MY week

Posted in familyness, let me let me update ya, love and happiness by ElaineMarie

y’all, i’m going to talk about alone time.

these last couple weeks i’ve been craving alone time. i think it correlates to my nesting and urge to get things accomplished. it’s left me wondering if other women experience this deep need for alone time in their last trimester as well? is it a part of birth preparation? or is this constant desire for a bit of solitude in my day part of my personality?

well, i got what i asked for. D spent the week with my parents and mike started a new job. he’ll probably put double the hours in at this first week at his new job than what he’s been working for the past two years. so in a short span of time i went from having people all up in my grill to being quite alone, quite a lot.

i was busy. i was productive. and i wasn’t always alone thanks to the many appointments, meetings and friendly dates i crammed into this week. but this week did leave me feeling lonely and above all else, BORED.

the week made me take it down a notch in my desire to be alone with my to-do list. because while it was nice to get things accomplished…accomplishments are boring. i look back through my snapshots of the week and see a lack of life. it’s nice to have the moments when i can sit down and eat a snack on the couch because no one is looking, or to get my new green babies potted, to take walks and to get the bathroom painted, but without my family these things mean a lot less. maybe this week was about learning that squeezing these check lists in to all the chaos of family life is a pretty fantastic blessing. i’m glad to have a chance to come back around on that before life gets a whole lot more hectic. i know i’ll be singing a different tune in a few months so i need to put these thoughts and feelings down here now so i can pull it up when i’m at my limits.

and look at that rad little bit of life in that first photo!!! it was nice to remind myself i was never truly alone. and it was so lovely to see my littlest love for the first time. that was by far the most important thing that happened this week. part of me was sad that darla wasn’t there for it and that mike was at work but part of it felt right. i got to call darla up and tell her the baby has her nose. a nose that i’ll be able to give lots of kisses in a few short months. until then i’m happy to have these pics to gaze upon. even if the last one is pretty creepy because the babe has one eye open. must be a metallica fan. i know an uncle that is going to be happy about that…

*thanks for reading this week. i hope you had a good one. sending you my best for a lovely mother’s day weekend. please read on for a little favor that i need to ask you. because you are one of my favorite readers ;-) *

you may have noticed a new little button over on the sidebar of MomJeanz, maybe not. so i’m going to point it out over there. see? well, i signed up for a baby blog directory so other bloggers can find and connect with MomJeanz. pretty nifty! if you could click on that button when you visit MomJeanz it casts a vote for my blog and helps the blog gain more exposure. I’ll be including it in my friday posts from now on so even if you can only give me one vote a week, or whenever you remember, it will still help. thanks for reading and helping this momma out!

8May2014

bump day

Posted in love and happiness, pregnancy by ElaineMarie

yesterday, i got to peek at the person who makes this belly swell and round. it was my first and only ultrasound of this pregnancy. this baby has done a beautiful job growing. but i’m glad that i don’t need an ultrasound everyday to know that. i have a daily reminder and it’s there every time i look down.

i love this baby and i love this motherly body. i love this belly swell. bring it on, baby. round me out.

7May2014

pregnancy eats

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

pregnancy is probably not a good time to start a juice cleanse, right? i wish juice bars weren’t so damn expensive because i feel slightly addicted to fresh juices right now. i also feel a bit guilty at how wasteful juicing seems but then i take a sip and the sweet nectar hits my taste buds and washes away every bad feeling leaving pure joy. PURE JOY.

so this is only happening for me about once a week because of said financial commitment. and because i don’t really know more than one juice bar in town and it’s a little out of my way. Oh no! I just googled and found a new one that looks delicious and fun and probably where cool people hang out. i’m gonna have to go there tomorrow now…

anyway, so yeah, i don’t have to verbalize why juice is good during pregnancy because it’s juice and we all know it’s good. and it’s fresh. and so damn expensive.

can i get a juice bar to sponsor my third trimester please?

6May2014

avoiding maternity clothes

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

^^^ styled by darla and still in my regular jeanz!! ^^^

^^^ from that part of my pregnancy that took place in the 60s ^^^

^^^ and i just want to say this looked way less pajama-ish in real life ^^^

so another week has gone by of stretching tent like fabrics over my bod. i’m feeling a little skeptical about whether or not i’ll make it through the end of this without purchasing maternity clothes. this belly is getting bodaciously big. AND I LOVE IT. except for one thing. it’s present in that last photo, however faintly. upon laundry inspection, i’ve come to realize that all my shirts are getting food stains dropped on the top of my bump. methinks i need to slow down on the shovel factor. it’s just a bit embarrassing.

also, can i just say how thankful i am that i decided a while back to make boho, semi hippie fringe my look. because now it’s like not a big deal if my hair’s a mess and my patterns clash. that’s just my look. ladies, if you’re pregnant, i highly suggest you just get your hair cut in a mop like fashion and then you’ll never have to worry about doing it. it’ll just be part of your look.

there. the end.

5May2014

weekending

Posted in doula work, familyness, love and happiness by ElaineMarie

all the frustration from last weekend over arrested productivity melted away this weekend. it’s hard not to feel enthused about a weekend that begins with donuts. and it’s hard not to feel productive during a weekend that you’re hosting such helpful visitors. my parents are such a support and a help to my growing family. i was very thankful and happy to have them visit us this weekend. months ago, when we had just moved into a new house and i subsequently found out i was growing a person, i felt a little at loss at how i was going to pull everything together.

and to be truthful, it’s not all together but it’s getting there. i can see the light at the end of the tunnel. and i’m feeling like we MIGHT just have a good deal of life progress completed before we settle down to meet this new human. i’m not quite ready but i’m feeling confident that i will be soon. which is more than i can say for when i was expecting darla.

i remember mike and i having a conversation on the way to the hospital for my birthing time with d and discussing how we hoped it was a false alarm. we were not ready. there are days that i’m still not ready for the force that is Darla in my life but this moment in time feels…bear with me for this analogy… like the effects of a shot of warm liquor*. it spreads through you reaching to the tips of your toes and fingers slowly until you’re warm all over and you have this calmness that says “this is right and this is good.” that’s what the conclusion of this weekend feels like. i’m feeling right and i’m feeling good.

and i wouldn’t be in this mentality if it weren’t for all the helpers and support i have in my life. my parents, my husbeau, neighbors and friends and even my little helper that helped {somewhat, sometimes} getting projects accomplished this weekend. my weekend even consisted of helpers i’d never met before since i attended the birth without fear meet-up on saturday. it was an inspiring day and it helped me put a finger on some of the things i’m working through with this pregnancy.

oh gawd. you know you’re in your 3os when you are looking back at your weekend and are excited about the gardening and painting instead of the parties and the concerts.

but it was fulfilling and it was progress and i am thankful. and i am in my 30s. so this is right and this is good.

*ok, so disclaimer: i haven’t had a shot of warm liquor in YEARS. a more accurate description of this would be what it used to feel like when my body could tolerate that lifestyle more. a shot of warm liquor would probably feel A LOT different now, not nearly as poetic. in case i forgot to mention this…i’m in my 30s now.

3May2014

kimono vs. iphono?

Posted in Shopping by ElaineMarie

floralkimono

so i thought it would be fun for this saturday shopping post to show one item that i wanted to buy this week and then another item that i wanted to buy and DID.

can you guess which one I got?

well, i was super in love with that kimono and see the need for some lighter weight cover-ups coming here in the near future. but i’ve been needing a new phone case for a while and fell in love with that one up there. thank heavens for paypal balances!

so, i’m hoping that kimono stays in stock until my next payday. ’cause this pregnant momma needs some warm weather wardrobe options stat.

2May2014

our week

Posted in familyness, let me let me update ya, love and happiness by ElaineMarie

low lighting gave our pictures this week that fuzzy look, which is ok because that’s how our week felt. anyone else have a fuzzy week?

normal life rolls on out and the magic is in the small stuff: washing up and organizing saved baby items, visiting the market with my girl for a waffle reward as a stimulus after i’d been out late at a birth, watching darla take on the pottery wheel. you can see that girl means business. i think my favorite little life detail is in that second photo up there. the ever so slight arch in darla’s eyebrow as she takes in the enormity of her donut. i wasn’t going to include this last photo of myself {that darla took} until i noticed that i, too, have that slight arch of my eyebrow present in that image.

that might be the most important thing that happened in my week. even though much grander life events took place this week, transitions and births and responsibilities, that small shared trait trumps them all. there’s little in life so poetic as the slight arching of a woman’s brow. those few centimeters can mean the difference between living and existing.

*i’m sending out my gratitude for the living that took place this week

…and for the existing.

i hope you had a good one. all my best for your weekend.*

1May2014

bump day

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

i’m lacking in baby bump selfie creativity this morning after being out at a birth until late last night. i thought i’d just do an updated version of this previous bump day to see how we’re progressing here. i can still see my feet! but you can tell there’s a roundness and fullness now that reaches up into my abdomen.

sitting here looking down at my rounded and mounded body has me filled with such gratitude that i am a woman. in a world where women can be portrayed as jumbles of sharp angles and points, i’m happy to be here with curves representing the circular properties of womanhood that i cherish deeply.

30Apr2014

pregnancy eats

Posted in pregnancy, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

don’t judge. it’s so good.

my old friend, poptarts-with-butter-pregnancy-craving, is back. it’s not so bad because butter is a health food again, right?

there’s only so many leafy greens and carrot sticks a mom can eat before she breaks down and gnaws a poptart.

29Apr2014

avoiding maternity clothes

Posted in pregnancy, Shopping by ElaineMarie

here’s how i did with avoiding maternity clothes this week.

^^^let’s get a close-up of that fringe belly^^^

my go to move is to throw a floral print over this bod and call it a day. but i also included some shots of what i look like on my normal mom days = disheveled hair, stretch pants and a doula tee. that’s my mom uniform. that was taken after i attended a comfort techniques mini-workshop this weekend so yes, i’m quote unquote keeping it realziez here. people see me like this. often. more often than i would like. in fact this series might be based in the fact that i want people to see me looking somewhat put together but usually no one is around when that happens and i am alone shouting into a mirror “hey, come see how good i look!”

lastly, you will be horrified to find out that husband was going to give away this turquoise jumpsuit! more than that, we’ve had this for years in our basement and i’m just now finding out about it. COLLECTIVE GASP. this will now be my maternity jumpsuit and you will probably see me in it often. my rescuing of this gem lead to the rest of my family donning coordinating turquoise outfits to our local diner. it made me oh-so-happy.

but in the end, i always come back to my wallpaper florals.

let’s see how i do for this week…