Thanksgiving with the Bennetts

 On Black Friday, Dave went shopping nice and early while Mommy and Andrew slept.  At a reasonable time, we all got ready and headed to Grandpa and Grandma Bennett's house in Lakewood.  They made yummy food and we enjoyed eating, playing, and socializing!

 Andrew's favorites this year were stuffing and cranberry jello

 But even better than the food?!? 

Feeding Aunt Melissa!

 Yes, I'll stare down the camera!

 It wouldn't be fun without moving the lawn! 

Andrew loves that bubble mover!

Oak Glen Revisited

Because they are so cute--here are more pictures of our Oak Glen apple picking trip!

Easter, Part III

 Grandma made spaghetti for dinner and Andrew had a GREAT time eating and playing with it!

His egg also enjoyed a spaghetti bath!

 Oh, mom!  This is so good!

 After a quick bath, we put on our Easter PJs.  I wanted this outfit for Andrew's first Easter, but I couldn't find one small enough, so I'm mighty glad he got to wear is for his second Easter (it says, "Somebunny Loves Me").

...and, of course, the egg didn't leave his hand. 

It took a bath with him as well.

 bunny butt!

Baby Food Makin'

Three gala apples made 24 1 oz cubes

I'm cheap and baby purees are expensive, so I decided that it would be easy enough for me to make my own.  I ordered a cookbook online that divides up the recipes by months that they are recommended to be introduced.  I picked a few out of the 6-month chapter, made a shopping list, and went to the grocery store.  I spend $12.74 total.

None of the recipes are hard, nor did any of them take a huge amount of time. The apples were the 'hardest' only because it wasn't easy to peal the apples after they were mushy.  The sweet potatoes were probably the easiest.

Three large sweet potatoes made 48 1 oz servings

Thee large bananas made 12 1 oz servings

After they froze in the ice cub trays (with lids), I transferred them to a zip lock bag and into the deep freezer.  I really want a vacuum sealer, but they are expensive and I keep reminding myself the whole point of this is to save money.

Week 33

I had issues looking at the camera today...
Dave is working REALLY hard on the dining room and I'm doing everything I can think of to "nest" without actually putting together the nursery or clean the house (honestly, I don't think that nesting part will every come).

My project for today: After reading a bunch of recommendations on the Internet, I created my hospital bag list, assembled all the parts, went to Target to pick up the remaining items, and put it all together. The "organizer" in me also made a file of important things (birth certificate pre-filled out form, nursing/pooping chart, important numbers, birth plan, etc). Of course, this bag could be sitting for another seven weeks, so it can't be completely ready... but that is why I have a check list for the day we need it.

My craving for chocolate milk hasn't vanished and thanks to my mom, I now have another quart to drink!

Other milestones of the past week:

1. I can no longer bend over enough or reach far enough to shave my legs. My wonderful husband did it for me yesterday morning (without complaining, mind you).
2. I've done a lot of reading about "measuring big" and I think I've calmed myself down, BUT I'm also fully expecting to have a March baby instead of an April one. After tomorrow's ultrasound, we'll know more.
3. We're registered to take an all day pain management/labor class on March 5. I'm actually pretty darn "curious" about how much pain I'll actually be able to handle in this birthing process. I've started dreaming about it...

Haha

Southweat Airlines is funny--they handed out plane plain crackers. LOVE the play on words!

10 Minute Meal

Chicken Stir-fry is a pretty easy meal that I always love to have on hand--you also can't beat that I can eat a lot of food for only 8 WW points.

1. Defrost 2-3 chicken breasts.
2. Cut into small pieces and saute with Pam, garlic and a bit of ginger.
3. In a separate pan, heat 2 TBSP of Sesame Oil. Add a bag of fresh stir-fry veggies. Saute the veggies, adding garlic and ginger to taste (about five minutes).
4. Add cooked chicken to the pan and stir.
5. Add 1/2 cup soy sauce or teriyaki sauce to mixture.
6. Let sit for about 5 minutes and serve!!

I also love that I can afford to eat white rice with my stir-fry because it is so low in points!!

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday, Nov. 8

I had my first "Mexican" breakfast today with Desiree and her parents. It was so much food that I didn't even finish half of the stuff on my plate, but man, it was good!

My machaca con huevos were served with tortillas, rice, and beans. At first, I thought it was kind of strange and asked several times if this was really "lunch" (we were eating at 10:30 am), but Des said no.

The beans were to die for and reminded me of Carisha's dad's beans...