Roosters Don't Come with Snooze Buttons!

Mom and I traveled to North Carolina to see my grandparents this weekend! Thanks to the Garmin GPS system, we found a new quicker route that cut thirty minutes off our travel time! Whoo hoo! As mentioned before in a previous post, my grandparents live on what is almost a small farm, where they raise tons of vegetables, fruit, chickens, and one annoying rooster! The rooster's name is Tarzan because when my cousins where little they thought the rooster's crowing sounded like Tarzan! Every animal at my grandparent's house has to have a name, so Tarzan it was!
Mom and Tarzan have a bad history! Tarzan used to sit outside on the porch banister outside the window of the room we used to stay in when we went to my grandparent's house and crow every morning. One morning Mom finally had enough crowing and took an umbrella and knocked Tarzan's legs out from under him, so he fell off the banister. He stopped crowing and didn't sit outside that window anymore.
During this visit, Mom and I slept in a different room. Adam and I have slept in this room before and NEVER heard Tarzan crowing, but Tarzan decided to seek revenge for Mom's malicious act with the umbrella! Every morning, he started crowing at dawn and didn't stop for hours. He would crow until almost 10 am! What rooster does that?
Having a rooster crowing all morning is worse than having an alarm clock that won't turn off and there is NO snooze button on a rooster!

Fondue It Yourself

This weekend Adam and I have had some fun with fondue the past few nights! Jo Ann and Frank gave us a fondue set, and I started putting it to good use at some of my Mary Kay shows doing Fondue Fundraisers! So after getting my fondue set back from a very fondue-zealous hostess, I decided to give fondue a go at home. If you recall, Adam and I went to the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, for our Anniversary this past year. I was really surprised that Adam liked the Melting Pot as much as he did because he used to make the comment that he didn't want to pay that much money to cook his own food, but we had fun. It is a fun and different dinning experience.
I basically wanted to experience the Big Night Out dinner at our house! So I borrowed a delicious cheese fondue recipe from my MK hostess and then found a broth recipe for cooking meat and a wonderful chocolate fondue recipe online. You can actually find websites that will tell you how to make the Melting Pot's recipes! Like I said, Adam and I have been fonduing for a few days now because I didn't realize that the recipes were for larger groups (about 4-6 people), but it has really been a bonding experience over dinner! All of the following recipes can be cut in half and still feed 2 people easily! It cost me roughly the same amount to buy all the food and supplies for 3 courses as the Big Night Out, but it serves two to three times the amount of people. My suggestion is to Fondue with Friends and have everyone bring something to cut down on the cost, or you can just eat fondue for 3 days like we are!

Cheese Fondue (Traditional Swiss Fondue)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb (8 oz) Emmenthaler cheese
1/2 lb (8 oz) Gruyere cheese
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp Kirsch
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 clove garlic
nutmeg (optional)

Directions:
Shred cheese. Shake cornstarch and shredded cheese in a bag. Rub a 4 qrt sauce pot with clove of garlic. Mix wine and lemon juice in pot over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly in a zig zag pattern. DO NOT LET IT BOIL! Stir until creamy. Once smooth, add Kirsch and dry mustard. (Optional: add pinch of nutmeg).
Transfer to fondue pot.

Dippers:
Italian/French loaf
Granny Smith Apples
Veggies

Note: I used dry white cooking wine instead of the real deal, but feel free to use the good stuff! Also, Kirsch can be found in most liquor stores. It is a cherry flavored mixer, but used mostly for fondue making! Also, I did not use nutmeg, since I am very sensitive to the flavor!

Milk Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients:

12 oz chocolate (I used a 12 oz bag of Ghiradelli Milk Chocolate chips)
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp on brandy, rum or flavored liqueur (I used 1 Tbsp on the Kirsch from the cheese recipe!)

Directions:

Melt chocolate and whipping cream in a pot on low heat. When melted completely, add brandy, rum, liqueur or Kirsch. Mix in well and then transfer to fondue pot.

Dippers:
Strawberries
Bananas
Rice Crispy Treats
Cheesecake
Marshmallows
pound cake
Brownies

We used a Court Bouillon recipe found on Helium.com. It wasn't to die for but it wasn't bad! We may try the Coq Au Vin recipe next time.

18 Weeks

Today marks 18 weeks for Baby Knies! We are in the 5th month now, which really blows my mind that time has passed so quickly! We do not have another appointment until the end of the month, when we get to find out the sex of the baby, but I do have a few new things to report.
I woke up Monday morning and felt a good sized lump really low on the right side of my belly. It kinda freaked me out at first because it was definitely unexpected, until I realized what it was. It's Baby Knies! When I lay down on my back my belly flattens out except the little lump where Baby Knies is, so now I can keep track of the Baby pretty well! I can feel the Baby kicking more now, maybe just because I know where Baby Knies is. I've also noticed a few punches with those kicks, so arms and legs are both working! I can even feel the Baby swimming around in my belly in the mornings, but usually Baby Knies is nestled in my pelvic girdle area (can you tell I'm married to a Physical Therapist?) on my right side, because I sleep mostly on my right side!

I still haven't gained any more weight, but I am still have morning sickness at least once a week. I will be so glad when the morning sickness is gone! My belly is definitely getting bigger this week, so I assume the weight will come! I am wearing the Bella Band now! It is such a life saver, or belly saver! I feel much more comfortable in my jeans and skirts. I have to wear a black skirt to my monthly Mary Kay meetings so when I tried it on Monday night, I could zip it up all the way, but it wasn't comfortable and even more uncomfortable when I sat down in it. The skirt zips on the side, so I didn't think it would be very professional to go to a business meeting with my skirt half-way unzipped. So I bought the Bella Band that night and tired it on with my jeans, and realized that I could have been a lot more comfortable in jeans for awhile now, if I hadn't waited so long to buy the Bella Band!
Hopefully I will be able to post some new pictures of the belly soon!

Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Today, I hostessed a Bridal Brunch for some of the girls that I know who are getting married in the up coming months! We had a lot of fun playing in skin care and make up and the girls chatted about dresses, ceremonies, honeymoons, rings, and everything else to do with weddings. I had a lot of fun and I think they did too!
Anywho, for the Bridal Brunch, I wanted to have some food for the ladies to nibble on that would be very "brunchy," so I decided to make scones. My Aunt Holly has a great scone recipe that I've always loved - hence, Something Borrowed! She usually makes them around Thanksgiving, so she puts cranberries in them, but since cranberries are out of season, I decided to give blueberries a try - hence, Something Blue! The girls seemed to love them, and a few asked for the recipe, so I thought I would share with my blogger buddies as well! I had to change the directions a little, since I came across a few problems with the directions when I made the scones this morning. My changes are noted in blue!

Aunt Holly's Scones

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks of cold butter (I suggest using a little less)
1 cup chopped cranberries ( or blueberries!)
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cups buttermilk (I actually used just a splash more, just a splash!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together (I suggest in a mixer on low speed) flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut cold butter into chunks (add to mixer and mix on low speed to break up butter chunks to about pea-size). Fold in chopped blueberries, sugar and buttermilk and stir until well blended. Mix to loose dough.
On a floured surface, pat the dough into circles (I divided the dough into thirds and made three dough circles!). Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cut scone circles into 8 sections, like a pie. Then Enjoy!

Karate Kid

Baby Knies hit or I should say "kicked" another milestone today! I had been feeling some weird tummy feelings lately, but passed it off an indigestion. Then today I finally realized what it was! Baby Knies is kicking! It is such a great feeling - well not so much physically, but mentally! It kind of feels like something between a fluttering and popcorn popping! I can't really feel it from the outside of my belly yet, but I know we soon will be able to. I want Adam to be able to feel it, since he can't experience everything that I can!
After I got my last karate kick today, I cried like a baby! Even though we just went to the doctor on Friday, it still lets me know that things are going well! Legs are working! Yay!
I will keep you updated as I get the "Crane Kick" to the ribs!

16 Week Check Up

Friday, Adam and I had our 16-week Baby Knies check up. They did the usual - checking my weight, blood pressure, baby's heart beat, etc. Before I stepped onto the scale, my nurse commented that she didn't think I had gained a pound. Well, I proved her wrong! I gained 1 lbs! I think that makes the total about 2 -3 lbs, bringing me up to a whopping....nope, I won't tell. As much as I would love to prove wrong the friends of mine who said "Congratualtions! I can't wait until you get fat," I don't want the rest of you blessing me with words that only sailors use, so it will be a Knies Family secret!
Adam and I really liked the doctor we had this time - more personable than the ole stick-in-the-mud we had last time! He said that I was carrying low, which is one reason why I still don't look very pregnant, especially with blue jeans on. We decided not to do the blood test to check for brain or spinal malfunctions, since basically all you can do is worry or abort, and aborting is out of the question. We love this baby so much already and will love it no matter how many fingers or toes or no matter any other complications it could possibly have. The doctor said he personally didn't think I needed to do the blood test either, since I am young and healthy!
We got to hear the heartbeat again. Mom was in Oak Ridge on Friday as well, so she got to hear the heartbeat too. It truly is amazing to hear that little thumping sound, and know that everything is okay! The heartbeat was still high - 154! We will have to see if the old wife's tale is true next month when we get to find out the sex!
The doctor asked if I had any questions, and Adam piped up about my weight! Dr. Peters said that he usually doesn't hear parents-to-be asking about whether or not mom-to-be is gaining enough weight, it is usually the exact opposite. He said that I WILL gain weight, but as long as I am eating healthy, then I am fine and the weight will come! I am still having morning sickness on a weekly basis, if not more often, so that is one reason why I have a lower pregnancy weight. Dr. Peters said that should subside before long. I hope he's right!
Our next appointment is March 27th. We will find out if Baby Knies is an Addison, or a Baby Boy Knies (we still have not picked out a boy name). It will be an exciting day! Until then, keep watching for bump pictures!

Fat Tuesday!

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras! It is a very exciting day, for partying purposes, but Adam and I have our own Fat Tuesday tradition. Growing up in my church, the Presbyterian Church, we had a Fat Tuesday fellowship in the fellowship hall. Church members would bring tons of indulgent food, like pancakes, waffles, cakes, and sweets - a child's junk food playground! Basically, it was the last chance to eat indulgent food before giving it up the next day, Ash Wednesday, for the start of Lent. So, Adam and I continue my church's tradition by going to IHOP on Fat Tuesday. Actually, I think the first time we celebrated Fat Tuesday together, we ate at Waffle House, then the next year we upsaled to IHOP.

This year, people must have caught on to our Fat Tuesday tradition! Typically there is no wait or just a short wait at IHOP on Fat Tuesday, but this year, people were lined out the door, at both convenient IHOP locations, here in Knoxville - or maybe it was because they were giving away free stacks of pancakes to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network! Well, we didn't want to wait, but wanted to keep with the concept of Fat Tuesday, so we went to Cracker Barrel for the Breakfast Menu. I got Mama's Pancake Breakfast: 3 pancakes, 2 eggs and 2 sausage patties (plus I added a side of fried apples - yum!). I didn't eat it all, or at least not by myself, but I made a good dent in my 2 plates of food! Our Fat Tuesday meal was quite yummy, but I still prefer IHOP pancakes.
So what am I giving up for Lent this year? I feel like I have given up a lot, as it is, because I want a healthy pregnancy. I still eat candy from time to time, and I know it has no nutritional value, so I'm giving up candy. Now, lets define candy, to me! Gum is not candy! Candy is candy! I'm still on the fence about my favorite candy/gum - Razzles! It says on the package, "First it's a Candy, then it's a Gum." However, the candy aspect is more like a powder that almost immediately turns into gum, so I think Razzles are okay! Plus, I bought a pack last night at Cracker Barrel, since they are the ONLY place that sells them now, and I didn't finish the package! Lets just say, Razzles are up for debate!