Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Wordless Wednesday- Nap time on his terms

Little Ethan has been boycotting nap time every few days. Today he went into his room to play around nap time so I thought I would take the opportunity and go through our nap/bedtime routine. He went along with it without any fuss. I left him on the floor (Sometimes he likes to sleep on a comforter on the floor. Whatever as long as he sleeps!) with his pillow and blanket. He played happily in his room for almost an hour and then started beating on the door and crying. I let him out and he ran to the living room to watch Veggie Tales. (He gets to watch them after his nap.) I put down a blanket on the floor because sometimes he will lay down on it and fall asleep. As soon as I put the blanket down he ran to get his pillow and jumped on the couch to watch Veggies! I have to say it is one of the cutest things he has ever done :) Now I really hope he takes a nap!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Weekend Trip to the Beach

This weekend Eli, Ethan and I took a quick trip to the Gulf Coast for Eli's Department Retreat. We all had a great time!

Ethan got to run and play on the beach. He went wading in the wet lands collecting with his Daddy and got to go to two bonfires and a BBQ.


Don't be fooled by the "Folly Beach" Tshirt! We are in Port Aransas, TX.

We are all pretty tired. Ethan slept till 7:15 am this morning and then took a 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Skipping Halloween + Ethan's second time (or 3rd) to VOTE!!

We skipped Halloween this year. I was a bit too lazy to come up with a costume for Ethan to wear plus we really don't know any of our neighbors or have family close for trick or treating.

But Ethan did get to go to two Fall Festivals this year! The first was in Round Rock and we went with a friend and her little girl. It was so cold and windy I didn't get too many photos. Ethan dressed up in his "Dallas Cowboy's" warm up suit that Aunt April gave him for Christmas last year. It's the best I could come up with. The lines were so long and the games were not very age appropriate for our little ones so we rode the hay ride and played on the play ground.

The next day they had a "Fall Fest" at his school (MDO). He loved all the games and "won" some great prizes that Mom has enjoyed eating :)


He took me inside for some cookies and juice and to show me where he sits for lunch.

When we got home he was a bit wired so we played with his "house" I made him out of a cardboard box. He loves this thing!

It has a door in one side and a window in the other. I left the top open for easy access.

It's in the garage right now and he plays with it when the car is not there. If it is too cold or too hot outside (and in the garage) I will bring it into the kitchen and he plays there. I've thought about covering it with cloth or painting it. Maybe one day when I'm not so lazy, or pregnant.

We voted for President when I was pregnant with Ethan (Nov 08) and Ethan got to vote in 09 and again this year 10. This year he wasn't too happy because he overheard some potential voting fraud going on. The volunteer was going to sign someone up to vote with a Credit Card! I'm pretty sure it has to be a Government Issued ID.
But that's okay. We got to vote!!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Animal Farm

Last week a petting zoo came to visit Ethan's school. He had a great time petting all the baby farm animals.



He loved the goats and wanted to pull their tails.




I really loved the piglets but he could care less. They were only a few weeks old and soooo cute!


He didn't like his hands getting dirty but Mom came prepared with hand sanitizer :)


We tried to get a group picture but someone wasn't cooperating. Hmmmm, who would that have been????


At the end of playground time all the kids line up and hold on to this "rope".


They all look so cute taking off for school!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Wordless Wednesday or My Daily Attempt to keep Ethan Alive

Ethan had a "photo shoot" yesterday at a park. The birthing center where he was born (and where the Little Girl will be born!) is opening up a new location and wanted photos of the babies that had been born there. Ethan had a great time running on the playground before it was his turn to get his pics taken.

 Here is where I will insert my "mommy guilt moment". See that concrete step behind him? What you don't see is the other side is gravel. Well, he was having so much fun running back and forth in this play area and I was trying to get some shots of him. He stopped to have his photo taken and when he turn he didn't realize he only had a step or two before hitting the "wall". He went head first and flipped upside down, landing on his face and falling on his back onto the gravel. All I saw were arms and legs flying in the air.
My heart fell with him. I ran to him telling him he was okay. I didn't want to move him in case he had some sort of neck injury (I watch too much ER) so all I could do was wipe the gravel off his face. He started crying and caught his breath for a second and then jumped up and started running again! All seemed well but of course I worried about him all day while he was at school. Teacher said he was fine and had a great day.
These photos were taken before the accident. His professional, going to be published on the web and hung in the birthing center, were taken after the fall. I later discovered a skid mark from his forehead down his nose. Hope she can edit that out.

On a side note: Who designs a children's play area with a foot tall concrete wall and a foot tall drop off on to gravel???

Saturday, September 25, 2010

24 weeks


24 weeks!! Over half way there. I am feeling really great. I attend yoga class at least once a week, sometimes twice. It really helps to adjust my softening joints. If I skip a week I start to feel achy all over and my hips start to hurt. I am looking forward to a yoga workshop mid Oct: Primal Birth. I can't say enough about how much yoga helped me with my first pregnancy, labor and birth.

I can't eat anything too spicy anymore, which makes me really sad. With Ethan I could eat anything! But now I get a terrible stomach ache a few hours after I have a spicy meal. 


The Little Girl was head up at her last u/s on Weds which is not really a problem at this age. I've been talking to her and telling her that is not where she is supposed to be and she needs to start making her way head down. Yesterday morning she moved to a side laying position where her feet are to my right side. I can tell because her kicks (feet) are harder then her hits (hands). Keep it up, Baby Girl! You are half way there!!



Here she is with her hands above her head.


Eli says she has "lady like" feet!! I hope so because Ethan has his feet and on a boy they are cute but not so much on a little girl.


Doesn't she have a cute nose?? She weighed 1lb 9oz.

We will start going for u/s every month now. So far every thing is looking great! Healthy Mama and Healthy Baby!

Right now I am doing lots of research on childbirth and the different issues that can arise. I am reading "Creating Your Birth Plan" by Marsden Wagner and taking notes to write my own birth plan. I didn't write a birth plan when I had Ethan because I felt safe having the baby at a Birthing Center. Even though I was very informed on childbirth before Ethan's birth I feel even more so now. I want to know all about the different complications that can happen and what my stance is on them BEFORE they happen! That way we can make an informed choice if something were to happen. I don't really trust myself to remember everything so I'll be writing it down. I'll be sure to share it with you when I am done!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Bloggy Break- Soup Recipes

I'm not sure what happened or why I took such a long Bloggy Break but I'm ready to up date you on all the "Happily Homemaking" that's been going on!

Ethan started "School"!! He's going to a Mother's day out program twice a week for 4 hours a day. At first he didn't really know what was going on but now he is getting the idea. The last few times I've dropped him off he has cried as I left and then yesterday he took off running to the playground without 1 tear! The teachers say he does great during the day and he is starting to participate and play with his classmates. He eats all of his lunch everyday and comes home with art work (finger painting, stickers, etc.).





Eli got his last two remaining wisdom teeth out. Because they were already in, I thought he would be recovered with in a day or two but it took him a bit longer. I had only planned to make one type of soup, my potato and broccoli soup, so I had to scramble and make up a few more.

Broccoli and Potato Soup

2T butter
1 Onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1lb potatoes, cubed
1 bag broccoli (I also used some cauliflower)
3c chicken broth
3c water
1/2 low fat milk
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper (white if you've got it)

Heat butter in a pot big enough for all your ingredients. Cook onion and garlic until transparent. Add potatoes, broccoli, broth, salt and pepper and water. Cook until vegs are soft. Blend until smooth ( I used my immersion blender). Add milk and cheese. Cook until melted. You could leave out some of the broccoli until after you blended it up, just add it in and cook a bit longer before adding milk and cheese.




Potato and Cheese Soup

3 T butter
1/2 onion chopped
4 med potatoes chopped
2 carrots chopped
3 T flour
salt and pepper
1 T rosemary
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup grated cheese
milk to thin

This one is made a lot like my Scallop Potatoes. Make a roux with the butter and flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add a bit of the chicken broth and whisk it around until it starts to thicken. Add the potatoes, onions, carrots, rosemary and the rest of the chicken broth. You can use some water if the chicken broth is not enough to cover. Cook until the potatoes are falling apart. Blend with the immersion blender. Add cheese and melt. If it is too thick you can use milk to help thin it out.

Split Pea Soup- Crockpot

1/2 bag Split Peas
1/2 bag Lintels
3T butter
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic (or 1 tsp powder)
3 carrots diced
2 small pots diced (I used red)
1/2 pound sausage (or ham or bacon)
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
salt/ pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp curry powder

Rinse lentils and peas and add to crock pot.
Heat butter in skillet. Add onion and garlic and cook a bit. Then add potatoes, carrots, salt, pepper, oregano and curry powder. You are not really cooking the veggies, just browning them a little. Add to crock pot.

In same skillet cook sausage. You can use left over ham or bacon, just chop it up into little pieces. Add to crock pot.

Add broth and enough water to cover all. I add some more salt because I use homemade broth and I never get that salty enough.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high 4-5 or until lentils and peas are very soft. I used the immersion blender to make it more liquid.

Beware, this soup is not very pretty. It looks a lot like you've already eaten it but it is really tasty!


****When using an immersion blender always make sure to keep it below the liquid level. Splashing of hot liquid hurts!!


Thursday, August 26, 2010

Second Breakfast with Caroline



We had a great visit to our friend's house yesterday. Caroline shared with Ethan some yogurt and fruit.

They enjoyed sitting across from each other while eating their "second" breakfast!


Footsies were played.


I can't get over this little ones eyelashes! Her daddy's going to have a hard time keeping the boys away.

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