All is well

I wanted to thank those of you who sent me messages today inquiring how the sono went yesterday. I know many of you were praying, and I am sorry for the delay in posting--it's been a *difficult* couple of days, for various reasons, and I have not been able to find hardly a moment to post!

All went extremely wonderfully yesterday, and I am happy to report that my placenta has moved North! Albeit slowly, there has been definite progress--enough to remove me from my activity restrictions. I was so happy to hear that, and thankful that our prayers--and many of yours--were answered in this way!

Thought I would share a few more pictures of the little one, and one of me as well. Have a great night, and thank you again to all of you who genuinely care for my and Peanut's well-being...I'm so thankful for each one of you!

Perfect shot of the bones of the leg--I love this one!
Sweet little foot

An almost perfect shot of the face

And me, at 23 weeks and 3 days

Good night!

More *potty* humor

I just can't help it.

I have to post this.

I don't know why some of Cameron's funniest-ever moments come while he is on the potty....but I was doubled over in a fit of laughter with this one, and I had to share it. (Sorry in advance if it's a bit TMI for you....)

Cameron: "Mommy, I'm done!"

Mommy comes in, and begins the wiping process.

Cameron proceeds to let out a huge sigh, and then says:

"Aaaaahhhh. It's good to be wiped."

Oh. My. Word.

Monday Musings

I.....

~have a daughter who currently has the hiccups. *grin*

~have a son--Cameron--who has taken a liking to whispering. He thinks if he whispers in my ear, the answer will be "yes" to whatever he's asking. It's actually pretty cute. "What do you need Cameron?" "Mom, can you bend down so I can *whithper* in your ear?"

~am just feeling semi-exhausted today. *whew*

~hate having leg/vein trouble, but it's nice to be able to sit, put my feet up for a few minutes, and not feel totally guilty about it. If I don't do it at least a couple of times per day, I pay the price by 9 p.m.

~am looking for a good recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup, as I have been craving it for a few days now. Anyone got one they want to share with me?

~love, on the topic of recipes, this site. I love the Pioneer Woman (especially her cooking section) anyway, but this Tasty Kitchen thing she has done is simply awesome. When I searched "chicken tortilla soup" this morning, it yielded 29 results! I'm excited to spend some time this afternoon checking them out and seeing if there is one that I just have to make. (My fear will be choosing from several that look amazing....) If you haven't seen this site yet--run, do not walk, over there! Ahem. Well, you know what I mean. You won't be disappointed if you love simple and great recipes like me!

~am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo thankful Shane's home. Woot!

~feel so blessed that my boys have really picked up where I have had to leave off with my whole 'modified activity' restriction in the last month. It is so cute watching Cameron push a basket full of laundry down to the laundry room for me, or heave Ethan up into his car seat--because I simply haven't been able to do those things.

~just love my boys.

~have heard some hilarious things come out of my boys' mouths over the last several days. I've posted a few of them below--keep scrolling down if you need a couple of good laughs today!

~go back to my doctor for a check-up and another sonogram tomorrow, to check on the low-placenta issue. Please, if you get the chance, pray that all goes well. If I get some more good pictures of Peanut, I'll post them as soon as I can!

Happy Monday everyone!

Biting sarcasm

Tonight we came home, and I really just wanted something quick to fix for dinner. After rummaging around a bit in my freezer for whatever on earth I could find consulting my wonderful and ever-so-organized menu, I pulled out some chicken nuggets that I had forgotten about. I knew right away the boys would love them--they were in the shape of dinosaurs.

I cooked them up in the toaster oven, got their plates ready, and served them to the boys. I warned them, first thing, that the nuggets were very hot, but my boys have a tendency to be like me: ignore the warning, dive right into the food, and scald the roof of your mouth so badly that you can't taste most of the rest of your meal due to your semi-melted skin.

After the warning, I walked away, and right away, I heard Colin yell, "Ouch!"

I knew it, I thought to myself. He's already taken a bite and burned himself.

"Did you burn yourself, buddy?" I asked him.

To which he laughingly replied,

"No, Mom! The dinosaur just bit me!"

Going, going....almost gone

Cameron, while sitting on my "lap" tonight:

"Mommy....baby Peanut is taking up all of your legs."

Hence, lap in quotation marks.

Good choice

Setting:

Mommy walks into the dining room after Colin has been working on yet another one of his 'projects'. There are markers, crayons, scissors, cardboard, construction paper, glue, glue sticks, colored pencils, another set of scissors, and scraps of paper everywhere. (This mess was left after repeated cautions from Mommy to 'make sure you pick up after yourself when you are done with your project'.) Oh, and, of course--smack in the middle of the table? One completed masterpiece of Colin's.

And......scene.

Mommy: "Colin? Cooooo-liiiiinnnn...."

Colin: "Yeah?"

Mommy: "Please come to the table."

Colin trudges down the hall, and into the dining room.

Mommy: "Honey....do you see the absolute mess you left all over the place from your craft stuff?"

Colin, seeing my face and, ahem, sensing my displeasure, replies: "Yep, I sure do....and I think I just may do something to fix it."

Miracle Blanket giveaway

My friend Kristy is giving a Miracle Blanket away sometime next week on her blog! Head on over to Waiting for Happy for your own chance to win!

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Soccer pictures

My sweet little Colin, and his 2009 Under 6 soccer team. They're having a great year, and Colin's doing well. We love watching him play (and score!!) each game!

*Colin--middle front row, holding the ball*

Things I love Thursday: Red Hot Applesauce

I mentioned on Facebook this morning that I was going to spend some time today making one of my favorite Fall things: Red Hot Applesauce.

Then, I read this post over at the Diaper Diaries, and thought, "Hmmmm....I could share with everyone my love of Red Hot Applesauce, and gain an extra entry to win a Halo Sleepsack . . . . suh-weet!"

So, here I am, sharing with you something I truly love for Things I love Thursday. (If you'd like to join the carnival or enter the contest as well, just head on over to the Diaper Diaries yourself!)

Let me just say: I look forward to making this all year. It's that delicious.

The great thing, too, is that the recipe could not be any simpler. The hardest part, truly, is peeling, coring, and slicing all of the apples--but I picked up this handy tool at a garage sale last summer, and it has made cooking 'all things apple' infinitely easier! I got the stand and the corer for $5, which is an incredible deal. After using it again today, I would say if you are an 'all things apple' lover like I am and make things like applesauce, apple pies, or apple butter every year, this product is worth the full-price investment.

"If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

Name that movie.

Sorry. I digress.

Anyway, the recipe.

By the way, I am not much for measurements when I cook.

I'm more of a "fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal, you know, moment to moment....that's me....that's....yeah."

Sorry. I did it again. Geesh.

Anyway, I'll give you my best guess approximates on these amounts.

You will need:

• Apples. I have always used Golden Delicious for this recipe.
• Red Hot Candies. I buy the large, 2.75 pound bag. It makes a few batches of applesauce.
  
• possibly sugar
• possibly water

I say 'possibly' because I have never used either of those things--my apples have never stuck to my pot (that's what you would need the water for--to keep them from sticking on the bottom) and with the Red Hots, the applesauce has never had the need for additional sugar. But everyone has different preferences of sweetness, and not everyone uses non-stick cookware, so have both of those on hand when you make this.

Peel, core, and thinly slice your apples. I simply use as many apples as I can possibly fit into my 7-quart pot. It will cook way down. Cook your apples over medium-low heat with the lid on for awhile, stirring every few minutes. They should start to soften up after about 30 minutes, but won't completely break down for at least an hour or so. Stir the pot often, and you will begin to notice that, as you are stirring, the apples are already turning into a 'mush' consistency.

Mush. Mmmmmmmm. Doesn't that sound yummy?

Once the apples have started to break down, add your Red Hots. I add about two handfuls to start, and go from there. Stir them in. The heat will begin to break them down as well, and they will add a beautiful red color to your sauce!

Let these cook a little while, until you aren't seeing too many large chunks of apple any longer. Once all the Red Hot pieces and most of the apple chunks are gone, I take a regular ol' potato masher--fancy, I'm aware, but it works--and mash all the remaining lumps that I can find.

Some would say that you need to press the apple mixture through a food mill or a sieve to get the 'proper' applesauce consistency. I say, a little lump here and there never hurt anyone, and I don't have the time nor the patience to push things through sieves when I cook. Ahem.

Now, it's time for the best part.

The taste test.

If the sauce is not sweet or 'cinnamon-y' enough for you, simply add more Red Hots! (This is why I would caution you to go with less, rather than more, at first--you can always add, but you can never take away!)

If you'd like, you can can the applesauce right then and there. Process for 20 minutes (following all instructions for canning that are found in this book) in a boiling water canner.

I'm finding that, after my first batch today, it's looking like I'm going to need another batch if I want to can this stuff. Between me, Cameron, and Ethan, we've had seven helpings--yes, seven, and I was only responsible for TWO of them, thankyouverymuch--since around 11:30 this morning. After hubby and Colin get home, I'm fairly certain there won't be enough left to can.

Note to self: Go back to the orchard for more apples and more Red Hots.

Hope you enjoy the recipe! Let me know if you try it and love it as much as we do!

Gracious

Yesterday, Cameron had to go 'potty'.

At the exact same time when Cameron was ready for this Mommy's help in the bathroom, Ethan had an 'incident'.

The following occurred:

Cameron, from his bathroom: "Mommy, I'm done!"

Me, from the other bathroom: "Okay, Cam, I'll be there in a minute!"

A minute passes....maybe two. Still helping Ethan get cleaned up from his incident.

Cameron, again: "Mommy, I'm do-ooooone!"

Me: "Cameron, okay, I know....I'll be there in just a minute!"

Another couple of minutes go by. Almost done now. Washing hands, changing clothes....okay. E is all clean.

Cameron, once again: "Mooooo-ooooooom!! I'm alllllllll dooooo-ooooooone!!!!"

Finally, after several promises of, "I'll be right there", I enter the bathroom to help Cameron get off of the potty.

Mommy: "Cameron, I'm sorry it took me so long to come and take care of you. Ethan had an accident, and I wasn't able to leave him and come to you right then. I came as quickly as I could. I'm sorry, buddy."

Cameron: "That's alright Mommy.....I'm gracious."

Wordless Wednesday

Another unwelcome visitor

We've had our snake issues here. If you're a long time visitor of this blog, you know all about the one we had living in our wall shortly after we moved in.

Yes, folks. The snake in the picture below is real. It is alive. And, it is in my front yard. That's my lawn chair you see in the upper left hand corner, where I was actually residing quite happily up until this little fellow jaunted over.


Shane and the boys were in the front yard playing baseball a few days ago while I watched semi comfortably from my lawn chair. All of a sudden, I could tell that something in the street had caught Shane's eye.

He stopped what he was doing and quickly walked over. Then, he hollered. "Hey boys! Come check out this snake!"

Quick as lightening, however, the snake veered off his course and headed in our direction. He had apparently decided that he wanted to come closer to us. To me.

Within about 10 seconds, that snake was about three feet away from us--with only Shane standing guard between him and our house. (He had intentions of going inside and living in my crawlspace or my walls again....I just know it.)

The boys watched from a few feet away.

See it? In the grass, the big black thing? *shudder*

Then, Shane yelled over to me. (Oh, yes--by this point {actually, much earlier than this point} I had abandoned my post at the lawn chair and had run over to the safety of the driveway.) He needed me to bring him a shovel. He quickly, ahem, took care of the snake, while I shuttled the boys away towards the front of the house so that they wouldn't see the murder disposal.

Then, of course.....boys will be boys. It was time to get a closer look.

I love the look on E's face here.
"Are you serious? You want me to touch that thing? Um....no."

Colin and Cameron were a bit more brave....

Another 3 1/2+ footer.

Ew, ew, ew.

Another confidence booster for this ever-enlarging Momma....

Tonight in the car, my mom, my mother-in-law, and I were all trying to decide where to do a bit of after dinner shopping. The store we had wanted to visit was closed, so we needed to make another choice.

I wanted to go somewhere where I could shop for something other than clothes, since....you know. Clothes aren't really fun to shop for when you currently can't fit into any of them.

"How about Pier One, or something like that?" I said. Something with a home section, or kitchen items....something besides clothes, please.

That suggestion was met with my mother's response:

"Well, how about the mall?"

Groan, groan. There's nothing but clothing stores at the mall, I thought to myself.

"I don't really want to go to the mall, Mom....there's nothing for me there right now."

With a big smile on her face, walking right through the door of opportunity, she said:

"Well, they do have a Lane Bryant."

The kid's got a point....

I am turning into a talk radio* fan.

*conservative talk radio, that is....

{Does this mean I'm turning into an old person?}

The other day in the car, I had tuned in to one of my favorite programs--Dave Ramsey.

Dave, I believe, gives some pretty solid advice on financial matters, though he has a tendency to get 'riled up' on occasion. Those occasions would include times when people openly admit on the air that they are not being the 'brightest' with their money choices.

On Friday, Dave could be heard saying something along the lines of:

"You are making a stupid, stupid choice. This is just a stupid thing you're doing...." to a caller (who ended up agreeing with him by the end of the call, by the way.)

That's when Cameron piped up from the backseat:

"MOM!"

"What, buddy?" I said.

"That man on the radio is in trouble. God does not like it when we call people stupid!"

Confusion

{Sung by Cameron, to the tune of "The B-I-B-L-E":}

"The B-I-B-I-O,

Yes....it's....on the farm we go,

We had a farm, we like our farm,

E-I-E-I-O!"

Monday Musings

I.....

~did not sleep well last night at all. Ick. What a way to start off a week.

~have an overactive imagination sometimes and my mind wanders down paths of what could happen in different circumstances....it's not a good thing.

~love all things Bath & Body Works.

~so enjoyed Colin's soccer game on Saturday and the two goals he scored!

~so did NOT enjoy that I got all the way to said soccer game and my memory card for my camera was back on my desk at home. Oy.

~am gonna plant some mums and put some pumpkins out this week. Ahh, welcome back Fall!

~need some candy right now. Chocolate. Ooooh! Fannie May....mmmmmmmmmm.

~apparently will have to make due with a snack-sized Almond Joy, since that is the only thing in my desk drawer at the moment. I'll suffer through it.

~seriously think I have the most creative costume for the boys for this Halloween, and I am so psyched. It will involve me actually "making"--and I put that in quotations for a reason--the costumes, so to my creative and crafty girlfriends: be on the ready for an email or two!

~have been using a good chunk of time on Monday mornings to prepare for all the sack lunches that get packed for the week. I do all my major 'cooking' and preparation--like making two loaves of bread worth of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches (I freeze them individually and it works great), making finger jello, washing bunches of grapes and several other kinds of fruits...that sort of 'cooking'--first. Once everything is made, I take a few minutes and individually bag everything into little baggies. That way, chips, fruit, sandwiches, jello, cheeses, and little treats are all within a quick grab on those mornings when we are working our tails off to get out of the house on time. It's working like a charm so far!

~am addicted to snack size baggies now, by the way.

~am trying to get up the ooomph to figure out all the ins and outs of selling on eBay so that I can list all my 0-3, 3-6 month (etc., etc.) baby boy clothes and earn a bit of cash for Peanut--but have just not quite had a block of time big enough to do it yet. I'll get there....

~can't believe the difference in the way my body is handling this pregnancy compared to even Ethan's, which was only three years ago. While I don't necessarily feel old.....I sure can say with emphasis that I feel older....

~also, along those lines, have strangely never enjoyed a pregnancy more. Even with all the aches and pains, the being winded just walking down the hall, the not sleeping well, the vein and bladder and low-placenta 'issues', and the 'everything else', I am just so thankful everyday for Peanut. It's sad to me when I think about how much I missed with the boys' pregnancies for all the constant wishing that "....it would just be over already so the baby would be here!" I am relishing each and every day of having Peanut kicking and swirling in my belly, and, as excited as I am to meet her in January, am not anxious at all for the time to pass...

~think I need to go catch a few zzzzz's now, while I can, to make up for the ones I missed last night. Happy Monday everyone!

Incredibly thankful ..... and 21 weeks

I couldn't be more thankful that his little mind thinks this way. God has richly blessed me....

****************************************************************************************************************

Friday is show-and-tell day in Kindergarten.

Bright and early this morning, Colin came into my room, and snuggled with me in bed. It's the most wonderful couple of minutes before the lightning fast pace of the morning officially begins.

"Mom?" he said.

"Yeah, babe?" I replied.

"I decided what I am going to take for show-and-tell today. Grass."

"Grass? Really? Well, what are you going to say about the grass?"

"Well," he said, "I'm just going to tell everyone that God made the grass. And, I think I will take some rocks, too. And maybe some sticks. He made those. And a few leaves. And some dirt...."

"He made all of those things, didn't he buddy?" I said.

"Yep! And I'm going to tell everyone about that, just in case they don't go to church on Sunday and haven't learned it already!"

And all I could think to myself was,

What a great thing for show and tell, my love. Nothing better you could ever tell those kids about than Jesus.

****************************************************************************************************************

And, just for good measure: a 21-week belly picture!

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

My main squeeze turns the big 2-9

This past Saturday was Shane's birthday, and we celebrated by taking the whole family out to Famous Dave's for dinner.

You always know that when you take small children out to dinner, there are going to be 'interruptions.' It's just to be expected, right? Well, this meal was no different. Between Shane, Grandma MJ, and myself, we were in the bathroom--count 'em--seven times with the boys. And they were not all, ahem, quick trips.

*Whew.*

But, we had fun anyway, and enjoyed some great food. Here are a few pictures!

My handsome hubby with Grandma MJ

Grandma and Colin

Cameron and Daddy

Mommy and Ethan

Here's Cameron, trying his first ever Famous Dave's corn muffin.
Needless to say, he loved them.
He only ate two and a half of them all by himself.
And he asked for more....several times....
*sigh*
How am I gonna feed this boy in five years?

Ethan spent every photo opportunity turning his head and
attempting to 'hide' behind his blankie. Stinker.
You can see him smiling here, even though he's trying to hide it!

Me and my mom

Ha! This picture cracks me up.
One of Shane's and my favorite things to do when we go to FD's is to get out a paper towel and line up all of the different BBQ sauces to 'taste-test' each one (*for the 18th time*) before the meal comes out. We decided to give the boys a shot at it, and Colin didn't quite get the idea at first. This was him giving Shane the "Huh? I'm supposed to do what with all these red piles?" look.

He warmed up quickly, though, once he started sampling. *grin*

In honor of Shane turning 29 years old, I thought I would list
29 random things that I love about my main man:

1. He is majorly, undeniably handsome. *sigh*
2. He is so very funny, and has the greatest smile I've ever seen.
3. He is the handiest guy EVER. Nuf' said.
4. He leaves me little notes written in soap on the bathroom mirror.
5. He is a hard worker,
6. and a wonderful provider for our family.
7. Even when he is dead dog tired after work, he is still willing to "Play soccer with me Daddy!" when a little one asks.
8. We pretty much never argue. I'm so thankful for that.
9. He has never, not once, complained that my mother still calls him "Shane-y Wayne-y" after all this time we've been together--even though I'm quite certain it probably embarrasses him. *giggle*
   
10. He takes genuine interest in the things that are important to me.
11. He corrals all three of the boys every church service by himself, so that I can serve by playing the piano and singing in the choir. That is no small feat.
12. I trust him completely, and he trusts me completely.
    
13. He'll take a child to the bathroom at a restaurant seven times and never say a cross word about it. *grin*
    
14. He makes an effort to 'date me' every week, and do special things like weekend getaways every once in a while.
15. He goes shopping with me and never rarely complains.
    
16. He doesn't mind that I get a little psycho (over various things) every once in a while, and is always willing and able to talk me 'back off of the ledge', so to speak.
17. He tells me I'm beautiful--and I know he really means it.
    
18. He loves my cooking. Or, at least, always pretends he does.
    
19. He laughs at my jokes. Even when they're terrible. Which is frequently.
20. He takes care of me when I'm sick. Even the gross kind of sick.
21. When he laughs--I mean really, really uncontrollable-tears-rolling-down-your face laughs, he sort of has this high pitched 'hee-hee-hee' sound. It's the best sound ever.
22. He's ticklish on his neck and armpits. (See #21.)
23. He protects me. If I even think I heard a noise in the night time, he's up and checking the house. I always feel very safe with him.
    
24. He cleans the shower for me (one of my most dreaded household jobs) and always takes out the trash (the other one).
25. He always knows what clothing will look good on me. His clothes always look better than the ones I'd pick out for myself.
    
26. He's a great gift giver.
    
27. He's romantic.
28. He's most certainly my better half.
29. He's allllllll mine.

I love you so much babe! Happy (Belated) 29th!

Psalm 23

We don't have an AWANA program at our church on Wednesday nights, but for quite a while now, we have done a Bible Memory program.

Our Pastor's wife, Kathy, (who also happens to be a dear friend and one of the most wonderful women you will ever meet in your life--and that's no exaggeration) takes all the young children downstairs and listens to them, one by one, recite the memory verse that they have worked on for the week. Then they are rewarded by getting a 'prize' from the prize basket.

If you have followed this blog for a while, you would know that Colin and Cameron have been memorizing verses for a long time. {Side note--you must stop reading here and click that link before continuing on in the post...oh, my goodness--how little they were! *sniff, sniff*}

As great as they do with verses every week, I knew--this, even for them, seemed like a huge undertaking:

We decided to memorize the entire 23rd Psalm.

Yes, even Cameron. Yes, he is only three.

I know their ability, and I believed that with some hard work, they would be able to do it.

We learned verse one the first week; verse two the second week; and then, on the third week, we put verses one and two together. Then, the next week, we learned verse three; and the following week worked on verses one through three.

We continued in that pattern for a couple of months, until we had learned, or re-learned, as the case may be, the entire Psalm. (The great thing about teaching the kids these verses is that it is a wonderful refresher for me, too!)

Colin can say the whole thing through as well, obviously--but he wasn't here for me to be able to record him today. *sniff*

(Cameron, by the way, made me CRACK UP at the end of this video. In order to ever get him to do anything for the camera, he always makes me promise to let him see it--picture or video--as soon as I am done taking it. I told him that I was going to put this video on the blog, for Aunt Deanna and Uncle Alan, Grandpa Danny and Amy, and Grandma 'Nette and Grandpa to see, and he finally agreed to do it. Immediately after he is finished, you will hear him say, "Can I see it on the blog now?" I just found it so, so funny--a three-year-old saying the word 'blog'. That kid never ceases to make me laugh, and his little lisp never ceases to put a smile on my face either!)

Enjoy!

Psalm 23:
"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Not at all Wordless Wednesday

Alternately Titled: "Why it possibly scares me to death that we are going to have another girl in this house."

I mean, really--do we need two of us who talk this much all day?

{And, by the way....notice how this man responds to his daughter--the smiles, the eyebrow raises, the head nods, the rubbing of the eyes....this is the spitting image of Shane's responses to me when I talk to him for longer than, like, 3.2 minutes. Now my poor, sweet hubby has to suffer two of us under the same roof?}

I can't stop replaying it....and I can't stop laughing! Happy Wednesday everyone!!

Getting bigger....

*19 1/2 week belly picture--peanut is definitely growing!*