Feelin' 32

My birthday was a few weeks ago, and this is what I wore for family dinner and celebration.  We just went to my favorite restaurant, and then back to our house for cake and presents.  The toddler refused to nap that day, but fell asleep in the car and took a little nap on my lap at the restaurant.  He's so busy these days, it was kind of the perfect birthday present to get some snuggles.  I'm such a mom now.

Cardigan & Skirt: Old Navy
Top: Gap factory
Shoes: JCrew Factory

Date Night

John's birthday was a couple weeks ago, and we finally had a kid-free date night!  It's been a few months, since before Baby2 showed up, so it was nice to have some time away from the babies.  I was slightly nervous leaving them, but once we got to dinner, I wasn't too distracted.  We had a fun, low-key evening.  Just ate dinner, hung out at Barnes and Noble for a bit, and then went to a movie.  Bookstores were one of our favorite places to go on dates before we had kids, so it was fun to just wander around and look at things.  We found this book and basically read the whole thing.  It's funny, I promise.  And the author has a blog, which you should probably read, too.  

Anyway, I also learned an important and difficult lesson.  Maltesers might look like Whoppers, but are actually gross.  That's $4 I won't get back.  

If we look a little tired, it's because I forgot to take pictures until after the movie.  So it was past midnight, which is way past my bedtime.  

Top: Old Navy

Cardi and Jeans: Gap factory

Shoes: JCF

Family Date

Now that we have kids, John and I sing a lot of silly songs, and then have arguments about lyrics or meaning of the songs.  Case in point:

It's raining, it's pouring

The old man is snoring

He went to bed, bumped his head, and didn't wake up in the morning.

We were singing this song the other day and John said, "why isn't anyone concerned? This guy probably has a concussion."

I'm like "No, I think he's dead..."

Being parents has just really changed our topics of conversations. It also makes dinner dates more interesting.  I wore this outfit a couple weekends ago when we decided to take the whole family to the Cheesecake Factory.  The boys did pretty good, but it's always a gamble.  The little one pretty much slept the whole time.  The big one mostly just stared at a kid one table over.

We took a few family pictures when we got home.  Here's one where we are all looking at the camera, at least!

Shirt: Loft
Shorts: Loft (maternity)
Shoes: Sperry

The Awkward Phase

Fall is sort of here, at least some days, so I tentatively pulled out my jeans from last fall.  You know, the ones that I searched and searched for, and then barely got to wear before I was pregnant again.  Miracle of miracles, they fit!  I was shocked because I still have about 15 extra pounds to get rid of.  

I think I have generally had a pretty healthy body image, but being pregnant for 18 of the last 24 months has sure taken a toll!  I don't even know how to dress myself anymore.  I managed to go shopping this week with both boys, which is an adventure.  My main goal was to find some tops that would be cute and easy to throw on with jeans or shorts.  Most of my shirts are a little snug right now, and would likely start rumors of a baby 3.  Or at least I feel self-conscious in them.  I need higher necklines, because I'm always carrying a kid that inevitably makes my perfectly modest shirt a little scandalous.  Shouldn't be too hard to find some cute, higher-necked tops, right?  Wrong!  I tried on a lot of shirts, and ended up buying one.  And a random dress, because I just can't help myself sometimes.  

So anyway, I kind of want to throw out my entire closet and start from scratch, but as my shopping outing suggests, that wouldn't solve the problem.  I need to remember that it took 9 months and a lot of ice cream to grow each baby, so I'm not going to go back to my old body in 2 (or ever, let's be honest here).  

In the meantime, I should probably start exercising again, and maybe cut back on the ice cream.

Tee & Jeans: Gap
Cardigan: JCF
Shoes: Target

37 weeks

I found this dress recently at Target for $8 and it seemed like a good investment for my last few weeks of pregnancy.  It's just comfortable and long enough and I'm honestly running out of clothes that fit.  Have I mentioned I'm significantly larger this time around?  It's really ridiculous.

Anyway, this is what I wore to church on Sunday.  Then we went out to lunch, and then I dropped the guys off at home and ventured to a smaller town nearby to visit a friend who was passing through town.  We got ice cream, which is a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Then I went back home and picked up John and Mr. Baby to head to a birthday party for a four-year-old.  We live a crazy life, I tell you!

Dress: Target maternity
Shoes: Target

36 Weeks

It's the final countdown!  I'm looking at my last few weeks of pregnancy and as I keep saying, time is a funny thing.  It's all going too fast and too slow.  This is from a couple weeks ago when we went out for a Friday night dinner.  I remembered this skirt that I wore last year on the day before Mr. Baby was born, and thought "hey, I can wear that non-maternity skirt even when I'm hugely pregnant!  And then it's too big when I'm not pregnant!  Maybe in all my free time after baby2 is born, I can take it in a bit (kidding, kidding).

In addition to time playing tricks on me, so is my level of busyness.  I feel like we are always running from one thing to the next, but then I can't figure out what we do all the time.  John and I have big lists of things we want to accomplish before baby arrives, but that's not very interesting, just cleaning and organizing, and getting baby2's room set up.  I'm also trying to hang out with friends a bit, because I know that will be more difficult with 2 kids.

Anyway, happy late 4th of July to everyone.  We just barely survived all the neighborhood fireworks.  I'm officially the grumpy pregnant lady with a 1 year old who wanted to call the police at exactly 11:01 each night and report everyone who was still shooting off fireworks.  I didn't do it, but I sure had mean thoughts about it.

Top: Target maternity
Skirt: Loft
Sandals: Love Culture

Snake Skirt

How is June halfway over already?  I'm not ready for July to be here, because that means Baby2 is coming very very soon.  Yikes!  I need to get my act together!

Here's another outfit from a month ago.  I was 30 weeks at the time, and am 34 now.  Maybe I've just forgotten how big I was last time, but I feel significantly more enormous right now than I remember feeling during my last pregnancy.  And I can't really imagine was 6 more weeks is going to be like.

We've been pretty busy lately, with visitors and appointments and weddings and birthdays, and then just general stuff like when can I make it to the grocery store when it's 100 degrees outside??  And I was really hoping for a pleasant summer.  NOPE!

Cardigan: JCF
Tee: Target
Skirt: H&M
Shoes: Target

Life Lately

Hey, the weeks are flying by and I'm going to have a baby next month!  Yikes!  Things are going generally pretty well.  A few highlights from recent weeks:

• I spent my first overnight away from Mr. Baby!  We figured we needed to have a practice run before baby2 arrives.  Pretty sure it was harder on me than on him!  Plus we stayed in a hotel downtown, which was probably a mistake.  The barhoppers were loud at 2am, and then a trash truck was loud at 6am, so my big dreams of sleeping extra weren't necessarily a reality!
• Mr. Baby and I started swim lessons.  I use "lessons" pretty loosely, but hey, it's an excuse to go to the pool and play around.  Plus I look really cute in a swimsuit at 8 months pregnant (I'm joking, I look ridiculous).
• My mom has been in town for the last week or so.  We've gotten quite a bit done. We made a bunch of freezer meals.  John and I are getting close to done with baby2's room.  Plus Mr. Baby is having fun with an extra grown-up around to play with him.  

This outfit is from mid-May, so I'm not quite a month behind at this point.  Maybe I'll even get my act together and post twice this week!  No promises though!  

Cardigan: JCF
Dress: Younkers
Belt: Gap
Shoes: Target

Bella Gravida Recap

Continuing the trend of posting outfits a month after I wear them...

This skirt is the last of my items from Bella Gravida.  I really liked getting some fun maternity clothes, and probably would have kept it if I was still working.  But as I've said a million times, being a SAHM, I really don't need pretty skirts and dresses very often.  

After doing a few months of LeTote, and now doing a couple months of Bella Gravida, I guess I should compare the two.  Of course, if you aren't pregnant, the Bella Gravida review isn't particularly relevant, but maybe it will be helpful in the future.  So I guess I'll just break out my favorite things about each option:

Bella Gravida wins at:

• Actual clothes - I generally liked almost everything that they sent me.  Your account has a closet that you put things in, and they only send you things from the closet.  Sizes were somewhat limited, so I ended up putting things that I was kind of iffy about in my closet, but everything they sent me fit and I actually wore!  LeTote sent me quite a few things that either didn't fit at all, or I didn't like the style of and just sent back.  Also, most of the clothes I got from BG were new with tags!  Probably because they are a newer company, but still, it was awesome!  
• Rotation timing - shipping seemed faster, and they would start preparing your new items when you notified them that the others were on the way back.  The turnaround was MUCH faster than with LeTote.  They also sent items in separate boxes with separate return envelopes, so I could wear a shirt and send it back right away instead of waiting to wear my other 2 items.  
• Customer service - I got a very sweet handwritten note with every box I received!  Sometimes it was just a comment about something in the box, but other times reminders about how to get the most out of the service.  

LeTote wins at:

• size availability - while I didn't always like the styles, there were plenty of options in my size range.
• shipment tracking info - I liked being able to check on when my items would arrive, but it was slower than Bella Gravida. 
• customization of items - LeTote would email and say "hey, your tote is ready, take a look!" and then you could go in and change anything that you didn't want.  

So anyway, I think I'm done with box clothes for now.  I do think it's a pretty cool concept, but the normal monthly cost is too high for me.  I do like how they give you one month at a discount so you can try it out.  Once I'm not pregnant, I might have to try Gwynnie Bee, because they have a month free trial!  Any other clothing rental companies I should know about??

Skirt: Bellyssima via Bella Gravida
Tee: ON Maternity
Cardigan: H&M
Shoes: Target

Phantom of the Opera

This is what I wore to the last broadway show of the season:  Phantom of the Opera.  I was happy to have another fun dress from Bella Gravida to wear.

I'm not a big fan of Phantom.  I know it's a favorite of many people, but I just don't get into it.  I first saw it about 6 or 7 years ago.  It's one of my MIL and SIL's favorites, so I was excited.  I also had a vague idea of the plot, which was completely wrong.  I always thought the Phantom was a nice but misunderstood guy, but he's actually quite evil.  So that's a whole different dynamic!

Anyway, with my expectations lowered, I did enjoy this show.  The music is pretty fun, and I about jumped out of my seat when the chandelier falls.  My SIL was like "didn't you know that was coming?"  No, I really didn't remember it from 7 years ago!  Shocking, I know.

Dress: Leota via Bella Gravida
Jacket: Target
Necklace: F21
Shoes: Target

Standard Activities

You'll never guess what I did the day I wore this outfit.  Oh wait, it's the same things I do most days that I wear something remotely blog-worthy!  Lunch with John and then a doctors appointment for Mr. Baby.  Only on this particular day, it was even more exciting, because apparently my slip was showing out the bottom of my dress, and my collar was unintentionally popped.  Never a dull moment around here, you guys!

Dress: Lilac via Bella Gravida
Jacket: JCF
Shoes: Target

Zebra Tee

So here's an outfit that I wore about a month ago.  If I remember correctly, Mr. Baby and I had lunch with John, and then walked around the mall a little bit before going to a doctor's appointment.  But then we were getting onto the elevator for the doctor's office, and they called to cancel, because the doctor had to go deliver a baby.  But then I went up to the office to reschedule, and they said that the doctor actually had time to see me before she left.  So I felt a little awkward because I was worried about the woman who needed to give birth!  But I assume the doctor was being responsible with her time, right?

These are the boring OB visits.  I know baby is fine because he's kicking me all the time, so hearing the heartbeat isn't as important to me as it was during those earlier visits.  It's mostly just "how are you?"  "more uncomfortable than last appt."  "Okay, sounds about right! See you in a few weeks!"

Cardigan: ON
Tee: Everly Gray via Bella Gravida
Jeans: ON Maternity
Shoes: Target

Currently May

This was from a couple Sundays ago.  I had a little helper who was exploring the deck while I took outfit pictures.  Believe it or not, all the pictures where he isn't in the frame, I look ridiculous because I'm nervously watching him to make sure he doesn't do something dangerous!  I also love his rhino shirt sooooo much.  It's one of the few ridiculous clothing items I have purchased for him.  

It's also time for the Currently link up with In Residence and Dearest Love.

celebrating - so much!  I'm officially in the 3rd trimester with baby2.  My sister is getting married this weekend.  I get to celebrate my 2nd Mother's day (and my first when I'm not in the hospital!), and then Mr. Baby turns 1 in less than a week.  It's a wild and crazy time!  

reading - hopefully soon I can start The Nightingale.  I've been on hold for the ebook forever, and I'm next in line!  I've heard it is really good.  

pondering - how the past year has flown by.  May 4th was my due date last year, and then Mr. Baby showed up about a week later.  Some moments he seems so big and grown up, and the next he just seems so itty bitty still.  And baby2 will be here before I know it.  It keeps hitting me that I will have 2 babies soon and what will I even do with them??

Dress: Bellyssima via Bella Gravida
Cardigan: JCF
Shoes: Target
Mr. Baby's shirt and pants: Gap outlet

Floral Blouse

Can you tell that I have no creativity anymore?  I mean, these post titles are truly inspired.  Honestly, when I'm editing pictures and starting posts, I just label them with the item of clothing I'm wearing, and then I usually end up changing the title at some point.  But then there's now, where I don't have much to say.  I wore this outfit to go out to dinner with my 2 favorite guys.  This blouse was another favorite from Bella Gravida, even though it didn't quite fit properly.  It was fine for a couple hours, and I felt very pretty!

Cardigan: Gap outlet
Top: Olian via Bella Gravida
Jeans: ON Maternity
Shoes; JCF

April Shopping

"It's gonna be May" tomorrow, and thanks to everyone on the internet, I now have this song stuck in my head.  And I am trying to remember what even happened in April.  For example, this outfit is from mid-March.  This is one of the dresses I got from Bella Gravida, and I loved it, but it was a little short for my comfort, so I wore leggings, even though I don't love how they look.

As far as shopping goes, I know that I bought and returned many items, as I continued my search for the perfect casual shoes, and also a pretty dress for my sister's wedding.  I really thought the Sperry Zuma  slip-ons were going to be perfect, but they were too loose in the heel, and kind of slipped when I tried to walk around.  The casual shoe search continues, with increasing frustration on my part.

I ordered 2 dresses from Amazon, and 3 from ASOS, hoping something (anything) would work for my sister's wedding.  I also tried on pretty much every maternity dress option at the local Motherhood store, and the one department store that actually has maternity.  Fail!   I'm sure I've said this before, maybe multiple times, but you can be tall, or you can be pregnant, but good luck to you if you are both tall and pregnant!  All maternity dresses are made for someone who is about 6 inches shorter than me.  I had my eye on this Loft dress, but didn't want to pay full price, and it was never part of the sale offers.  I finally decided to cave (as a last resort), and it was 40% off!!  Hooray!  It is a little more casual than I was originally wanting, but at this point (wedding next weekend), I'm happy with it.

Otherwise, I bought a couple longer t-shirts at Gap factory, and I also had my Bella Gravida subscription, which I meant to cancel, but didn't get done in time, oops.

2 Gap outlet tees: $4 each
Loft dress: $48 (used a gift card)
Bella Gravida subscription:  $80

Total Spent in April: $136

Earned selling: $50

Since I have barely bought anything this year, I'm still well under my budget.  And I'm linking up with Franish, as always.

Cardigan: JCF
Necklace: ON
Dress:Bellyssima via Bella Gravida
Belt: Madden
Leggings: H&M mama
Shoes: Target

Oh Hey There

One minute I'm ranting about elevators, and the next I disappear.  Sorry to anyone who was worried the elevator trolls got to me.  I'm safe and sound, I promise. 

Life has just been busy lately, and when I have any free time, I'm tired.  No idea why!  It might be the fact that my body is building a human right now.  But I'm not a doctor, so I can't say for sure. 

Anyway, this outfit is from a few weeks ago, when it was still tights weather.  I think we are safely out of that now.  I'm excited for warm weather, but am also nervous about being pregnant in the hot months of summer.  I'm trying to enjoy my ankles while I have them. 

Cardigan: JCF

Tee: ON Maternity

Skirt: Bella Gravida

Boots: Madden

Maternity Box Clothes

Here's what I wore on Friday, which happened to be another evening when I had Bible study, as well as a going away happy hour for an old co-worker.     

Anyway, this shirt is from a maternity clothing rental company called Bella Gravida.  After I cancelled LeTote, I remembered that Katie had mentioned a similar company for maternity clothes, so I tracked down her post about it, and decided to give it a try.  The first month was only $5, so I figured it would be fun even if I didn't like it.  Well, I loved my first box!  I'd be really tempted to keep all 3 items if I needed more clothes.  I'm sure I will write more about it later, but so far, I like it.  Of course, I probably won't go past my $5 month, because again, I don't have much reason to get dressed up these days, but I'm hoping to at least get a fun Easter dress out of the deal!  

And yeah, I should have taken pictures before sitting for 4 hours and getting a crease in my shirt.  Oops!

Shirt: Bellyssima via Bella Gravida (Not sponsored)

Jeans: ON Maternity (exact)

Shoes: Target (similar)

Game Night

I wore this Friday night to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday with the family.  We went to the local board game cafe, which was actually pretty cool (if you are a nerd who likes board games, which we are!).  We ate dinner and then played a few games.  Spyfall was the first game we played and it was pretty fun, but so stressful!  Basically, everyone gets a card that has a location and an occupation on it, and then one person gets a card that just says spy.  The spy is supposed to figure out where the group is, before the group figures out who the spy is.  So you take turns asking each other questions to figure out who might be the spy.  This was not clear at all when we started playing, and I was the spy of the first round, while I was also trying to feed Mr. Baby!  I was so confused!!!  First, I thought everyone was in a different location, because their answers didn't make any sense.  Then they were actually confused about where they were, because the card said "Carnival" which some of them thought was the one in Venice, some thought was the one in Brazil, and some thought was just a good old-fashioned American traveling circus.  Needless to say, I did not figure out where they were.  But anyway, it was a pretty fun game.  You have to be specific enough in your questions and answers to not give away your location, but to make sure the other non-spies know you aren't the spy.

Anyway, other than the stress of being a clueless spy, it was a pretty fun night!

Scarf: Target
Dress: ON Maternity (similar)
Cardigan: Gap outlet
Belt: Chinese laundry
Shoes: JCF (exact)

Carrying the Banner

About a week ago, the Newsies broadway show was in town.  I have been waiting for this for years, because well, I was OBSESSED with the movie when I was a kid.  I'm not exaggerating when I say I watched it several times a week (maybe daily) over summer break for at least a few years.  I could probably still quote most of it by heart even though I have no idea when I last watched the movie. So, you can imagine my expectations were high for the show.  And while I was watching it, I just felt very conflicted.  Apologies in advance for my crazed ramblings here.  I obviously care a little too much about this particular topic.

As a standalone show (not comparing it to the movie), I think it was pretty fantastic.  The performers were super talented, and the dancing was insane.

When I compare it to the movie, I just felt disappointed.  As with any book-to-movie type transition, they made changes.  Some of them I liked, some I didn't like but understood, and some were just unnecessary.

For example, in the movie, Jack falls in love with David's sister.  She's basically in 3 scenes.As a boy-crazy elementary kid, I didn't understand why he liked her because she barely said or did anything, but that's beside the point.  The reporter in the movie is a middle-aged guy who helps the newsies.  In the musical, they combined these parts.  So Jack's 17.  The girl is working as a reporter, so I assume she's older than that?  And the whole dynamic is different.  And then she's randomly Joe Pulitzer's daughter?  I understand why they made this change, because they wanted the love story to be more central to the plot, but I hated it.  The actress was great, and I actually loved her songs and chemistry with Jack, but I didn't like the way it changed the plot dynamic. And I hate hate hated how it made Pulitzer less of an enemy by the end.  No, Jack would never have gone to work for the paper directly.

But can anyone explain to me why they changed SO MANY of the song lyrics?  And Medda's songs were completely different!  Where's High Times, Hard Times when you need it?  Santa Fe was the first song (and then showed up several more times), which started things off on a slow note.  And the "full" version of it was a lot different than the movie version (which is fabulous, even if Christian Bale is embarrassed about this role).  Besides, if musical Jack is an artist, shouldn't he love living in New York?  Musical Jack wasn't even in the diner for King of New York!  And don't even get me started on the missing Spot Conlon quote "I object... on the ground of Brooklyn!"

And I never really thought about it, but the Newsies rally all the other child laborers in the city, and then Jack makes the deal with Pulitzer, but what happens to all the other kids?  Do they get better treatment??

Anyway, I have a lot of feelings about this particular topic, but I should probably stop ranting now.  This isn't a Broadway review blog!


Scarf: Gap
Cardigan: Gap
Belt: NY&Co
Dress: Loft Maternity
Boots: Madden

Purple Sweater

True story:  I wore this almost a month ago but didn't blog it because my pregnant belly was extra pronounced that day and I hadn't spilled the beans yet.  

This is a scarf from Letote.  I'm still sort of on the fence about scarves at the moment, but they are a good option to add some interest since I can't wear necklaces.  Plus scarves come in handy when playing peekaboo, which is currently one of Mr. Baby's favorite things.    

Sweater: Old Navy

Scarf: Letote

Jeans: Old Navy maternity (similar)
Boots: Madden (exact)