dress

Katie's new dress (that came as a surprise gift from a friend). It's things like this that make me excited to have another girl.

parade

Good things that have happened so far this weekend:
-delicious organic burgers shared by and with friends
-sleeping in until 7:45 a.m. (even Meg)
-another batch of strawberry jam (really, this should be my last)
-watching Meg watch the Springtime Tallahassee parade
-Meg getting more beads and candy than we did - not that any of us asked for any of it
-running into our friends at the parade
-finding a package on the doorstep with a sweet tiny dress for baby Katie inside
-a long afternoon nap
-tackling a much-procrastinated project (weeding out papers in file cabinets-barf)
-tagalong cookie ice cream (as opposed to tagalog, as I was calling it)

picnic

Since the weather has been bugless and perfect we are trying to spend as much time outdoors as possible, including lots of picnics and lots of trips to parks. Saturday night we three ate dinner at Tom Brown park and it was packed. I have never seen it so crowded. Meg could hardly eat since she couldn't take her eyes off those kids climbing that spider-web thing behind her.

bonnie

I got a wonderful surprise visit from my longtime friend Bonnie last week - how fantastic! I hadn't seen her since she was a bridesmaid in my wedding 5.5 years ago. She is a smart, inspirational, thoughtful, lovely person and I am thrilled to have gotten to spend 24 hours in person with her! Thanks for stopping by, Bonnie!

homemade cleaner

This is a picture of my first foray into homemade cleaners (and an excuse for extra practice with my camera). I have been wanting to try this for a long time but was waiting to use up what I already had. I decided to start with a "toilet bowl cleaner" since the chemical fumes from commercial cleaners makes me feel like my lungs are burning. This is so easy...just make a paste with baking soda and vinegar. And it works extremely well!

camera

I admit it...I have been a little afraid of my camera. I have to get out the manual to do simple things like empty the memory card. So today I decided to just read one extra page in the manual (seriously) and I learned all sorts of things that I probably should have known months ago. Deep breath...maybe I'll even read another page tomorrow.

progress, part 2

A painter came to give some of our old windows a much-needed facelift and TLC this morning. Despite choking on the noxious fumes I am very excited to be able to open our shutters!

sunbutter

In my search for different non-meat and non-peanut protein, I have just discovered sunbutter. It is like peanut butter but made out of sunflower seeds. It is so good! I don't know why it isn't more commonly used...or maybe it is and I am out of it.

progress

Now that we are all finally healthy we are busy getting ready for the new baby...Meg is moving into the guest room and Mark put together a bed for her. Meanwhile Meg was out in the hallway curled up in the infant bassinet we got out for Katie. Is this a sign of regression already??

bean & vegetable enchilada casserole

I am on a quest to find recipes that are healthy, inexpensive, and easy. Usually a recipe is 2 of those but not all 3....healthy and inexpensive but hard, inexpensive and easy but processed and unhealthy, etc. Here is a recipe that fits the bill perfectly:

1 med. bell pepper, chopped
1 lg. onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. oil
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
2 c. frozen corn, thawed (I don't thaw mine, I just throw it in)
1 can (28 oz.) pureed/crushed tomatoes
1 T. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
dash of hot sauce (I omit)
salt and pepper, to taste
12 corn tortillas (I use four 10-in. whole wheat flour ones)
1 c. grated Jack cheese (I use whatever cheese I have)

1. Preheat 350. In lg. saucepan, heat oil and saute pepper, garlic and onion for 5 mins. Add beans, corn, tomatoes, and seasonings. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 mins.
2. Assemble in 9x13 dish as follows: 1/3 bean mixture, tortillas to cover (2 10-in. work for me), 1/3 bean mixture, tortillas, 1/3 bean mixture, cheese.
3. Bake 30-40 mins. or until hot and bubbly.

third trimester

Little feet just like these are waking me up at 4:30 in the morning with tiny kicks, and then continue all throughout the day as a sweet reminder of what's around the corner. Amazing.

strawberry jam

We are still fighting serious sickness in this house (not me, thankfully) and we are hibernating indoors. I made another batch of strawberry jam, this time to give away to neighbors. I meant to bring something to the neighbors for the holidays, but now it is March... I printed the stickers off on circular label paper, just as I did for the baby shower favors. Very easy!