I Don't Know How A Single Mom Does It...

I have so much respect for single moms and honestly don't know how they do it without having a mental breakdown every minute.

Let's break this down, where my time goes everyday since Rainier arrived and I've started working again.

*This is my morning schedule assuming daddy is home. If not, I have to do all this stuff while entertaining baby and adding in bottle feeding (~20 minutes) and diaper change (~3-5) minutes.

6:40 a.m. Alarm goes off. Assuming baby didn't wake me earlier to eat because he's off schedule, I get up and pump. Between getting parts together and putting away milk after- this is my first 15-20 minutes of my day.
7:00 a.m. Fill kettle, turn on stove. Heat water for coffee. Head to bathroom
7:05 bathroom, brush teeth + makeup (~10-15 minutes)
7:20 get kettle, make coffee and make breakfast
7:30-7:35 scarf down breakfast and coffee
7:35-7:40 get dressed, change/check baby diaper/change him if need be
7:40-7:45 get pumping parts together, pack lunch
7:45-7:47 grab baby cooler, extra outfits, get baby in Ergobaby carrier and head out
7:55 drop baby off at daycare- say "hi" and check in with caretakers
8:00 hop on bike and bike to train station
8:05-8:08 get to train station
8:10 take train to central
8:25 get off train at central walk across street and grab bike, head back across street and get going
8:40 get to office. Start working with giving 100% focus because of ridiculous pumping breaks throughout the day.
10:00 UGH! Pumping time. 20 minutes disrupting my day and work flow.
12:00 Work through lunch everyday because of my pumping breaks
12:30 REALLY? Ugh gotta pump again. 20 more minutes
3:00 I feel like I just dove into this massive project. Gotta disrupt it by PUMPING again. Ugh.
4:30 high tail it home to get to daycare or get home in time to nurse
Reverse commute. Get home around 5:10-5:20 - just in time for baby to be hungry. If I am running late because it's not my pickup day and something came up, baby won't wait and daddy has to give a bottle. So I have to spend 20 minutes pumping once I get home.
5:30 Yep, I'm pumping again after spending about 10 minutes to use bathroom, say hi to dad and baby. If dad is on travel, I have to feed baby bottle first (which takes about 20 minutes), then pump (another 20 minutes - note that's 40 minutes there the minute I walk in the door)
5:50 time to wash bottles so they can have enough time to dry for prep later for daycare for the next day & other dishes in sink
6:20 dishes are done. Now I get to spend time with my baby and start playing with him
6:20-7:30 Play with baby. Give him a bath, read him a book, whatnot.
7:30 bottle time again. Feed baby bottle (20 minutes) which also means it's pumping time again (another 20 minutes).
8-8:30 - wrap up pumping/feeding and get baby ready for bed. Diaper changes, change of outfit, walking him to get him to sleep, etc.
8:30 Baby is asleep by now (hopefully). That means I can prep/eat dinner now.
9:30 dinner is finished. Now I am lucky to spend a few moments with my husband WHILE I PUMP AGAIN.
10:00 shower time. Momma has to clean herself too.
10:30 shower is done. Check emails/Facebook, update social accounts for FitYap and some other random things for FitYap, Get ready for bed.
11:00 Bed time.
12-12:30 baby is up for first night bottle. If daddy is traveling, I have to do bottle, then pump. if not, I sometimes can sleep through this, but if I am woken up, I have to pump because I'm uncomfortable. So 20 minutes there regardless. I can never fall right back asleep after I am up- it always takes me 10-20 minutes.
3-4 am. Baby gets up again sometime during this time. Bottle and/or pump - 20-40 minutes.
REPEAT BEGINNING OF THE SCHEDULE (And note, some nights baby is up every 2 hours, not every 3-4 as I have listed out here).

So what does this mean? Do the math. I get to spend ~5 hours with my baby with undivided attention during the week. I get ~ 5 hours or less of sleep a night. My husband gets maybe 1 hour of my undivided attention during the week. I get 0 time of undivided attention for myself (not attached to a pump).

That leaves me 0 time for cleaning/household chores, let alone ANY time for friends or a social life, barely any time for the husband, and the time during pumping I try and use for myself.
This leaves me 0 time to follow-up on emails (unless I do it while pumping on my phone- but who wants to write emails on their tiny phone!?), to make plans, to do things.

Even if I were to try and plan something after work with a friend, I'd have to pump at the latest at 6 p.m.. So what's the point in doing something- lugging around pumping gear + cooler for milk and pumping in bathrooms on the go is NO fun. Once I got to the social engagement- the first thing I have to do is step away for 20 minutes and pump. And not to mention that's even more time taken away for my infant during the week (he will likely be asleep by the time I get home- which is awful to not spend any quality time with your LO for over a day) that won't be this young and small forever. Priorities have changed, and I want to thank my friends that understand the situation and those that will be ready to hang out and catch up when the time comes again. But you can also see how this can be very isolating for someone too. If you have a friend with a young one and want to see them and spend time with them, the best thing you can do is offer to visit or hang with them at their home.

This makes me want to cry and gives me horrendous anxiety. I wish I had more time to spend with my LO and husband primarily, but then of course friends. It really sucks. I don't know how single moms do it and stay sane...

A MUST HAVE Baby Registry Item: Levana Oma or Snuza Baby Hero

Levana Oma Clip-On Portable Baby Movement Monitor vs. Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitor

Yesterday I had a discussion with a friend that highlighted something interesting. Those without babies do not know about the baby breathing monitors, and how that helps. Even those that are pregnant now may not know much about them. I thought I'd let you know my thoughts on ours seeing as how I believe it's THE best purchase we made for the baby...

We bought the Levana Oma Clip-On Portable Baby Movement Monitor with Audible Alarm thanks to a recommendation from Courtney's friend. Let's paint the real scenario... your baby is crying, screaming, because he's hungry and he won't wait for you to get a bottle ready... so you lay him down on the bed so you can side nurse while laying down on your side, because quite honestly, any other way nursing takes too long to get set-up and is too much arm work. Baby nurses and falls asleep while doing so (he's laying down comfy next to momma after all!). It took you hours to get him to sleep and FINALLY he's asleep and the LAST thing you want to do is move him. So you clear all the blankets on the bed away from him and let him sleep. But hey, he's not on the Angelcare monitor (or other breathing monitor pad) pad 'cause that's set-up in the crib!? Oh crap!

I can assure you this happens 80% of the time when baby goes to sleep in the beginning, so those Angelcare monitors are quite honestly a waste of money. Here's the deal with the Oma Clip... slowly get up from nursing, grab the clip, and come back, unsnap baby's onsie and clip it onto the diaper. And viola- no need to risk moving the baby to the pad monitor and you can relax knowing that baby's breathing is being monitored and an alarm will sound. Heck, go take a nap and don't stress. The monitor will sound if your baby's abdomen stops moving for more than 15 seconds (which could indicate the baby has stopped breathing).

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OH! And did I mention how portable it is? Yeah, forget lugging around 3.5 lbs of bulky Angelcare monitor stuff. The Oma is only 4.8 ounces and no bigger than 2.8 inches. No brainer, right? Make sure you register for this bad boy. It greatly reduced our anxiety levels about SIDS and helped us sleep better. It is definitely a MUST HAVE!

Note: Snuza Baby Hero is just as good if not better. This one vibrates at 15 seconds of no movement in attempts to startle baby back to breathing (I guess?) and then will sound an alarm 5 seconds after that.

Update: The Angelcare monitor also cannot be used with the Rock n' Play, which you likely will be purchasing and using the first few months for baby to sleep in instead of a Pack n' Play. More on that to come shortly!

Running the Heart Break Hill Marathon 2014

So, I am running the Heart Break Hill half marathon and I'm pretty excited about it. Well, ask me that question at mile 10 and see what I think then.

I just picked out my clothes and will add a FitYap logo to the shirt, obviously.  But check it out!

So here's what I bought:

And three pairs of underwear, because, hell, why not?!

Get yours

Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies Filled With Caramel and Peanut Butter

Brown Butter Oatmeal Cookies Filled With Caramel and Peanut Butter from BakeholicMoma.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup  butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
12 caramels ( I use kraft)
12 tsp peanut butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small sauce pan melt butter on medium/low heat until it has become a golded brown color and spells kind of nutty or toffee like. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl mix both sugars, egg and vanilla together. After that is combined mix in your browned butter.



Mix in your, oats, flour, salt and baking powder. Once your dough has come together refriderate for 20 minutes.

Once the dough has chilled a bit, remove from refrigerator and roll into 12 equal sized balls. Place each cookie dough ball on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet about 2 inches a part.

Push a carmel sqaure into the center of each cookie dough ball. You can form the sides of the cookies a bit if you want to cover the caramel more.

Dollop a tsp of peanut butter on the top of each caramel.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are golden.



Allow to cool for about 15 minutes then enjoy. Store in an air tight container and heat up in the microwave for about 10 seconds to enjoy them again!

Keep Calm and _____ Bow Tie Tank Tops

Want:

Keep Calm and Work Out Bow Tie Tee

Keep Calm and Dance on Bow Tie Tank

Keep Calm and Run on Bow Tie Tank

Keep Calm and Work Out Bow Tie Tank

Strong is the new Skinny Bow Tie Tank

We often buy Talapia in bulk at Costco and cook it quite often. I've started to get bored with it lately and stopped cooking it for dinner. Tonight, I looked in my fridge and saw a bulk bag of chicken breasts from Costco and a bulk bag of Talapia from Costco. Both are so boring as that's all we eat anymore. I decided it was time to spice it up a bit and try to get rid of some of the fresh veggies we have sitting in our fridge. So on the fly, here is what I came up with.

2 Talapia Loins
1/3 Cup Quinoa
2/3 Water
1 TBSP Dill
1/4 cup Feta Cheese
Salt
Pepper
1 TBSP Butter
Dash Cayenne Pepper
1 Persian Cucumber (Trader Joe's) diced
1 TBSP Lemon Oil (Or 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp olive oil mixed)

1. Combine the quinoa and water in a rice cooker. Or get it started on the stove per the instructions on the packaging.

2. Set out the Talapia loins and cover both sides with cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.
3. When quinoa is about 10 minutes from being ready, fire up the butter in a frying pan. Place the fish on the pan and fry each side a couple of minutes until the fish is cooked through.

4. Take the finished, cooked quinoa, place in a bowl and top it with the Dill, Feta, Cucumbers, dash of salt and pepper and mix it up while still hot.

5. Place the cucumber quinoa salad on a plate and lay the cooked fish on top.
6. Serve and enjoy!

And of course, for the final question. Does the husband approve? Let me know!

Buy Ryan Gosling Pillowcases

Custom Ryan Gosling Pillowcase 18"x18" Cushion Pillow Cover

Custom Ryan Gosling Pillowcase Standard Size 20x30 

Nutella Stuffed with Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

I have to credit Damn Delicious for this recipe. I was looking through Pinterest this morning and couldn't help drooling over this recipe. Knowing I had the ingredients in the house, it was a no brainer what I was going to do over the lunch hour. I did substitute the cinnamon sugar topping mix with Trader Joe's Cinnamon Sugar grinder which I believe makes this recipe extra special.

NUTELLA STUFFED CINNAMON SUGAR MUFFINS

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 8 muffins

Cinnamon sugar crusted muffin tops with a hidden Nutella filling that everyone will love!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 teaspoons Nutella

FOR THE CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

OR

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Trader Joe's Cinnamon Grinder, 1/4 cup savory goodness

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt.

In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together milk, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.

Scoop a spoonful of batter evenly into the muffin tray. Drop 1 teaspoon Nutella into the center of each cup. Top with remaining batter to completely cover the filling.

Place into oven and bake for 13-15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

To make the cinnamon sugar, combine the cinnamon and sugar.

When the muffins are done, cool for 10 minutes and dip the muffin crown into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Let cool on a wire rack.

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This was my favorite image of 2005. It still applies in marriage with the hubby :)

FitYap Informative Video for Fitness Facilities, Instructors, Coaches an...

Miley Cyrus VMA Twerk Costume Inspiration

Miley Cyrus Halloween Costume by littleprettyliz featuring flatform sneakers

ASOS flatform sneaker
asos.com

MAC Cosmetics lipstick
maccosmetics.com

Panda swimsuit | Mr. GUGU & Miss GO
$53 - mrgugu.com

Miley Cyrus Foam Twerk Finger | eBay
ebay.com

Funny Google Search: My Boss Want to Buy My Baby. Really?!

How beautiful is this chair that my Mother-in-law made??? She owns a shop in Sumter, SC: Broadstone Manor. I am hoping she can make me something just as gorgeous one day when I finally have a home office!

Wow. What a great photoshop job, Pretty Little Liars. From 8/21/13 on a Hulu ad.

Send FitYap to an IHRSA Conference!

Dear Family and Friends,

We are asking for you to please consider helping us attend our very first conference. As you know, FitYap is a company we've been working on for the past year (for Liz, 3+ years). You've probably heard us talking about it like it's our baby and, quite frankly, that's because it is! We work every minute outside of our day jobs trying to get this off the ground. We are passionate about it and we believe it will truly change the fitness industry!

Attending the IHRSA conference will benefit FitYap in a number of ways. However, as we've basically maxed out our credit cards building FitYap, stocking up on marketing materials for launch and paying others to mine data and write copy, we are finding it hard to fund this conference. So this is where you step in. We need your help to send us to the IHRSA Conference in San Diego in March 2014. Remember, any amount helps. :)

How will FitYap benefit from the conference?
1. We'll be able to market our services to over 7000+ attendees including facility owners and executive managers of large clubs from across the United States.
2. FitYap's logo and information will go out via email and print to all IHRSA members, brand awareness.
3. We will meet with the owners and members and gain a better understanding of the fitness industry, identify pain points, and think of new features to offer on FitYap.com.
4. We'll be able to calculate ROI and determine how best to continue promoting FitYap to the fitness industry.
5. We will network with current and potential clients. These people will be able to put a face to FitYap. They will understand that we are real and that we mean business.
6. The merchandise purchased for or booth can be used for future publicity events.

$13,000? That's just crazy! Where is all of the money going?
Conferences aren't cheap to not only attend but also to exhibit at. We'd like to break this down so you know where the funds are going:

Logistics

IHRSA Membership = $825
Booth 10'x10' = $3300
Accommodations = $1195 ($239/night/shared room)
Taxi to/from airport - $100
Meals = Daily Allowance for three meals =$65 pp - Total = $325
Flights = $430 pp Total= $860

Booth Set-Up Costs

Ipad Stands x4 = $199*4+shipping = $846
Ipads - need 4 = $499 per ipad *3 = $1497
Backdrop = $1099 + shipping = $1199
brochures = $300

Grand Total= $10447 

We have included an additional $300 for unforeseen costs.
We have set up a few rewards for the more generous donations and we want to thank you in advance for any help you can give us! If you are not comfortable making a donation online, we will also accept offline donations. Thank you for helping us move forward with our passion, sweat and tears. We love FitYap and know you will too!

Love,

Liz & Lindsay

Only in Anchorage, Alaska

The Secret To Avoiding Stretch Marks During Pregnancy!

A friend of mine from high school who has had three kids has had some problems with stretch marks in the past with her pregnancies. Her most recent pregnancy (which she just gave birth earlier this week, congrats!) used Bio Oil every single day and swears by it that she did not get any stretch marks this time around. I am making a mental note with a direct link to buy this stuff for the day (down the line) we decide to have kids. I do not want any stretch marks and this sounds like an awesome tip! Thought I would share it all with you too!

Bio-Oil Skincare Oil

Say GoodBye to stretch marks!