Mother's Day is right around the corner and, since I'm officially a momma of two (that still sounds so crazy to me), this one is going to be especially sweet! To me, Mother's Day is a great time to let all of the mothers in your life just how much they mean to you. This job can be HARD and sometimes a sweet note, a genuine thank you, or a nice gift really does make you feel appreciated and eases the workload a bit. As far as gift giving goes, my advice is to give something that the receiver wouldn't normally buy themselves. Whether that's a splurge-worthy clothing item (everything from Doen is calling my name right now), something to pamper her, or a fancy momma item that'll make motherhood that much sweeter, consider what she would love but might not treat herself to. 

What's on your wishlist / what are you gifting the moms in your life?

It's a brand new month and, thanks to finally sharing our big news yesterday, I'm feeling light and free! It's so nice to get the news off of my chest and have everything out in the open. You guys were so sweet about the whole thing and I genuinely want to hug each and every one of you for your kind words and excitement. Everything is looking sunny (except for the weather... we're right in the middle of the heaviest rainy season). I'm starting to get excited for our upcoming extended trip to California and things are looking up pregnancy-symptom-wise. Every day I feel a little better than I did before. Hello, second trimester, it's nice to finally see you!

This month I'm pulling inspiration from sun-soaked spaces, Sarah Shabacon's feature in Mother Muse, and thinking about all of those warm (but not humid... thank god!) Cali spring/summer days that are coming soon. What's on your moodboard?!

As always, I source the images for my monthly mood from my recent pins. To see what I'm pinning and to explore these photos a little more, head over to Pinterest.

You might have noticed recently that updates from me have been few and far between but I promise, it's all for good reason. We've been keeping a pretty big secret for the last fourteen weeks and I'm so excited to finally share with you that our family is growing! We're expecting a new addition on October 31st and we're already over the moon.

While we went back and forth about when to share, it was getting so hard to keep the news to ourselves. I found out at just four weeks and the last ten have seemed like the longest couple of months ever! We finally told Lorelai and our families on Easter (the Easter Bunny brought her the news) and shortly after, the whole island was in on the secret. We're learning just how hard it is to keep things on the down low when your doctor is your neighbor and it feels like a super small town. It's been such an exciting, tiring, wonderful, hard, emotional, happy time! 

So far, my pregnancy has been relatively easy. While I'm not a woman that's blessed with "the glow", it could have been much worse and I'm so grateful for the chance to lay low while I work on all of the different projects I have going right now. More than anything, I'm grateful to be on the tail end of the first trimester. It's been such a long time since I was pregnant with Lorelai that I had all but forgotten just how rough the first couple of months can be. Here's hoping my energy comes back during this stage!

Life on the island has presented its own unique challenges! For one, it's incredibly hard to crave things and have no access whatsoever to any of it. For a while there all I wanted in the whole world was a crisp green apple and it's been months since we've had any. We had a major milk/eggs/cheese shortage recently and that was also rough. Right now all I want is scrambled eggs and that's also a no-go. Did I mention there are no restaurants here and I cook three meals a day?! Don't even get me started on the sheer lack of anything drive-through (In N Out!) or made by someone else. Aside from food (which I could talk about forever), the healthcare situation is also unique out here. We do not have an OBGYN or the ability to deliver babies in the middle of the ocean. What does that mean for us? Lo and I will leave home behind in mid-July and make a pilgrimage back to Southern California. There will we stay, separated from Ainsworth (save for the drop-off and the baby's arrival), until mid-December. It'll be hard to be away from home (and daddy) so long but I'm also super excited to be a part of civilization again as well as spend time with my family, visit some great friends, and eat real food!! 

It's pretty safe to assume that blog content is going to shift a little (but not a ton). Over the last couple of years I've realized that this space is really more for me than anything. That said, I'm excited to share a lot of what's going on and chronicle our plans for the future but we're not going full-on mommy blog. So far I've shared Lorelai's childhood pretty sparingly and will probably do the same this time too. If you're interested in seeing things like my first-trimester essentials and routine check-ins, however, do let me know!

p.s. I just ordered my first pair of maternity jeans... lol shit's about to get real.