'What's In Your Bedside Drawer :: A Sponsored Post for Bedsider.org

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bedsider.org. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. 

If you were to wander into our bedroom on a random weekday, and take a peek through the nightstand drawer beside our bed, you would find a whole host of random items that have no other home. Only a few of them are bedside 'necessities,' but alas, they have all found there place tucked into that small drawer in the corner of our room. 

• At least two tubes of chapstick. I seriously put the stuff one every night before bed, and again each morning once I'm dressed and ready for the day. You could say I have a slight obsession.
• Tylenol & Tums - every pregnant girl's medicine cabinet has both of these in it, especially during the second half of their pregnancy. My bedside drawer just happens to be a much more convenient place for me to store these items in case I'm in desperate need.
• Earbuds - I always keep a set of earbuds in my drawer to use with my iPad. If B is asleep and I'm fighting insomnia, or just can't stop watching old episodes of Felicity by 10PM, I pop those babies on and it gives me at least another hour of viewing time.
• Basal Thermometer - yep, I still have my thermometer tucked away in my drawer. Of course, I'm no longer temping every morning, but I was for quite some time (or at least it felt that way). I'm sure it will hang out there until it's needed again someday. 
• The pretty ring box from my engagement ring. I hardly ever actually put my ring in it, but it's such a pretty box, I couldn't part with it.
• A few love letters and notes from B during the course of our relationship up until now. In the back of my drawer, there is a ziplock bag full of letters, notes and even a copy of our wedding invitation. Again, probably not the best place to store these things. I should really get on that.      
• My iPad and/or Kindle - duh. 

It's a funny thing, how things collect in your bedside drawer. Maybe because you want to remember where you put them later, or maybe because you just need a place to hide things that would otherwise sit out and collect dust. 

As a woman, it was important for me to reserve a place in my bedside drawer where I could keep all of my 'essentials.' Like I mentioned above, this was my basal thermometer for most of last year, and the year before that, it was a handy place to leave my birth control for safe keeping. 

I am huge on reminders - on my phone, on a list, wherever I'll see it most. Perhaps your bedside drawer is the place you like to keep these things. Anything from coffee dates with friends to work functions to taking your birth control & booking appointments with your physicians. Did you know you can use Bedsider.org for all of these things? (Reminders: http://bedsider.org/reminders ) Simply setup your reminders, and them have them sent straight to your smartphone! How convenient! Seriously. 

Now, the fun part! Go enter for a chance to win a variety of prizes by entering the 'What's In My Bedside Drawer?' Pinterest contest from Bedsider.org! Find out more by following the steps below:

• Follow Bedsider.org on Pinterest.
• Create your own Pinterest board titled, “What’s in My Bedsider Drawer?”
• Repin this rules pin found here and at least one Bedsider’s 15 contest images found here from their board titled, “What’s in My Bedsider Drawer?” Be sure to tag each pin with the hashtag, #BedsideDrawer.
• Pin at least 5 additional images to represent your ideal bedside drawer. Tag each pin with the hashtag, #BedsideDrawer.
• Share your board’s URL on the Bedsider’s Facebook page here. Make sure to enter by 11:59 PM PST on May 29, 2013!

Every girl has that bedside drawer that holds the bedroom essentials: their Kindle, a pair of reading glasses, sexy lingerie. – whatever fits their personality. No matter what your drawer says about you, there’s birth control that will fit right in. Find the best method for your routine and style at Bedsider.org. 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bedsider.org.

30 Week Bumpdate :: The Final Countdown Begins

30 weeks?! How is that even possible? I feel like  just saw those two pink lines I had been waiting months for just a few short weeks ago.

Reaching 30 weeks has been a huge milestone for me in so many ways. It feels like the end is in sight, and although that scares the daylights out of me in some ways, with not knowing what to expect as far as labor & delivery goes (yet), it also fills me with so much excitement as we prepare to welcome Gavin. 

Although the end may be in sight, I'm not quite to the point where I'm dying for this baby to come out just yet. Ten weeks is still a good amount of time for G to keep growing and thriving in there, and we still have a bunch of stuff left to do around here before we are good and ready for him. I still need to update our hospital records with the pediatrician that we chose, we have childbirth and breastfeeding classes coming up at the end of June, and I have barely started thinking about packing our hospital bags. I have piles and piles of baby laundry to do, drawers and closets to organize, and we are still planning on having new railings installed on all of our stairs before G's arrival. Not to mention, I am actually planning to pay someone to give my house a good, deep clean shortly before my due date. 

We still have two more baby showers, one of which is at my parents home in NJ this coming weekend. I cannot wait for this special celebration with the family and friends I have grown up with. 

So, you can imagine my anxiety when I had one of those days over the weekend where I felt like I may have pushed myself a little too hard. My Braxton Hicks were more regular than I was used to, and I just felt like there was too much tightness going on down there in that belly. I took this as a sign that it was time to slow down, propped my feet up and drank plenty of water. The rest of the weekend was very relaxing and I am so glad I gave myself the break from running around. It made a world of difference.

 How far along are you? 30 weeks as of 5/14/13 

How I'm feeling: Feeling great as long as I don't try and do too much in one day. Heartburn is still raging, but my doc cleared me to take Zantac up to twice a day. One every 24-36 hours has been working wonders. I am still feeling some discomfort in my rib cage (right side), which I read could mean the baby's head is up in there. But, all other signs (kicks, bulges, etc.) point to him laying head down. 

Total weight gain: 17 lbs. as of 5/3/13 (getting weighed in again on 5/15)

How big is baby? G is somewhere around the size of a head of lettuce, close to 18 inches long (whoa!) and a little over 3 pounds according to my 'What To Expect' app estimates. 

Maternity clothes: Yes! Dresses, tanks, leggings - basically whatever is comfortable that day.

Stretch marks? Still no, somehow!

Sleep: Sleeping pretty well, but often waking up and having to shift everything around to alleviate hip pain.

Best moment this week: B spoiled me on Mother's Day. He cooked all of my meals, and barely let me lift a finger all day long. It was a much needed, relaxing day!

Movement: Still one active little guy!

Food cravings: Frozen Yogurt with all.the.toppings. (Yes, still. Oh, and brownies.)

Food aversions: Nothing at this point. Between 5-7PM each day, G is at his most active, and that makes me feel full and uncomfotable for a bit, but I have still been able to snack/eat dinner most nights.

Labor signs:  Braxton Hicks are definitely not going anywhere anytime soon. They got pretty frequent on Saturday, hence my 'time off.'

Belly button in or out:  Well, the answer to this questions hasn't changed in about 15 weeks.

What I miss: Cocktails, waking up feeling refreshed, and not getting out of breath every time I climb the stairs.

What I'm looking forward to: Two more baby showers and getting to celebrate with lots of family and friends. We are also planning for a long weekend at the beach to relax and celebrate B's birthday at the end of the month.

Milestone: I passed my glucose test (hallelujah!), and reaching 30 weeks feels like a pretty big one for me. We are narrowing down our list of 'must-have's' and must-do's' before G arrives and I am feeling pretty confident that we'll get it all finished.

Those Unsolicited Pregnancy Comments

Friends of mine had told me about all of the comments and unsolicited belly rubs I would start receiving during my pregnancy. And, for the first 26 weeks, it didn't happen much. Sure, a few family members and friends would give the belly a little rub, but most of the comments I was receiving were glowing and positive. 

Until I reached the 28 week mark.

Now, don't get me wrong, I know people always mean well (for the most part), but if I hear someone tell me I look like I'm due any day ONE.MORE.TIME. I might scream. Oh and let's not forget all of those 'wow, he must be one BIG baby!' jabs.

Since I see 'the bump' each and every day, I don't feel like I look that huge. But, reality sets in when we attend a social function full of people who don't see us often. Just last week, we attended a work event for one of my clients. There were close to 60 people in attendance, and I got lots of comments and sweet looks, followed by startled reactions when I told them we still had ten weeks to go. Is this really necessary?!

If I already looked like I ballooned to someone twice my size, I could understand, but I think that people need to give pregnant women a break. After all, it's the only time in your life when you can gain weight for good reason, indulge in some of your favorite treats here and there, and look healthy and 'glowing' while you're at it.

I have to say that the unsolicited comments have been irking me more than the random belly rubs. This is most likely because I have yet to get many from complete strangers. Hopefully that won't change, but at this point, I am not counting anything out.

So, what is it about pregnancy that makes people so free with what they say? Now that I've been pregnant, I will be sure to carefully articulate the compliments that I dish out to other pregnant women. Pregnancy is not for the faint of heart, ladies.

DIY Home Projects :: Ideas for Sprucing Up Your Basement

Don't you feel like basements are always the room in your home that is most likely to go largely unused?  This is a ton of wasted space that could be used to improve the quality of life and improve the value of your home.  Below are some great options for those of you looking to renovate your basement.

Home Office

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Millions of Americans every year either work from home or spend part of their working week from their home. Instead of working from your kitchen table or your bedroom, why not transform your basement into a home office?

The great part about a basement home office is that you can customize it however you want. For larger basements, you may want to section off a portion of the basement for your actual office and another section for a conference room. My home office is actually a separate room in our basement. So I can work quietly with the door shut, if necessary, and I have the apace (including a large closet) to store all of my business items and then some.

If you have a walk-in basement or can afford to dig out an entranceway into the basement, you can actually setup your home office to be entirely separate from your house.  This is great for those who work full-time from home.

One additional benefit is that if you use your office completely for work, you can qualify for a home office credit on your taxes.  Talk to your tax professional for more information on this.

Entertainment Room

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One of the top basement renovations that most homeowners choose is an entertainment room.  Your know, your basic 'man cave' in our house. You have several options when choosing an entertainment room.  This can be a room that is enjoyed by the whole family or can be completely transformed into your husband's own man cave.

Family rooms are a great choice as it gives everyone somewhere to go play and unwind.  You can put in a foosball table, a pool table, darts, or even some classic arcade games.  Entertainment rooms are fantastic for hosting home poker games as well.  You can use this tutorial on how to build your own poker table to create a quality table and save a ton of money.

When choosing this option, be sure to put in extra insulation for the basement to help block out the noise.

Additional Bedroom Space

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Another fantastic option for a basement is to turn it into additional bedroom space.  Depending on the size of the basement and the purpose of the bedroom, you can create a second master bedroom or make a couple of smaller bedrooms.

If you are a family with kids sharing a bedroom, this would be a great option as it would give each child their separate bedroom.  You may even want to install a bathroom in the basement.  This will be both a convenience and a safety precaution for your family and guests.

Next, do what you can to make the bedroom not feel like it is in a basement.  Conceal pipes, wires,  and anything else that would give away that you are in a basement.  Another added plus to making a basement bedroom is that it will help increase the resale value of your home.

Organize Your Space :: A Linkup with Double the Fun Blog!

So, can we talk about nesting for a minute? Sheesh, it is a crazy thing. Each week I fill my to-do lists (both physical and mental) with all of the items I would like to accomplish around our home that weekend. These items can range from cleaning the bathrooms to organizing and folding every single item of baby clothing we have. And then some.

I typically do some type of 'Spring Cleaning' every year. We wash our windows, clean out our closets and drawers, and just try to start fresh when the weather starts to change. But this year is different. I made it my mission to go through and purge every closet and drawer in our home, and have been pretty successful so far. Other than our kitchen because, let's face it, who really wants to organize all of their kitchen cabinets? I will get it done before Gavin arrives.

But, one of the projects that I finally found the motivation to tackle, after reading about Aliya's upcoming 'Organize Your Space' linkup, was our bathroom cabinets and vanities. Since the recent completion of our master bath, we have been floating back and forth between it and our other upstairs bathroom, and I was having trouble remembering which vanity had what products in it. And poor B basically had to get ready in both bathrooms each morning before work.

So, last weekend, I went through everything I have collected over the last year, purged the old, and organized the necessary to leave us with much more streamlined bathroom storage, as well as a nice 'guest' bathroom space for when we have visitors. 

I started with the vanities, and could not believe how much stuff we have accumulated since moving into this house. How many sticks of deodorant and boxes of cold medicine does one couple need? I think it's safe to say that my toiletry list will be short for the next few months. 

Once I got rid of expired items, items we no longer use and things we just don't need, I was able to create a much more clutter-free space under the vanity in our guest bath. Now we have extra space for when visitors are in town, and for some of Gavin's things once he's big enough to warrant some bathroom vanity real estate. 

I had seen this pin months ago, and saved it for when we were ready to transition this bathroom into our guest bath. Then two weeks ago, I found that adorable iron stand at our local Hobby Lobby, and knew it was perfect for the look I was going for. 

Now, when my Mom comes to stay with us after G is born, she will have a place to keep all of her things, as well as some items right on hand, in case she forgets anything. I plan to change out the travel items with the seasons and/or as they get used, but love the simplicity and organization that it has given the counter tops of this vanity.

Next, I moved on to finish the storage space in our master bath. Since our bathroom is on the very small side, I knew we had to maximize our storage. And, since a 24" vanity can only lend itself to so many items, we purchased a wall mounted cabinet in the same espresso finish to hang over the toilet. 

This cabinet has been an absolute lifesaver. I was able to organize most of our everyday items neatly inside it, and it leaves our sink top clean and open. I did purchase a few organization bins from Home Goods to fit inside of the cabinet and vanity, and they helped organize all of our necessities even more.

Now that everything has a place, I feel like my Spring Cleaning has really started, and I might be ready to tackle the master bedroom closet! Or those annoyingly full kitchen drawers! 

What are you hoping to clean and refresh this Spring? Be sure to check out all of the fabulously motivating projects that are linking up over at Double the Fun today!

Maternity Fashion & Style :: 2nd & 3rd Trimesters

Back in February, I wrote about my maternity fashion must-haves, and what you could find me wearing most days during the first half of my pregnancy. Back then, the weather was chilly, and my belly was about half the size it is now, so I was relishing in a cute little bump, and stretchy pants with a high waistband most days. 

Now that the weather has changed, and I can almost taste the dog days of summer as they approach Maryland rapidly, my style and taste has changed. I am no longer comfortable in leggings with a waist that comes about my naval every day. I need to have options. Some days, I can barely muster up the strength to change out of my pajamas (a circumstance that I'm sure will happen much more often once G arrives), and others, I am still feeling good enough to rock my once favorite maternity leggings.

I have spent lots of time (and money, sorry B!) carefully purchasing maternity items that I think will last, have a reasonable price tag, and will (hopefully) still be in style when it comes time for Baby #2 thoughts. Admittedly, most of my threads have come from Old Navy, Motherhood, Target, and of course the fabulous bin of borrowed items that Aliya so graciously loaned me. This combination has armed me with plenty to choose from, and I still get a tiny bit excited when I pick out my outfit most days. 

But, let's call this the 'Season of the Dress,' shall we? 

All of the dresses you see above are Old Navy or Gap. In fact, the one I wore to my shower (from Gap) is one of my absolute favorites. I had been waiting for it to go on sale for weeks and just happened to catch it $20 off the day of my shower while I was browsing our local store. Call it fate!

Another absolute favorite dress of mine also came from Old Navy. I bought it shortly after I found out I was pregnant (around December 2012) and it is by far the article of maternity clothing that I have received the most compliments on. 

While you may find me in maxi dresses pretty often, they are not my only second half wardrobe staple. I picked up an adorable pair of white jeans a few weeks ago. They fit me perfectly, but aren't too snug, and pair really well with all of the colorful summer tops I am starting to wear. 

Once, I hit 23 weeks, there was no more hiding the bump, no matter what I wore. I have almost fully embraced my new body, so (for now, at least) I am comfortable rocking form-fitting tops that display my belly in all its glory. Sure, somethings make me look larger than I feel, or larger than I thought I looked just yesterday, but I'm OK with that.

I think the most important part of dressing your bump is knowing what makes you feel good. Sometimes, it may just be a favorite necklace to dress up a tank top and leggings. Or maybe those wedges that are way in the back of your closet from last summer. I have even rocked my loose fitting non-maternity tops on several occasions. And, pair anything with a cute and colorful skinny belt, and you are good to go!

The best advice that I can give is to embrace your body throughout your pregnancy journey. Sure, some days I feel gross and huge, but then I try to remember that God made my body to carry my children, and that is such a beautiful thing.

Another plus? I can still grab frozen yogurt twice once a week and blame it on the 'pregnancy.' Once Little G is here, I have trouble believing I will be able to do that without any guilt.

Our First Baby Shower. My Heart Is Already So Full.

Little G and I had the honor of celebrating our first baby shower here in Maryland on Friday night. This shower was thrown by my mother-in-law and sisters-in-love and boy did they go all out! Everything was covered with animals, boy colors and G's and each detail fit my tastes so perfectly. I can remember daydreaming about the day when I would have a baby shower of my own, and cannot believe that the summer is already approaching, and the time has come!

G and I were showered with love, yummy food and of course, tons of adorable presents! 

I got to see a bunch of girlfriends and family members that I never see enough, and it was so much fun to see so many happy, smiling faces all there to help us celebrate the biggest change our lives have seen so far!

I truly believe that God sends certain people into your life to be forever friends. They can come in the form of family, of the women that marry into the same family as you do, and of friends that you meet throughout your journey. I am blessed to have many of these women in my life, and I cannot wait to share this next adventure with them as I learn to navigate the waters of motherhood.

I want to say another special 'thank you!' to all of the ladies that helped to make my night so incredibly unforgettable. I was so happy to see each of you there, and cannot wait for everyone to meet our Baby G!