Baby Marin: Week Thirty One

What a crazy week this has been! I can't believe what day it is as I write these words and prepare this post for your eyes. I blinked and here we are at Thursday afternoon and my to do list is a mile long. Good things have occurred this week though. Things of change. Things of new life.

Just this morning, I held my new nephew in my arms. I cannot wait for Marin to meet him. I forget how little she was when she was born. I also can't help but remember those first few nights in the hospital, all of the unknowns and new experiences. We had no idea what we were doing in all reality but so far we have made it to week thirty one of Marin's life.

Our cat, Geoff, has seemed to really take a new liking to Marin this past week. He is becoming more daring and wants to be around more often instead of just hanging out in his garage. Yes, HIS garage. She is army crawling super fast nowadays and he has some surprises coming his way, of that I am sure.

Week Thirty One.

Currently Clicking: Week #26

Each and every week (aside from the week I skipped last week....), I gather links of all of the places I have been perusing in the great, grand internet. There are plenty of people out there doing big things and small things. Some of these are practical, some are inspiring. This week I found some really cool new bibs for the kiddo. I clearly am thinking mostly with my stomach because most of the points below involve food or grocery shopping. I stumbled upon a couple of great home renovations and makeovers. I was reminded of how great it is when we print our photos and don't just keep everything digital all of the time....

1. As Marin grows older, her amount of drool increases because of the lovely process of teething. Here is an awesome monthly subscription, called Fresh BiB, that sends you adorable bandana bibs that are stylish, practical, and reversible! You have the option of a one time purchase or they can send you bibs monthly. I think this is awesome! It sure beats the normal bibs that she wears most of the time. These ones are adorable. 
2. Emily Henderson is a designer that I follow fairly regularly. Her family purchased a house and have been renovating it ever since. Here is a sneak peek of the house so far. I love her style. I love the colors. I love everything about this. 
3. I would like to make a point to cook more. That isn't always the easiest thing with a 7 month old in the house, but here are a few recipes that caught my eye this week. Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bowls. Baked Peaches with Cheesecake Filling. Homemade Pizza Bagels. Yum. 
4. I normally don't shop at Whole Foods, especially because my husbands works for King Soopers, but I am always interested in how people cook and prepare meals for the week and for what price. This is a great post on cooking for the week on $125.
5. Since I am clearly on a grocery and food kick, we purchased a Costco Membership from Living Social. Costco is coming to our town and I am stupidly excited about it for some reason. I have been researching ways to make Costco trips really work for us and our budget. Get the most bang for your buck at Costco. Shopping for real food at Costco. What to buy from Costco. I believe our store opens at the beginning of October. 
6.  A reminder for women everywhere. Let's stop torturing ourselves when it comes to food. Eating: A Manifesto. 
7. I love a good kitchen remodel/makeover. Here's one. Here's another. 
8. This is a great idea. I need to print more of our photos in general. It's a great way to capture all of the little moments that we capture with our cellphones, which nowadays, the cameras on our phones are pretty unreal .

Baby Marin: Week Thirty (7 Months!)

This week has been filled with early mornings and buckets of baby drool. There is a certain sense of change upon our lives in so many ways, big and small. I eagerly anticipate the time when Marin's first tooth surprises me one morning and I realize that all of her hard work and fussiness has paid off and created something. Pushed through. Defied the odds and finally presented itself into the world. I realize it is one little tooth, but she is fighting for it. I keep having to remind myself that we have to go through this for ALL of her teeth. Oh boy.

As of today, Marin is 7 months old. The newborn stage is very much behind us and every milestone reached brings us closer to her being a year old. It really isn't that far away, which is hard for me to grasp at this moment. The way that time moves and breathes in our lives completely changed when we had a child. I have to approach every day with so much selflessness, they are no longer my own. I have to be alright with that and it is definitely a learning experience. I applaud all of you parents with multiple children in tow. At this point in time, I just can't even fathom that. I know that time will probably come at some point down the road, but I wake everyday just trying to make sure I get dressed, get my work done, and raise a child in an environment that helps her grow and learn.

Within the week, we will be adding a nephew (a cousin for Marin) to this crazy mix and I can't wait. Having another baby around will help Marin grow even more and learn what sharing is all about. It truly takes a village to raise children and I am extremely thankful for the village that we have around us everyday. I just don't want to think about raising a family without them.

Also, baby pajamas are so great, especially ones with bears on the bum and feet. 

Week Thirty.

Live Simply. Keep Moving.

Pardon the goosebumps. My house is cold today...

I feel under the weather today. My nasal cavity seems to have been inhabited with way too much snot and feels like it’s being hit with a train every hour or so. 

We actually turned our heater on last night and that causes me to look forward to cooler weather. I am not one for hot weather. I sunburn within the first few minutes out in the open without sunscreen. I want to be able to wear jeans, boots, and scarves all year long. I used to pretty much do that in the northwest, give or take a few hot days. It was perfect. 

I want to not be sitting at this computer all day. Yet at the same time I do because I enjoy stuff like this. But, part of me wants to shut off my phone and every other technological thing in our home for a day or two per week. Could I even do that? 

I know I should go downstairs and workout because there is a sleeping baby next to me and that doesn’t always happen this way. My muscles feel tired. My body feels overwhelmed. Once I workout, I never regret it, but the process of actually doing so lately has become a bit of a battle. I want it to just be something that I do, without having to loathe it. I want to eat whole, life-giving foods instead of reaching for the box of crackers and a diet coke. I want what I put into my body to mean something. 

I desire to live with so much less than we do. I think that’s why people living in the Tiny Home Movement are so appealing to me. Do I think that is realistic for us? Not really, but I wish it was. But, we really do have too much stuff and I feel suffocated by it at times. I really don’t need new clothes. I have boxes of them under our bed that don’t fit at the moment but definitely could if I just worked harder at it. We have closets full of stuff that I haven’t touched in two years. We have more than enough. 

The irony of all of my ramblings today is that I have a phrase tattooed on my body that hits home and acts as a reminder to all of these things rumbling around inside of my soul. 

Live Simply. Keep Moving. 

Plain and simple. 

I am at the point in life where I need to move towards these goals: 

1. Eat whole foods. 
2. Move everyday. Whether it’s a workout video, free weights, or a walk with Marin. 
3. Step away from the computer, iPad, and Netflix more often than not. 
4. Get rid of stuff. Learn to live with less.
5. Create a natural beauty routine and stick to it. 
6. Fall back in love with our little home. 

Friday's ramblings....

Baby Marin: Week Twenty Nine

This week has been a whirlwind of craziness. Change is on our horizon and we are just trying to hold onto the moments of every day that matter the most. It has been raining nearly all week, which is fine but all of us. I just want to curl up at home with Marin and read Winnie the Pooh books all day. Marin has begun to army crawl and is sitting up even better than last week for longer periods of time. She loves playing peek-a-boo. I blink and we reach another milestone. 

Also, her little hoodie just kills me. 

Week Twenty Nine. 

(All photos this week were taking by Ryan.) 

Currently Clicking: Week #25

I am kind of shocked that I have been able to keep this up for 25 weeks. But here we go! 

Each and every week, I gather links of all of the places I have been perusing in the great, grand internet. There are plenty of people out there doing big things and small things. Some of these are practical, some are inspiring. This week I am still on the decluttering train in the physical sense and in the sense of how busy we are and life lessons we find along the way. I have stumbled across a great blog about motherhood. I am still researching the world of couponing and want to dabble in the idea of a capsule wardrobe. 

1. As we continue on the "getting rid of stuff" train, here are 7 tips to speed up the decluttering process. The one I need to hear the most: "Don't confuse intent with action." My closet would probably agree. 
2. I stumbled across a new collaborative blog about motherhood. I need to get my perspective checked every once in a while when it comes to parenthood. Raising a child is tough. Not completely losing it in the process is all part of it. This blog is full of real moms with real thoughts, real words. It's good that someone is saying it. It all needs to be said. 
3. I am not 37 years old yet, but these 5 Life Lessons in 37 Years is still poignant and relatable. 
4. I read a lot about couponing and have dabbled in a bit. Most of the time I don't. But, this is a great post about finding coupons for organic products. Not many people go down that road. Most of the time, they just help you get way too many cans of processed food that you don't really need 8 of anyway. 
5. I find this extremely fascinating: How to build a capsule wardrobe. I believe I posted about this before, but this blog really spells it out. I have so many clothes in my closet that I haven't worn for a very long time. This concept is refreshing to me. Granted, buying new clothes every season seems a little outlandish to me, but the idea is neat nonetheless. 
6. I needed to read these words. I thrive far too much on being overly busy. Why we humblebrag about being busy.  Our time is very precious and being too busy can distract us greatly from some really good things in life. 

The Everyday: Week Two

Our lives were filled with the welcoming of new life this week. We consumed cupcakes with mustaches on them. 

I was awake far too early, way too many times this week. Coffee is my companion. 

I've never felt the need to work on "Plan B" so much in my entire life. How's that for vague? 

(Stewie. Soon to be a big brother.) 

(Don't mess with my kid. She's tough) 

(Celebrating new life. A baby shower for my sister.) 

(Slowly but surely, I am working through this.) 

(Sometimes you just have to have toast with almond butter and apricot jam.) 

(Early Morning Fuel) 

Baby Marin: Week Twenty Eight

This week was the twenty eighth week of Marin's life so far. We also celebrated the coming arrival of her cousin, Gunnar.  He will be here before we know it and Marin will have a whole new perspective on life and sharing all of the attention. I'm excited for that because I think it will be great to have her around some other babies. She barely has experienced that so far. When the time comes for us to have another child at some point, Marin will need to learn how to be a sibling. 

She is nearly mobile. Baby gates will need to be purchased soon and cupboards will need to be secured. She isn't crawling yet but either rolls across the room in the blink of an eye or I've caught her doing an army scoot-crawl. The days of having a child that stays in one place are going to be behind us very soon. 

She tried peas this week and isn't a huge fan. She gets so excited to sit down and eat, hopes it bananas, and then realizes that peas are what's for dinner and makes the funniest faces of disgust. Her face is like, "Mom, are you trying to torture me? Gross!" We are working on the whole loving vegetables thing. It is taking some time. 

She had her 6 month check up last week. She weighs just shy of 14 lb. and is 25" long. The pediatrician stated that she is a little petite but that it is nothing to worry about. She also predicts that Marin will be somewhere around 5'7", which is crazy to think about. Marin as a grown adult. I don't even want to take my mind in that direction yet, she is still our little baby for now. 

We also bought a jogging stroller off of Craigslist and I've really enjoyed taking her out in it. It is good to get out of the house more often when our days are just us together. I can get kind of stuck between the naps, feedings, and diaper changes. Fresh air does us both a lot of good. 

Week 28.