Our Family

Halloween was really fun. Evey and James carved a pumpkin. Which turned out awesome if you ask me. It was pretty plain, but the light just really shined out of it and it was a friendly face. Then we all got dressed up for the neighborhood cookout. Evey was Minnie Mouse, Char was a pregnant Cat n the Hat, and James was a leprechaun of sorts. Delicious food and cider! The Moms sat under the tent and handed out candy to the kids, while the Dads took the kids trick or treating. Good times. We headed in a little earlier to get E in bed and then watched Texas handle business against OSU.

So as an OBGYN, I would think that you would know to tread lightly when talking to a VERY pregnant woman. So I gained 6 pounds this past 2 weeks. (2 is normal) So the Dr. comes in and is like "Whoa! 6 pounds...well that's okay...it is hard around the holidays." I almost hopped off that table and strangled her. Hello...
# 1. Let's review how much I have gained in the previous weeks...OH 1 or less...so there
# 2. I am too huge to take off my shoes and have done that every appt before then.
# 3. Let's weigh the fluid that is stuck around my ankles
# 4. Halloween was 2 days ago...you think I ate that much candy in 2 days to gain 6 pounds?

We have finished the Boy's room for now. It is very simple but it is a tiny room. I got a recliner for nursing. That way I don't have to go downstairs and it will be better for my back than sitting in bed. The animals on the wall, I found online and made a copy of them for a fraction of the $42 ea they were charging. They are not perfect but cute enough. The armoire is doubling as the changing table, dresser drawers and storage. We will add his name above the crib when we know it. Then maybe some small wall shelves. So the wall color definately looks blue in the pictures, but if you hold something up to it that is blue then it looks green.

Now that we are "settled," I am trying to turn my black thumb into a green thumb. So I have done a little planting in the front of the house and then I have added several house plants. It is so good for your air quality to have real plants in the house so I am trying really hard to take good care of them. I have an ivy and another small plant in my office. Then these succulents in the kitchen. These cute little containers, I made a craft party at Kristen's house, well over a year ago and have finally done something with them. I love my little succulents, they have grown so much already.
These are the planters that I added on either side of the porch. The tall one in the middle is a Japanese Pencil Holly, leaves are soft not prickly.

Well this weekend, we did a 3 day crash course in potty training. Link to the training Which means that Miss Evey was pantless at home. It went really well, of course we still had a couple of accidents. One happened to be in the paint department of Home Depot...and one at the lunch table at home while we had a guest over...it was #2. Awesome. Actually, it went way better than expected. She says she needs to go to the bathroom and then goes. She seems to really respond to the sticker system, 1 sticker for pee...2 stickers for poo. We still have a lot of practice but we are well on the way.

Yes, I am as huge as I look in the picture. Although, I have only gained 20 lbs, which I think is less than with Evey, so I am happy about that. I had an appointment this week, baby's heart sounds great and is facing head down...not that it matters really. Uterus is contracting a lot but not enough to be concerned. I am feeling good. I got a new office chair with has helped drastically, however the swelling has begun.

Here is a link to a recipe. I have made this twice now and it is outstanding...much easier than previous tomato basil soups recipes. The recipe is from Wegmans...its like Central Market but Walmart prices...its wonderful.

Tomatoe Basil Orzo Soup

Here are the changes that I make...I add chicken, some green veggie I have on hand like peas green beans or zucchini, then I use fat free 1/2 & 1/2 instead of cream. And Mirepoix is 2 parts onion, 1 part celery, 1 part carrot.

This past weekend was pretty busy. Saturday, Stephanie and I took the kids to Manassas (about 20 minutes away), to their Fall Festival. It was much better than last year. They had Live Music, Chainsaw Chicks, lots of booths of folks selling stuff, a whole kids area with games, face painting, music etc. It was a fun day and Miss Evey was very tired, cranky pants when we got in the car.
On Sunday...the neighborhood went to a corn maize and farmers market. It was really fun. They had a big pumpkin patch, large tires filled with corn (Evey loved playing in the corn), slides, mini maize made of hay bails, an obsticle course, swings.

Last weekend Evey was invited to her first "official" birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. This was also her first time there. She did not know what to do. She walked in...eyes wide open...she looked a little lost. It is like sensory overload in there. It was really fun though. We played games, ate food and cake, danced with Chuck E. I think she had fun and crashed in the car on the way home.