pregnancy must haves part 2

 

I had given you my top 5 pregnancy must haves HERE, but I have since then had requests for another list. So I threw this bad boy together.

 

First off, I'm 26 weeks now, so I have some new items that I must have.

 

Avon Moisture Therapy Lotion - I was using this baby bump rub that I was got from the Motherhood store, but the doctor told me that it was causing rashes and I should stop using it immediately. Instead she told me to use my usual lotion because there is NOTHING that prevents stretch marks but lotion will help soothe. I have to agree! I love this stuff. After showering, before dressing I just lather up and I'm good to go.

 

Jeggings/Stretch Pants - how was I ever going to live without these?!. I swear I have invested in several pairs of stretchy pants! Best decision I have ever made. They are comfortable and flattering!! I don't have to give up my pant-hugging style just because I'm pregnant, SCORE! Not to mention they make me feel like they are holding my new growing fatty places in place, which is sensational.

 

Inspirational Yoga Mat - I can't say enough about this lovely mat! Not only is it cushioning and long enough that I can just do anything on this thing. But it has these amazing inspirational quotes all over it. Sometimes when I'm in a standing pose looking down at my mat during prenatal yoga, I read the quotes and can't help but smile. It's encouraging. Plus the mat is two cute colors, bluish on one side and pretty bright green on the other.

 

Body Pillow - okay, so any pillow is great. Lots of pillows is even better. But this little body pillow is sensational!! I love how it hugs my body and boosts up my belly and comforts Daymien while we sleep. I seriously sleep with 4-6 pillows every night. One under my head, two on each side of my belly, 1-2 under my legs and another at my head in case I find another place while I'm sleeping to put it. Pillows are a Godsend, trust me!

 

Bananas - this is an odd must-have I know, but it's so true!!! Talk about a craving, I have to have a banana at least once-twice EVERYDAY! I swear I have to have one or I feel like I'm depriving my body and my baby. So I've been buying bananas literally everytime I go to the grocery store (which seems like every other day these days). Plus, the doctor said that bananas are helpful for those awful pregnancy leg cramps....which is a topic for another day.

 

That's about it for this pregnancy must haves. Do you have any items that you must have during your pregnancy?!.

 

 

[happy thursday!]

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yoga anyone?

Lace Top: BCX; Pants: American Rag (similar); Bracelets: Macys

 

Sorry about the lighting in these photos. The sun was going down faster than I could take some decent photos.

 

But I love this top! The lace detailing on the sleeves is just super adorable! Plus the length of the sleeves is perfect because it hides my ever growing arms. I've noticed that I carry all my pregnancy weight in my belly (duh) and my arms! So I keep trying to come up with creative ways to hide it a little bit so I don't look like I'm growing tree stumps out of my arm sockets.

 

But thank God for yoga! I hated yoga before I got pregnant but now I'm taking it twice a week and I love it!! And I think it's really starting to help me get flexible and prepared as well as slimming me down in some unneeded fatter areas :) Plus my instructor is amazing! And we do toning and muscle building as well so it's not just straight yoga. We are building strength for once we have to get the baby here and then to hold, feed and take care of the baby. So I've totally been enjoying it! Plus, it seems to be giving me more energy which I'm LOVING!! If your pregnant, I really recommend getting plugged into yoga. You can start as early as you want and go for as long as you are pregnant. One of the ladies in my class is 36 weeks!! She's such a trooper and another person in my class started yoga when she was 9 weeks!

 

Women are just amazing people.

 

[happy wednesday!]

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love is in the air

Valentine's Day is almost here! So I picked out a cute blazer to go over my destroyed jeans and white & pink tee to make it a little more formal and cute.

 

This super cute blazer is only $16.80! from Materialize Me. I think it's more of a junior's size than women's so be sure to pick your size based on that. This blazer is made of great quality, and has cute floral cuffs (as shown) for added detail and more of a girly touch, which I personally love. It has a cute silver button closure and you get another one with it in case you ever loose it.

 

Course if I wasn't pregnant I would totally pair this outfit with heels but since I am I think I will rock some cute flats and silver jewelry :)

 

Happy Early Valentine's!!

 

Are you doing anything special?

 

[happy tuesday!]

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things you really don't need for baby

A friend of mine sent me this blog link and told me I had to read it! Course since I'm pregnant and doing all the reading I can - between keeping house, making appointments, going to work, running 3 businesses and making a baby (lol) - I plopped down and decided to take a moment to read this hysterically written and probably all true 10 (OK, 9) Things You Really Don’t Need For Baby .

I have to say I have broken 6 of the 10 things! Guess that's how you weed out the new mommies from the experienced ones.

And now some photos from my lovely pregnancy life :) - some of the photos are a recap, but I like them!

Haha. I have NO idea why I was leaning like that lol.

fashion friday!

I absolutely love the warmish weather we have been having! It's so gorgeous outside and it warms your skin but doesn't fry you. You just want to sit out and soak in the rays.

So I took advantage and put on my new 'prego friendly' dress :)

Have you ever noticed that when your pregnant, most dresses do nothing to flatter your new hearty figure? I have! I bought some cute dresses that I thought I would be so adorable in, but once I got home and put them on, I looked like a whale!! Literally. And why is it when you try something on at the store and you think it looks decent, when you get home your mirror morphs your body or plays up the places possible and you end up having to return it? Odd, but it happens to me ALL the time.

That's why I'm in LOVE with this cute pink dress with the birds! It doesn't make me feel like I just swallowed a watermelon and tried to mask it with a cape just thrown over my body.

Fire Babydoll Dress: Macys (similar); Silver Chain Necklace: Macys

Do you have any favorite dresses?

Want more fashion?!.

Check out and link-up with these lovely ladies:

Long Distance Loving

Get Your Pretty On

[happy friday!]

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baby boy

So as you know by now, I'm having a baby boy :) And I'm thrilled!! Means daddy has to teach him all the important things. No tampons, boys are jerks or emotional sex talks for me! Of course I want to have that open relationship where he can come and we can talk about anything. Me telling him that girls are evil of course and just want him for his handsome good looks and the money in his college piggy bank. But I know that daddy will be the role model, the go-to person and I'm okay with that...for now. We'll see how things change once he's here and getting older.

I thought it would be fun to post up some photos of the items we have bought and put up in his room already though. But first I have to say, why do girls get all the cute stuff!!! I swear there were a thousand things I wanted to buy just walking down the aisle but knew it would be in vein as my little boy would hate me for buying him princess pink owls and frilly little comforters.

How adorable is this!! I swear I will still go back and pick this up and find a way to have it in my house.

BUT, we did find some adorable boy stuff that we just couldn't pass up. And yes, I already KNOW, we shouldn't be buying stuff yet. But hey, I'm a new mommy and have this unfaltering excitement to just do all the things that they tell me NOT to do just because it feels great at the moment. here's some items we picked out:

 Chalkboard Piggy Bank -  Lindo and I use to do this 'competition' where we had our own jars that we would fill up with coins (since who uses change anymore?!.) and when we decided to go on a vacation we would take our jars and cash them in. And we use to compete to see who had the most cash at the end. Course Lindo ALWAYS won cause he uses cash for everything! And poor little 'ol me couldn't give up the plastic. So now our new thing is taking all the change we use to put in our jars and fill up Daymien's piggy bank! Kinda like a pre-mature college fund if you will. And once it's full we will cash in and stash the cash and fill it up again.

 



 Dinosaur Pillow Pet - Folks always tell me 'Don't give away too much cause other pregnant women may try to steal it'. But honestly, creativity should be shared in my opinion. And as you will find out, our sons' 'theme' is dinosaurs! Roar! So anytime I find something plush and dinosaur that has our colors in it, I can't pass it up! I'm not a huge fan of pillow pets, but when I saw this little guy sitting on the shelf all alone and dinosaur like, I couldn't even continue to just stroll by. I grabbed him and didn't sit him down! For now he resides on top of Daymien's bookshelf until his crib arrives in March :)

 



This idea was all daddy's :) He posted up a photo of Daymien's crazy parents. I bought this frame for Valentine's Day years ago when Lindo and I were first getting together. Hints the crazy paint all over Lindo's neck - we were at a concert where we could paint each up in glow in the dark paint, which we went a little crazy with. I've had some cute pictures made that I will be posting up in his room as well, but thought this was simply adorable when I walked into Daymien's room and this was up on the wall over where his changing table will be.

 

I don't even remember where we got this picture from, might have been Target. But it works perfect in Daymien's room. It's a b&w photo with a red bicycle in it. My mom hates it for some reason, but Lindo and I love this photo and decided to keep it in his room (since we transformed my study into his room).



 

This painting is wonderful because Lindo got it made while he was visiting his mom in Guatemala. It's of Guatemala city. It's simply a gorgeous painting and I love it because it gives Daymien a little of his Hispanic culture feel to his room - for those who don't already know Lindo is Guatemalan.



 

Last but certainly not least are this kind of badass little skateboards that Lindo bought to hang up in Daymien's room. Although I'm not entirely fond of them (don't care for anything skull related) I love that Lindo is taking an interest in decorating Daymien's room so I'll allow it. But I have to say, once Lindo got these hung up, they weren't bad. They actually compliment the decor and bring a little bit of street edge to the room.

 

What sorts of things did/do you fill your kids' rooms with?

 

[happy thursday!]

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comfy pink plaid

Some days all I want to wear is leggings and a tee shirt

Or stay in my stretchy night pants and a sweater

So I did just that, just added a cute plaid top to make this a 'out in the public' kind of look

Leggings & Black Tank Top: Victorias Secret; Boots: Gifted; Plaid Top, Earrings & Ring: Macys

Lindo and I have been trying to sleep in as much as possible before our new alarm clock arrives. All mommies have recommended naps and sleeping in as much as I can before the baby gets here. Because I will miss it once it's gone. But sometimes I find myself restless when I get to bed, thinking of what Daymien is going to look like, wondering if I will have everything I need, studying my plans in my head over and over again. Some nights I can't help but to get no sleep at all.

How do you calm your mind before going to bed? How do you reassure yourself that everything will be okay and fall into place? And how do you keep from freaking yourself out thinking 'I have to push this baby out of my body'?

I'm still working on coming to terms with the whole pushing the baby out thing; I'm failing lol.

And if you haven't already be sure to link-up with my new style obsession blog: StylElixir! Every week she hosts this link-up and picks a new Head Stylist to feature on her blog! Hurry over and link-up, comment on others and get inspired!!

I'm also linking up with the lovely Get Your Pretty On :) Be sure to stop by, show some love, link-up and get your pretty going :)

[happy wednesday!]

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baby haul

I've been so consumed with the holidays, appointments and work that I never got to show you what baby got for Christmas!

So this is my mini haul on behalf of my son :)

My mom made sure baby was included in our stockings this year (hehe)
She got him this super cute stocking with a bunny on the front and stuffed it with goodies!

 Daddy got to open baby's stocking this year and oh my! Look at all the cute stuff he got :)

 Daddy is sizing baby up already hehe. 

 Lindo's best friend got baby his first pair of Nike!
He also got him some Steelers onesees, but baby is a Packer fan haha.

Lindo doesn't want to carry my diaper bag around (cause it's too 'mommyish' he says).

So he bought his own 'diaper bag' (yes, it's the Domo backpack lol)

BY THE WAY! Yesterday Lindo and I picked up Daymien's crib and put it together!!! I took some photos that I'm going to share with you very soon! But after putting his crib together and getting the bedding and some plush toys put in it, we sat on the floor in the nursery and just STARED for like an hour at what we had done. No talking, just staring. Course being a women, pregnant and the mom, I couldn't help a couple tears that grew in the corner of my eyes. I'm just so happy and I love that I'm giving my son the best that I can. Above all though, I am so grateful that my son has one of the very best daddys in the whole world!!! He really puts a lot of hard work, love and creativity into everything involving Daymien. And for that, I thank God everyday.

[happy tuesday!]

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mani-monday: red lust

This is my first time linking up with the lovely:

Heather from Justlove.ly

I have been obsessing over red nailpolish for about a month now.

Something about it just seems so perfect.

Course I want to try this pink and metallic silver next:

Got some nails you want to show off?

Link-up!

[happy monday!]

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pregnancy must haves

Inspired by the lovely Anna

Since I'm a first time mommy-to-be I find myself really trying to absorb and learn as much as I can from others. I've been reading the books, blogs, and taking advice from other mommys. Some things I've learned help so much! But I've also learned a couple things myself :) 

1 - Plush Bath Pillow: If you didn't need/use one before then you will! I have never owned a bath pillow before but recently decided why not! So I purchased my very first bath pillow and have thanked myself ever since. This little beauty just makes soaking my achy body so much more enjoyable. And if you don't want to go out and spend $30 on a pillow, just grab a fluffy bath towel, fold it up and enjoy!

2 - Flats: Doesn't matter what kind of flats you buy, as long as they are slip-ons; I find that Payless has a good variety to choose from so you're not spending $100s. But I seriously wear nothing but flats anymore, even slip-on boots! Since I'm growing huge faster than most folks, I have found it difficult already to simply put on shoes. Flats have seriously been my lifesaver. And the best part, I don't need to ask the hubby to help. I just slip-on and go! Now socks is another story...

3 - Maternity Band: I don't think I can really say enough about the maternity band. I bought my first one when I was about 2 months pregnant (again, I was a SUPER early shower) and really started using it when I hit 3 1/2 months. I could still fit all my pants, I just couldn't get that button to meet the hole or that zipper quite up all the way. Currently I still wear my maternity band which has saved me from buying too many maternity bottoms, but now that my hips are coming in, don't know how much longer I can pull off getting my pants up. Great investment!

4 - Plush Pajama Bottoms: This may totally be just me, but I could live in my plush pink leopard pajama bottoms! They are so comfortable, stretchy and warm. All the things a mommy-to-be NEEDS. My mother buys all us kids plush pajama bottoms every year for Christmas and this year I hugged her so tight I nearly took the breath out of her. Seriously, you have not felt comfort like this. You don't have to worry if you can get them on, don't have to make any modifications to them, don't have to shimmy in or pray they don't rip apart when you take a seat. Definitely my favorite item.

5 - Plush House Slippers: Another all time favorite, and again, this may just be me. But since I'm pregnant during the winter, and my house has zero heating at the moment (besides my wonderful space heater) I found plush house slippers are the best kind of comfort for my little frozen ones. Plus I love that it feels like I'm walking on air, although that feeling is short lived when my legs swell up and remind me that I'm humongous! But a nice feature is you can get these slippers in any color you can think of or any animal shape imaginable. AND! They come in booty ankles, clog style, thongs, and more! Just a little added awesomeness to fit your personality.

Do you have some great items you love during pregnancy?

I would love to hear from you!

[happy thursday!]

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baby update :)

I have been awful with taking photos!

So (guess it can be my New Year Resolution lol)

I have set a reminder in my phone to remind me to take a photo EVERY week!

Unfortunately, I have only been posting these photos to my personal FB for family

BUT! I will start posting them with little updates to my fanpage as well :)

Just thought I would share two of my most recent photos for you guys :)

I am 6 months pregnant as of yesterday!

And yes, I have been very large my ENTIRE pregnancy.

My baby bump actually started to come in when I was only 5 weeks pregnant!

But no worries, he is completely healthy and normal size.

I make sure to bug the Dr about it every time I go in.

I just have a small frame and small torso which is the reason for the gianticness lol

Let me know if you want to see more updates like these with more photos

Sorry this was the one I had to share today.

[happy wednesday!]

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daddys are the best

In getting ready for the baby to get here we have:

replaced his window in his room,
repainted

redecorated

bought all his furniture

and I KNOW!! Everyone has been telling us not to do this yet, but we just can't help our lil' ol' selves.

We bought baby clothes!!

It was so funny running into Lindo sitting in the middle of the baby's room FOLDING HIS CLOTHES!

I seriously couldn't help myself I had to run and get a couple photos

And now I'm going to share them with all of you!

Oh and yes, I am planning on posting up photos of the progress of the baby room :)
If you have some DIY ideas and suggestions, please please please send them to me!!
Either comment below, email, or tweet me!

[happy tuesday!]

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brighten your day :)

I just had to share a quick photo :)

I can NEVER get a good photo of Belle.

It's like she KNOWS the camera is capturing her and she just isn't having it.

But I tricked her! (sortof) hehe.

If nothing else, hope she makes you smile :)

[happy monday!]
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fashion friday!

Happy Friday Everyone :)

Today I'm out running errands and taking care of baby :)

But course I want to look cute hehe.

Pregnant or not, I'm allowed to look adorable darnit!

I don't know who I'm shouting at (haha).

Since I'm on the run, couldn't get really good photos, but here's a peek :)

I got this cute hairstyle from this lovely gal.

Dr Martens were my Christmas present from the hubby

I'm seriously in love with these boots since they have the floral insides and the ribbon laces.

Scarf is from Charlotte Russe (I'm addicted to this scarf)

Bird ring is from Icing

Rhinestone ring is from a yard sale

PLeather jacket is from Target :)

 

And of course I'm linking up with this girly:

Long Distance Loving

[happy friday!]

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quit your day job

Another blog I would love to share has the cutest Etsy shop owners featured: Ryan & Lucy.

They were asked five simple questions about their business and here was their responses:

What five business skills do you have down pat?

1. Quality product. In addition to Ryan’s illustrative skill, we’re very particular that anything coming from our shop is in excellent condition. There have been times when a print has the tiniest flaw, but we’ll never let it leave our studio.

2. Attention to detail. Both in Ryan’s drawings and in our writing and business, we love the details and making things extra-special. It’s why we include a story with each animal print and use photographs with specific purpose and story.

3. Customer service. We strive to address questions and problems as quickly as possible and in as friendly a manner as possible. Sometimes our customers don’t realize they’re dealing with the actual people making the work and they’re surprised when they get a personal response rather than an autobot response.

4. Quick shipping. When I shop online, I love it when my order comes quicker than I expected, so we try to make that happen as much as we can.

5. Adaptability. If something isn’t working, we’ve learned that rather than stress over it, we need to adapt and find a way to make it work. That’s true for selling products, managing our time, and how we work with each other.

What’s your advice for someone considering a similar path?



Lucy: You have to find your own path. We know it’s not the answer everyone wants to hear, but there just isn’t an exact formula for success, as much as we wish there was. As we get older and wiser, we realize that across the creative spectrum, people achieve success through talent, persistence, and lots of trial and error. We’ve made mistakes, but those ultimately guided our future decisions.

While there isn’t an exact blueprint, we’ve certainly noticed a few things that are consistent in successful businesses: Tailor your craft impeccably, know your audience, be original, and be realistic.

To read the full article and check out more cute designs, go HERE.

[happy thursday!!!]

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