Goodbye June!

Last week I was LOVING the fact that I was feeling better.  I even took a day to clean out my Yukon, which is never something I like to do.  I really needed to de-fur all of Sadie's lovely hair in there and I am so happy that I did. I broke a sweat trying to get those darn little pieces out of the back!  Definitely counts as a workout.

Ta-da!

I even broke out that juicer, like I wanted to and made some delicious apple, beet, carrot w/ lemon!

I wanted to fill up on some healthy goodness before we headed over to my in-laws for dinner.  I got my Chicken French wahoo!!

Daddy and Brooke playing on the steps he used to when he was a kid.



Ok, so maybe the extra energy is mixed with a little bit of 'nesting' because Friday came and I just had to make jam.

The strawberries were so sweet!

This darn thing took forever to boil and I have to say that is the "hardest part" haha.

I just made a small batch, 5 jars.  Not really enough to give away, sorry everyone!

Shortly after our jam making sesh, little miss took a tumble and had her first bloody lip.  We felt so bad! Thank goodness Joe was sitting next to her and kind of caught her with his foot, otherwise her whole face would have landed on the driveway.  She's a trooper!

Saturday she was full of it, running around, singing, dancing, and playing with Daddy's shoes.

Sunday we went to my dad's and hung out with everyone since our step brother is in town, and my sister will be gone for the fourth. It was a laid back pool day!

We had to take our pic since we were all rocking the 'ray ban' look.

My loves!

This pic cracks me up!! We are shoving our faces and Joe made sure to snap pictures.

She LOVES to feed people. Gets all excited and claps, "yay!"

Brooke just loved the pool-- she's in the "sunshade float" in the orange.

Love her little suit.

The only "downer" of the week is my poor husband and his poison ivy! We have tried everything and it just keeps popping up in more spots.  He was so uncomfortable Saturday night [after trying Apple cider vinegar] I grabbed a bowl of cold water, ice, and dumped a packet of baby bath --Aveeno's colloidal oatmeal and soaked some washcloths and wrapped him up.

Ugh! The worst.  Luckily neither Brooke nor I have it, but Joe has it pretty bad.  Go away stupid poison ivy!!  We have too much Summer fun to enjoy without you ruining it!

So here we are Monday, and I have lots to do to close out June, get ready for July and all its festivities! It's my faaaaaaavorite month for many reasons, and I can't wait to get this party started. 

To kick of the first day tomorrow, we get to see baby #2 again!! First trimester screening already! Yay!

11 Weeks

I am feeling SO much better these days! I am still really tired, but the nausea has subsided I do believe! I am craving good, healthy foods---like desperately need Thursday to get here so I can stock up on fruits/veggies from our CSA/Farmer's market.  I am dying to juice!! I need lemons, ginger, greens, beets, apples--in ma belly!

Tuesday we had a checkup to hear the heartbeat--so I took some photos to document.

I then went back and found the photo of myself I took on the first day we heard Brooke's little heartbeat.  I wore the same skirt for good luck ;)

I think I'm already carrying a little differently, but I also know that I weighed almost 10 pounds less when I got pregnant this time than I did with Brooke. Since I was #stmartinbikinibody and all that jazz.

I don't think my rump is growing with my bump, so that's interesting!!!

On the way to the Dr, I was looking for a donation box for our clothes that have been riding around forever.  I had NO idea one of these bad boys opened up right around the corner from my Dr's.

So. Good!  I hadn't had one since college. I only got one and it was totally worth it.

I got a little frustrated because we waited a half an hour for the Dr…and trying to entertain a 17 month old who hates sitting still, was rather tricky.  We played peek-a-boo, I changed her diaper, she watched MMC, and ate snacks.

All for a 2 min checkup to hear the most amazing little sound of a new heartbeat.  It was 155 and totally made me tear up.

I actually worked out yesterday too which is amazing because I have felt so terrible these last few weeks.  I can totally feel it today!  My thighs are burning, my arms and back are sore and I am ready to just rest, since we just spent the day at the Museum of Play. 

I'm excited to get into the second trimester and continue to watch the bump grow!  I definitely show earlier than others, but this time I definitely feel like I have a baby belly now.  How fun!  Do you find that most people show early or most show late? I always compare my bump to others...

Here's a vlog I made on Sunday updating my pregnancy.  

Looky Looky!!

Call it an upgrade.

A face lift.

A change of scenery.

Whatever you want.

My little piece of this internet needed a new look!!  A few weeks ago Erin said she was really interested in spreading the word about her biz in designing.  I quickly wrote her back and let her know, I was excited to work with her again and give myself a new look!  She designed my page last year and it was everything I wanted.

This time, I was looking for sleek, simple, and yet something that still showed my personally. I can be serious, but I also just love having fun.  I also knew that I just adore these colors [orange, pink w/ a pop of neon] as they were my wedding colors four years ago.  And while that may seem like old news, I just love what she has done with it!

I cannot believe how fast and easy it was to work with her, and she literally read my mind as for what I was looking for. I even got a few new additions, like my You Tube channel now has a link and bloglovin.

I love my new little button as well.

Thank you so much Erin, for helping me out in an area I know nothing about--web design! I will be back again in the future, as I'm sure as my family grows, so will my change in style.

If you are looking for something new, check out her portfolio!  Her prices are really great and she's super quick to get the job done. I highly recommend Designed by Erin

Summer Story: A Picnic

I saw this quote online and it just really got me thinking…

What will our summer story be??  I don't want to be heading into Fall and upset that we didn't "do enough Summer" if ya know what I mean.  So I made sure to make shit happen this weekend!  OK, Sunday really, since Saturday Joe worked all day, came home a little late and I threw together the laziest dinner ever!   I had the grilled chicken (just re-heat and serve) from Trader Joe's.  Broccoli with lemon and butter [obsessed lately] and rice.  I may have made some brownies for dessert too.

We were asleep on the couch before 10.

Sunday we got up and I made pancakes with bacon.  A little weekend treat!   Joe headed out early to set up for our rental open house, I actually curled my hair--whoa--and packed a picnic lunch in a cooler for us to enjoy after the open house.  I was determined to start making the most of Summer!

We hung out while Daddy showed the house.  I think we found the perfect renter; yay!

Shirt made by Leah @Simply Made with Love

It was perfect day! Sunny with a breeze. 

We found a perfect little spot to have our little lunch.  We were hungry bears!!

I kept it simple with pb&j, grapes, and chex mix.  Can't really go wrong with that.

Brooke is totally in the monkey see monkey do stage, but she doesn't like sitting still. So she peaced out when I laid down.

Joe said it looked like I was doing Yoga here haha.

The sun felt great and spending time just us three, with no real rush to be anywhere was just what we needed.

When we got home, Brooke took a little nap, I got to read little more in the sun and we barbecued for dinner.  

Life.

is.

Good.

I love that we have already started writing, our summer story.

Now to do the dishes that I ignored yesterday and get some things at the store that we've literally run out of.  It was good to "take a day off" yesterday. Our souls needed it.

How was your weekend?

Five on Friday

Just a quick hello!!  I'd say we had a great week.  The weather has gone from hot and humid to cool and breezy.  I like both, so that's ok with me!  Not a ton of plans for the weekend. We have to show our rental property to get that thing rented for July, so Joe is busy with that.  Otherwise I have items to be grilled and a deck to lounge on.

{one}

I made myself sit for a timeout and finish a collage. I've always had a creative side, I just don't always let myself tap into it.  I ripped some things out of magazines when we went away on vacation, and finally just cut and pasted them to a scrapbook sheet.  It makes me smile and a nice little reminder of how fun Summer will be.  I look forward to staying really healthy this pregnancy and hope this continues to inspire me!

{two}

On those hot and humid days, we pulled the sprinkler out, watered our plants, and even played in the rain when it briefly came down!  This was my favorite day.  I love this little dress we got her in St. Martin. Barefoot. Sweaty. Soaking wet from the water.  Love love love summertime.

{three}

Thursday was our first day to grab our CSA bag at our local farm market.  It's cool because they hold it right at the local mall parking lot and there are tons of vendors.  I may have made a pitstop at the Bux before we went and lil miss had her first cake pop. Cue: she was covered in pink goo in no time.

I am so excited to have this little tradition with my kid(s)--whoa!  I think it will be so fun as they get older to experience this each year.

My husband actually met the lady who runs this local farm and I SO SO thankful he did! They are a super sweet family and all of their practices are very old school, traditional, no nonsense farming!  This was our first share!  They are not certified organic, but if you know anything about farming, sometimes even certified organic farmers use sprays…no bueno.  So this family know what's up and keeping junk off their food is their number one priority!

We did a CSA two years ago, but it was totally different. We got a lot of random stuff and really no fruit. I can tell you that this quality is already much better and I swear the strawberries are sweeter, juicier and way better than Wegmans or Trader Joe's. I know this for a fact, because I have all three in my fridge.  Well, the ones from this farm are mostly gone because lil miss and I ate a few…I am totally craving all things healthy---YAY!

{four}

Date night!  We had our first night out in awhile and left Brooke with a real babysitter; like legit paid someone! I feel so old haha. Usually family or friends watch her, but it just worked out and I think everyone had a ball!

Joe planned the night and picked out the restaurant himself. It was really good!  We went to Rooney's as I have never been and it had been years since he had gone.  It was tucked away in a quiet part of the city, and had that traditional/classic feel.  The food was delicious and I want to go back when I'm not pregnant to dive into all the foods I cannot eat!

I broke into my maternity gear, as it was a little chilly for dresses and I really don't have a lot of regular clothes because I've been prego or fat the last few years and I need some new tops….but since I'm prego again, I just went with this.  I think it's cute.

Oh hey there bitty bump!

10 weeks 5 days

{five}

I just stepped out for my first "me" time in a few weeks. It was short and sweet, but did just the trick.  I am loving this new coral with sparkles gel.

Little things to make me happy!

What are you up to this Friday??