Pampers and Pearls

Friday, September 11, 2015

Fall into the season with Grace and Ease

Hey Loves!

It's that time that Pumpkinize your life and throw some of the sweet Fall smells in your everyday routine. The air is cooling down... except Florida where it is still sweat worthy hot but cooler than it is in the dead set summer. Fall has to be my favorite season. I love the fall smells like apple cider, caramel apples, candy corn, cinnamon buns, most popular pumpkin, etc. Our house smells like Cranberry and Frost thanks to Febreze.

(picture from englishcrush.blogspot)

I think most of the worlds favorite thing about fall is the pumpkin flavored everything. Especially Starbucks, which is my addiction, it doesn't help we live a 5 minute walk from a Starbucks lol.

Here are some of my household favorites for the kick off to Fall and some that we will be trying this year. We don't really do the same foods over and over, we love diversity meals in our kitchen so we switch up meals a lot! Hope you enjoy these as much as we do :)

~Yummy Recipes~

Breakfast

Lunch & Dinner

Snacks

Recipes fun for kids:

Drinks & Desserts

Hope you guys enjoy! I would love to see what you guys make at home to Fall into the season! You can tweet it to me or tag me in IG :) Stay Golden You Guys.

(photo from babble.com)

Kuddles Diaper review

Hey Loves!

For the past few days now we have switched up our diaper brands. We started out using the amazing Pamper's brand but we have 2 children in diapers... for now, we are still working on getting our son potty trained. We had an issue with our son using pampers, his skin just would not cooperate with them, he ended up getting a rash that was red, inflamed, and the rash was in the shape of a diaper. His skin was way to sensitive to it. Then, we started using the Parents Choice diapers. Parents Choice is the Walmart brand diapers and to me they are fantastic, its easy on my kids skin, and holds ok through the night but once they go to move around it leaks pretty bad no matter how big or how little amount is in their diapers. Best thing about Parent's Choice is it is definitely easy on the wallet!!Sometimes there is a rough hard patch of material on them, not sure what it is but to me I would feel like it would be uncomfortable to wear. I know I would absolutely hate have rough solid material for underwear.

We recently got a package of Kuddles diapers which is the Winn-Dixie brand from Winn-Dixie. So far I really like them! They are a lot like Parents Choice diaper's which is still cheaper than Pamper's and Huggies but more expensive then Parent's Choice, but the hold on these things are amazing! No problems leaking at all and they guard smell really well. I have a hard time seeing if my kids had a stinky... lol I know that's what we call it, normally we are a 1 word description house with our little. Working on the words 1 at a time. Anyways, even when I do a smell check I can't tell. Which is both a blessing and a curse! lol Only thing I don't like about them is they come in 1 color and that a girly purple polka dots which looks funny on my little man. I like where I have choices of prints on them, and various colors or even gender neutral colors.

Huggies is an awesome brand I am sure but none of my kids could wear them. They would have the worst rashes ever. Their skin is just too sensitive for them. I would do cloth diapers, I really want to, unfortunately we don't have the energy to do them, nor do I have the resources for them. In our new apartment here in the city we share a laundry room with the other tenants with the cost of $2.25 per load of laundry for wash and dry, I am sure they wouldn't feel up to doing their laundry in a previously cloth diaper used washer lol. It's also too high of a start up cost which is not in our budget at this time, and once I start a full time job as a Medical Billing and Coding Specialist, I really wont have the time to, it definitely saves you money and is very amazing, I envy the moms that do it and highly encourage ladies to try them . I probably will still do them!

All in all I really like them, and if you buy disposable diapers, check them out at your local Winn Dixie and see how you like them :)

Stay Golden Loves <3

Thursday, September 10, 2015

The amazing dishwasher!

Hello loves!

So, one of my amazing Sister-in-laws, tagged me in a funny video about washing dishes. I am a fan of dishwashers... you never know how much you miss them until you don't have one! Here in our apartment we do not have one and it makes me sad because hand washing and putting them on a limited space dish dryer and even on a towel on your counter it gets so messy and everything gets flooded! So here it is :)

Jenn, I don't know you and hope that this blog finds you but ma'am I salute you! This is hilarious and also very true. I wish I would have been this clever to do something like this with my family. Even though my husband does dishes sometimes, he doesn't do it very well, especially now that its to hand washing the dishes. I always go behind him and redo them or just move him out of the way before he can even start so he takes daddy duty and I take the dishes.

I hope you guys found this funny. I know the moms will, even some siblings who do the dishes. I know I would get irritated when I would clean the dishes and then someone come in right behind me and put dirty dishes into the sink and leave them there! I felt like this had to be shared because I know a lot of people if not everyone can relate to it :) Stay Golden You Guys <3

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Upcoming Movies I am Dying to see!

Hey Love's!

So I went through IMDB and was looking through the trailers they had up for some upcoming movies and here are the ones so far I am dying to see :)

1. Sleeping with Other People

2. Maze Runner: Scorch Trails

3. Hotel Transylvania 2

4. The Intern

5.Victor Frankenstein

6.Crimson Peak

7.The Last Witch Hunter

8. The Peanuts Movie

9. The Hunger Games : Mockingjay pt 2

10. The Night Before

11. Suicide Squad

12. The Good Dinosaur

13. Star Wars epi 7

14. Sisters

15. Kung Fu Panda 3

16. The Revenant

17. The 5th Wave

18. The Secret Life of Pets

The movies not yet with a trailer but I know is coming out and want to see

Knights of the round table: King Arthur- Filming now with the EVER SO SEXY Charlie Hunnam as King Arthur himself, Jude Law, Eric Bana, Dijmon Hounsou, And the ever exciting David Beckham
The Jungle Book- Scarlette Johansson, Idris Elba, Bill Murray, Bill Kingsley, Christopher Walken
Pacific Rim: Maelstrom- This was announced to be new coming out with Charlie Hunnam is rumored to be Raleigh Becket back in action
The Lost City of Z- Charlie Hunnam (an you tell I have feels),and the still handsome Robert Pattinson,
X Men: Apocalypse- with my one of my favorite actors with the addicting Scottish accent James McAvoy , Jennifer Lawrence, Sophie Turner (my ever favorite Stark lady).

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

HELP!! Hospital bag pack up!

Hello Loves!

Having a baby is a big thing. It's fun, scary, exciting, nerve wrecking. There is so much to do and even though 9 months seems like its dragging and is a long time you have such little energy, so much emotions, and a scrambled brain. I have seen most of my friends ask over Facebook or even private message me asking what do I pack in my hospital bag? What am I missing? There is so much going on that even for mommies with multiples it is so easy to forget what you packed the first time, and when you have other babies, you have more to worry about with finding a sitter and someone to go check up on the family pet's, or forgetting you forgot to do another deep clean for the 300th time.

With our first child me and my husband were over prepared. By that I mean we packed enough stuff for 2 weeks at a beach house! Only used about 5% of the stuff we brought was used and of course we took everything that wasn't bolted down, and a go home package from the hospital, made for even more stuff. It also gave my husband an exhausting workout with taking about 10 trips from the car to our hospital room bringing things in and taking them back out.

With our second he came so fast we barely had anything together and forgot to get a car seat, I had a 3 hours labor and lived 45 minutes away from the hospital 1 hour with traffic! Thank goodness we still had one from our first child and used that until we got our knew one the next day. My husband was not happy since we had a little boy and took him home in a pink car seat so we ended up having a car seat cover that fit our little prince :)

With our final baby we finally perfected the art of packing for a baby and was prepared without packing too much and without packing to little. We got a heads up of course because I was induced at 39 weeks. SO on to the hospital bag list!

For Mom:

2-3 pairs of socks
Hair ties, clips, bobby pins
1 go home outfit
4-5 pairs of full coverage underwear
2-3 pajama pants
2-3 pajama shirts
Chapstick
Hair brush
Travel Sized toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash
shoes (I chose flip flops)
2 Nursing Bra
Nursing pads for bra
Razor and shaving cream
face wash, lotions, Deodorant
Prenatal Vitamins

Optional:

Pillows
home blanket
make up and/or hair supplies (I am that kind of person so I definitely did)
Robe
nipple cream (if needed I never really needed any)
Pads (these I never brought only because both my hospitals here in my city provide unlimited pads)
Mints

For Dad:

2-3 pairs of clothes
1-2 pair of jammies
2-3 pairs of socks
Toothbrush
Shampoo and Conditioner (if different from yours. Me and the hubby use the same)
Body wash (again, if different)
Razor and shaving cream, Deodorant
Aleve
Sweatshirt (optional)
Robe
Slippers

For baby:

2-3 Picture outfits
1 Go home outfit
2 Baby hats (if you want different ones, my mom bought us a customized hospital hat for our last one)
2-3 Socks
Headbands (if a girl)
3-4 Burp cloths
3-4 Receiving blankets
1 Baby blanket (we used both a Receiving Blanket and Baby Blanket for Sophia's baby pictures)
2 baby mittens
Car Seat (this is a must! Hospitals protocol is you can not leave with your baby in your hands they have to be in a car seat, strapped in properly)
Boppy Pillow (optional, I brought mine)

Electronics:

Cell Phones
Cell phone chargers
Laptops
Laptop chargers
3-4 movies

Randoms:

Change for vending machine
Perfume or body splashes
Thank You baskets for nurses
Thank You basket for Doctor
Breast Pump
Nursing Cover
Hand Sanitizer (I would hope your hospital would have it)
Birthing plan
Books

Now when you leave the hospital you can always ask for extras to go home with, and take everything that is not bolted or strapped down.I would always call and see what your hospital provides or do a tour of the hospital and delivery rooms. The hospitals here in my city provide pads, products to help with burning after birth or hemorrhoids, hospital gown but you can change into your own jammies, socks, breast pump, pillows, blankets, toiletries like shampoo and body wash, and towels. My favorite item the hospital provides that I cant live without, I even wear them months after birth (I know a lot of you will laugh) the netted underwear. Those are a the most wonderful things in the world! lol

Here is a list of amazing things you could purchase for your new ones arrival :)

Newborn Hat (this is my youngest with this same hat on)

Newborn Boy Hat

Here

Here

Here

Here

Hospital Gown

Robe

Here

Blanket

Monday, September 7, 2015

Kids favorites from Etsy

Hello Loves!

I know every one of you have a shopping addiction mine are pretty much anything and everything but lately I have been window shopping at Etsy. It really is in my top favorites for online shopping. I really don't usually shop for my kids online because I am a horrible shopping person. I tend to put things in my cart before I really am done shopping and then erase everything out and start all over. By the time I figure out what I want to get the kids or what they would like I find something better. Etsy is a favorite of mine because everything is so unique and personalized I can make an easy decision without a second thought. Everything on there is homemade or vintage and most of it is really super cheap. There are some really outrageous prices on there for some items but you can easily find someone who makes the same thing, if not it being better, but also being cheaper.

Things I have bought from there recently were a Amber Teething necklace (Here) and a workout tank (Here). I really love Etsy the shops are great and they have such cute things for everyone from the kids to the furbabies, to house decor and even furniture. I havent bought anything for the kids yet. I had a cute outfit purchased but forgot to change the address on our Paypal and canceled the order. The shop owner was amazing about it and really sweet and understanding. They had the money deposited in my bank in 4 days. Of course I used that money on a cute take home outfit from Target that I could not live without. I know I told you horrible shopping person.

I do have saved items on boards at Etsy like Pinterest has but not as great as Pinterest, its only for Etsy items. You can also favorite the items and get discount codes in private messages from the owner/creators themselves special just for you. So lets begin :)

Lyrix Favorites:

Shoes

cute outfit

monogram

Sophia Favorites:

Dress

Sisters

Let it go shirt

Chore Chart

Kayden Favorites:

Here

Here

Here

Here

Kid shops I love on Etsy:

The Baby Bella Boutique

Lola and Darla Designs

D. Liles Collection

Blessed Mother of Three

Pink Paisley Bowtique

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Night Terrors or Nightmares.?

Hey Love's,

I am wanting to talk to you guys about Night Terrors. This is one that really hits home and maybe a lot of you are dealing with. Night Terrors I personally know can be scary for an adult more than the child. Out of 3 children so far I have only dealt with 1 child having Night Terrors on a regular basis. He has them almost 4 nights out of the week at most since a little after his 2nd birthday. For a while we were able to sort of pause them in a way for a couple months. With Kayden it's also a rolling the dice kind of thing on whether or not its night terror or nightmare. I never know which one it is until I go into his room. You guys, for a mom, they are horrifying. Our 2 older kids share a room but because we raise our kids up on noise since they were in the womb, whenever my son Kayden would have a night terror or nightmare, it would never disturb Sophia so that was always a plus.

Here I will be letting you guys know what a night terror is vs a nightmare, ways you could possibly help cut them back or even pause them for a while, I would call it prevention of night terrors but unfortunately there is not really a proven way to prevent them. Also I will be telling you guys my way of dealing with it. I am a night owl for now, I am working on that now that my youngest, Lyrix, is no longer in the waking up every 2 hours to eat phase anymore. The only reason now that I stay up is because I love the quiet time of the house being quiet and me being able to do my "Me Time" in silence, and it also I know that I may fall asleep and my son have a night terror or maybe even a nightmare. So lets start with the What....

It is also called "sleep terror". It is a sleep disturbance that happens usually between sleep stage transitions. I know some doctors have defined it as "glitches" in the brain. It is not a smooth transition with your sleep stages. Basically what happens during a night terror is the eyes are open, you appear to be awake, it happens all of a sudden, thrashing around, screaming, crying, even mumbling and moaning. Here is the thing, they are not really awake. Its like sleep walking in a way without the walking part. Night Terrors usually last up to 45 minutes, which yes is an incredibly long time to be dealing with a child having a night terror.
Mom's YES you can do this, your super moms and its all part of the job. It scared the living daylights out of me when Kayden had his first night terror.

The difference between a night terror and nightmare is that a night terror cannot be remembered by the child. They are not actually awake, where as, a nightmare is a scary dream that you wake up from and can remember.

Well now that you know what a night terror is, how exactly do you help it or if you would like to call it preventing why not...

There is not a really definite way to "prevent" a night terror, there are ways to help it though. Night terrors can happen for many reasons.

Stress
Sickness
Not enough sleep, or deprived of sleep
Caffeine intake ( a child really shouldnt be drinking caffeine but all too many times we tend to forget that sweet tea not only contains sugar but caffeine as well)
Child Sleep Apnea

Keeping them on a good sleep schedule, doing some calming sleep routines before bed can really help. Also please remember to NEVER WAKE A CHILD IN A NIGHT TERROR, its the same rule as sleep walkers. Also do not physically touch the child in a night terror. You could get hurt in the line of fire and wake them as well.

What I do with Kayden when he has a night terror is, I will first make him a sippy cup full of water, I will turn on the tv for some light and also for me, I will lay down with a pillow in between us (my older 2 share a queen sized bed because they have always shared a room and co-slept, they are each others "security blanket"), and really I just wait until he stops. Once he stops, I tuck him in and turn the tv back off. His longest night terror was close to 2 hours and it was his first night terror, I made the mistake of trying to wake him and comfort him thinking it was a nightmare. Lets just say it was not pretty, I ended up with a busted lip and a black eye, my husband was kicked a couple times in not such great places, Kayden also started to shake really bad uncontrollably to the point where I thought he was seizing (but he wasn't thank goodness).

You guys I am in no way a Dr, I had to just learn and do the research myself, also with the help of our family Dr. This is what helps me get through my child's night terrors. I really hope it helps you guys! Please dont forget to like and +1 for google on this. Stay Golden Loves :)