Our Baby Shower

I choose to have my baby shower earlier than the norm. It seems most have their show around 32 weeks pregnant and I'm almost 25 weeks. 

I choose to have my shower early mainly because I have been told to prepare for bed rest and how for the best. This is all because of my hip, yes the one I always reference. I have been told since I was about 19 years old that I would be on bedrest quite a bit through pregnancy and have a c-section. So, I wanted to have my shower to be able to enjoy it! I am slowly having issues with my hip, but nothing to stop me from having fun any time soon!

Second reason I choose to have my shower early, to have time to finish preparing for little man's arrival and not feel stressed with a time crunch. Remember, I like to be prepared!

So, now that we have that out of the way, here's how I did my shower!

I did plan most of this my self but had lots of help from my best friend, Katey! 

I choose to keep it very simple. I wanted this so there wasn't a rush, it was fun and relaxing, people got to visit, and I didn't stress over things.

We had the shower at my parents house since they have lots of room. It ended up being almost 90*F! A lot warmer than planned but at least it was nice!

I did ask for books over cards in the invitation. I loved the idea that our family and close friends could pick their favorite book and we could read it Jack (name post coming soon!) as he grew up. 

In keeping things simple, I kept the "games" simple too! We had more stations of things to do instead of lots of games:

• Sign the onesie - just like a guestbook
• Guess the due date
• How many M&M's in the bottle?
• Decorate the bibs
• Don't say baby!
• Advice cards
• Prediction of size cards
• Guess the side of mom's belly

For food, I once again kept things simple. I forgot to get a picture of the table covered in food, so just imagine! We did water and lemonade for drinks. I had chips, pretzels, and some different dips out first. We then got three trays of sandwiches from our local grocery store to save us time and the mess of making them. And after, I had cupcakes from my favorite bakery and a variety of different cookies.

At the very end of the day, I finally remembered to snap a few more pictures! I was able to get a good photo of David and I from our big day. He's not a picture fan, so I take what I can get!

And of course a belly shot! I found my dress at Target on sale! I was planning to get this dress anyway, it's cotton, comfy, and can be used after being pregnant. And my Birkenstocks, not that glamours but what are comfortable to wear now.

And I couldn't forget a picture with Katey! I couldn't have done this without her!

The only thing I would have done differently: taken more photos! I forgot to get one with my parents and even my roommates from college! But I'm thankful for what we do have!

I haven't shared what I got as far as presents so I don't brag. I will be showing more photos of the nursery here soon and show off a bit of what we got!

Until next time,

Kandi

Planning this Week

If you know me, I am a planner.

I like to plan my days and weeks out. If I don't write things down, I forget. I have discovered the world of making your plain planner a little decorative.

It's a big black hole of fun.

Here's what this week looks like for me!

Until next time,

Kandi

I'm such a Planner

Since middle school I have used a planner. I kept track of homework, assignments, and other big events. I would color coordinate things and go crazy with sticky notes. High school I would experiment with other methods to keep track of things, but I would always come back to a planner.

When I got to college I started trying out different planners. I needed something to keep track of how busy my life had become. Taking close to 20 units each semester and working two jobs... color coordinating was my best friend.

Once I entered the "real world" I let my use of planners go... for about a year. I realized I needed something to help me remember important things, like when to pay my bills. I picked up a cheap planner at Target and used it like crazy. I kept track of bills, my ever changing work schedule, David's general schedule, family events, and birthdays.

Once I knew I relied on a planner, like really heavily relied on one, I splurged on an Erin Condren Vertical planner for 2015. I worked pretty good for me. I used colors to dictate my busy life and began dressing it up with washi tape and a few stickers. Towards the end of the year I began experimenting with different planners, too. I first tried the Erin Condren Horizontal planner, and found it more useful for my taste. Then when the Happy Planner came out I jumped on that bandwagon, but quickly realized that a vertical style just wasn't for me.

For 2016, I went back to my Erin Condren Horizontal. I like the space and the layout. Sometimes I wish the planner was a tag smaller for easier transport, but I still cart it around 80% of the time. I have used washi tape, tons of different stickers, and loads of different pens.

Recently I have found my style and am loving it. So, here's how I plan a week!

First, this was last week. Colorful and a few stickers. I didn't finish the weekend since we had a nice relaxing one.

Here's this week blank. Luckily I love this accent color, otherwise I would use a little washi tape across the top to make it more "me".

I use a few different stickers to keep track of the major things each day. I track my work schedule, my blog posts, my current week pregnant, my weight, main cleaning tasks, my prenatal intake, and dinners.

Sometimes I even add in an inpinstrational quote sticker from Me and My Big Ideas. 

Here's how my week looks with just my stickers. I use the blank boxes for my big tasks and keep the lines for day to day.

I pick a colorful pen each week, since I have so many, and that's my "to-do list" pen. Each day I layout what I would like to get done. Sometimes that doesn't happen or they get pushed to a different day. I seem to list the dishes everyday to give me the motivation I need!

So there's how I plan. It's a little more than just a pen and paper but I like it. And it works for me. Sometimes I plan at my desk or on the couch as we watch a movie. I usually plan on Sunday's when I know whats going on.

How many other's plan?

Until next time,

Kandi