lotsa love

Lately there has been lots of this

and this

and this

going on around here.

& I love it.

no more silent nights

The whole family is happy to be home for Christmas with the best present ever.

Elizabeth Ruth is our special Christmas package. On Monday she was delivered and shared with our loving and rejoicing family. She is beautifully and wonderfully crafted by the finest Creator. There was considerable cost in shipping this seven pound, eleven ounce bundle, but we have decided she is worth every penny. (Which is fortunate considering she is non-refundable.)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights... James 1:7

one week (hopefully)

and then she'll be kissing some chubby little cheeks!

Crunchy the Snowman

This year my sister and I had our major caramel corn day again, thanks to a little baby deciding life is better when you are hanging out in your mommy's belly. We also managed to squeeze in a little project with the kids. I saw these cute snowmen in the December Family Fun magazine that I paged through in the waiting room at my OB's office and decided they just had to be made.

They are actually very easy to make, and if you try it yourself, just make sure that after you dip the pretzel in the melted white chocolate, you let it cool down a bit before adding the mini chocolate chip eyes and buttons. If you put them on too soon they will melt and slide and make a scary-looking snowman. This is my nephew Grayson with his two fine-looking finished snowmen.

Katie thought eating was the best part. I thought the best part was when we opened the box of fruit roll-ups for the snowmen scarves and my kids had no idea what they were. Such junk food-deprived children I have, poor things. Don't worry, they got their fill that day.

sure

• Go on, admit it. You knew I wasn't going to produce a single catch-up post. Shame on me.
• Baby update: No baby. Doctor check-up today shows that my body and baby seem perfectly happy to be sharing the same space. More waiting and wondering when it will be.
• Joey asked me what "labor" was, because he heard me and Daddy talking about it, and thought it was something about that baby. So I explained the work a Mommy goes through as her muscles get ready to get the baby out, and that he would be going to Grandmom's house sometime when I was in labor. He is now whole-heartedly in favor of me going into labor, and was disappointed this morning when he came into the kitchen and saw me drinking my coffee and remarked with a frown, "No labor." While I was walking out of his bedroom after putting him to bed this evening he reassured me with a "Labor. Yes!" while drawing a check mark in the air. I am glad to have Joey rooting for me. :)
• I do hope she comes before Christmas, but I will try to be patient and enjoy every bout of hiccups she has until the big day.

getting there

I am slowly, slowly, chipping away at my list of things that MUST be done before the baby comes. The reality that much will remain undone is known, but I keep chugging along. Tonight was Wal-Mart. Bleh. Wal-Mart makes my eyes hurt. But I needed a few baby care items, and to scout the toy section for some gifts, and to get a few things that I am just too tired to play the drug-store-game for. One stop, and I am stocked up pretty well.

Then I went across the street to Wegmans which is a much more enjoyable shopping experience, and at 8:15 on a Monday evening is very, very empty. I stocked up on cheap baking supplies and butter, which will be more fuel my very lopsided attempt at stocking my freezer for post-baby. You would think frozen meals would be the way to go, but so far I have gobs of pancakes, a delicious batch of scones, cookie batter, some quick bread, and six pans of stuffing. The stuffing could be considered part of a meal, and my two frozen turkeys could possible count as meals, but I am sure I am going to be really excited to roast a turkey in my sleep deprived state. My brain makes no sense. But what do you expect from a girl who couldn't even figure out 9x6 today without thinking about it for a good nine seconds.

So with some shopping done (but with Christmas shopping still to finish), and the upstairs play/guest room cleaned today, I can cross a few to-do's off the list. But I have so much blogging I feel like I need to catch up on, and on my metal list, that is one thing I want to do. There are fun days from October and November with oh-so-cute photos to go with. I know I don't HAVE to catch up on blogging for all to be right with the world when my baby arrives, it is just that this is kind of my journal, and I like looking back and reading it, and...well, my brain will just somehow feel better if I do.

So, I am going to try to get a few catch up posts up this week. Sorry to be blogging about things from two months ago, but you and I both know you don't come here for extraordinary blogging content. Most of you are my family anyway (some who live very far away), so you probably won't mind one bit.

The rest of you, just consider the title of my blog to be "Ramblings of a Crazy Pregnant Woman" until further notice.

And as always, thanks so much for stopping by!

white

Joey the careful

Katie the cold and crabby

Frosty the celebrating snowman

Mom-mom's hands

Mom-mom's hands show their love in lots of ways. On this day they showed their love with the application of all types of candies, sprinkles, sugar, frosting, and chocolate chips.


Only love could create beauties such as these:

23 days to go

Joey takes a lovely belly shot.

one more weird thing

This pregnancy, if I read a recipe I think I will enjoy, I cannot stop thinking about it until I make it. About a month ago I found a recipe for lemon iced pumpkin cookies, and it bothers me that my can of pumpkin sitting in the pantry has still not become those cookies.

Last Monday I made the recipe for Cranberry Sauce that was in the previous day's Parade magazine because I just had to know how a cranberry sauce with apricot preserves and chopped dried apricots would compare to my other cranberry sauce recipes. I loved it. I actually think it is my new favorite cranberry sauce. Adam loved it too.

I also made Caramel Crispix mix last week, which satisfied my caramel cereal mix curiosity (and stuffed my belly), and today I made Pumpkin Banana Bread that has been on my mind since Thursday. It was from the November o8 issue of the no-longer-published Country Home magazine that I paged through while Joey was working on something for school. The bread was very yummy, and Joey was pleased that it had no nuts. It does not matter how finely I chop walnuts in the food processor, any nut particle at all ruins his quick bread enjoyment.

There is a recipe in last month's Better Home and Garden for Pumpkin Corn Bread that is still haunting me. My lack of masa harina prevents me. I am not sure what else I would make with the remaining masa harina and cannot yet justify its purchase.

But do you see a trend in the type of recipes I must make. Sugar! Sweet! Must bake!

I need to start reading some recipes for salads.

being a princess

What is wrong, my darling princess?

It is just so hard to always be so charming, and beautiful, and smiley.

Well, do you think you could perhaps, just look at the camera, without being quite so sullen?

Nice. Thank you, your highness. As always, it was a pleasure photographing you today.

About Bear

Joey and Bear, March 2008

a conversation between Joey and me last week

"Did I ever tell you who gave Bear to Mommy...how you got him?"

"No."

I know I have, but I tell the story again.

"Aunt Donna gave Bear to Mommy for Natalie, when Natalie was still in my belly, at a special party called a baby shower."

"Oh."

"But then Natalie went to heaven...and Mommy and Daddy were so sad. And we prayed and prayed for God to give us a new baby in my belly, because we missed Natalie so much. And we really hoped we could have a baby that could stay with us, and not go to Heaven so soon."

He looks at me with wide, concerned eyes.

"And then God answered our prayers, and gave Mommy a new baby in her belly."

"That baby was me?"

"Yes, God answered our prayers - you were the answer to our prayers! You were the baby Mommy prayed for. We were so happy!...And then, Mommy let you have Bear, because I didn't think Natalie would mind if I shared her things with you since she was in Heaven."

He pulls Bear in close.

"And now Bear is your very favorite, special friend!"

He hugs Bear tightly, and buries his face in the back of Bear's head.

"I am so glad Jesus gave you to me. I love you so much. I am so glad you are able to love Bear."

"Me too."