Lately....

I know it has been a while since I have done an update. Though no excuse is a good one, or that is what my mom says; I do have one:

I have had and still have pneumonia. Yes, you heard right. It all started with a nagging cough and then a fever of 103-104 that would not go away. I thought for sure I had the flu. I tested negative, but the doctor said the test was only 80% acurate so I was given medication to treat me as if I had it. Days passed and I still had a fever and was actually getting worse. So back to the doctor I went. They did a chest x-ray and determined I had bilateral pneumonia. Ouch! I missed 6 days of work. I went back to the doctor last week and was told I still have pneumonia but more on the right than the left. I tire easily but am at least back at work. We are hoping when I go back for another chest x-ray in a week or so that it has cleared.

On to more fun things though. Lou is almost 7 months old now. She weighed 14 lbs and was 24 inches long at her 6 month check-up. She is at 10% on the growth chart for both height and weight. She has also had her first ear infection. If it would not have been for her check-up I don't think we would have known. She wasn't fussy or anything (luckily). She is pushing up on all fours and rocking back and forth. She is scooting some, so crawling should not be too far behind! She still does not have any teeth. But they are on the brink of breaking through; very soon we hope!

Landon just had his first test at school and did very well. He got 100% on everything! We are so proud of him. His writing has improved quite a bit since he started school in mid-August. He also memorizes a Bible verse each week. He has a great memory! He takes us just a day or two and he has the verses memorized.

To cap a stressful, busy, and exciting couple of weeks we went to Disney on Ice over the weekend. Both kids loved it. We loved it because it was free. Dennis won tickets through facebook! Landon loved the Cars part and Lou enjoyed all the pretty colors and sounds.

Fall is officially here! We are looking forward to a few games in Oxford at the Grove (Hotty Toddy!) and the new exhibit opening at the Memphis Zoo, Teton Trek. Of course, right around the corner is Halloween and Zoo Boo!

Angel Trumpet

While on our honeymoon in St. Lucia we visited the botanic gardens there. It was beautiful and lush and situated in the rain forest area of the island. The flowers and plants were gorgeous. I fell in love with one in particular, the angel trumpet (this is it's common name, not the species name of course). Once back home, we were doing some landscaping. I came across a local nursery who grew angel trumpets. I was elated! That first year I planted a white one, a year later a yellow, and last year a pink one (hard to find!). The pink one was such a young plant I had to wait until this year for it to bloom. The heat and humidity in Memphis is one thing that is great for this thriving and hearty plant!

The other morning Dennis came in from watering the garden and told me the pink angel trumpet had blooms. At first I thought they were going to be white but another day passed and the blooms turned pink. They are so pretty!

Happy 4th Birthday Landon!!!

We have had so much going on recently. With the audit at work (whew, it's over!!), getting Landon ready for K-4, and his birthday we have been busy!!!
Landon turned 4 on Wednesday. Since Dennis and me planned some vacation time this week we thought we would take Landon to the Pink Palace to see the dinosaur exhibit and the new Under the Sea IMAX movie. We decided it would just be me, Dennis and Landon so Lou went to daycare.
The museum was fun and Landon enjoyed himself. The movie was great and it kept his interest.
After the museum we took Landon to lunch. He loves breakfast so we went to Perkins so he could have exactly what he wanted. He even got new shoes. Though this may not be exciting for some little boys, Landon likes shoes. So he was pleased when he came out with a pair!
The day was long and filled with fun. The best part is he has been celebrating everyday since then with small activities. Today caps off his birthday fun! Meghan (his future wife, as she says) and Sam are coming over to give gifts and eat cake. I finished his cake early, early this morning after finishing another one for a childhood friend's daughter. I have been up since about 4am. It's ok though as I run on little sleep most of the time. I am thinking that a nap in the pool may just be what I need today!!!

Landon's birthday present from us was the pool we put up about a month ago. He has enjoyed it and so have we. We also had a super hero cape made for him. I ordered it from etsy. I love that place. Cool and unique items that are perfect! He has literally worn that cape everywhere. On his birthday we allowed him to wear it while out and about. It was a topic of conversation at most of the places we went Wednesday.

Of course this post is all about Landon, but I cannot help but throw in an update on Lou. She is sitting up unassisted for short amounts of time and her babbling vocabulary has grown. She has also begun crawling, well scooting really. She goes about 2 feet before she tires out. She is still loving all the baby food. I am hoping her teeth come in soon. She has been a little stuffy this week. I think the teeth are a main cause of this. Thank goodness she will sleep in her swing! Keeping her upright has helped her breathing quite a bit!

Handy Work

I know, two posts in one day after my usual dry spell. Oh well, I found the time to add some pictures of some past embroidery work and some new as well. Dennis had the time to upload the pictures so I could add them. Thanks hubby!

Some of these Harper's mommy may remember from about a year ago! Happy Birthday (a little belated) to sweet Harper! Whoo doesn't love an owl!?!

The patterns I use are from http://www.sublimestitching.com/. I love her selection of patterns. It is nice to find patterns that are not so old fashioned!

This one of the darling angel and bee is one of my favorites for a baby shower gift. It is soft, sweet, and cute! The bee burp cloth is part of the set!

The dish towel of the pears I did for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day last year. I gave her a set of three, this is just one of them.

I have done quite a few things for Lou as well. I did a dress with the same owl from the bib above. I have done several pairs of bloomers. I am obsessed with them!

I look forward to doing some more work for Lou and for a few mommies who have had special deliveries recently. My latest thing is antique infant slips. Instead of using them under dresses I am embroidering them for sweet, cool summer dresses. Thus far I have infant slips from the 1920's, 1930's, and the 1940's in pristine condition! Etsy is my friend!!!!!!

I just completed a bib and burp cloth set as well as a clothing set for one of our friends who had a little girl in May. She also has a big sister that I did a tee-shirt to match her little sister's items.

Though it takes me some time to complete, I enjoy my other hobby. I have been working on something special for Landon for a while. It is very time consuming and large. I really wish I could get it done for his birthday this year. He will be 4 years old on August 12th!!!!!!! We will see!

The Thompson Harvest

We have gathered fruit and veggies from our garden for the past month. Some of our latest harvest has been the best! Above is a picture of a celebrity tomato. We haven't tasted it yet, but it is heavy for it's size and I have feeling will be very good!
Dennis picks anywhere from 5 to 20 tomatoes a day. These are the small variety that include yellow plum, sweet one-hundreds (red), and the yellow pear. They are delicious!

The peppers are very vibrant. We have sweet and hot varieties. We haven't eaten them yet though. I am holding out until we have a few more to grill. The large red one is a gypsy pepper, the orange one is a tequila sunrise, and the red small ones are hot cherry peppers.

We have picked probably 100 blueberries. We have eaten quite a few as well. We noticed last week that the blackberry bush that was crushed by the last storm has blooms on it. Yesterday, the blackberries are formed and will turn a glorious shade of indigo/deep purple in a week or 2.




Our squash is blooming so hopefully we will be harvesting it soon.

We still have a few varieties of tomatoes that are not ready to pick. Those include a marglobe (deep red), black plum (purple), tommy toes (golf ball size and red) and a delicious (red).

We are loving our little garden and look forward to picking grapes soon as well!

Lou's Latest Stats!

We celebrated Lou turning 4 months on July 2nd. We had to wait until this week to go to the doctor due to the 4th of July and the closing of the office.
We went yesterday. She did so well. She was smiling and cooing and looking at herself in the mirror. She loves the mirror!
She weighed 11lbs and 7.5oz and is 23 inches long. She is in the 10th percentile for weight and the 25th for height. Dr. Lana was pleased because Lou is finally on the growth chart. Up to this point, Lou was not on the growth chart for her weight. She is still small but is meeting all her milestones. Mommy and daddy were both very pleased!
We have started Lou on rice cereal and first fruits. I will be making her babyfood just like I made Landon's. Thus far we have just tried a few jars of the organic fruits. She loves it!
Lou has been sleeping through the night since 6 weeks old, so we are very blessed. She is rolling over, sitting in a "tripod" fashion (arms on the side propping her up), and babbling away!
We are looking forward to more firsts from her! But, hopefully they don't come too quickly. It is hard to believe she is already 4 months old. Time has flown even more with her than it did with Landon!

I have taken on another task....

I have been sharing recipes a lot lately (so it seems). I thought one way to share and keep track of them would be through a blog. Now, I have to be honest and say that most recipes I use are tweaked from ones I have read or tried and didn't follow to a "T" (and credit will be given to those sources!) That or I make them up in my head (I do this quite a bit).

You can find it here:
http://lesleysapples.blogspot.com/

So the way this will work is each week I will share a recipe I have tested. If I feel that no tweaking was needed I will give it an "apple" rating. If I made changes (due to taste, not having the needed ingredient handy, etc), I will give it a "bite". If I tested it and I felt it was not worth my time to make or didn't care for it, I will say it was "rotten" (harsh, I know, but it goes with the theme).

Not only that I will offer tips on meals that freeze beautifully (note the Steel Magnolia's reference), meals that please a crowd, nutritious meals for picky eaters (hello, 4 year old!), and homemade baby food (aww, Lou will be my tester!). If I test a gadget I think is worthy, don't worry I will let you know!

I hope you enjoy my apples!