Amish Home Cookin'

My mom and sister came to visit this weekend. It was the first time since I moved here that Kendra came, and I'm so glad that she did. We had lots of fun!

They didn't get here until a little after 8:00 on Friday night, so we just hung out and talked. I got to show them all of Daniel's stuff so far. Mostly clothes. Mom had a lot of fun "Oohing and Ahhing" over them.

Yesterday the three of us went to Arthur. It's an Amish community a little over an hour away from here. I've always wanted to go, but it's not really Jacob's thing and I knew I could lure Kendra into coming, by mentioning the Amish. All 3 of us like to read Amish fiction books.

Before we ventured out into the heat and humidity.

When we got there we picked up an audio CD to do a self guided tour around Amish Country. We of course still ended up getting confused a few times, but it was fun! The CD player in mom's van is broken, so we used a portable one.

When we went to get the CD, the guy asked us if we'd be interested in having lunch at an Amish home? They had some groups coming in, but had called to say that they still had some openings available. We decided that sounded like fun, so he gave us the address and told us to be there at 12:30.

We headed off to start our guided tour and saw lots of Amish along the way.

We stopped at a grocery store called Beachy's and looked around. The store smell so bad that I was gagging and had to hold my breath...but they had some really good looking homemade treats, so we made plans to come back later if they still sounded good...as if they wouldn't.

Anyone up for some Waist Watchers?

We made it through most of the tour before heading to Marvin and Sarah's house for lunch.

We were the 2nd group to arrive, but all in all there were over 20 of us. Marvin stood outside and talked to all of us until everyone arrived and then it was time to go inside and eat! I wanted to take some pictures, but decided against it in their house. They don't like pictures of themselves taken, but I still felt like it would be kind of disrespectful to take them inside.

Before the meal was served Marvin told us what we would be served...

Tossed salad, homemade bread (with apple butter and peanut butter spread), chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, sweet corn, chicken and meatballs. And dessert would be peach pie and chocolate pie. I pretty much thought I had died and gone to heaven. The entire meal was delicious and there was so much food to go around. I had wanted to try a slice of both pies for dessert, but I felt like I was going to burst, so I just opted for the chocolate. I just have to say, that I was the best chocolate pie I've ever tasted in my entire life. I also think I could have eaten about 10 helpings of the sweet corn if my stomach would've allowed it.

We were also able to buy some bread, apple butter and peanut butter from Sarah before we left. Marvin offered to take Kendra and I on a buggy ride. We couldn't decide and then decided not to, which I already kind of regret. I was just feeling so overheated at that point that all I could think of was air conditioning. Pretty stupid of me, but oh well. We did take a few pictures outside before we left.

My 24 week picture!

Me with my baby and Kendra with her food baby. Haha!

Afterward we went into town and went to the shops there and then went to find a bakery, where we bought cinnamon rolls. Then went back to Beachy's for the rest of our delicious treats before driving back to Taylorville.

Us with our haul, which included the bread, apple butter, peanut butter, and cinnamon rolls...PLUS pumpkin bars, whoopie pies and noodles. And yes...we sampled all of the pastries. In fact the cinnamon rolls were gone by breakfast this morning!

Last night I showed Kendra around town. I took her and mom to my work and showed them around. Then drove around town and back home again. Not that much to see!

This morning we went to church and then had lunch at Round Table before mom and Kendra left for Iowa. It wasn't a hard goodbye this time, because I'll be seeing them again in 2 weeks!

Surprise Shower

I’m going to back up a little bit to last Thursday night.


Sandy had texted me a few weeks ago to see if I could come over for a Girl’s Night on the 14th? It would just be me, her and 2 other friends and we were just going to hang out at the house. Sounded like fun to me!

I got there Thursday night and when I walked in I realized there were more people there than planned! It was a surprise baby shower for me! Sandy wanted to be able to be a part of one of my showers, but since they’re moving next month she just took matters into her own hands and threw me a shower. She and Brianne invited a few of the ladies that we’re closer to at church and we had a great time!

We had soup and sandwiches for supper. It was all so good!

After supper everyone headed into the living room to do presents. Where was I? I was making my first trip to the bathroom. Sandy just had to get a picture of that.

Since I had already started a registry at Target it came in handy for everyone to buy gifts. Daniel is already spoiled! He got so many presents. A bathtub, baby monitor, some outfits. Books, bath toys, and feeding supplies.

Sandy made a delicious cake with fondant animals! We also had ice cream, plus smoothies or frapuccinos!

I'm so thankful for all the ladies who came and helped make the night special. I really had no idea that I was getting a shower that night!

I stuck around after everyone else left so Sandy and I could hang out for awhile. She let me go through tubs of Jack and Liam's old clothes. I walked away with several cute outfits! So thankful for that as well.

Jack was helping me go through the bins of clothes.

In other news...I felt Daniel kick yesterday! Up until then it was only flutters. I really wasn't sure if that's what I was feeling or not, but last night I saw my stomach moving while it was happening. It was the coolest thing ever. Every time I'd try to get Jacob to feel it, he would stop. I feel bad, because I really want him to feel this too. This little boy needs to cooperate!

Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun

Girl’s Weekend got to start a little bit early for me. Aunt Jeanne was already at Heidi’s and my mom was leaving Friday morning. I planned to leave as soon as I got off work that day and was praying I’d get off early. It worked out for me to leave that morning at 9:00! I came home to finish getting ready and then left just before 10:00. I made it to Heidi’s at 1:30 and we figured mom would be there shortly after. Instead she got stuck in construction and ended up getting there after 3:30!


We stayed at Heidi and Jeff’s that night. Jeff stayed with his parent’s and Zachary hung out with us. We ordered pizza for supper and Zach dined on some PBJ while we waited to our moms to come back with our food.

After supper we drove to Tinley Park to look at all of the decorated benches they have lining one of the streets. In true form we acted like morons and posed in front of several of them.

Once we looked at all of the benches we stopped for ice cream. Zach enjoyed eating some of mine while waiting for grandma to get some to share with him.

We spent the rest of the night back at the condo hanging out and were in bed by 11 since we had to be up early on Saturday. Heidi and I of course had to do some reminiscing before falling asleep…it’s tradition.

Saturday morning we all got up and ready to go. Had my 22 week pictures taken too! I was also excited because when Zach woke up he wanted to come to me! My little buddy!

A group shot!

We dropped Zach off with his other grandma and then headed for the Metra station where we caught our train into downtown Chicago. With all of the stops it takes about an hour to ride it down there. We went and got all day tickets for the El and let Heidi guide us to Ed Debevic’s. We ended up missing our stop the first time, so we got off at the next stop and hopping back on the train going back the other way!

Ed Debevic’s was awesome. Mom was the only one who hadn’t eaten there before. If you don’t know what it is, it’s a 50’s style diner where the waiters are rude to you on purpose. Our waiter’s name was “Biscuits” and he immediately started calling us the weird ladies. Aunt Jeanne only wanted a hamburger so he goes, “A hamburger?? What does cheese give you gas? HEY EVERYONE!!! CHEESE GIVES THIS LADY GAS!!” It was hilarious. It’s really the only time you want to get picked on by a waiter. Haha!

After Ed’s, we went back to the El to catch our ride to the theater! We had to make a stop at Old Nav y first because another on of mom’s flip-flops broke! Beauty and the Beast was amazing. It’s my favorite fairy tale. Although I wasn’t bored, for some reason I almost fell asleep a couple of times during the first half! I would catch myself nodding off! Thankfully I was able to wake back up during intermission and didn’t dose off anymore.

By the time it ended we needed to make our way back to the Metra and catch our next train. We had to wait about a half an hour for it. Not too bad. There were a couple of drunk guys who plopped down behind us but then moved to another car with all of their wasted buddies.

At one of the stops it seemed like we were sitting there awhile. That’s when I looked out the window and saw a guy getting a pat down from the police. I said what I saw and half the people sitting on the other side were waiting for play by plays from us. Haha! I glanced out again and the police had taken and whole group of them off and they were all handing over their ID’s as we pulled away. Gotta love a little Chicago excitement!

Went back to Heidi’s to get our stuff and then went to our hotel to check in for the night. By then it was 8:00 and we hadn’t eaten since lunch so we went in search of food and ended up at Panera. We had planned to go swimming at the hotel but by the time we got back we really didn’t feel like it, so I called my hubby and then we all just talked and listened as Aunt Jeanne read us the tale of she and my mom’s trip to Wisconsin last year. I think we all just about peed our pants.

Heidi fell asleep so we decided it was time for all of us to go to bed. We shut off the lights and realized our light by the door had turned into a strobe light and wouldn’t stop flashing even though it was off. After debating what to do we called the front desk…mostly because I was afraid of an electrical fire. They only had 1 room left and we didn’t want to move or sleep on a pull out sofa, so they sent up the security guy to see if he could fix it. He replaced the bulb and it stopped. After he left it started flashing too! We just took matters into our own hands and took the bulb out!

This morning we just had breakfast together and spent a little more time hanging out before we needed to check out. Jacob’s friends (well...mine too!) dropped off a bag of baby clothes for us since they live close by. It was nice getting to see them and meet their little girl too!

Said our goodbyes and made it back home at 2:45. It’s always fun going away, but always nice to get home too!

Oh BOY!

What a day! I gotta say, the past 15 hours have been quite eventful. I'll just start from the beginning.

I woke up this morning around 6:00 to start getting ready for work. I had felt some cramping last night, but nothing too alarming. Well, this morning I had some spotting. Unsure of what to do I called the TeleNurse from my Dr's office. I told her what was going on and then she asked me if I was feeling the baby move. I hadn't felt it since yesterday morning...which some days I feel it a lot and other days I don't. It was enough to alarm her though and she told me I needed to go the ER to get checked out.

I tried calling Jacob who has been at camp all week. He was so drowsy that he hung up on me the first time thinking it was his alarm going off! Told him I'd go and let him know if I needed him. I sent off a few texts to the mom's and a couple of co-workers and my boss.

I went in and they got me right into a room. The nurse grabbed a doppler and checked for a heartbeat. Thankfully she found it pretty quickly because I was feeling pretty shaken up at that point. After that, I changed into my gown and waited...and waited for the ER doc to come in. He did not have the best bedside manner and kept dismissing the spotting. He sent me in for an ultrasound. My ultrasound tech was amazing though. She talked me through everything she was checking and it was so incredible to see how our baby has grown! It was doing flips like crazy! I stared at the screen for almost a half an hour as she took measurements. According to the u/s baby is measuring about 5 days ahead. She asked if I wanted to know what we were having? I said yes, but I couldn't because Jacob wasn't with me and I wanted to find out together. I asked if she could write down the gender and seal it in an envelope? She told me she could do me one better. She'd have me turn my head and she'd write it on a picture, put it on a disc and send it home with me!

I got back to the room by 8:00 and wasn't seen again until 9:15. I did get a toasty blanket and some OJ (which probably cost me $50 for a 6 oz. can), but I was shaky from not eating or drinking anything since I woke up. Talked and texted while waiting. Then the doctor literally steps about 2 feet into the room and says, "Your baby is doing jumping jacks. Everything looks fine." Well thanks for caring a lick about me sir.

I texted Jacob and asked if he'd come home? I wanted him here in case I felt like I needed to go back to the hospital because I want to go to Springfield from now on. He got home around 11:30 and we peeked at our baby!

It's a BOY!!!!! Daniel Jacob

I started crying immediately and threw my arms around Jacob. It was so exciting to find out! Our sweet baby is a little boy. I'm having a SON! The old wives's tales were all wrong and so was my intuition. I thought girl for the first 18 weeks. Only switched to boy about 2 weeks ago.

Daniel's little foot!

His profile. Isn't he cute?

We got 2 VERY short video clips. In this one you can see his heart beating:

You have to look fast in this one, but you can watch his little mouth open and close.

Spent the rest of the day relaxing on the futon with Jacob. We pulled it out and watched Pawn Stars and Naked Gun.

It started DOWN POURING around 5:30. Around 6:30 Jacob went downstairs and our basement was starting to flood. Water was coming through the walls in a few spots and then we realized it was bubbling up through the drain in the floor. And what comes with a drain in the floor? Sewage.

All in all we probably got around 3 inches of water/sewage down there. It's finally going down but we'll have to get a plumber out here asap. I called my boss because her family owns a plumbing business in town. She happened to be at her brother's house so she talked to him, but he said he couldn't come while it was still raining because he wouldn't be able to do anything. I was worried, BUT I stayed far calmer than normal. I was actually proud of Jacob and I. We both maintained our cools. I didn't start crying and he didn't start yelling. We just may be getting this teamwork thing down. Haha!

It's been a roller coaster ride of a day, but thankful our baby looks so healthy!

Tomorrow I go in for my regular OB appt. I'm scheduled for an ultrasound, but I have no idea if I'll be able to get another one. I hope so, because I'd love for Jacob to see it, but I won't know until 9:30 tomorrow morning!

Long Weekend!

My 3 day weekend started out great!

Friday night Jacob and I went over to the Bates' for supper. I don't think I've posted on here yet, but we're trying to spend as much time as we can with them, because in a little over a month they're moving to Nebraska. It's going to be hard to lose our friends, but we're happy for them at the same time. I mean...how could you not miss these little faces?

Jack informed me that I'm having a boy. His name will be Michael when he's little and John when he gets bigger. But he's also going to be a girl when he gets older. We thought that was pretty funny! He also held a banana up to my stomach to see how long the baby is this week. It was so cute.

We ended up staying until just after midnight before finally heading home.

I woke up early yesterday morning. So much for sleeping in! My throat was killing me. It had started hurting late Friday afternoon and just got worse overnight. ( I miss NyQuil!). Jacob woke up a lot later, but felt crappy too, so he spent most of the day on the couch. I decided I already had plans to go to Springfield and I was still going to do it.

First I had to get my 20 Week Pictures taken! Halfway there!

Jacob keeps referring to the baby as "he" and I have to say that I'm starting to lean more and more to thinking it's a boy too. Hopefully we'll find out Friday...the baby just has to cooperate and show off the goods. Haha!

I got to Springfield just after noon and had to stop and have lunch at Panera first. Then I went to Target to start the baby registry. Jacob left that one up to me! When I got there they said they were out of scanners so I could wait if I wanted to or I could come back another day. Well, I wasn't going to come back, so I waited. I asked them to page me when one was available, which they did....just as I reached the complete opposite side of the store! Got started and the scanner died.  Walked back up and traded it for another and I was almost finished with the registry and that stupid thing died too! I ended up giving up and just calling it good for now. I only started it now because I had a coupon for a $20 Target gift card if I started a registry before July 6th.  It was fun picking things out though and I felt less stressed about this one than our wedding one.

Here's a link to the registry (mostly for the grandma's at this point!)

http://www.target.com/registry/baby/CXI0EIB71XLK/guestview

I used the giftcard on some diapers and wipes and a few other things. My favorite purchase was this bib!

Once I finished there I went to Bath and Body Works because they were having a big sale, so I scored some great deals! I got home a little before 5 and Jacob and I just laid on the couch feeling crappy all night.

We ended up staying home from church today. My throat is feeling better than it was, but I'm getting a cough now...totally saw that one coming. It's my 4th of July curse. So, it's been a laid back day. I did some cleaning, and now I think I shall go watch a chick flick.