I just finished the book Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo and I think it may have changed my life. Even if you aren't religious, I highly suggest you read it. It is about a father who watched his son almost die, but then miraculously recovers and returns with amazing tales of his trip to Heaven. I have to say, I think God really wanted me to read this book. On the very same day, 3 separate people told me I needed to read it, and then 2 more on a different day. No one was talking about books or movies in any of those situations. It was super organic, which told me it was a sign that I did in fact need to read this book. So, my mom sent it to me and if I had my way I wouldn't have put it down.
Unfortunately, reading an entire book in 24 hours is a thing of the past with a blooming business, a one year old and a cuddly hungry hubby. Most of my reading happens when I'm pumping (15 minutes here and there) but I got a great opportunity to read this weekend on our way to and from a family reunion. To put it simply: I was a crying FOOL in that car! My husband was so cute, rubbing my knee while he drove and I wept. He kept saying "we're going to a party! Get it together!" Haha!
I don't want to give too much of the book's magic away, but there is a part where the boy, Colton, tells his mother that he met the baby she miscarried in heaven. He had no idea his mom had had a miscarriage (there are many other things in the book that are true, that he had no way of knowing unless his journey to heaven was real.) There were 2 sentences that had me crying an equal combination of happy and sad tears:
Colton tells his mom of his sister, "She said she just can't wait for you and Daddy to get to heaven" and after that conversation there is a moment where the mother is overcome with emotion and she says to her husband "She's ok, our baby is ok". I just lost it there... that's something I have wondered and prayed about since the day of my surgery. The Bible doesn't say much about the children in situations like ours. In my heart I always hoped that Mason was in heaven, but God basically forcing this book on me, was to let me know he's ok. He is with him in heaven and one day we will all be united again. It may sound silly to some, but this book is exactly what I needed to give my heart the peace it's been searching for.
I've been feeling the burn in my heart more than normal to put my life in God's hands, to let Him take the lead. For the last 8 months or so, I've been trying to control everything myself and trying to fool myself into thinking I'm actually in control here. It wasn't until I read the words in my friend's blog Whispering Brave that I was actually able to pinpoint my problem: I am in my own way. I am in my own way of listening to God and the things he has put into my heart. I've been so angry for so long that I didn't even realize that he's been answering my prayers, despite my anger towards him, all along.
Every day I pray for strength. Strength in being a better wife, a better mother, a better friend and a better daughter. Every day I pray that I wake up and am a better person than I was a day before. Every day I do this, and I am too busy to listen. I didn't even realize that he was trying to help me. Pretty recently, I have had a few difficult people put in my path. One is normal for most (I would think) but to have 3 at the same time- God is trying to teach me by testing me and I just wasn't paying attention.
I pray all the time asking God to show me how to teach my daughter to be a kind person, to be a compassionate person. What better way than to put people in my life that force me to live that way, thus showing her by being the example. He has been testing me, seeing if I really wanted the things I have been praying for. Once I figured out to listen to my heart (and Him), dealing with these people has been so easy. When you can remove your emotions from the situation and see that some people are just miserable, that it really has nothing to do with you, it is easy to distance yourself from them, and keep their negativity out of your life. It also removes the power any of their words might have on you, and it feels really good!
The same goes for the positive side, he also sent me people in my life that have shown me what true friendship is. He has shown me how to embrace them. By choosing to surround myself with people that are good and kind it will inevitably teach my daughter to do the same. Being exposed to the kindness of these people helps teach me what kind of friend I want to be. It's amazing to see the kind of friendships that I have had the pleasure of building once I made the choice to surround myself with positive, kind people. I used to think it was because I was young and immature that I didn't have these kinds of friendships when I was younger, but now a part of me thinks it corresponds to a time when I didn't have God in my life the way I have in the last 10 years. (This is not to say that I am only friends with people that have the same relationship with God as I do, I am just saying there is a distinguishable difference from one time period to another. The difference is largely in who I have become in the last 10 years.)
My journey to being a better daughter has certainly improved once I became a mother myself. My relationship with my own mother hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows, but I can say now, without wavering that it is the best it has ever been. I can see things that I couldn't see before becoming a mom, and my daughter was a gift directly from God, which means my better relationship with my own mom was too.
I think the task of becoming a better wife is a life long one. I am lucky because I have an amazing husband. However, I think every woman has moments when she doesn't feel like the best wife but if I took a minute to pay attention, I would have seen that we have never been closer- we are trying to have another baby- what is more intimate than that? Creating a life from love?! Amazing. More prayers being answered that I wouldn't have realized if I hadn't gotten out of my own way. Last night I had a dream that I was pregnant. (For anyone on bump watch- I am not currently pregnant.) I know this is God letting me know that he is listening to my prayers, and if I keep putting my heart in His hands I will always be a "work in progress" but on the right path.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
Office Update!
It's finally happening! After 7 months of living in our new house I am FINALLY getting around to decorating it and "pimping" it out. I know, I'm probably too old to use that term but that's all I got! Haha!
Once again, I took to Pinterest for inspiration. I've never had a home office, so I didn't know what I wanted. I did know 2 things- 1. We're broke so it needed to be cheap and 2. It needed to be a place that I can escape to and be my creative outlet. We are still working on the room as a whole, but I wanted to share some of the progress that was made.
First things first, PAINT! This was another thing I debated a lot about... Here is the room before we bought it, during our 1st walk through:
This is the only room in the whole house that has this cork-board flooring. It isn't what I would pick for myself, but I decided to keep it since I knew I wanted to use this room as my office and I paint a lot. This flooring is perfect for wiping up paint, so for now it's staying.
When we first moved in I had planned to do a chevron pattern on that main wall, but I didn't realize how thick the texturing was on it, so that plan go squashed. Unfortunately, I had painted the other 3 walls a lilac before I realized that, so this room lived like this for a while:
It gets a TON of natural light since we haven't put up curtains yet so I decided to go a bit bold with the color scheme...
I wanted something girly but something that could also transition if someone ever needed to use it for a bedroom down the line. I am obsessed with grey and although it looks dark in this picture, it's not such a shock in person. (Probably all that glorious natural light) My true inspiration actually came from Averie's party decorations. I had picked this watermelon-esq color for the long wall and painted it about a month ago. I was storing all my craft supplies in there and when I saw these boxes from Averie's party next to the wall it inspired me to go for grey.
I do have a couple tips for painting multi-colored textured walls. I've have been doing it my whole life since my love of multi-colored walls is not a new thing. (When i was a teenager my room was 4 different shades of purple). The fist thing for a textured wall- skip the painters tape. Seriously. It's not going to stick in a straight line anyway, so you might as well hold off on that cup of coffee and just eyeball it. Since textured walls don't have a smooth line from ceiling to wall, it'll look cleaner if you just drag and angled brush across it.
My other tip for doing the corners is to over paint the lighter color where they'll meet. This way, when you go to paint the darker color you won't risk having the previous color poking through where you might have missed a spot. There is literally nothing worse while painting then thinking you're done, seeing a bunch of missed spots, going to fix it, and then splotching the wrong color on the wrong wall. I used a 1" angled brush that I use when painting with acrylic to do the corner with the darker color. It doesn't take up that much time, it's faster than taping it off and using a larger brush. Promise.
The coolest thing that I didn't anticipate is how these 2 colors would make the existing cork floor pop. Here's a little before and after action so you can see what a difference it made:
Let's hear it for happy accidents! Haha! Here's the whole room, along with my amazing carpet that I scored at Target during their Spring sale!
I also love that my lamp that I've had for years works with both of these colors... not that I need any more light in this room haha!
The room was only left like this for about a week before I decided to put my husband to work in the name of a mother's day present: a huge custom made craft desk! This room is super awkward to shoot because it's sort of L shaped and it's really long. I wanted a nice big table to be able to lay out fabrics and paints ect. After showing him some pictures on Pinterest, he drew up this bad boy:
My table was going to be 56" wide and 48" long. That would still leave about 36" from the end of the table to the side of the closet. Not sure if that stick figure is supposed to be me, or him building it, but I can assure you when I sit at my desk, I don't make that face haha! The table is made from a couple sheets of the nicer- more fine- plywood and a Walmart shelf. In total, the supplies cost about $80 which is a far cry from the $1200 price I got from a carpenter. As far as how my husband crafted it, I have no idea! I was inside enjoying my mothers day ;) Here he is making sure my sewing machine fit into the nook:
We decided I didn't need the smaller cubbies in lew of my sewing machine having a nice, snug home. Here is the finished product (pre-white paint). Is it ok to be in love with inanimate objects? He even cut out 2 round holes on the top so I could stick my cords through instead of having them hang off the sides. One on each side, ya know... in case I want to have a buddy come sew with me! Since this photo I've painted it white and put a clear coat sealer on the top. It looks the same so I didn't take a photo (since there are hardly any in this post haha!)
One more quick project I'd like to share is a custom photo holder I made for my office. I decided I wanted to use a robins egg blue as an accent color. (Besides all the white I plan to use to balance out the dark grey). It's pretty simple so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking:
Taaa daaa!!!!
For the supplies, I found this frame (already painted- how lucky was that!) at an antique store for $15 and I already had the twine. For the little clothes pins- those are scrapbook accents from Target for $2 and the Washi tape was $3.99 (but I can use it for a lot of different things).
I'll keep updating as we finish projects in here, and we are due for a kitchen remodel update too! For now, I'll leave you with this closeup of the washi tape covered clothes pin and my favorite picture of Averie to date. Happy crafting!
Once again, I took to Pinterest for inspiration. I've never had a home office, so I didn't know what I wanted. I did know 2 things- 1. We're broke so it needed to be cheap and 2. It needed to be a place that I can escape to and be my creative outlet. We are still working on the room as a whole, but I wanted to share some of the progress that was made.
First things first, PAINT! This was another thing I debated a lot about... Here is the room before we bought it, during our 1st walk through:
This is the only room in the whole house that has this cork-board flooring. It isn't what I would pick for myself, but I decided to keep it since I knew I wanted to use this room as my office and I paint a lot. This flooring is perfect for wiping up paint, so for now it's staying.
When we first moved in I had planned to do a chevron pattern on that main wall, but I didn't realize how thick the texturing was on it, so that plan go squashed. Unfortunately, I had painted the other 3 walls a lilac before I realized that, so this room lived like this for a while:
 |
| Pink Salmon by Glidden in Satin Finish |
 |
| Blue Grey Slate by Glidden in Satin Finish |
I do have a couple tips for painting multi-colored textured walls. I've have been doing it my whole life since my love of multi-colored walls is not a new thing. (When i was a teenager my room was 4 different shades of purple). The fist thing for a textured wall- skip the painters tape. Seriously. It's not going to stick in a straight line anyway, so you might as well hold off on that cup of coffee and just eyeball it. Since textured walls don't have a smooth line from ceiling to wall, it'll look cleaner if you just drag and angled brush across it.
Let's hear it for happy accidents! Haha! Here's the whole room, along with my amazing carpet that I scored at Target during their Spring sale!
I also love that my lamp that I've had for years works with both of these colors... not that I need any more light in this room haha!
The room was only left like this for about a week before I decided to put my husband to work in the name of a mother's day present: a huge custom made craft desk! This room is super awkward to shoot because it's sort of L shaped and it's really long. I wanted a nice big table to be able to lay out fabrics and paints ect. After showing him some pictures on Pinterest, he drew up this bad boy:
One more quick project I'd like to share is a custom photo holder I made for my office. I decided I wanted to use a robins egg blue as an accent color. (Besides all the white I plan to use to balance out the dark grey). It's pretty simple so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking:
For the supplies, I found this frame (already painted- how lucky was that!) at an antique store for $15 and I already had the twine. For the little clothes pins- those are scrapbook accents from Target for $2 and the Washi tape was $3.99 (but I can use it for a lot of different things).
I'll keep updating as we finish projects in here, and we are due for a kitchen remodel update too! For now, I'll leave you with this closeup of the washi tape covered clothes pin and my favorite picture of Averie to date. Happy crafting!
Friday, May 16, 2014
Making Things Happen
Since I got side tracked by loving on my hubby yesterday instead of posting, I'm back again today to update on all the changes that are happening in the Just A Little Sparkle household! They probably aren't huge to the masses, but to me it's a big deal.
I am not known as being the most patient person in the world, but when it comes to my future I seem to be very comfortable with the unknown and for waiting for the right time to do things. When my hubby and I were in college I had to drop out due to lack of funds so my husband could finish school and I could pay bills. (He was blessed with a better college fund while I had to figure it out for myself and still couldn't find a way to continue paying for it) So I made the decision that was best for us, figuring I would go back to school when he was done.
Fast forward a year and a half and I still hadn't made any steps towards going back to school. I always figured I would be a teacher, but with only half of that curriculum completed and a 1 year old I just didn't think that was in the cards. A few years ago I wanted to pursue being a hair and makeup stylist but ultimately decided not to once I saw how huge the time commitment was (and I couldn't afford it).
When I had my daughter it was pretty clear that I was obsessed with everything baby and did more research than necessary for my own situation. Armed with knowledge I found myself walking a few friends through their births, and even more friends through nursing issues. Then it all clicked- I've had such a hard time figuring out which passion I wanted to pursue because I hadn't had the life experience up to that point. Then one day I was at lunch with my girlfriends and they told me how they had an epiphany about what my calling was: a doula or lactation consultant. Once I heard the words out loud I was in. It was one of those angels singing moments haha! Even better, one of them had a link to a training program ready to give me!
I did a lot of research on all the different programs and I found one that combined my new foundgift obsession and what I thought was my original calling: teaching. Through CAPPA I can combine both and get certified to be a lactation educator. After researching doulas, I decided the pressure would get me in the end, so I nixed that one. The reason I ended up choosing this program is because with my certificate I can lead classes, do private consultations and with a little extra certification I can eventually work in a hospital with new moms. Since we are hoping to get pregnant in the near future I didn't want to pick a program on a semester system. Through CAPPA I can work at my own pace- once you register you have 2 years to complete all the requirements (most finish in a year though).
You're probably wondering how are we paying for it when we haven't even been able to pay our bills? Long story short, I recently found out that my previous employer didn't give me one of my checks and it was the exact amount that I needed for this program. After talking with my husband he told me in no uncertain terms that I was to use this money for my dreams, that I have been waiting long enough. Since this money was unexpected, we felt like it didn't hurt us using it for something that will benefit our financial situation in the future. I really do have the best guy in the world. I start in June and I couldn't be more excited about it!
As far as my fitness update goes, I'm down 15lbs by keeping to what I said in this post and I'm hoping with the nicer weather I can start taking Averie on walks around the lake and work my way up to exercising regularly. Even if we get pregnant, I plan to exercise through it just like I did with Averie.
There is one last piece of exciting news (at least to me) I have decided to open a headband shop! I bought so many head bands and bows from other moms through Etsy and Instagram and one of my friends just opened hers and is loving it, and it really inspired me to go for it. I already have a lot of the supplies, and last month I started sewing like a mad woman so it won't cost much for me to get out a few products together and get my designs out there.
Right now, my soft opening date is set for July 1st. Our June calendar is super full so I want a realistic date, plus I am still researching what kinds of products I want to offer. (YouTube and Pinterest are coming to my rescue here!) I am hoping to purchase a nice camera by then as well and I need a little time to get my logo and business cards set up. Luckily, I married a graphic designer so I get to pay him in kisses for these haha! There is one little hiccup though- I can't decide what to name it! So if you wouldn't mind...
Vote in my poll to name my shop!
I had a brief moment where I thought "Am I biting off more than I can chew? Getting certified, Averie, trying to get pregnant AND a small business?!" but truthfully, the more hectic my environment is, the better I work. Plus, the certification is at my own pace and I don't expect to be hugely busy with the bow business in the beginning (here's hoping I'm wrong) but since I enjoy making them it won't feel like work. I have a lot of help between my husband and my in laws when it comes to watching Averie when I'm studying/crafting. When I'm doing things that will benefit Averie's future, I don't feel guilty about the time spent away from her. It's so exciting to get things in motion! I can't wait to see what the future holds!
I am not known as being the most patient person in the world, but when it comes to my future I seem to be very comfortable with the unknown and for waiting for the right time to do things. When my hubby and I were in college I had to drop out due to lack of funds so my husband could finish school and I could pay bills. (He was blessed with a better college fund while I had to figure it out for myself and still couldn't find a way to continue paying for it) So I made the decision that was best for us, figuring I would go back to school when he was done.
Fast forward a year and a half and I still hadn't made any steps towards going back to school. I always figured I would be a teacher, but with only half of that curriculum completed and a 1 year old I just didn't think that was in the cards. A few years ago I wanted to pursue being a hair and makeup stylist but ultimately decided not to once I saw how huge the time commitment was (and I couldn't afford it).
When I had my daughter it was pretty clear that I was obsessed with everything baby and did more research than necessary for my own situation. Armed with knowledge I found myself walking a few friends through their births, and even more friends through nursing issues. Then it all clicked- I've had such a hard time figuring out which passion I wanted to pursue because I hadn't had the life experience up to that point. Then one day I was at lunch with my girlfriends and they told me how they had an epiphany about what my calling was: a doula or lactation consultant. Once I heard the words out loud I was in. It was one of those angels singing moments haha! Even better, one of them had a link to a training program ready to give me!
I did a lot of research on all the different programs and I found one that combined my new found
You're probably wondering how are we paying for it when we haven't even been able to pay our bills? Long story short, I recently found out that my previous employer didn't give me one of my checks and it was the exact amount that I needed for this program. After talking with my husband he told me in no uncertain terms that I was to use this money for my dreams, that I have been waiting long enough. Since this money was unexpected, we felt like it didn't hurt us using it for something that will benefit our financial situation in the future. I really do have the best guy in the world. I start in June and I couldn't be more excited about it!
As far as my fitness update goes, I'm down 15lbs by keeping to what I said in this post and I'm hoping with the nicer weather I can start taking Averie on walks around the lake and work my way up to exercising regularly. Even if we get pregnant, I plan to exercise through it just like I did with Averie.
There is one last piece of exciting news (at least to me) I have decided to open a headband shop! I bought so many head bands and bows from other moms through Etsy and Instagram and one of my friends just opened hers and is loving it, and it really inspired me to go for it. I already have a lot of the supplies, and last month I started sewing like a mad woman so it won't cost much for me to get out a few products together and get my designs out there.
Right now, my soft opening date is set for July 1st. Our June calendar is super full so I want a realistic date, plus I am still researching what kinds of products I want to offer. (YouTube and Pinterest are coming to my rescue here!) I am hoping to purchase a nice camera by then as well and I need a little time to get my logo and business cards set up. Luckily, I married a graphic designer so I get to pay him in kisses for these haha! There is one little hiccup though- I can't decide what to name it! So if you wouldn't mind...
Vote in my poll to name my shop!
I had a brief moment where I thought "Am I biting off more than I can chew? Getting certified, Averie, trying to get pregnant AND a small business?!" but truthfully, the more hectic my environment is, the better I work. Plus, the certification is at my own pace and I don't expect to be hugely busy with the bow business in the beginning (here's hoping I'm wrong) but since I enjoy making them it won't feel like work. I have a lot of help between my husband and my in laws when it comes to watching Averie when I'm studying/crafting. When I'm doing things that will benefit Averie's future, I don't feel guilty about the time spent away from her. It's so exciting to get things in motion! I can't wait to see what the future holds!
Thursday, May 15, 2014
my 11/11/11 at 11:11 wish
My wish on this interesting display of 1's is for my husband to know how much i love and appreciate him. I am not so good at expressing myself when it comes to anything but anger. Anger, i have no problem with... but appreciation is something i will continue to work on forever. I am always appreciative of the things around me, but its a lot harder for me to express it to those that matter.
My husband is always busy. He is going to school and working full time, and even when he is home, he is helping with the animals or cooking for me. Maybe he isn't always happy doing it, but he doesn't take it out on me if he isn't, and he can always laugh about it.
I spoke in my vows that i started becoming a better person from the moment that i met him. It was true then, and its still true now. He doesn't even try to help me do this, but just being around him, his kind heart, his great outlook on life, and his incredible smile. The best part, is most of the time he doesn't even know, he just gets to reap the benefits.
He has taught me that lots of the little things i used to obsess over are not important. He showed me what really matters, and continues to, as we grow our little family. I know it sounds simple but i was a complicated mess and he detangled my crazy into a somewhat upstanding citizen. He showed me that I could be the real me, and that he would love that me, and in return I could love that me.
***I was coming on the blog to write an update on my fitness progress, when I saw a little notification that I've probably seen a hundred times. (You know when you look at something all the time you sort of stop seeing it?) It was letting me know that I still had a post I hadn't published. I clicked on it and saw this, I don't remember writing it but it's sort of amazing to see how almost 3 years later I still feel the same way about my husband.
The first 4 months of us moving have been hard on our relationship, but I can say that we are living proof that determination and love will not only get you through rough times, it will make you stronger in the end. Those are the two words that deserve the most credit for helping us through our roughest patch yet. (Pretty good for a 9+ year relationship if you ask me!) While I still am not crazy about the place we have moved to, I am still crazy about my husband and he helps me grow every single day.
When I look at him now, I still see all those things I saw before... maybe with even more appreciation as the years have gone by. Just substitute school for having a baby and almost everything is the same, including how much I adore his hard work. His hard work goes beyond the physical now, it's the work he puts into being a good dad, it's the work he puts into making our house a home, and it's the work he puts into making me happy. He hasn't always been the most romantic when it comes to huge gestures- but he does something for me every day. Today, he brought me a piece of bacon before I left for work, because he knew I didn't have time to stay and eat. The other day we were watching some Food Network show and I said something looked really good, the next day it was in our pantry. Although he hates it, he comes to my rescue with even the smallest of spiders.
He may not be the best with words, but in small meaningful moments he is abundant. It's the little things that mean the most to me. I don't want to be one of those typical wife's that complain about their husbands because it's funny or the norm... I want to be brave enough to really put it out there and love on my hubby (and show my daughter that a good man is rare, and deserves some praise). It's kinda funny that I would finally see that notification moments after posting this picture on my IG for Throwback Thursday:
That's us in 2nd grade! Our photos really are next to each other in our class photo! I guess alphabetizing got thrown out the window, and cuteness got put together. That's my theory anyway.
My husband is always busy. He is going to school and working full time, and even when he is home, he is helping with the animals or cooking for me. Maybe he isn't always happy doing it, but he doesn't take it out on me if he isn't, and he can always laugh about it.
I spoke in my vows that i started becoming a better person from the moment that i met him. It was true then, and its still true now. He doesn't even try to help me do this, but just being around him, his kind heart, his great outlook on life, and his incredible smile. The best part, is most of the time he doesn't even know, he just gets to reap the benefits.
He has taught me that lots of the little things i used to obsess over are not important. He showed me what really matters, and continues to, as we grow our little family. I know it sounds simple but i was a complicated mess and he detangled my crazy into a somewhat upstanding citizen. He showed me that I could be the real me, and that he would love that me, and in return I could love that me.
***I was coming on the blog to write an update on my fitness progress, when I saw a little notification that I've probably seen a hundred times. (You know when you look at something all the time you sort of stop seeing it?) It was letting me know that I still had a post I hadn't published. I clicked on it and saw this, I don't remember writing it but it's sort of amazing to see how almost 3 years later I still feel the same way about my husband.
The first 4 months of us moving have been hard on our relationship, but I can say that we are living proof that determination and love will not only get you through rough times, it will make you stronger in the end. Those are the two words that deserve the most credit for helping us through our roughest patch yet. (Pretty good for a 9+ year relationship if you ask me!) While I still am not crazy about the place we have moved to, I am still crazy about my husband and he helps me grow every single day.
When I look at him now, I still see all those things I saw before... maybe with even more appreciation as the years have gone by. Just substitute school for having a baby and almost everything is the same, including how much I adore his hard work. His hard work goes beyond the physical now, it's the work he puts into being a good dad, it's the work he puts into making our house a home, and it's the work he puts into making me happy. He hasn't always been the most romantic when it comes to huge gestures- but he does something for me every day. Today, he brought me a piece of bacon before I left for work, because he knew I didn't have time to stay and eat. The other day we were watching some Food Network show and I said something looked really good, the next day it was in our pantry. Although he hates it, he comes to my rescue with even the smallest of spiders.
He may not be the best with words, but in small meaningful moments he is abundant. It's the little things that mean the most to me. I don't want to be one of those typical wife's that complain about their husbands because it's funny or the norm... I want to be brave enough to really put it out there and love on my hubby (and show my daughter that a good man is rare, and deserves some praise). It's kinda funny that I would finally see that notification moments after posting this picture on my IG for Throwback Thursday:
That's us in 2nd grade! Our photos really are next to each other in our class photo! I guess alphabetizing got thrown out the window, and cuteness got put together. That's my theory anyway.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Averie's 1st Birthday Party Prep Vol. 3: Patry Favors and Entertainment
It's finally time for the 3rd and final installment of Averie's party... Literally over a month later! Originally, I had planned to pop these out one right after the other but keeping up with one post a week is hard enough, and life doesn't just stop... not even for adorable photos! So... here we are with Party Favors for kids and adults and entertainment! I'm kinda sad to have these posts end... but there are only 10 more months until the next one. Oh man, I better get planning...
*Disclaimer: due to the different sized photos and not doing this post on my regular computer- my format is a little wonky... please forgive me!
*Disclaimer: due to the different sized photos and not doing this post on my regular computer- my format is a little wonky... please forgive me!
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Baby # 2
In my last post I announced that we are officially trying for baby #2 and indeed, that topic does deserve its own post. As I've said before, I spent Averie's first year pretty much obsessed with trying to figure out when we wanted to start trying again and calculating the age gap our decisions would create. Before we knew it, she was one and then it felt like we really had to make a decision. My husband has been on board to have another baby pretty much since Averie was born, but the being-pregnant-sucks-party-of-one over here wasn't immediately ready.
I had a few reservations that made me think twice, the biggest? I just hate being pregnant. Everyone likes to tell me that each one is different but my truth is that it just isn't. I have 2 under my belt now, and both were the same: I was miserable. That's the honest truth, and pretending that the next one "could" be different is just silly. I'm a straight shooter and I know what to expect, and it's going to suck again. The only part I did enjoy (and still miss) is the feeling of Averie moving around. She was super active and I loved every minute of it. I never got to feel Mason move, but I saw on the ultrasounds how active he was so I imagine that he would have been like his sister.
Of course I am still scared that history could repeat itself, but that isn't my overlaying reservation on having another baby. As strange as it may sound, I'm somewhat used to being nervous and scared when it comes to being pregnant and I'm more and more comfortable with my fears. I know it sounds a little silly in writing, but I know what worries me and what doesn't now, so when it happens I also know how to deal with it. If only I could prevent it with this valuable knowledge! Baby steps... There is also a part of my brain that keeps repeating the statistics for miscarriages... 1 in 5 pregnancies. This would be my 3rd pregnancy... those odds freak me out a little but I know I can't dwell on it.... let's not even talk about all the complications that could arise, even if neural tube defects leave me alone.
Before we got pregnant we found out that I only ovulate every other month so I was assuming that would still be the case when we started trying again. We went out and got an ovulation predictor kit and I began doing them every other day (it says to do them every day but I just think that's overkill... if you do it every other day you still won't miss an ovulation since they are typically for 48 hours AND you save money on test strips.) I was still exclusively nursing/pumping at this point so I cut one one nursing/pumping session in the afternoon once she turned one. At the risk of being too obvious- I still haven't had my period since getting pregnant. Actually, next month will mark a full 2 years without it (I know, my girlfriends love to tell me they hate me when I point this out) so I was sort of experimenting with how much nursing (or lack thereof) would cause me to ovulate. I am not ready to stop, and neither is Averie so I figured we would work our way down one by one to see if I could stimulate ovulation.
I had done some research on it and found out that many moms get their periods (even with nursing as much as me) between 6-12 months and here I had an almost 14month old without it. I asked a bunch of my friends with kids around the same age and all of them had theirs already too. I started to feel a lot of pregnancy symptoms (vomiting, fatigue, headaches) so I took a pregnancy test just to be sure I wasn't missing a huge clue but it was negative. That was about 2 weeks ago, and about 1 week into cutting out the 1 nursing session. One of my friends sent me a link that described all the symptoms I was feeling and it turns out I am in the 50% of moms that get these symptoms when they start to wean. Lucky me right? As crappy as those symptoms were, it was nice to know that something was happening with the changes I was making. Then, a few days later I almost forgot to do a quick ovulation test and I was shocked to see the little smiley face on the test strip!
I didn't think I would ovulate so quickly. I had only cut out one feeding for about 10 days and I was already ovulating!!! I was so excited I grabbed the test and ran out to my husband who was on his way to the hardware store (we've been very busy with our home renovations- more posts on that later too!) and I told him to hurry back before I even realized what I was saying! We talked about it and we want a summer baby, which means waiting to conceive until fall. However, it's pretty transparent how great I am at being patient...
With Averie I announced right away that I was pregnant because I am not so great at keeping secrets, and I believe in honesty... especially when it comes to those of you who have been on this journey with me from the very beginning. However, when I do get pregnant again, I would like to exercise some restraint and wait until after the 12 week mark to announce. (This miscarriage thing freaks me out more than I'm letting on.) So for anyone on bump watch... I won't tell you if we decided to wait for my next ovulation or if we got down to business... or if we scrapped the whole "we are actively trying" thing for a "we want a summer baby" thing.
In the direct future for this blog, you can look forward to the last installment of Averie's party (Entertainment and Favors woo hoo!) and LOTS of home renovations updates!
Only time will tell ;)
I had a few reservations that made me think twice, the biggest? I just hate being pregnant. Everyone likes to tell me that each one is different but my truth is that it just isn't. I have 2 under my belt now, and both were the same: I was miserable. That's the honest truth, and pretending that the next one "could" be different is just silly. I'm a straight shooter and I know what to expect, and it's going to suck again. The only part I did enjoy (and still miss) is the feeling of Averie moving around. She was super active and I loved every minute of it. I never got to feel Mason move, but I saw on the ultrasounds how active he was so I imagine that he would have been like his sister.
Of course I am still scared that history could repeat itself, but that isn't my overlaying reservation on having another baby. As strange as it may sound, I'm somewhat used to being nervous and scared when it comes to being pregnant and I'm more and more comfortable with my fears. I know it sounds a little silly in writing, but I know what worries me and what doesn't now, so when it happens I also know how to deal with it. If only I could prevent it with this valuable knowledge! Baby steps... There is also a part of my brain that keeps repeating the statistics for miscarriages... 1 in 5 pregnancies. This would be my 3rd pregnancy... those odds freak me out a little but I know I can't dwell on it.... let's not even talk about all the complications that could arise, even if neural tube defects leave me alone.
Before we got pregnant we found out that I only ovulate every other month so I was assuming that would still be the case when we started trying again. We went out and got an ovulation predictor kit and I began doing them every other day (it says to do them every day but I just think that's overkill... if you do it every other day you still won't miss an ovulation since they are typically for 48 hours AND you save money on test strips.) I was still exclusively nursing/pumping at this point so I cut one one nursing/pumping session in the afternoon once she turned one. At the risk of being too obvious- I still haven't had my period since getting pregnant. Actually, next month will mark a full 2 years without it (I know, my girlfriends love to tell me they hate me when I point this out) so I was sort of experimenting with how much nursing (or lack thereof) would cause me to ovulate. I am not ready to stop, and neither is Averie so I figured we would work our way down one by one to see if I could stimulate ovulation.
I had done some research on it and found out that many moms get their periods (even with nursing as much as me) between 6-12 months and here I had an almost 14month old without it. I asked a bunch of my friends with kids around the same age and all of them had theirs already too. I started to feel a lot of pregnancy symptoms (vomiting, fatigue, headaches) so I took a pregnancy test just to be sure I wasn't missing a huge clue but it was negative. That was about 2 weeks ago, and about 1 week into cutting out the 1 nursing session. One of my friends sent me a link that described all the symptoms I was feeling and it turns out I am in the 50% of moms that get these symptoms when they start to wean. Lucky me right? As crappy as those symptoms were, it was nice to know that something was happening with the changes I was making. Then, a few days later I almost forgot to do a quick ovulation test and I was shocked to see the little smiley face on the test strip!
I didn't think I would ovulate so quickly. I had only cut out one feeding for about 10 days and I was already ovulating!!! I was so excited I grabbed the test and ran out to my husband who was on his way to the hardware store (we've been very busy with our home renovations- more posts on that later too!) and I told him to hurry back before I even realized what I was saying! We talked about it and we want a summer baby, which means waiting to conceive until fall. However, it's pretty transparent how great I am at being patient...
With Averie I announced right away that I was pregnant because I am not so great at keeping secrets, and I believe in honesty... especially when it comes to those of you who have been on this journey with me from the very beginning. However, when I do get pregnant again, I would like to exercise some restraint and wait until after the 12 week mark to announce. (This miscarriage thing freaks me out more than I'm letting on.) So for anyone on bump watch... I won't tell you if we decided to wait for my next ovulation or if we got down to business... or if we scrapped the whole "we are actively trying" thing for a "we want a summer baby" thing.
In the direct future for this blog, you can look forward to the last installment of Averie's party (Entertainment and Favors woo hoo!) and LOTS of home renovations updates!
Only time will tell ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)