First Day of Autumn Celebration 2011

This morning our dining room table was filled with art supplies, a basket full of goodies, and

sweet treats...

(Pinterest-inspired acorn donut holes)
because it was time for our First Day of Autumn Celebration!!!
Our friends Lylah, Lara, Jaynie Beth, and Carmella came over to join in the autumn fun.
We started our celebration by painting pumpkin masks.
(Painting the table instead of the pumpkin was a big hit, too.)

I think they turned out so cute.
We also decorated pumpkin shaped cookies and the kids devoured the icing!

Yum, yum!

Then we made our own toilet paper trees.

Crafts are definitely interesting when working with toddlers and although Seth was being very grumpy during our morning (thus the reason for a lack of photos with his crafts), we still had a super time and are thankful for the friends that joined us.
For lunch, I made Apple Cheddar Squash soup again this year. For dinner I tried a new recipe that I saw in Rachel Ray Magazine called Pumpkin Patch Stuffed Shells.
While the recipe of beef and spinach stuffed shells covered in a pumpkin cheese sauce sounded delicious, it actually turned out pretty bland. It definitely won't be added to the recipe binder, but our dessert definitely will. These ice cream stuffed apples were a great end to a very fun and festive day!
Happy First Day of Autumn!!!

Breastfeeding: A Treatment for MS

Monday night I went to have a pedicure. I don't get pedicures that often, but I needed to have nice toenails and not-so-grody feet for my MS appointment yesterday. Back in March when I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis I didn't realize how important my feet were to an MS exam. Your feet are pushed and pulled on and even scraped by this sharp instrument to make sure your nerves are working properly. I had stinky feet and ugly toenails for that visit and I felt so embarrassed and ill prepared. I don't think Dr. M even noticed, but I wanted to make myself feel better and have nice feet this time around.
Before seeing Dr. M, I walked down the hallway (to test my balance) and read the eye chart to the best of my ability (I can still barely see the big E on the eye chart with my bad eye). I also filled out a survey that was being conducted about the use of marijuana to treat MS. (Maybe one day I will be prescribed marijuana. Who knows?) Then I got to see the doctor. Since I hadn't started any MS treatments due to the pregnancy, I was anxious to hear how long it would be before I needed to start. Six months ago was assured that I would more than likely be safe from "flair-ups" if I exclusively breastfed as soon as Silas was born, but I would have to start medication after 3 to 6 months. Because I have been exclusively pumping though (at least 32 ounces a day or more) I think I extended the amount of time that I can stay treatment-free. By being able to know how much breast milk my body is producing (the more the better) I was told that I can breastfeed or pump in my case for as long as I like. That is as long as I don't have a "flair-up." So when Silas starts to eat solids and the amount of breast milk that he needs decreases, I can still pump what I always have and I should be protected. So
I was overjoyed with the news. I will still go back in six months for a general check-up, but I shouldn't have to start any medications until I give up pumping which will hopefully be at least a year from now. Yay for breastfeeding and pretty toes!

Seth's 2nd Birthday Party

On Saturday, we had Seth's 2nd birthday party! We reserved a pavillion at one of our favorite parks and had dinner with family and some of our good friends. It was colorful, simple, and most importantly Seth seemed to have a great time.

This year I made Seth a cake. It announced to everyone that "Seth is 2!"

We ate one of Seth's favorites, macaroni and cheese.

We also had mini burgers and fruit kabobs.

Thanks to an episode of Word World (Seth's favorite t.v. show), Seth learned that hats are essential when having a party. So we wore hats (at least for a little while).

Even Silas attempted wearing a hat for a second or two.

After we ate dinner, we sang "Happy Birthday" and Seth blew out his candle.

I think the cake was Seth's favorite part of dinner.

Then before playing on the playground Seth opened a few gifts which included a wristwatch, some marker stampers, a small bus,...

this really cool magnetic number board that helps guide your hand as you write,...

a homemade car caddy,...

and a toddler t-ball set from our friends.

Before it got too dark, we snapped our picture frame photos. These pictures were a favorite from last year's party so we thought we would do them again. It's such a neat way to remember who came to help us celebrate.

Daniel, Carmella, and Jaynie Beth

Pop, Nana, and Uncle Michael

Our family portrait

Happy 2nd Birthday, Seth!

Balloon Birthday Surprise

Today is Seth's 2nd birthday! In an effort to make his day extra special and to celebrate him, we thought it would be fun for him to wake up to a surprise. So last night, after Seth was asleep for the night, Bryan blew up lots and lots of balloons. Quietly, we corralled the fifty or more balloons into Seth's bedroom (a Pinterest inspired idea, by the way).

This morning we woke him up and instantly he started grinning and giggling.

Then we all had fun kicking and hitting the balloons around the room
(which he did off and on for the entire day also).

It was a super fun birthday surprise!

Smoking

We've started smoking at our house. In fact, Bryan spent six hours on Saturday smoking... some ribs. We bought this contraption for our Weber grill not too long ago to help with the smoking process and so far Bryan has attempted ribs twice. The finished product from our first attempt was so bad that I just didn't feel right sharing about our new cooking endeavor. The second attempt was quite a bit better.

First, Bryan bought some spare ribs and he had to do some hacking on them to transform them into St. Louis style ribs.

He cut and trimmed
Then after making a special rub, he coated the meat with the rub and placed it in the refrigerator overnight.
The next morning, Bryan and Seth prepared the wood.

They broke up some hickory pieces (they help cause the smoke) with hammers.Then for the next 6 hours the meat was on the grill. The first three hours they were on the grill like this. The next two hours they were wrapped in aluminum foil and the last hour uncovered again.

When it was time to eat, the ribs actually tasted very good, slightly on the tough side, but still very good. Along with some mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, homemade cornbread, and heirloom tomatoes, it was a mighty fine dinner.

Was it worth 6 hours of cooking and manning the grill? I still need some convincing, so I can't wait to see what we can try smoking next!

The Green Smoothie

I have been trying a lot of new recipes lately. A couple of weeks ago I read about a very easy-to-make smoothie and thought I would try it. It's just a handful of spinach, about a cup of orange juice, and a banana pureed together with ice. It was so tasty and Seth loved it, too! Since making my first green smoothie, I have had one just about every day. I have added other ingredients like frozen blueberries, strawberries, yogurt, apple juice (instead of orange juice because we ran out) and avocados. The addition of the avocado made the smoothie nice and creamy which probably made it my favorite. I can't wait to try other variations because it is such an easy way to eat (really drink) more fruits and veggies!

Silas: 5 Weeks Old

Silas is 5 weeks old today. It feels like five weeks was forever ago. I say that because Silas has fit into our family so well. I can remember what our family was like before he was born, but it is hard to imagine life without him now. It's funny how that happens. Silas is such an easy-going and content baby. Lucky for us, he came out of the womb understanding that nighttime is for sleeping and only wakes up to eat. Since I am exclusively pumping he eats a good 34 ounces of breast milk a day. He loves to eat! He is almost too big for his "newborn" sized clothes and he is not looking so tiny anymore. He has really been concentrating and batting at his hanging toys in the bouncer seat for over a week now, and he can track a moving object with his eyes. He will only take an Avent pacifier (just like Seth) and he seems to adore being swaddled. He is absolutely adorable when he falls asleep on your shoulder especially with his little hands tucked under his chin. He loves taking a bath and is especially content when he is bouncing or swinging or tucked into a Moby wrap. He is one adorable baby boy and we love him so much!