What I Plan To Do Differently

I cannot believe it has been so long since I have written a blog post!! This summer has been jammed packed for me. Between vacation, work and preparing for a new baby, blogging has been pushed to the side. School starts NEXT WEEK!! (Picture me doing a dance and throwing confetti :) ) I definitely need the 2-3 weeks of morning hours while Makenna and Matthew are at school to get some stuff done before baby #2 comes. Which comes to the topic of my post… here is a list of 5 things that I plan to do differently than when I had Makenna. 

1. My entire birth plan. Honestly, I didn't even have one for Makenna. I went in with no instructions or wishes. I had a hard long labor and ended up with a c-section. I never ever thought I would have a c-section so I was totally unprepared! I knew I wanted to breastfeed but I never told the doctors and nurses to keep bottles and pacifiers away. If you read my breastfeeding  post, you know how much of a struggle breastfeeding was as a result. This time I am having a scheduled c-section and will be informing EVERYONE I see to not give bottles or pacifiers. My husband is on bottle/pacifier watch. I think I scared him when I told him that he is to under no circumstances let them give her anything. This is our child, unless she is under distress for some reason, they will be following OUR rules! I am also asking for a "gentle c-section." Where they allow skin to skin immediately after delivery like a normal birth does. 
2. If for some reason I cannot breastfeed without pumping and bottle feeding, I will only be doing so for 3 months. Pumping and bottle feeding is A LOT of work. I applaud anyone that can do it for a long period of time. Unfortunately, I already know I just don't have it in me. With two other toddlers to take care of, it would be way to stressful for me. 
3. Co-sleeping. This is not something we planned to do with Makenna. It just sort of happened. I do not regret it, but with baby #2 so things will be different. Makenna slept right in between us. Baby #2 will be in a co-sleeping crib next to our bed. Makenna became so dependent on me to sleep that it got a little ridiculous. I would just lay in bed and nurse her to sleep. Baby #2 will be nursed and then laid down in her crib to fall asleep. There will be NO nursing to sleep after 3 months.  

   

   This is how Makenna prefers to sleep

4. 

   Makenna finally using her crib bedding. 

   With Makenna I got a whole crib bedding set and accessories. I have to say the biggest waste of money to me is those crib bedding sets. No one uses the little comforter it comes with and bumpers aren't recommended anymore. Even the sheets aren't that soft. Though Makenna never slept in a crib, every single family I nannied for also never used the crib bedding. It just sits there taking up space. Makenna now uses the little comforter as a picnic blanket. Instead I just have random crib sheet and an Aden & Anais Dream Blanket. I got one for Makenna when she was a year old and she still sleeps with it every night. I just purchased another for baby #2. I honestly might buy one for myself. They are so comfortable!  
5. Using a babysitter. Whether is be family or a hired sitter, Makenna and baby #2 will be left with someone other than me. Makenna is my shadow. She is hardly ever left with anyone else. She has never been left with anyone besides family. (Matthew's family is considered our family too) My mom lives about an hour away and Michael's mom has a busier social schedule than me lol Its tough to find some time to go out without the kids. We definitely need to find a trusted babysitter!

So those are my top 5 things I plan to do differently. Of course, anyone that has kids knows nothing really goes as planned. 

Playing Catch Up...

I can't believe it has been so long since there has been a good blog post! I guess that is what happens when life takes over. Between Keri preparing for baby number two and my crazy schedule coming to a close there is just too much going on. It is only Wednesday (I mean Tuesday... point well taken!) and I have been up since 6am... vacuuming, washing the floors and doing laundry. Have I mentioned that it is my day off?!? Haha I guess thats what happens when you become a Mommy. A PUPPY Mommy that is! Recently, my boyfriend and I blessed our home with two of the sweetest baby puppies in this world! A beautiful German Shepard (DeeBo) and a sweet little yorkie (Tyson) -- who definitely lives up to his own name. Tyson tries his hardest to play with the big boys and I am pretty sure that Deebo thinks that his brother is a chew toy. He really is gentle with him however he has his moments of pawing him!

Just like when you have a newborn baby it takes time to get to know them, their needs and you truly have to listen to what they are trying to tell you. Are they hungry?, tired?, need to pee or poo? You need to put them on a schedule right away and you definitely cannot diverge from it. These babies of mine LOVE their schedule and have been doing an amazing job with crate training. FYI-- for any of you who get a new puppy, I have downloaded a baby lullaby music app to my IPAD. Every time they go into their individual crates I play the baby music app. They go right to sleep with NO whimpering or whining. It is amazing!!

Here are some pictures of the night we brought them home and just some proud puppy mommy pictures that I have captured over the past few days;

Here they are! The newest additions and the sweetest boys I know ;) What else can I say besides the fact that I am so excited for what is to come for me. Lately I just feel so blessed and lucky. I continue to pray that God keeps blessing me in life. I recently "retired" from all of my side jobs and had to say goodbye to some of the sweetest kids I know as well! I will definitely go back and visit and work from time to time but it feels good to focus on myself and my life at this time. Here are a couple of "selfies" from my last day! hehe ;)

Needless to say there is a lot of transition and change brewing in my life but all for the positive. I really am not used to devoting time to my own life but perhaps that is what has been missing. I feel happy, healthy and blessed! I truly am excited for the future! Now that life is settling down a bit expect more blog posts to begin flowing again. :)

P.S. If anyone has any new puppy tips for me it is VERY MUCH appreciated. Please comment below to give me some helpful tips and hints! Thank You!!!

XOXO,

D

Book Review Tuesday!

Recently I noticed that Thomas had a few new books added to his library shelf! Thomas is always getting hooked onto new and great children's books thanks to his awesome mama and my boss Rosie!

Last week Thomas had me pull a "bus book" off of his book shelf to read to him during lunch time. He loves buses, trucks and construction everything! Thomas is also a HUGE fan of, "The Wheels on the Bus." The board book I am about to introduce is not exactly the same thing however it teaches a wonder of fun math skills! 

This book for me is a new favorite! It really is addition and subtracting lessons in disguise. There are groups of dogs and cats that board the bus. Then, at different stops along the way groups of cats and dogs get off the bus in different numbers. For example, two dogs get dropped off at the boat, three cats board the airplane, two cats and two dogs get on the train, etc. The final passenger is a dog who ends up being the bus driver's pet. The awesome part about this book is if you want to begin to teach your toddler simple adding and subtracting lessons you can take cheerio's, puff's or whatever you would like to show them when one, two, three, or four animals board and leave the bus. They can count with you to see how many animals are left still sitting on the bus. 

As said above, Thomas loves his wheels on the bus song. So I take the opportunity to sing the song with him and go through all of his favorite motions! Since Byron Barton uses cats and dogs for his story you can include doing different animal noises in your wheels on the bus version to go with the theme of the book. It makes meal time more fun and relaxing for him, for sure! 

What stories and children's books would you love to see featured here on Play Dates & Sippy Cups? Comment below and let us know!

XOXO,

-D

Meal Prep & Wedding Madness!!

Let me just start off by giving this small disclaimer.... I am in no way shape or form in top notch shape! My ab's (ummm I have NO ab's) are not made in the kitchen! Would I like them to be? Absolutely! However, I cannot live at the gym 24/7 and with my hectic schedule I do not by any means have seven hours on a Saturday to meal prep. For today, it just is not my reality.

I also very recently got slapped in the face with a different reality. I was my best friends Maid of Honor this past weekend. Early July my dress finally arrived at the bridal shop! I was SO excited! Now, for all you ladies who know bridal world. Clearly, we all have a love/hate relationship with it. You can be a size seven in reality but in bridal world that easily makes you a size twelve or fourteen. The measurements are always off and something always needs to get tailored or adjusted... Keep in mind ladies that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a size 12/14/16/18/22! We are all beautiful in our own skin. Weight for me has always been an uphill battle. Especially throughout my childhood and teen years. My body image is still a battle for me to this day but I work on knowing I have shed that portion of who I used to be.

Back to the meat of this story... I tried on my dress which is a size ten. The dress fit beautiful and like a glove! The only thing that needed minor adjustment was in my breast area. Of course, it needed to be taken in. Three weeks later my dress was picked up and I went to my best friend's apartment to zip it up. Well, when I say she couldn't even zip it halfway up my back that is no exaggeration. That dress was NOT fitting! Only three weeks had passed! Could I have gained that much weight? No way! It just wasn't possible. I began to break out in sweats, I am pretty sure I began to swell up and freak out. With just a week and a half until the wedding we had no idea what we were going to do about this. Quick side note, I recently embarked into a new relationship with a wonderful man. We all know what happens when you get into a new relationship. It is exciting, fun, tons of date nights and eating out and slowly the gym is the last thing on your mind. However, three weeks from the fitting did not pack twenty pounds onto my body! Rita said she would call the bridal shop first thing in the morning because surely something had to have gone wrong in the alteration process. I ended up going home that evening and calming down a bit. I know this sounds super silly but I went and pee'd, yes pee pee. Prior to going to try on my dress I ate like a cow and drank iced green tea and two bottles of water. I definitely did not help the situation. So when I was relieved and comfortable within my own walls I called upon my mother to help me out for a minute. She was able to clasp and zip the dress! Mini SUCCESS! The dress was pulling and too tight! BUT, I was in it! That very moment I decided no more eating out, no more junk or sweets until this wedding was over!! I told Rita to not call the bridal shop because I was going to focus on eating right and getting into this dress on the big day! Talk about pressure!!!

As you can see my back was swollen and this dress was pulling an awful amount!!

For the next week I focused on nothing but drinking water like it was my job and green tea too! I believe my boyfriend and I went through two twenty-four packs of water bottles in a week (mostly from me) and the tea section of my supermarket was cleared out by me as well. I walked for my cardio but did not push it too hard because again, my schedule is extremely hectic and I do tons of traveling. By the end of the day I am just wiped out! Also, during that week my good and dear monthly friend came and gone. Which, I believe that had a lot to do with my bloating and swelling too! I made a firm decision to basically eat chicken and veggies until I couldn't do so any more!

I am sure it is the same for all of us women... I can't just eat plain grilled chicken. I do need some flavor to it! I want to share an awesome recipe with you that helped to get me through the week! You can change it up by cooking some brown rice on the side as your carb to mix with the chicken and the veggies!

I made Rosemary Lemon Chicken (ummm YUM!) and the best part of it all was that it was in the CROCK POT!! So ladies, we all know what this means.... MINIMAL PREP AND ZERO CLEANUP!

This was such an easy and simple meal. I believe it took me ten minutes if that to prep! 

Ingredients:

• Four boneless skinless Chicken Breasts (side note, Nature's Promise makes individually packaged chicken breasts which cuts your prep time even more!)
• 1 Cup low sodium Chicken Broth (definitely low sodium after that dress experience lol!)
• 1 Lemon thinly sliced
• 4 Sprigs of Rosemary (I got the Rosemary plant from the food store)
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped
• Dash of sea salt and a few dashes of ground black pepper

Then, all you have to do is place the chicken in the crock pot, pour in the chicken broth, top it off with the lemon, garlic, rosemary, sea salt and pepper! You can cook it on high for 4-5 hours or what I did was high for two hours and on low for three hours. When I cook this again I will probably just try to cook it on low for 5 hours. The crockpot I use is on steroids and gets hotter than your average I feel. 

Here is what it looked like when all was said and done!...

Yumm!!

Since I had embarked on the, "You better fit your sweet little butt into the MOH dress" journey, I opted out of cooking brown rice and just stuck to some broccoli. It was a yummy healthy meal and there was zero cleanup! Side note, this is an AWESOME meal for your toddlers! You can buy everything natural and organic too if that works best for your household! 

These pictures were taken the day before the wedding! SWEET SUCCESS!!!!! 

I was SO EXCITED!

No more pulling or swelling in my back!

Have you had any times where you had a certain time crunch to fit into a special dress?! Please share your stories below! We would love to build a community here at Play Dates & Sippy Cups where you feel at home to share, comment and talk with us! 

XOXO,

-D

** I am not a nutritionist so please talk to your doctors before changing your diet