Becoming a New Mom - 5 Ways to Prepare

If you're reading this, there is a good chance you're having a babaay! So let me first say congratulations! You're preparing mentally and physically for your life to change. You're making lists and checking things off (I did that, check here for one of my many lists). But I am not sure much can actually prepare you for having a baby. You'll bob, your baby will weave and no matter what, it's going to take a couple weeks to really get into a groove. The baby groove, if you will. #babygroove? I'm making it a thing.

Here are a few things I have learned in the first 4 months of motherhood. And if this advice helps just one person, that's good enough for me.

1. It's okay to ask for help. 
You'll think you can do everything by yourself. I know I did. I would ask for help from my husband, but feel bad because he was also working. What you don't realize in all your mommy haze is that other people are just as capable as you. And not only that, other people want to also bond with your new baby. Let them. Its good for your brain to take a break every now and then. I also asked for help from unlikely people for unlikely reasons. Don't be ashamed or feel like your a bad parent if you do the same. Regardless of what you need and from whom, you're a rockstar mom. Don't forget that.

2. You will use a fraction of the things you buy.
No joke. You need about 1/4 of the junk you buy. At least right away. Wanna know how many times Ollie has slept in his crib? Less than ten times. I am going to make a list of things I feel I need, but the short version is: clothes (not many at all), receiving blankets, feeding stuff, diapers & wipes, small space for him to sleep, burp clothes and soap. Thats it. Maybe you'll need medicine and such, but buy it as you need it. Don't over do it.

3. Don't spend a lot of money on clothes.
I made this mistake. I bought so many cute outfits. Some more expensive than clothes I would buy for myself. But guess what PJ's were my favorite for him? Ones my mother-in-law got at Walmart for $1.00. One. Dollar. Also, if you could see how many clothes he didn't wear in the first two sizes you'd be sick. I made the mistake of taking the tags off everything or I would take them back for sizes he wears now. Buy what you need. Not seasonal (you don't know how fast or slow they will grow) clothes. Just plain, basic shirts, pants, and socks. Sooner than later you'll have your own opinion on what you prefer (buttons v zippers, etc.) and be able to pick out clothes faster than you'd imagine. You'll thank me.
I feel so strongly about this that I wrote a whole blog post on this specifically. Check it out here.

4. All the things people say about becoming a parent is true. 
"It's different when it's your own kid" "You'll just know" & "You wont be able to remember a time without them" are all things that made me cringe when people would say this. I once had a conversation with a couple of mom's who told me life was gray before kids and I don't know love yet. It's all true. It's so hard to explain (another thing people say that drove me nuts). But I am now one of those moms. And its amazing. And the biggest thing? It really does come naturally. So relax and enjoy yourself. This time is so special.

5. Don't take your pre baby plans too seriously.
You've read books, got advice, saw other parents and decided the do's and don'ts. So much of that goes out the window when you have your baby. I said I wouldn't feed Ollie a bottle. Guess what? He ate more than I could make, so now we are primarily on a bottle and there isn't much I can do about it at this point. He falls asleep in bed with me.. also something I swore I would never do. Anything you can do to make your life easier and to keep everyone happy, do it. Sure, read your books at take advice. But don't take it too seriously and stay flexible. Find what works for you and your baby. It's going to be different for everyone.

What other advice would you give a new mom? Comment down below!

5 Ways to Save Money on Baby Clothes

Hi, new moms or moms-to-be. It's nice having you here!

If you're like me, you're excited to dress your little dude or dudette in the hippest, cutest, and most expensive clothes you can get your hands on. $60 rompers? You've got 4. And no matter what anyone says, you're going to buy the best. I know. Why? Because I was that mom just 4 months ago. My baby wasn't going to be going through clothes the way other kids were. I had this thought in my mind that he was going to grow at the pace of the tag on the clothing. I even bought a 12 month onsie because I thought, "Oh, this would be so cute to see him walk in!" But guess what? My man is 4 months old and weeks away from fitting into that cute shark onsie that I spent wayyyy too much money on. And guess what? He can't walk. Bummer.

I have learned a few things about baby clothing and I would love to share my thoughts with you so you don't make the same mistakes I have made. I might be able to make you feel better about not buying the trendy clothes and save you a little cash!

Tip #1
Take all the hand-me-downs

All those people who offer you clothes from their kids? Take them. For whatever reason I turned down clothes from everyone except my sister. Whhhhaaat a mistake that was. Kids grow way too fast to be buying that amount of clothes every couple of months (or weeks). If you find someone you can share clothes with, do it. When/if she has another baby, I will give them right back along with the things I've bought. It's officially my number one money savor when it comes to the kiddos.

Tip #2
Get all sizes of clothes

Whether you are buying your own clothes or telling people what size of clothes to buy (at a baby shower or just from friends & family who want to give), get sizes at least up to 18 months. I was only wanting clothes in the baby phase. When I got something that was over 9 months I thought, "Huh, this is weird? I'm not going to need this forever!" Wrong again. We are almost grown out of the 9 month clothes and I am low on clothes already. I went from him having 20 - 25 onsie pajamas to having to do laundry every couple days because we now only have 7 (he pukes so much).

Tip #3
Don't spend too much on clothes

And take this one as literally as possible. $1 sales at Walmart? Stock up. I bought clothes for Oliver that I would have never spent that kind of money on for myself. He has a tiny little jacket that is nicer than all the clothes I own put together and he has worn it maybe twice. Get the cheapest pajamas you can find. I have a favorite brand at Walmart that are regularly $15 but when they go on sale they are only $1. I buy as many as they have in Oliver's sizes. I like them 10x more than the ones I spent a fortune on, and they are so much cozier.

Your baby will grow out of their clothes so quick you'll never even get a photo. This is the major area I know I could have saved the most money on when preparing for my baby bird. I say one or two good outfits for family photos or monthly updates per size and the rest can be basic and cozy. They are going to puke all over them anyway.

Tip #4
Buy gender neutral 

I only have one baby, but I plan on having more. I don't want to buy all the clothes over again so I buy as many gender neutral pieces as possible. Space, science, sports, all can be worn by a girl so don't forget to think ahead!

Tip #5
Stick to one theme/color palette

The last thing I would recommend is to try to have all your clothes match each other. We wear a lot of gray, black, blue, and white so that (hopefully) all the shirts match all the pants. Your clothes are only going to stay organized for a bit, and after about a week or two, half your clothes are going to be dirty and the other half are going to be in a clean pile in the crib. Having all your piece match will make for easily getting your babe dressed all the time!

Saving on clothes is the last thing I know you want to do. You are ready to blow a whole month's paycheck on getting new threads for that cute little baby of yours. But don't. Everyone told me this same advice and I didn't listen but really wish I had. So here it is for you. And it's free. ;)

I am always looking for more ways to save, so comment down below with your tips! And if you have any suggestions, send them my way!

You're the best,

How to Stain Your Cement Floors

Hello, dudes. It's been a while! Andrew and I have been crazy busy remodeling our house, working, and raising a barf bucket we like to call our child. I have a ton of projects I want to post as well as new finds that I can't wait to share with you. Those along side family updates should get this blog back into the groove of things and quick. I've missed being here and I know you've missed me! 

I hope you enjoy the first of many DIY blogs I've got coming. They're going to rock your socks. 

Five Easy Steps to Stained Concrete

Whether you have cement outside, in your garage, or in your home (like us), you've probably thought about ways you can change it up but without the cost of buying new flooring. We thought the exact same thing. We had just redone the top 2 floors of our house and had just our basement left. The walls aren't done, but we knew we wanted to utilize the space until we could afford to frame it. We wanted a space to do yoga, run on our tredmill, and even put a spare bed for guests when they stayed but we didn't want it to feel dark and cold. My parents stained their floors and I thought it was also the perfect solution to our problem: wanting to change everything on the smallest of budgets and not wanting to do much work. :)

Follow the instructions below for a cheap, quick way to refinish your concrete!

What you'll need:

• Pump Sprayer - $13 - I got mine at Kmart in the garden section
• Acid Wash - $35 - Rust Oleum 1 gallon
• Base coat of stain - 2/$25 - I got 2 based on the size of my floor (approximately 600 sqft) and the color Sand. Amount will very based on size of your project
• Top Coat of stain - $25 - I got one since its not a thick coat and of a darker, more chocolate brown (if I had to do it again, I would have picked gray then black on top).
• Sealer - I don't remember the exact price and can't seem to find it on the Home Depot website, but just ask someone. I got the Wet Look Sealer and I think its only $20.00 a gallon
• A floor squeegee 
• A metal scrub brush
• Gloves
• Eye protective wear
• Garbage bags
• Boots

1. Dress appropriately. 
   Put on your eye protective wear, long pants, boots, long sleeved shirt and put garbage bags over your shoes for extra protection. The first part of this job is the hardest and can actually hurt you if you let this stuff get on your skin. Please be extra cautious.
   
   
2. Using your sprayer, spray the acid wash on the ground and scrub.
   Assuming you're doing this on already cleaned floors, the spraying and scrubbing shouldn't be too bad. Spray a 10x10 area of acid then wash it off with a hose. Squeegee the excess into a drain then move onto the next 10x10 area. Note: Learn from me and be sure to not just dump the acid wash on the ground. Every place it hits the ground will be noticeable and you will be left with what looks like spilled water all the time when you're done. This step is the least forgiving.
3. Base coat.
   24 hours after cleaning your floor, put on your base coat. Use the spray pump and try to get it as evenly and thick as you can, but remember not to get it too wet or thick that it bubbles.
4. Top coat.
   One of the hardest parts of this job is waiting. 24 hours later apply the top coat. I went over mine lightly and evenly then did another top coat the next day with what I had left just to make it extra dark. But that is totally preference and one time through will work perfect. Don't forget to wash your tools in between coats!
5. Sealer.
   Spray down the floors with sealer after the top coat has dried. I waited 24 hours in between everything just because it was easy for me to remember to do this the same time every day. Once down, don't walk on it as any foot traffic at all is noticeable and will be there forever. I then waited 72 hours (per the back of the bottle) to bring in any sort of furniture. 

The entire project took about 4 days total, but it was also one of the easiest jobs in the house so far. One hour a day and an hour extra of podcasting. Comment down below if you have any questions or know of any additional tricks! I'll tell you that as soon as my garage is cleaned out I will be looking for fun and easy ways to finish the concrete in there as well. 

Two Months: Family Update

Has it really been that long? I feel like time is flying by and also it feels like a lifetime ago that we met Oliver Roosevelt. Our little bug had a pretty rough entrance into the world on April 29th, 2016 (I'll post the birth story at some point). We aren't quite sure how much he weighed (apparently it's rare, but sometimes they get the weight wrong) but we think its likely in the realm of 9lbs.

In such a short time this little guy has worked his way into our hearts and I couldn't imagine not having him. He is so sweet, sleeps through the night, and is fine being held by anyone. He smiles so much (just haven't captured it on camera yet.. but it's coming!) and makes noises that indicate he is on the verge of laughing. If that doesn't make your heart burst, I don't know what will.

Things have changed a lot since we have had him. There is more laundry, more dishes and less free time. But also more love. So much more love. Andrew and I are learning how to work together in ways we might not have been able to had we not had kids. It's not all roses, and we definitely are still figuring things out one day at a time. But Andrew's dad loves and Oliver's chubby cheeks make everything so much easier.

I went back to work the end of June. It was difficult, but it's getting easier. After about a week and half back I finally feel like I am figuring things out again and am ready to kick some ass. Luckily Andrew and I are in a place where I can focus on my career while he focus on his book and being the primary caregiver to Ollie.

Speaking of which, have you heard of the True Blood books/TV show? They were written by Charlaine Harris. her agent emailed Andrew wanting to read his book. This is something that may seem minor, but rarely happens and could mean huge things for his book and for our family. Andrew was able to sell himself and his book in a couple paragraphs well enough that he stood out amongst however many thousands of people submitting their information. I am so proud of him and all the work he has put in. 

Lastly in major news, we bought a house. Yes. A house. I didn't see this as a possibilty for a couple more years, honestly. It's 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths + a basement and right next to my mom & Corey's house. We sign for the house on 7/8/2016 and get the keys 7/11/2016. It's in Spanish Fork which means I will have to commute, but I believe in commuting to work and not my life. We are so excited to do more things with my family and be more active. It is going to be a huge lifestyle change for us and a change of pace. It's going to rock.
On July 25th, 2015 Andrew and I spent his birthday buying a yearly planner for each of us and setting a couple major goals. Get out of debt, buy a house, start a family, finish Andrew's book and have a healthier lifestyle. I am so proud of what we have accomplished in such a short time and super stoked to set goals again this year!

If you're still reading this, you're the best. :) What kind of goals do you set? Comment down below and give me some ideas! 

Here is a picture overload to make up for my two months out. Enjoy!

41 Weeks && Counting

Dudes, 41 weeks already? It's blowing my mind I've made it this far.  I was really hoping to not have made it this far, but that's okay. Apparently, babe needed a little extra time. We were scheduled to go in this Tuesday (4/26) and have him Wednesday, but I got a phone call Monday that we won't be going in until Thursday (4/28). I know it's only a couple more days, but those extra days really threw me for a loop. Every day feels like 10, and the longer we go without him here the more stuff I feel like I need to get done. I'm so thankful to have Andrew, great family, and friends to help distract me from time. Andrew is so patient with my feelings and emotions about the whole thing and always makes me feel sane... that's a nice feeling. <3

Here is a quick breakdown of my feelings and what's going on. Mostly for our little family to remember, but thought it might be interesting for some of you to read. Enjoy!

Baby size: 

• The size of a winter melon. And it feels like it. Although, my doctor told me that he was a smaller baby and probably will only weigh about 7lbs when he is born. We shall see.

Craving: 

• ALL THE SUGAR! Milk, pasta, and more milk. But honestly, just food. I just wish I could keep it down. I feel like it's the first trimester all over again.

The best thing about pregnancy:

• Seeing and feeling his feet and hands poke out of my stomach, but more exciting than that is Andrew seeing and feeling him. I can't wait to see him hold his little babe. 
• My hair looks awesome and is growing like crazy.
• I can protect and take care of him in my stomach... I am nervous for that to change.

What I've been doing: 

• I am reading Baby Wise again for extra preparation.
• Trying things to put myself into labor. Spoiler: Nothing is working.
• Trying to teach myself Adobe Premier but it's hard when you take 4 naps a day. Hopefully the next couple days will be better.
• Nesting. Lots of nesting.
• I got my eyelashes done so I can look halfway decent without doing any work... really excited about that.
• Packed my suitcase with mine and Ollie's things so we're ready to go any day now.
• Finishing up odds and ends that I have been putting off or did weeks ago (like cleaning my car. Not clean anymore).
• Trying to distract myself and stay positive. :)

Belly status:

• Belly button is mostly just flat, but when I have a contraction or he stretches, it pokes out a bit. I am happy it's not out all the time, because not only does it look weird, but it feels weird.
• I have plenty of stretch marks. I didn't have them for the longest time but now it looks like my stomach got attacked by a tiger. It's strange but also beautiful. I am happy that I am lucky enough to get to wear these marks the rest of my life.
• It's hard as a rock. He doesn't have much room to move around, so when he does you can see everything. Its incredible. 

I'm feeling: 

• Tired, excited, restless, emotional but mostly REALLY happy.
• Trying to soak up the last few moments of being a duo with Angie.
• I have low iron so I am extra exhausted and my legs always hurt when I walk.
• I cannot wait to have my family around and to celebrate a new life in our family.

I'm thinking: 

• I am feeling ready some days and that everything is chaos the next. I'm all over the place.
• Can we clean everything and then just hold our breath and not move so its still just as clean when baby comes? Wishful thinking.
• When in the world will he be here? Now? .. Maybe now?
• How is my birth going to go?
• Is everything going to be okay? So many thoughts and so many questions!
• I need to fill out his baby book with the pre-birth information before he gets here. #procrastination
• &&& I cannot wait!

What I've learned: 

• That pregnancy and labor is different for everyone. I haven't heard one baby/labor story that is the same as another.
• "Get sleep before baby comes" is a joke.
• Pregnant women snore SO much.
• AND DROOL. So weird. Why did no one tell me?
• Going over 40 weeks is so much harder than I thought it would be. Not physically harder (well, I am more tired, but thats manageable), but emotionally harder.

An update within an update... bumpception? I think so.

I am checking into the hospital tonight at 9pm. They are finally allowed to give me the proper medication necessary to get this ball rolling. I'm taking bets but I am expecting to be in labor most of tomorrow and won't have him until late tomorrow night or Saturday (4/30) morning. There is no prize, but give me your guesses! Plus, it gives me something to do while we wait. And wait. And wait some more. 

Nursery Painting

Yo, dudes and dudettes (because obvi this blog is the numero uno bookmark on every man's computer). Some of you have been asking about the painting I posted on Insta, so I figured I would do a quick blog post about it. I was looking for something that would put me into labor so I gave painting a try. It took me about 5 hours (I move slower) and cost me about 17 dollars total (I did have a few things on hand already). I call this a win! I got my inspiration from Vintage Revivals, but put my own little spin on it.

Here is what you'll need:

• 2 2x4 pieces of plywood like these here
  or 1 4x4 piece if you have a large vehicle
• Paint colors of choice
• Paint brushes/sponges
• Painters tape
• Nails/screws to hang your masterpiece

I chose the colors I did because I wanted it to go in my babe's nursery. His nursery colors are pretty non-existent with everything just white, grey, and light wood. So the colors I got give me more freedom to mix and match other things into his room without it being out of place. End of unimportant information. :)

You'll basically just put a dot in the corner and tape off rays from that center point. You can put your point wherever. In the exact middle would be really cool, too. Make sure you run over the tape with a credit card or something solid to make sure it seals to the wood in order to avoid paint leaks. Wait for the previous color to dry before taping off the next bit to avoid messes. 

I originally painted it for the dot to be in the top right corner, but hung it upside down. You can hang it with nails since it is light enough, but I felt safer using screws into the studs since it was going over the crib. Ya know, just incase. 

What do I love most about this project? The wood is a really good canvas. It does exactly what you want and takes the color really well. Doing this one project has made me aware of all the blank walls in my house that I could fill with random wood canvas paintings. 

Here is how it turned out on the wall! It's amazing and one of my favorite projects I've done in a while. 

Try it and let me know how it turns out or what you did differently! I'd love some inspiration for my next painting! 

Keeping A Clean Home

Hi, dudes. Most of you know I am a few weeks from having our babe and I am getting everything ready to check out for a minute. That includes work, meals and making sure our house stays clean. You know those people who ALWAYS have a clean house and they make it look so effortless? Yeah, that's never been us. I am a clean-once-a-week type gal and end up spending my whole Saturday playing catch up. Sound like you? Keep reading...

I decided it was time to make some real changes. We have tried everything to stay on top of our mess. But by the time I got home from work, we barely had enough energy to cook dinner and climb into bed. &&&& being pregnant is also not helping this get any better. We tried every variation of chore charts there are, I think. We even had a reward system for a hot second. That didn't even last a day. Remember: We are in our late 20's. We should not be rewarding each other for cleaning something that's ours. We were a wreck. Still here? Good.

So I did a bunch of Pinteresting and read what other people did. I took ideas from a bunch of blogs and changed them around to fit mine and Andrew's lifestyle. I wanted to make it easy enough that we could make a list of rules instead of chores and easily remember them. We sat down and made sure we could easily handle the changes together (this is really important. You can't make changes if everyone isn't on board). We came up with five. And let me tell you I think they have changed out lives. So here we go!

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED:
Preparation is key. To prepare you need to get your favorite cleaners together and put them all over your house. It sounds weird, I know. But you want cleaner whenever and where ever you need it.

Bathrooms: Under my bathroom sinks I put a mirror cleaner, a toilet cleaner, a counter cleaner and in my bathroom with a shower I put shower cleaner. Lysol wipes work great, but I did a spray and paper towels. I like how easily they clean and pick up my hair.

Kitchen: I put a dish soap on top of my sink (which I don't usually do, but again I wanted to make everything so easy) and surface cleaner under the sink.

Other random locations like night stands and in our entertainment center we put Lysol wipes. I just wanted to make sure we had everything covered.

Trash Cans: Put extra bags under the main bag so when you have to empty the trash you always have back ups right there and saves you the extra trip. This is one of my favorite tricks my mom taught us when we were young! Thanks, mom. :)

Note my Method obsession.. I like all different kinds of cleaners, but these are some of my favorites:

1. Wipe down every surface after use.
This is key. And probably my favorite. After everything we do we wipe down the counters. It sounds annoying, especially in the bathrooms and bedrooms, but it's not that hard. If you find a cleaner that you enjoy the smell of it will make everything always smell fresh. And because of my obsession with smells, this one is at the top of my list. But remember, even pouring a drink or brushing your teeth will cause a mess. And the longer you leave it, the nastier it gets. So just do it right away because it only takes two seconds. Having cleaner all over really makes this one doable.

2. No dishes are allowed in the sink.
Did I lose you? It's easy. So much easier than I thought it would be. My trick is that I start my dishwasher every night regardless of how many dishes are in there. If there are only 2, I might wait until morning. But I won't wait much longer than that. I might add a coffee cup or two, but I have been known to start it with just a couple cups and spoons... the light cycle makes me feel okay with this. :) Then in the morning Andrew will empty them and so we always have an empty or dirty dishwasher for new dishes to go into. Plus, how many times have we went to cook something and needed the ONE thing in the dishwasher? That hasn't happened at all since this started. Everything is always clean.

3. Make our bed every day.
No. Matter. What. This better get done. This probably doesn't need much explaining, but if your room feels clean, it's easy to keep everything else clean like your bathrooms or your floors. There is just something so fresh about a made bed.

4. No clothes are allowed on the floor.
We made this rule because we are both terrible about putting our clothes away. Jackets, socks, whatever, we have very little self control and by the end of the week we have random clothes everywhere. I am pretty sure we are not the only one with this problem. So, we got us each a laundry basket and with a floor-is-lava rule, we are saving so much time. Also, because we have to think about where they go, we are folding them or hanging clothes back up that would normally just go on the hamper. Its less laundry and cleaner floors. It is a win-win-win for everyone.

5. 30 minute power clean every night.
This is where we make up for the lack of rules and set chores. We set a timer for 30 minutes and do as much as we can. This includes sweeping the floors, vacuuming, cleaning the shower (only 5 minutes with those Clorox bathroom cleaner wipes), dusting, taking out the garbage, mopping, decluttering, anything really. If you're competitive this could be a fun time to get extra steps in a day and challenge your partner to see who really is better. ;)
The first few days we had a lot to do and it seemed like too much. I didn't think we would last (Just remember it's only 30 minutes.. you get to stop once it's done). But by day 5ish we were trying to find things to do.. like cleaning baseboards and window seals. Deep cleaning stuff.. so weird. My favorite thing to clean during this power clean is the sink. There is something so refreshing about waking up to a polished sink. I can't explain it, it's just something your'e going to have to trust me on and try.

We made these changes in one week. ONE. I started out just wanting to try it. I don't think we could ever go back. We are now those people who have a clean house all the time. I am no longer afraid for people to come over unannounced and that feels so freeing. It leaves me time to do things like blog.. and sleep. And sleep some more.

Got any good tips?! Please share them! I LOVE trying new things. <3