16 weeks/ blog changes

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I hate scales

Maternity Clothes: nope

Stretch marks? No new ones

Sleep: eh could be better

Best moment this week: getting over this virus 

Have you told family and friends: yes

Movement: not as much since I've been sick 

Food cravings: nothing!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Everything!

Have you started to show yet: weirdest bump ever. So no not today

Labor Signs: no

Belly Button in or out? Inny

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: moody!

Looking forward to: hopefully feeling stronger movements

So pregnancy makes me quite indecisive at times.  After trying the pregnancy update/ post on Wednesday but then changing weeks on Fridays I don't like it. So hopefully this will be the last change but, Fridays will be updates and Wednesdays are for writing will be back in action starting next week! Hope your all excited!! 

XO

Leah

Week 15/Mommy Wars

How far along? 15weeks (picture at 15w4d)
Total weight gain/loss: probably lost more with this virus
Maternity Clothes: not at this particular second lol
Stretch marks? All named hannah
Sleep: none but not pregnancy related
Best moment this week: closers to the halfway mark
Have you told family and friends: yes
Movement: yes but not as much now that I'm sick.
Food cravings: fruit fruit fruit
Anything making you queasy or sick? Everything sweet
Have you started to show yet: I'd hope so lol
Labor Signs: no
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On. Just found my fake wedding ring though
Happy or Moody most of the time: moody
Looking forward to: feeling bigger movements

Mommy wars:
I've heard about this before especially since having hannah but I never in a million years thought I would be in the middle of it.
So what excatly happened well I was told since I had a c section I never gave birth to hannah making me not a "real mom" my mouth dropped. So even though I carried hannah for 9 months, gave up my body to make sure she was safe, and ate foods I hated, none of that made me a mom but the way she entered the world did? You have got to be kidding me. The whole conversation started when I stated in a mom's group that even though I want a VBAC I may schedule a repeat c section after doing research, even though my mind will change a million times in the coming months. I was asked if I ever saw a c section. And yes I did. I watched videos prior to giving birth. Than I asked if I saw my c section. Um quite honestly I was a little to busy to watch and then that's when the statement that caused this blog came about. Was I hoping for Hannah to enter the world the way babies have before yes, but sometimes emergencies happen and I opted to do what would be the safest at that time for me and my daughter.
I hate the mommy wars honestly like it needs to end. Mom's need to do what's best for their child without being judged. Being a mom can be such a scary time in a woman's life and she needs support instead of being told she's doing something wrong. Some women can't give birth the way our ancestors did, some woman can't produce enough milk to nurse their babes, some women can't get the hang of baby wearing. It does not make anyone less of a mom or more superior of a mom because she can. We're all moms, we're all trying to stay sane while raising these tiny humans and we all need to support and lift each other up.
If your a mom who had a c section I salute you for going through major surgery to bring your child into the world.
If your a mom who gave birth the way our ancestors did I salute you for having the strength to push a baby out of your body.
If your a mom who nurses I salute you for making sure your baby is fed
If your a mom who formula feeds I salute you for also making sure your baby is fed
If your a mom I salute YOU.

Its time to end the wars. For all the moms out there whatever you've chosen to do, for giving up part of your life to raise another. You are doing a great job! And don't let anyone tell you differently.

XO
A Mom

#humpdayBumpdate 14w5d

It's that time of week again! #humpdaybumpdate so let's get started

How far along? 14 weeks 5days
Total weight gain/loss: not sure
Maternity Clothes: Maternity camis
Stretch marks? Nothing new
Sleep: toddler doesn't sleep so mommy doesn't sleep
Best moment this week: feeling baby move even more
Have you told family and friends: yup
Movement: so much today! I'm loving it
Food cravings: spicy anything spicy!
Anything making you queasy or sick? Sweets
Have you started to show yet: my bump is awkward
Labor Signs: none
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: mean lol
Looking forward to: everything!

The "lies" I've told to hid the pregnancy:
Over the past few months before we officially told anyone there have been so many times I had to hid what was actually going on. I won't use names but I'm sure those who these are about will know lol
....the meds I had to keep in your fridge were not for what you thought
...I couldn't get a tattoo not due to schedule conflicts
....I wasn't really in the yard looking for the dogs toy..I was vomiting
...that time I threw up all over your bathroom floor was not from the chicken
...I didn't leave that much stuff in my car I had to vomit
...Oh wasn't using the bathroom so much because of all the water I was drinking
.. I wore big shirts to hid a belly but not for the reasons you thought
...I can't eat hot dogs so the two you got me I snuck to kyle
...I was Moody because of pregnancy not lack of sleep
...I was tired due to pregnancy not because of hannah
...I couldn't drink any wine because I was on meds (which is true I'm on prenatal but not antibiotics which you thought)
...the above comment x3
...my maternity clothes are no longer in your basement since I took them without you knowing.
...I dumped the chocolate liqueur down the sink instead of drinking it
...I missed church a lot because my morning sickness was unbearable
...same for bible study
I'm sure there are a ton more but this is all I can remember. Hope you enjoyed!

XO

Leah

Goodbye #wednesdaysareforwriting...

...and hello #humpdaybumpdate! If you haven't heard already we are expecting! Yes it's true in July Lord willing a new little baby will be joining our family. So with that comes blog changes! So the new schedule is Wednesdays will be all things pregnancy related. And Thursday's will (hopefully) be the "normal" parenting/life posts. My turning point I guess you call it is on Fridays so Wednesday's I'm a little more half way through the week so I'll have a ton of information! So let's get started with our first #humpdaybumpdate 

 

How far along? 13.5 weeks 

Total weight gain/loss: zero

Maternity clothes? I live in leggings 

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: I have a cold so terrible 

Best moment this week: telling everyone this past Saturday! 

Have you told family and friends: yes!

Movement:  yup here and there 

Food cravings:  fruit, veggies, steak!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  milk, chocolate, sweets 

Have you started to show yet: I'm in that did you eat too much during the holidays or are you pregnant stage. 

Labor Signs: no

Belly Button in or out? In. Maybe this baby I'll get my outtie

Wedding rings on or off? On 

Happy or Moody most of the time: mean! 

Looking forward to: everything!

So I found out about this baby 2 months ago! It's crazy how it all happened. We were in the middle of fleagate if that wasn't stressful enough, and I was so emotional! But that isn't what tipped me off. When I used to nurse Hannah and she would get very upset something in my body hurt really bad (nursing mothers should understand what I'm trying to say) well that happened for a few days and I was so confused. So on my way to New Jersey I decided to stop at the dollar store and pick up a cheapie since I thought it would be negative. I was so very wrong!  In my parents bathroom I found out I was pregnant. Haha never in a million years did I think that would happen. I had a cute way I wanted to tell Kyle but I was too excited and told him as soon as he joined me in Jersey. 

    So far the pregnancy has been going well. I'm sicker with this baby than all my pregnancies combined. Tired of course but I'm looking forward to that second trimester on Friday where hopefully I'll have more energy. Speaking of Friday I am a little nervous. Because my doctors aren't sure why I miscarried two babies before I've been on medication since 5 weeks and I take my last one tomorrow night. It's medication to help "sustain the pregnancy" and I'm nervous to stop even though my doctors said everything will be fine. So if you could just pray that would be great. 

  One more thing that shows Gods timing. As you all know I lost my dear Presley this summer at 9weeks 6days pregnant. His/her due date was December 17. Well on December 17 I was 9weeks6days pregnant with this baby. How crazy is that! Gods timing is truely the best timing. 

XO

Leah 

Happy 2016

I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Years! I can't believe it's already 2016! So crazy. I know for me personally 2015 was a very rough year. But it's a new year and a new slate. My husband and I have a blessings jar in our kitchen that we leave little notes of blessings in starting on New Year's Day and we don't read them until the following New Year's Eve. Reading all the blessings this year was quite comforting as there were some I completely forgot about! I love this new family tradition and I can only imagine what we will read New Year's Eve 2016

 As you can tell there are some changes coming to the blog. The first is new name    I've been thinking about changing the name for a while. Since I don't really write about what's going on in my life at this very second I thought life as of late wasn't true. But, what I do write about is my family, my faith, and some fun things. Hence Faith Family Fun was born. There are more changes coming, hopefully, but you'll have to stick around to find out 

Note: I did date most of the cards and a lot of them deal with Presley (finding out we were pregnant, hearing him on Doppler. 

XO

Leah

St Ives Review

My skin can be terrible at times and chasing a toddler around while having summer temperatures (in the middle of winter) I tend not to smell the greatest by the end of the day. Thankfully a great company called Influenster sent me some products to review so let's get started! 

 St Ives Pear Nectar & Soy Body lotion

 I honestly wasn't sure if I would like this product. Pear Nectar doesn't sound to appeasing and I've never had "fruit smelling" lotion before. But boy did this product prove me wrong! It smells amazing and not as fruity as I thought. My skin is so smooth for hours. I don't need to reapply every 5 minutes which is nice. I was pleasantly surprised by this and will most likely buy it once this runs out.

Nourished and smooth Oatmeal scrub and Mask

 The skin on my face is odd. Some days it's super oily and other days it's dry and cracking. It makes buying products hard since majority of the time a product is for a specific problem. I've tried masks before as well as scrubs and I felt like they left my skin even more dry. Right off the bat I knew it would smell amazing I love the smell of oatmeal products. I used a quarter size (maybe a little less) and scrubbed my face with it. My face actually looks really nice and glowing. Not like a teenager going through puberty. My face is nice and soft and no flaky skin. I think out of the bunch this is my favorite product. Will Definitely buy this product again. 

 Even &Bright Pink Lemon&Mandarin Exfoliating body wash

 I was really excited for this product. The name made me think it was going to make me smell amazing. Upon opening it, it did smell amazing. After using it though it was no different than any other body wash I've used before. A half hour or so after using it I realized my skin had no smell. It doesn't smell like when I was using it in the shower. I like body washes that make my skin smell amazing for at least a little while. I was disappointed in this product and most likely will not be buying  it. 

 Hope you enjoyed my review! Next week will be the first 2016 post! If your curious about what influenster is and want to get your own free products leave a comment below! 

XO

Leah 

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Wow my baby is two! I can't believe it. This time two years ago I was in labor waiting to see who this little lady, who had been kicking me for 9 months, would look like. It's so funny when I look back on those first pictures because she honestly looks so different! Over the past two years this little lady has taught me so much. These are the top five things she has taught me. 

1) be patient. I struggle with patience especially as hannah got older and started using that infamous word No. But she has taught me that I have to be patient with her as she is still learning, and exploring 

2) Breath. Now  I'm not saying breath as in the literal sense but figuratively speaking of course. Having a strong willed toddler can test ever part of me but I sometimes need to walk away take a mommy time out and breath and that is fine to do. 

3) Stop cleaning and play. Being a home owner some days I feel like my house has to be immaculate like those magazines. But as I clean there is usually someone behind me making a mess. Some days the dishes can wait because she will only be this young one. 

4) Every opportunity is a teaching opportunity. Whether it's a skill like sweeping, math, reading or a life lesson like kindness there is a teaching opportunity  around every corner. 

5) Cuddle often! As Hannah gets older she gets more independent meaning she doesn't want to cuddle which is hard for mommy. So any chance she wants to sit with me or cuddle I'm going to take it. Since I'm not sure when that will end for good (hopefully never.) 

 There are of course many many other lessons she has taught me in her two years but I'm going to keep this short so I can go hang out with the birthday girl! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

XO

Leah