6 months preggers!!!!

(I have made this dress my "official baby bump dress" because it shows it most acuratly.) 

How far along: 24 weeks

Size of babies: ears of corn!

Babies' size and weight: 8.5 inches & 1 1/2 lbs 

My total weight gain: 24.8 lbs! Yay!! I met the goal of 24 lbs by 24 weeks which means my chances of pre-term labor have gone down a ton! I feel so huge but mostly because I still refuse to buy legit maternity clothes besides the jeans and leggings I had to have. But my tops are just mostly big flowy tunic-type shirts that I had before pregnancy so they're not very flattering! its just hard to spend money on clothes that I know I'll only get a few months use of! 

Babies' development: they can hear everything now and their little beautiful faces are almost fully formed.

Stretch marks: still clear... For now! 

Wedding Ring: Same thing. Band fits but it's hard to take off so I'm not wearing it anymore. It was right to begin with because it was a half size smaller but my diamond ring fits just fine still.

Belly Button: In still, well it's starting to flatten out. 

Maternity clothes: Haven't bought anymore just trying to work with what I've got for as long as I can.

Gender: GIRL & BOY 

Movement: Constantly! I can feel everything from kicks, punches, rolls and turns. I am so so so in love!!!!

Sleep: my sleep schedule is super messed up but mostly because my husband is in Asia so I set alarms to FaceTime him when he gets off work.

What I miss: I do miss wearing normal clothes and not being so heavy!! But it's all worth it for my babies I love the fact that my body is their home and where they are growing and getting prepared to enter the world and I know 100% I will miss having them this close. Everything they need, my body supplies it for them and that is a beautiful thing! I am just ready to hold & kiss them already! Not complaining though I have been super blessed with an easy pregnancy! 

Food cravings: spicy anything!!! 

Symptoms: nothing besides the kicks and movement. Oh and the back and rib aches.

Nursery: the nursery is still a hot mess but we have the cribs & some wall decor... and a wonderful/ talented little lady is coming to paint next month!! I am so excited to have it all put together!

Casey is: he loves touching my belly and feeling them kick, and he's been so helpful with everything that needs to be done! Love that man with all I am I couldn't have asked for a better person to be parents with!!!

What I'm looking forward to: thanksgiving!!! One of my favorite holidays! And our 3D/ 4D sonogram in a few weeks!!

Best moments: the kicks and being able to see my tummy move when I'm laying down!

21 weeks

How far along: 21 weeks

Size of babies: large bananas

Babies' size and weight: 7 inches and about 11 ounces

My total weight gain: 18 lbs as of last Monday so now probably closer to 20!! Twin pregnancy weight gain is no joke! I need to gain 24 lbs by 24 weeks to cut my chances of preterm labor! I am certainly on the right track! Lol.

Babies' development: this week they are able to taste what I am eating! So cool!!

Stretch marks: None yet! 

Wedding Ring: My wedding band fits, but is difficult to take off so I don't wear it anymore. My big ring still fits just fine since it's a 5 1/2 and my band is size 5 

Belly Button: In still. 

Maternity clothes: I finally got some maternity jeans that I love and my mom got me two pair of leggings that go over the belly and they are heaven! Trying to just work with what I have for as long as I can.

Gender: handsome baby boy and beautiful baby girl.

Movement: I just started feeling light movement because of where my placentas are but holy moly they move like crazy!! Since we have twins and an IVF pregnancy, we get sonograms often and that's the first thing the dr says every time is how they are just wiggle worms!! baby girl is constantly on my bladder and I can definitely tell!

Sleep: now that my allergies are AWFUL it's so hard to sleep at night, When I lay down, I can't breathe through my nose! But last night rubbing coconut oil with a few drops of peppermint essential oil on my chest seemed to help a lot! My mom also got me a "snoogle" which is a body pillow that is shaped perfectly for the way I sleep, it's been such a good help for getting comfortable! 

What I miss: only thing I can say I miss is fitting into my normal clothes, like I said I don't want to spend much money on maternity clothes so I'm extremely limited in my closet! It wouldn't be a problem at all if I could stay in comfy clothes all day but I have to dress professionally for work everyday, so it's pretty uncomfortable! Other than that not a thing! 

Food cravings: Pizza!!! Haha! 

Symptoms: nothing really. Haha I am lucky with this pregnancy. I feel pretty normal besides the fact that I get tired easier and my my hips, knees and ankles are definitely feeling the weight so they start to ache if I'm up for too long.  

Nursery: Still just a blank room I have a bunch of baby stuff in there just haven't put anything together. We will do that next time Casey is home in December.

Casey is: so so so excited. He talks non stop about his babies. I can't wait for him to be able to feel them kicking.

What I'm looking forward to: the holidays, maternity pictures and the baby shower in December! Casey will be here for that and Christmas so I'm extremely excited!! Since he will be here, we're having a fun couples shower! 

Best moments: feeling my babies move and shopping for them!! 

19 week bumpdate

How far along: 19 weeks

Size of babies: tomatoes 

My total weight gain: not sure I go to the dr Friday and will find out

Baby's development: babies are covered in their vernix caseosa

Stretch marks: None yet.

Maternity clothes: can't wear jeans and haven't bought any maternity jeans yet. So I wear nothing but dresses and leggings

Gender: Baby A is a BOY!!!! and baby B is a GIRL!!!

Movement: I can feel movement now! I wouldn't say "kicks" but movement. They wiggle soooo much! They wouldn't sit still for their anatomy ultrasound.

Sleep: sleeping fine now, having some very weird and crazy dreams. My husband acually had to wake me up from a real nightmare last night.

What I miss: nothing still! Enjoying every minute

Food cravings: everything! I'm hungry all the time! But I don't really have any specific cravings.

Symptoms: still getting hot at night so I have to keep our house very cold. But other than that, nothing. 

Casey is: so excited to be having a boy and a girl! It's exactly what we both wanted but just really didn't think it would happen! He brags to everyone he talks to about becoming a daddy!! He's the sweetest daddy to be still, we have had so much fun buying clothes for them and picking out nursery furniture.

What I'm looking forward to: We've started ordering our nursery furniture so I'm really excited to start getting it all set up! 

Best moments: I would have to say our gender sonogram. We found out two weeks before everyone else and it was honestly such a special moment! 

bumpdate

How far along: 16 weeks

Size of babies: avocados

My total weight gain: 8 lbs 

Baby's development: babies are practicing breathing, sucking and swallowing. All the things they'll need to survive outside the womb. They are also moving... A LOT

Stretch marks: None.

Maternity clothes: I need to buy some! The very few I've bought are winter clothes and I officially don't fit in anything but dresses! 

Gender: Gender reveal party coming up October 1st!!  

Movement: I felt baby flutters for the first time last Saturday but haven't since. They sure were moving a lot during their sonogram, just still can't feel it.

Sleep: I've been sleeping a lot better now! All through the night, better enjoy it now! 

What I miss: nothing at all! I am enjoying every single second of this pregnancy.

Food cravings: still craving comfort food! And bbq!

Symptoms: I have my energy back so pretty much have no symptoms except the occasional hot flash at night &I'm  starving 24/7. 

Casey is: still doing great at taking care of this momma to be. He says the sweetest things all the time about our babies & he's anxious to find out the genders. He says he will be happy no matter what, just wants healthy babies! Same here!

What I'm looking forward to: our gender sonogram and of course our party! Also just to feel some baby kicks 

Best moments: nothing too exciting has happened since my last update but the best moments are honestly every moment. I am embracing every little detail, my body is doing an amazing thing. I love these little ones so much already!

Current skin care routine!

I wanted to talk about my new updated skin care routine since it's changed quite a bit since my last skin care blog! I've been using this routine for months now because I wanted to be sure I loved it before sharing it! 

Let's start by saying: I no longer use my clarisonic. I haven't in almost a year now because I started noticing my skin was developing red areas around my nose and cheeks. I did love it in the beginning but I think it just got too harsh for my skin. Almost immediately after I stopped using it, the redness started disappearing and now, I have no redness at all! Also between then and now I read Jessica Alba's book called "The Honest Life" which really opened my eyes and caused me to be more mindful of what I put on my skin. What we put on our skin is just as important as what we put in our bodies! So i started searching for more natural products, with less of the yucky chemicals and my skin is better than it's ever been! 

Most of you know it wasn't an easy journey for me to get pregnant. I had to put my body through a lot (I will get into that in another blog if anyone in interested.) but needless to say, when your body goes through any kind of hormone changes, your skin changes too. I've been pretty lucky because it seems like my skin has gotten BETTER. I have noticed that I am a little oily now in my t-zone, when before my skin was extremely dry, but other than that, my skin has been breakout-free & I really believe it's from cutting out the harsh chemicals where I can. It's impossible (at least for me) to have a completely organic, plant-based beauty regimen just because I love to get glammed up every now and then, but small changes can make a big difference.

MORNING:

I start out my morning with a fresh clean face that I washed the night before. I just rinse with water during my morning shower. Then, I take a cotton pad and put some of the Simple Micellar Cleansing Water on it and gently wipe my entire face. This stuff is really awesome, It removes all the makeup or dirt that your cleanser may have left behind. Once that dries, I moisturize with my Origins Ginzing Energy boosting cream. This is a very light-weight, citrusy moisturizer, it absorbs into the skin so nicely. No stickiness or oiliness, perfect for morning time because that's the last thing you want to feel throughout the day.

I think not using foundation unless I'm going somewhere nice or maybe once a week if I feel like putting on a full face has really helped my skin. On a regular day to day basis, I have been using this BB cream by Tarte. It's free of all the chemicals you don't want on your face everyday and its light to medium coverage is perfect for evening out your skin tone while also offering sun protection. I apply this with my clean fingers.

NIGHT TIME:

So first things first, I have to remove the day! I have been using coconut oil as eye makeup remover and it works SO well!! It's perfect for removing tough mascara and eyeliner. I just get a dab on my (clean) fingers and very gently rub my eyes. Keep them closed because it's pretty uncomfortable if you get the oil in your eyes. Then I take a Simple Eye makeup Remover pad and wipe away the oil & the makeup will slide right off with it. I am not a big fan of these pads on their own just because they aren't tough enough to remove all my mascara but mixed with the coconut oil is perfect because of their moisture, a dry cotton pad doesn't quite do the job.

Lastly, I wash my face with either my Origins Checks and Balances frothy face wash or Origins Ginzing face scrub. (I use the scrub every 2-3 days) and apply my night cream, Origins Night-A-Mins. This moisturizer is pretty thick but I love it because it's not sticky. It makes my skin feel amazing come morning time!

I haven't bought any more masks since I ran out of my glam glow just because I don't know which one I want to try next, but I have been getting oxygen facials and they are to die for! Talk about pampering. If you live in San Angelo, go see Thana at the Waterford for a truly relaxing experience.

So that's that! Short and pretty simple I'd say! Nothing too crazy. If you haven't read The Honest Life, and you're into incorporating safer products into not only your beauty and skin care routine, but your home & everyday life, check that book out. It has so much information about how to do so & she even has her own line of products. (Beauty products coming soon that I am eager to try!!)

Thanks so much for reading!

12 week bumpdate

How far along: 12 weeks

Size of babies: plums!!!

Babies' size and weight: size of large plums, a full half ounce!

My total weight gain: 4 lbs 

Baby's development: fetal digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements necessary for eating, and bone marrow is busy making white blood cells 

Stretch marks: None.

Maternity clothes: Not yet

Gender: Hopefully we will find out at our next appointment! We both want a boy & a girl! 

Movement: Not that I can feel but they were both wiggling like crazy at my last ultrasound

Sleep: I've never been one to wake up in the middle of the night, but this entire pregnancy that's all I've done. I wake up 1-2 times a night either having a hot flash or to go to the bathroom. I guess my body is preparing me for what's to come!

What I miss: nothing! I'd give up anything for these two babies!

Food cravings: comfort food! I'm ready for winter so I can make things like chicken & dumplings, beans & corn bread, etc.

Symptoms: pretty much just exhaustion. I've gotten sick a few times but it hasn't been anything consistent. 

Casey is: so amazing! He's so ready to be a daddy it's the most precious thing! And he's so good at taking care of me.

What I'm looking forward to: our next ultrasound and hopefully finding out the genders!! And cooler weather. I'm so thankful I won't be super pregnant while the temps are in the 100's!! 

Best moments: Seeing our babies move for the first time at our last appointment. My heart exploded!!!!! 

happy new year!

Happy 2015 everyone!! I have been iced in since Tuesday night and I am not mad about it at all! Here in West Texas we don't know how to drive in the winter weather so we stay home if we have any sense! Last night I made homemade gluten free chicken noodle soup and it was so perfect for this weather! My doctor has recommended a gluten free diet so I've been having fun finding new recipes and making old recipes gluten free! I'll have to share some on my blog soon!! Ever since I've been eating gluten free I feel WONDERFUL! Better than I have in a while.

 

Anyways, I have a couple beauty products I want to tell you guys about! One that I have been loving for a little while now, and one that I just tried out today that I wanted to give y'all a first impression on!

 

First product is my Estee Lauder Double wear foundation that I picked up in November... I am loving it! It's definitely a full coverage foundation and I personally love the super matte finish that it gives! I got mine at the estee lauder counter in Dillard's and got color matched to "ivory beige"

I have applied mine with both a damp beauty blender and my sigma f82 round kabuki brush and I like both.

 

Next product is the "GIRL, YOU CRAAZY!" lashes from Velour lashes. These lashes are nothing short of fabulous!! I already ordered the Carli lash that Carli Bybel designed herself and I can't wait to try them!! I am definitely not a false lash on the daily kind of girl but I do LOVE to wear them. They just take your makeup look to the next level! These lashes from Velour are 100% mink and you can wear them up to 25 times!! They all have really fun names and there's a style to fit any girl's taste. The "GIRL, YOU CRAAZY!" lashes have such a unique cris-cross pattern and are just to die for! I will definitely be wearing them for my next night out. They are a lot heavier than my usual Ardell Demi Whispies but you get used to it! and the quality can't be beat!

 

 

in the pictures below I am wearing both the "GIRL, YOU CRAAZY!" lashes AND the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation. I hope you enjoyed this little review!!