Which, by the way, I find disgusting. So, should you ever decide you’d like to mail me dinner, please don’t send Shepherd’s Pie. I can think of many more options for a meal than leftovers all smushed together and called a pie.

Nothing involving mashed potatoes should ever be labeled as pie.

Anyway, I have about six different posts I need to write, so I’m writing them all and grouping them into one!

First up, and most important, my little Nater Tot is officially four months old.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO TIME? And why is it passing so darn fast? This month has been one of extreme changes – Nathan has developed quite the little personality. He’s just hilarious!

He’s now sleeping completely unswaddled – the only thing I do is put him in a little sleep sack so he won’t get cold at night. He’s gotten a lot more talented with his hands – he can now grab things and pull them directly into his mouth (oh dear!). He’s also moved up to the table with us – he’s now in a high chair!

He’s getting more consistent at rolling over from his stomach to his back, though he does have days where he doesn’t roll over at all. He’s definitely a homebody! When we are at home, he rarely, rarely fusses. Sometimes I can even get him down for a nap with very little crying involved.

And naps – naps are going MUCH better! He’ll sleep for about forty-five minutes to an hour at a time, which is just fine with me! At least I have a little time to get a few things done (like blogging!).

Nathan’s also learned something new – and it just makes me laugh!! 🙂

His four-month appointment is later this month, so we’ll get to find out what his stats are then. Jon and I tried measuring him and I think he’s about 25 inches long and weighs about 14 pounds.

Gosh!

Next up in the blog list, I’ve got the FUNNEST (nope, not a word) thing coming up on December 4th and I want you all to be a part of it!! I’m going to throw an Online Book Signing! I’ve got some major sales happening that day and also a lot of giveaways – so if you are thinking of ordering books for Christmas, please come by my site then!! 🙂 I’ll put up a lot more details as the date gets closer, but I did want to give y’all some notice!

Sneak preview of some of the giveaways… my Waiting For Ryan backpacks!

How many of you are already listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies? My sister and her best friend, Anna, came over the other night and we watched White Christmas with Bing Crosby and let me tell you: Classic. If you haven’t seen it, you should.

So, since I made a list of my Not-To-Miss Christmas songs, here’s my list of my favorite Christmas movies. Let me know if y’all have any to add!

Elf – Oh. My. Gosh. The beginning scenes? The middle scenes? The ending? The whole thing is just hilarious and I love, love, love the movie!

Miracle On 34th Street – I remember watching this one when I was a little kid and I just thought it was such a fabulous movie. So, I’m sure I have some emotional attachment to it, but seriously, the little girl in the move (Mara Wilson) is adorable.

A Christmas Story – Probably my all-time favorite Christmas movie. You cannot get any better than Ralphie and his obnoxious brother and their ridiculous parents. My dad and I LOVE this movie and it just gets better every year.

You’ve Got Mail – I know this isn’t technically a Christmas movie, but I love watching it this time of year, cuddled in a blanket and drinking a hot cup of coffee. I have serious coat-envy of Meg Ryan in this movie.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Old-school, but you got to love it. The Clay-Mation characters, the way Rudolph talks like he has a stuffy nose, the “I’m Not Just A Nit-Wit” song? Is there a reason to not love this movie?

I’m sure I’ll keep adding to these as Christmas gets closer. What about you guys? 🙂

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Last weekend, my mother-in-law flew in to spend a few days with the Nater Tot. And after a rocky night on Friday (beginning with a meltdown earlier that day – poor kid. Friday was not a good day for him!), he cheered up and we had a great weekend!

We did absolutely nothing except play with Nathan and go out to eat a couple of times. It was so nice! We haven’t spent an entire weekend lounging around the house in forever! Jon watched football, I actually finished a hat I’ve been working on for Nathan for the last few weeks… very restful!

The Thursday before Connie got here, Nathan rolled over about eight times in a row from his stomach to his back. Seriously. I’d lay him down on his stomach and he’d last there about three seconds before flipping over.

So, naturally, I was convinced that he was officially rolling over now. And I bragged the whole way home from picking her up at the airport that Nathan was rolling over and he was so talented.

Guess who didn’t roll over once the entire weekend? And guess who then rolled over twice the day after Connie left?

Yep. That’s my son. I swear, Connie, he really does roll over! 🙂

Last night, Jon and I left Nathan with Gammy and Pops for a much-needed coffee date. And since he’d gotten a bath and his last nursing at their house and slept the whole way home, we decided to see how he would do if we didn’t swaddle him. We’ve been swaddling him every night and for most of his naps.

He did SO GOOD. He slept until almost eight this morning and when I went in and checked on him, he was sleeping with his arms up by his head. So cute! I nursed him and put him right back down and he’s going on another two hours of sleep – WOW. I am so thankful that we’ve been blessed with a baby who is such a naturally good sleeper!

Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!!

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For those of you who won the influencer copies, I wanted to let you know that I talked to NavPress and they should be getting to you guys sometime soon! I guess they got mailed last week via media mail, which can take up to a couple of weeks.

So, keep your eyes on your mailbox!

Also, I’ve been having some issues with PayPal, so if you pre-ordered a copy of Double Shot and haven’t received it yet (unless you live outside the US), could you please send me a copy of your PayPal transaction and I’ll be sure to send that ASAP!

Also (you can never have too many alsos), I’ve been working on my newsletter (monthly? HA.) and hopefully I’ll get that out soon! I’m planning something awfully fun for Christmas!

And speaking of Christmas (did you like that little segue?), I’ve been listening to my Christmas music (I know. Shock and awe), and I’ve come up with a few songs that are must-haves this year (what am I talking about? Every year):

1. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – by Bing Crosby

No one else can match Bing on this one. Enough said.

2. The Christmas Song – by Michael Buble

I’m a huge, huge fan of the Boob – as Jon calls him. Oddly enough, my son is too ;). Apologies! I couldn’t resist a little nursing humor. 😉 But the song really is good.

3. Angels From the Realms of Glory – by Steven Curtis Chapman

When I was a little kid, my mom had Steven Curtis Chapman’s first Christmas CD, The Music of Christmas, and played it all through the whole month of December. So since then, SCC has become the voice of Christmas for me and this song is just a cool way of sharing the gospel in a Christmas song.

4. Baby, It’s Cold Outside – by Dean Martin

Classic. Classic. Classic. This is the best song to sing while driving. Particularly if you are driving away from Starbucks with one of those new Toffee Mochas and there’s frost on the windows. (And yup, they can make those with fake milk.)

5. Please Come Home For Christmas – by Bryan Duncan

One of my favorite rockin’ Christmas songs ever. Though, I must say that I hated this song the Christmas Jon and I were engaged and apart. Sort of like I can’t stand “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” when we won’t be. Honestly. Tears have ensued because of such things.

Anyhow.

I’ll keep you updated as this list changes, as I’m sure it will! 🙂

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

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I hope you all had a great Halloween! 🙂

I want you to know… I searched EVERYWHERE for a costume for Nathan. I mean it. Every single place I could think of. I only had a few criteria it needed to meet:

1) 0-3 month preferably
2) a boy’s costume
3) something he could move around in
4) something he could be held in
5) nothing scary or gross
6) under $10
7) preferably a baby cow. or a pig. or a moose (couldn’t you just DIE with him in a moose costume?)

And oddly enough, no one had anything that met all the things I was looking for. Which was a real bummer because I was all set and ready to take millions of pictures.

Instead, I found a snuggly pair of jammies at Target and he wore that. Probably not his first choice, but it was the choice that I had to make. Next year. Next year I will start my search for the baby moose costume much earlier.

We had our friends Clint and Leigh Ann over for pumpkin carving and soup. And those pumpkins…

Turned out amazing! I love how it’s amazing, amazing, ehhh, and amazing. The jack-o-lantern in Nathan’s pumpkin. We probably should have taken more time carving his.

We had such a great night though. The house was hot, the soup was hot and so the back door was open most of the night (our heating bill is going to be HORRENDOUS with how high we heat it with Nathan here!). We ran out of candy around nine, sadly. And I saw about eight Scream masks with blood running down them and decided all that is wrong with the world had to have some origin with those.

I’ve loved reading your favorite fall recipes! And I have to tell y’all – I found a pumpkin pie candle at Target the other day (same day I bought the onesie, actually) that seriously makes your house smell like you’ve been baking all day. Yummishness, over here.

Last week was my beautiful sister’s twentieth birthday – SO crazy! She’s such a good Auntie Cayce – Nathan just adores her. He lights up whenever she smiles at him. I think someone might need a little chat on how Aunties can only be Aunties and he needs to start flirting with girls his own age. 😉

Well. The N-Tot is down for a nap – which have been going SO much better! He now naps for at least an hour twice a day – YAY! I didn’t end up sticking with the cry it out method. It seriously KILLED me to listen to him sob in there and I decided that I need our rocking time just as much as he does! My baby won’t be a baby forever…

Anyway. The above paragraph was supposed to be my sign-off, but I got distracted. Can we tell it’s getting close to the holidays? I feel like my brain doesn’t work quite as well this time of year.

I’ve been working on a Tootise Pop while writing this and I’m happy to say that it takes 54 licks to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop.

Y’all have a great day. 🙂

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Oh my… I feel like the days are just FLYING past! How is it already October? How is it almost NOVEMBER?

Craziness.

All that being said, now I can catch you up on my last week. About two weeks ago, Jon and I were driving and we passed the cutest little pumpkin patch ever. So, last weekend we got Nathan all dressed up and cute and went back to take some pictures.

My new favorite picture of my boys!

He had the best time! I just can’t believe how big he is in these pictures! I’ve been having to buy 3-6 month clothes now because his little legs are SO long that he doesn’t fit into any of his 0-3 month clothes anymore. And today, I was at Target and found myself putting 9 month pants in my cart because they were $2.80 and I figured he might need them by the end of this winter.

Cue the need for Kleenex. People were right – it goes by WAY TOO FAST on this side of it!

(And might I just say – $2.80 for a pair of sweatpants? Score!)

(Oh and another off-the-topic thought – even though I’m not super certain what the topic is right now anyway – I went and got a few tunic-style sweaters and a couple of leggings. And you guys are right – it is SO comfy! And pretty much I think it would be flattering on almost anyone!)

When we were pregnant, I was that lady who said things like this, “We probably don’t even need a bassinet in our room. I guess we can, just for a week or so.” So last night, I decided, after much urging from Jon, that it was finally time to move Nathan to his crib.

He’s three and a half months old.

I think God created motherhood to cause women to 1) respect their own mothers more and 2) cultivate humility. I’ve had to eat hundreds of words over the last three and a half months. Words like, “Boppy pillows are the dumbest things.” The Boppy has saved my arms and my couch cushions.

Anyway. So, he slept in his crib last night and did really well! He did a lot better than I did, actually, because I kept waking up and straining to hear something over the monitor before finally getting up and going in his room to check on him. And when I wasn’t waking up out of worry, I kept getting woken up by the monitor, which decided for no reason at all to just randomly burst into spontaneous beeping.

Rather annoying.

We’ve been trying this new thing for naps because, as y’all know, my boy doesn’t nap. I was talking to the women in my Bible study about this and they recommended to try the cry it out method which KILLS me. I hate, hate, hate hearing him cry! Yesterday, we were pretty much both in tears trying to get a nap time longer than fifteen minutes in. But I know a long nap is the best thing for him and for my sanity as well! Plus, he was actually pleasant to be around last night after he finally napped – no horrendous meltdown at eight o’clock and even went to bed peacefully! 🙂 So hopefully he’ll get the hang of nap time soon!

Here’s some FUN NEWS – Cool Beans is being offered FREE on Kindle for one week only – starting October 29th and ending on November 4th. So, if you’ve got a Kindle, iPhone, etc, head on over to Amazon next week and download it! 🙂

Lastly, I have the greatest dessert that I decided needs to be shared with the masses. I really believe that I’m just a happier person all around when I have a dessert a day, be it cookies, brownies, whatever. I used to say milkshakes and ice cream, but I’m on a no-dairy diet thanks to some issues Nathan was having with it (sadness!).

But this dessert… oh. my. goodness.

It’s SO easy! Jon and I have made this multiple times after the Nater Tot is in bed because it is that quick. I found a recipe for it online, but we’ve been experimenting and made something that I think is even better. And the title we’ve given it just shows you the level of wordsmithery we’ve got over here.

That Apple Thing

1 can of Pillsbury Crescent Roll Creations (this is just a can of crescent rolls, but they aren’t perforated. Makes it a lot easier)
1 Granny Smith apple
3 heaping tbsp butter (or fake butter, should you be like me and not allowed to eat dairy currently)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
1 tbsp sugar mixed with 1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Chop the apple finely and dump it, the butter, brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon into a saucepan. Mix together on medium-high heat until apple is softened.

Roll out the crescent rolls sheet (if you’re using just regular crescents, just mash the perforations together). Spread the apple mixture on it almost up to all the edges. Then quickly roll up from the short side, pinching all of the edges together so you’ve got a little log of deliciousness.

Brush the top and sides with a little of the egg and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mix over the top. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

And ta-da! It’s AMAZING. Jon even loves it cold the next day. I think it’s probably the most perfect fall dessert! I love this time of year! Time for soups, stews, crock-pots, hot desserts…

But now I’m curious – what are your favorite fall recipes?

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The Nater Tot is napping and lately his naps have been about fifteen to twenty minutes long and I’m hoping to get some work done on a new proposal, so I’m going to have to make this quick!! (I guess that is reason enough for a run on sentence!) 🙂

* First, thank you SO much for the overwhelming response in wanting to be an influencer! I SO appreciate it! 🙂

* A lot of you have asked if you will get an email about whether or not you got a copy – YES, you will, just as soon as I get my stubborn email account up and working again (technology. sheesh.). I’m hoping to have those out by later this afternoon – again, assuming that my email is back up.

* If you don’t get an email, I’m taking pre-orders for Double Shot on my website – yay!

* I’m not sure when NavPress will be sending the influencer copies out, but I’m assuming it will be sometime soon! 🙂 Keep checking those mailboxes!

* It is obviously getting colder out because I have had to pretty much soak my hands in lotion at bedtime so they don’t crack and break off in the middle of the night. Not sure that any of you needed to know that.

* Question for my more style-savvy friends: Got any suggestions for some new fall/winter clothing? Last year I was sporting the maternity look, so my closet is ready for an overhaul! Another question: Tunics-and-leggings Trend – cute for a 25-year-old mom or ehh, pass?

Y’all have a fabulous Monday! 🙂

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I cannot cannot believe I’m already writing a post with that title! These past three months have absolutely flown past and I’m usually feeling like (to borrow a phrase our pastor has used) I’m drinking from a fire hose and I just want it to slow down!

Nathan is just the absolute highlight of our lives! He is SO funny and getting to be such a character – I just love seeing his personality coming out. He is LOUD too – he squeals and shouts and just generally makes noise most of the time he’s awake. And he can now roll over from his stomach to his back! He’s growing up WAY too fast!

He’s a busy boy – he is constantly moving and getting him to take a decent nap (as in more than 15 minutes) is usually pretty hard. He’s been in a bassinet in our room since he was born, so he now doesn’t like his crib (oh boy). The only place I can get him to sleep for more than a few minutes during the day is in his swing. He did sleep unswaddled in his crib the other day and I managed to get a quick picture of it. 🙂

But the not sleeping is only during the day! At night, he is the BEST sleeper! He goes down every night right around 9:30 and usually sleeps great until about six. Then he’ll nurse and go right back down until usually around nine. I love that! He is developing a bad habit of wanting to sleep in the bed with me after Jon leaves (my bad), but even that isn’t TOO terrible. 🙂

He has definite favorites with his toys (shout out to Dylan the Duck!) and we are never out of arm’s reach of a burp cloth. This kid spits up more than I’ve ever seen – and sometimes more than it seems like he’s eaten in the last several nursings. 😛 Pretty nasty! I told Jon that Nathan is going to start thinking his burp cloth is supposed to be his favorite blanket, because we always have one with us!

Nathan has become a definite Mama’s Boy – rarely, rarely will he go to anyone else and even then, it only lasts for about ten minutes before he’s crying for me. And most of the time he’s good with Jon – but he does have his moments even with him. I’m sure it’s because I’m with him 97% of the time. We’re trying to get better at this though. My parents came over last night and watched him while Jon and I got a much needed date night. And I think he did pretty well! 🙂

We went to the Balloon Fiesta with my mom and sister last week and had such a great time! We did not, however, like our alarms that went off at 4AM that day so we could get to the park.

Before we left. Can we tell I’m not a morning person?

The O’Brien Boys in front of the shamrock

So cute!

The five of us – Nathan did so good in the Moby Wrap!

Rocking the stocking cap with Gammy

I got this video of him yesterday morning. He was being SO funny! He just makes me laugh! Sorry again for the poor video quality – I really need to get better at filming things without moving the camera everywhere!

We just love our little Nater Tot!

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YAY!!!

Go to my Book Store and there you can pre-order an autographed copy of Double Shot! It will ship on or around October 29th!!

Be sure to specify who you’d like me to sign it to!

Oh, I’m just so very excited!!!

BUT WAIT!!! I have an extra special opportunity for you!! NavPress has graciously agreed to let you, my sweet readers, have a free copy of Double Shot in exchange for a review on Amazon, talking about it to your local bookstore and chatting it up with your friends! Send me an email with the subject “Influencer Copy” along with your name and address and I’ll be sure to send it to NavPress. BUT this is only for the first fifty people and only for people who are serious about promoting Double Shot, and this opportunity will end on Wednesday (unless we get 50 of you before then!). So hurry, hurry! 🙂

UPDATE: I have more than 50 emails already!! I am overwhelmed by your sweet words – thank you so very much!! To those who didn’t get a copy, please feel free to go to my Book Store below. Thank you!!! 🙂

Note that the free influencer copy is NOT an autographed book – to order that, go to the Book Store!

Yay for Mondays! 🙂

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Okay, so not totally wordless! 😉 Please ignore the big box of winter clothes that have been sitting in the middle of my living room for the last three days waiting to be unpacked. Cooler weather is here!

LOVE our happy boy!

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My brother, Bryant, flew in for the weekend on Thursday night. I love, love, love having the whole family back together again!

We hung out on Saturday and then went to get our family pictures made. Jon and I met Sarah Eastwood back in the ole engagement days and she took our engagement pictures, our wedding pictures, our pictures of just us and Kody and Saturday, she took the new family pics! 🙂 I haven’t gotten to see the ones of my whole family, but she made a little slideshow sneak peek of the ones of Nathan that I just had to share! She’s so sweet – we just love her!

Sunday, we went to church where Nathan proceeded to distract every single person behind us because he was being SO obnoxious (and so funny!). He didn’t want to sit in our laps, he only wanted to stand. So, we let him stand, thinking he’d be quiet and instead, he laughed and talked and made faces at us through most of the sermon.

My apologies to those people sitting behind us in the balcony.

The cool thing about our church is the balcony and I’ve noticed it tends to attract families with little kids. Most people don’t seem to care when Nathan starts getting loud up there. So nice!

Then we went and hung out at Mom and Dad’s with Bryant, watched some football and ate tons of Mom’s famous chocolate chip pumpkin bread.

After Bryant left for the airport, Jon, Nathan and I met up with our friends Clint and Leigh Ann (and the baby yet to be seen!) for a super fun trip to the Balloon Fiesta! Every year in October, we have this HUGE international Balloon Fiesta and it is SO fun! It’s one of my absolute favorite times of the year – it definitely signals that fall is here and winter is coming!

Here’s us with the babies and the new Baby Bee balloon!! I love Leigh Ann’s expression!! 🙂 And isn’t Nathan’s hat just the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?

Last night was a Balloon Glow and a fireworks show. Jon and I have been to a Balloon Glow every year since we were dating and so this time it did my sentimental heart good to be sitting there last night while the fireworks went off next to sweet friends, snuggled back against Jon and cuddling a sleeping, bundled up baby. 🙂

And I have a sad story to share. But there’s a long drawn-out backstory to go with it.

I’ll try to only share the details.

When Miss Match was published and I got my very first advance, I was SO excited and decided that it was time to start driving something other than the 1996 Tahoe that my parents had bought for us kids to learn to drive on.

So I bought this:

That’s right. 40th Anniversary, super low miles, premium sound, incredible acceleration power from those pesky red lights and absolutely zero room for a car seat.

Which was totally fine back in the single days. And the Married With No Kids days.

Not so much now. Last fall, we bought a Yukon that I’ve been driving since Nathan was born (except on those rare occasions when I didn’t have him with me) and Jon has been driving the Mustang. So, we decided it was time to upgrade to something that did have room for a car seat, just in case something happened to the Yukon.

Which meant we had to sell the Fun Car.

I took some pictures of the Nater Tot in it yesterday morning so that someday, when he’s fifteen and complaining about the clunker that we get him for his first car, he can see the car his mother gave up for him…sadly, but willingly. 🙂

Peace out, Mustang. 🙂

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