bunny style

i bought brette's easter dress last spring.

i saw it, loved it and had to have it.

its been hanging in her closet for a year

and i'm super excited to bust it out.

 

(found at crazy 8)

 



then last week i decided to prepare her easter basket.

we bought her a book,

a dress,

a jumper,

hair ties,

a coloring book,

and a new cup.

she should love it.

its the perfect easter basket for a her 2nd easter.

i might even give her a m&m egg.

i'm trying to not focus on all the candy.

we also bought her some cute little jammies

for easter morning and a stuffed lamb that she

has cabbaged onto and won't put down.

we  might have gone a little overboard

or maybe we shouldn't try shopping when she's with us.

 

(all found at target)

 

ps- the easter bunny got sick when we were waiting in line

for her picture, but i'm determined to go back and try it again tomorrow.

fingers crossed.

she seemed super excited to sit on his lap so i'm

thinking it might be a cute picture.

 

happy easter!

 

soup too late

i know its april fools

but i really am giving you a soup recipe.

i know that there is a good chance you won't use it

until next fall,

but you never know.

last year it snowed in may.

 

its called 'no peek stew'

and here's the twist:

you put it in the oven.

weird, right?

i tried it when we visited family in IL.

ronnie's cousin made it and we both loved it.

when she told me how easy it was and

that you throw everything in a pot and put it in the oven

for three hours,

i had to try it out myself.

 

2 lbs beef stew meat

2 c cubed potatoes

1 c chopped celery

2 c sliced carrots

2 c diced onion

3 c tomato juice (V-8)

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

5 tbls minute tapioca

(optional: 1 can sliced mushrooms)

 300 degrees for 3 hours with lid on.
 

canned mushrooms freak me out and

ronnie hates mushrooms so i didn't add that part,

but if they were in the original batch i had in IL,

i didn't notice.

 

i questioned the tapioca,

but you don't taste it at all.

 

 

enjoy!

either now or in 6 months.

 

 

update: 23 weeks

i'm twenty-three weeks.

weight? i have no clue how much weight i've gained. my scale shot craps so i'm flying in the dark over here.  i wish i did know so i could tell if i need to reign in all the cookies i've been eating. i feel like i've gained a lot - - my bump had definitely popped out.

cravings?  i had some caffeine-free pepsi over the weekend and it was like christmas.  delicious. i'm still loving cereal and anything chocolate.  on the flip side, i cannot get enough of carrots with ranch dip.  i'm hoping that balances out all the junk.  right?  right.

side effects? by this time during my pregnancy with brette i was dying of back pain.  i can thankfully say that this time has been completely different. i do get some pain, but i'm so hyper aware of it, i can catch it before it gets out of control. she is kicking A LOT, which i hate.  i know it sounds weird, but i really hate the flips and punches.  its uncomfortable and it feels like you can't get off the roller coaster.  i have also had some swelling of my left leg on the days i work.  i don't know if it's the way i'm sitting or what, but its the same leg i had trouble with when i had brette. once i get home and relax it goes away.

baby? according to my baby books, the baby will have broken the 1 pound mark by now. wahoo!  i can officially blame a pound of my weight on her.  and she is about 8 inches long - butt to brain. she also has eyebrows, eyelashes and some hair. i hope this little one comes out with as much hair as brette did because i love how much hair brette already has.  makes her that much more adorable.

preparations? i made a list of the things i need for baby two.  a lot of stuff i already have, but we need a crib, mattress, another monitor - - stuff like that.  we haven't started the nursery or anything but i'm dying to get started.  i hope i can talk ronnie into starting that real soon.  i have some really cute ideas.

the best thing? i can still fit in my dresses and people insist that i'm still small, even though i don't feel like it.

the worst thing?  i'm already tired of being pregnant.  i'm such a whiner, i know. but seriously, i have to do this until the end of july.  that seems so far away. i'm ready to have my body back.

 

 

 

me at 22 weeks with brette.



daycare

we've had a little schedule change in the

last month that's effected ronnie and brette's day together.

for almost a year ronnie has been working 4 - 10 hour days

and he spent his fridays off with b while i work.

recently, his schedule changed back to a regular 5 day work week.

i was sad to lose his free day.

it gave him a chance to have some one on one time with brette

and he always had a three day weekend to get stuff done.

i wasn't willing to have my mom watch her two days a week.

her and my dad always have her on mondays,

then my mom watches brian's girls on tuesdays,

so it felt like she would have no life outside her granddaughters

if i had her come up on fridays too

and i didn't think that was fair.

so i did the unthinkable.

i put brette in an at-home daycare one day a week.

you guys,

i know she's going on two,

but it was still hard for me.

i don't like it.

the first day we took her was only a half day,

and the next week she spent a full nine hours there.

when ronnie picked her up he said she was in the best mood ever.

he thinks she needed a little bit of a social life.

say what?

i am super fun, so don't know what he's talking about.

but that did make me feel better about leaving her there.

plus our lady that watches her sends me pics,

which of course totally helps.

brette talks about her little friend there

and their dog, so

i know she likes it,

but it feels weird to leave her with someone i don't really know.

i guess this is just something i'm going to have to get used to

and honestly, its probably good for both of us.

 

can you imagine me working full-time?

i'd be a mess.

 

here's a few pics i've gotten while she's there

 

 

bumpdate

 

i'm growing over here

and i finally busted out a pair of maternity jeans.

i was only wearing leggings, yoga pants or dresses

and my choices of outfits were limited.

 

i guess its time to step into maternity-wear.

 

week 21

 

week 22

both shirts via ronnie's closet.

i'm only sporting maternity clothes on bottom,

for now.

127 days to go...

st patty's weekend

i've had a good couple of weekends

with my girlfriends.

this last weekend marge (my college roommate)

came down to visit shannon and i

with her two boys, crosby and cohen.

we met for lunch and took all the kids

to the st. patrick's day parade.

this time next year,

we will have added two more babies to the group so

i doubt we'll be going anywhere.

 

 

 

we followed up the parade with a fun

afternoon and evening at my house.

ronnie was busy doing yard work,

which suited the kids just fine.

they each took multiple rides on

his lap around the yard on our mower.

big. hit.

and i think ronnie dug it too.

and they did a wonderful job

of de-piling ronnie's leaf pile.

poor brette wasn't feeling very well

so by the time everyone left after dinner,

she passed out for the rest of the night.

 

 

i miss margie.

wish st. louis was a little bit closer.

 

 

the girls

my mom watches madeline and eden on tuesdays

and since i'm back in lee's summit,

we normally spend a few hours together so brette can play with her cousins.

we've gone to chik-fil-a,

they've come here,

i've gone there.

it's fun, it keeps us busy

and it keeps the girls entertained.

this last tuesday mom dressed all the girls

in matching outfits she bought them for christmas and

i tried my hardest to get a good picture.

its like herding cats.

i don't think i ever got a great shot of all three

but i did manage to get some great ones individually.

our blue-eyed beauties.

 madeline

eden

brette

and this was as good as it gets:

it helped to offer chocolate cadbury eggs, fyi.