Why I Love America

It's Tax Day....and better yet, Tea Party Day!

I live in a section of Indiana that is overwhelmingly liberal Catholic and Democrat. It's kind of an anomaly here, but nevertheless, it's where I live. So naturally, I wasn't sure what kind of turnout there would be for the local tea party planned for the downtown area.

Emily and I did not actually participate, in part because she's 4.5 years old and I'm 7 months pregnant and it's barely 50 degrees, and mostly because well, Emily just isn't old enough to get it and I don't have the energy or patience to try to keep her out of the streets!

Anyhow, we did head downtown to bring lunch to Daddy and to see what the crowd looked like. I first drove by around 11:30 am. (the party was scheduled to begin at 11:00). It was cloudy and barely 45 degrees, but there were at least a hundred people holding signs and respectfully protesting on the courthouse steps. I was impressed, but wondered if this was the biggest the crowd would get, as it might be full of those on their lunch break. However, when we drove back by around 2:00, the crowd was even bigger. It was nice to see.

I really liked some of the signs I was reading like:

Taxed

Enough

Already

and

We'll Keep Our Dollars and

You Can Keep Your "Change"!

By the way, please excuse the lousy pictures. I was taking them at the stoplight before turning onto the street and one, while driving by. Don't try this at home, kids!

There was patriotic music playing and people of all ages were out.


And even though this picture is blurry, I could still read a great sign with an Obama slogan twist:

"Can We Bankrupt This Country?
Yes We Can!"

Of course, we all know these people are just a bunch of Right Wing Extremists who are super dangerous to America, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Forget about those nasty Muslim terrorists who fly planes of innocent people into buildings full of more innocent people. These peaceful protesters are far more of a threat!

Happy Easter!!!

Why I Currently Would Rather Stick Needles Under My Fingernails than Deal With Babies R Us

Let me start at the beginning, being as brief as possible: The Jardine crib we purchased for Emily about 5 years ago was recalled. I got a voucher for a new crib, which absolutely had to be purchased at BRU, for $219. Other than the Jardine brand cribs and a few other not-so-great quality cribs, absolutely nothing was that price or less.

Fast forward: I made my peace with having to pay extra for a new crib. I did my research. For the money and given the options in front of me, I decided on buying the Baby Cache Heritage Lifetime crib, at the sticker price of $399. I knew I would also be purchasing the bed rails. I have waited....and waited...and waited for a coupon that would work on cribs and finally a darling lady from these boards sent me one that expires on April 9th. I was all set.

Today: I go in, sit at the desk and attempt to order my crib. I am told there are none in the warehouse, none in any local (think 100 miles or so radius) stores and I would have to special order one. My coupon would not work on special orders. It would take at least 10-12 weeks (the guy actually advised me to pick out something else!) and I am currently just about 27 weeks pregnant. So I ask if it is available online. It was, I could use my coupon for 15% off, but then there's the little matter of shipping. It was going to cost $130 to ship the crib, completely negating the coupon and then quite a bit. I call my local BRU and speak with a manager. I explain about the recall, about the voucher, about the crib not being in stock....and ask if the shipping can be refunded (I think something about the voucher program had mentioned this). She said, "I don't know." YOU'RE THE MANAGER!! IF YOU DON'T KNOW, WHO WILL?? Then she gets back on the line and tells me that they just got a shipment in that afternoon (I was in the store around 12:00 pm). So I tell her I'll be back this evening.

This evening: I go in, sit at the desk and attempt to order the crib. The girl (a different person, of course) brings the tag from the crib over and shows it to me. It says "This item is temporarily unavailable." I nearly lose my mind. I ask how this can be possible, given that I spoke with the manager at 3:00 pm this afternoon and she said they had just come in. The girl finally looks it up on the computer and discovers that there are a couple still left in stock. She starts ordering the crib.

This is when I notice the price tag. At noon today (and every single other time I've seen the crib, in the store or online) the non-sale price has been $399. At 8:00pm, the price is now listed at $429. I literally lose my mind. I ask if this is the price. The girl says yes. I tell her to get the manager. I explain to them both why I extremely frustrated at this whole (racket) process and how I am not paying $429 when, through no fault of my own, the price suddenly went up $20 since noon. I am seriously ticked.

They can tell. They agree to lower the price. (How big of them.)

Then I order the bed rails. For every other convertible crib kit, the price has been around $60. The girl tells me, "That will be $129 for the rails and they will take about 12 weeks to come in."

*^#&#*@^@*#&#^#^#*&&*@&!^@&*!!

Granted, when all is said and done, I ended up paying around $130 for the crib and $140 for the rails. It doesn't sound bad, but I so dearly despise this whole process at Babies r Us right now.

And heaven help them if, when the crib arrives, something is missing or damaged. They will not know fury like mine!

(And did I mention that this crib apparently will not fit in the back of the minivan and we'll need to rent/borrow a truck to get it home?)

I'm done now.

Signs of Life

I love Spring. May is perhaps my very favorite month, but April is when spring really starts around my neck of the woods. The threat of snow nearly every day is over and the weather starts to slowly warm up (it's a lovely 65 degrees right now...woohooo!!!). But my favorite part of spring? Without question, it's the magical moment when I wake up one day, look outside and there is suddenly color again, in all the places where everything has been brown and gray for so many long months.


Last fall, I actually remembered to plant the spring bulbs I bought. I'd never tried growing anything from just a bulb, so I was curious to see if anything would happen. Apparently, there is hope! Now if only I could remember what I planted...I think this might be the beginnings of a hyacinth, but I'm not sure.

The above picture is of some tulips of varied colors and styles that I do remember planting. If memory serves, I planted around 65 bulbs last fall, and as of today's count, I could see 44 plants starting to poke up out of the ground. I'm still hopefuly for a few more that are just buried under a thicker layer of mulch. I planted the bulbs all along the edges of the flower beds, closest to the sidewalk, so hopefully there will be an explosion of colors in the next few weeks.

And finally, the dogwood trees in our front yard have buds...which means leaves and in this case, flowers, will soon follow! I miss leaves. I miss green. I miss colors....but not for much longer.

Happening in My Kitchen

I am not a great cook. I would like to be. My mom is...my grandmother is...my great-grandmother was. I am still aspiring. I have hope. I occasionally whip up a masterpiece. I also occasionally completely ruin something beyond salvaging.

We eat out far too often. I say this, not because I have a problem with eating out. Oh contraire!!
Mostly we just eat out too much because it has become a habit that started in earnest when the crabby and colicky (but otherwise lovely) Miss Em was born. Andrew was working his little rear end off with long hours, I was at home with a cranky baby and cooking was just not happening. And so began our love affair with pretty much any restaurant nearby.

Of course, this was never the intention and so I still did the weekly grocery shopping with the grand plans of cooking at home. It didn't happen much. But I am trying harder now. I'm up to cooking about 3 times a week on average. Some weeks are better than others. This week has been a good one so far. Maybe I've been inspired by the new fridge...or more money staying in the checking account. Either way, I thought I share a pictoral of this week's meals. They were all pretty successful, I must say.

It all started with a 3-qt. dish of completely from scratch four-cheese macaroni and cheese. Andrew and Emily are big fans of this new-to-me recipe. I think it still needs a bit of tweeking, but overall, it's pretty tasty. The top is fantastic; the inside needs to be creamier. Still, we have eaten it for two nights and still have half a casserole dish left. Not bad.

The above picture may not look too tantalizing, but it is...and it starred along with the mac and cheese on Monday night and then played a supporting role in tonight's dish. This picture is of my oven-baked teryaki chicken. I made the sauce myself and I must say that is much better than any bottled brand I've found so far. It's very simple to make, and by baking the chicken glazed with the sauce, it comes out very flavorful, juicy and tender. Next time, I'm going to add some pineapple juice to the sauce, just for fun, and maybe top with pineapple rings.

Tuesday night, the plan was to brown the 2 lbs of ground beef that I had bought and then use half for tacos and the other half for something yet to be determined (maybe spaghetti sauce or Hamburger Helper...we can't be too fancy!). However, a few minutes into browning the beef, I happened to look at the expiration date on my package of hard/soft taco dinner kit and noticed that it had expired nearly two years ago. Now before you get too excited, I do clean out my pantry at least twice a year, but somehow, this one got away. Never fear, however. I had an extra packet of taco seasoning and some tortilla chips, so we had nachos instead. Andrew declared it an "awesome" (albeit, of absolutely no nutrional value) dinner. Emily opted for left-over mac and cheese.

And tonight, I used the extra 3 teryaki chicken breasts and the left-over sauce to make this gorgeous stirfry concoction pictured above. I wasn't too sure of how it would turn out, since this is truly an original recipe. I threw in a little of this and that and tried my luck (which usually isn't very good!). However, I think we have a winner.

I started by adding a little oil to the pan, then the uncooked rice, a can of chicken broth and a tiny bit of soy sauce. When the rice had gotten a good start, I added the already cooked chicken and a bag of frozen stirfry veggies. Once everything had gotten warm, I added the remainder of the teryaki sauce and a can of pineapple tidbits (just for fun). The finished product was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. The only thing I would do different next time is to pick another kind of frozen stirfry veggie mix. I didn't pay close attention with this one and ended up with green beans, pea pods, yellow squash (yuck), tiny red peppers, broccoli and water chestnuts. I would have prefered red and yellow pepper strips, pea pods, broccoli and water chestnuts (for Andrew). I might also add more pineapple and maybe even get really fancy with some toasted almond slivers.

So that's what has been happening in my kitchen recently. Anyone have any good recipes they'd like to share?

Earth Hour

So, how many of my loyal readers participated in this event?

I bet I can guess.

In case you didn't even know about Earth Hour, allow me to briefly explain. Earth Hour was started a few years ago in an attempt to "raise awareness" about global warming/climate change with a symbolic turning off of household lights for one hour, one night a year. This year, Earth Hour was observed on Saturday night from 8:30-9:30 pm.

My response to this....I wanted to turn on every single light I had. I didn't, but neither did I turn off anything I would normally have on. We continued to keep the lights on in our living room, in Emily's room and we continued to watch March Madness on the t.v. In short, we completed ignored the "EVENT".

Well....that's not entirely true.

Actually, to be specific, I began by reading an article on Foxnews.com about Earth Hour and it's effectiveness, or more accurately, it's complete lack of effect. In the article (which is an entertaining read for a lot of good reasons), a researcher from a thinktank in Denmark mentions that when people turn off their normal household lights, they then turn to candlelight for sources of light. This simple, seemingly natural alternative actually does more to harm the environment than regular incandescent or flourescent lights.

According to Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist, " 'Candles seem natural, but are almost 100 times less efficient than incandescent light globes, and more than 300 times less efficient than fluorescent lights. If you use one candle for each extinguished globe, you're essentially not cutting CO2 at all, and with two candles you'll emit more CO2. Moreover, candles produce indoor air pollution 10 to 100 times the level of pollution caused by all cars, industry and electricity production.' "

And true to what Lomborg states, candlelight is exactly what people turned to. So basically, the only thing that all the conscientious observers of Earth Hour accomplished was to quite possibly cause more air pollution and absolutely no positive effect on climate change.

Earth Hour was a complete feel-good event that did nothing.

But wait, don't try to tell one of these climate change believers that! I generally try not to comment on message board-type forums about political things, but I was feeling fiesty, so I did. I posted on a local news forum and on a parenting message board in which I participate. (I was replying to posts about Earth Hour, not starting them, just for reference.) Below is what I posted and then a couple of choice responses I received:

My comment: "Apparently those participating don't realize that candlelight is much less efficient than incandescent or florescent light and pollutes the air far more as well. This is simply something to make the environmentalists feel good rather than a move that will actually make a difference. Of course, I don't buy into the whole global warming/climate change hoax anyhow."

A comment I received (from someone called "concerned parent"): "You are completely missing the point. We must help preserve the night skies now for future generations, it is grossly effecting more than our childrens' opportunity to view our God given stars, but also the eco system. The nocturnal animals are out of whack, not to mention the documented medical evidence that the loss of the night skies is effecting our health. Before you comment spend some time on the research before you draw a conclusion. It's our responsibility to preserve all that we can for future generations."

I personally love when someone accuses me of drawing conclusions without any research. Where is his/her research? I also love that we are supposed to go back to the dark ages (pun intended) to save the animals preferred way of life.

And from the ever popular "anonymous" : "You are all haters."

Yeah, that's an intelligent argument!

And this was the response from the parenting board: "Christina, if for no other reason I would recommend participation because it was *fun!* We loved sitting around and coloring and playing hang man around the table. Being March Madness season dh has been glued to the tv but Earth Hour made us all just hang out together. yes, I am aware that some families do things like this regularly (color, play games...) and we do as well. But, it was a lot of fun to just do this together and know that other people are doing the same thing. The spirit of community was there and it was a great experience. Candle vs bulb- I'm not really convinced by the Fox News account but even if it were true I am sure we saved electricity b/c we turned off everything but the fridge. It was a "feel good event" and it did feel good. I recommend everyone try it with their kids."

Now, while this well-meaning commenters point about family time is perfectly fine, the part that I put in bold print exemplifies all that is wrong about events like Earth Hour. It felt good, so it must be good. We "must" have saved electricity, (because how could we be wrong?) Fox News (or more accurately, anyone who doesn't totally buy into the climate change alarms) can't be believed and must be discredited. It was fun being part of "the in-crowd". It's good to be popular.

Well, the majority believed the world was flat once upon a time too....

Out With the...

Old Refrigerator....which, at 16 +years old, has served us well, and continues on in a new spot, as an over-flow fridge until it finally dies.

You might notice the green schedule on the freezer...which indicates that tomorrow afternoon will be Bella's first obedience class. Yes, folks, I get the honor of training our dufus of a dog over the next eight weeks, but I'm sure there will more about that later.

And in (barely) with the new "fuwidgawator".

I say barely because we had 36 inches of clearance in which to fit the fridge, and this only after moving a lower cabinet over a few inches. The new fridge is 35.5 inches wide. It BARELY fit through the front door, down the hall or in the space. Let's just say that I am extremely glad that we didn't go with our second choice...a GE that was 35.75 inches wide!

Below is a pic of the new ice/water dispenser. Our old ice maker (no water) had not worked in a couple of years. We had repaired it twice before that, but finally something started leaking (okay, spurting is more accurate) from the back of the old fridge and so we finally admitted defeat and just started buying ice. I am very excited about the ice maker.

I am also very excited that we found exactly what we wanted on clearance at Lowe's for a little over 40% off. Not too shabby!

The inside of our fridge. Not too exciting, you might think, but A.) it's perfectly clean and B.) it's so much roomier and better organized than our old one. Our old fridge had a little over 4 cu. ft. of freezer space. This one has something like 9+ cu. ft., which will be well used!



Now, I just have to wait for it to cool completely before going grocery shopping to fill it with new food!

Miss Em

Lest we forget the original, firstborn, apple-of-our-eye....the one and only Miss Em!

She's not a ham, is she?

In these pictures, Emily has very chapped lips, especially above the upper lip. It looks like she tried to apply her own lipstick! If she could keep her tongue in her mouth, it wouldn't be a problem, but just try to convince her of that.




And just to compare the changes in a few short months...this picture was taken on the first day of school. Her hair is much longer, and she is now this tall without shoes!

For My Mom and Sister...Baby Clothes

Well, obviously, the shopping has begun! No, I did not buy all this in one day. I believe I only paid full price for one item (and it was too cute to pass up) and most was buy one, get one half off or 30-60% off.

Of course, I realize that I don't need to defend my purchases, but in all fairness, when Andrew sees this, I don't want him to explode! (He knows about the bulk of it anyhow.) Besides, the little name-less one has to have clothes.

I didn't take pictures of all of Emily's clothes as they were being purchased, but since my mom and sister like to get their baby shopping "fix" as well, the only way to avoid duplication on a grand scale (great minds do think...and shop alike...just ask my dear husband who once received 3 of the exact same shirt for his b-day!) I am taking pictures of my purchases since that is much easier than describing it over the phone.


The first set is all my "Carter's stuff". I'm trying to hold out on those basics until I can get to the outlets. Everything here is a puppy theme, including the onsies (which are size 0-3 mo). (I have two sets of the pants, in 0-3 mo. and 3-6 mo. since a store was going out of business and they were cheap.)

Next is my "Random brands" clothing. The little sleeper on the bottom is a "Little Me" brand from Macy's. The first outfit on the left is also from Macy's. The middle outfit came from Babies r Us and the set on the right came from TJ Maxx or Marshall's.

And finally...my Gymboree collection. The summery fish shorts/overalls/t-shirt are 0-3 mo. size. The rest (I believe) is more for fall and is 3-6 mo. size (or the next size up from newborn, however it is sized.) I don't generally buy way ahead, since I learned quickly with Amazon woman Emily that it's hard to guess what size a baby will be, but since the fall stuff was dirt cheap (less than $6 for each piece, I believe...I couldn't pass it up.) The chocolate brown striped fleece in the upper right-hand corner is a zippered hoodie jacket, in case you can't tell.

So there you have it, other than a couple generic gender-neutral onsies I've found along the way.

I think I need to find some things that aren't just blue and brown though. I have a lot of that so far.

A Chance at Life

Today, according to my doctor's estimate, I am 24 weeks pregnant (my ticker is two days off, but it's close enough!). At 24 weeks, a baby is considered "viable" meaning that if "Baby Boy Who Has Yet To Be Named" was born today, he would have a better than 50-50 chance of surviving. It might not sound like that big a deal, but it is...especially for those who have lost before. From this point on, each week greatly increases a baby's survival rate and doctors will actively work to save a baby born at this gestation.

Now, while this is all very important to me personally, there is a story that I found recently that really made me think. Obviously, doctors do the best job that they can to save lives, but even the best medical science isn't always perfect. To my knowledge, the only person who truly knows all, who is omniscient, is God. And God doesn't always do what we expect. In fact, I think He probably takes great pleasure in showing us His power and might, particularly when modern medicine and all its research believes "it" cannot be done.

According to this news story, from February of 2007, a medical miracle took place. Sonja Taylor was a mere 19 weeks pregnant when she went into premature labor. She knew that doctors would not even attempt to save the baby at that early stage of gestation, but as the baby's mother, she had to try. So when Mrs. Taylor checked into the hospital, she lied and told the medical team that she was farther along than she actually was.

According to Dr. Phuket Tantavit, a neonatology specialist, "survival of babies that [are] less than 22 weeks of gestation is close to zero, if not zero". As a result, the medical standard is not to even attempt to resusitate a baby born at 22 weeks. Sonja Taylor knew this, and made her choice.

The doctors did their best to stop the premature labor, and were able to hold it off for 9 more days, but then the inevitable happened...Baby Amillia was born. Believing that they were dealing with a 23 week gestation baby, doctors did everything they could to save the tiny baby girl.

She weighed only 10 oz. and was only slightly longer than a standard pen. One doctor referred to her saying, "She was literally just a coke can under sterile drape." Technically, she was even smaller, since a coke can is 12 oz. Yet somehow, baby Amillia responded well to the treatments.

It was many months later that doctors discovered the truth...that baby Amillia was born, not at 23 weeks as previously thought, but at a mere 21 weeks, 6 days, a day shy of the 22 week mark at which a baby would not even be considered for resusitation, according to medical standards. (The true gestational age was discovered through the parent's fertility specialist's records.)

Tiny baby Amillia had shattered a world record. She was the youngest baby to survive such a premature birth...and be "perfectly healthy".

" 'When you look at such a small miracle, you almost have to believe there's something else -- there's a higher power -- that allows us to do what we do,' [delivering doctor] Lievano said."

And that pretty much says it all. Baby Amillia's mother (and father) just wanted their little baby to have a chance at life. Yes, it was a gamble. The baby could have died The baby could have had many health problems. The outcome was most definitely uncertain. But baby Amillia was given a chance ONLY because her mother lied about her age. Had this not happened, tiny Amillia would not exist...she would have been yet another statistic. No one would have even tried to save her. The doctors, in what I'm certain they believed to be their best judgement, would have allowed this baby girl to die because they "thought" it couldn't be done.

And yet, God had another plan.

" 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, ' decares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.' " Isaiah 55:8-11 (NIV)

God ONLY knows when a life is viable and He can accomplish far more than any doctor or scientist can even fathom....when we get out of His way and let Him work. Yes, medicine plays a role in saving lives...a very big role. However, it does not determine who has the right to life and who is beyond hope. That role belongs to the Great Physician alone.

Okay, Enough Already

The title of this post sums up how I feel.

I am 23+ weeks pregnant. Starting last week (Sat/Sun) I had a cold...which has completely stuffed up my nose and given me a hacking cough that is persisting. On top of that, I'm pretty sure I have/am developing a sinus infection, since I have plenty of pressure in my face around my sinuses, I'm blowing increasingly colorful stuff and I've had a headache since Saturday night.

Then Andrew and Emily came down with the cold. Emily seems to be faring the worst so far, but I've continued to send her to school (at her request) because the last time this happened the doctor said there really was no reason to keep her home.

Today, Emily has coughed non-stop and was increasingly lethargic and incredibly fussy. I don't know where our thermometer is, so I haven't checked her temperature, but given her worsening disposition, I decided to take her to the doctor. Apparently, that was a good call.

We got to the doctor, with Emily crying the entire way there, and even while the nurse was doing all the intake "stuff". Then they checked her temp. Of course, at this point, it was obvious to me that she had a fever. She had on a shirt, fleece jacket and pants in 70 degree weather, but was still complaining of being cold, plus her legs hurt. The nurse told us that her temp was 103.5...the highest temp that Em has had. So off the nurse went to get some tylenol, at which point Emily REALLY got upset.

If you will recall back a couple months ago to the great Amoxicillin fiasco of January, getting Emily to take medicine is more than a minor ordeal. As soon as the nurse returned with the 1 tsp. dose of cherry tylenol, all heck broke loose. Emily started trying to run away, made herself try to throw up (mostly just spitting all over me) and generally being absolutely 100% uncooperative. One would think that a 4.5 year old, 40 lber wouldn't be that difficult to handle...but that person would be wrong. We had to call in another nurse and the three of us together could hardly hold her down (and I'm not afraid to be tough). She finally decided to take the medicine on her own (rather than be held down) and then she was like a totally different child.

The doctor finally came in and checked her over. Her ears, throat and lungs looked fine, and the doctor's diagnosis was....THE FLU!!! (And yes, she had the flu-mist around October.) So after some general instructions on what to give her to keep her comfy, and a comment on how very much Emily talks...and talks...and talks...and talks....we headed home.

We have probably now spread the flu to her entire preschool. Yes, apparently I am *THAT* parent. And now, if we're really lucky, like we have been, this cold/sinus infection that I have will just be a pre-cursor to my own case of the flu.

Please, can I get off this ride?

Let the Decorating Begin!!!

This post is for the inner decorator in all of us (plus my Mom and sister, so they can see what I try to describe over the phone!).



I've been trying to pick out a nice way to decorate our little guy's nursery. Decorating Emily's room was easy...she was a girl, I am a girl...I know what we like! However, I've never been a boy and so I'm struggling with my desire to make it cute vs. keeping it from being girly. I have extensively searched (mainly online) all sorts of crib bedding and have tentatively narrowed the choices down from thousands to about 5. I'd say that's pretty good. I think I know which one I like the best and I think Andrew actually agrees with me, but I thought I'd get opinions here too, because everybody likes to weigh in on the fun stuff like names and clothes and decorating....right?


The picture above is the crib I believe we've chosen. No, we wouldn't normally be buying a brand new crib for our second baby, but unfortunately, the crib we used for Emily was recalled last summer, along with another batch from the same manufacturer earlier this year. So, we now have to buy a new crib. The good news is that we got a voucher towards the purchase of a new crib. The bad news is that we are strictly limited to using this voucher at Babies r Us/Toys r Us, which have limited options and frankly only one choice that would be close to the amount that the voucher is for. So, we will have to shell out more money, but hopefully this one will not be recalled, plus it comes with the option of converting into a full size bed, so I guess the price is worth it.








The above picture is called "Ahoy Mate" and is one of the two sets I've actually seen and felt in real life. (I like soft fuzzy things, so feeling the material is important to me!) The colors are navy, medium and light blues, tan and chocolate brown with a splash of sage green here and there. I think I would paint the room sky blue (or a nice medium blue on the top half and a nice neutral tan or rich cream on the bottom half.)

This next set is fun, but the blue/tan paint scheme won't work so well here. The room would have to be blue or green or both, but that's just about the same colors as Em's room. We like the ocean idea (or water theme in general). This one seems more juvenile than the other theme, but that's okay.

The above set is called "Zoofari" (if I recall). Again, no blue and tan, but green and tan or all green or tan would work. Every kid likes animals, right? It's cute, and finding accessories would be pretty simple as animals are plentiful.

This next set is obviously a very "ocean-y" theme. Just for your info, I won't be doing the whole curtains and diaper stacker, matchy-matchy set thing, just the bedding and possibly a valance with some blinds and sheers. The colors would have to be a lot brighter with this set, probably an aqua color or baby blue/periwinkle blue color. This one definitely seems more baby-ish to me.

And finally, this set is called "Good Night, Sleep Tight", which is also embroidered on the bedding. It has little lambs and bunnies and bears (I think) with a nighttime sky. The colors are blue/sage/and I think rich cream, but perhaps yellow. It seems pretty gender neutral, but maybe I'm biased. It is pretty cute. Once again, the crib we would use will be a fairly rich medium brown color, not white.


So, those are the options. This, of course, is subject to change if I find something I like better, but I have been looking at a TON of websites and so far, I keep coming back to these few. There are other sets that I like, but they all seem very sophisticated and though *I* really like them, I'm trying to think like a little boy and so...this is what I've come up with.

Opinions?

Emily Has Some "Big News".....

We're Having a "Brother"!!!!

The above picture is of Baby Boy's profile (head on the left, chest/stomach on the right).

This next picture is also our "brother's" profile and, I think, an arm sticking up, though don't hold me to that!



This last picture is of Baby Boy's tiny little feet, toes pointing to the left. How precious!


Emily seems to be excited about her "brudder". She and Andrew got to go to the ultrasound with me and see all the tiny organs and the heartbeat and the hands and feet and finally, the extra appendage that told us that he was definitely a boy.

Emily even got her own special ultrasound picture (I think of his face), with which she is very pleased. It did not leave her side from about 2:00 until bedtime. Personally, I would have taken a picture of her ultrasound photo, but it's just a little weird...I think I can see the eyes, nose and mouth, but it's a bit freakish still, at this point (23 weeks).


And so now, the fun parts: picking a name....and SHOPPING!!!! (That sound you hear is Andrew groaning!)

A Season of Change

In just a few short months, our lives will change yet again when a new baby becomes part of our family. Since we have a child who is resistant (to say the least) to change of any kind, we've been trying to prepare her as best we can and do the physical changes that have to be done in small increments. Today, we switched her small twin bed for the queen-size bed that had been in our spare bedroom. We've talked about doing this for several weeks and she was quite excited as we moved things around.

Pictured above is Em's "new" bed. It takes up a lot of space in her room, but due to window/closet/door placement, this was the best spot.

This is Em when she saw the finished product. Yes, this 4.5 year old is at least half as long as queen-size bed. Yes, that's crazy.

Next to the bed, and on the closet wall, are Emily's books. She loves to read them at night, and now they have a bit more of a home than before.

The above picture shows some of the detail in Em's room. The room is painted a light blue on top and a soft green on the bottom. There are clouds in the "sky" and a stenciled border of pink and yellow flowers with bees, butterflies, dragonflies and the occasional inch worm and snail. The only real reason for this picture is to demonstrate the stenciling skill of yours truly, when I actually had the time and brain-power for such fine details. This, of course, is the best decorated room in our house.

And here, finally, is Miss Em, all tucked into her big bed, sporting a lovely pink polka dot nightgown, a few of her favorite stuffed "ammimmals" and blankets and her StoryReader story book. She looks so content, doesn't she?

Ahhh....not so fast.

I left her room at around 7:30 pm. I've been back to "visit" at least 3 times since then and there has been MUCH weaping and gnashing of teeth. I believe it can best be summed up with some of Emily's own words:

"I don't want this bed...I want my old bed."

"This bed is 'uncunstable'...I liked my old bed better." (Totally untrue, but that doesn't matter.)

"This bed is too big for my room. It might poke a hole in my wall."

"I don't want this bed! I don't like this bed! I WANT MY OLD BED BACK!!!"

And after I told her that no matter how much she fussed, cried and threw a fit, the bed was staying...

"I don't want a brother or a sister!!!"

Yes, this is the Emily we all know and love. July should be fun!

Picture Practice for Skyepuppy

Okay, so today was the first day in a very long, cold winter that was pleasant outside. The temperature was about 65 (which is, in my humble opinion, the perfect temperature that God intended) and the sun was shining on a day forecast to be rainy. So, off to the park Em and I went. I took her to play on the play equipment, and I took myself for the sunshine therapy and the photo opportunities.

I've been itching for a chance to try out some of the photography tips that Skyepuppy has been posting over on her blog. However, the weather has not been cooperative and even now, unless you love shades of brown, there's not too much of interest to photograph in Indiana in March. But hey, I gave it a shot.

The picture above is, I think, an example of framing. I like how the fence on either side of the picture seems to draw the viewer into the picture. I also think it's a bit of an example of using diagonals for interest...and I happen to like the way Em's shadow follows her. Then again....what do I know?

This next picture is an example of patterns....the various widths of white and red bars, and then the use of diagonals again in the black mesh top section. (again, it's March in Indiana...there's not much of interest!)

The picture above, I think, captures a couple of elements. First, the pattern of red bars, then the curving white bars and the contrasting black top make for a somewhat interesting picture.

And finally, the last picture is an example of finding curves. I looked up through the play structure and found the round black top piece and I like the way it contrasts in color and shape with the straight red and white bars as well as the straight "x" black bars.

So Skyepuppy...what's the verdict?

Crabbies

Well, today I am taking a page from my good friend Rebekah, of Bekah's Bits, and posting a recipe for one of my favorite things...Crabbies. Yes, the name great. Yes, it very much could apply to the mood of my favorite 4.5 year old today. No, I couldn't get her to try them. But I am willing to share this recipe with all of you, my few-but-adoring-followers.

But before I share this (life-altering) recipe, allow me to provide a bit of background. Although I currently live in northern Indiana, where winter is eternal, I was born and raised in a tiny place best known as the Eastern Shore or the Delmarva Penninsula. Basically, I grew up in the itty bit state of Delaware, surrounded on several sides by either the Atlantic or the Chesapeake Bay. This region of the U.S. is not known for all that much (other than VP Joe Biden, but I don't want to talk about that). However, one of it's best known features is a little something called the Blue Crab. While it may be relatively small, it is big busines on the Eastern Shore, and as you might imagine, a good many recipes include this delectable little delicacy. Most people enjoy the crab steamed and then cracked, which while very messy, is delicious. However, I personally prefer all the messy and tedious work to be done for me and most enjoy the tiny slivers of crab meat in various recipes.

And thus, the Crabbie fits the bill. This delightful culinary treat was first introduced to me either my Aunt Jeannie or my Mom, but regardless, it became a staple in our house at Christmas time. Technically, it is an appetizer and since my family is not exactly big on 7-course dining, appetizers are only brought out at Christmas. This recipe, however, deserves to be trotted out more than once a year, in my humble opinion.

And so, without further ado...Crabbies!

Pictured above are the ingredients for Crabbies. While generic brands are fine for the butter, garlic salt, seasoned salt, mayo and English muffins...do not, I repeat, do not skimp on the Kraft Old English sharp cheddar cheese or the crab meat. If you can find Phillips brand crab meat, do not pass go, do not collect $200...just buy it. You will want "lump" crabmeat. The only thing I could find was referred to as "special", but if you read the back of the container, it says lump crabmeat from the Eastern Shore of Maryland Blue crab.

And this is most important, for all the seafood-virgins....if you see crab spelled as "Krab"...run the other way. I firmly believe this will ruin the recipe. Krab and crab are not the same thing. There is a reason for the difference in price. It's called taste. (And yes, real lump crabmeat is a tad expensive but every once in a while, it's okay to splurge.)

After gathering all the ingredients, melt the butter and Old English cheese in a saucepan over low/medium low heat until completely melted. (I doubled the recipe, so this picture shows a double batch.)

When the cheese is completely melted and just beginning to bubble, remove from heat and add garlic salt, seasoned salt, mayo and crab meat. Mix together completely.

Now, this step might be best performed first, if your English muffins do not come pre-split. (I didn't realize mine weren't, but it wasn't a big deal.) You will want to split 5 English muffins and lay them "nooks and cranny" side up on a baking sheet. The original recipe calls for 5 muffins, split, but again, I doubled everything for my purposes today.

Next, spoon crab and cheese mixture evenly onto the muffin halves and spread to edges. At this point, you have two options. Since these are technically appetizers, the recipe calls for freezing them on the baking sheet until frozen (only takes a couple hours) and then transfer to a freezer-safe container until you are ready to cook. If you are not making them ahead of time for anything, it is also fine to just skip ahead and broil them for 5-10 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown. (If they aren't frozen, I can't imagine it taking more than 5 minutes.)

Pictured above is the final product...a warm, slightly crisp, ooooeeee, gooeeeyyy, cheesy, slightly garlicky, only mildly crabby treat of infinite worth. The recipe calls for splitting each English muffin into eighths...or sixths...or quarters...or the whole thing (if you love them as much as I do!) Be forewarned that they are pretty rich, so a little goes a long way.

And finally, some parting words. These are not too "fishy" tasting. Even my picky little sister and slightly okay with seafood husband enjoy these. So even if you aren't sure about crab, this is a good way to try it. Also, these are in absolutely no way, any good for you, which of course makes them super-delicious. I mean really, did you see the cheese and butter? Sure the crab meat is low fat and you could use fat-free mayo, but again....cheese and butter will cancel out any benefits. I couldn't even begin to give you the nutritional value because my recipe does not include that info and it wouldn't matter if it did. You can exercise tomorrow. These are worth it.

And if you are still reading: the actual recipe for Crabbies:

Prep time: 10 min. Total time: 20 minutes

5 English Muffins, split

8 oz. lump crab meat

1 jar Old English Sharp Cheese spread (in refrigerated case)

1 stick of butter or margarine

1 1/2 tsp. mayonaise

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Directions:

Melt butter and cheese over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon crab and cheese mixture over split English muffins. Freeze on baking sheet for several hours (until solid). When ready to serve, cut into eighths, broil for 5-10 minutes, or until lightly brown, with bubbly cheese. Enjoy!

(As a note, after actually eating some of this batch of crabbies, I think you can safely cut the salt in half and still have plenty...these were a bit salty for my taste, but then again it could be the crazy pregnancy taste buds...)

Longer Post Coming Later....Check Back!

Just a heads up....

I'll be posting later today, with a recipe and pictures to prove it. I made the recipe earlier, but I'm waiting to take pictures of the finished product after I cook it this evening for dinner.

Check back, you won't want to miss this little culinary delight!!! (Just trust me!)