Happenings

This is going to be a random post. 

Josh and I voted! 

Ok so this may be a little crazy, but I got really excited about finding a specific cleaning tool I had been looking for. I have a hard time keeping our toilets looking clean because of the water. I found this "Pumie" stick and was excited to give it a try. (I wore gloves). I scrubbed, and you can see how one side is so much cleaner, and it didn't take long at at all. Yay for things looking cleaner :)

It was colder here this weekend, so we had a fire. I love it!

 

We have some big pecan trees, and Josh picked up some for me. I have spent lots of time cracking them since then. Pecan pies, pralines, oh what yummy things I want to make. 

Gus helped me. 

Saturday night we needed to get out of the house, Josh took us to a nearby town to Dairy Queen. It satisfied my need for ice cream and peanut butter!!

 

Samson's space in the backseat is getting smaller and smaller.....

 

Other fun activities- playing in the laundry.

 

The dogs likes just keeping warm together.

 

This is Gus dressed up to go to McDonalds.

He had fun with his friends. At one point, he and another one of the little boys thought they were really big boys and sat at their own table. 

And the rest of the time we are waiting and waiting for our new little addition to get here :)

Dear Gus

Gus,
I really cannot believe how much you have grown and how much you are learning every day. You say new words all the time, and I love talking to you. You seem like you are starting to listen a little better which has made life easier for both of us :) There are so many things I can't wait to teach you and do with you. I know you'll be ready before I know it.

I'm very excited to be giving you what I think is one of the best things in the world- a sister!!! I'm so happy you will be do close in age and can play together. There are so many things that you will get to teach her, and I know she is going to love her smart big brother. Y'all are going to have so much fun together, and I hope and pray you are best friends.

Even when you yell "mommy" 200 times and I seem like I'm not listening, I still love hearing your little voice call me by name. We have our ups and downs each day, but always remember that I love you. Thank you for always blowing me kisses before bed, even when I just gave you your medicine and you were quite unhappy.

We have so many more adventures ahead, its going to be lots of fun.
I love you more than you'll ever know.

Love Always,
Mommy

Life

Life has been fairly normal around here lately. Josh has been working a lot. Gus and I love whenever he is able to be home with us. 

Gus is quite the talker. I don't think I could even begin to write all the words he is saying now. I have to say this is one of my favorite stages!!! I love hearing him talk. He says "Mommy" all day long, and I don't think I can get tired of it. He regularly picks up the phone or Ipad and says "MawMaw" or "PawPaw" or "MiMi" because he wants to talk to one of his grandparents or greatgrandparents and have someone to show off for. He can say "Bear" and "Samson" (which are our dogs). Samson sounds more like CC sometimes. He loves his new flashcards. He likes all his books and puzzles right now with animal sounds. He also loves playing with his friends. Whenever I talk about his friends, he thinks he needs his backpack which he takes to Mother's day out. So he will say a friend's name, and then say, "pack pack." It is so much nice for this mommy now that he enjoys going and doesn't cry. 

 As for me, I'm ready to meet my little girl!!!! I took these pictures yesterday- I'm 35 weeks:

This little girl is very very active. And her kicking is not always very comfortable for me. I'm ready to start walking the neighborhood and get things moving toward delivery!! I'm excited that next week we get to have another sono. And like any expectant mom, I hope to hear she is about ready to make her debut! I got her bottles sterilized in case we need them. I'm trying to decide if I want to put a bunch of food in the freezer. But overall we are about ready for her to be here. 

Here is me at 34 weeks with Gus. I hate this picture, but I just wanted to show for comparison- so glad I'm not dealing with that nasty swelling this time.

 

Gus has his first pair of Sperry's!! Now he is like his daddy and mommy. 

 

It's an exciting time around here, waiting for the big changes about to happen.

You might be nesting if.....

You might be nesting if.....

You clean out your fridge, wiping down all the shelves.

You clean out the oven, scrubbing the racks by hand.

You run a self-clean cycle on the coffee maker.

Your husband and you clean out all your clothes and reorganize the closets.

Your sweet husband rents a rug doctor and cleans all the carpets in the house.

Your husband puts the carseat in the car- the car is full now!

 

You make sure all the baby clothes are washed and assess what else you might need.

You decide to sterilize the pacifiers, but have pregnancy brain and forget about it, leaving the pan on the stove for an hour.... slightly melting the pacifiers. Looks like I need a trip back to Target or Babies R Us.

Yep- this momma is almost ready for my little girl to be here!!! I hope she doesn't wait too long, things might get dirty again!

I'm so proud to say yesterday I became an Aunt!!!!!!!!!!!!! So excited to introduce Matthew! Isn't he so cute?!?

Doesn't my sister look great?!?! I am just sad I have to wait to meet him, a long car ride would just not be the best for me right now :(

Getting to see pictures of this sweet guy makes me even more ready to my my little girl. It's all baby stuff around here right now :)

Crafting with Friends

 This morning I invited several of my friends over to make crafts with our kids. I had so much fun planning what crafts to do and making food for today. We made several different Thanksgiving and Christmas crafts. I had several crafts I wanted to be sure to make for us and our family with Gus, and I am just not sure how much time I will have or how I will feel when Little Miss gets here. So, I'm not going to put pictures of the finished products on here since some of my family read this!

Gus had so much fun having all his friends over. This was the first time we had this many kids over (there were 6 total). The kids seem to have so much fun! I'm looking forward to being able to have them over again. And of course I enjoyed spending time with all the moms. Just a note, doing hand prints with Gus at this age was not easy :) He doesn't like someone making him do something specific with his hand. But, I think they are going to turn out cute!

Gus wasn't quite feeling himself on Monday, so Tuesday I took him to the doctor. Gus had an ear infection :( He is doing pretty well, and I know he'll be back to himself very soon. I took these while we were waiting at the doctor's office. His little eyes don't look like normal. 

 

But this momma wanted to make her little man feel better, so we had some donut holes while we waited.

  

And now, I'm going to rest a while :)

Recent Pinterest Recipes

I use Pinterest all the time for ideas, and I wanted to share some of the ones I have used recently!!

Baked Ravioli

Source: tastykitchen.com via Catie on Pinterest

I recently made this baked ravioli. I just used frozen ravioli. It tasted really good!! The sauce is very yummy.

Bread

Source: keephomesimple.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

I didn't believe it when it said you could make this bread in an hour, but you actually might be able to. I have made it twice now. Mine didn't rise a ton, but there are always so many factors in that- yeast, humidity, etc. Even though it didn't rise a lot, it was still good and quick! I'm sure I'll be making it again.

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Source: foodsnots.com via Catie on Pinterest

I made these, and I'm pretty sure I ate most of them because they were yummy!!! I used just regular rice cereal, but I think the cocoa kind would be even better. I pressed them into a mini muffin tin. This made them the perfect size!!!

Million Dollar Spaghetti

Source: ashleykaitlin.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

I loved this, but it wasn't my husband's favorite. He would have preferred it made with ricotta instead of cream cheese. I will probably try it again with ricotta for him. I'd make it just like the recipe for me!

Baked Chimichangas

Source: tastykitchen.com via Catie on Pinterest

We love Mexican food, and these were very good. And it's always great when it's a little healthier.

Crusty Bread

Source: simplysogood.blogspot.com via Catie on Pinterest

This bread really did get crusty! It takes a little planning ahead. I don't have a bakery in town, so at least we can have this bread now if we want it! 

I hope this might give you some ideas as you are cooking for your family! I have a board on my Pinterest where I have all the "Recipes I Made and Liked" if you would like some more ideas.

This Week- Nursery Updates

I hoped to blog this week, and it just didn't happen! So, here's what's been going on around here...

~ The pumpkins are still a very big deal around here- Gus says- "PumPum"

 

 

~ Gus likes my Uggs-

 

 

~Little Miss's Crib Bumper is HERE!!!! We finally got it order and it arrived Wednesday. It's so cute! I'm really happy with it. And here it is!

Gus couldn't believe it was here ;)

Someone gave us this quilt at our "sprinkle." It couldn't match more perfectly!!

 

~Gus is still talking more and more each day. I love talking to him. He says "Mommy" all the time and it sounds so sweet. 

~Josh was able to be home some on Monday after, and he and Gus worked in the yard. Gus and Josh both love this. And I'm happy that they enjoy it so much. 

~ Gus and I went to our weekly McDonald's lunch with friends. I really enjoy getting to visit with all the moms. Gus is very into exploring while we are there, which is sometimes not too fun for me. I kept seeing him with other kid's drinks or food. I'm lucky that everyone helped me watch him since I'm not moving too fast these days.

~ On Wednesday, Josh's aunt and uncle came to visit us! We don't see them often and they were driving through after a roadtrip. We had a really nice visit with them. 

~ Gus does better at Mother's day out every week!! He walked in again this week on his own. And he was so happy when I picked him up. I spent nearly the whole time he was gone resting on the couch. We had quite a bit going on this week so my legs were starting to swell and I was just tired. Then I took a nap while Gus was napping after he got home. 

~Yesterday Gus and I drove to a nearby town and did some shopping. When Gus woke up from his nap, he wasn't quite ready to get up, and he fell asleep in my lap. I really have no idea the last time he slept in my lap, months to a year! I soaked up this special time with my little boy. And it made me excited to get to have a new sleeping baby in my lap soon on a regular basis :)

 

~ This weekend is like most of our weekends- family time, football, church, and rest. I couldn't ask for more than that. 

~We have just about 6 more weekends until our little girl gets here. As she gets bigger and I get more uncomfortable- I'm more and more ready for her to be here! Am I ready around the house? No.. But I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore!

~I'm going to be an Aunt in less than two weeks, I cannot wait!! I'm just sad I can't travel to meet him when he arrives

Brrrrr....

Looking at the weather, we got excited......

It was supposed to be cold this weekend- it was going to freeze!

So Saturday after Josh got home from work, we enjoyed a roast- that filled the house with a wonderful smell.

 

Josh built a fire in the fireplace...

 

Gus covered himself in a blanket while he ate his Cheetos after his nap...

 

 And I have to share pictures of this cute guy dressed up for church- with his pumpkins- which will come in another post :)

 

We sat by the fire, watched football and a movie, and loved our first cold weekend. Hoping there are many more to come! 

 

My Boys

Each day, I'm just more and more thankful that God has given me my loving husband and precious little boy. 

Gus has been more fun each day. He is talking more and more each day and learning new things. He is getting very good at blowing kisses and giving hugs. He says "MaMa" all the time, and I love it every time. He just started driving his cars- along with sound effects :).

Gus loves eating with a spoon and fork now. He sits at the table using his bumbo as a booster chair. As soon as we all sit down to eat, he grabs at Josh until we all hold hands to pray. If I get up from the table and come back, he thinks we need to pray again. And when we say "Amen," he says amen too!

Gus and I were playing the other day and I got some fun pictures. Here he is counting, saying "twoooo." 

 Who could resist that cute face????

 And this boy loves to play peekaboo!!

 Gus and Samson have started to become good friends. Gus loves doing his puzzles, and he also likes to sit with Samson on the couch.

 Exploring in the kitchen is another favorite activity. I looked down a few days ago, and Gus was completely in the cabinet. I quickly went for my camera :)

I have the best husband in the world- yes it's true. He's been working a lot lately to take care of us! He's such a great dad to Gus- Gus is just in love with his "Daaaaa!" And last night, Josh came home with a bag full of my favorite candy and a magazine, just because. I was very excited :) He's so thoughtful, and not a day goes by that I'm not more thankful that I get to spend my life with him. 

It's not long until our little family will be 4! I am loving each day that I spend with my boys, and I know life will be even sweeter with our new little girl in our lives.