In preparation for the new baby...

Nana and Poppy sent the Lil' Miss a baby doll set so she will have a baby of her own to take care of. She is quite a little helper so we need to give her a "baby" to help with. Em takes good care of "baby" and even SOMETIMES shares Blanket. That is huge! :~) And, ok, these are not the most flattering pictures of the kiddo.

Em's Amazing Bed...

I know that I brag on the Hubster a lot but he is one talented guy! His latest project was a toddler bed for Em. We have long been discussing whether to get Em a toddler bed (is she ready?) or buy the baby another crib. We changed our minds 100 times and it was getting down to crunch time. So while we were looking at beds and cribs online the Hubster made a declaration... "I can make a toddler bed." So off he went, took some measurements on the crib and look at what he came up with!

If you know the Hubster at all, it will not surprise you that he didn't follow a plan. He didn't consult with a Home Depot employee. He didn't read a book about it (like I do :~) He just measured, bought a few boards, starting sawing and viola!

P.S. - Em had no problem making the change to big girl bed and no we haven't had a baby yet. Still waiting. :~)

Cub Master Hubster

Just cuz' he looks so dang cute in his Cub Master Get-up!!! (Yes, in case you were wondering, those are OFFICIAL Boy Scout of America Pants :~) The Hubster recieved an award at the last Pack Meeting. He was given the On My Honor Adult Recognition award. So proud of you Hubster! Here's to the next three years some odd years in Cub Scouts. :~)

Hanging Christmas Light

So I know I said we were the "anti-holiday" family this year but my dear Hubster decided to hang lights. Secretly I think he loves that part and always planned to hang them. He worked on the lights for 3 days. Placing lights, stapling lights, building plug-in box thingys, etc.

It all worked out great cuz' even though the inside of the house has no sign of Christmas, the outside does and we aren't so bah-hum-bug. So over the course of the three days, some pictures actually were taken!

The Best of the Worst...

I haven't blogged in like forever. Sorry but as we get down to weeks before this baby comes... I said WEEKS FOLKS (if not days!) YIKES... I have had other things on my To-Do list. Things like gathering all the stuff from the "Baby List" (still working on that- nothing like last minute), throwing away stuff so we can fit a 4th human in our Stucco Cottage, cleaning and reorganizing the garage so the a fore mentioned stuff can go out there (this was more Aaron then me- good job Hubster) and on and on. Tons to get done!!!

However, as this pregnancy adventure winds down, I thought I would share with the most embarrassing moment of pregnancy #2. Now that I am almost finished I can look back and evaluate the best/worst moments. It seems that when I am pregnant barfing becomes a big part of my life so it makes sense that my most embarrassing moment has to do with barf.

At the very end of August, right before we came back from Chicago, my mom (who had flown out to help us drive back) Em and I went to the grocery store. I hadn't barfed major for at least 3 weeks. I was starting to feel pretty good considering I was pregnant. BUT... right as we walked up to the front of the store, I noticed it was kind-of stinky. Not too bad but enough to get the yuck taste going in my mouth. I figured it was a temporary smell. Surely it wouldn't follow into the store. Wrong... the smell got worse as we entered. My mom even noticed the smell. I rushed us further into the store to get a different sniff in my nose but I couldn't get through it in time. I told my mom I have to go outside for fresh air, that I would be back in a minute. I ran back through the stench hoping to be able to breath soon but it didn't work. I felt the barf coming up and I wasn't even through the doors yet. I put my hand over my mouth (big mistake) and walked even faster. A couple of kids jumped in my path and I almost knocked them over. A lady also got in my way and we had that awkward "can't get around each other" moment. Just as I rounded the lady's cart out came the barf! But because I had my hand over my mouth the barf shot up into my own face! I ran around the corner of the building into an alley but it was an alley cars came down frequently from the adjacent parking lot.

So there I was... leaning on against the stop sign, heaving my guts out. One kind lady and gentleman rolled down their car window as they stopped at the sign, to ask if I was ok but I could only wave them on as I continued to heave. A few minutes later, another lady came out of Walgreens across the alley with some baby wipes to give me. She had seen the unfortunate event while waiting in line and grabbed a travel package of wipes to bring to me. I was very grateful. I knew that I had barf all over my face. I could feel it in my eyelashes. She said, "You must be pregnant. I bought these for you" and then went on to tell me that I had missed a little above my right eye.

Yup, folks, that is it. The most embarrassing moment of this summer. Barfing all over myself outside of Whole Foods in Deerfield, IL. Fun times.

Better Breakfast

photo courtesy of reya

In my quest to make my family "real" food to eat (often from scratch- as little boxed, pre-prepped, and manufactured as possible) I found this little blurb titled "Penny-Pinching Breakfast" recipe in this month's Women's Day magazine. It's a recipe for homemade "instant" oatmeal. Perfect! As I get more and more pregnant, it is more and more tempting to serve up cold cereal often. :~) This recipe tastes good, saves money & is closer to the real thing then a crinkly packet from a box.

Penny-Pinching Breakfast
In a large bowl, combine 1 container (18 oz quick-cooking oats, 1 envelope (3.2 oz) nonfat dry milk, 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar and 1 cup raisins (easily left out if you prefer). Transfer to an airtight container. For breakfast: Scoop 1/2 cup oatmeal into a bowl and 1/2 cup water. Microwave on high for 1 minute (my microwave cooks on nuclear so I only put it in for 50 sec). Makes about 16 servings.

Since making the Women's Day recipe my Google Reader had another recipe for making your own instant oatmeal! Lucky week or what?!?!? Looks like this one is basically the same but Prudy from Prudence Pennywise packages in individual serving baggies. What a great thing for older kids!! Prudy also gives some yummy ideas for oatmeal mix-ins. You can find her full post HERE.

Payless/Oprah coupon update..

Ya know my Payless crazy people buying cheap shoes adventure?? The one HERE. Yeah, well, we returned those shoes a few days ago. The shoes were not the Hubster's style apparently.


But fear not, the adventure was not in vain. While Em & I waited in the car cuz' we were NEVER going back in there, he exchanged the shoes instead of returning them. Whew! Was worried that our brush with nutty humanity was all for not :~)