He's a thumb-sucker!

Yes, it appears we are going to have a baby boy and I must say, I feel a little lost when it comes to boys! The past two years have been filled with all things girly - dolls, dresses, tea parties...where does a boy fit into this picture???

I guess we'll find out!

And, of course, in all my overly-preparedness (is that a word?), I've already taken all things girly out of the nursery and we're preparing to move Avery into her own *very pink* room with a big girl bed.

The nesting thing is kicking in full force!

At the pond on a summer night

Fishing at my in-law's farm...


Wish we could capture these beautiful August nights in a bottle and save them for the middle of winter!

Avery's eye surgery last Friday went very well, although the recovery was a bit rough for her and her parents! It's not fun seeing your child in pain, especially when she's too young to understand why. But now that the first few days have passed, she is back to her normal self except for occasional eye discomfort complaints.

Have a wonderful week!

Back by popular demand

Some of you have asked about the recipes for these yummy chocolate cakes. And here it is!

CHOCOLATE CREAM CAKE
(I'm warning you: this uses a *gasp* boxed cake mix and is insanely easy, so if that makes you queasy, move along please!)
1 pkg. cake mix
1 pkg. chocolate instant pudding
3/4 c. oil
3/4 c. water
4 eggs

Mix all ingredients and divide into a greased large muffin pan. Bake for 18-20 min. at 350. Cool and cut the cakes in half. Place filling in the middle of the cakes and sprinkle the tops with powdered sugar. Makes about 10 cakes.

*This recipe was originally supposed to be a regular cake and not muffin-size but I thought the little cakes would be cute. To make the reg. cake version, divide the mixed batter into two greased 9x13 cake pans. Bake for 12-15 min. at 350. Spread filling on top of one of the cakes. Remove the other cake and place it on top of the filling. So basically, the frosting is in the middle of the cake instead of the top.

FILLING:
3 T. Flour
1 c. milk
Cook flour and milk for 2 minutes or until thick. Cool.

1/2 c. shortening
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix shortening, sugar and vanilla and add to cooled flour/milk mixture. Beat for 10 min.

* * * * * *

And some of you have asked about the storage boxes I have in my office. You can buy them for cheap at IKEA in different sizes. Gotta love that store! What have you gotten at IKEA lately?

Random thoughts

by me. Just 'cause.

1. My wardrobe changes according to the amount of clothing in my "to-be-ironed" basket. Right now it's full of my capris and pants, so that means I'm wearing mostly skirts. It's a good news/bad new situation - good news is that at least I don't have to run around town with nothing on. Bad news is that I have to shave more often. And who wants to do that?

2. Little girlie eats her baby lotion. Is that gross? I wonder if it tastes good. (no, I'm not adventurous enough to try it)

3. Oh, and she is having eye muscle surgery on both eyes on Friday because of a condition she has called Strabismus. Between the two of us, we have 4 doctor appointments this week. Yuk.

4. The Office finally starts again on September 25. The wait is almost unbearable.

5. Hubs and I are planning a vacation to San Francisco, Napa Valley, Carmel, and Big Sur in September. And I cannot wait!! The two of us haven't gone on vacation since we went to Europe four years ago. We thought we'd better go before the next little munchkin comes along. Although, I must admit, I am dreading leaving Avery for a week! She is going to stay with her grammys and you better believe, she is going to be one spoiled kid when we get back!
***If you've been to the area, please give me suggestions on what to see while we're there!

6. I wish I would like to drink coffee. It just seems so cool. But tastes so horrid to me.

7. I watched the Olympics late last night and saw the relay where the US swim team won by a super-close margin. It was awesome! And I am so impressed with them, really. But why do all swimmers have such thick necks? Is it their genes? Is it their muscles? I hope I didn't just offend you if you are a swimmer with a thick neck. I was just wondering.

8. Have you heard that Bernie Mac just died? From pneumonia. Wow, that's weird. I'm on the cutting edge of breaking celebrity news. Stay tuned.

9. This weekend I watched The Painted Veil and it is now one of my favorite movies. It is so, so good! Sad and a bit slow but really powerful. A must-see for sure.

10. I have my next ultrasound in a couple of weeks and I am so excited to find out if we're having a boy or a girl! It's like waiting to open my Christmas present!

So, I guess that's it for now. Hopefully I didn't bore you out of your mind with my pointless ramblings! :)

Dessert with the girls

I'm blessed to have some pretty cool girlfriends in my life, including my mom and sister. This week I had them and a new friend, Kelly, over for dessert and some fun conversation!

Oh, and did I mention, some yummy chocolate desserts?



Kelly and Avery officially bonded - can you tell Avery thinks Kelly is the coolest?

We gabbed until midnight and I was so tired the next day, but it was oh so worth it! There's just nothing like girl-talk to make the time fly by!

Go Team USA!

We're getting ready to celebrate opening ceremonies of the Olympics!

Go team go!!

A little sewing project

I've been thinking about trying my hand at sewing for a while now and I finally got it accomplished. My mom helped me sew these curtains to hide some of Avery's toys on our bookcase in the office/play room. I must say - it was fun!

And considering I hadn't used a sewing machine since Junior High when I made a lovely pink sweatshirt (remember those days?), I think I did a pretty good job!

Here is the BEFORE pic. Looking a bit messy...


And here's the AFTER with the toys hidden away...

So, yes, I've been bit by the sewing bug. Hmm, what else could I make??

A sign I am officially losing my mind

I came out of the grocery store this morning and realized I had two different pair of shoes on.

Sigh.

No wonder the cashier kinda smirked at us when we left.

Possible explanations:
1. It's a Monday and I had my "it's Monday - time to get stuff done" brain on.
2. My two-year-old was demanding my attention.
3. I think it's trendy to pair a brown flip flop with a sparkly orange & pink one.
4. I'm pregnant. Nuff said.