Mommy Monday | Maternity clothes

Today I want to talk about maternity fashion. I am a huge lover of fashion and clothes, but not much of all the prices attached to it. This is why I always buy clothes on sale or just very cheap. I wanted to do the same for maternity clothes, so that's what I did. 

Some of my favorite websites are:
- Pinterest: This is the best website there is at the moment. I just love to look at all the inspirational photos and websites accompanying the photos. I did the same for maternity fashion. I just pinned everything I like and try to find things I have in my closet. The easiest way to get the lovely looks for a pregnant belly, which doesn't cost a lot. 
- H&M I am not a super fan of H&M for my 'normal' clothes. I find the quality not always as good as I would want to. Plus, I sometimes see something fun and see my students wear it the next day. So normally this is a no-go for me. But my students aren't pregnant, so I don't have to worry about them wearing the same things now, and it doesn't have to last forever! I got most of my basics at H&M. 
I noticed a difference in collections, so I can't really show you everything because most of you won't be able to get it anyway. But these are two of the items I got. Just a few jeans and some simple t-shirts I liked.

- Mama licious This is for only a few of you, because they don't have an American or Australian website. So only my European friends will be able to order here. They have amazing dresses and they aren't too expensive, especially since I bought all of mine in sale!
- For Australian websites, go check out hiplittleone. She is a friend of mine with an amazing blog! She shares maternity clothes on Monday, but also shares other essentials on her blog. She posts everyday and has lots of giveaways! So Aussies, check it out!


The best tip I can give you to buy maternity clothes is to stay yourself. I always wear jeans with a t-shirt, sweater or cardigan and I am still doing this. I sometimes wear dresses, so I also got a few dresses, especially because it's summer over here. But don't go overboard. Just buy the things you would always buy and stick to your style. 

Just wear you clothes with pride ladies! You can be proud of that growing belly, so show it! That's what I do;)


Lots of love,

X

Healthy Wednesday | Being pregnant and having the flu.

The last two week were tough for me (and the husband). 
It was really warm in the Netherlands, at over 30 degrees Celsius for a week we had a 'heatwave'. us Dutchies are not used to warm weather so a few days over 30 C are a heatwave over here.. Anyway, normally I love it when it starts to warm up for Summerdays, but this time it was different. I had the flu at the same time as the start of the heatwave. I've been in bed for 4 days with a temperature. After that we just tried to get back on track as soon as possible, but it took me a while.

What did I do?
Well, first of all, I didn't do anything other than sleeping for two days. After the first two days I was finally able to eat something (just a little though, I think about 2-3 crackers a day).
I figured the best remedy was to sleep. I have slept a lot! I didn't want to do anything else. I started to feel better after this, and continued to sleep and rest often. It took me two weeks to get better though!

Best ways to stay healthy and fit
After these two weeks I am determined to not become ill anytime soon. So I figured I would work on the following things:

- Eat properly This is where my sugar free 'diet' comes in. I am going to try and eat as healthy as possible, which means no processed foods! I eat more vegetables, and fruit. I even decided to drink fresh orange juice a couple days a week.

- Try to workout a little more I am going to try to work out a little more. I am not talking about two hours in the gym every evening, but trying to exercise during the day. I want to ride my bike more often, go to pregnancy swimming classes and just get up from the couch a little more often..

- Take (pregnancy) vitamins I never really take pills, because I am a believer of eating the fruit  or vegetable instead of a pill. But with this pregnancy you just need a little more vitamins than you can take. So I am trying to take my pills everyday, even though I am horrible at remembering to take them. (I'd like to blame pregnancy for this, but I'm afraid that's just who I am.. )

- Listen to my body This is probably the best tip. I am going to do what my body tells me. I want to make sure my baby is as safe as possible, so I am going to bed when I feel really tired for example.

Are there any tips you could give me to stay healthy and flu-free?

Lots of love,

X

Mommy Monday | Pregnancy update

Week 17

Feeling
Well, I have actually felt really good! I don't get nauseous (not often anyway..) and I only really feel tired. I do have a low blood pressure, which means I can feel dizzy sometimes. But as soon as I sit or lie down, I feel better within minutes. The same goes with nausea, whenever I think I am starting to feel nauseous, I just sit down and it goes better within minutes. Lucky me, I know!

Eating
The eating part is a different story. Even though I don't get nauseous, I still don't want to eat much. When I have a glass of water in the morning, I've already had enough. I try to eat more and as diverse as possible, but it can be hard.
I also decided to go back to Sugar Free (see my latest post!) but that can be hard as well. I don't really have cravings, but I sometimes feel like having a large glass of Coke and something very bad (read; sweet) to go with it.. But other than that I am trying to do the best I can!

Baby
So, how about the baby? Well, apparently our baby is the size of an Onion and is about 18 centimeter.  I have never seen an onion of 18 centimeters long, but I guess they had to find something to compare it with;)
I have felt 3 little pops last week but nothing more. I think it was the baby but we'll never know.

Belly
I am having a little belly! It's not much, but it's growing. I am feeling really proud, but I guess I am the only one who thinks the belly looks quite big;)


That's it for now!
Lots of love,

X

Healthy Wednesday | I quit sugar, the beginning

Hello everyone,

This week I decided to get back into the 'I quit sugar' community. I have quit sugar before, but didn't keep up. I'd like to blame that on my pregnancy, but I think it also has to do with my laziness. I just didn't want to bake my own bread and cookies for some time. 
But, I am back at it!

I quit Sugar, what is it?
The best way to explain this is, quitting the refined sugars. If you are interested I suggest you go to Iquitsugar.com to read the whole story. It's a website by Sarah Wilson, who also wrote this book --> 

I'll try to explain it in a simple manner:
Nowadays we eat around 5 times the amount of sugar we actually need, which is bad for us for all sorts of reasons. This program (or lifestyle) is meant to reduce this sugar intake to a normal amount. It helps you in 8 weeks to quit sugar and then helps you to continue this. You can either buy the book, do the program through her website or just go 'cold turkey' and leave out all the sugars. I would recommend option one or two though, because you have no idea what products contain sugar! (not just your cupcakes, pies and chocolate, believe me!)


Why am I doing this?
I have different reasons for wanting to do this:
- I am addicted to sugar! Yes, it's true. If I don't eat sugar for a day I get a headache, feel tired and start to get moody. Sugar is an addiction, and I am not afraid to admit I have one. And since I don't want to be addicted to anything, I want to get rid of my sugar addiction as well. 
- I am pregnant. I know this is not the first time I mention this, but I want to eat healthy for my little one. I want it to grow as healthy as possible, and I want to continue eating healthy when he/she is here. I want to have my child(ren) sugar free as well. 
- Sugar is really really bad for you. This is actually the biggest reason. The more you look into the sugar free lifestyle and the theory behind it, the more you'll understand why. It is even thought that sugar is a big problem in the rise of Obesity, Diabetes, Vascular diseases and even cancer! I don't want to expose my baby, my husband or myself to these risks!

So what am I going to share?
I want to share my journey with you. I am starting my 8 week program today and want to keep you posted. Follow along with me, or just see how I do. 
I also want to share some nice recipes, tips and other stuff I think might help you.

Well, so far I haven't done much yet, but I am going to share my journey with you every Wednesday in this blogpost Healthy Wednesday. 

New style of blogging

Hello everyone!

As the title says, I am thinking about a new style of blogging. Since I have been pregnant I find it more difficult to find time to craft, and I tend to do more on my research to be a good mommy.
I decided to add this to the blog. I want to share my thoughts about pregnancy, parenting (including all the stuff I don't/didn't know) and being healthy. 

So, this is the plan.
- Mommy Monday: One of my good friends lives in Australia and is an amazing mom to 4, soon to be 5 kids. She has her own website and does a Mommy on Monday post. I love that! If you are Australian, go check her out! She has a great website for moms, babies and kids! Plus, a giveaway nearly every day! Who doesn't like that;)
Anyway, I was thinking about doing a Mommy Monday as well. Just explain to you some cool things I found, what I do to stay fit and look good, and all other stuff that might be interesting.
- Healthy Wednesday: I want to share my 'I quit sugar' journey with you all. I am super excited about it, and want to explain to you how and why I do this. So healthy wednesdays are about healthy meals, tips and tricks and other health related issues.
- Crafts: I am still totally doing crafts, just not at a set time. I am currently working on a Pregnancy Album and I love doing this. But I also want to share other things I made.

Well, that's the plan.
I am creating a label for all three posts. So if you are interested in any of these, just click on the label!

That's it for now!

Lot of love,

X