so how's that whole HEALTHY thing going?

hahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaahhaahhaahahahahahahahahaahaha...! pregnancy has DONE ME IN. those months of being sick, having to eat just to stop feeling nauseous, never enjoying food, but being forced to swallow it... and only certain things. chicken? eggs? salads? nope. cold cereal, sweets, cold fruity things... that's the kind of thing that i could stomach. i've been feeling better for like a month now, but most of those bad habits have just stuck around. eating all the time (at least it's generally because i feel hungry, not nauseous!! so wonderful), whatever i want... 

which occasionally includes something healthy... i've been eating way more salads and veggies (but also plenty of bagels with cream cheese... mmm) - see my selection at rutabegorz last week!

jason is on summer break now, and is VERY interested in trying to eat healthy again... and i'm finding myself stalling... even though i have been gaining way too much weight at my monthly checkups... 

and it's sort of disheartening when i do get up enough energy to cook a healthier meal, and it's a total FAIL. i have had very few FAIL meals during our marriage (i'm really good at following a recipe ;)... but this one last week was definitely one of them! couldn't stomach the grilled chicken (not just me - jason & joey had a hard time with it, too... ok, let's be honest - joey spit his out), the potatoes were gross, and the brussel sprouts were too bitter. boo. i just don't have enough energy to deal with this at this point (so pregnant ;)!

at least i got pretty pictures out of it ;)

and exercise? not so much. during those months that i was sick, i think i went to the gym once? i put my membership on "hold" until after the baby comes... 

 the last couple of weeks, i've been trying to walk places more, and even doing a little morning workout at the park with other moms & kids (once every other week haha). i'm trying. but it just sort of feels "too late". i just get completely exhausted and so sore everywhere (NOT the intended muscle groups)... it sometimes seems not worth it. if it's going to exhaust me or make me hurt so that the already difficult daily tasks of life and mothering become even more difficult? i don't know... 

this was not the "transformation" i was expecting when i started this blog... i was hoping to be able to document my process of becoming healthier...  as my body became healthier and more in shape, you'd get to sort of be on the journey with me, as i shared style shots, meals and recipes, etc. but the only shape THIS body is becoming is very round. which is good (GREAT!) and normal as i have this little guy growing inside. but i'm amazed how much it has affected my emotional stance toward being healthy in general. currently, i am having not only a hard time staying healthy physically, but also emotionally & spiritually... i find myself constantly thinking about how in september, i won't be pregnant anymore (hooray!) and i guess unconsciously putting any strides toward healthiness on hold. but i don't want to do that. 

this may be a "season", but i want to be really here in this season. present, engaged with life and God and people... and, as much as it sometimes doesn't seem like it, my food & exercise choices play into that. when i am healthy and engaged, i can even worship God as i eat. just delighting in different textures and spices as they play together... otherwise, it just ends up being "shovel it in, get it done". like this shot of what jason and i ate (part of) last week. 

wow. such a difference from my deeper desires. 

but, oh, help...

24 weeks

looking at these shots, even i'm amazed at how much the belly has grown since 20 weeks! tuesday at the park, a little girl joey's age (2 1/2) was sure i had a ball in my shirt... her mom could NOT convince her otherwise. it was hilarious, and looking at some of these shots, i see her point ;)

the occasion: being 24 weeks pregnant - haha - seriously - i did not go ANYWHERE this day (which, of course, drove my son crazy ;)

the outfit: top, anthropologie; belt, thrifted; pants, thrifted; shoes, thrifted; bracelets, thrifted

and i've featured "What He Wore" on here before, with my 2-year-old... 

but i had to share this shot of my husband, and the story that went with it... 

so handsome!

so we were meeting some friends at Lucille's, and suddenly on the way, joey started looking sick. he had been fine all day, but was almost falling asleep and just looked generally miserable. then, as jason was carrying him through the parking lot, joey puked all over both of them! of course i had a change of clothes for him in his diaper bag, but not one for jason...
luckily, i had two bags of clothes in the back of the car that i was planning to take to buffalo exchange, so jason dug through them and found this awesome outfit (which was cleaned out of my brother-in-law's closet - who is a couple sizes smaller than my husband - the polo was XS ;)! i seriously LOVE it! not exactly "his style" though ;) so we (finally) got to eat dinner with our friends while joey slept peacefully between us on the restaurant bench seat... still not sure what was wrong with him, but he's fine now!

wasn't looking very happy here, (though, somehow still adorable...?) but after this, he fell asleep for the rest of the night... 

buffalo exchange

so maybe you all already know about the amazing place that is Buffalo Exchange. i had heard of it on like 4 out of 5 of my favorite fashion/style blogs, so i had to check it out. in case you are as in the dark as i was... this store is awesome! it's kind of like a thrift store, except that it's very carefully... uh, curated? they only put out on the rack what they think people will be buying right now (on trend, in season, unique, vintage, etc). 

the first time i walked through, i was like: "ooh, i love that! and that... and that..." 

so, i guess the main ways it's similar to a thrift store are

 *used clothing 

*fairly cheap prices (although they know their stuff, so if something's worth more, they'll charge more - don't go expecting to find that amazing vintage deal and feel like you're stealing it out from under their noses, like so often can happen at a regular thrift store)

but different in that

*they don't have a bunch of junk! (so if you're one of those people who can't handle going to a thrift store - or ross - because it just feels disorganized and chaotic and takes way too much work to find anything good, this is your place ;)

but the best part is: 

*they also BUY! you can take in what you've cleaned out of your closet, and they will sort through it and choose items they believe will sell, and that fit with the general vibe of the store, and give you 50% of their selling price (that's store credit - if you want straight cash, it's a little lower: i think 25-30%? but once you see this place, you'll want the store credit anyway!!)! 

they are pretty choosy, based on the above-mentioned qualities, and they post on their website specific items they're currently looking for... i took in two bags of cleaned-out clothes, and they bought two tops from me! but hey, i got $10.50 store credit, which i immediately spent $6.50 of on this little skirt (something i can actually wear while pregnant! yay!)

i love this shot! when joey saw it, however, he asked me "whose poop is that?" hahahaha

the Buffalo i went to is in old town fullerton, but they have them all over southern california and elsewhere (first time i heard of it was an austin, texas-based blog). 

so, you may have done the math and know that i still had $4 store credit burning a hole in my pocket... so less than a week after that first visit, jason and i headed to fullerton for a date night! 

after eating this amazing salad at Rutabegorz (my first time trying quinoa! i know - behind the times. first time at Buffalo Exchange and first time eating quinoa!?), 

we walked around, stopping at Buffalo Exchange, where we both shopped, and jason says he actually enjoyed it! 

although he's not planning on joining the tight cutoff shorts trend for guys anytime soon...

and here's me with my new skirt - in front of a super-cool-looking church also in fullerton!

so now you know.

20 weeks

well, we've made it halfway, folks...! and i am feeling SO much better (as long as i keep taking my magic medicine - almost zero nausea! if i don't take it, totally different story...)! so thankful for that. we somehow never started taking the monthly shots of my growing belly #2 like we did the first time around. we finally said we HAVE to at least do the halfway mark!! and i plan to wear this top every 4 weeks for the rest of the time so we can see the progression of the giant belly ;) i have already had people incredulous that i'm not due till september "seriously?!" same as it was with joey... then it was "are you SURE it's not twins??" people say the silliest things sometimes. i'm kinda glad i'm not one of those people who get offended easily by belly touches and all kinds of unsolicited comments about pregnancy, cause it happens a LOT. ha.

and now here is the outfit i wore last thursday. momentary lapse in judgment? (the wearing it all day? or the taking photos and posting them online for all the world to see? which is worse?? you decide...) well, i had a friend comment this day "you are so stinking cute!" so i decided it needed to be recorded for posterity.

 the occasion: bible study, april 26.2012. (haha - that was the most exciting outing of the day, so i guess that's what i dressed for ;)
the outfit: tops (all 3- i love layers, ok?), thrifted; belt, thrifted; pants, target; bracelet, indian gifted from my sister, originally bought on "trade as one", a website that connects westerners to fair trade merchandise; necklace, fernworks (and wedding rings that no longer fit puffy pregnant fingers)

and what he wore... this cracks me up - makes me think of those old images of people hiding nudity with barrels haha he is so funny (it's the chimney from the top of his cardboard playhouse)