a re-introduction | five on Friday

Hey y'all!

I've seen some new faces around here so today I want to kick off five on Friday and share a bit about myself so we can all get to know each other!

one.

I'm Diana - wife to Mark, dog mom to Motley, and soon-to-be-mama (September 2nd-ish!) to a little boy. I live in a suburb of Dallas and started this blog almost two years ago when we bought our first house. My husband and I are both in the 'business', meaning he's an architect and I'm a designer. We often get in over our heads with home projects (like our kitchen remodel, landscaping, and new flooring) but our frugal side always gives us false confidence. 

I like to budget, decorate, spend too much money on fresh flowers, binge watch Netflix,  drink gallons of Dr. Pepper, daydream of vacation,  and eat Mexican food. I'm most comfortable in jeans and a white t-shirt, hate getting my hair cut, feel overdressed in jewelry, and wish there was a solution to wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses at the same time. I grew up in band, playing volleyball, and spending summer nights with friends at Sonic in my small hometown in Texas. I'm undeniably a Texas girl through and through and will never leave this great state (or give up college football). 

You can find me at home most of the time working on creating for my Etsy shop, lighting a candle I picked up at Target, or flipping through Pinterest while I watch 5 episodes of (insert tv show here) on Netflix. 

Thanks so much for reading my blog, it means so much to me! Please introduce yourself below, if you feel so inclined. :)

two.

Here's my first baby, Motley, that I was talking about above! She is a border collie-catahoula mix (we're guessing) that we got on Craigslist three years ago. She is fierce when she wants to play and a puddle of sweetness when it's time for bed. She's 60lbs of snuggle in our bed at night and although we always act like she shouldn't sleep in our bed, we love it. 

Here she is this week begging for food from her BFF. She is usually his shadow!

three.

Like I mentioned, we have a little one on the way! This is our first (human) baby and we are SO excited. We did a gender reveal party in March and found out we are having a little man so we've started on the nursery and chosen a name but you'll have to wait to see both!

Look how big this little guy is getting!

four.

I had SO MUCH FUN making these lounge shorts for a bride and her bridesmaids. We worked together to customize the ribbon and thread color and I'm hoping she loves them! I really enjoy challenging myself through Etsy and this new venture was definitely a challenge, but I'm so happy I took her up on it!

five.

My husband is SUPER handy and surprised me with this craft last weekend when I came home from being out during the day. I had shown him something similar on Pinterest about a year ago and since he's gotten into woodworking recently, he decided to make it for me! 

I saved up the Dr. Pepper bottles and now I have an excuse to buy fresh flowers every week. :) I'm considering learning how to make it myself and sell them on Etsy or at craft fairs around town, but we'll see! I'd love your feedback!

So that's me, and that's my week! Thanks so much for reading and happy Friday!!!

wrapping it up | I need mama input!!!

Let's talk baby-wearing. Yeah, I went there.

Babywearing seems to be the new trend around these parts and I've gotta say, I'm pretty excited about it. I've always hated the thought of dragging around a car seat with a growing child in it and balancing it on a shopping cart or maneuvering through a crowded store. The idea of babywearing is definitely appealing to this mama!

look familiar? youch!

The problem is this: there are way too many options! There are basically three categories of baby wearing: something high-tech with lots of straps (all I can think to compare these to are what my parents used to carry us when we went camping), something more fabric based but with only a few 'correct' ways to wear it, or something like a wrap or a sling with long ties and more options.

type 1

'high tech', lots of straps. But look how cute the pattern on #4! And #2 looks super breathable, perfect for camping!

one // two // three // four

type 2

'wrap' style but not as many ties. This one actually looks comfortable!

one // two // three

type 3

I feel like you need to be a cirque du soleil acrobatic artist to figure these things out. They're super cute and super popular, though!

one // two // three // four 

Luckily I'm already 1 for 3 because my sister has passed down her Ergobaby carrier (type 1 above) plus the newborn insert. I haven't tried it on yet but Mark did and I'm thinking it will be used for more long-term outings like walks/hikes, camping, large events, etc. We have the nude color so I think it's pretty neutral and I can talk Mark into wearing it most of the time. 

I love the idea of a more casual/lightweight sling, wrap, or the k'tan wrap (as I think that is kind of in its own category). I can't imagine getting out of the car at the grocery store and strapping up with the Ergo carrier (although I've heard it can be done) so in my mind, I'll be using a lighter wrap for those outings. However, it seems like everyone loves the more traditional 'wrap' variety like the Moby or the Solly baby wrap, or any of the other hundreds that are on the market now. This is where a lot of my questions come in and I'd love to pick your brains!

-do the long ties get in the way?

-do you find yourself wrapping it around you multiple times just to use up the slack?

-does the knot get uncomfortable? 

-can you sit down easily?

-do you feel like the fabric stretches over time?

-are you ever unsure if your baby is secure in the wrap?

-do you have both a 'high tech' carrier as well as a wrap? Which is your favorite and why? Or what are the advantages/disadvantages?

-have you used or do you know anyone that has used the K'tan wrap? Is this easier/harder to use than a typical wrap?

-do you find sometimes it's easier to just use the carrier and avoid waking up your baby to put them in the wrap?

-do you baby wear around the house?

I know, I'm crazy for having so many questions! I've had my eye on the K'tan wrap just because the long ties of a normal wrap freak me out, but I'm wanting to get some opinions from my experienced mamas out there and see what really works best. I love picking your brains and I LOVE the mama community I've recently found here! Thanks in advance for all of your help!

26 week bumpdate

I'm feeling bigger every day! I'm getting lots of comments from strangers (including an odd guy at Trader Joe's that simply stared and said "how soon?") and I'm starting to become more aware of the bump. Baby boy is still showing lots of personality and moving around in my belly AND his nursery is another step closer to being finished! We are having fun during these last few weeks of the second trimester!

How far along?  26 weeks!

Baby's size: a head of lettuce and still between 1.5-2.5 pounds (but lets be honest, this baby is going to be a chunker!)

Total weight gain: I think, I THINK I either stayed steady this week or lost 1-2 pounds (not that I'm trying to lose weight by any means). Staying steady though, even just for a week, makes me happy!

Maternity clothes? I'm starting to fill out my maternity clothes MUCH more than I had before, for sure. The days of regular pants with a belly band are pretty much long gone unless I am wearing a really long shirt, but it's kind of weird walking around with my pants COMPLETELY unzipped. Whoops. 

Also, tank tops are the most comfortable right now but I'm pretty sure mine are stretched to capacity. I picked up one maternity tank last week at Old Navy (why is anything labeled 'maternity' twice the price?!) and it fit much better. It may be time to stock up! 

Sleep: Not great recently. If it's not my back, it's just insomnia or being too hot (meanwhile Mark is freezing). I've been one of the lucky ones over the past 6 months and I haven't had any of the frequent potty breaks that most pregnant women have BUT the other night I did get up once and thought about getting up a second time. Rough life, huh?

Best moment this week: The moments leading up to it weren't great, but I'm happy to report that my tests came back normal last week. I mentioned going to the doctor about a lump I had developed under my arm and I ended up getting a sonogram of it, just to be sure. My mom had breast cancer so I will be lucky if I can avoid having more tests done in the future, but because of her past, my sister and I have to always err on the side of caution. It was a surreal moment going to the mammography center but I was one of the lucky ones last week. Everything looks normal and it turns out I just have a lot of breast tissue (duh) which extends under my arm and is swelling because of all of my body changes preparing for this baby. This is my PSA for you ladies, though! Make sure you check your underarms because many of us have breast tissue all the way up there and cancer can form there as well as in your lymph nodes (some of which are also found in your underarms). If you feel something, get it checked out! :)

Worst Moment this week: This week overall has kind of been a downer. We've had cloudy skies for at LEAST 3 weeks, I've been aching and grunting, and I think I'm relapsing into the lethargic stage. I always heard that the first trimester is when you feel the worst, the second trimester is the best because of all the energy you have, and the third trimester is the nesting stage and you just start getting tired of being big and achy. As I'm nearing the third trimester, though, the last two weeks I've been super lethargic like I was around 7-8 weeks. Maybe I can blame it on the weather?

Miss Anything? Being able to do things and not get out of breath, walking normally, turning side to side without hitting my stomach on something. You know, normal life things.

Cravings: Nope! Those are pretty much long gone, I think. My appetite isn't 100% back but it's not taking over my life like it used to.

Symptoms: Back pain and weight gain, per usual!

Looking forward to: Seeing my sister's new house this weekend and helping to decorate! :)

       week 16                                week 17                                        week 18

    week 19                                week 20                                   week 21

   

                      week 22                                                      week 23

  

week 24                                 week 25

a wet weekend

Three day weekends are always welcome in our house! We kept it low key and hung around the house other than a couple outings. 

Friday night, Mark wanted to go out so we headed over to a new barbecue joint just about a mile from our house, Ten 50 BBQ. 

The BBQ is pit-style and you line up outside to choose your meats. It smells SO good. They had lots of great looking food but we went with brisket, mild sausage, mac and cheese (duh) and fried okra. How's that for southern?

Everything is situated in a semi-buffet style and you choose your sides and go down the line. We passed on the dessert, but the key lime pie was tempting!

The restaurant has lots of seating, some of it in the 'community' style (meaning large tables where you're encouraged to sit with strangers) but was laid out really nicely. They also had a large private room.

Everything was REALLY good. The meat was tender and and flavored really well and they had two sauces available, both of which were tasty! The mac and cheese was so-so (why is it so easy to mess up?) but the okra was TASTY!

We had to take advantage of the DALLAS mural outside before we rushed home to beat the rain!

My friend and former roommate Jody was in town on Sunday so Mark and I met up with her and a few other friends for dinner at Eno's, a perfectly styled pizza joint in Bishop Arts (one of our favorite places!) 

The rest of the weekend was spent hunkered down at home working on projects and Etsy orders...and watching the rain. Texas has been in a drought for over 5 years until recently. We've had about 20 inches of rain in our area this month and while it was welcome at first and the drought is long gone, we are all getting tired of the extra water. Not only are constant cloudy skies a nuisance, but recently the rain has brought death and destruction to parts of Texas, specifically the hill country and around the Blanco River. The river rose over 40 feet during a flash flood on Sunday night resulting in 12 missing people, over 300 homes completely lost, and massive destruction everywhere. 

In the DFW area, all of our lakes and rivers are at least 5 feet over flood levels and are dangerously close to overcoming the levees should we continue getting more rain. Needless to say, it's been a long few weeks and I'm anxious to see some sun in this usually sunny state! Please pray for everyone affected by the storms!

questions and comments | getting real about pregnancy

So this post is a little different than usual...and it's ALL about baby so if you're tired of me talking about babies, skip this post! 

This blog is 80% my diary and 20% my way to interact with the lovely people of the internet/my family. I contemplated writing down some thoughts thus far during my pregnancy, but I'm not the 'notebook on my nightstand' kind of person and I've never had a diary that made it past the 6th grade. So today I'm sharing a wide open brain dump on all the fun/scary/silly/gross things about this pregnancy as well as throwing out a few questions to my experienced mamas out there!

+this baby is a MOVER. He is always moving at about 10pm, right when I go to bed. Recently (as in from about 22 weeks until now) he has been waking up with me, squirming every time it's time to eat (seriously, diva), and doing a little dance whenever I take a bath (which is often). I'm loving it but I'm pretty fearful at what this will feel like when he weighs 5+ pounds more!

+I came home and laid down for a cat nap after work on Monday (Monday is always rough!) and this boy was DANCING. I don't know how else to describe his movements, but I could feel him in 3, sometimes 4 spots and he was moving quickly! LOVE these moments.

+my belly. so. itchy. Everything so far has been centered on my bra line: back pain, bra pain, and itching. Make it stop!

+little boy hangs out on the right side. Kind of weird, and kind of a coincidence, I think? 

+my belly button looks WEIRD. It flattened out almost out of nowhere and I'm afraid I'll have a full-on outie pretty soon. For some reason, I never thought I'd have an outie and I kind of wasn't okay with it, but I'm going to have to be!

+the linea negra has shown up...it's not super dark or super noticeable but it's there! so weird...

+I think I'm waddling. I feel like it's way too soon and not super necessary, but I definitely walk slower and waddle from time to time. I kind of feel like I've been riding horses all day because there is some pain/pressure...down there...can't wait for labor! <sarcasm>

+a few months ago (before pregnancy) I had this weird bump in my underarm (TMI, sorry) but it turned out to be a clogged pore and went away quickly. Since then, I had another lump form under my underarm which I figured was the same thing. It didn't go away, though, and now both sides are lumpy. I started getting worried (we have lots of lymph nodes there, which sometimes can indicate early stages of cancer) so I asked my doctor last week about it. She (and Google) both said that they are likely extra breast tissue and/or milk glands but she is sending me for an ultrasound just to be safe. My body is going through so many changes, it's hard to know what to worry about and what not to worry about! Anyone else experience this?

+every day is so odd...one minute I'll feel huge and like I've been pregnant forever and that meeting this baby is super close, but then the next minute I'll realize that maybe I'm not THAT big and we still have SUCH a long way to go before he is born. It's kind of a struggle to deal with that day in and out, but I know I'll meet this boy soon enough and I should just cherish the times right now. It's true what they say about feeling great in your second trimester (other than my back issues) so I'm just hoping I can keep this level of energy for awhile.

and now for some questions:

-birth, y'all. I'm terrified. I think it through all the time and try to be logical about it, but I'm still so scared. I've been scared of giving birth for as long as I can remember; I'm talking YEARS! A lot of people (like my sister) say it's not bad if you get the epidural (I'm planning on it) but I'm a weirdo and I enjoy reading birth stories and it's pretty obvious that everyone's experience is different. What if the epidural doesn't work? What if my body goes crazy? What if I don't deliver until I'm like, 42 weeks pregnant and I have an 11 pound baby? I've always hated the doctor and have avoided injury at all cost. I get the shakes and sweats thinking about serious medical things (I just about flipped when I realized they put an IV in everyone at the ER when we went last year) and I have a feeling I'm going to have this overwhelming sense of fear/anxiety when we go to the hospital rather than the serene peacefulness and anticipation of meeting our baby. I'm not really scared about the recovery because I think (hope) that will be uncomfortable but manageable with lots of help, but it's just the act of getting him out that I'm terrified of. I'm CRAZY!

-birthing classes? are these necessary? How do I go about getting into one of these? I'm sure this is a question for my doctor, but I just wonder if they are cheesy and a waste of time. Sounds silly, considering the paragraph of pure fear above...

-what can I do about this itchy stomach?? I've done lotion and it hasn't been much help. Will it itch for the rest of pregnancy?

-how do I go about finding a pediatrician? That just seems daunting and no fun at all...

That's it for now, y'all. Sorry to bombard you with all things BABY, but I'd love your feedback/stories/calming hypnosis to quell my fears! Thanks, y'all!!!

25 week bumpdate

How far along?  25 weeks

Baby's size: a cauliflower!!!!

Total weight gain: I think I've remained steady the past week or so and my goal is to stick more closely to the lower end of the scale! So far I've gained 18 pounds. I can definitely tell the difference!

Maternity clothes? Absolutely. Clothes are the worst right now but I'm definitely going to have to start picking up a few maternity shirts because this belly is getting BIG. I grabbed 1/2 maternity and 1/2 non-maternity items this weekend at Old Navy and I noticed they released some new stuff so I'm looking forward to checking it out more!

Sleep: Give me all of it. Naps have been a welcome blessing the last week or so and I'm pretty sure I slept over half of last weekend. I'm striving to meet or exceed that this upcoming weekend. 

Best moment this week: Hearing that sweet baby heartbeat at the doctor on Friday, feeling some pretty sweet dance moves in my tummy, and finally, FINALLY finishing my favorite part of the nursery.

Worst Moment this week: Having to head to yet another doctor's office this week for some tests...more on that tomorrow!

Miss Anything? Being able to breathe? I'm huffy puffy VERY easily lately and it's typically hard to catch my breath after eating, especially.

Cravings: Nothing too bad this week. Usually french fries or sweets are on my mind but so far this week I've been able to stomach a salad and a smoothie! I'm trying hard to eat better and keep the cravings to a minimum so this baby and I don't blow up!

Symptoms: I'm pretty sure this baby takes after my dog because he is DEAD WEIGHT. All day yesterday he was just chilling on my bladder and it was the most crazy pressure ever! I felt like I had to hold up my belly when I stood up. I'm pretty sure he's on the heavy end of this week's weight estimate. He also LOVES to dance. His little dance parties have me cracking up every night. I've started feeling him in multiple places at once and it's amazing how big he already is!

Looking forward to: A three day weekend!!! Hallelujah!

       week 16                                week 17                                        week 18

    week 19                                week 20                                   week 21

   

                      week 22                                                      week 23

week 24

what I'm into lately...

Things have been a little crazy (and a little baby-centric) lately so I'm attempting to give you non-baby lovers a break! Here's what I've been into lately...

watching | 30 Rock

My roommate in college watched this all. the. time. and I never got it. We usually agreed on good TV (the Office, Friends, etc) but for some reason I thought 30 Rock was some far fetched, weird comedy. After I watched Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt last month, I remembered I always did like Tina Fey and I decided to give 30 Rock another try. I have been SO surprised at how much I like it! It is SO funny, albeit quirky, but I find myself laughing openly during every episode. LOVE IT. If you haven't watched it, you have to give it a try!

also watching | Downton Abbey

I like having a variety of TV shows in my queue so after we FINALLY signed up for Amazon Prime, I started watching Downton Abbey. It takes me a while to get invested into deep shows so I'm not 100% in love with this classic, but I'm liking it so far! The drama, the suspense, the costumes...it's all good! This is what I've been watching before going to bed each night.

listening | Mumford and Sons : Wilder Mind

I mean, duh. When your wedding recessional is to "I Will Wait", you are required to be in love with Mumford like everyone else. The last few weeks have been crazy and I've been plugging in my headphones more often at work, and this is usually what is playing. It's kind of got a Coldplay vibe to it and it's definitely different than their last album, but I'm loving it! 

buying | Old Navy linen tunic

I'm trying not to shop much (and instead start saving up for this squirmy baby growing in me) but I have a small shopping budget that I tend to max out every month. I picked up this linen tunic at Old Navy this weekend and I was pleasantly surprised with it. It was super comfortable and (I think) looks pretty good on me! I'm pretty anxious about the wrinkle-factor but I've committed and it's just a matter of time now! I can totally imagine wearing this all fall with some leggings! It's on sale right now and available in lots of pretty colors.

lusting over | Old Navy ikat tunic

So this is technically a swim cover up, but I saw it at the store and stood there for awhile. It looks way different in person but it's so fun and cute and interesting! At $30, I just couldn't do it (I'm cheap) but I have some Old Navy 'cash' coming up at the end of the month and there are usually sales online, so I'm probably going to pick it up later. SO cute!

wearing | nail polish

Sally Hansen Kook a Mango

I'm super boring and can't get away from red or pink nail polish, always. This color is a fun bright red-orange (kind of my favorite color right now) and similar to OPI's Cajun Shrimp. Loving it! Plus, Sally Hansen complete salon manicure is THE BEST nail polish for the price. Love!

Essie all in one top coat

I used to never paint my nails because I inevitably screwed them up immediately after. I splurged on this Essie top coat a few years ago and I've probably bought 5 bottles since then. It is AWESOME! It dries in less than 60 seconds, give you a nice shine, and smoothes everything out, even if you made a mistake. It is TOTALLY worth the price tag!

loving | peonies

Like everyone, I'm loving peonies right now. They are usually super hard to find but I've seen them quite a bit this season and specifically made a stop at Trader Joes to get my second batch. These guys are GORGEOUS. Best. flowers. ever. 

And that's what I'm into lately! Happy Tuesday!!!!