to do with them - all peel and stick. a lot less time consuming than gluing their advent chains together!

oscar also got put to work making cookies with me. he was the official butter unwrapper.

and also helped to decorate the cookies. he did a FABULOUS job decorating cookies. you can't really tell the difference between the ones jeremy and i did and the ones oscar did!

making christmas - brother-in-law magnets

2010-12-29T13:28:00.003-06:00

for the brothers-in-law, i made some magnets with images from their favorite football teams.

ohio state for mike (of course)

these were a really fun little project, and i ended up making a bunch with the international breastfeeding symbol for the ladies at work.

and auburn for vic.

the glue we had was quite fume-y, so jeremy ended up finishing the auburn ones for me. here is the tutorial for those.

making christmas - sister aprons

2010-12-29T13:13:00.004-06:00

for robyn and angie, i whipped up some aprons. i'm really super excited about these aprons and hope to make one for myself.

instead of a loop or tie that goes around the neck, these have two long straps that are connected at the top which go over the shoulders, cross in back, slide thru loops at the waist, and then tie in back. a bit hard to explain (i included a drawing of what it should look like in the back when i wrapped them up).

this was my own invention, so hopefully they will get used and then robyn and angie can tell me if the design needs tweaking before i make one for myself. (dont worry, i did iron these a bit before wrapping them!)

making christmas - rice heat therapy bags

2010-12-29T12:49:00.003-06:00

next up i made some rice heat therapy bags for auntie margy and nana.

i was hoping to use purple fabrics for auntie, but dont have much purple in my stash. i actually bought some purple fabric and then returned it because it was just too ugly (i also did this with some cars fabric). i used this tutorial and it was a pretty quick project. there is also a link to printable tags for your bags.

my neck and shoulder have been so sore lately, i'm hoping i get a chance to make some of these for myself! the small bag is filled with flax seeds and fits neatly in a quart size freezer bag for storage in the freezer. i didnt put them in the freezer to test them out, but since i filled them up with flax seeds that i store in the freezer, i know they get nice and chilly!

making christmas - abby's baby carrier

2010-12-28T22:14:00.005-06:00

so one of the things i made for christmas was a baby carrier for my niece, abby.

i used hobo mama's tutorial and leftover fleece from an orange carrier i made for myself.

i included some directions on how to use the carrier

and abby used it to carry around her turtle baby on christmas! (picture stolen from robyn)

baby shower

2010-12-28T22:02:00.003-06:00

a couple weeks before christmas, we had our christmas party/district meeting and my wonderful coworkers threw me a baby shower! when i arrived for the meeting i got locked out of the room so they could finish setting up, and i teared up when i saw all the work they put into it. it was so sweet! i know michelle must have spent a lot of time pulling it all together, she's got the biggest heart ever.

32 wks

2010-12-09T15:15:00.004-06:00

here we are at 32 weeks already! it's been going really fast and really slow all at the same time. been having lots of pregnancy aches and pains, but the midwife said that besides a muscle relaxer (which she knows i wouldnt take anyway) there's not much to do besides ice packs and rest. but there's so much to do! my schedule has been pretty packed with boys, crafting, and work, but hopefully once christmas is over i'll get a little breather before last minute preparations for baby.

i'm hoping to spend some time on the baby's sweater as soon as christmas is over with. so far i have two front panels finished. i also have this baby bedding which i love, but dont plan on using a crib with this baby. i'm hoping to come up with some ideas for repurposing it.

busy crafting!

2010-12-09T15:08:00.002-06:00

here is a little craft i did for handing out at the health department yesterday. since i'm working on a handmade holiday, i've been super busy sewing, gluing, painting and crafting. unfortunately i cant show anything i've done so far because i would ruin lots of christmas surprises! so i thought i'd go ahead and share the candy cane thing and let you know that i'll have lots of things to post about on december 26th!

tree fetching '10

2010-12-09T15:00:00.002-06:00

i have been SUPER busy around here lately, but we did manage to get our tree up and decorated on schedule! jeremy and oscar put most of the ornaments up while i sat and unwrapped, but we got it done and it's the most beautiful christmas tree we've ever had (it always is). i almost brought my tripod along this year so we could get a better picture, but that sure did sound like a lot of work!

i noticed that we had all worn our converse (oscar calls his rockstar shoes), so we got a family foot photo, too!

oscar singing a song for sammy

2010-11-17T20:30:00.005-06:00

oscar wanted to record a video for sammy when he got out of the shower this evening!

pumpkin carving

2010-10-31T21:58:00.008-05:00

hard at work on those pumpkins. pumpkin carving is one of our favorite halloween traditions.

here they are all finished

oscar making silly faces

jeremy's pumpkin. he wanted to do a happy pumpkin this year, which was quite a surprise.

and oscar wanted a scary pumpkin, which was NOT a surprise!

mine was a miserable pumpkin

and then i did a happy little baby!

26wks

2010-10-31T12:34:00.000-05:00

a few pictures from week 26. today (halloween) i am 27 weeks and have officially made it to the 3rd trimester!

my pregnant witch silhouette

and one more with oscar b/c he's so darn cute!

the big reveal

2010-10-31T00:07:00.007-05:00

we have been getting tons of requests for pictures of oscar's halloween costume, so here they are! for those that dont know who billy the exterminator is, he looks like this.

this was the first year that oscar picked what he wanted to be for halloween. here is goes looking for snakes...

so - about the costume - we started with a black tshirt and some pants and shoes that he already had. i ordered some studs and spikes and black pleather online to make his vest, gloves and wristbands. i'm glad i dont have to sew pleather very often - what a pain in the butt! i ironed on some logos on the shirt and painted the logo on the back of the vest. finishing touches were the necklace, the chain belt which didnt even show, the belt buckle (hot glue and silver paint), that fabulous hair-do, and his little soul patch (face paint).

and while i had the face paint out, nana wanted a camo face. i didn't really get any pictures of myself or jeremy. thursday i was a vampire and saturday i was a witch. jeremy also had some vexcon logos ironed on a black tshirt.

30 day challenge

2010-10-26T22:18:00.000-05:00

mid-september to mid-october i tried to do a 30 day challenge where i was supposed to get rid of 10 things a day. i know i didn't do it EVERY day, but i think after cleaning out my craft closet for 2 days i probably got rid of enough stuff to make up for the missed days. above is the before picture.

and here is the after! there is still a LOT of stuff in there, but at least what is left is in some sort of order. i would like to label all of the shoe boxes of stuff at some point.

and the trash that was left from the closet clean out. (there was also a box of things to donate)

picnic

2010-10-25T21:54:00.000-05:00

at the beginning of october we had some really nice sweater weather, so i packed us a picnic and we headed over to the little playground they just put in

we ate sandwiches, string cheese, grapes, and these apples:

you cut around the core, reassemble and then hold them together with a rubber band. they were pretty fun, but the apple got a bit brown. i think if oscar likes these when he starts school i'll get a mini spray bottle of lemon juice to spritz on before reassembly.

kristen's baby shower

2010-10-23T20:13:00.007-05:00

so finally some pictures of this shower i threw a month ago! if you'll recall i had some inspiration i was working from, so the sources i can remember are listed in that post.

i really loved the umbrella with raindrops - enough so that i did an extensive search for THE perfect umbrella (nice shape, curved handle, color to match the party colors, not too expensive) i was happy with the one i finally found on amazon. it is now in denise's closet (raindrops still attached) for a shower she is planning.

i loved these little favor boxes - what a cute inexpensive way to package party favors! plus the decorations are a bit raindrop like on the sides, dont you think?

inside the favor boxes were massive chunks of fudge (2"x2") and these cute little umbrella charms i found on etsy.

water bottle labels

paper umbrellas for in the cups

here are the cookies that oscar and i worked on! i was disappointed by the color when i unpacked them. they seemed a lot more vibrant when i iced them - does icing fade?

kristen being showered with presents!

i made her a diaper cake (and forgot to take a better picture). it's basically prefold diapers wrapped around a bottle of sparkling grape juice and held together with diaper pins and ribbons. there are also some socks and washcloths tucked inside. since she plans to cloth diaper, these might come in handy!

cake balls. yikes. i thought i should give them a try, but they were very time consuming! also, if i didnt freeze them on the stick they would fall off, but when i froze them the chocolate coating cracked as it hardened! it was a nightmare. however, they were a HUGE hit. even though there weren't that many of us at the party, i didn't have to worry about taking any home with me! i did chocolate/chocolate for the chocolate looking ones and the white ones were spice cake/cream cheese.

i wasn't really thrilled with the cake either. but jeremy pointed out to me that i'm usually NOT thrilled with anything i make and that others usually think i did a fantastic job anyway. that made me feel a bit better.. and then the umbrella cracked in half on the drive there. *sigh*

but it tasted fine, anyway!

denise came early to help me set up and then stayed afterwards to help me clean up. she's the best! she's also very nit-picky about details, so just the kind of person i like to have around while i'm trying to set things up. and also willing to climb on chairs and tables!

cookie baking

2010-10-23T20:09:00.003-05:00

a couple pictures from when oscar and i made cookies for kristen's baby shower. actually, i made cookies for the baby shower and oscar made train cookies. he had a lot of fun and did a great job with his rolling pin! (forgot to get pictures of the actual cookies...)

fall foods!

2010-10-23T19:17:00.002-05:00

one of my favorite things about fall is all the yummy foods! i've made butternut squash and spicy sausage soup a few times already this year. i think it is one of my all time favorite soups. this last time around i made it without any heavy cream and i also added zucchini. it was still just as good, but with less guilt. jeremy added some skim milk to make his a bit creamier. i have been pigging out on apples and apple cider and i hope to make some of these cookies soon.

21 weeks

2010-09-27T15:46:00.002-05:00

figured i should go ahead and post this - now that i'm actually 22 weeks...

blueberry muffins

2010-09-27T15:34:00.002-05:00

a couple weeks ago while jeremy was off to new orleans for work, i whipped up some of these blueberry muffins. they were pretty yummy and oscar and i ate them for days so that i didn't have to think about what to cook next. he didn't seem to mind!

H

2010-09-14T19:36:00.004-05:00

oscar made an H! i didn't even know he knew how to make an H... it wasn't really a letter he has practiced, so, surprise! he was drawing on his chalkboard and then all of a sudden he calls me over to see his H. he seems to have a much easier time with letters that are all straight lines..

dinner pancakes

2010-09-14T19:20:00.002-05:00

so a couple weeks ago robyn sent me an email with the link to these dinner pancakes. i thought it sounded a bit strange at first.. what's a dinner pancake? i NEVER make pancakes for breakfast or lunch... they're alway dinner pancakes! but these sounded yummy, so they went on the grocery list. i doubled the recipe because my pancake recipe made tons of pancakes (something like this - but without the sugar, nuts and bananas) and used a large zucchini and some broccoli. i ran out of room in my two cups of veggies - i was hoping to add some carrots. they were pretty good. jeremy thought they were FANTASTIC, i was a bit so-so because i kept expecting them to taste a bit more like potato pancakes for some reason, and oscar wasn't very impressed (but maybe they'll grow on him). so i was thinking about doing some sort of potato/dinner pancake hybrid. doesn't that sound wonderful?

shower invitations

2010-09-04T13:38:00.002-05:00

ok, so i really wanted to just print the names on the envelopes and be done with these, but that's not really how it turned out. either my printer just isnt so good at envelopes or there is some trick to it that i can't figure out. so i made little labels, which i guess is cuter anyway...

i printed these seals for on the back, but the flap goes so low that it looked better just as an accent.

i really liked the invitation i posted in my inspiration board dealy, so i sorta went from there with these. that umbrella part folds down....

and then there is a sheet of rain. (how many of my co-workers do you think will notice that the bottom flap looks rather breast-like?)

and then it opens up again with the information on the inside. the more i look at the inside the less i like it.. but they are done and stamped and that's good enough for me right now!

fluff wish list

2010-09-03T15:34:00.000-05:00

while i was shopping around for gender neutral diapers, i also noticed a few girly ones i'd love to have in the collection. these were placed in my mental "if it happens to be a girl" list. i dont want to go too crazy with girly diapers, because i hope to use these diapers with another baby that may not be a girl. but these ones are just too sweet to pass up.

1. is a Bummis Super Whisper Wrap in flowers. i haven't really looked into this brand, but just love those bright flowers!
2. is a Thirsties Duo Wrap in alice brights. i already have one of this brand and would like more since they should be good for newborns (i'm thinking the bummis is probably about the same).
3. and then there's this gdiaper in girly girl ruffle. oh my gosh. i dont think i need to say anything else about that cute ruffly bum.

my stash so far

2010-09-03T13:19:00.001-05:00

so we've decided that this baby around we're going to give cloth diapers a go. i think that if i had internet access when i was expecting oscar he probably would have ended up in cloth as well - since the internet seems to be the only place around here that you can learn about and buy cloth diapers. it's slightly terrifying to jump into this because of the lack of in-apartment washer and dryer, but maybe not as terrifying to me as the thought of landfills overflowing with poopy plastic time bombs.. ew.

so this is what i have so far. i'm adding to the collection a little bit at a time... since most of these are a cover with various absorbent innards, the covers get more than one use per day (unless they get pooped on..) so in theory, this should be about 20 diapers if you count inserts and prefolds instead of covers.

these ones are flip one size covers. in theory they will fit the baby from about 8lbs until potty training. i got two different kinds of inserts to try out - organic cotton on the left and stay-dry on the right. from what i read, most one size diapers wont fit right away, so these might have to wait a few weeks to be used.

and then i have two little gpants because they are just SO darn cute. SO CUTE! i have the gcloth inserts to go with them and there is also a disposable (flushable, compostable) insert that can be used with these.

and this is an option that is supposed to work with a newborn. prefold diapers and a (cute) cover. and instead of pins i bought two snappis diaper fasteners because diaper pins scare me.

and then the last ones in the stash are two one size pocket diapers i got for free with a coupon code at kelly's closet. we'll see how they work.. i'd really like to have a few one size fuzzi bunz in my stash, so maybe that will be next on my list!

anyway... cloth diaper research has been occupying a lot of my time (and brain), so i thought it should be mentioned on here. plus i had all the diapers out because i was showing kristen some options and helping her with a diaper registry.

guess what?

2010-09-03T10:29:00.005-05:00

it's a girl! (or at least the dr. was 80% sure) i'm not sure that 80% is enough to have me completely convinced, so hopefully we'll get another peek later to confirm things. after the appointment we went to walmart to buy a few girl things to celebrate. jeremy picked out some newborn sleepers -

and i picked out this purple striped newborn onesie. oscar picked out some newborn gowns, but i'm not a huge fan of those because of cold tootsies, so we didn't get them. now i feel really bad about it because he didn't get to pick anything that we actually bought (besides picking his favorite sleeper out of the pack). but there's still plenty of time for that, i suppose.

it was very strange shopping for girl clothes!!! i've spent the past 4 years not looking too closely at them because it always made me worry that i might not ever have a girl. so hopefully that 80% is right - although at the same time i was a bit sad not to be using some of those really cute boy clothes that i saw when sorting last weekend...

belly shot

2010-09-02T15:33:00.000-05:00

i hope this is starting to look more like baby and less like too many pancakes.... ultrasound is thursday and we might get to find out the gender! am crossing my fingers that jeremy makes it home in time. we were pretty excited because we thought for sure he'd be able to make it to an appointment at 6:15 in the evening, but now that he's in new orleans for the week, we're not so sure.

date night!

2010-09-02T12:47:00.000-05:00

oscar was pretty upset about jeremy going out of town this week, and i needed to make a trip to hattiesburg, so i figured we'd stop somewhere quick to eat and call it a date night. BUT... after buying what i needed at michael's, there just happened to be a little carnival going on right outside in the parking lot!

what are the chances? on a tuesday? i was tempted to spoil our dinner with a funnel cake, but instead oscar rode the two car rides they had.

and then we went for pizza at chuck e. cheese's! this was oscar's very first time ever going to chuck e. cheese's and he is now in love.

he pretty much loved everything with a steering wheel - especially this school bus.

and i loved pictures for $.25 a pop.

cookout

2010-09-01T00:06:00.002-05:00

last weekend we headed over nana's house for a cookout. it kept threatening to rain, but held off until later in the evening.

i finally took a few pictures of the garden that jeremy worked so hard on (you know.. now that its overgrown and not making us any fruits and veggies....)

all i did was the signs - we dug around the yard and found scraps of wood to make all of them with.

and here is the humongous watermelon from the garden. i'm not really sure that you can fully appreciate the size of it from this angle.. i should have taken a picture of it while we were tripping over it in the kitchen for weeks.

the boys ended the evening with a dip in the pool while it was dark and raining. danielle and i sorted some baby clothes - there are still tons that haven't been looked through, but i may as well wait until after the next ultrasound to look anymore.

getting ideas

2010-08-25T00:23:00.005-05:00

i'm working on ideas for a co-worker's baby shower coming up in september. i've been torn between themes, but i think i've finally settled on an umbrella/rain baby shower. i'd like to do mostly white and blue, but i'm a bit nervous about it because the baby's gender is unknown. i figured if i stated that clearly in the invitation it shouldn't be a problem. any thoughts on that? too boyish?

sources: craftiness is not optional, donteatthepaste for the box, and i'm not sure for the rest...

squishy sqaush

2010-08-24T15:44:00.000-05:00

today while i was working on spinach pie for dinner i realized i should probably have something to go along with it. i would be perfectly happy with just spinach pie for dinner, but there probably wouldnt be any leftovers for me if i didn't make more food! i searched for something to do with this butternut squash that has been living in our kitchen and found this recipe. it was colorful and wonderful! so wonderful that i'm going to post the recipe here for those that are too lazy to go get it (like myself).

garlicky baked butternut squash

2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
2 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (i used 4.... or maybe 5)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1/3 cup grated parmesan

In a large bowl, combine parsley, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. add squash and toss to coat.
Transfer to an ungreased shallow 2 qt. baking dish. bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until squash is just tender.

it really doesn't mention when to add the parmesan. i added freshly grated parmesan right before serving and shoved it back in the oven for a minute. i also sprayed my baking dish with cooking spray because i didnt read the directions. but i'll probably do that again anyway.

yum

2010-08-23T16:53:00.000-05:00

this weekend we opened up a can of jeremy's homemade salsa, made a batch of homemade guacamole, and whipped up some of this roasted tomatillo salsa for taco night! it was SO good!

it's funny - i've been telling people i want to eat lots of spicy things while pregnant/nursing this kiddo to see if they tolerate spicy foods more later on - and that's exactly what i've been craving lately anyway! mmm chipotle tabasco polka dots!

$3.99 well spent

2010-08-22T16:16:00.003-05:00

friday evening i got a phone call about doing my first home visit (!!) so i called jeremy to see when he would be home and while we were on the phone the honda died! (again!). so instead of doing my first home visit i had to head to mobile to rescue jeremy. actually, i got almost to citronelle and he called to tell me he fixed his car (with a (pink) pipe cleaner!) and was headed home. i decided to go to citronelle and wait for him there in case he had problems along the way, but he made it fine! i found some maternity work pants and a few other things at the thrift store (score!) and jeremy found this nascar steering wheel thingy for $3.99. it is supposed to hook up to a computer, but we didnt even bother with that because oscar LOVES it. then we went to subway for dinner (mmm.. veggie delite with sweet onion sauce - my fav). oscar lucked out - i got him chocolate milk.

he drove home with his steering wheel and honked at daddy a lot (we were following behind in case of more car troubles). i thought it was hilarious to see him driving along with his brown mustache! he's loving the steering wheel and has been taking us all for rides in the car (living room).

he's back!

2010-08-22T16:07:00.002-05:00

we're glad to have aaron back with us for the school year! i tried to get this picture of them reading together before they saw me with the camera, but no luck. we've been having scheduled 'school' time this past week and then friday we went and got them their own folders to keep their worksheets in. they seem to look forward to it everyday, so that's good! i'm not quite sure how it will work out since they're on different levels.

early christmas shopping

2010-08-19T17:40:00.003-05:00

while i'm thinking about it, i wonder if i should go ahead and get oscar a camera for christmas. he always loves playing with my camera, but also enjoyed playing with gramma's and uncle chris's cameras at the reunion. i found this nice orange one on amazon which will give oscar a camera of his own and me the satisfaction of buying an orange camera.

oscar walked in while i had the amazon page full of kid cameras and said 'look at all the cameras!! can you buy me one??' so i must be on the right track.

cake recipe

2010-08-19T10:25:00.003-05:00

i found the cake recipe i used! it wasn't the one i linked to, but it was close. same baking directions, but used less oil and added applesauce.

hummingbird cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. applesauce
3 eggs
8 oz. crushed pineapple with juice
2 cups diced banana
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla

cream cheese frosting

8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

hummingbird cake

2010-08-18T14:07:00.000-05:00

for our unbirthday cake i made a hummingbird cake using this recipe (i think). if it wasn't that recipe, it was almost exactly the same. i think i used some applesauce in place of oil. it was very very yummy and i definitely weighed more at my next prenatal visit. it's frosted with cream cheese frosting with swirls on top and pecans pressed around the sides. i think i'll be making this again, but need to come up with an occasion for it first.

draw!pilgrim also had printable recipe cards for hummingbird cupcakes and printable cupcake papers and toppers! i already had my heart set on a layer cake with candles though..

happy unbirthday!

2010-08-17T13:38:00.002-05:00

since we were going to be out of town for a week and hadn't had a game night in awhile, i decided to throw an unbirthday party or everyone using the party printables from draw!pilgrim. what a fun easy party! i changed the birthday sign into an unbirthday sign and used the place cards as food labels.

everyone got an unbirthday present (i had a $2 limit for each person) and a little baggy of goodies. we ate giant sub sandwiches, chips with homemade salsa and guac, mixed nuts and, of course, cake and ice cream! the printable bingo game was a big hit since we had a very wide range of ages. i also got a whole bunch of prizes ($1 toys, candles, candy bars, etc) for in the prize basket for winners. we all ended up with a few extra goodies.

thank you thank you to draw!pilgrim! and to howaboutorange for the link! what a fun, no fuss party!

hard day

2010-08-03T14:24:00.000-05:00

we had a pretty rough day grocery shopping last friday. we went during nap time and that was a bad idea. luckily oscar got his nap on the way home in the middle of eating his ice cream cone. and then he finished up on the couch when we got home.