I had a grand vision of getting the 5 of us "kids" together for a decent pic that my parents could use in their Christmas cards this year. Unfortunately, the combination of a less-than-stellar camera, bad lighting, and a photo-taker who claims not to be able to see anything led to a general failure. Oh, and did I mention a wee one who wasn't looking at the camera?

And that was the best one. Here's what the scamp was doing in the other takes:

Better luck next year...

Opa made some deelish pumpkin and apple pies for our Turkey Day feast, but we thought that just wasn't quite enough. Enter our fun bounty from Chocomize!

There was a Groupon a few weeks back for a great deal to customize chocolate bars. Since my maternal chocolate lover was at the time tending to a husband in the ICU, I figured a gifted groupon might be a fun little treat. After they got back home, she and I had a very high-level conference call to build our bars to be shared over Thanksgiving:

The candy bars (made in loyal reader Shana's hometown, no less! Shout-out, Cherry Hill!) have a zillion flavor combinations with all the fruit, nut, spice, and candy options, and they arrived on my doorstep within days.

Here's what we came up with to best maximize our $20 (for which I only spent $10-- go Groupon!):



And they're tasty, too!

(And for once, I'm not lamenting my giant one(s)!!)

Uncle Geoff had some iphone camera fun with the hipstamatic app yesterday...


Happy day after Thanksgiving, which this year means HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Opa, master pie baker!!!! We look forward to an Indian feast celebration tonight!!

Yes, I made the travel-weary gather on the couch and take a pic late in the evening. I'm nothing if not a bossy hostess.

But I am so thankful this day for us to be gathered together and later to be joined by Christy and Eric, who are the dearest "family" we have in these parts. I wish many loving hugs for each of you today (okay, and some tasty grub) with whomever you're gathered: family or "family!"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Last week, in order to get him into the Thanksgiving spirit, I asked B on a few occasions for what he was thankful. He responded each time with the exact same list: "Raffie, Daddy, slides, and McDonalds." (The last two are a product of our recent rest stops at a Mickey Ds with the most gargantuan children's play area ever. If you're ever in Lewisburg, PA you should check it out!).

Unbeknownst to me, his teachers at school were tracing each student's hand individually, asking for what he/she was thankful, laminating the hands, and making a tree. When we dropped him off on Sunday at the nursery during church, we came upon the colorful arbor:

It took us forever to find the little scamp's handprint. As more and more time passed while we searched, I pondered all the options we might find. Would his teachers be confused if he said, "Raffie?" (Probably.) So if he said "Daddy," would they wonder why he doesn't care about his madre? (Eh, maybe not.) If he said, "McDonalds," would they understand the kid won't even touch a chicken nugget?

Turns out I didn't need to worry.....about that. Now I just need to figure out how to tame the self-absorption!!

Sigh.

Ian's pics--even when they're simply of a random slice of life like this one--make me so happy!

Our friends to the north came to our neck of the woods yesterday and we met them for a quick dinner at The Place Where Dreams Come True, aka Wegmans. The boys (whose birthdays are a week apart) seemed very excited to see each other!

Well, okay, maybe Ade wasn't so sure...

Although you'd think B's choke hold here would be even worse!

Marie is due on Christmas Day so she's about a month ahead of me. Aren't we just glowing, though? Oh wait... I guess that's just the bright lights overhead. But check out the glory that is Weggies down below!

Thanks to so many of you for participating in the TRIPLE POLL DAY!!

A few thoughts:

I find it fascinating that the exact same number of peeps voted in #2 and #3, but three additional people voted in #1. Did you three just not have an opinion about the other two questions? Just feel really strongly about your food-waste-mechanisms??!

Interestingly enough, while that one had the most lopsided results, my sink is actually printed with "Food Waste Disposer." So does that mean we should all be saying "disposer?"

I'm pretty sure "safe-deposit box" is considered the most correct, but I definitely am in the "safeTY" camp. And I totally call it a smoke alarm, not a smoke detector, although Jen's comment about it having different names based on its current function makes a lot of sense!

(Sending out a big shout-out to my friends also in the LOSER categories for both those polls!)

I can remember flying into Amarillo a couple of years ago and being blown away by the signs that pointed to the area of the airport where the "Rent Cars" were. Not "Rental Cars." RENT CARS. So just like the realtors (and that's realtors, not real-a-tors) say, it's all about location, location, location.

Here's another one for you to ponder and leave your answer in the comments: When it's 10:55, do you say "5 'til 11?" Or maybe "5 to 11?" Or "5 of 11?"

Two little monkeys with bare bellies!

Karen and Ian are always good for poll questions, and their weekend visit proved no different. They came ready with the first two queries and then the Pancetta Incident led to the 3rd one.

Don't bother doing research and telling me which answer is actually correct for each poll-- just read the choices aloud and choose your first instinct! Can't wait to see how it all shakes out!

Get to votin', people!

Well, not so much riches of the monetary kind, but definitely of the friendship kind! Friday evening (while the Rams were miles away, sadly losing their playoff game), Carrie came over for dinner and to hang out with us! The Brookster even sweet-talked her into a bedtime story:

(And yes, C, I did have to show your fab socks! You are just too, too cool! :-)

Then Saturday, Karen and Ian came over for the evening. Despite my best attempt to run them out of the house by smoking up the entire place from my pancetta-cooking (seriously, you NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE. I've posted it on here before....not-coincidentally in another K&I post!), they didn't scare easily and scored some couch snuggles with B as well:

I realized later that I must have a thing for seeing these friends on the same weekend. It happened earlier this year, as well. Crazy--especially since we don't get to see either of them very often!

And then there are my two most special friends-- these guys!

Yeah, I think I'll keep 'em.

(Funny aside-- I asked a random guy to take a picture of us. He agreed but made no motion to take my camera, which confused me greatly. Then I realized he thought I had asked if I could take a picture of his dog. Um, NO.)

...stop and smell some leaves this weekend!

Happy Friday!

Bedtime stories with one:


And morning snuggles with the other:

Contrary to what he says sometimes while crying ("My life is so hard!"), this kid has it pretty good! :-)

Turns out these parsnip-looking things are NOT parsnips:

The last CSA pickup of the season was the day B and I headed to Corning, so we had a substitute veggie-picker-upper in the form of the Coach. I neglected to give him proper instructions about picking up the take-home newsletter that includes a list of all the bounty, so I had no way of knowing for sure what the veggies were-- but he swore that there were no parsnips listed on the board at the farm. So I emailed the farmer and finally heard back that they're daikon radishes.

Too bad for the radishes that I'd already picked out a recipe for Chicken and Parsnip Soup. So it was Chicken and FAUX Parsnip Soup for us!

It was still mighty tasty! (And yes, the kale was an addition because we had it.)

I know yesterday's text-heavy post probably scared off half of you, so here's a bounty of pics to make up for it.

Getting children to look on-camera as cute as they can look "in real life" is pretty much an impossible task. Here's what I often get when I request a smile:

(And yes, we did go sit on our neighbor's front porch for this attempted photo!)

PS: We love our football T-shirt reminder of Seattle's bargain clothing scene, A(u)nn(t)ie Kate!!!

1) Best thing EVER this pregnancy: my hair doesn't get greasy! It's really an amazing thing. I always had to wash it every day to keep it from being an oily mess (which is not to say that I actually did wash it every day, but it sure wasn't fooling anyone on the off days!). But now I can go several days without it being too scary. Don't worry if you interact with me regularly, though-- I am a big nighttime "tub-soaker-whilst-reading-magazines" so I do stay clean!

2) While I did get sick more in the first trimester than I did with B, the rest of it has thankfully been just as smooth. I realize I still have plenty of time for new aches and pains to set in, but for now, I'm feeling great. Along these same lines, I still don't have to get up during the night to go to the bathroom, which is how it was last time. By the end, I was getting up once but it was never much worse than that. Maybe I do have a supersonic bladder...? (They have been very impressed with its capacity at my ultrasounds! HA!)

3) I spent the entire time preparing for B lamenting the much cuter girl bedding choices than for boys. Now that I've been in boy-mode for 3 years--and happen to love blue&green together--I'm finding myself wanting to vomit/regurgitate/spew/upchuck/call Ralph (those were for you, Opa!) at most of the girl nursery bedding. Seriously-- does everything have to be so PINK? And covered with butterflies or flowers or some other cheap-looking girly design? Don't even get me started on the "princess" stuff...

(Note: I did find bedding that I could live with, and it is pink dusty rose and has some flowers. But it's tasteful-- know what I'm saying??!)

4) I don't really have any kind of real evidence to back this up, but I think my stomach is a lot bigger this time, although I've gained less weight. I started this pregnancy 5 lbs lighter than I did the first one (yay for Weight Watchers!), and haven't gained as much along the way. I'm hoping that will mean less overall weight gain but we ARE pretty much fully now in the eating free-for-all season known as Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas not to mention the cold weather that pretty much demands fattening comfort foods. So who knows. Gestational diabetes test on Thursday-- please think happy thoughts!

5) Actually, I guess some evidence is that I was measuring several weeks ahead when I was at my last doctor's appt, which makes me think that maybe this little girl won't drag out her appearance as long as her brother did. But we are SO not ready in the room preparation department; I can't even explain to you how unmotivated I am to work on the nursery and convert our guest room to B's new room. It's like anti-nesting.

6) It is certainly true that it's much easier to be less focused on a pregnancy after the initial one. It's not even that B is a crazy-busy kid who keeps me from thinking a minute about being pregnant, but I do have much less time to reflect than when there wasn't already another wee one in the house. Pretty sure I'm drinking a few more cokes than I might have last time, and I have been on some deli meat kicks (which I totally avoided last time), although I've definitely done the microwaving-until-steaming thing because, let's face it, I'm still pretty paranoid! But if the feta/bleu cheese/brie says clearly that it's pasteurized, it's mine!

7) I'm getting scared to death about how much our life is going to change. So many of you already have at least 2 children so I know you're thinking, "Oh, you have NO idea!" but I do grasp that it's going to be a crazy transition from our very-routine existence to one with a new personality thrown in. We've been so lucky with Brooks's sleeping habits that I really do have several hours each day to myself and I'm already mourning the loss of that (internet) time. Who knows what will happen to this blog?!

Now I'm depressed. Better go admire my non-greasy hair and cheer up! :-)

Kinda hard to tell he had a seriously low blood count in these pics from the reception photo booth, huh?!
After 5 days in the ICU, my dad was finally moved into a regular room on Thursday. As of this morning, he was fully disconnected from all tubes and able to have clear liquids! Whoo-hoo! They're thinking a hospital dismissal early in this next week is likely, although they'll hang around for a few more days to check in with the doctor, etc, before taking to the skies to return home.

Thanks again for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Since we drove to Corning Thursday directly from preschool, where the kiddies had worn their costumes, our unplanned extension through Sunday night didn't keep Mr. B from donning his Giant Raffie suit and experiencing some Halloween fun.

We decided just to hit a couple of "known" houses, and he seemed to enjoy going through the routine:

Then we stayed at Emily's and helped her pass out candy. I'm not sure Brooks could have been any more thrilled about his role. Emily pulled out a stool and we had him sit there in anticipation of a doorbell, at which point he would shake his little fists in exhilaration, (try to) open the door himself, put one piece of candy in each bag, and yell, "Happy Halloween!":

I think it made everyone involved happy to see such an excited little giraffe! Many thanks to EmHavs for letting us hang out with her. B was pretty bummed when the candy ran out (SO many kids!!!) and we had to turn off the light. He kept asking, "Are more kids in costumes coming?"

Maybe we'll just have to find ourselves in Corning next Oct 31st, too!

UPDATE: We have made our decision. And you KNOW there's a future blog post already designated for the big photo reveal! (Mama Bear, perhaps buy some Depends before then?)

Subtitle: Why technological "advancements" are not always appreciated!

I know this situation will be old news for many of you with kids, but SERIOUSLY. Why have school pictures become so weird? I mean, I'm not even sure my 2-year old needs to have a "school picture" but, if you're gonna take one, can it just be with a nice, plain gray/blue background like we got in the old days? Does it need to be.......THIS?

So there's ONE non-cheesy option? And even it looks strikingly like the cutting-edge backgrounds of the mid-90s? Seriously?

It's not like B is even going to a) sit down on the stool; b) look at the camera, or c) smile. I would just get the cheapie package that includes only the class pic, but the photos are a fundraiser for the school and I'm ALL ABOUT helping a fundraiser that doesn't involve forced selling.

Our quandary, therefore, is this: do we go for the 90s-techno "plain" option of S8, or do we just really go nuts with the cheese factor and pick one of the other dorky backgrounds? I'm kinda tempted to pick the planets because they are just unbelievably nerdy. But then I think-- what if B's teachers think we're being serious??

The pics are happening tomorrow! Let's extend Election Day one more day-- please vote!!

Friday morning, we trekked about 45 minutes to a fun little farm in the countryside that features all kinds of scenes with "people" sporting pumpkin heads. Alas, you can't really see the Amish pumpkin people in their buggy here, but the real peeps are pretty darn cute:

A few examples of said scenes:

Probably not my smartest move to travel to a location with a high of 48 degrees and not take a coat, but I don't really have a coat physique these days, you know? Thankfully, Grammie treated me to some fabulous winter accessories from Corning's very own Bass store on our quaint downtown street! (Yes, that's a plug to visit New York's famed Crystal City!!)

We went to this farm something like 16 years ago, and the one vignette I remember was the outhouse guy! B looks properly scandalized:

My favorite Upstate New York fall delicacy: the grape pie. Thank you, Wegmans, for making us one by special order!

Saturday afternoon, our hostess with the mostest, Emily, took over on Brooks-entertainment duty. They spent a lot of time checking out her pics from a recent field trip to a dairy farm. And as far as B knows, the cows were standing in "mud":

Anne drove all the way up from Virginny for the weekend. Best babysitters ever!

Although B sure does seem to be partial to this guy...

Y'all, I'm seriously gigantic. 12ish more weeks to go...

And...the happy couple!! JC was my 1oth grade English teacher, but became a dear family friend as the director of our high school's drama productions. While I made a few appearances on the stage, a certain brother of mine was quite the thespian and Opa even became the volunteer assistant-director over the years!

We are SO excited for JC and Ed as they begin their new life together! And you should have seen the feast they served: a six-course meal complete with Finger Lakes wines paired with each course. YUM!!

PS: Opa ended up having surgery yesterday morning since the ulcer did not stop bleeding on its own. The surgery went well, but the surgeon informed my mom that they should expect to be there 7-10 days!!! Thank goodness a) the wedding wasn't in some random, unfamiliar location, and b) Corning has added lots of new retail options in the area since someone might need to be buying some outfits to get through this extended trip!!! Thanks to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers for my dad's recovery.

Greetings this Monday morning from Corning! (That rhymes!)

Brooks and I drove up here on Thursday to meet my parents for a fun fall weekend featuring the fabulous wedding of family friend (and loyal blog stalker), JC. Pics of our weekend to come but, for now, just an update that we're still here because that darn Opa landed himself in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer.

Sheils took him to the ER yesterday morning and we decided to hang around until we knew what was going on. He was admitted and everyone seems to feel like the situation has been identified and is being treated accordingly. The remaining question is how long the Moores will be hanging around Corning. I think the B-man and I will be headed home this morning-- we kinda miss that tall, dark, and handsome guy who lives at our house!

We also miss our Opa, but know he's getting great treatment. And Sheils keeps marveling at how easy it is to get around our fave little burg-- hotel to hospital? 4 minutes! Sidetrip to Wegs? 3 minutes! Brooksie also got to do some trick-or-treating New York Style (fun question: what could that mean? I don't actually know the answer, but I bet some of you could come up with entertaining responses!), but the highlight of his night was helping Emily Havalchak hand out candy at her house! Again, pics to come...

More later!