Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Where does the time go?


So I'm really trying to get organized. I even got a organizational book (more on that in a future post)! I feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day to get all the things done that I want to do. So to track where all my time is going, the book suggested I take a day and log exactly what I did all day and hopefully I will identify places I'm wasting time and where I can be more efficient. So here is yesterday:
5:30am-sweet baby boy makes noise in his crib and I wake up, check the monitor (its a video monitor-another must have!) and he goes back to sleep, so I snooze for a bit too :)
6:00am-alarm goes off. I sneak downstairs leaving Kevin in bed w/ the pups and w/ the monitor. I quickly make coffee, pop 2 pieces of toast in the toaster, get my pump parts out and sit in front of the computer eating breakfast, pumping and writing my blog/reading my fav blogs.
6:30am-put dishes in the dishwasher, assemble bottles using pumped milk for the day. Wash pump parts. Tanner wakes up and Kevin goes to get him (which is the sweetest thing bc he is so smile-y 1st thing in the morning) and feeds him a bottle of pumped milk while I wash my face/brush my teeth/make up/get dressed.
7:00am-I get Tanner dressed and get his diaper bag all set. I tidy up, make the bed, throw dishes in the sink or dishwasher.
7:30am-snuggle that sweet boy on the couch for 15 minutes. He is so chatty and discovered a new voice that we call his "Darth Vader" voice bc its low and growl-y. Too cute.
7:45am-Tanner's babysitter gets to the house-God bless her, he loves her! I grab my purse, hop in the car and head to the studio. During my drive I am listening to my Ipod trying to finalize my music for today's class.
8:15am-get to the studio, open up, get music ready.
8:45am & 10:00am-teach classes. Love my clients.
11:15-help 2 instructors w/ their music/timing/questions(eat a banana)
12:30pm-Trish(Tanner's sitter) drops him off at the studio, Kevin gets there at the same time to meet us for lunch. I'm still helping my instructors so I nurse tanner in the studio while they practice.
1:30-we leave for lunch(I have a half cup of soup and 1/2 a sandwich).
3:30-get home, T is sleeping. I jump online to do our payroll. T wakes up. I nurse him.(eat a skinny cow)
4:30-Kevin, Tanner, the pups and I go for a walk.
5:00-Tanner and I do tummy time, read a book, and start a load of laundry
5:30-Nurse T again-he falls asleep on my lap so I jump onto babycenter (my guilty pleasure) and catch up from my phone.
6:00-T goes in his jumperoo and goes crazy in it(this boy can jump!)(I eat a flat out wrap and dip it in hummus) and fold T's laundry
6:30-Bath time for T. I get in our big tub w/ him and Kevin assists. Such a happy family time-he loves "swimming".
6:45-Kevin get him in his PJs and they read a story while I throw on a robe and get his last bottle ready.
7:00pm-Feed Tanner and put him to bed (he is an angel and I put him in awake-but sleepy and he falls right asleep).
7:30pm-Kevin is doing his P90, I make oatmeal w/ nuts and fruit for dinner(supposed to increase my milk supply and steel cut oats helps!), we have leftovers from last night's dinner (pork chops, risotto and broccoli slaw) and Kevin will eat those.
8:00pm-I get in the shower and plan my class for the next day
8:45pm-Jump on the computer and pump again.
9:15pm-Wash dishes/bottles/pump parts, eat another skinny cow and head upstairs.
9:30pm-snuggle pups and Kevin in bed, I'm working on some text for cards we are sending to our clients and Kevin is on his ipad.
10:00pm-Go to sleep!

So that is it...this was probably pretty darn boring to read-but I think it will help help find extra time...and see that I'm eating too many skinny cows :)

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Flat Out Amazing!!!


Morning Bloggers! This next little gem was too good not to share!! I was doing my daily grocery shopping trip(because for some reason I cannot meal plan, :( I try and try but it just doesn't workout) and stumbled upon these flatbread/wraps. They are called Flat Out Flatbread wraps and they are AMAZING(get the Light Original flavor!)!! Look at this nutritional profile-its enough to make me squeal w/ delight!

Made with 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat
90 Calories
6 net carbs
0g sugar
9g Fiber, 36% of your daily value
The Best Life Diet Approved
Whole Grain approved, 8g or more per serving

They had me at 90 calories and 9(!) grams of fiber!! Sold! So I bought some, brought them home and they are as delish as they are healthy!!! Kevin loves them too! I made us little wraps w/ hummus, chicken and some veggies and they were sooo yummy. Now I'm just nervous about my grocery store continuing to carry them (so in true product junkie form I buy a ridiculous amount of them to stock up)! Enjoy!!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

My #1 Fav Baby Product




Mamas-this is it. This was what helped me stay sane during those exhausting first 2 months: the Nap Nanny. I had never heard of it before and was at The Pump Station in Westlake (the BEST baby store in So Cal w/ 3 or 4 locations) and my mom asked the sales girl what a nap nanny is and the rest is history...I choose the tan colored one and LOVE it! So what does this Nap Nanny do? Here is what the manufacturer says:
"The Nap Nanny Chill is a portable recliner designed by a mother to increase comfort and improve infant sleep. The Nap Nanny chill is also great for play time, taking a bottle, feeding twins, or watching television. With no top end weight limit, it can also be used as a perfect toddler chair. "
We used it for everything-but mainly it got my sweet baby boy to sleep like a champ! (That in combo w/ the Miracle Blanket-is the BEST discovery ever!!!). So I had planned on having Tanner sleep in a bassinet in our room for the first few weeks. But he wasn't loving the bassinet-Im not sure why-but it wasn't his favorite. We soon started having him nap in the Nap Nanny (we would just keep it in our living room bc newborns fall asleep all the time-so as soon as he would dose off-we would put him down to snooze in the Nap Nanny), and then we had the bright idea for him to sleep in it at night(on the ground right next to my bed). He was swaddled and just as snug as can be :) When 6:45am(!!) came and I realized that my sweet angel had just slept 9 hours(!!) straight, I knew we were onto something amazing!!! I think the incline is brilliant (especially if your little one has reflux). I took Tanner up to San Francisco for a week in January and we stayed in a hotel and bless his little heart-he continued to sleep through the night in his Nap Nanny and it was super easy to pack! I cant say enough great things about this product! He is in his crib at night now-but I still use his Nap Nanny as a seat for him-or I can feed him a bottle while I pump w/ him in it. There are a million uses for it! LOVE IT! A MUST HAVE!!
Here is my disclaimer: It should NOT be used in a crib. Use your good judgement here-I wouldn't leave my baby unattended in it for long periods of time-duh.

Friday, March 25, 2011

New Mom Must Have:Little White Circles of Fluff Happiness


Seriously I could fill up hundreds of blog posts about what my poor nipples have been through since November 16th. But I'll try to keep those posts to a minimum :) Today's product, Johnson's Nursing Pads, came along when I thought that I would never find relief and they are AMAZING! The best nursing pads on the market! You know I have tried them all (and so weird how ALL the others have majorly sucked), and these are top notch. They are thick and soft and very absorbant and the cherry on top is they have a nice little spot for your nipple! Brilliant! The other nursing pads are flat and just smoosh everything down :( I have never leaked through these and they aren't plastic-y like the Lasinoh or Medela ones are. Just the best. Only drawback is they don't sell these at Babies R Us. I get mine at Target. Ha-2 posts in 2 days! I'm feeling very proud of myself ;)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Whoa-I have missed my blog!!!


I really have! I have just been a busy bee w/ the bambino (who is amazing and gorgeous and perfect and ginger! Yes a Ginger :) I'll post more on that soon!), my hubby and my studio. All 3 are doing wonderfully-but all 3 take up a bunch of time. I feel like I should get back to my blogging though bc I miss my blogging friends and frankly-I miss buying a ton of products and telling Kevin that I NEED them for research for the blog. I made the mistake of asking him to pick up a bottle of my fav leave in conditioner and he was not too impressed w/ the $28 price...He needs to loosen up. Geesh. Oh well. Everyone I know is preggo and Im getting about a billion emails/texts a day asking me about my must-have baby items. So in the interest of efficiency-I thought I'd blog about them :) So I promise I will be back very soon w/ my 1st baby product post! Above is a pic of our little family after Kevin and I jogged w/ the stroller to breakfast :)