New room

(sorry, photo lost. it is gray.)

We finally put in flooring and are able to set up Joyce's new room before number 2 comes. Not sure when she will move in but she will have a bed.

WWWW tour

This is the only photo I took of our annual girls' weekend. The truth is it was rather low key. We stayed in Kristin's dead grandma's old apartment and took turns in the fancy chair. I have to say it sure helped getting up. My belly is getting bigger each day and bending over gets harder each day. 

Kitchen fun

I recently discovered this prefect solution for keeping Joyce occupied and happy while I work in the kitchen. Soon I hope to get her to wash dishes while she is there. 

Bedside

(photo lost - sorry. probably just a pile of tissues or something exciting.)

I have a head cold. I hate it. Cough and blow my nose all night. Also wake up every three hours to feed a baby. Good night!

Finished!

The bathroom is at least finished. Please excuse the extreme brightness of the walls. It looked a lot milder on the paint chip card.

Sleeping baby

I would have turned on the lights but then I would have missed the shot. She loves her burp cloths. But I think I can see why doctors say babies should not sleep with anything that could smother them.

Crafty!

Look what I made! Three actually, for Christmas gifts. My visiting teacher helped. A lot. 

Tile in

The bathroom is coming among nicely but for such a small space it sure seems to take a long time. 

Basement bathroom

Today they framed in the shower. It will be tiled Monday. We are very excited! 

Basement bathroom

Did I mention the remodel going on? Right now it is a mud pit. Concrete should get poured today. Very exciting and messy. 

Bathroom remodel

Not that I wanted to remodel it yet, but due to a diy home repair attempt we had a bit if a flood down there, requiring us to at least rip out the old wet stuff. I spent Tuesday night ripping up soggy 30 year old carpet and hauling it outside. I think I vacuumed up over 10 gallons of water in addition to what wad soaked into the carpet and padding. It wasn't just the bathroom, but the adjoining bedroom as well. 

First snow

Before even looking out the window this morning I dressed Joyce in her snow flake outfit. I was surprised to discover it had snowed over night. It is still coming and she loves watching it. 

Keys

Joyce loves her keys. Too much sometimes. Last week she accidentally gagged herself with the yellow one. It was sad and a bit scary. In her panic she kept shoving it in instead of taking it out. 

Lettuce

I figured the blog needed something new. Here she is chewing lettuce at grandma's. 

Elimination communication

(photo is lost - be grateful)

I apologize for this photo, but it is evidence of an accomplishment in my book. I have wanted to try e/c but have only made half hearted attempts. Today I managed to save on a diaper by catching her cues just in time. So easy. I want to get better at this. Not sure it will be possible once her brother shows up. Truthfully I can't imagine doing anything at all when he comes. Who wants to be my live in nanny?

Getting dressed

You probably can't tell from this photo, but dad dressed her for the day. On the other side of her shirt is a pretty, large, loud, floral decoration. Bret just assumed snaps went in front. It made me laugh enough to leave it that way the rest of the day. 

Chocolate cake for breakfast

It was one of those sleep in days when the weather is perfectly "fall" and I want something yummy for breakfast. So today I took my favorite Hershey's chocolate cake recipe and made it oil and dairy free and instead of sugar I used dates and agave syrup. So good and healthy enough to eat for breakfast with no guilt. Yum! Here's a recipe, but keep in mind I'm never very good about being exact when I cook so this is my best guess at what I did. It probably sounds complicated, but that's because I'm using a traditional recipe and tweaking it. I'm not sure if all the steps and ingredients are essential, but it worked for me and I would be willing to try it again!

My Healthy Version of Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake
(see recipe on back of Hershey's Cocoa tubs for the original)

3/4 C and 2 TB flour (I use ground whole white wheat.)
1/2 C and 2 TB cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 dates
1 C water
1 TB ground flax seed
1/2 C non-dairy milk (or use water)
1/4 C applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C agave nectar or some other sweetener of choice
1/2 C boiling water


Put dates in 1 C water and nuke for two minutes until soft. Combine flour through salt (first five ingredients) together in mixing bowl. In separate bowl drain liquid off the dates and mix with the ground flax seed. Combine soft dates with milk, applesauce, vanilla, and agave in a food processor or using an immersion blender to make sure the dates are ground up. Add the flax seed - should be thickish after sitting a bit. Now add all the dries to this wet mixture and beat for about 2 min. Can just do it in the food processor. Finally, stir in the boiling water, making the batter thinner. Pour into a silicone round or 8x8 pan, or is using traditional 8x8 pan, make sure it is greased in some way. Bake for 20 minutes at 350, or until the toothpick comes out clean.

Sleepy baby

Yesterday I went to an engagement party for an old friend. She is marrying Keith coogan. Bret thinks few will recognize his name. He may be right. But google him and you will see I had a brush with fame. Anyway I had so much fun catching up with old friends that Joyce basically missed two naps in a row. Then afterward I tried to attend the general relief society broadcast, which caused her to miss another nap. After the broadcast began she began to cry. Really cry. No comforting her sort of cry. Half way through the first speaker I took her home and she continued to fuss off and on for another hour or more. So I guess i'm not surprised that upon getting home from church today, and changing her diaper, she fell fast asleep in the spot where I left her while going to throw away her diaper. Poor exhausted girl. I think I may have learned my lesson about naps. 

P.S. You can thank the party host for this post because she reminded me that people still check my blog and I have been terribly neglectful.

Baby mess

I should have taken a before picture but it may have been to gross for my viewers. This is my office chair cleaned up after I discovered yellow liquid poop had leaked out of Joyce's diaper. This morning she had just a small load and it was pretty firm. I sort of wondered if it was too firm. Well this sure made up for it. Poor girl. Poor me. 

Love Love Love

Yes I love this salad. I are half of it for lunch today. Not sure how it will go with my over riding nausea today. I think this is the fourth time I have made it in the last month or two. I love it. 

2 cukes

1 red pepper

1 onion

Half a bunch of cilantro

Couple handfuls of chopped peanuts

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons (or less) sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

This cucumber salad beats all!