Sick Day.

Things are a bit quiet around here because...I am SICK! (Did you think I was going to say I had the baby early?)

Monday morning I woke up feeling a little "off" and then quickly realized it was a head cold. My baby shower is on Sunday so I am anxious to get healthy quickly! I'm avoiding all cold medicines because I'm positive they aren't good for bebe so natural remedies have taken over my life. I've been drinking lots of green juices/smoothies, hot water with lemon, pregnancy tea with honey, taking my vitamins, and I'm BFFs with my neti pot. 

I've been trying to sleep more than usual (darn pregnancy insomnia isn't really helping with that) and have been making dinners with LOADS of garlic and bell peppers. When I can't sleep, I'm trying to rest. Usually when I'm sick I push myself too hard and then take longer to recover. I have a to-do list a mile long but have been trying to ignore it and just lay down with a glass of OJ and pile of tissues.

Here's to crossed fingers that I am back to 100% by this weekend, I've been looking forward to my shower for months!

What are your go-to natural remedies when you're sick?

Happy Birthday (tomorrow), Rhyno!

Tomorrow is Rhyno's birthday and I am still working on ways to make this whole weekend special. 

We're going out to Dave & Buster's with our closest friends tonight, Rhyno has a soccer game and then we're having my parents over for lunch (and tool shopping for Ry and my dad), and dinner with just the two of us. Plus, CAKE. 

A few weeks ago my mom asked for baby/toddler photos of Rhyno for our baby shower. Can I just say, HOW CUTE IS HE? He's a pretty cute adult too!

 

 

Happy birthday to my bubba, my Ryan, my Rhyno, my love. You make me the craziest and the happiest and love me more than anyone ever could. I can't wait to see you become a dad next month and spend so many more years going on adventures with you.

Happy birthday (tomorrow) to my love!

Pin-Spirational: Chia Juice.

Welcome back to Pin-Spirational!

The Pin: Make Your Own Chia Drink

The Reason: I started drinking a big scoop of chia seeds in a tall glass of water every morning after reading about all the benefits of doing so from Kris Carr. I've been trying to get Rhyno on board with doing the same since we decided to get healthier before we become parents. I started with stirring the seeds into orange juice but he said they clumped up unless he stirred the whole time (high maintenance breakfast drinker, that one). During a grocery run at Target he picked up some of those Mamma Chia drinks--he loved them, which is great for his digestive health but not so great for our wallets. Those suckers are expensive and rarely do I find a coupon! So I set out to see if there was a way I could get the same gel-like texture at home.

The Process: I apologize in advance for the blurry photos...

Gather your supplies. In this case that means juice of your choice (we only had orange), chia seeds (I used black), a bowl, measuring utensils, and warm water. Easy enough!

 Put 2 tablespoons of chia seeds into a bowl--sorry I didn't use some cute, thrifted, twee bowl. I just used plain, ol' Tupperware.

Pour a cup of warm water over your seeds.

 

Stir it up! Make sure all your seeds are coated with water.

 

  Cover your seeds and leave in the fridge overnight.

The next day, remove your seeds (which will have a total jelly texture) and pour a nice, big glass of your juice of choice. Um, not too big though...I poured too much OJ and then had to gulp some down to make room for the seedlings.

Mix together! Stir it well. I noticed right away the texture is much different when you soak the seeds over night. I typically put a raw spoonful in water and it clumps together and stays at the top of the glass. After soaking, these were pretty evenly distributed and didn't seem to require constant stirring.

The Verdict: A winner! Though next time I might make the juice at home and try different flavors, Rhyno said the texture was spot-on and BOY does this save money! Mamma Chia can cost about $4 or $5 at our Target whereas I can get seeds in bulk for about $5 (and it'll last me weeks) and a carton of orange juice is only a couple bucks. I'm a hoarder of glass containers so this would be easy to pour into a recycled bottle and grab on the go.

Rhyno and I are already dreaming up other flavors to try--homemade grapefruit or cherry juice with a bit of coconut water? Carrot juice with kale? Watermelon juice with a little mint? The possibilities are endless!

Have you tried any great pins lately?

A Thought to Chew On with Your Brain Teeth.

via

Sometimes you are perusing Pinterest and you see something that really bangs you on the side of the head.

So often I wonder about what will happen next and try to plan everything as much as possible. With so much that I can't plan happening right now and so many things in the future that are out of my control, I needed to see this. It reminded me to take a step back and breathe. For so long I stressed about getting pregnant and then when I decided to be patient, it happened. My guess is that most things will happen that way...I just have to remember to breathe.

From Duo to Trio.

It's Tuesday (and, you know, just a regular day) so I better yammer on about my pregnancy, right? 

 

With just over a month to go (41 days!), Rhyno and I are getting more and more excited to welcome Babysaurus into the world and take him or her home from the hospital. I feel so ready to become a parent and I don't feel anxiety (so far) but I do realize this is a big life change. For 8+ years it has just been my Rhyno and I. We have been able to pick up and go whenever we wanted, to order pizza at 11pm because we forgot to eat dinner, and to skip grocery shopping for the week because going on an adventure to Six Flags seemed more fun. 

As I count down to our duo becoming a trio, I have been trying to relish the last few weeks of it just being the two of us. I've found some lists of things to do before baby is here and making my own small list of things to take advantage of or do before our bundle of joy is here.

1.) Sleep! 

Everyone and their mother has been telling me to get sleep now while it's still possible. Despite some pregnancy insomnia, I've been trying to take all that advice to heart. I have been crawling into bed a little earlier on weeknights, sleeping in a little later on weekends, and taking more naps than usual (I was NEVER a nap person before!). Even though finding a comfy sleeping position isn't quite as easy and sometimes I get up to pee at 3am completely wide awake for the rest of the day, I am soaking in sleeping.

 

2.) Date Nights (especially on weeknights)!

Rhyno and I love a good date night and since it has been just us for so long we usually go on a few dates a week. Though I plan to stick to at least monthly dates after baby is here we are just trying to take advantage of being able to head out for dinner and a movie on a weeknight without finding a babysitter.

3.) Doing Anything on a Whim!

 I know that babies are on a schedule and going out takes planning so for now we're taking advantage of just deciding to go to the movies while running errands or taking Violet for a long, long car ride.

4.) Maternity Photos!

Up until a couple of days ago I wasn't into the idea of maternity photos. I know I don't have a Pinterest-worthy bod and Rhyno isn't that into photos (especially artsy or sentimental ones...our engagement photoshoot was awkward and hilarious) but the more I think about it, I want to capture this little piece of time. I'll never have this moment again so I'd like to remember it.

 

5.) Lazy Days!

Babies require feedings and changes and come with responsibilities, so I've set aside a couple days to just be lazy. I've relished in a couple Sunday afternoons where I only moved from the couch to pee or get more snacks. I've been a-okay with spending hours rotting my brain with TV.

Any suggestions of other things we should do before baby arrives?

Photo Memories.

Warning: Lots of really silly photos that have nothing to do with one another ahead but I love them and they make me happy. Hopefully they make you a little happy too.

 

Recently while searching all my old photo files for a specific photo (never did find it) I realized two things. 1.) I need to organize the photos on my computer better cause, dang, there are a lot of them. 2.) I really love going through my old photos. 

Some choice and random finds to kick this week off right:

Have a happy Monday!

Currently.

 A few of my 100 Happy Days. 

 (Clockwise from top left: a sweet handmade and made from recycled materials surprise from an old friend for Babysaurus, celebrating Grandparents Day & the Bears game with my parents, chalkboard paint on every dang thing, a delicious creme brulee milkshake, a gorgeous morning sky, and a big package for Babysaurus--this kid gets the best and most thoughtful mail!)

I am currently...

....eating whenever I can. I still feel like the desire to eat never fades but I get full so much faster than usual. This week I made chili in the slow cooker for dinner. After a heaping bowl, Rhyno was so full he could hardly move. After a heaping bowl, I was craving cereal and proceeded to have two bowls. I'm still on the fruit craze (hello, honeycrisp apples, you sexy bitches) and pumpkin granola is all I ever want. Also, hot chocolate or lemonde? ALL THE TIME. 

...making plans for Rhyno's birthday! He turns 32 next Saturday and I want to make his day really special as his last birthday with just the two of us. I had originally planned to hit up a Lucky Boys Confusion and Mest show (talk about throwback, right?) at a local venue but the doc let me know the loud volume may not be best for babe. I'm thinking maybe dinner and a movie or a trip to a museum. Rhyno is pretty low-key (for his last birthday his request was Taco Bell and episodes of The League). I'm also researching some local breweries since he's a bit of a beer nerd.

...listening to Centuries by Fall Out Boy.  I love them so much. I have listened to this song at least 3,874,978 times already.

...reading all the baby books I should have read back in my first trimester. Still. Can I make an addendum to this one to include what I'm writing? I started compiling the pregnancy pieces of our baby book and have had such a special time remembering finding out we were pregnant and announcing it and what I've been craving.

...watching Masterchef! We don't have cable so Tuesday nights are my "catch up on Masterchef via Hulu" nights. I don't want to pass out any spoilers but BOTH people I was rooting for were recently booted so now I have my fingers crossed for Elizabeth. I'm a huge fan of this show, you might remember my cousin-like-a-sister and I even had a finale viewing party with our own Mystery Box challenge last year (remember?).

...loving that Fall is just around the corner! We've had a few cold and rainy days that I soaked up. I can't wait to light apple-scented candles and turn on our fireplace and crunch around on some leaves.

 

 ...looking forward to our baby shower in just a few weeks! I've been trying my darnedest to find a really knock-out dress, that's my main project for the weekend.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

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