Friday, February 19, 2016

Anniversary Weekend Getaway | Austin

Anthony and I were planning to take a babymoon before Little Love arrives but the only weekend that was available for us to do so would be next weekend however we asked our doctor for permission and she suggested we stay in the Katy and surrounding area because of how far along we already are in the pregnancy so this leaves me reminiscing about our anniversary weekend getaway to Austin last April and figured I'd share some of the details and pictures of things we did while we were there.

We decided to go to Austin because of the Hamilton Pool Reserve that is actually located in Dripping Springs, approximately 40 minutes outside of Austin. I was looking on Pinterest years ago of places to see and when I saw how close this was and doable (budget wise), we started planning our trip immediately.

Since Austin is only a little over 2 hours away, we decided to drive and who wouldn't with gorgeous field views like these

We stayed at the Best Western Plus as Anthony gets a discount with his job and we were overall pleased with our stay. The attached bar didn't hurt as we took a night to get a few drinks and people watch.

Our first night in Austin was our actual anniversary date so we splurged for dinner and ate at Wink and we indulged in the 5 course Chef's tasting menu. It was delicious but I have to admit, I was still hungry afterward, each course was only a bite size.

Our hotel offered free breakfast so after enjoying that the next morning, we started our adventure to Hamilton Pool Reserve.

It was absolutely breathtaking, I shed a few tears taking in all of God's wonderful creation. Afterwards, we headed back to Austin and enjoyed lunch at Hut's Hamburgers. AMAZING. That's all I have to say.

While enjoying the pool, we were referred to check out the Congress Avenue Bridge to see the largest North American Bat Colony. It was within walking distance, so we enjoyed a nice stroll to the bridge to see what all the fuss was about. And it was worth it, get there a little early if you want a nice sitting and seeing area.

On our last day in Austin, we did what I think anyone should do when visiting Austin; we visited the State Capitol.

We also took a day trip to San Antonio on the way home after visiting the Capitol, although it was a bit out of the way but I'll save that for another post! It was just so nice to have that time together during our anniversary weekend without any worries and only focusing on each other, I hope it's a habit we keep especially now that our alone time will be limited once we welcome our baby girl, it sure is to make each moment alone more special and meaningful.

How do you mamas and daddies find time for each other with children? Do you have weekend getaways or only date nights?

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stormieariel

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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Nighttime Routine during Pregnancy

Posted by stormieariel

In my 33 week bump date post, I mentioned my nighttime routine and decided I would go into more detail of what I actually do most nights to help get my body ready for bedtime. Some nights my routine works wonders and other times it is a complete fail but it is what kinda sorta works for me however I am open for more suggests!

Shortly after dinner, I begin to run my bath water while I use the restroom. Once I am in the tub soaking, I watch my subscriptions on YouTube and this will last for about 20 to 30 minutes before I get restless.

At this point, I enter the shower (I only soak in the tub and do not cleanse while in the tub because its hard to wash my hair so just imagine the whale found on the Galveston shore) and do my shower thing, self explanatory I think. I exit the shower and dry my body off and wrap my hair in the towel, apply deodorant, moisturize my face and clean my ears. I personally don't feel dry even after drying off with a towel so I will sit in front of the fan for about 20 or 30 minutes, sometimes less. After I feel dry enough, I remove the towel from my hair and begin my nightly hair routine.

I than go to the restroom again and will begin the winding down process of getting comfortable. During this time, most nights, Anthony and I will do our relaxing techniques we have been learning in our birthing class which is basically me in a comfortable position and he rubs me down making sure all my muscles are relaxed (before we started this, I use to do yoga poses and stretches which also helped with my restless leg pains, I just have been to lazy to keep up with doing both things but I think I should start my yoga back up). Once I start getting restless again, Anthony gets ready for bed while I go to the restroom again and I will attempt to fall asleep.

Side Note: I try to go to the restroom multiple times before actually attempting to fall asleep to prevent waking up so much during the middle of the night however if I don't drink enough water (I typically drink 3 bottles and that seems to be the right amount for me) during the day, I try to drink at least 1 bottle an hour before bedtime and that will keep me going to the restroom all night but I don't feel dehydrated waking up. So it's best for me to drink my water throughout the day, way before bedtime, so I only end up getting up once for the restroom in the middle of the night.

And that my friends is my nighttime routine, it typically takes about 4 hours to do but I do everything at a snail pace and sometimes things come up in between each stage like taking dogs out, playing on my phone, working on blog stuff or ebay stuff, etc.

What did your nighttime routine look like when you were pregnant? And what is it like now as a parent? Any tips for this mama to be?

More Pregnancy Tips & Tricks:
Pregnancy Must Haves

What to Ask While on a Maternity Hospital Tour
What to Take From the Hospital After a Maternity Stay
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (see my review here)
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth (see my review here)
What to Pack for the Hospital during a Maternity Stay
Baby Registry Tips & Tricks
Bradley Method Class Review
What No One Tells When You Are Expecting
Surviving a Summer Pregnancy

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stormieariel

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Monday, February 15, 2016

Pregnancy stormieariel style

Bump Date | 33 Weeks with Sophia

Posted by stormieariel

I decided to document our pregnancy as a way to get all my feelings and emotions out and to later look and remember this beautiful time in our lives. I hope you enjoy if you decide to follow along on this life changing journey.

Can you believe I only have about 7 weeks left in this pregnancy?? It seems unreal and time flew by although now it kind of seems like a stand still. Mornings are getting harder, getting up and ready for work is a nightmare; nights are still hard to even fall asleep no matter how tired I am. I feel like I have tried all types of sleeping remedies and will just have to suck it up.

My current nighttime routine starts with a warm bath after dinner, I lay and soak for about 20 minutes and than get in the actual shower. After I have dried off, combed my hair, etc. Anthony and I will do some relaxing techniques we are learning in our birthing class. The simplest and easiest one is him rubbing my back and while it relaxes me, it doesn't put me to sleep. This is when the horrible cycle begins of tossing, turning and peeing. Yupp, peeing. While I toss and turn, my little love tosses and turns on my bladder. Fun times, I tell you. So if you mommas have any sleeping techniques that worked for you when you were preggo, I am all ears.

Little Love is definitely moving a lot more which I thought she was suppose to slow her moving down due to lack of room from her growth spurts but that hasn't stopped her one bit. She enjoys jamming her self into my left side and than it feels as if she stretches since I feel a lot of pressure down below and feeling like I am being stabbed in my ribs at the same time. It's hard to imagine this little girl has grown so long to be able to do that and I can't wait to see her at our 36 week ultrasound (the last time we saw her was at 20 weeks). And of course, I absolutely am excited to see her in person. Her little nose and toes and fingers. Looking into her beautiful face, I know it will all be worth it.

Maternity Relaxed Tunic Tee | Maternity Crop Jeans

As last week, I continued to keep my outfits pretty simple and causal. It just makes it easier getting dressed in the mornings and who says causal can't be cute or fashionable? I am making it work for me so whether your preggo or not, causal can be cute. My formula is truly basic, jeans and sperry's with a shirt and depending on the weather I may add a layer such as a cardigan or sweater to it. If you wanna up the factor, add in a statement necklace or scarf or even a handbag as I typically do for my outfits when I am not pregnant. I hope you can find inspiration in these outfits to create simple outfits for yourself!