the popular baby

My mom has a 40-year-old nativity set and Meg and all her little cousins love to play with the figures inside of it. For some reason, the baby Jesus is THE most popular thing in the manger and frequently went missing over our week at their house. One day, we found it hiding in the strangest place....can you see it? (hint: It is at the poinsettia's 2 o'clock, in the hearth stones.)

Couldn't find it? Neither could we!! One of my neices stuffed it in this crevice for safekeeping, to keep it from being taken away by the other girls. It worked!

christmas recap

We spent our Christmas in South Carolina with family and it was especially meaningful to have time with my grandfather, who drove all the way from Texas (he is 90!) and my new niece Anna. She was adopted from Moldova only a month ago but already I can't imagine our family without her.

the results are in...

It's a girl!!! We taught Meg to say "sisters" (sounds more like "sosters") on the way home from the doctor's office. Very exciting!!

oven park

Last night after dinner Mark, Meg and I walked through Oven Park to see all the lights - it was fun to watch Meg take it all in and the weather had gotten nice and cold so it felt a little more like Christmas.

spring weather

The rest of the country is getting insane amounts of snow, and I spent the day outside in balmy 75-plus degree weather. I am not being smug about it, since I really miss the snow during the holidays, but yesterday I was able to just appreciate having a lovely springtime day. Meg and I got to meet friends at the park who we hadn't seen in a long time, and then later in the afternoon we sat out on the front porch and blew bubbles. Most of my Christmas errands (chores) are finished and now I can just sit back and enjoy it.

sat-na

Meg had her first santa experience yesterday at Mark's office children's party. Meg enjoyed the party - playing with napkins, eating pretzels off the floor and staring at other kids, but sitting on santa's lap was pretty much what we expected - see photo above! Meg is leaning as far away as possible and santa doesn't look too happy, either. It's probably our fault since Meg had never even heard of santa until a few hours prior to the party, when we tried to find a few images on google and youtube!

The crying was over as soon as it began when Meg got to hold a candy cane - she had never seen one before. I don't think she was too traumatized because she later kept saying, "sat-na! sat-na!".

cyclamen

Thanks to all the people who e-mailed about my mystery flower! I knew someone would know - it is a cyclamen! It has bloomed even more today and continues to be gorgeous.

mystery flower

Mark brought home this plant that a friend gave us this week. It is beautiful and I don't think I've ever seen something like it before. The colors are so vibrant and perfect for the holidays. I wish I knew what it was - the tag says something unexciting and vague like "assorted foliage". Anybody recognize it?

cravings

I had a craving a couple of days ago for chocolate chip cookies - not the refrigerated dough kind, but the kind you make from scratch from the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House bag. Nothing beats it! Anyway, as with all pregnancy cravings, I mull it over for a few days to determine whether it's "real" - if I still can't stop thinking about it in a couple days then I go ahead and give in to it. Once it's satisfied I usually move on to something else. Cravings that have come and gone so far: indian food, Starburst, cranberry juice, chinese food, bacon (this one is recurring), swiss cheese, and now chocolate chip cookies. So can you guess what is fresh from the oven at our house?

yard work

Mid-December is when our leaves really start to fall (and then spring begins in February!?) so this weekend was another busy and productive one - yard work, cleaning out our attic, Christmas shopping. All of these things I put off but am always relieved when I finally get them done.

holiday weekend

I'm always a little sad to put away fall decorations. I personally think the colors are prettier than Christmas colors. I realize I might be alone there, though.

Meg couldn't stop staring at Mark as he geared up to "re-work" some insulation in the attic. (We just had some extra insulation put in but they covered up our precious storage area!)

Next: the Tallahassee Winter Festival in the afternoon and Christmas tree shopping at night!

Sunday: long naps for everyone + long walk in beautiful weather + trimming the tree = great day!!

white chocolate cranberry bars

If you ever get tired of making desserts with chocolate (is that possible?), this is a nice alternative. And yes, it is white chocolate, but I think I read somewhere that it's not even really chocolate. Anyway, it's really easy and supposedly freezes well.

1 c. margarine, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
12-oz. pkg. white choc. chips
6 oz. pkg. craisins (dried cranberries)
1 c. coarsely chopped macadamia nuts (or other nut) -optional

1. Combine margarine, sugar, and brown sugar and beat in mixer on medium until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.
2. Combine flour and baking powder. Gradually add to mixture. Stir in white choc. chips and craisins (and nuts).
3. Spread dough evenly in greased 15x10x1 baking pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until light golden brown. (*note: I use a 9x13 pan and bake for about 10-12 mins. longer).

thanksgiving recap

We had a great time in Greer, SC, with Mark's parents and my parents and some of Meg's cousins came on Thanksgiving Day. I never knew it was possible to be so calm in the kitchen on Thanksgiving as my MIL Nancy. I marveled at how relaxed and organized she seemed and she said it just happens after you have been doing it for decades! And she even had time to give me lessons on making gravy and stuffing (have never made either one).

Meg learned how to say "Mike" and "Nancy" (we need to work on the "grandpa" and "grandma" part) and loved all the attention she got! Mark and I got to have a lunch & movie date without Meg, which was a long time coming.

anna!

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving in South Carolina with Mark's parents. My pictures are terrible but I will post a few tomorrow anyway. In other extremely exciting news, we got to meet our new niece Anna yesterday! She was adopted from Moldova (need a map? click here) and came to her new home on Thanksgiving day. Awesome timing! We are so thankful for her. This video clip is her looking into the video screen and seeing herself. She is 2 years old, doesn't speak English yet, but can completely communicate like most kids her age through play and other actions (like hugging!).

baby shower

I got to help host a baby shower today for my sweet friend Caroline. The food was amazing (I didn't make it) and my favorite was the acorn-shaped pumpkin bread filled with pumpkin butter and cream cheese! Mmm....my pregnant self loved it!

I had been wanting to figure out how to print stickers on my computer for a long time and finally I realized you could find the right size label paper and make the template on Word, then print them out and use them as stickers. I stuck these on bags with cookies as favors.

camellia

How have I not noticed there are 3 big beautiful camellia bushes in our front yard? They have started blooming this week and I swear I have never noticed them the past two years I've lived here! Could it be that they didn't bloom for 2 years? Or could it be that I am not observant? (Probably the latter.)

grace

Happy 6th Birthday, Amazing Grace! You are a fearless soccer player, a voracious book reader, and an awesome niece! I love you!!

bun in the oven!

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and I can officially share our good news that Webb Baby #2 is on the way! Everything is healthy and going well, thankfully. I don't have a scanner or I would have posted a picture of the ultrasound, so instead I found this funny costume! Too bad Halloween is over...maybe I would have attempted to recreate it.

turkey shirt

I got together with some of my sweet crafty friends and painted this onesie for Meg yesterday. I was reminded that I am not very crafty (or if I am, I need a lot of fine tuning) but it was fun to make it anyway!

land of the living

The best news to report out of the Webb Home today is that we are all NOT sick! Does this mean we are well? Well...some of us (me, Meg) are still in the recuperating stage. I got what Meg had, full bore, while Mark got a less-awful version of it. You know you have it bad when you are contemplating driving yourself to the ER for an iv for dehydration! Anyway, today I am appreciating my good health.

mom stripes

Poor Meg has had a nasty stomach bug (rotavirus) all week. This is my first time really ever dealing with this type of...mess. I got my first taste of what was to come when I had Meg in Publix on Monday and she had a massive throw up in the middle of the aisle! I was completely unprepared for any clean-up, as well as during the next massive throw up in the car on the way home. Now I take a bunch of towels and disinfecting wipes wherever we go (which isn't very many places since I'm afraid of another Publix incident). Meg has been spending a lot of time running around the house completely nude (because of diaper rash from sickness out the other end), which she is loving. I am developing a spidey sense and can tell right before she is about to have an explosion (either end) so I can run to deal with it as it happens. Mark says I am earning my "mom stripes." I agree!

brown bread

This bread recipe goes well with the soup I made last night (and basically all soups). It is super easy, no yeast and no kneading, and you can substitute flax meal for some of the flour. I bake it for 40-45 minutes instead of the hour that the recipe calls for. It makes the house smell great and is SO good hot out of the oven with butter. Mmmmm!

slow cooker chicken taco soup

Click here for an awesome soup recipe. It is incredibly healthy if you are looking to get a bunch of nutrients you don't normally get, like iron, folate, etc. (click on "detailed nutrition" on the lower right). It is in my crock pot right now and I can't wait! This is pretty spicy, so I use mild Rotel (which is the recipe's "diced tomatoes with peppers" ingredient). And instead of using the chicken breasts and shredding them, I just buy a package of those chicken breasts already in strips ("tenders"?), chop them up into bite sized pieces, and throw them in.

happy halloween

We skipped town this Halloween and headed north to my brother's house in Macon, GA. My nieces are 3, 4, and 5 so it was really fun to see them get excited for trick-or-treating. Grace was a wicked witch, Elise was a pink pony, and Sophia was a spooky ghost. In their neighborhood, you sit out on the front lawn to pass out candy instead of having people come to the door! So Mark, Meg and I requested to have lawn duty while the little girls and their parents went trick-or-treating. Very fun, although we ran out of candy in an hour!

The next morning we all headed to Roswell, GA, to Mark's brother's house where Meg got to hang out with all of her cousins and she loved every minute of it. Chloe and Leah and Ryan were so sweet with her!

My SILs Christie and Katheryne (above): they never fail to inspire me and teach me something new! I am so glad I got to spend time with them (all the guys were at the FSU game in Atlanta).

the business of being born

I really don't watch that many movies, but I've just seen some good ones lately that I feel the need to blog about. A couple of people thought I'd like The Business of Being Born and they were right. It's a documentary so it comes with bias but it is SO fascinating, especially if you've been through a birth or about to be going through one. [Disclaimer for the weak-stomached: you will see births happening and Ricki Lake naked.] Here is the synopsis from the film's website:

"Birth is a miracle, a rite of passage, a natural part of life. But birth is also big business.
Compelled to explore the subject after the delivery of her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to question the way American women have babies.
The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal.
Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?"

chicken tetrazzini

This recipe is turning into a complete indulgent favorite for us. I got the recipe from my friend Sallie when she brought it over after Meg was born. This is total comfort food and I won't pretend it's healthy! (Even if you sprinkle peas in it, which I recommend.) I make one batch, divide it into two 8x8 pans, and freeze one for later or give it away.

3-6 chicken breasts, already cooked and cubed (I roast mine 30 mins. at 350)
1/2 stick butter
1 large can mushrooms, drained
1 T. parsley flakes
2 cans cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom)
8 oz. container of sour cream
salt & pepper
1 lb. box of spaghetti
parmesan cheese

1. Cook chicken and cut into bite sized pieces.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet, add mushrooms, saute about 10 mins.
3. Add parsley and chicken. Cover and let sit for 10 mins. (I often skip this step.)
4. Add cream of chicken/mushroom soup and sour cream.
5. Meanwhile, be cooking the spaghetti (break into smaller pieces first!).
6. Mix in cooked and drained spaghetti into the chicken mixture, then place in buttered casserole dish, and top with parmesan.
7. Bake at 300 for 15 mins. or until heated through (longer if it was frozen).

chicken noodle soup

The three of us have been feeling under the weather all week, and yesterday we got a wonderful surprise - some friends showed up with warm, homemade chicken noodle soup and bread! It was the most thoughtful gesture since I didn't feel like cooking and the delicious soup made me feel better immediately. I am overwhelmed! Thank you, Ted and Joyce!

fall festival

Tonight we went to a fall festival held at our church with games, ponies, and lots of kids in costumes. Meg dressed up as a bumblebee and to our surprise she didn't mind wearing the get-up. This was our first "Halloween"-type outing with her so it was just as fun for us!

after the wedding

We just finished watching this movie - it is heavy duty but I would highly recommend it. I am not usually into deep drama but it provides a lot of food for thought. [Thanks for the rec, Jeanette!]

presidential parents

Click on this link for a very interesting and semi-funny article on past and future presidents and their imperfect parents. These guys seemed to have a drive to excel in spite of the failings of their moms and dads! This is my favorite line: "...in this era of parental perfectionism, studying the unusual ones [parents] can lend hope to parents that our children, too, can rise above our foibles and failings."

bedhead

We haven't figured out a way to tame Meg's hair (pulls out all bows and clips) and it is especially exciting first thing in the morning.

farmers' market

We walked to the farmers' market on Park this morning - about a mile away. The weather was so nice we didn't even break a sweat! Everybody brings their dogs so Meg was loving it. There were tons of beautiful pumpkins that they were giving away for free so we chucked a nice big one under the stroller and rolled it home. Sad to say this is our first Halloween/fall decoration of the year!

the banana

I was in the living room talking on the phone, when Meg became eerily quiet in the kitchen. I heard some quiet smacking sounds and became suspicious. I turned the corner to find her chewing on a banana she had pulled from the table, peel and all!! She looked very proud of herself.