An ER visit and a Date change!

Sunday I officially became 36 weeks. That feels amazing to have made it this far. I thought for sure I would be on bed rest and in a lot of pain by this point, or that I would have had pre-term labor by now.
I have still been feeling good, just get a little more tired throughout the day. I still don't think I have experienced 1 braxton hicks contraction, maybe I have and didn't notice, who knows. Either way, I'm so very thankful. All the fears I've had from the beginning, the Lord has showed up in a big way and took care of every single one of them.
Yesterday I went in for the weekly appointment. For the past 3 weeks, I've been having NST's (non stress tests). This monitors the baby's heart rate while she is active. If you are wondering how they get her to move in case she isn't... they zap me with this little zapper! Ha, and then she usually freaks out.
All is well with her, but yesterday while I was there my blood pressure was a little high and they were a bit concerned. So they checked it 3 times while I was there, then my doctor decided I needed to go downstairs to the ER for more monitoring, blood work and blood pressure checks. After a few hours all was fine. For a little bit I was super concerned that they were going to want to go ahead and deliver me right then and there.Thankfully it came down after a couple of hours. I'm thinking it spiked after I met with the scheduler and moved the due date up to OCT 8th!!! That is soo soon, 11 days to be exact!
Last Friday I went to see the maternal fetal specialist and he is the one that decided to make this call. He felt that Maren is completely out of space and she is just too cramped to grow much more. She is also going to be on the smaller/shorter side. She will for sure be under 6lb's. Last Friday she was weighing in at 4.9lb, so I'm hoping this past week and next week, she decides to fatten up! Either way we can't wait to meet our itty bitty. 

36 weeks

Super cute onesie made by "Milk and honey Tees"

And the swing all completed!

This past weekend I freaked out a little knowing that the due date was going to get pushed up. I just can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by and that its almost over. I'm completely freaking out thinking that I have not a clue on how to take care of a newborn. I've seen many of friends do this, but how can one actually be ready to take on this large of a responsibility?!
I'm completely treasuring my last moments with Marc. I've been spoiled with my Marc time over the past 7 years so I'm very aware that is about to change in a big way. He is so excited and not worried at all, which always helps keeps me calm.
11 DAYS I get to be a mom and I couldn't be more excited and thankful for such a huge blessing.

Fun weekend!

I had an amazing weekend full of family, fun and friends! I'm soaking up every bit of my free time and trying to make the most of it. {i think I'm doing a pretty good job of that}! First of all I'm 36 weeks preggo as of yesterday. That my friends is considered full term! Praise Jesus I can't believe it. Time is flying by and we will have our little one here before we know it. I will post a big update sometime after my Wednesday appt w/ the OB.I saw the specialist on Friday and he made the call to move my due date up an entire week! Soo yes that is in 2 weeks. I repeat, 2 WEEKS!!! More on that later...


Back to the fun weekend. Friday I attended the Pi Phi centennial gate dedication at the U of A. The pi phi's partnered with the University and raised money to have this gate built. It truly is breathtaking and every detail on the gate has a meaning. It makes the entrance to the University have a major WOW factor now!


They had a reception for all the Alumni. And I was super impressed by this cake Ricks bakery did!


My parents came in town for Pi Phi Dads Day. So we had brunch at the house and made my dad take cheesy pics! Ha!

2 of my faves!


One of my bff's, Liz came in town for the Razorback game. She just graduated law school, passed the bar and got sworn in last week so I feel like i haven't seen her in forever. It was so good to hang out and catch up before the baby gets here! We went to the farmers market and enjoyed a beautiful morning of walking around the square.


Then later we all went to the "not-so-exciting" Razorback game. Marc was sort of nervous for me to go, but like I said I'm still feeling great and wanted to go one last time for the season. And seriously, the next time we go to a game we will be parents! Craziness. Although our season has turned out to be horrible, I'm still proud to be a Hog fan.

I even made it to a tailgate beforehand!


One of my faves from the weekend... Pop Pop and Marc putting the swing together! Its all set up and ready for her to swing away in! We are getting super excited and its getting very real.


Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Work Showers

In the past few weeks both of our offices threw us a shower. We are very blessed to work at some pretty great places! Marc has been at his company now for 7 years. They hired him right out of college and took a big chance with him. he absolutely loves it and has always been happy there. They are a company not afraid to support missions or try to lead clients to Christ. They definitely have an eternal perspective and we both love that.
I am blessed to work at a large church in Rogers, Ar. I have been at Fellowship for the past 5 years and absolutely love the people I get to work with and the work I get to do. It is definitely like my second family. They have supported me, prayed for me and encouraged me every step of our journey. They went all out in throwing us an amazing shower. Complete with delicious pies!




This one was at Marc's office. I obviously did a horrible job of capturing it and getting a decent pic of anything. They made a lovely meal for us and blessed us with several wonderful gifts.



I feel like each shower we had was so surreal. I almost felt like I was just pretending and taking someones spot just walking through the fun motions.
We seriously have felt so honored and blessed by each shower we have had (which I'm well aware has been several). I'm so incredibly thankful to each person that has played a part in throwing us one or just attending one of the many. I'm humbled by the love and graciousness that we have experienced and will forever be grateful.
Maren is one lucky kid and her closet already shows how spoiled she is... oops!

Cake Batter Treats

If there has been one thing I have craved throughout this whole time, I would say anything that is made with cake batter just about hits the spot every time!

Here is one recipe that I continue to make over and over and can't get enough of apparently!

This recipe was found on Pinterest via Here

Cake Batter Rice Krispies Recipe
(Slightly adapted from How Sweet Eats)

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 (10 oz.) bag of mini-marshmallows
• 1/3 cup funfetti cake mix (the dry cake mix, not prepared into a batter!)
• 5 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1/3 (1.75 oz.) container of sprinkles (i use less than it actually calls for)

Method:
Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and add marshmallows. Stir until they begin to melt, adding in (dry) cake mix one spoonful at a time so its combined. Stir in cereal so it is completely coated with marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle in half of the sprinkles and mix. Press into a baking dish (any size will do) and top with remaining sprinkles. Let sit for about 30 minutes before cutting. I find spraying a knife with nonstick spray helps to cut them.
 Tip:
I actually increased the cake batter to 1/2 cup or more for my recipe to give it a little extra cake batter kick (the 1/4 cup seemed just a little too subtle to me), but add as much in as you like!

 

They are so delicious and never last very long in our house unfortunately!

What Women Fear

So I've had this book for quite some time now. When I go it, I was super excited because I love reading this authors blog. http://angiesmithonline.com/.
I haven't done a great job of reading it until recently. Me and a friend are going through it together and which is good because it has challenged me to pick it up and read again.
I guess I haven't really wanted to read it, because lets face it, who wants to face their fears. Umm no one. And lets just say my list is pretty lengthy. I bought this book when I first got pregnant, or maybe even before our 2nd transfer, but I knew I had some serious fears that would probably need to be dealt with before they got out of hand. A few of them were basic ones like fearing something will happen to one of my family members, or to Marc, or that we will never have children, or if we do something will happen...etc.
Well I feel like right after I got this book some unfortunate things started happening to people all around us. In the past few months while I was newly pregnant, we had friends lose babies, parents, and toddlers. As you can imagine, this created more irrational fears for me and at this point I definitely did not want to be facing them so I stopped reading.

Since I have started reading again, it has been so refreshing. I'm reminded that these fears are all normal and that I'm not the only one. Although there are plenty of new fears creeping in daily about not being a great mom/parent/wife while adjusting to a new normal, I have been constantly reminded throughout this book that God already is aware of them and it is not pleasing to Him for me to consistently be worried.
Therefore, I am choosing to trust him for this next leg of our journey and challenge you to do the same for whatever journey you are currently on!


For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears.He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. Zephaniah 3:17 NLT


Also, I would love any recommendations for some good books you have read recently. I would love to know any good, practical mom books, or just a book that has challenged you recently. I figured I'm about to spend way more time at home, and could do something better with my time than just watching tv! Thanks!

Maternity pics and an update

Last week was a big one for us. We had 2 doctors appointments, a maternity shoot and a quick trip to Little Rock!
Our good friend Maura, took the pics and she did amazing. She was super quick which is great because Marc is not a huge fan of pictures! Ha. But he was a good sport. Pictures mean so much to me especially not knowing if we will have another opportunity to be pregnant again, so I was thankful to get a few!





We also got to see our little one too, which is always a treat. We went to the specialist and everything looks great still. She is measuring a tad short, but I suppose that should be expected with her parents being super short. We also spoke with the anesthesiologist this week about delivery. They let us know that the best way will be to put me all the way under. Unfortunately my back is surrounded with rods, so they don't feel comfortable messing with it or even attempting a spinal block. Marc will not be able to be in the operating room, nor will I be awake, but we have been expecting this all along. We know that its less than ideal, but now we know how to pray and prepare. If this is the worst thing that has to happen, we will gladly take it. She will only be in there at the most 5 minutes for while I'm under so we feel good about it and trust they are making the right decisions. As far as my back, it has held up so much better than any of us ever thought. I keep saying I think it may feel better than it did before I was pregnant. It is truly a miracle and we are so thankful because we thought I may be on bed rest at this point. Only 5 more weeks till we meet this kid and we couldn't be more excited!

Dove Conditioner

I was kindly given another opportunity to do another review for another awesome Dove product. I received this amazing conditioner in the mail packaged with a free travel hairspray which was a little added bonus! I had the product a few days and was kind of not wanting to try it because I'm pretty picky about my hair care. My hair is very thick, course, dry and takes forever to wash, dry and straighten so I don't like getting out of my normal routine. This hot, humid, summer weather has made it even harder to manage this year. Well I decided I better try it since I was to write about it. First, when I used it I loved how it smelled. It isn't too flowery and it just smells wonderful and clean. Secondly, I could already tell it was intense conditioning by how it felt on my hair. So after I got out of the shower and started blow drying my hair, I could already tell how soft it was. I just started laughing and Marc was like what is so funny. I told him I couldn't believe how soft my hair actually felt and how skeptical I was to try this product. The color even looked different because of how shiny it was. My hair NEVER feels soft, like ever. I get it colored every 3 months, I straighten it every day, and usually blow dry it after every shower. Therefore it is super damaged and not a lot can make it smooth. I use 2-3 other products trying to protect it and make it less frizzy, but now I know they aren't doing squat. After using the Dove conditioner I didn't even have to spray my "heat taming" product on there and it took half the time to straighten my hair because it was already so soft. My hair seriously was so smooth, shiny, and wasn't frizzy at all. I continued to laugh for how much I actually doubted its ability, but now I'm definitely a true believer and will continue to use it. Now I can't wait to go buy the shampoo that goes along with it!
I highly recommend the Dove Intensive repair conditioner if you have damaged and unruly hair like I do! I really wish I would have taken a before and after so you could have seen the difference that it really made.
I've even had a Brazilian blowout, which was absolutely amazing and this reminded me of what my hair felt like after that. Seriously it's Incredible!
The best part is that it is super affordable and you can get a coupon by clicking the link at the end of this post! I know I will be getting that coupon to purchase the shampoo now.

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Happy Labor Day

We've had a fabulous time being home this weekend. Nesting is full swing happening in the Yount household. It feels so wonderful to clean, organize and get rid of stuff. The house feels way better and we are obviously having to make some room!

I was also able to enjoy my first-last Razorback game of the season. I'm pretty sure I barely made it in due to walking up a huge hill in the heat! I know it's the biggest workout I've accomplished since being preggo. My feet were HUGE afterwards, but it was worth it to see the hogs play! I absolutely love going to the games. Marc and I don't buy season tickets but usually get to enjoy a few of the games throughout the season.

Me and sis

I love seeing the players run through the big "A."

I also got to see my friend that was in town from Dallas and sit w/ her and her family.

(please excuse my nastiness, the sweat made me swell horrible)

I also went flea marketing with my friend Racahel on Friday. We found some goods that I was super excited about!
I found this piece for our "multi-purpose" room. I really needed a place to store toys and other things and this was the perfect size and color. It was only $40 so I was pumped! Can't wait to show you the before and afters of this room. It has completely transformed from an office to a playroom/extra bedroom.


I also found this incredible buffet piece for one of my friends. She went back and got it later that night. It was such a steal and looks amazing in her house! She had been looking awhile for one. It even came with the mirrors. Very ornate and beautiful.

Anyways its been a fabulous past 3 days off! So thankful for a few days at home with Marc. We are at the 6 week mark so we are definitely soaking up our time together.