Baby Shower and Solo Shopping Day (January 16)

I had a much-needed day away last Saturday to Mankato for some shopping, then on to LeSueur for a baby shower for Mark's cousin, who is due just a couple weeks before I am.

It was nice to have a little time to myself, but a pretty rough night of sleep (including the return of pregnancy insomnia) the night before did little to help my mental cognizance that day. Still, I did enjoy having a little downtime from being a Mom, a wife, and a co-worker for a day.

I started off with a stop at Target to pick up the baby gift, as well as a few other odds and ends for our household, then swung by the food court at the mall to take a break for lunch. I hadn't tried the new-ish LeAnn Chin there, and was pleasantly surprised, even if I couldn't eat much of it due to the baby being lodged right up in my esophagus and intestines and leaving little room for any sort of food to go.

Exhibit A: my leftovers...

I finished up a little shopping afterwards at the mall, then Michael's and TJ Maxx before hitting the road for the baby shower, 30 minutes from Mankato.

I made it right on time and spent the next couple hours catching up with cousins Kirsten and Skyler and Aunt Kathi while enjoying some yummy food, talking about babies, playing shower games and watching Kirsten open gifts for her little guy who is coming in about 6 weeks!

We played some fun games, although I did horrible at some of them haha :)

I didn't get many pictures opening gifts, but this mama is going to be set! I don't think I've ever been to a shower where a mama has gotten SO MANY things off her registry, which is seriously wonderful!

It was a great time to be able to shower this first-time Mama, and so nice to see some family, as we didn't do a big Thanksgiving or Christmas gathering this year for this side of the family.

The shower finished around 4pm, and I made my way back to Mankato, as I hadn't quite gotten all my shopping list complete before the shower. I had to take a little bit of a walking break, though, and I have to admit: I think I'm going to miss my little shelf at some point :) I managed to find a few really cute (non-maternity!) tops as well, which made me happy. I've been struggling the past few months being motivated with my wardrobe, considering I don't want to invest in any more maternity clothes, but haven't found any decent transitional pieces that will work at 8 months pregnant to cover the belly, but that I can also wear after my pregnancy is over and done with.

I really did have a great day, even if I was completely wiped out by the time I got home. It was extremely cold by the time I got there, but it was good to be home.