I Got Dressed {Cheetah is Still Kind of a Thing Right?}

This is a prime example of an outfit that is dressing for girls, not guys. I got to church later than Michael and the second I sat down he leaned over and whispered, "Neon and cheetah? Is that allowed?" Hahaha. He hated it. BUT at least four girls came up and told me they loved my outfit - HA! So funny. But whatever, I was going for comfort and this giant uber-unflattering sunshine sweater was the first thing I saw... so we just rolled with it ;).

Also do anyone else's husbands hate cheetah? I've tried explaining that it's actually totally acceptable and J.Crew even has an entire line dedicated to it. He still thinks it's tacky. Oh well. It also took him some convincing to half-tuck in shirts to high waisted jeans back when I had abs instead of a bump. I definitely dress for girls ;). Sorry babe.

Hope you have an awesome weekend! Any fun plans? Michael has a test on Monday which means this weekend kind of blows for us... case in point its 8:30 on a Friday night and he's studying while I'm in pjs. Spicy.

Ginormous sweater: H&M old, similar here

Skirt: Forever21 old, similar here

Sandals: Sam Edelman old, similar here and I also love these and these

Necklace: J.Crew, similar here

Bag: Fawn Design

Thoughts

So many thoughts lately! And they totally don't relate so I'm just gonna ramble ;). 

- First off, why is there so much uproar about the election results?! I wasn't exactly thrilled with our president the last 8 years but I don't remember seeing nearly the same animosity toward Obama as we're seeing with Trump! Like the hashtag #notmypresident ?! Are you kidding me?? Or burning flags?!?! WHAT IS THIS. I just have to say, I'm so appalled by the reactions of many people across the country. And parents that cry, "What will I tell my daughter? What kind of role model is Trump?" Okay really? What kind of role model is Hillary? I don't think either of our candidates was exactly a stellar example of honesty, integrity, goodness, etc. Amiright? So be your kid's own role model and stop worrying. How much power does the president have, anyways? Not that much. Granted with so much Republican strength currently in government a lot could happen quickly, but hopefully they use that for good! Let's put some faith in the senators and congressmen who WE ELECTED and see what happens! Okay political rant over. 

- I keep pondering on an article I read a few months ago. It was a mom talking about how many times we as parents say, "Hurry up!" to our kids. As we're racing out the door to Target we call, "Hurry up! Grab your shoes!" When we're on a casual walk we say, "Hurry up! We're walking faster than you!" And even before bed as kids thumb through books we say, "Hurry up, just pick one!" Hahaha. So true! We are constantly telling our kids to hurry. But the author explained that as she's tried to eliminate those words from her life, and instead just slow down and match the pace of her kids, she's found so much joy. Kind of a let them be little approach. Now obviously there are the times when Lydia and I are running late to the doctor's appointment or she'll miss watching the garbage truck if we're not fast, but as a whole I've really made an effort to adopt this philosophy and it's made me such a happier parent! I get to enjoy the way Lydia stops and examines cracks in the sidewalk, and watch her curious little mind as she slowly picks up all her farm animals one by one and puts them back in their barn as we clean. Slowing down and just letting Lydia explore the world at her own pace has taken stress off my checklist/type A self, since now my goal as we run errands isn't, "how fast can I get out of here," but rather, "let's enjoy this experience together." It doesn't always work, and sometimes we're flying through the last two aisles of Walmart while she cries in my arms and we've had enough, but as a whole I've found a lot of peace in this new mindset :). 

- Interestingly, as I've found more patience for Lydia I seem to have lost some of it for grown ups - HA. It's like, I can wait all day for my 15-month-old to do something but because you're a competent adult I expect more from you and have no tolerance. So so bad!!! For instance, in the last two days I snapped at a Verizon guy, a door-to-door saleswoman, AND the grocery cashier! In my own head I can justify all of these, aaaand to make myself feel a tiny bit better I guess I will attempt to tell you too ;). Mr. Terrible Eye Contact Mumbler Verizon Man totally didn't mention an additional $93 charge that he just slapped on last minute. The door-to-door gal came right as I was trying to put Lydia to sleep and obnoxiously banged on my door and rang the bell three times. And the grocer kept trying to sell me a freakin membership when she could clearly see that Lydia was screaming in my arms - ahhhhhh! BUT that's not the point. (But it did make me feel a little better to tell you guys that ;) .) The point is right after I shut the door on the sales girl tonight, this giant thought popped into my head. "That could be Lydia in twenty years." OH MY GOSH. Those are all somebody's kids!! So of course I got this huge wave of guilt and an urge to be nicer and more Christlike. What if that was Christ trying to sell me something at the door? (I mean ideally He would see it was a bad time and maybe even offer to make her a bottle, right? Hahaha jk.) But really, my goal is to be more patient with ALL people, not just my daughter, and treat everyone like they matter. Here's to being kinder! 

- If you follow me on snapchat (annikajames) you've seen that that pregnancy insomnia is baaaaack! This came around last time with Lydia in the third trimester, and it seems we've already come across it again this time. I wake up anywhere between 2:30 and 4 and then my mind just races. I toss and turn for about 30 minutes before I finally just get out of bed. I heard it's bad to stay in bed if you can't sleep. Trains your mind that you don't sleep well in bed? Anyone know if this is true? But the plus side is I usually have my most productive hour and a half of the entire day! Haha. I clean the kitchen, I research baby products, I blog, I read this toddler parenting book, it's great! Until the next day around 11am when I am dyyyying of exhaustion. Hence lately I've been napping when Lydia naps, which always makes me feel like a super lame mom but boy I've needed it. 

- Also, the past two days I've been nauseous again. Boo. I've been taking a half dose of my medicine to try and wean off it, but I might just have to up it again if this keeps up. I was leaning over the toilet yesterday and all these terrible memories of being sick came back and I do NOT want that again.

Anyway, sorry this was kind of a downer post! Just lots of random things going through my head currently. I hope you guys are doing good! 

Also a reader pointed out to me a few weeks ago that there is nowhere to make comments on my blog! Haha. Really tech-y over here, clearly ;). So I'm going to hopefully fix that asap, but for now you can email me with questions at annikajchristensen@gmail.com or send me a DM on instagram or snapchat! I'm usually pretty good at getting back quickly to people. Thanks for being patient with my lack of blogger formatting skills!

First Annual Friendsgiving

Every year since Michael and I have been married we've always said to ourselves, "Let's host a Friendsgiving!" And for some reason or another (actually the reason is always the same - too busy), we never do. But this year we actually did it! Our First Annual Friendsgiving!

A few weeks ahead of time we texted three other couples, set a date and assigned out dishes. We took the turkey, stuffing, gravy and mint cranberry sauce. Audrey and Jared were mashed potatoes and an awesome berry cobbler, Libby and Mat brought a delicious sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie, and Lizzy and Jake made fantastic rolls and a salad!

And here's the best part - NO KIDS! We all got sitters and had the most relaxing dinner since our children existed, ha! We even played fancy dinner party music and drank out of goblets ;).

And it wouldn't be a party without a pretty little cheese plate.

(Not pictured: the jar of honey that completed shattered two minutes before everyone arrived! And my bloody finger... oops!)

First time cooking a turkey! It was... fine? I don't know, I feel like turkey is never that great anyways? Like hands down it's my least favorite part of the meal. So considering that I think it was alright!

But definitely better than eating the turkey was watching these medical students google the proper technique of carving it. HAHAHA. Literally 15 minutes of talking angles and slices and body parts and it kind of looked like a pelvic exam if we're being honest. 

My dear dear friends!! (And 3/4ths of us are pregnant!)

I am forever grateful for these (and many more!) incredible friends who make this crazy journey so fun. While our husbands are gone and our kids sometimes drive us insane and the days are long, we have each other to rely on and cry to and laugh about the poo stained everything. Love their guts.

My dress: Nordstrom here

Tablescape:

Plates, chargers, glasses: thrifted!

Napkins, pumpkin salt and pepper shakers: World Market

Bon Appetit runner: Boutique LaLa in Laguna Beach

Candles: IKEA

Pumpkins, eucalyptus, candies: Trader Joe's (I spray painted some of the pumpkins)

Gold flatware: Amazon a few years ago

Name place napkin holders: Printed from a free pdf here

I Got Dressed {But Didn't Put on Makeup}

I wore this comfy outfit last Thursday since it was a clean-the-house-and-go-to-Walmart kind of day.

And yes, this tee is one of like the three shirts I ever wear these preggo days.

I found it a couple months back at Old Navy (see this post where I highlighted it as a favorite) and immediately knew it would be a goodie. 

So.... of course I went back the next day and bought two more. Best $10 tee ever. I've worn it here, here in navy and here  - and those are just the times it made it to the blog. Not pictured: the daily ritual where I have nothing to wear because #bump and I end up throwing on maternity leggings and this tee and running out the door. Oops. 

And speaking of bump - BUMP! Seriously getting so wobbly! I feel 8 months pregnant and when I sit up I have to do that old lady brace-your-back thing and I have been known to make weird grunting noises on occasion when I bend over and pick up Lydia. Suuuper attractive let me tell ya ;).

And if we're being honest here these pics somehow don't make me look nearly as huge as I am. Like at least twice a day I catch myself in the mirror and I am utterly shocked at how big this belly is.

But feeling all those Baby Boy kicks are so worth it!!!

And lately I've been hearing about so many complications (miscarriages, fetal problems, infertility, even stillbirth - cannot even imagine the heartache there), that I look at this big bump - with the double chin and expanding thighs that come with it - and can't help but feel grateful. These chipmunk cheeks will go away one day, and my arms will be toned again at some point, but right now I am just lucky to host a healthy tiny baby, and that is good enough.

Oh and couldn't let this one slide. Literally twenty seconds early she was laughing? And then she was sad when I took the tripod down? Toddlers. Someone explain them to me ;).

Tee - Old Navy here

Maternity leggings - H&M here

Chambray shirt - Target old, similar here, here or here

Shoes - Converse here

Hat - Old, similar here

Lydia's outfit is pretty much all thrifted except for her Nikes and bow, which are both Nordstrom.

Life (basically just Lydia) Lately

Okay first off this little smile just about kills me. 

It is SO HARD to get Lydia to smile for a camera! She will definitely look at the camera, but usually just stares blankly. But somehow my mom actually captured those teeth! New favorite picture of her. So what if she's naked and bow-less :).

Mommy's copy cat. Literally draped this over her shoulder and wore it around the house for a good hour. Ha.

CHAAAALK! Where have I been?! Is this not the single greatest creation to ever grace the kid kingdom?! Lydia is obsessed with going outside, but usually gets bored and then wanders to the front yard which is a no-no. Solution = chalk!

That and cardboard boxes. Why do I buy toys?

We tried these adorable Hunter boots on Lydia, but she literally could not walk in them. Bummer! So cute. 

And some pics from our In n Out excursion a few weeks back. Never seen anyone more excited for ketchup - HA! She is obsessed.

yum.

And closing out with the HILARIOUS 50 pound sack of potatoes our friend brought over. Apparently she had like 200 pounds and was trying to get rid of them! So... anyone want potatoes?! Please come get some. I think we've used 3 so far.

Pinners Conference and The Nicest Date Night Ever

About every other week we get one night altogether as a family! So typically we will roam a mall (so glad I married someone who likes to shop almost as much as I do, ha!), grab a low key dinner somewhere cheap, head home, put Lydia to sleep and watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy. And if we're feelin really spontaneous we may watch TWO. Whoa ;). Needless to say our family "date nights" aren't super exciting, and Michael and I couldn't even remember the last time we'd gone out just the two of us. Because A) we're broke (aka no babysitter funds) and B) Michael doesn't get to see Lydia that much anyway, so it's fun to all be together. But we have the best friends, and they offered to watch Lydia for a few hours last Friday night so Michael and I could have an evening to ourselves! 

And of course, Michael was adorable and surprised me with all my favorite things. First we went to sushi, which he would never choose but he knows I love it :). Then after having the most relaxing meal since Lydia was born we drove to downtown Salt Lake to walk around the Pinners Conference! It was awesome! So many adorable little shops (like 200+ I think!) and so much creativity. Luckily for our wallet I'm huge and pregnant and not super into buying clothes currently. But we loved looking at everything and we couldn't help but walk away with a pair of mustard suede mocs for baby boy!

After an hour or so at the Pinners Conference we drove through Hires for their signature Peanut Butter Oreo milkshake and then picked up Lydia and called it a night! Thanks so much Libby and Mat for watching her! We owe you guys. 

And... yes I forgot to take pictures of like 80% of the night. I'm kind of forgetting everything lately? Like last week I just completely spaced Lydia's pediatrician appointment. Just totally skipped it! Whoops. Pregnancy brain? Or just mom brain? Or maybe it's just MY brain and I have no excuse, ha. Anyways, here are the few photos Michael remembered to snap!

15 Minute Dinner - Carne Asada Tacos

I've been in a total cooking rut lately - everything I've made the last few weeks has been pretty gross -  ha. Sorry Michael! I think I've been going off Allrecipes too much and less off good old fashioned cook books and blogs, like I used to. 

So tonight I tried to simplify and just copy and paste a recipe from Lunchpails & Lipstick and it was DELISH! 

And the best part? It literally took 15 minutes. WIN.

15 Minute Carne Asada Tacos 

ingredients: 

- Trader Joe's Carne Asada (it's all pre-seasoned and pre-cut and everything!)

- tortillas (these are Trader Joe's)

- avocado

- limes

- cilantro

- Trader Joe's mango slaw (or julienned mango, jicama, chopped onion, shredded lettuce and more cilantro)

- feta

- plain non fat greek yogurt (or sour cream)

directions: 

- grill carne asada 4-5 minutes per side 

- while grilling meat, slice avocado and lime

- chop cilantro, break apart feta

- right before meat is done, heat tortillas on grill or in microwave

- let meat sit for a few minutes, then slice into small pieces 

- put everything in the tortillas and ENJOY! 

(and if you're at our house, add a healthy does of hot sauce ;) )

And yep... 23 week hips/thighs already comin in strong ;). WOOT WOOT.