Tips for Hosting your 1st Thanksgiving

1.     Accept food from family and friends! Don’t try to prepare everything yourself. If you have a signature dish, prepare it, but don’t be afraid to let someone else bring a big item like the Mac and Cheese or their good stuffing. This year, I forgot to prepare an appetizer for early guests, so I was very happy when a family member came early with a cheese and cracker platter.

2.     Don’t forget the wine. I always think of Thanksgiving dinner as the alcohol-free zone, at least while dinner is being eaten and enjoyed, but honestly, I was reminded this year, how a glass a wine never hurt any meal.

3.     Don’t be too formal. Having a great table setting is always a must if your hosting Thanksgiving, but don’t let it stiffen the occasion. This year, I had a cooler and filled it with ice, for those water bottles and sodas the are usually wanted later in the day when people are catching up, but really there’s no space in the refrigerator for another week or so. The cooler chills those drinks just fine and adds an element of relaxation to the day that can sometimes end up being a little too formal.

4.     Skip the candles, I didn’t place any candles on the table or anywhere this year, because I had almost as many children attending Thanksgiving as adults and I just didn’t want any accidents or tip toeing around for anybody.

5.     Plan at least one fun activity. Luckily, for me the football game draws everyone’s attention enough that I didn’t have to do too much, but a nice prayer or talking about how grateful we are or a game of Monopoly will keep your guests returning next year for more fun.

Wild One Birthday Party for my Baby Boy

So this year, it seems like the Wild One theme was a hit for 1 year old birthdays....and I can see why...this theme was so much fun for us to celebrate my baby's 1st 12 months. With the help of Fairy Godmother Events...we were able to make it a fun-filled and beautiful day for my son. My one year old loved the balloons and treats and greenery that comes with the theme. This was especially fun in November when many of the greenery is missing from the Northeast as trees have lost leaves and autumn oranges and browns are everywhere. We decided to focus on a dessert table and keep most of the floor free for dancing and having fun with balloons and letting my son go free in his walker. Here are a few pics from the day.

Baby's First Halloween - Group costume idea

This is year marks my baby’s first Halloween. I had dreamed up going as Jasmine and dressing my baby up as Raja (the tiger), any many other cutesy ideas…that is until my oldest son reminded me that he was also going to be in costume and wanted the three of us to match (Dad doesn’t celebrate Halloween). My son recently saw the Ghostbuster’s movie for the first time and loved it, so we are going as the Ghostbuster’s! I have worn many Halloween costumes, but this is my first time going as a Ghostbuster, so I am super excited too. Here are some pics of how our theme turned out…this costume is also warm and cozy so no need for a jacket :) We got the costumes at Halloween City, similiar to Spirit of Halloween, basically a Halloween pop-up store. The Stay-Puft Marshmellow costume came from Amazon.com.

https://amzn.to/2Db9ftm

Super Easy Golden State Warrior Themed 5th Birthday Party

For the past 8 months, my 5-year-old has been obsessed with NBA basketball, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, so I thought it only fitting that GSW were his theme for his birthday party at Dave and Buster’s. Dave and Buster’s was a fun place for the birthday because the kids were so entertained with the sights and games that the time flew by and I didn’t have to come up with any games for them. The game floor is noisy, but the hosts makes an announcement that brings guests back to the dining area for lunch in case kids get carried away and forget about lunch. The restaurant policy states that kids must be accompanied by an adult always which I happy about because parents were board standing around but entertained by the venue, too.  We got a nice package that allowed for a kid friendly lunch, with drinks and a game card for each kid that I loaded with $10 to get the young players started for the day. This theme was so much fun and I fell in love with the deep blue colors with the gold. All décor products were on Amazon and Party City, the Stephen Curry stand up came from Fatheads.com. I did run into some trouble with my helium tank and wasn’t about to get up as many balloons as I wanted to, but balloons were nowhere near the main attraction at this party!

Frost covered Oreos

Motherlove: More Milk Plus vs. Motherlove: More Milk Special Blend

Motherlove products

 So, I have settled upon the idea that I am in general a low milk producer. When I breastfed  my first son, I really didn’t know this about myself until it was too late. I could not produce enough milk for my son the traditional way or through pumping. I learned about More Milk Plus around 2 months into breastfeeding but by then I just could not keep up with my son’s demand for milk.  With my second son, I had a great game plan and I already knew about supplements like fenugreek seeds and More Milk Plus and different teas to drink to help boost supply but I was hoping that I didn’t need to use these tactics.

The second time around, I didn’t need to use any supplements until I started trying to pump milk for my son before I was getting ready to return to work. I wanted to create a good supply to stash away. This is where the supplements came into play. I couldn’t seem to pump out the same amount of milk that my son seemed to drink. Pumping just wasn’t pulling all the milk and I wasn’t emptying my breasts through pumping. I needed help so I turned to my old friend Motherlove and bought the More Milk Plus pills which I took 4 times a day. I also purchased the More Milk Special Blend in the liquid form because I had heard good reviews from others of how it worked better than More Milk Plus.

More Milk Plus increased my output through pumping in a matter of days, two days to be exact. Before MMP when pumping I would get out about one ounce from each breast for a total of 2 ounces each time I pumped. With the MMP in my system, I was able to pump 2 ounces from each breast for a total of 4 ounces and some days when I ate well with oatmeal and drank lots of water I could pump 2.5 from each breast for a 5-ounce total which I was really excited about. You can’t drink a lot of water with the MMP pills, only about an ounce of water, but when 30 minutes later you can return to drinking as much as you want. More Milk Plus was reliable for me and I didn’t have any side effects with me or baby.

When my bottle of More Milk Plus ran out, I decided to try the More Milk Special Blend. Unfortunately, the More Milk Special Blend did not work for me at all. First, the taste is extremely bitter and I felt thirsty all day after taking it. Lastly, my milk supply did not increase at all. I gave it a whole week before giving it up and returning to the More Milk Plus. I know that some people tried using both together, which I did not try.

In my opinion, Motherlove’s More Milk Plus is the true winner and very reliable way to increase milk supply. Overall, I can see an increase in my supply when I eat more fiber rich foods and make sure I have a piece a fruit and lots of water. I even started to drink Ensure to make sure I got in the extra calories, but I can really see a difference when I increase my water intake. I purchased both of these products on Amazon and was happy with the shipping and quality of products overall.