Pan that Palette Challenge: Two Faced Chocolate Bar

I decided to try doing a pan that palette challenge this year! Pan that Palette was a challenge started by a YouTuber named Amber F. She started with the original Urban Decay Naked Palette and finished the entire palette completely. Basically used up the shadows in that palette in one year. I got inspired by her videos and just kept watching them. Last year she did the Lorac Pro palette and this year she is doing the Stila in the Light palette. Next year she is doing the Chocolate Bar. After watching I decided I should really try to move some shadows out of my makeup collection and especially move a palette out. I have never hit pan on an eye shadow before. I have on blush, bronzer, and face powders but never eye shadow.
My chocolate bar palette is broken, well the case is. That is why I chose to pan this palette. I am sick of the broken case and everything so it's annoying. Anyway here is what my palette looked like when I really started this in March.

As you can see it looks hardly used. That shade in the second row two from the left has a dent in it but other then that nothing else.
What I have been doing since March is using the palette at least 5 days a week. This gives me two days a week to either not wear makeup or wear other shadows. Lately it's been not wearing makeup.
So far I have met my goal of wearing this 5 days a week and here is my progress now.

You can see my case is definitely broken. Anyway now I have a dent in that third shadow on the top row, a dent in that large cream shadow in the top row. On the second row  you can see that I have used the first three shades and the dent has grown larger in that second shadow, and I used the last shade in that row a lot as well. Definitely no where near where I want to be but its getting there.
I am excited to continue using this palette and to update you guys on the progress.

XO
Caitlin

On being married

Today I woke up to a text on my phone, from my husband. It said "Happy Anniversary Babe", and it made me smile. This doesn't happen very much but when it does I love it. Zack isn't much of a romantic guy but I've learned to live with that. So a post on being married was in order. Today is our 4 year anniversary! I've spent 4 years pushing Zack over to his "side" of the bed because I need my space, 4 years of him kissing my cheek or forehead every morning before he leaves for work, 4 years picking up his shoes he leaves in the living room entrance because no matter how many times I tell him to move them he still leaves them there. 4 years begging him to take a selfie with me so I can post it on Instagram. 4 years asking him to approve if I look okay. 3 years of trying to have a baby and finally we were successful. 4 years of asking him if I can get a dog. 4 years of Sunday dinners with our families. 4 years of cuddles and kissing. 4 years of him sitting through countless episodes of The Office with me. 4 years of riding shot gun in the car while he drives and I get to hold his hand. 4 years of vacations, camping trips, and weekend getaways we get to spend together. 4 years of happiness.
Thanks babe for the best 4 years so far!
XO

Mother's Day Wish List

I thought about Mother's day this weekend and Zack mentioned that he had no idea what to get me for Mother's day. I told him I would create a list and then decided I should blog that list. So here I am. Mother's day is in 2 weeks so it's coming up closer than you think. I just got a new diaper bag so I am keeping this list short, under $30.00 for any of the items and Zack can pick one off the list.
1. A pair of simple stud earrings. I have been wanting a pair for a long time, and purchased one a few months ago but they are to big and just didn't work for what I wanted. These are perfect and will go with any outfit. I also love that they come with two shapes, it's always good to have options. They are also great for travel because of the fact that I could wear them with any outfit.

2. A book. I love reading! I have been trying to get my 3 books a month goal in for April but so far I've only read one book. That's okay cause I still have 4 more days and the books I am reading for the rest of April should be quick reads. A new book is always a great gift for me. This one is on my list. It's written during the time period of WWI and just looks like something I would love.

3. A hair dryer. I have had my current hair dryer for 7 years. It works but not as good as it first did. I am definitely in need of a new one so this would be a practical gift to get. I don't want to spend more than $30.00 on a hair dryer but this one seems to be a good pick, even though I don't get frizzy hair I just like the look of it.

4. Ju Ju Be Be Quick Wristlet Clutch. I want this for my diaper bag. It can organize all of my things in my bag and I've seen so many people use them. They just look really professional and makes it easy for the loose nick knacks like pony tails that always end up in the bottom of my bag. If I don't use it for my things I can use it for Claire's odds and ends that I keep handy such as baby aquaphor, diaper cream, sunscreen now that it is warm and sunny, nail clippers, nail file, and hand sanitizer.

 

5. Etsy Gift Card. This would be perfect and I would probably end up using it on planner supplies, cause you know I love them.  For anyone it would be a great gift because Etsy has such a wide variety of handmade items that are unique for everyone. 

So there you have it my 5 items on my wishlist for mother's day. What's on your wishlist?

XO

Caitlin

My Favorite Affordable Makeup Brushes

A makeup post! Finally. The last one I did was my current makeup routine/favorites back in February. It's been long over due. This post is all about makeup brushes. When I first started getting really into makeup I had no idea what to do with brushes and where to start. I obviously didn't want to go out and spend $100s on makeup brushes and get the wrong thing. I ended up turning to YouTube a lot and eventually fell down the bunny hole, so to speak, into the world of beauty. I've loved everything about it so far.
These brushes come highly recommended by me and my favorite beauty gurus. Also please forgive me that they are dirty, I did do my makeup this morning.

Let's start with face brushes.
First my favorite foundation brush ever is the Morphe M439 brush. It's just so good. I bought it based off a recommendation from Jaclyn Hill and I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved this brush. I am going to buy a second one soon because it's just that good.  This brush retails for $13.99

Next is my powder brush I use to set my foundation. It's the Real Techniques Powder Brush and retails for $9.99. I love it because it's so big and makes applying powder go by so quickly.

Next is the brush I use for concealer. I know this is kind of a random brush to use for concealer but it works for me. That is the beauty of makeup you can really do anything you want to do, although a brush may be created for a certain purpose you can use it how you want to. This brush is the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush and retails for $8.99. This is great for foundation as well if you are looking.

Next is my favorite blush brush. This is also another recommendation from Jaclyn Hill and I love it for blush. It's really got the perfect shape for it. It's the Morphe E4 brush and seriously feels so soft. It retails for $13.99.

Now moving onto Eyes. For eyebrows I fill mine in everyday with the angled brush from Real Techniques. This one actually came in the eye starter kit which I recommend getting. The kit retails for $17.99 and includes this brush as well as three others. 

For my lid shadow I have been loving this one from twin beauty which I believe is a brand that The Balm works with. I just remember I purchased two eye shadow palettes from the Balm and this brush was included with my purchase.  If you don't want to purchase that palette you can also get the E.L.F. eyeshadow C brush which I also like for applying eye shadow to the lid area. The E.L.F. brush retails for $3.00.

For the crease I have been loving the Sonia Kashuk #109 brush.  Seriously my favorite, favorite, favorite ever! I have three of these because it's that good. Best part is that the brush is only $3.99. I love it. Sonia Kashuk is a brand you can find at Target.

For the outer lid area and into the crease I love use this brush from coastal scents. It's the Pro Blending Fluff brush and I've heard it compares to the MAC 217 brush. Anyway, this brush retails for $4.95 but Coastal Scents is always doing sales so make sure and check their site for coupons/sales before purchasing. 

Last my favorite brush for the browbone/inner corner highlighting. It's this brush from E.L.F. and it's $1.00. $1.00!!! You can't beat that at all. I love it. 

So there you have it! The most expensive brush on this list is $13.99 and I think that is a great price. I probably will never own a MAC brush in my life cause I can't justify spending $25.00 or more on a brush when I can get great results from products that are cheaper. Hope you found this helpful.
XO
Caitlin

Running out of things to write about

I've done a pretty good job of keeping up with blogging every Monday, Wednesday and Friday this year. There have been a few exceptions where I missed a few weeks but I have been really impressed with myself. I love writing so it's sometimes easy for me to sit down and write. However lately I've hit major blocks in topics to come up with for this blog. Sometimes I feel like it is so random the direction I am taking it and other times I feel like it has some structure.
When I get in a blogging rut I like to do a few things to find topics to write about.
-browse other blogs to read. Some of my favorites: www.danicaholdaway.com, www.thelifeofbon.com, www.thedailytay.com, www.iheartorganizing.blogspot.com, www.twotwentyone.net. While I am browsing these blogs I usually come up with a list of topics I can write about. Today Danica updated her about me section and shared it as her blog post and I thought wow, my about me section is so outdated to. Maybe I should update mine. So look forward to that post soon, (thanks Danica). It's easier to find posts to write about when other people have already written their opinions and you can just follow up on that topic.
-watch youtube videos. I am a youtube addict. I kind of love it and hate it. Some people make sponsored videos, meaning they get a product for free in order to create a video about it and I feel like you can always tell those videos vs. their genuine ones. Generally I love youtube and get tons of ideas from all the channels I follow (mostly planner related content).
-stay off social media for a while. I know I mentioned on Friday that I was staying off Facebook and I have. It's been great, I have played with my baby more, read 8 chapters in my book yesterday, cleaned the house, got things done. Anyway I feel like by staying off social media I find more things I want to write about because I observe the world around me more closely. I watch peoples reactions instead of reading about them and that gives me lots of ideas on things to talk about.
-twitter. Twitter is full of great prompts for blogs, I mean really just follow the trending hashtags for a day and you'll come up with something.
-blast from the past. I love looking through old photos of myself, or old facebook posts. It's fun seeing how far I've come. I feel like all the lessons I have learned are great topics for posts, and maybe it will help someone else out. I also read my personal journal sometimes to, for this reason. Even though I haven't been dedicated in keeping up with it I still find some gems in that thing.

Well there are some ideas and from writing this post I have an entire new list of posts for the next few weeks:
-updated about me section (desperately needed)
-on marrying a redhead (i.e., 4 year wedding anniversary)
-when are we having our next baby (yes we are already talking about it)
-April favorites (I have a lot!)
-Favorite Makeup brushes
-Current Makeup routine
-Vacation recap post
-Claire's 8 months! (Stop! What?)
-picture overload
-youtube channel (what I have one of these?)
-how to make your own stickers checklists (finally getting around to continuing this series)
-Hair dilemma

There you have it some ideas for future posts. And some pictures of Claire cause, well why not!
I am excited!
XO
Caitlin

Taking a break from Facebook!

I have been so addicted to Facebook lately it's been a little insane. I can waist an entire hour or two just browsing through my feed when I could be doing more productive things with my time. Today some "drama" happened on Facebook. Mostly it involved me trying to give someone advice but them reading it the wrong way. I decided then that I was spending so much time and energy into this that it was feeding my depression and anxiety. I say it's feeding them because I would constantly compare myself to others that are posting, and when my posts are misread it makes me anxious wondering what other people are thinking about me.
Basically the post I didn't want being misread today involved me being a mom and I thought people would think I was a terrible one if I left it up so I deleted it. Why do we do this to ourselves?
I finally said enough is enough and deleted the Facebook app off my phone and cleared my website data and history so I would be forced to log in to the site making me second guess if I really want to waist time browsing. So far it's been helping and I feel better about myself already.
I haven't compared my life to anyone else in the last 4 hours, I've enjoyed browsing Instagram and seeing everyone's cute faces and family. I've enjoyed time with my family including my husband who is finally home from his work trip this week, and I've especially enjoyed some me time since the baby went to bed a little earlier then normal. It has been really good for me. I am going to keep it up for at least a week and see how I feel then. If I still feel this good then Facebook isn't for me and I'll keep up this new habit.

In the meantime Claire now has 2 teeth! It's crazy she isn't even 8 months old yet and already has a 2 teeth. We are starting her on finger foods so that has been fun watching her try and figure out how to feed herself. She has been sleeping a lot lately and I think it's because her second tooth is coming in right now. She isn't as fussy as she was with her first tooth but still is just a little. I have been designing a lot of stickers for my etsy shop and I have been really enjoying that. I am excited for a relaxing weekend coming up and will hit the gym early tomorrow so I can have a lot of free time the rest of the day. I purchased this book today from Amazon:

It seems like something right up my ally and hopefully can give me even more tips to combat my mental issues. I will definitely post a review about it here on the blog. Hopefully for my books I read in April post.
Thanks for reading
XO
Caitlin

How planning helps me combat social anxiety

I wrote about my journey through mental illness in this blog post. I mentioned in that post how I still struggle with a lot of different issues and the biggest one is anxiety. I had my first panic attack two weeks after Claire was born and my incision split open. I had to drive myself to the emergency room and I had a full on panic attack. They had to give me oxygen and help me calm down. Once I did I was fine but getting there was rough. Since then I have had two panic attacks, all involving my husband leaving on trips for work and me taking care of a baby by myself for weeks at a time. Thank goodness I have family close by so I could get a little break cause my anxiety was really bad.
I haven't had a panic attack in about 2 months but that doesn't mean I don't get anxious. Sometimes I get so anxious to the point that I have to cancel all my plans because I just wouldn't be able to handle the social stimuli that day. This is where my planner comes in.
I know some people probably look at my planner and think it's ridiculous, or way overdecorated or way too chaotic. That's fine if you think that. For me it works. The decorations help me calm down for a minute while I think about my week, it makes it so I can map out my plans without becoming to overwhelmed by them. Decorating my planner is very therapeutic for me and I love the end result when a spread turns out cute. I still check things off when I complete plans, so the decorations don't deter me from doing that.
Last year at this time I didn't use my planner at all. Of course I didn't have a tiny human dependent on me for every need either, and I was able to keep my head above water a lot easier. Last year I was just working in an accounts receivable/payable position, it was a full time 11-6 job so I didn't have much schedule change with it either. I was pregnant at this time as well. So mostly I just had doctors appointments and that was it.
Two weeks before Claire was born I really started using my planner again. I haven't missed a week of planning since. I have missed plenty of weeks of posting on my planner instagram but you know that is how life goes. Planning helps me to mentally prepare myself for the week ahead. I pre-plan my weeks out on Wednesday before the upcoming week approaches. I use the Erin Condren sticky notes to do so and I love them for that purpose. I just keep my clipped into the front of my planner for easy access if things come up and I don't want to put them permanently in the planner yet.

When I sit down to plan I just move all the sticky notes and refer back to them to make sure I don't forget anything. Pre-planning helps me map out the week and see where it will all end up. When I don't plan I have a really stressful week.

This week I didn't use my planner hardly at all and nothing got done. My house was a disaster at the end of the week, I was a wreck and really we were just surviving.
When I have appointments but I forget about them and they call to remind me I usually reschedule. The reason why is because I get so stressed about it and can't fit it into my day. Mentally I see my schedule as full even though it isn't. Because I have social anxiety I don't like to get out and go to places with big crowds and lots of people, i.e. the grocery store, or even church. This is why I write every single thing I do down in my planner. Then I can mentally see oh I have 6 days until I have to play the piano in church, everything will be okay. I mentally start preparing by saying positive comments to help me get through to the event. Once it passes and I have gone to church and I am home I realize that it wasn't so bad. Getting there is my biggest struggle.
Planning helps me take the initial steps so I can get out in public. I know it might sound crazy but it truly does help me. That is why I plan, the decorations are cute but the actual plans really help me to see where my week is going and to give me enough time between social events that I can reboot and take time to myself.
How does planning help you with anxiety? I'd love to know!
XO
Caitlin

Why I blog

You may know that some bloggers make a lot of money, anywhere from $500.00 -$1500.00 a month. Sometimes more. I make $0.00 a month on this blog and that is the honest truth. I started blogging as a way to share what I love most with all of you. It's my go to place to share ideas, tips and tricks, organizing, life hacks, mommy content, etc. My blog got a lot of traction when I created this post on how to organize your school binder. Most of those readers didn't stick around though and that's okay. If I was blogging for readers then it would be a different story. My content would probably be crap, and I wouldn't be as motivated to keep up with it.
Right now my blog is a great journal for our life. I can look back later on and see what we were doing, where my interests were, and how Claire was progressing. I blogged Claire's birth story so that I could always have that written down. In my personal journal I wrote more about what that first week was like of being a new mom. I want to keep up in my personal journal but sometimes it's hard. I mean I sit on Youtube at night before bed instead of writing down what we did during the day. I should change that. One of my best friends from high school writes in her journal every single day. She has done that for years, as long as I have known her so at least 15. What an awesome thing to do. I don't know if every journal entry of hers is super long or some are short but she is consistent and that is what I want to do.
This blog is a supplement of my personal journal. I share stuff on here that I am comfortable with the world knowing about. Some people wouldn't be comfortable sharing a birth story on the internet but I love reading about them so I wanted to share mine. Since my personal journal is so sparatic right now this is a nice way to keep a rough timeline of our life.
I hardly ever start anything just to make money off of it. Even my etsy shop. Making money from that will be cool but I do it because I honestly love the stickers I am creating and I want to share them with all of you. Maybe one day I'll make money from everything but that wont happen anytime soon. For now it's just a way to share, remember, and be creative.
Thank you so much to those of you who keep coming back and reading. I really appreciate it.
XO
Caitlin

Change

I am starting so many new things this week and it's kind of scary. Change is always something that is hard. I need to make changes in my life to be healthier though and today I am really truly starting this journey. I am finally in the right mindset and I have a pretty sweet baby girl who is my main motivation. It's not so much about the numbers I loose but more about the choices I will be making daily to get healthy again. Along the way I am sure pounds will fall off but I am finally to the point where that isn't my true end goal. So the changes I am making are obviously toward a healthier lifestyle.
First thing I am doing is the whole 30 program. It's not a diet, although you can loose weight on it and probably will. It's a way of creating a healthy mindset and habit for you to have a good relationship with food once again. This is something I desperately need.

The whole 30 program has a list of certain foods you can eat, basically protein, vegetables and fruit. No pasta, dairy, fat, or sugar. You can read all about it here. I am starting on Wednesday of this week and I am terrified. Mostly because I have never done such a strict "diet" before. Strict in the way I can't eat dairy and other foods but not strict because I can eat as much as I want of the approved foods.
Second thing I am doing is exercising. I have been so bad at it for basically my whole life and that needs to change. I am starting today. I signed up last week for Vasa gym here in Utah as well as their Vasa kid program so I don't have to find a babysitter for Claire. Today I am just going and I am starting this new thing. I don't like going to the gym, but the new one in Saratoga Springs is really nice. I have been researching gym routines I can start trying and have found a few on Pinterest that I am going to give a go.
Change is hard, but this change is worth it and so necessary.
XO
Caitlin

How To Get the Most Out of General Conference After it is Over.

Conference flew by. When I was younger it seemed to last forever, probably because I had little to no attention span. When I was a missionary it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I soaked conference up as a missionary, I felt inspired and energized to share the gospel more. Now as a mom, it was mostly background noise while I played with my little girl. I hate to admit that because I was looking forward to getting spiritually fed. Nothing really wowed me from conference this time around. But it doesn't mean that I can't get anything out of it. The great thing about conference is that the next day the talks are all available to watch if you missed any. I missed Elder Holland's talk, I know a shame so I re-watched it then. I watched it during Claire's nap time and took notes and really just listened to the spirit. I was motivated to do better after that.

1. Continue listening to talks before the printed magazine comes out. Just like I did with Elder Holland's talk I am continuing to do so because I can play one talk at a time, during nap time or bed time for Claire so that way I can really focus on what was being said and take notes. This comes before the printed magazine comes out in May and I will try and get through as many talks as I can before then. Listening is different then reading and although it's easy to get distracted while listening it's also easier to really pay attention to the spirit.
2. Continue seeking for answers to your questions. Re-read your notes, sometimes the answer has already been given to you but you didn't know that in the moment. If you didn't find your answer while re-reading your notes take new ones. While listening to the talks again during quiet one on one time write new notes about what you are experiencing. Showing effort will get you an answer.
3. Mark up the printed version when it comes out. I love having a printed copy of the General Conference issue. When I didn't order a subscription I would just go to Deseret book and pick one up for myself. Now I have a subscription and love when it comes in the mail. I mark it up. I grab a highlighter for the first time reading through and start marking, the second time reading through I grab a different color, and do this for the rest of the time I read it. Sometimes a passage ends up getting highlighted with all the colors, then I know it's something I should really be paying attention to. Sometimes I 'll make a note next to the highlighted color about the time of life I am going through. For example if I use blue first I could say something like Claire is 7 months going on 8, Zack's traveling a lot, etc. Just so I have a reference as to why a certain passage would have affected me while reading with that colored highlighter. I write notes in the margins with Pen if I don't have a notebook by me.  Basically at the end of six months my ensign is pretty worn and tattered but I have devoured the word and gained strength by it.
4. Start new daily habits that lead you to your spiritual goals. After conference is over I always have things I want to do and work on. Right now my main one is prayer. I have said this before but I have been slacking in prayers, mostly from being lazy. I have been so much better lately and it is slowly becoming a habit. I don't tell myself I am going to say my prayers for 6 weeks morning and night cause I know I would probably fail at that goal. I do tell myself tomorrow I am going to wake up and say my morning prayers, and it works. Then when it comes to getting ready for bed I say I am going to take a few minutes out of my routine and say an evening prayer and that works. I just break it down to really easy simple goals that I can manage and turn into daily habits. Daily habits are what really lets you accomplish the big goals in the end.
5. You will need conference again. Trials are just a part of life. You will go through new challenges and trials after this conference is broadcasted and before the next one. During these times is when conference will become important to you again. Make sure and use it to your advantage. Christ is there for us and He has given us Prophets and Apostles to help us during our tough moments. These talks are inspired and will help when we need them to.
6. Continue sharing the gospel. Even though it's not #LDSCONF anymore continue to share about the church. I try to on the blog every Friday do a post about the gospel (this one is a little late), that is my simple way of sharing the gospel more. I hope you find someway to do that to.

What are you doing to get the most out of conference?
XO
Caitlin

Holladay Plans Etsy Shop

I make stickers now for sale! It's pretty exciting. I have two kits up in the shop at the moment. They are $12.00 plus $3.00 for shipping so I think they are a really great price.

 This is the first kit up in the shop it's called watercolor butterfly. I love it, I can't wait to use it next week in my planner.

 These are all the sheets the kit comes with: full boxes, check lists, headers/extras/weekend banner, half boxes and deco, and washi.

 This is the second kit in the shop titled Hello! Sticker Kit. I really love this one and will be using it in June. I just love the colors, that hot pink especially.

 All the sheets it comes with, just look at that cute bottom washi that looks like lined paper, I love it.
You can go check out the shop directly here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/HolladayPlans
Thanks so much guys!
XO
Caitlin

On having a C-Section Part 2

If you need to catch up read part 1 here.

This post is going to be all about recovery, since that really is the hardest part about a c-section.
After a c-section you stay in the hospital about 4-5 days for recovery. We stayed 4 and I was so ready to go home, I knew I would just sleep better in my own bed and I wouldn't wake up to every baby who was crying in the hospital. I loved the nurses who cared for me but I just wanted to be home. By day 4 I was walking around the hospital completely normal. I couldn't run or walk up stairs but I could walk. I could get up by myself if I needed to, it was a lot of work and took longer than normal but I was still able to. I still couldn't sit up in bed, I wasn't able to do that for about 3 weeks. In order to get out of bed I had to roll over on my side, throw my legs over the edge and then get up that way, it was a process but anything else hurt my incision too much. Basically when I was ready to go home I could take care of my basic needs by myself again and I had my husband home for a little while so he could help me with other things like showering. Seriously a major surgery like this makes you so grateful for those in your life who help you with basic human functions.

So for your at home recovery here are my tips:
1. Don't drop anything cause you wont be able to pick it up. Seriously ha ha, Zack almost got me one of those trash picker-uppers you can buy at the store cause I couldn't bend over for the life of me. I never put Claire on the floor, just in her bassinet which I could get to because I didn't have to bend all the way down. So really if you drop something, you'll just have to wait to get it.

2. Sneezing, Laughing, Coughing, will hurt really bad for a couple of weeks at least. Those actions require the muscles that were cut into to be working and trust me it's painful. Use a pillow to help.

3. When you are headed out of the hospital make sure and grab a few things. The hospital disposable underwear (I wore for a week and a half after having Claire, it was just easier and didn't cause any pain/pressure on my incision), disposable pads, cleaning supplies, all the extra baby stuff they give you etc. Really take what you can but especially the underwear. It's helpful for recovery.

4. Your back will hurt for about 6 weeks. My back hurt so bad, I remember at Claire's 2 week check up and my six week checkup asking the doctor and he said oh yes that is very common. It will go away but make sure and stay moving to keep up on it.

5. Speaking of pain. Make sure and get your pain meds from the pharmacy, I had Zack go and grab them after the baby and I were home and settled. I took them for about 5 weeks and it helped so much. The other thing that was the biggest lifesaver was having an ice pack. I used the ice pack at the hospital every day and I loved having one at home. Zack just got one from Walmart for me and it was the best thing. I used it every night for 2 weeks until the incision stopped really hurting.

6. Bowel Movements. This may be a little TMI so sorry, but anyway you get blocked up from having your insides cut open so when you have your first one it's really painful. But very very good for your body, after that it gets better and better but that first time hurt. You most likely will be prescribed a laxative so make sure and take it every day until you do have a bowel movement, it will help when you finally do so it isn't so painful.

7. At home rest a lot and don't worry about the dishes. I over did when I got home. Mentally I felt fine but physically I needed more rest, my incision split open 14 days after surgery (about 3 before our 2 week check up) and I ended up back at the hospital for stitches. I think I would have been fine if I wasn't doing so much. I was doing dishes, laundry, normal household chores but really my body needed more rest. I am one of those people that has a hard time letting people in to do those types of things if they offer but next time I am going to accept the help so make sure you do to.

8. Keep your incision dry. This one is important, there is a little overhang for your incision, even on skinny people. After you shower you need to make sure and pat it dry with a towel each time for 6 weeks to make sure that it isn't getting infected or causing moisture to build up. That makes it itch and you don't want to bother it to much until it's completely healed.

9. Go on walks. I went on a walk with Claire at least every other day (I still do), that is how I ended up loosing all my baby weight but also really helped me heal pretty quickly. It helps with the back pain, and it helps your muscles get stronger.

Well that is all I have for c-section recovery. The best part of it all is the precious gift you get at the end of all your hard work.

XO
Caitlin

Books I read in March

March went by extremely fast. I don't know, I literally didn't do much but sit around and watch Netflix. Okay I did more than that but that is what it feels like I did sometimes and then all of sudden today is April 1st. Maybe that's why they call it April fools day, like fooled you March didn't exist at all. Anyway I only got around to reading two books this month.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

This book. So Lola is this eccentric girl living in California. She already has a boyfriend who is 22 and she is 17 so naturally her parents aren't pleased about that relationship. Her parents are gay, which made an interesting dynamic to the book. Lola always dressed the way she wanted to, wearing wigs and outfits that matched them. I pictured Lola as your quirky teenage girl, not quite normal enough to fit in but not quite out of the box enough to truly stand out and not have any friends at all.
Her boyfriend plays in a band, so he lives that whole band life and she is into it. Her next door neighbors return to the neighborhood after an absence and all these old feelings come back for the boy Cricket who she grew up with. His twin sister Calliope complicates things a bit and of course her rocker boyfriend, but she faces the truth and figures out what she wants in life.

I liked this book. I gave it 4 stars. I liked how Cricket liked Lola the entire time and she just didn't know that.  I liked they grew up together because I thought that I would always have a romance like that. Mine was not like that and for me it was better. Anyway I didn't identify with Lola but I did enjoy her quirkiness and how she embraced it. I would recommend this book if you are into young adult romance novels.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I went into this book not knowing anything about it. I didn't read the back of it like I usually do I just jumped right in. Also I found myself really wanting to skip to the last chapter and see how it ends but I didn't. I actually read this one cover to cover. I really liked it. I gave it 5 stars. It was an awkward love story but ended up being really cute perfect. Sometimes that is how real life is though, awkward. I think that is what I like most about Rainbow Rowell and the books she writes. That she writes about situations that are sometimes awkward in life, not a lot of authors touch on those types of subjects or characters and I appreciate that.
So here is the synopsis in case you want to read it but I highly recommend just diving into it, it's a great novel.
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.
What would he say . . . ? (from Amazon)

On my list for April:
Quiet: I am about half way through this book
To all the boys I've loved before: this one is for the paper and glam book club
Something off my bookshelf: I have so many books just sitting around I need to read one of them so I have it on my list of books to read for April.

XO
Caitlin