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| Her favorite clothes are now a toss up between dress ups and pajamas. |
2015 week forty-one
Either the pregnancy hormones have just really kicked in, or Vera has just been ridiculously cute, or I'm trying to cherish these last weeks of her being my only baby, but there has been an excess of love and hugs and kisses this week.
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| For FHE we built tall buildings and let V knock them down. Perfect toddler family activity. |
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| Things like this and hip hop lyrics make me cry a little. |
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| My OB is so sweet and amazing. Vera asked her if she would check her belly too,. So she was plopped up on the bed and got some gel on her belly, and we listened to her pulse. She thought it was amazing. :) |
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| Threw this selfie in there for Matt so he can tease me about it later. 39 weeks. |
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| Our city had a fire station open house were families could touch all the emergency vehicles and emergency dogs and helicopters, spray a fire hose, ride in police boats, etc. |
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| In the armored police truck. |
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| Hey Vera, hopefully this is the only time you ever ride in the back of a police car. |
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| Front seat is fine. |
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| Grandma looking at the camera drones and us in the background enjoying the amazing weather. Not shown, V crying about wanting some cheetos. :) |
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| Matthew bought a car shell for his RC car and painted it himself. He's very proud and I'm so impressed with how professional it turned out. Apparently if you live in Texas, the flag is the default motif for anything and everything. That, or a lone star or even the shape of Texas (we currently have a cutting board and hand soap in the shape of Texas -it's just a thing down here). |
Quotes
A really angry teenage girl was slowly sauntering across a 35 mile per hour street and stopped in the middle of the street to cuss me out as I stopped and honked. I said to her, "Move! You don't have a cross walk!" Then V asked, "What's that weird lady doing? Mama says You dont have a cross lock!"
V: "I love this beautiful pumpkin!" And then she proceeds to give it a kiss.
V: "Mama, it's all beautiful sometimes."
V: "There is a bug on the ground! Show me! Can't eat it though. Can't step on it."
Vera crumbled a lot of cornbread onto the floor during lunch and then proceeded to say to me, "Mama, the floor is dirty! You need to clean it up."
V to herself, "If you give a mouse a cookie... you'll have to go to the store to get cookies!"
When V does something she likes to tell you about it in question form, "Did I fall down? Did I break it? Did I take a long nap? Did I have a good pee?" etc.
After I showed her a photo of grumpy cat, "Who is that weird cat? Look at he. He is so cute and weird."
V: "Mama? I don't want mama and papa."
Me: "You dont?"
V: "No. Mama go to work."
Me: "Do you want Mama to go to work and Papa can stay home with you?"
V: "No! Mama and Papa go to work and I can stay at home all by myself and play with my giraffe."
Me: "How would you get food if you were hungry?"
V: "I would have my giraffe."
V: "Old MacDonald has a farm. E-I-E-I-E-I. Old MacDonald has a DINOSAUR! Roar!"
V: "I want to go to the cousins house. I want to go hang up with the cousins."
V referencing a keychain she got at the fire station open house, "This smells like poop. Like horse poop."
V: "When I get big I will be Mama and you will be Wronka."
Matt: "She has a point."
I've been reading Memory Keeper's Daughter and that mixed with end-of-pregnancy hormones has made me a bit lovey and nostalgic toward Vera. One day we woke up from her nap and padded out into the living room and looked so perfectly divine that I started to cry and tell her how much I love her. She saw me crying and started shouting, "No! You're not sad! You're NOT SAD!" and then dissolved into a puddle of tears. At this point I was laughing. She kept on crying until I could ensure her I was not, in fact, sad.
A really angry teenage girl was slowly sauntering across a 35 mile per hour street and stopped in the middle of the street to cuss me out as I stopped and honked. I said to her, "Move! You don't have a cross walk!" Then V asked, "What's that weird lady doing? Mama says You dont have a cross lock!"
V: "I love this beautiful pumpkin!" And then she proceeds to give it a kiss.
V: "Mama, it's all beautiful sometimes."
V: "There is a bug on the ground! Show me! Can't eat it though. Can't step on it."
Vera crumbled a lot of cornbread onto the floor during lunch and then proceeded to say to me, "Mama, the floor is dirty! You need to clean it up."
V to herself, "If you give a mouse a cookie... you'll have to go to the store to get cookies!"
When V does something she likes to tell you about it in question form, "Did I fall down? Did I break it? Did I take a long nap? Did I have a good pee?" etc.
After I showed her a photo of grumpy cat, "Who is that weird cat? Look at he. He is so cute and weird."
V: "Mama? I don't want mama and papa."
Me: "You dont?"
V: "No. Mama go to work."
Me: "Do you want Mama to go to work and Papa can stay home with you?"
V: "No! Mama and Papa go to work and I can stay at home all by myself and play with my giraffe."
Me: "How would you get food if you were hungry?"
V: "I would have my giraffe."
V: "Old MacDonald has a farm. E-I-E-I-E-I. Old MacDonald has a DINOSAUR! Roar!"
V: "I want to go to the cousins house. I want to go hang up with the cousins."
V referencing a keychain she got at the fire station open house, "This smells like poop. Like horse poop."
V: "When I get big I will be Mama and you will be Wronka."
Matt: "She has a point."
I've been reading Memory Keeper's Daughter and that mixed with end-of-pregnancy hormones has made me a bit lovey and nostalgic toward Vera. One day we woke up from her nap and padded out into the living room and looked so perfectly divine that I started to cry and tell her how much I love her. She saw me crying and started shouting, "No! You're not sad! You're NOT SAD!" and then dissolved into a puddle of tears. At this point I was laughing. She kept on crying until I could ensure her I was not, in fact, sad.
Stories
All summer we've been trying to eat less meat -like once or twice a week. And it was really fun to try to cram in as much fresh produce as we can and try to make filling meals. The weather really hasn't cooled down much, but it's Autumn now darn it! And I am ready for less summer squash and bell peppers. Also Matthew tends to lean anemic and often will feel inexplicably exhausted, so probably it's better for us to eat a little more meat. To offset the increased cost of more meat, I've been trying to incorporate $1 nights. This means that at least once a week we eat a meal that costs (in its entirety) $1 - $3. We have had some success so far and I thought I would share some of our favorite cheapy cheap meals.
Last week we had Boston Baked Beans from Martha Stewart and cornbread. The beans take FOR. EVER. But are tasty and filling. Especially since we added a bit of leftover rib meat (using leftover meat made it cheaper than buying the salt pork that was called for in the recipe).
The week before I made a Homemade Cream of Celery Soup. This recipe is a Martha Stewart version that is similar to what I made. I did not add heavy cream -just a touch of milk. And I did not blend it perfectly smooth and I used onions. And I used saltines instead of bread, because Cream of Celery Soup screams for saltines. Similarly you can make cream of potato, cream of carrot, broccoli, cheese and potato soup. But celery costs less than dirt so it adds to the frugality of the meal. But then so do potatoes and carrots.
Another $1 meal we like is beans and rice. If you use dried beans you're in the $1 club. Add some salsa and cheese and tortillas or chips and presto. Dinner.
We also love 100 Days of Real Food Refried Beans. They make great bean burritos. It's one of the only recipes I haul out the crock pot for.
Another good one is homemade Mac & Cheese. You basically make a white sauce (butter, flour, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg) and add to cooked noodles. Top with a little more shredded cheese and either bake until bubbly or eat it just like that. You can add countless veggies or meats to this.
Egg Drop Soup. Our first $1 meal when we were first married. It is still one of my favorites on really cold days accompanied by some brown rice.
And a new (to me) favorite (to me only probably) is what my husband lovingly calls "Spaghetti Grits." Polenta and Spaghetti sauce. It is surprisingly filling and cheap and hot and delicious. I know you can find recipes for polenta using cornmeal, but a bag of polenta (or grits) will last forever. Cook it up either firm and fried or soft and mushy like hot cereal and top with your favorite spaghetti sauce and a bit of cheese.
We're always excited to add new $1 meals to our repertoire to keep things interesting and to remind ourselves that we can eat well without having to spend a fortune. I'm always interested in hearing about new ones too, so give me any that I haven't thought of yet.
All summer we've been trying to eat less meat -like once or twice a week. And it was really fun to try to cram in as much fresh produce as we can and try to make filling meals. The weather really hasn't cooled down much, but it's Autumn now darn it! And I am ready for less summer squash and bell peppers. Also Matthew tends to lean anemic and often will feel inexplicably exhausted, so probably it's better for us to eat a little more meat. To offset the increased cost of more meat, I've been trying to incorporate $1 nights. This means that at least once a week we eat a meal that costs (in its entirety) $1 - $3. We have had some success so far and I thought I would share some of our favorite cheapy cheap meals.
Last week we had Boston Baked Beans from Martha Stewart and cornbread. The beans take FOR. EVER. But are tasty and filling. Especially since we added a bit of leftover rib meat (using leftover meat made it cheaper than buying the salt pork that was called for in the recipe).
The week before I made a Homemade Cream of Celery Soup. This recipe is a Martha Stewart version that is similar to what I made. I did not add heavy cream -just a touch of milk. And I did not blend it perfectly smooth and I used onions. And I used saltines instead of bread, because Cream of Celery Soup screams for saltines. Similarly you can make cream of potato, cream of carrot, broccoli, cheese and potato soup. But celery costs less than dirt so it adds to the frugality of the meal. But then so do potatoes and carrots.
Another $1 meal we like is beans and rice. If you use dried beans you're in the $1 club. Add some salsa and cheese and tortillas or chips and presto. Dinner.
We also love 100 Days of Real Food Refried Beans. They make great bean burritos. It's one of the only recipes I haul out the crock pot for.
Another good one is homemade Mac & Cheese. You basically make a white sauce (butter, flour, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg) and add to cooked noodles. Top with a little more shredded cheese and either bake until bubbly or eat it just like that. You can add countless veggies or meats to this.
Egg Drop Soup. Our first $1 meal when we were first married. It is still one of my favorites on really cold days accompanied by some brown rice.
And a new (to me) favorite (to me only probably) is what my husband lovingly calls "Spaghetti Grits." Polenta and Spaghetti sauce. It is surprisingly filling and cheap and hot and delicious. I know you can find recipes for polenta using cornmeal, but a bag of polenta (or grits) will last forever. Cook it up either firm and fried or soft and mushy like hot cereal and top with your favorite spaghetti sauce and a bit of cheese.
We're always excited to add new $1 meals to our repertoire to keep things interesting and to remind ourselves that we can eat well without having to spend a fortune. I'm always interested in hearing about new ones too, so give me any that I haven't thought of yet.
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