What I Wore Wednesday - 30 Weeks

30 Weeks

This was the first maternity outfit I wore.  I had Josh take a picture of me in it with my phone and uploaded it to my personal facebook page when I was 20 weeks.  (I didn't have a blog yet.)  10 weeks later, I am definitely filling it out a lot more.

20 Weeks

I realized last night that I didn't have a post for today so as soon as Josh got home I had him snap a few pics really quickly.  We had to leave the front door open because I was listening to the dinner I had on the stove to make sure it didn't boil over.  So...sorry these are not the best pictures.

These shoes, they are not the greatest looking.  I will be the first to admit that.  I've been having some problems with my left foot.  After googling it, I'm self diagnosing myself with extensor tendonitis.  After work on Monday my foot hurt so badly I was limping around my house and icing it so these "beauties" got pulled back out of the closet.  I haven't worn them since I was pregnant with Jake and I was hoping not to have to break them out again but fashion will have to be sacrificed.  As much as I hate to admit it, they made a huge difference.  My foot felt about 90% better so these might be making more frequent appearances.

This whole outfit was really comfortable.  These are the leggings I blogged about on Monday in my maternity style must haves.  This gorgeous tunic was a gift from my very good friend after we found out I was having a boy.  She told me that just because I'm having a boy doesn't mean I can't wear pink and this was her contribution.  As my love for pink runs deep I was thrilled with the top and have worn it A LOT!  I basically felt like I was wearing pajamas to work which is always a good thing.

Shoes - Skechers - in brown on sale for $28

Leggings - Old Navy Maternity - similar here

Tunic - Michael Stars Maternity - in white here on sale for $30

I'm linking up with Style Sessions, What I Wore Wednesday, and I Feel Pretty.

1st and 2nd Trimester Maternity Style Must Haves

With my first pregnancy, I gained a lot of weight, like more than half my body weight a lot, but that is a post for a different day.  The point is, I gained weight all over early on and was in maternity clothes by 16 weeks.  This time around, I've been doing much better and haven't really worn much by way of maternity clothes yet, though that time is rapidly approaching.

In order to make my regular wardrobe stretch I've discovered that a few things are key.  At the very top of this list is maxi dresses and skirts.  I know I've said before how great maxi dresses are in general, but even more so for mamas-to-be.  If you don't have any maxi dresses in your wardrobe you can buy maternity ones if you want, but non-maternity are cheaper and will still be useful after pregnancy.  The key is to find ones that don't have a defined waist, empire waist or tank style are perfect.

A close second on my list of maternity must haves is the belly belt.  This thing is amazing!!  I inherited mine from a friend, who inherited it from her sister-in-law.  I can not say enough about this thing.  It allowed me to wear my pants, completely unzipped, without them falling down.  I know a lot of people love the belly band for this same purpose, and while I have one and have used it, I didn't find it very comfortable.  I have had a lot of stomach aches with this pregnancy and when my stomach hurts, the last thing I want is a giant, tight band pressing in on my entire stomach area.  The belly belt solves this problem completely.  Now it comes in a two pack, one for bottoms that button and one for bottoms that hook.  It also has some little fabric pieces to cover up the bare skin exposed by the fact that your pants are unzipped.  I only have the button one, nothing else and I still couldn't survive this pregnancy without it.  Get one, it will be the best $20 you spend this pregnancy.

That brings me to maternity must have #3: long tops.  No matter what you are doing with your bottom half, you will need longer tops.  Loose, tight, flowy, whatever you have in your closet that is long enough to cover your zipper and fits over your bump.

These tanks are great.  They are long, soft, stretchy, cheap, and come in tons of colors.  Also they aren't so low cut that your newly enhanced bust is on display.  (Remember I teach 6th graders so I try to be extra aware of this.)  You can layer them under tops that are too short to wear with your unzipped jeans, under a tied or unbuttoned button up, or wear them tucked into a maxi skirt.  All in all they are a great basic.  I didn't buy new ones, I just wear the ones I already had.

Rounding out my list of maternity must haves are leggings.  Leggings are perfect for those days when you just don't want to deal with clothes.  Pull on, pull off, basically wear pajamas all day.  Not pregnant, I'm not sure where I fall on the whole leggings as pants issue.  Pregnant, I say bring them on.

Leggings are one area where I really advise buying maternity.  I wore my regular leggings for a while, just rolled down, but then they started to press in on my bladder and that is not a good situation.  I really wanted the under belly ones because it is hot here so I didn't want another layer.   I bought the GAP supersoft leggings on sale but they were way too sheer for me so back they went.   I lusted over some more expensive nicer ones, but since this is our last baby I couldn't justify it.   I lucked out and found the last pair at old navy for 97 cents.  You read that right, 97 cents.  These look the same, I don't know why mine were so cheap, not that $15 is very expensive.  My best advice is to check out your local stores, try some on, and bend over.  If you can see everything, keep looking.

Obviously every woman is different and every pregnancy is different (I'm a prime example of that) but these few things can make your wardrobe go a long way.


I'm linking up with Style Sessions, What I Wore Wednesday, and I Feel Pretty.

Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

Now that I'm working 5 days a week, Jake is going to school 5 days a week.  This means 5 days where my two slow-pokes have to get out the door on their own in a timely fashion (I usually leave before the boys get up).  To help them make it to work and school on time I try to have breakfast ready to go for Jake.  I know this is a struggle for a lot of families and we are no exception. 

Luckily, Jake likes to eat the same things over and over for breakfast so I don't have to mix it up day after day.  Muffins are great for this because you can bake a batch and pop them in the freezer.  A few seconds in the microwave and a homemade breakfast is served.  Add a glass of milk on the side for protein and you are ready to go.  Today Jake wanted to make blueberry muffins but we didn't have any blueberries so we decided to make raisin muffins instead.

I started out with Quaker's best oatmeal muffin recipe and then made some tweaks to healthify them.  Jake actually prefers healthier foods most of the time, he's not that big of a fan of sugary muffins.   True story: Once I made Jake these muffins with bran buds soaked in milk, chia seeds, and no sugar.  He absolutely loved them.  Then I made yummy, sugary, apple muffins with demerara sugar sprinkled on top.  He seriously tried one and was like, "I don't care for these Mommy."  He's a total weirdo, but in an awesome way.

Back to today's muffins.  These are super simple to make.  I don't recommend using your mixer though, just a bowl and a wooden spoon will serve you perfectly.

Start out by combining some whole wheat pastry flour with quick oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice.  I love this stuff, it's not just for pies you know.  It has such a warm, comforting, fall flavor and goes perfectly with the flavors of the oatmeal and raisins in these muffins.

In a large glass measuring cup measure out your milk, then add in your egg, applesauce, and vanilla.  Mix this well and then pour it into the dry ingredients.  I like to just do this in the measuring cup because it is one less bowl to clean and it pours easily into the dry ingredients.

Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined, don't overmix them.  Or in my case, don't let your 4 year old assistant overmix them while you wash the glass measuring cup.  If that happens, they will still taste good, but they'll be a little denser.

Fold in your raisins.  You can use just 1/2 a cup but my sous chef LOVES raisins and requested "A LOT OF RAISINS MOMMY, LIKE A LOT, A LOT!" so we added a full cup.

Use your ice cream scoop to scoop your batter into your muffin tin lined with paper liners sprayed with cooking spray and bake at 400 for about 13-15 minutes.

You can eat these room temperature, but I highly recommend eating them warm with a little butter spread on top.  Mmmmmm!  Keep out what you will eat in the next couple of days.  Then freeze the rest.  To reheat, microwave for about 20 seconds.

 Oatmeal Raisin Muffins
Adapted from Quaker's Best Oatmeal Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tbls. baking powder
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 to 1 cup raisins

1.  Preheat oven to 400 and line 12 cups of a muffin tin with paper liners.  Then spray the liners with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice. 
3. In a liquid measuring cup, measure the milk.  Then add applesauce, egg, and vanilla and mix well.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir just until combined.  Then fold in raisins.
5. Bake for about 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I'm linking up with Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Sweet & Savoury Sunday, Marvelous Monday, Inspiration Monday, Busy Monday, and Monday Funday.

What I Wore Wednesday - Colorblock Sweater Dress

It was finally a little bit cooler here (it's back to hot again though) so I was really excited to be able to wear something more fall-esque.  I've decided that's a word, by the way.  I had my back-to-school night and because my school is far from my house, I don't go home in between.  This meant that I needed something that would still look nice after a 12 hour day and would keep me relatively comfortable through the entire 12 hours.

I actually bought this dress on sale at The Limited last year at the end of the season but then didn't end up wearing it because it has wool in it and I'm allergic.  I love the way it looks but didn't have a slip that could go underneath it so it sat in my closet, sad and forgotten.  Then when I was searching for something that could still fit over my bump I came across it and knew I had the perfect solution.

I recently bought the Bumped by Blanqi maternity support tank which worked perfectly under this dress.  It helped support my ever expanding belly while protecting my sensitive skin from making contact with the wool dress.  Win-win!

I love the combination of navy, cranberry, and burgundy in the color-blocking of this dress.  It really reads fall to me.  As an added bonus, the navy meant I could wear my favorite comfortable heels again.

Dress - Limited - old

Navy Heels - Giani Bernini from Macy's - old 

I'm linking up with Style Sessions, Plane Pretty, What I Wore Wednesday, and I Feel Pretty.

Liebster Award

A couple of weeks ago the lovely Susanne of Bebeandj nominated me for a Liebster award.  As a new blogger I was super flattered even though I didn't really know what a Liebster award was.  It turns out that it is basically a way to recognize new or newish bloggers.  I meant to get this post up sooner but to be perfectly honest I've been so swamped at work (any of you teachers out there know how crazy the beginning of the year is) that I hadn't had a chance to search out my Liebster nominees.

This weekend I was determined to sit down and find my nominees.  My nominator specified 11 blogs and 11 questions, but if I had to get to 11 this post would be delayed even more.  I know some bloggers who received the Liebster a while back and they were only supposed to find 5 blogs so I decided to go that route.  I hope that's okay.

Part of receiving the Liebster award is answering the questions posed to you by your nominator so here goes:

1. What is your favorite food?  This is an easy one for me, pasta.  I LOVE pasta!!  There are so many different ways to make it and all are delicious.  Plus, when you're having a bad day, nothing is as comforting as a bowl of pasta with real butter and good Parmesan.  Yum, yum!

2. What is your go-to recipe for family dinners? Not surprisingly given my answer to question 1, it is pasta.  I like to add in spinach and tomatoes along with some sort of protein for a quick and easy one dish meal.

3.  Whose blog are you really digging right now? I have to say, I am a faithful fan of Brown-Eyed Baker.  She never steers me wrong in the dessert department and I've had an even bigger sweet tooth than I usually do with this pregnancy.

4.  Where do you get your inspiration?  This might sound cliche, but it's my family.  I want to be the best wife and mom I can be and part of that is taking time to do something for myself which is why I started this blog.

5. Who is your favorite author? I don't really have a favorite author.  I love reading and I love books but there isn't one author I turn to time and again.  That being said, my favorite book is Irving Stone's The Agony & The Ecstasy (a biographical novel of Michelangelo).  I'm also super in love with the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

6. What was always on your holiday wishlist as a child? To be honest, I'm not sure.  I think I sort of changed what I wanted from year to year, but I have always been a bookworm so books were probably somewhere on the list.

7. Do you sing in the shower? No, my family is usually asleep so I'm always trying to be super quiet in the mornings.

8. Why did you start blogging? I know how consuming motherhood can be, especially new motherhood.  I also know how easy it is as a mom to lose sight of yourself as a person instead of just as mommy so with baby #2 on the way, I decided blogging would be a good way for me to keep doing something for myself the person.  It is also a neat way to feel connected with all of the other amazing women out there doing the same thing in their own unique way.

9. What are you working on that you are excited about? I'm been sort of on a project hiatus for the  past few weeks with the beginning of the school year, but I am in the midst of working on baby boy's room as well as Jake's Superman birthday part.  The party has a lot of really neat components that I know Jake will love which makes me super excited.  The baby's room is exciting because as it comes together I can picture him living in it which is exciting for the obvious reason, he'll be here!

10. What is at the top of your bucket list? I don't actually have a bucket list.  There are lots of things that I think it would be amazing to do one day, but if I never got to any of them, I would be okay with that.  I have a wonderful family with an amazing husband and son (with #2 on the way).  I've been to my favorite place in the world, Italy, 3 times.  So I guess I feel like I've already accomplished the top of my bucket list.

11. Something you can't leave the house without? Moisture!  Water, lotion, and chapstick.  I'm addicted to all three and if I forget one of them, I sort of panic.

Now onto my nominees:

Motherhood, RA, and Me
The Contrary Commentator
Confessions of a Hoarding Housewife
Baking a Moment
Adventures in the Fish Tank

The rules for participating are as follows:

1. You must link back to the person who nominated you.
2. You must answer the questions given to you by your nominator.
3. You must pick 5 bloggers, each with under 200 subscribers, to be nominated for the award.
4. You must come up with 5 questions for your nominees to answer.
5. You must go to their blogs and notify them of the nomination.

Here are my questions for my nominees?

1. What blog post are you most proud of?
2. If you could make one change, big or small, to your day-to-day life what would it be?
3. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
4. What is your favorite part of the day?
5. Savory or sweet?

Brother Picture Frame

While looking on pinterest for nursery ideas I came across this brother frame.  I loved the phrasing and thought it would be so cute to make one for each of the boys' rooms.  I decided I would use square frames, dark brown for the nursery and white for Jake's.  I'm still looking for a frame for the baby's room but I found a white one at Joann's on sale for $7.99 and I snapped it up during their teacher appreciation sale so I got an extra 25% off, score!
 
Jake has a baseball themed room, which I'll post some pictures of soon since we did some really cool DIY projects in there, but for now, let's talk about the project. When I saw this cute baseball scrapbook paper I knew it would be perfect for this project but I was a little nervous to use it since I haven't had a lot of success using my silhouette with anything other than cardstock.  It was on sale for 16 cents though, so I figured I would give it a try and I'm so glad I did because it turned out perfectly.

This couldn't have been easier and is so easily customizable.  Just change your paper and frame and match it to any theme.  You could also change the wording to "Best Friends Are We My Sister And Me" if you have little girls or one of each.  In Silhouette Studio I opened up a 12 x 12 page (that's the size of my frame) and tried out a bunch of different fonts until I found one that I liked.  I typed the first half of the phrase at the top of the page.  Then I used the square shape tool to draw a 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch box in the center of the page.  Finally I typed the second half of the phrase at the bottom of the page.  Then I was ready to go.

I used a cricut cutting mat instead of the one that came with my Cameo because it is slightly less sticky so it is easier to get the scrapbook paper off without it tearing.  Then I loaded the cutting mat into my Cameo and let it do it's magic.

Once it was finished cutting I very gingerly lifted the main page off of the mat.  The paper was a little curly after being pulled off of the cutting sheet so I put it under a heavy book to flatten back out while I used my little silhouette spatula to pry off the tiny pieces from inside the letters.

The trickiest part, and it really wasn't that tricky, was gluing the inside part of the letters onto the background page.  I put the baseball paper on top of a 12 x 12 piece of red cardstock and then layed a book on either side to hold it in place.  Then I took all of the tiny pieces and laid them on the red paper where they belonged.  One by one I used my Tombow Mono permanent adhesive to carefully attach the inside of the letters to the red cardstock.  Then I just put the two pieces of paper into the frame. 

I can't wait to put in a picture of Jake holding his baby brother.  When I do, I will use my Tombow to glue the picture to the red cardstock and just lay the baseball paper on top.  They are both the same size as the frame so they stay in place perfectly.

I'm linking up with Thrifty Thursday, Link Party Palooza, Best of the Weekend, Pin Junkie, Simply Create, A Peek Into My Paradise, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Think Pink Sunday, Sweet & Savoury Sunday, Sunday Showcase, Marvelous Monday, Busy Monday, Monday Funday, Motivate Me Monday, Mad Skills Party, Inspiration Monday, Pincentive Blog Hop, Tasteful Tuesday, Whimsy Wednesday, Thrifty Thursday, and Pin Junkie.

What I Wore Wednesday - Geometric Print Dress

The weather has been kind of strange lately.  Cool in the mornings, then super hot in the afternoons.  Since I spend most of my day in the classroom it doesn't make much difference to me, but this week I had morning recess duty so I had to consider the weather more than usual.  This dress was the perfect solution because it has long sleeves but is a thin, cool fabric.

I tend to shy away from bolder prints and probably would have walked past this dress but my sister was with me and convinced me to try it on.  I love the style and adding the red belt not only creates a waistline (when I'm not pregnant, here it just separates the girls from the belly), it also adds a bright pop of color.

Let's talk about these shoes for a minute.  I have to admit, I'm usually a Nordstrom's girl, but I was looking for a comfortable yet stylish pair of navy pumps and Macy's had my perfect pair.  I am super in love with them.  They are a subtle snakeskin print with a patent leather heel.  The heel is sturdy and they have some cushioning inside, both of which are good for being on your feet all day.

Overall, this was a great outfit.  It lasted me from 6:30 in the morning until 6:30 at night and kept me looking stylish and pulled together, yet comfortable the whole time.

Dress - GAP - old

Belt - Kohl's girls department - old

Navy Pumps - Giani Bernini - old 

I'm linking up with Style Elixer,  Pleated Poppy, I Feel Pretty, Suburbs Mama, and Plane Pretty.