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Author: Andi

2/11/11

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Andi

Today is the day my family was sure I was going to have the baby. They were coming up with all sorts of ideas for why today would work. So far….it’s not looking good. Smile But…

Chuck came home early from work and we decided to go to the Mall of America and walk around. I was having tons of contractions. They were much stronger than the ones I have had before. So this was promising. When we came home, they stopped. I took a bath (at the recommendation of a friend) and was hoping that would help get them going, but nope. I think it stopped them even more. So off to bed to hope I get woken up by contractions!

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The Last Will of Moira Leahy

Posted on February 11, 2011 by Andi

I recently finished this book. I use GoodReads and this book was one of the books they recommended one day. Then I got it for Christmas.

This book was a bit different. I can’t really put my finger on what made it so different, but it was. And different is good.

The story is about twin sisters. The story is mostly from the view of one sister after her twin dies and she tries to move on. But she really just throws herself into her work so she doesn’t have to face things she doesn’t want to face.

They had some chapters that would go back in the past to when the twins were younger so you got to know the other twin a little bit. There’s a bit of mystery mixed in as well as some adventure and the main character finding herself.

Overall, it was a really good book. I liked it and will definitely pass it along to friends.

Happy reading!

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2/10/11

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Andi

Chuck’s mom came back from Florida yesterday. She was hoping to have a little granddaughter here to visit, but no such luck. She took me out to lunch and then we went to JoAnn’s and picked out material for a quilt she’s making for Thumper. I think it’s going to be adorable! I love the fabric we picked out!

I also decided that I wanted to learn to knit. I need something to do these next few days while I’m waiting for Thumper to arrive! Luckily, Linda remembered how to knit from when she used to do it when she was younger. I got a book to help teach me, but it was nice to have someone to help show me what her tricks were and just see someone doing it.

So I spent the evening knitting while Chuck went to another broomball game. I am bummed I didn’t go to his game. He usually plays goalie, but tonight he didn’t and got two goals. He almost got a third goal, but it hit the crossbar. Sad smile He’s such a great athlete and I am so glad he’s been able to play the whole season even if that means we are still waiting on the baby to arrive.

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Jello Candy Corn

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Andi

There are two things you should know about this post before you read it:

  1. I should have posted this back in October when I made these for Halloween.
  2. This is going to be long!

I came across this recipe on a really cool website called Jelly Shot Test Kitchen. And I was really excited to find out that they are based in Minnesota! I knew I had to make these for an event with some friends and these were a huge hit. I should tell you that these aren’t hard to make, but they are tedious and a bit time consuming. But definitely worth it in the end! You’ll look like a kitchen diva when you make these!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Jello – I used orange flavored for this one
  • Gelatine
  • Carnation condensed milk
  • Food coloring
  • Cooking spray
  • Ice cube trays or mini cupcake pan or another type of mold shape you want to use

I’m going to give you some general instructions. But for all the measurements and more detailed instructions, you should refer to the link above. They are the experts!


First, spray your mold with cooking spray and then wipe out the excess.

Now, you add some water to a pan and then add the gelatine to it until it dissolves a bit. Then heat on low until it completely dissolves, stirring the whole time.

Meanwhile, add the condensed milk to a microwave safe container (you may need this later on).

After the gelatine is dissolved, add it to the condensed milk and stir until it is all combined.

Now scoop a tiny bit into the molds.

Then you stick your molds in the fridge to solidify while you are working on the next layer.

Now you want to cover the container with the condensed milk in it. We used tin foil over the top, then wrapped it in a couple dish towels. We really didn’t want it to solidify. If it does, that is when the microwave bowl comes in handy because you’ll need to slowly heat it up so it is easier to pour and stir for the final layer.

Now you make the orange jello layer. You’ll use jello, water and gelatin. This is done similarly to the way you did the water and gelatin….just follow the directions on the link I gave you above. Smile 

Then fill the molds with the orange jello.

One thing I learned while doing this was don’t go back and try to add more orange to the molds.  If you do, then it tends to melt the white layer too much and then the layers mix a bit. See:

Now stick the molds back into the fridge to harden.

After they have been hardening for a while in the fridge, you’ll want to unwrap the condensed milk you set aside and add food coloring to it so it can be your final layer!

Now, spoon the colored condensed milk into the molds.

Here’s a picture where you can see all of the layers.

Now you put the molds back into the fridge to, you guessed it, harden.

After they are good and solid, you’re ready to take them out of their molds. They should slide out fairly easily since you put the cooking spray into the molds to help with the sticking. I ended up using my fingers a bit to get them out. But they came out without too much effort. The ones in the ice cube trays were a little harder to get out because it was a smaller space.

I decided to cut the tall, skinny ones in half to make them easier to eat, and I cut the ones from the cupcake pan into quarters for the same reason. Then I added them to a try (with a lid for easier portability).

Pretty cool, huh? They look like candy corn!

Now, because I loved this idea so much, I made them for my shower back in November. I did them in green, pink and blue which were the colors my friends told me were the shower colors. I think they turned out pretty cute! I used strawberry jello for these.

So there’s proof you can do them in any color you want. All I did differently, was make sure I put the condensed milk in two containers after mixing in the gelatine so I could color one blue and one green.

I hope you make some of these. They’ll be a big hit for a kids party or a gathering. And if you do make some, please send me pictures! I would love to see what you made!

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2/9/11

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Andi

Today Chuck stayed home from work and kept me company. I think he was hoping that if he stayed home, something exciting would happen. Sadly, nothing did happen. We watched a couple movies and just hung out. It was a wonderfully relaxing day and I am happy that Chuck has the flexibility to work from home so I can spend time with him!

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Arc

Posted on February 9, 2011April 5, 2016 by Andi

Chuck surprised me with a new toy! A new Arc Touch mouse! It’s so cool! It was delivered the other day. I had no idea he was going to surprise me with this cool little gadget!

Pretty cool, huh? When you flatten it, it turns off. When you bend it up, it’s ready to use! Man, I love being married to a Microsoft employee who gets me super cool things for a fraction of the retail price! Smile

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2/8/11

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Andi

Today is my due date. Well today WAS my due date. It’s nice and late now and the chances of having the baby yet today are kind of slim. There’s still a chance, but it’s getting more and more unlikely as the days go on.

Chuck and I decided that I shouldn’t go in to work this week since I had an appointment yesterday, today is my due date and the rest of the week would be after my due date. It just doesn’t make sense to risk going to work. The long bus ride alone isn’t very tempting.

Paige has Tuesdays off, so she came to spend the afternoon with me. We went to lunch and did some shopping. It was nice to get out of the house. I was getting a little stir crazy even after one day just sitting around and waiting. Smile

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Hmmm…

Posted on February 8, 2011February 8, 2011 by Andi

See the countdown above? I find it amusing that it says I am “0 days pregnant.” (Granted, it does say “40 weeks AND 0 days pregnant”. That is beside the point.) I can assure you, even though today is my actual due date, I am still very much pregnant. Smile It just struck me as funny when I read it.

Which means, yes, we are still waiting on Thumper to make her arrival. Or for my body to speed things along. Whichever way you look at it…we’re still waiting. And anxiously at that.

I have become an even bigger emotional disaster these last few days. I don’t know what the big deal is really…apparently first-time moms tend to go over their due dates. I’ve had a few friends recently who have. But it’s still hard to feel like I keep letting people down when I get the “You’re STILL pregnant?” or the “You STILL haven’t had that baby?” comment. We want her here, too. I promise! I go to sleep every night hoping I’ll be startled awake by shooting pains. Seriously…..who hopes for pain? Me! That’s who!

I’ve been having some contractions off and on, but nothing terribly consistent. I have my next appointment on Monday to schedule an induction if I’m not already holding this little bundle of stubborn joy! Smile My mother did remind me that she knew a certain someone who also took her sweet time making their arrival (AKA ME, if you didn’t catch that one). We were really hoping she’d be more like Chuck on that front and want to be good and punctual. And by Chuck standards, punctual in this case would be early. Apparently she has more of me in her when it comes to being on time! Smile 

So, I am trying to keep myself busy and make my best attempt at not crying at every little thing. Here’s to lots of loads of laundry, walking on the treadmill, lots of future blog posts, gorging myself on food I find around the house and resorting and cleaning things that don’t need sorting or cleaning. Smile

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Thumper’s Room

Posted on February 8, 2011April 5, 2016 by Andi

…..And a final project.

I picked up some stick on mirrors for Thumper’s room. I wanted to put some sort of mirror by the changing table for her to look at. Then I came across these at Kohl’s.

I just realized you can see me a little in the picture. Smile 

So I stuck these on the wall. They add a nice little touch by the changing table and aren’t too overly obnoxious for all the stuff I already have in her room! Hopefully she likes them.


Now, I figured since I had the last project done in the room that I wanted to finish, I should show pictures of the whole room.

Here’s the changing table and the door to her room. I should have centered the picture better, or opened the closet door…or something. It just looks silly now that I look at it. There’s a closet to the left and I currently have the diapers hanging on the door.

Now, if you turn to the left, you can see the window seat, the other closet door, the chair, table and edge of the crib.

Continue to rotate….and you get this. The crib, mobile and door to the bathroom which connects Thumper’s room and the upstairs office.

Rotate once more, and you get the wall with the photos, bookshelf and again the changing table. We have made a full circle. Smile

Ta Da! There you have it! Thumper’s room.

What do you think? Anything in there you think I am totally insane for doing? Something you love?

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2/7/11

Posted on February 7, 2011February 13, 2011 by Andi

What did we do this weekend? I think Chuck had a couple boot hockey games and a broomball game. I didn’t end up going because it was cold outside. And I was feeling kind of crummy and tired.

Sunday, we went out for brunch and then I helped Chuck clean up the garage. He’s been moving things around in there to lay it out better. It just wasn’t as efficient in there as it could be. Then we watched the Super Bowl. I was impressed that I stayed awake for it! I was sure that Thumper was going to make her arrival during the Super Bowl. But no such luck! Any day now!

Today I had a doctor’s appointment. It was kind of disappointing. I was hoping my body would have made more progress than it had. And this doctor didn’t or wouldn’t scrape me again. I was just an emotional wreck. I wanted to talk about inducing which would happen next week if I haven’t had Thumper yet, but she just said to make an appointment for next week and we would discuss it then. I ended up sitting in the room for a couple minutes after she left and cried. It wasn’t that big of a deal and I am sure she wasn’t that bad, I was just an emotional rollercoaster and used to the couple doctors I have seen lately that are so personable. I wasn’t expecting to feel so shooed out of the office the day before my due date.

But, I just have to keep a good attitude and remember to enjoy this time now because before we know it, our little princess will be here and I’ll wonder what all the fuss was about before she arrived!

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