In Search of. . .

some new lotion for my girls. We live in a really dry climate. Lotion is essential, especially in the winter. I've tried a few different kinds that I found at Walmart, but they have either been too greasy or too stinky.

I need some help. What lotions do you use for your kids? Brands? Scents? Where do you buy it?

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

Pregnancy Update

A few people have asked how I'm feeling. So here's a little update. No more morning sickness/nausea. Yay! I'm so glad to be over that. This little girl is going to be a soccer player, I think. She is such an active little kicker. She's already discovered my bladder and is quite fond of kicking it. Not so fun. I, amazingly, am still wearing my regular clothes, but today I had to put a rubber band on the button on my jeans. The waist band is getting just a little snug. It won't be too much longer before people at church actually believe that I'm pregnant. haha

I've started having some contractions (Yikes!) and back pain from carrying her more in my back than out front. Anyone else carried a baby this way? I'm desperate to know how to relieve the pain a little bit. I know it's only going to get worse and, frankly, that scares me a little bit. Oh well. At least I'm on the downward slope now. Only 19 weeks to go. Maybe 18 if my doctor is feeling generous!

Lots and Lots of Pictures

I was going to write a post about how annoyed I am with my 15-year-old car that is giving me grief. But then I remembered that I haven't posted pictures of my girls from their recent photo shoot. And since seeing their lovely faces does more to lift my spirits than complaining about my stupid car ever could, I'll stick with the pictures.

A Rare Political Post

I've been tyring to keep up with all the election stuff this summer. I read several political blogs, and the election center on cnn.com is a daily visit for me. But for all my efforts, I still don't know a whole lot about what each candidate is all about.

Tonight I spent several hours listening to speeches made at the DNC and RNC. Whew! I think I'm all speeched out!

After all that, I have come to this conclusion: both candidates, Obama and McCain, are basically saying the exact same thing. They both say they want the same things for our country, (lower taxes, better education, a peaceful resolve to the war in Iraq) but they definitely have two different ideas of the best way to achieve those things.

So now, for me, the task is not deciding which candidate I like better, but rather deciding which candidate will execute change that is the best for my family and most closely follows the ideals I have for my country.

I realized, after watching both candidates' acceptance speeches, that the choice is not as obvious as it was to me earlier today. Now I really have my work cut out for me. I have 56 days to research in much more depth the candidates' stances on the economy, the war, education (the three most important issues to me right now), and other issues that will affect my family.

Hopefully, on November 4, I will be able to make an informed decision about who I think should be the next president of our country.

First Pumpkin Cookies of the Season

I love autumn time. It's my favorite season of the year.

It's the time of year when I break out my jackets and long sleeve shirts. It's also the time of year when I start cooking again: soups, stews, bread, cakes, and cookies.

My favorite taste of Fall is pumpkin. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, cream cheese filled pumpkin muffins (which I discovered last year--yummy!) and pumpkin cheesecake. Mmmm! I love pumpkin!

I actually have a few different recipes for pumpkin cookies, and I tried a new one last night. Let me just say, EASY. It would be impossible to mess up this recipe. So here it is:

1 box Spice cake mix

1 15 oz can 100% pumpkin

1 bag cinnamon chips

Mix those together and drop on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes.

That's it! How easy is that?!?!

Kasey's wasn't too sure about using cinnamon chips. So I split the batter in half and did half cinnamon chips, half chocolate chips. We both decided that for this particular recipe, cinnamon is the way to go.

Here's a picture of the finished product for those of you who don't like trying a recipe without seeing what it looks like first. (I'm like that sometimes.)

The Much-Anticipated Ultrasound

I had my ultrasound today. Finally. It seems like I've been waiting forever. I've been a little nervous that something might be wrong with the baby because at 20 weeks, I'm still not showing. Luckily, the doctor said the baby is growing right on schedule, and I have nothing to worry about. That's always nice to hear.

We were very eager to find out what we will be having. I'm such a planner and can't possibly imagine waiting until the delivery room to find out the sex. How do you people do it?

Anyway, it seems like we don't have enough practice with girls. So we get to try again with another one in January. I was somewhat disappointed at first. I was really hoping for a boy. But now that I've had the afternoon and evening to digest the news, I'm excited. One thing's for sure, we are very prepared with a whole arsenal of pink and purple blankets, clothes, and toys.

Poor Kasey. Now he's really out-numbered!

Ellie's New Word

It took me a while to understand what she meant when she said "fuller-buller." I finally got it.

Translation: butterfly