ending to an era

It's 10:45am, and I am sitting at my dining room table. Drinking coffee I made at home, eating a bagel. Listening to the best Pandora station (dubbed "amazing country shit" by my husband) and cuddling with Gunner on my lap.

There is barely any room for him, but he tries :)

Yes it's a Tuesday. Yes I'm still pregnant!

Hanging out my first day home!

Even though it wasn't planned to happen this way, yesterday was my last day of work at TrashLand. Probably my last day there, ever.

The last month there has been so hard for me, in every way. Feeling my priorities shift away from being a "career" gal to an-ever-growing-desire to be home more with our baby. When I started at this company two years ago, I was promised alot of things that have yet to materialize, and according to my boss, are still very much in limbo. Then there is just the fact that my company offers absolutely zero flexibility, which is extremely difficult for anyone who works there that has a family. She asked me if I was going back, and I told her that I didn't know. I'm grateful to have the next 12 weeks off to really think about what I want to do, but in my heart, I know I won't be going back. I know that what we want for our family just doesn't mesh with this job.

So, as I drove away from the office yesterday - I was bawling my eyes out. Something I totally did not expect! I thought I would feel relief and excitement, and instead I just felt guilt. And worry that I was making the wrong decision. This mommy guilt is rough, and she isn't even here yet!

I can't wait for her to get here so I can snuggle with her and love on her. I know that will be when it finally hits home for me what life is really all about, and all my doubts and questioning will completely disappear. 

Until then, expect to see more of me around here! :) 

Mother's Day Ideas

It's crazy that Mother's Day is only a few weeks away! I love the idea of personalized gifts for our moms and grandmas, so I try to start thinking about these things in advance.

This year is a special one, because it will also (hopefully!!) be MY first Mother's Day! This is also the first year our moms are grandmas!

We don't usually spend a lot of extra money on these holidays, but I still want to show our love and gratitude for having these amazing women in our lives!

Here are a few favorites for them .... and a couple I wouldn't mind getting either! hint, hint dear hubby!

Necklace via Etsy

Mug via Etsy

 

For me personally, I love my Alex & Ani bracelets and would love to add this one to my collection!

Bracelet from Alex & Ani

Of course, you can never go wrong with perfume, lotion sets or flowers!

Tory Burch perfume set via Sephora

Amazing Grace Gift Set via Sephora

Floral Arrangement via Pinterest

Has anyone started thinking about Mother's Day? What ideas do you have?

Weekend Wrap-Up and a Bumpdate!

Well, we had quite the uneventful weekend and I know I've been quiet in blogland this week .... but we are still pregnant! Our due date is next Monday, May 5 so *fingers crossed* she makes her debut this week! 

See, here's proof :)

Taken last night, 4/26 at Keith's dad and stepmother's anniversary dinner

Celebrating 25 years on April 29!

Friday night I was sooo sick. I had one of the worst migraines I have had in months, was very nauseous and had an awful stomachache. I was really thinking that might be the beginning of labor! Sadly, nope ... just a bug or something! 

The weather has been beyond miserable this weekend, but we managed to get out for a walk today ... trying to stay active and encourage this baby out!

My two boys :)

On to our weekly stats! Maybe this will be the last one I post?!

I am living in this dress now .... Target, clearance for $13!

How far along: 38 weeks

Gender: Girl

Weight gain: 35lbs ... oops! 

Maternity clothes: I live in the same two or three outfits, looking forward to packing up all my maternity clothes .... until next time! ;)

Stretch marks: Nope!! 

Belly button in or out: Out

Sleep: Sleep is becoming more challenging, I feel restless at night and have a hard time sleeping all the way through the night.

Best moment this week: Knowing that we are *finally* in the home stretch!

Miss anything:This week I really wanted a beer. That's about it :)

Movement: She's cramped in there for sure, her movements are getting less frequent, and they feel more like she is just readjusting and getting comfy. She must be saving all her energy for her birthday!

Cravings: Friendly's Reese's Pieces ice cream sundae. I could eat one every day!

Looking forward to: I saw this pin on IG and it pretty much sums up how we feel right now. I cannot wait to meet this little girl who is going to steal our hearts and change our lives forever <3

Stolen from Instagram!

I also CANNOT WAIT to share her name! It's been such a fun secret to have, but I am really looking forward to shouting it from the rooftops :) 

If you don't yet, follow me on Instagram (username is gentelly) .... I'll post baby updates and photos there before I have a chance to blog!

37 Week Bumpdate!

Woohoo we are officially fullterm! That means that little miss could come at any time since she is fully developed and ready for the outside world :) We are so excited to meet her, but I would like her to stay in until next week!

Dress // Old Navy

It's crazy how big she (and I!!) have gotten since 36 weeks. Wanna see a side-by-side comparison?

These two photos were taken five days apart!!

And here's a look at 14 weeks vs 37 weeks. Gosh I was SOOO skinny!

The day we announced she was a girl & me at full-term!

Ok enough of that .... On to my weekly stats!

 

How far along: 37 weeks

Gender: Girl

Weight gain: 35 lbs. woah mama!

Maternity clothes: the same as last week, still struggling to find things that fit!  

Stretch marks: No

Belly button in or out: Out

Sleep: Sleep is good, but my ribs are still very sore and bruised so it takes a bit to find that one comfy spot! The good news is that she finally dropped, so I can breathe again -- yay!! This makes sleeping on back an option again :)

Best moment this week: Easter was a really great day, and hosting it in our home was a success! I was definitely bummed that little miss wasn't here for it!

Miss anything: Beer. Clothes that fit. :)

Movement: Still moving quite a bit, but it's less rolling and more jabs and punches. I think she's almost out of room!

Cravings: My cravings are pretty much gone! Although I could still live off sweets!

Looking forward to: My last day at work, and meeting our little girl!

 

Easter 2014

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! We were so hoping that we would have a baby, but here I am today  ..... 9 1/2 months pregnant! I'm starting to think she isn't ever going to come out :)

Some of our Easter décor!

My first Easter meal was a success! I think I made enough food to feed 20 people, so we had tons and tons of leftovers, so I know what we'll be eating this week haha

Our last holiday as a family of two + Gunner!

Hard to believe this was really our last holiday just us .... I cannot wait to have holidays with a little one. Kids just make things infinitely more fun!

 

 

One last thing, today is Patriots Day and Marathon Monday here in Boston. It's hard to believe it's been one year since those horrible events rocked our city. If anything, we are stronger and more resilient than ever before. 36,000 people are running the race this year, 9,000 more than last year! We have several friends who are running, and I am truly so proud of them. Today we stand together as a city united, running for those who can't and in memory of those we lost. Today, and every day, we are #bostonstrong

 

 

Five on Friday

Happy Friday y'all! We've made it through another week ... which means I am one week closer to meeting my sweet baby girl! Not that she's showing any signs of wanting to come out, but I know she can't stay in there forever :)

I'm linking up with Christina and crew for my Five on Friday post!

ONE // Freezer Meal Cooking: I finally got around to this yesterday! I probably spent around $70 on all the ingredients and I was able to make 16 meals, plus 24 freezer biscuits and 10 bean and cheese burritos.  It took me four hours (I was so exhausted when I was done!) but I know I will be grateful to not have to worry/think about dinner those first few weeks.

 

All my ingredients laid out and ready to go!

Ziplock bags with instructions! Details and recipes coming in a separate post

TWO // Pedicures: I've been getting one every three weeks since January (when I was no longer able to reach my toes ...) and today I am splurging on the herbal spa pedicure at my favorite nail salon.

 

Enjoy a custom blend of freshness from our menu of herbs for a relaxing and sensory experience. This service includes refreshing foot soak, nail and cuticle care, exfoliating, callus removal, hot towels and finished with hot stone massage. This Herbal Spa is sure to awaken your senses.

• Rejuvenation • Herbal Detox • Bridal Bouquet • Migraine Relief • Mental Clarity • Relaxing Lavender • Renewing Rose • Wake up with Minty Green Tea• Green Tea Lemon Zapper •

 

I am choosing the "relaxing lavender" and looking forward to an hour of pampering. Come on 3 o'clock!

 

THREE // Easter Dinner: I'm hosting Easter for the first time ever, and have been busy working on my menu this week! Ham, prosciutto wrapped asparagus and scalloped potatoes are what I'm planning on making, so wish me luck! My mother-in-law is bringing dessert although I'm thinking about making some sort of lemon cupcakes. I'm kind of craving them :/

How delicious do these look??? // Recipe

FOUR // Spring fashion: I truly cannot wait to wear normal, cute clothes again! I keep getting emails with sale alerts from J.Crew and Loft and Gap and it's killing me! I won't buy anything since I have no idea what size I'll be or when, but I'm totally drooling. I'm obsessed with prints and neon colors :)

Obsessed with this color and it's 50% off! // J.Crew

FIVE // Wedding season has officially started! We have four weddings this year (two of them Keith is in!), and I'm so happy and excited for our friends getting married tomorrow. The bride is from Keith's hometown, and the groom is one of my oldest friends. Yes, they met through us! They are so cute together and seriously the perfect match. I'm grateful baby girl has held out long enough so that we can attend their wedding and celebrate with them this weekend!

 

I hope y'all had a great week, and have a wonderful Easter!

House Updates

Ok, is it just me or is this the longest week ever??

 

The weather here in New England sure has been strange this week! Monday was 80 degrees and sunny, Tuesday was rainy with crazy wind and 60 degrees. Yesterday, we woke up to SNOW on the ground, and the temp was 34. Oy vey.

 

I used to joke that little miss would make her appearance and there would still be snow ... doesn't really seem so far fetched now!

 

Here are a few house projects we've been working on over the last couple of weeks. We've both been in full blown nesting mode, trying to get these things wrapped up while we still have the free time!

 

The first thing we wanted was to make a few small changes to the exterior appearance of our house. I love that we have a cute, yellow, Cape Cod style house. It's very "New England". But since I've always wanted a house with a bright red door, we decided to tackle that.

 

Painting our front and side doors cost us a whopping $15 for the can of paint!

 

Paint color is "Licorice Stick" by Behr

Then we ordered new shutters for the front of the house, since wineberry and licorice stick don't go so well together :)

 

We had a gorgeous, sunny, spring day on Saturday so Keith spent the morning putting the new shutters up. They cost us roughly $90 with shipping and I'm so glad we bought them. I think they really transform the look of the whole house.

With no shutters

The first one is up!

The finished look!

I also ordered new numbers from Etsy that should be here this week. Then once the weather warms up for good, I'll add some pretty flowers!

 

Eventually we want to re-do the steps, but that's a project for a later date!

 

Before and After

Inside the house ... we finally found a purpose for our fourth bedroom. Our house has two bedrooms up, and two down. One down used to be my dressing room, and is now our den. The front bedroom was a random collection of furniture and crap.

 

Now it's officially our guest room/play room and I LOVE it!

 

And this was after removing/selling half of the "random crap" we had in here!

New rug was purchased at Target for $65 and the curtain panels also came from Target for $38 total.

 

The futon was ours from the condo I just added the anchor pillows from elsewhere in the house to jazz it up :)

 

I have wall décor to put up later this week to complete the transformation. This room holds our pack'n'play and will be a place for her to hang out on the rug and play with her toys. I'm so happy that this room serves an actual purpose now!

Now if only she would get here! ......

36 weeks

I love playing with the different filters on my phone, makes me look a lot less tired than I am!

How far along: 36 weeks

Gender: Girl

Weight gain: 31ish?

Maternity clothes: Maxi skirts and dresses, and this one pair of Gap maternity yoga capris ... they are SO comfy and fit so well. When I'm home, I wear Keith's boxers and t-shirts :)

Stretch marks: No

Belly button in or out: Out

Sleep: Sleep isn't so great, but that's mostly because of the rib pain I'm still having! I was hoping it would get better over the past week, but it seems to be getting worse. So this only leaves me the option of sleeping on my right side, which I have a hard time breathing when I am.

 

Best moment this week: meeting with our birth doula on Saturday and going over our "birth plan". She is amazing, and I'm so glad that we found her!

 

Miss anything: being able to breathe ... my poor ribs are still killing me, but apparently this is normal? (why does no one tell you these things??)

 

Movement: still complete and whole body movements that are ohh so painful. My midwife was shocked at how much room she's taken up in my body! Her little feet stretch about half way to my back!

 

Cravings: Honestly, nothing really. I don't have much of an appetite these days either.

Queasy or sick:  Feeling pretty good!

 

Looking forward to: Easter. Her birthday. A margarita.

Side by side comparison -- have we grown?!

At my last bi-weekly checkup yesterday, my midwife confirmed that I have indeed grown in the ten days since my last appt --- by almost 4 cm! She also estimates that baby girl weighs about 6 1/2 pounds! Little porker :) I hope she has chubby cheeks!!

Five on Friday

This is my first ever Five on Friday linkup and I'm very excited about it!

ONE// I am SO looking forward to this weekend! We are going to finish decorating the playroom; we are putting up new shutters on our house; meeting with our birth doula; and I'm determined to start freezer cooking. This baby is coming anyyyy day now, I can feel it :)

TWO// Even though baby girl isn't here yet, we are already making plans for her christening. We are hoping to do it when she is about 8 weeks old, and all week I had been on a hunt for the perfect dress. I found this one at jcp.com, but it was sold out in the 0-3 month size. It came back in stock today, and for an additional 15% off, so I scooped it up. I'm obsessed with the ruffles on the bottom!

How pretty is this gown??

THREE// Ebates.com -- do you have any idea how much online shopping I have done in my life? A ridiculous amount. And yet, I always, always, always, forget about ebates.com!! I've been remembering more lately and am super excited for the next check I have coming to me :) Hey if someone wants to pay me to shop, who am I to say no?? Please tell me you use it too? If not, go here and sign up now!!

FOUR// Pioneer Woman recipes. I happened to randomly catch her cooking show this week while I was home, and as cooking shows tend to do, I had to make one of her recipes. Wednesday night I made her ham and scalloped potatoes, but it didn't come out quite right. I will have to work on it again, because the overall concept was delicious! Tonight I am making her meatball sliders. Keith loves meatballs, so I'm excited to try her version!

How delicious do these look?? Hoping mine look the same, haha

FIVE// I am loving white nails for spring. I bought Essie's "Marshmallow" but I think I need a nude basecoat. I did three coats and it was still too transparent for me. I'm determined to get it right :) 

So obsessed with this gorgeous color!!

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

35 Weeks

Maxi Dress, Old Navy / Long cardigan, Target / Oh, HI GUNNER!!

 

How far along: 35  weeks .... and 35 days until her due date. Craziness!!!

Gender: Girl

Weight gain: 30 (!!) when I first got pregnant 30 lbs was the max I thought I would gain ... it's a tough pill to swallow knowing I will probably gain about 5 more as she plumps up these last few weeks!

Maternity clothes: so, the same as last week .... nothing fits me. My shirts are too short, my pants are too tight ... somehow I'm figuring it out though!  

Stretch marks: Nope, still not one in sight!!

Belly button in or out: waaaay out .... people love to make fun of it since it's so obvious :)

Sleep: it's been okay this week, still up a couple times a night, but I think that the daily walks Gunner and I are taking are helping to wear me out so I have no problems falling asleep

Best moment this week: I'm really loving working part-time hours ... getting home by 2:30 is AMAZING! The weather has been so nice this past week that Gunner and I took an hour long walk every day. He loves being outside, and I'm loving the exercise. I'm determined to walk this baby out!

Miss anything: probably the same as last week ... I miss being able to move at a normal pace and I miss taking deep breaths :)

Movement: little miss is still kicking, pounding, and punching away in there! I mentioned this in my weekend update post, but she seemed to have gotten her foot stuck in my ribcage the other night, and ever since I have been in so.much.pain.

Cravings: nothing really, I'm eating smaller and less at each meal so I'm just trying to be as healthy as possible!

Queasy or sick: had a couple bouts of bad nausea and heartburn this week, but it hasn't been constant, so I'm thankful for that!

Looking forward to: well ... it's already April 7! so I'd say the thing I'm looking forward to the most is her birthday <3

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend Happenings!

We have been very busy around here this weekend! 

After getting out of work on Friday I decided to make a quick stop at Sephora. This is a store I should just not be allowed in! I wanted a new foundation -- an hour, and $123 later (!) I had a new foundation and a new skin care system. I'm such a sucker, but almost three days later, I already see a difference, and am loving my new products :) 

Make Up Forever HD makeup / Tory Burch perfume / Fresh skincare products

Keith's birthday was Friday, so we went out for a low-key dinner Friday night. I wanted to go bowling, but he laughed at me and told me I was not bowling at 35 weeks pregnant. Whatever. 

Saturday we got up bright and early ... By 10am we had sold two pieces of furniture to people from Craigslist, and met with a fence company to get a quote on fencing in our backyard! 

We would REALLY love to be able to fence in the backyard, but it's not a cheap project! We have some decision making to do first, as in - how long do we plan on staying in this house? That decision is really up to Keith at this point, because I could really go either way!

Sorry that was quite the tangent ... So anyway, After we met with the fence man, we met up with our friends Andrew and KerriAnne and drove an hour to Wahlburgers (owned by the Wahlburg boys, duh) and even though there was a crazy wait and the place was packed, the burgers were DElicious. 

Notice how I squeezed my wedding rings on? They go on okay, but it's a struggle getting them off!

mmmmmm

Why yes, that is a burger with fried onion rings :) and a chocolate mint frappe. 

Hanging out in Hingham!

By the time we got home, I was BEAT. Being nine months pregnant is hard work man! I took a two hour nap! 

I woke up around 3am Sunday with a sharp shooting pain in my rib cage. I think baby girl had her foot stuck or something, because she definitely bruised my ribs :/ It hurts to cough, laugh or take deep breaths! She's clearly REALLY out of room and needs to come out! Anytime now little miss :)

Today was project day! I think Keith and I were both nesting! 

We finished painting both of our doors. Color is "Licorice Stick" by Behr. I have always, always wanted a house with red doors!!! This color is bright, and the color really pops. It's perfect :)

Front Door

Side Door

We decided last weekend to revamp the outside of our house, and I can't wait until it's all done! 

We put up the new light fixture in the nursery. So proud of hubby for figuring out how to do this! I then spent 30 min attaching all the crystal strands. I love it!

Light On!

Light Off!

Keith also spent some time outside cleaning off our patio, throwing out all the dead plants that did not survive this awful winter, and cleaned off our patio furniture. I'm so ready for warm summer evenings on our patio :)

We just need some pretty colorful flowers!

Now we are wrapping up this long weekend watching the ACM awards. We LOVE country music and these award shows are awesome. Love my boys Bluke who are hosting this year! Trying not to laugh too much since it still hurts :)

I hope y'all had an awesome weekend!