Home Sweet Home!

We are home now! I'll post more later tonight, but I just wanted to thank you all for your prayers. It feels good to be back at the zoo. Stay tuned for more pictures!

How to keep busy when you're 9 months pregnant

While the fear of my water breaking or just losing control of my bladder keeps me around home most of the time, there are still plenty of things we can find to do around here...


like wrestle with daddy- this is Adam's new favorite thing to do. I'm just praying one of his stick limbs doesn't snap in the process.


We eat chocolate chip cookies.


We check on the flowers. The black eyed Susans filled in nicely this year.



Amanda, this one's for you! I noticed that Cathy L. added this one to her garden as well. :)


We read- from whatever angle I'm comfortable.

Four Days Until Due date

I can't believe I'm still pregnant. My mom came last night and spent the night because she didn't want me being alone with the kids today. Casey will be home around 5:30. I surely am getting uncomfortable. The Braxton Hicks contractions are waking me up in the night, but the nurse practitioner said that's good, they are working to get me dilated. I wonder what they'll say on Friday. Hopefully I won't have to go to that appointment if you know what I'm saying.

I chopped up some tomatoes from the garden and put them in the freezer this morning, and I'll probably shred up some more zucchini today to freeze. It's going to be really hot today, so I'll most likely lounge around looking at Taste of Home magazines and read The Scarlet Thread. Excellent book, you gotta love Francine Rivers. I love when mom comes to visit. :)

Nothing New

I wish I had something exciting to blog, but I don't.
As you can tell, this is how I pass the time while I'm sticking close to home- I bake. A lot. It's rather ridiculous, but I can't help myself. This is the blackberry/raspberry cobbler I made yesterday. The kids don't like the seeds, so Casey and I ate it all by ourselves. And we were happy. I think I'm back to chocolate chip cookies today... I'd better get my butter out.

For Jenny Muth, because it's her birthday

Here is the recipe I said I would post a while ago...

***Chocolate Macaroon Cupcakes***

2 egg whites
1 egg
1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. 1% buttermilk

FILLING:
1 c. fat-free ricotta cheese
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg white
1/3 c. flaked coconut
1/2 tsp. coconut or almond extract (I used almond and it was just... wrong)
2 tsp. confectioner's sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, egg, applesauce and vanilla. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa and b. soda; gradually add to egg white mixture alternately with buttermilk. Spoon half of the batter into 18 muffin cups coated with nonstick cooking spray.
In another mixing bowl, beat the ricotta cheese, sugar and egg white until smooth. Stir in coconut and extract. Spoon 1 TBS in the center of each muffin cup. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with remaining batter.
Bake at 350 for 28-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in cupcake comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks; cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar.
Yield: 1 1/2 dozen

Zucchini and Popsicles

I finally scored a couple zucchini from the neighbor lady. If you talk about it long enough you're bound to find somebody giving away zucchini. Of course, I would never enjoy zucchini as a vegetable in and of itself, but if you shred it up and find just the right Taste of Home recipe, you can make something tremendous with it- like a chocolate zucchini roll with cream cheese filling. Oh my, it is pretty tasty. So ha ha on my boys! You ate a vegetable today and didn't even know it!


My mother-in-law LOVES glads. She's going to be so jealous!


Popsicles! I am not a fan at all, but the kids think this is the greatest thing that could possibly happen in their day.

Because Inquiring Minds Want to Know

I had my check-up today with the nurse practitioner. All is well, I am dilated to 2cm and 70 % thinned out, and baby's head is right there. Yay for progress! Tomorrow is 39 weeks, I am feeling like a champion. With a tiny bladder.