Baby Sullivan | Week Forty Four

I realized this morning while at church that I didn’t write out Sullivan’s weekly post yesterday. Oops! I totally forgot! But, here we are and I have some super adorable photos for you all.

First of all, it’s Mother’s Day. I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful mother and my wonderful mother-in-law. Mom, you have been a constant support and guide in my life and I am forever thankful and blessed by your wisdom. Thank you for loving me so well and helping me journey through life over the years. Thank you also for being an amazing Grammy to our children. We don’t know what we would do with out you!

Reenie, Happy Mother’s Day to you! Thank you for raising your son so well and for taking me in as another daughter in your life. I also don’t know what we would do without you and I love having you in our lives and I know the kids feel the same way.

I am very thankful that both of our mothers are so close to home. Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Also, happy Mother's Day to my amazing sister. Gunnar is super blessed to have such a great mom like you. I'm glad we get to journey through motherhood together. 

Sullivan is forty four weeks old this week and time is flying, per usual. His little personality has really begun to start shining through lately. I keep feeling like I’m getting little glimpses of the little boy that he will soon become. He’s full of character and kind of feisty and I love him for that.

He still isn’t crawling but we are trying to give him all of the opportunities he needs to do so. I know it’s only a matter of time before he’s getting into everything and crawling all over the place. I know once he figures out how to do it, we won’t be able to stop him.

Both kids have been waking up super early this week and I know that’s mostly due to the fact that the sun is up so much earlier lately. I need them to sleep in...only a little! 5:30am is a little too early. That’s when I get mommy time and I need it! Everyday!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you moms out there. I’m right there in the trenches with you and I know beyond a doubt that my children are one of the best things to ever happen to me. They challenge me, they push my buttons, but they also bless my socks off.

For all of you moms today...go take a bubble bath, drink some wine. Leave the dishes in the sink at least until tomorrow. Go kiss your babies good night and sleep soundly feeling blessed, with full hearts. You deserve it. 

Here’s Marin at Week Forty Four!

It's the Weekend | Number Eleven

The current chaos of the nursery and my mind. 

We've made it to another Saturday. I'm officially about 7 weeks away from meeting our new little dude. I'm getting more pregnant and tired by the day but I know that it will all be worth it in the end. But, I am pretty ready to no longer be pregnant. We are on the home stretch and I'm just trying to get everything in as much order as we possibly can. I've been planning my leave at work. There's a number of things around the house that need to be done or just forgotten about. We went to a birthing class last night with our doula and everything just keeps getting more real. 

This week, I've been reading a lot of things for mothers due to the fact that Mother's Day is tomorrow. I'm always looking for clever parenting hacks or ideas. I've been reading a lot about screen time and how it affects our children or how we need to get outside WAY more than we do now. 

Here's what I've read this week: 

Celebrity mom's talk about their mothers. 

One of the books I posted about last week is on sale on Kindle for $1.99! 

I'm always looking for clever DIYs for parenting. Here's some great ones. 

I think about our budget a lot, especially with a new baby on the way. Here are 5 ways to save 100 dollars this week. 

Kid's should play outside more and here's how to do it. 

Meal planning has become a part of our home. I'm always looking for cheap, easy recipes. 

A new donut shop opened in our town and my pregnancy cravings might get the best of me. 

Postpartum depression is a big deal. This mom's post is a must read. 

Have a great weekend! 

It's the Weekend | Number Ten

The days are flying by.  I cannot believe how quickly time is moving. I am officially 32 weeks pregnant. I managed to injure my right foot somehow and I've been limping around for a week and a half. I'm still not totally sure what I did but I'm ready to not be big and pregnant and also limping around everywhere. Seriously. Come on, foot! 

I still need to blog about our trip to Estes. I need to actually work on getting the little babe's room all ready to go. We still have some house projects to complete. I'd really like to get our garden going. There's a lot to be done and I just don't have the energy lately to do it. Welcome to the 3rd trimester everyone! 

But, it's the weekend. Hallelujah! Here are a few things I've been reading this week, along with a Mother's Day wish list, and some great books for moms that I've been devouring. Enjoy. 

Why are our kids so miserable? 

Secrets of people who are always full of energy. 

It's nice to have less stuff. 

Sugar is in everything these days. Here's 30 days of meals you can eat during a sugar detox. 

If you need help with a cleaning schedule. I love stuff like this. Also,  here are some lazy people cleaning hacks. 

I am planning on making this for dinner sometime this week. 

Mother's Day will be here before we know it. Here is what's on my current wish list: Wish #1, Wish #2, Wish #3 (Charcoal) , Wish #4. 

If you're looking for some books for moms, I highly recommend: Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline, The Magic of Motherhood: The Good Stuff, the Hard Stuff, and Everything In Between, The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother.

Have a great weekend!

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Happy Mother's Day

Drawn by: Ryan Hollen (my awesome husband) 

Last year around this time, I somehow knew that I would celebrating the last Mother’s Day of my life not being a mother. Around this time last year, I became pregnant, but didn’t know that amazing news until June 7th on the fateful day I took three pregnancies tests early in the morning, freaked out, and went to tell my still asleep, groggy husband that we were going to have a baby! So much has changed in a year. 

I think many women go through their pregnancies, trimester by trimester, rubbing their tummies and dreaming of what motherhood will be like. I want the “Gilmore Girls,” mother-daughter relationship. I want to share dialogue with her that goes a mile a minute and eat in diners and drink too much coffee and...my list could go on and on, as unrealistic as that hope may be. I want my little girl to grow up strong and independent. I want my little girl to follow her dreams and to love Jesus with all her heart. All good things. 

No one truly prepares you for the day you become a parent, the day you become a mother. Those months when Marin was kept safe in my ever growing frame, I dreamt of how all of this would look. I planned. I prepared, like I always do. Motherhood is the most rewarding, challenging, life-giving thing I have ever done. I have been stretched to my absolute limits and found that I can keep moving forward. I have felt my heart swell for a tiny human that I’ve only known for a little under 3 months. I have found that I need to step back and soak in this time that I have with her because I know that I will blink and she will be driving, dating boys, and Ryan will be sitting on the porch every evening,  waiting with a list of all of the reasons as to why a certain gentleman cannot date his daughter. I look forward to those times, but that’s not where we are now and I feel the need to slow all of it down. 

So, to all of you mothers out there, thank you and keep going. It does take a village to raise a child and we are all part of that village. Embrace the bed head on the mornings when you haven’t been able to shower and it’s nearing 12pm; when you haven’t been able to get a single bite to eat for yourself all morning. Embrace dirty diapers, the first time they roll over, when they begin to crawl, and their first steps. Embrace the battle scars upon your body that show the long journey it took for you to hold your baby in your arms. Embrace the quite moments in the morning when you rock you baby in your arms and feed them before the sun even comes up and the world goes about its business. Embrace the days when you have to go to work and then think about your child constantly, through every project and meeting of the day. 

You are a mom and that is an amazing thing. 

Happy Mother’s Day. 

Mother's Day: 10 Great Gift Ideas

This year marks my very first Mother's Day. I remember back to this time last year, wondering if that would be last year of not being a mother, and here we are. I have a 2 month old and feel like I have fallen head first into this thing called "motherhood." There's no looking back and I am good with that. I am Marin's mom and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've been compiling a list of some Mother's Day Gift ideas for the mom in your life. They deserve to be pampered and taken care of, not just one day a year, but this is a time where you can tell them and show them how awesome they are! I know I would love any of these items...maybe you don't, maybe you do! Some of these are inexpensive, some of these are a bit of a splurge. I love them all! 

1. Blueprint Juice Cleanse: I've talked about this for a while now and still haven't tried one. I will wait until after I'm done breastfeeding, but I would love to try the Renovation Cleanse. I think it is a good reset button when it comes to seasons of eating too much junk and let's face it, those seasons can happen far too often. 
2. Hello Apparel's Hello Pullover. You can buy a matching one for your little kiddo as well. The perfectly comfy pullover that you can dress up or dress down. 
3. A photo book from Pin Hole Press. My plan is make this series a coffee table book once we hit one year of weekly posts. I take a ton of pictures in life but most of them remain digital. I would like to have some photo albums to actually look through in the future. I barely even have any of our wedding photos printed. That should change. 
4. "I Already Want To Take A Nap Tomorrow" Shirt. As a new mom, I feel this. 
5. DoTerra Mother's Day Gift Set. This now comes with a free lotion as well. These things are selling fast though, so get one while you can. It features Balance, Whisper, and Serenity Oil Blends. 
6. Some mom's might not like this idea, but I would love a good jogging stroller. Let's face it, my body is not like it was before having a kid and anytime I can be working out with her involved is a good thing. 
7. Stitch Fix. This a company where you create a personal style file based on your likes and dislikes and they send you box of items to try on. You then decide which items you would like to keep, pay for those items, and send back the rest free of charge. I have my first shipment coming June 28th. It is a way to find new clothes and maybe step out of your comfort zone when it comes to shopping. I love stuff like this. June 28th will be a good mail day. 
8. Many moms need coffee. I am one of those moms. We have had a Keurig for a while now. We were just talking about how nice it would be to have some reusable Keurig cups that you can place you own coffee in. Case and point. 
9. A Package of Bliss at this fine establishment. I would probably go for the Unfrazzled Momma. 
10. One last pullover from Hello Apparel. "I'm So Tired" Sweatshirt. I would wear this everyday. 

There you have it. What you getting your mom for Mother's Day?