Surprise!

Last time you heard from me I was freaking out over the possibility of my doctor having to induce me in a couple weeks due to the fact that I might be developing preeclampsia.  Well surprise! 

We didn’t make it a couple weeks at all.  I ended up in the hospital that very night, and I was induced the next day.  Little Miss Elliana Grace arrived on Saturday October 24 via an emergency c-section at 12:11pm.  At birth she weighed a whopping 4lbs 5oz and was 17 1/2 inches long. 

Of course you know that means I didn’t have time to get any of my reviews together.  In fact a lot of things went wrong right there at the last minute, so I actually ended up in the hospital for 9 days. 

Until today I’ve done almost nothing except sleeping to recoup and taking care of Elliana, but my doctor cleared me for any physical activity today.  That means now that I’m getting into a pattern I’ll definitely be getting back to my reviews, and boy do I have some to write up. 

Hubby carried my computer into the living room and we set it back up with my LCD TV as the monitor so I can hang out in the living room all day. I've got Elliana setup here in her bassinet, and it makes everything a lot easier for me. Now I just have to get to work reviewing all these baby items that came pouring in thanks to all our wonderful family and friends. My baby shower just happened to be the day after I delivered, so we ended up receiving almost everything we needed to bring our little girl home. If it weren't for the shower we wouldn't have been ready at all considering we thought we had another month to work with here.

Anywho I’ll try to start taking photos and writing up some of these reviews in the free time I have.  That time may be limited, but I’m already starting to see it is more time than I was originally anticipating that I’d have with a newborn. 

Definitely Freaking Out

I think I've totally found a huge appetite suppressant whether I wanted to stumble upon it or not. Just have your doctor tell you your blood pressure is through the roof and she may have to induce you in a couple weeks. Now I'm freaking out because I don't want to have to be induced early both for the sake of the baby being as healthy as possible and because I'm 100% scared to death of Pitocin.

Since I tend to stick to a pretty healthy diet for the most part my doctor doesn't really think my sodium intake has anything to do with it, but I can't help but look at the sodium content on the package of everything I eat anyway. That right there is enough to scare me out of eating anything! Don't worry I'm still eating. I'm just totally freaking out right now over everything that's going on and happening so fast.

I’m trying my best to get all my products I bought recently reviewed and photos taken so I can hopefully get them posted before she gets here.  I know there’s a very good chance I’m not going to have time to do it after she arrives, and then you’ll probably be seeing a lot more from the baby department and a lot less from the things I indulge myself with.

Preparing For The Holidays

With the Christmas holiday just around the corner I’ve had a lot on my mind.  I know we still have to get through Halloween and Thanksgiving, but with the stores putting out their Christmas stock at the beginning of September it’s got Christmas thoughts running through my head.  Seriously I don’t even see why the stores bother taking the Christmas stuff off the shelves since they just put it out earlier every year!  They might as well start leaving it up year round!

Anywho, I keep thinking how much different Christmas is going to be this year.  I finally have a real excuse to send out photo holiday cards that don't picture the cat and dog! We get to show off our beautiful little girl...no I haven't seen her yet, but she's mine so she's going to be beautiful no matter what!  That means I need to have plenty of pretty little outfits so we can take tons of cute little photos for our cards, and of course we need a “family shot”, so I have to buy myself something nice to wear, and I have to force Hubby into a decent shirt that *gasp* actually has buttons.

Ahhhh…so much to think about! 

Then we’ve got to worry about presents.  I know I’m going to go way overboard just because I can.  I’ll finally have a little girl to buy for, and I can’t wait even if she’ll only be a month old for her first Christmas.

Good lord this child is going to be spoiled rotten before she even makes it to see her grandparents.  Somebody better slap some sense back into me now.

Ugly Duckling Designs Hot Maple Toddy Pumpkin Tart Review

As long as I’ve been purchasing handmade tarts online I’ve been in love with everything I’ve received from Ugly Duckling Designs.  I look forward to opening the package and finding a cute primitive looking tart followed by a wonderful smell no matter what the item may be.  When I purchase sampler boxes I always know there’s going to be some sort of tart from Ugly Duckling Designs tucked inside, and I’ve never been disappointed with a single item I’ve received from this e-tailer.

This time is definitely no exception.  I opened the sampler I purchased to find a Hot Maple Toddy Wax Tart shaped like a pumpkin.  It was packaged in a cute Halloween themed bag and ready to be gifted or opened and displayed for the season. 

 

The scent is so nice the maple smell was pouring out of the bag long before I had a chance to open it, and it’s had me craving maple syrup for days.  Smelling a sugary scent is definitely tempting me to give up on my search for a quick weight loss after the baby arrives!

 

This one is just too cute to use in my tart burner right now, but it is the perfect edition to my Halloween and Fall decor.

It’ll be using it as a decoration for a few weeks, and the cold throw of the scent already has my living room smelling absolutely delicious.  Hubby has threatened to take a bite out of it a few times, and I’m sure he would if he thought the wax wouldn’t make him sick!  I’ve even spotted the dog sniffing at this one.

Ugly Duckling Designs sells these pumpkin tarts for $6.95.  You choose from over 60 scents, and you’ll receive a half dozen of them per order.  I think that’s a steal considering the scent throw and how huge these tarts are.  As you can see one tart takes up the palm of my hand, and I’ll be slicing this one into 3-4 smaller tarts for my burners.

This Hot Maple Toddy scent is definitely a new favorite of mine, and I give this tart from Ugly Duckling Designs 5 stars.  I can’t find anything wrong with it.

Holiday Gift Reviews Coming Soon

Yay!  I bought some goodies last week, and I’ve been waiting for them to arrive.  Most of the goodies I bought are going to fall into the unique gifts for her category, and I thought it'd be good to start reviewing some gift type items with Christmas just around the corner. 

I’ve been impatiently waiting for these goodies to arrive because I knew there’d be some good stuff to share, and I’ve been so impatient that I checked the mail 4 times yesterday before I remembered it was a holiday and the mail wasn’t running!  Luckily for me the mail arrived today with my box of goodies tucked away tightly inside my mailbox, so starting tomorrow watch out for the start of my holiday gift guide reviews. 

I know we still have Halloween and Thanksgiving to get through, but it doesn’t hurt to start getting shopping ideas ahead of time.  I know I definitely don’t want to be stuck waiting to the last minute to do my shopping this year…although with a newborn in tow I’m sure that’s exactly what’s going to happen.