Halloween Prep

We visited the pumpkin patch this past weekend. Joe's coworker invited us to join him and his family and we were game. It was out in the country, about 30 minutes from our house. It was a nice open area for the kids to run around. Plus there were lots of activities, animals, slides, you name it. Oh and of course a tractor pulled ride to the pumpkin patch where we picked out our pumpkin for home.

Our neighborhood also held a Halloween parade that I begged Joe to attend. Ok, maybe not begged, but I was definitely the one who put it on our calendar when I saw the email send out about it. I remember we missed it last year because we were celebrating Joe's birthday in Chicago. Although that trip was well worth missing the parade. The kids (and parents) lined up behind the fire truck and made a loop through the neighborhood. We were there for support and waved at the kids while they walked by.

 

And last but not least, we officially have a pumpkin out front of the house. Yes we did buy it at the pumpkin patch and yes I have been checking to see if any critters are eating it. So far so good for the pumpkin. I realize this picture makes the pumpkin look very small, but just keep in mind Joe had to carry it through the pumpkin patch and the heavier ones weren't too appealing because of that. Now our house is ready for trick-or-treaters. Happy Halloween!

Weekly Pregnancy Update (15 Weeks)

Another week has gone by, more pictures in the same dress were taken. I swear I don't even hang this dress in my closet any more, I just keep it downstairs for easy access.

Week Number: 15 weeks
Baby Size: Avocado (4-5 inches)
Movement: Still nothing, but I know it will happen soon and I'm super excited to feel our baby move around
Food Cravings: I don't think I've been craving anything crazy. Wonder if I ever will have true cravings?
Food Aversions: Can't really say there's much. I just find what sounds good to my body and eat that. Luckily there's plenty that I enjoy eating so I can get plenty of food.
Symptoms: I started getting a few dizzy spells recently, but other than that most of my symptoms have disappeared. Luckily I have some energy back and the headaches have stayed away (for the most part). I traveled for work this past week and everything was fine. The only thing I struggled with a bit was making sure to eat every few hours. It's not always easy when you're in meetings or not on your own schedule.

Best Moment Of The Week: Celebrating Joe's birthday.I pointed out the fact that this will be the last birthday celebration we have just the two of us. Days like that and other holidays (like Halloween) make me stop and say "wow, next year for this holiday we'll be a family of three." It's pretty exciting. I have to share the gift I bought Joe too. Of course my gift to him is really for our baby, however it's special to him. If you don't know, Joe is a huge Home Alone fan. You know those Christmas movies that are on TV every year. I don't blame him for wanting to watch it every time they're on, I like to also! Well I bought the onsie below just for him, a classic quote from the movie. Sorry the picture is so blurry.
Looking Forward To: Like I said earlier, I can't wait to feel the baby move.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Like I said yesterday, fall is pumpkin time. Pumpkin flavored and scented everything. I love it! Not only have I decorated with pumpkins (and failed miserably) I also love baking with pumpkin. I got this recipe online and tried it out line by line. I was less than impressed, but I didn't give up. The original recipe called for 2 whole cups of flour. I thought even before putting them in the oven that it was way too much flour. Good thing it calls for only have the can of pumpkin. A week later I tried it again and cut the amount of flour in half. I knew that was a bit aggressive, but it could only get better compared to the original batch. Well, it worked, these muffins are so much better!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
adapted from here

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1/2 can pumpkin
2 eggs

Directions
In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl mix together sugar, oil, milk, pumpkin and eggs. Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Scoop into muffin tin (makes 12 muffins). Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

I should say I didn't make these muffins alone. Joe was my trusty assistant in the kitchen. He was a huge help not only making the muffins, but tasting and approving them too.

We Officially Fall-ified

Do you remember our mysterious pumpkin eater last year?  Maybe this update will spark your memory too. Still don't quite know who the culprit was. Now that's it's fall again, it's time for more pumpkins. No, we haven't put any out on the door step, yet. We have officially decorated the inside of the house for fall though. I got my pumpkin candle out and instead of just placing it on the counter, I decided to fancy up our lantern.

We did buy a bag of small pumpkins at Costco the other weekend. I was so excited because they were only about $7 and we could scatter them throughout the house. The thing I like most about them is they're not all orange. Some are white with colored stripes. I love how they mix it up and look so cool together. Joe put a few up on our mantle and they look great. Oh and next to the pheasant feathers, the mantle screams fall.

Update: I took these pictures of the pumpkins about a week ago. I was so proud of the arrangements and loved the fall feel of the house. Not more than a week later they were all molding! I couldn't believe it. So much for those decorations, they were all thrown in the trash over the weekend. Seriously between our pumpkins that get eaten and the ones who decide they'd rather be rotten, we've struck out! But do not worry, I am not giving up!

Photo Friday #51

We're on a roll with baby items! I got two new things in the mail the other day that we ordered online. I definitely don't care to get stretch marks from pregnancy (who would), although I've read and heard it's more about genetics than anything. Either way I'm going to do my best to ward them off with cocoa butter. I've started applying a bit at night. Only 6 more months of applying it, good thing I've got 32 ounces worth! I also got very interested in giving prenatal yoga a try. I've never done yoga before, but I really wanted an alternate workout other than walking and biking. I have not opened the DVD yet, but I'm excited to give it a try. I might even get Joe to join with me!

Weekly Pregnancy Update (13 Weeks)

Look at me, I'm already falling behind with these weekly updates. I'm thinking what I'll do is continue to take pictures each week, but maybe not post an actual update. I still want a good comparison once this journey is complete (or I should probably say once our next journey begins.) A lot of the info doesn't change much from week to week anyways. This week I'll still include info because my biggest accomplishment is finally entering into the second trimester. Yippee!!

Week number: 13 weeks, 3 days (hellllllo second trimester!)
Baby Size: Lemon
Sleep: Just fine lately, getting about 8 hours each night
Movement: Nothing
Food Cravings: Nothing significant
Symptoms: I believe everything I read and what people have told me is true, I feel a lot better now that I've moved into the second trimester. Of course I hope that trend continues more and more. I have not been sick, feel like I have more energy and get less headaches.

Da Bears... In Charlotte!

This post is well overdue, but such is life right about now. Back in August the Chicago Bears played their first preseason game in Charlotte against the Panthers. Of course Joe and I were excited because it was an easy way for us to see them play. Even more exciting? They played the day of our anniversary. As soon as I saw the schedule come out I told Joe that would be our anniversary date. But wait, it gets even more exciting. The Bears team actually stayed at my hotel! 

The day of their arrival my job was to give the Owner, General Manager and Head Coach their key packet and ask if they would like assistance up to their rooms (suites of course). Mr. McCaskey was the one I ended up showing to his room and he was a very nice guy! The next day when the team was loading the bus to head to the stadium he actually walked over and said hello to Joe and I. He recognized me and remembered that the previous night I told him how big of a Bears fan my husband is. Joe and I were both in a slight state of shock I'd say.

Oh and my boss even let me wear this shirt underneath my suit the night of the team's arrival. I got a few good comments on it of course.

Here we are stopping on our way to the stadium to snap a picture. I was surprised by how many Bears fans there were around, especially for a Friday night game.

The sunset was gorgeous at the start of the game.

As you could expect with a preseason game, the starters did not play for long. We ended up leaving at half time to head home. It was an awesome experience and special for so many reasons!

Weekly Pregnancy Update (12 Weeks)

Joe and  I decided it was time to officially start documenting the pregnancy. As you can probably guess I've been browsing Pinterest for a while for some great ideas. We decided on weekly (or biweekly, depending on how this goes) pictures in one same outfit plus some tidbits on my progression. I liked this idea because it should be easier to truly compare each week. So a little over a week ago I went online to buy a dress. Yes, that's right, I bought my first piece of maternity clothing! Small milestones like this make it all seem so real. I figured this type of outfit would look nice for the pictures and I can still wear it to work once I do start filling out. Dress is from Pink Blush Maternity.

Here goes our first pregnancy blog post! So far no one could guess I was with child. Just a little bit of a pooch, but nothing my normal clothing don't cover up. That's good news so far, because all my clothes fit just fine. No need to buy more maternity clothes... yet.

Week Number: 12 weeks, 2 days
Baby Size: Peach (3 inches long)
Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well. I do get up maybe twice a week to run to the restroom. Otherwise I wish I could sleep 10 hours each night. At least on the weekends Joe has been great and let me sleep up to 12 hours. Yes!
Movement: Nothing yet
Food Cravings: I don't know if I would consider any of these actual cravings, but bread and other carbs taste pretty good right now. This week the Chicken Pot Pies you throw in the microwave have been tasting extra good, but that could just be my tastes normally. Oh and we finally bought peanut butter and that taste delicious!
Food Aversions: This whole first trimester I have put up a big fight against vegetables.Will this ever change?
Symptoms: I'll just throw it out there, I burp and hiccup a lot. That is one symptom that none of my books have warned me about. It can be gross and uncomfortable at the same time. I will also say everyday is completely different. Some symptoms I feel one day might not appear the next. Otherwise the symptoms are pretty normal (growing pains, headaches, fatigue, etc.) I wouldn't necessarily classify my pregnancy as having true morning sickness, but there have been some days where I thought it would happen.
Belly Button: Still an "innie"!

Best Moment Of The Week: Receiving gifts in the mail from our great families and friends. Thank you all who have sent best wishes (and onsies) our way, we so appreciate it!
Looking Forward To: Getting over the first trimester hump and on to more energy, less headaches and no queasiness.

Will Pale Ale

The start of this picture dates back to May 24th, right before Scott and Amy's wedding. Joe, my mom and I had visited the restaurant where the rehearsal was set to take place and visited a florist to order flowers for the night. Before picking my dad up from the airport and welcoming other family members to Rhode Island we made a pit stop. We wanted to pick up some beverages and snacks to enjoy. We stopped at a small liquor store to grab beer and wine. Well while there we spotted Newport Storm Will Pale Ale. I mean, could you dream up a more perfect beer for this special weekend? We're in Newport for the wedding and the Will part should be obvious (my maiden name). We bought a six pack along with some other local beer and wine. The checkout guy actually pegged us perfectly. When paying or the booze he said "you guys must not be from around here." We laughed pretty hard at that comment. What gave it away, the selection of local drinks or our lack of New England accents?

Anyway, back to this picture. My dad carefully packed up the Will Pale Ale bottles (once we emptied them of course) and brought them back to Iowa so he could work some magic. He removed the labels and had them framed. They look so cool, we were very impressed! What better place to hang it than our butler's pantry (aka Joe's liquor stash). The anchor below the frame is also from the wedding weekend. Each guy at the rehearsal dinner got one. They're not necessarily or display, it's actually a bottle opener. How appropriate!

Big (Baby) News

Before I go wild on this blog about baby/nursery/my growing body updates I figured I should put the most important part out there... we're having a baby. That's right, this family of two is finally expanding! We're pretty darn excited and anxious at the same time. We were able to tell both sets of parents in person and at the same time. That's a pretty rare thing and it was amazing. The picture below is one we took of the nursery (yes, we have quite a bit done already. More on that in later posts). We framed it, wrapped it and waited for their reaction. Emotions filled the room immediately and the questions followed. We had kept this secret from them for over a month, which was not easy at all! Now the word is out and I'm anxiously awaiting a growing belly.

Photo Friday #50

I took a walk through Uptown Charlotte this week. Yes, I was on my way to meet a client, but I also had a bit of time to kill on my way. The weather was perfect. Well I shouldn't say perfect, I would prefer it to cool off a bit more. I love Fall weather! Charlotte just opened up a great new park and green space. It's part of a multiple year effort to bring more outdoor space to Uptown. It was pretty cool and I stopped to snap this picture. Charlotte's a pretty cool place.