Weekend Recap

Another weekend has come and gone! How do they go so quickly? Speaking of time, this pregnancy is flying by. Baby #2 has hit a few grow spurts and I feel like I'm about to pop out of my shirts! 

It may be time to stop wearing tees around the house and focus on maternity only clothes.

Back to the weekend though... The weather here held up until Saturday and then it was cold and windy on Sunday. That meant a combination of indoor/outdoor activities both days! I pulled out some easter stamps and Payton had a blast stamping hands and her coloring book.

My mother-in-law came to visit so we did an impromptu lunch in the park on Saturday. We spent the rest of the day playing outside with chalk and bikes.

On Sunday, we headed to church and then a luncheon. Payton got to decorate Easter eggs and jump in a bounce house.

The hubby returned late Sunday night after a 3 week work trip and we couldn't be happier to have him back. I even let Payton stay up past her bedtime to wait for him (she's watchin for him in the window in the picture above). Doing the single parent gig for most of this month was especially challenging for me. I'm ready to get back to our normal routine for a bit! Because you can never share too many pics (okay, yes you can) here is one last picture of Payton sending a loving message to her daddy saying she missed him:

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? 

20 Week Bump Update

This is a little delayed, like usual with me. I am now past the halfway point of my pregnancy with baby #2. With baby #1, I wrote several letters during my pregnancy and took photos at each milestone. This time I decided to purchase this pregnancy journal kit through Etsy and am basically completing simple journal entries as I take pictures.

I wanted to share a bit of this pregnancy:

Maternity clothes: Wearing maternity clothes and/or comfy workout clothes when we are staying around the house. With my first pregnancy I didn't pull out the maternity clothes until near end of my pregnancy (I was much smaller with #1), but I did notice that some of my clothes were stretched with a permanent "bump" afterwards. This time around, I pulled the maternity clothes out right away to avoid that!

Sleep: I am struggling with some insomnia, too cold/too hot fluctuations, and the need to regularly use the restroom every night during the middle of the night. Overall, I still feel like I am getting good, quality sleep. I suppose after exhaustion with an infant you learn to take what you can get!

Best moment this month: Feeling baby #2 kicking and hearing others guess the gender (we still have no idea, but might find out around Easter). I also love watching how excited Payton is for a new sibling. She is always talking about "her baby."

Worst moment this month: It's very challenging balancing a toddler, work, and overall life with pregnancy. I have had many moments where I wish I was more active with our toddler, but pregnancy limits me in several ways at the time.

Miss anything: As my belly is growing I am getting a bit uncomfortable and am missing the ease of not having a belly to tote around. With the weather warming up I have definitely missed the occasional beer or glass of wine.

Movement: Lots of kicks and somersaults!

Cravings: Lemon foods (same craving I had with Payton). Mostly, I just want food in general and to eat constantly! I'm trying to stay healthy but this girl doesn't say no to ice cream or chocolate!

Queasy or sick: Feeling good.

Looking forward to: I am so excited for our next ultrasound which is just before Easter. I love seeing our little one on the screen and there's a chance we'll find out the gender, pending baby's cooperation.

Happy Saturday everyone!

I linked up this week with Mommy Moments at The Life of Faith blog.

It Looks Like Summer

The last few days here have been gorgeous and we have been taking full advantage. I'm not sure if this good weather will last so we are getting out before the snow comes back (let's hope it doesn't).

With a glimpse of what summer will look like, my daughter and I shoved in tons of activities including picnics (both at the park and in our own backyard), playing at the park playground, coloring with chalk, walking the dogs, and long walks (or runs in my toddler's case):

We are both tired and plan to relax today! It has been great seeing the sun come out again! Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

I linked up this week with Mommy Moments at The Life of Faith blog.

Hair Cut= Donation Time

I have been contemplating for awhile completely chopping my hair! I love my hair long and prefer it this way, but sometimes a girl just needs a fresh start. Last week, I finally decided the time was here. I cut about 13 inches of hair off! My before:

And my after:

 

I am still adjusting to the new look! It's quite a change to wash and style short hair versus long hair. One day at a time!

There are many places to donate hair and many places require at least 8 inches for a donation. I chose to send mine to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. It's very easy to donate, I just took my hair (in 2 ponytails) from the salon, put in a ziploc bag, and then stuck it in the mail. 

 

It was that easy to donate hair and hopefully help someone else!

Toddler Activities To Try Today

If you are anything like me, you are constantly on the lookout for new activities to do with your child. I lack the creativity to come up with my own ideas. Thankfully, Pinterest, Facebook, and other social media sites offer me a helping hand.

This cold weather has us going stir crazy and I've been trying tons of new indoor activities. Here are some of the things my toddler is loving:

Ball Pits

The best $10 we have spent was on about 600 ball pit balls (a Craigslist find). I do not have a ball pit, but that hasn't stopped us! Just about anything can become a ball pit, but we have been using our summer kid pool and pack&play. Our toddler loves playing in the ball pit!

Painting in the Tub

I ran across someone on Facebook who introduced me to painting in the tub and for the life of me I can't remember or find that information! It's the easiest recipe though, which I'm all about. You take cornstarch, water, and food coloring and mix them all together (just estimate amounts until you get a consistency that works for you). The clean up is even easier as you just wash it off. I found giving my toddler a bath right after makes for the easiest clean up. 

Payton loved this activity! She seriously played for about an hour.

Mess-Free Painting

I mentioned last week that we had done this and it was definitely a great way to keep a toddler busy for a bit. You just put paint in a ziploc bag, seal, and then tape to a window, wall, or hard surface floor. Your child can then paint and draw in the paint for hours at a time.

Moon Sand

I wrote about this Pinterest fail previously, but my first round of making moon sand is still holding out. Payton still asks to play with it 2-3 times per week. 

These are a few activities keeping us busy while we are stuck indoors. What activities has your little one been up to lately?

This post has been linked up with Mommy Moments at The Life of Faith blog.

Friday Favorites

TGIF! This has been a long week at our house. I think the week felt so long because we are still stuck indoors! We got snow on Wednesday, which is so pretty to look at, but I've definitely got spring fever! Here are some of the things on my mind this week that I'm pretty excited about:

1. Halfway Through My Pregnancy

We just hit 20 weeks and are now officially halfway there! We are getting so excited (and nervous) about meeting baby #2!

2. Mess-free Painting

Pinterest did it again! Oh how Pinterest makes my life easier! Earlier this week we tried mess-free painting and it went great (I have a post coming on this for you with more information).

3. Extra Money Paid on Debt

It's tax refund time and I was so thankful to get a refund this year after many years of paying in. If you have followed this blog at all, you would know we have a spender and a saver at this house. We compromised and half of the refund is going towards paying off debt while the other half is to be spent on new electronics for our media room (we are in the process of building this room). It's a good feeling turning over a check to the bank that equals almost 2 mortgage payments!

4. Tub Painting

Another easy kid activity that I found (on Facebook this time) calls for painting in the bath tub and it worked out great for us! I will give you all the info and details in a post coming very soon, I promise. 

5. The Promise of Warm Weather

 

I have definitely been feeling the winter blues so I couldn't be more excited to hear we may get some warm weather next week! I need to be out in the sun!

I hope you are having a great week! Cheers to the weekend! Do you have any big plans for this weekend?