A couple of weekends ago I took off my mommy hat and put on my ‘adult’ pants for my oldest friend’s bachelorette party!!  My family and friends were joking that I would be calling it a night around 11pm, however I am happy to report I stayed out dancing with my friends until 2am … sometimes I really do surprise myself!  As I’ve gotten older I have become more into going out to dinner than a going out clubbing or to a bar, but once in a while it is definitely fun to let loose and have a late night.  And lucky for me, my husband was kind enough to handle baby duty for the whole evening and the next morning so I could get some sleep.

As the bridesmaids and I started to brainstorm for the bachelorette party I took to Pinterst (obviously) to see what ideas were out there.  First I checked out my Fling Before the Ring board to see what I previously pinned and I immediately found something that triggered an idea.  For my bachelorette, my maid of honor had put together little goodie bags for each girl.  I loved the idea and wanted to do something similar.  Enter the badass bachlorette survival kit inspiration, which can be found here.

Badass Bachelorette Survival Kit | Wedding | Life's Tidbits

It took us a little while to determine what should go in each bag.  In the end each survival kit included:

  • Penis Straw {not pictured}
  • Altoids
  • Chocolate
  • Party Beads
  • Bangles
  • Red Lipstick
  • Scratch a Dare
  • Advil

Bachelorette Survival Kit | Wedding | Life's Tidbits

Originally, I had intended to print everyone’s names on the front of the bags and ‘Badass Bachelorette Survival Kit’ on the other side, however the printer and the bags didn’t get along well.  Hand writing everything on the bags would have been a possibility if I had nice hand writing.  Overall I am really happy with how the survival kits came out.  I think the bride-to-be and her possy put the kits to good use!! =)

Bachelorette Survival Kit | Wedding | Life's Tidbits

Bachelorette Survival Kit - DIY FREE Printable | Wedding | Life's Tidbits

FREE Badass Bachelorette Printable can be downloaded here.  I have uploaded the MS Word version so you can add/remove survival kit items as needed.  I really get bummed out when I find a fabulous printable and then can’t use it because it’s un-editable.  You will need to download two free fonts for this printable:  Pottery Barn and FangSong.  I purchased 4×6 Cardstock to print the survival kit message on.

 

Did you do bachelorette party favors or survival kits?  If so, what did you include in the bags?

 

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Happy Friday! It has been a busy week around here and blogging took a backseat due to taking on the role of Mom AND Dad this week.  The husband has been traveling for work, which meant I got all the late night feedings as well as chores around the house.  I am pooped!!  Luckily the husband will be back at some point today and the weekend is almost here.  The weather is FINALLY turning and cherry blossom season is DC in upon us.  I think a walk down to the tidal basin might be in order this weekend.

High5Friday

Highlights from the past week (or so) …

ONE – Bonding time with my dad.  Like I mentioned about my husband has been traveling for work this week.  And although I did do all the late night feedings I was fortunate to have some help with taking care of the baby.  My dad flew in from Massachusetts and stayed the week.  After getting the little one to sleep each night we had dinner and chatted.  It made me realize it has been a while since we’ve spent time just the two of us.  It was really nice for him to get some alone time with Jellybean as well.

JB_Papa_BathTime

TWO – Rolling Over!  Jellybean started rolling from her front to her back about two weeks ago.  This week I’ve seen her roll from her tummy to her back a few times.  Though she certainly hasn’t mastered rolling over she is getting pretty darn good at it.  Unfortunately I missed it, but my dad saw her do a 360 (back to tummy and then tummy to back).

THREE – Successful Bridal Shower / Bachelorette Weekend.  Last weekend we (the bridesmaids and myself) threw a bridal shower and bachelorette party for my oldest friend.  We’ve been friends literally our entire lives — I’m talking all the way to when we were both in our mum’s tummies!  It took a lot of effort and planning, but the weekend was a total success.  Plus a bonus was my sister flew into town for the weekend so I got to see her too.

BridalShower_JB

FOUR – Getting Chores Done.  I  know it’s lame, however sometimes getting the small things done around the house make me so happy.  The headlight on my car was out so my dad purchased a new bulbs and had them installed for me.  Apparently you should replace both not just the one that is out according to him.  I also cleaned for the cleaning person, which my father finds amusing.  How can the cleaning person clean if there is stuff everywhere?! I think it’s a valid point, but in any case our house is finally clean again!

FIVE – Husband comes home today.  Despite the week flying by and having a blast with my dad I am super excited for the hubby to return tonight.  Things just aren’t the same around here without him. =)

Happy Friday folks!  I hope you have a great weekend!! What’s your high five moment(s) of the week?

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I struggled with if I should call it a baby welcome basket or baby shower basket.  Since I got the basket as a welcome gift for Jellybean, welcome basket won out!  A friend of mine reached out shortly after Jellybean was born and asked if she could come meet the baby.  She texted on her way and offered to bring us Starbucks, which I happily took her up on.  Not going to lie, the husband and I were pretty excited about having lattes delivered to the house!  When my friend and her husband arrived they not old had Starbucks, but also a gift basket for the little one AND some much needed sustenance (soup and cupcakes) for the husband and me.  Talk about thoughtful!!

Being new parents with little to no time to cook for ourselves we quickly ate devoured the cupcakes and soup.  Truth is, we totally had cupcakes for breakfast a few days in a row … when you had a newborn you eat what’s available, plus those cupcakes were DA BOMB!  It didn’t dawn one me until after they were gone to blog about the food and gift basket.  C’est la vie – the welcome basket is really what I want to show you anyways.

babywelcomebasket

This gift is both unique as well as personalized!  I just love it and we’ve used everything in the basket with the exception of one item that doesn’t fit Jellybean quite yet.  The pink dog is a huge hit not only with my daughter, but the little girl next door who is a few months older is pretty into it as well.  The contents of the basket included:

  • Book
  • Headbands
  • Night Gown
  • Onesie and Pant outfit
  • Pink Dog Tag Along Toy
  • Bath Cozy

babybasket_contents

Soooo fabulous, right?!  I can’t wait to copy my friend’s idea and create a welcome basket for someone’s new bundle of joy … as copying is the highest form of flattery!  Since my friend is kind of known for creating these baskets I certainly don’t plan on stealing her thunder, so I am going to have to hold off under a non-mutual friend has a baby.  :)

Have you created a welcome basket for your friend’s new baby before?  If so, what did you include in it?

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HIGH FIVE FOLKS … IT’S FRIDAY!!!  The week has gone by pretty quickly and – I am not going to lie – I am THRILLED the weekend is almost here!  I’ve decided to try something new and post five things every or every-other {haven’t decided which yet} Friday that I want to high five about.

What is High Five Friday? High Five Friday was started by a blogger named Meg from A Dash of Meg.  High Five Friday allows us to “take time to celebrate our weekly achievements, successes, and abilities. Within a week we accomplish so much, but forget to give ourselves credit for all that we do, so High Five Friday allows us to take the time and recognize these important accomplishments.”

High5Friday

ONE – I Returned to the Workforce – I officially turned in my stay-at-home-mommy hat and put on my bringing-home-the-bacon-mommy hat on Monday.  To be honest, there were some tears involved most mornings, however I take comfort in the fact that we chose a fantastic nanny to take care of her during the day.  After my first day back at work Jellybean showed me some love … check out the smile I got from my little one upon my return home:

9MonthsInside_Onesie

Onesie was a gift from my sister!

TWO – Back to Blogging – I’m excited to be blogging again.  I am starting to get the swing of this whole thing called motherhood and I’m able to find a little time for myself = time to blog.  I have some really fun {non baby} stuff to share including a bridal shower I am throwing for my oldest friend.  We have literally been friends our entire lives – our parents met in Lamaze class!

THREE – Mad Men Season 6 & 7 – Season 6 of Mad Men is being released on Netflix March 30th!  Guess what I am doing on Sunday … wink wink.  The husband and I tore through watched seasons 1-5 while I was on maternity leave and we have been anxiously awaiting season 6.  Bonus is season 7 begins on April 13th.  We will certainly get our Mad Men fill in the month of April!!!

FOUR – Taxes are Done – For some reason I always procrastinate on the taxes front.  Truth is I don’t even do them myself.  I have no idea what my issue is, but I finally got my act together, scanned in all the documentation and sent it on over to the accountant.  Feels good to check that off the to-do list!

FIVE – Established an Evening Routine – I knew going back to work was going to be rough on me emotionally so I decided to find something I could try to “control”.  The little one is nearing the 3 month old mark so we decided to implement {hello project manager lingo!} a nighttime routine.  I Googled, read blogs and skimmed a few books — all of which seem to say roughly the same thing — any routine is fine as long as it’s the same one every night.  We started Thursday of last week and successfully stuck with it for a whole week!  More to come on the whole baby nighttime routine.

What’s your high five moment(s) of the week?

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I had so much fun during Jellybean’s 2 month photo shoot!  She made some adorable faces so it was hard for me to only include two photos in this post, but I restrained myself from inundating you with pictures.  Over the past month I have made no progress on the schedule front and though I have “nothing” to show for my days, they fly by.  I love being at home with my daughter {why does it still feel weird to say/write daughter?!} and DREAD the thought of going back to work full time!!!  As the weather is slowly starting to warm up I’m ever so hopeful JB and I will be able to go on more walks in my last few weeks at home with her.  Jellybean’s little smiles make everything right in my world.  I spend the majority of the time she is awake trying to make her smile – thank goodness no one is recording me, I’m sure I look pretty silly most of the time.  :)

A few tidbits about the second month …

2monthsold

Headband is from Etsy

Sleeping

Jellybean is sleeping anywhere from 3 to 7 hours during the night (which I define as 9pm to 8am).  We are ever so thankful for the long periods of sleep.  I find when she sleeps over 4 hours I wake up abruptly and immediately lean over the bed to ensure Jellybean is OK.  It’s a weird feeling to be thankful for the sleep and freaked out all at the same time!

Eating

This month we officially introduced bottles and we are very lucky it went smoothly.  My little one doesn’t care if the bottle is hot or cold (winning!) nor does she have a preference of who feeds her the bottle.  Jellybean just wants to eat!  I haven’t had any issues with nipple confusion either (maybe I shouldn’t say this out-loud or it will become an issue).  Breastfeeding coupled with bottles has truly made life easier.  The husband can feed baby while I cook dinner, blog or heck take a shower.

While the transition from nursing to both bottles and nursing went well finding the right bottle was another story.  We started off with Advent bottles and their natural nipples.  JB was “shot gunning the bottles” as my husband so eloquently {LOL} told the doctor.  She was eating way too fast, which resulted in her crying because she didn’t realize she was full after finishing the bottle as well as spitting up a lot.  The doctor recommended we switch to Dr. Brown bottle and use a preemie nipple.  The preemie nipple has the slowest nipple flow available.  We saw an immediate and positive difference in Jellybean’s bottle feedings once we made the switch.   My biggest complaint with bottle feeding is cleaning/storing/organizing the bottles.  It looks like bottle pieces exploded on our counter top! :)  Any suggestions on how to manage all these bottles would be much appreciated!!

Wearing

Quickly after posting Jellybean’s first month round up she moved into size 1 diapers.  She is also no longer fitting into her newborn clothes and is wearing all 0-3 month sizes.  Some 0-3 month clothes are still too big on her … seems to be different brands run differently … not really a shocker hahaha.  I’m really enjoying having a new set of clothes to dress the little one up in.  Her wardrobe is quite large – she’s a little fashionista!

Milestones

Smiles and “giggles”/coos.

Rocking tummy time and gaining more control over her head each day.

Sucks on her hand, which according to the doctor is the first step towards self soothing.

Rolls onto her side consistently.

Random Tidbits

I started singing the Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes song to the munchkin during week 7 and she just loves it (at least someone enjoys my singing…I must admit I have a horrible voice).  Sometimes I make the movements with my hands and other times I use hers, but either way she smiles and coos while I sing.

She has also started to enjoy the play mat.  She will play by herself for about 5 to 15 minutes without crying or needing me to sit by her.  I try to use this “free” time wisely by going through the mail, switching the laundry or snapping a few photos of her playing.  It’s really fun to watch her eyes wide open as she {somewhat accidentally} knocks the toys around and the lights change color.

2monthsold_blackwhite

What is your favorite tidbit from your baby’s second month?

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