Welcome to Blogtober! Sharing my 2019 Fall Bucket List with y’all today 🙂

I’ve never done this before but I realized/decided that I needed to pour my anxious energy during the last few weeks of pregnancy into SOMETHING, so here I am working on blog posts for every. single. day. of. October. Hopefully I have to end early because unexpected baby surprise. But if not… gear. up. You’re in for a treat 😉

I only chose 12 things because I don’t know what life with a newborn looks like. These seem like things I’ll want to do anyway, but lists allow you to CROSS THEM OFF, praise hands!

01. Go to a pumpkin patch
02. Make pumpkin chili
03. Make a meal out of food from the Farmer’s Market
04. Bake a pie
05. Bake apple crisp
06. Watch a spooky movie
07. Take a fall family photo
08. Make a stovetop simmer scent
09. Spend a rainy day doing a puzzle
10. Watch Harry Potter
11. Make soup
12. Take a bunch of pictures of fall
13. Make apple cider

This year I’ve been anticipating fall more than any other year (hello Baby M) but you cannot deny how great it feels to get cozy on a dreary day with a good book and hot beverage. oh, and fuzzy socks.

IDEAS FOR YOUR 2019 FALL BUCKET LIST:

• Go apple picking
• Visit a corn maze
• Have a bonfire
• Carve a pumpkin
• Rake leaves for someone who is unable to do it themselves
• Attend a Halloween party
• Roast S’mores
• Attend a football game
• Make DIY Halloween Costumes
• Collect leaves for a fall craft
• Try a new pumpkin recipe
• Make pinecone bird feeders
• Take a scenic drive
• Host a scary movie night
• Buy a new cardigan
• Set end of the year goals for yourself
• Jump in a pile of leaves
• Roast Pumpkin seeds
• Visit a haunted house

What’s on your Fall bucket list?

This is it, y’all.

At our midwife appointment, we scheduled an induction for next weekend, the end of week 39. I’ve been planning on letting things happen naturally but after talking to both of our midwives, I decided to schedule an induction. Week 38 was our last full week either without our baby or without being in the hospital working towards getting here here 😉

When we went in for our non-stress test, I was asked if I could feel the contractions I was having. I couldn’t. Maybe that’s a good sign for later. My fingers are crossed.

I had my cervix checked, which was neat! My midwife was impressed about what she felt and then did a membrane sweep to help things get going. I had a crampy evening and then started to lose my mucus plug. Someone posted this meme that said pregnancy is basically 9 months of looking at the toilet paper after you wipe and I was like.. yea that is SO ACCURATE. It’s also a lot of talking about body parts you had no concern about prior to pregnancy.

You know how many times I’ve ever mentioned my cervix in conversation before this year? Probably never. now I talk about my cervix DAILY.

My anxiety has hit me HARD. There are days when I literally just sit on the couch doing nothing but zoning out because it’s SO MUCH to process. SO MUCH unknown ahead of us, not just with the whole labor and delivery but life beyond that. I’d expected to be a lot happier at this point in the pregnancy, but it turns out I’m still holding my breath and hoping that everything goes okay. I told Justen the other day that I feel like I haven’t let myself really feel connected or bonded to the baby in case something goes wrong and we don’t leave the hospital with her.

You can imagine that I have a lot of emotions and I’m usually feeling all of them at the same time.

But we’re in the home stretch.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Bruno Mars and being very kind to myself. Justen has been amazing in letting me process these last weeks, even though he’s got his own fears and uncertainties to process. I’m so grateful for him.

And let me just say this. I cannot wait to be able to sleep on my stomach again. Counting down the days.

See? all the feels.

Baby Martian // Week 37
Baby Martian // Week 36
Baby Martian // Week 35
Baby Martian // Week 34
Baby Martian // Week 33
Baby Martian // Week 32
Baby Martian // Week 31
Baby Martian // Week 30
Baby Martian // Week 29
Baby Martian // Week 28
Baby Martian // Week 23
Baby Martian // Week 22
Baby Martian // Week 20

It is absolutely mind-blowing to think that we’re SO CLOSE to meeting our baby. and it’s also slightly terrifying. For a minute we were disappointed that we hadn’t taken a picture for week 37, and then I realized.. DUH! We took the most BEAUTIFUL pictures EVER… well, a local photographer took them. I figured we’d share them here 🙂

After receiving the $1200 bill for our trip to Labor & Delivery while we were uninsured, we sent in a letter requesting financial assistance. This week we found out that our bill would be cut by 70% which was a huge blessing.

…so we decided to go back to labor & delivery. I had a pretty bad headache with light sensitivity and noticed that I gasped for air after drinking water, and since migraine and shortness of breath are both on the list of preeclampsia symptoms, we called the advice nurse who told us to go in.

Our first trip, they told me to drink more water. This trip they gave me two extra strength Tylenol and sent me on my way. Perfect. But I was hydrated!

I’m trying to be really gentle with myself in these last few weeks before this HUGE life-changing event, but I just feel exhausted, unmotivated, lazy, emotional and helpless.

For having a fairly asymptomatic pregnancy, this last month or so has hit me like a ton of bricks. I went from hardly feeling pregnant to feeling VERY pregnant to being VERY OVER being pregnant. But I know that I will miss feeling her squirm and move. It’s become such a regular part of my day, and I wonder how long it will take to readjust to living life with one heartbeat in my body all over again.

Anyway. We’re in the home stretch one way or another and I’m so glad we decided to get photos taken of us in this weird, slow time that will be over before we know it.

These photos were taken by Jessica Pham Photography 🙂

Baby Martian // Week 36
Baby Martian // Week 35
Baby Martian // Week 34
Baby Martian // Week 33
Baby Martian // Week 32
Baby Martian // Week 31
Baby Martian // Week 30
Baby Martian // Week 29
Baby Martian // Week 28
Baby Martian // Week 23
Baby Martian // Week 22
Baby Martian // Week 20

One of my favorite hobbies is discovering simple ways to make money or earn gift cards. ESPECIALLY if those ways don’t include surveys, can I get an amen??? Whenever someone has a post about ways to earn extra money and surveys are mentioned, I roll my eyes so hard.

I’m not going to do that to you. If something is going to make me extra money, it has to be quick and convenient.

Here are five apps to make money with your receipts

ONE // RECEIPTPAL

Receipt Pal was the first receipt scanning app I downloaded, and I have earned $80 in gift cards (they only offer retail and Amazon gift cards). You can connect your e-mail and Amazon account and they’ll automatically have the e-receipts added to your account.

TWO // RECEIPTHOG

I discovered Receipt Hog at the same time as Receipt Pal, but I had to wait like a YEAR to join. I’m finally a member! I love the cute display of the app, but I think it takes a little longer to earn rewards. You can redeem your coins for an Amazon or Visa gift card or PayPal cash.

THREE // FETCH REWARDS

A new one to me, Fetch is for grocery purchases. You get bonuses for buying certain items, sometimes extra points for staying active, and a base amount of points for scanning an eligible receipt. The gift cards can be redeemed for a plethora of stores including Amazon, Walmart, TJ Maxx, Ulta, The Home Depot, Target, Panera, and so much more!

If you want to join and receive points for joining, use my code when you register for the app! I’ll earn points and so will you! My Fetch Rewards Referral code is: 2NXXA

FOUR // COINOUT

Coin Out is another newer-to-me app. Scan all your receipts, and they’ll give you some coins. Most of the time, I’ve found I earn between $0.05-$0.07 (sometimes $0.10) for each receipt. There is no minimum cash out threshold, and you can get an Amazon gift card, PayPal cash, or have it transferred into your bank account. You can earn money for referring your friends, so please use my link to join!

FIVE // SWAGBUCKS

Swagbucks is my OG free gift card site. I’ve earned $462 in gift cards/paypal money. Swagbucks started just as a website but has expanded into a plethora of different apps. You can earn points for searching on the internet, shopping through their platform, printing coupons, watching videos, completing surveys (DON’T KILL ME! IT’S JUST AN OPTION), and scanning receipts! If you join Swagbucks and then download the Swagbucks Answer App, you’ll have the chance to upload your receipts and earn points! This is a new to me feature, but I’m LOVING it. Your Swagbucks can be redeemed for gift cards or PayPal Cash.