Happy Valentine's Day.........

From our family to you & yours!!

I know that people say that today is a Hallmark holiday but I happen to be quite a fan of the day.  I think that it is a day of love that people look forward too mare than they want to admit. I think that it is filled with romance that more people should embrace & cherish.  Who cares if you are being romantic, loving & caring because it is a holiday............romance & love & expressing you heart felt feelings are good for any couple or family!!  I am not one to agree with the $500 present for today but I love a good card, a meal made just for me or even just a heart felt "I Love You".

I hope that you all have a wonderfully Happy Valentine's Day!!!

28 Weeks - Hello 3rd Trimester

Baby's now the size of an eggplant!

Baby's lungs are mature enough that, if born right now, he has a pretty good chance of surviving (with help from medical technology). His skin is still pretty wrinkly (one byproduct of living in amniotic fluid) but will smoothen as fat continues to deposit.  By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

~Pregnancy Highlights~

Due Date: May 6, 2011 
Total weight gain: 18 lbs.
Morning Sickness: none
Cravings: spicy everything & sweets (my sweet tooth has gotten out of control again)
Sleep: has also gotten worse & I am really feeling the effects of the lack of it
I can't live without: my body pillow
I miss: bending over like a normal person
I am looking forward to: we have a ultrasound scheduled for next Tuesday & can't wait to see him
Milestones: entering our 3rd trimester
Exercise: walking the mall 3 mornings a week, I started doing my prenatal pilates again & I have been walking our stairs every night
Diet: I have been on the "see-food" diet again this past week
Maternity Clothes:  pants yes - shirts a mixture still
Movement: all day & night & it is the BEST feeling in the world
Gender: Boy; Colton Lee
Labor Signs: None
Belly Shots:

Snow = Baking.......

Yesterday we woke up to a beautiful dusting of snow.  It was the perfect amount for the south; enough to cover the ground but not enough to send everyone into a morning panic!!  Schools & work didn't have to shut down & Georgia DOT didn't have to again show us how they can't handle it when it snows.  Stores did sell out of milk & bread because the weather men of course freaked everyone out the night before but hey..........that's what they are there for right??

I went around our neighborhood to take some photos just because I thought it was so pretty.

After a peaceful morning around our neighborhood I went in to make cupcakes & treats for Brayden's daycare class (& me) for Valentine's Day.  I have wanting to get back into baking for quite a while now but kept telling myself that I didn't have time to do it.  Well, I am going to make time to do it because I enjoyed doing it so much yesterday!!  Not to mention the fact that this pregnancy has brought on a horrible sweet tooth & though I have been trying to control it I have not been very successful at it; so now I have told myself that if I am going to have something sweet I am going to have to make it & NOT buy it.  My thought is that I will eventually get over baking for a minute or just to lazy & that in turn will mean no sweets for me.........we shall see if this works out for the good or bad over the next 3 months!!

I have been craving a Sweet Potato Cupcake ever since I saw this post on Mrs. F's blog; so I made them from scratch & I don't want to toot my own horn but TOOT-TOOT they were amazing!!!  I used a recipe that I found on Better Homes & Gardens & not only was it simple to make the cupcakes but the cream cheese icing was a cinch as well.

Sweet Potato Cupcakes

• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 2  tsp.  baking powder
• 1  tsp.  ground cinnamon
• 1/2  tsp.  baking soda
• 1/4  tsp.  salt
• 1  cup  butter, softened
• 1-1/2  cups  sugar
• 3    eggs
• 1  17.2-oz. can  vacuum-packed sweet potatoes (unsweetened), mashed
• 1/2  tsp.  vanilla
• 1  Recipe  Cream Cheese Frosting, below
•     Finely shredded orange peel

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line twenty four 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups; set cups aside.

2. In medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3. In large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition until combined. Add sweet potatoes and vanilla, beating until combined. Add flour mixture; beat until combined (batter will be thick).

4. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake about 20 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in pan on wire rack for 1 minute. Remove from pan and cool completely.

5. Place Cream Cheese Frosting in large resealable plastic bag. Cut a 1/4-inch opening in one corner of bag. Pipe frosting on top of cupcakes. Sprinkle with orange peel. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting: 

In large mixing bowl beat one 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened, and 2/3 cup butter, softened, with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add 2 tablespoons bourbon or milk and beat until combined. Beat in 8 cups powdered sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time, until smooth and of a good piping consistency. Makes 4-1/3 cups.

Make Ahead:Freeze unfrosted cupcakes in airtight containers up to 1 month. Store frosting in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 3 days.

nutrition facts

• Calories400, 
• Total Fat (g)17, 
• Saturated Fat (g)10, 
• Monounsaturated Fat (g)5,
• Polyunsaturated Fat (g)1, 
• Cholesterol (mg)71, 
• Sodium (mg)210, 
• Carbohydrate (g)60,
• Total Sugar (g)48, 
• Fiber (g)1, 
• Protein (g)3, 
• Vitamin C (DV%)9, 
• Calcium (DV%)3, 
• Iron (DV%)5, 
• Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

• 
  

I boxed them up in the adorable Valentine's boxes that I found at Walmart & they are all ready for delivery!!

If you like to bake or if you just get the chance I really do suggest that you try them.  I will have to post about the other treats that I made for Brayden's daycare class when I finish them; they look so yummy & I just hope the kids all enjoy them.

Have a wonderful Friday!!

Toddler Bed Already.........I'm Not Ready!!

I can't believe that I am actually considering doing this already but I think B might be trying to let us know that he is ready for a "big boy/toddler" bed.  I have been hoping & praying that he would stay in his crib until he was about 2 so after Colton was born but he has been trying more & more to get out of the darn thing & has almost succeeded quite a few times.  I have run into his room after seeing him on the monitor with his whole body is laying on the top corner of his crib; so does this mean he is ready or at least it is time?  At 18 months is he even going to stay in a toddler bed?  

On side of me thinks that if he is ready than he is ready & we will hopefully at least have it down to a science by the time Colton is born so we won't have a new baby in the house as well Brayden's bed transition but then another part of thinks that if he can hold out a little longer it might not be so bad to do it after Colton is born since I am going to be up & down throughout the night feeding C anyway.  I just don't know & am trying to trust my gut feeling on this but my gut says that he is just not ready for this big change however if he falls out & gets hurt I will never forgive myself for letting that happen!!

I would love any advise or to hear from you ladies about your personal experiences with the transition.

On another note: We have been blessed with good weather for the past few days (above 50) so we have been trying to make the most out of it & getting outside as much as possible.  We have a small little play area in the front of our neighborhood that we go to every once & a while & B just loves to swing............

Discipline & Consistency.....

I would have to say that when it comes to discipline & my consistency with it I am learning as I go & sometimes feeling like I am even failing as I go.  I feel like all I say to B these days is "no-no", "that will hurt Brayden" or "please don't that" & I hate the way that that makes me feel.  I mean I knew that I was going to end up being the "mean/bad parent" & Lance would be the "fun parent" simply because I am home with B & Lance's work hours suck & are very long but now that B is old enough & needing guidance & discipline it really is starting to feel that way & I hate it!!  I know that B has to learn right from wrong, good from bad, & of course living in the south manners are a must but I am struggling with the whole consistency thing which is making the disciplining part even harder.

I will let B do one thing one day (because it is either funny or I don't think about how unsafe it is I guess) & then tell him no the next day & he gets frustrated which in turn causes me to get frustrated & that in turns just makes for a completely bad situation & usually a crying/screaming child!!

Case In Point:  He loves to get up on the furniture but of course he doesn't want to just get up there & sit still; he wants to run & jump on it all...........especially on our sofa upstairs.  I was laughing at him doing this for he 1st time the other day but then realized that it was completely dangerous & he was probably going to eventually get hurt (not to mention I don't want him jumping on the furniture) so I made him stop.  He did just fine when I told him at that moment but about an hour later when he remembered how much fun it was to run & jump on the sofa & wanted to do it again when I said no to him he was of course confused & upset.

I have to start thinking about things a little better & being a better more consistent parent when it comes to things like this.  Sometimes I feel like I am setting myself of for failure when I let him do something like this & then I think "shouldn't I have this parenting thing figured out by now" & get really upset with myself.  I am not sure if it is pregnancy hormones or not but lately I have just been really hard in myself as far as my parenting skills go or don't go as far as I see it lately.  We will have 2 little boys running & playing in the house & if I can't figure it out with B then how am I going to figure it out the C joins the family in May??  Maybe I am just getting a bit freaked out & scared & just need to take a deep breathe & relax & I will do that eventually but until then how do you handle discipline & are you as consistent as you would like to be or think that you should be??

Superbowl Sunday.........

I was so happy when I checked the weather forecast for Sunday because it said that it was finally going to be nice enough to take B to the park that afternoon.  It has either been too cold or raining for what seems like ever that I think I just wanted to get out & play in the nice weather myself.

Lance had some errands & things to take care of that morning so B & I spent the morning in our pj's (which I always enjoy) & then we had plans to go to the park, dinner with JuJu & PaPa & then to a friends house to watch Superbowl.

The park was amazing & B hadn't been in so long that he played forever; I think we were there for almost 2 hours just running around.

He loved this little car. 

& we ran into a little boy from his daycare class. 

The slide is always a big hit............ 

He carried this balloon around almost the whole entire time we were there.  He got it the Friday before & it was in my car still & when he say it & said "ba-oon" I of course gave it to him thinking he would just play with it for a second but I was of course wrong. 

He loved daddy bouncing him on the bridge............. 

& played with a little girl on the see-saw.......... 

then back to the bridge............. 

When we finally left we thought that it would be a good time to go eat since he had played so hard & he might actually sit, color & eat for a little while..........we were wrong he seemed to actually have more energy than normal.

I really had no interest in the Superbowl this year since my Giants didn't make it, Lance's Colt's didn't make it, my dad's Bears didn't even make it (but they got further than we did) & the Falcon's didn't even make it.  I was as always looking forward to the commericals & half time show but the game I could have cared less about.  It was nice to see our friends Meg's & Justin; they are due February 26th & we are so excited to meet little Jones!!

We of course couldn't stay to long because little guy had such a big day that he was ready for bath & bed around 7:30 so we headed home then.  We got to spend a few hours with our friends & they will of course understand a little one ruling the roost in only a few weeks time.

We of course took B's DVD player so that he would be entertained for as long as possible with the Imagination Movers.

They have 2 Boston Terrier's; Rudy & Sooie & B LOVED them. 

It was a great way to end the weekend & get ready for another busy week.  Hope you all had a great weekend & congrats to any Green Bay fans out there on the win.