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.

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…

28Apr2014

weekending

Posted in familyness, love and happiness, weekending by ElaineMarie

these are the moments i want to remember. i fear i give moments like these too little importance in my mind. it’s hard when so much of life seems to be planned around big events, get-togethers and commitments, which have their rightful place in life. but i am in love with the moments like these from our weekend:

like remembering that husband is my daughter’s chosen companion in the early morning hours. making coffee and breakfast for my family during our weekend mornings. darla receiving a music history / art history lesson over the breakfast table. listening to one of my favorite voices in the world in a friends living room. seeing richard buckner’s living room show this weekend was a highlight {if you have a chance to go to a living room show at some point, please do}. going on a tea & scones relaxation date when we were feeling squirrely {she} and unsatisfied with productivity at home {me}. husbeau gifting us with patti smith’s easter and singing along with darla, who had been listening to gremlins on her player earlier. but my most cherished moments of the weekend were going through saved baby items and uncovering little pieces of the past. like those boots. gawwww. i’m tearing up over here writing and thinking of how big my little girl is but one time, long ago, she stomped around in these when she first got to stompin.’ and now i’m going to put another baby in them.

life just kills me with the small moments. thanks for taking in these ones that mean so much to me.

*hope you had a wonderful weekend. wishing you a stellar week*

26Apr2014

diaper decisions

Posted in Run Da House, Shopping by ElaineMarie

i still haven’t decided if we’re cloth diapering from the get go with this babe but this cover kinda makes me want to. We started cloth diapers at around 10-11 months with darla and that worked out pretty well. i feel like we will start out in disposables, transition to a combination routine and end with all cloth, all the time. and darla was potty trained by just a few months after her 2nd birthday so i’d like to go ahead and keep that the same or earlier. please, universe? thanks a mil.

I’m kinda obsessed with a few things from this store { like also these } but the cute diaper covers catch my eye the most. we have some of ours left over from d but i will probably need to pic up another infant and one more larger size to make it work.

ugh, i can’t believe i’m back to the stage of being in charge of another human’s butt. life is a hoot.

ps. we’ll probably be using these disposables and these wipes if any of you kind souls wanna send baby wrucker a welcome gift!