It’s almost Thanksgiving!!! Is anyone else as excited as I am?? Bug is now 27 months old, so this is the first holiday season that he will really be able to participate and understand what is going on around him. I am also SO very proud of hubby! He took the initiative to plan and schedule all of our family time and visits so that we would be able to keep everyone happy and everyone gets to see us all.
This past Thursday, my mom came up for a visit and lost of baking. I love baking; it’s a passion, but it’s so much more fun with company! We had our Jack-o-Lantern pumpkin from Halloween still around since we decided not to carve it this year while we weren’t home this year. So instead, I decided that I wanted to make some fresh, REAL Pumpkin Pie!
It was so much fun!! We chopped up that big ol’ pumpkin, roasted it, mashed, mushed, and turned it into a Perfect Pumpkin Pie! Here’s what we did!
When you destroy a Jack-o-Lantern pumpkin, this is what it looks like. The 9×13″ pan was overflowing!!
The roasted pumpkin seeds!
When all is said and done, THIS is how much pumpkin you get!! Each bag has 2 cups-worth of pumpkin (except for the little bag, that only has one cup). That is a total 13 cups-worth of pumpkin that we made from that ONE full pumpkin!!
And if you remember my earlier post here, about the picture I found… of course I had to do it! So who else do I recruit for my turkey but my sweet Bug!! Here is the finished Baby Turkeys Pumpkin Pie, that we will be enjoying next Saturday at my side of the family’s Thanksgiving.
And, the close up view. He LOVED pressing in the dough making the hand prints!! And he even helped paint some of the “feathers”.
Bring on the feasts!!!! What special Thanksgiving traditions do you and your family enjoy? After this year, we are adding our Turkey Hand Pumpkin Pies!
So today, November 3rd, is National Housewives Day! Who would’ve known??
They make deal after dead of all the other “holidays” this country acknowledges, and yet, I haven’t heard much promotion of the day supporting us women who have the most gruesome job of all… The Housewife!
Well, HERE’S TO YOU! All you women who work tirelessly at home. The ones who don’t get “sick days” or have the ability to “leave the office” for the night.
I love being able to stay home with Baby Love! Being able to watch him learn, grow, laugh, and share is the best, and hardest job I could ever have. And I’d never trade it for the world!!
I’m also one of the weird ones. I love to clean, wash laundry, and take care of our home. I’m not the World’s Best cook, but I get the meals done, and I love to bake! It takes a while to get a good schedule running when you stay at home, but once you have a good schedule set, chores go by so easily! Here is what my weeks look like, for example:
Mondays, I deep clean the kitchen. Look through the cabinets to see if any need de-cluttering, do a good wash-down of the counters, and a sweeping of the floor.
Tuesdays I do the floors. Treating any spots and spills (you have kids, it will happen), vacuuming the carpets and a good mopping of the hard floors.
Wednesdays I leave free. This way if I’ve gotten behind on anything, I can always catch up on what needs to be done. It also leaves a lot more time for Bug and I to play, read, go on walks, or whatever we feel like doing.
Thursdays – Laundry Day!! I love Laundry Days for some reason. I guess having my two-year-old who LOVES helping makes it much more fun. He is now tall enough to put items into the washer, puts the washed clothes into the dryer as I hand them off, and has started putting them where they belong. He has even started learning how to sort the colors. It’s a blast to watch him want to help!
Fridays are probably my least favorite days. Fridays I tackle the bathroom, which means taking care of the kitties’ area. I put the bathroom on Fridays, so that when hubby is home for the weekend, there isn’t any worry about a mess. Everything is fresh, clean and orderly.
By this time, I can take the weekends off to spend with my Baby Bug and hubby!
And then there are the daily chores, of course. Even though we have a dish washer, I have opted to wash our dishes by hand. When they are done after a meal, it really isn’t all that much of a daunting task. ?
So… Happy Housewives Day, to all you women who are employed by the most worth-it employers in the world… OUR BABIES!!!
Tomorrow is Halloween! I hope that everyone has a fun and SAFE time in whatever you may be doing!
This Saturday night is also Daylight Savings. We all get an extra hour of fun! So don’t forget to Fall Back and set your clocks backwards one hour! Just a reminder for you!
Halloween is two days away!! I am excited for this year. Typically, we don’t do much. Decorate a little, carve a pumpkin, take Bug Trick-or-Treating, and we’re done. This year, hubby and I were invited out to a party with some friends, so Nana and Pappy get to do the Trick-or-Treating this time around.
But since we are not going to be home this year, and don’t have a patio to display our pumpkin, I decided that I would just give a shot to a few homemade pumpkin pies this year.
And if I haven’t mentioned before, I love Google-ing and Google Images. I was searching around the Google Images for pumpkin pies, and came across this great picture. (This is NOT my baking. I cannot take credit for this, but I WILL be trying my own soon enough!)
What a wonderful idea is this????
So, I think finding this idea secured my thought to try homemade pumpkin pies, from my pumpkin this year! And the best part being that our Little Bit can help me make little hand turkeys to adorn the pies! I’m so excited to try this new project this year!!
*SIDE NOTE* If you aren’t a fan of Pumpkin Pie, this would be a good adornment for a chocolate pie, apple or pecan pies, too. You could also use it for a cute holiday topping for cobblers! It can work for whatever your imagination can create! You can also cut the “turkey” from other things aside from a pie crust and use it on top of a favorite side dish!
What holiday projects or meals/foods to your children help you with each year?
This coming THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15TH is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. (Click the picture to visit the official web page.)
Objective: At 7PM, no matter what time zone you are in, to light a candle in remembrance of each Angel that has been lost. Burn the candle from 7-8PM.
Goal: The goal is to have at least one candle lit in remembrance, the world over, for every hour of October 15th, to have in mind all that have had a greater purpose than what only we had expected.
Miscarriages and infantile death are a sadly common thing. Just about everyone has experienced or knows someone who has been affected by such a heart-wrenching and life-altering event, whether you know it or not.
I have participated in lighting my candle(s) on this day for this hour (and I usually light them all day, as well) for FOUR years now, starting from when I first learned of this event through a dear friend of mine. I light one candle for the Angel no longer with my husband and me, three candles for the three Angels my dear friend can not enjoy, and one additional candle for each of the rest that I do not personally know.
But after all of the heartache, pain and sickness, there is always the Perfect Purpose why we are not able to be blessed to hold each of our Angels. For myself and my husband, we were absolutely beyond blessed to have our son. He is the most precious, sweetest, caring, helpful, and funniest little guy ever; who is now just over two years old. For my dear friends, they have been absolutely blessed with their sweet Baby Girl after much struggle and one great fight! Others may not have had the chance for another sweet Angel, for reasons they may or may not know – yet.
But each and every one has their own Perfect Purpose… and not a single one will ever be forgotten or lost.
So, my request to you, is to pass on this post (please include a linkback and credit, since this is my original writing), and the word. Light a candle or two at 7PM of your time zone for an hour of remembrance for the beautiful Angels we here do not have the privilege to enjoy.
I don’t know about you, but I am the Queen Packer around this house. I can turn a room’s-full of clutter and nick nacks into a few boxes-worth of storage. My only problem is, what to do when those few boxes, turn into twenty boxes; especially when it comes to out-of-season clothes, spare blankets, bed sheets and pillows. Those kind of things aren’t really box-friendly.
About a year ago, I broke down and got a few packages of Space Bags, to see if they would “really” work. I tried a lot of different things, and items, but they never seemed to work. The seal would break, or the seams would easily rip down the sides making them useless and a waste of money.
And then… they came out with the Space Bag CUBE!! I figured, that these would probably be a lot better logically, because they stand – instead of laying flat. It took me almost a year to convince myself to spend more money to give these another chance.
I am so glad that I did!!!!
Our seasonal clothes, that used to take up three bags-worth of space in the flat bags, now takes up a 1½ by 1½ foot cube that stands not even two feet tall!!! And half of our blankets that used to pile up to my knees – now only occupy a 1×1x1 chunk of space!!! Over HALF of our spare “catch-all” closet is now free to house more things.
I can’t wait until tomorrow to finish the last of our blankets and pillows! Sadly, it has to wait until tomorrow, so that my thrills with the vacuum will not disrupt any Short One’s sleeping. Ha!
If you’re always confused on how to store all the spare blankets, sheets and out-of-season clothes… I very highly recommend the Space Bags!!
Hello, Everyone! I’ve missed you all! Life has given me so many things to do these days… but busy is always best, no??
I couldn’t pass up this story, though! It’s so adorably funny how much the younglings want to be “just like Mommy and Daddy”!!!!
Hubby’s back had been giving him trouble for a few days, and yesterday it was to the point he could barely even shower, so he took the day off from work to “relax” and go to the doctor.
Turns out that he just has a strained muscle, got some high-dosed Ibuprofen… and a Cortisone shot, in the behind. Well, seeing Daddy laying back-side up on the table, when it was all said and done, Bug just HAD to get on that table, too. So he gets up, and to the amusement of myself and Daddy, Bug laid down, and spread out bottoms-up on the table… JUST LIKE DADDY!!!!! So Daddy started pinching on Bug’s bottom jokingly laughing that he was going to get a shot, too! (Since, Bug is still slightly too little to really realize what shots are at this point.)
We were laughing so hard that two of the nurses ran in to see what all the noise was!! He was quite the topic of the afternoon around there!!
Oh, and here is a little video that I caught of Bug and Daddy yesterday. It really shows how much Daddy was hurting, ha! Even though he said that with Bug bouncing, it made the back feel better.
… or at least, that is what it has sounded like this, entire, afternoon!!!
Our apartment complex is going through state inspections of all fire alarms, sprinkler systems and fire hazards today and tomorrow. It took the crew about an hour and a half to get through our building of 24 units.
During this process, about 10 men invaded our home, checking sprinkler heads, smoke detectors, and anything that could cause a hazard… all the way down to our washer and dryer. Each time they went into a new unit, they also had to test the obnoxiously, ear-piercing alarm.
At this point, I should also say that Bug was brought back home by Nana and Pappy (the in-laws) around 1PM today. He doesn’t get to nap very often while visiting them, so he quickly went down for a nap shortly after arriving home.
I was afraid that with the invasion of loud men, and horrible alarms that he would wake up and be not a very happy camper. They have now been finished with our building for about 20 minutes… and my Bug is still sleeping just as peacefully as when he first drifted to dream land!
I am SO very glad that he is a heavy sleeper… He certainly did not get that from me!!
Well, tomorrow is my least favorite day of the entire year. The sad day, that marks there will officially be no more summer; only murky, drizzly, cold days to expect in the coming days. I’m just not a cold weather kind of person.
Nonetheless, there are some fun things during these frozen months that I look forward to enjoying.
Today was my wonderful hubby’s 27th birthday. We are baby-less for a few days this week, so hubby came home early from work and we headed out to an amazing dinner at our favorite “special event” restaurant, Siciliano’s A Taste of Italy. If you are in the Dallas, Texas area, I highly suggest that you visit this little family-owned restaurant. It is – SO – very good!! We had planned to spend a little time at the in-laws for birthday cheesecake before coming home; but the weather turned threatening of storms to come, so we came decided to come home.
Next on the agenda is Halloween. People take Halloween so far out of context these days, but I enjoy it. Trick-or-treating, fun parties with friends to have excuses to dress crazy, and, of course, all the candy – all of the traditional fun.
And then, you have Thanksgiving. I really don’t like that Thanksgiving is VERY often overlooked. I love all the AMAZING food and get-togethers of Thanksgiving!
… Followed by Christmas and then the start of the FRESH YEAR and holidays that follow suit then! Not to mention the NINE birthdays spread throughout this entire season!
Now, thinking of Halloween, I haven’t decided what Bug will be this year!! Last year we had him picked to be a little turtle before his birthday. This year, NO idea!! He just turned two, so having excessive costumes probably wouldn’t be the grandest of choices. So, what are your younglings going to be this year? How do you plan on having fun? What are your cute holiday ideas??
Bug just turned 25 months old, and he’s one smart cookie. He catches on to concepts, words and meanings very quickly.
For a few months now, he has been “interested” in the potty. He knows the whole routine: you get the paper, you put it in, flush, wash hands, turn off the light, and leave. Since he just turned two I really have had no intentions of pushing the whole potty training ordeal yet; especially since boys tend to take a little longer than girls on average.
As most moms know, I don’t often get to go to the bathroom in privacy anymore, so he started showing more understanding to the whole concept recently.
Well… this morning we changed a few diapers. (ha!) About 30 minutes after the last change he started saying, “I pa” and wanted me to follow him. So once I got up, I realized that “I pa” was “I POTTY”, and he wanted to go in the bathroom! I checked the diaper and he was completely dry! So, for the first time, we stripped and tried our very first sit on the potty!!
After the initial excitement of “LOOK WHAT I’M DOING!” (about 10 minutes later), I told him it was time to get down. Oh, did he throw a fit! So we got back on and sat for another 5 – 10 minutes and after more enthusiasm and a little seriousness, he finally said, “I’m done.” So we got down, re-diapered, washed our hands and turned out the light.
There was no success, of course, but the enthusiasm very much remains! He wanted to go back and sit, so I told him we would sit again after nap time.
Looks like it’s time for a trip to the store for some training pants to me!!
In honor of Labor Day… here’s a bit of insight to, my labor. My son is my absolute Life’s Joy and I could not imagine a day without him! He just turned two years old a few weeks ago, and already he is SO grown! Enjoy!
1. WAS YOUR PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yes and no. We knew that we wanted to have a family together, but we weren’t “planning” planning on exactly when. So when it happened, we were both ecstatic!
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
No. I had been married before, and we didn’t want the complications of marriage. But we did get married before he was born due to unchangeable circumstances.
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
A little scared, but absolutely thrilled! My dream of a lifetime was to be able to have and raise a family… and I have been MORE than abundantly blessed with a great husband and PERFECT Angel of a son.
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
Absolutely NOT!!
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
23.
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
As weird as it sounds, I knew the exact moment that we conceived. I figured I was going to have to wait a while to take a test, but I took two tests four days after conception and they were both positive.
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
The hubby.
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
Yes!! I knew it would be a boy about a month before we found out the sex and everyone kept telling me that I couldn’t know for sure. So we found out at 18 weeks.
9. DUE DATE?
September 3rd, 2007.. LABOR DAY!! He was born exactly two weeks early on August 17, 2007.
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Not once.
11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
MEAT!! Steaks, chicken, sausage – it didn’t matter! And it HAD to be drowned in Worcestershire sauce. Which, was VERY weird for me, because I really can’t stand condiments or BBQ sauce…
12. WHAT IRRITATED YOU?
Not too much, really.
13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD’S SEX?
All boy!
14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
Absolutely not! We were beyond thrilled for a boy. I’d love at least one little girl, but if I get blessed to be outnumbered, then that’s just fine with me.
15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY
25, or 30 max.
16. Did YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
No. Several former “friends” said they were going to throw a shower for me, and then they all canceled them about a week before they were supposed to be. I was pretty upset at that!
17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
Oh, I knew, ha.
18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Nope. Wonderfully healthy. Walking is a GREAT help!
19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Inanna Birth Center, Denton, Texas.
20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
Active labor start to finish was 4 hours.
21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Hubby drove me to the birth center, at 4:30AM. Poor guy was so tired. Neither of us had slept that night, or the night before, so I told him to sleep on the bed while I was having contractions.
22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Hubby, my midwife and her assistant. My parents, hubby’s Mom and a friend’s parents were in the next room waiting.
23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
100% natural.
24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
Nope, nothing. Not even an IV. And it was great!
25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
6 LBS, 15 OZ.
28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN
August 17, 2007 at 8:25AM.
29.WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Angelo Kole C.
4 hours after birth. We were allowed to go home after only two hours.
We had a ton of adventures this weekend! Hubby had a tournament with friends, so the Bug and I spent all weekend with my parents, Mimi and Dad. Mimi had come to whisk us away Friday afternoon and do a little shopping before reaching the house.
Saturday morning, Dad took Little Bit and myself to IHOP. We love our IHOP! He ate so much that Dad even tried to cut him off, and he just wouldn’t have it! He HAD to finish those pancakes. And then we got to go do a lot of good shopping with Mimi. He has so much fun driving places and shopping!! He just talks to everyone, helps pick out things and is always so very happy.
Well after naptime, Dad wanted to wash the cars. Now there’s a recipe for fun: cars, splashy water, being outside, a basketball and a bubble mower!!!! Once Dad got to the inside of the car, Bug decided to skip ahead about 14 years. He had fun… driving…
I know one of things goes first…
Oops, Dad, you forgot a penny (out of the change bucket…)
Now, we put it in gear…
And now, we’re all ready to go!
Nope, got to change the radio for some new tunes.
I don’t think I’m really ready for these next 14 years to slip away from me already… !
We had a blast with Mimi and Dad this weekend. We even got to stay an extra day down with them. It’s always fun to go shopping and baking with Mimi, and hanging out playing outside with Dad.
And even after all this weekend of playing, fun, kisses, cuddles and loves… he is still just too sweet and dripping of extra sugars!! At one point last night I went to check on him and watch him sleep as any mother does. He was snuggling up on his blanket, cute smiles on his little Angel face, and giving kisses. Whoever was lucky enough to get some sugar-coated kisses while he was dreaming, sure is lucky.
I hope everyone’s weekend was just as fun and adventure-filled as ours!
Just a brief little note for today. Mimi (my mother) came up bright and early this morning and we headed out to Bug’s two-year-old check up. He’s perfect and growing like a great big weed! He’s still in the top 90% at 35.4″ tall (good grief, 3 feet… really??) and a whole 28 pounds. He’s a lean, tall kiddo “ready for anything” as our pediatrician said. He also “tested” his strength because, well, boys will always be boys no matter how old they are HA! And said that he is very strong, so he “has the whole package”.
One of the things I love about our pediatrician is the fact that he doesn’t just care about keeping the next kid healthy. He genuinely wants to know about the whole package. He asked where I am now working at 5 Minutes For Mom, and actually wrote down the site and put it in his pocket. I really believe that he will look at it when he gets home. He asked how I contribute and what I do. He always gives me little updates to his family and things, too. I’m glad we’re blessed with such a great pediatrician as he is.
We did our lunch rounds and now it’s nap time. We are going to be making cookies here shortly while Bug finishes his nap, and then off to do some shopping later on today! I enjoy the little things like making cookies with my mom. It makes quiet days well worth it.
Oh yeah, and I also chopped off my hair after the check up, too. I mean CHOPPED! It was about 3″ short of my waist, and now it barely grazes my shoulders.
I’m a little late getting this video uploaded (since I totally forgot that I had it). We sang Happy Birthday to Bug at the in-laws’ party on Sunday. He was a tad confused to what was going on, and Daddy was a bit more entertaining than the cake. The fan was blowing the flames, so Nana had to block them (and one candle was playing Happy Birthday). He knows to blow on things if it is hot, so that’s why we were telling him it was hot.
And of course, he just has to be too freakin’ adorable at the end…
So today, November 3rd, is National Housewives Day! Who would’ve known??
