Family Birthday

This is what I wore for our family celebration of John's birthday.  I love this dress, even though it's maternity.  I'll probably just keep wearing it anyway, okay?  Cool.

I think we had a pretty good time for the birthday.  We went to dinner, and then came back to our house for presents and dessert.

We have this problem when getting dressed to go places.  I dressed myself and the baby.  John dressed himself and the toddler.  And we accidentally matched each other.  I don't want to be one of those obnoxiously matchy families, but it just happens sometimes.

Cardigan: Limited
Dress: Loft
Shoes: Target

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

38 weeks

I'll be honest.  I'm basically still blogging at this point because I think I should be fair and have this pregnancy documented at least somewhat.  Last time, I was taking pictures almost every day, and this time I can barely manage once a week, so it's not quite the same, but hey, it's something.  If I had to guess, the blog will probably fade off into obscurity soon.  It's just not really something I have time for anymore, and my free time is going to be drastically reducing again.  Maybe I'll post every so often, or maybe I'll miss it terribly and come back, or maybe I'll just start posting weird mommy-blogger stuff (probably not).

Anyway, this was me on Sunday, 38 weeks pregnant and significantly bigger than I was at 40 with baby1!  This is the dress I ended up buying for my sister's wedding back in May and I really love it.  Other than the fact that the armpit holes are enormous.  Seriously, what is up with that?  Are my armpits too small for the rest of my body?  This is a common problem for me.

Counting down the days until baby brother arrives!  Could be soon...

Dress: Loft
Belt: Madden
Sandals: 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

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

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

The Coldest Day Outfit

So here's an outfit from a week ago Sunday.  It was the super most freezing day ever (church was cancelled because of the cold), but we had lunch plans for my MIL's birthday, so we ventured out in the frigid temps to a new barbecue restaurant in town.  Mr. Baby was in head to toe fleece and was wrapped up in a blanket as close to me as possible.  This is what I wore, mostly because all of my normal jeans were in the laundry.  And miraculously, I didn't get any BBQ sauce on these!

I bought this shirt back in March, and this is shamefully the first time I have worn it.  I thought a printed chambray would be a fun addition to my closet, but I am learning that I don't know what to wear with it.  Sure, in my working days, it would have looked pretty cute with my red pencil skirt, but now?  I don't like the denim on denim look too much, so normal jeans are out of the question.  I guess it will probably be a "bad" purchase when I get to the March rewind.

Shirt: Loft 
Cardigan: JCF (similar, similar)
Jeans: Old Navy (similar)
Boots: Madden (exact)

Winter Floral

Oh hey, it's this dress again!  I just really love it, so I'm pretty much wearing it any time I need to dress up.  Or any time I can get away with dressing up.  This was for a friend's baby shower last weekend.  It's hard to believe that less than a year ago, I was having baby showers and opening presents that I had no idea would become daily necessities!  And now everything my friend opened I was like "aah!  You will use that all the time!!" Okay, crazy mommy Andi, just calm down a bit.  

Plus, I was just excited to wear my hair down, since Mr. Baby stayed home to have father son bonding time with John.  

Cardigan: JCF (similar, similar)
Dress: Loft (exact)
Belt: Madden (exact)
Boots: Madden (exact)

Giraffe Sweater

I'm pretty jealous of Kate's giraffe sweater.  I've never seen a similar option, but this one from  LeTote was close enough for me to request.  On their website, it looked more black than gray, so I was surprised when I got it out of the box.  As with everything from them, it was a little short, so my tank tops get to make a little appearance.  Cute enough, but I'd still love a striped version like Kate's.

This has been the first normal-ish week in awhile.  December was just crazy, and then I had a terrible cold and John was out of town the first week of January.  So it's nice to be somewhat back to normal.

We even had some above-freezing weather this week, so the boy and I went to the zoo!
Ironically, given the title of this post, we did not make it to the giraffes.  I'll be honest, I love the giraffes, but they are down a pretty steep hill and I didn't feel like pushing the stroller back up it.

This sweatshirt cardigan thing is also from  LeTote, but I didn't take official outfit photos, because I was at the zoo, and babies are terrible photographers.

Sweater:  LeTote (closest option I could find)
Jeans: Gap (exact)
Boots: Madden (exact)

Currently December

First Wednesday of the month means it is time to do the Currently linkup.  Go check out In Residence and Gold and Bloom.

wishing - that it wasn't quite so cold outside.  I am not a winter person, and with a baby, it's even worse!  I'm worried we will be staying home a lot during these cold months.  
remembering - last year around this time we were just starting to plan the nursery and figuring out what to register for.  And I hadn't told the blog that I was pregnant yet!  It's crazy how quickly time has gone!
wrapping - nothing yet!  I just started my Christmas shopping yesterday.  I honestly don't even think I have any wrapping paper.  Better buy some.  
baking - this again?  I don't really bake much, okay!  Or maybe I should edit my first category to "wishing I was baking chocolate chip cookies"
decorating - again, oops!  Nothing so far.  We need to get the Christmas box out of the storage closet and make our house somewhat festive!  

So I looked up my Currently post from last December.  Not much has changed!  I hadn't wrapped anything yet then either!  

And since I've been the worst at outfit pictures (or really outfits) recently.  Here are a few family photos from Thanksgiving.

*Mr. Baby is a bit of a drooler these days, but he's still pretty cute.  

Weekend Adventures

This is what I wore to church on Sunday.  My sister and nieces came out for a quick visit, so we had a wild weekend!  We used to be on the go nonstop when they visited, but we are now somewhat limited by Mr. Baby's schedule.  But we still managed to squeeze in quite a bit of fun.  It's so sweet to see how much the girls love their baby cousin!  He's not really sure about them yet, and probably confused about the whole twins thing, but he gives them lots of smiles, so I think he likes them.  

We went to a few of the girls' favorite restaurants that they don't have at home, had a picnic and walked around the lake, did a little shopping, walked to the park and let Mr. Baby try the swing and slide (he wasn't really impressed, even though I told him it was fun).  At home, we played a lot of games.  Sorry lasts forever sometimes.  They liked Scattergories more than I expected, and had some very clever answers.  And we laughed so hard playing Scribblish, which is way more fun with kids.  It's basically like telephone crossed with Pictionary.  My favorite was when "Playing piano with your toes" turned into "CAMEL ATTACK!"

My sister and I finally remembered to get a picture together.  We have failed on the last 2 visits.

The girls weren't interested in taking a nice picture, but I tricked them with Photobooth, and we got this winner.

Anyway, it was a fun weekend!  And I really liked this skirt from LeTote, too.
 
Cardigan: JCF (similar, similar)
Tee: Gap (similar, similar)
Skirt: LeTote
Shoes: Target (similar)

Currently October

First Wednesday of the month means it is time to link up and share what we are currently up to.  Go check out In Residence and Gold and Bloom. to see the other participants!  

eating - less.  I'm trying to get serious about losing weight, which means I'm logging all of my meals again.  It's annoying, but it works!    

exploring - local parks.  Mr. Baby loves to be outside, so we go on walks as much as possible.  On the weekends, we've gone to parks with walking trails, and it's really fun.  Except for that time I got stung by a bee.  Not cool, nature.  

wearing - mostly LeTote stuff. It's been fun to try new things.  I'm not sure how long I'll keep it, but I'm glad I've tried it!

admiring - Mr. Baby.  Seriously, I cannot even stand how cute he is.  

collecting - um... I don't know. I'll be sappy and say memories!  

And most importantly, today is my husband's birthday!  Happy Birthday!!     

Sweater: JCF (similar, similar)
Scarf: H&M (similar, similar)
Dress: Gap (similar with sleeves)
Shoes: Target (exact without captoe)

Weekend Update

Well, it's been about a year since I last wore this skirt!  I tried it on yesterday morning expecting it to not fit, but it did!  Hooray!  So I wore this outfit to church!  Mr. Baby thought the necklace was super fun to grab.

Speaking of fun, my mom is visiting at the moment!  She got in Friday evening.  Then we took an impromptu road trip to Grand Island on Saturday to see one of her best friends.  That was really fun, but kind of ridiculous.  Babies aren't the best road trip companions, but he really did quite well.  It was his first time being on the road for more than an hour or so.   We learned pretty quickly that he was lonely in the backseat, so my mom kept him company while I played chauffeur.

We are having pretty amazing weather right now, so we've gone on a few walks, and otherwise just getting as much grandma/baby time in as possible.

Necklace: Lucky B Boutique (similar)
Cardigan: JCF (similar, similar)
Tee: Gap (similar)
Skirt: JCF (similar, similar)
Flats: Target (exact without captoe)

Ode to a Dress

These days, I often thank my former self for buying so many skirts and dresses with flowy skirts!  This is a magical dress that fits no matter what size I am.  It's a "dry clean only" dress, but the first time I took it into the cleaners, they wanted to charge me $1 per pleat, to iron it.  And I was like, "um, this dress only cost $18. I'm not going to spend $100 to get it cleaned!" and I've been washing it on delicate and line drying it ever since.  And I don't even iron it, because I'm a rebel.  And I'm pretty sure it looks exactly like it did the first time I wore it on vacation back in 2013.  And now I want to go to the beach.  Babies love cruises, right??  (I'm joking - I think having a baby in a stateroom would be pretty awful!).

Oh, and if you are wondering why I was dressed up, it's because one of my friends got married!  YAY!

Dress: Limited
Belt: Madden
Shoes:Target

Turquoise Dress

Since I'm retired for the moment, I don't wear my dresses as much.  But this one is pretty casual and comfortable, so I wore it to a meeting.  But then it was too hot for this cardigan and I needed pockets, so I changed into shorts and a tank top for lunch with some friends.  But I did wear this outfit for a couple hours at least!

Dress: Old Navy

Cardigan: JCF

Belt: Steve Madden

Sandals: Target

Giraffes - Now and Then

It's no secret that I love giraffes and elephants, so when I saw this tank at H&M, I pretty much had to buy it.  In college, I had a long sleeve tee that was white with black giraffe silhouettes all over it.  It was pretty cool, but it was also fairly cropped, so eventually I had to admit it wasn't working for me anymore.  The 4 inches of tank top at the waist wasn't a great look.  Anyway, I'm glad to have a new giraffe shirt.

And in honor of Throwback Thursday, here's a picture of me feeding giraffes in Kenya in 2006, in a shirt that was also more cropped than it should have been!  (But man, how skinny was I??  I really shouldn't look at old pictures right now!)



Cardigan: JCF
Tank: H&M
Jeans: Old Navy Maternity
Flats: Target (top 10 remix item)

Black and Tan Dress Remix

I think it's time for a little remix collage action featuring one of my oft-worn maternity dresses.  I added this dress as an afterthought to my order of this navy lace dress (worn here) and this blue printed dress (worn here).  They were both too short, and awkwardly proportioned on the top, so I only wore them a couple times.  But this other dress, that I was unsure about even ordering has turned into my favorite of the three.
*I'm getting slightly out of order on posts again.  These are from April 2nd.  So, a few weeks ago!

I'm sure I wore this more than 5 times, but here are the different ways I wore it and actually thought to take pictures.

1/2/3/4/5

I'm not sure, but I think this dress might work pretty well as a non-maternity item, as long as I don't feel weird wearing maternity clothes when I'm no longer pregnant.  I mean, no one would know unless I had a blog where I told everyone these things.

Jacket: JCF (remix item)
Dress: Younker's maternity
Necklace: Old Navy
Belt: Madden
Shoes; Payless

Currently April

A new months means it's time to link up with In Residence and Dearest Love!  Here's my list of currently:

Wearing:  whatever fits!  I've got a lot of clothes, and a lot of them were still workable for most of my pregnancy.  This is becoming less and less true.  I'm relying on my maternity items and then things like scarves, cardigans, etc to keep things interesting.

Sipping:  as much water as I can make myself.  Apparently staying hydrated is important in avoiding BH contractions and leg cramps, so I'm really trying to drink water!

Wishlisting:  I've got my eye on things that I can't currently wear, but am hoping to find on a clearance rack later this summer. Like I really want this yellow floral dress, even though it's probably not at all practical.

Writing:  Thank you notes for all the baby presents we have gotten!  And trying to write down my thoughts in this One-Line-A-Day journal.  I don't write things every day, so it might last me more than 5 years!

And currently not believing anything anyone tells me.  Have I mentioned how much I hate April Fool's Day?  Oh yeah, just every single year that I've been blogging.

Sweater: Old Navy Maternity
Skirt: Loft
Flats: Payless

Winter is Ending

The good news is that winter seems to be over.  The bad news is that I am perpetually 1-2 weeks behind on posting my outfits, so while I am wearing skirts and flats in real life, the blog is still reflecting colder times.  This was a simple outfit for a cold day when I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.  And now, spring seems to really be here!  We've had highs in the 60s and 70s this week and I am one very happy girl!  So here's hoping the boots and tights can hibernate until December!

Scarf: CK
Sweater: Old Navy
Jeans: Old Navy Maternity
Boots; Madden

Happy March, Happy Monday

Well, happy March.  I hope this means that the snow will be melting soon and that we won't be getting more.  This is not a reasonable expectation, but a girl can dream, right?  Or at least maybe the temperature will be warm enough for me to skip tights more often?  That's more likely.

Anyway, this is one of the sweaters that my MIL bought me for Christmas.  I've probably worn it 5 times, but never gotten pictures.  It's one of those items that I grab when I want to be comfortable but still look like I'm trying a bit, add jeans and boots, and I am good to go.  But it was begging to be paired with some color, so I went with the obvious choice of cobalt.

Jacket: JCF
Sweater: Old Navy Maternity
Skirt: Old Navy
Boots: Madden