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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

My bump

When I was pregnant with Liam, Matt took photos of my growing baby bump. He took a photo every month or so and I have them all in a little album in our living room.

For this pregnancy I finally had Matt take a photo of my bump at 8 months! I'm pretty sure I'm not the first pregnant lady who sort of "forgot" or just didn't take the time to document their bump the second time around.

I am definitely feeling huge this time. More huge than I did with Liam. It feels and looks like I have a (I'd like to say bowling ball) BEACH BALL stuffed all up under my shirt! But the doctor says that my belly measures well and that I'm doing good, so I'm just going along with it. 

I was looking through photos in iPhoto yesterday and came across this photo of when I was 8 months pregnant with Liam. This is my friend Sarah and I at a baby shower she held for me the month before Liam was born (she was 6 months pregnant with her third child in this photo).

So here I was, 8 months pregnant with Liam:

And here I am now, 8 months pregnant with Baby Bremser #2:

Totally a beach ball, right?
And I just realized that my hair hasn't changed much either.


All sarcasm aside, I am extremely excited to meet the little boy or girl that's been rumbling and bumbling inside of me all this while. I'm also nervous about what lies ahead (can I do this all over again? will Liam like his sibling? will I have postpartum issues again?). I'm worried about getting zero sleep, getting in the groove of breastfeeding again and juggling a toddler & newborn at the same time. But I'm ever so thankful that we were able to get pregnant again and that I've carried the baby to full growth. 

To my little baby inside - I will welcome you with an open heart, open arms and an open mind. And I already love you more than you will ever be able to comprehend.

Friday, March 21, 2014

An alphabet surprise!

My friend Sarah hosted this month's Crafty Club on Tuesday evening. I had sent out the invitation a few weeks ago to all of the "crafty ladies" as I call them. Sarah was planning to show us how to make the craft below - painted birds on top of jars. Perfect for storing jelly beans for the upcoming Easter:


Little did I know....Sarah had secretly planned a totally different craft (behind my back, you sneaky woman) and all of the ladies knew about it beforehand. She picked out a craft that will soon be hanging in our baby #2's nursery!

I got to Sarah's house about 10 minutes late the night of the craft (because Liam pooped in the bathtub and I felt guilty leaving Matt to clean up the mess all by himself) so all of the crafty ladies were already there when I arrived and had a little "surprise" for me :)

Sarah had hung up some pink & blue balloons and had a beautiful bouquet of pink & blue flowers for me to take home. And then she unveiled the real craft that we were going to be making.

Here's the craft that we ended up REALLY doing:

Sarah found the idea on Pinterest.
The plan is to hang it in the nursery above baby #2's crib.
I just LOVE that there's a little "I love you" hidden within the alphabet.

The theme of the nursery is owls & nature (we left it the same from when it was Liam's room). The color scheme is chocolate brown, aqua and green. Here are a few quick photos of the nursery, so you can get a feel for the vibe:



Instead of painting all of the cardboard letters white, Sarah bought various paints and craft papers to decorate them with. She picked out brown, green and blue papers and paints, which should go nicely with the colors in the room.

Between the seven of us ladies we painted and decorated all TWENTY SIX letters of the alphabet within a couple of hours.




As the letters were finished we laid them out to dry.

Here are the pink and blue flowers that Sarah surprised me with :)

And everyone else had wine. Lots of wine.

And flipping delicious peanut buttery bars.
Oh how I could have eaten the entire pan by myself...

Here are all of the letters complete. Obviously they're not laid out & glued together
properly yet. Sarah and I decided it'd be easier to just bring the stack of letters over to
my house and we'll glue them all together here. I'm excited to see it hanging on the wall
when it's all done, which I will share with you soon :)

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I feel so blessed to have the friends that I've made in this good 'ol town of Sheboygan. Kind, loving girlfriends who I can always count on to make me smile! Thank you Sarah and ladies for being so cool :)


Sunday, March 16, 2014

Things that made me smile this week

Liam had a fever for half of the week (poor kiddo). We ventured out a few quick times (to the library, to TJ Maxx and to his toddler art class), but the rest of the time was spent at home resting and watching kid movies. His Nana visited for a couple of days too, so that allowed me some time to run errands on my own. 

Here's a quick little post about things that made me smile this past week, despite having a sick child. All photos were taken via my iPhone.

As you can see, Liam and Matt pretty much account for 90% of the smiles generated in my life:


Last Sunday Liam went "big boy" sledding for the first time at my mom's house.
(socks over his mittens is the only way we could keep the darn things on!)

And squeezed through a snow tunnel.

He insisted on eating breakfast in his new hat. 

And helped me "vacuum" the living room.

My loving hubby brought me home some bright flowers, just because.

Liam LOVED his art class again this week. Here he is, 
creating different textures on his painting using combs.

See this brownish/barfy green stuff peeking out behind the white stuff?
It's something called GRASS!! I haven't seen this in a very long time. 
Hopefully someday very soon it will turn green :)

We actually got outside for a walk because the temperature was 
above freezing! We strolled on down to the winter farmers' market.

The sun was shining into our windows! Simple as that.

Liam picked out some really good books from the library this time.
These are my top 3 out of the ones we brought home.

I invested in my first pair of Toms :)
Now the snow just needs to go away so I can wear them.

And the biggest smile of the week was....
Liam started sleeping in his new big boy room and big boy bed! No more crib for him!
He has slept overnight and taken naps successfully in his twin bed for five days already!
Here he is, laying next to his deer friend.

And here's my belly (that big 'ol grey & black polka dot thing you see below) next to Liam.
To think that baby #2 and Liam are sleeping right next to each other in this photo and neither of
them know it is pretty cool to me. I have high hopes that someday, when baby #2 is out of the womb, that they'll be able to rest next to each other this peacefully again :)


Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Love,
Erin

Thursday, March 6, 2014

My "mama must-haves"

I just received an email this week from one of the pregnancy websites I follow and it told me that I have only SEVEN weeks to go until our little baby is born! That excites me and scares me at the same time. But I feel blessed that we're able to bring another human being into this world and can't wait to meet the little guy or gal. So I'm going to stay focused on the positive instead of talking about my current nerve pains and heartburn and weight gain (oh wait...I just talked about it...).

When I was pregnant with Liam there were certain foods I craved and products I grew to love. With this pregnancy most of those cravings and product must-haves are pretty much the same. Although I didn't crave Spaghetti O's as much this time around as I did with Liam :)

A lot of other moms out there have shared their pregnancy must-haves via blogs or ''Parents' magazine or parenting websites. I thought it'd be fun to share my pregger must-haves this time around. So here it goes...

My pregnant mama must-haves:

Maple glazed donuts. 
A glazed piece of heaven with a hole in the middle.

Chocolate covered long johns with custard filling. 


Mandarin oranges. Liam and I can eat an entire bag of these in about 5-6 days. 
These totally cancel out the consumption of maple glazed donuts, right?



Icy cold water. I cannot get enough of it. At any given time I have about 4 glasses of water started, sitting around the house (on the dresser, in Liam's play area, in the kitchen, etc). It drives Matt nuts. But it keeps me hydrated, so whatever.



R. W. Knudsen Spritzer drinks. These are my yummy alternative to water. Our local stores only carry raspberry and tangerine, but I just discovered that they have a ton more flavors. I would buy a semi truckload of this stuff if I could. The fizziness in this water "kind of" reminds of champagne...just a real little bit....if I close my eyes and pretend...



Orange juice. The second thing I do in the morning (after changing a poop diaper) is pour myself a big 'ol glass of this and take my iron pill with it. 

Non-alcoholic beer. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to survive...
(especially when you live in Wisconsin)



 Belli brand Elasticity Belly Oil. My friend gave me a bottle of this (thank goodness, because it's expensive) after she was done having kids and I'm glad she did. It smells really good, goes on like an oil and doesn't leave a weird residue, and actually makes my belly feel better :)



Aveda Damage Control spray. I don't take the time to blow dry my hair. I'm an air-dry kind of gal. I love this because I just spray it in my wet hair after I shower and it acts like a leave-in conditioner. It smells great and doesn't have a ton of scary chemicals in it.


Nivea A Kiss of Shimmer lip gloss. My lips have been so dry. I'm sure it's a combo of 1) the ridiculously dry & cold winter we've been stuck in forever and 2) pregnancy hormones. This lip gloss is my go-to. It helps heal my dry lips and it adds a little pink shimmer. I can skip makeup and just wear this when I run to the store.



Pampermint Soulmate. I can't reach my feet in the shower any more, but when I could reach them I loved using this stuff. I bought it at an Arbonne party a few years ago and still have half a tub of it. It's the yummiest foot scrub and foot lotion I've used. It smells minty and just feels so good...when I can actually reach my feet.


Norwex face cloth. My mother-in-law gave me one of these this past summer and I love it. I can wash my face WITHOUT using chemically cleansers, which is important to me when I'm preggers. It really does work, especially to remove makeup.



Black leggings. I live in them constantly. I wear them to bed, wear them around the house all day, and wear them when I run to the grocery store. Matt calls them my "mom uniform." I'm going to take that as a compliment, although I'm pretty sure I'm fooling myself! My favorite brands are Cuddl Duds (which I have two pairs of) and Liz Lange maternity ones that I bought at Target.



Long, comfy cotton pregger shirts from Target. I have a few and I live in these as well. Also part of my "mom uniform."



A regular pillow. I straddle one of these all night long (sorry Matt). I have a body pillow, but it isn't working well with this pregnancy. The body pillow is hard to flip from left to right (as I toss and turn all night long), so a regular pillow works great this time.


BabyCenter website. When I was pregnant with Liam I discovered this website. It's been my 'baby bible'. I use it to look up concerns or questions that I have and to connect with other moms. I'd be a bit lost without it.




Naps. I can't get enough of them. I don't remember being this freaking tired when I was pregnant with Liam.  All I know is that when baby #2 arrives, naps will be a thing of the past. The word "nap" will no longer be in my vocabulary. So lately while Liam takes his afternoon nap, you'll find me catching a snooze as well. 


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I'd love to hear what your pregnancy must-haves are/were. Please share!!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

I love blogs

I'll admit it. I'm a bit of a blog stalker. When I come across a blog that I really like, I follow it on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis. Some of the blogs I follow are mommy/family blogs, some are home decorating blogs and some are foodie blogs. Some are funny and some are inspiring. No matter what the blog topic may be, there are certain ones that just stand out to me and I really enjoy them.

After all....the reason I started my own blog was because I felt inspired by some of the blogs I currently follow. I thought it was interesting to get a glimpse into other mothers' lives, into other peoples' homes (a little creepy, I know) and check out new recipes and home decorating ideas.

The blogs that I enjoy have definitely changed over time. Sometimes I lose interest in one and decide not to read it anymore. And sometimes I come across a brand new blog to follow, one that I wish I had found years ago.

I thought I'd share my current favorite blogs. The ones that I stalk! I think they're worth sharing because A) they are sources of creativity and inspiration and connection (a connection to other moms and families) and B) I just think it's nice to spread the word about fellow bloggers! If I can help other bloggers get some more followers, then that puts a smile on my face and theirs :)

None of these bloggers asked me to list their blog here or give opinions. All opinions are totally my own.

So here it goes...

Here are my current favorite mom & family blogs...

Mom to FIVE children and photographer, Ashley Ann blogs about life, family, creativity and photography. Her family is beautiful, her writing is inspiring and her photography is simply amazing.



Mom to three adorable children, blogger Amy shares snippets of her family and home. I like her style and she has a seriously contagious smile!



I follow this blog the most! Blogger Katie is a mom to two boys with another boy due any day! She is full of creativity, constantly doing cool stuff to her home and isn't afraid to try new things. She's funny, honest and has made a beautiful home for her and her family.



I just discovered this blog within the last few weeks and I fell in love. It's just funny. Blogger Teri posts a lot of random things about babies and pregnancy and life that are of interest and use to me. As a mom myself, it makes me feel like I am not alone!



I've been following this blog for a few years now. Blogger Sara is the real reason I started my own blog! I've just found so much inspiration over the years while reading her blog. She's full of life and love and isn't afraid to share anything. Her photography is cool, her three girls are beautiful and she always has something interesting to share. A true nesting gypsy she is. 



Mom to an adorable little boy, blogger Jessica is one of the most honest bloggers out there. 
She is a "hopeless encourager" as she calls herself. Her and her little boy are always on a mission to make others' people days and she shares the stories on her blog. This woman is honest, cool and creative. She also has an Etsy page where she sells some cool crocheted goods



A mom of two, Amy is funny and honest. This is another pregnancy/mom site that reassures me that I am not alone!




Here are some of my current favorite home decorating blogs...


I like Kelly's style. She gives great vintage decorating tips & also posts a lot of "home tours" which let you see inside other peoples' cool, eclectic homes. I consider my decorating style to be a bit "eclectic" which is why I was drawn to her blog.




Look at the title of this blog. Need I say more? I am obsessed with the color turquoise (and teals and blues and greens) so looking at this blog is about equal to eating a Snickers bar to me! Blogger Erin posts photos of amazing turquoise-inspired homes almost every day. Eye candy.



This is a cool creative living site by blogger Holly. Food and flowers and home ideas, oh my! Her topics and ideas are fun and fresh. She keeps me in the loop with what's "cool" at the moment :)


If you're looking for remodeling or crafting ideas, this is a great resource. Blogger Cassity shares great do-it-yourself projects that are actually doable!


Another nice do-it-yourself kind of blog. Krista shares great tips on how to make your house happy :)




Some of my favorite creative blogs...

Mom and blogger Sarah takes you inside her home and shares bits of her family life and her fresh, simple style.


I wish I were friends with this girl! Blogger Natalie shares stories of her family & home and is full of creative inspiration (she has an Etsy shop). Her blog is filled with beautiful photos and it encourages me to want to live more simply.


I came across Sarah's blog when my Crafty Club re-created one of her crafts (an eggs-in-a-nest necklace which she sells on her Etsy page). She has a beautiful family and posts the most incredible photos on her blog.


And my current favorite foodie blogs...


I just love the recipes that blogger Sarah posts. I've tried numerous recipes from her blog and they've all been successful.


Blogger Nikki posts super yummy recipes, but also posts about random other things (life, fashion, trends) that I also find interesting.



I recently started following this blog. Bloggers Teri and Jenny share great recipes and the photographs are funky & fresh to look at.


I hope you enjoy at least one of the blogs as much as I do. As I said earlier, I love to check out (and stalk) new blogs! So please tell me, what are your favorite lifestyle/food/home/mommy blogs? I would love to hear from you.  Please share with me by commenting in the "Post A Comment" spot below!