pregnancy essentials

This post is terribly late, given the fact that my due date has come and gone.  Our little baby boy is still not here and each day I have been praying for loving patience.  Each little nudge of pain sends my mind into a dizzy and I instantly think, "Is this it?".   And then I wonder if I'm really having a contraction, to then realize that I'm not, and the vicious cycle starts all over again.  So I trust what everyone says…you'll know when you are having a contraction and when it is time.  More to come on that later!  

For now, I wanted to share some things that I could not live without during my pregnancy.  This pregnancy has been quite lovely, and I tried really hard throughout the entire time to not spend a ton of money.  Maternity clothes are always a must, as well as prenatal vitamins, but these are some more essentials that definitely made my pregnancy much more comfortable and amazing! 

{1} The Leachco Snoogle total body pillow is, without a doubt, the most amazing invention EVER!  Over the summer I had some insomnia problems, and we decided to break down and spend the money on the pillow.  At first the Mr. wasn't too keen on our new bed addition, but once he experienced the amazingness of this pillow he was sold.  Now he lives for my alarm to go off in the mornings so that he can snuggle with it.

{2} Bio Oil was applied religiously during the first trimester and halfway through the second.  Since then I have been pretty bad at applying it, and accepted the fact that stretch marks will come no matter how often you apply all of your creams.  I'm not a huge lotion fan, so this oil was what I opted for.  It rubs in quickly and leaves your skin feeling amazing!

{3} These Target tanks are my staple!  They're long and have the perfect thickness, plus they don't lose their shape after you've washed them a million times.

{4} Hydration is key during pregnancy, and my Nalgene water bottle goes everywhere with me!  I love this water bottle, specifically, because it holds the perfect amount and I try to drink 2 of these a day at a minimum.

{5} Snacks are a must, especially when I'm on the go a ton.  Kind Bars are my favorite snack, and they don't get all smooshed in my purse or work bag by the end of the day.  The protein definitely keeps me full until my next meal.  During my first trimester I had to have something in my stomach all the time in order to not feel sick, and these helped big time!

{6} Leggings are a must!  I was never much of a legging gal, call it my insecurity about my things (that's the truth).  Pregnancy changed that, especially now that my belly is huge.  At first I bought a pair from H&M maternity.  Those quickly thinned and I ended up with two holes in them even though I didn't snag them on anything.  Needless to say, I was not impressed with their overall quality.  Then I found these from Old Navy.  I love that they are full length, not capris, and they have the perfect thickness to make me feel covered up.  When I would get home from work, I immediately put on my leggings and on the Mr's shirts.

{7} Drinking water has never been an issue for me because I don't like juice or iced tea or soda.  But not being able to drink wine made me feel like water was my only option, so it got old-fast!  Iced lemonade quickly became my new favorite drink, especially during the summer time.  I still watched how much I drank because of the sugar.

Pregnancy Essentials by lafuze-jamie featuring beauty products

our largest purchase yet

{via}

Have you ever been in a season where you had no idea how on earth things would go?  This summer was a tumultuous season for us as we were thrown into house-hunting head first.  We weren't necessarily ready to buy a house, and so it made us scared, fearful, but we knew the only thing we could do was pray.  

My mom owns the quant condo we have lived in for the last four years.  It's perfect for us.  Two bedrooms, two baths...we've made it our own.  When my mom decided that she wanted to sell this summer we knew it would be coming, but we just weren't quite ready.  And let me tell you, houses in San Diego are ridiculous!  In our price range, the houses were tiny, old, and desperately in need of lots of love-which we knew just wasn't what we were ready to do.  

So we started looking in Temecula, a town about 45 minutes north of us.  And we decided we were ready to take the plunge, move farther away, and trust that God would provide us jobs, friends, and community up there.  The more we looked, the more we really thought we were going to buy a house.  And then things started crumbling.  Between houses being bought faster than you could blink, neighborhood disagreements, and the realization that our commute until we find jobs up there would be miserable.  Plus, we are having a baby in just a few months and are blessed to live so close to family.  Why would we move away from that?  

God opened a door, and we decided to purchase our current condo from my mom!  We wouldn't have to move.  We would be able to establish ourselves here, in this house, and invest in it.  We could build a community in our town, which we love with all of our heart.  And as soon as the thought came to our minds, and we started discussing all of the positive points, it was as if the black glooomy clouds that had been following us all summer long had lifted.  

What I struggled with was that we said we wanted to be open to where God wanted us, meaning God take us away, we're okay with that, and we will trust you in faith.  And now that we don't have to move, I feared that we weren't trusting God, going out on a limb for Him, living boldly.  And then I realized that sometimes God wants you right where you are.  He has other plans for us, and has blessed us abundantly with our family close by.  Plus, He also knows how much we can handle, and I'm pretty sure God saw me unraveling under the stress and anxiety of finding a house, moving right when work started back up, and be pregnant all the while.  

And so with that we began the crazy amount of paperwork that is involved, we started planning out what we will do to our lovely abode to fix it up a bit and make it ours, and we started melting into one another as we realized we are buying or first house.  It may not be a huge house, but I'm embracing living small and living simply.  And this condo is perfect for us right now.  

We are officially in escrow and would truly appreciate your prayers that everything continues to go smoothly! 

it's ok

The past two months, my closet has looked like this...

And our bathroom is beginning to look like this...

And I've tried to say, "It's okay, it will be done soon, it doesn't matter that I can't find any of my clothes because it's all good."  But there comes a time when I just can't say it anymore. 

Let me back up just a bit.  A little over two months ago we noticed water damage in the walls of our master bedroom closet.  After several visits from various plumbers, contracts, inspectors (we basically were an open house) the conclusion was that the tub was leaking underneath itself and into the walls.  Fast forward a week later, and everything that was in our closet and bathroom had to be out.  We tried doing this in an organized fashion, but then we gave up and resorted to throwing everything onto our guest bedroom bed.  Our bedroom was turned into a scene from ET with plastic drapes sealing off the bathroom, men walked around in white jump suits, and huge fans blew for a week to soak up the walls.  Then the construction started, and then it didn't start, and then it started slowly...and after 5 agonizingly painful weeks, it is finally done!

Our guest bedroom looks like a bomb went off in it, I can't find my red jeans for the life of me, and there is dust everywhere.  This has been my life for the past two months.  Amidst comp exams, writing report cards, finishing my thesis, there has been chaos at home.  And somewhere along the road I became someone who couldn't function until the house was clean.  Well, I had to learn to function and learn how to keep parts of our condo clean that I could in order to feel some sort of balance.  

Whenever friends would come over I would preface their visit with, "we are still under construction and the place is a mess, but we love you so come on over."  My mom, oh my lovely mom, told me the other day, "They are coming over to see YOU, not your HOUSE".  And I feel like this needs to be something I memorize and say over and over again.  Because when people do come over I feel like our place has to be perfect, spotless, and I suddenly turn into Betty Homemaker.  Well, I feel like it's worth saying that this is an expectation I need to let go of.  There will be other trials that we go through that will cause our house to be total chaos again.  When we have kids I know that I will have to learn to live with the house in the state it is in, 

I can't control everything and the people that love me, really love me, will accept my messy house, my unwashed dishes, my stacks of clean folded laundry, and they will continue to love me because I'm not perfect. 

happy organized home

I'm pretty good at some things.  Making the bed.  Cooking scrumptious meals.  Crying at the right moments in sappy movies.  

And then there are things that I'm not so good at.  One of these is organizing my home.  For some reason I just don't have a knack for it, so one of my goals this summer was to better organize our house.    We also have a large armor in our room that was left by our previous tenant that we finally decided we need to get rid of, but it houses all of our towels, linens, candles, and socks.  (Random, I know!)  Knowing that we hopefully will have it off our hands soon made me realize I need to figure out where to put all of those things!!! 

I thought we could put them above our washer and dryer, but there just isn't enough room so I made a trip to the Container Store.  (Side note: The Container Store and I are just now becoming friends.  Whenever I would try to go I would just get so overwhelmed, then I'd buy something that I thought would be amazing and never knew where to put it.)  Luckily, I found three large bins that were on sale!  I went home and got busy.  

I'm a terrible blogger and forgot to take a before picture.  But through the process of cleaning our and organizing the armor and all of its items we filled three full bags of clothes and linens to take to Goodwill.  All of our beach towels, candles, and linens are in those bad buys in the top of our closet.  I put the sheets and pillow cases in clear plastic boxes that will keep them from getting dusty.  It was the best purchase ever made! Our closet is still an area I'm trying to organize, but for now it does the job well. 

One of my finds was a three-compartment organizer for my bathroom drawer.  Again, there's no before picture, but I wish there was!  I was just on a roll and it complete skipped my drain.  This drawer of mine was out of control!  I cleaned it out and organized all of my hair ties, headbands, and makeup that I use on a daily basis.  All of my brushes are in a cup under the sink.  

All of my make-up that I have but don't wear regularly is inside a bin under our sink.  I've now fallen head over heels with the Container Store and feel much better about my organization skills.  

my summer bucket list

Happy 1st 2nd day of summer!  

I don't think I can fully express how happy I am that summer is finally here, school is over, and my last assignments are done to clear my teaching credential.  I spent yesterday completed lounging, and I even took a nap!  A fancy nap at that: my co-workers call naps that are in bed "fancy naps".  

Now that summer is finally here I can't wait to start on my summer bucket list.  There are many projects I can't wait to start, but I really want this summer to be about relaxing, focusing on God, and just feeling happy.  

Without further ado, my bucket list:

-juice/make a smoothie at least once a day

-go to the beach once a week, either in the morning for quiet time or for fun in the sun

-read three books

-organize our bedroom closet

-finally finish our photo collage

-make some decorative pillows for our living room

-organize the laundry room

-go to breakfast/coffee with the Mr. once a week

-have weekly date nights

-have a picnic at the beach

-try a cupcake from here!

-have brunch at Tower 23 and soak in all of the amazing views

And now the projects:

Source: imperfectlypolished.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I finally organized all of our baking goods and bulk items into nice glass jars thanks to Ikea.  Now I can't wait to make these adorable labels for all of them!  I'm crossing my fingers I will finally be able to tell my flours apart.

Source: thepaintedhive.blogspot.com via Jamie on Pinterest

There is a pile of old shirts next to my dresser that I keep wanting to give to Good Will but am saving them for these...

Source: makeit-loveit.com via Jamie on Pinterest

And last, but not least, this summer I'm going to paint our dining room table.  We have such an old and gross table, but I love the color of these chairs and they will match the color scheme I'm trying to have in our condo.  I'm debating on painting the table white or staining it dark brown or black...or looking on craigslist for a slightly bigger table.  

Source: betterafter.blogspot.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I can't wait to share with you how I'm doing on my bucket list!