Friday, October 7, 2016

Five on Friday

ONE

What (Not) to Say to a Pregnant Lady

If I get one more comment asking me if I'm having twins or shock over the fact that I have 2 months to go, I might seriously lose my mind. I wish I could email this blog post to every person on the planet

TWO

My Miracle Sinus Cure

I have been telling people about this for years but have never written it down, and since it's been on rotation in my house over the last week with the changing weather, I thought Hey, I should share this. The blog world NEEDS this! {grin}

So anytime your sinuses get out of whack - a cold, allergies, whatever - if you make this 'tea' and drink it twice a day, I swear you will be better in 2-3 days. I used to get 2 sinus infections almost every year - when summer switched to fall and when winter switched to spring. I haven't had one in YEARS! I even have my parents {who are super mainstream} believing in this.

Mix together:
-1 Cup hot water
-1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
-1 Tbsp raw honey {or really as much as you need to make the ACV not so strong}
Drink! 

That's it! And I swear it works like a charm. I can even get Drew to drink it if I add some apple juice to really hide the ACV. And she is yucky on-and-off all fall and winter, and this helps her out A TON.

THREE

Post-Partum...The Prequel

As I've been pretty vocal about in the past, I had post-partum anxiety after both kids. With Trent, I saw a psychiatrist and took Zoloft. It helped...but I didn't like how the Zoloft took away all my emotions. Feeling numb was certainly better than feeling all the bad emotions I was having...but it still wasn't great. After Drew, I saw a psychologist and took a BUNCH of natural supplements {including my own placenta...doesn't get much more natural than that}. I definitely felt more like me while helping the anxiety, but I wouldn't call either situation the highlight of my parenting life. It sucks to have the first handful of months tainted by this dark cloud of anxiety. I am cautiously optimistic that knowing I have MTHFR {which is linked to post-partum} and am treating it, will help me not have post-partum again, but I don't want to be so naive as to think it can't happen again. So I have an appointment in a few weeks with a psychologist who specializes in women's issues, including post-partum. I have 2 close friends who saw her and said she is amazing. I want to brainstorm with her about what I can do to prevent post-partum: Should I start taking supplements as soon as Smoochie is born or wait to see if I have PPA again? Should I encapsulate my placenta again? {My gut feeling is yes because I think it definitely helped.} What else can I do? I am excited and nervous - it is never fun to revisit those feelings and dark places in my mind - but hopeful that this time I can be more proactive to ward it off. I'll blog about how it goes, fingers crossed!

FOUR

Lularoe

I have a friend {hi Kathryn!} who told me about Lularoe a few months ago, and I was clueless. It's a clothing company that has consultants and does pop-up shows, and all the clothes are comfy, cute, soft, colorful...right up my alley! Well, my boss had a pop-up show, and I was able to order a pair of leggings to try. Holy amazingness! They were so soft and comfy, and I especially can't wait to wear them after Smoochie is born because they are higher waisted, and I can use them to help with my post-partum pooch. Anyone else tried Lularoe? I want to try more stuff once I'm not pregnant!


FIVE

Side Dishes

Am I driving you guys crazy talking about food and meal planning?  Sorry but it's a major theme in my head these days! I was hoping y'all could help me out this time - I have a hard time coming up with good side options. We seem to rotate between potatoes {typically I chop up sweet and red potatoes and bake them}, rice {brown or wild}, or green beans. What do you serve as sides in your house?

Hope everyone is having a great Friday!


5 comments:

Emily said...

Good luck on the PPA consult and please do keep the blog updated. I'd say our most common side dishes are steam-in-the-bag frozen veggies with added butter & garlic salt (super easy) or sautéed Brussels sprouts with olive oil, garlic, S&P. Or nothing. Truthfully I tends towards no sides and instead feed more veggies at snacks.

the blogivers said...

Not much help in the side dish department. Our most common ones are green beans, black beans, carrots, corn, and peas. So exciting!!

Unknown said...

Side dish ideas: roast veggies in the oven. It really gives them a yummy flavor. The two we like the most are brussel sprouts and broccoli, but the options are endless. Caulifower, carrots, zucchini etc I just toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper then pop them in the oven.

If I don't roast veggies, I usually steam veggies on the stove top using a steamer basket.

For starches, have you ever tried couscous? It's THE easiest grain to make and tasty. Boil a cup of chicken broth (I use better than bouillon). Once water is boiling stir in a cup of dry couscous, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Come back in five minutes and fluff the couscous with a fork. So simple!

Unknown said...

Side dish ideas: roast veggies in the oven. It really gives them a different flavor. The two we like the most are brussel sprouts and broccoli. I just toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper then pop them in the oven.

If I don't roast veggies, I usually steam veggies on the stove top using a steamer basket.

For starches, have you ever tried couscous? It's THE easiest grain to make and tasty. Boil a cup of chicken broth (made with better than boullion). Once water is boiling stir in a cup of couscous, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Come back in five minutes and fluff the couscous with a fork. So simple!

One other suggestion is if you have a Trader Joes close to you, look at their frozen and boxed side options. They have lots of good ones! I love this box wild rice that they sell.

Kathryn Bagley said...

Love your leggings!!! I tend to eat sides as my meal but they mainly consist of mac and cheese and stuff :)