Where do I begin? Life lately has been beautiful, messy at times, and pretty busy gearing up for our baby girl’s arrival. We’re so grateful for all your support and love during this chapter in our lives.

MOM LIFE

I’m sitting here, writing from bed with Isabelle. She’s on Spring Break from school… aka home for the week while I try to come up with new activities to keep her entertained. She’s been sick all week too, so we haven’t been able to go on any of our planned playdates or day trips. If she’s feeling better, she has 4 days of school next week before we head to Scottsdale to spend a long Easter weekend with family.

Being a mom can be so beautiful, isolating, fun, and tough all at the same time. I’ve had to learn deeper patience and strength to power through long days and nights * hello tantrums about a popsicle melting or the wrong Encanto song playing*. I also have to remind myself that everything can wait… and what needs me most are these two girls- the one next to me and the one in my belly. As someone who always hustled and stayed ‘on’ around the clock, my biggest struggle when I first became a mom was putting the laptop away, shutting down my phone, and knowing I’m doing enough. It’s a new balance that I’m continually working on.

Here are some pics from our little spring break… the last one as a family of 3 🙂

WORK LIFE BALANCE

I’ve talked about this a lot lately, but I’ve learned it’s so important to have strong boundaries with a work schedule and home life. Everything used to blend together with me and Brian since we work together (laptops out at all hours of the night and work conversations would never end). We no longer discuss work on the weekends or in the evenings, especially when we’re with Bella and having dinner. I also cut back on my social media screentime this year, which I highly recommend especially going into summer. It was a New Years goal I had and I’ve been sticking to it!

We were all in lockdown for so long, that it’s important to take time away from technology. During 2020 and most of 2021 it was our only way to connect… but now, it’s time to connect with our lives and family IRL.

I no longer check emails at night or before 9am. My evenings are reserved for family time and mornings are all Bella… getting ready for school and drop-off.

The main thing that helped me lessen screentime is I don’t watch instagram stories unless it’s a tagged story—which instagram thankfully makes it easy to just watch those— or a small group of 5 people that I have saved at the top. Other than that, I don’t spend any time mindlessly scrolling or consuming other people’s lives that don’t add value to my day. I’ve done this since January 1st and let me tell you…

It feels really so freaking good to tune out of the noise in the world and tune more into our own story each day.

It also makes me pick up the phone and call a friend or family member to catch up instead of feeling like I’m all caught up from watching their highlight reel.

Another tip is you can limit your screentime in your settings on your phone. Whatever it is, take time for beautiful experiences each day this spring and summer! You deserve it.

Last week I went to a couple work events and wow, I don’t plan on wearing heels anytime soon. Here are a few from the Bumpsuit event with REVOLVE. I’m wearing the Velvet Monica dress. Here’s a link to more of my favorite bumpsuits on REVOLVE.

HOME LIFE

We’ve been nesting big time… aka preparing for baby girl to come. I finally started picking out nursery furniture and we just ordered our rocking chair! I’ll be sharing everything ASAP. If you’re looking now, I do have a post that I recently updated called Newborn Must-Haves.

I’m also doing some major spring cleaning, so I’ll share a post on that soon!

PREGNANCY

How do I say this? I am beyond uncomfortable… all day and all night. I’m waddling, I can only eat a tiny bit before running out of space and feeling sick, everything hurts, and I’m just out of breath and feeling so stretched, but of course, I’m so grateful. It’s that final stretch * literally * that is so tough, especially chasing a toddler around. I just keep reminding myself that I prayed for this for over two years. It doesn’t make it any more comfortable, but it of course puts it all in perspective.

I know it’s only going to get more intense over the next month, so I’m slowing down. And really… most of my days are spent laying sideways on the floor playing with Isabelle. This morning she was actually waddling around holding her belly and I asked her what she was doing and she replied, ‘I’m mommy’! So there’s that, LOL.

Baby girl is also measuring a whopping 3 weeks ahead (emphasis on HEAD), so I was advised to reel back on the donuts and exercise a little more in the next few weeks, but not get my blood pressure up, but also try not to pee my pants, but also rest… it’s all hilarious. And don’t think for a second I’m giving up my donuts.

My health is good- I’ve shared before that I have some complications and this pregnancy is high-risk, but all in all, I’m hanging in there! I’m being monitored twice a week now, which is nice and gives me peace of mind each time I go in. We’re so close! It’s just time to hunker down and get some sleep while we can. I recently did a pregnancy Q&A. See it on Instagram HERE.

Shoutout to Nicole Hill for coming over and doing the most magical maternity shoot. Pics and video coming soon!

Thanks for checking in… your messages and support mean the world to us. I’m sending my love to you and your family. I hope you have a nice week leading up to Easter. Take lots of time to decompress and be present in your life. You deserve all the R&R!

xxo