I THINK (key word–> think) we are closeish + 13 Friday Favorites!

I’ve been feeling some more real (at least I’m calling them real because they feel a lot different than Braxtons and way more crampy… you’d think I’d remember how it is all supposed to feel) contractions and starting yesterday afternoon I just felt SO OFF. These ‘contractions’ aren’t very close together but sleeping isn’t happening because of them.  I’m guessing the no sleep thing is happening because I was bragging on my latest baby post about how amazing I was sleeping—>  I spoke too soon ha.  Anyways, I’ll keep you updated today if we go in or if they just stop.  PS thank you for your tips on the baby post… a bunch of the comments left me tearing up and feeling so peaceful about everything.  It was therapeutic to read through them all.  Thank you.

The kids were up early and ready to get moving.

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I hit up the treadmill thinking it would be a normal run but at 2 miles I felt done running.  So I walked for a few minutes and jumped off and got going on the rest of the day.

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Very important part of my day with the kids—>  going to get the salad I crave the most right now.  Their lettuce to topping ratio is excellent.  + their breadsticks are life.  My sister used to work at this restaurant and after her shifts she would bring us back many breadsticks… these breadsticks have been a big part of my life for a while now.

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We were out and about doing some errands…

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Which involved picking up some donuts that hit the spot (I craved these much more when I was pregnant with Brooke but they taste really good now too).

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And then the afternoon hit and I was done for the day so we just hung out at the house.  Knox practiced his hide-and-seek that he told me he will be doing with the baby daily.

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The kids and I finished the day with a movie.  PS they keep asking me if our baby is going to show up in a suit like on Baby Boss.

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Andrew got home at around 8 after a great shift!  I love how much he loves doing what he does!

We will keep you updated either back here or on Instagram if anything happens this weekend:)  You guys are the best!

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Time for some of my Friday FAVORITES!

These Q & A books for our kids!  It is a three-year journal where you ask your kids a question each day (and then the same question again the next two years on the same day… so you can see how their answers compare/change over the years)!  The questions are really fun and it starts on January first so we will be starting it soon!

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*Need the best smelling Christmas candle for you or someone in your life… get this one then.   It will make your house smell like heaven.

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*Don’t forget about the amazing $1,000 RetailMeNot sweepstakes!!  My fingers are crossed for one of you to win $1,000 to help with your holiday shopping this year.  Just sign up for RetailMeNot HERE to enter the sweepstakes!! Good luck!”

*Brooke came into our room at 4 a.m. (which is NOT like her to wake up early) on Thursday morning.  I was awake so I went back in her room with her and laid down for a few minutes and asked her why she got up.  She told me she wanted to give Dada (what she calls Andrew) a hug before he left for the hospital because she was going to miss him so much while he went to the hospital.  And then my tears started coming.

*This Coconut Water Sheet Mask from a friend.  I used it the other night and it felt like heaven during and after.  My face was thirsty.

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*I get to work with the teenage girls in my area and they brought this over for me (yes, more tears).  They spent their night making this diaper cake and bringing it over to me.  It made me so happy, I don’t want to take it apart:)

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*THIS SHOW.  Why in the world have I waited so long to watch this?  Andrew and I are hooked.

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*Just take a moment to recognize the beauty in this below picture.  I can’t think of a better nighttime snack.

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*I saw this on Ashley’s instagram and absolutely loved it.. don’t forget this!  Keep celebrating!

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*I sent this to Andrew as a reminder.

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*Between pregnancy cravings + having no desire to cook + I’m not super picky = I LOVE TJ’s frozen meals.  Brooke and I both loved this fettuccine (it was so easy) and next time we will just add chicken and broccoli.  I need to fill my freezer with these for the next few months!

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*I love Stance socks (their running socks, normal socks and no-show socks… all amazing)!  I was pretty excited to find this new holiday pair:)

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*I’ve have loved reading about everyone’s races at CIM!!!  Both Kris and Lauren qualified for the 2020 US Olympic Trials Marathon and their recaps HERE and HERE are so inspiring and detailed.  Check them out if you want to be amazed!

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PS there weren’t any new running accomplishments this week to share and we will start those back up again in 2018!!!

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Have any Friday Favorites to share!? I would love to hear them!

What are your weekend plans?!

Anyone else love the Good Wife?!

Tell me something fun because I’m awake and reading everything;)

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49 comments

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I hope she comes soon! Sounds like you are ready:)

My weekend plans include packing for a week long trip to San Diego…………I have only been in the LA airport, never actually stepped foot on CA soil so I am excited! The husband isn’t going though (work trip) so I will miss him:( But I will be shadowing penguin keepers at the zoo and Sea World so I am ready! The only trick is the weather is going to be in the 70’s but in the penguin exhibit it is in the 20’s! Gotta figure out what to pack!

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So excited for you all, eee baby watch!!! One little thing popped in my mind to share Janae….with my daughter my contractions were never closer than 45 minutes apart! I felt a little off, went in to the dr and was already 4 cm dilated! We will be praying for you this weekend :)♥

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I feel like she’s coming this weekend;) FIngers crossed!

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That’s so sweet of your high school girls! I miss working with youth and am starting to again soon—now I hope I can make somewhat of a career out of it again, just not as a full-time teacher, along with writing.

I’m so excited for this weekend! I got to come home to Dallas and get to babysit my sweet niece tonight. :) It will be nice to see my friends and family for a bit before going back to Cali. Have a great weekend, Janae! Praying for you and your sweet baby!!

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THe Good Wife was SUCH a great show! I love those books for the kids; I have one of these for my baby:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0811874907/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1512739241&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=line+a+day+journal&dpPl=1&dpID=31sLg76DE3L&ref=plSrch

There’s no prompt or anything; you just jot down a little something each day!

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Yes!!! I have that too for the baby! I cannot wait! I hope you have an amazing weekend Jessica!

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I just started the Goodwife too! I love it!
Yep, I think you not wanting to run more than two miles is a sign she’s coming. ;-)

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You are definitely right:) I think we need to have discussions about the good wife! Have an amazing weekend!!!

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The Good Wife is only the very best. It ties with Parenthood for my most rewatched series!

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It definitely sounds like you are close to having the baby. Yay! Weekend plans are filled with fun kid stuff. My 8 year old has a birthday party she is attending at a pottery painting place and then right after we are taking her and my 6 year old son out for a special dinner to celebrate good report cards! They just got them yesterday and their “fancy” dinner choice is Olive Garden. Looks like I will be eating lots of bread sticks and salad. :) Like your husband, mine has an unusual schedule and he’s working tonight so we are celebrating a day later.
On Sunday, it’s a play date at our house with 2 other 6 and 8 year olds for gingerbread house decorating. Love all of the fun activities!

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“I hit up the treadmill thinking it would be a normal run but at 2 miles I felt done running. ”
Up, baby’s coming.

I passed my PhD Oral exams.. last real “school” exam ever!!! It’s slowly settling in…..

Hope you have a wonderful day, and we’re all thinking about you!!

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Congratulations! That is no easy task. What field?

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Thanks! :) Applied Mathematics. My advisors are in Pure and Computational Mathematics.

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You are INCREDIBLE! Huge congrats!!!! Yep, she sure is!!! Thanks and have an awesome weekend!

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Thank you :D!! You enjoy it too!! One of your last ones…but then they’ll all be your first ones :D!

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I keep thinking I’ll come here and see a guest post from Andrew saying it’s time! :)
Have you tried the mushroom risotto from TJs? I LOVE it!! And the… chicken lo mein? Something like that – I can’t remember if it’s lo mein or just stir fry, but it’s amazing. I usually am not fond of buying pre-packaged meals like that, but TJs usually has mostly ingredients I can pronounce and it doesn’t taste fake or overly processed. Also they have the best pomegranates there and I can’t stop eating them.
Weekend plans – work holiday party tonight, early bird workout tomorrow morning (which may be tough!), and a holiday craft fair that I’m going to with my friends on Saturday.
Hmmm something fun…I’m bringing a red velvet cake trifle to our holiday party tonight and it’s a new recipe, and it’s completely made from scratch – the cake, a cream cheese/whipped cream layer, and white chocolate pudding/whipped cream layer, topped with white chocolate shavings. I felt SUPER fancy making it! I even wore my apron!
I hope you have a great weekend!

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Happy Friday Janae! I haven’t commented in a while but I wanted to know I haven’t gone anywhere! I just am bad at commenting…ugh. I’ve still read every single day and wanted to give you a tad more encouragement today. Smile! And thanks for being apart of my first 10 minutes of work every single day. :) Praying for baby day today!!!

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I remember feeling really off the day before I went into labor with my first – even eating was tough and that never happens : ). Hopefully your girl is getting ready to make her appearance – so exciting!!

I’m recovering from hip surgery and am finally feeling strong enough on my crutches to venture out to the grocery with my husband this weekend. It’s the little things, right? Oh, and we have been loving T.J’s frozen and pre-made meals while I’ve been recovering, too – I stocked up the day before surgery. Good stuff!

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I am predicting the arrival of your sweet little girl this weekend:)

I did not comment yesterday, but I knew there was a reason I enjoyed reading your blog so much! We are so much alike. I love Trader Joes Smashing Smores they are so good!! I try not to buy them often because I normally start eating them as soon as I get to the car! Have you ever tried the Vanilla Meringues? If not they are a must! Also since you are talking about there frozen meals for when the baby comes have you tried there barbeque Chinese chicken? Another favorite!!!!

This weekend I plan on getting back into my usual running schedule. I have been down for the count the past few days due to a nasty sinus infection. I will use the treadmill since temperatures are going to be in the low 20s here in Pittsburgh.

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I haven’t tried those yet!!! I need to ASAP! Thanks for the recommendation! I need that bbq Chinese chicken now! I am so sorry you have been so sick and enjoy your treadmill runs this weekend Abby!

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I hope this isn’t too weird but I definitely had a dream that we were hanging out! And Brooke and Knox were there too and you were saying how things were going to be crazy after the baby was born and I was like oh my fiance and I love kids, we’ll totally babysit! And then I woke up and was kind of sad that I live on the other side of the country lol!

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Not weird at all! I love it!!! Come hang out in utah with us please?!?

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I am sending positive vibes your way! I am so excited for you and your family! You are a blessed woman.

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Just thinking of you and hoping today might be THE BIG DAY! It’s SOON, so soon!!!!!!

Weekend plans—5 miles after work, then fusion yoga, and then celebrating my daughter’s birthday this weekend. She’s having her best friend sleep over, and we’re going to a tack (horse stuff) shop for her to have a little “shopping spree” for her birthday present. She requested homemade cupcakes–yellow cake with strawberry frosting and sugar sprinkles :) and a trip to the Dragon Buffet for dinner :) I like her simple style! :)

Thinking about you guys!!!!!!!

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The good wife is such a good show! I love Julianne Margolis and the rest of the cast. I’m surprised there was no salmon salad in your photos lol :P but I’m happy to see the donut love going strong!

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I have loved following you thru your pregnancy! I can’t wait to hear the big news. Thoughts and prayers to you!!

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It’s so close, Janae! I’ll be impatiently perusing/stalking/creepily deciphering your every IG or blog post this weekend in case the little Miss decides to make an appearance!
I think your feeling of being “off” is a great indicator that it will be sooner rather than later. If I don’t get to tell you before it happens, good luck!! We’re all so excited for you and your expanding family!

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I started watching The Good Wife about a month ago and love it! It also has the guy who plays Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry), who is my favorite Rory Gilmore boyfriend, so I’m pretty happy about that.

This weekend I have family stuff because my cousin just got home from his mission to Jamaica (tall, broad red head kid in Jamaica ?) so there’s family in town for his homecoming.

I was at Trader Joe’s this week and bought lots of good food stuff. I live 10 minutes from it but forget (I need to take better advantage!!) so let me know if you need anything and I’ll make you a post baby care package of TJ essentials!

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I have been thinking that The Good Wife would be my next Netflix binge. Currently I’m working on getting through Blue Bloods, which I LOVE.

Also a huge fan of TJ meals because my boyfriend is super picky (typically doesn’t like frozen meals) and on nights that he isn’t home for dinner they’re perfect for me to make myself and then I’ll take leftovers for lunch the next day. I’m a huge fan of the Chicken Fried Rice!

Looking forward to get the baby announcement. Sending love from Baltimore! xo

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I have to go pick up that pasta from TJ’s. They’re prepared food is awesome and the healthiest that I can find which is a plus. Did you tell Brooke and Knox that obviously all babies are born wearing suits and that movie is incredibly accurate?! Kidding but that is cute they ask.

Have a great Friday!

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I’m sharing my Friday favorites too! I’ve been rocking Pentatonix Christmas songs all morning :)
I want to start the Good Wife now..is it on Netflix?
Praying for you and your baby girl, think she will be coming soon?!?!
We are supposed to get some SNOW tonight and I’m so excited for the first snow of the season!

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Hey girl! I think it is just on Hulu and amazon prime! Thank you so much and enjoy the first snow! How fun!

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So excited that you’re so close! I don’t think we’re meant to remember some things like labor…or else we may not want more than one. :) I love what Brooke said about Andrew…kids say the sweetest and/or funniest things! My current favs are: the invisibobble that PBFingers raved about and a pillow I bought from my chiro’s office which dips in the middle and supports your neck. Not only that, it doesn’t give me bed head for some reason and I go to sleep with wet hair. Oh, also loving my morrocan oil as well. Not much this weekend but enjoying the really cold weather down here in TX. We’ll do the gingerbread houses with the kids. Have a great day, Janae!

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I hope Baby Girl arrives soon!! I will be checking for updates all weekend! Praying that everything goes well for you.
This is such a great post!! I need that mask and some cinnamon rolls ASAP! I hope you will share some of the kid’s answers from the question book. What a cute idea!
I’m looking forward to tracking all my friends who are racing Dallas and Tucson this weekend. Pretty sure there are going to be some PRs and BQs…so I AM EXCITED!!
I remember liking The Good Wife…so many good actors in one series. I need to check it out again.
It is finally cold in TX. I wimped out last night and ran on the TM. My H follows me on his bike when I run at night and I didn’t want him to get frostbite HA!!

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Friday Favourites – my day off = get everything done or try to. I woke up at 4:30 am this morning (no idea why) and didn’t go back to bed. So I worked on Christmas presents. For one, I wrapped chocolates and then put candy canes on the package to make it a sleigh:)

I love the Good Wife! Maybe because I come from a legal background haha.

Weekend plans – dinner with my folks and maybe something in the snow and running. Its pretty cold here though maybe not as cold as UTAH so there will be indoor time.

Have a great weekend!

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I have a q & a a day journal for creatives. I wish I was better at keeping it. It was a fun project for a while.

We have my brother in laws homecoming this Sunday! I’m so glad he’s home.

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Oh my goodness, I bet you’re SO super close!!!! How exciting!!!

No big weekend plans which is just the way I like it! It’s supposed to be super sunny and cool though so I think we’re going to have to find something to do outside for a bit! It’s been super cold and cloudy the past few days which means way too much time spent inside!

I’ve never seen the good wife but I’m always looking for new shows to binge on! :)

That’s so neat to hear how much Andrew really loves what he’s doing! If only everyone loved their jobs as much as he does we would have a pretty amazing world for sure! Nurses are special people and are definitely called to do all that they do!

Oh and now I really need cinnamon rolls in my life! Those look SO good!!!

Happy Friday Janae!! I hope that little one makes her appearance oh so soon for you guys!!

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That is SO exciting that you’re feeling contractions, I’ll be thinking about you!

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I loved the Good Wife! I started watching it a couple seasons after it started, and I’m slowly watching the early episodes on Netflix. I love that it has such strong, smart female characters.

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You were up all night with contractions and then went for a run??!!! Wow!

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No… sorry I must not have explained that well! The contractions started in the afternoon… I ran in the morning! I hope you and your little one are doing amazing!

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Oh, ok! I probably read it wrong. Still — beast mode!! haha. We’re doing great, thank you. I’m so excited for you, Janae!

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When you get off the treadmill at 2 miles and also feel totally ‘done’ in the early afternoon ..I think your body is telling you to conserve your energy because major changes are happening inside you to get you ready for the task ahead. I think she will arrive this weekend. <3

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Not sure what I am going to do without your pregnancy cravings. Had hot chocolate for the first time in forever today. Sooooooooo gooooooood!

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One of my favorites from TJs is their Irish Breakfast Tea. It’s really good and it’s a lot cheaper than some other brands.

We are putting up our tree tonight and decorating it tomorrow. On Sunday we’ll probably go out and get some stuff done.

I have 2 good things: I got in to the NYC Half Marathon! It’s a new course and I’m pretty excited about it. Now I have to stay injury free. :) My second is I saw the senior vet today and he thinks Missy is doing pretty well despite her age and having a growth near her pancreas. She’s 14.5 so we’re not treating her tumor (hard decision but surgery would probably be too stressful on her body). It’s easy to second guess ourselves so it was good to hear we’re doing things correctly for her.

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So exited for your family. I wish you a smooth labor and delivery, and a healthy beautiful little girl at the end of the marathon!

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the past two memes you posted (ask where she wants to eat + target) i’ve totally sent to my husband after seeing here, haha. they’re true! and hilarious! sending you love and positive vibes xoxoxo

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Ah, Jenae, good luck!!!! My little lady just hit 14 months + I’m celebrating 15 weeks of pregnancy #2 by running a half and announcing that we’re expexting on IG tomorrow!!!

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PLEASE TAKE NO OFFENSE: but your nose and eyes (in the treadmill photo) have that *ready* look……So Excited for you.

Something funny-I actually dreamt I was in labor with a 5th baby, at age 48, and thinking “okay, hmmm, this is interesting and I really know what to do.” I think I dreamt it because I was having night sweats and the hormones were peaking? who knows, but it was so random and funny to me. The fun thing was I saw a lot of my previous maternity nurse friends!

Friday favorites-started my run with a sweet light snowfall, ran by a treelighting with a fire going on and music playing and lights all aglow and WHAM! not a few minutes later it was a blizzard and high wind and thunder and lightning! I was kind of stuck on an open path so I scampered to a bus stop hut and waited a few. It was such a festive start and a crazy rest of the way.

Sending you amazing birthing vibes!!!

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