8th Month Bumpdate

It's the final countdown! (Anyone else just cue that obnoxious song in their head? You know, the one from like, the 80's big hair metal band that's played at sporting events? Just me? Dang.) Yes, I can indeed believe I'm 8 months pregnant. Why? Because even though it's going by quickly, much faster than Henry's pregnancy went, I'm friggin huge. It's hard to move. It's hard to breathe. But hey, that's how it goes in these final few weeks. Let's get on to the 8th month bumpdate!

Check out the unfinished (STILL) bathroom! No doorknobs, no fixtures, angry Paige

I'm doing it Friday Favorites style, so here are 5 key takeaways from being in my 8th month of pregnancy:

1) Mood: Not too shabby considering I'm a huge rolly-polly! I seriously cause mini-earthquakes when I roll over in bed at night. So if/when you see in the news about all the bizarre earthquakes in Dallas, it's not due to the fracking - it's just Paige, rollin' over, trying to catch some zzzz's.

2) Craving: I might get punched for this... But I'm 8 months into my second pregnant have have yet to have any fun, bizarre cravings, with any baby for any reason. So I officially think it's a crock of crap pregnant women pull to eat their inner desires/weirdness. I have a few pregnancy apps where women post alllllllll kinds of stuff, and some post pics of their "cravings." Sorry Amanda4593*, your flamin' hot cheetos mixed with cheap dill pickles gross me the eff out. Why would you eat that?! Anyway... I had some pomegranate the other day that tasted pretty good! Does that count?

*Name changed out of safety concerns. Anyone who's nuts enough to eat that nasty mixture, and openly tell people about, is nuts enough to hunt me down for calling her out. No thanks!

3) Weight & Workouts: 32 + weeks and I'm up 15 pounds. I had an OB appt this week and I only packed on 2.7 from last month. My Dr told me to eat more. Maybe I should hang with Amanda4593 and eat some of her concoctions? JK! My tummy has run out of room, but I'm working on the mini-meals to get more calories in. I just really, really hate that overly-full feeling being this pregnant makes you. I also hate heartburn. So eating lots just isn't in the cards for me. Still hitting up yoga (not prenatal yoga - normal yoga. I don't understand why people waste money on prenatal yoga and that's coming from someone who promotes any and all things yoga!), barre classes and walking 4-5 times a week. Otto loves to move and shake and punch after I workout! I think it's his way of telling me he feels as revitalized as I do.

4) Maternity clothes: I'm pretty much set considering how pregnant I am, and not a big shopper anyway, but my sister was in town this week and we decided to spend an afternoon shopping with Henry... When I saw these on super sale at the Gap, I just had to. Looked too comfy NOT to. They were even cheaper at the register (only $19 including TX's ridic high sales tax! FYI, link isn't as "on sale" as I got them in-store and is not an affiliate link. Hilarious that they're full length on the model and capris on me, yeah? Not really. My struggle is REAL) You'll find me in them everyday from here until March.

5) Excited for: I'm pretty pumped to stop the Dallas-based-pregnancy-induced earthquakes and sleep on my back again! I'm so not a side sleeper. Although I have to say, having a Tempurpedic mattress is AMAZING. And their side sleeper pillow? I have no ear cartilage pain (if you've never been pregnant that likely makes zero sense to you, but if you have, you're already on your way to get one of these pillows!) and the two together means I'm still sleeping really well. I'm excited for new baby snuggles, and awkward newborn baby hands! (They're so big compared to the baby, and babies never know what to do with them... It's adorable.)

That's about it guys! Only one more of these posts until Otto gets here. Wow! What will I regale you with when I no longer have fun pregnancy facts to share?! I'll think of something. Until then, sit tight for one more month of bumpdates, mmmmk?

November Blog SMART Goals

It's a new month, so it's time for the October goal review and November S.M.A.R.T goal setting! I discussed in October's goals about how doing this, as cheesy as it may seem, has taken my blog to the next level in terms of social media following and actual income earned. In fact, since starting and sticking to S.M.A.R.T goal setting, my blog has quadrupled what it earns every month - or more! This is why S.M.A.R.T goals are essential for blog growth.

Can I be honest with you? I'm sitting down to write this after about 12 hours of sleep and my husband and toddler are at swim lessons so I have the house all to myself. This never happens! I'm in a good mood. Logically, all I could think of was THIS song, so I turnt it up to get motivated for November's goal setting. Cheers to all my other dirty-thirty-somethings who are both old and young enough to remember getting down to this jam in the 90's!


Ok, back to business or I'll waste all my time on 90's hiphop and miss my chance to write this post! Here's how October shaped up:

1) Improve photography on my Instagram.
CHECK! I worked really hard and played around with making these DIY photography backdrops to improve my aesthetic. I participated in my first loop giveaway to see how that would effect engagement and followers. I did an Instagram challenge that provided me a subject to focus on everyday, which took "one more thing to think about" off my to-do list. I'm really happy with how cohesive my feed looks now! And I'm gaining new followers everyday without trying - just by posting photos daily, improved photography, and hashtag use.

2) Make 4 evergreen posts for my "blogging maternity leave." 
CHECK! I actually knocked out 6 posts, and have them all scheduled. Of course, I have no idea when I'll actually go into labor so I might switch all the schedule dates around, but the point is I have some GREAT content to post after Otto comes. So y'all can still come here and read good stuff, not just "sorry readers I'm too tired to even open a laptop correctly, be back later!"

3) Pitch 4 brands for collaboration.
FAIL! I pitched 2. One told me to reapply in the new year because their "blogger queue" was already full for the year and the other was responsive and said they'd be happy to re-gram some of my shots on their Instagram feed. So all in all, not a bad response! But I did stop at two... If you remember, I lessened my posting schedule (which allowed me to get all those maternity leave posts written!) and I didn't think adding in more brand work made sense. So I guess it wasn't a total fail but more of a direction change mid-month. I still have my short list of people to reach out to when I'm ready to add more back to my plate though.

And now, what I hope to accomplish this November. I'm going to make it a light load, with being a full 8 months pregnant and the holidays coming up. But yes, I still think it's important to have SMART goals driving my month and my blog growth (despite any baby arrivals or major holidays!)

1) Expand my reach on Instagram.
I told y'all I was going to be spending the remainder of the year improving my account. When I focused on my Pinterest, I saw (and still see!) amazing results. First step in the IG improvement was to get my photography and aesthetic in shape. Now I want to focus on my reach. This means gaining new followers and utilizing new hashtags to make my account more searchable - and therefore, findable. I plan on continuing to post at least one planned photo a day and utilizing established hashtags to become a constant presence within that hashtag, as well as utilizing new hashtags to reach new potential followers.

Day 27 on #fallforsybl is all 'bout dem hayrides. But when you live in the 4th largest city in the US, hay is hard to come by! I can dress for what I'd imagine a hayride to be like, right? Or a concrete ride. In my SUV... #closeenough #31weeks

A photo posted by Paige AnUncomplicatedLifeBlog (@anuncomplicatedlifeblog) on Oct 27, 2015 at 5:09am PDT

2) Write 4 more "maternity leave" blog posts.
Evergreen content, relevant topics, great photos - blah blah. Just to have something in my scheduler for those days I'm struggling. Because I know I will have some rough days after Otto gets here, this aint my first infant rodeo!

3) ACTUALLY Optimize AdSense, and explore new ad contracts.
You saw this in my September goals, but I was unable to really play with AdSense because of my BlogHer publishing contract. Well here's the skinny on BlogHer: They weren't actually paying me! I'd get random contributions to my PayPal every so often, none of which matched THEIR records of what my blog was earning. It was less - way less - then what their own accounting system said I was making. I would get PayPal contributions of 42 cents y'all. Not even kidding.

After not getting paid for over 5 months, I mean paid NOTHING, not even my 42 cents, I had enough of their crappy pay and crappy service. I cut ties with them. I'm still working with SheKnows Media and SheKnows Experts Among us on social media campaigns, but have no desire to ever even see the BlogHer name again. Alas! I can actually optimize my AdSense now. I have a few resources I'm excited to share with you, because in 4 days (it's Nov. 4) I've already seen my earnings go up 39%. I also will explore other advertising contracts to see if there's a more lucrative deal out there. BlogHer just ISN'T it, for anyone else shopping around. I do NOT recommend working with them.

That's the plan for November! You'll see that my SMART goals are measurable and specific - not "post on Instagram more" but "utilize new and existing hashtags to drive engagement and new follower growth." That's the difference between a SMART goal and a goal that won't take you very far. It has to be specific, time sensitive, feasible and measurable. If you do this every month and faithfully work towards those goals, you WILL drive the growth of your blog!

Maintaining Your Sense of Style as a Mom

The busy holiday season can leave Mom's tired and frumpy, but there's help for maintaining your sense of style year round!

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HuggiesForHolidays #CollectiveBias #CVSHuggiesHeroes

Now that Halloween has passed and we're into November, the Holiday Season is in full swing! I've already gotten a small mountain of emails for holiday parties, bake sales, fundraisers for Henry's school, neighborhood gatherings and so forth. This means we will be on the go a lot for the next few weeks - and my final few weeks of pregnancy. That level of busyness makes it challenging to maintain ANY level of style when you're toting around a toddler and extra 15 pounds of internal-baby!

Why is it so challenging, especially during the holidays? It's full-out cold season. So that means somebody's nose is always running. It's holiday treat season, so that means there's always sugar on somebody's hands. In Texas, it's finally cool enough to spend some time with play dates on the playground, so that means there's always (ALWAYS!) dirt on hands and faces, and usually a scrape or boo-boo to clean up after.

And, ahem! By *someone* I mean Henry. I don't have any sugar on my hands! Nope. Not me. Not here. Not guilty.

Huggies Clutch n' Clean wipes make it easy to take care of the problems mentioned above, and to do it in style. Sticky hands, running noses and dirt are no match for a mom with these cute and durable - not to mention tote-able with a wristlet attached - baby wipes!

I appreciate any company who understands how messy "holiday parenting" is, and Huggies does. The wipes we use are over 99% water and dermatologically tested. In fact, I even use them on myself sometimes! If my eyeliner or mascara has started to "run" while we're out running errands, a quick wipe with Huggies fixes that real quick. Next time you're stopped at a light and see a woman wiping her own face with the wipes for her baby's bottom, you just go ahead and think of me! Because yes, I actually do that. Often.

Easy to grab and easy of the eyes Huggies Clutch n'Clean wipes

Even better, Huggies has lent moms a helping hand in the style department! They've made cute and convenient Huggies Clutch n' Clean wipe packaging, which puts their wipes in a durable and CUTE purse-like package. Better yet, this packaging is refillable. It's so easy to grab these and a diaper for a quick change at a restaurant or in a friend's bathroom - I can grab it easily out of the diaper bag instead of lugging the whole kit and caboodle with me for a simple diaper change. Winning!

Huggies Clutch n' Clean wipes help you maintain your sense of style as a mom - year round, but especially during busy times like the holiday season! It's easy to pick up a pack or two at CVS Pharmacy and throw them in your bag for all the not-so-unexpected messes babies and toddlers make during this busy time. There are plenty of styles available in the baby aisle!