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?