Man. I've been such a good little, er...big, sleeper lately, but I just won't have any of that this morning! I'm finally giving in and just getting up hoping to sneak a nap in later.

Clementine. RJ and I have loved this name ever since we saw one of our fav movies for the first time, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. We talked about it last night. And talked. And talked. And talked. Is it too weird? You know, is it too celebrity?? I was looking at a baby name website and it was under the Titanic category and it just looked so sweet. And of course her nickname would be Darlin'.

Henry went Trick or Treating last night with his cousins. The whole seeing someone dressed up in a costume thing really sent him for a loop. He can be such a sensitive little guy, but that is one thing I love about him.

Oh, the election. Has it caused division in your lives yet? :)

Gone. It's gone. My last Sticks piece if forever gone. Yee Haw! I never thought it was going to sell and then out of the blue I got an email on a Craigslist ad I had posted over a month ago. I do have a tinge of seller's remorse, but I'll get over it real fast. It was huge. There just wasn't a good place for it. And I was just SO over it. Yippee!! Now only if we didn't have to be responsible with the money.....

Hope everyone is having a great week! One of my friends had a baby boy and now I'm anxiously waiting on the next one. Oh, how I love little babies! This pregnancy is starting to feel so long because I daydream all the time about holding our little lady. It can not come soon enough!

Apparently, my grandpa was taller in my mind, or he shrunk, or maybe a little of both, but either way, isn't he cute? This 90 year old still has it all together and it's so great to see how strong he is. A lot of stories were shared about him that day and a lot had to do with how particular and neat he is about his clothing and house, etc. Why couldn't I have gotten any of that!??!

We had a great weekend with my family.

We met my sister and her family for supper Saturday night and my little 5 year old nephew, Ben, was so excited to give Henry a present. It was $1 from his allowance. He told his dad when he got his allowance that he wanted to give some to Henry. That is just the sweetest thing these ears have ever heard. It was so fun to watch Henry play with his cousins. Again, it was a great time!

This week will hopefully bring about 2 new babies in our church family and I can not stinking wait to hear the news.

Lasagna is cooking in the oven. I crave Italian food these days. And chocolate. And orange juice. And popcorn. And Laffy Taffys. And.......

90!

My Grandpa Bloom is turning 90! Can you imagine what it would be like to live that long? He's about 6'2" with big strong shoulders and never seems to age. Both of our familes are full of tall men, but somehow my dad ended up being only 5'11" with a brother who's 6'4". He's my last grandparent and I don't get to see him too often so I'm really excited for his big party on Sunday in Minnesota. My grandma passed away when I was a senior in high school after a long illness and then he remarried a sweet lady named Ardie (10 years younger!) about 7 years ago. It's really quite sweet.

We'll be seeing all my nieces an nephews as well and I'm really excited since we don't all get together very often anymore.

Henry and I are off to see a friend who is in town from Nebraska and we're going out for lunch. This will be the 3rd meal this week with friends. It's been a good one!

Happy Weekend!

Room makeovers....

Big boy room.
Baby girl room.

The office will become Henry's room. I've collected an odd mix of boy stuff from pirates to cowboys to puppies. It's an olive green color, which I think I'll keep, but am thinking of painting some sort of border in a turquoise-y color too. I'm really excited to do his room, but it does make me a little sad that he'll be out of the nursery....

Baby girl room. I like funky and I like sweet, shabby chic. Which way do I go? I think I'm leaning more towards the elegant, softer side with hints of funky/eclectic. Like getting a chandelier and painting this on the wall:

But I don't have the best wall space for this, so I'll keep searching. I've got a l o n g time to think about this....

I had a great time at the mall today with my great friend and her sweet boys. It was great.

And I'm pooped.

Happy, rainy Wednesday!

Baby!

I have 2 good friends expecting a baby this Friday and then on Monday, so really any time! Neither know if it's a boy or girl and the anticipation is killing me. I'm so excited to hear the news! And to shop for a little baby present. :)

I got a call about the ultrasound yesterday and they scheduled me for another one in a month because they didn't get clear enough pictures of her heart and face (her chin was tucked into her chest most of the time). In a month they'll be able to get a clearer view. So I'll be excited for another chance to see that sweet little pea and to get confirmation again on the gender, especially since we've all heard stories of the technician getting it wrong.

Henry and I are going to run some fun errands today and then I'm going out with a friend for supper tonight. She's expecting in February so it's always fun to chat about pregnancy woes. Basically, a majority of my friends are pregnant right now. And I love it!

Henry finally fell asleep, RJ is out working, and I'm enjoying some nice time alone. My hands are freezing! We gave in and turned the heat on a bit this morning, but it takes a long time for an old house to warm up.

Girl. So strange. And exciting! During the first part of the ultrasound, we were talking about the baby saying, "he", and then switched to "she". The ultrasound technician remembered us from our one with Henry. She's super nice and looks just like Catherine Zeta-Jones with short hair. Seriously. It's been weird to not have to think of boy names anymore, though we'll have a back up just in case! And it's been fun to focus on girl names. Favorites so far: Stella, Collette, and Jane. And no matter what, the middle name will be Bloom (my maiden name). I've wanted to use that for years, but wasn't sure if I'd be able to. My mom and I went shopping after the ultrasound for a baby gift for one of her friends so of course I looked at the girly stuff. I have to admit, I like baby boys clothes better, but I'm sure I'll get used to the pinkness and love it too.

My heart is going to purely melt to see RJ holding his little girl. The same that it did to see him holding his son. It's so awesome to watch your husband become a father.

Now, on to my sweet baby boy. Henry had a horrible night Thursday and RJ brought him in to the doctor while I painted little faces at our MOPS carnival. Turns out he had himself a good ear infection. Poor little guy. He's already acting so much happier and being goofy. The season is just beginning.....runny noses, colds, flus, and sore ears. Oh joy.

What am I doing blogging on a gorgeous Saturday?!?! I'm off. Happy Day!

Well......

my final guess was wrong. It's a GIRL! And more importantly, she's healthy!! We're still a bit surprised, but rejoicing in the fun news.

Happy weekend, everyone. More next week!

Thursday

What a gorgeous day today. Freezing this morning and absolutely perfect right now. I was up well before the crack of dawn and had lots of thoughts running through my head. I've decided I don't want to write about politics except for this: Since when has it become a bad thing to vote for who you want to be president, even if they happen to be a 3rd party, aka Ron Paul (or anyone else)? Yes. I get it. They have no chance of winning. I get it! But seriously, wouldn't you rather vote for someone you "believe" in (for lack of a better term) than just going with one of the other guys? Not saying I'm going to do it. I'm not 100% decided on it all yet. I found a blog through a blog of a guy I've never met and there were comments back and forth about people voting for Ron Paul and the next person saying, you can't do that because you're throwing your vote away, and on and on. I just like the thought of us voting for someone, not against someone. But, I am also glad that however, or if, you vote, that the decision is completely yours!

And that's all, my friends. I welcome any of your comments! :)

I hope you all enjoy this beauty. Can't wait to update about the baby!

I just went to the below mentioned sale. It was okay. Everything goes half price on Friday so you could tell people over-priced their stuff to compensate. I did get Henry a winter coat though, so task accomplished! And a cute pair of shoes for him for this Spring and a cute little sweater dress for fun. :) Even though this week I'm totally feeling it's a boy!

The other night, I made Italian Sausage Sandwiches that were so yummy. We've eaten leftovers and tonight I wanted to change it up a bit. So I took the meat (which is hamburger and ground sausage in a red sauce), added some ricotta cheese and corn and heated it up. Baked some Ciabatta bread from the store, sliced it, and put it under the broiler with cheese on top. I put the meat mixture on top of that and then put a fried egg (the kind where the yolk is still runny-- what's that called?) on top with Parmesan cheese and ate it like an open-faced sandwich. Anyways, this probably sounds completely disgusting, but it was so good! And a fun way to make leftovers appetizing for the 3rd day in a row....

We went to Backyard Adventures today. That place is great! Henry is still free for the next few months, so we will for sure be going back. Often. Henry just wanted to swing all day so he shouldn't be too worn out, but he fell asleep on the way home at 12:45 and is still sleeping. On days where I really need him to take long naps, they're always short. On days where I wouldn't mind if they were short because we had some errands to run, their monstrous! He's been sleeping in lately without getting up around 5 0r 6. Love it.

I really want to get to this sale: http://www.kid-daze.com/
Momma needs some new pants. Henry needs an everyday-type winter coat.

Maybe I'll do a politics post someday when I have some good time to get it all out. I find others so interesting so I might just have to take my turn.

RJ was just saying last night that we should get rid of the internet. This is not the first time for that discussion. No, we don't NEED it, but it's so nice to have some type of communication with the world. And I just plain like it.

We found out that RJ's work gives a great reimbursement if you join the Y so we're thinking about it. Again, we don't need it, but it would be fun. The pool, classes, a place to go on a cold day, and on and on. I like the thought of "exercising" while pregnant. I'm talking no more than a walk on the treadmill, people. I like the thought because obviously it wouldn't be for weight-loss purposes so it'd just be fun. Henry could play in the nursery and I could have some good alone time. Whenever I try to start exercising and dieting outside of being pregnant I get frustrated too easily. No pressure here!

2 days until I stinkin' find out what kind of baby we're having! I've been so anxious for this, but this week I've also been thinking about the, oh yeah, this is also when I find out if everything with the baby is okay. Obviously, that is more important than the pink or blue.
Oh, I can't wait to see him/her jumping around on the screen!

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

I think my hotmail just sent out emails to everyone on my enourmously large, contacts from 5 years ago, list. I don't know what to do. Please help. And PLEASE don't click on any links! :)

Monday!

I was not ready to get up this morning, but what can you do? We had a great weekend here doing nothing. We went on a good walk Saturday morning and ate at Brueggar's on the way back. For some reason I have been craving that place and needed to get it out of my system!

Today is baking/cooking day. I'm bringing a meal to a church friend and am looking forward to holding their sweet little boy. On the menu is Alisa's Dutch Apple Bread and Giada's Meatball Heroes. For this family, it's Italian Sausage Sandwiches. I guess it's a sandwich kind of day.

I'm also picking up a double stroller from someone on Craigslist. I've been looking for a long time and decided to just do it. Ones that are in good condition seem to always be at least $75 so I didn't feel like holding out for the small chance I'd find a good one for any cheaper. The one I found is a nice, neutral color and was only used twice. Hello!?!? Isn't it cute?

I'm off to start cooking. Happy Monday!

Gorgeous!

What a perfect Fall day! I have a feeling this will be the prime fall foliage weekend and I can't wait. We don't have anything planned so it should be fun to run around and do whatever.

I met a couple expecting their first baby downtown last night in their condo. It's being renovated right now, but you can tell it's going to be amazing. It's on the 15th floor with awesome views through huge windows, a huge deck, and some gorgeous bathrooms and kitchen. Wowzers. I was really nervous, but there was no need because they were incredibly nice. So once the nursery is painted I'll head on down and do a super cute flower/bug theme all over the walls from floor to ceiling. Should be fun!

I've been thinking a lot about baby names. Any good suggestions? I need some good boy ideas....

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Starting to feel....itty, bitty, teeny, weeny baby kicks. It's been for a little bit but I just wasn't sure. There's so many rumblings that go on in your tummy that I'm never quite sure, but now I am. I think. :)

In honor of Baby Gap

Like I said, I went to the fancy mall today. I've heard that Baby Gap does their markdowns on Wednesdays, so if I happen to be at the mall on that day, I usually stop in and never find anything. Well, today was my day! If you can't tell, below are 2 cute girl romper outfits, a boys button up shirt, little bloomers, and leather shoes all for........$10! The shoes are for Henry and the rest are gifts, except one of the rompers or the shirt will be for baby Charlton. Great deal, huh?
Henry and I had to practice our Gap pictures. Please, someone else do this too. I linked it in my last post and put it in orange so you can see it. It's just something fun to do. And if you do it too I won't feel like such a dork. What a pose, huh? Great week, I say.

Do you realize what time it is? Do you realize that Henry is still sleeping?!?!?!!! He was up at 2, but I'll take this any day. When I say he is sleeping better he's not sleeping straight til morning without waking up, but it's better. Update: It's about 8:15 and he's still sleeping. I can't imagine having a child who slept this late everyday. Wouldn't it be grand?

I had a craving for chicken lasagna. Eating chili for 5 straight days will do that to ya. So Henry and I packed up and went to the grocery store. Upon arriving, I realized I forgot my wallet-- thankfully before I even got out of the car! So we went back home and I figured there was no sense driving back to a different store when Dahl's is so close and gas is so expensive. I try to stay away from Dahl's except for bits and pieces, but you know, I do love that place. There's always lots of cute, rich, old ladies, regular folk, people I'd be scared to meet on the street alone, and just plain strange ones. And I love it. I ended up using rotini instead of lasagna so Henry would be able to eat it better and it was yummy. Now I'll have to eat the enormous amount for the next 5 days.....I wonder what I'll crave then?

My belly is getting huge! The big ultrasound is next Friday. In this final stretch, my gut still says a girl, but I think my final guess will be that it's a boy. I can not wait to find out!!

I'm meeting a friend at the fancy mall today with her little girl. I went to the un-fancy mall on Monday and had the playland all to ourselves. I can guarantee that won't be the case today. I haven't been there for months though so I'm kind of excited.

You know you want to enter your child in this. You know we all think we have the cutest kids ever. So go ahead and do it already!

Happy Wednesday!

The Perfect Fall Cookie...or anytime, really.

Apricot Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup butter Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup vanilla chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1 bag dried apricot ( I usually cut each apricot in half so they are more evenly distributed.) I made them this weekend and I didn't quite have a full bag of apricots, so I cut them up small and also added a handful of Craisens. Delicious!

Bake @325 for about 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven of course. For some reason I have burned these a couple of times, so I usually take it low and slow.

These are my favorite cookies, hands down. I got the recipe from a cute little store I used to work in called Picketts. Inside Picketts, there was a cafe called, The Flying Pig Cafe.

Happy Fall!

Baby

Happy Monday!

Today is a great day. Henry has been so fun the last few days. I now realize that he's been a little "off" for the last few months. Or so it feels. Not a constant crabbiness by any means, but very sensitive, clingy, and not his usual happy self. Sometimes you just don't realize it until they are acting normal and happy again. All 4 of those stinking eye teeth have poked through now, so maybe that was the problem? He's pretty much sleeping better also. Score! We had to make him cry a few early mornings last week and I think it's paid off. Not fun, but worth it for all of us. Cuz I need my sleep too....Again, I didn't realize how tired I was until I actually got to sleep more. He's down for a nap and I'm seriously excited for our afternoon when he wakes up.


RJ's brother and wife are expecting a baby 10 days before us and we hadn't talked about names with them until last night. And could you believe that we have the SAME names for a boy and girl?? Their #1 boy name is one of our top contenders and one of their favorite girl names is RJ's top contender, but not quite mine. Uh, weird? It's Simon (love, love, love) and Cosette, which I think is beautiful, but I have some other favorites too. They find out today what they're having and I can not stinking wait to hear the news!!!

We had a great weekend with a fun Oktoberfest on Saturday with RJ's bro and fam and some friends. It was awesome.

I've got lots of painting projects to do this week and I'm meeting someone in their "downtown condo" Thursday to talk about a mural for their baby room. Yes, I'm freaking out.

Isn't it a little sad that I'm on my way to bed and it's not even 9:00 yet? I think I'm still worn out from last weekend. This baby growing business is a lot of work!

I started to watch the debate, but I'm so over this election. I'd rather sleep.

I had a fantastic day today and tomorrow is MOPS! It's going to be such a fun one.

Growing up, did your school serve cinnamon rolls with chili? Ours did and it was amazing. I made a big batch of my black bean chili tonight and walked my crying kid to the store to buy some refrigerator cinnamon rolls. Yummy. If only my evening appetite would get back to normal so I could enjoy my food again! I don't remember this problem when I was pregnant with Henry. Don't worry, I make up for it plenty during the day.

I was 16 weeks along yesterday. I'm hoping to feel this baby very soon.

Are you getting sick of my songs yet? Well, too bad if you are. :)

Later.

Wednesday

Henry just brought me a blanket, stole a pacifier from out of his crib, and came to sit on my lap. Yes, I'm a sucker for that. He can only have his pacifier when he's sleeping, but I give in and let him have it if he cuddles. It's funny how he know this too. He just sat in my lap cuddling for about 5 minutes, gave me his pacifier, and got down to play. I guess we all need some down time, huh.

I think we'll go out and about today. It's always a hard day the day after a vacation when Henry gets so attached to RJ. A walk sounds nice. So does Target.

I'll write a more inspiring post later....