Monthly Archives: July 2021

5 Tips For Getting Pregnant Easily

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Contrary to popular belief, based on movies and TV shows. Getting pregnant is not an easy feat. There actually is a lot more than just, doing the, you know, that goes into getting pregnant successfully. I am on my current and second pregnancy and from reading articles or checking out fertility apps ai may have some quick answers and tips to questions you might have to make having a baby easier.

Ladies, tracking ovulation does not just have to happen when you decide you want to procreate. There is a whole ton of apps put there that can be used to track cycles. Now, mind you an app is only as good as you use it. If you don’t use it a lot or skip months it will not be as accurate as it can be. If you want to truly know and understand when you ovulate, using an at home ovulation kit may be the way to go. That being said if you are not actively trying to have a child using the kits just for the sake of accuracy might start to become costly. Starting with tracking your first day if your menstrual cycle til the end day can help a lot in terms of knowing when you decide to go further, to start taking the ovulation kits. I have used an app for years just tracking my cycle which I am lucky enough to have it be pretty regular. But for some people who are unsure of their cycle it is a great tool to be able to know approximately how long your cycle can be to find an average length.

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This next part is way easier said than done. When trying to conceive, don’t make sex a chore. When you start scheduling or making it a big deal, to keep it blunt, it takes the fun out of it. There are many ways to drop hints and make sexual gestures to your partner that you do not need to be standing there with a clock or calendar and waiting for the perfect moment. Obviously planning is a huge part of getting a sperm successfully to an egg but that doesn’t mean it needs to be planned. Even having a secret code or something is a lot better than scheduling. And if it does not happen this cycle it will hopefully eventually happen! Making a baby does not normally happen the first month of trying.

If you are in a committed relationship, which I hope you are, I would suggest if you and your spouse plan on having any children and you are on contraceptives such as the birth control pill, have an IUD or have had the hormone shots or patches, I would suggest planning to come off of these long before trying. I also mention committed relationship because if you are someone who thinks having a baby will strengthen a fragile relationship you are wrong. I tall about how relationships change after having a baby here. Making sure you are in a good spot mentally, and physically for a baby is important. Of course, accidents do happen, but if you can prevent that it would more likely be the best. Remember, a baby will not fix your current problems, and if your relationship is already failing chances are it will put even more strain on that.

Being healthy yourself is a major issue. And yes this also includes the men also being healthy to help with better sperm quality and counts also. If you are a women that is way over weight or many health issues that are preventable, than you should be doing EVERYTHING possible to get yourself on the best shape you can. I am not the smallest person around, in fact I am probably over weight myself. However by some chance it was relatively easy for me to become pregnant. There are a lot of reasons why people are unable to get pregnant especially when it comes to health and lifestyle (that is controllable!) that if you find yourself struggling sometimes it may be best to evaluate your life. Are you eating healthy? Exercising regularly? Getting important vitamins and minerals? Another side note is that some people may not be aware, if you are planning on having a baby it is nest to take pre-natal vitamins 3 months before trying. This way your body builds up the reserves needed to have a healthy birth.

And lastly, and certainly not least, have patience! If there is a couple perfectly healthy, each month trying they only had a 20% chance of getting pregnant. Not to mention the same perfectly healthy couple it can take them about a year to have an egg implant also. And if after about a year you still not having any success that is when I would suggest maybe going to see a fertility specialist. If you have previous issues with any reproductive organs maybe before the year is a better option for you, but the rule of thumb is after a year. And if everything else fails there is always the route of adoption even if you have not thought about it previously either.

There you have it! I know some of these may be hard to follow especially patience and not stressing or planning when to make love with your partner. But have no fear there is multiple reasons and multiple ways to become pregnant if doing it completely naturally is challenging for you. The journey have procreation ia not a short one. And it also ia never equal to anyone else’s either. Heck, even your first or second child might be completely different or one may have taken longer to catch than another. It honestly depends on so many factors that enjoying the experience with the one you love makes it all worth it!

Have you used any of these tips before?

What helped you to conceive if you have before?

Let me know in the comments below, I am sure people are eager to hear different experiences!

Domestic Violence Double Standards – Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard

Hard Subjects, Life, Opinion, , , , , , , , , ,

For anyone out there who may not get it, Domestic Violence does not choose one gender. Though as much as the media would like to portray, or even movies and things, Domestic violence is “known” to the world as something that a man does against a women. I know, this way of thinking is very barbaric and something that is a very old way of thinking. In fact, you might not hear about the reverse domestic violence because men might feel ashamed or scared to speak up for having folks call them weak. This also goes for relationships that are homosexual, inter-racial and the one everyone knows and associates as the heterosexual ones.

Domestic violence does not have to be physical. A lot of people think that physical is the top however there is multiple ways domestic violence can be classified. This can be from mental and emotional abuse, financial abuse, isolation is also a part of this too. There is an assumption that when someone says they have dealt with domestic violence that they have been beaten when in fact a lot of people who have had mental and emotional abuse can be just as damaging as the physical wounds as well. Another misconception that people have about domestic violence is that if it is physical you have to be able to see something. That is not necessarily true. Just because you do not see the bruises or marks does not mean it didn’t happen.

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This brings me to the title of this blog. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been an on going case in regards to domestic violence. The big story here is that there was domestic violence in the relationship. Who was the instigator in this? Well that is up to a judge to decide however the evidence is pretty damming against Amber. There is things such as recordings showing the courts that Amber is the one at fault when in reality Johnny Depp being a man is the one to blame. Or so people think. As time went on Johnny Depp was removed from movie roles for the allegations what have been made against him. This includes being removed from the Fantastic Beasts franchise as well. Now, You might be asking yourself, what happened to Amber? Nothing. She was not removed from any type of role what so ever. I won’t go in to much details on the court case as I would like you to base your opinions for yourself and not be swayed by my opinion.

The problem here is that when you think domestic violence you automatically assume it is a man against a woman. To say it bluntly, this is the year 2021. There is MULTIPLE ways that domestic violence can occur. It can be man on man, women on women, it can be a women on a man also too. The double standard when it comes to domestic violence and how it is viewed is so skewed that we often are clouded by what is happening based on what we think should be happening. Domestic violence knows no boundaries and it does not discriminate against any type of person.

As a society, we need to stop this one way of thinking. There is a huge stigma when a man comes forward with domestic violence allegations and stigma around what type of person they are. Often they are called weak or similar names. They are made to feel small and they are not normally supported. There is a reason why a lot of domestic violence goes unreported especially with the opposite sex or different relationships because they are often swept under the rug or brushed off by different people.

This goes back to the age old question people pose “Well if it was that bad, Why couldn’t you just leave”. Which is both insulting and misunderstood. When in an abusive relationship regardless of age, sex, religion, or race, you really dont have that option. Sure you may be thinking about it more often than not, but with the isolation aspect of domestic violence you mean have many fears leaving, and if there are children involved that makes it even more challenging to leave.

We must change the way of thinking that there is no specific way domestic violence occurs. If we were to understand that it can happen to actually any person on the planet and not bash anyone for coming forward maybe there would be more reports of such. We need to stop belittling folks who put themselves out there and who are survivors of domestic violence instead of making them suffer in silence. The faster we open our mind of thinking the quicker everyone will benefit from this.

Even hollywood has this backward way of thinking, that is obvious if you watch and keep tabs on the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp case. The public was so quick to jump down and think Johnny Depp was the abuser here because a women couldn’t possibly be the abuser, that he lost a lot of what he worked hard for only to have the case slowly unravel and show that it is not always as simple as one might think in these situations.

I sincerely hope that you brush up on this case, It really is mind blowing how quickly people were to point fingers and how the evidence that is coming out is pointing them in the opposite direction. People assumed that something like domestic violence is a yes or no answer when in actuality there is a lot of maybe, and sure in the mixes too.

Have you followed the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp case?
What are your thoughts with Domestic Violence and the double standard that happens when situations arise for this?

Let me know in the comments below. I would really like to hear your perspective on what is happening and even ways that you think might be able to change the way the world views these.

10 Beginner Blog Ideas

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When starting a blog, there is A LOT to learn. Believe me. You have to think about niches and how much you want to write and topics within your niche. It can be overwhelming to say the least. Here are some simple starts that you can do when it comes to blogging that can jump start your creative thinking process!

Life is one of the more broad niches to pick in my opinion. For me I would say I am a lifestyle blogger however I do have a lot of parenting coming out as we are going through our second pregnancy and trying to incorporate that into what is happening. Sometimes there are random stories or opinions that come out though but if you choose to do a lifestyle I would still try to make it a little bit more specific. Maybe you are a military spouse, and you want to do a little bit more about letting people know what the lifestyle is, maybe you have experience with mental health or disabilities. Life can be such a broad topic that really zoning in on these things can be huge.

Food can be another broad subject however if you can do something when it comes to food, try to zero on again on a bit smaller niche here. Something like, Mexican food, American food, European food, or even something like vegetarian, or vegan would be a huge way to bridge the gap and make yourself stand out. One thing I will say that I know I have heard others speak about previously, If you decide to post a recipe, PLEASE either link down the page to jump to the actual recipe, or put it first. People do not want to read an entire story about how you made the recipe, or anything else that you want write about first. If someone is looking for a recipe the fastest thing you can do is put some fluff first and people will click away, or go to the bottom to the things that they want.

Mental health can also be tricky. I would assume if you are writing about this it would either be about something that you have experience with or it would be something that you perhaps have some knowledge within the space. I would like to say though if you plan on writing from an educational stand point that it would be best if you were to use links and facts for where you have your information as well too. If you are going to write from an educational stand point people appreciate the facts and where to find resources instead of just writing from your own stand point.

Parenting can be something that a lot of folks eat up. I have found personally some topics have been hit or miss when it comes to parenting blogs. Finding subjects that are not the same as everyone else can be challenging. I do find when I write from my own experience they seem to do a bit better than regurgitating repeated topics that are the same as everyone else. People want to read different information not the same thing over and over again.

Motivational is something that anyone and everyone wants to learn and read about. I think you need to really have an understanding about this because the topics may become limited. Focusing on different types of motivation might be easier to produce blogs.

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Inspiring blogs can also be tricky. Using your own personal experience may help with this but also inspiring people to keep going when they are faced with problems can also be good as well too. It can really be good to write these in a personal perspective as apposed to educational so that your speech is really speaking to the reader. You dont want to again, repeat the same blogs you want to really connect with the person who chose to check out yours to hopefully have them stick around and wanting to continue to read more.

Overcoming obstacles is another thing that might be more of a slim category to write about unless you have had a lot of curve balls thrown your way in life. Talking about the same thing over and over can be challenging to get new readers to stick around or even pull new people in. If you are writing in a perspective or even how you helped others overcome obstacles that could be huge as well too. However it might do some good to be able to actually write out subjects and things that you would write about and how many you want to release per week to be able to see how long your content can be without feeling a writers block.

Goals can be something that changes a lot. This topic can be broad however if you focus on different goals and make it personal it can really help others to understand their own or to better have goals and be successful with them also too. Sometimes I occasionally write some goal blogs and explain the process that I take for them.

Physical health or exercise is a broad topics and if you wanted to write about this it would be great when starting out. Everyone when they have goals around this can have different experiences that work or dont work for themselves. With health and fitness also coming to the forefront in the world there is an abundance of information that people seek. Some of my best blogs were when I wrote about weight loss and trying to be honest with the struggles that I have when it comes to wanting to reach a healthy weight.

Hobbies are also something that can run out of subjects easily. Unless maybe you do something that has a lot of patterns, or how to do it ideas. Talking about hobbies can be really useful to folks who share similar interests but it would also be great if you were to find out if you have enough topics for posts if you write them out before hand perhaps.

As you can see there are so many topics when it comes to writing in blogs. Remember that if you choose one and have not seen a lot of success you can in fact change niches! You are never stuck in just one. After all, I started posting JUST about streaming, and here I am posting about life and blogging and parenting too!

What did you start blogging about if you are also a blogger?
What types of blogs do you like to read about?

Let me know all about your journey I would love to hear about the evolution of it all!

Struggles of an Over Thinker

Hard Subjects, Opinion, , , , , ,

If you are someone like myself that normally finds that their mind is going 100 miles per minute you will know the struggle that I have when it comes to life. If you are someone who is pretty relaxed and doesn’t over think things than this may be an eye opening experience to see how others minds work. There are a few things when it comes to this that are beneficial and others that are a bit challenging. Though overall, for myself anyways I think it can be more challenging than anything!

I over think EVERYTHING. I like things to be a certain way, I like things to be my way, and I like to dream BIG! I would say that I have so many ideas that it can be frustrating to get everything done. I don’t know how many ideas I have had when I was growing up that a lot of the things never went super far due to over thinking things or coming up with another “better” (at the time) idea to move on to also! Let’s jump in to some of the problems it can cause over thinking things.

One major problem I have with being an over thinker is the multiple ideas and no where to start or execute them. I have had so many ideas when I was growing up and one of the best ideas I had that I never followed through with was when I was a teenager I wanted to build a milk carton boat. I saved up all the milk cartons we had so that I could sail across the lake by my parents house. When I went on a grade nine trip my mom ended up throwing them away (She was a hater of ideas, just kidding!). Sometimes I have so many things on the go from over thinking things it can be hard and I often get down on myself for not doing things. Right now for example for the time writing this I have ideas that are about this blog, trying to get multiple blogs written to take me through to September PLUS bonus blogs so that when we move I don’t have to think about the consistency, I am thinking about the home renovations and what I want to do for those, I am thinking about the book I am in the final editing process and hopefully will publish soon, as well as mini short story horror compilations that I would like to put out but need to write and have the chapters written in a book also too, and on top of that being a mom and streaming too! Over thinking things especially for me can be challenging and a struggle because I often get over whelmed.

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I am sure even if people are not over thinkers a lot of us can relate to over thinking when it comes to friendships. If someone hasn’t returned your messages or something you may automatically go to that dark place in your mind where you think that you did something wrong. Then you go back through all your conversations where you think and wonder if there was something that you may have said or done that caused this. You wrack your brain for a long time or until you hear from this person only to find out that it had absolutely nothing to do with yourself. I do this quite often and have been this way for a very long time. It can be super hard to keep friendships or keep your own sanity when you over analyze things you may or may not have done. The only thing you have to realize as well too, and I know I often forget this myself, when we are talking online which we do more often than not now a days is that you cannot tell someone and their intentions based on texts. Maybe someone was offended by what you said when the intentions were not there. Or maybe you think the person was mad at you and you now think about it all day when really they were not mad at all. This is something that I regularly struggle with and am working on trying to not over think interactions with friends. It is hard to do.

Lastly, I know a lot of us can also relate to this, for sure, over thinking before you go to bed! I know across Facebook or any social media you can see the memes pop up here and there about a photo where something or someone is in bed, and they are ready to sleep only to show a clock at 3am and whatever the subject is, laying there wide awake. This would be me. I know before you come at me, yes limiting the screen time before bed will help. I do this and have cut back. But that still doesn’t change anything sometimes when you can’t turn off your brain! I used to bring my tablet to bed, now I only bring my phone. I try to only watch a couple satisfying videos on YouTube as I find it makes my eyes tired. Once we move I anticipate that I will probably read more because I will have my own side of the bed again (currently it is next to the wall and I have no room for a lamp!) which will be nice to have the space. As much as you can say stop thinking about things, it really is not that simple and as hard as you try to have a clear mind it just doesn’t happen that way. What is worse, is being pregnant and waking so much for the washroom during the night, sometimes I will wake up, and think about something else and it starts the cycle again where I am again over thinking things and unable to sleep.

Regardless if you are an over thinker a lot of the times like myself, or someone who occasionally over thinks things. The struggle is real. Finding some solution to easing your mind (unless you embrace it like I try to do sometimes!) it really can be hard and anyone who does not know how it feels to relate to this.

Are you an over thinker like myself?
What are some things you do to help ease your mind when you feel over whelmed?

Let me know in the comments below as I would love to hear ways you cope with this!

When My Son Goes to Bed

Life, Parenting, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When my son goes to bed, what do I do you might be wondering, Absolutely nothing! FREEDOM!

Just kidding of course. What can be done is really up to anyone. And depends on the day also. Ill write the two ways I would spend my time “kid free” once he went to sleep. I say this because as I write this I am pregnant and well, some things changed from being pregnant and when I am not and how I fill my time! Let’s start with when I am not pregnant shall we!

My son goes to bed regularly around 7pm. This is after he is done rolling around in his crib, talking to himself, potentially throwing his blanket out of the crib and whining for it, or having his soother fall to the floor and having to go in to get it for him again. A few times a week I am streaming. At the time of writing this I am streaming 3 days per week, this might change in the fall when I want to add a bi-weekly podcast into the mix but that is an after thought!Currently at the time of writing this I stream and am live playing games, or even doing art on Monday/Wednesday/Friday. I typically start this as soon as he goes to sleep with my intro playing as he settles. My goal ultimately is to stream between 2.5 and 3 hours however sometimes less depending on how I feel. After if there is a few moments my boyfriend and I would watch something quick on TV. Sometimes it would be a quick show, or depending on how we feel an episode of a series that we are watching. On day’s that I don’t stream sometimes I do things like working on blog posts, writing in my novels or books, doing artwork for my house, different things as well too. This is time I try to look after myself. Rarely do I do housework unless maybe the dishes, I try to do that during the day so that tonight I can hang out and just relax without having to think about anything. I sometimes have a bath or sometimes do absolutely nothing at all!

Now, when I am not pregnant it can be a bit different in terms of things that I do once he goes to bed. The streaming never changes that is something that is good. And I do try to stick to the no housework rule. For my own sanity sake. The most I will do for housework as mentioned is the dishes however if the toys are everywhere on the floor I guess I would pick those up also! The major difference is that when my son goes to bed I would smoke a joint. I know. I am a stoner mom. However I don’t believe in smoking while pregnant obviously for multiple reasons. That is a different blog post though! Other than that I would say a lot of the things are the same. I view smoking a joint as if some people have a glass of wine. I actually talked about that in a previous blog that you are more than welcome to check out here where I talk about the difference between wine or weed and why I think one is viewed so drastically. I will also note that if my boyfriend is away for whatever reason or I am alone with my son I will not smoke in case something happens and we need to travel anywhere either. I treat weed just as I would booze. And occasionally my boyfriend and I especially in the summer time will will sit outside and have a drink together. I prefer coolers however me drinking a lot is kind of the days of my past when I was younger and doing the bar scene!

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Something that is important to remember once your child(ren) go to bed is that there is nothing “Set” that you should or shouldn’t be doing. Sometime people will do housework and relax that way, and believe me I have done that myself if my house is in a state. Once we move (If we haven’t already by the time this has come out!) I am sure I will be in the cleaning boat as we get the house to our own happy place. There is nothing wrong with doing absolutely nothing though. Use this free time to catch your breath. Being a parent can be hard especially if you are in fast a single parent too. Some days with children are easier than others. Some days you have a teething baby or you are pregnant yourself again. You really need to find what works for you because it can legit change so often. For me I try to do something relaxing and self care like, regardless of what that is. I think it is a great way for me to decompress from the day.

When being a parent we often put our children first. This is natural and normal. I know my parents did that with myself and my brother and sister. Regardless of what we were doing they would put us first and that is okay. But I know my dad would sometimes go to his friends house for a few hours on Wednesday nights after work if he was home. My mom would go bowling on Thursday nights (Which I also did however this year being pregnancy about 7 months will not be for me!) and at one point she also did water aerobics. You really have to find something you enjoy and if you are a single parent that is okay also! A lot of the things that I do once my son goes to bed is at my house or I am bringing the camera to sit on my deck and enjoy the outside.

What are some things that you do once your children go to bed?
Is there anything different or the same that we happen to do the same?

Let me know in the comments below! I would love to hear what you do.

Why Gender Reveal Parties are Over Rated

Opinion, Parenting, , , , , , , , , ,

If you are someone fortunate enough to not know what a gender reveal party is, honestly, I am a bit jealous of you and consider yourself lucky. This is one of the latest trends when it comes to having a baby or announcing that you are expecting. Instead of either waiting til you give birth to know the gender, or finding out and simply phoning family or friends, people thought it would be a great idea to have a party to celebrate.

What seems so innocent started pretty basic. A couple would get their ultrasound at approximately 20 weeks to have all the anatomy checked out and they ask the tech to write the gender down on a piece of paper or in an envelope. They then would bring this to a bakery for example and ask them to write some clever saying on the top like “Pink or Blue, which one is you?”. Then they would make the icing on the inside either pink or blue so that when the parent(s) cut into the cake they would know the gender based on the frosting inside. How this whole fad was created I will never know but one can only assume it was based off of someone doing a small reveal and them wanting to do something bigger.

Well, fast forward 5 or 10 years and now it has become some big competition. You have people who still do the cakes, that probably will never change. Then you have people who also do balloons, whether filled with confetti or even a powder. And whenever it is popped you see the color fill the air around. Then you have the crazy folks who need to announce the gender of their little bundle with explosives or some sort of dangerous way. Which sure, does not always backfire but more and more recently you see people getting hurt or even family’s having a member pass away due to some freak accident regarding the way they choose to share this moment with their friends and family.

Then you have people like myself who are old fashioned and when we found out we were having a boy with my 1st child we simply took a photo of the ultrasound and sent it to family and friends and announced it online/texts/phone calls which, brace yourself, completely FREE! We did not want to do a big celebration when it comes to announcing the sex of our baby because as exciting as it is we do not want another reason to spend money. We dont feel like we were competing with anyone so we did not want to give reasons for others or ourselves to spend money.

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And before you say, “But it doesn’t have to cost money!”. Any type of party whether a baby shower, birthday, anniversary will cost money. Sure you can do it on a lower end by just getting the cake with different colored frosting on the inside BUT there is a lot more to it also. From getting the blue or pink colored plates or cups where you use the color you guess the baby will be. To decorations which you can do a solid neutral color like black or gold and silver. Or again, the two colors blue and pink. Then some gender reveal parties have little games and things that you also play. And lastly food. You cannot have a part if there is no food! Especially with a pregnancy involved! Again, you could save money with doing a pot luck style where folks being different dishes however that is another different cost for people to almost foot part of the bill.

The problem, why these gender reveal parties are so over rated, in my opinion is it becomes a show and competition people have with neighbors. With internet and technology as far advanced as it is you can search videos endlessly a out different gender reveals while thinking of your own way to up stage the ones already out there. By doing this it can also cause these reveals to take a dangerous, and even deadly route also. This is due to people wanting to create bigger explosions and bigger shows in front of their friends and families which can ultimately create permanent consequences. And for what? To be the next biggest or viral video online. There is also things that can go wrong like confetti guns not firing, balloons being let go and floating up into the air without knowing the gender too. Not every party that is planned goes perfectly.

Then you have the risk of also showing public disappointment if you are expecting to have a different gender than you were hoping on. Recently there was a video was a video of a dad and mom breaking the balloon with pink being the color scene. The dad immediately showed his disappointment. There is nothing wrong with expecting or hoping for a gender but to show THAT MUCH outward emotions over the gender of your child which ultimately you have a 50/50 chance at either a boy or a girl maybe knowing before everyone else would be a better idea. In the heat of the moment it can be really hard to control your reactions especially if you are more set on one gender than the other one.

For me, I am a mom of one and pregnant with number 2. Our goal is to have a family of 3 children. None of them (even the future one) we have ever thought about having a gender reveal party. Even pre Covid we never thought to have one. I guess we are nearly old fashioned where we just would rather tell our family and friends personally instead of making a big event out of it. There will be other opportunities for us to celebrate out newest family member and we just do not believe that their gender is one of those!

Have you planned to have a gender reveal party before?

Did you pass up on the idea of having a party to reveal it?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

A Day in the Life of a 15 Month Old

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At the time of Writing this my son is about 15 months old. Although by the time you read this he might be maybe 17 months, due to the fact that I am writing some blogs to help get through the summer and moving provinces for less stress on myself. Though I don’t think much will really be changing in that time span. Let’s Jump in!

6am-7am : This is typically where we start the day. Sometimes my son wakes up as his Dad goes to work however occasionally he also goes back to sleep. When this happens he sleeps in a bit and if not he normally plays in his crib. I very rarely actually go back to sleep since my child is one who likes to bite the crib however sometimes he likes to lay there and roll around and toss his little blanket around. It also has tags on it that he likes to play with his fingers also too.

7am-730am : This is when we wake up, get him and myself dressed for the day. I throw on a bottle of 3% milk and put him in his play pen. This is so I can run to the bathroom myself, as well as take the dog outside who has already been looking at me for 5 minutes when he heard the little fella wake up!

730am-830am : This would be his bottle. Now he is old enough he probably doesn’t need it but we dont really encourage him to drink it all. It is there if he wants it and if he doesn’t that is okay also too. Then we normally sit on the floor and play with toys and wake up for the day. For some reason he is normally super chatty and raring to go with energy!

830am-930am : This is normally when we do breakfast. We do anything from oatmeal and fruit, to some toast or eggs. Just depends on the day honestly. After he is done eating and sometimes before it oatmeal is too hot for example, I will do the dishes or tidy the kitchen up. After he eats he normally sits in his high chair for me to finish up also or prep something maybe muffins, or chop up veggies for the slow cooker. He normally has some hand toys or even measuring cups he likes to bang, with a cool glass of water. He can play pretty independently but we do have our stories together!

930am-1030am is another time we play on the floor. If the weather is not nice or too hot we don’t normally go for a walk, however it the weather is nice we do end up going for a walk or anywhere! Could even go outside depending on the mood for the day.

1030am : Snack time! Snacks can be anything from toast if you haven’t already had it before, sometimes apple sauce, fruit or banana’s, muffin, or yogurt too.

1030-1130am: This is when we start to wind down a bit and play a little however we also start to think about lunch time. Sometimes the time fluctuates depending if my son was up closer to 6am or closer to 7am.

1130am : Lunch time! Sometimes we try to have meat and potatoes, sometimes we have eggs if we haven’t had them already. Sometimes we do pasta and sauce or cheese with it. Things that are not super big but enough to be filling. Sometimes as mentioned before we will try to eat a bit earlier depending on how tired he is.

12pm – 2pm : This is typically when Vincent goes to his crib. Sometimes he falls asleep easier than other days however this is when he typically naps. Sometimes he tries to play with us by throwing his blanket out, or his soother (Which we will be weaning by now or have it gone!) and we just go in. Do not talk. And encourage him to fall asleep. Typically he will be asleep within 5-20 minutes again depending on how tired he is. We also do not normally go into the room til about 2pm though if he did not fall asleep til closer to 1230pm we will let him sleep a bit closer to 230pm. Even if he wakes up we just watch him and don’t go up right away. This is so he knows that it is quiet time.

2pm-3pm is when we wake up. We play and relax a bit as he is normally still pretty sleepy. Sometimes we even make our video phone calls to my parents (Since we have moved at the time of publishing before we would do video chats!) Sometimes we go outside depending on the weather or we just hang out and read stories.

3pm : Snack time! Again same typical foods as the ones from earlier just obviously we try not to give the same thing though as that would be super boring! We do try to spice it up and change them around from day to day in order to not get tired from other things.

4pm is supper time. This is normally a bigger meal like beef, chicken or even fish, then we normally do some potatoes and veggies or sorts. It really depends on what we have. We still do ice cube trays of food however we don’t puree anything. Sometimes we mash things though for smaller bite sized pieces but nothing is pureed. When we prepare meat it is easier to use a nice sharp pair of scissors also to be able to make pieces that wont be able to be chocked on.

430pm-545pm : This is the final stretch before bedtime. We typically put his favorite show on at some point close to 445pm or 5pm and he watches a few shows of blue clues, bubble guppies, or whatever else you have that he seems to enjoy lately. This is nearly the only screen time that my son currently has unless I have to put him in his play pen to flip laundry or something.

545pm – 630pm is the unwind for the evenings. We put the final bottle on, have a bedtime snack. Something a bit more filling like a muffin with yogurt or something or that nature. Then we have a bath if it is bath night. We were doing baths every second night and then a bath soak in the winter to help relax him but we stopped because my son was having really dry skin. every 3 nights seems to work well for us and his skin unless he is very dirty from a big poop or something! After everything is done we read a few stories after in pajamas and cream is put on.

645pm or so is bedtime. However now that he is getting older he normally rolls around and things and play with his blanket as he falls asleep more towards 7pm or even 715pm some nights!

There you have it! That is a day in the life of a 15 month old. Sure days can change depending on how tired someone is or not, But overall, This is pretty much what happens!

Do you do anything special with your children every day?
Do you like routine or do you like to wing it?

Let me know in the comments below!

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Putting Yourself First as a Mom

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Putting yourself can be hard for anyone. As my dad always said “Stop burning the candle at both ends” which is a lot easier said than done too. Even when you don’t have kids a lot of people, like myself, always find themselves putting others above their own needs. Becoming a parent doesn’t change that you simply are just pushing yourself further down the list which is not always a good things. Yes, your children will go first in a lot of aspects of your life. However that doesn’t mean that you should ignore yourself. If you become run down and tired or exhausted even then you will find yourself struggling to put your children first as you may want to do.

I also realize while writing this that if you are a single parent with little to no help when it comes to your children that it may be hard for you to find time to put yourself first. I understand that. I am fortunate that I have a partner as well as will be living close to family that will be able to help when I need it for whatever reason. Not to say I will take advantage of this but the opportunities to put myself first might be easier than someone who is doing this alone. But that shouldn’t mean that you are any less important and there is no way to put yourself first. There just might need to be some creative out of the box thinking happening to do this.

Putting yourself first does NOT have to be some big extravagant thing. You can do very little things in order to do this. You don’t even have to spend a lot of money on putting yourself first either. Though we think of self care as a parent or a mom as maybe going on some shopping spree with the girls, or even a night to the movies with friends, it doesn’t have to be like that at all. It can be something as simple as watching a movie at night once the kids have gone to bed, taking a nice warm bubble bath and relaxing for an hour in the water. It can be creating some art with a pen and paper or writing a short story. Putting yourself can also mean doing absolutely nothing once the kids go to bed. Some of the nights I do this, i can tell you I feel the best. Not having to think about doing any house work or laundry just seems to be right sometimes. Remember, those dishes in the sink are not going anywhere, they will still be there in the morning if you don’t want to miss that special finale of the show you have been bingeing to catch up! even dying your own hair can be something that you enjoy doing, this is one I personally try to do when I feel run down, nothing like a fresh hair color or style to really enforce how i feel about myself!

Another thing we tend to put on the back burner as parents is our health. When it comes to our kids we are the biggest advocates for them when they are unwell doing everything within our power to make them feel better. When it comes to us, we will do anything we can to ignore the issue and hope it magically goes away. It sometimes does, but it also sometimes gets worse. I am guilty of this majorly. I need to start to put myself first. If you have to get take out, or skip cleaning for a few days and literally keep your kids alive that is a good thing. Sometimes when we are run down we also can be making ourselves sick too. This would be a prime example of when you spread yourself too thin. I used to do this especially at my old job working with disabled adults, You can read more about it here.

And lastly, if you are able to have someone whether family or friends help out. Take them up on the offer to look after your kids for a few hours. You do not need to spend some money on this. You could even take the time to go to a park or a quick walk. Even go to a picnic for one and read a book under a tree, or window shop or grab a coffee and enjoy some alone time. Sometimes the nicest moments i have is when I can go to a doctors appointment and I can jam to some music as well as just enjoy the quiet even if I am not doing a whole lot. And yes, with the virus around the world loosening though some places are extremely difficult in their 3rd or more waves of it, you can still be creative and think about things for you! Even if they are inside your own home too!

What I am ultimately trying to say, as a mother to another mother or father. Take care of yourself. I know it can be hard to think about it or to actually follow through with it but at the end of the day you cannot be the best you can be if you do not feel your best! Remember you are a great parent even if some days you might not have the cleanest house, or the best home cooked meals available. Doing your best looks to be many different colors and there is no right or wrong way to take care of yourself. As long as you are putting some time into it. It does not have to be every day either, it can be once a week, or twice a week, even a few times a month. There is nothing wrong or selfish about a parent putting themselves first for a little bit of self care! NEVER!

What are some of the things that you do, as a parent, that you really enjoy doing for yourself
Have you changed up activities over the years or do you stick to the same things

Let me know in the comments below!

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7 Things I Do To Unwind

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Before I begin, what someone does to unwind is really subjective in the sense that what I may do to unwind may be something that you absolute hate doing. That is totally okay though! This is just my experience in things that I do to help me unwind when I am feeling stressed or overwhelmed or even just wanting to look after myself with a bit of self care. There is no right or wrong way, though if you are doing something and it is not helping to relieve whatever you may be feeling it may be safe to say that you are not successfully unwinding!

Baths are something that I enjoy doing the most. Though when I am pregnant it is not as easy since I love them to be super hot and in the first trimester they kind of frown upon having really hot baths due to the fact that you can raise your body temperature up significantly which is not good for a growing fetus though! I love relaxing in the bath especially when my spouse is home because I can just lay back and put a facecloth over my eyes and drift away. Sometimes I will read a book, sometimes I bring my tablet in and attempt to watch a movie or show depending on how the WiFi is there which is not normally good. I also have the lights usually dimmed so that it really is a darkened space where I can just relax. I know easier said than done since sometimes my minds just too filled with thoughts but regardless the laying in a tub still does help me feel better especially if I am feeling ill also too.

Coloring, especially in adult coloring books has only just started to become popular in the last 10 years. With multiple books coming out for adults with complex or simple designs for all of your creative needs. My only question for this is why has it not become popular sooner! That seems insane that it really just started to become popular! I have a bunch of different books and sometimes I just like to sit with a show on in the background or light music and just color or chip away at a page that I had already started. The possibilities for coloring and changing how an image can look really can help pass time. There has been days where I have colored and literally hours have passed by and it felt like only a few moments!

Binging Netflix is something that I love to do. I don’t normally do this with my significant other due to the fact we only watch so many shows at night and he also does not like to fully watch a series he likes to savor them. If it is an evening where I am not live with streaming and playing games I love to find a good show especially crime shows and just binge the show to the entirety! Sure, it is a bit of a bummer when it is all over but that just means I have to find another show to do it all over again with to!

Gaming is something I never used to do unless I was live, Now it is something that I find myself doing more either by myself or when I get a moment to spare like when my son is sleeping. Sometimes I play with friends sometimes I play by myself, it really doesn’t matter. Gaming is something though that I have done before, thought it would help me unwind, when it really doesn’t at all. Some times I think gaming is going to be a great way to de-stress and unwind when really it does nothing and I end up not gaming after a few games.

Art or crafts is something i routinely come back to. Especially if I have just gone to the dollar store to get some new materials or I have seen a new hip thing that is happening across Facebook or Pinterest too. I love to create things and if it is something I Have the things to make I am all for it. Sometimes I even do bits and pieces though when I do things and end up finishing a project a few weeks later but honestly I cant stress enough how freeing creating somethings can be though. I love to do anything and everything, from painting, gluing things together, sewing sometimes and even just trying to re-invent things too!

Notes or list and planning is on my list, and I know what you are thinking, it really is not as boring as you might think! I actually love planning things. Making a list and making things that I can see what is happening in the coming month or weeks and planning what I need to do around the house makes me feel like everything is in it’s place. It makes me really feel like I have my stuff together even though it really is quite the opposite! I especially feels good to do it at the beginning of the month and putting everything in my calendar and planner so that I don’t miss anything. This just helps me to plan writing, house work if there is something that i need to do specifically, doctor appointments if I have any, streams, and things of that nature too!

And last, but certainly not least, doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IS TOTALLY FINE! Sometimes at the end of the day, I have no cleaning to do, I heave no streams or planned gaming, I am caught up on blogs (rarely but it does happen!) and Iegit just lay on the couch doing absolutely nothing at all. Sometimes I watch a show I recorded or netflix or amazon prime video, sometimes I sit on my phone and creep the web for the gossip and memes of the day across, sometimes I just do nothing. And there is nothing wrong with doing that.

As you can see I think I have a pretty standard list of things I do to unwind, there really is endless possibilities as to what you do that makes you feel more at ease in the world.

What do you do when it comes to unwinding?
Is there anything on my list that you also do and it helps you too?

Let me know in the comments below, I am always looking for new and creative ways to unwind at the end of the day!

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5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Blog

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Starting blog was never something I thought about when I was growing up and what I would be doing at my age. It really came to be when I wanted to keep producing some content after my son was born while not having to be live streaming and active in that space. Having blogs scheduled and what not was a huge help and slowly but surely after a year and a half I am finally finding how to navigate my way around how things work.

One of the biggest things I am gathering when it comes to blogging is that niches change. And how important it is to have a niche. I talk about my feelings about niches here if you want to see something more specific to what niches are and how they are useful when blogging. Something that I touch base on is how I stuck to one niche and I shouldn’t have for so long. When I started to blog I wrote about streaming and advice and tips and tricks that I had learned. I was such a new blogger I barely knew anything when it came to tags to get your blogs seen. I never knew what SEO was and still don’t fully understand but I am learning. Since making a pivot from streaming blogs to blogs about parenting and my own life, I have seen so much better response that It really is mind blowing that I stuck with streaming for such a long time.

Some of my most popular blogs are the ones that have made me uncomfortable writing and are the most real. My struggling with weight loss was published in November of 2020 for example and that blog still to this day gets reads as well as likes on it. It was part of me facing who I am and what I struggle with in hopes I can maybe help others in the process. When you write blogs, or at least I find when I write them, and I am the most real with myself or even with you all, they seem to get a way better response than when I try to spit out different facts or something that is very one toned and robotic. Being relatable makes it easy for people to connect and I think it also adds a lot of value to a person reading when a post is relatable too.

Pinterest is something that I still am very fresh with and do not to as much as I should. but again that is a learning experience. Out of all the socials that I thought I would really use for blogging pinterest was not one of those! I also didn’t know that you are also able to use pinterest itself to schedule pins to be posted. I was using an app for it however this makes it easier. I also have used canva in order to create pins which has helped tremendously. I need to plan this for myself in my planner a few times a month to schedule pins to post blogs.

Following more bloggers on Twitter. I know this seems to be a no brainer to me but for a while I had strictly used my Twitter for streaming. I had barely anyone who, if anyone who blogged followed. I find that watching others who blog post theirs, or even their tips and tricks can be super useful. The blogging community is so much bigger than I thought it was and a lot of folks are just trying to help one another and grow their brand or business in the process too. Seeing others who are successful also can be really motivating when you might lack motivation. The amount of different things people can write about really is endless. It can also help if someone writes some blogs similar to your own and you can get ideas for your own blogs to write. No that does not mean to copy someone word for word or their own opinions, but seeing different subjects can help trigger your own ideas.

Lastly something that I find I dont do nearly enough as I should is to read other blogs! I need to find out how to search and find different blogs that I would be interested in reading regularly. The same goes for any writing, where you will get better as you read and educate yourself on what it takes to be successful. Having a better idea about what others do and are successful will help me to fine tune myself and better promote my blog as well too! Successful bloggers are a great way to help grow my knowledge of how to be successful myself however it is something that I put on the back burner or make excuses for and push away when the time comes. I need to make a plan to even spend some time each week catching up on some favorite blogs that may or may not be on the same subjects that I write about.

There is a lot of things that I wish I knew when I first started blogging. These are things that as I am learning them and growing my blog, I am slowly and surely starting to see more success with my own blog. Learning to blog can be overwhelming for sure. Especially when you are trying to learn what different aspects of it, I find myself being overwhelmed and giving up. There is also different spots and people who have mini books that are able to purchase for more than reasonable prices that have basically done the research for you! I need to find these myself and use them. I think it is a great way for me to grow my brand even if I am just a small fry in a big pond though!

Did you start blogging as a way to produce content?
Was your main focus to build a brand?
Or are you just researching how to blog and are prepping for your own start in the near future?

Let me know in the comments below, I am always willing to hear what folks are finding to be successful!

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