growing in october

It seems like I was just writing about how September had gone by so fast, now it's October 30 and I'm trying to remember where this month went. Time is flying by and November, BABY MONTH!, begins in 2 days. This is incredibly hard to fathom, but it's here and it's real and I'm nothing but excited, anxious, nervous and grateful that this pregnancy has been such an awesome and memorable experience. Our appointments have continued to go well. The heartbeat has ranged from 142-162 at each of our bi-weekly appointments, which keeps us guessing boy or girl, although I won't be fooled by the wives tales :) From week 30-34 baby K was a crazy dancer and wouldn't stop kicking and rolling, but mid-week 34 I noticed that baby K was probably running out room to move. Contractions happen daily now, but nothing painful - which actually makes them exciting. I swelled up for the first time post-Klein/Larison wedding after 2 days of being on my feet constantly. We go back to the doctor this week and will now go once a week, every week, from now on. Although Garrett said we were done buying clothes for the baby until we find out what we are going to be clothing, he insisted on one  blue and one pink Under Armor onsie. For Garrett to want to buy clothes, but baby clothes that are over-priced at that, shows that he is truly excited for this baby :) I couldn't be more proud of the work he has done around the house to prepare for Baby K's arrival and the time he has put into our birth class. It's funny to hear him make comments about babies being born on television or birth situations happening with friends and how he knows, or insists he knows, that they are doing this or that wrong and need to be doing so and so... at least I know he's prepared to be the best Coach K. Yes, that means Coach Mike Krzyzewski can move over, because there is a new Coach K in the house.

33 weeks - before baby K went to his/her first concert, Sugarland with G daddy, Grandma Julie and Grandpa Wayne :)

35 weeks

36 weeks - bridesmaid and bride at the Klein/Larison Wedding!

copy + paste

Although I sit here and drink from my creativi-tea cup and like to think of myself as a creative person, I'll admit the Internet is a wonderful source for brainstorming new ideas for decorating, invitations and the list goes on. I'm sure many of you reading this entry most likely have a Pinterest account and are falling in love with it just as I am. It's a wonderful source for finding new recipes, fashion ideas, home decor must-haves and the next go-to hairstyle.

the go-to creative brainstorming mug

So, rather than taking credit for some of the home additions I've made lately, I thought I would share how you can make Pinterest ideas come to life!

Pinterest Inspiration

The Konen Family version, ta-da!

Another great web site for ideas - Etsy. Looking for something specific? Go to the web site and type in exactly what you are looking for and enter the price range you'd like to stay within and there is sure to be  something that will fit your needs. I've also found this great for inspiration. I found these alphabet prints  that I knew would be perfect for baby K's nursery. Problem? Budget. Of course. What's new, right? We aren't made of money, which I'm guessing the person who is reading this entry, probably isn't either, and therefore shelling out wads of cash for something you haven't even seen in person probably isn't your ideal situation. Solution? Make it!

Alphabet prints found on Etsy.com for $45/print - frame and mat-board NOT included :(

Numbers Print

Alphabet Print

A little work in Photoshop, printed at Kinkos for $1.29/print and found frames at target, mat-board included for $3.49/frame - savings of $80.44. Dang, that feels good!

So, challenge yourself to find inspiration, make it your own, and do it for less!

a few finished projects.

before dresser - purchased at antique store for $50

painted and perfect for baby k's nursery!

homemade fall wreath

dresser for spare bedroom - mom and dad's garage sale find years ago

painted, distressed and fun knobs!

plenty of pumpkin.

it's that time of the year. pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pies, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin this and pumpkin that. it's all delicious. last week we had friends over to have a fall dinner complete with homemade chicken noodle soup, mashed potatoes, rolls, pumpkin pie, cinnamon rolls, apples with caramel and apples with pumpkin-cream cheese dip and pumpkin dump cake. yummo! i'm always up for a new dessert recipe, since desserts seem to always turn out, even if i mess up a few steps. as long as it's sweet, i'll eat it! i went for the pumpkin dump cake recipe tonight, and let me tell ya, add a dollop of whip cream and a cup of pecan coffee and it's fall deliciousness.


What you'll need:

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

1 can pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
4 eggs
* I added a little pumpkin spice
1 box yellow cake mix
2 sticks butter
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

mix together in bowl and pour in 9X13" greased pan

sprinkle yellow cake mix on top of mixture

melt 2 sticks butter and drizzle on top of cake mix

bake at 350 degrees for one hour (I also added cinnamon and sugar  on top instead of pecans)

Add a dollop of whip cream. YUMMO!

place your bet.

The date is getting closer, which is leaving less time for everyone to place their bets on the WSU Athletics office babies! One-third of our immediate office is pregnant! Craziness. So, we've all placed our bets on when the three office babies are going to born, their weight, length and in my case the sex of the baby. Go ahead and place your guess in the comments section and we'll see who is the closest! :)

maternity pictures.

Let's just say after our horrific experience with our wedding photographer (him not showing up to our wedding, sending an alternative photographer that we had never met, who left early and didn't get any of the photos that I wanted and then 3 years of no wedding photos) I wanted to make sure that we at least had some good pictures of Garrett and I & the baby bump. I wanted this without a huge expense, since I need to save every dime for the BOB jogging stroller :) Photographers are outrageous these days. All I wanted was 30 minutes to take a few photos and then to be able to print them on my own so that I didn't have to pick 2 to print to keep my wallet intact. 

Ashley Moore - owner of Events by Ashley - who knows EVERYONE suggested I get a hold of Serena Shurtz. Best recommendation ever. Serena was GREAT to work with, and in just under an hour we completed the photo shoot at a local park. We got some great pictures that we will cherish forever and it was all affordable! Awesome. Here are a few of the photos we took. And, if I may recommend an affordable, awesome and kind photographer - get a hold of Serena!

the test

I'm getting anxious. Yes, I can't wait to find out what Baby K is! Boy or girl! I keep going back and forth on my prediction, although Garrett is convinced we're having a little girl. so, since the anxiety will not go away and the birth of baby K is closer than ever before, I've been looking at the gender prediction tests just for fun. Which tests work, which tests don't, or do any of them? A friend of ours recently found out they were having a girl after their sonogram, but both Intelligender tests said the baby would be a boy. Intelligender - FAIL.

Intelligender at Walgreens

Funny story - I found a gender prediction test online that has you answer several (10 i think) questions about your pregnancy. Of course, I really don't look into these much and think they actually know what I'm having, but it's fun, right? So, I answer the questions truthfully as ever, and my answer reads: "We're sorry, we can't predict whether you are having a boy or girl. Your answers are too close to call!" Awesome.

Chinese Calendar - although I'm not sure of the exact date Baby K was made, I've tried a few different dates and all lead to baby K being a girl.

Last night, we had a few friends over for dinner and the gender of Baby K was a top subject, so we got out the string and pencil and decided to put the test to test, I guess you could say. To make sure the test was legit,  we tested Stacey (who is having a boy... any day now!!) and it predicted correctly, Boy it was.

So, my turn. .......drum roll... It said GIRL.

So, we shall wait, and see. Boy or Girl? Which test works the best?