Prayers to Oklahoma

My thoughts and prayers are with Oklahoma today.  My heart is heavy thinking about the parents holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, a miracle will occur and their child will still be found alive.

Reading the stories of the parents waiting hits my heart in a place that didn’t exist two years ago before I became a parent myself.  Now the idea of losing a child or even a child being terribly injured is more than I can process in my mind.  I pray that I never have to experience that type of pain.  But to those who are, I won’t even begin to understand what you are going through.  Just know there are so many of us out here praying for you.

Hello! (And our weekend in an Instagram)

Happy Monday everyone!  First off I want to say hello to any new readers out there.  I had many visitors this past Saturday and I am guessing this is due to the guest post I did over on Ashley’s site.  So thank you!  I hope you enjoy reading about the flavors of my life.   And be sure to go stop over and see how Ashley and baby Hunter are doing.

I also hope everyone had a great weekend.  I know I had a great one with a night out with girlfriends and a Sunday full of family fun.  My weekend in an Instagram post is full of fun shots from yesterday.  I hope you enjoy and that the week treats you well!

H54F!

TGIF everyone!  It is that time where we reflect on all the fab things that happened this week while looking forward to the weekend ahead!  As usual I am linking up with Lauren to share my five favorite items from this past week.  Lets get right to it for I have things to do on this gorgeous Friday!

1) The weather!  It has been amazing over the past week and we enjoyed a dinner on a patio and patio time at home this week.  Loved it!  These two did as well.

2) New shorts!  I am in love with the bright pink color.  Bring on summer!

3) Five more weeks with this little one!  I know it will go fast but I just love spending time with her.  She is seriously such a joy and so happy.

4) Friend time!  I was able to enjoy a dinner with two of my girlfriends this week which inspired this post.  It was such a great time and glad that I have a wonderful husband who allowed me to get out!

5)  Hair time!  I went and got a few highlights for spring.  Nothing dramatic but just a little extra brightness.  I love getting my hair done!

Join in!  Tell me at least one top moment from the week.  

 

WIWW!

I am back on the WIWW train!  Go me!  While I have been too busy to post these I also was having a hard time being motivated to post pictures right after I had the little one.  So while this outfit was actually from a couple of weeks ago I still wanted to get back into these posts.  Of course I am linking up with The Pleated Poppy for this post.

I like this outfit because it is very “spring” to me and incredibly comfortable.  Who doesn’t love comfort in the summer right?

Dress: Target

Jacket: Old Navy (similar here)

What are your favorite looks for spring?

Independent Woman?

About a week ago my husband looked at me and said

“I don’t feel like I am really bonding with S.”

Huh?  I admit I had not been paying attention to his relationship with S.  I was so busy focusing on my relationship with her.  Feeding her, soothing her, figuring out what worked for her and I.

The next day I started thinking about his comment and it suddenly hit me. Of course he wasn’t bonding with S as much as he had bonded with C.  While pregnant and during the first year of C’s life I was in school for my MBA.  This meant driving an hour both ways two nights a week for a 3 1/2 hours class and hours each week studying.  He had plenty of time with C.  But with S I was always around.

I brought that to his attention that night when he got home from work and he agreed that him not having alone time with S was causing him to just not develop the same relationship.  So that night we decided that I would pump for the last bottle of the night.  That way he could feed her one bottle and it would enable me to get a little bit of extra sleep.  Double bonus!  It worked out well and we were slowly on our way.

Then he looked at me a few days later and said

“Maybe you should go out a night or two a week for an hour or so and I can get a little bit of extra time with her.”

Ummm, okay.  I felt like it was a trick.  My husband was asking me to go out?  So I decided to put together a very last minute dinner with a couple of friends.  Two were able to come and suddenly I had dinner plans!  Dan got home from work and off I went to dinner (S is on a very predictable schedule so I didn’t even have to give him any instructions).

I got in the car and instantly felt a little bit of pep come into me.  I rolled the windows down and turned the music up and just felt a little free.  Of course I would miss my babies but it felt good to feel a little more “me”.

At dinner I had a margarita.  On a Monday night!  Without kids!  I had grown up conversations that didn’t 100% revolve around kids (one of the girls has a baby but the other does not so I didn’t want it to be all kid talk for her).  It felt good to be out of the mom zone for a little bit.  To just let lose and feel a little more like Amanda a person versus Amanda “only a mom”.

I don’t want this to come off as though I hate my time at home.  I love it.  So much that I have a hard time leaving it.  But I realized something last night.  Those nights out with my friends, the nights where I can just feel a little more like “me” as an independent person, they make me a better mother and wife.  They make me happier and more vibrant.  So while it may be hard to leave in the end it is a positive thing for everyone.  I am already looking forward to the next night out even if it is for a short walk or jog with a friend.  I also realized that I need to return the favor and allow him that time away as well.  So today he is at a lunch with friends versus coming home to spend the time with Sienna and I.  And I am completely okay with that.  In order for us to be happier as a couple we need that balance.  It doesn’t matter how much time we spend together for if we don’t have that time apart to do our own thing we don’t grow.

Join in!  What do you do if you are a mom to feel a little more like “you”?  Can you relate to the need to have a little independence?

Our weekend (a day late) in an Instagram!

Mother’s Day

I am truly blessed to have two beautiful daughters.  To have them with me to celebrate on this sunny Mothers Day; my second as a mother.  

However, I can’t help but think about those struggling to become mothers.  Those who long for the title of mom.  To all of you I pray that you will receive this precious gift one day and if you are unable that you find peace that God has another plan for you.  

Happy Mothers Day everyone.

H54F!

Two weeks in a row people!  Yes, that is right.  I have actually managed to put together a H54F post yet again.  So happy about that since it continues to be one of my favorite posts of the week.  And I PROMISE to get back on a schedule soon with blogging.  I keep coming up with great topic ideas and eventually I will get to them.  As usual I am linking up with Lauren to share my five favorite items from this past week.  Shall we?

1) Spending time with this girl.  Maternity leave is now halfway over and I love watching her grow and become her own little person!

2) After a bizarre week of 80 degree weather and then a snow storm we are back into spring weather!  Which means grilling all the time.  Which means less time that I have to spend cooking.

3)  Working on my expectations for myself.  Hot topic out there right now and I will weigh in soon.

4) C is definitely getting a mind of her own.  On Monday she wanted to pick out her shoes and would absolutely not let me take them off. Yes, she picked out her furry winter boots.  Whatever, I pick my battles. She probably has better fashion sense than I do.

5)  Speaking of fashion; I got a StitchFix!  My first since early in my pregnancy so I was super excited.  Sadly I didn’t love anything but got some good laughs from it which made my top 5.  Seriously look at this cat shirt.  Although I do know that some would love it.  The cut was actually cute but I guess I don’t like cats that much.  I think it should have been in Lauren’s box.

That’s my high five for the week!  Care to share yours?  TGIF!!!

Bouncing Back After Baby

The topic of post baby weight loss is a very popular one.  Many of us prior to having baby one had the crazy idea that we would leave the hospital and look similar to how we did prior to getting pregnant.  That is unless you had a friend who told you the painful truth; that you leave the hospital looking about 5 months pregnant.  Say what??!!  I mean, maybe three months pregnant but 5?  Ugh.

With C my goal was to lose the baby weight prior to getting pregnant with Baby 2.  I was able to do that (although my body looked nothing the same at that weight but that can be our little secret).  After having S I really didn’t have any goals.  Sure it wasn’t fun knowing summer was coming and it would be swimsuit season but such is life.

I have been lucky. I have lost the weight faster this time around which goes against what most people tell you or against most things I have read.  I gained 36 pounds in this pregnancy and 6 weeks after having S I have 9 more pounds to lose.  If it is anything similar to after having C I won’t lose every last pound until AFTER I stop nursing.  Not sure if it has something to do with my height and calories needed or my prepregnancy weight or what but I am one of those people who just could not shake those last few pounds until I was done nursing.  We will see if that is different this time.

I haven’t done much different but have started the Couch to 5k program.  I am in the second week but it isn’t THAT hard yet.  I am doing intervals of jogging for 90 seconds and walking for 2 minutes for 21 minutes.  Nothing crazy.  My guess is chasing a 19 month old also helps with the weight loss.  However, the ice cream I have every night offsets that.  Ha!

I think the moral of the story is that there is no right or wrong answer to the bouncing back after baby question.  It even can vary after the same persons pregnancies.  My thoughts?  Enjoy that little one and just don’t go crazy on the sweets.  Eat healthy for you and your baby but don’t be afraid to treat yourself too.  We new mommies deserve that!

H54F…the I’m back edition! ;)

It has been a long time since I did a H54F post.  As in before I had Sienna.  Oops.  Sad since these are my favorite posts.  I love focusing on the positive of the week to prepare for the weekend!   As usual I am linking up with Lauren to share my five favorite items from this past week.  Let’s get moving!

1)  Last weekend was beautiful.  We spent so much time outdoors and ventured out to get ice cream and play at the park Sunday.  We all enjoyed it but I think C enjoyed it the most.

2) S is now smiling.  As in not just those caused by gas type smiles.   Best reward after a month of newborn parenting!

3)  We had a chance to try some new recipes this week which is always fun for me.

4)  Snow!  Yep, in May!  Not really a huge high but knowing that spring will be here soon makes me focus on the fact that it is pretty.  Or at least I am convincing myself of that.  Keep in mind that I also don’t have to be out in it which makes it better for me.

5)  Wine!  I had a few sips of wine last week for the first time in a long time!  It tasted delicious!

Join in!  What were some of your highs this week?