The Basics

I admit it--I just have not been in a mood to blog about anything lately! There hasn't been anything really exciting going on that I think merits discussing, and we're all familiar with the cuteness of Abby by now. :) But here we are--it's been about a month since the last post--and I'm feeling guilty/pressured about updating. There isn't much to tell, but I'll do my best. Here are the basics on the Cochran family:

- I am now 24 weeks pregnant! It's hard to believe that we're only about 3 months away from becoming a family of 4. I can't imagine how cramped we will all be in this tiny apartment, but I guess we'll make it work for a while.

Mommy & Logan at 23 weeks

- Casey's job is going well, but we're still looking for other ways to get a little more income. There are a few options that are being explored, so we'll see how that plays out over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, I am cranking out the coasters for the holiday season! Davis Kidd Booksellers in Memphis has put in their Christmas order, and I am planning to sell a bunch at a fundraiser for Harding Academy in Memphis again in about a week. I have a couple of other events where I'll have a coaster table set up in November, so hopefully those will go well, too. If you need some coasters (or know someone who does), let me know while I'm on a roll!

- Abby is growing like a weed! She is now 30 lbs and 36 inches tall--big girl! She loves going to school two mornings a week, and she is getting so imaginative. She will sit and play with her doll house or Mrs. Potato Head for the longest time, and it is so funny to hear some of the things she says while pretending. She talks nonstop (wonder where she gets that from??), and we can hardly keep her from running and jumping all over the place. I think Daddy is hoping our little boy might be a little calmer... ;)

Oooh, girl.....

What in the world are we going to do with a baby boy?!

The poor kid doesn't stand a chance...

Soup Recipe

I love soup! It's so yummy and filling and (most importantly) easy to make! I found an easy beef vegetable soup the other day in my pile of recipes and decided to make a variation of it. I tend to print recipes off the computer when I find something I like online--hence, the pile of papers mixed in with my cookbooks. This one was so easy to make, and Abby even had a second helping! Here's my version:

Turkey Vegetable Soup

3 lbs. ground turkey

Minced dried onions

Garlic powder

2 large cans Veg All

1 large can tomato juice

1 can Rotel

Brown turkey meat with generous amounts of onions and garlic powder and drain well. Drain vegetables, and empty into soup pot. Add can of tomato juice and Rotel; stir to combine. If you need to dilute the tomato juice, you may add a small portion of warm water (I did). Let simmer for one hour and serve. Great with shredded cheese and crackers!

NOTE: You can add any other vegetables to this soup, just be sure to drain them first!

The original recipe called for ground beef, but we eat a lot of ground turkey so that's what I had in the freezer. Also, I added the onion and garlic powder because I almost always add those to ground meat when I brown it--I love the flavor! This could also probably be made in the crockpot, but we were short on time so I did it on the stove. I just felt so good watching Abby eat an entire bowl full of meat and vegetables at dinner. This is just about the only way that will happen! :) It does make a huge pot of soup. so get ready to freeze some, have guests over, or take someone dinner one night!

What's your favorite soup recipe??

19 weeks

I finally had someone take a picture today of my pregnant self. :) I hope it is not the one and only picture during this pregnancy, but we'll see how it goes. Here's Mommy & Logan at 19 weeks:

School Days

Today was Abby's first day of school! This morning was a little crazy, but we did manage to get a picture of Abby with her backpack and lunchbox. She was very excited to go, and she had a really good day! She keeps telling me that she needs to go back to school now. :) They just have school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so she'll have to wait a couple more days. But here's the important part: This morning I went to the doctor. All by myself. And then when I was done with that, I went on a huge grocery shopping trip to Wal-Mart. All by myself. Then I ate a very quiet lunch at home. All by myself. Isn't that amazing? It won't last long, so I'm soaking it up now... :) Here's our girl on her big day:

We also had a fun Labor Day weekend in Memphis with Mom and Dad. Mom and I did way too much shopping, and Abby let everyone revel in her fairy princess glory:

She did manage to get her first banged up knee this weekend. She scraped up her right knee pretty bad.... three times... on the same knee. And apparently she fell again at school and opened it up again today. This wound might never heal at this rate! I am pretty impressed that it's taken this long for her to get hurt, though. Here's hoping we go another two years without any bumps or scrapes! (Riiiiiiight.....)

I'm at 18 weeks in the pregnancy now, and I've recently realized.... we have no belly pictures yet! I'm pretty sure I took a picture every 4 weeks when I was pregnant with Abby. And so the life of a second child begins..... poor Logan! I'll try to get Casey to take a picture soon. For those who need a mental image, I am just as big as you imagine me to be... maybe bigger. :) Speaking of, I think it's time to get some dinner cooking!

Abby Funnies

When Abby was saying her prayer before bed last night, it went something like this: "Dear God, thank you for Mommy, for Daddy, for Mrs. Joy, for Claira, for baby Grady, for food.... and for brownies! Yum, yum, yum! In Jesus name, Amen." That's my girl!

This morning, Abby woke up and came straight to my room (where I was still in bed) with a really upset look on her face. She was holding her stomach, and this is the conversation that followed:

Abby: "Mommy, my tummy hurts."

Me: "Your tummy hurts? Oh, no! What's wrong with it?"

Abby: "Yeah, my tummy hurts.... I've got a baby brudder in there!"

Me: (laughing hysterically) "Baby Logan is in your tummy??"

Abby: (still looking pitiful, but smiling slightly) "Yes, I have baby Wogan in my tummy, and my tummy hurts! It's too big!"

I was laughing too hard to respond immediately, but I did eventually reassure her that baby "Wogan" was actually in my tummy, and she would probably feel better after she ate some breakfast. :)

Baby #2 is....

It's a BOY!!! :) We (especially Casey) are SO excited! Logan Edward Cochran is scheduled to arrive (via c-section) on January 27, 2011, at 8:00 a.m.--Woo hoo! I must admit, the slightly OCD part of me loves the convenience of scheduling my child's birthday. :)

In other news, Abby had a nasty stomach bug last week (read: puking in bed in the middle of the night, getting baths at 3:30 a.m., late night laundry sessions), but she recovered in time for us to make a trip to Memphis for the weekend. I was able to do some shopping with Mom and Tara, and I finally have some maternity clothes that fit! My seasons are completely off with this pregnancy since my first kid was born in the summer and the second will be in the winter. But, hey--who doesn't love a little shopping, right??

I also got a call at the end of last week from my new boss--I am officially certified as an Early Intervention Developmental Therapist! It took forever for the state department to clear my background check, but it's finally done. I am going by the clinic tomorrow to pick up the assessment they have that I will be using soon. I thought it might be good to become familiar with the testing tools before actually trying to administer them to children. ;) They have also ordered a new assessment, and I am excited to get that in and start studying it. I should be able to start testing kids in the next few weeks, and I'll provide therapy for those who qualify. I'm a bit anxious since I haven't done this with kids under the age of 3 years old before, but I'm really excited to jump in and get started! I'm meeting with my boss this Friday to hash out details and see what we still need to do before I start testing and providing therapy.

Abby starts her new preschool on September 7th, and she's getting really excited. It's just two mornings each week, which is when I plan to get my testing and therapy sessions done. For mom's who have done this already, I'm looking for quick & healthy lunch options to send with her--ideas? She usually just takes the insides out of a sandwich unless it's tuna (stinky!) or peanut butter. So far my main thoughts include homemade "lunchables," so I'm wide open to suggestions!

Casey's job at the pediatric clinic is going well. He has quickly become the "tech guy" of the office, so that keeps him a little busier than if he just sat and answered phones all day. We are still adjusting to him being gone all day every day. Our nights seem to fill up so quickly with other stuff, so we're trying to find more "family" time. I think we might actually all be home and free this weekend--yay! I'm hopeful it won't be too miserably hot so we can all go to the park together, or something. I am also trying to get better about staying on top of laundry, dishes, groceries, meal planning, etc. I did some organizing and meal planning today, so I think the next week or so should run a little smoother in that department.

Now you're all up-t0-date on the Cochran family! Here are a couple of sweet pictures to leave you with a smile. :)

Pretty princess

Lunch break w/Daddy--she likes to wear his ties :)