Christmas is All Around

Ever since Thanksgiving we've been busy preparing our little abode for Christmas and the new baby to follow soon after. Last night, Tyler agreed to put the lights up outside, if I would agree to make him hot butterscotch. Deal. We now have a freezer full of hot butterscotch concentrate, and multicolored Christmas lights all over our apartment. On Monday, I made my first wreath ever. It wasn't too hard thanks to a post-Thanksgiving sale at Jo Ann and my new handy dandy $1.99 hot glue gun. Then, later that night, it snowed! Mack was amazed and even caught a little on his tongue, but from the way he acted you would have thought it was snowing salt.

Not quite as exciting as snow: On Monday night, the cradle we'd ordered FINALLY arrived. I think it's a good investment, since Mack is still in the crib and probably will be for quite some time. Plus, Mack grew out of my Mom's bassinet so fast, I didn't think it was wise to spend any money on one. We'd originally ordered this thing back in October, to make a long story short, several vendors and manufacturing delays later, it finally turned up and I love it!

The final tidbit of news is that my Mom has started a family blog. It's called The Porterfield Perplexer. Rumor has it my Dad and Karly may soon be joining in on the fun and posting on the blog too. Welcome to the world of blogging Mom!

Glutton...

Apparently, we've got some catching up to do. We'll start with two bath time shots. Everyone loves a cute little guy in a bathtub.

Naturally, after a nice bath a guy likes to looks his best. I know, as his mother, I'm bound to be a little biased, but really, he's got to be the best looking kid I've EVER SEEN!

In a time long ago, known as October, we celebrated Halloween. Mack loved Halloween. He loved walking around the pumpkin patch and meeting the animals. I think his favorite part of Halloween was scooping all the seeds out of the pumpkin. He practically had a melt down when it was time to get down off the table. On Halloween night, he had no problem walking up to strangers and taking candy from them (which could lead to problems down the road). On the way home from the trunk or treat I looked back to see he'd sneaked a piece of licorice, other than that, all his candy went to Tyler.

It finally happened, Mack finally had a timeout he did NOT enjoy. By the way, this timeout is in no way related to the pumpkin incident. I can't remember exactly what it was about, but I think it somehow involved the throwing of food.

Early in November, my sister-in-laws, Tonya and Monique, threw me a baby shower. Here I am with all my gifts. Hooray for presents! And with my new buddy Amy. The shower was lots of fun with lots of good food, it was great to see all of Tyler's family.

Thanksgiving wouldn't be Thanksgiving without pie. So I made six, and Tyler made one. We only took five over to Ty's parent's house and kept the rest for ourselves. Mack loved eating the pie almost as much as he loved helping me clean up the beaters. Looks like Mack has a little of his mom in him yet, he loves chocolate.

I also made the candied yams (big hit). I know what you're thinking, "Yuck, yams are gross". Wrong. If you don't like yams, then you've never had my family's yams. They'll change your life. Really.

There, I think that just about does it. All caught up. Next time: Christmas Stuff! I am so excited about Christmas!

Mom, what about something like one of these?...

Noche de Brujos

We took these pictures before Karen's annual Halloween Party about a week and a half ago. Mack decided to go as Pancho Villa, the Mexican Revolutionary general. I find the resemblance somewhat remarkable. Please note the mustache and bullets.

Mack won the Halloween Bingo contest and the award (puzzle) for "Happiest Pumpkin". Here he is enjoying his plunder, and yes that is my belly on the left.

The rest of these are simply pictures to appease the masses. "The Masses" being my family, both literally and figuratively).

Our little dare devil. Bet you didn't know Little Tikes tricycles could be so 'hard-core'. Don't feel bad, it's sorta an underground sport. Y'know, very minimalist, no brakes, no pedals, that sorta thing.


We've got the "Time Out" thing down. Now how do I convince him it's a bad thing?

Tyler found Mack enjoying the latest edition of U.S. News and World Report (No, we don't really like this magazine, but it's on the recommended reading list for the Foreign Service) with a nice snack of peas. The floor is a mess. Things are a mess in a lot of these pictures, but we refuse to vacuum more than once a day.


These pics are from The Seattle Center when Kassey and Will came to visit. I love these pictures! There really isn't much I can add to that.

And these are from our day in Vancouver, B.C. (not Washington). It is on this day, Mack discovered Seagulls, and the wonderful noise they make. He calls them "Birdy" and mimics them with an "EEEk, EEk!"

Happy Halloween everyone. Consider these pictures my treat to you for visiting our blog. And if you don't consider these pictures a treat, then I'm really not sure why you come to our blog in the first place...

Can You Believe This?

This just absolutely disgusts me. Literally, these stories put a bad taste in my mouth...

BORDER PATROL PITCHES IN

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SUSPECTED OF STEALING SUPPLIES

San Diego Fires

I've been having a hard time finding good up-to-the-minute information about the fires in San Diego County. Maybe other people are too? If so, here are some good local sites I've found to be useful:

• SOS Fire Blog
• Sign On San Diego
• North County Times Answers Your Questions
• North County Times main page
  

My family is currently in the "Estimated Advisory" evacuation area. Their air quality is (as far as I can tell) 6x worse than "bad", all of their schools are currently closed and the hospital my Dad works at is still open. I don't think they're planning on needing to leave the house any time soon and are harboring some evacuated families from the ward for the night. So I guess for now, all is well.
If anyone knows of any other sites or blogs with better or more current information, let me know.

5 minutes ago

I'm in the bathroom brushing my teeth (don't worry, I brushed them this morning too) as we're about to head out the door. Tyler had remarked earlier when he got home about how tired I looked, so after I brush my teeth I look into the mirror and say, "Well, at least I don't look as bad as I feel. I feel like garbage." Then I turn and look at Tyler and ask, "So I look like...crap?" Tyler's answer: "What's worse? Crap or garbage?"
Neither, Tyler. The answer is neither.
You look beautiful never hurt anyone.

Innocent Mess

Until yesterday, when Tyler and I asked Mack to go get a diaper he would come back with a diaper about 50% of the time. Not anymore. He's found something much more interesting. The wipes. Now he heads into his room, very obediently, and goes to the bin his under his bed where we keep the diapers and wipes. Pulls the top off the wipes and then, using only one wipe at a time, proceeds to wipe his nose over and over again until I come in and stop him and shove all the wipes back in the box (they only touched his nose, I'll use them again).
And while I was typing this post, Mack decided to pour his milk onto the coffee table (silly name since there has never been coffee on it).

Scrambled. Like my brain and Mack's breakfast.

It feels as if I haven't posted in forever and I figure with Kassey coming in today I'd better get on the ball before things get even busier (is that even a real word?). Yesterday, we had a Dr.'s appointment and I was finally able to discuss my past history and really get to the bottom of things. For the moment, it looks like I'll be getting an amniocentesis at 38 weeks and hopefully inducing soon after that, as long as everything looks good for Henry. I also had my glucose screening test yesterday and should be getting my results back for that by this afternoon.
On Saturday, while Tyler was gone at the priesthood session I made the traditional "Conference Craft". Actually, the craft per say wasn't traditional, but what would Conference weekend be without some sort of crafty item to show for all this time spent indoors? That's right, just what every apartment NEEDS: a Halloween banner. I've seen these throughout the blogosphere so I can't take any credit for the idea, but I'll certainly be making more in the future. It only took about 2 hours from start to finish and cost about 3 dollars. How can you beat that? Best of all it was a much needed distraction from my real project, making Mack's winter pajamas. (But just in case I ever give one of these away as a gift or something I want you to know that I probably had to work REALLY HARD on that one. wink. wink.)

On Monday I tried making a cake with Diet Coke. I read somewhere on the internet that you can substitute all the eggs, oil and water in a cake mix with a can of Diet Coke, resulting in a cake with less fat and cholesterol etc. I've be absolutely craving cupcakes lately so I thought I'd give it a go and figured one can of Coke spread out through 24 cupcakes can't be that bad for me. I'm happy to report that they turned out WONDERFUL! Super moist, and I had to let them bake a minute or two longer, but they're great! So great in fact, that I had to freeze most of them to keep myself from eating half the batch in two days. Try it I say! For family night on Monday we went over to Martha Lake to try and feed the ducks with some stale bread I'd been saving. Little did we know it would be posted every 10ft "DO NOT FEED THE WATER FOWL". Bummer. But, to Mack's amazement, they did have bouncy cars. He's absolutely obsessed with cars lately and it's starting to drive me crazy. He points out every single car we see on the road, in stores, and in books. He even says "bye ta-car" whenever we leave the car to go into a store or wherever it is we happen to be going. I don't have any idea how this obsession came about. He has exactly ONE little green wooden car. I guess boys will be boys.

As part of my round about way of getting ready for the new baby, we bought Mack a new and better car seat. Here he is in his new Fisher Price Safe Voyage Deluxe. Isn't he handsome? I'm so much happier with this new seat. I've really become a bit of a car seat nut over the past couple weeks. I'm just now learning why it is so important to leave kids in a 5-point harness as long as possible and avoid boosters by any means necessary. Eventually Henry will get Mack's Fisher Price seat and Mack will then go into a high weight harnessed seat (ie: Radian 65). I want to encourage (without sounding preachy) any mom's out there to really research for yourself why extended harnessing is so important for your kid's safety. There are a lot of good resources out there, here's one or two to help get you started.

Weekends around here have been a blur. Last Saturday we decided to check out Salmon Days in Issaquah. Picture Swiss Days, but with fish, more people and a little less calico. We didn't eat any salmon (only two places with out of control lines), but we did spend a fair amount of time at the hatchery watching them climb the ladders. Mack was sufficiently impressed and I was shocked at how rude adults can be to kids who are just trying to get a good look. Relax people.
The Saturday before last was the Autumn Leaf Festival in Leavenworth. It's a cute little Bavarian-ish town about 2 hours away in the Cascades. The drive out was positively breathtaking. The town itself was cute and kitschy, but it did leave a little to be desired. I wish they'd teach the sales people in the stores basic German greetings such as "Guten Tag" instead of "Hey there, try some cheese!" We did get some decent Bratwurst and as we were leaving saw a troupe of what appeared to be middle aged, slightly overweight viking strippers. Looked like some lucky lady's night!
Speaking of Kassey, she set up a blog! Check her out HERE, and be sure to leave a comment to let her know you stopped by.

Tagged

I've been tagged (thanks Katie!). Here are the rules:
A. List 7 habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
B. Tag 7 people to do the same.
C. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag whoever wants to do it.

1. People saying they'll do things and then NOT doing them really irks me. It's probably my number one pet peeve. Just say, "Sorry, I can't" or "That won't really work for me" or "I don't want to". Any of these options are better than lying.
   
2. I have absolutely no problem eating an entire package of Oreos. Not just a skimpy tube from the CostCo box, I'm talking the real deal here. The entire $2.50 slash 2 for $5 package of Oreos. The trick is running them under water as you eat them a'la my Dad. To be honest, I haven't done this lately due to my pregnancy and desperate fear of heart burn, but UNknocked up--no problem!
3. I may appear "crafty" to the untrained eye. I do sew, bake, cook, embroider, knit, and I'm working on canning) but I DO NOT SCRAPBOOK! I don't like it or any other "craft" involving paper such as making cards or stamping or anything of the like. I'd say I hate it, but my Mom taught me to try not to use that word. (I hope I didn't offend anyone, that is not my intention. You can scrapbook, just please don't ask me to participate.)
4. I currently have a baby product obsession. Which stems from my much larger "quirk" of retaining everything I read (it's both a blessing and curse). I know WAY too much about strollers and car seats and cribs and...you get the idea. The multitude of options and information is starting to stress me out. This is what happens when you combine nesting and a know-it-all.
5. Giving birth again petrifies me. I am definitely more scared the second time around. Each day a silent little part of me prays that this kid will be breach and I will have to have a c-section, thus avoiding having to make the choice between an early induction or c-section myself. I have NOT forgotten the pain of giving birth. Sometimes I think my doctor is listening to an ipod or something when I talk to her, like she doesn't "get it". Sorry to scare any of you are yet to give birth (Kassey). Just remember two things: 4th degree tears are very rare and to never let anyone take your pain medication away. Do this and you'll be fine. I hope.
6. I almost never read a book unless the author is dead. I think doing this saves me from reading a lot of junk.
   
7. I'm not sure if this counts, but for some reason people seem really surprised when they find out. I don't let Mack watch TV (even though I'm practically counting the minutes until The Office premier tonight), and I'm kinda a stickler about it. Also, he will not be attending preschool outside the home, and I NEVER let him have candy (even though I consider chocolate practically the most important meal of the day).
   

I tag (in alphabetical order): Angela, Bethany, Jill, Mary-Anne, and Tyler (gotcha!). I tagged all of you because I think you'll have some interesting stuff to share I haven't heard about before, which will in turn make for excellent nap time reading. I also want to tag Kassey and Kerin. I know you guys don't have blogs, but I really really really think you should! So please get one! And Danna, I think it's high time you and Dave set one up as well, but I don't think you'd really do the tag thing. But if you did want to, that'd be fine too. OkaLaka.

All's Well That Ends.

All is well for the Thompson clan. On Monday we flew back from San Diego where I had been "teen-sitting" for my parents. They took on a nostalgic little trip down memory lane, visiting our family's old haunts in Germany. Of course, nothing has changed much since we lived there (When I asked my Dad if anything looked different he wisely pointed out to me that nothing has changed there for the past 300 years, so why start now?). I'm insanely jealous of my parents and can't wait to take Tyler back there someday and drag him around pointing everything out. He will of course pretend to be very excited and interested, because he loves me. While they were in Mohn, my folks discovered that our old landlady, Frau Schiltz had passed away back in 2002 (I just realized that my mom has been sending her Christmas letters, I wonder who got them?). Sad news for certain, but she was older and had certainly led an interesting life. But who will give the village children their daily chocolate?
"Teen-sitting" was an adventure. Menopause happens for a reason. Parents of teenagers are simply NOT meant to have a toddler and be pregnant. I don't know how my Mom handles that carpool schedule. It's insane! I spent an hour in the car every morning just getting everyone to school and seminary. Plus it's a well known fact that whenever I'm around a crisis seems to pop up. Including, but not limited too: my parents shower leaking through the ceiling into the kitchen after not being used for over a week, Georgia (the dog) breaking into the neighbor's yard Denise the Menace style, Mack bumping his face into the floor and getting so worked up he VOMITED all over me and the living room couch at the exact moment dinner was ready (don't worry he's okay). Luckily the calvary (Tyler) arrived just in time to get things back in order for my parents arrival home.
Now we're home and in the last 30 minutes Mack has asked me to read him his Dinosaur book at least 4 times. Could this be today's theme? Recent developments for Mack include the discovery that he LOVES walking backwards, walking on his tip toes with his hands behind is back, and twirling/dancing then falling down. He also sings the primary songs "Hello, Hello" and "Popcorn Popping" (no, I don't know the real name). When asked "Mack, do you want a little brother?" he firmly replies, "NO". I think we've got our work cut out for us.

How to Eat a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich:

Step #1: Separate the two pieces of bread comprising said sandwich.

Step #2: Smash jelly side of bread into your face.

Step #3: Laugh uproariously at the exquisite genius of your plan.

Step #4: Consume both parts of sandwich, grin, and wait to be hosed down.

What I'm Cooking

This morning, before church, I threw some frozen chicken breasts, defrosted pork and fresh salsa into a crockpot. My intention was for it to come out in the end resembling something one might put into a burrito. This didn't happen. It is very watery and "soupy". I'm going to try adding some beans, tomato paste and chips. Hopefully, it will turn out somewhat resembling tortilla soup.

We had our ultrasound on Monday. Another boy for us! We got a very good look at little soon to be Master Henry Allen. Allen is my Dad's middle name and Henry is just a great boy name with an even better nickname- Hank. The ultrasound lady was a little rude. When she saw Mack she said, "So, you want a girl this time." Just like that, not even a question, a strait statement. Um, no. I want Mack to learn how to be tough and even more importantly, I want to use all of his adorable little clothes that he either never fit into, or grew out of after the first week (10lbs remember?).

Labor Day...my new favorite holiday

We celebrated Labor Day 2007 by making two unusually large purchases. The first and cheaper of the two is a new sofa. Yeah, I know it's not too exciting but to me it's great. It means that I don't have to lay on our floor to watch football. Here it is:


Our next stop was Chuck Olson Kia in Shoreline to purchase a 2007 Kia Rondo. Actually we only pulled off to look casually but an hour later we were signing on the dotted line. Interestingly, the salesman was new and not very good....Fern knew more about the Rondo than him and her negotiation skills got us a good deal. Don't worry once the price was established, I took over and closed it out. Fern and Mack can now ride in style and comfort as I continue my quest to drive the Honda into the ground but she just keeps going. Here is a look at the Rondo:


This is the exact color...."Black Cherry"

We got the gray interior.


Mack was great the whole day and approved of the Rondo.

We spent Saturday at "the ocean" celebrating my mom's birthday. Mack loved the 50 degree water and spent an hour trying to build a sand castle. Fern made my mom an apron with Mack's hand prints. Needless to say, she loved it.