Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins

Have you ever bought pumpkin pie mix thinking that you were getting pure pumpkin? Yep, that's me. But with a mish-mash of a couple of recipes, I found a way to use it. The would be perfect for breakfast since it's not too sweet.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins

One 8-oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup quick oats
1 Tbsp brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 cup flour (I used half each of regular and whole wheat)
1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup Libby's pumpkin pie mix
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line twelve muffin cups with paper baking cups, or spray bottoms with cooking spray.

For Cream Cheese filling:
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and confectioners sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in 1 egg white and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Set aside.

For Streusel topping:
Sift together 1/4 cup oats, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice. Add 1 Tbsp melted butter and mix gently with a fork.

For pumpkin mixture:
Sift together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, spices, and baking soda in a large bowl. Combine pumpkin pie mix, milk, oil, and egg in a medium bowl; blend well. Add the dry ingredients all at once, stirring only until moistened; do not over-mix.

Fill muffin cup 1/3 full with pumpkin mixture, then a dollop of cream cheese filling, and another scoop of pumpkin on top. Sprinkle a small spoonfull of streusel topping; patting gently. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

I've gone B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Well, I'm tired of banana bread. You can only make SO much of it, ya know? So, I found a new way to use up my browning 'nanas and, OH MAN, it is GOOD!

Here's the recipe I found at Week of Menus. I used Hershey's cocoa powder and a mix of both mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and regular white chocolate chips (which I measured by eye so I probably put more in than what the recipe calls for!). Enjoy this warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it's heavenly!

Chocolate Banana Cake

(from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)
Makes one 9 X 5 inch loaf or a 9 inch round (serves 8-10)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of 9 X 5 inch loaf pan or 9 inch round pan.

Sift together flour, coca powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using paddle attachment beat butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat at high until well blended, about 2 minutes. At medium speed, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and mix at low speed until blended. Add the flour mixture at low speed in three additions, alternating it with the sour cream in two additions. Remove bowl from the mixer stand and stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrap batter into the prepared pan and smooth top with spatula.

Bake cake for 55 to 65 minutes (loaf pan) or 45 to 50 minutes (round pan), until a cake tester into the center comes out clean (except for any melted chocolate.)
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Unmold cake onto the rack, turn right side up and cool completely.

Blueberry Bread

As you may (or may not) know, I really enjoy baking. I mean, seriously. In fact, I think I like the baking part more than the actual eating part. Unless it's chocolatey.... Then I'll be licking the bowl before I wash it! (Lindsay, yes, I did what you think I did with the leftover frosting from the cake I made you this weekend!)

Anyways, I love trying new recipes too. Here's a new one for Blueberry Bread that I found on Buns In My Oven. I used the blueberries I had frozen over the summer. It's not too sweet so it would make a really good breakfast bread.

Blueberry Bread

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottom of two 8 or 9 inch loaf pans.

In the bowl of your mixer, add sugar, milk, applesauce, oil, and eggs. Mix well. Mix in the remaining ingredients except for the blueberries and mix until combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Pour in the loaf pans and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

If you want it to look pretty with the oats on the top, sprinkle it on before you bake it. Most of it will stick, and you can just gently shake off what doesn't.

Long time, no see!

It's been quite some time since I've updated! Since then..



Austin's head has really been rounding out nicely! We're still seeing the physical therapist every two weeks, and she measures his head to see how symmetrical it is. She takes two measurements and figures the difference between then. When we first started seeing her, there was an 8mm difference. At our last appointment two weeks ago, it went down to a 7mm, so this is good!



On this cute little round head of his, he's got an adorable smile. This boy will smile and GIGGLE with hardly any encouragement at all! It melts my heart! His favorite time ever is bathtime. I'm still bathing him in the little baby tub on the kitchen counter, but once he can sit up, I'll be moving him to the big tub because he makes a MESS! He kicks and splashes and laughs up a storm!



My Ethan... Somehow Grandpa W. got him on the subject about who made him. He said he came from God, who lives way up high in heaven. Further questioning him, he then said he came from rescue heroes, because that's what he is - a rescue hero. He is such an imaginative character!



He started preschool and is really liking it. We walk across the street twice a week to his 'school', which is a lady's house. There are 5 other boys in the class between 3 and 4 years old, and let me tell you... They can get WILD!



My new work schedule has been working out amazingly well. For me, anyway. :) I work in the office 3 days a week, and then from home 2 days on the preschool days. I don't know how I would survive if I was in the office 5 days a week.. This week will be a 4 day in-office week, and let me tell you, I am exhausted! I start my day after getting up the 2nd or 3rd time since going to bed, get everybody ready, pile out of the house, loaded down with everyone's stuff to the point where I barely fit through the door. Hit the daycare, then off to work! After work, I pile home with everything, package milk, wash bottles, make dinner, eat dinner, clean up, bath time for each boy, bedtime for each boy, bedtime stuff for me, and CRASH! And it all starts over again the next day, with barely enough time to sit and breath between tasks! My work-at-home Tuesday's and Thursday's save my sanity! And also give me an opportunity to spend some real time with my boys and Bill without all the other stuff in the way.



Also, some exciting news... We're planning a trip to Kansas in July or August 2011! What's in Kansas, do you ask? A long awaited wedding!!! Yes, FINALLY, Adam and Andrea are getting married!!! I'm so happy for them!

Help! HELP!

I entered a contest on the local Channel 2 News and I was one of the 3 finalists chosen for a Scrap-Off! The three of us were given the same materials - papers, ribbon, brads, chipboard, etc, even photos, which were of the News team - and we had 30 minutes to complete a 2 page layout. 30 minutes in scraptime is crazy because most of us scrappers take MUCH longer than than to complete a page! We were allowed to bring adhesive, scissors, paper peircer, pens/markers, and a paper cutter. And to top it all off - we were all on air! Not just like 'walking on air', but they did this during the noon newshour and we were all on TV!

So... ready, set, SCRAP! About 5 minutes in to it, the girl next to me ran out of adhesive! Yikes! So I shared mine with her. (Awww, aren't I a good sport?) And she so kindly shared her chalks with me so I could color my plain chipboard. Afterwards, the other girl to the other side of me was so sweet as to bring me and the other girl a TON of scrap stuff from her stash! It was so thoughtful of her! (Yes, we call our 'stuff' our 'STASH'. Every scrapper has a Stash.)

Channel 2 promptly put our layouts online and opened up voting, which will go until August 25th at 12:30pm. You have to register to vote, but it only take a minute (and you can check a box to choose not to receive marketing stuff from them), and... get this... You can vote ONCE PER DAY!

What does this mean? Get busy and get to voting!

(Pretty pretty please with 10 pounds of sugar and a barrell of cherries on top!)

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

P.S. I'm supposed to go BACK to Channel 2 for another TV appearance (said like I'm famous, hehe) on Wednesday, August 25th, at noon so they can announce the winner!

P.S.S. I reeeaaally needs your votes. I'm trailing behind! And the winner gets a HUGE gift basket full of $500 worth of scrap supplies!

One and two and Streeeeetch!

My little guy will be 6 weeks old come Monday. Wow! He's been doing great and is already 11 pounds! Ethan still thinks he's pretty neat too. He already has a brotherly nickname for him... Poop Machine. When Austin wakes up in the morning, Ethan will say, "Mom, go get the Poop Machine!".

Austin seems to have some slight torticollis though, which has caused some plagiocephaly. In other words.... A muscle or tendon in his neck on one side is tight or shortened, which has caused him to prefer to sleep and lay and generally favor that side and now his poor little head is a little mis-shapen. We've been working with him stretching that muscle/tendon though and giving him as much tummy time and time off his head as he can handle. So far, he's becoming more comfortable sleeping with his head turned to the opposite side, but we're still waiting for his head to re-mold. If his head is still pretty out-of-rounds at his 2 month appointment, we'll likely be referred to a specialist. Hopefully it 'shapes' up by then though! *Cross your fingers!*

Captured sweetness

A couple weeks ago when Austin was 3 weeks old, I had my old friend and co-worker from many years ago do his photos. She is so talented and, of course, had a handsome subject to work with. :) Here's a post on her blog with just a few of the pics from our session.

Lilac Photography

What've I been doing?

I'll tell you what I've been doing.. A whole lotta SCRAP, that's what!

No, seriously though, my goal for July is to do 15 pages. So far, so good, and just about there! Thanks to my fancy moby-style wrap, I can wear Austin while I am crafty so it's a win-win situation all the way around! (Okay, a double-win for me because I also get to snuggle with my babe!)

Another adventure!

This morning we went to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum with my sister, my neice, and my nephew. It was crazy! I would really like to know where my child gets his insane amount of energy from though because he was like a wild rocket in there! The first thing we saw was the ball area. I think the kids would have been satisfied if that's all there was to the place! When we finally dragged them further into the museum they had even more fun! There was a construction zone, a little house (complete with a vacuum and a lawnmower), a store, some cars, a rock wall, a water area. They even got to see a helicopter! Most of the activities had a learning thing to them, but to a 3 year old, they don't care about that - they just want to play! So even though we had a ton of fun, I think this is something he'll enjoy even more in a year or two when he can actually learn from it.

Let's go see some stinky animals!

I've been having such a wonderful time being home with my boys! Yesterday we went to the Hogle Zoo. We took my brother's girlfriend from Kansas, Andrea, with us since she's never been there. Austin slept the whole time, but E had a BLAST! He got to touch a snake (or squeeze it rather.. because that's just what 3 year olds do). And he was SOOOO excited to see the elephants. He probably would have stayed there watching them the whole time! Him and Andrea then went into the giraffe building. Apparently, it was stinky in there. When they came out, he was running around saying he wanted to see more 'stinky animals'! So we continued on and saw the rest of the 'stinky animals'! (A name that he meant in love!)

Welcome, Baby Austin!

Baby Austin arrived June 7th, 2010 at 3:37pm. He weighted 8 lbs 8 oz and was 21 inches. He's a handsome and healthy baby boy!

So on Sunday evening, June 6th, after dinner around 6pm I started having some contractions. They weren't really painful so I wasn't worried about it. I just went along with my business. They were consistent though and were about 5 minutes apart. They kept up though and by around 8:30 the intensity had increased some. It still wasn't super painful and I could carry a conversation through them, but it was enough for me to make some phone calls to have Mandi on standby to come stay with Ethan, and my parents prepared to get out of bed in the night and head to the hospital if necessary. I also took a shower and picked out two sets of clothes - work clothes or comfortable head-to-hospital clothes.

Around 10pm the intensity had increased even more and the contractions were coming around 3 minutes apart. Bill and I decided that it might be a good idea to just have Mandi stay the night, just in case. When Mandi got here, her and I went for a walk around the neighborhood to see what would happen. This is when I started getting a dull pain in my lower back as well as the contractions. The contractions also started getting a bit more painful. Bill and I ended up at the hospital by 11pm.

When we got to the hospital, we felt a little silly. Like maybe we should have just stayed home a bit longer, or maybe we were over-reacting. I had no idea what to expect of a spontaneous labor because E's was not spontaneous. I didn't know how fast things could progress because of my mom's quick-labor and delivery story with my brother and I was scared of things getting too close too far from the hospital. They hooked me up to the monitors though for an hour. I was still only dialated to 3cm and had a 'favorable' cervix, which is the same as I had been all week. This made me feel even more silly to be there that soon! But then they noticed that the baby's heartbeat had a low line (but would peak beautifully so it was okay) and they wanted to monitor that for a bit. They decided they wanted us to walk around for an hour and then come back and see what was happening.

We walked EVERYWHERE in that hospital! I was starving too and was worried that if this was it, I didn't want to be famished when I needed energy. Luckily Starbucks was open and I got a sandwhich that I nibbled at. At 1 am (Monday, June 7th now), we came back to Labor & Delivery to have things checked and monitored again. I was still only dialated to 3cm, but because my cervix was so 'favorable', they thought anything could happen. We were given the choice though of going home or walking for another hour. Bill didn't want to take chances of having to delivery a baby himself so....

We walked. And walked. And walked. We went in every stair well and every long hallway there was. More than once! We got back to L&D around 3am. I was only dialated to barely a 4cm! They gave us a choice though - go home and see what happens, or be admitted and get the party started with some pitocin. I was nervous about the induction, but I was more afraid to go home like that. So I was admitted at 4am.

We got settled into a room and the IV was put in my hand. I felt like such a big wuss because this hurt and stung and burned when the antibiotic was going through and the other stuff (not pitocin yet though). I was already crying and the real fun hadn't even begun yet! The antibiotic took 4 hours though and I needed two doses before baby was born so I labored naturally until about 7:30am when the pitocin was finally started.

I toughed through the contractions as they started getting more intense. By 10am though, I asked for the epidural. I was a little disappointed though when I was still only 4cm (I was at 6cm with E before getting the epidural) and I felt even more like a wuss. And it didn't help any that, even though I didn't say it at the time, I was completely terrified of while the epidural was being placed. COMPLETELY terrified. Once it was done though and started working, I felt alot better. Strangely though, near the end of the labor, the bottoms of my feet started to itch, which was strange because my legs were tingly and numb, but dang! My feet were itchy! (Later I felt a little itchy everywhere and when the tape covering my whole back holding the epidural stuff in was removed, I was in heaven! It was the best back scratch EVER! Anyways, a huge, giant thanks for Mandi for all the foot rubs and foot scratches she did for me. I was very grateful!

Anyways, what seemed like hours later, I was checked to be at 5cm. Such slow going! But when what seemed like only at hour had passed and I was at a 9cm, I was so excited!!! And it wasn't long after that that I got the urge to push. After the first set of pushes, I was told to stop pushing! The baby was going to come more quickly than we'd thought and the doctor had to get scrubbed up! She ran from the room and then quickly returned. Two more sets of pushes and my baby boy was here!!! And he was healthy! And I got to hold him right away! (Bill said that I yelled, "Give him to me! Give him to me!") He was born at 3:37pm.

I prayed for a healthy baby and an easy delivery and my prayers were answered. Austin is healthy as can be and he was so gentle on me during delivery that by the next day I was feeling great and ready to go home. (I am still in a bit of shock at how well it went because I distinctively remember the many days of pain after having E!)

I have also been blessed as well with this child because he eats!!! From the moment he first was laid on my chest, he knew exactly what to do. Even the nurse was surprised because, even though textbooks say babies are born with natural instincts, very few actually latch properly that quickly. This is also making for sleepless nights for me though because he is hungry all. the. time! But I honestly can't complain about this because this has always been a subject that has concerned me. Thank heavens!

E is also pretty thrilled about his baby brother. When he woke up Monday morning to find Mandi where mommy usually is and he was told that mommy went to the hospital and the doctors were going to use their "magic tools", he knew exactly what was going on. He excitedly asked Mandi if his baby brother was coming out of mommy's belly now. Since we've been home, he's been a great helper too. He likes to gather a diaper and hand me the wipes when I change Austin's diaper. He also likes to pick out his clothes. In the hospital, he gave him a pretend 'winkie' (aka binky), which I thought was really sweet.

Well, gotta go! I hear Austin waking up now!

Mark your calendar!

When we first started attending Elevation Church, we met Dustin and Mandy Hutt. They are a really awesome couple about the same age as us and have four really great kids. We were so excited to also learn that they lived right down the street from us at the time. This was really crazy because I've never known anyone who lived that close to me that also went to my church. They are so friendly and outgoing though and have always made us feel welcome, especially when we first started attending church. Anyways, about a year ago, Dustin was diagnosed with cancer. Together, their family has been fighting this. God is most definitely giving Dustin and his family strength right now, but it's still hard and can be difficult financially as well.

If you'd like to help reach out, encourage, and support this family, please join us on Saturday June 19th at 6pm at Mountain View Baptist Church for a good old Spaghetti Dinner and Silent Auction/Raffle. Tickets are $15 per person. All funds raised will go to Dustin and Mandy to help ease the stress cancer has brought into their lives and to also help with financial burden. The address is 2585 E. Highway 193, Layton, UT. If you'd like to attend, let me know and I'll get you more info!

To read more about this family, you can visit their blog.

Also, if you can't make it to the dinner - There is a YARD SALE this weekend that will benefit them as well. Saturday, June 5th at Elevation Kaysville (1700 Frontage Road, Kaysville, UT). This yard sale basically goes all day too, but come early for the best selection!!!

My Swagger Wagon

Much to our dismay, we discovered over the weekend that we couldn't fit two carseats in our little Suzuki SUV.. So, on the hunt we went! Luckily, it turned out to be a very short hunt because I really dread vehicle shopping and didn't want to deal with it right now at all. Bill started looking online at mini vans though..... Oh dear, I was a bit worried because I never wanted to drive a mini van. Ever. However, he said I could get a red one with racing stripes if I want. But even that wasn't enough to convince me.

But then - Ah ha! Mini vans became cool and hip!!! All thanks to this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfTvPE89_J0&feature=youtube_gdata

Such a catchy tune and video! Now I was onboard!

But after looking at a few, Bill fell, well.., offboard. He thought they were way to monstrous for us. And he ended up finding the perfect compromise instead.

The Mazda 5. Technically, it's not a mini-van. It's just a big car with 3rd row seats that fold down and will fit 2 car seats comfortably. It's also, technically, not a 'swagger wagon' since the Toyota Sienna has claimed that title. But it is a wagon. So it's MY swagger wagon (which is much more fun to say that just 'the wagon' or 'the car' or 'the Mazda 5'. Even E thinks so!)

Ironically, when we bought it, we met our neighbor too. He just happened to be our sales guy. And here we thought his family just liked Mazda's a whole lot too since that's all we've ever seen parked over there!

3 Weeks 2 Days

Almost there!!

SURPRISE!!

No, this isn't 'surprise - I had the baby!'. This was certainly a surprise for me though and worth blogging about!

Of course everyone knows what Bunco is, right? It's a game that 12 ladies get together to play once a month and everyone has a great time. Each month a different lady hosts it and puts the monthly dues towards a meal to share with everyone and prizes for the winners of the game.

Well, last night's Bunco game turned out to be a surprise baby shower! And trust me, it was so completely and utterly unexpected, and so much appreciated too! Everyone knew about it, except for me. How the secret was kept so well beats me! Apparently even my own husband knew, and my mom and my mother-in-law, but no one spilled the beans, not even 1 bean!

First of all, when we finished dinner and went to the game area, the decor was 'baby'! Cute little onsies and binkies were strung across the room on a string. The treats on the table were in cute little baby hats and included some of my favorite goodies - Neccos (which were mostly my favorite flavors too. How they managed that, I've no clue!) and a good substitute for ice cream - Baskin Robbins hard candies.

I thought this was the extent of it and thought it was super sweet just as it. I was also pretty excited the whole game because I'd actually gotten to move tables. As I'm sure you know, if your team wins the round at one table, you get to move to the next table, and so on. There are three tables and I got to sit at each one. Why is this extra exciting? Mainly because I stayed at the same table for the last couple of months so I was ready to move and hopefully win!

Anyways, at the end of the night, we all tally up our scores and see who had the most wins, losses, Bunco's, etc. and the prizes are passed out. Even though I got to move tables, I didn't have any wins. Well, the first prize handed out went to Mandi (who also happened to be the night's hostess). It was a window shade for a car. Mandi said I could have it since she didn't have a use for it. I understood that because, after all, Mandi doesn't have a car! The next prize went to Terri. It was in a cute little baby-themed bag. I thought, aww, how cute, even the prize wrap is matching the decor! Terri just said, Eew, I don't want it! And passed it to me. I was quite surprised and wasn't sure if she was serious! As it turned out, no one wanted their prize last night and passed it all on to me!

I truly wasn't expecting a shower of any sort. I just figured that since this is my second baby, and also my second boy, that I should have everything I will need already. Luckily, I kept alot from when Ethan was little, but not everything. And who doesn't love brand-new little outfits for their new baby, whether it's their first, second, of fifth child! I'd also recently been starting to feel like time was running out and I was worried I wasn't going to be prepared! I even dreamt that my baby was born and I had him in a crib in the middle of my living room that was under construction. In my dream, he was so tiny, like a doll, but he could talk clearly. Interpret this as you will, but I couldn't help but wonder if this meant that the baby would be born early (yet smart and healthy) and his room wouldn't be ready! Anyways, my friends completely spoiled me with this surprise and ALL the gifts they gave me and once I put it all away, I will be ready!

THANK YOU all of you who knew about this secret surprise! And THANK YOU Mandi and Lindsay for putting it all together. I seriously have some of the most thoughtful friends in the whole world!

And this may have been a result of this wonderful surprise, I'm not sure, but last night I dreamt I had the baby. It was painless and I felt just fine afterwards, and he was healthy, and he took on to nursing with ease. (I pray all of this comes true!!) I even kissed his soft little forehead in my dream. I'm so excited to meet this little guy!

Pirate Practice.

Ay, matey!

So, the eye doctor prescribed 2 hours a day of pirate practice for E. We're hoping this will help train his brain to start using his left eye, which is the one with the prescription. With the prescription in his glasses as it is, it should bring the vision to match that of the right eye, but his brain isn't making it work. He could only see the largest of the pictures that were held up. One step smaller and he couldn't make it out. So, luckily, he was a pirate for Halloween last year so we are well equipped to begin this new regime. Today being the first attempt at this - I hope it goes well - especially since we decided the best time to do this was in the morning when he's not tired and onery and this also happens to be the time he's at the daycare lady's house during the week! He made sure I remembered to bring the pirate stickers (sticker eye patches) and his pirate hat so this is a good sign so far that he might be excited about this. It's probably going to be a little bothersome to him for the first little while though, especially since he really can't see a whole lot out of the eye the patch is forcing him to use, but hopefully he builds the strength he needs quickly!

Maybe we'll put potty training on hold while we adjust to this....

The other appointment we had yesterday was his 3-year check-up with the pediatrician and it went great! The doctor even let him try out the stethoscope, and if you know my child, you know that he loves playing doctor so this was awesome for him! He also commented on how well his speech is doing and that makes me happy. It also makes me giggle a little because I know how much practice he gets talking! He's definitely a yacker!

'Bad Guy'.

So E has an imaginary friend. His name is Bad Guy. But Bad Guy isn't really bad. He's actually a good guy. He doesn't come for dinner or anything, but he'll call him on the phone and talk about him. For example, we were driving on the Legacy last night and we could see the train, but it wasn't moving. He pretended to call Bad Guy on the phone and asked him to bring batteries to the train. And when I asked E to snuggle with me, he said he couldn't right then, but Bad Guy could. He then reminded me that Bad Guy was a good guy. Sometimes Bad Guy rides in the car with us too. Luckily though, he doesn't go to church with us. I think the teachers in the nursery would really wonder about E bringing Bad Guy to church with him, especially if he forgot to tell them he was really a good guy!

According to the monthly emails I get from Babycenter about E's growth and whatnot, the last one said that imaginery friends are perfectly normal and actually healthy. I giggle to myself a bit because this friend's name is Bad Guy. But I guess it's all okay since he's really a good guy!

It's official.

My little boy is 3. Wow! I can't believe how fast 3 years has gone by. Before I know it, he'll be 4, and then 5 and starting Kindergarten, and then eventually starting college. Yikes! He had a great birthday though. It was almost a full week of pure energy and hyperness! Needless to say, our progress with potty training took the hit for all this, but we're trying hard to get him back on track.

We had the grandparents over for birthday celebrations on his actual birthday, March 17th. He was so excited and had a blast! And on Friday, when we had his friends over for a party and he was even more wild! Mandi and Lindsay, my party planners, did an amazing job with his party though. It was St. Patty's day themed, complete with leprechauns, pots of gold chocolate, and clover necklaces for the kids to take home and even green clover-shaped rice krispie treats for the 'cake'. (Thanks, girls, for working around my frosting-in-the-new-carpet fear!) And at the end of the night, they even took care of all the clean-up!

Even though I was a bit afraid to have 14 kids running around, it was a blast for everyone. The best part though was the next morning when E woke up and told me, "That was the best birthday ever!".

A Story About Workers

Matthew 20:1-16 (The Message)

1-2 "God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. 3-5"Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went.
5-6"He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, 'Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?'
7"They said, 'Because no one hired us.'
"He told them to go to work in his vineyard.
8"When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, 'Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.'
9-12"Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, 'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.'
13-15"He replied to the one speaking for the rest, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?'
16"Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."

One happy mamma!

I am one happy mamma! Why, do you ask? Because my little boy is almost potty trained! WOOHOO!!!! I am so proud of him! Today marks the first day of leaving the house in undies, instead of a diaper. I sure hope it goes well! (Dear daycare lady, I have a carpet cleaner, if necessary....!) He's been doing fabulous at home though so I'm sure it's going to be a great day!

WANTED: All Natural Chocolate Neccos

If you know me, you know that I have a sweet tooth.. Anyways, my latest craving is a twist of one of my favorite candies ever - Neccos. I really LOVE the chocolate ones, but am also a huge fan of the colorful ones. Anyways, I'm on the hunt. I'm hunting for this new package of chocolate ones that has 4 different flavors in it! And I want it BAD! But I can't find them in the stores I've checked.. And I don't want to buy a whole case of them online. (Well, actually, I would love a whole case, but I think it would worry my loved ones. Hahaha!) So anyways, if you live near me and know where I can find them, please tell me!

Just right.

Even though I look like my due date is right around the corner, I'm only 24 weeks. Luckily, I don't FEEL so much like I'm about to pop so I'm doing alright for a bit longer! And a reassuring confirmation from the doctor says I'm measuring right on schedule. Whew! But... she did say that history tends to repeat itself, so if I had a big baby before, I'll likely have another big baby. And it's also normal for me to get bigger faster with the second baby. God have mercy on me!

As long as our baby boy is healthy though, that's all that matters to me. Even if I have to put my belly in a sling to get around during the last couple months. I'll deal with it!

Also, I'm 90% sure I've found a preschool for E. After talking with the teacher on the phone, I'm actually excited about it too because I know he's going to have a blast! And take a minute, if you will, to picture a class of 3-4 year olds saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Isn't that the stinkin' cutest image you've ever had! By the time he starts in the Fall, the teacher and school will have moved within walking distance from our house so it will work out perfectly with our schedule too! E and I are going to meet her tonight. I hope it goes well!

And I hope that it excites E enough to start taking more of an interest in potty training. Crossing my fingers big time for this! I've tried treats for pottying, I've tried cool undies, I've even tried a Potty Prize Chart. Nothing has worked so far! Maybe this will be just the thing to encourage him!

My selfish dilemma..

I've been thinking about Preschool for E today. I called a place and contacted two others via email. But my dilemma is a selfish one.. I want as much time as I can get with my little boy.

With my work schedule changing after baby comes, I'll need to be to work by noon (plus 30 minutes drive time too). So since I won't have anyone to take him and pick him up from preschool if it's while I'm at work, I'll have to get him in a preschool that has a schedule that finishes up before I leave for work at 11:30. And then since I'm going to be at work until 6pm, by the time I get home at 6:30, there won't be much time left before bed.. (Dinner, clean up, bathtime, bedtime). And I'm just sad. Really sad. If he goes to preschool in the morning, this short amount of evening time is all I'll get with him. I want him to experience this and learn and make more friends, but I want that time with him too.

Working sucks sometimes, doesn't it. But it's like a necessary evil. I have to work to pay for the fun things. Boo hoo hoo!! I just want to be able to do fun things with E (and new baby when the time comes), but I always have to arrange everything around my work schedule, which can be difficult. I'm dreaming of a day that I'll be able to be a stay at home mom, or work part time, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Booo hoo hooo! (Again.)

How do I make time for everything?

I did it!!!

I did it!!! Well, mostly... I missed only one day of doing a page in January, but I had a good excuse. The baby wanted to go to bed early and since, well, we share a body, I had to comply! I made up for it by doing 4 extra pages a few days later though at "Scraptastic 2010" in Lindsay's basement (Thanks Lindsay!!!). And I just happened to conjure up some all-time favorite page layouts.


(I realized after I stuck everything down on this page that I needed to pluralize 'Dreams'! Argh!! Since I can't move the letter's, I'm going to stamp above the title "Just like a" or "A mother's" or something like that.)

(This has got to be one of my favorite designs ever! I love everything about it - the layout, the papers, the picture, even the drool mark on my sleeve!)

(I love this one too. I love the brown flowery cut-out paper Andrea sent me, the colors, and most of all, the look in Bill's eyes that is just full of pure love for our new little baby.)

I'm still going!

And I'm still going! Only a few more days left! But I'm having so much fun doing these pages everynight that I just don't know what I'll do with myself! Well, I'm sure I can think of something...!

And there's more!

More scrapbook pages, that is! I'm still doing good too and haven't missed a single day yet this month. I was actually getting a little worried that I was going to run out of photos to use, but luckily, Bill found a whole stash of them last night for me. The 'mitten man' page below was actually one of these gems. We also came across of picture of me right before the labor-inducing drug kicked in and WOW!!! I was gigantic!! I guess that was just a visual reminder of what is to come, huh! Maybe I'll share that picture later.

It's a ....

It's a boy! We're having another boy! No doubt about it! We're so excited. E says he wants the baby to come out now, but I told him he won't be ready to come out until summer time. Wooohoooo!!!

Scrappin' overload!!

Holy moly rolley polley! I'm keeping up! I've yet to miss a single day to get a page done - WOOPEE!! I know I don't have 13 pictures shown here (haven't done today's page yet), but there's a few I can't edit for privacy.. They were really cute ones too. Oh well. :)

Who the heck is that?!

I just had to share this (especially for you, Nina) because it just cracks me up.

A few weeks ago, my dad found a box of my stuff in the garage (actually, he almost hit it with his car by accident!). I had a GRAND time going through it! I could have sworn that I'd packed that box with this day in mind - sifting through it 10 years down the road. It held all sorts of goodies - journals and short stories from elementary, all my CD cases (empty, but still a glimpse of what I liked back in the day), and even all my dance-clothes and dance shoes (jazz, lyrical, ballet, pointe, character shoes)! All of my dance music was there too for all the solos and most of the team dances I ever took to competition. (They are all tapes though so I have no way to listen to them! Boo!) There were some random pictures and even my super-secret journal from junior high and high school (which I had masking taped closed at one point in my life but then later broke back into it) and it contained things I wrote and sworn "to never tell another living soul as long as I live.... except Colleen". Hahahaha!!! While I was going through these things, my mom even hollared downstairs that the phone was for me! (And it really was! I'd gone and left my cell upstairs and it kept ringing.)

Anyways, since I can't tell you about the super secret things, I will show you this picture I found. My parents couldn't even recognize this boy in the picture with me. But guess what - I married him! We had been dating for about 3-6 months in this picture, so we were about 17 and 19.

So far, so good!

So far I have been keeping up with my crafty goal of a scrapbook page a day in January. I'm actually having a hard time limiting myself to just 1 a day!



Also, for the lovebirds who may happen to stumble across my blog, have you seen the movie Fireproof? It's a really good movie and might even make you cry. But anyways, the guy in the movie takes on the 40-day Love Dare challenge in hopes of savings and improving his marriage. Here's a blog that is posting the daily challenge every day, starting January 6th and ending on Valentines Day. If you want to do this but missed yesterday, you should be able to look at the archives on their site to read it. Or you could just buy the book. Or you could just be patient. With your spouse, I mean. :) That's what it was about.

It's a new year!

Happy New Year!


Some of my goals for this year...


- Somehow convince E to potty train.
- Eat more veggies. (Off to a good start here, I might say! I made my first fancy salad and it was a cinch! Also made some salad dressing to go with it. Mmm!)
- Make weekly meal plans so I stock up on the RIGHT stuff and not just a bunch of crackers.
- Exercise. Yes, it's a losing battle right now, but only until June, right?
- Read the Bible more often and make it a routine in my life.

There. I'm keeping it simple. Because I know this might change, and I'm okay with that!

On the exciting newsfront, I'm feeling the baby swirl every now and then in my tummy. And E is starting to call the spare room the 'Baby's Room', instead of 'My Old Room'. So this is very good! We also have the BIG ultrasound scheduled on my birthday, January 19th. I can barely wait to find out of this is a he or a she!

Also, since I now have a dedicated craft area, I'm starting off the year with a crafty kick - I'm going to start using up all the scrapbooking supplies I have accumulated and do a scrapbook page a day for the month of January. Yes, I know, I have enough stuff to do a page a day for a few years, but I'm going to start with just 31 days and see where that gets me. It should be fun! Here's my start, for day 1 and 2 anyways. Day 3 needs some editing since it has personal info on it.