Bumpdate || 39 Weeks

How far along: 39 Weeks

Gender: Girl

Belly Measurement: 38 cm as of Tuesday. My belly had stopped at 37 cm for 3 weeks, then bam another centimeter! It could also have been the position baby was in when she measured. I see my midwife again next Tuesday!

Maternity clothes: Yeeeepppppp.

Sleep: Pretty frustrating. Up to pee, braxton hicks, and hip pain when I lay on my right side. Also, heartburn.

Best moment this week: Rob came with me to my midwife appointment, as he wasn't working, and he got to hear her heartbeat as well! I'm also negative for that group B strep thing, which means no IV for me if I can help it during labour!

Worst moment this week: Heartburn is going to be the death of me, or someone. I'm living off Tums! Knock on wood, but today hasn't been bad at all. Also, midwives suggested walking or swimming to help with labour, and I haven't been doing that (except walking around the grocery store and cleaning the house) so I basically got called out in front of Rob, lol.

Miss anything: Not having heartburn, and just not being pregnant.

Movement: Quite a bite. She likes to move her bum and feet along my bra line but it doesn't hurt. This past week or so though, she likes to push on my left side and it's actually a little painful. I try pushing her back to stop but it doesn't work. I was worried last night because I realized she had hardly moved all day, but she started moving around while I was bed.

Cravings: Just orange juice and berries still. 

Queasy or sick: Yes. Taking my nausea meds in the morning as well as at night now.

Looking forward to: I believe the last bit of pregnancy is so uncomfortable so that you're okay with the impending doom of all that pain to get her out. We're ready for her to come, but we're enjoying our time together, the silence, and the ability to get out of the house whenever we want, but I am SO DONE being pregnant. It's taking a huge toll on me to constantly have heartburn and the other side effects. I'd be okay going into labour right now just so it could start being over with. So, in short, I'm looking forward to the pregnancy symptoms to be gone, but I guess you get a whole new set of symptoms after labour. 

Hopefully this is my last bumpdate!

xo. Nicole

Week's End || September 19

SNAPSHOTS:

1|| I decorated for Fall a weekend or two ago and included some new artwork that I did with my friend. I also made a Christmas themed one, and a purple-y one that could totally go into the nursery if it's a girl.

2|| Coffee finally tastes good again! I repeat, it finally tastes good. During the first trimester, my body naturally weaned itself off by making it taste gross but I'm happy to report I can enjoy a cup in the morning again ;) I shared this photo on Instagram with a caption about getting sick and Rob being laid off. Stress!

3|| Spencer usually lets me know when it's bedtime ;)

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:

1|| 17 week update! Maybe the 15 week update, too?

This weekend has been a pretty lazy one. Today I did end up baking some Pilsbury Halloween cookies and made some freezable breakfast sandwiches, so maybe not THAT lazy. I found some cheap maternity clothes at Old Navy yesterday and I'm looking forward to being more comfortable at work!

xo. Nicole

Saturday Crafting

My friend and I get together about every 2 weeks for some brunch and some crafts! It's become something that I really look forward to during the week, and I'm excited for the Summer when we can have more brunch dates. We take turns hosting and picking/preparing for the crafts. It works out pretty well for us! We've had a few craft fails and successes, but it's always fun trying new things. This past weekend, it was my friend's turn and she picked these watercolour tile coasters!

After some trial and error, we figured out the best way to make the colours stay, rather than just disappearing. We used 91% alcohol, food colouring, and matches. We had to use a lot of alcohol, dip the food colouring on it, mix the colours however we wanted using a q-tip or blowing on it, then adding more alcohol and lighting it on fire. We let it burn until the flames went out. They took forever to dry and it was tricky transporting mine home, but after a quick varnish spray they were good to go! 

As my luck goes, after I sprayed the clear varnish on my tiles and went back inside, it started sprinkling outside. I was upset at first but noticed it made them look even better! 

 These were so fun, and so easy, that I don't want you to be surprised if you get a coaster set for Christmas ;) It's my turn to host brunch on the 6th of July, and I'm still not sure what we'll do, or what we'll eat. Any ideas?

xo. Nicole

Father's Day Camping

For Father's Day, Rob and I went up north to Slave Lake for some camping with his dad, step mom, nephew, and uncle. It was a really great weekend of relaxing, fire watching, cherry eating, fish frying, tent napping, and visiting family. We're apparently going to make it an annual thing, to go up there for Father's Day. The weather was really nice when we got there and only rained for about an hour on Saturday evening. Rob's dad was well prepared for the rain, so it all worked out for us. 

xo. Nicole

Lately || April, May, and uh...What else have I missed?

I came across a post this morning about how to keep yourself motivated when you're in a blog slump, and I'm totally there. It mentioned a few things to do, which I always think about doing but never do, like keeping a running list of post ideas. I think I'll remember them, but half an hour later that post idea is gone. Perhaps I should really take the advice and start writing/typing them out, because I really miss the blogging community and all the opportunities/relationships that it brings. My plan and goals are to post more than just product reviews, because those aren't that fun to read for anyone. An easy post idea, but nothing more really!

On that note, here's a little update on the past month or so.

We hosted our first holiday dinner in our home, and it was Easter. It was pretty exciting to have people come to our house rather than us drive to different cities for different dinners. We bought some cheap folding chairs from Wal Mart and a folding table from Costco, which are also coming in handy for my dad's 50th birthday party that I'm planning for May 21st. A good investment ;) The Easter bunny visited our house too for our nephews and niece! Koshka wouldn't stop checking them out, but they were a hit! We don't have toys or anything here for them when they visit, so the Easter bunny put some magnet games and colouring books in there to keep the kiddos occupied during the dinner evening. 

Work has been going well. Only 35/36 instructional days until Summer break! I'm too excited! We went on two field trips this past week. Staff and students were equally exhausted by the end of the week, but we made it. We went to see the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday, then on Thursday we went to the Devonian Botanical Gardens. The gardens smelled amazing and it was so beautiful. We actually got some rain for an hour or so and it was quite chilly until about 2pm. 

My in-laws came out in April for 10 days and it went really well. It's nice to see them every April, and we'll see them again in December when Rob and I go that way for Christmas. While they were out, we started the renovations on our side entrance! It had some hideous 70's vinyl that was warped, peeling off, and full of paint splatters. It took about 6 hours to get all the old adhesive and vinyl off before my father in law started sanding the wood to make it rough/free of debris to get the new adhesive to stick. I plan to post about the process, but I'm not posting anymore about it until I finish some painting there and Rob finishes the baseboards!

I may or may not have ordered my second Charmed Aroma candle. It's addicting! I at least wait until the candle is burnt out completely before buying another one. Rob thinks I should space it out through the year, buuuuuut I didn't listen.

I've organized all my snail mail a couple times because it was too overwhelming to find a card to send. I organized all my Happy Mail by event/occasion! It's helped a lot and I've stuck to my goal of getting all the birthday cards mailed out at the beginning of the month. I love getting snail mail and I love sending it out. We also let Koshka venture outside without a leash. The first time, she lasted about 10 minutes before I opened the door again and I've never seen a cat run so fast to the basement. She likes to go out for a little while at a time and it's really nice :) She's definitely happier!

You can totally see all the dog hair on the blanket, but it was still cozy. I put cinnamon in the coffee grounds this morning and it's something I am definitely going to do when Fall comes! 

My plans for the weekend are to tidy up some stuff around the house, maybe start some painting on the side entrance, and just relax. It was a physically and mentally exhausting week at work, so my self care is priority this weekend.

How do you stay motivated to blog? What does your self care look like? 

xo. Nicole