Cuddle Phase

This morning as I was rocking Sean in the early hours, I thought about the cuddle phase. I knew he was dry and fed. He simply wanted to be held. Once I held him, he snuggled up and was completely content. I sometimes complain about being tired, but I really loving holding newborn babies. The time when they have such a strong longing to be held is fleeting. Pretty soon, they want to start exploring their new world. My older baby seems so much older now that he's a big brother. He's constantly climbing on things, trying to learn new words and on the move. Yet, it wasn't even two years ago that he was this age. Big brother is still very affectionate, but it's not that total dependence of a newborn. God knew what he was doing when he set up this bonding period. The baby learns that he's safe, secure, and loved. The parents realize just how strong their love is for the child. I cherish these little moments because I know it won't be long until he'd rather be attempting to climb my kitchen island than snuggle with his mama. :)

Two in Cloth Diapers

You may remember this post, when I wrote about how we purchased a bunch of BumGenius One Size Diapers before we had Trent. After replacing the velcro with snaps, they held up great. When we found out we were pregnant with another baby, we had to figure out what to do with the diaper situation again. We initially purchased enough diapers for one baby, but not enough for two. The BumGenius diapers are expensive so I opted to make the diapers this time around. I found an easy pattern and got busy sewing. I made Trent large size pocket diapers. He has been in the same size diaper for a while and I don't see him growing out of it very soon. On the other hand, Sean will be growing rapidly for a while so he's better off in the adjustable diapers. So now we have two stacks. Trent's (on the left) are the homemade diapers and Sean's (on the right) are the BumGenius diapers. Aside from changing more diapers (which I'd be doing regardless of whether Sean wears disposables or cloth), it really hasn't been a big adjustment. I still like using cloth diapers on my kiddos. :)

A Cozy White Christmas

Christmas this year came really quickly. We had Sean a few days after Thanksgiving so the whole Christmas season was a whirlwind. We opted to celebrate Christmas morning as a family of four in our own house. Traditionally, we've traveled somewhere for Christmas so this was a change up for us, but we all enjoyed our Christmas at home. The morning started out different than a normal day. Trent usually wakes up between 6:30 and 7am. Christmas morning, he slept until 8:30! We were up at 5:30 with Sean, so we were waiting on him to wake up for hours. I made the men of the house matching pajamas so it was fun seeing everyone wearing their new pajama pants.


First, we opened presents. I love Christmas so much more now that I have kids. Watching children experience Christmas is one of my very favorite things about the season. This year was no different. Trent got so excited over each and every present. He would open each gift all the way up (even if assembly was required) and play with it for at least 20 minutes before opening the next gift.


Next, we had a big breakfast of eggs, Poppy's famous hashbrowns, and bacon. After breakfast, we opened stocking stuffers. Then it was time to make Jesus's birthday cake. We had a lot of fun with the cake. It was a white cake with cream cheese icing and Trent went to town decorating it with red and green sprinkles.

And the best surprise... a white Christmas! It snowed on Christmas Day!

Zombie Zone

We're in full fledged zombie mode at our house (as my husband lovingly calls it). Sean is cuddly and sweet and precious. He's growing fast and already gives out plenty of smiles. He turns 1 month old today. He struggles in the sleep department. No real sign of improvement or a developing pattern. He either plans his nap perfectly so he wakes up when Trent goes down for his nap or he'll take 5-10 minute cat naps after each nursing session. Sean eats. and eats. and eats some more. He averages about every hour and a half around the clock, which can be pretty exhausting. This morning all I could think about until I got my first cup of coffee was my longing for a little sleep. I turn the big 3-0 in 11 days. I'm hoping Sean will lovingly give me a 4 hour block of sleep. Here's to hoping he gives me my birthday wish! :)

The Daredevil

He rides his horse like a jockey, he rides his ride toys like a snowboarder or skateboarder. He only runs at full speed. He's all boy and fearless. He's tall for his age and really strong. He stands on anything he can find to reach whatever it is he's interested in. He's interested in everything. He'll physically pick items up and carry them over to use them as makeshift step stools. He loves to jump. He is a bundle of joy and a bundle of energy! Chasing after him definitely keeps us busy.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This...

Each day is different. Some days are really enjoyable. Other days are a little more difficult. Thursday and Friday went really well. We even ventured out to a park. My first trip bundling up two kids and getting them into the car went better than I expected. We live in tri-level house so this is an accomplishment! The smooth days make life with two little ones seem easier than I was anticipating. The tougher days make me appreciate the easy ones.

Trent is acting out a little more than normal, but that's not all that surprising since he is used to having all my attention. It takes longer for us all to get in the car, but we've still managed a few trips around town. Sean wants to eat every 1.5 hours so I feel like I am constantly stopping to nurse. If we're not stopping to nurse, we're stopping for a diaper change because inevitably, one of them needs one at any given point in time.

My biggest worry right now though is avoiding getting sick. Everyone around us seems to be fighting some kind of cold/flu/stomach bug, etc. I would love for us to make it through the winter illness free. The hardest part for me right now is surviving the 'newborn bubble' phase or you could call it the trapped in my own house phase. I'm hoping a little germ paranoia will keep us (especially Sean) healthy, but staying inside for days on end can be hard on the sanity. I like taking the boys outside. Fresh air does us all good. Plus, it'll be other people, not the outdoors, that gets them sick. But, this week the weather dropped to frigid (the wind chill was 11 degrees this morning - that's unusually cold for Alabama!) so now we're really stuck inside!

This morning went great. We were all cuddled up on the couch. Trent was playing games and Sean was sleeping on my lap. Trent laid his head in Sean's lap and at one point they held hands. It was really cute. I love when Trent is sweet to his brother. I can't wait to see their brotherly bond develop. Anyway... Sean decided he was done napping - for the entire day. He also decided he'd only be content to be held, otherwise he'd yell (he was having some gas issues). I love snuggling with my baby, but it's nice to have a few minutes to myself when Trent goes down for his nap. Trent sleeps for a couple of hours so usually I get at least a little break during that time because Sean will nod off for a while too. Today - not so much.

The dogs also are not adapting well to being demoted in rank once again. They have been misbehaving. I know they'll reluctantly get used to the new normal. They eventually accepted Trent into the pack so I'm sure they'll do the same with Sean. They just feel the need to let me know they're unimpressed for a while. Unfortunately, I don't enjoy cleaning up after them too!

Two Kids Sleeping at the Same Time...

I think this occasion calls for a nap! Don't mind if I do! :)

New Normals

Tomorrow starts the beginning of our "new normal." Jesse heads back to work, so it'll be my first full day alone with the boys. I'm a little nervous and a little excited to try and start settling into a routine again. Trent has been adjusting well to having a new family member. He's constantly yelling, "baby!" I am trying not to be too overprotective because I want Trent to feel comfortable around Sean. At the same time, I don't want Sean to accidentally get hurt because of Trent's rambunctiousness, so it's a bit of a balancing act. It's an entertaining, interesting combination to pair together a high energy toddler and a newborn that sleeps, eats, and poops all day.

I put up my maternity clothes tonight. So begins the journey back to prepreggo size. I still have four and a half weeks until I can start working out again. In the meanwhile, it'll be more about resisting Christmas cookies, Christmas candy, etc. and keeping my appetite in check. When I am nursing, I am hungry all.the.time. I have to remember to eat healthy options instead of those tempting Christmas goodies!

We've had a lot of fun spending time as a family. There have been a lot of smiles!

The Comedian of the Family - He loves to make us laugh!

Is there anything better than newborn snuggles?

Proud Papa

Bundled up to play outside - its been COLD!

First Impressions of Life with Two Under Two

No promises on how accurate these are as they are simply first impressions and not anything wise and knowledgeable. I am still way too new in the "mama of two" club to dish out any advice!

1. I really cherish a hot shower and a cup of coffee in the morning. They are like little gifts from heaven.
2. God has given us an amazing ability to love others. I fell in love with Sean instantly, but I adore Trent just as much. My cup overflows for both of them.
3. Multitasking takes on a whole new level. Nursing a baby while putting on someone else's shoes or reading a book is the new normal.
4. I have much more patience with sleepless nights and breastfeeding the second time around.
5. Diapers, Diapers, Diapers - I am thankful that newborn diapers are nowhere near the mess of the 20 month diapers.
6. I am blessed that my Mom is willing to stay with us for a week. Her help with Trent, cooking and cleaning is a godsend.
7. Jesse is an incredible dad. I'm impressed daily at how natural he has become with bonding with the boys, swaddling, changing diapers, etc.
8. My boys LOVE to eat. They are born average sized and then the race is on to get to the 90th percentile.
9. Personalities show up instantly. Trent was an easy, laid back baby. He might grumble if he was hungry or tired, but he usually didn't ramp up to screaming very quickly. Sean is feisty. He is either totally content or screaming his head off. He can go from calm to full out, high pitched scream in about 2 seconds flat. But, as soon as he's fed or his diaper is changed, he's completely content again.
10. Sibling Rivalry starts immediately. If I'm feeding Sean, Trent needs to be thisclose to my lap and having a book read to him. If I'm about to give Trent my full attention, there's a good chance that Sean will pick that as the opportune time to start yelling.

I wouldn't change a thing. I am loving life and feel so privileged to be mom to two handsome little boys. Blessed, blessed, blessed!

Two New Baby Essentials

There are two things that I didn't have when I had Trent that I have been using nonstop since I had Sean.

1. The Moby Wrap:
My first born was not into swaddling or being wrapped up in any fashion. Anytime you put him in any form of constraint (carrier, carseat, swaddle sleep sacks, etc.), he would pitch a fit. He would instantly try his hardest to get out of whatever contraption he was in or scream until you took him out. (This made for some very long car rides when he refused to sleep.)

But, a friend of mine swore by this wrap. When I found out I was pregnant with my second, I saw it on clearance and decided to pick it up. My second son is the opposite of the first. He sleeps better wrapped up like a burrito. He loves being cuddled and held. As long as he's not hungry or in need of a diaper change, he's perfectly content to hang out in the moby. With a lot of the carriers, the baby really needs to have neck control before you can use it regularly. The moby is a great newborn baby carrier.


2. Total Baby Iphone App
One of the hardest things for me when the baby is tiny is keeping track of all the wet/dirty diapers and remembering when the baby nursed. This app keeps track of all that for you. It's really easy to use! It also tracks a bunch of other things (baths, medications, events, heights, weights, etc.) For now, my main use is the feeding portion of it. It's making life so much easier!

Great News for Auburn

Yesterday, the NCAA ruled Cam Newton is eligible to compete. This is great news for Auburn. It has been a great season (12-0!). We have the SEC championship this weekend and hopefully (if we win), a national championship after that! War Eagle!

Introducing Sean Noah!!

A full head of dark hair!

Such a cutie

First pic as a family of four

"Bay-bee" was TJ's word of the night when he met his brother

Grandma R detoured her route home to meet her second grandson

Sean Noah arrived at 1:08pm on Saturday! We are so excited to finally meet him! He is such a handsome, healthy, baby boy. We had a feeling that he would not make it to his due date (Dec 8), but you never know when they'll decide the time is right!

This has been a busy week so he timed his arrival perfectly. My parents were in Florida for Thanksgiving, visiting my grandparents. We had a bunch of Jesse's family in town for Thanksgiving. Then on Friday, we watched an incredible Iron Bowl. It was a game for the record books - Auburn had an awesome comeback for the win.

On Saturday, my parents were driving home from Florida, all the extended family had left, and everything was starting to get back to normal (or so we thought). But by breakfast on Saturday, my contractions were consistently three minutes apart. We dropped TJ off at Grandma and Grandpa K's and headed to the hospital. The labor progressed really quickly. We checked into the hospital at 8:30am and 4.5 hours later, the baby was in my arms! Everything went really smoothly. The baby is doing great and I am feeling well. We're thrilled about our newest addition!

My Generation and the Culture Wars

I'm currently reading a book called, The Reason for God by Timothy Keller. So far, I'm really enjoying it. Timothy Keller is the pastor of a Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. The average age in his church is 30. He deals a lot of with skepticism and yet his church in Manhattan has been flourishing. There was a quote in the book that I think really did a great job of describing my generation:

"I think these younger Christians are the vanguard of some major new religious, social and political arrangements that could make the older form of culture wars obsolete. After they wrestle with doubts and objections to Christianity many come out on the other side with an orthodox faith that doesn't fit the current categories of liberal democrat or conservative Republican. Many see both sides in the "culture war" making individual freedom and personal happiness the ultimate value rather than God and the common good. Liberals' individualism comes out in their views of abortion, sex and marriage. Conservatives' individualism comes out in their deep distrust of the public sector and in the understanding of poverty as simply a failure of personal responsibility. The new, fast-spreading multiethnic orthodox Christianity in the cities is much more concerned about the poor and social justice than Republicans have been, and at the same time much more concerned about upholding classic Christian moral and sexual ethics than the Democrats have been."

Good Friends

"A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...
but only a true friend will be sitting next to you saying... "Man, that was fun!"

TJ was put in time out at nursery during my ladies bible study. The nursery worker said that it was the first time she had seen him exert his will. A little girl was playing with a toy that he wanted so he went and took it from her. The little girl shoved him in return. As a result, both of them were placed in time out. Trent's little buddy, Jonathan (who had done nothing wrong), went over and sat with TJ during his entire time out session.

Everyone needs friends like that!

Midweek Menu

This has not been much of a cooking week. We've been spending a lot of time with friends before we go into 'new baby hibernation' mode. TJ and I are also fighting colds so my energy level has not been great. The veggie box this week was a good one though. Thankfully, it's a lot of things we eat raw so I haven't done much menu planning. We had our share of greens for the last three weeks so I opted out of receiving kale and lettuce this week. Instead, I got a double order of tangerines and tomatoes. We also received a pumpkin and a mix of turnips, carrots and parsnips. I've never made anything pumpkin that didn't use the canned pumpkin so that will be the interesting cooking/baking adventure this week.

Meal time with TJ has become more of a challenge. He just does not want to stop to eat. He is obsessed with balls and cars and would rather play. His snacks tend to be sliced tomato, whole wheat graham crackers, roasted winter veggies, etc. If he's going to be finicky about eating, then when he does eat, it's going to be healthy!

I am now at 37 weeks. My contractions have been ramping up. My doctor asked that I go easy this week as far as exercising in hopes that we can keep the baby in one more week (better chance of lung development). So that's the plan - hopefully baby agrees! Not feeling 100% and keeping busy with friends has made it much easier to keep my mind off exercising.

Blog Organization

I realize that our little blog is all over the place. Basically, that's because we're all over the place. Jesse and I still have our current interests and hobbies, but much of the day is taken up with maintaining a happy household and raising boy(s). Though my need to for completely structured days has relaxed quite a bit, I still do better with order than chaos. So I've decided to try and organize the things I type about on here into several categories rather than being all over the board. I have seen where some people have a theme for each day, but I know it would be unrealistic for me to attempt to blog daily, especially when the baby arrives. So the consolidated categories will be:

Homemaking - Recipes, Cooking, Gardening, Sewing, etc.
Daily Life - Home Improvements, Family Milestones, Cute Kiddo Stories, etc.
Health - Organic, Natural or Healthy Living
Items of Interest (Miscellaneous) - Books, Current Events, Auburn Football
Mama Musings
Hobbies - Crafts, Running, Biking, The Great Outdoors, Travels, etc.

Baby's Favorite Song?

On Sunday, we sang "Do It Lord" (by Tommy Walker) in church. While we were singing this song, my belly started bouncing to the beat of the music. Jesse even noticed my belly keeping rhythm. Even as I type this, the song is playing on You Tube and baby is dancing again!

SEC West Champs and Cam Controversy

Auburn beat Georgia 49-31!!! It was a good game. It looked like all the media distractions had gotten to them in the beginning, but they pulled it together in the second half. This win puts Auburn in the SEC championship game! We still have to play Alabama before that.

I love watching Auburn football. Period. But, this year has been especially exciting to watch our offense. Cam Newton is a very talented player. There has been so much trash talking surrounding him this past week. I hate to see the university I love under attack. I get incredibly frustrated with the media because there hasn't been any proof yet. It's all, "allegedly, allegedly... from an unnamed source." The allegations may turn out true, but the media is always out to blow things out of proportion for a good story. Drama sells so when there isn't much going on, stir things up. It doesn't matter who they slander in the meantime. I hate to see anyone's name dragged through the mud before they are actually proven guilty. The last time Auburn went undefeated was in 2004 and they were left out of the title game. Coming through the SEC schedule is incredibly tough, so yes, I am biased to an SEC team that comes out undefeated in our conference. Teams like Oregon or Boise State rarely play ranked opponents. Auburn faces ranked opponents almost every week. I am excited to see our team play in the SEC championship. I would hope that all the media drama would stop condemning a man that the NCAA has not proven guilty yet, but I am not going to hold my breath. In the meanwhile, I am giving Cam Newton and Auburn the benefit of the doubt. War Eagle!

November - A Month of Thanksgiving

I love November. The leaves change. The weather is cooler and perfect for hot apple cider and nice warm soups. November also brings us Thanksgiving. What a great occasion to have a time a year that causes us to remember our blessings. It's so easy to get wrapped up in a poor economy or daily frustrations, but we, especially as Americans, have so many things to be thankful for.

So... today I'm thankful for my husband. He has been great about doing a lot of the housework so I can get off my feet. He's so good about playing with Trent and doing bathtime and bedtime. He's such an awesome dad. I normally rest during Trent's naptime, but being idle is hard for me. I see things that I want to get done and just do them. Unfortunately, my very pregnant body doesn't always agree with me being on the move all the time. I'm ready for this baby to come out, but I still have a few weeks left. I'm not sleeping well. Aside from the inevitable trips to the bathroom, my feet and legs have been cramping up on me. My lower back has been spasming. I have random contractions throughout the day. So, I'm attempting to take it easy so this baby makes it to full term. I'm incredibly thankful for a husband that's so supportive.

What are you thankful for today?

Happy Halloween!

Trent was an adorable Peter Pan for Halloween this year. I followed a tutorial that I found online and made his outfit from scratch. He looked pretty cute. My creative side is definitely starting to show more as a stay at home mom than it ever did as a financial analyst. I love how much fun I am having creating things! Yesterday, we went and trick or treated at Grandma and Grandpa K and Great-Grandma J. Tonight, we went to the annual Tailgate Party at church. It was a lot of fun! Trent played on some of the inflatables and tried his first lollipop. He's a fan! We had a great time hanging out with friends, eating good food, and soaking up the fun, family atmosphere.

Mr. Peter Pan

Oh, those blue eyes!

Family of 3.5 ;)

TJ and Uncle Dave

Tailgate Party at Church

Midweek Menu

I did not plan a menu last week and I hated when it would hit 4pm and I'd be scrambling to figure something out. I was bound and determined not to let that happen again this week.

Yesterday, we picked up our veggie box. In it, we received green tomatoes, collard greens, cucumbers, and oranges. We doubled up on oranges and cucumbers instead of getting carrots and lettuce. Once I know what's in the box, it's time to figure out how to incorporate it into a menu. The oranges are delicious! I'm not sure what variety they are but all three of us have been eating them with breakfast and as a snack. They don't peel easily so Trent is learning how to eat the flesh off the orange smiles.

Monday - Lentils and Veggies

(basically a clean out the fridge day of the veggies we have left from the previous week's vegbox. I loosely followed the recipe, but instead of spinach, I used butternut squash and sweet potatoes.)

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff with sliced cucumbers on the side

Wednesday - Pork Chops with Collard Greens

(Thank goodness for southern friends because I had no idea what to do with collard greens!)

Thursday - Chickpea and Parmesan Pasta

(I have been wanting to try this recipe for weeks and it keeps getting put off - tomorrow's the day!)

Friday - Homemade Pizza

So that leaves me with green tomatoes... I like fried green tomatoes, but we have more tomatoes than I want to fry. A friend suggested green tomato salsa, so I may have to try that and see how it turns out!

Auburn 8-0 After Beating LSU

Are you ready for some football?

Mollie attempting to play

It's not a tailgate without FOOD

Tri Delta's New Hall

Family Pic on Samford Lawn

Today we took Trent to Auburn for his first tailgating experience. It was so much fun to walk around the campus, spend time with friends and take in the Auburn game day atmosphere. Both Jesse and I love the time we spent at Auburn and are looking forward to sharing our Auburn pride with our children. It was such a great day and Auburn pulled off a 24-17 win over LSU! War Eagle! Below is a clip of one of my favorite plays of the game. Auburn has a great quarterback this year named Cam Newton. He's an excellent athlete and a lot of fun to watch.

TJ Reprimands the Nurse

Trent had to go to the pediatrician for two shots today. He was such a brave boy. He didn't cry at all. However, after the shots were given, he stood up on the table, looked straight at the nurse and started loudly "talking" to her a mile a minute. It was like he was telling her that the shots were so uncalled for and she did not have to do that again. Both the nurse and I were laughing at how adamantly he was expressing his point. If only we understood baby talk better! :)

Pray Expecting Results

How often do we pray half heartedly, not fully expecting God to answer? Are we praying because we feel we should or in hopes that He hears us?

I've been thinking about two verses this week that really hit home with me at a bible study I'm in at church.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Do we want God to do more than we ask or exactly what we ask and no more? God knows the ultimate plan for generations to come and yet he listens to (and answers) our prayers. We often only see a tiny little window and don't realize the much bigger picture. What a great reminder to pray with intention and expectation!

Pumpkin Patch Tradition

Every fall, we make a trip to a pumpkin patch outside of town. It is always one of my favorite family day trips of the year. They have a corn maze, a hay ride, a petting zoo, horse rides, kiddie tractors, and of course picking out a pumpkin! It's bunches of fun for the kids! Last year Trent was only about 7 months old when we went. He did the corn maze and picked out a pumpkin, but it wasn't really a 'hands on' experience. This year, Trent was interested in everything. Grandma and Grandpa Reiersen came down for the weekend and joined us for the trip. It was so much fun to have them along. Grandpa even escorted Trent on his very first horseback ride. Trent loved it! He has no fear of animals and loves all kinds of animals. He spent forever in the bird barn (there were coups full of chickens, ducks and geese). He even pet a baby chicken.

Pumpkin Pickin'

Hayride!

TJ's first horseback ride

Petting a chicken

Riding a John Deere for Uncle Eric

Thought of the Day

Today seems to be a particularly messy day. At various points throughout the day, I've had sidewalk chalk, grass, rocks, lunch, cleaning products, and bodily fluids (mostly toddler snot, thanks to the change in seasons) on me. In spite of all this messiness, I still believe I have the best job in the world!

Favorite Recipe Sources

Tasty Kitchen – huge compilation of recipes and many of them are rated by other readers. I love reading what people thought of a recipe and if/how they altered the recipe.

Hillbilly Housewife – great suggestions on how to make every day items from scratch. I use her recipes for making dry onion soup mix, granola, homemade yogurt, etc.

Barefoot Contessa – she knows how to make delicious food from simple ingredients. Love her recipes! I have a bunch of her cookbooks, but many of her recipes can be found on Food Network.

Taste of Home – tons of tried and true recipes. I have both the regular cookbook and the baking cookbook. Great resources!

Hobby Farm Home – a magazine that comes every other month that often has great recipes and interesting articles. My favorite banana bread recipe comes from here, but I can't find the recipe online.

Friends – great resources, especially because a lot of them are at the same life stage as me. They know what recipes are doable with young kids and a budget.

A year of slow cooking - I do a lot of crockpot cooking. You can make so many things in the crockpot from yogurt to dessert to pot roast and the food cooks itself.

Wholesome Baby Food - TJ eats what we eat now, but I used this site a lot when we were first introducing him to foods. We made all his baby food instead of buying jars of the processed stuff. Trust me, it tastes MUCH better.

Some of the recipes I mentioned in my previous post can be found at these locations:

Apple Bread I made this on Tuesday and it's yummy!

Zucchini Bread

Hummus This is a standby at our house. My 18 month old devours this whenever he gets the chance!

Graham Crackers These are SUPER easy! They didn't last a day at our house and with whole wheat and honey - they're pretty healthy too.

Squash Bread - Made this without the optional topping and it's still delicious. You hardly know you're eating squash. I wish I'd found this recipe sooner as we had a ton of squash this summer!

18 Month Checkup

Last Friday, I went out of town for a girls weekend. Jesse braved the task of taking Trent to the doctor for his 18 month checkup. It went well. There were no tears shed over the one shot that Trent received. He's developmentally on track for his age. Here are his height and weight stats:
Height: 35 inches tall (97th percentile)
Weight: 28.25 lbs (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 19.25 inches (75th percentile)

CSA Tuesdays

Every Tuesday, Trent and I venture out to get our veggie box. The weekly menu is revealed the Sunday before and we have until Monday afternoon to customize what we'd like for the week. This week we received green beans, a double order of winter squash, sweet potatoes, and a double order of apples. I usually get a double order of whatever the fruit offering is for the week. The CSA always offers 6 vegetables or fruits and you can double up, single order, or request none for any of the options as long as your total number equals six. I usually skip the lettuce options because we don't eat much salad at our house.

The vegetables and fruits offered change from week to week. Sometimes we'll have the same vegetable offered week after week and other vegetables will appear for a week and then not be offered again. Sweet potatoes have been in season for a while. We have accumulated at least three weeks of sweet potatoes. We also have a large supply of winter squash and that's only from today! So tonight I have been perusing the internet for winter squash and sweet potato recipes. I also have an abundance of green beans right now. Sometimes the items seem to disappear so quickly and other times I have to start getting creative to use it up before it goes bad. The latter seems to be the case for the sweet potatoes and squash (even though I enjoy both). There's just that much! So if you have any suggestions on what to do with these items, I would love to know! I'm not big on making separate casserole dishes. Normally the veggies are either in the meal (like a casserole) or they're on the side but kept simple (sauteed, roasted, etc.)

The other fun thing about getting a box of locally grown produce is TJ gets to try new foods fairly often. He has eaten such an assortment of vegetables. Tonight we had okra, cucumbers and corn from last week's box. Trent devoured the corn and cucumbers but the boy does not like okra. If it happens to sneak into his mouth, he will find a way to remove it. He makes a face every time!

Cooking in Bulk

It has been 18 months since we went from being DINKs to a family of three and in twoish months, we'll be a family of four. It's amazing the impact a child can have on the way you cook. As the primary chef/nutritionist in our family, I try to make the most of our meals. We are fortunate to live in a state where you can actually grow produce year round. So our veggies and fruits come in a CSA box each week, our grains/legumes come in buckets, and our meat comes from a local farmer. My family's health is important to me. If you are what you eat, I'd rather fill my family full of whole grains and naturally grown food than with factory made food. The downside to this is lack of convenience, so the biggest change has been cooking in bulk.

There are days when I just don't have time to cook or a certain toddler is bound and determined to keep me away from the countertops. He literally wedges himself in between me and the cabinets and pushes with all his might against me. It really makes cooking interesting! I know this will be amplified once I add a newborn to the mix. But gone are the days where we have a supply of Tombstone pizzas and Marie Callendar pot pies. So usually one night a week, I cook multiple meals at once. Tonight was my bulk cooking night.

This week's menu:
Monday: Alfredo
Tuesday: Pork Chops and Gravy
Wednesday: Black Bean Quesadillas
Thursday: Chick Pea and Parmesan Pasta
Friday: Leftovers/Clean out the Fridge Night

So today, I made the pork chops and gravy in the crockpot. It smelled SO good. I put it in tupperware for tomorrow because Tuesdays are our busiest day of the week. I made tonight's alfredo, homemade tortillas (for Wednesdays Quesadillas), and three batches of split pea soup to freeze.

Making meals to freeze helps me use up food that might otherwise go bad before I get to it and keeps us from ordering out when I don't get the chance or don't feel like cooking. I also make our snacks. We usually have homemade granola and hummus on hand. Just last week, I found a really easy homemade graham cracker recipe. It's healthy and delicious. We also have quick breads in the freezer.

Quick breads are my favorite! They are great for using up the extra produce we get in our CSA box. I make squash bread, banana bread, peach bread, strawberry bread, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread... you name it, I've probably made a quick bread out of it. Next up, apple bread! It's delightful with a cup of coffee in the morning and easy to pull out when company is coming over for a snack.

Eating this way requires more planning, but we are getting spoiled. Once you start making the homemade equivalents of most foods, you'll find the taste and nutritional value far superior to factory made foods.

Home Stretch

This is the toughest stretch of being pregnant for me. For starters, I'm so excited to meet our little man. While the rest of this pregnancy seems to have flown by, the final weeks seem to go so slow. I know I won't be sleeping with a new baby, I'll have an adjustment going from one child to two, and will have to start breastfeeding all over again. But to hold a tiny baby in your arms makes it all so worth it! With 10 weeks until the due date, I know that he could be here anytime after about 6 weeks! Trent was exactly one week early. We'll see what this one decides to do.

Another reason this stretch is difficult for me is the slowing down. I love to exercise. I have been diligent in keeping up with it the entire pregnancy. However, the more the baby grows (and in turn, I grow), the more it slows me down. Last week, my slow jog officially became a walk. In body pump, I have gradually been decreasing my weights and opting for lower options of some of the exercises. We also live in a tri-level house. Running up and down stairs leaves me out of breath and I don't get up from the floor as quickly when I'm playing with Trent. Jesse has taken over some of my chores that are uncomfortable when pregnant - usually they're the ones where the belly just gets in the way. For example, I can't put Trent's sheets on his crib mattress anymore. I simply can't reach the mattress bending over the bar!

When I was pregnant with Trent, I got tired of wearing the same clothes repeatedly. Fortunately, this hasn't been a problem yet. With the extended summer heat, I wore my same summer clothes over and over and over. But just this week, fall finally hit. The highs this week are in the high 70s/low 80s! This means my fall/winter maternity clothes that have been dying to come out are finally getting the chance to be worn. It's like having a whole new wardrobe. Since Trent was a March baby, I was at my biggest with him over the winter, so I shouldn't have a problem finishing out this pregnancy with my old maternity clothes. And since I had to wait so long to wear them this year, hopefully I won't tire of them as fast!

At 30 weeks, guesstimates are that the baby is about 3lbs and 16 inches long. Trent was usually smaller than the averages when we had ultrasounds. This big boy has measured larger than average on the ultrasounds. It'll be interesting to see how their birth weights differ when he arrives. I can't wait!

A Boy and His Dog(s)

There really is a special bond between boys and their dogs. This morning we had a playdate. We were meeting our friends at the YMCA, picking up donuts from Dunkin Donuts and then coming back to our house. We didn't have to leave for the Y until 9, so we had a few hours after breakfast to play. Trent was into the dogs all morning. Dozer is his pal. Trent is partial to him over Duke. Dozer lets him roll all over him and they really are best buds. This morning, Duke wanted to play tug of war with Trent. So Trent was chasing after Dozer and Duke was chasing after Trent with a tug of war toy. It was chaos but they were all loving it. Watching Trent play tug of war with Duke is funny. It's like watching a water skier being pulled on a ski rope. The dogs are more gentle with Trent than they are with us. But it's a good matchup - Trent outweighs the dogs by about 10 pounds but when the dogs plant their feet, they can still give a good tug! The three of them ran around playing for a good little while until they wore eachother out. Then it was rest time.

Dozer and TJ relaxing (TJ's not sleeping, it just looks like he is)

Milling My Own Flour

We have been baking our own bread for at least a year now. I primarily use our bread machine and a book called 'Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day.' Both ways provide quick and easy approaches to making really yummy bread. The bread machine also allows me to use the dough setting to make bagels, homemade rolls, etc.

We had been keeping massive bags of flour in the freezer. When I did some research, I found that the majority of the nutrients in flour are lost within 72 hours of being ground. When flour is commercially made, they purposely take out the bran and germ to increase the shelf life. This increases shelf life, but depletes the flour of nutrients. Even more nutrients are lost when the flour is bleached.

When you grind your own flour, the bread tastes delicious! It's lighter, moist and better tasting than commercial comparisons. Plus, there are many different kinds of grains to choose from - far more variety than you can find in the grocery store. I've never been a huge fan of toast, but homemade bread had me eating more, and bread made with freshly ground flour has me converted!

Now before you think I've lost my mind... it is SO easy. The grain mill works just like a coffee grinder. You toss wheat in the top and it shoots flour off the side into another bowl. It takes about a minute. So simple! Since you generally grind the grain right before you make the bread, you do have to do a little bit of math. 8 cups of grain makes 12 cups of flour so it's not a 1:1 ratio - still, it's not difficult.

So far I've made banana bread, a few loaves of sandwich bread and dinner rolls using the hard white wheat. They have all turned out really well. Tonight, I'm going to attempt some squash bread as well.

The first time we bought wheat, we drove about 30 minutes away to a store that sells the wheat. I later found a co-op in our town that we started using instead so we don't have to make the drive. I ordered Rye from the co-op so I'm anticipating its arrival so I can make some Rye bread and Pumpernickel Bread.

And the best perk... having a house that smells like freshly made bread!

Ready for Game Day

Front

Back - Look at the adorable little pockets!

Last night I finished Trent's game day pants. The pictures don't do them justice, but I just had to share anyways. They are SO cute. He's going to look absolutely adorable with his plaid pants and Orange and Blue Shaker. We're working on teaching him how to say "War Eagle!" For those of you dying to know when the game is... Auburn plays Clemson this weekend at Auburn. College Game Day will be there. Kick off is at 6pm on ESPN. And lastly, here's a funny commentary for my fellow Auburn fans. Have a great weekend!

Warp Speed

One of TJ's new overalls

Wow, a week has already passed since my last post. This pregnancy has been flying by, but now that we're in the final stretch (last trimester - woohoo!), time has ramped up to warp speed.

Women's bible studies have kicked off again and we've been going to life group on Sunday nights. We really love our church and have met so many great friends through it. Trent and I continue to do our daily workouts. I'm so impressed he holds up for as long as he does when we go running. The bigger I get, the slower I run, but the distance has stayed the same. He's been so good about letting me finish my workout each day. I also planted our fall garden on Saturday. I love living in a place that has such a long growing season.

I made a list of all the things I need/want to get to done before baby number 2 gets here and it is lengthy! We need to get Trent transitioned into his "big boy room" pronto. That means that we have to renovate that room, pronto. I need to make Trent's fall/winter pants. I need to make Trent's halloween costume. I need to make his game day outfit. Next week is already the third week of football season! Auburn has been playing well, but it's just not the same when their number one fan is not decked out in his orange and blue! :) I've made a few pairs of overalls and a few pairs of pants so we have enough to get by, but not enough to keep me from doing laundry more often than I'd like. I still have 10 diapers to make before the baby arrives so we'll have plenty of cloth diapers for two boys in diapers. I'd like to get some freezer meals made so that cooking is easy while I'm adjusting to life with two children. Also, since baby number two will most likely be arriving sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'd like to get started on Christmas shopping because that will not be a priority after the baby gets here. (Screaming newborn, hyper toddler, and crazy holiday malls, no thanks!) I don't remember everything on the list, but I know fall will be busy!

Long Weekend in Tennessee

We went up to my parents for Labor Day weekend. It was a lot of fun. While visiting with Nanny, Poppy, Mom and Dad; we played cards, rode bikes, went on boat rides, swam in the lake, played in the yard. We also watched Auburn's opening football game (which we won - War Eagle!) Overall, we just had a really nice time together. The weather was perfect. The lows were in the 50s and highs in the 80s and 90s. The cool nights make the views of the mountains so clear. The leaves are already starting to change color. We went on one particular boat ride up Abrams Creek in the Smokies. It was so pretty. There are steep, forested, mountain ledges on each side that go straight down to the water. It's going to be really gorgeous in about a month when the leaves are vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. Anyway, we took a bunch of pictures from the weekend, but none on the boat because the normal photographer (Jesse) did some of the driving and I don't remember to take pics as often as he does.

Spending Time with Nanny and Poppy

Playing At Grandma and Grandpa R's

Structured Days

Arts and Crafts Time

Such Artistic Talent!

I'm a list person. I like to make lists and consequently scratch them off. I noticed with Trent, our best days tend to be when we schedule them out ahead of time. Otherwise, both of us get cranky by the end of the day. I can't schedule things down to the minute because there are a lot of "maybes" in our day. Maybe he'll eat a big lunch, maybe he won't. Maybe he'll sleep for 1 hour, maybe he'll sleep for 3 hours. The added structure has been great for both of us because we're not in a playtime haze and wondering what to do next. Just when he starts to get bored with something, we're onto the next thing. Here's an example of what I mean.
This was our Monday:
Breakfast, Get dinner ready in the crockpot, and kick off a load of laundry
Exercise
Errands/Play Outside
Cleaning (Trent loves to help)
Lunch
Naptime
Craft Time
Read/Puzzles
Dinner
Playtime with Daddy
Bath Time
Bed Time

It has been working for us all week. Each day is different depending on what appointments or agendas we have to get through. However, it's so nice to have a general plan of what we want to accomplish throughout the day. I'm sure it'll go back to chaos for a little while after number 2 gets here, but for now it's working well so I'm sticking with it. :)

The other nice thing is the lack of television. Everyone has their own views on TV time at this age. I'm not a huge fan. We don't have cable at our house, but we do have Netflix. Netflix has an extensive instant streaming library so if I really need to get something done, I can pop on an episode of Veggietales, but for the most part, the TV does not get much use in our house. Pandora gets a TON of use though. Our little boy loves music, so we have praise music or toddler music playing all.the.time.