Happy Spring!

Well, since we had so many visitors my blogging every day has not happened. I'm okay with that because I was trying to spend quality time with them.

 A few days ago the kids and I were outside. It was a gorgeous day! Sunny and the kids were playing so nice. We got some chalk out and just enjoyed the weather and time together.

I decided it was the perfect little photo shoot time. I wrote Happy Spring in chalk and just laid the kids down and took a few shots. Nothing special.

Here is their "Happy Spring" pictures. Looking so cute in their little sunglasses. Target dollar spot has them and I couldn't resist.

I hope you are having better weather than us here in Kansas. Kansas is pretty much drunk right now. Beautiful one moment, then raining, and now snowing. In late March. Figure it out, Kansas. We want sunshine!!

Photography.

I love pictures. I take them with my phone all day long, mostly of food and kids.

Today I took pictures of a friend's kids. Easter pictures.

I've taken pictures for friends before, but I am always nervous. I am FAR from a professional. And taking pictures for someone else is WAY different and harder than taking them of my own kids.

There is a ton of pressure. I want them to be good; they want them to be good. The hard part is the kids. They could care less about looking cute, staying still, and posing with some damn fake flowers and Easter eggs. Can you blame them? Not really.

So the 2 boys I photographed today are 3 and almost 1. Talk about hard ages! Oh, and I had Morgan screaming. It was a challenge to say the least. And I was sweating.

I managed to get a few decent ones, but I am still no where near comfortable charging what the majority of photographers charge. I charged a whole $15. I do have my own facebook page, but since I only take pictures for friends as of now, there is only a few sessions to see.

Here are some of my favorites...
And yes, I had permission for Mama to post these.

I give props to all the pro photographers. You guys make it look easy. 

Do you take your own pictures or do you hire a professional?

Bump Brief #28

Bump Brief #28: 36 weeks

How far along? 36 weeks, baby is the size of 8lbs of cherries. Because I've literally eaten that many cherries in one week. 

Total weight gain/loss: 166 today. Up 1lb from last week which is really surprising since I feel like I eat every 20 minutes. 
Stretch marks? No
Sleep:  Not happening.
Best moment this week: My friends threw me a baby shower!!! This was planned last minute because a shower really wasn't necessary. We are moving so soon, Morgan already has a ton of stuff I have to pack in a suitcase, and everyone is so busy with life! But...they did it anyway! My friend, Martha, put together a tea party. It was adorable! It was small and intimate and perfect. And the food was delish! Thank you, Martha, for hosting the shower and thank you to my friends that came to celebrate!

The menu:

*4 different types of sandwiches: 1. nutella and granny smith apples 2. smoked salmon and cheese 3. turkey and pesto 4. hummus and cucumber

* Vanilla Scones

*Strawberry shortcake stacks

*Puff pastries filled with lemon curd and topped with raspberries

*Fruit platter

*2 different types of cupcakes

*Assortment of hot teas and pink lemonade

Preggo Problems: Still peeing at least once an hour. I'm pretty sure I could keep Angel Soft in business with just me alone using the toilet paper. 

Movement: 
Food cravings: Cherries and orange juice.

Interesting facts about baby (according to pregnancy app): 

1. Skin is getting smooth and soft and gums are rigid. 

2. Liver and kidneys are in working order.

3. 28 days until EDD!! That's less than a month. Granted she could go late, but still...

Gender: Girl!! And her name is.....

Labor Signs: More and more Braxton hicks. All day long and all night. My stomach is constantly tight. My best friend here in Hawaii is letting my use her birthing ball so I've been on it a lot. I found an awesome blog explaining the birth ball. Hopefully it works "its magic". 

Belly Button in or out? Out.
Wedding rings on or off? Off. Had them on for a few days and the rash came back.. I put on a fake ring because it is super weird not to have a ring on. I have my fake wedding ring on and wear 2 rings on my right hand. The cheap, fake rings don't irritate my skin at all. Yay!
Mood: Tired from lack of sleep. Trying to keep myself busy. Trying to enjoy the last few weeks of one child. Trying to enjoy my baby bump that will be leaving soon. Trying to get the house in order for movers to come. Trying to do a lot of stuff. Trying is the key word. My motivation to get stuff done is lacking. Probably because I don't want to leave Hawaii. 

This week I had the opportunity to model for A&B Burns Photography! This married couple work together and they wanted a beach photo shoot to add more to their portfolio. They do amazing work and I was happy to help them out. Here are some of my favorites from the shoot. If you are in Oahu, I would highly recommend them! The only bad part was there was sand in places sand should not be. ;)

Bump Brief #14

Bump Brief #14: 21 weeks

How far along? 21 weeks, baby is the size of a carrot! 

Total weight gain/loss: Up 1 more pound this week. -2 and I seem to be gaining a pound a week. 
Maternity clothes? I should just delete this question. There is no going back to regular clothes for a long time. I've said my good-byes.  
Stretch marks? Still just my under the boob ones. Are stretch marks genetic?
Sleep: Good, but not great. Been up more this week going pee. I've been trying to drink more water so I blame that. Damn, H2O. 
Best moment this week: Baby is still a girl and healthy! Had an ultrasound today that confirmed gender. Super exciting. Read more in my "mood" section for the other ultrasound findings... 

Miss Anything?  The ability to wear regular clothes? I feel like I have a lot of maternity clothes, but still not a ton of options. It's as if i wear the same outfit everyday, not much variety.
Movement: Yep. Mostly active at night around 9:30-10.
Food cravings: Still have a sweet tooth. Made some Valentine's day donuts for the hubster's work potluck and it is taking all of my being not to eat the entire platter. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Ripe bananas. They need to be firm for me to eat them or else I gag. 
Have you started to show yet: Also another question I should delete. Yes and yes. I doubt I will shrink. 
Gender: Girl!! The little girl didn't grow a penis! Here are a couple ultrasound pictures we got today.

Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Mood: Excited and worried. The ultrasound today was sort of unexpected. We went in thinking we were just going to confirm gender. If it ended up being a boy, yes, I would have been a little disappointed, but it would have been fine. Healthy baby is all that matters. And baby is healthy. All body parts are there and accounted for, heart rate was good. This was the scary part...

 Within 30 seconds, the ultrasound tech says, "Um, have you ever had an abnormal ultrasound or pain during this pregnancy?"

Excuse me, what!? Abnormal!? No, no I have not. I have always had normal pap smears and ultrasounds. This is not how I expected the beginning of this appointment to go. She said I had a large mass on my ovary. 

Excuse me, what!? Large mass!? What does this mean?

So she is measuring baby and saying baby is perfect, terrific, cute nose. I have almost completely tuned her out and not even enjoying this moment because she has me thinking the worse possible scenario. She said the doctor would have to see me today to figure out the issue. 

Issue: I have a grapefruit-sized dermoid cyst on my left ovary. Right side is fine, but left needs to be monitored. When the doctor came in, he seemed very nonchalant about the situation. He said to come back in 6 weeks and then 6 weeks postpartum I should have it removed. Even though he says it isn't a huge deal, I was crying. How can a CYST not be a big deal. I asked a lot of questions. Would it hurt baby? Would it do anything with labor and delivery? Baby and delivery would/should be fine he said. I don't know what to think. Google is not your friend when you look up this kind of thing. 

Second issue: My placenta is "low-laying". Ultrasound tech made it seem like a C-section was going to happen or I was going to bleed to death giving birth. This lady did not have good bedside manners. Holy hell. I DO NOT want a C-section. Doctor said as I go further along, placenta should move up. We will monitor as well, but the chances of placenta staying low are about 1%.

 So basically, I hate that ultrasound tech. She completely freaked me out. I am still worried, no doubt. Doctor helped a little. 

My mood is all over the place. Happy baby is healthy and a girl. Trying to keep that in my head and all the positives. 

Since we found out girl for sure, I wanted to re-create a picture we took when we found out Nate was a boy. My friend, photographer for Sweet Peony, who is amazing, took Nate's boy pictures then I took the recreation. She is obviously a professional, but I tried to do the best i could in the little collage.