It's BABY TIME!

Forgive me Loyal Readers,
It has been one month and 9 days since my last Blog....

If you had been in my shoes the past 5 weeks, you would completely understand my delay in updating the masses on the happenings of our OH-SO spectacular life! Let me WALK you through what has been going on with us across the BIG-DRINK.

Mile Marker 1-6 Terrain: Moderate and inclusive of steps and hills

Josh, Mallory and I took our last vacation as "Tavola per tre" (Table for 3). We headed to Caorle Venice to a camping Village just outside of Venice. We stayed for 5 nights in what was basically a stationary mobile trailer with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, and a deck. We got an incredible deal on this vacation. We went the first week in September, and the price in August was 5X what we paid. I'm a bargain hunter what can I say! It was on a rather large camping resort complete with 4 swimming pools, restraunt, grocery store, entertainment and more. The walk to the beach was a bit longer than I anticipated, but all was well and I just added it up to be burning off our nightly gelato!

We spent quite a bit of our time at the beach, and even though our first few days there were a bit rainy and overcast, it didn't seem to bother Mallory as she built sandcastles with Daddy. I should have taken a picture of myself sitting on the beach with an umbrella...a rain umbrella, not a "shade me from the hot blazing sun" beach umbrella! Before the trip, we really psyched Mallory out for the beach. She was so excited to go everyday, and the water was so calm (on the nice days), she just walked back and forth along the shore in the water. At one point she face-planted in the sand, and came running to show me the aftermath with a huge smile! Thanks for the cute bathing suit Nana and Pappy!

We took our first trip to Venice, and lets just say Venice IS very romantic, but not with a fussy 2 1/2 year old...yikes! We did some very basic sightseeing and took the water taxis (vaporetto) for a better view. I wanted to see the Rialto Bridge and then make our way to the Rialto Market. By the time we made it to the bridge to look at our map to determine where the market was, I realized my tour book said it had closed an hour earlier...urgh. The Rialto bridge was bustling with people and really gives you a great view of the Grand Canal which is the major canal that runs through Venice. We logged quite a few miles roaming the streets and checking out the sights.

 on the Rialto Bridge overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice

On our way home after our Ferry ride from Venice to the mainland, we stopped at a fantastic restraunt, where Mallory made a new friend and I got a great compliment! The owners 2 year old grandson frequented our table during dinner and at one point accidentally pushed Mallory over! A few crocodile tears later and we ended up with 2 Free Lollipops. We have found it is quite common to be served a complimentary Limoncello after dinner, so when I went to the front to pay our bill, I was offered Limoncello, which I politely declined while pointing to my large belly that was hidden behind the counter. The owner had a shocked expression on his face, like he couldn't believe I was pregnant saying "complimento, complimento, Si?" or something that resembled that, which basically meant, that it was a huge compliment to me, because I looked so good, he couldn't tell I was pregnant. I'm pretty sure that's what he meant, and if not, I'll just continue to think that :) He then muttered something else in Italian, to which I replied "Non Capisco" or " I don't understand" He motioned for me to follow him to which he addressed Josh and asked Josh if he would like a limoncello, to which Josh of course accepted! See below... We really enjoyed our vacation, our sunburn, and the time together. It was exactly what we needed, when we really didn't feel like we had a summer at all. We spent most of the summer in a hotel, and it just kind of went by without our permission, or without us really making a summer of it. But sun, sand, and relaxation is just what the doctor ordered!

Josh's first official Limoncello!

Mile Marker 6-9! Terrain: Treacherous with Hills and Heat!

When we returned home from Vacation...it was GO TIME! Kota arrived the day after we got home and the very next day Alicia arrived. Picking up Kota didn't log any miles on the pedometer other than her multiple walks a day, but Alicia and her visit logged record breaking numbers for steps! In just a few days of travel, I logged over 25 miles! That is A LOT for a 8 1/2 month pregnant lady, let me tell you! Our tour of Italy kicked off with a 5k hiking wine tour! Yes, you heard me right! I surprised Alicia with this, and to be honest, I was contemplating up until the day before whether or not this was a good idea for me. I decided to brave the vineyards and I am so glad I did. We had a great time eating, drinking, hiking, and telling about 7 different people that we were in fact NOT sisters! Ok, let me clarify the drinking thing... Apparently it's no thang for a pregnant woman to be drinking wine in Italy. I'd go up to the wine table, for literally a taste, and I'd get a full glass. So I did what any best friend would do..took a sip and then handed off my glass to Alicia. She was drinking for TWO! The tour was really neat. We'd hike a little, have a stop with wine and a little bit of food, hike some more, stop for wine and a little bit of food...etc... The hikes inbetween stops weren't that bad except for one extra long hike with a very long hill to climb. I stopped midway to catch my breath, but from the looks of some others on the tour (most of which were well on their way to tipsy)..I thought I was faring pretty well! Just about everybody in our group commented on the crazy, courageous (is the word they used) pregnant lady on the wine tour! We really did enjoy ourselves, not to mention fending off the gracious compliments and advances on Alicia from the toothless Italian. He wanted to dance with her desperately, and Alicia was desperate NOT to!

Alicia and I before the wine tour in our cool tour hats!

Fitting in with the local and dancing on the table!

Random guy....cool picture, and better him than me on the ground!

Mile Marker 9-20 Terrain: Flat but LONG

Next stops on the Italian tour were the Duomo in Milan, Lake Como, and Bra!

Alicia and I took some time to head into Milan and check out the Duomo, do some window shopping and have dinner. In the meantime, my mom arrived from the states! Despite her jet-lag, she willingly watched Mallory on numerous occasions to make our sightseeing go a little smoother and faster. Thanks MOM!

We made Lake Como into a nice day trip. We drove up in the morning and happened upon a street market. This is the only place where you can buy a super cute trench coat and fresh olives all on the same street! After our little detour through the market we headed to have lunch along the lake and I had the finest risotto topped with fresh perch...YUM. After a leisurely lunch we headed just down thertoad to the funicular that takes you up the mountain to a town called Brunate, where you can overlook and see the lake around the town of Como. Unlike the other funicular futher up the lake that Josh and I had been to before, this one did not offer as good of a view, so it was a little dissapointing, but still a fun ride to the top!

Next Stop: International Cheese Festival!!! No trip to Italy would be complete without visiting Bra, Italy for "The Cheese." HOLY CHEESE BATMAN! This place was crawling with Cheese from around the world, and most of it was FREE. We only paid a little bit to go into the Great Hall of Cheese to do some wine tasting and cheese tasting, but further along our cheese trip, we came upon streets and streets lined with Cheese vendors..not necessarily selling cheese as their main priority, but rather letting us taste their precious cheese. It was yum, followed by yum! I only had one piece that tasted like stinky feet and I couldn't swallow it. The rest were just divine. We also stumbled upon some Sicilian Cannolis...OH MY STARS! I never was a big fan of the cannoli in the states, because they are SOOO sweet. But here in Italy they do them right. Just a touch of sweetness and a whole lot of deliciousness. We brought a few of those home and a big hunk of cheese we tried toward the end of our cheese meandering. While Alicia and I spent time posing for pictures in front of a giant blue snail, Josh spent some time in the beer tent sampling Italian and German Beers...and when I say sampling, I don't mean a shot glass size full of beer, they give you a whole cup!

Mmmm... Slimy

Say "Cheese!"





Mile Marker 20-30 Terrain: Mostly flat with occasional stairs, lots of standing

Our final excursion was off to Venice! Mom watched Mallory and Kota while we drove to Venice to navigate the canals once more! This time we got to see much more and really became pros at navigating the canals via water taxi. We made it to the Islands of Murano and Burano. The first of which is known for their hand blown glass, and the latter for its vibrant colored residences.

We spent the night in Venice, had a wonderful dinner along the grand canal and then I happily retreated to our hotel room where I was never so glad to see a bed in my life. We were pooped from all of our activity that day. The following day we made a stop at St. Marks Square (Famously known for pictures of people covered in dirty pigeons as well as the large basilica... ) It was incredibly packed with tourists and dirty birds, so it didn't make for an enjoyable tourist stop, for me at least.

While in  Venice sitting a nice little restraunt by the water...I had a vision...a vision of KATE GOSSELIN in Italy....

I don't follow the tabloid gossip from back at home, but if she wasn't vacationing in Italy...you had me fooled. Maybe it was a disguise..I mean she did revert to the old hairstyle and all, AND she took it one step further by going brunette! GASP! Perez Hilton and TMZ would love to get a hold of this one! I think you should try being a brunette for awhile Kate, it would look good on you, and I hear brunettes have more fun...or maybe just more kids in my case. I went brunette, and 2 months later I was pregnant with Mallory...and she turned out Blonde....weird huh?

Ok, so I digress. I guess what you really are looking for is some details on this baby that will be arriving on THURSDAY! EEK. We took a tour of the maternity ward where I will be after I have my c-section. It is nowhere near what you would find in the states. This is bare bones accomodations folks, no telephone for your room, no shower in your room, no wi-fi internet access, no cot or pull out chair for Josh to sleep on, no air conditioning Italian Television only AND 4 women to a room in most cases. Luckily we have private insurance so I SHOULD be in a room to myself with air conditioning, although officially Fall has arrived here in Milan, and the weather is crisp and delightful, so AC really isn't a huge issue anymore. I will have internet access in the room as long as we have good service through our internet key on our laptop, so I'll be sure to update Facebook, and maybe even a baby blog..I will apologize ahead of time for anything I say, as I will surely be on pain medication (let us hope they have the good stuff over here!)

My mom is here being mom/nurse of course! She is warning me that they should be checking my Blood Pressure regularly and my pulse to make sure I'm not bleeding internally...nice thought right? I assured her I would have them write down my BP so we could keep track of it to make sure it is stable. We are all a little on edge with the language barrier and delivering in a foreign country. All nerves are to be expected I suppose, but at this point I have given it up to God. I'm usually pretty calm about things on the outside, but freaking out inside, but I think I have come to a good balance of being fairly relaxed in both cases, because I know I am being watched over and prayed for. So thank you for your prayers. Josh is not allowed in the OR with me, and there is a slight chance (since we mentioned to the Dr, that mom was an OR nurse) that Mom will be allowed in with me. I hope she is, as I'd rather have someone there with me of course. Josh will be in the receiving room, where they take the baby to be weighed and have her apgar tests done, so he'll get to see her right away. Speaking of weight, I had a dream the baby was 8lbs 3 oz. I'm sure they will be giving us the baby's weight in Kilograms like those crazy Europeans do, so we'll have to do the conversion to see if my dream was correct, and I'll be sure to leave the converting up to Josh! If my dream prophecy is true, my new business venture wil be dressing like a gyspy and reading palms or something like that. It has been quite interesting to give my weight and height in Kilograms and centimeters. I must admit, it's a nice feeling saying you weigh about half of what you normally do...LOL We have nearly settled on a name for the baby, and the only one who might say something is Mallory...so if you get her by yourself or on Skype, she'd probably leak the name to you, so we've been keeping her sequestered and closely monitored especially on skype calls with family! I highly doubt we'll change the first name because it sounds so cute coming out of Mallory's mouth, and for all she knows, that IS her baby sister's name!

Mallory is doing well in pre-school. On delivery day, she'll be going to school and coming back home at 1pm. Her teacher from school who also babysits on the side (PRAISE GOD we just found that out) will be coming to watch Mallory for the afternoon and evening. Although I have to be at the hospital at 8am, I'm not scheduled for my C-Section until 3pm(Italy time). It will be a long day for all of us. These next few weeks are going to be difficult for us all as we transition. The biggest difficulty is going to be her accepting the fact, that I won't be able to pick her up, rock her before bed, etc...until Mommy's boo boo on her belly is all better. We can't wait to see her interact with her baby sister.

My Tastefully Simple Team and Business are alive and well! We added 1 new team member to our team in September and I have been consistently hitting my sales goal, and the team has been EXCEEDING our Team Sales Goal! GO TEAM! If you have Tastefully Simple Needs, please don't hesitate to e-mail me, or place your order directly online. This is a great month to stock up on products for easy entertaining and meals. Think Easy Halloween Party, Tailgaiting food, or a lickity split meal! Mallory is a die hard fan of Perfectly Potato Cheddar Soup, and she always asks for more. All you do is add water and it is chunky and delicious. It is Perfect for those cool fall nights, and is ready in a snap!

I am opening up a Catalog party to celebrate the birth of the baby! No baby shower her, so why not a Tastefully Simple Shower?! Simply go to my website to place your order online and AT CHECKOUT, select Libby Hunking as the host. For everyone that places an order, you will be entered to win $20 in Free product PLUS any qualifying Host Credit! Could be $20, could be $100 or more.....just like that! The more who order, the bigger the pot! The winner will be announced in My November Tastefully Simple newsletter, and on Facebook by November 5th! So if you aren't connected to me through one of those than GET CONNECTED, by sending me your e-mail address or friending me on Facebook. And be sure to tell your friends who like to eat..... It's like the lottery...but your chances are REALLY GOOD! :)

*If you have a 20% discount coming to you for placing 3 orders, and you'd like to use it for this, no problem! Just e-mail me your order so I can apply the discount for you!

Visit my website TODAY to shop and browse the catalog and place your order TODAY or by October 31st for yourself, YOUR BOSS (Boss's day is observed Monday Oct 17th!), your sibling's birthday, or for one of your business clients! You'll thank yourself and they'll thank you!

Again, I appreciate your business, your prayers, and your support more than you know!

Keeping you posted, one blog at a time,

Libby

PS. Stay tuned for: Blog by Josh. He wanted to squeeze one in on this one, but it's dying to be posted and has waited long enough!