Update!

Life has been so busy. Just with everything. I know I've been MIA, but I'm doing my best to get caught back up!

This is what our agenda in the near future is looking like (if anyone cares):

1. We had an election that turned out terribly bad. But I'm not one to rant and rave about politics, so I'll leave it that. And the fact that God knows exactly what he's doing when He puts people in position of leadership, and really when anything happens the way it does. So I trust in that and only that when I think about our country over the next 4 years.
2. We had maternity pics done (YAY) which I'll post some of when we get them all back.
3. We are finishing up the nursery (YAY) which I'll post pics of when it's done done. I can't do a halfway nursery because justice will not be done. Haha.
4. We had a baby shower (YAY) which I'll post pics of when I get more of them from mom.
5. We had Thanksgiving and 3 birthdays (yikes, that's alot). Shout out to Kate, Case, and Dad. I love ya'll 3 something ridiculous. 
6. We're getting our Christmas tree this Friday (YAY), and I'll decorate the house while Casey has guard this weekend. And yes, I'll post pictures.
7. We got new couches (YAY) because Kate bought a house (YAY) and moved out (BOOOOOOO). I really am so sad. I know it had to happen eventually especially with the baby coming, but it's such a huge change. I cried Sunday night. The first night she wasn't there. Casey gets me, so he knows I love living with him (duh) and the girls (obvi), but there's just something about sisters. Anyways, I'll show you pictures of the new couches when I post Christmas pics. We actually had a minor fiasco with this. We selected couches back in July--yes, JULY--and Casey picked them up Saturday morning. They are awesome and so sophisticated...and so not us or the girls or our lifestyle. So after a tiny breakdown on my part when Rooms To Go said we couldn't exchange them, we finally talked to someone who said we could exchange for anything of equal or greater value. They really get you. Seriously. I'm not the biggest fan of Rooms To Go after all this mess. But we got couches we love. Of course, we are spending more money, which is, frankly, exactly what they want. It's dumb. And why I'm not a huge fan anymore...apart from the interest free financing for 2 years. I know, inside, Casey was shaking his head at me the whole time we were at the store last night picking out the couch and love seat. On the outside, though, he just went along with me. Yes, I took the measuring tape. No, not to make sure the couches fit the room. But, yes, to make sure that the arm rest was low enough that Brooks could comfortably rest her head on it while she sleeps cause it helps her breath better. And I measured the depth of the cushions because Boone is longer than Brooks and tends to not ball up as much. And I measure the height of the couch from the floor to make sure that they could find a "step" between the couch base and the cushion to get their little legs up to get on by themselves. And yes, I measured to make sure they could comfortably jump off. Only secondary to all that was the look, comfort, and our own enjoyment. Just kidding. That was primary. But if the couch didn't work for the girls, it was a deal breaker for me. What we really wanted is an "L" sectional. But that will have to wait until a bigger house and way down the road since we now have new couches downstairs and only a year old set upstairs. The rooms in this house are just too small. And that's fine with me cause it already takes too long to clean. Plus, cozy is better in my book. THAT was our entire couch situation which will hopefully be completely over with by next Thursday when the final exchange of said terrible couch set and perfect couch set takes place.

On another note, I'm 7 months preggo. AHHHHHH. For real cannot believe he'll be here in just two short months...or maybe sooner if all that runs in the family. Dawn was early with all 6 of hers, and mom was early with all 4 of us. Eek. We definitely still have stuff to do, and I know I'll never truly be ready until he arrives. And I know our little world will change big time, but we're so excited. Right now, he's still kicking and moving and flipping like nobody's business. It's quite impressive. It never gets old seeing him do the worm in the my tummy or use me as a punching bag. And I think I actually felt hiccups for the first time last night. I'm not sure cause what does that really feel like when a person inside you has hiccups? Honestly, who can tell that? But it was the first time the "bump, bump, bump" was so rhythmic and perfect. And unless he was choreographing a dance in there, I'm convinced it was hiccups. And Casey got to feel too. I always like when he can experience what's going on with Colton too.

I haven't really had any new recipes worth writing home about. I've been rotating stuff we already know because, like I said, life has just been busy. So you haven't missed any recipe postings. Phew.

I promise I'll be back sooner than next month. Bible. If you watch The Kardashians (should I be embarrassed to admit that? I probably should...), you know what that means.

Progress

Progress with the baby!

I'm growing. 27 weeks--OMG. And quickly approaching the 3rd trimester. Yikes. Casey informed last night that we have exactly 92 days left. I better get this show on the road. We have our hospital tour scheduled for Tuesday night. As if I don't know what a maternity center in a hospital looks like, right? (Sister with 6 kids...) But I suppose I've never been with the perspective that I will be having a baby in there.

Actually here's a pic from last week! (Boone was posing too...Not fair cause she's so slim and trim in this pic)

Also, newsflash! My hair isn't this long anymore. I just got it cut.

So hopefully there will be more frequent and cuter bump pics now that my hair doesn't look like a bird's nest.


How far along: 27 weeks
Weight: +16 pounds (ew)
Cravings: Not really anything. Grape G2. Thirsty! Oh and a warm chocolate chip cookie with ice cream.
What I miss: Running without peeing and aching.
What I'm looking forward to: Baby shower with awesome cake!!!! Maternity Pics!!!!!
What I'm not looking forward to: Getting so big I can't shave my legs myself. Does that really happen?
The size of the baby: A rutabaga. I don't even know what that is!...so I looked it up (see below).

Interesting, right? My thoughts exactly...And really doesn't clue me in to how big this baby is. The rutabagas look significantly smaller than the canteloupe from my last update. So I'm not sure what's going on...He's definitely bigger though!

Also, we painted the nursery this weekend! We had two fantastic helpers. Once we get the rest of the furniture in there (we set up the crib on Sunday), I can start the decorating. I cannot wait. I think once the nursery is done, I'll feel more ready even though there's still a ton to do and to get and to learn. It's a process, and we've been making progress...I just can't believe Colton is only 3 months away!

Our supervisor:

Sleeping on the job:

Helping dad:

And the results of helping mom:

Guilty-As-Charged 

I was touching up the trim on Sunday, and the girls were helping me, and all of sudden Boone walks up behind with paint on her chop, chin, nose, lips, and toes. It was the cutest thing. As if she was confessing, "Mom, I was playing in the paint lid, I'm sorry. Will you clean me up now?" I couldn't resist a picture. Brooks got the dark blue paint on her toes on Saturday. For the most part they tiptoed around the plastic we had laid out and avoided all the paint, but as puppies, curiosity got the best of them twice. Otherwise, perfectly content to be where we were and play with their toys. I was impressed, really. Excellent helpers!

I love our girls. They are excited for Colton to get here. They told me.

Paint. Lowes. Valspar. Eggshell Finish. The lighter color (3 walls) is called Mystic Sea (it's like a light teal...we did not want baby blue). The darker color (1 wall) is called Filoli Dark Iris.

We love it!

More nursery updates and a grand finale tour to come as we get things all set up. 

Shout out to my Momma who's making the crib skirt. She's awesome. And it's going to look amazeballs.

Stuffed Zucchini

A recipe blog! Long time, no write, you guys. My apologies! This recipe I discovered a couple months ago, and we LOVE it. Seriously. I kept meaning to blog about it but always forgot to take pictures until this past Monday night!

Stuffed Zucchini
serves 3

Ingredients:
3 zucchini
1/2 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Seasoned Salt (we use Lawry's)
Italian Seasoning

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Trim the stems from zucchini and slice lengthwise.

Scoop out the seeds and put them into a bowl.

Mix the insides with meat, garlic, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese. Add seasoned salt and italian seasoning as desired.

Stuff the zucchini shells with the mixture and place in a sprayed 9x13 inch pan. We always have insides leftover, so what we do at our house is make baby zucchini meatballs that are ready sooner than the stuffed zucchini. Voila! A built-in appetizer! Or you can put them in the fridge for another time.

Pour sauce over the zucchini and cover the pan with foil.

Put the pan of meatballs and the foil-covered zucchini in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

The meatballs should be done at this point--snack away--but the covered zucchini needs to cook an additional 15 minutes or until meat is cooked through (for a total of 45 minutes for the stuffed zucchini).
Remove the foil and cover with Mozzarella cheese. Cook until cheese is melted (we like to broil it to brown the cheese a bit).

Enjoy!

Super tired babies after papa's daycare yesterday. So funny.

Just...can't...make it.

Love my girls.

(They choose to sit in the crate...they love it. We did NOT stuff them in there. We have an open door policy on the crate.)

UFC Fighter

Casey and I decided we have a future UFC Fighter on our hands.

He kicks like it's his job. I saw him kick for the first time on Thursday (October 11). Ahhhhhhhhhhh! I was home with Brooks and Boone (post-puppy surgery) and was just doing some work and looked down to see some little feet or elbows or fists popping out. So crazy! We've been feeling movement for weeks now, but seeing it was just a whole different ball game. I told Casey he must be ready to come out. It's getting to be quite the tight fit in there. I'm okay with him staying in there another 3 months so momma can get herself prepared.

**Brooks is doing exponentially better, by the way. The Lord really watches over my puppies and my heart. Sigh. She's still recovering but she has way more energy and just an extra pep in her step. It's amazing what an open airway can do. I'm just glad both my babies are healthy and happy now.

Here the girls are back together again (by the way, our little peas in a pod do not like being separated), leaning against each other in the truck headed home from Grandma and Papa's house. Brooks is on her way to sleepy town and Boone is about board the train to get there. They are so funny cause they don't want to miss anything, so they just sit up and start to fall asleep sitting up. It's the funniest thing. They really are like little kids.

So funny. So presh. Colton will LOVE them! There will be no practicing of UFC moves with the girls.

"Accents are to a room what sprinkles are to a cupcake."

 Love this. I think it's so true. Thank you, Pier 1, for that email reminder. Decorating is so fun!

And now who doesn't want a delicious cupcake too?

Bumpdate

Me with my girls. I was trying to get them to kiss the baby, but I think it's obvious I was luring them with a treat. Cute, nonetheless. Here's my 5 month plus baby bump. Not so baby anymore?

How far along: 24 weeks
Weight: +14 pounds (ew)
Cravings: Pumpkin Crumb Cake (yummmmmm) and McIntosh Apples. Not together. And french fries. But I've only had them a couple times since being pregnant. You should be proud. And baby does need an extra 300 calories a day to grow.So I say it's okay sometimes :)
What I miss: Laying on my tummy. Not to sleep. You know, just because. Like a teenage girl, reading a book with her legs in the air waving back and forth. Yes, I miss that. And a good abdominal stretch. Like when you are laying down or even sitting down and raise your arms above your head and just stretch all out and from side to side. I can't do that anymore. I miss that too.
What I'm looking forward to: Not working? Haha. Staying home with my girls and my boy. Then we'll just need Casey home! More in the near future...decorating the nursery.
What I'm not looking forward to: Glucose test and Rhogam shot.
The size of the baby: Somewhere between a grapefruit and a canteloupe...canteloupes are HUGE! I feel like there's a canteloupe inside me for sure.

Oh and get a load of this vid. This will be our girls with Colton. Love love love.

Text from Kate that's totally worth posting.

Background:
We took the girls to Boone yesterday. We had a picnic and what not. On the way home Boone was looking a little green and shivering. So I tried to wake her up and she wouldn't even move when I started messing with her chops and her ears and her wrinkles, so I knew she didn't feel good. I covered her up with two blankets, and we stopped off the side of the road, and I got out and rubbed her and gave her kisses and was about to take her out of the car when she tossed her cookies. Poor little girl. So I took her out of the car and we cleaned her up and made sure she was okay. Much better after that. Perhaps those curvy mountain roads combined with tummy troubles from the previous night were not a good combo. My little baby. So when we got home, I washed blankets and towels.

While I was at the gym, I received this text from Kate:

"Is it sad that I put a dryer sheet in with the girls' blankets so they'll be fluffy, cling-free, and smell nice?"

Thanks, Kate, for putting that stuff in the dryer. And no, that is not sad at all. They deserve the best.

On a side note, all girls are feeling great today. Praise the Lord.

More sweet nothings.

Me: Casey?
Him: Yes?
Me: You're so handsome.
Him: You're so beautiful.

....

Me: Casey?
Him: Yes?
Me: You're so intelligent.
Him: You're so smart.

....

Me: Casey?
Him: Yes?
Me: You're so helpful and wonderful and...
Him: Well, you're all that. And a bag of chips.

Oh boy, oh boy. I love him.

Sweet Things Casey Says

Casey says the sweetest and funniest things ALL. THE. TIME. Not kidding.

I thought this one was extra cute. He's like a little kid sometimes, and I love that about him.

"I was talking to Tony (Sargeant Hall) yesterday 

and he was asking about my lunch 

and he said his wife makes him lunch 

and we talked about the similar stuff 

you girls put in our lunches. 

Pretty much we agreed that our wives are awesome."

I thought next he was going to say he traded his grapes for a banana or something. Like lunch time in the school cafeteria.

I'm glad he appreciates his lunches. I still need to get him a new lunch box. The one he has is falling apart. 

Oven Baked "Corn Dogs"

I can't believe how long it's been since I've done a meal blog. Cray cray. So here we go.

Oven Baked "Corn Dogs"

Why the quotation marks, you ask? Well, because I don't eat pig. Pig parts or pig meat...unless it's bacon. But that's a recent development and it has to be for a reason. (Example: It's in a recipe. Or it's crispy and just sitting in front of me made by either Mom or Casey. Those are the only times. That I'm aware of.) For this recipe though, we used veggie dogs! Casey was totally up for trying this. He's such a trooper when it comes to vegetarian meals I want to try.

We used these veggie dogs. At Harris Teeter they are found in the packaged produce section...as in where you can find bagged lettuce and carrots and what not.

Ingredients:

1 box corn muffin mix, 8.5 oz (we used Jiffy)
1/2 c flour
1 eggs
1/4-1/2 c milk
1/4 stick butter, melted
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 scallion, finely chopped
5 jumbo veggie dogs (1 package)

Action shots:

Combine muffin mix with the flour, then stir in the eggs, milk, and melted butter. Season the mix with cayenne, hot sauce, and scallions. The batter will be a thick, sticky biscuit dough. Place hot dog in the bowl of batter and coat with the dough (we put them on skewers too like real corn dogs). Don't coat it on too thick or it will off during cooking. But you still want to make sure you cover the whole dog.

Hand model creds: Katie Lamb

Ready to go in the oven:

Place in a sprayed pan. Preheat oven to 425.

Bake about 14-15 minutes or until a deep brown all over.

Ready to eat:

Served with a few sweet potato fried, strawberries and grapes, and ketchup (not shown) for dipping.

Ratings:

Kate gave them a 7 out of 10. Seriously?
Casey gave them a 8 out of 10. What!
I gave them a 9.5 out of 10.

I thought they were just delicious. They took me back to my childhood days of eating corn dogs like 5 times as a kid. Yum! Except these dogs each had 3 grams of fiber, 13 grams of protein, and only 100 cal. Yes, please! We're on board the healthy train. Definitely making these dogs again.

I think Casey is excited that I liked these smart dogs so much because he really likes Brats on rare occasions. You know, like a fall football Saturday. I won't even entertain the thought of brats. Gross out. So he had a brilliant idea that he could grill a brat with fixins for him and a smart dog for me. Sure thing, baby. He's a grill master, and I can't remember the last time I had a hot dog! And you can eat veggie dogs while you're preggo. Bonus!

Pumpkin Crumb Cake

Fall is here! Break out the pumpkin. So stoked for this weather we've had lately. The girls love it. We roll the truck windows down, and their ears flap in the wind. They are so stinkin cute.

I got this recipe from Dawn. Amazeballs. Seriously. You have to try it.

Perk of having a sister and brother-in-law with a huge vegetable garden? Even though they have 6 kids, they still have plenty to share. So that means, come fall, they have tons of fresh pumpkin to share! Fresh pumpkin is way better than Libby's canned any day. Oh-em-gee. You haven't tasted fall till you've tasted fresh pumpkin.

Here's a picture of the pumpkin we used for the crumb cake. Fresh from the garden.

That's 2 cups of pumpkin. Exactly what we need for the crumb cake.

That being said, the ingredients are as follows:

1 package yellow cake mix
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted

1 can (or 2 cups) pumpkin puree
3 eggs beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup white sugar
3 T butter, softened

Base layer:

Reserve 1 cup of the cake mix. 

In a large bowl, combine the remaining dry cake mix with the beaten egg and melted butter. Press into a greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan.

Pumpkin Filling:

Mix together pumpkin, vanilla, 3 eggs, 1/2 c white sugar, brown sugar, and spices. Pour the filling over the unbaked crust.

Crumb topping (and ready to go in the oven):

In a small bowl, mix the reserved 1 c cake mix, 1/2 c white sugar, and 3 T softened butter. Crumble over the filling.

Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes or until the center has firmed.

Fresh from the oven:

A warm taste test for an afternoon snack: 

Casey and I couldn't wait for it to cool...actually, it was mainly me that had a hard time waiting :) But he jumped on board too.

 You need to try this. I find it more of a dessert than a breakfast cake. But suit yourself! Whatever reason you can come up with to eat it is even better. Cause it's really quite amazingly delicious.

Here's the baby vid. Please note my certainty that it's a girl accompanied by extreme lack of surprise. Then,upon finding out that we are in fact having a boy, my complete shock.

Thankfully, no eff-bombs were dropped. That's a complete joke. I would never do that. Seriously though, I wouldn't.

I still can't believe a boy! But, it's great that he has a name (YAY) and to be able to call him "he" now. On a side note, Casey felt the baby kick for the first time in bed on Wednesday night. It was so very cool. And special. And now Baby K kicks all the time. I think he's going to play soccer or do jujitsu or something.

Me: We're [VO2 max] testing some bobcats tomorrow.

silence

Me: Not the animal.

Kate: Really? Cause that was my first thought. Cause it would be really awkward putting a mask on their faces.

Me: I don't think I'd have a face after that.

Anyhow, testing some Bobcats NBA-ers at Time Warner Cable Arena today. Woohoo.

Ballin job. I'm kind of a big deal. But not.

Baby K's Pimp Shoes

I promise.

I deliver.

Here they are.

Gray high tops with fold over plaid. OMG. I cannot wait. He may not be able to walk, but he'll still need shoes to keep his feet warm, right?

I think I've aged 10 years...

Last weekend seriously RIGHT after Casey and I got home after missing our girls for a week, I gave Boone her favorite toy back. We didn't let her have it at grandma and papa's because she'd already chewed two rubber feet off the elephant under our watch. I didn't want to risk her getting the other two off and us not seeing.

Well, I missed them so much and knew she'd be so excited to have it back, I gave it to her, and she went to town. Seriously. She was like a piggy in mud. I kept checking on her while we were making dinner and stuff. Suddenly much to my terror, I saw her chew awkwardly, and I just knew. Mom's know these things...so I ran over to pull the foot out of her mouth, and she swallowed. I totally beat myself up. We contemplated what to do and at 9 pm on Saturday night decided to take her to the emergency vet, and see if they could get it out rather than wait to see our vet on Monday since that might be too late.

We took her over and sure enough, an xray later they saw the purple, 1.5x2 inch, rubbery, plastic hand hanging out in her tummy. So they gave her meds to get her to throw it up. Voila--problem solved. Not. She got her food up, but no hand. We had the three more options. We weren't the least bit comfortable with the first two, or even the third really. But the third option was the only definitive, surefire way to get that hand out before it caused an obstruction in her intestines or on the way to them. There was no way she'd pass this sucker, and obstructions are way more dangerous and complicated. I was a true basketcase. I did not plan on going to the puppy hospital and leaving my baby there. Casey and I got home around midnight, and they were planning surgery for 1 am and a phone to call us by 3 am for the news. By 3:45 am and no call or much sleep, I called in a panic. They had just taken her back to surgery and would call when she was done. I cried the whole night cause I blamed myself. If it's this hard (emotionally) to have a puppy, I convinced myself I would be a terrible mother. The doctors don't know her, she doesn't know them, Brooks doesn't understand, she doesn't even understand, they had to pull her to the back she was so scared, bulldogs don't do well with anesthesia, recovery complications, and on and on and on.

They called at 6 am saying they got the hand, in one piece of course, as bulldogs don't chew a whole lot, and that she was now resting comfortably. And they'd have to keep her until Monday morning. Seriously? What the eff? Out of surgery was the biggest relief ever, but we wanted to see our little girl. Brooks did okay with all the attention,  and I called multiple times during the day just to check on her, but we got an update from her doctor Sunday night that if she still couldn't eat by Monday morning they'd have to keep her a whole nother day. What! No. Way. In the grand scheme of things, despite missing her, I'd rather have her under their watch during this time than at home where we couldn't provide her with any emergency care if needed. As a mom, you want to be the one to take care of your little ones though. Harder on me than her, I'm sure.

Here's Brooks: super cute and kinda bored without her sister. Look at those feet!!

I prayed hard, hard, hard some more and begged for prayers from everyone I knew who would understand. These girls are not just my puppies, they are my babies. After a sleepless night by Brooks (finally realizing her buddy was really gone) and consequently, a sleepless night for us, on Monday morning at 6 am, we got the call that she ate with a vengeance (typical Boone). YAY! My heart lit up, and we took Brooks to pick Boone up at 7 am.

Here they are cuddling as soon as they both got back in the car to go home.

Happy to be back together with kisses.

The toughest part is keeping them from playing too much. This breaks my heart! They love to play and rumble, and we have to wait 2 whole weeks. Ahhhhh! Boone has 3 layers of internal sutures and 1 layer of staples externally. We just have to keep her tied together! I just want them to be able to play, play, play. In the meantime, we're eating a combo of boiled chicken, white rice, and now the addition of puppy food. Talk about happy campers. We're letting Brooks enjoy the people food too. She's become quite the eater. I think she's going to boycott puppy food when we go back to solely that.

Here's Boone bundled up, sleeping off another dose of pain meds and doing well!

Don't you just want to squeeze that face?

I love them both so so much. They are both happier to be back together and home. And so are we.

I won't even tell you the cost of puppy surgery and hospital stay...my girls are worth it though. I'd do it again in a heartbeat for healthy pups. In the meantime, we've inventoried their toy selection and trimmed and trashed a few. Bummer.

Boy oh boy

First off, I feel like I have a ton to talk about. But I'll just start with one thing at a time.

Friday, September 7: Dr appointment to find out gender...but we didn't find out. Boo. We do have this cutie picture though.

Saturday, September 8: Suspense.

Sunday, September 9: Gender Reveal!

We had a very simple get together with our families and of course, Ashley. This was the simple set up: Some pink poofs, blue poofs, muddy buddies with pink m&ms and then a bowl with blue m&ms, some cheese and crackers, a fruit plate (with a yummy cream cheese dip!), and blue punch and pink punch!

Blue Poofs

Pink Poofs

The best blue and pink punch we could come up with. That ish is not easy.

Pink Muddy Buddies (L) and Blue Muddy Buddies (R)

Fruit!

Cheese. Crackers.

 And of course a wonderful surprise cake! Thank you, Katie Lamb! And Daphne's Simply Southern Bakery in Mint Hill. Pretty, huh?

 We also had some flowers and of course blue polka napkins pink damask napkins. Choose your colors accordingly!

Our legit reaction. Talk about a surprise. I thought it was a girl, and my whole family thought girl. I thought Casey and his family thought boy, but come to find out they all thought girl (just wanted boy!). So, basically we all thought it was going to be a girl. As soon as we cut into the cake, I thought I saw pink, so I didn't have much of a reaction...I'll have to include the video for your viewing pleasure. Then Casey, pulled up the piece of cake, and this is what went down. Complete shock! What do I do with a boy!

   

We were supposed to leave for our Babymoon Cruise the next day (post to come), so we went to Old Navy after everyone left to buy some boy clothes :) We found the most pimp shoes. I'm so stoked. Boy clothes can be cute too!!!!! Forget bubble skirts and rompers and rouching! Bring on the dirt and newsie hats and little tiny skinny jeans and sailboat and race car shirts!

The arrow is between his legs, pointing to his "turtle". That's what the ultrasound tech called it, and I kind of love the term. I think I'll just have to start using it.

A boy!