Do you like to have the enitre baby name picked out before the baby is born and tell everyone so that the baby is known by that name before being born, or do you prefer to wait and see what the baby looks like to settle on a name and then make an announcement? Have you done both, and it just depended on each child and situation? Do you have names picked out for future children? And do you have any baby name stories to tell? Any favorite names that you or your spouse love, but the other doesn’t like so you will never get to use it? Ever have any regrets or “lessons learned” with naming any of your children?
These are some of the names that were in the running with each of my children-
D- D, Elijah or Connor
C- Abigail or Isobel/Isobella (I intended to use what is now her first name as part of her middle name, but it suited her better as her first name)
N-Noah, Jonah or Jonas
H- H, Erin, or Isobel/Isobella (we ended up using one of these as H’s middle name)
M- Matheson, Brigham, Payson or Xavier
G- The only names we had picked of for Miss G, we ended up using them all, as her first and two middle names, so it was all good.
I love the name “Jemima” for a girl and will never get to use it, Craig is dead set against it. Also, I learned to never give your child a name that is not visually pronounceable or they will spend the rest of their life with people stumbling all over the pronounciation at school, at the Dr’s office and basically everywhere. People mispronounce C’s name all of the time, and had I spelled just a little differently, we never would have had this porblem, but it would have changed the French meaning of her name so I didn’t do it. We usually wait until the baby is born before making our final choice on the name, and we are still planning on doing that with this last baby as well. But I only have two first names I really like, and I’m 99.9% sure of the middle name, so it shouldn’t be too hard or take us very long to make the decision.
And on the subject of books, for those of you that don’t know, I love the Harry Potter series. In fact I think J.K. Rowling is one of the best writers in a long time, and has an amazing ability to tell a fantastic story, is able to draw you in and make you forget everything else around you as you enter this new world she has created, and she doesn’t skimp on the tiny details that really make all of it come together. She is so talented in my opinion, and I love the way she has told the entire story of this one boy and everything that has happened to him. Well, when I read book 6, I cried like a total baby when one of the prominent characters dies. I mean I really cried. I was sobbing as I got to the end of the book, and kept on crying long after I finished the last page and closed the book. It was so emotional for me, and I had become so involved and sucked in by the entire story from the first book on, I couldn’t help but be so saddened by the terrible loss. In fact I was pretty down about it for about 2 days, and kept thinking about all of the ways this character wasn’t really killed off and how they would be brought back into the story, I am that big of a loser! (later interviews have Rowling stating that character IS NOT coming back, at all. Dangit.) So imagine how I felt when I was watching the interview with one of the co-editors of her last book “The Deathly Hallows”, and he said this last book is very emotional, and he himself wept at the end it was so powerful. This does NOT bode well for me and my tear ducts. The release date for book #7 is July 21st, so I guess I had better go out now and buy some serious stock in Kleenex, because I’m sure I’m going to be a basket case as I read this last book. And you know what, I don’t care. I can’t wait to get my hands on this book! And yes, I will absolutely be at our local Wal-Mart on the evening of July 20th, waiting for midnight so I can buy my copy of the newest book right then. Now all I have to do is dig out my velvet wizard cape and tall, pointy, purple hat so I can dress up and blend in with all of the other Harry Potter fans……..what do you mean I’m an ultra dork?
I decided to have breakfast for dinner last night, so I made Belgian waffles and the “Sunday Best Fruit Salad” (which by the way, Haven has declared is the “bestest supper ever!). The kids really love that fruit salad, and I do too since it goes together fairly quickly, and tastes so darn good and fresh. And the kids were thrilled to be having waffles for supper, and really went to town on them. Afterwards we got them in their jammies, and I told them they could pick out 3 books for me to read to them, and so we snuggled on the couch and I read, of course, 6 books, since I am a sucker for their pleadings of “just one more”. One of their favorites happens to be one that was, and still is a favortie of mine when I was little, and I have very fond memories of my Dad reading it to us, and I loved every minute of it. It’s called “What Was That?”. My kids get such a kick out of it the same way I did, and I love that I can share little pieces of my childhood with them too. I would love to get “The Fourteen Bears In Summer and Winter” next, that one will be a definite favorite, and I’m excited to pass that one on as well. I poured over the pictures in that book over and over as a child, and even when I was older, it was such a great book. Another favorite is one my Mom gave to M for a birthday last year called “Yummy, Yucky”. Mathes knows it by heart almost, and loves to “read” it to himself or G, which she also loves by the way. We also are very big fans of Sandra Boyntons board books, they are so fun to read to the kids, and they love them. And Peggy Rathmann’s “Good Night Gorilla” is also very cute and fun for the little ones. “Where the Wild Things Are”, “Do Pirates Take Baths”, and any of the “I Spy” books are also popular favorites, and so fun to read to them as well. Have you passed on any favorites to your little ones from your own childhood? Or have you found new ones that are destined to be classics in your own family in the years to come?
As Cousin Bob prepares to leave Iraq, he will soon be home, and then off again to his new assignment. Here’s the latest news-
Bob writes: “I was awarded the “Defense Meritorious Service” Medal.
(If you want to know how significant that is, ask Uncle Bob/ Pappy.)
I also got my letter of release today, and my eval signed and ready
to go. Next stop Kuwait.
SO NOW WHAT?
Baghdad to Kuwait to Japan to Heidelberg, Germany. Then back to
Japan, then Hawaii, then Manila, Philippines. And then Zamboanga, Philippines,
then Hawaii again, then Japan, then finally California by August.”
Amy, you’re right, we are waiting until the baby is here before we tell any names. We have been known to think we are going in one direction with a name, then we take one look at our baby, and we realize the name we thought was “the one” isn’t working for us. Case in point- We were pretty sure we were going with the name Ian when I was pregnant with Noah and I knew his middle name no matter what was going to be William Robert for his two grandpa’s. But after he was born, while we both thought he looked like he could be an Ian, we both didn’t feel it was the right name for him. After a few days discussion, we decided Noah was it, we both love his name and we have never regretted our decision. But we had told most of our family we were thinking about the name Ian in the months prior to his birth, and there was a bit of confusion and several gifts addressed to ”Baby Ian” and cards telling “Baby Ian” how loved he was and how happy they were he was here safely. So in the interest of less confusion, and the fact that Craig and I have changed our minds before about baby names in the 11th hour, we’re going to wait. But, we will be calling almost everyone from the hospital when the baby arrives, so we should be able to tell you the name then, and I will of course be posting on my blog all about it! (I love the blogs!)
I’m 33 weeks as of yesterday, the baby has not been up in my ribs at all, the kicking and movement is not painful, just active and consistent, and I’m getting a small amount of restful sleep (any is good at this point) thanks to the special mattress topper Craig bought for me. I am struggling with being as active as I want and need to be, with mobility being a big issue (I keep pulling a muscle in one of my legs), but I can deal with that for the next several weeks. I have enough to do at home to keep me busy so I don’t mind that I can’t get out too much these days, I guess I’m nesting. We are really in the countdown here, and I have less than 6 weeks to go. Yahoo! I can barely wait to meet this new little one. I’m set for clothes, I am almost done sewing the blankets and burp cloths I want to finish (I have always made each of my babies a blanket, so I have to get this one done), and Craig and I actually agree on a name, before the baby is here! Will wonders never cease, we usually don’t even begin deciding until after the baby is born, but we both agreed on this one almost from the beginning, how did that happen? Since I gave all of my other baby-slings away to friends and family I will need to make myself another one, but they go together fast enough that if I don’t get it done now I know I could still make one in a pinch even after the baby arrives. Frankly I feel really ready. Ok, so I still haven’t even started on my hospital bag, but I still have time! At least I hope I do. My Doctor has already told me he is taking me early to prevent complications with the GBS, we just don’t know for sure how early. As long as the baby is born after 37 weeks I won’t worry, which I know won’t happen, I will go to term (37 plus weeks), I’m sure. Babies born before 37 weeks are considered preemies, but from 37 weeks on is considered full term, so I’m fine with anytime after that. Is it weird that I like labor? I do, because it means it’s the end, and I’ll be holding my baby very soon. Thank heavens for those great “fast labor” genes!
Today at church I was amazed at how well behaved all 6 of my children were. They all sat quietly (well, some were as quiet as a 2 and 3 year old can be) and didn’t try to run up and down the aisles. I’m not saying I normally have naughty children or anything, it’s just that the younger ones are at the ages where they have lots of wiggles, giggles, and silly noises and they love to run, and my two oldest enjoy teasing and contributing to the naughtiness sometimes. But today Craig and I actually heard the majority of the talks given, and I didn’t have to drag any misbehaving child out into the foyer for a stern lecture, or haul them onto my shrinking lap (the belly gets in the way) and threaten them with grounding from friends, the trampoline, toys, TV, or video games. And no, I don’t have any idea how it happened, I am making no claims on any part of my parenting skills. Actually it must have something to do with the stars aligning or something, or maybe they’re all coming down with some major illness and this is the calm before the storm. Frankly, I just don’t know why they were on their best behavior, but I appreciated the heck out of it the entire time. So thankyou for a quiet Sunday that won’t soon be forgotten.
This was seriously easy and fast to make. I used O.J. made from frozen concentrate and bottled lemon juice. It ended up filling 6 of the 1.2 cups (9.6 oz.) size Rubbermaid Twist & Seal Take Alongs perfectly. Tastes delicious on toast, and if you like marmalade, then this is the jelly for you. It has all of the great orange citrus taste, with none of the bitter taste of the rinds found in marmalade.
Orange Juice Freezer Jelly
Makes: About 5 (1-cup) containers
2 cups orange juice, fresh or reconstituted frozen, either is fine
1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh or bottled
4 1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
3/4 cup wate
1 box Sure Jell Fruit Pectin
Measure orange and lemon juice into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occaisionally. Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minutes. Add to juice mixture; stir 3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crytstals may remain.) Fill your containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jelly is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze jelly for up to 1 year. Thaw in fridge before using.
I made this to go with the sloppy joes, and we had enough for dinner last night and enough leftover that we finished the rest off at lunch time, everybody loved it. This is a delicious and fresh tasting fruit salad that was just sweet enough, and let all of the great tasting fruit flavors through. It was seriously one of the best fruit salads ever, we really loved it! And I loved how bright and pretty it looks with all of the colors of the fruit, it makes a great presentation.
Sunday Best Fruit Salad
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
2 apples, peeled and cored (I used Fuji)
1 (21 ounce) can peach pie filling
2 bananas, peeled and diced
4 kiwis
1 pint strawberries
In a small bowl, toss the chopped apples in reserved pineapple juice. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. In a large salad bowl, combine the peach pie filling and pineapple chunks. Remove apples from pineapple juice and add to pie filling and pineapple mixture. Add chopped bananas to reserved pineapple juice and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Peel and slice kiwi and cut up the strawberries; set aside. Remove bananas from pineapple juice and add to pie filling mixture. Add kiwi and strawberries and toss together. Chill and serve. Yield: 8-10 servings
We all loved this sloppy joe recipe, but we prefer a sweeter sloppy joe as opposed to a savory one. If you like more of a savory sauce, try Mel’s Sloppy Joe recipe on her site, it’s really good too. This makes closer to 12-16 servings so if you don’t need that much for one dinner, this freezes very well, so you can portion it out into smaller containers and have enough for another meal or two. All of my kids loved it, and Craig and I did too and the only thing I did different from the recipe was after I cooked my ground beef and onion mixture, I put it and the rest of the ingredients (except the buns of course) into my crock pot on “High” and let it cook for 2 hours so I could get some other stuff done and not have to babysit a saucepan. It turned out a little bit “sloppier” than if I had cooked it in an uncovered saucepan, but it wasn’t really messy. I think it will be a thicker mixture if cooked on the stovetop instead of the crock pot, hence the “Neat” in the recipe title. A huge hit with everyone here, and my new staple recipe for Sloppy Joes.
Neat Sloppy Joes
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 small chopped, onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
8 hamburger buns
Place ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until evenly browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion and celery, cover the pan, and cook until tender and transparent, about 5 minutes. Drain off any grease. Stir the tomato soup (undiluted), ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce into the beef mixture. Season with salt and garlic powder. Heat to a simmer over low heat, and cook until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently to prevent it from burning on the bottom. Spoon the hot beef mixture onto buns, which may be toasted first, and serve. Yield: 8 servings