{Our life lately through pictures}

(My last day at work with these ladies. They were so great and welcoming and made me feel like a part of the team right from the beginning. Love them!)

(Our first Saint Patrick's day. We actually forgot until that evening and decided we should put something green on!)

(Since we had some time off for vacation and Steven was also between jobs we decided to have a staycation and explore our great state! We're on our way to the aquarium!)

(My husband feeding the turtles. We never get sucked into those extra gimmicks places have just to get your money, but this was a good $3 spent. So entertaining!)

(Biggest sea slug ever!)

(Braving Thunder Alley during the thunder storm! We are dedicated fans!)

(Summer morning at my parents. I really am so grateful to be staying with them.)

Our moving fiasco... I'm so embarrassed, but we'll look back and laugh at all of this... right?

(I really felt like we lived in a gypsy caravan... Kind of fun and cool at first, but then 2 months later it became my nightmare.)

(All of my art supplies packed up, so sad)

(It's slowly coming along. We call this space our "office", haha.)

(Welcome to our "living room")

(Interview outfit... woop!)

 Lots and lots of much needed time with friends!

(Putt-Putt date!)

(Our second trip to Abilene, We love these guys!)

( Fishbowl margarita for our reuniting celebration)

Even thought though life has been absolutely insane these past months, I wouldn't trade mine for anyone elses!

Happy Thursday!

Arlo's Story

Our sweet boy, Arlo Harrison Stone, was born on May 28th at 1:53 in the morning. Having him was like nothing I had ever experienced before in my life and looking back there was really nothing I could have done to prepare myself for that journey. Of course I read lots of books and blogs about what each week of my pregnancy would be like and what to pack in my hospital bag and even a few people's birth stories. I kept reminding myself that everyone is different and everyone has their own story and it's so true! I had expectations my whole pregnancy about our story and what Arlo's birth would be like and then the day came! I had been anticipating feeling contractions and timing them at home while Steven came home to get me to take me to the hospital, but being 9 days past my "due date", no signs of progress, and being terribly uncomfortable and ready to get this kid out we decided induction was the best option for us.

I was scheduled to check in to our room at 8:00 on May 26th, the Monday of Memorial weekend.  We were so nervous the whole day. I even went and saw a movie to pass the time and keep my mind off things! Our friend who was going to be staying out the house and watching the dog  showed up early to hang out and keep Steven occupied. It was finally time for us to go and we went and ate our last dinner just the two of us and enjoyed spending some time together.

41 weeks!

I kept thinking about my check list and the bags we had packed, how we would be bringing home a tiny little baby bundle, and the next time we left the hospital we would be parents! I was given some cervadil after we checked in to help get things started. They kept telling me to get some rest and offered some sleeping medicine. Needless to say I totally should have taken them up on it! It's super hard to get any type of rest when you're laying on a bed that feels like cardboard.

Just waiting on our boy!

 I started having some contractions in my back but nothing that i was worried about.The hours passed by slowly, but 5:00 came and it was time to really get things started!

They hooked me up to all of the machines and showed me on the monitors where my contractions were and what all of the numbers meant. Around 5:40 they started the medicine and I was FINALLY dilated to a two! This was exciting since I had been at a one for over a month. I remember being incredibly sleepy and so hungry! Steven went and got Braums for him. because I we knew it was going to be a long day.

Around 7:00 my water broke on its own! I was not expecting this and the whole time I was worried I had wet myself. I knew there was a lot of pressure on my bladder, but I really thought I could still control myself! After a few minutes I decided to tell Steven and our nurse what was going on. She thought it was hilarious that I thought I had wet the bed, I was anticipating a slow trickle ( from all the books and blogs I read, remember? Haha) But this was like...a lot. The contractions got really intense after that. I knew the medicine would make them worse than normal, but after my water broke they were coming every minute or so! I still don't know what normal contractions feel like because mine were all in my back. I kept focusing on one spot on the wall and telling myself out loud that, "it can't last forever." Which is true, but it was hard to really convince myself at the time!

About an hour later I was ready for my epidural! Now, I am so amazed at women who do this naturally, and I really thought I was going to try. I think they are the strongest people on the face of this earth and I applaud you! However, this was by far the best decision I could've made for Steven and me. I really thought I was a stronger person and I could have waited it out a little longer, but I decided if this was going to be a pleasant experience for my husband, then I needed the epidural. Steven was thinking that he was going to wait for the nurse to come in to tell her... silly man! I told him to go find them and put me on the list! Especially since the anesthesiologist was in a C-section delivery and wouldn't be out until later. What?! Luckily he headed out a little early to deliver my relief! It took them 3 tries to get the stinking needle in just right. You hear how hard it is to bend over and stay completely still while they do it, but no one tells you that you're still having awful contractions and having your heart rate measured every 15 minutes and you're still going to be leaking fluid. ( Lovely, I know) After they finally got it in, it didn't take long for that stuff to kick in! Praise the Lord! It was now around 8:46 and I decided I should call my parents and let them know what was going on. I had no idea how much time I had since my water had broke and the contractions were so close. Let me tell you... we had plenty of time.

At 9:00 they cam in and checked me and I was at a 3 1/2, 100% effaced, and he was at station 0. We were making progress! My parents showed up and hung out with us all day. It was so weird laying in that bed with everyone's eyes on me. I hate being the center of attention and since I couldn't walk or feel my legs at this point, I had no choice!

Around 11:00 Steven's parents and a couple of my girlfriends showed up. They were getting ready to check my progress again, so they decided to all go to lunch.I was dilated to a 4 and experienced the bloody show. Now, I really think the scientific community can come up with a better name for it, but it describes it very accurately! If this would've happened to me at home I probably would've fainted or completely freaked out at the least. ( Just another reason being induced was the right decision for us)

Nothing too exciting happened for most of the day. I just sat, unable to move my legs, eating popsicles, and having people stare at me. I will say this, the epidural made it SO easy to nap all day! I couldn't feel any pain from the contractions and I couldn't feel how incredibly uncomfortable the bed was, win-win! They had to take me off of the Pitocin because Arlo wasn't liking it. ( My body did the work from about 11:00 until he was born, which is why I think it took so long)

By 9:00 I was dilated to an 8 and was told my doctor was going to the Thunder game. I was terrified that someone else was going to deliver Arlo so I told him he could go ahead and wait. And he did! It was about 11:00 when I decided to send our friends home. I knew it was going to be very early in the morning before I had him and even later before they could see him and I didn't want them to have to wait around any longer. The nurses came in and told me I was dilated to a 9, but at this rate I knew it would still be a few more hours until our sweet boy was here!

Finally around 1:00 it was time! I was terrified to say the least, especially when I started to feel my legs again! But I had to feel something to know when to do my job. I pushed a few times and they realized his heart rate would go down after every push and there was meconium in there with him. Of course this is not something you want to hear! They told us his umbilical cord could be around his neck and we needed to make some quick decisions. I could either have a C-section or they could use a vacuum on his head to help pull him out quickly. Or first thought was C-section because of some of the issues that could arise with the vacuum. However, my doctor urged us to try the vacuum and she told me she wouldn't suggest it if she didn't think I could do it. We decided to go with the vacuum and I'm so glad we did! Within a few pushes and some major help from the doctor Mr. Arlo Harrison Stone was finally here! Weighing in at 7 pounds 3 ounces, and 20 1/2 inches long! I was relieved to have him out of my body and in my arms! And I was so glad that part was OVER!

I was so blessed to have had absolutely amazing, kind nurses, a wonderful doctor, and a great husband to get me through it all! I would not have been able to get through it without their support and encouraging words the whole time.

Welcome to the world baby Arlo! 

Loving our sweet boy

Sweet baby burrito!

Proud daddy

I love baby yawns!

We love you too much baby Arlo.

Pregnancy update: 39 1/2 weeks

How far along? 39 1/2 weeks, So close!
Total weight gain:  Too much!.
Maternity clothes? All maternity bottoms, some maternity tops. Unfortunately most of my dresses are too tight in the butt now! So elastic skirts it is!
Sleep?  Staying up late has been helping for sure! And I feel so thankful I just have to wake up about once a night to use the bathroom.
Stretch marks? A couple on my hips, but my belly is still looking good!
Innie or outtie?? Flat! 
Best moment this week: Felling him roll around in there, letting me know he's still happy and healthy in there.
Miss Anything? Getting off the couch like a normal person, wearing my wedding rings, wearing normal clothes, bending over... should I go on? 
Movement: He's slowing down and running out of room. Still plenary busy in there though!
Food Cravings: sometimes sweets, but most of the time nothing really sounds good.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Trash and left overs
Gender: all boy!!
Pregnancy Symptoms: Is feeling fat one of them? This sweet boy is making me quite heavy and slooooowwww. Also, round ligament pain is alive and well! And cramps. 
Labor Signs: None... 2 days from my due date and I've got nothin!
Wedding rings on or off? Still off. This is making me incredibly sad.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part! Really just tired and sore from all of the stretching my insides are doing.
Looking forward to: meeting our boy soon!



I just realized I haven't updated this in TOO LONG. I really thought I would be much better at updating and tracking my pregnancy. I know I will want to look back at all of this and remember how I was feeling and what I was going through, especially if there's ever a baby number two! Hopefully my next post will be about bringing our sweet boy home!

Heres the most recent belly pictures!

Expectations vs. reality: Part 2

( For part 1 click here)

Expectation #1- "Now that I'm pregnant I actually have an excuse to look and feel fat! Finally! This is going to be great!"
Reality- Even though I know I'm growing a human life inside of my body and it's an incredibly amazing miracle that not every woman gets to experience, it's still hard to get on the scale and see the numbers climbing and climbing. It's still hard to have to try on 4 different dresses because your butt and thighs have grown right along with your baby bump. It's still hard to want to eat better because the numbers are still going up and up no matter what you eat ( or don't eat). I've come to the conclusion that there is absolutely nothing I can do about the numbers on the scale or the way my clothes are fitting. ( Duh, I'm growing a kid.) I just remind myself that my I will have to work really hard after he's here, and I will feel normal again... hopefully.

Expectation #2-"I can't wait to nest and organize all of our baby gifts and decorate the nursery!"
Reality- I didn't get to nest much before we found out what we were having (5 months), then Christmas happened which meant low funds. But I I also got a Christmas break which was a great two weeks to make some crafts! I got to create a lot of his artwork, a couple of car seat covers, and his bed skirt. Our crib and mattress was also delivered which was super exciting! Since then we decided to wait until all of our showers were over to finish things up and order our big ticket items. While I am still SUPER excited to finish nesting, organizing, and decorating I didn't realize how hard it would be for me at 8 1/2 months pregnant. It's really hard getting up and down off the ground, I can't life heavy things, I"m super tired if I've had a long day already, and I have to depend a lot on my sweet mom and husband to help unload and unpack everything. This means I have to wait until they are available to completely finish tasks. This is very hard for me and my super efficient, independent self!

Expectation #3- "Everyone I've talked to absolutely loved being pregnant, I know I will too!"
Reality- I think my problem is that everyone I talked to was already DONE being pregnant. I think I need to talk to someone who is about 8 1/2 months pregnant and see how much they love it. Honestly, I have had a super easy pregnancy. No morning sickness, no weird cravings, no stretch marks yet, just a week of bad headaches and about a month or two of not wanting to eat meat. So I do consider myself extremely lucky! However, the round ligament pain alone is enough to make me want to rip this kid out of me right this second. I also only go to the bathroom about once a night, which is way better than I expected, but my body is so stiff and my joints are so poppy and my muscles are so stretched that it takes me about a million years to roll over, get out of bed, and actually make it to the bathroom. I really love feeling him roll around inside my tummy, and I LOVE the fact that my body is so amazing that it can CREATE A HUMAN BEING, but I'm tired, round, heavy, and ready to get this show on the road! I'm sure when people ask me in the future, I will look back and realize that I LOVED being pregnant. But right now I'm just ready to be able to bend over again!


   

34 weeks and counting!

How far along? 34 weeks (last Sunday)
Total weight gain:  Too much!.
Maternity clothes? All maternity bottoms, some maternity tops. Unfortunately most of my dresses are too tight in the butt now! So elastic skirts it is!
Sleep? Missing it! Staying up late helps a little, but not enough to keep the insomnia away! 
Stretch marks? Not on my round belly yet!
Innie or outie? becoming flatter by the day.. still holding strong though!
Best moment this week: The beginning of April!
Miss Anything? Sleeping, wearing my wedding rings, wearing normal clothes, bending over... should I go on? 
Movement: So much! Sometimes I feel like he's going to push right through!
Food Cravings: None right now, maybe cookie cake... actually, definitely cookie cake and peanut butter oatmeal squares!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Trash!
Gender: Frogs, snails, and puppy dog tails!
Pregnancy Symptoms: Is feeling fat one of them? This sweet boy is making me quite heavy and slooooowwww. Also, round ligament pain is alive and well! 
Labor Signs: None
Wedding rings on or off? Still off. This is making me incredibly sad.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part! Really just tired and sore from all of the stretching my insides are doing.
Looking forward to: Our shower this weekend and finishing up most of our shopping! Also, finishing up the nursery!

31 1/2 week baby bump

How far along? 31 1/2 weeks (Every little bit counts!)
Total weight gain:  30 lbs.
Maternity clothes? All maternity bottoms, some maternity tops
Sleep? Missing it! Staying up late helps a little, but I"m still waking up for an hour or so between 3-5  
Stretch marks? Not on my round belly yet!
Innie or outie? becoming flatter by the day
Best moment this week: SPRING BREAK! This means we've gotten so many things off of our to do lists! ( and by "our list, I mean my list)
Miss Anything? My body, and my normal clothes, and being able to bend over, and work out in the yard 
Movement: So much! Sometimes I feel like he's going to push right through!
Food Cravings: None right now, maybe cookie cake... actually, definitely cookie cake.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Just this stinking head cold and cough!
Gender: Sweet Boy
Pregnancy Symptoms: Am I allowed to just put all of them? Heart burn and sciatic pain mostly right now though.
Labor Signs: None
Wedding rings on or off? I had to take them off last week :(
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part! Ready for him to be here! 8 1/2 weeks! 
Looking forward to: Our shower this weekend and more progress on my "honey-do" list!

Baby Stone's nursery inspiration

I started planning our sweet nursery the moment we found out I was pregnant. I started out planning a gender neutral nursery filled with woodland scenes and forest creatures because I wanted to be able to get a start on it right away and not have to wait 20 weeks until we found out if we were having a boy or girl. I have had the urge/need to nest this entire time, but my husband has definitely not shared my feelings. With that being said, I was highly encouraged to wait to make any major purchases or decisions until further along in my pregnancy. This gave me TONS of time to get a game plan together and strategically plan and pin my dreams for a pink nursery and my dreams for a blue nursery. 

When we found out we were having a sweet boy my mind went crazy! Did we want something manly? Something boyish? Something babyish?? ( And by "we", I mean "I", because let's be honest I had already put in a work week worth of hours pinning and planning. My poor husband didn't stand a chance, luckily he was good with my decisions.) 

I decided that this was my only chance to have a soft, sweet, retreat for me and our boy and that we would have plenty of time to create a bright bold atmosphere surrounded by animals and cars. Mint, navy, cream, and gray quickly became the color palette for Baby Stone's nursery. I absolutely love these colors together! 

This nursery and artwork are my main inspiration for his nursery. I have made 3 of the embroidery hoop pieces and I can't get over how cute they are! The one above is one I found online and quickly realized I could make them for much cheaper, especially since I already had the materials! All of this will be reveled when his nursery in finally complete. 

These two nurseries came in close seconds for inspiration. They have the same soft feeling I was looking for and I love the natural elements incorporated in them. I will definitely be looking for ways to add this to Baby Stone's nursery! 

Hello third trimester!

First off, pregnancy lasts 40 weeks. Who in the world decided this was 9 months? Second, since when does 10 months fit nicely into 3 trimesters?

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain:  27 lbs.
Maternity clothes? All maternity bottoms, some maternity tops
Sleep? What's this?? One week into the third trimester and my body refuses to get comfortable at night.  
Stretch marks? NOPE!! Thanks BioOil and Cocoa Butter!
Innie or outie? Still rocking an innie!
Best moment this week: My sweet husband going to the grocery store after work because my feet hurt so bad.
Miss Anything? Sleep! Also, being able to get in a really good work out oddly enough. 
Movement: He's so active! Again, one week into the third trimester and he is way more active throughout the day... and night.
Food Cravings: Still any type of delicious pastry/ baked good. Nature's Valley baked peanut butter oatmeal bars really help with this craving
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really! The trash makes me gag, but that's about it!
Gender: Sweet Boy
Pregnancy Symptoms: Can't sleep and I easily get out of breath thanks to my lungs being squished inside of me.
Labor Signs: None
Wedding rings on or off? Still on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody, moody! I"m ready for him to be here... 12 more weeks.
Looking forward to: Our first shower and my husband getting home from a business trip!

Expectations vs. reality: Part 1

Before I was pregnant I had these thoughts and expectations about how my pregnancy would be. How I was going to do things different than other people, or how I would incorporate certain things I had read or heard. I think everyone does it to some degree, but I think we especially have these expectations as first time mothers. I'm not even going to go into my expectations about motherhood itself! I know for a fact they'll get blown out of the water those first few minutes our sweet boy is here. For now I want to share with you my three biggest expectations I had and how they've played out so far.

Expectation #1 "I'm going to eat so differently when I'm pregnant, I'll be so much healthier. It'll be easy since I've got another life to think about"

Reality-Dream on! If I thought I had any control over what sounded appetizing for my 10:00 snack then I would totally be munching on some carrots. However, when the only thing you want is something sweet, salty, and chewy all at the same time you better believe you're going to find the perfect treat to get you through your time of starvation. I have found ways to eat less candy and chocolate throughout the day by substituting peanut butter oatmeal bars or certain dry cereal for peanut butter cups and chips. But sometimes nothing will do but a delicious m&m mix from Braums or a Nutella roll up.

Expectation #2 "I'm never going to drink caffeine or artificially colored drinks. I'm not poisoning my baby with all of those chemicals."

Reality-  Now, I've never been the type of person who drinks soda daily and I can't stand coffee, so that's not part of my battle. I thought it would be easy to give up my weekly soda knowing I had a tiny human growing inside of me. Between the headaches and exhaustion of not sleeping well (and having to see 120 students each day) there are some days that I absolutely wouldn't be able to make it through without that delicious, dark drink from above. Judge me all you want, but I did my research 

and I know just how much Dr. Pepper I can safely have each day.

Expectation #3 "I'm going to exercise and stay active throughout my pregnancy. I might even be able to wear my regular pants with the help of a hair tie or bellaband we'll into this adventure."

Reality- I bought 5 pound weights, I used them a couple of days, and now they sit in the basket where we keep Josie's dog toys. I created a list of 5 easy exercises I found on line to do throughout your pregnancy and I did them maybe a week... and by week I mean work week...and by work week I mean one where you have a national holiday or take a sick day on Friday or something else prevents you from completing your full 5 days at work. I do try to walk about 20 minutes 3 times a week at school before my classes start, and I hope I can start taking Josie for more walks once the weather gets nicer. But on days like today, when my feet hurt so bad I didn't think I could make it out of the building and to my car, working out was not at the top of my list of things to do. My first trimester also kicked my butt and it was everything I could do to make it through teaching a full day, let alone be active after work. So this, paired with cold weather, no morning sickness, and craving any type of baked good/pastry has not helped me in the least stay in my normal pants. I said farewell to those four months ago! I have embraced the beauty of maternity pants and tights. Praise The Lord for stretchy pants. 

Praying for our boy

Check out the MOBSociety. Amazing site for moms of boys if you're ever looking for Godly advice on hard topics or a little encouragement when your littles (or bigs) are too much some days. I already read up on their website, but I know I will frequent it even more once our sweet boy is here and older! They also have these amazing prayers to pray for your boys. The verses are taken directly from the bible and changed to fit the specific prayers of boy moms. I've been wanting to pray specific prayers over "A" and these have been a great starting point!

Boy, oh Boy!

I realize it's been quite some time since my last blog post. Honestly, I just haven't been in the blogging mood and other things have taken my time and energy. I still love blogging and finding new blogs to read. And I love keeping up with all of the blogs I've been following. I've been meaning to post for a few weeks now so I'm excited to be back in the saddle!

So many things have happened in the almost year it's been since blogging. Not only did I survive the hardest teaching year/job I could ever imagine, I also got my dream teaching job! Me and my sweet husband celebrated our two year anniversary in July with a road trip to Destin, FL. This was probably one of the best vacations ever! We stayed right on the beach and ate delicious food every night. In August school started and it has just been a whirlwind of art supplies and students.

I've never had any real direction with my blog, it was always just something I experimented with.  However, with that being said Love-Lea Life is going to be changing quite a bit! Not only did I start a new teaching job last fall, but I also found out that I am going to be a mom!! And not just any mom, a boy mom! Needless to say this blog is going to turn into my letter to my sweet boy, myself, and any other moms out there who might need encouragement along the way. I'm about 25 weeks into this journey they call pregnancy and it has been absolutely amazing! Aside from my super crazy gag reflex I didn't have any morning sickness ( so sorry mamas if you did ) and there were only a few foods that I wasn't interested in. I'm really sad I haven't been documenting this more along the way, but growing a human is hard work! But I've been wanting to start this, so here it goes!

How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 20 lbs. Ugh, I know I'm growing a human, but seeing the numbers on the scale climb is depressing!
Maternity clothes? All maternity bottoms, some maternity tops
Sleep? Almost through the night! Besides going to the bathroom a couple of times and letting the dog out. 
Stretch marks? NOPE!! Thanks BioOil and Cocoa Butter!
Best moment this week: Passing my second glucose test! No Gestational Diabetes for me!
Miss Anything? My body... I know I still have a long way to go too. Also, cold meats.
Movement: He's so active! And then he freaks me out when he decides to take a nap and not move around like a crazy person
Food Cravings: Any type of delicious pastry/ baked good. Luckily I refuse to buy them and keep them in the house or I would have gained way more than 20 lbs by now. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really! The trash makes me gag, but that's about it!
Gender: Sweet Boy
Pregnancy Symptoms: Going to the bathroom all the time, some headaches, broken out, and a few Braxton Hicks
Labor Signs: None
Wedding rings on or off? Still on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody, moody! I feel so bad for my students at school. But I'm pretty happy once I get home.
Looking forward to: Finishing our registries!

Also, I would like to add how much of a champ my sweet husband has been. I would not be able to go through this without all of his support and help around the house. I know he thinks I'm a crazy person most of the time ( mainly because he tells me), but he never hesitates to do the dishes or take me for ice cream, even if he thinks I tricked him into it, haha. He has helped make this pregnancy as wonderful as it has been! 

I peed on these sticks on September 9th and my life has never been the same!

 

How we told his parents and mine

Our boy at 20 weeks!! I can't believe how much I love this face already.