National Donut Month

Did you know that October is National Donut Month? Yeah, yeah, I know it is the last day of October but I just now got around to getting Mark to go to Daylight Donuts with me. This morning we all went to Daylight (one of my favorite local breakfast places), even Jack in his little costume (pictures of this to follow later).

I love donuts and I'm finally ready to eat them again. Donuts are one of the few things that didn't make me sick while pregnant. And so I ate them, a lot of them.

In doing a bit of research about these sweet cakes cooked in oil, I found a few interesting things:

• America's favorite donut flavor is glazed. Followed by chocolate, powdered sugar, and plain.
  
• Americans eat close to 10 billion donuts a year.
  
• Louisville is the city where the most donuts are consumed.
  
• In Ethiopia the signature donuts are called lagaymat, which are balls of fried dough drizzled with sugar.
• A chocolate cake donut is the last food I ate before Jack was born.

So, go get a donut and Enjoy!

Brrrrrrrrr

(Jack all bundled up)

Yes, it is Winter weather here. The Hubbard family was out of town for the weekend and returned Sunday afternoon to snow, snow, and more snow. It was coming down pretty hard, at least 6 inches. This morning it was 0 degrees in our area around 7 am. Downright cold. Winter is making an entrance here in Summit County. Hoping for several more nice sunny days before the snow sticks.

5 years

(Mark and I, December 2004)

5 years ago today, I moved to Breckenridge and met the "love of my life," my husband Mark. I drove into Breckenridge on October 25, 2004 and straight out to my rental house in Blue River. That night my roommate Sam said some new friends of his were getting together to take advantage of the 2- for- 1 dinner specials we have here in the off season. We ate at Blue River Bistro, there were 8 of us. While we sat at complete opposite ends of the booth/table, I definitely noticed him down at the other end and even commented about him to my roommate after leaving the restaurant. From there things took off, I saw him every day that week, the week after, and the week after.

I love you Mark, glad I met you that night.

BliZZard of the Month

Pumpkin Pie Blizzard

Pumpkin Pie blended with vanilla soft serve, crowned with whipped topping and nutmeg.

Thankfully, I had a couple of friends who were willing to step up to the challenge and substitute for not only me but for my brother too. Somehow us Hopkins kiddos grew up not liking pumpkin pie.

My friend Mandy: She lives in Indiana, we met at Bible College, and I sure do wish we lived closer because we have so many of the same interests. AND, My friend Tracy: She lives right here in Breck and she loves ice cream more than anyone else I have ever met.

MANDY

Mandy said: "I give it a 9. This is probably the best blizzard i've ever had. It had a stong pumpkin pie flavor, but not overwhelming...just perfect. The pie crust chunks in it were super yummy!"

Tracy
Tracy said: "At first it was just okay, it was good by the end. I give it a 6."

And to be fair...I did try a teeny tiny bite of Tracy's and my only comment is "It tastes just like pumpkin pie."

Got our shots

After standing in line for an hour and a half in a crowded hallway with many babies, toddlers, young children, pregnant women, and moms and dads, Mark and I finally got our H1N1 vaccine shot. We attended a walk in clinic at the Summit County Public Health Department. We fit into the category of parents with an infant less than 6 months. Despite the long wait in a hot hallway and crying children - it was WORTH it. An hour and a half is much better than several days of sickness and misery. Thankfully, Jack will be 6 months in just 2 weeks and he will be able to get the shot himself.

We happen to know several people who have come down with the flu and they are fine. But Jack is so little and I would really rather not take any chances. I am thankful that we were able to get it and hope it helps keep our little family healthy. Also, I know Mark will be doing some traveling sometime early 2010 (hopefully) and it is good that he will be protected against one more thing that he could potentially pick up while traveling.

What happens when...

Q: What happens when Jack skips all naps, with the exception of a brief 20 minute nap in the car?

A: He finally goes to sleep at 4:30 in the afternoon. Then he sleeps and sleeps and sleeps.

Jack was playing at a friends house yesterday morning. My friend tried to put him down twice for his nap and he refused. I picked him up and his eyes were all puffy and red due to lack of sleep but he just grinned up at me. He briefly napped on the way home, but then decided no napping once we got back to our place. Another little friend came over to our house in the afternoon and Jack loved the excitement. Again, no napping! Aaaaggghhhh! Finally, around 4:30 I put him down for yet one more attempt at a nap. He slept all the way through dinner, normal bed time, the small group that was meeting at our house. He woke up at 10 to eat. Went back to bed. Woke up at 4:30 am to eat, went back to bed, and finally got up at 8.

The Waiting Game

Waiting is hard. No matter what it is one might be waiting for, it is hard. We are waiting on a referral for a little girl from Ethiopia. It is one of the first thoughts in my head each morning, right after I question how it can be morning already. Mark and I have always wanted to adopt. We began seriously looking into adoption even before we knew we were pregnant with Jack. Once we found out we were pregnant and it looked like it would be a viable pregnancy we solidified our plans to adopt shortly after he was born. It has been over a year that we have been praying for both our kids: Sammie and Simba.

Sammie
We decided early into the pregnancy that we needed a name for both our biological child and our adopted child. Because of the previous miscarriages early on in my pregnancy I was considered "high-risk" and I began going in to the Dr. at 4 weeks. We had lots of early ultrasounds where the baby looked like a blob. Our loving parents kindly encouraged us to not refer to our baby as "the kid" or "the blob" and we picked a gender neutral name to use - "Sammie." We didn't find out the gender until Jack joined us on May 5.

Simba
To avoid using phrases like "the kid we will someday adopt," we decided to pick another name to refer to our adopted child. Calling the baby inside me "Sammie" was really convenient and we wanted a name for this one too. I decided to call it "Simba." I really have no idea where this name came from, the only thing I can think of is I think of the Disney Movie, the Lion King - Africa - baby lion, named Simba. In Swahili, the name means "lion," which in my mind implies "Strength."

(2 days before Jack arrived, pointing to Jack in my belly and my Africa necklace that reminds me of Simba)

I love that we have prayed for "Sammie"-turned-Jack and Simba before they were even born. I thank God for Jack and the precious gift that he is to Mark and I, and our family. I trust that God is watching over Simba and taking care of her needs. But it is hard. I worry. And I want her here with us, whoever she is. I am anxious to find out her name, any known history, what she looks like, etc.

Things that have been comforting to me while waiting: Keeping in touch with others who are on the same journey as me (blogs, chat groups, etc.); Meeting other couples through Adoption Parent Training Classes; friends who ask questions and encourage me; talking about how I am "feeling" (Mark loves this one-I am a woman and love to talk about how I feel); eating lots of candy (I am surprised the grocery store still has jelly beans, I thought I had bought them out) praying; and remembering that God is watching over her.

Even though I feel anxious, excited, and worried I take comfort knowing that God is in control and has a perfect plan for the Hubbard family and our daughter. He has chosen her specifically for us and vice versa. The patience thing is hard but I trust God and his timing.
So for now, we wait.

Tasty Toes

I know what I want...

Yes, I got it...
Mmmmm...this is good fun!

Autumn Cake

Two-layer spice cake with Maple Buttercream icing. Filling is Apple Butter and Maple Butter icing. Chopped walnuts around the sides. Tree is melted chocolate chips and leaves are dried fruit and almonds. Yum!

Pop pop's Picante sauce

(Pop-pop)

This recipe is for some salsa/picante sauce that my grandpa used to make. It is super good and pretty easy to make. One of the best things about making this salsa is that Mark and I make it together and I love cooking with him.

(All the ingredients you need)

Here's the recipe:
1/3 c. salad oil
1/3 c. vinegar (white)
1/4 c. MSG (accent)
1/4 c. salt (use less if tomatoes are salty)
1/4 c. fresh garlic, chopped


Heat above mixture in sauce pan to "almost" boiling (do not boil). Set aside to cool.

Chop and add to gallon jar.
2 large onions (chopped medium fine)
14 (more or less) jalapenos, chopped coarsely (with seeds) or grind.
(I don't use the seeds, too hot!)
4 large (1 lb. 3/4 oz. cans) tomatoes or 7 small cans

(Mark chopping jalapenos - we always use gloves to handle these guys)

Pour all in gallon jar, add cooled mixture, mix well.

Keeps well refrigerated - at least 60 days. Make sure to shake or stir mixture for several days before putting into smaller jar.

Zoo Time and Zzzzz time

Zoo Time
This last week, we adventured down to Denver for Free Admission Day at the Zoo. I met up with some girlfriends of mine at a local Starbucks and we all headed down the mountain. It truly was a beautiful fall day. It was definitely crowded but worth it. Jack really had no idea what was going on and I didn't really expect him to - BUT, he did have a fabulous time people watching. In fact, I think the whole day completely wore him out. He slept great that night.

Zzzzz Time

He has slept great ever since then. His latest and greatest development is "sleeping through the night." I don't mean the sleeping through the night that is used by so called baby experts to describe sleeping more than 5 hours. Really, who considers this sleeping through the night? I am talking the whole night. He has been going to bed and sleeping 12 hours, at least. One day this week it was practically noon before he saw the day. One thing I have learned about having a child is the most consistent thing I have seen with Jack is that there is no consistency. So...here's to enjoying my sleep while I have it. We shall see if this lucky trend continues.

Happy 5 Months

5 Months Already, Little Man. You are growing so fast.

Likes:
*His thumb
*The dogs - he loves it when they are around
*standing up whenever possible
*time in the jumper
*the computer whenever we skype with family
*grabbing at anything/everything and then trying to pull it into his mouth
*jogging with Dad
*reading books with Mom and Dad

Dislikes:

Missing out on the action.

Discoveries/Developments:

*making bubbles and "b" sounds with his mouth
*laughing whenever we are laughing
*staring down anyone who is eating real people food (he is getting close to starting solids)
*pushing up on his arms when he is on his tummy
*cell phones - I often talk to my mom while Jack is nursing, but this is becoming a problem as he is fascinated by the phone and won't stop grabbing for it.

*"If I lock my legs and arch my back, my parents can't make me sit and I can stand." (Jack.)

Blizzard Conundrum

The first of every month I wake up and stumble to the computer still half asleep to visit the dairy queen website. I check for the announcement of the Blizzard of the Month. I started the Blizzard of the Month club with my brother so that we would both have a little something extra in our month to look forward to.

This month I found myself sorely disappointed to see that October's Blizzard of the Month is Pumpkin Pie Blizzard. I detest pumpkin pie...I know, I know, it probably makes me un-American to dislike one of our country's most beloved holiday desserts. I just do not think I can bring myself to participate in this month's blizzard challenge. Anyone want to take my place, try the blizzard for me? I will be posting on the blizzard of the month later this month. Please, somebody?