Pete's Benefit Dinner

Saturday we went to a benefit dinner for my cousin Pete.  He was diagnosed with Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia, a type of lymphoma.  The benefit was at Fieldstone Golf Course and was a huge success by anyone's account.

We arrived at four for the dinner, but did not participate in the golf portion since most of us don't golf.  They had closed the course for the day to hold this event, so everyone there was there just for Pete!  After arriving we checked out what was going on in the room.  First there was the silent auction, which had a bunch of awesome things donated.  A lot of autographed sports memorabilia, ski equipment, golf equipment, Pine Knob season ski passes, etc.  They also had a raffle going on.  I've never seen a raffle run they way they did it, but it was awesome.  They had tons of items set up on tables that were being raffled off and each item had a tub in front of it.  After you purchased your tickets, you could place them in which ever tubs you wanted.  Each items was raffled off from the tickets in it's corresponding tub.  

We ended up buying a few tickets and Ryan and I tried to win a) a Nike golf bag, b) a signed Mickey Redmond puck, and c) a bunch of autographed hockey memorabilia (Wings & Leafs).  We decided to try and stack the odds in our favor, so we put a bunch of tickets in each tub...instead of spreading the wealth among a bunch of items.

As a family, we also bid on a TON of items in the silent auction.  It cracked me up because Ashley was bidding against a 9 year old for a signed Victor Martinez bat and ball.  They just kept going back and forth and at some point the kid wrong "Just Stop!" in the margin.  Ashley is ruthless and ended up winning the item.  LOL.

Dinner was delicious.  It was a buffet and I had salad, pasta, steamed veggies and mashed potatoes.  I have it say it was one of the best buffet meals I've ever had.  After dinner they started rolling with the prizes.  Up first were the winners of the golf.  One 4-some managed a 56 on a par 72 course and they won.  The plaques they got were really awesome.  Afterward, the did a few of the raffle items (none of which we put on bets on) and then it was time for some speeches from the family and organizers of the event.

Afterward, they raffled off a giant wheelbarrow full of booze.  The winner of the wheelbarrow decided that he wanted it auctioned off and the proceeds to go to my cousin's family.  Well, who do you think won the boozebarrow?  Yeah, that would have been my dad.  After he won it, I immediately turned to Ashley and said, "How the heck are we going to get that home?!?!"  Here it is in all it's glory:

Ashley and Eddie claimed the booze and my parents gave the wheelbarrow to Ryan and I because they had just gotten a new one.  Woooo for a new wheelbarrow!

In the raffle portion, Ashley and I were both successful.  Ryan and I won the Mickey Redmond signed puck.  Ryan was SUPER excited:

Ashley won a Guinness jersey and Guinness globe.  Eddie was super excited about the globe and kept raising it up like it was his own Super Bowl trophy.

We were all really successful in the Silent Auction as well.  Ryan and I won the Matt Stafford & Calvin Johnson signed football, the Mickey Redmond signed bowling ball and puck, as well as the Jim Leyland signed baseball.  Since we had already won a puck in the raffle, we gave the 2nd one to Ashley and Eddie.

Ashley and Eddie won the Victor Martinez signed bat and ball as well as a bunch of golf stuff.  Eddie really wanted the Miguel Cabrera signed ball and picture but at the end of the Silent Auction Ashley and some guy were in a bidding war, and apparently he ended up winning.  

The benefit was fantastic and a giant success.  Over $36,000 was raised for Pete's family.  It really warmed my heart to see how many people came out to support him and his family.  It was truly an amazing day.

An Overly Emotional Pregnancy Moment

Ryan and I had a bit of a difficult time coming up with a name for baby girl.  We had a boys name picked out almost instantly, but came to a standstill pretty quickly on a girls name and kind of just gave up.  Then, we found out we were actually having a girl, so it was back to the drawing board.  We vetoed nearly every name the other came up with.  We'd end up with a list of a few names and we'd ponder those for a while and inevitably they'd all end up vetoed.  I'm almost certain that we vetoed 90% of the female names in existence.

One of the initial names I threw out was Madelyn, and Ryan vetoed it almost immediately.  At some point, we were discussing names and Ryan said, "Hey!  What about Madelyn?!?"  The look I gave him was probably priceless.  He said he knew he vetoed it, but he liked it now.  So, we decided that we'd think about Madelyn for a while to make sure we both really liked it.  We ended up settling on that name, but couldn't decide on a spelling.  And then Ryan came home from work and handed me this:

Honest to goodness, I almost started crying right there.  I don't know why...I think it was a culmination of knowing that Ryan was thinking about his baby, and thinking about her name, and thinking about me...enough so that he decided to buy these cookies and bring them to me.  I'm such a dork that we've had them for weeks now and I've refused to open them because every time I look at the package it makes me smile.

In the end, we actually decided on the French spelling for our little girl, so I love those little cookies even more.  I know, I know...overly emotional pregnant chick.  I got it.

Gestational Diabetes

Well, my OB called today and told me I failed my glucose test.  One of my draws was "marginally" high, whatever that means.  I was referred to and made an appointment with a high-risk OB at Henry Ford West Bloomfield (where I will be delivering).  My OB said that most GD can be managed appropriately with diet alone, so at this appointment I will be learning what my new diet is as well as learning how to test my blood sugar levels daily.  I can't say I'm real thrilled about poking my fingers repeatedly during the day, but at least it's only for 13 weeks.

My appointment is on October 21st, so I will update more when I find out what's going on.  In searching the internet, it looks like most GD diets are pretty similar to how I normally eat.  Obviously, I'll have to cut out my daily Coke and skip the occasional desserts that I have.  I probably eat more carbs than recommended, but if my diet is like the ones I've seen on the internet, then it doesn't seem like it will require too much adjustment on my part.

In other news, I convinced my wonderful husband to make some of his delicious chili for dinner this week and since he got home a bit early today he decided to make it for tonight!  All of the yummy peppers (that thoroughly confused the cashier at Meijer) all perfectly chopped up and sauteing:

The meat is all browned (he uses stew meat instead of ground beef), the 'maters are all cut up, and the sauce is all mixed:

Now we just have to add some beans, wait another 2-3 hours, and it's CHILI TIME!!!!  Guess this is a good meal to kick off my GD since it's high in protein and low in carbs/sugar.   

Family Cider Mill Trip

Yesterday we decided to head up to Plymouth Orchards with my parents.  It was pretty chilly but not cold enough yet for the down maternity jacket I bought, so I had to sport an old jacket that wouldn't ever even come close to zipping at this point.

We walked around their little market for a while picking up a few items like apple pie bread, apple coffee, popcorn, etc.  I saw a couple items that I considered buying, but decided against at the last minute like: apple & vidalia onion vinaigrette dressing, apple BBQ sauce, pumpkin and apple butter, etc.

In the end, we picked up some cider, doughnuts, carmel apples, and a peck of apples to make apple pie.  I don't think we'll end up getting to the pie until next week, but I'm excited none-the-less!

After making our purchases we went to sit at the picnic tables to enjoy the spoils!  They had a musician there playing a lot of Jimmy Buffett music.  I sat there enjoying my cider and doughnuts while watching all of the other people.  I couldn't help but get really excited about being able to take Maddie next year!  Cider Mills are one of my favorite things and I can't wait to start a family tradition of taking our kids there every fall.  Looks like Maddie has a good start since she's already been twice so far this year with a third trip planned on the 15th!

Here are a few pictures:

 Can't wait to go again with Jill + Aaron in a couple weeks!!!

Glucose Test Done!

The glucose test was totally fine. People really amped it up as way worse than I actually thought it was. As you all know, my OB is going by the new standards and gives everyone a 2 hr test instead of the 1 hr & 3 hr. So, I arrived early for my appointment (traffic was good, yay!) and they took me right away.

I had a fasting blood draw of 2 vials. Then, I got to choose between an orange drink or fruit punch. I chose orange. It ended up being a whole Solo cup (you know, the blue or reds ones) full of the stuff. I had to drink it in 5 minutes and they timed me right there while I did it. I actually kind of liked the stuff...it was like Fanta, but without the carbonation. After I drank it, they gave me a timer that was set for an hour and I went back for my prenatal appointment.

I peed in the cup (all was normal) and then met with my OB. She measured me and listened to Maddie's heartbeat. All was great. My blood pressure was great and I've actually somehow lost 3 lbs in the last 4 weeks. So, now I'm only up a total of 12 lbs. Doc is still happy with my gain and said it's completely normal for it to fluctuate. I asked some questions I had ready which were all answered. Then my OB thanked me for being the only "normal" patient she'd have all day...whatever that means.

I had my blood drawn (1 vial) at 1 hour post drink and 2 hours post drink. I'll find out my results in a couple days. I was 1 of 4 girls there getting the test done yesterday. One girl puked all over herself after taking the drink and will have to come back to redo the test. The two other girls both got dizzy and had to lay down in rooms for the 2 hours. I'm honestly surprised by this because I didn't feel the slightest bit different after the drink. Actually, it helped with the hunger pangs for about an hour.

In the end, it's over (YAY!) and I've got my fingers crossed that I passed.

The Bump

I thought I'd post a bump picture for my friends and family that aren't in the area...since they keep bugging the heck out of me. 

Here's a picture from Monday, 25w5d (I'm 26 weeks today by the way, almost 3rd trimester)!

All Things Pumpkin

With fall and my favorite month coming up, I can have all of my yearly pumpkin cravings satisfied.  My pumpkin candles are finally on sale again (yay!) and pumpkins are readily available at the grocery store.  So, my goal is to make the following recipes before the end of November:

Pumpkin Cream Cheese
Autumn Pear & Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin Cookies
Pumpkin-Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Pumpkin Pancakes

I already made (and modified) a relatively easy Pumpkin Muffie recipe and loved how they turned out.  Ryan seems a bit turned off by the texture...not exactly a cookie, but not exactly a muffin.  So, I think I might try making them again, but turning them into cupcakes and adding a bit of cream cheese frosting.  There's also a pumpkin stew recipe that is intriguing to me, but I'm not sure yet if I want to spend hours upon hours making a stew that might end up being a little weird.  We'll see. 

Maybe this year I should just buy a couple dozen cans of pumpkin so I can make all these wonderful treats throughout the year!!!