They Look and Taste Delicious

Last week in a moment of wishful thinking, I bought food that I have heard are good birth foods, like bananas! This week my bananas, that were not needed for birth, were getting very ripe, so I searched the internet for a banana recipe that was a little healthyish, and didn't call for an ingredient that I didn't have. I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so I gathered ingredients from several recipes and here is what I came up with.

Banana Nut Muffins w/ Oatmeal Crumble Topping

Preheat oven 375
Bake 18-20 mins
Yields 2 muffin tins worth, but I cut it in half!

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 over ripe bananas
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) of butter melted and cooled
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup pecans
I added 1/2 cup or so of quick cooking oats b/c it makes me think they're healthier this way!

Crumble Topping (this I didn't half , so I guess you would double it to match the muffin recipe)
6 tbsp of oats
5 tbsp flour
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soften butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl smash or mash banana...leave a little texture. Mix brown sugar with bananas for 3 mins(whatever, I mixed until it was mixed. The recipe I was looking at also called for a whisk attachment on your mixer, which I don't have so I just used my regular attachment and they turned out just fine!) Add in melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients slowly. Fold in chopped pecans, I didn't know when to add the oats so I folded them in also.
Spoon into lined tins or just grease them like I do.

Crumble topping:
Mix all the ingredients together until it crumbles (it called for a fork or knife to crumble but I used clean hands, they worked better) and spoon onto the muffins.

I didn't know how they would turn out, but they are scrumptious. I recommend eating them all immediately when they come out of the oven, but you could wait if you wanted. Kev had two when he came home from work yesterday and loved them. He called them hearty. When I talked to him today, he said he had just finished one, in which I responded you took a muffin to work and said no I packed three!

Try them and enjoy!

So Here's The Deal

Laura told me I had to update.

Still pregnant
I did some weeding in our back garden yesterday
I went to the park and walked down and up some woodland stairs
I made cheeseburger soup from Buildabelly. I changed a few things because I lacked some ingredients, but it was still scrummy!
Last week I made blue berry muffins from Buildabelly which were delicious also
I made a phone list for Kevin for when I go into labor...comment if you want to know if you're on it
I typed out my birth plan...it's very non controlling
I also typed out my birth affirmations, which are really some verses that a friend shared with me. If you would like a copy of them to read and pray over while I'm in labor comment me and I'll email them to you.

2 days left on the ticker...what's going to happen if(more like when)I go past my due date and ticker hits 0. Will it go to negatives until I take it off? I don't know. Not long to find out though. I'm going to the midwife tomorrow...maybe I'll be in labor.

Grace and Peace

Pepe Le Pew

There are a lot of skunks here in central VA. We actually saw a little baby skunk wondering around the outskirts of our neighborhood a couple of weeks ago and we could smell one the next morning. Today while I was out and about I drove over 3 dead ones, poor skunks.
Maybe their population is decreasing.

Right When You Think Your Blog Stalking Has Gotten Out Of Control....

...you find a link to a great boutique like this, Francesca's.

I think all of these goodies are adorable, and surprisingly, more affordable then I thought.

This first dress is out of stock and no wonder at only $18

This isn't very fall like, but it is sunny and could help you look forward to the spring

I love this little art work b/c it reminds me of something I used to tell my students "embrace your mistakes, you learn more from them"

Cute earrings, very woodsy

This art work is tragically romantic

I Grew Things Once

Once upon a time this summer we bought a tomato plant from the Farmer's Market that I was sure I would kill. I took these pictures a few weeks ago to prove that life grew in my garden (which consisted of a flower box). I also grew basil...I won't tell you of it's fate, but I will tell you that it started in the kitchen where it happily flourished, but when it moved outside with the 'maters (may-ters) it's life took a tragic turn!

Labor Day...or Not!

On Labor Day Kev and I went to Jamestown and Williamsburg and walked around all day. We spent most of our time at the old fort in Jamestown where they are doing an archaeological dig, right now. They have uncovered thousands of old artifacts, which are on display, including some bodies which they have used carbon dating to reconstruct models of what their faces probably looked like. It's very cool. We spent so much time there that we didn't have much time to do anything else. We did have have dinner on Merchant's Square which is the most quaint little section of Williamsburg. We both want to go there and spend more time. Kev wants to have his camera next time also b/c we only have a few shots from Jamestown, which aren't that exciting. Kev wouldn't let me have a turn with the camera so he's not in one shot! But here they are...

"Violet, You're Turning Violet!"

You know that scene in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory when the little girl who chews gum too much blows up into a blueberry and the Ompa Lumpas have to roll her away? That's me right now! We went for a long walk yesterday on a new found trail and I let Kev take my picture again because my shirt was quite tight and showed off the true girth that my belly is becoming (I boycotted maternity clothes many months ago but I now realize that their soul purpose is to help woman get through the last couple months of growing...no regular shirts are long enough anymore)! Gus was especially cute on this walk so there are some pics of him too.

P.S. If you haven't check out Laura's blog or the Busy Bee you really should, they were getting crafty and their final products are awfully cute! Plus their cute creations were designed for a tiny person due to make her debut in 9 days (you can count that on your fingers folks!)

Autumn dropped by last week during a few days of Fay rain that didn't even crawl out of the 70's. Here is the proof!

Right when one thinks viewing their feet is an impossible task, the correct angle of the camera allows it to be possible.

If it were not for the leash this may be the perfect picture of Gus

If I were Ashley Albee I would know how to make this old red barn look intensely red, I am not so it just looks like it did. But Gus looks really cute! Look closely, no leash...he sat and stayed for the photo op!