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!

24Apr2014

bump day

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

“as we grow older we should become not less radical but more so.” margaret laurence ~ author

flowerpower

so i was struck with inspiration after seeing this in the feed of one of my instagram faves. i thought i would include this here for a little context and sort of as a warning sign.

if you think this photo is objectionable then you should probably “turn back while you still can. this is not the way. take heed and go no further.”

if you think this photo is awesome, incredibly poetic and quite humorous then you’re probably ok to proceed for this weeks bump day photos.

versions

are nowhere near

as good as that gorgeous

photo up there though.

i absolutely love that quote. i feel that one of the gifts of womanhood is that many of us regain that whimsical and wild as we get older. i envision myself as an older woman, wearing about 15 turquoise necklaces and driving an el camino at age 75 just because i want to, dammit. but at this stage of my life what i can achieve is to radically and unabashedly love my body the way it is at this moment. a friend of mine once spoke about not bashing the way you look in photos right now because some day those are the photos you’re going to pull out and say “oh, if only i still looked so good.” i know that even though i think i look unbelievably huge in these photos, i’ll be pulling them up in the future saying “oh, if only my belly was still so taught and full of life!”

my belly has really bloomed over the past week so the symbolism of the flower and this time of year combined with the quote held a special magic for me. i know these are really just pretty lame selfies i took in my bedroom but i love them just the same.

thanks for indulging my radical.

23Apr2014

getting reconnected

Posted in Momma Needs a minute..., pregnancy by ElaineMarie

until this past week of glorious weather i had no idea how essential being out of doors would be for me to feel connected to this pregnancy.

being outside has always been an essential part of my well-being, i think. i remember choosing hours of play outside over television or indoor play. in my motherhood, i’ve tried to get darla outside and into the wild as much as possible. i feel more at peace outside and my brain functions differently than when i’m cooped up inside.

beginning this pregnancy at the start of this very long, harsh winter was pretty rough on me. darla was a january baby born in a slightly warmer climate so i was out and about for the first 2 trimesters with her and still pretty active during the last trimester, heck we even walked down to the Obama inauguration 2 weeks before I was due. it seemed a little more normal to have lots of activity in early pregnancy and to hunker down a bit more during the last stretch. having the opposite happen with this pregnancy has not been easy.

i don’t function so well indoors. i get a little crazed about organization and overwhelmed by how many items are in our household. i have it in my heart hopes that i’ll move to a warmer climate someday that allows for outdoor adventure year round. but let’s bring it back to the fact that this week has shifted me back into focus for preparing for this birth.

so we’ve been out every day since it’s been possible. i can say without a doubt that sunshine, fresh air and green living things are going to be quite necessary for me to bring this baby into this world. and now i’m feeling oh so happy to be having a summer baby.

i’ve gotten my mocs out on walks. alone. it seems essential to my spiritual being to spend time alone in nature. i think it’s always been part of my personal faith practices to spend time alone in the wilderness, contemplating the small habitats of the tiny creatures juxtaposed to the vastness of the earth and the heavens. it’s important to my spiritual being to feel connected to it all. i just find that hard to do cooped up inside walls.

i feel it all coming together and it feels good. the reawakening of the earth is resonating deep inside me and i feel more connected now than ever before. how wonderful it was to feel this life quicken and grow inside me just as the earth started to do the same. how wonderful to feel this baby gain strength and see my belly bloom just as the blossoms appear in our world. and i can only imagine how wonderful it will feel to have life burst forth at just about the time when all life in the northern hemisphere is at its peak.

i’m so thankful that the world within me is connected to the world without me.

22Apr2014

avoiding maternity clothes

Posted in pregnancy, Shopping by ElaineMarie

i avoid maternity clothes almost as well as i avoid eye contact in my mirror selfies.

fleece lined leggings and thermal shirts. you know, for when it snows in april.

my coven issued black skirt, black shirt combo.

and stretchy pants for days and days, plus a wide brimmed hat to cover unbrushed hair.

so yeah, lots of skirts and stretch pants happening over here. but i only have a handful of these items that i’m switching out and dressing up in different ways. i try to use loud prints and distracting accessories to draw attention away from the fact that i’m huge and still have a couple months to go. i’m keeping my eye on forever 21 and target for some new maxi dresses to add to this rotation. let me know if you see a sale.

well, that’s all. let’s see how i do next week!

19Apr2014

momswimz

Posted in pregnancy, Shopping by ElaineMarie

it looks like i’m going to have to get myself an alternative swimsuit for the summer. i thought my normal suit would work out but it’s not looking good. given how hard it is to find a suit for my non-pregnant body i thought it was going to be the same for my preggo body but one google search and BAM this little number turned up, from Target nonetheless.

i’ve been in love with this color lately so i’m crossing my fingers they’ll still have my size when my next paycheck rolls around…

although, i may just take this summer as an opportunity to rock a bikini since i don’t pull that off well in my non-humangrowing days.

17Apr2014

bump day

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

i couldn’t pick just one image for bump day this week so i just decided to include both. i feel they gel together nicely by highlighting new things happening to my body. darla likes to keep track of how far her finger *doesn’t* go into my belly button anymore. thanks, kid. i never got an outie with her but it did get pretty darn flat. we’re getting there.

i really like the second image because it shows how my body is folding over and resting on itself in new ways. well, in truth, it always folds over and rests on itself in more places than i would like but at least when a baby is in there it’s for a purpose. and i was wearing my Frankie Says Relax shirt as a reminder…hey, relax…it’s only a baby belly on the internet. no biggie fries.

mmmm biggie fries…

photo 38E7E382-72F3-4AD1-A8BE-EA94A66C8F80-14096-00000959235F7A63_zpsa1cbaf5c.jpg

15Apr2014

my plan to avoid maternity clothes

Posted in Shopping by ElaineMarie

so, i loathe maternity clothes as most are overpriced and not very cute. i made it through my pregnancy with darla without buying a single pair of maternity pants and i’m looking to do the same with this go around. let’s see how i do ;-) i’ll post some of my outfits from here on out to show how i’m avoiding mah momjeanz!!

ps. yes, i’m sure i’ll be baring my middle some before this babe is out. and yes, it looks like i enjoy taking pictures of myself at work. they have much prettier mirrors there with far less hand prints and sticker residue on them than at my house.

10Apr2014

bump day

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

hanging out by the window with my bump b/c my bump is so serene and prolific. yeah.

i think i’ve crossed the threshold of everything just feeling really big from here on out. ain’t it wonderful? getting big is a good thing. one of the nice things about subsequent pregnancy is knowing that 3 more months of being big is a really short amount of time. during a first pregnancy 3 more months seems like an eternity but now…i think i have a more accurate idea of just how quickly 3 months will slip by in relation to the rest of my life.

this person will be here before we know it.