Up to My Eyeballs

Update!  Because I know you're all so captivated by my landscaping progress, I'll just go ahead and cross things off as a get them done.  How's that for super exciting?

I'm feeling super overwhelmed, so I'm making a list and blogging it.  Isn't that what everyone does?  Mmmmmkay.

I don't know if it's some type of strange manifestation of nesting {I nest even when not pregnant}, or spring fever, or just my crazy self, but I've started landscaping our house myself.  Nic has been working crazy long days {20 hours...not even kidding...wish I was}, so it's pretty much up to me.  So far, though, it's been going well:

With a great weather forecast this weekend and a husband who swears he's not working, here are some items on our to-do list:

• finish lining the driveway with brick
• finish lining the sidewalk with brick
• buy more brick!
• trim greenery in front yard
• extend flower beds down the side of the house and line with brick
• figure out how to breath new life into my transplanted peony {I did move two, and one is doing great, so that's a win}
• find some super helpers to finish assembling the swingset in our backyard {a gift for the kids for birthdays from a slew of grandparents...so exciting!}.  the age of 4 is not known for patience, and Ella has been trying so hard wait patiently for this to get built
• move the large logs out of our yard from getting the tree cut down {we're using some for stools around the fire pit}
• figure out what on earth to do with the large amount of ghetto mulch/dirt from the tree stump
• cross my fingers/toes/arms/legs/eyes that my in-laws' rv is moved tomorrow so that I can figure out what to do with that side of the driveway

Ok!  Feeling better already.  Here's to a sweaty weekend!

Five Favorites

This is part of a link-up, but I'm too lazy.  But I liked the idea.  So here are 5 of my favorite things.

1. Open windows.  I love this time of year.  Fresh air in the house, windows open all day and night.  Our house has the magic combination of floor plan + window placement + direction to the sun that allows us to keep the house comfortable without the stupid ac until it's about 85 degrees.  It's lovely, really.
2. Garage sales.  This town is garage-sale crazy.  I usually pack up the kids + snacks and head out on Thursday morning.  If you're not out at 8 on Thursday, the good stuff is gone.  It's madness.  And terribly fun.
3. Parenthood.  I recently watched the whole series on Netflix, and now I'm catching up on this season.  It's a fantastic show.
4. Mac Prep + Prime.  As I'm winding up my 20s, I found I was needing some attention under the eyes.  I bought a random moisturizer with retinol {apparently the magic ingredient} and then some of this prep + prime.  I love it!  It's a great, lightweight wrinkle filler for daytime.
5. Jet's!  And OH MY GOSH my brother-in-law just informed me a new one opened up HERE IN TOWN.  I might die of happiness.  And of course they don't deliver to our house, so you can bet I'm packing up my troop to grab takeout tonight.  Nic's out of town again, so it's only reasonable that we survive on pizza for the next three days.

At Least I'll Have My Arms

As this pregnancy progresses, it has become quite clear that it will be next-to-impossible for me to keep my weight gain in check.  That was expected; I've never gained less than 90 pounds.  Granted, a good deal of it is water weight {I swell terribly in the last weeks...months...}, but a good deal of it is not.

Honestly, with both Henry's pregnancy and this one, I've been so careful about what I'm eating.  I don't really even want sweets this time around, which is uncharted territory.  I think a suuuuuuper slow metabolism is to blame.  Anyway.

One thing I loved about Henry's pregnancy was that since most of it progressed during the winter {born May 28th, and that spring was really cold}, I rarely needed to bare my arms.  This time around, though {October due date}, I'll be wearing as little clothes as possible in those hot summer months.

I found this workout on Pinterest, and it seemed doable.  I've been using 6-pound weights and doing three sets of 10 reps each every morning.  I'm not convinced you can actually see results yet, but I can sure feel it!  Give it a try!

15 Weeks

Since I'm now 16 weeks, I figured it's time to edit and share the 15-week photo.  With Ella and Henry I took photos every 5 weeks, starting at 15 weeks, and was so happy to remember to do it this time!

I'm rather surprised at how big I am, but I really haven't gained much weight {for my obscene pregnancy weight-gain standards}.  We'll see.  Snort.

Survived.

I know this is, like, nothing for some {most?} of you out there, but Nic has been out of town for two weeks.  And if you're my real-life friend, you're sick of hearing about it.

But he comes home tonight, so I thought I'd blog about my survival.  Of course, I had help from friends and family who watched the kids for me, fed us, and listened to my complaining.

So to survive, we...

...enjoyed the not-freezing weather that lasted 4.6 seconds.

...went on a pilot visit to the dentist.  No cavities for Ella, I had a slew of complications from my out-of-control teeth that required an afternoon with a numb mouth.

...went to church looking semi-presentable.

....cut down a tree.  This was a surprise for Nic.  How exciting am I?

...got brave and ventured to Red Robin when the need for greasy sustenance arose.

...went swimsuit shopping.  Hank came home with a speedo.  Not even kidding.

...classed it up at the store and read mags without buying.

...installed a tip-out false drawer under the sink.  I *hate* sponges {shudder}, so I did this mostly for the future ease of changing hardware.  Signs of a home improvement junkie.

We made it!

4 Things I Won't Regret

Not to be confused with one-million-things-I-currently-do-that-are-unspeakably-stupid.

I've had a couple run-ins lately with some Negative Nellies, and it's been weighing on my mind.  I just don't get the my-way-is-obviously-better-than-your-way mentality.  Life, and especially parenting, is full of gray areas, and there are very few ways to do it 'wrong'.

So in an effort to shift my thinking away from the negativity, here are 4 things that I'm positive I won't regret in the future.  I guess I should qualify that just because you don't do or agree with these things doesn't mean you're doing it wrong!  Don't think that I think that.  I'm just sick of feeling negative energy and so, like I said, here are a few things that I do that I love:

Non-negotiable nap time.

A dear friend recommended a sleep book when Ella was just a babe, and the darn thing changed my life.  I'm a self-proclaimed nap nazi and it works well for us.  In this house, sleep is revered and protected.  I've missed out on lots of fun and social stuff because I was busy 'protecting' the nap schedule or a bedtime.  There are some pretty obvious benefits to *not* having a schedule for your kids, but my 2+ hour break every day is pretty darn fantastic.  There's no way I'll look back and regret that!

Eating dessert.

I'm not one of these rail-thin mommas.  I'm not overweight by any means, but no one will ever think I'm malnourished.  I could weigh 100 pounds if I wanted to, but I just enjoy food too much.  I can't imagine giving up my daily Starbucks or my after-dinner dessert.  Same goes for exercising.  There was a time when I was super into running.  I'd end up spending most of my Saturday running and then recovering from the 15-mile run.  I enjoyed it, but by the time I was ready to hang out with the family, the day was gone.  It works for many people, but I much prefer my daily 2-mile jog whilst pushing 2 kidlets in the jogger.  I don't think I'll regret choosing yummy food and family time over being a size 0.

Picking my battles.

At Target the other day, I was getting 'the look' because Henry was being loud.  He wasn't whining or crying, just getting excited about seeing different things.  Let me tell you, I wasn't about to shush him.  Sometimes I feel like 90% of my job as a mom is to say 'no'.  So I say 'yes' as often as possible.  I don't think our kids are bratty, but I absolutely pick my battles.  You win some, you lose some...and excited behavior in Target at 10:30 on a Tuesday isn't a battle I'm choosing.  I don't think I'll regret letting my kids be kids.

Blogging.
I've been blogging for about 6 years, and there are few things I enjoy as much as looking back as what I wrote years ago, and even months ago.  Sure, it helps me keep track of what our family was doing, but there is also an honest, open aspect to blogging that I adore.  I love seeing where I've come as a person, and remembering my emotions that were behind every post.  Sometimes {ok, a lot of the time} I'm a little embarrassed when I read back, but I like that a part of me is exposed like that.  It's good for me.  People seem to either love or hate blogging, and I feel like it might be losing its gusto.  Love or hate, I know I'll not regret sharing and recording our life.

So there.  Out with the negative, in with the positive.  :)

What I Wore {Easter}

Do you read Camp Patton?  Seriously funny.  I may or may not laugh aloud alllll the time.  Love Grace's sense of humor.  And her style.  And her hair.  Okay, creepy part over.

Grace is hosting an Easter Outfit link-up, so I figured I'd join in since I made the kids' outfits.  Ella's preschool had a fundraiser last month {well, they have one every stinking month} that involved professional photos.  As a photog myself, there's not much I love more than paying too much for sub-par photos of my children.  Le sigh.  They suggested Easter dresses for the photos, so I whipped up these threads for the kidlets.

This was the best we could do for photos.  It was a balmy and breeeeeeezy 30 degrees, so I'm not sure why we weren't all smiles.  I just wish you could see Ella's dress better...it's so darling.

For Ella's, I didn't use a pattern.  I wish I'd have at least written down how I made it, because it fits her so well.  The gathered neckline and sleeves make it so forgiving!  I'd love to make a few more.  For Henry's tie, I kind of used this pattern.  It turned out really cute, and fits great.  He was quite possessive of it today, so I think I'll make him some more!

As for me, here I am at 12 weeks with the No. 3.

Why am I inhumanly large for just passing the first trimester?  I'll never know.  My body loves to grow, I guess.  My dress and sweater are from Old Navy {dress, maternity}.

Our Easter was great.  We spent the weekend with Nic's fam, and then headed to my parents' after church today.  It was a nice, low-key way to end the weekend.  Ella stayed overnight, and I celebrated by de-junking her room.  She's a pretty serious packrat.

As a side note, I did a variation of Resurrection Eggs with my primary class today, and loved it.  Then they did the same thing in sharing time...sorry kids!  Seriously, though, it was great.  I modified what I could find online, adding Christ's visit to America and also mentioning that He hung out with us on Earth for 40 days before the ascension {should that be capitalized?}.  I'm absolutely crowning it a new family tradition.  Google it and check it out...a pretty cool teaching idea.

Happy, happy Easter!