Healthy Tipping Point

We woke up this morning in desperate need of normal – at least for Henry!  He’s such a flexible and easy-going kid and I thought he’d really enjoy our grand adventure of a trip – but nope.  He was totally over car rides and new hotel rooms and strange food.  Also – he really misses his train tracks. I should’ve packed them!

So when Syracuse U had to reschedule my event at the last minute, I kind of breathed a sigh of relief – life has a funny way of working out, doesn’t it?  Instead of driving to New York today, we found ourselves waking up in the peace and calm of my BFF Lauren’s.  Lauren just moved back to the States from Singapore – wahoo! 

In an attempt to recreate home as much as possible, I went to the grocery store last night and stocked up on some of our typical favorites:

Eggs, fruit, and Rudi’s cinnamon raisin bread (it’s soooo good with butter!).

And we decided to get the kiddo out of the house for one small, low-key activity.  We went to the nearby Delaware Museum of Natural History with the promise that there would be DINOSAUR BONES <— music to a 2 year old’s ears.

We had a lot of fun.  <3

In other news…  I’m 34 weeks pregnant today!  Getting SO incredibly excited to meet Little One and SO curious if it’s a boy or a girl.  Everyone at the wedding predicted boy, and the check-in woman at one hotel told me she was physic and has never predicted wrong – she said boy, too.  Despite the tide of “Boy!”, my gut is actually starting to say girl, but heck if I really know!

Happy FTFW!

I’m traveling so much this week for Operation Beautiful because it’s Tri Delta’s annual Fat Talk Free Week.  The mission of the week is to encourage women (and men!) to be more conscious of their negative self-talk and more proactive in encouraging positive thoughts and words about yourself and others.  We’re a featured organization for the week for the second year in a row, and Official Operation Beautiful Day is this Wednesday! 

I read a study that said women have, on average, 13 negative thoughts about themselves each day.  THIRTEEN!  That’s nearly one for every waking hour.  I encourage you to be more mindful of your negative thoughts this week and try to turn them into something kinder and more gentle.

Interesting article in light of this week’s theme –>  What the Dying Really Regret.  Thanks to reader Sarah who sent me the link!

Something else you may enjoy – My suggestions on how to cultivate more body confidence. 

Have a great week <3  I hope you settle into a happy and normal routine, too!  We’ll keep trying to find it on vacation. 😉

We’re on our big vacation!  There will be a little bit of fun and a little bit of work – and a lot of family time.  So pumped.  We started things off with playtime – we attended the wedding of our friends and Becki.  Becki was actually the person who introduced the Husband and me!  She’s our matchmaker.

The drive to Pennsylvania is about 10 hours from Charlotte, so we split it into two days.  It was much more manageable and pleasant than just powering through.

You know you have a tea addiction when you pack cups, honey, an electric kettle, and four different varieties… Definite road trip necessity.

The wedding was in New Hope, a cute little town with such great scenery and so many fun things to do.  Here are some highlights!

(Can you find the deer?!)

I loved the use of pumpkins in the wedding decor!  The decorations featured pumpkins, hay bales, colorful leaves, and flickering candles – so beautifully seasonal.  But my favorite part of the wedding was the dessert table!  Instead of a traditional cake, they had two huge tables of all sorts of desserts – truffles, pies, cakes, donuts, and cookies.  YUM.

Second favorite part of the wedding – Henry in a tux.  Of course!

Little One started to do aerobics in my belly at 3:30 AM, so an hour later, I found myself sitting at my desk, sipping a cup of coffee and checking emails.  It’s going to be a long day!

I may also have a touch of anxiety about our multi-city road trip, which starts today.  I can never sleep when I know I have something big coming up.  Ugh.

On a MUCH brighter note, my Mom and Dwight arrived yesterday!  I’m not sure who was more excited… me or Henry. 

Probably Henry, actually.  That’s because they browsed the Thomas catalogue for a bit and then Jojo took him to the toy store to buy his new favorite.

There are never. enough. trains.  Never!

Mom was nice enough to buy everyone Thai takeout so I didn’t have to cook or destroy my kitchen.  I was pretty beat by the end of the day – I am definitely slowing down as this pregnancy draws to a close. 

I remember having a lot more energy when I was pregnant with Henry! Now I just feel like I’m trying to survive until the end of the day.  Probably because Henry is on the outside.  Hah.

My 5 Favorite Pandora Stations

Just for fun!

I love the Sia station, especially for working at my computer.  Gotta appreciate some female pop rock.

I love the Pitbull station for exercise.  The Latin-inspired beats are awesome for running.  Plus, I adore all the shout-outs to the 3-0-5 (Miami, my hometown).

I love the Snow Patrol station because they’re my favorite band of all time.

Side note:  The song above.  Back in 2007, Kristien and I saw Snow Patrol at American Universe (they played in the gym!), and when they played that song, they pulled a random girl up on stage to sing the girl’s lyrics.  Random girl totally rocked it – she knew all the words and had an amazing voice.  I always wondered if she was a mole; it’s one of their best songs, but I seriously would’ve just mumbled the lyrics and died of embarrassment if it had been me!

I love the “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia station – it’s much better than the actual Swedish House Mafia station, oddly enough.  It’s a great station for house-inspired workout jams.

And Henry and I both love the Disney (Children’s) station.  Because Colors of the Wind from the Pocahontas movie is the best song of all time (duh).

What’s your favorite Pandora station?

Happy Wednesday!  Just to celebrate Hump Day, I have a great giveaway for you from White Plum, an online vintage-inspired boutique filled with fun, affordable clothing.

You can also use the code CAITLIN20 for 20% off your entire purchase until 10/24.

So… I found the perfect leggings.  Check out the fleece-lined leggings, which come in 7 colors.  I’m wearing the “charcoal.”  White Plum has so, so many leggings, but I really liked the way the fleece ones fit and felt.  All of my other leggings are WAY too thin for the colder months – my thighs always feel frozen in them.  I’m super excited to wear these more when it gets even chillier out.  The leggings fit size 0 – 12, and they were perfect on me!  Stretchy in all the important places.  🙂

Click through for the giveaway!

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