wonderfully made

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

things from the weekend

Mother's day weekend was a good one. Not only did I enjoy 'almost' mommy blissfulness and some time with family, we also attended a wedding, completed lots of projects, and just plain enjoyed ourselves!

Mark's high school friend David got married on Friday night. I was quite grateful that they conveniently planned their wedding in the middle of my second trimester which meant I was feeling good and had the perfect amount of bump! I found this maternity/nursing dress on Asos and while I felt like it was a little tight (that happens when you're showing off a giant new belly), I felt comfortable all night!



It doesn't have any ruching so I'm hoping I can get away with wearing it post pregnancy!


That bump still surprises me in the mirror every day!

The wedding was held at an event center in The Colony and it was very pretty! Bria looked stunning and their ceremony was super sweet.





The reception hall was huge and gorgeous! They had it decorated so well!









Our salad was pretty in its presentation and tasted even better!





As always, we had so much fun catching up with Mark's high school friends. I had to drag Mark into the photo booth but it was one of my favorite parts of the night!



There was also cake, but I didn't take pictures because I was eating it too fast. #iatethreepieces #buttheyweresmall #itwasdelicious

I'll be back to catch you up on all of our projects later!

Monday, May 11, 2015

thoughts on motherhood | another sappy post

With the combination of Mother's day, our progress on the nursery, hearing the tales of new moms and reorganizing our closets (and thus hanging up lots of tiny baby boy clothes), I'm finding myself in a new state of pregnant mommy blissfulness. This is one of the first times in my pregnancy that I've felt anxious and yearning for the birth of this sweet thing inside me. I'm starting to picture his face and the little things he'll do. I'm getting excited to share that bond with my baby that only occurs in the wee hours of feeding time. I can't wait to hold him and hug him and kiss him outside of my body! During church on Sunday he was rolling around (as he often does) and at the first feeling of movement, my mind just thought "I love you!" instantly, without thinking. It's amazing how this baby is bringing all of the "feels" out of me, and we're just starting this journey. I'm going to love being a mom. I can't wait!

Enough of the sap, now onto the celebration! I loved the opportunity to spend time with my mom and to honor and celebrate and think on all of the moms in my life on Sunday. Thank you for all that you do! I'm about to have my eyes opened to everything it takes to do 'the hardest job on earth'. Love to you all!







We had Pioneer Woman's meatloaf...if you haven't tried it, find the recipe on my 'tried and true' Pinterest board and make it NOW. I never liked meatloaf until I had this one, and it's heaven! (just have lots of time to cook it because it takes longer than the instructions say)


Happy belated Mother's day to all of the moms out there and happy Monday to the rest of us!

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

23 week bumpdate

The last week-ish has been one for the books. Busy, tired, sore, sick, and just trying to stay on top of things (Mark and I both) so there's no 'official' bump picture. I'll try to get one posted before next week! This one was taken in downtown Dallas after leaving a morning meeting. I thought the #Dallasbig setup had more than one meaning...


How far along?  23 weeks

Baby's size: a grapefruit! From here on out, my apps give me a wide range of sizes for the babe. He weighed 14.2 ounces and 9" long at my 20 week appointment so I imagine he's grown over the last 3 weeks! 


Total weight gain: I'm pretty sure I gained 5lbs within a two week span...yikes! I'm up to 15lbs and hoping that slows down (since it all came on quickly)...I'm also (sort of) watching my eating (a little bit).

Maternity clothes? All of the maternity clothes! Well, pants and dresses and skirts. Still squeezing into all of my shirts! I may have to invest in some maternity lounge wear because my normal lounge-y shorts are going to get stretched out! Also, (getting real here) y'all...the bras. They are my worst enemy. I just ordered this one on Amazon and I'm really, REALLY hoping it's the answer to my prayers. Please, PLEASE chime in if you found a comfortable bra while pregnant!


Sleep: Same! I have an odd setup for sleeping...first, the air must be turned down and the fan must be on. Second, I must have my snoogle pillow as well as a kidney pillow situated slightly more than halfway up the snoogle, so it almost looks like a backwards "E" on the bed. The kidney pillow supports my side/back and I've noticed it helps a bit with the back pain I've been having (conveniently located right at my bra line, so double ouch!)

Best moment this week: Feeling baby hiccups was pretty sweet, as well as capturing some big kicks on camera so I could show my family and Mark, who hasn't gotten the chance to SEE the kicks.

Worst Moment this week: The haircut that shall not be named. ALSO (coming in at the last minute) I managed to break my chair at work yesterday. "They" tell me it's not because I've put on pregnancy weight, but I can't help but feel a little worthless when I manage to break a $1k + chair for no reason...

Miss Anything? I've had the slightest urge to workout lately but since I've been so lazy for most of this pregnancy, I don't think I could do anything that would be beneficial at this point. I'd love to be able to strengthen my back as well as just get some endorphins going, but considering I'm out of breath after one flight of stairs, that's out of the question.

Cravings: I've made two different desserts this week. I finished the first one in less than 3 days. Maybe this is where the 5lbs came in?

Symptoms: Oy, my back, Oy, oy, oy. I also felt baby's first hiccups yesterday morning! So sweet (and funny, too!)

Looking forward to: crossing my fingers my super secret DIY project gets finished this week. I'll share it as soon as it's done!!

       week 16                                week 17                                        week 18

    week 19                                week 20                                   week 21


Tuesday, May 5, 2015

cover the bump

Let's talk maternity style.

As we all know, pregnant women everywhere have sacrificed fashion to nurture their growing bellies. Unfortunately, the selection of maternity swim suits is even worse than what I'd feared...

After a few weeks of searching and an important swim suit-necessary event coming up soon, I finally found some contenders! I originally wanted a one-piece suit just to keep everything as smooth as possible across the belly (I don't need to add any more bulk where there is already plenty, if ya know what I mean) but my 5'9" frame doesn't jive too well with the short torso of a one piece. Anyway, I've mixed it up below for you. Check out these cute suits!

Of course, Target is my go-to. While their selection is small and SAD in-store, they have some cute options online!







and my personal favorite Target picks:




I'm thinking this one would be cute with some floral bottoms!


...or, of course, the signature leopard look:




Next, I went to the well-known maternity stores A Pea in the Pod and Motherhood Maternity. These two have a wide price range but they are both right up my alley!



Is this girl even pregnant???



 And my new go-to shop for maternity wear, Asos. Their selection was also slim, but they had some decent options!


I kind of think the model looks weird in this one but the suit is cute...maybe it would work for some petite pregos?


LOVE this one, but it's sold out. 

I've narrowed it down and it's between these three suits:


They are definitely the most 'me' and I love the idea of a strapless top! That coral one is just super flattering, though! What are your thoughts? Have you found any great maternity swimsuits?

Monday, May 4, 2015

my emotional weekend

This weekend was a good one, but it was the kind that goes by way too fast. Is it just me, or does the weekend go by faster when I relax and take naps rather than when I'm getting a lot done?

In between naps on Sunday, Mark and I joined my family for "America's pastime". Ironically, my dad calls it "America's naptime". We are not big baseball people but it was my dad's company picnic and the weather was awesome! We sat under the shade and enjoyed a few hours of relaxation and baseball!



my nephew and brother-in-law




My little baseball and I enjoyed the fajitas and a funnel cake! This 'eating for two' thing has come in handy.

Also this weekend I took the plunge and got my hair cut. I hate getting my hair cut - always have, always will. I feel like I've never had a good haircut, my hair never grows, and it's always like I'm speaking a foreign language when I request a style, even though I show pictures.

Originally, I was just going to get some all-over color and a quick trim. I've been growing my hair out forever (it has taken about 5 years to get it this long after a short bob in 2010) and it was just about as long as it had ever been. However, my ends were dead and my color was looking dull. 

After thinking about it for a while, I knew that I wanted to go for a 'long bob' eventually, maybe soon after the baby comes. On Saturday, I thought about it some more and realized I wasn't really benefiting from my long hair. I wasn't styling it in any sort of special way and I didn't need the length. So, I decided I should just go ahead and get the bob. It would be great to get all of those dead ends off of my length and have a fresh new hairstyle for summer.

So, I found a groupon (duh) and went to a local salon. I showed the stylist these pictures:






I explained that I wanted to keep the front length but I wanted a sharp angle and a stack/layers in the back like the last picture. I liked the stylist and I liked my color, but at the end of the 1.5 hour appointment, she gave me a mirror to see the back and it looked basically like this:


Sure, that's all fine and good for those girls, but my request was specific. The only reason I wanted to go shorter was specifically for the long bob look. Then, I did something I NEVER do. I asked if the stylist could fix the back and add more layers/angle. I was shot down. She had told me that my 5pm appointment was her last one and right then she said "I have a 6:30pm engagement, can you come back later?" She then went on to tell me how she didn't have any creativity left and she can fix it if I come back another day. 

So, that ended yet another traumatic hair appointment. I plan to go back and get it fixed, but voluntarily having it chopped twice in a week is not going to be good for my stress level. 

After I came home (and cried to Mark about all of my hair troubles and just wanting to have good hair once in my life - #pregnancyhormones) I decided I do like the length and the color, so not all is lost. I just want the angle!!! The last thing a pregnant woman wants after gaining some weight is to have a haircut she doesn't like.

So that was our weekend! I'll post some pictures after haircut #2 of the new 'do'. Happy Monday!