Catch the moment: Week 12

 More sleeping babies. I just can't get enough!

Penny makes sleep look so good! 

Things had gotten quiet, except for some crinkling, crunching and giggling. Penny had stolen Pirate Booty from her snack drawer and brought it over to Ruby to share. I couldn't even get mad, it was just too cute.

Sometimes you just gotta have some homemade strawberry shortcake! 

Penny's like "I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse" and Ruby's like "bring it."  

We call this our "Washougal Breakfast" because we typically had this on Saturday mornings, pre-kids and just laid in bed until 10a with our dogs. Toast, a fried egg, avocado and hot sauce. These days I'll cycle it in on a weekend breakfast and the memories of carefree days, our first home, first renovation and "simpler times" comes flooding in. And then Penny sticks her finger in the hot sauce and proclaims "TOO SPICY!" Wouldn't trade it for a second.

Catch up on previous weeks: 

Catch the moment archives

Follow along on Instagram daily!

How I met your father #mymikesmoment

I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for mike’s hard lemonade. I received a Circle k gift card to facilitate this review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Kids, have I told you about the time that your father and I met?

In Spring of 2007, my dad had battled cancer for 9 years. I was going to college about 2 1/2 hours away from home, and I knew his time was running out. I drove home every chance I got to spend a little more time with him.

One afternoon in May, as I was parking my car at school to go to work, I stopped to ask the driver of the car parked next to me if I had parked with enough space for him to get out. I'm not sure why I was concerned, I knew I had given him enough space. Maybe it was because he was driving an SUV and I was only thinking about the preservation of my car from a door ding. The driver got out of his car, gave the parking spots an obligatory glance, and he gave me a brilliant smile and said that it was fine.

I had an awkward girl moment. I blushed and rushed on my way.

When I walked back to my car that evening, there was a note under my wiper. I groaned..thinking that in fact there wasn't enough space for that guy to get out and he left my a note telling me that he bumped into my car or something.

Instead it was a note wishing me a great weekend with the guy's full name.

And thus, millennials, if you are on the same page as I am, leaving one's full name is certainly an invitation for a facebook stalk and so once I got home I hopped onto my laptop and looked him up.

I wasn't looking for a relationship, but I gathered that he had suffered a loss recently and thought that we can be a support to each other. Tentatively I sent him a message, and eventually our conversations transitioned to almost hourly messages via myspace and later texting. A week later we met for our first date.

The romance followed and my father passed away 3 weeks after we met. It is an indescribable loss. And yet, I remind myself in those hard moments that nothing happens on accident. God placed us into each other's lives when we needed it the most. My dad and I shared the mantra "when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade," and I couldn't have thought of a sweeter story that started with a bunch of life's lemons.

October is the month where many of us take a moment to honor the battle with cancer, especially with breast cancer. But cancer (of all types) doesn't take a break between November - September. There's tons of way to donate towards cancer research, and Mike's Hard makes the commitment to donating and raising awareness too. Consider buying a case of Mike's Hard pink lemonade to get a portion towards breast cancer research...now what's better than enjoying a brew and feeling good about it too?

Tell me about your #mymikesmoment!

Check them out on Facebook & Twitter

I chose a natural birth and why I'll do it again

Welcome to the October 2013 Carnival of Natural Mothering! 

This article is a part of the Carnival of Natural Mothering hosted by GrowingSlower, Every Breath I Take, I Thought I Knew Mama, African Babies Don't Cry, and Adventures of Captain Destructo. This month's topic is Natural Birth Choices. Be sure to check out all of the participants' posts through the links at the bottom of this page.

Please note that my experiences are my own and my opinions may differ from yours. I always welcome discussion and am not offended if you think I'm crazy or my choices aren't what you'd consider for yourself. I do ask that if you choose to read this blog and make comments that you do so in a respectful manner of myself and other commentors here. Thanks for reading my story!

It's entirely possible that my two children will be pretty damn close to being exactly 2 years apart. Penny was born on March 3 and Pierogie #2 "due date" is March 4. When I first became a parent almost 2 years ago, I didn't consider the possibility of jumping back into pregnancy, birth and a newborn so soon. But as time passed and my husband and I took a long, hard look at the relationships we have with our siblings and the relationships we see between other siblings - we knew that we wanted our kids to be close in age. A big part of our decision in being open to a closer age spacing was how my pregnancy and the birth went as well. Our choice for a natural minded pregnancy and an unmedicated water birth in a birth center shaped so much of our experience in becoming parents.

In the few years leading up to our first pregnancy I spent a lot of time researching all the different options we have available to us in terms of approaching pregnancy, birth and parenthood. I soon began to form my opinions of what I believed to be 'safe' and 'unsafe.' Our family was going through quite the baby boom as well, with over 10 babies born in a little under a year and a half, giving me tons of exposure to how different women handled pregnancy and what their birth choices were. A dear friend raved about her experience with a local birth center and I knew this was the choice for us. Don't get me wrong - I am a firm believer in hospitals, doctors and nurses. Medical staff, interventions and technology are there for people who need help or are sick. My husband and I constantly discussed throughout my first trimester if a natural birth in a birth center is the best choice. In the end, after all the standard 'mainstream' medical care for my first trimester we decided that the baby and myself were both healthy, strong and completely capable of a natural birth. Both of our bodies were made to under go this process together and neither one of us was working to sabotage the other. We'd of course always keep the option open for a hospital birth if necessary (and of course our midwives supported this), and thankfully the need never arose.

What was it about natural birth and midwifery care that made it a no-brainer for me to do it all over again?

• I did my research. I looked at both sides of the coin, have spoken to women who have done it both ways. I read birth stories, good and bad, and filed away a lesson from each and every single one. No birth is the same, but I felt that a big part of my personal preparation was to hear about how other women had experienced birth.
• My first trimester with Penny was spent with a midwife at a Kaiser Permanente facility. I saw the same midwife for my visits, but there was very little chance that she would be the midwife at my birth. This struck a very deep chord within me. I was on this journey to become a mother and looked to my midwife was the guide - I felt like I'd spin out of control if I went into labor and a stranger would be there to help me. This was the biggest reason why we chose a freestanding birth center - my first birth center alternated between two midwives, and my current one cycles through three. All of which I will meet several times before the birth, so they get to know us, our desires and I can learn what to expect from them and trust in their wisdom.
• In Washington State more and more hospitals are allowing women to labor in tubs but water birth is still not permitted. When it's time to push, back to the bed you go. I wanted complete freedom in what is the most comfortable way to have my baby. When Penny's time came, I came to the birth center at about 5cm dilated. I slid into the tub, the warm water supporting my body and helping relax my muscles between contractions. Less than 3 hours later, I was holding my baby girl in my arms.
• Our birth center inherently has a calming and tranquil feeling within its walls. I'll have a choice between two rooms (hopefully) and both rooms feature a spacious floor plan, personal shower, large birthing tubs and queen sized beds. Walking into these rooms feels like I'm checking into a boutique spa. I feel supported and important when I am there. 
  
• My choices are supported. There is no 'bureaucratic protocol' to follow. If I don't want a certain vaccine given to my child, if I don't want to be talked to about formula, if I want to keep the cord connected for more than twenty minutes, I'll be supported. 
• Immediate skin on skin contact. I pull my baby up onto me, I can hold him/her for as long as I want. I nurse immediately. No whisking away for tests or measurements (within reason, of course). My baby will never leave my room, nor my arms if I don't want it to. 
• I get to go home at the end of the day! Ok, many of you will think "what?? why would you want that??" but honestly - I just want to get home and get into my bed and snuggle with my family. Another Washington State rule is that there aren't any overnight stays allowed in birth centers (unless they have a 24 hour nursing staff) so you are typically sent home 3-6 hours after the birth. This was a big chunk for me to swallow at first, especially because my friend who talked to me the most about natural birth happened to her her baby in Oregon, where that isn't a requirement.  But I learned and accepted that if there is a reason why you shouldn't go home after those few hours you are referred to a hospital. That means you need more support than your midwives can provide and you should get help. Natural births heal very quickly and a healthy mama and baby will be fine at home at the end of the day.
• After the birth, your midwife comes to you. I won't have to schlep my postpartum butt out to the birth center after 48 hours to go for baby's check up. She will come to me, see us in the comfort of our own home. That's a big help!

Those are just a few of my favorite things about birth centers, my midwives and how my experience went with my first birth :)

Have you given birth in a freestanding birth center? 

What were your favorite parts about the experience?

Bloggers, visit GrowingSlower to sign up to be a part of next month's carnival. 

Natural Soaps with StarGazer Soaps

It's a simple truth that as parents we want to do the best we can for our families and provide for them in anyway we can. It seems to be a huge trend that more and more people are switching to all natural and less processed products. We educate ourselves on how exposure to different chemicals over our lifetime can affect us, and as a first time mom I spent countless hours reading up about specifically bath products for my new baby.

But what did I miss out on? Taking care of myself too! After all, I'm not even 30 yet, it's not like I'm "too far gone" to make a difference, right?

So recently I've started taking the initiative on not only making sure that my entire family eats better but also that we are much more mindful of the products we use and their properties. Which is why I want to share with you about natural, handmade soaps from StarGazer Soaps!

I used to think that handmade soaps were just 'foofy' and actually didn't work as well as the mass marketed products you buy off the shelf at the grocery store. Of course, as I educated myself and spoke more with Nicole (owner and soapmaker of StarGazer Soaps), I learned that it is literally far from the truth.

Handmade, natural soaps are:

• Chemical Free - It takes 10 seconds for our skin to absorb the chemicals in commercial soap - Formaldehyde being one of them!
  
• They are naturally moisturizing
• Commercial soap companies remove the glycerin that is made during the soap making process and replace it with chemicals
• Commercial soap companies add detergent to soap - to clean your shower while you use it!
• StarGazer Soaps are absolutely chemical free - using only oils, minerals, clays, etc.  No dyes, no detergent, no formaldehyde!
• Soap - true soap - requires oils/fats & an alkali in order to make soap. Most commercial bars are labeled as "beauty bar" or "body bar".  This is because they are made with detergents, and are not true soap.  This includes body wash.  Again, not soap!
• If soap is not labeled as "soap", it does not fall under the strict soap FDA guidelines.  By claiming it is a cosmetic product, they can hide ingredients and make all sorts of claims.  The laws are different for each label, and much stricter for soaps.
• Nicole only uses natural ingredients in her bars, however what sets apart her purely natural line from her silk line is that the purely natural soaps use essential oils whereas the silk line uses a combination of fragrance oil.
• Learn more about the differences between handmade and commercial soaps on Nicole's blog.

Nicole's personal testimony is that switching to natural, handmade soaps 

has cured her family of eczema, acne & dry skin. 

Maybe it won't do do the same for everyone, but it has been life changing for them.
Watch Nicole's videos on how she pours and cuts her soap!

Over the last couple months I've had the opportunity to try out Nicole's Mars Silk, Orion Silk, and Purely Natural Grapefruit soaps. Seriously, what a treat! All of her soaps smell so good and are visually unique. 

StarGazer Purely Natural Grapefruit

True to its name, the Mars soap has a very masculine scent and I've found Adam reaching for it often. The Orion is her most beautiful bar and I've had that out in our guest bathroom for our guests. It has fruity and floral scents and is a perfect hand moisturizing soap. Our favorite to keep in the shower has been the Grapefruit bar. It's an awesome all around soap bar and I've also loved using it instead of shaving cream!

StarGazer Mars

Guess what else? StarGazer Soaps welcomes custom orders! So keep her in mind when you are planning your next bridal or baby shower, an upcoming grad party (how fun would it be to have your graduating colors in a soap bar?), or any other special occasion you can think of.

Connect with StarGazer Soaps via 

Facebook, Youtube and her blog (where you can get previews of upcoming soaps and tips!) and
shop online at Etsy.

And my favorite part of all.. sharing these awesome soaps with you! One lucky winner will get to pick 4 soaps that they'd like to try - 2 from the silk line and 2 from the purely natural line. Goodie!!

This giveaway has ended. Thank you to all who entered! 

Please check out other Pierogie Mama giveaways.

Disclosure: Thank you, StarGazer Soaps for providing me with product to facilitate this review. I absolutely loved them and am a 100% handmade soap convert! All opinions expressed are my own. None of these statements are intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Please exercise your own common sense and consult a physician if you have any concerns. 

A Peek Back in Time.. Our Kitchen Renovation

As the anticipated closing date on our new home looms (and how tightly crossed my fingers and toes are!!!), my thoughts return to our previous home that we renovated. I haven't shared those pictures with you on this blog yet, so I thought I'd open up my renovation brag book and show off what my husband and I accomplished at our first renovation, affectionately called The TTD (T-ton Tear Down).

80% of that renovation was done by our own hands. The only parts that we contracted out were carpet install (because seriously, $100 to Lowes to install our carpets is a NO BRAINER), granite install, a little bit of exterior paint and electrical work in the kitchen. Everything else from cabinets, hardwood and tile flooring, paint, plumbing, landscaping, dry wall.. you name it.. was all done by us, with the help of friends and family along the way. We didn't have prior experience in a lot of these things, but youtube videos and a healthy relationship with your local hardware store goes a long way :)

I'm going to start off with our kitchen.

That's what we did on Day 1.

Then we started using blue painters tape to map out where our cabinets would be. 

And our peninsula with raised bar.

Then our cabinets arrived and Adam began his install.

Then came paint.

And uppers, which had under cabinet lighting.

And granite with full height backsplash. We were so in love with this color!

And then.. the final product.

Some of my favorite features that we had in the kitchen were a dedicated KitchenAid mixer cabinet (to keep the mixer off the counter but easily accessable)

And a faucet over the cooktop.

Adam made custom corbels for under our raised bar that matched the pulls on our cabinets too.

The kitchen was definitely a labor of love. We spent close to 7 months without a cook top - I cooked every night on a Coleman propane camper style cooktop. Adam spent countless hours under the house reworking plumbing when we moved the sink from an exterior wall to an interior wall. We grew angry and frustrated when we realized that our kitchen designer was taking us for a ride and was not going to come through with his promises and jerked us around. We learned so many valuable lessons as homeowners and a married couple. 

Have you ever thought about doing a renovation, or any upgrades in your existing home? 

How did it go for you?

Happy 4th Birthday, Squirty McWigglebottom :)

Today marks 2 years since we adopted our second dog, a mini-Australian shepherd, whom we dubbed "Squirt."

We decided on the name after wanting to call him something along the lines of "little brother" to our older dog, Romeo. I had suggested the name Braciszek ("bra-chi-shek," which means "little brother" in Polish)... but as you can guess, that was shot down. Eventually we settled on Squirt, which is really fitting for him anyways.

And the McWigglebottom part? Well, Squirt doesn't have a tail. Australian Shepherds are known for their naturally bobbed tails, but Squirt was born without one at all..however, when he gets really excited, his entire butt shakes.

2 years ago we had decided that Romeo was in need of a buddy. My office was dog friendly, but I didn't always want to bring him with me but we thought he might be lonely during the day. He was getting older and we hoped that a younger dog would pep him up a little bit and in turn he would help mature a younger dog too. We were about half way through our renovation and I was most likely subconsciously dealing with baby fever (3 of my sister in laws were due between May and September). So we decided to get a second dog. The funny part is that I was pregnant about 2 months later anyways....

I am pretty familiar with dog breeds (for some reason) and we decided that a Mini-Aussie would be a good fit for our family. Energetic, smart, loyal and trainable. After months of searching the good old list of Craig's and various pet adoption websites, I came across a listing for a 2 year old male on CL and texted in about him. Throughout the rest of the day I exchanged sporatic texts with a 19 year old girl who was juggling community college courses, a busy lifestyle and a energetic (to say the least) dog that was cooped up in her small apartment :( I felt bad because I remember being in that stage of life.. I'm sure she loved that dog very much, but it just wasn't a good mix. I'm thankful that she decided to give him to a good home and move on.

We picked him up that night and were greeted with this ball of furry silvery energy that immediately loved on us (and wiggled his bottom to no end). His main goal in life is to please those around him, just like any good dog does.

What a blessing it has been to have Squirt in our family and watch Penelope grow to love him.

A Renovator At Heart Weighs In

Did you know that my blogging roots began when my husband and I bought our first home and tore it apart in the first weekend we moved in?

We had been looking for a house to buy for almost a year before we landed on this one. It was a fixer upper that had excellent bones, but had definitely been mistreated over the last few years. The least of our worries was the new paint and flooring that it was going to require. The biggest problem? The kitchen. The cabinets were rotted out. It had to go.

So we enlisted about 20 of our friends and family who all took in delight in tearing out the guts of the house and leaving us with an empty shell. Literally.

Less than 2 years later we turned that shell into this:

Oh how much heart and soul (and money) we poured into this house. Long story short, my husband's job relocated us 3 hours north of that home and now we're on our new path.. But, these are stories for another time.

Although we are definitely DIY'ers through and through, there are plenty of reasons why the next time we purchase a home we'd look into building a home or buying brand new.

Besides saving yourself the trouble of doing upgrades and renovations yourself (which not everyone has the know how or time to do), a few good reasons to buy a brand new home include:

• Whether you elect to shop around for land and then work with your builder of choice or if you find a development already underway and jump in after the start of construction, there is tons of room for customization. Depending on how far into the process the builder already is, the buyer can tweak the placement of some rooms, color schemes and add on some upgrades (like granite, light fixtures, etc).  We've specifically looked at floor plans that would allow Adam to turn a 3 car garage into a 6 car garage. Yes, my husband is really into cars.
• Brand new homes are more energy efficient than older homes (even 10 year old ones!). They feature energy efficient appliances, windows and insulation.
• Most builders offer various home warranties so you have peace of mind knowing that if something isn't just right, it will get taken care of. 
• And there are so many more reasons why buying a new home is worth thinking about on  BHI’s Start Fresh Buy New website

When thinking about purchasing a home, do you gravitate towards new or used? 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

The Maternity Sash: The process of one year

Ahh the wonders of Pinterest. I love looking there for inspiration, don't you? I was newly introduced to Pinterest when planning for my maternity shoot (thanks to the wonderful Theresa at TC Photography) and was able to find quite a few ideas that I loved and that my photographer helped me recreate.

One of the sweetest ideas I came across was the maternity sash. You can find beautiful versions on Etsy, but I opted for the DIY route. One of my manifestations of nesting was becoming a little crafty.  We were in the process of moving so I didn't have a way to put that energy towards a baby room, which wouldn't have been necessary anyways because even at a year we still bed-share.

So I visited my local craft store, used a few tutorials on fabric flowers and put together my own maternity sash!

The end result - a sash that I used for belly, newborn and one year old pictures. Who knows? Maybe it'll stick around for many of Penny's other milestones. Adam would like to put the kibosh on that because he thinks the feathers are gaudy, but I thought they were quite cute!

P.S. - I miss those little squishy cheeks so much!

Did you use a prop throughout your baby's growth to keep a theme going?

My FURST Baby's Birthday

Get it? First // Fur // baby?

Our old dog turns 13 today. I'd like to joke that we now have a teenager, but the reality is that it's more like having grandpa live at the house ;)

It's crazy to think about all that's happened in the last 13 years.

Too often we get those looks and gentle questions from particularly family members about "when it will be Romeo's time." Come on, don't you think I think about it every time I see him gingerly walk across our hardwood floor (you'd also see all of the rugs we have throughout the house for that very reason) or hear his gentle grumble as he settles himself down next to us. Or that it doesn't hurt to see that he doesn't even bother climbing the stairs anymore to sleep in our room with us? I see you, and I hear you, old dog. But you haven't told me that it's your time yet.

Don't we all get frail, cantankerous, near sighted, hard of hearing and particular when we get old? It just comes with the territory. Anyways, that was my little rant.

Even though he moves like molasses, there are still so many things that just light up that dog's eyes and perk up his solitary standing ear.

Snow.

The word "cookie," or perhaps the hope of what is to come.

When either one of us comes home.

He's a faithful old man. The best dog ever.

A story about Chocolat, chocolate, an unfulfilled promise and quality time with the Pops

My high school band used to march in a parade every fall in a little town called Leavenworth, which is modeled after a Bavarian Village.

My high school band-buddy-BFF had recently switched schools so she couldn't make it, much to the dismay of a upperclassman who had a pretty big crush on her.

After the parade we all had our free time and he bought her some expensive fancy chocolate and entrusted it to me to give it to her the next time I saw her.

Later that week, my soon to be stepdad asked me if I wanted to hang out and watch a movie with him. There was a new Johnny Depp movie that he had rented - Chocolat.  We started watching the movie, and if you know the plot, it's about a small French town where a woman and her daughter open a chocolate shop right before Lent.

After a few minutes into the movie, David turns to me and says "You know what would be perfect right now? Some chocolate."  But we couldn't corrupt the experience with plain old Hershey's. 

I sheepishly told him about the chocolate I was saving for my friend. It would be pure evil to eat this chocolate ourselves, I said to him. But it would be SO PERFECT.

Taking the high road, we left the chocolates alone and continued to watch the movie. But the thought of those delicious chocolates were burned into our minds. A few minutes later, without even saying a word - we both looked at each other, he paused the movie and I went into my room and retrieved the chocolates. And then we ate them.

There you have it, a 13 year old secret that has finally reared its sweet deceptive head. Now I *really* want to watch the movie again...

ABCs of Me

Thanks Sarah for sharing this! This type of post reminds me of filling out these "surveys" via email in middle school (and then forwarding to everyone) and later on myspace.. Don't act like you never did one either!

{A} Age: 26

{B} Bed size: King. It started out just for Adam and I..then we got Romeo, and then he got too old to jump up. Then we got Squirt. Then we got Penny.. and that's when Squirt was no longer welcome up ;)

{C} Chore you hate: folding the laundry. I don't mind doing the laundry, I don't mind stuffing cloth diapers. But I hate folding laundry. To the point where the only folded items in our house are linens. Everything else is either stuffed in a drawer or hung.

{D} Dogs: Romeo and Squirt. Also known as "Poof-poof" and "Squirty McWigglebottom" 

{E} Essential start to your day: Snuggles with my Pennypot!

{F} Favorite color: Lately purple. Historically - pink and blue.

{G} Gold or Silver: Silver

{H} Height: 5'5

{I} Instruments you play: I played the baritone sax all the way through my freshman year of college. I was a music major that first year, where at the end I learned that although I was good in high school, college is where all the other good kids go and I was not that good in comparison ;)

{J} Job Title: SAHM!

{K} Kids: Penelope - 10 months. Furry-kids: Squirt 2 1/2 years, Romeo *almost* 13!

{L} Live: WA State

{M} Married: July 4 2009 

{N} Nicknames: B

{O} Overnight hospital stays: None, besides when I was born.

{P} Pet peeve: Leg bouncing. It makes me nervous. And Adam does it out of boredom!

{Q} Quote: When life gives you lemons, make lemonaid!

{R} Righty or Lefty: Left

{S} Siblings: Two younger bros  - Nick and Paul

{T} Time you wake up: Anywhere between 6-9a. Depending on Miss Penny's whims that day.

{U} University attended: Western Washington University

{V} Vegetables you dislike: Radishes

{W} What makes you run late: Nursing Penny really quickly before running out the door..

{X} X-Rays you've had: Teeth and shoulder, I think. 

{Y} Yummy food: Baked goods. I am totally a sucker for cakes and cookies!

{Z} Zoo animal favorite: Orcas

Will you play along?
Pick your favorite letter and leave me a comment :)
If you keep a blog and make a post out of this, leave me your link!

The Babywearing Workout

I *loved* pregnancy. I loved everything about it, after the first 12 weeks, of course. I loved the beauty of growing another person, I loved the confidence, and most of all.. Lord help me, I loved the food.

I didn't gain a ton of weight. I still felt like a whale at the end, thinking "When am I going to start attracting planetary bodies and keeping my own set of moons??"

Then at about 4 months post partum the weight to literally come sloughing off. It all started when I found that I could comfortably fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes, and a short while later it looked like they were just barely hanging on for dear life. I was excited I was getting awfully close to my high school swimming figure.

However, toned was far from where I was at. Sure, lifting and carrying an increasingly growing baby conditioned my arms.  But going to a gym to get to where I wanted to be physically wasn't an option either. This SAHM needed to find a way to get fit(ish).

That's when I came across The Baby Wearing Workout. It made so much sense! Workout with Penny! It couldn't be more perfect!  So I quickly worked a session into my daily routine. It's so simple how you can incorporate those mama-moves into those normally very boring moments - like when you're holding your baby and waiting for the water to boil, watching TV, on walks, or afternoons where they are having a difficult time falling asleep.

I use an Ergo when working out with Penny. She quickly relaxes as we begin the work out and most of the time is knocked out from the constant motion and close time with me. The only things you need is your baby and a soft carrier (such as an Ergo, Mei Tie or wrap).  I can definitely recommend this work out to other new mamas! This month, Kelli is also hosting a weight loss challenge with her workout.

There's a ton of prizes that will be awarded weekly (winners are based on random, not by weight loss), which include prizes from Smiling Tree Toys, Barlean's, Onya Baby Carriers and so much more. So if you already have a baby carrier (make sure it isn't a "crotch dangler"), check out her workout video - which is affordably priced, especially for the download option, and sign up for the weight loss challenge!

Disclaimer: I was provided the download to workout in order to accurately review.

Wanderlust: A train ride through the Canadian Rockies

I had this beautiful post almost all written up about wanderlusting to Lake Moraine in Banff National Park - and then I came across a much, much cooler idea. Enough that I abandoned that post (fear not, it might resurface again if I have some writer's block) and started this one.

Once becoming the parents of the Pierogie, the idea of travel has sort of changed for us. We used to be the atv'ing, waterfall climbing, snowmobiling, rafting type of couple. No, not adventure junkies perse - but this kind of goes into the whole preface about how the hubs and I had to find a mutual understanding of how to spend our free time/money. So, he likes all things with motors, she likes all things nature - which led to the purchase of a couple atvs, that trip out to Colorado, and even a trip down to San Francisco.

But as parents some of these things just aren't really possible. Doesn't mean we won't ever be doing it again, but the law certainly does frown upon letting your child ride in your lap on an atv. Even if they are wearing a helmet (JUST KIDDING people, I would never do that!). So we've I've been thinking about how to accommodate the little miss and keep it fun for the entire family.

Starting with road trips. For one, Penny is pretty tolerant of the car seat to an extent. However, I don't see her being cool with it for a trip that takes several days to get there. And I personally don't want her to have to endure that. So that traditional all-American family road trip idea is on hold for a few years, but we definitely will be hitting the Grand Canyon before you know it.

Instead, I've been thinking about how to travel far distances in other ways. The Alaskan cruise was one idea - and my next idea that I have yet to present to the hubs is a train ride across the Canadian Rockies.

A simple google search for "train ride across Canadian Rockies" will turn up a plethora of train companies who have packages all set up for you based on your desired destination, travel time and budget. I'm not going to get into the nitty grittys of what those companies offer - because the idea behind my Wanderlust is to present pictures and ideas. As much as you would like for me to be, I'm not your reservations agent ;)

Come along as we embark on a pictorial journey of what it would be like to ride the train from Vancouver British Columbia to Banff National Park in Alberta.

The best part about the train? You get to sleep through the boring parts. When departing Vancouver, you leave in the evening and when you awake the next morning you're already in Jasper BC.

Jasper was originally a fur trading post and has since become a popular stop for those visiting Alberta.




The next stop is Banff National Park - home of gorgeous Lake Moraine and Lake Louise. You'll travel via the Icefield Parkway.. probably my most favorite part of the trip. Why? Because you get to ride on a bus that's taken some steroids and walk on a glacier!

I was born in Calgary and I know that my mom has pictures hidden away somewhere with us on one of these things..

And lucky you - getting to stay overnight at the hotel at Lake Louise! What a baller.

The next day you spend some time exploring Banff National Park. Depending on the time of year, you have the pick of the crop for hiking, canoeing, skiing, snowshoeing, helicopter tours.. and as always, don't feed the wildlife. From beavers to grizzly bears, it's like the Canadian Yellowstone.

 While you're there, take a dip in the world renouned hot springs..

Cave and Basin National Historic Site

Your final destination is in Calgary - my original hometown. Though to be honest I think the last time I was there I was less than 10 years old... So perhaps it's time for a revisit.

Have you ever taken a long train ride anywhere? 

What did you like or not like about the experience?

Wanderlust: Alaska

I'm excited to kick off a series about travel, which was inspired by this post,

I have a serious travel bug. When it comes to how I would like to spend my discretionary income I will always push towards a trip somewhere. This was somewhat of a problem when Adam and I were first married, because his idea of spending discretionary income almost always goes towards cars, or something car related. Then we found a perfect compromise.. a way to combine our two passions. Our first combined interest trip was to Colorado Springs for the world famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which is a 12.42 mile race up Pikes Peak that starts at 9,390 feet elevation and finishes at the 14,110 foot summit.  Spent part of the weekend exploring the area and finished off with the race. Even for someone who is not a car or race enthusiast, this was fun.  His desire to experience a world famous race also satisfied my desire to see new places. Truth be told, since that trip he has become a lot more interested in seeing the world, and I've become a little more open to spending time along side of the race track ;)  But that story is for another time.

Today I want to share with you my first wanderlust. Alaska. I know, not incredibly original but I've had the strong wish to visit there since probably the second grade, when we had a lesson on Arctic animals. The light turned on for me this year as I was decorating for Christmas, and re-discovered this elegant aluminum reindeer I picked up a few years ago.

 I love cold weather animals. They seriously intrigue me with their drastic change in color from spring to winter, their hardiness in surviving some of the most dangerous temperatures in the world. 

And I won't lie, I want to pet a moose's nose one day. I'd lure him in with a cookie.

But what really draws me in is the landscape.

 
And of course, the aurora borealis (Northern Lights).

The famous Iditarod dog sled race. 

 Riding the train.

Now, if you are the adventurous type.. this is really cool. Ice caves.


It looks fake. Surreal. Photoshopped.

Nope, it's real. Taken Wachusett Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park.

A few months ago, the hubs and I were talking about our upcoming five year anniversary (ok, so it's a year and a half away.. but this mama loves to plan!) and I have made the special request of taking an Alaskan cruise or just head up there on our own. We had a so-so experience with our last cruise as far as getting to see what we wanted to, so I'd be totally up for some real exploring.

In college I *almost* got to make it to Alaska to be one of those tour guides for cruise passengers. I was in the final rounds of interviews when they laid the bomb on me: I'd have to miss the last half of spring quarter and likely the first half of fall quarter. I wonder why they were interviewing at a college that runs on a quarterly, not semester, schedule. In retrospect, I really am not sure which choice was the right one.. But it definitely would have been a lot of fun.

Have you ever traveled to or lived in Alaska? What part of the state is your favorite?

 Is the tourist experience totally bogus or a safe way to get the best bang for your buck?