Morning loves! Happy hump day! 
I'm here today talking about something personal. Something that has me on the verge of a panic attack today. Something that is happening in a mere 23 days. 

Becoming a parent.

I didn't sleep well at all last night as my mind was just reeling with thoughts. As we get closer & closer to this baby coming I'm really starting to realize how unprepared we are and how our lives are about to change. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond excited and happy to become a parent but I'm also nervous, unprepared and unsure.

My before baby to-do list is about 13 miles long and I just don't have the energy to do one bit of it. Our house is a disaster. There's laundry to be done. We need grocery's badly. And that's just the small simple stuff. I've cooked like 10 meals in the last three weeks which makes me feel like a terrible wife. And on top of all of that I'm too tired and exhausted to change any of it. 

I try my best to avoid ranting, raving, and venting my problems on this blog as I know you ladies would much rather read something fun and entertaining but today I'm simply just having a day. 

Any other moms/moms-to-be/sane humans have days like these? Anything in particular that calmed your nerves? I'm sure this is totally normal and that everyone goes through days like this but today it just feels like I'm in over my head.

Little Thread Wagon {Review & Giveaway}

 disclosure: i received this product in exchange for highlighting this business. all opinions are my own

I've shared an Etsy shop packed with adorable baby shoes before and I've got another for you today. Ruthie from Little Thread Wagon is by far one of the easiest people to work with and her products are beyond amazing! I was stunned when I pulled out the most adorable baby shoes out of that little fabric bag. Seriously blown away by the quality and cuteness of her stuff! I've found myself adding more & more of her stuff to my Etsy cart.

Ruthie sent me the most adorable {gender neutral} shoes to review and surprised me by including one of her handmade shoe bags as well. Let me tell you, those shoe bags are brilliant and would make the perfect add on to a baby gift! {Just in case you haven't done your shopping for Baby M yet ;)}

Here are some other things I'm dying over from her shop:

chevron shoes with flower

diaper clutch, changing pad & burp cloth set

cool dude snap and flap shoes

Today Ruthie is giving one of you the chance to win a pair of baby shoes of your choice. Plus, because she's extra sweet she's throwing in a matching shoe bag as well! Seriously, if there was ever something I was jealous of my readers for it's the chance at winning this giveaway! 

She's also giving ALL of you the chance to get 10% off your order! 
Just use the promo code "JULYENDS" in her shop! 

Enter via Rafflecopter below! 

The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, August 6th! 

Best wishes & a HUGE thanks to Ruthie for sharing her shop! 

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 Baby shoe orders from Little Thread Wagon do not automatically come with a matching shoe bag. 
 The shoe bag can be purchased as an "add on" item with any order for an additional $4.00 

36 Weeks

 36 Weeks As Of 07.27.13

How far along? 36 Weeks!
Size of baby M? Baby M is the size of a watermelon...and it certainly feels like baby is the size of a watermelon..a large watermelon at that!
Total weight gain/loss: At my doctor's appointment on Friday I was up a total of 27 pounds. Oh momma...
Maternity clothes? Still a mixture. Everything I'm wearing in the photo above is pre-pregnancy clothes. I'm able to fit in nearly all my pre-pregnancy shorts and bottoms just fine. Wearing maternity tops is far more comfortable than pre-pregnancy ones however as most {pre-pregnancy ones} are really snug! 
Stretch marks? Not a one. Fingers crossed it stays that way!
Sleep: It's literally all I want to do! I had a good week/week & a half where my energy level was through the roof and now I fall asleep constantly.I seriously can sleep all night and be ready for a nap within a short time of waking up.
Best moment this week: We had our 36 week doctor's appointment on Friday where it was declared that I'm not dilated one bit. I was totally hoping that something was happening though I'm not letting it get me down. There's always this week! There's also been quite a few thoughts on my mind regarding baby this week. I was thinking about fall decorating, Thanksgiving and Christmas and it hit me that we'll have a new little family member to include in all the fun this year! Crazy to think that our dreams of being parents is about to come true!
Have you told family and friends: You betcha! 
Miss Anything? My pre-pregnancy body! Being able to move & do the things I please without being incredibly sore the next day. Energy! Margaritas!
Food cravings:  All I want to eat is junk and anything sweet and sugary! It's terrible!
Anything making you queasy or sick: No.  

Symptoms: Hip/back/leg/rib pain, sciatica, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, dizziness {still}, frequent urination, ever lasting hunger, Braxton Hicks...the list goes on.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. And exhausted! 

Have you started to show yet: That's an understatement.

Gender prediction: Let me hear your guesses ladies!

Labor Signs: Nothing yet. Fingers crossed for some progress at my next appointment which is Friday!

Belly Button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? On. But there are times they get really snug! 

Looking forward to: Officially being full term on Saturday! Pure craziness!

Five On Friday

Usually Fridays are set aside for Friday Letters but today I'm trying something a little different. I'm linking with Christina of Carolina Charm for Five on Friday. Never hurt to try something a little new right?!?!

- One - We had our 36 week OB appointment today! The first of our weeklies! I feel like going to the doctor every week is just going to make this last month fly right by! I've gained another three pounds {ugh} and my blood pressure was great, 110/66. Belly is measuring at 36.5 weeks and I'm not dilated at all. Total bummer! I was hoping a little something was happening! Doctor did say that babe's head is down, down, down in that pelvis though which means we're no longer breech! Whoo! She also said she continues to think this baby will be a "good sized" baby and that he/she feels very long. No wonder I've been having so much pressure in my ribs and on my bladder! She gave me a prescription for my breast pump & I'm hoping to pick that up today and get good and familiar with it before baby comes! 

- Two - I totally love being preggo & all but I can't wait to be able to shop for clothes that don't need to accommodate my belly! I wandered around Target today and saw some of the cutest stuff! Like these dresses:

Unfortunately by the time I'm rid of this front side invading basketball it will likely be too cold to rock any of those adorable sundresses. But, there's always next year I guess! And, this babe will be totally worth it! 

- Three - I've been slowly working on decorating our house and many of the rooms are somewhat complete. And guess what? I've decided now that I hate it all. I want to start over and decorate every room completely different. Does this happen to anyone else? It frustrates my husband to no end because I'm just never fully satisfied. I do think part of it is the fact that I purely like to decorate...so I never really want the fun to be over. 

But really, tell me which one of you wouldn't want to fall asleep in that bedroom above? It's beyond beautiful! 

- Four - Tomorrow is quite the busy, fun day for us. We are spending the afternoon celebrating a friend's children turning three {seriously can't believe little Ben is THREE!}. Then going out to steakhouse dinner and to see Jim Gaffigan perform. After the show we've got VIP meet & greet tickets. It's bound to be a day filled with fun and tons of laughs. I'm just hoping my nine month pregnant body can keep up! 

- Five - I've seriously got tons of good things coming up for you ladies! Get excited! We've got nursery inspiration, more reviews & giveaways with the cutest Etsy shops and so much more! Stay tuned! Here's a sneak peak of a photo that inspired our nursery: 

And, while you're here don't forget to enter these giveaways:

Boy Krazie Giveaway 

Belly to Baby Giveaway

Belly To Baby {Review & Giveaway}

disclosure: i received this product in exchange for highlighting this business. all opinions are my own

I've documented my pregnancy through my weekly chalkboard updates and while I've LOVED doing that it certainly can be time consuming! When thinking about how I wanted to document the growing and changing of Baby M I knew I wanted to do something cute & creative but something that didn't take quite as much time. After all, spare time with a newborn isn't something that's plentiful I hear. I stumbled upon Brittani's Etsy shop: Belly To Baby and immediately fell in love with her stickers! She has plenty of different options for boys, girls or neutrals. 

She graciously sent me the stickers above and because we haven't announced what we're having she included a neutral, boy & girl set.

Belly To Baby is more than just onesie stickers though! Brittani also has invitations, closet dividers, milestone stickers and more! Here are some other things I'm loving from her shop! 

monthly onesie stickers for girls

baby milestone onesie stickers

custom closet dividers

monthly onesie tie stickers for boys

Today Brittani is giving one of you lucky readers the chance to win a $30 shop credit to use towards whatever you'd like! 

Enter via Rafflecopter below! 

The giveaway will be open until Thursday, August 1st! 

Thanks Brittani for sharing your shop with us! 

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One Month Until Baby M

July 24, 2013 is the date today. It's also the date that marks one month until this precious babe's due date. One month. Thirty single days. 

It's crazy thinking back to January 10th when we found out about this little baby of ours. I remember peeing on those sticks thinking that there was no way I was pregnant...despite the weeks of symptoms I'd been having. When that little plus sign and "pregnant" appeared in the window I was shocked. I headed to work that day but really only a small part of my mind was taking care of my patients. The other part was thinking about the little baby in my belly and how in the heck I was going to break the news to my husband. 

Heading home from work that day my hands where shaking. I was incredibly nervous to tell Steve that we where going to be parents, that he was going to be a daddy. We'd definitely talked about having children, and how we hoped we'd be able to have our own. But we'd agreed that we'd wait awhile. We wanted to travel, wanted to enjoy our first year of marriage together and wanted to take our time. So, I'm sure you can imagine how nervous I was to tell him that we where going to be parents...far sooner than we'd planned. 

I walked in the door that afternoon and found my husband knee deep in another house renovation project. Per usual he said "Hey babe, how was work?" and I busted into tears. The poor guy had the most confused look on his face and instantly jumped up and grabbed me into one of his huge hugs. After a few minutes of sobbing I was able to bring myself together to tell him that after weeks of feeling "off" I'd taken a few pregnancy tests that morning and that they where all positive. His initial reaction was a bit of a shock but he followed that with tons of calming, reassurance that having baby would be a wonderful, fantastic thing...even if it was earlier than expected.

The weeks and months following where filled with thoughts, plan and hopes for this little one of ours. And here we sit today, one month from our due date wondering what life with our little one will be like. What will our little one look like? More like mommy? More like daddy? Brown hair or blonde? Brown eyes or green? There are so my wishes and dreams we have for this little baby of ours and we can't wait until the day we finally get to meet. 

Looking back at this pregnancy make me feel beyond blessed. Blessed to have the support of the most amazing husband and family. Blessed to have the well wishes and constant excitement of my friends, co-workers and my fellow blogger buddies. Blessed to have this little life inside of me...moving and flipping about. Blessed to have been gifted the experience. Blessed to have my dreams of being a mommy become reality. And blessed to know that soon I'll stare into the eyes of a little being that is half me and half my husband. A wonderful, unique and precious creation that we made together. 

Dear Baby M, 

Though you haven't made your arrival yet know that you are incredibly loved. There are so many wonderful people waiting to meet you. So many people that want to snuggle you, meet your tiny self and cover you with love and kisses. Know that there is no two people more excited though than us though, your mommy and daddy! We've spent months and months preparing for you and we are beyond ready to meet you! We can't wait to hear your first cry, to see your first smile, to feel your soft skin. We can't wait for late night snuggles, early morning cuddles and smothering you with love all hours in between. We can't wait to watch you grow, learn and become your very own self. We have lots of wishes and dreams Baby M and we can't wait to share them with you!

With tons of love and anxious awaits,
Mommy & Daddy

Boy Krazie {Review & Giveaway}

disclosure: i received this product in exchange for highlighting this business. all opinions are my own

 In order to keep Baby M's gender a secret I had to work hard to bring you adorable things for both boys & girls. Last week I showed you some adorable shoes & headbands for girls. Today it's all about the boys. Boy Krazie is a shop that won't disappoint a single boy mom! Her stuff is unique and adorable. I promise you that if you go look at her shop you'll have a hard time picking just one thing you like! 

Arika sent me some of the most adorable stuff to review for you! And I have to tell you...her products are amazing! They are well made, stinking cute and affordable! 

 

Here's some other things I'm loving from her shop:

sock monkey hat & diaper cover

stocking hat with pompom

little fisherman set {hat, fish & pole}

Today Arika is giving my readers the chance to win the goodies I showed above! 
 Two adorable hats, a baby visor and that adorable tie! 

Enter via Rafflecopter below! 
The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, July 30th! 
Thanks Arika for sharing your shop with us!  

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35 Weeks

35 Weeks As Of 07.20.13

How far along? 35 Weeks!
Size of baby M? Baby M is the size of a honeydew! {Which mommy thinks sounds downright delicious!}
Total weight gain/loss: Still hanging in around the 24lbs mark. I haven't gained anything since my last doctor's appointment according to our home scale but we'll see what the doctor's reads on Friday! 
Maternity clothes? Still a mixture. Everything I'm wearing in the photo above is pre-pregnancy clothes. I'm able to fit in nearly all my pre-pregnancy shorts and bottoms just fine. Wearing maternity tops is far more comfortable than pre-pregnancy ones however as most {pre-pregnancy ones} are really snug! 
Stretch marks? Not a one. Fingers crossed it stays that way!
Sleep: It's literally all I want to do! I had a good week/week & a half where my energy level was through the roof and now I fall asleep constantly. I feel asleep sitting at my desk today!
Best moment this week: Just knowing that we're getting closer & closer! My doctor said that she'd let us labor whenever baby decides to come but had it been before 35 weeks baby would have had to be transferred to a hospital about an hour and a half away as our local hospital has no NICU in case baby would have needed it. So, we're in the free & clear to deliver whenever now!
Have you told family and friends: You betcha! 
Miss Anything? My pre-pregnancy body! Being able to move & do the things I please without being incredibly sore the next day. Energy!
Food cravings:  This last week was SO hot here in Wisco that I didn't want to eat anything hot. I seriously pigged out on PB & J, cereal and popsicles. I also don't want anything healthy it seems. All I want to eat is junk and anything sweet and sugary! It's terrible!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Some of the smells at work have really been getting to me these past few weeks. 

Symptoms: Hip/back/leg/rib pain, sciatica, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, dizziness {still}, frequent urination, ever lasting hunger, Braxton Hicks...the list goes on.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. And exhausted! 

Have you started to show yet: Have you seen the photo above?!?

Gender prediction: Let me hear your guesses ladies!

Labor Signs: The Braxton Hicks contractions are really picking up in frequency and severity which my doctor says could be a sign that things may start to be happening. We'll know for sure on Friday though when she does my first cervical check. 

Belly Button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? On. But there are times they get really snug! 

Looking forward to: Baby's birthday! Sharing our maternity photos with you all and enjoying the last few weeks of pregnancy!

Friday Letters

Dear Readers: We're keeping this short & simple today. Hope that you all have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend. I'm working all weekend so there won't be a whole lot of fun for this girl. Dear Baby: I think momma gets it now that I shouldn't over do it. Hubs and I wandered around the fair last night for two hours and it resulted in me curled up on the couch in pain. Holy frequent Braxton Hicks and cramping. It made me pretty nervous and I was pretty close to heading to the hospital but it eventually resolved. Message taken little one, message taken. Dear Wisconsin: That's enough of this heat! We have no AC in our house and it's been so warm {90's to 100's} that we went and bought a new window AC unit to cool our house. I totally love being chilled to the bone but I'm not looking forward to that bill! Yikes! Dear Momma's & Momma's To Be: Don't waste anymore time!! Enter to win a fabulous nursery print here and an adorable pair of baby shoes here. And remember to stay tuned next Tuesday and Thursday for two new giveaways! I promise you that it's worth stopping back in!

The Merry Meadowlark {Review & Giveaway}

disclosure: i received this product in exchange for highlighting this business. all opinions are my own

It's no secret that I'm a freak when it comes to shoes but I recently found something even more exciting than shoes for my feet...shoes for Baby M's feet! Baby shoe shopping is just as fun {if not more} than shoe shopping for myself! I think it has something to do with the fact that they are just so tiny and adorable! The shoes that Heather at The Merry Meadowlark creates are by far some of the cutest I've seen. And the headbands are equally as adorable! 

Heather graciously sent me two pairs of baby shoes and a headband to review. Since we're not spilling beans as to whether Baby M is a boy or girl she made sure to include goodies for both genders. 

And let me tell you her products do not disappoint! I'm itching to get these shoes on Baby M's little feet! They are perfectly made and so soft for baby's little feet. And the headband...stinking cute! I'm in love with everything she sent and pretty much everything in her shop! 

Here are some other items I'm loving from her shop:

 pink lace slip on shoes

brown flower headband

black soft sole shoes

Today Heather is giving one of you the chance to win an item
 of your choice from her Etsy shop! 

And, on top of that she's giving ALL of you the chance to get 15% off our order from her shop! The code will be valid until July 25th so hurry over there! 
To get your 15% off use the code: DANCE15

Enter via Rafflecopter below! 

The giveaway will be open until Thursday, July 25th! 

Thanks Heather for sharing your shop with us!  

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