Tales of Me and the Husband

lately.

it’s a funny time, the waiting on a baby time.  it’s like… how far can i venture from the house do to errands… what day, what hour will he come… are these braxton hicks or is this more… how far do i want to venture from the house based on the fact that my pelvis feels a little like it’s going to crack in half… is this the last load of laundry i’m going to do… who’s driving the kids to school tomorrow if i go into labor… or is this the last load of laundry i’m going to do… you know.

tell you what makes it all way easier… having your parents around.  i have been blessed with fantastic parents, the kind you’re happy to have stay day after day after day.  they’ve been here a little over a week already, since steve was in california, and they’ve still got a bit to go as we wait on this grandchild of theirs.  having them around is such a blessing.  on instagram i joked that my mom is a little florence nightingale plus ina may gaskin plus martha stewart combination.  and it’s totally true… but better.  she joked that she’s feeling the nesting too, and i think it’s true.  yesterday she cooked (i did make dinner!  i’m not entirely useless!  white chili and it was delicious!) and watched parker while i vacuumed the car (i couldn’t bear installing a car seat until i vacuumed out all the miscellany almonds and crumbs and sand etc. etc. that were floating around the floor of our old honda), she swept our front stoop, my dad and she wrapped some of our more delicate outdoor trees in burlap, she folds the laundry… as soon as i see something that needs doing, if i look away from it for a moment and look back, it’s been done.  every morning there’s a delicious steel coat oatmeal brewing with coconut oil and bananas and a big scoop of yogurt (william and lindsey are definitely loving the hot breakfast at the ready before they leave for school!) and she’ll even do reiki on her anxious daughter (that’s me.  i had a moment of anxiety yesterday as i got too far ahead of myself and worried about things that needed doing and kids and difficult phases and adding a baby to it all.  is it just me or do you cry at least once the week leading up to delivery too?).  and while that whirling dervish of a woman whirls, my dad is a little bit tim the tool man taylor plus he does know his way around the kitchen too. he made the thanksgiving gravy, dessert, and he’s been doing other random house projects for us too.  basically, power couple, and we couldn’t love them more if we tried.  steve comes home from a long day to continue getting stuff done (we’ve been building a garage for the last couple months so it’s been essentially a race to the finish–baby or garage and we need the garage space to lessen some of the stuff in our house!) so to have their help… god-send.

i thank them constantly but it’s worth having it in writing.  THANK YOU MOM AND DAD.  WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

i had an ob appointment yesterday and my midwife casually asked, “want me to check your cervix?” and i sort of froze.  what did i want the answer to be?  if she told me i was dilated, would that make me panic or would that be a cause for celebration?  and then it can mean nothing anyway… women can walk around for weeks dilated already… so what would knowing that information do for me?  thus, i said no, and she agreed.  i can’t believe i’m already at a “want me to check your cervix” stage.  i swear, i just found out i was pregnant a few weeks ago.

in the meantime, i have a few odds and ends left to do.  changing sheets on beds, restocking our meat and bread supply, packing a hospital bag (every night i think… finish the hospital bag?  nah.  i am too content in my procrastination.), grabbing a few last christmas gifts.  i got a present from baby to parker, which was definitely on my must do list.  (yes… a sword-wielding knight… which on second thought seems a bit of an intense present for a brand new baby to be giving his big brother but parker does love those knights…).  i don’t really take these off ever (closet options have widdled down to… about three things)–such a broken record at this point.  in fact, steve, please get me another pair for christmas?  solid black.  thank you.  and i am thinking of little activities that parker can do while i nurse a sleepy baby (my sister loves these little activity books.  fun and no mess!  any other must haves in this arena?).  and… what else?  we wait.  and soon, i will lay eyes on this new little person who’s going to steal my heart and i can’t hardly believe it.

hunt christmas extravaganza, iv.

i love this picture of these two.
now, click to read more because this post is picture heeeeeavy.

this same picture from two years ago!  but now, with a lot more height…


a nearly 39 week bump shadow in the snow.

mom + dad are here for this year’s extravaganza!!

love this man so much.  

zipping this jacket up ended about two weeks ago.


traditions are the best.  what is it about them?  it just feels right to have a few and to keep them year after year.  grounding or something?  alright, back to the point.  this year was officially the fourth hunt christmas extravaganza (steve and i couldn’t believe parker’s actually been here for all of them.  i was sure that he missed the first.) and it was just as wonderful as all the others.  snow on the ground (really adds something, the snow does), the sun out, and my mom and dad got to join us this year.  
the tree farm we’ve gone to every year just does it right.  a hot chocolate and coffee bar, tree saws and sleds at the ready, a tractor driver clad in buffalo check and carhartt driving excited families out to the fields to begin the search for the perfect tree (“fraser firs on the left!  douglas firs on the hill over there!”), and sweet signs placed everywhere that seem to be in the same spot as they were the year before (my favorite being the i was this tall one).  
after finding our tree–perhaps our favorite yet–we hauled it home and drank hot apple cider for some, hot chocolate for others.  we listened to christmas music.  a mix between michael buble, celtic christmas, josh groban, and bing crosby.  we decked the halls and it’s our first christmas in this house and it dresses up quite nicely.  live greens are always my favorite decoration.  we’ve got a big swag as you enter the kitchen that makes me happy every time i walk under it.  my mom made a huge turkey soup with our thanksgiving turkey leftovers, and we lit candles, broke a few ornaments (parker was so excited decorating the tree that we lost a few to the excitement but that’s all a part of it, isn’t it?!), and the day was pretty near perfect.  now we wait to add another little one to the thrill of it all.  
merry christmas season to all!  
{all the hunt christmas extravaganzaaaaas!)

thanksgiving! black friday!

hope you had wonderful thanksgivings full of turkey and gravy (extra gravy, always) and all the special people you love around you.  my mom and i did all the cooking here and it was so delicious.  we listened to christmas music and played in the snow and ate and watched football and movies and it was pretty great.
now, switching gears to the consumerism of the holiday to come (christmas!!!), here are some of the better black friday sales i’ve seen if you’re starting (or finishing?  or neither?) your shopping today!
xo
CLICK TO READ MORE!!

30% off everything at boden.  
use 3K3G at checkout.
buy this dress for your holiday party, and this fabulous hoodie for your son.
50% (!!) off everything at gap.
use code BLKFRIDAY at checkout.
buy this sweater for wearing all winter long, these incredible pjs (i want them) for your teenage daughter, and this one-piece for your new baby.
30% off everything at ASOS.
use code TGIBF at checkout.
get these rings for yourself, and this sweater for your husband.
30% off everything at j. crew.
use code HOLIDAY at checkout.
get this jacket for your little boy, and these high tops for yourself.
up to 50% off various items at target.
get those beats that your teenage son has been talking about, and this 
very cozy tunic for yourself ($11.99!).
up to 50% off various items at nordstroms.
get these wedge boots for yourself, these sneakers for your toddler son.
up to 25% off at west elm.
use code SUPERSALE at checkout.
get these glasses, and this adorable christmas ornament.
okay, those are some of the ones on my radar. 
now be off with you to spend your hard-earned money.
(or save your money, watch movies under blankets, and drink 
hot chocolate today which is actually a way better idea.)
*above image is a really easy diy wreath i did the other day:
embroidery hoop, greens, hot glue!  inspired by this pin!

Transitioning to another baby.

I’m really, really excited to meet this baby.  I’m visualizing that moment when you’ve just had your last push and you reach down to grab your slippery baby and your heart is instantaneously ten times bigger and I am so excited to do it again.
But my biggest mental roadblock is the question of how Parker will do with this transition.  I think it’s safe to say that the transition will be biggest for him, more than any of us.  Maybe bigger than even my own?  He and I have spent nearly every day of the last three-plus years together.  I’m excited to give him another sibling–my own sisters are some of the greatest gifts my parents gave me–and also scared to do so.  He’ll barely remember life before a little brother, right?  But I know there’ll be growing pains.  He’s a sensitive boy, and I’m a sensitive Mom, the growing pains will be real.  
So, asking you more well-seasonsed Moms: how can I ease this transition?  Is it wise to have him meet the baby in the hospital or better to do so at home?  I know the baby shouldn’t be in my arms when he sees him for the first time, but what else?  I’ve heard it’s nice to have a little gift from the baby to the big sibling.  Throughout this pregnancy, I’ve kept discussing the baby pretty light.  Calling the baby “our baby” and telling him all the things he’ll get to teach the baby one day, or how the baby will love to watch him play.  There are times where he’s so tender like putting his hand on my belly to feel the baby move, but other times when he seems so disinterested.  I figure this is normal.  I’d love to continue little dates with just Parker and I but I know that won’t happen right away.  I’m all over the place.  So, here’s where I ask, any tried and true tips???  I would love to have them in my arsenal for a few weeks (days?!) from now!  
Thank you!
image

Let’s be fancy, shall we?


I’m someone who gets a bit of a high off a fancy drink from a restaurant.  Be it a morning latte (especially with the art in the foam!) or an evening old-fashioned with one giant ice cube (a drink I only discovered I liked right before getting pregnant), it’s nice to feel a bit, well, fancy.  The normal ho-hum Monday through Friday grind doesn’t give me a lot of opportunity to feel fancy.  I gotta find those opportunities where I can.  My favorite lipstick, a cute pair of socks, or in this case, a nice coffee.
When I was sent the Nespresso Vertuoline coffee and espresso maker, it brought my mornings to a whole new level.  The spread you see in this post… well, it’s every morning of the week now.  (Lies.)  Pastries and berries and foam and that’s just how we roll in the Hunt house.  Fancy a stop by?  You’ll find us sitting around the table discussing lofty things, sipping our frothy drinks, and nibbling on delicious flaky crusts, popping berries into our mouth.
While I might be exaggerating a bit (just a wee bit!), I will say it is a seriously awesome machine.  It’s one-handed (I can already see a very groggy Bridget with a nursing baby in one arm literally kissing this machine in the early morning hours to come), it’s really good coffee (OR espresso), it’s nearly instantaneous (!!), the milk frother that comes with is amazing and great for the kids too (check out Parker’s warm chocolate milk up there!), and it just brings your morning coffee to a new level which is really a quite nice way to start the day.  Look at that foam!  Basically, I have a coffee bar in my kitchen now!  I’ve already made a mocha latte with it too (using both the machine and the milk frother) and that might’ve been my favorite.  And now I’m looking forward to the post Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner drinks (for my guests until this baby makes his debut!)–decaf with a splash of Bailey’s?!  How about some Frangelico?  The entertaining potential is really fun too.
I suggest you take advantage of the sale (through the end of the day!) and give the coffee-aficionado in your life one of these for Christmas.  We can all be fancy together.
Thanks Nespresso for sponsoring this post.

Thoughts before you leave for the weekend.

There are so many thoughts swirling around my head right now.  Let’s get them down on paper (“paper”), shall we?
+ I really hope this baby and Parker become best friends and that it’s like the best thing that ever happened to him.  I’d be lying if I didn’t admit, though, that once in awhile, I’m like, “What if they hate each other?”  Tell me you’ve had the same thoughts when you added another?  Of course, I hope William and Lindsey (and the older boys for that matter) love this baby too, but I suspect the adjustment won’t be quite as big for them.  
+ Sleep is getting trickier, blah blah blah, so imagine my delight when I was sent one of these.  It is so easy to use.  That shouldn’t be my first point to highlight about it because there are way cooler features than its ease of use but when you stumble downstairs after a semi-sleepless night, it’s pretty great to pop in the capsule and still feel sophisticated when I look like crap but have an inch of crema on top of my coffee.  (Even saying crema makes me more sophisticated than I was last week.)  More to come on it, but wanted to give you the heads up that there’s a 25% off sale on them this weekend.  (Thank you Nespresso!)
+ You know how all those articles or blog posts get shared like rapid fire on Facebook: why you need to slow down and say “yes” to your kids more or why Mom-guilt is crap and you’re entitled to take your alone time when they are sitting watching a cartoon.  You know the ones.  Well, they each have their valid points, no doubt, but there are times when Mom-guilt is going to getcha no matter how many articles or blog posts you read that say, “Don’t let it!”  So, last night when I checked on a sleeping Parker, I felt so bad for always taking his Charlie Brown Christmas watching to get stuff done.  He almost always asks, “You wan watch wiff me?” and I basically always turn him down to get stuff done.  To my umpteen-month-pregnant-self it was enough to make me cry last night.  This is a point that needs so much unpacking and would be worthy of its own post, I think.  But I would like to ask, how do you all deal with that?  What do you do?  This will only get more complicated when I have another, so I think that post is in the works… 
+ I plan on taking William to see Mockingjay soon — assuming he finishes the book (I force my kids to read by promising the movie afterwards!).  I am excited.  And it’ll probably be the last movie I go to for like a year, so he better get that book read.  Lindsey is too cool for us and is going with friends.
+ Steve is en route to California for a conference as we speak.  Fear not, doula numbers one and two (my Mom and Dad) are coming both for back up and for a Thanksgiving feast (my Dad isn’t actually going to be my doula, though I do adore the man.).  Let’s just hope I don’t go into labor while he’s gone though.  I really would not like that.
+ I bought these for Parker for Christmas and I think they’ll be a serious hit.  The reviews look good and I imagine it’s something that’d be useful to take on a long plane ride too, right?  What are some total toddler-present wins in your book?  He’s always loved the Caterpillar toys, and honestly, Matchbox cars are never, ever far from him.  What are you getting your teens?  Teens are so hard, all they want is electronics or clothes that you don’t entirely trust yourself to buy them (style’s ever changing!).    
+ What I would highly, highly, highly, highly suggest you add to your Christmas list is these leggings.  I have heard so much hype about them but, come on, $50 for leggings?  Well after asking if it was worth it on Twitter and having all positive responses, I decided to try for myself.  Holy moly.  Lululemon but half the cost, my friends (and apparently the same people behind the company?).  So soft, so thick, good stretch, matte (so they’re really not specifically work out but could easily go under a dress in the winter).  The best part of my day?  Putting them on.  Just kidding but sort of not.  I’d honestly write a whole post on how much I love them but I already did that about sweats and two posts about comfy clothing seems a bit much.
Okay, I think that’s it.  Thanks for bearing with me, today and all the days!  Have a good weekend.

37 weeks + thoughts on turning 30.

{sweater: (old) calypso st. barth}
{top: (old) zara}
{maternity pants: c/o emoi emoi} 
{shoes: c/o shoemint}
{hat: forever 21}
{scarf: asos}
Pilot Me by Josh Garrels on Grooveshark

Last weekend I went away for a night with three of my dearest girlfriends.  A little 30th birthday celebration, a little before-baby-comes getaway, but mostly girlfriends just wanting to get together, with or without an excuse.  My friend Jenny is renting a place on the ocean in Maine right now, so it didn’t take much cajoling to get us there.
We talked about everything under the sun, from husbands and marriage to careers and our futures.  It’s really nice to have girlfriends that you feel comfortable being transparent with.  I am already prone to transparency, for better or for worse (sometimes for worse, I’m sure), but they’re definitely a safe place to be so.  Sunday morning, we were sitting around in our pajamas by the fire and my friend Caroline asked me something along the lines of how I’m feeling as I near giving birth again, having another baby.  
I answered whatever came to mind at the time.  Something not-so-deep like, “I can’t wait for the scrunchy newborn face, the sweet smell, I worry about the sleep loss.”  It wasn’t earth-shattering by any means.  But as I was getting ready to go, I thought more about the question and more about turning 30, and more about who I am now versus who I was at 21 when I started dating Steve.
I came back out and said, “I’m more keenly aware of how lucky I am.”  I’m not trying to brag because Lord knows I’m certainly not mature in a thousand other ways and I can complain and be a total and complete wretch sometimes, but I do think that as I enter my 30s, I have more perspective that I simply did not have through my 20s.  Whether it’s life or age or a mixture of both, it is such a welcome lesson to have under my belt.  That even on my shittiest days it’s somewhere tucked in there and I can usually bring it to the forefront, “Bridget, you really are so lucky.”  It’s a game-changer.

favorite christmas + winter books.

i’m taking a brief break from baby laundry (such little things!) to bring to you some favorite, though few, christmas-themed (or wintry) books of ours.  this one is about the sweetest and the illustrations are gorgeous.  in fact, all nancy tillman books are really, really precious and are the type that have you crying (in a really good way) by the end.  (thank you sara for turning me on to her in the first place!)  this one is a cute and quirky winter story by jan brett, author of our very favorite–berlioz!  then, you’ve got the mainstays… the night before christmas and the grinch and such.  but, really, the hunt library could use some more in this area.  your favorites, please?
(a convenient list here, complete with reviews.  i love reviews.)

lately.

we’re taking it day by day lately.  what else is there to do?  we’re waiting on a baby boy, a baby brother (i mean, not any day, but really soon), and some days are sunny and some days aren’t and some days we go to the library and some days we go for hikes with friends (i’m using the term hike loosely here) and some days we go to get pizza and a lot of days we go for ob appointments (too many!) and some days we read books and build puzzles and do laundry.  it’s a really nice rhythm and i don’t mind it one bit.  we’ve run a few errands, we’ve done a few small projects, we eat our yogurt and our granola and our peanut butter and jellies and pomegranates and drink our waters and watch charlie brown christmas and take it day by day.  how many days do we have left before we add one more to our family… before my weekdays with parker are full of all of the above plus some nursing and sleeping and shushing and rocking and getting to know a new person who has no control over his little limbs (i love the way babies limbs move.  it’s like a sweet drug watching their skinny limbs move around so spastically.).  not too many, to be sure.  and this time it feels a bit more surreal, which is strange, since i’ve done it before.  isn’t that strange?  less time to sit with my thoughts and consider the changes to come?  an inability to imagine how parker will react?  i’m not sure.  but it’s less tangible, more surreal, though equally exciting.  different.  
having a baby in the beginning of winter will certainly promote the hibernation i think i’m already prone to as a new mom.  i wanted parker in the carrier, in arms, near me, constantly.  i didn’t mind saying “not this year” to parties and having leisurely days where i stared at him endlessly.  will i be driven to get back to normalcy for the sake of my family–particularly the toddler who might have a hard adjustment–sooner this time?  or will the cold drive us back indoors and will we be perfectly content there?  will i want to go to a christmas party and buy and wear a christmas dress?  (if so, let it be this one.  yes, and i’ll actually hike it over my head to nurse.  perfect.)  will i be okay to leave the baby home for an hour and take parker downtown for a playground date where again he and i become the duo we’re so used to at this point?  what will all this look like?  
i’m not sure, but i am about to find out and i think i’m ready.  that’s good, right?    

Clementines, scarves, and Pinterest.

Something about having 75% of your closet off limits to your burgeoning body for a few months has made me want to shop and shop and shop.  That plus the changing of temperatures plus the Christmas spirit and take my wallet from me now.  Thrilling!  But, seriously, despite how much I want to do so, I’ve barely shopped.  We’re sort of in money-saving mode, which is not my favorite mode to be in during the Christmas holidays, but it is what it is.  (I’ve used that phrase–it is what it is–on this blog at least four times in the last two weeks, I think.  It works for almost everything, try it.)  But a scarf is safe for any body type and relatively inexpensive so, maybe I can get myself this one?  Right?
(Right.  Tomorrow is my actual birthday.  30.  I can do this.)
I really want to treat myself to the perfect black turtleneck (sweater?  But not super thick sweater?) too.  I’m stopping there.
What I am treating myself to, sans guilt, are a lot of clementines.  They’re really delicious right now, and I was thrilled to stumble upon the box at the grocery store after thinking they were going to make their debut a little later, when the frost really hits.  I dumped the entire box into a big stainless steel bowl, swished it around with white vinegar and water, and now I don’t have to wonder what nasties are on the outside before my fingers get a-peeling.  Do you wash your fruit?  I’m an avid fruit washer. I say it like it should be something spectacular.  “I’m an avid piano player.”  “Well me?  An avid fruit washer.”  Anyhow, Parker would eat them by the dozen if I let him but I’m pretty sure that would result in being housebound for days due to an excess of vitamin C and thus one to many number two’s.  I didn’t have to go there.
I think I’m going to get my act together now and go get some embroidery hoops.  I am seriously focused like a crazy person on that pin from yesterday.  It’s like, it must get done before anything else gets done and cervix stay closed till they’re hung or else.  A bit of hormones and a healthy sprinkling of Christmas spirit and it’s Pinterest come to life in this house.  Especially one that involves a hot glue gun instead of a sewing machine.
Psst!  Just noticed the link is saying that scarf is sold out now.  Just this morning it was sold out, then back in stock, and now sold out again.  So to that I say… check back in case you have your heart set on it too?
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