Dinners, Deals, & Doctors

   Hey y'all! I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving! We celebrated with my parents, my grand-daddy, and my brother and sister-in-law, and nieces on Thanksgiving night over here. Then on Friday we went and celebrated Thanksgiving and my mother-in-law's birthday at my in-laws and brother-in-law house. So we had a very nice holiday! Lots of food, lots of family, and a few good deals on Black Friday.
   Here's our table for dinner over here:

   As for the good deals I found here's one I can share(since the others are Christmas presents).

 

 

   I found these curtains at Walmart for our bedroom. I've been wanting to find something new for our windows, right now I have lace curtains that I picked out when I was 13. So I was thrilled to find these! They were on sale for $5 for a 2 panel pack. I remember last year they kept quite a few of the items on sale at Walmart after Black Friday, so you might be able to still find them!

    Last week Dillon and I put up our Christmas tree.

    Here's Baby H's very 1st Christmas ornament:
 

 

 

       And here's the finished product:

 I just love the glow of a Christmas tree!

   
    Sunday Dillon and I lit the 1st candle of the advent season at our church. The Hope candle.

  As we go through all of these traditions I can't help but get excited thinking about next year when Baby H is here to celebrate with us. Each ritual and event brings a whole new meaning to me this year.
   Speaking of Baby H, I just had an appointment with my doctor today! I'm 25 weeks on the dot, he's 1lb 9oz. and is the size of a napa cabbage. He probably has a hair color at this point, which I'm guessing will be very dark since Dillon and I have dark hair. He can also tell which way is up and which way is down, at least that's what my app tells me haha! I'm suppose to see my doctor again in exactly 4 weeks(December 30th) to have my glucose test. Eeek! I'm praying that all of my numbers are in the normal range, I'd appreciate y'all's prayers as well.
  Here's his pictures from the appointment:

 

    Here's his profile! So precious!

    Here's his foot! They told me it's measuring just under 2 inches which to me is pretty long!

    Sorry for the overload on pictures. There's just so many things I wanted to share! It kinda feels like forever since I've done a post. Thanks for reading y'all!

News & Confessions

  Hey y'all! Tuesday I was officially 23 weeks. So I thought I'd give y'all a little update on how Baby H and I are doing!
   First of all I can't believe I haven't mentioned this before, but I've finally felt him kick!!!! I felt him when I was just over 19 weeks(I know I'm talking about it a whole month later, but I guess it's better late than never). I was absolutely ecstatic to finally feel the first twinges of movement from Baby H. Now I'm constantly checking to make sure he's moving frequently. So basically I jump from one crazy to another. Oh well!
  

    Apparently Baby H is the same size as a bunch of grapes(see above picture), which explains my craving for grapes haha! He should weigh about 1 1/4 pounds, and measure over a foot in length.  Another exciting tidbit, he now has taste buds!!!
    As for me, my indigestion has been a lot better since I switched vitamins, but when I do have it I've found popsicles help the issue. Something kinda cute is how Dillon's has had sympathy indigestion. I'm wondering if he'll be having anymore of my symptoms haha!
    According to my pregnancy app swelling is common at this point. Which I think I noticed when my finger turned purple from one of my rings Sunday. Yikes! Thankfully once I took it off and ran warm water over my hand for a few minutes it went right back to normal.
   Also I've heard I could be experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions about this time, but so far I haven't felt anything resembling one. Honestly I'm a little freaked out to know I could be having them now, even though I've been reading up on how to make sure it's just that and not the real thing. Definitely not something I'm looking forward to.
   The other day I ran into a friend of mine who just happens to be pregnant as well. She's about 10 weeks ahead of me and I'm still bigger than her. I'm beginning to think I'm about to have a 15 pound baby, or I'm just fat. I guess I'll find out in March. She's a pretty outspoken friend of mine, so naturally she turned to me and asked "why are your pants so big?!". I couldn't do anything but laugh. To know her is to love her!
    I've found that the bigger my belly gets the less I want to take a shower. Which is weird for me since I'm the kind of person that usually washes her hair everyday. It's like I would go the whole week without a shower if I could. I know, I know, super gross to admit that, but at least I don't actually do that!
    I don't know if I've shared this before, but I've really missed hotdogs more than any other food during my pregnancy. I even had a dream where I had 4 chili dogs at once. I was severely disappointed to wake up from that dream.

    Oh by the way, the pregnancy app I mentioned above is called Ovia Pregnancy. I know I just talked about an app in my last post, but it's a cool app! And this one is free as well. You can track what you eat, check that you took your vitamins(which comes in handy if it's hard for you to remember), read up on what to expect for that week in pregnancy, and so much more! I really like it because it's an easy way to keep a record of your pregnancy, something I'm sure I'll one day share with Baby H.  Ovia also has an awesome fertility app if you're trying or planning to in the near future. FYI, the picture of the grapes is from that app!
     That's all for now, thanks for reading!    

Holidays On The Cheap

   Hey y'all! I'm sure everyone is busy making plans and lists for Thanksgiving next week, I know I am! According to the buzzfeed quiz I'm the tradition enforcer. I was pretty surprised by how accurate that is haha!
   Speaking of traditions we just finished up a tradition at our house of putting up all of our Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. It really makes it feel cozy to have all our decorations up for Thanksgiving. Plus we have longer to enjoy them before we have to take them all down. If the stores can put up their Christmas decorations now why can't we?!
   Here's what I did with our mantel:

   I felt like doing something a little different this year, more simple. All, I repeat all, of the items on the mantel were purchased from the dollar store. We actually used those glass vases as centerpieces for our wedding. I really like these led candles better than the plain white ones. First of all for looks, second of all for the effect they give off. They're way brighter than the small white ones.
   In other news, the other day when we were picking up our weekly groceries, Food Lion had a bin of pumpkin flavored baking goods on sale. And I may or may not have bought 10 boxes of pumpkin pudding on sale for 30 cents each... I also found a few boxes of Jello brand pumpkin cheesecake mix for 50 cents, so I made 2 of the boxes the other day, and here's a picture of the end results:

   It didn't firm up quite like I expected it to just from chilling in the refrigerate for an hour, so I put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes, which seemed to help. It had great flavor and everyone enjoyed it in our house, but it was nowhere near like what you think a pumpkin cheesecake would be like. I can't wait to see what I can do with the pumpkin pudding.
   By the way!!!

  I'm sure y'all don't care about this but I just had to share my phone background since no one really gets to see it and I think it's adorable haha! I made it on this app called Marley Lilly(it's free by the way). I know the app is suppose to be used to shop on their site but they have a great feature where you can choose from tons of different backgrounds patterns and colors. And as you can see you can add your own monogram to it! And yes I've already made my Christmas background....and one for when Baby H arrives....
   That's all for now, just a post to say hello! What kind of traditions does your family have around this holiday season?

Dress For The Occasion

 Hey y'all! I got my dresses last Thursday and Friday, and now I'm ready to give you my feedback on them! First of all I was super pleased with how fast they got here. The first dress I ordered was here a day earlier than the earliest day they told me to expect.The second dress was here on the day they told me. I love dependability!
    Okay, here is the first dress I ordered (and the first one received) on me:

   This is the Momo "Suki" dress! The fabric is silky and has no picks or blemishes. It is true to size. The neckline is a little deeper than I had expected, so no bending over haha! All seams appear to be well made. It's comfortable, and it feels like it could accommodate a bigger bump. Bonus: it came in a nice box with a hanger and a clear bag to keep over it. The verdict: I'm very impressed and can't wait to wear it this holiday season!

Now let's take a look and the second dress from Amazon:

  This the Japanese Weekend dress! The fabric is soft and stretchy. The size is perfect. The neckline is exactly what I expected. All of the seams are well made. It's comfortable, and just like the other dress it could definitely grow with me during the pregnancy. As for it's packaging I was a little disappointed that it came in a plastic shipping bag, and of course there was no hanger or bag. Bonus: it's nursing friendly! Which means it has two slits on the chest area, but there's no worries of anything popping out. The verdict: I love it, and I love that I can use it beyond pregnancy.
   Initially I was hesitant to order clothing from Amazon simply because I never had before, other than the ties for our groomsmen at our wedding. But I was really surprised! I do have a few tips before you buy anything at Amazon:

- Research before you buy anything on Amazon. Make sure that another website doesn't have it cheaper before you click order.
- As a general rule don't buy clothes that don't have the brand name on the item or say generic, simple because you don't know where it's from. And you're more likely to get irregular.
- Keep packaging and any papers until you've tried it on or tried it out.
- If you plan to do most of your shopping online and you shop a lot, Amazon prime could be a good choice for you. As for me I just can't warrant spending $100/year on a subscription to "save" money. Besides, Amazon has plenty of good deals already.

  Please let me know if you have found any cool tips on finding online shopping deals!

Buy Maternity Clothes, Keep The Prices Down?

    Hey y'all! I hope everyone is adjusting well to the time change. If you're like us the only clocks that have changed in your home are the ones that do it automatically!
     In my last blog-post I briefly mentioned how I've been having trouble finding good maternity dresses for the holiday season. Part of me thinks the reason it's so hard to find maternity clothes in a lot of stores is because it's become almost trendy for women to wear their regular clothes well into their pregnancy. Therefore making a lot of stores up their prices on maternity clothes and other stores eliminating maternity altogether. I guess you could say maternity clothes are a victim of supply and demand as hinted in my title.   Anyway here's a summary of where I looked this past weekend:

- Kid to Kid: I told y'all last week that I was planning to check out this local store. When we got to the  parking lot it was packed, we were lucky to find a parking space. Although I must mention that they have a   small parking lot. Once we were in I tried to find the maternity section but it was hard enough to get around   since no one wanted to let you get by haha. Finally I got close enough to the counter to ask the sales woman where I could find the maternity section, she told me it was over in  the corner. When I looked over to the corner I saw a small section of maternity clothes which had a obstacle course of trash bags and other things. Very convenient. I looked through their dresses, but unfortunately couldn't find something worth trying to find the dressing room. My opinion is they're probably a better store if you're looking for baby or children's clothes or some kind of baby gear, and try to go on a weekday if you can.

- Target: I actually looked in 2 this weekend. The first store had 1 black maternity dress, not even on sale. Yes you read that right, and no I don't mean it was the only dress that was black, it was the only one. The second store I checked out had more options but they were very casual, like a jersey material. I thought I had found a dress I was interested in, and it was on sale, then I realized it was a shirt.

- Goodwill: They had no maternity section. I tried to just look through the regular dresses, picked one up, tried it on in the dressing room, looked awful on me.

   Those were the only stores I got to this weekend. Although my sister-in-law told me she found some good dresses at Old Navy for maternity when she was pregnant. I looked them up online and didn't see much that wasn't summer dresses, but I might still look in store next weekend.
   Finally I went back to my first idea for maternity dresses. Amazon. Surprisingly I found not 1 but 2 dresses I have already ordered and should receive in the mail by this Saturday.  Here's the first one I ordered:

  This is the Momo Maternity brand "Suki" dress in black. It was $10 on Amazon, and they said it was originally $80. Pretty good deal to me! I looked up the brand and some of their dresses sell for like $120, so I'm expecting this is of good quality. By the way, I didn't even have to pay shipping for this one!  Here's the second dress I ordered:

     This is a Japanese Weekend maternity dress. This dress was originally $118 and I ordered it for $25 plus shipping. I looked it up like I did with the other dress and Japanese Weekend is suppose to be an expensive maternity brand. I would have never known! Around the back the lacy and gold pattern continues, which I really like. If these 2 dresses are like I hope then I'd say I got found some great finds! I'll be sure to update y'all next week about what they're really like once I have the dresses in my hands. Here's hoping they fit!

He's A Belly Sleeper!

    I had my doctor's appointment this morning, and so far so good! Baby H is measuring 20 weeks and 4 days, although they are keeping me at 20 weeks and 2 days(they only change your due date if it's at least 10 days different). He was moving around quite a bit, but when we tried to get a picture he was on his belly. He's still a boy haha! It's kinda funny because last night I had a dream he was a girl and they had it wrong before, but we're sure he's a boy. My doctor was telling me how important it is right now to get as much calcium as I can so the baby won't be sucking it from my bones. So don't be surprised if you see me in Food Lion buying 3 gallons of milk at a time!

    Some of you may remember in my last post I was taking about my horrible indigestion problems. Well yesterday I didn't take my prenatal vitamin to see if that could be affecting my indigestion. The result: my indigestion was way better(I had slight issues still but not the massive amount I had before). So I asked my doctor if he could prescribe me a vitamin with maybe a thicker coating to help prevent it from affecting my digestive system so harshly. This is what he sent me home with....

   I think he sent me home with like 4 different prenatal vitamins. He told me just try one, if I like it give him a call and he'll write a prescription for me. If I don't throw it away and try a new one. So thanks to my doctor I have plenty of options, hopefully I'll find one I like!
   In other news I have been looking online for a good, cheap maternity dress for the holiday season. I thought I found actually 2 dresses I liked at Target for only $10 each, but when I went to order them I realized they didn't have my size. I looked online at every store I could think of but everywhere else was either not cheap enough for me( maybe it is for y'all but just ask my husband, I'm cheap), only had summer dresses, or didn't have my size! Maybe I'll just wear sweats, or a potato sack, during the holidays. I plan to check out Kid to Kid(a children's and maternity consignment store) and a few other places, but if you know of any good places to find maternity dresses please let me know!
    Soon Dillon and I need to sign up for Lamaze classes. I was comforted to hear my doctor say if we didn't get around to taking Lamaze classes they can still talk me through everything at the hospital. So I'll breath a little easier, for now haha. I would love to hear y'all's experiences with Lamaze classes and if there's any other classes that might be helpful to Dillon and me.
   With Christmas approaching fast( yes I'm one of those people haha) I really need to start looking up cookies recipes! I love baking for the holidays, but I always feel like I never get around to it until Christmas is basically over. This year I will start early, please don't quote me. At least I'm always crazy early with our trees. Here's our first one this year and my latest bump picture!

        P.S. Yes I know Halloween isn't even here until tomorrow. I told you I'm one of those people.

Burning, Blinking, & Bedspreads

  It's raining, but hey at least we're halfway through the week! Before you know it the weekend is here....and then it's gone haha! That's pretty much sums up most of our lives, at least I think so. We wait and we hope for something that only stays for a short time, then we blink. Moral of the story, enjoy things while they are here.
   Speaking of blinking, I was 19 weeks yesterday, which makes Baby H the size of a Zucchini(who picks this stuff??!!) and should be able to suck his thumb! At his last ultrasound it looked like he was trying to put it in his mouth but hadn't quite figured it out.
  As far as symptoms go I've mostly been having muscle pain in my legs, joint pain in my hips, and indigestion strong enough to light a candle. My doctor told me I should try a Belly Band. I've heard of women using it to wear their pre-baby pants longer but haven't heard many talk about the pain relieve benefits. As for the indigestion I have been drinking tons of water, eating slowly, drinking milk, but it always comes back with a vengeance. I don't wanna try Tums since I've heard it actually can make it worse and pregnant women should avoid it. If anyone knows of some natural remedies for indigestion, or if you've used a Belly Band or something like it, I would greatly appreciate your advice!
  In other news I got a new bedding set for our bedroom! I had one that I bought the June before we got married at Target. It was on sale for $40, 3 pieces(comforter and 2 shams), and was gold. Well probably about a month ago I noticed some holes on the top near the foot of the bed on Dillon's side. They were noticeable but not huge. Then they got bigger, and bigger, and now it's one big hole. Like the size of a really big "zucchini". I have no idea why it would happen, it's never happened with any other comforters or quilts I've had.
   So I've been looking around for something new, preferably without gaping holes, and we found this....

   I love it!!! At first I was looking for something beige or cream, but I'm so glad I went with this one. It kinda reminds me of Blue Willow china. I found it at Wal-mart for $50. It's from the Better Homes and Gardens line, and it's called Indigo Scrollwork. It's a 5 piece set( comforter, 2 shams, and 2 throw pillows). You can't find it on the Wal-mart website, but they might have it on there now since I looked like a week ago.
   Now that we have our new bedding I really want to have a fresh color for the walls. As you can see the walls are a light green, which I love, but I feel like it looks a little dingy now. It went well with the gold bedding but it's time for a change. Something still on the lighter side maybe? If you have any suggestions of a paint color I'd love to hear them!!!
   This Saturday night I have our church's annual Fall Follies. It's basically a talent show, only sillier! We have all kinds of acts from skits to musical performances. I usually choreograph a dance to perform somewhere in the show. Sometimes it's lyrical, sometimes it's theater jazz. But I won't be putting on my dancing shoes this year. Although I do have something else in the works for Saturday night. Here's a video of what my husband and I did a couple years back. Excuse the technical difficulties, it was better in practice, but he wasn't wearing his cute suit!

7 Beauty Tips For Pregnancy And Beyond

   If you're like me pregnancy makes you super aware of everything you do. You have to think before you eat anything, and also before you use a lot of beauty products you're used to using. Here are just a few tips to keep looking and feeling your best! By the way, these tips are great for everyone, especially if this (see picture below) isn't your morning routine.

1.Extra Virgin Olive Oil For Fine Lines

The retinoids found in most anti-aging moisturizers and products are something you should be avoiding while pregnant. That doesn't mean you can't still be preventing wrinkles. EVOO is going to keep your skin hydrated leaving it supple and smooth. Simply dab it on any problems areas on your face at night and let it work while you sleep. If you'd prefer not to use it over night just leave it on for 20 minutes and wash it off with warm water. Keep in mind it is sticky! Also if you find it causes you to break out more only use it under your eyes.

2. Toothpaste For Acne

If you have acne odds are you use a face wash or some kind of treatment that has salicylic acid in it, which is yet another thing pregnant women should avoid.(Side-note: you're probably wondering why you need to avoid all of these products since you won't be using them orally. Anything you put on your face has the potential to seep into your body through your pores. So keep that in mind anytime you use something on your skin). Toothpaste is good for dealing with acne since it is very drying when you put it on skin. Just dab a little anywhere you see a blemish(or cluster of blemishes) and it should help them to downsize.

3. Shaving With Baby Oil

Now don't go running to throw out your shaving cream. It's perfectly fine. But if you're just looking to prolong the life of your razor, or you ran out of shaving cream and you happen to have baby oil on hand, it's an awesome substitute. It gives you a nice close shave, and you don't need to use a lot! Just slather it all over your leg and get shaving!

4. Drink Lots Of Water

I'm sure you've heard this a million times. I know I have! But it can't be said enough. Not only do you and baby need water to live but your skin needs it to look it's best. Plus if you've had any cramping water is a way to make yourself feel better.

5. Walking 

Now that you're carrying around an extra 20 or 30 pounds exercising is the last thing on your mind I bet. Walking is one of the best low impact ways to keep moving through those 9 months. It's good to keep the bloat away, enhances mental well being,and helps maintain blood sugar levels. Please consult your doctor first before starting any exercise routines.

6. Using Vanilla Extract As Perfume

Perfume is fine during pregnancy, but it might make you feel queasy to smell it. Vanilla extract is something you can swap your usual perfume out for.  Just dab a a little on your pressure points(behind the ears, your wrists, etc.) before you leave the house. Bonus: men love anything that smells like baking, so your significant other should love the scent as well!

7. Facial Exercise Or Massage

Say what??!! I know this one might sound silly, but if you think about it we exercise our bodies to look firmer and younger, why not our faces?  Some people claim these are alternatives to botox and surgeries. Here is just one of many facial exercise routines, but you can find more on YouTube just like any other exercise videos. As for facial massage, that can be great if you've been experiencing headaches and sinus pressure. An easy massage you can do would be to gently rub your temples in a circular motion for a few minutes. You'd be surprised at the amount of tension released!

Please let me know if any of these tips helped you, I'd love to hear your feedback!

Is That A Kick?

    Getting closer to the half way mark! I'm 18 weeks today. Hopefully soon I'll start feeling Baby H's movements. A mama can hope! Although my mom told me some women don't actually feel anything until 20 weeks. I've felt a few things that made me think it was him, but nothing for sure feeling.
    The other day it hit me. In 10 weeks I'll be in the 3rd trimester. No sense of panic here haha! But really, labor seems pretty daunting the closer I get. I'm praying that all of a sudden when the day is finally here I'll just have this overwhelming peace about everything. Also I've heard Lamaze classes are very helpful as far as feeling prepared.
    I've been told that around this time your appetite is suppose to be getting bigger(just like the baby is getting bigger). So far I haven't noticed a huge increase in that department, but I am psyched to try some of the crock pot mac 'n' cheese I'm making today! I found the recipe on Pinterest. Super easy, just 4 ingredients. I'll let you know how it turns out.
   Speaking of food, Baby H is now the size of a sweet potato, and should be weighting in at about 7 oz..

   We recently started our registries for Baby H. The first place we went in was Wal-mart. I looked the store over for the registry kiosk and couldn't find it anywhere. So I went and asked costumer service and then they told me that no Wal-mart has the in store option anymore to start a registry, but people can come in and ask them to pull someone's registry up. Keep that in mind if you're planning to register for a baby soon, or a wedding for that matter(I ended up registering online with them a few days later).
    So we headed to Target! Their process hasn't changed much since we registered for our wedding. Except their scanners are now iPhones. I was pretty surprised by how much you have to look at in their baby section. I loooovvvee Target but always thought their baby section was kinda small, which it is compared to place like Babies 'r' us and Buy buy baby. But it was definitely enough to look at for me. I would have liked more clothing options for baby boys though. But you can find way more online, just like any other store!

   If you have any suggestions for Baby H's registry I'd love to hear them!

   P.S. The crock pot mac 'n' cheese has just finished cooking and it is delicious! I was skeptical since it only had two cheeses, but it is nice and cheesy. Excuse the burnt cheese on the sides!

Pink or blue?

   Last Thursday Dillon and I found out Baby H's gender! If anyone has actually been reading this blog you probably know I've been dying to know what we're having! Now we know.....

   Yay!!! We are so excited! Honestly I thought Baby H was a girl. Everyone told me I was carrying high( a common sign of a baby girl). Early on I thought I was having a boy since I didn't have much morning sickness, but it just recently seemed like Baby H must be a girl. I was expecting to hear we were having a girl when I thought I saw something while he was facing us in the ultrasound. Sure enough he's a boy!
 
   Since we were going to see a lot of family on Saturday to celebrate my Grand-daddy's 90th birthday( isn't that awesome?! I really hope Baby H gets to know him well.) we decided to keep it between us and our parents until Saturday.

    Shortly after the cake was cut we gathered everyone in the living room to break the news. Everyone was excited and congratulated. Then I hear my Dad say as he's holding my phone that's suppose to be recording "oh wait, is this recording?". He thought he was taking pictures and completely missed the moment. So we pretended we didn't already tell everyone and did a take two. Here's the result:

 
  Haha on the bright side it was way more enthusiastic the last time. I'm sure Baby H thought it was hilarious!

  Welcome to the family, son!
 

Random Pregnancy Thoughts

    Just a few things I've been pondering since I've been with child:

~ The only pants I could manage to find to fit me in Walmart when I started showing were hammer pants. Does that mean pregnant women should be rappers?

~ Can the baby read my thoughts?

~ Why can't your stomach turn blue for a boy or pink for a girl?

~ Why is Cook-out's pink lemonade soooo good?!

~ How many times can I throw-up after brushing my teeth? Apparently 5 times.

~ Why must I crave what I can't have. Like hotdogs and barbecue.

~ How many people does it take to locate a doctor's office? 4 people.

~ Do I need to take an infant massage class?

~ Isn't it weird that's it a good thing when people talk about your belly now.

~ How can Hollywood get away with acting like a woman who just found out she's pregnant and isn't even showing yet, could find out the gender a day later? I don't even know yet!!!

~ My biggest question at the moment. Where do all the pens go?!

It's Fall Y'all!

   Happy fall y'all! In case you couldn't tell by all the pumpkin spice lattes,  twitter and facebook updates, the first official day of fall was yesterday. Although I've been celebrating all September! Because it doesn't last long enough to truly enjoy it all!

  Of course it doesn't feel like fall until you bust out your fall decor. This is actually a new edition from Dollar Tree! Not only is it my favorite thing I've put up this year but it was only a $1.

  I'm starting to get into my fall baking mode. Above is the pumpkin cake I made for church last Sunday. It's a new recipe I found on pinterest. It was pretty easy, not a lot of mixing required, and was super delish! Now what do I make this coming Sunday?

     I love breaking out the fall scented candles. So cozy! This one we received as a wedding present. It has an amazing aroma! But mom and I have found that if you burn a few different scents at once it can make for a wonderful new scent! Definitely something fun to try.

 

   What I'm loving about fall is that I'm just a little closer to finding out what Baby H is! We should find out if we're having a boy or girl right before Halloween. Which is soon, but not nearly soon enough haha! Here's  how big the baby should be today at 15 weeks. It's getting bigger but still so small! 

    In other pregnancy news I've been experiencing some extremely unpleasant pain in the back of the top of my thigh. I've had it every once in a while for a week or two but yesterday it got so bad that I couldn't bend over, lean forward, move too suddenly, and even had difficulty walking. Fun stuff. I googled it and the two things that came up were Sciatica and Pelvis Girdle Pain. After talking to a doctor friend of mine I think I've ruled out Sciatica, leaving me to believe it's PGP. Some friends have shared a few methods to ease the pain which I'm hoping will help. From what I googled it either will subside once you've delivered or at the worst take 6 years to heal. I plan to talk to my doctor about this. In the meantime I'm praying it away!

    Otherwise I'm doing well, just anxiously awaiting the arrival of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and of course our baby! Ta-ta for now!

First comes love, then comes marriage...

    Hey y'all! As you might have noticed I haven't blogged since June, but now I'm back. Our summer was great. Lots of family and friends, the occasional day trip here and there, we finally found a car, and one more memorable thing happened......we're expecting!!!

   Although I'm sure most of my readers already knew that. We're beyond thrilled! I'm 13 weeks tomorrow, as of right now our baby's due date is March 17th 2015. I'm a little nervous since I've heard we have a lot of snow headed our way until the end of March. But mostly we're super anxious to meet our first child. At first  I was very sure that it was a boy, but now I'm starting to think it could be a girl. Either way we have a 50/50 chance of being right haha!

  I've been so curious to know what we're having I started looking up ways to predict the gender. I tried the baking powder test with my urine and it foamed like crazy(which means it's a boy). Then I asked mom to take it to see if it was really accurate and it did the same thing. Probably not accurate haha. We should know what Baby H is in about 7 weeks(I hope!).

   My symptoms haven't been what I'd expect them to be. For instance I never had a lot of morning sickness(just a little nausea). I've mostly just been achy, fatigued, and having a lot of headaches and sinus pressure. My cravings have been lemonade, potato salad, and Taco Bell breakfast burritos.
   As for the body changes, they have happened fast! Thankfully the only trouble I've had so far with clothes is pants. I have like 2 pairs of pants that are working right now, but I mostly wear skirts and dresses. I do have some maternity pants I've ordered on the way though. Hopefully they fit right!

 That's our sweet Baby H at 12 weeks! The sonographer said our baby is right on target for it's age. The baby was moving a lot at this appointment, kicking it's legs, waving! Look at those little arms! It's getting more real every day.
  I'll be keeping everyone posted on Baby H's progress( as well as our's) on here. Thanks for reading :)

 

Support=Love

   This past weekend was dance recital weekend! It was especially nice having the support of my husband.  It's one thing to have a hobby or talent you enjoy by yourself, but it means so much more when you have someone there to support you. Often times we all take for granted what it means to share these special parts of us with our significant others.Sharing our passions with our husbands/wives is a part of marriage,as well as taking an interest in theirs'.
   Honestly Dillon is not super enthused about dance, just like I'm not super interested in guitar. Since he's the oldest and I'm the youngest we're both lovers of the spotlight. But in spite of our lack of interest in those things we try to make the effort to have an interest in each other's passions. Like when Dillon and I danced at the Fall Follies together, or the night I helped him write a song. Neither of us did those things because we had a deep love for those things ourselves. We did those things because we had a deep love for each other.
    Of course we're not always paying attention to what the other person is doing. I could be praciting  dance in the kitchen and Dillon would just go upstairs and watch Adam 12 on Netflix. Sometimes when Dillon is jamming on the guitar I'm checking Twitter or Pinterest.  More than not we fail at being the supportive couple, but when it really matters we're there for each other.
  It doesn't make you a bad person that you don't immediately love something your partner loves. It just means it's something you need to overcome. Not the apathy towards that hobby or subject, but just loving the other person enough to make the effort.

   That's a big part of marriage,  remembering to put down your phone and smile and clap like you 

saw the whole thing and it was great!

Mother's Day and more

  So much has happened lately, I thought I'd do a little catch-up of what has been going on in my and Dillon's life.
   Recently our car blew it's head gasket. Of course our first thought was to see if we could get the car fixed. Once we had heard a few estimates we decided we should go ahead and search for a new car(or a new to us car). We figured that would be a better investment right now. Thankfully his parents were kind enough to allow us to borrow their car for the time being!
   During that week we were constantly looking online on every site we could think of. We found a few things promising and planned to take a look at them that Saturday.  Then Saturday came and every car we saw wasn't what we thought. So now we're back to trying to fix the car we have. It was kinda strange experiencing our first time really discussing such a big purchase as a car.
   In other news we had the coffee house at our church this past Friday(the coffee house is basically an event at my church where teens and young adults can get together, share music, and coffee, in a safe, Christ-filled environment, it's also part of our story). We had a small group, but everyone had fun. Of course we had our usual Ihop visit once it was over. I'm pretty sure the waiters all know us by now.
   My little brother-in-law spent the night at our house. I think it's really nice that we have such a close relationship that he feels comfortable around my family as well.
  This past Sunday was our first Mother's Day as a married couple having to coordinate plans with both mothers. Although it helps that my mom doesn't like Mother's Day, but we always do something for her.
  To being our Mother's Day we teach a Sunday school class for 3rd and 4th grade children at our church. In class that morning we talked about Mary and all the sacrifices she made for Jesus. The children made the cutest mugs for their moms.
   We had a nice lunch at a local Chinese restaurant with Dillon's mom, dad, and brother. Although it was questionable when I opened my fortune cookie to find no fortune. It's the second time in a week I haven't had a fortune in my cookie, different place too. Go figure!
    After lunch we went back to the house and Dillon fixed up my mom's walkway. It looks a lot better!
   Lots of family last weekend! My husband and I are lucky enough to be surrounded by good, caring family. The family we were born into as well as the family we found.

What I love about marriage thus far.

  The past 9 months have been a wonderful journey for the two of us as a couple. It's pretty hard to believe we'll be married a year in 3 months. Here's a few of my thoughts about marriage (or at least about our marriage) so far:

- First of all, marriage doesn't feel much different for us than being engaged. I had some friends tell me the same, but I didn't believe it until we were husband and wife.
- I love getting to wake up next to my husband every day. I know everyone says that but it's true! It's one of those small things that is so comforting and wonderful about marriage.
- Speaking of such things, I've noticed we tend to turn in for the night earlier now that we're married. It could be Dillon's change in job(he gets up at 5:30 am now) but I think it means we're an old married couple already! In a few more months we'll in bed by 7pm.
- People will never stop asking "when are you having a baby?", or for that matter tell you when, and how many, you should have. Now I know how Kate Middleton felt pre-prince George!
- The further along we go in our marriage I've come to realize just how blessed we both are to fall in love with someone that has the same values that you have at the core. While being your own person, with your own thoughts and beliefs is important, it definitely makes life decisions easier for us.
- I love how comfortable we are with each other. Sometimes I think we're a little too comfortable  but I think it only helps us as a couple.
- I really enjoy cooking for Dillon and I know he really likes me cooking for him.
- Even now that we're married we still value the time we spend together. It might be getting breakfast on a Saturday or watching One Tree Hill on Netflix right before we fall asleep.
- But the best thing about marriage is having someone there to share your dreams, your hopes, your disappointments, your fears, your passion, and your love.

Choice-shaming.

  "You can drive at 16, go to war at 18, drink at 21, and retire at 65. So how old do you have to be before your love is real?"

  When I got engaged a lot of my family and friends were shocked.( For those of you that are wondering I'm now almost 19). People were polite and most of our family and friends were great about it! It meant so much to us everyone that was supportive and nurturing of our marriage. One friend I thought would absolutely flip out was actually really happy for us and proceeded to tell me that his grandparents had only been dating a few weeks when they got engaged. But even so some of our loved ones were taken aback.
  I had friends say things like "aren't you scared?" "are you really ready mentally for this?" and of course "you're so young!". When you make a huge life choice like the one I made everyone has something to say about it. But when does an opinion cross the line from concern to choice-shaming.
  Friends and strangers alike will tell you that you must be "this" age and have done "x,y, and z" to get married, have a baby, etc. and if you don't, well then you don't know the rules to life. You'll live a life of unhappiness and despair, you'll lose your mind, and end up on the news. Nothing but bad things will follow you if you don't use their step by step guide to life.  They all think they have it figured out.
   That's just it though. Sometimes they don't. There was a time when our world was thought to be flat. All it took was one person to challenge what that culture said to be true.
  I believe that it is detrimental to the next generation to constantly put down other women for their choices. You don't have to agree or make the same choice, but no one asked us to make their choices. Apparently I missed the memo that said there's only one path.
   It's also wrong to excuse yourself for criticizing someone by saying that person is a child. Calling someone else a child(just because they're 18 mind you) won't make you anymore adult or your opinion of anymore value. Of the people I have heard dismissing other people's choices most of them couldn't be more than 2 or 3 years older than the person they were criticizing. Unlike everything else people have put age requirements on, giving unhelpful opinions isn't one of them. Makes you think, huh?
  I'm not saying that people should get married young like I did. It's just as irresponsible to push my beliefs on others. But like the quote says, when is your love real? At 30? At 17?  I can't, and I won't  put a number on something so important. My love is real when I know it's real. When I decide it doesn't matter to me what the mixed messages have to say.

   Marriage is just one of those things that if it's truly meant to be no one can talk you into or out of it. As much as people want to believe they can.
   People will tell you, you're losing your freedom, say goodbye to dating, what about all the other fish in the sea? What is the point of dating if once you find someone you want to be with forever you pass him up for sardines.

 The truth of the matter is, people have become so involved in micro-managing the lives of others that they can't even see their own lives, the good and the bad. That says more about them than it does about us.
   Here's the secret no one wants you to know....age is just a number. It can't measure maturity, love,  stability, or anything of worth. It can't make your big life choices. And it can't keep you from getting your heart broken. I think that scares people to know that a choice you make at 18 can flourish just as much as a choice made at 38 can crash and burn.
  Whatever choice you make, make it for you. Not for anyone else. And not from fear of the unknown, but from the heart.

Love me, defend me.

   For better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, to defend? We make a promise to stand beside one person for the rest of our natural lives. We promise to be there when times are hard and to never stop loving them, but what about defending them?
   It can be especially tricky if it involves someone that has been more involved in your partner's life than they have been in your life. You feel like you want to protect them but you might be afraid to cross that boundary. While dealing with people from your life may also pose a challenge.
   I'd love to hear your thoughts about this. When do you defend your spouse? And with whom? Furthermore should you defend even when they are wrong?

Here I am!

  Hi I'm Robyn! Welcome to my blog! I've blogged in the past but never a blog quite as personal as this one. I plan to talk about all of the issues of being a young, Christian, stay-at-home wife in this day and age. But first a little bit of my back story.
   I have been happily married to my husband for 8 months. We met through my church in April of 2012. I was organizing a youth coffee house and he happened to be playing guitar with someone I had booked for that night. We realized that we knew a lot of the same people. Flash forward a few months and we were inseparable. I had no idea that night we met how much my life had and would change just by knowing him.
  Other than being a wife I'm also very active in my church, including teaching 3rd and 4th grade  Sunday School with my husband, and organizing various youth events. I love to read, cook, and am currently taking classes online. I was homeschooled my whole life and loved it!  I've been a dancer since I was 7, I also competed in dance about 3 years .  I love children and I'm looking forward to being a mom one day.
   I think I've covered the basics(for now).  If you'd like to get my blog updates straight to your email scroll all the way down and enter your email in the space provided.