Late Night Temptation

There's one thing that late lights nursing has NOT been good for, and that's my PayPal account. It's just way too easy to scroll scroll scroll through beautiful Instagram photos and convincing blog posts that have me perusing those famous three words -- add to cart. 

So I thought I'd share some finds here with you this morning and also open up the comments to any great deals you've recently scored and want to share!

Pottery Barn Kids Lunchbox -- currently down to $9.99 with free shipping!
AVAILABLE HERE
This high-quality lunchbox is down from $22.50 and you just can't beat this deal. It's basically a Walmart price but from Pottery Barn Kids. Also great to have on hand for kids' birthday gifts.

Nighttime Essential Oil

AVAILABLE HERE

I purchased this for our diffuser and it has a calming, nice scent. It's a blend of the following: Lavender, Sweet Majoram, Chamomile, Bergamot, Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood, Key Lime, Vanilla

(the diffuser I use is this one)

Lemon Print Maxi

Currently unavailable, but I purchased from jane.com

Mine shipped on the 21st, hope to get it soon!

Topshop Rhinestone Stud Insect Earrings

Currently 50% off and only 8.99 (free shipping)

AVAILABLE HERE

I'm such a sucker for whimsical rhinestone studs and these look SO pretty on the model. 

Cooper Cooler

AVAILABLE HERE

I found mine secondhand for a fraction of the price, but I've shared it the past two days on Instastories and received SO many questions and requests for the link! This cools a room-temp bottle of wine, beer, or soda in mere minutes. You just add in two cups of ice and 12oz water and let it spin spin spin. 

The best part is that it comes with a cigarette lighter plug ... helloooooo, tailgating! 

Any of these catching your eye, too?
Would love to hear from you with any great deals you've snagged!

Right On Target (Finds From ... Target)

Tonight is ...

...pizza.
...wine.
...Target shopping (online, natch).

So let me show you what I just bought. All together qualified for free shipping and I can't WAIT to see the girls in those matching swimsuits!

swimsuit

LEMON ONE-PIECE

available here

I got this in 4T and 2T for the girls.

Currently they are BUY ONE, GET ONE 50%!

Look at the sweet back!

swimsuit

And for me, I splurged on some new summer jammies! Before my belly got too large, I was loving sleeping in these amazing PJ Salvage pajamas that Ian got me for my birthday (mine are solid gray) but after each of my deliveries I have had such craaaaazy hormone surges that I often wake up dripping in sweat at night. So, even though we keep our home a little chilly at night -- what I call "arctic zone" -- I still can't handle the long sleeves and long pants. 

So I purchased this chic black set and can't wait for it to arrive! Not to mention, the button front is extremely nursing-friendly. 

pajamas 

Okay, back to my wine and pizza I go! And next up, Southern Charm on DVR, and a bubble bath!

Bye Bye, Gel (For Now)

For the past year and a half, I have been scheduling regular gel manicures! It all started with a Groupon. (Those things really do suck you in.) Before Christmas that year, I cashed in said Groupon and got my nails done in a gorgeous light pink/natural color. I felt like my hands looked so pretty, so put together, so… "polished." And every 2/2.5 weeks I have returned for gel removal and reapplication!

It’s been a nice little luxury and something I have really looked forward to. Some much needed me-time. Each visit is $25 or $35, and I've always tipped 20% at the minimum, so it's not the cheapest little me-time activity, but I love it.

Well, this weekend Ian had the girls in the mountains for fun activities and a little break from the heat -- I was home solo with little Lochlan, laying low and -- ya know, nursing like 22 hours a day -- and my polish was starting to peel up on the sides.

I did the unthinkable, something I haven't done in the past 18 months. I PEELED IT OFF! This is a huge no-no, but my nails were honestly so weak to begin with from the gel and also the fact that one of the salons used an electric file too much on my nails.

So then I ran with Baby L to Walgreens and picked up this to hopefully strengthen my nails, and I'm also going to use some SeneGence products as well. My nails are in a bad way, just so thin, so I'm keeping them short to hopefully keep broken nails at bay. I might look into Color Street if I want some color on my nails, but they still need a bit of healing/breathing time.

I also need to grab some biotin capsules to help with growth!

So, are you a reformed gel nails gal? What helped you (besides good ol' fashioned time) to strengthen your nails back again?

(GEL: I'll be back for ya. Just when it makes a little more sense, time-wise.)

Five On Friday: FIVE New Post-Partum Clothes

It's time for another edition of Five on Friday and I do hope you'll join along!

Remember, all you have to do is post about five things on your mind, add our logo (found at the bottom of this post), and join the party using the linky tools below. Easy, and a great way to find new blogs and be found. :)

So, the post-partum bod. Not always the easiest to dress. Even when I just think I'll throw on some yoga pants and a t-shirt, even my normal casual tshirts are still tooooo tight in the midsection. I'm down around 10ish pounds, maybe more, but I still have quite the tummy.

It just takes a while to lose that and a little creativity with dressing so that I still feel cute, covered, can nurse easily, and the large tummy is concealed enough to hopefully avoid the "When are you due?" questions that embarrassingly can come from time to time for new mamas.

So, the other day -- well, around 4am on Wednesday --  I decided enough was enough with struggling to get in my current clothes, and I ordered FIVE new inexpensive pieces. All are the Shein or Romwe brand and I got them all on Amazon Prime. These two lines are priced so low, I'm not expecting them to be quality staples pieces that I own for years and years, but moreso "bridge clothes" that help me feel a little more put together when I'm between two very different body shapes.

So here's what I got. And when my box of goodies arrives today or tonight, I'll try them on and maybe even share them on Instastories!

ONE:
Romwe Women's Loose Ruffle Hem Short Sleeve High Low Peplum Blouse Top (Khaki)
Shop It HERE

TWO:
SheIn Women's Round Neck Short Sleeve Casual Loose Swing Dress
Shop It HERE

THREE:
SheIn Women's Cute Striped Peter Pan Collar Short Sleeve Babydoll Blouse Top (Pink)
Shop It HERE

FOUR:
Romwe Women's Comfy Swing Tunic Short Sleeve Smock Polka Dot Loose Dress
Shop It HERE

FIVE:
SheIn Women's Cute Short Sleeve Pockets Color Block Casual Swing Tunic Dress
Shop It HERE

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That's it for today! Hope you have a lovely weekend -- thanks for linking up with us below!

direct links above for your 

convenience are affiliate links.

-asr

Introducing Our Son ... One Week Old

Sweet sweet Lochlan, welcome to our family!

Last Wednesday, June 6, we welcomed this adorable bundle of joy. He weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and was 20" long. His full name is James Lochlan, carrying on two traditions of having James as a given first name (Ian and his late father also do) and also having a name that pays homage to their Scottish ancestry.

We left the hospital after lunch Thursday and spent Thursday night and Friday night as a quiet trio -- my husband, Lochlan, and me. It was a great way to ease into our new life, and the older sisters were having the time of their lives with their grandmothers, not missing a beat on their summer vacation.

We've had two outings to our wonderful pediatrician, once Friday where he was down to 7.8lbs and a quick repeat Monday for a weight check where he was back up to 8.1. Other than that, we've just been relaxing at home, taking it easy, and even having a few visitors stop by who have been SO kind to bring meals and baby snuggles!

Recovery for me has been fairly easy this time around thanks to a quick and straightforward delivery. Sleep, ehhhhh, who really needs it anyway. I haven't taken a nap yet which is sort of ridiculous, but I'm not much of a napper -- I often get a case of FOMO and would rather just push on through.

An awesome friend is scooping Camille up this morning to take her to the dollar movies, and my mom is coming up again tomorrow to visit for the day and give a helping hand. Hey, I might even get two nap days in a row!

So, Lochlan, welcome to the crazy crew! We love you so much our little prince!

39 Weeks Update ... Reflections On Adding To Our Crew

This is me yesterday. There's a baby in there!

(I always love it when I hear kids ask their mom about me, "is there a baby in her belly?" ... right when I'm feeling like the largest, most PREGNANTEST person in the world, and then the innocence of youth -- it's the best.)

I'm right around 25 or so pounds up, Baby Boy is growing perfectly, last heartbeat was around 138, and man alive are we anxious to see his face.

Will he come out bright-eyed, darker skinned and dark-haired like Camille?

Or will he be perfectly fair and snuggly from the start like Charlotte?

How can I balance three. How can I balance three!!!

I keep reminding myself, one day at a time.

And from the wise advice of a friend, we can do anything for a short amount of time. Anything. 

I just want to be a good mom, and a PATIENT mom, and a FUN mom, but I also know I have to cut myself some slack. There are going to be days when I'm running on about three hours of sleep, days where I am a little too quick to snap at the girls, but also days when I get all three to the park with filled water bottles, sunscreen on faces arms and legs, and I feel like I can conquer the goshdarn world. 

Big changes ahead ... sooooooon!

Any guesses on weight and length?! 

Five on a JUNE Friday!

It's time for another edition of Five on Friday and I do hope you'll join along!

Remember, all you have to do is post about five things on your mind, add our logo (found at the bottom of this post), and join the party using the linky tools below. Easy, and a great way to find new blogs and be found. :)

O N E
June's here and this is BABY MONTH
Holy moly!

I can't believe we will be meeting this little man soon. I can't believe we are going to be parents to a little boy. I can't believe we are going to have three children. I can't believe we don't have a name yet!

(Haha, we do have some strong contenders. Gotta see that sweet little face)

We had the nursery painted by our fave painter yesterday and he did a beautiful job with paint I already owned, Tradewind by Sherwin Williams which is in our guestroom. It's a beautiful, light, serene blue.

Now I just have to get a new rug and some items hung on the walls!

T W O
Thanks to everyone who checked in about Charlotte's eye check-up this week. Last month was her strabismus surgery (to correct crossing eyes) and this week's appointment did show that crossing is still prominent enough to merit another month of alternate eye-patching for an hour a day to see if we can correct that issue without needing a repeat eye surgery.

This girl is just such a trooper and it broke my heart Tuesday when I patched her (after two months of no patches) and she just cried and cried and cried.

Luckily, we had a turning point yesterday and she tolerated it for an hour while we played outside and did sidewalk chalk. I love that girl so much and just want to hit that easy button for her! 

T H R E E

Hey, quick question. I mentioned yesterday that I needed to purge some baby clothes. A few people mentioned interest in being able to purchase through Instagram. Would you have interest in this? Not the day-to-day preschool clothes, but mainly nicer items like sweet little dresses and smocked items. Super low prices? (I just want to see these clothes being loved on again, they are SO cute!) 

Would you like to see this as a stand-alone Instagram account, or should I just take a weekend to post a few items on my Smidge Of This page, and then delete all items after the weekend is over?

F O U R
The Nordstrom sale wraps up in two days, did you score anything fab? I love that they carry some of the Lilly items that I love. This little duo of trinket trays is $20 with free shipping, how perfect to have on hand for a hostess gift, a girlfriend's birthday present, or a Secret Santa swap?!

F I V E

Lastly, I've got $20 in Supercash at Old Navy as of tomorrow and it's already burning a hole in my pocket. I have this swing dress already in black (and the long-sleeve version in a dark teal) and love it ... great for summer days and even for fall with leggings underneath. But this stripe is my next purchase and I think it will be so cute with a fun long necklace from my sister!

necklace: direct link

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That's it for today! Hope you have a lovely weekend -- thanks for linking up with us below!