Speed Racer

Even though we had a great weekend, a small damper was put on our trip home when I got pulled over on our way out of Carlinville. Ooops!!! I was really just keeping up with the car in front of me when a state trooper, coming from the other way (mind you), zapped both of us. I thought I had gotten off scott free because the trooper passed me by as I pulled over, but that was not the case. As I came up the road, he flagged me down, as well, to pull over. Hmmm, can we say trying to meet your quota at the ending of the month by killing two birds with one stone??? Anyway, I have not had a ticket in probably 6 years (as I so happened to mention to Sean Connolly this weekend, which probably jinxed me) so, the situation did not make me that angry; more frustrating than anything because it took forever. It was humorous, really.....only because Matt had driven into town along the same road going at least 10 miles an hour faster than I was (he wrote me up for 69 in a 55, but I honestly don't think I was going more than 65). Plus, it just meant that I had to drive slower the rest of the way home! UGH!!!! Oh well, I was about due!

Meet Me In St. Louis

Matt and I had a very busy, but fun weekend! We woke up early on Saturday morning and headed south to St. Louis for Matt Carlson and Curtis Sittenfeld's wedding. If you are thinking that Curtis' name sounds familiar, you are right...she is the author of 2 best sellers; Prep and Man of My Dreams (sorry, just had to throw that in because it is pretty cool). We had full intentions of spending some time exploring St. Louis, but ended up not having a lot of time to do so. We did have a chance to catch up with Matt's friend from college, Sean, at a great Irish Bar, the Dubliner. It was located in a pretty cool area with lots of cute shops and restaurants. If only we would have had more time to shop, but I wanted to get to the Arch since I had never been. I was really looking forward to taking a trip up the Arch, but because of time constraints, we only had the chance to walk around the park area. We forgot our camera, but were able to snap a quick, but not so great picture, on Matt's phone. From the Arch, we headed back to our hotel to get ready for the wedding.

Curtis and Matt were married on the campus of St. Louis University in what had to be 2 of the most unique and beautiful rooms we have ever been in. The ceremony took place in the Pere Marquette Gallery, SLU's original school library. The room was filled with gorgeous stained glass, intricate pieces of art dating back to the 1800's, and this neat spiral staircase that lead to each floor of the library. After the ceremony, the guests headed upstairs for dinner in yet another stunning room. The wedding and reception were just lovely. I have to give props to Curtis' mom for creating the most beautiful flower arrangements, filled will the most stunning hydrangea. Thanks for a great weekend Curtis and Matt.....we hope to make it back to St. Louis sometime soon to explore the city a little bit more.

Sunday, we were up bright and early to head back to Chicago and make a quick stop in Carlinville to visit with my grandparents and Aunt Kate and Uncle Bob. Although, we arrived later than anticipated and made them miss church, it was so good to catch up with them since we don't get to see the Konneker's as often as we would like. All in all, a great weekend!!!

Introducing Alex Joseph Berndt

Congratulations to our dear friends Jaime and Mike Berndt on the birth of their adorable little boy, Alex Joseph. Alex was born on Thursday March 27, 2008 at 12:38 a.m. He weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. Everyone is doing great!!! We could not be more thrilled for Jaime and Mike and can't wait to meet Alex!!!

A Little Help From My Friends

Well, it is just about time that Matt and I start to get serious about preparing for Baby Hunt. Next week, I will hit the halfway mark of my pregnancy...the perfect time to start cracking on the registry process. To be 100% honest, I find myself very overwhelmed every time I start browsing the Babies R Us website; which is where all our faithful readers come in.

I am looking for advice/suggestions on all your favorite baby products. I know that all babies are different and everyone has different opinions, but any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

What was your favorite registry item? Is there anything you wish you would have used, but didn't? What did you get, but never used?

We will take any suggestions/ideas/thoughts/comments. Many thanks in advance!!!

Chole In Style

I have recently signed up for Daily Candy Kids and this morning I received a Daily Candy on this adorable website, Chloe In Style. The article featured the poncho (shown below), which comes in fantastic colors and styles. While the poncho is adorable, I can't help but love the Cowboy Booties. They are too cute for words!

I think these booties might be in Baby Hunt's wardrobe someday! And, if it is a girl, probably the poncho, too!

Jelly Belly

Well, we are almost halfway....18 weeks and 2 days to be exact. I can't believe it the halfway point is almost here. A couple weeks ago, I felt like time was going by very slowly, but days seem to fly by lately....I think I can thank very busy work days and trips on the weekends for that!

Anyway, here is the latest belly picture. The picture makes it appear a little bigger than the picture 3 weeks ago, but I feel like it is huge! I know, I know...just wait! I am still wearing my regular clothes, but on the verge of breaking out some maternity things. None of my pants button comfortably anymore (thank goodness for the bella band) and my tops seem to look ridiculous with a "big belly." I am hoping to hit the mall tomorrow and pick up some maternity pants that I can wear to work, as I seem to need those the most.

I have had several friends that have had babies over the past couple of years and I loved talking to them during their pregnancies about changes to their body, both physically and mentally. I always heard what they were saying, but until I actually began to go through a pregnancy, I don't think I really truly understood what happens to your body. Some of the changes I have really noticed, even though I was fully aware they would happen and get worse as your pregnancy goes on are:

• I get out of breath a lot easier than I used to. Just walking up the stairs these days has me huffing and puffing. Again, I know....just wait (I think I can fairly say that for all these points!)
• My toes and especially my fingers swell very badly when I work out. It is like little sausages are attached to my palms. I can't imagine what they will look like when it is 90 degrees and 100% humidity.
• I am definitely not as on top of things as I once used to be. I think this is the classic case of "Pregnancy Brain."
• I am having this weird pain in my back and my hip area that just won't seem to go away. This is definitely something new in the past couple of weeks.
• I have not had a peaceful night sleep since December. If I am not up using the bathroom, I am tossing and turning trying to get comfortable. That whole sleeping on my side thing is just not working....I always seem to wake up on my back.

I think that is really all for right now....I am sure I will start to see many more changes as the months roll on, but for right now, I have no complaints and am loving being pregnant. I still have not felt any movement from the baby, which is disappointing, but I know there will be plenty in a few weeks!!! We have our 20 week ultra sound on April 2nd and I will be sure to post and update after that appointment!

How Many Babies Do I Know?

Ali and I were talking the other day about the kids we know. I was commenting on how I have no clue when this kid was born, which kid is older than another, etc. So - I present my current baby inventory. These are the kids listed in order of age that I know or am friends with their parents. (Some live far away and I haven't had the pleasure to get to know them.)

3 YEAR OLDS
1/27/05 – Hailey Felde*
3/10/05 – Abbie Diemer*

2 YEAR OLDS
10/4/05 – Evan Les
1/21/06 – Emmerson Oskay*

1 YEAR OLDS
5/4/06 – Grace Kidder*
9/12/06 - Lauren Diemer*
1/14/07 – Emmersyn Doyle*
2/9/07 – Lauren Kubik
3/9/07 – Libby Barron*

UNDER 1
3/31/07 – Delanie Oskay*
8/1/07 – Keegan Glynn*
9/7/07 – Callie Connolly*
9/9/07 – Cory Les
9/25/07 – Anna Gibson*
11/11/07 – Isabel Hartman*
11/18/07 – Andrew Garcia
12/26/07 – Brianna Felde*
1/7/08 – Avery Lewis
1/15/08 – Caleb Rasche
1/24/08 – Kaitlyn Dill*
1/29/08 – Ellie Diemer*
2/15/08 – Claire Landry
2/18/08 – Brady Doyle
3/6/08 – Robby Livermore

* - Kids that have had the pleasure of meeting me - uhh, I mean, that I have had the pleasure of hanging out with.

Thats 24 kids under 4 years old! 15 under 1! Hopefully I didn't screw any up. There are more out there too - some of Ali's friends that I do not know, did not make my list. If you want to make the list - stop by for a visit!

St. Patrick's Day Dinner

As Matt mentioned in his last post, we made Corned Beef and Cabbage for the first time last night and it was pretty good. Our original plan was to make it on Sunday night because the corned beef has to be boiled for several hours. But after a lot of good food over the weekend, we decided to hold off until St. Patty's Day. I was concerned about making it during the week because of the cooking time; however, I found a recipe to cook it in the crock pot for 12 hours and it turned out really good. I think Matt enjoyed it more than I did, but it was still tasty. I can't say that I will be making it again before next St. Patrick's Day, though. To accompany our corned beef and cabbage, we made Irish Soda Bread compliments of Shannon. Even though I was 2 Tbsp short of sour cream, it was still delicious and I will be making this again!!! Thanks Shannon for the recipe! If anyone would like the crock pot recipe for corned beef, let me know, it is a cinch to make.

Big Nothing Tournament and The Tigers

Happy St. Patty's Day to all. Ali and I made corned beef tonight for the first time - turned out pretty well.

I posted a photo album of my trip to Lakeland to see the Tigers last Wednesday. As always, it was great seeing my team. For anyone that loves baseball and has never been to spring training, you are missing one of the greatest experiences you will ever have in the sports world. The players are for the most part accessible, kids are getting autographs, you are always sitting close to the action, and, the tickets are under $20!

The end of my sports week culminated in the Big Ten Tournament in Indy on Saturday. We were all stoked to see MSU-Wisco in the first game and IU-Purdue in the second. Unfortunately, someone forgot to mention to IU and Purdue that they needed to win on Friday in order to play on Saturday. So we were stuck with my most hated team, the Illini, and Minnesota. Needless to say, we only stayed for the first half. The first game was good - until the refs decided that Wisconsin should win.

Hoosiers get a #8 seed in the tournament. The seed is way too low - but the Hoosiers have no one to blame but themselves. They have the talent to make a serious run in the tournament - but because they screwed around during the last month, that run just got a lot harder.

Kelly's Baby Shower

This past weekend we headed down to Lafayette to celebrate Kelly, Jim, and Baby Thomas! The weekend kicked off with pizza and bread sticks at the Hunt's house on Friday night. It was a relaxing evening and great to catch up with Kelly, Jim, the Hunt's, the Konneker's, and the Doyle's.

Saturday I, along with the aunties and Lindsay Doyle, hosted a baby shower for Kelly and Jim at Lafayette Country Club. It was a great way to celebrate the impending arrival of Baby Thomas. Everyone was incredibly generous as Baby Thomas received so many nice things. This baby is going to be one stylish little girl!! Click here to see pictures from the shower! Thank you to Lindsay, Cindy, Linda, Renee, and Becky for making the shower so special and such a success.

It was a great weekend in Lafayette and so fun to see everyone that we have not seen in such a long time. We are looking forward to the birth of Baby Thomas and could not be more thrilled that Baby Hunt will have a cousin just a few months older than he or she. How fun to have cousins so close in age!!

Happy St. Patty's Day

An Irish Tale

An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers. The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone.
An hour later, the man has finished the three beers and orders three more. This happens yet again. The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the Man Who Orders Three Beers.
Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town. "I don't mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"
"Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies. "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America , and the other to Australia . We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond."
The bartender and the whole town were pleased with this answer, and soon the Man Who Orders Three Beers became a local celebrity and source of pride to the hamlet, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.
Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening. He orders only two beers. The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.
The next day, the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know-the two beers and all.."
The man ponders this for a moment, then replies,
"You'll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well. It's just that I, meself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."

Party Hardy!

Matt and I had a very busy, but very fun weekend. We headed down to Lafayette Friday night to run some quick errands for Kelly's shower, enjoy some Hot Box Pizza, and to get a good night's rest before a jam packed weekend. Saturday, we woke up and drove to Zionsville to celebrate the adorable Libby Barron's 1st Birthday!! It is hard to believe that a year ago, I was visiting Shannon, Mike, and Libby in the hospital. Wow, time sure does fly! Ladybugs was the theme of the party and Shannon went all out. The food was delicious and it was so fun to visit with friends we have not seen for quite a while. While Libby was not that interested in her cupcake, she sure loved the lady bug cookies from Sweet Mandy B's. Can anyone blame her? It was a great celebration for Miss Libby's first year, we are looking forward to many more!!

After Libby's party, we headed back to Chicago to get ready for our next party. My sister hosted a fabulous surprise party for Ben at Piece Pizza and while we are all skeptical about him knowing anything about the party, I assure you, he was quite surprised. I am not quite sure you could top the look on his face when we all shouted "Surprise!" It was such a fun night and a great way to celebrate Ben's birthday!!! I have posted links to all the photos under Photo Albums on the left side of the blog.

Ok, it is back to work for me. I have a huge presentation I am working on for some partners that has to be finished by tomorrow. Let's hope it does not drag on past Tuesday because I have way too many things to do for a very important shower this weekend!!! Plus, I am exhausted from a busy weekend and doing about 10 hours of work yesterday! Oh well, we have a very fun weekend planned and I am taking Friday off!!!

Florida Sun

Flew down to Tampa this morning for some training at the beginning of this week. My buddy Erik and his girlfriend Corey picked me up at the airport and we headed over to the Phillies game in Clearwater. We watched a little batting practice and took a walk around the stadium. Found our seats which were right above the tunnel where the Phillies players went on and off the field. Waited there for a few minutes watching some guys go in and out of the tunnel and a guy we grew up with in Lafayette, Eric Bruntlett walked out. He was traded from Houston to Philly this winter. We chatted with him for about five minutes - and Fassel put a hex on him (0-3 with 2 strikeouts and an error today.)

Also at the game was the golfer John Daly and some Hooters ball girls (pictures to come.)

Overall it was a good time to hang with Erik and Corey and we got to see some spring training baseball. I will try to get a photo album up later this week. Now, if I could have remembered to wear my hat...face is a little red this evening.

It is a super sports week for me as I am going to try and hit the Tigers game in Lakeland on Wednesday, an Orlando Magic game Wednesday night and the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday.

We had a busy weekend this week including my trip to Tampa. Two birthday parties yesterday in two different states - Ben and Libby. I am sure Ali will get some pictures up soon.

Robert William Livermore

Many congratulations to Rob and Erin Livermore on the birth of their adorable son! Robert William Livermore was born this morning around 5:00 a.m. He was 7 pounds 9 ounces, 20 inches long, and is as cute as can be. Congratulations to the Livermore family on their newest addition!!!

Belly Pic

For those of you that have been asking (and even those of you that haven't), here is the first picture of my every growing belly at 15 1/2 weeks. I promise that as my stomach grows larger, it will be covered, but until then, everyone is going to have to deal with a little skin.

I am still feeling really good. Unfortunately, I had to make a couple unexpected trips to the doctor last week, but after a couple ultrasounds, the doctor assured me Baby Hunt is doing great and growing like a week. It is hard to believe that in 4 short weeks, I will have halfway through my pregnancy. Time is flying and Baby Hunt will be here before we know it; we can't wait! I have my monthly appointment on Thursday and will keep everyone updated with new changes and developments.