Oh BOY!...

Only three weeks left (or less - with any luck) 'till the Hubby and I get to hold our baby boy!  Our older two kids are getting more and more excited by the day and I have gotten a lot done and checked off the list.


I am now 37 weeks pregnant and little CRG is getting bigger. According to babycenter.com 
he weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel and is gaining ½  a pound per week - yikes! 

According to my doctor yesterday 'things are moving right along' and he weighs 7 ½ pounds!  I like babycenter's estimate a lot better.  Can we say INDUCE?! 

He now (finally) has a theme for his room...frogs.  No more dragging our feet.  Now all we have to do is find the little stinkin' frogs.  It has been nearly impossible to find frog linens.  All we can find are frogs with ducks, frogs with turtles, and frogs with ducks and turtles.  What happened to just frogs?  It looks like one of my next posts will be all about making frog linens if I can't find any.  {If anyone has any ideas please leave a comment or e-mail me at darlenesbits@gmail.com.}

My next baby update will be pictures of little - or not so little CRG!  And with any luck my doctor will see things - as the Diva would say, "The perfect way"...my way (Ha ha!) and INDUCE! 



The past few weeks I have been out of the loop (in the blog world).  It has been a bit crazy here with our First starting high school the Diva starting pre-K (I know...they are spaced apart), preparing for CRG to arrive, two trips and a wedding.  But now that everything is settling down please be sure to swing by and see what I am up to.



Hope to see you soon!!!  But, in the meantime you can:
- find me on facebook
- check out who I have been linking up with at my Link Party Bits page
- keep an eye out for my newest page... 

Only 6 Weeks Left!

Sonogram at about 16 weeks.

With only 6 more weeks left in my pregnancy, I am counting down the days, the hours, and the minutes.  We can’t wait to see and hold our baby boy!  The Hubby and I have gone thru names (in every combination) and thru “My” a-bit-on-the OCD side of baby name rules.  You now…

- the middle name can’t look like or sound like the first or last name
- since our last name starts with a hard G, the middle name can’t start with a hard J
- the middle name can’t start with a C, because it looks like a G
- the initials and whole name has to be esthetically pleasing
- the whole name has to flow…now I can’t explain the “flow” but I will know it flows
beautifully when I say it and hear it 
- no matter how manly sounding the name is , we are under no circumstance naming our baby Angus
- and some others

I don’t have an explanation to this madd list – but it doesn’t matter…to me it makes perfect sense.
Now that the Hubby and I have gone thru a list of names and rules and have finally decided on what to name our bundle of joy, we have yet another list to go thru.  It is a list of things that I have made up that need to be done before CRG (the bundle of joy’s initials) comes into this world.  I started the list at one end of the house (the kitchen) and ended the list in our room.   
The list goes something like this…

Kitchen
pantry
cabinet, above microwave
cabinet, below microwave

Living Room
armoire (dvd’s & games)
entry way closet
I think you get the picture.

The finishing touch to this list…

Paint
all the trim & doors

With all the lists and preparation and we still don’t have anything ready for the baby (uh oh)!  As exciting as it is to have our third (and last) we are dragging our feet on the actual "baby stuff." 

I guess with the first - well he was the First. 
The second, was our baby girl - the Diva. 
Now the third is the last - the forever Baby. 

But, since we have done this twice before already, I guess the newness has worn off.  Ha ha!  This is going to be the one that gets his toy picked right up off the dirty ground and handed right back to him (not really).

Today babycenter.com tells me I am 34 weeks pregnant with only 6 weeks to go!  CRG now weighs about 4 ¾  pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long.

It's getting closer!  And we can't wait!  The First is going to be such a great big brother and the Diva...a great little mommy.

Italian Sausage with Onions & Peppers (but not on a hoagie)

One of my favorites is Italian sausage with onions and peppers on a hoagie.  I also make this classic stretch and more family friendly as a dish.

Ingredients:
5 sweet or spicy Italian turkey sausage links, about 1.25 lb

½ - ¾ lb linguini (or any other favorite pasta)

1 large onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
3 large cloves of garlic
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

¼ cup of the pasta water
4 T olive oil
1 t dried basil

½ t dried oregano

salt & pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)

Start off by slicing the onions, peppers, and chopping the garlic then set aside. 

Cook the pasta and drain when done, reserving ¼ cup of the pasta water.

Brown and just partially cook the sausage in a couple of tablespoons olive oil, remove from pan, and slice.

Drain some of the juices out of the pan if the sausage made too much.  Add in a couple more tablespoons of olive oil, onions, peppers, and garlic.  Sprinkle with salt & pepper and sauté for 4-5 minutes.  Don't let the onions and peppers get soft.


{Oops! I got ahead of myself on this step and forgot to take a picture.}
Now add the canned tomatoes, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, the sliced sausage, and ¼ cup of the pasta water. Simmer for another 4-5 minutes or until the sausage is cooked through.

Toss in the cooked pasta.

Serve with Parmesan cheese.

 

Mangia!

Things to look for:

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I am also linking with others...so take a peek and see what other great things you can find at these fun party links!



Blueberry Cake

Light, delicious and perfect for the summer.

What you will need:1 boxed yellow cake mix
1 12 oz. bag frozen blueberries, unsweetened
3 cups heavy whipping cream
½ c water¼ c sugar
1-2 T sugar

Follow the directions on the cake mix box and bake two 8" or 9" rounds.  While the cakes bake, in a sauce pan simmer the blueberries with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and let cool completely.

Whip the heavy cream while gradually adding a ¼ cup sugar. Do not over whip, it will lose its fluffy consistency and start to turn to butter. When the cakes cool, even out the tops with a serrated knife and put your first cake on a platter. 

How to put it all together:

Pipe a ring of whipped cream around the edge (you can use a large zip-lock bag with the corner snipped) and fill the ring with half of the blueberries. Drizzle a little of the juice over the berries. Now cover the blueberries with more whipped cream.

Add the second layer of cake, follow the same steps as the first layer while reserving a few of the blueberries.

Frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped cream and garnish with the reserved blueberries.

Refrigerate leftovers. 


Mangia!

Things to look for:
Please don't forget to follow me right here on Some Bits of Everything
Also, you can like this blog on facebook at facebook
I am also linking with others...so take a peek and see what else you can find at these great link parties!

Weathered Crate Stands

Finally!  What I did with those 4 square blocks & 4 paint sticks...take a look!

I started off with four 4"x4"x ¾"  wood blocks a friend gave me and four paint sticks (all free). 

I sawed off the ends of the paint sticks just below the indention and lightly sanded the cut ends.  I also lightly sanded all the cut sides of the wood blocks.   

I painted one set of the blocks & paint sticks yellow and the other white.  The first coat of paint is what will show through the cracks of the top coat of paint.   

Once the base coat of paint dried, I brushed on a cackle medium,  let it dry for a minute, then brushed on the top coat of paint.  Be sure to follow the directions on the crackle medium and don’t over brush it.

Once all the pieces were dry I added the sheet music to the ends of one set of blocks.  I did not crackle the side the sheet music is adhered to.  This you can find how to do on a previous post at http://somebitsofeverything.blogspot.com/2011/06/worlds-best-dad.html.

Tacked it all together.

Hot glued a flower on to each end.

And both weathered crate stands are done! 

The cost...only $1.00 for the the flowers bought at a dollar store.  The wood was free,

the paint and crackle I had!  :)