You're no longer number one

top: old navy   skirt: target   sandals: ?   necklace: gift (groopdealz)

Can we say fourth of July outfit?  Too patriotic looking perhaps? 

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before Chris' extreme amount of love for our dog Molly.  Now I certainly love Molly and give her quite a lot of attention.  But it can't compare to Chris. 

Sometimes it's almost disturbing how much he treats her like a person.  Playing hide and seek, carrying her around, talking to her like a person.  
The other day I overheard Chris talking to Molly, telling her that once our baby comes she will no longer be number one around here. (Let's just ignore the fact that he was saying that Molly was number one and not me). 
I'm glad he knows that our baby girl will get moved ahead of Molly, as I used to be a little concerned. 

Doesn't everyone carry around their 50 pound dog like this? 

Thankfully Molly is so good around other babies and kids, but I am a little worried how she'll handle our new addition! 
Oh and I've never entered any kind of style or fashion contest until yesterday when I found one that's all about finding good deals, which I think I'm pretty good at. I'm sure you want to help me win! Vote here! 
Thank you!

Happy Hour

 
tee: old navy    jeans: ross maternity    vest: loft

I know I've written a similar post before, but here's yet another example that Chris and I may as well be in our sixties. 
When we went away to Wisconsin a few weekends ago we looked up restaurants that had happy hours.  I think for a normal couple in their late 20's, early 30's this would be a happy hour that started around 9 or 10 o'clock. 
Not for us though.  We went to a 4 - 6 happy hour and were the first to arrive.  Slightly embarrassing, we were followed by couple after couple in their sixties at the youngest.  
Proof.   

There were even two oxygen tanks attending.  We definitely had anyone beat by at least thirty years.  
At least the fact that we like to be home early, eat early and avoid those young, rowdy crowds will only prepare us more for our baby.  Speaking of baby preparation, rather than going to Friday night happy hour we will be going to a childbirth class.  They told us to bring pillows and blankets and I fear having to mimic labor positions and laughing awkwardly as if I'm too immature to birth a baby.   Hopefully it doesn't scare me too much either.  
Hope you have a good weekend!

Eight Years

shirt: target clearance ($4)   skirt: target    bracelet: made by me

(It's a lucky coincidence I'm wearing a shirt that says love on it for today's post!)
Today Chris and I celebrate our eight year anniversary.  Over 13 years of being together.  Some days I feel like I can't believe it's been eight years and then others I can't imagine not being married.  I don't too often write whole posts about Chris and am feeling slightly guilty that when I do they often include his annoying habits.  But the truth is I fully believe that I am one of the luckiest woman in the world to be blessed with such an amazing husband.  One of my favorite things about Chris is that I never doubt that he loves me.  He not only tells me all the time, but I know it's so clear to others that he loves me.  There's been so many times I've met someone he worked with or a friend who tells me right away how much Chris loves and talks about me.  Another one of my favorite things is Chris' ability to communicate.   I appreciate that he always wants work out any issues we have and talk about anything important to me, little or big.  He's always been able to communicate his feelings, which means he's shared tears with me during our struggles, as well as tears during our joys too.  We have both changed quite a bit since we've been married and I am so proud of the man that he has become.  I couldn't be more excited to watch him become a dad in two months.  I'm so thankful for the last eight years of marriage that we've had to work on our relationship with just the two of us, and am beyond excited and ready for this next phase of life together!  

someday

tank top: borrowed from friend    jeggings: walmart    wedges: ?   sweater: loft

Someday I'm sure I'll miss this belly but right now I'm so anxious to meet and hold our sweet girl and am a little nervous about what my belly will look like in 9 more weeks.  

Someday our daughter will know how much fun we had setting up everything in her room.  Someday she'll know how much I loved watching Chris put together things in her room.

Someday I'd like to make homemade donuts.  I've pinned a ridiculous about of recipes like this one, but yet to try any.

Someday I really will buy a pair of rainboots.  These have been in my cart for a week.  Please tell me if I should buy them and what color.

Someday I'd love to be able to meet some of my blogging friends in real life.
Here are some sweet girls I'd love to meet:

Chrissy from Everyday with the Jays.

I wish Chrissy didn't live in Texas because I know that we would be friends in real life, as I've loved getting to know her the last year and a half.  I also wish she lived closer so we we could teach at the same school.  Chrissy is a master at cheap and amazing DIY projects like this anthropology copy project or her dining room wall upgrade.  And she has great directions that you can easily follow!  She also blogs about life with her husband, and her two cute pups! 

blog  //  bloglovin  //  facebook

Lindsay from Pursuit of Pink.

There are so many things that I can relate to about Lindsay, a huge one is that she is expecting her first baby very close to mine.  But even more so is her honesty about the feelings and fears that have come with being pregnant.  It's always refreshing to read a blog that is encouraging and honest, but also filled with plenty of happiness, style posts, favorites and tutorials. 

blog //  twitter  //  bloglovin

Chelsea from Olive and Ivy.

Chelsea writes a lifestyle blog that is full of her cute style, affordable fashion, and beauty tips and reviews. Chelsea is also a very talented graphic designer and creates amazing blog designs.  She helped me out a lot when I first started my blog by designing some graphics for me.   And one more plus - she can pull off those floral pants! :) 

blog  // twitter  //  facebook

You should go check out these sweet girls and their blogs! You'll wish you could hang out with them in real life too! 

Numbers

 
dress: target     leggings:old navy    shoes: kohls

FOUR: the number of nights until my mom's open heart surgery.  Praying for God's protection during her surgery and a constant reminder of His peace and comfort that is stronger than any fear and anxiety.  
THREE: the number of times I've cried this last week.  
ONE HUNDRED: the amount of money I'd give someone to go to the dentist for me tomorrow. 
TEN: the number of weeks left until my due date!
TWENTY: the number of school days left before summer break.  
FIVE: the average number of times I get up to go the bathroom in the middle of the night these days. 

THIRTY ONE:  the age that Chris turned on his birthday today.  Happy birthday to my best friend! I couldn't feel luckier to be married to you! 

A weekend away

We had such a wonderful weekend away.  A weekend free of computers, good phone reception, and things that needed to get done. 

It was a weekend full of guitar playing, delicious food, outlet shopping . . . 

book reading, lots of walking, and beautiful weather.

And a reminder of how much I love Chris and spending time with him.

Today I have a special person to introduce you to.  Besides being cute, likable and easy to relate to, Brooklyn is a wise woman who is sharing with you today how to be a person of influence, fighting the temptation to blend in with those around you!

Hey cute For Lauren and Lauren readers! I am Brooklyn and I blog over at This Little Blonde. 

I have a quote hanging on the wall in my room that says, "You will never influence the world by trying to be like it." 

I absolutely love how that quote changes my thinking. We live in a world where we are encouraged to "blend in." We try and fit in, and we try to be one of the crowd.

The last thing this world needs is one more person that is keeping his or her mouth closed about the things they care about. The world doesn't need more celebrities, it needs people who consistently do good. The world needs more people who put others first. The world needs more people of influence. So I have come up with a list of 3 simple ways to become a person of influence.

1. Seek to be worth knowing rather than to be well-known

I remember hearing this quote a few weeks back and I honestly can't get it out of my head. Be that person that is so nice, and so silly and so helpful that people can't help but like you. Your character will say more than your reputation ever will. In the blogging world, use social media to connect with your readers. Don't be a blog lurker! Comment away! People love to know that you are reading and thinking about their blog. That makes you someone worth knowing, because you are someone who cares. 

2. Work WITHIN your own sphere of influence

When I dream, I dream big. I don't just want my mom to read my blog posts, I want the president of the fricken United States to read my blog post. But to be honest, that will probably never happen. I try to really focus on my audience. Who can I influence? My roommates, my family, my boyfriend, my readers, my coworkers, etc. So how can I personally change so that my influence on them is a positive one? You don't have to write a letter to the government that will change ObamaCare for the better, but you can leave a note for a roommate wishing them good luck on their test the next day. Maybe you can't get a big blogger to tweet you back, but you can tweet back a new friend that asked you a question. 

3. Find your strengths, and use them

I am NOT good at sports. But I am a GREAT cheerleader. I am not a good artist, but I'm a decent writer. You need to do what YOU are good at. Not what any other blogger is good at. I can look at every person in my life and find something to be envious of, but instead I try to focus on the things I am good at, things I like about myself. When you are comfortable in your own skin you are more worried about others than you are about yourself. Write about things you love. People will notice.

What are you ideas on becoming a person of influence? Also, because I think you're really great, I am offering you 50% off ad space on my blog with code FORLAUREN

Come visit me? 

Thank you Brooklyn for your post and your wise words!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Say what?

skirt: old navy clearance ($5)   sweater: old navy clearance ($5)   scarf: discovery ($7)

I know I've written quite a few times before about how different Chris and I are.  Especially when it comes to his natural happy face or how he is always doing "funny" things and thinks I should be more amused at him.  Remember when I made it my goal to laugh at him more often? 
Well I think I'm failing. 
But sometimes the things he says I just am not quite sure where they come from. 
Like the other day when we were driving in the car he just says, 
"What would you do if I told you I was a robot and opened my wrist to show you my battery?"
What? 
He then proceeded to talk about it for the next 5 minutes at least and wanted to know if I'd still love him if he wasn't human, along with other questions that he seriously wanted me to consider.  
I got incredibly lucky with an amazing husband, but I can't help to find him a little weird at times. 

Feeling . . .

proud for finding these leggings for $2 at Jcpenney. 

tunic: old navy maternity   leggings: jcpenney   boots: kohls  scarf: discovery 

thankful for a date night on Friday.  Old movie theatre, $5 tickets for Silver Linings Playbook, and delicious sandwiches while we watched.  

excited for our 20 week ultrasound this week to find out if our little baby is a boy or a girl!
anxious for our appointment to see if everything is healthy with our baby. 

annoyed that these boots slide down and never stay straight up when I wear them.  

confused as to why I ever paint my nails because they look like this the day after. 

happy that it is almost March!  Which means my February giveaway is almost over and I have a few large and medium ad spaces open for March.  Check out details here!

Happy Face

boots: dsw   skirt:  old navy   sweater: diy (tutorial here)

I'm pretty confident that I could dedicate at least a post a week about how Chris and I are different.  In so many ways we are complete opposites.

Here's yet another.

In high school there was this "joke."  I say that in quotes because while true, it didn't make me laugh.  Which maybe it should've and it would have helped me with my problem.

The joke was that I looked angry all the time.  I'd walk around the halls and my friends thought I was mad or sad or some negative emotion, because my relaxed, normal face apparently looked unhappy.

While I doubt I have a picture of me in high school, as I'm sure it was unattractive and I wouldn't keep it around, I imagine looking something like this.  Which actually just looks a little more annoyed than anything.  Apparently my mom only kept smiling pictures of us.

Chris on the other hand, walks around looking like something straight out of a cartoon, because his face was and is always smiling.  Which is why when I saw this shirt on pinterest I immediately thought of him.

I actually used to have to remind him in pictures to have a normal smile, because his was hugely wide open, extreme smile, and just looked silly.

(I realize he isn't actually trying to smile in this picture.  But I looked for one for about 30 minutes and gave up and really wanted to include a picture.  This was the best I could do.)

I even tried it.  Walking around with this big smile.  Well it looked fake and was awkward and didn't last long.

And I'm even outnumbered in my house because I have a dog that constantly smiles too:

Yet another thing I admire about my husband.  He really his happy about 98% of the time.

If you knew me

If you knew me, you would know . . . 

dress, vest, leggings: old navy    boots: dsw 

. . . that boots, leggings and a cotton dress are the most comfortable outfit and I wear it at least half the time in the winter. 

. . . that Chris is the only boy I've dated, held hands with or kissed. 

. . . that I think about all the friends I've met through blogging that are still painfully waiting for a baby, and pray for them often that they will get their miracle soon. 
. . . that I will always buy the same Asic brand of shoes to work out/run in.

. . . that I set three alarms every morning because I'm worried I won't wake up, even though I've never overslept and been late to work.  

. . . that I have a tattoo of a "Jesus fish" (ichthys) on my back, which means Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior. I have no desire to take a picture of it right now, so trust me that it looks just like this: 

. . . that I recently got a brand new phone and love it!!  I love the big screen, the clear camera and that I get to give one away to one of my readers!  

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! 

Hope you had a great weekend!

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