16 weeks

we had our 16 week appointment yesterday afternoon. the baby's heart rate is 160 and the doctor said everything seems to be right on track.  we did make our next appointment for june 20th.  thats the big one where we get to find out if the person im making is a miss or a mister :)  not exactly sure how we want to find out yet ... just husband, me and the doc at the appointment or do some kind of gender reveal specialness?  ill keep you updated on our plans. 

recent pregnancy adventures:
i did a bit of maternity clothing shopping over the weekend.  lets just say it was not a pleasant experience.  my goal was to find a few items that i didnt have to pay so much for and i thought memorial day weekend sales were just the ticket ... not so much.  on saturday i searched for the sales with no luck.  after church on sunday, i left husband to his video games and decided that i would just find something i like (mostly looking for shorts or dresses) that wouldnt break the bank and go for it.  i knew the belk in north raleigh and the one in goldsboro had a few things so i figured i would head to crabtree because it is the largest belks around.  i searched and searched for the small maternity section having one employee send me one way and the next, another.  finally, i stopped to ask someone to take me there.  the sales lady informs me that it is usually located in the corner next to swim wear but its not there now.  she went on to tell me that maternity wear is considered "seasonal" and to check back in a couple of months.  are you kidding me?!?!?!  now, any normal person would have said "ok" and went to the other stores in the mall that might have something.  i wanted to walk over there and see for myself that nothing was there.  would you like to know what i found?  their fur coat selection ... in may ... summer time ... out of season!!!  evidently, this belks considered maternity "seasonal" but not their furs.  needless to say i was beside myself and thought of asking to speak to a manager.  then i realised that i was so mad i would have cried if i talked to them and they would have written me off as just some crazy pregnant lady which would have only made me more angry.  i left and went to h&m where i found 3 non-maternity dresses that are perfect for the summer ... all 3 together were less than $40.  wooo hoo!  {but im still very pissed at belks}

growing like a weed

grant is growing up so fast!  i had the privilege of spending monday morning with him and his mommy to grab coffee at morning times and catch up.  i also was able to get a few pictures of grant being all 21 months and what not. although, looking at some of these shots, he looks more like he's 6 years old which blows my mind.

to see how much grant has grown, check out some of these other posts. 

• nate & tara = grant
• grant and those other two people
• grant is 6 months old
• 9 months and counting
• flask back friday

wise wednesday

etsy ecstasy: travel

we are gearing up for our babymoon/happy birthday to me trip.  thinking about what to pack makes me want to put everything in an old suitcase and head out.  of course, i own your average overnight bag and large luggage on wheels, but that doesnt mean that my soul isnt carrying summer dresses in a vintage suitcase.  

here are a few vintage suitcase inspired items i found on etsy that make my heart leap for joy:

wood grain suitcase by another jamie davis

vintage suitcase shelves from quirks by annie

photograph of a set of four vintage suitcases by michael spence photo

suitcase pet bed from spaghetteria

click the pics to shop!!!

are you traveling this holiday weekend?  did you pack huge rolling luggage or just an overnight bag?  

high five for friday

here is a list of my five favorite things from this week:

1) tuesday evening, i headed to my hometown for a funeral.  although it was a very sad occasion, it was great to see some people i havent seen in a very long time.  also, i got a chance to sit and eat dinner with my mom, dad and bro and visit with my sister and nephew.  

2)  people often ask us if mailey and omar are related.  i love that even though they do not share a bloodline, they look and love like they are brother and sister.  

3)  gummy worms helped me get over hump day.  

4)  made it through 15 weeks of pregnancy and my "baby-on-the-way-acne" is finally clearing up a bit.

5)  i am well aware of the ridiculous amount of photos i post of my dogs, but seriously, these ears make my heart smile!!!!

there you have it folks.  

have a wonderful weekend!!!

head on over to from my grey desk to see more:

im not pulling your leg

after reaching 100 followers, i am super excited to host another giveaway.  im sure some of you think i just made it all up :)  but i do have something in the works.  i am still waiting to hear back from the seller and as soon as i do, you guys will be for the first to know.  thank you for your patience! 

15 weeks

according to my baby bump app and several online resources, our baby is about 4 inches long.  he or she could even be sucking their thumb. 

not much has changed with me since last week. my face is clearing up a little bit but its still pretty bad.  my nose has been stuffy, but i read that its normal because of the "increased blood flow to my mucous membranes" ... sexy!  i still wouldn't consider any of the things i am loving to eat "cravings."  i did get into a bag of gummy worms yesterday that made me very happy and i have been drinking a lot of milk and oreos.  but i think that's mainly because of our recent switch to organic milk.  its sooooo good which makes me want to dip things into it :) 

so far, we have been really lucky with gathering the supplies we will soon need.  one friend is donating a bassinet and diaper genie and today i am taking home a high chair and bottle drying rack that a friend from work has given us.  my cousin has been kind enough to lend me some of her maternity clothes. this is really going to save us quite a bit of money especially for things to wear to work.  oh, and my sis is letting me use her maternity bathing suite for our upcoming trip.  thank you lovely ladies for your help and support!  

wise wednesday

instagram wall

remember when i was all gung ho about an instargram project and then never spoke of it again?  i promise i did finish this project.  in fact, it was complete soon after my post in march.  i just never got around to take any good pictures of it.  i still havent but i wanted to share it with you anyway. 

after my 4x4 prints from postalpix arrived in the mail, i spread all the pictures out on the table.  i tried to make sure there was a balance of color and content.  i take a lot of pictures of my dogs, so mainly i just made sure there were plenty of people pics between each dog photo.  


after figuring out how many rows i wanted of how many pictures, i found the center of my wall and started taping up the prints one by one.  i used painting tape to measure between each row.  

i love this picture it took of tara and her son

this blank wall had really been bothering me.  im glad i was able to add a little color and personality without having to paint anything.

there is only a piece of rolled up tape holding each photo.  as the days got hotter and the ac pumped harder, the corners started to roll up a bit.  i think its been bothering husband more than me.  i plan to get some double sided tape and fix this soon.  other then that, its has held up pretty well.                       (last photo was taken by aj)

i think my favorite part of this diy home decor project is that it can be easily updated with new photos at any time.  

side note:  i also have considered a similar instagram wall for the nursery, adding a photo of each of the important people in our lives.  as they get older, it will be a great tool to practice putting names with faces and learning to pray for others. 

somebody i used to know

i saw this video over at words of williams and thought it was awesome.  i do not watch the sing off so i had never heard this group sing but i was blown away by there talent.  take a look. 


happy monday!

speaking of words of williams, they are offering an awesome giveaway today.  i suggest you head on over {click here} and enter right away :)

we did it!

a big thanks to niki for being my 100th follower.   

actually, thanks to all of you! 

i will announcing the giveaway next week, so stay tuned.  

happy friday!!! 

high five for friday

yay for another friday!!!  

i have been looking forward to linking up with lauren for this week's high fives.

so here they are, in no particular order, 5 awesome things from this past week: 

1. after announcing our bundle of joy on the way, we have received so much love and encouragement from our friends and family.  it just reminds me how blessed we are.
2. finally found a maternity bathing suite that didnt cost one million dollars and doesnt make me feel like a 80 year old blimp.  
3. realizing that as of today, i am less than 3 weeks away from our babymoon trip.  
4. realizing that my awesome brother-in-law might be able to save us a chunk of change with some things that my jeep needs desperately. 
5. thai chopped chicken salad from panera ... its soooo yummy!

14 weeks

1st trimester summary:

i have been very blessed these first 14 weeks.  besides being super hungry, very tired and breaking out like a 13 year old, i wouldnt even know i was pregnant.  well, the growing belly is a dead giveaway too :o). i grew out of my bras pretty quickly and started wearing a few maternity items a couple of weeks ago (loving stretchy pants!!!).  luckily i own a lot of roomy dresses, like the one above, that are great during this transition.  so far, i havent had any strange cravings but i have noticed that if i mention in passing that i would love a ___(insert yummy food here), most of the time, it shows up.  not because i am having pregnancy cravings ... its just because husband is the bomb!!!

things i am not looking forward to:  

• spending money on bras and bathing suites that will support the growing girls.  it is expensive to find something that is supportive when im not pregnant.  so spending a lot for something that is temporary seems silly, but to not find and purchase the appropriate garments is not an option.
• random people asking me very personal or just inappropriate/dumb questions.  i have a very low tolerance for this lately and cannot seem to muster up the "just smile and keep your mouth shut" approach.  i know i will be getting a lot of practice so i may as well get used to it.   
• people being so judgmental - again, having a very low tolerance for women making other women feel like crap about themselves.  im sure i will do a entire post dedicated to this in the near future, so i will just leave at that for now.  

 things i am very much looking forward to in my 2nd trimester:

• rocking my belly at the beach
  
• finding out the gender
• registering
• more energy
• starting the nursery. 
• being out of the awkward "is she getting fat/is she pregnant" phase
• laying in bed with husband talking about names and what our baby will be like. 
• our babymoon!!!!! (which i will tell you more about in a later post)

100

hey there best.day.ever. readers!  yesterday evening, i noticed that i am only a few people away from 100 followers.  if i never reach 100, i am perfectly ok with that, this blog is not about numbers.  but i know there are a few of you out there that read and comment on a regular basis but you are having trouble committing.  so i thought i would give you an incentive.  lets just say, i would love to offer my 100 followers a giveaway :). 

happy thursday!!!

wise wednesday



via



reading habits

as the season finales air one by one, i find myself longing for a good read.  it took almost 2 months to finish the most recent book because i only read right before bed (meaning 4 pages and then i was out). 

well, husband bought the first book of the hunger games 10 minutes after we left the movie theater.  he has had ample time to start it and has not.  so naturally i picked it up off the back of the toilet and put it on my nightstand and now im hooked.  i was sitting at work today thinking about how much i wished i was at home reading.  *sigh*  summer is officially right around the corner, meaning nothing new on hulu could take me away from the something new on my kindle.  

if you have any good suggestions for my reading list this summer, do tell.  


below is a list of some of my favorite books so you can get an idea of what i like. 

• the help
• the kite runner
• a thousand splendid suns 
• water for elephants
• time travelers wife
• life of pi
• black cross
• bossypants
• daughters of fortune series
• harry potter series
• the boy in the striped pajamas
• sarahs key

and here are the books i plan to read this summer:

• hunger game series
• blue like jazz
• heaven is for real
• belly laughs

etsy ecstasy: nursery prints

i wont be able to really focus on the nursery until we find out the gender, but i do have a few ideas.  one of those ideas includes covering a wall with framed prints that are colorful and inspire.  below is a collections of prints i really love from etsy.  of course some work for just a boy or girl but most would be fine for either. 

the dream catcher by parada creations

so loved by the wheatfield

a little peacock print by deka animals

 

every beat of my heart by hair brained schemes

lone feather by satchel and sage

good morning sunshine by UUPP



rawrr means i love you in dinosaur by hair brained schemes

bloom where you are planted by parada creations



{click on the picture to shop}

i may have to do another post to show you all the awesome prints i found on etsy that would be perfect for my kitchen too  ;-)

high five for friday

linking up again with from my grey desk to share five awesome things from my week.  

1.  knowing that omar is getting the hang of this whole "manners" thing.  this is how he and mailey ask permission to join us on the sofa or bed. 

2. cuteness with husband

3.  love that berries are in season right now!!!

4.  finally announcing that husband and i are expecting.

5.  my very first birchbox arriving in the mail

big news!

today is a best. day. ever. kinda day.

the day i get to share with the world that ....

husband and i are having a baby!!!

... and to answer your questions:

1.  due date is november 9th
2.  yes, it was planned

3.  yes, i am aware our lives are about to change forever

4.  yes, our families are super excited

5.  yes, my doctor said one cup of caffeine a day is fine

6.  no, we do not have a preference if its a boy or girl

7.  we have ideas for names but will not be sharing at this time

8.  yes, i am aware that "you just knew it" :)

9.  yes, we are totally stoked!

so much more to come about this news.  i have been dying to do an etsy ecstasy post for baby/maternity stuff and share pictures of nursery ideas.  this secret has kept me a little quiet in the blogging world but now its out there and im excited to share this journey with you. 

wise wednesday

today is a good day to be reminded!