Okay, the moment I’ve been waiting for (& maybe you have too) — our nursery reveal. I have been sharing bits & pieces over on my IG stories (if you don’t follow me over there, what are you even doing?!), but it finally came together this week & I couldn’t be more thrilled.
Also, it you haven’t read them yet, check out Nursery Design Update #1to see how we did Ryder’s wall & Nursery Update #2 to read all about the closet & design plan.
I am going to preface with a few things —
Babies get a lot of stuff. There are certain things that I am like…uhhhh where do I store this until he can use it at 6 months? (I’m looking at you, high chair)
Babies do not need a lot of things. We live in a very materialistic world. I obviously registered for 200 things & got probably 150+ of them. Baby is EXTREMELY spoiled, but there are lots of things that we would’ve been okay without. If you have a small space or just want to live minimally, skip lots of these things. I might throw together a minimalist registry list soon.
I will share as many brands/links as I can to the things that we got. I picked pretty much everything in white and gray because we are planning on 2-3 kiddos. I wanted to be able to easily transition the furniture and expensive items over to baby girl or boy next.
Okay, without further ado…
Cozy little reading nook — diffuser & oils are from Young Living and the Dino oil rack is from Hobby Lobby. Everything else is tagged if you tap on the photo and follow the link Puppy is not for sale & everything else is tagged in the photo if you click on it & follow the linkDino sign is from Hobby Lobby. Everything else is linked in the photo above (click). I did an entire post on my closet, but tap the picture for links to all the things or go here — Nursery Update #2
Well that’s about it. Everything is linked here and over on my LTK page to the best of my ability! Thanks for hanging out with me for the update & leave any questions you have or anything I missed in the comments!
You’ve seen it. I’ve seen it. All these amazing women who freezer cook for their families. I’m barely someone who likes to cook dinner in general, so this really never seemed to be for me. BUT then I saw all of these mama’s doing it before giving birth and that hit me different.
I obviously know zero about what it is like to be a mom to a newborn, but I imagine making healthy meals isn’t at the forefront of your mind. Josh will (hopefully) be home the first two weeks, then we will be rolling into Christmas (so the meal train thing is kinda non existent in that season). I am not suuuuuper concerned about dinners because I know Josh will pitch in or will watch Ryder while I cook, but I’m an awful breakfast eater and I don’t want to be reaching for chips as a snack every chance I get.
So I got to work on Pinterest looking up meals & snacks that sounded good and I am going to slowly start stock piling over the next few weeks. I am about 34 weeks now and plan to do a few things each week until I’m over it.
I’m starting this post early so that I can link all the recipes that I use in case you want to use some of them too! Like I said, I am starting with a focus on snacks and breakfasts then will see what I get around to finishing.
Power balls are some of my FAVORITE prepregnancy and pregnancy snack, so you know I am stocking up on these. I am making 5 different varieties (& a double batch of a few) to have some healthy protein and fats in my diet. I’ll freeze them all then pull out one bag at a time to eat (6-8 balls per bag). Here are the recipes I am using (these sites have to many options, but as you can see, I’m a chocolate peanut butter lover.
9 Energy Bites Recipes from Bless This Mess Please (making chocolate peanut butter & peanut butter and jelly)
BREAKFAST:
Next up is breakfast muffins/breads because sometimes we need something yummy to start. I know that I dont want to start the morning full of sugar, so I did find recipes that have less sugar and more natural sweeteners when possible. I just imagine that I’ll wake up and nurse and need a little something to eat, so these will be easy to grab. I’ll probably balance them out most mornings with my green smoothie (when I have time to make that).
Homemade Bagels from Sally’s Baking Addiction (planning on a batch of each cinnamon crunch & plain)
Whole Wheat Bread from Five Heart Home (will probably make this to eat now & freeze the second loaf for later two or three times)
Okay, that’s all I have for round one. Round two will focus on some lunches/dinner options that I have found. Those will be coming in a week or two! I’m off to prep & plan these meals!
If you’ve been around here, you know that your girl is not a chef. I really love to make healthy meals, but we basically live by the 80/20 rule. We meal prep our breakfasts, lunches & snacks and usually our dinners consist of a meat & veggie. But there are some times when we just want some good old fashioned comfort food & we cook up things like my Easy Peasy Baked Ziti or this chili.
There are a million chili recipes out there, but I love that this one is quick, easy, and can be made at any time with the things I keep stored in my pantry. This is vital in Florida because we probably only have 2-3 cold evenings a month in the winter, so you never know when you will want to whip this up.
Ingredients:
1-1.5 lbs of ground beef
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes
3-4 cans of chili beans
1 can green chiles (Rotel)
Chili powder (to taste)
Directions:
Brown ground beef thoroughly
Add crushed tomatoes & green chiles to ground beef
Add chili beans to pot
Add chili powder and mix well
Simmer on medium heat until bubbly and cooked together
Stir often so bottom doesn’t burn
Serve over rice or with a side of Frito scoops or crackers. Top with cheese or sour cream if desired
See how easy it is? Ready in under 30 minutes & ready to curl up on the couch with a Hallmark Christmas movie.
This makes about 4-5 servings, so we like to cook it for dinner then heat it back up for lunch. It also freezes so well! Sometimes I double the recipe and freeze in double portions, then I’ll pull it back out and heat it up instead of cooking from scratch on a busy winter evening.
You’ll see that I share recipes on here from time to time & I will just start with saying that I am not overly creative in the kitchen. Most of the things I make are my tried and true recipes that my family has been making forever or slight modifications I make to meals that I find on the internet. My definition of a dinner meal is something super easy & yum.
Josh can’t always have certain things at dinner (depending on his meal plan) & the most typical thing he cuts at dinner is carbs, so this meal is not in the rotation as much as I’d like, but this is what my roommate & I lived off of in college.
Okay well without further ado, the most basic & easy baked ziti around —
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 box ziti or penne pasta (12-16oz)
1 cup ricotta
1 egg
2-3 cups of shredded mozzarella
1 large jar of sauce
Directions:
Cook the noodles to al dente
Cook and brown the meat to done
Mix together egg, cheese and ricotta
After meat is browned, combine with sauce
Layer the bottom of a 13×9 pan with sauce mixture.
Add a layer of noodles, then a layer of ricotta mixture.
Sprinkle mozarella cheese on top.
Repeat these layers until ingredients are gone.
**Save enough sauce to cover top layer of noodles or noodles will be hard
Cook for 30-40 minutes at 350 (until sauce is bubbly)
Seriously, its about as easy as it gets. There are a few things I love about this recipe. First, you can also take the mixture/filling & stuff shells with it, top with sauce and bake the same way. Second, there’s no wrong way to layer (thick or thin layers) — whatever works best for you. Lastly (this is what I do since its just Josh & I), you can easily make it in two smaller pans (8×8) and bake one for dinner tonight and freeze one for later (or give one to a friend). If you’re going to freeze it, assemble as directed, then pop into the freezer instead of the oven. I recommend thawing the day before in the fridge & you might need to add a few extra minutes when you bake it if it didn’t get to thaw all the way through.
Alright, if you have any questions or I forgot anything, let me know!
When I first started switching to low tox products, I didn’t do a ton of research. I just walked into Target and chose the products that looked the most “green” — ones that used words like organic or natural or green or clean. I blindly trusted brands to advertise for their products without paying much attention to the ingredients. Well lesson learned, sis. Let me share with you what I learned about greenwashing…
Take a look at what these companies that say they are “clean” are spending their money on instead, yuppp, that’s right. Just changing the label instead of doing the tough work to actually change their products to be better for you.
Are you fine? Do you have any of these symptoms often or especially after cleaning? Because I know I did and I didn’t even think to attribute it to my household cleaners.
& truly, what could it hurt to try something less toxic? It’s better for you & your family and could also be so much better for your health!
So next time you’re in the grocery store, read those labels before you purchase your household cleaner. Or if you want to get your hands on my favorite one, its only $24 and lasts months!
Ask me how to shop with my link and make your household cleaner plant based & toxin free!
So why did I originally start using Young Living essential oils? Because I couldn’t use a candle in the classroom. I know the reason we can’t burn candles is because it is a fire hazard, but after doing my research, I’ve learned that it is actually a health hazard too! Here are some of the dangers of candles —
Seems logical enough to you, right? Bye candles. I truly thought that I would miss them the most in the fall and winter months because they are just SO cozy, but YL has such a wide variety of oils & there are so many amazing diffusers that I can say I have no regrets since making the switch. We even have diffusers with a flicker setting that looks almost like a candle in the dark, but instead of burning carcinogens, we’re burning oils to help support our body systems.
That’s all fine Hil, but how do you find blends you actually love? Hey, good question! Here are a few of my staples in the fall months that just smell so dang good. BUT if you are looking for a particular scent, you can almost always type in diffuser dupe for _________ on Pinterest & find a recipe that is so close to the candle.
So seriously, what are you waiting for? Ready to make the switch? Ask me how!
I’ve been chatting with a few friends lately (some pregnant and some not) about pregnancy, its toll on our body & body image, as well as how it is so much better different than anything I ever thought I would get to experience. BUT it hasn’t been easy every day. There are days I beat myself up over the way that I look. There are days that I spend comparing myself to other 31 week bumps or other first time pregnant moms. There are days when taking a walk makes me out of breath. There are days when I just want to lay around and stuff my face with ice cream. There are days when I want to mourn the loss of my body before I was pregnant. There are days when I feel like women are out there tearing each other down more than building one another up.
Basically, I am on here to tell you that YOU ARE A GREAT MOM ALREADY regardless of your belly size, your pregnancy symptoms, your weight gain or your baby gender. Your one responsibility is to grow a baby (& healthy one to the best of your ability). You are not a failure because your baby is growing differently than anyone else. You can still love your baby and struggle with the changes your body is making. It’s okay, mama, to not have it all together all the time.
Here are some things that I have told myself and other pregnant friends over the last few days.
If you’re new around here, I’m pregnant with our first baby boy. He is coming in hot the first week of December and we could not be more excited. When I started registering for baby clothes, I realized that a lot of them were splashed with graphics or bright colors which is just not our vibe. My husband can pretty much only be found in blues, grays & blacks and I tend towards more earthy tones as well. So I set out to find some reasonably priced neutral clothes for all those moms out there who feel like I do about baby boy clothes. Here are some of the best ones that I found on AMAZON that all run under $20! Happy shopping!
If you shop through my links (by clicking on the photo), I do get a small commission at no cost to you. This helps support my business and growing family.
So I had the idea to write this post before my glucose test because I didn’t really know anything about it and I truly did try to do some research. I asked questions and everyone kind of had different answers about their experience. What I have learned through sharing my experience is that this is truly the case. Here are a few differences that I found —
Some people are allowed to bring the glucose drink home with them and drink it before their appointment, others have to sit for the whole hour at their doctors office
Some offices recommend fasting up to 12 hours before the test, some just that day, and others just say not to consume a sugar heavy breakfast
Some have dye-free options for the drink, some allow you to drink juice from home, and others only allow the glucose drink of their choosing
Some offices have results for you immediately, while others have you wait 24-48 hours
Some offices do a full vial blood draw and other offices just do a finger prick
Offices have a different threshold for what qualifies as “passing” for the test
Either way, this test is an important test for your baby and the health of him in utero. I beat myself up a lot about not passing the one hour test, but then I gained some perspective and really shifted my mindset. I have been doing what I felt was best for my body up to now. I’ve been exercising and eating greens and proteins and not just consuming straight sugary foods. I have spent the last 28 weeks invested in growing this baby, and its nothing that I did directly that made me not pass/not have gestational diabetes. My body isn’t responding properly to sugar while pregnant. This is vital for me to know and react to. I can spend the time beating myself up about maybe doing something different, or I can take the time thankful that we caught it and hope that I am still able to birth a full term, healthy baby without complications.
Cheers to you, mama
If you don’t pass the one hour test, you are not alone. I head in for the three hour test soon and I will update y’all on this one, but I am holding tight to the mindset shift from above — don’t beat yourself up. keep taking care of your baby.
Today we’re chatting all about the closet & closet organization. I am not by any means under the impression that I will be able to keep this perfectly organized when baby comes, but I wanted to be able to find all the things as we needed as the time goes on. There are things that are the sweetest shower gifts (like bath tub toys), but aren’t things that are needed in the first month or two. So hence the extensive storage and organization here. I’m also balling on a budget, so I tried to find things that were budget friendly & could grow with him (or be used in other rooms in the house later on). I’m going to share links to as many things as I can find on here so that you can check them out yourself! So without further ado…
What do you want to see next from the baby room? Favorite registry items? Favorite Amazon clothes? Fav gender neutral clothes? Let me know in the comments!
hrmarciano 