Motherhood Archives - Page 10 of 14 - Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Working Out as a Busy Mom

October 2, 2017 by Katie Haller

One thing that I have been really bad at since becoming a mom is making time to workout.

I have a love/hate relationship with working out. I love staying active and I love the feeling I get after a good workout, but I hate getting motivated. My biggest roadblock to working out is time. I work full time and when I get home at night, working out is the last thing on my mind. By the time I make dinner and get Jack in the tub, I’m ready for bed myself. On the weekends, I like to go for morning walks with Jack, but it’s really hard to walk in the summer when it’s 100 degrees by 8:00 am.

This fall, with the weather changing, it’s making me feel like it’s time to make a change. I am really trying to make an effort to fit in some kind of quick workout as much as I can, that’s why I was so excited when Aaptiv asked me to do a free 2 week trial of their workout programs. I thought that this would be the perfect way to get me started on a good path of getting active and strengthening my body again.

Aaptiv is an app that has any kind of workout program you can think of. It is an audio workout with a personal trainer who will help guide and motivate you through your workout. The app has classes ranging from Outdoor running, elliptical, strength training to even yoga and meditation.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link I will earn a commission for this blog. Thank you for your support!

The thing that I really love about Aaptiv is that they now have launched a new maternity program that is perfect for expecting moms who are looking to stay fit and healthy throughout their pregnancy. The new program has recruited top-tier talent to lead the design and development of the maternity program, including Kira Kohrherr of FitBump, yoga guru and author, Kristin McGee, and expert Aaptiv trainers who are trained and certified in pre and postnatal exercise. I wish I would of had this when I was pregnant with Jack, but I’ll have to save it for the second time around. They also have some great stroller workouts that I really enjoyed doing on my morning walks.

The thing that I really like about Aaptiv, is that you can workout anywhere and you don’t have to commit yourself to a long stretch of time. For me, the weekends are the best time for me to get a nice long workout in. That’s when I go for my walks and do the stroller workouts, but during the week, I’m crunched for time. I found that it was easy to pick out a quick 8-minute workout right after Jack’s bath time while he was playing. I liked how all the workouts that I tried were all quick and effective. I could feel a nice burn after only an 8-10 minute routine.

Whether you are an expecting mom looking to stay fit through your pregnancy, a working mom with no time for a workout schedule or maybe you are just someone trying to get a healthy routine started, I would highly recommend looking into what Aaptiv has to offer. You can download the app at the App Store or Google Play and start making changes today!

Confessions of a First Time Mom- Working Mom

August 7, 2017 by Katie Haller

When I was growing up, my mom was a stay at home mom. Every day she took care of us kids. She cooked, cleaned, took us to school, play dates, doctor appointments all while my dad was at work. All my friend’s moms were also staying at home moms. When I was younger, I always figured that I would do the same thing as my mom. I thought that I would get married, have kids and be home with them. Somewhere along the way, my plans changed. I went to college, got a degree, a job and oh yeah… lots of student loans. By the time I got married, my husband and I knew we had to take on the loans first before we could start a family. We ended up paying off the loans and working very hard at our jobs. By the time we moved to Las Vegas, we both finally had good jobs and it felt good.

After Jack was born, there was never a question of whether I would go back to work or not. After an 8-week maternity leave, I returned to work ready to get into a new routine of being a working mom. It was defiantly an adjustment for me at first. Mornings took me a little extra time to get ready, I was very tired and then there was the whole breastfeeding a pumping routine I had to get used to. After a while, things just started to flow.

After work snuggles were always the best when Jack was really little. Now he’s too big and just wants to play.

Now, after being back at work for well over a year, I feel like I kind of have this working mom thing figured out. I have a really good routine and I try to stay on a schedule the best that I can. The major thing that has changed in my life is that I don’t have as much free time as I used to. I honestly don’t know what I did with all that time that I used to have before becoming a mom. I guess I used to cook and binge-watch shows on Netflix, but not anymore. Nowadays, when I get a little break from work and mommy duties, I usually spend my time cleaning or working on my blog.

When it comes to my job, I often struggle, because I feel like I’m not as good of a teacher as I used to be. This past year was hard because Jack has been sick with ear infections or teething really badly. When he’s sick, I have to stay home or leave work early to be with him. Sometimes I feel like I don’t put as much effort into my job as a teacher as much as I used to, but after Jack was born I told myself that I wasn’t going to bring my work home with me anymore. I try to keep work at work so I can focus on my family when I’m home. My job is important to me, so I work hard during my work hours, but I always tell myself that I’m a mother first.

I used to feel guilty about working and leaving my baby, but now that Jack’s a little older, my thoughts have changed. He loves going to his school every day. He loves his teachers and friends. I’m always impressed with how much he is learning. I’d like to be home with him at times, but I would feel very pressured to keep him busy and active every day. Plus he wouldn’t get all the social interaction that he gets at school. Since he has no siblings or cousins his age, that socialization he gets from school is very important.

Sometimes my class gets a visit from the famous baby Jack.

On top of my job, I also have my blog, which has pretty much turned into a second job that I don’t make a real income from. I started blogging for fun, but the longer I keep writing, the more my goals change. The only difficult thing for me with blogging is that I don’t always have time for the other things associated with it. When it comes to writing a new post every week I have no problem with that, but then there’s keeping up with all my social media accounts, my e-mails, networking and it makes me sad how many invitations I have to turn down to blogging events. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. The great thing about my blog is that it’s for me, so there’s no real pressure or deadlines from anyone else but myself. I tell myself to do what I can and just have fun with it.

I love hanging out in Jack’s room after work, trying to sneak in some snuggles from my busy boy.

Bath time is always our special time

So there you have it. My life is super busy. People always ask me how I do it all and I just say, I just do it. I blog because I enjoy it, I work, because it’s my income and I give as much as I can to my little guy, because I love him more than anything in the word. My husband and I have discussed the possibility of me staying at home if and when another baby comes a long, but that’s in the future. Right now, I’m a working mom.

Mom Blog Picture Fails

July 17, 2017 by Katie Haller

Hey everyone! It’s Monday and on Monday’s I like to try to share a mom or family post for Mommy Monday. I don’t always get around to posting one, but today I had an idea for a fun mom post.

I’m not sure about you, but I spend a lot of time on social media looking at other people’s pictures and I love it and hate it all at the same time. I love getting inspired by other people’s photos, but at the same time, everyone on social media makes their lives look so perfect. They post these perfect pictures of their perfect lives and for some reason, we all feel like we need to keep up with that perfect image. I’m defiantly guilty of that. I don’t want to share an ugly picture of myself, or talk about a fight I got into with my husband. We only share the good.

Recently, I was going through my pictures on my phone and deleting the photos I don’t need when I came across some funny pictures that didn’t really turn out so great. If you’re a mom and you have ever tried to capture the perfect picture with your little one, you know how hard it can be. All those perfect moms with their kids didn’t get that shot on a first try. Trust me. Today I wanted to get real with you and share some of my not so great mommy and me pictures with Jack.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Mom Blog Picture Fails

Trying to bribe him to look cute with toys.

He’s always running off on me.

He has mastered the whole boneless move

No smiles for mommy

Trying to jump into the pool.

Screaming and pulling my hair on Mother’s Day

I love this one. It looks like he’s trying to escape me, but I’m blocking the way.

Taking your own outfit pictures is not always easy when you have a clingy teething one-year-old.

I hope you enjoyed those pictures as much as I did. Do you have any photo outtakes that make you laugh with your little ones?

Summer Tank Cardimom

July 13, 2017 by Katie Haller

*This post is sponsored by Multiwear.co. All opinions are 100% my own.

It was about this time of the year last summer that I was in the heart of breastfeeding and pumping. Jack was 5 months and I had finally felt like I had a good handle on my breastfeeding/pumping schedule and routine. I look back and think of the happy bonding time that I had with my baby. The only negative thing I can think of was the challenge of breastfeeding during the warm summer months. Summertime is not always the ideal time of the year for snuggling up and nursing your baby under a nursing cover, especially when you live in the desert.

That’s why I was so excited when Multiwear.co asked me to work with them again and share the Summer Tank CardimomⓇ Open Weave Sweater. This cardigan/poncho is similar to the original CardimomⓇ that I did a post on earlier in the year (see post here), but it’s designed as a summer option. I like that this cardigan has an open weave to it making it lightweight and cooler to wear in the heat. It’s also sleeveless which is really nice. I only wish I would have had this CardimomⓇ last summer while I was still nursing. The great thing about this nursing cover is that you can wear it long after your breastfeeding and maternity days are over. It’s so practical and fits in perfectly with my summer mom wardrobe.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Summer mom look

Here are a few ways that I’m wearing my Summer Tank CardimomⓇ.

I spend a lot of time at the pool in the summer, and I love how this CardimonⓇ works as a simple cover-up that I can easily throw over my bathing suit. It’s shorter in the front and longer in the back, so it provides nice coverage over your backside, which I like.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Cardimom worn as a pool cover up

I like to wear shorts and a tank top a lot in the summer, but I always like to layer with something, especially when going in and out of air conditioning, but long sleeves are no fun when it’s 110 degrees outside. That’s why it’s always nice to have a sleeveless cover-up as an option.

One of my summer essentials in my closet is a little black sundress. This neutral color is perfect to pair with the black. I like how it can be worn casually or you can dress it up depending on how you accessorize.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Cardimom worn with a black dress

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Cardimom worn with a black sundress

If you are looking for the perfect summer nursing cover up or just a great practical summer cardigan, I suggest checking out multiwear.co!

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- Summer tank Cardimom

How would you wear your CardimomⓇ?

Michigan Trip

July 10, 2017 by Katie Haller

Hey everyone! I feel like I’ve been out of the loop for a while because I was on vacation and away from my computer for a week. Now I’m back and just trying to get back into my normal routine.

Last week, my family and I spent a week in Michigan visiting our family. Ever since we moved to Las Vegas, our number one destination has been Michigan. We have been trying to go back twice a year so we can spend time with both sides of our family and share Jack with everyone. I always thought that Kevin and I were so lucky because our family is all in the same place, but ever since we moved away, I find it to be difficult to have all our family in one place. We get one week to squeeze in a visit with everyone and it can get a little overwhelming at times, especially with a baby. That’s why this trip was our last Michigan trip for a while. We decided we want to take some time to visit some other places this next year and hopefully we will have lots of visitors come out our way.

It was our 3rd trip to Michigan with Jack, but it was our first time going back on Kevin’s airline and traveling with our flight benefits as a family. If you have ever traveled standby, you understand how nerve-racking it can be. We totally lucked out though and ended up making it onto 2 initially full flights. On top of making the flights, Jack was the best little traveler that he’s ever been. I was so proud that I wasn’t the one on the flight with the screaming child.

We flew into Grand Rapids, MI, because that’s the closest airport to our families that Kevin’s airline flies to Vegas from. I actually prefer the Grand Rapids airport. It’s smaller than DTW and it’s easier to get around with a baby. They even have a kid’s playroom that Jack loved.

Our trip was pretty non stop and the week flew by so fast. We visited both sides of our families. Jack got to see grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In our short week, we squeezed in a trip to the Detroit Zoo, visited a couple lakes, the Yankee Air Museum, a tour of downtown Detroit and a 4th of July parade. I even got to be reunited with my favorite Michigan beer that we can’t get out in Nevada.

Here are a few pictures from our week.

Excited to go for a ride on daddy’s airplane!

We have grass in our yard, but it doesn’t compare to the big grass yards in Michigan!

First time at the lake. He had a blast until he tried to eat the sand.

He loved playing in the baby pool.

4th of July

He wasn’t sure what to make of the boat.

The penguin exhibit at the zoo was the best! It put a huge smile on my little guy’s face.

Detroit riverfront

Best airplane trip ever! Jack slept half the flight.

Shop Jack’s wardrobe. A lot is on sale right now!

It’s always nice going home, but it’s also always nice coming back to my other home. I only wish we would have had more time to see more people, but there’s always next time!

Do you live away from family? Does anyone else spend their summer vacations in their home state?

9 Healthy Toddler Meals for Daycare

June 12, 2017 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life- 9 Healthy Toddler Meals to Pack for Daycare

One of the most challenging things about being a mom for me right now is figuring out what to pack Jack in his lunches for daycare. The daycare we send Jack to does not provide meals for him. This can be a good and bad thing. It’s good because I get to be in control over what I pack for him. He gets a variety from me and I know what kinds of foods he likes. It’s bad because I am constantly trying to figure out what to pack. I try my best to send him to school with a decent lunch. I was flattered that his teacher said to me that Jack has the best lunches in the class. It makes me wonder what the other parents send for their kids to eat because I don’t think I do anything special with his lunches.

Here are a few tips I like to stick to when coming up with meal ideas for my little guy.

1.) Feed your child what you eat- I try not to buy a whole lot of special foods for Jack. I buy food that I can pack in his lunches, my lunches and my husband’s. I don’t want him to only eat kid type food.

2.) Give them a variety- I always try to pack Jack a protein, grain, fruit, and vegetable. This way it lets him try a little bit of everything. I try to give him new foods to try along with something that I know he will eat, like fruit.

3.) Make it colorful- At my school, one thing I like about our food program is that they try to make the meals colorful. For whatever reason, it’s appealing to the children and it makes them want to try all the food. That’s why I try to pack Jack colorful meals. I like to send him with something green, something red, something orange… anything to make the meal more appealing to him.

4.) Pack leftovers- This is perfect for saving money and time. I always pack Jack leftover dinner. It saves me the time of thinking up a meal and it helps me get rid of the extra food from dinner.

5.) Don’t give up on foods- It takes a child at least 7 to 15 times of trying a new food, before they can actually say they don’t like it. I have a hard time getting Jack to eat meat and vegetables, but that doesn’t mean I stop feeding it to him. I think that is one of the things parents do that can create a picky eater, they give up on foods they won’t eat and only feed them foods they will eat. I have worked with young children for a long time. At one of my jobs, I remember a child who’s parents packed them…no joke…. garlic bread and candy every day. That is an example of a parent who just wanted their kid to eat. You can’t give up on food, especially when they are little.

Those are my tips. Here’s a list of different meals that I packed for Jack over the last couple of months.

Main meal- Ravioli with marinara sauce
Veggie- Peas
Fruit- Peaches

Main meal- Ham and cheese slices
Veggie- Avocado
Fruit- Strawberries

Main meal- Turkey and cheese
Veggie- no veggies, extra fruit
Fruit- Blueberries and peaches

Main meal- Gyro meat, cheese and pita
Veggie- no veggie
Fruit- Raspberries

Main meal- Hamburger with whole wheat egg noodles
Veggie- Vegetable medley
Fruit- Grapes

Main meal- Tortellini with marinara sauce
Veggie- Peas and carrots
Fruit- Watermelon

Main meal- Scrambled eggs
Veggie- Mixed vegetables
Fruit- Blueberries

Main meal- Fettuccini
Veggie- Peas and carrots
Fruit- strawberries

Main meal- Ham and Cheese
Veggie- No veggie
Fruit- Blueberries

For a snack, I keep it very simple. I like to pack him yogurt or apple sauce pouches. I also like Nutri-grain bars for his am snack. It’s easiest for me to grab something and go in the morning.

I also pack him 2 cups of milk and 1 water for the day. I know I’m not perfect, I noticed that I don’t pack a vegetable every time, but I do my best to mix it up and introduce my little guy to as many different foods as I can. So far pasta, cheese and fruits are his favorites. (He takes after his mommy)

Let me know if you have any meal ideas that your little ones love.

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