simple indulgences

have gotten me through this rather symptomatic pregnancy.
with bennett, i had a belly with a baby in it.  and towards the end a pulled sciatic nerve.
BUT THAT WAS IT.
no wonder i was cherry-blossoms-and-butterflies-happy-and-glowing at all times :)

emory, sweet emory, she is a different story.
honestly i havent enjoyed it any less, while she and my body are working their darnest to try and make me...but the enternal optimist can never be brought down, right?

anyway there are a few things that keep me truckin {despite the hot summer pregnancy symptoms} that may sound to the not-so-pregnant person as just simple things, but to this balloon-bellied woman they are fanciful indulgences...that i simply choose to partake in regularly for my sanity ;)

they include but are not limited to:

chocolate milk

i have tried them all.

they are all fantastic.

and i {usually} drink them out of the carton.

{this is a judgment free zone btw so feel free to keep your "ewwwws" and "oh no she di-ints" to yourself}

pedicures

ive gone my whole life only uttering that word when there is a friends wedding involved.

before this summer, i have probably had 5 or 6 in my entire life.

this summer, ive had three.

and the one i had on tuesday was one of {if not the - second only to seeing a beautiful healthy emory on an ultrasound screen} most amazing experiences of the past six and a half months.

so good that i couldnt concentrate on my texts/bbms and had to put the phone down and close my eyes - entering into a happy place where it is not 100 degrees outside and i dont have to wear tankinis {hate them}.

{moment of silence for remembrance}

i usually actually like a french manicure/pedicure, but when i walked in and told the little lady thats what i wanted she squinted at my feet, burst into cackling laughter and said:

"no no no no too small.  too too small.  hahahahahhahahahaha"

my toenails are too small?  i know they are small but ive gotten it done before?

"hahahahaha no no no.  not right.  not right. you pick color. hahahahhaa"

and then she mutters something in korean to the other ladies in the place and they all share in a quiet cackle.

and that is how i ended up meeting my new favorite shade:

OPI cajun shrimp

and it may look a little ... bright on screen, but it is the perfect coraly redish pinkish not too bright and not too dull shade

 sugar

brownies, cookies, cinnamon rolls, cookie cakes, baked goods, lucky charms mixed with cinnamon toast crunch {jk - thats taking it a little too far...}, and right now

chocolate chip banana bread

a la my friend vanessa.

{v: i told you i was going to make it soon.  this is my second batch}

the second time i made it i added a little brown sugar - just for kicks - probably used a whole cup of chocolate chips instead of just 1/2 {refer to title}, and baked them in a muffin pan for ease-of-consumption {this is key}.  bennett now knows that he likes "muffins," so im thinking next time when i bake a heart-healthy batch of some whole grain low fat variety he will be more likely to try it :) and love it....right?

{picture hijacked off vanessa's blog}

{ps. and if you bake them in muffin pan it takes much less time - burned chocolate chip banana bread would be less than ideal}

pajamas

is this considered an indulgence?

probably not.

but staying in them all day is.

and its something i actually havent indulged in recently.

and to even hint that its something cute like this

would be a bold faced lie.

one thing that has kept me sane this summer is practically shedding all restrictive clothing at the door and putting on some huge tent-like tshirt and old, worn-in pajama pants. 

oh and did i mention air-dried hair and no makeup?

stephen finds it insanely attractive 

{he hasnt said so, but women know these things}

HA

a moment like this

cue kelly clarkson...

no what i mean is i am indulging wholeheartedly in bennetts 30.5 month brain at the moment

i have always looked forward to the time when i had "cute kid stories", just bc i think kids brains are so amazing and their innocence and naivete is intoxicating.

there are daily laughs going on around here which is actually helping counteract the insane amounts of discipline

i am NOT enjoying the discipline part.  it wears me OUT

{can i get an amen?}

tuesday we were in my bathroom and i asked bennett to run a very important errand for me:

fetch a roll of tp

he LOVES when i give him "missions" and listened intently as i told him to

go to his bathroom, open the cabinet next to the potty, grab ONE roll of tp, and bring it to mommy.

"yessss mayum!!!!"

and tiny feet scurry across the house.

i wait

and i wait a little more

and the tiny feet return.

with ONE SINGLE toilet paper square

"i got sunting for you mommy!"

and then upon entering the bathroom bennett says:

"sunting in my nose mommy"

and proceeds to stick said toilet paper square up his nose, then hand it to me.

thank you sweet son for my one singular square of tp with a tiny wet nose stain on it.

you, child, are my favorite indulgence.