It's fall here. Like... no-more-leaves-on-trees fall. They're ALL on the ground. Literally. Here's Gabby playing in the leaves as Ray raked them to the curb for pickup.
End result... minus two which made their way to Ray's belly. :)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Leaves, Leaves Everywhere!
Last week, our friends Alison, Nic, Gab, and Scotty came to visit. We had dinner downtown with them one evening and they came to stay with us the next evening. While Nic worked in the city (after they visited the Chicago sites in our amazing 78 degree weather, the rest of the clan came to stay with us in the 'burbs.
It's fall here. Like... no-more-leaves-on-trees fall. They're ALL on the ground. Literally. Here's Gabby playing in the leaves as Ray raked them to the curb for pickup.
We also received a fun fall package from Ray's family... which included Sprinkles cupcake mix, sprinkles, a fall spatula, chocolate, and socks. Very fun and festive...especially since Gabby opened every individually wrapped present for me! She enjoyed that!
I made the cupcakes on Sunday night and took them to our small group on Monday. These were some seriously decadent pumpkin cupcakes-- like a whole stick of butter decadent--for 12. Yeah, I know!
I stole borrowed this photo from Nic's picture site to add here... partly because Alison and Scotty didn't make it on the blog otherwise (well, neither did Ray or Nic), but also because I was spotted obviously pregnant in this picture... with really fancy hair I might add.
We had just finished breakfast at Tangerine here in downtown Naperville where we had pancakes the size of basketballs... and were headed for a river walk. It was so nice having them out and sharing our fall leaves and this beautiful time of year before it turns so cold we won't even want to go outside with them.
It's fall here. Like... no-more-leaves-on-trees fall. They're ALL on the ground. Literally. Here's Gabby playing in the leaves as Ray raked them to the curb for pickup.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
730 days until I hit the big 3-0. Woah.
This birthday was totally different than I'm used to. First off, I'm pregnant. Like... almost 8 months pregnant with a clear, protruding, moving, uncomfortable belly. I'm thankful for that little bean and he's the best present of all, but it's quite different not being able to enjoy a nice salt-rimmed margarita as you drink to another year of glory. December. I just need to keep telling myself that. Perhaps that's why I have purchased not one, not two, but three bottles of tequila while pregnant. Yeah, I'm looking forward to that ice-cold drink. Margaritas are green and that's a Christmas color, right? And honestly, the smell while pregnant is pretty repulsive, but the idea sounds nice. :)
So, it started actually a week prior when I started receiving countless emails from favorite restaurants and ice cream shops. I took advantage, though have no photo proof, of the loot I scored from these emails.
I indulged in a freebie chocolate with peanut butter swirls ice cream at Baskin Robbins... for free. It was so incredibly divine.
I dined on a freebie veggie burger at our favorite burger joint, Fuddruckers... with all the pickles I wanted. :) Maybe a few extra were thrown on this time. I blame it on baby W.
I enjoyed a freebie stir fry at the Bd Mongolian BBQ place in downtown Naperville... and it was tasty. Even if they were out of the baby corns and rice noodles I love.
I shared a freebie ice cream "like it" at Coldstone of sweet cream and Reese's peanut butter cups. Nevermind that they were out of chocolate, strawberry, cake batter, & anything vanilla. No whining when it's free, right?
Needless to say, I took advantage of some goodies-- but not all on my actual birthday. These freebies were giving all week long! I should take photos next year.
As for my actual birthday, we woke up at a ripe hour of 6 a.m. to complete our insulation project. Weekends are crucial for house projects and my birthday meant celebrating half-day would have to be the way it was. I woke up to a wonderful card by my adoring husband and granola bars as we set out to Home Depot. Insulation down, we headed over to our friends' house to pick up some drywall and garbage to dispose of from one of their house projects (we had a big truck = dumpster visit). Then, home to shower and clean up before heading back to Home Depot to drop off the goods before dinner out in downtown Naperville, followed by ice cream, of course!
My present from my husband (not pictured) was a full length robe. While I own two robes, I don't own a full-length one that is perfect for pregnancy and post pregnancy. It's big, cuddly, and will be needed this winter. :)
Monday, we met my best friend, her husband, and their two kiddos in Downtown Chicago for dinner at Gibson's Steakhouse. I had a planked whitefish while the rest of the crew had steaks. It was a steakhouse after all. They gave me a wonderful Kai candle. I don't have a photo, but I linked it. I LOVE this smell. I mean LOVE. It smells tropical and reminds me of Hermosa Beach where I come from and used to visit this store that sold all kinds of their products. I just love it. It's really the small things that excite me.
They came to stay with us Wednesday through Saturday and that was such a nice time for me. I love having time with friends. It was so nice to spend extended time with Alison since we haven't really had that much time to just hang out in years!
More lovely birthday presents are below, but not all are pictured:
This is from Kay, Steve, & Samantha. It was a lovely indulgence box of goodies, all individually wrapped. It was great fun opening each little package. The main gift was a prenatal massage at a local place here in IL!
My brother sent me a huge box of my favorite chips from the Orange County area in Cali... Have A' Corn Chips. There's a legend (I doubt it's true) that the Hare Krishna are the makers of these lovely treats. Either way, they're amazing. I was first turned on to them during my college days when people would walk around campus eating these. I thought they were crazy... who likes plain corn chips that much? Well, that was until I tasted them. Oh man. They are seasoned with a light touch of soy sauce and it makes them have this special tang that is unlike any other. You can buy them on Amazon I think, but only in bulk. I have about 22 bags left!!
This isn't really a birthday present, but it was sent around the same time. Jeanni & Chris, friends from Colorado, sent me my favorite Top Ramen. In the Midwest, they only sell the Maruchan brand. I only like the Top Ramen brand in Oriental. I'm very specific about my {white trash} foods. Haha. I think I'm good for years now. We saw them a few weeks ago and had dinner with them in downtown Chicago... this was a conversation and they didn't forget! Imagine our mail delivery people as they deliver these huge packages of food for us. Ah, so funny. Of course I haven't touched these yet. I don't think my child needs to develop high blood pressure from the daily allowance of sodium that is in one of these packages. But come December, oh, ramen is on.
My parents also sent me a gift card to Borders for me to find something to read after Baby W is born... now to decide what I want!
I'd say it was a great birthday. It helps that I have the best husband ever. I really do feel incredibly blessed to be alive, healthy, married to my best friend, and pregnant with our baby boy.
Now if only I could add a few more days to that countdown of my 30th birthday. I'm not ready for that.
So, it started actually a week prior when I started receiving countless emails from favorite restaurants and ice cream shops. I took advantage, though have no photo proof, of the loot I scored from these emails.
I indulged in a freebie chocolate with peanut butter swirls ice cream at Baskin Robbins... for free. It was so incredibly divine.
I dined on a freebie veggie burger at our favorite burger joint, Fuddruckers... with all the pickles I wanted. :) Maybe a few extra were thrown on this time. I blame it on baby W.
I enjoyed a freebie stir fry at the Bd Mongolian BBQ place in downtown Naperville... and it was tasty. Even if they were out of the baby corns and rice noodles I love.
I shared a freebie ice cream "like it" at Coldstone of sweet cream and Reese's peanut butter cups. Nevermind that they were out of chocolate, strawberry, cake batter, & anything vanilla. No whining when it's free, right?
Needless to say, I took advantage of some goodies-- but not all on my actual birthday. These freebies were giving all week long! I should take photos next year.
As for my actual birthday, we woke up at a ripe hour of 6 a.m. to complete our insulation project. Weekends are crucial for house projects and my birthday meant celebrating half-day would have to be the way it was. I woke up to a wonderful card by my adoring husband and granola bars as we set out to Home Depot. Insulation down, we headed over to our friends' house to pick up some drywall and garbage to dispose of from one of their house projects (we had a big truck = dumpster visit). Then, home to shower and clean up before heading back to Home Depot to drop off the goods before dinner out in downtown Naperville, followed by ice cream, of course!
My present from my husband (not pictured) was a full length robe. While I own two robes, I don't own a full-length one that is perfect for pregnancy and post pregnancy. It's big, cuddly, and will be needed this winter. :)
Monday, we met my best friend, her husband, and their two kiddos in Downtown Chicago for dinner at Gibson's Steakhouse. I had a planked whitefish while the rest of the crew had steaks. It was a steakhouse after all. They gave me a wonderful Kai candle. I don't have a photo, but I linked it. I LOVE this smell. I mean LOVE. It smells tropical and reminds me of Hermosa Beach where I come from and used to visit this store that sold all kinds of their products. I just love it. It's really the small things that excite me.
They came to stay with us Wednesday through Saturday and that was such a nice time for me. I love having time with friends. It was so nice to spend extended time with Alison since we haven't really had that much time to just hang out in years!
More lovely birthday presents are below, but not all are pictured:
This is from Kay, Steve, & Samantha. It was a lovely indulgence box of goodies, all individually wrapped. It was great fun opening each little package. The main gift was a prenatal massage at a local place here in IL!
I'd say it was a great birthday. It helps that I have the best husband ever. I really do feel incredibly blessed to be alive, healthy, married to my best friend, and pregnant with our baby boy.
Now if only I could add a few more days to that countdown of my 30th birthday. I'm not ready for that.
The First Snowfall of the Year
We have been putting off insulation in our attic since we moved in. We knew, upon inspection, that the R-13, four inches of insulation would not get us through the Chicago winter. Or... we could survive but be leaking our money right through our attic by heating nonstop. We opted for the insulation route and decided that we could do it ourselves. We researched this company called Owens Corning that made Fiberglas insulation you can purchase and blow into your attic through a machine and tube. We watched the video, purchased 6-7 bags of insulation and stuffed them into the Accord on multiple occasions so we'd have the 30 bags we wanted. We weren't just going to insulate a little. Oh no. The Wilsons go-big-or-go-home and therefore needed the maximum R-60. We wanted that baby to have 20 fluffy inches above our heads at night. So that's just what we made happen.
We visited Home Depot on multiple occasions prior to our big Saturday event to buy those bags and every time we were greeted by their "experts" who asked us if we were sure if 30 bags was what we wanted. Oh yes. Oh yes. One guy even asked, "What, is your house 10,000 square feet?" Nope. Just about 2,700. Haha.
On the day of our insulation, October 10 (my birthday), we set out to Home Depot at 8 a.m. Ray had just finished working on the attic boxes. He built wood boxes around the bathroom vents and recessed lighting so the insulation would not be placed on top and accidentally creep in when we shot the loose Fiberglas all over. We showed up and rented the machine, a truck to haul it, and 17 of of the 30 bags (13 were at home already) we needed to complete the job.
Our biggest obstacle: the weather. We chose to wait until fall for insulation because we thought it would be cooler. Lesson #1 learned: don't trust Chicago weather. It is never normal and always surprising. The week prior was in the lower to mid 60's. The week after (this weekend), also in the 60's. Nope. Not insulation weekend = 88 degrees! You can imagine in a hot attic wearing protective gear from head to toe, it would be 100+ degrees. Bummer. But, we're fighters. We were determined to finish this job, and finish it fast.
Ray removing the massively heavy machine base from the truck. Being pregnant means I lift nothing and can be of almost no use. Shrug.
Ray prepared all of the bags for me by cutting them in half, just as the directions called for. Use the Xacto knife to slice in half and then break. For 30 bags, we yielded 60 halves that individually had to be stuffed into the AttiCat machine (that was my job as Ray stood in the sweltering attic and sprayed the Fiberglas from the hose).
Here's the beast of a machine that I stuffed each halve into. There was a knife on the left that would slice the bag open as I stuffed it inside the machine. I was also covered, head-to-toe in protective gear so that the Fiberglas would not come in contact with my skin. Not fun in the sun, dressed for winter, in 88 degree weather. Oh yeah, and pregnant. I guess the only thing worse could have been being inside the attic. My poor husband.
Look at that fluffiness! You're looking at about $900 worth of Fiberglas insulation that will hopefully save us some cash and keep us cozy in the winter. We also get a tax break of 30% for completing the project before December 31. But let's be honest... tax break or not, we would've done this just for our personal interest. My first Chicago winter is coming and from what I've been told by everysingleperson, we're going to need this. It took us about 2-2.5 hours to blow all of the insulation into the attic-- all 60 halves. Doing the math... that's about 1 bag every 2 to 2.5 minutes.
So maybe it was an 88-degree (or 100+ in the attic) snowfall of a different kind, but it was much needed. We're so happy to have this behind us (or above us... haha) now.
Bring it on, Chicago.
We visited Home Depot on multiple occasions prior to our big Saturday event to buy those bags and every time we were greeted by their "experts" who asked us if we were sure if 30 bags was what we wanted. Oh yes. Oh yes. One guy even asked, "What, is your house 10,000 square feet?" Nope. Just about 2,700. Haha.
On the day of our insulation, October 10 (my birthday), we set out to Home Depot at 8 a.m. Ray had just finished working on the attic boxes. He built wood boxes around the bathroom vents and recessed lighting so the insulation would not be placed on top and accidentally creep in when we shot the loose Fiberglas all over. We showed up and rented the machine, a truck to haul it, and 17 of of the 30 bags (13 were at home already) we needed to complete the job.
Our biggest obstacle: the weather. We chose to wait until fall for insulation because we thought it would be cooler. Lesson #1 learned: don't trust Chicago weather. It is never normal and always surprising. The week prior was in the lower to mid 60's. The week after (this weekend), also in the 60's. Nope. Not insulation weekend = 88 degrees! You can imagine in a hot attic wearing protective gear from head to toe, it would be 100+ degrees. Bummer. But, we're fighters. We were determined to finish this job, and finish it fast.
Here is Ray with the truck full of goodies from Home Depot.
Here is the insulation we had in our garage waiting to be used (13 bags) in addition to the ones in the truck (17).
Breaking the "brick" apart. Each one expands 16x the current amount inside the package.
Organizing our stacks of 60 halves...
Ah, R-60 is glorious.
Bring it on, Chicago.
Baby Update: Week 31
No photos for this post... but I'll post a few more entries with photos.
Are there really only FIFTY NINE days left until Baby W makes his appearance into the world... forever? I mean, we'll forever be parents to this guy! But being realistic, he's probably about 60+ days until delivery since he's been a classified runt. :) You never know, though!
Here are the updates for the week. On Tuesday I'll officially be 8 months (WOAH) and have a picture of the belly to post. Until then, here are the highlights from week 31:
How far along?: 31w5d
How big is Baby?: Baby is about 3.25-3.5 pounds and measuring around 16 inches long
Maternity clothes?: Yes. Oh for sure. If nothing more than for my ever-growing hips that seem to be expanding by the day.
Sleep?: Doing okay. Restroom breaks frequent and a very tired day (despite having a lot of sleep) usually follow.
Best moment of the week?: Seeing my best friend, her husband, and her two little ones as they came to stay with us! It was so nice having them here and just being able to hang out.
Movements?: Yes. He moves his behind from the left to the right side of my belly frequently. I believe he is now "head down", so that has to be his little bottom!
Food cravings?: Not really...
Aversions?: Not really...
What I miss?: Hugging my husband without a big basketball belly, having a bladder that isn't "tested" by Baby W on a regular basis, and being able to walk up the stairs without feeling winded. I'll get back there soon enough, I know.
What I'm looking forward to?: I'm looking forward to a full week of work. I am subbing the entire week for a girl who is visiting China. While her job is less interesting, I'm happy to be busy and earning a little extra cash for some Christmas splurges we have planned (yes... to those who would like to see us upgrade that 19 inch tube, we plan to!)
Anything else?: Baby W is getting fatter, hearing lots of noises from inside the belly, and moving with lots of strength. The movements will start to slow down, however, as he continues to fill the space to its capacity--though I felt his limit was met, he still continues to find more space for his body!
This week in history: The miners were rescued! That was great news.
What's going on this week (with us)?: We just said goodbye to Alison, Nic, Gabrielle, and Scotty who were here visiting (Nic had business downtown). It was wonderful being able to spend time with them. We are done with our big projects and enjoying the obvious insulation temperature regulations in our house. It has been getting down into the 40's at night and we haven't used the heat... yet! Our church launched a new site this weekend and since it is 1 mile from our house, we walked there today! It's very coffee-house feeling and warm. We are getting rid of some leaves by raking them to the end of our yard. The city has a pickup service that will be coming to suck them up by truck every Monday for a month. Our trees in the front of our property have lost nearly all of their leaves but the back are still continuing to shed them. Gabby had great fun playing with the leaves when she was visiting. Overall, it was a great week and so nice to finally experience a relaxing weekend without an intense project. Week 32, here we come! Eeeeek!
Are there really only FIFTY NINE days left until Baby W makes his appearance into the world... forever? I mean, we'll forever be parents to this guy! But being realistic, he's probably about 60+ days until delivery since he's been a classified runt. :) You never know, though!
Here are the updates for the week. On Tuesday I'll officially be 8 months (WOAH) and have a picture of the belly to post. Until then, here are the highlights from week 31:
How far along?: 31w5d
How big is Baby?: Baby is about 3.25-3.5 pounds and measuring around 16 inches long
Maternity clothes?: Yes. Oh for sure. If nothing more than for my ever-growing hips that seem to be expanding by the day.
Sleep?: Doing okay. Restroom breaks frequent and a very tired day (despite having a lot of sleep) usually follow.
Best moment of the week?: Seeing my best friend, her husband, and her two little ones as they came to stay with us! It was so nice having them here and just being able to hang out.
Movements?: Yes. He moves his behind from the left to the right side of my belly frequently. I believe he is now "head down", so that has to be his little bottom!
Food cravings?: Not really...
Aversions?: Not really...
What I miss?: Hugging my husband without a big basketball belly, having a bladder that isn't "tested" by Baby W on a regular basis, and being able to walk up the stairs without feeling winded. I'll get back there soon enough, I know.
What I'm looking forward to?: I'm looking forward to a full week of work. I am subbing the entire week for a girl who is visiting China. While her job is less interesting, I'm happy to be busy and earning a little extra cash for some Christmas splurges we have planned (yes... to those who would like to see us upgrade that 19 inch tube, we plan to!)
Anything else?: Baby W is getting fatter, hearing lots of noises from inside the belly, and moving with lots of strength. The movements will start to slow down, however, as he continues to fill the space to its capacity--though I felt his limit was met, he still continues to find more space for his body!
This week in history: The miners were rescued! That was great news.
What's going on this week (with us)?: We just said goodbye to Alison, Nic, Gabrielle, and Scotty who were here visiting (Nic had business downtown). It was wonderful being able to spend time with them. We are done with our big projects and enjoying the obvious insulation temperature regulations in our house. It has been getting down into the 40's at night and we haven't used the heat... yet! Our church launched a new site this weekend and since it is 1 mile from our house, we walked there today! It's very coffee-house feeling and warm. We are getting rid of some leaves by raking them to the end of our yard. The city has a pickup service that will be coming to suck them up by truck every Monday for a month. Our trees in the front of our property have lost nearly all of their leaves but the back are still continuing to shed them. Gabby had great fun playing with the leaves when she was visiting. Overall, it was a great week and so nice to finally experience a relaxing weekend without an intense project. Week 32, here we come! Eeeeek!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Fall is Fun.
Could my titles be more lame? Didn't think so. I could really use some assistance.
This will be a smorgasbord or photos, so prepare yourself. I just don't know how else to post them other than in one lump sum. Plus, this will be my 3rd blog post of the day and I believe that's a record.
This is to get you in the fall mood, especially to my peeps in California who surely don't experience this. I hadn't either until last September when Germany brought so many gorgeous colors to my attention.
Invasion of the leaves in our yard! I also purchased two large pumpkins for a smoking deal at Aldi ($1.99 each!). I'm still a proud German supporter all the way from the States. Hello to our German readers, too. Happy autumn to you all!
We attended a wedding for a few friends, Eric & Kim, who were married in late September. They're already back from their honeymoon so it's about time I get these posted. This one is my favorite because there is more personality...
Now this little gem. I mentioned before that I would be heading to the Salvation Army to find some "throw away" clothes for our messy insulation project this weekend. I was literally walking down the aisles (after a woman asked me if I worked there. hm.) when I received a call from Ray-- don't buy clothes because he'll be using a heavier duty suit from work. Okay, fine. But, I couldn't leave without finding something fun and tchotchke, right? So here she is. Birdie. She cost me an entire 95 cents and I fully intend to spray paint her white and put her in Baby W's room. In person, she is more of a dark brown stain but the lovely flash paired with the oh-so-dark kitchen makes her whitewashed. The tree branch snowman for Christmas is not pictured (for $1.95), though it will likely make an appearance in the next couple months. Stay tuned.
We also spent some time in Colorado as I flew the very last few days before I was no longer allowed (according to my OB). On our drive to Denver, we saw some gorgeous creatures. We love moose. You probably knew that because we are obsessed over that wall hanger in Baby W's room. But, here's a photo of a mom, baby, and daddy (bull) moose we caught on our way from Denver to Steamboat Springs.
You may remember, if you've been following our journeys for awhile, that we took a boat early in the morning and hiked 4-5 miles just to see a bull moose in the Grand Tetons last summer. He had a much larger rack and we were considerably closer to him out in the wild... it was a cooler experience because it was so serene and we found him. While still cool, we just saw these three off the side of the road and along with about 40 other camera-snappers, we caught it on digi-film.
We're enjoying fall... looking forward to more fun as we adventure around the Midwest during this beautiful season.
This will be a smorgasbord or photos, so prepare yourself. I just don't know how else to post them other than in one lump sum. Plus, this will be my 3rd blog post of the day and I believe that's a record.
This is to get you in the fall mood, especially to my peeps in California who surely don't experience this. I hadn't either until last September when Germany brought so many gorgeous colors to my attention.
...and the more boring shot... a bunch of our Chi-town friends. There's also a picture of all the girls out there somewhere but since I was in the photo, I have no proof.
Just beautiful, right?
You may remember, if you've been following our journeys for awhile, that we took a boat early in the morning and hiked 4-5 miles just to see a bull moose in the Grand Tetons last summer. He had a much larger rack and we were considerably closer to him out in the wild... it was a cooler experience because it was so serene and we found him. While still cool, we just saw these three off the side of the road and along with about 40 other camera-snappers, we caught it on digi-film.
We're enjoying fall... looking forward to more fun as we adventure around the Midwest during this beautiful season.
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