It’s probably no surprise that my favorite form of social media is Instagram! While I definitely think it’s too easy to waste time on social media in general, I love the simplicity that it presents. So many of my favorite moments are all neatly displayed, and I like to look back at them often. I love seeing the highlights of other people’s lives, too! Linking up with Erin!
(Santorini, Greece, 2009)
My junior year of college, I was blessed with the opportunity to study abroad. Our home base was in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, but my peers and I traveled around as much of Europe as our time and budgets would allow.
Exploring Europe truly changed the way I saw the world, and if I could go back, I would in a heartbeat. This time, I’d love to take Michael with me to show him all the amazing things I discovered before (and of course, explore some new places, too)! I loved vacationing as a family of three last week, but if we went to Europe, I think I’d rather have it be sans kids (especially since you do a lot of walking to really see everything).
Watching the sunset, indulging in the best food you’ve ever had, and riding four-wheelers all around a Grecian island? Sign me up (maybe in ten years or so…)!
(written May 22nd)
I love my little photo-bomber this week 🙂
Baby’s size: The book says about 19.75 inches long and almost 5 lbs. We finally got to talk to the OB about our ultrasound from a couple weeks ago, and she said everything was great, except her abdominal circumference was a bit small (which is an indicator of whether or not she’s getting enough nutrients). So we have a follow-up ultrasound in a couple weeks to check on her again. I was 33 weeks, 6 days at my appointment and my fundal height measured at 31 weeks. The OB has the same opinion as my midwife, though- I’m a small girl, so I could just have a small baby in there.
Maternity clothes?: Yes.
Gender: Princess 
Symptoms: I can feel my pelvis loosening up!
Sleep: Over the past month (at least), I wake up on my own around 5:30 am. Our vacation put a temporary stop to it, but now I’m back to being awake super early! I just need to actually get up and accomplish things instead of trying to fall back asleep.
Movement: All the time. Sometimes it feels like she’s scraping at my insides (ouch), or popping her joints or something.
Cravings: Ice cream and Twizzlers (which I always craved with Kaya, but this is only the second time I’ve had any during this pregnancy). Otherwise, I really haven’t been too interested in food the past few weeks. I eat to live, not live to eat, I guess!
What I miss: Sleeping better?
Anything making you queasy or sick?: It’s crazy to me that I’m still nauseous at times. It’s like it never truly went away during this pregnancy. Meat, dirty diapers, and picking up after Jax are not my favorite things right now.
Belly Button in or out?: Flat and pretty unattractive (as far as belly buttons go, anyway).
Exercising?: Last week (I count my miles from Sunday to Saturday) was our vacation, and I snuck in one run before we left (3 miles). We did a good amount of walking while at the beach, though.
Mood: Part of me wants time to slow down, but there’s a piece of my heart that just wants to hold her already and know she’s safe. Pregnancy hormones are crazy and I cry at the drop of a hat (but I’m happy, I promise)!
Best moment this week: Celebrating our 5-year wedding anniversary!
Comparison: 34 weeks with Kaya! This little girl still looks so much lower to me.
(the nose-picker)
(pizza… with a fork?!)
(chapstick-aholic)
(putting on “makeup” in the morning)
Happy Friday!
Linking up with Erin!
Sometimes, it’s hard to find the willpower to get everything done (not that I do get everything checked off of my to-do list every day…)
It’s hard to be 8.5 months pregnant and still find the energy to work out first thing in the morning. It can be hard to handle the tantrums of an almost-two-year old. The laundry is never completely folded and put away, and dinner lately isn’t usually as nutritious as I’d like it to be.
Despite all these “hard” things, I somehow keep trying to do better. My biggest motivation is knowing that through the enabling power of Christ’s atonement, I can improve each day. By His grace, I can become stronger, in every sense of the word- physically, mentally, and spiritually. I want to be an example for my children and show them that we can set any goal and work toward it.
So, even when I feel like the day didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, there’s always tomorrow to grow a little better.
When you’re single, you’ve got a list (at least a mental one) of all the qualities you hope to find in a spouse.
He has to be smart. Funny. Faithful and active in the church. Handsome.
When you meet the guy who could be “the one”, you ask yourself a whole bunch of questions: Do I see myself marrying him? Buying a house? Having kids? Growing old together? Spending eternity getting to know each other?
Maybe, when the answer to all those questions is “yes”, that’s when most people decide to get married.
I knew I was going to marry Michael weeks before we were even officially a “couple”.
But being young and even more clueless about life than we are now, I didn’t realize that there were a whole bunch of other questions you’ll need to answer yes to when you commit your life to someone else.
Will you work hard while still finishing college to care for the both of you?
Wipe her tears when she’s crying over some completely irrational fear?
Remind her who she is when she forgets and isn’t sure which path to take?
Care about the things she cares about (even if that means spending $400 on surgery for a guinea pig)?
Never complain about having frozen pizza for the third time in one week?
Let her steal all your pajamas when her big, pregnant belly doesn’t fit in her own?
Hold her hand through thirty hours of labor?
Tell her that she’s wonderful and beautiful, even when she feels like she’s failed and is a complete mess?
I’ve been blessed with a companion who has always said yes.
I could not be more thankful. Five years ago, I never imagined where we’d be right now. I couldn’t have predicted how intensely we’d love our little girl, and how blessed we’d be to be welcoming another princess so soon.
Thank you, buddy, for the most amazing (and fastest) five years of my life. I’m so grateful to be on this journey with you.
This might sound crazy, but when I read the prompt for today, I was honestly a little stumped. I feel like (especially lately) we are always on the go and doing something! Even my hobbies get listed as “to-dos” (editing photos, blogging, crafting, etc.), so I’m not sure how relaxed I am when I’m trying to accomplish those, either.
I realized, though, that there is one thing that never fails to relax me…
Music.
Listening to music can dissipate any strange mood I might be in or worries I might be having. Kaya loves to dance around crazily right there with me, so now it’s an even better stress-breaker.
How do you relax?
1. Sally’s Baking Addiction. Seriously. Anyone with a sweet tooth (read: everyone) needs to know about this site. Everything I’ve tried from her blog has been ahhh-mazing. Here are my favorite chocolate-chip cookies ever!
2. All Things Target. I haven’t couponed in a while, but if I know I’m going to Target, this is a site I always check. There are some great deals to be found and this blog makes it pretty easy!
3. The Lady Okie Blog. If you need a laugh, go read some of Amanda’s stuff! She cracks me up with just about every post (and no, she didn’t pay me to say that). She’s also a runner so that’s pretty cool, too.
What are your favorite blogs to read?
Before we left for the beach, we tried to get as much time outside as we could before some crazy thunderstorms were about to hit. We played on the slide and visited Daddy for lunch!
We went shopping and found some great treasures- 4 shirts, 2 dresses, a dress and a shirt for Kaya, two stuffed animals, this fishing game (I had it when I was a kid), and 9 kids’ books for $38. That is hard to beat!
Jax still tries to give us those cute puppy-dog eyes to get what he wants. Too bad it doesn’t work!
Kaya was sooo excited for our trip to the beach:
And she was so exhausted after our trip that she was fighting sleep on the way home from church on Sunday. She wanted to close her eyes and I kept waking her up, so she just kept making this incredibly funny face instead!
Happy Tuesday! 🙂
Making… a quilt for baby #2! I have all the fabric ironed… the next step is just cutting all of it!
Cooking… cooking is definitely not my forte when I’m pregnant. Nothing really appeals to me. I made these homemade refried beans yesterday though, so we’ll be having the leftovers tonight.
Reading… the Book of Mormon in 90 days! I’m so close to being finished and I’m actually really impressed with myself for coming this far.
Playing… Hunter Hayes’ new album 🙂
Wishing… that we were still at the beach! Our days there just went by too quickly.
Waiting… for Kaya to wake up from her nap… and 44 more days for Peanut to get here!
Wondering… what Michael has planned for our anniversary. He says he has a family surprise, and I am completely clueless when it comes to guessing. Just a few more days!
Hoping… that our new little girl doesn’t come early. I feel like I still have tons to do before she can make an appearance!
Marveling… that a whole new person is living in my stomach. I think I could be pregnant a million times and still be amazed by the fact that my body made a human.
Needing… to decide exactly what I’m going to do with Kaya’s room. I thought I wanted to get her a toddler bed… but she slept in a regular “big” bed on vacation, so I’m contemplating that instead. I need to figure it out and rearrange sooner than later!
Wearing… a maternity top, denim shorts, and one of Michael’s big Virginia Tech jackets, since I’m out of long sleeves that actually fit. Haha.
Feeling… baby girl kick my hand anytime it barely touches my stomach!
Linking up with Erin!