Friend Makin Monday!

I visited {ae filkins} this morning and saw her post on Friend Makin Mondays. I wanted to participate in this cause it looked like fun!

1. Favorite website: I am constantly on blogger and my email but facebook and allrecipes are other faves as well.
2. Favorite color: I love the color RED.
3. Facebook? {Post a link or share your name if you want some new Facebook friends!} You can visit me here!
4. Favorite Christmas song? Winter Wonderland is a great one.
5. Christmas tree: Real or fake? Real! We have a fun tradition of cutting it down. Been that way since I was a little kid too :)
6. Hottest celebrity? Gerard Butler, early Mark Whalberg (Calvin Kline days), David Beckham and Clive Owen {love his voice}
7. Favorite restaurant? I really like The Ram. They have the best coleslaw.
8. Favorite magazine? US weekly and Martha Stewart Living
9. Favorite thing to drink around the holidays? nonfat peppermint mocha's!!
10. Favorite Christmas movie: A Christmas Story "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!"
••••••

I ♥ Christmas time!!

A little under age, I think.

I thought this was hilarious.

We did a little grocery shopping at Trader Joe's Saturday afternoon with Lila. She wanted to push a mini cart around so we went with it. Mikey {my hubs} got some beer and put it in the cart along with everything else. We started getting little giggles and points from people as we were strolling the aisles...

Then I realized that she was pushing the cart with the BEER in it!

*We dont promote underage drinking...I swear!*

I had to take some pictures to cherish the moment.

So cute.

monsters?

This is a first for me. And well its a first for my little girl as well. After a heavy 2 hour nap she woke up crying and hugging her pillow. My husband and I ran in her room and consolded her. It took her a minute to actually wake up but when she did she was saying "monsters." It broke my heart!!

I am afraid of this becoming a nightime/naptime problem. She now puts up a fight when we lay her down to sleep.


What are some ideas you can give me to get her over this?

do you love bacon?

It's a Turbaconducken!
A chicken stuffed in duck stuffed in a turkey, all wrapped in

bacon. Sounds like way too much meat to me but the final product looks pretty good!

And this frightful thing is a Bacon mug. And {gasp} its freaking filled with cheese!!!

I think that I am getting heartburn just looking at these...

Credit is due:
http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/20/bacon-mug/

http://bacontoday.com/turbaconducken-turducken-wrapped-in-bacon/

I am thankful for you!

I have decided to list of things that I am thankful for this holiday season.
But first off I wanted to give thanks to all of you. I have had so much fun blogging my heart out. Its been such a pleasure meeting some of you thru emails and comments. I hope to make more blogging friendships this next year too!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for:
• My daughter. These days she has been kissing my baby belly and talking to her baby brother. She tells him that she loves him and that she wants him to come out to play with her. I swear my smile goes from ear to ear when she does this. She is going to be a wonderful big sister! At 2 she is already starting to become a passionate and responsible little girl and I am so proud to be her mother.
• My Passat Wagon. I love my car. It's a great mom mobile :)
• Despite job insecurity and financial problems in this economy, we are still afloat and doing well.
• My job. I am very fortunate to be able to stay at home with my baby. Its been a {job} that I have always wanted to do and we made it happen back in 2007. Some people can't imagine doing it but I love it...despite all the complaining I might do. It can be a stressful job!
• My fridge. Our old little one died earlier this year {may it rest in peace} and we had to get another. We got a large one with ice and water in the door. I immediately got rid of our ice trays and our Brita water pitcher. How the hell did we live without water and ice in the door of our refrigerator??! I ask myself that often :)
• The Internet. I am unable to function without my computer and the good o' world wide web. Seriously. I am sure all of you can agree with me. Its impossible!
• The invention of heated car seats! Oh how I love a warm butt when I am driving...
• I don't watch it nor do I really enjoy it but I am still thankful for Football. It makes my husband very happy. He cares a lot about it and I like how much he gets into it.
• The fabulous man in my life. He brings laughter and love into our home and hearts. He is so generous and caring. Thanks for being such an amazing man!
• Mostly I am thankful that I am a strong and healthy woman. I might complain that I am done being pregnant but I am so blessed to be able to bring 2 children into the world. Pregnancy is a wonderful and special thing and I am very lucky to have experienced it.


This list is not in any particular order...

to uncle micah

Happy Birthday Uncle Micah!!

We love you SO much.

Hope you have a wonderful day playing disc golf :)

Star tutorial for Christmas

Check out this fabulous tutorial from one of my favorite craft blogs here. I made mine today and I love it!

Thanks Tanya!

wannabe supermodel

Monday we went with my dad to pick out up his new glasses. While we waited they played dress up!

30 weeks

I have hit the 30 week mark. Feeling huge and my hunger is in full swing. I have gained 20 lbs so far and I am scared for the holidays. Scared that I will be eating non stop and gain another 20 just in the process. But I am not going to stress because compared to my first pregnancy 20 lbs is pretty good for me. I gained a little over 40 lbs with Lila.
But on to some other updates...
I am 100% healthy meaning no gestational diabetes, high blood pressure or other stuff. It all runs in my family so I am pretty lucky to not those health issues. No swelling or cankles {as of yet} and I am still able to do lots of activities.
Besides the fact that I am no longer able to paint my toe nails...everything is still pretty great. Oh and another funny but super saddening fact is that I have to catch my breath and pause in the middle of reading to my daughter at night. I guess when I am sitting on the couch my little boy takes up all the room for my lungs!
I have 2 due dates by the way.
January 28th - My 20 week ultrasound suggested this date since he is big for his size
Febuary 5th - My first official due date suggested from my last period.

So who knows...

I feel ready now!

strange but yummy cravings

Last night we had a huge wind storm and my husband and I were woken up around 2am to the sounds of our patio furniture being blown over. He jumped out of bed to fix it and I laid there thinking...

He came back to bed shortly after. "Everything is ok-I will fix the rest in daylight."

"I really want a jalapeno bagel, toasted, with cream cheese and jam on top." I said with a {huge} grin. YUMMY!

"Good luck with that one" he said. And he kissed me goodnight.

I didn't end up getting it that night or the day after. But it still sounds delicious.

What are some of your weird cravings while pregnant??

It's not that bad!

Last night my little one started getting a runny nose.
She was acting so clingy and emotional and I new for sure she was getting sick. I immediately broke out the thermometer. Whew...no fever!
She slept all night and woke up with a pretty stuffy nose, sneezing and watery eyes, but still fever free.
Last year I would have been freaked out and all worried about her. But not this time around. Ever since the whole swine flu pandemic, a regular head cold just seems like... nothing!


Does anyone else feel the same way?


Maybe its just because the whole H1N1 has been blown out of proportion and I have fell for it all but its just a stuffy nose this time around. Its not that bad!


...But if she does end up getting the dreaded flu I will probably be posting all about it and how freaked out I am...



p.s. The picture above is NOT my kid!

birthday wishes

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear Aunt Amy...

Happy Birthday to YOU!

xoxo

puddle jumping

My mouth is watering just looking at this...

For the past 2 years I have made this pumpkin bread. Its the best I have tasted, EVER. Try it!


1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil {I substitute 1/2 cup of oil with applesauce}
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

ENJOY!

{credit for this recipe goes here }

Wordless Wednesday

{My bestie's son Austin and my little girl Lila. Too cute for words!}

I heart car seats

•What car seats have you used?
•What did you like about yours?
•Can you recommend any to me?

For my first born we had a Chicco KeyFit 30 car seat. I really loved it. My dad bought us the Travel System and it ran him about 300 bucks. It was a wonderful system and we actually had her in the infant car seat until she was 15 months old. It was really easy to install and use. She was tiny so it worked well for her. Anyways around Christmas time our car was stolen along with the car seat. We went ahead and bought a toddler car seat in place of her old one. But now with a second baby on the way I am on the prowl for another infant car seat. My original plan was to go with the same model. But times are tougher these days and we just don't have the money to shell out $300 for the Travel System along with everything else we still need to get.

loving the camera...kinda

Wordless Wednesday

Cream Pie

This is for you Uncle Micah...

When I was little, one day ,my brother was in charge of getting me ready for the day. I can't remember if I woke up before him or if it was later then that but I got into the fridge and grabbed a container of Cool Whip and sat in front of the TV. My Brother came down the stairs and found me. He asked me what I was eating and I replied "Cream pie!" So its been a long running joke whenever we eat Cool Whip. And it just so happened that Lila got into it this evening when we were making strawberry short cake. It made us all laugh and I had to take some pictures. She called it Cream Pie too!