Father's Day...not forgotten

Su 6.16.13

• don't worry daddies, we didn't forget about you!
• I unfortunately was travelling on Father's Day this year and was neither with the future daddy, Jake, nor with my own dad...and I know Jake regrets not being able to spend time with his pops on this day (but thanks to the Condon's for letting me crash your Father's Day Lake Michigan boat ride!)
• we'd like to take this time to thank our wonderful dads for all they've done for us by sharing some photos and favorite memories

one of my favorite family pictures, minus one thing: Amanda is not present, sorry Amanda, but I bet you're in mom's tummy at this point...I just love the 2314, our first green apple from the apple tree, the Mickey Mouse and Spider Man, dad's shirtless 6-pack and mustache...haha

• Jake and I often reflect on how our parents raised us, and we talk about how fortunate we are to have parents who were so involved

this is the rest of the photo I posted on Mother's Day...what I love about this Christmas shot is the simplicity...I got a Raggedy Ann doll, Ricky a truck and ball, Matt a wagon, and mom and dad were content with their 4 cans of cashews...

• we have so many wonderful memories that prove this, for example: my dad teaching me how to ride a bike and golf (in the neighbor's yard...so we didn't ruin his beautiful lawn ;), attending every sporting, musical, dance, school event we ever had, staying up late to help me study for tests or check over my homework, driving millions of hours in "the hoopty" on our family vacations, hiding in the bushes at my golf meets so I wouldn't get nervous (embarrassing when my opponents noticed..."OMG! There's some guy hiding in the bushes!"), taking the time and money to visit me...no matter where I'm living at the time, being a die-hard ND fan and passing that passion on to us...

Senior Dad's Weekend...snuck Irish whiskey into the SMC on-campus tailgate to watch the Irish's highest scoring game of the season...will not share how the rest of the night went...

• and for Jake...the many road trips to soccer tournaments, teaching him to water ski in the backyard with a rope tied to a pole, snorkeling and fishing in the lake on small blow-up mattresses, observing thousands of vials of dead water bugs in the DNR lab, his dinners while mom had piano lessons...
• we have many, many more...
• but thank you to our dads for setting such a great example for us...we're confident that we can use what we've learned from you to be good parents ourselves

this is the night my parents and I met Jake for the first time...as you can see, they probably made a GREAT impression! (that's Jager...btw...and mom's shot looks bigger than dad's!)

• HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

• p.s....Paul, we'll add embarrassing photos of you once we're home and can sift through the archives! (sorry, didn't have any here in BA with us)

Color Run - BA style

Sa 6.1.13

• it had been a while since I last did a race...not since that terrible UNICEF 10k in March!
• so while in search of something fun, a friend, Elena, mentioned the Color Run
• these color runs seem to be all the rage in the US and I was interested to see what all the hype was about
• so we signed up...original race date: May 18th at Palermo Parks - postponed for a lousy 20% chance of rain (to be fair...it drizzled a bit in the morning...and our actual race date ended up being gorgeous!)
• rescheduled for today and relocated to the Parque de los Niños...much further north, but beautiful place to run along the river
• this is what a Color Run looks like in BA:
• pink color station before chaos ensues:

• clean race shirts and runners before chaos ensues:

• what you're supposed to do with the little bag of powder from your race packet:

• runners ready for a Color Run:

• views from the start:

• beautiful fall-ish day...can you see the mist of blue among the trees?

• blue color station in action:

• dj turnin' it up at the yellow station:

• a little finish photo:

• runners post-color run:

• so I think Elena and I both agreed on some of the pros and cons of this kind of race:
• pros: fun, funny, relaxed, different, happy
• cons: not a race, powder in your eyes makes it difficult to see, powder remains in eyes, nose, and ears, as well as skin and shoes for the rest of the day and into the next (part of the fun though, I guess)
• not sure I really get the color run...not sure if I'd do it again, but we definitely had fun and I'm glad I got to experience it
• *special thanks to our photographer (Jake) for hiking it up north with us for this crazy lil' 5k! 

ricotta cheese

• shortly after moving in to our apartment a year and a half ago I was itching to make a lasagna...I finally had an oven!
• so I found a recipe, made my list, and made my way to the grocery store
• after searching for quite a while for the ricotta cheese, I gave up...and also gave up the idea of making lasagna (have never seen cottage cheese here either)
• shortly after this sad incident, I was at a yoga class and somehow this ricotta cheese story came up
• a guy in the class said, "They have ricotta cheese here.  It comes in a bag near the milk and butter." 
• what?! in a bag?! I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised since I soon realized that many other products are sold in a bag rather than a  plastic container, and at a cheaper price, such as: milk, yogurt, shortening, liquid laundry detergent or softener, etc.
• so I went back to the store, and sure enough, there was the ricotta cheese in a bag

• I happily brought it home to make my lasagna...turned out ok...had leftovers for lunch the next day, ironically, before a yoga class, then came home and puked it all back up
• was it the ricotta (in a bag)? bad ground beef? or the chef?
• we'll never know (definitely wasn't the chef though, right?)
• but now I know where to find ricotta...I still use it in some recipes and haven't gotten sick again
• isn't it funny that when Argentines are in the States, looking for a bag of ricotta, they probably think it's silly to find it in a plastic container?
• the world is pretty interesting like that...

Baby Q&A

• Thought it might be fun to do a little Baby Q&A today...

• Q: Are you going to find out the gender?
• A: Nope! (gasp! shock! haha)  We're going old school and keeping it a surprise!
• Q: What names are you thinking of?
• A: Again, it's a surprise! But we're open to suggestions ;) maybe a Spanish name...?
• Q: What is your due date?
• A: November 19, 2013
• Q: Are you having the baby in Argentina?
• A: Sure are!  We're happy with the medical care here.
• Q: Where will you deliver?
• A: Hospital Aleman in Recoleta...a private German hospital about a mile away from our home.
• Q: Does your doctor speak English?
• A: Yes, pretty well.  But he encourages me to practice my Spanish with him (eek!).  The nurses most likely won't speak English.
• Q: Will your baby have dual citizenship?
• A: Yes, apparently his/her whole life!
• Q: Will you be able to get your baby out of the country?
• A: Yes. (Don't worry Grandma Ruth!) But not before having both its American and Argentine passports in hand! (oh dear...the paperwork!)
• Q: When are you moving back?
• A: No date is set yet, but we're aiming for January/February 2014...this may depend on baby's paperwork.
• Q: Where to next?
• A: Chicago! :)
• Q: How far along are you?

photo from today's appointment...baby was all curled up and being a bit stubborn...
couldn't get a good shot, but this is its head and little hand

• A: As of today's second ultrasound, 16 weeks, 4 days...baby's between the size of an avocado and an onion. Heartbeat's at 152 beats/minute
• Q: Are you showing yet?

16 weeks

• A: As of about 15 weeks, Jake officially said I have a panzita (little belly)...baby's a-growin' in there!
• Q: Are you still running?

photo from Color Run @ 15 weeks 4 days...more on the run later

• A: Yes, not a ton, but some training plans for a (casual) September race are in the works! ;) ...just to kind of keep me on track, you know? I'm a fan of goal-setting. Of course I'll only run if I'm feeling good, well-trained, and am approved by my doctor.
• Q: Any cravings?
• A: I was quite nauseous until almost week 12, so I didn't feel like eating or drinking much at all, which is SO NOT NORMAL for me. I think my appetite returned around week 15 when I couldn't stop eating pasta one night...cravings usually include carbs...mostly bread and more salty things.  Really not digging salads, but forcing them down...seem to prefer hot, cooked food, which is probably better.  What happens is I see a picture of a food or hear someone talking about it, and it either sounds disgusting, or amazing and I want it NOW.  This happened with: garlic bread, pad thai, potato chips, mac and cheese, some fruits, cinnamon bears (which I'll have to buy in the States...none here!), and some others I'm forgetting.  Not really craving sweets which again is out of character, but probably a good thing!  As I've mentioned before, beef doesn't seem to agree with me, sadly.  I'm hoping that one changes so I can continue to take advantage of Argentina's delectable bife.  Need to drink more water!  Drinking less than before for some reason.

• Any other questions?  Please comment and let us know!