Holidays 2017: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving napkins
I have decided to do a blog series detailing my holidays starting with an inside look at my friends and family Thanksgiving and ending with my plans for next years Christmas. I know it’s a bit after the fact and may feel either irrelevant at the moment, or too soon to even be thinking about it, but because I took a bit of a blog break over the holiday season I wasn’t able to share this with you then. I guess I’m going with the better late than never narrative and hope you’ll agree!Continue Reading

Baggage: My Postpartum Weight Loss Journey

In the seven months since Joshua Jr was born I have managed to slowly but surely drop my pregnancy weight with only 10 pounds left to lose. I gained almost 50 pounds during my pregnancy and I’m not gonna lie, I had moments of sheer panic that I’d never be able to lose it all. I had hoped to only gain 25-30 pounds like my mother during her pregnancies but found that just wasn’t possible for me. Despite starting my gestation out on a pregnancy friendly meal plan and hiking my butt off 5 days a week my weight kept creeping up. At a certain point, probably around 4 months I gave up the struggle and tried instead to respect my body’s needs and trust my instincts. About ten days after Joshua Jr’s birth I got back on the scale to see where I was at and how far I had to go.Continue Reading

Pregnancy Favorites…Thus Far

As I write this I am 19 weeks pregnant and now believe myself to be an expert on all things pregnancy. Therefore, I thought it only right that I share my hard gained wisdom with all of you presently, and planning to be, gestating ladies out there. I’m joking, I basically know nothing, but there are a few things that I have discovered during the last 19 weeks that have vastly improved my pregnancy experience. I thought that even if only a few of my discoveries were helpful to another pregnant gal I should for sure share them. Just like so many wonderful women have shared with me their tips, tricks and advice for getting through this experience with grace and good humor.Continue Reading