We've moved!

http://www.5starfamily.wordpress.com/

For those of you who with blogging experience, you're probably smarter than I was two years and chose NOT to use blogspot.com as your blog provider. After hours of picture struggles and layout issues, I've decided we must move! You can see all of our old content at our new location in addition to frequent updates as our family expands this month! Please book mark our new location and visit us often! http://www.5starfamily.wordpress.com/.

Farmers Market

Saturday was a fantastic day for the farmer's market! We weren't the only ones that had this idea...You can see the streets were lined with people (adorable nephews included!)

After the market we were starvin' marvin and headed over to Beaverdale for a bite. Goodson's or Flarah's? Ultimately Flarah's patio furniture won me over. I ordered the spiciest salad (hoping to bring on labor!) I could find, while Jon went with a Turkey Reuben.

At least once a week I feel like I have a 5 star restaurant right in the comfort of my own home. A couple years ago Jon ordered a fantastic Ratatouille at one of our Iowa City Favorites; One Twenty Six. He's wanted to replicate the fantastic lamb from that day since, and successfully accomplished that this weekend with the rack of lamb he purchased from the market! He instead served his with goat cheese (also a farmer's market favorite of ours) mashed nu potatoes and baked veggies (squash, zucchini, and eggplant). The finished product was a masterpiece and the work that went into it is documented below...and yes, he also did the dishes! What a man.

Nursery Reveal

Bags are Packed!

Just waitin' on you little man!

Bean and her Brother

Lola "bean" sniffing out her little bro'

Hey Baby, We're Full Term!

Well, I apologize for all of the "baby update" posts lately for those of you who really have no interest in if I have stretch marks or not and what type of maternity clothing I'm currently wearing...but our lives our a little dull right now as we wait for the little man to come. We did have a large garage sale last weekend and really cleaned house. :) We had many helping hands with Bob, Lisa, Debbie, Molly, and Jud helping us set up and return our left over items to GoodWill. My mom also drove down for the day Friday to sit with me at the sale. She reverted back to being "my mom" and confined me to two hours of elevated feet/couch time to help ease the discomfort of my swollen ankes!
-
How Far Along?: 37.5 Weeks
Weight Gain: I stopped looking after my ankles quadrupled in size. :) I know it's mostly water at this point, but probably around 20-24 lbs.
Maternity Clothes: I am wearing normal - non maternity jeans today! WAHOO! An adorable new cardigan I got at Ann Taylor and of course my wardrobe staple, Old Navy Maternity tank. It feels so nice to be in something resembling a normal outfit.
Sleep: Getting harder...but still fine. I'm just finding I need less sleep, so I'm going to bed later so I sleep harder.
Best Moment of the Week: Today and these Jeans, the doctor telling me I've droped at my Tuesday appt, our incredible stroller being delivered, an adorable package of little "sneaker" socks from Jon's mom and a coming home outfit with little sailboats on it from mine (I just hold and stare at these things forever...I can't wait until he's IN them!), and several fun lunch dates with some lovely ladies!
Food Cravings:Nothing...food is just fuel really. I am avoiding all salt though when possible.
Labor Signs: Our little false alarm and my trip to Labor and Delivery at 35.5 got my hopes up he'd be coming soon...but I was still just a "1" at this week's appointment. I think he's staying put a while. Even the Braxton Hicks seem to be a bit better.
What I'm looking forward to:Seeing what he looks like - his hair color, who's eyes and nose he has, and rocking him.
What I miss Most:I've stopped missing things...just excited for our adventure this summer! I am anxious to start running though with Jon and the babe in the stroller.
Fears:Oddly calm? Just ready to get the show on the road!

It's not a "Baby Shower" it's a "Baby Party!"

Baby Foss is one lucky dude to have the Aunts the he does! Molly, Debbie, and Katie through the Babe (and us!) a super fun shindig to help celebrate with our friends.
-
Although we played typical shower games like name that baby food, match the candy bar with the pregnancy term, and chugging beer out of bottles (OK, maybe that one is not typical) this was much more of a PARTY than a shower. I think the 160 some empty beer cans would agree.
-
We are so lucky to have the friends we do - not only did they grace us with their company and constant jokes, but an insanely generous amount of gifts for the little guy. I can't wait for him to meet each and every one of them!

April Showers

It's hard to believe that a little over a year ago, I was writing this "April Shower's" Blog post! Well, it's shower time again! Thanks to my fabulous Aunt Anne, Baby Foss and I were showered with lovely gifts, yummy eats, and adorable decorations at a shower in her home earlier this month.

-

We recieved some very generous gifts! A new stroller, lots of baby clothes and necessities (overalls! Major necessity in my book), digital scrap book essentials, and even a handmade blanket of our own from Mima. Getting together with relatives I don't see often enough was a huge treat in itself. My Cousin Leah traveled down from college at St. Olaf, Jon's Aunt Mary Ellen flew in by herself from Des Moines (Yes! She actually flew herself!), My Aunt Michelle came all the way from Wisconsin, Katie and my Mom driving up from Iowa City, and I can't forget my Grandma Lewis, Vicki, and Aunt Michelle and Abby from the Mason City/Clear Lake Areas. Of course the Foss and Eastman ladies rode up with me making for a great day. This is one lucky little guy - he has some awesome gals to welcome him into this world!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

We failed at growing a simple herb garden in a kitchen pot this past winter...so figured, why not dig up a big plot of our backyard and give an entire garden a try! ;) Our gardening attempts haven't been devastatingly bad, but they are immature - so we spent the last month or two researching local gardening while we waited for the ground to thaw. There is nothing we eat fast in our house then fresh veggies, so why not grow our own? We settled on an organic garden with plants we didn't feel like we'd kill at our first try!

Last weekend we (when I say "we" in this post, keep in mind "we" was mostly Jon. I did help with the lighter activities, but otherwise gave direction and kept Jon company from the deck!) dug up the plot in the back center of our yard. After some advice from my Dad, we decided a raised bed might be a better solution. Jon built the bed and after a few "re-builds" they successfully had the raised bed ready to plant! We loaded up with all of our favorites at the Lowe's nursery; tomatos, cucumbers, peppers, jalapenos, carrots, brussel sprouts, lettuce, spinach, and of course some herbs. Now comes the hard part....Waiting! Most of the plants say 60-80 days to maturity, but sprouts within a couple weeks - so we'll keep our fingers crossed we see a few leaves poking through soon.

Baby Carhartt

Carhartt introduced it's first infant and toddler clothing line this summer. Who better to model this new line than G&L Clothing's resident web expert newest family addition - Baby Foss! See Jon's blog on the new line here and a sample of Carhartt's newest clothing additions (including diaper covers!) here .

Babe Stats

How Far Along: 33 Weeks, 2 Days

Weight Gain: +17 Lbs

Maternity Clothes: Mostly all now. I'm getting to the point where fashion is always sacrificed for comfort - so I live in my Olian Maternity slacks for work and Citizen Mat jeans. I have a few favorite Maternity tops, mostly from the Gap but still wear my normal cardigans with the cute tops to help add some pizazz. :) My winter coats no longer button or zip so I'm glad to have those packed away for the season and I've now traded Uggs for Reefs. My feet don't swell all the time, but have some growth by the end of the day and definitly after a walk. $15 Target Ballet flats are doing the trick this spring!

Sleep: Knock on wood - I'm still sleeping great! I get up 2 or 3 times a night still and have found I'm needing more around my "normal" 8 hours and less of my first trimester 10-12 hours.

Stretch Marks: Nope! My belly button ring scar is looking funny though. Mom - you were right, I should have never gotten that. :)

Best Moment of the Week: Easter in Houghton this past weekend was fun! It was great to see my Aunt Julianne and Uncle David and their kids and of course Grandma and Grandpa. I spent some time with my mom enjoying my last trip to Iowa City before delivery. Also Jon getting home from Arizona Monday! I was SO happy to see him.

Food Cravings: None, just lots and lots of water, all the time. I can't eat much at one sitting particularly in the evening. Late dinners do make it hard to sleep - baby is fighting for space!

Movement: Kicking hard and noticeably. I think strangers are starting to notice!

Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks are starting. I notice them mostly after my harder workouts and when I'm lifting and moving boxes, laundry, etc. This are starting to infuriate Jon because now my body is telling me to slow down in addition to him.

What I'm looking forward to: Baby shower this weekend! Yay! My Aunt Anne Lewis and cousin Libby are throwing a shower for me in Mason City Saturday. My cousin Libby is very excited for the baby, which makes me even more excited. I remember when she was a baby and my sister and I would love to spend time with her - so I'm anxious for her to spend time with my baby. :)

Milestones: Making it past 32 weeks (baby's after this point are almost always significantly healthier and less post birth issues).

What I miss most: Sushi, running, working out to exhaustion, being able to pick things up without squating and grunting, and using my stomach to help balance, move, lift, heave, etc. Alcohol (believe it or not). I have a skinny girl mojito night planned as soon as Baby Foss takes a bottle!

Fears: I've been having horrific pregnancy dreams. Sunday night after coming back to Des Moines alone I had a terrible one Jon left me and I have to finish out the pregnancy and raise the baby alone! I woke up to him gone (obviously still on his trip) and was terrified. In general I just don't like him to leave me for long periods of time now. Read: Needy!

Daffodils

I came home to this the other night. So pretty and spring-ish! Not only did Jon buy me flowers...he mimicked the centerpiece the florist was creating!

Easter and Passover

We celebrated the start of Passover Monday evening with a huge family dinner at Bob and Lisa's. Aunt Sally came to visit from Minneapolis and helped cook up some of the traditional Seder fare. Jon got his full of Matzo Ball soup and was a happy man. Brady after finding the Afikomen....

My favorite part was this delicious passover friendly tarte that Debbie and Molly baked. It was SO good! We will have to remember to re-create this one next year.

Jon spent Easter weekend with the boys in Scottsdale Arizona this year. He and three of his friends planned a trip for a long weekend of golfing - which left me to spend the weekend in Iowa City and Houghton! We spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's; eating, walking; and chatting. The rest of the weekend was spent doing fun things in Iowa City. We had a little barbeque Sunday with a few of my mom's friends after church at the Newman Center and visited our usual favorites; the ped mall shops, Java House, and anything that involved shopping for Babe Foss. It was my last "trip" up there so I made sure to enjoy it! I won't be traveling again until Baby arrives.