fridays are pretty magical period, but in particular, every other friday is my favorite. every other friday i don't have to work and so begin my five days of freedom. i like to take some time to myself, sit down and figure out what i need to get done over the next few days, and figure out what i also WANT to do.
brad is at work, my house is clean, and i get a little time to myself to plot my attack on the day. it's like the perfect mix for my type A personality that deep down loves to relax, but has to get things done to feel like i deserve to relax!
so anyways, today i'm sitting at panera enjoying a cinnamon crunch bagel (no so healthy, oh so good) that isn't toasted or sliced [the girl at the counter asked me twice... then said, so you just want it cold? yes, i'm weird]. and writing to you all instead of writing all over my planner.... whoops.
so enough rambling, i hope you all have an amazing friday and an even better weekend! if you're racing good luck!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
pregnancy rant
oh my goodness y'all... i thought i was getting pretty used to everyone giving me their pregnancy and labor and child whispering advice, but today got me!
background FYI. i got checked at 36 weeks and was 1 cm dilated and not effaced at all. it hurt and i bled for almost 4 days... aka stress for me. i talked to my MD about it and she explained that even if i was 3 or 4 cm dilated and highly effaced, that still doesn't really give you an idea when you're going to go into labor. I had a conversation with MY doctor and I made the decision to not get checked every week since it really doesn't seem to matter in MY opinion. you would think i made the decision to not get a single ultrasound over 40 weeks or something. people are acting like i'm a crazy person.
bottom line, i'll go into labor when i go into labor. don't worry about it! and people telling me "don't give birth on XX date." seriously? seriously?!?!?!
and what's with the people who think just because they've given birth or, hell, even known someone who's given birth, think that my experience is going to be 100% like theirs. c'mon people. i had no idea that i was surrounded by so many board certified OBGYNs who are experts in their field!
end rant. well, for now anyways ;)
background FYI. i got checked at 36 weeks and was 1 cm dilated and not effaced at all. it hurt and i bled for almost 4 days... aka stress for me. i talked to my MD about it and she explained that even if i was 3 or 4 cm dilated and highly effaced, that still doesn't really give you an idea when you're going to go into labor. I had a conversation with MY doctor and I made the decision to not get checked every week since it really doesn't seem to matter in MY opinion. you would think i made the decision to not get a single ultrasound over 40 weeks or something. people are acting like i'm a crazy person.
bottom line, i'll go into labor when i go into labor. don't worry about it! and people telling me "don't give birth on XX date." seriously? seriously?!?!?!
and what's with the people who think just because they've given birth or, hell, even known someone who's given birth, think that my experience is going to be 100% like theirs. c'mon people. i had no idea that i was surrounded by so many board certified OBGYNs who are experts in their field!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
baby m's nursery!
here we are at 38 weeks and baby m's nursery still isn't 100% complete, but i decided to show you all some pics anyways!
you enter the room on the far left (you can kind of see her neck roll hanging on the door). so clothes hamper (tj maxx), chest of drawers (buy buy baby but already discontinued), book basket (personalized and stuffed with books by my sweet friend sara) and closet door. on the chest of drawers: lamp (ikea), two sophies (gifts), elephant bank (life way christian), wubbanubs, and an apothecary jar (world market) full of teething toys and soothies (gifts).
this is the wall directly across from you when you walk in the room. basket (gift) full of stuffed animals and toys (gifts), crib (buy buy baby discontinued), owl rocker (gift) and striped tote (gift from brad's mom and she added the strip of fabric to make it match the room) full of blankets (gifts). the banner over the crib is from my baby shower in kentucky, the afghan on crib was crocheted by my granny june, the crib sheet is from target and brad's mom made the crib skirt.
shelf (ikea), rocking chair (the one my mom used to rock me and my little brother... i had it refinished and love the way it turned out!), lamp (ikea) and pouf ottoman (land of nod). brad's mom is a whiz with the sewing machine and she made the window treatments. i picked the fabrics and found and painted the little elephant buttons that are on the valences (big contribution, i know!). she did a wonderful job, gotta love getting custom drapes! i'm waiting for some gray fabric square totes from land of nod to fit into the cubes on the shelf. i'm hoping that will cut down on the cluttered look because i don't love the look right now.
chest of drawers/changing table (buy buy baby) and diaper pail (gift). i'm using the crate (michael's) to store diapers, wipes, and the like. brad's mom made the changing pad cover and the wall banner is also from my shower. fun side note: the two outfits on the changing pad are mine! i'll show you all close ups later, but one is my coming home outfit from the hospital! mom brought them over this weekend, too cute!
other than the cluttered feeling i'm getting from the shelf area and the corner to the left of it, i'm loving the look of the nursery so far. i've got some really cute silhouettes of both of the pups that i'm trying to hunt down frames for. i'm planning to hang them between the two windows.
so what do you all think? anything you'd recommend?
you enter the room on the far left (you can kind of see her neck roll hanging on the door). so clothes hamper (tj maxx), chest of drawers (buy buy baby but already discontinued), book basket (personalized and stuffed with books by my sweet friend sara) and closet door. on the chest of drawers: lamp (ikea), two sophies (gifts), elephant bank (life way christian), wubbanubs, and an apothecary jar (world market) full of teething toys and soothies (gifts).
this is the wall directly across from you when you walk in the room. basket (gift) full of stuffed animals and toys (gifts), crib (buy buy baby discontinued), owl rocker (gift) and striped tote (gift from brad's mom and she added the strip of fabric to make it match the room) full of blankets (gifts). the banner over the crib is from my baby shower in kentucky, the afghan on crib was crocheted by my granny june, the crib sheet is from target and brad's mom made the crib skirt.
shelf (ikea), rocking chair (the one my mom used to rock me and my little brother... i had it refinished and love the way it turned out!), lamp (ikea) and pouf ottoman (land of nod). brad's mom is a whiz with the sewing machine and she made the window treatments. i picked the fabrics and found and painted the little elephant buttons that are on the valences (big contribution, i know!). she did a wonderful job, gotta love getting custom drapes! i'm waiting for some gray fabric square totes from land of nod to fit into the cubes on the shelf. i'm hoping that will cut down on the cluttered look because i don't love the look right now.
chest of drawers/changing table (buy buy baby) and diaper pail (gift). i'm using the crate (michael's) to store diapers, wipes, and the like. brad's mom made the changing pad cover and the wall banner is also from my shower. fun side note: the two outfits on the changing pad are mine! i'll show you all close ups later, but one is my coming home outfit from the hospital! mom brought them over this weekend, too cute!
other than the cluttered feeling i'm getting from the shelf area and the corner to the left of it, i'm loving the look of the nursery so far. i've got some really cute silhouettes of both of the pups that i'm trying to hunt down frames for. i'm planning to hang them between the two windows.
so what do you all think? anything you'd recommend?
Monday, June 16, 2014
My interview with Dana Hilmer, Relationship Expert
As a participant in the Zone Perfect Blog Forward Challenge I was given an amazing opportunity to conduct a phone interview with Dana Hilmer, author of Blindsided by a Diaper: Over 30 Men and Women Reveal How Parenthood Changes a Relationship.
A little background on Dana (from her website DanaHilmer.com) :
Dana Hilmer is the founder of THRIVE*itude, Inc., a media and consulting company, the mission of which is to help people live their truth and to create a life of happiness, well-being, meaning and wonder. Her pet project is forwarding the mission of the THRIVE*olution™, a community – and movement – dedicated to embracing a new definition of success, one that puts happiness, wellbeing, and making a difference at the top of the list. Dana is certified in the science and application of Positive Psychology with Tal Ben-Shahar at the Wholebeing Institute. She is pleased and honored to now be serving as a TA for the program.
Prior to THRIVE*itude, Dana founded LifestyleMom™, an online destination for women who want to live passionately while raising a family. She is also the author of Blindsided by a Diaper(Random House, 2007), a podcaster, inspirational speaker, media spokesperson and long-time marketing executive and consultant.
Dana is a media-savvy interviewee and her insights and tips have been featured on hundreds of radio and television shows across the country. She also writes and speaks widely on making a difference and topics related to healthy, happy, authentic living. Dana lives in a beautiful shoreline town in CT with her husband (and college sweetheart!) and their three young boys.
As nervous as these types of things make me, I knew I had to jump on this opportunity! Luckily, Dana is amazing and I immediately felt like I was talking to an old friend.
My main question for Dana... What advice would you offer to me and my husband as we embark on this new journey of parenthood? (Dana's comments are paraphrased, I did not record the conversation, just took notes).
The 4 C's
- Connect: Physically and emotionally. Have fun with each other. Make checking in with each other a priority.
- Communicate: Make a point to spend 10 minutes together daily with the intention of purposefully communicating. Put away phones, turn off the TV, make eye contact.
- Create: Goals and dreams for your family together. Declare dreams for yourselves, your child(ten), and family. If you put these goals out there you can help each other work towards them.
- Celebrate: Who you are as a couple. Appreciate each other and your relationship.
Another fun thing she pointed out... Appreciate has two definitions:(1) being grateful (2) increasing in value. Just like anything else that you want to appreciate in value, you've got to put time and energy into it!
I'm very grateful to Dana for taking the time to speak with me and to Zone Perfect for allowing me the opportunity. I also wanted to pass along to you all that Dana is offering a really cool program right now, called the Thrive Circle. Twice a month you can call in and she'll be discussing various topics centering around well-being and happiness. The really great thing is that right now she's offering the program for free! Check it out here to sign up!
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