doesn't everyone rig up a zip line for their kids after dinner?

Why yes, Finley is wearing Rowen's undies... why do you ask?

finley's guide to homemade applesauce.

1. Look really, really excited about the project so mommy makes sure to allow you to stand on a chair at the kitched island.

2. Make sure each apple tastes delicious while making your big brother do all of the hard work.

3. Systematically toss all apple peels onto the floor, only after tearing them into little pieces and sampling each one!

4. Scream at the top of your lungs until mommy gives you a knife (just like Ro-Ro's knife) so you can help cut the apples.

5. Keep cutting.

6. Sneak as many pieces of apple as you can while they are still in the bowl.

7. Wait patiently once the apples get moved over to the stove to simmer.

8. Go find something more interesting to do until the applesauce is done and ready to eat!

days of fall :: pumpkin patch fun.

Our local pumpkin patch is lame.

Really lame.

It consists of a few rows of pumpkins lined up in one of our parks and a "hay bale maze" that is made out of... oh... about five hay bales.

The few people that put it on each year use it as a fundraiser for a scholarship fund for our local Recreation Center... you know, so kids who can't afford to take rec classes can sign up anyway.

Last year, they had a fairly crude sign stating where the money went and a jar for you to plink your donations into. They recommended --- I think --- $5.00 - $10.00 per pumpkin, depending on size.

This year, there was no sign anywhere tell folks where the money went. When the kiddos picked out our pumpkins (I wanted to get three, Greg talked me into just picking out two) I looked around for someone who appeared to be in charge to show them our pumpkins and see what they wanted for them.

Lady Who Was In Charge At The Moment: "Ummm... so and so is in the bathroom and she's asking $20.00 per pumpkin."

Me: "......"

Me: "Ummm... well... yeah... I don't have that much money, but here's $20.00 for both of them."

Those poor kids better thoroughly enjoy their rock climbing and basketball.

Nevertheless, the kids loved picking their pumpkins and crawling all over the rest. Having Greg with us gave me a great opportunity to snap some pictures... our "annual fall photo shoot," I guess, since Lynna and I have a heck of a time baby-wrangling four kids under the age of four for any kinds of pictures.

They both did well and held up to us yapping about "smile!" and "look here" and "Rowen, sit down!" and "Finley, get your finger out of your nose!" I lucked out and had some Smarties in my bag... those work really, really well for keeping kids still and a somewhat photogenic look on their faces.

Happy fall, y'all! Sorry for the photo-heavy post. I hope your computers all held up to the challenge... mine almost didn't! Once I get my October Picasa photos up, you can always view more over there.

baby update.

So...

I went to see our OB this evening.

Hurray! Our little one is head down and facing my back. Just how we want him (or her). It was funny watching the ultrasound machine while our doctor poked my belly to show me where it's neck was... you could totally see where she was poking the little one!

Let's see... everything looks good. I'll be 30 weeks (eek!) tomorrow and measuring at 31. My blood pressure was great and I've gained 23 pounds since my first OB appointment. I was hoping to gain no more than 25 throughout the entire pregnancy, but oh well... that definitely isn't going to happen!

I have some belly shots still hidden away on my camera. I'll try and get those up soon!

seriously?

Okay...

Seriously?

A strictly breastfed baby in Grand Junction was turned down by Rocky Mountain Health Plans for being TOO FAT?

watercolors.

Last month we brought out the watercolors. This was Finley's first time using watercolors. She was quite impressed and stuck with it much longer than Rowen wanted to!

Then, of course, she discovered that the paintbrush felt good on her face!

birthday rocks.

More September goodies!

We painted rocks that Rowen and Finley found at the river for daddy's birthday. After we painted them, we glued some of them together to make some fun rock creatures!

Finley was totally absorbed in the whole painting experience. She was amazed at the process and loved every minute. Once she discovered that it was fun to paint her hands... and the newspaper... and the deck... and her shirt... it was all downhill from there!

Rowen, on the other hand, was very focused on his project... for about five minutes. Once we began gluing the rocks together and adding eyes and ears and such, he was much more attentive and helpful until they were completely finished!

days of summer :: winding down

No... we didn't go play in the water anytime recently! I finally pulled off pictures from our point-and-shoot and found lots of pictures going back to the beginning of September...

We spent a morning at the Gunnison River Whitewater Park. This has been one of my most favorite local "discoveries" that I found this summer! I never realized that there were wonderful beach spots along this stretch of the river where they have a whitewater park for kayaking and rafting. Most of the sandy spots are along very calm parts of the river and the weather here is much more consistant than at the lake.

The water was down so much here at the beginning of September. It was nice that it was so shallow so far out, but the rocky shore was much more pronounced that it has been in the past. Rowen and Finley sure didn't seem to mind! There was still some great sand for digging and shoveling.

There were still quite a few people out and about on the water. Finley and Rowen had a great time watching the boaters go through the rapids and we got to watch a crazy bunch of college kids go through on innertubes... well, they didn't make it all the way down ON their innertubes!

hooray!

Three cheers goes out to this woman and her decision to not have a forced C-Section at her local hospital.

I am so very lucky that Greg and our kiddos can be with me for this baby's arrival. I am thankful that the woman in the article has a doula for labor and delivery support while she is so far away from home... and alone... I am realizing that our family is in such a lucky position for doing what we feel so strongly about. We have VERY welcoming and loving family to stay with. Our other children are small enough that they are not in school yet -- so there is no dilemma of pulling them out of school. We own our own business and while "shutting down" for the time that we are gone perhaps isn't possible or business-savvy, we can scale back and let our general contractors know they we will be gone and things might slow down a bit for that time. We also are lucky to have a great bunch of employees that can continue some of the work that needs to be done while Greg is not around. Some... not all...

These stories make me so sad and yet so happy that there are women out there who won't just go along with what the medical community tells them they HAVE to do... They do their own research and make their own decisions based on what is best for them and their families.

harvest feasts. this one's for you, Jim!

Have I mentioned that I love fall and fall cooking? I never seem to enjoy cooking in summertime, perhaps due to the fact that I would much rather be outside playing. However, once those days shorten up and that cool, crisp air moves in, there is nothing better that cozy-ing up in the kitchen.

I have been realizing that I need to try and get some things made and put away for when this new baby makes it's debut. We have such a nice stand-up freezer is this "house," but it's quite embarrassing that it usually houses a lonely pint of ice cream and a couple of frozen pizzas for when daddy is in charge of making dinner. I love my chest freezer, but a stand-up is so nice for storing things that I like to have on hand -- casseroles, lasagnas, breads...

Greg's folks came into town during Greg's birthday weekend. I just knew that would be the perfect time to start some batch cooking and try and get some things froze and stored for the new year, as well as have some goodies on hand for when they arrived!

I began with some granola (obviously, not to freeze... but really just wanted to see how the kiddos liked it and how well it was received in the house). I love granola, but hate the cost of a bag from the store... plus how "unhealthy" it can really be.

Granola

• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 6 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 cup ground flax meal
• 1/2 cup sweetened (or unsweetened) coconut
• 1 1/2 cups dried mango, pineapple, papaya, chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins and dried cranberries (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil
2. In a large bowl, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt. Add the oats, wheat germ and flax meal, then stir the mixture until evenly blended.
3. Spread the granola onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway though baking.
4. Remove the pans from the oven and stir again. Add coconut and return the pans to the oven to back for 10 more minutes. Stir occasionally so as not to burn!
5. Remove granola and stir once again. Let cool completely. When it has cooled, stir in the dried fruit and transfer granola to an airtight container. Makes about 7 cups.

This recipe turned out great! It is similar to the one found in a recent Family Fun magazine (I can't find a link online). I recently made an additional batch to add to the quickly dwindling granola supply from the original batch. This second time, I doubled the recipe, and used only the original called-for amount of honey and dried fruit. Since the original recipe makes such a nice, sweet granola goodness, I wanted to make a somewhat healthier batch to stretch the whole thing since Rowen and Finley could eat this for every meal! I felt like adding a less sweet version to the sweeter version, I would have a nice middle-of-the-road batch.

It worked fairly well, but the single batch seemed to work a bit better for those of you who might be a bit picky with your granola! Whichever way, it still is yummy, cheap to make and wonderful to always have on hand.

Then it was on to fourteen thousand pans of pumpkin cinnamon rolls (you think I'm kidding...).

I wasn't exactly sure why I felt like having fourteen thousand pans of pumpkin cinnamon rolls was going to be important when the new baby arrives, but did I mentioned that I love cooking with pumpkin?

I totally followed the recipe here, so I'm not going to bother rewriting it all out. Plus, her recipe is quite fun to read and the pictures are great. I added about a cup or so of canned pumpkin to her recipe... and maybe some other stuff... I don't really remember... But, whatever, they were really delicious. I froze a gazillion pans of them after the last rising period. I recommend if you are going to do that, be very careful when you cover them with plastic and foil because you DON'T. WANT. TO. DEFLATE. THEM!

Perhaps the next time I make these... after I eat them all and weigh 400 pounds, I would quick freeze them all unwrapped and puffy and THEN cover them. I would also recommend thawing them on the counter overnight instead of in the fridge (and please remember to take OFF the plastic wrap before baking them!) unless you have curious kitties that prowl the counter tops at night, which in that case, I would just shove it into a turned off oven.

My next step was muffins, muffins and more muffins. I was trying to decide on the best way to make-ahead and freeze muffins -- bake them first and then freeze or freeze the uncooked batter in muffin tins before plopping them into freezer bags. Online were mixed reviews -- obviously. Some people said that as long as you were using some sort of leavening agent, your muffins would never rise if you froze them before baking. Some people said it worked just fine.

So... I did a little bit of each. I made four batches each of chive-corn muffins and pumpkin-corn muffins (see a bit of a pattern here, folks?). I froze half of those batches in their very own muffin tins before freezing them and baked the other half before freezing.

I gotta say that when I reheated the prebaked ones, they were awfully good. I placed them in round cake pans, sealed up tightly with aluminum foil and baked them until they felt soft (scientific, right?). They of course were fantastic right out of the oven and dried up a bit once they cooled off, but the five that I shoved into my face when no one (no one?) was looking just proved that homemade muffins, a tad bit dry or not, are still wonderful.

I just recently busted out the frozen muffin batter and cooked those babies up. I baked them at the same temperature the recipe recommended for probably the same amount of time. Hard sayin', since I was also chasing around two toddlers and trying to make dinner at the same time.

They puffed up just fine, everyone! In fact, they. were. delicious. They did get a little bit brown on the tops and sides, but that never stopped anyone from eating a muffin, now, did it? I would highly recommend using those little tin foil baking cups instead of the paper ones... or perhaps just spray the paper cups with cooking spray (which I never seem to do).

Chive-Corn Muffins

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional, obviously)
• 1/2 chopped fresh chives
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F. Spray 10 standard muffin cups (each about 1/3-cup capacity) or 30 mini-muffin cups with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cayenne pepper in medium bowl. Stir in chives. In another medium bowl whisk yogurt, eggs, and melted butter. Add yogurt mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
2. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, using about 1/3 cup batter for each standard muffin cup or about 1 generous tablespoon for each mini-muffin cup.
3. Bake until muffins are puffed and golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes for standard muffins and 14 minutes for mini-muffins. Transfer pans to rack and let muffins cool in pans. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Leave muffins in pans; let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in 350°F oven just until warm, about 5 minutes.) Remove from pans and serve.
   

Pumpkin-Corn Muffins

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional, obviously -- raisins or dried cranberries would be a great substitute here!)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In a large bowl, stir flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and make a well in the center. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and oil.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Stir just until blended; do not over mix. Fold in pecans. Divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin tin cups.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Had enough cookbook-time, yet? Don't worry, I'm almost done here.

Our Saturday lunch consisted of one of my favorite salads, which I have not made in a VERY long time. It was nice to dust off some of my older (before kiddos) recipes and make a somewhat grown-up meal.

The first salad was a dilled beet salad with cucumber salsa. The second was a simple cannellini and basil salad. Both are terrific and If anyone wants either of the recipes, let me know!


The main course was a roasted squash and pepper tart from Better Homes and Gardens. I haven't made this in who-knows-how-long (I guess it was since 07/07/08, since that is what my copy of the recipe print-out says!), but it was just as yummy as I remember it being!

• 3 cups cups cut up squash, such as pattypan, yellow summer squash, or zucchini
• 2 red and/or yellow sweet peppers, cut into wide strips
• 1 large sweet onion and/or fennel bulb, cut into wedges
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• Salt or salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 oz. Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 of a 17.3-oz. pkg. frozen puff pastry sheets (1 sheet), thawed
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 4 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbs. snipped fresh thyme (you can use dried, if necessary!)
• 1 cup purchased refrigerated creamy Parmesan dressing
• 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion
  

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat sides and bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread squash, sweet peppers, and onion wedges in pan. Toss with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes or until tender, stirring once.
2. Meanwhile, using a vegetable peeler, cut Parmesan cheese in thin strips. Set aside. On lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry to 13x9-inch rectangle. Remove baking pan from oven. Add tomatoes to pan. Toss vegetables with balsamic vinegar and half the Parmesan cheese. Spread vegetables evenly in pan. Lay pastry over vegetables, tucking in edges. Return pan to oven; bake for 15 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
3. Remove pan from oven; cool 5 minutes. Invert a 15x10x1-inch baking pan over pan with pastry. Carefully invert pans together; remove 13x9 pan. Transfer any vegetables that stick to finished tart. Sprinkle tart evenly with remaining cheese and 2 teaspoons of the thyme. In small bowl stir together dressing, chopped onion, and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme. Cut in squares. Serve tart warm or at room temperature with dressing.
   

wordless wednesday.

just a typical night at our house.

happy birthday, daddy!

Happy birthday, daddy!

What can I say?

You : :

• work at least 681 hours each day to support this {growing} family.
• give the kiddos their baths almost exclusively.
• let me head off to the gym and pool three times a week {all while being in charge of dinner and pjs!}.
• put up with my mood swings and can usually coax a smile from me when I'm really seething.
• are the {poster-child} of a "good guy." Be proud, Grandma and Grandpa D, you DID WELL!
• don't think twice about changing diapers or scrubbing faces after dinner.
• have been known to let me sleep in.
• are {still} wonderfully good lookin'.
• are passionate about your family.
• are {still} a kid at heart... can you say "potato gun"?
• are practical when I've gotten my head in the clouds.
• are a dreamer when I can't see past the {concrete} of the day-to-day.
• {try} really, really hard at just about everything.
• have been known to go with me clothes or craft shopping.
• support me.
• were made for me!

Happy 3-2 honey! I can't wait for the next 32!

days of summer :: Hartman Rocks

Last Sunday, we followed the tail end of summer out to Hartman Rocks. We hadn't been there since early spring, and the weather was terrific for this little mid-morning excursion. Rowen is getting to be such a big guy! He was non-stop climbing all over the rocks... He was quite cure-footed, but it definitely was a good thing to have two adults around... one to either walk with or carry Finley in her pack and the other to keep an eye (and hand when necessary!) on Rowen.

Finley loves her pack. I am so glad we invested in this specific one. It never quite panned out for the whole reason why I thought I just had to have it in the first place (airplane travel), but it has been ideal for her, ever since she was old enough to hold her head up, for hiking, camping and music festivals. Once the new little one comes along, we might have to look for another one!

Hartman Rocks is not only a great biking and climbing mecca, but it is ideal for hiking and exploration. When Greg and I first met, we used to come here and camp. We've been to many parties out here among the rocks. When we were long overdue with Rowen, Greg and I spent many afternoons here, hiking... and hiking... and hiking...

Now, we get to bring our kiddos out here and enjoy this land through their eyes.

Afterwards, it was off to Firebrand for lunch. What more could you ask for on a lazy Sunday afternoon!

days of summer :: beaver ponds.

Last month we followed summer high over Ohio Pass to the Beaver Ponds. We had attempted the trip earlier in the spring, only to find way too many feet of slushy snow on the trail. Much too much snow for our flip-flopped feet!

This day was much more accommodating to our clothing choices as well as the kiddos!

The weather was remarkable, the path clear and quiet, and the day went by much too quickly.

Rowen was very eager to begin the trek while still in the parking lot.

Finley was quite content to chill out in the pack for the ride.

We've been working with Lucy to stay at the 'back of the pack' instead of always feeling the need to charge ahead and plow over whomever is in the lead.

Unfortunately, that didn't necessarily mean ahead of me! I think we are both vying for 2nd position in the family, but she was doing much better once we were well on our way into the hike.

We saw lots of great views of nature. It has recently rained and many critters were out enjoying the cool morning air.

The ponds were quiet when we got there. One other couple was fishing and we met a few people coming down the trail on our way up. We stopped at the water's edge for a much-appreciated snack before exploring...

We continued around the pond and found a little stream, coming off from one of the actual dams. The water was SO COLD but very inviting to toddlers and preschoolers... There were lots of pebbles and sticks to throw and mud to squish.

Returning to the trail, while making our way around the entire pond were fields and fields full of wildflowers, still in bloom. It was a nice contrast with the obvious end of summer feel to that area.

We also discovered some old, old bear claw tracks in some of the aspens lining the trail. That was pretty fun for Rowen, although Finley was pretty worn out by that time...

i {heart} fall.

Living in the mountains, falls creeps up on us quicker than in other places. We still have bright, sunny, 70 degree weather, but the mornings are crisp and trees suprise you with bright yellow pops of color. The afternoons blow in a rainy storm, and sudden gusts of qind can suprise you at any moment.

I {love} the fall. I love summer, I get excited about spring. I love winter and snow. But I {LOVE} fall. I love the cooler days -- there is nother better than shorts, sandals and sweatshirts. I love being able to wear a jacket in the evening. I love the feel of the fall holidays. I love the colors of fall.

AND. I. LOVE. FALL. FOOD.

We were a bit early, but I just couldn't stop thinking of making something pumpkin-y. We had everything we needed, so I gathered everyone in the kitchen and we worked on making an extra-healthy whole wheat pumpkin cake.

Rowen was pretty pleased with himself. He was quite a little helper. I thought I was bring clever by giving Finley her own bowl and spoon and a little sample of some of the dry ingredients to mix around. Uh, yea... she was onto me and spent the whole time spooning ingredients from the real mixing bowl into her own. They both discovered that they love raw rolled oats but raw pumpkin isn't as good as it looks.

We had an incredible mess afterwards. I must admit, as much as I understand that the important thing to baking with kiddos is the time spent together, it also drives me {up the wall} with the amount of mess that I end up cleaning up after-the-fact. Finley felt that it was her soul responsibility to spread out as much flour as she could on the counter and then proceed with wiping it into the floor because the counter was "messy."

Nevertheless, the cake was a hit, more so with Rowen than Finley -- but I think that was due to the amount of whole wheat and the absence of real sugar. My little girl has a sweet tooth!

I loved it and {probably} ate more of it than everyone else combined... but it was healthy... right???

Right???

first glimpse.

Today was our scheduled 20 week (we were actually 20 weeks a couple of weeks ago -- OOPS!) ultrasound at the local hospital. We had originally made plans for Rowen and Finley to play with Addie and Nolan, but Rowen really wanted to come with us to "look at pictures of the baby."

Huh, I thought... why didn't I even THINK of inviting him along in the first place?

Even the promise of bike riding and sand boxes wouldn't change his mind. I packed some snacks and his iPod (just in case) and we were all off to the hospital after dropping Finley off with Lynna and her kiddos.

On a side note, does anyone know how much water 36 ounces is? Just wondering, because at I sure didn't. I was told to empty my bladder an hour before the appointment and then drink 36 ounces after that... quickly.

I like water. Really, I do. I try and drink it throughout the day. I don't think I drink as much as I could, but I like it.

But when the clock is ticking and you have not one -- but two -- full-to-the-top glasses on the kitchen counter staring back at you, it's a bit intimidating. It actually is a lot of water to gulp down at one time.

Y'all should try it.

Pregnant or not, it's like being in one of those reality game shows where you have to perform some ridiculous stunt in some sort of relay race. Totally cool, except that you don't have lots and lots of lights and cameras in your face, nor do you win a prize or go on to bigger and better things like Celebrity Survivor or Dancing With the Stars.

Anyway, off to the hospital.

A good friend of ours performed the ultrasound... she also did Rowen's, so that was nice to have her with us again. Rowen was great. The last time we brought him along for Finley's ultrasound he was SO little and SO wiggly and SO obnoxious! Greg spent more time pulling him out from under the tables and trying to keep him from whining and screaming than he did actually watching the pictures on the screen!

This time, they had crayons, workbooks and poster board at a desk in the ultrasound room for kiddos that get brought along to these things. He loved it... until the lights went off. Then he just kept telling everyone that he "couldn't see anything 'cause it's soooooo dark." We convinced him that he could see just fine, and he drew us a picture of a superhero and a submarine...

He actually was very interested in the pictures of the little carrot when Dani began the ultrasound. He could point out the head and nose and arms. He loved listening to the heart and was comparing his femur to the baby's femur.

Everything looks right on schedule. It's measuring right around where it should be, the heart rate was 145-146 (it's been in the mid 150's at previous OB appointments), and all organs appear to be where they should be, doing what should be doing...

It took the standard hour for the entire "procedure" but it sure felt like it went much quicker this time. We didn't get as many pictures to take home with us as we had in the past, nor did we get many videos of the babe kicking around. We actually only got one...

Finley had a great time with Addie and Nolan and Lynna is certain that she and Finley finally bonded. Finley has actually been much more pleasant lately (all those teeth that finally came through?) and Lynna was grateful for the time to spend with her.

I'm off to see Dr. Niccoli tomorrow!

Enjoy the lovely photos. Seriously, these are ALL that we got...

bite me.

As difficult as this is to admit... we officially have a biter in the family.

I must say, I am quite embarrassed to even tell anyone about it, because I never thought that we'd be a family with someone who *gasps* bites! I suppose I was always in the category of quietly thinking to myself, "that poor mom... thank God that isn't me..."

Our dear, sweet, innocent Finley is a biter. She bites Rowen, she bites her toys, she bites herself, she will bite furniture if there is nothing else accessible.

She definitely bites out of anger and frustration. Usually, it is during a power struggle with Rowen over a toy. However, it also happens at just the threat of someone looking at the toy she has funny, like they may possibly be thinking of touching it.

She'll sometimes bite her own hand when she is being told something that she doesn't want to hear.

I've tried the, "We don't bite. Biting hurts." I must admit, I've also lost patience and given time outs (which, by the way, don't work with our little miss firecracker) and I've even raised my voice. I've tried showering the attention on the victim (most likely Rowen, but poor Nolan has gotten in the way once or twice) and making her apologize and help with cleaning the bite area. Yeah, right... She actually will get herself more worked up when asked to say that she is sorry and give a hug to the bite-ee that she was when the biting happened.

Does that mean she is realizing how biting is wrong?

She really is not talking as much as I thought she would be at this age. She has quite a few words, and loves to try and mimic others. She definitely can say "no" and uses it all of the time... often the word "no" is muffled by the slobbery, fleshy sound of teeth and hands... or fingers... or chest...

My dear friend, the director of our city's daycare/preschool center, has even told me about a recent study with toddler bitings and the lack of crunchy foods in their diets. I've even tried upping the amounts of crackers and raw veggies!

Anyone? Anyone? Any new, miraculous ideas?

Anyone want to take her and bring her back when she is bite-free and potty trained?

zoos, family and self-hypnosis.

Howdy, everyone!

Our bags are packed... we're ready to go...

We're leaving tomorrow morning (actually I think it will still technically be night) to head off to the big city. Specifically, for our weekend-long HypnoBirthing class, but we thought that we'd throw in a few fun activities here and there.

First off, we're planning on meeting Grandma D (and perhaps Grandpa D?) here in Colorado Springs first thing in the morning. Our class doesn't being until later tomorrow evening, so we get to hang at the zoo for the morning, probably have a terrific lunch, get the kiddos to their nap, visit with the family a bit and leave the entire evening routine up to the grandparents (ha ha ha). And dare I say, possibly dinner and movie afterwards... really? Alone?

Our Saturday class begins around noon, so I think the agenda for the day is to leave the kids with the grandparents to scope out the city and get spoiled and head off car shopping -- san small children who get bored easily, especially when your standing out on hot asphalt in 500 degree weather -- before class, and perhaps continue with the shopping after class.

We are in desperate need of a bigger car once this little banana comes along. Even now, with our 4,000 pound, 6 month-old English Mastiff, two children, their car seats and all of their "stuff" there is barely enough room for Greg and myself. So... needless to say... as sad as I will be to see our good ol' Subaru -- who has seen our family through lots of pavement... as well as non-pavement -- I am so excited to have a larger car with more room for all of us! I was a bit picky about what car I wanted (Toyota Sequoia)... that is, until we found out how much one actually costs... Now I am a bit more open to the actual make (Dodge, Ford... perhaps even Chevy...), but I do have a couple of luxury requests. Can anyone guess what they might be? We're going to hit as many dealers as we can, just to physically be able to look at each option. Looking on the Internet can only get you so far, and it sure does make a difference when you can actually open the doors and picture all of your crap inside of it!

Sunday will start off with the last of our classes, so we can finish up in time to drive back home before it gets too late. Hopefully there is another awesome big city lunch in our future somewhere in the middle of all of it!

I've been listening to the CDs that our instructor sent to us ahead of time, and I just began delving into the HypnoBirthing book. I have actually read it before, many years ago, so it is nice to revisit all of the chapters! Wish us luck. Has anyone else had experience with self-hypnosis during childbirth? (If it was in any way, shape or form, negative experiences, please keep it tightly to yourself until after January!)

new goings ons 'round here...

Well... there you have it. I must admit, our fine blog here has really taken the backseat to other things this summer.

I think about it.

I really do.

I actually get on the computer.

I waste a lot of time on the computer.

I take lots of pictures.

Said pictures are still hibernating on my cameras, waiting to be loved enough to be downloaded onto said computer.

I can't believe that I only posted the first day of our Michigan vacation.

Dare I admit that our vacation was over ONE MONTH ago?

It's a good thing I have those on-the-ball ladies from BlogHer always riding me about not posting enough.

Anyway... on to the biggest news around here...

I guess it isn't a secret to most friends and family... but since many of your out there may not be privileged to the word-travels-faster-than-the-old-gossipy-lady-across-the-fence we'll spell it out for you here.

We're going to have a baby.

Another baby.

Unfortunately, that means that the blog name has to change unless we kick someone out and I still like everyone too much to do that now. So, if you are reading in a reader, you can click on over here to see my new handiwork. Someday, I'll get a picture of the little peach and maybe even update the other kiddo's photos... someday...

So, let's see... what kind of pertinent information can I give out?

We are due January 7th, 2010. That means that Finley will be 21 months old and Rowen will just be a little over 3 1/2. Of course, our kids seem to like hanging out in my uterus so much, they tend to kick back for a couple of extra weeks. Who knows, maybe this one will feel like it is too stretched out and worn and reused that it'll actually want to make it's appearance on time! It's got a lot of hand-me-downs to get through... there is no reason to hang out in the first one for too long.

We found out that we were pregnant when I was about 10 weeks along. My chiropractor's wife actually told me... long story... but it all started with some X-rays and me thinking, "hmmm, you know... maybe... well, there's a SLIGHT chance that I may be... well... er... probably not... but maybe I could be... er..." It continued with the chiropractor's office sending me over to the hospital for a blood test since I was certain that if I WAS pregnant it was super, super early and ended with his wife/office manager calling me at home saying, "well, I'm sure that you stuck around to wait for your results," and me saying, "well, uh... no, actually I have two kids at home. I can't really just sit around the hospital, reading People magazine and drinking my decaf vanilla latte waiting for some lab tech to get to my lab results."

So, she responded by saying, "Well, you're pregnant."

I laughed and then said that I guess I won't be getting any X-rays done.

I then called Greg who was down in the lower part of the log yard and told him. Mind you, he had NO idea that I was going to the hospital to get any sort of blood work done. The last thing he knew was that I was headed to the chiropractors for my second consultation.

Poor baby... already getting the shaft from the very beginning. What ever happened to the couple waiting in the bathroom together, watching for those little blue lines to form? What happened to the lovingly made card that announced to the new father the BIG NEWS?

Oh well.

Things are going well. I've been to our OB a few times -- had my normal blood work done and most recently my Quad Screen results. I am continuing my thyroid blood work check regularly and will be scheduling our 20 week Ultrasound with the hospital by the end of the month.

We are still planning to move to Denver for the delivery, no thanks to our little backwoods hospital here that will not perform VBACs anymore, and will be using our previous OB and doula there that assisted with Finley's birth.

We are also going to be taking HypnoBirthing classes. I am very excited for those classes and am looking forward to gaining another tool that I can use during this labor and delivery. Hopefully we will take an accelerated course this month and I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Other than that, there isn't much more going on. Rowen loves telling anyone that he sees that we are going to have another baby. Finley is very interested in lifting up my shirt, pointing quizzically at my belly button, giving my belly a quick smooch and saying "baby." I am finally feeling good... I was SO SO SO sick during the first trimester, I had a hard time making it through a typical day with the kiddos. We left for Michigan days after I began feeling like I wasn't going to die which calmed a lot of my fears about how I was going to take care of the kids by myself for nine days, on top to flying with them. But it was all good... I felt okay and everyone did well.

I am starting to show quite a bit (good ol' uteruses with the memory of an elephant!) but keep reminding Greg that it isn't ALL baby! At least... not all this new baby! :)

We'll be 18 weeks along this Thursday and the heart rate has been right in the low 150s. I haven't really gained any extra weight yet. I'm still going to the gym three or four days a week and will probably switch out a couple of those days for swimming laps once I get too big to waddle through an hour of running.

Greg and I both have our early gut feelings about the sex of this baby! Of course, I'm not going to share them with you now, but feel free to play along! We were both certain that Rowen was a boy all along and neither could guess at what Finley was the whole pregnancy!

Here's to babies and blogging and enjoying what is left of summer. I'll try to get the first ultrasound picture up and posted soon, or you just might have to wait until we hit 20 weeks!