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Monday, June 15, 2020

Father's Day Gift Guide

Father's Day Gift Guide


Well hello, its me again. So soon ya'll may come to expect me to be a consistent blogger, haha. I was inspired last night as I was ordering Anthony's father day presents. I found out about this Chimney Charcoal Starter thing a few months ago from Preston Perry so I knew it was something I wanted to get for Anthony. I just never bit the bullet and as father's day is approaching and seeing influencers share their gift guides it reminded me to order his present and I knew immediately I would be ordering a Chimney Charcoal Starter. There I am ordering this cool contraption thing and I had the thought to share on my IG stories with you all in case you never heard of it either and that's how my thought process came to putting together a quick gift guide with presents Anthony has truly enjoyed. I will still share each of the items in my stories so be sure to head there to see them "in person," I will be sure to have a highlight saved in case you run across this post after the 24 hours.


Mini Kreg Jig Kit
With social distancing happening across the country, those honey to do lists are able to finally get completed. This jig helps hide screws to give woodworking a more "professional" look so to speak and with getting the mini you aren't having to fork out an investment. Obviously it doesn't work as fast as the K5 would BUT if you never used a Kreg jig to begin with, you wouldn't know the difference. It's a great stepping stone to taking your woodworking up a notch without the major pricetag. 

If anything was a must have item, it is definitely this speaker. I bought this during Christmas for Anthony and it is the most used item I have ever bought him. He uses it in the shower, while out in the garage, when we had friends over, at the beach, etc. It's a pricer item compared to the others I am sharing but it is worth it. 

I tried buying Anthony one of those sunrise clocks after our old school one broke but he was not impressed so when I saw the Echo Dot had a version with a digital clock on it I knew we had to have it. I love how we can easily see the clock without having to ask Alexa what time it is but we can also ask her to set his alarm without getting up and fiddling with it (we are so spoiled, I know). And I enjoy that she can play my podcasts for me as I am fixing my bed in the mornings or can play music for us at night while playing video games and hanging out.

This is the gift I am getting him this year, I told him about it when I first heard of it and he thought it was neat as well so it won't be a total surprise but I know he will enjoy having a faster way to light the charcoal and also using less chemicals. I don't know about ya'll but I have always been skeptical about lighter fluid and glad there is a device that allows you to bypass that. Along with this I also got him a cover for his barbeque pit as we recently bought him a new one since we gave away his old one when we sold our last house. I wanted to be sure we took better care of this pit compared to the other so this is the one I ordered in case you are in need of one as well.

We swear by Yeti after we purchased our first one almost two years ago. I have only had one other brand of tumblers so I don't have much comparison however it was that big of a difference I don't want to try others. My ice stays as ice overnight so my water in the morning is still cold. We even took our Yeti tumbler to the beach and left it in the car so we would have fresh cold water once we were heading home and the ice was still in there. We have been sharing the one Yeti but I am not great at sharing so we got Anthony his own and he loves it. It's great for keeping his water cold overnight as well but also his mix drinks cold without completely watering it down allowing him to sip on it over time.

And in case you are more DIY savy or just prefer more personal gift giving, I created this frame for Anthony for his first Father's Day and he loved it. We now have it apart of Sophia's gallery wall in her room but it was made with him in mind. This would look great on daddy's nightstand or at his office. You can find my tutorial here.



Now personally I love blogs when bloggers share their life before handing me links to buy stuff or getting to their tutorial for whatever. It helps build a "relationship" so to speak but I have heard that others do not enjoy the story time before content and just prefer getting to the point. I'm curious to know which are you?

Also, if you found this post helpful or know someone who would, please share it! I have made this pinnable image below to make it easier to pin and share!!
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Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Top 5 Books for Your Baby/Toddler (0-3)

Top 5 Books for Your Baby/Toddler (0-3)


Well hello whoever is still hanging around. I thought I would start posting more often after my last post but alas I have been preoccupied with house projects and adjusting to a new routine here at the house. We have been in such a good rhythm the last few weeks even amidst the current circumstances.

I have arrived to the thought that my blogging will remain inconsistent as I only want to blog when I am inspired (this thought has actually been simmering for over a year). This will allow me to post quality material and in hopes that it will be more helpful to you all. If you do enjoy day to day tips/tricks and in the life, I post pretty regularly on Instagram stories.

The past few days, even weeks, I have given much thought about our bookshelves and the types of books we own and the books we borrow from the library. When my eldest was first born, I wanted her to have every book there was but also wanted to be sure those books were of great quality. I happened upon Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt and soon it became my quest to acquire every book listed in her "A Child's First Books: Ages 0-3" chapter. She has somewhere around 60-65 books listed, we own around 20. Hunt was in no way suggesting you need to own all the books in her list, that was the overachiever in me wanting to check the list completely off. However after 4.5 years and two children later, my eldest being 4.5 and my youngest about 2.5, I have come to the conclusion that we do not need to own that many books. Children love repetition and sometimes they get so stuck on one book that they want to read it over and over and over again. Therefore, we would be just as well borrowing other books from the library to still introduce them to new stories and only buying the ones that truly stuck with our family that we are constantly wanting to read over and over and over again. Among owning about 20 books from this particular list, I would say we also own quite a few more picture books. Many of them Dr. Seuss which we did read quite a bit with my eldest her earlier years but not so much with my son but that is another list entirely, haha.

With all the books we own and have borrowed, all the reading we have done between two children, only a handful of books have made a mark for us as a family thus far. We have sweet memories of these stories with one or both of my children and the joy they gave us and we gave them during read-alouds. I hope this short and sweet list of ours will provide special memories and bonding time with your own littles during these early years and that one of these, if not all, will wind up as part of your child's first library.

This was Sophia's favorite one as a baby. She would get so excited when I would use an over dramatic voice "Wheeeeeeeere's SPOT?" and as we progressed through the book, she loved lifting the flaps and discovering what animal was hiding. The thing I loved about this book was the positional words that was used, "Is he behind the door?" "Is he in the closet?" "He's under the rug." It created an easy, natural and fun way to introduce elements in the English language that she will need later on. Reading in general exposes children to so much more than literacy though but that is a post for another day. Just trust me it is never too early OR too late to start reading aloud with your children.

Sophia loved the dramatics of the alphabet falling out the tree and the full moon. She also enjoyed all the alphabet at the back of the book and asking what each one is, we would often start singing the ABC song as we pointed to each one. Bubba has now also started flipping to the back and pointing at specific letters or matching the letter from his alphabet puzzle to the back of the book. Such a great rhyming book for early alphabet introduction.

For this book, there is a very specific one you need to get for it to be great in my opinion and that is the Slide and Find version. Interactive books like this and the flip to look and touch and feel engage babies and toddlers to explore these books on their own. Sophia loved being able to control the slides and Bubba is completely obsessed with this book. He went from knowing one color to knowing around 9 maybe more in two days. TWO days. I did not have to do any extra activities with him, he has flashcards but he mainly used those to sort by color but being able to name each color I give all the credit to this book. Truly shows in the early years we don't need fancy lesson plans or themed activities, just let them play and read them quality books! He also memorized the book and I have a sweet video of him "reading" it to me. I plan to also record him to create a "audiobook" and what a treasure it will be to hear his sweet baby voice once he is a grown man and possibly having his own babies.

I read an article once by a speech therapist saying the beginning stages of learning to speak is learning animal sounds. Those sounds are the building blocks and Sophia was not much of a talker at this time. She grunted and pointed. I knew she could talk if she really wanted to because her ability to understand everything we said was amazing and we would get snippets when she was in the mood (which was very rare). Although Sophia still waited to talk on her own timeline, as she has done with everything else so far, we still highly recommend this book because it is so full of giggles and laughter making sounds with your children and you still get to set up those building blocks for speaking later on.

A very classic book. Sophia enjoys the metamorphosis part when the butterfly comes out at the end of the book. I enjoy the early exposure to counting and the days of the week. Bubba enjoys the "holes" in the books for each food item the caterpillar ate (told ya'll interactive books for young toddlers and babies is where it is at, they love exploring with their hands)

Bonus: A Touch-and-Feel book
Again with young toddlers and babies exploring with their hands. I do not have a specific book recommendation other then having one touch-and-feel book on hand is great for them to explore different textures. Sophia had this one and loved touching the scarecrow (burlap) whereas Bubba had this one and the scratchy (sandpaper) pig was a favorite.

And that my friends is our family's top 5 book recommendations for your baby's own library. I still highly recommend reading as many books as possible so take advantage of your local library! If you need new book ideas, I love referencing the Read-Aloud Revival's A Year of Picture Books list as well as Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt (mentioned above).

I'm curious to know, how many of these books do you already own? What age did you start reading to your child?

If you found this post helpful or know someone who would, please share it! I have made this pinnable image below to make it easier to pin and share!!



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Thursday, January 9, 2020

Diaper Pail Comparison | Ubbi vs Dekor Plus

Diaper Pail Comparison | Ubbi vs Dekor Plus


About two years ago, I shared all about our diapering station for a newborn and the difference of how I disposed of diapers between Sophia and baby Anthony. Since then, our diapering needs have changed dramatically. In that time, we started cloth diapering both kiddos, the eldest is now potty trained (besides nighttime) and the toddler has very stinky poop. We currently have two diaper pails for our disposable diapers: the Ubbi and the Dekor Plus. We have owned the Ubbi for about two years and the Dekor Plus for about a year or so and it dawned on me that I should share the pros and cons of both pails regarding both disposable diapering and cloth diapering (we have a third separate pail for cloth now, more on that later).

Ubbi Diaper Pail

Pros

  • Does not require special bags, you can use regular kitchen bags, cloth pail liners or their Ubbi bags. We started off using regular trash bags but once we started cloth diapering, I started using this liner but now we use the Ubbi bags.
  • Made with steel which keeps the smell contained inside the pail.
  • There is a little turn lock so you can prevent your toddler playing with dirty diapers (if you know, you know).

Cons

  • While the Ubbi could work for cloth diapering, it isn't the most efficient considering the size of cloth diapers vs disposal diapers. I was cloth diapering two at one time and could maybe fit half a day to a days worth before needing to switch out the liner (I washed my diapers every 2-3 days) which left a bag of dirty diapers sitting on the floor in my laundry room.
  • The steel construction does prevent smells from seeping through until you have to open it to put a diaper in, then you get a huge whiff of stank but I found this to be the case no matter what pail you use. I was just happy the smell wasn't constant by seeping out and I hold my breath whenever putting a dirty diaper in the pail.
  • Is not hands free, have to touch the lock to unlock and have to pull back the top to open to place a diaper in and pull back to close.

Dekor Plus Pail

Pros

  • Hands-free (as long as it's unlocked).
  • Also has a little turn lock to prevent a curious toddler from exploring dirty diapers.
  • Their specific bagging system makes it to where you only use the amount of bag you need which reduces waste and most economically efficient for disposal diapers.
  • Fits a cloth pail liner, we used this one. Before our current cloth diaper pail, we preferred this one over the Ubbi for cloth since it could fit more diapers.

Cons

  • The smell of dirty poop diapers seeps out even when its closed.

Our Current Dirty Diaper Setup

To start off, you do not need more then one diaper pail and honestly a diaper pail is NOT necessary at all for disposable diapers. For about the first 19 months of changing diapers, we did not have any pails in our house. Poop diapers went into a plastic grocery bag and straight to the dumpster in the garage while pee diapers went in a little bathroom trash can we had next to the changing table. I did not want to commit to a pail that had to have specific bags purchased. By the time Bubba was born, I heard about Ubbi and it's ability to fit standard kitchen bags so I used our monetary gifts we received for Bubba and bit the bullet. The Dekor Plus was bought shortly after starting to cloth diaper. The plan was to use Ubbi for disposables since it didn't fit many cloth diapers and to use Dekor Plus for cloth diapering. This worked great for a few months but the smell of the cloth diapers was really gross and made our room smell. After some digging and research, I found that cloth diapers need airflow in order to not start smelling. Which leads to our setup now:

Dekor Plus is in Bubbas room and is used only for pee diapers (disposable) and we use their specialty bags because it is easier to change out and more economical. This pail is only kept around because we already had it but also doesn't hurt that we have more pee diapers throughout the day so having it contained here instead of using our kitchen trash for pee diapers keeps the smell at bay.

Ubbi is in the garage and is used for poop diapers (disposable), we use their bags as well as we found it was more economical than a kitchen trash bag due to the size of the pail versus size of bag (lots of wasted bag space). This pail is great for retaining the smell besides when you open it, which is why it became our designated poop pail. We have it in the garage because when you do open it, the smell lingers for a bit.

For cloth diapers, we use a standard kitchen trash can that has a swing lid (similar) which provides sufficient airflow and there is never a smell from our cloth diapers anymore (we rinse off all poop in the toilet before placing in the pail). We now use this cloth liner as the other one has a ripped seam and I am not a seamstress. I love that this liner has a snap closure so if you go longer between washes and need to use another liner, you can close this one off to prevent littles from playing with dirty diapers. I wash every 2-3 days and this liner fits all my diapers for one load.

Final thoughts, unless you live in an apartment I wouldn't classify a diaper pail as a necessity to add to your registry if your planning to use disposable diapers. Walking them to the garbage bin in your garage or wherever you store your large bin doesn't take any extra effort especially if you are like I was in not wanting to worry about buying specialty bags. Just use those plastic grocery bags (I always doubled up bags for poop to try to contain the smell a bit more). If you plan to cloth diaper, don't waste money on these name brand pails - buy a standard kitchen trash can that allows airflow such as one with a swing lid or no lid at all. I know it seems like the smell will linger in the air but it won't with cloth. Trying to keep the smell in, creates a smell. Trust me. If you are having a smell regardless on your cloth that may be a washing routine issue in which case I would refer you to Fluff Love University.

Do you have a diaper pail? If so, which one did you use? Do you use cloth diapers or disposables or somewhere in between like us?

If you found this post helpful or know someone who would, please share it! I have made this pinnable image below to make it easier to pin and share!!


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Thursday, February 7, 2019

Let’s Chat! | Growth During Struggles

Let’s Chat! | Growth During Struggles


If your new around here, you probably don’t know this but I’m not the typical blogger. I randomly take breaks from blogging because, well life happens. Real life. Don’t get me wrong I love blogging. I love writing. I love forming the connections I have made through this digital life but I have priorities. Or at least I try to because let’s me honest we all get sucked into the scrolling mindlessly through social media while life happens around you. However, I’m breaking that cycle. I won’t allow it to hold power over me anymore of having to see every single post ever posted by this person or that person or needing to know who is doing what at this moment in time.

Now hear me out, there is absolutely nothing wrong with checking in on your favorite blogger or social media influencer but when that profile or person gets the best of you instead of the people in your real life, in your home. There’s a problem. And that’s me. Hi, my name is Stormie and I am a social mediaholic. I love catching up with people on Instagram but I hate having phone conversations. I love posting and watching instastories but I’m actually an introvert and don’t like talking in person unless we are already close friends.

So this social media break has happened for quite a few reasons. The main reason was the Lord was speaking to me. I have always wondered when people would say “The Lord spoke to me” or I’m following the Lord’s command and I always wondered like how? Did you hear a big booming voice “Stormie get off social media” with an echo? Well no. It was subtle and over time. The Lord spoke to me through books I was reading, through people I was following on social media, conversations I was having in my bible study group, etc. There was a common theme being brought to my attention across all areas of my life and it felt so strong that I knew it was coming from the Lord.

Short back story, my husband was laid off (I spoke about it some here and here) and we were dealing with unemployment for 6+ months and now underemployment. Around the same time I’m hearing the Lord speak to me, Anthony and I both also feel the Lord telling us it was finally time to say goodbye to our house. In hindsight, we were wrestling with the Lord for months and months before this without realizing it (or wanting to realize) so when we did make the decision to list our house for sell, we were at such peace because we knew it was the Lord’s will.

So the time-frame for us to be out of the house lined up with the holidays which I thought taking the whole month of December off would be the best because one it would give us time to get all moved in and settled and secondly what perfect time to create a new rhythm and routine with my children. I was also planning to use this time to intentionally plan what my life would look like on social media and how I needed to create boundaries and balance my priorities on my spiritual life and my family life first.


But alas, the Lord had other plans and other familial obligations popped up that took majority of my attention in December and half of January. Now that things have slowed down on that front, I have been trying to find my way back to my initial mission. Getting the fire back in me of being intentional with my spiritual life and my kids. Creating a new rhythm and routine with a purpose. And eventually get back to blogging with a game plan.

As of right now, I have been checking in on Facebook and Instagram every so often but not being active much other then selling stuff on marketplace. I have felt I wanted to wait until I was in a good place in my spiritual life and my family life. It’s not to say my faith has been wavering, in fact it’s quiet the opposite.

During this last year and a half, this is the most dependent and closest I have felt to the Lord. I feel like when everything was going great, it was so easy to put God on the back burner and say a prayer here and there. Head to church on Sunday’s, attend bible study and go through the motions all while neglecting to ever open up my Bible. My God has shown me so much and has taught me so much in trusting in Him, leaning not on my own understanding when things aren’t going the way I planned. I try so hard to control so much out of fear and I have learned that’s not okay.

I’m not saying you should never make plans or goals, it’s great to plan but it’s also very important to remain flexible because we don’t have the whole picture. God does. And guess what. His plans are so far better for our lives then we could have ever imagined. The good and the bad.

Side story about the “bad”: I do not know the reason I had to grow up without my biological parents (in case your unaware, my parents died when I was really young and my aunt who I call mom raised me) but what I do know is I would not be the mother I am today to my children if it wasn’t for that significant lost in my life as a child. For that I am thankful that I am more in tune to the needs of my children. I am far from the perfect mother but I am proud of the mother I am. No one could ever take that confidence away from me. That confidence comes from the “bad hand” I was dealt and honestly, looking my children in their faces the way I do, there is not one thing I would change in my life that lead me to this point and that is thanks to God.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28 ESV

What is something you have felt the Lord speak to you lately? Do you try to plan or control your life out of fear? How has your childhood shaped you into the parent you are (or plan to be)?
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Monday, September 3, 2018

DockATot Deluxe vs. DockATot Grand

DockATot Deluxe vs. DockATot Grand


This post was created in partnership with DockATot but all thoughts and opinions are of my own.

If you don’t know my love for DockATot yet, where have you been? Haha, since we discovered it and started using the DockATot Grand with Sophia at 9 months we saw a night and day difference in her sleeping habits (read more here). We were determined to start our next baby with the DockATot right after birth and were so impressed with the multiple uses we were able to use our DockATot Deluxe for besides co-sleeping (read more here).
Obviously we are now DockATot pros and we are constantly getting questions from those considering if they should invest in one (yes you should and you’ll thank me later).

The question I wanted to dedicate a blog post to is:

Can I just buy the Grand from the start?

I mean you can do whatever you want to do at the end of the day BUT I would not recommend it. When babies come out into the world, they came from this snugly secure environment (your womb) to this big opened world. The sensory overload is typically why it’s a hard adjustment for the baby the first few days or weeks. The DockATot Deluxe is created smaller to recreate a womb like environment by being cozy and snugly.

Side note: the things we had to do to get Sophia to sleep those first few months was insane. No one was getting any sleep. Using the DockATot Deluxe with Baby Anthony as soon as we got home from the hospital was amazing. We actually slept. All of us. Yes there were middle of the night feedings because that comes with the territory of having a newborn but we didn’t have to do anything extravagant to get him to sleep at night. He just did and that is because of the DockATot Deluxe.
The design of the DockATot Deluxe is for babies from 0-8 months old. Before you ask, yes that includes big babies as well. Baby Anthony was born at 10 pounds 8 ounces and has consistently been at the top of the charts measuring ahead and the DockATot Deluxe still worked perfectly for him. At 9.5 months, we finally decided to upgrade to the DockATot Grand. We have had our DockATot Grand for about two weeks now and the transition from the DockATot Deluxe to the DockATot Grand has been a very smooth transition, in fact I think baby Anthony has enjoyed the extra room to wiggle. We always start any sleep transitions with nap times first for a month before implementing those changes to bedtime as well. This has been a fool-proof method for our family and has made all transitions easier (this is also how we transitioned Sophia off the bottle).

Side note: see my other sleep tips here.
Therefore, I highly recommend starting with the DockATot Deluxe from the beginning as it was created to mimic the womb’s coziness. Your little one will feel snug and secure and sleep better and in turn you will sleep better.

Do you already use the DockATot? Have you been considering the DockATot for your family?

If you found this post helpful or know someone who would, please share it! I have made this pinnable image below to make it easier to pin and share!!

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Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Modern Farmhouse Bathroom Mood Board

Modern Farmhouse Bathroom Mood Board



It has certainly been awhile since I shared my last home decor blog post and the only reveal I have ever done in this house was Sophia's Nursery. We have lived here for 4 years already and if you have been around the blog for awhile you will remember how unexpected and last minute buying this house was and while I would have loved to already have the house exactly the way I envisioned all those years ago, more unexpected and wonderful and hard things happened. 

Most aspects of our lives are looking better and relief has been lifted for the most part. We (by we, I mean me haha) have even started dreaming about finally making this house into a home now that Anthony is working again and some major repairs have been done on our house - there are still a few more major (and minor) repairs we need but we are praying about our options before forking out a good chunk of change for the remaining major repairs. With that, we are not sure how long we will stay in this home but decided no matter the length of time, we want to enjoy our surroundings so the first project up is our hall bathroom.

If you caught my stories on Instagram then you know we have been dealing with mold issues in our master bathroom because of improper caulking by previous owners and mold issues in the hall bathroom because of leaking faucets (told you there are a lot of repairs that need to happen in this house). Due to the lengthy process of removing caulk, we wouldn't be able to use the master shower therefore we need to fix the leaking issue in the hall bathroom so we can use the hall shower/tub while we work on cleaning out the master shower. We have accumulated some gift cards to various stores that will actually help us be able to not only replace the necessities but also make the hall bathroom pretty instead of boring builder grade which has lead me to create a mood board. 

As ya'll may remember, I have struggled finding inspiration or a direction for this bathroom forever but inspiration finally hit after Cassie from Hi Sugarplum revealed their Powder Bathroom last summer:

Isn't it breathtaking? Now you are probably wondering where the heck I got farmhouse from as Cassie's bathroom is just full on glam. I have mix taste but most of my taste is farmhouse, cottage, vintage, antiques, etc however I also love pops of color (most farmhouse decor is neutral) and some modern elements which is how I tied in my personal taste of all things farmhouse with modernish touches.

Here is our to-do list to make this restroom fully functional and pretty:
Replace tub faucet
Clean/bleach, do something to the tub, haha
Replace toilet seat
Replace sink faucet
Add a shower rod
Purchase shower curtain/liner/hooks 
(I am planning to buy this washable shower liner and these shower curtain hooks)
Paint walls & ceiling - white 
(I am not using any special color just a regular ol white that I happen to have in my garage)
Paint cabinet - white or black?
Paint door to match trim
Scrub floors
Paint floors or install tile?
Replace light fixture?
Add decor elements

Figuring out the floor situation and light fixture will ultimately depend on how long we decide to stay in this home. I would love to paint the cabinet black but this bathroom doesn’t get any natural light and the current lighting sucks plus my shower curtain of choice is dark so I think painting the cabinet white would help brighten it up so right now I am leaning more towards white, what do y’all think?

And because I love seeing a good before and after, I took a few “before” photos to share before we get started (although these were taken after I did a much needed deep clean, haha).




As you can see there are some decor elements I already have on hand that I shared in my mood board. I do want to make note that the pitcher that I have is not the one I linked, I found mine at goodwill years ago so if you are on a budget I would suggest shopping around thrift stores and goodwill before buying new but if not, the one I linked is fairly similar to the one I have. I couldn't find a similar copper tub that was the same or similar sizing as mine which is why I didn't link anything (the one in the mood board is actually ginormous) and if I remember correctly, I bought mine at Target years ago so maybe try there first.

So now that you see were we are starting and were we would like to go with our hall bathroom, white or black cabinets?
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