chocolate cake and some other random links

 After B.'s February vacation last week, which was so nice, 

-the weather stayed beautiful, we visited a sheep farm with new born baby lambs = the cutest little things ever, celebrated a little friends first birthday and got to meet another friends new baby boy-

things are getting back to normal around here and I've finally had time to check what's going on on the internet recently.

These random links caught my eye:

This recipe

source

Because, duh, chocolate + women (especially this pregnant one) is a match made in heaven. 

It was okay, not the best chocolate cake I've ever had, the oatmeal gave it a weird texture in my opinion, but it certainly did satisfy my chocolate cravings.

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This good read.

I started blogging because I was inspired by the great blogs I was reading at the time, I was drawn to them because of their honesty and 'realness'. 

But lately I've lost interest in many of those blogs, and I think it primarily has to do with the 'shift' the writer of the article speaks about. 

So many of the bloggers I used to love seem like they've lost their voice and replaced it with sneaky (or not so sneaky) and generic advertising voices. 

I don't mean to say that I don't like any blogs that have advertising or affiliate links, some of my favorite bloggers have these things, but there needs to be balance people, don't let your own voice suffer!

Okay, enough on that topic. Stepping off my soap box now...

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This beautiful birth story. (go ahead, watch it, I'll wait...)

Micha's birth was slightly traumatic for me, I really wanted a home birth, but ended up in the hospital. 

I ended up getting a episiotomy, and it took so long to heal. 

Looking back, I felt like I wasn't in control of the situation, and just let things happen to me that I didn't really want. 

And now baby # 2 is on his way I'm kind of freaking out about the delivery and how long it will take me to heal this time around.

But watching baby Etta's birth story has brought me some calm and a feeling that 'I can do this'. 

I'm even considering having Micha at home during the delivery (which will hopefully be at home) just like the little boy in the video. 

I love the idea of having him close by and being able to meet his brother as soon as he's born.

We'll see when the time comes!

I do know that I'll have a great big birth plan with what I do and don't want ready, I did have one last time but now I have a better understanding of what delivering a baby means.

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This equal parts weird/intriguing new health hype.

source

Oil pulling? The name alone makes me shudder, but the idea of swishing oil in your mouth for twenty minutes, eek, I'm not sure I can do that. 

But, in the name of curiosity, I will be giving it a try this week, the promise of pearly whites, fresh breath, less acne, detoxification of your body and more is pretty appealing. 

I'll let you know how it went!

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Oh, and it's March people! 

Spring is almost here! Yay!

Love, Maria