Uncategorized – Page 15

Hello

May 18, 2015

Shirt: c/o Hello Apparel / Head Wrap: Bloom by Haley Anne / Sunglasses: c/o Sunglasses Shop

Hello Monday!

Hello New Week!

Hello Fresh Start!

This weekend was one for the books! Between wedding showers, birthday celebrations, taking the kids to church for the first time by myself (Ryan was out of town) and only being 5 minutes late (a miracle!), and spending quality time with my kiddos in my new favorite tee. It doesn’t get sweeter than that!

I fell in love with this shirt from Hello Apparel and desperately ~~wanted~~ needed it. I am a little obsessed with floral prints and the pastel floral “hello” is just too much cuteness for me to handle! I also thought this head wrap from Bloom by Haley Anne paired perfectly with it! Give me all the floral! And coffee… but we will save that for another time.

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Memorial Day Printable

May 14, 2015

This post is sponsored my GraphicStock, but all opinions and edits are my own.

Download Printable HERE

I created this printable using picmonkey and of course, my new favorite blogging resource: GraphicStock! Be sure to check out their free 7 day trial! You won’t regret it! Read more about the trial and Giveaway here.

Be sure to check out GraphicStock and make your own printables, invitations and whatever else your heart desires!

Do you have big plans for Memorial Day Weekend?

Mother’s Day 2015

May 12, 2015

Mother’s Day was Sophie-Rae’s first Sunday at church! It was anything but a perfect day, but it was still very special to me. If you have a toddler, you know how important nap time is. When said nap is skipped, you get this…

haha! Oh, well! We had a great first Sunday at church as a family of four! After that, we went out to eat with my family and really enjoyed their company.

Four generations! How special is that?

Little miss Sophie-Rae looked beautiful in her lavender dress that my grandmother gave her! The rest of our Sunday was spent at home napping and relaxing! I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Did you do anything special for Mother’s Day?

Easy and Healthy Snack Ideas for the Breastfeeding Moms

May 7, 2015

This post is sponsored by Kozy Shack Simply Well, but all opinions are my own.

I seriously forgot how breastfeeding makes you so hungry and thirsty all the time. It is crazy. I thought I was hungry during my pregnancy? It doesn’t even compare! I quickly gathered all of my favorite snacks that keep me full without sacrificing my health. Here are some of my favorite breastfeeding snacks:

Almonds
String Cheese
Yogurt
Granola Bars
Energy Bites
Fruit
Trail Mix
Smoothies
Kind Bars
Raw veggies and Hummus
Kozy Shack Rice Pudding

Kozy Shack Rice Pudding is only 90 calories and is gluten free! I absolutely love eating this as a quick snack especially when I am craving something sweet! My son also loves these. It is great bonding time when we are able to sit down and enjoy our pudding together.

Giveaway Time! Leave me a comment below telling me what fun fact you learned about Kozy Shack from visiting their site HERE. I will randomly choose one winner and Kozy Shack will send you 2 VIP coupons as well as a Kozy Shack Simply Well package! Enter in the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to check out Kozy Shack on Instagram!

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

May 5, 2015

Here are a few of my hand-picked Mother’s Day Gift Ideas:

Gilmore Mug
Gold Bar Necklace
Happy Place Shirt
Leather Bracelet
Monogrammed Tote
Monogrammed Converse
Hustlin’ Mama Tee
Headwrap
Boxer Shorts
Essie Polish
Flowers
Gift Card
Kate Spade Wallet
Water Bottle
Fitbit Flex
Camera Bag
Chocolates
Throw Blanket
Ray Bans
Pillow
Pearl Necklace
Kendra Scott Earrings
Tory Burch Sandals (a girl can dream)
Monogrammed Tumbler

Most of these are very affordable gifts, although I did add in a few splurges. What can I say? A girl can dream, can’t she? Also, be sure to check out my Mother’s Day Gift Basket for a New Mom!

What are you getting your mom for Mother’s Day?

Sophie Raegan

May 4, 2015

My beautiful little girl, Sophie Raegan, was born on Friday May 1st at 11:43 A.M. She weighed 7lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. She is absolutely perfect and we are so blessed to have a healthy baby girl! Big brother Hamton is learning what “gentle” is and absolutely loves her. Just a little too hard sometimes. He is doing great. We are so happy to be home! Here are a few pictures from our first 2 days as a family of 4!

Girl’s Best Friend

April 29, 2015

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NudgeThemBack #CollectiveBias

Ryan bought me my first puppy for our first Christmas together. We had talked about getting a small dog and found a breeder who had just had a liter of Maltipoos the day before we were married. Ryan contacted her and surprised me with her on Christmas eve. I instantly named her “Pippa.” Why? Because I love the royals and thought that Pippa was the perfect name for this spunky little ball of fur.

Pippa has always been a very loyal and loving dog. She is extremely cuddly and has bad anxiety when we leave her at home. During my pregnancy with Hampton, she laid beside me all the time. This pregnancy has been no different. She is always by my side, even when I go to the bathroom, she follows. Yes, she has prepared me well for parenthood.

Because of her loyal nature, I am always trying to give back to her when I can. Whether it be through a tummy rub, a snuggle or the perfect treat, she deserves the very best. When I was at Walmart the other day, I happened to pick up a few of the new Nudges® Grillers and Sizzlers dog treats. With the new baby on the way, I know she will be going through a lot of changes and adjustments over the next couple of weeks. I did not want to leave her out by not doing anything special for her. These delicious treats are made in the USA with real meat as the #1 ingredient. They offer great nutrition for our sweet girl and they are very flavorful. She loves them so much that I just may have to go get her some of the new jerky cuts!

Be sure to check out all the new flavors at nudgesdogtreats.com and check them out on Facebook!

Do you have a dog? What do you do to give back to your loyal friend?

Farmer’s Market + Huggies

April 28, 2015

Check out the Huggies contest here!

Growing up, our city was pretty safe and very family friendly. While it still is in some parts of our town, our downtown area became pretty rough for a few years. Luckily, our government leaders have been trying to revamp our downtown area and make it more “family friendly.” We now have a minor league baseball stadium downtown, and a splash pad for children to play however, we still have a long way to go. While our community has made leaps and bounds to revitalize our city, there is still a lot of work to be done.

This weekend, we spent some time downtown walking around a.k.a. trying to walk out this baby. We enjoyed time at the Farmer’s Market and stocked up on veggies and enjoyed lots of conversation with some of our local farmers. They are seriously the sweetest people. I love supporting them by buying as many of our groceries from them as possible. Needless to say, it was a great way to spend our last weekend as a family of three.

Shirts: Jumping Jack

Huggies is awarding 10 community projects $2,000 to improve our communities. You can nominate your community project, too! All you have to do is take a selfie with your baby and post it to Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #UltraHug to be entered into the contest! The contest is happening now through June 25th.

Speaking of Huggies, I just purchased the new Huggies Snug and Dry Ultra Diapers for little miss! They have a unique quilted liner to better protect babies from leakage, which is extremely important to me having two kids in diapers and all. The less mess I have to clean up, the better. They also offer up to 12 hours of protection. I can’t wait to try them out on SR! Then, because the bag had Mickey on it, we HAD to buy Hampton some as well.

Be sure to try the Huggies Snug and Dry Ultra diapers for yourself!

Baby update: Despite 4 1/2 hours of false labor Sunday night, I am still very pregnant. Please pray that she comes before this weekend because I have 2 special family members who will not be here for her birth if she waits until Friday. 🙁

New Mom Essentials

April 27, 2015

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #LongLastingScent #CollectiveBias

I have an eighteen month old child and a second one due any day now. Becoming a “new mom” all over again can be a bit intimidating. This time around, I know what is coming. I know pretty much what to expect, although every child is very different. I have been very busy preparing for her arrival these last couple of weeks. In doing so, I’ve compiled a list of all the new mom essentials I found that I needed the first time around.

Nutrition Essentials:
Healthy Snacks – Fruit, granola bars, yogurt, etc.
Water Bottle – It’s so important to stay very hydrated while breastfeeding. Make sure you are drinking enough with a water bottle that has fl. oz. marked on the side.

Health Essentials:
Maxi Pads
Tucks
Dermoplast
Peri Bottle
Nursing Pads
Supportive Nursing Bra
Lanolin
Hand Sanitizer

I think these are all pretty self explanatory. The hospital may give you some of these things, but probably not enough. You will definitely want to have these on hand when you arrive home from the hospital.

Home Essentials:
Tissues
Suavitel® Fragrance Pearls™ – You will be doing loads and loads of laundry with a new baby. Picture your normal weekly loads times 5. It is important to be prepared for this before you bring your bundle of joy home from the hospital. I ran to Walmart the other day to purchase some Suavitel® Fragrance Pearls™. These are in wash scent boosters that hold 5x longer lasting fragrance. You will be thankful for fresh smelling laundry after dealing with all of that poop every day. These come in two scents – Lavender and Field Flowers. I also purchased the Suavitel® liquid fabric conditioner in Field Flowers and have really enjoyed it. There will be Suavitel® Fragrance Pearls™ samples and select Suavitel® liquid fabric conditioners in your Walmart store!

Disinfectant Wipes – These are so convenient for a quick clean-up.

Beauty Essentials:
Face Wipes – It is important to take care of your skin and wash your face really well, but sometimes we just don’t have time. Face wipes are really convenient and make you feel fresh even when you’re running on little sleep.
Concealer – to hide those dark circles.
Eye Cream – also, to help with dark circles and puffiness.
Lip Balm
Dry Shampoo – because who has time to wash their hair these days?

Entertainment:
Magazine
Book
Netflix and a Remote
Coffee

I made a list of items that I found out very quickly after my first baby that I needed. Unfortunately, I was not as prepared the first time. This time, I have made up a little basket that is sitting in my bathroom ready to go for whenever this baby decides to come on!

What are some of your new mom essentials? Were you prepared for all of the extra laundry that comes along with a new baby?

39 Weeks Pregnant + Five on Friday

April 24, 2015

ONE.
How Far Along: 39 weeks! We are officially one week away from baby!!

Size of Baby: She measured 7lbs. at our 37 week ultrasound, so I’m guessing she is close to 8lbs. now. In other words, COME ON BABY!

Gender: Our baby girl! SRC!

Weight Gain: I hit 30 lbs last week. So, there’s that. Good news is, I will be having her any day now. Hopefully I won’t gain much more.

Movement: All the time. Bless her heart, I’m surprised she is still able to move. I’m sure she has been out of room in there for weeks. haha

Sleep: I haven’t slept much this week. Mostly due to terrible allergies. Despite all of the rain we have had, I have pollen all over my car and the bees are buzzing every where. My allergies have been so bad.

Workouts: This week, I haven’t walked or worked out as much. I walked 3 days and did my TIU workouts 2 days. Not great, but I’m going to try to do better this weekend.

Maternity Clothes: I’m still mixing and matching. Maternity jeans are awesome and Nike shorts are the bomb. That is basically my wardrobe as of right now.

Symptoms: I’ve been having stronger Braxton Hicks contractions and I have felt a lot of pressure and lower back pain. Probably because she is ready to make her grand entrance. I hope…

Cravings/Aversions: No cravings, but I have been so hungry for some reason.

Missing Most: Sleep.

Nursery: I shared the finished product on the blog earlier this week! What do you think?

TWO.
I’m giving away a $50 shop credit to Love Garlands here. There are only a couple of days left to enter!

THREE.
I am so excited to spend the weekend with my two favorite boys! We have plans to go to the farmer’s market in the morning and stock up on groceries so that I can make a few frozen meals this week. We are going to spend the whole day as a family of 3 for the last Saturday. Bittersweet.

FOUR.
My little man is officially 18 months old today! I can’t believe how fast these 18 months have flown. I feel like I just left the hospital with him and now we are about to have his little sister. He has loved spending the week in his Hey Girl tee from Bless Her Heart!

FIVE.
I’ve been spending a little bit of time trying to get ahead on my blogging – scheduling posts and social media for the next couple of weeks. It is HARD to get ahead. How do you do it? Do you set aside time to schedule and write every day? What works for you?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure to follow me on Instagram for baby updates!