OUT AND ABOUT IN KANSAS CITY: WEST BOTTOMS

The other weekend, the sun was finally shining and the rising temperature made it bearable to leave the house without my winter parka.  So my mom and I decided to head down to the vintage shops in KC's West Bottoms for their First Friday weekend extravaganza.

We hadn't been down there in a few years, and I was shocked to see how much it had grown.  Antique stores and vintage shops had popped up on every corner in a few block radius and food trucks lined the street.  It felt like a carnival.

We were browsing for a dresser for little Roo's room.  Even though we didn't find anything, it was still fun to see what was out there.  We're going to find out if the Roo is a he or a she in a few weeks, and I CANNOT WAIT!  I'm having a hard time making decisions on things and feel like I'm in a holding pattern until we find out.  Then it will be full steam ahead on making either little headbands or bow ties.  I've got a lot of ideas that I'm sure my mom's sewing skills will be able to deliver on:)

Usually some what of a speed walker, I was surprised how tired I got just walking around, though.  Since I've been so nauseous with morning sickness, I haven't kept up on the exercise front.  I've been getting outside more with the warmer temps, though, and am enjoying walks around the neighborhood.  It feels nice to be moving again.

Do you believe any of those old wive's tales that predict the gender of your baby?  I'm planning to put them to the test and see if any are accurate.  At least there's a 50% chance they're right:)

***********************************************************************

I'm linking up with Meg's Mingle Monday today!

WELL, HELLO AGAIN. I'VE BEEN BUSY BAKING...

(Don't worry--Mr. Maisy was not harmed in any way.  This picture is thanks to the wonders of technology.)

Yep, you read that right folks!  I'm preggo, with child, about to lay an egg....I'm pregnant.  It still feels surreal typing those words.

It's been quiet in this space for a while.  It started as a little break due to the crappy weather and general moodiness of the season, but then became necessary due to morning all day sickness and severe sleepiness.  My days have basically consisted of dragging myself out of bed, going to work, forcing myself to eat something, attempting not to throw up, and then watching TV until I fall asleep.  The weekends are reserved for sleeping a ridiculously long time.  I'm not out of the woods with the nausea yet, but I do feel like my energy is slowly starting to come back.

I've been thinking about this post for a while.  Is my time with blogging complete?  How much do I share?  How do you write posts and not talk about the elephant in the room?

I flip flopped a bit before settling on this thought.  If I'm being completely honest, part of the reason I started this blog was with the vain hope that it would be huge, I could quit my day job, and live the ultimate blogger dream.

Let's get real here.  That's not going to happen, and that's ok.  This space has become an irreplaceable view into my life's both simple and remarkable moments that I want to remember.  There's something about seeing the pictures and reading the words that I felt were worth capturing at a specific time in my life that I may otherwise have let slip from memory.

In the past, I haven't posted certain events or small happenings, because I didn't think they were "blog worthy".  I think back to the blogging conferences I've gone to and zero in on how they said to "brand" myself.  What do I want my "brand" to be?  All colorful photos with white backgrounds, perfectly stylized so that people are able to pick my picture out of a line up?

That sounds amazing, doesn't it?  Being instantly recognized by a photo because it's so "you"?  As I was slipping into bed the other night, I thought to myself, "Well, I am my brand."  Me.  Just as I am.  I'm tired of trying to fit my pictures and words into a specific branding box, because that's how I want people to view me.  I just need to be me.

Blogging has changed so much in just the past two years I've been writing in this space.  I feel now that bloggers feel compelled to apologize for taking writing breaks, for changing the focus of their blogs, for a lot of things that we shouldn't be thinking twice about.

I'm still me, but I'm evolving and my life is changing.  And I want this space to capture all of it.  This is a blog about my life, and I don't need it to fit a certain mold.  My mission statement is simple--"Write about the moments that move me and take pictures of everything."  

In addition to this being a recorder of memories, I also love this space for the ability to connect to people.  Building relationships has been the best surprise to come from this blog.  It makes me feel less alone in this big world.

It feels good to write my thoughts out again, however disjointed they are.  Wade and I are over the moon excited for this little bundle of joy.  Still a bit paralyzed with fear of the unknown, of course, but super pumped.  This is going to be a huge change that will rock our world, but in the best way possible.

We saw our little Roo via an ultrasound the other day, and I still can't believe there is a baby in there that will soon call me "mom".  There is so much magic in the world that I can't wait to show him/her and get to experience it all again through his/her eyes.  It is truly a miracle how life comes to be.  All the struggle, all the perseverance that is needed just to make it into this world.  I am beyond thankful.

Whew!  That feels good to be able to let the cat out of the bag, or rather the bun out of the oven:)

Thank you for reading this, and I hope you're having a great day!  Is there an end in sight to the cold weather where you are?  It was in the 60s this weekend, and I breathed in the warm air and let out a big sigh of relief.  Time to break out the shorts and flip flops!  I'm ready for spring.