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18 "Mom Things"...

In honor of my sweet "baby" boy being 18 months old, I decided to share with you 18 "Mom Things".

Things No One Tells You About Being Mom

1. You will cry. A lot. Before having Gavin I was NOT a crier. Not at sappy movies...not at weddings... I just didn't cry. Good lord, after having Gavin if I had a dime for every time I teared up or cried over something, I swear I'd be approaching billionaire status. I'm such a sap now. 

2. You will constantly question where time goes. "How has it already been a year", "It feels like it was just yesterday", "I can't believe he's so big". Another, "if I had a dime for every time" I say those things... But it's truly insane. TIME ABSOLUTELY FLIES by. I can remember every detail of the night I went into labor with Gavin... like it happened last night, and here we are with an 18 month old toddler running around like a crazy man crawling on anything within sight. It freaks me out if I think about it too much, and I definitely can't think about it too much or else I cry (see #1).

3. Sweats become heaven on earth. I'm not sure that this one counts, because sweatpants were my little piece of heaven on earth since long before Gavin... but now even more so. Especially being a stay at home Mom. Sweats are awesome.

4. Kiss your sleep goodbye. But for real, just say so long to your uninterrupted nights, or your special weekend sleep-in sessions. They're gone. For a really, really long time. As soon as you think you're back to uninterrupted nights of sleep... you're right back to waking up at all hours of the night, for reasons you sometimes don't even know. Teething? Hungry? Bad dream? Just not sleepy? You don't know, and you usually don't care...all you're aware of is the fact that it's 1am, your kid is wide awake, and you are now forced to drag your lifeless body out of bed. 

5. Coffee is your absolute best friend every morning, and sometimes in the afternoon too. Refer to #4.

6. Say adios to YOUR schedule. Yup, buh-bye. It's now baby's schedule. When BABY's hungry... when BABY needs to sleep... when BABY's wide awake. This can make the simplest of tasks, like eating your own lunch, or "quick running to Target", seem like mission impossible. 

7. Date Nights become far and few between (unless you become super intentional about it, like we have the past few months, thank the lord) but when you do get around to being kid-free for an evening... you don't even know what to do. "Ummmm...dinner and then a movie? Or shopping...but what do we really need to shop for? Maybe just go through Target, see if there's anything we need? Or Menards? I don't know...?" Then you realize it doesn't really matter where you go, or what you do,  you are finally kidless and FREE again for a few hours! That's all that matters. Dinner and bedtime is finally someone else's responsibility (air high-five!)

8. Nap time kind of becomes..... well, sacred. You make sure your phone's on vibrate, you make sure no one stops over during nap time, you keep the dog close by so he can't bark at the squirrel outside the window and wake the baby up. You basically nap-proof the home and all those in it for those few, sacred hours of peace and quiet. 

9. You become immune to almost everything that used to gross you out about babies or small children, once you have your own. Buggers, pee, poop, drool, spit-up... huh, people without kids are grossed out by all that? I've forgotten those pre-kid days, when wiping a toddlers nose with my sweatshirt sleeve would have made me throw up my lunch. And pee, if you have a boy, you are far too used to sopping up pee puddles either on your floor or couch. Sh*t happens... literally.

10. You will amaze yourself at your willingness to do anything to make your baby happy. This means dancing in the kitchen to keep him entertained until dinner is ready, making "funny" (scary to most other people) faces to try and get some smiles, and the constant running back and forth playing "chase" because it's the only thing keeping him happy that afternoon. Whatever the scenario, your "never give up" spirit will shine quite bright when you're doing something for your kiddo.

Things That Make You The Happiest Mom on The Planet

11. When my sweet boy actually cuddles with me on the couch. Gavin is one heck of a busy boy...he doesn't ever want to sit still. But on the rare occasion, if you sit with him on the couch to watch either Paw Patrol or Sesame Street... you may actually have a limited time frame to super sweet cuddles. :) I take those every chance I get!!

12. Hearing your sweet baby's laugh! Is there a better sound than that? The only one that comes close in comparison is when you heard their little heartbeat for the first time... but man, when I hear Gavin chuckle, giggle, or full out belly laugh... I swear my heart smiles and there is nothing else going on at that point in time besides once again, falling absolutely head over heels in love with my baby boy.

Things Where all you can do is Shake Your Head
...or laugh...or maybe cry...or maybe poor a glass of wine... Probably all 3.

13. When you're unaware that your toddler has pooped in his diaper, and he proceeds to scoot on his butt down the stairs, pushing the poo out the top of his diaper, leaving poop skids down the first 3 steps. But that's not the kicker, the kicker is when your husband sees it as he's walking down the steps a minute later, and says "There's chocolate on our steps"...then pretty much immediately realizes,
no, it's not chocolate.

14. When you're standing in line at the movie rental store with your 1 year old standing next to you and he lets out a fart loud enough it can be heard by all those around you, and probably those outside of the store (this happened to Aaron when, unfortunately, I was not around to witness it... the story alone and the embarrassment in Aaron's voice while telling it, was enough to make me laugh hysterically).

15. Poop in the tub. Why do babies and toddlers do it?! And as soon as you think they outgrew it... you know, like when they're ONE... they do it again! What is it with pooping in the tub!?! 

16. When you leave your child alone for literally 20 seconds... and you come back to a complete disaster. 

17. When simple tasks like cleaning the toilet, the tub, or even vacuuming takes you 4 times longer, because someone HAS to "help"...

The Best THING About Being Mom

18. The absolute unconditional love you have for that child from the moment you first lay eyes on them. The smiles and laughter that they bring into your life on a daily basis. The hugs and the kisses that melt your sappy-Mom-heart every time you get one. The stupid-over-nothing-tears you cry (way too often), just because you have THAT much love for one, tiny, little human. The lessons you're taught on a daily basis, from said tiny human. The things you change about yourself, because you want better for your child. And last but not least, the honest realization that you would do absolutely anything for your sweet baby. 

Being MOM is the best!

My All Natural Face Wash Challenge


*check out my UPDATED all natural face wash post here*

Well, I decided it's time to finally give this idea a go!
For the past couple years I've been using all organic face washes, moisturizers and numerous serums...but unfortunately, even with organic products, you still have unwanted chemicals and fragrances hidden within them.
My skin is pretty sensitive, and it breaks out super easy.
It doesn't help that I have to suffer through harsh Wisconsin winters... (every winter I question why I live here...) that always end up leaving my skin dry and sometimes flaky. 

I've heard numerous people talk rave about their results with using coconut oil on their faces. In fact, I have yet to hear from one person who tried it, and wasn't happy with their results.

Seeing as how I love all things natural, I'm not sure why I've been putting this on the back burner!
We're also starting to talk about baby #2, so seeing as how a pregnancy may be in my somewhat near future, I try to kick as many chemicals to the curb as possible! 
The past few days I've been using coconut oil to moisturize my face, and I've even used it to wash my face a couple times.
So I figured why not give an all natural skin care regimen a try!
Plus, it doesn't hurt that I have ALL these products on hand, most of them right in my kitchen!

So I decided to share my regimen and results (good or bad) with you throughout this process! 
But here's my overall plan:

To wash with coconut oil I use about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, warm/melt it by rubbing it in my hands, and then just like I would with any other face wash, rub it on my face for a minute or so (ps, it's awesome for removing makeup and mascara especially!). I get a washcloth wet with nice warm water and use that to gently rub it in a little bit more, and to also help remove some of the oil before drying my face off. After using the washcloth most of the oil is removed, so after I dry my face I use just a tiny dab more coconut oil to moisturize my face.


The only thing that's different with the night time routine compared to the morning routine is moisturizing with lavender and tea tree oil mixed in with my coconut oil. I might not do this every night, but most nights I like to give my skin a little something extra. I choose to only add 1 drop of each into about a 1/2 teaspoon amount of coconut oil, and gently massage this all into my skin. Sometimes if it seems like too much, I just rub any extra into my hands, or any where else I have dry skin.  Disclaimer: I have been using lavender and tea tree essential oils on my skin for years, so I know how my skin reacts to them. For some people, even just having the two drops of essential oils in the coconut oil may be too strong for their skin. I suggest reading into essential oils before you decide to use them!! 


I love me some apple cider vinegar (ACV). The list of benefits from this stuff is crazy awesome, and if you're unaware of the awesomeness within that bottle, I highly suggest researching into it a bit! (I swear by the stuff whenever I feel a slight cold, or flu bug creeping up on me... 2 tablespoons ACV in a small glass of cold water morning and night, and the next day whatever was trying to invade my immune system... GONE! No joke, it has worked for me so far every time I've tried it...I will admit, the taste is not the greatest...). I have never tried using ACV as a toner, but again it's one of those things that the people who do use it, swear by it... so why not give it a try right?! I plan to use a 1:1 ratio, equal parts ACV to water or my all natural witch hazel as a toner, and probably use this 3-4 times per week.

I also plan to use coconut oil and baking soda mixed together as more of a deep clean cleanser, as well as a face mask a few times a week. For my sensitive skin I plan to use 1 teaspoon coconut oil and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, mix it together and apply it to my face just with my hands for a more gentle approach. For a bit of a deeper conditioning treatment, I plan to let this sit on my skin for a couple minutes, before rinsing it off with warm water! Again,  I only plan to do this a few times a week.

So if all of this natural skin care interests you, I suggest reading into it, educating yourself on the different options, and giving it a shot! 
I'm super excited to give it a try and can't wait to share my results with you! 
(fingers crossed they're all good results!!)

Hope you have a fantastic rest of your weekend!!!

My Must Haves

Well I've been working away at updating my "Baby Must Haves" Page...
and it now goes by "My Must Haves" and I must say, it has a whole new look!
Here's a sneak peak!
If you want to know more about my must haves, check out the new "My Must Haves" Page!!

Hope you Enjoy!



















Check out the full page here!

My Hospital Bag Must Haves



Nipple Balm! Don't forget this!!!
Nursing Bras
Nursing Pads
Comfy Robe
Hair Straightener (if you're like me and have unruly flyaways that must be tamed)
Minimal makeup... mascara and powder was enough for this girl!
CHAPSTICK!!
Slippers
Phone Charger
Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, body wash, face wash)
My Own Pillow :) Because I'm picky about pillows and it was amazing to have my own!
Loose and comfy sweatpants for coming home! 


I wanted to do this post because the other day while cleaning out one of our messy storage rooms, I came across my "baby folder"... which in it, still had my hospital bag list!
It was actually really funny to go through the never ending list, and laugh at myself for the amount of things I packed and never used! So I made up this handy must have list for any other expectant first time mom! ...and for myself to look back at next time around to prevent from packing a ridiculous amount again! :)

P.S. Baby #2 is still not quite on the radar yet for us... maybe soon ;)

Roasted Broccoli




Aaron came up with this recipe, and it was one of his typical "a little bit of this, a little bit of that...and lets try some of this". Somehow, he is the luckiest man on the planet, and almost every one of his magical recipes turns out awesome! This one was no exception!

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut of the same steamed veggies every...single...meal....and it gets old. This changes things up just enough, and it's still a super easy recipe to make!

So here you go:
(I apologize in advance for not having "exact" amounts... it's just not how my husband comes up with his recipes...)

What You Need:

1-2 heads of broccoli
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Salt

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Rinse, and cut your broccoli into thin slices, like such:
We also cut some of the broccoli stem into thin pieces, about 1/4" thick.
We roast these as well and they taste great! You can actually see
some of the stem pieces in the title photo.

3. Toss broccoli in olive oil until well covered. Spread evenly onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle with even amounts of salt, pepper and garlic salt.

4. Roast broccoli in oven at 400 degrees for 17-20 minutes, tossing/flipping broccoli a few times so that it is evenly roasted/browned. You want your broccoli to just begin to brown and get crispy, that means it's done!

5. Serve immediately & ENJOY!

This is one of our favorite veggie sides when we make our Better Than The Restaurant Fish Fry!

Hope you give this recipe a shot and love it as much as we do!

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