TIPS ON KIDS CONSIGNMENT

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Can I tell you a secret?

Well, it's not really a secret and if you really know me, you probably know this. I am the WORST thrifter. I just can't do thrift stores. You know those people who find the most amazing things every time they go thrifting? Well, I did not get that anointing. 

Seriously, I get waaaay too overwhelmed in thrift stores and the smell drives me crazy. I love the idea of recycling clothes, I just never can find stuff that fits me or looks good!

But consignment I can do....especially kid's consignment! Do you know how many clothes these tiny people go through? A LOT! I was just talking to James how unfair it is that babies grow up sooo quickly (we were chatting how London will be standing up and then walking later this year!!!) Why didn't God make the baby stage two years?!! But regardless of my opinion, they go through clothes very quickly. So one of my favourite places to find clothing for my babies is at my local consignment store. I have found such amazing numbers for my babes and I highly recommend consigning if you haven't done it before!

Consignment tips:

1. Stick to the same consignment store. I know what you're probably thinking...why would I do that when my chances of finding gems is higher if I go to different places!? But the thing is....you're a mom...your time is precious and you don't have all the time in the world to hunt through a bajillion consignment stores! Also, when you start bringing in your own stuff, you'll build credit at that store, and it has more value in the store than cashing out!
   If you're in Victoria, I highly reccomend Thistle & Wren in Fernwood. The owner Candace, is sooo lovely and they only take good brands so you'll always find something great!

2. Make a list of what you need before you arrive. Yes, it's fun to go nuts on kids clothing but it can add up! So before I go, I make note of what I need. The last time I went I made sure to look for a windbreaker for Luca and cozy pants for London. (In the top photo, you can see that I found what I needed...Columbia windbreaker and Zara leggings!)

3. Establish a colour palette. If you want to set your hubby up for success when dressing your babe, this is a MUST, ha. Honestly, if you only have certain colour clothes, you will find that you will get a lot more wear out of the clothes because everything goes together! For London, I usually try to only buy- black, white, cream, denim, rose, light pinks and grey. 

4. Buy a size larger than you need. Ok, this may be a given but definitely buy pants one size up for babies because you'll get way longer wear out of them. Once they're toddlers, you kinda need to shop in their size but you can getaway with larger t-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets! Remember, these tiny humans grow QUICKLY!

Do you love consigning or are you more of a thrifter?

XO,
Laura

POSTPARTUM FITNESS JOURNEY: STARTING BBG

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Okay, guys, if we're friends on instagram, you will have seen that I started the first week of BBG (aka Bikini Body Guide by Kayla Itsines) A lot of you had some questions, so I thought it would be easier if I did a post about it!

But before that here's a little back story on my fitness journey....for the past 10 years, running has been my main form of fitness (you can read more about it here) Back in 2014, I ran a half marathon and I'm hoping to do another one in a couple years but back in 2015 when we were trying to get pregnant, I wasn't as diligent with my running..I still worked out, I just was about 5lbs from my goal weight (135lbs...and I know I shouldn't get caught up in just weight but for me, I know that is a healthy weight with muscle, so I use it as a guide!) We then got pregnant with Luca and I continued to workout/run/walk up until I delivered him! In that pregnancy I gained 45lbs and got up to 185lbs. 

I didn't lose a whole lot breastfeeding so at about 5 months pp I got a bit more serious and joined a gym and made a few diet changes...I got down to 150lbs with 10lbs to go until my pre-Luca weight but then we got pregnant again! With London, I was not as diligent with exercise but I guess I ate a bit better because I only gained 35lbs instead of 45! In the fall and winter, I was superrrr lazy with working out but I managed to lose most of my pre-London weight so I'm now currently hovering around 160...so that being said, 20lbs to lose and a whole lot of muscle to gain!

So this time around I wanted to try something a bit more programmed. I had done a bunch of Bikini Body Mommy videos on youtube but I wanted something more challenging so I decided to do BBG! There is an app that looks amazing but it costs about $25cad/month soooo I'd rather save that money and just figure it out with the PDF!

Here's what a week of the program looks like:

• Day 1: Legs + Cardio. 2 circuits that you do twice. Each circuit is 7 minutes long so the workout will take roughly 35 mins with warm up + cool down.
• Day 2 + 4: Cardio. 35-45 minutes. She suggests power walking
• Day 3: Same jam as day 1.
• Day 5: Full Body Workout. Same jam as day 1.
• Day 6: Sprints (15 minutes of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off) + Stretching.
• Day 7: Rest

Here's how my first week went:

• Day 1: did it! sooo challenging but so good!
• Day 2: I ran/walked the golf course near my house. It's super hilly but felt good to do!
• Day 3: So many ab exercises...which killed me because I haven't touched my abs since pre-Luca lols
• Day 4: Didn't have time to run/walk :(
• Day 5: It was an optional one so I didn't do it because I was super sore from previous days
• Day 6: Did the sprints and almost puked, ha!! I only did 10 too but man, they killlled me. I didn't do the stretching, whoops.

Okay, so it was a pretty good week 1. I ate waaaayyyy too much Easter chocolate which probably made me almost puke during the sprints, ha. It sure feels great to have my muscles sore again!! I feel like my body was saying THANK YOU for working out again, ha.

If you do the PDF, I'd suggest getting an interval timer app to walk you through the workouts. Here is what I set up:

So all in all, I am sooo happy I started it. I planned this week out and don't know how I'm going to fit in the cardio (I have some night commitments this week, and James is out the two nights I don't have commitments, ha....I wish we had a treadmill!!) but I'll try!

Have you done BBG? I'd love to hear how it worked out for you!!

XO, 
Laura

WHY WE LOVE HELLO FRESH

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This post is in partnership with Hello Fresh Canada. All opinions expressed are my own!

The best days are the days when we arrive to a Hello Fresh box on our porch.  We're very big fans of food in our household. Both Luca and London absolutely loved food from their very first bite...it must be the Italian in them ;) 

So let's just say when the box arrives, we get real happy in our house.

So here's what you will find in the box:

• Dry ingredients and produce for three different meals
• Meat for each meal (or no meat if you get the vegetarian option)
• Recipe cards for each meal

It's packaged so beautifully too!

And it's super easy to cook. Just follow the directions for the recipe and you'll have an amazing dinner in about 30 minutes! They are perfect for a busy week, where you don't want to meal plan but don't want to spend a ton eating out. They would also make a great gift for someone a new mom, someone who's moved to a new home or anyone who loves cooking!

We've had Hello Fresh a few times and honestly, every meal we've had has been SOOO AMAZING and also very fun to cook. James is more of the chef in the family but I made the chicken dish above all by myself and it was super easy.
Oh, and we still cook a bunch of the recipes from past boxes we've received!

If you haven't tried Hello Fresh yet, use the code HELLOSSHEART to save you 40% off your first box!

XO,
laura

SPRING BUCKET LIST

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Happy first day of Spring my friends!!! The weather in our neck of the woods has warmed up quite a bit and I am SOOOO HAPPY. This time last year, I was 12 weeks pregnant and gearing up to go back to work so I didn't have too many things on the bucket list but this time around, I'm NOT PREGNANT and not working, which means I'm SO excited to enjoy the warm weather with my kiddos!

Here's what's on our Spring Bucket List...

• Visit the petting zoo. We have gone once already but London was sleeping so this time around I want to go with both kids awake...Luca just loved the baby goats and I was so thankful that the goats are soo good with children. If you live in Victoria, it's a must, no matter what your age is!!
• Build a sandbox in the back yard.  I'm happy to report that this one is already done! Luca just loves it and it makes our backyard time much more enjoyable!
• Build a garden box and plant veggies.  So this is the next project on the honey-do list! Right now I'm studying to see when we get the best light. If you are a gardener, I'd love your tips!! Our backyard gets a lot of shade but there are some spots that get sun in the morning and different spots that get it in the afternoon. Is morning or evening sun better for gardens?
• Tackle Spring Cleaning.  See my list in this post!
• Visit NYC!!!!!  Our flight is booked and we cannot wait to visit my brother and sister in law in May!!!
• Enjoy an outdoor picnic.  James has a very busy April lined up so I imagine we'd do this in May when it's much warmer and much lighter at night.
• Run 5KM. This is a personal goal for me, but I want to get to 5km! 

So that's on our Spring Bucket List. Not too much, because I just really want to enjoy the season without putting crazy expectations on it. My maternity leave is absolutely flying by so I want to enjoy as much time just being with my babies as possible.

I'd love to hear what's on your Spring Bucket List! Let me know in the comments!!

XO,
laura

LONDON ROSE // FOUR MONTHS

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London Rose is now 4 months old!! Well....almost five months, ha. MAN February FLEW BY. I'll do my best to remember last month, ha.

LONDON AT FOUR MONTHS

WEIGHT: 14lbs 15oz

HEIGHT: 24.5 inches

WEARS: She's now out of 0-3 months and is fitting nicely into her 3-6 month clothing! Buying little girl clothing is SOOOO ADDICTIVE. I had some credit at my fave consignment store and bought her a few things, but man, I want to order EVERYTHING! How cute is this number from baby gap? And this coat from h+m!!! #DYING

SLEEPS: Well this past month we officially sleep trained her! I have a whole sleep training post in the works but what sleep training means is a baby can put their self to sleep on their own instead of being nursed/rocked/swaddled/soother to sleep. We had our girl's conference at our church and I needed James to be able to put her to sleep. So I had my last night of nursing her to sleep (I had been nursing her to sleep about 50% of the time.) We did a bit of cry it out/fuss it out but never let her cry for more than 10 minutes.
We also transitioned her out of being swaddled (did one arm out for a week and then both arms out) and also the dockatot. She took it all really well. She still wakes up once a night to eat (somewhere between 4-6!) but for about a week she was doing twice a night...thank goodness she went back to once! 
If she doesn't drop the last feed by 6 months, I will night wean her then but for now it's not too bad. 

She's been napping amazingly lately! Her regular schedule looks like
7am wake up nurse play
8:30/9 nap 1 (I usually wake her up after 1-1.5 hours)
10:00 wake nurse play
12:00 nap 2 (usually 2 hours!)
2:00 wake nurse play
4:00 nap 3 (I usually only let her sleep for an hour here!)

HIGHS: Hers and Luca's relationship developing. I feel like it took him 4 months to realize that she's not going anywhere, ha. It's like something switched and now all he wants to do is cuddle her. It's seriously the sweetest. And she just LIGHTS UP when he looks at her. I'm pretty sure he is her favourite person.

LOWS: We're still working on the bottle situation. She finally took the Nuk bottle but so far has only done 1.5oz. Another low was us all getting sick AGAIN. Seriously, cold season, you can go away anytime now.

PARENTING: She's definitely more aware and interactive these days and it's so fun! Everyday I try to get a bit of time on the floor with both kids...it's my favourite.

POSTPARTUM: Oh man, this is still SO HARD. I still haven't run yet but I want to, ha. I still have 19lbs to go until I'm pre-Luca weight and my goal is to get there by the end of the year but guys, it's MARCH so I better start doing something!!!

LOOKING FORWARD TO: We booked a trip to NYC in May! We'll be leaving Luca at home and just taking London. I'm excited to have that special time with her but obvs will miss Luca sooooo much! I'm also looking forward to her starting solids next month!!!

Oh London, I LOVE being your mama.

XOXO,
Laura