Slice of Life – 3/21/16

It feels so good to reach March 21st on the calendar. Though I knew this month was going to be so full of good times and seeing so many friends and family, I was also ready to get to the point where our “adventures” were over and I could 100% officially kick my feet up and take a bit of “me” time before the baby gets here. I’ve had an awesome month running around a bit, but the time is now to coast until delivery.

Our March adventures so far:

My mother-in-law’s weekend visit to Kansas

My dad & brother arrived to help around the house and load me up for Alabama + our road trip from Kansas to Alabama

Marathon weekend in Montgomery

Here’s a slice of life from the last week or so. 🙂

Cooking for myself has been no fun without Jamie around, so I’m glad to be home and have my parents to eat the meals I cook. 🙂 I had pinned this spinach lasagna recipe months ago and finally gave it a whirl last week! It was DELICIOUS. A bunch of people on Instagram told me to try it out using zucchini if I wanted to lighten it up, so I’d love to try that again in the next couple of weeks!

I’ve finally busted out my costume jewelry, or the rings that “must be from my other boyfriend” according to Jamie. 😉 I couldn’t wear my rings passed 30 weeks when I was pregnant with Hadley, so I bought this $20 set from Belk and wore it until I lost weight. I held onto them to wear during my next pregnancy, but I’m excited that I’ve been able to go so long without needing them. My real rings are getting a little snug to take off, so we’re going to make do with the fake bling for a few weeks. 😉 I’ve already had a few friends suddenly grab my hand and say “Whoa! What is on your finger?!” Ha!

Last week was full of baby shower prep for my sister! Making this ribbon banner was so easy and quick, and Jennifer says that she loves it and knows exactly where she plans to hang it. I picked out five types of fabric and got a 1/4 yard of each fabric cut. I also snagged the letters for cheap from Hobby Lobby! I created the ribbon banner on one string and the name on another string, and then I tied them together on both ends. So easy! I would love a reason to make more of these because I really enjoy it.

Last Thursday I totally destroyed my mom’s kitchen by tripling this batch of copycat Cinnabon cinnamon rolls to make for family and friends, but nobody could be mad once they tasted the final product. 🙂

I went to visit two friends in Atlanta on Friday, so I made each of them a batch (with a tub of homemade icing on the side, which isn’t pictured). I also made around 30 more for the weekend since we were going to have friends and family in town for Jennifer’s shower. As of today there are only two left. 😉 If you’re a cinnamon roll lover, you have to make this recipe!

My sister Jennifer lives in Destin, Florida, so she decided to spend almost a whole week with us since she had to drive up for her shower anyway. Hadley loves her so much, it’s crazy. They have a super tight bond that I can’t wait to experience for myself as an aunt once Jennifer has her baby.

Somebody got to experience her first visit to the ice cream truck van last week. Once we heard it, mom and I scooped up Hadley (in her bare feet, panties and all!) to pick out a treat. Lucky little girl!

So let’s talk about ATLANTA! Ah, we really had the very best day. On Friday my mom hit the road with Hadley and me at 7 a.m. for the 3.5 hour drive southwest to visit my lifelong best friend Amberlee and to meet her five week old son, Carter.

Though I’ve seen dozens of videos and pictures of him the last few weeks, I still just couldn’t wait hold him in person and kiss his sweet face.

We spent four hours doing exactly what I hoped we would do – lounging on the couch relaxing, catching up, and loving on baby Carter. It was perfect! Amberlee has adjusted to motherhood beautifully.

We left Amberlee’s house around 3 p.m. and headed about 40 minutes east to visit another one of my close friends from college. Bethy and her husband Bradley moved back to the Atlanta area around a year ago to start a new business, and in the meantime they flipped this entire house! Though I’d seen a million pictures throughout the process, nothing could prepare me for the real-life tour!

We spent around three hours eating dinner, touring the house, and watching Hadley giggle roar endlessly while playing with Bethy and Bradley. Watching certain friends and family members genuinely love on and invest in building relationships with my daughter are people that I want to keep around forever and ever and ever. They don’t have to show the interest in her the way they do, but they’ll never know how appreciative I am of it and how much it means to me.

Hadley hadn’t seen Bradley since we all went to St. George Island together a year ago, but you’d swear she remembered him by the way she gravitated toward him immediately!

After a fabulous day, the three of us hit the road to make the 2.5 hour drive to my brother’s house in Birmingham. Hadley was totally happy all day in the car with her snacks and movies, but she lost it with about 30 minutes to go. She really was a total trooper all day and I was so proud of her for how generally “go with the flow” she is.

Hadley and I put on pajamas and crashed immediately once we got there. The next day we got up early again to get ready to Jenn’s shower, hung out with my brother for a couple of hours, threw the shower, and then finally headed home to Madison by dinnertime. Whew. Though I had every reason in the world not to do the traveling that we did on Friday and Saturday, I’m so glad that we made the time for the things and the people that are important. These two girls are two (of many) friends who’ve invested in me and my family so much over the last few years, so squeezing in just a few hours to see their homes and their families was something that was high priority while I’m down south – 35 weeks pregnant or not. Super glad with how it all played out!

I absolutely adore this picture of my cousin Scott reading to Hadley. Some family from Pennsylvania spent Saturday evening and all day Sunday with us at my parent’s house, and Hadley thoroughly enjoyed the extra attention and loads of new books!

 

Though we spent most of Sunday relaxing, by 3 p.m. it was time for Jenn & me to get ready to take maternity pictures together! Hope to share them with you soon once we get them back! Doing our pregnancies together has been really special, and because both of our husbands are deployed in the middle east, it just made sense to do this step of pregnancy together too. 🙂

Hadley came along to take a few quick “mommy and me” pictures as well, so I’m hoping a few of those came out okay!

By 6 p.m. we were finished and more than ready to put on comfy clothes at home and call it a day!

On tap this week: Packing my hospital bags, lots of walking, my 36 week appointment, and Hadley’s Easter party at school. 🙂

Let’s chat!

Speaking of packing my hospital bag, what are the essentials that you’re really glad you packed in yours?!