SOCIAL MEDIA

January 31, 2017

Disappointment

I am that person that will arrive somewhere 30 minutes early in fear of being 2 minutes late. I hate to make people wait and I hate to not be where I need to be on time and ready to roll. So last night, as Michael and I were driving to the hospital to get things rolling so we could meet our baby girl, we received a phone call. One that I wasn't expecting and hadn't thought would come. They were overbooked and we were postponed. All kinds of questions popped into my mind? For later this evening? Tomorrow? Later in the week? What does this mean. The lady kindly apologized and said she would call after she talked to our doctor. 
What?
How does that even happen?
Is this a joke?

I had spent all day yesterday doing laundry, cleaning our house, and just getting everything ready for baby. I didn't go to work so that I could just relax and enjoy our last day at home before we brought a baby into our home later this week. I'm not good at just sitting and doing nothing so I tried to keep myself busy all day long. 

And yet we were left waiting. Waiting for the phone call that finally came and said "welp, we are going to have to postpone until tomorrow at 3pm." I couldn't help but feel disappointed, overwhelmed, emotional. We should be sitting at the hospital, getting ready to meet our sweet girl this afternoon, yet here I am, at home, with nothing left to do but wait until we try again. 

Could it be worse? Absolutely. I am thankful that they called before we got there. I'm thankful that the nurse who called tried to be as positive as she could. I am thankful that the mommies who needed to be there for emergency situations had a room to go to. But I'm also a tad bummed. It's like waking up for Christmas and someone saying "well we've pushed Christmas back a day. You'll have to try again tomorrow". 

I feel like a brat even being disappointed about it. We will still get to meet our girl, it just won't be the exact plan I had planned on. And truly, what's wrong with that? So instead of drowning in the "what if's" and "I wish this would have happened", I'm going to list some pros of being postponed for the day. 
  • More than likely she will be born February 1st which is a pretty birthstone. 
  • M and I will be able to go eat a nice big lunch before we head to the hospital. 
  • His parents will be there for her arrival after a little medical emergency. 
  • I get one more night at home in my own bed next to my handsome husband. 
  • I will have time to go to target and hobby lobby to finish up her door decorations. 
Okay, I officially feel better about having to wait a little longer to meet our sweet Adilynn. Thank you for letting me vent that out friends. Keep us in your prayers as we journey towards this new chapter in our life. I have no doubt it will be my favorite and most teachable chapter yet. 


January 19, 2017

Shower Perfection

This past weekend, my sister and her sister in law hosted our last baby shower before Adilynn arrives and it could not have been more perfect. They put so much thought and effort into sweet little details and just made sure it was classy and perfect for us. From sweet cookies with her monogram, to a candy bar filled with my favorite candies, and even beautiful crosages for my mom, sister, grandmother and I to wear. The pictures don't quite do it justice but here are a few of them. 
It's amazing to look around and see people who love and support M and I and know that those same people are looking forward to loving on our sweet girl once she makes her arrival into this amazing world. To be blessed by the friendships and families that we have is such a wonderful feeling. I know that the months to come are going to be some of the hardest, most amazing months of my life but to know we have so much support lets me know that we will conquer and survive. 
January 9, 2017

Precious Weekends

There seems to be more and more moments lately that I take a look around me, and see how blessed I am by this precious life that I am living. The little moments mean more to me than ever before and the big moments just make my heart want to burst with happiness. I'm sure it's partly because I know that big changes are coming but I also think it's because I'm able to slow down enough to see the wonderful things that each day brings. This weekend was definitely a reminder of how close we are to a huge but precious change and how lucky we are to be surrounded by people that are going to love and support us along this new journey. 

I haven't quite decided if "nesting" is going to be one of those pregnancy things that my body/mind totally skips over as we near our date to meet our sweet girl. I'm a pretty organized person in general but I do find myself getting into little kicks of doing random cleaning. I most definitely cleaned our entire fridge...like shelves cleaned off and then hand washed and organized drawers all over our house. I don't know if it is because I was feeling lazy but because it really needed it but non the less, it is complete. Afterwards, I felt I owed myself a quick shopping trip so off to target and hobby lobby I went. I snagged this sweet letter from Hobby Lobby for Adilynn's "guest book" for the showers we are having. I have to admit that it turned out pretty precious. 
My sweet momma and sister came to town later Saturday evening and we not only enjoyed each others company but they put me to work in Adi's room, hanging things up and arranging it how I want it. I'm a bit indecisive (that's a big understatement) and so I had set things up but needed my sister to say yes or no before I put holes all over the freshly painted walls. I can't wait to get around to taking pictures so I can show it all off but for now, 

On Sunday, my sweet friends in the town I live in hosted our first baby shower and it was nothing short of amazing. I kept trying to talk them out of it because I literally hate feeling like the center of attention and I didn't want people to feel obligated to come to the shower, but alas, I am so thankful to them for talking me into it. It was really amazing to look around in the middle of the shower and see these sweet women who have all impacted my life as friends, mommies, mentors, and family celebrating such a fun new journey that is about to begin. I feel so blessed and honored that they spent their day spoiling our sweet girl and left feeling even more thankful than I already am for friends who have become like family in my new hometown. Here are just a few pictures that I will cherish forever. 
 I'm looking forward to a busy but great week ahead including a shower at my campus, volunteer hours, a swim meet, and then our last shower over the weekend. I hope you each have an great week. 

January 6, 2017

One. More. Month

After a quick but slow week back to work from an awesome Christmas break, I'm excited that it is already Friday. I feel like my life is measured in how many weeks I have left before Adi makes her debut so each week's ending a tad bittersweet. Today's 5 on Friday is definitely baby related in all ways, probably because the fact that she is going to be here in less than a month (we hope). It's funny that you have 9 months to plan all of these things and then in the last month you realize how much you didn't get done in the previous 8 months. Oops. 

1. Our first baby shower is this weekend. I am so blessed by amazing friends who are throwing Adilynn her first shower. I have to admit that I'm terrible at being the center of attention and the thought of sitting there opening gifts in front of people makes my heart skip a beat just thinking about it, but it's exciting that we have people who want to celebrate our sweet baby girl's upcoming arrival. I am hoping my dress still fits but.... I'm not going there until Sunday. 
2. Crafting. I actually get to sleep in this weekend but I'm hoping to accomplish a few things to get closer to being ready for our stay at the hospital and bringing our sweet girl home. So the picture below is what I'm hoping to create for our room at the hospital. I already printed out cute little letters but need to figure out how to wrap the "H" the way that they did in the picture.  I have an H that is wrapped like this but it's wrapped in tan and it won't match her room if I keep it tan. Any tips or ideas for how to make this as simple as possible? I'm not very crafty. 
3. Bassinet cover search. I am on the search for a cover for the bassinet that my grandmother gave to me. It is the same bassinet that my mom and aunt slept in, along with my sister, brother, cousin, and I did too. I can just picture it sitting next to our bed at night with a pretty little cover on it but can't seem to find a cover that suits my fancy. Do you have any favorite etsy shops that you would recommend? 
4. Maternity photos. I'm hoping to sneak in a few maternity pictures this weekend. I go back and forth on what I want from them. Part of me sees myself out in a big field in a dress right at sunset, while another part sees this perfect spot on the beach as the sun is setting behind me. I don't want to over do it because we all know these pictures will end up posted on my blog and no where else but I know that I want them for the memories of how awesome my body is for all that it accomplished. 

5. Hospital bag packing tips. I see pictures pop up in my pinterest feed pretty often about what moms say you should pack in your hospital bag but all of them contradict the other. So far, I have lounge pants, nursing tops, bras that have breast pad inserts, and the inserts for breast feeding bras. I'll add in my toiletry bag as time gets closer but it's ready minus a few things that I need daily now. I am hoping that I get to experience breast feeding but feel at peace with the fact that my body and baby will do what it needs to in those moments. Adilynn's bag officially has bows and a cute little swaddle. That being said, I know that I need to add more so help a blogger out friends! FILL MY BAG! 
Happy Friday friends. I hope your weekend is as amazing and relaxing as you wish it to be. If you have some time, give me some of your tips for hospital bag packing, bassinet cover buying, and letter wrapping techniques. I need you! 

January 2, 2017

Here's To 2017

2017. A part of me can hardly believe that 2016 has already come and gone. 2016 was definitely a year of lessons learned, memories made, and obstacles over come. There were highs and there were lows, as with every other year I'm sure. I learned a lot about myself as a person, wife, professional, and family member and I know there are a lot of improvements needed during this new season we are in. 

2016 brought lessons on humility, respect, honesty, and vulnerability. Lessons I never would have thought of brought me to where I am today and I am so thankful for those trials and what they each taught me. There is always room for improvement and reevaluating certain areas of our life. Although I know this can and probably should happen daily, weekly, or monthly, it's nice to feel like you have a fresh start; a new beginning per say, when the clock strikes midnight and the year is officially over. So with 2017 comes areas that need some addressing. 

Communication 

I have learned a lot about my communication style this past year. When it comes to conflict, I am definitely one to avoid it at all costs and will let things fester until it all comes to a head at the worst possible moment. Thankfully, I am at least aware of this quality and have been taking steps to work on it to avoid the eruption. Along with actually communicating my needs, frustrations, happiness, and moods, I know that I need to work on actually communicating with the people in my life. It's so easy to just think that people are doing well, rather than making a quick phone call, sending a text or email, or even sending a little card to let them know I'm thinking about them. I want to get better in my communication skills and actually communicate. 

Simplify

Sim-pli-fy: V. Make something simpler or easy to do or understand. With our sweet baby girl coming along, I want to ensure that I simplify our life so that it is easy to adjust to a new life with her and focus our attention on being the best parents that we can as she enters this world. There are going to be changes that rock our world and what we thought we knew but my hope is that we can adjust to a simpler lifestyle. 

Thankful

Taking the time to reflect on all of the things in our life that we have to be thankful for is going to be a huge priority for me. I know that this year is going to come with challenges of its own that will push me further and harder than I have ever thought possible, but in those moments, I want to be able to be thankful that I have those worries or troubles. I always find myself wondering around November why I wait until then to realize how much I have to be thankful for. So this year, I'm making it my goal to stop and be thankful more often. Maybe that means I need to start my Thankful Thursday posts back up.... 

Growth

There is always room for growth in so many different areas of our life but I feel as though this growth is going to be represented in so many different ways this year. I am excited to see the growth of our family, the growth within my marriage, the growth of myself as a person, mom, wife, family member, friend, and professional, and the growth of my mindset in the upcoming months. 

Focus

I want family to be my focus. I know what you are thinking... focusing on your family should always have been a priority...but hear me out. I adore my family but I have let other things come between my being able to focus solely on them when they need it or at least give them the attention that they deserve. I know that adding Adilynn to our family will definitely help with this but with that, I want to focus on my marriage also. Trying to keep our baby girl happy and healthy will be it's own feat but I want to continue to focus on being happy with myself and within my marriage. 

I hope that you each have a great start to your 2017. Do you have any resolutions or words that you feel like will represent your take on 2017 or are you just excited for a new year to continue enjoying life? I would love to hear about what you are doing different or the same in this new year.