Tuesdays Flow

I wrote this post in my head during my Tuesday morning workout. And it may be a downer for some one you... so feel free to just skip this post if you want!

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See, I'm a cardio girl. I've ran two marathons (though it's been 10 years!) countless shorter distance races, and a couple of triathlons. If I'm at the gym I usually choose a cardio type class. I try to fit in some weights because I know I need to build muscle. In the past I have had a hard time convincing myself I got a workout if I didn't get any cardio in -- for example, I needed to run before a lifting weights - -  and yoga or Pilates was a joke. Like a waste of time. 

So fast forward to a couple months ago when a trainer at my gym (during a free consult session) suggested I go to a Body Flow class (yoga with a bit of pilates) to help stretch out my tight muscles. I resisted, but went because I knew it would help. Surprisingly, slowly I've gotten hooked on yoga. It's only once a week, so I'm not all "yogi"but I really do hate to miss my Tuesday Flow class. 

So Tuesday after Livs tumbling class, we headed to the gym. And I know what I'm getting myself into every Tuesday. I cry at every Flow class since coming home after my moms funeral. But I keep coming back. Somehow I don't find myself crying at my cardio or weight classes because my brain is probably focused on getting myself enough air to power through the workout... Or the music is just too fast paced to have a good cry? 

One of the last pictures I have with my mom - She was such a
sport - she took my bro and I on an impromptu trip to Salt Lake City
to catch our connecting flight after our flight out of Moab was cancelled.
And she smiled and was grateful for the extra time the whole way.

Anyways, I have a friend, recently turned yoga instructor in my old town of Hastings, Nebraska. She has mentioned she makes these emotional breakthroughs while doing yoga.. Or that her emotions are just so raw and sometimes she finds herself crying out of nowhere. Either way, I totally agree. 

I usually end up having a bit of a crying session during the last song where we all lay down and relax (I love it -- someone is watching my kids while I can lay on the ground and relax? YES!) Tuesday was different. I started thinking how nice it is to be able to exercise again after being so nauseas for months and months. And I thought my mom would have loved doing this with me if her body would have been able. Sometimes I think "I should call her and tell her about this awesome class." But then I remember she is gone. Because sometimes the hardest part is remembering that she is actually gone. 

After the graveside service -
Sam keeps reminding me that I got to put a
rose on the casket and he didn't
So "NEXT TIME" he gets to also.
I'm hoping the next time is not for a long time.

I have lived far away from her (at least 14 hrs by car) for the last 5 years. I probably averaged seeing her two or three times a year, so 15ish times in the last 5 years. I got used to not seeing her. I'm used to talking to her -- for the last year and a half or do I called almost every day. So sometimes it's hard to remind myself she's not there for me to talk to on the phone. 

But it's also hard because I just keep assuming I will see her "next time." Like Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or when this sweet baby is born. 

Liv and her naked bum.
She loved playing in the rocks

I let Liv get some time playing in the mud
at my dad's house - she loved it!

After mud pies, she wanted to swing

I keep thinking, after some "experience" I will have reality set in. Like I will just stop forgetting that she's gone. Before I went home for the funeral, I thought reality would set in when I finally got home and saw my dad. But it didn't, I just kept looking around for her. Signs of her life were everywhere. I kept using her hand lotion she kept out. Her cane was in the corner. A note from her sister was on the fridge. 

Then I thought "maybe when I see her and we have the funeral, then I will realize she's gone." But no. I kept looking for her the funeral. I just assumed she was going to the bathroom and that she would be back sitting in her chair or telling us what to make for dinner. 

I have also been surprised what has been hard, and what has been easy. Sometimes I am fine, and some things catch me off guard and break my heart and make me cry. 

Me, Suzanne, Dad, Brad, and Todd
After the funeral August 7 2014

I remember going to church the morning my dad told me my mom had passed away. I had been ok. I knew she was in a better place and I was happy she wasn't suffering. But as I was walking up to the church, I was talking to my dad about when the funeral would be and whether they would have time to announce it. He said that a family friend had called the local bishops and they would announce it at church. That was hard. Reality started to hit when I knew other people would know.

I didn't realize this, but at a funeral it's normal to display the life of the person who has died. Setting up tables of memories and different pictures and quilts my mom had made was hard. It was like displaying a beautiful life on a few tables, and I couldn't even begin to capture her wonderful spirit. 

The viewing and funeral were ok. It was hard, but it was so good. We had so so much support and we all felt so loved. It was also easy to help write the obituary. It was like writing a wonderful story about my mom.

But on our way driving out of town, I stopped by the newspaper office to pick up a couple of copies - and it was shockingly hard to read the obituary in the newspaper. That hurt. And I still haven't picked it up - there's just a neat (or not so neat) little pile of things from the funeral that I haven't even wanted to touch.

My dad also had a nice DVD made with pictures of my mom that played with music for people to watch while they were in line for the viewing. He gave all of us siblings a copy and it's in that pile. My dad suggested I watch it sometime, and mostly with my kids. He really wants his grandkids to remember my mom. And I thought it would be easy to just pop that DVD right in -- but when it came time, I just found something else to do. Sometimes it just takes time to work through emotions, and I think this is one of them. 

I love this picture - Todd was saying his belly was bigger than
mine or Suzanne's (I'm about 15 weeks along and Suz
is about 13 weeks) 

So this Flow class gives me time to think each of these thoughts. It's wonderful to hear myself think without being interrupted every 20 seconds by a 4 and 2 year old. I love the relaxing atmosphere, and I think it just allows me to grieve. Hopefully no one notices me wiping a tear or two (or more!) away in class.

So if anyone out there needs to work through some hard feelings, I would recommend going to your local gym with good child care (if you have kids and they are not in schools) and get yourself in a yoga class. Maybe it won't be the first or second time that you can relax enough to feel whatever you need, but I bet it will come. And you will get some killer workout in while you are at it. Yoga is hard!

I got to bring my mom's shoes home
I wear them almost every day because they remind me of her.

Forward Focus

It's been a while and a lot has happened. Two days after my last post my mom passed away. It's been a long road, and at times it feels like it was yesterday, and sometimes it feels like it's been a year. I will likely write more about that later, but right now I want to focus on the future while still remembering the past.

But first, let's talk about these dresses. I went to Joanns after I got back from the funeral and decided I needed to work on getting a final dress done. So I chose some awesome fabric. I REALLY love this combo.

The purple fabric on the right is a super nice feeling satin. That would be one side of the dress with an appliqué of some kind (fox, fox face, etc?) with the fox fabric. Then the other side of the dress would be the fox fabric with the orange dot fabric as the appliqué. Then I would mirror the appliqué in the cutout on the back. The orange/pink/white ribbon is the loop closure for the awesome orange button. LOVE IT! Now, I just have to work on it. ;) I think Liv is going to look super cute in it. I can't wait!

But let me tell you a story....

So I was showing this fabric to some friends the day that I bought it. I was trying to convince one of them to go into business with me. She could be the business side (marketing, accounting, paperwork) and I could be the sewing/designing side. Because it's been hard trying to do both. Basically everything moves at a snails pace. So as I was telling her she should do this with me, I also told her about another business idea I had. And as I was explaining it, I realized the other idea is what I really wanted to pursue.

I love these little dresses. I love that I made them up, and I love the color combos that could happen. But I was passionate about this other idea. I feel like it could make a difference for someone. And I don't think a little girls dress can do that as well. There's a difference between loving something, and being passionate about something else. There's a "why" behind the passionate idea, which is to help other people remember those who are important to them.

There's also a difference between my market audience. My business idea I am passionate about is a more narrow market. And the product is much more expensive, so that also narrows things a bit. So it may be a hard go - but that's ok with me. I have never seen anything like this, so I feel like I may have a niche.

But I'm going to go backward in time a bit before I tell you. I was talking with one of my other friends from Nebraska months and months ago. I knew I wanted to start a sewing business of some kind, I just didn't have an idea. I told her I loved to quilt, but it's hard to sell quilts because they are so expensive. Most people don't want to pay the price for a custom quilt -- mostly when they can get a soft blanket at Costco or Target for $20. So I kind of gave up on the idea.... At the time, we were going through the roller coaster of my mom's declining health and I wanted a way to bridge the gap between quilting and genealogy - or remembering the people who have touched our lives. I just really didn't know if it was possible to connect quilts and genealogy.

So after pinning a ton of quilt ideas off Pintrest, I found the idea. So while I hesitate to put this picture up on my blog, because it wasn't my original idea, but I can't find the original source from Pintrest. It just leads to an image without a webpage. Here goes....

And I'm sure once I make this quilt (one for me remembering my mom) I will work in my originalities, so it won't be a knock off this particular quilt. I just hope this quilt can be a jumping off place for my quilts.

So I'm planning on getting some of my mom's clothes (or something fabric and memorable) and (with my dad's permission!) cutting them up to appliqué them as the hearts on the top.  Then at the bottom I think it would be great to embroider  my dad, and maybe my whole family. And this girl is holding a coffee mug or something, but that's not really what I'm going for. So I will figure out something else. Also, if it looks good I can embroider names and dates of people on the quilt too.

I'm just excited - I feel like this is perfect. My mom had such a passion for quilting. I watched her, and I learned so much. Now I feel like I can use what she taught me to carry on her memory through quilting, and also through a quilt depicting that love her, miss her, and remember her.

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So for my short terms goals, I'm writing out a business plan. How fun is that going to be? Wish me luck!

And please someone business oriented speak up and join in my business venture! ;) It will be fun....

Buttonless Debut

I originally wrote this post the end of May or beginning of June - It is long, and it was taking me a few days to complete it. While I was trying to finish up the last few swatches of fabric samples, I got another call that my mom wasn't doing well in Utah and it was pretty rough. I felt like I had worried and cried so much that week that I actually felt numb. I wasn't processing the information well and I just kept working on the post, all the while, just sure my mom wasn't going to make it.

So it's taken a while to get to this point. First, I went back to Utah. Then I came back and was really sick with the pregnancy. Thankfully, I feel like I'm coming out of the fog and I have been sewing a bit. I am finishing up a quilt I cut out for Olivia over a year ago. I'll show pictures next post. It's cute. I want to get the quilt top all put together before I take pictures.

But I still have a lot of work to get any of these dresses ready to go and sell. Like so much work. But that's ok - I feel like I've been on the "slow track" a lot of life, so now I'm just trying to be ok with that. Being pregnant slows life down, and I'm sure a new baby will make things crazy too!

Here's the original post!

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I am pumped - After I wrote my last post yesterday, I actually finished the dress! What?? About 25 min later it was done and photographed. Wow - look at the motivation the internets can give ;)

I have a million thoughts, and I would seriously love your input. Whether I know you or not, or whether you buy dresses for little girls or not, I want your opinion! Alright! Please leave a comment below, or email me at stephaniekayerandallathotmaildotcom

Thought Numero One

Here is the dress design - Let me explain it.

Obviously I like the herringbone prints. I was in a mental rush when I designed the appliqué on this one, and just decided to put herringbone on both sides - but I switched up the pattern.

This is first side has a smaller pattern on the front, and this larger pattern on the back. Please ignore the fact that the dress doesn't have a button and closure on it (details, details... I was worried about how it all went together - not about whether it would close properly!)

Anyways, I think I like the first side better - it's a cute in the front, but I love the herringbone pattern on the back - oh - and if I manage to get a button closure on the back, you know what the cut out is?? IT'S A HERRINGBONE SHAPE. How awesome am I?? So the cutout in the back will just repeat the shape appliquéd on the front. Sounds fun?

The dress is completely reversible - I love that. But question #1 - do little girls NEED a reversible dress? If you were to buy this dress, how much would you love it THAT it is reversible? Or could you take it or leave it?

I wanted the dress fully lined, so I thought - well, if I'm fully lining it, might as well put in a bit more effort and make it reversible too. What do you think?

Thought Numero Two

 I need Olivia to play in this dress more and see how it fits - it's a tad shorter than I planned, but that might be a good thing. I need to make sure she has enough room to move in it - or make it wider around her legs so she can run.

Question #2: Do these girls that wear dresses in your life wear them regularly - like on an every day basis? I'm trying to figure out if this dress is more of a "church/nice" dress, or if it will be a play dress. If it's more for nice occasions, I the dress could get away with being a bit slimmer... what do you think?

This is the flip side. Small pattern in back, larger in front.

Thought Numero Three

Fabric - I have been thinking and dreaming about fabrics before I even had the dress design down! So here's what I'm imagining. The fabric this is made out of is a cheap muslin with some cotton colored fabric appliquéd.

So I'm imagining for my "summer line" (gosh, that makes me feel impressive) I want to go with linen, or linenish fabrics. These girls want to stay nice and cool in the heat, right?

But I'm totally wanting to have one side be a nice soft satin. Linen and satin go together?? I'm not sure. I'll have to prototype that one. But imagine putting this little girl in a dress that is all silky smooth against her skin. Um... Does one come in my size??

But I'm thinking of having muted tones on one side with the appliquéd pieces having some print (like this dress) and maybe the opposite side  have a printed dress with the appliqué being a muted tone. Does that make sense? So when you choose to put on this dress, you have two options:

Side A:

<<   So the Teal is a Satin that would make the dress

>> Then the grey dots would be the appliqué on the dress, whether you choose herringbone, circles, ovals, whatever your little heart wants.

Side B 

 << Then what about the triangles as the dress this time - the fabric isn't linen, but it's a very lightweight cotton that is perfect for dresses or tunics.

>> Then the orangey color would be the appliqué

And here's some more of my other favorite color combos.

#1

^^ This fabric combo reminds of me of school starting in the fall ^^

#2

^^ I forgot which fabrics I chose that are silky, but this orange and white 

polka dot would be awesome if it were all nice and silky. Like a dream :) ^^

#3

^^ These prints together are kind of busy, but I think with just a 

bit of the elephants as appliqué, it would look great. I feel like Chevron 

is a bit overused, but it is beautiful. And light. and springy ^^

#4

^^ Reminds me of a sailor! ^^ 

#5

^^ This darker fabric is a light chambray material - I love that look ^^

#6

^^ Same as above - and these circles are awesome - It would be fun to appliqué a 

completely different shape, like a rectangle, or star with these circles ^^ 

#7

^^ More awesome color combos ^^

#8

  

^^ I think the beige is a linen, which would be nice and airy, but the 

complimenting fabric is kind of too good to pass up as a base for the 

dress - with the beige as the appliqué? ^^  

#9

^^ I'm sure I could look this up again, but I'm pretty sure most of 

these printed fabrics are designed by Micheal Miller - He's one of

 my favorite fabric designers. It's just beautiful and my style ^^

#10

^^ And last example - I totally love this combo - obviously. On trend with 

the overload of teal and yellow. I wonder what we will be 

thinking about that trend in 10 years.... ^^

Anyways - Thanks for looking and hopefully dreaming with me! If you could just make some comments on what you think about this dress, please let me know. Even if you aren't in the market for a dress like this, I would love some feedback. And after thinking for a couple of months about it, I think I will make the dress more full. It's pretty slim, and I think it would be awesome with a bit more body.

Hopefully I can make a prototype here soon --- Just need to get that quilt done first. ;)

Questions to Answer:

#1: Do you like that the dress is reversible? Do you think it's a great selling point, or could you take it or leave it?

#2: Do these girls that wear dresses in your life wear them regularly - like on an every day basis? I'm trying to figure out if this dress is more of a "church/nice" dress, or if it will be a play dress. If it's more for nice occasions, I the dress could get away with being a bit slimmer... what do you think?

#3 What fabric combos were your favorite? Or what would you do different with the fabric?

#4 Anything other comments?

Painting and Looking Better than Dad

I'm still alive! In somewhat of a vegetative state, but alive. 12 weeks preggo -- 13 weeks tomorrow! So I guess I can "officially" announce I'm pregnant now, huh??

The days have been long. My goals each day are: 

- feed the kids breakfast and eat myself

- get the kids energy out, which usually means swimming bc I can sit down while they swim and I usually get in for 30 min myself

- get the kids home, have baths and shower myself and eat lunch. Jake usually is lots of help bc he comes home for lunch

- get Liv down for nap

- try and do some preschool stuff with Sam on my bed while I am laying down -- this has been pretty successful and has hopefully lessened the resentment Sam feels toward me for rarely making him his beloved pancake breakfast and laying down for all of Livs nap time

- about 3:55 I haul my booty out of bed (( if Liv hasn't already done that for me)) and Sam and I do the dishes like mad so when Jake gets home I don't feel as lazy....

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And now a couple days later I am feeling EVEN better! I'm 13 weeks, and maybe I'm one of those normal people that actually feel BETTER in the 2nd trimester? Hhhmmm... how would THAT be?

I have been to a pool party, and a regular get together with friends in the last couple nights. WHAT? I haven't been laying on my bed for HOURS? It's been pretty glorious. I even made dinner last night. That is progress ;)

So here's an update on what we have been doing lately....

#1. I'm doing preschool at home with Sam. There is only one preschool here that I want him to go to, and it's REALLY hard to get into - so if we get in, it will be great. If not, we are all set to do stuff at home. Yesterday was ART DAY. I think ART DAY is quickly becoming my favorite. We painted with water colors. Then Sam decided he liked markers better than water colors. Oh well.... Here's my first -  I'm loving it, Sam thought the umbrellas and tables were garbage. Not awesome.

Anyways - I can't figure out how to change the orientation. But it's our pool. My view most days. If you remember, it looks something like this... so it's not an exact replica... but it was fun to paint :)

And I did not take a picture of Sam's marker picture - the best I can describe is that it is a stomach and intestines. With blockages. Didn't think you needed to see a pic of that, did ya?

But I'm actually enjoying preschool. I was excited when we made the decision to do preschool at home (which is kind of weird in Florida, because the state will pay for all 4 year olds to go to preschool, so if it's free, WHY NOT?) But I wanted to make sure he go to a good place, and I didn't feel comfortable, except for this one place where its super hard to get in. So we will wait and see how that waiting list goes!

But when I got so sick with this pregnancy, I was really questioning my resolve to do preschool at home. But I got up some energy to actually buy some preschool books, and now it's actually good. Sam will sit on the bed and do some preschool with me if I need to lay down. Or it's a good distraction for both of us to do something productive when I obviously do not want to do anything. It's been great surprisingly!

#2. Doctor Appointments
I have had a LOT of these lately. The OB/GYN of course, but there is this new Nurse Practitioner I have seen that has been really good. She practices all this "natural" type medicine and really looks into how your body is functioning to deal with any issues, not just puts me on medication just because something is "off."

Anyways - I plan to talk more about that later, but I really am tired. Like so tired. Growing a baby is so much work. And as I type this, Liv is in her room **supposed to be napping!** with her mattress of her bed (bc there are only so many things in there she can destroy) running around singing "Let it Go!"  Let's just hope I can rest....

But these two kiddos were ANGELS at this Nurse Practitioner appt. We were going over my results of my MANY blood tests (Like I swear they took 30 vials) and it took over an hour, and these kiddos were awesome. Hence, the suckers. So they can come with me to these appts, but I will do anything to have a babysitter for those OB appts. Not taking them to those, not a chance!

And last, we visited Once Upon a Child last week so Sam could get a whole new church ensemble. He has these opinions about what he wears, and it usually comes to a head when he gets ready for church and Jake or I don't agree with him on what to wear. So I told him he had to pick out everything that matched, I had to approve, and that is what he would wear to church for the next while, until he grows out of it. So this is what he chose. He also has 2 alternative shirts - and reddish pink one, and a teal one.

So we get ready for church on Sunday, and she's all decked out... and he starts asking "Mom, Do I look better than Dad? I think I look better than Dad!" Ha HA! He was super handsome. We were running later, so I didn't take a picture, but it was handsome! What a cute boy :)

Until next time - which is hopefully a lot sooner than last time! Things are looking up! 

Reading

So since I spend 90% of my awake (and 100% of my asleep) time laying down..... I have read 4 books in the last week. And accomplished no sewing. Awesome. 

I am making this lady in my community some skirts for her daughter, and since I actually get paid for that I should probably do it, but it's so much more comforting to lay on my left side. It really is. 

So this last book I read was AWESOME! I mean SOSO good! ((And if there are a million typos it's bc I'm blogging on my phone. Because I obviously don't wAnt to sit when I could LAY down --am I right ??)) anyways - it's called "And then there were none" by Agatha Christie. I know what you are thinking..."my grandma has that book!" Yes -- that's what I've been thinking for the last 13 years and why I never read it. But oh I was WRONG. Not about it being old, but it was good! Makes me want to get my body off this bed and clear out the whole Agatha Christie bookshelf at the library. At this rate I can get through a book in a day or two.... 

Anyways -- here's a disclaimer for people like my friend Alissa -- Alissa you should never read this book! It would be bad! If you get freaked out over murders and people being hunted down, then steer clear. But if you kind of like that stuff, DIG in by all means! It's fascinating :) 

So not much sewing here. But much resting. Much laying down. Much swimming by the kids ((bc they still need to get their energy out)). Much ginger ale drinking. Much medicine taking (hoping it can keep the pukies at bay)). Much apologizing to Jake for being such a lame spouse. Much texting friends to try and keep a connection. 

Until next time! Hoping I can get something done besides gestating between now and then! 

And lastly... A picture of a bear that Liv put in time out. Sweet :) 

Unconventional Advice

Many things have been going on over here. We are back from Utah! WE MADE IT! It was a bit of a trip, and I have a post in mind about my tips to traveling with a 4 and 2 year old on an airplane by myself. I have a coupe "must haves."

Anyways - we are back, and while I was thinking about what to write, I decided to go super off topic (like usual) and give some unsolicited and unconventional advice. If you know Jake and I very well, you probably know we don't do a lot of things like other people. We just like to find our own way. We aren't swayed much by what "other people do" or what "people think we should do."

So I'm sure much of our family (and many friends) think we are kind of crazy. It's ok - I'm fine with that. So here's my crazy advice.

But first.... AN ANNOUNCEMENT! And a picture of what a 2 year old looks like in a grown man's basketball pants.

We are pregnant with our third child. Yes - #3. That's a pretty big deal I think. I'm not as sick as I usually am (which if VERY sick) so that's a plus, but I do find myself laying down more often than not.

So here's my unconventional pregnancy advice. (I read some pregnancy advice last week that totally bugged me -- so I thought I would be the other side of the coin, and say something some people would disagree with -- just in case you are that type of person who goes against what everyone else says)..

1. You can tell people you are pregnant ANY TIME!!!

    WHAT? You mean, you don't have to wait the agonizing 12 weeks until it's "safe"??? No - of course not. If that's what you want to do, and like to do, that's great. But you don't HAVE to - and no one should look down on anyone that does.
   
     Jake and I have NEVER waited 12 weeks. There's a couple of reasons for this. First, is I get extremely sick and dysfunctional. So instead of having people think I'm going crazy or just plain mean, I tell them there is a completely legitimate reason I have disappeared off the face of the earth. It's not a big deal. They understand. Second, Jake has a hard time keeping a secret. That's fine. It's not a big deal. Third -- and this is the biggest reason people wait to tell, is that they are afraid of having a miscarriage and having to go back and tell people they are no longer pregnant. But think about this -- You would probably be going through a rough time if you had a miscarriage, right? Then wouldn't you want support from those people who love you, that you told you were pregnant? Yes, of course it would be hard to go back, but at least you have a network of family and friends who can help you get through that hard time, rather than feeling the hurt and disappointment on your own, and trying to get through it without anyone knowing.

2. If you can, SPLURGE on nice pregnancy clothes for your first.
 
   Here's where hindsight is 20/20. I wish I would have rounded up some good money and bought nice pregnancy clothes when I was pregnant with Sam. Oh how I wish that. Thankfully, my cousin and sister let me borrow LOADS of their pregnancy clothes, but they weren't my style, and they were too large so for the bulk of my pregnancy with Sam, I felt like a huge ugly person. I hardly ever felt cute. It was bad. Seriously.

   With Olivia, we were SO POOR. I mean, SO POOR. Jake was in grad school and we were living on about $18,000 a year. So I went to a discount place and bought some clothes and it was better than Sam, but still kind of iffy.

   With this one, before I ever got pregnant, I told Jake I wanted some money to buy some nice pregnancy clothes. I wanted to look nice, and FEEL good. So the night I got the positive, I was browsing on www.apeainapod.com and I found some awesome deals. I had previously talked to one of my friends about some good quality maternity clothes, and she pointed me towards this store. So - they were having this deal - buy one get one free of everything on clearance. WHAT??? My lucky night! So I got over $600 worth of clothes for $170. I got 7 shirts, 2 tunics, 1 pair of leggings, and 2 bras. That averages to about $14 per item -- and these shirts and tunics range from $58 - $68 each. So yes, while sometimes it's hard to find the money to splurge on clothes, I wish I would have done it earlier. Then I could have enjoyed these clothes for 2 more pregnancies, rather than just this one. Or maybe another one if I can work myself up for it... but I swear this is our last.

    And while I'm not showing enough for people to even know that I'm pregnant, I still wear the clothes. They just look like normal stuff (shirring at the sides of the shirts, etc). I'm super comfortable and I'm getting use out of them.

   And as a side note, there is no reason to wait as long as possible to get or wear maternity clothes. I mean, you get a positive on that stick, just hop into that comfy maternity shirt. Your belly will thank you! You don't have to do the rubber band trick until you feel like your insides will become your outsides. Just put on those nice maternity jeans. Looking and feeling good is key in this stage of life. Get over any pride about fitting into your "regular" jeans until you were 6 months along. I mean, if that's comfortable and you love doing that, GREAT - but don't feel like you have to because your neighbor does it.

3. This is similar to the maternity clothes, but if you can splurge on nice baby items.

   I have always wanted a video baby monitor. Like really wanted one, but I don't really want to spend the $$ on it - I mean, we are trying to pay of student loans here (MINE!!) and I can only justify so much frivolous spending. But I would have felt much better about it if I had bought it with Sam. Then I really would have gotten my mileage out of it with all three kids.

    One thing I did do was buy a really nice stroller. It was awesome. ((We bought it by saving up traveling reimbursement money)). I used it all the time with Sam, and I used it a good amount with Livvy. Sadly, we just sold it a couple months ago, because we knew with #3 coming along, we could probably need something different. It just didn't fit into our family's needs right now, so we let it go. And sometimes you will buy nice stuff, and you will use it, then you will sell it. But it was totally worth it. I bought it used, five years later sold it for about $125 less than what I bought it for. Not bad. And so far I have used that money to buy an Ergo Baby carrier (which was essential on this flight) and some car seat bags I used to carry the car seats through the airport. And I still have enough left for a smaller stroller for baby #3. Perfect.

4. Last -- here's some crazy advice I started following and it was really helped me. Like has made a big difference in how sick I am with this pregnancy.

   But back story first -- I was pursuing  Pintrest and saw something a friend had pinned about "What to do BEFORE you are pregnant, so you aren't as sick WHEN you are pregnant." I thought - BS. Not a chance. I was 37 weeks with Olivia and my Zofran (high powered anti-neusea meds) ran out. I thought "hey, I'm fine... she's viable, I don't need this stuff." Nope - totally puking at 37 weeks without my meds.... So I didn't think there was anything I could do to stop the sickness

     Anyways - I thought I would read the article, even though I didn't really think anything could help. So here it is.... And I have done everything the website said (Like taking Milk Thistle, Vitamin B complex, and Magnesium ---but I don't take the DoTerra vitamins) and I really have felt better than normal.

   So I don't know if this pregnancy is just "different" or if it's my herbal remedies, but I'm sticking with them. I started taking them about 3 to 4 months before i got pregnant, and I think it has helped.


So there's my random unconventional advice. I'm sure I have more, I just can't think of it yet. And I really just want to go lay down ;)