Wordless Wednesday

Pregnancy // The Home Stretch

We had our Family & Friend's baby shower a few weekends ago! I am so grateful to everyone who helped. My sisters planned most of it with the help of the moms. Corey cooked the meats, and everyone else threw in for sides and desserts. I've never been a fan of huge gatherings or being the center of attention, but this day was pretty special. Our baby is coming into a very large village filled with love, and I'm very thankful for that.

I have an upcoming appointment to ensure everything is going well with the baby. Then we get to discuss a birth plan and start prepping for the home stretch. The possibility of induction has been brought up, though I’m unsure if that’s the route we will take. Corey and I finally made some big decisions regarding a few things we wanted and some that we didn’t while at the hospital. We have a few more to consider and I’m hoping that the birth plan I have printed out will help us narrow things down. Still no full name though and I’m not sure we’ll know until the baby arrives.

This week I have a “Work Friends Baby Shower” that I’m looking forward to. Then my run group is throwing a diaper shower for me later in November. I’ve been trying to hold off purchasing baby stuff in case we get them as gifts, but there are still quite a few things we need to purchase. Not just for the baby but for myself too. Next weekend we’ll be getting a car seat and hopefully a dresser. Right now, the baby’s stuff is just sitting on the couch. I plan on buying a good labor & delivery kit from Kindred Bravely. And then, I’m grabbing some extra nursing pieces from Wal-Mart. Once I have those things ordered I’ll buy some essentials to start packing my hospital bag. I didn't pack very much the last time I had a baby. And honestly, that seems to be the same plan this time around. I don’t need a lot, and once we get home I have no plans to do much the first 2 weeks other than live in PJs, get Emery to/from school, and try to adjust to our new normal. So, I’m keeping it simple.

I also need to make arrangements for Emery while we’re at the hospital and possibly a few days after we get home. Thankfully, in November and December, her schedule drastically slows down. But in the newborn haze, I don’t want to drop the ball, so I need to make sure plans are in place for her. With all that said, I’ve realized I need to start making checklists. We’ve got a lot going on from now until the end of November and with pregnancy brain, I may just forget some things if I don’t write them down. So, here’s to getting to the other side with as much ready as possible. And here’s to finally entering the home stretch.

p.s. In case you missed it...it's a boy! 🍼

Wordless Wednesday

Currently // October 2024

I’m aware that this is being back-dated. I had this post ready to go and thought I had it scheduled for Tuesday of this week. However, when I got on today (Wednesday) to schedule a few upcoming posts I realized I had selected the wrong date. In fact, I had selected an entirely different month too. Pregnancy brain in full effect, y’all. Anyway, this post will appear today, but I'm dating it for Tuesday. Now, without further ado, here is the “Currently” post for the month.

Listening: A lot of Zach Bryan and Treaty Oak Revival. I select the “Zach Bryan Mix” playlist on Spotify and roll with it. A lot of new stuff has just been putting me in a funk. I can’t seem to find much that I like so I stick with what I do.

Reading: Nothing. I tried to push through and finish “It Starts With Us” by Colleen Hoover, but life has kept me pretty busy. Any downtime I get, I nap. That said, I enjoyed the part that I did read so I’m hopeful that soon, I’ll find a few others that I can jump into. And fingers crossed that I will eventually finish this dang book. 

Watching: "Agatha All Along". It’s October, and I couldn’t let it go by without watching something about witches, magick, and a bit of superhero powers. While we normally stick to classics like “Hocus Pocus,” “Halloween Town,” “Practical Magic,” “Casper,” or anything by Tim Burton this year, Agatha caught my attention. Though, as a Catholic, I did skip most of the Ouji Board/Possession episode (ep. 5 if you’re curious). So far, it's been pretty good. However, I'm interested in seeing where they take the storyline because it could either get better or take a nosedive. We shall see. 

‘Casting: I have my regular podcasts that I listen to but occasionally I’ll listen to an episode or two of “Climbing Gold” with Alex Honnold. One day I watched the documentary Free Solo and it gave me intense anxiety. But it wasn’t the bad kind, it was more like excitement mixed with a bit of fear. I was immediately fascinated by what Alex was setting out to accomplish. As I watched other rock-climbing documentaries it became very apparent that these athletes are some of the strongest (mentally and physically) people in the world. And I find them to be really interesting. I also enjoy listening to Alex and hearing his take on things. But it's also pretty neat to hear him talk about how his mind works. While we may not always have the same views, I still enjoy what he has to say. So, if you ever want to dip your toes into the rock-climbing world I highly recommend checking out his podcast.

And that concludes the “Currently” post for this month. If you have any suggestions, be sure to drop me a line either here or on any of my other social media pages. Links are all at the top. I'm always looking for new artists, films, podcasts, or books too. So, I'm open to recommendations if you have them. Until the next post, Happy Tuesday, y’all! ❤

Wordless Wednesday

Figured it's about time I gave you a bump picture. 

October Happenings

When I say we’ve been busy, I mean it. We had a homecoming game, where Emery was on Homecoming Court. Obviously, I’m biased, but my little girl was beautiful. And while hormones played a big part, I felt both happy and sad because she looked so grown up. I blinked, y’all. Our school is small, but their 6-man football team is currently undefeated, so we’ve been attending games to show support. Emery and her school’s cross-country team have made it to regionals. She hoped they wouldn’t go past the district meet but even her slow pace isn’t slow enough to bring her team points down. And just know that the rest of the team felt the same way. I think the only person excited about this accomplishment is the coach. So, I’m headed to the city next week to watch them run. The school also has a Fall Fest next week, and a few different events in between so we'll be off to those. 

I officially entered my third trimester a few weeks ago. It’s been…rough? Not sure that’s the best word for it. I’m super grateful for my body and its ability to grow this little life. I can feel all of the kicks, rolls, and on occasion a little butt that pokes out of my side. It’s such a wild feeling and even more of a trip to see. But when I say that December can’t come soon enough, I mean it. I feel stretched beyond capacity, and I still have some time to go. I don’t get enough sleep and nothing feels comfortable. I want to throw out the bed, couch, pregnancy pillow, and glider because not a single one brings me any relief. My belly is heavy and it hurts. My lower back hurts. My legs, they hurt. And if I could have it my way I would just stay in bed. BUT life doesn’t stop when you’re pregnant so, we carry on.

We finally replaced the flooring in the living room! Now, we have to paint and replace all of the trim. And while I am in the beginning stages of “nesting” I am also very lazy right now. That “nesting energy” hasn’t quite hit. I’m currently just making lists of all the things that need to get done. While also quietly (sometimes not so quietly) panicking because I feel like they won’t be done before the baby gets here. And if you know me, you know that I get anxious when things are cluttered and super messy in my home. Recently, I let things get bad again while dealing with some exhaustion, and one afternoon my wonderful husband took it upon himself to clean the house. This was after a 12-hour shift at work too. He cleaned the restroom, put up the laundry, swept the entire house, cleaned the kitchen, took out the trash, and washed the dishes. I came home and cried. Again, hormones, but also I felt very loved. He said he knew I was having a hard time right now and he just wanted me to feel good when I walked into the house rather than like I had so much work to do.

Speaking of work, it has been chaotic lately. While I normally enjoy being busy and things moving quickly, there are some things I'm not entirely comfortable with at the moment. Things that are negatively impacting my mental health. I recently had lunch with a co-worker and they expressed the same concerns. The past six months things have slowly taken a turn for the worse, and in the past few weeks, some situations have turned toxic. We talked about the importance of boundaries and disconnecting. However, we both agreed that there has been one major factor contributing to all of this, and that is not going away anytime soon. So, I've just been keeping my head down. I'll hopefully be getting a bit of a break from all of the drama soon, and then here's to returning to some calm waters. 

And that about wraps things up for now. It's been a busy week and it's only Tuesday. I'm ready for some food and a nap. Only one of those is in my foreseeable future though. I hope October has been treating you well! Only a little over two weeks until Halloween! Until the next post...✌

Wordless Wednesday