Out and About.

Well, new motherhood is in full swing.  My baby girl is three weeks old! We are still working on some sort of a routine, but I've pretty much just said forget it; we will get one when we get one.  As of now, Audrey wakes up about two times a night and to me, that's pretty darn good. Our days consist of a whole lot of nothing with an occasional outing. At first, my OCD self struggled with this. I'm very much a person who thrives on consistency, routine and structure. However, if there is one thing an infant does not allow for, it's structure! I learned this very quickly and have finally embraced it. I do make an effort to keep some sort of order to our days. I try to have at least one "outing" per day, even if it's just to the apartment clubhouse to meet up with a friend. I think doing so helps me keep my sanity and also gives me a reason not to become totally lazy. I make myself dress "up" even if we are just going to Nonni's house. I'll take a shower and put on my makeup...little things that help curve my obsession with control. Hehe.

Audrey is amazing. She is seriously the calmest, most chill baby I do believe I've ever seen. She only cries when something is wrong (she's hungry or needs a diaper change). She gets a little fussy when she's gassy, but you can tell that's what's wrong and when I say "fussy" I mean some big frowns and an occasional whimper. Other than that, she is the picture of serenity. I find it quite humorous actually considering her mother has 2 anxiety disorders. However, it just proves that anxiety disorders are developed due to circumstances and over time vs. being a chemical imbalance or hereditary (but that's another topic for another day).  No matter the reason, I am truly BLESSED to have such a calm baby and I am fully aware of this and grateful for it.

We've gone out on several adventures since my last post. Two were shopping trips (naturally), one was to the salon and the other was to see my grandparents (it was also Audrey's first road trip - to read more about it, you can head over to Nonni's blog).  All outings went swimmingly.

The first was to Old Navy. Mommy has gone up two sizes in the lower half of her body since having a baby. I know it takes time for the body to recoop after having a child, so it's possible that I'll end up back where I started, however, the change is more of a "hip widening" vs. actual weight. I'm actually only 5 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight and only 11 pounds away from my pre-IVF hormone weight. And in all honestly, I would be a total happy camper if I stayed where I am. I tried for years to put on weight, so maybe this will be my victory in that department. Anyway, while I'm not investing in an entire new wardrobe just yet, I did need to pick up at least a couple of bottoms to get me through maternity leave. So, I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to break out the stroller for the first time and see how Audrey enjoys shopping. She apparently loves it. She slept almost the entire time! We did end up spending 40 minutes in the dressing room, however. Audrey woke up while mommy was trying on clothes and needed a full feeding/diapering before we could leave. She still never made a peep the entire time and was passed out again by the time we got to the car.

The second trip was to the salon. My cousin, Anna (or Aunt Anna as she's known to Audrey) went with us. Mommy needed a trim and also my hairstylist is a good friend of mine and he needed to meet the baby! So, the three of us piled in the car and headed his way. Audrey was fantastic. Did her whole sleep/eat/diaper thing and that was about it.

The third trip was to the mall. Yes, I braved the mall with a three week old. And....she did perfect! Again, slept most of the time, or just sat in her stroller and looked around at everyone without making a sound. Love her!! We have several outings coming up this weekend and I'm excited about those.

Life is truly amazing and I couldn't be happier. Every day is so full of meaning and full of life.

Well, that's all for now! I'll leave you with some pics of my little angel baby!!

Mosaic Monday: Bitter End.

We are approaching the end and the closer we get the more miserable I become. I've been hyping myself up for this last bit and clearly it didn't work. Ha! I am soooooo tired. I do get random bursts of energy but they are short lived and almost not worth taking advantage of because after exerting the energy, I'm doubly exhausted.

Luckily I've accomplished almost everything on my "to-do" list before Audrey's arrival. I detailed my car last weekend (notice I said "I" detailed.) Spent 4 hours on it at least. It turned out awesome though and the next day I successfully put in baby girl's car seat. I love it!!! Shortly thereafter, Charlie and I went on a test drive. I've got to see how she will be in the backseat with the car seat there. So far she's been nothing but a doll. She got a little aggressive when someone walked next to the window while the car was parked, but I know she's crazy protective already, so pretty sure that's all that was. I'll make the final decision on whether or not to let her ride next to Audrey after I see how she responds to her.

The other biggie on my to-do list was/is to finish my apartment. I'm not quite there but I'm so very close. Nonni came over this weekend and helped me finish Audrey's area. I think it is sooooo cute. I'm still waiting on one more piece to pull it together, but once I get that I'll post a picture. Now all that's left is my vanity/dresser and I have NO clue what to put there. It may just end up staying barren like it is now. I will try my best to put my OCD aside and just let it be. Hehe.  Other than that, the only thing I need to do is give the house a good cleaning....and soon. I am just guessing but I highly doubt that I'm going to feel like doing much besides surviving after the next 2-4 weeks! 

On a personal note, if you read one of my latest posts, you know that I was considering cutting all my hair off. Well, I did it. So glad that I did. It's super easy and just really fits my lifestyle at the moment. 

I am looking really pregnant these days. I went to my fertility clinic's annual baby shower this weekend and my doctor said, "Wow! That is a bump!" Indeed it is. And becoming bumpier every day!. I'm to the point that if I drop something on the floor I have to seriously consider how badly I need it before attempting to pick it up.  I can also feel her dropping and I've had several Braxton Hicks.

My shower is in 3 weeks! Very excited about that. I now wish I had opted to have it at 7 months pregnant vs. 8 months pregnant, but hindsight is 20/20. As long as they prop me up on a couple of pillows I should be okay.

Well, I guess that's all the news I have for today! Hope everyone has a great week!

31 Weeks!


~ I'm linking to Mary's Mosaic Monday. ~ 

Ugggggg....ly.

I suppose it's a mixture of pregnancy hormones along with my ever changing body that leaves me feeling less than attractive these days. While I am embracing my bump from all angles, for some reason I cannot seem to mesh my face/hair/makeup etc. with my body.  This is something somewhat familiar to me, as I have struggled for awhile to find a hair and makeup style that I feel really suits me and best compliments my features.

I am very pale by nature and up until the pregnancy, have done my best to stay as tan as possible either via self-tanner, laying out in the summer, or the tanning bed in the winter. And although I can use self-tanner safely while pregnant, I've just not been feeling it. I have thought about getting a professional airbrush tan and probably will here very shortly, but as of now I've not been happy with the results of what I've tried. I normally use the Jergen's Natural Glow and it works brilliantly. I assume it's my body chemistry that is throwing it off, because since the pregnancy, it doesn't "take" like it should. It takes DAYS for it to work and when it does it's very faint and uneven. You could say it's user error, but I'm not doing anything differently than I used to and it used to work like a charm.

So, with that being the case I decided to check out beauty tips for people with fare skin. I found several good suggestions and tried a few things. The only think I can really attest to is my new foundation by Calvin Klein. I usually use a moisturizer and then just drugstore makeup, but on a recent visit to Ulta, I allowed myself to be made-over by one of the reps and ended up loving the product they were pitching. It's a moisturizer, serum and foundation in one that requires no powder or any type of finisher after it's application. LOVE IT! I highly suggest you try it if you're in the market for a new one. It's more expensive than the drugstores, but not quite up there with the department store brands (roughly $30.)

But other than that, nothing that I've tried has really given me the "fresh and awake/alive" look I'm going for. My skin is not that type of pale that lacks pigment. In fact I have a good bit of pigment, but it creates rosacea type cheeks and horrible dark under-eye circles. So even with good foundation, without a tan I look somewhat dead especially in natural lighting. I've tried contouring, bronzer, blush, every possible type of highlighter, nothing works.

Then we have my hair. While I love my perm that I got a few weeks ago, I'm finding it very difficult to replicate the look that the stylist gave me when she put on the finishing touches. Granted, she round-brushed it which is CRAZY hard to do on your own and she also used a hot tool. Well, unbeknownst to her, she actually fried the ends of a good chunk of my hair in the front and I had to go in and cut off the split ends. For whatever reason, no matter what protector I use and no matter how expensive the hot tool, these days they all fry my hair. ALL of them, flat irons, curling irons, etc. The only thing I can do with out frying the ends is blow dry it.  Also, she didn't really shape my hair when she cut it after the perm, so I ended up going to my regular stylist and having him shape it up for me. But for some reason, when it's down in it's natural perm state, it still looks like a massive helmet is on my head to me. I have to use product to bring out the curl and since I usually sleep with it damp, I have to dry it some otherwise I wake up with it looking crazy wonkey (that's a new word, yes I just made it up.)

So, put all of that together and I'm a total wreck. I feel good about myself from the face down, funny enough with the exception of my crazy pale legs. I plan on parking it by the pool in my cute maternity bathing suit as soon as the weather permits, but I doubt that does much. I just don't know what to do! I've considered cutting my hair even shorter (everyone in my family and some of my friends just gasped), but seriously, I am at a loss as to what to do. I can't wear my hair "down" and it look right. The only way I can somewhat be happy with it is when it's up or pulled back and the whole reason I got the perm was to be able to wear it down! UGH!!!!!!

Can someone just put me in solitary confinement until I have this child and these hormones go away? Or until summer and I can get tan? K, thanks.

29 Weeks! 

P.S. The ONLY reason I look decent in this picture is because of the lighting! 

Mini Mommy-to-Be Makeover.

After throwing the idea around for quite some time, I decided to bite the bullet and get a PERM!

Yes, a perm. The last perm I had was about 13 years ago and it was horrific! My hair was crazy long and it was a spiral perm which left me looking very much like an unkempt,long-haired poodle! But after researching and looking at pictures, it appeared that perms had changed over the years and now could offer more of the "wavy" look that I love. I wanted something that would allow me to get the same look I had in my maternity pictures in less than half the time. That look was achieved by curling my hair on a flat-iron and took at least an hour, probably more like an hour and half.

So, I went in last week and had a consult. I showed the stylist a couple of pictures and after talking it over with her, decided to go for it. See what you think! I'm crazy about it! I'm still within the "no-wash" period so the picture from today is without having been washed and re-fixed.

Immediately after the perm. 

48 hours after. No washing and/or re-fixing. 

If you know me at all you know that I despise spending time on my hair. I like to be able to get up and go. I'm very optimistic that this look is going to allow for that. If so, I will just continue to get perms even as my hair gets longer. The wave would just fall further down, but that's just fine with me.as long as it has some body and looks like it's been fixed.  

Along with the perm, I was able to find some really cute maternity clothes over the weekend. My mommy treated me to a shopping outing and we had quite a blast. Both of us found things for Peanut (naturally.) Hehe. Nonni bought her some adorable shoes and I got her three little outfits. I cannot wait until she's here and I get to play dress up for both of us! 

Her crib came in last week.  It's freaking adorable and the perfect size for my bedroom. My Nana is currently working on her bedding but I do have her sheets and bumpers. They are a little off in color in this picture, but they're lilac. 

I still have a good bit to do in my room before she arrives but I've put myself on a timeline and should be able to achieve everything that needs to be done. 

I'm officially 2 weeks out from my third trimester! Cannot believe it! My baby girl will be here very soon! YAY!!!

25 weeks.