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....

Fetal Doppler

I know I'm COMPLETELY lucky for not having any pregnancy symptoms (being over 4 months along) and definitely don't take that for granted, but sometimes I wonder if there actually IS a baby inside there!

Well now I can hear its little heartbeat whenever I want thanks to my Sonoline C Fetal Doppler. It's definitely my favorite gadget right now and when I'm having a rough day, I just lube up my lower stomach and rub the wand until I hear the magical little sound. Nothing makes me smile more right now than to hear that noise.

Only a few more weeks until we know the sex. I kinda think it's a boy, but there's definitely not a strong feeling either way!

What do YOU think we're having?!?!

Baked Penne

I got this fun recipe from my friend Kayla and we really enjoyed it.

It's very easy to prepare and it serves 8 so we had leftovers all week!




INGREDIENTS
•3 cups Cooked Penne Pasta
•1 pound Lean Ground Beef
•1 cup Chopped Onion
•2 cloves Garlic, Minced
•2 cans Italian Stewed Tomatoes (14 oz Cans)
•1 can Tomato Paste (8 oz Can)
•1 cup Water
•1-½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
•1 teaspoon Salt
•¼ teaspoons Black Pepper
•1 cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Bring water to a boil and cook the pasta as directed on the box. Use enough raw pasta to make about 3 cups of cooked pasta. Drain and set aside.

2. Brown beef with onion and garlic. Drain off fat.
3. In a food processor or blender, puree canned tomatoes, paste and water.
4. Pour tomato mixture into ground beef mixture.
5. Add seasonings.
6. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes.
7. Stir in cooked pasta.
8. Spoon into a 9×13 baking dish and bake, covered, for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.
9. Remove from oven, top with cheese, and bake an additional 5 minutes.

** I doubled the amount of garlic and it was YUMMY.. but I heart garlic always.

Blueberry Yumminess!

I ended up trying out the two recipes I had found this past weekend and they were DELICIOUS! Considered both as breakfast items, they were a bit too sweet for us to eat that early in the morning. We ended up enjoying them as delicious desserts.

The muffins ended up making about 30 or so (a HUGE batch) so I gave a plateful to our Greek neighbors next door who are constantly giving us food from their fruit/veggie gardens. But the recipe for croissants (above) only made 8 and they didn't make it beyond a few days as they were so yummy!

Bow Wow Dog Beach

I was definitely a bit scared that the girls would forget how to swim when we moved up here. There seemed to not be any lakes that allow dogs to swim in them, nor any dog parks with water.

That is.... until another agent told Derek about the Bow Wow Dog Beach in Stow, Ohio.

It's a 7.5 acre park fully equipped with a dock for dogs, jump off, picnic tables for 'owners' to relax and a HUGE (clean) lake.

This past Sunday, we made the 40 minute drive hoping it would be well worth the trip... and BOY was it!

The park is free, clean, full of balls and HUGE! The girls swam for over an hour fetching every ball we threw and chasing other dogs. They hadn't forgotten how to swim in the least bit and had the time of their lives.

(To the left is Bailey and Lacy both swimming back to shore in with balls in their mouth's!)

We will definitely be back!

Blueberry Fun

Derek and I ventured out to a local blueberry farm today to load up on the delicious little morsels. They were fully ripe, firm and HUGE!

Anyone have any yummy recipes that call for fresh blueberries?

 I think I might try these blueberry turnovers or these blueberry cream muffins.

PS - Did I mention how much I LOVE my new camera?!

Michelle's Baby Shower

Last weekend I ventured down to the warm city of Dallas to spend some time with one of my best friends, Michelle! Michelle is due in 6 weeks with her first baby, Sam, and we planned a fun baby shower for her over the weekend. As someone who would LOVE to be a professional organizer, I absolutely love throwing showers and was so excited to throw one for Michelle. Overall, it was a great weekend full of her family and friends and hanging out with my favorite pug in the world, Neuman!

Here are just a few pics from the festivities -

Love ya Michelle!!

Faces of Lacy

The three pictures below, captured over the last week, pretty much sum up our first born.

The calm lover with understandable eyes. 

The protector (always on the lookout). 

The sunbather.

People are always amazed at how calm this lab mix is and we never complained. From birth, she has never had tons of energy and is a laid back dog in general. And with that comes loyalty. If we were on a hike and something happened to us both, this dog would not leave our side. Her beautiful, deep eyes continually communicate with us and she has always been considered by us to have a 'human' personality. We know what she is thinking and she loves nothing more than to snuggle. Lacy takes pride in keeping watch on our home and her sister. But what's the favorite thing for the black dog to do? Burn up while sunbathing outside to the point where I can barely touch her. Crazy, but she loves it.

And then there were three....

Yep, that's right. We're having a baby!!!!! Most of you know by now, but this is the "OBP". (official blog post!).

"Baby K" will grace us with his/her presence next January and we couldn't be more thrilled.

As far as myself.... doing GREAT! I had some lower back pain for a couple weeks early on but other than that, nothing. I haven't thrown up once, and except for the occasional short bout of dizziness, pregnancy is treating me well! I LOVE knowing there is something living inside of me that goes wherever I go, and I just can't get over the miracle of life. This whole process is just amazing and it's definitely fun to read up on how the baby is growing each week. No tummy bump yet, but I'm getting there!

I'll update on here from time to time on the 'newest development', but right now we are just excited to know that our family is growing and we can't WAIT to meet the little guy/girl!!