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5 Things I Didn’t Know About Motherhood Before I Became a Mom

by Katie Haller

It’s hard to believe that in a few short months, I will have a 3-year-old.  Time is flying by.  I absolutely love being a mom.  Jack is my pride and joy.  He makes me so happy, but it’s not always easy being a mom.  When I look back on my pre-baby life, it seemed so easy.  I sometimes question what I did with myself back then.  Today I want to talk about what I didn’t know about motherhood before I became a mom.  It seems like everyone tells you things about what it’s like, but you never really know what it’s like until you live it for yourself.  Here are the things that I didn’t know about.  

1.) The lack of personal time I would have- I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been alone in my house since Jack was born.  It’s very hard to fit in me-time.  Painting my nails after Jack goes to bed on a Friday night or sneaking in an episode of Very Cavallari is about all the me-time I get these days.  I knew that becoming a mom would make me busy, but I think I imagined having a little more time for myself.  I guess I imagined that I would have a child who would sleep and I wouldn’t be so tired all the time. 
2.) How much I miss my husband- I see my husband every day, but I miss him.  Jack demands a lot of my attention and sometimes I miss having one on one time with my husband.  We do not have the luxury of having family close by as babysitters, so we don’t get to go on date nights every weekend like some people do.  Occasionally, when we both have the day off work and Jack’s school is open, we will take him into school and we will go out and have a date day together.  Those days are the best, but we haven’t done it since last winter.   I look back on my pregnancy and I cherish all those outings we went on together because I didn’t realize then just how much our relationship would change when we became parents.  
3.) The mom guilt- I didn’t know anything about this thing they call “mom guilt”, but it’s a real thing.  I feel guilty all the time.  I feel guilty that I work, guilty that I live far away from our family, guilty that I don’t pack Jack a lunch for school… I could think of a ton of things that I feel guilty about.  It’s something that doesn’t go away, but you can manage it.  All you can do is do what’s best for your family and tell yourself it’s okay.  
4.) How hard it is to balance work and motherhood-  Working is my greatest challenge as a mom. I feel like I was a better teacher before I was a mom.  I don’t know how other people work full time and have more than 1 or 2 children.  I give them a lot of credit because it is not easy.  If work is such a hardship for me, then why do I still work?  That’s something I get asked from people.  My answer is because I’m working for our future.  Most of my paychecks go into our retirement accounts.  The more you save when you are young, the more money you will have in retirement.  Basically, I work now, because I don’t want Jack to have to pay for any of his education, I don’t want Jack to ever have to struggle to pay off student loans like I did.  My husband is going to be upgrading to captain early next year and the topic of quitting my job has been coming up a lot.  I do plan to stop working one day, but as of right now it just doesn’t make sense to lose my income.  Plus, we would need to pay for preschool for Jack anyway and he loves going to school.  I would hate to take him away from his social life right now.  Right now, I’m making the most of my working days and if I’m a bad cook and my house is always messy because of it, it’s okay because I’m a working mom. 
5.) The amount of joy and pride a child brings-  After saying all that above, I have to say that being Jack’s mom is my greatest title.  I am so proud of that little guy.  I love watching him grow and learn.  He’s talking so much more lately and has his own little personality.  He brings both my husband and I so much joy.  Yes, I miss our life before kids, but I know that once Jack is grown, I will look back at this period of my life and miss it the most.

PinkBlush

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PHOTO CREDIT: Chasity Jean Photography

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Surviving the Heat of Summer with Little Kids

by Katie Haller

I know that summer is coming to an end for most people, but for us here in Las Vegas, it feels like summer will never end.  Summer is long here and it’s hot.  Hot is an understatement.  It is brutally hot in Las Vegas during the summer.  As a mom of a young toddler, the summer months can be tricky.  I worry a lot about how the heat affects my little guy.  This is my 3rd summer as a mom and I’ve learned a few tricks on how to stay cool and comfortable during our forever summers.  Today I want to go through and give some tips on how we have survived the hot summers while having a young child.

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

Jack’s Bathing Suit (exact) || My Bathing Suit (exact) || My Hat (exact)
  

Pools and Splash Pads
Yes, pools are the perfect place to cool off in the summertime, especially when you live in the desert.  We are pretty lucky that we have a neighborhood pool, so we can go whenever we feel like cooling off.  We also have lots of parks in our area with splash pads which is always fun.  Another thing that we have started to do this summer is going to local resort pools.  A lot of them are free for locals and it’s a fun way to have a little day vacation.

Keep Your Car Shaded
We drive small cars without tinted windows, so when Jack was a little baby I was very concerned about the sun shining in on him while driving in the car.  I bought some sunshades (similar HERE and HERE) to put in our windows and they have worked out pretty well.  It’s probably best to drive a car with tinted windows in the back if you have kids, but if you don’t have them, it’s always nice to know a different option is there.

 Lightweight clothes
Dressing in lightweight clothes is the way to go in the summertime for adults and kids.  Currently, I dress Jack in a cotton t-shirt and shorts almost every day.  When he was a little baby, I pretty much dressed him in onesies every day.  A great way to dress up a onesie on a baby is to add some cute little footwear.  These lightweight booties from Bird Rock Baby are the cutest way to dress up a simple onesie on a baby.  I personally love the cactus print, because I think it goes perfectly for a desert summer.

Indoor Activities in the Air Conditioning
We all know that you can always stay inside your house in the air conditioning, but there are tons of indoor activities for kids.  I’ve learned from watching Blippi on YouTube kids that there are a lot of indoor playgrounds in Las Vegas, which we haven’t taken Jack to any yet, but I would love to go one day.  There are also children’s museums, arcades, movie theatres, and aquariums.  You can just google indoor activities for kids and I’m sure you will find a whole list of things to do in your area.  I think it’s important to not get cabin fever during the summer months.  There is enough of that during the winter months.

A vacation to Cooler Temperatures
When I lived in Michigan, I liked to vacation to warmer places.  Now that I live in Las Vegas, I like to vacation to cooler places.  We went to Oceanside, CA this summer and it was amazing to feel cooler temperatures.  It was still warm, but it was nice to escape the heat and feel 70 degrees.

Drink lots of Water
For my last tip, I think that it’s pretty obvious, but important not to forget.  Staying hydrated is so important when it’s hot out, especially for little kids.  I always keep a water cup in my purse whenever we leave the house.  When Jack was nursing the doctor told me to make sure he was eating often to stay hydrated and once he turned six months I started keeping some water in a little sippy for him.  You can’t forget water during the summer.

Quick and Easy Week Night Meals

by Katie Haller

It’s that time of the year when kids are going back to school and life is getting busy.  Cooking for your family is probably the last thing you feel like doing, yet you can’t wait around for mom to make dinner because guess what?  You are the mom!  That’s why today I wanted to share some of my favorite quick and easy meals that I like to make for my family. 

There used to be a time when I enjoyed cooking, but now with a toddler, a full-time job and a blog that I like to keep up with, cooking is my least favorite thing… just behind cleaning my house.  The problem is, we don’t like to eat out all the time.  It can be really expensive and it’s not that healthy to always eat out in restaurants.  Not to mention, going to a restaurant with a 2-year-old is not very enjoyable for us right now.  We do go out to eat once or twice on the weekends, but most of the week we eat at home. 
Every weekend, I try to put together a meal plan for the week.  I typically go to the same 3 grocery stores every week.  For my everyday shopping needs, I like Smith’s, because I’m familiar with the store, it’s convenient and they have great prices.  I use their app to load up my mobile coupons and save extra on almost everything I buy.  I also like to do my big weekend grocery shopping trips at WinCo. WinCo is great because they have great prices, unique local brands and ethnic foods.  The only downfall for me is that WinCo doesn’t accept credit cards, which I earn cashback rewards for shopping at grocery stores, so I have to forfeit my points when I shop at WinCo.  The last grocery store that I regularly shop at is Trader Joe’s.  I look forward to my Trader Joe’s trips because I love that store!  I usually spend a little more when I do a trip to Trader Joe’s, but it’s worth it, because they have so yummy frozen meals and premade meals, that they keep my family fed for a while. 
Today, I want to share 6 quick and easy meals for you.  No difficult recipes, just simple meals for you and your family.

Trader Joe’s Clam Linguini 

This is a go-to meal for me.  The frozen bag of Clam Linguini is really yummy and it takes under 10 minutes to cook.  I always like to have a salad with my pasta and bag salads are the best to go with weeknight meals.  I love this Chopped Mediterranean salad from Taylor Farms, but I usually just buy whatever is on sale.  I usually make some garlic toast to go along with our meal, because my husband always likes it.

Trader Joe’s Turkey Meatballs 

After making these Trader Joe’s meatballs, I don’t know if I’ll ever make homemade meatballs again.  Well, maybe one day if I have a lot of free time, but these meatballs are delicious!!  I just microwave them for 2 minutes and I serve them with angel hair pasta and marinara sauce.  Again, I like to serve my pasta with a bag salad and some garlic toast.  Since it’s only my husband and me who eat the salad, I split the bag so it will last us for more than one meal.

Avocado Pasta

Avocado pasta was one of the first Pinterest recipes that I ever tried.  I love avocados and this is the perfect way to use them in a pasta.  I’ve been making this meal for so many years that I have simplified my recipe.  In my hand blender measuring cup, I add 1-2 avocados, depending on the size, 2 Tbs of Olive Oil, 1 tsp of minced garlic, a splash of lemon juice and some Morten seasoning.  I blend it all up with my mixer and serve it over whole wheat spaghetti noodles, with salad and bread on the side.  It’s an easy way to get kids to eat a vegetable too!
Mediterranean Chicken Wrap

I love Mediterranean food.  This wrap is the perfect fix when I feel like some sort of chicken wrap.  I buy all the ingredients at Trader Joe’s.  This pre-cooked chicken breast is the best.  It’s all-white meat, fresh and perfect for wraps and salads.  I use hummus to line the pita with, then add chicken, feta, and tabouli.  It makes for a nice fast summer meal.  Plus there is no cleanup since there is no cooking involved.

Fish Tacos

I love fish tacos and these fish tacos are so easy.  I buy the fish nuggets at Trader Joe’s.  For a topping, I buy some kind of slaw in a bag.  This Tahini, Pepita and Apricot Slaw Kit from Trader Joe’s was the perfect veggie toppings with these.  For cheese, I usually like to use feta with fish.  I made my tacos on a corn tortilla, but my husband prefers flour, so you can use either or depending on your preference.

Bean and Rice Burritos

This meal is pretty much poor college student food, but it’s so easy and it tastes good too.  I use refried beans, Spanish rice, cheese, avocado and salsa.  For this meal, I grilled my burrito, but if you want to make it really easy, you can just pop it in the microwave.

So there you have it.  Those are 6 easy meals that you can make for your family within 30 minutes.  Let me know if you try any of them.  For more quick and easy meals, follow me on Instagram and watch my instastories where I will share more recipes as I make them.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Toddler Update + Outfit Post with PinkBlush

by Katie Haller

Today I’m talking about the 2 things that I always have on my mind; my toddler and fashion.  I remember thinking that having an infant kept me so busy.  Between the feedings, diapers, and lack of sleep, I thought that I never got a minute to rest.  Now that Jack is 2, all that baby stuff seems so easy to me now.  People always told us that some things will get easier as your child grows and other things will be harder.  Boy were they right.  Sometimes, being a toddler mom is so easy.  When Jack gets engaged in something and is in a good mood it’s so great, but then there are the other times when I am just exhausted.  Jack is so busy and he can be so demanding of my attention.  It can definitely be challenging figuring out how to balance my home life, my full-time job, my blog, and social media all while trying to be a good mom.  I’m constantly multi-tasking.  What I’m finding out is that multi-tasking is just a part of being a mom.   

People always ask me when are we going to try for another baby.  I will say that I don’t even want to think about having another baby until Jack will sleep consistently through the night for a whole month.  I’m pretty sure that Jack is the world’s worst sleeper.  It’s gotten better, much better from the first year, but he is still waking up during the night.  Now he just comes into our bed whenever he wakes up.  I wouldn’t mind having him in our bed if he didn’t sleep sideways and toss and turn all night long.  With as sick as I was for my first trimester with Jack, I do not know how I could get through a pregnancy with no sleep, a demanding toddler and still function at work.  Hopefully, Jack will get better at sleeping, at least that’s what I’ve been telling myself since the day he was born. 
Even though my little guy can be a total crazy person at times, he is also so adorable!  I think God makes toddlers extremely cute for a reason.  His little smile and laugh puts a smile on my face all the time.  He is talking so much and forming sentences.  We understand him and even other people are starting to understand him sometimes.  I do have a lot of fun with him.  One thing I’ve been trying to do more often is spend more quality time with him, by putting my phone in the other room and just playing with him.  Sometimes I have too many distractions, but Jack is what’s important right now.  Watching him grow and soaking in this toddler age before it’s too late.

This post is part of a collaboration with PinkBlush.  All opinions are 100% my own. 
Now on to the fashion!  Every year around this time of the summer I start getting excited about fall fashion.  Since we don’t really experience fall temperatures until late November,  I usually get really into transitional fall looks.  One trend I’m really loving right now are the front button tie tops.  I’ve been seeing them everywhere.  They are so cute and casual, plus perfect to transition into your fall wardrobe.  This navy striped button tie front top is from my favorite boutique PinkBlush.  I really love the ruffled sleeves on this top.  I think it sets it apart from some of the other tops I’ve seen like this.  I styled it for today’s look with distressed jeans and my slides, but it could easily be styled with jean shorts for summer or a nicer pair of jeans or pants and some flats for the classroom.  I plan on wearing it to one of my professional development days this week at work.

PinkBlush

To find more trendy tops like this one, be sure to head over to PinkBlush!

A Week at the Beach with a Toddler

by Katie Haller

In my opinion, there is no better vacation than a beach vacation.  I just love being near the water.  Last week we headed to Oceanside, CA to meet up with my husband’s side of the family to celebrate his parent’s 40th wedding anniversary.  We stayed in a beautiful beach house right on the Pacific Ocean.  We couldn’t ask for a better beach setting.  I was a little nervous about the trip because this was the first time we took Jack on a long vacation, besides our Michigan visits.  Although it wasn’t as relaxing as a trip for me, it was still a lot of fun.

When I look at other people’s vacation pictures on Instagram, it always looks like they are having so much fun with their little ones.  After our trip, I’m wondering how many of those photos are real or are those stressed-out parents trying to have fun?  During our week trip, Jack had his good days and bad days.  He was extra clinging with me and wanted nothing to do with everyone else unless I wasn’t around of course.  He had a good amount of toddler tantrums over nothing.  Only a couple days after getting to the ocean, Jack got congested really bad and ended up with a bad cough, which made for a couple long nights.  I had imagined that I would be spending my days building sandcastles with Jack and taking walks along the beach collecting seashells with him, but I quickly learned that wasn’t going to happen.  Jack was terrified by the loud sounds of the waves and he hated the feeling of the sand.  I spent most of my days in a kiddy pool on the deck watching the rest of the family boogie board in the ocean.

I was extremely grateful for everyone who helped watch Jack a little so I could get a break here and there.  Kevin and I were able to go on an adult-only wine tasting trip one of the days and all the adults got to go out for dinner one night while the grandparents watched the grandkids.  That was really nice.

Overall it was a really fun family trip.  Seeing my niece and nephew enjoying themselves and remembering how my sister-in-law used to be the one with little kids staying back while everyone was having fun made me realize that it’s now my turn.  I’m the one with the little kid, so family vacations might be a little more stressful for me now, but that’s okay.  One thing that I decided to do when traveling with a toddler is to just lower my expectations of what fun is.  I know that my vacations will not be like the relaxing ones of the past, but there is a new kind of fun for me.  I enjoyed watching my little guy look out at the ocean and listening to him learn new words like “ocean animals”, “sea nettle” and “succulents”.  I loved watching his face when we got on a boat for the first time to look for dolphins.  I know one day when he’s independent and off doing his own thing, I will miss the days of when all he wanted was to be with mommy.

Here are some pictures from our trip.  Just remember these are the pictures that I am choosing to share.  I’m not sharing the pictures of Jack crying because of the sand or the 100 selfies we took together while everyone else was off doing their own thing.  But those are just the realities of vacations with a toddler.

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

 My Bathing suit (EXACT) || Jack’s Bathing suit (EXACT) || My Hat (SIMILAR)

 Shirt and Pants (EXACT)

My view from the kiddy pool!


 Hat (SIMILAR) || Sunglasses (SIMILAR)

My little family

Summer Vacation Recap

by Katie Haller

Every year, the first week of July, I get a week off work.  It’s always well deserved.  We usually head back to Michigan for the week, but this year we have a big vacation planned with my husband’s side of the family this month, so we decided to postpone our Michigan trip until later in the year.  We still were looking for something fun that we could do close by that wouldn’t cost a lot of money.  We decided to spend a couple days in Mesquite, NV at the Casablanca resort.  They have a really nice pool, and that’s pretty much all we were looking for was a nice pool to relax by.  We also haven’t explored many places in Nevada outside of the Las Vegas valley, so we thought it would be fun.

This was the first time that we took a trip with Jack to an actual hotel room.  In the past we have stayed at our families houses, which makes traveling with a baby a little more comfortable.  This little trip was much harder than our trips of the past.  Jack is so used to his schedule and routine, that he was so thrown off by our trip.  It wasn’t the relaxing trip we had hoped for.  We had to take breaks by the pool because for one it was 110 degrees and if we weren’t in the pool, I worried about Jack over heating.  And also we had to get Jack down for naps mid day or we would have a nightmare on our hands by dinner time.  When Jack is not at school, the only way I can get him to take a nap is by putting him in his car seat and going for a drive, so that’s what we did.

My husband kept comparing Jack to a dog that needs lots of space to run around and play and that was the prefect comparison.  Jack brought out all of his toddler 2 year old behaviors.  He tried running away from us through a busy casino, threw stuff at us and screamed when we were eating in restaurants and he tried running off into the pool on his own.  He basically did everything he could to give his parents a heart attack.  He acted like we have never taken him out in public before.  My husband kept saying how nice it would be if we left Jack at home with someone.  Yes, it would of been nice to spend one on one time with Kevin, but we are at this stage in our lives and we just need to embrace it.  Does having a 2 year old make it hard to relax and enjoy yourself when you go out?  YES!  Do I wish it was just the 2 of us still?  NO!

Even though things are harder with a toddler, he’s adorable and funny and we love him so much.  He always makes us smile no matter what.  I know that we will one day look back on our little mini family vacation and have happy memories.  We will laugh at his two year old behavior and think it was cute (not yet, but one day).  We will miss his little words that he tries to say and the way he acts out his videos that he watches on YouTube kids.  
All I have to say is that if you are a parent, don’t let the fact that outings and trips are harder hold you back.  Yes life was easier before kids, but you do what you have to do.  Your toddler may not remember the trips you went on, but you will and it’s so worth it in the end.  Now I’m only hoping that our California trip goes a little smoother.

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