The new Kindle is coming!!

I can't believe I missed the announcement this week, but the new Kindle Fire is being released in November!!

I love to have a paperback book in my hands, but I know that the e-reader technology is taking over. Now that my beloved Borders has closed I am sure it is just a matter of time until the other chains follow suit so I may as well hop on the e-reader bandwagon.

When my MIL showed me her Kindle I definitely wanted one, but I knew if I waited a few months there would be an announcement coming soon about the newest model. The Nook has been in Color for awhile and with the Nook2 coming out I knew we had to be close to some sort of upgrade from Amazon. I was hoping they would eventually make the Kindle color and touchscreen and boy, did they go above and beyond what I was hoping for!

Introducing the new Kindle Fire tablet:


It has 18 million songs, TV shows, movies, books, magazines, apps and games:



It is only 14.6 ounces and can be held in one hand.

It has a Multi-Touch 7" display

It also runs the "Amazon silk" web browser.

It does NOT have 3G, but offers wi-fi and runs on Android software which is something I am already familiar with since I have the Droid Incredible.

You may have heard me mention in the past that Ian's family has a huge celebration on Thanksgiving including an exchanging of gifts and brunch on Thanksgiving morning. Coincidence that the Kindle Fire is being released a week before Thanksgiving? I think not. I just added it to my wish list right above "nothing" and right below "nothing". Hey, if it's the only thing on my list he has no excuse NOT to buy it, right? :)

Two months old!

Eli, you are two months old!

Here are your stats from your well visit:

Weight: 12 lb 10 oz 57%
Height: 22.0 in 10%
Head: 40.1 cm 79%

Your height dropped percentage wise, but the doctor said it is most definitely because you were so squirmy and they couldn't get an accurate measurement. Other than that you are a healthy and growing boy!

Here is what you have been up to:

• You are wearing size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes.
  
• You gained over 3 pounds this past month and you are still nursing exclusively and on demand. You can go anywhere from 2 hours to 4.5 hours between feeds so there is no real pattern to when you eat. You average 2.5 hours during the day, but I am not complaining because you slept through the night for the first time last night! You made it from 9:30 PM to 6:10 AM! I am hoping we have more nights like that because Mama needs her sleep!
• You are still smiling so big and you started cooing this month. I heard the beginning of a laugh today so I am sure the big, belly laughs are coming soon.
  

• It is hard to keep you entertained for any period of time when you are awake and we have finally figured out that you hate the motion of your swing and the vibration feature of your bouncy seat. If we shut them off and let you just sit in them you seem okay. You do still spend most of your time snoozing though and you'll sleep pretty much anywhere.
• Your eyes have definitely turned brown now just like your big brother's! I will have two brown eyed boys and one little blue eyed princess!
  

This month we took you apple picking for the first time:

You are such a good baby and growing so fast. I know next month I will be rattling off a new set of milestones! I am off to swaddle you up and put you down for the night. Here's hoping I don't see your adorable, little face until 6 AM again!

The obligatory Pinterest post....

I was warned before signing up for Pinterest that it would be the biggest time suck of my life, but I never really knew how true that would be until I signed up. To say I am addicted to "pinning" is an understatement.

For those of you who are living under a rock, Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you "pin" ideas onto different themed boards that you create. It is basically a glorified way of bookmarking something.

Instead of coming across a recipe that you just have to try and bookmarking it on your computer, you pin it onto one of your boards on Pinterest. You can install a button in your toolbar that allows you to pin something with one click. When you are on the webpage of the item you want to pin you simply click on the "Pin It" button and it will pop up with a pull down menu of your boards. Select the board you want to pin the item to (for example I would pin a pot roast recipe to my Recipes board) and click Pin. It's so simple!

Next time you are wondering what to make for dinner, want to remember that cool birthday party idea you had or send your husband the link to that pair of boots you want for your birthday, you can simply log on to your Pinterest account and your pin takes you directly to the web link of the item you pinned.

Tonight for dinner I made these zucchini chips that I found on Pinterest. They were delicious!

Source: myrecipes.com via Sara on Pinterest

Tacos are a big hit in our house and I can't wait to try this Mexican Pizza:

Source: realmomkitchen.com via Sara on Pinterest

You'd better believe I'll be making this for Thanksgiving:

Source: tasteofhome.com via Sara on Pinterest

Here are a few ideas I found for Grace and Eli's Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday party next Summer and YES....I am thinking that far ahead:

Source: potterybarnkids.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: swiss-miss.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: quick-dish.tablespoon.com via Sara on Pinterest

The only negative thing I have to say about Pinterest is that sometimes you can run into a problem with an item you pinned no longer being available. For example, the burnt orange top I found that would look PERFECT for our Fall foliage family portraits we're taking next month? Yeah...somebody pinned it from the J. Crew website two YEARS ago. Basically, it's not available anymore so I am back to square one.

Unfortunately, there is a wait list if you want to sign up on their website, but have no fear! I can send you an invite if you need one. Just leave your e-mail in the comments or send me an e-mail and I would be happy to send you one. For the record, I do not receive anything for you signing up through me. Happy pinning!

Tougas Family Farm - 2011

This weekend we took the kids apple picking with my in-laws!

This is an annual tradition we started way back when Ian and I were dating. It is one of my favorite Fall activities and this was the first year where the kids really knew what we were doing and got excited. Jacob was enthralled and I think he ended up picking 99% of our apples. Last year, Jacob had just had his cast removed and was learning how to walk again so he was still in a lot of pain and didn't really enjoy himself. It was nice to see him having so much fun this year. This year, Grace was more into eating apples and running up and down the orchard.

We kicked off our day with a stop for Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Pumpkin Donuts (also an annual tradition) and then we were off for a lovely hour and fifteen minute drive to the orchard.

When we arrived, we loaded the kids in the wagon, bought our bags and stopped by the kitchen for a snack (apple crisp a la mode and apple cider!). We headed into the orchard and spent a good hour picking our cortland, honeycrisp and macintosh apples.



We stopped by the pumpkin patch on the way out and then we headed off to Bertuccis for a late lunch.



Here's my little Hoover coloring at Bertuccis. This girl polished off a roll, half a meatball, an entire kids cheese pizza, some of her Papa's shrimp and three pieces of my chicken! She will eat anything and everything that is put in front of her.


This weekend is the annual Scallopfest we attend and next weekend is Day out with Thomas at Edaville Railroad! Our Fall schedule is packed and the kids are at such fun ages for all these family activities. Here's hoping the weather cooperates for the next few weekends!

C25K: The Beginning

Here we go again! I had my 6 week post-partum visit on Friday and was cleared to start exercising again. Wait a minute....I have a 6 week old? Where did the past month and a half go? I digress....

I started the C25K program last Summer and had already signed up for my first 5K on 9/11/10 (Plymouth's Run to the Rock which is ironically TODAY) and then Jacob broke his leg. I was only starting week 4 and it was impossible to keep up and take care of an immobile 2 year old and a 1 year old. After Jacob got his cast off, I found out I was pregnant and was put on pelvic rest due to my cerclage which means it has been almost a year since I last exercised! I am so out of shape it is disgusting and I am hoping the endorphins help me get some of my energy levels back because all I dream about when I am sleeping is taking a nap. Do you know how ironic it is to dream about sleeping when you're sleeping?! I am exhausted!

According to the doctor's scale, I only have 8 pounds left to lose to reach my pre-pregnancy weight. According to my scale, I only have 5.4 pounds to lose. For the sake of accuracy, let's assume I am somewhere in the middle and have roughly 6.5-7 pounds to go. That should come off relatively easy since I am burning an extra 500 calories a day already by nursing, but that is assuming I don't eat anymore Brownie Sundae Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Oh.my.word. it was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten.....

I'll be starting a C25K check-in here on this blog to hold me accountable.If anyone wants to join in you are more than welcome. I'll be running Monday, Wednesday and Friday and check-in over the weekend to update on how it went. I am searching for a 5K to run this Fall and hoping to squeeze one in before Winter closes in. Maybe in November?

In the meantime, I have new running shoes, my iPod has been updated with new playlists and my podcasts are ready to go! Wish me luck!

Back to school, back to school...

...to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. STOP LOOKING AT ME, SWAN!

Now that I have that out of my system let's move on, shall we?

Yesterday was Jacob's first day of Pre-K! Here he is with his signature scrunchy face:


He was so excited to go to school and see his friends and Miss Christine, Miss Nancy and Miss Laurie. Last Thursday was Open House and Jacob had so much fun. He has so much energy and ran around the classroom like a crazy person for 45 minutes. I was literally sweating when we exited the building and I was exhausted. I love him to death, but I am glad that his teachers are the ones that have to deal with that 3 days a week for 2.5 hours! Actually, his teachers said he isn't like that during school. Once he gets into the routine he is great and they said they really enjoy having him. That makes me so happy!

I am looking forward to speech therapy resuming and hoping he makes some progress. He is definitely starting to pick up as far language goes, but we have trouble making out what he is trying to say which is very frustrating for all of us! Not to mention, Grace is light years ahead of him and the further ahead she gets the more anxious I become. We really expected him to start talking when Grace did and that just hasn't happened. Now Grace can sing entire Fresh Beat Band songs and talks in sentences. I have decided to have his hearing tested just in case there is a problem there that we are unaware of and I am really hoping that the tests come back normal. We can hardly keep his glasses on his face for half a day I can't imagine what he would be like with a hearing aid too!

In baby news, Eli is thisclose to sleeping through the night and that makes me a happy camper. In fact, last night he woke up at 5 AM and when I tried to feed him he passed back out and slept until 8 AM. I am looking forward to my first full night of sleep in the near future! He is growing like a weed and has to be close to 12 pounds or more because I am having trouble getting his arms in his 0-3 month onesies and snapping them.

In other news, I was able to get the kids to sit still for 3.5 seconds and snap a picture of all three of them and they even SMILED to boot! I was shocked!


We also let them hold "Baby Eli" as they call him.


Also, please ignore my horrible picture taking skills. There are blurry pics and even some heads cut off, but it was a hurry up and snap the picture before someone moves/pees/poops/throws up situation. You know how that goes.....