Happy Halloween!

From all of us to all of you...happy trick or treating!

And...many thanks to Erin for sending this adorable shirt that Amy made! MADE!

Thirty months.

My Dearest Alla,

I tucked you into bed a little late tonight, because we were at Borders looking at books. You absolutely ran when you found Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman, and then proceeded to read it to the little dolophin you carried over to me. Except that you discovered it was an abridged board book version and was missing the all-important The egg jumped. It jumped and jumped and jumped. Out came the baby bird! page. Back it went.

Yes, we were late coming home, but in truth, we could have made it into bed by eight, which I consider late, except that you are the world's longest dinner eater. I don't say slow because you are continuously eating. It's just that you eat so much. Tonight you had two pieces of Trader Joe's Spinach Pesto Pizza, and you told me with each bite of spinach, how very strong you were getting. Of course, two pieces of pizza is hardly enough for a two-and-a-half year old, clearly growing girl, so you then devoured a whole 'Daddy yogurt,' blueberry flavor. You love that these are kind of Daddy's yogurts and that it's kind of a secret when you've eaten one of them.

You just woke up, an hour after getting tucked in. Sometimes your covers get all twisted and you can't get them fixed in your sleep. That, and you sleep with about a million friends, who all end up cavorting with each other at the bottom of the bed. I asked if your covers were twisted. You said you just wanted me to give you a kiss, and then you leaned over and smooched me. You gathered Pondegore and Baby Rolla, laid back down on Daddy's pillow, decided no pillow was better, got all tucked in again, and I smoothed your hair out of your face. You told me I had cold hands. And then you farted. And said, That was me! We got you all situated, I gave you kisses and hugs and went to close the door, and then you told me to go brush Jelly. Sometimes he gets tangles, you said. Yep, sometimes he does.

It's hard, sometimes, to be joyous and creative and celebratory about each simple day, but, love, I remember the feeling when you were a newborn of not wanting to put you down and looking forward to when you would wake up so I could see you and hold you and smell you again. And it's still that way. I closed your door just now with a smile, not exasperation, a smile, a fullness in my heart, and felt I couldn't wait to see you tomorrow.

Today you're two and a half. You're telling people, too. The clerk at Target, Megan, Daddy. You're proud. You're so big. You're so old.

My cup runneth over, love.

Night, night. Night, night. Night, night.

I love you,

Mama

Thankful Thursday.

In the November issue of Real Simple (yeah I know, I have devoured it already), the letter from the editor talks about working for many years with a grumpy man who nevertheless starts his day by naming five things he is thankful for.



So, my five on this beautiful Thursday -



1. Sunshine. Four days in a row now.
2. Eight hours of sleep.

3. Our Do-Nothing Day. At least one day a week we don't make any plans, and we stay in our pajamas (yep I'm still in mine as I type) as long as possible. It is incredibly restorative for both of us to not have to hurry through breakfast and getting dressed and rush out the door to get someplace by a certain time.
4. A clean house. Well, it's not a completely Do-Nothing Day for the Mama (is it ever?). It's usually the day that I also get my cleaning done. But not having any other plans means I can do it at my own pace and stop to play dolly house or color or eat some cheese.

5. Feeling baby moves the instant I wake up in the morning.

Verrrrrrry short on patience today.

One of those days when Mama just runs out of magic and patience and continuously assures her child that she loves her, because by her actions it would not be completely obvious. You'd think she was trying to impress me with her broccoli-eating skills, but in truth, the girl just likes broccoli. Steamed, raw, whatever. I doubt this will remain the case in all of her years, however, so I made the effort to document it here.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Goodness, those wildfires. Keeping Susie in my thoughts.

2. Today at the school library, where we check out one book and one toy per week, her toy pick was a rocking puppy. Just like a rocking horse, but a puppy. You'd think this was some small, manageable, fluffy, snuggly puppy the way she carries it around, lugging it up the stairs, tucking it into her bed and telling me Shhhhh, He's sleeping. And then asking him when she lifts him out of bed, How'd you get so heavy, little buddy?

3. I'm thinking I should wait til we're done having kids to get this. Cause if we have three, then I want the triple.

4. We still watch Signing Time most mornings. The choice for this particular morning was Baby Signing Time, which means she has to locate Baby Rolla, and then rock her to the introduction song.

5. Cheese, Mama's taking your picture. Again.

6. I have to make the bed every morning.

7. I am eating oatmeal every morning. Every. With flaxseed meal, brown sugar, craisins, walnuts, and milk. And sometimes bananas. It fills me up.

8. Alla loves frozen blueberries. And frozen mango.

9. I totally desire to decorate (inside) for Halloween. I'm not a real big Halloween junkie, and the whole putting giant blow up ghosts thing on your lawn kinda weirds me out, like who spends money on that crap (and forgive me if YOU do), but Alla is getting pretty darn excited about the whole thing, despite the fact that she thinks that when the leaves fall, then it will be Halloween. So I'd love to have the dining room (where we spend most of our time) just completely decorated one morning for her. Nothing spooky, just some festive stuff that she knows comes out every year at this time. But this probably won't happen this year cause we're kinda busy this week and we head out to California next week for the wedding of the year!

10. One more week 'til Halloween! Can't wait to see what all your little ones are going to be!

Add this to the menu.

(unless you're Catie, in which case you might as well wait cause I'll be making this for you in a few weeks)


Cheesy Spinach Pasta Casserole


1 (12oz) package medium shell pasta
1 (10oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 eggs
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1 1/2 (26oz) jars tomato basil pasta sauce
1 (8oz) package shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (8oz) package shredded mozzarella cheese


1. Preheat oven to 350.


2. Bring large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta 8-10 minutes or until al dente, drain. Bring 1/2 c. water to a boil in a saucepan, and cook the spinach 4-6 minutes, until tender.


3. Place the cooked pasta in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and the oil. Toss the pasta with the cooked spinach, egg mixture, and bread crumbs.


4. Cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with 1/3 of the pasta sauce. Pour half of the pasta mixture into the baking dish, and cover with another 1/3 of the pasta sauce. Sprinkle with half of the cheddar cheese and half of the mozzarella. Layer with the remaining pasta mixture, and top with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheddar and mozzarella.


5. Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browed.


from allrecipes.com's book, Tried and True Slow Cooker & Casserole Recipes


And, in case you either don't think this sounds good (weirdo) or just came here for the photos, here ya go.


You didn't really think that she just woke up with ringlets like this did you?
No, she doesn't!

The halfway point.

Here we are at the halfway point. That's right, twenty weeks. Unbelievable how fast it goes, and yet twenty more weeks seems ages away. Especially since we haven't really started winter yet and this baby's not due til the near end of it.


So, anymore guesses?

Still crazy for the ball popper.

Yep, the girl's still crazy about this gift (for her first birthday, thanks Susie:) )...especially after it having dead batteries for a few months. Oh to be this joyous about colorful balls popping out of a machine. And, listen, it's rained 18 out of the past 20 days here so we have to make joy where we can find it in the house.

Another joy: Walter the Farting Dog she's holding. Which she thinks is freakin hilarious. Thank you Pappi! At the moment she's napping with 'farting dog.'

Last thing to note, this video was taken last night at 6:01, and yes, she's still in her pj's. It was our one lazy day and we lived it up.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Really, I got nothin' new in the way of photos because lately we have grey and rainy and that doesn't make for much of anything good inside or out.

2. Right now I'm listening to Alla talk herself to sleep with like fifty friends in bed with her, saying to them, "Oh, okay" and "Where's your mom? I don't know where she is." Ron wonders if maybe she really hears them talking back to her. If not, that is some serious imagination.

3. I'm sure you need another blog to follow? This one is just brimming with great ideas and projects: How About Orange.

4. Now, Katie, this is an assignment for you personally: Go check out these jeans, and report back on how they compare to the originals. I would gladly do it myself, but I will be lucky if I can do any trying on of normal, new clothing, particularly jeans, by next Christmas.

5. Who does not want to rush out and get the stuff to make these adorable barrettes?

6. But if you don't want to, don't have the time, or just can't see how you need to add another project to your growing to-do list, then just buy these.

7. The girl is a serious pro on her trike now. Found a cool link on the cool blog mentioned in number three to Hockneyizer. So fun and so simple! Go try right now, then post your results on your blog. 8. Also found a yummy-sounding recipe for chai, but of course I have to gather all those ingredients.

9. I am in serious need of ordering photos from the months of July, August, and September. And I do not want to wait for them to come in the mail because I am a scrapbooking fool lately. So I'll have to find some place around here that will surely muck them up. But at least I can pick them up tomorrow.

10. This weekend is the big Trader Joe's trip. Alla is all geared up to grab her own little shopping cart, and I am planning on filling up both hers and mine with yummy yummy goodies:)

Peace.

All is well in the world of Baby Pondegore. The baby has a brain, a heart, limbs, fingers and toes, a working bladder, and the love of his or her mama, dada, and sister.

Heartbeat today: 141 during the ultrasound, then 152 during the regular appointment.
Weighs 10 ounces.
Measuring a week ahead. Surprise, surprise, right? Might as well get started on all that weight gain.

Just in time for Halloween, here's our little skeleton:

And, what I hope is a preview of his or her life on the outside, here's our little person giving us the peace sign. May this baby be super chill.Alla waved and showed her peace sign right back. See? It's gonna be great. They're already communicating.

Happy Friday, friends.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Seriously, is it Tuesday again already? Seems like I was just coming up with something to say.

2. Today was picture day at school. Last year they only did a group photo, which was nothing to write home about. But this year they did the whole studio backdrop (vanilla sky or enchanted forest?) and individual portraits, so of course I had to go for that. I'm sure they captured her "cheese" smile, which isn't much of a smile, but stay tuned.

3. So, of course, I had to take my own before we left. Shot no. 1:

4. Shot no. 2:

5. Tara, I'm super excited that the leopard coat fits for another season! I'm seriously going to have to buy another one for next year because this has been the most wonderful, versatile, loved, well-used-and-still-lookin-good coat EVER.

6. On Sunday, it was mid-eighties. Today, struggling to touch 50.

7. The maple is still green. Give it another two weeks. Then there will be some color.

8. School day also means library day. We've been checking out a book on CD each week, which Alla loves. Might be that they had two shark books, both of which are now utter favorites which we better get in our collection soon, says she. Best one: The Bravest Fish, by Matt Buckingham. And, yes, she has to say it like that. And if she forgets the author she'll just go on and ask you, "Mom? Mom! Who's it by again?"

9. At bedtime tonight, after we tucked her in with all five billion of her friends, she told us that Spike (the neighbor's pull-toy doggie) and Fluffy (her very own pull-toy doggie) dug a hole in the garage and are going to eat bones. She said she had to take care of them.

10. Best news of all, Friday is our BIG ultrasound! Stay tuned for pics of the littlest one!

Slew of photographs.

Isn't she going to be a great big sister?

OK, thought you'd like to see a few more from our visit with the Laughrey's...

Taking Kelsea for a spin in the Escalade, around the corner to see the Halloween house.There is a petting zoo at the apple farm. The girls got a kick out of watching the goats knock each other over trying to eat out of hands. Kelsea and Alla both fed them!

A repeat of last year's shot. (You'll have to scroll thru the October archives to the 10-3-06 posting. And please note, she wore the same shirt apple-picking last year.)See, told you they had matching outfits! And this is also the day I realized I could not squeeze one more minute out of her size 2T's. The 3T's are now out in full force.One shot we didn't get last year, a Killins family portrait! Thanks, Katie!

Wednesday it was gorgeous so my friend Michelle and I took our girls to Stillwater to play at the Teddy Bear Park, walk downtown (ok, walk to a toy store), and then grab some lunch at a (cheap!) restaurant overlooking the St. Croix river.

Signing train...you'll remember this from the last time we took her...and again with the yellow shirt. Good thing we got such use out of it cause it definitely won't fit her for a third summer.

In the train - There are teddy bears everywhere and much bigger than this! I think I said it before, it's no Veteran's Park just based on location, but it's a pretty close second for all the amenities and view of the river.I caught her behind a wooden post, counting to twenty. She said she had to. Wish I could remember why. Then she was off, looking for a cake for Leigha. When, after at least twenty minutes, she couldn't find one, she said it was time to build a word, found some pretend letters that she figured would spell c-a-k-e, and then presented it to her. The imagination on this child...I love her!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. What is with all the subtitles on Heroes? I truly enjoy a more passive approach to television-watching. While folding clothes, scrapbooking, blogging, etc.

2. But no worry. I have Friday Night Lights to look forward to.

3. What's up with Grey's? Can no one be happy at the start of a new season? Sheesh.

4. We had a lovely weekend with the Laughrey's. Check them out at their first apple-picking experience.

5. And of course Alla had a built-in playmate for the weekend. With a matching outfit!

6. Does anyone have any idea where to get a baby book that's a 3-ring binder-type? I'd love to be able to add to it, versus the book I have for Alla that's just all crammed with loose papers every which way.

7. Sleeping is a night-by-night event. Meaning, Sunday night I slept 9 hours, in a row, no waking up to pee, and felt amazing in the morning. But last night, not so much. The shooting pain down my left leg was really hampering my sleep. So today I broke out the pregnancy yoga video and we'll see if that helps at all.

8. I ran half a mile yesterday. Woo.

9. I want this for over our bed. But of course it's sold out in chocolate.

10. We got invited to a family Halloween party in a few weeks and I really want to go, but here's the thing: I don't dress up. But I'll be a complete spoil-sport otherwise. And think how excited Alla would be! And of course if this pregnant mama has to dress up, then so does Ron. So PLEASE, give me some great and easy ideas. I know a few of you must be Halloween fans???

Well, It's Wednesday.

But we'll still go ahead with our ten. That's just how some weeks go.

1. Been thinking we should start Maple Mondays here soon, except that I remembered ours is one of the last trees to turn. So the entire state is all ablaze with yellows and oranges and reds and we're still green. Completely.

2. Yesterday at lunch, Alla says, completely utterly out of the blue, I'm not saying any bad word. I'm not saying 'shit.' Alla! You can't say that word. That's a grown-up word! But I'm not saying 'shit.' Alla! You can't say that word. That's a grown-up word! Please don't say that again. And then: immediate sobs. And choking on her half-chewed carrot. Seriously.

3. At the moment we're sitting here watching WordWorld. Have you seen it? She's in L-O-V-E. And I think it's adorable the first two times I see an episode but after that I pretty much wish I knew how to knit or some other couch-potato hobby, hence the blogging now. It's the one about there being an ant in every g-i-a-n-t again.

4. She also told me yesterday, Mama you have to hug me cause I got a 'brrr.' After she had a chill.

5. Speaking of chills, it didn't even get to 60 yesterday.

6. But Sunday and Monday we were so hot we had to turn on the a/c.

7. I reluctantly finished Waiting for Birdy. I say reluctantly because I was enjoying it greatly and it was so like what I feel pregnant for the second time, and her Ben was sounding so similar to my Alla, that I would find myself just cracking up in bed and trying to explain it to Ron. And, no, he wouldn't quite get it.

8. So in its place I started The Good Good Pig, which sounds very charming.

9. I also have A Prayer for Owen Meany on my shelf. Any thoughts on that one?

10. Can't believe it. TOMORROW The Laughrey's come to visit!!

And a bonus because I'm a day late: Today Alla is 2 years and 5 months. Next month I officially get to say two and a half. Whoa.

Roast Beef.

We're trying to put on her Dora sandals this morning, and she says to me, Mama, my roast beef doesn't fit! No, no, it's my none! My none doesn't fit!

Oh my goodness where does she come up with these things! Yep we'd been doing "This Little Piggy" in bed this morning, but isn't it refreshing that 'roast beef' came to mind before, say, 'toe?'

In other news, the sixteen-week mark happened yesterday, and since we had 85-degree weather, we headed outside to document the occasion. Will be interesting to see if the 20 week photo involves sweaters and hats!

Last Day of Summer.

We had lovely lovely weather. And our first day of fall should be even lovelier.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I spy with my little eye: two turkeys on our next-door neighbor's roof.2. Now isn't this the happiest picture you've seen all day? 3. I am in love with the current issue of Wondertime. If you don't have it, run out and get it tomorrow. It's just so good.

4. Why is it September and I'm just finishing up the production part of my January photo-of-the-day album? I'll get it all assembled in time to start over this January.

5. We were lucky to share brunch here on Sunday with the Zitz', and Alla is just head over heels in love with Baby Dane. (Happy Six Months, Little One!) 6. Today was the first day of school! Alla is the youngest and only one of two girls! 7. Our after-nap ritual has become, wake her up and then go make moo-moos. She likes 'em really 'fick.' 8. I spy with my little eye: a bald eagle just chillin' in a tree.

9. I have the best husband. He laughs and plays with Alla at six o'clock like he hasn't just worked his butt off all day. I love that.

10. On Saturday morning we participated in a walk to benefit Camp Odayin. When we woke up it was a balmy 35 degrees, hence the hats, fleece, and gloves. Alla was all smiles that morning, since Ron was home from Puerto Rico and we were setting out on a family walk. She got a heart balloon, a tattoo, her face painted, and did all the aerobic warming up that a two year old could do. Which meant she was pretty pooped for the actual walk part. Which meant we (Ron) pretty much carried her on our one lap around the lake. Ah well.

Ten on Tuesday: Revisiting the State Fair.

Today is a great day to revisit our day at the fair, just a week ago yesterday, because the difference in our weather in just a week is shocking. When we walked out of the fair it was a sweltering 87 degrees. Today we are down THIRTY degrees to barely 57! I mean, I'm in a t-shirt (that I'm pulling down all day, hello, can we say, maternity shopping?), a sweatshirt, and a jacket, and I'm still standing in the sun and feeling the cold wind is truly stealing all the warmth of the sun.

But onto the fair!

1. First of all, Ron dressed her. I mean, I put out her clothes, but I can't help it if he thinks it best if her socks are pulled up to her knees and she thinks this is fancy, too.2. We went with our wonderful friends and neighbors who have these two boys that Alla is in love with. The grown-ups stopped for coffee and mini-donuts while the kiddos ran around. We got there at 8:30 am...
3. A huge hit was the giant slide. She went twice.
4. Just a little of the carrying by mama.

5. A local band was singing Johnny Cash songs, so Alla was in heaven. Check out the moves of Alla and Canton!



6. The food is what you go for, really, so here's what we ate: besides the mini-donuts and coffee (of which I was able to have a few measley sips), we had amongst us a hot dog (Alla!), deep fried smelt (basically walleye sticks with tartar sauce), gyros, ice cream, a bucket of cookies, deep fried Spam balls, and a great glass of fresh squeezed lemonade on the way out.7. The pregnant mama was not allowed on the skyride, but Ron had fun holding onto Alla for dear life.8. We headed over to the kiddie midway after that because they were melting and we thought we should end on a high note. They got to pick three rides. The bumper boats: big hit.9. The motorcycle, not so much.
10. So we walked her on over to the merry-go-round cause that's a foolproof way to put a smile on her face.Bonus: What we didn't know then was that the biggest smile of the day would come after that, when we were on our way out and an older couple came up to us and said they had a present for our daughter. They had evidently gotten a grab bag of some sort and the stuffed dog in it really wasn't something they were going to use. Oh. My. Goodness. You'd have thought Elmo had just moved in with her or something. She said thank you and then she talked to that dog all the way to the car, and then all the way home. I suggested that she give that doggie a good name, and she almost immediately said "Maurice," and we later figured out that she'd named her doggie after the author Maurice Sendak. The best part for me was when she said on the way home, "That was nice of that person to give me my doggie." Melting my heart.

'Til next year! When we'll brave it with two!