Arachnology 101

Ok, so after doing my post on the spider we saw in the back yard, I decided to do some homework on the internet and try to identify what it was and find out if it is harmful or not.
Well, surprisingly enough, it didn't take me very long with my 'degree in Google' to make a match.

Our scary neighbour is a

 Black-and-Yellow Argiope (Argiope aurantia)

Very common throughout North Carolina. They are also known as the garden spider (since they're very common in gardens) or writing spider (for the patterns in their webs). They catch large insects in their sturdy webs, including grasshoppers and butterflies. They are harmless to humans.

This is the identifying picture I used. Although the spider on my photo isn't as yellow in colour, it has the same patterns on it's back and same colouring in it's legs etc.

And that ladies and gentlemen is my lesson in Arachnology for you.

EENSY WEENSY SPIDER

Today we were outside, and spotted this awesome spider web, with the spider and it's prey still on it.
I took a few pictures. I thought they came out pretty cool.

TURKEY FOR TWO

Today is Thanksgiving.

We have only been in North Carolina for a month, so we don't have any friends to spend Thanksgiving with, and we weren't going to be able to make it to Utah to spend it with family either. I was fine with the idea of just doing 'nothing' for the day, but Jake was insistent that we go all out, and have a real Thanksgiving turkey dinner. I thought it was kinda a silly thing to do for just two of us, but I am really glad he didn't listen to me and went ahead with his plans for dinner.

So Jake spent the morning in the kitchen cooking his first ever turkey, and all of our delicious side dishes, while I finished painting Lukes room (It's finally done - pictures to come soon)
The dinner turned out GREAT, DELICIOUS, DIVINE, YUMMY!!!
We enjoyed a quiet afternoon together (well as quiet as it can be with a 6 month old. LOL)

This is suppose to be 'TURKEY FOR TWO'...  lol... we have left overs for a week.
It was so good.

Luke joined in on dinner, with his special Thanksgiving "Gobble Gobble Til You Wobble' bib.

We of course couldn't have a Turkey dinner without a pumpkin pie for dessert.

This was my contribution to the menu - my first pumpkin pie. I can't however take credit for using the most complicated recipe, but then again, any smart person would choose the easiest recipe that tastes just as good, so I will take the brownie points for my 'pie making intelligence'

So, the day was a great success. We are stuffed and did indeed have a 'Happy Thanksgiving'

I'M A BIG BOY NOW

Luke is progressing over to a booster seat now. He has shown a lot of interest in our food for a while already, so I am starting to allow him to have finger foods, usually at our dinner time, so he is kept occupied while we eat.

He mostly just mushes it around in his hand, or gets far to much to chew in his mouth and gags, but he seems to enjoy the new tastes and textures anyway.

Last night, Luke had avocado on toast in his new seat. He LOVED it.

ZIPLOC OMELETS

So the other day, I got an email from my sister with a ‘recipe’ for Ziploc omelets. 

Last night was a ‘quick dinner’ night, and I had a few pieces of bacon in the fridge that needed to be used, and what better to make with bacon, that eggs… so I decided to try out the Ziploc omelets.

Now, I love a good omelet, but I can’t for the life of me, make one in a pan without it turning into scrabbled eggs. For those of you who have mastered the art of pan omelets… congratulations – this post isn’t for you. For the rest of us spaz’s who need a little help, here is how to get a tasty omelet the cheating way.

Here’s how you do it:

Get as many Ziploc bags as you need omelets, and crack 2 or 3 eggs into each. (I used 3), then add whatever fillings you want. We had green pepper, cheese and tomato with some pepper, Italian herbs and salt.

Zip up your baggie, and shake, shake, shake until everything is nice and mixed up.
(I beat the eggs in a bowl before putting them in the baggies to make sure they were beat properly, then I poured them into a bag, and added the filling ingredients.)
 
Next, get a pot of boiling water, and put your omelet baggies into the pot. Then you just wait until they are done… about 15 minutes.
 
When they are cooked, cut the top of the bags off near the omelet, and roll the omelet onto your plate. Voila… easy omelet!

It worked out pretty well.
 
(I know, VERY NUTRITIOUS dinner)

Some Handy Suggestions: (These came with the recipe email I got)

1. Mix up your omelet the night before and put it in the fridge, then pop it into a pot of boiling water while you get ready for work in the morning, and by the time you are ready, your breakfast is done…

2. If you have people over, let each person write their name on a Ziploc baggie, and create their own omelets with a variety of ingredients.

6 MONTHS & STILL SPROUTING

Luke turned 6 months last Friday, and today he had his 6 month check up.
Poor little guy had to get 3 shots. But, as always, he puts on a brave face, sheds just a few tears and then is easily bribed back to smiles with something to put into his mouth. Today, the bribe came in the form of a grape flavoured tongue depressor, courtesy of our new pediatrician, Dr Church!

He of course has grown a lot.

6 MONTHS:

Weight: 19lbs 13oz (9kg)

Height: 27.25 inches (69.2cm)

We have no small boy. However, despite his constant impressive growth, Jake was pretty disappointed when I called him to tell him that Luke wasn't yet 20lbs. Jake was sure that he would be at least that, and now he thinks Luke is slacking off in the growth department. LOL... Jake I think is hoping to have record breakingly large sumo baby.

Unfortunately the 6 month milestone didn't come with only good health and growth. Luke got his first cold around a week ago, and as a result, now has his first ear infection too. His cold has since cleared up, but I have noticed him tugging on his ears for the last few days, as well as being more fussy than usual when we lay him down, and he has also not been as willing to drink his bottle. I suspected it was an ear infection as those are some very typical signs, so I had them check today, and the little guy does in fact have an infection in the left ear, with the start of another one in the right. Fortunately we have caught it early, so it hasn't bothered him too much yet, and with a dose of antibiotics he should be back to great health in no time at all.

Luke has also now officially started to sit unsupported. He has been doing it for a little while already, but he has really started to get the hang of it, and keep his balance well in about the last week. So, 6 months really has been quite eventful for our little man. He now loves to sit in the tub and play with containers and toys and splash extra hard so mommy and daddy get nice and wet. He is growing so fast.

Who can believe that this is the same little boy?

'SPECIAL' FRIENDS

Back in Michigan I made a special friend... she is an interesting one... a bit of a loose end at times, but you gotta love her.
I decided that because I miss her, I would tell you about her.
Well, here is a picture. LOL

PUMPKIN PIE

With the move, trying to get our house repainted, cleaning up, unpacking boxes and everything else that is making our lives crazy right now, Halloween and Fall celebrations were far down on our list of priorities. As a result, our little stinker, didn't end up with a cute Halloween costume, or any cute fall pictures. I had wanted him to be a monkey... Babies R Us had the cutest monkey costume, with a fat padded belly. It would have been adorable, but it just never happened. Next year I guess.

Well, I decided that we at least needed to get a few cute pictures of him this fall. So this morning, I draped our couch with the painting drop cloth we bought. LOL, I know... major improvisation, and got a few pictures of Luke with some pumpkins we had bought more than a week ago. Fortunately Luke is very forgiving of us for our lack of enthusiasm this fall, and he allowed me to get some cute pictures. 

 

I GIVE UP...

Sick, Cranky Baby, Sleepless Nights, Exhausted Mommy, End of a Long Day

The Result:

WHAT A BRAVE BOY

Ok, so I have had this 'concern' in the back of my mind that when I go to South Africa with Luke in December that the 5 dogs at my moms house and the 2 LARGE dogs at my dads house were going to be very frightening for Luke who has never before come in contact with a dog. My moms 5 are particularly 'rowdy' and can get overly excited when new people or children arrive.

Last week when we moved into our new house, I discovered that the neighbours have a dog. Her name is Roxy. She is just a medium sized dog, nothing overly scary, so I figured Roxy might be a good start for Luke's introduction to the four legged, furry's. While over there one evening, we let Luke meet Roxy. I stood him on the ground, just holding him up under his arms, and let Roxy come right to his face. She was pretty excited about this little noise maker I had with me, so she eagerly came in investigate.

Now, my automatic assumption was that because Luke had never seen or met a dog before, he would be frightened by her excitement and scream, cry, etc etc etc... NOPE, not my child.. he started to jump up and down on his fat little legs in sheer excitement and joy, and squeal loudly right into Roxy's face, while grabbing at her nose and ears. He loved every minute of his furry encounter.

I wish I could have gotten him on video the first time, but we weren't prepared, obviously expecting the worst first encounter. Melissa, the neighbour however, managed to get a few pictures a couple days later.


Melissa also has a 13 year old daughter, Kayla. She is really sweet, and we are going to slowly be teaching her the 'Luke ways' so that she can become our babysitter. Saturday, while Jake and I were trying to get some wall repair and painting done, we had her over to entertain and watch Luke. He was more unsure of her than of the dog, LOL, but all in all it went really well. Kayla is young, and has much to learn, but I was an au pair/baby sitter for years, and know that it just takes some practice and she will be changing diapers, and be a pro in all departments in no time at all. It will be very handy having a babysitter living just next door. And because she is only 13, we will likely be able to use her as a sitter for many years still, before she goes to college etc.