Some Goodies to Share

I realized that one of my favorite things about all of the blogs I read is that I always find so many goodies, whether it be recipes, places to shop, new products or a good laugh! So today, I just have to share a few things with you.

First of all, am I the only person who has never heard of The Elf on the Shelf? Where have I been my whole life? I am not a resident expert, but I think the concept is simple (and GENIUS), you read this book to your kids about the Elf who watches over them to report back to Santa each night on their behavior.. enticing them to be good :) You get a little Elf doll (obviously to put on your shelf..) & each morning when he returns from the North Pole, he is in a different place in the house doing silly things. The kids have to go find him each morning! There are tons of fun ideas out there, like filling your kids stockings, placing the Elf on your countertop making snow angels in flour or staging him to be having hot cocoa with barbie.. HILARIOUS!!

Also, I am making all of my own artwork for the little G's nursery & I needed a filler for one of my 5x7 frames to match one of the quotes I framed. I threw together this fun little dots design. I thought I would share the high resolution JPG file in case anyone wanted something similar to use in your baby girl's room. Fun & modern... clearly very simple! :) Feel free to save it & print as you wish.

I know it's not much, BUT could be just what somebody out there is looking for! I love polka dots SO much... wanted to polka dot the walls but thought that might be going a little overboard. 

I know there are a lot of readers who are also expecting & after reading many of your blogs, I see that we have something in common... we all crave sweets! I recently discovered RED VELVET CAKE Yoplait yogurt. Anyone else ever had this? Yogurt is supposed to be very good for you while pregnant, especially for the calcium. I normally can't find many flavors that don't give me the super-sticky-sour-yogurt-mouth. But this one is a real winner... I eat it in place of ice cream when I'm craving it. And it's red... and now it's the holidays... how FESTIVE!? 

 Image via bakerella.com

Also for the other expectant mama's... I got a copy of "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" the other day & it is officially one of my new favorite pregnancy books. It's not the most informative book but I was laughing out loud like a fool. So if you're still looking for a great, light-hearted book to read while breaking in the new nursrey glider... better scoop this one up!

Last but not least, I came across a blog the other day with such an amazing birth story that I just had to share! I laughed...then I cried. So good. Literally makes my heart skip a beat out of excitement for my little one's arrival. Read here & enjoy :)

Nursery Update & Answered Questions

Happy Hump Day!

Again, thank you to everyone for all of the sweet comments.. I love all of your feedback & advice so much! I had a few comments about how crappy the dresser from Ikea was that I had my eye on (thank you for your honesty!!) so I kept searching on craigslist. So happy I did!! I found a dirt cheap armoire that we scooped up to refinish instead! 

The picture of the listing was small & blurry but I had a good feeling about it. So we drove clear out to BFE to pick it up (where it was totally dark & we couldn't see), paid & put it in the car. Once we brought it in the house & turned the lights on.....

Buzz.. your girlfriend... WOOF!!! I was not impressed. 

It was dirty, rickety, off-balance, white-washed (not painted white) & the main door had some sort of ugly, discolored beadboard texture. After pouting about it over night & telling my husband I wanted to drive all the way back there and throw it back in their yard... we took it up into the nursery & started giving it a makeover. After lots of cleaning, sanding, painting, SAWING 1/2 INCH OFF EACH OF THE BACK TWO LEGS & some new glass hardware... I'm pretty darn happy with the finished product :)

 

 Of course, I could only find 8 of the knobs that I needed, go figure. I'm sure I'll be hunting down that last knob until the day I'm due.

 Annnnnd moving on.......... some questions answered! :)

In terms of exercising, pre-pregnancy, I was obsessed with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred & Ripped Up Abs DVDs. I was doing them every other day, plus cardio. Now, I totally suck. I shoot for 30 minutes of cardio 3-4 times a week, whether it be jogging or brisk walking around the neighborhood. I also have a small circuit of lunges, squats & half-assed push ups that I do a few days a week. I literally don't the energy to do much more.

 I also wanted to address the comments (did not publish them) insinuating that I'm irresponsible because I reference alcohol a lot. Before I was pregnant, yes, I enjoyed lots of tasty cocktails & beers on the weekends. I didn't mean to offend, I am only being honest in my posts. Since becoming pregnant, I have cut alcohol COMPLETELY & do not plan on drinking again until after the baby is born (and breastfed). I understand it is controversial & probably goes without saying, but I am well aware the effects that alcohol can have on an unborn baby.

And for the record, I also do not plan on eating raw hot dogs, smoking cigarettes or jumping on a trampoline any time soon. No hard feelings though.. I appreciate the concern for the human inside of me  :)

And for anyone who has asked - my maternity leggings are all from the Gap (and they are soooo comfortable & worth the money).

And last but not least - we still do not have a baby name! I'm not 100% sure that we will share it with the world once we do decide... we have thought about saving it until little G makes her appearance into the world. Unfortunately that might not work out since I want to order/make lots of personalized name decor for her room. However, we are DEFINITELY taking suggestions!

24 Weeks

How far along? 24 Weeks
Total weight gain: almost 17 lbs! WHOA MAMA. Yes, that  means I gained almost 6 lbs. this month... thank you Halloween.
Maternity clothes? as you can see in this pic I am still trying to squeeze into my old favorite UnderAmour shirt for the IOWA Game. Clearly it is not working out.
Stretch marks? Not yet, but I have a baaaaaad feeling that strange brown line is about to make it's debut below my belly button. Should probably host a contest for someone to help me name it (keep in mind.. husband is very scared of it)
Sleep: still sleeping great
Best moment this week:  Hearing at my 24 week appointment that everything is still looking good & going smoothly! I just feel so lucky & blessed that my pregnancy has been so great so far.. let's hope we can say the same about the labor! :)
Miss Anything? the clear winner... cocktails! already thinking about a mimosa-less thanksgiving morning
Movement: more & more each day!
Food cravings: still sweets & fruit - should probably work on fulfilling my fruit craving more than my sweets craving if I don't want to gain 50 lbs.
Anything making you queasy or sick: apparently eating an entire bag of grapes wasn't the best idea..but otherwise, no
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: I thought it would be good to add in a "symptoms" line item - this way I can document that I started having round ligament pain, rib pain & a hefty case of "swollen ankles" right around this time.
Belly Button in or out? In-ish
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY
Looking forward to: the crib will be arriving this week! So excited to see it in the room! We also ordered a new leather ottoman/coffee table to replace our hardwood one that we currently have - that will be here this week as well! I will need to take some pics & share a little house tour soon! :)

Baby Girl's Wardrobe

Little G needs more clothes hangers already. I can't stop shopping for little girl outfits! I wish I could wear half this stuff... I feel like wearing a onesie & legwarmers would ROCK.

Here are a few of my favorites hanging in her closet... all of these are from Baby Gap.  A little ruffle-butt one piece pajama, adorable black & white ruffle dress to wear to a wedding we will be attending when she is approximately 2 months old, a denim jumper that I had my eye on forever, a white & grey star sleeper night gown & a denim overall skirt from grandma Bonnie! Seriously, I drool over this stuff. I can't wait to play dress up :)

Two of my other favorites (yep, you do see color here!) are these little one pieces from Old Navy. I love love love babies in stripes!

Don't worry, there very few "newborn" sized things in there. Sizes range from 3-6 months all the way up to 18 months. Also just found out that jcrew has baby clothes! Unfortunately they are a bit out of my price range... but so darn cute!

Where are your favorite places to shop for adorable baby clothes & accessories?! I have a feeling I may need more :)

Halloween

Yes, I painted my pregnant belly to look like a jack-o-lantern. I am that girl. For those who know me personally, they would not be surprised, considering I will literally do anything that is festive.I will also be putting reindeer antlers & a red nose on my SUV very soon.

Halloween is one of my FAVORITE holidays (probably second favorite - hubby & I had an in depth conversation the other morning listing our top five in order). I love making our Halloween costumes each year... and this year we went as....

THE WET BANDITS!

Harry & Marv from Home Alone

 I got roped into volunteered to be the DD & drive our friends out so we could go to a bar in our costumes. So not only did I look like a fat man.. but I was also drinking water in a loud, crowded bar surrounded by girls in lingerie wearing animal ear headbands. Fuck that. I'll never do it again.

On Halloween night, we had our first Trick-or-Treaters EVER! This is the first year we live in a house rather than an apartment, so I was beyond excited to hand out candy!

We turned on the fireplace & watched Hocus Pocus. I made pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for us to snack on (on top of all the candy). Recipe found here... along with lots of other things that will make you gain more than a pound a week during your pregnancy.

All in all, Halloween was a blast but I am soooooooooo excited that it's over..because that means it is officially THE HOLIDAYS! So excited for two Thanksgiving Dinners (may paint my belly to look like a stuffed turkey), Black Friday Shopping & spending Christmas with our families!!

23 Weeks

How far along? 23 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 13 lbs. +
Maternity clothes? Wearing one in this pic... Tummyts.com has the cutest maternity tops!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping great... strangely not waking up to pee as much even
Best moment this week:  Halloween! Loved eating all the candy, watching my favorite movies, dressing up & painting my belly like a pumpkin..pics to come! :) ALSO, jackpot, found a dresser/armoire on craigslist for the nursery!
Miss Anything? DRINKING...what else is there to miss??
Movement: all the time. we love laying in bed in the morning & feeling her move all over when we wake up
Food cravings: Halloween candy is the culprit this week
Anything making you queasy or sick: nope
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Round ligament pain & rib pain
Belly Button in or out? In-ish
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: HAPPY
Looking forward to: more nursery decorating, getting our crib next week & having my parents come visit in November!

22 Weeks

Leggings from Gap, Shirt from Victorias Secret, Scarf from JCrew

How far along? 22 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 13 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Bought some cute shirts on sale from Gap Maternity.. although I don't quite fill them out yet.. I think I will be happy that I have them in a few more weeks
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping great
Best moment this week: I won a free 3D ultrasound!! We got to see babygirl on the big screen...what a little sweetheart rubbing her eyes & pulling her legs up by her head.
Miss Anything? One of these days I might have something else that I miss as much as booze. Doubt it though. And now it's Halloween (followed by more holidays) and I will be missing the cocktailing festivities. I am going to whip up some warm apple cider for our Halloween party.. so at least I have that to look forward to :)
Movement: felt (what I think was) baby hiccups last night in bed!
Food cravings: sweets of all sorts... dear God candy corn is addicting.
Anything making you queasy or sick: too much candy corn?
Have you started to show yet: see picture above
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In... it is hanging on for dear life.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy as a clam
Looking forward to: HALLOWEEN...and thinking about what the baby will be next year! I LOVE making costumes... this year we are going as The Wet Bandits (Harry & Marv) from Home Alone. Also looking forward to after Halloween baby outfit deals :)