Collin's First Primary Talk

At church, Collin is now a "sunbeam" in primary and he was asked to give a talk on gratitude. He wrote it (almost) entirely himself. Lydia asked if she could be the one to help him. I'm so thankful for my amazing children.

Insta-Monday #48 - Thankful for.....

I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week!!!! Our house is all festive. 

My sister's in law came into town to help me test pies. Thank you ladies. 

You cannot know how badly I needed our girls day out.

(You can see I'm slowly making my way back to blond.)

The kids are set with fresh haircuts for the holidays. 

Putting the finishing touches on the nursery. Ellie LOVES her yarn animal mobile. A lot. 

I can't believe it's already been three months.

She needs to learn to sleep longer.

But she has a keen fashion sense. 

Baby cankles in calf skin moccs and jeggings. She rocks them.

And her playdates are epic.

Sometimes the bigger kids really freak her out.

Sometimes they freak me out too.

But I love them all.

This year, I'm so thankful for my little Elise. I'm thrilled she has come into our family. 

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

 

 Winner!

The winner of the Minted giveaway is the Linabootys.

 Congrats! Email me and I will get you your prize. 

Don't forget to enter to win a signed copy of "How to teach your Children Shakespeare".

My Diet Starts Monday. Oh wait. That's today.

My baby is three months old! That went fast. She is so freaking awesome. 

Sleeping a little better,

starting to laugh, tons of smiles. (Isn't she sweet? Lydia dressed her up as a snow baby in her fur vest.)

As for me.....I'm losing my hair by the handfuls, still mostly wearing yoga pants and Shane and I have yet to be on a date since Elise was born.
Or sleep in the same bed for that matter. (He snores. No way I'm letting him wake me or the baby up while she shares my room.)

But all that stuff will take care of it's self. Oh, except for one thing. I've got to lose this baby weight.

I'm doing ok with it I guess. I'm down 15 pounds from my last weigh-in before Elise was born. I had a pretty bad recovery so I expected it to be slow. But I really want to step things up now so that I don't lose ground during the holidays. I'm less concerned about pounds as fitting into my clothes again.

I've been reading some articles and blogs about long lasting weight loss. I know for sure I want to go the regular route of "Eat Less, Move More". But that's easier said than done with three kids, one being an infant. Some tips I've really liked are.....

1. Drink water like it's your job. 

2. Find a work out you love to do and do it. (Zumba!)

3. Plan your weekly splurge and wait for it. (Pizza and salad buffet with my family.)

4. Eat protein every breakfast. (Greek yogurt with a little granola. Yum.)

5. Write down your food choices and figure out your patterns. (Snacking from 3-5)

6. REWARD YOURSELF with non food things.

I love this last one, because, well, it's fun. In fact, I'm going to reward myself for the work I've already done AND provide myself a nice goal to work towards. 

I'm getting myself a pretty new dress in my pre-pregnancy size. My goal is to wear it for valentines day.

That gives me three months to get there. I'm pretty sure I can do it. But I'll have to really keep the holidays in check. 

I really love vintage clothing with a classic feel. Of course vintage clothes run small, so I've found some nice Shabby Apple dresses that fit the bill. I tend to stick to what works, so I get a lot from this site :) 

I like the high waisted look of the Zinger with the flattering arm length. Red heels and earrings would be very valentine appropriate. I'm not usually a bow gal, but it's in right now, so I'm willing to try it.

The El Capitan is so very tempting with it's (tummy hiding) peplum waist. That color is pretty fantastic. 

But the Ruby Tuesday is something I could wear to everything. 

What do you think? 

You can follow Shabby Apple on Instagram for awesome dress ideas and Facebook for GREAT deals!

Do you have any tips for weight loss after baby? How long did it take you guys to get back to your pre-baby weight? 

 

First Giggles

Never judge a mom trying to get their baby to laugh. They always sound nuts.

via instagram @natssentiments

Best Christmas Gifts for Baby

It's Christmas shopping time! I love that I pretty much can do all of my shopping online while I nurse the baby. Makes my life pretty easy.

I thought it'd be fun to share some of my favorite Christmas gifts this year. Starting with the cutest ones - gifts for baby! 

First up is the darling Jellycat plush collection. My sisters turned me on to these amazingly soft yet durable plush animals. It's the perfect first best friend for baby. I'm planning on getting the Bianca Kitty for baby Elise. But there are so many adorable choices, that could change. (Order them at Nordstrom.com and you get free shipping.)

Elise's "Big" gift is a Boa Stacking Rings with Sounds. It's from the Kushies Zolo toys line. I love that the rings each make a different animal noise. And it's adorable in the nursery. I figure if you're going to buy a toy, it should look cute on the shelf. 

I shop at Kushies a lot for baby gifts. They offer everything for baby/toddler from washable diapers, baby essentials, apparel, award-winning toys, bibs, bedding and more. And, their gift sets make great baby shower or new mother gifts. Elise is probably going to be getting a Blue Banana Carbag under the tree too. Something to keep her nice and toasty on our winter adventures. 

Look Look! By Peter Linenthal is the best book for babies, even newborns. The high contrast black and white pages are captivating to babies. I've read it to each of my babies, and even at 2 months old, Elise loves it. 

Everyone loves Sophie the Giraffe (my babies included) but Chan Pie Gnon is one of Sophie's more hipper friends. Just as chewy and squeaky, it's the perfect first stocking gift from Santa. 

My kids all wear Pediped. Elise is getting the shoes shown above in purple. Her feet aren't big enough for them yet, but you'll probably see then in lots of photos soon. They are just so comfortable, even my "I hate wearing shoes!" son likes them. Well, not these purple ones, but nice boy ones. Pediped now has a ladies line, Brian James! I know I would love a pair of insanely comfortable and stylish shoes for Christmas (Hint Hint). (And as a company they do some great community work. Check out their newest way to give back to schools.) They post good deals on the Pediped facebook page. 

I asked the kids what we should get the baby for Christmas and Collin yelled "A binky!". Elise does love her binkies. Well, at first she didn't want anything to do with them, but then I got a recommendation to try MAM pacifiers. They are designed and developed by pediatric dentists and orthodontists.  They offer a wide variety of pacifier sizes that suits baby's various developmental stages.  The anatomically correct pacifiers allows for healthy jaw and teeth development and ensure a maximum level of comfort for babies of all ages. Elise loves them and they calm her so quickly. This year she's getting a few more in her stocking. Along with a MAM mini teether to help her the moment her little teeth start coming in. Sign up for the “MAM Club” at mambaby.com to be the first to know on special promotions and new product introductions.

The Munchkin Nursery Projector and Sound System is a great baby room machine with all the frills. Sweet lullabies, pleasant white noise, a nightlight and a projector with three different different themes that can be projected anywhere in the room. Baby will love falling asleep to it's gentle glow and sounds. Great price at just over $20.

Lastly, I love the hand-stamped baby spoons I've been seeing on Etsy. And usually they run less than $10 a spoon. I think I may get one from Block and Hammer for my little sweetie. So cute, she'll actually use it and it becomes an heirloom. 

*****

These are my top pics for baby gifts. Next week I'll post my favorite pics for kids :) 

InstaMonday #47 - Fall is my Favorite

Fall is so great. Makes for some rad photos.

Daddy and daughter in the front lawn. 

Best photo ever? 

(I have a seriously good looking family.)

This is ONE day of leaves falling on our lawn. Shane had raked the day before. 

Added some extra highlights.

My hair dried this way!

Elise slept for three hours in a row one night!

(My grandma always sends a Pendleton blanket for each great grandchild. I love this one she picked out for my sweet girl.)

Missing Tennessee like mad. Autumn is so breathtaking there.

Though, this Autumn in Boise is pretty gorgeous as well.

Not all is good. The other day I walked into the living room....straight into a mommy intervention. 

Come on! It's just diet coke! 

Enjoy your fall!

via instagram @natssentiments

SOOOOO Sweet Saturday

Elise is 10 weeks old! Time for the traditional, fuzzy, 10 week photo!

Sooooo cute!

P.S. I have had several people refer to Elise as Elsie. Her name is Elise as in eh-LEASE or uh-LEASE. 

Not Elsie as in El-see. Big difference. :) Just think of Beethoven's "Fur Elise" and you've got it.