Have You Heard Of A Babymoon?

Greetings,

Well the other day the Today show featured a segment called Babymoon, have you heard of this?

I hadn't until this last month on a few blogs with expectant mothers talking about their baby moon.

Ok so a baby moon is a when parents to be take a trip before the mother reaches 34 weeks to connect and share time before the new baby arrives.

Wel this whole idea must not to be new because when I searched it I found tons of websites like this:

http://www.babymoonguide.com/

that aid couples in planning their Babymoon.

So are you wonding if the Mr. And I are going on one? Well the answer to that would be more than likely no.
My family takes an annual vacation and this year they are heading to North Carolina. We thought about going but the drive is 20 plus hours and I would be flying back while in my third trimester, oh how we will miss all of them but we will e there next year with the babe.

Secondly, our summer is jam packed! Can anybody believe that June is almost over. our July is pretty booked, and right now August only has one weekend free. We are going to trytofit in a few fun things.
What do you think of the idea of a Babymoon?

4th of July Yummies

Good Morning Blogland,


With the 4th of July holidY ring around the orner I thought I would post a ew of the things that I will be making this weekend for various family get togethers.

First up:
lemonade cake
http://www.discountmugs.com/nc/style/66-3/personalized-glassware/personalized-margarita-glasses/?s_kwcid=TC%7C22682%7C%2Bcheap%20%2Bmargarita%20%2Bglasses%7C%7CSM%7Cb%7C5935226301&gclid=CJi62uOf2akCFcrDKgodBC5hNQ

Shrimp Po Boy:
http://www.discountmugs.com/nc/style/66-3/personalized-glassware/personalized-margarita-glasses/?s_kwcid=TC%7C22682%7C%2Bcheap%20%2Bmargarita%20%2Bglasses%7C%7CSM%7Cb%7C5935226301&gclid=CJi62uOf2akCFcrDKgodBC5hNQ


Are you planning on making anything special for the weekend?

Five for Friday

Good Morning Bloggers,

I haven't done  a favorite five for Friday so I thought I would post some of my favorite things this week.

I haven't posted a picture of Wrigley in some time so it is long overdue, can you believe how big that dog is? He is doing better with his training and becoming my buddy that is always at my feet or following me around the house/yard.

This is a quote I saw earlier this week and I LOVED, we must remember this " Spend life with who makes you happy, not who you have to impress"

Eating fresh veggies from our garden like this lettuce we had the other night. It was so crisp and fresh and I am thankful we decided to put in our garden this summer.

Our new porch furniture, we pained the walls, got this snazzy new furniture from World Market and now it is our sanctuary. LOVE!

Mini cupcakes. I am not the biggest fan of cake I am more of a pie girl, but I made these mini cupcakes and they are the perfect size and serving when you want something sweet plus I think they are so cute!
Have a great weekend, we are on our way to Indianola to see our girl who is home from Hawiia!!!!

Cooking Club

Well Tuesday night was the first Cooking Club that has started here in the Quad Cities!!!!!

I first saw this idea on a great site http://www.scottsdalemomsblog.com/ This site is all for moms to be and moms.

We had 6 attend this evening and rhe recipes were delicious!!!! It was a great evening getting together with the ladies and trying all this delicious food and company.  It is a great way to get together with friends and get new recipes that you have tried. Below are the various recipes enjoy!!!!
Salmon Cracker Spread by Joanna
1 7.5 oz can salmon
1/2 pkg of cream cheese
1/2 t. liquid smoke
Mix above ingredients and serve with crackers

Avacodo Tomato Dip by Jessica
2 plum tomatoes chopped
1 ripe avocado peeled, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsely
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red or white vinegar
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese

In a bowl gently stir together tomatoes, avacodos, onions, and garlic. Mix in parsely and oregano. Gently stir in olive oil and vinegar. Then stir in feta. Cover and chill for 2 to 6 hours.

Buffalo Potato Wedges with warm blue cheese dip by Randall
3 tablesppons hot pepper sauce
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes
cooking spray
1 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 teaspoon pepper
8 celery ribs, cut into 3 inch sticks
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees in a large bowl combine 1 tablespoon each hot sauce and butter with the seasoned salt. Cut each potato into 8 wedges and add to the bowl and toss.
2.Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange the potatoes on top and roast, turning once, until golfen about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from teh oven and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons each hot sauce and butter
3.In a small saucepan, stir together the blue cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise and pepper. Heat until warmed through about 3 minutes.
4. Pour dip into small bowl, serve on platter with warm potato wedges and celery sticks

Bean Salsa by Michelle
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can navy beans
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tsp vegetable oil
1 can black beans
1 can white corn
1 green, red, and yellow pepper chopped
1/2 cup rd onion chopped
3/4 cup apple vinegar
Rinse and drain beans. Mix with other ingredients. Scoop with crackers or tortilla chips. Makes a large bowl.

Spinach Dip by Julienne
1 package frozen chopped spinach, cooked and cooled and squeezed dry
1 container sour cream 16oz
1 cup real mayonnaise
1 package Knorr vegetable recipe mix
1 can water chestnuts drained and chopped
2 green opnions chopped

Combine all ingredients and chill about 2 hours. serve with your favorite crackers or Hawiian bread.

Wonton Cups by Erin
1 package of wonton wrappers
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese
1 green pepper chopped
1 4 oz diced green chilies
8 oz sour cream
1 package of dry ranch mix
2 pounds of italian sausage ( can do any flavor)

Brown the sausage and drain off excess oil. Spray muffin tins with non stick spray and fill with wonton wrappers and bake at 27 for 8-10 minutes. Mix meat,sour ceam, ranch mix, green pepper, green chilies, and half of the shredded cheese. Fill wonton wrappers with meat mixture and put into oven for 10-15 minutes  at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with shredded cheese before serving. Enjoy!

Baby H Update- 3

Good Morning,

Well today we reach a milestone and that is that I am 23 WEEKS 6 months pregnant!!!! Whoot Whoot!!!!

I cant believe it, it has gone by so unbelievable fast and I am LOVING being pregnant. Yes the beginning was rough but I love it now!!!!

Here is the 23 week picture:

What is happening with baby this week:
Your baby's skin is sagging, hanging loosely from his or her little body. That's because skin grows faster than fat develops to fill in the skin out yet. But don't worry- the fat is about to start catching up. Beginning this week your baby which is around 8 inches long and a pound begins to pack on the pounds. In fact by months end your baby will be double the weight he or she is now. Once those fat deposits are made, your baby will be less transparent too. Right now the organs and bones can still be seen through the skin, which has a red hue thanks to the developing blood vessels and veins underneath.

Cravings: Still pretty much fruit but recently ice cream and things that are sour like sour patch kids have started to look mighty good!

Sleeping: I can only sleep on my side which hasn't been the easiest but it is getting easier with every passing night. LEG CRAMPS have been keeping me up in the middle night and then during the day my calve muscles feel so tight.

No stretch marks so far!! I think that is due to the lotion I use!!!

Clothing: Mainly maternity!

Movement: As the day goes on more and moer kicking!!!!!

Names: We have our list but don't feel we can really choose till we are holding that miracle. The middle names are set in stone though for either boy or girl.

Nickname for the baby: Jimmy/Jamey that is was started by mu uncle to be funny because he wanted us to name the baby after him

We booked the our newborn session as well this past weekend. I am BEYOND excited we got this photographer because her work is amazing!!!! She will be coming to the house with props and backgrounds about 2 days after I am home !!!!!

Next up on the baby horizon: Baby classes (lamaze) and Finishing the nursery

Father's Day Recap

Good Morning Bloggers,

Well we are starting out today with clouds, and rain. . . YUCK!! Come on sun start shining!

We had a great father's day weekend and did lots of fun things with family.

Friday we headed to Geneseo since my mom, and my cousins were going to be in town. This weekend they always have The Music festival which includes parades, shopping, and the Queen contest.I had told the girls about the parade so they brought their costumes so they could participate in the Friday night parade which is just for children.

 The three girls ready to go, Grace was a pageant queen "Little Miss Diva" she actually wore one of my old formals and we made her banner for her, Caroline was a pop singer, and Madeline was a 1920's marching girl.

 The three sisters walking together in the parade, I loved that they were holding hands!!!!

Watching the Little Miss Geneseo contest together after the parade.

Saturday morning Joey decided to take Grace and Wrigley on a run with him. Grace is becoming the runner in the family so she was very excited that she got to go with him on it. And of course so was Wrigley.

Later that afternoon I set up a lemonade stand for the girls. They have heard for a very long time how Pat and Kevin and I used to do that so they really wanted to give it a shot.

Joe and I sat out with them for a long time and that Mr. had to be in the picture as well!!!! They SOLD OUT of lemonade and had a great time!

Later that night we decided to head outside again and play croquet. Here are a few pics:

                                                    Madeline getting ready for her swing,

                                       The Yellow team, Grace and I were the croquet queens

And a picture of Joe on Sunday getting his father's day gift. I guess his baby knows what he likes!!!!!!!!
You are going to be an amazing Father Joey and I am blessed to get to go on this journey with you! Love you forever.

Garage Sale Day!!!

Greetings,

Well let's hope for no rain today. Let's hope for sunshine. Let's hope for SHOPPERS. I knew going into the summer that I was going to have a Garage Sale but decided to move it up a few weeks and this week has been all about going through clothes and household items. When Joe and I were married we combined to living situations with a ton of new wedding gifts which meant overhaul of items so we purged the old and hope to make it big today with our sale. . . KIDDING.

Some of the items at today's sale:
-Lots of young adult clothing from stores like Gap, Express, Abercrombie and American Eagle
-Gently used household goods
-Rugs
-TV's
-microwave
-posters

Last night we took Wrigley on a walk and hung signs to "promote" the sale and the one thing that I had to promise Joey is that he wont have to carry anything back into the house today after it is over, whatever doesn't sell is going to the Salvation Army.

What's up for next week: Father's Day Recap, QC Cooking Club, Baby H update, Front porch remodel

Have a great weekend!

A Book Review: Friendship Bread

Hello Bloggers,

Today I have a book review for you. My Aunt Karen and I about a month ago decided to read the same book together and then get together and talk about it since we are always exchanging info about books. This first month was my choice and I choose "Friendship Bread" I really didn't know much about the book before selecting but was hoping it would be a good one.

Here is a bit about the book:
Gee's "Friendship Bread" is a deeply felt, utterly charming novel about how two estranged sisters, three newfound friends, and, ultimately, a whole Midwestern town are brought together by a loaf of Friendship Bread.An anonymous gift sends a woman on a journey she never could have anticipated.


One afternoon, Julia Evarts and her five-year-old daughter, Gracie, arrive home to find an unexpected gift on the front porch: a homemade loaf of Amish Friendship Bread and a simple note: I hope you enjoy it. Also included are a bag of starter, instructions on how to make the bread herself, and a request to share it with others.

Still reeling from a personal tragedy that left her estranged from the sister who was once her best friend, Julia remains at a loss as to how to move on with her life. She’d just as soon toss the anonymous gift, but to make Gracie happy, she agrees to bake the bread.

When Julia meets two newcomers to the small town of Avalon, Illinois, she sparks a connection by offering them her extra bread starter. Widow Madeline Davis is laboring to keep her tea salon afloat while Hannah Wang de Brisay, a famed concert cellist, is at a crossroads, her career and marriage having come to an abrupt end. In the warm kitchen of Madeline’s tea salon, the three women forge a friendship that will change their lives forever.

In no time, everyone in Avalon is baking Amish Friendship Bread. But even as the town unites for a benevolent cause and Julia becomes ever closer to her new friends, she realizes the profound necessity of confronting the painful past she shares with her sister.

About life and loss, friendship and community, food and family, Friendship Bread tells the uplifting story of what endures when even the unthinkable happens.
 
 
So feel like trying some of this delicious Amish Friendship Bread here is the recipe for it:
-1 0.25 ounce package of active dry yeast
-1/4 cup warm water
-1 cup all purpose flour
-1 cup white sugar
-1 cup milk
 
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand ten minutes. In a glass, plastic or ceramic container combine flour and sugar. Mix thoroughly. Slowly add milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover slowly and let stand at room temperature until bubbly. This is Day one of the ten day cycle. For the next ten days care for you starter according to the instructions for Amish Friendship Bread. 
 
Want the instructions leave a comment and I will get them to you.  

The 3 "S's" of Summer

Good Morning,

Well it is June 15th? Can you believe June is halfway over I cant I feel like I blinked my eyes and 15 days passed by-yikes!!! I don't want this warm weather to be gone. Since summer is in full force I thought I would feature the "S's" of summer

Sound's of Summer
The neighborhood children playing outside all day long and into the sun setting.
The wind blowing the shades and drapes at nighttime right after I turn the light off
Joey being able to fall asleep and be snoring in a record of 2 minutes and less
The ice cream truck coming by daily
The porch swing creaking as it goes back and forth
Wrigley's feet on the wood floor throughout the day and his head perched on the window

Sight's of Summer
The numerous pots of colorful flowers that are sprinkled throughout the neighborhood
The rose bushes sprouting new buds! ( way to go green thumb Joe)
The many walkers in our neighborhood with their puppies and strollers
Rain puddles from the night before
Nightly cook-outs


Smells of Summer
GRILLING
My herbs on the deck table when the wind blows
Fresh paint, maybe this is just our house from a few weeks ago
Rain
My hydrangea bush,

Hope you are enjoying your summer!!!
What's on deck for the rest of the week: A book review and a Baby H update

Farmer's Market Finds

Good Morning,

Hope you all had a great weekend!

This past Saturday we headed down to the Farmer's Market which is held along the Mississippi River. It was great because it wasn't to hot and the GOODS were in abundance. Here are a few of the things we picked up:

This beautiful Basil plant that is on the right side of the picture. It is Huge and contains large leaves and it was only $3.00 a grea price. Don't mind the dill that is next to it.

Look at those peaches! Dont they have beautiful color? I sure think so and let me tell you they are the best I have had this season so juicy and fresh! I had Joey take a bite of one so he could tell the difference between these and the ones I buy at the grocery store he was shocked!

There is a  big pasta area of the Farmer's Market where there is homemade different flavors, we decided to try some of the lime cilantro. With every order they include a recipe, isn't that a nice feature.

Do you have a Farmers  Market in your area?

Five For Friday

Good Morning,

Did you survive the storms last night? If you live in Iowa you know what I am talking about we have had crazy storms the last couple of days and last night they continued.

I haven't done a Five for Friday where I feature 5 things that I am "loving" instead I thought I would do a Five for Friday that will get you thinking or will help you get to know me a little better. A friend send me some of these questions awhile back and I have decided to feature them here. Enjoy!!!!!!

1. You stop in at an ice cream store, and you are really hungry you get to choose three scoops to build your ultimate favorite cone, which ones would you choose?
-Rocky Road
-Pistachio
-Fresh Raspberry

2. You get to rewind time and look into 4 different careers and give them a try for a day, what careers would you choose?
-Book Editor
-News Journalist
-Being an entrepreneur with my mom and starting a lovely bakery with all the yummy things we want to cook.
-Dermatologist( I know you are laughing Mr. H)

3. You are sent on a mission into the grocery store to pick one thing from the following sections of the grocery store to represent you, what would you pick:
Produce: Fresh Cherries
Meat: Flat iron steak
Bakery: Croissants
Dairy: Chocolate Milk
Frozen: Trader Joe's creamed spinach

4. You love tv  right? well you get to go and watch a segment taped on 3 of them, even if it is reality or not, where would you show up?
-If Oprah was still on I would pay big bucks for one of her shows, it still makes me mad I never went to see her.
-A reunion episode of one the New Jersey Housewives ( I know mad and trashy tv but hey this is a dream right?)
-A cooking episode of Paula Deen on the Food Network

5. A large envelope arrives in your mail , sending you on a surprise trip for the weekend but you have to pack a limited bag and can only bring 3 clothing items, what would you choose?
-one of my new summer dresses ( needless to say I have been stocking up with these since I am pregnant this summer)
-my black blazer because it goes with anything and can dress things up or down
-yoga capri pants

Have a great weekend and I hope you enjoyed this Five for Friday!

THANKS UNCLE MIKEY

Greetings,

A couple of days ago Baby Haluska received a surprise from Joey's brother Mikey.

A complete set of Jordan onsies, shoes, and a hat and then two sets of shoes one in girl colors and one in boy colors.

What a sweet boy, he is graduating college this summer, taking classes, and supporting himself and he took the time to send this!!! We are very proud of the man you have become Mikey and are blessed to have you in our lives. Baby H cant wait to meet you!!!!!!!!

Love you Buddy!

A great hair find!

Good Morning Blogland,

This morning I cant take credit for this find my dear friend from High School (Go Saders!) ANN sent me a link to these great hair ties!

If you use hair ties on a frequent basis then you know that sometimes they can be frustrating when they put that mark in your hair. . .Well the link below to these new ones DONT, how great right!!!

http://www.thetwistband.com/category/shop-hair-tie

Also if you enter twistfriend you can receive 25% off when ordering!  THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS FIND ANN!

Have a great day, enjoy this heat!

A Very Busy Weekend

Good Morning Blogland,

Who is loving the heat???????????? Me!!! I have had the chance to lay out a few times and feel alive again since I don't look ghostly anymore!

This past weekend we were work horses and were blessed with some family that gave up their weekend to be with us and help around our house.

Friday Joey had the day off because he was playing in a golf tournament so we moved furniture and then Poppy and Grammie arrived to help tape the living and dining room so we could start painting them on Saturday.

Saturday started bright and early with the arrival of my mom, poppy, grammie and uncle and aunt. We decided to re-paint the living room and dining room a pale butter yellow color and the nook in the dining room we did a burnt orange. Awhile back I had bought new burnt orange curtains as well for the dining room and couldn't be happier with how it turned out. While the painting was going on Joey and my grandpa put together the furniture that we recently got from World Market ( if you haven't checked out this store you should, great finds!!! ) This new furniture is for our front porch room that we are in the process of updating as well. Mom, grammie and I did lots of landscaping outside throughout the day.

THANK YOU FAMILY FOR ALL YOUR HELP WE COULDN'T  DO IT WITHOUT YOU

Sunday we were going to get all the furniture moved back into place but the MR. and I decided it was to beautiful to spend it in the house working again so we headed to one of the pools and laid in the sun all day! I love this pool that we went to because it is zero depth so you can sit in the water and sun at the same time!!!

I promise I will update with pictures if I can ever find the camera charger or when I get a new one! I will never know where that thing went to!

Baby H Update-2

Good Morning,

The weekend is right around the corner and I am excited!! Joe isn't working- YEAH! and we are blessed enough to have family coming to our house to help with various projects we are wanting to complete before the arrival of Baby H.

Now onto the update of our baby:

Currently I am 20 weeks and 2 days. I am measuring right on target with my weight and growth.

Yesterday was a very exciting day for Joe and I we had our ultrasound!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Joe was on cloud nine and I was a little nervous before we went in. It is amazing how they can tell and describe all the different things.

As of yesterday the baby is weighing 3/4 of a pound and is facing head down. The baby has been in this position since the beginning though and Joe and I took it as a good sign that this baby has been ready from day 1 for the big arrival.

Now for some pictures:

A beautiful profile shot of our baby, You can clearly see the nose lips, and tummy in this picture.

Joey and I love this shot!!!!  because you can see the baby's leg and foot with toes! The ultrasound tech said
"oh my look at that long leg" I think we are going to have a long baby! Isn't the baby's foot big too? Just like it's dad!

This is a picture of the baby's arm with his hand and a finger pointing up.

This picture is when the baby turned from a profile view to looking forward so you can see a closer view of the face with the eyes, nose and mouth! Hi Sweet Baby!!!! We cant wait to meet you!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures of our sweet baby I promise a bump picture will be coming as well sometime in the future. Have a great weekend

A Long Weekend In Rewind

Good Morning Bloggers,

Did you have a good weekend ???? Wasn't this weather crazy? Rain Rain Rain yuck! I felt so bad for people that were having parties outside this weekend that were ruined by the terrible rain. Well we tried to enjoy this weekend as much as we could but the poor Mr. had to work for most of it. . . . . BOOOO! Thank goodness he is almost done with these long hours.

Friday we headed out for a date night!!! We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings which is one of Joey's favorite restaurants. Then over to watch the Hangover Sequel. If you have seen the first one you know that your sides hurt after from all the laughing and the second one follows closely to that as well, lots of laughs.

Saturday we were on the road early to Des Moines. When we got there we picked up some furniture for the our front porch/sun room at World Market. I love that store but the customer service leaves much for desire. After that we went to one of my favorite places for lunch in Des Moines and that is HuHot. I had been craving it and it was WONDERFUL!!!!!! After that Joe and I went to his Dad's 50th birthday party. His dad's birthday was back in April but he was celebrating with a joint friends party this past weekend with a big cookout. I was so happy the rain stopped shortly after lunch and that was a good thing since the party was outside. It was great to see family and celebrate such a great man!

Sunday the Mr headed back to work so I headed to Naperville to spend some time with my mom. Guess how the weather was my whole drive there? AWFUL terrible heavy rain and hail- and once I got there it started raining bad there! That night we headed downtown Naperville and looked at some of the shops, and then had a greasy dinner! Monday the sun decided to come out and wanted to soak it up we headed out to one of our favorite restaurants that has outdoor seating and loved the heat! After that we relaxed and eventually headed over to see the She-She's for a bit.

Wondering where all the pictures are? Well I still cant find the camera charger and have given up on finding it so I will be purchasing a new one this week!

Later this week I will have a BIG baby H update as well.