Getting Ready for BABY!

I've definitely been NESTING. A LOT. About 2 weeks ago I made a list of things I needed to do to get ready for baby #2. The list sat around, got lost a few times, and got colored on by Beth. So, I figured I should probably start DOING things on the list so I can cross them off! There were a few projects I needed to do, some things that I asked my mom to do (cause I don't have enough patience) and things I needed to purchase. So, I got to it. The first big project was to wash all of my newborn clothes (that have been stored since Beth grew out of them). So, I got them out and realized that they ALL had yellow stains on them. WHAT. I'd heard about this happening, but I thought I did a great job washing and storing them. Luckily my good friend Kristin told me to try soaking them in Oxiclean. I soaked them for days, and they all came out looking brand new! WHEW.

So, now all of my newborn clothes are washed, folded and put away! I will need to start the same process with my 3 month clothes, but that can wait a month or two. Luckily! This week we also put together the new bassinet and I LOVE it. It's lightweight, foldable, and I love the colors!

On my list of things to do I also had put down "Start Amielia's Quilt". To give you some background....When I went on maternity leave with my 1st pregnancy I got bored quick. So my mom suggested that I make a quilt for Beth. I thought it was a great idea. We bought the fabric, and my mom showed me the ins and outs of cutting, piecing and quilting. She was very patient with me. I went into labor about 3 hours after I finished piecing the front of the quilt. Here are some pictures of me and Beth's quilt.

So, when you make something for one child, you should probably follow suit with all of the children. Needless to say, I'm glad it's an easy design (one I drafted on a piece of paper at my mom's house), and I'm also glad we aren't planning to have a lot of kids. Here are the pieces for Ami's quilt. It is missing the center white portion with her "A" initial.

On my list I had "Pack Hospital Bag"....So, I made another list (yep, I'm a list-makin-freak) of the things I want in my bag. This is important, because when I had Beth I completely forgot to pack a going home outfit for me. Which meant I went home in the same thing I came to the hospital in. Plaid pajamas. Lovely for the super hot 4th of July afternoon that we were discharged. So this time, I remembered to pack an outfit for me. Along with the other things I will need during and after labor/delivery. I felt very accomplished until I remembered that I needed to pack a bag for Beth! She will be staying with Gran Dawnie (my mom) for the days that we are in the hospital. I got together the things for her bag (after making another list, sheesh). And realized she doesn't really have any "summer" clothes. Hm. So, we decided to try some second hand stores for nice summer clothes. I was so excited when we went into Savers (my friend Katy suggested it, and I'm so glad she did). I got 3 pairs of pants, 3 skirts, a pair of shorts, and 4 shirts for $24. It was awesome.

Something that recently got added to my to-do list is a nursing cover. I'd seen some friends and family use them and I thought they were really nice to have. This way I could nurse anywhere I needed to, but still feel comfortable. I talked to Kristin (she's my sounding board), about my idea and she said she'd loan me her's so that I could make a pattern from it! Now, it may seem like I do A LOT of sewing. I don't. Really. Just recently I've really enjoyed it and I can't help but share my stories with you. So, I sketched out my own pattern, talked to my mom (my other sounding board), and got to work. I was VERY happy, in fact, I'm ridiculously proud of my finished product. Mostly because It's not perfect, but I made it all by myself. I love it!

I've felt very accomplished the last few days. Things are getting done and lists are getting minimized. It feels great. As for other things, this last week Andrew had a wisdom tooth removed. It had been giving him issues for a year or so, and we finally decided to just DO IT. I'm glad we did it before the baby came because he was uncomfortable and tired most of the weekend. Poor guy. Beth tried to be soft and make daddy feel better. It was sweet.

Well, we are 3ish weeks from my due date! My Grandpa Bassett asked me the other day "When are you going to have that baby?"....I said "Uh, well, I'm not sure Grandpa."....he said he thought it would be the 14th!...Well OK! I'll let everyone know! :-) Well, we don't know WHEN this baby will come, but we are so happy to be more prepared for when she does! I finally took my husband's recommendation and bought an exercise ball to bounce on. It's helped immensely with my hip pain. Good idea honey! And Beth loves sitting on her "exercise ball" with me. This is my most recent belly picture, taken last week at 36 weeks!

 

I'm very grateful for the time and energy I've had the past week to get things done! I'm also grateful for our friends and family that have helped us get ready for baby #2. We love you all! 

Happy Blogging!

Adventures in Cooking

So, I didn't really have anything interesting to post about 2 weeks ago, but this last week definitely made up for it. Andrew finished his spring semester in school, and we are happy to have him home more! He'll start a summer class soon, but it's all online (luckily, since we're having a baby mid-semester). And then he'll resume a busy fall schedule in August. Beth has been finding new and exciting ways to entertain herself, I guess I'm boring....It's been fun to watch her and her creativity grow. Everything is a hat....including dishes...this means she gets a bath every night most nights. She's especially excited when she does it with out hands and says "Ta-da!"

Because I am low on energy these days, I let her play with whatever she finds. Baskets, plates, dull kitchen utensils, small children (just kidding). She is always so proud of herself when she find solutions to her boredom. She recently figured out that she can wash her hands all on her own if she finds a basket to stand on. And I guess hopscotch on plates is the new cool thing!

The best part about this last week was my Dad's Birthday Dinner. My dad turns 51 today, (although my nephew has been saying Papa is 55 for 2 years, :-] ) After having to beat it out of him, my dad told my mom he wanted my Grammy's chicken and noodles for dinner. My mom has tried to make it before, didn't really like it, and hasn't tried again. I've always loved this dish, and asked my Grammy to make it for me after I had Beth (I ate it for 3 days straight!). So, I knew I wanted to learn how to make it to carry on the tradition.

I told my mom I would go over, and learn to make the dish and help prepare that part of dinner, to make sure my grandparents weren't too overwhelmed. My Grammy agreed to show me, and I was really excited. Now, this dish is NOT chicken noodle soup. It's pan fried/grilled chicken with noodles and sauce over the top. I've never known anyone else who makes it, so it's hard to compare it to. You use eggs and flour to make the noodles. Roll it flat, let it dry, then roll it up to cut noodles. Then you boil it in chicken stock and add a little flour to make the sauce. You serve the noodles and sauce over chicken, potatoes, even a shoe. I'd probably eat it.

So, Sunday afternoon I did some visiting teaching, then went over to Grammy's with my ingredients to start the process. I knocked on the door and Grammy said "Come on in to a MESS".....Ok? I walked in and saw 3 bowls of soupy stuff, and my grandpa trying to make dough out of one of the bowls....My Grammy then explained that she accidentally put 3 cans of chicken stock into the bowl, instead of 3 eggs. So, they were trying to find more flour to thicken the "soup" and add eggs to it. She kept saying "I'm 80 years old, and I've never done anything so dumb"....and my grandpa would say "No, you haven't" and I would laugh! They have been married for over 60 years, and they are so funny to watch! Well, my grandpa was worried that the dough would be too wet to cut properly, but we seemed to make it work. He would cut the noodles and I would unroll them, my Grammy kept commenting on how nice of a job I was doing unrolling noodles. :-)

My Grammy also thought it was funny that Amielia wanted to help with the process. My belly was covered in flour all day long!

My grandpa was very worried about how the noodles would turn out because they didn't have time to dry. But we crossed our fingers. They put them into boil and I went home to get the rest of my family and stuff for dinner. Eric (my brother) was on his way to Grammy's with chicken to BBQ, and he was there when I got back. Grandpa told Eric to try to noodles and he did, at first they tasted just fine. But he confessed it was because they were so hot they scalded his mouth. He discreetly asked me to come inside a few minutes later and told me I HAD TO taste them....OK. So, I made sure they weren't too hot, and tasted them. And, well, they tasted like soap. Yucko. Well, this wasn't good. Since my dad was very picky, and wanted his favorite meal to be perfect.....I couldn't figure it out, until I looked at the flour "container" on the counter. My grandparents were keeping their extra flour in an old laundry detergent container. WHAT? My grandpa said he rinsed it out, but I'm guessing that after soap is in it for a few years, flour will absorb even the slightest smell or residue. I told Eric about the mix up earlier with the chicken stock and how these noodles were having some serious trouble.

A few minutes later my parents showed up....and Eric told my dad that the noodles probably weren't going to work out. After some debating, we decided to make a new batch. I tried my hand at it, and although my dad made fun of me because I wasn't doing it the same way as his mom had, for 60 years, it was fun. We cheated and used the oven to dry the dough before we cut it. And it turned out ok. Not perfect. But I plan on trying it again soon. But without the extra chicken stock, or laundry soap. When we finally sat down at the table my Grammy grabbed her cup of White Grape Juice and said "I think I need a drink"....I think we ALL did at that point! Happy Birthday Dad!

As we were trying to decide this morning what we wanted for lunch, I decided to make a few batches of waffles. They are quick, easy, and freezable. I wasn't really feeling like peanut butter or syrup on mine. So I decided to make some homemade caramel sauce. I look for a recipe, and found a simple one online. It was DELICIOUS. You can get the recipe here (http://yummysupper.blogspot.com/2010/02/homemade-caramel-sauce.html). I would recommend letting your butter and milk (I used whole milk instead of cream) warm up a bit before adding them. Otherwise it makes the caramel harden instantly. Beth much preferred the peanut butter, that she ate with her fingers (hey, it's protein!) but she did try a spoonful of caramel, and I think she liked it, in a silly way!

Bethani's new favorite expression is the eye roll. She gets loads of laughter out of us, and anyone else watching, every time she does it. I'm sure when she's 5, and I'm no longer "cool" this expression won't be nearly as cute. But I'll enjoy it right now!

Well, we've hit the 1 MONTH TO GO, point in my pregnancy. Andrew thinks I'm bigger now, than I ever was with Beth. But I disagree. Although I feel HUGE. I'm starting to have contractions here and there. Mostly braxton hicks, but I could never really see a big difference between braxton hicks and my early labor contractions with Beth's labor. So who knows. It's really hard to get comfortable, especially at night, which makes my exhaustion even more pronounced. But, with only 4ish weeks to go, I think I can deal with it. We are so excited to add another girl to our family. I've been getting out clothes and blankets for Amielia, and it reminds me just how small and snugly Beth was. I can't wait!

Well, if you made it through this LONG blog post, congrats! Whew. We are very excited for this summer, and I hope everyone has some fun things planned!! 

Happy Blogging!

A Day to Celebrate Mothers

So, I'm sure I am one of a billion blog posters who are "dedicating" their post to their moms. I wish I could be more creative, but, I feel like this post is SO important.

My mother's day was quite eventful. I woke up feeling well rested (Thank you Heavenly Father for that Mother's Day gift). Andrew had been feeling quite sick the night before, so when I saw that he was still sleeping, I decided not to wake him up yet. I got Beth some breakfast and turned on some cartoons so I could take a quick shower and get ready. Andrew woke up, and although he was feeling icky, he got ready for church too. We made it to sacrament meeting almost on time (Hey the day can't be perfect). We listened to some great talks. One of my favorite moms in the ward talked about having a Mantra that she says to her self when times get tough. She said that this mantra has extended the life of her children multiple times! :-) She lost her husband in a motorcycle accident almost 5 years ago, and was left to raise 3 children, alone. So her words always bring tears to my eyes. I can't remember the exact mantra, but I will definitely be making my own....if only for my kids' sake.

Then a brother got up to speak. He's married to a friend of mine, and in young men's with Andrew. He's only spoken maybe one or two other times, but I love listening to him speak. He specifically directed his talk to the men in the ward. And even though his talk was unfortunately cut short by time constraints, his spirit and insight touched my heart. He asked the men "Can we be better to our wives and do better?" It was a wonderful talk. It reminded me of President Uchtdorf's talk in the Priesthood session of General Conference. If you haven't heard it, or read it yet, DO IT...here's the link....http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/your-potential-your-privilege?lang=eng

After sacrament meeting, Andrew admitted he needed to go home. So, I told him to go to the car and I would drop Beth off at Nursery and then run him home. I didn't question his need to go home, because frankly, he looked terrible, and I knew there were no major sporting events on TV that day. :-)....So I tried to take Beth to nursery, but she wouldn't let me put her down. Now, normally, I am NOT the person to take her to nursery, for this very reason. Andrew takes her, since I have a class I teach, and I can't be late. But today, someone else was teaching the class, so I tried to drop her off. I couldn't do it. She clung to me and cried. So, I took her out to the car, and Andrew and I decided it might be best that she stay home with him so I could enjoy the rest of church. After church was over, I went home and checked on Andrew, still sick, poor guy. I got Beth some lunch and told Andrew he needed to take a nap, sleep is wonderful for colds.

On a whim, I decided to take Beth to my parent's ward which meets later in the afternoon. So, we left Andrew at home, with pillows, blankets, water, his phone, and strict instructions to SLEEP. Beth was happy to see Papa and Gran Dawnie. My dad is the Bishop of their ward (The ward that I grew up in and attended for 21 years of my life). So, Beth couldn't sit with him, since he was on the stand at the front. But she did pretty well sitting with me and my mom. She did throw a minor fit or two, but it was close to nap time, and her second sacrament meeting of the day. I was so grateful I went to the meeting because I got to listen to a WONDERFUL speaker. I am well acquainted with her, and her family. She recited a quote that brought tears to my eyes. After church I sent a message to her daughter and asked where I could get a copy, because I loved it THAT much. And here is the quote:

"I grant you that there are many who approach the great responsibility of motherhood with fear & timidity, because of its dangers to the physical life of the mother, because of its pain, its sorrow & its distress; but in the very nature of things, if God should lighten the burdens, the sorrow, & the pain of child-bearing, he would endanger the enduring love of the mother for her children. There is nothing worth while we obtain unless we pay the price for it. That which is given to us freely, we consider of little value, & so, because a mother goes into the valley of death, lays her life upon the alter to bring life into the world, & because through the rearing of the children who come to her, she spends many sleepless nights, denies herself the personal pleasures of life, devotes herself with patience & care & strength almost more than she has, to the welfare of her children-this is what makes her love them. For where her treasure is, there her heart is, & the greatest treasure a woman has she gives in her service, her life itself. All that she has, she gives for her children, beginning with the great ordeal of bringing them into this life." 

 

-Melvin J. Ballard

This quote especially means something to me since I will be going through labor and delivery next month with our second child. This time around we are hoping to labor and deliver without any pain medication at all. So when Brother Ballard speaks of... "if God should lighten the burdens, the sorrow, & the pain of child-bearing, he would endanger the enduring love of the mother for her children," it really made me think. Now, I believe that there are burdens, sorrow and pain, ANY WAY you choose to deliver your children. But I think I needed to hear this talk because recently I've been questioning my ability to deliver this baby without the use of pain medication, I've never done it before. I keep forgetting that the Lord knows the difficulties of pregnancy, labor and delivery. And that those struggles teach us something greater, LOVE.  I now have a stronger testimony of my body's abilities. I know that because of our preparation, we will be blessed. Keep in mind, The "All Natural Delivery" goal is just our personal preference this time around, but everyone has the right to choose the way they want to deliver their baby. 

 

After visiting my parents ward I went home and put Beth down for a much needed nap, I checked on Andrew who was sleeping. And I finished a few things before heading to our Bassett Family dinner that evening. I got to spend time socializing and eating wonderful food with the wonderful Bassett family. My Grammy Bassett is one of those wonderful women in my life that I am SO grateful to have. She is getting older, and can't do as much as she used to, but I will never forget the wonderful memories I have of her. After dinner we returned home, Beth was put to bed and Andrew and I spent a few hours talking about the day. He felt SO bad that he missed "making the day special" for me. But I told him it was a wonderful day, even though he couldn't do much "extra" to help. While he was home sick he cleaned up the house, did the dishes, and had a wonderful card for me. He's a wonderful man.

I'm so grateful to my mother. My sister Bo wrote a wonderful blog post about my mom and I echo a lot of her praises. My mother is amazing. She is always giving, and never turns down someone in need. She is often the voice of reason, but in a calm and loving way. About 10 years ago she was diagnosed with MS, it has been a LONG, HARD road for her. But she was always there for her kids. She drove us everywhere, made it to every event, and supported us in every challenge. Luckily, she found a wonderful medication that has worked to control a lot of her symptoms. But it didn't come without sacrifice. When I was a teenager she apologized that we couldn't have the nicer things the other kids had, cell phones, the "in" clothes, cars, etc. She explained that her MS medication was very expensive. Even with the insurance coverage my parents had, her medication cost around $500 per month. As teens, we thought and said "It's ok mom, we understand, and we wouldn't want to have those other things, especially if it meant you didn't get the medication you needed." And now as an adult, I am even more in awe. I was never without what I needed. I was and continue to be very blessed by having her in my life.

 

About 5 years ago, I added another mom to my life. My mother in law. She is a wonderful woman, who is always putting herself last. She worries about the kids, their spouses and the grand kids first, and then maybe, just maybe she'll think about herself. Sometimes I want to wring her neck, and tell her to "Sit down and stop fussing! You'll never enjoy your meal if you are constantly helping kids." But she wouldn't listen, she's too dedicated. Of all the things she has done there is one that I am the most grateful for. After 3 children, my in laws decided that they were done having children. They kept to this decision for almost 10 years. Until one day, after some experiences, they decided they were NOT done. So they had 2 more children, 17 months apart. The older of the two is Sam, brother and best friend to my husband and the husband of a close friend (and now sister in law). And the last child they had was my husband. If they would have stuck to their original decision, my life would be completely different today. So I am grateful for them changing their minds. My husband, and Sam, were probably not easy children to deal with. They are full of energy and very stubborn as individuals, but put them together, and they are a force to be reckoned with. My mother in law did get good practice with Andrew's older siblings....especially the 2 older boys.....(If his brother's read this they'll say "who could she be talking about???"). All in all, her decision to bring more children into this world has directly impacted my life. Thank you Diane!

There are many other women in my life that are wonderful examples to me. I have/have had wonderful Grandmas (and Great Grandmas), Aunts, Cousins, Sister's in Law and Friends who remind me that being a mother is NOT easy, but it's definitely worth it. And to them, I am also grateful.

My mother's day was wonderful and memorable. I fell so blessed to have Bethani in my life and I can't wait till her sister Amielia joins us. I am lucky to be a mother to these two girls. It's a gift that I will never come close to repaying. My only picture on the blog this week is my "Happy Mother's Day" picture from Beth. I took it yesterday after church. She was walking around the house in my shoes, and she wanted me to look. She now says "MOM!" a lot. And I do mean the caps and exclamation mark. It's never a "mom?" or "Mom." But no matter how she says it, I'm grateful that she knows how much I love her and that I am her "MOM!"

 Happy Blogging Everyone!

When I'm not sleeping....

Sleep. It's SO important right? I've had less of it for the last 22 months, due to Beth. She was never a good sleeper. Even as a newborn she usually slept in 2 hour shifts, and at the longest, I'd get a 1 hour nap during the day. At the time, I didn't know any different since she was my first baby. Around 10 months her habits changed. And after a few weeks of her sleeping 6-8 hours a night, and 2 hours during naps, I realized  how sleep deprived I was. For the last year or so, she's had one nap a day (1-3 hours), which is wonderful! But, she was still waking up between 2-5am for milk. I got rid of her bottles at 15 months (way too late!), but I allowed her to keep the milk in a sippy cup since at the time, we were dealing with a toddler bed transition and teeth.

I realized that a lot of her bad habits came from my behavior. I made a lot of mistakes as a first time mom. I decided to buck up and get her on a good sleep schedule before I have this baby. So, in an effort to curb her late night milk addiction, I decided that she could no longer go to bed with milk. Not for a nap, not for bedtime, and not in the middle of the night. I didn't know how I was going to hold up, since I am usually SO tired in the middle of the night I will give her anything. But I was determined. So, after about a week, I am happy to report that she only has milk with meals and she rarely wakes up in the middle of the night (this has happened 3 times in 10 days). She gets to have a water bottle in her room so if she wakes up thirsty she can get a drink and go back to bed. It's amazing how much better I feel in the morning. Granted, I still get up at least twice to go to the bathroom due to pregnancy, but twice is better than the four to sometimes even five times I'd get up before Beth slept through the night.

It's been great to have the "extra" sleep since recently I've been EXHAUSTED! I'm not sure if it's due to my unborn child having a growth spurt, or my very "born" child wearing me out, but either way, it's tiring. At the end of last week I woke up with a scratchy throat, head ache, and I probably sneezed 50 times that day. I wasn't sure if it was allergies or a cold, but either way, I knew the best way to get rid of it was to sleep. So, that night I took a tylenol and benedryl (which is the ingredient equivalent to tylenol PM). I hoped the tylenol would help with the headache, and the benedryl would help the sneezing. I knew that I had a very limited window to get rid of these nasty symptoms before they turned into something worse. You see, in my sick "history" it's noted that I go from feeling perfect, to having full blown strep, laryngitis, or a nasty cold virus, within about 12 hours. So, you can probably imagine how relieved I felt when I woke up the next morning and I felt better, not worse!

Having kicked those symptoms, I jumped into the day and tried to get everything done that got missed the day before. That evening I was disappointed to have the nasty headache return, with horrible nausea. Typically my pregnancy nausea is made worse by a lack of eating. So, I tried to eat small meals, but after every meal, my nausea would get worse. That evening before bed I took a Phenergen, a wonderful anti-nausea pill. With my 1st pregnancy I could take 1-2 pills, sleep soundly through the night, wake up without nausea and go to my full time job. After a while my body got used to it, and around the 1/2 way mark in my first pregnancy, 2 pills no longer had any effect. 

At the beginning of this pregnancy I tried using Zofran (my day time anti nausea) and Phenergen (my night time anti nausea), but neither did anything. I've refrained from testing them further during this pregnancy because they used to put me to sleep, and before now, Beth was still getting up at night. So I was surprised to find that when I took Phenergen this time, it worked! My overwhelming nausea went away so I could sleep and I felt much better in the morning. The only downside? Even though I only took 1 pill, I was tired for a full 24 hours. I turned on some cartoons for Beth around 9am that morning, and the next thing I know it's 1PM! WHAT? (Yeah I know, I'm a terrible mom). This drowsy state continued all weekend. Most days I slept 12 hours at night, and I even took a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. Luckily Andrew and Beth were understanding. I guess my body and mind needed that sleep, because today, I feel much better. 

With the gorgeous weather today we decided to go to the Zoo. And apparently so did everyone else. There were 2 preschool groups, and a plethora of other parents and kids. Luckily we had made most of our rounds before the large groups got in. We stopped by the Wallaby area and got to walk inside the exhibit and see the Wallaby mama. The baby was hiding in her pouch. She didn't really enjoy the onlookers, and having a baby in my "pouch" as well, I can't say I blame her. The last thing you want is to have people staring at your midsection. 

We noticed a "Giraffe Experience: Come feed the Giraffes!" sign about 20 minutes after we got there and luckily they were still doing it for another 10 min. We paid $3 for a large leaf of lettuce and had no idea what to expect! As we got up to the almost nonexistent line, we saw a dad and little boy in front of us. The little boy was TERRIFIED. And I started to worry about Beth enjoying the experience. The Giraffe was RIGHT THERE. It was so close and I was unsure if Beth would love it or hate it. Either way, we were about to find out.

Beth was a little timid at first, but she loved it! She wasn't scared, and Andrew and I both thought it was SO COOL! We couldn't believe just how long the Giraffe's tongue was, it probably could have gotten the lettuce even if Beth had it behind her back.

It was probably the best $3 and use of lettuce EVER! I found out that they let Zoo Patrons feed the Giraffes daily from 10:15am-11:00am, weather permitting, every day. Since we have a Zoo pass, we'll definitely be coming back to do this again.

After the Zoo, everyone was hungry. For about 6 months I have been craving a really good Hot dog. Weird right? Well a few months ago Andrew and I watched season 1 & 2 of Man V Food on Netflix. And it seemed like he was always eating the most delicious Hot Dogs and Polish Sausages. So I think that's where my craving originated. I am a huge skeptic of hot dogs in general. For the last 10 years I would only eat one if my dad assured me that it was 100% Beef, no junk. My Dad has worked in food service for 20 years, so he knows his stuff about....well....the STUFF that some people put in their hot dogs. 

After about 20 min of convincing, Andrew finally agreed to go to a newer place in Boise, call Stan's Hot Dogs. We walked in and Stan himself greeted us and showed us the menu. All his products come straight from New York, including their frozen custard. He assured me that it was a great product, 100% Beef (or pork if you opted for that dog) and NO fillers. We were also happy to find out that on Mondays their special is Beef on Weck. Which is Prime rib, on a German roll, with Horseradish. Andrew had that and LOVED it. I had a traditional Hot Dog, and it was amazing. We also had their home made, super FRESH, onion rings and fries. Beth was happy to eat a few fries, but Stan came over and asked if he could give her some frozen custard. I said "Sure, that'd be great!"....Visions of an ice cream covered child went through my mind. Kids can NEVER finish an ice cream cone without it melting ALL OVER. But hey, it was a fun day, bath day, and a free sample, so lets go for it. It was awesome. The custard is sweeter than ice cream, but has less sugar. It doesn't melt like ice cream does, so Beth was able to finish the entire cone, and stay relatively clean! After tasting some of Beth's, Andrew went and got his own. This is definitely a new Monday tradition! It is a little pricey, but it's great food and great service. 

Beth was alternating her Custard Cone and a Dill Pickle, Sympathy Cravings?

Just for the record, I LOVE pickles (Dill only) and I love sweet things. But, NEVER. Ever. Together. Yuck! So I have no idea where she got this. Speaking of cravings, or lack of for me, we are in the home stretch with this pregnancy. I have 6-7 weeks left. With Beth I was dilated to a 1 at 37 weeks, stuck at 3cm for about 4 days, and had her 8 days before her due date. I know that every pregnancy, labor and delivery is different, so I figure I'll plan to go to my due date but be pleasantly surprised if this baby comes when Beth did.

After all the teasing Andrew got from the Empathy Belly pictures, I figured I'd go back to posting my own pictures. I am 32 weeks in this picture, it was taken last week. My hair is getting quite long, I'm hoping wear it braided during labor.

Well, that is our fun week. I slept through most of it, but when I wasn't sleeping it was a BLAST! Andrew has about 2 weeks left of this semester, and then he'll be gearing up for summer semester. He'll only have one online class, so it will be somewhat of a break for him. He'll need the "school break" because all through the late spring and summer we will be studying  "How to labor and delivery Naturally," "How to raise a 2 year old," and "How to handle being a family of 4."  Tough classes, but I know a lot of people that have passed them with flying colors. :-)

I hope everyone is well rested, cold/allergy free, and craving another hot dog like me!

Happy Blogging!