mrs k {&family}

APRIL SPONSORS

2012-04-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

hi, im kelsey! a 20 something so cal girl with a passion for all things fun. i love the beach, good beer & my best friends. my blog is about the funner things in life and i love sharing travel tips, great restaurants and bits & pieces of my life. come on over and hang out for awhile!

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Interested in sponsoring or swapping with mrsk{&family} in the month of May? Check out this post or email me at caitlin.keener@gmail.com

LITTLE BITS OF HAPPINESS V.5

2012-04-26T10:00:00.000-04:00

+ the fact that my little man has such a personality already {i'm 99% positive he was pouting yesterday because he pooed while I was driving & he had to wait until we got home for me to change him. He was so not happy he had to sit in it until we got home. + not having to wear maternity jeans anymore! hallelujah! + getting to take a 'mommy break' & get my nails done {for half price} on sunday + we made the decision to buy the the rock n play sleeper after debating about it for days {we already have a bassinet, crib, & a bouncy seat. seriously .. best. invention. ever. my child will finally sleep somewhere other than my chest! + watching J stare & stare at Kasey -- he is totally mesmerized by his dad's voice. __________________________________

WORDLESS{ISH} WEDNESDAY

2012-04-25T18:40:00.001-04:00

First I'd just like to toot my own horn for a bit because today I am wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans and I'm not suffocating! So BEEP BEEP {that was me tooting my own horn} Jokes, I gots 'em! As promised here are J's newborn pictures

WEEKEND RECAP

2012-04-23T12:14:00.000-04:00

This weekend was actually pretty exciting {for once!}

Friday
We took J over to my parent's house & my dad took some newborn shots of him for us. My dad isn't happy with the way they turned out {he said they're too dark}, but they work for me!
He hasn't sent me the jpegs yet, but as soon as he does I will post them! Kase & I also agreed on a birth announcement - we rarely agree on stuff like that. We have way different tastes when it comes to invites, announcements, etc. We've decided to go with this one. What do you guys think? My mom's friend came down from Michigan to meet J & she brought him the most adorable little outfits! I can't wait for him to gain weight & get a little tush so he fits in all the cute outfits people keep bringing him.

Saturday
I decided before I had J that I was only going to take off 2 weeks {I'm still in school & my semester ends in 3 weeks}, so Saturday I left J with Kasey for 4 hours while I went to class. Luckily time flew by {probably because I was texting Kasey every 5 minutes asking for a picture & he kept responding with "he looks like the exact same" .. dads - they just don't get it} Also I learned the hard way that when leaving J with Kasey I need to lay out an outfit. When they picked me up from school J was wearing a onsie, knee high socks, & a pair of mittens because Kasey couldn't find his pants ... I wish I had taken a picture. My cousin {& J's Godfather} drove up from Columbus to meet him. It was so sweet of him to come up & he even brought books for J that were his favorite as a child!

Sunday
We went to breakfast with Kasey's parents .. his parent's have struggled with substance abuse issues for as long as he can remember. When I got pregnant we told them they had 2 options - get sober & be a part of J's life or continue on the same path & have no relationship with him. They took us seriously and have gotten sober. It's pretty amazing seeing the trasformation and I know how happy it makes Kasey now that he can have a normal relationship with his father.

hope you ladies had a fabulous weekend! Did you do anything exciting?

LIFE LATELY // VIA INSTAGRAM

2012-04-18T11:36:00.001-04:00

daddy & baby cuddles // J's first road trip // we wore purple in honor of my grandma to her memorial // our first family photo // sleeping babies are so peaceful // naptime at mammaw's house // baby j's baby blues

JACKSON'S BIRTH STORY

2012-04-16T17:14:00.000-04:00

04/09/201

6:00 pm - I was admitted to the hospital. They inserted Cervadil in an attempt to get me to dilate and get my cervix to ripen. {it didn't work} It was a rough night, they were having trouble monitoring J's heartbeat all night & had to wake me up every 2 hours to rearrange the monitors.

04/10/2012

8:30 am - After finding out I was only dilated a 1/2 centimeter they started me on an IV of pitocin
10:45 am - My doctor came in {I was still only dilated a 1/2 centimeter} & broke my water
3:30 pm - My contractions were extremely strong {& really consistent}, so I got a shot of Nubane in my IV. It allowed me to sleep in between my contractions {which was awesome, because I was totally exhausted}
6:00 pm - My nurse came in to check me and I was dilated to 7 centimeters
6:15 pm - I told Kasey he needed to call a nurse because I felt like I had to push. With every contraction I was having my body was bearing down. I couldn't not push, it felt so good.
6:30 pm - My Dr finally got to the hospital and I started pushing
7:05 pm - baby Jackson was born!

I only pushed for 32 minutes -- it was pretty amazing. I was terrified of labor & it, honestly, was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. He's an amazingly happy and calm baby - which is a total blessing! :)

JACKSON SCOTT

2012-04-12T08:19:00.001-04:00

I'll post more later, but I just wanted to let all of you ladies know that he's here!

meet Jackson

born 04/10/2012
8 lbs, 8 oz
22 inches

DIY PAINTED POTTED PLANTS

2012-04-09T08:55:00.002-04:00

In an effort to try to keep my mind off of getting induced tonight I've been doing random things to try to keep myself busy. So when I saw this picture

on Katie's blog & I knew I wanted to try to recreate the painted potted plants, I mean how cute are those?! So Saturday we headed to Lowe's and got a big pot for out front, 3 little pots for our patio furniture, & 3 hanging baskets. We stopped by Hobby Lobby and got some Martha Stewart acrylic paint in some cute colors & headed home to rock out!

& wallah the final product {sans flowers}

We're heading to the hospital tonight at 6 & I won't be leaving without a baby! Wish us luck!

WHAT I'LL MISS {&WON'T} ABOUT BEING PREGNANT

2012-04-07T21:17:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking so much about getting induced on Monday and while I'm excited {& super anxious}, I'm also really scared. It's no secret I'm a huge baby when it comes to pain & I, really, have no idea what to expect. K and I have been talking a lot about what it's going to be like once we have J & how different it's going to be .. the other night he asked me what I'm going to actually miss about being pregnant & I came up with this snazzy little list.

what I'll miss
+ nightly foot rubs from K
+ having an excuse to take naps {daily}
+ also having an excuse to not take the dog for a walk when I want to be lazy
+ total strangers going out of their way to be extremely nice
+ feeling J kick, punch, & wiggle around

what I won't miss
+ {hard} kicks in the ribs
+ swollen & bruised toes & feets
+ hourly trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night
+ my daily pukefest in the morning {40+ weeks & my morning sickness is still going strong}
+ getting daily texts, calls, emails, Facebook messages if I've had him

do you guys miss anything about being pregnant?

LITTLE BITS OF HAPPINESS V.4

2012-04-05T11:01:00.000-04:00

J has finally dropped & everyone can notice // picture proof that my hair is growing! // K's company sent me flowers & a very nice card for my grandmother's passing // finding pictures like this from our wedding // my 2 best friends are coming home in ONE WEEK & I couldn't be more excited

OUR DOG IS A WEIRDO

2012-04-04T10:06:00.000-04:00

I don't know what it is about k & I that screams 'we'd like to adopt any large dog that loves to cuddle, lay on laps, etc' but, apparently, whatever it is it screams loud and proud because we've adopted two large dogs {Amelia was 68 pounds and Bentley is 71 pounds}and there's no where either of them would rather be than on our laps or sprawled across our entire bodies.

The proof is in the pudding

Amelia used to curl herself into a ball in a effort to fit on my lap & when she didn't feel good? she would whine and whine until one of us made a little bed on the floor and slept with her {no, no, no we don't spoil our animals at all}

If I'm laying on the couch Bentley will, literally, crawl up on me so his head is on my boobs & his butt/legs are on my legs .. his entire body has to be on mine or he won't sit still, so I usually get a really good view of up his nose.

And when I'm sleeping? Apparently sometimes Bentley likes to rock out like this

And of course my husband just let him crawl up on me & even took a picture of it .. nice, real nice.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go before Bentley destroys my laptop that is currently blocking his spot on my lap ..

HALP! {NEED ADVICE FROM OTHER MOMMAS}

2012-04-02T12:08:00.002-04:00

I’m going to be having this wittle baby anytime between now and next week {the set date for my induction is 04/09} & here's where I need your advice

My grandmother's memorial service is 04/14, meaning worst case scenario I’m going to be giving birth 3/4ish days before her service. I, totally, planned on having j with enough time to figure out what my body's going to be like afterwards and then decide what I’m going to wear . But now? That may not happen since her memorial service is 6 hours from where we live... we, more than likely, be hopping in a car a day or two after I get out of the hospital. I have absolutely no idea what to plan on wearing ... I don't want to look like I’m still really pregnant & I also don't want to look like a fat whale {duh} so should i plan on wearing a dress? Or black maternity pants with a top & sweater?

I'm thinking of a cardi like this one with black pants

or
one of these four dresses

any advice?

OPERATION SET THIS BABY FREE!

2012-03-31T14:40:00.004-04:00

today i decided we'd take bentley with us on a long walk at the park - i figured we could wear him out and people say walking can bring on labor. so, we headed to our favorite {and closest} park

i didn't want to go on a trail that was too long in case i needed to get back to the car kind of quick, but when we got there we realized they're apparently in the process of re-doing all of the trails? and neither of us could remember which one was what & how long they were, so i let just let k pick one which ended up being super short {only took us 15 minutes} and then pick a second one which ended up bringing us through a meadow, up a huge hill, and then through 10 or more feet of mud.
luck, this girl's got tons.

and bentley? was a complete nut job the entire time. he was wheezing the entire walk from choking himself. so embarrassing - especially when every other person that walked by had the calmest dogs ever and they gave us this 'sorry 'bout your ridiculous dog' look when they walked by

and if you're wondering, no the walk did not send me into labor {not that i was really expecting it to} all it left me with is horribly muddy shoes, a wheezing dog, and a very annoyed husband

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*side note - you may have noticed that i took the disqus comment tool off my blog - sorry for everyone who liked it, for some reason it, all of a sudden, stopped letting me log in on my computer at home.

PICK ME UPS

2012-03-30T16:29:00.000-04:00

i had my weekly doctor's appointment today and didn't get the news i was expecting. my doctor has decided that if i don't go into labor on my own she's going to wait until the evening of april 9th {a week from monday} to induce me. total bummer. this pregnancy has been so stressful - with our dogs cancer & putting her down and my grandma's cancer & her passing away .. it's really been a lot to handle. i was hoping to be able to be induced this week so that i would have some time to heal before traveling to illinois for my grandma's memorial service, but it looks like that might not happen. wah, wah, wah!

this is one time i totally love pinterest because there's so many things to cheer me up .. like these

i mean seriously? how could those not put a smile on your face?!

MY PLANS ON LOSING THIS BABY WEIGHT

2012-03-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

i don't know if everyone gets like this at the end of their pregnancy, but damn i am ready to get my body back and wear normal/cute clothes.so k and i have been talking and thinking about what i am going to do lose weight and get toned after i have the baby and i've finally decided.

GOING VEG
in high school i was a vegetarian for about 2 years and i remember feeling better & looking better, but i ended up starting to eat meat again because, with playing travel volleyball, it got tough to get enough healthy food when i was traveling every weekend. i've always tossed the idea about going vegetarian back and forth and after reading katie's blog and seeing this post and this post, i've made the decision that i'm gonna do it!

START RUNNING
i've always wanted to be able to go out for a jog or a run as a workout instead of always being hunkered down to the gym and this summer? i'm making that dream a reality - i've made a promise to myself {& bentley} that i'm going walking/jogging every day and by the end of next summer? i'd love to run in a 5k.

what are you guys doing to get in/stay in shape this spring & summer?

MY {NOT SO IMPRESSIVE} WEEKEND

2012-03-26T11:29:00.000-04:00

as you know from reading this post my grandmother passed away on wednesday, so first thing friday my husband and my father hopped in the car and made the 6 hour trip to where my family is to help them pack up her condo since i'm about to pop my doctor said she doesn't want me traveling anywhere that's more than 1 hour away, so my mom stayed here with me. to try to keep our minds off of everything we went to the hunger games movie {which, in all honestly, i really wasn't that impressed with} so i texted my husband trying to rub it in his face that i was at the movies & i get this text back

seriously?! so, so jealous. if you don't know what beef-a-roo is, you're missing out. it's like arbys only way better. totally delish! :(

& that? was pretty much my excitement for the weekend .. i have an 8 am class on saturdays and then i work until 4, when i got off work i spent my evening at my parents going through box after box of my grandmother's things which was hard, but needed to be done. did you guys do anything fun and exciting this weekend?

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also, i have an ultrasound tomorrow morning & i am so hoping they will tell me that they're going to induce me based on his size or the amount of fluid. i am miserable! keep your fingers crossed for me, ladies!

PUBLIC RESTROOMS & THE CRAZY PEOPLE IN THEM

2012-03-24T14:20:00.002-04:00

if there's one thing this lady can't stand it's germs & lately i have been seeing a ridiculous amount of people not wash their hands after using a public bathroom {i should also note i hate public bathrooms, too} i always wanna be that badass person that's like 'um excuse me, ms nasty pants, but you should really wash your hands .. but i always end up just staring at them, amazed, and tell my hubs about it {i love tthat he always pretends to be as shocked as i am}

yesterday, my mom and i went to see the hunger games and i, being 9 months pregnant, knew there was no way i was gonna make it through the whole movie without going to the bathroom .. so as debbie {mom} was grabbing my coca cola slushie {yum} i ran to the bathroom and what did i find? a lady with her two kids who was actually scolding her child for trying to wash her hands .. i really hope you're thinking what i'm thinking - WHAT THE WHAT?! right? i mean what the crap, lady! you're gross & your kid is trying to be not gross, let the girl live! so outta no where this lady who decides she's gonna tell this lady how to raise her kids comes clamoring out of a stall & goes off on the women. can you guess what i did?

if you guessed stood and watched with my mouth wide open you would be right!

HEAVEN HAS A NEW ANGEL

2012-03-23T09:01:00.002-04:00

3 days after i found out i was pregnant with jackson we found out my grandmother had cancer - it was stage 4, and it had already spread to her spine & brain. to say i was devastated was an understatement. my grandmother is one of the calmest and strongest women i have ever met & i knew as soon as i found out i was pregnant that i wanted her in the delivery room with me & hearing she had stage 4 lung cancer i knew that may not be a possibility and that? was heartbreaking. she had helped me plan my wedding, done my flowers, and even officated the ceremony. long story short - she was pretty amazing. whenever i called my mom with a question or concern and i didn't think she knew the answer or what she was talking about i always say 'call grandma' becuase? she knew everything. they started her on chemo & radiation right away and when she went back a few months later to get another MRI we were told the tumors were shrinking, her doctor was amazed at how well she was doing. in february she started coughing a lot more and getting confused very easily, we knew it wasn't a good sign. she had an appointment with her oncologist and he confirmed what we all thought - the tumors were back & worse .. there was nothing he could do. she fought and she fought hard, but on wednesday she took her last breath.

hug your loved ones extra tight today ♥

LITTLE BITS OF HAPPINESS V.3

2012-03-22T07:43:00.003-04:00

getting an amazing pedicure & shellac manicure with my mommy - my friend does nails and she tried her hardest to induce my labor with a pressure point ankle/foot massage
am i the only person who loves going to sephora? seriously, i could spend hours in there! {but i'm pretty sure i'd be a single & broke lady if i did!} i stopped in this week & got my staples

after editing this picture i realized i wrote 'orgasmic' instead of 'orgasm' but i'm too lazy to change it, sorry dolls! ha ha

i've been wanting a steam cleaner for our kitchen/laundry room so bad & on a recent trip to target i found the shark vac&steam for over 50% off .. i mean, seriously, how could i say no?!
86 & beautiful on the first day of spring, in ohio. enough said.

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p.s it's that time again! the call for april sponsors! interested in sponsoring mrsk{&family} or swapping? check out this post with the 4-1-1 :)

MATERNITY PICTURES {yay or nay}

2012-03-21T18:06:00.000-04:00

i'm here to ask for your advice today, folks because i cannot make up my mind about maternity pictures. here's the deal - when i first got my bump i thought it was so cute & i was so excited to be pregnant. in my opinion i rocked my bump and it was cute, so i told k i wanted to get maternity pictures done... but, of course, we piddled around and now here i am at 38 weeks as big as a house and i'm wondering if i should go ahead with them or not? my dad's a photographer and said if k and i want we can stop by on friday after my OB appointment and he'll take our pictures.

my question to you is - a. do you think 38 weeks is too big to take them b. do you think the following pictures are good poses {pictures found on pinterest}? and c. do you think maternity pictures are a good or stupid idea?

LIFE LATELY VIA INSTAGRAM

2012-03-19T11:22:00.000-04:00

my rarely romantic hubs wrote a super cute facebook status dedicated to yours truly :) // i rocked the only green i have that still fits me for st patty's day // spring has sprung! {finally} // our cats are still convinced the bassinet, crib, and changing table are for them // mother nature must have read this post & been pissed, so to get back at me she sent golf ball sized hail that damanged my car

do you guys use instagram?

ST PATTY'S DAY

2012-03-17T14:32:00.000-04:00

happy st patty's day ya'll :)

i'm excited for today because? now i can finally put up my easter decorations - that's what you have to look forward to when you're pregnant on st patrick's day ..

IT'S HOT {& i'm huge}

2012-03-16T13:36:00.000-04:00

i'm not sure if you're familiar with the weather in northwest ohio, but in march it's generally in the 50*s .. because it's, ya know, spring time which is supposed to be the time where there's a little lull in the weather - not too cold/not too hot type thing, follow? the past couple of days, however, it's been abnormally warm - like in the upper 70s & we have been loving it!

see? flowers are even like what the heck? it's sprummer!! {spring + summer tempatures = sprummer .. brilliant, amiright?}

you would think that businesses would keep their stores comfortable based on what temperature it is outside, right? not based on what season it is .. well you would be wrong. yesterday my mom wanted me to go to babies r us with her to help her pick out a base that would work for my car seat for her car. imagine my surprise when i'm 5 minutes into our shopping trip and i'm sweating, not glistening, sweating. then i headed off to my midterm and find out our school has left the heat on .. so me? sweating again! and then today at my appointment my chiropractor, literally, made a comment about how must be hott out {they hadn't turned their heat down} because i was sweating. embaressing? just a tad. moral of the story? i would melt if i was pregnant during the summer.

& let me just say i love this weather, but to all you ladies that were pregnant in the summer or will be pregnant this summer i commend you because if it's hot for the next two weeks i'm breaking down and turning on our air, because 78* weather + being pregnant = a horrible, horrible combination.

MARCH BIRCH BOX

2012-03-15T09:51:00.000-04:00

i'm sure you all know about birch box and if not? please join us from under your rock and check it out, would ya?! it's an adorbs little box that gets sent your door every month {for only 10$, i might add!} full of amazing beauty samples

i wasn't going to make a post about what i got this month, but it seems like everyone that did got the teen vouge addition and apparently i'm either 1. not cool enough or 2. didn't get the memo that we could chose so i just got, what i assume is, the regular addition so here goes!

tibetan shower cream with rhubarb an italian brand {coloniali} shower gel that has a rare eastern rhubarb to revitalize the skin. smells good{ish - thought it smelled weird, but k said it smelled good} & i really liked the way it made my skin feel/look
quick curls by miss jessie's orginal an anti frizz cream made to tame curls. i can't wait to try this! i have naturally wavy/curly hair that i usually straighten it, but i'm always looking for a good gel/cream that i can put on damp hair when i don't have time to blow dry/straighten
nail polish by color club in jackie oh! i have a feeling i will probably never use this, but luckily i have a close friend who does nails & i'll be giving it to her {way to bright for me!}
skin savior waterless beauty balm by one love organics this? is pretty awesome {so far} it's an organic two in one cleanser and moisturizer. i haven't used it as a cleanser yet, but did put it on as a moisturizer and it didn't leave my skin feeling greasy at all {which i was worried about} & it smells good too! bonus!
pomegranate buffing bead by wei powdered exfoliant to create a gentle, antioxidant packed scrub. i haven't tried this yet, either .. but am super excited to try it on this pregnancy acne packed skin of mine!
deep massage body cream with myrrh this is from coloniali, too. k rubbed my back last night and used this and it, was seriously, amazeballs!

what did you guys get this month? this? or did you get the teen vouge edition?! {if you did i am jelly because i love that essie polish i saw!} and if you still haven't signed up yet what are you waiting for??! sign up and let me know what you get next month!

PREGNANCY MUST HAVES

2012-03-13T11:22:00.000-04:00

1. clarins one step gentle exfoliator - one thing they fail to tell you when you first get pregnant is that a majority of women do and will get pregnancy acne. i've never had an issue with acne, not even during puberty ... but once i hit about 4 months BAM my face was like black head city. i tried a few different exfoliators, but i found this one works really well & it's gentle enough i can use it everyday {bonus!}
2. long & lean tank tops {from target} - sometimes maternity shirts can just be plain ole' boring, so i try to squeeze into my pre pregnancy shirts - the only real problem is that they're usually too short. these tank tops are long enough that i can wear them under my shirts & they don't ride up showing my attractive strechy maternity jean material.
3. mustela double action stretch mark cream - when i first got pregnant i went out and bought a ton of palmers stretch mark creams & lotions. and guess what? my stomach? stretch marks all over it. :( i found out about mustela through another pregnant blogger and thought it wouldn't hurt to try it and i am so glad i did! my stretch marks are already fading and i haven't gotten any new ones since i started using it.
4. water bottle/tumblr - my ob tells me to 'drink water like it's my job' so i carry around a tervis tumblr with me pretty much everywhere i go. here's to hoping i'm hydrated enough i don't need an IV *fingers crossed*
5. nutragena makeup remover/cleaning wipes - sometimes i get so tired i have to find the motivation to move from my bed to where i keep my prenatal vitamins {pathetic, i know} so can you imagine what i'm like when i have to get up and take my make up off/wash my face? ugh .. i love these on nights when i'm exhausted & lazy!
6. coke the amount of coke i've consumed throughout this pregnancy is pretty embarrassing, but? it's been my only consistent craving for my entire pregnancy.
7. humidifier even though it's been a pretty mild winter here in ohio my skin has still been pretty dry. my trick? i put lotion on right before bed and we sleep with a humidifier on. it also helps with the sniffles which you apparently have for the entire nine months or is that just me?

not pictured - a body/pregnancy pillow for in between your legs {helps so much with hip pain!}

what were/are you guys' must haves while being pregnant?