August Fields

baby is here!

its a BOY!  
our 9lb. 10oz. little miracle made a grand entrance into this world.  while we did make it to the hospital,
he was born just under an hour after we arrived!
for now we’ll refer to him as little A, here on the blog, until a more suitable nickname emerges 🙂

he was a big baby, but not my biggest!  hank (the blonde) was 10lbs. even.  and deanie (our oldest) was only 6lb. 4oz.

so i’ve experienced it all 🙂

we are all adjusting very well at home and all the kids are smitten with little A.  

for the past couple of days little A has been in a feeding frenzy!  i’m nursing about every 2 hours…yikes!  i’m also pumping in the mornings and he takes a bottle and a paci.  bonus!

this was his first bath at home 🙂  now he practically sleeps through his baths and loves the warm water. and i love a delicious smelling newborn! 🙂

look at those lips! 🙂  little A tends to be a bit gassy so holding him face down on our arm and swaying brings his little tummy relief and as you can see, a very sound sleep.

the girls are having too much fun taking pictures of all his funny expressions!

i hope to post more but must honestly say that for awhile they may be far a few between.  we just have to wait and see how it goes. 🙂

thank you for all the kind comments throughout my pregnancy!!

its almost baby time!

its almost baby time!!!  i have three more weeks.
i would love to go early.
can i just say THANK YOU to all of you that have taken the time to email me words of encouragement,  inquiring of my well being, and overall awesome comments.  you are all so kind and i really appreciate it!
my lower back is super sore, but i’m not contracting regularly which is a huge answer to prayer!  the hospital bag is on the stool at the end of the bed and i’m adding things to it as i think of them.
the nursery has had a few cute updates too 🙂
we are all ready for baby #6!

i have been taking the kids to the library a lot this summer.  this is so typical of dubs….and of mama.
i didn’t realize, until we’re in the parking lot, that he was wearing huuuge tennis shoes, a total mismatched outfit and had snuck his silky into the land of books 🙂  
seriously…..is he not the cutest little 3 year old ever???  he kisses my tummy all.  the.  time.  and is super pumped to be a big brother.
i’m throwing this picture in from father’s day this year.  the kids were all giving daddy a smooch.  
we gave him a tent.  but its been so blazing hot that they have yet to camp out in the woods….
we had a family wedding last weekend!  hank was the ring bearer and the girls handed out programs.
it was wonderful.
my ankles became non existent by the end of the weekend but they have re-emerged and all is good.
me and two of my sister in laws.  i’m not going to lie, its a decent shot of my ginormous belly so i wanted to include this picture…plus i love these girls!!!!!
having never been pregnant in the summer i must admit this super hot, record breaking summer is not awesome on the energy level.   but on the other hand i really think this had been my best pregnancy yet!  i am SO thankful for a healthy baby inside me, we’re praying for a quick, healthy delivery.

window boxes and flowers

i filled my window boxes a couple of weeks ago and went a totally different route than last year.  
pink! petunias and potato vine. 

the front porch got a dose of pink too.

geraniums, diamond frost, vinca vine, spike and some fillers.

you can see the garden over the hill.  its all planted and blooming!  update on that soon.

our retaining walls have climbing hydrangeas and day lilies.

 more lilies.

boxwoods on top, climbing hydrangeas, purple coneflower and lilies.  for the past two years the dear have shown NO interest in these plants.

the back deck has pink….

and the back porch has pink!

the planters by the garage even have pink.

i had fun this year filling my pots.  i attended a class at a local greenhouse that where i brought in up to three planters and we filled them and learned tips about filling a pot.

texture, height and color.  sun or shade or both.  etc.

oh, and to be sure these all receive their adequate amounts of h2o “watering flowers” has been put on boone’s daily chore list! 🙂

super simple strawberry freezer jam

this is too easy NOT to make!

strawberries are here, in season.  and word on the street is that the season is shorter than usual due to an early warm front and late frost.

ingredients:
8 cups sugar
4 cups crushed strawberries
2 boxes of pectin (i use sure-jell.  yellow box)
1 1/2 cups water

cut your strawberries and put them in a food processor or mash them by hand.

you want to end up with 4 cups of crushed strawberries.

stir in sugar

on the stove add the two envelopes (1 envelope comes in each box) of pectin to the 1 1/2 cups of water.
stir it in until and boil for one minute….it should be dissolved.

turn off heat.  add your strawberries.

now, this is where i like to add about 5 coarsely chopped strawberries because i like my jam with some chunks.

pour into clean jars leaving a little space at the top for the jam to expand.  
leave on counter till cool then store in your freezer.  that’s it!

a little me time

after the kids go to bed, about 3 times a month, i love love love to fill the tub and soak for a bit.  
no jets please.  
i will take a lush bath bomb though.  have you ever used one of these lovely fragrance filled bombs? 

i picked some up in chicago last year and add to my collection whenever we go back.  there are fizzy bath bombs and bubble bars.  so glorious.

i usually break off  some of the bubble bar and add it to a bath bomb.

add some light reading and i’m good.  a nice 20 minute soak then i’m off to bed.