LINDSEY'S BOOKS

one of my very earliest memories is of my mom reading to me. she read to us everyday, without fail, and dozens of books at a time. i remember sitting on the floor next to her, my baby brother in her lap, and a big pile of library books next to us, and she would read the entire stack- sometimes twice! she wasn't big on playing barbies or trucks or other toys, but she loved to read to us. she definitely passed that love on to me. reading has been one of my favorite things my entire life. i used to sneak away from my chores and hide somewhere in the house with a book. and i can't count the number of times i've stayed up until 5 am because i just HAD to finish what i was reading. when i finish a truly good book, i immediately want to read it again, and when characters i love die or endings don't turn out how i wanted, i will mope for days. i get REALLY in to my books. 

since having kids, i've added children's books to my addiction, and THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD ONES! i could spend a million dollars at barnes and noble and still find more books we need. cue my discovery of usborne books. it was my best friend stacy who first told me about them, and i've been hooked ever since. these books are colorful, fun, full of facts and beautiful illustrations. the quality is EXCELLENT, so they hold up really well, and my kids LOVE them. there are flaps to life, textures to touch, and so many fun, silly stories. those train books in the picture are possibly the most read books in our house... well at least they were until we got All Better a few weeks ago. my kids are both obsessed with that book, and i read it at least 6 times a day.

i can't recommend these highly enough, and i've been buying them for several years now. over a year ago, i attended another usborne facebook party, and the consultant mentioned that i'd be good at selling them, because my passion for them was contagious. i considered it, but decided not to... and then for months and months it stayed on my mind. i really wanted to do it! but i had a long list of excuses, and put it off for months and months. then about 6 weeks ago, i attended yet another usborne book party and decided that i'd waited long enough- it was time to give myself and my love of books a chance! plus, as a stay-at-home mom (which i absolutely love) sometimes i find myself looking for a project to call my own, for something to do on the side that I WANT to do, that i do for myself. so signed up! and it's been 4 days and i am so so glad i did. i'm having so much fun so far, and i really think i can be successful at this! it's fun to have something to do on my own that i'm passionate and excited about.

so all this to say, i'm an usborne books consultant! and i have an official shopping link! i've had a lot of support and encouragement so far from family and friends and i really really appreciate it. and if you need any books, or want to get FREE books, let me know and we can party together! follow me on instagram as @lindseysbooks for all my favorites, and good deals too! 

seriously though, you'll get hooked, i promise :) 

ADULTHOOD

i've arrived.

orlando and i were talking in bed the other night, trying to make sense of the myriad of decisions we have to make in the coming weeks, and it hit me that my own parents must have done this exact thing hundreds of times- whispered worries in the dark, trying to figure out the best thing while not waking the kids.

i don't think you realize how much stress and worry and concern and responsibility your parents carried for your family until you're there yourself. and here i am. it's hard mental, emotional, and physical work, steering this ship. the world is big, the worries are real, and we are the two people responsible for the success and happiness of our family. i knew adulthood wasn't easy, but i underestimated all the planning, decision-making, and mental energy it entailed.

though i know that Heavenly Father is mindful of us and that He will guide and bless us, i often find myself wishing i knew more in advance. i wish He would tell me ahead of time how things are going to unfold so we would always know exactly what to choose for our family. for me, the uncertainty is the hardest part. but then i have to remind myself that we need to exercise faith for a reason. to always know would be to never grow. faith is what bridges what i don't know, and what i trust He does.

i have faith. i am learning patience. i love my stewardship over my little family, i can't think of anything better to lay awake at night working about.

38 WEEKS

stick a fork in me, i'm DONE!

baby sister was spoiled this week at a really fun baby shower thrown by my amazing ward, all her little pink clothes and blankets and burp cloths have been washed and folded, and i'm working on the last little project to hang in her nursery {a scallop garland, it's going to be CUTE!}

pretty much, she can come any day now.

but if she decides not to come on her own over the next 19 days, she will most definitely arrive january 28th via c-section. i'm really really really hoping to go into labor on my own and have a vbac {accepting all prayers and good vibes!}, but if i don't, i'm ok with it. i feel really peaceful about this plan. my due date is january 23rd and she's been measuring ahead the entire pregnancy, so i feel like it's a fair amount of time to give my body to do this thing naturally. and if my body doesn't, then the best thing is to get her here safely without putting me through the exhausting experience that was luc's delivery- 41.5 weeks pregnant and 30 hours of labor PLUS a c-section at the end. so the 28th it is! honestly, it's nice to have an end date to countdown to. even if i go past my due date, i know that on the 28th she will be in my arms, and i can wait that long.

only 19 more days, maybe less! {i'm praying for less!}

2015

painting by caitlin connolly

2014 was like two very different sides of the same coin for me. one side wonderful, happy and full of accomplishments, and the other side frustrating and exhausting and really challenging. it was a year of big mountains, and while i am proud of us for making it through, let's be honest- i hate hiking.

i must say- the wonderful parts greatly outnumbered the frustrating parts, and the feeling that comes the strongest now as i look back over the year is sheer gratitude. gratitude for all the help and love we received from our families and friends. gratitude for countless heaven-sent blessings. gratitude that orlando and i had each other and luc and baby sister to keep us smiling. so much gratitude that we made it through. and even more gratitude that we are where we are now.

but looking back, i feel like i epically failed at being grateful during the challenges. i was petty and small-minded and i allowed myself to care more about what i lacked than what i had. but even that doesn't encompass what i struggled with. i'm not sure how to adequately describe what i've been feeling, except to say that i found in myself a 'littleness of person' this year. not sure if that makes any sense to anyone but me, but it's been on my mind constantly the past month.

as i've thought about how i can change for the better, the one thought that has come back to me over and over has been that if i work, really diligently work, on my spiritual health and cultivate an attitude of gratitude in all things, everything else i want to accomplish/be will fall into place. so although the list of things i want to accomplish is long, my goals this year are simple and centered around gratitude and my spiritual growth.

this year i want to:

-live more simply. stop comparing myself and what i have/don't have to others. stop coveting and wanting what they have instead. be content with what i have- or even better, be content with less! it's just stuff and somehow it became way too important to me recently. a big part of this one is our goal to get out of debt this year {minus the student loans} and i want to contribute by spending less and not being grumpy/whiny about it. i want to enjoy it even!

-be a more patient, enduring mother. correct what is important and let the rest go. teach and nurture with the spirit. toddlerhood is fun and crazy irrational, and soon there will be two little niños over here- and my threshold of patience needs to increase accordingly. and i want to enjoy the everyday moments more. i want to be more grateful for this time of my life, to embrace it and enjoy it more fully.

-find a better balance between my roles of self, wife, and mother. i want to thrive in all three! discover or develop what talents and gifts i have, and then use them to find personal fulfillment and bless my family. i want to appreciate who i am and what i have to offer, instead of always wishing i was different, or like someone else.

so i'm going to:

1. start each day with an attitude and prayer of gratitude.

2. keep a gratitude journal. write something new everyday.

3. attend the temple monthly. 

4. personal prayer, 365 days in a row. 

5. continue to make time for personal scripture study.

these are my goals, and i feel promised that if i do these things, i will be blessed to accomplish everything else above. either way, i will come out of this year a more grateful person, and that is someone i really want to be.

NESTING

all kinds of crazy organization projects going on over here, thanks to this sudden burst of energy i've had the past few days. pretty sure i'm making it worse, though only time will tell…

whether by c-section or vbac, baby girl will for sure be here in 50 DAYS at the very most. hopefully less, but even if she decides she wants to stay in forever like her brother, we are still only 50 days away from meeting our sweet girl.

ONLY 50 DAYS!

hooray and hallelujah! 

OCTOBER

i love october. it's a month of change, and i find that more often than not, i need things to change right about now. usually, we'd be bidding our park days farewell and breaking out the soups and sweaters, but this year is a little different. it was 81 degrees today, so we aren't exactly pulling on the layers, but i feel the change in the air nonetheless, even if it is lacking that crisp chill we're used to.

general conference weekend was a big weekend for me. nothing extraordinary happened, but i was really touched by a few of the messages and i have been putting some of the inspiration i felt to good use, including daily personal scripture study and morning prayer. seeing the difference a prayer to start my day has made, i have no idea how i got through so many days without it. i have more patience, more energy, better mothering ideas, and a more grateful heart.

things just feel really good this week. i got into a kind of negative/depressed rut over the long summer, and i have taken my sweet time shaking it off. i'm sure i can chalk most of this up to hormones and the stress of being a single + pregnant mom for most of the summer, but it sure has been hard to get over. i'm finally feeling like the giant load of stress and worry and frustration i was lugging around is gone, and i am happier and lighter than i have been in weeks. i'm putting on lipstick and laughing over spilled apple juice {instead of crying} and letting go of all the have-tos and trying to just enjoy today. arizona seems to be feeling the same way, as the weather has turned into perfection this week- 77 degrees all day and night- and we have been soaking up every minute of daylight. i watched the cloudy sky split with streaks of the deepest blue yesterday and i had to fight the impulse to throw my arms out and twirl, everything just felt so good- the air, the sky, my soul, luc's grin and dirty knees, baby girl playing kickball in my belly- i felt a peace and contentment i have been missing for too long.

i think that's how it goes sometimes. life gives us trials and times of stress, but to help us through, heavenly father has given us this beautiful earth, personal revelation, and really special people to call family.

and they really do help us through.

to love them and be loved by them is my life's greatest blessing and dearest happiness.

ARIZONA BOUND

instagram stolen from my cousin

this post is long overdue! i've mentioned our plans to family and friends, and sparingly on instagram and facebook but every time i sit down to blog about it, i start to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of another cross-country move and the giant to-do list forming in my head, and i put it off for another day. but no longer! i'm determined to get this done, and then i can brave the to-do list next.

i feel like graduating from law school is such a big accomplishment that whatever comes after should involve lots of naps on a beach somewhere, free endless guacamole and chips, and zero stressful 'planning our future' discussions. alas, it is nothing like that. {just in case you were considering law school for the free guac- there isn't any} instead there are a lot of stressful decisions demanding to be made and for orlando, an intensely awful BAR to study for.

to be honest, i am exaggerating a little bit. it is stressful because we are making such big, life-planning choices, but it's also very exciting and i'm thrilled for what's coming up for us in the next six months.  and i'm even more proud of orlando for all of his hard work these past three years. this is the fun part where it all pays off, baby!

right after orlando finished his second year of law school, we started talking about what we wanted to do after graduation. you have to register for the bar early so it was time to get crackin'! we mulled over the idea of staying in ohio for another 5-10 years, and we talked about the pros and cons of pretty much every state in the western usa. we prayed about it constantly. we wrote list after list. it was a jumbled pile of maybes and what ifs and i wishes, and sometimes it seemed like there wasn't a clear option anywhere. but then, very gradually, out of our jumbled pile, a fabulous idea emerged and the more we considered it and researched it, the better it became.

i can't remember how it started- i think i spent all of last winter suggesting we move to arizona so i wouldn't have to live through another freezing 5 months ever again…and somehow the idea stuck. our 'arizona pros' list grew and grew {at the top: GREAT MEXICAN FOOD!}. we loved that it was closer to home, right in between our two families, but was still a new place for us to explore. we could afford it {unlike dreamy san diego}! we love the heat! we would live close to a temple!

then orlando started looking into the arizona bar and job market, and he discovered the UBE {the uniform bar exam. basically you take the bar in one of the participating 13 states and if you pass with a certain score, you can be barred as a lawyer in ANY of the states. so now you have 13 job markets to look in, not just 1. and included in the 13 states are arizona, utah, and washington- three great west coast options!} which seemed like the perfect option for us since we are starting our job hunt from scratch, without any previous internships or networking to rely on {we like the option of broadening our search outside of arizona if we aren't finding many great jobs there, just as a plan b}. also, orlando is really interested in immigration or transaction/financial law and we've learned that phoenix has an excellent market for both fields, so the job prospects are great.

the more we've learned, the more we've felt like this is the perfect path for us. it has all fallen into place so nicely and i'm so grateful for the way heavenly father has guided us to it. and i must say, i'm SO EXCITED for year-round sunshine!!! i know it comes at a price of an incredible summer-long heat wave and rocks in my yard instead of grass, but those are things i'm happy to put up with for twelve months of glorious sunshine.

so! we are moving to ARIZONA, hooray! graduation is in may and right after that we will pack up and head west. orlando will spend the summer studying for and taking the bar, while luc and i visit family in utah and san diego {so we aren't a huge distraction}. everything after that is still up in the air, of course, depending on where orlando finds a job and what suburb of phoenix {or tucson?!} we like and all those details that we'll have to sort out when we get there. but until then, we have a plan and we love the possibilities in front of us. it's a crazy, hectic, exciting time, and if we manage to make it through our second cross-country move in three years, i think we are really going to enjoy it. wish us luck!

{and if you have any arizona advice, i definitely want to hear it!}

28 AND HAPPY TO BE

yesterday i turned 28, and it was a fabulous day. too fabulous to photograph haha! orlando and luc let me sleep in, and then they surprised me with chocolate cake for breakfast, gorgeous red roses, presents and love letters {always my favorite part} to start my day off perfectly. luc and i spent a fun day together while orlando studied {finals stop for nothing} and i loved getting so many phone calls and texts from all my favorite people.

in the evening, orlando took me out on a date to my favorite restaurant, carrabba's, for dinner and then we saw catching fire after. it was a wonderful night! we had so much fun, just the two of us. birthday dates are my favorite! i'm such a lucky girl. my boys make everyday- and most especially my birthday!- wonderful.

its hard to get older when you still feel like you're 24 but this year, i'm happy to be 28. 27 was a really great year for me and i feel like each year, life just keeps getting better and better and i love it. i'm excited for all the fun, big changes this year brings- finishing law school, moving west, maybe buying a house or having another baby {?!!!}, plus all the happy little things in between. i'm going to try to love everyday. i'm going to try to be more grateful. i'm going to kiss orlando more and be silly with luc more. i'm going to try to be more like my savior.

i can't wait.
cheers to 28!
xo

MIAMAIDS

i was just called to be the miamaid advisor in our ward, and you guys, i am so excited! nervous too. i feel like it's my first day of high school again, wanting to be liked and terrified that i'm not cool anymore... but mostly i'm excited. i'm teaching my first lesson on sunday and i absolutely love love LOVE the talk i get to share with the girls- the tongue of angels, by elder holland. it's one of my all time favorites! and i just had to share the coolest blog/printout that goes with it-

print by all things bright and beautiful

i love this quote so much. i am definitely printing one for me to hang in my room, it's an incredible reminder.

happy thursday!

FOR THE LOVE OF READING

i've been keeping a list of my favorite books since luc was born, counting down the days until we can start reading them together. i think a love of reading is one of the best gifts i can give my kids, and i'm so excited to relive these classics with them. just this week i started reading stuart little by h.b. white to him while he plays with his blocks, and although he doesn't yet understand what's going on, he loves it. he will come climb on my lap and clap when i exclaim 'hooray for stuart!' whenever the clever mouse does something particularly exciting. it is SO MUCH FUN.

i hope to read all of these with him more than once during his childhood, i want him to know the stories by heart.

the boxcar children
where the red fern grows
charlotte's web
the princess bride
harry potter 1-7
the giver
ender's game
ender's shadow
peter and the starcatchers
peter pan
the borrowers
percy jackson and the olympians series
the tale of despereaux
james and the giant peach
the bfg
witches
charlie and the chocolate factory
a wrinkle in time
tales of a fourth grade nothing
the little house on the prairie
holes
from the mixed-up files of mrs. basil e. frankweiler
amelia bedelia
tikki tikki tembo

any other favorites i should add to my list?

a week of skunks, summer plans, finals, and first words

so, a skunk took up residence under our front porch this week. it was kind enough to generously spray our house more than once, so we've had a pretty stinky week over here. the worst smell is in the basement, so i've been avoiding doing laundry for far too long. also, it makes me teary eyed to think about how all our lovely christmas decorations are going to smell when we get them out of the basement this winter.

thankfully, the skunk has been removed and is off to find a better home, but the stench remains. i have these little cups of apple cider vinegar sitting all over the house because the nature center told us it would help remove the smell from the air...and it has helped a little, but now my house really just smells like slightly skunky vinegar. sigh. and all i keep thinking is that it's a good thing i'm not pregnant or i'm sure i'd be puking hourly.

it's the little blessings, you know?

also this week was the final week of finals for orlando and he's been an exhausted stress ball for days. the poor man has been living at the library and when it closes, he comes home and studies through the night. i'm pretty sure he didn't come to bed at all three nights last week. yesterday he took his last final, grilled carne asada for his entire HLSA club, and then laid lifeless on our living room floor while luc pulled his hair and poked his eyes. i handed him three advil and sent him straight to bed, he was so wound up that he couldn't even relax and enjoy the fact that he's DONE with his second year of law school.

on that note, how in the world did we get here so fast?! second year of law school finished already? we're more than halfway done and i feel like we just started. i also simultaneously feel like we've been in law school forever, so there's that. it's crazy how life can feel so long and so short in the same instant.  it's been a good two years- we like cleveland a lot more then i thought we would at first, luc makes life full and fun, and orlando happens to have quite a knack for this whole lawyer thing. he worked in the school's legal clinic this semester doing pro bono cases with his professor, and he ROCKED it. they have offered him a fellowship to stay on AND he was accepted into the great lakes sports and entertainment law academy, so he will be working and taking classes this summer. i am so very proud of him! he works so hard and as a result, excels in all of his classes, clubs, and jobs. and i love that no matter how demanding law school gets, he makes time to be with us. he is an amazing husband and papa, luc adores him, i adore him, and i can tell that there's nowhere orlando would rather be then home with his family, and that makes me happy everyday.

luc and i have been making the most of the gorgeous weather while papa's been holed up in the library- we go on walks everyday, play at the park, swing on the swings, and hang out with our friends at least once a week. also, we've been trying to include more ice cream in our daily lives, since it's just not summer without copious amounts of ice cream. luc is a little adventurer, he's into everything, he wants to be everywhere all at once. he is so excited about the wide world around him, and i love it.

also, yesterday i went to the dentist for four long hours {root canal and crown, yay} and while i was gone, orlando said he went around the house looking for me, saying MAMA. you mean he meant to say mama, as in, he understands what he's trying to say?! i was skeptical, but then he crawled into my lap, nuzzled into my chest and said it again- MAMA. to my utter and complete joy, his first word is officially MAMA!! he's been babbling dada and mama and baba and yaya and so on for a couple of weeks now, but he didn't know what he was saying of course, he was just making cute sounds. until yesterday. yesterday, he put me and the word mama together, and i did a happy dance in the kitchen, it was so darn wonderful! and just in time for mother's day too. this kid knows how to make his mama the happiest.

happy weekend, happy end of finals, happy mother's day, happy kitchen dancing, happy everything to you all!

LEÓN SUMMER CHRONICLES

last summer i had a nursing newborn and a c-section incision, so i spent most of june, july and august laying on the couch in front of the window ac unit, half undressed, snuggling luc and drinking gallons of ice water. i guess you could say we didn't get out much. this summer, i'm determined to not miss a moment of sunshine- if it's nice outside, then that is where we will be! housework, laundry, dishes, even blogging- i'm going to let it all take a backseat to daily summertime adventures with my little buddy.

and thus begins the 'leon summer chronicles' -a collection of photos from our summertime adventures. 

{i'm hoping to make it into a cute picture book for luc when winter has ended our outside fun} 

you can follow our adventuring on instagram- #leonsummerchronicles

happy summer!

27 THINGS TO DO WHEN I'M 27

i've been a bit wary of 2013 because it's such an unlucky number and one can't help but be nervous about these things, especially when half of ones marriage runs on premium mexican superstition.
however, despite 2013 and its attempts to scare me, my 27th year of life is going to be good, i can feel it. deep in my pancreas there's a tingling rumor floating around that life only gets better from here on out, and i'm inclined to believe it's true. {my pancreas knows these things}
to help 27 be all it can be, i've jotted down 27 things that I want to accomplish this year {in no particular order} that, if I am successful, will guarantee 2013 to win top prize.

1. go to the hill cumorah pageant. only 5 hours away from us and i've never been. this will make an awesome road trip this summer.

2. read the book of mormon all the way through by myself. its been a few years since i've read through it alone and i find myself missing a daily dose of spiritual. so this is going to be really good for me.

3. crochet a blanket. my mom taught me how to crochet when i went home in december and i've been itching to tackle something big and awesome with my newfound skill. {yes this will probably take me all year}

4. learn how to use my camera in manual mode. i've had my camera for two years now so maybe it's time i figured this out...

5. read 27 books. any suggestions?

6. buy a pool pass and take my little fishy 3x a week this summer. the independence city pool is amazing, the summer heat in our non-air conditioned apartment is unbearable, and my boy loves the water, so this is a no-brainer.

7. give my blog a professional makeover. to reflect my more serious writing pursuits. it's in the works as we speak!

8. get back to my beach-worthy body before we go to san diego for a wedding in august. then go to the beach everyday while we are there.

9. get pregnant with baby #2. this ones exciting!

10. go to washington, d.c. and see the smithsonian portrait gallery and lincoln memorial. i've never been and it so close. another road trip!

11. learn to make a killer cheesecake. it's the hubby's favorite and i want to make it better than anyone he knows. i'm always looking for new ways to seduce him ;)

12. fill out a mormon.org profile. i've been meaning to do this FOREVER.

13. find the perfect shade of red lipstick and rock it. tell me, what do you love?

14. instigate a monthly date night with orlando. get back in our lovin' groove.

15. learn spanish. i've half-spoken it long enough, it's high time i buckled down and learned it for real. like conjugating verbs for real.

16. eat at momochos. a mexican restaurant in cleveland that was featured on the food network? yes please!

17. learn how to make empanadas. just another way to my man's heart.

18. buy a new bed {KING SIZE!} we've been sleeping on a full for 4.5 years... i think we've earned this one!

19. throw a super hero birthday bash for luc's first birthday. maybe a super hero pool party? i'm already excited!

20. enjoy a white utah christmas. there's nothing better than going home for christmas.

21. do a session in the san diego temple with my sweetheart. sit on our bench in the celestial room and remember how young and silly and wonderful we felt sitting there five years ago.

22. celebrate 5 years of marriage in august with a special date night. to be planned forthwith. five years is big, peeps!

23. explore amish country, pick fresh strawberries at ridgeview farm. my mouth is watering already!

24. see WICKED when it comes on broadway in december. 

25. index 500 names. i love history, i love individual histories. i want to spend some time unearthing the histories of others while i record my own.

26. get my spice back! i'm in a bit of a postpartum funk {still!} and i want to get back to the sassy, spicy, not-quite-so-exhausted me. hopefully the sleep training we are currently doing helps?

27. wear contacts again. now this one is just plain annoying. i hate wearing glasses but i've had this stubborn eye sore since thanksgiving and it just won't heal. i am seriously hoping it heals up soon so i can wear my contacts again and not feel like thirteen year old me anymore.

2013

if one of my new years resolutions was to be on top of things, i'd have broken it already! {good thing that's not one of them} i am so behind and it's only january 6- guess that's what happens when you go on vacation for the holidays and don't look at a computer for 17 days. it sure was lovely though, being unplugged from the world and soaking up time with my family. we had a blast and i have a lot of posts and pictures coming asap. i wish i were still there with a big plate of tacos in front of my face.

i've been dragging my feet a little coming into 2013. i'm not ready for a new year already! 2012 was a huge, wonderful, tumultuous year for me- obviously, we had luc and it completely changed our lives. and the added role of mother really changed a lot of things for me, things i'd never expected, things i'd never even thought of. mothering came very naturally, but the way it affected everything else in my life was a big adjustment, a difficult adjustment. i can honestly say it was both the happiest and hardest year of my life thus far. i'm hoping 2013 is just as happy, and maybe not quite as hard?

last year my resolutions all centered around the theme of 'balance' and i'm proud to say that for the first time maybe ever, i actually did almost everything on my list {didn't learn to sew, darn!} i definitely feel like the things i did do really helped, especially during those first few months of parenthood. i'm grateful for personal revelation and my heavenly father knows what's ahead of me, because i truly feel those goals were inspired, in a big way.

this year i've decided to go with the theme of 'healthy living' and i'm hoping these goals turn out to be just as inspired as last years'.

spiritual health
1. speak more spanish at church. be brave!
2. remember daily personal prayer
3. use one scripture each month as a theme to inspire my thoughts and actions

emotional health
1. call a friend daily. connecting with others does wonders for my mood
2. meditate daily. find a little emotional peace in the tumult of the day

mental health
1. keep reading. always be in the middle of a good book
2. regular mental exercise. study something- spanish, french, art history- anything!

physical health
1. only drink water. lots and lots of water
2. no eating after 8 pm
3. eat breakfast every morning
4. pick the healthy snack. put down the cookie
5. daily exercise. i can't complain about how i look if i'm not willing to work on it
6. get to my goal weight. that's 11 pounds i need to lose!

ODE TO DAIRY

oh dairy, how i miss you! it's been four months since i've been able to partake of your goodness, and i'm feeling it. i'll be honest, when i heard i had to give you up for my luc {totally worth it, btw}, i thought to myself 'this will be easy! i hate milk.' which is true, i do hate to drink plain old milk {ick}

what i failed to realize at that moment is how much i love ice cream. and cheese. and cheesecake. and cream cheese. and sour cream. and chocolate milk. and chocolate. and ICE CREAM. some days of mothering just require a big bowl of ice cream after the baby is in bed, you know? there's no great substitute for chocolate ice cream, fyi. none. the real stuff is the only good stuff.

it's just that, while a glass of milk is completely gross, all the things with milk in them are completely delicious! they're the best of all treats/meals/desserts! what's the best treat? chocolate! best italian food? pizza! {or fettacini alfredo if you're more of a pasta person} best dish at el jalepeno? the bean burrito smothered in their special queso sauce! best dessert? ICE CREAM OF COURSE!

the pediatrician said i can try to reintroduce dairy into my diet when luc is six months old, and i am simultaneously counting down the days and praying his little tummy can handle it. boy oh boy am i excited! i've started a list of all the things i want to eat when dairy and i are reunited again:

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
cheesecake factory cheesecake
a giant chocolate frosty
mint chocolate chip ice cream
baked potato with sour cream
everything bagel with cream cheese
a DQ dipped cone
angelo's pizza, extra cheese
ranch dressing on anything and everything
chocolate ice cream
a CHEESEburger
chocolate milk
king size symphony chocolate bar

i'm sure that by the time december 20th rolls around, i'll have added quite a bit more to my list, but for now, these are the things i dream about at night.

especially the frosty. chocolate frosties haunt my dreams.

if you can, savor a bowl of ice cream tonight and think of me. with a little luck and an answer to my prayers, i am only weeks away from enjoying some {an entire carton, probably} myself!

10 things for a successful day

staying home with my sweet boy is incredible. i am so grateful i get to, i feel so lucky! to say that i love it is true, to say that it's easy is a big fat lie. we have fussy days wherein absolutely nothing gets accomplished- we just survive in our pjs till orlando gets home and rescues luc {really, me} and we have great days of productivity and smiles and a shower for me, what a treat!

after 5.5 weeks of mamahood, i feel like i'm starting to get my sea legs and can maybe consider life beyond my designated nursing station on the couch. in thinking about what to do with my days at home with luc, i came up with ten important things for a successful day- i've learned that if i can accomplish these ten things {in addition to keeping luc alive, happy and fed, of course} then the day feels like a gold medal victory. i know i won't always get all ten done everyday, but it's something to strive for, a little motivation to keep me from getting stuck in a 'pajamas and glee season 2 all day rut' for weeks on end.

my ten things for a successful day:

1.     daily prayer

2.     get ready for the day, feel pretty

3.     dedicate time to connect with orlando

4.     bond with luc, play & read & sing

5.     read or write, exercise my mind

6.     exercise my body

7.     do an act of service

8.     meditate

9.     talk to a friend

10.   eat something delicious

what 10 things make your day?

35 and life is good

 

 week 35 has been good to us

-orlando finished finals, hooray!

-my dear friends amy and heather threw me the most darling baby shower. i laughed myself sore, it was the best girls night!

-baby boy is growing great and starting to get squished in here

-i'm sleeping well, thanks to nightly hypnobirthing relaxation

-minus the heartburn and minorly pinched nerve in my hip, i'm still quite comfortable and loving being pregnant. i know it has been a huge blessing to have such a wonderful pregnancy.

-this week has brought on the puffy pregnancy face

-the weather is gorgeous, we have been soaking up every possible minute outside

-now that finals are over, it's on to packing, moving, shopping and cleaning, all of which this nesting mama is excited to do!

thirty-three weeks and clifton manor

me and the bump are 33 this week. down to only seven more, how marvelous!

also, i can finally spill this secret- we finally found the place of our dreams to rent for the next few years. i've already named it clifton manor {or 'the manor' for short} which is really fitting because it's on clifton blvd and it totally feels manor-ly. 

we are in love! it's huge and beautiful and charming. we signed our lease today and now we're really anxious to get moved in {end of may!} and make it home. also, it just feels so good to have a plan, to know where we're going to be. the limbo was killing me!

the best part? the owners are the nicest people ever and they're letting us paint the nursery the perfect shade of blue. i always wanted to paint and put together the perfect little space for the piquichito but i had resigned myself to the fact that we're renting and it just wouldn't be possible. 

except that now it is! oh my goodness, i'm so happy. i can't wait.

here are a few pictures- these are off of my iphone, so the quality is less than stellar. also it's being painted and fixed up so it's under construction for the next few weeks...

so, picture it all done!

working on the the front 

front door into the living room, two views

a peek into the dining room

sunroom right off the living room {that wall is windows all the way down, i love it}

hallway past the dining room, bathroom & kitchen {not pictured} toward the bedrooms- check out my hall storage!

at the end of the hall is my favorite room of all- the nursery, soon to be painted the perfect blue

the view out of the back door in the kitchen. there's a cute yard with a deck off the master bedroom back there.

what do you think? you love it, right?

we sure do!

limbo

i'm a terrible blogger when i'm keeping secrets. the only thing i can think of to blog about is the exact thing i can't blog about.

we're in a bit of a limbo these days, trying to make plans for a place to live this summer, along with internship plans and school plans and work plans and of course, baby plans, but not much of it is decided/finalized, so i've been sworn to secrecy.

sigh.

but! i can tell you that i'm excited! it's going to be the best summer of my life, however it all works out. i can't believe how much more in love i am with orlando and our little family, every day that passes i'm more head over heels and happier than the day before. if you had shown me a picture years ago of this life i'm living now, i wouldn't have believed you, it's that good. yet somehow it's all true and it's all mine. wow, i'm a lucky girl.

happy weekend all!

where to start?

oh, where to start?

my trip to utah was heavenly.
and my mind has been full of so many thoughts- on birth and babies and bodies and i could go on and on.

and i will! over the next few days, i plan on sleeping off this travel hangover, folding and refolding all the darling little things we got showered with, and getting back to this blog.

but not tonight. tonight, hubby and i are celebrating! he is the newly elected president of the hispanic law student association and i am one proud wifey. you rock, sugar! te amo mucho.

in the meantime, spring has shown her lovely face here in cleveland and i am loving it. bless you, sunshine.

even the crazy wind can't get me down.