What's In My Bag | Hospital Edition

Our bags are officially packed. We are officially as ready as we will ever be for this little man to come into the world. I'm due on Friday and now we just hurry up and wait. I remember this feeling from last time and Marin decided to take her precious time and wait until ten days after my due date to grace us with her adorable presence. I know a due date is just an estimate, more like a little suggestion to make pregnant mothers go a little bit crazy. 

I am a planner. The waiting and suspense just about kills me by this point but I'm trying to just tie up lose ends at work. Get the the house ready. And wait. And wait and wait and wait. Everyday I go to bed at night I wonder if we will be having a baby in the next 24 hours or not. So far, not. 

Last time we did this, I feel like I packed more? Maybe I did. I honestly don't completely remember but I feel like this time around, we are in a good place packing wise. There's one bag for the hospital and a canvas grocery bag full of snacks and random other items that we will throw in last minute. I plan on putting some minimal make up in and my flat iron. We will need to toss in the phone chargers. But overall, the bags are packed. 

I've also packed a bag for Marin because once I'm in labor and we head to the hospital, she is heading to the grandparent's house and will hang out there until she can come meet her new baby brother. 

Not pictured:

Minimal Hair Stuff

Gift for Marin/Gift for Sullivan

Phone chargers

Assorted, Minimal Makeup 

Now we wait. I'm ready to not be pregnant any longer and to meet this little guy. Come on, Sullivan! 

It's the Weekend | Number Eight

This week has had it's ups and downs. Early Wednesday morning, around 2am, I woke up suddenly and started puking all over our bedroom. It was pretty horrific, especially being 6 months pregnant. We are still working on getting the stain out of our carpet and I'm pretty sure I ruined some of our bedding. Sad stuff. But, now I finally don't feel like I've been hit by a truck and am ready for a busy Easter weekend. My husband has been a gamer with me being sick and cleaned up after me without a complaint. He's pretty awesome.

One awesome thing about this week is that we had new kitchen appliances delivered. The ones we had in the house were old enough to drink a beer, if you know what I mean. The fact that they were still somewhat working it a miracle. We are getting a dishwasher too but it won't be here for another week or so. I can't wait to cook with my new oven and my fridge is so new and shiny. I'm nerding out as a homeowner at the moment. It makes our kitchen look so much better! We used our tax refund money this year to purchase them. 

Anyways, here are the places I've have been clicking around the internet this week. Some wellness stuff, some parenting articles, and of course some food.

A good reminder that health looks different for everyone. 

I always need ways to drink more water, especially while I'm growing a little human in my belly.

Marin hasn't really traveled with us a lot. I hope to change that. Here are some traveling tips for kiddos. 

If I didn't work for a church and Easter Sunday wasn't crazy, I would make this casserole. 

I'd like to bake these avocado brownies in my new oven this week too. 

Did you know that kids that use touchscreen devices sleep less at night? Not great. 

We are also supposedly all parenting wrong. Who knew. 

Have a great weekend! 

The Great Road Trip | Days 7 & 8

The last two days of our trip were pretty predictable. We were driving and driving......and driving. Overall, from our little home to Portland, it takes about 20 hours to get there or back. I've only driven it straight through a few times in my life and I'm fine with not trying to accomplish that feat yet again. I'm getting to old for stuff like that. All nighters and driving in the dark? No thanks. My eyes just can't handle that like they used to. (I sound old...)

Saturday morning we packed up our bags and hit the road. Our half way goal is always Twin Falls, ID. Saturday was like most days on the road except for one little thing.....It was our 6 year wedding anniversary. 6 years. I found it pretty fitting to be out on the open road the day we celebrate 6 years of marriage together. There's just something about being in a car together, just driving. You can read about our past anniversaries here, here, here. Looks like I failed to blog about it for a few of years.

These past 6 years have been incredible. I am very blessed to have a wonderful marriage. We own our home. We get to do life as parents and raise Marin. We are able to provide for each other and support one another. I cannot imagine waking up every morning and not living life with Ryan.

On our trip, we spoke of what we want the next year to look like. I am very goal-oriented, so conversations like that always get my brain going. We talked about when we would want to start trying to have another child. We talked about jobs. We talked about playing music again and how much we miss it. We talked about health. I want to be able to do life with this amazing man for a very long time.

Over the past few years, we have celebrated our anniversary with pie. It seemed only fitting to find the local Shari's and partake in a tradition while we were on the road. I had the Sour Cream Lemon pie and Ryan has the Smores pie. Add a cup of coffee and I'm set.

The rest of the trip consisted of driving, driving, and driving. We stopped at many questionable gas stations. We ate too much junk. I totally nerded out and started reading the Outlander series. I know...I know....It was very good to pull into our driveway and finally arrive home. Picking up Marin from the Grandparent's house was something we had been looking forward to all week. Marin is making sure that we don't go anywhere for a while. Next time, she's coming with us.

It is good to be back and to slowly get back into the swing of things. I need vacations like this. It helps me focus on all of the other areas of my life. Next vacation though...I want a lot less driving and a lot more beach.

Adventures with Marin | The Denver Zoo

I decided it was high time to end my radio silence. I took a break from blogging without really trying to. It just sort of happened. My last post was for Marin's first birthday party. That was in February. It now is almost May. I've missed blogging and hope to start back at a somewhat consistent pace. 

Marin is now 14 months old. She still only has two bottom teeth. She is walking all over the place. Ryan was off on vacation last week and we decided to head to the zoo with Grammy and Grandpa Stauffer and Cousin Gunnar. We really enjoyed it. We only had a little rain while at the elephant show. Marin loves animals so she hardly napped the whole day because she didn't want to miss a thing. 

Here are a billion pictures from our day at the Denver Zoo...

It was a really enjoyable outing. Marin only fussed on the way there and then was great the rest of the day. I like the zoo, that is until I start thinking about how depressing it is for all of the animals there, but I tried to not take my thoughts there. Our kid loves animals and she loved the zoo. 

This was a good test to see how she would do with an extended drive and a day spent in her stroller. She was a champ. I would love to go there again. We also stopped at Voodoo Donuts on the way home, because of course, you have to do that. You must do that. 

Johnny Hickman & North Carolina

I believe I am now a fan of the south. Southern hospitality is like no other thing I have experienced in my life. I just wanted to sit down, drink sweet tea and eat too much seafood, all while chatting with the locals. Everyone says hi to you. I like that. 

Ryan and I had the awesome opportunity to head to Wilmington, NC to play music for the one and only Johnny Hickman. We count ourselves super lucky to be able to play with such a long standing musician. His fans adore him, his music is excellent. Playing music with him is always such a treat and I don't take that lightly. 

We traveld to North Carolina to play at a private birthday birthday for one of Hickman's fans and friends. We were welcomed with open arms, didn't pay for pretty much a single meal, and got to do something we really love: play music with our friends. They brought in a back line for the evening which meant, aside from flying with Ryan's guitar, we didn't have to bring a single piece of music gear. They even worked super hard to find the same keyboard I use normally. I loved it. It was so wonderful and so thoughtful. 

It was heaven. I ate fish tacos and drank margaritas. I had an island mahi mahi at dinner. I had an omelet with crab and shrimp in it. I would have eaten any sea food that anyone placed in front of me. I miss that...when you live on a coast or near a coast, seafood is incredible. Colorado is about as land locked as you can get. Give me all the seafood. 

Our hotel was right on the ocean with a marina on the other side. There's always something about the ocean that makes me feel so many things, causing me to come alive and reevaluate so much of our lives. I write a lot of lists in my mind. I contemplate and mull over lots of new goals.  I think of living on the north west and all of the trying and life-shaping times I spent on the coast and its little towns. I hope that someday we will find ourselves living on a coast again. 

This was the first time we have been away from Marin for longer than a night. I was so exhausted by the time my head hit my pillow every night that I didn't really wake up like I thought I would. I was always on alert though it seemed. Every once in a while it would hit me...Where's the baby?!?! Then I would realize that we didn't have her there with us and I didn't need to worry so much. She was shopping and hanging out with the grandparents. She was definitely ok. It was just so weird not hauling around all of the baby stuff and making sure Marin was doing well. I felt like a limb was missing. 

Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better weekend. It was a nice time away for a few short days. We needed to recharge. Everyone we met was amazing and I am so thankful that I get to play music with such an amazing group of people. We hadn't even met the drummer until the day before the gig but Carlton gelled so well with us, it felt as if he had played music with us along. 

I miss the seafood already.

Weekly Lovelies: Currently Clicking Week #2

A picture of our child. Because, why not? I'm obsessed with the baby photos. I'll admit it. (She's wearing her new beanie from Little Hip Squeaks and I love it.)

Here's where I've been clicking this week.....

• I'm having major hair envy lately as I'm am ever so patiently working on growing out my hair again. I know, I know: never satisfied. I'm loving this mama's locks, this hairstyle, and this hairstyle.  
• I stumbled across this on Elise's blog: The Reluctant Father (Seriously, read it. So good.) 
• Boosting Your Creativity: ideas to steal from incredibly inspiring workspaces. 
• A Good Reminder: 5 Ways to Spend Less & Reduce Clutter 
• More tiny house and travel love. 

A Weekend In Montrose: Losing Ones Mind with Family

A weekend or so ago, I went with a bunch of my family to Montrose, Colorado. My Grandma has Alzheimers and even though most of us don't want to think of this: she isn't doing to well. I haven't seen this side of the family nearly as much as I'd like so I jumped on the chance of spending a few days with them.

Listening to John Mayer. Loudly.

My traveling, baby bump.

Alzheimers is a crazy, crazy disease. Seeing a family member go through that makes me wonder if losing my mind or my body first is better or not. That's not really something one wants to think about, but it feels very real to me lately. Seeing my grandma so frustrated because she can't communicate like she once did is tough. I can't even begin to fathom what it is like to literally lose your mind. Do you know? Is she aware? 

At least, I know with complete certainty, that she is surrounded by family and people that love her. This woman carries a legacy. She had 7 kids. She raised them as the strong woman I know she is. My grandpa is also one of the strongest individuals I've ever met. He loves her, even when she might not have any idea who he is, he loves her. He's there. He's taking care of her and himself the best that he can. That's love. 

My Grandpa Triplett

I understand that our lives do come to an end at one point or another. I just pray that when that time comes for me someday that I am surrounded by family, much like my grandma. 

In the end, family and God are really all you have. 

That is enough. 

A Look Back: 2012

I like looking back at where we have been. I think it helps us figure out where it is we are going. 2012 was an interesting year for me. Many things came and went. My work life was probably the most challenging it has ever been. We played as much music as time would allow. So many things have grown in my heart for this new year. 

A look back....

I ate vegan/vegetarian for a month. Looking back, I remember how crazy that felt. I think a meatless day here and there is good for me, but beyond that, I am happy with Weight Watchers as of right now. (Mexico is only about 100 days away!) 

We shared some amazing meals with some amazing people. 

We drove many miles to visit this store. 

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. 

We built a front porch and gave our yard some much needed loving. 

I traveled to California to play music with The Piggies. 

I swiftly got back on a plane to visit Longview: the town that once held my heart. 

We tried to play as much music as possible. I also started to write and finish songs again. 

I could go on and on, really. 2012 was a good year. 2013 will be even better, of that I am sure. I have many thing stirring within me this evening regarding what is to come. 

Happy New Year, Everyone!