Big boy stats

Matthew had his 9 month checkup today. Thanks to the Prevacid - MTE has been a very happy eater. I thought he had had a little growth spurt - and the numbers prove it! He's 30 1/4" (back up to the 95%) and 21# 8 oz(around the 60%). Head circ. is 18".

These are his new jammies. He only has one other (very stretchy) pair that he can really wear. Another pair without feet are more like shorts and the sleeves are more three-quarter length now. And his other jammies with feet.......I don't think he can straighten out his legs! Bad Mommy - he just grew out of them so fast - I thought I could wait until Grandma and Grandpa came down in October with more jammies - but, no go on that.

Recipes

These recipes were taken from the Heritage Country Harvest Cookbook. Published in 2001. Anyone who has an Amish cookbook knows that there are lots of good recipes - some parts of the recipe you just have to figure it out on your own how it works :o) I wrapped them in plastic cling wrap and put them in the freezer and that worked well for storage. I know, also, that there are some egg white substitutes out there for those concerned about food safety. I just used the real deal.


Little Debbie Cookies

Filling - make this first:
3 egge whites_______________1 1/2 c Crisco(creamed)
2 tsp. vanilla______________5 Tbsp four
4 c powdered sugar__________4 Tbsp milk

Beat egg whites; then stir in vanilla and milk. Add powdered suger, Crisco and flour; beat well. Put filling between cookies while still warm.

Cookies:
1/2 c butter_________________1 tsp salt
1/2 c Crisco_________________2-3 c flour
3 c brown sugar______________2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs_______________________1 tsp baking soda
3 c quick oats_______________1 1/2 tsp nutmeg(opt)
2 tsp vanilla

Cream together brown sugar and shortening. Add egss and beat well; add vanilla and dry ingredients. Bake at 350 - 12-14 minutes.



Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2 c brown sugar_________________1 tsp baking powder
1 c vegetable oil_______________1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c pumpkin (15oz can)______1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs__________________________1 tsp cinnamon
3 c flour_______________________1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt______________________1/2 tsp cloves

Cream sugar and oil. Add pumpkin and egss; cream again. Add rest of ingredients. Mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 - 10-12 minutes.

Cora Byler's Whoopie Pie Filling

1 egg white or whole egg - beaten______2 c powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla_________________________3/4 c Crisco
2 Tbsp flour___________________________small container of marshmallow cream
2 Tbsp milk

Beat egg; add vanilla and mix. Add flour, milk, powdered sugar and Crisco and beat well. Add marshmallow cream.

attitude of gratitude

I realized that it's been a while since I've done this..........

I'm so thankful for the milder weather! It's cooler in the mornings and evenings - it's wonderful!

I'm so thankful for Mark. He's a wonderful, giving, patient, servant leader - and a good daddy.

I'm so thankful for Matthew. I love being his mommy.

I'm so thankful for my health. I'm not in the shape I would like - but I'm in a lot better shape than some my age.

I'm so thankful that I've been sleeping better the last month or so than I have in a couple of years! It's amazing what a good solid night of sleep will do for your attitude!!

I'm so thankful that I don't have to work more than I do. Sure, it would be nice to have more money in the bank faster - but, then others would have to be taking care of our son and we really don't want that.

I'm so thankful for a wonderful extended family and friends - I wish we were closer --- someday soon, I pray!!

I'm so thankful to have survived another summer in the South! Bring on a southern winter!

I'm so thankful for the longsuffering work of the Holy Spirit in my life. It seems like growth is so painfully small - most of the time. I'm thankful that God hasn't given up on me. And that trials and tribulations are a proof of His work in my life!! Praise be to Him!

pumpkin whoopie pies

Must be something in the air - 'cause I've just been in a baking mood! I made these yummy whoopie pies from that same Amish cookbook - just a few pages over.

Most of these are in the freezer like the Little Debbies.

There is a recipe in there for Twinkies, too...........

A walk by the lake

Matthew and I normally walk a nice paved trail that's about a 4 minute drive away. Wednesday, though, I just needed a change in scenery.

So, Matthew and I went up to the lake - about a 10 minute drive there and a 10 minute drive through the park - all the way to the back.

It was so nice! Quiet and a great view. By Thursday, Matthew was concentrating on more than his Cheerios and noticed the flock of geese taking off from the water. He wasn't too fond of his hat - I thought it was a bit too chilly with the breeze off the lake - so, the solution - as you can see - worked well. :o)

And, yes, I always carry my cell phone with in case there are any crazys that I encounter.

No red eye here!

I tried on Matthew's new Swedish jammies last night. The bottoms were okay - the shirt was too big. But, they were sooo cute I wanted to take a couple of pics.

Well, he's figured out that after the red eye reduction light comes on - he gets a flash. By the last pic, I felt like I was his paparazzi and he was just trying to get by me :o)

You can actually see his upper teeth here!

Homemade Little Debbies

These could be dangerous! I found this recipe in one of the Amish cookbooks that Mom gave me. They're for Mark's lunch :o)

Hmmmmm.......Maybe it's a good thing that I'm not tasting things very well because of my cold!

9 months old

I'm nine months old today! I've gotten my upper front two teeth - finally. Mommy and Daddy don't seem to like it when I bite down on their finger when they brush my teeth.
I like to crawl around a lot - still on my belly. I seem to get into more trouble these days - there's just so much to check out! I don't like to stand up very much - I still needs lots of help - except when I lean on the back of the futon. I like to do that - especially when Daddy plays peek-a-boo with me.
I love my cheerios! I'm figuring out the sippy cup a bit, as well. Winter squash is yummy. I'm getting used to peas and green beans - they're still not my favorite.
Mommy and Daddy like taking me for walks and going places. I like it too, cause they bring my food and cheerios with.
I've been on the cranky side this past week - I don't know if I'm getting a cold or if I'm just in that "I want Mommy stage". I still need my three naps a day. I go to bed around 9:30 and get up around 6:30. I'm liking baths more now :o)
Mommy and Daddy love me lots and I like to make them laugh.

Proof

I did a 5K today(half walk/half run - but it was my goal to accomplish one this year)and I did the 5K in Shreveport(first time in Louisiana - it was around 2 1/2 hours from here).
It was all good - despite my cold - sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes. :o)

New sensations!

We've been calling Matthew "turtle" the past few days. As you can see in the second picture - he pulls his bottom lip in and looks like a little snapping turtle to us. I think he likes feeling his upper teeth. He's still doing that grinding thing, too - though not all of the time. Even to get a smile can be a little more challenging because he doesn't want to "let go" of that bottom lip! :o)

The bottom picture is for Grandma H. I got these new jammies(with Swedish horses on them!) at Duck Duck Goose in LR. Yes, I survived another DDG event. I am SOOOOOOOOO thankful that Mark stayed home from work yesterday morning so that I could go - sans baby.
Ugh --- it's just so packed with all of the clothes and kid stuff; all of the women pushing their strollers packed with clothes and baby gear and crying, tired, bored kids!!! I'm also thankful for my big IKEA bags that I could throw everything in while looking for some really good deals!

I've gone through MTE's clothes - again - he's in the 12month+ size. We have been so blessed to have lots of clothes given to us.

Rites of Parenthood

Mackey seems to be looking at Matthew with disdain and curiosity.

We had an interesting day yesterday. Matthew took a tumble - his first and hopefully last - off or our bed in the morning. Scared us all - but he's fine :o)

We had new friends over for dinner last night. We give Matthew his little puffs and "cheerios" (they're not the real deal) to eat. Well, of course since we had company - he got choked on a "cheerio" and threw up - on me, too. He's never done that one before - but I figured it would happen sometime - not just with company here :o)

****We didn't have much in the way of rain or damage from Ike - at least not what I anticipated. We also woke up to low humidity and temps in the high 50's. The high is only supposed to be in the mid 70's today. How many months has that been the case?! What a blessing!

You know it's a good day ---

--- when you've had your first pumpkin spice latte of the season!! I had my first one on Saturday!!
Yet another reason to love Autumn!

Just readin' in my new chair

Today was one of the big consignment sales. This one was in Hot Springs. I spied this rocking chair early on - $12 and was in great shape. As you can see, Matthew likes it.

Thumb's Up

Good lunch, Daddy! Thanks!

New camera fun

So, these are finally some pictures that I've taken with the new camera - time will tell if I can see a difference. I'm sure that Mark would say that I'd better see a difference for the price(albeit a very good deal) we paid for it. I haven't played around or touched them up at all(well, except for the first one).

The most direct route.........

maybe not the easiest route - but the most direct :o)

**Also, after being visible right under the surface for months, his upper front teeth have decided to make their official appearance this week. Currently, he's sleeping off a little Tylenol for exessive fussiness this morning. He's clicking his teeth, too - can't say that I enjoy listening to that.

Adventures in tie-dying

The purple/yellow and the pink one(a gift - not for MTE) turned out well. The other ones? Oh, well - a nice change from white.

Gustav in our bedroom

It's been raining nonstop for over 24 hours - and will probably continue another 24 hours.

I'm certainly not comparing what we're experiencing with what those further south are - but - when I made the bed this am - I felt a squish squish when I walked around on the window side of the bed. We have a soaked carpet (and a ruined cabinet that was by the window) - it extends about 4 feet out - right now.

This makes me thankful that we rent for now - I called management for them to deal with it.

the clothes hanger

As you can see - all the elliptical is good for now really is to hang clothes on. After many weeks, many phone calls, an expensive and unsuccessful repair visit, we have found out that our beloved elliptical is basically beyond hope - a fact that would have been helpful to be informed of before we ordered the replacement part and had a repair man come out to try to fix it.
Thankfully, it has served its purpose, we now know that we both will use it often and are willing to fork over a little(or a lot) extra $$ to purchase a more durable machine. Merry Christmas to us.
Until we can figure out how to dispose of this one - this is really the only function it serves :o)

A treat for me :o)

Our friends, Steven and Summer came over for dinner last night. Steven especially enjoys Matthew - always happy to hold him and try to get him to laugh and smile.

Matthew actually fell asleep at church yesterday morning - that hasn't happened in months. We decided that since he was asleep to just let him take his nap there. Normally, we all go to Sunday School and then I take him home afterwards - he falls asleep in the car on the way home and Mark goes to the worship service. Well, we paid for it - him only getting a 45 minute nap. Matthew was particularly cranky the rest of the day. Needless to say, he wasn't in a jovial mood when Steven and Summer saw him when he got up from his evening nap. He did "lighten up" a bit - after Mark played hide-n-seek and I held him upside down.

Anyway, the treat for me was the coffee that they brought me!! They had a friend go to Seattle and bring Steven some coffee beans from the original Starbucks --- (many fond memories for me!!). Since they don't have a grinder, he gave the coffee to me :o) I'm sure I'll be giving him back half or so of the coffee after I grind it - but - it certainly did bring a big smile to my face.

Welcome Freshmen

This was our group last Saturday - 11 freshmen and 3 juniors - their leaders for the evening. We had fun. They had a mixer back on campus at 8:30 - so we didn't have to entertain them very long :o) Mark actually has 4 or 5 of these students in his classes this semester.