Saturday | 4/28/18

 

  

  

We had such a great Saturday. My original intention was to do a photo every hour but I completely forgot the second half of the day! Our weather was BEAUTIFUL - much warmer than you would expect for springtime in Canada! After breakfast, Tynsleigh went outside in her bathing suit and a cover up to play in her water table. I thought it would be too chilly for her but it was perfect. While we played in the yard, Morgan took a 3 hour nap =) and Dirk worked on our outdoor dining table. We had a picnic lunch outside and then Morgan and I headed in town to sweet little David’s birthday party. After the party, we ran to the house to load everything into the car and head over to the Buntyn’s for dinner. They smoked a brisket - my absolute favorite! We lost track of time there and didn’t end up leaving until 100...oops! I have to say though, the girls did surprisingly well for being on the go all day, and Sunday wasn’t anymore whiny than usual ;)

I hope y’all had a great weekend!

Humbecue Tuna

Once the weather is warm enough to be outside most of the day, I rely on quick, effortless lunches. I do a couple different spins on tuna depending on what other ingredients I have around but this one is Tynsleigh’s favorite. Morgan had some for the first time last week and seemed to really enjoy it as well. Below is the recipe. Do you have any easy lunch ideas for me to try out? I’m always looking for new ideas!

Humbecue Tuna
1 can chunklight tuna in water
1 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp hummus (Arriba is my favorite)
1 tbsp barbecue sauce (Stubbs is my favorite)
Optional: jalapeño, red onion, avocado

Mix ingredients together. Serve on sliced bread or crackers.

Nordstrom spring sale!

Nordstrom has some really cute spring items for sale right now. I’m linking up my favorites that I bought this afternoon- I don’t typically have much luck with their sale clothing (never seem to have my size) but today was an awesome splurge! 

I have been loving all the bows, bell sleeves and feminine details for spring. I have totally been crushing on this shirt but my husband would killllll me. This one is similar and only $27!!

Give me all the gingham! Haha! I had a tough time narrowing it down to one gingham top and really ended up basing it on how playful and fun this top is AND it’s less than $30 right now! I may get this for a casual, fun dress but I’m not sure this post baby body is ready! 

We have several weddings to go to this summer and this dress will be great to add to the rotation. I love the sophisticated silhouette of the dress and the flirty ruffle on the one side - it’s fun yet classy. On sale for $90 right now! 

 

AG Jeans. My faaaaavorite. They don’t typically have much stretch to them and they maintain their shape throughout the day. So glad I found these babies!

 

These boots are why I hopped on Nordstrom’s site to begin with today. I had planned on purchasing Kristin Cavallari’s peep toe slouch booties but then I saw these - on sale for $100!

 

I probably haven’t worn a jean skirt since the 8th grade but I am so excited they are back in style! You can get this one for $35!

  

I have been eyeing this dress as a basic piece for awhile now - to wear with a kimono for a casual lunch or a fun blazer for a semi-business casual event. I purchased the gray so that I could work it in wherever needed. It wasn’t on sale but the normal price is only $56!  

Okay, I admit...this was a total impulse purchase lol. I am glad I didn’t talk myself out of it because I think I’m going to love it.  

 

A lighter wash of AG Jeans. Also on sale.

 

Look at the sleeves on this adorable shirt! It will look great paired with denim shorts or jeans this summer and a cream cable knit sweater will take it straight into fall. It may even look good with the booties I purchased ;) 

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments. Happy shopping, y’all! 

Baby SLEEP

When it comes to baby things - sleep, solids, mobility - I find myself doing a google search of my favorite blogs and then a Pinterest search to see if I can find some tips, tricks or reassurance for whatever developmental thang is going on. Surely I’m not the only one who does this! Soo...if you happened across this little blog looking for the same thing, below is some real talk for ya.

baby sleep. Good grief, is there anything more difficult?? Morgan’s naps have been ah-mazing the last couple weeks. She naps about two hours late morning and about an hour in the afternoon. I feed and rock her until she’s mostly asleep and then stick her in the dockatot. This typically wakes her up a little bit but not enough to where she can’t fall back asleep. Nighttime rolls around though and she can be dead asleep in my arms but as soon as I put her down - girlfriend sounds like a mad, wet hen! So I pick her up and I start feeding, walking, patting, etc, to get her to sleep again. I do love all the cuddles at night and will miss them when she’s moved into Tynsleigh’s room but at the same time, I’m ready to not be kicked and clawed at all night long.

Out of desperation this evening to see if I could get her into the dock, I pulled out some freezer milk, unthawed it and had the bottle ready to go for when she first woke up after I tried putting her down. Oh my gosh lol....I wish I had a picture of her face (and mine!) of when I offered her the bottle. Pretty sure I was proud as can be and she was pushing the nipple out and looking at me like I was crazy. Haha! Ahhhhh I love this stage but I also like it when I can shower and get ready for bed without her screaming bloody murder.

How does the old saying go? “It’ll soon be water under the bridge” I believe it’s something like that...I know there will come a time (just like with car rides and nap time) where she will be fine doing it by herself but it sure is hard in this stage of life!

Until then, however, I plan to keep nudging her forward ;) and most likely complaining about how fast she’s growing lol.

4/20/2018

Our weather the last few days has been BEAUTIFUL. The girls and I have been soaking up every minute we can outdoors. We have a few piles of snow that haven’t melted yet and Tynsleigh has been spending the majority or her time running between them eating the snow lol. I tried to discourage this at first because we have a dog — but y’all know toddlers and since we started potty training last week I’ve been picking my battles.

Tynsleigh has also been collecting things whenever she gets in her little tykes car. Maybe that’s a sign she’ll go junkin with her mama when she’s older?? Haha! Speaking of that car...I really need to paint it. Hopefully I’ll be able to do it during nap time next week.

I

 

 

hats  

Side note: why is it that a sassy toddler becomes 1000x’s sassier during potty training??! This whole experience has really given me a good insight into her personality and the teenage years to come!

We’ve done a few quick trips to town if we had to and our little potty has been toted everywhere lol. I needed a few items for dinner yesterday so I loaded up the girls in the afternoon to run to the grocery store. I asked Tynsleigh before we went in if she needed to go and I was told ‘no’ - no big surprise there because I’m told the same thing when she’s doing her little dance. I told her she would need to hold it til we left if she didn’t go now. Nope. She wasn’t going. We purchased our 7-8 items and as we were walking out of the store she started doing her dance. I was totally THAT mom running with a car seat, a big bag of groceries and a screaming toddler....and to add to the chaos I was talking over Tynsleigh’s screams telling her to “hold her pee.” Haha!! I’m sure that brought back memories for a few of the people we passed as we ran to the car! She made it though!! So we had to celebrate with a coffee (for me) and cake pop (for Tyns). I’m still not sure how we did that but oh, am I so grateful.

We have done a ton of walking. Tynsleigh and I used to walk every morning (except during winter) and it seems like Morgan enjoys being out as well. That’s a huge relief for this mama because I can’t stand being indoors when the weather is nice.

I had an awful dye job last fall - technically it was two - one bad dye job and another to fix it. The last few months I’ve been debating whether I should chop it off because it is so so damaged and ugly - I have a hard time getting the wet brush through it! I decided I would try some products to try to strengthen it and basically do no heat on it except for a couple times a month. I tried a new product tonight and as I was brushing my hair after my shower I realized that there were already less tangles and it was so much easier to brush through it. I’m sold!! I can’t wait to see what my hair looks like in a couple months! Now if only I can find someone to seriously fix this awful dye job...

This has been a crock pot week for us. Dirk requested lasagna for tonight and I threw all the ingredients in the crock pot lol. After he finished complaining and actually TRIED it, he raved about how good it was. It really was pretty good. I may never put it in a pan again! Morgan has turned into THE BEST little eater. She’s happy to eat whatever I give her now! Love that so much!!

 

Do you have any hair products I should try? Or crock pot recipes for me to try out next week?

Potty training: day 2 | Tynsleigh

As soon as I heard Tynsleigh waking up on the monitor, I went in to her room to pick her up. I love when she wakes up happy, stretching and singing to herself - this was one of those mornings. Typically I like to watch her on the monitor because it’s so stinkin cute but I’m really trying to instill good potty habits sooo....

She sat on the potty for a few minutes telling me all kinds of things I didn’t understand before she finally went. WHEW!! That was a relief that we were starting off so well!

I didn’t push fluids like I did on day 1. She always has access to her water bottle during the day and gets milk twice a day. She loves fruit and vegetables so that is always part of her meals/snacks. Yesterday I sat her on the potty before and after meals - today I encouraged her to go potty before and after but didn’t fight her. I also watched her like a hawk still. She knew early on in day 1 what she was supposed to be doing but she didn’t always make the connection in time to get to the potty. I had done a lot of prompting on day 1 and I fully believe that’s why we ended the day so successful. It was also the two of us + Morgan on day 1. Today my husband was going to be around and I wasn’t quite sure if he was going to help or hurt the situation. Haha!

After breakfast, she said she didn’t need to potty and started playing. I told my husband to watch her and when she starts turning her knees in he needed to tell her to go potty (or put her on the potty). As I was vacuuming in the other room, I heard him start yelling and Tynsleigh crying. He was the first to admit that he had overreacted to her accident and the next few hours were a bit harder. Even when she made it in time, she still cried.

I got a good lunch in her and she played for awhile before she went down for a nap.

I sent this picture to my family when she wasn’t wanting to go after lunch. Girlfriend was holding it and dancing around but finally sat down and went. Although as you can see, she still had to play around!

 

She didn’t go right after she woke up (I figured that’s because she wet her sheets). We went on a semi long walk (no accidents!) and when we got back I told her she had to potty before we could play outside. This made her tear up some but she did go.

 

She played outside while we grilled steaks for dinner and then ate her fill of steak, chicken and peas. She saw Morgan liked the potato so she decided she would eat some as well lol. After dinner I told her it was time to sit on the potty and after a few minutes she pooped, no problem! Sorry, was that TMI???

I had a couple people ask on Instagram what method I’m doing. In all honesty, I’m not sure what method it would be other than the QUICK AND DIRTY one. I am not doing any diapers or training pants - not even at nap and bedtime. My hope is that we will have two weeks of grossness and then relatively few accidents afterward. Also, I don’t set a timer. The first day I walked her to the potty and had her sit there if it had been an hour-ish and she hadn’t peed but that really just led to a lot of sitting in there and nothing happening (until right when we left the bathroom!). I have been surprised at how quickly Tynsleigh has caught on and I’m so proud of her for learning something new even though it’s scary.

Potty training: day 1 | Tynsleigh

Whew..... motherhood is not for the faint of heart. I mean, I already knew that but I sure was reminded something fierce of that today!

Today marked the first day of potty training for Tyns. After she woke up, I went in and picked her up from her crib and as I was kissing and telling her good morning we walked to the bathroom. I quickly told her, as I took her pants and diaper off that she was now a big girl and was going to start going on the potty. She resisted and cried a little bit. I didn’t expect this but I figured we were at the point of no return (kind of) and I wanted to see if we could push past this. 

I got her a cup of milk and we cuddled for a little bit (she was only in her jammie shirt). This calmed her down and she was happy to sit on the potty and read a book. I bought a few new books that will only be potty books for the next couple weeks and then she can have them on her shelf. No luck on going potty but I figured it wouldn’t be that easy. I left her without bottoms on for the first half of the day because I wanted to see as soon as she started going. I offered a TON of fuit, vegetables and fluids all morning. This was done to help encourage her to realize when she has to go and where she’s supposed to go.

 

The first time she started peeing on the floor, I picked her up and ran to the potty telling her to hold her pee because we were going to put it in the potty. Surprisingly, she held it and finished going on the potty. I told her how proud I was of her and we clapped our hands for her good job. I showed her how to wipe and I let her dump everything into the toilet and flush. She thought that was pretty cool lol. She also loved washing her hands in the sink every time. I did a potty dance after she went but she just kind of laughed and then left the bathroom to go play. Maybe clapping is enough for her but I do want to make sure there’s excitement in her going for these first couple weeks.

The second time she started going on the floor she burst into tears. I picked her up and did the same thing as before. After she finished going in the potty she started clapping and telling herself “yay” so I knew she understood what she was supposed to do. As the day went on, getting her to realize that she needed to go and then to hold it was much more challenging. I found myself timing how long it had been since she last peed and having her go sit on the potty. I’m not sure that was really the best course of action even though it made it easier with nursing/holding/rocking Morgan and I didn’t have a mess to clean up. I am going to try to not do that tomorrow and see if we can lengthen the recognition time.

 

A couple things I learned today:

1) Tynsleigh knows she needs/wants privacy to poop so she will leave the room while we’re playing and start to do her thang wherever she is.

2) Miss Smarty Pants will stall bedtime by not going to the bathroom for you even though you’re almost positive she should need to go. And yes, by 8:15 I said I didn’t even care anymore, she just needed to go to bed at that point. 

Hopefully she progresses in her learning tomorrow and I remember that it’s only day 2 of potty training for her, that she will make mistakes and that it will take time before she realizes she needs to potty and be able to make it there in time. 

Flourless Baby Pancakes

Our family doctor (she’s amazing!) gave me this recipe when I was starting Tynsleigh on solids and it is still a favorite in our house. Morgan tried them for the first time a couple days ago and she loved them!

Don’t be fooled by the seriousness of her face lol. She seems to always become focused/intent nowadays when it’s mealtime. I sure hope this is a sign that I will have another good eater!

The Flourless Baby Pancakes are made out of two ingredients (yes, TWO!!) and they are a healthy alternative to the pancake recipe you know and love. They’re also DELICIOUS and the banana sweetens them so there’s no need to add anything else. I’m not going to lie...I definitely eat my fair share when I make them! Hope y’all enjoy!

Flourless Baby Pancakes 
serving: 1

1 egg
1 banana
spray Pam or coconut oil to grease the pan

Mash banana in a small bowl. Add egg and mix until incorporated.
Heat pan over medium low heat. Grease pan. Place a spoonful of mixture in pan and allow to cook until edges set (1-2 minutes). Flip and cook on opposite side. Pancake should be medium brown in color on both sides.
Serve warm.

Tynsleigh | 4-12-2018

Oh, my sweet Tynsleigh. I love your big personality so much - how you are sweet as a lamb one minute and the next you are sassing someone every which way. It’s one of my absolute favorite things about you. Tomorrow we start potty training. I know you’re ready but your mama sure isn’t - I’ve been dragging my heels these last few weeks because I’ve realized that you really aren’t my baby anymore. I’ve been calling you a toddler the past few months because you always have a good idea of what you want and when you want it. I guess that’s finally sinking into your mana’s head now.

I anticipate you’ll be excited to try out the potty tomorrow. You’ve been fascinated by the big potty for awhile now and are always asking if people are wearing diapers (that question always makes me laugh and most people are good sports about it). I know we’ll have our rough patches over the next few weeks and that this won’t be a walk in the park but I can just picture how proud you are going to be when you first go. I love seeing you become this amazing little person but I sure wish time didn’t go so fast.

So tonight I rocked you one last time as my little baby and tomorrow we’ll start doing a few of the little girl things you’re ready for.

I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living,
My baby you’ll be.

Baby led weaning: On The Go

I used to stress about how I would feed my baby solids if we were out runnning errands or at a restaurant. I had no idea what to pack, how to pack it and if I would be able to contain the mess she made while eating! After awhile I realized that babies are just messy and that I needed to plan ahead before leaving the house in case she decided she wanted more than to nurse. It is an extra step to pack ahead but it’s much better than being out and not being able to find something she will eat before she gets HANGRY!

Morgan chowing down on egg and blueberries (and GiGi’s reading glasses).

 

I realize these next two are at home but surely y’all get the idea!

In Morgan’s first month of BLW she has been given almost everything we have eaten, with the exception of peanut butter. You can see the list here. She will get peanut butter in the coming weeks but I plan to add it to a pancake or muffin recipe first. We don’t have any allergies that I’m worried she may have but I do feel like the consistency is a little bit much for having just been introduced to solids. She may be more ready than I think but I’m more comfortable introducing it slowly. I have several friends that put peanut butter on a spoon and fed it straight to their 6 month old! 

When thinking of snacks to take with us when we are going to run errands, I always follow the same guidelines I do with my toddler. I go for healthy alternatives over convenience even if it takes one more chaotic minute for me to get it together. I found some small containers on amazon that I put a little bit of chopped up fruit in, a couple flourless pancakes or avocado. Sometimes I do all of this if we have a ton of errands to get through in town! As she gets older I will bring different veggie spears, a piece of cheese and dried cereal (Cheerios) with us when we go shopping. My toddler LOVES raisins so I always have a box or 6 stashed in the diaper bag to bribe her with. I do try and change out the fruit and vegetables so they are exposed to a wide variety and don’t get bored with it. Morgan loves getting something when Tynsleigh does so I always go prepared as if she is going to want more than to nurse. These are the containers I use - nothing fancy but it does the trick!

When we go out to eat (which I admit is not very often), I always bring snacks (same as above). the girls typically eat food from our plates and I order a side of fruit or vegetables depending on what is offered. I am leery of a vegetable plate because it’s typically loaded with butter - I want them to learn to enjoy the different tastes and textures of foods (especially vegetables) and in my opinion, adding butter hinders this. I do not do kids meals, even for my toddler. Have you ever paid attention to what is on the kids menu? It’s typically high fat, greasy foods and I fully believe going out to eat should be an experience. It should test kids palates and make them want more than chicken nuggets and grilled cheese. That is a whole other post for sure though.

It does seem overwhelming to feed your baby outside the home at first. However, with a little  planning you can provide healthy snacks that your baby will love and you will feel good about!