Guest Post, Ya'll!

Howdy partners!!!!!

I'm blogging live from Nashville, TN ya'll!! We're here celebrating my sister (in-law)'s marriage to her high school sweetheart. We got in at 1:30am local time, but thankfully the Hilton Garden Inn has an unlimited supply of coffee in the lobby. SCORE!

Anywhoo, stop on over to Lovely Life of Leah today to read my guest post talking about things I wish I could tell my 14 year-old self. There may or may not be a Charlotte Hornets starter jacket involved....

Audra Lately

Here is a summary of my life right now:

The students are back. I love this time of year, I love working on a college campus, but I barely have time to catch my breath. Oh well - better busy than bored I guess!

I am super stoked to be going to Nashville for my sisters wedding next weekend! This summer has flown by, and I can't even believe it's already here. I feel like just yesterday I was posting about this, and here we are! I know nothing about Nashville. I want to take Emerson to do something fun in our free time - any suggestions???

Jon and I decided that we're going to put our house up for sale next summer. YAY! And also, holy sh%^! We have some work to do to make the house perfect, but considering every single room of the house has been or will be renovated by the time we sell, I am feeling optimistic about it. But seriously, nothing makes me feel more like an adult (except for having a baby that is) than the idea that I might sell my first house. Crazy!

I am sticking to my no-sugar kick - are you as shocked as I am?!? Except for sugar in tomato sauce and Cinnabon coffee creamer, I've only indulged in sugar one time in the last 4 weeks.

One of the perks of not being pregnant in the fall is getting to wear cute high heels again. I bought these two pairs of pumps from Target, can't wait to try them out! It's kind of my MO to buy the same thing in multiple colors, don't judge. I have simple tastes.

Jon started his new job last week, and it's going great! He's home even more, which means more family time. This is one of the big reasons we are looking to sell though, because his home "office" is in our dining room, which has also morphed into Emerson's play room. Kinda hard to work when you're listening to "Welcome to our learning farm, we've got lots to show you" all.day.long.

I'm hoping to catch up with the outside world soon, but until then.... thank God for coffee.

It's all worth it

Classes begin next Wednesday, which means I will pretty much have no free time for the next 3 months.

I've been working late every night this week in preparation for the craziness. For 3 nights in a row, I wasn't able to put Emerson to bed. Which was heartbreaking, since that only happened one other time (when we were in Vegas).

So last night I got to come home at a decent hour. I pulled up to the side of the house, and Jon was just pulling Emerson out of her stroller. They had gone on a walk while waiting for me.

I got out of the car, and all of a sudden she spotted me and went NUTS. Huge smile, mouth wide open, legs kicking, squeals of glee.

In all my life, with all of my loves, I have never had anyone that genuinely excited and exhilarated to see me. I had to snap a photo to capture the moment.

I'm sorry, but nothing compares to this.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving... this eye color palate by Stila. I have hazelish eyes (still don't know exactly how you'd classify them as they're not brown but not green - gold maybe? Is gold an eye color? I really am not sure) Anyway, this color palate works really well with whatever color my eyes are.

I'm loving... St. Ives Apricot Scrub. I used to use this back in high school, and just rediscovered it. Oh my word, my face feels as soft and smooth as Emerson's! I would like to think I'm scrubbing away fine lines and wrinkles too.

I'm loving... sweet potato fries! I had them a few weeks back at Burger Works (delicious establishment, btw) and now I'm obsessed with making them myself. So yummy, and makes me feel like I'm being healthy.

I'm loving... my new hair cut. Even though I almost hyperventilated in the stylist's chair, I am very happy with the results. So quick and easy to do in the morning, and I had the same long boring hair forever so it was fun to have a change.

I'm loving... this new tasty treat by The Cheesecake Factory. No, I am not currently eating sugar, but this little cake is truly a work of art and when it's time to indulge in dessert again, this is the first thing on my list!

I'm loving... the skinny jeans grandma bought for baby girl. If it were possible to die from cuteness, Emerson would kill me every day.

I'm loving... that we spent more to purchase this headband for Emerson to wear as flower girl in Kenny's wedding than we did on her dress itself. I think I have a sickness.

Happy Wednesday!!!

Guest Posting!

Hey everybody!

Come check out my guest post on one of my favorite blogs, Life After I Dew. I'm talking about "How to Be a Cool Mom." Oh, the irony......

Friday's Letters

Link Up!

Dear Emerson: Thank you for taking after your father's side of the family and sleeping a solid 13 hours last night. My PR as an adult is 10 hours. You go girl. Dear Olympic athletes: Rock on. I wish I had an ounce of athleticism. Dear legs: Don't let me down. I've got a half marathon in 10 weeks, and we can DO THIS if we work together. Kapeesh? Dear next door neighbor: You're strange. You should look into that. Dear Mackenzie: I'm so excited for a fun weekend celebrating your last single-girl weeks! We've got some fun in store for you! ;-) (Sorry, Channing Tatum won't be there, I tried. He's busy I guess??) Dear Mackenzie's friends: I'm sorry you have to see me in a 2 piece bathing suit. Dear sugar: It's been almost 2 weeks. I don't need you! But why are you in everything???? Dear school year: I'm not ready for you. Dear fall: I'm definitely ready for you. Bring on the pumpkin spice and the crunchy leaves. Dear self: You are getting your hair cut tomorrow. You will NOT chicken out and go for same ole, same ole. You can do this.

Happy weekend ya'll!!

Take-home Baby #2

Before proceeding with the following post, please take note of one important thing:

My uterus, folks, is currently empty.

After mentioning the words "baby #2" in my last post, even my own mother questioned whether or not I was with child. Mom, come on now! I promise I would tell you before the internet ;-)

But what I was referring to are some conversations I've been having lately, mostly with Jon, but some friends and family members as well. Jon just got a promotion/new job, and with said new job came a big raise. Well, big for us at least. So, naturally, when you have the world's most perfect baby, your first thought when you come into more money is "Ooooooh, let's have another baby, like NOW!!!!!"

Then the tires squeal, and you're like "Hold up, what's that now??"

I have always expected that I would have 3 children, all close in age, all awesome. But I also never expected that I would lose my first child and subsequently change my entire perspective on pregnancy, motherhood, and child-rearing.

One part of me is longing, aching, dying to be pregnant again. I love feeling baby kicks. I love having a round belly. I want Emerson to have a brother or sister to play with. I want to squeeze a squishy newborn again. I want a baby boy. I want a baby girl that can wear all of Emerson's clothes. I want to breathe in the scent of my newborn baby and feel that contented feeling that only new mommyhood can bring. I also love being a mom so much that I can only imagine it'll get even better when another baby comes along.

On the other hand, I am not sure that my mind, body and soul are ready to be pregnant again. I don't know if I'm ready for the anxiety and fear that come with being pregnant after a loss. I don't know if I'm ready physically to gain weight and endure morning sickness. I don't know if I'm ready for sleepless nights again. (Actually, I know I'm not ready for that part, because it wasn't that long ago and I still have bags under my eyes)

Right now, it feels like life could not be more perfect. We have a dream work/life schedule. Jon takes care of Em in the morning, she gets to go to day care and play with her friends, and then I pick her up in the early afternoon. We get lots of play time and snuggle time. She gets dinner, a bath, 2 or 3 books, a song, and goes to bed for 12-13 hours. Then we get "adult" time (get your head out of the gutter) when I get to cook dinner, work out, read books, and take time for me. Parenting this little angel is just so EASY and perfect. She gets all of our attention (and all of the attention anywhere we go for that matter), but we still have a good amount of free time. I have zero complaints.

So therefore, I am sure that introducing a new baby to this perfect scenario will wreak absolute havoc on our lives and bring chaos that I can't even begin to fathom. And I know that I'll miss devoting all of my time, attention, and kisses to Emerson. I can't imagine sharing those with a new baby without taking away from her. I know it can be done, but I don't know how.

I am feeling so much conflict over it, and therefore, I know now is not the right time. Maybe I'll change my mind in a month. Maybe we won't have another baby for 3 years. I have no clue. But just like I knew with Jack and with Emerson, when the time is right, we'll know. 

For now, I'm going to keep doing crunches and enjoy eating sushi. Not a bad compromise.

What's Up to My Cup

(A million points for any of you out there that get that obscure title reference).

Babies are funny. Emerson does not have a shortage on toys (or clothes or baby food for that matter). She's got toys in every room of the house. Literally every room. We need to have a source of entertainment for her at all times. And when I say need, I mean, we do, even though I could stick a t-shirt in front of her and she would think it was awesome.

But her most favorite toy???

Stacking cups.

She loves these cups. L-O-V-E-S them. Her face lights up when there's a cup in sight. She is *this close* to crawling, and I swear that it's because her cups are scattered throughout the whole house, and she will army crawl/roll to get a cup that's across the room. It is her mission in life, I think.

But seriously, of all the things, THIS is her jam? I think some day for baby #2 (more on that later), I will save our money on toys and clothes and just buy plastic things from the dollar store. No joke.

In other mommy-related news that no one cares about, yesterday was the 30 week mark! Emerson has been out of my belly almost as long as she was in.

Here I am at 30 weeks in:

And here we are 30 weeks out:

My stomach is smaller, definitely, but I still have the "mom pouch" going on. I am joining Shannon's "300/30 Day Ab Challenge" and so naturally, I will have a six pack in 30 days. That's just how the world works.

Future gold medalist

Hi friends!

Though she will not be eligible for the Summer Olympics until 2028, I feel like Miss Emerson has a future in gymnastics, pole vaulting, diving, and possibly bungee jumping if that is an official sport by then.

Watch the video below and I dare you to disagree.

That right there folks is a Jenny Jump Up. At first I was skeptical (My baby dangling from a door frame?!?!), but oh my word.... it has become the greatest thing in our house. Baby girlfriend goes absolutely apesh*t crazy over this contraption. (Please don't judge me that I put her in there backwards. It has the same effect.) I love that it kind of looks like a strawberry with the top cut off. Right??

If she has her mommy's athleticism, her dreams of winning a gold medal some day will be dashed. However, her patriotism is admirable.

USA! USA! USA!