Just Peachy

That's how things are here, and I'm sorry that means I haven't posted to my blog in TWO WEEKS. Eeek!

Speaking of peaches, I have been binging on farmer's market peaches - I walk into my kitchen and smell them, and I can't resist.

Here they are mixed with chia seeds soaked in vanilla almond milk (if I have a very ripe banana, I mash it in there too). Oh my yum, this is my very, very, very favorite late night dessert. Do you know about chia seeds? Yes, they are like the babies of the chia pet - same thing. They are yummy and a fabulous source of protein, fiber, calcium, and Omega-3 fatty acids. Perfect pregnancy food. But good for everyone - my kids love them too. Here is a great post about chia seeds.

So, back to not blogging in two weeks... I have a lot of blog posts floating around in my brain, I just need to find the time to sit down and turn them into words. Things have just been really crazy - both good and bad - around here lately. We have had some issues, like me catching our oven on fire and being stove-less for the past week. And the heat, oh my gosh, the heat. But I've also really enjoyed some grown up time with some of my best friends, as well as just being with my kids during these last weeks of summer vacation.

And I have been organizing like crazy. It's a mix of normal nesting and also being completely freaked out about having two kids in school (even though Amelia is only in pre-K, she is at a "real" school this year) and a CRAZY toddler boy (really, he is crazy), and a newborn. Wow. So, I've decided we really need to get our act together - I've been stocking the freezer, buying school supplies and kids' clothes through the fall, cracking the whip on chores, and coming up with ways to hyper-organize everything from our pantry to our budget. And actually, that's what I want to blog about - some of the solutions that have worked for us, both long-term tested ones and new things I've come up with recently.

But for now, please just know, things are peachy. And I'll be back to reading and writing blogs soon. I promise.

No Knead Bread

My KitchenAid stand mixer has been broken for several months (I remember when we got it as a wedding gift, all these little old ladies told me about how those things NEVER break... either I overused mine - which is quite possible - or they don't make them like they used to). I used to make bread pretty much ever weekend, but stopped when I no longer had my handy dough hook contraption to help me with the kneading.

And then I came across this.

I had to try it! And I'm so glad I did. I started the dough last night, then finished the bread today - between church and running afternoon errands - just in time for dinner. (sorry my camera battery dead and we were hungry - so these are iPhone pics)

As I've mentioned I think in every blog post and conversation for weeks, it's really crazy HOT here. So hot, that it's been a huge chore to cook dinner every night (something I normally love doing). I had the great idea to just have sandwiches for dinner tonight. It was a great idea, because everyone loved it. It was not a great idea for keeping the house cool, since I actually baked the bread today and my 450 degree oven was on for a couple of hours in the afternoon, heating up the whole house just like when I cook a normal meal.

We had cold cuts and pickles and olives with our fresh bread. On the side we had a big salad with mixed greens, feta cheese, walnuts, and dried cranberries. And some Veggie Pirate's Booty, because I bought it today and the kids insisted on having some right away. Oh and watermelon - straight out of the freezer!

The bread was pretty darn perfect, with a thick very crusty crust, just the way I like it. This is a teeny bit (okay, a lot) ironic, but I actually think our house was a tad too cool during the rise last night, so next time I will put the dough in a warmer spot overnight. The laundry room would be perfect, since we're drying diapers in the dryer in there every night.

The bread also made for some great dinner conversation. I was telling Davis how this dough required no kneading (unlike Julia Child's crusty French bread, which requires 100 whacks on the counter!) Sophia asked how I made it, and I explained that it was just flour, water, yeast, and salt. She yelled "YEAST!" and proceed to explain about how yeast makes bread rise, but the Israelites didn't have time for their bread to rise when they left Egypt, so they just had flat bread (Vacation Bible School last week!)

Happy Sunday! Try this bread sometime - it's pretty darn easy and yummy, even if it does heat up the kitchen.

Henry Before Bed

Guess who is suddenly interested in potty training? Much like his oldest sister, but UNlike what I'd been told to expect about boys, Henry has been showing signs that he's ready for potty training (though I HAVE heard that cloth diapered babes are ready sooner). He really started complaining when his diaper was wet and trying to take his pants off to sit on the toilet when we were in the bathroom. So, we got him a little potty chair and will let him sit on it when he wants to

I usually also sit them on it while I'm filling the tub. Potty training stresses me out when I let myself care whether they go or not, so I usually just let them take the lead.

Henry loves bath time! But he's crazy bad about splashing right now, so I didn't bring my camera in there!

He's in a very good mood when he gets out of the tub

"Where's your belly, Henry?"

He loves playing the body part game. And then he crashes! This heat has worn us all out!

In other news, the girls are going to VBS this week and they love it and it's also making them super tired at night - yay! They were getting really bored the last week or so. I wish VBS was like a month long, not just a week, ha!

Dinner?

What do you have for dinner when it's too hot?

I am having a hard time coming up with dinners for next week, because the last thing I want to do during the hottest part of the day is stand in front of a hot stove! I would just eat salads every day, but my family has about a one-main-course-salad-per-week tolerance level.

Last night we had BLTs for dinner

It's Hot!

Okay, it's now unbearable. I am packing my bags. Moving to Alaska. See you in the winter. There is NO WAY I am going to survive the rest of this summer pregnant in Arkansas. No. Way.

Last week we spent a lot of time at the pool, trying to stay cool.

We finally did private swim lessons and YAY! the girls actually learned something. We're skipping group lessons with the boys - what a waste of money and time those were!

This morning, Davis took Sophia over to his brother's with him for the day while he helped them with some house stuff. That meant I had these two all to myself

They were bored and looking for trouble, and it was TOO HOT to go outside. So we went to the Wonder Place

and had a great time until little Bully Henry started attacking other little boys (he's always sweet to the girls... I just keep telling myself this means nothing about how he'll be when he's older...) He's my third kid, and really I still have no idea how to discipline a 17 month old - really, does anything work?! So we went home, with a Sonic pit stop on the way

I painted Amelia's nails

and then took her over to play with Sophia while Henry napped. My plan was to do laundry - there is so much of it - and clean a little. Or something. Anything. But I am tired and hot, so I'm just sitting here, listening to the Lucinda Williams Pandora station, doing nothing. The Lucinda Williams station is a great soundtrack to doing nothing.

Boys!

This boy, he learned how to get into the tub all by himself all of a sudden

There was a backhoe in our front yard this morning, and he yelled "OOOH! OOOH!" and watched in amazement clapping his hands the whole time they were here.

Last week, he grabbed the hot oven rack and burned his little hand :( and he didn't even cry, even though he had a big ol' burn across his palm

(he's ok)

He TOTALLY gets away with WAY too much, because he knows how to charm his mama!

Oh, he keeps us on our toes, that's for sure! And, I think, it's about to get even more interesting around our house!!!

Baby Wyatt Update

Have you seen all the super adorable ideas for documenting pregnancy? Like this? LOVE! My belly pictures are few and far between, and they look like this

That's me at 22.5 weeks. People keep telling how humongous I am - but baby is measuring exactly right on target (1 lb 3 oz) and I've gained 11 pounds total this pregnancy thankyouverymuch. I have to say, people saying stuff to you (things they would NEVER EVER EVER! say to a nonpregnant woman!) while you're pregnant is probably the #1 thing I hate about being pregnant. No, I'm not overly huge or carrying quads, yes this baby was planned and wanted, yes I know how babies are made AND how to prevent it, yes we are happy it's a boy/girl but would have been happy with either, and (this one takes the cake) NO Mr. Guy I've Only Met One Other Time it is NOT any of your business whether I've started dilating because anything going on inside my vagina is pretty much private.

Anyway... I started to write this post last night, thinking I might have a little update on Wyatt and I and another ultrasound picture of some random piece of Shy Baby Boy's anatomy. BUT NO!!

First of all, we got amazing news today. So, two separate doctors on three previous ultrasounds, have told us that I have what appeared to be vasa previa - blood vessels of the baby crossing my cervix, which is a scary complication. Well, at my last ultrasound, the maternal fetal medicine doctor said he wasn't totally convinced that it wasn't a part of the baby's umbilical cord instead... well, today he confirmed that it was in fact cord and NOT unsupported vessels!!! That is HUGE!!!

He will look again in one month to make totally 100% sure, but we saw the "vessels" move away from my cervix when Wyatt moved - I saw it myself - which really does mean that he's had a piece of his umbilical cord hanging out down there this whole time. We'll keep an eye on that too, to make sure it's not there when I go into labor, but worse case scenario is that I might need a c-section at the end if it is. But that is SO much better than all the scary things that would happen if I had vasa previa!!

And in other exciting news, Wyatt was in a great mood and decided to finally show us his sweet little face (I have had so, so many ultrasounds and he has always hidden his face)! This is fun, but it's also a huge praise for me, because... well, I will just be completely honest... I have HATED this pregnancy. I spent my whole first trimester completely unable to be happy or bond with this baby, because I was certain I would lose him - I mean, "odds are..." when you've lost more babies than you've gotten to keep. And then as soon as I was "safe" from that, there was all that vasa previa stuff, which meant I could lose this baby all the way until the end, and I was terrified. There haven't really been any happy pregnancy moments - even when I've felt him kick, I would think "check, he's alive today." I haven't allowed myself to look forward to the end of my pregnancy or his birth (because they were going to be terrifying). And, honestly, I also hadn't allowed myself to day dream about HIM at all.

Well, all that changed today. Not only because I got amazingly happy news that makes my pregnancy pretty darn NORMAL (I am still at risk for preterm birth and will stay on progesterone shots, but that's not a biggie), but also because check out how ADORABLE he is!!!

in case you need help

When they did the live video of him, I really think he looked a lot like Henry as a newborn. Oh my gosh, I just cannot wait to meet this sweet guy now!!

A couple of 2D pictures of his face

He is measuring exactly on target and at his dozenth ultrasound checked out perfectly perfect! And THAT makes mama perfectly happy!!!!

Nails, Firecrackers, Cousins, Watermelon, Freedom!

Happy Independence Day!

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Somewhere Between a Vacation and Staycation...

is today.

We have been wanting to spend some family time together OUTDOORS for months and months. But first, the storms came. I'm pretty sure it rained more than 40 days and 40 nights this spring. And then, as soon as the storms were over, it was 100 degrees every day all day. I came home from the grocery store the other night at 9:45 pm and it was 98 degrees outside still.

Last week I finally realized what we needed to do, and so today we headed out into the country - about three hours away. First we stopped for a picnic.

The minute we let him out of the car, Henry took off into the woods! I am so much happier now that he can walk, and I know he is too!

Pictures of people eating are funny

I love this girl!

And these two too! I am SO lucky to have Sophia to help me take care of Henry!

After a little time in the (hot) woods, we went to Blanchard Springs Caverns. I haven't been there since I was a kid, and our kids have never been in a cavern before. We had a fabulous time!

Amelia demonstrating what deer antlers are in the visitor center

Before they loaded us all into the elevator, the park ranger tour guide lady got everyone on the tour together and went over all the rules and then asked if anyone had any questions. Amelia asked "are there any lions down there?" No lions.

It really was breathtaking, just like I remember. And all three kids were mesmerized. They were SO good the whole time! And it was 58 degrees down there - aaaaah!!!

This is called the battleship - do you see it?

Henry fought sleep the entire drive up, even though it was his naptime, so he was getting sleepy at the end of the tour

My family goofing off on the bus - Seriously, these three could not sit still and behave!

Sleepy boy

After the caverns, it didn't take long for us to get hot again, so we went swimming in the most amazing little river near the caverns

Trying to catch these little fishies

The water was cool and clear and perfect

Snack break!

Skipping rocks

and splashing like there's no tomorrow!

We stayed in the water for almost four hours, until we were all pruny and the sun stopped beating down on us so hard.

My plan included seeing fireworks in the nearby town of Mountain View, but I misread something last week, and they are actually tomorrow night instead of tonight. That's okay, because we were all super tired. So we stopped for dinner in Mountain View (Tommy's Famous Pizza - um, interesting place, but soooo yummy!) and then headed home.

And guess what we saw on the way back?

Yup, that's a zebra in a horse pasture. Davis turned the truck around so we could go back and make sure.

Good night!