My Favorite Time of Year

Summer. It's my favorite. The sun, the heat, the gardening, the swimming, and... the yard sales! I've been shopping (of course) and also held my own sale a couple weeks ago.

I don't have much new to say, so if you're interested in hearing all my yard sale tips (whether your a shopper or a seller) you can check out my posts here, here, here, and here. One new thing I found this year was these handy metal sign stakes ($1 each from Lowe's). So much easier to get in the ground than the wooden stakes I used before! I just used some sharpies to make my signs on poster board and clipped them into the stakes. Another important lesson - colored sharpies fade. Fast. Oops. So stick to black sharpies or use paints if you want color!

Just like every year, I pulled out all my don't need it/don't want it stuff. And like every year I stepped back and thought to myself "HOW DID I HAVE THIS MUCH EXTRA CRAP IN MY HOUSE?!" Seriously, where was I keeping it all?

All my bigger items sold (yay!) and our church's youth group sale was the next weekend so we were able to donate any other leftovers there. So none of this stuff made it back in the house! I'm seriously trying to restrain myself this year and not bring extra stuff home. If I don't have enough stuff for a yard sale next year, I will be a happy lady. :)

Topic change - one day I decided I needed cake (normally I don't even like cake!) so I made this Emergency Pregnancy Cake. That's a real thing. Trust me. I used this recipe and it was so easy and super yummy!

Anybody else having a yard sale this year? Or have any favorite tips & tricks to share?

One Moment - Part 3

5 Crockpot Freezer Meals

One of the best things our friends did for us after B was born was bringing us yummy homemade dinners. It was SO wonderful not to have to worry about cooking while we were getting used to this tiny new part of our family. So we like to pass that blessing on when we get the chance. And it turns out we have just that chance right now! One of our good friends unexpectedly had an early delivery so we've been putting our heads together with a few other friends to get their place ready for the return home, including stocking their deep freeze with lots of yummy, ready-to-go meals.

I wanted to do crockpot meals because of the easy prep and easy cooking later, but I don't know much about freezer meals or crockpot meals. So it was pinterest to the rescue! I pulled recipes from a few sites I had pinned and wound up with a list of 5 dinners (the recipes come from here, here, and here). And while I was at it, I made a second batch for our freezer for after baby #2 makes an appearance. So I made a total of 10 freezer meals, and spent just over an hour on all of them! All the recipes are below, and I even made a printable shopping list with everything you need to make all 5 dinners (just double it if you want a set for yourself).

Click here for the printable shopping list!

I started by labeling all the bags with the name and cooking directions for each meal. I cut all the meat first and put it into the bags, and then added all the veggies and other ingredients (I was careful to choose recipes that didn't require any cooking ahead of time, it was all just chopping and tossing it in a bag). Then into the freezer they went!

It was actually really easy, and I made great time since I waited until B was asleep for all the cutting & bagging. Want to make a set of freezer dinners for yourself or a friend? Here are the recipes for the 5 meals I made:

All the Stuffs - Getting Ready for Baby

Before B was born, I read lists online and in magazines of all the things you "need" for a new baby. Huge long lists of things. But it turns out you actually don't need that much for a new baby! So I just wanted to share some things I've learned, a few things I would truly recommend having, and a couple things I'm hoping to pick up for #2. And I really don't mean for this to sound like a commercial, it's not a sponsored post or anything. Just trying to be helpful with things that have & haven't worked for us!

gotta have it

• A sleepy wrap. Or some kind of baby carrier. But stretchy wraps like this are especially good for squishy little babies. It lets you keep you hands free while keeping baby close and comforted. That's win win. I'm especially planning to use it this time around so I can have my hands free for B! But just FYI, stretchy wraps are really only good until baby is about 15-18lbs, so you'll need to plan on moving up to something more structured after that.

pic via amazon

• Cloth diapers. Any kind you like (you can see exactly what we've used and how they work here, here, here, and here). I've also picked up some used newborn diapers as I've come across them for #2. Hopefully those will hold him/her over until B's old one-size diapers fit. And seriously, I feel like this is one of the best investments we've made in parenting. We spent under $300 to diaper B from 2 months through potty training, and now we can use those same diapers again this time around. I can't even imagine how much money this has saved us over buying disposables.

• Nose Frida. This is the snot sucker to beat all snot suckers. When you have a little squish with a stuffy nose, that's a pretty big deal. So throw away all the little bulb syringe things you've tried before and just get this bad boy. Snot = history.

pic via amazon

• A nice camera. We've never taken so many pictures! And we love being able to take great quality pics that we can cherish forever. There are lots of options out there, but we've been loving our Canon Rebel. And if you want to step up the look of your photos, we especially love this lens.

• A white noise machine. We didn't get one until B moved to his own room, but it would have been helpful even before then. We all know a sudden noise can wake a baby right up, but having a constant, soft background noise can help ease them through sudden noises and make them less likely to wake up. We bought this one and have been happy with it so far. The rain sound is our favorite.

• A video monitor. For reals. We didn't even register for one (just went with the sound kind) but once B was here we took that thing straight back to the store and upgraded to video. It gives so much more peace of mind to be able to see the baby. Not that it stopped me from going in to check, too. :) And to be fair we barely used it before he was over a year old because he slept up in our room, but it's even better now that he's bigger! We can see if gets out of bed, or if he's laying there awake. Totally worth it. The one we have even has the option to add more cameras (like if you have kids in two rooms) and view them all on the same handset!

• Nursing stuffs. Bras, a pump, soothies, lanolin, a good pillow, and a big cup to keep nearby. Snacks don't hurt either. You'll probably be sitting for a while. It's also great to have a good, reliable book like this one by La Leche League. And if you have a La Leche League nearby, you should totally check it out. Great mother-to-mother support is priceless!

• A good app. When you have a new baby, you're tired. And it's hard to keep track of all the important things like how many wet diapers baby has or which side they nursed on last. It's also helpful for spotting patterns in your baby's habits like if they tend to nap at a certain time. We used this one but there are lots out there so find one you like! ***I am 100% supportive of nursing on demand and DO NOT recommend using an app to schedule feedings. Baby knows when he's hungry and the healthiest, safest way for him to grow is for you to follow his cues about when it's time to eat. La Leche League has tons of great info on this!***

not so much