3 little pigs

so oscar wanted to tell me the story about the three little pigs tonight during dinner... this was the second time around - i hope you can hear it, the sound with my camera is not so hot. i liked the first version better.. he said that "the mama pig gave each pig a piece of gold and sent them to their fortune - like we get when we eat chinese food - inside of the cookie - we break 'em open and read 'em"

blueberry picking

went and picked blueberries yesterday morning. they were looking a lot happier than they were last year... oscar did a great job picking, but he ate more than he saved. he'd pick them and say 'one for oscar, one for pie' but really there were a lot more ones for oscar than ones for pie.

but we still ended up with plenty for pie

oscar also went to hang out with nana when he got back from blueberry picking. we've been phasing out the high chair (because it would be really nice to have it out of my dining room for a little while before the next baby will be in it). usually he takes a nap in his bed in the afternoon, but since he was with nana he didn't get his nap. we should have thought about it and put him in the highchair, since he tends to eat then sleep, but we didn't.. i'm wondering how he managed to move his plate out of the way before falling asleep on the table...

summer fun

i've been wishing there were more activities i could get oscar involved with over the summer, but it's slim pickins around here. last week we went to the summer reading program at the library. they learned about the oil spill and got to dip rocks/feathers/rubber ducks in oily water and then try to wash them up. he had lots of fun and won some prizes when they played bingo. on the way to kristen's house afterward for my meeting, we talked about what he learned about and he told me he learned about 'stuff dying'.

the theme for the summer is splash into reading or something like that.. i let the librarian borrow oscar's piggy in the puddle book because i thought it would be awesome for the theme. i'd totally make dirt cups for the snack!

the recipe

here is the recipe for those pickles. this was given to jeremy by his aunt kathy and was her mom's recipe. he used sprigs of dill instead of dill seed.

maw maw lula bell's dill pickles

• wash cucumbers - i use very small cucumbers but you can use others
• scald jars
• pack clean cucumbers in hot jars.
• add 1 pod hot pepper, garlic, 1 tsp dill seed and 1/4 tsp alum.
• bring this to a boil: 1 qt. vinegar, 2 qt. water, 1 cup plain salt
• pour over cucumbers in jars & seal.
• do not have to water bath.
• need to set several weeks to fully pickle.

pickles

here is a picture of one of jeremy's recent projects. he's been collecting tons of cucumbers from our garden and making jars and jars of pickles. they have dill, garlic and pepper in them. i can get the recipe from him if anyone is interested. i just think they look nice. perhaps i should also get a picture of the garden he's worked so hard on!

first ultrasound

the first ultrasound was yesterday! oscar went with me and was fairly well behaved. the nurse picked him up so he could see the screen. so - due date is still january 30th. heartbeat sounded fine and everything looked alright for now. and apparently this one has a southern accent like his big brother.. i bet uncle chris and aunt angie will be excited about that!!

VBS

oscar spent mornings this past week at vacation bible school (except for wednesday when we went to the LLL meeting in hattiesburg). he had tons of fun and then they did a program for the parents friday evening. here is a not-so-great video of him singing with the other little ones.

and visiting with nana and aunt kathy after the program

what's black and white and red all over?

this past weekend i had a small new moon party. party favors included apple shaped note cards, vampire kisses (red lip gloss), twilight notepads and a new moonesque flower.

decorated with lots of black, red and white.

i think my favorite part was the candy-dipped wine glasses for the punch. i made raspberry candy and dipped the glasses and then let the candy drip down. Also made some blood splattered red velvet cupcakes using some raspberry dessert sauce, but didn't take a good picture of them. we also had werewolf kibble, oreos with red filling, lots of popcorn, and all sorts of black and red candy.

here it is all glowy during the movie

me and jeremy after the movie

4 is a crowd

our 3 person tent is still perfect for us this year, but next year i'll have a really good excuse to upgrade! i love flipping through the camping sections of cabela type catalogs, so it's fun to daydream about getting a new tent. i keep reading things about foot lockers, gear lofts and built in cup holders - all of which i've never seen in a tent. i'm really curious about the gear loft...

this tent looks pretty cool, sleeps 8, sounds pretty easy to assemble, is orange, and has cup holders, pockets and a gear loft! sweet!

oscar's new shirt

oscar wanted to show everyone his new t-shirt!

he's very excited that next january (or more likely february) he'll be the big brother around here.