Snow!

Last week it snowed enough to get a 2 hour delay at work for me and to make a couple of good looking snow angels by me and Scott. We probably got about 4 inches or so, which compared to last year, might be the most we've had in years!


Pretty crazy considering how nice it had been before and has been since. Here Scott and Jeff are cleaning up some of the leaves in the beautiful sun. And Scott was trying to get the chickies to sit with him, but they weren't interested. Someday I hope they will jump on his shoulders like they do with Cade and Jeff!



This is classic. Look at that face. Leaves=joy :)

Finishing up the basement bathroom

I'm so excited and proud of Jeff who, with the help of my brother, Scott, pretty much finished up the bathroom in Cade's suite. Check out the pretty new sink, shower, toilet and accessories! We need to have all the required things finished up by December in order to get the permit finalized. They also put in 3 of the 6 doors. All that's left is the other three doors! (not to mention trim, but that is not required for the inspection, and it's been our habit to wait until we are about ready to move before we finish that up!) There are plenty of small touches and other projects around the house, but getting so much of the basement complete is a huge deal! Great job, hubby :)

BUMP - 30 weeks

Only 10 weeks left! It seems so short and so long at the same time.


Happy Halloween from me and Olivia! Jeff and his co-workers in the math department are going to be old basket ball players from the high school I couldn't resist dressing up, too! :)

BUMP - 29 weeks

Baby girl is now the size of a butternut squash! Perfect season, huh? :)


Trying to get a picture that wasn't same old thing in front of the mirror. I guess I need a cameraman! ;)

BUMP - 28 weeks

I'm in the 3rd trimester now! It's hard to believe we are 2/3 of our way to meeting our little girl! I don't want to rush it, I want her to stay in and "cook" for the whole time (perfect that I'm wearing an apron, then, huh?) but I'm so excited to meet her!

Sewing and Chopping

Last weekend we spent a day at my parents house. The boys cut firewood and the girls made maternity pants! Later in the day my cousins Dillon and Allyx came up to have dinner and play a rousing game of Scattegories. Hey, we know how to party.

Scott and Jeff wore their work overalls. It was pretty awesome. My dad even changed into his so as not to be the odd man out.








Here is a pair of dress pants that are too small for me regardless of being pregnant. These are what we converted into maternity pants. The tutorial we used claimed to be easy and take 20 minutes. Hmm, maybe that is for people who sew more than once a year. It took us several hours AND we broke my mom's sewing machine and had to finish by hand. Oh, and did I mention we didn't realize we needed a band of elastic so we had to ruin a pair of my mom's old workout sweats to pilfer the elastic? We are clearly not great seamstresses. Oh well.

After the wood cutting, Jeff and Scott graded the driveway with the tractor.


Hey, it worked! Under that shirt, the pants aren't really beautiful, but let me tell you, they are comfortable! I can't wait to wear them to work. We wanted to do a pair of jeans, too. I'm hoping maybe in a couple of weeks my grandma can lend her expertise.
That white piece is elastic and an old tshirt that became the belly panel. Pretty cool, huh?

May he rest in peace. Hopefully Granddad can help fix it.


Did I mention the boys thought it would be fun to try to chop a penny in half with an axe? Jeff got it in the first swing. I'm so proud ;)

This is Sabo, Dillon and Allyx's dog. When his feet get cold he tucks them under. I thought he was pretty cute.
Dillon getting ready to chop the penny

Where'd the other half go?
Allyx could not be shown up.
And Scott's turn
It was a really fun day spent with family and it was gorgeous in the mountains. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the entertainment, exercise, food and new pants!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Blog reader! Listen closely then spread the word-the world must know! Arby's chocolate turnovers are the BEST chocolaty treat EVER. It's true, I could never lie about chocolate.

Jeff and I went to Arby's a few weeks ago for a quick lunch stop. Arby's has nothing on it's menu for me, but for some reason I always order the cheese sticks thinking they will be good. Wrong.every.time.

However

This pregnant lady noticed last time the enticing chocolate turnovers on the menu last time. So I ordered one. HELLO! Delicious! Light, flaky crust that seemed freshly baked (as I'm sure it was, not at all mass produced like other fast food), enveloping sweet, ooey, gooey chocolate that sort of dripped out once you take a few bites. HEAVEN!

So

Yesterday I had a craving for another one. Well, I've had a craving for one many times since then, but yesterday I gave in. After a lovely dinner at home I decided to leave the house. Gasp! We tend to never leave the house in the evenings once we are settled in. But this dessert was calling, no SCREAMING my name. So I hop in the car and drive the 2ish miles to heaven, I mean Arby's. I order 2 chocolate turnovers, one for me and one for Jeff. I drive home in excited anticipation. I get two plates out, take the morsels out of the bag and...WHAT THE?! They are CHERRY. BOTH of them! Devastation ensues. Jeff still wants his. He probably even liked it better than he would have liked the chocolate one. So he sits there on the couch, unknowingly mocking me with each bite of FRUIT he takes. And me? I'm almost frozen in sad, pathetic shock. Visions of sitting down to enjoy my evening with a chocolate turnover are shattered while I silently curse the drive through worker and ponder what on earth to do. Is it worth the two mile drive back for a mess up that cost $1.26 each? Is it worth the gas? The time? Could I go back tomorrow on my way to work with a day old dessert? I grumble and pout for a few minutes in frustration, unable to make a decision. And then... I decide to go back! I stand at the doorway for another few minutes just to be sure. And I'm off! Upon arrival at Arby's I make my way into the store this time with my bag of one cherry turnover (and a receipt for 2 CHOCOLATE turnovers.) I politely tell the cashier that there has been a mistake (I don't even grab her by the collar, shouting and pointing at my giant belly!) and explain that while I ordered chocolate, somehow, 2 cherry turnovers got into my bag. "No problem!" she sweetly replies while promptly grabbing two beautiful chocolate-icing-drizzled chocolate turnovers from under the heat lamp (where I'm sure they have just been placed after coming freshly out of an oven in some French grandmothers kitchen.) She even tells me to keep the cherry one. YES! And I'm back on my way home. I put the chocolate treat on my plate, sit down, take a bite and...perfection. Was it worth it you ask? Oh yes. It was worth it last night when I ate the first one. It was worth it 5 minutes ago when I ate the 2nd one. And it would have been worth it to make 3 trips back to get it right! Congratulations Arby's, you have made this pregnant woman happy. I'll be back, and not for the cheese sticks.

BUMP - 27 weeks

Olivia got to be in her first wedding this weekend. My dear friend Steph got married to Josh and it was such a pretty ceremony. It was in a church with giant windows displaying the wintry wonderland we were all surprised with on Saturday! Who would have thought I'd be a pregnant bridesmaid at 31? What an honor :) Steph is the friend I went to NYC with last summer!

Olivia is now the size of a head of cauliflower.

and you can quote me

OK, not me, but whoever originally said these fine words:

If you want to be SAD live in the PAST
if you want to be ANXIOUS live in the FUTURE
if you want to be PEACEFUL live in the NOW

never mistake a clear view with a short distance
paul saffo

the only way to fail in an experiment is to fail to learn from it

Think about it.

Jeff turns 29!

I tried to do things Jeff loves for his, "ahem" 29th bday, on a budget. His birthday menu included:

Breakfast: coffee and apple toaster strudels (he loves these and normally he doesn't even eat breakfast, so I'd say that's a treat!)

Lunch: "nevermind that" is what I wrote since he had to go to school on his special day

Dinner: Course 1-shrimp cocktail
Course 2-king crab with white wine/butter sauce
Course 3-ceasar salad
Course 4-swiss fondue

Dessert: pound cake with ice-cream

It was fun to make it all for him and show him how special and loved he is on his big day!
(see what I mean by "special"...ha!)

I wish I would have gotten more pictures! He had fun opening cards and presents, too. This is going to be a big year for him-a daughter is on the way AND a teenage son. Wow, how blessed we are :)

BUMP - 26 weeks

From NYC!

Olivia in the City

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to visit NYC again! This time around I met my friend Carly there for vacation. We used to be roommates and it’s been 3+ years since we’ve seen each other, but it felt like just last week. Olivia got to experience the sounds (horns!) and movements (subway!), mama holding her breath in terror on the taxi ride, whispers of "handbag, purse, coach, louis vittoin", and I’m pretty sure she loved it eery minute :) Part of my trip was business. One of our vendors brought me out to MD to tour their printing plant. It was amazing to see how our book covers and jackets actually end up as they do. I feel much more educated about my job now and the traveling was great. I also got to stop into the RH offices and meet several of my colleagues, which was great.

We did so much:
Brooklyn Bridge,
Central Park
Greenwich Village
Columbia University
Little Italy
China Town
Times Square
5th Avenue
and so much more! We also got to visit with my cousin's Mark and Kristin, who are one of the most fabulous couples. I am so sad I didn't get a picture with them. Next time, though, when Olivia can meet them :) It was a long 6 days, I missed Jeff and at one point I thought I might have to trade in my feet for new ones, but all in all it was a excellent time. I bought Olivia a tiny pink I heart NY onesie. When I showed it to Jeff his reply was "you are turning our daughter against me!" Haha, silly small town boy.

Enjoy the completely out of order photos!

A photo in our hotel room.

Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges

Pizza at the famous Grimaldi's "under the Brooklyn Bridge." We stood in line for 45 minutes-it was worth it!

Columbia U, where Carly would like to go to grad school. (in which case I will live vicariously through her)

A delicious peanut buttery, chocolaty dessert at Serendipity

We took this cool subway in the air tram ride to Roosevelt Island. The pictures may look blurry to you, but I say they are artistic.

The view from our hotel room window

In Central Park

Looking out the window from the View sky bar at the Marriott Marquis on the 48th floor. It rotated!

A man playing his grand piano in a park in Greenwich village. awesome!

We had afternoon tea at the Plaza! It was more than amazing, I can't even describe how delicious and FUN it was. It was Carly's celebration of Olivia and Olivia loved it-especially the chocolate fondue!

This was my hotel in Baltimore looking over the harbor. It was so plush!

Times Square

Isn't this building fabulous? I love the architecture. Last year it wasn't complete when I visited the city with Steph, and now it is!

The city meets nature

Another view from the sky bar

The Plaza lobby-so gorgeous!