Remember November

November is already coming to a close and it feels like we sprinted here. A lot of things have happened these last couple weeks and I struggle to remember them all, but here are the highlights (or what we took pictures of so that I could remember they happened…)

The triple plus two got together for one last meal before one of us skipped town for the next 3 months. Amy and Scott are off to St. Croix for vacation work so we spent an evening in Greensburg, IN at a Chili’s for dinner reminiscing and discussing (albeit loosely) future plans. We ended the night at a Dairy Queen and took one last picture together before going our separate ways for a while.

the Dairy Queen background kind of makes it look like
we're at a kids/Amy's birthday party

Groby turned 34 weeks…2 weeks ago…here are the pics.

Robin got a car and it’s gorgeous!

it was really dark...

Thanksgiving! Around 38 people convened in Marion for one giant never ending meal along with some games, stories and home videos. I also Skyped into a baby shower that was thrown for me in New York by my extended family. It was a really fun day.

All the first cousins

Dad carving one of many Turkeys

Early brother-sister Christmas! On Black Friday we chose to stay in and pretend it was Christmas. We got up earlyish and gathered around Dad’s silver tree to exchange gifts with all the brothers and sisters minus one. It was followed by breakfast and a day full of Christmas like activities concluding with delicious hot chocolate paired with some Elf.

we neglected to take a picture all together so I had to get creative.
Aaron and Scott gave to each other, Lauren gave to Alli, Jordan gave
to Lauren, Alli gave to me, I gave to Mark and Mark gave to Jordan.

Aaron’s golden birthday was Saturday and he got to celebrate it just the way he wanted. It started with some thoughtful gifts, followed by a visit from favorite friends, lots of game playing, a family dinner of turkey and frozen egg-noodles and Mom’s chocolate-chocolate birthday cake. He had a great day.

Amy this one’s for you. Unfortunately all the fun of the last week or two took a toll on my feet, lending them to some significant swelling. Enter Amy’s club-foot look where I had to wear a tight shoe on my right foot to keep the swelling down with no shoe needed on the left. Classy.

It’s been a fun November and I can’t wait to enjoy all the fun that December promises to bring.

Toby's true feelings about the baby revealed.

10 Things I Like About the Next 6 Weeks

The Holidays are finally upon us. Step aside, Columbus Day, you were so October. It's late November, which means a whirlwind of decorating, undecorating, redecorating and finally, depression. But wait! Before the trail of frozen tears --also known as January 2-April 1--arrives, here are ten things that make the next six weeks completely worth 0 degrees Celsius.

(10)

The Peppermint Mocha

An old friend "returns" to Starbucks. I say "returns" only because I'm 65% sure they have peppermint syrup year round. Regardless, once it hits your lips, it's so good.

(9)

Real Christmas Trees

Growing up, we would make the annual post-Thanksgiving trek to Helt's Pines to seek out the perfect Christmas tree. After cutting it down ourselves, riding a hay wagon back to the parking lot, and bungeeing the thing to our family van, Christmas would officially start. Since Jath and I have been apartment dwellers for the last several years, however, we've been unable to carry on the tradition, instead opting for a lovely and lasting $50 "douglas fir" from Target. This year? It's real tree time.

(8)

Feasting

When else can you eat a 3,000 calorie lunch in one sitting, take a nap, and then decide to eat the same food between two slices of bread and call it dinner? And of course, Dec. 1-Dec. 25 = "I should probably buy two; they don't make these holiday-themed ____ year round, ya know. "

(7)

Vacation Days

Of course I am grateful for my job and the intellectual challenge (also, income) it provides. I'm just also very grateful for paid holidays.

(6)

Layering

I've always been a cold weather dresser, although with some limitations (it is possible to wear too many collared pieces of clothing at once). Now I finally have an excuse to break out the sweater vest and blazer...eat your heart out Virginia.

(5)

Christmas Music

Timing is everything here. Two radio stations in town have already begun round the clock Christmas music. In my family, we don't let Kenny Rogers out of his CD case until we've got a tree strapped to the roof of our car.

(4)

Holiday Movies

A list within a list: holiday films I will watch this year--including some against my will: It's A Wonderful Life (no one remembers the first 3/4 of this movie), Elf (Baby, it's cold outside), Charlie Brown Christmas (have you ever sung the word "loo" before?), Christmas Vacation (mainly for the gift-wrapped cat), and A Muppet Christmas Carol (because the 12 prior version weren't enough?)

(3)

Snow???

Snow in Indiana = hitting my face at 25 mph (i.e., it's windy). Snow in Virginia = shut this state down. Snow in Cleveland = it must not be June, July, or August. Snow here? Only time will tell.

(2)

Family!

(Alli was with us in spirit...and in the West Wing DVDs she got me).

We love them a lot and wish they all lived closer. This time of year, however, they all seem a little closer than normal.

(1)

Having a Baby!

Six weeks might be a bit optimistic for the first one but we're holding out hope that baby [we're not telling] will at least get here before the New Year. In truth, we'll take him whenever he wants to get here, even if it's in the middle of my fourth dinner roll.

!!Happy Thanksgiving!!

dreaming in vapo

Sleep. 


I've been feeling like I can never have enough these days, so when severe pregnancy-related congestion started infringing on the sleep I was getting it wasn't pretty. After a few days of miserable nights being unable to breathe or rest I knew something had to be done.


Enter the Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier with a little vapo rub steam on the side. Needless to say my nights haven't been the same since. I can breathe easy all night long which means I can almost pull an all nighter* save for those trips to the bathroom. 

warm steam in progress

the only downside: the morning disassembly and nightly reassembly
 in order to keep it clean and functioning properly

even Toby enjoys the warm Vicks laced air

*(my pastor uses this term to describe the kind of night he has when he doesn't have to get up to use the bathroom)

Maintaining a Home

Last weekend was a rare one for serial renters like us--a weekend filled with home maintenance. Basically, we've spent the last three years wishing we had nice landscaping. Since we've moved into our place here, however, we've quickly changed our minds.

For example, the backyard bamboo, the side yard ivy, and--most troubling--the front yard giant grass bushes, all are a bit more maintenance than I would sign up for again. Nevertheless, here we are and with one of the last nice weekends of the year, I decided to do a little good ol' fashioned yard work.

The end result? A front-lawn so well manicured that Robin nearly drove by our house because she didn't recognize it. I realize that likely says more about the state of the landscaping before I started than it does about how great of a job I did, but any victory is one worth celebrating. I'm also particularly proud that I dug up the gladiola bulbs and prepped them for winter storage, as opposed to letting them freeze in the mulch bed. Such good tenants.

In other upkeep activities, we got the glass "storm panes" in on the windows around the house, cleaned the roman blinds in the baby's room, and stopped using the giant fan to blow cool air up to the second floor. Theoretically, we should have done this a few weeks ago, but the weather has been so unpredictably hot/cold that we didn't want to winterize too early.

The week ahead offers a bit more down time than usual: a potential movie premiere, community group dinner, and no Lamaze class (that's right, we graduated). Given that we only have 7-8 weeks before "our lives are forever changed", we'll take some relaxation.

"Ringing" in November

Happy November!
And welcome to the eighth month of pregnancy.
Thankfully, of the many distasteful pregnancy symptoms that I've been experiencing, unsightly and outrageously uncomfortable swelling has not been one of them...yet. I have however become a little "puffy" over the last several weeks as initially indicated by the increasing difficulty I was having taking off my wedding ring. I usually only take off my ring to put on lotion which depending on how dry my hands are happens 0-2 times a day. Normally it just slips right off but as the days have been getting colder and my hands dryer my ring finger was becoming less and less forgiving. Here is a picture of the last time I was able to wear my ring.

very real and wonderful ring signifying an
undying love and commitment 

It's not the clearest picture but perhaps you can see the "puffiness" that seems to surround the ring on either side. Once I finally got the ring off (a little soap and tugging) the sore, red imprint it left behind was a sign that I may have waited just a little too long to remove it. 


Not being able to wear my ring for the next 2-3 months is not something I was excited about, which is probably why I waited so long to take it off. So to keep my finger from feeling "naked" and my paranoia that no one will think I'm married abated, I brought out my replacement ring. I originally bought this ring to wear after we got engaged and had to wait for my ring to be sized. Ironically my real ring was a size 7 that had to be sized down to a 4.5, and the fake replacement ring I bought was a size 7 that I had to wrap string around so it would stay on. Well no need for the string anymore. The replacement size 7 ring fits perfectly right now and hopefully my hands won't get any bigger or I might have to get a back-up for my replacement. Maybe my next ring will come with a gumball...

not so real 9.99 ring signifying my vanity and insecurity
that I should ever be seen in public again as "unmarried"

October

In a bid toward greater efficiency this week (read: less time sitting and thinking of what to say), I thought I'd provide a largely pictorial version of the month of October. Of course, I would never leave you without context and commentary.

October 2 - Visits from Friends

Scott & Amy came over from Indiana to take in the wonders of SW Ohio. The result? A trip to Hidden Valley Fruit Farm. Pros? It was Apple Cider fest, which means more unhealthy food, a bluegrass band, and lots of fellow farm-goers. Cons? Picking your own apples was so expensive that we actually saved money by purchasing ones that other people had picked--that and the incredibly long lines to purchase said apples.

After church on Sunday, we had a lunch for 8 (+1 sleeping 1 yr old). Jath busted out some amazing soup, we pulled some chairs up from the basement, and I rushed out the door to NYC while a house full of people enjoyed still-hot homemade bread!

October 9 - Our Baby Gets Some Furniture

Thank goodness for IKEA, power drills, and a small car with a freakishly large trunk.

With quilt hangers installed a few days later, we're getting ready for December.

October 17 - Baby Shower in Indiana

The middle of October brought us back to "The Middle" (also a fantastic show on ABC for those of you who can identify with all things Midwest). Jath's friends Robin and Amy and our sister (in-law) Lauren hosted a baby shower. They spent all day Saturday--seriously, all day--baking, cooking, putting together party favors, planning activities, and watching the movie Babies for inspiration. I, on the other hand, played tennis, played Kan-Jam, ate Pizza King pizza, and hung out with friend Jason.

The shower was a great success (read: our car was loaded down with thoughtful, useful gifts) and it was great to see (for 5 min.) our long lost friends Steve & Jolie (VISIT!)

October 24 - Family Sleepover 2010

This past weekend was our annual family get together--artfully termed the "SFSO". In only two years, it has become by far one of my favorite weekends. From judging the quality of one another's favorite family memories around a Friday night firepit to climbing onto a hay wagon for family pictures taken by the cashier of a local farm, we have way too much fun with very few supplies.

The matching sweatshirts compliment the matching blankets from last year. Not pictured? Hours of Kan-Jam (seriously, Google this game then go find a way to play it), the spiciest entree I have eaten in several years, 10 carved pumpkins, Lucy & Toby's non-stop running around, Mark & Lauren's frankenfuton, and late-night s'mores.

In summary, October's been a good month.

food for thought

It would seem that we have been a bit delinquent in our posting for October, meaning we will either post like crazy this week or just do better next month. I can't wait to see which one we choose!


This post will be about food. I found a smattering of food photos on our camera from the last several weeks so I thought it might be fun to share.


We'll start with some dinners. Robin had the pleasure of experiencing most of the food below and was probably the reason we even have pictures of them. So thank you Robin for finding my cooking photo-worthy :)

Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken
over brown rice with broccoli

Spinach Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Eggplant Lasagna
(this had lots of yummy veggies in it)

Autumn Chicken Pot Pie
(butternut squash was what made it distinctly fall, so good)

Now on to lunch. I originally took pictures of my lunch because of how simple and kindergarten like they all were. Hey what's good for a six-year old is good for the pregnant lady and so tasty! Remember an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

green beans, cheese and crackers, sliced apple
oh and lots of water of course

Trader Joe's Organic Joe's O's and sliced apple

whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and sliced apple

I have no pictures of breakfast. They aren't usually very exciting anyway. Just a bowl of cereal (Honey Nut Cheerios, Quaker Honey Graham Oh's, Cinnamon Life) with organic milk and a sliced banana - for all that good potassium.


Dessert. Oddly enough I don't have very many pictures of desserty things which is weird because that's probably what I make the most. This month alone I made Molasses Cookies, Chocolate-Chip Apple Pumpkin Bread, Oreo Pie, and Double Layer Pumpkin Cheese Cake. Here are some things I/we made and did take pictures of.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
not so recent but such a pretty picture!

Braided Lemon Bread

Monkey Bread with cream cheese glaze

The Best Coffee Cake. Ever.
Made by Aaron and repeated by Aaron. A new favorite
and no stranger to the blog

So where's the chocolate? I know it's shocking how lacking in chocolate all those desserts were. Well this past week I got something in the mail to make up for it. My wonderful husband got me my very favorite box of Godiva chocolate in honor of our pregnancy home stretch. Only 2 months to go! Sweet as candy that Aaron.

Milk chocolate assortment.
Just what the doctor ordered

Mmmm such good food deserves a pregnancy peek. Thankfully my increasing girth has more to do with the growing baby inside than any of the food pictured above. Here we are at 30 weeks.