Ondrey Life: July 2011

Friday, July 29, 2011

Summa Cum Laude

Guess who graduated at the top of his class?

This guy!!

Doesn't he look so proud? He was all smiles on his big day. Following 6 grueling weeks of rigorous and repetitive testing he graduated with highest honors from the prestigious Urban Pooch University. After a rough start he overcame his previous interest in "Humping" and ultimately graduated with a double major in "Sit" and "Stay" and a minor in "Focus". After a summer off, he hopes to apply for new canine friends at only the classiest of Chicago pooch parks this fall. Get ready world!

Our little dude is growing up. Congratulations sweet Marsh man- we are so proud of you!!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Kitchen Tile Project: Part 1

BEFORE

(Click here for more info about our lovely "brick" kitchen)

DURING

Stay tuned for the AFTER

Monday, July 18, 2011

Nerd BBQ 2011

This past weekend I ventured out to Wheaton with Jakob for his lab group's annual summer Nerd BBQ (I say "nerd" as an endearing term I promise). While I was looking forward to meeting the small group of people that Jakob spends 50+ hours a week with, I feared the evening would be spent decoding nerd lingo while listening to the group tearfully discuss Harry Potter's final adventure. My fears were soon realized as we walked into the BBQ during a very intense conversation over (dramatic pause) PIPETTE TIPS! It was going to be a long night.

Turns out the night was actually.. dare I say it.. enjoyable! Conversation drifted from all things science-y to more Jessica relatable topics such as Paula Dean's love for butter and Steve Carrel's depearture from The Office. There was even a ritual watermelon smashing, pinata style. Love it. I fit right in with the nerds. Can't say I'm all that surprised.

I must say that my favorite parts of the evening came as a bit of a shock to me. They were spent watching Jakob and the others light up with excitement while talking about squids and DNA and other unpronounceable thingamabobs. He was right at home and fit in perfectly with this nerdy (and humorous I must add) little family. Although slightly jealous of the amount of time they get to spend with Jakob on a regular basis, I began to grow quite thankful for this tight knit little family he will be spending the next 4-5 years with. Thankful that he has friends/colleagues who know and actually understand what he loves to talk about... for hours and hours on end. Friends who can pronounce thingamabob correctly and don't have to fake their excitement when that one little gene does the perfect little mutation at the exact moment you were hoping for. (I know, I know.. I have NO IDEA what I'm talking about.) I am happy that he is happy, and so thrilled that he has found something he loves just as much as I love nursing. My love for nursing can come in a different post someday.

I will leave you with a photo of our contribution to Nerd BBQ 2011- carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese and caramel icing.

Drool.

OMG I can't keep my hands off the sugar. Dangerous I'm telling ya.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Pizza on the Grill

Delicious.

But let's rewind a bit.

Homemade pizza on the grill sounds simple enough but for some reason has always intimidated me. I envisioned the end result would be some burned, cheesy mess. Turns out, pizza on the grill isn't as complicated as it seems. And the end result? Totally worth it!

For starters, gather all of your ingredients.

~pre-made pizza dough (we used Trader Joe's dough but you can always be fancy and make homemade dough from scratch)

~olive oil (I added a little chopped garlic to the olive oil for flavor)

~your favorite pizza seasonings

~pizza sauce

~toppings galore- whatever floats your pizza boat

Directions-

1. Preheat grill, brush grill with olive oil

2. Knead dough and stretch into an awkwardly shaped crust. Sidenote- smaller pizzas seem easier to flip and deal with on the grill

3. Toss dough on grill and brush with olive oil. Season dough 'til your heart's content

4. Grill for 5-7 minutes until bottom of crust is slightly browned, flip crust

5. Cover crust with pizza sauce

6. Garnish with your favorite toppings

7. Grill until cheese melts and looks bubbly delicious

Slice and enjoy!! (and never again be intimidated by grilling homemade pizza)

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Baby Q & A

To answer a few of the many Q's I have been asked over the past week I thought I would go ahead and give ya'll what you are looking for.

How far along am I? I am currently 14 weeks.

When is the baby due? January 4, 2012

Are we going to find out the sex? Yep! We are just too excited and dying to know already. We will be finding out sometime in August if the little one cooperates for us.

Are we going to tell everyone the sex? Sure thing.

Do we have names picked out? We are semi decided on a girl's name that has been in our baby name vault for years. As for boy's name, the list is still in the growing phase and will hopefully be narrowed down a little later on.

Are we going to tell everyone the name? We will share the name if we come to a 100% conclusion before the birth. Will that happen? ~~Possibly~~. Doubtful.

How am I feeling? Great! After a few VERY sleepy months things are finally taking a turn for the more energetic side of life. Nauseous? Yes, every night, but it seems to be getting better over the past few weeks. Throwing up all day and night? Nope.. and for that I am incredibly grateful.

Cravings? All things sugary sweet. Ice cream, cake, cookies, candy.. sugar cubes (desperate times..) I can only hope gestational diabetes doesn't find me. Things could get ugly.

Baby pics? Here's the little kiddo at our most recent 14 week ultrasound. Check out those legs!