My Sweet Tooth

So, yes, I have a huge sweet tooth. Pregnancy does not help this at all. Here are my three favorite sugar highs of the summer.


1. The 100 calorie Nutty Bar. - People, this is Delicious. Great snack. Great calorie count. Great taste. It is definitely a 100 calorie treat worth trying. Also, it is yummy because it has the sweet/salty combo with the chocolate and the PB.


2. Groom's Cake Blue Bell Ice Cream - not a 100 calorie treat! Say "I Do" to this delicious indulgence. ( I am so proud of that sentence) It is SO stinking good. Chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, chocolate, & covered strawberries make up this deliciousness. It is a new Blue Bell flavor and it is really, really, really good.



3. Bagel-fuls - This is a great breakfast treat and snack. It is filling and tastes very fresh. Also, some microwave treats get tough when you heat them, but this one doesn't. Personally I recommend the cherry.




4. Fruit smoothie - Once or twice a week, I try to make a small fresh fruit smoothie. It only takes a second and is really good for you. There is no added sugar or anything like that, but it can have high calories and sugar just because it is fruit. But, I am trying to make sure I get in all sorts of fruits each week and vitamins. All you do is but ice and fruit in the blender. I usually add a little water or low cal fruit juice just to make the blender work better. (Personally the Walmart brand lo-cal white grape juice with peach is great) I always add a small handful of blueberries and usually 3 strawberries. Sometimes I put in a couple of apple slices, peach slices, grapes, or watermelon in. You can also use frozen fruit and there is no need to thaw it. It is a great breakfast treat, very filling, and gets you your servings of fruit.

So, who else has sweet tooths and what do you do to meet it? Thoughts on my choices?

Swim Lessons

Carley just finished her week of swim lessons. They were great! She loved every minute of it. Ms. Holly did a great job. Carley is already a fish in water so I wasn't sure how she would like being told what to do and stretched to new things, but Holly was amazing. This was the best swim lessons I have been a part of. Carley can float on her back, touch the bottom of the pool with her feet, swim a little with her face under and blowing bubbles, and jump off of the side and go under water without choking! :) I really was amazed at how much progress Holly made with 6 little kids in one week. YAY for Summer!

Sweet Baby Corey

I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. C-Section scheduled 3 months from today. Wow. I go to the doctor every 2 weeks and then ultrasounds every 4 weeks it looks like. Corey is great and healthy. We had another ultrasound today and I cannot tell you how blessed I feel. One of the big concerns with the Antiphospholipid Syndrome and the blood thinner shots is low birth weight for the baby. We are so thankful Corey continues to measure ahead. This time 2 weeks ahead! He is over 2 lbs and moving great. I truly believe God's hand knits him together inside me each day and takes care of him.

This pregnancy really is going well. The shots cause lots of bruising on my tummy, but other than that seem to have no side effects. I am still sick to my stomach some, but that is just part of it. I feel him move each day which his a huge reassurance.

In the ultrasound today it was great to see that he is still a boy and still growing. Also, he looks a lot like Carley (and Cody) to me. You can see that he has their round nose already. Also, both Carley and Cody sleep with their hands above their head. Carley has done this since day 1. (see picture below) Corey had his hands above his head sleeping too. You can see one arm and hand under his head in the picture. Genetics are amazing.

4 Toys that we love

I have to document these 4 new toys in Carley's life that she has been crazy about the last few months. I want to remember what she loved at this stage and also, please give me advice for other great toys for her.

TAG Learning System- This is the Leapfrog system for kids and I HIGHLY recommend it. Carley has books and it is amazing how much it teaches and how easy it is for her to use. The books are all made of sensors of some kind that makes no sense to me. The pen can read entire pages, only paragraphs, only words, or whatever you want. There are no settings to cartridges when switching pages and books. It is magic, I have no idea how it works. It is wonderful for her to have an independent toy that she can use all by herself. They have demo sets up at Targets, Walmarts, and Toys R Us stores. You need to play with it, just so you can be amazed.

Princess Elise Puzzle - The Melissa and Doug magnetic doll puzzles are so great for girls her age. I love the Princess Elise, but Carley really does love them all. It is so neat to see her make believe and play with all sorts of characters with them.

Sidewalk Chalk - no picture or description necessary Just good old fashion sidewalk chalk occupies much of our evenings. Of course, this is a toy she has played with for years, but now she actually writes and draws with it.

Candy Land - We have been playing Candy Land lately and it is so fun with her. It is so nice to have a game that really doesn't require reading. She loves it and really does understand how it works. By the way Candy Land and several other games are on sale for $8 at Target this week.

So give me some more ideas for great games and toys for kids. What do you guys play with at home?