THAT is really in THERE?

For some reason, I just can't imagine that something as long as this -

And weighs about as much as one of these -

fits in here -

But I LOVE knowing that he's in there!

And this past weekend, I even started feeling him roll. I can easily now differentiate between kicking and rolling.
SUPER cool.

Sunroom Makeover

There were a couple of rooms in our house that we knew would need a face lift when deciding to purchase it.

One would be the sunroom.

It's a wonderful, enclosed room with an intimate, quiet view of the greenery around our backyard and we love it. We love nothing more than to sit out there sipping our Starbucks and watching the girls play. We did NOT, however, love the dark burgundy un-padded carpet that felt like sandpaper, nor did we like the matching dark burgundy plastic blinds.

We liked the idea of a 'beach' themed room since we live up here in Ohio so that's what we decided on!  

First, we removed all blinds, left the front windows open and have added dark, bamboo side blinds. The carpet is now a plush, sand-looking carpet with an actual pad underneath. Then, we added some beach decor, a yucca plant and furniture.... and voila! Our beach sun room!

Our favorite find? The real driftwood table we found at Arhaus Furniture (pictured in the upper right corner below)! It goes perfectly and is definitely a sturdy piece of real driftwood!

Now when there is 4 feet of snow on the ground this winter, we'll have our own little slice of "warmth" here at home! 

 

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

Made the delicious morsels this past weekend and they definitely do stay soft!

Very easy to throw together quickly also as they only bake for 10 minutes and prep time is only about 15 minutes.

ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup margarine, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.

2.In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.

3.Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

IT'S A ......

BOY!!!!!!!

Derek and I found out last week that the new member of our family coming in January will be a BOY!!!! We couldn't be more excited to have a 'mini-Derek' crawling around this house.

We've got a few names we like, but definitely aren't settled on any yet.

Can you believe we're halfway through this pregnancy already?! I can't, especially when I look at my 'tiny bump' to the left compared to friends who had full-on bellies by now. I guess that's what being tall does to you.  :)

Next up: Start planning the nursery!

One Bored Bailey

Someone just wants the baby to get here so there's new entertainment up here in Ohio!

Fondue Please!

Last night Derek and I ventured to The Melting Pot for dessert and drinks (virgin for me of course!) as well as open a piece of paper that would change our lives forever! We had the gender ultrasound in the morning, but had the tech write the sex of the baby in an envelope for us to open later. We thought this was a bit more romantic than just seeing some boy or girl 'parts' on a fuzzy black and white screen! That, and the fact that I had been CRAVING some good, chocolate fondue.

We weren't there all of 3 minutes and Derek was ready to rip open this sealed envelope.

So we did!

And then we had our YUMMY chocolate fondue dessert and enjoyed a nice rest of the evening buying our first gender-specific onesie together!

Oh.... did you think this post was going to reveal the sex of the baby? Sorry! Not QUITE yet! You'll have to check back later this week.

Happy Birthday Bailey!

Happy 3 year birthday to my little brown ray of sunshine! I can't BELIEVE you are already 3 as it just seems like we adopted you yesterday.

Hope you enjoyed your traditional McDonald's cheeseburger once again this year!

Bad Dog

So after preparing chicken breasts for dinner, going on a quick jog, then coming home to heat them up before Derek got home, I found this.

Yes, that's an empty plate.

My 8 year old devil child decided that she was hungry and jumped up and ate them straight off the plate.

TWO chicken breasts. UGH!

Might I remind you that our girls are VERY well behaved and never get into anything. We are so fortunate to have two wonderful pups that mind us and listen well. I guess it's partly my fault as I should have known how strong their noses are. I think she was just hoping that I'd come home all confused and not understand why I couldn't remember where I put the chicken.

Needless to say, she did not get dinner that night.

Pregnancy Update

I'm about 19 weeks along and definitely LOVING being pregnant. I thankfully never threw up once and am very fortunate to have had an easy pregnancy so far! (knock on wood). I do get tired earlier at night and my running pace has slowed a bit and now includes some walking breaks, but overall it's awesome. And yes, I'm trying to avoid maternity clothes as long as I possibly can. Working from home definitely helps with that, but here's a tip for my friends thinking about starting a family; get a good belly band! It allows you to not have to button your top button to stretch your normal shorts/pants longer!

On the BEST note, I've finally started to feel movements in my belly and can even feel them with my hand when I press in that area. Derek has also felt them with his hand and we both can't get over how amazing the miracle of birth is. I feel him/her mostly in the morning when I wake up and then at night when I'm laying down relaxing. I LOVE it.

Stay tuned as next week we find out what the sex is going to be! We both kinda think it's a boy, but would obviously love either the same.

What do YOU think it is?

Lakewood Arts Festival

This past weekend, Derek and I ventured down to the Lakewood Arts Festival here in Cleveland to enjoy some music and art. It was a LOT bigger than we thought it was going to be with TONS of vendors. We had great weather and definitely enjoyed all of the people watching.

The best part? A Robeks just opened there and I just happened to be craving a fruit smoothie!

Vail, Colorado

The second part of our trip was to Vail, Colorado for almost a week of hiking, biking, rafting (except for me due to Baby K), sight-seeing, miniature golfing, eating, shopping, reading, sunbathing and relaxing.

Whew!

It was so nice to get away and enjoy some relaxation and sun as well as fun activities around the city! We ended up with gorgeous, perfect weather and only saw a few drops of rain when were were there. Although I wanted to spot more animals on our paths, we only ended up seeing a deer and an adorable hound dog with a group of hikers (you can see him below). Thanks again to the Kleinmanns for taking us out there as our last, big getaway before the baby arrives!

Enjoy some of our pictures!

Kansas City

I'm splitting up our two 'stops' from this past vacation as I have tons of pictures to share!

The first stop was a few days in Kansas City where we ended up seeing over 25 friends and family members!! We literally had every minute and every meal planned with different people all over the city for three days. It was SO nice being home and seeing so many faces and we definitely do miss everyone.

Pictures below include the College Basketball Experience we went to with Sarah's family, some yummy barbecue and sweets we munched on while home and our friends adorable daughter, Lola (and of course their cute pups Boo and Scout). I meant to get pictures of everyone else we visited, but just ended up not having time!

Thanks to everyone that hosted us and met us out while we were there!

Baby Jackson

I was so excited this past weekend to go home and meet my cousin's first baby, Jackson! I haven't been able to see him since he was born and couldn't WAIT to squish his fat cheeks. He's SUCH a good baby and Derek and I loved taking turns holding him. He's super cute with the best facial expressions and definitely already smiling!

Krystal / Steve - If you need a babysitter, you can drive him on up here anytime!

We're BACK!!!

We've made it back from our 3 days in Kansas City and then our 6 days in Vail, Colorado! Pictures to come as soon as I can find some time to edit/collage them all. We were SO happy to see so many family and friends while in KC and definitely miss each and every one of you already.

For now, I'll leave you with this amazing picture of one of our hiking views of the city. We ended up with GORGEOUS weather in Colorado and had a wonderful time!

And a quick snapshot of what Matt and I did almost the entire trip with our new gadgets....