Happy Halloween!

Next year we'll have a cute little one to dress up!

Sunday 5 - Gratitude (vol. 2)

~1~

I'm grateful for the baby I'm carrying.

~2~

I'm grateful that my little one has a little while longer to stay snuggled up inside me and continue to grow.

(Due date is four weeks from today.)

~3~

I am grateful that I've had a wonderful partner in my husband with whom I've shared this pregnancy.

~4~

I am grateful that this baby will be born to parents full of love for him/her and for each other.

~5~

I am grateful that I can trust in God to guide me into my unknown future as a mother.

Maternity pictures were taken by Red Fern Photography.  If you live in the Raleigh-Durham area, I highly recommend Rebecca.  She spent two hours with my husband and me, was incredibly sweet and professional, and very reasonably priced.  I don't receive anything from recommending her, I simply want to pass on this information to anyone else in the area that may be looking for a great photographer.  I can't wait for her to take our newborn photos when our baby arrives!

I'm linking up to the Sunday 5 - Gratitude with Letters from Momma.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Take 31)

1. My husband’s cousin and his wife welcomed their son into the world on Tuesday!  A few weeks ago, I asked for prayers for them because the pregnancy had many complications.  Thank you to all those who prayed for them, both mama and baby are healthy! 

2. My brother-in-law proposed to his girlfriend on Wednesday! The two met on Catholic Match earlier this year (it’s becoming a family tradition) and only met in person a few months ago, but I have no doubt that this was God’s plan for them.  We were fortunate to be able to meet her last month at my baby shower.  She is very sweet and I look forward to finally having a sister!  (And maybe this means our baby will have a little cousin in a few years.)

3. It seems our family is growing quickly and our little one is the next one to make his or her big entrance.  I only have about a month left until my due date.  It seems like there is simultaneously so much longer to wait and not enough time to get everything done before the baby is here.  Although I have a strong feeling that the baby will be late, so I may have more time than I think.

4. In my opinion, one question you should never ask a pregnant woman is “How are you feeling?”  I appreciate the concern, but I have to answer that question at least five times a day.  And it’s such an awkward question to answer.  Does the person really want to hear about my swollen ankles and constant trips to the bathroom?  Regardless of the intent of the questioner, I don’t want to complain because I truly am thankful for this baby and therefore the pregnancy, discomforts and all.  So my answer is usually the ever elusive “Fine.”

5. My husband is working a ten hour day tomorrow.  He found a second job where he will be helping to run science experiments two Saturdays a month at workshops for middle schoolers.  I am so thankful that he this opportunity came up because we really need the extra money, but I despise the thought of him working six days a week (and he actually worked last Sunday to get caught up with some of his research, so this has turned into a seven day work week).  I am grateful that he works so hard for our family and I often wish that I could do more to relieve some of the stress and financial burden he feels. 

6. I wrote a blog post earlier this week about needing an adult wardrobe after the baby is born.  I got a great comment reminding me that not all clothing styles will be practical for breastfeeding – something that I hadn’t thought of at all!  Does anybody have any suggestions of what style of clothes (maybe even particular brands) I should be seeking out that will fulfill my desire for a classy adult wardrobe while being breastfeeding friendly? 

7. Here's a sneak peek at our nursery so far.  I can’t wait until the room is all ready – at this point all I really need is some kind of storage containers to hold all the miscellaneous baby items (bath towels and toiletries, cloth diapers, wash cloths, etc) that are currently strewn haphazardly across the room.  

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary.

Menu Plan Monday 10/24

 
This is my first time attempting to write a meal plan for the week.  The problem I have with planning meals is that I always make full recipes (which are usually written to accommodate 4-6 people) so we always have a day or two of leftovers after every meal.  Some people don’t like eating the same thing two days in a row (my dad HATES it!) but as long as it came out well the first time, my husband is usually requesting the leftovers the next evening.  So I usually only make 3-4 “new” meals each week and the rest of the days are leftovers.  This week, I’m sure, will be no exception.

Monday: Vegetarian Goat Cheese Quiche

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Breakfast burritos (my husband requests this at least once a week!)

Thursday: Cheese Enchiladas with refried beans

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Creamy potato soup

Sunday: Stir fry (ingredients will depend on what’s available at the farmer’s market) with rice

You might notice that none of the meals specifically include meat.  I’m a vegetarian (and my husband isn’t) so I try to make a lot of meals where meat isn’t a main ingredient but could be easily added.  For example, the quiche recipe fills two pie shells – I’ll put cubes of ham in one for my husband.  My husband always adds sausage to his breakfast burritos and I plan to make some of the enchiladas with chicken.  I could also throw in some chicken to half of the stir fry when it’s almost done, but lately David’s been preferring his stir fry sans meat. 

Source: allrecipes.com via Mandi on Pinterest

Also on the cooking schedule this week: Black Bean Lunch Wraps to freeze for meals after the baby’s born.

I'm linking this post to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.  Check out the all the other menu plan links for some meal plan inspiration this week!

It's Time I Have a "Grown-Up" Wardrobe

In the process of packing up to move from Indiana to North Carolina this summer, I took a long hard look at my wardrobe.  Although I have never considered myself stylish or fashionable, I certainly still try to dress nice and while going through my clothing, I realized that there were many pieces I could say goodbye to for good.  I am a bit embarrassed to admit this, but some of the shirts I had dated back to middle school!  Some clothing was easy to get rid of because I hadn’t worn them in years.

For many other pieces, I found myself using one simple question to decide whether I should keep them or not: “Is this appropriate for a mother to wear?”  Some of the items were inappropriate because they were not modest, although I found that these pieces generally could be grouped with those that I no longer wore.  Over the past few years, as I became more dedicated to my faith and confident of my self worth, I unconsciously gravitated toward more modest clothing.  The vast majority of clothing that I purged from my closet was inappropriate for a mother to wear because it was juvenile, sloppy, or just plain unattractive.  I had grown up, gotten married, and was pregnant with my first child, yet my wardrobe looked like it could have been that of a 15 year old girl.  Embarrassing!

I’d like to say that I’ve remedied that problem and my closet is now filled with classy, understated pieces.  Not quite.  What clothes I do have in my wardrobe is nice, although I have many gaps to fill in.  Getting rid of most of my clothes during pregnancy meant that I have not yet had the chance to acquire new pieces.  I don’t know yet how pregnancy will affect my body size (and shape) in the long term, so it will still be several more months before I look for new clothing. 



Cider

My husband and I don’t have a lot of money right now to spend on clothing (we don’t have much money to spend on necessities either!), but I know that when I do buy more clothing that I want to buy good quality pieces.  Instead of buying tons of clothes that wear out quickly or that I rarely wear, I’d rather spend the money on a few pieces of clothing that I can constantly mix and match with one another to make lovely, classy outfits.  For some people, I’m sure that’s easy, but for me it’s a daunting task.  I always wear the same pieces the same way.  Throughout this pregnancy, I’ve been bookmarking Betty Beguiles’s amazing fashion advice (for example this post My Simple Formula for Wardrobe Domination).  I can’t wait to put her advice into action!

Something else I can’t wait for postpartum – to buy an adorable dress from Shabby Apple!  Isn't this one just gorgeous - and the perfect color for fall? Although by the time my little one is born (5 weeks until my due date!) and I figure out what my postpartum body will look like long-term, I will have missed fall altogether!  That's ok though, I'm sure by then I'll have my new favorite Shabby Apple dress. 



Fruitful

 I love virtual window shopping at Shabby Apple’s website because I know that everything they have meets my two non-negotiable wardrobe criteria: modest and classy.  Since I often can’t trust my own fashion sense (believe me on this one, I have worn many a hideous outfit while thinking it was quite cute), I feel like I can’t go wrong with getting something from Shabby Apple.  I need to find a few more stores like this and shop exclusively at them so I avoid more fashion gaffes.

I was really hoping for an excuse to buy one of Shabby Apple's pretty maternity dresses during my pregnancy (why couldn't anyone get married this fall???), but nothing arose and I couldn't justify buying such a pretty dress with no where to wear it.  My favorite maternity dress was "Fruitful".  Isn't the name just fun too? 

If you are interested in shopping Shabby Apple, check out my right sidebar.  They almost always have a promotion going on and I try to keep them updated here on the blog.

Does anybody have any great fashion tips for me to make sure that I buy clothes that 1) I'll actually wear on a regular basis, 2) Look "grown up", and 3) Can easily be mixed and matched into a variety of different outfits?  I know there are many very fashionable ladies out there that have some wonderful advice!