-
World Prematurity Day
World Prematurity Day is on November 17, but it has really sparked vivid memories for us. It’s the one day of the year I never thought I’d celebrate. But being the parent of a tiny miracle, it’s a privilege that we’re able to celebrate this day. I never wanted to miss out on my third trimester of pregnancy with Julia, but that was the hand of cards we were dealt. My water breaking at 27 weeks 4 days, then ultimately going through the scariest morning of my life (second to my water breaking), Julia was delivered by emergency C section. She was born crying, and at a tiny 2 lbs…
-
Life Lately…
Its been awhile since I have been able to sit in front of my laptop, and just catch up on life. Right now seems like the best time for me to just spill my guts and get out how I feel about school starting, summer ending, and our family. My oldest is about to embark on kindergarten in a week, and the emotions here surrounding school starting are big. But maybe not from the person you would think- its me. I have often shared here (my internet safe place) what our journey to having Julia was like, how precious her life is. I gave up my career and became a…
-
November thoughts
What a year. Is it even safe to say that we are close to the finish line of 2020? I am not sure about you, but for me this year felt like we were always idling at 75 mph, just waiting to spin our wheels or get a green light and move forward. This year has felt heavy for so many reasons, but ultimately I just think for what we feel like we have missed out on. But I am trying to put a spin on some of those depressing thoughts and really turn it around to think of how much this last 8 months has put into perspective. Even…
-
Welcoming Audrey: Packing a hospital bag.
Starting to pack for the hospital was a pretty exciting time for me in my pregnancy! It meant that the finish line was just that much closer, and I was really proud of myself. With my first pregnancy, it was such a rush to get to the hospital, and frankly I wasn’t sure what would become of my stay so I never was able to pack a bag- I was only 27 weeks. But with Audreys pregnancy I researched so much, that I guess I looked at it as a little getaway. I compiled a bunch of my favorite items and put them on my page for you to be…
-
Amazon Favorites + Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Giveaway
Can you believe we are already halfway through the summer? This has been the summer of what can I order next off of Amazon, well.. maybe thats just everyday in our house. I wanted to share some of our favorite items that the girls have really been enjoying lately. Its important for the items to be age appropriate too, otherwise I find that they can easily loose interest. Even though we have been home pretty much all summer, we have been able to keep the girls entertained with some of the items below- especially the sprinkler pad. Stay tuned to the bottom of the post too! I am offering a…
-
Welcoming Audrey: Choosing Music
I remember hearing from a friend of mine that she was able to make a playlist to have for her her upcoming c-section. So I thought to myself, I need to figure out what I can have while in the operating room. At my next appointment I inquired with one of the nurses if that was something I could do, and she told me “Absolutely, as long as everything is going well that should not be an issue!”. That made me so happy to know that I could have something else to listen to so that it could calm my nerves. Walking into an operating room and knowing that you…
-
Welcoming Audrey: A High-Risk Pregnancy.
Getting pregnant with Audrey took some time, but we were so happy to finally be expecting a second little girl to our family. Once we shared the happy news with our families, we began putting in the “hard work” on a high risk pregnancy. After delivering Julia, at 29 weeks 1 day, we knew that our next pregnancy would be filled with more appointments and monitoring. But we were in the perfect place to be cared for. Our healthcare team was phenomenal, and I was so happy to see them for a second time around. Because a lot of the reasons why I delivered Julia were still unknown at the…
-
The Quarantine Series: Baking
Okay, who doesn’t love a good homemade slice of pizza? One way we are stretching our meals is by adding in something as easy as a pizza! I have a Pampered Chef Bar Pan that is stone & amazing! We typically will make one pizza and save the next ball of dough for lunch the next day. This is a great family activity too, Julia loved playing with the dough. Enjoy the recipe! Pizza Dough! Ingredients 1 tablespoon sugar 1 1/4-ounce packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 1 1/2 teaspoons salt…
-
The Quarantine Series: Baking
Waffles! Who doesn’t love a crisp and fluffy homemade waffle? Todays addition to this series, is our favorite waffle recipe! This recipe is really easy and it will give you a good amount of waffles. I will typically double the recipe so that I can have a bunch left over to freeze. My husband loves these and typically will toast one to have with his coffee in the morning. I hope you enjoy these! Waffles Ingredients 4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 5 eggs 1 cup sugar 1/2 lb butter (2 sticks) unsalted, at room temperature 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 2/3 cups milk 1/4 cup cornstarch (it may sound weird, but it gives the waffle that extra crisp factor) Instructions Preheat…
-
The Quarantine Series: Baking
During this time of “quarantine” between becoming a new home school teacher and managing our daily household, I have tried to make sure that we are using all of the items that we are getting from the grocery store- especially whatever fruit we have on hand. My girls love breakfast, so I always try to make sure that it goes off without a hitch. It also makes the morning go easier by having something ready to roll, and then we can get a hot cup of coffee sooner! I am going to share some of my favorite recipes in this baking series this week that we have really been loving so…
-
Celebrating Bringing Audrey Home.
As a parent of a NNICU baby your child will always have three very special days. The first one is their birthday, the next is the actual due date, and the final one is the day they were cut loose from the NNICU. Even though I had a scheduled date for Audreys birth, there was still a minor hiccup and she spent a short time in the NNICU. Eight days to be exact. But we were able to finally bring her home after what felt like forever! Sometimes that second time around can bring back some really daunting memories of what the NNICU was like with a very premature baby.…
-
Top Baby Registry Items For the First Time Mom
Below are some of my favorite items that I have used to date with my girls- some of these items have been so helpful to have so I wanted to take some time and share them with you. 1. Inglesina Clip on High ChairThis High Chair has been such a life saver for us, on more than one occasion. Often times restaurants aren’t able to offer a booster/high chair to accommodate your dining needs, but this chair does it all. We have even traveled with this chair too. If you are in a space constraint in your own home, this can double as your goto high chair for feeding needs. https://rstyle.me/+Pd-osntDGsrzhIoeQbCxgw 2.…
-
Julia turns 4
It feels like a lifetime ago that I sat in a hospital bed wondering if we would ever see a fourth birthday. Looking outside of that snowy hospital room window, I couldn’t even imagine what life could be like without her. Little did I know what would unfold in the early hours of February 6, 2016. After what felt like a lifetime, I was finally able to hold Julia 2 entire days after she was born. Exhausted from the chaotic events leading up to her birth and afterwards, I sat on a hospital recliner propped by pillows, sore from surgery and held my girl for the first time. I sat…
-
Catching up!
Whew! Where has this year gone? Between our girls just growing like weeds and keeping them entertained- this year has flown by! It is so hard to believe that we are in November! We are eagerly getting ready for the holiday season, and have begun our decorating at home. The girls are really into Christmas and it makes me so excited to see their faces light up when they look at the Christmas tree. We are getting ready to kick off our Holiday gift guide series here! So don’t forget to follow me Follow me in the LTK App! Below I have teamed up with a great bunch of girls…
-
Nordstrom Favorites!
I wanted to share some of my favorite items that I typically purchase during the Nordstrom Sale. The Nordstrom Sale will go live on July 6th! If you create an account on the Nordstrom website, you can save your picks to your wishlist to make it easier to shop when the sale goes live. I will always score a great fall jacket for my girls, and a couple great items for myself or my husband for holiday gifts. At the bottom of todays post will be a Giveaway Opportunity for the Nordstrom Sale! Here are some of my favorite items for my girls- Check back often, as we…
-
Welcoming Audrey: The Birth Plan
Writing a birth plan was something that I did not even know I could do. But as I did more research on what I could expect during a scheduled C-Section, I learned that a lot of women had done this exact process. Being as nervous as I was, I wanted to make sure that I took the time ahead of our scheduled section to write out my wishes. I also wanted to make sure that my husband wasn’t being presented with questions that could potentially distract him from the experience as well. So I took my adventure to google, and I did find a lot of useful information. My team…
-
Welcoming Audrey: Maternity Photo Session
Taking maternity photos for Audreys pregnancy was a non negotiable for our little family. I wanted to schedule the photos early enough so that I was able to take them incase I was admitted for any reason, and also to use some of them as announcement photos. We always take family photos in the fall and use them for our annual Christmas card so these were going to be pretty special. Choosing location was something that I leaned on our photographer, Candace Jeffery for. Candace is extremely talented, and we used her for our wedding as well! We chatted for awhile, and we decided to shoot at Yale University. Yale…
