Multiple Blessings

Kate Gosselin has written a book called Multiple Blessings and it is SO GOOD. I picked it up to read before bed and I've almost finished it tonight. My husband ended up "kicking me out" of our room so he could turn the light off and sleep so I'll just move somewhere else and finish it where he won't be bothered. :) Anywho, Kate tells their story from the beginning and it's just fascinating. I have laughed and cried tonight! They're just such a special family, and all they've been through makes my "daily trials" seem so small. I'm really good at making mountains out of molehills so this was a nice little dose of perspective. You should totally read it! Thanks, Jennie, for lending it to me!

Also, Thanksgiving was a total success. I'll tell you more about that another time. And Black Friday was pretty successful too! I went to the Outlets at Albertville and only hit two stores but got some great deals on clothes for the kids for next year, including a winter coat for each of them!!! Woo-hoo!

Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
1 c. oil
2 c. sugar (Could do half brown, half white)
1 can pumpkin
2 c. flour (I use half whole wheat, half white)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Mix eggs, oil, sugar and pumpkin together in a large bowl. Sift in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 12x18x1-inch pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Frosting:
1 6-oz pkg cream cheese
3/4 stick butter
1 T. cream or milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, vanilla, butter and milk together until soft. Add powdered sugar until correct consistency to spread.

Ezekiel 4:9

I learned about this bread from another blog. I gave it a try and I really like it. It's very different - more dense because it doesn't contain any flour - but it makes great toast! This company also makes some gluten free breads that my mom eats.

19 weeks

He is changing so much. His personality is coming out and he's more and more fun every day. He LOVES Lily and thinks she's hilarious. Andy and I have to do all our best tricks to make him laugh and all Lily has to do is talk to him and he giggles. It is ADORABLE! The other day while she was taking her bath I held him up to watch her play in the tub and he giggled at her almost the whole time.

He spent his first night in his crib on Saturday night. It went pretty well, although I have enjoyed having him in our room for middle-of-the-night feedings and don't so much enjoy climbing the stairs now. We're playing it be ear...

He found his feet today! He was sitting in him Bumbo chair and staring at his feet as he's done plenty of other times. But this time he reached out and grabbed his right foot. So cute.

Lily loves dresses. She has a closet full of cute clothes that I can hardly get her to wear because she'd rather just wear a dress. Her second choice is what she calls "comfy pants" which includes any pants that are fleecey and cozy. I don't mind letting her wear a dress and tights but she doesn't have *that* many dresses. She's really starting to love coloring as well. She'll sit at her "big girl table" - a kids table that I had in my classroom - and draw little pictures or color in a coloring book for big chunks of time. And she draws some pretty good characters! Round bodies, arms, legs, eyes and eyelashes and even hair. I should take a picture of some of her drawings and post them.

It's been a very rough week in the sleep department. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but Taylor is sometimes up every two hours or so and I'm exhausted. I didn't want to move him up to his room until he was sleeping for longer chunks of time, but I also felt like I needed him to get used to it and hope that it'll maybe help him sleep longer to be in there. I don't know...

We've also been a little under the weather with colds this week. Andy and Lily had it first, and now today I'm sneezing like crazy and my nose is running. PRAY that we can be healthy for Thursday and that Taylor doesn't catch it!!!

We're getting excited to have my family here on Thursday and "preparations" have definitely begun. I grocery shopped today and got the turkey. A friend of mine gave me a coupon for a FREE turkey!!! I was so excited. She had two coupons and she and her husband don't need two turkeys so she shared with us and I'm so grateful! I also made pumpkin bars and put them in the freezer. I'll pull them out in time to frost them for Thursday but they're yummy cold.

So I did another terrible job of taking pictures this week. You'd think I'd learn my lesson after last week but not so. Maybe it's because I'm half asleep...

My kids hanging out on the counter in their jammies on Friday morning

My sweet little 19-week old boy

Honeyed Sweet Potatoes

Another recipe that I'll be using on Thursday:

3 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. butter, cut up
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Place sweet potatoes in a Dutch oven or large saucepan with enough lightly salted water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes or until sweet potatoes are nearly tender when pierced with a fork. Drain. Transfer potatoes to a greased 2 qt. square baking dish.

Mix brown sugar, honey, butter, and ginger in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Boil gently for 3 minutes. Pour over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender, basting occasionally with sauce. Serve immediately. (Serves 8-10) Delish!!!

Bring her back the same way she left

My cousin Chrissy emailed me today and sent this picture. Her squad prays together each morning as they get ready to patrol the streets of downtown Baghdad. She says they pray this:

Dear Lord we ask for your protection today as we break wire, we ask that u keep our brothers and sisters safe out there. Let us make smart and safe decisions, Lord help us be faster, smarter, and quicker than the enemy. Let your angels protect us against the threat. Watch over our families and friends back home as we know they worry about our saftey. bring us all back the same way we left. Amen.

It reminds me Matthew 18:20 which says, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them." It's SO encouraging to me to know that the same God who is by my side today is also in her midst on the other side of the world.

I'd appreciate your prayers for her as the holiday season is here. Pray for her safety, for her spirits to be high, and for her to sense the presence of the Lord right by her side. Pray also for her mother, my auntie Shari. She desperately misses her daughter!!!

Chrissy says she is to the left of the guy directly in the middle. Her hands are crossed in front of her.

Hosting Thanksgiving

It's our year to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. And they're coming to our house this time around. I'm really excited about it. One of the main reasons is that we don't have to drag all our baby paraphernalia to the cities! My parents are coming and my Aunt Shari and my Grandma Elaine. Sadly, Mandi and Bryan probably won't be able to make it. Bryan is graduating in December and is on the home stretch with school projects/finals, etc so he's gonna stay home and put the pedal to the metal. Anway, now I'm in "menu mode" as I try to figure out what to make for Thanksgiving dinner. Here's how it's shaping up: My Aunt Shari is bringing a green bean dish, her famous 7 layer salad and some bread. My mom is bringing her corn dish, a potato dish and a dessert. And as of now I'm making the bird (my first time ever! yikes!)and corn bread stuffing, a sweet potato dish, an apple pie and coffee/cider. I'm also considering making a pumpkin bread or pumpkin bars. Do you think that's enough food for 6 adults and 1 Lily??? Bring on those extra holiday pounds!!! I just love Thanksgiving, though, and I'm really looking forward to just spending the day with the people that I love most in the world and taking time to count all our abundant blessings.

Here's my Cranberry-Apple Cornbread Stuffing recipe. It serves 12-14 so I've cut it in half in the past.

Cranberry-Apple Cornbread Stuffing

1/2 c. butter
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 c. chopped yellow onion
6 c. crumbled corn bread or corn bread stuffing mix (2 8-oz packages)
6 c. dry white or wheat bread cubes
2 c. chopped unpeeled Granny Smith apples
1 c. dried cranberries, cherries, or raisins
1 1/2 tsp. dried sage leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 c. chicken broth

In a large Dutch oven melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir celery and onion in hot butter about 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat.
Stir corn bread, bread cubes, apples, cranberries, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper into onion mixture. Drizzle with enough broth to moisten, tossing lightly to combine.
Spoon stuffing into a 3 qt. baking dish. Bake, covered, at 325 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake for 15 to 20 minutes more or until heated through and to desired moistness.
Yummo!!!

Beautiful Life

So you know that I'm a fan of Jon and Kate plus 8 and I love the new commercial for their show on TLC. It's just such a pretty commercial! Here's a clip. Love it!



And the song in its entirety is on YouTube as well so I had to share.

YoKids

Another product that we like around here: YoKids Organic Yogurt from Stonyfield Yogurt. It is found in the natural foods dairy case at the grocery store. Lily loves this stuff and it tastes SO GOOD! Here's why I choose this yogurt for Lily:
No fillers
No gelatin
No artificial coloring
No pesticides, antibiotics or hormones
and No artificial anything else

All that info and more is available at the Stonyfield website. And, get this! You can print a fifty cent coupon and give this yummy yogurt a try! It's delish!

18 weeks

Taylor's 4 month well child exam went well. He weighed 16 pounds 4 ounces and is 26 inches long. That's puts him in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. But his little head is only in the 50th percentile!!! Isn't that so hard to believe? I feel like he has such a big melon. :) I had the vaccinati*n discussion with our doctor and that went well too. I was so nervous but I feel like she really listened and asked questions and tried to understand what my concerns are. I'm still doing research and when I have a better handle on how we're going to proceed I'll tell you more...

The kids and I spent the weekend in the cities with my parents. It was lovely. I got to do some shopping. :) (the Hanna Andersson Outlet was having a big sale and I got some organic cotton jammies for the kids - I love those and I cannot afford them at full price so I watch for sales!) But mainly it was just nice to spend time with them. I know I talk about my parents a lot but I just love them! They have always been such a major support system for me and have continued to be so as I've become a wife and a mother. And I so appreciate their involvement in my kids' life. And sometimes I feel like Andy and I will need all the help we can get to raise our kids in this crazy world! My dad, bless his heart, asked what I wanted for breakfast on Sunday morning. I said crepes because we used to have those quite often growing up and I haven't had them for years. Well, he made them for me and they were absolutely delicious! It was such a sweet thing to do and I appreciated it so much.

Andy put up our Christmas tree last night with help from Lily. It was so fun for both of us to see how excited she was! She's finally old enough this year to understand what's happening and to want to be a part of it. She was just delighted to help her daddy put ornaments on the tree. It was precious. We played Christmas music to enhance the mood and it was so fun to hear her singing along, "...and heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing." So cute. And as for putting up the Christmas decorations already - Thanksgiving is so late this year and we want to be able to enjoy the Christmas stuff a little longer!

Taylor's biggest news is that he tried cereal for the first time last night!!! It was more or less a success. He ate it. But he was frustrated in between "bites" since it wasn't a constant flow. :) He'd get mad and then try to suck on the spoon. But for his first attempt I think he did great.

I did a TERRIBLE job taking pictures this week. I didn't even get one of Taylor on Saturday - his 4 month birthday! I don't even believe it. Absolutey terrible. But here are a couple snapshots from this week:

Lily hanging ornaments on the tree

Taylor's 18 week birthday
You can see how broken out his face is - poor little guy. The doctor suggested ster*id cream but I'd rather not put that on my baby's face and we're going to try some other things to try to give him some relief

He has the biggest and best smile. His eyes light up and it's contagious!

17 weeks

Some highlights of our week:

• My parents came up on Friday and spent the day with us. They entertained the kids so that I could get a bunch of cleaning done. It was wonderful! Andy and I also went on a date while they watched Lily. We took Taylor with us so that we wouldn't have to hurry back for a feeding. :)
• We hosted the Appetizer stop of our Young Couples Progressive Dinner on Saturday evening. It was lots of fun. The next stop was the main course - yummy tacos - at our friends Chad and Megan's house and then desserts at Jonny and Emily's house. Lily spent the evening at her friend Olivia's and had a great time.
• Sunday we went to Minneapolis. Andy and my dad went to the Vikings game while I and the kids hung out with my mom. I also snuck in a little visit to the mall which was nice.
• Taylor sits in the Bumbo chair regularly now and seems to enjoy sitting like a big boy. He's so cute in there. He is also legitimately reaching for toys now. When he's in the exersaucer he stares down one of the toys and then his chubby little hand reaches for it. It's so amazing. Yesterday he wore a pair of 12 month jammies for the first time. And they're none too big on him! This kid is growing like a stinkin' weed! My little baby is getting so big. Tomorrow is his 4 month well child exam so I'm anxious to see how much he weighs. It's also going to be a big day for me because I'm going to talk with our doctor about delaying vaccinations for him. This is a big deal for me. And I'll have to tell you more about it in another post.
• Lily wrote her name today. All by herself. See photo below. Tonight she hugged her baby brother and said, "I love you, Taylor." And then said to me, "I love him." Absolutely precious.
• Today it snowed. Oh. My. Word. I'm not ready for this!!!

Here are a few snapshots of our week:

My talented and loving Aunt Deb Crabtree sent this quilt for Taylor. It's absolutely gorgeous and it brought tears to my eyes when I opened it. What a gift!

Tummy time on the new quilt. He's getting so strong!

Having a conversation with Grandpa Sam

Precious

She loves magnifying glasses!!! Isn't this hilarious???

Taylor's 17 week birthday

Andy's brother and his wife gave Taylor this cute SCSU sweatsuit. It's so cute!

She wrote her name!!! She also wrote MOM and DAD today but those were a little harder to read. She's brilliant!!!

Daddy and Taylor

My beautiful kids

She's playing with his feet - she loves to try to make him smile

Fight FOCA Petition

Please sign the petition!!! This is a little thing that we can all do to try to defend LIFE!

Kate Gosselin's Hearty Meatloaf

I saw a commercial for Good Morning America and saw that the Gosselin family was going to be on the show. I LOVE Jon and Kate plus 8 and I watch it whenever I can. Their story is so incredible and I love that they're a Christian family. I'm also inspired by Kate's organization and her love for nutrition and organic cooking. Anyway, I never watch morning television but I tuned in to see the Gosslins on GMA and Kate demonstrated her meatloaf recipe. So I tried it and we really enjoyed it. Andy even asked me to make it again! :) Now that is sayin' something! In my opinion, it is a little heavy on the veggies - I can't put my finger on it - maybe too oniony for me??? I don't love onions so that might be it. But besides that it's a yummy meatloaf and as I've said before, I'm all about hiding veggies in food. :) I'm going to share the recipe here but you can also get it at the GMA website too.

Kate's Hearty Meatloaf

2 pounds organic ground beef (I used non organic)
2-3 eggs
Finely chopped (I use food processor on pulse) celery, onion, green pepper, carrots- about 3/4-1 cup of each.
About 1½-2 cups of breadcrumbs - Italian seasoned if on hand. Otherwise, plain works too. May need more breadcrumbs depending on the consistency of the meatloaf.
About 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
About ¼ to ½ cup ketchup (I used organic)
About 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
About 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
(I added some of my favorite Flax Seed Meal too)

Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and divide equally into two separate meat loaves. Add a squirt of ketchup to the top of each in a zig-zaggy design. Cover with foil and bake in either a meatloaf pan or a glass bread baking dish at 350 degrees for about an hour (depending on oven) or until bubbly and center is no longer pink.

During the last 15 minutes or so, remove foil covering and finish baking uncovered.

She obviously makes this for 10 people! So I put it in mini loaf pans to cook individually for our little family. :) The rest are in the freezer and it's so nice to have extra meals on hand!!!

Go Rock, Obama!

This is John Piper's grandson attempting to say the name of our President-elect. It's absolutely hilarious!!! He tries so hard at the end and almost gets it...

Alphatots

I've been shopping more in the natural foods section of our grocery store and found these Alphatots. Lily LOVES the ABCs right now and also LOVES french fries and tater tots. So I thought this would be a perfect combo of those two loves for her. :) I like that they're wheat/gluten free and also milk/egg free. One of her little friends has a dairy allergy and every great once in awile I watch this friend and sometimes struggle to find dairy-free things for her to eat besides just fruit and veggies. SO MANY products contain dairy!!! Even the breading on some chicken nuggets! So I know she could eat these when she comes to our house. My biggest complaint is how small the bag is - only 12 oz - and once Taylor is big enough to eat these we'll probably go through a bag in two meals, maybe three. Anyway, just wanted to share my fun find...

We just elected the most pro-ab*rtion President in our history. This man has never voted to reduce ab*rtions and as an Illinois Senator wouldn't vote to protect babies who survived ab*rtion!!! Living, breathing tiny human beings! Left to die. And he didn't vote to stop it. All I can do is shake my head at the millions of people in this country who bought his "Change" message and thought that was more important than what he'll do on family value issues. One day, people, we will be held accountable for every word and deed here on earth. God is the final Judge and when I see Him face to face I'll be able to say that I voted for Life. I didn't vote my pocketbook. I didn't vote environmental issues. I voted in a way that I believe aligns with God's Word and in a way that allows my conscience to be clear. But my heart is heavy. What is the future of ab*rtion in America? I tremble to think about the millions more lives that will be lost to this barbaric practice. And a President who is indifferent to the brevity of killing the littlest Americans.

I just read an article from One News Now. They are a national Christian news service that presents the news from a biblical perspective. I SO appreciate that! This article sums up what I believe to be true about the effects of this Presidential election on our future freedoms as Christians.

You might think I'm a one-note musician and that I ignore other important issues. But until this issue of ultimate importance is taken care of I'll continue to sing my one note. Over and over again. This isn't the most fun I've had writing a post. But you know me. I'm all about the truth even when it isn't fun to hear.

So now I pray. I pray for God to change his heart, open his eyes and give him wisdom.

Here are a couple sites you could check out about what the pro-life movement is up to:
The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (WARNING: This site contains graphic images of the brutal reality of abortion.)
Abort73
Self Evident Tuth

16 weeks

This was a fun week. Dave and April were here for the closing on their house. We did get to spend a little time with them on Wednesday night and it was so fun. Their girls are getting so big. I sure do miss them!

Friday was of course October 31st and our children were dressed as a Candy Corn and a Bumblebee. We went trick-or-treating to a few places and then went to the Family Fun Fest at the Civic Center. It's put on every year by a local church and we'd never tried it before. It was fabulous!!! There were three big rooms full of fun things for kids to do. There were ring tosses, bean bag tosses, face painting, an awesome inflatable, and LOTS of candy! It's nice that it takes place indoors too because it doesn't matter what the weather is doing - everybody is dry, comfortable and happy. :) Lily loved it and after every booth she'd say, "Can we try something else??? Can we play another game???" She just had a ball and I'm sure we'll be back at the fun fest next year. :)

Taylor is doing really well. His personality is really blossoming. He is just such a fun little guy. He is so alert and is always turning his head and craning his neck to check things out. His eczema has been better the last few days. I've really made an effort to keep his face moisturized, especially while he's sleeping. I had a total epiphany while Dave and April were here. Hailey had some terrible eczema on her face/neck and has been put on a steroid cream which cleared her skin up. But before that she used to wake up throughout the night and they think her face was bothering her. Taylor often wakes up and scratches at his face and so I wonder if his skin is bothering him too??? And if we could give him some relief would he sleep better? His 4 month well child exam is coming up and I'm planning to discuss that with our doctor. He has decided that he doesn't like bottles. He was doing so well with that and then we slacked off for awhile and now he refuses! It's so frustrating. But since nursing is going well I'm trying to hang in there. I stopped nursing Lily at 3 months so I've already nursed him longer and I feel good about that.

The weather has been absolutely phenomenal around here for NOVEMBER! Yesterday we went for a stroller ride to the park. Lily had a light jacket on and Taylor just had his little hat and I covered his legs with a blanket. It was just gorgeous. Today was beautiful again but I think this may be the end of it. :( Winter is coming...

So here are some pics of the week. I'll save my comments about today's historic election for another time...

Taylor and Hailey

Aren't they precious?

Lily and Emma

Our baby bumblebee
Have you ever seen a cuter bee?

Our family outside Andy's folks' house

They were our first stop

Lily climbing the inflatable at the fun fest

In the end it proved too high for her but she gave it a great effort

One of the games

She didn't care if the bean bag went in the can. She whipped it!

Our candy corn

Sweet Cheeks

Dressed in his Sunday best

Just moments later he did this to his outfit...

MAJOR blowout - his onesie, pants, socks & shirt were not spared from the poop

It doesn't look as bad in the picture but don't forget that his diaper was full too!!! :)

Their first ride in the double stroller on a GORGEOUS fall day

Swinging!

This girl *loves* to swing

He had a good time being outside too. He can join his sister on the swings next year. :)

Look how hard she's focused on climing up the slide - she's got her tongue out :)

Taylor's 16 week birthday

Lasagne, A Little Milestone, and the Vote

Easy Lasagne

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. water
1 jar pasta sauce (I use Muir Glen Garden Vegetable)
1/2 c. chopped carrot (in the food processor)
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/4 c. flax seed meal
1 tsp. salt
Whole Wheat lasagne noodles (8 oz)
12 oz. fat free cottage cheese
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
12 oz. low moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese

Brown ground beef; drain. Add sauce, water, salt, carrot, onion and flax seed meal. Bring to a boil. In a small bowl beat the egg whites, then add in cottage cheese, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese and mix well. Layer hot sauce, uncooked lasagne noodles, cottage cheese mixture and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sauce. Cover pan with foil and bake at 375 for an hour. With ten minutes left on the timer remove the foil and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Finish baking. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

I've been trying to be more adventurous in the kitchen lately and take liberties with recipes. Andy enjoys lasagne and so I've tried to find ways to make it more nutritious. Baby steps, people! I am no chef. But nutrition is becoming more important to me and I can see that the buck stops with me when it comes to healthy eating in our home. Some people don't believe in "hiding" veggies but I am all for it! Until you've walked a mile in my shoes you have no idea how hard it is to get Andy to eat vegetables!!! He had no idea the carrots were in this recipe and he gobbled it up. Also, flax seed meal is one of my new favorite ingredients. I sprinkle it in lots of things - it works in just about any hotdish and can hide well in breads, muffins, cakes, etc.

We had to raise the Exersaucer one notch today because Taylor's little legs were getting cramped. Just another little milestone. He's seriously getting so big.

And just another reminder about the election tomorrow...You're shocked that I bring it up, I know!!!:) But from the bottom of my heart, I plead with you to vote! And encourage all your friends and family to get to the polls as well. Tomorrow will be a historical day either way. I just hope that tomorrow's election and the next President will take us in the direction of the reversal of R*e v. Wade and the eradication of ab*rtion in America! May it be so!!!

Well, my baby is napping and my Lily would like to have a tea party so I'm off to play!

Are you kidding me?

I'm speechless. Alan Colmes can't (or won't) acknowledge the facts! Unbelievable!

Check out www.bornalivetruth.org for more info. Please vote pro-life on Tuesday!!!