Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mama's Day

Here is a bump shot to commemorate what our baby Mason looked like on his first mother's day! We are 36 weeks and now counting down to his debut! According to the books/websites he is pretty much a full 20" and weighs about 5 1/2 pounds. Just enough baby to make it hard to breathe/sleep/sit/walk/eat. But we love him anyway. =)



















To celebrate this weekend Austin and I hiked the Y yesterday. It was the first time I've ever hiked it, I swore I would never do it while I was a student there, but I figured it was about time. Don't ask me what possessed me to do it 9 months pregnant. We made it to the top, but we had to stop at pretty much every switchback. But now I can say that I did it!
We also bought a new vacuum. We have been researching for months, and we have been long overdue for a new one. This old one has served us well for the last three years. It was an extra my parents had that they were kind enough to give to us.














It was even custom made for my dad when he worked for Karcher.














It has been well used and loved, but it has definitely seen better days, as you can see by the duct tape holding the hoses together.
So after much review reading and online research, we decided on the Electrolux Nimble. I know, I know. Why not a Dyson?! Here's why...every place that had reviews gave it a total of 4 out of 5 stars, even the actual Dyson website. And that's based on thousands of ratings. There were just too many possibilities of issues for us to spend almost $500 on it. If we're gonna spend that much we want perfection! And this Electrolux was on sale at Target, got amazing reviews, has a 5 year warranty, and cost less than half what the Dyson does.
We decided to do the test where you vacuum your carpet with your old vacuum, and then vacuum with the new one. And oh. my. gosh. Here's the canister after JUST the living room.




























It should be noted that we full on cleaned our carpets a month ago. YUCK. We are so far more than happy with it. I will let you know as we use it on a regular basis if we end up regretting not going with the Dyson trend.

And last of all, here's to my own dear mother. I'm really not sure how I would survive anything without her, let alone becoming a mother myself. In sacrament meeting today the little kids sang "Mother, I love you" which always makes me cry anyway. But especially today, feeling my own little darling kick me like crazy all during the meeting, I'm so grateful that Father in Heaven sent him to me, and that I was sent to you, Mom. Happy Mother's Day, I love you!



















Monday, May 2, 2011

Don't Sweat It

As a recovering chronic wearer of sweats in public, (5 years clean!) I greatly appreciated this article.

During said phase of my life, my sister in particular was horrified by my complete lack of regard for my appearance.

I have since tried to be the opposite of that girl. I have tried to take some pride in how I look, knowing it is a reflection of who I am and how I feel about myself. And I've taken some inspiration from the women leaders of our church. I've never seen Julie Beck looking anything less than polished and refined. It's not about vanity or buying expensive clothes or spending hours in front of a mirror. Just looking like you kind of have it together, even when you don't.

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew how easy it could be for me to fall into the sweats slump again. I wear scrubs to work, so my day is spent in what essentially feels like pajamas. I could easily go from scrubs to workout clothes to pajamas each day. {Or just scrubs to pajamas.} So I set a goal to wear jeans for at least an hour every single day of my pregnancy. What better gauge for how you're taking care of your body than how your jeans fit, right? Try squeezing into a pair of old jeans and all you want to eat is celery for a month. On the other hand, just put on a pair of comfy old pajamas or sweats and try to NOT eat ice cream.

So for better or worse, I am a recovering sweatpants addict and I hope to remain in remission. I'll give myself a couple of weeks after childbirth for some guiltless lounging. Even then, I'll try to make them some halfway decent yoga pants.