The Photographer's Wife Parenting, Disney, Travel, Reviews & Other Randomness

As the kids are getting ready to go back to school, Hormel Foods is here to help make the transition as smooth as possible for the kids and mom & dad.

Join us on August 26 from 1-2 p.m. CST on the Hormel Foods Twitter handle (@HormelFoods) to ask questions and share your tips around the Back-To-School theme.

Everyone who participates will be automatically entered to win a $500 gift card!

Join the conversation using the hashtag, #HFBTS.

 

This post was shared as part of my involvement with the Hormel Family Blogger Program. Thanks for reading!

 

 

In case you don’t follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you may have missed that we welcomed the newest member of our family on Wednesday morning.

Meet Aubrey.

Well, Princess Aubrey, to be exact.

Brett took that photo from the hospital - he can make a studio anywhere! lol

Aubrey was born at 9:40 am. 8 lbs 12 oz and absolutely beautiful.

While I definitely plan on making more of a birth story post in the near future, I do want to share one of my favorite moments…Trent meeting Aubrey for the first time.

Just when you think your heart can’t get any more full of love…

Trent has been pretty good. He visited twice, but wasn’t at the hospital too much, mostly because that place is like a Chuck E Cheese for a two year old…so many buttons and wires to mess with. I was shocked he didn’t accidentally press the nurse call or emergency button!

We headed home yesterday (Friday).

An attempt at “nap time” yesterday took some coordination between Brett and I swapping children. Trent naps so much better when I’m the one that helps, and he ended up taking one for 3 hours…lots of excitement with family members and friends must have worn him out!

A sweet friend brought us some dinner. It was so delicious and we’ll have leftovers for days.

Last night took even more trial-and-error…but that’s just how it will be for the next, well, 18 years? Haha. Luckily, I did get some sleep, more than I got in the hospital, in fact!

Right now, Brett and Trent are out shopping and picking up miscellaneous items while Aubrey has been introduced to a favorite item from Trent’s first few months…the zCush Nap Mat!

It will be a nice difference from my last maternity leave…Brett was only home for 2 weeks and then went back to work…this time, he’s here the entire time and I am off for twice as long. Of course, having a toddler makes a big difference too!

I have a few review/sponsored posts that will be going up over the next few days…giving birth kinda throws your blogging schedule off a bit! I never logged on to the computer while in the hospital because the wifi was almost non existent, and I was far too unprepared to actually be a good blogger and schedule posts to go up while I was there (we weren’t expecting Miss Aubrey for another week!) so I hope you guys don’t mind me playing a bit of catch up around here

Hope you guys have a lovely weekend and I hope it’s a little cooler where you are!

 

When someone says to me, “you can find our products at Target”, I am immediately intrigued. After all, I’m a happy gal if I like it and I know I will be able to find it at one of my favorite stores!

When I was contacted by Purely Elizabeth, it couldn’t have been at a better time. It was about a month or two before my due date and not only was I concerned with eating well because of having gestational diabetes, but I also knew I wanted to get healthier and back in shape after the pregnancy weight. Purely Elizabeth would help with both!

I love this quote I found on their website:

While I don’t expect to ever completely change my entire diet to any one specific guideline, I do want to make better choices at each meal. And I’m going to be completely honest…I’m super lazy at breakfast. I used to just drink coffee. Then I got pregnant and needed to add something to it, so now it’s cereal and coffee. Basically, breakfast is limited to anything that takes less than 5 minutes to make.

I tried a variety of Purely Elizabeth items.

The first product I tried was the Organic Apple Cinnamon Pecan Ancient Grain Oatmeal, made with quinoa, amaranth and flax and packed with 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.

Oatmeal is fantastic for breast milk production and should keep you full much longer than many other breakfast options. My bowl of oatmeal was ready in less than two minutes and after some milk to cool it down and cinnamon sugar to sweeten it up a bit (hey, baby steps!) it was ready to be enjoyed.

It was delicious and I really liked the pecans sprinkled in there for some added crunch and the flavor provided by the apples. This would also be great with other fruits added in or almond milk instead of regular milk. Oatmeal is great for variety.

 

I also tried the Ancient Grain Granola.

We have been enjoying creating various “parfaits” with yogurt lately and these granola options went so well with the plain vanilla yogurt we had on hand. It’s such a perfect breakfast, snack or dessert option due to how you can mix up the ingredients to coincide with what you are craving.

Both varieties had a slightly sweet flavor and plenty of crunch. They would even be great by themselves as a snack!

 

I also tried these little single serve bags of granola. I wouldn’t have thought of it myself, but right on the bag, they suggested to add milk straight into the bag and enjoy as a cereal. What a perfect idea for a working mom on the go!! Especially one that loves cereal!

This little bag was the perfect size (although, it is 2 servings per bag, so be mindful of any nutritional amounts that you keep track of). Even Trent had a few spoonfuls! You know it’s good if Trent will eat it!

Purely Elizabeth makes it easy to make healthy food choices and the fact that they are available at Target makes it a convenient choice too. Here are some other stores where Purely Elizabeth is sold.

Right now, they have a coupon code available for $1 off your purchase. Print that baby out and go try it!

 

To learn more about Purely Elizabeth and other products from them, visit their website here.

Get social:

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Thank you to Purely Elizabeth for sending me these delicious products for review. All opinions are my own and honest. Thanks for reading!

 

While not everyone chooses to do so, we had a baby shower for our second baby and I am so glad we did. While some people choose to say “Oh no, we don’t need anything” for their second baby, we definitely needed some stuff! But not only that, we enjoyed celebrating our new baby with family and friends.

I wanted to share some of the items we needed/wanted for our 2^nd baby – because even though we needed no where near what we needed for our first, there were items that could use replacement or replenishment.

Of course, since our first was a boy and our second is a girl, we definitely needed clothes, so that was kind of a given and I didn’t put it on the list.

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight

 

Baby Jogger City Select Double Stroller

Our biggest item was a new stroller. Right now, we have two strollers, one for jogging and walking the neighborhood (that we use the most) and one for Disney and smaller spaces. We wanted a double jogging stroller, but all of them are side-by-side, which would be a nightmare in Disney. We really wanted to condense to one stroller, so we opted for the Baby Jogger City Select. It’s one of the only inline double strollers, so it’s still pretty compact considering it will hold 2 kids. It can be put into many different configurations and once Trent outgrows the stroller, it can convert back to a single stroller, essentially allowing us to get rid of the two strollers we have now and also not need to get another stroller in the future.

Diaper Genie Refills

We didn’t get another Diaper Genie, but we got some refills for it because you can never have enough!

Graco Backpack Diaper Bag

We’ve had a regular diaper bag for the past two years, but lately, transporting a toddler and anything else around has become a challenge. Plus, Brett has always thought carrying the regular diaper bag was kinda girly. So now he can feel more manly with a black backpack while also having his hands free to wrangle a toddler and a baby.

OXO Bottle Brush

This is another one of those items that just needs to be replaced every few months.

Replacement Pump Parts (for Medela Pump)

If you pumped for baby #1 and kept your pump, all you need is some replacement parts to start fresh! I am glad to not have to buy a pump again!

Boudreaux’s Butt Paste

This is the best stuff, time for a new bottle.

ErgoBaby Carrier with Infant Insert

I debated this one a little. We have a simple BabyBjorn that we used a little for Trent, but I figured I would be using a carrier more with baby #2 so I can have my hands free for Trent. This one had amazing reviews and came at the recommendation of several friends. It can also go into 3 different positions and can accommodate babies for much longer.

Diapers

Because you can never get enough! Same thing for wipes too!

 

I am definitely glad we kept everything from Trent and even bought/asked for neutral items, so that Aubrey can use them too. We have the car seat, swing, crib, and plenty of toys from before that are ready to come out and be used!

Also to note, we created our registry on Amazon. Not only do we love Amazon ourselves, but creating a list on Amazon allows you to add anything from any site, anyone can find your registry and then you even get a 10% discount on most items you hadn’t received and need to buy within 30 days of your due date…how awesome is that?! It’s really easy to create an Amazon Baby Registry (you can use this direct link) and then keep an eye out for your discount within 30 days of your due date! If you are a Prime Member, you can sign up to Amazon Mom for FREE and increase your discount to 15%!

 

What about you? Have any ideas or suggestions for items for a 2nd Baby Registry? Share them in the comments!

 

 

Yesterday was my last day at work until I return after maternity leave. It felt kind of weird to leave before my due date, but I felt that taking the week before my due date off would give us some time to spend with Trent and relax before things get cray-cray. I also thought it would be great to not have to heeve-ho myself out of bed so early in the morning.

I also made the decision to take this next week off back when I had to get in and out of a 2 door Civic twice a day…which was becoming hilariously impossible. Now, I don’t have to worry about that…because about 3 weeks ago, I got a new car…a 2014 Honda CR-V!

You guys…I am beyond excited to upgrade. I have been driving my 2005 Civic for 9 years now and it’s nice to have something new with more upgraded features….and more room for my family. That’s the biggest thing right there…oh and because it’s higher off the ground, I can get my preggo butt in and out easier! High five for not having to grunt when getting in and out of the car!

I loved my Civic…after 9 years, I only had about 56,000 miles on it, it’s still really clean and has been amazing for gas mileage…I only spent $40 a month on gas! I am glad to pass it onto the next person and I hope it gives them many more miles - we actually sold it to a family member, so I hope our niece loves it as her very first car.

I have always wanted a CR-V. I like Brett’s Pilot, but it’s a little too big for me. I just wanted something higher up and with more than 2 doors. And because I am a Honda fan, a CR-V fit the bill. Although I had wanted to upgrade for a while, I kept putting it off because I didn’t think I NEEDED it. I surely knew I didn’t need a car payment, but after too many days with Brett out for photography work leaving Trent and I “stranded” at the house, I knew I needed an option that Trent AND Aubrey could fit in in case we needed to go anywhere. So, I played around and looked on online at used CR-Vs, and even presented Brett with a 2008 CR-V that I wouldn’t have to have a car payment on…but we passed since it had so many miles on it already. But that little spark was all it took to start the real car search.

Now, one thing I hate most in this world is car dealerships. Sure, I know most people hate them, but when you’ve had an ex-boyfriend that was a car dealer that would come home and tell you how he extremely overcharged this person and that family in order for us to be ok financially, well…it’s hard not to think they are all out to get you. From the moment we even talked about going to a car dealership, my anxiety took over and I was withholding any excitement. I just didn’t want to deal with it. Brett, on the other hand, was so relaxed about everything. He would talk to them about anything and everything….movies, the origin of our last name and the Swedish/Norway feud, completely random stuff…all while my heart goes 1000 miles an hour because I think the salesman is only talking to Brett about that stuff just to get on his good side and team up against me.

Even while driving away from the dealership in my new car, I couldn’t get excited because, in typical Florida fashion, as soon as I signed on the bottom line, it started storming. Was this a bad sign? Too late now!

But I couldn’t be happier. Even though I was extremely indecisive during the process, I am 100% pleased with the options and colors I picked. We already got another car seat for Trent, so he is set to go in both cars, and we will be getting an extra seat for Aubrey in there, as well. We have already taken advantage of this new scenario, with Brett dropping Trent off at my work so he could go to a photography job early and Trent hangs out with me at work until it’s time to go. I even took my first car-selfie while going to work yesterday!

Ok, so you are probably wanting some photos, right?

For the interior, I got black leather. Most people would probably think I was crazy getting black leather in Florida, but I wanted the dark, sleek, sporty look with all one color all over (the tan or gray interiors sometimes mixed between the dashboard and the seats and the ceiling). I bought these windshield shades and I park in the shade while at work. So far, I haven’t noticed much of a difference when it comes to the temperature inside after a sunny day in the parking lot.

I am excited to think about the options that are available now that the kids can fit in my car. I think we should go to Disney World the next time Brett is shooting a wedding all day, what do y’all think? You think he’ll be jealous? hehe