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September 30, 2013

Taking Stock.



I saw this on The Daybook and wanted to play along. I love her blog and her adorable son.

Making: a tiny human, 24 weeks 2 days // 6 months in
Cooking: banana bread muffins from our neglected bananas
Drinking: Milo's sweet tea, the kind with Splenda
Reading: Two Minute Drill to Manhood by John Croyle; how to raise a son, it's so darn good. 
Wanting: new french doors to the side porch and a new wood paneled front door...sigh
Looking: forward to Thanksgiving with both sides of our family!
Playing: with the pup dogs at the dog park
Wasting: away our weekends, we are seriously so lazy, but I kinda don't care because Rob's home and here. That won't be the case in a few weeks. 
Sewing: a little cross stitch of Italy for the nursery
Wishing: for an unlimited clothes budget for our little one, the new j. crew baby makes my wallet hurt thinking about it.
Enjoying: football season with Rob 
Waiting: to close on our 1st house, 18 more days.
Liking: the crispness in the air every morning and evening. I want to bottle it up. 
Wondering: what color hair our little boy will have
Loving: the man I get to claim as my husband, he just rocks. 
Hoping: for closure and peace as my grandfather gets closer to leaving us.
Marveling: at the fact that Rob pointed out a falling meteor during the football game this Saturday. IT WAS MAGICAL.
Needing: some kind of backyard guru to come build a deck and landscape our backyard, ya that would be great. 
Smelling: freshly washed sheets
Wearing: my favorite pajama pants and praying they fit me throughout this pregnancy
Following: my gut
Noticing: the leaves have already started to fall
Knowing: that I only have 4.5 months till Rob deploys and praying for guidance every day.
Thinking: about when I can run again, actually run, not jog. I miss sprinting. 
Feeling: restless and tired at the same time
Bookmarking: baby toys and baby clothes, it's a problem
Opening: some of the sweetest Mom-tobe cards from friends
Giggling: every night before bed 

September 24, 2013

Baby Boy Faves // Toy Edition

I know it's probably WAY too soon for me to be even entertaining the idea of toys for our little guy, but I can't help it. I'm addicted to searching for toys that are 'pretty' and not too cheesy looking. Think no plastic, no lights or electronic sounds. I dislike cheap toys, the ones that you know are going to break about a month into the game. I want to invest in ones that can get passed down to his little brother or sister, and hold up over time.

Enter companies like HABA,

September 23, 2013

Baby Update // Single Umbilical Artery

Today's post is something we've kept to ourselves as a family, until now, because the worrying is over. At our gender ultrasound 5 weeks ago we were told that the baby's umbilical cord only contained one artery instead of the normal two. No one really told us what this meant, which left google to fill in the blanks. I WAS TERRIFIED. Everything I was reading told me that SUA could lead to heart defects, kidney abnormalities and pre-term labor.


We were scheduled for a level two ultrasound the following week. There they verified that the original ultrasound was correct about the one artery, but they couldn't see any growth issues at all. They couldn't rule out any heart issues because baby boy wasn't far enough along, and so began the longest four weeks of our lives.

Rob and I prayed a lot for baby boy and we prepared ourselves for either result. Every day babies aren't born exactly like we want them to be, but we have the technology and medicine to get them back on track. I knew deep down that we could handle this either way.

This morning at 8:30 am, our four week wait came to an end. We found out that baby boy's heart is as perfect as it could be and he is measuring exactly on target. I've never been so relieved and happy. I always thought motherhood started the day you brought a baby into the world, but I'm learning that it starts much sooner than that. My mom's always told me that being a mom is like having a piece of your heart that walks around outside your body; I'm beginning to understand what that means. Parenthood is not for the weak and I know that as we begin this journey that there will be many more things to worry about and fear. But for today, I'm rubbing my tummy and shedding a few happy tears that this one is over.


September 5, 2013

An Ode to 24

Twenty-four. What an amazing, fantastic, emotional, life changing year. It seems almost like blur, most good things do that. I have to say it's been the best year of my life. I feel like a really became an adult this year, I started making decisions on my own without worrying about others would think. I broke out of my own expectations and I know I'm much happier now.


- I quit my high-paying government job down on the gulf, I had lived in a hotel for over a year. I couldn't make a life for myself being in perpetual limbo.
- Rob asked me to marry him. I said 'Yes!' 
- Indie & Chic really took off till the beginning of 2013. It was such a learning experience and I made a lot of decisions about where I wanted the business to go. 
- I discovered Peach-Pear La Croix.
- Was finally reunited permanently with my dog Parker, and gained Rob's dog Molly!
- Moved all my possessions out of my mom's basement and into a house we began renting. Possibly the most liberating feeling to finally be able to plant my roots for the first time since High School. 
- Getting married in Pisa, Italy with our families. 
- Spending the most romantic week in Italy with my HUSBAND!
- Knowing that nannying full time was not my passion, but being an adult and sticking with my obligations. 
- Falling into married life so easily and wondering when it gets to the tough part.
- Celebrating our marriage with a huge crowd of friends and family. Dancing until they made us leave and driving myself home in my wedding dress. BEST. RECEPTION. EVER. 
- Discovering that in fact I am a good cook and being able to try new dishes. 
- Diving back into running and signing up for a half-marathon with Rob.
- SURPRISE! Finding out we were going to be parents about four months into marriage!
- We survived through the hardest summer of both our lives. 
- My car of 9 years was totaled and I really miss 'her'.
- In January we will have a little boy in our arms and I just don't think it could get any better than that. 
- And all of the little things that make life full : Taylor Swift dance parties, long walks in the neighborhood, pancake Saturdays, date nights, painting parties, IKEA trips and spending a whole year beside my very best friend. 

25, you have a lot to bring to the table, but somehow I know it's only going to get better!