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Showing posts with label Giveaway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Giveaway. Show all posts

11.23.2016

a little bit of brady | 22 weeks + pink blush giveaway

time for another bump-date!  at least I'm not gracing you with my belly every week like I have in the pregnancies past.  I wouldn't be able to commit to that right now.. life is SO insane. but I do like to give a little update every time I get to go to my OB for a check up and especially when I get to see our little guy. 
OMG, but little HE IS NOT.  lets talk about our growing babe for a minute, shall we?
weighing in at 1 pound and 5 ounces he's measuring about 2 weeks ahead for gestation.  which makes sense because my preggo belly is also measuring over 24 weeks when I just hit that 22 week mark on Sunday.  LOOK at those legs.  and his feet!  my OB likes for the perinatologist to follow all her pregnancies, so I met Dr. Koster when I was pregnant with the twins and have continued to see her a few times while pregnant since.  I always go between 22-24 weeks for a sonogram because according to my OB thats the opportune time for measurement of brain development. when she started the scan the first thing I saw was his foot. my eyes got big and I said out loud- what that his FOOT?  it was huge! 
I feel so bad for him so cramped up!  I don't ever remember having my girls curled up in a ball like that.  sweet guy.  I couldn't help but laugh and laugh every time I got a full view of him laid up in there or a shot of his legs or his feet.  truth is that it doesn't surprise me at all one bit about his length- my dad and three brothers all are 6 foot 3 and above.. my middle brother is about 6 foot 5.  I could have potentially been very tall.. and I am for a girl. Jordan isn't a little guy, either.
brother is just growing along just as the others before him did.
he's healthy with a strong heartbeat at 143bpm and while he is measuring on the larger end for gestation my OB assured me that he's totally symmetrical:)  he did have some fluid around his kidneys- everything else seemed to be filtering like normal but we just have to watch that to make sure the fluid doesn't increase or cause other problems.  apparently thats really common to see in baby boys in the womb and it usually resolves itself by the time he's delivered.  my fluid is a little elevated like it was in my pregnancy with Baker, so with both of those components in the mix it means I'll get serial sonograms to follow and make sure all is well for both mama and baby boy.
fine by me!
 as for this mama.. feeling "great" finally, I suppose.  two weeks ago when we all had a stomach bug it took me 5 days to feel back to normal.  it really knocked me on my rear and I couldnt help but be so exhausted after the smallest amount of activity.  my eating habits haven't been normal since then, either.  I also have been getting REALLY full after eating even the smallest of meals.
my daily meal schedule might usually look like:
breakfast: toast or cereal with coffee
lunch: grilled cheese or a cup soup with a small salad
dinner.. more cereal.
after lunch is usually when I feel the most uncomfortable and am so miserable for hours!  which makes it hard to eat a solid dinner.  I don't feel sick, just full.  
basically, this is common for me in pregnancy but not until around 32-35 weeks.  its happening way early this time around and with the stomach bug a couple weeks ago and me not being able to eat a lot at all.. I lost a pound in the month since I last went to the doctor.  my OB isn't super concerned because he's growing well and above average, but I need something to help speed up my digestion and make it easier for me to eat so he doesn't eventually reap the effects of me not eating well in the most important times of growth for him.  
so she prescribed me a low dose of protonix once a day to see if that helps.
other things.. I haven't been working out very much, I'm sleeping like a rock, and I feel him move ALL DAY, which I totally LOVE.  I love to feel him move.



I STILL cant believe we finally have a name for this little guy.  I feel weird calling him little after seeing his outrageous legs and feet at our scan yesterday..and his hands were huge, too.  I am still laughing about it!
we went around and around about naming this boy- we had a girl name set and ready to go.  we were excited, ready, good. our fourth girl on the way.  but when that balloon popped BLUE we both were like.. 
holy cow.. now, what in the world.. is this real life??
I immediately threw out all of my "original" boy names- boy names that we had been discussing for the last 8 or so years since we started talking about kids.  they all of the sudden weren't "good enough" because part of me was doubtful I would ever get the chance to be a mother to three babies let alone FOUR.  and then other parts of me, and Jordan has admitted this as well, thought that having a boy just wasn't in the cards for us.  SO, who knew if I would ever get the chance to actually use those names I had listed on the "boy" column. 
this new adventure was a giant leap into uncharted territory for the both of us- and it started with the very best name we could settle on.  so much freaking pressure.  
Jordan is very adamant about using a family name for the middle name.  All of our kids have been named after a matriarch of the family, and so when it came to naming our fourth, he also was going to follow suit.  Parker Jane is named after Granny Jane on the Fort side of Jordan's mom's side, Jolie Grace is named after Jordan's Meme on the Massey side, and Baker Bree is named after our tremendously loved BB.  there are a lot of women on both sides of the family.  A LOT. so we ventured over to the Huey side (my family) so see if anything we loved.. which again, I thought just wasn't ever in the cards for me and still nothing stuck out as perfect.  
with all three of my girls I had this feeling of peace and "oh my that is it, thats the name" and I just wasn't having it with our baby boy.
Brady has always been one we like, and like the name Baker, it was a name that I wasn't completely struck by or even remembered that I had threw it on the list at some point.
but when it came down to naming a BOY it was good.  we loved it.  but the giant problem was that we didn't love any middle name we came up to go with it.  

I was drinking coffee one Saturday morning shortly after the gender reveal- maybe even that next weekend.. and texting back and forth with a friend about name ideas..Jordan was at the fire station and it hit me. 
what about Brady Jordan?
I texted it to Jordan, as it was officially one of the very first name ideas either of us had thrown out there.  he loved it, but he didn't feel the need to use his name as a middle name since he was getting to keep the Massey name alive.
but, dude, you will be the most important man in his life- so why not?!
over the last couple months we have been playing around with other names, calling him by those for a couple days and still nothing felt right. we started to get way off base from what we had originally discussed and I was getting anxious.. so on our road trip to visit my parents a couple weeks back I cornered Jordan in the car for the three hour drive we had ahead of us with threats from his pregnant wife. 
"we are going to decide on a name." 
..and so we did.  we went back to our original name and finally felt that ah-ha moment that we had with the three before him. 
there were many reasons we didn't share Baker's name before she was born.. one of which was the family name we had decided on to use for her middle name.  this time we didn't have a single reason to keep it hush hush.  I was SO proud to be naming our boy after his dad and I wanted to tell everyone.  our closest friends and family knew his name the moment we decided and so many parts of me thought it to be fun to let the surprise be when he finally arrives but then again I have typed his name out a million times when talking about him on this blog and finally decided that it was worth the excitement BEFORE he arrives to share the name we ultimately decided on.
those long legs.  that button nose- a classic trait we saw on sonograms of Parker + Baker. and his big ol' belly.  We cant wait to meet you, Brady!
--
In celebration of my 22 week bump and naming baby Brady I've got something special for you courtesy of my friends at Pinkblush! 
I was introduced to pinkblush when I was pregnant with Baker.  looking for something to cover this bump, their maternity style of clothing was right up my alley.  their trendy line of maternity clothing has grown tremendously since the last time I was dressing a baby bump.. and I actually didn't even realize they had a full (and amazing) line of women's clothing completely outside of maternity clothes until recently.  I've been looking for some true wide leg maternity denim and of course I love the romantic style of anything floral + lace!   
I've teamed up with pinkblush to offer one lucky winner $75 gift card to this trendy online boutique  towards anything they wish!  I know you mamas out there could use some easily transitional staple pieces in your closet, and every little bit helps to kick off a fresh start to this holiday season's wardrobe, right?  RIGHT!! in the meantime, pinkblush has a promotion going right now, just use code BLACKFRIDAY for 40% site wide!  I might have just stocked up on a few of their super soft lounge pants- I have these and just couldn't pass up these in stripe and these in grey (more floral!). I plan to be as comfy as possible while in the hospital and definitely postpartum, too! I also got my hands on this maternity robe for delivering baby Brady in a few short months! I cant believe how quickly March is approaching!

Enter for your chance to win in the rafflecopter giveaway below. 
Giveaway runs through SUNDAY November 27th at midnight.
good luck + happy shopping!

a GIANT thank you to pinkblush maternity for their gracious sponsorship and to stephanie rose photography for her patience + outrageous talent.

wide leg jeans c/o pinkblush maternity
charcoal floral + lace top c/o pinkblush maternity
leather choker // nickel + suede
alphabet blocks  c/o smiling tree toys

10.10.2016

healthy snacks + fit pregnancy | albion fit

I've gotten plenty of questions about staying fit during this pregnancy and to be honest it was something I was most excited about when I started my pregnancy journey.. before I was even pregnant.  I have never been super active during any of the pregnancies (nothing more than just walking and low impact stuff) and after doing bootcamp for several months prior to getting pregnant,  I had a great base to keep going- and I plan to until my body just cant do it any more. my belly is already feeling really heavy and I cant lay or sit certain ways, but I just have to listen to my body and do what I can.
the biggest component to my exercise routine is FOOD. food is SO not fun for me right now, and I generally love food- but now more than ever I need to make sure I am fueling my body with the nutrients it needs both pre-workout and recovery.  early in my pregnancy I was getting really lightheaded any time I tried to run or do the normal workout movements and while this is common for me in my first trimester regardless of working out or not, it was definitely attributed to my food intake on how easily I could recover and keep up with my workout. 
 many people start their early morning workout food-free- and I was totally one of them!  this is a problem because when you sleep at night your body burns through your dinner and night-time snack.  by morning your body needs nutrition to jumpstart metabolism, replace some of the carbohydrate stores used up over night and give your body energy for a workout.  there is myth that you burn all fat, like the fat off the back of your leg, if you workout on an empty stomach.  False.  you burn thought stored carbohydrate in your muscles, a little fat from inside your muscle and likely protein, which is never good.  the idea is to eat a little something carbohydrate rich before a workout.  it will help you feel better and have more energy.  for cardio based workouts an hour or less something like a whole grain granola bar, banana, some dry cereal or even part of a protein bar will work with water.  for me, bootcamp lasts about an hour or a little longer- so if you are working out for longer than an hour or going to be doing something more intense like lifting weights, cross fit or boot camp, I would recommend a little protein in addition to the carbohydrate.

peanut butter + banana 
granola bar
180-200 calorie protein bar
  
if not, your blood sugar can drop leaving you feeling weak, dizzy and light-headed.
all those things I am already feeling while pregnant and now I want to make my body move and be active on top of that!?  if you workout in the afternoon, it is a little easier because you have time to let food digest.  ideally have some whole grain carbs, some protein and veggies at lunch.  then mid-afternoon, an hour or so before your workout, sit for a carbohydrate-protein snack such as:

​​whole grain crackers + string cheese
apple/banana + peanut butter
greek yogurt with whole grain cereal or fruit
hummus + whole grain pita chips
1/2 of a turkey + 2% cheese sandwich on whole grain bread
180-200 calorie protein bar


be sure to pair your pre-workout snack wth 12-16 oz water.  
if you take a longer time to digest things, then maybe eat your snack 1.5 hours before the workout.
mornings are best for me to workout- getting it out of the way first thing.. because if I don't I will have every reason to all myself out of it the rest of the day.

another big thing for me is finding maternity style and comfortable workout clothing to wear.  the weather is changing, so I've been wearing long pants and sweatshirts in the morning at 5am when its still in the low 50's.  I was excited when I got the opportunity to try albion fit on for size. I have seen them all over instagram on my favorite feeds.. I even had someone recognize the logo on my pants while out at bootcamp recently.  there is something to say about that! NOT to mention, they are the most comfortable joggers I think I have ever owned.  does anyone know what I'm talking about with certain styles of jogger pants that just cut into your side?  they fit well everywhere else, but the waist makes you want to suck in the entire time you are wearing them!  
not these.  
very comfortable + adjustable waistband- I sized up in anticipation for growing with this pregnancy and probably didn't have to.  they are 100% true to size. while they are a splurge on lounge clothes, I know- I have spent $50+ on joggers from my favorite online boutiques and those don't even come close to albion fit >> totally my personal opinion from personal experience:)
my favorite post workout breakfast:
greek yogurt (protein) + berries (carbohydrate) + granola (carbohydrate and a little fat)
its Jolie's favorite, too.
not Parker (clearly).  the pickiest eater on the planet.
over greek yogurt and fruit.  silly girl!
OH.. and they have their own line for the kids!  the big girls thought it to be SO fun that we were matching.
I'm so excited for the opportunity to offer one lucky winner $50 shop credit towards anything they wish from albion fit!  I know I'm not the only mama out there that could use $50 to kick their workout (or lounge) gear into shape- not to mention that cooler weather wardrobe for themselves and their babe(s)!  even better, albion fit is offering a generous discount of 15% off your entire purchase using the code: masseya

I'll totally be using my own discount code to get a couple of these amazing sports bras + probably this hoodie. 
probably.

GO!  fall is here!! but don't forget to enter the giveaway!
 ..and I'll end with Parker puling my hair.  
nut job.
as always, thank you to Brittany for her talent in catching my crazy crew in the best light, and of course to albion fit for sponsoring this post.
mama
tank
joggers c/o
toesox c/o
mug c/o
littles
ponchos c/o

9.22.2016

toddler tailgating + little mango | giveaway

I've said it before and I'll say it again.. we LOVE small shops.  working with and shopping small has been rewarding in more ways than just the CUTTE clothes.. watching these businesses grow from the ground up through support of others like me and you- not to mention being able to find basically anything I'm looking for when it comes to trendy clothes for my girls! 
..well and now a boy (eeeeKK!)
toddler tailgatiing.. because its still SO HOT and bahama bucks dreamcicle + cotton candy sno cones just sounded right for the occasion. 
at Little Mango, we love all things kids. after having our son Cruz in 2011, we searched for unique and diverse children’s apparel and accessories. following many late nights spent online, we’ve since discovered many new brands and small, family run shops with trendy products that simply cannot be found on every block. we were hooked. four years later and with the arrival of our second son, Leo, we have put together a collection of our favorites and Little Mango is our little space to share them with you.
you won’t find any products at Little Mango that we wouldn’t use ourselves (or gift to the fabulous little ladies in our lives). we love discovering new brands and sharing them with everyone we know. Whether you are looking for something for your own littles or you want to find the perfect gift, Little Mango is your spot.
one of our goals for Little Mango Children's Boutique is to provide an unparalleled shopping experience for our customers. We work hard to provide great service and to help you in any way we can to find the coolest gear for you and your kiddo.  we also know you are busy and sometimes you may not have time to scour a website for the perfect look for your child for a special event or to find a gift for a birthday or baby shower. 

that's where we come in. 

send us an email (hello@shoplittlemango.com) and let us know what you are looking for - we will put together some options and send them back to you and hopefully help find exactly what you wanted! we can be even better if you send us details, preferred sizes and budget!
like we said, we are here for YOU. 


drama mama right here.  I busted her out of the crib for these pictures and I don't think she was completely awake yet, but HOW SWEET does she look anyway?! 
me and Baker will have matching bellies before we know it.. and if only mine would look as cute as hers!
 every single bit of these outfits can be found over at little mango, and not to mention the slew of baby BOY things I cannot wait to get my hands on. OMG I have so much shopping to do!! 
I'll take this entire outfit.
..can I enter my own giveaway?
meh, that might be frowned upon, BUT, what I can do it use the amazing discount code little mango has offered up exclusively to my readers!
OMG I just cant with these growing girls!
I'm so excited for the opportunity to offer one lucky winner $50 shop credit towards anything they wish from little mango!  I know I'm not the only mama out there that could use $50 to kick off a fresh start to the school year and cooler weather wardrobe for their babe(s)!  even better, little mango is offering 20% your entire purchase using the code PBJBABES
GO!  fall is here!! but don't forget to enter the giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
good luck!
as always, thank you to Brittany for her talent in catching my crazy crew in the best light, and to little mango for sponsoring this post.
twins::
baker::

9.07.2016

purllamb | a hoodie company + giveaway

who is ready for some football?!  preseason is over and we officially have football on the television every sunday for the day's entirety. AND this will basically be my sunday attire.  comfy leggings, a flowy cardigan and my sunday checklist tee. I for one love love looooove the cool weather.  I would much rather it be cold so I can layer layer layerrrr. I basically wear a sweatshirt and pants through the entire Texas summer (indoors), so being able to be that comfortable outside of the house is optimal for me:)
as far as my babies go, I want them to find the same comfort!  I discovered purllamb right before Baker was born and it was everything I had not to buy out the adorableness of her shop! Baker wore her knotted gowns (on sale!) from newborn to 6 months and then it was onto sweats all through her first fall and winter season.  her little diaper bum in those skinny sweats were just to DIE for.  not to mention, baby ears on baby hoods.. well, I think thats just about the best idea ever.
side note- I cannot get enough of her little barefoot in this picture. 
heart eyes!!  she loves to hold hands while she walks and the feeling of my heart shooting to my throat when she reaches up for my hand will never get old.
 I MEAN,  LOOK at this tiny BAKER!!
those tiny toes again (omg.omg.omg.)
give me another one.  asap.
..because now she's big.  and sassy. and runs our house like she owns the place.
she's wearing these purllamb shorties with santa leggings. 
SANTA LEGGINGS. 
basically among my top 10 favorite pictures of Baker. ever.
where has the time gone?!
reel me back in.  
REEL me back.
she still looks pretty freakin' cute and super comfy in these hoodies + sweats.  perfect for football sundays, if I do say so myself.  
I wonder if I could get a hoodie in my size.  
I need to get on that..
runaway animal baby!


I'm so excited for the opportunity to offer one lucky winner $50 shop credit towards anything they wish from purllamb!  I know I'm not the only mama out there that could use $50 to kick off a fresh start to a cool weather wardrobe for their babe(s)!  even better, purllamb offers free shipping with a $49 purchase! fall is here!!  
well.  almost. humor me, Texas.  humor me.
good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway as always, thank you to Brittany for her talent in catching my crazy crew in the best light, and to purllamb for sponsoring this post.

organic crazy dots hoodie c/o purllamb
felt girly bow // a little lady shop
sunday checklist tee c/o oliver + otis
long sweater vest / gap
leggings // target
sneakers // nordstrom (similar)

8.17.2016

time-out from the crazy with pinkblush + giveaway

this last week the weather has been outrageous- a real break in the heat from the 100+ temps we have become accustomed to over the last several months.  we have wanted nothing more than to just soak it in while we can!  it is August, so summer is definitely not over yet!
we live just outside a funky little college town..home to some really unique spots with hole in the wall diners and some of the best ice cream you have ever eaten. live music plays on the grassy knoll in from the court house after the sun goes down, and in this same spot just an hour earlier, under the 150 year old trees,  you can find about 75 men and women doing yoga in the grass.
the BEST kind of weather to enjoy this kind of esthetic of our town.
we have a favorite little breakfast spot- its open 24 hours a day and serves the BEST omelets (for me!) and chocolate chip pancakes (for the kids). after going back and for a minute about having breakfast for dinner or cheese burgers, we went for the breakfast! even though.. cheeseburgers are delicious at this one little spot.  not to mention it was open mic night and the rooftop seating was phenom! but alas.. the nibbles of chocolate chip pancakes soaked in maple syrup I steal off of Jolie's plate were calling my name.

after dinner we made our little spot on the grass to listen to the live music.  these days I am always looking for something to wear that is comfortable and cute but still allows me to not look like a complete mess when I'm trying to wrangle my little people.  I was introduced to pinkblush when I was pregnant with Baker.  looking for something to cover this bump, their maternity style of clothing was right up my alley.  I actually didn't even realize they had a full (and amazing) line of women's clothing completely outside of maternity clothes until recently.  the cold shoulder dress I am wearing is actually versatile enough to transition from maternity to non-maternity.  but for this bump-less gal over here I appreciate the longer length that this dress has to offer!


I've teamed up with pinkblush to offer one lucky winner $50 gift card to this trendy online boutique  towards anything they wish!  I know you mamas out there could use some easily transitional staple pieces in your closet, and every little bit helps to kick off a fresh start to this season's fall wardrobe, right?  RIGHT!! in the meantime, pinkblush has a promotion going right now, just use code WHATUNEED for 25% sitewide!
Enter for your chance to win in the rafflecopter giveaway below. 
so much crazy going on right now in our little bubble- taking a break from the day to day and getting out and about for a family date is the best part of life and the kind of things I look forward to.
other things include.. starbucks.  solo target trips... starbucks on said solo target trips.
dont let me fool you. life is good, folks. 
as always, thank you to Brittany for her talent in catching my crazy crew in the best light, and to Pinkblush for sponsoring this post.
dress c/o pinkblush
bag c/o lily jade
littles outfits c/o crew + lu
felt bows // a little lady shop
Jordan's jeans + shirt 

6.23.2016

starting a blog + JORD giveaway

one of the biggest questions I get about blogging runs along the lines of..
"where do I start?"
"how do I make time for it?"
I've been wanting to write this post forever because it seems like this is a question I get once a week.. and hopefully I can give you the answers you want to hear without bombarding you with useless information.

for me it has become one of my favorite things to do.. its the time I make for myself and the time I spend doing something I really enjoy. the day blogging becomes a headache and not fun for me might be the day I am done. sure there have been lapses in posts here and there.  life gets busy and sometimes the blog isn't the priority.  but I love writing and I absolutely love sharing our life.. partly because I know when I have something in question I go blog hunting, and being a resource even for just ONE person about whatever makes my time here worth it, for sure.  but mostly because I want to look back at this time and remember crazy life with my three girls.  or look back at the time when we had no kids.. and what the heck we did with ourselves everyday (?!!). 
trips we take.
weekends we share with family.  
I've got nearly 10 years into this little corner of web space and I can only imagine where life goes from here- but I've surely documented where we have come from.
when thinking about where to start, I understand the overwhelming pressure in deciding what you want to share on your new blog.  when I started my blog years back I had no idea where I was going with it, just kind of posted here and there with no real purpose or theme.  then I got into nutrition + food + cooking and thought to myself.. OMG I should totally write about food!  I'm a genius.  
until I googled 'food blog' and about one million blogs popped up.  
its hilarious to look back on my mindset at the time- at 22 years old.  but I was devastated!  
the blogging world is saturated with stuff.  so, trying to write about what you think others want you to write about is pointless.  I blogged for a solid 4-5 years before really finding myself in this world of the www.
when blogging finally clicked for me was when I was pregnant with twins.  I was scouring the internet trying to find anything about twins/multiples/pregnancy.. survival! and wasn't having the greatest luck at all.  
which prompted me to write about it myself.  
..and then I pinned my own blog post. 
good old self promotion right there.. and nothing wrong with it.
traffic picked up to my blog and before I knew it, I found myself writing on a regular basis about my life as a twin mom and all the experiences that inadvertently go along with it. 
and totally loving it. 
that being said, when thinking about starting a blog, taking a leap to put yourself out there, do it for you.  find your niche.  share what you are good at! I share about things that are near and dear to my heart and it so happens that some of you like what you are reading and come back:)  you will probably never see a DIY project on this blog because, well.. I suck at DIY.  
I can throw a mean birthday party or write a yummy recipe for my family.
but, I leave the handy work to the professionals:)

..but Jordan has been pinning bird houses to my 'summer projects' pinterest board the last couple days, so, ummm.. there might be a project in our future. which means JORDAN is the professional in this case and definitely NOT me. 
I try to blog about 4-5 days a week.  I consider 4 days to be great and consistent in creating and sharing content.  being more regular keeps my readership up and engaged.  coming back for more if by chance there is a new post live on the blog.  I can alway tell the reason when my analytics are down- I haven't been as consistent or posting less.  that engagement is so important when you are looking to partner with larger (and small, too!) brands!  
thats another beast and for a separate post that I promise I will share soon!  


I've been really really blessed with some fun partnerships through this blogging journey.  small businesses are my absolute favorite and while some have started small, I have watched them explode in popularity and exposure over the years.  recently I was approached by JORD watches and while I had seen the wood watch trend all over social media, I had no idea there were so many options! at first glance I didn't think they were much my style.. but I was terribly wrong! I have worn it everyday since I got it!  talk about a unique gift for the hubby or a fun splurge for yourself! 
whats even better?? how about $75 towards any wood watch you like!  
JORD has graciously offered one lucky reader the chance to win. 
wait.  its gets better!! 
everyone that enters gets $20 towards any wood watch purchase
which means everyone is a winner:)   
the details: the contest will close 6/29 at 11:59pm. the winner's $75 coupon code will expire 7/29 and the "losers" $20 coupon code will expire 10/29.
GOOD LUCK, friends!
special thank you for the gorgeous photography by b faith photography 
Ladies Wooden Watches
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