I received free product to facilitate this post — all opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links, meaning any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. It's been an entire month since I showed you this embarrassing view of our bedroom, but we have made so much progress in the last thirty days. The last eighteen months in this house have been equally weird and wonderful, but I never imagined it would take us this long to refresh a single room. We knew when we moved in that we wouldn't be purchasing the house right away and both families fell into a very comfortable routine of enjoying each other's company and not rushing to make any decisions. The house still hasn't changed hands ...
Links + Loves | Minimalist Baby Registry
I received free product to facilitate this post -- all opinions are my own. This post also contains affiliate links, meaning any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. When we had Ella, I knew that we were planning to have more children in the future. Josh and I always wanted a big family and thought we would have at least three children. We often joke about how naïve we were and how funny it is when non-parents make grand statements about what they will or will never do! Not only did we register for every single thing available on the baby market, but we kept all of those things for subsequent children. I had a plastic container for every size that she ever wore and a few more filled with gear ...
Weekend Update | May 2018
It's been a long time since I shared a full-on weekend update, but since I'm trying so hard to return to the "real life documenting" of old-school blogging and I'm super behind on sharing life with you, how about a peek into all the things I did over the past three days?! We've had a dance competition on our calendar since early October, but my small group was planning an overnight retreat for this past weekend and I was so bummed that I wasn't going to be able to make it. I was experiencing a major case of FOMO, but there was no way I could send Ella off to compete without me (not to mention that I didn't want to) and I couldn't figure out how to make both things work. By some miracle, when the schedule came out last week, our team was only scheduled to dance on Sunday afternoon! We ...
On Expanding Our Family
Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. I've been pretty transparent about how this pregnancy took us all by surprise, but I haven't really put my thoughts about that into words. We had found this very comfortable place, where we had established routines and habits and were embracing the predictable nature of life, but maybe that was the problem. I know that everyone's journey to parenthood is different and what feels devastating within our own circumstances and contexts, seems like a walk in the park to someone else. When Josh and I first starting planning for a family, I had this notion that it would all come very quickly and work according to a ...
Currently | May 2018
Being behind seems to be a theme in my life right now. It's not that I'm not feeling well or am overwhelmed, it's just that there is so much to do in this season of life. The school year is nearing a close and on top off all of the regular end of the year tasks, Ella has 5th grade graduation, so when you add OB appointments, house projects, and life -- it starts stacking up. This is looking like a "two post a day" week, so buckle up for some much needed blog catch up. celebrating | We are all busy celebrating the end of the year around here! The girls have only seventeen days of school left and they are both so eager for summer. Ella's 5th Grade graduation is in a few weeks (what?!) and she is so excited to be moving on to middle school next year. The thing she's probably ...
22 Questions for All Bookworms (+ My Answers)
I've been in a blogging rut lately and it isn't that I don't want to be here, I just have so much going on in my head that I can't seem to find the mental space to write. It shouldn't surprise you that I'm constantly being inspired by my friend Rachel, so when she shared this book quiz on Monday, I knew I needed to jump on her bandwagon. The original list can be found here. Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? The answer to this question completely depends on the book. I do love a good hard cover book with a pretty jacket, so as long as they will display beautifully on my shelves I'm all for the original covers (hello, Book of the Month club!). If the dust cover is ugly or shiny, let's just skip right ahead to the trade paperback instead. I generally avoid all mass ...
Bumpdate | 20 Weeks
Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. I might only be sharing a monthly bumpdate, but I’m still taking weekly photos to share on Instagram — and to preserve for the baby book — so I figured I would catch up at the beginning of each update post. Here are our weekly photos since we last checked on baby. It is so crazy to realize that I'm already at the half-way point of this pregnancy. Knowing that this is my last pregnancy ever, I've been doing my best to enjoy every tear stained, nauseated minute. I remember when we decided not to try again, how heartbroken I was over not knowing that Sophie was my last. I feel like I'm paying attention to ...
Eight is Great!
Once upon a time, I wrote birthday letters on (or very near) the girls' actual birthdays. Fortunately, Sophie is my most forgiving child, because we are a grand nine days late. Dear Sophie, I hope you'll look back on these photos and remember exactly what being eight was like. These capture your spirit and personality so perfectly and I will be forever thankful for this snapshot in time. There were days when I wrangled you into matching outfits, glittery sandals and oversized bows. You were always eager to please and never one to complain, but I'm so glad I've learned not to micro-manage your style and to let you be in charge a little more often. You are a big fan of mismatched outfits, stripes on stripes (much to your older sister's chagrin), quirky graphic tees, and wild ...