too true

A couple nights ago I was perusing a website
learnvest.com
I was intrigued by a title of an article

'Women Spend Three Hours Per Week Re-doing their Partners Chores'

hah I'm so guilty of that.
are you?

the green drink

my first pregnancy food aversion was to vegetables 

which was funny because prior to being pregnant I loved anything green 

but after a couple months of trying to gag down anything remotely good for me, I decided to try green smoothies.  I can honestly say I love drinking my smoothie everyday, but I really hated making it everyday.  that's a lot of chopping and cleaning. 

So I started making about 5 at a time. 

It works great and I'd recommend it for any smoothie(we now do it with Sam's protein shakes)

Just make a big amount, fill up the glass, cover with tinfoil and freeze 

I really prefer to use a mason jar but sometimes they are already being used so a glass works fine

Sam uses plastic water bottles since he is on the go

In the morning I take it out of the freezer and let it thaw throughout the day 

by 11-2ish it's in it's prime and delicious every time.

If you are just starting with green smoothies add a lot of sweet fruit(bananas, strawberries, oranges, pineapple, mangos etc.) and not as much spinach, but then overtime you can add more spinach as you become more accustomed to the flavor.  of course you can always add honey or vanilla for extra sweetness

husbands

'ATTENTION HUSBANDS'

THE GIRLFRIENDS' GUIDE HEARTILY 

RECOMMENDS THAT YOU SHOW UP WITH A 

GIFT OF SOME SORT SHORTLY AFTER THE 

BABY IS BORN.  YOU WILL ALMOST NEVER GO 

WRONG WITH JEWLERY, SINCE IT WILL FIT 

EVEN BEFORE YOUR WIFE HAS LOST HER 

BABY FAT. IT INDEICATES AN APPRECIATION OF 

THE VALUE OF THE CHORE SHE HAS JUST 

PERFORMED.  IF PEOPLE GET GENEROUS 

REWARDS SIMPLY FOR FINDING LOST DOGS, 

YOUR WIFE IS NOW ENTITLED TO THE HOPE 

DIAMOND FOR THE SERVICE SHE HAS 

JUST RENDERED.

Did your husband get the memo? 

I asked the guys at my office what they did for their wife.. 

she just had twins!, on bedrest for 4.5 months(definitely deserving of a token)

but most of them had not even thought of the idea

maybe i'm totally greedy but i've been making an idea list.. 

it'll be easier for sam.

Source: anthropologie.com via amandajayne on Pinterest

Source: anthropologie.com via amandajayne on Pinterest

Source: anthropologie.com via amandajayne on Pinterest

Source: anthropologie.com via amandajayne on Pinterest

countdown

we are looking forward to quite a few things

here's the breakdown. 

1 day until date night with Sam, I love going out with him.

7 days until conference weekend at the cabin in Woodland

19 work days until tax season is over! (yahoo I can do that!)

47 until Sam graduates(yay for no more homework and tests!)

48 days until Friday's off again

80 days until baby is supposed to come

relationships

last week i wrote a post about some random thoughts 

since then i've had some great conversations with some of you about your thoughts 

it helped me make some great connections 

my sweet sister Lindsay, talked to me about how she has come to realize the importance of being happy right now and living in the now.  it sounds so much easier, how often do we sit down to do something and can't enjoy it because we are just thinking about what we have to do next.  living in the now is so rewarding.  it gives such great purpose to everything you do and at the end of the day even if you only accomplished 2 things off of your list you enjoyed those 2 things completely. 

another insight i had this week was about relationships.  sometimes i get so excited about all these things i'm going to do that it consumes me and takes all my free time.  i don't take time to improve relationships.  relationships take a lot of work and time(especially when you work everyday all day) but it's probably the most rewarding thing to spend your time doing.  this week i touched based with a few old friends, some from highschool, my old ward, dance friends, and family.  those conversations brightened my day.  and they encouraged me to be better about maintaining good relationships.  so if you get a phone call from me and think why is she calling me?? well it's because i like you and it's been too long since we've talked.  

if you are feeling discouraged or low i encourage you to reconnect with an old friend or plan a small gathering with a friend and i promise you after you spend time you will feel so much better about yourself because you spent time worrying and thinking about someone else instead of just wishing and dreaming and beating yourself up.  

tonight

i usually enjoy making dinner

i come home from work and slip into my slippers and lose my mind in recipes

lately the idea of cooking dinner is the last thing i want to do

luckily i have quite the stash of freezer meals so we've been enjoying those

and i have been enjoying the break

interestingly... i have this itch to bake!

which I am quite amateur at so it's fun to get out the flour and baking sheets

a couple day ago i made these beautiful bread bowls

i loved the smell that filled the house

and i love eating them filled with potato soup

Source: myrecipes.com via amandajayne on Pinterest

tonight i'm planning on making this beauties

i think they should be delicious and i can't wait to try them

thanks to rachel for pinning them on her board.

Source: whiskandaprayer.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

weekly goal and a fear

every week I have little goals or things I want to improve on 

they are common things that i'm sure you subconsciously are always working on too

this week I am going to stay in my clothes until 730 every night. 

I'm hoping that by not changing straight into my 'cozies'

(sweats and big shirt and slippers)

I will feel more energized and have a greater desire to get stuff done

instead of going home and just wanting to crawl into bed

funny story:

i was thumbing through, 

'a girlfriends guide to pregnancy' 

and read the fears of husbands out loud to sam

we were laughing out loud and i have to admit i have thought of most of these fears 

#5 summed it up

"The Rational, Stable Wife he used to have will be Permanently 

Replaced by this Sobbing, Sleepy, Impatient, Ravenous,

Baby-obsessed Person who has Gas." 

deep thinking

last night i had such a great night at a relief society...
i felt so loved as people from my new neighborhood reached out to me and made sure i went

(let's be honest it's a little nerve racking going to a church function that you don't know anyone at)

anyways, i'd been having this feeling that i should go and so glad that i did
my friend(i'm calling everyone in my ward my friend because i want them to be my friend even if we don't know each other yet) spoke on trials.  She  talked about why is it that as women we feel like we need to be 'superwomen'.  we need to always be happy, have a clean cute house, kids put together, cook, sew, craft, budget, etc. etc.  and that most the time we are so busy trying to be who we think we should be that we mask everything else from the world.

I've been thinking a lot about all the outside influences on women.  Everyday I check out some of my favorite blogs while sitting here at work.  I look at these beautiful women, talented women, women who make thrift stores look good, women who create something spectacular out of nothing.  I look at pinterest at what everyone else thought of, did, created, bought.  How can I not compare myself of covet/envy what others have done or thought of.  These blogs, pinterest, facebook are not all bad they can be completely empowering.  They are inspirational and motivating.  I have found some great ideas and suggestions that have really strengthened me too.  But it's easy to decide that you aren't enough.  I just am a plain jane.

But anyways.  Enough with the mask.  Life is hard for everyone.  We are all going to have our own trials and problems but why pretend they aren't there.  Why not help one another and add strength to each other. I'm trying really hard to not compare myself and fret over worldly things these days because I can so consumed in everyone else I forget to just be me, and be the best me I can be.  I hope that I have never made anyone feel lesser of themselves because of something I have said or written.  I never have wanted to do that.  I use these blog to journal things in my life and not to ever try to bring someone down.

Sometimes I worry about posting a complaint or a hardship because I don't want people to feel like I am asking for attention or sympathy.  But I never worry about what effects the opposite has.  Why is it so easy to share the great but not the ugly.  While this pregnancy hasn't been nearly as challenging as other people I know it's still be challenging for me... but I never tell anyone that.  I mean I'm supposed to be glowing.  I'm supposed to just be so enthralled in the miracle of life how could I ever admit to someone what else I've been feeling.  This was a total rambling post and I'm totally impressed if you read it all until the end.

Maybe I'll complete it when I have come to some conclusions.

28 weeks and 1 day

I decide to skip and not blog about week 27.
and for week 28 I don't have any pictures yet

I guess that pretty much summarizes the first couple weeks in my third trimester
the third trimester has hit me hard, and combined with full throttle tax season at work= hard
but you just do the best you can and keep thinking about how worth it the sacrifice is
... not to mention how lucky I am to experience all of this
anyways,

I went to the dr. today and had my last monthly appointment
now I get to go every 2 weeks.
time is flying away

2 wonderful things happened last week to document
#1. i work with a lot of men, one of them just realized that i was pregnant last week
he admitted that he noticed i was getting bigger but thought maybe i was just dressing weird
and at 27 weeks he decided it was safe to ask the question and congratulate me

#2.  yesterday a guy i work with asked if i was feeling normal
i thought he was kidding, but told me that things were getting harder
he said with all seriousness, 'oh no don't you have like 6 months left!!'
no no buddy I got 11 weeks and 5 days.. but who's counting?

the chair

Next to the crib I think that the 'perfect chair' was next most important for our babe's room

I knew I'd be spending a lot of time in that chair and wanted something comfortable and chic

However our room isn't very big 

and the even bigger problem is the configuration of the room

one wall has a closet and built in drawers, and door to the hall

another wall has a window

third wall has another door that connects to the addition 

and the last wall is the only one without anything, and it'll house the crib

we were definitely limited on the size of the chair

but I think we found one that will work great

it's comfortable, rocks/glides, and I think will be timeless. 

here are some pictures of some nurseries with great chairs that inspired me. 

Source: withtwocats.com via amandajayne on Pinterest

Source: hellobee.com via amandajayne on Pinterest

Source: ohdeedoh.com via amandajayne on Pinterest

bonus we got the ottoman for free with a coupon 

click here to view, however our color is not shown. 

this will make you smile

Source: weheartit.com via Hilary on Pinterest

which ones are your favorite?? 

opinions please

I've been trying to decide on a diaper bag.
I love the petunia pickle bottom bags
they are adorable I ordered one a while back and now I'm have second thoughts

I found this really cute bag on the Kate Spade sample sale
I love how classy and timeless it is
it doesn't really say diaper bag but it still has the compartments
it is a little smaller which is where I need the opinions

do you prefer to have a separate bag for all the baby gear or just carry the essentials in your purse
if you go into the mall do you take the bare minimum?
or lug everything around?
which would you chose
the sale ends tonight so i gotta decide soon!

click here to see the petunia pickle bottom bag
click here to see the kate spade bag

the weather

I can't believe how much the weather can impact me

yesterday was beautiful!

I had a skip in my walk and I couldn't wait to get home

it was energizing

Sam and I went for a long walk after work and I enjoyed perusing our new neighborhood

it felt so good to breath fresh air

wear a light jacket and my tennis shoes again

it was completely invigorating

today

it's cloudy and a storm is approaching

i just want to go home

take a bath

and slip into my bed and sleep

and not wake up until the sun has returned

(which would never happen because I'd have to go to bathroom)

I hate to be such a debbie downer but it's hard to not get wrapped up in the gloom of the day

I start to worry and analyze everything in my life

convince myself that things could never possibly work out

that we will never leave this phase of uncertainty

so what to do now... all i've come up with is to make these babies when i get home

chocolate always helps

Source: cupcakeproject.com via amandajayne on Pinterest

simplicity

last night i just laid in bed laughing.
i was so tired everything seemed hilarious
sam recorded me because i couldn't control myself

sigh.. .

those moments are so precious to me
just the two of us enjoying being with each other
we didn't need anything to entertain us just a simple conversation
sometimes i worry that i haven't enjoyed those simple moment enough
pretty soon everything is going to change
there's going to be a baby for a us to stare at, and attempt to take care of!!
our lives are turning upside down and i'm trying as hard as i can to not stress about that
i'm trying to just enjoy the last of things instead of preparing(or trying to prepare) for the future

when we left the house last night sam looked at me and said do we have everything
in my mind, sunglasses...check, phone.... check, chapstick....check
yep i got everything i need
in a short 13 weeks time we will never be leaving the house so empty handed.
it's so weird to experience all these different emotions
the most overpowering emotion is excitement and extreme happiness
but i would be lying to myself and everyone else if i didn't admit that sometimes
i worry i have been taking everything for granted and not enjoying it enough
luckily we still have time to enjoy

and let's be honest... i think it's just going to be getting better from here
did you ever feel this way once you were pregnant?

another week

The weeks seem to be flying by

i sometimes get nervous that i won't be ready for this babe to come out 

physically i know i will(don't worry)

but if everything else will be ready 

some things are starting to get a little challenging

my days wearing high heels are limited that's for sure!

it seems like there is so much to do

here are the snapshots of 26 weeks. 

baby grew a lot in length this week

size of a cucumber 

15 inches long, 2.2 pounds 

ironically i have been loving cucumbers lately 

i eat about one a day 

i also have been loving hamburgers, corn dogs, and anything sweet 

especially doughnuts

this babe sure eats like their dad!