My Pinterest Addiction

So like every other girl/woman (yes, I'm finally beginning to consider myself a woman) in the world, I have a Pinterest account. To be accurate I'm a bit of a Pinterest addict. I will sit for minutes hours on end pinning away finding ways to clean my house, make my baby cuter, and fix the perfect meal. But this evening as I was drudgingly cleaning up my kitchen (no amount of pinning makes that easier), I got to thinking. How many of those hundreds of pins will I actually bring to life? To go a step further, how many have I actually done? I had to give myself a few criteria: 1. It couldn't be something from my own blog and 2. It couldn't be from homemadeginger.com because I've been doing her stuff long before pinning become popular. With that set, I looked through all my pins and came up with the rather short list below including my graded experience.

1. DIY T-shirt scarf: D-
    It wasn't an epic fail but it was pretty close. I didn't use a shirt without seams, mistake #1, and I think I cut the strips too thin. All in all I might do it again but I don't have enough clothes to experiment too much.

2. Repurposed Plastic Closures: A+
    It's hard to mess this one up. You basically take those plastic tab closures, attach to electronics cords, and label with a sharpie. Great way to know what cords are what.

3. Yarn Mobile: B
    I did this in varying sizes for my son's mobile over his crib. The small versions turned out good but the larger ones have started to unravel.

4. Microwave Potato Chips: A-
    They taste good, come out crispy, but to it takes a lot of potatoes to make a substantial serving.

5. Razorback Subway Art: A+
    The pin actually takes you to someone's Etsy site but my husband and I managed to put our efforts together and create our own version of this. Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration.

6. 2-Minute Mug Brownies: A++
   This alone is worth Pinterest existing. Best thing ever!

7. Crispy Sweet Potato Fries: B-
    Don't get me wrong, these tasted good and everything but I was really hoping for crispy as the recipe claims. Maybe it's just my oven but rather than getting crispy they just started to over brown/burn on one side. I think I'll stick with my unhealthy fried version.

Well there you have it out of almost 350 pins I've actualized 7 of them. Sad but true. So I'm curious, how many of your pins have you done?

My Top 10 Must-haves for New Baby and Mom

So that little bundle I made the post-partum pads in preparation for finally arrived and only 51 hours of labor! With his arrival, I got to thinking about those "essentials." You know the handful of things that actually make life possible after the baby comes. So now that I'm a mom of two and a total baby expert (*extreme sarcasm*), I thought I'd pass on all my matronly wisdom in the realm of stuff you'll need. So here are my top 5 baby and top 5 mommy must-haves.

*I should note (not that it matters) that I have in no way been compensated by the makers of any of these products to promote their wares.*


Baby's Top 5
1. Swaddling Blankets: I'm not talking those little receiving blankets. I mean the stretchy cotton, baby burrito-style wrapswith the velcro. Because let's face it the worst thing is trying to rewrap a screaming baby at 2 a.m.

2. FuzziBunz Cloth Diapers: Obviously this one is a little taste specific, but now that I'm on cloth diapering baby #2, I can say these are by far my faves. Sturdy snaps, adjust to fit my newborn and my giant two-year old, and clean up great.

3. Moby Wrap: I say Moby because it's what we have but truly any baby carrier will do. I'm not really one of those huge proponents of baby wearing (yes, it's a thing), but it's nice to be hands free when doing things around the house.

4. Soothies Pacifiers: Not much to say other than they may not be the cutest but they do the job the best.

5. Aveeno lotion and wash: I love Aveeno for myself and love it for baby. It's mild, has a pleasant but light scent, and it feels good on mommy's skin too!

Mommy's Top 5

1. Medela Tender Care Lanolin: If you are nursing you are going to want lanolin. I love Medela brand because it comes out smoother and softer than other brands.

2. Post-partum Pads: Check out my previous post for more info. Basically it's soothing relief to your lady parts.

3. Medela Double Electric Breast Pump: If you're not needing to pump because you'll be away from baby, this fancy one probably isn't necessary, but I'm sure glad I have mine for when I head back to work.

4. Mascara: If you don't get to put any other makeup on before leaving the house, or even at home, put on some mascara. It always makes me feel a little more put together. I love Maybelline Define-a-Lash.

5. Mug Brownies: I discovered this recipe on Pinterest a few months ago and the two of us have become good friends. Put 1/4 c. flour, 1/4 c. brown sugar, 2 Tbs. cocoa powder, an pinch of salt in a mug. Mix. Stir in 2 Tbs. milk and 2 Tbs. oil until it's a thick paste. Microwave 60 sec. That's it!

Well there you have it. The products I love for mommy and baby. Obviously there could be many more and are that I love, but these are the ones I am loving right now.

Here's the inspiration behind this post. Pretty cute, huh?