SoFab – Page 3

Postpartum Essentials and How to Prepare for After Birth

July 26, 2016

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

As most of you know by now, we are expecting baby #3 the first week of November! As the days tick speedily by, I have started to feel the need to prepare for our new little arrival. Because we are in a weird situation this go around – living at my parents house while our home is being built (expected to be complete by November 1st) – getting ready for our little guy is a little bit more tricky. We will likely move the week he is due or immediately after I have him. So, the only way I know how to really prepare is by stocking up on the essentials. With my first baby, I was completely focused on the his nursery and other essentials that I forgot all about postpartum essentials for myself.

S’mores Rice Crisps and an Easy Clean-Up Solution

July 5, 2016

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

To me, summer is all about lazy days in the sun and spending lots of time with family and friends. We seem to always have company around or passing through town and it is a good idea (and much less stressful) if we keep our kitchen clean and prepared for guests. That means making it sparkle, decorating for the season and always having some sort of baked treat – like one of my favorites, S’mores Rice Crisps!

Toddler’s Daily Routine and Strawberry Cheesecake Mini Pie Recipe

May 2, 2016

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

I have two toddlers in the house and things can be a little crazy and hectic sometimes. Especially when we are cooped up in the house for an extended period of time. I learned very quickly after my son was born that having a daily routine makes all the difference. Once my daughter was born, that routine became our lifestyle. My kids are not the same people when they have missed a nap or go to bed two hours later than their bedtime. So, we do everything we can to stick to our routine so that everyone is happy and healthy.

Springtime Activities for Toddlers

April 27, 2016

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

I have a love/hate relationship with Spring. I love it because the days are warmer which means getting back outside with my kids, porch swings, sweet tea, sunny days, etc. I hate it because I have the worst allergies. I never had an issue with them until about three years ago. They have been horrible ever since. I’ve always heard that you can’t live in the south forever without developing allergies at some point. I guess there is a lot of truth to that. I’ve been reading a lot about them and one of the tips I see repeated over and over (aside from staying indoors, which is not an option for me) is to change your clothes, wash them and wash your body as soon as you go inside to rid yourself of all the pollen.

Between playing in the dirt, getting messy in the kitchen, and all of the pollen, I do a lot of laundry. Since having my youngest daughter, I have had to do at least a load nearly every day. It’s just a reminder of how much fun we have! After all, they are only little once so why not let kids be kids? I recently received the brand new all® Fresh Clean Essentials™ laundry detergent from Amazon.com and it has been wonderful! It is sulfate free and preserves the color of clothes while giving them a deep and powerful clean without the harshness.

Spring means springtime activities with the kiddos and we have already been outside every day for the last few weeks now thanks to unseasonably warm weather this March. Here are a few of our favorite activities!

Springtime Activities:

Park Days

Playing on our Water Table

Zoo Days

Picnic

Sensory Bins

Blowing Bubbles

Playing Ball: Soccer, Basketball, golf, etc.

Wagon Rides

Feeding the Ducks

Visiting a Farm

Picking Wildflowers

Some of our favorite sensory bins are filled with dry beans and dry rice. I like to hide little toys throughout the bin for the kids to dig around in to find! If you’re in the mood to get really messy, try jello, play dough, dirt, sand, etc.

How to Create a Sensory Bin:

Grab a plastic box or bin

Fill it with dry beans or rice

Hide toys of different shapes, sizes and textures throughout so your toddler can feel around for them.

What springtime activities do you enjoy as a family? Have you tried the new sulfate-free all® Fresh Clean Essentials™ detergent?

6 Ways to Beat Stress

April 5, 2016

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

Every new year, I start seeing resolutions fill up my news feeds. I see people starting new jobs, new diets, new exercise plans – all with the sole purpose of overcoming something or improving themselves in some way. Goals are great! Bettering your self is wonderful! What’s even better is seeing people achieving their goals a few months later. Each stage of life has many stresses and I have seen so many people going through a hard time or putting a lot of pressure on themselves to do it all. It messes with a lot of people. It messes with me sometimes when my expectations become the expectations I think others have for me. When I start trying to please everyone else is when I lose focus and become very stresses.

How to Get a Natural Glow Without the Harmful Effects of the Sun

March 28, 2016

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

Here in Alabama, we have already had a few weeks of pretty warm weather. That’s not to say it’s here to stay, though, because it has been known to snow in April around here. Nothing surprises me. This year however, it has definitely been warm pretty early and I’m not complaining one bit. Bring on the warm sunny days! It has been warm enough to wear shorts, but I’ve felt a little embarrassed because I am so pale. Ghostly, even. I’m practically glowing – and not in a good way. I am really ready to have a little color on my skin, but I would love to get a natural glow without having to worry about the harmful effects of the sun.

A Car Emergency Kit For Baby

March 25, 2016

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

We’ve all been in sticky situations where we were out running errands and our baby has a blowout and we realize we have no extra outfit with us or worse – we are out of diapers. I’ve been there more than once. In fact, on our way home from Jacksonville a few weeks ago, Sophie had been crying and crying and I thought she was just fighting sleep because I had JUST changed her diaper. It couldn’t be that. Right? Wrong. She had a blowout and it was all over her outfit and her car seat. I had nothing with me to clean it up with so we had to make a stop at the next exit and stop at a gas station to clean it up the best we could. I felt so bad that I had ignored her screaming and played it off on something else.

Breakfast Kabobs + Mocha Frappes, It Must Be Brunch

March 10, 2016

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

I am a huge fan of brunch. In fact, lately my kids have been waking up earlier and that means we eat earlier, so lunch has felt more like brunch around our house. I also helped with a baby shower a couple of weeks ago that was a brunch and the ladies seemed to love it! The only thing missing from the menu were some delicious mocha frappes. They are, after all, my favorite coffee drink!

How To Establish A Nighttime Routine With Your Baby

February 12, 2016

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

There were times I thought my life was busy – during college, and then again when I was planning my wedding while being in 3 others during the same year. Then I had children, and I now have a whole new definition of the term “busy.” Between working, raising two children at home, trying to have a social and family life – things are just going to be busy for a while and I have accepted that. When my son was born, we quickly learned that he didn’t sleep like a normal newborn. After taking him to the doctor several times those first few months, we tracked that he was sleeping 6 to 7 hours in a 24-hour period. His pediatrician said that babies should be sleeping 18 of those 24 hours at that point. At 4 months of age, the pediatrician told me we needed to start sleep training him and that began with establishing a nighttime routine.

A Morning Routine For A Productive Day

February 8, 2016

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

Lately, our morning routine has changed tremendously. We used to sleep in as much as possible because we would be up alf the night with one of our babies, but now that they are both sleeping through the night, we have started waking up earlier. I love waking up before the kids because it is so peaceful and I can get a lot done in a short amount of time. It is also the only time I really have to pamper myself and plan for a productive day.