34 Weeks

I saw my doctor today and apparently I start weekly appointments next week. I don’t think I started those until 36 weeks with Aedan. I can’t believe it’s already time for those!

How Far Along: 34 weeks
Size of Baby: A coconut
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I’m up 25 lbs. and I still have 5/6 weeks to go. I think I gained about 30 with Aedan so I guess I’m on that track again. 
Gender: Hopefully still a girl. :) Adelaide Caroline
Movement: Lots of movement. Sometimes I feel like she moves more than Aedan did, but its probably about the same.
Sleep: Ugh, not so great lately. It’s hard to get comfortable and I wake up a bunch during the night and can’t fall back asleep.
Maternity Clothes: Same as before, and I am getting tired of them. I think mostly I am just ready for some fall weather!
Symptoms: Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions mostly in the evenings and at night. My doctor said I should start taking it easy, haha, I’m not sure when that will happen with a 2.5 year old running around.
Aversions: Same as before, the stuff that made me sick early on still makes me feel sick to think about. Also, I have been having some pretty bad heartburn at night.
Cravings: Fruit and ice water and sweet things (not great for the weight gain).
What I miss: Not feeling so big and having a hard time moving around/playing with Aedan on the floor.
Worst Moment of the week: Can’t think of a practically bad moment, just more of the same, busy and worn out.
Best Moment this week: Jon is finally off the project that had him working weekend nights! For the past 8 months he has pretty much worked 6-7 days a week and averaged at least 60 hours per week. It was hard on all of us. Yesterday, he was done at 5 and it was so nice to have a normal evening as a family. We even had time to walk to the park after dinner.

-Lauren-

Hollywood Here I Come…

Haha! Totally kidding.

But, I was in a commercial this past weekend.

I know; crazy right?!

Last week one of my friends texted that she had a friend looking for a 6-8 month pregnant girl for a commercial shoot (my friend’s husband is in TV as are a lot of their friends). I laughed and told her she could give her friend my info.

She did and her friend called and told me they would only need me for about an hour on Saturday and would pay about $100. I said sure and sent her a picture. I was just home with Aedan so this is the picture I sent over…not the best, but I think they just cared about my belly.

I didn’t hear from her for a day or two so I figured they went with someone else, but then she called me last Wednesday and said the she had shown the director some different options and the director liked my picture the best. Ha! She also asked if $250 would be worth my time on Saturday. Um, sure considering I would have done it for $100. :)

So Saturday morning I drove over to the shooting location (an older house in a really nice part of town). It was mostly a lot of waiting around and then they took some video of me and my pretend daughter (a little 5 year old). They said all the needed was a 2 second clip of us, so it was literally 5 minutes of them shooting.

Then. That was it.

So what is the commercial for? I have no idea. It is for the sister company to Kraft foods, so I am guessing a food commercial of some kind. Who knows.

We don’t have TV (and I still don’t really miss it!) so I’ll probably never see my 2 seconds of fame. But if you see a random clip of a pregnant girl in jeans and a tank top with a cute little 5  year old, it just might be me so you will have to let me know.

-Lauren-

Our Bonus Room

I think I have just about showed each of the rooms in our house. I just a have few more to go. This week I thought I would show you guys our bonus room.

This is probably the biggest reason we bought our house. The funny thing is, it wasn’t something that was on either of our wish lists. We knew we wanted a separate study and at least 3 bedrooms. We wanted a bigger kitchen and bigger master bathroom and a good size backyard. We wanted a neighborhood in a good school district, with a playground and a pool. But as soon as we walked through our house, we realized we both wanted a bonus room too.

We looked at a few more houses after seeing this one, and even though most of them matched our wish list, we just couldn’t stop thinking about how great it would be to have a bonus room.

Our house is mostly one story. The only thing upstairs is a large bonus room, two closets and a full bathroom. Right now Jon probably uses it the most since that is where his Xbox is. We also have a sleeper sofa up there so it makes a perfect place for guests to stay, especially with the full bath. I just know that Aedan and Adelaide will use it a lot when they get older. I know my sister and I always wished we had had a place like it to hang out with our friends in middle and high school.

I haven’t done anything up there as far as decorating goes. Eventually, we want to get new couches for our living room, so the ones we have may move up there. Down the road maybe we will get a big sectional for the space. I need to hang up curtains, but I should probably start with hanging some downstairs first.

I think it would be fun to decorate with big movie posters since that is probably want we will use the room for the most. Jon wants to get a much bigger TV and I think a game table in the corner would be perfect.

How great is this closet? The one next to it is huge, but it is also a mess so I’ll just show you the pretty one.

As with most of the rooms in our house, we have big plans. Luckily we plan to be here for the long haul so we have a while to tackle everything. :)

-Lauren-

2.5 Years Old!

It’s been about 6 months since I did an update on what Aedan is doing these days…

I have been meaning to post this for awhile, but I keep putting it off because I haven’t had a chance to get my camera out and take some good pictures of Aedan. Things are pretty busy and don’t seem to be slowing down at all, so I figured I’d just post this and take some pictures soon

So at 2.5, Aedan, here is what you are up to…

• You probably weigh around 32-34 lbs. I’m not sure how tall you are, but you recently started bumping you head on the counter top that you used to be able to just walk under. I feel like you have really gotten taller this summer. *Update: according to school, you weigh 30.5 lbs. and are 36.5 in. tall.
• You wear size 2T for everything and size 7.5/8 wide in shoes.
• You aren’t potty trained yet, but you totally could be, mommy has just been too lazy to jump on that yet. Maybe this month…
• You are doing so well sleeping in your big boy bed. You go to bed at 8pm and sleep until 7/7:30, then you take a nap from about 1-4 every afternoon. This past week, you started coming out of your room right after we put you to sleep. We pretty much give you no attention and just lead you back to bed. Last night I didn’t feel like walking you back to your room, so I just sat at the kitchen island and without giving you any eye contact I pointed back to your room. You tried about 3 times and then you gave up and went right to sleep. I have news for you…mommy does this kind of thing for a living and daddy is pretty stubborn so I’m pretty sure you just might lose every one of these little battles. :) Once you are in bed, you go right to sleep and stay there until the morning.
• You eat like a typical toddler…some days you eat a lot and some days I feel like all you do is drink milk…which you would probably do 24/7 if we let you.
• You love Bob the Builder and Monsters Inc. When you are building or fixing something, you will say “can we build it?” “yes we can!!”. So cute.
• You love to build with blocks, look at books, play with playdoh and paint, but your favorite toys are still all your tools. You are always fixing something around here. Daddy even lets you play with his little drill outside and you started taking apart our adirondack chairs. I couldn’t believe you actually got the screws all the way out by yourself!
• You still love Hiro. You always talk about him when we are out and about and are so excited to see him when we get home. You are good about letting him in and out when he wants to go outside and you love to give him treats or feed him at random times of the day. I know Hiro appreciates this.
• You pretty much talk non stop when you are awake. Seriously.every.single.minute. :) You tell us stories from your day and are always asking questions. You are pretty good about saying please and thank you on your own, especially with people other than mommy and daddy.
• A few weeks ago, you and I were grabbing some things in CVS and you got out of the little car cart and told me “mommy, I be right back”. I asked where you were going and you told me again you would be right back. I followed you (obviously) and found you looking at bouncy balls. I told you it was time to go and you told me “one more minute mommy, I shopping”. Ha!
• Last week you were driving around the house in your cozy cop and you pulled up next to me at the kitchen table. You leaned out the window and told me you wanted a number 2 with fries and a lemonade. I just about died laughing. Apparently we have been going to P. Terry’s one too many times lately!
• You are in the third week of preschool and while I know you have fun while you are there, you do not like when I drop you off. Honestly, I had zero trouble leaving you with your sitter when you were 3 months old and crying, but it is much harder leaving you when you are asking me to please stay for a little while. :( Your teachers are great though and yesterday I got a picture of you smiling about 5 minutes after I dropped you off.
• Your teacher says you love music time and inch closer and closer to the music guy because he is playing a guitar.
• You get super excited when we come to pick you up, your teacher also said that the other parents are jealous of your enthusiasm. haha! I usually get a dance, while you say “it’s my mommy! that’s my mommy!!” when I walk in the door.
• We have been talking a lot about Adelaide and you helped me put away her clothes and set up some stuff in the nursery. We even wrapped Babar up in a blanket and let him try out her bassinet. I think it is going to be a huge adjustment for you when she comes, but I know you are going to be a great big brother!

Aedan, I could go on and on with stories about what you are up to. You make us laugh everyday and we are so blessed to be your parents. We love you so much!

-Lauren-

Weekend Recap

Don’t forget, I am having an online Scentsy party through Sept 21st. You can go here to read about my favorite scents or go here to place and order.

I feel like it has been awhile since I have done a weekend recap. I think it is because Jon has had to work just about every single weekend for the past 6 months, so our weekends don’t really feel like weekends anymore.

Although this one did! Jon was able to take off Friday, Saturday and Sunday and since he is working and alternative week, he still gets his “weekend days” of Monday and Tuesday (too bad I have to work both of those). So we got a nice long 3 day weekend together and he and Aedan get to spend some daddy/son time together today and tomorrow.

On Friday Aedan decided to get up super early. Apparently he missed the memo about it being a 3 day weekend. We decided to make the best of it and go out to breakfast. Aedan totally cracked me up, because he ordered his whole meal by himself. The waitress asked what we wanted to drink…he said “milk please”. Then when she came back, he said “oh thank you!!”. She asked what we wanted to eat and he told her he wanted waffles. I finished up by ordering him the jr breakfast platter, but still he basically ordered for himself. Since when is he old enough to do that?!?

After breakfast we did a little walking on a nearby trail before coming home and pretty much just relaxing all morning/early afternoon. Once Jon and Aedan woke up from an afternoon nap, we headed to the grocery store and then got home just as my sister drove in from Plano. Aedan was super excited to see her!

On Saturday, my sister and I did a little shopping in the morning. We went to Old Navy and I found some really cute sweater vests. I had seen them online and was thinking about ordering them so I was excited to find them in the store. But, online they were $15 and in the store they were $25. Since they won’t match prices, I ended up ordering them anyway…at least I know they fit and I will like them.

After naptime, we all headed up to Round Rock to hang out with my parents, grandmother, aunt & uncle, and my cousin and his daughter. My cousin’s daughter is only 2 months older than Aedan so they had fun playing together. I was worried that Aedan wouldn’t want to share “Nenna’s toys” since my mom has a ton of fun toys up there and he totally thinks they are all for him, but he did really well.

Sunday, Jon had an early soccer game and got finished playing just before a huge rain storm came through. It basically rained all day, which hasn’t happened in months. It was a perfect day to just lay around at home.

It was great to have a normal weekend for a change. There is a good chance Jon will be switching to a new project soon, so hopefully there will be more normal weekends in the near future. :)

And since I managed to not take any pictures this weekend…here is one from earlier in the week. This is what happens while mommy gets ready in the morning.

I love Hiro’s face. He is like “what everything is fine”

-Lauren-

Favorite Beauty Products

Don’t forget, I am having an online Scentsy party through Sept 21st. You can go here to read about my favorite scents or go here to place and order.

I love finding out what other people love when it comes to beauty products. I tend to stick with the same things so when I see someone else recommend something it motivates me to try it. This week Kelly is having a link up for favorite beauty products so I thought I would join in.

I am not a huge makeup person. Most of what I own fits in a small makeup bag, but I do have some products that I love!

I have talked about this one before, but I still love Origin’s VitaZing moisturizer. I use it everyday. On the days I just stay home or run errands it is usually the only thing I wear on my face (well that and mascara, my eye lashes are pretty light and I look like I am half asleep without mascara on!).

Speaking of mascara, I have been using this one since my freshman year of college. Occasionally, when I run out, I will try something else but I always end up hating it. I love this one and I am not sure what I would do if they stop making it! I don’t think it does anything special, but I love that it makes my eye lashes feel like there is nothing on them.

And staying on the topic of eyes, I love Mac’s paint pot in painterly. It is the perfect base for any eye shadow and really makes your eye makeup last all day, which is perfect, since I am one of those people who likes to do it in the morning and not touch it again.  Although I did just pick up the Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoo in Barely Beige and while it is a shimmery color vs. the Mac’s matte color, it works just as well.

When I am going out or to work, I usually put a little bit of foundation on. I have been loving this one by Estee Lauder. It is a little more pricey, but I don’t use it everyday and I use such a small amount, I know it will last me forever. It is pretty light coverage, which is why I like it. It feels like you have no makeup on, but really evens out my skin perfectly.

Ok enough makeup, how about some hair favorites? I have been loving Suave Keratin Infusion shampoo and conditioner. It makes my hair really soft and at under $2 a bottle it is not a bad deal.

What about you? Any beauty favorites? I am always looking for new things to try.

-Lauren-

32 Weeks!

Don’t forget, I am having an online Scentsy party through Sept 21st. You can go here to read about my favorite scents or go here to place and order.

Ah, I can’t believe I am already 32 weeks along. Although, I feel pretty uncomfortable most of the time, so I guess I kind of can believe it. So I am totally done being pregnant but I am not so sure I am ready for a newborn in 8 weeks…I guess I have no choice. :)

I took a picture this morning before Aedan and I headed to our first Mom 2 Mom group. Hopefully I can get in edited and uploaded this afternoon.

How Far Along: 32 weeks
Size of Baby: A big squash
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I’m up 22 lbs., and honestly it feels like a lot more. I just feel big and have a much harder time moving around these days.
Gender: Hopefully still a girl. :) Adelaide Caroline
Movement: Lots of movement. Sometimes I feel like she moves more than Aedan did, but its probably about the same.
Sleep: Ugh, not so great lately. I fall asleep just fine, but then I am usually up 3-4 times to go to the bathroom and then usually around 3:30/4 I wake up and just can not go back to sleep. I finally fall asleep again around 5 and then I am super tired when I need to get up at 7. I keep thinking it will be nice to sleep through the night again, but I’m thinking that is not going to happen until sometime around Christmas. :)
Maternity Clothes: Same as before, and I am getting tired of them. I think mostly I am just ready for some fall weather!
Symptoms: Nothing much, just pretty worn out by the end of the day.
Aversions: Still some foods that I just can’t think about. Also some weird things like Dawn and the shampoo/body wash I was using when I was really sick.
Cravings: Fruit and ice water and sweet things (not great for the weight gain).
What I miss: Not feeling so big and having a hard time moving around/playing with Aedan on the floor.
Worst Moment of the week: Can’t really think of anything. We have just been pretty busy so I haven’t been able to get as much done in the nursery.
Best Moment this week: Well my parents are coming over for dinner tonight and then while Aedan is at school tomorrow my mom and I are going to do some baby shopping. Then my sister is coming in town for the weekend and Jon finally has a weekend totally off from work! 

-Lauren-

Scentsy Online Party!

Since it is starting to feel a little bit more like fall outside, I thought it was time to order some new scents for my Scentsy warmers.

And I thought maybe some of you guys would as well, so I am hosting an online Scentsy Party. You can go here to check out the new fall catalog and go here to shop, just make sure you click on Lauren’s Party.

Never heard of Scentsy or haven’t tried it yet? You can go here to read more about it, but basically they are little ceramic warmers with a light bulb inside that warms the scented wax on the top tray. I have had mine for about a year now and I love it!

I have always been a candle person and I love having the house smell good, especially in the fall/winter. Now that Aedan is old enough to find a chair and move it to any counter he wants to help himself to cookies, I can’t very well have candles burning around the house.

With my Scentsy warmers all I do is switch on the light and a few minutes later the room/house is filled with wonderful scents. Aedan pays zero attention to the warmers, but even if he did, the wax is paraffin wax so it is hot, but will not burn. I love that I can switch it on and just leave it all day without having to worry about it. You could even plug it into a timer and have it set to go off just before you get home. How great would it be to come home to a wonderfully smelling house at the end of a busy day?

They have different size warmers as well as small plugins. I have two full size warmers; one in my kitchen and one in our bedroom. I am going to be ordering a couple plugins for the bathrooms and maybe a third full size warmer.

Once you have your warmer or plugin, you just have to grab some scent bars. Each bar comes with 8 little squares inside. I usually put 2 squares in my full size warmers and it is plenty to fill the house with the scent. The bars on $5 a piece or you can bundle and save a few dollars, but you get the equivalent of a pretty large candle for just $5.

I keep my kitchen warmer on just about everyday and I find that I only need to change out the scent every week to week and a half. The warmer in my bedroom doesn’t stay on as much so I can go a good 2 or 2.5 weeks before I change out that one.

Now the hard part is just deciding which scents to pick up first!

Probably my all time favorite is Luna. I feel like it is a perfect scent for any room. It is not too strong, but it will fill the house with a wonderful clean smell.

My second favorite scent is Welcome Home. It is just perfect to warm in the kitchen.

Scentsy just came out with their fall/winter scents and here are a few I will definitely be ordering…

Honey Pear Cider

Black Ruby

Snowberry

These would make great Christmas gifts/stocking stuffers, so get some names crossed off your list and pick up one for yourself to welcome in the cooler temperatures!

My online party will be open from now through September 21st.

-Lauren-

Mid Week Update

I feel like for awhile I was on a roll with posting about 3 times a week…until now, since it has been a whole week since I have posted anything.

We had a pretty good Labor Day weekend. Jon had to work Friday and Saturday night, so Aedan and I hung out up in Round Rock all day Saturday to let him rest. We spent the day with my parents and had dinner with my grandmother. Aedan has so much fun over there since my mom saved a ton of original little people toys plus a bunch of other toys for him to play with. On top of that he loves playing with his Pop and Nenna.

We all hung around the house on Sunday and ran some errands on Monday. I was looking for a new water bottle and lunchbox containers for Aedan to take to school on Tuesday, but never ended up finding what I wanted. Then yesterday when I was at the grocery store, I found both items, go figure.

Monday afternoon, Aedan and I made these muffins for him to take for lunch. They were easy to make and taste pretty good, plus they don’t have any sugar in them.

Yesterday was Aedan’s first day of school. Of course he woke up super early for some reason, so I knew he would be pretty tired by the time he came home, but he had a great first day. His teacher said he got a little sad when he realized Jon and I left, but he got over it pretty fast and was totally fine the rest of the time. She said his favorite part was music. He told us all about it in the car and then last night he told me he ate snack with all his new friends at the table. :)

I think it will be a little rough when I drop him off tomorrow since he knows I am going to be leaving now, but hopefully he will get into the swing of things in a couple of weeks.

This morning Aedan and I went over to a friends house for a little play date and other than that, I have just been getting things done around the house. My plan for tomorrow is to get some projects started for Adelaide’s nursery so hopefully I can post some pictures soon. I feel like I am a little more behind on getting things ready for her than I was with Aedan, but I am hoping I can use the time he is at school to get those things done soon.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

-Lauren-