Do you Boo?

I am so excited that tomorrow begins Booing in my neighborhood. What is booing you ask? Well, we started this in my neighborhood a few years ago. There is a cute little poem and sign that you print up. Then you make up goody bags with treats and put the sign and poem/directions in the bags. You sneak over to your neighbors house at night and leave the goodies on the door. Then, they put up their "I've been Boo'd" sign so that other neighbors won't Boo them again. It is just like a chain letter and hopefully keeps spreading to everyone before Halloween gets here. It is best to start it on the first day of the month to let it have a chance to spread. Also, you have to factor in folks taking a few days to get their Boo bags together. There is also one for Christmas called Elfing. I"ll post on that closer to the end of Thanksgiving.

Just in case I went on bed rest, I had picked up some Boo goodies a few weeks ago. So, we are all set to still participate. It is so much fun to wake up and see a Boo bag on your front door. They have started selling Boo kits at Target and Hallmark in the last year. So, if you are interested, you can buy premade things, but I think it is fun to make up your own. We usually do candy and then find little toys for the Halloween bags. The Target dollar spot can be a great place to find these too.

If you do Booing, I'd love to hear from you what you do and what kind of goodies you put in your Boo bags.

Happy Haunting!

Fabulous Favorite Friday

Hey everyone. I had intended on doing this post much earlier, but even though I'm still on bed rest I'm still feeling very, very tired today. So, I've been resting like the doctor has ordered.

We are marching along towards Tuesday when I will be 34 weeks, a huge milestone. I am taking things day by day and week by week. If I thought about how many more weeks I may be on bed rest, it would drive me crazy. So, I just look at it day by day. We are grateful that things have worked out so that I've been able to keep Little Logan in this long and hopefully longer.



Ok, I thought it might be fun to post about things that haven nothing to do with each other, but have been on my mind lately. I think with knowing fall is here I know that apples will be in season. And, with having this gestational diabetes I can't eat apple pie and good stuff, but can't wait until I can.

Ironically, I got an email this week from Betty Crocker's website that had apple recipes. I went to their website and saw this one. It looks so yummy and I thought I would share. I like the thought of this one especially for my friends who work that you could make this one night after work and it wouldn't take too much time, but would be a semi-home made dessert.

If any of y'all give this a try, be sure to come back and post a comment or shoot me an email. I'd love to feature your review as a feature post.

Southern Apple Crisp
Filling:
3 large apples, peeled, coarsely chopped (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine, cut into small pieces
Topping:
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1.Heat oven to 300°F. Spray bottom and sides of 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, toss filling ingredients. Spread mixture in baking dish.
2.In same large bowl, stir cookie mix and melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.
3.Bake 40 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with pecans. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Heat oven to 325°F.


My second Fabulous Favorite Friday pick is this scrapbooking tool called the Crop O Dile Big Bite made by a company called We R Memory Keepers.

This tool is great because it will let you punch holes in the middle of a piece of paper. I like to scrap on 12x12 size paper and like to make holes in the middle sometimes.


This tool also lets you work with embellishments called brads. It will set them on the page for you. This tool looks really complicated, but once you see it used in action it is pretty simple. I went and did a search on You Tube so that if you wanted to see this used in action, you'd have a video to check out. Here is one I found that has a lovely British lady who narrates it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV3iedtncGY

I've had the opportunity to try this out using it to punch holes in the middle of a piece of paper and I've loved it so far. I bought mine (pre bed rest) and was able to use a coupon to get it at Michael's for 1/2 off. So, it was $20. I know this is something I will use a lot. I can't wait to work on something with brads. As you'll see in the video, it tells you in the packaging which settings to use for brads. And if you don't know what a brad is, they'll show you that in the video too. :)

In the video they mention the original Crop O Dile. I have that tool also, but I didn't like that it had a very limited reach. I like how I can do more with this tool.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll try to do more posting next week, provided this little guy stays put.

Will check in later

Just getting started this morning. Will post my Fabulous Favorite Friday picks later today.

Dunder Mifflin

Only two more days to go until the season premier of The Office. I am so excited! I just love this show. There were so many cliff hangers that I can't wait to see resolved. Will Pam & Jim finally get engaged? Will Phyllis spill the beans on Angela & Dwight? Will Michael finally ditch that shrew Jan and end up with the new HR lady? And, I'm wondering if Toby and the guy who was the intern and then ended up as Michael's boss (his name is escaping me at the moment) if they will make appearances again?

This show reminds me a lot of how Seinfeld started out. I started watching at the beginning because frankly there wasn't anything else on in that time slot. Then the show hit its groove and now everything just clicks. DH agrees with me. He couldn't stand the show at first and now he loves it too.

So, do any of y'all love The Office too?

Tomorrow morning is my next ob appointment. We are at 33 weeks today, yippee! So, I can't wait to hear how much longer he thinks we can hold out. I'm glad to know it won't be too long. Bed rest is no fun. It really isn't rest. But, I'm hanging in there. Thank goodness for crafts and laptops. LOL

Hope you have a great day!

Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives

Happy Monday everyone. I am still hanging in there. This weekend has consisted of resting and surfing the net, watching tv, and occassionally having my scrapping supplies accessible to work on a few projects. I'm glad I like to do crafts, otherwise I think I would go crazy. I don't work on things long because I still feel very tired. I guess that is to be expected.

This weekend I caught up on a lot of episodes of a show on Food Network called Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives (triple D as the host calls it). I love this show. The guy who hosts the show goes to some of the coolest places across the country. Ironic I'm watching Food Network when I've got gestational diabetes and can't even think of eating any of that good stuff. LOL But, one day that will change.

I just love the whole diner experience and any time I've seen one accessible that has been my first choice of a place to eat. I love the whole vibe you get from a diner and I've found that you can usually get some good, hearty food there. I guess my love of diners makes me think of simpler times, imagining my grandparents going to places like that. Who doesn't love a good burger and fries and a milk shake? Or whatever other goodies you might find. Like pie. With ice cream. Mmm, diner pie. Gotta love some good desserts.

Here is a link to the show if you haven't caught it yet. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_dv I think the new episodes come on later in the evening during the week, but I've always caught the reruns on the weekends.

So, do you have any cool Diner's, Drive Ins, and Dives where you live? I'd love to hear from you if you do and what is your favorite meal to get when you go?

Have a great Monday!

Fabulous Favorite Friday

Hey everyone. Happy Friday! What a rollercoaster week this has been. I was put on bedrest on Monday, so I've had family here to take care of Sawyer. I am at high risk to deliver the baby early, so I was given two rounds of steroid shots and got those on Tuesday and Wednesday. The medicine messed up my blood sugar, so I've been very, very tired from that. I think that it may be on the up swing today. The doctor is optomistic that if I stay on bed rest that we can squeak out a few more weeks.

Before getting put on bed rest, I had a chance to hit my local Ulta makeup store and I got some great makeup I wanted to share as my Fabulous Favorite Friday pick.

Ulta had a bunch of their brand of makeup products on sale. I think the sale may still be going on. By the way, if you don't have a store in your area you can order from their website.

I purchased their automatic eye liner and lip liners. These were $1 each. You can't beat that price. I am especially loving the eye liner. It is easy to apply and it doesn't seem to smudge like some other stuff I've used. The only regreat is I wish I'd bought it in brown. I bought it in black and a really great sage green color. I also got a great green colored eyeshadow (that was on sale too) and I love how it looks with the green eye liner. It is very subtle.

I also purchased a tube of their Ulta lipstick and I have liked that along with the automatic lip liner. It seems to stay on well and it does not dry out my lips.

So, if you are looking to try something new, this is some makeup I really like and recommend. Here is a link to Ulta's website. http://www.ulta.com/ulta/ Be sure to check out the coupon they have where if you spend $3.50 off a $10.00 purchase. Basically that is like getting one of their eye shadows or lipsticks on sale.

I'll keep trying to post as I can. Please keep us in your prayers that baby Logan will stay put for a few more weeks.

Baby Update

The last 24 hours has been quite the roller coaster. I went to the ob yesterday morning and they performed a test of me which unfortunatley came back positive. So, that means I'm at high risk for delivering baby Logan in the next few weeks. I have been put on bed rest and can only leave the house to go to ob appointments. Also, as a precautionary measure, they wanted me to get steroid shots which accelerate the growth of the babies lungs. You get two shots and they are given within 24 hours. I got the first one this morning and I'll get the second one tomorrow. I had these with our first son Sawyer, and I am convinced that is the reason he has done so well. So, I am grateful to get them even though I hate getting shots.

We have been able to get child care for Sawyer in our home which is such a blessing. I cried and cried yesterday at the thought of him not being home with me, so I am so grateful that we can have help in our home so he can be in a place where he is familiar. It is so hard to be in a position where I can't be the mommy I want to be to him right now. But, the blessing is it is for a short amount of time.

The ob is optimistic that we can hang on a few more weeks. We are praying I can make it to 36 weeks. Of course every day, every week is a milestone.

So, right now I'm hanging out at home trying to get rest. I have been working on a knitting a sweater for Logan and also piece together a few scrapbooking projects. Hopefully I'll have something to share later on in the week.

I hope you are having a good week. That is all from our neck of the woods.

Fabulous Favorite Friday

Today is Fabulous Favorite Friday and I have to admit I'm not feeling so fabulous. I went to my specialist yesterday and did not get some good news. She said my cervix has shortened. She said when I go to my ob on Monday, she wants him to do a test which will be an indicator of whether I'll go into preterm labor anytime in the next few weeks. If the test indicates that, she will recommend that I get steroid shots which will help accelerate the growth of the babies lungs.

I've been told that I need to stay off my feet and not go do things. I'm not on complete bedrest and I'm praying that doesn't happen.

So, if you could keep us in your thoughts and prayers we would appreciate it. I will be 32 weeks on Tuesday and we would love to make it to even further.

Now, on to some fun products. Before all this hit the fan yesterday, Wednesday night I had a chance to run into Bath & Body works. They had given me a coupon that if I spent $10 I could get one of these cute pumpkin soaps for free.

I just love this little pumpkin soap holder. We've been working for a while with Sawyer on washing his hands, so this will be something he will like to see in our downstairs bathroom. I think little things like this are fun, decorative touches. From what I remember, they also have one of these soaps in a ghost shape too if you want something different.

These soap is antibacterial, so that is another great thing. I haven't smelled it yet, but I'm sure it must smell good. There aren't many soaps from Bath & Body works that don't smell good.

The other thing I ended up getting at Bath & Body Works was this awesome new candle. They have another pumpkin scent that I had intended on getting. Then I saw this one. The lady in the store told me that this scent just came out last week. Once I took one whiff, I knew I was getting this one. I also like how it has a top on it. Not that I keep candles within the reach of a little one, but it is just a nice extra.

I haven't had a chance to light this up, but it is one of those candles that I think will make your house smell like you've got a pie baking in the oven.

This candle comes in two sizes and I got the smaller of the two. The one I got was $9.95 and the larger size, I believe, is $19.95. This would be a great thing to put away as a hostess gift.

Well, that is all from this neck of the woods. I'll try to post something Monday afternoon after my doctor's appointments. I have the ob and the endocrinologist both Monday morning, so I'm sure I will be pretty whiped out when I get home from those appointments.

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday Shmooze Day

Hola blog readers. It is hard to believe it is Tuesday. I've been chugging along. It is hard to believe I'm 31 weeks in the pregnancy today. I feel like I'm running a marathon and this is the last 5 miles and they are the hardest. It has gotten hard to sleep at night. But, so far my gestational diabetes is under control. I'm only still having to do the shots at night so I hope that is all I have to do.

Since I've been feeling a little bit better, I've been able to work on some scrapbooking at night. I don't get a lot finished, but it is nice to be able to work on stuff.

Today will consist of doing laundry. But, I'm kind of excited about it because I'm washing baby clothes. We've gotten all of the furniture set up and I just need to do that so it will be out of the way. I'm really happy with the way the nursery has come together. We had to get a new crib, changing table and glider and ottoman, but we've gotten some great deals and the awesome thing is everything matches. For buying stuff hodge podge, we really lucked out. Once I get everything set up, I'll have to post pictures.

Today I wanted to share a really cute blog that I've been checking out. It is called Make and Takes and the girl who writes the blog is a wonder. I love the cute ideas she comes up with to do with her kids. She has some great projects that provide fun, educational opportunities at home. http://www.makeandtakes.com/

Have a great Tuesday!

Fabulous Favorite Friday

Happy Friday everyone. Sometimes I think when there is a holiday in a week it makes the week longer somehow. It is hard to believe we are finally in September.

I didn't get a chance to take a picture, but yesterday I bought the cutest fall flag at Michael's. It is a Debbie Mumm flag that has a little boy in a pile of leaves. Sawyer is really into exploring leaves and sticks in the yard. The little boy on the flag reminded me of him so I had to get it. I love switching my flags out for different holidays.

I am still plugging along with the gestational diabetes. They put me on insulin at night a week ago today and so far it seems to be working. I'm sick of eating salad everyday (and I usually like salad). It will be nice once this is over with. My ob says that we should have our little guy with us by November 1st. So, it is nice to know I have a date in mind.

Today I'm featuring one of my new snacks I've discovered I can eat with this gestational diabetes. One of these bags fills up my carb count for a snack time. They are really good and even once I'm over having gestational diabetes, I will still keep buying these. I've been hooked on this Cinnamon Streusel flavor, but they also come in Buttered Popcorn, Caramel Drizzle, Chocolatey Drizzle, Chocolatey Mint, and Peanut Butter. The Caramel Drizzle and Peanut Butter sound good to me too. These snack are great to throw in your purse and as you can see by the picture, they are only 90 calories. So, if you are counting calories this might be a good option to consider. Sawyer likes eating them too, so I've had to buy enough to make sure we both have our own.

I hope you all have a great weekend and hope if you in the path of any of these icky storms, you'll stay safe!

Happy Labor Day

Hey everyone. This is one pregnant momma who is happy to not be in labor on Labor Day. LOL Unfortunatley at my doctor's appointment on Friday, they decided to put me on insulin. So far I only have to do one injection at night. I am praying that is all I have to do. I am beginning to feel like a pin cushion. But, the last two mornings I've had good readings so I'm pleased to see some positive results with having to do this.

I am getting the hang of this gestational diabetes diet. I'm not necessarily liking it, but I'm getting the hang of it. I may be sharing a few future posts with some of my latest food discoveries.

I had a chance to work on a scrapping project last night. I took one of the pictures of our family from Halloween last year and put it in a neat frame and put some cool embellishments around it. It was a nice one evening project. My thoughts are turning more towards fall with the mums out and kids going back to school here.

Well, we are off to have a fun family day today. I will check in tomorrow. Have a safe Labor Day and those in the Gulf Coast are in our thoughts and prayers. It just breaks my heart to see Gustav slamming those areas.