Fighting a cold while pregnant...

My parents are on their way back to Colorado Springs right now, and I haven't seemed to be able to pull myself away from the kitchen table for very long this morning. It's probably due to three very busy days in a row, but I'm exhausted and praying I'm not actually succumbing to the cold this season. I've accepted that livable exhaustion is probably going to be the new normal in my life for the next eighteen or so years, but this added sluggishness from the start of a cold is no fun.

 Since I'm pregnant and too tired to look in to what I can take to fight a cold, I've decided to stick with my tried and true remedy: Aztec Sweet chili tea loaded with honey (yes, I know I'm not technically supposed to have this). This spicy, sugary goodness coats your throat well. The last two times I've felt a cold come on I've also squeezed a few oranges by using my favorite fruit juicer, but we didn't have any on hand this morning. I like to think I'm naturally getting tons of vitamin c this way. I'm a semi-all-natural fan (haha) meaning I truly have fun reading up on natural healing methods in my spare time, but I am by no means strict about it. These are just two of the ways I usually fight colds, and so far this season they have worked.

I'm thankful for the awesome maternity clothing sales we scored yesterday! I truly hate the idea of spending so much money on clothes that will only fit for about four months, but just this past week I was realizing how short all my regular shirts were getting, and since my students only talk to me and stare at my belly, I figured it was time to start looking for some deals. And we found some! (Another silly pregnant story: I've been using the rubber band trick to keep some of my regular pants up, but when I went hiking in the cold Friday, I only realized once my butt was half frozen that this trick failed and my pants had fallen down!! HA! Good thing we were in the forest!)

A friend recently told me how comfortable H&M's maternity pants were. It truly has been hard to find any maternity pants for me since I'm petite, and even the smallest ones I found at Gap (see below) make me feel like I have a poopy diaper on sometimes. I do looooove the true denim feel of them though, and the demi panel is my favorite!!

Anyways, I decided to take a peek in H&M to see if I could find any maternity pants. Low and behold, there was an entire two racks full of $10 maternity pants! They were skinnies, and fit so well! They are now my favorite brand of maternity pants I've been able to find so far. I also debated between getting some shirts that were on sale in a bigger size so I can just wear them after pregnancy, or just sticking with the regular maternity shirts that were the same price, but I could only wear for the next few months. After we decided I resembled a boat in the oversized shirts, I stuck with the cute, tailored maternity shirts. My mom also found some great deals on a maternity sweater and smock dresses at Gap (have a mentioned that my mom always seems to be able to smell the hottest deals at soon as we walk into the mall?), which will be much appreciated in this colder than usual Utah winter.

 

 I love a lot of Gap's matenity clothes because I've found you can just add a belt to the waistline and you can't even tell they are maternity clothes! My closet usually consists of mostly basics and classic styles so that I can wear them season after season, and mix and match the colors that will never go out of style. It truly was hard for me to recently buy a purple belt, when the same one came in olive. I'm trying to do the same with maternity clothes so I can use them again in the future.  

 

 

By far my favorite thing that my mom found yesterday was this adorable bib. Love it!

 

 

Alright, enough of my ramblings from the weekend! It was such a huge blessing that my family made that quick trip down to see us. God knew ahead of time and cleared B's and my schedule for us. He's sufficient like that! ;)

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:11

*Edited*

When we were deciding on starting a family, something I thought about often was how it's God's design for a husband and wife to be blessed and mulitply, and since He loves families and desires for families to grow, He's going to take care of families. I can't express how thankful I am for both sides of our families to come around us in support like they have. God is such a good provider emotionally, spiritually, and physically, and He has reached out to us in love through our families and our extended church family. God is faithful to His plans.

xoxo