Finally nice, consistent weather has broken through and is here to stay!!! No more snow (yikes, did I just jinx us??), just sunny skies and blooming foliage everywhere!
We had a lovely Easter this year visiting our family in Missouri. As always we stay with Justin’s Aunt Laima and Uncle Tony – to Jack they are “Muta” and “Grandpa Hony.” The house is always filled with cousins, food, and lots of laughs.
With Jack, we tend to fly everywhere. He isn’t fond of long car rides – who can blame him? The flight is literally up and down – an hours time and before you know you we are in Missouri, stopping at a QuikTrip for an iced Cappucino (this time I had to opt for the iced hot chocolate because it was not caffeinated).
The entire Merkys family was getting over a nasty viral infection that started with Jack, made it’s way to me and Justin which manifested into a sinus infection for us both. Justin took a Z-Pak and was feeling better in days. I opted to tough it out because my theory is less chemicals while your pregnant, the better. Well the flight was pretty bad – I couldn’t hear for most of it and that night the sinus infection settled under my eye, right above my teeth, creating such pain it felt as though I had a root canal without any Novocain. Needless to say the next day I called my doctor and she prescribed me a Z-Pak as well. I felt better the next day!
Despite the sickness we are all in good company, having such fun that we forgot how sick we felt. Jack was elated to be around his cousins Lily (13), Kate (9), and Ava (7). They kept him entertained and he just loved the attention! Justin and Jack had an exciting time on Friday, meeting a new family member, Grey. Justin’s brother had a baby three weeks earlier and it was great timing to come in for Easter to meet the little guy. I stayed back to get another round of antibiotics in my system, but met him on Saturday.
Saturday Justin got his last long run in before his marathon this weekend. He’s not saying that he has a goal in mind to finish, but my sneaking suspicion is he wants to beat the Merkys Family record of 4:14:53 – which is held by none other than mua! I hope he does then it gives me the gumption to really train and qualify for Boston! Jack and I have a few surprises for Justin along his marathon route – stay tuned to find out what they are!
We had also had an Easter egg hunt on Saturday evening. Jack was more enamored with the trucks and gravel in the street! But once he caught wind of the fruit snacks hidden in the eggs, he was in it to win it!
Easter was such a great and relaxed day. We all went to church together and Jack was great up until communion and Justin took him outside to stretch his legs. Well turns out Jack had other plans and pooped his pants all the way up to the brim! We had to boogie out of there, but we were able to hear the homily, which had a great message of the power of helping other people out. In fact we all talked about the homily later and how something so small, helping someone out, can really go a long way.
The easter bunny visited Jack in Missouri bringing him trucks, and a bug catcher with a net, coloring book, cheddar bunnies, sunglasses, clothes, bubbles, and goodies of course.
I made a few desserts – eclair cake and lemon squares, which I think turned out well. I couldn’t taste a thing unfortunately! I also made my signature family artichoke recipe. The ones Aunty Laima bought were perfect because they were so tender! We also feasted on lamb, ham, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and vinaigrettes (my favorite Lithuanian dish). I was totally stuffed to the gills!
It was hard to get on that plane on Monday afternoon. But sleeping in your own bed is always nice. I was so exhausted from the trip that I fell asleep unpacking my clothes at 7 p.m.! I needed it!
Our deck is coming along so well! It is going to be huge! It’s such a necessity for our growing family. We need, protected outdoor space. Hawthorn Woods does not allow fences, so this deck will provide us with some piece of mind when we have two running around.
The garden seedlings are in full bloom and ready to go. This weekend, if we have time, we plan on digging out as much of the garden in the backyard as we can and transplanting the seedlings. Jack also got a garden tool set from the easter bunny too, so we shall see how dirty we can get!
Baby Merkys No. 2 is moving and grooving in my belly! I felt movement about a week and a half ago. I didn’t think it was the baby because I was16 weeks pregnant! With Jack I didn’t feel anything until I was 20 weeks so that is why I dismissed it, but it just occurred to me one night in bed as I was feeling the “flutters” that it was the baby! I’m so happy to feel him or her. It makes this all so much more real. I’m definitely showing – a lot more than I did with Jack at this stage, but I hear that’s common.
The BabyCenter blogging gig is still going so well! I just love it. It’s so gratifying and I’m learning so much from women that participate in the discussions. It’s been a blessing.
Please call or text Justin with well wishes for his marathon this weekend. He’s such an amazing example to our son and Baby Merkys No. 2 and he’s such an amazing husband. He deserves all the kudos in the world – 847-924-6297.
Fun Jack Facts:
-He holds the phone to his ear and say “elloo”
-Can sign “help” in sign language
-Climbs out of the shopping cart
-Lays on his stomach to draw or color
-Always notices when I change my nail polish color
-Has an equal obsession with pickles like I do these days
-Still sleeps a solid 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night
-Feeds himself yogurt with a spoon
-Likes to sign that he wants milk, and then dumps it all over the floor!
-Only wants to be outside these days
Jack AKA "BUG" 
