Monthly Archives: May 2014

blog every day in may | day 10: on my heart

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I’ve had a countdown widget on my phone’s home screen for a few months now.

Today it reads, “53 days until my baby is born“.

It’s obviously just an estimate, but seeing that reminder each day just gives me a little dose of reality.

We are SO CLOSE to having two kids. Two little girls who need their mama and daddy for everything.

I can’t even explain how grateful I am for both of them.

Our Peanut gets stronger and stronger by the day, making her presence even more known. Her wiggles and kicks are the last things I’m aware of before I fall asleep at night, and they’re what I first recognize when I wake up in the morning.

Soon enough, those kicks will be replaced by cries for milk and diaper changes.

I am already so smitten by this new little girl. Between her and Kaya, my heart might actually explode from being so full.

_MG_5022(Kaya, 3 days old)

I just hope I can be the best mama to the two of them. I’ve wondered and worried a little about how I’ll balance a newborn needing to nurse with a toddler who can seem more like a little monkey at times.

I’ve realized that I want to give both girls 100 percent of my best efforts, but I can’t help asking myself how it’ll be possible (100% divided by 2 is 50%… and that isn’t really what I’m going for). I want them both to have all the things they need and some of what they want. And I hope that my attention isn’t so divided that either of them feels left out.

I know it’s going to take some time to figure out a new routine and way of life. This new baby is only going to add to our lives, even if it might be a little difficult at times, especially in the beginning. We’ll figure it out and do better than we ever thought we could.

blog every day in may | day 9: a favorite meal

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My dad-in-law and I are mac-‘n-cheese-aholics (I’m pretty sure that’s the whole reason we go to Cracker Barrel. The chicken is good, but the mac is ahhh-maz-ing. Anyway…)

I really like making things from scratch, so I’m always trying new mac ‘n cheese recipes at home. We made this one this week, and it actually turned out deliciously creamy! Even Kaya loved it 🙂

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Linking up with Erin!

baby #2: 32 weeks

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_MG_2345Baby’s size: The book says she’s nearly 19 inches long and almost 4 pounds, but we had an ultrasound this week and she actually came in at about 3 pounds 5 ounces.
Maternity clothes?: Um yes.
Gender: She was confirmed to still be a little girl at our ultrasound!
Symptoms: Achy pelvis, but that’s all.
Sleep: If I’m really exhausted, then I sleep great. If I’m just “tired”, I toss and turn a lot.
Movement: This girl is almost always moving. I’ll be sitting in a meeting and she actually distracts me! I feel her even when I’m running sometimes, which is so odd, since I think exercise used to put Kaya to sleep.
Cravings: We are not even going to talk about how much ice cream I’ve had this week… I’m keeping Kroger in business all on my own, probably!
What I miss: Nada.
Anything making you queasy or sick?: Still a little nauseous here and there.
Belly Button in or out?: In.
Exercising?: Ran 20 miles and walked 4. This week felt a lot easier exercise-wise than the previous one!
Mood: Pregnancy hormones are crazy. I’ll want to cry and not know why… and other days I’m completely fine.
Best moment this week: We had a bit of an unexpected ultrasound this week. As I’ve mentioned before, my fundal height has been measuring about a week behind every time I visit my OB/midwife. This week, I measured even further behind, so my midwife ordered an ultrasound to check on Peanut’s growth. As far as I know, everything looked great.

It was so amazing to see her again now that she’s so much bigger and more developed. She was blinking, grabbing her toes, swallowing fluid, and practicing breathing. She even covered up her little face at one point so we couldn’t see her! I can’t wait to kiss these cute cheeks so soon.

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Comparison: Same shirt, different bump! 32 weeks with Kaya! This one definitely looks and feels lower to me.32weekcomparison

Month 7 is complete!month7collage

blog every day in may | day 6: my favorite pinterest board

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If you know me, you also know I have a pretty big sweet tooth. However, it goes a little further than that- I LOVE decorating cakes and creating cute little fondant flowers and animals to top them with. So, naturally, I love anything on Pinterest that’ll help me learn a new decorating technique or inspire me to create something of my own.
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I thought it’d be helpful to share some of my favorite cake-related pins. These recipes have never let me down!



Tara Irwin’s pin on Pinterest.



Linking up with Erin!

may 2014 goals

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I say it every month, but I cannot believe it’s May! Looking at my checklist, it doesn’t look like I did all too well for April, but I promise you, it feels like I’ve been very busy and productive nevertheless!

1. Read one book and keep on keeping up with the Book of Mormon 90-day challenge. The 90-day challenge has been feeling a lot more challenging lately… I’m still making an effort so that’s good enough for me.

2. Do two more crafts. I did just ONE real craft this month.

3. Choose a pattern and get supplies for Peanut’s quilt. I finally decided on the quilt I want to make, and Joann’s is having a sale during this next week, so I’ll hopefully get over there to pick out my fabrics and get started!

4. Make four more new recipes. 

5. Order the space-saver bags and go through Kaya’s closet. I’ve gone through her 6-12 month clothing and it’s in a bag!

6. Check ten things off this spring cleaning list. Haha. I did my regular weekly cleaning but didn’t do any deep scrubbing this month…

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Goals for May:

1. Get Kaya’s closet organized. With two little girls living in there soon, we really need some kind of shelf/cubby to store things. The outgrown clothes are just about under control now, but there are still books and random objects that really need a home.

2. Sort/wash/organize newborn and 0-3 month clothing and cloth diapers.

3.Complete the front of Peanut’s quilt.

4. Get all of my 2013 photos off the laptop and onto the external hard drive. I LOVE Adobe Lightroom… but let’s be serious. My photos can’t just sit in there forever. I need to get them all organized and clean up our laptop.

5. Complete the 90-day Book of Mormon challenge.

6. Donate old clothes.

There are probably a million more things I should add to this list… but I don’t want to make it too overwhelming. Hopefully I get all this done, plus some!

blog every day in may | day 4: react to the word “simplify”

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As wives and mothers, I think it’s so easy to overwhelm ourselves with responsibilities. The house should be spotless; runny noses and dirty faces should be immediately wiped clean; dinners should be nutritious but still thrifty; we should look for ways to serve others, and we should somehow still have time to be crafty and create amazing things.

A lot of those things might be trivial, but in the midst of everyday life, they sometimes seem crucial. It can be so easy to feel weighed down by everything we think we need to do in a day’s work, and that’s why I love the quote below. As long as we are doing what really matters, we’re succeeding. Simplifying my to-do list to the truly essential aspects of caring for my family really gives me better perspective and a greater sense of accomplishment.

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Read the whole talk here.

Linking up with Erin!

blog every day in may | day 3: my best piece of blogging advice

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blogeverydaymaybutton3I’m not an “expert” at blogging (is there even such a thing, anyway?), but I have definitely learned a lot about it in the past five years.

I’ve heard the same comment a few times from several friends (interested in starting their own blogs) so I figured I’d base my post on it:

“I’m just not sure how to get started!”

Of course, there’s all the technical stuff- will you use Blogspot or WordPress? How do you make a design, buttons, and graphics? But my friends are usually referring to how they aren’t sure how to get started writing.

Finding your voice on the internet is hard. I have to admit, I feel like I’m still searching for mine sometimes, but I’ve come a looong way since I first started blogging. Look back at some of my old posts. My writing style and voice have definitely evolved over time!

So here it is: my number one piece of advice for starting a blog and finding your voice is to just write, and be sure you know why you’re writing.

And, very importantly… be yourself! My main reason for blogging is to create something that my children can look at one day and see how our family has grown. I want them to have a glimpse of what our every-day life looked like. I want them to realize how much their mama has always loved them. I want them to know what was most important to me at a certain season of our lives.

Blogging has been a great way to “meet” new friends and even learn more about myself, but overall, I try to stay true to my original purpose.

Find your purpose, be yourself, and just write. In time, you’ll find your voice.

Linking up with Erin!