Sweet as can tea!

I was glancing around my desk at work and amid the piles of to dos, I found the sweetest thing. 

I love sweet tea! 

I already knew that I loved espresso beans,frappachios, frozen coffees etc but I never quite realized my love for sweet tea, until I was bringing my bottles to be recycled.

I think in trying to save money on coffee I tried sweet tea, but instead of dropping coffee and starting tea, now I like both!!

This got me thinking about life in general and how easy it is to replace one bad habit with another. Or maybe in the name of improving a situation actually make it worst.

I probably won’t quit drinking coffee... I truly love it and I don’t get enough sleep. But if that’s the case I need to quit with the sweet tea, or at least start brewing it myself because now I’m spending money on coffee and tea...

So here is my question... Does anyone know how to brew their own ice tea? I remember making tea in the sun one summer when I was like 10 years old... but not since then. I am looking forward to trying your ideas. Thanks!

Want to lose Weight Quickly...

...get a haircut!

I saw that at a small barber shop about 10 years ago... and have not quit laughing since.

I’ve had a lot of posts lately about Healthy Snacks, and Skinny Jeans... and I felt like this just fit right in my theme. It is  amazing how light you feel after getting a good haircut. I just feel like I’m walking on sunshine.

Sometimes a good laugh, a new haircut, or painted nails, is just what you need to kick yourself into high gear for actually losing weight, getting organized or achieving your goals.

What gets you motivated?

A Well Suited Outfit

In my quest for flattering clothes my mom stumbled upon a winner at a garage sale... long suity type coats. They are incredible!! Being that they are long they have several advantages:

1. They look fabulous while being worn open! This means that they don’t have to button over my little bit of baby blub left around my waist.

2. They dress up even a simple outfit, so I can take a basic shirt/pants combo and make it look profession.

3. It accentuates skinny legs! It gives a flowy look on top and you just see two skinny legs on the bottom :) Wonderful!!

The best part... She was able to get several different ones for like $2.00 each!

Two questions...

Which is your favorite? 

What is your favorite dress it up and look great clothes item?

Books and Bedtime Routine

As my son lays cooing on the ground, wide awake, while my eyes cry out for sleep I am inspired to write about books and a bedtime routine. Obviously, my routine isn’t working that great because I am still awake. However tonight is an exception because he has a bad cold and is having a hard time breathing... so he gets to call the shots tonight.

I like the short and sweet books. The ones that are actually built around a baby’s attention span, about 1 second per page and they are the kind that you can read a few books without creating an hour long routine.

Here is our bedtime story books.

First we start with Snuggle Puppy his all time favorite. He face lights up the moment I begin reading. This book is really great because if he starts crying on a long trip if I start reciting the book from memory he will settle down.

This is the version I grew up with...
And I just found it on Amazon so I
may have to buy it!

Then we enjoy a Bible Story from The Beginner Bible. I choose this Bible because I have fond memories of growing up reading this Bible. It is an easy reader type Bible so you can read it to your kids, but once they can read they can also read it themself. Since I was little they have printed a new addition. I don’t like it as much as the original, but it gets the job done.

And finally we end with the Going to Bed Book, which is just the perfect book... as it has the a great combination of humor and serious. Their bedtime routine includes going to exercise, brushing teeth, and rocking to sleep on the sea.  

I really feel that Sandra Boynton has a gift when it comes to her boardbooks. The simple rhymes make them fun to read and easy to memorize, and her illustrations... they are absolutely adorable they totally make the book.

What is your bedtime routine? Do you have any favorite books?

Super Stuffed Burgers, Skinny jeans and more

I’ve read lots books and blogs about freezer meals, cook for a month etc But today I decided to give it my own twist. 

Grill for a month. 

We only have a charcoal grill, so I feel like by the time the coals are just right, you’ve finished dinner and the rest just goes to waste.

Usually to combat this problem I run around the house looking for something just throw on the grill. But this time I was deliberate with my planning. I bought 10 lbs of ground burger from the farmer. I Slow cooked 5 lbs for Savory Slow Cooked Tacos. And 5 lbs I dedicated to burgers, and not just any burgers. Super Stuffed Burgers!

I tried something new this time and actually ground up the cilantro and green pepper in the blender. It was great because you got all the flavor without the large chunks, or big leaves. Then I mixed everything together leaving a small bowl stuffing (bacon, cheese, and ground cilantro on the side). I formed small thin burgers on a cookie sheet, put a scoop of stuffing, and plopped another burger on top. Because they are thick it takes a little extra time to cook them, but it is the best burger you’ll ever taste!

The best part about it... even after we ate dinner I still had 15 burgers to put in the freezer!!

This will allow me to have a smoky grilled taste with only 2 minutes of prep on a busy work night. 

You can literally defrost frozen hamburger buns in 15 seconds in the microwave and the burger in 1-2 minutes. Add a quick side like baby carrots and apple sauce and dinner is served! Serve on paper plates, and there is not even any clean up.

I am really excited about this option because I love frozen meals, but we are not a big casserole family so I often struggled to find good meals to prepare and freeze.

In addition to grilling it is Friday so I wanted to highlight the best moments of the week...

#1 is Super Stuffed Burgers

#2 I found an incredible pair of Red Skinny jeans inspiring Skinny at least the jeans are II

#3 I was featured on Crystal & Co. in the top 5 for Mommy Advice last week for my post Brilliant Baby Clothes Organizer - This was very excited for me as it was the first time I was featured by another blog!

#4 Jon Acuff is giving away his audiobook Quitter for free this week!! If you’ve never heard of Jon Acuff he is an incredibly inspiring Christian speaker author he works for Dave Ramsey, spoke at the Blissdom conference. His book is really funny and he encourages you to follow your dreams, while also giving practical advice.

#5 I figured out how to add Follow my blog with Bloglovin onto my blog :) This may seem simple, but I’m still new to learning code, and what all the different readers are etc

I would absolutely love if you would subscribe to my blog!

Hope hope you have fabulous week! Do you have a favorite meal to cook and freeze? I would love to hear some ideas. Thanks!

Skinny or at least the jeans 2

So I have a theory, if you find a pair of shoes you like buy one in every color, or you’ll regret it. No I don’t have millions of fabulous shoes that match every outfit, but rather I live with the constant regret of only buying one pair. Like the hot pink flats I bought for only $2 but didn’t bother to get the purple and dark pink pair. Or the $5 pair of hot pink kitten heels  I bought passing up the blue, green, and yellow ones.

Recently I posted about my new pair of skinny jeans and after getting a lot of compliments I realized, I need to go buy another pair!! So I raced back to the store. I was overjoyed to see that they had plenty of jeans… 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18… There’s one problem with that. NO 14!!!!! I checked out some other styles and they just were not as cute.  I needed those skinny jeans!  So I did something brave… (for me at least) I tried on the red pair. They were sold out of 14 in jean, black, and kaki, the three colors I wanted and felt safe with. But I was bold and took the leap.

Ok... So I don't look quite as good
as Taylor Swift but I am working on it!

They looked fabulous! I was amazed. I feel like a whole new world of fashion was opened up to me! Color skinny jeans... Jeggings :-)

My takeaway is try new things... I have fabulous new pants, almost Taylor Swiftian... and these I can wear to work so I can look great at home and at work!

Have you ever tried something new with your fashion and been surprised? I would love to hear about it!

Baby Proofing Begins

I feel like my Friday posts have had a theme. Almost rolled over, rolled over... so today we are ROLLING!!!

I realized the extent of his new skill when I had put him down in the middle of the room, and suddenly he had made his way over to the garbage bag of baby clothes I was sorting and having fun grabbing the plastic. There are two problems with this.

#1 He is mobile

#2 He knows what he isn’t supposed to have and he is going for it!

I am just going from room to room realizing all the things I have to move... It even changes where I can let him sleep because he can roll off things now.

The rolling is obviously the highlight of my week but for the other things...

#3 Goodbye Nap Nanny :( The Nap Nanny saved my life when he was little because I could let him sleep there, no blankets, on his back etc But I have to put it away now because he tries to wiggle his way out, and with rolling it is just too dangerous.

#4 We finally got to use our B.O.B stroller!

Wow, I thought I liked my other stroller until I used the B.O.B. It is like an off road vehicle for sidewalks. And with the sidewalks by my house this is totally necessary.

#5 My husband has been working on his photography skills. I am very excited about this. I know I need to be working on this too, but in the meantime I hope to have better looking photos on my blog moving forward.

Ok... Little Charlie was next to me, but now he’s not... it looks like in addition to the roll that he is also learning the backward scoot... I have to go check this out!

I would love to hear advice on baby proofing as I begin this crazy process.

Brilliant Baby Clothes Organizer

Baby clothes, baby clothes

We’re bursting at the seams

Onsies sweaters

And everything between

Bibs, burp clothes, blankets too

So much to organize what do I do

I put them in draws

But they end up in a heap

Messy house and hormones

I begin to weep

I found the solution in an unlikely place

A new shoe cubby became my saving grace

Everything is sorted and organized

I am now a neat freak much to my surprise (not really but there is hope)

I don’t know about you, but I constantly struggled with how to organize all the baby clothes. It just seemed like there were so many different categories. Long sleeve onsies, short sleeve onsies, full body suits, pants … But my husband came up with a brilliant idea. We had a new shoe cubby that we had receive as a gift, however we hadn’t ever used it. Shoe cubbies just never seem to work for us. So we flipped the cubbie on it’s side and used each individual cubby for a different type of baby clothes, bibs in one, lone sleeve onsies in another etc

It is incredible! Now I always know where the

different things are. And if one cubby is overflowing it gives a good hint that maybe we have too many clothes in that category... for instance our 25+ short sleeve onsies all in the same size :)

How do you organize your baby clothes?

Nursing while Running

In reading my title you probably got a great visual of a woman jogging down the street wearing leggings, a sling, and nursing...  

peacefully sleeping after a "jog" lol

Although that would be hilarious, I was actually thinking of my four month son. He has recently taken to "running" while I try to nurse him... He takes his feet and just kicks furiously at my leg, trying to fling himself out of my lap, as if to run away. He grunts and flails his head too. It is quite sight. I just laugh... Where does he think he is going? It  is as if he found his milk and  is running away with it.

What is your experience with nursing? I would love to hear your nursing adventures.

Excitement and Easter

I was so excited for Easter. I figured it would be a great time to visit with family, catch up on sleep,

finish my illustrations for a children’s book I started, and most importantly spend some extra time on my blog. How foolish! I had even less time to work on things. But I did have some truly great moments.

1. Little Charlie rolled over! He officially rolled over for the first time on his 4 month birthday! It was super fun to watch, because he would roll on his side, then he would finish rolling over onto his back and he would have a surprised look on his face!

2. We celebrated our first Easter with Little Charlie. I insisted that we bring him to the egg hunt at church. And even though he didn’t participate in the egg hunt itself, he did “play” lots of the games.

3. I took some long walks outside. The weather is finally warming up.

4. My husband, sister and I had a long talk about having Christ-centered holiday. Our challenge was, how do you focus on the true meaning of the season, Jesus’ resurrection for Easter - the birth of Jesus for Christmas etc and still participate in the secular celebration as well Easter Bunny, Santa... We have some ideas, I hope to work on this year.

5. We bought a jumping saucer... While visiting a friend we let Charlie try her saucer, and he loved it. He would just jump up and down laughing and laughing! We saw one at the thrift store but it was $42! I was shocked and said no way. However... after going to additional thrift stores and looking online I realized that they were really just that expensive, so I bit the bullet. I must say it was the most worthy $42 I have ever spent. I can honestly say it was worth 10.5 frozen coffee’s. (I know... I really love my coffee a lot). If you are debating if you should buy a saucer or what kind to buy, I will say that I absolutely love mine!

But now as Gretel says on Sound of Music, “The sun has gone to bed and so must I... goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!”

Only a mother

Although he is super cute!

As a new mother, I feel like I am always experiencing a lot of firsts. The first time I lifted my son up to smell his diaper in public. The first time I changed his diaper in the car, and he peed over all his clean clothes in the diaper bag. 

But driving home after Easter I crossed a line I would have never imagined...

Public restrooms are generally gross so I was nervous about changing lil Charlie there... normally I would just set him on the back seat and stand outside the car while I changed him. However it was cold outside so instead of doing that, I balanced him on top of my sisters duffle bag and decided to change him there.

There were so many things that could go wrong with this idea, him sliding off, getting poo on her bag, possibly repeating the experience of the first time I changed him in the car with him peeing everywhere... Yet I foolishly continued.

Of course it was a poop explosion so it was time consuming to change him. Then inevitably he began to slip off the duffle bag while still covered in poo. I had to catch him so I instinctively whipped the wipe from my hand to my teeth so I would have two hands to grab him. What was I thinking??? I was wiping his butt... then I put the wipe in my mouth? Sure it was the clean part of the wipe... but still!! For the rest the night my mouth taste like soap and I just kept shuttering at the close his poo came to my mouth. Ahh!

New rule, no matter what... I will not change him in the car. I have decided instead to get working on a crafty idea of a blanket that I can lie down on the changing table in public bathrooms, so both my baby and my mouth can stay clean.

Please tell me that some other mothers have crazy stories too... I would love to hear them!