CSN Review

I have been contacted to do a review of the CSN Online Stores!!! They have so many different web sites to pick from I think the hardest thing is going to be deciding what to review. Between cookware.com, csnofficesupply.com, allmodern.com and allgreenhouses.com I really don't even know where to start. I'm sure I will fine something I like:) Maybe I'll get something for the new baby, maybe something for Ethan or maybe I'll get some great new cookware for my self!!

Look for my review to go up in the next few weeks.

Wordless Wednesday- Zoo and Pool

Growing Veggies

Our garden is growing more and more every day. We have gotten several cucumbers and a few okra and 1 pepper! The tomatoes are still growing and haven't produced yet. I think the rains we had a few weeks ago knocked off all the flowers.

I didn't know okra made such a pretty flower! The flowers don't stay very long before turning into a tiny okra.

These cuties are all over our okra leaves. I'm okay with them as long as they don't jump on me or start eating our plants.

We bought the cucumber seeds with the intent to make pickles! I'm not an experienced canner so I choose to go with refrigerator pickles. No canning involved! I used this recipe but halved it. I also added grape leaves from our "wild" grapes that grow on the neighbor's tree that happens to grow into our yard. They taste good but a bit on the bitter/sweet side. Eli suggested adding a 1/2 cup of water to the recipe next time.

On a sadder note, our Toad died. He had been living in our flower bed for about a year. He liked to hang out in my potted plants and I never knew when I would be watering and he would pop his head up out of the dirt!

I came home from Oklahoma last week to find him floating in Ethan's swimming pool (that was filled with rain water). He wasn't dead so I fished him out with one of Ethan toys (that Eli threw away later) and set him back in the flower bed. I thought maybe he had just had too much water, as he is a desert toad, and just needed to dry out a bit. The next day he was dead. I had Eli bury him in the flower bed next to the jasmine bush where he lived.

Don't worry, I cleaned out the swimming pool before I let Ethan back in it!

The Many Woes of Little Ethan

Here is what I'm dealing with today. More on that in a second:For the last few days we have been attempting to get Ethan to sleep in his "Big Boy" bed. It is his crib with the front remove to make it into a day bed. He loves it, during the day. But when it comes time to sleep in it he wants nothing to do with it. He will cry, for about a minute, and then fall asleep in front of his bedroom door. It's really sad. He wakes several times in the night and Eli will get him back to sleep, sometimes in his bed. He wakes rested and happy the next morning. Hopefully we will see some improvement over the next week. If not, I think we might have to go back to the crib. He can't sleep on the floor like a homeless man for the rest of his life.

Here is what Ethan looked like when we went to his 18 month appointment last week:

Blood blister on toe:

Scratches on side of face and mosquito bits all over forehead:

More mosquito bits on arms and legs:

I'm glad the Doc didn't think he was an abused child. She may change her mind if she sees this:

And this:

Or this:

It was also on his bottom cheeks but I didn't take a photo of that.

What is it you ask? Good question. We have no idea. His diaper was changed at 8am yesterday and within 2 hours he looked like this. It was gone with in 2 hours. The same thing happened this morning on his back (see first photo). I'm thinking heat rash but Eli disagrees. I kept myself from googling it yesterday but couldn't help myself this morning. The only thing I came across that might be close is Fifth's Disease which doesn't look too bad. We called the off hours nurse yesterday and she wasn't too concerned. I've put in a call to our ped and now just waiting to hear back. On the up side he has been very happy through the whole thing. It doesn't seem to bother him at all.

UPDATE: The nurse thinks it may be hives. I'm still waiting on her to get in touch with the ped to see if she wants us to go in for an appointment.

Eli and I got to go out on a date last night! Our friend and Eli's co-worker came to sit with Ethan. She has sat with him once before but I put him to sleep before we left. This time she came over at 6pm and Ethan goes to bed at 7pm. They had a great time singing, dancing and playing on her laptop taking pics of him! She put him to bed and he cried for a minute and fell asleep (again, on the floor). I'm so glad we have someone who is willing to sit (for free! so I cook them food) with Ethan so Eli and I can enjoy some time out together.

Vacation- Part I

We just got home after what seems like months of travel! In reality we have been gone about a month and a half off and on. The dishes are stacked, the laundry is piled high, and I have a ton of sewing I want to do but I miss my blog friends! People stop coming around if you stop blogging and commenting on their blogs. I'm glad to be back and hope everyone has stuck around.



I'm going to break our vacations up into parts. The first trip we went on was to visit my sister in Georgia. My Mom, Ethan and I drove from Texas on a 2 1/2 day 2 night trip. It went fairly well with great weather most of the way. At the time Ethan was waking from his naps by screaming his head off so we had a few stops due to a crying baby but that was only once or twice.





We were all very excited to see one another! Unfortunately, the day after we got there my Grandmother (Mom's Mom) back in Oklahoma fell and broke her hip. My Mom had to turn right around and drive home :( Ethan and I stayed the week and had a great time with Aunt April, Hooch, Sadee and Griffin (the cat).

We went to an animal park to see native Georgia wild life.

Ethan was like this for the first 5 mins. He was like this for the rest of the walk!!

He woke up long enough for me to carry him around and put him back to sleep. April and I had a good time, though. Griffin became my new friend. He is a very sweet and lovable cat, except for his bad habit of waking around 4 am and wanting to be feed. He would cry until I would get up and feed him! Sadee Lady is still super sweet as always. She and Ethan had a great time chasing each other around the house and in between furniture. I never got a good photo of the two of them together because they both moved too fast.
Ethan's favorite part of the trip was the box full of dog toys! He love to play with the squeaky ones and had no idea it drove the dogs crazy. They were very good about sharing.

Hooch had the right idea about resting most of the day. If only Sadee and Ethan would follow his example!

Ethan and I flew home and it was the first time for me to fly alone with Ethan. I was extremely tired when I got home and sat on the couch for about 2 weeks with morning sickness. I'm so glad I got to spend time with my sissy but we sure did miss Mom!

Home..for now and Ethan's Secret

We are home from our various vacations of the last month but off to visit my family in Oklahoma tomorrow. We had a great time visiting family and have lots of pics I want to share. It will take several different post to get it all in!

As for now, Ethan has a little secret he wants to announce:

We are having Baby #2!!!!!The Little One is 12 weeks old today, edd mid January 2011. Up until now we have just told close family members but I'm really excited to let everyone in on our secret! Little One will be born at the same Birthing Center as Ethan was. I am being monitored by a perinatologist because of my Lupus but all is well. I just see it as a great way to get U/S done every 6 weeks! We will find out if Little One is a boy or a girl on Augs 11 and I can't wait.



Thanks for sharing in our blessings and joy!