I am terrible at laundry. There, I said it!

I don’t know what it is about physically folding and putting away laundry, but it takes me days!

Sometimes it takes me days to get started too….which isn’t great for stains!

Luckily I learned some really great tips this morning for stain removal of really common stains with household items!

How To Remove Laundry Stainss

• Hydrogen Peroxide and Lemon - These items act as natural bleach.
• Hand Sanitizer- The sanitizer with alcohol removes coffee stains.
• Aspirin – Crush 3-4 aspirin in a bowl of water and soak stubborn antiperspirant arm pit stains over night and the stain will lift.
• Vodka – Vodka will help get out lipstick stains.

Aren’t those great tips? What are your best stain removal tricks?

In the last two weeks, two of my very good friends have had babies.

I was fortunate enough to get to capture their newborn photos when they were less than a week old.

Before heading to the shoots, I had to compile a little research so I’d get the best results!

How To Take Good Newborn Photos

• Keep the Baby Warm - The womb is very noisy so having white noise where you shoot may help keep the baby asleep.
• Full Baby Equals a Happy Baby - Have mom nurse the baby right before the shoot, or even as soon as you arrive.
• Keep Them Awake Before the Shoot – Ask parents to keep the baby awake for 1 to 2 hours before the shoot so their sure to be sleepy when you need them to be.
• Get Them Young  - It’s best to shoot babies before 14 days old.
• Focus on the Angles
  • Get Down Low - one key to many natural baby shots is to get down on their level.
  • Close Ups – another way to improve the angles and make your shots seem more intimate is to get in close by either physically moving in or by using a longer focal lengths.
• Take Your Time - Newborn shoots can be very time consuming so plan on at least two or three hours.
• Stay Calm and Relaxed - Babies can pick up on your energy, so make sure not to be anxious or nervous.  Have fun!

I was really happy with how the pictures turned out!

What are your best tips?

As I prepare to celebrate Baby O’s SECOND *gasp* birthday next week (can someone get me a kleenex?), I was reflecting back about everything I’ve learned by raising a second baby.

I remember with both girls, I have learned so much from the What to Expect series. I bought the What to Expect When You’re Expecting as soon as I found out I was pregnant with Miss R. We loved reading through the book every Sunday night and learning about what was going on with our tiny peanut.

That book was a fabulous resource, so I knew I needed to get  What to Expect the First Year. I remember finding the book so helpful the first time around I found the well read and worn book to read again when I was days away from meeting my second baby girl.

Once your baby reaches twelve months and heads into that second year you have even more questions about development and milestones. I was so glad to have What to Expect: The Second Year. These books really speak to parents because you find exactly where you are in your parental journey and jump right in to the appropriate book.

What to Expect.com has generously teamed up with me to host a giveaway to celebrate this wonderful book series. In honor of Baby O’s 2nd birthday, I am giving away the first three books in this series; the same ones I have used and raved about!

• What to Expect When Expecting
• What to Expect the First Year
• What to Expect the Second Year

Please follow the easy Rafflecopter entry below.  The giveaway ends on December 1st.
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I’ve mentioned before how much I love the Toddler Tidbits class at my local grocery store.  The dietitian, Amanda, is fabulous!

This month’s class was all about added sugars and of course, some fun and healthy Halloween treats.

Sugar is often times hidden in many of the foods we eat on a daily basis in many different forms.

Here is a helpful list of 50 other names for sugar.  It’s important to keep an eye out for these words on the ingredient lists of foods you’re eating, especially if it’s one of the top 5 ingredients listed.

Amanda did a fun exercise to show how many teaspoons of added sugar were in 8 ounces of  common drinks that many children in American may be drinking.

• Welch’s Grape Juice – 9 teaspoons. (!!!) This, sadly, is the highest amount of any of the drinks above.
• Simply Orange Juice – 5.75 teaspoons.
• Mountain Dew – 7.75 teaspoons.  Remember, this is in 8 ounces.  There’s over 20 teaspoons in the whole bottle.
• Hawaiian Punch – 4.25 teaspoons.
• TruMoo Chocolate Milk – 5.5 teaspoons.
• Reduced Fat Milk – 2.75 teaspoons.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we should start feeding our kids Hawaiian Punch over Chocolate Milk.  You need to consider what other valuable vitamins and minerals the different drinks provide.

Obviously, water and reduced fat milk are the best options.  But chocolate milk is still a much better option than soda or fruit juices because of the calcium and protein it provides.  We also learned it’s important to aim for 10 teaspoons or less of added sugar per day for your children.

After making the adorable spooky gloved munch mix (using popcorn, healthy cereals and dried fruits in place of typical candy) we made Jack-O-Lantern Smoothie’s that all the kids love!

Jack-O-Lantern Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 clear plastic cups
• 3 containers (6 oz. each) yoplait 99% fat-free orange creme yogurt
• 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 medium banana
• 4 ice cubes

How To Make It:

1. In a small microwaveable bowl, melt chocolate chips on high for 1 minute, until melted.
2. With tip of the knife, spread chocolate on the inside of the cups to resemble a jack-o-lantern face on each cup.
3. Refrigerate cups for 5 minutes until chocolate has set.
4. Blend remaining ingredients until smooth.
5. Pour into chocolate painted cups and serve with a green straw!

All the kids had so much fun painting their cups.  Look at how cute Little Miss R’s turned out!

It’s my favorite time of year!  Not only is the weather getting cooler and the leaves are changing, but the holidays are right around the corner!

I have a December birthday too, so it’s even an extra special time for me!

One of my favorite things about the season is sending and receiving holiday cards.

I made sure to schedule our family photos from Casie Haley Photography in late September so I’d have plenty of time to make mine well in advance.

I’ve been obsessed with Tiny Prints for some time now.  Their products are such a high quality and adorable.  This year’s holiday cards are no exception!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Aren’t those gorgeous?  Now it’s just time to make some decisions.  One lucky reader will also have their chance to make decisions as well!

If you’re interested in buying your own cards, make sure to check out Tiny Print’s special offers page so you get the best deal!

Tiny Prints Giveaway

One reader will receive $50 off their total order (does not include shipping & cannot be combined with any other promos).  All you need to do is follow the easy Rafflecopter instructions below and complete the mandatory steps.  Complete more steps for more chances to win!

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This is a sponsored post.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s that gorgeous time of year where the leaves are falling, the weather is getting nice and cool, and every other person you run into is sniffling and sneezing.

Little Miss R has caught her first cold of the season and was heartbroken when we told her tonight that there was no medicine to make her nose better.  :(

Since I’m still healthy *knock on wood* I decided a little information on how to stay that way may be beneficial to all of us!

How To Avoid Catching the Common Cold

• Wash Up: One of the most well known ways to avoid catching cold is frequent and thorough hand washing.
• Don’t Cover Your Mouth: At least, don’t cover up with your hands!  Instead, sneeze or cough into a tissue and throw it away.
• Face Off: Keep your hands off of your face!  Cold and flu viruses enter your body through the eyes, nose, or mouth. Touching their faces is the major way children catch colds and a key way they pass colds on to their parents.
• Eat Your Phytos: Foods containing phytochemicals, such as dark green, red and yellow fruits and vegetables, have natural chemicals that give us the vitamins we need for a supercharged boost.
• Stay Active: The more active people are, the fewer colds they get. Among those who work out at least four times a week, 20 percent say they never get colds.  Researchers from The American Journal of Medicine hypothesize that each bout of exercise may boost virus-fighting cells called leukocytes.

These are pretty good tips for life, when you think about it.  Eat fruits and veggies, stay active and wash your hands!  Here’s to healthy, happy winters for all of us!

Sorry I’ve been MIA for a few months.  I needed to take some time to give my full attention to my two at-home jobs.  Not to mention, the end of summer and beginning of fall are a busy time for my family!

I hope to be back to blogging soon.  How’ve you all been?

Is anything cuter than your precious babies cuddled up with your pets?

Melissa at Growing Up Geeky and Caroline at Aidan …with EOS don’t think so either.

I’m linking up with them this week to share adorable pictures of Little Miss R and our puppies.  Apparently I never take any pictures of Baby O with her “bow wows.”  Oops!

Enjoy!

Riley and Miss R, Feb. 2009

Riley and Miss R, Aug. 2011

The only kitty I’ll allow in my house…or the hospital. Kitty and Miss R, May 2012

I’m out of town for the rest of the week at two back to back conferences, so I’ll see you next week!

I thought it would be nice of me to not only plan the menu for them, but cook the meals ahead of time as well.

Here’s what they can expect for dinner this week:

This week I’m linking up with Organizing Junkie.

I had a zucchini sitting in my fridge and really wanted some zucchini bread.

But I really hate all the fat and sugar that’s in most recipes. Especially if I give it to my girls for breakfast!

I saw this recipe (made a few of my own tweaks) and was overall really impressed with them!

Apple Carrot Zucchini Muffins

How To Make It
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, mix agave, applesauce and banana. Mix in apple, carrot and zucchini.
3. In another bowl, mix together whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, flax seed, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Fold dry mixture into wet mixture. Place into muffin tins.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Servings: 24