39 weeks...and waiting :)

Well, I really don't have a single exciting thing to post about right now, but felt like I should update 'the blog'. So here we are. 39 weeks and waiting. Tomorrow I have another appointment and am hoping to learn that I've effaced even more since last week. We currently have three different due dates 'in the works'. Friday, September 19th (according his size during our most recent ultrasound), Saturday, September 20th (according the very first ultrasound back in February), and Tuesday, September 23rd (according to our May ultrasound). But really, there's just a small percentage of babies born on their 'due date', so I'm just hoping for soon and not after all three of these dates have passed. Confession: my brother Joel and his wife Elizabeth are visiting from Chicago the 26th/27th and I'd really like to have a baby to introduce them to by then! :) Mark and I have been surprised how quickly the last nine months have passed! Soon we'll have pictures of our little James to post. I can't wait!

A Parade & our new dog Bootsie

Mark and I had a nice weekend. Saturday morning we met some friends to watch a local parade and walk around the 'fair/festival' atmosphere. I grew up marching in that parade every year I was in band, so it really 'took me back'.

Saturday evening we went to eat dinner at our neighbor's house. We have the sweetest neighbors. They do a good job of looking out for us. (They do things like check up on me when the electricity goes out in the neighborhood.) The husband is retired and forever working on a new project around their house and the wife still works some. Well, they said they've been wanting to have us over since we moved in...I think they were good friends with dear old Harold who lived here before us. He grilled his famous pork chops and his wife made more side dishes than we could possibly eat. To top it off, he had made us a baby gift! I hadn't realized how talented he is at woodwork. I'm not sure what to call this little gift, but it's like a 'rocking horse' on wheels, except it's a dog! So we're calling it a doggie scooter. The handles on his head make the front wheels turn left and right--it's really fun!
That night I mentioned it would be a great 'farm dog' for our 'farm-themed' room, and that we'd have to name him Bootsie, after Mark's favorite ol' farm dog. The funny thing was that our neighbor had grown up on a farm and she, too, had a dog named Bootsie growing up. So Bootsie, it is!

Mark continued to work on the deck. He's scraping off the old paint, replacing rotten boards, bracing the bottom portion of the deck, and going to paint soon! You can't tell in this picture, but he'd rigged up the perfect set-up...the Chiefs were playing so he brought out our little T.V. and was watching on the deck while he worked!

Peaches!

My mom has been doing her best to keep me busy these past few weeks. She knows that if I have too much 'relaxation time' on my hands, I'll surely drive myself loopy waiting for our little one to arrive. So yesterday she invited me over to help her make/can peach jam and peach slices with some fruit my grandma had sent our way. A very sticky process, indeed. And I was exhausted after hours on my feet, but it was fun! Here's a slide show of a few photos I took during the process. (I'm still trying to decide if I like the 'slide show' feature.) I ate peach jam on my toast this morning! :)

Fresh Tomato Sauce

I actually claimed that this was the best thing I'd ever eaten on Wednesday evening. I think I may just love garlic that much...and I was really hungry. This is a recipe adapted from my Taste of Home cookbook. I started with sauteeing three chopped large cloves of garlic (I didn't use my garlic press this time...it may have made a difference) in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Once the garlic was turning a golden color, I added 1/2tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1tsp oregano, 1tsp parsley, and a dash of salt. Then I added five peeled tomatoes (I had blanched them first), diced up--seeds, juice, and all. It was drizzly outside, so Mark went to pick some fresh basil from the garden for me (that's true love) so I wouldn't have to get wet. I sliced up six leaves thinly and tossed in with the bubbling sauce. I had some extra tomato paste in a can in the fridge from beef stroganoff we had the night before. I added about 1.5 tablespoons to the sauce and stirred it it. It made it the perfect consistency. Just a little thicker. I served it over egg noodles, because that's what I had boiled up for Mark's beef stroganoff leftovers. I loved this sauce! If you love a garlicky tomato sauce, you will, too!

Appointment & Toenails

We had a doctor's appointment today. A healthy report. The doctor guessed that James is a 'normal sized baby', about 6 or 6.5 pounds right now. No dilation yet, though. Only 10% effaced.

This afternoon my mom came over and pampered me with a foot soak, lotion, and pedicure! Yippee! It felt great to have them 'lovely' again. It's just too difficult to reach them on my own (without squishing my belly). Thanks, Mom! What a treat!

Did the slideshow work?

I think it worked! I've always wondered how to 'embed' a slideshow in the middle of my blog posting. So I just wanted to try it out. If it hadn't been for Marie's recent slideshow posted on her blog, I wouldn't have figured it out at all. So this is just a trial. Thanks Marie!

Labor Day Weekend Fun

Well, we missed out on getting to go home, while most of Mark's family was there. Just didn't feel like we should travel now that I'm considered 'full term', 37 weeks! However, we had some fun around here! Friday night we ate out and watched some fun fountains at the Legends. Saturday we ran errands, did little odd-jobs to get ready for the baby, and rented the movie Bella. (We really liked the movie....I remember one of my 8th graders saying last year, "I think it was good...I didn't get it." I can understand what an 8th grader would say that, but it is a neat story.) And last night we went to a free concert put on by the Kansas City Symphony with my parents and friend Natasha!
We arrived an hour and a half before the performance (good thing we did--it got packed) and picnicked. Mom and Nat had made the hugest sandwich ever. (the picture to the left is the sandwich after we all had slices of it) I think this is a great picnic idea. Buy (or make, like Mom did) a long french loaf of bread. Slice open, pile with lunchmeats, cheese, and lettuce, wrap up and then be sure to take a knife. They just sliced off big chunks of sandwich...it was really yummy. Nat had found a great sandwich spread recipe that included advocado, Chipotle seasoning, and lime juice. Really good stuff.

They had enough food to feed an army, but I brought Devilled Eggs, so I felt like I was contributing to the feast. I have a fun serving thingy that can be used for eggs or veggies. The center part freezes and has a special gel to keep it cool....I'd never used it before which, honestly, is the only reason I was so excited to make Devilled Eggs. I didn't even eat one.

The concert was great fun. Some classical music and some theater and movie soundtrack tunes, too. They finished out the evening with John Williams. A really nice concert and beautiful weather for it, too!

Today we did visit Chick Fil A for our free chicken strips. Wow, you should have seen the crowd. Very crazy indeed, but a fun experience (and, like I said, free). Hope you all had a nice Labor Day Weekend!