Life Hacks: Cooking With Baby

(Introducing a new series: Life Hacks! Little ways I've found that make life easier when living and doing life with a baby.)

Life Hack #1: Cooking With Baby

(mostly an active baby) - I've got to give my mama credit with this one, she's one smart lady!

Let's face it, cooking or doing anything in the kitchen isn't easy when you have a baby. It got to where I wouldn't cook (or eat, for that matter) until after Bug was asleep. It was just too much trouble to deal with a moving baby and cooking food all at the same time.

So what to do? You can always strap them in their high chair and let them eat or play with toys. But then they throw the toys off and you have to go get them or they are running out of food. So you're caught running back and forth between food and high chair. And, if your child is anything like mine, they hate to be cooped up for any length of time.

That is when I introduced the drawer (or in my mom's case, cabinet). This drawer is filled with Tupperware and measuring cups that aren't being used. Everything is baby proof and can make lots of noise (something that Bug loves). Plus, there's a cool drawer that she can open and close, open and close, open and close as many times as she likes.  

This drawer has changed my life, and Bug's too for that matter. She loves playing in the kitchen while Mommy is cooking. The best part, if she loses a "toy" she can crawl after it and bring it back. It keeps her busy and let's me cook. It's been a lifesaver. 

Photo taken via iPhone. Follow me on Instagram {at}alliw009

Don't let this face fool you, she loves her drawer. She just got stuck and couldn't figure how to get back off the drawer. 

Do y'all have any life hacks that help with cooking? 

Does your little one have their own drawer or cabinet that they love to play in?

What do you have in your baby's repertoire of kitchen toys?

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Becky from My Sweet Moose and her post The 1st Ultrasound. I'm sure many of you clicked on this link hoping for a sappy movie moment ultrasound story...but Becky was full of surprises and laughs as she prepares her readers for the horrors of transvaginal ultrasounds. Yup. It's a real thing!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

Growing Pains

Teething has been rough. Very rough. Who knew the top two teeth were so much worse than the bottom teeth.

But there is an upside to this teething.

Last night, Bug woke up upset and clearly hurting. She needed her mommy to help her sleep. It has been a long time since she has needed me to help her sleep. She's been all independent as of late at night time. I've missed rocking my little baby to sleep. All of a sudden, she was a "big girl." 

But last night. She needed me.

I spent an hour rocking her and holding her and comforting her. She just nestled right into me. I could feel her relax. And I just soaked it all up. 

There is nothing more precious than this time I could share with my girl. 

Then, this morning, she just wanted more cuddles with me. A rough night leads to a nice morning for me and my girl. It's a nice cool day, and Bug and I just cuddled and watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally. Once again, she just relaxed into me. 

I want more than anything for these cuddles to last. She's growing up way too fast!

{{source}}

Mommy Moments Blog Hop!

Hey mamas!

Welcome back for another great week of Mommy Moments Link Ups! Thank you for linking up and for spreading the word last week! We love all of the great posts!

 This week's most viewed link belongs to Sarah from Special Moments and her post The Silver Lining of Infertility. This was a hard post to read but also very touching. Thanks for linking up Sarah!

Now it's time to link up your posts! All you have to do is...

1. Follow Host: The Life Of Faith 

 Co-Hosts: The Not Quite Military Wife, Beautiful Family Affairs and The Mrs. 

2. Link up your post!
Post can include anything related to mommy-hood, children, homemaking, pregnancy etc. If you aren't a mom yet, feel free to link up your preparation for motherhood, your journey as you try to conceive, or even a post that would be encouraging to the other moms in the party!

3. Add the Mommy Moments button to your post or blog so everyone knows where you are linking up!

4. Explore some of the other posts in the link-up and say hello to some new blog friends! 

5. Tweet or Share the link up on Facebook so we can all make even more friends!

Tweet

<div align="center"><a href="http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com//search/label/baby" title="The Life Of Faith"><img src="http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k537/faithkonrath/mommymomentsbutton.jpg" alt="The Life Of Faith" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

P.S. We will be having a new guest host every week! Want to be a guest host of the Mommy Moments Blog Hop? Send Faith a message at farmprincess14{at}gmail{dot}com. We would love to have you!

High 5 For Friday - Random Edition

as captured on Instagram (follow the crazy antics @ alliw009)

One: Bug has been teething this week, so it's been full of ups and downs. Today, my poor girl wasn't at her best. She as happy, but you could tell that she wasn't herself.

 Two: This week has been filled with open windows and the breeze blowing through the house! I'm loving this fall weather!

Three: Naps are a must this week! I don't know if it's because I haven't been sleeping well, or what. But nap times have been a necessity!!

Four: The hubs is starting a new business this week! More on that later...but we're really excited about where things are heading for us!

Five: The Dawgs better not give me another heart attack this weekend! I don't know if I can handle all the stress!

Nursery Redo

For those of you who know me well, know that I get very antsy when it comes to design (which is why I keep changing up my blog design so often. I've got to get the ants out somehow!). I love rearranging furniture, changing out artwork, and repainting. If I had it my way, I would change my home decor and everything else with each changing season. As of now, we have lived in our house for two years and all that has changed are the curtains, the furniture (thanks Mom and Dad!), and the mantle. I am itching to make some changes around here!

As I sit here in the living room, I desperately want to repaint this red wall. Now don't get me wrong, I love my red wall, but it's been red ever since we've moved here and I am over it. But this change won't happen for a while.

The first thing I have permission to change is the nursery. Right now, it's a beautiful yellow. I love the yellow. But I'm tired of it. Can you see that I get tired of things easily? It's the sad truth. The room has been yellow since we've moved in (we painted it with the knowledge that it will eventually be our nursery). So now, I've been scanning Pinterest in hopes of inspiration for Bug's new room. 

One thing that will stay the same will be her red crib. I love her red crib. To go with it, we will be repainting her room a light brown color. I don't know the name yet, but once I do, I'll let y'all know. Along with the repainting of her room, we'll be painting her trim white and I'll be making new curtains as well. 

The "theme" or direction I'm going with is kind of a woodland theme. I want to base it off of this print: 

I love this print. 

So the room will be filled with foxes, deer, and all the little woodland creatures you can imagine. I'm excited about the new direction and I can't wait to get started!

This is another print I want to include in her room. 

I think it'll be a fun project and mostly, I'm just looking forward to some change in this house!

(And then this red wall is getting painted over! Bring on the grey ;) haha)

Minivan Mom

That moment I realized I was a minivan mom:

I was driving home one afternoon, when I looked over at the car next to me and saw a young girl (teenager or young college age) texting on her phone. Now, I have my daughter in the back seat and all I can think of is all of the bad things that could happen with someone driving and texting. So what do I do? I honk my horn at her. She glances over and I then proceed to wag my finger at her and shake my head at her and mouth the words "no ma'am." She just looked at me. Then...she put her phone down! 

Does that officially make me a mom?

Just thought I'd share a comical story for your Wednesday.

Also this:

WHOOP WHOOP!