Baby 2.0: 10 Days To Go, 10 Things To Look Forward To

It's officially 10 days away until the arrival of our little girl and we are so excited! I am excited, but also scared. I periodically throughout the day freak out a little and wonder how I am going to manage having two kids. I am scared for the sleepless nights, losing my patience with Aiden (due to lack of sleep), not being able to pick Aiden up (due to c-section), managing working from home with two kids, and overall just how I am going to keep up with all the things I do now! 

With that being said, I am also quite excited for the baby to be here and I am trying to focus my attention on all the positive things I look forward to with this new little one. Having a baby is such a fun experience, but there are things that are sometimes never fun with pregnancy. I decided it would be fun to make a list of all the things I am looking forward to once this little girl comes into the world and I am not pregnant. This list is in no particular order, just random thoughts of happiness I think about periodically. 

1. First Smiles

The picture above is actually Aiden's first smile! 

Yep, I know she will be almost 2 months before she actually gives me a smile, but it is always so fun to see your child smile for the first time.

2. Her Big Brother 

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I have these magical thoughts that Aiden will be such a good older brother-- help his mama out a lot with her and be best friends with her. In reality, I know that he probably will try to touch her eyeball the first time he holds her and most likely will be a little jealous for a the first few weeks. He has become quite the little helper in the last few weeks, so I am sure after an adjustment period he will turn out to be quite the help with her and a great big bro!

3. A Good Hard Workout

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There is nothing I love more then a good hard workout. The kind that  you wake up the next morning and feel the sore muscles. It makes me feel like I am doing something good for my body. I haven't been able to work out for the last 4 weeks due to my stomach muscles stretching. I look forward to a good sweat session and some sore muscles!

4. Wine 

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I miss wine so much. I have been able to keep myself entertained this pregnancy with some pretty good NA beer (Buckler I have found to be the best) but I just enjoy a nice glass of a red wine once in a while. I am looking forward to a nice glass of some Cabernet Sauvignon very soon! 

5. A Long Run

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It’s my time alone, without kiddos, with music in my ears, thinking about how nice the neighborhood looks, who’s landscaping I would redo, and really anything I can think of. Running time is my time. I won't be able to run until 8 weeks after the surgery, but I am so looking forward to that run. It will be November by then, so it might be a cold one!

6. Her Dad

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My husband is a great father. He is so good with his son, patient yet firm, loving and teaching, but I have a sneaky feeling that this little girl might wrap him around her finger faster then he thought possible.

7. Pink, Purple, and All Things Girly 

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Don’t get me wrong, I love my little guy, but there is something so fun about being able to introduce more girly things into our house.  It’s going to be so fun to be able to dress her in such girly colors as pink and purple...those colors that have only been in my wardrobe. Also, I can't wait to put makeup on with her and adorn her head in cute headbands and tutus. 

8. Full Caffeinated Coffee

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I drink half caff since I have been pregnant and I really am looking forward to a normal cup of coffee. I cheat every once in a while and drink a fancy coffee out somewhere, but it will be nice to wake up and have a full caffeinated cup of coffee soon.

9. Touching My Feet

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I can still technically touch my feet, but man it’s tough! Painting my toenails and putting on shoes is so hard when you have this huge belly! I can't wait to be able to put socks on without grunting. 

10. Her

The number one thing I am looking forward to is her. To see who she looks like more, her hair color, her little hands, her little feet, and her little face. Her learning to smile, roll over, walk, talk, and become my little girl!

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Garage Sale Redo: The Ikea Trofast Shelf Part 2

The time has finally arrived, the reveal of the Garage Sale Idea Trofast Shelf.

If you recall in my last few blogs, I have been looking for a way to add more toy storage to our house. I originally built this open bookshelf, but it has proven to not be enough storage needed for all the toys we have accumulated over the last almost 2 years. 

With the second child coming, I knew we would need something else. That was when I saw this beauty of a organizer at a garage sale for $5.  (Garage Sale Redo: The Ikea Trofast Shelf)

However, I did not like how it fit with the bottom piece--it was just not wide enough and looked very funny. I decided to add some side shelves to the Ikea Trofast Shelf (here is the tutorial DIY: Building Furniture Side Bookshelves) and ended up with something like this:

After the shelves were added, I sanded and primed the Trofast Bin Shelf.

Then I painted it to match the lower unit. (Please ignore my super messy shop, just one the thing many things on my to-do list to organize!)

 I attached it to the open toy box and filled it with the bins.

It was complete!! We have lots of extra toy storage and a place for books to go!

Also, as an added bonus I found out that I had some baskets that fit the top of it perfectly, so even more toy storage!! (Just so you know, half of the bins are empty and the baskets are empty, just room for more toys someday!) 

Anyways, it's amazing what you can find at garage sales and what you can build with just a little extra work. I hope I have inspired some of you out there to go treasure hunting at garage sales soon! Until then, happy building and painting!!

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Make Ahead Meals: Meatball Meals

I am starting a series of blogs for Make Ahead Meals that I am preparing before Baby 2.0 arrives. Every night when I make dinner, I am doubling the recipe and putting the second in the freezer. I am hoping that the prepared meals will help on those totally exhausted days when cooking sounds like no fun. I am hoping many of the meals I will be preparing will be somewhat healthy and low calorie, but I know there will be some meals mixed in that aren't. To prepare for the freezer meals, I purchased some slow cooker liners (for the crockpot meals), gallon freezer bags (for the freezer skillet meals), and Aluminum Foil Steam Table Pans with matching lids (for the freezer casseroles).

We had another great sale at the local store, 93% lean ground beef, and I promptly went out and purchased 4 pounds of beef.  I knew exactly what to make with all ground beef--- MEATBALLS! Growing up, I can't remember ever having meatballs, but when I met my husband he showed me his Mom's recipe and I have been making them ever since. I know they freeze well, so I thought they would make a great freezer meal!

I started off with:

4-pounds of 93% lean ground beef

4 onions, chopped small

8 slices low-calorie bread, crumbled

4 eggs, beaten

4 teaspoon Italian Seasoning 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with hands. 

3. Form into balls and place on two cookie sheets. 

4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

The Meals I Made:
I divided the meatballs into 4 freezer bags. Two of the bags I just stored in the freezer. It's always easy to keep spaghetti sauce on hand, heat it up, and throw the meatballs in for a quick meal.

The other two bags I used to make Sweet & Tangy Meatballs from OnceAMonthMom.com.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Sweet & Tangy Meatballs

2 pounds of meatballs (see above for recipe)

5 cups canned pineapple chunks, juice reserved

6 cups sliced carrots

3 large chopped onion

2 teaspoon minced garlic

3 cups reserved pineapple juice, plus water

12 Tablespoons vinegar

12 Tablespoons brown sugar

8 Tablespoons soy sauce

4 Tablespoons cornstarch

And you can see the complete recipe here at her website: Sweet & Tangy Meatballs

I doubled her recipe and made one for dinner that night and one for the freezer.

I mixed up all the sauce ingredients as she directed in her recipe:

I then removed half of the sauce mixture and put half of the meatballs in the skillet to warm them up and served it over rice for dinner. 

The sauce I removed from the pan, I poured over the meatballs in the freezer bag and labeled them.

I can tell you, this recipe is a keeper! It was really good and my toddler loved it! Next time though I would make the meatballs out of ground turkey just to cut the calories a little! 

Meals to date:

1 x White Baked Penne Pasta

1 x Curried Pork Loin

1 x Honey Orange Pork Loin

1 x BBQ Pulling Pork Loin

2 x Spaghetti and Meatballs (really just frozen meatball)

1 x Sweet & Tangy Meatballs

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DIY: Building Furniture Side Bookshelves

This is sort of a continuing to my previous blog of the Garage Sale Redo: The Ikea Trofast Shelf. Last week I picked up this Ikea Trofast storage unit at a garage sale for $5!

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I had an idea, let's just throw this on top of the current toy box and use it for the extra storage. However, when I put it on top, I didn't like how the width did not match the toy box width below. 

I came across this photo on pinterest and thought it was a great idea to add to the sides to make the width match!

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Here is my little DIY on how you can add these shelves to really any furniture you have around your house, whether it's an Ikea Trofast shelf, dresser, nightstand...whatever you can think of:

You will need:

Pencil

Tape Measure

Jigsaw

Miter Saw

Countersinking Bit

Wooden Plugs

Sand Paper

Drill

Screws

Nail Gun

Wood Fill

1'x6" boards (length determined by your width of furniture and number of shelves)

Trim boards for the front or 1"x2" boards (length determined by your width of furniture and number of shelves)

Now this DIY will take some calculations on your own. You will need 1"x6" boards, but the length of the boards will be determined by your number of shelves you would like. 

For one shelf you would need:

2 pieces cut 6" Tall

1 piece cut the width of the side of your furniture

When it comes to the trim boards for the front, you can use whatever you want (as long as less than 1" thick.) You just need to buy the length needed to cover the front of the shelves. 

The Steps:

I wanted three shelves, 2 on one side and one on the other.

I cut the sides of my shelf using a miter saw. I made 6 pieces that are 6" tall. 

Next to add some decoration, I wanted to put a curve in my sides using a jigsaw. I measured a mark on one side at 2 inches and 4 inches on the other corner.

Using a paint can, I traced a curve between the two marks.  

Here is my path that the jigsaw will follow.

Cut the 1"x6" boards to the width needed for your furniture. 

Using your miter saw, cut the curve on the sides of your shelves. (This was my first time ever using a jigsaw. I saw it in the box and decided to give it a try. At one point I was having a hard time getting it to cut and I STUPIDLY, stuck my hand under the board! Luckily with my cat-like reflexes I escaped cutting the tip of my finger off and just cut the side pretty deep. It's a lesson why not to do woodworking when you are tired from being 35 weeks pregnant. Turns out it wasn't cutting well because I had hit a knot in the wood.)

You should end up with the sides looking like this: 

 Now you will assemble the shelves. Make marks on the side pieces 1 inch from the edges.

Using a countersinking bit, drill your holes.

Attach your sides to your bottom shelf with screws.

 Here are two of my almost built shelves:

Using your wood plugs, fill your holes where you countersunk the screws.  

Now you want to work on your front of the shelves. Measure the width of your shelf and choose what substrate you would like to be on the front.

 I had some old 1" trim so I decided to use it up on this project. I cut three pieces of the trim to the proper width for each shelf.

Using a nail gun, I attached the trim to the front of my shelves.

I turned out cute, but the trim is so thin that the nail gun cracked a few of the ends. Hindsight, I should have used finishing nails and a hammer.

No biggy-- I just covered up the cracks with wood fill and filled the nail holes.

When your shelves are built, sand down all your pieces.

Attach the shelves to your furniture. In my case it was the Trofast shelf. Attach them from the inside of the furniture out so you can't see the screw heads. Make sure they are level!

It was easier for me to turn my unit on the side to attach them. 

And here is the final product with the shelves....now just to paint and continue on the previous post of Garage Sale Redo: The Ikea Trofast Shelf

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