6.30.2014

Summer Bucket List


Once we announced our big news, I knew I wanted to create a bucket list of all the things I'd like to do before baby K arrives! I mean, I'm definitely excited to meet our little babe but did you know the year is already half over?! All in favor of time slowing down a bit and not mentioning Christmas for a very, very, very long time say aye! And I guess this could be called my "Before Baby Bucket List", but both work. Anyways, as important it is for me to feel relaxed and stress free during this pregnancy, it's also really important for me to continue doing things we truly enjoy as a couple.  

In the past, I've really made it a priority to make sure things on my bucket list/to-do lists get done and while I'd like to make it a goal to accomplish all of these things, I'm not going to beat myself up over it if some of them don't get done. Having it all in one place, though, definitely makes me feel more organized and I like to be able to look back to see what we accomplished! 

+Take a road trip (Charleston is looking like a good possibility...)
+Put wainscoting up in the nursery
+Paint and decorate nursery (this is more like a must-so excited about this and all the projects we are contemplating for it!)
+Buy new patio furniture (possibly at the end of the summer when the sales are happening)
+Go on weekend morning bike rides with Billy at the Metro Parks (We actually did 7 miles this past weekend-Billy (and Rocky) roller bladed while I road my bike! We had a blast, especially Rocky who got a free ride in Billy's arms practically the whole way...)


+Get a refrigerator (with a big freezer) to put in our garage
+Spend a Thursday (or 2) at Columbus Commons Downtown Live Concert Series (free music and food trucks!)
+Plan a "babymoon" (I don't know how I feel about this term, but yes, a big trip just the two of us is definitely in the works...where will it be to?! :))
 +Continue working up our savings account
+Organize our basement (this is going to the biggest task of all-we have so many things we need to get rid of and we need to seriously organize all of the rest...it's a complete mess right now)
+Put things we don't need on Craigslist or donate it! (all that stuff mentioned above that need new homes)
+Spend as many weekends as we can at the lake with family
+Plan our annual cabrewing trip with friends! (minus the brew and add the sparking water for me..)
+New carpet in our upstairs (Billy mentioned it briefly so still adding it to the list...)

A lot of these won't be completely finished in the summer, so I'm giving myself into the fall for these too and I think they're pretty do-able. Hooray for exciting, new things! 

What do you plan to do this summer?
Oh, and here's to {hopefully} figuring out my weekly bump dates: currently in progress...


PS: Thank you all for entering my 4th of July giveaway-the winner was chosen at random and is Ashley R! Happy short work week, everyone!

6.27.2014

A Lot To Love {Five On Friday}



 ONE.

This week has been everything I had hoped it would be and more!

 All week I've had the biggest smile on my face about sharing our news. It feels more "real" now and I just can't say enough how much I appreciate every kind gesture sent our way. I read each and every comment left on my blog, and to those who have sent emails-thank you for thinking of me and taking time out of your day to do so. 


Best...readers...ever. :)
(Momma's! Need your input at bottom of post!)

TWO.

 


 A. So many people ask me about these jeans...they are one of my favorite purchases and some of the best boyfriend style jeans I've found (and hello, cheap!) 


jeans // top (old navy but sold out, loving this one) // shoes // Lilly and Laura bracelets (buy here!)

B. A little bump pic, which I realize is probably way more bloat than it is actually bump. But hey, the thought that our little baby Krysh is in there just makes outfit's of the day that much more special. 

Baby K is my newest, best accessory if I do say so myself... 

THREE.



New Nakd bars that I've discovered and really like (cute packaging is totally a bonus). They are 100% natural and are a great afternoon snack. The texture reminds me of Larabars, but they have more flavors and they taste really good. My favorite so far is Strawberry Crunch!

 FOUR.




These past 12 weeks I have literally hardly shopped at all for myself (knowing maternity clothes are around the corner) and I haven't bought much for baby yet, but there were these 3 things that I knew I HAD to get baby K.

I've heard about all of them in the past and have just always had them in my head to buy for our first baby.

1. Cloud B Sleep Sheep, 2. Jellycat Puppy (in LOVE with them-so soft and cuddly!), and 3. Sophie The Giraffe.

Just laying them in Baby K's (right now empty) nursery makes me so dang excited!


FIVE. 


These pink peonies from the farmers market last weekend...love! 

Momma's...

Would love for you to tell me your favorite baby websites...from shopping, nursery inspiration, product reviews, daily deals, etc! Also, a bonus would be your favorite Etsy shops!

Happy weekend everyone, follow me on insta for more weekend updates!
PS: Don't forget to enter my giveaway yesterday!


6.26.2014

4th Of July Tank & Koozie {Giveaway}




It's hard to believe 4th of July is next week, is it not? So crazy.
(remember the big surprise I pulled off last year at this time? ha...)

I'm always all about dressing for the occasion, but it's not exactly the easiest thing in the world to find cute (yet not tacky) clothes and accessories for it. 

Well, a girlfriend named Sarah, who has now retired her blog, has opened up her own shop called My Sassy Life and reached out to offer to give away one tank + koozie to one of you! 

You will probably see me sporting one of these next week as well, especially if I can look as cute as Sarah does (that's her below!) They look really comfy, no?!


Just follow the steps below in the rafflecopter to enter!

 I will have this giveaway close on Sunday night so that the winner can receive their tank + koozie before all the fun festivities begin.

*You can also get 15% off anything in her shop with the code KEEPCALM15!




6.25.2014

How I Found Out // Telling Our Family!


{my MIL/FIL}

Hands down, one of the best and most fun parts about being pregnant is telling everyone! Since this is our first baby, we knew we wanted to tell everyone in person and being that most of our immediate family lives so close to us, it was easy to do and more meaningful this way. Not to mention, fun. I wish my job was just to surprise people with pregnancies on a daily basis. Wouldn't that be awesome? People love babies! (except you know, with not all my own pregnancies of course, yikes!)

Let's begin with how I found out...

I'm usually pretty sharp and on my game, so I like to think. Billy likes to joke with me that he can't get anything by me because I'm already one step ahead of him. Well, those days are long gone (actually, now I'm back to normal..phew). But no lie, one of the first signs that got me to thinking that I might be pregnant was how clumsy and darn forgetful I was the first few weeks. For instance, this one time I paid for my gas and left before even pumping it, and didn't realize until two hours later. Or how about the time (meaning multiple times) I've tried doing a task at work and somehow end up in the refrigerator staring blank inside saying to myself, "what was I doing again?! I did NOT mean to end up here!" Pregnancy brain is a real thing.

Anyways, I always had this thought in my head that it would take me forever to get pregnant. I don't know if it was because I was on birth control for so long (I've been off it though for over a year now), and I figured that it would mess me up somehow or what, but I was convinced. Billy, on the other hand, was convinced it would take one time. Wrong (both of us). I'm not going to get into this too much but my entire life I had regular, right on time, easy periods. Then, of course, when we decided to start trying, I started having irregular periods and terrible mid-cycle bleeding. It was also during these months that people were asking me more often about when we were going to have kids...it was disappointing and made me sad. I got really down on myself and became way more sensitive about asking others that very same question because the truth is (as much as people like to say otherwise) you just never know if a couple has been trying, and is having problems. You won't hear me ask any of my friends this question due to this, unless they come out and talk to me about it first.

Eventually, my period decided to regulate itself out shortly after and that month is the month we got pregnant. I knew literally right away that I was pregnant, and I even told my girlfriends that I didn't really need to take a pregnancy test because I was that sure. That first week I was making trips to the bathroom what felt like every hour, I started getting car sick, and my sleeping was off (these things only lasted those first couple days). Due to the happenings in the months prior, I was both so excited and shocked. The first few days I'm pretty sure I was in shock the entire time, wasn't thinking clearly, and started imagining my life as a Mommy!

 

How I told Billy...

Billy had an idea that I was pregnant because I mentioned to him that I thought I might be, but I still wanted to surprise him and tell him in a really special way.

I researched ideas on Pinterest and found the one I wanted to do. One night after work, I made him a "baby themed dinner" with baby back ribs, baby carrots, and baby cherry pies for dessert, thinking he would totally catch on to that. Turns out, he was so excited to be having baby back ribs on our new grill that he didn't, but luckily I had plan B. ha. I put together a gift box full of "Daddy" gifts to give to him after dessert...a coffee mug (from Hallmark), onesie (Gap), a book, and of course my positive pregnancy test sitting right on top! He obviously knew right away at that point and we spent the whole night celebrating, talking about what we thought our baby would look like, and laughing about the fact that he didn't catch on to the baby themed dinner.



How we told our family...
 (Baby K is the first grand baby for my Dad and also on Billy's side!)

There was never a question in my mind as to who we would tell first, I have always known I wanted my Mom to be the first to know.

Shortly after I found out I was pregnant along came Mother's Day (could have not been better timing!), so that morning me and Billy went to her grave with baby's breath in hand, a grandma/grandpa onesie, and told her the news. Or so I thought I was going to...

I will NEVER forget this moment. I was so excited and happy the whole car ride to go tell her, and then right as I was walking to her grave, it hit me and I started sobbing. In that moment, I had to stop walking and just broke down hard because it hit me that she isn't physically here with me, and that I couldn't hug her or see her reaction. All I wanted was to be able to see her gorgeous smile one more time and see how excited she was for us. I was a complete and utter mess, but Billy (bless his heart) pretty much took over and said the sweetest speech in the world to my Mom. I'm so lucky for this man, you have no idea. He is so good to me and it goes down as one of the most special moments in my life (and also makes the dream that I mentioned yesterday with her in it-that much cooler.)


Next up, was my parents, also on Mothers Day's. I was actually pretty nervous to tell them for some odd reason, but in a good I've-been-waiting-for-this-moment kinda way. Billy was also nervous and he will probably kill me for sharing this, but he turned to me that day and goes "now your Dad is going to know that I...for sure...like, have sex with his daughter" LOL, no shit babe! I was dying! (sorry Billy-I'm not skipping any details here. Hahahaha I am still dying...)

So, we told them to come over for a cookout and when they showed up, I had a little sign out front telling them to come around the side of the house to the backyard. When they came around the corner, where our big main tree is next to our deck we had a custom onesie (from here) hanging in the tree right in sight. It was priceless! My Dad immediately goes "OHH!!", my step mom started laughing and smiling, and of course we talked all about it over dinner.

 

Since Billy's parents live in Cleveland, we knew the next time we would be with them was Memorial Day weekend at the lake and it was perfect timing to tell them because pretty much the whole family was going to be there for the holiday, including Billy's grandma who doesn't get up there much anymore! However, everyone was showing up at different times so we ended up telling many of them at separate times.

Billy's brother was first, and we knew we wanted to tell him with Rocky wearing a big brother shirt (from here!) When we showed up to the cottage, Rocky ran in with it on and he noticed right away! It was hilarious. Billy's parents came up later (his sister was supposed to be with them, but couldn't come until later on so I actually don't have any pictures of telling her unfortunately) and we literally couldn't wait a minute to tell them...it was like we had to do it right away!


That Friday we actually had the day off and had our very first ultrasound, so I found a really cute Grandparents picture frame with a poem and a spot for the ultrasound picture on it (from Hallmark) to give them. Since it was in between Mother's Day and Father's Day, we told them we had a gift for the both of them to celebrate both holidays. :)

After the whole family got to the cottage and found out the news, Billy's sweet Grandma gave us an adorable toast and it was so nice to be able to have much of his family there that weekend to celebrate with us!
 
 

Need a good cover to hide your pregnancy when you aren't ready to tell family or friends quite yet?! Just one or two days after "thinking" I was pregnant, we did go to Cleveland to visit Billy's family but we knew we weren't going to say anything, so to hide it we bought ginger ale plastic bottles from the gas station and the plan was whenever we were out to dinner (Billy's family are big drinkers so they would catch on/ask us if I didn't order a drink!) I would take my beer bottle to the bathroom and fill it up with the ginger ale. This plan worked like a CHARM!! (I really only had to do it twice over the whole weekend so it's not like it was crazy inconvenient. We have shared some good laughs with them about this now looking back because they had no idea...)

How I told my girls... 

Oh my goodness, this was so fun.

Chalkboard sign that reads "Only the best sisters get promoted to AUNTS! Baby Krysh due Jan. 2015" + balloons + show up at their house and tell them to come outside = perfection in the form of dropping baby news! (you can see how I did it in the video below!)

For some of my other girlfriends, we were getting together for a girls/wine night so after all the girls showed up (and were pouring their wine), I told them I had to run out to my car to get a bottle of wine. On the wine bottle, I placed this tag and well, their reactions were priceless (also in the video.)



Here's a quick video I put together of some of our friends and families reactions!
Please note: We told Billy's brother Kevin before we got to the bar, but I messed up that video so this one of him screaming, "I'm gonna be an Uncle" to random people is what made the cut. ;)



....again, you deserve a medal if you made it this far.

6.24.2014

My Pregnancy Journey So Far

I have so much to catch you up on! Or maybe I should say catch my blog up on because I'm not too sure how many of you will be interested in following my pregnancy journey, but I can hope and pray most of you will! First, I have to start this off by giving a quick, but sincere thank you to everyone for your comments yesterday and all the comments on my instagram. I feel so fortunate to not only have my close friends and family, but all of you who make this whole experience so much better. I feel like I've "known" so many of you these past few years, and it's seriously wonderful to learn about pregnancy/motherhood and have a support group, of sorts, here through my blog. Thank you.

OK, as you might have guessed I have been itching for the past three months to share about my pregnancy and finally, it's here. Just let me have a moment here....I'm having a BABY! Holy cow. Yup, it's definitely real now since it's on the blog. Today, I just wanted to catch you all up on what's been going on (behind the scenes) these past couple months....


Billy and I have always known we wanted kids, but it was never something we felt rushed to do. We didn't care about our age, when our friends decided to start trying, how many years we had been married, anything like that. Our number one goal was just to be on the same page together and begin the journey when we both felt ready. It was that simple and it was a decision we made, as a couple, without any outside factors determining our decision. We are definitely planners and wanted to be in a great place financially and personally before deciding to bring a little peanut into our world. Besides, we have had some of the most fun times/memories these past few years without little ones. We also wanted to get a lot of traveling in before, and definitely accomplished that (and plan to continue it!). We just knew the time was right for us (if you would've asked me this last summer-I would've told you I wasn't ready. It is just one of those things that you know when you know) and I couldn't be happier with the timing and how it has all come together!

How have I felt?

In short, my pregnancy has been nothing short of amazing. I'm enjoying being pregnant so much. I have actually felt much like my normal self for the past 12 weeks...zero morning sickness, energy levels have been the same, only a couple days with sore ta-ta's, minimal headaches, and I've been able to keep up with my workouts (I've just adjusted them slightly-like running slower and taking breaks often.) It's safe to say I feel so thankful about this and trust me when I say this isn't me bragging about it because there have definitely been days that I've cried my eyes out to Billy because I want to feel more. have more symptoms. and been worried that something might be wrong because I didn't realize it was possible to actually feel good during the first trimester.

Billy and my doctor (who I absolutely love!) always manage to make me feel better about this quickly afterwards (and laugh at my expense), but it has happened. Obviously I know everyone's pregnancy is different, but I just have to say that it IS possible to feel good, girls! I've attributed this to two things: one. I started taking prenatal vitamins a couple months before we started trying and I think that helped my body adjust, and two. already being in good shape and good health. If you're thinking about starting a family soon, I recommend doing these two things...I'm not saying healthy people can't get morning sickness or it doesn't happen, just that these things can only benefit you in the long run! (again, I will say it once more-this is my personal experience on what has helped me..everyone has a different pregnancy!)

 
{a sweet momma-to-be package from Steph}

What do I think I'm having and will we find out the gender?

Honestly, I go back and forth everyday. Some days I swear it's a girl, other days I think "well, it just HAS to be a boy because I've felt this good. Surely a girl (with my genes no less) would give me more trouble, right?!" As for our family and friends, everyone (minus my best friend Lindsay, Angela, and friend Cara) think it's a BOY. Some of our family members (looking at you Kev!) have even gone as far to give nicknames for the little babe, ha. Billy thinks boy as well!

And YES! Absolutely YES we will be finding out the gender. We do have the option of getting it done early at 14 weeks, and as of right now this is our plan (which means it could be just another 3 weeks before we find out! Ahh!). Absolutely, how could I pass that up?! Patience is NOT my thing...I wanted to know like yesterday.

**Probably my favorite moment so far: I actually had a very vivid dream during week 9 with my Mom in it. We were having a little gender reveal party and she was there with us for it (and in my dream-the baby reveal was a girl.) I woke up slightly in shock and turned to Billy and told him about it. I honestly took it as a sign from her and God that she IS in fact with me every step of this pregnancy and I really pray I have many more dreams with her in them.

And now, I'm crying (have I mentioned I have been overly emotional? Because I definitely can cry at the drop of a hat now.)

Any weird cravings?

Remember how I've been a vegetarian for the past 3+ years? Right after I peed on those pregnancy sticks (four to be exact), I've been craving meat. Funny how that works, isn't it? I never thought that I would and sure enough it's happened. I decided from the beginning that I would eat meat when my body felt like it, but on the days it didn't I would continue on with my vegetarian lifestyle and that's exactly what I've done. I haven't been eating meat daily by any means, but maybe once or twice a week. I am still getting enough protein by eating lots of eggs, beans, and quinoa!

I'm also craving any and all fruit (pineapple, grapes, and watermelon the most), fruit smoothies, and carbs like they are going out of stock at the grocery store (specifically soft pretzels and bagels). I cannot get enough fruit and carbs...gimme.gimme.gimme. That's about it though-I've had zero salty cravings and no aversions so far!

Funny story: One night we went grocery shopping but sure enough nothing in our cart I felt like eating for dinner. I was starving but wanted something else, so Billy drove me all around our suburb looking for places to jump out at me that sounded good. I finally landed on IHOP (out of all places!) but then when we showed up I realized there wasn't a drive-thru, so I wasn't interested. What was I thinking?! We ended up getting me a blueberry bagel from Tim Horton's and I'm pretty sure that bagel was the best bagel I've ever had in my life. Talk about RANDOM as heck! Billy was laughing hysterically...(and thought I was borderline insane)

How have the ultrasounds gone and what is baby K's heartbeat?

As you can expect, the ultrasounds are even better than you'd ever imagine in your wildest dreams. We have had two so far and seeing baby K wiggle and move inside my body is basically the coolest and craziest thing ever. After our first ultrasound, we found out from my blood work that my thyroid levels were too low, so the doctor requested that I take medicine once a day and then re-check my levels again in a month. At first I was really worried because I have never had a thyroid problem in my life up until now, but my doctor reassured me it's common to develop with a pregnancy and is easily treated. Our ultrasound technicians have been so sweet and when pointing out baby K's body parts during our 2nd ultrasound we got a really good glimpse of his/hers nose and I immediately saw (what I thought) was MY nose. We will see if this ends up true, but I was pretty excited over it, ha! I also, of course, love that Billy is there with me at each appointment and is into it just as much as I am.

Oh, and hearing the heartbeat just makes our heart explode into a million pieces. Baby K's heartbeat was 161 at our first ultrasound (at 7 weeks) and was 150 at our second ultrasound (at 10 weeks).


Will I be doing weekly updates?

I will be posting some sort of update every week for sure (definitely not everyday-just bare with me the next few posts so I can get caught up!), and I love the "journal" type updates that everyone does so that I can track everything, but I'm not so sure I will be doing photos (at least the ones that look really good) weekly with them! To be honest, I hate having my picture taken and I'm lazy when it comes to it. We will see what I can come up with but yes, I'm really excited to post updates throughout this process! I also want to make sure I include as much info as possible (for those who might be pregnant in the future-I know I loved bookmarking thing/baby must haves before we found out!), but I will say as of right now my shopping the past few months has been pretty non-existent. For both me and baby. We've bought a couple cute things for baby, but that's about it.

Has Billy been the most supportive and loving husband ever during this time?

Of course I had to throw in a special shout out to my other half in this journey. Billy is a true champ. He has been so supportive, loving, and patient. Even if he is super busy at work, he manages to make it to our appointments and it means so much to have him by my side. At the beginning, he loved calling baby K by the size of the fruit it was that week ("how's our baby raspberry doing today?", and I melt when he rubs my belly and says good morning to baby. His sense of humor and commentary at our doctors appointments always wash away any worries I have and I know he is going to be the best Daddy in the world.

 
{Billy got me this journal for my first Mother's day, and also apparently attempted to make a baby face out of strawberries and raspberries...can't stop laughing at this #nerd}

Phew, props to those who made it this far! I hope I didn't bore you all to death.

Coming up tomorrow might be my favorite post of all-how we found out and how we told our friends and families. I have some pretty priceless stories and some videos! Can you tell I'm excited about all this? Let me have my moment(s)... :) 



6.23.2014

How To Announce Your Pregnancy



1. Share a personal story/your journey

2. Cut right to the chase and say "we're pregnant!" in the blog title and insert a picture of your positive pregnancy test

3. Rattle off all the crazy symptoms you've been experiencing lately

4. Make a creative video with your husband (remember, this takes actual skills)

5. OR, Do a photo shoot to share your big news (with pictures that probably only you and your husband care about, but will cherish forever)

yeah, let's go with that one...
So, GUESS WHAT?





 

After waiting THREE months to share our news (I'm 12 weeks this Weds. and never knew it was possible for me to keep a secret this long until now), we are overjoyed and so happy to finally be able to announce....

Baby Krysh is due January 8th!!

**All photos taken by the talented Rachel Jacobus! I can't recommend her enough for your photography needs, ladies. She will travel, too! I actually met Rachel through a friend and found out she was a photographer, and literally stalked her pictures on Facebook because I loved them so much. She is in the process of reinventing her business, so make sure you check out all the great things she offers-she's amazing! website // facebook // instagram


6.20.2014

FIVE ON FRIDAY


+Is there anything better than white in the summer? I think not. 

White shorts, white pants...gimme! I just want to wear it all the time, and apparently this morning I woke up feeling really patriotic with my red, white, and blue ensemble.

sandals // jeans // chambray top-old, but recommend this one or this one // anchor scarf is a gift from family // purse, sold out in red but other colors available here-including one on clearance!

+The best way to start a Friday morning...acai bowl deliciousness.


 +For months we've gone back and forth between buying a Vitamix or a Blendtec (I mean, hello these things AREN'T cheap!). At first, we were sold on the Vitamix until I saw that all my favorite smoothie places and gym uses the Blendtec, and highly recommend it. An employee at Bed, Bath, and Beyond was even raving about it and got a few other employees to join in her in telling us to do the Blendtec over the Vitamix.

Maybe this weekend she will finally come home with me...




+This week I got my my new Brooks running shoes in the mail and got to take them for some test runs!

 I swear I will never switch to a different running shoe brand because Brooks is just simply the best. These are no different, love them! Did I mention they are on major sale now, too?! You're welcome. ;)

{they come with blue laces but I bought these bright yellow ones for like $2 at a shoe store because I wanted to add some more color!}

+I posted this picture to my instagram the other night and a lot of you were asking for the recipe. I've actually been making this black bean and spinach enchilada recipe since last winter and it's from the awesome Krysta's blog! (I turn to her blog for so many healthy recipes!) 



Happy Friday, everyone! 

What are you weekend plans?

 Tomorrow, I'm actually going with a girlfriend to our big farmers market for the first time this summer (one of my favorite things to do!), and I will probably be spending a lot of time at the pool. See you all on Monday! :)

Link up with the girls here