Rachael's Shower

Cindy and I hosted a baby shower for some sweet friends of ours, Brett and Rachael. Ben has been buddies with Brett since middle school and I got to know them in college, then we all ended up in Louisville at Southern together... we miss our time with them now that we are in Clarksville. Here are some pictures of the day:Instead of having a cake made, we decided to go with trendy cupcakes. A friend of ours from church made them for us... she loves to make cupcakes if anyone needs them made for their next function!

Cindy and I getting ready for the shower... it was a lot of work, but so much fun. I really enjoy organizing parties like this!

Somewhere along the way we decided that it would be fun to make cookies as shower favors... about half way into decorating them we changed our minds. We decided to take the easy way out and dip them in chocolate. My mom is the Cookie Queen and can make them look like Martha herself decorated them. I didn't inherit that talent so I will be dipping cookies in chocolate from here on out. They may not be as fancy, but they sure taste great!
This is going to have to count as my 34 week belly picture (actually I will be 35 weeks tomorrow). Rachael and I are actually both due November 23rd. Cast your vote by leaving a comment on who you think with have a baby first.

Tag, I'm It

So I have been tagged by my friend Grace on her blog. My instructions are that I am to post 6 facts about myself and the tag 6 other people. I usually don't do these "chain letter" type things but this one seems harmless enough... plus I can tag a couple of people who I haven't heard much from by way of blogs lately. So here we go:

1. Ben often makes fun of my OCD tendencies (which I have discovered that I share with all my cousins and we got it from our Grandpa). He most gets a kick out of the fact that I have to sit in the absolute middle of the movie theater (yes, I always count the seats, and sometimes the rows too) and the fact that when we go grocery shopping I have to have all like items grouped together on the counter at the check out line.

2. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year, I love every thing about it except for cold, rainy fall days. My least favorite time of the year in mid-January through February (crazy since my Birthday is in February)... If I could have it my way it would start getting warm again right after New Years.

3. Ben and I met our very first day of college in the school cafeteria at Martin. That was the beginning of our friendship that turned into a relationship over 3 years later because our pinkies "accidentally" touched.

4. My favorite number is 3... it's Ben's favorite number too. Just a crazy coincidence we discovered in college.

5. I am the only person in Ben's family with brown eyes (including extended family). Next month we'll see if baby Rex makes number 2. I know he is going to be the cutest thing I've ever see no matter what he looks like, but I secretly hope that he has my dark hair and Ben's blue eyes.

6. My favorite house chore is vacuuming because I like the sound the vacuum makes when it is sucking thing up.

So here are the rules if I tag you...
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random facts about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the taggers know when your entry is up.
I am tagging...

Mindy, Laura T., Lori, Emily, Stephanie, & Ben

Buying Presents for Santa

Beth told me that they took Carson to ToysRUs last weekend so he could pick out some things to ask Santa for. First of all, he wanted to get a buggy to put all the things in that they were going to buy for Santa. Beth explained that is not how it works and they continued shopping. Carson was able to to pick out a lot that he wanted for Christmas and was so excited he started dancing around. He then said "Oh Mommy, I have to pee, I have to pee" and before she could do anything about it he followed with "Oh Mommy, I am, I am." He then explained that it was just and accident and they happen and it is okay. Beth soon discovered from the efficiency of the ToysRUs staff to handle to situation that this sort of thing must happen often.

Here's the question that I am posing. What do we get so excited about that we lose all since of control? What events are things are we most looking forward to? Answering these questions may give us a clue to the state and allegiance of our hearts and help us figure out if our desires have turned into sinful demands. Ponder for a moment and ask God to show you things in your heart that may need to be changed.

Don't Send Us $$ to Nigeria

I have a lot to update you all on... it's been a crazy couple of weeks for us. Most recently, someone hacked into our home computer, stole Ben's email accounts and sent out spam email (if you got an email from him at utkvet@hotmail.com, sorry, but we are not in Nigeria, there has been no emergency, and we don't need you to send money), charged stuff to our paypal account, and invaded our privacy. We've spent the last couple of weeks wiping out our computer and changing all our accounts and sorting through the mess just like our identity has been stolen. We finally go back up and running with Internet Thursday... it's amazing how much your rely on something when you don't have it. Life lesson learned... if you have wireless Internet MAKE SURE IT IS SECURE!

All that to say, I've not been able to post, but I have some exciting things to add in the next week or two including new belly pictures and info on little Rex's development, a video from our 3D/4D ultrasound (if Ben can figure it out), and a new recipe. Stay tuned...I promise it's coming soon!

Sneak Peek 2

We still have not finished Rex's room but Jim came out on Friday to finish the wall. It looks great. Some of you have asked if Jim has a website and he does. It's www.decorativefinishes.blogspot.com. The letters are from Uppercase Living, they have a lot of really neat products that look like hand painted lettering. I think that there is someone in our church that sales it (I will find out and update this post with that info), or you can find a rep in your area on their website.

We went to the doctor today and had an ultrasound. They were training a new ultrasound tech today so it was hard to see a lot this time, but it was so neat to see how much he has grown in the past 11 weeks. We got so see a close up of his sweet little face... it made us all the more eager to have him here. Everything looked great... he and I are both growing on schedule. He is in the 50th percentile in terms of weight and I have gained a whopping 22 lbs. My doctor did warn me to take it easy on the Halloween candy. I guess we will be waiting until the last minute to buy that... Since I did not have a sweet tooth before little Rex, I hope that it goes away after he comes. South Beach is so much easier to follow when you don't crave sweets!

Recipe Wednesday- Stuffed Squash

I have gotten a good response from the other recipes that I have posted on here... so I think I am going to start "Recipe Wednesday." I know I will not be able to post a recipe every Wednesday (I really don't cook that much lately), but I am setting a goal of two recipes per month. Hope you enjoy!

I got this weeks recipe out of Tennessee Home & Farm Magazine and tried it a couple of nights ago when we had some friends over. We liked it so much I will be making it again soon.

Stuffed Squash

Ingredients:

6 medium yellow squash
½ cup green bell pepper, diced
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped and seeded
½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup Italian breadcrumbs

4 slices bacon, fried until crisp and crumbled Pinch seasoned salt
2/3 teaspoon Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Butter (for sautéing)

Procedure:

In large pot, cover squash with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash are tender but firm, about 8 minutes. Drain squash and cool slightly. Trim stems and cut squash in half lengthwise. Remove pulp, then chop it into small pieces. Reserve squash shells.
Sauté bell pepper and onion in butter until soft. Then, sauté squash pulp (about 1 cup) in separate pan until soft. Combine pulp with onions, peppers, tomatoes, cheese, breadcrumbs, bacon and seasoned salt. Place hollowed squash shells in a baking dish, and sprinkle the inside of each with Kosher salt and pepper.
Spoon squash mixture into each shell. Top with additional breadcrumbs and drizzle top with melted butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until top is golden.

** I left out the bell peppers because we don't care for them. Also, to make it more healthy (south beach friendly) I use crushed TLC crackers with Italian seasoning instead of the bread crumbs.

Let Me Eat Cookies

I have been sweating it a little the past couple of day because I failed my 1 hour blood glucose test. I have never had a sweet tooth, but since I have been pregnant I have craved cookies and sweets of all kinds (especially things with cinnamon). How was I going to satisfy that craving if I was diabetic!?!?

Last week I took a 3 hour blood glucose test (no fun at all!) and have been anxiously waiting for the results. I got the call today and I passed! Yea! I can still eat cookies!