Happy Halloween!

Our little shark made it out for Halloween this year! Baby Sister and Mommy didn't ruin it! He has been pretty excited to go trick or treating. So much that he has been "practicing" trick or treating at home this week. He'll shut all the doors down the hallway and then knock on them saying Trick or Treat and give himself a "candy". Pretty funny!

We woke him up from nap so that we could go to a church Halloween party. Then we were off to the old cul-de-sac for some trick or treating with our old neighborhood gang. He made it around the block, but started to tucker out around the last corner, asking if he could go home now.

He was just as excited to answer the door and give out treats when we got home. So far we've only had two knocks, but enough to give him a kick doing it.






We went to a pumpkin carving party at Dahlia's house last weekend. Shane's pumpkin won for "Most Traditional". He was so excited, except that Kenny had to talk him down from crying when everyone clapped for him.

38 weeks and waiting for November.

We've hit the 38 week mark. Each week I am more and more amazed I've made it this far. And more and more in disbelief that she'll be here any time. This morning I took a trip into the hospital to have a non-stress test completed. I just hadn't been feeling her move like I normally do. The Doctor said it was best just to check and make sure she was fine. They hooked me up to the monitors and saw that she is doing fine in there: good heart rate, movements and apparently consistent contractions. I've been having lots of Braxton-Hick contractions for that last few months, but these were real contractions with a pattern. Every 3-5 minutes for over 1 minute. I couldn't feel most of them which was what made that such a surprise. On top of the fact that I really, really, really want her to wait just two more days to come in November.

Now I have some stuff to do around the house, but really don't want to push her into coming today or tomorrow. We'll see what the next couple days brings us. Fingers crossed it's not a Halloween baby!!!

One More Thing....

Yesterday afternoon I noticed Shane's eye was red on the top of his eye lid. It didn't seem to bother him unless you asked if it hurt, then all of a sudden it did. This morning when he woke up it was quite puffy and gooey. Off to the Doctors we went to have it checked out.

He has a basic sty in his eye. Nothing major, but it does require hot compresses and eye drops 4 times a day for 15 minutes each time. Just when we were getting things under control with Sadie now it's Shane. Guess it is a good thing Baby hasn't decided to show up yet. Now with Halloween so close I would like her to hold off until at least November 2nd. Plus, we need to get everyone healthy around this joint before we add a new family member.

Menu Monday

Monday -- Macaroni and Cheese Casserole (never made this last week)

Tuesday -- leftovers

Wednesday -- Chili in the crockpot and corn bread

Thursday -- leftovers

Friday -- Cheesy Ham and Pasta Bake This is a new recipe...I think I am going to use broccoli instead of mushrooms. But it looks good!

Saturday -- leftovers

Sunday -- Dinner Surprise

mmmmm......Muffins

Shane and I made Pumpkin Muffins this morning. I had promised him last night we could make them and then started craving them all night long. I was so excited to make them this morning and then pulled up the recipe and realized we didn't have enough eggs. UGHH! He was okay with that, since he didn't want to go to the store and get some and I really didn't want to get out of my PJ's for eggs either. But Mema swooped in and saved the day by recommending we just add mayo to make up for the lack of 3 eggs I needed (I had 1 egg out of the 4 total needed) Since it's basically just eggs and oil anyways. I think they aren't as pumpkin tasting as they normally are, but still good. Not that the mayo had anything to do with that though.


Here is the recipe in case you want to give them a try:

Pumpkin Muffins

4 eggs
2 cups sugar (or brown sugar)
1 15 oz. can pureed pumpkin (I think I'll put more then 1 can in next time)
1 1/2 cups oil
3 cups flour
2 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. salt

It makes 2 dozen regular sized muffins. This time I made 12 regular muffins and 24 mini muffins.

Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes.

The original recipe calls for chocolate chips. But I never have those on hand, so I've never made them that way before. But you certainly could!

I Think We'll Make It....

Thursday afternoon brought us a handful of unexpected adventures.

I started in with some "false" labor and nauseousness around 6pm and it lasted until about 3am. We really weren't sure if it was the real thing or not. Or even if it was going to turn into the real thing. We put Shane to bed and then scurried around packing and getting things ready just in case we were going to be heading to the hospital in the middle of the night. Kenny was able to go to bed and get some sleep, while I rested on the couch. Baby and I are fine. She just wasn't ready to come yet, but guess the body wanted to get things warmed up. Friday I was slow moving but was able to keep Shane happy and entertained until Kenny got home.

Also Thursday afternoon I discovered an oozing wound on Sadie's face. I had noticed she had been scratching a lot on her ear area, but with the chaos of the day I hadn't had time to really investigate the situation. Right before Kenny got home I noticed her head was all wet and gross. When Kenny got home we put the cone on her head and dealt with it like we have many other times when she gets "hot spots": Cutting her hair and hydrogen peroxide.

Friday brought little improvement and by the end of the day we were discussing taking her to the ER Vet. We decided to wait until Saturday morning. After a 2 hour visit to the ER Vet, the poor dog has massive shaved portion on the side of her head and down her neck. It appears she was probably bitten by a spider and had a severe allergic reaction. She came home on antibiotics, steroid medicine and an ointment. The poor dog is truly miserable. She has spent the majority of the last 3 days sleeping on her bed (if you know Sadie this is very unlike her).

I found her sleeping like this Saturday night. I feel better when she is sleeping, at least she is comfortable enough to rest.
This was Saturday night. Sunday morning it looked even worse then this.
Poor Sadie Rose!!


Saturday afternoon Shane had a Knight and Fairy birthday party to go to (more to come on this exciting birthday party). I woke up from a nap right before it was time to go not feeling so great. After an hour into the party I was feeling terrible and having severe stomach pain. After a call into my OB it appeared that I was having problems with acid reflex. He had a handful of recommendations that helped a lot. So after taking some medication and resting a couple hours later I felt almost human again and was able to eat.

It seemed like we were getting hit left and right unexpected circumstances. Sunday morning has brought a little bit more normalcy and calmness to the family. I'm feeling a lot better. Now we just need Sadie to feel better. But I think we are recovering from the last couple days and will be ready come Monday for little Miss Booth to make her appearance when ever she is ready.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

A Boy and His Worm

Little Miss Booth's Room

As time draws nearer to the arrival of our new addition we have put the finishing touches on her room. I just love the lavender color we painted on two of the walls. But my FAVORITE part of her room are the butterflies on the wall above her crib. They still make me smile every time I walk in there.

Taking pictures of rooms is super difficult. I don't think the pictures can do it justice, but here is a general idea of what her room looks like.

Menu Monday

I enjoyed using the crock pot this weekend. I can't say I LOVED what I made, but I do love the smells that come from it and having dinner all ready when you want to eat.

Monday -- beef and potato leftovers from the crock pot yesterday

Tuesday -- Garlic-Thyme Chicken in the crock pot

Wednesday -- leftovers

Thursday -- Short Ribs in the crock pot with rice

Friday -- leftovers

Saturday -- Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

Sunday -- leftovers

Pumpkin Patch 2010

We had an interesting visit to the pumpkin patch this year. We decided to keep it simple and to visit the local patch closest to our house, where went last year. Shane took an extra long nap Saturday afternoon which didn't leave us a lot of sunlight for our visit (also making the lighting for the pictures terrible). Then there wasn't a single small sized pumpkin any where to be found. Shane wanted one that he could carry himself and a very small one for baby. We had to settle on a special variety of pumpkins that has "warts" on them. It was the only small ones we could find. Shane was happy which was all that really mattered.

9 months!!

It seems like it has been years and years...but I've reached the 9 month mark! I'm looking forward to Thursday when I'll officially be "full-term" at 37 weeks, so Little Miss Booth can arrive when ever she wants after that point.

I had a visit to the OB last Wednesday where the Doctor mentioned that things are moving along. I have dilated slightly and am having a ton of contractions every day. She of course couldn't put a time frame on it, but did say I probably wouldn't be over due. I'll take that!

She also determined that the baby wasn't breech any more. Which was great news. But today I'm concerned that she has moved around and may be breech again. There was a 7% chance that she does that. I'll find out on Thursday when I have another ultrasound to make sure her growth is still doing well.

Another exciting development is that she has a name!! It was a long haul and a very difficult process, but it feels great to know she will be born with a name.

The belly is measuring right at 36 weeks. I feel absolutely huge like a house. Things that I never experienced with Shane I have had the great pleasure of experiencing this time around.

--Not being able to bend over to get my shoes on, or to pick things up, or to trim my toe nails.
--Not sleeping because there is not a single position that is comfortable.
--Growing out of clothes left and right leaving me with not a lot of options at this point in the game.
--When I sit my belly seriously gets in the way. It touches my legs!! Leaving basically not a single position standing, sitting or laying that is comfortable.

We are getting exciting for her arrival very soon!

Soccer Video

I may have finally remembered how to get video up on the blog. Here are a few clips from last weekends soccer game where Shane played the WHOLE game!! He looks like a kangaroo hopping around on the field and more often then not is in his own world. BUT he was out there and even took a few hits with no complaints at all. We were super proud of him.

ABC's

I've been trying to get this video up since I took it a few days before Shane's 3rd birthday. He says the ABC's so much better now, but this was the week he pretty much learned them out of nowhere and was obsessed with saying them.

Wordless Wednesday

Menu Monday

It's that time again....time to figure out what we are going to have for dinner this week. I must say I rocked the dinners last week. I didn't do them in order as originally planned, BUT I made 2 out of the planned 3 and really liked both of them. That is huge for me.

Monday -- Sweet and Sour Chicken (this was the one I didn't do last week)

Tuesday -- leftovers

Wednesday -- Beef and potatoes in the Crock-Pot

Thursday -- leftovers

Friday -- Taco Soup

Saturday -- leftovers

Sunday -- Who Knows....that seems just so far away?!

October Craft Club

I hosted this months Craft Club and stretched everyone's comfort zones by doing a sewing project. I had been wanting to make an apron for awhile and thought hosting craft club and having that as a project would be a great solution.

Thanks to everyone who brought along their sewing machines and irons. And for everyone's patience as many of us learned a new skill of sewing and patience with me as I am far from a sewing expert.

I think they all turned out beautifully!!!




Next month Craft Club is at Tia's house where we'll be making fabric flowers. I sure hope little Miss. Booth cooperates so that I can make it!!

Speech Update

Shane is in the midst of his 2nd week with his new speech teacher through the Lake Washington School District. He transitioned to the school district from a private non-profit organization when he turned 3 in June. The hardest part was that it was summer time basically when he transitioned, so he has had a lot of off time the last few months.

The district originally placed us at a school that was at least 30 minutes away from our house. I wasn't so happy about that. After working with them they moved us closer to a school about 10 minutes away. Shane currently goes to speech 3x's a week for 30 minutes each session. I feel blessed that they gave him so much speech therapy time on his IEP and that they worked the schedule out to give him individual sessions instead of group ones.

It's also been difficult since speech isn't my area of expertise and that there are so many theories and strategies out there. His current teacher is using a program called PROMPT. It appears to be more play driven. Which he had been doing before, but his first speech therapist switch over to more drill and repetition the last couple months we had her. I just don't know which is better for him at this point. I'm leaning towards the drill and repetition, but I'll give this new strategy some time before I make a fuss.

He enjoys going so far. I get to stay in the room with him which helps him. We'll see how that goes when the baby arrives. He continues to make progress with his speech. At points in the day he does not stop talking. In the car I often get run on stories that go on and on and on. We think he is making up for lost time.

Sur La Table Cooking Class

A couple weeks ago I finally got a chance to use my wonderful Sur La Table gift certificate and take a cooking class. I had the hardest time deciding what classes to take. This one was Dinner Basics.We created 5 different meals:

Cherry Tomato Pizza Margherita -- I got some great tips on how to make pizza at home.

Flank Steak Salad with Chimichurri Dressing -- It's always helpful to me to see meat cooked since I sometimes feel overwhelmed with how to deal with meat.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers -- We'll totally be having these at home soon!

Moroccan Halibut and Carrots -- This probably was my favorite dish out of all of them. We used cinnamon on the halibut and it was sooooo good!!

Shrimp Scampi with Green Onions and Orzo -- I've always been terrified of cooking shrimp, but truly it is so easy.

There were 3 other people in the class that night. The Teacher said she had never had such a small class before and normally there are 10-16 people in each class. It was great to be in such a small group since it was more like a one-on-one lesson.

After making all of the yummy food we got to eat it!! I so wished that I had more room in my squished stomach to eat more. It was all so good.

Over all I think I learned that I know more then I think when it comes to cooking. Which makes me feel good and more confident in my cooking abilities. In a couple weeks I go back for one more class: Gifts from the Kitchen. I'm super excited for that one with the holidays coming up!!

Wordless Wednesday

Menu Monday

Monday -- Sweet and Sour Chicken (I use to do this from a kit. Kenny loved it! This time I am going to try it from scratch)

Tuesday -- leftovers

Wednesday -- Salmon and broccoli

Thursday -- leftovers

Friday -- Steak and ranch potatoes (this was on the menu a few weeks back, but I never made it)

Saturday -- leftovers

Sunday -- dinner surprise

Soccer Update

Shane seems to have come a long way FINALLY with his soccer playing.

Two Saturdays ago he was the no soccer playing kid and it felt like we were truly torturing him with soccer. That same Saturday afternoon we were at a birthday party with a couple of his friends that he has known since he was about 6 months old. They started kicking a ball around and he just went soccer crazy. He was the leader of the pack: dribbling, kicking it and falling down. He had a blast. We tried to really talk up what he did and compare it to his soccer practices with his soccer team.

This Saturday, soccer practice started out on pretty much the same foot. He was slightly more willing to be on the field and to warm up with his team. When the game started he again was slightly more willing to go stand out on the field, but still far far away from the action. I told him that if he played I had a surprise for him in the car. Bribing hadn't worked before, but it never hurts to give it another try. That seemed to spark some interest in him.

The game was coming to an end with just 10 minutes left. We said he needed to go out and "play" one more time to get his surprise. He ran right onto the field straight into the action and really started playing. Our mouths just dropped open. He kicked the ball, dribbled it and even took a few hits without any problems at all. At one point while the teams were gathering themselves back up for a kick off, he was so excited to play he just took the ball from the referee and started kicking it towards their goal. He was on fire!! The coach told him she was so proud and loved seeing him play. He came off the field with the biggest grin on his face. He even gave us his own kick count. "I kicked the ball 3 times!"

We can't wait to see what next week brings. My guess is he'll still need a warm up period, but we hope he hops right back in and starts playing. Maybe he'll even score a goal!!