Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Camping in Cloudcroft



I've been wanting to take Gwen camping for a while. Now was the best time to do it because I'll soon be too large and uncomfortable to want to camp, and there's no way I'd want to camp with a newborn, so we took advantage of this small window of time that we have. 

We arranged a camping trip with our family in New Mexico since I knew we wouldn't see most of them until after Christmas when the baby is born. It was wonderful to get out of this Arizona heat for a few days! Gwen loved climbing up and down the hill were we on. She fell countless times (nothing too serious!) and ended up with a ton of bruises and a few scrapes on her legs, but this relentless toddler didn't cry about it once. She was too busy exploring to care. 

Enjoy the short video of some of my favorite moments from this trip! 

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

FLOG 3: Favorite Places


First off, this video is almost a week late! Oops. I had grand ideas for this FLOG prompt. I took my DSLR to a couple of my favorite places to film some clips, but when it came down to it, I felt like such a weirdo filming in public. I wish I were more brave about that kind of thing!! I did get a few clips from those attempts, but decided it wasn't enough to make an interesting video.

It's true that one of my favorite places is my living room, but mostly when it's clean. My original idea was to film a kind of "living room tour" showcasing all of my favorite details of the room, but my living room was such a mess! And I had already procrastinated too long to tidy, dust, vacuum, and organize my mess of a bookshelf, and then finally film it. I was running out of daylight and I had to prepare for our road trip/camping trip on top of that! So here's what you get: a sped up video of me cleaning said mess. #reallife

This is actually only from one clip. I had a second clip where I vacuumed and dusted, but it never imported? It's all good though, since this video is boring, anyway, and making it a little longer would make it a snooze fest.


P.S. Did anyone participating in this challenge make a video for prompt 3? I'm checking Riley's blog now and find nothing? lol 

Monday, July 18, 2016

Mommy Style Monday: What I Wish I Knew


I remember sitting in church as a newlywed and listening to a woman give a talk about motherhood. She shared a story about her "to do" list and how "painting my toenails" was a reoccurring item on the list because she was always too busy with other things to get that one little thing done. She was unable to fulfill this indulgence, week after week. Being the naive, newlywed I was, I thought she was being a little ridiculous- "How hard is it to paint your toenails?? Seriously?" 
Fast forward to today and I now understand her small struggle. It may not have been that she didn't have the time to paint her nails, but that other things have taken priority. I know when I have a trivial thing on my "to do" list that can only be done after bedtime, I often dismiss it. Instead I watch a show with my husband, get some blogging done/read other blogs, or get some chores done. Because at the end of the day, I'm tired and relieved that Gwen is finally asleep! I wish I used my time a little more wisely and practiced drawing or working on ways to advertise my photography. That's something I need to work on. Some moms are great at growing creatively and pursuing their dreams outside of motherhood, and I applaud them. Those women are my heroes and they inspire me. 


Right. I had an idea of what it was like to be a mother before actually becoming one, but really, I was naive, as most childless people might be about parenthood. Here are some things I would tell my past self about being a mom:

1. You're not a strict as you think you are.
My past self would think, "Sleep training? Leaving the baby to cry in the crib to fall asleep? Discipline? No problem!! I won't bat an eye!" And then the hypothetical baby was my baby and I had become accustomed to co-sleeping (because its honestly the easiest option for nursing moms). You can ask me about my personal thoughts on sleep training, just not on the internet. Honestly, my thoughts are complicated. And when it comes to discipline- when's the right time to start that? I'm not sure Gwen understands being put in timeout when she misbehaves, but let's not get into that! As you can see, there are things that I wish my future self will tell me about discipline. 


2. Don't you dare judge other moms/parents.
I think I learned this one while I was pregnant with Gwen. It all starts when you become pregnant and everyone has different opinions about labor and delivery. I knew that I shouldn't judge other women for choosing to deliver their baby in a different way than me and I definitely shouldn't judge other moms that choose not to breastfeed. Those were the two big "no nos." But it was so easy for me to judge other people's parenting styles. I completely regret thinking this way! I was so harsh. It's such a struggle to raise a human being to the best of your knowledge and ability. Every time I might disagree with a mom I think to myself, "They may not agree with my parenting choices, but I would hate to think that they're judging me for it and/or thinking of ways I could 'improve.'" So I dismiss these thoughts and instead think, "I have no idea what it's like to be this person. I can tell that she is a good mom. There are so many good ways to parent!" 
*Related*- Never give another mom unsolicited advice! Seriously! You may be talking with another mom and venting about mom struggles, but unless she specifically asks for your opinion or advice, don't give it. Just listen to her. Also, never do this if you're not even a parent. I cringe at the thought of my past self replying to a couple of moms' Facebook statuses asking for motherly advice. I can only imagine that they rolled their eyes into oblivion. I do not blame them. 


3. Be open to changing your mind and accept chaos. 
Babies grow and change all the time. It may make your life easier if you're open to changing plans and being flexible, because although we don't like to admit it, our kids are kind of in charge. Not in the sense that we should succumb to their every whim, but that we need to listen to their needs and act accordingly. 

(^after Gwen ran away from me)

Thanks for letting me share the things I've learned so far about motherhood! Make sure and check out these other mothers' ideas and thoughts. I can't wait to read everyone's stories :) 

Kiana at Glitter & Donuts
Madeline at CaseyLand
Monica at It's All About
Erica at Good Job Momma
Justine at Little Dove
Amy at Harris Inc.
Bekah at These Are The Days

If you're interested in participating in the next Mommy Style Monday, visit these blogs:
Glitter and Donuts
Caseyland 

Thursday, July 14, 2016

FLOG Video 2: "Three to One"


For the second FLOG prompt we were challenged to create three different outfits that showcased one piece of clothing. I had a really hard time thinking of what to wear for this and thought maybe of skipping this video. I felt like to do this challenge well, I needed to involve layers in the different outfits, and that is NOT a possibility for someone dealing with 100+ degree temps on the daily. I was explaining my dilemma on Snapchat and my genius friend Lydia suggested that I do swimwear! Specifically swimsuit cover-ups. It's very practical for this time of year as we all want to wear as little clothing as possible.

Finding these cover-ups was a little difficult considering that I'm 16 weeks pregnant. I feel like I won't be able to wear most of these for very long! Enjoy this video of me squeezing in and out of these clothes. Which ensemble is your favorite?

Watch everyone's "Three to One" videos here! 

Monday, July 11, 2016

Happies -13-


- My mom came to visit and she deep-cleaned my whole house! This is a bigger deal than you may think because I was seriously feeling so crowded and unmotivated to clean because I let the kitchen get out of control. My mind feels so much lighter in a clean house. I am so grateful to her for being so gung-ho about it. She is literally the only person on earth that would do that for me, without being paid, haha.

- Not feeling so nauseous anymore!

- Reading More Than the Tattooed Mormon and getting a spiritual recharge.

- Finally going on a date!

- Singing karaoke for the first time on our date. I was kind of terrible but we're planning to go back sometime, so I'm going to practice! lol

- So right before we left the karaoke restaurant I had to use the restroom. While in there I heard someone singing in Korean over the speakers and they were so good! I finished in the bathroom and saw that it was our waiter??! He could be a professional singer!

- Coming home from the date and finding out that our babysitter put on Gwen's diaper backwards. Gwen wet the bed because it wasn't on tight enough, but all I could do was laugh. It was the girl's first time babysitting, so it was just kinda cute.

- Finding our old Bradley Method workbook! I've got to re-educate myself on this childbirth stuff before labor.

- Finally getting a diffuser for my essential oils!

- Buying a ticket to the next AZ blogger mini conference. I'm more excited for this one than I was for the last because we'll be learning about social media, and I'm obsessed with Instagram and Snapchat.

- Making plans to visit New Mexico, Minnesota, and California this summer! I feel like we've gotta make up for not being able to leave Arizona during Christmas/New Years.

- Being able to attend Sunday school and Relief Society at church and having adult conversations about the gospel. It was nice to have a break from being surrounded by kids in Primary. 

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Speechless


I hadn't felt like blogging much about the happy things in my life, or really anything while feeling nauseous and unmotivated, but now that that season has passed I'm determined to get back to it... but not before I've hit "publish" on this entry.

It feels wrong to write another Happy List while there is a ton of unhappiness in our nation right now, and it needs to be acknowledged. Recently, there has been so much crime, gun violence, and racism. It seems like there's horrific news every week. It's difficult for me to know what to say. I usually keep silent during these times because I'm reading so many different opinions online and I'm not sure what to address. I also feel like everything that I'd want to say has already been said by other people, and they've said it with far more intelligence and experience on these matters. I was watching a Snapchat story of a blogger I follow and she was talking about how everyone needs to mention and/or speak up about these events before posting anything else that may seem frivolous in contrast. This made me feel bad because I agree with her and I had avoided saying anything about it.

So here I am, addressing these problems. If you were hoping to read a profound blog entry about possible solutions to all of these hate crimes, then I am sorry to report that I've got nothing to offer in that department. The only thing I can say is that I feel like our nation is falling apart and that I feel helpless. I am heartbroken. I am praying for the many victims' families and friends.

Black lives matter. Cops' lives matter. LGBTQ lives matter.

Friday, July 8, 2016

FLOG Video 1: "Recipe"


Hello! Welcome to my first video of the FLOG (four vlogs) challenge. As you can see, I opted out of making a recipe video because I may not have the patience for it, but also I hate the lighting in my kitchen. If you've ever been curious about the Graze subscription box, then please enjoy this video!

Make sure to check out the other videos for the challenge here, and please join us if you'd like to make a few videos this month, too! 

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

How We Wore It: Summer Workout


Hey! I'm joining a bunch of other lovely lady bloggers in "How We Wore It." Here's the photo that we all took inspiration from-

Workout clothes! Yup. I was pretty consistent with working out before I got pregnant again. Isn't that always the way? The last two months I've felt like death. The first trimester was full of nausea, I thought it would never end. I still get nauseous, but no where near to the extent as the first trimester. I'm currently 15 weeks... I think? The rumors are true: you don't pay as much attention to the second pregnancy as you do with the first. I'll have to apologize to this kid when they see Gwen's baby book or my old weekly bumpdate blog posts from my pregnancy with Gwen. 

Onto the outfit I suppose-
Well I guess there's nothing too exciting about it, honestly. 
I do have a question for anyone who has been on the hunt for a good sports bra: WHERE DO I GET A GOOD SPORTS BRA? I tried one on at Victoria's Secret the last time I went bra shopping and it was awesome, but I'm not sure how I felt about the padding? I just have a few cheap-o sports bras from Target and Walmart, and they do not pass the jumping/running test. 


I'm on the hunt for some moderately easy workouts for pregnant gals like myself. Does anyone have suggestions? Links to YouTube videos I can check out? I want to get into prenatal yoga again. 

Make sure to check out the other bloggers' looks! 
Deidre from Deidre Emme
Ruth from My Little Nest
Jenn from What You Make It
Kiana from Glitter & Donuts
Jessica from Mason Jars and Lemon Bars
Alyssa from Pinsent Life
Sierra from Sierra's View
Madeline from CaseyLand
Riley from Riley Jo Blog
Samantha from The Samantha Show
Jen from Jam tart boutique
Beverly from What a Day
Brooklyn from Brooklyn Jolley
Amber from Amber Nicole blogs
Erica from Good Job Momma
Shelbie from 365 With RyGuy and I
Jenn from Give This Girl Coffee
Kelsi from Lovestrong
Justine from Little Dove
Chelsea from Tessa Marie
Monica from It's All About

Visit Deidre's blog to see how you can participate in the next "How We Wore It".