two little pink lines.

this week i got some love in my inbox from a dear friend. her friend is pregnant. okay. it was not planned. surprise. it isn't the most ideal timing. surprise again. do i have any advice on where she can start? followed by a game of twenty questions about finding a doctor, vitamins, nutrition, the father. the whole nine.

the week i found out that i was expecting was a pretty important one. there were four failed pregnancy tests. and every time it came up negative, i said 'no. i'm definitely pregnant.' i wasn't late. not even close. but my entire body and self knew that things had changed. i didn't panic. not even when my sister said 'well, you won't be buying $400 boots anymore'. which is a small miracle in itself. but i was super fortunate to have some incredible support in my life who had my back more during that week than ever.

here are a handful of my tips on unplanned pregnancy aka [hopefully] the greatest surprise of your life:

1. one good starting point: there is NO good/easy/especiallyideal time to have a baby. i mean, there are points in your life where it's certainly easIER, and MORE ideal than others. but whether you are [mention no names & by that i mean my name] 23 and in a very new relationship, or 30, married for 3 years and perfectly planned: there will be budgeting. and heavy decision making. your man may freak whether it was a surprise or not. you may freak. whether you grow a beautiful baby in your stomach or not, life happens. challenges happen. celebrations happen. it happens.
2. stop drinking jagar bombs. and caesars. stat. and don't freak out if you had a cocktail in the first week of pregnancy. you aren't the first. you won't be the last. marcus didn't come out drunk. neither will yours. knock on wood.
3. make an appt with the fam doc. this is important. they will confirm the pregnancy, try to chart out how far along it is, and do a physical. you need this. as early on as possible.
4. go get a prenatal multivitamin and a high-potency fish oil supplement. two must haves [in my personal baby making op] that will ensure you grow the most beautiful, healthy and intelligent baby possible. these are both like added health insurance, especially helpful during weeks 1-12 [or if you are this girl, weeks 1-40 and one day] when you vomit more times in any given single day than in the rest of your life combined and are stressing over nutrients.
5. find an awesome obgyn. you don't necessarily have a birth plan in mind if you weren't planning to conceive at all, so try to find one that is as open minded and offers a ton of options during the pregnancy and delivery. mine was unreal but i think i got lucky. she was no nonsense, straight shooting, super supportive and had common sense even the DW would respect. don't stress if you don't get an appt until the second tri. that's cool. the fam doc will arrange your first ultrasound anyways.
6. if the man is behind you, awesome. if not, find some equally awesome support because you will need it. not in the form of a back up baby daddy. in the form of a fam or friend member who you're cool with seeing you up close + personal plus like 25 pounds.
7. go to www.thebump.com and www.babycentre.com. subscribe to their email newsletters. these emails are a great resource and i found a nice balance between both sites.
8. don't read books on pregnancy. read books about what to do with the baby once it's here. if you can read both, then sure. do. but if the pregnancy is unplanned you might be better off to subscribe to some great e-newsletters and just focus on getting ready for d day. [delivery day].
9. go for a walk. outside. get fresh air. get active. so important during the everyday life and even moreso when you're knocked the heck up. don't be a lazy pregnant woman whose all 'i have no idea how i gained all this weight i swear i didn't eat THAT MUCH ice cream' and out of breath after they carry the newborn upstairs because they didn't bust a single sweat the whole 40 weeks.

10. breathe. this is an insane. scary. important. wonderful. beautiful. life. changing. in. the. hugest. possible. way. journey. and if you're going to do it, i'm totally begging you to do it 'right'. don't half-do it. if you're in, be all the way in. and take time to breathe. because before you know it life goes from this:

to this:

hours old.

and it only gets better from there.

we are sending lots of love + healthy, happy energy to that friend of a friend. because sometimes it is pretty wonderful to celebrate 'congratulations' and 'surprise' all at the same time.

-kare

more of our casa ...

a few more photos i wanted to share from our new home:

from the outside looking in: our humble abode!

ikea goodness.

my ocd shining through.

incase either of us ever need to milk a cow. the perfect stool.

i heart new throw pillows and perfectly mismatched furniture.

yogi chai tea with a lesson shared on each teabag.

my favourite moment of moving in came over the weekend. after a few hours of allan key persistence, marcus + i had finally 'assembled' [and i use that term loosely as this thing looks nice but may definitely crumble.] my bed. he kept asking throughout the process 'may i sleep there? may i try it? may i lay down?' so finally the bed is finished and he tells me there is one more part. he runs to his room to get his stool, then puts it perfectly next to the bed and tells me that is for marcus to say good morning. and then my heart swelled up and filled my whole body and i gave him a nice squeeze. he rocks my world.

have a great tuesday ;)

-kare

hot yoga - love. running - near hate.

remember the time i joked around and said whose idea was it to essentially train for 30 days in a sauna and then go out into the dead of cold and run for the first time?

remember that?

i have a hate on people. i am still getting to 3-4 hot yoga sessions a week [which now i appreciate on a whole new level] but am also running almost everyday. 5k 4 days a week, plus one 'distance [which right now is 5k and i'm laughing out loud but also dead serious] run a week, plus my hot yoga and a bit of weights. and by weights, i mean 4 pound hand weights. they are so cute and they match my decor. it's all about priorities right?

so back to my hate on. i totally think that once i am running over 10k in one go, that i might feel better about it. but right now, i have to make a very deliberate effort while running [in rain/snow/slush] to maintain a positive mindset and a strong focus on my goal to kick this half marathon's butt in may.

the thing is, i don't just want to 'finish' the race. i have a goal time in mind that i want to beat. not meet. but beat. so i am  really pushing myself everyday. even if today that meant only 5k. i will totally get there. i am going to do this race and i want to have no regrets when i do beat my goal time. and then i might never run again unless a giant dog is chasing me.

seriously.

hot yoga is this incredible, spiritual, fulfilling, physically challenging but in a warm and wonderful way kind of lifestyle/activity. when i do it, i dedicate my practice and feel like i am genuinely a better person inside and out after each class. i honestly do. if you are into growth and personal development, you should be doing yoga.

running is this freezing cold, not-so-spiritual-more-like-spit-up, less-fulfilling, physically challenging in a way that reminds me why i should have plie-d a little deeper after each jete during my dance training because now all of those old injuries are coming out of the woodwork and onto the pavement and it hurts- kind of lifestyle/activity. i do feel great everytime i do a run simply because i DID IT. i don't feel like a better person for it. not yet at least.

so for now - i will definitely grit my teeth and keep running my measly little 5k a day and hope that when i do my next distance run i can manage like, 8k. stop laughing. but i will definitely stick with it, and if there's one thing i am trusting and sure of, it's that the day i finish this race, i will have learned a lot about myself from it. i will be better for it. i will have accomplished another physical goal off of my list which means there is room for new goals. i can't wait to set new goals. i will be stronger for it. marcus will be so stoked to see me 'in a race' with a real number and everything. i'm going to talk my dad into taking marcus to the finish line so i have someone there to celebrate it with when i finish.

i am totally doing this. it just isn't as warm and wonderful as yoga ;)

run on people.

-kare

faq.

this post title isn't a typo. it isn't vulgar either.
i was totally floored by the feedback on my single-mama-cat-out-of-the-bag post.
floored. [that's a funny word]

and along with amazing support [thank you], kind words [thank you again], love [right back to you.], and digital high fives a plenty, i also got a handful of the same questions asked a handful of different ways. so here i give you: the faq post.

q. how in the name of zeus are you doing the 30 days to inspiration if you're a single mom?
a. i am super blessed to have a dream job with more flexibility than most. on wed and thurs, i do evening classes as marcus is with james. on sunday or monday, james comes to spend time with marcus while i hit up a class. on tuesday i hit up the post-grind class and just make it to daycare pick up on time. friday morning i do the crack of dawn class. saturdays i have been super lucky to have a friend/a fam [thanks jules], or an amazing what-do-you-respectfully-call-what-used-to-be-your-mother-in-law? stop by to let me skip out during naptime for a quick class. it is very busy. but at least hitting it up during naptime means i'm not losing any marcus time. just laundry time. so come february 8th, i may hibernate for a few nights straight in my laundry room. remember the times i joked about being an o.c.d. plannerific mother? that is how i am managing my daily yoga classes.

q. are you sad about your marriage ending?
a. any marriage ending is sad in a sense. i was sad for quite some time. now i am happier and living more honestly than i have ever been in a really respectful way. i totally appreciate james in a whole new and healthier way.

q. where are you and marcus living?
a. for some reason it seems as though many people think we are homeless [!]. 1. i appreciate the warmth and compassionate concern. 2. we are totally not homeless! while i'm not about to disclose our geo coordinates, we are safe. warm. happy. healthy. moving shortly but when the time is right. and not. homeless.

q. can i introduce you to: this guy who is JUST perfect for you/this guy i know who would totally love you and marcus/this other great guy/the demo guy from the competitive brand of sport supplements/my dog/everyone and their dog/seriously are you just not into men anymore?
a. no thank you. i am not looking. things are golden. and if with time that changes i will let you know. even your dog. but it is amazing to know a lot of people really want me to be fulfilled + loved + happy.

q. don tallman: do you need me to come up monthly to help clean your house?
a. my dad is the best. so is my whole family but this is really what he asked me during our first conversation about this change. and i totally might take him up on it. but for now somehow my house is nice and clean. [maybe because of the o.c.d].

q. is marcus okay?
a. marcus is better than me on my best day. and i have some pretty impressive days. he is asking healthy questions, showing healthy signs of understanding these changes, and eating healthy dinners daily. we are just loving him every step of the way and trying to find creative ways to help him express how he feels. bottom line? he knows how much we both love him. he knows we are both here. that will never change. he blows my mind. you know this already. here are some cute shots i took over lunch on saturday:

q.did you seriously not eat chips for two weeks?
a. people. please. no one was more surprised than me. but i am still happily eating kale chips instead of ketchup chips, and saving the treats for cheat day.

q. how do you become a follower of the blog?
a. on the right hand nav, right under 'followers' it says 'join this site'. you can either login via a google account and opt in to follow/join the site, or you can quickly create a simple login profile. it takes just a few moments or less :)

i can't even tell you enough how much i am loving the feedback. the good. the not-so-good. i love it all. it is really awesome to connect with you and know that by writing on this blog i'm opening up a convo with a bunch of people who are really awesome. seriously. it's even better when even a handful of people share in the convo and let me know their thoughts on my ramblings.

i would also love to have some guest-bloggers. once, a dear friend of mine shared an awesome post on travelling with a toddler, and i'd love to do more of that. so if you think you have something funny/awesome/delicious/not dead-awful to share, let me know. i'd love that too.

can someone count how many times i wrote 'love' in this post? that's funny.

so i'll keep writing as long as you keep reading, and please, please, keep sharing your thoughts!

-kare