Getting Work Done With a Newborn

Having a newborn is exhausting. With round the clock feedings, it's easy to feel like a glorified beverage dispenser. Add a toddler to the mix and you are on duty 24/7. And yet for the most part, I managed to stay active on my blog , complete one graduate level math class and am in the midst of another one. Also, I haven't given up socializing to do it. Hailey, Tyler, and I have attended 2 baptisms, a baby shower, a gender reveal party, a graduation party, and 2 bbqs all in the last month. We also visited the zoo and the park. I'm not magic, I promise. So how do I do it?

First, I prioritize. Family is first. So I make sure that we spend time together and go on outings. We are lucky that my husband is home during the day, so we really get to make use of my time away from work. After that is grad school work, after all I'm paying for that education so I want to do well and learn the material. Third is the blog. While I love blogging and sharing my knowledge and experiences, family and school come first. I work hard to stay consistent, but if something has to give, it's that. I mean how much sense would it make if I prioritized blogging about being a mom over actually being one? And how useful would what I say really be?

Second, I try to get as much sleep as possible. No one likes a cranky and exhausted mommy and a sleepy mommy is inefficient. So as I mentioned in my last post, my husband and I have a schedule of who is on duty at night. While I still have to wake up for the feedings. I am able to pass the baby off to my husband to put her to sleep and I can go straight back to bed for her middle of the night feeding. Then I am on duty for her early morning feeding. I also take a nap every once in a while. Without sleep, us moms get foggy, cranky and scattered. We snap at our loved ones and forget what we need to get done. It's better to have more sleep than more hours to get stuff done. With more sleep, we can use the hours we have better!

Finally, do things while you feed the baby. When you are feeding the baby you are stuck in one place for a good amount of time. Use that time. For me, I often use that time for studying or writing blog posts. Sometimes I use it for social media. Other times I stare wonderingly at my baby girl. But with 8 feedings a day I have plenty of chances to do all of these options. You might like to use that time to read, catch up on tv, or pay bills. Whatever you can do whilst sitting or with one hand is a good option!

Obviously, there is no pressure to get everything done when you have a newborn. To be honest, the house cleaning has been lacking recently. The toys are sometimes left out and the mopping and dish washing has been inconsistent. But, I'd rather have quality time with my family than a pristine house.

I was lucky enough to have a very smooth delivery, so I didn't feel like I needed a great deal of recovery. Therefore, I was comfortable mentally and physically to get back into things. However, everybody and every delivery is different. It's important to not push yourself beyond your abilities. No matter how smooth the delivery, it was still a delivery. Your body underwent a major event and you now have a new baby to care for. It's totally ok to cut yourself some slack. If you do have something you need to get done, use these tips to help you get it done.

Next post we will be talking about a fun Fourth of July craft project. See you then.

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Update on Life With a Newborn

If you read the last post, you know that Hailey was diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism. Since then, Hailey has had several more appointments and blood draws.  Based on the adjusted dosage, her thyroid hormones went from being too low to too high. Having too much of the hormones can also be an issue. Thus we had to adjust her dose again. As of her last appointment on June 15, her hormone levels are officially in the normal range. Yay!!!

Because Hails is so small and growth at this age is so quick, we will be at the endocrinologist regularly to make sure that her hormone levels stay normal and adjustments in dosage can be made.

On June 16, we had Hailey's one month checkup with her pediatrician. In most respects, she is doing well. She had grown half an inch from her birth length and has good muscle tone. The pediatrician was however concerned about her weight. At 5 weeks old, she still wasn't even a full pound above her birth weight. While this can be because of the instability of her hormone levels, the pediatrician wants to make sure that she is now growing on track. Therefore, on the 29th she will be weighed again to make sure she is now growing at the correct rate.

Thus, our goal at the moment is to help her put on weight and keep up with her endocrinologist appointments. As far as milestones, she had been picking up her head for a while and even rolled over from belly to back. The fact that the surface she was on isn't 100% flat may have helped.  She loves hearing T talk and playing with her toy monkey.  Here she is at 6 weeks!

Hailey at 6 weeks

In other news, T is adapting well to having a baby in the house. Some days he is vying for attention, but in general he has been a good boy and is super affectionate with Hails. He loves to help with pamper changes and doing tummy time with the baby. Whenever he sees that she is awake he will constantly talk to her and show her his toys. He also makes sure everyone else talks to her as well. He loves copying all the sounds that she makes. When she cries, he repeats what we have said to her to try to calm her down. Hearing my 3 year old say, " it's ok baby girl, I know I know, mama, just calm down and it'll be ok" is priceless. All in all he is being a helpful big brother.

As far as mommy care, things are progressing slightly. We have a specific sleep schedule that helps us parents try to maximize our sleep.  If my husband is home, after Hailey's 9pm feeding, I change her, put her in her pjs and pass her to him to get her to sleep. If he's at work I try to get her to sleep myself. Once he gets home however, he's on duty if she wakes up. Then after her midnight feeding, it's his job to get her back to sleep. I immediately put myself back to sleep after I feed her. For her 3am feeding I'm on duty again and hubs can stay asleep. Then I have her from 6 am on. My assistant, the T monster is usually up between 7-8 am to help. The hubs is able to stay asleep usually until around 9:30-10ish unless we have somewhere to be earlier. This works for us since a) the hubs is a night person and I'm a morning person (he is generally up late anyway catching up on shows), and b) his work schedule generally has him going in later in the day except possibly on weekends. I am also sometimes able to take a nap during the day if the boys entertain themselves and Hailey is napping. We are super lucky to be able to switch off like this.

Other than some weightless arm and leg exercises and some walking, I haven't really been exercising. I just had my 6 weeks checkup however and I am now cleared for everything!! Yay!!

In the past few weeks, we have been able to take the kids to the zoo and the park and a local fair. They have also attended a baby shower, gender reveal party, and a baptism. We'll be attending another baptism tomorrow. We have had two bbqs at the house including one for Father's Day. We also had Tyler's dance recital. This was an absolute blast.  While Tyler did little to none of the choreography, he never stopped moving.  He definitely doesn't have stage fright.  He also loved watching the other classes.   Thus, at only 6 weeks, Hails has had a pretty busy social calendar. Here are some shots of the past few weeks.

Memorial Day

bath time

T at the local fair

T sharing his prize with hailey

gender reveal party

A day at the zoo

1 month old

Father's day

father's day

Check out the Multitasking Mom Facebook page for a clip of T from dress rehearsal for the recital. He definitely has spirit!!

I think that brings us up to date! Check out the blog next week for a 4th of July craft and tips on getting things done with a newborn/baby around.

Have a great weekend!!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

When Perfect Isn't Perfect

On May 12, 2016 my daughter was born. She was perfect. The doctors said she was perfect each time they checked her out. I saw her and all I saw was perfection. Then 5 days later we got a call from her pediatrician.  

Her doctor told us that the hospital had contacted him with the results of her last blood test. Her TSH levels were very high. He had made an appointment for us for the next morning with an endocrinologist to check her out and let us know how to proceed. I am always a researcher. I have to know all the facts about a situation.  So I fired up my fingertips and did some searching. Based on the limited information we were given, I.e. Elevated TSH levels, I determined that their concern was that Hailey had congenital hypothyroidism. There are a variety of ways that this can manifest. The thyroid can be deformed or in the wrong place or underdeveloped causing it to produce less hormones or no hormones at all. The hormones produced in the thyroid are essential for proper growth and brain development. This is especially important in the first three years of life.

On the bright side, if caught in the first few weeks of life, and properly treated, the child's hormone levels should return to normal and they should develop properly.

So, on Hailey's 6th day of life she saw an endocrinologist, had blood taken, and began taking a pill that she will likely have to take to rest of her life. The endocrinologist stated that based on her levels, it appeared that her thyroid was not producing the T3 and T4 hormones at all. A week later her blood was retested and her hormone levels were already on the rise. Her hormone replacement dosage was modified and another appointment was scheduled for two weeks later.

Tomorrow is her next appointment where they will check her growth and determine if her hormone levels have returned to normal. She feels bigger and stronger, but having the confirmation from the doctor will do amazing things for my peace of mind.

Finding out my perfect baby wasn't perfect was heartbreaking. After being told she was perfect multiple times in the hospital, we felt almost cheated. If we were told immediately we wouldn't have been lulled into this false sense of security. Not knowing if the condition has already had an affect on your baby is also scary. The odds that she will develop normally are good, which is reassuring to the math major in me, but nothing is certain.

On the other hand, treatment is pretty simple. You just take a small pill each day much like a vitamin. Giving the pill to an infant is a bit of a process since you have to crush it, dissolve it in water, and then get her to swallow it. I am well aware that there are much worse conditions. Having seen the affects that diabetes has had on my brother (blindness, amputations, kidney failure, etc.) I know that there are far worse conditions. But as a mom, any health issue with your baby can be overwhelming. Watching her give blood breaks my heart every time. Especially since it involves pricking her heel, then squeezing it multiple times to get the blood out drop by drop.

The conclusion is, at least at this point, is that when perfect isn't perfect, you just get stronger. It doesn't mean you don't feel the concern or worry or fear for your baby, you just learn to look on the bright side and try not to assume the worst. Sometimes I fear I will over analyze her development, but I try to take everything day by day. No matter what happens, she's still perfect in my eyes and in the eyes of her family. She is loved.

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Stop Procrastinating

Procrastinating is easy. We all do it. We even rationalize it. I can either do that one difficult thing or a bunch of easy things. We tell ourselves that getting more done is better. Often times however, it is that things that we procrastinate on that will help us move forward the most.

Eat That Frog is a fantastic book by Brian Tracy about ways to stop procrastinating. It is a quick read but really life changing. It teaches you how to get the most important things done. This saves you time and energy. I have found this book to be invaluable.

One of the biggest tips in the book is where the title of the book comes from. Essentially, it says to get the big task, the one you want to put off or avoid, done first. Often times we want to work up to the big task. We do the easy little things first. This means that the big task looms over our head all day. It may or may not even get done. Then the next day comes and we do the same thing all over again. It's a vicious cycle. The things we really need to do get delayed far too long or don't happen at all. Obviously, this is not good.

Instead, eat that frog means you get the big overwhelming task done first.  This does several things. First, it ensures that the important thing gets done in a timely manner. Second, it does wonders for your mindset and energy. Instead of spending your day weighed down by the thought of what you are putting off, you have a renewed sense of accomplishment. You know that you accomplished the really hard thing, so your other tasks appear that much more manageable.

So now that we know that we need to get out most important task done first, we need to determine what that task is. Thus we need to prioritize and assess our goals and the things we need to do. This book delves in to how to determine what exactly is the task that needs to be done first.

There are tons of great practical tips and advice in this book. I definitely recommend checking it out. You can click on the link above to get it from Amazon. Go check it out!

Happy Weekend!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Post Baby Belly

So here we are are at 2.5 weeks post partum. While sleep is still less than abundant, everyone is adapting to the new schedule. Hailey is growing, and T is learning how to be a big brother. Some days are too exhausting to think about exercising and others I just want to jump back in the saddle and get me pre-pregnancy body back.

There are two important things to remember as you start to get back into your fitness regimen. The first is to start back slowly. Even on the days where you feel relatively more energized, it's important to remember that your body performed a momentous feet and it needs to recover. It's important to gradually increase your exercise regimen. You can plan it out. Start with walking, then maybe light yoga and then light weights. You can gradually increase intensity until you are back where you were pre-pregnancy and then beyond.

This is a time when you really need to listen to your body. You may feel fine and then end up pushing yourself too far. This can do more harm than good. Take things day by day. Remember you are running on reduced and oft interrupted sleep. The best thing is to eat well, get as much sleep as possible and slowly increase activity.

The second thing you must consider is your abs. This is probably the area you want to concentrate your efforts, but there is a lot to consider. First off, it takes a while for your uterus to shrink back to its normal weight. By four to six weeks, it should be close to its pre-pregnancy weight of about 2.5 ounces. This process is called involution of the uterus. So some of the excess bloat may be your uterus still not back in your pelvis.

Even after your uterus shrinks back into your pelvis, you may continue to look somewhat pregnant for several weeks or longer. That's because your abdominal muscles get stretched out during pregnancy, and it will take time – and regular exercise – to get your belly back in shape.

However, before you start packing in the crunches, there is another issue to consider. Diastasis recti. Diastasis recti is commonly defined as a gap of roughly 2.7 cm or greater between the two sides of the rectus abdominis muscle. This is common following pregnancy. Doing the wrong kind of ab exercises can increase the gap. In fact, crunches are one of the exercises you should not do if you have this problem. To check if you have diastasis recti, lie on the floor as if you were going to perform a crunch with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Lift your head off the floor and place your fingertips on the center of your abs to check for a gap. This is also something that can be check by your doctor.

The following are exercises that can help strengthen your ab muscles and reduce diastasis. Note that these exercises involve the pulling together of your ab muscles as opposed to crunches which push them out.

• Core contraction - In a seated position, place both hands on abdominal muscles. Take small controlled breaths. Slowly contract the abdominal muscles, pulling them straight back towards the spine. Hold the contraction for 30 seconds, while maintaining the controlled breathing. Complete 10 repetitions.

• Seated squeeze - Again in a seated position, place one hand above the belly button, and the other below the belly button. With controlled breaths, with a mid-way starting point, pull the abdominals back toward the spine, hold for 2 seconds and return to the mid-way point. Complete 100 repetitions.

• Head lift - In a lying down position, knees bent at 90° angle, feet flat, slowly lift the head, chin toward your chest, (concentrate on isolation of the abdominals to prevent hip-flexors from being engaged),[6] slowly contract abdominals toward floor, hold for two seconds, lower head to starting position for 2 seconds. Complete 10 repetitions.

• Upright push-up - A standup pushup against the wall, with feet together arms-length away from wall, place hands flat against the wall, contract abdominal muscles toward spine, lean body towards wall, with elbows bent downward close to body, pull abdominal muscles in further, with controlled breathing. Release muscles as you push back to starting position. Complete 20 repetitions.

• Squat against the wall - Also known as a seated squat, stand with back against the wall, feet out in front of body, slowly lower body to a seated position so knees are bent at a 90° angle, contracting abs toward spine as you raise body back to standing position. Optionally, this exercise can also be done using an exercise ball placed against the wall and your lower back. Complete 20 Repetitions.

• Squat with squeeze - A variation to the "Squat against the wall" is to place a small resistance ball between the knees, and squeeze the ball as you lower your body to the seated position. Complete 20 repetitions.

As for myself, I have started walking regularly and doing squats and non weighted arm exercises. I do kegels a few times a day and am starting to incorporate some of the above abdominal  exercises. Below are a few pictures of my belly progress.

Here's a reminder of last time.

This is definitely a case of slow and steady wins the race.

The next update will probably be in a few weeks. A) so there is more progress and B) so we can get back to more time management organization type posts.

See you on Friday!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Memorial Day Craft Project

This week T and I created our Memorial Day craft project. I had several Americana themed craft projects in mind, but we selected this one because it is useful and doesn't involve fireworks. We are saving our firework themed project for 4th of July. So what did we make? Red, White and Blue placemats.

Here's what you will need:

Ruler

Scissors

Glue

2 sheets of blue construction paper

1 sheet each of red and white construction paper

Contact paper

How to Make Two Placemats:

1. First measure out 1 inch strips on the blue papers so that the strips will be the long way. Cut them out.

2. Measure 1 inch strips on the red and white paper so the strips are the short way.

3. Start with either a red or white strip. Take each blue strip alternately glue them to the red or white strip switching between on top and under the strip. See picture below.

4. Alternate weaving the red and white strips into the blue strips.  Glue the ends of the short strips to the blue.

5. When you get to the last strip, glue the ends of all the blue strips to the last strip. We ended up with one extra strip each of the red and white when we completed the placemats.

6. Once completed and the glue has dried you can cover the placemat with contact paper so that it can withstand spills. Below is the finished placemats without the contact paper as the contact paper caused a glare.

T had a lot of fun with this project. He especially enjoyed the gluing. Since he is also a big fan of cleaning, he also enjoyed wiping up any excess glue.  We worked on the weaving part together. This was an easy project to complete while the baby napped.

Since we plan on bbqing this weekend, these placemats will come in handy! You can also reuse them for Independence Day, Labor Day and any other patriotic celebration.  The project is easily scalable to make enough placemats for the whole family.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend!

See you on Tuesday!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Post Baby Body: 1.5 Weeks

So you delivered a baby. While this means you have a beautiful little person to love and care for, it also means your body went through an ordeal. Whether you delivered vaginal or c section, with or without drugs, it takes time for your body to recover. Your post baby body may not be what you expected.

While I am a big proponent of working out throughout pregnancy, I am also a proponent of giving your body time to recover following delivery. Your body completed no small task, so it needs time to restore itself.

In the days following delivery, your mind many swing back and forth between two opposing thoughts. I know mine did. On the one hand, you can't believe that a few days ago your belly was big enough to carry this baby on the inside. On the other hand, you feel like it's taking forever for your stomach to go down. Between lack of sleep, adapting to caring for a new baby, and unhappiness about your body, your time post delivery can be rough. So what are you to do?

First, give yourself a break. While you should definitely be caring for your post baby body, this doesn't mean jumping back into workouts and dieting. It does mean taking it easy, getting sleep when you can, and allowing your body to heal. The only real exercise I would advocate during the first few weeks post delivery are kegels and walking, once you feel up to it.

Even those of us who worked out daily during pregnancy need time for our muscles to recover. In the days following delivery, I was shocked at how heavy my 3 year old seemed when I picked him up. My ab and back muscles were worn out. Even my arm muscles had strained as I pulled my legs back for delivery. Just now at 1.5 weeks post delivery is picking him up starting to feel easier again.

Here are my stats regarding my pregnant and post pregnant body. By then end of my pregnancy I weighed in at 155 lbs. My pre-pregnancy weight was 120 lbs, giving me a 35 lbs weight gain. This is me on Sunday, May 15, 2016, three days after I delivered.

Yup, still looks like there's a baby in there.  In fact, Tyler informed me that now we have 2 Hailey's, one on the outside and one still in my belly.... Way to boost my self esteem Tyler, lol. Straightening this out may take some time...

Since delivery, I haven't done much as far as exercise goes. I've walked around a bit and done kegels, when I remember. As far as abs go, I bought a belly bandit, but I've only used it twice so far. I don't know if it has helped my abs, but I do appreciate the back support it provides. As far as stretch marks go, yes, I collected some of those. Here's a close up of the belly.

I have been testing out the It Works Stretch Mark Cream. I don't know if it actually works yet, but it does feel great going on.

So here is the belly progress about a week after the first picture and 10 days total postpartum.

Wanna see that in a side by side? Here you go:

I am currently at 136 lbs which is about 19 lbs less than my pregnancy weight and 16 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight. So progress is being made even without exercise. Of course, a lot of that was baby, placenta, fluids, etc..

At this point the only thing is I'm really doing is eating relatively healthy. You know whole grains, fruits and veggies. But I have allowed myself treats as well. My body did a lot of work and my taste buds are reaping the rewards. Soon it will be back to a slightly more strict regimen.

One thing I will note, is I am also exclusively breastfeeding. This does help the uterus contract faster and this in turn reduces belly size. I definitely support it as a way to speed up your body's return to its pre-baby shape. Plus it's a super cost effective way to feed your baby. It's also a lot of work, so there are pluses and minuses. For us, the convenience and health benefits for both mom and baby make this the right choice for our family. I breastfed T for a full year, and I intend to do the same with Hailey.

So that's where I am at right now. Once I start working out again, I will report what I am doing as well as my progress.

In the meantime, tune in Friday for a Memorial Day craft project and next Tuesday when we discuss diastasis recti.

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Things to do While Breastfeeding

When you have a newborn and you choose to breastfeed, you can spend much of your day with a small person attached to your boob. With 8-12 feedings a day clocking in at 20-40 minutes each, this is a lot of time spent sedentary. Here's a list of things you can do while breastfeeding to help pass the time.

1. Talk to your baby - Being in such close proximity, this is great time to chat to your little one. As my 3 year old likes to tell me, they can't talk back, but they can definitely hear you and recognize your voice. Talk to you them about your day. Babies are great listeners.

2. Catch up on TV - You are in one spot for like 30 minutes, prefect time to catch up on your favorite sitcom. You can also split a drama between two feedings.

3. Read a book - For those middle of the night feedings, put on a little nightlight and enjoy a good book. It's quiet, won't disturb anyone, and is a great time to read the latest bestseller.

4. Catch up on social media - You only need one hand to operate your phone right. You can use this time to catch up on Facebook and Instagram and all your other favorite social media sites. Share updates of the baby with friends and family.

5. Write a blog post - You can write a post one handed on your phone while breastfeeding. It may not be as efficient as using 2 hands, but it's a productive way to use your time.

6. Have a sandwich - A sandwich is easy to eat with one hand so you can have it while breastfeeding. What a great time to nourish yourself while you nourish your baby.  Just try not to drop crumbs all over the baby.

7. Read a story to your older kids - It may be hard for your older kids to understand that you can't run around with them while you feed the baby. Have story time with them so you get to have quality time with your older kids and the baby gets to hear the story too. Plus older kids love to help turn the pages!!

What have you done while breastfeeding your child? Share in the comments.

Next week we will be talking post-pregnancy body including stretch marks, fitness, sleep, and belly. See you then!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Welcome Baby Hailey

She finally arrived!! At 3:30 in the morning on Thursday, May 12, my water broke. At 2:40 that afternoon, Hailey was born. She was born weighing 6 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long.  Hailey came out loud and proud letting everyone know of her arrival.

Tyler was able to meet his new sister later that evening. He was definitely happy to meet baby Hailey and curious about her. He even got to hold her for the first time. On the the other hand, he is definitely not at all clear on how Hailey got here. I don't mean the details of course. However, he has commented several times that now we have 2 Hailey's, one in my belly and one in person. I'm sure as my belly goes down and with repetition he'll come to understand that there's no Hailey in my belly anymore.

Tyler's confusion about the process didn't start there.  When my water broke Thursday night, I rushed to the bathroom so as to minimize the mess. Shortly thereafter, Tyler emerges from his room with his blue bunny sippy cup. He wants water. He reaches over to hand it to me and I fill it in the sink. As he steps a little closer he steps in the fluid on the floor. He starts crying thinking he peed himself just as I am handing him the water. The water drops only adding to his distress. I try to explain that it's not his fault and he didn't do anything wrong, but he remained upset for a while.

On Saturday when we all arrived back home, Tyler went looking for his toy phone. I asked him who he wanted to call. He said the hospital. So we find his phone and he makes his call. He states into the phone that his bunny water broke and he needs them to fix it. Apparently, this is his interpretation of the events on Thursday night. I love three year olds!!

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for, introducing Hailey Jean!!

We are so excited about Hailey's arrival. Being 6 days late, she did slightly disrupt my school schedule as I missed taking a final exam. However, the professor agreed to allow me to take the exam this week so I am still able to complete the class. Also, summer classes began Monday, so no rest for the weary on that front, but breastfeeding does give me a lot of time to read!!

Back to our regularly scheduled programming on Friday!!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

An Exercise in Patience

So today is May 10, 2016.  I was hoping that today's post would be a joy filled birth announcement with pictures of our brand new baby girl.  Well, Hailey has other plans.  Apparently, my womb is so comfortable, she has decided to never leave... Tyler was 3 days past his due date.  Hailey clearly was determined to beat that record.  Now that she has beaten his record, I have no idea what is holding her back.

As any mom knows, the last month of pregnancy is already an exercise in patience.   You are becoming progressively more uncomfortable and you're ready to meet your baby.  Plus there are just so many things that you are missing, like having a lap, sleeping on your front, drinking wine, having a hot dog, having sushi, not being swollen, having a deli sandwich, etc.. The list goes on and on.  During your pregnancy, your due date is like the light at the end of the tunnel.  You think, I just need to make it to that date and then I will have a beautiful baby and things can start getting back to where they belong.

When you exceed your due date, it is hard to see beyond your impatience.  This year, it seems like everyone I have ever met became pregnant.  On top of that, in the course of the last week, 5 people I know delivered their babies. FIVE. One of them on my due date.  Some of them were even early.  For someone who is already impatient, this only adds insult to injury.

In light of my need to relax and just let Hailey come when she is ready, I have put together some tips for practicing patience.

Tips for Practicing Patience

1. Breathe:

Deep breaths have the power to increase your calm and slow down your heart rate.  When you are impatient, you create your own stress and in my case stress can actually delay labor.  Practicing deep breathing can help you reduce your impatience.  This is a great time to take a yoga class or go for a nice swim.  Take a bath or a long shower if you can.  Anything that makes you more relaxed.

2. Distract:

A great way to increase patience is to distract yourself from whatever it is you are waiting for.  If you dwell on whatever it is that is making you impatient, it will only increase your impatience.  Find something to distract yourself like playing with your kids, de-cluttering, grad school homework, anything that will take your mind off of what you are waiting for.  I am supposed to take my last final this week.  So I have studying to distract me.  Of course I also have the concern that she'll finally decide to come when I have to take my test, but my professor has stated that arrangements can be made.

3. Think:

Remind yourself that the thing you are impatient about is beyond your control.  Instead, think about any benefits or positives in the situation.  In my case, I have several positive thoughts to help me through my impatience.  My baby is definitely not a premie, so we don't have to worry about the health issues that can come with that.  We have gotten extra time to finish any last minute preparations for Hailey.  Tyler gets a few extra days being the only child.  I didn't have to spend Mother's Day in the hospital.  The later she comes, the more of the summer I have off on maternity leave.  This very much links back to looking at the silver lining which we talked about last week.

4. Figure Out Plan B

When you are waiting on news or results, its easy to be consumed with the waiting.  Instead take this time to figure out plan B.  What will you do if the answer is what you wanted? What will you do if it is not? In this case, I know that my doctor will not let me go past 42 weeks the latest and every few days I will schedule an appointment to make sure Hailey is OK in there.  Knowing that I will not go beyond May 20th still seems like forever at this point, but at least its a maximum.  Hopefully, Hailey decides to make her exit much earlier.

There are some great resources out there about things you can do to increase your patience including here and here.  However, many of these tips are for developing patience for some future situation.  These four tips are for the here and now.  If you are already in a situation where you are impatient, these tips can help you relax and be more patient.

Fingers crossed that Hailey is here by Friday.  If not, I will definitely be continuing to put these tips into practice.  In the meantime, I am gratefully accepting any prayers and positive thoughts that Hailey will grace us with her presence.

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Positive Mindset: Celebrate Small Victories

For anyone who read Tuesday's post, you know we were having a crazy week over here. To update you all, my brother's surgery went well. He is able to walk on the foot and is scheduled to come home sometime today.  Fingers crossed that everything heals well and he doesn't get another infection like last time.

As far as T goes, he is back to peeing comfortably on the potty. No more middle of the night emergencies or holding it so long he pees his pants.  On top of that, he actually loves his medicine and asks for it throughout the day. Can't complain about that!!

As for me, I completed both tests and already got the grades back for one of them. I got a 91!!! Yesss!! The other grade will hopefully be coming shortly. Then I have to take one last test next week and the semester is over. Of course I registered for summer classes, but we can worry about that later.

And Hailey? She seems perfectly content to stay exactly where she is...

Why Celebrate Small Victories?

We had a lot of little victories this week. Since each one is tiny, they can be easily overlooked. But each one is important to the person who achieved it.  An essential aspect of self care for busy moms is to recognize and acknowledge the small victories. When we too quickly shift our mindset to the next challenge after a small victory, our life becomes a seemingly endless series of challenges. Who can maintain a positive mindset when that's what you have to look forward to?

Instead, take some time to celebrate your mini victories. You can always move on to the next challenge tomorrow. A small victory is a victory nonetheless.  Hopefully, when you move on to the next challenge tomorrow, you can do so with renewed energy because you took the time to celebrate today.

How to Celebrate

Here are some ways to celebrate your mini victories. Share your victory with your family. Let them be proud of you. You deserve a pat on the back from loved ones. Have a special dinner or special dessert. It doesn't have to be crazy but something you wouldn't normally do for yourself. Go get a manicure. Take an evening off from grad school/blog work/whatever other work you do in the evening and let yourself relax.

It doesn't have to be an elaborate production.  Small victories call for small celebrations, but definitely celebrate.  And make sure you tell people about your victory so you can have people cheer you on.  Nobody wants to have a me party (The Muppets Movie, anyone?)

Tonight we will be celebrating my bro's successful surgery, T's ability to pee pain free, and my completion of my 2 tests. For us this will mean takeout and dessert. We rarely have dessert with dinner, so this is a real treat. Maybe we will be so relaxed and happy Hailey will come! Fingers crossed!!

Have a wonderful weekend and celebrate yourself!!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Getting Through One of Those Weeks

Getting Through One of Those Weeks

This week is one of those weeks.  I have 2 graduate level math exams this week.  My son who was doing so well with potty training had a rough week last week.  He was having pain when he peed and then began holding it in which made for numerous accidents.  Finally, we got the test results from the doctor on Sunday that he has a UTI.  Then there's work and family.  My brother is in the hospital again for another amputation.  This time a toe.  Oh and my due date is this Friday.

I don't bring up my big brother a lot on here, but he is a 32 year old diabetic.  He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes the week I was born and has blamed me for it ever since... For most of his life, he didn't seem to have any major complications, but the last few years tell a different story.  I wouldn't say all of his ailments are caused by the diabetes, but it's definitely a heavy load for someone who won't be 33 til July.  Here's a brief listing of his current conditions: Bell's Palsy, Crohn's disease, fallen arches, kidney failure, legally blind, has had 3 fingers of one hand amputated and part of one finger on the other hand.  He is currently on the transplant list for both a kidney and pancreas.  He recently had a staph infection.  In fact, although he was released from the hospital just in time to attend my baby shower, he was under contact quarantine, meaning no one could touch him.  This was hard to explain to a 3 year old who hadn't been able to visit his uncle for almost a month.

So on getting through a week like this, here are my 2 tips: find the silver lining and let things slide.

Silver Linings

So my brother is in the hospital and my son had to see the doctor to diagnose his UTI.  While unpleasant for both parties, it actually gave them something to bond over.  My son and brother talked about seeing the doctor and about their medicines and how they can't wait to feel better.  Granted T does not understand the vast difference between why my brother sees the doctor and why he does, but he found a camaraderie with their situations.  Seeing him bond with my brother is a silver lining to me.

As far as my grad school tests, the silver lining is if Hailey waits until after the tests to be born, I won't have to be worrying about school when she arrives.  I can concentrate on our new addition and our changing family dynamic.  After this Thursday I will have only one final left next week  and the semester will be over.

Letting Things Slide

Here's the other big tip for getting through a week like this: you have to let some things slide.  I have been spending all of my free time studying (Well almost, I did write this post). On top of getting up at night myself to pee, I have been woken up several time with pee pee emergencies from my son.  So, you know what is sliding, working out.  I mean at 39 weeks pregnant many people would say that that's totally acceptable.  On the other hand, I know for myself that if all this wasn't going on, I'd still be working out all this week.  However, getting a little more sleep and getting my studying done so I do well this semester is worth sacrificing one week of working out.  On the bright side, dance parties with T definitely takes his mind off his pee pee problems so I do get some cardio there! Silver linings to the rescue!!

Another thing that is sliding: laundry.  With all the peeing the bed and the clothes there has been a lot of extra laundry this week.  No extra loads were washed however.  We'll make it up sometime...

For now, I have to get back to studying.  Hopefully, Hailey comes right as scheduled and this crazy week will end with a big bundle of joy just in time for Mother's Day.  If you don't hear from me Friday, you'll know she is making her entrance!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Part 3: Tips for Working Moms

Here we are at the final part of the series on tips for working moms. We have talked already about mindset, prioritizing, and removing distractions in part 1 which you can find here. In part 2, we discussed practical tasks that can make family time run more smoothly. You can find that article here. In this final post, we will discuss essential things that should be included in your schedule to make you a happy healthy mom. We will also talk about why they are so important. Sometimes as working moms we feel like we need to spend 100% of our time outside of work with our kids. We can feel like time out for ourselves or with our significant other will only decrease our quality time with our kids even more. The thing is, if we don't nurture our relationship with our spouses and ourselves, we may have increased time with our kids but far less quality.

If you spend more time with your kids but don't take anytime for yourself, your kids get a crankier, more exhausted you. It's better to take some time out so you can be your best self. The following tips are things that need to be included in your monthly calendar to be your happiest self.

1. Spend Time with Your Partner

This is important for so many reasons. Firstly, it's important to let your partner know that they are still an essential part of your life even though you have kids.  They need to feel important and wanted as well.  Spending quality time with your partner can help you relax.  Take a break from talking about kids and stresses and bills and just enjoy each other's company.  This helps you promote a healthy relationship between the two of you.  This is important not only for yourselves, but it is also important to model healthy relationships for your children.

Secondly, alone time with your partner helps you get on the same page as far as the kids.  Know what their current favorite thing is, or what they are having trouble with in school.  You want to discuss how you are handling different situations with your kids so can have consistent behavior.

Lastly, you need to have intimate time with your partner.  This is essential to a healthy, happy relationship.  Sometimes you might feel exhausted from your day and just not be in the mood.  Do it anyway.  You will get in the mood.  A lot of the time, it's one of those things where you can fake it til you make it.  It brings you closer to your partner and can reduce stress, the very thing that was preventing you from getting in the mood in the first place.

Try to plan at least a couple date nights during the month, have a few evenings to chat about family stuff, and be intimate as much as possible.

2. Fit in Some "Me Time"

The unhappiest, most depressed moms are the ones who feel like they are constantly giving.  They give to their job, their children, their spouses, their family, their community.  They lose themselves by taking on the happiness and well being of everyone else.  They put themselves last.

This is an absolutely terrible idea.  In order to be the best mom you can be, you should be happy and fulfilled.  People can tell when you are faking it, especially kids.  By fitting in a little me time, you can renew your whole energy. It doesn't have to be a weekend away at the spa to be effective.  It just has to be something that makes you feel happy and fulfilled.

I love dance; it is my passion.  When I am not pregnant I rehearse and perform with a dance company.  This is my time to do something just for me.  We rehearse one day a week, a few weeks a month and perform a few times a year.  This is something I need in my life to be my happiest self. Sometimes I feel bad leaving Tyler behind with grandma when I leave to rehearse, but I always feel reinvigorated after rehearsal.  I'm excited to see him and he's excited to see me.

You might take some time out during the week for a group fitness class and enjoy the community of other women.  Maybe its a mani/pedi at the nail salon. Maybe a monthly brunch with your girlfriends.  Whatever it is that makes you happy and feel like yourself, make time for it.  It can only make you a better mom.  Your kids will thank you for it later!!

3. Plan Specific Family Time Activities

I know you love your kids.  I love mine too.  But sometimes after a long day, I cannot keep up with the sporadic switching from activity to activity and game to game.  I want to spend time with Tyler, but I'm tired.  Especially now at 38 weeks pregnant, going from puzzles to Legos to Mashems to puppets to everything else all in one evening just makes my head hurt thinking about it.

One or 2 nights a week plan specific family time activities.  Tell your kids ahead of time, so its something to look forward to.  for example you can have an Star Wars movie night.  Make popcorn and get them in their favorite Darth Vader jammies. Enjoy the movie together as a family. You get to spend time together and it feels like its an event for the kids.

You can plan a family game night.  Play Candy land and have the different candies from the game.  If you land on that area of the board you get the candy.  You can make or buy gingerbread men and decorate them together.  You might play Candy Land all the time, but this makes it a special event.

Little things you can do to make an ordinary event a little more special will be greatly appreciated by your kids.

I really hope you enjoyed this series of tips for working moms.  I know I enjoyed putting the articles together.  We can't be perfect all the time.  Some months things come up and we might miss a date night, or my me time might get short changed. We might let mom guilt slip in once in a while or we might accidentally double book a date.  But if we make an effort to work on these 9 tips, we will be happier, healthier, better, more loving moms.

In light of the upcoming birth of baby Hailey, on Friday, we will be talking about the transition from one to two kids.  Since I do not yet have experience with this, I have compiled interviews from a few bloggers and we will be hearing their advice on how to get through this change.  I will see you then.

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Part 2: Tips for Working Moms

It's time for part 2 of our 3 part series of tips for working moms. If you missed part one, you can find it here.  Last time we discussed tips relating to mindset. We lost the guilt, found jobs that fit our priorities, and minimized distractions. Our next three tips involve things you can do to maximize your enjoyment of your time with your family. These are not new ideas, but you may not have previously considered how these habits will help improve family time.

1. Prep for your family's day the night before

This can be a hard habit to get into. At the end of a long day of work and family time, you just want to relax. However, a little prep in the evening can make for a far more enjoyable morning.

If you are not a morning person, getting yourself ready in the morning can be a struggle. Add kids and it only gets more hectic and chaotic. You are on a time table and a lot of things need to happen before you head out the door. Many of these things can be done or at least prepped the night before.

For school aged kids, have them pack their backpack the night before immediately upon finishing their homework. There is no reason it needs to stay out and this means they can just grab and go in the morning. Have them also set out their clothes for the next day. This makes for less of a struggle the next morning when they have to get dressed. If you pack lunch for them, try to pack it the night before so again, it is something you can grab and go.

For kids in daycare, you can make sure their bag is packed and their clothes are laid out the night before. Also have your own bag packed and clothes laid out the night before. This makes mornings run far more smoothly. You can't completely avoid hiccups, but you can minimize them.

How does this maximize family time? It makes you less stressed in the morning. Your kids get to see you happier and relaxed when you start your day together. When you are away from the house for most of the day, you don't want the time you do spend  together to be rushed and stressed. This includes the morning. With all this prep work done the night before, you may even have time to sit and have breakfast together. What a great way to motivate you through your day after having already had some quality family time in the morning!

2. Create a Family Calendar

I won't go over the practical steps to actually create such a calendar as I already have a whole post about it here. Instead, I will talk about why it's so important for working moms and dads.

Having everyone on the same page is essential for busy families. Calendars should be updated immediately upon notification of new events. This helps prevent conflicts and over scheduling. Prioritize family activities, make sure your kids know that their activities are important to you.

For our family, I work days and my husband works nights and weekends. Therefore, on any evening my husband happens to be off, we try to maximize our time together. Sometimes this has to be time to get things done around the house, but we try to make sure we have family time as well. For his weekend days off, we try to ensure we do some family activity like a trip to the park or the zoo.

Try not to double book, if possible. If your kids have an event make a point of not scheduling something for yourself. One of the most important parts of being a working mom is making sure your kids know that they come first. Emergencies happen, but if you generally make it to their events, it's easier to accept the one or two times when that's not possible.

3. Stay Connected During the Day

It's hard to focus when we are preoccupied with other things.  If we are at work and thinking about what we are missing at home, we will be less efficient and less happy.  Missing the kids can be a major distraction.

Some days I can easily get through my work day and then I'm ready for family time when I get home.  Other days I miss my peanut during the day and wish I could just be home seeing what he is up to. If I dwell on that all day, I'll never get my work done. I am a big proponent of recharging your battery. One way to do it is a quick chat with the kids.

On the days where I miss the little guy, a quick FaceTime call can really turn the day around. A few minutes chat with T and hearing about his day can really fill my cup. It also helps him feel like he has seen me more during the day. If your kids are in school, get a quick update on how the school day was in the afternoon. These few minutes of break time can allow you to focus better and actually get more done during your day.

I hope you find these tips helpful. These are concrete things you can do to help ensure that family time is enjoyable. They are little practical tips that can reduce your stress when you are around your family. In the last part of the series, we will discuss ways to maintain good relationships with your family and yourself. You can look forward to seeing that post on Tuesday.

In the meantime, enjoy your weekend!!

Cheers,

Emily

P.S. You can find Part 3 of this series here.

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Part 1: Tips For Working Moms

Being a working mom is hard. Being a stay at home mom is hard too.  However, since I am not a stay at home mom, I don't really have as much insight into that lifestyle.  I do however, have experience as a working mom and I have learned a lot about how to stress less and enjoy both work and family.  The following will be a 3 part series of tips for working moms.  These tips are key for enjoying being a working mom and finding balance in your life.  Here are the first 3 tips to help ease the stress of being a working mom.  These 3 relate to your time at work.

1. Stop Feeling Guilty

It is so easy to feel guilty about being away from your home and your kids.  When your kids are young, you have guilt about missing out on their new discoveries and their activities each day.  As they get older you fell guilt about not being able to go on every class trip or having to send them to an after school program.  The thing is, this guilt does nothing for you, or your kids.  In order to combat this guilt, here is a quick project you can do that can help you again and again.  Take out your phone and in the notes section make a list of all the benefits to your family that you provide by being a working mom.  I'll start you out:

1. You are helping provide for your family financially

2. You are providing an example of a strong, hardworking woman

3. You are able to have balance with adult time and kids time

4. You are able to appreciate your time with your kids that much more

5. Daughters of working moms are more likely to obtain more education and get higher paying jobs

6. Sons of working moms are more likely to help around the house and be attentive to their children

7. You are less likely to lose your identity due to your children

You can feel free to continue this list with the financial, practical and emotional benefits of being a working mom. Whenever you are feeling guilty about being at work and missing time with the kids, you can pull out your list and really read it.  Remind yourself of how important it is that you are a working mom and what benefits you are providing to your family.

2. Find a job/company that matches your priorities

When you first graduate and start looking for a job, you might jump at the first company willing to hire you.  You may accept longer hours or a longer commute or any other countless minor inconveniences that are simply not as important when you are young and single.  My first full time job was in NJ while I lived in the Bronx, NY.  The commute was ridiculous, but I liked the job, my co workers, and my pay.

However, as I approached getting married and starting a family I knew my priorities would be changing, so I started looking for a new job.  I found a position still in my field but much closer to home.  Instead of spending 2.5-3 hours of my day commuting, I now commute 20-30 minutes a day.  In fact, I work so close to home that I go home for lunch most days.  My current company also has more days off and summer Fridays.  They prioritize family and allow me to take time off to do things with the kids without feeling guilty about missing a day of work.

Every company and every field of work is different.  Not every job will have the benefits my job does and my job has its drawbacks as well.  There are a few occasions where I can be called out to work after hours or on weekends.  This is rare, but it does happen.  You should find a job that works best for you and your family.

3. Limit distractions at home and at work

When you are in the office, it is easy to get distracted from your work.  You want to catch up on the latest gossip or discuss the last episode of the Walking Dead.  Sometimes you might get distracted by social media.  It is important to limit these distractions as much as possible.  Now I'm not saying you need to be anti-social and never bond with your co-workers, but pick and choose when you will do it.

Say a quick good morning to everyone when you come in and then get down to business.  Chat with your co-workers at lunch or after you have completed a major task as a quick break.  Set a timer on your phone to vibrate after a few minutes to remind yourself to get back to work.  An important part of maintaining work life balance is ensuring that you can complete your work during the work day.  This allows you to maximize your time with your family at home.

My boss works on weekends and late nights a lot.  He's single and lives by himself.  While he does have a heavy workload, some of it he does to himself.  He will regularly sit and chat with people about the amount of work he has to do, or run to the store for coffee when we have a coffee maker here.  If getting your work done during the work day is a priority, then you need to limit your distractions so that you can do just that.

Limiting distractions is also important at home.  When spending time with your kids, you want to give them your undivided attention.  Checking a quick email or social media account is not the end of the world, but try to limit this as much as possible to when the kids are asleep.

I will acknowledge that this is not always possible.  For example, I generally try to do my grad school homework after bedtime, but when it's finals time, sometimes I need a little extra study time.  This might cut into family time a bit.  It happens.  Let's just try to ensure that it doesn't become a habit.

An important task for working moms is to make sure our kids know that they are our priority.  Work is for work and home is for family.  When we are at home, family is the priority and work is the distraction.  We should never allow our kids to feel like its the other way around.

I hope that you found these tips helpful.  The next set of tips will be coming on Friday and they will revolve around practical things you can do to  maximize your enjoyment of family time.  I will see you then!

Cheers,

Emily

P.S. You can find Part 2 of this Series here.

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

A Baby Shower For Hailey

On Sunday, my family threw us a baby shower for Hailey. Since Hailey is baby number 2, this was mostly a way to celebrate our new addition with family and friends. We have a lot of items that will be passed down from T, but we were also able to stock up on some much needed girl clothes!

In order to help T be a part of the celebration, we made two projects in preparation for the shower. The first was a candy-filled umbrella favor and the second were marshmallow pops. These were a lot of fun to make and definitely helped T start to take on his role as a big helper.

Candy-Filled Umbrellas

What you need:

Gel pen or marker

White cone cups

Jellybeans

Candy sticks

Tulle

Ribbon

Hot glue gun

How to make them:

1. First we decorated the cone shaped cups with Tyler's doodles and the words "Baby Hailey 4/10/16".

2. Next, we cut out strips of tulle to wrap our cones in. The width of our tulle was 6 inches so we needed two pieces for each come to make sure the jelly beans didn't fall out. We also cut strips of ribbon which we used to tie the tulle together.

3. I hot glued the candy sticks into the center of the cone to be the umbrella handle.

4. Tyler filled the umbrellas with jelly beans.

5. I wrapped each jelly bean filled cone with tulle. This was done by placing an x of tulle on the table, placing the point of the cone in the center, and then wrapping the cone with the tulle. I tied it off with a piece of pink ribbon.

I think they came out pretty cute. We obviously chose pink since we were having a girl shower, but you can pick any color you like depending on whether or not you know the gender.  Now, on to the marshmallow pops.  T really enjoyed making these.  Again, we used pink candy melts for our pops, but they would be just as cute with any other color.

Marshmallow Pops

What you need:

Marshmallows

Candy melts

White sprinkles

Styrofoam cone or semi sphere

Paper Straws

How to make them:

1. First we laid out a bunch of marshmallows on a plate and Tyler inserted the paper straws.  He pretty much just jammed them in there.

2. I melted the candy melts in the microwave. First for one minute and then for 30 second intervals stirring in between until it was all melted.

3. Together we dipped the marshmallows in the melted candy and sprinkled them with sprinkles.  At first T was shoving the marshmallows into the sprinkles, but we found that sprinkling them on top was much more efficient and less messy.

4. We stuck the straws into Styrofoam so the candy could dry.

That's the finished product. They may not be perfect, but they were made with love. Plus we had a lot of fun making them.  Even dad helped out!

We had so much fun at the shower.  It was great hanging out with friends and family.  Tyler recited the end rant from Willy Wonka several times and we all enjoyed good food and good company. Here are some shots from the party.

3 weeks left til D-day!! We are so excited!!  Have a happy weekend everyone!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Things to do Before 32

Yesterday was my 31st birthday.  We spent it quietly at home since the day before was Hailey's baby shower.  I was inspired by this post over on my friend ShannEva's Blog to create a list of things to accomplish in the coming year.  I decided to name my list: Things to do Before 32, because it rhymes and its catchy.  The plan is to regularly update you guys on my progress through the list as the year goes by and hopefully you guys can help keep me accountable!

1.Make 5 recipes from Pinterest - How many times have you pinned a recipe that looks super healthy or delicious only to never look at it again? I want to make at least 5 of those recipes this year.

2. Go to the zoo at least 3 times - T loves the zoo and we have our annual membership so we want to make the most of it.  Plus, we will have to introduce Hailey to the zoo as well.

3. Go on a real vacation - Our family hasn't been on a vacation where you fly somewhere and stay for a week and then come back since our honeymoon.  It has all been road trips and often times for another purpose, like pageantry.  This year I want to take a vacation where we just relax and enjoy being away with each other.

4. Read 2 inspiring books - With work, grad school, and now 2 kids, reading time is at a premium.  I hope to make time to read 2 inspiring books this year.

5. Rent or sell my house - We have really outgrown our current home.  It is a small 2 bedroom and with Hailey coming, along with my husbands abundant collections of toys and movies, we have just run out of space.  It is time we move on.

6. Move to new home - Well, the clear consequence of selling our home means we have to move to a new one.  I hate moving but if it means more space for my family, then I am all for it.  This is a top priority for the coming year.

7. Get back in shape after baby - If you have been following along, then you know that I am a dancer.  It is important to me to get back to dancing and performing once Hailey is born.  That means getting back my dancer's body.  This is also something that I plan to document on the blog as I make progress towards my goal.

8. Perform in 2 dance productions - So in order to have motivation to get back to working out, I want to perform in at least 2 productions before I turn 32.  That means I have to be in dancer shape with enough time to perform twice.  I have every confidence that this can happen.

9. Finish writing my book - I have been making super slow progress in writing a book on the best apps for busy moms.  These apps cover all aspects of mom life from health, food, money, shopping, travel, and more.  I want to finally get this done, so it can actually start helping people and I can move on to a new project.

10. Start creating vertical images for blog - I know how important this is for Pinterest and I know the websites to use to make this happen.  What I haven't done is actually sat down to do it. It is high time this got done.

11. Do 3 DIY projects from Pinterest - Along the same lines as the Pinterest recipes, I want to actually make more of the awesome DIY projects that I pin.

12. Declutter - I think this is self explanatory.  We just really need to go through our stuff and get rid of what we don't want and don't need.  Our plan is to go room by room and just purge.

13. Plan a T and mommy date at least once a month after Hailey is born - Now that I am going to be a mommy of 2, I want to make a point of having alone time with T. Whether it's a simple pizza date or a trip to the park, I want to make sure that we still have some one on one time.

14. Complete 27 credits of grad school - I am well on my way to this goal.  By the end of this semester, I will have completed 15 credits.  I am signed up for 2 summer courses and 2 in the fall which would bring me to the 27 credits.  Then just a few more classes and requirements and I will be a Math Master!!

15. Have consistent date nights with the hubs - This is super hard for us because I work days and he works nights. On top of that he has plays to perform in and I have dance performances, or I will after Hailey is born.  But in order to keep our relationship on course this is super important, so we are making this a priority.

16. Complete cookbook for my nonprofit - As you may know, I founded a non-profit to support youth dance called, I Hope You Dance, Inc..  Last year we created a calendar as our major fundraiser which is still currently on sale.  This year with the new baby, I will not be able to run photo shoots over the summer. Thus, we are looking to do a dancer's cookbook as this year's fundraiser.  The plan is to compile the recipes from various dancers and then print and create the book.

17. Have a couples game night - This has been a goal of mine for forever, but it just never seems to come to fruition.  It WILL happen this year!

18. Plan and have a girls brunch - I have been feeling the need to reconnect with my girl friends for a while.   We see each other at events, but we haven't just hung out as a group in forever.   This needs to change! ASAP.

19. Participate in 2-3 charity walks - My brother is a diabetic and in recent years he has had serious complications as a result.  Currently, he is legally blind, has had several fingers amputated, and is in kidney failure along with numerous other ailments.  He will be turning 33 this year.  So I will definitely be participating in the diabetes walk again this year.  I also plan to do the March for Babies and possibly the Autism Speaks walk.

20. Run a donation drive - In the past I have organized a Coups for Troops drive where we collected coupons for military families and a pajama party where we collected pajamas and books for children.  I hope to run another drive along these lines this year.

So that's my list. Some of these are major, and some not so much.  Many are things that should be done all the time, but we never seem to make time for because we always think it so simple, we can do it any time.  Then any time never comes.  Other than performing a few times, these goals are mainly oriented around family and friends.  I have decided to make that my priority this year.

Do you set goals for the year at your birthday?  Have you been able to follow through?  Let me know in the comments.  Feel free to write some of your goals in the comments and we can keep each other accountable!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Pregnancy Update and What I'm Missing

For those of you following along, on Friday, April 1, 2016 I reached 35 weeks of pregnancy.  I am super excited to be heading towards the home stretch!  We have been continuing to take our weekly belly pictures and Tyler continues to make an appearance in them.  You can see all the pictures from each week on my Instagram page.

Here are the pictures from the last few weeks:

All in all, I have been feeling really good.  I continue to work out 5-6 days a week including light cardio and weights.  I try to eat healthy with a few splurges here and there.  Hailey has been pretty active in there but not nearly as violent as Tyler was.  With Tyler I felt a lot more sharp kicks and jabs.  With Hailey it feels more like shes just rolling around in there.  Although I feel 100 times bigger that I was with Tyler, size wise we are right on track.

As far as weight gain at our last appointment we had gained a little over 30 lbs over the course of the pregnancy.  I expect that we will be slightly over the desired 25-15 lbs weight gain that is recommended, but I'm pretty comfortable with that.  Once we have recovered from delivery, I will be tracking my weight loss progress here on the blog as I get back to my pre-pregnancy shape.  I plan to include everything from diet to exercise as I work off the baby weight.

If you are following on Facebook or Instagram, you know that this past weekend was our maternity photo shoot with my super talented sister in law, Katie.  Not only does she take fabulous photos, but she is great with kids, even when they are being recalcitrant...

Here are just a handful of the amazing pictures:

You would never know that Tyler was refusing to take pictures, hiding his face, and just wanted to run around.  Katie was so kind and patient and worked both with and around him to get some pretty amazing shots.  Definitely go check out more of her work at Katie Joy Photography.

On a separate note, the more I look at my maternity pictures, the more I think it looks like I just put a basketball under my dress...  I guess that's a good thing; only one area to work on post baby.  Everyone keeps telling me I don't look pregnant from behind.  I guess that's why.

What I'm Missing

For this second part of the post I decided to create a list of  the things I can't wait for when Hailey is born.  I finally feel comfortable allowing myself to dream about these things since delivery day is coming soon.  Meeting and loving on Hailey is a given, so I have not included that on my list.  Here is everything else that I can't wait to do/have.

1. Wine: I'm not even a huge drinker, but every once in a while a nice glass of wine can really save the day.  It has been a long while since I got to enjoy that.

2. Lying on my front: As a front sleeper, I really miss this one.  I hate the pressure that side sleeping puts on my hips.  I can't wait to be able to knock out lying on my belly.

3. Sushi: I truly miss this part of my diet.  Sushi is my favorite way to consume fish.  It's also one of my favorite meals to order in.  I can't wait til that's back on the menu.

4. A good deli sandwich: I grew up in the Bronx, NY.  I know what a good Italian deli sandwich tastes like.  I miss it more than I care to admit.

5. Comfortably having Tyler sit on my lap: Tyler regularly wants to sit on my lap, but with this basketball sized belly it has become increasingly difficult.  It now involves a lot of sliding and squirming to reach a comfortable position.  I can't wait til that is no longer an issue.

6. Comfortably sitting in general: We are getting to the point where sitting means discomfort no matter how you sit.  You have to stand up to feel like you have room to breathe.  I'm over that.

Other than that, I have really enjoyed my pregnancy.  I haven't really had any issues.  Little to no swelling, little to no heartburn, and minimal aches and pains.  Actually, the biggest pain is rolling from side to side in bed.  I get a pain in my pelvis that is pretty awakening, making it more difficult to get back to sleep.  Other than that, I have been very fortunate.  This coming Sunday is our baby shower/my birthday party.  I turn 31 on Monday the 11th.  I can't wait to celebrate with friends and family.

This Friday's post will include some really useful time management tips for Spring cleaning.

See you then

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

5 Tips to Enjoy Events with Kids

If you read my post earlier this week, you know we had a great experience at the Pez Factory Easter Egg Hunt this past weekend. In case you missed it, you can read that post here.  You can also read news coverage of the event here.  However, you would also be aware that there was utter chaos and unfortunate behavior at the event as well.  Mostly on the part of the parents. Thus, I've decided to compile a list of tips to ensure that you can enjoy your events with kids and make the most of your experience.  

1.Read the Instructions in Advance: Before you attend an event, you should know what you are getting into.  What is the setup?  Is there a cost?  What should you bring?  In the case of the egg hunt, the directions specifically stated that there were separate start times for each age group.  We also knew that the egg hunt was free but pictures with the Easter bunny required paying the admission fee to enter the visitor's center.

2. Pay Attention to the signs and Staff at the Event: As the parent, you should be paying attention to all the signs and staff members at the event.  This can be hard when you are also corralling your kids.  If possible have a second adult with you so that one can get all the information while the other keeps an eye on the kids.  At the egg hunt, there were signs specifying which area was for each age group.  Also, the staff members came around to everyone and explained that the turn out was far greater than expected and therefore, if anyone did not get an egg, staff would be giving out candy in front of the visitor's center.  Therefore, there was no reason for parents to take eggs from the other areas of the field. There was also no need to push and shove to get an egg.

3. Determine the Cost of the Event and Base Your Expectations on That:  Now I am not saying that free events are crappy and all good events are paid for.  What I am saying is if the event is free and you get anything to take home, you are already winning.  There is no need to be greedy or pushy.  As far as the Pez event, the egg hunt was free.  If you didn't get an egg from the hunt, you would still be walking away with free candy.  Especially in the 0-4 age group, I highly doubt that it was the kids pushing to have enough eggs to fill a big basket.  If you want your kid to have the experience of finding a ton of eggs and filling their basket, then you should host a hunt for them yourself.  This was a community event to get to be around other kids and get a few pieces of free candy.  If on the other hand you had paid for an Easter bunny buffet meal and there wasn't enough food, you might then have something to complain about.  Look at what you paid and look at what you are getting and determine if it is worth it.  If not, don't attend the event.

4. Assume that There Will be a Lot of People: Parents are always looking for fun activities for their kids.  Especially on weekends, especially around holidays.  They want their kids to get the full experience of the holiday.  You should go to these events knowing that will be the case.  Plan to have to wait on line.  Possibly bring snacks or activities to do while waiting.  If it's an outdoor event, dress for the occasion.  It is your job as a parent to help your kid enjoy the experience.  You shouldn't be complaining about the line or the cold.  You should be prepared.

5. Remember that it is for the Kids: Remember that the event is for the kids.  If they are perfectly content with their one green egg, you don't have to go around picking up more eggs yourself so that they can fill their basket.  If the event is not a competition, don't make it one.  My son had his eyes set on one green egg and when he got it he stopped looking.  I asked him if he would let me hold it so he could get more and he decided to let that happen.  However, if he had said no and just wanted that one egg, then that's what he would have gotten.  A kids event is no time for parents to act on their desires.  If you want to go on an egg hunt, ask someone to set it up for you.  Otherwise, the important thing is that your kid is happy and satisfied.

My comments on these 5 tips obviously revolve around our recent experience at the egg hunt.  However, they can also be applied to a kids event/party.  Know what you are getting into and know the rules.  If its not for you, then just don't go.  Always keep in mind that the end goal is that your kids have fun, and not at the expense of other kids.

Hope you enjoy your next event!!

Cheers,

Emily

Let me send you a whole list of tips to help you make more time for yourself and your goals! Plus you will get weekly emails with more tips and advice.

Privacy Policy

I Want It!

Loading...

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin