30-Day Challenge!

The past two weeks for me have been far from boring. Not that I consider my life typically boring, but there has definitely been some excitement (good and bad) in the past few weeks. It seems like I've hardly stopped long enough to catch my breath. So I'm sure you're wondering what all the fuss is about.

Last week, I spent 4 out of the 5 work days in a doctor's office - and not for me or Baby Knies. Mom and Dad both went to their GP last Monday - still the same doctor and with appointments about 30 minutes apart. Luckily, although my parents are divorced and have been for some years now, they still get along quite well - it makes the waiting room a little more pleasant! Mom had a cold and Dad had an eye infection. Tuesday, Dad was sent to the Opthamologist because his eye condition seemed pretty serious. Basically he was diagnosed with Herpes Simplex Keratitis - sounds incredibly gross, and it kind of is. They believe he has Herpes in his eye -not the STD, but the cold sore type. He was having a lot of trouble seeing out of it. Wednesday, I took Mom to get her CT Scan of the thoracic region of her spine, since she has been having a lot of back trouble. Then finally, Friday, Dad went back to the Opthamologist for a follow up. So basically nothing that seemed too crazy happened last week, but it was not a worry-free week.

Then this week, it seemed like I was going to be in the same routine. Dad had another follow up with the Opthamologist, where he found out that he has some scarring of the cornea from the herpes virus, which is causing the blindness/blurriness and it may be permanent! Not good news at all! Then on Wednesday, I went with Mom to her appointment with the Neruosurgeon. Bad news there too. Mom's vertebra is crushed in her thoracic region and she has to have surgery on April 28th. Now, the good news about Mom is that her problem is fixable, and she will be in the best hands in Knoxville! Her surgeon refers patients to Adam's Physical Therapy clinic so he knows the doctors and their nurses, knows their work, and knows she will be fine! This is actually the same group of doctors that did both of Dad's back surgeries years ago, so we have complete faith in them. I'm sure by now we have provided some new cars, boats, or house payments with all the business we are giving them from my family! I'm beginning to think that Baby Knies needs to be a Neurosurgeon!

Last night, I called Adam at work after finding out the news about Mom and told him that I didn't feel like cooking dinner and wanted to just go out to eat and to get some fresh air. I needed to breathe! When we got home, I decided to catch up on my daily devotional , since I had missed the last few days of reading. I read the story of the mustard seed and some in Matthew and some in a couple of different books of the Bible. It felt comforting to read some passages that seemed to fall right into place with what was going on with my life and my family. However, it never ceases to amaze me that God puts certain people and certain texts in my path to help guide me along the way. Little did I know that the mustard seed would crop up again today.

Today we found out that one of Adam's close friends could have a serious disorder, and his mother-in-law mentioned Matthew 17:20 - all you have to have is faith the size of a mustard seed to move a mountain! We were devastated by the news but took comfort in the fact that God is definitely working in mysterious ways!

So now onto what the title of this blog is all about! Also, yesterday, while waiting for Adam to come home, I came across a friend of a friend's blog, entitled One Month to Live. I was immediately intriged and decided to check it out. The blog was about a book by the same title. It is a Christian inspirational book about the fact that if we were given thirty days to live, how would our prespective change about how we use our time each day, and how to stop living for "someday" and to start making today matter! The purpose is after thirty days, you see how your life has changed, so each day brings a new challenge. There are a few homework assignments, and one of today's assignments was to tell someone you are reading this book and to mark their calendar for thirty days from now. So, put a big red circle around May 15th!
Again, as corny as it may sound, I think God put this friend of a friend's blog in my path. After all the news I've received in the past week, I know life is not to be taken for granted. That rings true even more because I'm carrying and developing a little life within me right now!

I have to admit that I do consider myself a religious person. I do pray and I do read and study the Bible (although not as much as I'd like), and I do attend church (also, not as much as I'd like). With that being said, I'm tattling on myself because Adam and I have not attended a church very regularly since we got married, I think partly because he is Catholic and I am Presbyterian. Not that we have disagreements about each other's denominations, but we are both so used to what we grew up with that I don't think either one of us feels completely at home in the other one's church. And that makes it all too easy to hit the snooze button on Sunday morning and catch a few extra winks instead of going to church. Saturday night I asked Adam which church he wanted to go to for Easter. He said it didn't matter to him, but he didn't want to be one of those people who JUST goes to church on Christmas and Easter. I totally agreed with him, but said that there is no better day to start going back to church on a regular basis than Easter! We want to raise Baby Knies in a church, no matter if it's Catholic or Presbyterian, so there is no time like the present; no better day than today!

I think everyone could benefit from the 30-Day Challenge. Go pick up the book One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life by Kerry and Chris Shook, then let me know what day to mark my calendar for you!

Baby Knies Pictures

I realized that I forgot to post pictures of our little man! I've been very impressed with the clarity of the ultrasound photos. It makes it all the more real that he will be here in 17 weeks!

Baby Knies in 4D!

Baby Knies's profile picture!

Oh BOY!

That's right! Adam and I are having a baby Boy - imagine that! We are very excited!We couldn't sleep the night before the ultrasound. Both our families are crawling with boys, so why break tradition! Adam said that Knies Boys have Knies Boys, and my family is mostly boys as well. On Mom's side of the family I am the only girl out of 8 grandchildren, and now there are 2 great-grandchild, both boys!
We are still trying to decide on a name. I knew that since we had a girl name already picked out that Baby Knies would be a boy - it's never that easy! We have been on babynames.com almost every day going through every letter of the alphabet and looking at all the meanings and origins of the boy names. It's a little nerve-racking naming your baby before you've even met him and then hoping the name suits him!
Friday we went for our ultrasound. It is so amazing what they can do with today's technology. We got a DVD of the entire ultrasound. Baby Boy was moving the entire time. Someone told Adam that I should drink a little caffeine before the ultrasound to get the baby moving so they could be sure to find out the sex. I had a few sips of Pepsi and then I chewed four Sour Razzles, and apparently that was enough to keep him moving for an hour! The ultrasound tech immediately found his little boy parts and then Baby Knies immediately started to explore his little boy parts! People keep asking me if I'm certain that the baby's a boy, and I now have no doubt! Also, the tech checked for blood vessels in his boy parts and everything seems to be well! It truly is amazing to see the tiny heart pumping and arms and legs moving. He has long legs, compared to the rest of his body. I assume he will be tall like Adam! The tech checked different parts of his brain, kidneys, bladdar, stomach, spine, all four chambers of the heart. Everything was normal, which is such a relief!
Baby Knies is weighing in at 12 ounces, and about 6 1/2 to 7 inches long now, so he's about the size of a can of soda! The doctor said that he is average size. I gained some weight this month too. I gained 4 lbs. The doctor said that I was skinny before I was pregnant, skinny when I got pregnant and skinny while I am pregnant. The Doctor's Orders: "If you see a hippopotamus, eat it!" He also said that he would be glad if I gained 10 lbs in April! I think my eyes bulged. It's still hard to imagine gaining weight, even if I am pregnant!
We go back to the doctor's office for our next our 24-week check up in May.

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!