Bumbo Magic

Fun parenting tools!!

So I have learned there are all kinds of new & re-designed toys and tools these days.  I didn’t know that this existed, but I received a Bumbo at my baby shower.  Wow are they fun and functional!!

My son doesn’t love tummy time terribly.  I think he finds it boring.  However he does love to sit in his Bumbo and look around.  This is another great way for him to work on his neck muscles in a way that he enjoys.  I tried to get a cute picture of him in it, but he moves to much and talks so much I was able too :)  Funny faces are fun though :)  I decided to add in just a plain cute pic of Remy cause he loves laughing and talking now.  Too sweet.

Also, it is so easy to clean.  The material is similar to wrestling matte material.  So it just wipes clean.

Throwing Remy into the Bumbo also makes it easy to give him his vitamins!  He is sitting up which makes it easier for him to swallow.  Plus, it makes it easier for him to be moved :)  hahaha we don’t usually move him like this.  Dad’s just having some fun!

Uncle Fun!!!

What great fun with our family!!

More family fun!!!  I have an amazing Aunt & Uncle that really treat all their nieces and nephews and now great nieces and nephews as if they were their own.  My uncle was able to come this weekend.  It was amazing fun!!  My sweet Auntie couldn’t make it however she hand made a wool bunny for Remy.  What a great idea.  It is something that can be put into the washer and it is something that will be more durable than a plush toy.  Plus Remy loves it!

Lobo got his own wool toy which he loved as well.  Thanks to such great family.  We are spoiled!

DIY Skirt

Up-cycling!!

My husband and I do our best to up cycle all of our goods.  If we can’t up cycle something for our needs, we will give it away or toss it depending on if it is still useable.  Most recently, I up-cycled a long shirt into a skirt.  

A couple times a year I go through my closet and pull clothes that I don’t wear or am just plain tired of.  This week I pulled a grip of clothes and really tackled this shirt.  Whenever you are looking to up-cycle remember that you can always dye, sew buttons, cut off arms, hem, or add embellishments.

So I started with this long sleeve shirt (which I had originally purchased from Goodwill because I liked the stripes).  I didn’t end up wearing it a lot because the empire waist didn’t hit right.

Since I liked the stripe so much I didn’t want to give this one away.  I always like to take advantage of the construction that is already in any garment because I don’t have any real skill sewing anything other than a straight line so I knew I needed to take advantage of the elastic waist band.  So simple and quick up-cycle is to cut this into a skirt.

I cut above the elastic as close as I could.  You could always add more of a waist band to make it smaller or (what I am going to do) just clothes pin the side to make sure that it is snug.

This is the finished product.  What I have found with any of my re-purposing, it is all about how you style the outfit.  A striped shirt transformed into a skirt might look a bit of a mess but pairing it with a fitted top and heels brings it up a notch (I hope anyway hahaha).

Organize Money Money Money

MONEY MONEY MONEY!!!

We are not in tax time!!!  Whahoo for tax returns.  It got me thinking, am I over organized with my finances?  I don’t think so.  I am 30 and a significant number of my peers miss manage their money, have no savings, or have significant credit card debit.  It got me thinking that I have pretty good system and as long as I stick to that system, I will keep my finances organized.

Now it goes without saying that I don’t have piles of money, but the mole hill that my husband and I do have is in a tidy box.  My husband and I treat our finances as if we were a business.  We actually truly consider ourselves in business...the business of life.  Standoza for life!!! hehehe  In treating our home financials as if it were a business we have a great understanding of how much money we have.  We know our numbers.  

To keep it all organized, we have a working spreadsheet that depicts our income and outgo.  Additionally, we break our month into two.  In these two halfs of the month we pay all bills on one day.  This keeps control on our outgo.  Slowly dripping money out of our account through the month doesn’t show us what we will or wont be able to afford.  We broke our bills into the first half of the month and the second half of the month.  This also keeps out finances balanced.  If lopsided we are able to get with one of our “vendors” and switch the payment schedule.  Again that adds to a balanced and controlled outgo.  One of the final additional benefits of the worksheet is the “check box” each “vendor” gets.  Checking off bill paid, keeps us from forgetting to pay a bill and becoming subject to late fees.

With the control over the outgo, we can coordinate payments with our income which is also tracked in the worksheet.  With some simple math in the worksheet I am able to see what is left, if anything, at the end of the half or at the end of the month.  That is how we decide if there is money left for us to have some fun or save for something fun!!  (ps we always put money into savings right off the top)

Pretty simple.  There are probably others out there doing something similar or something better.  I would love to hear about it!!

Skin Care Favorites

Skin Care Review

This week I did a post on Nose Peels.  I got to thinking that a lot of the skin care products that I use I have been using for years.  Thought it might be nice to share what has been working for me for so long.  I look for the most bang for my buck!

I have use St Yves Apricot scrub since I was 13.  This is been the most consistent item in my routine.  It is inexpensive and works great.  I have tried cheaper knock off items.  Their grain size tends to be huge and doesn’t finely exfoliate.  More like scratches.  St Yves is a great balance between exfoliating and scratching the hell out of your skin!

I also really love Dessert Essence Facial wash.  It is roughly $.42 and ounce compared to other cleansers which are about $1 and ounce.  You can buy it in bulk sizes and just pour it into a smaller pump which is what I do.  It is a very gentle soap and doesn’t leave my face feeling dry like other cleansers.  It also gets my eye makeup off really well.  For perspective I usually wear gel eyeliner, eyeshadow and a load of mascara.

I also have used Oxy 10 cleansing pads since I was kid.  These aren’t for everyone.  They are strong.  When I have a sunburn in the summer or wind burn in the winter I switch up for witch hazel because it is more gentle.  But on my average days I use these pads.  They get anything that my cleanser might have missed or I might have missed scrubbing and keep my skin very clear.

 

Finally, I have used Aveeno Positively Radiant for years.  It isn’t cheap, but I have tried all the inexpensive lotions and since I have oily skin I have found all the others make be breakout.  This does a great job of providing moisture but at the same time not clogging pores and not being oily.  Also the SPF is really what it says it is and works well.  I have found with cheaper lotions that SPF doesn’t always work the same.  Anyone else find that?

Health Quest: Start Up

I found this blog today.  I think I was going to find a before picture of me in a swimsuit and forgot all about it.  So I found a picture this morning and have posted it.  I am now running a mile.  Still very hard and disappointing that that is all I can run.  However also affirming because I can now run a mile and I am one step closer to my goal.  Whahoo.  More to come down the road but here is the post:

Well today was the first day in about a year that I took a jog.  WOW.  

I have always been an athlete and I haven’t ever felt this way before.  I could really feel all the extra weight.  It was definitely a new feeling that I don’t want to get use to.  All at the same time I felt good for getting out to take a run and bad for how out of shape I am.  But as always, this will be a work in progress and I have to start somewhere.  That is what I am telling myself anyway.  I felt so out of body I came right in and started this blog.

Before and after....I look forward to getting back to the Before pic!

It is hard to look at myself and not see the person that I see in my mind’s eye.  But that is why I am starting up my health quest.  I am working to not just lose weight but to take my health and fitness up a notch.  I want to be healthy for my son.  When he looks at me I want to make sure that I am the person I want him to see.  Healthy, active and a good relationship with food.

Step #1 is to get back into shape.  I have an in home program for strength training.  I also have a program to start running again.  I will get through the four week program and report back!

Whahoo for health and fitness??!!

DIY Pore Strips

DIY Pore Strips, Yeah!!

Nose strips are great.  However, what a racket!  They are quite expensive.  Lately I have been feeling like my skin hasn’t been it’s best.  So I did a nose peel.  So easy:

It is a pretty easy:

Tools:
1tbs Gelatin & 1tbs Milk

Steps:

1.) As with any facial treatment make sure you cleanse your skin first.

2.) Mix the gelatin and milk together.  It should look like biscuit batter.  I forgot to take a picture of that step because it is so easy and I just got cruising :)

3.) Microwave for 10 seconds.  This creates a liquid mix like honey


4.) Let is cool for about 10 seconds and test on the back of your hand to make sure it isn’t too hot.


5.) Apply and wait 10 minutes for it to dry.  I does look a bit like snot on  your nose but I swear it works :)

6.) Final step is peel and see how clean your skin is!  The whole process takes about 15 minutes.

Let me know if anyone has their own DIY facial peels!

Easy Baked Bread DIY

Easy & non-messy recipes always get me going!

I found a great recipe on the Natural Mommie’s blog: http://naturalmommie.com/2013/01/how-to-make-your-own-bread-by-hand-in-5-minutes-with-no-kneading-required/

It is super easy, requires few ingredients, and is a very clean and tidy recipe.  I hate it when there are a ton of dishes to do and when the prep time is messy.  Check out the recipe on the Natural Mommie’s blog but here are the basics: (oh and yes those are mauve countertops that look pink in pictures hahaha)


I mixed, I waited, I rolled & waited some more :), baked and enjoyed!


This is all apart of our effort to be in control of what our family is eating.  We are growing more produce, still on the lookout for a good meat market, and baking more goods at home instead of buying commercially.  It is a lot more work, but really enjoying it.  In 2008 my then boyfriend and I started cooking dinners from scratch.  I found that when we made tasted much better than what we bought commercially.  We started to just buy tomato sauce and use that as a base for almost all dishes we cook.  We then moved on to treats, and now onto breads!!

If you give the bread a go let me know!

Family fun

Three weeks of family fun!

What a fun couple of weeks with all of our family.  Lots of growth and fun!  We had our first in car breast feeding.  Wow that was a challenge.

Out on a sunny day to the farmers market as well as a misguided windy trip :)

And we made time to find some one on one moments.  Always a must!


Plus just some good old fashion cuddle time :)


Thanks Unk Harvey & Auntie Tay, Nanna, Pop-pop, Grandma and Grandpa!!

Workout Review

Finding time to workout can be a challenge.

I have a gym membership which I use to attend.  However with such a young baby, and breast feeding I haven’t been going.  Kinda a sad excuse but I feel more comfortable not thinking that I might bleed through my nursing pad at the gym.  Additionally, I just haven’t been able to get away from my beautiful baby boy.  Additionally, not as important but still a factor, I have in terrible shape.  It is crazy how your abs seem to disappear during pregnancy and my cardiovascular health was in the pits.

So for cardiovascular health I am walking.  I walk 2 miles or I walk 1 mile with weights on my legs (just depends on the amount of time I have).  These workouts have been good.  I feel tired and like I am actually burning calories.  Soon enough I will be back running.  More on that down the road.

More importantly, for strength training, I found a great video with a terrific routine I would like to share:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/W9ucbo_fx64" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It is a good all around workout.  I feel that it hits total body, easy to find time for, and a “get back into some kind of shape” workout.

Let me know what you use for at-home workouts.  I would love to know what other people are doing!