16 WEEKS!

How far along? Sixteen weeks!  Baby is the size of an average avocado (yum). 
 
Total weight gain/loss: It’s hard to tell.  There is an 8lb difference in my weight between the morning (when I just wake up/before breakfast) and before I go to bed.  At the end of the day my weight is up by about 2 lbs. 
 
Maternity clothes: only have the belly band so far!  I actually do have a maternity shirt…that I purchased pre-pregnancy, because I thought it was cute!  It’s just a short sleeve shirt with roushing on the sides, but I’m wearing it more now!  I have a pair of hand me down jeans that were always a little big for me, but not they fit great with a little more wiggle room.  It’s nice to be able to button a pair of jeans, I wear them a lot!

Stretch marks?  Nada. Not even itchy skin where I’m growing yet.

Best moment this week: I had a blast at my cousin Jacee’s baby shower (hosted by her friends)!  She looks like she’s ready to pop any minute now! But she’s still got about 8-10 more weeks to cook baby Adelie!  She’s one spoiled little girl already!  Her closet is packed with clothes already.  Check our Jaccee’s blog post about her first shower:  www.ittybittybabybeck.blogspot.com

Jacee and I, and our bumps ~30 wks and 16 wks!



Baby blanket I knitted and sewed for Baby Adelie.



I find myself looking at baby clothes when I go into stores…but I never buy anything because it’s all too gender specific! I got an alignment on my jeep last weekend and killed time by walking to nearby stores and looked at baby clothes.  I finally purchased baby’s first onesie! When I got home I told Will I got him a present, he smirked when he opened the bag J  I also had someone I work with bring me in some number 2 diapers that their kids have grown out of!!  I have a feeling that I might be getting a lot of baby stuff from him and his wife…J  YAY!

Movement?  Nothing yet! I’m hearing that now is about that time…and I’m waiting ever so patiently for baby to let me know he/she is ok in there!  I wonder if I’ll confuse the movement with a gas bubble?

Miss anything?  Nice weather!  The grass is getting greener and the flowers are blooming, but Michigan is so unpredictable it’s frustrating.  One day there is snow on the ground, the next it’s beautiful.  Then, it rains and is freezing outside.

Food cravings?  Other than chocolate? ….BLTs!  I can’t get bored of them and prefer them for lunch.  There’s this awesome triple-decker BLT I can get near where I work.  It’s completely satisfying!  I’m noticing that I’m not as hungry as I was in the first trimester.  Maybe I ate enough in the first trimester to compensate the extra food for my 2^nd trimester?  I’m also noticing that I can’t eat a big dinner anymore, I get full really quick.  But, can eat again in a few hours.  And, I LOVE fresh water fish that Will catches!

Daddy caught baby a fresh water fish this week!

Anything make you queasy or sick?   I don’t like Mushrooms anymore.  I used to be able to eat them raw, but I don’t like them raw or cooked right now. 
 

Gender:  EVERYONE has a hunch baby is a BOY.  I actually had a dream baby was a boy too.  I’ve only had one person tell me that I’m having a girl and it’s someone who I don’t know very well.

Belly button in or out?  In!  And, my belly ring is still holding on!

Wedding rights on or off? ON! J

 

Mood:  Content.  Except, dog hair is really getting on my nerves.  Shedding time!  Laila got her puppy cut this week!  Scout, he’s still leaving clumps of hair around.  I’ve been keeping the vacuum out for easy clean up.  GRR.  Will tells me to “relax” but there’s something about dog hair that ruffles my feathers.

Looking forward to: our babymoon to ARUBA!  We head to stay with some friends in Grand Rapids, MI after work tonight, and catch a flight at 5:50AM tomorrow morning (Friday)!  Will and I are both ready for a vacation. We’ve had the busiest week ever this week; I don’t think I got home before 8pm each day this week.  It made packing a challenge but we got it done!  This week I got my hair did (cut), my nails done…and I’m ready for this fun in the sun!  My mom is coming to dog sit for us, she’s off of work right now so it worked out well!  We are so lucky, otherwise boarding two dogs for a week would get pretty expensive.

Fitness Report:  I’ve been so busy since I’ve been back from Boston, I haven’t ran a mile! L  Borgess Run for the Health of It is on May 3, two days after I get back from ARUBA.  I haven’t signed up for a race yet, but want to participate in some way.  I’d like to still do the 13.1...I might be able to if I take it really slow.  If not, there’s always the 5k.  I’ll decide when I get back into the state.

What I’ve learned:  Dog hair won’t go away, embrace it.  Ugh.   

 

Peace out Michigan...we are ARUBA bound!

Baby goes to Boston!

Ugh... My first thought was Baby doesn't like flying. I've never felt to sick on a plane or nothing nearly like I've felt through my first trimester. It's supposed to be easier in your second trimester with sickness! I literally almost spewed on my first flight (Kalamazoo to Chicago), grabbed for the bag and everything. At that point I mentally pleaded with my body and good deep breaths, shut my eyes, and let the cold air blow full blast on my face. It all came on during our landing... When we finally hit the ground I thought it was all going to be over... but THANKFULLY I got through it. Phew, how embarrassing that would be. I was scared to death it was going to happen on a bigger flight from Chicago to Boston. But luckily, there were no issues. Even the flights on the way home were just fine! Another PHEW. The airplane rides got baby and I to and from our destinations safe and sound. It was so nice to visit with Tiffany (as always), see friends I've met during prior visits, and meet new friends and new roomates. It's a trip I look forward to each year. I missed visiting last year due to wedding planning and job changes, but Tiffany was home quite a bit last year so I was still able to see her (lucky me!!!!!)

This trip to Boston was definitely one that I’ll remember forever, unfortunately. Patriots day 2013, the day of the Boston Marathon, now marks one scary episode. The day started off well! I got up with Tiffany and two of her roomates who were running the marathon, ate breakfast, and headed to a park where buses will shuttle runners to the start line. They got on the bus and I drove Tiffany's car back to her house, showered, grabbed some water and granola bars for the day and headed to mile marker 20 with Tiffany's other roomate to meet up with a group of friends who they Cross Fit with. We watched and cheered for the wheelchairs, elite runners, and the rest of the runners waiting for Tiffany to come by so I could hop in with her and support her for the last 6 miles of the race. Tiffany was running unusually slow for her normal pace, I was worried. But, finally she came around the corner with a big smile on her face. She wasn't having a good race day and decided to take it easy and have fun. The crowds were awesome like always! We got to 23 miles and noticed a lady (runner) in her mid-40's who was in the middle of the street waving her arms around. When we got closer we heard her say "They stopped the race, stop running, do go further, a bomb went off at the finish". Everyone kept running. Tiffany and I stopped for a second and tried to make sense of things. There were soldiers and police men nearby who hadn't said anything to the runners, they just stood there like everything was normal. So, Tiffany and I thought, this lady is crazy...she probally heard a rumor or wrong info and She's just trying to cause some drama... We kept running, saw another soldier and stopped to ask him if something was going on. He said "there was an explosion, at the finish, people were hurt, but it's nothing to worry about." We asked him what kind of explosion? He said "a grill or something". Tiffany and I were pretty scared to learn that people got hurt. We continued to run, as everyone else did and again went by many soldiers and Boston police and not one of them seemed like they had a clue what was going on, they just stood there and watched the race. We reached 25.5 miles and I noticed a cluster of runners about a quarter mile ahead just stopped. I said to Tiffany “I don’t want to go any further, I don’t like what I see up ahead, something is not right” We stoped running and walked slowly for a bit. We look around and observe, again trying to make sense of things. There was a Medical tent nearby and they had foil blankets, I grabbed one for Tiffany and grabbed her some water – she wasn’t feeling great at all aside from the emotional time we were experiencing.We heard more ambulances, police cars and SWAT cars. We saw people start coming back from the crowd of people ahead toward the 25.5 mile area in tears and overwhelmed for the fact that they were scared something serious was happening, also for the fact that they ran 25.5+ miles and couldn’t finish their 26.2 miles (marathon) they trained so hard for, and that they are left with nothing but what they brought with them for their marathon. Runners checked their belongs prior to the start line, and when they finish the race they can retrieve it. Tiffany’s plan was to have some money in her bag for a cab ride home, so she had nothing on her. Her roommates and friends who were running the marathon had other arrangements because they were in a different wave, or they were meeting up with family. Luckily I had brought my iPhone with me when I jumped in with Tiffany. Normally I don’t run with my phone, but, I had a feeling that I should just in case. Luckily, one of Tiffany’s roommates had just purchased an arm band that she let me borrow for the run,which made my decision to take it much easier, I probably wouldn’t have ended up taking it if I had to hold on to it. My battery was on red (low), but I wasable to text my husband to let him know we were safe. I think my text was the first he had heard of the event (he was at work). As I started typing my text to him, my phone was blowing up with texts from friends who had heard something and knew that I was in Boston. I finished my text to Will, and then was able to answer two other texts and my phone shut off. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew we were OK before who knows how long it would be until I was able to communicate with anyone. Thankfully, Will was able to spread the news as much as he could with posts to facebook and text messages. Tiffany and I really weren’t sure what to do. Do we stick around and wait for direction, or do we try to find a way home? Do we try to get on the subway, or do we take a cab and tell the cab driver we have no money? The public transportation was closed in the area, so either way we’d have to walk quite a ways to get somewhere. We ended up walking toward the subway, we walked with someone who was trying to get to the airport, and his phone still worked, so he was able to help us figure out how to get there by using the map on his phone. We finally reached the subway and were able to chat with the attendant there, she waved us through for free when she saw Tiffany had her marathon foil and obviously we had nothing else with us. We got onto the subway, learned that where we need to get off and hop back on a different subway was closed…so we got off at another location and walked a bit, got on the subway again and ran into a family of 6 who realized that Tiffany was upset. They were going in our direction, so we stuck with them and they helped us navigate. This group was super sweet, I instantly felt better that we were with good people and they would really help us if we were stuck. One of the girls (high school age) was asking Tiffany how she trained for a marathon, and offered an extra fleece to her. A father and a son (college sophomore?) were walking behind us and the son said “miss, here, you must be freezing” and handed me his hooded sweatshirt. We were surrounded by Angels! The weather was nice, in the sun, but pretty chilly walking next to buildings that shaded the sun from us. Plus, the sweat from running really cools you off. We were even able to use their phones – Tiffany called her dad and I called Will to let them know we were OK. We finally got to Tiffany's house around 6:30pm. Poor girl had to walk 4 more miles after she ran 25.5 miles. Even I was tired and hungry; I can’t imagine how she was feeling. She was a trooper and my hero!

I’m glad Tiffany had a bad race, otherwise she would have been closer to the explosion.  I’m also happy that Tiffany’s family didn’t come this year, they would have been waiting for her at the finish line. I’m glad I ran the end of the marathon with her, otherwise Tiffany would have been by herself at the end.  Things happen how they’re supposed to, for a reason, and I’m thankful for how things panned out for us on this day.  I'm also happy to learn that a Kalamazoo friend, also someone I coach Girls On the Run with traveled with her family and ran the marathon this year (her first time running the Boston Marathon) are also safe and back home in Michigan.

Some pics I was able to capture during the 6 mi run to the finish:

Accidental photo: Sitting on curb waiting at 25.5 miles. Notice the helicopter in the sky.

Accidential photo: Sitting on curb wiating at 25.5 miles; our shoes.

Purposful photo: at 24ish miles, trying to capture one ambulance of many that were going by during the race.

Purposful photo: Tiffany (in pink) at 24ish miles

Day before the marathon, outside the expo to pick up bib numbers.

(Almost) 15 WEEKS & some change of plans!

We finally announced to the facebook world our exciting news! It was so fun, I was so anxious that I couldn't press the send button, Will did that for me haha. Super excited not to be hush hush about this anymore and talk loud about this baby!!

We found out that my due date, from the last ultra sound, is actually 10/5...This is going to be the best birthday present ever (my b-day is 10/4). My estimation was close! I was suspicious after our dating ultrasound because my baby was measuring just a tiny bit smaller than the average at 13 weeks.   Now, I'm feeling more confident that this baby is right on track. I learned that you can get a more accurate reading the smaller the fetus is. So, re-predicting the due date at the 20 week ultrasound wouldn't really be a better estimate. I've updated my tickers and look forward to baby being the size of a lemon again ;)

Centering Program @ Borgess 
We had our first "centering" appointment on 4/9. It's a program that Borgess Women's Health offers for pregnant women who are all due within the same month (give or take). It's a cool experience so far. We walked in, made little name tags for ourselves, signed photo releases for us and the baby when it's born, got a cute reusable bag and a book that we will use at each session that has useful and helpful information about what to expect during your pregnancy and how to be healthy during pregnancy. It's similar to the book "What to Expect When Your Expecting." I think I'm ahead of the game knowing what I need to know so far from reading the book, subscribing to blogs, daily emails, and apps on my iPhone. But, it's also nice to bounce ideas off my midwife and other new parents who attend the centering program. All are new parents except for one, which is her third child. We took records such as my weight (up 1lb), my blood pressure, and then had a Doppler done to measure the baby's heartbeat (lower this time! 141bpm) It's pretty laid back, a topic each time we meet that we cover. We meet once per month until the last couple of months, we meet every two weeks. I think it's the same routine as scheduling a regular appointment with your doctor, just with more people. It's also nice to meet people in the area . My due date is the latest one in the group. Almost everyone else is due in September. 

Everyone in the group is planning on not finding out the sex of their baby. Will and I were the only ones who were planning on finding out the sex. I was surprised and asked "so, for what reasons is everyone choosing not to find out the sex?" A couple of points were mentioned that really made me think: (1) simple fact of excitement of hearing "It's a boy" or "It's a girl" from husband or someone special. (2) It's a baby, you're going to love it no matter what sex it is, it doesn't matter, focus on the baby's health (3) less expensive because you don't go crazy buying cute gender specific clothes, nursery items, etc. I was excited to do a gender reveal party, and already planning it in my head: having cake pops made and finding out with close friends and family mid-summer, where one cake pop was either pink or blue. That was my inspiration. But now, I'm really looking forward to waiting to find out during labor. So YES, we've (I, with Will's support) changed our minds, we ARE NOT finding out the sex at our 18 week ultrasound appointment on May 7. This will really help my type A personality relax a little… I can picture myself getting so caught up in buying and making things for the baby if I knew it was a baby boy or a baby girl. I wouldn't not be able to do any gender specific things for the baby. Now, if we don't find out, I'll just be able to focus on the necessities. My favorite colors are blue and green anyway, so Baby Burns, no matter what the sex, will have one happy momma with a blue and green theme J And one happy daddy (because momma is happy…hehe). Don't get me wrong, I'm not biased for those who decide to find out the sex…we were set on finding out earlier, it's a really exciting time however you wish to find out! I just know personally it will be good for me not to know. There are tons of opinions out there on either side, but the important thing is choosing to do what you want to do for you and not worrying about what everyone else is doing. Will actually got pretty frustrated with me when I brought the idea to him, simply because I changed my mind after hearing what the majority of the group was doing. He thought I was just doing it to be like them and not be the odd ball out. But, truth is that I really never thought about how not finding out would be...I did some research (on opinions mainly lol) and thought it would be super special and exciting and less stressful for me to not find out. Simple as that. Plus, I'm convinced it's a boy…EVERYONE has a hunch that it's a boy. Good thing is that those who are confident enough to get Baby Burns boy stuff…if it's a girl, she won't look as silly as a boy wearing girl stuff. ;) Then for our next pregnancy, most of what we'll have will work for either a boy or a girl, so we won't have to completely buy all new things if the sex is opposite of our first child. Will is supportive of this new decision. He just wants the baby to be healthy. He has some projects he's mentioned that would help knowing the sex of the baby, but I think that he can pull them off soon after the baby is born or as a gender neutral gig. J

FINALLY finished our taxes on the 10th…I know a little close to the April 15 deadline, right?! We've been pretty busy lately, having projects to work on, and baby stuff J and trying to maintain a healthy balanced lifestyle. Next year we might miss the deadline, but that excuse will be completely valid (new baby) on our hands. ;) This tax money will be going straight to my maternity leave fund! I started a new position in October 2012, and didn't elect short term disability. Why? I have no idea… the maternity leave is paid out through short term disability, so, I'm not eligible for maternity leave pay. Yes, its not ideal but, it is what it is…and it could be worse. Some people don't even have a maternity leave option and I've read that actually quite a few new moms can't afford to take time off to be with the baby, they need to go back to work right away for financial reasons. I'll be able to take at least 6 weeks, if not more depending on how much I'm able to bank for that time. Will also gets a paternity leave, 10 days! J I'm really looking forward to his help and support.

I bought a belly band, from Target, recommended by a good friend! I love it!   It was much needed! It makes getting dressed less annoying and uncomfortable, and much more affordable not having to purchase maternity clothing right now. I'm planning on wearing dresses this summer, and depending on the weather in September and the beginning of October, wearing leggings/long shirts. We'll see how that plan works J We're going to Aruba end of this month and I've already grown out of my swimsuits, top and bottoms. My sister was nice enough to lend me some of hers…she's a taller than I am and a size up now fits me just perfect. She also lent me some dresses for options, so now I'll have no reason to stress about things to wear on vacation! J Can't wait for this babymoon (which was supposed to be a honeymoon, from my mom)...countdown 2 weeks!!!

Happy Friday everyone! Baby and I are heading to Boston for the weekend! Much love.

14 WEEKS: Welcome to the 2nd Trimester!

How far along?  Baby and I have graduated into the second trimester! Gee how time flies! I'm only a little over 3 months along and I am showing. This is not my normal belly at all and it's not bloating but yet, I don't think I "popped" yet??? I'm not really sure what that means yet, but there's gotta be a more significant "pop" in my future that I've heard so much about. I know it's different for everyone, but I just feel like I'm showing too early! haha... I hear that most women don't show until 4-6 months. I'm OK with it, just a little concerned that I'm going to be a HUGE pregnant woman... which really isn't ideal for my short torso 5'3" body. I'll take it though if I my pregnancy is healthy and I can have this baby naturally. 

Total weight gain/loss: zero pounds according to my scale at home. I have an appointment on 4/9 which might give me a more accurate answer in this category.

Maternity clothes? nope!  Although I'm looking at purchasing some sleep bras and a belly band so I can wear my pre-pregnancy pants.

Stretch marks? nope! But, I'll be using Palmer's coco butter religiously to prevent them!  The smell of the coca butter is also amazing and relaxing!

Best moment this week: telling my family last weekend that I'm pregnant and then telling my friends during dinner later this week. I used the eggs to tell them too, I brought six, one for each person and inside were words on pieces of green ribbon, some had one word some had two. I told them that it was a cute Easter riddle, that my family thought it was cute so I thought I'd share it with them. Prior to this I also partook in a glass of wine (that I pretended to drink..wetting my palette about 4 times until they figured it out). The funny part is no one cracked the egg!! They all fished the message out of the larger bottom hole of the egg! haha. Jen sent me a cute picture of her son whose taken possession of the egg. The final message said "Three down, six to go. What am I?" Lindsay read it out loud and immediately said "PREGNANT" looked at me and grabbed the glass of wine sitting in front of me away, then divvied up the glass between everyone. Some say "they knew it" and others said "congrats!" And, no one had any hard feelings about my little white lie! It's great now to be able to talk about it and not have to keep it a secret with my family and close friends.




Gavin seems happy to have the egg!!

three down, six to go. what am I?

             















Miss Anything? being able to run without feeling like I'm dragging

Food cravings: not particular cravings but lots of I NEED FOOD NOW! moments!

Anything making you queasy or sick: brushing my tongue...I've never had a gag reflex until recently!

Have you started to show yet: Yep!

Gender: Still too early! But, the time is nearing! I don't have an appointment scheduled yet for an ultrasound but I'm thinking at my appointment next week (4/9) one will be ordered and scheduled.  I've read anywhere between 16 and 20 weeks you can tell the gender of the baby.  So, another month or so we should know!  Will is pretty antsy about finding out the sex!

Belly Button in or out? inny but slowly creeping to an outtie, especially after eating a big meal or at the end of the day.

Wedding rings on or off? on :)  and hoping the answer is on the whole pregnancy!

Mood: happy! still tired and annoyed that I get these lingering headaches that don't let me sleep! I'm too stubborn to take any Tylenol right now.  Will rubs my shoulders and neck and that helps a ton sometimes. Stretching also helps.  I've been using Tiger Balm on my neck too (topical pain reliever), which my midwife says is safe long as its in moderation ;)

Looking forward to:  Getting baby announcements back and mailing them out rest of our immediate family! Then, this will also be posted as our facebook announcement. My sister helped me take pictures on Easter Sunday (well, besides the ultrasound picture of course). She has fun using her new Cannon Rebel she got for Christmas last year. I ordered them through www.vistaprint.com for such a great deal! I spent under $13 for 20 announcements that come with envelopes! The best part is that I paid extra for shipping (included in the $13)so I didn't have to wait 2 weeks to receive them! I can't help but brag about a great deal. I couldn't see myself spending $3- $4 on an invitation from other sites... when I knew I could go to Meijer or Walmart and order them for somewhere around $0.60 and have them in hand 20 minuets later.

Fitness report: Running is still so HARD!  I looked at the calendar yesterday and realized that there are only 5 good weeks before Kalamazoo's Half Marathon 5/5/13.  And, I'll be traveling quite a bit in April, which makes longs runs hard to do.  I'm going to put my best foot forward but I'm behind the point where I should be fitness level wise for a half marathon.  And being mindful of not overexerting myself right now.  I'd totally not worry so much if this baby wasn't coming along too, but baby is my first and main concern this time around :)  I may have to consider another half marathon later in my pregnancy...and run the Borgess 5k instead this year, which I haven't participated in yet (I've only done Borgess' half and the full), so this may be a good opportunity. We'll just see how the next couple of weeks go. 

What I've learned: your husband is your first priority. kids to see a healthy marriage between their mom and dad will feel security. "The single, most important thing that you can do for your children is to do everything in your power to have the best possible relationship with your spouse."  (http://life.familyeducation.com/marriage/relationships/45607.html)  I didn't know that...I always thought put your kids first, although it make sense!  I just thought that was interesting. 

 

KID ROCK!!

Kid rock puts on a good concert! I got tickets for Will's birthday back in January and finally the concert rolled around!  The concert was at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, which made it easy to attend on a Wednesday (after work).  We even had time to pick up the changing table that I purchased from a lady on Craig's list. They actually were attending the concert too!  We ate at Charly's Crab downtown, right near the arena.  We sat in section 126 row M, so our seats were good!  Although, any seat at Van Andel is a good seat!  Buckcherry opened...they were OK. Kid Rock was great! We were fortunate enough to sit in front of two 40 year old women who were super drunk and/or drugged and they continued to spill beer on us, one was flicking my husband's ear and flipping my hair, flashing people, and intentionally spraying their beer on us and people in front of us.  Eventually Will's hat ended up two rows in front of us because they flipped it off. I got called some names and she flipped me off and touched my nose with her middle finger, I got pushed once, then the lady next to me pushed her back for me... Will tried to get them kicked out, police came, but the girls came back eventually.  Here I am a sober pregnant woman getting picked on. UGH. What an experience!

EGGSTRA HAPPY EASTER!

I've been crafting again! I got a cool idea off of Pinterest to share our news during Easter with my family: A message inside of an egg!  The timing was great as Easter marked the end of my first trimester, where chances of miscarriage drop significantly.  This was such a fun project and pretty simple too!  I used regular white store bought eggs for my project.  I made a hole at the top of the egg with a push pin, and used the same push pin to make a larger hole at the bottom.  I made the larger hole about the size of an average blueberry (...haha here I am comparing everything to fruits now that I compare my baby to them each week!)  After you make the holes, I  used the sharp end of the safety pin to break up the egg yolk inside, from the bottom hole. Then I turned the egg around and put a straw (i cut in half so it would be easier to work with) and covered the small hole at the top of the egg with it.  Then, I blew into the straw, over the sink.  The yolk and the whites of the egg came out easily! After this you fill the egg (through the larger hole) with water and hand and a dab of soap, cover both holes, shake the egg to clean the inside and blow out the water and soap.  Then you let the egg dry overnight. After the egg is dry, you dye the egg (food coloring and vinegar). An egg that is hollow will float so you'll need something to hold the egg down...I used shish kabob skewers.  I had the eggs dry by flipping over a strainer and sticking the shish kabob stick in it, and the egg sat on the top of the stick. After they were dry, I decorated them with glitter glue.  I just put patterned dots all over them and had them dry over night.  I wrote my family's name on the bottom of each egg...because each message that I put inside was different.  The messages were made by using ribbon and small letter stamps that I had.  I fed the ribbon through the big hole, without rolling it up like I tried to do in the first place...then it wouldn't fit through the hole. I learned that if you don't roll the ribbon and just feed it into the egg as is, it will stay nicely.  I then put little homemade scrapbook paper confetti hearts in the egg as well.  I didn't

cover the larger hole with anything because everything seemed to be staying inside the egg on it's own. I put birds nest grass inside of a small clementine crate, popped a stuffed animal bunny on top of it and surrounded the bunny with the eggs I made along with mini plastic eggs (with nothing inside...just for decoration and to fill in the space). After dinner Easter Eve I asked my family to come sit at the table because "I made something cool for them for Easter." I told them that they each need a napkin because things might get a little messy. You could tell they were confused and not really sure what I was going to ask them to do. Each person picked an egg, read the name written at the bottom and gave it to the person it belonged to. I told them that on the count of three they all need to crack the egg at the same time. My brother (7th grade) said "Crack it? Well, how hard should I crack it?" lol I told him he could make that decision and he got a smirk on his face. My mom looked like she was ready to "win" this challenge...whatever it was. lol. She was READY! 1......... 2.......... 3......... SMACK. Everyone is looking at the pieces, my mom says "oh what are these? and starts picking at the confetti, while there is a huge ribbon message in front of her. I see my sister's eyes and mouth get really big, but she keeps quiet. both brothers don't say anything, they just stare at it. My step dad said "oh jeez, haha" and then my mom finally gets the clue, she reads her message and starts jumping for joy with a huge smile on her face...she ran and gave me a hug...then my sister, they they both hugged Will. The boys just sat there lol.  It went over well!  I mailed some eggs to my Dad's family, we were going to try and stop by on Saturday for lunch but he called me Friday and said I shouldn't stop by because everyone was sick.  I ended up sharing the news with him on the phone and told him I'd mail an Easter package to him.  I also mailed one to my best friend Tiffany, who lives in Boston. 

Here's how the weekend started:

Saturday morning before we headed to Detroit, Will talked me into kayaking the Kalamazoo River. So, we woke up before 7AM on Saturday and headed out!  It was 22 degrees that morning, but was so beautiful.  One hour into our adventure, half way, I didn't prevent hitting a tree in the river so well and ended up parallel with it.  I tried to use my paddle to push me away from the tree, but that along with a strong current ended up tipping my kayak and I fell in!  SHOCKingly cold...I could barely catch my breath!  But, my hero rescued me. My warm layers were soaked and my iPhone has water damage.  Luckily it sill works...but for how long is the question...  Too bad the insurance I pay each month covers anything but water damage.  UGH!  At least I still have it and it's not at the bottom of the Kzoo river I guess!  Will got me to the shore, I hung on to his boat and kicked and he paddled. I had to climb a mountain it seemed like into this thick woods but got up and will said STRIP...and threw me a spare set of long johns and warm socks he packed (thank God!).  While I'm doing this Will is fetching my kayak by himself, trying to flip it back over while he's in his kayak and get both kayaks and himself to shore. He had a blanket he wrapped my shivvvvvering body in and got me into an open sunny field so I could warm up. I'm glad there was sun and it was just beginning to warm up.  Will took off anything he could donate to me from his layers and I warmed up fast. He took the inserts out of his boots so I could wear them for replacement boots. Everything was just soaked. We kayaked another hour to get to the truck...the 2 hour trip turned into 3.  I was exhausted but Will let me sleep on the ride down to Detroit. Here are some awesome pics of BEFORE I fell in: