Adirondacks

This is the beautiful place I call home. The Adirondacks. Upstate New York. Absolutely gorgeous, especially this time of year.

Converting Videos to MP3

I know most people probably don't still use Media Player, but I do. I have a bluetooth speaker that also has a slot for a micro SD card so that I can play music when I can't connect to the internet. We use it when we go camping or hiking.

So this website allows me to find any song I want from Youtube or Vevo and I can convert it to MP3 and download it to my Media Player. It's fast and easy to use.

http://convert2mp3.net/en/index.php?p=search

DIY Advice cards and Wishes for Baby for a Fall themed Baby Shower.

Made using PicMonkey.

My favorite hobby, photography.  Some beautiful flowers from a local garden.

Make your own Breakfast Sandwiches

My husband and I love McDonald's breakfast sandwiches, but I hate paying for them and I hate how greasy they are.  So I made my own and froze them so now they're available when we want them.

Ingredients:

English Muffins
Small Ham Steaks
Cheese (i used American)
Eggs
Onion

Directions:

Scramble eggs and onion and cook.
Place cheese on English muffin, add ham and egg.
Wrap in tin foil and place in freezer bags.

What to Pack in your Hospital Bags!

I searched google and pinterest, trying to find the best list of what to pack for when I had the baby. I found several good ones and combined them to make the best list for me. So here's what I packed in my bag, baby's bag and a bag for my husband. 

My bag:

Comfy clothes - sweatpants, t-shirts, socks, nightgown, underwear, comfortable bra (sports bra)
Toiletries - deodorant, brush, hair ties, make-up, toothbrush, sample bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. (most hospitals will supply the pads you need after birth)
Phone, camera and chargers. (I also brought my tablet so I could read)
Earplugs and ear buds. Hospitals can be noisy!
Snacks and drinks (cafeterias aren't always open)
Change for vending machines
Chapstick

Baby's bag:

Clothes (I brought 3 outfits and 2 nightgowns, plus the special outfit I got for her to come home in)
Hats and scratch mittens
Pacifier (if your using them)
Baby Blanket (hospital does provide this, but I wanted her own)
Also, depending on the time of year - coat, mittens

Hospital will provide : diapers, wipes, formula, bottles.  You only need to bring these things if your dead set on using a certain brand. Otherwise use what they offer and just switch to yours when you get home. 

Daddy's bag:

Change of clothes
Phone & charger
Deodorant & toothbrush
Book or magazines

I also brought a boppy pillow to make feeding a bit easier.  ☺

Weekly Meal Prep

So with the start of a new year, my goal is to lose a little weight and eat healthier. So in order to keep myself on track, I decided to start doing weekly Meal prep. When you have a baby, you tend to grab whatever is quick and easy, which are not always the healthiest choices.  By doing meal prep on Sundays, I have a weeks worth of breakfast, lunches and salads for dinners.

This week I made strawberry /banana smoothies for breakfast.
. . . .  RECIPE. . . .  -  3 bananas, 2 cups of strawberry /banana yogurt, milk.

For lunch I made Chicken with Zucchini, onions and peppers for delicious chicken wraps.

I made salads to go with dinner all week.  And 1 Greek cucumber salad.
. . . . RECIPE. . . .  -  cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, olive oil, feta cheese.

DIY Coasters

Every year for Christmas I struggle with what to get for my parents and Grandparents.  They all have everything and are seriously hard to shop for.  So I enlist the help of Pinterest and search for DIY gifts.  I like to make gifts for people anyway, because I feel that a homemade gift means more than buying something from a store.  Since we had Aria, making gifts became so much easier. Grandparents and Great-Grandparents love to get stuff with her sweet little face on it!

So this year I made each of them a set of coasters. Super cute and very inexpensive to make. I bought 8 ceramic tiles in Home Depot.  I printed 8 different pictures of Aria on my home printer. I mod-podged the pictures onto the tiles and put 2 layers of mod podge on top as well to seal them.  Total cost for all 8 coasters - 8.00

They came out great!  I will be making a set for our house as well.