Grill Out Baby!

What do you do when you have a group of amazing, crazy friends, an awesome summer day, a pool, a grill and a baby on the way to an artsy couple? You have a crazy grill out, pool party baby shower of course!

Well, last weekend we had our "Grill Out Baby", baby shower! It was a blast I must say! :)

We grilled, we had water gun wars, tie-dye DIY's, gifts, laughing and the guys even had a couple of games of suburban fencing! Ha!

There was a ton of watermelon, a million pastries and build your own kabobs!

Our friends are truly amazing!

One of my girl friends got me a very green, eco friendly and very Jess friendly present! A basket full of vintage children's books, an owl nightlight, glass bottles and a ton more! I was excited.

Amber in the upper right hand corner was fascinated with her apple juice lid.

Let the water wars begin!

the guys, waging war with their swords!

Our friends James and Kristina just had their baby girl, Adoration a month ago! (Their birth story is AMAZING!)

Ailsa, the little blond 4 year old in the pics is fascinated with my belly and knows that "Jessica's Baby is inside there." She and her little sister Amber love feeling him move and hiccup. During the baby shower when things got quiet for a short moment, Ailsa looks over at James as he was holding Adoration, and exclaims, "Is THAT Jessica's baby?!" Haha! It was one of those hysterical moments that make you laugh every time you replay the memory in your head. :)

We set up a tie-dye station and created some AMAZING pieces of baby art! :)

It was SO much fun! I figure, my little guy is bound to spit up, throw up and have some diaper leakage eventually, what better way to prolong the stylish life of a stark white onesie or burp cloth than some fabulous tie-dye!? We used browns, greens oranges and blues for our color pallet!

Oh yes...did you notice my stellar locks!? Can life get any better? I have my man, my baby, my family (they are arriving today!) my amazing friends and as a cherry on top...my dreads.

Gummies Please

I read about these gummy prenatal vitamins several months ago in the Fit Pregnancy Magazine and was curious. But, it wasn't until last night when Sam and I made a Target run (we picked up some organic lemonade/natural Cheetos for our movie date.) that I strolled down the vitamin isle to check them out. We got them just to try and see. Oh my goodness, I wish I would have discovered these sooner. Uh, YUM. They actually taste amazing. Of course you would still want to have some extra boosts of supplements, but dang, these are amazing.

Gold Star for the taste buds baby.

Oh, and Karate Kid was fun and amazing. :)

Baa-Baa and Baltic Amber!

I ordered our little man a "lambie" which is a sheepskin rug to plop on the floor or in his crib etc. I have been looking into the benefits of lamb/sheepskin for babies and found some really cool info that I think is worth a shot trying. :)

Some of the gold stars about sheepskin are:

-Sheepskin helps baby to keep a healthy steady temperature. It is temperature self-regulating, so it's great for summer and winter.

-Sheepskin absorbs sweat, and therefore regulates baby's body temperature when he's warm. So it keeps him cool when he needs to be cool and keeps him warm when he needs to be nice and toasty.

-It's gentle on baby's skin because it consists of a similar basic substance as human skin.The texture is soothing and calming.

-Helps heal sensitive or inflamed skin or rashes, because baby's skin can breathe naturally.

-It's always dirt and bacteria resistant. For centuries it has been known that natural sheepskin, because of its lanolin, has self-cleaning power when left to hang in fresh air.

-It is luxuriously soft and comfortable, and great for baby to have tummy time or sleep on.

We ordered ours from a company in NewZealand called Kiwi-Sheepskins. :) I'll let you know how our little dude like it!

Here's another little dilly I'm going to try out! It's called a teething necklace, made from Baltic amber. Not only does it look cool but it actually does something! No, the baby doesn't chew on it or suck on it. (That's the first mental image that came to my mind when I first started hearing about them. Ha!) This is very popular method used in Europe to help ease the yucky feeling of teething.

After about 6 weeks you can start putting one on your little mister or little miss. Come to find out the Baltic Amber, when worn on the skin heats up to the body's temperature and then releases microscopic amounts of oil (*Succinic acid*) that absorbs into the baby's skin as a homeopathic remedy to help ease the discomforts of teething. Some parents say they see dramatic results others more subtle changes but all good! :) I'm excited to try this out as well! (Plus, it just looks plain amazing.)

*Succinic acid occurs naturally in every cell of the human body and has many functions; analgesic (for pain relief), expectorant (to decrease mucous in the nose and chest), anti pyrectic (anti fever), anti spasmodic (reduces the diarrhoea from an over active bowel) and anti inflammatory (reduces the red cheeks and dribbling).*

source
I ordered this one off of the etsy shop called "Amberforsale" from an awesome gal who makes her own!

The Dreaded Pregnant Girl

Yes, my dear friends, I finally did it! This pregnant boho chica now has her some dreads! I'm very excited! They look amazing! Thank you Solah Nightstar, from Blessed Locks! You're the best!

Samuel and I are headed up to the recording studio tomorrow morning! He will be tracking his piano tracks, grand piano, Rhodes and some vintage Wurlitzer ! It's gonna be sweet!

I'll be writing a real, for reals blog tomorrow-kinda an up to date on some of the ways we have decided to do things with our little man. :)

See ya later!

5-ish Weeks Left

Sam and I kicked it at the gym today! I walked a mile and biked 6, plus some upper body weights.

A mystery goody package that was left on my doorstep that I will blog on later today! Hehe!

We are having a baby shower this weekend for our North Carolina friends and family! It's going to be a grill out, pool party, volleyball, tie-dying onsies fantastic sort of a day! My girl friends and Samuel's guy dudes are coming so it should be a day full of laughs, food and happiness!

I'm going to get changed out of my work out clothes and head out to get some stuff for the shower, and will probably run by the Organic Grocery store to pick up some yummy goodies for me and my man.

Not too many weeks left! Ah!

Sleepless and Sweet Dreams

So, the last couple of weeks the typical sleepless nights of the third trimester everybody hears about have snuck up on me. No matter how many pillows I stuff between my knees, put under my back or how many times I flip over, I can't seem to count more than a few sheep every hour. Add on top of that the trips to the powder room my nights seem to be preparing me for those new mommy nights I hear so much about. :)

Last night I conked out on the floor watching the dvd from our sonogram. I woke up a little disoriented. Sam said I had been asleep for a about an hour and didn't want to disturb me because he's well aware of my battle with sleep. That was the best hour of sleep I had had in quite sometime. HA!

Tonight I'm actually going to enjoy my bed and read a book I've been trying to crack open. I have a bowl of cold cut watermelon, my man in the next room practicing on the piano and preparing for his time in the recording studio this weekend and the yummy feeling of bare feet under nice, soft, cold sheets. I feel rather royal at the moment.

So, I'm hoping that in the morning I'll have a different sleeping tale to tell. But, if I don't I'm comforted by the fact that all this means soon I'm going to have my little man in my arms and a little heart to fall in love with.

Good night my little love, sweet dreams.

Midnight at the Cafe

After a movie night with family friends Sam encouraged me to go with some of the girls on a midnight adventure to Amelie's! So at 12am we all loaded in the car and trucked across town! We had so much fun! It had been a long while since I had experienced a late night girl adventure like that! It was fabulous!

Amelie's is a french bakery/cafe is very sweet spot in Noda, the artsy, Boho district of Charlotte. Not only is it amazing, but it's open 24/7. It has an atmosphere that is inspiring and has fantastically amazing food, pastries and coffee.

Trying to decide.

Molly and Ashely tasting and trying to decide whether to order the

"Spinach, Asparagus-Leak Soup" or the "Carrot-Ginger, Barley" Soup.

They have several amazing chandalier peices! I want to do something like this in my boy's room.

One of the several lounge rooms.

I went with a bowl of the spinach soup.

Then, I got a twice baked chocolate croissant!

My heart was so happy as we talked about all things to do with life, love and silliness. I needed a random, midnight run with the girls to a cool french bakery. :)

I thought to myself as I sat there laughing, I might not get to do this for a long while again. Babymoons, midnight runs to random places-do it up.

Babymoon Part 2

Here it is! Part 2!

Sam and I had an amazing day 2 in downtown Wilmington! We had breakfast delivered to our room and enjoyed the morning sun shimmering on the river.

I had spied some awesome shops the day before that I wanted to check out so we spent the afternoon walking the streets, exploring the shops and tasting the yummy foods from various ice cream parlors and restaurants.

Our journey on day 2 first began at a garage-the place I had been looking forward to the most to visit. It was a glass blowing studio where they made and sold their art work! I am utterly fascinated with glass blowing. I saw some program on public television when i was a little kid about it and have had a secret desire to explore that art ever since. One of the ladies who works and creates there told us that they offer classes...BIRTHDAY PRESENT BABY! Um, yes please. So, yes, I told Samuel that's what I wanted for my birthday-a glass blowing class.

"Downtown Wilmington"

&

"The Planet"

That green and orange awesomeness of a storefront is my now FAVORITE shop on the east coast! It's called "Planet," a shop I would define as selling Up-cycled, Eclectic, Boho-Vintage wares and Urban Outfitter-ish accessories. They sell knickknacks and jewelry from local artists and feature everything from affordable and hip clothes, retro army gear-1950's sets of vintage suitcases-bags galore and a ton more. I was in heaven.

So, there I am shopping and thoroughly enjoying myself, Samuel a couple of stores down. All of a sudden I feel a steady trickling stream running down my leg. I froze.

I had been studying all the different ways your water can break depending on where the bulk of the amniotic fluid is located and how the baby is positioned. One of the ways besides the torrential gush is a steady stream running down your leg. Yeah...you can imagine what was going through my mind. "Shoot, not now I'm 4 hours away from my house!" "Oh my gosh, I don't even own a burp cloth or bottle." "Dang it...Yippee...Oh my gosh...YAY!" "Yay?"

Yes, all those thoughts were floating through my head all at once. Going to the dressing room I realized that it was just sweat. I had my tie-dyed boho skirt on and it was causing more sweat than usual, especially since it was a VERY humid day and I was having hot flashes.

Not quite an almost, but it sure was a fun moment. HA!

They had amazing style in the way they arranged and decorated their store set up.

One of my goodies from The Planet! A sweet jersey knit halter dress! Only $15!

You know those plastic woven blue bags at IKEA? Well this is a recycled zipper pouch made from that same material! I'm going to use it for my baby wipes!

$6

This fantastic bag is going to be on my diaper bags! I'm going to sew a lining pouch inside with pockets for burp cloths, bottles etc... It's made from the same plastic woven stuff.

$12

The front mannequin typified the random feel of the shop.

"Flashbox"

This was the true retro-vintage thrift shop find! A good sized, well organized wealth of vintage bliss.

Samuel found a friend in one of the many antique stores we visited.

We had a riverside lunch at the "Riverwalk Cafe." I had a 3 cheese grilled cheese sandwich with tomato, avocado and sprouts, accompanied by some INCREDIBLE shoestring french fries.

I was like, "Yeah, I'm with him..." as Sam played some AMAZING tunes on a good Seagull acoustic guitar at a music store we stopped in at as I finished my amazing homemade ice cream.

In the back alleys I found a treasure full of the coolest textures and colors. A ton of old loading dock doors. Mmmmmmmmm...love it.

My hot stuff.

A fence surrounding a construction site was entitled "The Key Fence." Hundreds of keys were hooked on the fencing! I just thought it was cool. :)

6 o'clock finally rolled around and we headed to our car for the journey back to home sweet home! I read some of my "Vital Touch" book and Sam played random songs from his iPod harmonizing in his, oh so amazing voice. We arrived in town, stopped in to see some friends who were visiting. That turned into a fun evening of spontaneous movie watching and laughter.

It was an amazing trip.

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Babymoon Part 1

I have traveled to Eastern Europe, had numerous trips to the Middle East and lived in Northern California... Can you believe in all that I have never once walked on an American beach!? Yes, it's a true story. I don't know how that escaped my repertoire of experiences but it did. I've climbed waterfalls in the mountain barefooted and hiked up ancient fortresses in the middle of the Israeli desert-but have not tanned on the beach listening to the sound of the waves. Go figure. Ha!

That fact changed this weekend.

Sunday morning, Sam and I loaded ourselves in the car and headed for the beach in Wilmington, NC ! We had planned this weekend trip as a short "babymoon" for some awesome adventure/relaxation time alone before little dude arrives.

It was a 3 1/2 hour drive, which wasn't bad at all. We talked, listened to radio theater and laughed the whole way down. We checked into our quaint little hotel room that had an AMAZING view of the river and an old navy battle ship!

After unloading our bags we changed into our swimming garb and headed to a typical, touristy beach shop to get towels, a shovel and bucket for making sand castles and an umbrella!

Leaving there, we found a place to park and I entered the addicting world of beach/ocean lovers. I'm ruined. Samuel laughed as I squealed, "oooh-ed" and "aaah-ed" at the sight of all that water and the magical sounds! Then, we GOT IN the water! Ah! Beyond fantastic! It took me a minute to get used to the rhythm of things but once I did there was no turning back!

"The Belly Hole"

I dug a whole in the sand so I could once again experience the intoxicating feeling of laying on my stomach!

One funny thing that happened as I lay there, falling asleep as Sam was building me a little sand kingdom-it being later in the afternoon the tide started to slowly creep up. We thought we were fine, we were pretty far away from the water. But, NO-as I lie there drifting into wonderland, being lulled by the waves, one decides to rush in a demolish our little camp site. Yes, my serene rest was quickly changed into a mad dash for our camera/iPhone bag and a mourning over all the amazing shells I had collected seeing that they had been swept back to sea/buried in sand.

Sam stood aghast as he looked at his once towering creation in progress ruined. Haha! I almost cried. (Yes, truly Jess, you are pregnant.)

We walked the beach together and soaked in the sounds, smells and beauty of it all. I collected lots of little treasures to turn into some fabulous creations I will show you later this week.

Sam laughed later on that night as he twittered,

"Jess had an epiphany last night. At about 2am she rolls over and asks

in a very concerned voice, "Baby... Do people pee in the ocean?" :)

The day decided to go so sleep. Sam and I headed back to our hotel to shower and change for a wonderful evening on the river walk and a magical dinner at a sea food restaurant called "Elijah's."

Sam ordered a mixed grill from the chef of all sorts of goodies and I got good ol'fish and chips with a salad.

Of course we had a wickedly wonderful dessert called "Death By Chocolate."

Sam assured me he wasn't hungry and told me to order just one. Well, once it was placed in front of us with 2 spoons...he changed his mind. ;)

Our time was so wonderful and perfect! We walked about a mile back down the river walk talking about nothing and everything. It felt like a second honey moon. Just us, enjoying each other together.

As we snuggled in bed that night, our little man moving and wiggling like crazy, a smile was gently painted on my face as I thought about all the laughs and new experiences I had had. I realized again, there's so many more of these days/nights to be discovered- it's just started. Next time we go on a seashore adventure, we'll have a new little love and new little friend with us.

I love life.

Part 2 is coming tomorrow!

5:30am Leftovers

So, I tossed and turned all night. Nothing really unusual about that but last night, or what I should say was "this morning," I was wide awake at 5:30 am. I hadn't gone til' past 1 am so I really needed sleep! Especially since we were going to get up early and head to the east coast for a couple of days.

I lay there, turned over-stuffed more pillows in between my knees...turned over again, finally throwing the pillows on the ground and headed to the kitchen for some water. What I found in there fridge was my glorious Chicken Lo Mein leftovers from our fav Chinese restaurant "Golden China" calling my name. So, in the dimmed light of my kitchen and a few birds waking up and tweeting me an oh, so early good morning-I stood there scarfing down the wonder and delight of the Lo Mein. I got myself a glass of apple juice, which actually didn't taste too well with what I had just partook of, then a glass of water and headed back to bed. Once in bed, I still couldn't go to sleep and it's pushing 6 am-ish! I leaned over to my nightstand, got my iPhone and played a few rounds of boggle, the word game then finally tried to go back to sleep.

I must have actually accomplished my goal of falling asleep because a couple of hours later the alarm went off and I woke up. Now, we are headed to the east coast!

I'm so excited!