Scotch Teas

I came across this recipe a month or so ago, and shared it with all my family, and now I want to share it with everyone!!  I can't stop making these!!  They are just about the tastiest and easiest cookie/bar I have ever made and the family loves them!  So, here you go!

Scotch Teas

• 1 c. brown sugar


• 1/2 c. butter or margarine


• 2 c. quick-cooking oats


• 1 t. baking powder


• 1/4 t. salt

1. Cook butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan until butter is completely melted, stirring often. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Mix well. Press into a greased 8 x 8 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. They will firm up as they cool.

Our 'new arrival' before the 'new arrival'

So, I promised a picture of our non-human new arrival, so here it is:

[caption id="attachment_201" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="2009 Toyota Sienna"][/caption]

We're now a "Mini-Van Fam!!"  It's quite a necessity when you are becoming a family of FIVE!  We are really loving this car, already!!  It is really so lovely and sleek, and quite wonderful!!  I had really been getting used to no car payment, though.  We still have our Subaru Forester and will keep it for as long as it wants to run, and had paid it off quite awhile ago, so a car payment is going to be a little shock to the system, but we can handle it!  We're prepared!

It was quite a looooooooong night at the car dealership on Friday night and I thought the kids (and myself!!) were going to go out of our minds!  I do have to say, though, that Mark and I make a good team for phenagaling a deal!!  Mark's good at playing it cool and giving the feeling that we are ready to walk at any moment, and I am good at giving it to them straight and lettting them know EXACTLY what we want to pay and what we will or won't settle for.   It was good teamwork and I'm pretty sure we got the deal of the century!  Even with some gas cards and other "extras" thrown in!  They REALLY wanted to sell us that car!!! We didn't get home until almost midnight, because we missed the 10:05 ferry by seconds........poor Ava and Luke.  But, as soon as they hopped in that van, they were all giggles and Luke kept saying, "Come on Mom, let's go!!!"

Third Trimester, already??!!

This is craziness to me......how in the heck did I already make it to the third trimester???  I'm in the home-stretch, already?!  I really can't believe how fast time has gone through this pregnancy.  Obviously, having a 2 and a 3 year old to take care of, really makes things much different this time around!  Although, during the first trimester, I really thought I was never going to get here!  The constant everyday, all the time, nausea and vomiting were *almost* too much too take.  Five months of that would be too much for anyone, I should think!!  But, what's even crazier is that I am getting that nausea back, just ever-so-slightly, every morning now.  It's that feeling of *uuuuuggggghhhhh* right when I get out of bed, and if I don't hurry up and get something in my stomach, then I'm dry-heaving over the toilet!  I know, pleasant, huh?!  But, I think that's what made me realize I'm already in the 3rd trimester!!  I've heard that the fun nausea and vomiting can come back.  "NNnnnnooooooooooooo........!!!!"  Well, if it's just this little-bitty morning stuff, I can take it!!!

So, here's what my lovely belly looks like now:



Sorry, not the best shot, because I had to turn the flash off so it wouldn't glare against the mirror, but you get the idea!!  That's baby girl in there!  She's been moving around like CRAZY!  In fact, I asked Mark the other night, "Can a baby ever move tooooo much?!"  I already knew the answer to that was 'no', but she was keeping me awake!!  :-)

If some of you don't know, baby has a few kidney issues that we're keeping an eye on, and I'll get another ultrasound in a couple weeks to check up on her again.  She has two cysts growing--one IN her kidney, and one on the outside that is partially blocking the flow of urine coming out.  Therefore, it is very enlarged, but still functioning!  Her other kidney is perfectly fine.  We all know, and I am living proof, that we can survive with one kidney, so at least we know one of them is functioning normally!  Thank the Lord!  My two-year-old, Luke, also had a kidney issue that they found in utero and his cleared up completely on his own and he's totally healthy!  So, the moral of the story is to *NOT* worry, (which I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job of), because there is nothing that I can do.....I have to remember that God is in control.  And, to just trust that all will be just fine!  Which, I'm positive it will be!!

We are SUPER excited for this little one to arrive!!  I will post pictures soon on the progress of her room, and I'll also fill you in on another "arrival" that came on Friday!!  (A non-human arrival!!)  But, something we *NEED* before baby girl is born!

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, a REWARD from Him."

Psalm 127:3

Does your dryer EAT socks????

I'm CONVINCED that mine does!!!

My favorite part of doing laundry is folding the kids' clothes....I love it, for some reason. I love looking at all their cute clothes, (albeit, some with stains that won't come out!), and folding their petite articles of clothing and putting them away in their drawers. That's actually fun for me. But, when it comes to their socks, I'm COMPLETELY baffled and frustrated!! Here is my supply of, as I like to call them,

MISMATES:

These are all socks that have no mates!! How in the world is that possible?! Now, don't get my wrong, I know the dryer is not 100% to blame, because I do find a few under their beds, in with our laundry, in the toe part of their footed jammies and sometimes still stuck in their shoes. But, I'm sure that only makes up for a good 10% of the lost ones. Where do all the other ones go???? I can't bare to throw them away, (some I still have from when Ava was a newborn!) so I hold onto them forever thinking that I'll find the mate.........I rarely ever do.  I have socks in this pile that are "clean", but are stained and icky, but I still can't seem to give them up!! I've even been known to put mismatched socks on the kids, because what's so wrong with wearing two different socks, right?!  :-)

Is anyone else dealing with this baffling, confusing and downright frustrating phenomenom????

MORE Cereal!!

So, if the coupons on coupons.com weren't enough for you, there's more!! Kellogg's must really want us to buy their cereal! I couldn't resist telling you about one more spot for more cereal coupons. You can get two more of the eight different coupons
HERE!!!