Thanksgiving Week Extravaganza

Our friends, Jonathan, Callie, and Josiah, spent the beginning and end of Thanksgiving week with us. They came up for a day or two and flew out of Nashville to visit some of Callie's family. Then, flew back at the end to pick up their things and head back to Atlanta.

Bath Time is always adventurous with a kid. Callie was telling me about Josiah's new bath time adventure...pooping in the tub. As she finished telling me, Josiah hiked a leg and christened our bathtub with poop. Yes. I did take photos, but they didn't make the blog. Thank me, please. Because the floater almost made it.

For the third year in a row, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our friends, Jim and Choyer, and Choyer's lovely mom, Janice. In the past, other people have joined us, but this year...just the five of us plus Baby Jenkins.

We started cooking on our own a few days before hand. But Thanksgiving morning, Ryan and I rolled into their house with a car load. We hung out all day and cooked, watched football, played cards, Ryan painted, and threw a football in the backyard. It was a pretty relaxed day...even though I spent it off and on in the kitchen. It didn't really bother me. It was fun cooking for everyone.

We had a lovely spread of food that evening and relaxed some more.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

A Girl's Getaway!

Mina brought 3 flowers, symbolizing the 3 ladies taking a retreat.



I haven't blogged in awhile. Since my last blog, I went on vacation, celebrated my 30th birthday, Barack Obama was elected president (yay!!!!), had a baby shower in Georgia, and have come upon my 30th week of pregnancy. Oops! A lot has happened. And that's just the big stuff.

I saw an old high school friend at my baby shower in Georgia. We keep in touch through the blogging world. And she reminded me about how people get kicked off her list if they don't update their blogs. Sounds, scary. So, here I am.

My aunt and uncle have a mountain house in North Carolina. A few weeks ago, they so graciously let me and a couple of friends use it for a long weekend. We left on a Thursday and came back on a Monday. It was so nice to see the Fall colors at their peak, and to rest and enjoy nature for a few days. To confess, Friday (Halloween) I didn't even get out of my pajamas until 3 in the afternoon. We went for a couple of hikes, spent one day in Asheville, made some delectable dinners together, sat around cozy fires in the fireplace, and just enjoyed talking, laughing, and retreating with each other.

Here are a some photos that Jamina took with her camera. I'll try and put in some comments.

Whitewater Falls - our Halloween Hike

Jamina, Kari, and Maranda. Oops! I was the only one without some sort of costume. I guess I went as a pregnant woman.

Two big mouth bass...A mailbox we came across on a hike.
The three ladies at Gorges State Park.


Miss Carder giving Baby Jenkins some kisses. The babe finally gave her some action after the trip during another hang out time.


When you gotta go, you gotta go. It's just funnier when a camera captures it.
Friday was Fro Day!!


A Fro, some glasses, and a moo moo.

Evolution or "divine" creation - you tell me?


Homemade Miso Soup and Homemade Spring Rolls Night.

All Fros Hail To The Baby Jenkins!

You can tell Baby Jenkins was not lacking in the love and attention department. It's amazing what happens when women come around and embrace the process of birth.
Mina wanted a pose. OH! I gave her a pose alright.

Jamina's Signature Belly Photo.

For some reason, the girls thought it was so funny that I changed the clocks back right on time. Well, it was 2 am. Everything was funny!
Relaxing on the back porch after our homemade soy chai.

Mmmmm....Baked Salmon in Coconut Milk, Beets, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Kale. We dined like queens.

Beautiful Fall Leaves Against The Perfect October Sky.

Finally! We've Registered

So we finally bit the bullet and registered for baby stuff. If you are interested in seeing what we need or are one of those out there that need Christmas ideas, take a look.
Target
Babies-R-Us
Myregistry.com

We did research, asked a lot of friends, and Kari even read Consumer Reports for Baby Products. Even with all of that, it was still time consuming and a bit overwhelming. It's hard to think we'll have a baby in a few months and all of this stuff hanging around the house. Thank anyone in advance for anything we receive. It sort of feels weird to just make a list and then ask everyone to go buy stuff for us. But on that note, keep your eye out for that digital camera at Target. I had to choose between that or a 90 inch plasma tv...... ;-) (just kidding).

You can go to Target or Babies-R-Us or click the links above to view it online. Some products are not available online at Target or Babies-R-Us though.
Myregistry.com is a website that you can set up a registry and register for anything you can purchase online. For Baby Jenkins it's anything from a baby food maker to a Pittsburgh Steelers snuggle ball. When you go to the website, type in Kari Jenkins to search for our registry. Then when you click on a product to purchase, it will take you to the website the product is from. From there you can order the product just as you would anything else online.

The First Glimpse of Baby Jenkins...Boy or Girl??

We had an ultrasound this morning and saw Baby Jenkins for the first time. Everything looks great, and the baby is healthy. We decided not to find out whether or not we are having a boy or a girl. So, the ultrasound tech is the only one who knows. She wanted to tell us so bad, but we wouldn't let her. The important thing is that the baby is healthy!!

There are two feet pictures. She said the baby had big feet...probably Ryan's she suggested. There are two face pics. One is a side profile, and it looks like the baby is doing the thinking position with the hand up by the head. The other one we think the baby may have my chin and nose. We'll find out in a few months.

We would love for you to post a guess of whether or not you think the baby is a boy or a girl...not that you can tell from the face or feet. But it would still be interesting to hear what people have to say.

Here's the first glimpse of the small one pound wonder..........

Watchout. I've Sprung A Leak!

A Faucet. A Tire. A Water Balloon. A House that is not properly sealed. A Boat. The CIA. And of course, Kari's Breasts...All things that can leak.

About a month ago, I was watching the Steelers game while I was visiting Georgia. As Hines Ward is catching one of Rothlisburger's passes with the biggest smile on his face, I noticed my shirt was a little wet. "Hmmm. I guess I spilled some water," I thought. Back to the game. Throughout the first three quarters, I noticed more "water" spots showing up and realized there was no condensation on my glass. "Am I leaking?" It only took me nearly an entire football game to realize it. Once I realized what was going on I called Ryan to fill him in on the news. No quite sure what I thought he was going to do, but I guess in a way I felt like I had bragging rights since this certainly showed my commitment to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I "googled" leaky breasts and other women have experienced the same thing during pregnancy. I'm not alone. My mom went the next morning to purchase some nursing pads for me, so I could have breakfast in public without the stares. Since then each morning, I proudly pack "the girls" with the pads and mess up Ryan's T-shirts at night.

I asked my midwife about purchasing a comfortable bra to go along with the flowing twins at night (not identical, I must admit), and she suggested not constricted them in anyway since it seems like I'm going to be flowing with lots of good milk soon.

"Well, what do I do at night then" I asked.
Coming from a direct place, she looks at me with a common sense answer..."Change your shirt."
A light bulb went off in my head. "Brilliant, I say."

5 Year Anniversary Weekend Extravaganza!!

If you keep up with our blog, then you might have read Ryan's anniversary blog. I'm usually the one who writes, but he was sneaky and slipped one in on us all. I ditto what he says...not about myself, but about how amazing it is to be married to someone so wonderful. I enjoy living my life with him and am reminded regularly how blessed I am to have someone like him for my husband and the father of my children.

For our 5 year anniversary, we decided to stay in Nashville and isolate ourselves. Most of you know that Ryan has been working 2 jobs since February, so time with each other is to be cherished. This year, we were able to spend 4 days together, and it was so much fun.

Ryan knew I wanted some of my old movie favorites on DVD, so he gave me The Karate Kid series as a gift. He also gave me Juno and Baby Mama. We spent 4 days hanging out watching Daniel Laruso and Mr. Miyagi. On our anniversary, I made him a "Choose Your Own Adventure" Book, and he chose the majority of the day.I won't take the credit for the originality. Maranda gave me the idea, and our friend, Galit, gave it to her. So, if you're ever curious about how to set it up, let me know and I'll pass the fun along.

One of the adventures was the activity, he ended up choosing to explore space which led us to The Adventure Science Center. I posted some pics from the Science Center. You'll get a good laugh at the photo of me as the computer aged me to 72 years of age with and without the use of sunscreen. I'm not so sure if it was a good thing for Ryan to see my photo proposal at the age of 72. I'll definitely continue to wear sunscreen. I opted that over smoking because I thought it wouldn't be as dramatic. Not quite sure if that worked out well.

We also went to The Melting Pot...one of my favorite special occasion restaurants and gave Ryan Steelers/Titans tickets for December.

We had a great anniversary and few days to enjoy each other. Chaco loved it too because we were all home together. As we went back to work, we tried to figure out what we could do and spend more time together. I guess we'll become farmers one day. Who knows? I probably should try growing herbs or tomatoes first.

The Mmmm Bop Men...aka Hanson

I wrote this blog in my head on the way to work yesterday, and I forgot all the brilliant things I was going to say. I guess I will attempt to remember some of it.

For those that recall the tune, "Mmmm Bop" by the little boys,Hanson, came out in 1997. I was graduating High School at the time and had spent much of my elementary and middle school days going Goo-Goo Gah-Gah over New Kids On The Block. I had had my boy band fun, and I was moving past all the silliness of it all. I believe there actually was a time in elementary school that I thought if Jordan or Donnie (of NKOTB) could spot me in the crowd of screaming girls they might actually want to hang out with me. Now, my parents were always there at the shows with me (Thanks, Mom and Dad!), so I'm not sure if they would have come along or let me be a big girl at the age of 10 and hang with them all by myself...but my little girl eyes didn't think very rationally when it came to the New Kids On The Block. So, when Hanson came into existence, my heart couldn't take all the time and energy to be a fan. Plus, I was going to college. I was practically a woman at this point.

I never thought much about Hanson except that there were younger girls experiencing the same addiction and disappointment of ever meeting, becoming friends, or girlfriends with these kids.

Fast Forward - 6 years. And we are at the end of 2003. Ryan and I had been married for a couple of months, and he came home from working at the studio with some shocking news.

Ryan - "You'll never believe who I saw on The Sharon Osbourne Show today."
Kari - "Who?"
Ryan - "Do you remember Hanson? They were on the show singing stuff from a new album. They're all grown up, and they sound good. I bought their new acoustic album. It should be here soon."

We waited a few days for the cd. Ryan took it and listened first. He had discovered them, and I wasn't quite sure of it all. Then, it was my turn. And I've been forever changed. I love music and all, but I'm not real obsessed with music as a whole. As long as it makes me feel good, then I like it. Honestly, there are days that I drive to work and it's completely quiet in the car. Yes, there are the moments when I need some good music to rock out to. Certain moments require certain music. I've already started a play list of music for our birth in my head. But overall, I'm a bit indifferent. Off the top of my head, I can't tell you what The Who sang or too much about The Rolling Stones. But I proudly admit that when it was my turn to receive the Hanson acoustic album, it stayed in my car cd player for nearly a YEAR. That's pretty much all I listened to for an entire year.

Then, the new Underneath rock album came. And some dvds. A few concerts. And the newer album The Walk.
Living in Nashville people are always going to shows. There are tons of shows every night, but Ryan and I have only been to about 4 shows in 5 years. Three of which have been Hanson.

It's so different for me than New Kids On The Block. I'm not waiting in line in hopes that Jordan Knight will sing that one solo song "Baby, I Believe In You." Because when he sang that song, he wore black pants and white shirt unbuttoned and this powerful fan (which I could never find) would blow his shirt open and away from his body. For some reason at the age of 10, I wasn't too concerned with hearing the music.

Now with Hanson, Ryan and I are in agreement that their music is awesome. They harmonize so well...probably partly because they're brothers and have been singing together since they were born. You can tell that they truly enjoy creating and playing music. They're doing some great things with their work. The Walk album helps bring light and help to HIV/AIDS and poverty in Africa. With Tom's Shoes, they are giving us the opportunity to help provide shoes for people in Africa. And when their tour comes into town, you can be apart of Taking The Walk. When you walk with them, they give money to one of 5 charities for you showing up and walking. The charities help provide education and well-building to these places in Africa.

All of those great things, and Ryan and I also agree that their shows are so high-energy. It's not the cable hoverboards from shows like the Backstreet Boys or pyrotechnics, fireworks, and choreographed danced routines. Those things don't exist at Hanson shows. Just the three brothers and a couple of other guys playing all the music they can play for one show. And I wouldn't call it a sing-a-long, but they do get the crowd involved in singing with them to fill the music like you hear on the cd. We always have a great time at the show. And I'm not concerned with what they're wearing or if I'll get to meet them. The music is what keeps bringing me back.

Their website is www.hanson.net
If you're interested in trying them out, I would suggest Underneath Acoustic as a start. Then, Underneath Rock album, and The Walk is great as well. I think there's a new one in the works too.

Now, that I've given my Hanson spill. We did see them last week in Nashville and convinced Jim and Choyer to come too....free tickets - who could resist? Here are some photos from the show.


Baby Jenkins' first concert. The baby would just kick and kick.

Real men enjoy Hanson!



Taylor and Zac Hanson

Isaac Hanson



Some of their acoustic stuff.