Monday

Breakfast: Mini pancakes, juice

Lunch: Dino-Nuggets, applesauce, leftover mac&cheese

Dinner: Leftover Sweet & Sour Pork Chops, rice, pineapple/cottage cheese (I made this yesterday in the crock pot and we didn't get around to eating it - we weren't hungry - yeah - no cooking tonight!)

Tuesday

Breakfast: Cereal, banana

Lunch: Grilled PB&J (Something my husband introduced me to - like grilled cheese but w/PB&J inside instead - yum!)

Dinner: Paninis (any kind of cold meat & the fixings grilled on the Panini grill), chips, melon Dessert: Chocolate shakes

Wednesday

Breakfast: Toast, juice

Lunch: Frozen pizza

Dinner: Beef Enchiladas, spanish rice

Thursday

Breakfast: Fried Egg Sandwiches

Lunch: cold meat sandwiches, apple slices

Dinner: Taco Turkey Burgers (didn't get to this one last week), Seasoned tator tots

Friday - Sunday

Off to Illinois for a family wedding - no meal planning!

Check out more meal plans at Laura's Web site!

What a weekend! We didn't DO anything pe se, but a lot of mundane that leads to stress. First of all, Sadie has been delivered to her potential new home in Iowa City. We all bawled - but she seems to be transitioning fine. They are so sweet to keep sending us e-mail updates on her progress. Yesterday she ran outside without a leash all day and played with her new friend "Shadow," an older golden lab mix. They said she was tumbling and rolling around with Shadow having a good ole time. It is still VERY sad for us, but hearing that sort of thing confirms that we did the right thing for Sadie.

A big thanks to Grandma for taking Bailey to the mall that morning to take her mind off of things. Probably bad that I'm promoting retail therapy, but better than emotional eating, right? =-)

Yesterday was another Open House. We did are usual cleaning routine that morning, but with a little less oomph. I think we've decided to throw in the towel and list with a realtor. We are coming down to the wire now on both the offer we have on the house we want AND our due date...so it is really starting to weigh on me. Not knowing if we are coming or going - but really all of us hoping and praying that we are going (we love the new house and it meets almost everything on our checklist of ideal features). We'll see if listing with a realtor helps or not. If you are reading this and are the praying type - please pray for us on this!

After the Open House we went to pick the girls up at Grandma & Grandpa's and stayed to watch a movie. Then we stopped by our neighbor's house to wish him a happy 80th birthday! They are the absolute sweetest couple and we will miss them TERRIBLY if/when we move.

That pretty much sums up the weekend. I will spare you the 3rd trimester can't sleep at all at night for more than 1-2 hours whining (sort of)...I guess it is nature's way of gearing you up for when it'll get even worse. ha.

Hope you all had a great weekend, too.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Out deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our own light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God! Your playing small doesn't serve the world! There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us! And it's not just in some of us; it's in everyone! And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others!" - Nelson Mandela

I'm so excited to be carrying a SON. I mean - I have two wonderful girls already - and a son is going to be so exciting - a new adventure. I am full of anticipation for his arrival and can't wait to meet him....but then I see something like this and there is a TINY bit of sad that there will be no more baby girl clothes in this family. Show me the equally adorable baby boy-wear...I just haven't found it yet.

Win a new 37-inch flat-panel LCD HDTV at 5 Minutes for Mom! The prize is valued at $799.99 and is courtesy of Best Buy. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment here and link to the contest on your blog. Good luck!

Saturday we take Sadie to Iowa City to spend a week with a potential adoptive family. =-( We are so sad to "re-home" her, but know it is truly best for her if we can find her a home where she can run, play, run...and did I say run? We just don't have the time and energy she requires. She's a Border Collie to a "T" when it comes to energy. To make it even more difficult, we had her groomed today and when we picked her up they had placed ADORABLE baby blue bows on her ears. ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE! NOW how are we supposed to give her up? But if we truly think of her...and what's best for her...it is a family with a great big yard and lots of time and energy.

The family we are test-running her with lives on 5 acres of land and the mom and two teenage daughters are avid runners. PERFECT! But I think we will all shed some tears when she's gone. Here are a few post-grooming photos of Sadie. We'll miss you!

YEAH, Target!!! Target has teamed up with online photo processor/store, Shutterfly!
Now you can order 4x6 glossy prints online and pick them up at your local Target(R) store - they even offer one-hour service! Yahoo!!!

A decision I"m sure I'll live to regret...but I decided to make Play-Dough this afternoon while Lauren napped. It SOUNDS like a fun idea - but even before I've made it, I'm having thoughts of that dreadful stuff stuck in the carpeting, in her hair, etc. But hey - what's childhood without homemade Play-Dough, right? Here's the recipe:

Traditional Play Dough
1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon oil
1/4 cup salt
food coloring
Mix all ingredients, adding food coloring last. Stir over medium heat until smooth. Remove from pan and knead until blended smooth. Place in plastic bag or airtight container when cooled. Will last for a long time.

We went for our 3D/4D ultrasound tonight at Prenatal Visions. It was so amazing to see our baby in 3D/4D...to see him yawn, smile and stretch. To see his chubby cheeks and pouty lips...we even saw hair on his head! Oh, now the wait becomes even harder because I absolutely can't wait to hold him. I'm including a few photos, but the LIVE experience was so much better than these photos can ever convey. I feel I should explain though - if you see lumpy areas on the pictures...that happens when a) the baby was moving when the picture was caught or b) he is pushed against tissue. The latter is usually what caused a mild distortion. I assure you that he is not lumpy and his nose is smaller than some of the photos show.

He appears to be absolutely perfect and big for his gestational age. He should be coming close to 3 lbs now....and based on measurements, the computer assessed a weight of 3 lbs, 11 oz. BIG strong boy. This is the ONLY time I've wished I were Suri Cruise's Mom...wouldn't it be cool to peak in at your baby whenever you wanted? That's where the Katie envy ends though...ok...maybe the porcelain skin and Jackie O build would be nice...but then THAT is where the envy ends. =-)
Here's our BOY!
A little smile...
Big ole paws!
Big yawn!
Snuggling up...

This trade 'em & swap 'em book exchange seems like a great idea...although I'd like to see a TOTALLY FREE local version of it - Craig's List-style perhaps? Anyone game?

According to one of my favorite magazines, more women have babies in August than in any other month (359,000 births), according to the latest U.S. Census date, from 2002; July is close, with 358,000 births. Looks like with daughter 1 and daughter 2 both born in August...and 3rd and final child due at the end of Sept.(ish)....at least I'm not the only nutjob out there 3rd trimestering in the dead of summer. Lunatics unite!

Monday
Breakfast: Cold Cereal
Lunch: Tortellini, peas, grapes/strawberries
Dinner: Taco Salad using leftover beef from last night's pot roast

Tuesday
Breakfast: French Toast
Lunch: Grilled Cheese, diced peaches
Dinner: Chicken Salad, fresh fruit

Wednesday
Breakfast: Toast/peanut butter
Lunch: Nuggets, tater tots, applesauce
Dinner: Chicken & Sausage with Bowties, melon

Thursday
Breakfast: Mini pancakes, bananas
Lunch: Mac & Cheese, fruit
Dinner: Sweet & Sour Pork Chops (Crock Pot), rice, veggie TBD

Friday
Breakfast: Cereal bars
Lunch: TBD - friends in town - may eat out
Dinner: Pizza

Saturday
Breakfast: Fried Egg Sandwiches
Lunch: Chicken Patties, chips, fruit
Dinner: Leftovers

Sunday
Breakfast: Cinnamon rolls
Lunch: Taco Turkey Burgers
Dinner: Spaghetti, garlic cheese bread

If you are interested in joining the effort to reduce your grocery budget, pre-meal stress and actually enjoy the process and your family more...then play along and join in! You can also check out what hundreds of others are cooking for the week - a great idea generator! Visit "I'm an Organizing Junkie" and get organized!

Lauren, 23 months....acting...Brrrrr...and practicing her Spanish, por favor. =-)

Video: Lauren & The Lemon

The final Harry Potter book....and Dad wasn't going to let Bailey miss it. He reserved her copy of the book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows and took her and her friend, Julia to The Grand Hallows Ball at Borders Books. They were there until after Midnight and had lots of fun. What a lucky girl to have a Dad that would do that for her - without even asking!

Bailey's friend spent the night but we had to wake them up at 8 a.m. to get the friend home and clean for a house showing we scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Let's just say we have one VERY tired and cranky girl on our hands today. Dad's a little sleepy too....but over three hours on your feet with a couple of pre-teen girls will do it to you. Once again Mark takes home the Dad-of-the-Year prize.

You Are My Suh-Sine!

Hello Everybodeeeeeeee....it is I.....Grover!

Ok, honestly - HOW CUTE IS this shirt?! I have always loved Sesame Street - but now that I"m watching it as a parent - that show is HILARIOUS! I think I have to get this t-shirt.

Personalizing is all the rage. Personalized photos and text on your Kleenex box, customize your M&Ms, your baby's crib quilt, your photo on a pillow case, ...what's next? Choose your color of toilet paper - oh wait...been there/done that - was that the 70's or the 80's?

Today was a very high-fructose sort of day. It started with my glucose test. I was scheduled to take it last week, but the clinic called me the day before my appointment to reschedule (how annoying is that?!). So now instead of going to the much easier to get to West side location, I now had to go downtown to the hospital, park, walk, take elevators, etc. bluck. My appointment was at 9 a.m. I was to go to the lab first to drink the extremely sugary, barely drinkable "juice" and then travel 5 flights up to my OB appt.

Well, I quickly learned a new theme to this week and that is no one is holding up their end of the deal on appointments this week! (see yesterday's post on how THAT all started). Anyway, I get there and they don't have me down. They don't have my chart, they don't know how far along I am, they don't know if I"m there for a 1-hr. glucose test or the 4-hr. test. For goodness sakes! These are the people I'm relying on to help me deliver a healthy bouncing baby? G-R-E-A-T. Finally they get someone on the phone that has at least heard of me. They give me the juice and I begin my journey upstairs.

I've never been to this office. My OB group recently merged with another group (never works out to be a good thing for patients) and this was my first trip to the new office. And guess what? They didn't have my chart. They asked who I was seeing and I told them the Dr.'s name...nope...he's not down here today. Great! So when they rescheduled me they changed the Dr. I was seeing and didn't bother to tell me. That was especially nice. Finally they took me back and weighed me (hate that), took my blood pressure and the usual. My BP was a little elevated. (Ya think? I've just parked a mile away, walked downstairs to the lab where they didn't expect me, drank pure sugar, raced up 5 flights where I was greeted with more ignorance.) Finally I was seen by not a Dr.....oh no....but a nurse practitioner. I have nothing against an NP - but after all this - at least let me see a real live OB please.

The checkup was uneventful, and still waiting on the glucose results. The silver lining today? I'm far enough in the pregnancy that I start going every 2 weeks instead of every month. We're getting closer!!!

I hope a complete stranger doesn't deliver this baby. I want Osborn - you hear me, Perry? No strangers....I want the OB I've come to trust. Pencil it in.

I digress. Anyway - how is it a high fructose kind of day? Well, this afternoon the girls made chocolate chip cookies. I better eat them now...just in case my glucose test results are bad and they cut me off soon. =-)

Meet Dairy Potter at this year's Iowa State Fair, August 9-19, 2007

The Children's Place COUPONS/SALE!!!

Children’s Place on sale with 20% off
I'm so grateful to Thriftymommy.com for making me aware of Mommysavers! They pointed me to a 20% off coupon for Children’s place. Use the code BCMP77 to get an additional 20% off. Also, they have some great deals as low as $3.99 or less on some really cute clothes. I"m going to try to stock up a little for next summer with the combination of the sale and the 20% off. I appreciate this insider secret so I thought I'd share with all of you!

Pedicure Day

We LOVE pedicures! Bailey & I received spa pedicures for Mother's Day (yes, I"m the only Mother here...but her Dad is pretty nice and thought she'd enjoy one too). So today was the day we scheduled our special tootsie treatment at The Spa at West Glen. I arranged for Grandma & Grandpa to watch Lauren and off Bailey & I went. Unfortunately, their nail technician never showed up to work today, so they apologized and offered us a complimentery pedicure at our reschedule. Nice - but bummer! We were SO excited to get pedicures...TODAY!
So we found Solar Nails & Spa on 100th St. in Urbandale. They got us both right in and both Mother & Daughter enjoyed a side-by-side pedicure. GLORIOUS! But dangerous...I could SO get used to this on a monthly basis. The relaxation, the leg/foot massage, the pretty toesies. LOVE IT! Oh - and Lauren is wearing whatever color we had in the closet...courtesy of Big Sister.

Monday:

Homemade Pizza Rolls with cottage cheese and peaches

Tuesday:

Cheeseburgers on grill, corn on the cob, tater tots

Wednesday:

Cheesy Ranch Chicken

Thursday:

Leftovers Buffet

Friday:

Frozen Pizza Friday

Saturday:

Hamburger/Rice Casserole, green beans, fruit

Sunday:

Pot Roast, potatoes, carrots

Hey! The baby NEEDS dairy!

Yup, it's OPEN HOUSE day. Today. 1-4 p.m. Come one - Come ALL interested buyers! If you know ANYONE looking for a home in a great neighborhood/school district - trust me - it is worth a look! Know a mechanic? Have a band? Know someone that just likes to tinker in the garage? We've got the dream garage for them! Visit urbandalehomeforsale.blogspot.com for the address, pictures and even more information. Thanks!

Did you know....that a pre-teen girl can watch an INFINITE number of episodes of Hanna Montana without her head exploding....this is very much unlike her mother.

They are installing a new water main across the street, which means Lauren was entertained for over an hour this morning! YEAH!

This one's for you, Leigha...just seeing if you're reading. =-) Download FREE ringtones of your favorite Iowa State Fair sounds! I don't see a rooster, but there is an auction, a cow moo, a lamb baa, a pig squeal and a midway scream...check it out along with all of the other things The Iowa State Fair has to offer!

Coming next Monday...

To help me stick to the whole meal-planning thing, I'm going to take part in the orgjunkie.blogspot.com Menu Plan Monday. On my blog you will see my meal planning for the week and then you can link to orgjunkie for her plan, as well as hundreds of other participating plans. No more excuses for not having ideas for dinner! Now - so glad I have almost a week to get geared up for this. I'll totally be stealing meal ideas the first week I'm sure. I encourage you to do the same. Also read orgjunkie's method of meal planning - seems to work for her - so I'm going to try it too. One trip to the store each week? Sounds great to me.

For all of the other Moms out there who think buying one more Rubbermaid or (insert other brand name here) container will organize your life...first of all...you are wrong - I have the stacks of Rubbermaids to prove that. Secondly, I think you'll enjoy this site. This one is ESPECIALLY for you, Stacy. So check out this "I'm an Organizing Junkie" blog - hopefully we'll all get some good tips.

If you know me...then you know I LOVE a good bargain. Well, thanks to thrifty mommy here are coupon codes for photo developing at Snapfish and Shutterfly. Now get those pics off your memory stick, get them ordered and put them in an album or scrapbook. Hurry!

Snapfish:
10 free prints with code AFF10PRINT07. Exp. 8/1.
10 free prints with code BBARAGINSPRNT. Exp. 8/2.
10 free prints with code CCRAZEPRNT. Exp. 8/1.
10% off your purchase with code AFF10COUPOFF. Exp. 8/1.
20% off your purchase with code AFFSNAP20. Exp. 7/15.
30 free prints for new members (no code nec.). Exp. 7/31.
Free Shipping with code JULY4SHIP. Exp. 7/15.

Shutterfly:Save 20% on your order with code 24AF-PRTS. Exp. 7/10.
15% off your order when you pay with VISA and use code 1510-VISA.

Don't make me clean for nothing...

OPEN HOUSE
Today!!! 1-4 p.m.
3429 68th St.
Urbandale

Here's the Web site with more info...http://urbandalehomeforsale.blogspot.com/

So many diapers - so many choices! I currently have the original Diaper Genie

It does a decent job of holding back odor, but the cutter has never actually made a clean cut all the way around - I always have to rip it free or grab a pair of scissors when taking out the old diapers. And as far as that goes - the minute you take it out, the dirty diaper sausage the machine creates comes free - and so does the stink!

So now I see they've come up with a Diaper Genie II. I read claims that it really blocks odor. Ok - but does it cut?!@#

And then there is the Diaper Champ that takes any kind of garbage bag (seems handy)...and it seems easy to use...but does it block the stink? Is it a good choice?

Ok Moms - weigh in on this for me. Should I buy a new and improved Diaper Genie or go with the Diaper Champ this time around?

Lauren's new Chucky T's. Rock On, Baby!

Two sisters, two straws, TOOOOO YUMMY!!!!

Finally we made it to Fireworks. They begin around 10 p.m.....but you have to leave at 8 p.m. to try to find a parking spot and then you STILL have to walk to get a good viewing spot. Really the city should relocate this event to somewhere with open spaces and parking! Go figure. Anyway - that left us with about 1.5 hours of down time....trying to keep awake/entertain an almost-2-yr-old and keep track of a very social middle schooler.....in the completely stagnant HUMID and HOT summer heat while breathing in the leftover toxins from sparkler fumes. FUN TIMES!

Mark & I decided of all the holidays - this one sucks the most. =-) But fun for the kids...so that makes it almost worth it all.

Lauren was one tuckered-out little girl by the end of the fireworks shows though. She was so tired by the time the show began, that she wasn't even really paying attention. She was in a constant state of motion...I THINK to stay awake! But she wasn't afraid at all....not one bit. (That's Lauren for ya). Here are a few pics from last night.

Happy 4th of July!!! And what a busy 4th it has been so far! Bailey was in the parade with her softball team (Tournament Champs - Go Gators!), driven by her Dad (who rocks);

Lauren had her first memorable 4th of July parade (fireworks to come this evening - stay tuned); Bailey attended her first carnival/street dance without parental supervision - eek!; and it was hotter than Haiti outside for all of the above!Lauren quickly learned how to wave and stick your hand out for candy, but she wasn't very good at scrambling to retrieve it. Luckily we were near some really good kids who shared with her. She also was anxious to eat each piece of candy she got...none of this putting it in the bag business.

There was definitely evidence of a presidential election next year, as MANY of the candidates were represented in today's parade.

Obama was IN Des Moines, but not in the parade, but Joe Biden actually showed up and walked - sweat equity (literally) in his campaign!

All in all it was a GREAT day, despite the heat (why, WHY would I do another 3rd trimester in the dead of summer?!@# ugh.). Lauren was tired and disappointed when the parade ended, and here's the proof: