This Isn't "Goodbye", It's "See You Later"...

            Hey folks! I'm lacking the words (and time. Always with the time!) to east into this, so I'll just cut right to the chase: I have decided to quit blogging for an undetermined amount of time. It could be a few months, it could be a few years. I don't know. I do know that I need a break. I seriously need to cut some added stress out of my life right now, and blogging is the quickest and easiest one. Plus, I would be lying if I said I hadn't tossed around the idea before.
            I would also be lying if I said I had thought this decision over carefully. I didn't. I was having a particularly bad day recently and felt like I was having some kind of breakdown. I want and need more time with my kids and to get more done around the house and farm. I need to focus more on planning homeschool activities. I need more time for myself. I knew something that wasn't completely necessary had to go. Immediately. Before I go insane.
            Now that we have three kids, I NEED "me time" after the kids go to bed...And NOT spend catching up on blog promotion threads on Facebook. As much as I love writing, blogging is just not worth my time or effort any more. I spend more time than I like on the computer. My blog post views have dropped significantly since one of the main groups I participated in on Facebook stopped doing threads. Like I told my husband, if I were making more (or any, right now) money off of blogging, it might be different. But I'm not, and the time I put into my blog compared to how many views (or lack thereof) I've been getting is disheartening, to say the least.

So with that, I bid you adieu...For now. ;)

Create the Perfect Father's Day Gift with PrestoPhoto!

            Hey folks! As I'm sure you're aware, Father's Day is right around the corner! Have you gotten the dad in your life a gift yet? If not, I'm here to help you out!

 

             PrestoPhoto specializes in custom gifts you can make with your own photos for that extra special touch! You can never go wrong with personalized gift, even for the person who has everything. PrestoPhoto has really reasonable prices too, so if you haven't gotten a Father's Day present yet, you definitely want to check out all of your options on their website. You're sure to find something he will like.

             I recently had the pleasure of creating a Father's Day coffee mug on the PrestoPhoto website. They have several different options to choose from. You can put a picture on a plain ole coffee mug, choose one of the templates to add your own photos to, or you can choose from one of the graphics on their site. I was just going to do a simple picture one, but had trouble getting all of the image to fit on the mug. (More on that in a minute.) Then I happened to notice they had several FREE templates to choose from, so went that route to add some more pizazz anyways!

             Even though I ended up not putting one of each of our children in each letter, I thought this one was perfect since we have 3 children! My husband loves drinking coffee (a little too much, but that's a whole other story ;), so I think he is going to love this mug! My mother in-law got me a coffee mug several years ago with a picture of my husband, oldest daughter, and me for Mother's Day and it is my favorite mug. Now we can both have something special to drink our coffee from to deal with said children. ;) ha ha

             PrestoPhoto is running a special right now for Father's Day. So, when you go to create your own product, be sure to follow this link and enter the promo code: MBM2013 at checkout to receive 10% off! Note: If you're like me and not very technologically savvy, be sure to familiarize yourself with all of the photo options, like cropping, resizing, background colors, and whatnot, before you really get into making your mug. In other words, play around first. Happy creating and Happy Early Father's Day! :)

I received a free product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Throwback Thursday: Softies Nursing Pads Review (If You Breastfeed, You NEED These!)

            Hey, ladies! I don't know about you, but I found it hard to find any nursing pads that were actually worth a damn when I started breastfeeding! It's really annoying to wake up soaking wet every night, amiright? I tried several different brands and types, including some I made, and they just weren't cutting it.
            I was so excited to try out the Softies nursing pads from Fairhaven Health because they looked so soft and, more importantly, absorbent! Now that I'm on my second time around using these, I can tell you they are totally worth the investment! They are big enough to not shift around much at night and hold an incredible amount of milk without leaking. Do yourself a favor and skip trying other brands like I did and go straight for these. You won't regret it!

             Hey breastfeeding mamas! Is there anything worse than leaky boobs? Well, ok, there are a lot of things that are worse, but work with me here. How many times have you woke up in the middle of the night with a wet shirt plastered to you or had an “uh oh” moment in public? Whether you pump or give it to your baby straight from the source, chances are one of these things has happened to you at least once. With that being said, I think we can all agree on the importance of investing in a good quality nursing pad!

             I recently had the chance to try out Softies nursing pads from Fairhaven Health. I've been meaning to make or purchase some more absorbent reusable nursing pads, especially for nighttime, for awhile, so I was more than happy to give them a shot! Softies consist of three layers, the inner layer being microfiber and the layer next to the skin being bamboo rayon, making them nice and thin, but surprisingly absorbent! It should go without saying that they are super soft too! Much softer than any of my other reusable nursing pads.

Bath Time Fun Giveaway

Sponsored By: 

QueBébé / Baby Tooshy / Coconut Essentials / BabyDam

Hosted By: Love, Mrs. Mommy

Winner Will Receive:

a variety of Bath Time Fun products from 4 sponsors! 

A $163+ TRV Giveaway! 

** Prize List Includes:**

QueBébé

QueBébé Bath Kneeler and Elbow Cushion ($46.95 RV)! 

BabyDam

BabyDam will customize your tub so you only have to fill it with the water you need to bathe your baby! ($44.99 RV!)

Baby Tooshy

Set of (6) - 10x10 Baby Tooshy Bamboo Velour Baby Washcloths! Winner's Choice of in-stock color! ($17.97 RV!)

Coconut Essentials

A Brush & Comb Set, 100% Organic Hooded Towel and Coconut Baby Moisturizer! ($53.89 TRV!)

Open To US entries and must be 18+ to enter

Giveaway Dates ~ 6/4 9:00 AM EST through 7/4 11:59PM EST

Entry-Form

Disclosure: Love, Mrs. Mommy and all participating bloggers are not held responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill their prize obligations. This giveaway is in no way endorsed or sponsored by Facebook or any other social media site. The winner will be randomly drawn by Giveaway Tools and will be notified by email. Winner has 48 hours to reply before a replacement winner will be drawn. If you would like to participate in an event like this please contact LoveMrsMommy (at) gmail (dot) com.

Homeschool Update: Getting Back Into the Swing of Things!

            Hey folks! We are finally getting back into the swing of things with homeschooling, so I thought I would share what we've been up to!

             Usually I will decide on a theme to roll with for a week or more based on what Myka is interested in at the time. I had NO clue what I wanted to do this week, but I knew I wanted to keep the ball rolling with school stuff. I hadn't planned on doing a specific butterfly theme, but it just kind of turned out that way this week. (What Bob Ross would call a “happy little accident”.)

             We ordered painted lady caterpillars again this year. Long story short, they sent us an extra one and we think they ran out of food, so only one of them ended up hatching...And since we waited so long to see if the other ones were going to cocoon, he started coming out while still in the cup instead of the “habitat”. Oops. Because of that, he was all dried out and was never able to open his wings all the way. Oops. They're kind of curled and gnarly looking. It's the saddest butterfly you've ever seen. 

            Luckily, though, we have had TONS in the yard, so, while we weren't able to see them go through their life cycle, we have caught quite a few painted lady butterflies to observe in our butterfly habitat for a time before letting them go. The one pictured here is a black swallowtail! We had a nice little impromptu nature lesson the day I caught it, identifying it and learning what it likes to eat. I want one of the pretty orange ones with black spots or tiger swallowtail to check out, but they are wily things!

             We checked out a really neat book at the library titled Science and Craft Projects with Insects, Spiders, and Other Minibeasts, which is part of a Get Crafty Outdoors series. Fun! Sounds right up our alley, right? After all it pretty much combines our two favorite things!

             Anyways, we did a few projects from that book this week. It was great because even my 2 year old could do them with some help AND they had two pages before the craft/activity that talked about the related critter. The girls made these cute little handprint butterflies, painted caterpillar rock garden decorations, and we made a worm farm in a bottle! (We also finished some lady bug and bee kindness rocks we started a few months ago, as you can see in the picture. Lol)

             We also made butterfly life cycle crafts (Pinterest). Ripley actually did most of hers on the left. I was impressed! She was trying to do hers like Myka. It was so cute!

             We've also been investigating some other nature critters around the farm. A bird built its nest in the corner of the school room on the outside and became Myka's obsession until they flew out. She checked on them multiple times a day...Even in her Barbie car. Lol

             We happened to see a turtle in the yard one evening, so that was fun! We came across lots of Easter Box Turtles last year, but this was only the second we've seen this year so far. I like that we seem to have a lot around here because they are threatened, possible close to being endangered, if I remember correctly. Myka has been keeping a more casual eye out for his reappearance in the front yard. ;)

             John and I noticed some frog eggs (and by some, I mean TONS!) in our pigs' mud pit today. Naturally, we had to save some of those too. :P As long as we don't forget to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't get too hot, I look forward to watching frogs go through their life cycle with the kids! (We just learned about frogs recently too.)

Are you still chugging along, or is it time for summer break for your family?

Lactation Cookies (That Actually Work!)

            Hey ladies! For breastfeeding mamas, most of us can use a little boost in production now and then, I'm guessing. Or, if you're like me, you could use a MAJOR boost if you're not making enough to begin with. Whatever your feeding circumstances, I wanted to share this recipe I came across in my pregnancy group. I've tried several things to help boost my milk supply with both this baby and my last. These cookies actually help and they will fulfill your sweet tooth without beging too sweet. Try them out yourself and let me know how they work out for you!

What You'll Need:

-1/2 cup butter

-3/4 cup brown sugar

-1 egg

-1 tablespoon vanilla extract

-2 tablespoons flaxseed meal

-3 tablespoons of water

-1 cup self-rising flour

-1 teaspoon cinnamon (I say use as much as you want. I usually do more like a Tablespoon.)

-1-2 tablespoons of brewer's yeast

-pinch of salt

-1 ½ cup oats (old fashioned syle work better)

-1/2 cup of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, berries, etc. (I usually just eyeball it.)

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 F

*In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together, then add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix well.

*In a small bowl, combine the flaxseed and water. Let it set for a few minutes before adding it to the rest of the mix.

*Add the dry ingredients EXCEPT for your oats and chocolate chips, etc. Mix well.

*Stir in your oats and extra goodies last.

*Drop batter in about tablespoon sized dollops onto a greased baking sheet. (My post image is a bit misleading as I was trying them out in a bigger size in the muffin tin this time.) Bake for 10-12 minutes. (Closer to 15 for the big ones in my picture.)

Note: Eat two cookies with each feeding to start and modify based on your results and needs!

*If you happen to be the original owner of this recipe, please let me know and I would be happy to give you credit!

Fuel Your Day with Tenzo Tea! (Review)

            Hey folks! Please tell me I'm not the only one who goes through spells where I drink way too much pop, energy drinks, etc. It's sad to admit this, but there have only been one or two times in my life where I was completely off of pop. I was even allowed to have it as a kid!

             I think we can all agree that it's just not the same waking up in the morning as it was when we were kids. For the most part, mine can hop out of bed in the morning and be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to face the day. I, on the other hand, wish I could still get away with everyone just leaving me alone for at least an hour so my brain has time to wake up. I think some caffeine intake as an adult is darn near a necessity to properly function!

             That doesn't mean it has to be from a less than healthy house, such as pop or energy drinks, though! I was recently introduced to Tenzo Tea. The fellas behind Tenzo Tea are all about clean, natural caffeine to give you the energy you need throughout the day, which comes from their matcha green tea. Here is some more on their tea and how Tenzo Tea came about!

“Tenzo Tea is mixed directly with water, allowing you to consume the entire leaf, and unlock the full potential of green tea. No more tea bags, no more tea strainer. Whisk, shake, or blend your Tenzo Tea with water and feel the healthy energy.”

Why green tea? In a nutshell, the co-founders were sick of the rushes and crashes that come with drinking other caffeintated beverages, such as coffee and energy drinks. So, how did this change their lives?

“After a couple weeks of drinking matcha, we felt less irritable and realized that the sick feeling in our stomach was gone. We didn't have to worry about coffee breath or yellow stained teeth. We started sleeping better at night."

And, in case you're not familiar with matcha green tea and for the heck of it because I found it interesting, here's a fun fact: “Matcha has the highest antioxidant rating of all major superfoods. 13X more than pomegranates, 15x more than blueberries, and a whopping 125x that of spinach!” That's pretty amazing! So, what did I think of Tenzo Tea?

*I found that it doesn't really make me feel more awake/give me a “buzz” like pop or coffee, but it does give me more long-lasting energy. With three kids and a farm to look afer, I need all of the energy I can get!

*Bonus: No crashing out after a few hours like with other caffeinated beverages! Because I'm sure we've all been there and it's just the worst, isn't it?

*I thought the matcha green tea had a nice smooth flavor. It wasn't “in your face” and slightly bitter like other green teas I have tried in the past.

*I was very generously given the starter box to try out. It has the whole shebang: matcha tea, bamboo whisk and stand, and bamboo scooper. I highly recommend going for this option if you're really into tea. I cannot say enough about how well that whisk works in getting all of the powder mixed up! Seriously. Don't skip the whisk! Plus, with all of the accoutrements, you feel like you're having your own mini Japanese tea time. :)

*I haven't done so yet, but I can't wait to try out a green tea smoothie or latte. I haven't had either in YEARS and it sounds so good right now with the weather heating up!

To learn more about Tenzo Tea, be sure to visit their website. Stay up-to-date with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Stupid Easy Banana Bread Muffins

            Hey folks! I don't know about you, but I think banana bread and zucchini bread are a great treat any time of year. I've had a good recipe for banana bread for awhile. Trouble is, it seems like we always have trouble with the outside damn near burning, but the inside still being gooey. My 5 year old had the genius idea the other day to make them into muffins instead of the traditional bread. How obvious! So here it is, for your eating pleasure. :)

What You'll Need:

-3 or 4 bananas, smashed

-1/3 Cup butter, melted

-1 Cup sugar

-1 egg, beaten

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-pinch of salt

-1 ½ Cup flour

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 F.

*With a wooden spoon (potato mashers work even better, if you have one!), mash bananas.

*Mix in butter.

*Add sugar, egg, and vanilla.

*Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.

*Mix in flour last.

*Pour into sprayed or greased muffin pan. (I filled my cups more than I had planned to make all of the batter fit into one tray. Ha ha But they still turned out fine even filling them almost to the top!)

*Bake for at least 20 minutes. (Important note: PLEASE keep an eye on these the first time you make them. Ours only took 20 minutes, but our oven cooks things insanely quickly. I baked cinnamon apple cakes in it a few months ago for the first time since we moved to this house. My recipe said to bake them for an hour. It took them less than 30 minutes! Moral of the story: Your muffins will probably take longer than 20 minutes unless you also have a super charged oven. I apologize for not having an exact time!)

*Let cool and enjoy!

What is your favorite easy treat to make?

Mother's Day Weekend 2018 in Pictures!

            Hey folks! Things have been crazy busy and stressful around here the past couple of weeks. I seem to be perpetually behind on blogging as well, so I thought I would share some pictures and tidbits from Mother's Day weekend!

            I think it was Wednesday when I realized I had absolutely no idea what I was going to get or make my mom for Mother's Day. :/ Since we visited my parents that weekend I couldn't get away with just doing a card, plus I would have felt like a heel. I remembered seeing some ideas similar to these on Pinterest and combined them to, well, come up with these plant pots! I figured she would rather have something from the kids anyways and I thought this was a super cute idea! I cheated and asked my dad what kind of annuals mom liked, so John picked up some snapdragons for us to plant in them. :)

            My mom's stomach had been bothering her again when we arrived Friday. (I think it's nerves, but that's a whole other story.) Even though she was feeling better Saturday, she still decided to be a party pooper and skipped the cupcakes and canvases party SHE invited me to. Luckily, two of my aunts also went and I'm used to my mom's crazy friend who was hosting it. ;)
            I have to say, I had SUCH a good time! It was nice to have some adult interaction/conversation, especially without the kids! Well, I still had the baby, but she doesn't count. ha ha I actually wore her in my ring sling half the time I was painting! Now THAT'S talent! After it was all said and done, I hadn't realized how much I had missed painting. I used to love painting in school and was actually in the National Art Honor Society in high school. I'm dying to start painting again now!

            So, what did everyone else do while Gillian and I were gone painting? They went to the park, of course! (That was mostly my fault. I opened my big mouth about possibly meeting my friend there. ha ha) This picture cracked me up when I first saw it, with the sassy look on Ripley's face. 😂 Also, of course I am biased, but I'm pretty sure all of my girls should be in modeling. :)

            Sunday morning, Mother's Day, someone was being a turd. We woke up around our usual time, she nursed and got a diaper change, and I tried to put her back down...But, naturally, it was one of the few days I actually WANTED to go back to sleep, so she decided she wasn't going to. So I took her downstairs and let her nurse again...and she fell asleep after, like, 2 minutes! 😒 But, how can I stay mad at a face like that! She has really started "talking" lately and I can get her to kind of laugh every now and then. I love it! I wish she would stay this little forever. 😭

            This was right before we left Sunday afternoon and it's as good as we could get! lol I'm not sure what Ripley was pouting about. I think she was just being a grump because she needed a nap and just didn't want to take a picture.

            So, what did I get for Mother's Day? A new living room floor! Even though it was just something that needed done, I'll consider it my present, especially considering it was supposed to get done last year! *ahem* At least it's one less thing to worry about. I only wish we would have been able to paint too. :/ This wood paneling is for the birds. We don't even live in a trailer! But our house is very 70's in a lot of ways.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day as well!

 

Get Ready for Summer Babywearing with Comfy Joey! (Review)

            Hey folks! Spring is finally here and it's time to get outdoors with the babes! Looking for a lightweight carrier to use during warmer weather this year? Read on!

             Comfy Joey specializes in linen ring slings and water slings. Founded in 2005 by a mother of 4, Comfy Joey's products are made right here in the U.S. In Boise, Idaho. Even cooler, they are completely owned and operated by moms!

             Before I dive into my review, let's talk a little more about their slings.

*Per the Comfy Joey website

*Can be used from 8 to 35 pounds

*Can help soothe a fussy or colicky baby

*Can fold compactly to fit in a diaper bag

*Can be used while nursing on the go

*Our 100% linen fabric, airy and supportive, though a bit stiff at first, will soften with wash and use. Linen slings are good for newborns or toddlers, and excellent for summer heat.

I decided to go with a Medium, in case you are curious. ;)

             Comfy Joey was kind enough to send us one of their linen ring slings to try out. I have to admit, even though I had been tossing around the idea of trying a ring sling for reasons I'll talk about below, I was still leery. After all, how the heck do you keep the baby from falling out?! As it turns out, using a sling is not nearly as scary as I thought. Here are some more thoughts and notes I took on our Comfy Joey ring sling experience.

*Comes with informational DVD on how to do different carries and other important noes on how to use a ring sling. Very handy for noobs like me who have absolutely NO idea what they are doing! (Although I still recommend watching videos online as well.)

*Great choice for all sizes of wearers. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am on the bigger side. I am not skinny by any means! With a lot of other carriers, us fluffy girls have to worry about whether they will even fit us or not! That is not the case with Comfy Joey slings. They offer a wide variety of sizes (and have a really nifty size chart on their site to find the perfect size of carrier for you!) and are easy to adjust so you get the perfect fit, regardless of what size you are! (Which is also handy if you have multiple people using the sling.)

For those of you out there that are hardcore babywearers, you probably noticed in the post image at the top that I didn't quite have baby froggy legged enough. I just wanted to show you that we did get it corrected! :)

*Very comfortable! Seriously, I have had such a hard time with carriers being uncomfortable in one way or another in the past. The Comfy Joey ring sling alleviates even shoulder pain with the way they are designed. The shoulder spreads out quite a bit, which avoids getting any pressure points while wearing. It is now tied with my other favorite carrier! Plus, it also seems comfy for baby because...

*It definitely helps calm fussy babies! Gillian cannot be in this sling longer than 5, 10 minutes tops, without falling asleep. In fact, sometimes it's the only way I can get her to go to sleep during the day when I know she needs to stop fighting it! It came in very handy at a canvas and cupcakes party I recently attended when she was ready for a nap, but wouldn't sleep in her car seat. But, I'll get to more on all the places/situations I've worn her in the Comfy Joey so far in a minute. ;)

 

She's a happy bunny, even if the lighting does make her look like she's balding on top. 😂

*As far as comfort for baby, she also seems to like this carrier better than the stretchy wrap that I usually just use when they're tiny like she is because she can move her head around more. All of our children have had freakishly strong head and neck muscles from early on (probably have to so their necks don't break from their giant heads!) and Gillian has been a cross between our two older daughters so far: She likes snuggles, but she also likes to look around. (aka try to fight sleep even more) The stretchy wrap just seems to tick her off compared to this one. BUT, if you do have a tiny babe who still needs the head and neck support, you still get it. Just pull up the top rail (edge) higher and/or roll it to support baby's head! Oh. And speaking of that stretchy wrap...

*The Comfy Joey ring sling doesn't slip like the stretchy wraps that a lot of people wear their newborns in! Seriously. I can't tell you how annoying that is. It's nice to not have to worry about readjusting now!

*I will admit: This carrier has the biggest learning curve out of any styles I have tried...But it's worth it once you get it figured out! I didn't find the stretchy wraps too hard to get the hang of. Mei tais are basically the same, so it was a breeze. But, personally, I found ring slings a bit tricky getting “just right”.

*I like that there are tons of different ways to carry babies in this, depending on what age they are, but I'll also admit I have only tried one so far. I've also been meaning to try it out with my toddler, but just haven't gotten around to it...And I'm not sure she would go for it. But, the options are there and I absolutely love that this is a “one size fits all” for babies through toddlers. Not many carriers can boast that, and especially not for the reasonable price! (Hooray for being economical too!)

*As I said, I was leery of trying a ring sling for a long time, mostly because A) It looked complicated and B) I was worried baby would fall out somehow. Now that I've finally tried one, I wish I had tried one sooner since it's such a great option for being economical and its ability to use from birth to toddlerhood, as I just mentioned. PLUS, so long as you're getting baby positioned correctly, of course, it really is more secure than it looks once you get the hang of it.

*I highly recommend practicing a lot at home with the Comfy Joey until you get comfortable with it before attempting to use it in public. Otherwise, you will have lots of adjusting to do! I thought I was ready to take it elsewhere, but got confused when I tried to use it the first time we all went to the park because I wasn't as familiar with it as I thought I was. lol

*I have worn the Comfy Joey sling doing quite a few things so far, such as walks in the woods, playing hide and seek with the older two kids, going to the park, doing farm chores (though that was a bit tricky and hasn't happened since! Haha), while painting, and shopping.

*Another thing I really love about this carrier is that you can just roll it up and throw it in the diaper bag. It takes up hardly any room, especially compared to our soft-structured and hiking carriers! When you're cramming three kids and all of their stuff into your car, this is more important than you may think!

*Last, but not least, this sling is easy to take off or use for nursing. I haven't attempted to use it while breastfeeding yet because I'm un-coordinated enough as it is, BUT, I like that I can easily take this on and off. This aspect of it is a real game changer when I have to nurse in public, plus I can use it as a nursing cover! What's not to love?!

             Comfy Joey also makes toy slings for your budding babywearers to practice with their dolls! Also, if you are reading this from Canada, Comfy Joey now offers shipping to our friends up north as well as offers a manual in French!

             Be sure to stay up-to-date with Comfy Joey on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Mixed Bag Mama received free product in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.