Ringsted Weekend and Other Random Tidbits

Saturday afternoon Justin, Bear, and I headed to Ringsted to hang out on the farm for the night. My parents had done quite a lot of demolition and I think we were all curious as to what it would like in person. Let me just say it is WEIRD! I don't miss the crappy looking barn but it sure looks funny with out all of the buildings to the south.

While we were in Iowa we made sure to go and meet our friends' Bryon and Brooke new little bundle, Drake. It was awesome to meet him yet super nerve racking to know that in just a few short weeks we will be doing the same thing! In some ways it made me a little more nervous- he is so tiny! Saturday night we hung out at my parent's with a bunch of their friends and had a great time. Sunday was a rather uneventful day but we did take some time to rent a movie and order in pizza- typical Sunday night at the Hunecke house!

Tonight was our final baby class. Again, just another reminder that we are fast approaching the end of this part of the journey. We got a quick tour of the hospital, etc. so that was kind of nice. The rooms are nicer than I was envisioning so that was good too.

This week is going to be jam packed with lots of late nights at work for me and Justin. Tomorrow is the MNSU Volunteer Fair so I will be devoting lots of time this week and next getting them trained and ready to go for our programs. I love meeting the new volunteers but the orientations get to be a little much towards the end of the week. It is all part of the territory but I am hoping that we can just keep it to the 4 I have scheduled- ha ha!

Friday afternoon we are headed down to State Center to hang with Justin's older sister and her family, his younger sister and fiance, and possibly some friends for the weekend. We are also getting "belly pics" taken so I am excited to see how those turn out. I can't believe Labor Day weekend is already here! Have a great week!

34 Week Update

Saturday marked the beginning of the 34th week of pregnancy! I can honestly say the past few weeks have just flown by (now I just hope the rest continue to do so!).

Everything has been going fine for the most part. I am getting bigger, obviously but I can't complain too much. I went to the Dr. today and the baby's heart rate was 166 which is a change from the 156-159 over the last few appointments. The Dr seems pleased with my progression so that is good. We discussed how far over my due date I could go and he said that he will not let me go 1 week over SO this means that for sure we will have a baby by October 17th! I really hope I can go naturally and that I won't have to be induced BUT I will go with the flow if needed.

Our next appt. is in 2 weeks and then we start going every week!! 40 days and counting - YIKES!

LEEP Baby Shower

I am a little behind on this but last Thursday evening a good friend of mine hosted LEEP baby shower for Justin and Me. It was really nice cuz we all got to hang out for the night and to be honest that was the best part. I don't get out much and just getting to hang out with people outside of work is nice! Carrie and Becky did a great job with all the planning even down to the ice cream sundae bar! (I LOVE ICE CREAM!) We played some fun games, opened gifts, and ate ice cream you can't ask for a better night out! Here are a few shots of the events of the night!

Here is Carrie getting us all ready for a game of pregnancy charades!

Some of the ladies trying to guess what the baby food was- I watched but didn't temp fate. I still have a pretty touchy gag reflex!

Justin and Me opening our gifts. JR was lucky enough to get some Bud Light so he was pretty excited!

My Husband's Weatherman OBSESSION

I am not sure if I have ever mentioned this but Justin has a man crush on Ian Leonard from Fox 9 news out of the cities. This bromance started back in Cedar Falls when Ian was the weatherman at KWWL. Justin actually lives for the weather and is constantly looking at different radars, etc to get the upcoming forecast. Oddly enough his is pretty good at predicting weather patterns but that isn't the focus of this story.....

Ian is a big supporter of Special Olympics and always comes to MC the ceremonies held for all of the participants in the state games. Last year Justin was disappointed that I didn't get his autograph. Personally I thought the close up picture of him was enough but not for my darling husband. He found out that Ian was there again this year and asked that I get him an autograph. I had already done one better.... I got my picture taken with him AND HE suggested making JR a sign and getting a picture taken with that. So here are the photos we took. Inge is probably going to be pissed I posted the one of the 3 of us but hopefully she understands. I am now "friends" with Ian Leonard and I need to show it off! :)

State Runner's Up

Over the weekend the LEEP softball team that I help coach went to State Special Olympics. We started the weekend with 11 players and ended with 9 so that definitely made things interesting! The guys played hard and did their best so we couldn't have asked anything more!

Pregnancy Survey

I found this online on one of my baby sites that I visit regularly. I decided to put it up on here cuz I thoguht it was fun. Hope you enjoy it!

Mother Name: Mandy
Age: 26
Birthday: November 16
Father Name: Justin
Age: 26
Birthday: November 16

FIRSTS:

Is this your first pregnancy?: Yes

How did you find out you were pregnant?:We had been trying unsuccessfully for almost 3 years to conceive so we were undergoing infertility treatments. I had a scheduled PG test on Monday but new on Friday that something was different. I took a test Saturday morning and it was +!

What kind of pregnancy test did you take?: EPT, I think!

How many?: I took 3 total over the next few days, I couldn’t believe my eyes!

What were your first symptoms?: Smells had become more noticeable... we were planning a Superbowl party and I got a whiff of the BBQ sauce for little wienies and almost lost it. This was my first clue as I am a HUGE BBQ lover!

Who did you tell first?: Hubby…I walked into the bedroom Saturday morning and said "how you doing today daddy?!" He smirked and hugged me. We were really excited!

Who was with you when you found out? Hubby and Bear

Was baby planned?: Absolutely!

When was baby conceived?:Had an IUI on 01/19/09

How far were you when you found out?: 3 weeks & 4 days

My BABY:

Due date: October 10th

Do you want to know the sex?: No but my hubby did

Do you know the sex?: Nope!

If so, boy or girl?: still don't know

Any names?: Have a few for both genders:

Any ultrasounds?: yep, 3 so far (5 weeks, 9 weeks, 21 weeks)

Have you heard the heartbeat?: Yes, sooo awesome!

Who do you think baby will look like?: I am not really sure but I envision a blond haired blue eyed bambino. I hope it has my hubby's eyes cuz they are amazing!

Will baby have any siblings?: We hope so! I would like to wait till the baby is at least 2 before we try again but we will see how everything is going and decide from there

Have you and dad felt baby move?: Yep, took a while for Daddy to be able to feel it. I am much more interested in him feeling it than he is.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Did you have any cravings?:Always have wanted cold stuff; ice cream, popsicles, etc. Also, sweets have been big which is odd for me as I usually like salty/spicy foods.

Did you have any mood swings?: sure, who doesn't?

Are you a high risk pregnancy?: Nope

Any complications?: was REALLY sick for over 1/2 of the pregnancy. Lost more than 20 lbs but things are getting back on track. Dr. seems to be happy with how everything is going.

Formula or breastfeeding?: Formula

Have you bought anything for baby yet?: the only thing we still need is a swing or bouncy chair, we have everything else that we really want

When did you start to show?: It was obvious around 22 weeks I think. Hubby didn't really think I was showing till about 24-25.

How long could you wear your regular clothes?: I can still fit in my regular pants/shorts for the most part but shirts are a different story. I have been wearing maternity shirts since at least 25 weeks.

Are you excited?: I cannot begin to tell you how excited we are!!!!!!!!

Who will help with baby after their born?: to be honest, I don't know. My parents are farmers and the baby will be born in the midst full on harvest season. I am sure if I ask there are lots of people willing to help I just don't haven't gotten that far yet.

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant?: watching my belly dance and feeling the baby move.

What is the worst thing about being pregnant?: all of the throwing up and icky feelings I had.

What’s one thing do you miss doing since being pregnant? probably margaritas and/or a nice cold beer

Any days you wish you weren't pregnant?: Not really, I've wanted a baby for so long that I have felt very blessed. I am sure when I was super sick I wished I was throwing up anymore but I always wanted to be pregnant.

Are you ready for baby?: Definitely getting there.

How many kids do you want?: 4- I have always wanted that many!

Do you talk to your baby?: Yep

Do you still feel attractive?: Some days yes, some days no

Have you had your baby shower yet?: Each of us has had one with our co-workers. They were really nice.

Do you like kids?: love them!

How far along are you now?: 33 weeks

Did you have morning sickness?: Yes, unfortunately!

What kind of birth are you hoping for?: Quick & Easy as naturally as possible. I am not crazy though, I am staying open to most options!

Cloth or disposable diapers? disposable

End of summer, ALREADY?!

I can't believe that summer is coming to an end. It is weird hearing about all the mommies having difficulty with school starting back up, I feel like school just got out! I can't believe MSU is starting on Monday. My sister just got back from nannying in Washington DC over the summer and is already gearing up to head back to Mason City. I just don't know where the time goes and I know it will only continue to go faster once Peanut is born.

Justin works this weekend and I will be up in the cities coaching Special Olympics softball. I have had a lot of fun this season but don't know if I will get to do it again next year. I don't really mind the weekend travel per say I just don't know what next year will bring. Wish us luck!

Seems like we have something going on pretty much every weekend till the end of September so this could get interesting. When do our lives actually slow down???? Enjoy your weekend!

It Appears I Spoke Too Soon

Just when I thought that Mr. Brett Favre was a respectable man I was corrected. As many of you know I am die hard Packer fan which means I am NOT (just in case you missed it- NOT!!) a Vikings fan in any sense of the word. This has lead to several disagreements between my husband and I but we were still able to get through them- most of the time.

Yay for all you Viking fans that you finally got your "missing link" or your "key to success" since signing Brett. I guess good for you that you get to deal with all the drama that comes a long with him. I hate being such a sour puss about someone that I truly did idolize but come on. As he said this is a business and "true Packer fans will understand" he is full of it. If he knew anything about the team he played for during his 16 seasons at Lambeau he would know that this move wasn't one that would be taken lightly. I think he knows this deep down and he undoubtedly was hurt by the way he was forced out of the Packers (thanks again Ted Thompson) but this is really a crappy move. I hoped I would never see the day that #4 was wearing purple but I suppose I will have to suck it up.

It is definitely not a fun time to live in MN as a Packer fan these days because the continuous Favre coverage has become increasingly ridiculous. The October 5th game is definitely going to be a tough one for me. I just hope I don't go into labor early! Justin knows he will most likely end up sleeping on the couch/ in the basement to watch the game. To say nothing else, this season will be interesting!

I suppose I will lick my green and gold wounds and move on, just know I am still sick about all of this. Thanks for the never ending drama, it never ceases to amaze me.

32 Weeks and still going strong!

Well, we have reached another milestone- 32 weeks!! When you break that down we are at the 53 days till d-day. To me this is just CrAzY! I can't believe how fast everything has gone already.

How are things going? Everything has been going pretty good thus far. I have been feeling pretty good but I am getting tired a lot easier. Sleeping through the night has become impossible.... I know it will only get worse but I suppose that is just how it goes.

We had a Dr. appt. yesterday and he said that everything was still right on track. I gained a pound in the last 3 weeks so I suppose this is good. I am sure I will be in for a surprise at the next appointment 'cuz I can already feel Peanut growing at super speeds!

The heartrate was 159 bpm, I can never remember if that means boy or girl but I suppose it really doesn't matter. As the days go by I start to lean towards thinking the baby is a girl. I still don't know for sure either way but everyone keeps telling me it is a girl so I think I am just starting to believe it.

Another thing I have really noticed is that this baby LOVES to stretch. It isn't uncommon to feel something at my hip and something pushing on the opposite side of my ribcage. Sometimes it feels kinda cool but a lot of time time it really hurts! :)

We had week 3 of baby class last night. I think we both are learning a lot and the stuff that they are bringing up has really started some good conversations between the 2 of us. I think we are both a little overwhelmed when we think about all of the things we have to consider when I go in to labor...... If anyone has any suggestions for things we should know but probably haven't thought of as first time parents, pass them our way!!

Twins Game with the Hunecke Clan

On Saturday Justin and I trekked up to the cities to meet his family at the dome for a Twinkies game. :) I must say it wasn't an overly exciting game to attend but it was a lot of fun to be with family!! The Twins lost but we made the best of it. After the game we all headed back to the hotel and did a little swimming. Jenna and Brody were lots of fun to watch and I can't wait till our little one is playing with them! We were also celebrating Jess and Mitch's recent engagement! We are all very excited and can't wait for the wedding!!

Sunday morning we went over to Justin's grandparents house and had a nice brunch. It was nice to visit with everyone before we all headed our own ways. Justin and I did a little baby shopping at Babies R Us (he was trilled) and I must admit that I do love shopping there cuz you can actually try things out before buying them. It seems like the selection is so much greater which I enjoy. We then hit up the outlet mall in Medford and tried to find some "can't pass up" deals. There weren't a ton and it was SUPER busy with the back to school shoppers. It was a quick weekend but we had a great time spending quality bonding time with our family.

Here are a few pictures of our weekend:

The happy couple before the Twins game

We ran into a good buddy from home. It was kind of funny 'cuz the last time I saw him was when were went to the Vikings playoff game last winter.

2 peas in a pod.... These boys are just CRAZY when they are together.... I worry about future family events cuz they are way too much alike!

Jess and Mitch- the newly engaged couple!

Miss Jenna enjoying her time in the pool!

Babies!

Last night JR and I went to a party honoring the 5-6 (not sure of the exact number) of us that are expecting off of the 3rd floor at ISJ. There are 2 of us due on the 10th and one on the 7th of October so it was a joke that we would all end up in the maternity ward together. :) I enjoyed finally getting to meet a few more of his coworkers and had a really nice time enjoying the summer weather. The humidity had died off so it was really nice to be able to be outside. Justin's friend Monica hosted it at her house and she did a really great job! Thanks to all that attended and for having such a great night!

Halloween Candy?!

I had to run some quick errands for work today and when I walked into Hy-Vee I was met with towers of HALLOWEEN CANDY! Holy cow, that is crazy and just make me realize just how quickly this little person is about to be born.

Tonight was round 2 of our baby classes. It was a lot of the "basics" but informative none the less. It even fired Justin up enough to call and get something organized/ set up for Bear when we are in the hospital. Yay Daddy for getting prepared and thinking ahead! D-Day is coming up quick!

Sweet Corn Sunday

Yesterday Justin and I went to my mom and dad's to help in the sweet corn canning adventure! There is a 3-4 family tradition where they all get together to pick, shuck, cut, and bag corn for all of our freezers. We haven't been a part of it for a few years but my mom told me that if I wanted corn this year I had to come down and help!

Justin and my dad started picking corn earlier in the day and had a truck bed full for us to start with. Let me just say that we had corn coming out of our ears!!! In total we had over 970 ears of corn that went through our little set up. To break it down I believe that I cut corn off of AT LEAST 240+ ears of corn. I actually can not feel my right hand's thumb today! It feels very awkward, let me tell you!

I wish I would have gotten pictures of the whole process but I didn't want to get my camera all sticky. I would say that it was quite a success and that all of us will have MORE than enough corn to fill our freezers but come wintertime it will be well worth it!

Garage Sale Report

On Friday and Saturday my mom and I did a garage sale at my house. My goal was just to make a little extra money to enable us to purchase a few things for the baby that we probably wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Friday's weather was awful, pouring rain off and on all day, humid yet chilly, and just plain gloomy! Lucky for us that didn't keep the shoppers away!! We did very well that day and I am pumped to do another one or 2 next summer!

Saturday proved to be a much nicer day weather wise but not so great in the sales department. We decided that next year we will have to do the sales on Thursday and Friday as those have proven to be a lot better in the past when we have done them.

Our final tally was pretty awesome so it felt like time well spent! I am excited to do another one next year!

Kindness

"Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.."

I am not sure why but I read this today and it hit me kinda hard. I suppose it is something a person with common sense would just "know" but as we all know this isn't the case. Sometimes I think we forget that everyone has something going on in their lives and that we shouldn't take anything for granted. Have a great day!

weekend off- for me! :)

Sadly this weekend was JR's weekend to work so boo for him but, yay for me! Having him either sleeping or out of the house made it VERY easy for me to not do a darn thing! And that ladies and gents, is exactly how I spent Saturday and I am going to be honest, I loved EVERY minute of it. Justin was a little annoyed (ok, a lot annoyed) that I hadn't done anything around the house since it was in dire need of cleaning however, I pointed out that he had the entire week previous off so I didn't feel all that guilty! :)

Sunday proved to be much more productive as I made a few things for the nursery, DEEP cleaned the bathroom, cleaned and organized the kitchen/living room. I think I more than made up for Saturday so I don't feel quite so bad.

Tonight is our first"Baby Education" class and I am actually excited. I am kind of hoping at some point there is an empathy belly that my darling husband can sport. Sometimes I truly believe he thinks I am making up how uncomfortable it is having a beach ball holding me back constantly. He he, I am evil but I love it!

Baby Poll Results

Well it looks like the majority (59%) of you think we are going to have a girl. :) It will be interesting to see come October! I am thinking about doing a "baby pool" of sorts where our readers can guess on the date, time, and weight of the baby.... What do you guys think? I may even get a prize or 2 involved!

If anyone has suggestions on getting one going let me know!

30 weeks

Well we have hit the real downhill slide- 30 weeks!!! I can't believe it! I am still panicking about things but I don't know that it will end till Peanut is actually here. (and then I suppose it will just change into a different panic) You could say that I have been nesting because I am easily parting with things I had never considered getting rid of before. We are planning to have a garage sale next Friday and Saturday so things are finding their way out of my house and into the "sell" pile.

As I wrote early last week we went to the Dr. on Tuesday and everything is looking good. I haven't gained all 22 lbs back that I lost but I am getting close. I suppose this is a good thing but I am sure it will all catch up to me soon enough. I do have one complaint about my Dr. though. I wish he would spend a little more time explaining things. I feel pretty clueless about this whole process and I think I would feel better if he would just tell me some things I should expect throughout the coming weeks. We go again on the 17th and I believe that is when I start the every other week stuff.

Monday night is our first "baby class" so it should be fun. We have them every Monday in August and then one extra day in September.

I have been feeling pretty good really. I am tired and get uncomfortable really easy but these are all things that come with the territory. Now when I get home from work I find the most comfortable clothes I can and change into them right away. I haven't been sleeping the entire night through but this is more due to needing to change positions or the weird dreams I have been having.

The due date is still the same: 10/10/09. I am trying to work ahead as much as I can so just in case something happens I am prepared. Just working on some final touches in the nursery (if I get up the energy to tackle it!) and then just a few odds and ends of things that I need to get bought before Peanut decides to make it's appearance.