blizzard of 2009

Usually when the forecast calls for inclement weather in DC, it rarely amounts to much. I admit that I was skeptical when I heard the weekend forecast calling for a massive snow storm. "Yeah right", I thought to myself. "I'll believe it when I see it". Much to my delighted surprise, it really happened. We got 16.5" of snow this weekend in DC!!! Whoo-hooo!! We very rarely get snow that covers the ground in DC and to have this much at Christmas-time is awesome! Waking up to a white winter wonderland on Saturday morning was like a Christmas miracle. I heard on the news that DC hasn't had a white Christmas in 20 years and this was the 6th biggest snow storm in DC's history.

My dad and his girlfriend Lori were in town visiting us this weekend and thankfully made it in Friday before the snow hit. The snow changed our plans for the weekend a bit, but we made our own fun and still had a great weekend. Friday night we visited the National Christmas Tree and saw the White House. The tree is really beautiful and we had fun looking at all the little state trees with their personalized ornaments.

Saturday, Eddie had a killer idea for some snow fun with his snowboard and we all had a blast playing in the snow....check out the video below. We're buffing up on our video skills for Baby G. I have a feeling Baby G is going to be starring in A LOT of movies!

turkey day & 26 weeks

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend in North Carolina with Eddie's family. A lot of food and a lot of laughs- how could it not be fun?! My birthday fell on Thanksgiving Day this year which doesn't happen too often and it was fun to just be together with everyone. I introduced noodles to the NC family and I think they turned out to be a hit! Having homemade noodles at Thanksgiving and Christmas is a long-standing tradition in my family and it just doesn't seem like the holidays to me without them. I have a lot of great memories of making the dough, rolling, cutting, drying, and cooking the noodles together with my mom and grandmas. It was fun to share the tradition with my new family.

Saturday was really beautiful and a bunch of us headed to the park for a nice walk, geocaching, and playing on the playground. Cute picture of the girls and Edward.

Things are going well on the baby front. We had another ultrasound a couple weeks ago so they could finish up what they weren't able to see the first time. Everything looked great and Baby G is developing just as expected. Horray! It was amazing to see how much baby had grown in the 3 weeks since the previous ultrasound! At our 21 week ultrasound the baby weighed less than a pound, and at 24 weeks the baby weighed 1 lb. 9 oz! Grow baby, grow! And we again stuck with our decision to not find out the gender. :-)

We're now 26 weeks 1 day. Here's a pic of baby this week, courtesy of Baby Center:

and here's a pic of me at 26 weeks...

thankful

It's hard to believe that we're already 24 weeks along in the pregnancy, which means only 16 weeks to go! How exciting!! I'm still feeling great, except for a few minor things. My feet have really started to hurt- maybe it's the extra weight I'm carrying around? I've been feeling very energetic for the most part and really pretty normal, other than the obvious. The baby is growing bigger every day and so am I. The bump is really obvious now and I love it!

The radiologists' report from our ultrasound was good and baby's doing A-okay in there and we're so thankful. Everything was normal and baby was right on target with what they expected. They weren't able to see quite everything they wanted because of the baby's position, so we're going back tomorrow for another ultrasound so they can be thorough and finish up. I'm so excited to see the baby again and how much he or she has changed in 2 weeks!!

Eddie has been super busy working to open another store in Florida. He's been in Miami for the past 10 days and comes home this evening. It sounds like the weather was really nice there, but unfortunately he didn't have any down-time to enjoy it. His hotel was a block from the beach and he wasn't ever able to step foot in the sand...poor guy! Can't wait to see him tonight!

We're really excited for Thanksgiving next week and looking forward to seeing family in NC. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. I love Christmas too, but I love Thanksgiving for it's focus on delicious food, being thankful for our blessings, and just enjoying the opportunity to spend time with friends and family without the focus of gifts. This year, as always, we have so much to be thankful for!

24 weeks 1 day

21 week ultrasound!

We had our 21 week ultrasound Friday, the 30th. Seeing Baby Garrett's little toes, legs, arms, fingers, nose, heart, etc. was incredible! I go back this week to hear the full report on the radiologist's readings from the ultrasound. We were very tempted but didn't peek at the baby's sex. We're looking forward to the big surprise at birth!

Eddie hates having his picture taken and prior to the ultrasound we were joking that the baby would probably take after him and try hiding from us....and it did! The baby was laying head down, face down and was laying with one arm beside the head and the other arm in front of the face. The technician was fortunately able to see everything she needed and we did end up with a pretty good profile shot, despite the baby's best efforts to hide. :-) It was wonderful to see how much the baby has grown and I feel so privileged to have this special little life growing inside of me. It's just so amazing and wonderful.

the great expansion!!

I've been absent from the blogosphere for awhile and the main reason has been that I've been preoccupied with...........growing our baby!!!!!!! Baby Garrett is due sometime around March 10 and we're so excited to meet him or her!!!

This week we're 18 weeks and 3 days along and doing very well. I was very fortunate to have thwarted off morning sickness in the first trimester and really have felt great so far. I'm now sporting a sweet little baby bump (yeah!!) and started feeling the baby move around week 17. Feeling the baby move is the greatest hi-lite of my life right now. It's amazing to think about there being a little person growing and stretching inside of me. What an amazing, wonderful miracle!

And I LOVE my baby bump! I love to rub my baby-Buddha bump and talk to it. Someone at work stopped me in the hall this week and said, "Oh my gosh, you're pregnant!" I was really excited to confirm her suspicion and to know that the pregnancy is obvious enough now that people can really tell I'm pregnant and not just gaining weight. It really popped into a bump during week 17. Each morning when I wake up I can notice that it's grown a little bigger from the previous morning, no joke! Baby has been undergoing a growth spurt in the last 2 weeks.

During my 16 week check-up I got to hear Baby G's heartbeat and it made me melt! Baby's heartbeat was a strong and healthy 150 bpm. My doctor said everything was perfect and we're right on schedule. During my 12 week appointment I saw the baby on an ultrasound and was amazed to see Baby do a somersault and wiggle his or her right hand and fingers at me!! I was squealing with delight and did not want my doctor to turn the ultrasound off! We go for our big ultrasound on October 30! We can't wait to see our little baby's face, fingers, toes....but we're not going to peek at Baby G's privates. We've decided to NOT find out the baby's sex and wait for the BIG surprise at delivery.

So far I've gained about 8 pounds, which is right on target. My doctor said she likes to see women gain about 10 pounds by Week 20. For a women starting at a normal healthy weight it is recommended she gain around 25-35 pounds total. You know that old saying, "I'm eating for two?" Unfortunately, it's complete crap! Women only need about 300 extra calories a day to support the growing fetus. That's the equivalent of a snack of an apple with a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, or a piece of cheese with a handful of crackers. I set a goal (long before I was ever pregnant) to be as healthy and fit as possible during pregnancy. I really try hard to eat very nutritiously and am maintaining my workout habits. I still walk to work, take my lunch, and workout on my lunch-hour every day. I feel great! My doctor agreed that getting at least 30 minutes of physical exercise on most days supports a healthy pregnancy and delivery. I'm hoping to keep it up all the way to the end.

I've been researching baby gear to the point that it's making me crazy! Learning about baby gear is like taking your first class in a new subject you've never studied and learning the new language. I'm so thankful to have so many friends who are currently pregnant or recently just had a baby. It's very helpful to be able to discuss not only the pregnancy, but all my gear questions with them. Currently I'm obsessed with researching strollers and car seats, two of the most important objects we'll buy for the baby. The dialogue with my friends has changed considerably during the past weeks as my topic of interest has shifted. I call them now and ask things like "so what's your opionion of the Chicco KeyFit 32 compared to the new Britax Chaperone...or tell me what you know about the safety ratings for the Britax and it's side-impact compression features". :-). There are SO MANY options! I'm getting it narrowed down now and today I'm hoping to go to Babies R Us or Buy Buy Baby and check out my final contenders more in person. It's so much fun planning for our baby's arrival!

This week Baby G is about the size of a bell pepper. Here's a picture of what Baby G looks like right now and a link to the full article from Baby Center on what Baby G's doing this week:

Credits: photo from Baby Center

looking forward to fall

Summer is winding down and I'm excited for Fall. I love Fall! Today was the first cool day we've had without humidity and I think it was a fluke, but I really savored it. I walked to work this morning, took a walk at lunch, and walked home from work- so nice. Students are back in school and it reminds me of the excitement of those first school days, fresh school supplies, new clothes, so fun! Here's what I'm looking forward to this fall. What are you looking forward to?

Fall goodness...

• crisp, cool sunny days
• beautiful sunsets
• apple picking, apple pie, apple butter, cider
• pumpkins, pumpkin pie
• leaves changing
• colorful mums
• tourists leaving the city and enjoying the mall and museums again
• soups! I can't wait to make a lot of yummy stews and soups.
• squash from the farmer's market
• the smell of firewood burning
• Halloween and seeing the cute kiddo costumes
• Thanksgiving

fun in the midwest

I'm a bad blogger...almost a month since my last one. Sorry about that! I'll make up for it with a good post about our trip back home.

We visited family and friends in Iowa and Missouri over the fourth of July holiday weekend and had a blast. We really fit a lot in and a lot of people. We spent the night with each of my 3 grandmas while home and that was a real treat for us all. Terrific food, great stories, photos, and laughs- it was perfect! You're never too big to spend the night with Grandma!

Spending time with my dad in Iowa was wonderful and we enjoyed trap shooting with him. I was a little nervous but Dad was a good teacher and I actually hit several targets. Eddie was awesome, of course, and loved it. And Dad and Lori, well they're in a league of their own- the professional league, really! We really enjoyed just sitting and talking together. Iowa is really quite beautiful in the summer with its' flowing green corn fields and bright blue skies. And the weather was perfect and pleasant!

Dad and Eddie shooting trap

New lil' babies near us...aren't they cute?!

We had a really great time with my mom, step-dad and brother Traivs. The morning of the 4th we went to a little nearby town, Hurdland, to watch the big parade. Unfortunately is was raining but we couldn't miss the parade since Travis was riding his horse in the parade. We found a good parking spot along the parade route, backed in the car, kept the wipers on and the windows up and then hollered out the windows cheering for Travis when he rode by. :-) He was very handsome atop his horse. Eddie was also impressed with the many varieties of tractors. It's a cute little parade.

Mom and Mike hosted a bbq at the house on the 4th and it was great seeing so many people and catching up. I love me some bbq!! Mom and I had a lot of laughs and it was fun just being around the house together. Eddie and Travis entertained the crowd with some lovely fireworks to top off the evening. Travis demonstrated his talent for making "sparkler bombs"- until you've heard one, you can't imagine how loud they are!

Travis demonstrating his sparkler bomb skillz

Travis and his buddy Brian treated us to a 4-wheeler ride at the farm and we loved it. Eddie drove and I rode behind and picked a bouquet of beautiful wildflowers along the way.

Eddie's dream was for ME to propose to HIM with an ATV...didn't quite happen but I think this helped tide him over

Blurry wildflowers...

We attended my neice, Isabella's baptism. Here she is with Grandpa Mike.

Lovely family ladies. (Terry, you made it on the internet!)

I'm just skimming the surface of all the fun we had. Thank you to EVERYONE for making our visit so great! We love you all and can't wait to come back again for more everything!! and you're always welcome to visit us too!

coming soon...

I know, I know...it's been a while since my last blog. We've been busy bees but very soon my friends, I'll get this thing updated with some jolly fun. Hopefully later tonight. :-)

happy father's day

Happy Father's Day to my dad and step-dad! I'm a lucky lady to have you both in my life and love you very much!

my new baby

I'm so excited about the new member of our mac family! Yesterday I got a shiney new MacBook Pro and she ROCKS! Previously I had an old iBook G4 that I purchased in 2005 (a lifetime in computer years- she served me well). We're addicts of Apple in this household, so the new baby has a lot of other Apple brother and sister products around the house to keep her company.

Apple introduced their new MacBook Pro family last week and there's no better time for an upgrade than right after the release of a new computer or operating system. The new Pro family has a ton of awesome new features that make it super smooth and fun to work on. To see details of what makes her so wonderous, click here.

Being on the computer is now exponentially more fun...watch out, I feel a lot of blogging coming on. :-)

florida trip, part 2

After we left Tampa we headed south to the Fort Myers area where we stayed at a friend's vacation home (what a super nice friend!) near the beach.  We got into a very relaxed groove for 5 days that consisted of sleeping 10 hrs/night, going to Captiva Beach every day and watching the sunset every night.  Ahhh...exactly what we needed!

The water was so warm! We spent probably 5-6 hours  in the water everyday- that's how great it was!  One day while we were swimming some guys came running down the beach pointing and yelling about something.  They were letting us know that there was a MANATEE swimming nearby!   We saw his big paddle-tail splashing in the water and his round back as he came up for air...incredible!  During that same swim there were dolphins swimming behind us, pelicans diving in for fish in front of us and a full DOUBLE rainbow overhead!  I know this sounds like something from Ace Ventura or the Discovery Channel but it all truly happened.  We were in awe and reveled in every moment.  

can't quite see the second rainbow here, but it's there

my McSteamy playing in the sand

we rented scooters, did some sight-seeing, and a little geocaching.  

we visited the Seashell Museum on Sanibel Island and were pretty impressed.

a sailor's valentine made completely with shells

loved ending each day with gorgeous sunsets on the beach

florida trip, part I

I didn't realize it had been so long since I last blogged- I'll try to do better.  We've been a  bit busy.  What have we been up to?  So glad you asked...:-)

Eddie was away in Tampa, FL, most of the month of May preparing for the opening of the new Crate & Barrel store.  I flew down to meet up with him at the end and attended the store opening party.  The opening parties are always fun and I enjoyed meeting the friendly Tampa crew and many other top-notch peeps that Eddie works with. It's always nice for me to be able to meet the people he's been telling me about and finally put a face to their name.  The Tampa store is gorgeous and sits on a pretty lake filled with tropical birds and even an alligator or two, no joke.

Here's a few pics from the party:

Arrghh matey!....what's a party in Tampa Bay without a pirate eye?

After the store opening we took out to begin our mini-vacation.  First stop, food!  We drove down to Ybor City, a very historic area of Tampa.  We stumbled upon the Columbia Restaurant, the oldest Cuban restaurant in Florida.  Inside and out, the restaurant was filled wit historic charm, photos of the family generations that have ran the restaurant and beautiful Cuban architecture and tiling.  Apparently Food Network also liked it since we saw a framed article on the wall about them naming it a "must do" for Tampa.

cool keyhole doorway into an old ballroom that's now a dining room


the gorgeous original bar from the early 1900s.  

delicious Cuban sandwich with amazing hot, fresh homemade bread

incredible Cuban sampler platter with meaty yumminess and plantains

hands down, the best mojito either of us have ever had! and that's real sugar cane.

europe in a day

We live in the vicinity of the German Embassy and often joke about how nice it would be if our "neighbors" would finally invite us over for dinner sometime.  They frequently have parties and they appear to be pretty awesome. Several times a year while the weather is nice they have lavish garden parties- parties that require almost a week to set up all the big white tents on their enormous estate.  The grounds of the embassy really are spectacular and we finally had the opportunity to enter the gates last weekend!

Once a year the embassies in DC host an open-house weekend and welcome everyone in for a tour.  We made a special effort this year to visit our German neighbors.  It was like a mini-festival with a variety of booths, music, food, drink, and freebies.  

Of course it happened to be one of the hottest, most humid days we've had so far and we were downing sparkling German water with double-fists.  We sampled chilled cherry soup (yummy) and some German wines.  They were also offering grilled brats and pretzels but we opted to forgo the very long line in return for more sight-seeing.  We came away with so many little treasures from Germany: lapel pins, key chains, bracelets, stickers...oh and this little beauty - the diplomat's BMW(just dreaming).

While we were waiting in line to get into the German Embassy I was chatting with the woman behind me who said she had visited the Hungarian Embassy earlier in the day and really liked it.  So...after Germany we hopped in the truck and drove on over to Hungary.  It was nice but very small compared to the German Embassy and very crowded.  They were out of the Hungarian goulash (rats!) but it was good for a bathroom break. 

After leaving the Hungarian Embassy we randomly discovered the Embassy of Belgium and figured we might as well stop and say hello.  So glad we did!  We toured the embassy, saw the ambassador's office, and really enjoyed their party snacks.  We tried these cookies called Jules Destrooper biscuterie and couldn't get enough! They looked like large, flattened waffle cones and tasted like crunchy, caramelized wafers.  They were so good that I swallowed my pride and went back for 2 more...one for me and the one for the husband.  They gladly complied.  We also enjoyed incredible Belgium chocolates made by Galler, which according to the box is "The" Belgian chocolate. We sampled some delicious pear nectar juice and of course had Belgium beer.  Come on, what's a trip to Belgium without some infamous Belgium beer?! Some of our favorite beers are from Belgium.  We enjoyed a bit of Duvel, Stella Artois, and something else that I can't remember.  

So what started as a trip to Germany turned into a spontaneous tour of Europe.  We had a really great day exploring together!

a view from inside the German Embassy looking out onto the lawn

the "ladies' sitting room" at the German Embassy- notice the curves

Embassy of Belgium