Maternity Boudoir Photos

Some ladies are so proud of their baby bumps and enjoy showing them off. It's fairly common to see women sporting bikinis around with an obvious baby bump and I have to admit I've judged those women. I always felt like showing off your bare baby bump in public was not appropriate. Now I couldn't care less what other women do with their bump but I myself would not rock a two peice in my current condition. As a matter of fact now that my baby bump is ready to pop any day now you will mostly see me concealing it in jackets or behind scarves in a failed attempt to hide it or make it look smaller.

While pregnant I have had VERY few times when I actually felt pretty much less sexy. I haven't enjoyed having my picture taken but I've sucked it up knowing I will one day be happy I recorded all these changes and keeping in mind that I won't have this belly for ever. On a recent business trip I decided to bring my "good" camera along and try to capture some "sexier" pictures of my pregnant self in attempt to 1, feel more like my old self, and 2, have memories of my pregnant self in a different light.

Business trips are not always fun but they do have their perks. One being that Wild Birds Unlimited just loves to host their meetings in big fancy hotels that the store gets to pay for and I get to enjoy. They also make great backdrops for boudoir photos. Typically Mark can't join me on the conventions so I have down time at night with nothing to do and the pictures do make good souvenirs for him also. ;) I decided just because I was pregnant was no need to put the tradition aside. And...after all that talk about women showing off their bare bumps, I am here to be a hypocrite and share some "saucier" photos of my baby bump.

 I really do like these photos and am glad I took them. I have a few more that will stay under lock and key but I will say it felt good to embrace the bump and show off a more sultry side. I still won't be rocking a two piece swim suit but these pictures will be a good reminder of my pregnancy body and a good momento for my husband and I in years to come.

Danielle

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I expecting my posting level to drop in December. It is the busiest time of the year for me at work. Owning a retail store during the holidays is such a joy but also a lot of stress and hard work. I was slightly more prepared for it this year than last year. Last year I remember locking the door to the store on Christmas Eve and driving just far enough away that customers couldn't see me if any late ones stopped by. I parked and cried for a few minutes because I was so drained and exhausted and it was finally all over. I wasn't really sad or overly happy. I really was just exhausted and relieved. This year when the store closed I didn't shed a single tear but I was glad to lock up and my feet were so sore. We had a very good holiday season at the store and are finishing up a stong December right now.

I wish I had some more photos to share with you all from our Christmas but that day also happened so fast I forgot to take any. This will obviously not be happening in Christmas futures with little Eli joining us. This year Mark and I went all out for eachother for Christmas. We had ourselves a really big Christmas morning and now after us, my family and his, our house looks like it belongs on "the hoarders". It is a disaster. We are so very blessed to be able to have such a wonderful Christmas with our family and plenty of gifts to go around.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas as well and kept the true meaning of Christmas in your hearts. Hopefully next year I will get to post more of our Christmas traditions and December festivities. I will have more staff at the store and obviously adorable pictures of Eli to share as well.

Now that the chaos of December has passed I have plenty to catch up on with my postings.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Danielle

Trans Siberian Orchestra

Mark and I made plans to go see the Trans Siberian Orchestra for his birthday which was Nov. 30th. I have been wanting to see them for years but we never have. This year they were playing in Greenville which is about 3.5 hours from home. We booked a room at a bed & breakfast that was walking distance from where the concert was taking place. Occasionally we like to splurge on a nice hotel but this was our first time at a bed & breakfast.

I felt like it was a little intimidating at first. You are literally staying in a room of a house with other people. We were new to having breakfast with everyone and since Mark is a picky eater it was even more....interesting.

We made the decision that we would do a bed and breakfast again for sure but that a nicer hotel room was more our style.

 The Bed and Breakfast we stayed at was called Pettigru Place and it really was in the heart of Greenville. It was close to everything yet still on a side road that made it feel quiet and homey.

 

 Look how beautiful this place is. I love it and think a bed and breakfast would be such a fun thing to own. I told Mark when Eli (and any other kids we might have) are gown and moved out that we needed to open one of our own in a fun area.

 

 I guess this large table above is for busy days and several couples could eat together or if you came with a group. The place settings are so beautiful and decorating a place like this would be half the fun.

We ate at the small round table both mornings that we were there for breakfast and the breakfast was absolutely amazing every both times. I would love to wake up to a breakfast like that each morning. Also our room was right near the dinning room so we would wake up to the smell of amazing food.

The "Brass Giraffe was the name of our room and this was on the door. The room was so beautiful. A little more "exotic" than Mark's taste would prefer I think but I enjoyed it a lot.

Oh my goodness. I just LOVED this bathroom. It was so beautiful. The shower had a HUGE shower head that came down from the ceiling so it was like you were standing in the rain which felt fitting in this bathroom because it was so earthy and awesome. We were there for 2 nights and if I'm not mistake Mark took 5 showers. Haha!

If you were bored at night or interested in socializing people seemed to meet in this room to chat or have a glass of wine. We didn't really have time for that on this trip which next time we stay at a B&B we need to make sure we have time to relax and really take the experience in.

We shopped around Greenville some and went to a holiday market they were having. We also went to downtown Greenville to check out what that had to offer and they had a wonderful park area with an amazing waterfall.

It was interesting that all of this was in the middle of a downtown area but I think that is what made it more neat. After our exploring we went back to our room to relax a bit before our concert that night. We were shocked to see that just one street down from our B&B was parking for the concert for $10. Lucky us we could just walk. 

 The concert was at the Bilo Center in Greenville.

 I'm so happy I remembered my glasses because although we had awesome seats I would have not been able to see the musicians at work if I had left them.

 The lighting effects for the Trans Siberian Orchestra were very intense. They also had lots of smoke and fire ball effects. It was a really neat show to watch.

 Their show was called "The Lost Christmas Eve". They put a story to their song order and that was pretty entertaining. Their show lasted longer than we had thought it would but we really enjoyed it and had a great time. Every time I hear their songs on the radio I keep replaying those crazy effects they had in my head.

This was probably our last little get away until Eli makes his appearance. It was a good time and I am glad we decided to do a B&B before little Eli was here because that was an experience we would probably not do with him around.

Danielle

Hair Cut While Pregnant

I actually googled "Hair cut while pregnant" before I decided to get my hair cut and very silly things came up. "Is it safe to cut my hair while pregnant", "Should you cut your hair while pregnant"....etc. They were all silly and I don't know what I was expecting.

I was thinking of a drastic change. My hair was very, very long at one point and while it was beautiful it was a pain in the butt and I mostly wore it up. I then cut my hair Sept of last year to above my shoulders and it was cute and sassy/sexy but required much confidence to pull it off. Now, it was getting to the "in between" medium length style that is cute but nothing special.

I had thought a big change would be nice and I decided I was going to chop it all off again. My only concern is that I have about 5 weeks left in this pregnancy and if swelling got the best of me and my face, along with the rest of me, ended up resembling the "michelin man" would short hair be completely awful? I decided to risk it and go for anyways.

Below are the two photos I brought in a reference. 

 The above is a little crazy and I realize it wouldn't look like this every day but I really think it is sexy and fun.

Also, while I'm not a huge Paris Hilton fan, I thought this one might be a little more on the safer side.

The hair dresser had long hair and was insistent that I didn't cut my hair and that I let it grow. She said she loved long hair and it was always hard for her to encourage someone to cut their hair off. This was a little frustrating but I was proud of myself of holding my ground and telling her I still wanted it done.

Several snips later she turned me around and in the mirror...this is what I saw....

Hmmmm...it is still a medium length hair style. Not off the shoulders as asked for and very clean cut which I asked not for. Sigh....I feel like I wasted my money on this cut and I wish I would have said something while I was there. I left not happy at all but....but...perhaps it was a blessing in disguise.

I have found myself not nearly confident enough to pull of the short style I thought I wanted and occasionally after a big salty meal or traveling in a car for too long my face does get bigger and the shorter hair seems less flattering than the longer hair. I can't imagine if it was actually as short as the inspiration photos I brought in.

I think I will give myself some time after Eli to get back into shape, lose any water retention, and then re-evaluate how short and sassy I really want my hair. If I get back to my very confident self I will most likely go for the chop.

When I googled "Hair cut while pregnant" I was curious about those that made a big change in their do and were pleased or not pleased. Being pregnant you're limited on a lot of things and sometimes you think a big hair change will make you feel better but perhaps sometimes it makes you more self conscious.

When I put some curls in my hair at this length it is kind of fun too.

I won't complain or do anything too drastic until after Eli.

Danielle

Oh Christmas Tree...

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are your branches!!!

We got our tree about a week ago. I am surprised it even took us that long. If you remember my excitement about Halloween I can tell you my husband feels just as strong, if not stronger, about Christmas. His younger brother got his yard decorated by the first of Dec. I think and when Mark saw that he just had to get our yard done. It actually still isn't done but we have added a 5ft light up tinsel moose, a 4ft tinsel snowman, and a 3 ft penguin. This is all on top of previous holiday yard decor we already had.

It makes me happy that he loves that he loves the holiday so much though. The day after we got back from our trip to see the Tran Siberian Orchestra we set out to get our tree. I always went to a tree farm and we cut our tree down when I was growing up. We want to continue that tradition but decided to hold off on it until Eli was here to join us.

 They had a ton of beautiful trees. Most were too big for our home unless we moved furniture and put it at the tallest point of our vaulted ceiling which we considered but knew that was silly.

 Here was one that I thought was super cute but I got a mean glare for even mentioning such a thing.

 This one was our final decision and while it was beautiful at the tree place it turned out really pretty in our house. It is way fatter in our home than it seemed at the place.

 Woodward farm did a good job growing their trees this year. I really didn't see a single one that wasn't in wonderful condition.

 After we picked it out the guy carried it over to trim the bottom, shake it off some, and net it up for its ride home. Which, by the way, was way less adventurous than our ride home with Eli's furniture. Haha.

 Sometimes I look at my husband and think he is such a  handsome man and that I am a very lucky lady...sometimes.

 Once we got our tree home we moved Giedo's couch which is typically just under this window. We dug out our tree stand and wiped off all the cobwebs. The tree got securely bolted into the tree stand. 

 We filled the stand up with water before we de-netted the tree and when the net came off the branches came out. WAY OUT! We realized we didn't have working tree lights and had to make a late night run to Wal-Mart to get some. As we pulled up they were locking up the garden department where every bit of their lights were. Luckily as we were standing there an employee was walking into the area and we begged him to let us grab some lights real quick.

 He was nice enough to let us, though I don't think we gave him much of a choice, and we headed home to light up the tree.

 It was fun putting on the ornaments because there were a couple of ones I had forgotten about. Some are just bulk ones from the store but others are a little more special.

 Look how large the tree is...oh yes... and me too. Look how large I am while you're at it. Eli is a growing man.

 I like this picture of the two of us.

 My men!

 Our first attempt at a family photo and Giedo just wants his belly scratched.

 Second attempt and Giedo blocked us both with his ears. Haha!

Yes...this was our final attempt. We kind of gave up. This is the last Christmas with just the two of us so we are trying to enjoy it as much as possible. I must admit though, we are very excited for the our holiday seasons to come.

Danielle

Thank You!

We had our second shower this past Saturday and it was so much fun. All of my good friends came to this one and it was so fun to have all of them in the same room for the first time in a LONG time. Attending with my friends was all of St. Marks ladies that are friends with Marks mom and a few more friends of hers, plus my mom and sister in law.

Before our second shower I finished up and finally mailed out my thank you cards from the first shower. I am such a procrastinator. One night Mark went out with some friends and I had about 100 things I wanted to do but finishing the thank you cards was top of the list.

I wanted to stick with our nursery theme for the thank you cards since our first shower was based around it. For those of you that don't know or forgot...our theme is Dr. Seuss. I had this simple idea of printing my "thank you card" design on the front of blank cards but things are never that simple. Being stuck on the idea, I proceeded to print my design out and make thank you cards out of them anyways.

 If you're a craft supplies hoarder like me this project would cost you nothing but the ink to print out the thank you design. I first took blank white greeting cards and cut red ribbon to fit the bottom of the card. The ribbon was about an inch in thickness and I attached it using double sided tape.

 I then printed out all of my thank you designs...all on individual sheets of paper because I didn't feel like figuring out how to get two on one sheet. I also printed them on glossy paper but mainly because that's all I had.

 So next you put your 1st grade cutting skills to the test by cutting each one off the page.

 Then your 1st grade taping skills to tape the thank you design to the card. I used double sided tape for this project so that nothing wrinkled or bled through.

 After that, because buttons are included in my craft hoarding, I took out all of the blue and red buttons I had and tied smaller red ribbon through the button holes.

 Using "Zots", which are awesome, I attached the button to the top corner of the card and that really helped bring it all together.

 I think they turned out really cute and although that seems like a lot of work for thank you cards I had fun doing them. They allowed me to have a relaxing craft night, be productive, and use up some of my ridiculous craft supplies all at the same time.

 It was actually quite exciting to finish off two spools of red ribbon that I'd had forever, almost all of my white, blank greeting cards (in that size at least), and all of my red and blue buttons.

Plus they were special to those that got them. Each was hand made and a little different.

Now that my Dr. Seuss shower is finally wrapped up I can't wait to share details of our 2nd shower. I didn't break it down in so many sections because it was a family friend throwing it and I wasn't as involved. I also forgot to take pictures as we were going through everything. Whoops!

Thanks for checking in and sorry for the delay. I can probably expect to post less with the holiday season in full swing. I am swamped at work.

Danielle