Merry (belated) Christmas!!

Hi friends!

Hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas!!   It went by too fast, didn't it??  We have had a big year with the birth of our baby girl, and our new home, so Adam and I decided not to exchange gifts and just give to the kids and it worked out great.  Santa must have really thought Aaron was a good boy because he racked up: a bike, basketball hoop, computer, new train set, a tent, a train set, etc.  Harper got baby doll(s), clothes, a few toys, and an exersaucer.   Her Christmas gift to mom was a big, beautiful laugh on Christmas Day- melt.my.heart.  We are so incredibly blessed with these beautiful children!

Between my parents and Adam's parents I racked up as well! Riding Boots, the Naked 3 palette, some adorable shearling-lined Moccasins that I'm obsessed with, a photo printer, clothes, etc.  AND, I'm typing on my brand-new bluetooth wireless keyboard- whoop! I'm spoiled. So spoiled.

Here's some pics of our last few weeks:

Aaron decorating his tree.  Sweet baby!

She's smiling all the time now & I love it!

Goofball

JT with the girls

Jessica's birthday dinner

My cousin, Kate's, gorgeous wedding with the hubs

My  sister's gorge

"Twas the night before Christmas"

Santa's letter to Aaron

Now, a rundown:

• Dean cheated on Tori.  Shocker?  Absolutely not. The fact that he told his mistress he was in a "sexless" marriage?  What a dbag.  Obviously you didn't have a "sexless" marriage, dude.   She birthed 4 of your children, and almost died carrying your fourth.  You're a freak.
• Y'all know I was ALL about watching "I Am Britney Jean" on E! and I was pleasantly surprised at how normal she was.  Go Brit-Brit!  Now, who wants to go to Vegas?!?!
• We still need to talk about Queen Bey's new album, but I have a baby that wants Mom so I gotta go.  Next time it's on!

Happy day after Christmas!!

~LL

Let the Groove Get In!

I cannot believe Christmas Eve is a week from today. This randomly hit me as I was vacuuming this morning; a week from today we'll be in full-blown Christmas craziness. Luckily, we are DONE with Christmas shopping, and all that's left to do is gift wrap. Have I mentioned that I just properly learned how to wrap a present....last year...at the age of 30. Yep. I've always been a gift bag girl, and when I did attempt the art of gift wrapping let's just say that I could have easily passed it off as Aaron's work. I decided last year, "Time to grow up, Hayley. This year you will wrap.every.damn.present." And I did. And they were presentable. This year can only get better, y'all! This time next year, I'll have a gift wrapping room. Looks like somebody's found their inner Martha- whoop!

In other random news, I found a dress to wear to my cousin's wedding this weekend. It's adorable! After hitting up Dillard's, and realizing that I can only afford to shop their clearance racks on a good day ($110 and up for a cocktail dress- no thanks!) I popped on over to Lizard Thicket (http://www.shoplizardthicket.com) and found my LBD. Here's a pic:

I love it. The top is a halter-style (which is always flattering) and pinkish-gold-bronze sequins; the skirt is A-line and very flattering as well. Look, I need as much black and "flattering" as I can get right now! I'm wearing a pair of nude pumps and gold jewelry. Adam's wearing a skinny tie with his suit (so handsome!). We are just so excited to dress up, drink, and dance. It's been too long!

In other news, this picture has hit the web and I can barely contain myself:

Do you see that?!? ASkars and Prince Harry....in a pic... TOGETHER. Agh!!!!!!!!!!! I can't even handle this. Who's more delicious?!? I can't decide! Both of them don't mind getting naked that's for sure. ;)

Who watched GMA this morning? Thoughts on the Katy Perry/John Mayer video, "Who You Love?" Here's mine:

- Her makeup is gorge in the video. Very fresh and natural. 

- I love this song.

- I think they might be the real deal. As I type this, he's probably gotten all relaysh-phobic again and dumped her via Twitter. 

In an effort to save the best for last, guess who's going to see JT tonight?!? This girl!!!! I'm trying not to think too much about it because I have to stay in mommy mode until 3:30 when I blow this joint. The last time I saw him in concert was 2007 (come to think of it, that probably was his last tour) and it was amazing.  There will be a blog post on the concert by Friday- hopefully by Thursday. I'm not even going to attempt a blog sesh tomorrow as I will probably be way too hungover from Phillips overpriced Chardonnay. Holla!

"She kill me with that coo-coochie-coochie-coo"- TKO y'all.

Yes, I did just write that- whoop!

~LL

P.S. We still have to talk about Queen Bey's new album- holy s---. Amazeballs!

Venting

Two blog posts in two days....what, what!

No, on the real....I need to vent. I'm exhausted. Shit literally hit....the floor yesterday afternoon. I picked Aaron up from school, and he kept on complaining that his neck was hurting. I just assumed he fell down during recess, blew it off, and headed home to fix lunch. Aaron was unusually quiet on the way home, and as soon as we walked in the door he headed to the couch to lay down. Me, still clueless, checked his tempature-nothing, but I went ahead and gave him a dose of Ibuprofen just to take the edge off. A little while later I notice that he had that glassy, "I'm totally going to puke" look. It occurred to me at that moment, "I probably should get a towel," and you better believe as soon as I grabbed it I was catching puke in my hands. My poor baby- he was crying and so confused. After I managed to get him (and everything else) cleaned up, I checked his temp again and it was 99.7- low-grade but higher than normal. I called the Ped just to double-check and they said just to bring him in to be on the safe side, and I'm glad I did because my little guy has strep. Bless his heart, he's on ten days of antibiotics. I'm just hoping and praying I don't get this junk. I'm popping Airborne like candy.

On top of all that dramz, baby girl decided she was not ready to go to sleep until 1 freakin' AM last night. Yeah, I wish I was lying. And, she was up by 6 this morning to eat. We have got to get this kid on a schedule. I am the walking dead. Y'all should see the black under my eyes.....it's scary.

Anyway, if you're reading thanks for listening. I'm fixing to give Harper her last bottle and head to bed myself. Wish me luck!

*I promise to blog about things other than puke and schedules next time.

~LL

Tis the season for fun!

Ugh....sorry I'm so slack about updating my blog lately. Half of the reason is I just haven't had the time and the other half is the fact that I hate blogging from my iPad. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPad but I miss a keyboard. Where is the best place to get a keyboard for the iPad, btw?? This is a Christmas wish (hint, hint) for all you family members reading this blog!

Since I last blogged, my mini-me hit the 2 month mark! Here's her milestone pic, is she not the cutest?!?

I heart her. <3<3

Since I last blogged we've gotten two month shots (the worst), hosted 25 family members for Thanksgiving, and Catching Fire finally hit theaters (lerve)! 

With Christmas finally upon us we have already been in full swing with Christmas parties and get-togethers. My Macon girls came up to Gtown (we missed you, Brooke!) for our annual Christmas dinner/gift exchange last Friday night, and last night my Griffin girls and I got together for the same. I wore my Fab'rik leather leggings to both parties because:

1) I am in dire need of new clothes and have nothing "partyish" to wear

and

2) They work like Spanx in that they're so tight they hold in this post-preg/post-section belly. 

Maybe Santa should bring me a treadmill for Christmas?

Adam and I celebrated six years of marriage this past Sunday. Besides being married six years, we've been together 8 years this past October! That blows my mind. Almost a decade I've been with this man....crazy. Here's to 60 more anniversaries, babe!

Thanks Graceology for this amazing pic- it's my fave!

The rest of this blog entry is going to be bulleted since baby girl could wake from her nap at any moment:

* I am nursing a maj hangover today. Last night Natalie introduced me to Cran-Brr-Rita's and let's just say we hit it off. Yolo.

* The one good thing about today is that I woke up a with a case of bed-head that legitimately looked good. Have no idea how that happened, but I am thankful. The good man upstairs knew I needed one less thing on my plate today.

* Paul Walker's death. So tragic. I am so sad about it. Now I'm psychotically googling him. Did y'all know he had a girlfriend half his age? AND, that he was just in Macon eating at Chillis the Sunday before Thanksgiving?? So, so sad.

* Are y'all watching Scandal?? If not, you need to. It's ah-ma-zing.

* Aaron is out of school for 3 weeks starting this weekend. Lord help me.

* My precious cousin, Kate, is marrying her adorable fiancé, Ben, December 21st and I am so pumped for their wedding! Still need a dress to wear.....ideas?? I'm definitely thinking LBD. I'm putting the hubby in a skinny tie. This will be our first spend-the-night away evening from both kids. I could not be more excited!

Alright, gotta go. Promise to update sooner!

~LL

It's all relevant

I can't believe it's already Monday again! Where did the weekend go?? Granted, we didn't hardly do anything. Although I'm starting to venture out with Harper a little more, I'm still not comfortable taking her tons of places- with all of the sickness and germs going around right now I'd rather keep her at home. Since Adam works all the time and barely gets to do the things he wants to do, he headed out to watch the Ga/Auburn game Saturday at a friends house, and I stayed home with the kiddos. I find it crazy that I freely admit to not giving a sh... about football, but have my TV on the game when Adam's not around. Heck, I even paused the game for a diaper change so as not to miss anything. Who am I?? This is cray.

I'm not gonna lie- I was experiencing some postpartum blues this weekend. At the top of the list- this post-preg bod. I am starting Weight Watchers today. Although I've lost all my baby weight (and a little more) I'm still pounds away from where I need to be. And it's not like I've been trying super hard- I'm not going to turn down a trip to ChickfilA or anything. I need to be putting baby girl in her stroller and walking while Aaron's at school. Maybe I'll start that today.....or tomorrow.

Another thing irking me? Shitty friends. Yep, I said it. I have had my feelings hurt not once, not twice, but three times over the past week over these so-called friends. I'm having a major case of "left outitis"- (tried to make that work). If you're reading, you know who you are. The people that host parties, dinners, etc. and only invite an exclusive group. How high school is that? Over it. FYI- I would never purposely leave anyone out because I would never want to hurt anyone's feelings. But I guess that's just the type of friend I am.

Damn. That felt good.

Anyway, this is not a "I'm feeling sorry for myself" post. This is a "taking notes- moving on" post.

In wonderful news, my good friend Brooke gave birth to her beautiful baby girl, Brinley, last Thursday. I had the pleasure of meeting her last night, and she's such a love muffin! Congrats Brookie!

Friday, while racking my brain for gift ideas for Brooke, I came up with this: a newborn survival kit:

 

Inside I included: a bottle of wine (standard), Dry Shampoo (because y'all know we don't have time to do this hurr), Mascara and Lip Gloss (because most of the time if you do get ready that's all you have time for), a pack of gum (let's be real: we're so sleep-deprived some days we can't remember if we brushed our teeth), and a magazine. These are things that helped me survived those first few weeks in the trenches. 

Hope all of you have a fabulous Monday! Gotta get my little buddy ready for school!

~LL

I will survive!

Up until I had Harper, getting up at 5:00 seemed almost laughable. Although I am technically "one of those morning people," getting up at any hour before 7 (pre-baby) was a lost cause.

Not anymore.

Every day around 5 AM, my little posse (Harper and Sophie May) and I sleepily walk the hallway, prepare bottles, coffee, etc. and begin our day. After Harper has her bottle and is settled back down, I head back to my room, stare longingly at my bed, and hop in the shower. Because as much as I want to crawl back into that comfy bed, I know that with a three year old waking up soon that ain't happening. 

And our day begins.

And you know what? I'm getting the hang of this (early) early bird thang. I must admit that it's nice running errands and getting them done before noon. It's nice not looking like a ragamuffin (most of the time) when I drop Aaron off at school. Of course, every time I think we're onto something, Harper throws a wrench into those plans. Days that I think to myself, "Girl, you got this- this is a piece of cake," Harper's fussy all day, doesn't nap, and decides to take a massive poop while I'm wearing her in the Moby at the grocery store. Ahhh....the life of the mom of a newborn- so glamorous!

We are surviving. We are making it- some days just barely. I know six months from now I'll barely remember the exhaustion of this time- I hope so, anyway! 

All this being said, she is such a little love. A mini, baby girl version of my Aaron Mo. I am crazy about her. Her hair's already getting long in the back (true story) and she's wearing three-month clothing (she likes to eat like Mom!). She's still sleeping in her Rock and Play sleeper in our room, and we're trying to transition her to her crib which is not easy. 

In an effort to not let Laughing Lolly be ALL about baby, let's catch up on some other stuff:

- I need a new car. That '98 Toyota Avalon (AKA: The Mamakat) is not cutting it anymore. It especially looks gangster right now because a routine oil change turned into having to put on my full-size spare tire as my back passenger side tire was about to blow due to a nail that's obviously been there for ages. That wouldn't be bad, except for the fact that they didn't put the tire back on my car's actual rim, and instead put in on a random black rim. Who am I? Joker's Wild?? Jesus. Headed back to the car shop today. In the meantime, Adam and I have made an executive decision that I need a "newer" car, in other words used but like new. So begins the car search....

- Hunger Games: Catching Fire starts next Friday. Aghhhhhh!!!! Who's going with me? I must admit, I've pretty much left JHutch in the dust and have now jumped the Liam H bandwagon- he's so much hotter to me now that he's dumped that twerking, foam-finger Miley; however, I will always be Team Peeta, y'all. Ride or die.

- I've been pretty bored with Walking Dead this season (all those body fluids are seriously grossing me out) and made my dissatisfaction known on FB but had to retract my statement as "The Guv-Nah" is back. And you know, I'm just gonna say it, I think he's hot. There. I said it. Hatas gonna hate!

Gotta go now. I will *attempt* to update sooner than later. Enjoy your day, friends!

~LL

Hello, 4 weeks!

Well, it's official- I've had a new baby for four weeks now. My little princess will be a month old tomorrow! We've survived the first 29 days. I'm just so glad she's here; I just stare at her all day soaking her in. I'm madly in love- so is Adam. We love her dark, black hair and sweet, nubby nose. I smooch her little lips all the time....I can't help it. She's so alert (when she's not sleeping) and she's mesmerized by her big brother. Sweetness. She completes our little family perfectly. I think about Luke all the time, and I know he had a hand in sending her to us. It still breaks my heart into pieces when I think about him. I know he would have loved being a little brother to Aaron and big brother to Harper, but instead he's their guardian angel. One day I'll tell Aaron and Harper about their brother when they can understand. In the meantime, I know he'll be with all of us every step of the way. <3

While this past month has been completely wonderful, it's also been very hard. I threw in the breastfeeding towel yesterday. It wasn't without a lot of tears, I will say. Breastfeeding is THE hardest thing I've ever done,. I was constantly in a panic; "Is the latch correct? Is she getting enough? Is she crying because she's hungry or she wants to be held?" The constant insecurity was too much to deal with; time supposed to be spent enjoying her, I was crying my makeup off to Adam, my mom, or Natalie about breastfeeding. Y'all, I was doing it all: nursing, pumping, supplementing with both breastmilk and formula. It was effin' exhausting. I've read so many articles on Kellymom I can practically quote them in my sleep. I've taken Fenugreek, drank Mother's Milk tea and dark beer, etc. Hell, I even dropped thirty-five bucks on Tia and Tamera's cash cow, Milky (hope Adam doesn't read this). None of it worked for me in increasing my supply. I gave it my all. I finally gave her a full 3 ounce bottle of formula yesterday and she sucked it dry- there's my sign. I'm sure I was probably doing something wrong, but having my boob out all day was just not working for me. I have a husband that works out of town, and a 3 1/2 year old. I've got shit to do. I prayed about my decision, and haven't cried in 2 days- that's a record considering I've spent 27 of those 29 days sobbing and stressed about breastmilk. Harper nursed and had her last breastmilk bottle yesterday; I made it 4 weeks- that's twice as long as I made it with Aaron. I'm proud of what I was able to give her. I'm happier; therefore, she's happier. Please only words of support- this was not an easy pill to swallow, but I am at peace about my decision. I will say, all mothers rock- breastfeeding or not breastfeeding, natural birth or caesarean, epidural or no medication- being a mom is the hardest job on the planet. Let's support each other!

Here's a glimpse of the past week:

First post-preg date night!

"Hewwo"

Spidey! (with his eyes closed) 😳

First attempt at Moby wrap: not successful.

Enjoy this beautiful fall weekend!

~LL

Taking it day by day.....

Happy Friday, Friends!

TGIF, amiright?! This week's fall-like weather has been great, but I'm so excited to see the sunshine! There are only so many gray days I can take without wanting to curl up in bed and just sleep. Sleep, you ask? Why yes- I'm napping at least once, if not twice a day to catch up on lack of zzzz's at night. Rough, but I know this being up every 2 hours at night will be gone in the blink of an eye, and soon I'll have another 3 1/2 year old. #perspective

Not to say that I'm cool as a cucumber- I'm totally far from it. I've had at least 3 breastfeeding meltdowns this week, I've lost my sh*t with Aaron more times than I want to admit, and I've had my moments of being majorly hein to my hubby. Trying to keep myself in check. You forget how hard this time is because the good SO outweighs the bad. Luckily, I'm blessed with such amazing family and friends that are always there when I need a shoulder to cry on, advice, to rant, etc. Every day I get one step closer to my pre-preg self, and I'm not only trying be patient with everyone, but patient with myself as well. 

Tomorrow night my awesome mother-in-law is driving up to babysit the kiddos while Adam and I have a much-needed date night. SO.EXCITED. We'll probably only go to dinner and a movie, but the thought of curling my hair, putting on a cute top, and NOT wearing flip-flops almost sends me over the edge. And yes, I do plan on drinking an adult beverage. Sky's the limit, y'all!

Here's some cuteness from our week:

"Pump, pump, pump it up!"

Walker-stalker like her mama!

She's delicious.

My world.

Have a great weekend!!

~LL

2 weeks later.....

Hey friends!

Sorry it's been awhile. I've been adjusting to a newborn and the extreme tiredness from lack of sleep that accompanies the precious bundle.  All worth it, nonetheless.

Harper Elizabeth Mosely was born at 7:53 AM, Friday, September 27th. Next to Aaron's birth- the best moment of our lives for sure. She came out kicking and screaming, and the first thing my Doc said was "we have hair!" All I could do was laugh and cry, at the same time! She looked huge when she came out from all the fluids, but weighed exactly the same as Aaron (7 pounds/13 ounces). It took them awhile to get her to me from all the fluids, but they said that was common with section babies since they don't actually travel through the birth canal. Once we were in recovery and settled down they finally brought her to me- pure perfection. We are so madly in love with this gift from above!

My c section went without a hitch- thank goodness! The day before, "pre-op day," I was a nervous wreck. After signing all the forms, getting my blood drawn, and hearing about the procedure I literally went home, got in the bed, and pulled the covers over my head. Nervous.wreck. We had to be at the hospital at 6 on the big day, and since we're an hour away we were out the door by 5. It didn't matter- I only slept an hour that night anyway. Surprisingly, I was pretty calm that morning. I got up, showered, curled my hair, put a little makeup on, and we were out the door. On the way there we listened to Hall & Oates radio on Pandora (per my request- who doesn't love "Maneater??" ). Once we arrived we signed in ("Good morning! We're here to have a baby!"), was taken to recovery where I put on that oh-so-attractive hospital gown, got my IV, and waited for my Doc to arrive to start surgery. Funny coincidence: my nurse this go-round was the same nurse I had when I delivered Aaron- we love her! Once my Doc came strolling in, coffee in hand, to check on us before surgery, we were ready! Adam had to wait outside the room while I got my epidural/spinal block, and once I was all good, numb, and laid out on the table they let him in. The only time I ever felt uncomfortable during surgery was when I got nauseous (which was pretty much immediately as soon as I laid down- my BP had dropped). Luckily, my nurse anesthetist pumped my IV full of nausea meds. At last, we were in business. I swear it wasn't five minutes later when my Doc announced, "we're gonna have a baby in about 20 seconds!" Most amazing moment ever. A moment not so amazing? Adam "forgetting" to charge his phone, and only videotaping the moments before Harper was pulled out before his phone died. Nice one, babe! At that time, my awesome nurse anesthetist handed over her iPhone and let us use it to document the big moment. The rest of the surgery was pretty boring; Adam went with my nurse to check on Harper, and I laid on the table getting my stomach stitched back up while listening to my Doc (and another Doc from the same practice who came in to help) talk everything from Georgia football to teasing me about taking home my placenta (I didn't). 

After having done both a "natural" birth and now a c section, I can say both have their pros and cons. I loved the convenience of just showing up to have a kid, and not having to labor. I didn't like the fact that it felt like my uterus was going to fall out of me when I got out of bed the next day. 

One thing is for sure, I'm glad I'm not pregnant anymore. It feels so good to wear non-maternity tops (I'm still in maternity jeans- let's not get ahead of ourselves here!).  I've finished all of my pain meds, and for the most part I feel like myself- maybe a more zombie version of myself right now. I'm still a little sore/tender around my incision, but no biggie. I'm still breastfeeding, and I have to say it's the hardest thing I've ever done. I only made it 2 1/2 weeks with Aaron before switching to formula, and I'm determined to make it longer with Harper. As much as I love our pediatrician, it's amazing how quick they are to push formula. Granted, Harper's not quite up to her birth weight, so we are supplementing two formula bottles a day until we get her back up. I'm hoping that at that point we can go back to breastfeeding exclusively. I'm also pumping, which I like a lot because I can see what I'm putting out. They say once you make it to 3 weeks it gets easier- here's hoping!

Here are some pics from the last couple of weeks. We are so in love with our sweet, beautiful girl! Our hearts are complete. :)

Thanking God for this baby girl!

~LL

Dear Harper

My precious Harper,

We are anxiously awaiting your arrival! Only three more days until we get to kiss your squishy face, rub your soft hands, and put a big, froufrou bow on your head. We've been waiting for you for quite awhile!

We are so excited to expand our family of three into four!

We like to have fun. Some of our favorite things to do include: going to the beach, playing outside, watching movies, and playing with Sophie May (our puppy girl). We probably eat ChickfilA too much (although you won't mind that), and we should go to church more often (we're working on that). You have a big family. You already have 8 cousins, and you happen to be the only girl grandchild on your Dad's side- have fun with that, sister! You have more aunts and uncles than I can count, and you have both sets of great-grandparents! Plus, you have six- that's right- 6 grandparents! *You will totally rack up at Christmas, btw.*. You're entering into a big, busy bunch, but I promise you'll like it, my sweet. 

I've been dreaming about your face for so long. So far we think you look like your big brother with your chubby cheeks. We know you have hair; we saw it on your ultrasound and it's very evident by the insane amount of Tums I consume on a daily basis. Most importantly, we know that you are you- our precious Harper Elizabeth. 

In just a few days we finally get to meet you! We are counting down the minutes. We loved you before we knew you, and we are so blessed to welcome you into this big, exciting world. 

We love you, Harper Elizabeth Mosely. Welcome to the planet. :)

"For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him." - 1 Samuel 1:27

~LL

Harper's Nursery

We're a week out, y'all! My c-section is scheduled for next Friday and we are so excited! I can't wait to kiss those sweet lips and chubby cheeks, and tell her how long we've been waiting for her. As much as I'm ready to meet her, I want her to stay in this big belly until next Friday. Keep on growing and getting fatter, my little love! 

I'm posting pictures of Harper's nursery, although I still have some last minute touches I want to add before next Friday. I love it! It's so pink and precious, and I think it's perfect for her. 

Pottery Barn bedding in Penelope with Mia bed skirt. So girly!!

I fell in love with the framed "Hello's" from the amazing blog: 6th Street Design School. I saw this over a year ago and knew if I ever had a girl I was going to copy. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? 

A peek inside her already full closet.

Her bag's packed, the diaper wreath is ready, the nursing pillow's on standby, and her photo book is just waiting for her sweet footprints. We love you, Harper Elizabeth!!

Like I said, I still need another piece of furniture for the bare wall beside her door, a rug in front of her crib, and some other pieces of wall decor, but other than that we're ready!

7 more days to go.......agh!!!

~LL

Hey girl, hey!

It's been a few days since I last blogged and although I wish I could say we've been doing lots of exciting things, the truth is we've been very low- key.  I'm completely fine with that, though.  Being this big and this far along in pregnancy your energy is pretty much zapped all the time.  Not to say there weren't some exciting things that happened over the weekend.......

My brother and sister-in-law had their twin baby boys Friday.  Adam and I are in love.  They are the cutest little snuggle-muffins!  My sister-in-law and I had the same due date, but of course she had to deliver a couple of weeks earlier since she had two instead of one in her belly.  Here's a pic of the munchkins:

Kain & Gunner

Saturday evening we spent time with my in-laws who were in town for the twins birth.  They live in North Carolina and bless their hearts, they'll be back in just a couple of weeks for Harper's birth.  Adam and I are so lucky to have such a great support system!

Yesterday, my sister came down for the day to hang out with me, Aaron, and my mom.  Our last "girls" day (sorry Aaron Mo) before our fourth girl joins us!  We went to lunch, ate way too much food, then came back to my house and watched The Place Beyond the Pines (the Ryan G/Bradley C movie).  As you all know, my obsession with Ryan Gosling knows no end.  I.love.him.always. Ride.or.die.  With that being said, he did freak me out, just a tad, in this movie.  This movie is really good, btw.  It's definitely worth the Red Box rental if you're in the mood for a dark drama.  It is long and hard to watch at times.  Basically, it's a movie about fathers and sons, the choices they make, and how they affect these relationships.  As we all know, Bradly C is a hottie with a body himself, and looks pretty much adorable in this movie.  RyGy, on the other hand, looks like this:

via

 Do I still heart him?  Absolutely.  If he approached me looking like this in real life and said "Hey girl.  I know I have a blood tattoo on my face and all, but will you still love me forever and save me from this thug life?"  I would say without a doubt, yes, yes, YES!  Then, I would whip out my worn-down, scratched-up DVD of Crazy, Stupid, Love that I have psychotically watched nonstop, and show him how amazing he looks in Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent.  Then, I would make him do his "big Dirty Dancing move" on me, where he would probably fall over and break his back.  Ahhh.....the romance!!!

via

And one more because I just can't help myself:

Oh.My.Gawd. via

Ohhhh, Harper.  Your mama has so much to share with you!!

~LL

It's about time!

I'm blogging from bed, friends.  Ugh.  I'm so not feeling good.  I bounce between feeling pretty good- not great, to feeling nauseous.  It's time for this baby girl to relocate.  I'm sorry to whine- it's just one of those days!  Luckily, she should be making her appearance in the next 2 weeks.  Excited!!  I am just so ready to meet my little love.  I think she is too; judging from the flips and jabs she doesn't have that much room anymore.  Bless it.  We're ready to meet you Harper!!

I will say that I haven't been too lazy today.  I went through her drawers, pulled out her 0-3 months clothing, and washed everything in Dreft.  It smells so sweet.  You know how a smell can bring back a memory?  I was immediately transported back to 2010 remembering Aaron's baby clothes and their smell of Dreft.  So precious.  After doing her laundry, I finished up the last of my thank-you notes, put them in the mail, and made a list of what I need to do over these last couple of weeks.  The list was longer than I thought- granted, it was small things, but still....dang!  I hope we get everything done in time before she gets here.  One of the things on my list includes getting a cute, flowy (aka: concealing) top to wear for her newborn pics.  I'm so excited to shop for normal clothing!  This past weekend I went to a baby shower and co-hosted a baby shower; both showers I attempted to wear one of my pre-preg dresses.  Ha- what a joke!  Both dresses barely covered up my lady parts because of this hurge belly.  I showed Adam and we just died laughing.  #wishfulthinking


Sorry for the boring pregnancy content.  I promise I'll get my mojo back soon.

Enjoy your evening!

~LL

36 week check-up

I've been saying for the past couple of weeks I'm in the home-stretch, but this time I really am.  Agh!!  So excited!  Excited for my sweet love to get here, excited to wear non-maternity clothing, excited to not have pop Tums all.day.long,  excited to have a glass of wine....or beer....or for Heaven's sake, a margarita!  When I think about this pregnancy the word that comes to mind is: long.  I know every pregnant woman feels this way, too.  It just blows my mind that I've been through 3 seasons: winter, spring, and summer.  I've been pregnant since January.  That's a long time!  Anyway....

My 36 week check-up was today.  I weighed (still holding strong at 30 pound weight gain- thankful it didn't go up), got pricked, and was sent on my merry way to wait for my Doc. (Btw, have I mentioned my Doc's name is Doctor Harper?  Harper is not named after my Doc; however, he said he's going to take some credit for it.  Ha!)  I had the Group B Strep test done today (blah) and then Dr. Harper "checked" me.  I knew this was going to happen today, and have been dreading it.  I'm not dilated (not shocking- I was only one centimeter dilated when I went into the hospital to have Aaron; I was contracting but not dilating), and I was informed (shocker- not really) that there's just not a lot of room for you know, birthing a second child.  I won't go into details as the readers that I do have I want to come back, but my birthing experience with Aaron kinda set the path for future deliver(ies).  After a lot of discussion with my Doc, we made the decision to deliver baby girl via c section.  I am totally okay with this.  In fact, I've been somewhat preparing myself for this since I delivered Aaron.  I'm honestly happy with this decision.  They're supposed to call me tomorrow to schedule the surgery, and I'll be at least 39 weeks when I deliver unless she decides to make her appearance sooner.  So, that's where we're at.  Harper Elizabeth could be here in as little as 3 weeks from today- eeeekkk!!!  I just can't wait to see her!

In other random news, I am DYING to see the new Joseph Gordon-Levitt movie, Don Jon.  I've been pretty much obsessed with him since his SNL striptease.  The movie doesn't come out until September 27th, so I highly doubt I'll be seeing it in theaters, but rest assured, I will be snatching it up as soon as it hits Redbox, y'all!  Here's the trailer:

Have a good night!

~LL

Pinterest Hair Tutorial

I've been pinning like crazy.  It's funny how I can go months without even pulling up my Pinterest app, and then I'll pin like crazy for 7 days straight.  Let's get real here, I've been doing a lot of laying around over the past couple of weeks, and plan to do a lot more until baby girl gets here- I'm going to be a pinning maniac.  For reals.

I wish I could say I was one of those cool Pinterest chicks that logs in and gets inspired by home projects and decor.  However, that's not me.  I'm the girl that searches for yummy, super-fattening dinners, and anything hair and beauty.  As any of you that read my blog know, I have a love/hate relationship with my hair.  It's wavy, takes forever to grow, and I'm constantly on a mission for something new and exciting.  In an effort to get the new and exciting faster, I'll do something drastic like cut bangs, dye it (remember Marilyn in the front/Norma Jean in the back, or just cut it off).  Hot mess.  You live and your learn, people.  Anyway, in my search for the "perfect" hairstyle (whatevs), I have made a few hair discoveries of my own:

1. My hair does best on the second day.  If I wash, dry, flat iron/curl all in one sitting it's like my hair goes into shock therapy. #notpretty
2. I've also learned that I can go at least 2 (sometimes 3) days without washing, and I swear it looks good- not greasy.  This is all because......
3. Dry Shampoo.  It's your best friend, y'all.  If you're not on board get on.  It will save your life.

In my Pinterest craze over the past few days, I was delighted to discover this pin:

How to Curl Your Hair: Wavy Curls

I linked the web address under the pic, but here's another link: http://www.littlemissmomma.com/2011/04/how-to-curl-your-hair-wavy-curls.html. 

Basically, she washes her hair at night (love that), combs, towel-dries, works in some scrunching gel, lets it air-dry, and then loosely braids for the night.  Wakes up, sections hair off, curls, and then sprays it down.

Last night was my first attempt at this *possible* new hair venture.  Here is the results after following her instructions step-by-step:

Forgive me for the lack of picture quality.  I promise I'm not that pale and that I am wearing bronzer and blush.

Side shot

 What do y'all think?  Not too shabby, right?  CVS did not have the Garnier Fructis Wonder Waves in stock, so I ended up buying the Sally Hershberger Glam Waves and it worked great.  I'm not used to using hair spray, and truthfully I was a little worried it would make my hair too stiff, but the BigSexyHair spray is ah-mazing.  Of course, I still have some kinks to work out and etc., but I'm kinda digging it.  It was easy as far as washing at night; however, it did take me a good 15-20 minutes to section all of this hair off and curl.  All in all, I will be doing this again.....and again....

This works for me because with our second baby on the way very soon, I'm not going to have the time to devote to my hair and makeup like I usually have.  Washing, drying, styling all in one day can sometimes be a bit much, especially when I want to be using that time bonding with Harper, doing laundry, cleaning the house, meal planning, etc.  Plus, I'm not planning on washing my hair again until tomorrow night- possibly Friday night if it lasts (total ponytail day, btw). 

Hope this hair tutorial helps you, too!  Ladies, we all know that if we're having a bad "hurr" day it's not a good day.  Hair lovers unite!!

~LL








 

A month out

Aaron started preschool today- Whoop!  He is now going 5 days a week from 9-12.  I still can't believe he'll be gone 5 mornings a week.  We went from Tues/Thurs preschool classes to this!  A part of me thinks that's a lot, but he will be going to Pre-K 5x a week next year, so better to get prepared now, right?  He was so excited this morning; I think most excited about wearing his new book-bag!  I ended up ordering just a plain blue bag from Etsy with his name and first initial monogrammed on the front.  Nothing fancy- just something he can carry with him for the next couple of years.  Sweet, big boy.  I'm so proud of him!

Harper's due date is exactly a month from today.  Eeekk!!  Truthfully, I think she's coming this month.  I'm 36 weeks tomorrow, so really, I'm hoping I only have around 3 weeks left than 4.  Wishful thinking, I know.  Of course, I want her to stay in as long as she needs to, but I'm not gonna lie- carrying 30 pounds of extra weight in this August heat and humidity is not fun.  I just flat-out refuse to go outside........unless I'm floating in a pool.  Sorry, not sorry.  Luckily, Adam's working from home until baby girl makes her grand entrance, so Aaron's had plenty of outside play and "boy-time" with Dad.  My hubby's been fantastic, he's really taken over doing a lot of stuff around the house- stuff that I usually do: cooking dinner, Aaron's bath time, heck- he's even helping with the laundry!  I, on the other hand, am just sitting around getting bigger by the second.  I even had to order some more maternity jeans yesterday, because all of my other maternity jeans/shorts are too tight!  For real?!?  It's probably not helping that I made a beeline for Dunkin Doughnuts today once I found out that they brought back their pumpkin doughnuts- that ring of deliciousness was finished by the time I exited the parking lot, y'all.  Next up: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.......mmmmhhhhmmm.


I'm going to take a page out of Ashley's book today, and post some of my "pinspiration" for the week. 

Obsessed with this outfit.  Everything from the over-sized tunic sweater (perfect for covering up a "just had a baby belly", to the distressed skinnies, & pointy-toed heels= LOVE.  Cannot wait to wear regular clothes again!

Love this look.  And I practically have all of these options in my closet; except for those fab mint jeans- they will be mine, oh yes, they will be mine. 

Fall hair color.  Love!!!  Her hair always looks fabulous, does it not?

I miss alcohol.  In particular, margaritas.  And red wine.  Oh, who am I kidding- I miss everything!

30 days to go.  Maybe less.  Agh!!!

And one more for good measure.  My sweet, precious love.

Happy Tuesday!

~LL