Dressing for your Pregnancy

I'm going to be doing a series of posts on motherhood for the coming months sponsored by BlogHer and Huggies.  I'm excited to do this because I love the topics and I think it's something most of us can identify with and it's a subject close to my heart! I hope you will enjoy this series and pipe in with your comments and suggestions!

My first topic is on Dressing for Pregnancy!!!

I honestly thought it was really fun to dress when I was pregnant - when else is it totally okay that your stomach sticks out and you aren't trying to camoflauge it? ha! The thing I didn't really love is maternity clothes but the great thing is you can pretty much wear your way through your pregnancy in mostly regular clothes. 

 This is me at 15 weeks in my second pregnancy.  For the first 20 weeks or so - you can mostly get away with normal clothes and thankfully I had a lot of dresses that were loose or drop waist that I could wear through the first half or more of my pregnancy. This is great for when you feel big but aren't really showing yet.

 18 weeks

The best purchase you can make is a good pair of black maternity pants and a few pairs of jeans. I had mostly winter pregnancies so that's the season I dressed for - summer you can wear maternity shorts or a lot of loose dresses.  And then hopefully you can take things you already own and make them work.

 I took a lot of shorter dresses and made them into tunics.  Your big stomach can make dresses short but they are perfect over jeans or leggings.  Paired with a cute cardigan and boots - you can look polished and cute even at 25 weeks pregnant!

 One of my favorite things to wear during pregnancy is the maxi dress.  It's forgiving and comfortable and yet very stylish.  And the great thing is you can continue to wear the dresses long after the baby is here and you aren't ready for form fitting clothes yet. 

This is me at 38 weeks.  In all of the pictures above the only maternity item I'm wearing besides jeans is this pink shirt.  I think it's great to buy a few longer shirts for the end of your pregnancy.  Most normal shirts won't cover your belly at the end.  A few key items mixed with things you already own will carry you through your pregnancy.  Mix in a lot of fun accessories - big chunky necklaces or fun earrings - this will help you feel special and update any look.

One of the other favorite items I had during my pregnancy was a great nursing tank top.  I bought several and wore them during both my pregnancies, while I nursed and beyond.  They are just really comfortable.  I think it's also important to realize (because I really didn't know it would be this way the first time around) - unless you are some lucky supermodel - for a few months after you have the baby you will still look semi pregnant.  These maternity clothes will help carry you for a while after the baby is here. So choose items you can like for a while.  And possibly wear in a second or third or fourth pregnancy!

What is your favorite tip for maternity dressing?

Old Friends Weekend

This weekend we went to Little Rock to visit a few of my oldest, dearest friends. We spent Saturday with my college roommate Kandi and her family. Kandi and I moved in together as freshmen 16 years ago this fall and have been close friends ever since. She met Lance, her husband, as a sophomore and they were married the next year. They have 2 precious little girls Lowrey and Annie. It was fun to visit and see how much the girls have grown. Kandi and I met another friend Leigh Ann for lunch. Leigh Ann was our suite mate in college and one of the sweetest people ever. Her husband is currently in Iraq.

Saturday night, Kandi's mom kept the girls and we went on a double date to this really nice restuarant in Conway. It was so fun to catch up and laugh.

This morning we stopped by to see my friend Jamie - who was one of my best friends growing up. She just had a new baby - Alexee who is 3 weeks old. She is a beautiful baby and I was so glad to see her and Jamie - even briefly!

My grandmother always told me this poem "Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold". That is so true. I have wonderful friends that I have made over the last couple of years who I wouldn't trade for the world but there is something also so sweet about friends who have known you through many seasons of life. Those are lifetime friends.

American Idol

It's my favorite time of year............American Idol is back! We love AI in our family. It kind of takes over when you are a fan since it's on 3 nights a week - thank goodness for DVR! One of my favorite idols last year (the only I've ever voted for) was at our church last night - Mandisa. She used to tour with Beth Moore before she did Idol and now she tours around doing concerts. It was great. She is a great singer and really should have won (it should have been her and Chris Daughtry in the finals America) but now she uses her talents to spread the gospel to people who will come to see her because she is an Idol.
We don't have a favorite yet but I'm sure in a few weeks we will. One thing is for sure - the guys are horrible this year. I'm pretty sure a girl will win this year!

Weekend

Life has been really busy lately so luckily we had a pretty quiet weekend to catch up and recover. We didn't do much but watch a lot of DVR'd shows and eat and lay around.
Saturday night we ate dinner over at Laurie and Steve's house along with the Nichol's. Laurie made one of my favorite meals - chicken supreme.
Sunday we were at church almost all day between 2 Sunday School's and my Beth Moore Bible Study.
And now it's Monday again................and this week is packed full again ....but it was almost 60 degrees today and it's light until after 6 and I feel like Spring is coming!

P.S. We'll miss you Frank. You did so much for AR. You took one of the poorest states in the country and built the best facilities that any NCAA school has. But you've worked hard all of these years - you deserve a retirement! Enjoy it. And hopefully the seeds of change are just beginning to sow.................

Kelly the Bargain Hunter

As much as I love to watch Dog Chapman the bounty hunter and Beth hunt down criminals - I decided that I should have my own title. Kelly the bargain hunter. I love clothes but I don't like to spend much money on them - especially anything trendy. So I love to buy things on sale or clearance. I won't even buy anything at Wal-Mart full price. I'll go on record and say I love Wal-Mart clothes (especially George and Metro 7) but they are a little rich for my blood unless it's on sale.
Scott has been very proud of me because he really wanted some new pants and sweaters so I went to Old Navy the other day and came home with 2 pretty nice pairs of pants that he really likes and they had each been marked down to $8. He loves to say he's wearing his $8 pants. Yesterday I went to Belk's and bought him 2 sweaters that had each been $50 and I got them for $8 each (something about that price). I really love Belk's (it's a bargain hunters dream) because even when things are marked down - I have never gotten up to the checkout when it's hasn't rung up for less than I thought it would be. So Scott is now the proud owner of 2 sweaters and 2 pairs of pants that cost a total of $32.
I need to make sure that before I go out shopping that I put on my "gear", hop in my SUV and stand in a circle, hold hands and pray - that's the way to get those bargains! (But first I need to write on a marker board what I'm looking for and maybe put a picture of it up there too) - that seems to help Dog. And call a few people and ask about the sales - kind of like this ...."How's it Bra? Now listen - I'm looking for some sweaters..........."

Happy Valentines

Valentines Day. I've had a love/hate relationship with it since I was a little girl. (I'm sorry in advance Mom when you read this) BUT....it all began when I was younger and we moved a lot. When I was in 3rd grade - I started my 3rd school that year on Valentines Day. Now - why could they have not let me wait and start on the 15th? So I had no box and I remember the teacher clearly saying "Can ya'll (cause this was Texas) please give any extra valentines to our new girl Kelly?" SAD!
Then I was the girl in high school with no boyfriend who watched all the other girls get flowers as they came over the announcements beginning at 2:45 on Valentines with all the flowers and called out the names of all the lucky "loved" girls.
Then during and after college - the day just stood as a painful reminder that I was single. Although I relished the years that I was single working at Wal-Mart and I would actually get flowers from a guy. It was a huge deal at Wal-Mart because with thousands of employees - they would line a whole hallway with long tables and alphabetize them all. I remember one year that I got flowers from THREE guys! That kind of made up for the whole 3rd grade ordeal. :-)
But now I have a lifetime valentine and I love the day! We don't celebrate in any special way besides maybe a nice dinner (or this year I think we are having valentines lunch). But every day is valentines when you get to be married to your best friend!
I did come home (after a horrible trip to Wal-Mart........I think it was worse than Christmas Eve in there) and found this cute box of goodies sitting on our counter. My in-laws sent us lots of fun things that did make my day.
Maybe Valentines isn't so bad after all!

BLT Chicken

After you make the BLT dip, if you have it left over - I have a great suggestion for you. Pour it over chicken breasts and bake it for an hour at 350. It is DELICIOUS! (If you can't guess - that was our supper).

Breakfast Buddies

This morning I met Laurie, Hillary and Emily at cracker barrell for breakfast. Emily had on a sweater and jeans and looked like a big girl but she wasn't too impressed with her pancake. She just wanted to pick it up and play with it and throw it on the ground. We had a good time visiting (I'm sorry to say I didn't get a picture of me or Hillary). When we were leaving, I was holding Emily and when it was time to hand her back to her mother she didn't want to go. She gripped me and cried and wouldn't go to Laurie. Of course I was DELIGHTED and Hillary thought it was hilarious but I didn't want Laurie to be sad that her daugher prefers me over her. (just kidding -Laurie is a great mom and I just happen to be a novelty to Emily). But I couldn't help but beam with pride.

Shower

I haven't blogged much this week because a. there hasn't been a lot to write about and b. it's been a very busy week. I've had a very busy work week that ended with a very big meeting yesterday afternoon. And I also had a lunch shower at my house today for my boss who is due in May and everyone at work came. Planning for that and getting everything ready over took all of my nights this week. The shower was a success. It was very fun and Julie got a lot of nice things. She's having a girl if you can't tell with all the pink in the pictures!

Super Bowl

Last night our Sunday School class had a super bowl party. It was a great set-up because we had about 16 couples there and our teachers have a big media room upstairs so all the guys went up there to watch the game on the projector screen and all the girls and 6 babies stayed down stairs to not watch the game. We visited and played with the kids. It was a really fun time.

We came home early to finish watching the game and I'm usually not interested in the NFL but I did want the Colts to win and I'm so glad they did. I've always liked Peyton Manning (except for the fact he played for TN) but I am a HUGE fan of Tony Dungy. Everything I read about him just inspires me more. It was so neat to hear the media go on and on about how "ethical" he was and how amazing it was that he didn't cuss. (Isn't that sad that that's "amazing!") Every time Tony gets on TV - you hear him mention God. And it was so neat last night after they won to hear them ask him about being the first black coach to win and he said "that's great.....but more importantly Lovie Smith and I are Christian coaches and we showed the world that you can play the Lord's way and still win".

AMEN

One sick puppy

We had a little scare today that gave me a little glimpse of how it must feel to have a sick child and the stress it must cause parents.
Dawson started this dry coughing last night. It went on most of the night and this morning and I kind of brushed it off as a hairball or allergies. Scott and I skipped Sunday School and came home early to check on him though. I got home first and he was gagging he was coughing so hard and breathing really hard. He then turned his head when I offered his favorite treat and I knew something was wrong. So I called the emergency animal clinic and they were very nice but sounded concerned so we rushed to Springdale and I was just a nervous wreck. The whole way there Dawson sounded like he was taking his final breaths. We had to wait for a while and I was just in agony.
Turns out he had a sore throat and possibly bronchitus (probably from his time spent in the snow this week). They gave us a couple of medicines and gave him a shot and Scott and I want to know what was in the shot because as soon as we got Dawson in the car - he was a new dog - smiling, wagging his tail and hasn't coughed since. He came home and ate most of his food and settled down for a nap.

AR vs Kentucky

One of the great rivals in college basketball, especially in the 90's, has always been Arkansas vs Kentucky. And you can be sure that in a good or bad season - anytime Kentucky comes to town - Bud Walton is going to be packed out.
Scott and I went to the game today and it was a great game - for about the first 30 minutes. We led most of the game by as much as 14 and then in true typical Razorback fashion.......we just let it slip out of our hands and lost by 8. Sigh.
We still had a great time at the game and the crowd was great!
But let's face it ......Tubby vs Stan will never match up to Pitino vs Nolan.

And Baby makes Four

My sweet friend Jamie who I grew up most of my life is having her second baby today and I'm so excited for her. This is her and her husband Lane and her sweet little boy Rhett (who is almost 3)! Today she is having a little girl - Alexee.
I can't wait to see how cute her baby will be. Jamie is the best mom. She is always doing the neatest things with Rhett. She was always the sweetest girl I knew growing up and she's so good at everything she does - so I knew she would be a good mother. Alexee and Rhett are very lucky to have her!
Happy Birthday Alexee!

P.S. She had her a little after noon and she weighed 7 lbs and 1 oz! I hope she has red hair!

Scott and I both stayed home today and worked from home. Most of NWA was cancelled today anyway. When they close the U of A - that's usually a pretty good indicator that the roads aren't great. So we have enjoyed being inside and warm and it's been a nice quiet day. We took Dawson on a walk after lunch. He loves the snow. Here are pictures of our winter wonderland!