/ Noted Joys

2.20.2018

A Moment In Time Captured -- By The Moon's Glow

I'll always remember the night I went into labor -- the pain, the drive to the hospital, and staring into the moon as I slowly wobbled my way to the maternity unit doors. I took breaks every few second because my contractions weren't very far apart, each time looking at the sky and seeing that waning crescent moon looking back at me. I often think about those very last glances at the moon and how my life changed completely after them.

It was a night that I'll always remember, one that I keep near and dear to my heart which is why I'm so excited to share a brand that is helping me do just that.

Moonglow Jewelry is a jewelry line that features a picture of the moon in it's exact phase from the date that you choose of your choice. They offer necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings for both men and women. Each piece reflecting a special moment in your life because every moment has a moon.

Naturally, I chose the night of my sweet little one's birth because the staring at the moon in moments of excruciating pain helped me take my mind off the hurt and redirected my focus on something beautiful that was about to happen.

Whenever I see my moon necklace, all those emotions of hope, peace and gratefulness come flooding back and I'm reminded that there is beauty in the darkness, hope on the other side of the doors and that joy comes with each phase of life.

TO LEARN MORE & GET YOUR OWN MOONGLOW JEWELRY PLEASE CLICK HERE.

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2.05.2018

Valentine's Day Gift Guide :: For The Whole Family

It's already February -- say whaaaat?! I feel like January flew by and now here I am scrambling to recollect myself and get ready for one of the most tedious holidays of the year. OKAY, so I'm totally joking, well kind of / not really, let me explain -- I honestly feel like Valentine's Day is a cheap (yet clever) way for brands and stores to sell more stuff, but like everyone else, here I am, getting sucked into it every year.

I feel like every day of the year should be a day where we make the ones we love feel like they matter, but I guess there's no harm in saving one day of the year to REALLY show it, so bring on Valentine's Day.

The only thing that triggers me about Valentine's Day is that every restaurant is packed and I hate long wait times and not having a place to sit while I wait because there are like 30 couples before us! So skip going out of the busiest night of the year, open that internet browser and let's shop! Here are some gift ideas that are sure to make the loved ones in your life smile!

Shop Gifts For The Little Man

No 1 :: Lego Cupid Dog

No 2 :: Handsome Gent Graphic Shirt

No 3 :: Toddler Workbench and Tool Set

No 4 :: Play-Doh Doctor Drill'n Fill

No 5 :: Micro Cubebot

No 6 :: The Complete Peter Rabbit Library

No 7 :: Jellycat Cyril Sloth

No 8 :: Love Machine Pajama Set

No 9 :: Wooden Chomp & Clack Alligator Activity Walker

No 10 :: Insights GeoSafari Jr. Talking Microscope

No 11 :: Construction Plate and Utensils

No 12 :: Fox Body Pillow

& there you have it -- some fun gift ideas that stray away from your typical bouquet of roses and heart shaped chocolates. I know some of these gifts are kind of pricey, but I tried to include some more affordable options too. I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day and love filled February that oozes into March.

25 comments

2.01.2018

Social Media & Feeling Inadequate :: My Perspective

So, I’m having one of those mornings — my toddler has to be right next to me every second of the day and get's super whiny the moment I move to do something productive. My pregnancy emotions seem to have no room for patience either. I feel like a TOTAL mess which is probably why the next thing I’m gonna say might hit chord with some, but hey, when life get's messy, why not make it a tad bit more messy, am I right?

Over the past week or so, I’ve observed some posts on social media about people feeling inadequate when they see other social media accounts and have felt super depressed about how everyone's life seems perfect compared to theirs. I've seen blogger and influencers rant about how we should try to be more real for their sakes and I agree — but only to an small extent. I’m gonna get some heat / hate for this, but that’s okay because this is me being real which is what everyone has been "advocating" for so here goes...

If I am to be completely honest then I have to say that like.. no I LOVE seeing people’s pretty squares on social media because you guys, I have a screaming toddler at home. Let's be 100% transparent -- sometimes I leave the dishes in the sink until 12 am and have to LITERALLY FORCE myself to get up and go wash the leaning tower of dishes before they all come crashing down. I know what a messy house looks like and I don’t need to be reminded that life can get chaotic — BECAUSE GURL I’M JUST PUSHING THROUGH SOME DAYS KICKING AND SCREAMING MYSELF.

But you know what? THATS 100% OKAY -- it’s life and I know it’s just a day in passing, it’ll get better and the sun will shine again. It has too. I have to remind myself that it’s part of being human and part of falling short of Grace.

UNPOPULAR OPINION, but if you’re feeling emotions of envy while you’re on Instagram Facebook and Twitter, then maybe you should unfollow those accounts and maybe you should take a step back, but I also think you should really take a good look at your own motives behind those very emotions because more often than not there’s more to it.

I mean, unless you're a robot, you know that every human being has high points and low points, so for some people to complain that they only see "perfect" pictures or to get jealous of what others have sounds like a bigger, more personal problem.

I think everyone needs to remember that comparison is the thief of joy. Society, especially today thrives off of feeling of envy, coveting and jealousy -- and if we allow ourselves to be consumed by those things, we miss the joys in life. There is so much to be thankful for when we sit down and actually think about it. We tend to fall in this trap of blaming others because we feel worn out, tired and stressed.

It's so easy to get mad and blame others then actually pinpoint the problem and fix it. So I have a challenge for you -- the next time you're feeling depressed when looking at another person's feed counter those very emotions with positive self care / love actions.

go have a spa day.
pick up a journal and write down some over your biggest joys & blessings.
read your Bible.
go out for some retail therapy.
go to the beach.
phone a friend.
take a long hot bath, throw a bath bomb in while you’re in there.
bake some cookies.
light a candle and put on some music that speaks to you.
grab a cup of coffee.
mothers and wives -- have your husband take care of the kids for a few hours.
go to a park for a walk and then stare at the sky.
pick up a new book.
watch an uplifting movie.
make a smoothie / milkshake.
go talk to someone about things that make you happy.

... these are just a few things you can do to combat feelings that are weighing you down. Instead of angrily staring at a screen being frustrated, think about all the things that are going well for you. If you can't think of anything, then hold on friends -- it always rains the hardest before a rainbow appears. Hold on to hope -- it will get better. The sun will shine again and when it does, think about how proud you'll be after enduring such a storm!

7 comments

1.22.2018

5 Months Pregnant, The Flu & A Toddler :: How I'm Handling It

It's been quite the week in our neck of the woods. Felix caught the flu and it hit him hard last Thursday. We spent last weekend dealing with a fever, phlegmy coughs and lots of crying paired with constant snuggles and medicine. Right when I thought we were headed out of the woods, the flu hit me and it came at me like a wrecking ball!

I didn't have fever, but I had the most terrible sinus and headache pains accompanied by burning watery eyes, a very runny nose and a ton of sneezing. Because I'm pregnant, that means no strong medicine which was nothing short of a nightmare. I spent this entire past week walking around my house looking like a zombie trying to take care my sick toddler. It was rough.

I hope we're finally coming out of this -- Felix seems to be feeling much better and coughing less which is great. I'm still sick, but no longer feel like I am dying which I'll take as another win. It was a brutal 10 days of looming illness that seems to want a linger a bit longer, but hopefully the worst is behind us.

I thought I'd take a moment to write about what we tried, what helped, and what didn't when it came to trying get better because I tried almost everything that I could think of and I even appealed to social media for advice on natural remedies.

*Also, can I just do a quick shoutout to my amazing husband, who was also sick this week. He's a full time nursing student, but he managed to pick up the slack around the house and let me rest in addition to working 40 hours and being a studious student. Florin, you're the REAL m.v.p. in this story. We couldn't have gotten through this without you -- you're a real life superman.

Here are some things that we tried --

constantly sipping on tea with lemon slices and honey
humidifier in the room
diffusing essential oils
halls vitamin c drops
shots of a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar every 3 hours
elderberry syrup
eating chicken noodle soup
sniffing medicated nasal stick
Vick's Vapor Rub and VapoSteam
etc.

What Helped Felix :: in addition to having the flu and a phlegmy cough, the little guy was also teething which seemed to make his symptoms ten times worse. Luckily, he was able to take children's Tylenol to keep the fever down because he was seriously miserable. His cough on the other hand was almost unmanageable until I started giving him Nature's Way Sambucus Immune Elderberry Syrup -- and can I just say, this was a lifesaver. Every time I felt like he was going into a coughing spell, one spoon of this stuff and he was fine within the next few minutes.

Another thing that I noticed make a different is placing Vick's Vapor Rub on his feet in addition to his chest and back at bedtime. It seemed to really calm him and then keep him asleep once he went to bed. I kept a cool mist humidifier running at night to help soften his airways and placed a few drops of VapoSteam in the water to help and he looked like he was breathing better when I went to check up on him.

Besides all the health stuff, lots of snuggles and cuddles seemed to make Felix the happiest during these miserable sick days. He really just wanted to be next to mom and dad every second of the day.

What Helped Mama :: I tried everything and there were a few things that helped me. After the success I had with the Immune Elderberry Syrup, I sent my husband to buy some more. He came back with Nature Valley's Sambucus Original Elderberry Syrup -- to which I took 2 tablespoons 3 times daily. The next day I woke up feeling a lot better than I had been feeling all week, so because of that Elderberry Syrup has become a staple in our home.

I also boiled a big pot of water and once steaming hot, I placed the water in a large bowl, took a towel and put it over my head and then placed my nose over the steam -- I did this for 30 minutes and it really softened my super dry nose.

I diffused a congestion essential oil blend that consisted of three drops of peppermint, two drops of eucalyptus, two drops of tea tree and one drop of lemon. This helped the house smell clean and fresh while we were all suffering -- and that gave my momma mind a bit of solace. I'm not sure it really helped my congestion because at one point, I couldn't smell anything, but I was happy knowing that the people who still had their sense of smell, like my husband, said the house smelled fresh.

I also really chugged tea mixed in with lemon slices and honey, ate oranges and everything that I had in my home that consisted of Vitamin C because that's what I normally do when I am sick. When I finally felt good enough to stand for more than a few minutes, I made a chicken noodle soup that I ate with spicy peppers and that helped clear some of my sinuses temporarily.

What Didn't Work For Us :: Before the miraculous syrup find, I tried shots of raw apple cider vinegar that a few moms mentioned helped them while they were sick and pregnant -- I did this for about a day and a half. Besides giving short temporarily sinus relief, it didn't work for me; instead, I found that the shots ended up just giving me a super sore throat something which I didn't really have before.

I used Vick's Vapor Rub daily and nightly on my chest and didn't really see the difference in my sinus congestion like I did in Felix. I did notice that the VapoSteam irritated my nose because every time I placed it in the humidifier, I woke up to blowing my nose and seeing traces of blood on the napkin. Once Felix seemed to be breathing better, I just placed water in the humidifier and the irritation stopped.

I also opted to use a medicated nasal stick which ended up also clearing up my sinuses, but I feel like those things also irritate my nose, so I didn't use it for long. What's the point of being able to breathe if it hurts when you do? It's not worth it in my opinion.

& that's how I'm currently handling it ladies and gentlemen. I'm still slightly congested and Felix's nose is still super runny, but we aren't feeling like death is knocking at our door anymore! We're at a much better place than where we were at before and we're gonna count that as a win!

Have you gotten the flu this season? I hope not, but if you have, what have been your go to "get better" remedies for these awful sick days? Let me know in the comments!

6 comments

1.15.2018

6 Products That Are Helping Me Prepare For Baby No. Two

May 2018 is only a few short months away and I'm trying to amass a few products that will help me to transition from having one child to having a toddler and a newborn under the same roof at the same time.

AGH, to be completely honest, I'm a bit nervous about this transition. We're going from a family of three to a family of four and my mind feels like it's spinning at the thought. Don't get me wrong, I'm a so excited to have another little one and for Felix to have a sibling, but I'm also freaking out at the thought of being solely responsible for keeping two little humans alive -- especially with Felix starting to climb on the things he shouldn't.

Because of these worries, I've done a bit of reading and research, and these products are putting my mind at ease a bit because of their practicality -- I've heard nothing but great things about them. I'm so excited to share them with you!

I thought I'd go about this by share what I've gathered thus far and then do a "I've put them to the test" type of post, once baby is born and we've settled in at home using all the products. I'm also thinking of doing a nursery reveal type of post too because one product on this list will be going in the nursery.

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So, let's get started --

NO. 1 :: DOCKATOT

Ever since I've had Felix, I regret not getting this product because I feel like every mom has one and they rave non-stop about how amazing their little one sleeps in it. Luckily, Felix was a great sleeper right off the bat, but I wish I had this to let him sleep in during the day because I wouldn't have had to surround him with pillows when he was in the middle of our bed. I feel like I'll worry less about the baby sleeping because it's sturdy, yet soft. I'm so excited to see the little one napping sweetly in this! [ SHOP THIS PRODUCT HERE. ]

PRODUCT NO. 2 :: TOTESAVVY

If I've I had to tell you what I thought was the most helpful piece of advice someone has given me about making the transition from one child to two easier, it'd be this -- one mom told me not to travel heavy. She said to have essentials like diapers, wipes, changing pads, etc for both children already stored in the car, so when leaving your home, you're not overwhelmed with getting everything ready That's where the ToteSavvy comes in. This product is meant to be placed in an oversized bag that you already own, but because it has so many accessible pockets and handles, I think I'll leave it as is and place it in the basket of my stroller when I'm out with the littles. I'm a mom that likes to be overly prepared, so just the thought of having this lets me sigh in relief. [ SHOP THIS PRODUCT HERE ]

NO. 3 :: OLLIE WORLD SWADDLE

This is another product I am super stoked about! When Felix was a newborn, no matter how tight I swaddled him, he always managed to get loose. This led him to scratching his tiny face and sometimes waking up because he'd smack himself a little to hard. I feel like this swaddle will prevent all that from happening due to it's velcro tabs that help the swaddle stay in place. Baby will literately be as snug as a bug in a rug -- a lot cuter though! [ SHOP THIS PODUCT HERE ]

NO. 4 :: BINXY BABY SHOPPING CART HAMMOCK

Another product that is going to make my life easier is Binxy Baby's Shopping Cart Hammock! I can already see this being a life saver because it takes up less space than a carseat does. Felix is sitting in the children's slot, so placing a carseat there is officially impossible. Thanks to this super clever product, the new baby has it's own place in the cart and I don't have to worry about space for groceries -- I call that a mom win! I'm so excited to use this during family shopping trips. [ SHOP THIS PRODUCT HERE ]

NO. 5 :: LORENA CANAL RUG IN BERBER BEIGE

I seriously love this rug -- everything about it is amazing. The color is gorgeous, the fabric is super soft, the dyes used are all natural which means no harsh chemicals smell and its machine washable! I currently have this rug in my office, but I am thinking about placing it in the nursery because it'd look perfect by the crib. I can't wait to get the nursery ready and do a reveal because it's going to look super cute! [ SHOP THIS PRODUCT HERE ]

NO. 6 :: Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor

This is a product that I am excited about because it's going to come in handy when my husband is at work and he wants to check in on baby -- he can check up on the baby when he's at working using their app. So neat! I never had a baby monitor with Felix, but this time around, I'm wanting to implement one because it'll give me a chance to check on the baby even when I'm in the kitchen or doing laundry. With Felix following me wherever I go, this monitor will let me keep the little one sleeping while big brother makes noise outside the room. [ SHOP THIS PRODUCT HERE ]

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Annnnnd, that's all I've got thus far friends! What do you think? Am I overly preparing? It kind of feels like I am trying to problem solve before problems even arise.

Are there any products that made your transition easier? Have any tips? Tell me down in the comments because I'd honestly love to hear them all!

1 comment

1.11.2018

Review :: Ditty Bird Books

Books -- they're super crucial to a child's development. We hear it everywhere from our pediatricians to every savvy parenting magazine. Naturally, as a parent, I want to implement books into my son's daily schedule. It's kind of a hassle because he's only 14 months and sometimes he doesn't want to sit on my lap while I read a book to him. #thestruggleisreal, am I right mommas? When your toddler decides to get up and walk away from the very best O McDonald impression you've got.

Cue Ditty Bird Books! These cute little board books play music for your babe. I have two books with Ditty Bird and they're always Felix's number one picks when it comes to reading time. He loves to sit by himself and listen to the songs being played.

Ditty Bird is on every page and so are the words to every song being played, so you can make it a fun interactive play session as well as expose your little one to educational content. It's a win for mom and a win for baby!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DITTY BIRD BOOKS :: VISIT DITTYBIRD.COM

You can also purchase these cute little books on Amazon (CLICK HERE FOR THEIR STORE)