It's Already Thursday!?

I confess...

If something is final sale than I will 99% not purchase it. I have a hard time committing.

Speaking of sales, it's hard to be on a budget with all these end of winter sales going on! Yesterday was a chilly rainy day so the girls and I went to the mall and it was almost torturous. JK we had fun but sales!

Everyday I am so annoyed by all the clutter that has accumulated in our home (too much toys, clothes, etc) but I have a hard time getting rid of stuff. It seems like something always comes in handy months even years (embarrassing!) of just laying around. I keep telling myself that when we move sometime this year that I'll use that time to really purge. But I've said this to myself every time we moved (4 times in 4 years) and it really hasn't happened yet. Or I will get rid of something but replace with something else. #struggles

We don't watch TV at home but I really want to watch the Bachelor haha I always catch it at the gym on Monday nights and I'm kind of ashamed to admit I love the crazy. But I'm a sucker for reality TV so this isn't saying much. Except that it's for the best we don't have a TV at home ;)

Weeks seem to have been flying by lately. Kind of scary and exciting that there are only 3 more months until baby boy is here!

linking here here

Baby #3!

blue wall for added effect ;)

We are so excited to welcome baby #3 into our family this June! We're even more excited that it's a boy, our first son and little brother for the girls. I'm a little nervous as all I've ever know is pink, princesses, dresses and the gentleness and sweetness that comes with girls but I'm so excited for the new experience that having a son would bring. I feel so blessed to complete our family and thankful for God's timing and grace.

Gender: Boy! Confirmed by 2 different ultrasounds ;)

How far along:  25 weeks couple days

Total weight gain:  about 10ish pounds

Maternity clothes:  maternity jeans mixed with loose sweaters...I wore one of my husbands shirts (he's 6'5'') to the gym the other week and he asked me if I was seriously going to work out in that. I looked a little ridiculous but my workout clothes don't fit anymore :(

Stretch marks:  from previous pregnancies 

Sleep:  I sleep totally fine it's my two toddlers who are having trouble! Up 3 days in a row with Lucy crying and having to bring her back to bed so she wouldn't wake up Juju. Than last night it was Juju's turn to cry randomly in the middle of the night and lay in her bed until she fell back asleep.

PEAK of the week:  the 2 long naps I got to take Sunday and and Monday. 

PIT of the week:  felt a weird pressure in my belly all day Monday like baby was right in my rib cage. I couldn't even bend or slump slightly because of it. 

Big Sisters:  Awesome :) We've just started to kind of talk more about the baby with them and reminding them it's in mommy's belly and that one day he'll be out and they'll have a brother to play with. Juliana said she wants a baby in her belly too. Umm....not for 20 more years girlfriend. 

Daddy:  I couldn't do life without him. He works hard all day then comes home and lets me nap. I wake up the house is clean and the girls are fed and happy. 

Miss anything?  Sushi would be nice. I got Archer Farms wasabi soy chips (yum) the other week to satisfy the craving but over did it as usual and felt like crap haha 

Movement:  Lots! I feel hiccups and tiny punches all the time and I swear he was somersaulting the other day which added to the pressure I was already feeling. 

Food cravings:  Nothing crazy, I'm just hungry all. the time. I am really enjoying peanut butter lately. Like midnight snacking enjoying. So naughty. 

Anything making you feel sick or queasy?  Brushing my teeth always makes me gag while pregnant! And sometimes queasiness after breakfast. Probably because I inhale it.

Symptoms:  A bone separating feeling in my lower back and hips make sitting for long periods of time and getting up very uncomfortable. 

Belly button:  Flat.

Mood: Trying to be productive but feeling a wee bit tired haha

Looking forward to: It's my mama's birthday on friday and also my half birthday!

I love reading pregnancy updates so if you're doing them on your blog leave me a comment with your blog name so we can bump along together (see what I did there. So clever.) I think it's so sweet to read a mama's thoughts and experiences during pregnancy and than finally getting to meet the little life that was growing inside all those months :)

Friday Favorites

My little squish at her 6 month pictures.

Happy 18 months Lucy! I cannot believe we're halfway to 2! Lately, she's just so cuddly and sweet, I can't get enough of her. We'll definitely be celebrating with frozen yogurt and a million kisses and hugs but no more than that ;) 

A new to me website is 6pm. I found it through this sales blog and have been checking it since. They have a wide selection of Nike's and they frequently go on sale for the lowest prices I have ever seen, like $35 low. Of course they usually sell out quick but if you catch it on time or wear a less sought after shoe size than you might just score ;)

I am OBSESSED with meringue anything. This weekend for not reason at all I want to attempt this cake. It's my favorite cake in the world but I've never actually made it before.

Found the cutest little tumblr. Tumblr is all the inspiration but not much for sources. Which makes it Pinterest's harmless cousin :)

If you've never seen those annoyingly delicious looking quick recipe videos on FB than here is a link to one of the best. You're welcome and I'm sorry. I seriously want to make everything I see because they make it look SO easy and good. The kid friendly pizza recipe is super cute with the helping little hands. I want to try it with Juliana. She's been SO picky lately and I read somewhere that involving kids in the prep will make them more excited about the food. Fingers double crossed it works!

And lastly, one of my favorite blogs. Love this look because I really don't need to be convinced very hard to wear a comfy gray crew sweater. Now I just need some pink heels :)


linking here here & here

Juju Quotes

"Mama, say I'm a funny goose."

"You're a funny goose."

"Thank you so much!"

"Juliana, you are so so cute!"

"Yes, I'm beautiful. Oi! My booty itches!"

During church...

"What are you doing?"

"Being good so I can have ice cream"

Lucy mumbles something in the car while we're driving...

"What Lucy? You want bananas?!"

After I told she couldn't have too many grape tomatoes..

"No more tomatoes, or my tummy will hurt and I will cry and mama will say Oh Juju are you crying?"

"Where are we going?"

"To the store..."

"To buy birds!?"

While at the store...

"Should we get this ice cream?"

"Yes I will buy it for papa! And he'll say Thanks Juj!"

We speak in both our girls in Russian but Juliana's English vocabulary is quickly growing partly from listening to people speak it around her and from cartoons. She has the cutest way of pronouncing words and it's always really funny to hear her talk back to people in English because we're not really sure if she knows what they're saying to her but she'll answer anyway. She knows the typical how old are you and what's your name and few other phrases and but mostly beyond that she'll answer yes or no. We're not in a hurry for her to learn because once she goes to school she'll pick it up in a heart beat. I'm surprised how much she actually knows already!

beautiful=bootyfor

dinosaur=dinofour

thank so much=thank you sore much

smoothie=foomie

Thursday Confessions

I hate when bloggers/Instagrammers sell things by saying "look at this (insert simple sweater or top) it comes in a a million (regular old) colors and is less than $200!" um, ok wow what a steal. A little out of touch there?

I finally got around to watching Paper Towns and it was so. boring. Major let down since it was so hyped about like all of last year. Yes, I'm a little behind times. I don't read best seller books of the moment but I do like to catch the movie to see what it's about. I really liked the Me Before You trailer and I'm hoping the movie is as good as everyone says the book is. P.S. Don't get me wrong, I love to read I just only try to read books that will bring me closer to God along with daily Bible reading. Reading became a rare and sacred time once I had kids so I have to choose wisely.

Speaking of kids and sacred time-I wish my girls could understand that if they let mommy sleep just a wink more than mommy won't be such a snappy crab the rest of the day. #sotired #sendhelp #orcoffee

I had Oreo Thins at like 1 am the other day because I couldn't sleep and got hungry. In my defense I never eat or buy Oreo's but the Saturday morning taste tester lady at Target got to me like a month ago and I've been slowly, secretly making my way through the package ever since.

And finally, I didn't want to leave the house until the UPS guy brought my Nordstrom package. I got this and it was just ok. The olive color isn't really doing anything for me.

linking here

Thoughts on the Irony of Parenthood

(taken last summer)

God likes to rightfully and with humor put me in my place by teaching me to have more compassion and patience for my messy little ladies. Today I got frustrated at them for spilling some of their dippin' dots ice cream and leaving perfectly round little chocolate stains on the rug. Fast forward to right now and I'm sitting on the couch enjoying my own dippin' dots when I knock the cup over and send all the little dots flying everywhere and making a bigger mess than both girls combined. No one is perfect, certainly not me. Lesson learned.

Growing up I couldn't wait to "move out so I can go to sleep whenever I want!" I was just a crazy night owl and got in trouble for it all the time. Well now I'm all "grown up" and moved out but have spent the past 3 years either not getting enough sleep because of babies or getting mad at the bigger versions of said babies for not going to sleep when I tell them to. Somewhere my parents are laughing at me. 

It's true that becoming a parent pretty much makes you crazy but you're also so far off the deep end that you would never dream of going back. It's like the madness has gone to your head, made a home and got comfortable. 

Half of you wants the time to speed up to when they're bigger! more independent! but the other half knows you'll never ever get these days back and want time to just stand still. Recently I was looking at Juliana's baby pictures and started tearing up because I would give all the money in the world to just hold her as an infant in my arms again for even a minute. It's not like she's 18 and married either, this was a short 3 years ago! Like I said before, motherhood is a the most bittersweet journey that I'll ever enjoy. 

In the midst of it all I am reminded how truly blessed I am. Some nights I'll quietly be sitting doing the usual like browsing on my phone or reading and I hear one of the girls take a deep breath in their sleep from their room. It reminds me that I have two healthy little girls, sound asleep, alive and well. There is so much that we can take for granted as parents so it's good to stop and be grateful for the little things.

Anyway, sorry of the ramble of a post. Sometimes I have so much to say but have a hard time spitting it out.  

linking here

Juliana-Big Three!

I thought I would do a Juliana update on the last day of her birthday month. Happy Leap Year! (written yesterday)

Nicknames: Juj, Jusik, Goose

 Clothes: 3t, 4t I always size up 

Shoes: 9 Just bought her some size 11 boots hoping they fit next winter

Potty trained: since age 2 

Disney Princesses are going SUPER strong around here. She asks almost daily to go back to "aforida" and visit Cinderella in her "magic royal castle" We went in January and has not forgotten the hugs she gave to Belle, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Merida and Donald Duck in that order. Every morning she wakes up and changes into a "Cinderella" dress and will wear it all day. She never wants to put her hair up because she's "Rapunzel." I wish a had a longer list of her current interests but seriously princesses, princes, castles and sometimes coloring is all that Juliana's into. She can just sit in her room and act out little scenes all day long. 

She is pretty much a vegetarian and only eats vegetables, fruit, yogurt, ice cream, pasta and rice. It's impossible to get her to try something new and won't even touch a lot of the foods she once ate with a passion. 

She's been in a big girl bed since around 2 1/2 and sleeps really well in it. Past few couple night we put them in with classical music and they have been falling asleep on their own. We always hear Juliana saying "Lucy lay down!" in her stern little voice and it's so funny. She's a total Big Sister. 

Juliana really did not go through "terrible twos" It was my favorite age with her. She's once of those kids that likes order, habits, rituals, responsibilities etc. She likes all her coat buttons buttoned and her sweaters zipped up all the way. She's good about putting her dishes away in the sink, says thank you for everything, puts away groceries when I bring them home, loves to line things up, has really good memory, knows all her numbers, colors and letters. Also, she's really funny and goofy but very shy! 

headband

We all love her sooooo much! I can't imagine life without her and cried like a baby when we had to be separated for a few days last month.