Christmas Card Discount Codes

I stumbled onto a really great deal for Christmas cards this year with Minted and I wanted to share. I know that we all love sending cute cards, but it can definitely get a little pricey. 

Here's a deal to save $50 on your holiday order at Minted. 

1) Create an account by clicking here and get a $25 credit on your next purchase just for signing up! 

2) Go here and get a discount code for $25 off holiday orders (must be used by 11/4/12). 

How it works: you have to add at least $50 worth of holiday merchandise to your cart. The $25 credit (#1 above) will be automatically applied to your cart and you enter the $25 discount code (#2 above) into the promotion code box during checkout. And bam...$50 worth of products for free. Who doesn't love free Christmas cards?! 

Again, this only works for holiday products and you have to add at least $50 to your cart.

Here's a few of my favorite holiday card designs:

Just wanted to share this with y'all in case y'all still need to order cards like me. Yes, I'm a slacker. Share your own referral link with your friends! Thanks for sharing such a great deal, Ashley!

All images via Minted.com

I was not compensated for this post. All thoughts/opinions are my own. A referral/affiliate link was used in this post.

A Little Church Talk

Yesterday in church our pastor said something that really hit my heart and I wanted to share it today. He said, "The Bible isn't meant to be like a great historic novel that we read once and put down...and then pick up a few years later to reread. It is God's word, our lifeline, our sustenance. It's meant to be read and reread over and over again, daily, constantly. It has to be a part of our life every single day if we expect to grow spiritually."

I'm so guilty of not reading the Bible like I should. 

To quench our thirst, we drink. To satisfy our hunger, we eat. In that same way, we need to fulfill our spiritual thirst/hunger with the word of God. 

I want to start being more intentional about reading God's word. I can make all the excuses I want...I'm too tired, too busy, etc. But I make time to blog and watch tv. How much more important is my spiritual life than those things?

I've never been good at morning Bible quiet times. I'm just not a morning person. Period. So I'm going to start having evening quiet times. I'm praying that God does big things in my heart/life!

Sweet Baby Bump - 26 Weeks

The highlights:

- Emory kicks and moves around now when I talk to her. 

- People ALWAYS touch my belly...and I actually don't mind. It's so sweet!

- I'm driving my nursery designer (aka my bestie Michaela) crazy these days. 

- I've actually been less hungry and really emotionally stable. Whew. 

- I organized E's clothes last night into piles based on size and it's the cutest thing ever. 

- The hubs and I have been enjoying lots of quality time together lately.

- We are THREE months away from E's due date!

PS: If anyone wants to send me gift cards to Etsy, Amazon or Pottery Barn...I wouldn't mind. ; )

On Waiting

Waiting is something that most of us don't like to do. It goes against our human nature of "now now now." After we had our miscarriage, I remember hearing this song and just being so moved by the words. I wanted to live out my faith like this song, to worship and trust the Lord regardless of anything, regardless of the fact that I was left waiting...waiting to get pregnant again, waiting for our turn for a baby, waiting for my heart to mend. 

Sometimes God does call us to wait, for reasons that we can't understand, but always for our own good. Instead of getting mad about it or thinking that the Lord isn't doing what is best, how awesome is it to think about waiting and trusting Him through whatever storm He is bringing you through. 

I love the way the song is so honest and true about the whole process, basically saying waiting is hard and it stinks, but I will chose to worship the Lord anyway. Through it all, I will be here waiting, hoping, trusting. And it's certainly not an easy thing to do, but it is a choice. We can choose to have this attitude, even when it's not in our nature. 

I've had a few friends going through some rough patches lately and this song popped back into my head. No matter what God is calling you to wait through, love Him anyway, trust Him anyway. Whether you're waiting for your soul mate, for your turn to have a baby, for a new job, etc...chose to serve Him at all times, through anything and everything, remaining hopeful and patient. He is more than worthy of our complete trust. 

Baby Shopping

I've gotten a few emails lately asking where I like to shop for baby stuff, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite places. I have actually been doing most of my shopping online these days, mostly because I'm lazy and like to shop from the comfort of my recliner as a murderous Lifetime movie plays in front of me. 

Zulily

1 / 2 / 3 / 4

They have new deals every single day, ranging from baby items to home decor to women's clothing. I love finding stuff on sale...and everything on Zulily is on sale! Go here to sign up for free. 

Totsy

here

Totsy is just like Zulily - new brands all the time for great prices. I think they probably have a wider range of items for sale and usually better prices, but you have to be quick because things sell out fast! Go here to sign up for free. (They offer free shipping on your first order, too!) 

Old Navy

here

I never find a ton of baby stuff at the Old Navy store here, but online they have some of the cutest things I've ever seen! Leopard skinnies, the above vest (that is already in E's closet!) and cardigans with bows. They have definitely caused some damage to our bank account. But E's closet is happy! They have been my favorite place for maternity clothes, too. 

Mommas and mommas-to-be, where do y'all love to shop that is budget friendly?

Sweet Baby Bump - 25 Weeks

The highlights:

- I'm craving pasta all the time, especially from Olive Garden. 

- Emory would have a good chance of survival now, which is a nice relief. 

- I might have to cave and buy some maternity clothes. Even my maxi dresses are getting tight!

- Starting to have to pee way more frequently again. 

- I am now pregnant with three of my best friends. So so perfect. 

- Jumped on a trampoline at 25 weeks pregnant. That was a sight. 

- No heartburn, no back/leg pain, no swelling. Praise the Lord!

- Busted out the waffle maker last night for chocolate chip pancakes. Yummy. 

I just love how my maxi dress keeps getting shorter and shorter. : )

10 Things You Shouldn't Say to a Pregnant Woman

When you're pregnant, you draw extra attention from people. And while most of the attention is positive and fun, sometimes people make remarks that come across the wrong way. They don't mean to be rude, of course (or hopefully not anyway!). I know I've definitely made a few of these "bad" pregnancy comments to people before I knew what it felt like, but I really will never say these things again. 

1) "Wow, are you sure there aren't two babies in there?"

2) "Every time I see you, you get bigger and bigger!"

3) "Look at that big fat belly!"

4) "You're going to have a big baby with that belly."

5) "Are you really going to eat/drink all of that?"

6) "Let's see if you're this happy in a few months when that baby is crying all the time."

7) "You look like you're ready to pop!"

8) "I bet you can eat more than anyone these days."

9) "Do you know who the daddy is?"

10) "You're pregnant? I'm glad it's you and not me."

And yes, all of these statements have been told to me at some point during my pregnancy, some many many times. Most people say these things with a smile or in a joking manner, but it really does get old to hear them time and time again. No woman likes to be told that she is getting bigger (even if it IS for a great reason) and pregnant women don't like it any better. Not to mention our hormones and emotions are already going crazy before you tell us that we are basically the biggest pregnant person to ever exist in the history of the world!

The other comments (like numbers 6 and 10) are often said jokingly as well, but trust me, these can sting a little bit. You never know what someone has been through to get pregnant and they could care less about all the "hard" things that come with a baby, they are just thrilled to finally have a baby! I probably take these statements a little bit more to heart after having a miscarriage, so I can only imagine how hard these would be to someone who has tried for years or lost multiple babies. 

Basically, just think before you speak! A few things to say that really are sweet and make a pregnant momma feel good: "Wow, you're glowing!" "Look at your cute belly!" "You look great!"

Those of you who have never been pregnant are probably thinking that I'm just being an overemotional crazy lunatic (which I can be sometimes, even when not pregnant), but I promise, you will see one day. You will be big and pregnant and someone will compare you to Barney the Dinosaur...and then I want you to come back here and say "Meg, you were so right. So so right. Please forgive me."  ; ) 

The Corn Maze

Yesterday we went to the corn maze/pumpkin patch with some friends of ours. Except it was really only a corn maze because they were out of pumpkins. How does that even happen? I'm not entirely sure, but there wasn't a pumpkin in sight. 

This was our first time going to this place and it really was the cutest thing ever. They have tons of fun things to do and everyone was so nice. I forgot my camera (ugh!) so please excuse the phone pictures. 

Can't wait to see him playing with our little girl...melt my heart!

Pig races. 

Huge jumping pad...which we ALL did later that evening. So fun. 

Apparently we weren't the greatest at navigating the corn maze because it took us quite a few wrong turns to eventually (and I do mean eventually!) make our way out. 

I feel like I can say that fall is officially here now. 

Confronting Fears

As the weeks fly by and our little girl's arrival gets closer and closer, there are several things that keep growing. First and foremost, obviously, my belly and my appetite. But also my excitement and anticipation. I constantly think about how it's going to feel to hold my little girl for the first time. I can't even imagine the flood of emotions that I'll feel and the love that will wash over me. I mean, I already love her so much and I haven't even held her yet. I just cannot wait. 

With all that growing excitement, of course, comes some growing fears, too. I think it's important to address fears for a few reasons. Most importantly, so that I can call out each fear to the Lord and ask Him to put peace and trust in its place. But also to talk with other people about them and know that I am not alone in my fears. We all have them, whether people openly admit it or not. We're not alone. Fear is a natural part of human nature, but we don't have to live in fear, thanks to the Lord's grace and mercy. 

A few of my fears lately:

- That I won't be a good mother and I won't know the right things to do.

- That something bad will happen to baby E.

- The pain of labor and delivery. 

- Managing finances after baby. 

- That the weight won't come off as easily as it has gone on. 

Whatever you're going through, you're not alone and God wants you to turn those fears over to Him.

If you feel comfortable enough to do so, share your fear/fears in the comments. Then commit to praying about those fears. Feel free to email me personally if you'd like me to pray with/for you. 

Sweet Baby Bump - 24 Weeks

The highlights:

- Finally caved and bought new bras. These things have grown y'all. Wow. 

- E weighs over a pound now. Chunk up, little love, chunk up. 

- I wake up every morning to her kicks. Best feeling ever. She's a morning person like her daddy.

- Feeling so much more comfortable at work now that I bought some maternity tops. 

- Our appointment last week went perfectly!

- I feel SO great...no symptoms, great mood, healthy baby. 

That Time We Were Creepers

So normally I post my baby bump pictures today, but I got a little bit distracted...because we have been major creepers today. See, we had a showing this morning at our house. And we're both off today. So we loaded the pups up into the car and headed to McDonald's for breakfast. 

And then we drove back to our house...and it just so happened that the realtor and the people looking at our house had just turned into our driveway. So instead of being normal people and going somewhere else, we stopped a few houses down, parked on the side of the street and creeped. 

I couldn't stop laughing because of how ridiculous we must look with three 80+ pound dogs in the car, trying to eat our breakfast and stalk people without looking like crazy killers. It's a good thing most of our neighbors were at work today. 

Now we're back home and the house is super clean and we have leftovers from dinner last night to eat (because all I think about is food these days), so I'm feeling like it's been a great day. 

French bread pizza.

Baby girl just growing and growing. 

Bump pictures tomorrow!

Blog Changes

So lately I've been feeling a little weird about blogging. I'm not entirely sure why, but it just hasn't felt natural for me. Sometimes I would go to write and it felt like I was forcing it, so I just wouldn't write. Anyone else been there? Just me...cool. ; )

And I think I've figured it out. Just like my belly, my blog is changing. The focus of my blog, that is. While I still consider myself a "lifestyle" blog, most everything that I want to post these days is focused on our baby girl. Because guess what, that is our life these days. And we love it. 

But sometimes I feel like baby posts get old/annoying and so I'd just choose not to write.

Not writing much, made me not read other blogs as much, which made me just feel weird.

And then it hit me...the beauty of the blog world is that it IS real life people who are growing and changing, just like we are. So in the beginning when I was planning my wedding, I really clicked with bloggers who were going through that, too. Then our life was all about being newlyweds and I loved reading about other newlyweds. Now here we are with a sweet bun in the oven and I cannot get enough of pregnancy blogs. 

And don't get me wrong, I still love reading all kinds of blogs, but I think people click more with people going through similar life phases. Because there's a shared passion there. Before I was pregnant, I would stumble onto a pregnancy post and not really feel anything towards it. But now, whew, show me a pregnancy post and I will stalk your blog for hours. : ) And I love that it's like that...because even though some of y'all aren't in the same life phase as me right now and may find all of my baby blabber boring, I know that there are some of y'all out there that are just like me. It makes it feel "okay" for me to write about baby stuff all the time. It makes me want to share again. It makes me feel passionate again.

It's like the blog world is this ever evolving circle that reflects where you've been, where you are and where you're going. And it's fun to read along with all of these stages. 

I think I'm back. 

The Story of Our House

I've had a lot of questions about why we are selling our house right now as we try to prepare for our baby girl's arrival, so I thought I'd share our story and explain a little bit about our decision. 

I bought the house we currently live in before I met my husband. About one month before I met him, to be exact. It was a brand new house and I was much more focused on the beauty than the future practicality. Don't get me wrong, we are blessed to have such a beautiful house, but we just don't see it as our future house. We don't see us raising a family here. We want land and trees and space for our babies to run and play. We are in a gated neighborhood (which I loved for security as a single woman) and we are right on top of our neighbors. Our yard is super small, as in I could probably touch the back fence standing at the back door. A little exaggeration, maybe, but not by much. 

Our plan has always been to sell our house after our 3 years expired (from being a first time homeowner). We knew that the time was coming to sell. We didn't want to put off starting a family, so boom...here we are. We have prayed about the situation and we know that this is what God has for us right now. 

So yes, while I would love to have a finished nursery right now that looks like it came from the pages of Pottery Barn, we aren't there. We are taking each day as it comes and trusting that the Lord has a plan through all of this. We don't have an exact plan on what we will do as it gets closer to Emory's arrival, but right now we are just being patient (most of the time) and waiting.

No matter where we are when we bring our little girl home, whether we're still here or in a new home, whether the nursery is complete or still a work in progress, we know that that is not what is important. What is important is that we have a healthy baby girl who needs our love and attention more than anything else.

And that...is the biggest blessing of all.  

Speaking of house, look what happened at our house last night:

Juuuuust kidding. We are in Louisiana. It's still in the 80s. : )

Sweet Baby Bump - 23 Weeks

The highlights:

- Feeling kicks and flips ALL the time...one of the best feelings ever!

- Her closet is overflowing already. So blessed. 

- Bought some Old Navy maternity tops for work and they are so so comfortable. 

- My wedding rings still fit...woohoo!

- We have the glucose test next Monday. I'm a little nervous. 

- Everywhere we go, people ask how far along I am, when am I due, etc...and I just love it! 

He was super excited about joining in...really. ; )

Every day brings us one day closer to meeting our little girl and we cannot wait!! 

October 2nd

Two years ago today, I was stuffing my face with donuts and pizza, giggling with my best friends, having my hair done and feeling ten million butterflies swirl around in my stomach. It was the day that I had forever dreamed of...marrying my best friend. And it was such a perfect day. 

Today we have eaten donuts and snuggled in bed a little bit longer than normal. I'm feeling our precious baby kick and swirl around in my stomach. What a difference two years makes! 

picture via Brandon O'Neal Photography

To my sweet husband, my other half, my best friend, and now the father of our child...I love you more than words can even express. I love being married to you and I love going through life with you. Our relationship is something that I've always dreamed of...it's steady, strong, passionate and forgiving. Through all the ups and downs that the last two years have brought, we have grown so much and I love you more now than ever before. You make me a better version of myself. 

I love you and can't wait to see you with our daughter. I can't wait to celebrate the rest of our lives together...and to have nine more babies. : ) I thank God for making you for me and me for you. 

Dallas Trip

This past Friday we loaded up the truck and headed to Dallas for a little baby shopping trip. I have been dying to make a trip to Ikea (for the first time ever) and so that was the main point behind our road trip. We also hit up The Container Store and Buy Buy Baby, both of which I head over heels loved. I contemplated moving to Dallas for a few hours, but my senses quickly returned when we got stuck in 5 o'clock traffic. Horrible. 

Ikea was definitely amazing and unique. We made it in and out in just under two hours, which I was pretty proud of. I can totally see how people spend half a day in there, though, especially if they are shopping for lots of house items. We ended up bringing home a dresser, a chest of drawers, a little storage thing, lots of baskets/trinkets and a lamp. Emory was happy, to say the least. : )

The pieces of the nursery are slowly starting to come together and I am just thrilled about it. We aren't going to actually start setting it up until closer to delivery, just in case we sell our house before then, but I really can see it starting to all come together. Happy, happy, happy. 

A few other cute items recently:

The nursery rug...woohoo! Can't wait to share it!

The rest of our weekend was spent snuggled up in bed/on the couch as it rained and rained. Tomorrow we are celebrating our second wedding anniversary! TWO WHOLE YEARS! Oh how time flies when you're having fun!