Oh, the joys of everyday life!

***IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE POST ON OUR EXCITING NEWS THAT I EMAILED ABOUT, IT'S NOT THIS ONE! SEE THE POST BELOW.***

It's amazing the things that will get you excited when you live a normal life. I guess it's good that the little things still make me happy. Otherwise, it might mean I'm living life a little too hard.

We finally got the ice maker hooked up in our freezer!!! I'm so happy. I'm not much of a water drinker to begin with, but being pregnant, I'm even more picky. I don't like straight-from-the-tap water, or even refrigerated bottled water sometimes. I like my water COLD. So cold you have to drink it with a straw.

Yes, we have the ice cube trays, but half of the ice cube doesn't come out of them for some reason. Plus, I always forget to refill them when I empty them. So, occasionally, when a glass of water sounds good, I will go over to Grandma & Papa's and steal a glass of ice, just to have some good icy water.

But I don't have to do that anymore. Yay! A friend of our family, who is A-Plumber, came over on Thursday and hooked it up for us.

Okay, enough about my ice maker. I'm just excited!

Have a good day everyone!

I finally got it!!!

Well, I finally yanked out Sierra's tooth! I swear it was only holding on by one tiny little stubborn root.

Tonight, after teeth brushing, I grabbed it and pulled. Sierra, of course, said "Ow!" and pulled away. But I grabbed her head, grabbed the tooth, and yanked! And out it popped. She bled, of course. But she was fine with it. Rinsed her mouth and grabbed a tissue.

We had to run over to GG's house to show her. I think the running while grinning helped dry up the rest of the bleeding, because by the time we got down the driveway, it was fine.

So, the Tooth Fairy comes tonight. But Sierra is very sad to say goodbye to her first lost tooth. So, I'm to have a conversation with said Fairy and see if we can work out some kind of deal. You know, a something-for-nothing kind of deal. As in, you leave a quarter (although Sierra has only requested a penny), and we keep the tooth. We'll see how that goes...

Anyway, here are some pictures:

Here is the bloody hole, shortly after we pulled the tooth.

And here is the hole, after all the blood went away. You can see the big tooth right behind it. It should be up in it's place very soon.

I just can't believe that my baby (well, my VERY FIRST baby, anyway) has lost her first tooth. Damn! Now I feel old!

The sad state of my pregnant brain.

This is the sign that is hanging on my cupboard door. This is after not one, but two, non-pan-greasing incidences.

The first time, I greased one pan of corn muffins, and forgot to grease the other one. Even though I filled them one right after the other.

The second time, I was making whole wheat bread from frozen dough, and forgot. I ended up throwing the whole thing away.

So now, I have this up. And I didn't forget to grease my bread pan today. So maybe it's working!

I told myself I wasn't going to cry!

Well, I didn't actually cry, but I did get choked up when I dropped the kids off for their first day of school. Sierra started kindergarten this year, and Tyner is now in preschool. If I had had to talk to anyone, I probably would have cried, but I went for a walk right after I dropped Tyner off. I didn't take a ton of pictures (sorry, my scrapbooking sisters!), but I got a couple of their first day outfits (which they picked out by themselves). I have to leave in a few minutes to run a few errands and then to pick them up. Anyway, here is one of the pictures:

As for the rest of my day, I've got a few things on my list.

I've got one thank-you note left to write from my baby shower in Bremerton. I'm pretty proud of myself, because I usually never get those things done.

I've got some junk left in my room to go through before Jason gets home. I'm trying to declutter in there so we can move furniture today. We are trying to rearrange so we will have more space for another dresser, and the bassinet. So, I've got to get rid of that pile. I've also got to go over to Grandma and Papa's house and empty out the dresser we are getting from them.

I've got some chicken in the fridge that I need to split up. Cook some and freeze some. My sister Jenni left me some zucchini, so I was thinking about making zucchini bread with that. Although I saw kind of a yummy looking recipe in a magazine for veggie mac n cheese that I might try. I've also got a loaf of frozen bread dough on the counter thawing/rising that will need to be baked later. And I have a recipe for some things called "No Bake Bumpy Peanut Butter Nuggets" that I want to try to make. If they turn out good, I will post the recipe.

As for the rest of the week, it will be spent getting baby stuff ready. Bringing the bassinet in and giving it a good wash down. Laundering baby clothes and putting them away. Our cloth diapers should be here sometime this week, or the beggining of next week, so those will need to be prepared.

I wasted a lot of time today on the computer (not that talking to you was a WASTE, Dani). But I was on here a lot longer than I needed to be. So, tomorrow I resolve to do better!

Anyway. There is my update. Hope you enjoyed it!

MPM - 8/20/07

***YAY!! I'M ACTUALLY ON TIME FOR ONCE!!!***

Okay. Here it is, folks. My menu for this week. It is pretty full, and I'm sure I won't make everything everyday. What isn't made will just be moved to next week, to fill in days there. So, here goes:

Monday: FAMILY DINNER. In honor of my sister Jenni and her girls visiting, we are having a family dinner. I know we are having a brisket, but I'm not sure what everyone else is bringing. I am providing Make Ahead Party Mashed Potatoes.

Tuesday: Sierra's favorite meal: Spaghetti. With salad and some whole wheat bread made from frozen bread dough.

Wednesday: Black Bean Vegetable Soup. With salad and garlic toast (from same bread as above). I've made this soup once before, and if I remember right, it was really good. It's not really "soup weather" right now, but I've never had an issue with that. Soups good all year for me!

Thursday: Crock Chicken and Peppers. From SavingDinner.com. Sorry, I can't post the recipe. I had to pay for it, so I don't think they'd like it if I gave it to y'all for free. With mashed potatoes and cooked broccoli (you know, in the microwave with water and butter and salt).

Friday: Mac and Cheese Casserole. Also from SavingDinner.com. With salad and garlic toast.

Saturday: Beef roast with carrots and onions (and maybe some potatoes). And bread.

Sunday: I don't have anything down for Sunday. This will be a filler day, or a leftover day, or eating over and G&P's house.

Now that I look at my menu, I realize I have a lot of salad down. And I don't think I have that much lettuce in my fridge. So, some of that salad may be replaced with canned veggies. We shall see.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go shape my cookie dough into logs now.

Have a good week!!!

Sierra's extra tooth

Just a quick post to show you my daughter's mouth. I know most of you have heard the story about how we discovered her loose tooth (we thought Jay punched it loose while they were wrestling), but then we discovered the big tooth growing in behind it. Well, the tooth is still just loose, and getting more loose everyday. And the big tooth is just getting bigger. When it actually falls out, I will take another picture and post it. But, for now, here is my girl's extra tooth. ***Sorry, I know it looks kind of gross.***

32 down, 8 to go....

Well, I normally don't take my belly picture until Friday morning. But, I have to work tomorrow, and I didn't want to wait until Saturday. So, I'm going to post my 32 week picture now. I really wish I could take a picture in my underwear, so you could really see that my belly is starting to hang over, but that wouldn't really be appropriate...oh well. You'll just have to imagine. I'm sure it will only get worse in the next 8 weeks, so you'll get to see it. Anyway, I'll post my 32 week picture, and then my 28 week for comparison. **Sorry, Mom, that it's not angled like you had suggested, but I wanted to be consistent.**

32 WEEKS

28 WEEKS

There you go! So, what do you all think?

My Favorite Cleaner

Well, I thought, while I'm waiting for my dishwater to cool (I made it too hot, AGAIN), that I would post the recipe for my FAVORITE homemade cleaner. While the recipe was given as one for windows, I use it on everything. Counters, my tile table, the bathroom sink, and yes, it's AWESOME on windows. I actually used it for the first time on the front door window yesterday, and I was so impressed that I went and cleaned my living room window too. I dried it completely, which was really easy to do, and it didn't leave any streaks or spots. ***WARNING: This cleaner is very vinegar-y. If you can't stand the smell of vinegar, I would suggest either modifying the amounts of vinegar and water, or not making it at all. You might also be able to adjust the amount of essential oil you put in, which might help the smell some, but it's still gonna' smell like vinegar. I've gotten used to the smell, so it doesn't bother me at all anymore, but Jay and the kids still comment on it. END OF WARNING*** Okay, so here it is:

CLEANER
1 1/2 C white vinegar
1/2 C water
8 drops lemon essential oil (you can use more, or maybe a different scent that you like better)
squirt of liquid dish soap

I mix this up right in a 32 oz spray bottle I got from the Dollar Store. Just put everything in and kind of swish it around. I also wrote the "recipe" right on the side of the bottle with a Sharpie so I know right away what to put in to make more.

So, there it is. My favorite cleaner. Cheap to make (well, except for the initial price of the E.O., but that stuff lasts a long time), and better for your family. No harsh chemicals, or chemical fumes. Enjoy.

Menu Plan Monday...err, Thursday

So, Dani asked about my menu for this week. Well, I don't really have one. Which is kind of why I didn't post one, but I'll tell you what we've had so far.

Monday: Grandma fed us dinner since we had just gotten back from Washington. She made pot roast with potatoes from the garden and corn on the cob. And probably salad and biscuits too. I can't really remember, 'cause it was a couple days ago.

Tuesday: Jason made dinner for us, since I went back to work. He grilled steaks, and sliced up potatoes for fried potatoes. He also bought a bag of Caesar salad, our favorite. Now that's a man meal...Steak and 'Taters, as Jay would say.

Wednesday: I bought a Take & Bake pizza and some salad from Raley's on my way home from work. Jay didn't want me to be stressed out worrying about dinner when I got home, so I got something easy.

Thursday: I actually planned last night, and made something ahead of time. We had Saucy Broccoli Chicken Bake and rice. This was actually pretty good, but it probably would have been better if it hadn't sat in the fridge over night. Next time I make it, I want to do it fresh. Oh, and we had chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. Sierra helped Grandma make it after her "nap."

Friday thru Sunday: I have no idea what we are having for dinner. I told you I didn't plan! We will probably eat over at Grandma & Papa's more than one night.

So, there you go. There is my "menu" for this week. Hope it was helpful. ;)