all over the place, dudes.

my mind... it's all over the place. let's have a chat on randomness, shall we? today we'll discuss pregnancy, blogging, and see what a random fall morning involves when you live in less than 900 sq. ft...

"you're just not one of those women... who was meant to be pregnant."

normally, i would assume a wife would punch her husband in the face when he randomly blurts that out... except... i couldn't agree more. i actually nodded and smiled, "true."
bless his soul, mike is a patient man. pregnancy does not suit me well. i am literally, a crazy person.
my pregnancy w/ elle was tough- lots of bedrest, lots of sickness, and lots of fear. this pregnancy? this little boy? yah, he's kicking my butt. literally. pregnancy doesn't happen easily for us, and i'm about certain that two kids will be the perfect number! i'm so thankful to have the chance to be a mom- to be able to grow a little person in my insides- i am! but it is hard stuff. i heard too many people say that boys were easier to carry, but he's sure proving that theory wrong! i'm finally passing the constantly-wanting-to-puke phase (now that it's been 6 months)... but my entire body is in turmoil. he's settled on my sciatic nerve, and most days i can hardly move. i get stuck all the time- i can't get off the toilet, i can't reach my feet, i can't stand for more than 84 seconds, and i walk like a little old lady. add in the forgotten quirks like nose bleeds, constant intestinal battles, legs that twitch all evening, a belly and belly button that are already stretched to (what seems like it should be their) maximum capacity, a massive aversion to water, and have i mentioned the hormones? oh, people. the hormones. the funny thing is that as negative as that all sounds, i do go back and forth between depression, horror, fear, and pure gratitude that another baby is coming our way. that my crazy girl is getting a brother. she's elated. our family will welcome someone who will be completely new and refreshing! but woah. pregnancy and me. wow. oh, and i'm also kind of terrified of those all-nighters, sleeplessness, diapers (and a diaper bag again? oy!), and the demands that come along with a cute, squishy, ball of cuteness... eek!

oh, snap

i need to catch up on that blog over there... in the mean time, there are some cute new family photos posted. speaking of blogging, have you visited butter lately? just in case you've forgotten, thanskgiving is the day after tomorrow. and you should make this stuffing. because it's the best. and it's my favorite memory of thanksgiving from childhood:)

(a whole lotta pictures) around the house these days
i've grown to love this age- even though 3 has been tough, tough, tough, elle requires no special food, she climbs into/out of her own car seat, she is potty trained, she shops with me, and bribery works a large portion of the time. our lives are changing again. and i have moments when i wonder just how different things will be? i like to freeze moments in our tiny house. in our pj's (actually, go ahead, count! 3 clothing changes & 3 different hairstyles for that little lady in the 15 minutes i was holding my camera:). i'm savoring these last few months of being just us + a bump...
(p.s. - mike made elle that stellar playhouse the other day. man, he's good. and man, he makes me look bad.)

our life lately...

(quiet) "elle? what are you doing?" "oh! just moving and folding brothers' clothes! i'm ok!" // taking care of baby's new monkey, en route to dance class, "in case he needs it while we're gone..." // naps aren't too reliable these days // waiting for me to come downstairs so she can beg for a new purse & shoes // first snowballs //  first wassail // preschool halloween party // bathroom re-do... hook hunting // playing in the snow & rain // what DO you hang in a bathroom? a head? ok! meet bruce // typing a christmas letter to santa // halloween dance recital makeup (more to come) // fire station open house // insanely creepy playtime with daddy- aka "monster pig." eek!!

pre-pinterest...

i'm insanely anti-clutter. i hate having "stuff" around. there's no room for you in my life, junk! with just a few exceptions, i hold on to very little. that being said, let me confess: ever since 1996 (i feel old), i've been obsessed with pictures from magazines. and shopping from magazines. i think it's where my love for fashion came from, and why it was obvious what i wanted to study in college- i always knew i'd never be a designer since i'm lousy at creating, but i really love seeing things. and putting them together. i know what i love when i see it. i'd rip out pages from magazines: clothes, hair, roxy ads (i loved roxy ads. i thought for sure i'd be a beach bum one day). i'd plaster those pages across my walls as little inspiration board for... well, who knows really:) i guess they just made me happy! 

it's almost 2013. (have you noticed? what?! 2013?!) thanks to pinterest, external hard drives, and the fact that we'll be adding another person to our 800 sq. ft. home, it's time to purge more of the little we do have. it was time to part with my stash of papers.

it's funny the coincidences i found- in all honesty, i'd still wear 99% of what i ripped out of those magazines 15 years ago. really! i loved seeing the trends. the stores (no h&m or forever 21 to find affordable knock-offs in "those days"). the ads. the people. tyra banks was still a model. WAAAY too many current actors were no-name models back then, hidden in random advertisments (i.e.: ashton kutcher). awesome! now, the good news for me is that it's a lot less weird to pin things, rather than to rip out pages of magazines... even though i'm pretty sure it's for the same reason? either way. i'm saving space this way. peace out, paper. oh, and mike? you can thank me. boo-ya! i found another chunk of space to shove baby wipes.

ps- i still have trouble letting go of anthropoligie catalogs. anyone else? i wish i could just leap through the pages and live in a pretty anthropologie-adorned world:) 

from the ground up...

have you ever just crawled around on the floor? i did yesterday. i'm not sure why. i will say- very interesting view from down there! 

now that i have a child who is camera-phobic and avoids me like the plague when a camera is in-hand, i just meandered around and took pictures of what our monday looked like...

some randoms...

random 1) the below pictures go something like this- mike & i attempting to entertain elle with some insanely hilarious joke (obviously). elle responding with a blank stare (face, priceless). chomping on chips. thinking something like, "wow. these are my parents? really?"

random 2) we've spent the last week re-decorating elle's room. we attempted to make way for her new big girl bed, with elle completely uninterested in moving out of her crib. so now, her room is stuffed with both. hoorah! pictures to come whenever we actually finish this process. in the mean time, elle is totally loving her new chalkboard wall. although, does anyone else find irony in the fact that the whole point is to teach her she can draw on walls? hmm... (note: chalk dust. everywhere. feet, floors, nose. also note, the newest thing we can't get her to change out of? her swimsuit:)

oh, and one more for giggles. as mike did the dishes and i showered, elle learned and performed "single ladies." thanks, beyonce for teaching some stellar moves to my toddler. :)
(what the!?)