Inspiration

My sis-in-law inspired me. She made a great brown and pink paisley tote bag last weekend, and I realized it had been for.ev.er since I dusted off my sewing machine. Then I browsed etsy.com. I had heard about it before from a good friend, but I had no idea how much is on that site. Very cool. So, inspired by these blocks, I went to Hobby Lobby and found some great fabric and sewed away. I have one set done and another yet to go. Then another sewing project for the nursery (which actually now has a crib, a rocker, a bookshelf, and an almost complete dresser/changing table). I'll have to pull the machine out more often. I missed it.

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.