Babymooning in Austin

Okay, this is a long one...

The first weekend in December Randy and I took a much needed long weekend and made a road trip to Austin. Some place warmer than Kansas that we had been wanting to explore. And our babymoon. It was worth every second, and we'd both highly recommend Austin as a great location for a weekend getaway!

We're Food Network junkies, so before we got on the road, we checked out the restaurants that the foodies recommended in Austin and basically planned our trip that way. Yum.

First on the list - Magnolia Cafe from Drive-in, Diners, & Dives (and no I can't say that three times fast). They're known for their pancakes, but we went at lunch and their special of the day enchiladas are yummy too.

Then it was off for an afternoon of exploring the fun, funky shops on South Congress. Everything from wierd consignment to Justin boots and Mexican folk art.

That night we ate at Shady Grove, thank you Rachel Ray. This time we did try the dish they're known for - tortilla fried queso catfish. Yum. We got lost, which proves that even a Garmin isn't always right (thanks, Dad, for letting us test your Christmas gift before you opened it!), but the place was well worth it.

And later...Opera Cake from the best Whole Foods. As much as we like good food and cake, neither of us are big eaters. So we split meals, and on vacation we find the grocery store with the best bakery selection for a treat later in the evening. Whole Foods is the best at this, especially the Austin store. I won't tell you how many times we stopped by that store in three days.

Friday morning we started out with our favorite place of the weekend - 1886 Cafe & Bakery, downtown. This is one of those places you go for breakfast or lunch if you want to save your pennies. We had the best sausage and egg croisant and Ginger Snap Pancakes. So. Good. I have got to try to recreate that recipe. The pancakes were basic fluffy pancakes with blueberries sandwiched between them, crushed ginger snaps and powdered sugar on top and a vanilla maple syrup. I'm not normally a sugar person in the morning, but these were so very good! If anyone has a recipe for vanilla maple syrup, let me know!

After breakfast we took off west of Austin and went exploring around Lake Tyler. We hiked a trail and drove through the hills. Austin has some awesome, HUGE agaves...we wanted to bring some home, but I think the Kansas cold would have killed it this last week.

We had a great afternoon taking the backroads through the hill country. I'm sure it's gorgeous in the spring and summer, but even in December the area is really beautiful!

We ended our adventure at the Salt Lick in Driftwood (that's a great name for a Texas town!), recommended by three different foodies on Food Network, and by far my favorite bbq! When you walk in, you see a huge open pit and huge jars of pickles and jalepenos. Their sauce is vinegar based and so good. We bought a bottle of the sauce. I wish we could have bought the pickles.

The Salt Lick was our favorite, but was rivaled by County Line BBQ back in Austin. We had dinner there Saturday night and got there just in time to enjoy the amazing view of the sunset across the hills. This was the only place we went to that wasn't from Food Network, but I just saw that Road Tasted has been there. So I guess we picked a winner.

And to finish our food tour of Austin we headed back to Whole Foods for a decadent dessert called the Truffle Bomb. Randy needs to figure out how to make this one! It's a chocolate dome filled with a thin layer of cake and velvety chocolate mousse. Oh my.

And no, our trip wasn't all about food. We also checked out plants at a nursery and explored the Zilker Botanical Gardens. We did a little baby shopping where the store owner tried to convince us we need the B.O.B stroller (not unless someone wants to buy it for us!). And we checked out the trails in Zilker park that go right by downtown Austin.

It was a very fun trip. And so good to get away and explore. We'll head back to Austin when it's warmer...and Itty Bitty's a little older. Okay, it might be awhile before we attempt a nine-hour drive, but we'll definitely head back.

It's a BOY!

Our Itty Bitty is a HE!

20 Weeks - Halfway there!

Thanks so much for all of the comments and advice! From both Facebook and the blog, the exersaucers and swings seem to be the most debated. But I learned a lot and it will be useful when we register someday.

This week marked 20 weeks and halfway there! I think IB was celebrating on Wednesday. I'm not kidding when I say this baby didn't take a nap at ALL that day. The circus must have been in town. The last few days have been much more normal.

NEXT week (Thursday to be exact) we get to find out who this baby will be...at least his or her gender. I've already had discussions with IB about modesty - It's completely unnecessary and in fact, not allowed next Thursday. Let's hope we have an obedient child.

Soon to come...Babymooning in Austin.

Mommy-to-Be Seeks Wisdom

All right, all you mamas out there, this first-time mama needs help! When Randy and I were getting ready to register for our wedding, we got some great advice (i.e. register for plenty of bed linens and forget all the one-use kitchen gadgets and appliances! My small cupboards have been thankful many times for that wisdom!)

So now I'm looking for advice on registering for baby. Give me your top ten list of things you registered for or wish you registered for now that you know better. This can cover anything from the big things to the little necessities no one tells you about but are vital. Are there gadgets that look great but aren't really all that necessary? Let me know those, too. My small house will thank you!

So get thinking and get typing! I'm looking forward to reading all of your sage wisdom!

The Bump

So here you have the Bump. This was the 16 week + 4 day Bump. The 17 week + 5 day Bump is bigger. You know how when you're around someone on a regular basis, you can't really see them grow? You certainly can't see yourself grow, or your hair, or whatever you're trying to grow or lose. So the Bump has been a strange experience for me. I feel like I can see Itty Bitty growing. Everyday, the Bump is just a little bit bigger. Of course, gaining SIX pounds in two weeks helps that, I'm sure. (Thankfully, I'm on track. They say I was just "catching up.") And Itty Bitty is just picking up speed...and kicking his/her way right along!!

My Dancer

This week's update would be the same as the past few weeks...IB's heart rate was 154, everything looks great...except for one thing.

The past week or so I've been feeling the flutterings at night. But they're off to the side and pretty light and I'm never really be sure if that's Baby or just gas. I'm becoming more convinced that it's Baby, but at only 15 weeks, I'm waiting.

This morning I was sitting at my desk, munching animal crackers and wishing desperately for something more tasty than lions and tigers and bears. (I really would have taken a food run, but it was pouring and cold outside!) All of a sudden, there was thump on my stomach, right in the middle of IB's house. That could be nothing other than my munchkin letting me know he/she is here! I swiveled my chair around so I wasn't facing the door and stared at my belly and just started laughing. Baby really is there and continued to prove it to me for the next hour or so. Way to go, IB!

Oh, and last week I gained nothing...actually I lost .2 pounds. This week? Added 3. So for all of you who are wondering, week 15 has also been the week that IB really is getting noticed by multiple people. There's a definite bump!

Tomorrow marks 16 weeks...and only 5 weeks left till we find out who IB is going to be. At least his/her gender.

Happy Halloween!

Itty Bitty Update

Tomorrow marks week 14 for Itty Bitty, who is now the size of a lemon according to babycenter.com. Much better than a 13 week medium shrimp. (That description induced a bad dream!) Baby's heartbeat was a strong 150 today, and I got measured for the first time. And even though I've been eating a LOT, doc says my weight is right on track. Woohoo!

My fully functional kitchen.

I just realized that I never finished updating the kitchen project. Randy really did finish it a couple weeks ago, so here are the pictures.
Number 1 - notice the pretty red wall
Number 2 - notice the light switch for the halogen (NOT flourescent!) lighting.
Number 3 - notice the outlet WITHOUT a microwave and light plugged in. That means that when we want to use the toaster or the mixer, we don't have to unplug the light. THAT means I get to cook in the light. Ahhh, it's amazing.

My Husband, the SuperHero

You know those home improvement projects that look so simple, but lying underneath are a nasty mountain of issues and suddenly the project is a MUCH bigger pain. So started our Saturday. Really, Randy's Saturday.

Today we replaced the LAST two windows on our house, closing out a 3 year project of 2-4 windows per year. The final two windows were the living room windows. We decided to leave the big plate glass in the middle because replacing that didn't come close to fitting the budget, so we special ordered the two on the sides. We knew that the sill was pretty rotten. We painted trim last year and the first hail storm we got this year left a mountain of paint chips on our landscaping. But Randy figured that wood filler would do the trick and keep him from replacing the entire long sill. That is, until he started chipping away at some of it this morning.













The previous owners had already taken his trick, actually putting loose pieces of wood and styrofoam in with the wood filler. Following came a trip to HD for wood, cutting a new sill, priming, painting, and finally new windows.

This was a little earlier in the day. As of right now, all the windows are in place and the clean up has begun!

I know this was not at all was my superhero husband had in mind today. We talked about replacing the sill last night, and he was definitely NOT for that. But he did a great job with a positive attitude!




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Follow up on the Pants...BIG fan. They're like PJs...even after lunch!

Heartbeat, Heartburn and Pants

Here's my random post of the day...

At my dr. appointment yesterday, Itty Bitty's heartbeat was 155. It has been 165-175, so I've had plenty of guesses that we're having a girl. So are we now having a boy?? Hmmm...we'll have to watch this one. Only EIGHT - TEN more weeks till we find out.

I actually haven't been sick at all. Not once. But I have had to eat to feel good and had some crazy cravings and some anti-cravings. For a non-fast food person, the run to McD's for a cheese burger at 2:00 in the afternoon was wierd. And chocolate and cheese were the worst sounding foods in the world for a couple weeks. Cheese is back on my favorites list, but chocolate is still questionable. And I was practically a chocoholic. Yesterday, the heartburn started. All afternoon and evening. I had it this morning and this evening. So not fun at all.

I bought my first pair of maternity pants this week. The comfy kind of dress pants with the elastic on the side. I'm going to have to hunt down more of those. My regular pants fit okay until after lunch. I've been very tempted to go back to work in sweats, but I don't think that will fly so well.

12 weeks!

Today marks 12 weeks...of baby! Yep, we're going to be parents! Most of you who read this have already been told, but it's fun to finally be able to tell the world. On or around April 28th Itty Bitty should make his or her appearance. Here's our first pic of baby at 8 weeks. Cute, huh!

ALMOST done!

The stove is almost in place, and Randy is installing the cabinet as we speak! It used to just be a free-standing cabinet, but now it will look built in. The wall is red, and you can kind of see the under-cabinet lighting. I'll point out the details when it's all done.

Project Update

Here's the kitchen project update. This wall has been sheetrocked twice now. My husband is usually VERY good at doing things once and right, but we forgot to check if we needed 1/2" or 5/8" sheetrock and got the wrong width. A few screws had been shot in it before he realized the issue. But here it is mudded, taped, and primered with one coat of red painted. He's a dear. He really disliked painting red and wasn't sure how he got roped into it again. And no, he did not forgot a section. The gray section will be painted white and the microwave cabinet will go in front of it. There's no back on that cabinet, and we wanted to see white behind the microwave instead of red.

Here's a painting hint for going red. The first time we painted the kitchen we used pepto bismol pink primer because that was as dark as the paint store could tint it. That was supposed to be easier to cover than white. FIVE coats later, we were entirely annoyed. It looks like gray primer will definitely be a better option.

And how was Orlando you ask? If I NEVER go back to Orlando again I WILL NOT cry. More on that some other day.

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Did I mention that it was 42 degrees at 7:30 this morning, and that our house is still about 65 degrees? I pulled out my fleece pants and fleecy warm socks! It's not summer anymore! Randy just pulled down the rubbermaid of winter clothes that holds his fleece pants!

So, considering the season, I redecorated!

The Honey-do Project

Whenever I travel for work or anything else, Randy always does a project. He volunteers, and I am often surprise. Twice I've come home to chopped trees. Once there was a new tree. Several times I've come back to new windows. This Sunday I'm flying to Orlando for a huge aviation tradeshow, and tonight we started Randy's project.

This was my kitchen.

This is the start of the demolition.

Right now, all the sheetrock on that wall is torn out along with the 1970's plastic white backsplash. Thankfully, this time it's just one wall and not the entire room like the bathroom remodel project last fall. Randy just asked if I wondered sometimes at the beginning of these projects if we realize what we're getting into. The answer is yes, although it's a sympathetic yes since I'll miss out on this project until late Wednesday night. He's the BEST!

I'll post pics toward the end of next week to show you what will be. Pictures won't do it justice. The change will be lovely.

Growing Clothes?

Friday morning (remember the time of day for later) I needed to iron a skirt for work. Running a few minutes ahead of time (shock!), I quickly grabbed the ironing board and set it up in the spare room (obviously, I don't iron that much), plugged in the iron and set to work. As I set the iron on the cotton/steam setting, I realized that the iron was out of steam water, so I grabbed the jug of distilled water out of the closet and filled it up. Then I quickly ironed my skirt. After work I ironed a pair of long shorts for a casual rehearsal dinner that evening.

Sunday afternoon I finally cleaned up that room, putting the ironing board and iron away in the very messy closet that makes me wince every time I open the door. For some reason I felt like cleaning it up Sunday. So I start to pull things out for the trash pile and the Goodwill pile. I made it to a jug of fertilizer water for my African violet, pulled it out and watered the plant. It was then that I realized I had filled the iron with blue fertilizer water. Thankfully, it didn't turn my clothes blue and the iron was no worse for the wear. A few minutes later I came upon the jug of real distilled water. Now that I can see it on the floor of the closet, maybe I won't make that same mistake!

New Uses for My Washing Machine

So my shower liner was beginning to make my tub dirtier than it needed to be. You know how the orange soap slime drips down into the tub? Ew!! I've always hated scrubbing the shower curtain and mentioned it to Randy. He told me his smart mom just throws hers in the washer. Why didn't I think of that?

So Saturday I cleaned like a mad woman and gave it a try. In went the plastic liner with a couple of towels for scrubbing, detergent, and baking soda for good measure. One wash cycle and two rinse cycles later, out came a shiny clean liner. I'll admit, it's not quite as clean as scrubbing it myself but it's a whole lot less painful!

Home At Last...

Last weekend Randy & I had to take a flying (in the car) trip to Iowa to say goodbye to my grandpa. He was already home where he wants to be, but we were able to say goodbye in our own ways.

The last time we saw him was in April. We went to Iowa with my parents to get Grandpa's woodworking tools and bring them home to Randy's garage. We went straight to the nursing home in Kalona and walked back toward his room. I'll never forget the picture of him as we came around the corner to the sitting room. He was sitting at a little table with his head bowed over his extra large print Bible, Ezekiel I think. I've often wondered since then what God was speaking to him through His word.
He knew who we were that day. He might not have been able to say our names, but he knew Mom was his daughter and I was his granddaughter. And when we asked if he knew who we were, he responded with his typical humor, "Well, you know who you are."

I'm so glad he's home with the Lord and with Grandma. He's been wanting to go for so long...

Adventuring...

We have a friend at church who likes to take backroads on his motorcycle, and he often gives Randy good ideas for places to check out that have beautiful scenery. One of the drives he suggested is near our hometown. We mapped the drive up to Kanopolis Lake on Google to make sure that we didn't get completely lost. While we wondered how old the data was that Google pulled from, we had a great adventure and broke in the truck as an expedition vehicle...finally. And we again realized that not all of Kansas is flat!

This was called 2nd Ave. on the map and believe it or not had road signs.



This was Rainbow Road. It may have had two plowed fields that ran through it, but it did have a road sign!















We eventually got up to the lake and went hiking on the trails. More pics later.

Tomatoes, Grapes, and Girls

Tomatoes...I just picked a heaping ice cream pail full of romas. I've already made sauce twice and salsa a couple of times. Does anyone need tomatoes????

Grapes...tonight Randy and I were working in the yard when we caught a whiff of a sweet scent. Like a can of grape pop. Turns out it was our grapevine loaded with concords that are just about to ripen. I better call our moms for grape jelly and grape juice recipes. Num.

Girls...I had 18 (yes, EIGHTEEN) 3 and 4 year old in my class Sunday! Thankfully, I had 3 helpers too for the 15 potty breaks. They all did great! Other than one hiding under the table, the morning was surprisingly calm.

Why I Like Cake

This blog was named "I Like Cake" for a reason. In our house we like cake. Before I met Randy cake was...cake. My mom's chocolate cake was mmm yum, but it was for birthdays. Other chocolate cake might taste like chocolate styrofoam (Not so yum) .

And then I met Randy and his cakes. His cakes each have specific flavor and texture. Then he started playing with different combinations of dark chocolate and new textures of frosting and filling and ganache. Oh mercy. So I thought I should start posting pictures of his cakes. While it won't be a cake of the week (although there is almost a cake of the week), I'll try to get the best ones posted.

This latest (mostly eaten!) cake is a fluffy chocolate. The cake itself has great flavor, but combine it with the ganache and filling and it makes me melt. The thin blue layers are a light blueberry filling, a perfect compliment to the dark chocolate. On the middle layer he used his "special sauce," the perfect chocolate sauce for ice cream and now cake, too. The whole four-layer confection is topped with a light, glossy ganache that absolutely melts in your mouth! Now that's yum!

Weekend of Calm Chaos

This weekend seems to be a pivotal one. On the same Saturday, we scheduled the training for Reno County Backstage Pass and the GBC Women's Conference (Oops!) So, while I did get elicit help from my mom for early morning registration duties, I didn't get to enjoy the day with her. (Sorry, Mom!) Instead I got to go do a presentation and finish hosting a meeting for work...all before noon. Everything went off without a hitch...so far.

This weekend is also Promotion Sunday at church. That means that my 5 year olds and almost 5 year olds are moving up to the next class AND I get a brand new group of 3 year olds! For the last two years I've had mostly boys...very busy and often entertaining boys. These boys include one who very earnestly prayed for my dear friend "Danika in Danikastan" (I think he meant Afghanastan!).

Tomorrow it all changes. I am getting at least 6 girls and 1 new boy in my class. We'll have sorts of adventures in learning to sit still and to raise a hand instead of shouting and to be lady when wearing a skirt. And Lord willing, these sweet (I think) girls will learn a whole lot about the love of Jesus and how much He has done for them!

It's a surprise after all!

This weekend we threw a "surprise" birthday party for my Dad's 60th birthday party. It wasn't much of a surprise since we threw one for Mom's 60th in February. But there was one very fun surprise element for all of us. About 20 minutes before the guests arrived Jeff & Lindsay and Ella and Jack showed up at Brad and Shirley's! We had a fun party and a great weekend...thanks for coming Jeff & Linds!!!

Watch the slideshow for the progression of events...it starts with Kaitlin & Ella hiding, then Jeff & Jack starting to come out and the look on Mom's face when she saw Jeff. Fun times!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sweet Thing #2

The one on the right? Not-so-sweet-thing. The one on the left? VERY sweet thing!

The one on the right makes a MESS of pureeing tomatoes and making salsa and it has no guts for mashing through garbanzo beans for hummus.

The one on the left whips through 6 cups of thick tomato sauce in no time. Cabbage for slaw? Even better. It has power, it's quiet, and clean up? Clean up is a breeze. Most food processors (or food pros for you Iron Chef America fans - yes, I'm a dork) have all these extra pieces that don't do much except make a pile of dishes that are hard to clean. You actually have to pay for a simple, easy to clean option.

So thank you, honey, for my 9-cup Kitchenaid food pro with 4 blades. It's going to get plenty of use! It is the perfect early birthday present! (Yes, this is the one time I told him it's okay to get me an appliance for a gift...other than the coffee maker he got me for a wedding gift. He said it was the best thing he could think of to help our marriage - fresh coffee for Dana in the morning. And he was right!!)

Celebrating the Sweet Things - Sweet Thing #1

For the first time in 2 1/2 weeks I can open my car door from the outside. No more opening up the rear driver's side door, stretching as far as my short arm could reach and to open the driver's door from the inside. No more forgetting it was broken only to pull hard and be reminded that for a few weeks I had a ghetto car. My handy older brother who can usually fix anything related to the body of a car took a long look at it and decided Ford made the latch to be broken. He didn't want to break it anymore (thank you!), so we took it to the mechanic (the very busy one who usually takes a month to get in to) yesterday, and today it's done. Amazing what a working car door can do! Makes me appreciate the little sweet things!

Regehrs Go to Durango

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Welcome Baby Girl!

Last night we went to visit a brand new, very precious baby girl. At 12 hours old Lacie Jane is absolutely beautiful! I know we say that about all babies, but little Miss Lacie is just gorgeous! She has the perfect pink baby skin and tons of dark hair. She decided to surprise Mike and Sara by coming four weeks early (good thing we hosted her baby shower 10 days earlier!), but have no fear, she was still 6 lbs, 6 oz. and 19 inches long. We're excited to watch her grow every week at Bible study!! God bless babies.

Chuga-chuga CHOO

I promised Lindsay that I'd start posting pictures now that we've entered the modern world. So here is the first picture from our trip to Durango with Randy's family. We rode the Durango-Silverton steamtrain up the mountain and enjoyed some of God's gorgeous handiwork! We also got to listen to Justin tell us all sorts of stories all the way up. It was fun to hang out with him since we only see him a couple times a year and he grows SO much every time! I think I finally have all the coal pieces out of my hair a week later.

Information Overload

In one week we have added internet at home AND joined the blogging world. Obviously Randy had a creative hand in the title. It's fitting since cake and his yummy baked good play quite the role in our lives. I'll have to make a point of posting his creations. Yum. That's all for now. Check back for more later