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Looking Ahead to 2014!

31 December 2013


I don't really "do" resolutions per say but I do love a fresh start. It's a new year and a whole new world of possibilities just around the corner! 

That being said, I do want to focus more on being satisfied with less things, simplifying our life, enjoy settling in as a family of three, and figuring out our housing situation. More on that to come in the upcoming weeks! 

One thing that I am excited to try is posting one Instagram photo every day, and documenting our year in photos. I'm hoping that at the end of 2014, I will be able to make a little flip photo book! 

Please follow me @gentelly on IG, or using #genteleveryday2014 to keep up with us :)

 
Happy New Year my dear friends!

Christmas 2013 and Week 21

30 December 2013

I cannot believe that Christmas has already come and gone, tomorrow is the last day of 2013 and my 30th (gulp) birthday is in one week. Where has this year gone???
 
Here is our 21 week bumpdate and Christmas recap!


Sweater/ Old Navy

 
How far along: 21 Weeks
Gender: Girl!
Weight gain: I have not weighed myself since before Christmas, probably somewhere around 7-9 pounds 
Maternity clothes: 100% now ... I try to fit into my non-maternity clothes and I just look like a hot mess LOL
Stretch marks: Nope, thank goodness!
Belly button in or out: Sooo close to popping out, which is very strange to me
Sleep: Not great, but not horrible either. Getting comfortable is getting more and more challenging!
Best moment this week: Well, besides Christmas of course ... Keith got to feel baby girl kick for the first time on Christmas Eve! The look on his face was priceless, best present ever!  
Worst moment this week: Getting the stomach bug AGAIN on Christmas Eve
Miss anything: gin & tonics ;)
Movement: SO much movement! This little girl is like a gymnast already ... flipping and turning and kicking away. I love it.
Cravings: Sweets and fruits. I go back and forth from eating golden oreos by the handful to eating 5 clementines at once!
Queasy or sick: Feeling pretty good
Looking forward to: My birthday and our babymoon to Charleston next week! So excited to get away with the hubs one last time when it's just the two of us :)
 
 
Our week in photos:
 
Those are just the presents that we got for each other! So much for scaling back this year haha


We have the strangest dog who is obsessed with wrapping paper. Christmas is his favorite time of year because he gets to play with all the paper and rip them to shreds!


My gifts!! I was SOOO spoiled this year :)
My new LV (loveeeee), X-Factor polishes, Alex & Ani bracelets, and winter boots!
Baby girl is also SO incredibly spoiled, I think she has enough clothes to last her, her entire first year!
Keith won this sexy Santa suit in our family's Yankee Swap gift. Of couse he had to dress up, and then he scared all the children LOL


Our last Christmas as a family of two!!!


And there you have it....our 2013 Christmas recap :) We are so blessed and lucky to have such amazing friends and family. Now that the holiday season is wrapping up, we are looking forward to 2014!
 
2014 is looking to be another hectic, crazy and exciting year and I can't wait to see all that is in store for us!  
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!







20 Weeks

23 December 2013

 

Shirt Gap // Leggings Gap

How far along: 20 weeks
Gender: Girl!
Weight gain: The day of my 20 week check in I was up 7 pounds, but by the end of the week I had lost 3.
Maternity clothes: Yes, because at this point I just want to be comfortable!
Stretch marks: Nope
Belly button in or out: Pretty close to popping out haha!
Sleep: Good
Best moment this week: FINALLY feeling baby girl move on a daily basis. Last night I was even able to feel her kick from the outside AND inside, which was the most amazing feeling ever.
Worst moment this week: Getting a stomach bug Friday night into Saturday (hence losing the three pounds!) Thankfully it was a quick moving bug, but it was miserable while it lasted!
Miss anything: Not really, this was a good week :)
Movement: Lots of kicking and rolling around in there!
Cravings: Sweets (fruit & cakes, cookies, & pies!)
Queasy or sick: Other than the stomach bug I felt great this week
Looking forward to: Christmas! Only two more days :)
 
 
And since I will be taking a bit of a blogging break for the rest of this week, I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope that your day is filled with lots of joy and happiness :)


Weekend Recap and 19 Week Bumpdate!

16 December 2013

Monday already?? Anyone else agree that weekends should be at least three days? I feel like one of them is always spent running around and the other cleaning/doing laundry and other mundane household things ... anyway, here we are :)

 
 
How far along: 19 weeks
Gender: Girl
Weight gain: 4 or so pounds? I have my next appt tonight so we'll know for sure!
Maternity clothes: most definitely!
Stretch marks: Nope, so grateful for BioOil!
Belly button in or out: In
Sleep: Sleep is SO good, but I'm not feeling as rested when I wake up
Best moment this week: We had our anatomy scan on Thursday and we finally got to see our baby girl!!! She was wiggling all around, and moving her hands and opening and closing her eyes. It was the most amazing thing to see. Keith said that his mouth was literally wide open in awe the entire appointment. Also, we found out that she is 110% healthy and everything is developing perfectly, which is the best news we could have gotten!
 
Isn't she precious? I think she looks like me :)
Worst moment this week: Tuesday night I slipped and fell on a patch of black ice in our driveway and I was SO sore ... my whole left side of my body was really banged and bruised up, but thankfully baby M was fine
Miss anything: being able to bend over! haha! now that this belly is getting bigger, I cannot comfortably bend forward without feeling like I'm squishing her!
Movement: I reallllly thought I felt a couple little kicks last week after our ultrasound, but nothing since.
Cravings: Fruit and cookies
Queasy or sick: Feeling really good ... this second trimester stuff is a breeze!
Looking forward to: Christmas! Only 9 more days :)
 
 
 
On to our weekend .... we were projected to get a pretty good size snowstorm later in the day on Saturday, so Saturday morning we ventured out to run some errands and finish our Christmas shopping. But of course, first things first ....

This place near our house sells the BEST chocolate frosted donuts ... mmmmmm


Gunner with his snow jacket on ready to brave the cold and snow!


A little sneak peek at the letters for baby M's room! They arrived late Saturday and I can't wait to get started!



I fell in love with this beauty at Homegoods for baby M's nursery ... it was marked down to $275, so I plan on keeping my eye on it over the next couple of weeks!

After a disappointing Patriots loss, I curled up in bed with Gunner and my Hypnobirthing book. To which I promptly got sucked in to and read almost half of it in two hours! Such an amazing and informative read!!!


 
I'm really hoping for a quick and easy week .... Keith is traveling (again) Tues-Thurs; I need to get some stocking stuffers and finish wrapping presents; and I'm also hoping for some time to do some Christmas baking!

18 Week Bumpdate!

13 December 2013


Sweater here / Pants here
 
 
How far along: 18 weeks (I'm a week behind in my bumpdates!)
Gender: Girl
Weight gain: Maybe a couple pounds? I have my 20 week appt on the 16th, so I'll know then!
 
Maternity clothes: Switched to full-panel maternity pants this week! The demi panel ones cut into my bump and were becoming really uncomfortable. Hit the jackpot at Gap with their GapCash and got two more pants and three tops, including the outfit I'm wearing above!
Stretch marks: Nope .. loving my BioOil
Belly button in or out: In
Sleep: Not too too bad .. I wake up here and there, but I'm getting restful sleep so that's good :)
Best moment this week: Baby girl has a NAME!! I'm so excited about it and wish I could shout it from the rooftops, but I'm loving keeping something a surprise!
Worst moment this week: Honestly nothing!  
Miss anything: Being able to comfortably reach my toes :)
Movement: Starting to feel flutters here and there but nothing major yet!
Cravings: No real intense cravings this week
Queasy or sick: Finally getting over this nasty cold, but feeling good otherwise! 
Looking forward to: Ultrasound next week! We haven't seen her since she was a beating cheerio at 6weeks!
 
 
In other news this week:
 

 
 
I got all dressed up for Keith's company holiday party at the New England Aquarium. We had a blast!


Finally getting around to addressing and sending our Christmas cards! I'm a little late this year since I've lost almost everyone's address! oopsss



My friend Heather sent me this adorable ornament! She has her own Etsy shop, called Bailey Mae Gifts (find her here ) ... I loved this ornament so much I asked her to make a couple for me to give as gifts!
 
I hope y'all are having a wonderful week! Only 12 days til Christmas!!!

the ugly side of blogging.....

10 December 2013


I had a fun Christmas-themed post planned and ready for today, but after just reading a post from a fellow blogger, I'm compelled to write this one instead.

First of all, I have to say that the reason why I was drawn so much to blogging was because the blogging community is a pretty awesome place. I have had the opportunity to "meet" some pretty amazing women. Fellow newlyweds, or mommy-to-be's, women that share my passion for DIY, decorating, fashion and Jesus. People who understand what it's like to go through the same tough things I am.

One of these women, is Kaitlin. She blogs over at Wifessionals, and I was instantly drawn to her warmth, her down-to-earth personality and her honesty. We emailed a few times and she is truly the sweetest and most genuine person, with a heart of gold. Her posts became some of my favorites, and I always looked forward to a new blog post from her. As someone who just had a new baby, she had a lot of invaluable advice for someone like me!

Today, she posted that she is taking a break from blogging. I'm sorry ..... whaaaaat?! was my first reaction. How could she walk away from this? She has so many loyal readers who have come to know and love her like I have.

Two words: cyber bullies.

This is the ugly side of blogging that we hope never happens to us, or someone we know. As a blogger, I put alot out there. My whole life really. My home, my marriage, my family. It's my online journal. And while I've made some great friends, not everyone is so nice. There are people who hide behind their keyboards and attack someone like Kaitlin. They say mean, hurtful things about her NINE WEEK OLD daughter. Her husband. Her marriage. You name it, nothing is off-limits to these cowards.

And here I sit, wondering how someone could ever be so cruel. How they could attack this woman, who has done nothing to them. It's the sad world that we live in. Jealousy and bitterness can eat away at someone. Bullies are more and more common, and they come in all shapes and sizes.

I honestly hope that I never have to face a situation like this. But if I did, I can only imagine that I would react in the same way as Kaitlin is. My family would come first, and I would do anything to protect them.

Kaitlin's absence will leave a hole in our little blogging community and I hope that one day she is able to return to something she once loved so much.

DIY: Anthropologie Wall Letters

09 December 2013


As I usually do in my free time, I like to browse nursery pictures on Pinterest looking for inspiration for baby girl's nursery.

This morning I came across this pin (pinned from a fellow blogger that is one of my favorite bloggers ever!!)


Christmas Nursery - Garlands & Christmas Bedding
SOURCE



 

i was instantly obsessed with the letters! But at $18/pop ... I knew I couldn't justify spending $90 to hang her name over the crib.
One of my mommy friends suggested I try to make them, so a quick google search led me to this!
 
 

Letters_CraftyKraft_V2_0112
SOURCE
 
At $3.95 each (with free shipping!!) these letters were a much more affordable alternative! All I need is to get some silver metallic paint and paint away! I'm guessing the entire project will cost me less than $30, which is quite a nice savings :)
 
I figured that I would share this idea since I have so many other mommy-to-be friends that might be looking for something similar. The possibilities are endless when it comes to painting and decorating these letters too, so you can really make something unique for your own nursery :)
 
Happy Crafting!
 

Thanksgiving Recap & a Bumpdate

04 December 2013


We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our famiy and friends, and we hope that you did too! I only get Thanksgiving Day off, so we came home that night and I worked the next day while Keith spent seven hours cleaning up all the leaves in the backyard! Oh the joys of homeownership :) Then we went back to his family's house for our annual Friendsgiving and a little bit of shopping of course!
 
 

Sweater, Express (old and non-maternity!)

 
 
How far along: 17 weeks
Gender: Girl
Weight gain: 1 lbs.
Maternity clothes: I feel like I have no clothes because the size of my maternity wardrobe is 1/4 of my non-maternity wardrobe, so I'm trying to get more creative with the stuff I have and making it work since my bump is still pretty small :)
Stretch marks: Nope
Belly button in or out: In
Sleep: Sleep has been blissfully good this week
Best moment this week: FINALLY coming up with a plan with my midwives and PCP about handling my migraines, which leads to .....
Worst moment this week: I missed two days of work due to an extreme migraine and my first ever case of vertigo. After spending three hours at the doctor and not getting any relief, Keith drove me to the ER where we spent another 6 hours before they finally figured out what was safe to give me. Oh and I got a cold on top of it. When it rains, it pours :)  
Miss anything: Cocktails! Especially around the holidays and we are going to parties where everyone has a nice little buzz on and I'm sober sally in the corner haha!
Movement: I thought I felt a little flutter while in the ER, but since I haven't felt anything since I'm going to guess it might have had something to do with the awesome pain meds I was on :)
Cravings: The same as always: fruit, cereal, steak and cheese subs!
Queasy or sick: Nothing pregnancy related so that is nice
Looking forward to: Christmas shopping, decorating, parties and starting new traditions. I absolutely LOVE this time of year!!
 
 
 
Some photos from our Thanksgiving weekend!
 

Keith's father took some photos of us on Thanksgiving for our Christmas cards, this was one that didn't make the cut, but I think ist still pretty cute!


Our City Select stroller came in (I found a crazy awesome deal online last week and scooped it up!) and Gunner thinks that it's for him! He loves to sit in it, and ride around in it .... looks like I should have gotten the second seat! LOL




Thanksgiving Dinner!!!


The hubs and I at Friendsgiving 2013


Our Christmas decor! I had SO much fun decorating our tree and the mantle :) The ornament on the top right is very special to me, since my grandmother sent it to me a few years ago with a note that says "remember me each Christmas", the ornament was made by a friend of hers and is older than I am. It's my favorite.

 

The one thing that I didn't do much of (and am kind of kicking myself now!) is Black Friday OR Cyber Monday shopping! Shocking I know! I think because I was so sick I didn't feel like braving the crowds and then all the Cyber Monday deals didn't really seem that great to me :/ But I still got our stroller (for $100 off!), so I think that was a pretty sweet deal!
 
I hope you all are having a wonderful December so far! Only 21 days til Christmas!!
 

Christmas Traditions -- Gift Giving!

03 December 2013

So, as I've spoken about many times, this is our first year in our new house! I was so excited to put up a huge tree and get all new ornaments, and really deck our house out for the holidays. I think we're getting there :)
 
Today I wanted to share a fun new tradition that Keith and I are also starting this year. I don't know about you, but sometimes it can be hard to pick out the perfect gift for your significant other. Usually I email him links or give him specifics, and then there is rarely that fun element of surprise! So in addition to the few things we each asked for, I introduce Christmas Scrabble!
 
What you will need:
 
  • Scrabble tiles
  • A number -- the number of presents you will each get for the other
  • Pen/Paper
  • A creative, fun, wild imagination!
 
We chose 5 gifts, and each took turns choosing our letters from the bag.
 
The letters I chose for him are T, I, V, B, O. We also chose a bonus letter to get each other something from Gunner :)
 
We agreed that the gifts could be a mix of actual presents and/or stocking stuffers. Since I already got him most of his "big" presents, I'm going to be focusing a few smaller gifts.
 
Here are some of the things I am thinking:
 
 
T: t-shirts for his stocking
I: I-phone charger
V: maybe a vest??
B: bottle opener
O: Outback gift card
 
 
How do you and your significant other do gift-giving? Do you have any fun traditions?