From Pumpkin to Pie

I picked up a sugar pumpkin a few days ago with the intention to show the girls how to make a pumpkin pie from an actual pumpkin. This afternoon, Nora Beth and I went to work. We cut up the pumpkin, took out the seeds (and roasted them!), roasted the pumpkin, mashed it and mixed up the pie ingredients. Nora Beth was so excited to help me. She poured each ingredient into the bowl and did the mixing.



The house smelled so good when the pie came out of the oven. Pumpkin pie is one of Lamar's favorites. He rushed through dinner so he could have some. It turned out great.

100 Days of Calum, Days 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85

Day 80
Hanging out with my sister

Day 81
Calum has discovered his hands and his favorite place for them is in his mouth!

Day 82
Yes, Calum is not in this picture. The girls excluded him from their game of Chicken Foot

Day 83
Mom keeps putting me in this bouncy seat, but I really like it!

Day 84
Sleeping in the swing, a very rare event

Day 85
MMM...that was a good meal!

100 Days of Calum, Day 79

Deep in conversation with Grandma.

100 Days of Calum, Day 78

100 Days of Calum, Day 77

Calum is having so much fun with Grandma!

100 Days of Calum, Day 76

Calum falls asleep every time grandma holds him! He is just so sweet and cuddly.

100 Days of Calum, Day 75

He is wearing a hat that I knit for him.

A Tea Party Fit For A Princess

Nora Beth wanted a Princess Tea Party for her birthday. So we planned a whole afternoon of fun. I knitted each girl their own crown and added pink jewels.

Nora Beth helped me make tea sandwiches with ribbons on them. She was insistent on having strawberries. Not easy to find in November!

She also had to have a pink princess cake.

We both had to wear our royal jewels!

She was so excited to see her cake after I decorated it.

As a craft activity, the girls made magic wands. It was so much fun to listen to them giggle and make up magic words to say to each other.

I had to laugh at Mary Ann. She came out here to attend the tea party, and slept through it with Calum!

100 Days of Calum, Day 74

Nora Beth is 5

Today my little girl turns 5. It seems unreal how fast she is growing up. It seems just like yesterday that we were welcoming her into our family. Her world revolves around princesses and the color pink. She is such a good mommy to her baby dolls. Nora Beth is always providing entertainment with her singing and dancing and loves to tell funny jokes.

Lora did another amazing job with pictures. We went to some local parks and Nora Beth had a great time twirling in the tutu's.

100 Days of Calum, Day 73

And I shall name him "Mini Me!"

I think Calum looks just like his father here. He is sitting just like Lamar and even wearing "big boy" clothes.

100 Days of Calum, Day 72

It was a busy day today getting ready for Grandma Mary Ann to arrive tomorrow!

100 Days of Calum, Day 71

Joe came over for dinner tonight and Calum put on the charm!

100 Days of Calum, Day 70

See, he is not all smiles!! He was actually only upset for just a minute this evening and instead of comforting him, I took his picture...Mean Mommy!!

We actually had a great day together in Portland. I took him there for his hearing test. He also got a Cranio Sacral treatment. The therapist could not find any spots on him that needed work and his ears were perfect. We then spent some time looking through some eclectic shops and going grocery shopping.

100 Days of Calum, Day 69

Today was such a great day with Calum. He did get up to early - he has not adjusted to the time change yet. We did get to take a great nap together this morning. I would love for him to take a nap on his own so I can get something done while he is down, but I also really enjoy cuddling with him. The afternoon and evening goes so much better when he gets a nap.

Here he is playing with Lamar. They were having such a good time.

100 Days of Calum, Day 68

Another happy bath time!

Happy Halloween!

It is that time of year again. Happy Halloween!! Normally we go all out and decorate the house and throw a party, but this year has been different. With Lamar recuperating when he should have been decorating and me busy with Calum, the Lindsay Haunted House just did not happen.

Nora Beth did not get to dress up this year for the evening of festivities. She is down hard with the flu. She was very disturbed when she found out that she could not go Trick or Treating. She realized that if she did not have any candy, the Halloween Goblin would not come to our house and leave a present in exchange for the candy...and she really wanted a present. We assured her that the Goblin would understand and still visit. This made her feel better.

It was a bummer that she could not go out. We had looked all over town for a Cinderella dress in her size, because only that princess would do. I finally found one. The picture of her is from Thursday when she got to wear it to school.

Shianne decided to go out Trick or Treating at the last minute. We had assumed that she would not be back from the OSU game in time to go out. Shi and Lamar got home quickly, so we came up with a quick Cheerleader outfit. I had found Calum's outfit a month ago, so he was set all along. Halloween came just in time for him to wear his, another ounce on him and the bones would not fit!

I was surprised when I saw the picture of Shi and Calum. This is the first time that I have seen any resemblance between Shianne and myself. I always just see how strongly she takes after Lamar, but for a moment I can tell that she is my child also!

Shianne came home with a load of candy. The Goblin will be happy! Happy Halloween!

100 Days of Calum, Day 67

OSU plays at home today. Lamar and Shianne went to the game while I stay home with Calum and a very sick Nora Beth. Calum needed to be in his Beaver gear to support the team!

100 Days of Calum, Day 66

Does this picture make you smile? It makes me. This is just the happy expression I needed this morning after the terrible evening I endured.

I stayed up late watching the last two Season 1 episodes of my favorite new TV series, Sons of Anarchy. I was enjoying the quiet of nobody needing anything from me. I nestled into bed at 11:00 and Calum started to stir. I headed upstairs being grateful that he woke before I fell asleep. I fed him and put him back to bed. I get comfy again and Lamar and Boba begin to snore. GRRR. I finally fall asleep and Calum chimes up again. I get out of bed, head back upstairs and tend to him. This happens two more times then Zara starts to stir. She only does this when she is about to get sick from one of her two ends, usually the result from eating chicken. I wonder how she got her paws on the dreaded food. I could not put Calum down fast enough before I smelled what I was about to see. I now spend the next hour cleaning the carpet. I crawl back into bed and a few minutes later I notice the living room light come on. Nora Beth came downstairs sick. She has a fever of 103.8 and tells me that she is achy and her "brain hurts." Looks like the flu has arrived at our house! I get her back to bed and cuddle with her for a while, then Calum is up again. Feed again, put to sleep, head downstairs to Lamar and Boba snoring. No sooner than I fall asleep, Lamar wakes up to get ready for work, completely oblivious to what has happened all night, this wakes up Calum, then Nora Beth. The day looks just like my night!

Shianne decided to take a hour long shower, which made her late getting ready for school. I had to drive her, thus meaning packing up the other two kids for the drive. This is when Calum gave me the great smiles.

Shianne wins the award for being the only person/animal to not keep me awake/cleaning last night! So what is her reward, a night of staying home with a sick sister and tired brother instead of going to go see Rocky Horror Picture Show like I wanted to do with her. I just hope she does not get sick for her big day of OSU Football tomorrow.

100 Days of Calum, Day 65

Lamar tried to get Calum to watch the World Series with him tonight, but Calum got cranky. He should have taken a nap like I wanted him to earlier today!

100 Days of Calum, Day 64

I brought out the play mat for Calum today. I was hoping it would keep him happy while I put away laundry and folded diapers. I was right. He was fascinated by the new things to look at.

Today was a great day for us. Calum took a three hour nap! I was giddy with excitement. I did sleep with him for the first 1.5 hours, but then quietly rolled out of bed and he continued to sleep. I almost did not know what to do with myself.

100 Days of Calum, Day 63

I will be honest, I did not take this picture, Nora Beth did. She was having such a good time with the camera that I let her take and choose which picture would appear here today.

100 Days of Calum, Day 62

I don't know how it happened. I had the camera with me all day, taking pictures, and yet I did not get a single one of Calum! Bad Mom!

100 Days of Calum, Day 61

Ready for the Viking game!

100 Days of Calum, Day 60

Calum still did not feel good today. Despite not being able to breathe out of his nose, he was in good spirits. He would not nap, but he finally gave in this evening while Shianne was holding him. They were not in the most ideal position, but you do what works!

100 Days of Calum, Day 59

Calum has his first cold and he is not happy about it! He just did not understand why he could not breathe through his nose and every time he started to cry about it, the coughing would start. He made the most pitiful sounds all day. I felt so bad for him. We spent most of the day just cuddling.


When he did sleep, it was with his mouth open. He was so congested that he snored!

100 Days of Calum, Day 58

The only time in your life with a pudgy belly is cute!

Watching Survivor was just to much for him tonight!

100 Days of Calum, Day 57

Calum was such a happy baby today, even when he had every reason to be cranky - in fact, he held up better today than I did! It seems like all we did was go and stand in line with everything we had to do.

100 Days of Calum, Day 56

Here is what Calum looks like when he sleeps in his bed at night. He is swaddled tightly in some stretchy fabric. When he is not swaddled, he does not sleep. This is what keeps our house happy. I had an official "swaddling blanket" but he was to big for it and could get himself out of it in a matter of minutes. I looked into purchasing a new one in a larger size, but I was blown away by how much they cost for just some stretchy fabric. I made this one out of some scrap fabric I had and it works perfect!

We took Calum in for his two month check up today. All is perfect. He has grown two inches in the past month and now weighs 14 lbs 4 oz! He has grown so much! Mama milk is good to him.

Floored by a bee

I was visiting Target yesterday and ran into a friend in the parking lot as I was leaving. We had a great chat while admiring each other's babies. There was a yellow jacket that was flying around us, but I did not give it much attention.

I should have paid more attention. The next thing I know I was stung on my arm. It hurt, but I brushed it off and walked to the van. I was thinking to myself that I am glad that I was the one that was stung and not Calum. I was wearing him in a wrap at the time and I was stung very close to where his head was resting. I have never had a reaction to a bee sting before, so I started driving home.

That was my first mistake. I barely made it home. By the time I arrived I could not breathe, my head was dizzy and my whole body felt tingly. Lamar got ultra concerned about me and immediately gave me a dose of Benadryl. He really wanted to call an ambulance since I was having such a hard time breathing, but I would not let him. If I was not sick now, I definitely would be after visiting the ER here in Salem.

After a second dose of Benadryl, I started to feel better. What a scary experience. I went to the doctor today and he gave me two Epi pens to carry in case it happens again. My arm really hurts and I still don't feel right, but I am still breathing so I guess I have nothing to complain about.