Steppin' out - St. Patty's Day dinner w/friends!

My Husband and I really don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day... I mean really.. why would we? We aren't Irish and we do not party or drink so... we really have no reason to. But when my best friend, Kiara, and her family invited us over for a good old fashioned Irish dinner... how could we refuse??

{almost 37 weeks along)

What We Wore -- Linking up with Steppin' Out Saturday @ Harper's Happenings

Bennett - Shirt: Tea Collection // Pants & Shoes: Target

Mama - Shirt: H&M // Pants: Motherhood Maternity (from 3 years ago!) // Shoes: Ross

Corned beef hash and cabbage! It was actually quite good!!  I enjoyed it very much!

And Bennett wouldn't stay in his seat so he just ran around tickling Dane. It was pretty awesome.

The boys playing video games.


Bennett can seriously be such a cheeseball!! I love it!

Dane and Bennett playing a game called Fruit Ninja.

Our attempt at getting a picture with all 4 of us looking at the camera. Bennett, you lose.

So happy to have spent my Saturday night with such great friends, there's nothing else I'd rather be doing on my spare time!

hormones.

So far, this entire pregnancy, I've actually been pretty even keeled with my emotions. I've remained cool, calm and collected - even when I was throwing up all day for 20 weeks and trying to wrangle a toddler. Even through the ridiculously stressful home buying process. And even through our move into the house, trying to get situated here and make this place a home.

{took these photos the other day and am inserting them into those post because i think they kinda reflect my mood lately... dreary.}

But ya know, the last week or so... I have just been a mess!! Emotionally speaking. I have been breaking down, crying at little things and feeling completely overwhelmed.

Last night, baby Fitz was on some sort of crazy high or something. From 10pm-3:30am, he literally did not stop riverdancing all over my ribs, bladder, back... whatever. I was soooo tired but could NOT go to sleep. It was actually pretty painful and by 3am I was so frustrated that I just went into the bathroom and broke down crying. It could have been just pure exhaustion that brought it out? But then in the morning, I cried again. This was probably only the 4th time I've cried in the last 8 months. It's a record for me because when I was pregnant with Bennett, I cried like every other day.

To be honest, I feel kind of alone. I mean... my friends really are amazing, but I really feel like it's just me and Bennett all day every day. I'm getting increasingly uncomfortable and unable to do things in a way that I used to. (play with bennett, pick him up, do some chores, and just plain get things DONE... etc). And when my Husband comes home, he's around to help with Bennett - but he's been so distracted and off in his own world sometimes that I have just felt sort of abandoned throughout this pregnancy. I'm not saying this to talk badly about my Husband because obviously, he's a great guy. But he really can not even begin to understand how hard it is to go through an entire 8-9 months of being sick and achy and just in pain... while trying to care for a small child all day. It's exhausting and stressful.

Gah!!! Okay now I just feel like I'm complaining and being a baby. And I promised in this post that I wasn't going to complain anymore. I know a million other moms do this every day. At this point, I am just going to chalk it up to hormones and try to get over it! So you can just ignore me! :-)

36ish weeks.

Here I am. At the point of weekly visits to the OB. When on earth did this happen?! How did time fly by so quickly? I'm kind of in disbelief that in a few short weeks (or possibly sooner) I will be holding baby boy #2 in my arms!

So... let's see. What's going on with the pregnancy right now.

+Well... If it isn't completely obvious, I carry WAY out front with my pregnancies. It's like someone literally shoved a bowling ball into my stomach. Not comfortable, at all.

+My OB is telling me that technically I'm measuring right where I should be, but that she thinks this baby will be a little bigger than Bennett. Eeeek. Bennett was 8.3lb and it scares me to think about delivering a baby bigger than that. But... I will do it. I know I will.

+Weight gain: 25lbs and still packin' in on! I gained 40lbs with Bennett so I'm guessing I'll gain about that much this time, too.  

+Had an u/s at my last appointment and looks like baby Fitz is head down and ready to rock.

+My blood pressure is right where it should be.

+Fitzies heart rate is right where it should be. He's a healthy boy... he moves like crazy in there. He doesn't have much room but he does not stop rolling around. Like ever.

+Just had the test for Group B Strep, and am waiting on results. I tested negative last time, so I'm sure the test will come back negative this time as well.

+A lot of people have been asking me if I'm dilated at all. Here's the answer: I have no idea if I'm dilated, nor will I have any idea until I actually go into labor. Me and my OB are very conservative when it comes to that stuff and absolutely DO NOT check my cervix unless there is a medical reason to do so. There are a LOT of reasons why I choose to go the "no checking" route... but I am not going to get into it at this very moment. Ha ha.

+Physically? I can feel my pelvis starting to rotate a little. It is starting to get very uncomfortable and painful at times to walk around. My back aches constantly, that's a given. Heartburn is in full swing most all of the time. I'm starting to notice some swelling in my face and ankles. I totally blew up like a balloon with Bennett, it was terrible. But I'm not eating nearly as much salt as I did when I was preggo with B, and I'm drinking a lot more water this time. So we'll see what happens!

+Sleep. Ha ha.

+We're still completely baffled as to what we are going to name this child. Ah well, we'll figure it out!

And that's all I got right now. Besides continuing to try to get a little more organized and put myself in the right place mentally, things are good! We're chugging right along.

And here is a pic from the other night. Hubs was trying to get a picture of just me (that doesn't include me snapping an iphone photo in the bathroom mirror!) but Bennett kept crashing the photo. But he's dang cute so it's okay :-)

March Birchbox - Teen Vogue edition.

So by now, I'm sure you know about Birch Box, right? That amazing little box of high-end beauty samples that you can sign up for and it gets delivered to your door step every month? Yah that one.

In case you don't remember what I got last month, here's a reminder. Lots of awesome goodies. And this month was no different!! I decided to go with the Teen Vogue edition of the Birch Box. Loved what was inside. Here's a peek:

Let's have a closer look, shall we?

Essie | luxeeffects - A glittery top coat nail polish. Can't go wrong there. (oh and p.s. they sent a full size bottle of it, normally $8. And my entire Birch Box of samples is only $10/mo. score!)
Kate Spade | Twirl perfume - This stuff smells amazing. It's "flirty" and modern. Kinda smells fruity and floral at the same time.
Kerastase | Elixir Ultime - whattta whatta?? Ha ha. It's a nourishing oil hair regimen meant to hydrate, smooth and "sleekify" your strands.
Tarte | LipSurgance lip tint - It's a pink lip stain designed to boost moisture levels in your lips.
And a bonus: Discount code to ModCloth. cool.

Well there you have it! If you didn't get the Teen Vogue box, what was in yours this month?
And if you don't have a subscription for Birch Box yet, go sign up! It's easy and fun!

GIVEAWAY: Win 250 business cards from UPrinting.com!

So happy to be working with UPrinting.com to bring you an awesome giveaway!! They have a wide variety of fantastic products, I spent forever browsing their site.

But for one of my lovely readers, they are offering 250 Die-cut business cards!! And I can speak from experience, their business cards are awesome! I actually ordered my last set of cards from them and was very pleased with the quality, color, and customer service!

Here is what mine look like. I custom designed my own and to mix it up a little, I ordered them in a fun shape! I am very happy with how they turned out!

Here are some more examples of custom designed business cards through UPrinting.com.

I know that many of you are gearing up for BlogHer and other various blog conferences, so this giveaway is for you!! And hey, even if your not attending a conference - business cards still come in handy, believe me!!

Here are the giveaway details:

250pcs Die-cut Business Cards for one winner

2x3.5" Rounded Corners, 2x2" Rounded Corners, 1.75x3.5" Rounded Corners, 

2x3.5" Leaf, 2x3.5 Rounded one corner, 2x3.5" Half Circle Side, 2x3.5" Oval, 2.5" Circle 

14pt Cardstock Gloss / Matte / High Gloss (UV), or 13pt Cardstock Uncoated 

6 Business Days Turnaround time 

Free US shipping only

Please note:

The mandatory entries are exactly that, mandatory!! Please actually do those things before just checking the box! And, winner information must be complete!! Those with incomplete details will be disqualified.







a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: “You should assume that I will receive free print products in exchange for the post. Any and all reviews posted are based solely on my own experience and may be atypical. Please practice due diligence in making any related purchase decisions.”

week in iphone pics w.25

Back with another week via Instagram (username: mandychiappini). Come find me!

{this was supposed to be a time out, it seems he was enjoying himself a little too much for it to be effective!}

{dinner: meatloaf and rice}

{random snow day}

{a fork & a swiffer... standing on the table. this kid}

{he sat in this basket for half the day}

{happy camper in his crib. i can't believe he has never climbed out!}

{35 week preggo pic, hello belly button!}

{looooooove cadbury mini eggs}

{big tube slides... again}

{sleepy boy}

{the day after the snow melted... it's 65 degrees and sunny... PNW weather is so weird}

{dads & their sons}

{playing at the park again, but this time with his besties}

{toddlers & ipads. what did we ever do before technology?}

Linking up with iPhoneography & InstaFriday and my week in iphone pics.