An Apple A Day (w/ Pics)

Friday morning, Auntie Wawa, PP and I hopped in our car and drove up to Emmett, ID to visit Candy Apple Orchard for a morning of apple picking! We met up with some of Auntie's friends, as well as a family from church (who were going with a homeschool group). The orchard had Romes, Red and Golden Delicious. Goldens were just what we wanted for making some yummy homemade applesauce! PP really enjoyed reaching up and pulling down the apples he could get to. We even ate a few while we were at it! It was a very enjoyable morning out in the sunshine. Yesterday, Auntie and I canned the apples we picked!
I was able to get 9 jars of applesauce and 8 jars of apple filling (to be frozen in bags later). I believe Auntie got about the same amount. We saved some just for eating as well.
It was hard work, but fun! And it was especially great doing it with someone, and in the fabulous kitchen designed especially for such a job!

Then and Now

So what did I do last week?
Well first of all, as always, my days consisted of the norm: feeding my son, feeding myself and therefore feeding Baby Shaw; transcribing; mediating fights between boy and dog; and of course many more mundane tasks...
But the fun things I did were: Monday--went to Titus Two rehearsal in the evening, but first got to see some new baby piggies at CKM Farms. Tuesday--morning consisted of taking the pictures (from last night's rehearsal) and designing/creating a new flyer for Titus Two to be handed out and posted at LWB&C. Tuesday afternoon I taught some kids how to play the piano. Wednesday--went to Storytime with Peter Parker, who loved learning more about cowboys and horses (that was the book theme last week) as well as singing some of his favorite songs: "Bitsy-Bitsy Spider" and "Twinkle Star." We also hosted a woman for church for a few hours to discuss worship music (I am playing the piano for church Oct 5 and Nov 2). I taught some more kids how to "tinkle the keys." Thursday--dealt with a throwing up little PP from 5am on... rehearsed anthems with some lovely ladies in the afternoon. Friday--had a CM meeting with my downline regarding upcoming events! Went shopping at Costco and enjoyed some pizza. Oh! And I dropped flyers off at LWB&C and got great compliments from the owner's wife. They want us to play there as much as possible! They love us. :) Dropped off more copies of "In The Shelter" CD as well. Saturday--up bright and early at 5:30AM to head down to Boise Center on the Grove to sing the Canadian, Irish and American national anthems before the start of the Boise Feis! Did that with those lovely ladies I mentioned earlier. Went well. Got SOAKING WET walking back to my car in a horrible rainstorm. Hubby says that it was recorded as the heaviest downfall in Caldwell since (some impressive date). Sunday (yesterday)--played the piano for children's Sunday School, went to church, ate a donut (yum!--been craving!) and came home to rest. We had Covenant Group last night which was fun, we did a Taco Bar and I brought yummy tomatoes from our garden. The men and boys tried to see how many of Hubby's jalapenos they could eat without passing out.

This Week!
Monday (Today)--more transcribing and Titus Two rehearsal.
Tuesday--more transcribing and teach some piano.
Wednesday--more transcribing and teach some piano + Storytime!
Thursday--more transcribing and a CM Borders Class in the evening.
Friday--more transcribing and going to the Apple Orchard (pick apples for 60cents a lb?!?! Uh, Ya!), Titus Two gig at LWB&C.
Saturday--you guessed it...more transcribing! Applesauce Canning! (if we make it to the orchard the day before)

One Hundred Days

Just want everyone to notice that the baby countdown to the right is one 100 today! Tomorrow I get to drop a digit and be that much closer to my due date! Yay!

Girls' Night Out!

Here we are at the Sara Evans concert last night!

Here is I, enjoying a tasty beverage. I was thirsty... Sister doesn't look too sure about me drinking my Pepsi in such a way...

No one knows why her face looks like that... :)

Pre-Schooler

Here he is! The big boy, putting his sticker up for "washing his hands"... as you can see, he had already eaten his breakfast and brushed his teeth.

We like good hygiene in this house. :)

Fall 2008

So we have started fall. I think I like fall. It's turning into my favorite time of year. I like that the weather is still nice, but cooler and not so draining on the body (especially at night!).

We have started our homeschool pre-schooling... not every day, but a couple days a week. Here are things we do each time!
-eating breakfast, washing hands, brushing teeth (and getting to put stickers on a chart for each one!)
-moving an apple from "Monday" to "Tuesday" and talking about the days, what we are going to do... for example there is a book on today's date because we are going to Storytime at the Library this morning!
-reading books recommended by "Before Five in a Row" and doing activities that go along with them

Some of these activities have been: going for walks to look at flowers, visiting the ducks at the "duck pond", making a snack together in the kitchen, painting with sponge shapes, comparing PP's bedroom to the character's in the book, etc.

We've been having fun! He loves to do school. Especially the hands-on stuff that potentially involves stickers or making something for Daddy to give him when he comes home from work. =)

I have been spending the rest of my time preparing for the new baby. I go to yard sales each week and look for items on my list of necessities. We have been working on finding furniture for the baby's room. I also try to exercise some and take it easy when needed to prepare my body for the birth. I am trying to eat well and not gain too much weight this time. I am also doing lots of transcribing and working on my Creative Memories business. Fall is the best time for scrapbooking!

Hubby has a couple jobs on the side that he works hard at. He's considering some secondary jobs at this point to supplement his income. He enjoys his current job and we are very thankful for it! We now have health insurance through this company and that brings some relief! He has also been working hard at re-seeding sections of our lawn and caring for his vegetable garden. We just canned some jalepenos last week! He says they make his tummy warm when he eats them! They must be REALLY HOT! I will not be experiencing that anytime soon!

Introducing Baby Shaw...

This first ultrasound pic is to show the baby's ear (L), eyes, nose, lips, and his/hers cute little arms resting comfortably beside the head.

The second one shows the little face again, nestled between arms, the placenta (R) and the umbilical cord, which is actually beneath the chin, running across the chest.

The last one is more like the kind of ultrasound pic we were used to. This one is not 3-D, but does give a nice profile. The dark spot on the chest is actually the stomach. The doctor says when it's nice and dark like that, there's good fluid in there. To the left and slightly up from the stomach is a patchy spot, which is the heart. All four chambers were beating away! You can also see the spine pretty well in this shot.

Cuteness!