No Buy 2018 : Buying Zero Makeup

If you follow this blog regularly and have been for years, you just might have read the title of this post and said "wtf?" to yourself. Or you saw this coming. You have seen my makeup reviews dwindle since becoming a mother over a year and a half ago anyway. My priorities have simply changed. In 2017, I believe I spent the least amount of money on makeup that I have since before 2012 when I first started to really build my collection.

I moved my makeup collection/YouTube studio into my bedroom in May 2017. Ever since then, I've been slowly decluttering and purging makeup I don't use. I've been reducing my stash and realizing it's all just stuff. A couple years ago, it broke my heart to throw something out, but I have come to see that there are way too many things in my collection that I literally don't use. Reading and watching stuff on minimalism has had an effect. Not that I plan to be a real minimalist one day, I just find the lifestyle very inspiring and useful for everyday life. Just the whole world view that minimalists have makes me start to see the error in our super-consumerism society.

So how did I get here?

Step 1:
I had been watching Project Pan-ing videos and came across a "makeup no buy year" video that got my interest. The concept seemed impossible when I first opened that video up.
Lauren Mae's 18 in 2018 Project Pan Video
Too Much Tash's Not Buying Makeup for 1 Year Completed Video

(sorry for the sloppy handwriting)

Step 2:
After watching it, I sat down and did some makeup basics inventory. I counted how many concealers, mascaras, powders, etc. I have and I realized, if I ever wanted to completely use these things up, I would need to avoid new makeup at all costs for at least a year. I saw that I had enough of the basics to go an entire year without buying anything new. Even if I wore a full face of makeup every single day, I probably still wouldn't get through all of these items.

Step 3:
Then I wondered how much money I spent in the last year on makeup. My husband and I have been sticking to a very good budget since May 2017. We use an app to track our purchases in different categories, so I had at least eight months of makeup purchases recorded. I added all that up, used it to calculate what I probably spent Jan.-April and discovered that I probably only spent about $200 last year anyway. And I told myself I could totally save that money and use up the stuff I already have in 2018. That $200 both sounded like a big and very small number at the same time. I know there are people who spend that every month and I know there are people who've probably only spent that in their lifetime on makeup. But for me, it's a serious reduction from what I had spent in years prior.

Step 4:
So I figured I would talk about it. I'd put it out there on social media to motivate myself and hold myself accountable.

The whole thing that got me started on this blog was makeup, so it's a little strange to be saying I'm not buying any for a whole year. This blog now covers a variety of topics. It has changed and grown like I have. This is a weird challenge that I'm setting myself up for, but I think it's necessary to challenge ourselves sometimes. I hope you understand.

Thank you for reading!
Love,
Alaina

28 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #2

Week ending Jan. 9, 2017.
Due Date: April 3, 2018

Third trimester, how I've waited and waited for these days! My belly is enormous, my body aches, but I know we are in the final stretch and I'll be meeting my baby boy soon! I feel so much calmer and ready to meet my baby, yet these are the days when worries about delivery start to creep in. 

Bump:
Had to start turning to the side to do things like washing dishes. The belly takes up too much room in front, so I have to stand sideways to make things easier. Haha.
It also feels like my ribs are expanding. They can get achey around the sides and back and just feel like they're stretching out. 
I can totally tell how Eren is laying in the belly, not just by how it feels but also just looking at the bump. The bump is looking uneven these days. I don't think he has a preferred side yet though, he seems to switch back and forth plenty. 

I can feel and see his little body parts like feet and knees way better than I ever remember with Calvin and I think it's finally occurred to me why! My placenta was in front with Calvin. That must have been why his little body parts never protruded like Eren's do now. For the longest time that never occurred to me. I thought perhaps I wasn't remembering correctly, but I'm pretty sure this is the case. Very cool.  So at this point with Mr. Calvin, I was up a total of 33 pounds... what most people would have gained the whole time. And I was doing really good there for awhile this time around, but Christmas didn't help things so my official total up until the third trimester this time around is... 31 pounds. Super. I've been eating sooo much better this pregnancy, yet I'm still essentially in the same exact boat as last time, so that's not very encouraging. 
Weight gain totals so far:
13 wks up 5 lbs
19 wks up 15 
24 wks up 23
28 wks up 31

Doctor Appointments:
Got to see Eren in 3D at the ultrasound and it was so amazing. It really was too cool watching him move around in there! We got some really good pictures too. As soon as he popped up on the screen I said, holy crap he looks exactly like his brother! But after examining the pics a bit more, I think they have some differences. I saw him lick his umbilical cord and he had his hands up in his face a lot. We got some really clear pictures of him and it was super cool.
Eren is measuring 2 lbs 12 oz, a week or two ahead of schedule, which is where Calvin was at at this point too.
I was able to leave Calvin with his grandma because I had the MFM appointment, then immediately my regular OB appointment, where I had to wait around for the gestational diabetes test, so I didn't want to risk Calvin having a bad day with two really long appointments back to back.Bonus: I was able to really enjoy the ultrasound all by myself.
Amniotic fluid levels were "generous," so they're having me back in three weeks to double check on them. They were "borderline" high with Calvin too.
Cervical length was good, but I didn't catch the actual measurement.
Now it's time to see my regular OB every other week.
The midwife is still confident we can try for a VBAC. She suggests that after we hit 36 weeks and I have my last dose of Makena, I start doing more activities to try and get myself to go into labor naturally, that way I'll have a much better chance at a vaginal delivery as opposed to being induced medically. When I think about the 36 week mark and the fact that it's only 8 weeks away that gets me so excited. April seems like forever away right now, but 8 weeks just sounds so much closer. I realize it could still take another month after that point, but the countdown is underway!
Plus no news is good news on the GD glucose test, so I guess we are in the clear. :)

Energy:
Still feeling awfully tired.
I seem to be getting more short tempered with Calvin this week too, which totally bugs me. I hate snapping on him, only to immediately apologize to him for being mean. I wonder if this is being caused by my lack of energy, I just can't move around like before. I am trying not to pick him up as much because I keep getting Braxton Hicks when I do because he's a 30 pound toddler. Plus it hurts my back picking up his toys all the time, so I'm asking him to help out more. He's usually very helpful, but I think those two things are just a hard transition for us both. He wants to be held and gets mad when I don't pick him up, so I get mad at him for being whiny. I try to be patient with him when I ask him to help clean up, I like to let him do it on his own time, but sometimes it just feels like he's literally deaf and does not hear my requests. It's just a sucky cycle at this point.

Physical Symptoms:

As I mentioned last week, I'd been having many more Braxton Hicks contractions just doing everyday things like lifting the laundry basket or getting up off the couch after sitting awhile. The midwife at my doctor office showed me an exercise to do daily to help with the contractions. She made them sound very normal though, especially for a second pregnancy, and told me to only worry if they were continuing despite rest and hydration, occuring 6-8 times an hour.
Don't want to jinx myself here, but last week I mentioned my back and hip were feeling better and they has continued feeling good this week too! The one thing I can think of that I've been doing differently and may be making the difference is that I brought out my yoga ball and have been using it nearly every night before bed. I sit on it to open up my hips, roll on my chest to let my belly hang, or lay my back on it to let it lengthen out. I haven't been great about doing my once weekly exercise day, but at least I'm getting in a bit of stretching every night with my yoga ball.

Food:
Keeping up on counting my calories after the terrible holidays. I've even given some thought to the idea of trying out a gestational diabetes friendly type diet, to see if it would help Eren not grow so gigantic, but I go back and forth with that one a lot. Calvin was giant, but he continued to be in the 95%+ once he was on the outside too, so that makes me think he's just meant to be a big boy, there wasn't anything that I caused, so I just assume Eren will be the same way. And I think what about my amniotic fluid? Maybe if I tried to eat this way for the next 2-3 weeks and they go back to check my fluid levels and they look better, that would tell me that my eating habits are helping out. And then there's always this part of me that says, it's only three more months, just do what you want. And that part isn't constructive haha.

Sleep & Dreams:

It's been hard to get comfortable in the night. I haven't mentioned it yet, but it's been going on for probably two months already, I've been peeing twice overnight instead of the usual once.

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Seeing Eren on ultrasound in 3D. :)

Random Thoughts:
Part of me wants to start washing the baby clothes, but there's this other part of me that wants to wait until 32 weeks, just as some kind of crazy superstitious act that might prevent my water breaking at the same time and everything turning out exactly like with Cal. I don't even know if that makes any sense. I feel like if I get things ready too quickly, like I did with Cal, it could cause Eren to come early, like Cal did. But for real, I want to start going through the baby clothes!
Justin and I agreed that in February we would start Calvin's transition to his new big boy room. So it would make the most sense to wait to get the baby stuff out until Calvin is settled in his new room, so we still have a few weeks.

Love,

Alaina & Baby Brother Eren

Meal Plan with Us! January 2018

Meal planning has made life so much easier for us!
And it's seriously helped us in the budget department too.
We plan out about a month at a time. (We started with two weeks at a time in the beginning though because it totally takes practice to remember each ingredient you need and not have to make emergency trips to the grocery store for one single important item. I can definitely tell you we've gotten way better than we were in the beginning. We started in May last year.)

We go to the store once per month for our big grocery trip. Well, we go to two different stores. We go to Aldi and get everything we possibly can, then hit up Walmart for the remaining stuff. It still blows my mind how much we save by getting as much as possible at Aldi first!

Now that's not to say that's the only time we go to the store. We usually run out of milk somewhere in the middle of the month or somebody craves a particular item. We always end up going to the store for a handful of items later on, BUT the big shopping trip is taken care of in the first few days of the month.

We don't always stick to this schedule super strictly, especially since I'm pregnant and have cravings and aversions haha. I go through and cross off the meals we've already made for this reason. In case one night comes along and I'm like "holy crap, I do not want that for dinner!" we can choose another meal and switch.

Sorry for the sloppy writing, this is #RealLife right here.
Also, please don't get confused by the word "Saturday" at the top left hand corner, that's just a magnet.
:)

Tips for only going to the store once per month:
1. Plan meals with fresh produce for the first half of the month.
For some, this is impossible. Maybe your "milk run" turns into a mid-month veggie run. We do keep some mixed vegetables frozen for sides though.

Meals that need fresh ingredients

Tacos (lettuce)

Philly cheesesteak (onion, pepper)

Italian chicken sandwiches (lettuce)

Buffalo chicken wrap (lettuce)

Quesadillas (bacon, onion, pepper)

Chicken nachos (lettuce)

2. Think of ways you can use leftovers or main ingredients in the same week.
Example: Roast on Saturday turns leftover roast meat into Beef and Broccoli on Monday
3. Make a list of all the meals your family likes so you can easily just glance at the list and choose what day to put meals on. We keep a list divided into a few categories so we can pick and chose which meals will work best on which days of the week, since some days just allow for more cooking time than others.

Easy meals, no prep

Hot dog mac

Sausage crescents

Grilled cheese

Breakfast for dinner

Full Crockpot meals

Crockpot chicken & potatoes

Chicken & dumplings

Potato soup

Chili

Stew (carrots)

Roast (carrots)

Pulled pork on hoagies

Partial Crockpot Meals

Beef & broccoli (frozen)

Enchiladas

Ranch chicken taquitos

Regular meals (need prep)

Orange chicken & rice

Sloppy joes

Beef potato casserole

Burgers

Spaghetti

Baked pasta

Pasta con broccoli

Shrimp pasta

Lasagna

Taco casserole

Fried chicken & potatoes

Buffalo chicken flatbread

Breakfast pizza

4. Throw in a couple new recipes each month if you're feeling up to it, or if you're getting bored with the same stuff. I find it just keeps things interesting. It makes meal planning feel less monotonous. Chicken Ranch Taquitos was our new recipe for this month.
5. Plan to make big dishes over the weekend when you have time. Then use the leftovers during the weeknights when time is a little more scarce.
Example: Lasagna on Saturday turns into leftover Lasagna on Monday

So I really hope this was helpful and you were able to take a little bit of advice from it. Happy meal planning!

Love,
Alaina

27 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #2

Week ending Jan. 2, 2017.
Due Date: April 3, 2018

The last week of the second trimester, can you believe it?!

Bump:
It feels like Eren had a growth spurt recently. And looking at my weekly pics, I think the bump is definitely looking bigger these last couple weeks. Once again, I've said it a million times, but holy crap, how big will this bump be by the time Eren arrives?!
Also, I've been able to feel Eren's little body parts protruding out. He'll just stick them out and sit there for a few seconds. It's cool to be able to feel that little bump for awhile. :)

Energy:
It feels like I'm back in the first trimester again lately. I want to nap every day.

Physical Symptoms:

My back and hip have been hurting less. I don't know what I've done differently though...
Have been feeling more contractions lately. Mostly they just feel like Braxton Hicks tightening of the belly, but maybe 2 or 3 times they've had a bit more intensity. I started drinking a ton more water and that seems to help overall, but I'm still going to bring them up at my doctor appointment next week.

Food:
Trying to make up for Christmas, but I still probably snacked more than I should have.

Sleep & Dreams:

Stupid restless nights. I just can't get comfortable. And when I can, I then simply can't shut my brain off and just sleep, or I get acid reflux, or I need to pee. Blah. 

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Calvin and I were sitting on the couch watching TV one morning and he just started running his fingers through my hair saying "brush."
I've gotten to spend much of the week with Calvin since it's the awkward week between Christmas and New Year, work was super dead. I'm so grateful for that time with my love. It was awesome to be able to hang out with him so much. He's been so good about nap time, he falls asleep really quickly and I really took those moments to just watch him sleep for a minute or take his picture. He's so grown up, guys! I can't believe it some days. Those are the moments when I have to really step back and say he's not a baby anymore.

Random Thoughts:

In my mind I can't see myself going past 40 weeks because Eren's been measuring about a week ahead this whole time, plus Calvin was a big boy and he came at 37 weeks (8 lbs 6 oz). I just assume they'll induce me before Eren is a 10 pound baby, but I guess we will have to see haha. And if he is a 10 pound baby, we're pretty much guaranteed he'll fit in one size diapers at birth so that whole newborn stash thing was pointless... haha

Love,
Alaina & Baby Brother Eren