STRONG PROJECTS

Manipulating Blogger

2012-01-30T08:54:00.000-06:00

Figured out something today....I can back post entries. I am SOO behind and even left out important holidays like Thanksgiving last year and I got all the family pics from Doc this past weekend, so I am going to be adding in items as well. So, if it seems like I am not posting over the next week, it is because things will be popping up in prior months. I use this blog as a scrapbook for our family - you can make it into a book and I want to make sure there are no big holes. So, forgive me while our blog is under maintenance, but if it gives you an indicator as to where you can find them (not sure how it works), check out old posts!

ATTENTION! ATTENTION! BLOGGING IN PROCESS!!!

2012-01-24T12:19:00.000-06:00

I am working on lots of blogs from the past month to get us caught up. Problem is I am a lazy mom and rely on my father-in-law for photographs of most family events so I just put in a request to Doc to compose me a CD of those. When he gets a chance to do it, I will be able to plug in the pics, get caught up and back on the blogging bandwagon! STAY TUNED!!

Determined

2012-01-13T09:43:00.000-06:00

I am determined to blog more regularly and bathe more regularly. This is all really I have time for right now in addition to my munchkins :) Wish me luck!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T07:00:00.001-06:00

For the first time in a long time my family was mostly together on Christmas Eve (my oldest sister and her fam weren't able to make it). My parents graciously agreed to come up to our house for the couple of days so that we didn't have to all make the trip with the kids and take over their house with all our crud and screaming children. Other than having to be on the road, I think it was a much more enjoyable time for them. Christmas morning, Wyatt enjoyed his Santa gifts, Abigail was clueless and we were able to go over and spend a relaxing morning with JuJu and Doc's. It was a good holiday. Next year will be even more fun with Abigail more into the holidays and I plan on getting Wyatt more involved with an 'elf on a shelf'. (btw, saw THIS homemade one on pinterest and want to do this for my kiddos. I want their elf to be an original and something we can pass down...I probably should start now working on it)

Okay! On to the pics!

Our Sweet Abigail

The bigger kiddos chowing down - we had the ENTIRE dining room table filled with food. Please disregard Wyatt's white trash attire. He had on a cute sweater but got hot and stripped down to his undershirt.

Tessa and Wyatt I think are actually sharing toys in this picture even though it looks a little "gimmie that!" they play really well together.

Our little elf. Wyatt could care less about unwrapping presents but thought it was fun to be the one to get to hand them out.

Grandad and Abigail - one of my favorite pics of the holidays.

Santa brought Wyatt a tricycle, Mater and Lightening for being a good boy this year. Wyatt thought Mater and Lightening liked to ride his new tricycle better than him. :)

Playing with his new ride. He really did get on it, but I just can't find a picture of it. he does okay if he goes straight but if he turns the handle bars, the pedals move too far for him....need blocks on the pedals or some platform shoes.

See my new cars!?!?

Attempt at a family photo xmas morning

Abigail smiling at silly Daddy

Wyatt showing Aunt Christal and Scott his new car.

Our Family

Smiling at Great Grandma Margaret

Why I am skinny.

2011-12-22T07:00:00.001-06:00

I took this pic on my phone the other day when I had just walked back in the kitchen from putting Wyatt down for afternoon nap. It was my attempt at breakfast and lunch (looks like I got a little further on lunch). Note the coffee mug was never removed from the dispenser.

I remember I had made myself a PB&J when I made Wyatt his, but just as I started to eat it, Abigail decided she wanted to nurse and it is always easier to do that when Wyatt is distracted (and strapped into his high chair eating).

So now, when people ask me "How are you so skinny after just having a baby?" - I can show them this picture instead of going with my standard "I chase after this little guy and carry around this little girl all day." Don't worry, this is not everyday, just some days and I make up for it in the evenings when the kids go to bed and I eat two honey-buns and a big piece of egg custard pie for dessert after dinner.

Abigail - 2 Months

2011-12-21T07:44:00.001-06:00

......just a week late in posting this. been busy with munchkins and holiday hub-bub.

Stats:

WEIGHT: 9lbs 14 ounces (25th percentile)
HEIGHT: 22 inches (50th percentile)
HEAD: 39 cm (75th percentile)
*given all the nurse did not stretch her out, so I think she is longer and the nurse had her finger tucked in the tape measure on her head, so I don't think her head is that big at all

2 month checkup went okay. My doctor fussed at me a bit saying she should weigh more and that her only feeding 5 or 6 times a day is not a enough. She was in the 75th percentile for weight at her 2 week appointment but that was just a starting point, in my opinion, not a growth point, so she didn't slip greatly in her growth pattern. She is a petite thing. Everything about her just seems so precious and tiny (except for her long feet). She is wearing 3 month clothes for the length and her toes seem squished in her footie pajamas. Anyone know where I can get peep-toed footie pjs?

Abigail sports a fantastic, but sadly thinning a bit, mohawk. No amount of combing can tame it. Abigail is a great eater and sleeper. We are still having a really easy and successful time breastfeeding and I couldn't be more pleased with that. She has started sleeping 8 hour stretches at night (thank you, baby girl!) but she is still just mainly cat napping during the day. Of course we have our occasional "bad night" but those aren't super frequent.

She LOVES baths. Only screams when you take her out - but who does like to get out of a nice hot bath?

Unlike her big brother who was quite the stoic child and content to hang on his own for periods of time in his bouncer and swing, Abigail wants to constantly be entertained and held and is full of TONS of smiles (the above was quick and easy to get) and is tickled pink to coo at us and make gurgling/giggling noises. She especially loves to coo at her Daddy. Similar to Wyatt though, she is a big fan of ceiling fans and will talk to those as well. She gets toted in the baby wrap a lot of the day which probably only adds to the "I want to be held 24/7" demands but I have to be able to play with Wyatt and get things done around the house, so I let the little princess get her way for now (even though my back is tired of it). Truly I think she is a bit bored at times and will be less frustrated when she can do more things.

She is not as strong as Wyatt was - she is still our sweet little bobble head but does bear weight on her legs a lot and would prefer to be standing while gabbing with you.

She is already flipping herself over from tummy to back - mainly b/c she is not a fan of tummy time, but is getting better about it. She doesn't mind it as much when I let her cheat with the little crescent shaped pillow that goes with her mat. On days where she wants nothing to do with it, she will scream with her face pressed into the play mat and do froggy kicks to propel herself across the floor and if that doesn't work, she fights until she flips herself over to her back.

Wyatt still enjoys her and is super sweet to her when she fusses, rubbing her head and saying "ohhh baby. ohhh baby." We can't get him to say Abigail or any form of it yet - but heck, the kid doesn't say his own name either.

She is just the cutest sweetest thing (yeah, maybe I am a little biased) and we can't imagine our lives without her. She really makes our family that much more complete. We are so blessed and JB and I are always saying how lucky we are and how much fun it is to be parents....even on those crazy tough days.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

This is again, thanks to Pinterest. I am addicted and I don't care who knows it!

I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies about a month ago for a Thanksgiving Potluck Party at my bro-in-law and sis-in-law's house. They were a huge hit with young and old alike. They have more of a cake-like density to them and the pumpkin is not overpowering at all (I am not a pumpkin fan).

It is more of a fallish recipe but they are super yummy and could be enjoyed all year. I got the recipe from HERE and changed a few things (adding nutmeg and using less chocolate chips).

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg.
2. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
3. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in with dry ingredients.
4. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
5. Add vanilla and chocolate chips.
6. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet or I use parchment paper and that works great.
7. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.
8. ENJOY!

Guys and Dolls

2011-12-15T07:00:00.001-06:00

So, for Christmas this year, I want to get Wyatt a baby doll. Not a prissy pink one with a bow. A cute manly cabbage patch. My sister found one that is called the dirty to clean doll that has disappearing mud - that is manly right? Anyway, JB thinks that is dumb, does not want me to get him one and we should just continue to diaper and burp Curious George (Wyatt designated him as his "baby"). Maybe Santa will bring him one! I mean, come on, Daddy, are you really that caught in the dark ages that boys can't play with dolls?

Besides, if dolls are what you think are your biggest concern, you have another thing coming. You should hear him say his favorite color is purple (his TCU horned frog Aunt Chris would love this) and when he asks me to put sister's purple bibs on him during the day while he helps me with laundry, well I always oblige!

And yes, that is a smile. And yes, I know JB and Wyatt will kill me one day for posting this.

Pinterest Project : Felt Tree

2011-12-14T07:00:00.001-06:00

Gotta love Pinterest ideas - a felt tree - GENIUS! I remember using felt boards in Sunday School when I was little! I know a lot of my other mom friends have made these for their toddlers. Best things about it....cheap and easy to make, quiet and length entertainment for Wyatt and I don't have to store it - for as cheap as it was to make, I probably will just chunk it after the holiday season is over and make another one next year.

Also, this would make a fun gift for a friend who has a little one during the holidays. I think it keeps Wyatt from bugging our normal Christmas tree as much!

CHEEEESE!

Hard at work decorating!

My A-mahj-zing Friends

2011-12-13T11:48:00.001-06:00

I have amazing friends. Some of my amazing friends are the ladies I play mahjong with. They have become some of my closest confidants and I love them dearly. We began playing mahjong in December of 2009. I came to my first game night VERY pregnant with Wyatt. We started out as a motely crew just meeting up once a month (half of us didn't know but 2 other people in the group) and now are a tight group of support and friendship and I can't go a day without talking to these gals!

When we started out, our group had 2 babies. Now just a couple years later we have added 4 babies (sadly one of our gals and her family have moved away) and we still have one on the way (come on, Bear! we are ready to meet you). At one point this year, 4 of us were pregnant at the same time!

Our holiday party this year was a little different than last year. We had it at Cook Children's cafeteria, as Aly's little guy, Ryder, joined us earlier than we expected and needed a few days in the NICU to get fattened up and eating better. No matter where we are, we have fun! Thanks ladies for the past 2 years of tossing tiles and growing together! Love you guys!!

Amanda, Katie, Alicia, Rachel (with Bear in her belly), Me, Amy, Aly (Gara not pictured)

Who's the Boss?

2011-12-06T10:50:00.001-06:00

Well, I started this post last week explaining my disappearence from blogging and talking about the lack of schedule and total chaos that I feel was taking over my house. I felt like no one was in charge, especially not Me! But, I decided to delete all the whining as life has taken a turn for the more organized in the last 5 days or so (I am sure this will switch back to chaos again soon).

For now, I am getting Abigail on some sort of eating schedule, she is sleeping well at night and I finally feel like I am back to spending some quality time with Wyatt, instead of just putting "Cars" on constant repeat. My household chores are getting done a bit and showering has become more regular (even if, like this morning, I have to wake up at 5am to get bathed).

But to answer the question....Who's the Boss? Well, I suppose the two munckins still dictate most of what goes on in our household (which is as it should be). I just hope they allow me some blogging time from now on.

Abigail with her awesome mohawk, no gel or comb can tame - 7 weeks

Wyatt's new smile :) 23 months

My How the Time Flies - One Month Old

2011-11-18T09:33:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I haven't posted in a month! Instead of trying to do detailed posts of what has been going in the last five weeks, I'll just do a quick summary.

HAPPY ONE MONTH, ABIGAIL! (I am a few days late in posting this)

Wyatt is a great big brother. He seems really unaffected by Abigail's arrival. He likes to talk to her, tells me when she is fussing and always likes to know where she is and makes sure we don't leave her behind when we leave the house (I always have to put her in the car before Wy or he starts to panic and ask where she is). He definitely gets that she is a permanent member of our family.

I am doing great. Recovery was super easy. Only thing that has been lacking at our house is much sleep but that is to be expected and is getting better. Abigail had her days/nights flipped for the first few weeks which made for a super tired Mommy. I feel I am doing pretty well adjusting to 'two under two'. I have started to feel more confident to venture out with them on errands and even took them both to the grocery store this week (I was hesitant b/c Abigail would have to ride in the Bjorn and I was sure she was going to puke on me in the middle of our trip but she did perfectly)!

And the most important person - ABIGAIL JANE!

She is a good nurser and breastfeeding is going well, although I am seeing a lot of fussiness at random times and am now keeping a food journal and trying to lay off the massive amount of dairy I normally consume. She is a reflux kid like Wyatt, so we are back to the routine of lots of laundry and loving my find OxyClean Baby. Even with the reflux, as she is a good eater, her growth has been good and steady, sadly she has gotten so long already that she is outgrowing newborn clothes and is now in size 1 diapers (slow down, baby girl!!).

Birth: 7 lbs 6 ounces. 18.5 inches
2 days: 6 lbs 15 ounces
2 weeks: 7 lbs 12.5 ounces. 20.75 inches (thinking they shorted her in the delivery room)
3 weeks: 8 lbs 2 ounces

Unlike Wyatt, who was born holding his head up and bearing weight on his legs, Abigail is our little long, lean bobble head. She is so fragile and doesn't have the strength Wyatt did. However she is already starting to smile and try to coo at us. Wyatt especially thinks it is cool.

Now here is the last 5 weeks in a few pictures!!

We dressed her up...

...and brought her home...

...and introduced her to Wyatt...

...he thought she was okay, but her toys are better...

...met Aunt Desi...

...and Uncle Tay Tay (I can't figure out why this pic won't turn!)...

..tried out our new double stroller and she went for her first walk on the trails at 3 days old...

...showed Abigail the back patio, where she will spend a lot of time watching brother play and eventually play with him...

...what she does on the back patio right now...

...little does she know what is in store of her - Wyatt is quite bossy about his mower - you have to push it a certain way. Oh, Abigail - you and brother are going to butt heads!...

...met our sweet friend, Amy (we have an almost identical pic of her with Wyatt...

...Nana showed Mommy how to multi-task (My mom stayed the first week with us and I was SO thankful to have her and sad to see her go)...

...and started opening our eyes and interacting more (again I can't get it to turn, but I love this pic with Wyatt sneaking in the background).

...got dressed up for dinner at Rio Mambos

...Abigail had her first bath - she wasn't a huge fan. We did it during Wyatt's bath time as well. He took it quite well, but we are now bathing them at separate times, as he so enjoys his bath time and A screaming throughout it doesn't make it so relaxing for anyone...

..."Oooh Baby!" he was wondering why she was screaming so much...

...Abigail is a diva and wants to be held all the time. She doesn't like being squished in the Moby, but she is getting used to it...she has to...

...Abigail was the only one who dressed up for Halloween. We were slackers this year - didn't even buy candy!...

...captured a bit of a smile.

WHEW! I missed some stuff as I have pictures saved elsewhere, but that gets us a bit caught up!

Abigail's Arrival

2011-10-14T05:08:00.161-05:00

You'll have to forgive the scattered nature of this post. I actually wrote the majority of it 14 hours after Abigail's arrival, so I could remember everything. I have edited it some, but left my random thoughts in as well. As I use this blog also for her "baby book", this will be a long detailed post...feel free to just skip ahead to pictures.

We headed in at 7:30am on Thursday morning. I was so nervous, I barely slept the night before. I was so anxious that the delivery go well and anxious about becoming a mom of 2 and super anxious about leaving Wyatt (not knowing how long it woud be before I got to see him again). Although I didn't sleep much, I did finally fall asleep early in the morning and woke up at 6:30am. Of course we didn't set an alarm b/c Wyatt has been waking at 5:45am and this morning when I REALLY wanted him to be up so I could spend some time with him, he was sleeping in. I jumped in the shower quickly and hollered at JB to get up. JuJu was arriving at 7am to take over care of Wyatt. I threw on some clothes quickly, knowing I'd be taking them off as soon as I got to the hospital and they gave me my gown and hustled JB along. I threw the last of my toiletries in my bag and finally heard Wyatt waking up. JuJu arrived and we headed out, without too much godobye fanfare to upset Wyatt. In fact he would barely even give us kisses, the little toot.

We arrived and they got us checked in. Nana and Grandad texted to say they had arrived but were grabbing a breakfast taco at Fuzzy's while we checked in. We were shown to our room and I was given a gown. The room was ENORMOUS with two small loveseats and a rocking chair (3 times the delivery room we had for Wyatt).

Here are my last "belly pics" at 39 weeks exactly.

I am still in awe of how fast the amazing day went. More than anything I was grateful for God's guidance and Him helping me give the day over to what it was to be - a day about YOU. I had been praying constantly that He would help me be able to release my anxiety about everything, especially how your arrival would affect Wyatt and to be able to be in the moment with you. God granted me so much serenity that day.

There were some power outages/surges going on at the hospital so it took a bit of time before they "got us going". They also had to do my lab work to check my platelets. I was at 104 and the anesthisiologist was good to do the epidural. The LD floor was a buzz...they were totally full and Abigail was going to share her birthday with lots of friends. Dr. D came in and met with me and we got things going. They broke my water at 10:30 (I was at 3cm) and started the pitocin. The contractions started coming, but not super strong or quick at first, so they finally started up'ing the dose. We hung out, I updated my Fantasy Football team and played soduko on the iPad to keep my mind off the contractions.

I went ahead and asked for the epidural at around noon. I asked for it fairly early as I was already close to 4cm at that point and didn't know how long it would take to get it (it took an hour with Wyatt). Dr. Leach came super fast (even though our nurse Cathy, made the comment she didnt call it in until 15 minutes after I asked her. Uh, why??).

The epidural was uncomfortable - it is a needle in your back- but I did well only let out one little squeak when they first put it in. I started getting instant relief and apparently it also relaxed my body so the contractions could do their job. They checked me after the epi and I was a good 4.5 cm.

We were joking I should have Abigail by 3:19pm (which was the first pitch time for the Rangers game). Around 1:30pm, I started telling everyone that I was really feeling a lot of pressure, everyone kept asking if they should get the nurse as maybe my epi wasn't working. I said..no, it is not pain just pressure. Nurse came in probably around 1:45 and I tell her about my pressure. She checked my IV fluids and said she'd be back in 15 minutes to check my progress after she moved someone to post partum. At 2pm she checked me and laughed - I was at 10cm and baby girl's head was right there. My sister, Amanda, had come up to the hospital and they told me that I could have 3 people in the room. We tried to convince Dad to stay, but he said he prefered to wait outside, so JB, my Mom and Amanda got to be with me as Abigail came into the world.

She went and got the doc and Dr. D came in and looked at us curiously as they had just now started to setup and she asked why Cathy hasn't started me pushing "because we'd have the baby if she already pushed!" said Cathy. " I have heard that before!" said Dr. D. I start pushing at around 2:15pm. They told me to push with each contraction but I did not want to take a break. They say I pushed 3 times (basically 3 times of holding my breath and bearing down). She came out super fast.

Abigail Jane Strong was born on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 2:19pm. She weighed 7lbs, 6 oz and was measured to be 18.5 inches long, but we don't think they stretched her little legs out. And her head circumfrance was 33 cm. She scored 9's on her 1 minute and 5 minute apgar test. Healthy baby girl!
JB cut the umbilical cord and they handed her straight to me - she looked so tiny, but Dr. D commented she was a good 7 lbs. She had so much dark hair and my mom ran down the hall to grab my Daddy, who had barely made it down to the family waiting room. Dr. D says I have only torn a small bit and put two tiny stitches in and said she even debated about doing that.

She was crying some, but pretty mellow. They gave her a bath in the delivery room as they were still waiting for my epi to wear off so they could move me. Abigail fussed so much when they were scrubbing her hair, but when they let her sit in teh tub, she instantly relaxed. She is going to love her baths like her big brother.

After Grandad got to hold her a bit, he had to head back home for work the next day and we didn't want him exhausted so we put him on the road. Nana went home to switch out taking care of Wyatt, so JuJu and Doc could come meet their new granddaughter. Everyone was so excited to meet you, sweet girl! And we were so proud to show you off!

Aunt Amanda

JuJu (I never have pics of Doc b/c he is always buzzing around with his own camera).

Proud Daddy

NaNa, so excited about her dark-haired girl

Grandad and his 5th little granddaughter. Whew, my poor Daddy puts up with SO many women :)

Abigail, sweet baby, you are beautiful and I am so excited to have a little dark-haired baby that just might possibly resemble her mommy! Wyatt was so short and stocky, but you are long and lean. My pain was very minimal...more of just a discomfort when I sit as I am pretty dang swollen around my bottom (normal for having her so quickly). You were good to your Momma! I am still in awe of how easy and quickly everything went. Thank you God for a beautiful, fast and healthly delivery.

14 hours post partum..........random thoughts to my daughter.........

To My Sweet Girl:

I am awake, it is 4am and I am wandering the halls of the post-partum wing in my pajamas. I just weighed myself....120 lbs. I am so swollen and pufffy from all the fluids and I slept for a couple hours, but was on one side, so I am significantly pudgier on the right side now. You and daddy are sleeping soundly. I walk the floors but stop periodically to check on the two of you. I looked at a lot of babies in the nursery. Harris SW has a policy that babies should room in 23 of the 24 hrs a day but I think some mommies have sent their babies to the nursery so they can sleep better. I chuckle at the signs in the hallway that say "Here at Harris, mommies and babies room together". I think " Nope, daddies and babies sleep while mommies walk the floor". Your night nurse, Stacy, is super sweet and came out to visit with me when she saw me at the nursery window. You are a noisy little thing, you grunt and make " puppy yelping noises in your sleep". I am still not decided on your name...I think you might look like Caroline. Your daddy just keeps rolling his eyes at me. I just want you to have a name that fits you and is worthy of you. In the Bible in 1st Samuel, I remember reading that Abigail was "discerning and beautiful". I have filled out most of your paperwork with 'Jane' as your middle name and leaving your first name blank. I just need to think on it a bit more.

You are already nursing well and I am SO proud and pleased with that.

It feels like here at the hospital is one world and back home with Wyatt is another. I know the two will merge tomorrow afternoon and that makes me excited and also very very scared. You still don't seem real to me. You are mine. I love you so much already, you resemble your big brother but with dark hair but somehow your place in our family seems fantasy to me. It will all come together tomorrow when I take you home. I am so thankful that Nana will be here the next week to help me with the transition. I am so scared of not being able to give you and Wyatt all that you need of me. I will learn to have to let things go and so will you and Wyatt. You will have to learn to share me and you will never know a world where you didn't, but I have been solely your brothers for almost 2 years now and he will need you to be patient while he figures that out.

I cannot wait to take you home and have you meet your lifelong friend and protective older brother, Wyatt.

Love,
Mommy

Big Brother, Wyatt!

2011-10-12T23:10:00.000-05:00

Ready or not, we are bringing you home a bathtub buddy in a couple days! Better get ready to share those fun water toys soon! We love you so much, Wyatt and know you are going to be a great big brother!

38 Weeks & 6 Days

2011-10-12T23:04:00.002-05:00

How far along: 38 Weeks and 6 Days

How big is baby: Who knows at this point. So far she has measured much bigger than Wyatt, but I think she'll actually end up being around the same birth weight.

Total weight gain: 35 lbs.

Last Dr's Appt: Monday - Still a good 2cm dilated and did blood work. Got the call on Tuesday evening that we are being induced Thursday, October 13th at 7:30 am. My platelets have again dropped and it is imperative we move now so that I can still get an epidural (drugs? yes, please!)

How am I feeling: A big rush of emotions and a ball of nerves. Dr. S will be out of town tomorrow but did not want to wait any longer. Dr. D who was actually my OB/Gyn for the 3 years before I got pregnant with Wyatt will be delivering. When I found out I was pregnant, she had just gone on maternity leave, so I switched to Dr. S. Dr. S is like having your Dad take care of you. I have complete confidence in Dr. D, but am also more than a little nervous not to have Dr. S by my side directing the delivery. I wasn't all that nervous with Wyatt's delivery - ignorance was bliss. This time around, I remember how smooth and easy my delivery with Wyatt was and I desperately want it to go that smoothly again.

Those are just my feelings on Abigail's upcoming birth...I can't even explain all the craziness going thru my mind about being away from my little man for a day or so (we are NEVER apart) and also when I do come home, that I am not going to be able to give him 100% of my attention.

I have been praying a lot that I am able to surrender my anxiety about not only the way the birth goes, but also surrender my anxiety of being away from Wyatt (knowing he is in good care of grandparents and we live 5 minutes from the hospital so JB will be spending a lot of time with him at home). I know God will provide and I just want to be able to be in the moment with Abigail as we welcome her into the world and be able to focus solely on her at that time, like I did with Wyatt.

One of my very best friends and confidants, Amy, wrote me these words this morning and I was very encouraged by them:

"We can follow a plan and pray that God lays it smooth. He is so good to deliver us through the hardest of times and always brings us closer to him if we let him. He to will help deliver baby abigail no matter who the doctor is who catches her. I am so glad that you will be surrounded by those who love you and that you have had a good experience prior to this delivery to focus on. You are so strong Emily. It is ok to be scared but know that there are people praying for you and your growing family."

What I'm looking forward to: Meeting Abigail Jane and holding my precious little girl in my arms. Seeing her Daddy meet her for the first time and watching her being welcomed into our family by our parents and all her aunts, uncles and cousins that will love her so much and teach her to be an amazing little person.

Abigail Jane,

To write to you all I feel about your upcoming arrival and knowing that I am being blessed with a little girl to raise, would take a full blog on it's own.

So just a few thoughts....you have been snugly protected in my belly for the past 39 weeks and as much as I am ready to meet you, part of me also mourns a bit that you are headed out into this crazy world where I can't always protect you. I vow to prepare you to take on this world though in the best way I know how.

More than anything, I want you to experience all that life has to offer. I want you to be a passionate person who lives life to the fullest, loves with her whole heart, maybe gives your opinion a little too often, sticks by your beliefs and values, learns to trust in God, always remembers all you have been blessed with and holds dear the essence and importance of family.

Our journey together begins tomorrow my sweet girl and I can't wait to see your face, hold you in my arms and kiss your cheeks.

I love you,
Momma

Girl Drama

2011-10-05T14:53:00.000-05:00

Well, they always say girls are a bunch of drama and even though Miss Thing hasn't even arrived yet, she is no exception.

Just got the call from my doctor - my levels have dropped another 10 points, but they are NOT inducing me this week. My OB was good with it but the neonatalgist says it is too risky for the baby's lungs and wants her to bake another week. The anesthesiologist did say that I can drop another 15 points or so and they'll still be fine giving me an epidural.

SO, the plan is to go to my regular appointment on Tuesday and probably do a heavy couple days of steroids and then induce on Thursday. Craziness.

In the urgency though, we were forced to pick a name. So, we are happy to announce she is no longer "baby girl" but.......

Abigail Jane Strong

37 Weeks & 5 Days

2011-10-04T12:45:00.002-05:00

How far along: 37 Weeks and 5 Days

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com she is about 6 1/2 lbs or a bit more and about 19 inches long. Wyatt was 6 lbs 11 oz and a little over 18 inches long. I guess she'll be approximately the same.

Total weight gain: 33 lbs. I have packed it on this time.

Last Dr's Appt: This morning and here is the big news people - we are 95% sure BABY GIRL WILL BE COMING THIS WEEK. We have been watching my blood platelets the entire pregnancy and although they went up by a point last week, they are still sitting pretty low (another 15 pt drop and I wouldn't be able to get an epidural). So we did blood work again today and after getting the results tomorrow afternoon, we are thinking we are going to induce her now, before they drop any lower. If they have severely dropped, we'll talk about whether we want to induce with no epi or try a steroid treatment to get them back up (but that is risky as it might continue dropping and then could lead to a c-section). Oh, and I am about 2 cm dilated already.

How am I feeling: Physically I feel fine. Mentally and emotionally I feel a little overwhelmed. I wasn't expecting her to come so early and in fact was planning on hosting a shower for a sweet friend at my house this weekend (so I am leaving my girlfriends scrambling for a new location). My house is fairly clean, most laundry is washed, but I thought I was going to have a little more time with Wyatt, just he and I and that is where a lot of emotion comes in. I am not ready to take part of myself away from him yet - but ready or not, here comes baby girl (no, we are not 100% sure on a name yet - AHH). JB keeps saying we are not taking anything away from him, but instead should be excited to give him a sister - a sibling - a partner in life that will share his whole story. I know what a blessing my sisters are to me and just continually remind myself of that. He is still just a baby though and needs so much of my attention. I was telling Dr. S about my guilt today and he said that it is totally natural to feel this way, but be excited about baby girl and don't let it overwhelm me.

Food Cravings: HAHA. Well, I had been trying to up my protein and less "junky foods" to maybe help with the blood platelets although there is really nothing you can do and apparently it hasn't been working. SO, for the next 2 days I am going to eat CRAP as apparently it doesn't matter now.

Milestones: Well, I hit "full term" last Thursday so Dr. S is confident she is fully baked and ready to come meet her family. Honestly, we have been saying my due date is Oct. 20th by the method of my cycles that my doctor does, but I really thought I was a week further along and by my sono a few weeks ago, I am probably accurate.
What I'm looking forward to: Meeting Baby Girl. Not being pregnant anymore. Getting into a normal life routine with my two babies. Seeing my Daddy. I haven't seen him in a few weeks and he and my mom will be headed up here on Wednesday night when we get the induction time. I am very happy that my Mom (who I am also happy to see, it is that I saw her last week, so I haven't been missing her as bad ) will be staying for a bit after Baby Girl gets here while I learn to juggle 2 kiddos. I know she will spoil Wyatt rotten and we'll have to do some Nana-detox when she does leave, but he will need that extra spoiling as things in his world are about to severely change.

Preparations and decisions being made: So, we are having a serious NAMING discussion tonight over dinner obviously.

During nap time today, my weekly to do list will be completely overhauled....now things like "work on recovering dining room chairs" will change to "pick up stool softeners and ibuprofen at the drug store" (sorry if that was TMI - if you have had a child you understand, if you haven't but are going to - ask me about it).

**I'll try to post a pic tonight of my big belly and some nursery pics**

Pinterest Project #2 : Faux Roman Shades

2011-09-27T10:42:00.000-05:00

My breakfast nook has lovely (ahem, please note the extreme sarcasm) metal framed windows. We eventually are going to replace all the windows in our house, but for now they are super energy efficient and FREE, so we are going to wait until a future date for that project. In the meantime, I wanted to make them prettier and JB (who has very little opinions on how our home should be decorated) feels very strongly about not blocking the light and view to our backyard (not that it is a beautiful oasis, but we like seeing nature).

So, it only took about an hour total (broke it up into a couple of naptimes) and I have some window treatments. And it only took the following:

6 tension rods from Target (I think around $3 each on sale - so $20 bucks total)
1 60x90 tablecloth from World Market (on sale for $29.99)
Scissors
Iron
Stitch Witchery (the most amazing stuff ever)

No, I forgot to take before shot and only have a couple "in progress" shots. I am too lazy to take them down to take pics, but HERE is the tutorial I used as a guide.

1. I cut the tablecloth in half so that it was 45 x 60. The tutorial said to try to have the fabric be the length of your windows (mine are 72, but I decided it was close enough, especially since I wanted them to be short).

2. I trimmed the fabric from 45 inches to 37 inches and then used an iron and stitch witchery to make a nice 1 inch rolled hem that matched the already sewn 1 inch hem on the other side.

Sorry, I couldn't get it to turn - but you get the idea.

3. Then I folded the material in half with the "good side" out (this is where I did something different from the guide). The guide said to iron/sew a seam so that when you do it the good sides are together and then you flip it, but since I had a nice hem already, I just joined them together with the good side out. See?

The fabric/tablecloth is not my favorite but it was good to try out and matches some of the colors in my house - best thing about it is that it is cheap and easy and I could easily replace it!

4. Finally, you hang the fabric (probably need to look at the guide to do this. Basically you put your first tension rod thru the halved fabric at the very top and then space the next 2 evenly down the window and drape the materially over it. I think it would probably work best to figure out how you want it and then iron in the creases better. Also, what is super cool is that they look the same from the inside and outside, so from the patio view they look great as well!

Tadah!

Don't Leave Home Without It!

2011-09-22T07:00:00.003-05:00

Your grocery list that is! I really strive to run an efficient household and it shouldn't be too hard with just a hubby and one kiddo (right now), right? But I have learned that the little things really make a HUGE difference and I thought I could share those things that help me out - maybe they will help someone else out!

How many times have you opened your pantry and it is overflowing but there is NOTHING to make for dinner? Or when is the last time you cleaned out your pantry/fridge and when you did, you threw out quite a bit of expired stuff? Yeah, happened to me a lot too, before I started making a grocery list and sticking to it.

So, here are my Suzy Homemaker tips for groceries:

1. Keep a notepad in your kitchen. When you see that you are almost out of something, put it on the list right then.

2. I try to go shopping around the same time every week (Sunday or Monday) so that I have learned my family's consumption on the basics, also I am not big on having to go more than once a week. We are lucky to have an extra fridge, so I can stock up on a few gallons of milk to have for spares.

3. I inventory before I make my list. I take a look at what I have in the fridge and pantry to see what I need to use up soon. Using what we already have to figure out the weekly meals helps out a lot with wasting of food (I was so guilty of it in the past).

4. When I make my final list, I plan out to the final ingredients/sides to 3-4 meals for the week and I write those meals at the top of my list so they are a reminder of what I am focused on for the week. I usually try to do a beef, chicken, veggie and/or fish, just to have some variety, and I also look at the grocery ads on Sunday to see what is on sale and that helps with the weekly menu. I look at our calendar for the week to see what nights will be best for leftovers.
4. Even though I'll have a full list written out, I will re-write it in aisle order - sounds silly but it means I don't zig zag all over the store with Wyatt in tow and letting my cold stuff get warm. A few minutes at home saves more than a few at the store.

5. I only buy what's on the list (okay okay, now that I am preggers, I sometimes crave a random type of cookie) but all in all, I very rarely get anything that is not on my list.

6. I carry a pen and mark off my list as I put it in the cart, so I don't get home and realize I forgot something on my list (having the list in order also helps with this).

7. I go thru my coupons before I leave and put them in a ziploc bag of the things I will buy so I don't have to fiddle with them at the store, just hand them over at the register.

Anybody else have any great grocery tips to share???

What's Up, Wyatt?

2011-09-21T11:25:00.001-05:00

Haven't posted pics of the little man in a while. Here is what he's been up to lately!

Stats:

Age: 21 months next week.
Favorite Foods: Apples, Grapes, Olives (black and green), French Fries, Waffles, and Pizza
Favorite Activity: Playing with the water hose in the backyard (helping momma water the trees) - being outside at all is what is most fun for Wy. He loves to explore and dig in the dirt (all boy).
Favorite Toys: Anything choo-choos is top dog right now. He goes to sleep talking about choo-choos and wakes up asking about them. He also loves reading books in his "new chair" (his glider moved to baby girl's room and was replaced with a big comfy recliner that had been in the man cave). He is a puzzle WIZARD. Yes, everyone thinks their child is super smart, but seriously, the kid is amazing with puzzles.
Speech: Wy "talks" a lot but mainly only we can understand him. He has some very clear words, like Turtle, Noodles, Cracker, Cookies, Goose, Car, No, Purple, etc... and a few people's names that are very clear, but other than that he has a zillion "wyatt words". He does a ton of animal noises and can identify (by pointing out) a massive amount of animals in his Noah's Ark book (what other kid his age knows bison, walrus and otter - at least I think it is pretty good). But when you ask him to say cow, he "moos" and looks at you like "I AM saying cow, crazy!"
Wyatt: He is such a sweet boy. He gives random hugs and kisses, has tons of energy and tons of laughs and is a just a happy kid all around. He is so focused for such a little guy and detail oriented. He lines up his cars, choo-choos and animals and makes them slide down the couch in an orderly fashion. It cracks us up how OCD he is (but he comes by it honestly). If he does "pitch a fit" it just involves him hitting the floor for about 5 seconds and if you walk away he pops up and is his happy self again. He loves to cuddle and talk in his chair before nap and bedtime and I am trying to cherish those times where it is just he and I with no interruptions. I am so lucky to be his Mommy.

So, what has he been up to lately??? *note, some of these are pics from my phone so ignore the poor quality.

Lining up his toys on the back of his chair.

When your mommy's OB appt lasts for 2 hours b/c Dr. S got pulled away on a delivery, you get to play with glove balloons!

You take my child to the mall and he immediately requests a cookie, to ride the carousel (not at our mall, but my sister's) and to go see the fountains. Here he is enjoying not only a cookie but a chocolate shake - yeah, Mommy was a sucker that day.

We spend a ton of time outside (yeah and sometimes we do it in our pjs) but we always have the radio on with us while we are weeding. Wyatt likes to change the channel and turn up the volume and dance. It is so funny.

And here is the amazing train table that we got as a hand-me-down from Cousin Grace and Cousin Tessa. It is a HUGE hit. I set it up during nap time and when he woke up and came down the hall and saw it, you would have thought it was Christmas morning. he spends a LOT of time at the choo-choo table.

Wy has also discovered forts or "tents" as we call them and asks me to set him one up almost everyday.

Baby Girl Update

2011-09-20T11:56:00.000-05:00

I had my 36 week appointment yesterday (a few days early). We had a sonogram and everything looks great - she is heads down, spine out, has a big head and is already estimated to be 6lbs 4 oz (Wyatt was 6 lbs 11oz at birth).

Dr. S checked me, said I was right where I should be for 36 weeks and said he is not really allowed to put me on the calendar for an induction until I am closer to 38 weeks. He was thinking maybe we could go ahead and let her cook until October 19th (a day before my original due date). I told him he was CRAZY - what happened to saying we could have her a week early! I told him I was getting her out the week before that with or without his assistance. I mean she is already just a 1/2 lb away from what Wyatt was at birth and has a big head according to the sonogram. We'll see though.

I also got blood work done again...have been having to do labs every appointment for a while now. My platelets have been a little lower than average and they wanted to watch them. Nothing serious at all. If I remember correctly, average range is 140-190 and I have been consistently around the mid 130s. If it fell below 90 then we would have a problem b/c I couldn't get an epidural.

OH, and the other fun finding of why I think another 4 weeks of being pregnant doesn't sound so fun....I gained another 5.5lbs in 2 weeks - yep. Up a total of 29 lbs now. Yowzers, no wonder it feels like I have to roll myself out of bed to go the bathroom!

35 Weeks

2011-09-15T23:04:00.004-05:00

How far along: 35 Weeks

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com she is about 5lbs or a bit more and about 18 inches long.

Total weight gain: 23 lbs as of last Wednesday (my 34 week appointment). To many this doesn't sound like much....but when you start out at 96 pounds it feels like a TON.

Last Dr's Appt: Last week on Wednesday. We have a sonogram schedule for this coming Monday, Sept. 19th to see that she is truly turned (we think she is but even with Dr. S pushing around on my stomach, he wasn't totally certain). Also going to check her size and then make a decision about an induction date, if we feel it might be good to have it.

How am I feeling: Well, it is kind of funny b/c I got my weekly pregnancy update email this morning and It as talking all about feet and ankles swelling and I thought "glad I don't have to mess with that" then mid-morning I looked down to notice that the bones in my feet had disappeared. This time around I think the heat of the summer and running around after Wyatt is a little rougher on my body. But in general, I am doing al right physically and everyday I feel a little more mentally prepared for her arrival and the thought of having two little ones to care for.

I can't wait for Wyatt to be a big brother. He frequently pats my stomach and says "sister" and likes to lift up my shirt and rub my belly (yes, I know he has no clue there is a baby inside and will probably continue this habit after she is born which I will have to break him of) but we really don't say too much about it or force him to talk about sister, he just does it on his own. He also likes to show people "sister's room" now.

Wyatt is just a super neat little guy (yes, I know I am biased) but he is so kind and I know will be with her when she arrives. I was watching him today, play with his trains (he is obsessed) and our dog, Sully, walked by him and he smiled and said "Hi Sul" and gave him a sweet gentle pat and Sully licked him and laid down right beside him. It made me smile he has such a gentle nature about him. He has had his moments that Sully stayed clear of him (around a year old he liked to ram Sully when riding on his car) but now understands a bit more, I think about how to be kind to people/pets. I know we will probably have to have "gentle hands" talks, but already he gives random hugs and kisses and I feel so blessed that he has such a loving little soul.

Food Cravings: Eating just about everything lately - have had a recent craving for gingerbread cookies. Although as she grows she doesn't leave me a lot of pigging-out room so I am snacking a lot more right now.

Milestones: Sono on Monday will give us a better glimpse into her future delivery (size and position) and this will start me going to the doctor weekly.

What I'm looking forward to: Nana and Grandad (aka: the Amazing Grandparent Duo) came down a couple weekends ago and while JB watched Wyatt, I minimally helped the two of them completely paint the nursery (going from dark blue to baby pink was quite an undertaking). Dad and I also installed a rubbermaid closet system. This weekend, the AGD will come to visit, this time bringing up baby girl's dresser that they refinishing/repaired/totally redid. An antique one I bought from a shop down in Gtown - mom is worried it is not perfect enough, but that is what I love about antiques...I keep telling her it will be great!

I can't say 'Thank You' enough to them and have NO way of ever repaying them for all that they have helped us do (aka: basically everything). If it weren't for my mother being panicked that I was going to bring her granddaughter home to an unfit room, baby girl would be sleeping in the blue man cave with George Brett pics above her crib and her clothes stored in boxes.

SHOUT OUT to JuJu and Doc that bought her a beautiful white girlie crib - she is going to be such a spoiled little thing. I'll post pics of everything soon.

Preparations and decisions being made: Work on the nursery continues on...see above.
Still have not decided on a name...some of the current front runners (but not limited to these): Caroline Jane, Hannah Jane and Callie Jane. Feel free to leave opinions or comments - they will be taken under some sort of consideration :) I say that with a smile b/c we had polls setup for Wyatt name (but not with Wyatt on them) but his name just came to us suddenly and it felt so right that we decided on it immediately. We are unfortunately not having those epiphanies this go-round.

Took Maternity pics with the neatest and most talented gal tonight - Adrien P. Maroney.

Here is a sneak peak of one of the sweet more artsy ones she took. I love it. :

http://www.apmdesignphotography.com/ Adrien is Awesome!!!

Pinterest Project # 1 : Homemade Hand Scrub

2011-09-12T13:42:00.002-05:00

DANG YOU PINTEREST! As if I don't have enough projects on my to-do list already, now you have added a zillion more!

Pinterest Project #1: Homemade Hand Scrub

I admit I never wear rubber gloves when doing the dishes or cleaning the bathrooms. I bite my nails (which makes my cuticles also nasty) and my hands look like "workin' man hands". They are dried out and rough. Here's the solution!

I used THIS recipe - sort of. Just kind of winged it and did equal parts brown and regular sugar and some EVOO and a few teaspoons of vanilla for scent. I have just used it and my hands feel incredible (followed it up with just some run-of-the-mill lotion)! I can't wait to try different variations and find other scents to add to it (thinking holiday scents to be given as gifts and also maybe some sort of mint for a foot scrub??!?!).

**The only thing I would change is use mineral oil instead of EVOO...my hands smell a little "italian kitchen" even with the vanilla added.

Thanks Pinterest! This is definitely not my first project inspired by you!

If you want to check out other things I like, click HERE or to the right!

33 Weeks

2011-09-01T07:10:00.001-05:00

How far along: 33 Weeks.....49 days until my due date. And that is if we wait until her due date to meet her!

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com she is about 4 lbs and 17 inches long. Starting to sound like a baby, huh?? Scary.

Total weight gain: 20.5 lbs - as of my 32 week appointment. I had a 5 lb weight gain the prior appt, so my small 1/2 lb gain for these two weeks, evens me out a bit and puts me back in-line to gain what I did with Wyatt......although, I really feel whalish this time around.

Last Dr's Appt: Last week - According to my doctor, she/I am measuring "right on", which with Wyatt I was always a bit behind, so we are thinking this little girl might not be as small as her brother. My great doc said he was definitely okay with inducing me at 39 weeks (same as Wyatt). YES, PLEASE! I am a planner after all! I love to be able to know when my parents need to come up and especially want to be able to coordinate who will be watching Wyatt (leaving him is a big anxiety for me right now...not that I don't know he will be well-cared for by whichever family member ends up watching him, but just that I am about to really alter his world).

Maternity clothes: Stupid question. Note the "whalish" comment above.

How am I feeling: Unprepared nursery-wise, but ready not to be pregnant anymore and excited to meet baby girl. I feel slow and my back hurts a lot. I feel like I complain a lot to my poor husband this time around and have to have "pep talks" with myself. BUT, I feel happy that I still have a little more "just Mommy and Wyatt time" left.

Food Cravings: As with my Wyatt-pregnancy, I love nasty fast food and desserts. I have been eating chocolate and candy bars - very unlike my normal self.

Milestones: Now I am going to the doctor every 2 weeks and pretty soon (at 36 weeks) will start going EVERY week. Although I am not "full term" the farther I get along the more reassuring it is, that if something happens early, she would be okay. Also the more real this whole "I am about to be a mom of 2 KIDS!" thing gets. It is so crazy and I don't know that it has really sunk in yet.

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the nursery started and finished hopefully in the next few weeks. Next week at my doctor's appt, we are going to look at the on-call schedule and set a possible induction date. I am anxious for my 36/37 week sono to confirm she has "flipped" - the constant feet in the ribs and what I think is her hard little bottom at my belly button makes me THINK she is heads down already, but I am hoping to get that confirmed.

Preparations and decisions being made: Bought a crib (is in the nursery and assembled). Bought (online) bedding that is in route. Have a plan for the nursery. Still have no name (yeah yeah, we need to get going on this). JB is still voting "Annie" and I like it, but it doesn't call to me - but then again, nothing does. Also, we know of two little ones born in the last few weeks that have been named some form of Anne or Anna and one of them is going by Annie. So it is kind of weird to think of naming her something that we already know is "out there" a lot amongst our circle of peers and friends.

Not the best pic, but at least you can see how big baby girl is getting! Yowzers!

King Ranch Casserole

2011-08-22T09:33:00.000-05:00

Here is a favorite at our house. I made it a few weeks ago and it is on the menu again this week (although not to be made but to be defrosted - gotta love pre-frozen meals)! Once cooked later this week - I'll add a picture.

King Ranch Casserole

Ingredients:

1 traditional rotisserie chicken cut/picked into pieces.(this is SO much easier than cooking the chicken)
1 small/medium onion chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of rotel (I use mild b/c I am a weenie or if I don’t have rotel, I have also used diced tomatoes).
1 can chicken broth
2 cups (whole bag) grated cheese (I use whatever I have on hand – cheddar, monterrey jack, etc).
1 dozen corn tortillas
*1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
*1 can of corn (drained)

*This recipe was originally from my mom and I add the black beans and corn or sometimes don’t add them and just serve Southwestern Corn (has black beans in it) as a side dish depending upon who is coming to dinner and if they are picky.

Directions:
I usually make the whole recipe, but have a foil pan w/ lid 9x9 that I fix and freeze and then make the other 9x9 to cook that night. Otherwise, use a 9x13 casserole dish. It is really easy to freeze and use later though.

1. In a LARGE saucepan/pot, sauté chopped onion in a bit of EVOO.

2. Once onion is tender, add all the soups, rotel and chicken broth. Turn up the heat a bit.

3. Once warmed and mixed well, add the beans, corn, chicken and cheese.

4. Cook, stirring occasionally as it thickens and all the cheese melts. I usually let it simmer for a good 20-30 minutes on the stove.

5. While it cooks, I cut up my corn tortillas – I just usually halve or quarter them.

6. Layer tortillas, sauce, tortillas and sauce. It is fairly soupy so no worries about that – the tortillas will soak that up as it cooks.

7. Bake at 350 for about 40-45 minutes – until bubbling and looks “done” on top

8. Enjoy!

Tubbing It

2011-08-17T07:55:00.000-05:00

Wyatt loves any tub or basket he can climb into. He is especially fond of his train tub (seen below) and my yellow laundry basket. He likes to climb in and just hang out. So silly!

He looks like such a toddler to me in this picture, instead of a baby. Even his little short stubby legs look long :(

Chocolate Pie

2011-08-15T07:00:00.004-05:00

As my friends and family know, I am not a big sweets eater. My favorite food is actually pickles! BUT, when I am pregnant, I love me some chocolate. So I have to make a chocolate pie pretty often and it is a great dessert to take to a small dinner with family.

The other day I made Spinach Quiche for dinner and JB happily reminded me that frozen pie crusts (Mrs. Smiths are just as good as my homemade) come in pairs so I should have an extra one for chocolate pie, RIGHT!?!? Also the ingredients are so simple that I always have them on hand.

I ended up making two to take to the in-laws for family dinner. Here's the recipe - if you have ever made custard, it is a similar routine and if you haven't, then master this chocolate pie and then you can more easily make custard!

Chocolate Pie
As you'll see in the comments my mom reminded me to give credit to whose recipe it is (although I had no clue until she told me). It came from my Great-Grandma Pauly who was an amazing woman and fabulous baker. There are a few other recipes of hers I will have to include one day when I make them - especially her Pecan Sandie Cookies. What is so ironic is that I never remember her making this [ie but I do remember helping her make and eat her homemade pickles - she knew just what her great - granddaughter liked I guess so that is what I always got "pickle time".

Ingredients:

1 Frozen Pie Crust (I like Mrs. Smith's deep dish)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks (beaten)
2 rounded tablespoons of cocoa powder
3 rounded tablespoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
1. Bake pie crust according to directions on box/container. Make sure the crust has time to cool sufficiently before you start your chocolate filling.

2. In a small saucepan (I think I use a 3 quart one b/c I sometimes double the recipe), pour about 1 1/2 of the 2 cups of milk and the 1 cup of sugar together. Heat on low until warm to the touch. Wisking occasionally to mix everything together.

3. Beside you on the stovetop, have your vanilla and a teaspoon waiting. I also cut the tablespoon of butter off the stick butter but just leave it in the fridge b/c it is near my stovetop.

4. In a small mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients of corn starch and cocoa powder - I usually mix them with a folk. Create a small well in the middle and pour the remaining 1/2 cup or so of milk. Make a well mixed paste.

5. In a small bowl beat the eggs yolks.

6. Once the milk/sugar mixture is warm, add the other two bowls (cocoa paste & eggs) and turn up the heat a bit (about 3/4 of the way to High on my stovetop but everyone's is different).

7. Now comes the waiting and wisking....continually wisking as the mixture heats up. Sometimes if I become impatient, I turn the heat up a little higher, but you have to be careful not to burn the bottom of it. It will become "frothy" on top and seem like it is never going to do anything, but eventually (and you might have to turn up the heat on your stove as well, just do it gradually) it will start to bubble and thicken.

8. NOW, FAST! Turn off the heat on the burner but keep quickly wisking so it doesn't burn and add the butter and teaspoon (I use a bit more) of vanilla and mix. It will start to look like pudding.

9. Once you are sure the butter is melted, pour into your cooked and cooled pie crust
and leave on the stove to sit until room temp or at least not hot. Once cooled enough, put saran wrap over the pie - I press it gently onto the chocolate (it won't stick). Now into the fridge. It probably takes a couple hours for it to get to good cool, eating temp and where it is "set".

10. For a real treat, try making some homemade whip cream to top it (with a hand mixer, beat powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream). Cool Whip also works great. Enjoy!

YUM!

A happy boy who got to lick the spatula!!

Nursery Progress & Teething

2011-08-14T18:58:00.001-05:00

This weekend we made A LOT of progress cleaning out the nursery - see the 30 Week pregger post a few days ago versus today after just a few hours this weekend! Thanks to JB's bro, Taylor, who came over to help JB move the desk and filing cabinet out to our garage.

PROGRESS!

Unfortunately, Wyat has been teething the last week or so. Poor kid spikes a fever, drools like crazy and doesn't want to eat. He had 4 molars pop up in a couple weeks that we barely even noticed were coming in, but his 3rd and 4th bottom front teeth are giving the poor guy heck.

So, what do you do when you feel like crud, you're feverish and your mouth hurts....snuggle with Dad on the couch and look at animal pictures on the iPad.

Super Wyatt

2011-08-13T11:16:00.001-05:00

Wyatt's new obsession...having his favorite blankie (Thanks Aunt Christal) tied around his shoulders like a cape. I don't think he has any clue what a cape even is, but JB mentioned that he does watch Super Wy sometimes on PBS and maybe he saw it on there.

He loves it and demands I tie it back on when it falls off. I took the pics with my phone, so they aren't the best.

Excuse the lack of pants...unless we are leaving the house, we consider them optional. Shirts are many times optional as well :)

30 Weeks Preggers

2011-08-11T20:16:00.001-05:00

How far along: 30 Weeks.....70 days until my due date. That sounds so soon!

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com she is about 3 lbs and about 16 inches long. And I believe it. A few weeks ago I was SO uncomfortable and I just think my body wasn't adapting to her growth spurt but overnight it has felt like she has moved out from under my ribs a bit and that is nice. Being able to take a deep breath is such a treat.

Total weight gain: 20 lbs - If you look back at 28 weeks, you will see that I gained 5 LBS IN 2 WEEKS. HAHA. The nurse had me weigh twice b/c she thought the scale was doing something weird. From now until I delivery, I should average about a pound a week, so that is 30 lbs total gain - YOWZER. I only gained 25 with Wyatt.

Last Dr's Appt: Today - I go every two weeks now. Wyatt went with me as it was easier than asking for someone to watch him and he was super good - plus the appts are fast....weight, blood pressure, heartbeat on the doppler, and measuring the belly and then we are done. I also figure I better be able to handle one kid for an hour at the dr's office as I am about to have 2 to learn how to take places.

Maternity clothes: Yep, mostly. My running shorts and tees are still my standard uniform and I broke down and bought a couple more maternity shorts...man they make your butt look wide and flat (I like to think it is the clothing's fault not really what my rear now looks like).

How am I feeling: A TON better than the last couple weeks. As I said before, I can breath now, have some more energy and now that the remodel is basically over (other than waiting on a few custom items to be installed) I have a much lower stress level.

Mood Swings and Food Cravings: I am in great spirits now that my house is fully mine again and just need to get my rear in gear to get a nursery together. Food cravings....did you not see that I gained 5lbs in 2 weeks ?? I am eating everything.

Milestones: Keeping my sanity (somewhat) thru the remodel.

What I'm looking forward to: I have a cleaning crew coming to my house tomorrow to get rid of all the remodel dust/gunk and just give the house a good once-over. This is the first time anyone but myself has cleaned the house and I am super excited about it. JB and I have discussed it and if I am pleased with their work, I might get them to come back a few times in November/December just to take the responsibility of the housework off my plate while I learn to balance Wy and Baby Girl.

Preparations and decisions being made: Same as the last time....Still no name and below is my picture confessional of what the nursery looks like right now. I was hesitant to even disclose the state of it (I promise it is not reflective of what any other room in the house looks like and is SO unlike me but it has become the dump room for items that have no "home").

I should note that the cleaning crew will not be allowed to see this room and also some items will be going back into the two newly remodeled bathrooms once they are cleaned tomorrow....but that only accounts for some of the stuff :(

I think being open and honest will bring me a little bit more motivation (and probably give my poor Mom a heartattack). Sorry Mom - don't drive up here the minute you see this - I promise we will get it cleaned out and you can help make it pretty with me soon! To remind everyone who was not around, I am a very organized person but need a swift kick in the butt to make decisions on decor and actually get things hung on the walls - last time my mom provided that for Wyatt's room. What would I do without Nana the Amazing?!!?

If you are good at the grocery store....

2011-08-08T15:57:00.000-05:00

.....your Mommy will sometimes run thru Einsten Bros and get you mini chocolate chip cookies for you to eat when you get home.

And they are......

YUUUUUU

MMMMMMMM

MMMMMMMYYYYY!

2011-08-05T06:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I am a little bit behind the curve on this....I know a lot of my friends have already signed up for pinterest.com but I got on it yesterday and now I am OBSESSED.

I was thinking about how useful it was going to be in getting all my random ideas to one place about finishing up the decor in my house, but my friend, Courtney, was telling me she uses it for saving recipes she wants to try to one place, so now I am going to use it for that too.

It is amazing and fun - get your own account and click on the link at the top of my index column to be my friend/follower!

Wyatt's First Mega Bloks Tower

2011-08-04T09:40:00.000-05:00

We bought Wyatt some mega bloks a while back, but then started the remodel and they were never opened. I brought them out for him today to play with, while I continue organizing and moving us into the new office space (nothing like whipping out a new toy when you need to get something done). Also a shout out to Mega Bloks for a great product!!

I sat down with him for the first few minutes to show him how to push them down on one another. As you can see, he got lazy (or perhaps he was trying to be artistic) at the end having them loose and leaning.

Because I am the Mommy, I was pretty impressed with how organized and structural it is. We are thinking Wyatt is going to be an engineer with how he is always trying to figure out how things work and is never satisfied if things are situated just right.

Note, the flash didn't go off but I couldn't get another pic b/c Wy now "understands" the camera. He will say CHEESE for a second but then runs to you b/c he wants to see the picture you took.

Suzy Homemaker

2011-08-04T08:03:00.000-05:00

I am by no means the most organized or put-together person. But I am a huge advocate for efficiency. I would strive to find ways to be efficient in my old career in the business world and now in my job of running my household and raising babies, I strive to have that same constant movement toward efficiency.

I have learned some "tricks" to making my week go smoother and at the same time being able to take care of my family with greater ease and more joy. So, I am starting a new "label line" of posts that will be classified as Suzy Homemaker (I wanted a more creative tag like mom-ficiency but I'll just continue to work on that).

I hope someone can use these tips to help them simplify their life and have a more efficient household, whatever that dynamic might be...babies, hubby or just you and your pet fish. I also hope my readers will send me tips to help me be more efficient and I can pass them on!

I am always looking for anything that saves me time, hassle and money, while better caring for my family and household! I especially need more tips now that Baby Girl will be arriving in just 2 1/2 months!

My first Suzy Homemaker post was earlier this week with Shot of Vinegar, look for many more to come!!

Oh, and no worries--there will be no How-To's on extreme couponing....I am not THAT efficient. :)

A Shot of Vinegar

2011-08-02T07:32:00.003-05:00

Do you have nasty residue on the inside of your dishwasher? Do you have nasty residue on your glasses?

I HAVE THE SOLUTION - A SHOT OF VINEGAR!

I have a stainless steel dishwasher and the inside really shows that nasty white residue. I tried changing detergents and using different rinse agents but nothing was helping. I had read you can pour a bunch of vinegar in the bottom and run an empty load and that helps, but then my sister, Tracy, told me she puts a shot glass full of vinegar in her utensil basket when she runs her dishwasher and that takes out the residue in the dishwasher and on your dishes.

So I tried it. It doesn't get rid of all the residue in the dishwasher immediately (because mine was pretty nasty), but after about 5 times of doing it - NO RESIDUE! And my glasses look clearer than ever!

I always have vinegar on hand, if you don't, start keeping it around. It has many uses - I'll blog about more later!

I used White Distilled Vinegar.

It doesn't smell up your dishes (something I wondered when I first did it)! I wish I would have taken before and after pics.

Captain America Cleaning Company

2011-07-28T12:04:00.000-05:00

We use minimal and gentle cleaning products (only baby wet wipes) and we will leave no area untouched!

We do toys!

We do furniture!

We do under cabinets...

...and inside cabinets!

We even will throw in pet cleaning for a small extra fee!

Best of all we do it all with a smile!

(Note: I did not prompt ANY of this...didn't even give him the wet wipe. He went and got one himself when he saw me cleaning. He is definitely my child! And I am SO PROUD! His wife will thank me one day.)

28 Weeks with Baby Girl

2011-07-28T07:00:00.001-05:00

How far along: 28 Weeks

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com she is 2 1/4 lbs and about 15 inches long.

Total weight gain: 15 lbs (as of my appt on Tuesday) - I think this little girl is going to be bigger than Wyatt - she already seems squished to me and kills me with kicks to the rib at the same time she gives my bladder a left hook.

Last Dr's Appt: Tuesday. Now I start going every 2 weeks!

Maternity clothes: Yep, mostly. My running shorts and tees are still my standard uniform, although some days even the elastic waistbands feel a bit too confining.

How am I feeling: Eh..it has been another rough week. I have been having a lot of steady Braxton Hicks contractions, back aches and upper abdominal pain. However, the doc gave me a thorough once-over and ruled that it is just my children giving me hell - toting around Wyatt is to thank for the BH and Baby Girl is just growing quickly and running out of room so she is crowding my abdomen. I am just trying hard to rest when I can, not carry Wyatt as much and make sure to stay well hydrated. Staying hydrated is another issue though, as I literally go the bathroom every 30 minutes. Wyatt has seen the inside of TONS of public restrooms lately.

Mood Swings and Food Cravings: I am ready for remodel to be over (hopefully finished up this week) so I can get started on the baby's room. It is insane that I am already in my last trimester and not at all prepared-although I must admit that quite a few on-sale girlie clothes have been purchased - more on that later :).

Milestones: Is surviving a 100 degree July while going thru a remodel and having to find activities for an 18 month old to do out of the house and being pregnant, count?

What I'm looking forward to: Remodel being done, so I can start on Baby Girl's room. JB and I cancelled our NY trip after all the discomfort I have been having and realizing the travel would be hard on me. But my parents are still coming up in a couple weeks so we can at least get away for an evening to Dallas for dinner at our favorite seafood place. Also, I have decided to hire a cleaning team to come clean all the dust/remodel muck out of my house and can't wait to have a super clean abode. I normally would do this myself but the time and energy is just not there right now.

Preparations and decisions being made: Still no name. JB's vote is still for Annie, but I am just trying to get the remodel finished and then my focus can shift to the baby.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2011-07-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

All I can say is READ IT! The movie is coming out in August, so get on the ball. It took me a while to read it but not because it didn't keep my attention - pregnancy fatigue was super strong.

I really enjoyed it!

Lucky Number 7

2011-07-19T07:00:00.005-05:00

This weekend, JB and I celebrated 7 years of marriage. I feel so lucky to be married to JB - although there are days that I want to strangle him ;) He is my best friend, my favorite person to spend time with and an amazing Daddy to Wyatt.

We had a great weekend!

Saturday we got to spend the morning with family, celebrating our niece, Tessa's, 3rd birthday. After Wyatt went to bed on Saturday night, we went to see Harry Potter 7 (Part II). JB's sister and her boyfriend (thanks Christal & Scott) stayed at our house and Wyatt didn't make a peep, so they got to have a quiet non-kid evening as well.

Sunday we took Wyatt to the zoo, he took a long nap, so we got to both snooze a bit while we watched the USA/Japan soccer game, visited with JuJu and Doc and Great Grandma Margaret (who was over from Dallas) and then we went to Freebirds for our Anniversary dinner (with Wyatt in tow of course - he LOVES freebirds).

It was a great way to spend our anniversary and definitely reminded us how lucky we are....to have each other, to have a beautiful healthy boy, to have another healthy baby on the way, to be surrounded by family that love us and are so grateful to share in our lives, to live in a great town full of fun things to do, to have a comfy home to nap at on a Saturday afternoon and a reminder of where we met and fell in love (no we didn't meet at Freebirds, but College Station - where the original Freebirds is).

And no...we didn't get a pic together, but that's okay....

Happy 3rd Birthday, Tessa Rose!

I love to watch my boys enjoy the zoo together!

This is what they were smiling at, the new Nubian Ibex's (aka: mountain goats). They are babies and so cute and Wyatt thought it was funny they were jumping around on the rocks.

Poking the elephant statue in the eye. He does the same thing to Sully unfortunately. There were very few people at the zoo yesterday, so we were able to let Wyatt out of his stroller and work with him about walking (holding our hand) with us.

Took Wyatt into the parakeet/bird cage for the first time. He LOVED it. Usually I am by myself, so I don't want to leave my stroller and stuff outside unattended.

He would reach out his hand and say "bird bird" trying to get them to land on him - so cute.

I am sure he is giving a big nod of approval to something Margaret is telling him - she tells him "You are just wonderful!" a lot so that is probably what he is agreeing with :)

Forest Park Train

2011-07-18T12:30:00.000-05:00

We took Wyatt a couple weekends ago to ride the Forest Park Train (yeah yeah, I am a bit late on this post). It was fantastic. It was $10 for all three of us to ride - such a deal when compared to other train rides, as this one goes over the river and thru fun scenic stuff and lasts about 45 minutes!

Wyatt loved it. He is quite obsessed with choo-choos and cars and airplanes lately. When we got to the Trinity Park Station and took a break to let other passengers on/off. JB let him get off and run around and he wanted to play rather than get back on the train. He sat in my lap and pouted for the next few minutes but finally got over it.

We tried to get him to sit in our laps so he could see better, but he wanted to sit on the bench like a big boy.

It was very bright and sunny!

The Men of my Dreams

2011-07-13T04:25:00.001-05:00

Or rather....the men who prevent my dreams.

My night/morning...
2AM "MAAAAMMAAAA!" I am awoken suddenly by cries from Wyatt. I must admit although immediately startled awake, I listened for about 45 seconds before I actually throw the covers off myself and head down the hall (hoping he'll go back to sleep). It was some sort of obvious nightmare about what I presume was a nasty rabid dog, as when I entered his room he was clinging to his puffin bird stuffed animal for dear life and frantically trying to throw his beloved puppy stuffed animal and puppy lovey blanket out of his bed. He then proceeded to refuse to lay down on me in his rocker, trying to remain sitting completely upright and fighting to not go back to sleep. He finally succumbed to fatigue in about 20 minutes of rocking and I put him back to bed.

Ahh, sweet slumber, here I come again....

2:45 AM "SNOOOREEE. Snort. SNOOOREEE." Really? Sully's bedroom (aka the utility room) is under remodel, getting a new tile floor, so he is sleeping in our bedroom tonight and you would think my 20 lb dachshund was a 200 lb great dane with a severe sinus infection by the way he breaths all swirled up under his blankets. I turn up the monitor hoping Wyatt's sound machine noise will drown him out.

Ahh, I am sleeping finally, dreaming of beautiful nursery decor for baby girl's room (it is completely occupying my thoughts right now as I bought her an antique dresser yesterday and am so excited to begin redoing it).

3:15 AM "AH! AH! GET AWAY!!" JB jumps out of bed, turning on his bedside lamp and waving at the air as though he is being attacked by a swarm of angry African bees. Good Lord, do these people have it out for me??

"Remember that crazy black bug thing that was in our house a few weeks ago?"

"Yes. I killed it a few weeks ago."

"I think it is back. I just heard it buzz by my head!" {JB has turned on every light in the bathroom and bedroom now and Sully has started his grumbling ascent out from underneath his covers to see what the commotion is about.}

"Don't think bugs can come back to life." {Would have had a wittier comeback about bug zombies had it not been so early in the morning.}

"It is here somewhere I just heard a buzz by my head." {JB now with a rolled up magazine swatting randomly at the air and for some reason tapping our headboard as though he is sending a morse code of "I'm going to get you, sucker!" to the bug.}

"Just fan the air or something." {Me trying to get him to stop tapping on the headboard as I put my pillow over my head both to block out the light and if there is a nasty bug flying around, I don't want to encounter it.}

"Fan! Good idea!" {JB turns on our bedroom fan full blast - not at all what my suggestion was.}

"Sully was snoring, maybe you heard that or are dreaming. Shut off the lights and come back to bed."

"Okay. I'll find it in the morning, but I know it is here."

"WHINE. WHIMPER." {Sully is at the bedroom door thinking it must be morning and time for breakfast.}

"GO BACK TO BED SULLY!" {With a defeated look, he obediently returns to his blankets. Such a good puppy even though I threaten to kill him at least once a day when he barks during Wyatt's nap.}

3:20AM "SNOOOREEE. Snort. SNOOOREEE." Oh Good Gosh, Sully!! I'll just get up and blog about you people.

In my next house I am doing the Lucy & Ricky, with possibly even separate bedrooms, not just the twin beds!

Nice to meet you. My name is Drab.

2011-07-12T06:43:00.000-05:00

Okay, so my friend Dawn turned me to The Southern Eclectic Blog and I suppose I should tell her "thank you" since now I stalk Sheridan French. But instead, I should also say DARN YOU, because the blog makes me feel like a drab frumpy person who has no style and is a total decorating loser. I mean this gal even has a post about "what she wore" and in one has on red lipstick - she is so out of my league. It will be a long time before I could even talk myself into attempting that and when I do, then I'll just be the old crazy lady with the red lipstick that is mostly on her teeth.

We moved into our house in August of 2006. I still have barely anything on the walls. Only a couple of rooms have window treatments and other than Wyatt's room, no other room in the house has any sort of design theme or is close to looking finished. Not to mention, the items that are in all my rooms are DRAB. I used to say we were just people who liked "earth tones" but who am I kidding. My taste is boring and safe.

I whole-heartedly want to be a woman of style who can boldly accessorize not only herself but her home with oranges and hot pinks and turquoises. But alas, I am not confident enough nor that creative. But am pushing myself to start with baby steps. The good thing about having everything so "neutral" is that I can start with purposeful little pops of color and see how I feel about them.

Be honest, Friends. Do you really think being hip and stylish can be acquired or are you just born with it?

Here are my first itsy bitsy baby steps towards non-drabness.

These are some organization boxes for the new built-ins that will be in the front office/den. I must admit that as soon as I got them home, I thought "damn, these are bright. maybe I should just go back and get the brown ones" but I am going to resist that tendency and use them. They were on sale even, at the Container Store!

This is the material I have purchased to make curtains for my dining room. I think it is the perfect touch of color and has both a bit of traditional and modern. Now if I can just get my rear in gear and find someone to make them for me.

This is my attempt to accessorize myself. When I run to the store solo, I always take my trusty brown clutch. This one is fun, summery, larger (so I can put my keys in it and not have to carry them separately) and was made completely out of recycled material (you're welcome, Earth). It was also on sale for $9.99 at Container Store.

You'll also notice I updated my blog background to be a bit bolder!

Abandon Ship!

2011-07-11T12:16:00.000-05:00

Well, I think it has happened. We have finally hit the point that sometimes there is nothing you can do but abandon ship when Wyatt starts to have a meltdown.

Saturday (after Wyatt and I had been in the car for many hours coming back from my parents) we decided since there wasn't much in the house to eat, we'd go out. Not a good idea. It took a while to get seated and then once we got our tablemhe was just done. JB took him to the car and I asked to get our order to go - FIRST time EVER we have had to do that. Wyatt fell asleep in the car on the quick trip home (it was only around 6:30, well before his bedtime).

Today we made a quick trip to the Container Store for some items - only errand we were running. I didn't peruse the store - just got in, got what I wanted (note, I am not silly enough to say "needed" b/c I don't think that store has anything anyone needs, but love it anyways) and headed to the checkout. Their systems were down, OF COURSE, and they were filling out manual sales slips. Wyatt started to melt faster than a popsicle outside on a day like today....I took him out of the cart but that didn't help much b/c then he just wanted down. Had I not been so far into the checkout process and had a super fast cashier, I would have just abandoned ship.

Wyatt has always been a good "out and about kid" but I know they all go through these phases, so I guess this starts ours where public outings are a volatile situation.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-10T06:04:00.000-05:00

Since I am so late on this post, I won't go into detail, just post a lot of pictures. JB had been working a ton lately (including weekends) and he took all 3 days off. We enjoyed a lot of relaxing and family time. Here are the pics!

Wy got a new sprinkler to play in!

Sully was excited about the sprinkler too - here he is finally spotting it!

Our neighborhood had a 4th of July parade and had a petting zoo for the kids. Wyatt LOVED it and wasn't scared a bit of any of the animals. One of his favorite animals is the turtle so that is the first thing he went for.

So many cute little things to pet. Isn't this mini brahma cow the cutest?!?!

We never get family pics, so even though Wy was giving the toad face - we'll take it!

Eating a picnic dinner at Colonial's 4th Festivities

Wyatt loves watermelon!

Wyatt, of course, just wanted to run everywhere and Uncle Taylor took a shift of chasing after him.

RUNNING!

Mommy had the easier job of just feeding him when he needed a running break. Look at those red cheeks! It was HOT!

Daddy and Wyatt

We decided to head out before the fireworks. We were exhausted from chasing after Wy and the fireworks weren't going to start for another hour. Maybe next year we'll make it to the end! (another toad face brought to you courtesy of Wyatt - my child really does smile quite often, just not for the camera).

Wyatt - 18 Months

2011-07-10T05:36:00.004-05:00

WARNING - LONG POST. I haven't updated about Wyatt in a while and wanted to do a snapshot of all that is going on with him right now.

Wyatt had his 18 month checkup last week (a week late). Here are our little monkey's stats:

Height: 31.75 inches (they make him lay down until he is 2, so I don't think it is very accurate).
Weight: 24 lbs 12.5oz
Head: 48.5 cm

He is around the 30th percentile for height/weight and the 70th for head.

Wy has quite a few words although many just Mommy understands (even Daddy has to ask for translation sometimes). He also has many gestures that mean things (such as "mambo" and a hand pointed to the sky means he wants to go outside). He makes a lot of animal noises instead of saying their true names - we are working on that, but when you ask him to say lion, he just roars at you. If you ask him the color of anything, it is "Boo (blue)" and if you ask him how old he is or how many things there are, it is "Two". He'll repeat some other numbers and colors, but does not accurately identify yet and those are his go-to's.

Just to document a few he says regularly.....he "says"......Momma, Dada, JuJu, Goc (Doc), Guncle (Uncle Taylor), Nana, Gandad (Grandad), Su (Sully), Nanda (slightly different from Nana for Aunt Amanda), Mimi (when naming both his great grandma and asked about a pic of himself), Kitty, Duck, Goose, ChooChoo, Car, Guck (truck), Poop, TeeTee, Bye Bye, Hi, Cracker, Cookie, Cheese, Apple, Pippo (hippo), turtle, bird, Fi (fish and he does the sign language motion for it), Wower (flower), Bath, Yadder (slide - we always tell him to go to the ladder to climb up the right way), YegYeg (Eggs or Glasses), BobBob (SpongeBob), Chair, Baboon (balloon), Shoes, More, Pssst (Please - it is a strange sound but we know that is what it means), Wall, Keys, Doodle (for his magnadoodle) Milk, Juice, WaWa (water), Nana (Banana), Bread, BaBa (baby bottle), Night Night, Stairs, Ball, Bayball (baseball), Tees (trees), Leaves, Dirt, Walk, Park, Kids, People, Man, Yeah (trying to change it to "yes" for politeness sake), Pi-woah (pillow), Boo (blue), Two, Bee (any bug)......he will repeat a lot of words you say as well, but not use them on his own....I am sure I am leaving out a ton.

And if you don't think he is paying attention all the time, you are wrong - especially now that he is forward facing in the car. If we drive anywhere on University he starts shouting out animal noises thinking we are headed to the zoo. If we drive anywhere on Hulen, he starts yelling about JuJu's house (JB's parents).

He is a super focused kid when it comes to trying to get a toy to do something. Favorite thing lately - latches and buckles. He always wants to mess with the buckle in the grocery store cart and will spend a long time standing in front of his high chair playing with the straps. You would think it would frustrate him that he can't do it, but he just keeps working at it.

Cars, trains and animal toys now all 'drive' or 'walk' to their destinations. He makes them go up walls, across people's laps, etc. Nothing can get from point A to point B by simply putting it there - it has to 'travel'. He still loves the ride-on car my parents got him for Christmas and this is his mode of transportation around the house. When you tell him to head back to his room for a diaper change - he hops on his car and rides it to the doorway, parks it and goes in his room, then rides it back into the living room. His legs are getting too long for it, as when he goes super fast, his feet look like flippers on a swimmer b/c he pumps, pumps, then coasts with them pulled up behind him. It is super funny. We tried to switch him to a rocket that JB's parents bought him, but it doesn't go as fast, so he usually sticks with his car.

Other favorite toys are his new train system, magnadoodle (likes to order you what to draw), puzzles and books. He LOVES to be read to and look at books.

He LOVES to be outside and just wants to be there all day - unfortunately it is just too hot to do that, so we endure what we can of the heat and then I wrestle him inside (usually promising a SpongeBob video - yeah yeah, so I'm not Mom of the Year).

Wyatt is OBSESSED with SpongeBob. He has loved him since he was about 9 months old, but it is ridiculous now. If the TV is on (which I am trying to limit as much as possible but it is hard now with the remodel and trying to keep him occupied in one room), then he is demanding BobBob. Nana got him a DVD of 10 episodes and I fear we are going to have to replace it soon, as it has been watched so much already. He laughs and points and will giggle and shake his head when stuff is going on. It cracks me up. And it isn't the worst thing I could have to watch with him - it is actually fairly entertaining.

We had a few days of interest in the potty, now they are inconsistent - FALSE ALARM ON THE POTTY TRAINING, PEOPLE. So, I just stick him on it before baths and randomly during the day when he asks. Sometimes there is peeing, sometimes not.

We are taking a Little Gym class this summer (read: activity with AIR CONDITIONING!) and Wy really loves it. He has really progressed (although for some reason really fights tucking his head for front rolls). He likes all the other kids, dancing when there is music and climbing on everything. He has become really good at the balance beam and mastering some of the mini-obstacle courses they have setup. He follows directions pretty well there - they are great at keeping the action moving.

Wyatt is just an overall great easy-going kid. He minds as well as any toddler, throws a fit here and there but gets over it fast and is just fun to be with. My pediatrician said again this visit how brave and social Wyatt is - after Wy was going straight up to him to hand him toys and offer him a cracker out our visit. He isn't scared of new people, is a very confident and secure kid (which is sometimes bad b/c it is hard to get him to want to hold my hand and stay with me) but Dr. W says he'll be a good big brother and thinks he'll adjust great when the new baby comes. I think so too.

JB and I really feel blessed to be his parents. Not everyone has such a cute happy kid (or maybe all parents think that). He keeps my days interesting and fun. There is nothing like that random kiss and hug that he gives during the day, that makes my heart melt. Although my job is tough some days, kissing those chubby cheeks all day makes it all worth it.

Favorite Websites for Munchkin Stuff

2011-07-09T07:00:00.001-05:00

When I have a minute to play on the web or when I know of a specific baby/kid item I am looking for, I always check out the following sites:

http://www.albeebaby.com/ - I have purchased SO many of our "gear things" (convertible carseat, double stroller, extra pack-n-play, etc) here. Fabulous sales prices.

http://www.babysteals.com/ & http://www.kidsteals.com/ & http://www.ecobabybuys.com/ & http://www.mamabargains.com/ - daily "specials"

http://www.diapers.com/ - where I get a lot of my diapers and formula. NO shipping and the ease of not having to haul crates of heavy formula home from BRU.

http://www.etsy.com/ - can't go wrong with adorable homemade items for baby and nursery

What are some sites you like to look for kids stuff on?

Vick's Vaporizer Plug-In

2011-07-08T10:10:00.000-05:00

Whoever invented this nifty little plug in, THANK YOU. When Wyatt is snotty and congested and having trouble sleeping, this is the solution.

Wy and I have both been fighting sinus/cold junk. His congestion has gotten a ton better, but I am still fighting mine a bit and lucky for me, my mom has one of these at her house (we are down visiting she and my dad this week), so I have had it plugged into the guest room and it has helped me sleep so much better.

If you have never tried this when your little munchkin has a cold, go out and buy one RIGHT NOW so you have it on hand. You can thank me later :)

24 1/2 Weeks with Baby Girl

2011-07-05T14:30:00.002-05:00

How far along: 24 weeks (and 5 days)

How big is baby: According to babycenter.com she should be a little taller than a foot and weigh around a pound to a pound and a half! Little miss is a super wiggly active little thing. She is constantly doing gymnastics and already likes to shove her older brother (mostly when he is sitting on her).

Total weight gain: 13 lbs (as of my appt last Tuesday) - I think it is close to where I was with Wyatt at this point. With Wyatt I really felt that I packed on the pounds suddenly at the end, but maybe I can do it more steadily with this one (and avoid issues like shin-splints).

Belly button & Stretch Marks: Belly button is flat and no stretch marks. I assume this will remain the same, so will probably drop this category.

Last Dr's Appt: Last Tuesday. I am a boring routine patient. Can't ask for more than that. Next Dr's appt at 28 weeks will be my glucose test (ugh). Normally you do the appt first thing in the morning, but to be able to have JB watch Wyatt while I go, I had to schedule it for 4pm. I'll have to therefore watch what I eat all day long. After that appointment, I start going every 2 weeks - yowzers!

Maternity clothes: Mostly. My running shorts and tees (SAHM uniform) work pretty well, but when I have to look presentable, I do wear things with belly panels and side rouching :)

How am I feeling: Eh..it has been a rough week. We have remodel going on the last couple weeks and the dust and painting and stuff caused me to get sick and I now think I have some sort of sinus infection - pregnancy wise I feel good. I threw up my Freebird's lunch burrito yesterday (sadness, what a waste) but I think that was more due to drainage. JB is kicking us out of the house for the week - Wy and I are headed to my parents. He is working out of the Dallas office still and it will give us a break from the construction zone.

Mood Swings and Food Cravings: My general feeling of being a bit overwhelmed is just due to the remodel and wanting it to be over so I can start getting the house back in order and get a nursery together. I know I was the one that wanted to get this stuff done before Baby Girl arrived, so I just have to deal with it and know how nice it will be when it is finished. On the food cravings front, about the only thing out of the ordinary is the massive amount of Root Beer I like to drink.

Milestones: Hmm..nothing too big I can think of....probably the biggest is that I am finally learning to sleep thru her activity time between 3 and 5am.
What I'm looking forward to: Remodel being done, so I can start on Baby Girl's room. JB and I are taking a trip to the Hudson River Valley in New York to see one of best childhood friends get married. My parents are going to come up and watch Wyatt for the weekend. I am really looking forward to having time with my hubby before life becomes REALLY crazy.

Preparations and decisions being made: No, we have not picked out a name. We would like to use my middle name (Jane) as a middle name, but that is as far as we have gotten. JB picks a name every week or so and 'tries it out'. He has been stuck on "Annie" for the past few weeks. It has grown on me, but I just don't think it is exactly the right name. I always loved "Clara" but now it seems pretty common.

AND NOW DRUMROLL PLEASE........a belly picture! I'll post a better one of me with a bikini on or something later. Yes, I tried the maternity tankini and it is AWFUL with swirling material around you, so I am just going to go back to my regular swimwear and allow friends and family to make fun of me.

Note: This was taken after we had been in the sun all day and at the Colonial Country Club (see the golf course behind me) 4th of July Picnic. If I look nasty and sweaty - it is b/c I was.

POTTY TIME!

2011-07-02T18:56:00.001-05:00

Wyatt has been accompanying me to the bathroom since he became mobile. I have even blogged at times about my desire to go to the bathroom alone but I TAKE IT ALL BACK!! IT WAS WORTH IT!!!

Wyatt was playing in the living room with JB. They had his train set going (one of his favorite things now) and suddenly stood up and said "tee tee". JB didn't even catch it, but luckily even though I was in the kitchen, I did. I asked if he wanted to go tee tee in the potty and he took off to our bathroom at the back of the house (only one working with the remodel going on). We took of his diaper (dry) and HE PEED! J.B. and I whooped, hollered and clapped and he smiled and said "I TEE TEE!"

I don't even have him a little potty yet (definitely need to get him one b/c when he went on the big potty most of it came shooting out at me thru the space between the seat and the bowl). I haven't been pushing it - just explain to him when I go and let him help me flush the potty. I have noticed lately that he is dry when he gets up from nap and a couple of times have sat him on the potty for a minute if he is happy to do it, but nothing has ever happened. Yesterday I stuck him on before his bath (while the water ran, thinking that might help) and then when I put him in the bath he smiled pointed at himself and said "tee tee" and sure enough he was peeing in the bath. So, from that I knew he really understood.

We'll see! Not going to push it too much at this point but are SUPER excited to think about the possibilities of only changing 1 set of diapers when the new baby comes.

Here is our celebratory picture. Had to have a picture from the day, even if it is a bad phone picture :)

Daddy and Mommy are so proud of our little "tee tee-er" :)

Banana Bread

2011-06-30T07:00:00.004-05:00

About every two weeks at the grocery store, they will have the old banana bags on sale for 99 cents. At least at my Albertson's some of the bananas barely have brown spots on their skins. Anyway, I usually snag me a dollar bag and bring it home to make banana bread.

I do a modified recipe from Paula Dean and do mini-loaves instead of one big loaf, so I can give them to family and friends. I usually do a couple of batches (yielding 10 mini loaves) and really enjoy the baking time, plus I usually have everything on hand other than the bananas so I feel like I am making a bunch of dessert/breakfast bread for a dollar!

Here's my recipe if anyone is interested (note, I don't do banana NUT b/c JB doesn't like nuts).

Banana Bread

½ cup Crisco Shortening
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs beaten (if my eggs are small, I add a 3rd egg)
3-4 mashed bananas (I err on the side of too much banana and don’t overmush)
1/3 cup buttermilk*
1 tablespoon vanilla
Approx. 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (I just shake in a good amt)

1. With hand mixer, cream shortening and sugar
2. Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon
3. Add dry ingredients slowly into creamed mixture (I usually just fold it in until it isn’t so “powdery)
4. Add eggs, buttermilk* and vanilla – mix well with hand mixer – it is a very “doughy” consistency
5. Pour into WELL GREASED pan (1 big loaf pan, or I use 5 mini-loaves (the dough should only be about halfway filling the tins, it rises)
6. Bake at 350 degrees for approx 40 minutes (toothpick test – overcooked makes it super dry, so watch it closely).

*I rarely have buttermilk on hand, so if I forget to get it from the grocery store, you can make your own buttermilk. 1/2 cup of whole milk and 1/2 tablespoon of white vinegar. Let it sit for about 15 minutes and then use 1/3 cup for the recipe.

Happy 18 months, Wyatt!

2011-06-29T16:04:00.000-05:00

Dada and I love you, our little dimple-bottomed boy! Can't believe you are already a year and a half old!!

Fun at Nana & Grandad's

2011-06-27T16:49:00.003-05:00

I was waiting to write this post b/c my mom has some cute pics of Wyatt that I wanted to include, but I haven't had time to 'talk her thru' how to email them to me. So, here are the blurry pics I have from my phone.

In an attempt to avoid the remodel mess for a few days, Wyatt and I left last Friday for G'town and ended up staying until Wednesday. JB was on a golf trip with his dad and brother to Oregon (poor guy).

It was a fantastic trip. We loved our time with them and Wyatt was on his best behavior so I am pretty sure they enjoyed their time with us as well.

We had made Grandad homemade pickles for Father's Day, so I had the cooler out to pack them in. Wyatt thought it was super fun to try to sit in.

Don't tell my pediatrician, but we bought Wy a new carseat and he faced forward for the first time ever on this trip. He was SO happy to feel the air conditioning and just kept pointing and shouting CARS CARS!

It is a 2 1/2 hour drive and he did great - he napped some and read books as well.

There was a SpongeBob marathon on that weekend, so Wyatt was thrilled that Nana and Grandad's TV played his favorite cartoon nonstop. Don't ask me why he is obsessed with "Bob Bob" but he has been since he was about 9 months old.

We went to the park to play and check out the ducks. He was NOT afraid of the ducks and chased them everywhere.

Nana got him a train set when I was pregnant and she found out she was finally getting a grandson. It said 3+ years on the box, but as long as we setup the track for him, Wyatt loves to watch it go around and put animals in the train cars.

We rode the train at Lakeline Mall and we also rode the carousel. He had fun, despite the lack of smile.

We had a baby cotton-tail waiting on the porch one morning. We loved on him and fed him for the day and then left him out that night. We like to think he found his mommy.

We went to the Farmer's Market and bought some great coconut cookies (http://www.sweet-texas.com/) and some more pickling cucumbers (I am determined to perfect pickle-making this summer). I am also now determined to figure out the coconut cookie recipe - it has parmesan cheese in it!

And when we got home, we saw we had pocket doors and all sorts of fun new windows (until they put up the sheetrock the next day).

Smoothies!

2011-06-17T12:00:00.001-05:00

My newest love - the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender!! Wyatt has become a lover of smoothies for snacks and I got tired of cleaning the cumbersome blender everytime he just wanted a little smoothie, so I found a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon and sprung for a hand mixer. I normally am not a big appliance person b/c I think most are useless and you have to find a place to store them all, but this little gadget is worth it!

Note: I bought the white one which was only $29.99 at BB&B

The smoothie I make most often is a strawberry banana one - 1/2 cup milk, 4oz strawberry yogurt and 1 sliced up banana. 30 seconds with the smart stick and enjoy!

Wyatt enjoying his smoothie!

Heat

2011-06-15T18:25:00.000-05:00

I hate Texas summers. Especially when I have to drag my poor (still backward carseat riding, so he gets no air) toddler around in it.

106, REALLY? I don't even want to think about what it will be like in August.

Remodel - Day 1

2011-06-14T13:32:00.001-05:00

Well, we have started another remodel project (our prior one being the main body of the house in summer/fall of 2007). This time around we are redoing the guest and kids' bath, as well as having some pocket doors put in the front room and having a wall of built-ins done. Since Baby Girl (we still have no clue on a name) will be taking over our office/junk room, we decided a built-in desk, bookshelves and filing storage added to the front room would be a good idea.

I am really looking forward to the project being completed but always hate the mess - it is going to be especially hard to keep Wyatt away from the chaos and safe from the dangerous tools. BUT it will all be worth it in the end. My contractor, Beth, who did our kitchen/main house remodel 4 years ago is doing this one with us again and she is great as well as all her people with working with our schedule. They are trying to work 4/5 hours a day at our house (which is fine with me as we are waiting on materials and such) and an 8-noonish workday is perfect for Wyatt's nap schedule, and they are always good about completing a set project and leaving our house as clean/safe as possible.

Today was the first day of real remodel and I stupidly forgot to take before pictures - guess I'll just have to show you the "afters", as now both baths have been gutted (except for the toilet in the guest). As a pregnant lady, I pee all the time and having the only functioning toilet be the one in our bathroom at the back of the house was going to be super inconvinient (dragging Wyatt back there with me every time I go b/c you can't trust him not to climb the bookshelves while you are gone). So, per my request they are leaving that toilet in until the last minute.

Wyatt has thoroughly enjoyed the remodel. The contractors have talked to him and even reciprocated the kisses he blew them when they left today - not too many construction guys will do that! And no, I didn't tell him to blow them kisses - he just does it to everyone when they leave. Best thing though - the paper they have taped down to protect the wood floors! It makes a fabulous "wrinkly" sound when you run back and forth on it. :)

They were loading up the old cabinets and fixtures at the end of the workday to take to the Habitat ReStore (I love that my gc, Beth, is all about being earth-friendly), so Wyatt and I took a quick walk to not be underfoot. It was actually not super hot yet even though it was noon and there was a nice breeze. We "parked" at the waterfall and watched some kids fish, while we ate some cheerios and enjoyed some cold juice.

Parked at the waterfall

Beatin' the Heat

2011-06-14T08:16:00.002-05:00

You'll notice a few paint brushes in the pool with him - he loves to paint with water on our patio. Keeps him busy for a good while and not as wet on days when we don't have time to fill up the pool.

2 more?!?!?

2011-06-11T15:41:00.002-05:00

So I was just playing with Wyatt and flipped him upside down - HE HAS 2 MOLARS ON THE TOP!

He is sprouting teeth like crazy - that's 3 molars in one week!! We'll be serving him steaks dinners before long!

You know what assuming does......

2011-06-08T14:57:00.000-05:00

Wyatt has really been a crab this week and a king of the tantrums (assumed it is him really coming into his 'toddlerism').

He hasn't been eating very much lately and has been super picky (see above explanation).

Wyatt has had some nasty poop diapers over the past week (assumed it is all the fruit the kid is constantly demanding).

He has been fighting us brushing his teeth for the last few days (assumed he was going thru an anti-teeth brushing phase and only wants to do it himself).

This morning he had something white in his mouth, towards the back on his left side (assumed it was bananas from breakfast he was saving for later).

After I spotted the "breakfast banana" still in his mouth a few hours later, I pried his mouth open (and yes PRIED is the correct term) and figured out - MY KID GOT A MOLAR! And it is not just poking through but pretty much the whole way out.

He still only has the two front teeth on the bottom, so it is a bit odd he is getting molars, but I guess that means those teeth will show up soon.

Silly Mommy, you know what ASSuming does!

We're halfway there, baby girl!

2011-06-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

How far along: 20 weeks (and 1 day) - we have hit the halfway point!

How big is baby: According to our sonogram on Wednesday she is about 13 ounces. And yes, she is still a she! With Wyatt, he always measured a bit small, so the calculated due date from the sonos would change to about 5/6 days further. But with this little gal, her calculated due date was still right on at Oct. 20th

Total weight gain: 6.5 lbs - I don't have a comparison point for Wyatt at this time. I am shooting to gain 25 lbs, like I did last time, but I bet it might be a little less, only b/c I am chasing Wyatt around in the heat of summer. My doc doesn't worry about it.

Belly button & Stretch Marks: Belly button is kind of flatish, but this time it almost looked that way immediately - like it knows what it is in for. No stretch marks - I didn't really get them last time and don't expect to this time either.

Last Dr's Appt: Wednesday. Everything on the sonogram looked perfect and when my doctor came in to see me he said I was boring, had nothing to talk to me about and would see me in 4 weeks. He said he wished all of his patient were this boring and routine.

Maternity clothes: Not really. It is more because I can't find a decent pair of maternity shorts to fit me, so I have been wearing elastic-waist running shorts and some other stretchy stuff I have. But I do have some maternity shirts, so I have been wearing those a lot b/c they are longer and cover-up the fact I might not have my pants buttoned. All the maternity shorts are SUPER short and wide and I just need to find some to fit me.

How am I feeling: I am starting to feel good. Still have occasional "zophran days" (my anti-nausea medicine) but they are becoming fewer and farther between. I think it just took my body a lot longer to find its stride this time and I am sure chasing after a toddler while trying to get my calorie intake up, wasn't helping things.

Mood Swings and Food Cravings: JB always says pregnancy mellows me out but I think motherhood also did. I am too busy with other things (Wyatt, house remodel, etc) to really let those hormones get to me! I crave fast food and nasty frozen pizzas, just like I did with Wyatt. It is awful, but I give the baby what she wants (chicken nuggets) at least a couple times a week :) I drink a lot of root beer lately.

Milestones: We are to the halfway point and the time has FLOWN by. It is a big milestone for me to start feeling better.

What I'm looking forward to: Unlike Wyatt's pregnancy where I was counting down the days and reading "what to expect" every evening before bedtime, this pregnancy I feel a little guilty that I am ignoring her in a way. But such is the life of a second child :) Instead, I am looking forward to getting stuff done around the house so that we can eventually start on her nursery which I am going to make so girlie it will be gag-worthy. We have decided to get our two extra baths (the kids and the guest) remodeled before she gets here....getting our house about 85% done with only a couple of projects remaining (that we will wait on for a while). Until we have all the remodeling done, I am having to hold tight on doing anything for her room.

Current decisions being made: The top 2 questions we get - "do you know what you are having? girl" "do you know what you are going to name her? no". We are throwing a lot of names around but nothing that really grabs us or sticks just yet...we have a running list.

We did make one decision last weekend - we picked out a double stroller. I had been doing tons of research and asking women I ran into at the zoo and mall. We finally got a chance to go try out the one I had been eyeing and then found it over 30% off on albeebaby.com. We purchased the City Jogger City Mini in a beautiful aggie maroon (just so happened it and the burnt orange were the two colors on sale - which do you think we'd pick?). It does not fit a carrier well, so we'll still probably get something for when the baby is super little, but this one should last us for a while, once little girl is about 5 months old on.

***will post belly pic soon***

What's up, Wyatt?

2011-05-24T12:25:00.001-05:00

Our house is a busy place...especially with Wyatt running around. John Wyatt turns 17 months this coming Saturday and I can't believe how fast the time has gone!

So, what's new??

- Yesterday, Wyatt can running up to me, grabbed his crotch like MJ and announced "POOP"! We are nowhere near to any sort of potty training but we think it is a good sign that he identifies he has a dirty diaper.

- No pacifier. Wy wasn't super addicted to his anyway, but we did want to eliminate them entirely (he had only been taking it when sleeping, since before he turned a year). After doing some "step downs" facilitated by us, he basically just decided he didn't care about them at all.

- Wyatt still RUNS everywhere. The fast way from point A to point B is sprinting and that is what he does.

- Disciplining our little man is becoming a challenge. When we tell Wyatt "no" and remove him from example, the fireplace hearth, he simply laughs and runs right back to it. It does not matter how nasty our tone is or how many times we say "NO" he just doesn't seemed phased by it. Ugh....at least it is better than a tantrum though, right?

- I did not mean to apply in the above statement that we don't have tantrums. We do. The main two reasons are 1)making him come in from outside. 2)trying to get him in his car seat.

- We get new words constantly but they are still not very clear and there is a lot of gibberish gab going on. We know he'll eventually learn to talk so we aren't too worried about it. He does know A color and A number. If you ask him what color something is "boo" (blue) and how many? "two". We can rig it to where he looks super smart though :)

- Wyatt got to meet his cousin, Kurt, for the first time today!! Kurt (and his parents, Kari & Tyler) live in San Francisco. They were on their way to the East coast for a wedding but their flight got caught at DFW. Sad for their travel troubles, but fun for us they got to stay the night in Fort Worth!!

Sorry for the fuzziness - taken with the phone. Wyatt, 17 months. Kurt, 13 months.

Our Sweet Sullybear

2011-05-20T08:06:00.001-05:00

Last week at this time, we were rushing our sweet little pup to the vet. He had woken up the day before super sick and had just gotten worse.

That whole day, it was pretty touch and go. I was so scared as I sat by the phone waiting for updates from the vet. He was severely dehydrated (as he couldn't even hold down water) and was losing a fair amount of blood. He was diagnosed with HGE - a condition that happens in small dog breeds that comes on with no rhyme or reason. It is sudden diarrhea and vomiting and bleeding of their digestive system. He was put on IVs and lots of meds and made a miraculous recovery over the weekend. We were able to bring him home this Monday. We are hopeful we will not have any more HGE episodes.

Today he is begging for some of Wyatt's scrambled eggs and running around the house, trying to avoid the little guy chasing him with his fire truck. Amazing what a week can do!

Sully is our first "baby". We got him a few months after JB and I got married, so he will be 7 years old this summer (no longer a spring chicken). He is such an important part of our family. Wyatt has become very attached to him and was asking about him constantly while he was at the vet.

We love you Sully! Don't know what we would do without all your slobbery kisses!

Mockingjay

2011-05-19T17:11:00.000-05:00

I finished the 3rd Hunger Games book by Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay, a while back but just hadn't had a chance to blog about it. Loved this book, like I loved the others. However, I will say it started out a little slower than I expected.

Now I am just anticipating the release of the movie. A friend sent me a link the other day showing the casting for Hunger Games. Which I thought so far was pretty good.

PINK

2011-05-16T08:21:00.000-05:00

Saturday we found out that Wyatt will be having a LITTLE SISTER.

I have been feeling really anxious about this pregnancy - I have been consistently sick and had a general feeling of being "off". I had the morning sickness with Wyatt but it didn't last this long, nor was it this strong. This pregnancy has just been a ton harder on me and my body. And although I fight it, I have a tendency to be a worrier. SO all these "differences" have kept me constantly anxious that something is wrong with the baby, even though all our tests and every indication points towards me having another healthy pregnancy.

We scheduled our 20 week sono on June 10th when my parents would be able to come up (I would actually be 21 1/2 weeks). My parents had been able to attend the first boy/girl sono and wanted them to be able to make it again. However, as I looked at that date looming out there it seemed so far away.

JB knew my anxiety was growing and we had also had a rough week with our sweet dog, Sully, getting very ill and having to be hospitalized at the vet (future post - he is doing much better). My parents were going to be in town this weekend and JB suggested we go to an elective sono place and find out boy/girl. My biggest hesitation was that my mother-in-law (who had also been able to come to the first one) was out of town but JB said she could come with us to the doctor one and she would understand us going early. SO, off we went!

I had other friends go to elective sono places early and thought "sillies! why would you pay when your doctor gives you a sono just a few weeks later?". Now I understand. For only 80 bucks, I got to see her and watch her move around and wiggle all her fingers. Just seeing that little skeleton put my mind so at ease. Not too mention, I was so excited to find out we are having a GIRL!

I was able to reschedule our 20 week on June 1st (when I will be 20 weeks) and am looking forward to it and having the doctor let me know that she doesn't just look good, but is good and healthy.

And YES, I have already started shopping. Within the day, an order was placed on diapers.com for some cute on-sale girlie outfits :) Hold on to your wallet, JB!

Extreme Couponing

2011-05-09T07:34:00.001-05:00

Wyatt loves going thru the ValPak!

Need to occupy your toddler for about 30 minutes? Give him the ValPak of coupons and let him sort thru them. Wyatt loves it. I pull out all the ones we actually use and he likes to look at the pictures on the rest of them.

One for you, One for me

2011-05-06T07:00:00.004-05:00

Alternate Title: Why the vet is concerned because our dog has steadily been gaining weight since Wyatt started solid foods.

S2 16 Weeks

2011-05-05T13:26:00.000-05:00

How far along: 16 weeks.

Total weight gain: Had my doctor's appointment yesterday and so far - 4 lbs. (about the same as I was with Wyatt).

Maternity clothes: Still able to just wear my looser jeans (I bought a few pairs about 3 months post Wyatt when my hips hadn't shrunk back and those are what I currently wear). I am starting to wear maternity tshirts but mainly b/c they are longer and cover up my waistband, if I decide to leave my pants unbuttoned.

Food cravings: Nothing super different than I normally eat. With Wyatt's pregnancy, I didn't really like pickles (SO strange since they are my favorite food). This time I am still eating pickles.

Morning Sickness: Still here. I actually caved and called my doc last week to give me a stronger Zophran prescription for days when I am really struggling to keep food down and function. It and a B6 vitamin regime seem to have really started to help. (Again a hint as to why I think this might be a little girl - she is already WAY high maintenance).

General Feelings/Thoughts: I have my energy back, pretty much. I have been cooking dinner and keeping up with the household chores again. This pregnancy is going by super fast as I don't get to focus on it like I did with Wyatt's. But it is fun and we are so excited to have our family grow by one more special little person.

Getting Ready for S2: JB was rearranging some stuff in the attic a couple weeks ago and went ahead and brought all the baby stuff down. I have still not done much cleaning out of the office but we are waiting until we know boy or girl to get us motivated to start a nursery

What I am looking forward to: We scheduled the boy/girl sono for June 10th. I am hoping my parents will be able to come up for this one, as they did for Wyatt's and JB's parents will be able to make it. I have been really hoping for a girl this time, but if it is a healthy boy we will be pleased as well!

{{{{Will insert an unexciting picture of a not-so-big belly here}}}}}}}

Rivaling Jack Bauer

2011-05-04T18:00:00.001-05:00

Even though I was always impressed with what could happen on the TV show "24". The same surprise endings happen in 24 hours at my house.

YESTERDAY AT AROUND 5PM

104.2 Fever. Totally Lethargic. Eyes about rolling back in his head.

TODAY AT AROUND 5PM

Fever free for most of the day. Eating goldfish crackers and playing outside.

Don't you wish you could get rebound after being sick like a toddler does?

Catching Fire

2011-05-02T12:06:00.000-05:00

So, I have already finished the 2nd Hunger Games book by Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire.

It was another fabulous book and I have already started the 3rd book. These things are SO addicting. JB has also finished book 2 and is much further into book 3 than myself.

They are easy reads, entertaining and fun - go check them out!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2011-04-27T08:51:00.001-05:00

LOVED this book! I had many friends that had read it and finally jumped on the bandwagon. After hearing me talk a bit about it, JB actually read it too. We both finished it (sharing it) in under a week. We are both now sharing the second book and speeding through it as well.

Good story, keeps your attention. It is classified as young adult science-fiction, if you look for it in the library.

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T11:23:00.000-05:00

We had a good Easter. Woke up in the morning to find the Easter bunny had left all three of us baskets with a few goodies and some eggs filled with cheerios scattered around the living room. We enjoyed Sunday service and Wyatt must have played hard with church friends, b/c when we go home we decided to change into shorts and head to the zoo for a little bit, BUT Wyatt asked to take a nap instead and slept for 2 1/2 hours. We went to the stockyards to walk around for a bit and then had dinner with the Strong family.

Here are a few pics:

Chowin' down on cheerios from our eggs!

Wyatt picked up his basket after he had some eggs in it, waved goodbye and went to tote it around the house.

Checkin' out the new bubble gun the Easter Bunny left him.

Wavin' bye! Time to head to church!

Prior Read Books

2011-04-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

So, I don't know if anyone even reads my blog all that much or takes any of my book suggestions, but I wanted to list out some books that I have read over the past few years that I liked and would recommend. I actually own all of these (bought before I smarted up about using the FREE library), so let me know if you want to borrow one!

1. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen : Definitely not what I expected but it kept me interested and I finished it quickly. You might want to read it before the movie comes out this summer.

2. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers : One of my all time favorites and I DO NOT like mushy love stories. It is actually by a Christian author and is the story of Hosea and Gomer told in a different setting (the western frontier).

3. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah : A wonderful story of resilience.

4. Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan : About a motley crew of people on a travelling adventure, I read this a few years ago on our trip to Europe. It was a perfect read while travelling.

Tyra's Eviction

2011-04-22T17:00:00.001-05:00

My sister, Amanda, has not so affectionately named her tumor Tyra. We are less than a week away from surgery (Thursday, April 28th). Amanda started a blogsite to allow everyone to keep track of her progress and help spread the word about her recovery to our family and friends.

Amanda's Recovery Journal

She is so blessed to be surrounded by family, friends and God's love that will help her through this challenge.

I want to say a thank you to my friends, many of whom have never had the opportunity to meet my sweet sister, but who have already offered their support, help and lifted her in their thoughts and prayers.

Shampoo Rinse Cup

2011-04-21T07:30:00.000-05:00

I have been using this little cheap rinse cup since Wyatt could sit up in the tub and not until I said something about it to a friend the other day did I realize not everyone knows about this great thing! In the picture they actually don't look like they are using it effectively - I use one hand under Wy's chin to tip his head up and then pour with the otehr one, pressing the yellow rubber section to his hairline. It keeps water out of his eyes and we don't get much whining when it comes to rinsing his thick head of hair.

I think I got it at Target, but when I went online to find it, there was only this yucky all plastic one. I got this picture from the "One Step Ahead" magazine online. They sell for about 10 bucks and I highly recomend one if you are struggling with a whiney kid when you rinse their hair.

Johnny Wy

2011-04-20T16:16:00.001-05:00

Realized it has been a while since I posted pics of our growing little boy who turns 16 months next week!

It is such a pleasure to spend my days with him! He seems to learn a new word everyday and is such a little ape to everything we do. JB isn't fond of it, but he borrows my makeup brushes and makes himself "pretty". The other day he was toting around a soft cooler over his arm and called it a "purse" HAHA. SEE, I need a little girl this time around! ;)

This is Wyatt's "CHEESE" face. Looks a little demonic, so now I actually prefer is old "toad face" he used to give in pictures.

Thanks to my sister, Trac, for the singing birthday card. Wyatt has been dancing to James Brown's "I Feel Good" for many days now (dang those are some good batteries). The funny thing is he really likes to open and close it quickly so it just screams out the "OOOOH" at the beginning. It makes him laugh SO hard.

Cheering for the Chinese

2011-04-19T11:11:00.001-05:00

With Wyatt's pregnancy I was really indifferent as to whether we had a boy or girl. I was actually kind of hoping for a boy (having a family FULL of girls) and being the 5th grandchild for my parents, it was fun when we found out he would be something "new". The chinese gender charts actually predicted Wyatt to be a girl.

They also predict this little one to be a girl - I am hoping this time they are right. For the first month or so, I actually thought I would prefer another boy - seeing as how my family is still FULL of girls. Also when them being so close in age, they would be life-long buds and the practical side of me realized I would have to buy nothing if this child is a girl.

BUT....as time goes on and we are just 6 weeks away from finding out, I am really trying hard not to get him hopes up for a girl. JB has his golfing buddy. I want my girly buddy. I want to decorate a room in frills. I want to have someone to go shopping with for her prom dress and wedding dress. I want someone to watch become a mother, just like my mom has done with her daughters.

JB and I have always said we wanted 3 kids, but who knows if after this one, we just might decide our family is complete and I would really like a daughter to nuture and watch grow and mature. So, I am hoping the Chinese are right this time. AND, of course I will still be happy with another boy, but I would feel so privileged if God blessed me both a little boy and a little girl.

GO CHINESE!

Paid to Parent

2011-04-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

What is my ideal job....well, it would be the one I have (being a full time mom) with two added bonuses - 1) I would get paid to do it. 2) JB would get to do it full-time with me.

As I waited for my OB/Gyn this past week I was reading a trashy celeb magazine and there was a pic of Jon, quite overweight, working an hourly construction job.

Hmm..wonder if he is getting attention from hot young chics now? I just shook my head as I looked at it.

I am not ashamed to admit that many years ago, "Jon & Kate Plus 8" was one of my guilty pleasures. I loved watching the chaos of their house and the very OCD Kate try to keep it in check (yes, I related to her back then). They had the perfect setup - paid to parent. Not only were they paid to parent, but paid VERY WELL to parent and be a family. They were able to afford an incredible home and take their children on vacations multiple times a year. Somehow they lost track of that though....I will not put fault on a certain party b/c I do not know the ends and outs, but somewhere I think Jon's new hairplugs and too tight Ed Hardy tshirts messed with his head and caused him to lose touch with reality. And Kate's obsession with her looks and loosing sight of what was really a blessing surrounding her, caused their perfect situation to fall apart.

Anyway I would like to just put this out there....ANYONE WANT TO PAY ME TO PARENT AND HANG OUT WITH MY KIDS AND HUSBAND ALL DAY - I WILL PROBABLY BE WAY TOO BORING FOR A TV SHOW, BUT IT WON'T END IN A TRAIN WRECK.

CALL ME!

I've Still Got It

2011-04-13T17:47:00.001-05:00

Alternative Title: That Poor Child Needs Glasses

While walking back with Wyatt from the park this afternoon, a young gentleman (appeared to be a high school boy) in a truck pulls up beside me on the road and the following conversation takes place.
HIM: What’s your name? Do you live in this neighborhood?

ME: HUH?

HIM: Where do you go to school? What’s your name?

ME: MOM (pointing at Wyatt with a “what the hell” look on my face)

HIM: What?

ME: MOM, that’s my name. This is my kid.

HIM: Oh, I thought you were a babysitter (total look of mortified on his face and he races off in his pickup)

To his credit – I was wearing purple Nike running shorts and a grey college tshirt. So I was dressed very similar to the way high school and TCU girls dress. And I had on large sunglasses that hid the dark circles under my eyes and the growing pores on my cheeks.

I was just sad he drove away so fast and I didn’t get the chance to tell him he was hitting on a pregnant lady in her 30s.

AWKWARD

2011-04-13T16:02:00.000-05:00

So, my 81 year old neighbor called me during Wyatt's naptime today while I was busily doing things around the house. She is the sweetest thing and checks on us about once a week, seeing how I am feeling and she tells me how she is doing.

I was super distracted doing other things and suddenly my cell phone started ringing as well and I was telling her I had to go. So as I get off the phone, in my distracted stupor I saw "Bye. I love you. Talk to you later!"...as though she were someone in my family or close friends. We hung up.

So awkward. I mean she is a nice lady but we are not super close. You do the whole - do I call her back and tell her I didn't mean to say "i love you" but then you wonder, did she even hear me say that? So strange...I feel horribly weird about it. I guess it could be worse...like saying "I love you" to your accountant or something.

Anyone else have an awkward phone moment like this or does it just happen to me?

Strong Baby # 2 - 12.5 Weeks

2011-04-13T09:38:00.001-05:00

Since I did updates with Wyatt, I wanted to do updates for S2.

How far along: 12.5 weeks.

Total weight gain: Had my doctor's appointment last Monday and I am up 2.5 lbs (about the same as Wy's pregnancy).

Maternity clothes: I thought I was supposed to "pop" earlier with this one, but it is about like last time. I have days that my stomach sticks out and days that I can easily fit in my normal pants. But usually I wear my looser jeans.

Food cravings: With morning sickness, fruit and sweet foods, like cinnamon rolls taste the best to me. But no real cravings. With Wy's pregnancy I practically gave up eating my favorite food, pickles, but still like them a bit this time around. Although eating 1 or 2 a day which is normal for me has now reduced to 3-4 a week.

Morning Sickness: Still sticking around. I work really hard not to whine too much about this, b/c I know it is just a sign that my levels are high and we have a healthy baby in there, but I am ready for it to start waning.

General Feelings/Thoughts: I told JB today that I am finally starting to get my energy back and feel normal again. I have REALLY been struggling and down on myself the past few weeks. It is so unlike me to nap during the day, let housework go by the wayside and just generally be lazy. I was not cooking dinner as much and hadn't been the energetic mom Wyatt deserves. Last week, I finally start to feel like doing housework and baking while Wyatt napped. It made me feel like I finally starting to be "me" again. I still have "lazy" days but am feeling much more energized.

Getting Ready for S2: We still have a while before the baby comes, but I have started looking into ratings for double strollers and we are beginning the long painful process of purging and cleaning out our junk room/office.

Here is the belly pic (excuse the poor photography and shadow....JB sucks at taking pictures):

Lazy Mom Dinners

2011-04-09T13:15:00.000-05:00

Here are two crockpot dinners I made this week. Truly I am not an avid crockpot user because my crockpot cooks WAY too hot and I don't like having it going if Wyatt and I leave the house during the day. BUT there were some meats on sale at the grocery store this week and this is what I made with it.

Again, sort of creations with ideas taken from various recipes, so I bet altered to fit your taste and higher level of cooking expertise they could be even better.

Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients:
1.5 pound cubed beef stew meat
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
Jar of sliced mushrooms
Small chopped onion
About 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 – 1 cup beef broth (I used about half the can….I think too soupy is better than too dry)
Some black pepper
1 tbsp corn starch w/ 2 tbsp water
4 ounces cream cheese

Directions:
1. In the crockpot, combine the meat, soup, mushrooms, onion, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth.

2. Cook on Low setting for 8 hours, or on High setting for about 5 hours. (This all depends upon your cooker – mine is SUPER fast, so I have to start it at lunch on the 8 hour setting).

3. About an hour before you are going to eat it, make a mixture of 2 tbsp water with 1 tbsp corn starch and mix it in (this just helps thicken it a bit)

4. Stir in cream cheese just before serving. (many times this recipe calls for sour cream which I think would be fantastic, but JB HATES sour cream so I used cream cheese and it was good, but not as tangy as it would be with sour cream).

5. Serve over egg noodles (prepared according to the package – I think they take about 7-9 minutes to cook).

BBQ Ribs
Ingredients:
Ribs (either boneless or small with bones - I get whatever is on sale but make sure it is UNseasoned)
Your favorite BBQ sauce (you can make your own sauce and there are many recipes on line, but this is the LAZY Mom's version)

Directions:
1. I usually spray some Pam at the bottom of my crockpot and put the ribs in one layer on the bottom.

2. Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 of a jar of BBQ sauce over the ribs. I like for it to ALMOST cover them.

3. I cook mine about 5/6 hours on medium high, flipping them over (if not all the rib is covered) after about 2 hours and then usually the juice from the ribs and the ribs "sinking in" will have them covered soon.

4. Add some easy sides and enjoy! The boneless ones would be great torn up a bit on hamburger buns for rib sandwiches.

2011 To Do List - EPIC FAIL

2011-04-08T04:16:00.000-05:00

Who I am to buck this new catch phrase of "EPIC FAIL". I don't know when it became so popular but I see it in Facebook statuses all the time and I thought it was appropriate here.

With the upcoming new addition to our family in October, I was going to do a revision to my 2011 list but decided it was not proper to "alter it" but instead should just scratch the whole thing. With my "create a new mom style" being converted to "find room in my closet for the maternity expando pants" and "start playing the guitar again" being replaced wtih "find time to move the office to make room for another nursery" there just seems no point.

The one thing I do want to complete is my book goal. If you would have told me even a year ago that I would enjoy reading so much and make time for it, I would have called you crazy. But it is something I really enjoy finding time for.

So drumroll please........"2011 To Do List" has been changed to "2011 Book List"

The Shadow of the Wind

2011-04-06T11:23:00.001-05:00

One of the best, most well-written books I have read in a long time! A MUST READ!

Summary according to the author's website:

Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out LA SOMBRA DEL VIENTO by Julian Carax.

But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from LA SOMBRA DEL VIENTO, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead.

Here is a link to the author's website: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Zafon is so interesting because he has actually composed music to go along with the book and I think the thing I most enjoyed about the other than the characters and twists and turns of the story, was that most all of the places he writes about in Barcelona are real places (there is actually a map on his website of the places he refers to). JB and I took a trip to Barcelona a few years ago and although I can't recall those exact places, I could picture the streets and how the must have also looked back in the day the book is set.

READ THIS BOOK! IT IS AMAZING!

Product Review : Moby Wrap

2011-03-30T10:21:00.001-05:00

I don't usually post links to other blogs/websites on here, but I was forwarded this giveaway and thought I would pass it on:

MOBY GIVEAWAY

More than anything, it just gives me the opportunity to promote a product that I LOVE. I could not have survived my first 9 months of motherhood without the Moby Wrap. Or at least, my back would have not survived and there would have been A LOT less cleaning and cooking done at my house. With #2 on the way, the Moby Wrap was the first thing I thought of that I will definitely need to find in the attic.

I was at Target the other day and noticed a pregnant lady, of little stature like myself, checking out a baby sling. I asked if I could be nosey and if she was a first time mom. She said she was and had been trying to figure out what time of carrier to buy. I told she had to get a Moby and after that, the Bjorn. She asked me all sorts of questions about is feeling secure and washability and I told her about my problems as a petite person and she said that had been her concern as well with the peanut shell kind that don't really adjust. At the end of our conversation, she said she didn't have a doubt in her mind now and was headed home to buy one online. It made me happy to help her out.

Wyatt (about a month old) snuggled in his Moby. This must have been taken the second I put him in it, b/c usually he would be fast asleep within a few minutes of being "tucked in".

Blog Hiatus is Over

2011-03-28T12:28:00.000-05:00

Seems like forever since I have blogged. Things have been a little hectic around our house, so I'll just do one super long update blog and then hopefully will be back up on the blogging bandwagon.

Pregnancy
A lot of the blog hiatus has probably been to my morning (all day) sickness. I have been super fatigued and barfy feeling. I was prett sick at the beginning with Wyatt, so it is not a surprise. I know it just means my levels are good and so I try not to gripe about it too much. I go for my next doctor's appt next Monday, April 4th, so I'll give a good update then. We have had our first sono and everything looked great with a strong heartbeat.

Wyatt
Just had our 15 month checkup today. Darn genetics have finally caught up to our little guy. We were previously 50th percentile in height and weight and 75th in head circumference.

15 month stats:

23.2 lbs : 25th percentile
29.4 inches tall : 10th percentile
48 cm head : 75th percentile

He actually measured 29.5 inches tall at his 12 month. No, I don't think he shrunk but I had already guessed he had not grown b/c all of his pants still fit him.

We love our pediatrician and he said again how bold/brave of a kid Wyatt is. He smiles shyly when he enters the room for about a minute and then goes to check Dr. W out. We definitely don't know a stranger. I asked Dr. W about Wyatt not having a ton of words and he said he was on-track, where as he has always been ahead with so many things, I was just getting accustomed to that.

Also told him about our upcoming addition and he gave me a little pamphlet but said we could talk more about "big brother prep" when we came for his 18 month. His children are also 22 months apart, so he said he could give me lots of doctor and parent advice.

Family
A few weeks ago we got a bit of upsetting news in our family. My middle sister, Amanda, was having some strange medical problems and thru different tests and visiting doctors, they have found a tumor, wrapped around a nerve at the base of her brain. She has been having many doctor's appts and we are hoping to have a surgery date set soon, but there is more than one surgeon that has to be involved in its removal as it is in a sensitive place. She goes back tomorrow for more MRI's and we hope these will be the final ones that the surgeons can make a decision about the approach they will use and we will set a date for surgery. There is only a small chance of it being malignant so that is some weight off, but her recovery will be long and rough due to the tumors location and all the things that will have to be disrupted to remove it.

So we are taking each day and doctor's appointment at a time and doing lots of praying. I am SO proud of her and how she is handling this. She (and all of us) are just ready to get this behind her and have her back healthy.

Wyatt - 14 Months

2011-03-05T07:00:00.001-06:00

Wow, this year is already flying by. Wyatt turned 14 months on Monday.

Facts about our 14 month old:

-He is a little love bug. He is giving kisses constantly now. Yesterday at the grocery store, he kept pulling me to him and giving me kisses while he was riding in the cart.

-Still a pointer and grunter we don't have a lot of new words, but he definitely finds a way to get his point across, even if it is taking you by the hand and showing you want he wants you to do.

-Still a great eater, although the past couple weeks he has been a bit picker than normal. He has been boycotting turkey and chicken.

-He has 4 teeth on top and still only 2 on bottom.

- He really enjoys his music class - he more observes while he is there, but when we get home, he does all the movements when I play the CD.

- He CAN use silverware and we cheer and holler when we see him do it (which makes him laugh) but then he usually goes back to holding the silverware in one hand and eating with the other. We now can eat with a plate at the big table with Mommy and Daddy (it makes him look so grownup)!

He is such a joy and happy kid. We get a tantrum (which usually only lasts about a minute) about once a week but that is about it. JB and I always wonder if all parents think there kids are so stinkin' cute (we assume so) because we DEFINITELY do.

I now eat like a big boy at the table with Mommy & Daddy!

Playing ball with Sully.

Good thing Sully doesn't mind Wyatt stealing the balls from him!

BIG NEWS

2011-03-03T21:08:00.000-06:00

Beef A La Duetsch

2011-02-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

One of my families' favorites. I fixed it when I had the in-laws over recently and we didn't have any leftovers to speak of! Everyone went back for seconds (and some people thirds). Wyatt eats a man-sized portion of it.

Ingredients
1 - 1.5 lbs ground beef (I like mine super beefy)
1 (14.5 oz) can diced in sauce tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tsp salt
1 pkg of egg noodles (I use a full 12 oz of extra wide, but sometimes I'll pull out about 1/4 of it for Wyatt to eat for lunch at a later time and it fits in the dish better.
1 (8oz) philly cream cheese
1/2 tub (4oz) of sour cream
1.5-2 cups of grated cheddar cheese

Steps

1. Set out cream cheese in a big mixing bowl, so it will be softening.

2. Brown meat. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, sugar and salt. Let simmer for 45 minutes (sometimes I only have time for 30 minutes and it is still yummy)

2. About 10 minutes before the meat will be done simmering, cook the egg noodles according to the package directions - make sure to not overcook or they get mushy. I think you cook them around 5-7 minutes.

3. Drain the noodles and immediately dump over the cream cheese and add the sour cream. Mix until everything is coated and no spots of cream cheese left.

4. Layer the following in a deep casserole dish (I use a 2.5 or  3 qt corning ware).
             a. 1/2 meat sauce
             b. 1/2 noodles
             c. Grated cheddar cheese
             d. 1/2 meat sauce

             e. 1/2 noodles
             f. Grated cheddar cheese

5. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35 minutes.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

2011-02-17T12:43:00.001-06:00

I loved this book and found it so interesting and unique than anything I have read recently.

Synopsis (per me)....so much is contained in this book, it is hard to summarize. Basically it is the story of the life of a woman named Truly, who is a "giant" in a small town full of other interesting characters. It follows her life from birth until old age and all the experiences she encounters from her childhood of pain and being ostracized to the selfless act of stepping up to raise her nephew, to the life path she finds in the stitching of a quilt.

This was written just a couple years ago and was Ms. Baker's (a mom of 3 from California) debut book. What an incredible beginning. I think the best thing about it is how she develops each character thoroughly. She allows you to see each of their good and bad sides.

Go check it out from your local library! A special thanks to my friend, Dawn, who recommended it to me!

Snow Baby

2011-02-09T14:35:00.001-06:00

Last week, we definitely got some winter weather! It was Wyatt's first time to play in the snow and he LOVED it. Sully was begging us to go back in the warm house, but not Wyatt....we had to make him go inside in before his nose froze.

We are excited to take him skiing when he gets a bit older, especially his daddy (I don't really ski), but I want him to be an expert skier, so he won't be afraid of the lifts and stuff like his weenie mom.

Checking everything out.

Daddy and Wyatt

I like scooping the snow off the plants!

Where are you going, Sully? Why don't you like staying out here in the snow with us?

This is fun!

Public Restroom

2011-02-07T08:02:00.001-06:00

I rarely go to the bathroom by myself anymore. It is just part of being a mom and especially a SAHM. I "close the door" to the bathroom, but still leave it open a crack so I can hear Wyatt playing in the living room and so if he wants, he can come in.

Wyatt usually comes screeching around the corner if he hears me go in the bathroom as he LOVES clearing out all the extra toilet paper and kleenex under the sink and using it to stack. He is pretty dang good at TP towers. Usually about 15 seconds after Wy joins me, Sully also decides it must be a party he can't miss, so he comes in as well. Sully really doesn't give me any sort of privacy - Wyatt plays on the floor "building" for the next few minutes - but Sully comes in, takes a seat on the bathmat and stares at me.

It is not like I spend a lot of time in the bathroom, but sometimes I wouldn't mind spending that time in a private bathroom and look forward to when I can say "GET OUT!" Or, maybe when that time comes, I'll enjoy it for a bit, but then long again for the days when Wyatt wanted to hang out with his mommy 24/7 (even a stinky bathroom).

Storm Watch with the Strongs

2011-01-31T17:41:00.002-06:00

Bring it on Super Bowl Storm of 2011! We're ready!

Robot comforter to snuggle in - CHECK!

Warm mittens to wear if it snows - CHECK (got them in the mail today)!

Our fav spot to watch cartoons - in the crook of the sectional sofa.

Sorry fuzzy but he was laughing so hard patting Sully with his new mittens

So, Mom said she ordered them in my size, but they seem a little big to me!

They have owls on them!

13 Months Old

2011-01-31T09:38:00.003-06:00

If I had written this post on Wyatt's actual 13 month birthday, it would be VERY different. In the last couple days, my sweet easy-going fella has become a whiney, tantrum throwing nerd. Whoever stole my kid and replaced him with this alien, please return him IMMEDIATELY. I will pay the ransom!

We are hoping this is just teething and not a sudden switch into nasty toddlerism.

For Wyatt's 13 month birthday, on Friday, we celebrated by having lunch with Daddy downtown. We strolled around a bit, enjoying the beautiful weather and got to see some of the ESPN stages being setup for the Super Bowl.

After that, we met up with the other 13 month olds, Luke and Brody, and their Mommy, Courtney and big brother, Cole, at the zoo. It was a BEAUTIFUL day! Thought we should enjoy the weather while it lasts (hello big winter storm headed our way).

Wyatt holding hands with Brody, and Luke, with a mouthful of PB&J.

Stats/Development:

- Wy points at EVERYTHING, wanting you to name it and then let him touch it. The past few days, if there is not enough touching allowed, an all out crying fit ensues. He really loves pressing the beeping buttons in the microwave and turning on and off lights.

- Wy's fav foods are grilled cheese, PB&J, waffles, bananas, mandarin oranges. Usually a good eater, he has hit an anti-veggie and not interested in eating much phase - again hoping this is just the teething.

- He has started really paying attention to music on the radio and TV. He dances (read: bounces and bobs) when he hears it. We go to music class at TCU once a week and he enjoys it and gets more 'involved' everytime we go.

- I can't really list words he can say b/c one day he'll walk around pointing at duck's in his book and say "duck" and then we won't hear the word for a week or more. He readily uses Mama, Dada, NightNight (only for naps), MumMum (for food or drink), and his lastest addition Grandad. Although he will say it when he points to a picture of my Dad, he also just wanders around the house saying it. They came to visit this weekend so it is fresh on his mind. He'll also make certain noises for his trucks, says "moo, baa-baa, and neigh" when reading animal books. Most of the time though, all animals, when asked, make the monkey noise.

- We still have no stranger anxiety and are not afraid of the dark (he'll wander into any room of the house and play, even with no lights on). He has no fear and is ready to run everywhere. I see a monkey backpack with a leash tail in our future.

- Still only have 4 teeth, but are working on some more.

- Wyatt always wants to be outside. He spends half of the day at the backdoor begging for me to take him out. He hollers "Mama!" and then points at the knob when I come over. I have done it as much as possible lately (even with the cedar fever, I just dope myself up on allergy meds), but I know he is going to get some bad cabin fever when the weather turns cold this week.

Friends

2011-01-26T09:25:00.002-06:00

This is by no means a great photo, but it makes me smile. We hosted playgroup yesterday and had a great time with old and new friends. I forgot to take pictures throughout the event, but snapped one after everyone had left but some of our besties, the Plumbley twins (Luke & Brody). Sully had been forced to stay in the laundry room for the morning (he would want to lick all the babies), so when it was just the triple trouble crew left, I let him out to clean up the floors. I let him outside and all the boys were wanting him to come back in.

I love Wyatt's smile in this picture...he was a bit sad during playgroup that his most favorite playmate was locked up. When I let him out he was laughing and SO excited to see Sully. His little smile looks like "thanks mom"!

It is so hard to believe it has only been 11 months since they looked like the below pic (it was taken on their 2 month birthday). My how fast the time flies!

Fun Mom, Crazy Mom

2011-01-26T09:17:00.002-06:00

I know it is only a few years away that I will hear "ahh, mom! you're no fun!". So I wanted to document a time when I was a fun Mom.

On Sunday, I asked JB to get our mini bounce house down from the attic. My parents found it a while back at a garage sale. We were hosting playgroup on Tuesday and I was hoping the weather might cooperate for the kids to be able to play outside for a bit (it didn't). Anyway, JB went to work on Sunday afternoon and I stared at the deflated bounce house on the back patio. It was cold and I didn't want to mess with sitting out there with the compressor blowing it up. So, after doing some eyeballing-it measurements, I drug it into the house and into our entryway - perfect fit!

Needless to say, JB was a little surprised when he came home to find a fun house filling up our entrway! No, I will not always allow outside toys in the house, but an exception every once in a while is okay, right?

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

2011-01-23T07:00:00.004-06:00

I polled my Facebook friends and got quite the list of books to read this year. So, armed with list in hand, Wyatt and I headed to the library last week. Many of the books were new popular ones, so they weren't available and I hadn't had the chance to go online and reserve them.

I checked out The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. She is a journalist and I think is featured a lot on MSNBC.com. This is her memoirs of her childhood being raised by two very eccentric parents. Although eccentric is just really the PC term for crazy and irresponsible.

As I read the first few chapters, I didn't know if I could continue reading this book. It is disturbing sometimes, the neglect she and her 3 siblings received. But she manages to write the book in a way that she shows the "good" that was experienced, how it built her as a person and how incredibly she and her siblings managed to accomplish what they did after such an upbringing. She also manages to write it in a way that she does not show a lot of anger towards her parents, which was amazing. It is a quick read - I finished it in about a week (just reading in the evenings before bed).

She is a very admirable woman and it was a true uplifting story in the end about acceptance of people and situations and rising above those things that could easily prevent you from achieving your dreams. I look forward to reading some more of her books and writings.

NOTE: If you do not use your public library, you are DUMB and letting a fantastic free resource go to waste. I used to be dumb as well and bought the books I wanted to read. Even though I went to Half Price Books most times, I still should not have spent the money when I could get a book for FREE.

Product Review: Dritz Res Q Tape

2011-01-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

Want to be able to wear flats with a pair of pants one time and heels the next? NO PROBLEM!

For more than a few years now, I have always kept a supply of Res Q Tape in my utility room. When I wore suits everyday, I especially used to to be able to wear different shoes with my pants. now I use it or all sorts of things.

It is even strong enough to use to "hem" up jeans to be worn with flats during the summer. It stays well and I just have to remember to remove it before I throw them in the wash.

I have found other uses for it as well. Have a stubborn belt where the end always sticks out? Use a little tape to keep it down. Getting dressed and suddenly notice a hem on a shirt that is coming undone? Stick some tape on it now and worry about fixing it later!

Stock Show 2011

2011-01-21T11:17:00.002-06:00

I LOVE the rodeo. The smell of hay and farm animals. Watching the events and cute cowboys - what could be better?!?

Being in the Junior League, I get to volunteer for the fun of selling programs. I really enjoy it. I get to scream and sell and enjoy the atmosphere and energy. This year, they were kind enough to give all of us JL girls working at the rodeo season passes to the stock show and expo. So, with two warmer days this week, Wyatt and I went for both. The first day we were lucky enough to have Nana, Aunt Amanda, Cousin Tessa and Cousin Grace join us. The next day we met up with some friends for a bit and then Wy and I explored just the two of us. We'll be using our pass again many times over the next couple weeks!

I am always horrible about taking pictures, but got a couple with my phone and my mom took some that she passed on. Wyatt loved it all! I was nervous as this was the first time for him to be around big animals and I didn't know if it would scare him, but he was a bold curious boy like always! I can't wait for Wyatt to get old enough to enjoy the actual rodeo!

Getting to see a baby goat up close with Grace. He was pouting a bit at first, but then we let him pet his own goat he and he perked up.

Giving Elsie the Borden Cow some love at the expo

Trying on hats at the expo. How does this one look, Mom?

Checking out the petting zoo....asking him if he wanted to go in. He gave me the nod, so we went in!

He was bold as ever at the petting zoo. Mommy was just worried about the goats that were bigger than him.

Pony Rides

1 Year Stats

2011-01-21T11:16:00.001-06:00

Wyatt had his 1 month checkup this week and his stats are as follows:

Weight: 21 lbs 8.5 ounces (55th Percentile)
Height: 29 inches (50th Percentile)
Head: 47 cm (75th Percentile)

He got 4 shots OUCH and he cried like crazy. Poor baby! But by the time we got home, he was back to his happy self and didn't have any problems with them yet (these shots they say can cause fever 5-10 days after the shots).

We LOVE our pediatrician. Dr. W sits on the floor and plays with Wyatt and was impressed with how bold he was. He smiled sheepishly and hid partially behind a chair with the doctor first came in, but within a minute was stealing Dr. W's pen and trying to flip through his chart and take his stethoscope. Dr. W said why was a "healthy brave boy".

When he asked if I had any concerns or questions, I asked about Wy's eczema and if there was anything I should be doing differently to treat it (right now we just run a humidifier in his room, make sure not to bathe him too much, use mild soaps and put topical treatment on it). Doctor said it looked fine and as soon as the weather warmed up, it would probably go away. We are so blessed that something that small is all I have concerns about. I also asked a bit about his lack of "words" and Dr. W said he was right on track with all his babbling and since he was a kid who did a lot of physical stuff early, words coming after age 1 was normal.

Here is my big boy before we headed out to the doctor! I can't believe how big he is getting!

check out the baby-proofing bungy cords behind him! only thing that would work on those cabinets haha.

Cotton Bowl

2011-01-21T11:15:00.003-06:00

A couple weekends ago, JB and I got to go to the Cotton Bowl with our friends Aly and Blake. Blake got a hook-up through work with some great free tickets. We were so glad they invited us! Neither of them are Aggies, so we were excited they doned maroon and cheered with us.

Although the Aggies couldn't pull out a win, we had a great time. Thanks to JuJu and Doc who spent the evening with Wyatt while Mommy and Daddy went to the game!

Beautiful sunset at Jerryworld

Product Review: Bare Minerals Eye Cream

2011-01-12T16:55:00.001-06:00

As part of the 2011 "Me Maintenance" item, I have started using eye cream. The bags under my eyes were dark and apparent. Also, I would get these tiny little white bumps (only seen if I looked really close) but a lady at a cosmetics counter told me that was actually dry skin.

SO, the next time I was at the Bare Minerals store getting makeup (which I also highly recommend), I picked up some eye cream. Normally it is $28 but b/c they are redoing their packaging it is on sale currently for $19. I stocked up on the stuff. You can buy it HERE.

I have been using it twice a day (morning and night) for about 4 weeks now and have noticed CRAZY results. The dark circles under my eyes have lightened dramatically, the little white bumps are gone and in general my eyes just look much more rested.