Hot stuff

Last year, we stopped using our a/c in September. We didn't take it out of the window until late October though, mostly out of laziness. This year I may actually have need of it until then, as I'm on 100mg of Clomid for 3 months (fingers crossed that I don't need it that long) and I feel like I'm going through menopause with all these hot flashes! My body has been so bi-polar for the last week or so and I thought something was really wrong, but future doctor Daniel said it was probably a side effect of the medication. I icebox our bedroom and still throw off the covers in the middle of the night, while Daniel wears flannel pajama pants and sometimes uses an extra blanket. After doing some research, I discovered that hot flashes were reported in 10% of women during clinical trials, with most of them not ending until a few weeks after the cycle was finished (although they weren't as frequent). If that's the case and I really need all 3 rounds, I'm going to be nice and toasty for awhile. Maybe I won't mind this winter so much after all...

-Jenn

Be patient, I am getting to the point

There are some songs you love so much that any time you hear them you have no choice but to turn it up and take a break from whatever it is you're doing so you can fully appreciate it.

This is one of them

-Jenn

The night we competed for the deep fried food consumption world record and also looked at cute animals

The Wisconsin State Fair is a magical place. We invited our new friends/neighbors, Nic and Janey, to join us in this land of wonder and amusement. Instead of parking at the fairgrounds, we parked at the Helm's house (thanks guys!) and walked over. Things started innocently enough...

Flavored milk for $0.25 a glass?! Yes please! Daniel's is root beer, mine is chocolate banana

Nic and Janey copied us (typical)

Then we got a little crazy...

Deep fried s'mores

The inside

Deep fried Snickers

The inside

(They were worth trying, but I probably wouldn't get them again)

Wisconsin's best

The famous cream puffs

Don't be deceived, we really only had two, we just traded the plate for picture purposes

Pork doughnut, basically a pulled pork sandwich on a sweet roll

After trekking all over the place, we found the holy grail

They were incredible

(Am I upset that my best picture of the night involves these bad boys? Not one bit)

I wish I would've filmed Nic's reaction upon discovering the Wienermobile

Nom nom nom

At this point, we were pretty jacked up on sugar and fat. We watched two rounds of racing and probably cheered/laughed/pleaded with the drivers to go faster/turn around/stop flipping over way too much

We found the goats! You could pet them, as long as you sanitized your hands

This little one wanted all the attention she could get. I kind of fell in love with her

We're pretty much best friends

Isn't she so cute?!

She's also FOR SALE. Birthday present maybe?

(Like how I didn't link right to her? You get to look at all the other little animals!)

What's cuter than a baby goat? A PILE OF BABY GOATS!

Holy giant cow!

Not pictured...

-Mini doughnuts with sugar (I have no idea how I missed that one)

-Deep fried white cheddar jalapeno cheese (probably my favorite, sad I didn't get a picture of it)

-The horse that bucked his rider during a show (the crowd clapped after a trick and spooked him)

-Bunnies as big as me

-The pig race (there was a food distraction, love it!)

Also, I couldn't find the record for the most fried food eaten in one evening, so I'm declaring Daniel, Nic, Janey, and myself as the (un)official world record holders...

At least until next year's State Fair!

-Jenn

Daniel and Jenn do ILM

Here's a photo recap of our trip back home...

Boarding pass!

You can have whatever opinion you want about Chick-fil-A, but I love their food

Chickeny goodness

Looking good

Driving my mom's car, Miss Daisy

Ready to go!

My wedding, July 2009

Hannah's wedding, July 2012

Daniel's house/tower (these are the coolest toys I've seen in any nursery)

Playing dress up in nursery

Quite possibly one of the most awkwardly choreographed pictures ever

I won Apples to Apples! Apparently the green cards you win correlate with your personality. What do you think?

I got to drive the black beast! This truck is my dad's baby, so I made sure to be careful 

P.T.'s garden burger with their amazing fries. I think my love of lemon pepper originated here

 

My first Fuzzy Peach experience!

 I have no idea when I'll be home next, but this trip will be a fun one to remember for awhile!

-Jenn

This and that

Here's what we've been up to lately...

Neighbors who rock
All of our new neighbors are awesome, we really enjoy making new friends and having so many great people so close by. Daniel and I babysat for our downstairs neighbors, Katie and Colin, while they celebrated their anniversary a couple weeks ago. Their girls were super chill, we didn't have any problems with them at all. A few days later they brought us some thank you mint brownies and Katie was wearing a Mae shirt. I almost lost it. She's been to a few of their shows and really enjoys their music. We actually have a lot of similar music tastes, I'm so glad to have another friend who appreciates the same stuff I do!

"Woo" is right! -John McCrea
We braved the Saturday night crazies and hit up Milwaukee's famous Summerfest music festival a few weeks ago to see Cake. It was kind of a mess getting in and out, but the concert ROCKED and that's what's important. Here's a taste of one of their classics...

(filmed by vkottas)

Daniel really liked being a part of the "na na na" stuff. Also, the trumpeter was incredible.

Downton Abbey
It took us a little while to get into this show but holy cow we love it! Early 1900s British English is sometimes not easy to understand, so subtitles are our friends. We watched the first season on Netflix, then signed up for a free week of Hulu Plus to watch season two. There are nine episodes and we watched four back-to-back yesterday. No shame.

Operation: Kate Middleton is a bust
My best friend from high school is getting married next weekend. This wedding is why we planned a summer trip to NC. I haven't been home since January, so naturally I want to look as cute as possible because I really don't know the next time I'll be back. I've been lucky with online shopping before, so I bought the student budget version of the Kate-Middleton-meets-the-Obamas dress and these sassy heels. The shoes haven't come in yet, but they're super cute so I may just keep them. The dress arrived on Tuesday and it's a hot mess, and not in a good way. First, they sent me the wrong size. I tried in on anyway and it was sized so oddly that I really wonder if the one in my size would work at all. I had trouble getting it over my hips (I have hips but I don't have HIPS), but you could fit a loaf of bread in the chest area (is that weird? I'm trying to say that I didn't fill out the top at all). The color is nice and it does look like the dress the Duchess wore, I just wish it fit better. Now I'm scrambling for something else, luckily I have a few days to whip up something amazing.

Amelia Jean
I love Jack's Mannequin/Something Corporate/Andrew McMahon. The Jack's Mannequin station on Pandora introduced me to this gem from their most recent album, People and Things. I just love the blend of sounds.

Distracting video? Listen to just the audio here

Baby?!
Still no baby news. Hopefully we won't have to field a lot of questions when we go home next week, but sometimes older Southern people lack a certain sensitivity, so I have an answered prepared: "We've been trying for just over a year. I've seen my doctor. I've had enough blood drawn for tests to give someone a transfusion. I take a folic acid supplement and a women's health multivitamin every day. I've done three rounds of Clomid. I've had a hysterosalpingogram. Daniel's seen a doctor. He's had several rounds of tests. He takes a men's health multivitamin every day. We're doing the best we can with what we've got, but it's not even really any of your business to begin with, so let's talk about something else instead." I might need to practice. I will say that despite our lack of success, we feel good with where we're at right now. Some days are easier than others, but we're enjoying all the young couple perks like sleeping in, one day of laundry, spontaneous dinners, and cluttered floors. Our little ones are taking their sweet time coming to us, but we know the wait will be more than worth it.

-Jenn