Friday, January 31, 2014

Butternut Squash Week



How far along? 29 weeks. HOLY $#%*!! Almost to 30! hahah and yeah I'm a day late. Whoops! 


Total weight gain/loss:  138.4 this week. A + 2.2 lbs from last week and an overall gain of + 19.9 . I'm convinced that the scale is the devil ... 

Maternity clothes? Old Navy Maternity Pants, but I'm living in my gap yoga pants right now.. ( SOOOO awesome)

Stretch marks? I think they're there sometimes, but it's all just all the new veins that I get to see since I'm stretching.. but no. 

Sleep:  I've been sleeping better and better this week since my job keeps me on my toes all day. I'm so tired by the time I get into bed that I don't even think about not sleeping. 

Best moments this week:
Hands down... Watching my husband talk to H. She was moving like crazy until he put his hand on my belly and started talking to her. Seriously? Too precious.

Miss anything? Nothing at all. 

Movement: All the time! groovin' queen! 

Food cravings: Nutella with toast, Mandarin oranges, Fiber One Lemon Bars... mmmmm.. Still thinking about nutella. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope! .  

Gender: daddy's little princess  

Labor signs: Nah! 

Symptoms: blurred vision. upper stomach burning sensation ( apparently my ligaments are spreading/stretching) . numb legs/hands sometimes. rush of blood through my appendages. sore pelvis.  fat face. fat neck.  fat ass.... 

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!! 

Happy or moody most of the time:  VERY VERY HAPPY! 

Looking forward to:  Glucose testing tomorrow. Waymon's 23rd Birthday!! He doesn't really like to celebrate his birthday, instead he likes to relax. BUTTT I love showing him lots of love on his day so much so that it's obnoxious :D Also seeing baby girl on his birthday!!! AHHH! 

Maternity Photos by Bailey H. Photography

My husband and I were hesitant of taking maternity photos because some couple's photos turn out so cheesy and over photoshopped. However, we chose the perfect photographer that catered to our needs. Everything was simple and not over done. The pictures turned out so beautiful that I couldn't believe we hesitated on taking maternity photos in the first place. Bailey DEFINITELY changed our minds about being photographed.

Thank you again Bailey H. Photography! 
Please view Bailey's blogspot and facebook for more of her work and to contact her. 













Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Diaper Bag Essentials

Now that I've done a post on the diaper bag itself, I felt that it was more than appropriate to write about what went into that bag :) This list is what I think is important and practical for baby whether I , Daddy or the grandparents have her .


Separating everything in the diaper bag was my issue since baby's need so much so I bought the polka dot and stripe set mini bags at Charming Charlie's which would perfectly separate what I needed to be separated and make it easier on everyone. Each bag is it's own "kit" so that there is no confusion on what mini bag to grab. These 3 mini bags cost $10.00 and they are so cute!


1. Polka Dot Bag 1- "Diaper Kit"
    - This "kit" includes :
               *  baby diaper rash cream (desitin)
                 * baby poweder (trial size so that I may refill)
                  *travel baby wipes ( also so that I may refill )
                   *diapers of course!

2. Stripe Bag 2 - "Cleaning/Safety Kit"

  - This "kit" includes :
               *  first aid kit - bought this from the travel section at Walmart for about $2.00 if that.
               * boggie wipes - for those times that kleenex isn't enough
               *  kleenex- for those times that H just needs to freshen up
               * hand sanitizer ( I also have another mini hand sanitizer on the outside of the bag too)
               * lysol travel size ( I bought this for a $1.00 from Target for spraying down her changing mat)


3. Polka Dot Bag 3- "Outfit Kit"

  - This "kit" includes :
               *  3 Changes of clothes
   As she grows, I know that she will be needing a lot more than 3 changes, but I don't think we                                                                         plan on taking her many places for a long time. 

4. Bottle - This bottle is extra for when Daddy/Grandparents take her out without me. I won't be using the bottle when I'm with her. 
5. Travel size: Baby Shampoo, Baby Body Wash and Baby Lotion
   I bought the entire travel size bottles at Walmart. These will be easy to use as well as to refill. 

6. Safety Kit - This has everything you would need from cutting baby's nails to measuring baby's fever. 


7. Diaper Mat
8. H's Owl Wallet- This has all of the baby coupons I saved for all of her baby needs and her contact card incase the bag gets lost. 

9. Hungry Caterpillar :)- This toy will change out as she clings on to her other toys. 
   Since this is the book she favors the most when I read it to her, I figured that she'd probably love him out of the womb too<3
10. Infinity Breast Feeding Scarf (link provided on how to make this for yourself) 
                                             
11. Burp Rag 
12. Receiving Blanket 

   


   



             


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Diaper Bag!



I know it's weird to say that I didn't want my diaper bag too be just like everyone else's, but I didn't want the same diaper bag everyone else will be carrying around. A lot of those regular diaper bags don't hold much of anything and I didn't want to lug around three bags to cover one baby. So when choosing a diaper bag I went with something that I could use for either gender ( in case we have more children) , something I could use when the kid(s) got older as well as something I could use when they no longer needed me to carry around a diaper bag for them anymore. I also didn't want to my husband to be embarrassed if he had to hold the diaper bag. I've seen those dad's out there.. :( So I chose Lululemon's 'Sweat Once a Day' Yoga bag a while back. I purchased this bag three or four months into my pregnancy so I had a lot of time to think it through and browse at what other mom's purchased for their babies. 

I absolutely love this yoga bag! The outside is  made out of polyurethane fabric; which makes it durable and easy to clean- it is a yoga/gym bag after all. The bag measures at 15" x 14" x 8" and is said to hold up to 50 lbs.  It's big enough to store all of the things she needs plus what mommy needs too. There are pockets in the front and the back of the bag for my necessities. Inside there is the most beautiful blue paisley design that I am in love with. It has a pull out "dirty" bag so that I can store her icky clothes/bibs etc. in it. Both sides inside have enormous pockets that can store all of her little goodies. One pocket is designed to hold a  15 in laptop... translate that to baby belongings will you?  That equals a lot of space! There is a corner mesh pocket that is able to hold  a  water bottle and in my case it would be her bottle ( it's extra since I will be breast feeding and don't plan on bottle feeding unless I can't feed her) . 


This bag wasn't meant for using it as a diaper bag, but I am completely satisfied that I bought it for my little girl. I know that the bag is a bit pricey since it doesn't come with anything that you need for a baby, but the the usage I will get out of this bag is going to be incredible. I can't wait to use it for her!



Inspirational saying from Lulu:)


"Dirty Bag"


* blog next on what I will be putting in the diaper bag!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Kabocha Squash Week



How far along? 28 weeks:) 


Total weight gain/loss:  136.2 this week. A -0.08 lb loss from last week and an overall weight gain of + 17.7 lbs. I noticed that during the week I lose a lot of weight and when I weigh in on Thursdays I gain like 3 lbs almost immediately.. I think my scale is out to get me. 

Maternity clothes? Nah! This week I've been living in leggings and skirts:) 

Stretch marks? No No No ... don't give baby girl any ideas. 

Sleep:  It's hard to sleep through the entire night now because she is so big now, but I'm hoping with the help of my re-heatable rice bag I'll have better luck in the next couple of weeks. * fingers crossed

Best moments this week:
- being able to have more free time around the house and with my girls
- seeing my mother-in-law this past weekend and talking about the baby shower!
-ordering baby shower invites! AHH! Can't Wait!
-Waymon got to feel her move again this week while we were laying down. Man the joy he gets when he feels her move. She's already #1 in his eyes. 

Miss anything? Not feeling like I've been kicked in the ribs when I wake up in the morning:( She's so worth it but she's letting me know that she has taken over my body now. 

Movement: She's kicking and hiccuping all the time now. Her hiccups make me giggle out of nowhere which makes me so extremely happy. The other night I was sad and crying... and she decided that she was going to kick, punch and hiccup all at the same time. Ha! Oh man So I stopped crying and laughed while she was doing her thing.

Food cravings: I reallllllly want a cinnamon bun from Cinnabon, but I'm resisting myself. * YAY me! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week! I even ate the evil ramen! bahahahah! So good.  

Gender: daddy's little princess  

Labor signs: Nah! 

Symptoms: blurred vision.... still 

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!! 

Happy or moody most of the time: HAPPY! I've had a bad day this week and I've decided that it's not going to keep me down. Some people think the worst out of me and my pregnancy . I don't know why they would think the latter, but that's their own deal. All I know is, is that this is the best thing that has ever happened to me and my family, nothing  can put a damper to that. I may not be as fast as I once was, but my baby girl does not hinder me from doing a lot of things. To you that thought the latter, you were doing me a favor to get the hell away from the negativity you brewed up over god knows what. 

Looking forward to: Glucose test in a couple weeks. Seeing baby girl on Daddy's birthday!! Setting up her room COMPLETELY!!! 


MY LOVES <3
Sass creepin again... 

caught in the act! 

The most handsome man in this universe:)
 He forced a smile for me:) 


Typical Sass

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Rutabaga Week-HELLLLO THIRD TRIMESTER! :)






How far along? 27 weeks! OH MY GOD! My baby girl is going to be here so soon!! 


Total weight gain/loss:  137 this week which is +1.4lbs from last week and an overall weight gain of  18.5 lbs! This weight is going straight to my belly and new found boobs. haha As many of you know I am apart of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee and very proud. :) 

Maternity clothes? Same 'ol Old Navy maternity jeans and Belly belt. 

Stretch marks? No, please dear baby girl don't give mama any.. 

Sleep:  It's getting more and more uncomfortable to sleep especially with a belly! 

Best moments this week:
-Renown tour with Waymon. It's amazing to know that I will be in the best of care at our local hospital. Waymon just wants to meet her and as scared as I am to give birth I know that everything is going to be okay just as long as I get to meet my new best friend in person.
-Finally getting a washer/dryer set to complete our home
-Finally getting baby girl's crib! I can't believe her room is coming together now. It's really cute how Sass will play in her sister's room. 
-Dinner with my father-in-law Willie. It's always so nice to see him. 

Miss anything? Fitting into some of my old favorite tees! I also miss not being out of breath after walking around for hours at work. 

Movement: She's now moving every hour now. :) What to Expect says that she should be moving 10 times in an hour and she definitely kicks that record's butt. She's a dancer. She's moving as I'm blogging :) 

Food cravings: more and more fruit! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: This week just people's BO. GAG! I seriously have spidey senses. 

Gender: daddy's little princess  

Labor signs: Nah.. I thought I was experiencing a little episode of contractions, but it was all just cramps. 

Symptoms: blurred vision.... still 

Belly button in or out? In!

Wedding rings on or off? On!! 

Happy or moody most of the time: HAPPY! I'm keeping positive since I'm blessed to live the life I'm living with my best girl. 

Looking forward to: Glucose test in a couple weeks. Seeing baby girl on Daddy's birthday!! Setting up her room COMPLETELY!!! 

OUT TAKES from TODAY:) 
What are you doing MOM!!!?!?

Mom.. this is boring

Now let's do a serious face Mom! 

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Second Trimester Essentials

My third trimester is creeping up on me this week. Time is flying so fast right now. There aren't enough hours in the day to prepare for our lives and the baby's life. I truly enjoy the chaos of it all.  I didn't think I would love pregnancy as much as I do right now. :)



01. Pregnancy Tea- I loved tea even before my pregnancy, but I've definitely come to love it even more now that I'm pregnant. It keeps me warm during the cold mornings at work or at home, it wakes me up and it adds to my daily water intake. I love this tea. The taste of it is amazing and not what you'd think it would be. This isn't the only tea I've been drinking, but it's definitely been one of my favorites. I finished this box of tea before  I finished any of the other teas I bought before I was pregnant :/

02. BeMaternity Beband from Target. I bought this for $20 and it was well worth it. It smoothes all the bumps that you suddenly have with your growing belly and it holds up the pants you can no longer button up. I bought my band in black so that it would match with everything and avoid the dirty factor at work.

03. Bellybelt from Motherhood. I bought this for $20 also. This was definitely one of the first things I bought for my pregnancy. I loved my regular jeans and I didn't want to have to buy expensive maternity pants ( have you seen the cost of those things?!?!?). They have different colors to match all different types of pants and they also have different attachments for almost every type of pant there is out there. The bellybelt helps you avoid spending more money then you have to. I love that!

04. Coconut/Shea Butter Body Butter by The Body Shop. I stopped using coco butter and started using these butters more. I loved the thick consistency of them and they last such a longer time ( longer than coco butter). These two types of butter helped with my dry skin all over my body and my belly.

05. Chapstick! My favorite has been the Cake Batter kind. You can really buy this anywhere. My lips were extremely chapped the last couple of months especially with the cold weather.

06. I mixed equal parts of Copperstone sunscreen and Vaseline Aloe Cucumber lotion together in an air tight container to use as my moisturizer. I'm a huge believer in protecting my skin against the sun at all times. I use this all year round. I used a lot more of it this time around since my skin was so dry all the time even my face!

07. What to Expect App for the iPhone. I loved using this app so much I basically stopped reading the book this trimester. ( Don't worry I'll catch up on my reading soon) I loved it because it would let me know what different tips I should be aware of daily as well as showing a weekly video on the baby's progress. There was little forums you would be able to participate in with expecting mothers that are due around the same month which was really nice to know that we are all going through the same thing at the same time.

08. Babybump App for the iPhone. I like this app a lot because it updates daily and weekly. It's not as "high-tech" as the What to Expect App, but it gets the job done. I enjoy reading more of what is going on with my girl. This countdown is more accurate than What to Expect too!

09. Lavender Baby Oil from Walmart. I opted that I was going to get the Equate version because it's the same as the name brand. I use this before I go to sleep at night after putting lotion on to keep the moisture in. It's worked wonders on me since now I'm getting a lot bigger than I have been. I use it for my arms and upper body since that's where it's the driest.

10. Lubriderm. This is hands down my favorite lotion. My mom use to use this on me as a kid and when H grows up I will probably use the same for her. It is a bit pricey, but completely worth it. You will stay moisturized all day with this stuff. My skin again is so ridiculously dry.

11.Aveeno Baby Lotion. This is the lotion I use at work for my belly. It's not sticky or greasy and it's perfect for a quick application if you feel like your belly is getting dry. I like to carry this in my purse too when I'm out and about during the weekends.

12. Moccasins from Old Navy. I bought this for about $14 in stores. I loveee the way they feel on my feet with or without socks. It helps a lot since I really don't like wearing regular shoes all the time while I go out. It's definitely my "go-to" pair of shoes right now.

13. Apples! I couldn't get myself to not eat apples almost everyday during my second trimester. I love them so much. It's so weird how I could eat them twice a day and not even thick twice about it. One day I remember eating even three of them in one day! GAHHH!

14. Nike Free Runs 3.0. My husband bought these for me a while back and I love them so much. They're light weight and I love wearing them at work when I don't have to necessarily dress up. I'll wear them with jeans or sweats.

15. Old Navy long sleeve tees. I know that when Fall was starting to come around these bad boys were about $9 for a shirt if you bought 2 of them. I have them in a lot of colors ( no I'm not joking). They run a little loose which was perfect for me when I was going through the awkward belly stage this trimester. Right now, they're still a little loose on me which is perfect. I got them one size up from what I usually get so that I wouldn't have to worry about it when I got bigger. They are so comfy too!

16. Yoga pants/Leggings from Target. I bought the yoga pants for about $15 and leggings for $5. Both of the latter are really comfortable and didn't overly stretch like some pants do. They both give you enough room to wiggle in. If that makes any sense at all.

17. Sweatpants by Hanes. I bought these from Walmart for less than $6. They are thee best sweats in the world. They run a little bigger which was perfect because it's still comfortable if I wear them over my belly. They're roomy and super warm.

18. Reheating Rice bag. I was given this for Christmas from a friend and I love it! All the times my back ached these past couple of months, all I wanted to do was put bengay on my back. I obviously resisted and found this as a better option. I would warm it up for a couple minutes and it would stay warm for about an hour. It relieved my temporary pain and I was able to avoid medicine... YAY!!

19. BOOTS!! I love boots during the winter. Snow hit us pretty hard for a couple weeks so boots were my go to shoes for a while. I wanted to find styles that would go with almost all of my wardrobe and be able to keep me safe when I walk through snow/ice. I wanted to be extra cautious this winter because of my pregnancy and all. I lived in boots.

20. Skinny Jean Full Panel from Old Navy. I bought these from Old Navy for $30 ( which is crazy for the price of regular maternity jeans), I used my rewards and bough them while their sale was going on. I also bought the Demi Panel too. I love the Full Panel because it smoothes all of your new curves out and covers your belly entirely. The panel itself didn't both me too much I just had to get use to having it up all the time. You could also fold it down if you didn't want it to go all the way up your torso. They ran a little big ( especially because Old Navy didn't have my actual size).  I really hated wearing the Demi Panel because it was cutting off my circulation no matter how I wore it.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette

As many of you know I am OBSESSED with Urban Decay especially if you follow me on IG. (IG name: OHN9NE)  I really love their products because of their high quality. This particular palette is the latest that came out during Christmas 2013. I got one as a Christmas/Birthday present from Stacy . :)  Out of all the palettes I think this one is the easiest one to use for everyday for a lot of people. I use the other palettes regularly, but this one really makes it easier to not OVERKILL on the makeup. I wanted to show the different looks I've created to wear everyday to work this week. If I can wake up every morning at 4:00 am to do these looks so can you. I promise! I'm not a makeup artist of any sort, just a huge makeup fanatic.  And yes I really do wake up that early every morning for work.






MONDAY:

LID: FACTORY 
CREASE: MUGSHOT 
OUTER V: DARKSIDE
HIGHLIGHT: STRANGE
EYELINER: BLACK




Mondays for me are pretty hectic so I wanted to create a look that was mellow and easy. I wanted a very neutral color on so I don't look like I'm over doing it for a Monday. 

TUESDAY: 
LID: NOONER 
CREASE: LIAR 
OUTER V: BLACK HEART 
INNER CORNER/INNER LID : BUZZ 
EYELINER: BLACK 




This version is a little darker on the outside edges than Monday's version. I played with the same colors to create a more dramatic look. I already tackled on Monday with the mellow look now I really know what is in store for me this week. 


WEDNESDAY: 

LID: DUST
CREASE: BURNOUT 
OUTER V: FACTORY 
HIGHLIGHT: STRANGE
CENTER OF LID/INNER CORNER: MORE DUST 
EYELINER: NONE 



I wanted my eyes to POP more than usual today. I wanted to go for a more "doe eyed" look for myself. The bright colors on my lids really helped my eyes not look so tired even without eyeliner. By Wednesday I'm usually over exhausted by work. I didn't want ANYONE telling me that I looked "tired". 

THURSDAY: 
LID: LIMIT
CENTER LID/CREASE: BURNOUT
OUTER V: TRICK
HIGHLIGHT: STRANGE
EYELINER: GOLD




I felt very playful on Thursday with this look. I wanted a soft neutral eye look but wanted to make a statement with my eyeliner. I like to use gold or purple to shock everyone ( even myself) a little bit. 




FRIDAY: 
HIGHLIGHTLID: STRANGE
CREASE: BURNOUT/BUZZ
OUTER V: BLACKHEART
EYELINER: BLACK




This was by far my favorite look out of the entire week. It was dramatic just like Tuesday's look, but much needed. The brightness of my entire lid countered by my dark outer v's made my eyes appear a lot bigger than they actually are. I also went out after work with this look and it transitioned perfectly.