PUMPKIN RECIPES PERFECT FOR FALL

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I recently took a poll on Instagram Stories (ps. here’s the link to my instagram if we’re not friends on there yet!) and asked you all what you wanted to see on the blog. Most of you requested RECIPES!

I have soooo many recipes I’d love to share with you but I first need to take pretty pictures, ha. But in the meantime here are four mouth watering Pumpkin recipes! I wish I could eat each of these RIGHT NOW (and I also wish the calories would NOT count, ha) I may just have to do some late night baking….

PUMPKIN CREAMCHEESE MUFFINS

These ones are UN-FREAKING-REAL! They are 1000000x better than the Starbucks version and won’t cost you an arm and a leg. If you really want to wow someone, you need to bake these.

PUMPKIN SPICE SNICKERDOODLES

These ones are from a super old blog post but you guys, they are soooo good and sooo easy to bake! Just mix up the few ingredients, roll the dough in some pumpkin spice sugar and then bake and voila, delicious cookies!

PUMPKIN SPICE SCONES

Let’s just say these have a pumpkin spice butter drizzle on them. Seriously, thinking about them makes me drool a bit! They are pretty easy to make and sooo delicious.

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH PUMPKIN COOKIES

Pumpkin cookies with pumpkin with pumpkin butter cream icing…need I say more!!

Hope this post inspires you to light a candle, make a pumpkin spice latte and get you pumpkin bake on!!!

XO,

Laura

4 WAYS TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE

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You guys, I’m going back to work in ONE WEEK. It is blowing my mind that this time next week, I’ll be WORKING!

I’m a mixed bag of emotions right now!! Firstly, I love my job so much. I have amazing co-workers and I get to do what I’m passionate about doing!! Buuuuut I will miss my lazy days with my babies. This time around I’m only going back 4 full days instead of 5 which means I’ll have one more day with the babes! That day gives me soo much peace. It was so different going back last time because I was already 4 months pregnant with London and I knew I’d be back home in 5 months. All that being said, I am SO excited for this new season!!

But with the transition, I know I need to get my butt in gear!! And for me that means ORGANIZING EVERYTHING!

4 WAYS TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE:

Here’s what I’m doing to help keep our household organized as I make the transition back to work!

1. ORGANIZE WORK CLOTHES

   I’m saying PEACE OUT to the days of wearing leggings all day/every day and HELLO to wearing cute work clothes! Because my body has changed so much in the past two years, I needed to update up my wardrobe. I purged a BUNCH of clothes and then found some new tops. My favourite one that I’m wearing in these pics is from Pink Blush. I wore a ton of their stuff during pregnancy but they also make cute non-maternity clothes too! This top is my favourite. So comfy and goes with everything! I’m in love with the puffy sleeves.
   I’m going to lay my clothes out the night before. It saves me sooo much time in the morning!

2. PREPARE THE NIGHT BEFORE

   Mornings are going to be CRAZY. James will still be working in October so on days where we have outside care, I’ll need to have things organized and ready to go. For me that means, laying out my clothes + kids clothes, make my lunch and make sure there is food for the kids, and meal prep for dinner next day. This list makes me a bit anxious thinking about it BUT I’m reminding myself that spending 30 minutes the night before is waaay better than being a train wreck who’s late to work the next day!!

3. MEAL PLAN

   Meal planning will SAVE YOUR LIFE. Ok, not like Jesus will but it will save your sanity. It seriously helps us soooo much. We tend to plan out the meals on Saturday and then do our big shop Sunday morning (we’ll have to change that to Saturday soon as I will be working Sundays!) I try to make at least one meal that will have leftovers. Check out my pinterest board for meal ideas! I write it all out in my planner and then check to see the day before if I need to defrost or do any other prep!

4. TIME BLOCK

   This is something that I just started to do but it is helping me sooo much! It’s super simple and probably a lot of you are doing it but you basically just block out time in your weeks for different things. This will be VITAL for me to do when I’m back at work. Obviously I’ll have to do it with my workload but also for my evenings. I have a blog/IG, beautycounter biz, workouts etc etc to fit in. So when I time block, I give that thing undivided attention and don’t get distracted with watching IG stories (which I soooo do, all the time!!) Time blocking has helped me become WAY more productive!
   

Outfit Details:

Top- c/o Pink Blush, Jeans, Ankle Boots

I’d love to hear what keeps you organized!! Let me know your tips in the comments!

Xo,
Laura

WHAT YOU NEED FOR YOUR 0-3 MONTH BABY

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There are SOOO MANY BABY THINGS out there. It’s overwhelming. Lots of people say you don’t need much. Those people are liars…or delusional. (JK JK)

But thing is, you do need a lot of stuff….just the right stuff. After having two under two, I learned quickly what you need and what you don’t need.

Scroll for my master list!

0-3 MONTH BABY ESSENTIALS

SLEEP: I shared everything that you need in HOW TO GET YOUR BABY TO SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT post, be sure to check it out for some amazing sleeping baby tips! But here are the is what you need for the first 3 months.

• VELCRO SLEEP SACK (US Link) Velcro Sleep Sack (CAN Link)- keeps baby’s swaddled so they will not wake themselves up with their arms!!

• WHITE NOISE (US Link) White noise (CAN Link)- helps baby sleep longer and also soothing for you to go back to sleep. We had both kids in our room until they were 7 weeks old.

• Baby Bed or Dockatot- The Dockatot was a LIFESAVER! London settled to sleep so easily in this. It was also great to put her in it around the house. USE THIS LINK TO SAVE $10! Luca slept great in this bed.

• SWING/BOUNCER (US Link) Swing/Bouncer (CAN Link)- The swing is great for getting baby to sleep for naps or just a place to put baby down. I like the two in ones because you can take the bouncer out around the house. I’d put London in it and then put it on our table so Luca couldn’t poke her while I was cooking dinner! Also, I would bring it to the bathroom when I would shower or do my makeup!

ACCESSORIES:

• PACIFIER (US Link) Soother/Pacifier (CAN Link)- These are my favourite. As baby gets older they can hold it in!

• Milk Snob Cover- These are a lifesaver for me!!! I would usually time London’s naps with my outings. I’d nurse her, put her in the carseat, and when we’d go out, I would pop this cover over the carseat and stick a portable white noise in it. She’d stay asleep the whole outing! You can also use it to nurse under. My baby’s get easily distracted so it was perfect to keep them eating AND they slept on flights nursing under this cover. I can’t recommend a Milk Snob enough!!

• STROLLER TOY (US Link) Stroller Toys (CAN Link)- We loved this little cloud from Skip Hop!

• DIAPER GENIE (US Link) Diaper Genie (CAN Link)- We love our diaper genies! Babies POOP a lot!! And their poop stinks so you defs want to not let those dirty diapers sit in your garbage! The diaper genie hides the smell. We have a white one for Luca and a pink one for London.

GO GO GO:

• BUCKET CAR SEAT (US Link) Bucket Car Seat (CAN Link)- I loved my Maxi-Cosi but there are so many great ones on the market. Make sure you get one that attaches to your stroller because taking a sleeping baby out of the car seat is NO FUN.

• Stroller- We have a Bugaboo single and a double Bumble Ride. The Bugaboo is great for city living (we loved using it in NYC) but the Bumble Ride is soo great for any terrain! We got ours used, which I HIGHLY recommend as brand new strollers are PRICEY!

• HEAD REST MIRROR (US Link) Head rest mirror (CAN Link)- This makes driving waaay better because you can actually see your little one! Even though London is 11 months, I still glance at her sweet face in the car.

NURSING/FEEDING:

• COMOTOMO BOTTLES (US Link) Comotomo Bottles (CAN LINK) + NUK BOTTLE (US Link) Nuk bottle (CAN Link)- I breastfed both babes off the top but we tried to give the occasional bottle of pumped milk. Luca only took the Comotomo but London preferred the Nuk (she wouldn’t really take a bottle until 4 months!!)

• MEDELA FREESTYLE PUMP (US Link) Medela Freestyle Pump (CAN Link)- I had a single with Luca but this time around I borrowed this one from my sis and it is AMAZING! I love how it’s cordless

• Cheap Sports Bras from Walmart- Here’s a hack. Cut holes in the nipples and BOOM handsfree nursing bra!

Am I missing anything? Let me know in the comments :)

HOW WE GOT OUR BABIES SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT (PART 2, 0-3 MONTHS)

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Baby sleep. It is SUCH an obsession! 
Well, at least it was for me...and maybe you if you're reading this...or you've reached the end of your netflix queue and have nothing else to do, ha!

In this post, I will go over baby sleep from 0-3 months. If you haven't read part 1, then get on with it and then come right back! In Part 1, I go over our sleep story and the methods that we used to get our babies sleeping through the night.

This post will be broken up into two parts: 0-6 weeks and 6 weeks-3 months.

NEWBORN STAGE (0-6 weeks)

Newborns sleep A LOT! Usually people are totally okay with newborn sleep and just let their baby dictate the day. Which is totally cool but for me it was different because my babies were both jaundice. I had to wake them every 2 hours to feed and then put them back to sleep until the next feed. During those feeds, I googled the heck out of baby sleep and once they were at a healthy weight and the jaundice was at bay, I put this stuff into practice and they started sleeping in 5-6 hour stretches.

Here's what worked for us:

• SLEEP, EAT, PLAY, REPEAT. You can't really put newborns on a schedule but you can put them on a routine. Try to get in the routine of feeding after they wake up (I'd always nurse 15 mins on each side so they get a good fill).
  Then it's awake time, which for newborns should be about 45 mins to an hour max, then it's time to sleep.

• SWADDLE. I am a HUGE believer in the swaddle. Newborns have the startle reflex and their arms need to be held down or they'll wake themselves up. These swaddles are my absolute favourites. The velcro ones actually hold their arms down. You can use swaddle blankets but honestly they aren't fun to try to do at 3am. We weaned from the swaddle at 4 months.

• DOCKATOT. Luca didn't have a Dockatot but London did. They both were amazing sleepers but I feel like the Dockatot helped London settle easier and she napped way better than Luca did. We took the Dockatot away at 4 months.

• WHITE NOISE. It's loud in the womb. It's loud in the hospital. Babies are used to noise. I highly recommend getting a white noise...one that goes all night. It will also help disguise your noise when you sneak into bed! I don't love the one we have (not very durable) but I've heard great things about this one!

• HEATING PAD/BOTTLE. During the night I would always pre-heat the bassinet/Dockatot. It helped to keep them calm and settle back into sleep after nursing. Just remember to take it out before you place baby in obvs!!!

• SWING/BOUNCER. In the early days, I would nap them in the swing/bouncer a lot. We have an older version of this one. I like it because you can remove it from the swing and take it from room to room. I wouldn't do a swing/bouncer overnight because I'm a bit paranoid.

• SOOTHER/PACIFIER. Both my babies weren't big on the soother but they did use it for the first 6 weeks. I remember placing London in the dockatot, and then holding her soother in with one hand while I placed the other on her chest. It got her to sleep very quickly!! I recommend these ones.

• GET DAYS + NIGHTS ON TRACK. Often babies get their days and nights mixed up. It's a common thing but it's not hard to fix. During daytime feeds, bring your baby to the living room. Go outside during the day. Talk to your baby while nursing during the day but at night, keep the lights low and your voice quiet.

• DARK ROOM. Some babies can sleep through anything but some can't. Mine needed dark to sleep so by two weeks, I usually had them napping in their own rooms with blackout curtains.

• WAKE UP AFTER 3 HOUR NAP. I would usually wake them up after 3 hours. If they sleep all day, they'll be up a lot of the night!

6 Weeks to 3 Months

After the 6 week mark your baby technically isn't a newborn anymore (cue all the tears!!!) but they are still little and snuggly! And by this age they are probably awake to the world a whole lot more than they were! This means that sometimes sleep is harder but it isn't impossible. Luca started sleeping 8 hour stretches by 8 weeks and London was sleeping anywhere between 8-11 hours STRAIGHT.

Here's what worked for us:

• We kept doing all the things listed above: swaddle, white noise, heated dockatot, but at this point I really tried TO NOT NURSE TO SLEEP.

• PUT BABY DOWN DROWSY. As I said above, at this point I really tried to not nurse to sleep. It's a super easy and natural routine but it can bite you in the butt at 4 months when they can't go back to sleep unless they're nursing.

• FUSS IT OUT. At this point, I would put them down drowsy but awake and then I'd close the door and wait ten minutes. Often times they'd go to sleep. Other times they'd fuss a bit more and sometimes I'd go in and either nurse again or settle with the soother/hand on chest. If I heard a cry in the night, I would check my clock and then wait TEN minutes before entering. Usually by then, they'd be fast asleep. I never let them cry hysterically at this point, just a soft cry/fuss.

• ESTABLISH A BEDTIME + ROUTINE. I'd try to put them down at the same time and wake up 12 hours later. Usually 7-7 at this point but most people do about 8-8 at this age. For routine, we'd do a bath, nurse, cuddle lay down in crib.

• MOVE THEM TO THEIR OWN ROOM. We moved both out babies to their own rooms at 7 weeks and they slept waaaay better. I was crazy paranoid but had a video monitor so I could watch them breathe! They could always smell my milk or me tossing and turning would wake them up. For us, we slept way better in separate rooms.

• NAPS ARE IMPORTANT. An overtired baby is NOT a fun baby. This chart from Precious Little Sleep is a life saver. At this age we'd usually do 2 out of the 4 naps on the go (car seat, stroller, wrap or carrier).

If you have any questions, please let me know! I'm no expert but I have two babies who sleep through the night ;) I'll be posting part 3 soon!!! 

all photos by Rachael Alexandra Co.

32 + SOME FAMILY PHOTOS

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Today I am 32. I don't know what it is but I look at that picture above and I feel that I look 32...which is odd to me because I feel like I've been 29 for the past 5 years...and will say I'm 29 for at least five more. 

My 31st year (or was last year my 32nd year? I can't remember how that works...I'm pretty sure it's my 32nd come to think of it because this fall London will turn 1 but this whole year was her first year so scratch that, it was my 32nd year!) was a crazy one. It went by in an instant.

With us getting pregnant January 2017, I went back to work one month early so by my birthday last year, I had one month left of working and had a 14 month old little lion. It seems so surreal that one year later, I go back to work in just over a month, have a TWO year old and a baby girl who is turning ONE in less than two months!! INSANE.

31 went by waaaay too quickly! I started out by finishing work, then waiting for London to come and between that my beloved Nana Rosa passed away.

And then London came on October 19th, 2017 and we had TWO children under the age of 16 months. It was pure insanity. So so special but such a blur. I can remember certain moments from those early days but it breaks my heart with how much was a whirlwind. 

2018 came and I felt like I could finally take a breath. I slowly got the hang of taking care of two kiddos and I sloooooowed down. I neglected this space for awhile...I'm sorry but I can only do so much.

We went to Mexico and NYC and had some good times with family. But there were also LOTS of hard times. Hard times where I got mad at the kids or mad at James or mad at something. Remember instagram often shows the highlight reel. There is sooo much more behind the scenes that isn't shared.

But God was always there, giving me new mercy after new mercy. I've come to know His grace for this season in a huge way. My devotions look different than they once did and I know one day they'll be that again but He knows I need sleep in this season...and I'm learning to give myself a bit more grace.

Things I learned this past year:

• It's ok to not have it all together. 
  I'm a bit of a control freak and this whole past year was out of my control and you know what, I survived. It's ok to not be at your goal weight. It's ok to put your career on hold. It's ok for your house to be a mess. It's ok.
• Slow down and enjoy the season.
  This summer was one of sloooowing down. We went to lots of parks and lots of playdates. We didn't accomplish a whole lot but that's ok. I made memories with my favourite people and that's what counts.
• God's grace is always there.
  Like I said before, I felt his grace more than ever. I made mistakes, said things I shouldn't and yelled at my kids. My devotions were nothing like they've been in the past but God was so gracious to me. He loves me because I am his child not because of my efforts. He gave me strength to be a mama and a wife and he will continue to do so. He gave me peace in those early postpartum days and hope when things were tough. He is a faithful God.
• Kindness is important.
  I didn't talk much about my word for 2018 but it was KINDNESS. Kindness is something I need to work on and I'm still working on it but what I do know is that it is dang important. 

Goals for 32:

I have a few goals which I'll be working on but in a nutshell my main plan is to focus on:

• JESUS. Get back to consistent daily devotions. I'm about to order a 40 day prayer devotional. London sleeps through the night so I really have no excuse. I can go to bed earlier and wake up early.
• FAMILY. When I return to work, I'll be going down to four days a week. My plan is to be very intentional on those Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. I signed Luca up for gymnastics so I'm excited to have some dates with him there!
• HEALTH. I have totally neglected my health and I am feeling it. My goal is to get signed up to a gym in September and commit to working out/running/walking 3x a week.
• WORK. I have a new role at work and it freaks me out in the best of ways! I get to do what I'm passionate about but I'm going to reallly need Jesus' strength!

I have some more things I want to work on but I'm trying to simplify it! 

31, you were one for the books....crazy amazing, but also crazy hard. 32, I'm coming for you!

XOXO,
Laura

All photos by Rachael Alexandra Co