Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Salsa Verde Chicken Chili
Monday, September 29, 2014
Weekend Recap
Friday, September 26, 2014
Trails and Tales
Probably his favorite thing was smashing a leaf with a mallet!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
#DropYourPants for #Underwareness with Depend
Looking back, I have dealt with this since middle school, but I never really realized that that's what it was until I was pregnant with Ewan. I remember going to a jazz band competition when I was a freshman in high school and going over to talk to the 8th graders from my middle school and one of them telling me to go away because I always smell like pee.
Can we say embarrassing?
As I got older, I learned to go to the bathroom the second I got the urge and to make sure I stayed there a little longer than necessary to help make sure I didn't "leak" even though that didn't always work.
Then I got pregnant with Ewan and seemed to have a problem every time I coughed, sneezed, laughed or even bent over. After he was born, it got better until I was pregnant with Cecily and it started all over again. After she was born? Forget it. It wasn't a little leak, it was more like a flood anytime I moved the wrong way. I wound up wearing pads as bladder leakage protection for about two months and it even got to the point where my ob and I discussed surgery to help. While it has gotten better since then, I still have issues on occasion.
Definitely not something you want to be dealing with at the age of 32!
So you can imagine how excited I am that Depend will donate $1, up to $3 million, over the next three years to charities that advance the research, education and awareness of bladder leakage for:
- Every pant drop, photo and video shared Using #Underwareness and #DropYourPants; and
- Every personal video made about what Underwareness means to you that is uploaded to YouTube and tagged #Underwareness and #DropYourPants
Depend Real Fit for Men and Silhouette for Women briefs: Look, fit and feel like real underwear and feature a cloth-like fabric for a sleek, ultra-smooth fit - this is just one of them.
If you're anything like me, you probably love free samples. Well, you can do just that by visiting the Depend landing page and clicking on the "Get a Sample" button located at the top right-hand side of the screen. Then, select your sample and wait for it to arrive!
Are you going to join me and #DropYourPants for #Underwareness?
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Montreal Highlights
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Home Style Beef Stew and a Giveaway
Probably my favorite thing about it is that I was able to customize the recipe to be able to use what I had on hand - and it still turned out fantastic!
You can find more yummy slow cooker Red Gold recipes here. Don't forget to enter their Red Gold 2-a-day-Crock-Pot Give-a-way contest to win your own crock pot!
Monday, September 22, 2014
Life Lately
I know it's been kind of quiet around here this month.
Sorry about that.
I honestly haven't really had a whole lot to say. We got back from our Montreal trip this morning and it was amazing! So expect a post all about it soon.
We're also seriously following Dave Ramsey to get our credit card debt paid off. I've been calling Alan the budget Nazi actually...I know that the next few months will suck but the end result will be worth it.
I have been feeling pretty isolated lately and joined a MOPS group a few weeks ago with some other moms from church. I really enjoyed the first meeting and our second one is tonight. I'm really looking forward to it and I hope it's as good as the first one.
I've also become addicted to Tupperware much to Alan's disproval ;-) It's just so handy!
That's really about all that's new with me lately...what's new in your neck of the woods?
Monday, September 15, 2014
That Time Ewan Tried to Play Soccer
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Inverted Cabbage Roll
Inverted Cabbage Roll
1 lb sausage
1/2 or 1 head of cabbage, depending on size
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
garlic, salt, pepper, oregano to taste
Cook sausage, then cook veggies til soft, add in tomatoes and spices
Enjoy!
Super, super easy.
Hope you all enjoy it as much as we do!
Monday, September 8, 2014
#GiveThanksGiveBack Sign Ups Are Live!
Are you ready to meet other bloggers near you while helping others in the process? Registration to lead a #givethanksgiveback event in your area are officially open!
If you are willing to plan a get together for good, simply complete this form.
Bekah will be in touch with you shortly.
Friday, September 5, 2014
#GiveThanksGiveBack This Fall!
I've been dreaming big lately- about how nice it would be to see the blogging community in the community. So, I'm thrilled to present this nationwide blog meet up with a purpose: #givethanksgiveback. Here’s how it works:
I’m looking for (at least) one blogger per state to step up as a leader – your job will be to plan a charitable blog meet up for the month of November – run a canned food drive, serve lunch at a soup kitchen, serve others wherever you feel passionate about giving back! Each leader will display a master post in October linking to each state’s event info. All throughout the month, bloggers can access the information and sign up for November’s event. All are welcome to link up about their experiences after their event.
Here is the timeline:
Sept 8-13 – Sign ups for state leaders.
Oct 3 – Leaders must have November event scheduled and turned in for the master listing.
Oct 6 – All leaders post master listing to their blogs and post about their specific event between now and 10/10.
November – Meet up and give back by Thanksgiving! Blog about it and link up. Link up will be live 11/1-12/7.
I hope you're as excited as I am! Come back Monday if you're ready to take charge. Or, come back on 10/6 to find an event near you so you can also #givethanksgiveback!
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Starting Over Yet Again
August Recap and September Goals
My August goal was to take a step back and enjoy the rest of summer and I have done just that. I'm not gonna lie, it's been really really nice not blogging as much and just living life. I do intend to get back into it, but I'm definitely not going to be stressing anymore if I don't get a post up everyday or even on the day I had intended.
So, that being said. My goals for September are as follows:
- Have fun in Montreal. I cannot wait for our anniversary trip. We haven't taken a trip together without kids and not for work in several years. It will be epic!
- Kick my yeast issues in the butt. There will be a post to come about this, but I have been having serious yeast issues ever since I came back from a work trip in Kentucky a few weeks ago. I am so over it!
- Cleaning out our yard as fall continues to make its arrival.
- Figure out Cecily's birthday decorations and send out invitations. Last year I had her birthday planned out in July! This year, I have explored Pinterest some, but nothing concrete except for her invitations...ahem...Alan... :-)
Monday, September 1, 2014
Rallying to Improve Birth
I have no photos like the one above, which was taken immediately after Cecily was born. If I want to be completely honest, I don't really remember the first photo taken of me and Ewan. However, I remember every second of Cecily's birth.
What I do remember is feeling like a failure, like not only could I not birth my baby but I also couldn't feed him. I remember just bawling my eyes out and telling him I was so sorry that I failed him. That is my major memory of Ewan's birth, which is awful.
Almost four years later and I still get upset about how I was treated during labor and afterwards. I still want to kick myself for not finding the courage to switch providers the further along I got in my pregnancy because I just had this gut feeling that I didn't want to birth at that hospital or with those ob's. However, I am so thankful that I finally did find the courage to switch providers while pregnant with Cecily. It was the best decision I could have ever made. I went from a provider who doesn't "allow" vbac's to one who is very vbac supportive and actually practices evidence based care. It. Was. Amazing.
I guess if I were to make a sign for the rally, it would say: "I'm improving birth because no one has the right to dictate how I birth my baby."
How are you Improving Birth?