May 9, 2013

mornings, lately


as i near the end of my pregnancy, i find that my priorities are often in contention. what i want to be doing and what i should be doing and what i can be doing are often in tension.

i want to work as hard as i can for as long as i can so that my time off will be gloriously guilt free.
i want to play and enjoy every last second with cruz as my only child.
i want to wash and fold and prep teeny tiny baby clothes.
i want to scour every inch of my house for every last speck of dust.
i want to take two naps a day.

do you see what i'm up against? (as i'm sitting at the kitchen table writing this, cruz is running around the living room hollering, "mommy needs a to-do list!" so now you can see that things have really gotten out of control around here)

sometimes you just have to find a plan, and sometimes that plan is ann voskamp, who is smart and articulate and because she has like six kids and lives on the canadian prairie, i usually trust her.

ann says to start your say with word in, work out, work plan.
so that's what i do with my mornings, lately.

word in.
this is not your glamorous devotion time. there is no cup of tea. i do not write in a cute journal while watching in the sunrise from my back patio. there are hardly any deep thoughts. there is me in my bed, struggling through the book of hosea. i fight off sleep as i pray prayers that mostly sound like "thank you" and "help."

work out. 
at least three mornings a week i like to start the day with prenatal pilates. i tell cruz that we're going to "work out with robin" and he immediately starts chanting, "and exhale! and exhale!" he gets it. i have really been loving robin's prenatal program and credit her workouts with how good i've been feeling since i began it. at 36 weeks pregnant with cruz, i had my feet up all day long and my back ached. comparatively, i feel amazing. doing prenatal pilates has been such a positive, healthy component of my pregnancy, i just can't recommend it enough. (you can find out more about robin's balanced beginnings program here)
this is how cruz does pilates. this is a leg left. 
work plan.
finally, as i eat my breakfast, i make my to-do list for the day. i think about work, about cruz, the house, and what we need to do next for baby girl. it gives me a little bit of control and helps to put my priorities in place. i could still do with another six hours in the day (and the energy to get through them all), but it's slowly getting done.

so that's us, lately. trying to find a little sanity and routine in the midst of a busy season.

May 7, 2013

how we get ready for a baby

less than thirty days until my due date, and we're kicking this getting-ready-for-baby thing into gear. here's how we get ready for a baby:

+ we wash everything. clothes, bouncy seats, car seat covers, and i even figured out how to soak the pack-n-play mattress. i have a deep cleaning schedule for the next thirty days. every week i take bags and bags and bags to goodwill. each swipe of dust seems to whisper, baby is coming, baby is coming. 

+ we assemble. swings, bouncy seats, closet organizers, mobiles.

+ we cook. during the week i double recipes and half gets frozen. i feel like a pioneer woman, storing up food for the winter.

+ we download apps. labor positions, contraction timers, checklists.

+ we relax. i breathe and picture my happy places during contractions. i do pilates. i listen to affirmations. i say no to some obligations so that i can say yes to my family.

+ we don't sleep. well, this one is just me. i creep downstairs at 3am. i eat a snack. i watch the west wing.

+ we cherish. last moments with an only child. last weeks of pregnancy, baby bum bumping up against my ribs. the last days of stretchy pants.

May 2, 2013

what {we} wore on wednesday

yesterday my prima asked me where all the wednesday posts had gone. "i've lost the will to get dressed!" i told her. and then i walked out of my house and accidentally met my new neighbor while wearing my maternity leggings and one of tovi's t-shirts.

so. cute.

time to regain the will to dress! thais, this post is for you.

cruz was up and at 'em today, excited to wear his new shirt. this kid is looking older and older every time i turn around! we took these pictures after his nap and on our way downstairs for our afternoon 'abenture.' obviously, big lion came along too.
i wanted to grab some jammie pics as well, but bedtime found him in the throes of a meltdown. it's tough being two! sometimes his nos mean yes and his yeses mean no. my little softy heart wants to calm all his tears and solve the problem by giving in, but fortunately tovi is alongside me to help me be consistent! so anyhow... no pictures of jams.
+ + +
dress that bump!
+ my favorite outfit of this bunch is the navy blazer, striped tank, red pants combo. i liked it so much that i wore it two days in a row. not even sad about it. 
+ i'm getting to the stage where people on the street say things like, "whoa!" when they see me coming. and by people, i mostly mean men. are men really this baffled by pregnancy? imma let you in on a secret: we get big.
+ last night we took a tour of the new maternity wing at the hospital. first off, it is gorgeous like a hotel. i'm looking forward to our stay! i found myself with tears in my eyes as we walked through the doors. it really hit me that our little miss is coming in just a few weeks, and that i have the profound privilege of laboring her into the world. 

just a few more weeks until there are two wednesday babes!





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