FREE Carseat Canopy!

I'm so excited to be getting things together for this new baby coming in August! Although, his room hasn't even been started yet. We have so much to do, a guest bed to move out, carpet to rip up, etc. I really need to get on top of that!

There's also things that I am re-using from Aiden, like his newborn carseat! It is in perfect condition, but I'm bored with the design. I think by putting a cover on it, the carseat will have a new look without having to purchase a completely brand new one! This is a great way to save money! I found a website that sells covers that are so adorable!

I'm sure you all have heard of Carseat Canopy! I found this website while browsing online for different options and I love what they offer. They have lots of choices for boys and girls and a few that could even be considered gender neutral!

Carseat Canopy offers two types of canopies. First, you can get just the canopy itself, or you can buy the "Whole Caboodle!" I am purchasing the caboodle for this baby boy and I'm so excited!

If you are a mom who is expecting her first baby, you might be wondering why you would need a canopy at all. You probably are asking if blankets can serve the purpose, but from my experience, I can't wait to get something that won't fall off! Most parents do throw a blanket over the carseat to block out the sun or keep nasty germs away from a newborn. Regular blankets will work, but they often fall when the baby kicks their feet and starts wiggling around. The canopy actually fastens on and will stay put!

I'm very excited to become an affiliate and share these awesome products with you! You can use my promo code 'HOTMESSMAMA14' at checkout to get a FREE Canopy or $50 off of the Whole Caboodle! Share this code with your mommy friends!

My Recipe Binder

Can I just start by saying that there are not enough hours in the day to get sh*t done. I mean, seriously? I think moms across the world should be allowed, I don't know, like, however many hours they please! We deserve it! But that's not the way the world works, sadly.

So, with all of these extra hours that I don't have, my organization and cleanliness has been slacking, for reals. I usually lay in bed at night browsing Pinterest until I completely pass out. They have so many recipes on there! I'm a sucker for a new recipe. Food is totally my love language. Cook me a good meal, and I'll be your best friend for-ev-er! No, really. That's kind of why I gained sixty pounds when I was pregnant with Aiden...that boy made me HUNGRY, but I do believe it was all out of love!

So, between my husband and I, we have accumulated a few cookbooks. We have all different kinds ranging from baking, to grilling, to the kind you get at Church. Adam is extremely picky; he's probably more picky than any four year old you'll ever meet. It's pretty ridiculous if you ask me (love you, honey!) So, with that, we only have a handful of things we eat often and that list gets put on repeat which gets old. I love trying new things, especially new foods - yum!

So, as we try new recipes, I usually scribble them down on scrap paper and keep them in a pile. This gets messy! I also hate that I have to scavenge all of my cookbooks to find that one specific recipe that I know I've cooked before, but can't remember where I found it!

So, I've decided to put together a recipe binder to keep all of the recipes organized and in one spot! I found an empty binder in my cabinet and printed off some free printables online! You can find some really adorable kits on Etsy, but I didn't want to pay for something I could find for free on the world wide web. I did a quick google search and found the cover sheet and spine label from Richly Blessed. I downloaded the category sheets from Happily Hope and used Microsoft Publisher to add my category titles. All I did was place the sheets in plastic protectors; it's super simple! I will probably get those sticky tab dividers and add them to the protectors so I can tell where each category is from the outside without flipping through the entire binder.

I think they turned out super cute! I'm really happy with them.

For now, I'm just adding all of my recipes to the binder "as is", but eventually I will type them all out on the computer so they are legible and more presentable! I can't wait to get this baby filled up! I'd love for this to get passed on to my kids one day!

We Made It!

So, my baby Aiden isn't much of a baby any more! He turned ONE earlier this month. Where has the time gone? I can still remember the car ride home from the hospital and the first night home with him in our house as a family. Now I know why everyone tells me to cherish these days - they go by so fast.

It's been long enough now that we have found things we love and things we hate. I thought I would put together a list of the things we definitely couldn't go without.

1. Fisher-Price Deluxe Monkey Bouncer

This was a gift from our baby shower. It has been quite a lifesaver. Any time I needed to get something done and needed to put him down, Aiden would go in this bouncer. It plays music and has a vibrating feature that you can turn on that helps calm your baby. If you are interested, you can find it at Sears.

2. Graco Pack 'n Play Playard - Barlow

This was also a gift from our baby shower. This is where Aiden slept when we brought him home from the hospital. In the beginning when he was a super newb, I would try to get him to nap in it at least once a day, but he slept with me at night. As Aiden got older, he started sleeping in his crib for naps and by the time he was eight months old, he was sleeping in his crib at night, too. I lowered the mat back down the very bottom and this was a great place for him to play so I could keep an eye on him while I did a quick load of laundry, made us something for lunch, or any of those other awesome mommy duties that needed to get done and I couldn't keep my eye on him 24/7.

I love this pack 'n play for multiple reasons. It has a bassinet feature - basically the bottom of the playard raises up so that you don't have to reach so far down. This is perfect for newborns! Those little poop machines are very immobile the first month or two and there's no chance of them rolling or climbing out, so why break your back reaching all the way down? This is the perfect solution! It comes with a mobile attachment that Aiden loves to look at and talk to. I think my most favorite part of this pack 'n play is the attachment at one end that I use to hold diapers, lotions, ointments, etc. I started using this instead of constantly going back and forth to his bedroom to use the changing table. It stays in our bedroom unless we go on a trip, then it comes with us. Here is the link for this one at Target.

3. Infantino Twist and Fold Gym with Tummy Time - Baby Animal

Again, another gift from our baby shower that I just completely love. I love that this mat folds up easily and we can take it anywhere we go. It comes with a tummy time pillow which has come in handy more than once. At first he had major trouble trying to lift his head, so the pillow gave him support while helping him at the same time. This particular activity mat doesn't play music, but it does have four toys that dangle down that they can play with. The first few times we put Aiden on the mat, he couldn't quite grasp the concept of reaching for the toys, but he did kick at them from time to time. It also has a mirror and he loved looking at himself! This one you can get at Target.

 

 4. Evenflo Exersaucer Jump and Learn Jumper - Jungle Quest

What is there not to love about this thing? I seriously have nothing bad to say about this! We bought this one from Amazon when they had it on sale, but it looks like it's still about the same price as we paid months ago. I'm a huge fan of the Evenflo brand. This jumper held up really well and it is super easy to clean! The seat cover comes off so that you can toss it in the wash when it gets yucky (and trust me it will!) The soft bounce base lets your baby jump and land on a soft surface. It has three different height levels that lets you adjust it as your baby grows. It has toys all around the jumper and some that even light up and make noises and Aiden loved that! The seat turns so that the baby can play from all angles and the toys are easily removable so that you can just pop them off and give them a quick scrub (trust me, do this often because the your little drool factory can produce some serious ick!) Aiden was in his jumper when he learned how to hold his head up well and I really believe that this helped his balance and coordination. This is definitely a great investment!

Aside from the ever-so-important burp rags, onesies, diaper bag, car seats, blankets, and lots of love, these four things helped get us through each day a little easier! I'd love to know where your first year must-haves were and why you loved them!