Babies, pumpkin, and brownies!

Oh my....life moves too fast sometimes, doesn't it? I said to Christian last night, "I feel like we didn't even have a weekend." We are always so busy! He even had an extra day off for Labor Day and it didn't feel like a weekend! (And TODAY, Tuesday, feels like MONDAY in my world!)

Saturday, after a quick adjustment at the chiropractor and coming home to a surprise French toast breakfast, I spent much of the day inside hiding from the heat/humidity and preparing for my sister's baby shower. I can't even tell you how thrilled I am to soon be welcoming a new niece into our family...and into my heart. Being an aunt is something special. I made ice cream cake and brownie pops (favors), along with munchies like meatballs, hummus, veggies and dip, etc.

I was pretty proud of these brownie pops, and they were really fun to make once I got into a groove:


I didn't take any pictures of how I arranged them, in a vase like flowers. I have received many flattering comments about both their taste and appearance. I also didn't take a picture of the ice cream cake, which was simple but adorable!

I also gave Emma her first taste of orange autumn goodness: PUMPKIN, thinned out with apple juice. Now, I am personally a huge pumpkin fan, for both desserts and savory dishes. Emma is a fan too! Both boys had butternut squash first (other than rice cereal) but I just couldn't resist breaking out some pumpkin to celebrate the upcoming autumn season. You would have thought I was feeding Emma sugar cubes the way she sucked it down! (I should probably also mention that she sneezed during this feeding and splashed pumpkin all over me!) I spent the majority of last fall feeling nauseous and/or vomiting because I was in the stage of early pregnancy, so I am EXTRA ready for apple picking, pumpkin treats, pretty leaves, etc....

Here's my pumpkin pie (after her first pumpkin!), home grown and sweeter than any real pie:Haha...I just love her!

Sunday, I woke up early and got ready for church, but little Emma didn't wake up (until 11:15!), so Christian took Sam and Brayden to church while I stayed home and enjoyed some quiet. It's a good thing I enjoyed that, because once they were home, it was off to my mom's to get ready for the shower. And then back to get Emma and the boys...and...Emma CRIED the ENTIRE shower, other than 10 minutes while she gave up and slept. I felt like crying myself. (She fussed in the car too, and as soon as we got home, she was perfectly fine....what a stinker!)

Aside from Emma's drama, the shower was really nice. It is always nice to celebrate a birth! My mother-in-law was telling me that baby showers used to be held once, in honor of the mother. I think now they are more about the baby...and shouldn't we celebrate every baby? (I don't have any pictures because I left my camera at home...darn it.)

Yesterday we crammed a lot of cleaning in and then had dinner with my parents. I made spaghetti...messy but delicious! Today is my mom's birthday....HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! :-)

Today...well...my day matches the weather. We've all been a bit sniffley (spell check is telling me that's not a word) thanks to allergies, but we're all a miserable today. Emma was grumpy this morning. I let the boys watch a movie and eat popcorn while I coddled their sister. They're all sleeping right now, so I should probably, ya know, fold laundry or get a jump start on dinner. Mexican pumpkin and corn soup...what are you making? It's definitely a warm soup kind of day!!

And last but not least: Here's Emma, being camera shy, but adding a splash of diva color to a rainy, grumpy day!
hehehe....oh come on, it made you smile too!! :-)