I feel like its taking forever to feel back to 100%...this cold is lingering, that's for sure.
We definitely feel a ton better though!
Friday was grocery shopping day.
I do/see a lot on my bi-weekly grocery days, but seeing this was definitely the highlight:
I've been waiting
(not so) patiently for Hanna Anderson pj's to make their way back to Costco after the long winter. These pj's are definitely one of my favorite kid's items
(along with these and these) because they hold up incredibly well and when you buy them at Costco they are about half of the original Hanna Anderson price. I got the cute green striped ones for little brother.
Definitely do not see it, even if you've heard it's good.
It was lame and I was stressed out the whole time watching person after person getting eaten by killer wolves. Sounds exciting huh?
Saturday morning Bennett's best friend Avery came over.
They made a huge mess.
Then Saturday afternoon we decided to go to the zoo for a bit. Chris hasn't gone with us since we got our membership
(besides to see Zoolights) and we wanted to take advantage of the non-rainy weather. It ended up that they closed an hour after we got there, but we saw everything we wanted to see. We even got to see the tigers and the lions, both of which are always sleeping out of view!
Sunday morning we went to our favorite breakfast place,
Lovejoy Bakers.
We always get the same things and they never disappoint.
After breakfast, Chris had to head to work until he had to play at church later in the evening.
John Mark shared his final message in the My Name is Hope series which you can podcast
here.
It was so good and I couldn't take notes fast enough!
This weekend I was also inspired to make a few new things:
(after finally watching Julie and Julia for the first time)
I used up some bbq pork from last week to make some calzones:
(TJ's honey wheat pizza crust, mozzarella, onions, cilantro, bbq pork)
I had also been wanting to make homemade pickles:
(how domestically pregnant of me)
They turned out amazing.
We've been eating them by the bowlful,
and I'm making burgers tonight just so we can put pickles on them.
I also created a lovely and healthy kid-friendly lunch consisting of all of The Hardesty's favorite things.
I like to call them banana burritos:
(TJ's whole wheat flour tortillas, peanut butter, honey, banana)
Kind of late for a post, but it's a weekend in review on a Monday so that counts for something right?
Have a great evening friends!
I'm a total blogging slacker, but when you've got a house full of sickies for two weeks something has to take the backseat right?
I really want this space to be more than just what we did on our weekends...kind of like it used to be...back when I had time to blog about pretty things and creative endeavors and good food. I fully intend to be more creative with my posts, some weeks will just be more creative than others.
Got it? Good.
Onto our weekend/week:
In the lull between the sicknesses, we got to meet sweet little Fern.
I was so smitten that I didn't get any pictures and this is the best one that Chris got:
(awesome.)
Bennett stole one of the blueberry muffins that we brought over for the very tired and hungry Hartmanns:
Friday night we went on date night with
Abi and Josh.
I said goodbye to facebook after 8 years and I don't miss it one bit.
Fb profiles used to state when you joined fb...I joined in Nov. 2004 back when it was a newfangled thing that only large university students got to be a part of, started by some dude as a class project.
A lot has changed.
My guilty-pleasure-time-wasters-of-choice are blogs, Pinterest and Instagram.
Facebook had to go since it was lame.
(no offense if it's totally your favorite, it just wasn't mine.)
B popped bubbles with a stick while Chris cleaned the gutters:
Chris made crepes for breakfast.
banana nutella and strawberries with lemon curd:
I took a picture of my ever-expanding belly...I'm 26 weeks!
(which means only 14 weeks to go, give or take a few)
I discovered that our milk contains milk.
Good to know.
Chris has been gone for a few days and B and I have been sick, so we have been watching more tv and movies than normal.
This was Bennett yesterday morning watching Word World:
(He was definitely in the zone.)
and I wanted Chris to come home to a clean house,
so I played Cinderella yesterday while Bennett napped.
(it kind of looks like I have a lazy eye in this picture, but I promise I don't. )
Today we are having amazing weather, so B and I went to the park so I could wear him out.
(lastnight he was awake from midnight to 5am because he wasn't tired. I just kept putting him back in his bed every time and he even got some spankings for being disobedient, but nothing phased him)
Has anyone else had this happen? Please tell me it's a one night thing!
Happy Beautiful Thursday!
We had a weekend that was packed full, but totally fun!
Thursday,
Abi came over and helped me break in my new sewing machine by showing me how to do a few basic sewing projects I had picked out. She is such a great teacher and taught me how to do a zipper on my first project:
(I actually feel like I know what I'm doing...somewhat!)
(first project = this little zipper pouch, isn't it cute?)
(Have you seen the clothing she makes? Pretty amazing!)
Abi also helped me make a playdoh/coloring mat for B:
(I made a second one all by myself after she left too!)
Friday was grocery shopping day, and usually I make a very detailed shopping list for each of the 3 stores I go to with 2 weeks of meals on the back of it. I love my paper lists but I thought I would try to embrace the new and I tried out the Grocery IQ App.
It's awesome guys, and once you put prices in for items, it keeps a running total at the bottom so it's easier to stick to your budget. I may do a whole post on it once I use it a little more. Grocery IQ was super helpful and I didn't miss my paper list at all!
Bubs did a great job shopping (it's always a long morning) so he got some chocolate milk when we got home. He was excited for it, but I made him pose for a picture because he was so darn cute!
Friday night we went down to Bridgeport to try out
Joe's Burgers and spend some Christmas giftcards.
We were pleasantly surprised with how good Joe's was, though since it's only a kiosk, you get to eat in a plastic enclosed area and only half of the propane heaters were working. It was literally in the low 30's but the food tasted so good we didn't even care. Chris even got a milkshake!
Saturday morning B woke up and promptly wanted to play playdoh:
We played while we waited for Chris to get home from his run...and he came bearing a latte from
Barista. Mmm.
Then we made homemade egg mcmuffins:
and B took a super long bath:
Sunday morning we woke up to this:
Chris was playing at church, but B and I waited for my mom to come over
(so we could work on a few more sewing projects)
then we went out to play in the little snow we had before it melted:
I had been wanting to use up some ricotta so I made
these muffins, but tweaked the recipe a bit.
(I left out the lemon zezt, added mini chocolate chips, doubled the vanilla and added some milk)
They turned out amazing, and it was a nice warm treat to eat after coming in from the snow!
One of the projects my mom helped me with was a bigger clutch to match my little zipper pouch.
B thinks I made it for him to keep his cars in:
Sunday night we went to church and heard an amazing message from John Mark on anxiety and depression...
(it's the first in a short series, and I can't wait to hear the rest of them...podcast it here.)
I didn't really take any pictures on Monday, but I did make this:
(now I can finally use my poor abandoned scrapbook paper collection!)
and today we woke up to this (!):
so we played:
and built a snowman:
(and B gave it a third arm)
...which didn't seem to help much when he fell over:
And now we are going to get cozy, make some granola and have a family movie night!
Sorry for picture overload!
While I was browsing Target the other day, I was reminded why I don't bother with actual maternity clothes. I'm no fashion blogger, but I know when something isn't cute.
Case in point:
Drapey ugliness.
There's nothing more unflattering to a pregnant woman's body than something that makes her look even bigger than she is/feels.
Throughout my two pregnancies, I have learned that less is truly more.
Body hugging=body slimming.
When I was first pregnant with B I went out and bought all of the obligatory (and expensive) maternity clothes that I thought I needed. For the most part they ended up being frumpy, unflattering and uncomfortable...not to mention severly lacking any style whatsoever.
The only piece of maternity clothing that may be necessary depending on your job and time of year you are pregnant are some maternity jeans. I've never found any that are that stylish, so I decided to skip the pants all together this time around
(besides the pair I already own)
and stick to leggings and tights for keeping my legs warm.
So far so good.
These are the things I think about when I'm buying clothes for an expanding belly:
-all must be made of mostly cotton
(preferably with some spandex/lycra to make it stretchy and to hold it's shape).
-3 things I consider:
breathable? Crazy hormones means you never know if you'll be hot or cold.
machine washable? A limited wardrobe means that stuff gets washed a lot, not just because there is less to choose from but because food gets on your giant belly all the time.
comfort? The most important factor when you're already uncomfortable.
Cotton it is.
These are the items I am currently living in:
(I have multiple colors in each of these things so I don't feel so limited in my choices...
mixing and matching and layering is where it's at when you are with child.)
super long cotton tanks:
cotton dresses that can play the roll of shirts once you are bigger:
cardigans:
(since closing a jacket over a giant belly isn't an option
unless you want to spend a fortune on a maternity coat)
simple tees :
leggings:
(these are my absolute fave. Expensive, but worth every penny since I wear leggings every day.)
These are a great, and more affordable alternative...
tights:
flat shoes that you can slip on:
(once you get a belly it's next to impossible to tie your shoes, if you can even fit into them)
(these ones are great because I can always loosen the ties if my feet happen to swell towards the end.)
Since you guys have seen my wardrobe this time around, I thought I would post some pictures of my essentials when I was pregnant with B since it was the complete opposite time of year.
It was pretty much the same clothing-wise, just with much less of it since it was the hottest summer ever.
cotton shirt and skirt:
tunic top:
(Good to know: American Apparel has great stuff for pregnancy!)
( I'm actually wearing this shirt in my latest belly photo here.)
I lived in
this versatile dress last time, doing the straps differently allowed me to feel like I had some variation in my wardrobe even when I didn't:
and once again, cotton tank tops:
(this picture was taken when I was 8 days overdue, 1 day before Bennett's birthday!)
Another great thing about buying non-maternity clothing is that you can still wear all of the items afterwards...even for subsequent pregnancies!
(especially if you stick to cotton basics while you are pregnant)
Say "no" to frumpiness ladies!
