Homemade Summer Popsicles

Getting my 2 yr old to eat healthy foods is definitely a struggle. I am always looking for ways to incorporate more fruits and veggies into his diet and unfortunately I have failed on one to many occasions. 

The other day, I was feeling a bit remorseful as I let my little man devour a giant highly sugary popsicle. Then suddenly it dawned on me...I could be making my own healthy homemade version with real fresh fruits...and I bet he would love them just as much!

So, I purchased these lovely little Ikea Popsicle Molds and yesterday we threw together a scrumptious popsicle recipe that he thoroughly enjoyed (he ended up eating at least 3)!

I can't remember the recipe exactly because I just started throwing things into my blender (which is the best way to go!) but I mainly used frozen strawberries, blue berries, & mango...plus a little bit of agave and coconut milk for sweetness...and a few tablespoons of vanilla Greek yogurt to give the popsicles a creamy texture.  

It makes me so happy to see my little guy enjoy his food (especially when I know it's secretly healthy!)

Here are a few other recipes I hope to test out soon...

1 - Martha Stewart, Striped Ice Pops

2 - La Tartine Gourmande, Raspberry & Peach Popsicles

3 - dandysugar, Fresh Fruit Popsicles 

Do you have a favorite homemade Popsicle recipe? 

Almost There!

A couple weeks post pregnancy I tried on one of my favorite old pairs of jeans...then stopped dead in my tracks when I realized they might rip before making it over my thighs.

I tried them on again last Friday and was pleasantly surprised that they almost buttoned! Just a few more pounds to go and I can loose the rubber hair band (+ a few more lbs after that in order to make sitting and bending over comfortable).

I just ordered a double jogging stroller last week so I can whip myself back into shape! (Yes, I have become that crazy mom with the giant stroller that takes up half the road :)

On another note...

I would like to thank my friend Joelle for inadvertently convincing me that my children needed to be on a good nap/bedtime schedule. I have been trying to put both my baby and toddler in bed around 8:00pm for the last week and it has already made my life so much less stressful!

Here are some updated photos of our now happier family...

Losing Baby Weight

Its been 4 weeks since I gave birth to this little one, and I have to admit, I am already brainstorming the best way for me to shed my lovely leftover baby weight...especially considering that I now have 2 children, and going out for a daily jog is just not going to be as easy this time around (I don't even own a double jogging stroller).

It's funny, because I really was feeling pretty good about my current weight loss until I started trying to fit back into some of my old clothes (I should have just stayed in stretchy sweat pants forever!).

With my first pregnancy, I decided I could shed the last 15lbs or so of baby weight by training and running a half marathon. Go figure, even though I worked by butt off and trained for the race in about 3 months, I didn't loose a single pound! I attributed this to the fact that running 5-10 miles 5-6 days a week made me incredibly hungry, and I wasn't watching my diet as closely as I should have been.

Around 8 months post pregnancy, I had had enough of wearing the same "get me through" clothes and I finally kicked things into gear and really started watching what I was eating (which was no easy task) and I continued to exercise daily. I never did get quite back to my pre-pregancy weight, but I could fit into all but 1 pair of my pre-pregnacy jeans and that was good enough for me.

This time around, I gained exactly the same amount of weight as I did with my 1st and I dropped a little over half of my total pregnancy weight 2 weeks postpartum (which I also did with my 1st child). Like I said before though, the amount of exercise I did with my first most likely isn't going to happen this time so I'm going to need a little extra help (or will-power I should say).

Any advise? Or do you know of any good blogs I could read on losing baby weight?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Photo Source: Via

An Update

I can't believe it's already been over a week since Charlotte was born! It was a tough first week especially without family here, but I have some great friends that have been so very helpful and have made the adjustment so much easier.

The toughest part about last week was our first trip to the Dr. office to check on baby's weight and overall health conditions. The first thing my doctor said to me as I past her in the hallway was..."uh-oh, she is looking yellow." Then after weighing Charlotte, she informed me that she had lost too much weight (about 1lb) and I needed to start supplementing with formula. She said if her weight wasn't up in 2 days she would have her admitted into the hospital.

The words "You need to start supplementing with formula" was something I have been dreading through the whole pregnancy.

With my first child, I had wanted to nurse exclusively but found that right from the start, I wasn't producing enough milk to do so. In an attempt to increase my milk supply I would first nurse my baby, then rig-up this unpleasant SNS tubing system, followed by about 15-20min. of pumping. Each feeding would take 1-1/2 to 2 hours...the whole thing was incredibly exhausting and I'm sad to say nothing worked.

So, you can imagine my frustration when I began to re-live my last experience. Following the Dr. visit I spent the rest of the day with the "Baby Blues," (I had really hoped that my body would respond differently this time around and that I would be able to nurse like a normal mother).  After meeting with a lactation counselor and spending A LOT of time weighing my options... I have decided to just deal with what I have been given and not stress over it too much. I am just going to nurse my baby whatever I can and supplement when needed.

Other then that, things have been going very well! Baby Charlotte still spends a lot of time sleeping, and Nolan (my 2 yr old) has been adapting much better then expected.

I am planning on posting a great DIY project this week (since my mom is now here to help out) hopefully Tuesday or Wednesday!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

"Wonder Mom"

Have you ever met one of those unbelievably talented moms and thought to yourself...
"How on earth they do it?"

I'm talking about those moms who are the incredible multi-taskers. Who have multiple children, their homes always seem to be sparkling clean, they are above awesome cooks, you've never seen them without make-up or in a pair of sweat pants, they volunteer at every school or church function, and may even manage to keep a part-time job on the side.

and to top it all off...

they have an incredible blog and somehow manage to have amazing posts every.single.day.


Ok, so maybe I've never met a mom who possessed all of these qualities, but I know I have met a few that have come very close.

Since I am now coming up on 39 weeks of pregnancy, I've been thinking a lot about those "Wonder Mom's." Because honestly, I have no idea how I am going to manage with 2 children. I feel a little silly even admitting that, because I know 2 kids really isn't that many. I just don't see myself as being the type of mom that can do everything. I have only had 1 child for the past 2 years and although some days went fairly smoothly, there were A LOT of days where I felt completely stressed and overwhelmed.

Don't get me wrong, I am super excited for our next little one to come into the world...but if anyone has any tips for me (on how to keep my cool ;) I would LOVE to hear them!

photo credit: via

36 Weeks Pregnant + A Funny Story . . .

I'm 36 weeks pregnant now and only have 1 month left to go!

Like I said before, I've been a little self conscious about my weight gain this pregnancy. Actually, I haven't put on much more weight then I did with my first baby, but my clothes are just not fitting the same this time around. Plus, last pregnancy I was always told how small I was...this time however I've been told on multiple occasions that I am looking rather large (Arg! - if people only knew how much pregnant women do NOT want to hear that!)

So here's the funny story...

I have been meaning to purchase a new full length mirror ever since ours broke a couple of months ago. So, last weekend, I bought a new one at Target and was excited to finally see what my outfit looked like from top to bottom!

After my husband had hung it in our closet, I glanced at myself in the mirror for just a second and immediately thought I looked a little funny.  I then asked my husband to take a look at himself too. He stepped back, took a quick glance, and said something like "looks perfect to me."

The next morning, after getting ready for the day, I stood in front of the mirror and took an even longer look at myself. My first thought was this..."oh my word, I am HUGE...everywhere." Every time I walked by that stupid mirror during the day I would catch a glance of myself and think things like, "I have never seen myself like this before" and "how did I ever let my weight gain get this far!?"

When my husband came home from work that evening I was fairly grumpy and easily agitated. I finally asked him to please go look at himself in the mirror again (hoping that maybe his image would change). He rolled his eyes, stood in front of the mirror, immediately started laughing, and admitted that the mirror was indeed warped! I pushed him aside and stood in front of the mirror myself... then he really started laughing! I looked about a foot shorter then I really was, my body looked about 30lbs heavier, and my pregnant stomach was abnormally large!

I was relived to know that I was indeed right about the mirror, but I couldn't believe that I had spent a good portion of the day starring at myself in that evil mirror in self-pity.

We have since returned the mirror and I am back to looking at myself in the half-mirror in the bathroom. Although I admit, the situation was rather hilarious, I need a few days to get the courage to go out and buy another one :)

Hope your having a great day...and remember to always trust your initial instincts!

My Baby Shower

Last week my older sister threw me an incredible baby shower! She found a few ideas from Pintrest, like the "Ready To Pop" theme and made sure to include a variety of "Pop" treats like Pop corn, blow Pops, soda Pop, and Pop rocks candy!

Here are a few photos from the shower... (please excuse the poor photo quality, they were all taken after dark).

Like I mentioned before, I was able to make the cake (yes, for my own party :) I was pleased with the way it turned out, especially considering that it took me hours to bake (my mom only had 1 cake pan and I needed 3 layers) and the morning of the party, I re-frosted the whole thing because I was disappointed with the original bright pink icing color. I have now learned to add food coloring VERY slowly! 

*A BIG thanks to... my sister for throwing the party, my mom for hosting yet another giant get-together at her home, and to my younger brother for being a pro with the Cricut, he made the sign and the pop-corn boxes! 

As Big as a House + Bangs

I am now about 30 weeks pregnant and I literally feel "As Big as a House!"

I just tried on a few shirts that I wore only a week or so ago and I can't even button them (apparently I am growing at a rapid rate!). But I can't blame it all on the baby. I'll be honest, I have put on more then my fair share of pregnancy poundage thanks to all the yummy holiday food that seem to never disappear. It's so hard for me to say no to sweets when I'm not trying to fit into my favortie jeans.

But, besides feeling like a giant, (+ a few other ailments) things are going pretty well! I am still sleeping alright at night, and have been having a blast spending time with my family. I leave to go back to NM this morning, and am excited to see my husband who flew back a week earlier then me... to do that silly thing called work :)

I did end up getting my hair cut a couple of weeks ago and I was actually brave enough to get bangs! It's fun having a new hair style, and I definitely feel different with them but they have taken a little time to get use too! I keep wanting to push them to the side, or just pin them up because I feel weird having hair lay on my forehead :) But my husband says he likes them, so I guess they will stay for a while!

How much will you spend on baby clothes?

I am now 28 weeks pregnant and am excited to say that I finally purchased my first baby girl dress!

This is actually the one any only clothing item I have purchased for my soon to be baby girl thus far. Mainly because I have a hard time finding clothes I like and I have even more difficulty spending money on clothes that could be ruined in a second (by a killer diaper explosion) or become too small in a matter of months.

With my first, I mostly bought clothes second hand, or on sale from target or old navy. I made a couple more expensive purchases on little sweaters from Baby Gap, but I sort of felt like they were a waste of money because my little guy outgrew them within a month or two.

How do you decide what to spend money on when it comes to baby clothes?

The Bean Bucket

A couple of weeks ago I posted THIS simple idea to help keep your toddler(s) entertained. 

Today, I would like to share another great idea that I actually just recently put together for my (almost) 2 year old...

I made him a Bean Bucket and he has been loving it! Not only is a great way to keep him out of trouble, its an awesome sensory learning activity...which is important for brain development. 

Here are the materials you will need for the bucket (luckily you probably already have most of them laying around your house!)

1. Beans

2. Measuring Cups

3. Clear plastic bottles

4. Various sized spoons or shovels

5. Muffin tin (my little one LOVES filling up the tin cups and then dumping them back out)

6. A large plastic bin, the shallow ones are much easier to reach into. 

* Water and sand toys would be a great addition, I just couldn't find any in the middle of December!

I have been meaning to make something like this for a while now, but I was a little hesitant thinking about beans being scattered all over the ground. My little guy has been doing pretty good with it...I just set it up in the kitchen (while I'm doing dishes or cooking), that way when he starts getting tired of it, and throwing beans, I am right there to put the lid on before he gets out of control :)  

A BIG Thanks to Anna who blogs over at Have A Cute Day, for helping me with the idea! 

How To Entertain Your Toddler

I am always looking for new ways to entertain my almost 2 year old, especially on sick days or when it's too cold to go outside (which seems to happen all to often). Even though he has a whole chest full of toys, he looses interest in just about anything new after a week or even just a few days.

On Sunday, my toddler was having some terrible cabin fever (he has been sick with the croup for the last week so I've been trying to keep him home). He was throwing one of his worst temper tantrums when my husband ran outside and returned with a giant piece of PVC pipe, which was apparently left by the previous renters.

We propped one side of the pipe up on the sofa and started sending some Hot-Wheels down the tunnel. It was an immediate hit!!! and my little guy has spent hours playing with it for the last 3 or 4 days!

If you don't happen to have a scrap piece of PVC pipe laying around your house, get creative! Use the backside of a large cookie sheet or anything else long and flat that could work as a car ramp!

Oh, and by the way, YES that is the new area rug I purchased a few weeks ago! I haven't been remembering to take a good picture of it but I do love it!

Somebody's Been Sleeping In My Bed . . .

Before having kids, I was a firm believer that babies no matter how young or old should NOT sleep in bed with you. When my baby was a newborn I was terrified of all the crazy stories I had heard about babies suffocating because their parents had allowed them to sleep in their bed. I was so paranoid, that I really did a great job of never allowing that to happen...

However, when my baby got a little older (around 6-12 months), I slowly started to cave.

My little guy would go through phases were he would wake up once or twice every night. I got to the point where I felt so sleep deprived that I started just laying him in our bed and giving him a bottle. Whether he was hungry or not, the sucking motion would usually put him right to sleep and then I would slyly sneak him back into his own crib (not wanting him to start thinking that he could sleep all night in our bed).

Then somewhere along the line, I completely caved. I started letting him stay all night in our bed every time he woke up. Which was crazy because my husband and I NEVER sleep well when he is in our bed (it must have something to do with the fact that he twists and turns all night, and sometimes he will even try to play and starts kicking or smacking us in the face).

Every morning this happened, I would promise myself that it wouldn't happen again... but it's funny how your brain works differently at 3:00am when your delirious and halfway asleep.

Luckily, we have yet to get to the point where we let our little guy sleep with us every night. In fact, usually after so many consecutive nights of this awful slumber I get so fed up that I let him just "cry it out" in his crib. Once I do this 2 or 3 nights in a row, he goes back to sleeping through the night, but something always triggers the middle of the night wake-ups and the cycle begins once again (for example, when he is sick, teething, or if we go on vacation).

I really hate hearing him cry... I mean seriously, it takes a lot of guts to be mean to this face.

What do you think? Any advice?

Do you (or would you) let your baby/toddler sleep in bed with you?

Just One of Those Weeks . . .

I've had "one of those weeks" this week and am happy to announce that today is finally Friday! My little guy has been sick since last Saturday. It started with 2 days of a fever and turned into a chest cold/cough. He really gets sick A LOT. This is actually his 3rd cold within the last 6 weeks and it's not even winter yet.

The worst part about it is just not being able to take him out to do fun things, like go to story time at the public library, or play at the children's museum (like we usually do). We both go crazy being in the house all day and he has literally lost interest in ALL of his toys. But, I refuse to be "that mom" that brings her sick kids out so that all the other kids (like mine) get sick too.

Last year, when he kept getting sick, I had a Doctor recommend that I not take him out anymore. She actually made me feel like a horrible mom for even thinking about taking him to the store with me. I ended up leaving the office in tears and immediately switched Doctor's. I mean seriously, NEVER take him anywhere? That is both ridiculous and unrealistic...I'm not going to lock my kid in the house every day of his life just so he wont get sick. How is he suppose to build an immune system?

Anyways, I am excited because this weekend we are planning to go to the pumpkin patch, and finish the shelf for our living room wall. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and if anyone has suggestions for how to keep kids from getting sick, that don't include keeping them in hibernation for the rest of their lives, let me know!

A Confession . . .

I have a confession to make...some of you (I should probably say "most of you") may have noticed that I have not been my normal blogging self lately.

Well, I am both glad and excited to say that I have a good excuse...

Yep, I'm pregnant with number two...and about 3 months along! 

Before I get into my please feel sorry for me bit, I would like to apologize to all of you, my readers for my blog slacking. I love all of the feedback I receive, and still read each comment made, but I haven't been very good at returning the favor. I also haven't been very good at posting my own projects and tutorials because well, I barely have the energy to keep my house clean (actually it's been a catastrophe) and adding projects to my to-do list has just not been realistic lately. 

My number one priority right now is just to be as good of a mom as I can for my little guy, while still trying to take care of myself for the one on the way. 

I have had everything from nausea, heartburn, headaches, as well as a few unmentionable symptoms (and often all at once). The symptoms seem to worsen as the day goes on and by 7:00pm (which is when I usually do my blogging stuff) all I want to do is curl in a ball and lay in bed. 

But the good news is the last 2 or 3 days I have been feeling better. The evenings are still a little difficult, but I am starting to feel like my old self again and am excited to start some new projects and recipes!

So look forward to some upcoming projects, and if anyone has any good super quick and easy dinner ideas I would LOVE to hear them!