Friday Favorites and Five on Friday

Today, I am linking up with Momfessionals, A Little Bit of Everything, and Grace and Love for Friday Favorites, but also A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, Hello! Happiness, and The Good Life for 5 on Friday. 

{FAVORITE ONE}

This weekend, I am heading to one of my favorite places, Provincetown, MA. I am ready to relax and recharge, and of course I can't wait to see my uncles!

Doesn't this place just look perfect?!

{FAVORITE TWO}

Another favorite of mine this week is the progress of the baby room :) It is coming together so nicely thanks to my husband and my sisters (they helped paint!). 

{FAVORITE THREE}

Seeing these beautiful sunsets on my walks :) 

{FAVORITE FOUR}

This guy right here. We each have our moments ;) but there is no one else I would rather be on this incredible, exciting, scary journey of life and parenthoood with :) He accepts me for who I am, even when I am in one of my crazy moods/ emotional states (thanks pregnancy :)). 

{FAVORITE FIVE}

I have felt the baby move significantly this week! Finally! I felt the baby moving so much that my husband could actually feel it too (he was a little wary of the movement at first haha)!

I talked about it a little bit in my pregnancy update for this week, which you can read here. Feel free to follow my pregnancy journey-- I blog updates every Thursday. 

Follow the links below to see other weekly updates: 

Week 21

Week 20

Week 19

Week 18

Week 17

Week 16

Announcement

Happy Friday! 

Pregnancy Update- Week 22

How far along? 22 weeks 5 days 

Size of baby: Spaghetti Squash (8 in, 1 lbs)

Total weight gain: Still about 10 pounds. 

Maternity clothes: YES! And I realized that I really need to start shopping for the Fall and school. While the dresses I have been wearing in the summer will carry me for the first few weeks of school, I don't really have any clothes to wear once it cools down (pants, warmer dresses, leggings, etc). I have been trying to wear what I have so far to save a little bit of money, but I know that shopping is inevitable!  

Sleep: Still very much inconsistent this week. One night I will be tossing and turning-- the other night I will sleep soundly. 

Best moment of the week: LEGITIMATELY FEELING THE BABY MOVE MULTIPLE TIMES!My husband could even feel the movement this week :) Let me tell you-- when it happens, it's amazing. Knowing that the movement will only get stronger is something to look forward to! 

Movement: See above! :) 

Miss anything?  Recently, it is has been harder and harder for me to bend down and pick multiple items up. I have to crouch down and I have found that I have been getting tired at work! I miss just being able to go-go-go without having to take a break! 

Food cravings:  Honestly anything sweet-- especially fruit. I could probably eat a whole cantelope in one sitting if I allowed myself to. 

Food aversions:  I haven't been too keen on meat lately, but it doesn't make me feel sick if I do eat it. 

Symptoms I have: I have had a few headaches lately, but I am monitoring my water intake and making sure I am not out in the sun too much.   

Gender Predictions: Girl on my end :)

Looking forward to: My husband has been working so hard on the baby room, and I am so excited to reveal the progress he has made. It looks beautiful, and it is perfect :) Now we just need to fill it with some decorations......:)

Weekending....and it's now August.....

Well everyone, it is now August. While I know there are many weeks left of summer, when August hits, I always feel like its the beginning of the end. 

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I know I know. There is still so much time! But in reality, I go back to school three weeks from today, which doesn't seem possible. Didn't we just get out of school? And while I love the Fall and the anticipation of a new school year and new pens (yes I'm weird), I am not ready to let summer go. 

But, for today I will put these thoughts aside and blog about what happened this weekend. I am linking up with B Loved Boston and Champagne and Suburbs for Weekending...

{FRIDAY}
- After a long day at work, I was excited to meet up with a co-worker of mine for dinner. We went out to one of my favorite restaurants in the town where I teach, Giorgios. They have amazing bread, salads and pizza. I hadn't seen her since the end of school in June and we had a lot to catch up on! It wasn't until she looked at her phone to check the time that we realized we had been there for 3 hours! I had been wondering why the waitress we had was looking at us funny! 

- When I got home, my husband had just started watching "American Sniper," and although I was apprehensive about it at first, I loved the movie. It was intense, poignant and emotional. The acting was amazing, and I would definitely recommend watching it if you haven't already. 

{SATURDAY} 

- My husband and I have been thinking about and planning what to do for the baby room for a few weeks now (well I guess I planned it haha- my husband read my blog and saw my inspiration board and has made my ideas a reality :)). We stopped at Lowes to pick up all of the supplies, and I think I scared my husband a little bit with the time I spent trying to pick out a room color (love you!). It was so hard to pick out which colors I wanted to use! I knew that I wanted the room to have an airy and light feel, but I also wanted it to be gender neutral. In true Kaitlin fashion, I couldn't decide on which colors to use, so I bought samples :) That was the smart thing to do, right?! 

- When we got home, my husband got started right away with designing the chair rail and board/batten pattern. Jim is amazing. He did all the carpentry work himself, and finished it within the day! 

Before Pictures:  

Saturday progress:

- While he was hard at work, I did my normal Saturday routine which included laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping/vacuuming/washing the floors, and organizing. 

- Saturday night, we met up with my sisters for dinner 

- When we came home from dinner, my husband was at it again, filling in nail holes with wood filler and sanding the wood for a nice finish. 

- We also painted a little bit of each color sample (a few coats) and left that to dry overnight so I could pick out which color I wanted  the walls painted Sunday

{SUNDAY}

-  After finally deciding on which color to go with (Valspar Tsunami Sky for the top portion and Valspar Crisp Cotton for the bottom), I went to our local hardware store to buy the paint. Even though our local store only sells Benjamin Moore paint, they were able to color match the paint samples I had brought with me.  

- For most of the day Sunday, my husband diligently painted the room. Now, I love painting. One of my first jobs was painting classrooms, bathrooms, lockers, and offices at my old high school. It was there that I fell in love with painting. I find it relaxing, stress free, easy and enjoyable. My husband-- not so much. He absolutely hates painting-- and I am not exaggerating. The only part of this project that he was dreading was the painting portion. I wish I could have painted, but there are too many warnings out there and most websites suggest against painting. So unfortunately, my husband had to do the painting. Now we are planning on re-painting the baby furniture (pictured above), but my sisters offered to do that part, so he's off the hook for the rest of the job! 

- I most definitely will blog about the progress of the baby room as we add items/pick items out, but for now, I will at least give you an idea of how the colors turned out (spoiler-- I love them!!!) 

- Now what was I doing while he was working on this? I was lesson planning for school. While it is true that I don't have actual students until August 26th, I like to prepare (some say over-prepare but I digress). I was able to plan for all my classes through September (don't worry-- it is a flexible plan). Man it felt good! I had been starting to worry a little bit about school, and making a calendar for myself was the perfect remedy. 

- Late afternoon, we went to my grandparents house to swim and have dinner. While the humidity has gone down, it is still hot here and the pool was perfect. 

- Sunday night, we watched "True Detective," and I went to bed early. This week is a big week for me-- my sister Elizabeth (who I work with) had to take this week off and I have to be the lead teacher for the big kids camp this week. Wish me luck! 

I hope you had a great August weekend filled with summer fun :) Now let's get this Monday started! 

Friday Favorites and Five on Friday

Happy Friday friends :) Today, I am linking up with Momfessionals, A Little Bit of Everything, and Grace and Love for Friday Favorites, but also A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, Hello! Happiness, and The Good Life for 5 on Friday. 

{FAVORITE ONE}

I love my nightly walks, but I am ready to mix up my workouts a little bit. My cousin, who is expecting her second child in January, recommended some prenatal workout DVDS . I can't wait to try them out-- I will let you all know how they are and if I have survived!

  

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{FAVORITE TWO}

Looking at precious, little baby clothes. No matter what store I am in, I find myself gravitating towards the baby section. It just makes me so happy. I mean really is there anything cuter than newborn clothes and accessories?!


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{FAVORITE THREE}

We are starting to work on the baby room this weekend, and I am so excited! Most of the work will be done by my husband and I will mostly focus on the decorating and paint color haha! First on the agenda, the chair rail/board and batten design!  I am also interested in finding the right paint color for the room. We (I mean I haha) want light and airy, warm and cozy, neutral. There are so many choices! I am thinking a gray of some sort, just not sure which kind. Our basic idea/theme (if you want to call it that) can be found below (from my pinterest board):

     

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{FAVORITE FOUR}
Right now I am obsessed with fruit and fruit salad! Honestly, it is the best time of the year for melons like honeydew melon, cantelope, watermelon, etc. I can't get enough!

{FAVORITE FIVE}
I am just so glad it is Friday. This week has been long, and although I took yesterday off to bring my sister Jocelyn to visit UNH, I need a break :) Don't we all?! 

I hope you all had a great week, and have a great weekend! 

Pregnancy Update-- Week 21

How far along? 21 weeks 5 days 

Size of baby: A banana (7 in, 11 oz)

Total weight gain: About 10 pounds. I am going to be honest with you all. I am having a difficult time with this aspect-- not the actual gaining weight part, but the being okay with gaining weight part. I have watched my weight ever since I can remember. I would be lying if I said I have always felt comfortable with my body-- and I think that is fairly normal. During pregnancy, you are encouraged to gain weight, but at a steady pace according to your BMI. I know I shouldn't stress too much about the amount of weight I have gained, but I can't help it. I know that it is for the good of the baby, but I also know that I have to be careful not to gain too much. Such a fine balance! Having a positive body image is such an important aspect of life, and I am still working on that. This is actually something that I am focusing on this week. I will try to stress less about the weight gain, and just enjoy the beauty of being pregnant. 

Maternity clothes: Because the weather has been hot (like extremely hot for New England), I have been in dresses/skirts during the day and tank-tops and capri leggings at night. 

Sleep: Inconsistent. There are nights that I sleep great-- I fall asleep and I don't wake up until my alarm goes off. Then, there are nights where I toss and turn constantly. 

Best moment of the week: I can't think of a specific moment (pregnancy brain in full force). But, I am so happy to be pregnant, and I can't wait to meet this baby :)

Movement: A little bit this week-- but still nothing extremely significant. 

Miss anything? Last Friday, I went on a field trip with our big kid campers to Canobie Lake Park (an amusement park), and as sad as it is to say, I miss going on roller coasters! I absolutely love any type of roller coaster, and while I know that I will be able to enjoy them soon, it was really hard to watch everyone go on them haha! 

Food cravings:  CARBS and fruit...lots and lots of fruit. My husband went grocery shopping this week, and I not only requested bananas and apples-- but fruits for fruit salad. He brought home cantelope, honeydew melon, strawberries, and blueberries. He knows me so well :)

Food aversions:  Nothing really! 

Symptoms I have: Heartburn and bloating.   

Gender Predictions: Girl on my end :)

Looking forward to: Planning and starting to work on the baby room :) I have a lot of ideas on Pinterest (my poor husband haha), and I think I have a pretty solid vision for what I want the room to look like. What do you guys think? 

     

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Weekending....

Today, I am linking up with B Loved Boston and Champagne and Suburbs for Weekending...

{FRIDAY}

After a very fun but exhausting field trip to Canobie Lake Park with the summer kids, I was ready to relax Friday night. I made an easy, but summer dinner (grilled sausages, pasta salad, and sauteed zucchini and summer squash). After dinner, I made fruit salad and monkey bread to bring to my in-laws' annual fish fry. Once I was finished, my husband and I watched "Unbroken." I actually really liked the movie. That genre is typically not one that I would gravitate towards, but I had been hearing good things about it so I wanted to watch it. Overall, I would recommend watching it. 

  

{SATURDAY}

My husband and I headed to my brother-in-laws house for the majority of the day for the annual fish fry! There is nothing better  than eating fresh steamers, grilled fish, and lobsters in the summer. Not only was the food delicious, but it was so great to see my in-laws, nephews, and niece. The weather was great too. It was a little cloudy and on the cooler side, but when the sun came out it was perfect. We came home and were in bed before 10-- we are living on the wild side ;) 

{SUNDAY}

Sunday, I slept in and it felt wonderful! I think I really needed it since I haven't been sleeping well the last few days. I seriously need to get one of those pregnancy/body pillows. Everyone I know says that the pillow is worth it-- and honestly right now I believe them! After a great morning of sleeping in, my husband and I decided to organize the office area and basement. Easier said than done! It took the better part of the day -- and to be honest-- my husband did most of the work :) After organizing, I did some major cleaning. It always amazes me how much dirt and dust can collect in a short amount of time! 

The rest of Sunday was spent enjoying the sunshine, and watching movies/shows with my husband. We watched "Two Night Stand," which was actually a pretty good movie (unexpectedly). We then watched the newest episode of "True Detectives." Man-- that show is intense! 

I hope you all had a great and restful weekend :) (I can't believe it's over already).....only five more workdays until the next one! 

Five on Friday and Friday Favorites

Happy Friday friends :) Today, I am linking up with Momfessionals, A Little Bit of Everything, and Grace and Love for Friday Favorites, but also A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, Hello! Happiness, and The Good Life for 5 on Friday.

{FAVORITE ONE}

If you have been following my pregnancy journey, you know that during our 19/20 week ultra-sound, the technician wasn't able to get a good picture of the spine. Baby was napping and did not want to be disturbed! No amount of jumping jacks, stretching or movement on my part could persuade the baby to switch positions. I have to admit that when I received the phone call and email to schedule another ultra sound, I was scared. Deep down I knew that having the additional ultra-sound didn't necessarily mean that there was a problem. However, as most people know me to be, I am a realist and I wanted to prepare myself. In addition to the second ultra-sound, the doctor also suggested that I take the AFP blood test, which would also rate the risk for a spinal issue/neural tube defect. Again, while the scientist in me understood the additional testing, the first-time mom in me totally freaked out. When you are pregnant for the first time, everything is new and unfamiliar and that can be a very scary thing. Nothing is "normal" because you haven't experienced anything like this before. Sure, you know people who are pregnant, but it is definitely different when it happens to your own body. It is different when you are receiving the calls. Fast-forward to this week, and my husband and I attended the second ultra-sound. I also had the AFP blood test done. The results of both show it is unlikely that the baby has a neural tube defect. Now while there is still a risk (there is always a risk I suppose), the results have given me some peace.  

{FAVORITE TWO}

Although favorite two is connected to favorite one, I needed to include it! My second favorite of this week was actually having the second ultra-sound. I realized today, a day after my second ultra-sound, how much of a blessing it really was. My husband and I got to look at our precious baby again. In this respect, I know that I am a lucky person. There is nothing like seeing your baby on the screen, seeing the heart beat, the tiny feet and toes, precious nose, and cute little mouth. 

{FAVORITE THREE} 

My sister Nicole introduced me to a company named Divinity LA. It is an online jewelry store that sells unique bracelets made with semi-precious stones from around the world. What makes this company so special in my opinion is the fact that each bracelet has a unique meaning, and is directly connected to a special cause. For example, The Sea Turtle bracelet is meant to promote "creativity and mental clarity." $1 from each sale goes to the Sea Turtle Conservatory. 

{FAVORITE FOUR}

I am really starting to put our baby registry together, and I have found some extremely helpful websites including: 

• Baby List Baby Registry
• Lucie's List
• Buy Buy Baby (specifically the baby registry checklist)
• The Bump-- registry checklist

{FAVORITE FIVE}

 This weekend, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are hosting my husband's family for their annual fish fry! It is a fun, summer celebration where the whole family gets together and eats seafood :) umm..........yes please! I am so excited not only for the food, but to see everyone and to enjoy their beautiful pool :) Can't get much more summer than that! 

I hope you all have a great weekend :) I can't believe next week will be the last week of July-- the summer is going by so quickly! I can't believe I will be heading back to school so soon! I feel as though I just got out. It's a good thing I like the Fall :)