The Hospital Bag Part I

This post feels a little premature but I'm going to write it anyway. Today at my doctor appointment my Doctor gave me all the information I needed to get started on my pre admission paper work. I can not believe that it's time to do that already. I'll be getting that started on Thursday when I go back for my NST (non-stress test). Being at the hospital two to three times a week is a lot but at least it keeps me on top of what I should be getting done.

After leaving my appointment I figured now was as good as time as any to start thinking about packing my bag for the hospital. What do I want to take? What did I take last time that I never used? That kind of thing. Right off the bat I remember packing makeup and never using it after I delivered Savannah. From what it looks like, there's no WiFi (where they do that at?) in the Labor & Delivery/Mother & Baby wing of the hospital. So unless I bring my own WiFi there's no need to bring a laptop. 

I don't know maybe I'm more a Low Maintenance Mama than I thought, but I just didn't use a lot of the recommended items that most lists have. I used the hospital gowns and the hospital mesh panties that they provided. I had previously read about how messy your own gown could get and I didn't see the point in buying one for the purpose of sitting in a hospital bed. I had also read that the mesh panties that they provide were more comfortable than regular panties if you're having a c-section. Since I'm a c-section Mama I figured I'd give their panties a try and bring some of my own just in case I didn't like the ones they provided. I have to say, they mesh panties were great right after surgery. I was very comfortable.

Here is a pin I found that has a pretty basic list of what I think is necessary for your trip to the hospital. I'll post my actual list with pics when I pack my bag. Was there anything you took to the hospital that you didn't use? What's an item that you're glad you had with you?

*The description on this pin was written by the original pinner.*

Second Baby Syndrome

Have y'all heard of second baby syndrome? Supposedly it's when you're more carefree about your second baby than you were with your first. It's like you've been there and done that so you don't stress as much. Well. By now you have probably figured out that I am a crazy planner. Let me tell you there is nothing more crazy than a planner that has nothing to plan, haha!!

I keep having this feeling that I should be doing something to prepare for the baby. Don't get me wrong there is some work to be done but it's nothing huge. There's no shower to get ready for, no extensive baby gear research to be done and no books to read. I mean. I guess I could read a book about siblings or having baby number two but honestly I don't have time for that. Google is quicker and cheaper. Not to mention Pinterest probably has every tip and trick known to parents by now.

I just have the weirdest feeling that I'm not doing enough to prepare for my baby boy. I know it's all in my head but I can't help it, haha! The only thing that I still need to do is buy his crib and mattress. Other than that I literally have nothing to do but wait for him. I guess it's a good thing though. Between all my check-ups and appointments (and dance rehearsal and play dates) I don't have time to do much of anything. I'm surprised I even find time to still write this blog. 

Am I crazy? I know I sound crazy! Did anyone else have second baby syndrome or go through this crazy feeling when they were pregnant with number two?

What Do Women Want?

This is a post that's been on my mind for a while. I've been having a lot of conversations with the women in my life about what life is really about. What makes us feel accomplished and complete? What makes us satisfied? I didn't interview anyone in particular for this but the consensus that I've been hearing from everyone is peace of mind and better relationships. 

We as women want to be proud of our decisions. Women want to be happy individuals first so that we can fulfill all of our other roles. I always imagined that as a woman I would be a triple threat. I always thought that that's what success would look like. Having a banging nine to five with a well paying salary and Olivia Pope wardrobe and still being able to cook for my family every night and make it to every practice, game or recital that my children have. That's what I thought success was when I was a young twenty something. Now I realize that success is so much more than that. In fact, it's so much simpler than that. 

Success to me is knowing that I am truly doing my best. It's treating people the way I would like to be treated. Success is knowing in my heart of hearts that I am not the perfect wife or the perfect mother. There is a certain freedom that comes with accepting that in which you can not change about yourself. I will always be a neat freak type A planner who's anxious about more than I need to be. There is success in just knowing and accepting.

For me, success also gained a new meaning when I became a stay at home Mom. I no longer attach success to commissions or where my name is on a list with other sales people. These days I feel most successful when I am able to be at peace within my mind. As a woman I feel like we worry about so much. We worry about our kids, our independence, the way we look, how we're perceived and the list goes on. When I gave up the idea that the being the triple threat wasn't the only key to success as a woman I felt so empowered. 

I no longer feel "less than" the next twenty something for not working. We all have our own ideas about what makes us feel whole and at peace with ourselves. Some women can't get that feeling without having a successful relationship. Some women can't get that feeling without being on the fast track in their career. Some women can't get that feeling without being a Mom. Some women can't get that feeling without being the "perfect" size. Whatever your idea of success is my hope for you is that you find it. There is such a great relaxing peace that comes with it. 

I have come to a place where I truly accept that every day is not going to be perfect. I will face my share of disappointments and tough times. It's all okay and things will always get better. They always do. Worrying doesn't do much for the aging process so I've decided to give it up and just let go.

What do you think we as women want? What is success to you?

My Toddler is Public Friendly

Remember when I did that guest post for Baby Teems about my toddler being "public friendly"? Well. I must say that I am amazed at how well she did today at the hospital. I went in for my non-stress test at 10:45am. In the waiting room she colored on the back of a receipt that I had in my purse with some colored pencils. I always have colored pencils or crayons in my purse. 

Once we were called back I immediately got her situated in her chair with her portable DVD player. This morning before leaving the house I had her pick out three DVDs. I told her that she could watch them once while Mommy talked to the doctor. I think setting up the expectation and letting her know how the day is going to go helps. People always say that kids don't understand but I disagree. If I tell her we're going to be at the doctor's office and she's going to watch movies and sit still while we're there she get's it.

After my non-stress test I had to get an ultrasound and we had to go by the pharmacy. Luckily, all of this is in the hospital. It was 2:00pm when we left. She started to get a little antsy towards the end but that's to be expected. After all, she is two. I was so proud of her. Being prepared with activities will always make long days out easier. We got back on Thursday and the only thing I plan to do differently is pack an extra snack for the both of us. :-)

Chic Link Up: Sunday Social

1. What is your shopping weakness?

Right now my weakness is baby clothes and hair products. I am on a mission to try every product by Cantu. :-)

2. What is your food weakness?

My food weakness would have to be Mexican food and really good Chinese food. I could probably eat Chinese almost everyday if it's really good.

3. What is your go to movie to watch when nothing is on?

I have a few... Coming To America, Think Like a Man, The Notebook, Hope Floats, It's Complicated and No Reservations.

4. What is your go to breakfast food?

My go to breakfast is a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. So easy and fast!

5. Do you drink coffee? If so, how do you take it?

Nope, I'm not a coffee drinker but a BIG weakness of mine is an ice cold Coca-Cola. 

What are some of your weaknesses?

Baby Update & Breastfeeding

This past weekend flew by. I can't even remember what we did. I remember going to church and that's about it. I went in to see the doctor today and I am happy to share that everything is going well with the baby. My blood pressure is still high (it stayed high through out my entire pregnancy with Savannah), but I passed all the screenings for pre eclampsia so no worries there. :-) 

I have reached that point in my pregnancy where they start administering the "non-stress" tests. The "non-stress" test is a test they give to monitor the baby's heart rate and movement. I'll be going in twice a week for my tests until I deliver. They'll plug me up to a machine and I'll just lye there for about thirty minutes to an hour. I did the same thing with Savannah. This let's me know that the end is near. I can not believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by. So crazy.

Which brings me back to thinking about breastfeeding preparation. I've been pulling out all of my old books and resources to give myself a refresher on how things go and best practices. Since I really want to try to increase my milk supply this time I've been focusing on learning more about how to achieve that. If it doesn't happen that's okay too. Savannah never had a supply of milk in the freezer but I would love to try to have a few bottles this time around so that my husband can help more. I was able to find a good one sheeter on increasing your milk supply on pinterest. 

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Fenugreek never worked for me while I was pregnant with Sav. This time I am going to try the infamous Mother's Milk tea and Raspberry Leaf tea. Raspberry Leaf tea was actually recommended to me by a lady at church. I am hoping that the teas and a healthy diet will be the key for me. Anyone have suggestions for me that really worked for you? Anything that I can start doing now (other than drinking lots of water)?

Maternity Style: My Nicole Richie Moment

While I was doing a little pinning on Pinterest I noticed that a pin of mine had been re-pinned that featured Nicole Richie's maternity style. I don't even remember pinning it but it's a cute outfit. Then I realized that I wore something very similar to her look just last weekend.

We attended a birthday party for our little cousin. I wasn't sure what to wear but I wanted to be comfortable and cute. Since it was pretty warm that day (and because it was a family) event I didn't over do it on my makeup and my hair was in a ponytail. Other than that I may have hit Nicole's outfit almost dead on. What do you think?

                                                                     Source: ivillage.com via The Chic Stay at Home Mom on Pinterest

Dress and Mesh Cardigan: Express
Leopard Flats: American Eagle, Payless

And here's a pic of what I looked like before I ate all those hot dogs and ran around after Savannah...

See. Very little makeup but at least my red lips were doing a little something!

H-E-B Little Texans Tour

I am so pleased to announce that I have been asked to be a guest speaker during the HEB Little Texans Tour. The tour will take place at several of the HEB locations throughout the San Antonio area and Sea World. There will be product demonstrations, exclusive discounts, activities for kids and of course guest speakers! Sounds fun, right?

I will be apart of the following tour dates:

May 5, 2013 - HEB
May 6, 2013 - HEB
May 8, 2013 - HEB
May 11, 2013 - Sea World

Please check the HEB  site for the addresses for the dates I provided. I would love to meet some of my readers! Thank you again to everyone who supports this blog. It has always been my dream to stay at home with my kids but still do meaningful work. I am beyond appreciative that doors have been opening for me. I am a living example that living in your purpose and having faith will indeed move mountains. Have a great weekend every one! I may get a style post up tomorrow so please check back! 

Thought Bubbles...

This San Antonio weather is going to drive me crazy. One day it's ninety degrees and the next day it's chilly and rainy. Ugh...

I just asked my daughter what she was doing and she said, "Cutting up chicken." She's playing with beads and a recorder. Talk about imagination...

I have got to make my way back to this mexican restaurant we ate at a couple weeks ago. It was delicious and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it...

My daughter's dance class has a "Piglet" theme for their Spring recital. All the Moms were talking about making bows or pig ears. I thought I told them during the Winter recital that I wasn't crafty. I'm not even going to pretend to be crafty when I can just buy something. I know my lane and I stay in it...

If you have never had the pleasure of eating at the following places you are missing out. Cosi, Souper Salad, PotBelly and Sweet Green. All places with amazing salads and y'all know how much I love my salads...

Contemplating doing a maternity photo shoot. I didn't do one during my first pregnancy. I already have a dress but I haven't made up my mind about a photo shoot though. That's kind of backwards, right...

Today I wore one of my husband's shirts because it was raining and his tee shirts just fit so good these days. I texted him to let him know I was wearing it and he said I was going to "stretch" out his shirt. Funny but rude...

I hate that Smash (the NBC show) got moved to Saturday nights. I didn't even know people watched anything other movies and reruns on Saturdays. That show is probably about to get cancelled. Saturdays is where good shows go to die. RIP Smash...

As a Mary Kay drop out I can not say enough good things about the Velocity cleanser. It has done wonders for my pregnancy acne...

I started calling preschools to learn about tuition and registration. Some of the prices were cut-ray-zee. How do these people sleep at night...

I don't know if I'm scared or proud. Probably both...

Cleaning House

Sorry the posts have been so spaced out. We have been so busy and when I do have free time I have been choosing to rest. Since I've been trying to focus on preparing us for the new baby I thought it would be good to finally cave and look for an actual cleaning schedule. *deep sigh* I am a self proclaimed clean freak. Things have to be clean or at least in place. I can not function when the house is messy. I literally shut things down until things get clean again. 

Normally I like to do what we call "Power Hours" of cleaning. Lately due to my lack of energy those power hours have turned into power days. I'll just pick a day during the week and go hard all day. Cleaning every thing from top to bottom. That's exhausting so I figured looking for a real schedule to use as a guide would be helpful. With a new baby coming there's no time like the present to get into a new way of keeping things tidy around here. From time to time I'll read something on social media or hear a woman say, "You know you're doing a good job as a Mom when your floors are dirty." Maybe that's not the exact quote but you know what phrase I'm talking about. I just can't get with that. 

This is the quote...

I'll be the Mom that's secretly going crazy and not totally present with my kids because things are out of order. Call me crazy. (It's ok you wouldn't be the first.) But I have always been this way. It's how I was raised. I would much rather give up something else to be labeled as a good Mom. A clean house does not make me a good Mom but it does make me a lot nicer to be around. I'm not saying things have to be perfectly spotless but I am saying that at least one of the two levels of clean have to be achieved. So here is the pin that I found that will be helping me. It's my new strategy to keep myself sane around here. 

Pinterest

Seems pretty reasonable. How do you all keep things tidy on a schedule? Share your tips in the comments! 

Chic Obsessions: Pregnancy Survival Kit

It's a thunderstorm rainy day here in San Antonio. I for one am glad to see some rain and cooler temps. We went to dance this morning and then out to run a couple errands before coming home. Savannah's dance class will be dancing to a song from the Winnie the Pooh soundtrack. They will be dressed as little Piglets. That should be cute. Once we were home I tossed some chicken breasts, beer and BBQ sauce in the crock pot for dinner. Super easy and fast. We'll have pulled chicken sandwiches with roasted mustard potatoes. I saw the recipe on Mimi's blog,  Lipgloss and Binky, and thought I would try it. 

Anyway. I digress. Last night I was thinking about how fast this pregnancy has seemed to fly by. I have exactly twelve weeks left. So exciting. I thought this would be a nice time to share some of the products that I have used during this pregnancy to help with some of the common pregnancy issues. This post is not sponsored and I have not been compensated to share these products. I just wanted to share what works for me in the hope that it would work for you as well. We're girls, right? If I'd recommend it to my bestie I'd recommend it to you too! Here we go... 

Lemon Heads. A morning sickness lifesaver.

Remember how bad my morning sickness was? It lasted forever it seems.

Everyone's body responds to pregnancy differently. I know stretch marks are said to be hereditary and that there's nothing you can do about them. When I was pregnant with Savannah I thought I would try to beat my odds and lather up twice a day. I read somewhere that keeping your skin moisturized helps. I used the the Palmer's Cocoa Butter line during both pregnancies and loved it. So far no stretch marks, but I do notice that I'm getting cellulite so trust me I'm not getting off that easy. :-)

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Love this lotion by Neutrogena too.

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My skin went through a lot of different changes during this pregnancy. It went from being extremely dry to acne prone. My acne is finally starting to clear up again. I found two different skin care lines to treat my issues. During the dry stages I used the Burt's Bees Intense Hydration line and Mary Kay's Velocity line for my acne. They both have worked wonders. 

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This BB cream has an SPF and it provides a slight bit of coverage. It makes getting ready to go so much easier. A little BB cream, mascara and blush or bronzer and I am done!

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 I discovered the Be Band during my first pregnancy when my pants no longer buttoned. This was a great way to still wear some of my jeans before investing in maternity clothes. 

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Those are all of the items I could think of for now. I also thought it would be fun to share some of the meals I've eaten recently. I live for grits, eggs and bacon for breakfast. A yummy "kitchen sink" salad covered in Thousand Island dressing is always good and the last pic is of our Easter dinner, delicious!!

Mac n Cheese, Mustard Greens, Rice and Ribs

What"s in your pregnancy survival kit? 

Chic Mom Spotlight: Tiffany of Pink Pearl Couture

I am so excited to be sharing the today's blog post with Tiffany, the owner of Pink Pearl Couture online boutique and an up and coming life coach. Supporting other women and their success is very important. Tiffany is a married Mom of three who works full time during the day and builds her empire at night. My kind of girl! Please check out her boutique (her stuff is SUPER cute and affordable) and blog. I'll be featuring one of her items in a style post soon! 

How did you get the idea for Pink Pearl Couture?

When I was in college, I use to sell shoes from my car and apartment.  I was just trying to make ends meet, on the broke college budget we all know about.  I grew to love the entrepreneurship and independence I had of making my own rules, doing it on my own time, and being in charge.  I also love fashion, and “What not to Wear” is my all-time favorite show!!!! After graduation, I also graduated my business, selling both shoes and handbags, but I was still pretty much selling them from my car and apartment. Technology has changed tremendously since 2006, and the ease of making your own website, social media, and with the things I learned, I decided to start my own online boutique (and I still occasionally sell items from my car and home, lol).   I have now graduated to vendor opportunities and my own personal Pink Pearl Couture pop up shops as well as my own personal website. 

What are some of your favorite fashion trends for spring?

I love the bright colors.  Neons, Brights, Corals…LOVE THEM!!!  It seems funny for me to say this, coming from a girl who use to have an all-black section in my closet (lol)…I also love the peplum style tops.  These tops are great for moms because they hide the extra belly fat we’ve acquired from carrying children for nine months.  I have three, so my pouch is growing more and more each birth.  I also am totally in love with the flowy sheer tops.  I am a little self-conscious about my belly and these help me be stylish without having to make sure I am sucking in every 5 seconds. 

You recently started blogging about your new venture as a life coach. Tell me a little bit about that.

I currently work in social services as a social worker, which lead me to get a Master’s degree in counseling.  In May I will be graduating with a M.A degree in Marriage and Family Counseling.  Counseling happens to be the other side of me (outside of fashion) that I really connect with.  I love helping people.  I am the friend that everyone calls for advice, and for ideas, as far back as I can remember, so counseling is who I am.  There is no better way for me to express myself than to do something I truly love. 

How do you manage to balance being a wife, Mom and career woman?

At this time I am taking it one day at a time.  As a wife, I make sure I spend quality time with my husband.  As a marriage and family counselor, I know that if I make sure we are intimate (not sexually, but close, best friends), make sure we keep our romance going (this is sexual…lol), and make sure we compromise, and for those spiritual people, remember to keep God first, things will work out.  As a mom, I make sure I put my children as a top priority. I typically try to only work on “business” things if my children are asleep or in school.  My top priorities are my children, and making sure they are taken care of.  The business me is an asset I am using to make sure this priority is accomplished.  In order to keep yourself sane, you must set priorities and I decided to not allow outside distractions and other people’s expectations pull you away from what is important to you and your family. 

What advice would you give to a new Mom?

New Moms!!  I would first let you know that the first year or two are definitely the most difficult.  I have a six year old, a four year old, and an eighteen month old.  I would say try focusing on the good things about your child, when they laugh or give you that gummy smile after keeping you up all night.  And remember to breathe and take one day at a time.  Parenting is not a race or competition… so do your best, and ask God to fill in the blanks in all your shortcomings.