Daily Eats, Baby Bump Update, & Not Letting Comparison Affect You

Happy Friday! What a week, right!? If you need a reminder to just close your eyes and take a deep breath, here you go. I'm right there with you.I wanted to share some "daily eats" with you today, give you a little baby bump update, plus talk about something that's so good...not letting what others think of you affect you.I've been having a bagel in one way, shape, or form, for breakfast every day this week. At the beginning of the week it was a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese. But then we ran out of cream cheese so I had it with peanut butter. But today I was in the mood for something a little different. For some reason, a cinnamon raisin bagel sandwich with egg and cheese sounded really good. Paul wasn't willing to try my maybe weird pregnancy combo, but I was pleasantly surprised with how delicious it was! I feel like it needed a little something else but still not sure what that could be. Regardless, it was delicious. Also, I've been super into orange juice this pregnancy and have had a cup of it most mornings with breakfast. Yum... :) I got dressed in a cute outfit from a box of maternity clothes that a friend here is loaning me. Bless you, Hilary! I'm now past the time of being able to wear most of my normal clothes so super grateful to have some maternity leggings and this cute denim top! I was just talking with my coach and friend, Paige, who is also pregnant about how important it is to both of us to have clothes that we feel cute in while pregnant. I couldn't agree more! I also just got some maternity jeans that I'd ordered from H&M and am so relieved to have some clothes that give my belly some space. Last year I went through pregnancy with just using a button expander for my normal pants but towards the end I was feeling so uncomfortable and wished I'd had some maternity pants. Already this time around I'm at the point where the button expander was not cutting it. Guys, maternity pants are a life-saver!I'm currently 18 weeks this week! Whoohoo! Two weeks until we find out if this little one is a boy or a girl. I'm literally so excited. At the beginning I thought boy but lately I've had dreams about it being a girl. Either way I'll be happy, of course. What do you think? Then I sat down to do some work while Graham napped. I'm planning something fun for December...stay tuned...all about feeling less stressed around the holidays with food (details to come). I'm drinking coffee again which feels so good. At the beginning of my pregnancy, I just couldn't do coffee but at the same time, I really wanted it because I love the ritual that comes with sitting down in the morning and either reading my Bible or journaling or doing work with a cup of coffee. I'm making it 1/2 caf right now because a little caffeine is needed, but a whole cup makes me super jittery. 1/2 caf feels so good! And just drinking it with a little 2% milk.For lunch I heated up some leftover chili and cornbread and put some shredded white cheddar cheese on the chili. Yum! I love all of the warm and filling foods at this time of year. This is the recipe I used plus I added in some lentils to bulk it up a little.In the afternoon I did some more work while Graham slept and made some boxed almond flour chocolate chip cookies I'd bought from Trader Joes earlier in the week. I don't think I made them right, but they were really good! I had some of the cookie dough (since it didn't have eggs in it) while cleaning up and then tried a small cookie when they came out of the oven...just to taste test :)In the afternoon, a new friend we just met at church came over with her 15-month-old little girl and we went on a walk in our neighborhood here. I don't know about you but time with friends and time with people, in general, is just so much more special right now.For dinner, I made some red curry and threw in some rotisserie chicken I'd made earlier and broccoli. I put this over rice and we enjoyed while watching a show. To be honest, this is most nights for us. Paul and I love watching a show while eating dinner. It's so comfy and relaxing at the end of the day. And then we enjoyed some of those cookies I'd made earlier with a glass of milk. So the topic of not letting what others think of you affect you came up with my gals in The Nourish Lab, my intuitive eating membership site, recently and I thought it would be a good thing to talk about here!Maybe you can relate with showing up somewhere and immediately doing that comparison check. "Ooh, what she's wearing is cuter than what I'm wearing.""Her thighs aren't as big as mine.""She's so much more fun and outgoing than I am." Those thoughts are hard. And though they won't necessarily be gone right away, I want to encourage you to find a way to not let those thoughts affect you.If you find yourself in those comparison thoughts, remember that you have your own amazing qualities? What do other people admire about you? If you don't know, ask them! Ask a friend, "What is something you like about me?". Seriously, this is such a good question to ask!Stand a little taller, smile more, choose to be confident.You are special and are enough, even in those situations of comparison. Acknowledge the comparison and then make the choice to not let it affect your own confidence. I hope you have the most amazing weekend!