Logan's School Christmas Party

We didn't have a school production for Christmas (that was Thanksgiving) but his class did have a party yesterday in which the kids got to get a new book from their friends and one from their teachers, ate, sang to the parents and gave the parents a gift which is so special to me. It's a calendar for 2008 and each month has a new "fingerprint" painting on it and a short poem. We also got to take home the ornaments the kids have made in class. I did video the songs but I need to wait for dh to upload it. Here are a few pics though!

Why?!

ETA: He ended up fine the rest of the day except for the fever. He ate some applesauce, a banana and some miniwheats and slept all night. Today he's eaten his waffles and juice and acts okay so hopefully....knock on wood...I'm not jinxing it!!

Why is it they always get sick right at the holiday??? Ian threw up a little bit this morning. I thought he swallowed too much snot or something since he's had a clear runny nose. Nope! Right after Logan's Christmas party at school he did it again, in bed, at naptime. Ugh...into the wash all that goes. He doesn't want to sleep so I'm letting him stay up. As I'm taking pics of all Logan's new ornaments he made at school, Ian throws up again, all over the floor. Ugh again! He's running a 100.3 fever although he feels hotter to me. Please let this be just a 24 hour bug!!! He's playing in between getting sick so besides getting sick, he's acting okay. I just want it to go quick so he's feeling better for Christmas.

Owie!! Part 3

This should be the last part. The boys woke me early enough this morning that I was able to do the entire foot routine before having the leave the house. I think the gauze/tape was just too tight yesterday and that's why I had so much pain because I took it off today and it's fine. I've been wearing just a bandaid on it all day and regular shoes. I'm not even hobbling. Yay! I was able to run to Target and Honey Baked before getting Logan and waiting for the dishwasher guys. No more ingrowns for me- I swear! It cost nearly $200 yesterday between the Dr. and the supplies I had dh go buy (who knew Betadine cost $18/bottle!). Now I just have to wait to heal.

Owie!! Part 2

Well the surgery part wasn't so bad but my foot and leg are aching so bad right now. Owwwww. I just took some Tylenol to help with that and I'll try to keep my foot up as much as possible today. She froze my foot pretty well so I didn't feel the needle when she numbed my toe. It was over in like 5 min (after an hours wait!). Now I have to soak it in Epsom salt, betadine it, peroxide it and Neoporin it for the next week. Yippee.... Ian was pretty good about being patient for the most part. He was in his stroller and I'm sure he got tired of it. I used every trick I had though- cell phones, peekaboo, video iPod(no sound though) and then a lollipop. He watched the Dr do her thing without a problem. I kept my eyes covered. LOL I don't mind watching surgery or blood but didn't want to see it on myself. Even the Dr said she doesn't think she could watch on herself. Thankfully it's over now. I get to wear a pretty blue shoe for the rest of the day. I hae errands to run tomorrow (picking up a turkey!) so hopefully I can wear my Crocs tomorrow. I would pick the coldest week to have this done. sigh...
She did say that she sees ingrowns a lot in pregnant women. And speaking of that, neither she nor her nurse thought I was pg! I guess I didn't appear as far along as I am. Not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not. LOL Here are a couple of pics. Don't worry- nothing graphic!

My foot all bandaged up...no I didn't do a fake tan, that's betadine!

My pretty shoe I'll be wearing today and possibly tomorrow!

Kick, kick, kick!

OMG, this baby is only 26 weeks and kicks me so hard my body jumps- not just my stomach, but my entire body sometimes just jerks. Am I squishing her by sitting forward? LOL I swear she thinks so!

We go for our ultrasound on Friday and I'm so ready!! Let's hope she cooperates!

I think Mama is Santa!

Thought this was really cute!!! You won't catch me wearing it though! LOL

I hate doing dishes....

which is why we've had a dishwasher from the get-go. I decided mine has gone kaput after a few years and dh agreed to go get a new one. Yay! This is what we got, only from a local store. If Lowes gets it back in in the next 60 days though, I'll be going to get a price difference refund! It will be installed Tuesday. I would have had it here sooner if not for that darn Dr. appt I scheduled. Oh well! It will be here before Christmas. Yippee!!

Sugar High!

Wowee! I had so much sugar last night/yesterday, I was buzzing on it I think. LOL I was sooo tired even after napping yesterday. I had my glucose screening yesterday in which you have to drink 50g of a sugar solution. The first few swallows aren't so bad, but it's so sickly sweet you really don't want to finish it. Then I went to a Cookie Swap last night with my girlfriends from playgroup and there were 11 different cookies to sample! No, I didn't get to try everything but I was sooo full. Ugh...I think I need to drink A LOT of water today. Everything was really good though and I won a prize in a game that I usually lose! Yay me! It's like the BABY game at baby showers where you aren't allowed to say the word Baby. Last night's words were Cookie and Christmas. I got a really nice snowman platter. :) I never win! Everyone had a good time and now I look forward to next year!

Little Sneak!

While in the kitchen making dinner, Ian was getting into mischief. When I called him to come eat, he was reallllly quiet and didn't answer me. I went to find him and he was hiding in his room behind the closed door (leaning on it it felt like) with the rest of my Special Dark choc bar in his hand! He had eaten at least half of what was left- probably 6-8 squares. I can't believe he was sneaky/smart enough to hide!!

Owie!

I have an ingrown toenail I've been tryng to correct for a couple of weeks. I dread going to the podiatrist as I've had to go once before (5 years ago!) and the very thought of a needle going into my toe again raises my blood pressure. Dh has been all over me though about going so I finally made an appt to go on Monday morning. The Dr I saw before sold his practice so I have to go see someone new at the Ankle-Foot Center. I'm sooo not looking forward to this. Anyone want to hold my hand? LOL (My hands are sweating as I type!)

Old Friends

Have you ever had a friend you've lost touch with and you still think about them? I used to have a friend, a best friend, that stopped calling, emailing, etc nearly 2 years ago and I still can't get her out of my mind. I think it's because I don't know why we lost touch. She still lives in town but I don't know where and I don't have a number for her. She remarried last year and before we lost touch, I was told I was invited to the wedding but no invitation ever came. :( I don't even know her new last name. We used to do everything together. We got in trouble together, we worked together in high school, we laughed and cried together, we dated together. I was at her family functions. I called her parents Mom and Dad.

Dh came home yesterday and said he ran into her ex-dh and they talked for a few minutes. Maybe that's why I'm thinking about her again or maybe it's just the time of year. We have kids that are only a few months apart but don't know each other. Her dd will turn 3 in February. She doesn't even know I'm having a 3rd baby. It's all pretty sad. I have tried emailing her but I've never gotten a response. The emails haven't been returned though either. I guess unless I happen to run into her, I'll always wonder what happened....

Natural Birth and update

I may blog about this more in the future but I was thinking about it tonight so here goes....

Is it horrible that I'm thinking of giving birth naturally for a lot of selfish reasons? I know it's better for the baby without chemicals (like pain meds) being administered but I'm mainly thinking about it in the way that I won't have to have an IV, no blood pressure cuff constantly, I'll have the ability to move around and change positions and not have to stay in bed, I can eat and drink.... I'm kinda freaking out about the pain though. Oh the pain...I was in natural labor with my 2nd for nearly 24 hours. I took Hypnobirthing class but I guess it didn't work for me or I didn't work hard enough at it because I was never able to relax thru those contractions. It's hard not to tense up when you are in pain. I really need to pull out those CDs and start listening to them again. I should put them on my iPod! Hmmm.

Well while I'm on the subject... I'm now 25 weeks. I'm over half way there, can you believe it? She's constantly moving or kicking me it seems. Sometimes way up high and sometimes way down low. She's approx 1.5lbs and 13.5in according to Babycenter. We've scheduled our 3D/4D ultrasound for the 21st and I can't wait to post some pics! I have to go get the glucose screening this Wed. and I hope I pass. I really don't want to deal with the 3 hour test. At least I get to eat beforehand. My schedule for Wed looks like this-

7:15ish-8am wake up, get dressed, get boys breakfast if dh hasn't
8am- must eat breakfast, 2 eggs, 2 whole wheat toast, 2 pats butter, water (or unsweet tea/coffee yech!)
8:45ish- out the door to take Logan to school
9am- drink glucose drink in 5min time, drive to Lakeland
9:45-10am- get blood drawn

Does that look like a fun morning or what? Aren't you jealous? LOL At least I don't mind the orange glucose drink. It's kinda like a super sweet orange soda.

I am noticing I get tired much easier this time around. Walking around Disney really takes it out of me and I noticed I tend to sit and rest more. I feel like a whale and I still have a long way to go. I don't want to eat anything remotely healthy and I almost can't wait to get back on Weight Watchers. I won't go back to that until probably May though. I lost all that weight (over 70lbs) and now I've gained back 20 or more and while I know it's mainly the baby, it's still tough. It hasn't stopped me from eating though. LOL! Maybe dh will get me a gym membership for Christmas next year...that's an idea! I'll forget it by tomorrow though...my brain is fried. Why is it pregnancy fries your brain? I guess that's a post for another time.

Christmas is coming...

And I'm at such a loss as to what to buy certain people. Dh for one. It's really hard to buy for him. I got him a couple of items but nothing big. I feel like I need something else for him and no clue what to buy. There is one item, the Richard Petty Driving Experience over at WDW, but that's $400 and I don't have that kind of money to spend although I'm hoping to find a discount on it. Ideas?

For the most part though, I'm done with nearly everyone. I have a few small things to buy still and I need to get some pictures printed and everything wrapped. There are only (click here) days left!

Which Reindeer are you?

http://www.blogthings.com/whichofsantasreindeerareyouquiz/

You Are Dancer

Carefree and fun, you always find reasons to do a happy dance. Why You're Naughty: That dark stint you had as Santa's private dancer. Why You're Nice: You're friendly. Very friendly.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

True Floridian

This morning it was right around 50 degrees outside so I had Logan put on jeans and a long sleeve tshirt. First thing he says is Mom, the arms are too long! I looked and it hits him right at the wrist just like it should and I realized, he's not used to long sleeves. I told him it was a long sleeve shirt and that was right. He went to put on his pants and was dismayed to find those were long too! LMBO You'd think he never wore long pants/shirts before. We do live in FL and wear shorts/tshirts 99% of the time. Too funny!

Christmas at Disney

Yes, this is yet another Disney post. Stop reading if you're tired of it.....

We went to Disney on Sunday. Man, it was HOT out! It's December- where's the cooler weather? We left late- around noonish as we knew we were going to be spending the evening at the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the Magic Kingdom. We decided to head over to Epcot for an early dinner/late lunch though and to see the decorations there. I was a bit disappointed all the different "Santas" and story tellers weren't out in the World Showcase. It seemed like we missed every one of them. Oh well. We ended up eating in The Land which is always good. They make yummy sandwiches. Then we walked over to ride Nemo. The bigger rides had much longer waits so we jumped on the monorail back over to head to MK. Here are a couple of pics though...


We got to MK around 5:30 and the castle lighting was at 5:45. There were a lot of day guests already leaving which was nice (park closed for the party at 7). The castle show was great! The castle lighting was more beautiful in person. I can't even describe just how magical it really is and the movie I blogged about just doesn't capture that feeling. Since Wishes(fireworks) for the day guests was starting soon, we headed off to catch a snack and ride some rides. I guess everyone was preparing to leave or watching Wishes because the park was pretty empty. We went over to ToonTown and Ian got to ride his first roller coaster (Barstormer). He LOVED it! When dh got off though, Ian was soaking wet. He had napped earlier and had soaked his diaper. Ugh. I didn't have anything to change him into so after changing his diaper and once Logan and dh got off the ride, it was off to a shop to find him something to wear. Unfortunately, even at Disney, it's still winter and there were no shorts to be found. He ended up with a pair of light sweatpants and a new tshirt which as it got cooler during the evening, worked out for the best. Once changed, he was raring to go so off to more rides! We stopped at Aladdin and Pirates and walked right on. We got some of the free apples and apple juice they give out during the party (they also do cookies and hot choc), then over to Big Thunder MT RR where dh and Logan rode twice in a row. Ian and I sat and watched the 1st Christmas parade from a distance. He has some good eyes because he was spotting floats and characters and we were a long distance away. After doing a few more things, we headed over to the castle to watch Wishes Holiday, the castle show and then the parade. Ian didn't make it to the fireworks. He passed out yet again. Too much fun I guess. Logan was getting tired as he started crying for no reason (or a rather small reason). He made it almost to the end of the parade though. He was pretty much out by the time Santa came by on the last float. Dh ended up carrying him until I had the idea of switching the boys in the stroller. Ian had just woken up anyway and I figured 30lbs was easier to carry than over 50. Glad I got a good stroller that carries weight! The parade was great as usual though. I recorded it on our camcorder. I love the floats that have scents to them like peppermint and gingerbread. Mmm. The toy soldiers are just the best though!!! I love watching them march and play music as they clomp down the street. We had a really good time and I recommend going if you ever get the chance. We missed some of the shows but we'll get around to seeing them at some point, just not this year. Here are some more pics...


Ian wanted to meet Capt Hook and Mr Smee. He loves all things pirate. He is def. all BOY! (I have weird looking lips in this pic- I think I was telling Ian to look at dh)

Ian's other fave- Buzz Lightyear ride with Zurg


I like this pic... I don't know why though. Maybe it's just the lighting. This was taken on the monorail

New cut and color!

I got my hair cut and colored today. I decided to go a shade darker yet again with blonde highlights. I love it!!! The picture doesn't do it justice.

While I'm posting pics, I thought I'd post a couple of my handsome little guys. Here's Ian with his pirate face...he's saying Arrrrr. He also looks like this when he's about to attack you. LOL
And my big boy... I can still see the baby he used to be when I look at certain pics. Been watching too many home movies I guess.

Little Monster

Ian didn't want me taking a shower this morning. He wanted his "juice". So after a bit of whining and sitting in the bathroom while I showered, he left. I went to get out and he had stolen both of my towels! Little monster. I had to walk out dripping wet to yell to him to bring them back to me. He's too cute to be mad at though.

Beginning to look like Christmas

I decided this year the boys could have their very own Christmas tree. They can move the ornaments all around if they want. I'm hoping having their own tree will deter them from messing with mine once we get it up. Yeah, good luck with that, right? Ian and I went out yesterday and bought everything at Joann's (50% off!) and after naptime, both boys went to decorating it. I even found a strand of battery operated lights (needs one more) to put on the tree. Here are a few pics:

All about Ian

I think Ian has an imaginary friend. Someone named Beko Boko. There's no other explanation for these words. He even told me BB was hiding behind our chair last night. He runs around the house chanting the name sometimes and when I ask questions about him, Ian will answer me. Hmm. So I just asked him where BB was and again, he was behind the chair (next to my desk). Ian said he wanted to play with the soccer ball so I told him to go play with him but Ian said he's stuck to the wall. Then he said BB was crying. Poor BB.

Ian is most definately into the "me do it" stage. He wants to get dressed by himself and pick out clothes now (I give him choices). He even put his shirt on completely by himself this weekend. He wants a big boy cup in the kitchen and to get his water and ice by himself. He's growing up too fast! Now if I could only get him to start on the potty......

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, it's almost over. The food is gone, the company is gone and the boys are in bed. Ahhh. Our day went relatively well. The only I forgot to do was pull the potatoes out of the fridge which set back our eating for a good 30min or so since they needed to be reheated. The turkey from Honey Baked Ham (Cajun) was delicious as usual and there were very few leftovers. Mom went overboard on the pies so I still have 2 full ones left which I'll take to the IL's Saturday. The house is still in pretty good condition and the dishes are actually all done! I can at least say that my house gets a good cleaning twice a year. LOL Dh did a lot of that for which I'm very thankful. I get overwhelmed with housework easily. Now I can sit back and relax the rest of the night and think about what to do for the next 3 days. I know I won't be shopping!

Here's what happens at 7pm after too much fun and food:

Logan's Thanksgiving Feast at VPK

His pre-K did a feast this year that all the parents were invited to. La Septima catered it and a bunch of parents chipped in with the desserts. Logan's class got up on stage and did a few songs while dressed as indians and pilgrims. It was all very cute! We didn't get very good pics since dh was too far away and Ian of course wasn't cooperating and sitting still. I did get it all on video though and maybe one day we'll get it uploaded on the computer. Here's what he looked like though.
That's his friend Anisya who sat at our table.

I love that he loves school. He always lights up when he's in the classroom and sees his friends and they love him as well. I hope he continues to love it!

Here's one of the songs they learned: (sung to Where is Thumbkin)
I am thankful, I am thankful
for this food, for this food,
that we all are sharing, that we all are sharing
Thank you God, Thank you God.

Our day at Disney

Okay, first a vent- I really don't have a problem with people in wheelchairs, but if you are in a crowded line, could you please keep back a foot or so?! Really! I was hit in the ankle not once, not twice but 5 times on Sunday by the same wheelchair. If I wasn't so darn polite, I would have turned around and said something. Argh.

So we went on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Wow! We haven't been when it's been that crowded in a while. We actually got there right after opening which is amazing for us. We don't get there that early when we stay onsite. LOL At first it wasn't too bad but it quickly got crowded. Logan was able to ride his Big Thunder Mt RR and Ian was able to ride Buzz and all of us rode the new improved Haunted Mansion which neither kid likes all of a sudden. We attempted the Barnstormer but the line was way too long. We'll go back another day for that. I love Disney any time (as dh pointed out) but I really love all the Christmas decorations. It just makes it that much more magical. We did get to catch the Pirate Tutorial with Captn Jack Sparrow and while Logan didn't get to sword fight with him, he did get a certificate to be an apprentice pirate.


While shopping in the big tent over in ToonTown (County Bounty) Logan spotted some cotton candy so we let him get a bag. While checking out, he was eyeing the girl behind the counter making fresh cotton candy. She noticed him looking and smiled at him and then made him a bag of fresh cotton candy for free! He's already a lady killer.

Logan decided to be an apprentice photographer while we were waiting for the parade and took a few shots. Here's how those came out.




Don't you just love the angles?

This was Ian before and during the parade...it isn't often he just falls asleep.


I took a few pics of those I thought maybe didn't make the best fashion choice when they woke up...
Dude- it's 80+ degrees out, the sun is beaming and you are wearing a thick looking jacket. Aren't you hot??

Nothing like spandex leopard print pants! At least she isn't wearing heels.

Oh and the flowery print shorts...is this the new fashion? I thought these went out in the 80s.

Okay, I think that's it for our Disney day!

It's a.........

..........GIRL!

Yippee!! We had our ultrasound this morning and the tech said she saw no boy parts. She looked a lot too even though the appt seemed to fly by. Baby's heartrate was 162 this morning, good and strong. We are cautiously optimistic about it all though as I know moms who were told girl and had boys. We're going to get a 3D/4D next month though and hopefully verify she is a she! I won't be running out to get pink just yet. I can't wait to buy all the cute girly stuff though!

21.5 wk update

For those keeping up, I had an appt with my midwife this morning. Everything looks good. Baby's heartrate was 160. He/she was active and kicking back at the doppler! I mean literally, kicking the doppler, not just near it. Ahh already a trouble maker. Haha!

I have another appt in December where I get to do the lovely glucose screening. At least I won't have to starve beforehand. They actually want you to eat breakfast! Yea! After that, I'll be going every 2 weeks. How did it get here so fast?! The house isn't close to being ready for another baby!

Here's a belly shot. (ETA: Logan took this pic. I was surprised it didn't come out blurry. I did crop the rest of me as I look weird from the angle of a 5yr old sitting down. LOL)

I'm a Disney nut and proud!

Everyone who knows me knows what a Disney nut I am. We go all the time and vacation there at least once a year. I know the parks by heart and listen to Disney music in the car. I collect Disney snowglobes and we are in the process of decorating our new movie room with Disney/Pixar posters. I can tell you all sorts of facts and point you to the best websites. All that said, WDW never loses it's magic for me or my family. I just watched a video of the new 2007 Christmas party castle lighting (watch it in HD for the best picture!! May take a minute or 2 to load) and it was beautiful and made my eyes well up. The boys were mesmorized watching it. I can't blame it on hormones because every time I see my kids' eyes light up while at a show at Disney, I get the same way. There's just something about Disney. I love that my boys love Disney as much as we do. My 2yr old asks all the time to go back. You can't tell me he doesn't remember Disney! If he even spots a small picture of anything WDW, he'll point it out immediately. We are headed back there this weekend where we hope our youngest gets to go on his first roller coaster ride (Goofy's Barnstormer). I'm just as excited as he is! Oh and I've informed dh that we will be headed to the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) again this year. I want to see that castle lighting in person(ETA: it's done every day at 5:45pm, not just during the party) and enjoy the holidays at Disney. There's nothing like it!

What is the point??

Why do we buy widescreen, big screen tvs and widescreen dvds if when you watch the dvds, there are still those stupid black bars at the top and bottom?? I just don't get it! I bought a widescreen dvd and am watching it on a wide screen tv- why doesn't it fill the screen?? What is the point?

Fire in the neighborhood

I was taking my oldest to school this morning only to see a fire station ambulance with lights flashing coming towards me. I got to where he turned and there were at least 5-6 fire trucks and a hose running across the street. OMG! I didn't see any flames or anyone running around though. I got back about an hour later and there was only one truck left. I stopped by the house on my way home this afternoon from ds' school and asked if they needed anything (they were outside) but was told no. I don't know what happened but they weren't the most polite people. I would have at least said no but thank you for your offer, but I just got a No and the lady started talking to someone else. (fwiw, they'd been sitting outside in lawn chairs for a while) I just happened on this article though from our local news about the fireman. Hope he's okay! I'm glad that the house wasn't occupied at the time but it still really sucks for the homeowner.

Guess Our Baby!

So our big ultrasound is coming up. I'm so excited and ready to find out what we're having. I'm not one for getting a big surprise at birth- that would drive me insane. I may try to keep my mouth shut to everyone else though. Hmmm we'll see how I do with that- more than likely, I won't be able to keep it to myself! Haha. So I made up a Guess The Gender game. It also includes other little guesses like weight, birth date, height, etc. Come take a guess!!
http://www.expectnet.com/games/GuessOurBaby2008
OR
http://www.expectnet.com/game.php
Our game name: GuessOurBaby2008

I have had 2 "girl" dreams so I'm crossing my fingers! It could be just the whole subliminal mind thing too. Only...8 days, x hours to go!

Funniest Blog Ever

Seriously, this is some funny stuff or at least I thought so!! http://15minutelunch.blogspot.com/2007/10/strap-in-shut-up-and-hold-on-were-going.html

Here's his main page http://15minutelunch.blogspot.com/ This is one blog I'll keep in my faves.

It's a Farmer's Life

Ian and I went to Granma's Hug N Farm Tuesday with our playgroup. It's a working farm but most of the animals are kid friendly and they can pet them and get close to them. Ian loved running from place to place. A smiler he's not though as you can see from pictures.



He was worn out by the time naptime came around. I laid him down in bed and thought he went right to sleep as I didn't hear him moving around. I went to check on him and couldn't find him!!! I looked in Logan's bed, under the bed, in other rooms....I wasn't panicked yet but freaking out a little. I kept hearing little noises so kept looking. Here's where I found him.


He had crawled into the bookcase, closed the doors and fallen asleep. Aww. I had to move his bed to even get to him. He barely woke up when I moved him and when he did wake up 2 hours later, he came to bed with me and fell asleep for another hour! Sounds like I need to take him to the farm more often! LOL

Family issues

It's official. My dad is moving out of the house Friday. He didn't even stick around long enough to make it to the 1st therapy session which happens to be on Friday. I'm so mad at him. I just want to yell at him or something. I wrote him a short letter but I didn't send it. I'm too emotional right now. What part of Til Death Do Us Part and Forsaking All Others in the marriage vows did he not understand? 33 years later at that!! I just don't get it. I've lost respect for him. He's hurt my Mom and he's hurt his family. It breaks my heart to hear my Mom cry. It breaks my heart that the marriage I've always looked up to as one to strive for is breaking up. I don't know how to move past it. I don't want to talk to him at all. I don't even want to see him. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be very hard this year. What do I say to my boys when they want to know where Grandpa is? I can't believe this is happening to our family. If you pray, please pray for our family and for me. I'm taking this pretty hard and the last thing I need is to get stressed out. I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow but tonight is tough.

It's the Great Pumpkin!

Am I the only one who doesn't "get" Charlie Brown? I never cared for the shows when I was little and I still don't. What is it about CB that everyone loves? I know it's a classic and all but I still don't get the appeal. I did let the boys stay up and watch the Pumpkin one tonight. All I can say is that they did sit thru it. I'm looking forward to Christmas when all the good classics come out!

Speaking of pumpkins, we carved our tonight. Let me rephrase that- I carved them tonight. Logan told me what to do but neither of them would stick their hands in there to help pull out the guts. My 2nd one didn't come out so great. I was using a Mickey Mouse cutter (came with a kit) and the pumpkin got too thin inside and started breaking. Oh well...it's only for another day and then the trashman gets it. Here is a pic:

Pregnancy update

So I'm 19 weeks now! Only 1 week to the halfway mark. I've had a cold for the past couple of weeks and with it came one of the most unaPEEling parts of pregnancy. One I never had to deal with before- peeing when sneezing or coughing too hard! Ugh!!! Seriously, I do my Kegels. Guess I better start doing more!

I did feel the baby kick outside my tummy the other night. That was very cool! It hasn't happened since but I still feel a lot of wiggling going on in there.

There is a big advantage to being pregnant and that's that you can send your hubby out for donuts at 9pm and he'll go willingly. I guess it could be that they sounded really good to him at that moment too.

And finally, despite the late night donuts and McDonalds I've had recently, I've still only gained approx 12-13lbs. Yea! I know it will go up quickly in the 3rd trimester but at least I know I'll lose it once he/she is born- or most of it at least. I lost all my pg weight the last 2 times within 6-8 weeks of giving birth. Hopefully the trend will continue!

School Zones

Why do we have them? Noone seems to care that the big flashing yellow light means SLOW THE HELL DOWN!! Everyday I see people fly right through them without even touching their brakes. Where are the cops when you want them? Thankfully, at the time I go through them, the schools are already in session so there are no kids around but I guarantee these same morons would probably fly through regardless. On a different note, I really hate that the Brandon High school zone is still flashing 90min AFTER school's been in session. Do they really need it that long?

Again? and more misc.

Now our new room's AC is out. WTH?! I guess the power outages and surges we got this weekend fried the electronics inside so it only blows air- not COLD air. Glad it's under warranty! I still have to deal with 86 degree temps in this room for a few days. Argh.

Big news is happening with dh's job. I can't post anything at this time since noone else knows yet. I'm really hoping things will look up for the business and dh too. More to come on that...

Ahh what else...I had a teacher conference at Logan's school last week. Academically, he's far ahead but he's always happy to do schoolwork and never complains about being bored so that's good. They said he's a joy to have in the classroom. I was told he is an immature 5 yr old though. I never really thought about it but what they said made sense. He cries alot, he doesn't do as much for himself as he should before asking for help (ex.opening packages at lunch) which is very much my fault and we're working on that, he has a problem with staying on one thought and he has periods when his brain just doesn't seem to connect to what you are saying. Like he's told to line up behind the line leader and he goes to the wrong door. When you point it out, he looks at you blankly. I can only work with him on a few of those, the rest will come with time and patience I guess. Maybe this is the maturity gap "they" talk about between boys and girls? I have no idea.

Pregnancy update- still no pictures. I suck. I'm 18 weeks though and I'm really starting to feel the little pops/movement more often. I also feel Braxton Hicks which I don't remember feeling with the boys. Our big U/S is on November 19th! Can't wait!!!!

That's all I have at the moment- boring I know. We can't all be as witty as Julie. LOL You'll just have to love me for me.

Food & Wine Festival- Take 2

My GF and I went to the F&WF today. Just the 2 of us- NO KIDS! Yea!! Unlike last year, I couldn't do all the fun rides but we did do a few new things. She had never been on Maelstrom in Norway or the Journey to Imagination, never been to Club Cool or the Innoventions buildings so I got the show her around a bit. She liked the watermelon soda at Club Cool the best, not so much the Beverly. LOL She was okay with it until the bitter aftertaste. Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.


Peru...Arroz con Pato- Roast Duck with Cilantro Rice

New Zealand...Marinated Seafood Salad - Chilled Bay Scallops, Shrimp and Squid in a Lime Dressing (One of the favorites of the day-sorry it's blurry)

France... Escargots Persillade en Brioche - Provence-style Snails with Garlic and Parsley in Brioche (this was my Fave and gf's fave on a different level- we went back and had seconds!!)

Germany... Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout

China... Pork Pot Stickers & Chicken ShaCha with Peanut sauce


Spain- Spicy Calamari Stew with Saffron Rice (sorry blurry- hard to see if it was in focus)

Canada...Maple Custard with Almond Crumble, Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup


India...Indian Rice and Coconut Pudding (this was good last week and terrible this week. It tasted like the fruit had gone bad or something. Almost fizzy tasting too. We tossed it after a couple of bites)

Driving home


Oh and for Julie and her people watching hobby.
This is what pedicures are for people!! Ewww

Congrats

To the USA women's gymnastics team for winning the gold in Worlds and to Shawn Johnson for winning the gold in the all around! What a cutie she is too. I can't wait for next summer's Olympic games!!

Foodies

Our family went to the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot (Disney) today. We go a couple of times or more usually each year we have passes. We ate and ate and ate around the world today. Tried a lot of new things- some good, some not so good. I didn't take any pics of the food but here's our breakdown if anyone is going soon.

New Zealand-
Lamb Slider (Roasted Lamb with Mustard Sauce on a toasted roll) The roll wasn't toasted and the mustard sauce had no tang to it, much less flavor. The lamb was very good though.
Kiwi and Custard Roll- dh and the boys liked it. It was much too mushy for me. The flavor was okay though.

Greece-
Greek Salad with Pita Bread- this wasn't as good as last year. Not enough olives in it. Logan liked it though. It didn't have a lot of onions this year though which to me is a huge plus!
Spanakopita (Savory Spinach and Cheese Pastry) this wasn't as good as last year either. Not enough cheese to it.
Karydopita (Walnut and Coffee Cake) it was good- reminded us of carrot cake without the icing

France-
Quiche au Fromage de Chèvre (Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomato Quiche) This was very tasty. I didn't care for the sun dried tomato on top personally, but dh loved it.
Coupe de Sorbets (Champagne, Framboise and Chocolat Blanc-Champagne, Raspberry and White Chocolate Sorbet ) Yum!! This came in a glass like a trifle- all layered together. You could try each individually or the 3 together. Either way this was good. Even the champagne flavored one was delish!

Oklahoma- Route 66
Pecan Pie- dh loved it. I'm an okay fan of pecan pie in general but it's never my 1st pick. It was good though
Peach Buckle- dh loved this one even more. It was like a pie but the crust seemed to be like a thick shortbread. Needed more peaches IMO.

Turkey-
Meze (Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Eggplant Puree and Turkish Black Olives with Pita Bread)- the salad part was okay and dh ate the olives but we both thought the eggplant puree was nasty!!
Manti- (Spiced Beef Ravioli with Yogurt and Paprika Butter) this would have been better without the meat in it IMO. Not something I'd get again.

India-
Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Paratha Bread- dh enjoyed this but I didn't care for it. Needed salt or something. Bread tasted like stale pita bread.
Samosa with Tamarind Sauce (Spicy Pea and Potato Pastry) I really liked this one. I wish the tamarind sauce had been warmed up though. It was ice cold. Dh enjoyed this as well.
Indian Rice and Coconut Pudding- Everyone liked it. Very creamy, great flavors!

Ireland-
Chilled Potato Leek Soup with an Irish Cheddar Cheese Stick- YUM!! I wasn't sure about cold soup but this was very good!!
Boxty Potato Pancake - with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Garlic and Fresh Herb Butter- Won't get this again. I didn't expect it to be filled with some kind of veggie too. I expected something very different. The potato pancake itself was okay as was the butter.
Irish Cheese Plate and Brown Bread with Apple Chutney and Kerrygold Irish Butter- Dh ate this and liked it. The boys loved the chutney. It was too syrupy sweet for me. The butter was well... butter!

There were a lot of new culinary displays to see as well as new entertainment and crafters. They seem to have stepped it up a bit this year. If you have a chance to go you should!

Just for you

Since Julie thinks my mind is somewhere else, here's a new blog. The reality is, I haven't felt like there was much to talk about as you'll soon see. Ha!

Let's see...the boys are both better. No more sickies in the house. Logan never did get his birthday party as he was sick that day as well and I had to call everyone and cancel. Robert reinstalled all our flooring and did a darn good job! There are a few finishing touches that have to be made still but hopefully we can get it done and get the house semi organized. He also fixed our dishwasher. He's turning into quite the handyman. Who knew?

Logan is enjoying school. He's learning bible verses and all kinds of cute new songs. I really wish I could afford private school for him next year but I have to think of 2 other little ones' educations down the road too. I don't have an extra $4K for Logan's tuition and then multiply that by 3 when the others start school. Come on lottery!!

Ian is a little Handy Manny around the house. Had I not already bought him some Christmas stuff, he'd be getting toy tools for Christmas to play with. He loves dh's screwdrivers, measuring tapes, etc. He pretended to fix our dining room table last night. He also took scraps of the laminate flooring and tried putting them together in the doorway where the Tmolding will go. He's smart in his own little way. I'm betting he'll be the one puttering around the house, fixing things, taking apart things, etc later in life. I'll post pics after I upload them.

I'm nearly 16 weeks now (yes, have to put a pg update!). Can you believe it's been 4 months? I had my 1st midwife appt last week. The baby had a HB of 152. Nice and strong. I go back in another week or so for that oh so lovely PAP and more bloodwork. Can't wait for the ultrasound!!

Speaking of which, my sister finally had hers and she is having a GIRL! I asked if she was sure this time since her ds was supposed to be a dd all the way up until he was born. She said yes though so we'll have at least 1 girl in the family now.

I'm sure there was more I was supposed to post, but I can't think of it now. Be back soon!