Halloween Eve

Our three pumpkins for this year. Alex assigned ownership as follows (from l-r) his, Shadow's, and the Baby's.

I LOVE Halloween decorations, especially tea light holders. Here are some of my favorites. The lantern actually casts shadows of bats on the ceiling. Very spooky! The little ghost was $1... and it's little face just glows when the candle is lit. I fell in love with the spooky tree when I was a poor grad student. I saved up for it and splurged, because I simply had to have it.

And I love this trio, because they are so retro looking. The funny story about this set is my mom bought it for me... and I had purchased the exact same set from Hallmark! So I took the duplicate set to work and it spruces up my cubicle for Halloween!

Our neighborhood trick-or-treat is tomorrow night. I hope we get some trick or treaters... we live awfully close to a busy street and a lot of parents won't let their kids come down to our block because of this. Some day, I hope I live on a street where there are lots of trick-or-treaters! I love passing out candy and seeing all the costumes! I'll post pictures of Alex in costume this weekend!

Recipe Swap Thursday - Beef & Parmesan Pasta

Take a trip over to Musings of a Mom for the soon-to-be-famous Recipe Swap Thursday.

This is a fan-favorite. I love it because it's really easy to make, doesn't take a lot of time to prepare or cook. Yet it tastes like something you slaved over. Those are the best kinds of recipes!

Beef & Parmesan Pasta

1 - 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 (14 oz) can beef broth
1 (15 1/2 oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 cups uncooked bowtie pasta (farfalle)
2 cups thinly sliced zucchini (approx 1 small zucchini)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Brown ground beef in large skillet, breaking into pieces. Drain. Season with salt & pepper. Remove beef from skillet and set aside.
Add broth, tomatoes, and past to skillet. Push pasta into liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add zucchini, cook 5 more minutes or until pasta is tender. Return beef to skillet. Stir in parmesan cheese. Heat through. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese before serving.

*note... if liquid gets soaked up and the pasta seems dry, add a few tablespoons of water to keep past from burning to skillet.

Interesting Thoughts on Blog Transparency

I have been an "active" blogger for nearly two years now. I have met some interesting people. Made some friends. Come across blogs that inspire me and anger me. I've come across blogs that excite me and annoy me.

I came across these two articles recently which I found eye-opening. I don't think people fully understand the extent to which this payola and plug-ola is going on on blogs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/business/media/06adco.html?_r=1&ref=business

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125475547130664753.html

The whole payola/plugola thing is the stuff newsroom policies are made of in real-world journalism. In my old life, I had to sign off that I read and understood the station's policy that I would not accept gifts from potential sources in return for coverage. There was a price limit... $25 or less was within reason. I didn't and I still don't feel guilty for booking authors or chefs shilling their cookbooks. But I received an extremely fancy plaque of a sports stadium from a company "thanking" me for inviting them to be on the show. I sent it back, with an explanation that I couldn't accept it, given our company policy.

I will give some bloggers credit. Many will disclose when a company provides products to review or giveaway, but I've never seen someone admit that they've been paid to write a review.

I blogged about some fabulous lipstick I found and splurged on... and I put it out there that I was not compensated for that post in any way.

Think about that the next time you read a glowing product review on a blog.

I find blogs that only shill products or only exist to increase their odds of winning giveaways annoying. I'll admit it.

If that's your thing, more power to you.

Baby Einstein Debate

I guess I was ahead of my time....

I didn't really ever "get" the whole Baby Einstein craze. Sure, I registered for the DVDs and CDs before Alex was born. Everyone was swearing up and down how amazing and wonderful they were. These were people I trusted, so why wouldn't I believe them?

Got a couple of the CDs, listened to them. They were alright. Definitely soothing. We would pop one in and listen to it quietly before putting Alex down in his crib. Then after he was a few months old, I popped in one of the DVDs. I didn't get it. It was just toys and music. I know I'm not the target audience, but I thought to myself, "How is this going to make my kid smarter?"

Disney, which now owns the rights to "Baby Einstein" and everything associated with it, is offering replacements or refunds to parents. Read an article here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-talk-baby-einsteinoct26,0,1582305.column

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the CDs and even some of the DVDs. Alex, thankfully, never paid that much attention to them. He liked the music, but wasn't really interested in the pictures.

There was one DVD that I popped in that kind of freaked me out. It was the "Language Nursery" DVD. My friend Amy had warned me that particular episode was a little odd, but I gave it a shot anyway. "Baby Beethoven," "Baby Mozart," even "Baby Monet" I have no problem with. But this "Language Nursery" thing was freaky. It claimed to introduce different languages to your child. I'm not sure that hearing nursery rhymes in Russian, French, and Japanese was beneficial to Alex, especially when I had no idea what these narrators were saying. But I only attempted to play the DVD a couple of times before I gave up on it. It's been safely tucked away at the back of the video cabinet.

I'm not an advocate of plopping your kid in front of the TV for extended periods at any age... let alone as an infant. But it's nice to know that the company is now acknowledging that there is no educational benefit to these CDs and DVDs.

So here's what you have to do:
* you have to send your DVD back.
* you have to fill out the form exactly as it indicates.
* limit of 4 returns/exchanges/refunds per household


http://www.babyeinstein.com/(S(3qnoffi1whnnnt55h2ljk355))/parentsguide/satisfaction/upgrade_us.html

We have other Baby Einstein products that we love. I honestly don't know what we would have done with out the Play Gym that we received as a shower gift. Alex lived on that thing until he learned to crawl off of it. He loved it! And it was brightly colored and fun for him. So I'm not knocking the entire product line.

We also are huge fans of "Little Einsteins" the show... and have some of the toys that go along with that.

But the Language Nursery is going back!

Special Torture

Companies where enjoy shopping both in person and on line are currently torturing me. I'm trying to reduce my spending a bit, with a baby on the way. Not to mention, I don't fit into regular clothes, and probably won't until sometime early next year.
(I look forward to spending most of December in loungepants and sweatshirts, to be quite honest with you!)

But some of my favorite stores are killing me with the emails. Gap. Old Navy. Boden. Banana Republic. New York and Company. Everything looks so cute and they always send me coupons trying to get me to "come back!" I will! I promise! I just can't right now!

Even bookstores have noticed I haven't been shopping. Barnes and Noble and Borders send me emails and coupons every week trying to tempt me with special coupons for books and DVDs. But I've discovered Bookmooch.com where I can swap books with other people once I'm done with them.

Even the craft stores are in contact at least once a week.

And shoes. -Sigh- SHOES! One of my great loves in life. You will sense my shoe shopping extremes in the next sentence. Both Nine West and Famous Footwear seem to have conspired to get me to buy a new pair of boots for the winter. But I'm
fighting the urge! I know they'll be cheaper closer to and after the holidays. I still have one pair of tall boots that fit comfortably. My feet swell during the course of the day, so I have to be careful what I'm putting on my feet.

I've been strong though. Each morning, I faithfully hit delete on all these "great offers" if only to remove the temptation to shop for something new. Not till after baby comes!

Boo-tiful Weekend

We had a great weekend this weekend. Friday night we had a Halloween party at Alex's school. I went as a Magic 8 Ball. Alex wore his Star Wars Clone Trooper costume. A good time was had by all. (Craig went as a news photographer... easy costume when you're just coming from work!)

We had great weather Saturday and Sunday. The leaves have almost all turned to shades of bright orange and yellow. Lots of trees have already shed their leaves. But we got a break from the rain and enjoyed some sunshine and milder temperatures.

It amazes me that I can walk around without a coat on when it's 60 degrees out. I guess Wisconsin has toughened me up after more than 11 years!

We carved pumpkins today, too. Hope to post some pictures of that tomorrow!

Woo HOO! It's Friday!

Okay... some random thoughts for Friday.

* I'm excited that my big project at work is over. It was a huge success, I'm writing the final report, then planning for the Spring version of this same project. I'm weird like that. I feel like a producer again, planning and plotting and strategizing. Makes me feel like this new profession called PR is a good fit.

* I need to stop calling PR "My New Profession." I've been doing this for over two years now. And I've been at my "new" job almost a year. WOW!

* I miss running. I never EVER thought I'd hear myself say that. I'm really looking forward to hitting the treadmill again in late January (hopefully I'll get cleared to exercise six weeks after having this baby!) and having the speed be faster than a slow walk.

* I'm itching to get some Christmas shopping done because I'm afraid I won't have it done before the baby comes. I plan to get started this weekend.

* Also itching to get more of my craft project presents done. I'm 90% done with my current project. I have a list of about a dozen other small projects I want to get done by Christmas, too.

* Crocheting is eating into my reading time. I still haven't started my next book club book, "The Shack" and I'm still trying to finish "The Lost Symbol", the new Dan Brown book. But I'm feeling like crocheting is my fall/winter hobby. Reading is my year-round hobby. And I'm okay with that.

* I've got a great family... my immediate family and my in-laws. I really feel lucky. Sure we all drive each other nuts periodically, but at the heart of it, there's a lot of love and admiration. I've got the coolest sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law. My brother and sister are amazing too. Love my parents and my husband's parents. All 4 of my nephews are so cute, so sweet, and such individuals! Since I don't have a huge extended family I love that we're able to be close to both sides.

* I love that Alex is so into "Star Wars!" I was a total tomboy when I was a kid, and I had more Star Wars guys than I did Strawberry Shortcakes. I was about 4 when I saw the original movie. I think I loved it as much as he does. I'm glad we can share that.

Recipe Swap Thursday - Impossible Southwest Salsa

Take a trip over to Musings of a Mom for the soon-to-be-famous Recipe Swap Thursday.

This totally simple salsa always gets big compliments whenever I take it to a party.

1 jar of your favorite salsa
1 can of corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

Mix all three together and serve with tortilla chips.
Does it get any easier than that?
You can switch up the flavor of it by using different salsas.

Pretty Cool

I went from not entering any giveaway for months to winning two in one week! Go Figure!
I'm going to have to host my own giveaway soon... so stay tuned!

I won this giveaway at Dry Toast

I did not get to run Race for the Cure this year, but instead did "Sleep In for the Cure." I'll still get my t-shirt, just made a donation and didn't run. Next year I'll be back at it, running in memory of Craig's grandma.

Also think this is a pretty cool picture.

7 1/2 months pregnant, and still rockin' the tall boots!

I am by no means a fashionista, but I like to dress up and try to follow fashion trends as appropriate for my age. Maternity clothes are decidedly un-hip. They are functional, and only occassionally fashionable. And I'm sorry, they are also temporary so I'm not going to drop more than $25 on any single item! So no Hollywood-trendy expensive maternity clothing on this Midwestern chick!

I've been trying to stretch my wardrobe this time around by working in things from my pre-pregnancy wardrobe. Obviously certain pants, skirts and shirts are out of the mix till after baby comes. Plus a lot of my clothes from last time around have short sleeves and are more "summery." But I have a number of jackets and longer sweaters that I can still wear without looking ridiculous. I also can still wear most of my shoes and boots.

And it is now boot season. I'm proud to say that today, I'm roughly 7.5 months pregnant, and rocking a pair of knee-high suede boots with a high heel!

Yesterday I wore a cardigan and pants and felt about 15 years older than I actually am.

So today... it's suede blazer over maternity t-shirt, denim skirt (also maternity) with stretchy waistband, and my beloved boots. Normally, I wear tall and short boots all winter long. They make me feel sassy. Today, I feel like a hip and happening, sassy pregnant lady. Hopefully I look that way on the outside, too!

Lunch with a Friend

I had the chance to have lunch with a dear friend today. Zenna and I have been friends since kindergarten. We both had a rather unfriendly nun for a kindergarten teacher. One day Zenna had some fifth graders tease me that they were going to beat me up if I didn't be nice to her. We've be friends since then! We survived going to different junior highs, reuniting in high school, going to different colleges and living in different cities, though not too far away (she's in Chicago).



I was so excited when she called me this spring to tell me she was expecting her first baby! And we're due just 3 weeks apart! Life got busy as it tends to in the summer, and before I knew it, we were both closing in on finish lines of our pregnancies. So we decided to meet in Gurnee (about 1/2 way between) today for lunch. We had so much fun! It was great to see her... she look fantastic! Such a cute little pregnant lady. We got all caught up on babies-to-be and life in general. Did a little shopping for our little ones (and my big one!)



Alex also found a new pal... he wanted to follow Zenna everywhere! Hopefully we'll get to see each other again after our babies are born, and we can enjoy comparing stories as they grow up together! Just like their mommies!

(BTW, that church van in the background belongs to neither of us! This is what happens until you wait till you're in the parking lot ready to leave to take a pictures!)

Recipe Swap Thursday - Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars
(This is my mother-in-law's recipe! It's a family favorite!)

1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs (beaten)
1 cup oil
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl.
Spread batter in ungreased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese (softened)
3/4 stick butter or margerine
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together till creamy. Spread over cooled bars.

Head over to Therese's blog for more wonderful recipes for Recipe Swap Thursday!

Feeling the Need to Play Catch Up

I just clicked on my Google Reader (where I can read/track other blogs) and it said I have 313 unread posts. YIKES!


I looked at the DVR last night, and have about 5 hours worth of shows I need to catch up on... and that's only going to get longer after tonight/tomorrow. (Grey's, Project Runway, the Office, and Community - Thursdays are a blessing and a curse for great TV!)

I have at least 5 friends in real life and in the blogosphere having babies and I need to get crackin on gifts for them.

Christmas is coming... I have some gifts I want to crochet and I need to get crackin on those.

Oh... and I have several friends I haven't talked to on the phone in MONTHS who I need to call.

We've had a week of near-freezing temperatures, so most of my outdoor plants have bit it. Need to clean out my flower pots and put them away for the winter. Sounds like a good weekend project.

I'm not feeling overwhelmed... but it looks like I just made myself a to-do list!

Another fun weekend! (Or why weekends wear me out)

We had another great, travel-filled weekend. We went to Craig's parents house for a family reunion/weiner roast.

We got in late Friday night... the trip wasn't too bad, but I was wearing a fairly new pair of maternity jeans that fit just a little too snugly for my taste. So the last 1/2 of the drive home was really miserable for me. (and probably for Craig too, because he had to listen to me whine about it!)

Got to sleep in a little bit Saturday (sad that as a grown up, sleeping in now consists of waking after 7AM) but Alex was ready to get up and help Grandma and Grandpa get ready for "the big day."

Alex was eager to help Grandpa clean out the garage, so Craig and Alex got dressed and headed outside to work/play. I kept Craig's mom company. Craig's brother Brian, sister-in-law Sarah and the always adorable Payton arrived mid morning and we all hung out and helped out as best we could. The boys helped pick the remaining pumpkins out of grandma and grandpa's garden, which was fun to watch. My big contribution for the afternoon was whipping up the frosting for the pumpkin bars and actually frosting them without making a huge mess. They were soooo good!

Oh, did I mention that it started out sunny on Saturday morning... THEN IT SNOWED???!!!
Fortunately the snow didn't stick.

The reunion was fun... we mostly hung out in the garage, which was equipped with heaters, tables, chairs, a TV to watch the Iowa-Michigan (YAY HAWKEYES!) game and a radio to listen to the Cardinals-Dodgers game. The food was fabulous... hot dogs, hamburgers, chili, potato salad, all kinds of snacks/dips/chips/cheese/crackers, and then of course, desserts! I had pumpkin bars and scotcheroos. Delicious! Everyone seemed to have a really great time chatting, eating, and spending time together. We had the full age range from Craig's Grandpa all the way down to Payton, who's about 19 months old.

Sunday was spent recovering and helping clean up. More time with Grandma and Grandpa and Brian, Sarah, and Payton. A long drive back to Wisconsin, then the unpacking and laundry that always seem to follow. But all in all it was a great weekend. (I did take pictures, but don't have time to upload. Will do it later in the week.)

Now I just have to get to bed early tonight so I can un-tire myself! :-)

More Random Friday Thoughts

• Alex has the book "Actual Size" by Steve Jenkins. Everytime I see this book, the song "Actual Size" by They Might Be Giants pops into my head and I can't get rid of it.
  
• The baby has decided that my bladder makes both a nice cushion and a wonderful plaything. I've gone to the bathroom more in the past week than I have all month.
  
• I wish I could finish a crochet project. I have three "in progress" projects: a blanket, a scarf, and a market bag. I think I'm more of a small project crocheter. I need something I can be done with in a day or two. Otherwise, I get overwhelmed and want to walk away.
  
• Craig and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary next year. I have no idea how we will celebrate. I'm kind of hoping we take a trip someplace. Guess we should probably talk about it at some point before our 20th wedding anniversary, huh?
  
• If I could get paid to read books all day, I'd quit my job in a heartbeat.
  
• That being said, I still think my job is kinda cool. Not as cool at TV news was, but cool nonetheless. (I'm in PR for a Fortune 500 company now.)
  
• It cracks me up that Alex can now distinguish between Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters, and requests these artists whenever we are in the car. Well, that and the "Wicked" soundtrack. He's recently started singing along with what he hears. I love it! (Not that there's anything wrong with music produced especially for kids, it's just that we've only subjected him to stuff that we enjoy. And none of the music we enjoy in his presence has lyrics that need to be edited, thank goodness.)
  
• I feel kinda guilty that when I was pregnant with Alex I took belly pictures every month. With this one, I haven't yet taken one belly picture. We'll have to work on that. I'm 7 months now...

Recipe Swap Thursday

My friend Therese is once again hosting Recipe Swap Thursday. Go check out the other offerings at her blog, Musings of a Mom.

Easy Black Bean-Beef Enchiladas
(This recipe makes up to 16 enchiladas, depending on how much meat you use and how full you stuff them!)

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 15 oz. can black beans (rinsed & drained)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. cumin
1 cup monterrey jack or pepper jack cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can red enchilada sauce flour tortillas (soft taco sized)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray (I recommend either square, oval or 9X13 dish). Brown ground beef, drain. Salt and pepper to taste. Add onion and black beans. Cook till onions are transparent. Place 3 tablespoons of meat/bean mixture into tortilla, top with monterrey jack cheese, roll tightly and place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat until all mixture is used. Pour enchilada sauce over enchiladas. Cover with alumninum foil which has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven, top with cheddar cheese before serving.

(The original recipe was vegetarian. I added ground beef. You can also substitute shredded chicken if desired.)

Movies that sucked me in this past weekend...

As I mentioned, Craig was out of town last weekend. Normally when he's out of town (which is not very often), I gorge my brain on Chick Flicks. Last time he was gone, I fully intended to watch "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Sex and the City." Instead, I found "An Affair to Remember" on one of the movie channels, and was sucked in by Cary Grant. (sigh... The man was sexy. The dark hair. The accent. Always played characters with a little bit of arrogant charm.)

This past weekend, two movies kept me up way too late. Neither of which could be classified as a chick flick. The first one was "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." We saw the movie in the theater on a date night. At the time I thought it was pretty funny. It's been in rotation on HBO since spring... and everytime I watch that movie it gets funnier. It's just a hoot! Extremely naughty, so if you haven't seen it and decide to watch, know that it's "naughty/raunchy" humor, but still quite funny. I mean, the lyrics to the songs alone are enough to induce fits of giggles if you think about them. And Russell Brand and Jonah Hill darn near steal the movie. And the guy from "30 Rock." There's just so much to love about this movie. Whenever it's on, I usually stop and watch it till the end. (as long as Alex is safely tucked away in bed... he's WAY to young for that!)

The other movie I get sucked into is "Wedding Crashers." I love this movie. I think Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are so hilarious. And I love Rachel McAdam. I think she is beautiful. There are so many great funny people in this movie too. Isla Fisher is great as the zany sister, Gloria. Christopher Walken and Jane Seymour are also fantastic as the parents. Wilson and Vaughn play so well off each other. I had every intention of going to bed early Sunday night... but this movie came on right after I put Alex to bed. I listened to it while doing the dishes, watched while folding the laundry, kept telling myself, "I'll just watch till the next commercial." Next thing I knew it was 11PM!!! On a work/school night!

What are the movies that make you stop your channel surfing and watch?

So Cool!

It's been awhile since I entered a blog contest, but I entered one this weekend and won!
To see what I won... check this post out... two super cute kids shirts and a pair of legwarmers.
(May have to pass those on to someone with a girl, or hope that someday I have a girl of my own.)

I stumbled across Rook 17 on SITS. I was kind of out of the SITS loop for awile, but am trying to get back into it. It's a great way to discover new blogs and support other bloggers. They also have GREAT blogging tips every Saturday.

So I can't wait to get the t-shirts... I will take pictures of Alex in them and post them here! Thanks Rook No. 17!

I am woman, and I'm exhausted!

Craig has been gone since Friday for work, and is due back today (THANK GOD!) and I'm exhausted.

I am reminded of how awesome a husband, dad, and partner he is when he is gone.
Friday night Alex and I had "Movie and Pizza" night.

Saturday we hung out at home, cleaned up around the house a bit, then babysat for my friend (the one I do the babysitting swap with). Alex was pretty good, but let's just say he's not used to wood floors. We have carpet all over the house, my friends house has wood floors. Alex kept jumping around after the kids went to bed, then would not calm down.

Sunday was church... again, not awful, but not his best behavior. Meltdown after church (him not me). Recovery, lunch, then massive errand running, then more quality Mommy and Alex time. Then after dinner it was time for him to shower... meltdown #2. Recovery again, then finally bedtime. I'm pooped! In between I've done the dishes and the laundry, taken the crazy dog out about 4 dozen times. Helped Alex work on riding his bike. Helped Alex work on some papers for school. Helped Alex practice writing letters. Crocheted a little. Read a little.

I'm so tired. Hopefully Craig's flight will land on time and we'll all be able to have dinner after Alex's swimming lesson!

p.s. Happy Birthday today to one of my awesome sisters-in-law... Sarah!

sneaky

I take a certain over-the-counter allergy medicine that has worked wonders for my moderate seasonal allergies. I don't want to name it here, for fear of some search engine getting ahold of this rant, but it begins with a C and rhymes with "Hair-i-tin." I was super happy to find out that it was okay to take this medication while pregnant.

I recently purchased a box of said OTC allergy medication. And noticed it wasn't working quite as well as normal. For about a week I thought to myself, "Gee, my allergies must be bad this year. Hope I don't have to start on something stronger." Then last week I noticed the word "new" on the outside of the box. This stuff isn't new, it's been on the market for years. What's so new about it?

Then I looked more closely at the box... it's 12 hour dosing! Not the usual "lasts 24 hours."

Sneaky! Sneaky Sneaky! Same blue box. Same package. SAME PRICE AS THE 24 HOUR STUFF, BUT YOU HAVE TO TAKE TWICE AS MANY! Sitting right next to the good stuff at the drug store.

So I figure, fine, I'll take two pills a day according to the proper dosage. Finish off this 12 hour stuff then get back to the good stuff. Let me tell you, 12 hour strength doesn't cut it!

I finally broke down and bought a box of the 24 hour stuff, and took it this morning. I don't know if it's all in my head -- well... the stuffiness is definitely all in my head! but within about an hour my sinuses started to clear. I can breathe again. It's a miracle.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to My Awesome Husband!

Not going to get all mushy on here, since he doesn't read it anyway, but he is such an amazing husband, father, and partner. I don't know what I would do without him!