Pinterest and Presents

My sweet first born turns 5 in August. Time has flown, and he certainly doesn't much resemble the scrawny, tiny baby we brought home. He also isn't quite as easy going as he was...his little brain is quite opinionated and very imaginative. That is why I'm already thinking about his present.

Originally I had wanted to get him a Trains-formers shirt. If you've never seen it you can find it on YouTube, but the original creator has taken his links down so I won't add a link. H loved the videos and he talks about Op-Thomas Prime like everyone should know him. Unfortunately, Op-Thomas Prime is not a toy we can buy in stores and shirts are no long available. 

Then, a few days ago, I was reminded of the cute superhero peg people on Pinterest (1, 2, 3, 4). They are really cute and I  thought they would be perfect for H. I also saw this cute little homemade travel doll house, and I thought it would be a perfect combination. I wanted to put a cityscape on the inside of the house and then we have a great gift that's portable. He can save the world from anywhere.

Well, Wednesday night we went and got the pegs and paint from Michaels. I also picked up the plastic canvas for the house, but that's another project not yet in the works. When the boys went to bed I got started drawing out the details of each person on the peg. That was all I planned on getting done. I was so excited that, after penciling the details in I decided to do a little painting. That painting turned into a lot of painting, and soon it was 12am and definitely time to call it quits for the night.

What was going to be a group of superheroes turned into Superman (the hero we're most familiar with), Buzz Lightyear, a ninja, and a pirate; a little smattering of all the things he likes at the moment. 

Last night, after the boys went to bed, I pulled them out add the final details and finish Buzz (he ended up having the most details and I needed to mix colors for him). I finished last night at 9pm. I love them. All that's left is for Husband to spray them with a clear coat of spray paint and then the waiting. That will definitely be my hardest part in this whole affair. They're so cute I want to give them to him now and see his face light up and watch him play. Patience is key...plus, now I have to get started on some for the twins. You know they'll need their own as well.

Finished fronts

Finished backs and details

Pinterest recipes

Well, I managed to actually make a few of the recipes I found on Pinterest a while back.

First, I made Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas. I followed the recipe and Husband liked them, so that's good. I found them too sweet. I thought the lime juice would cut the flavor of the honey more. The boys, well one never knows with them lately and they didn't seem interested. Not a big deal. Glad Husband liked them and maybe I'll try again later with more lime or less honey.

I also made some homemade blue-cheese dressing. I mostly followed the recipe. I decided to use non-fat milk instead of the mayo and used fresh minced garlic (I accidentally used a bit too much) instead of garlic powder. It was good though. I'd definitely use this again.

A few days ago I saw a recipe for Watermelon Strawberry Lemonade and it looked so tempting and sounded so delicious I knew I had to use one of our watermelons for it. I altered the recipe a little bit because I wanted to make two batches - blackberry and strawberry. I used about 5-6 cups of watermelon and about 1/2 cup of blackberries or strawberries. I then cut the rest of the ingredients in half - 1 cup water, 1/4 fresh lemon juice, and 1/2 cup sugar. It was SO good. I preferred the blackberry version, it was a little more tart, but the boys all liked both versions. The strawberry was a little on the sweet side for me, but it was a nice treat. Husband missed getting to try the blackberry, but he liked the strawberry and I will certainly be making this again.

This morning I decided to make pancakes for the boys. I used bisquick (our usual mix) with some sugar and vanilla added and started on my way. After about 3-4 pancakes I remembered a recipe I pinned for some Cinnamon Roll Pancakes. I whipped up some of the filling and then made a few of the pancakes this way. The boys seemed to like them. I enjoyed the one I ate and Husband liked the surprise of coming home to special pancakes. It's a yummy treat I think I'll make again, though not every time we make pancakes because it is a little more effort than I usually put forth with three hungry little boys whining for breakfast.

Last, but not least, was Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins. They were not what I was hoping for, which is a healthy alternative to satisfy my ever increasing pregnancy craving for sweets and chocolate. They weren't bad, but the batter was extremely thin and the chocolate chips didn't really flow with the batter into the muffin tins. I was using mini muffin tins and mini bread loaf pans because I only have one pathetic 6-cup muffin tin and it needs to be replaced desperately. If I made them again I think I'd grind the oats first before adding the rest of the ingredients. I'd also probably omit the water or add it in slowly to find the consistency I was looking for. I did find mini muffins worked well because there was less bitter chocolate taste.

Writing it out makes me feel even more productive about getting things done. Now if I would just pull out my sewing machine and get going on all those pins I'd be in good shape.

Names

I have a list of baby names on my phone, and I have since shortly after we knew for sure we were pregnant. They're names we discussed in the past; names we've had since the twins, before we knew they were both boys but we knew there were two. Some of them are names we even talked about after H was born, but before we were ready to embark on the parenthood journey again. I joked with Husband that we'd have to have seven children just so I could use my names (not a good reason to have children, I know).

Last night I deleted that list. I still want to use those names, especially the girl names, but I don't need the list on my phone as a daily reminder to think about which one I might use. We don't have a decided name and that's okay. The list wasn't helping with that. It felt good to delete it, to let go of it. It feels freeing not too see it. It gives me the ability to focus on where we are in life and where we will be in a few short months.

I'm excited to have another boy; I won't say I'm not sad about not having a girl, but I am really excited for this new little life. He is going to have such awesome big brothers that teach him to be fearless and how to get into everything I don't want him to. He's going to be blessed beyond measure when it comes to love. Regardless of his name, and whether or not it comes from some list we wrote down, he's going to be awesome.

Drum roll please

Our official ultrasound was yesterday. I was hoping to have pictures scanned into the computer by now, but the printer is being fickle.

Anyway, it's official, we are having one baby. Not that I doubted the doctor when we checked (again) last month, but the ultrasound seemed to take a really long time and I was afraid that perhaps the technician found something strange. Now I'm pretty sure it seemed long because I kept closing my eyes, and it's possible I may have nodded off a few times.

Laying with its back up and head turned sideways

On to the news people may be most curious about, are we having a boy or a girl? Well, there were a lot of people praying and hoping for a girl. From the beginning I was certain it would be a boy (given our past record). Then the pregnancy has been much different than the other two, and at the last doctor's visit we couldn't get a clear picture, but it looked like maybe a girl. Yesterday's ultrasound was crystal clear though. The pictures showed we are having a boy. That makes four boys. I think we were both a little surprised, and at the same time not. I'm happy (I would have been regardless). Yes, pink and frills would have been fun, but I understand boys...sort of. H is happy, he told us we were having a boy (I believe his exact words were "no girls"). Earlier today as I thought about H starting school, and then the twins, and then this one all I could hear in my head was people saying, "Oh, those Greenwalt boys." Fun times ahead for sure.

Boy shot

Another boy shot