CONNER'S 2ND BIRTHDAY | PART I

We hit the busiest time of year in our family.  We get to do a lot of celebrating in October, and I love it! Joe and I semi-celebrate closing for our house (long story - it was a huge ordeal), our anniversary (which ended up being a different day than we planned), and Conner's birthday (also a different day than we planned).  All these events are back to back days.  The boy's birthday is obviously our favorite so our anniversary is always overshadowed by that.  Seems to work out perfect though since Nana and Papa are up for Conner's birthday, they always love to babysit and give Joe and myself a chance to have a date night for our anniversary.

Since today is our anniversary, I'll start with that before hopping over to Conner's birthday party recap.  So a little anniversary story- Joe and I had actually planned for a year and a half to get married on the 13th, but after setting up for the ceremony and reception on the 12th, we decided at the last minute to make our rehearsal the real deal.  We had the best little place picked out to get married outside under the fall leaves and by a stream.  Seriously, the place was perfection. Curious on what it looked like? You can find some pics here. The weather on the other hand was not.  The forecast called for 100% rain all day and cold temps that day which crushed my dreams of an outdoor wedding with the fall colors.

So I had spent all day Friday setting up for the wedding to be inside while the weather that entire day was perfect.. sunny, warm (enough), and beautiful.  After Joe got off work he came to help me set up the remaining items before we had to get ready for the rehearsal.  But as we got ready for the rehearsal, I became an emotional wreck since all I wanted was an outdoor wedding, and there was no chance of it.  And this is when Joe sat down with me, let me finish crying, and simply suggested we get married that night down by the marina.  Joe took what seemed like a hopeless situation for me at the time and gave me my outdoor wedding - unplanned. unexpected. and perfect.

We talked to family, friends and the pastor that were en route to what was supposed to be the rehearsal and quickly told them to go to the marina.  Let me tell you - I don't think my dad was anywhere close to a happy camper for changing the plans, but Joe reminded me that this is our wedding and nobody was going to take that away from us.  So my dad walked me down the sidewalk, gave me away, and then introduced himself to Joe's dad for the first time.  How did I forget that he hadn't even been introduced to Joe's dad!?  It makes me laugh still that they met during the wedding.

We still carried out the planned wedding ceremony and reception on the 13th since we still had guests coming for that and everything was paid for.  Which just makes it even better that Joe and I were married twice within 24 hours and I got great use out that awesome dress.

Anyway, happy anniversary to the man who still makes my heart smile.

Now let's talk Conner.

We had an amazing turnout to Conner's 2nd birthday this weekend.  That little boy is loved by more people than he even knows and it was obvious by the friends and family that were able to come.

I have a serious thing for birthdays.  I love celebrating them.  Joe, not so much, but he let's me do my thing when it comes to birthdays.  I may have gone overboard with Conner's first birthday (is that even possible?) but I toned it down a tiny bit this year.  We'll just take a quick look back at Conner's first birthday to give you an idea.  We did a country fair theme for his 1st birthday.

This year, we decided on a John Deere theme.  Papa B. even let us take his Deere tractor out into his rye field right where he hunts just so I could get a picture to use for the invites.  This is huge when you impede on someone's hunting ground with all your scent right before the season opens.

We kept the decorations to a minimum this year (no straw bales, homemade signs, etc like last year) and still tried to keep a nice spread of food.  We did a chili bar and bbq pork sliders along with veggies, salad, apples/dip, cornbread and coleslaw.  For the dessert table we had "haybales" (rice krispy treats), "tractor tires" (chocolate covered doughnuts) and some awesome looking cupcakes that my mom and I made.  We played up the drinks too with "diesel fuel" (iced tea w/ lemonade), "antifreeze" (green Hawaiian punch) and a "water tank" (self explanatory).

With Conner being a little more into gifts this year, it made it a lot more fun.  He did great at tearing them open but quickly decided to go back to running his Tonka truck throughout the house - something he does every waking moment he's at home.  With all the kids there, we were more than covered with help opening the remaining gifts.  Everyone got to have fun helping open the gifts and playing with them too!

 



33 WEEKS + 2 DAY

How far along?  33 Weeks + 2 Days.  YES! Less than 7 weeks to go!
Total weight gain:  20+ pounds. This little baby is doing some serious growing now!
Maternity clothes?  yep.  Shirts are a must now.  Even t-shirts don't fit over this belly anymore.  I haven't liked pants in general this week so it's been comfy pants and loose fitting jeans.
Sleep:  Slowly losing my great sleep.  I thought I was clear of any hip pain like I had with the first pregnancy, but it's creeping back into existence which is a real bummer.  I wake up multiple times now just from the hip pain of only sleeping on my side.
Best moment this week:  I was finishing up the baby blanket this past weekend when Conner came up and pointed to blanket, looked at me with a smile and a head tilt, and said, "Baby?" I have no idea how he makes the connection between a blanket and baby, but this kid knows.  Then later he came up to me and looked at my belly before standing on his tippy toes to kiss the baby.  That little boy knows how to make me start crying. 
Cravings:  No serious cravings this week, but thin mint cookies just popped into my mind as I sit here.  Wait! Thin mint cookie cheesecake. Yes! I need thin mint cookie cheesecake.
Symptoms:  My symptoms include feeling huge! And exhausted. And feeling like I'm ready for this pregnancy to be over with so I can start cuddling on the couch with this sweet little thing.
Looking forward to:  Conner's birthday party is this weekend! We've got an overwhelming feeling of love as people rsvp that they are coming and are excited to celebrate another year with Conner.  And even though I promised Joe I wouldn't go all out like I did last year, well, let's just say I have a problem with toning it down when it comes to birthdays.  Birthdays are the best! Another year of precious life gets celebrated, and that to me is a big deal. And I love to entertain. Win, Win!

WEEKEND WRAP UP | HOME PROJECTS

I think we can sum this weekend up in four words.  Head colds, home projects.  And that's pretty much it.  Joe and Conner have been getting through their head colds throughout the week while mine was just peaking over the weekend.  Out of the three of us, Conner handles being sick the best.  Joe and I just get whiny.  It should be the other way around, yes?

 

Regardless of being cooped up around home, we had an extra productive weekend while enjoying some down time here and there.  I love those weekends where you get stuff done and still have time to relax and play.

 

Joe went hunting - without any luck, but it's still early in the season.  For now, at least it's some quiet, alone time for him - in the dark morning. in the cold. sitting still for hours on an uncomfortable tree stand. getting up really early to do this.  Can you tell that hunting hasn't seemed all that appealing to me?  But I do love that people have such a huge passion for it that they love every dark, quiet, lonely, cold minute of it.

 

Joe also started (and almost finished) roofing the shed this weekend. We were about one bundle short on the shingles so he would've finished if he could, but the end is almost near!

 

 

I felt like I got a lot accomplished on my end too!  Well, not house chores.  The house looks like a bomb of toys, crafts and dishes went off in it and we have four days to get everything back in order for Conner's birthday party.  This always happens when I get sick.  There is zero motivation to pick up the house.

 

Instead, I used my energy elsewhere on more exciting things.  I made my trip to Joann on Saturday and picked out different fabrics and things to create the nursery.  Can I just say how excited I am about this nursery and the fact that I can barely contain myself from posting all my picture right now?!!  The crib is now complete all with custom bedding for this little babe.  Crib sheet - check. Crib skirt - check.  Baby blanket - CHECK! (The baby blanket is my favorite.)  Next on the list is to make some matching throw pillows and wall decor to really set the theme.

 

I'm also under the deadline to get Conner's gift ready for him.  Last year Joe and I found a John Deere gator Power Wheels for $20.  It didn't run when we bought, but since then we did a little rewiring, bought a new sealed battery, and bought a new gear shifter.  Now all I need to do is repaint it, and it should be good to go.  I got the sanding and initial wash taken care of over the weekend.  So now I just need to do a final cleaning/drying and start spraying it down with that infamous green and yellow.  Again, only 4 days to get this done and pressure is on!  Oh, and did I mention that I still need to make all the decorations and food for the party?  Yeah... I just got a wave of to-do stress all over. but I love it!  Birthday's are the best.

 

Conner did what he does best this weekend, and that's play, run, make a mess and chase the chickens.  We went on a fun hike through our woods.  Now that fall temps have arrived and leaves are changing colors, we have to get out into the trees.  The woods are calling for us to step on their crunchy leaves.

 

 

I don't want to forget to note that this little bear was in semi-hibernation mode this weekend.  He normally wakes up around 6:30am.  This weekend - around 9am.  I loved it.

 

 

Since we had to pick up some chicken feed, we did have a little time away from the house to burn off some energy.  Conner learned to throw pennies into fountains and he thought it was the coolest thing in the world.  You have to love little kids for finding so much joy and excitement in the smallest things.

 

 Lap #23 around the fountain.  I thought for sure that tractor was going to end up in the water, but he held tight to it while he ran around.

 Toddler sprints down the railroad.  We were impressed that he never lost footing or fell.

 Even when he got his shoe stuck between ties, he never fell.  Just kept on running.

 Back to running.



WHAT'S COOKING | PUMPKIN WHIP

Happy October everyone! And happy opening day of deer season for the hunters out there.  I think we can all agree that September went way too fast, yes?? October needs to take its sweet, precious time and crawl by so I can soak in every changing leaf. And I can already tell that won't be the case.  It will be another quick blur I'm sure.

 

And since it's the first day of my favorite fall month, here's another pumpkin related recipe for y'all.  This pumpkin whip has a good amount of protein and can be used as a dip, a cold filling, or you can be like me and just eat it by itself because it's yummy.

 

 

Pumpkin Whip

 

24oz container Fat Free Cottage Cheese

1/2 c. canned pumpkin puree

1 tub lite cool whip, thawed

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 c. stevia or splenda

 

Place your cottage cheese, pumpkin, cinnamon and stevia in a food processor or blender and blend until the clumps from the cottage cheese have smoothed out.  Tip: taste the mix and see if it is sweet enough for you.  If not, you can add a little more stevia at this time.  Take that mixture and place it into a larger bowl.  Gently fold in your cool whip until well mixed.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours to let it set up.  I usually keep the cottage cheese container and cool whip container to store the pumpkin whip instead of throwing them out right away.  Less dishes - I'll take it!

 

 

 

 



32 WEEKS

 

How far along?  32 Weeks. That means there are only 8 weekends left before our little family of three gains one more smile. (:
Total weight gain:  19 pounds. 
Maternity clothes?  Oh, the usual.  Mainly pre-preggo jeans with some maternity jeans every once in a while.  I'm not a huge fan of maternity jean panel against my belly so I tend to avoid them.  They're itchy.  When it comes to shirts, I think there's only 2 pre-pregnancy shirts that are long enough to cover this baby up.  Otherwise, maternity shirts it is!
Best moment this week:  We had a really fun Saturday morning driving around the Leelanau peninsula and spending time in Leland for lunch.  I feel like the rest of the weekends from here on out are going to be focused on getting things prepped for this baby. 
Miss anything?  Nada.  Not this week at least. 
Cravings:  I had a serious craving for some Havarti cheese last week and we were able to pick up a nice little chunk of it in Leland.  A cold gala apple and cheese have become the new bedtime snack the past few days.  Mmmmm...
Symptoms:  I'm tired.  All the time.  Maybe it's the shorter amount of daylight everyday that makes me want to just hibernate longer, but let's be real.  Third trimester exhaustion is in full swing now.
Looking forward to:  I'm looking forward to getting some things ready for the nursery this weekend.  I think a trip to Joann Fabrics is in order to make some custom items for this little baby's room.  Joe on the other hand is looking forward to October 1st - Opening day for deer season.  I really hope Joe gets a nice big one this year. 

The little babe had a scheduled prenatal appointment last Friday.  All is good!  Heartbeat was good and strong and fundal height is still spot on.  According to my Babycenter app, this little peapod is now about 3-3/4 lbs and 16-3/4" long and gaining almost a 1/2 pound a week from here on out.  I try to remember how Conner was as far as movements go - I remember thinking that he moved a lot, but this baby seems to move non-stop throughout the day.  And I love every single kick.  Even the ones directly to my bladder.



WEEKEND WRAP UP | FISHTOWN

We crossed one more item off our "summertime" bucket list this weekend.  We're cheating since technically it's fall now, but close enough.  When the weather on a Saturday is sunny and warm at the end of September, you take advantage and make a drive out to Leland the historic fishtown.  I don't see too many more days in the 70s so we were happy to get out and enjoy it with Conner.

 

I haven't been up the Leelanau coast since Joe and I got married, so again, we took advantage of it and drove up the coast to Northport and down the other side of the peninsula to Leland.  This is well known M-22 for anyone outside the state.  It's an awesome drive, and it's probably one of the best drives to make during the fall color tour.  So now you know what to do if you're looking for ideas for a fall vacation.  I'll even give you a quick itinerary:  Fall color tour, wine tasting along Leelanau or Old Mission, Leland, pumpkin and apple picking, all the foodie restaurants.  I digress.

 

This was Conner's first trip out to Leland so we let him explore the marina's docks and the main shopping dock with all the historic wooden buildings turned into shops.  Conner was all about the docks and nothing about the shops.  Typical boy I guess.  I was a little curious to see how he'd do on the docks since the water is pretty deep in the marina and there's nothing to stop this little waterbug from jumping in like he does whenever he sees water.  He did great though! No attempts at jumping but toward the end he wanted to just run and not watch how close he was coming to the edge.  That's when I suggested we get this little boy back on land.

 

 

 

And since we were out there we had to pick up sandwiches, Havarti cheese and smoked whitefish.  I mean com'mon, if you're going to make the trip all the way out there, you have to splurge on some of the most delicious foods. Plus there was a Havarti craving that needed to be satisfied so I checked that off my list.

 

 

 

We managed to get back home before 1pm which is always awesome with a little kid.  Just enough time to run around at home for a little bit and crashing for a long afternoon nap.  I admit, I also participated in a nice afternoon nap that I didn't wake up from until 7pm!  I have a love/hate relationship with naps.  I love them (especially nowadays) but I always spend the rest of the evening feeling more tired and like I completely wasted the day. 

 

 

 

Sunday wasn't too much out of the normal for a low key Sunday.  I pretty much soaked up as much relaxation as possible while I did some meal planning.  Joe on the other hand has been Captain Productive this weekend with yard work, roofing the shed, cleaning/organizing the garage, giving Conner countless golf cart rides and probably a lot more than I even realize.  Yeah, he made me look like a lazy bum this weekend without even trying. :)

 

Here's a Sunday afternoon walk that ended up in Conner deciding it'd be fun to roll down the ditch into the woods. The boys finished the walk through the woods while I walked the empty stroller back.



WHAT'S COOKING | SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN CHILI

Last night's dinner was unplanned and lacked direction and quite frankly, I was concerned we'd end up with a big batch of soup that nobody wanted to eat.  While it was very unplanned and lacked any direction, it pulled together and tasted so dang delicious.

 

My intent for dinner last night was to make a chicken tortilla soup, but at some point I veered and also tried making a chili.  I don't know what I was thinking.  It was my indecisiveness at its finest and our taste buds were at stake here.  So after dumping all the ingredients in the slow cooker, I sat over the next 6 hours wondering, worrying if these flavors were going to come together or leave us with a batch of nastiness.  Score one for the taste buds because it tasted amazing.

 

And despite Joe's grumbling about there being beans in it, he really liked the flavor and even packed leftovers for lunch today.  Win!

 

 

Southwestern Chicken Chili

 

3 chicken breasts, trimmed

3/4 c. quinoa, rinsed

3 c. chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can mild chili beans

1 c. frozen corn

1/2 jalapeno, deseeded and diced

1/3 c. onion, diced

1 tbs cilantro, chopped

1 packet fajita seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

 

Simple directions here.  Dump all your ingredients into the slow cooker.  Just don't drain and rinse the chili beans, you want the entire can in there.  Cook on low for 6 hours.  Remove the chicken breast, shred, and place it back into the slow cooker.  Cook for an additional 30 minutes.  Since slow cookers cook differently, you may need to adjust your time to get the chicken to the point where it shred easily.

 

Top it with your favorite chili or tortilla soup toppings - sour cream, shredded cheese, oyster crackers, avocado, extra cilantro or baked tortilla strips.