Brooke got her face painted at the Knoxville Natural Parenting Expo on Saturday

She’s just too cute!

Whether you’re a new or experienced gardener, this week’s collection includes a variety of gardening tips for everyone! Learn how to garden without a big budget or a lot of space, discover tips for organic gardening and preserving your harvest, and get organized with custom printables. But don’t wait because this bundle is on sale for 75% off this week only!

Frugal Gardening 101 by Phoebe Hendricks
In Frugal Gardening 101: A Comprehensive Guide to Vegetable Gardening Without Breaking the Bank, Phoebe shares her passion for gardening and proves that vegetable gardening doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s a comprehensive guide that shows you how to garden organically for very little with tips for buying, starting and saving seeds, organic pest and weed control and more.

Apartment Gardening by Jami Balmet
If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s possible to have a garden with limited space, Jami’s ebook will show you how! Apartment Gardening: A Practical Guide to Growing Vegetables in Small Spaces is a beginner’s guide to everything you need to know about container gardening, including more than 100 pages of how-to advice to help you start your container garden today.

Simple Food {For Spring} by Shannon Stonger
Simple Food {For Spring} is more than just a cookbook. In addition to 28 grain-free recipes (complete with full-color photos!) highlighting spring produce, Shannon also encourages readers in sustainable and homegrown living through her introductions to cleansing, foraging, dehydrating greens and more.

Heavenly Homemaker’s Guide to Gardening and Preserving by Laura Coppinger
In Heavenly Homemaker’s Guide to Gardening and Preserving, Laura shares her tips for a successful, organic garden, including how, what and when to plant. Beyond gardening, you’ll also find her strategies for making the most of your farmer’s market plus canning tutorials and recipes to help you preserve your harvest.

The Gardening Notebook by Angi Schneider
In addition to a how-to guide for gardening beginners, Angi has created the perfect spot for recording all of your notes and research for your garden. With more than 50 pages of printables, The Gardening Notebook is the perfect way to organize everything you need or want to remember for your garden!

The Gardening bundle is only available through 8am EST on Monday, 4/29. Get yours today:

That means we’ve had to get creative in terms of storage. We hung hooks for dress up clothes and accessories. We got an over the door shoe organizer for art supplies. We made progress but there’s still so much to figure out and there are so many different shelving and organization systems out there, I want to make sure we’ll get the most use out of whatever we get. My poor ADHD brain has been on overload trying to think it all through.

With playroom organization on the brain 24/7, I was so intrigued when I saw these new labels from Mabel’s Labels!

Mabel’s Labels has created a great new label that combines technology with organization! Can’t remember where you put your summer clothes or those holiday decorations? With the new Scan & Store labels from Mabel’s Labels, you will never misplace your items again! Here’s how they work:

1. Apply the label to a bin, tote or other container.
2. Scan it with the Write Away! app.
3. Store the title, location, description and a photograph of the container.

From your phone you can store the names and photographs of an unlimited number of items and assign them to a container, search for containers and items and much more! Organizing has never been so easy. Be sure to try out these new amazing labels today. Happy Organizing!

My mind is racing with the possibilities. What would you use Scan & Store labels to organize?

I’ve been slacking a little on my updates…I’m kinda in that stage that not a whole lot changes so haven’t really felt like I had enough blog-worthy to share. I’m not too terribly uncomfortable yet, still have energy, can sleep at night, all that good stuff. And looking back, I don’t remember a time at the end of my pregnancy with Brooke when I was just ready for it to be over. Hopefully that will be the case this time too.

Yesterday was the 30 week mark and I’ve been in my third trimester for 2 weeks now. I can’t believe we are 10 weeks or less from having this baby! Ack!! At the same time, a couple friends of ours have had their babies and I’m jealous that they’re snuggling their newborns. Guess ya can’t win for losin’!

I had a midwife appointment at 28 weeks and Baby Girl’s heartbeat sounded good and we measured exactly on target. Yes, I measured right on so everyone who keeps asking if I’m going to go any day now…NO! I have two months to go! My next appointment we’ll get one more ultrasound and I’m looking forward to seeing Baby Girl a little bigger! I’m curious how big they’ll estimate her to be.

FYI: Fruit Punch is better than Orange!!

I did have issues with the results of my 1 hour glucose test so had to go back a couple days later and do the 3-hour. Not that I was expecting it to be a spa day but it wasn’ t fun.  The first hour really hit me hard and I felt yucky, for lack of a better word.  I was sleepy, jittery, naseous…yuck!  I was worried about it until the lady drawing my blood told me that most people will have some kind of reaction which makes sense when you figure you ingest 100g of glucose in less that 10 minutes.  I haven’t heard anything from the birth center so I’m choosing to assume that meant everything was fine. No news is good news, right?

While Keith’s parents were in town they helped get Baby Girl’s dresser assembled. Now I just need to start putting some clothes and stuff in there. I also took some time over the weekend to inventory the cloth diapers we already have, what we have on our registry, and what we might still need to add.

I’ve started realizing that now is the time to really start thinking about getting my mind and body ready for labor. I’ve been drinking lots more water and raspberry leaf tea, getting out and walking during breaks at work, reading birth books (I’m working on this one right now). One of the midwives I saw recently suggested working on relaxation techniques so I’ve been taking nice warm baths whenever I have the chance since I plan to take advantage of the birthing tubs during labor. I also REALLY need to get on the ball and get a doula lined up. I think that will be my goal by the end of the month!

If you haven’t yet, you can still place a guess on what Baby Girl’s birth stats will be on the ExpectNet poll!

Is simple living just a pipe dream in today’s fast-paced, always-on, more-is-better culture? With this week’s collection, you’ll discover the secrets to living simply from five authors who are living intentionally and inspiring others to do the same! But don’t wait because this bundle is on sale for 90% off this week only.

25 Intentional Days by AndHeDrew
Laid out in an easy-to-follow format, 25 Intentional Days will take you step by step through setting effective long-term and short-term goals, finding time you didn’t know you had, tracking your progress and creating the life you’ve dreamed of.

Simple Ways to Be More with Less by Courtney Carver
In Simple Ways to Be More with Less, Courtney shows you how to simplify your life and live each day more purposefully. This book will challenge you, brighten your day, and if you let it, change your world.

Inside-Out Simplicity by Joshua Becker
Living simply starts on the inside, and in Inside-Out Simplicity, Joshua shares why healthy relationships are essential to a simplified life. You’ll discover how to live intentionally by embracing contentment, gratitude, and humility and making generosity, kindness, service, and forgiveness a hallmark of all of your relationships.

ClutterFree by Leo Babauta & Courtney Carver
With the tools in ClutterFree, you’ll learn how to eliminate the clutter and create more time and space in your home and life. Leo and Courtney walk you through understanding why we have clutter, learning how to get rid of it and enjoying a clutter-free life.

Flying by the Seat of My Soul by Tess Marshall
Through personal stories, profound lessons, uplifting quotes and stories of others, Tess inspires you to live more passionately and pursue your heart’s desire with more conviction. Flying By The Seat Of My Soul will empower you to move toward inner change, let go of the past, follow your dreams and fly!

The Simple Living bundle is only available through 8am EST on Monday, 4/22. Get yours today:

Pregnancy, childbirth and welcoming a new baby can be overwhelming, but this week’s bundle is a collection of resources to help you make informed decisions about each. With a bent toward natural living, this collection includes real food recipes for pregnancy and beyond, plus tips for breastfeeding, natural birth and simple living with a baby. This week only, get all 5 ebooks for just $7.40 (a savings of more than 80%)!

Healthy Pregnancy Super Foods by Kate Tietje
In Healthy Pregnancy Super Foods, Kate simplifies pregnancy nutrition with just two rules: 1) Don’t eat junk food and 2) Eat super foods. This ebook includes details about the super foods you should be eating (and a basic list of what you should avoid), what pregnant women’s nutritional needs are, and offers more than 30 super food recipes.

Fearless Birth by Kristen Burgess
Fear of giving birth is a very real thing, but through the Fearless Birth workbook and bonus tools, Kristen helps you understand the source of your fears, create positive images of birth, let go of fear and approach labor and birth with confidence and peace of mind.

Unbound Birth by Jennifer Yarbrough
Unbound Birth: How to Have a Natural Birth in the Hospital is an inspiring collection of natural hospital birth stories. With determination, information, preparation, and support, Jennifer offers women hope for the beauty of a natural birth within a hospital setting.

The Minimalist Mom’s Guide to Baby’s First Year by Rachel Jonat
Parenting is a demanding job, and the first year with a new baby is exciting, ever so tiring and filled to the brim with baby toys, gadgets and gizmos. In The Minimalist Mom’s Guide to the Baby’s First Year, Rachel shares her own journey into motherhood and the lessons she learned about avoiding the clutter trap of too much baby stuff, slowing down to enjoy the early months with your new baby, saving money, creating a peaceful home and finding more time in your day for things like sleep!

Breast to Bib by Kate Tietje
If you’ve ever wondered how to get a baby started with real food, this is your go-to guide. In Breast to Bib, Kate offers help with breastfeeding and discusses low milk supply and homemade formula options as well as how and when to introduce solids and tips for handling picky toddlers. Plus you’ll find 27 healthy, family-friendly recipes to get you started!

The Pregnancy & Baby bundle is only available through 8am EST on Monday, 4/15. Get yours today:

Our family of 3 usually has about half of this left for leftovers, which we like for lunches or another dinner later in the week. If you don’t dig leftovers, this is easily halved and baked in an 8×8 square dish or 9″ pie plate.

Prepare ahead to make dinner prep easier!

*Make the beef, onion, tomato mixture ahead of time.
*Shred cheese ahead of time (shredding your own yields such better results!!).

This week’s bundle includes a collection of ebooks packed full of activities for preschool and beyond! You’ll discover books to read together, educational activities around your home and strategies for making the most of every learning opportunity. This week only, get all 5 ebooks for just $7.40 (a savings of more than 70%)!

I Can Teach My Child to Read! by Jenae Jacobson
In I Can Teach My Child to Read, Jenae provides parents with the fundamentals of teaching a child to read in simple, easy-to-understand language that can be implemented the minute you finish reading it. Whether your children will attend public school, private school, or be homeschooled, this book gives you the tools to give them a valuable head start that will benefit them for years to come.

Fifty Books to Enjoy with Kids by Veronica Getskow
Fifty Books to Enjoy with Kids is a reading guide for parents of young children, aged 2 to 8. With 50 must-read book recommendations plus extension activities to take each story farther, to play together, to explore together, and to enjoy the novelty of a great book, this ebook offers a fun reading program for preschool and beyond.

Circle Time by Kendra Fletcher
Circle Time isn’t just for preschoolers, and in this ebook, Kendra describes her family’s fabulous, all-ages-are-welcome, group teaching time that allows them to pray together, laugh together, and get to the subjects they often run out of time for otherwise. You’ll discovery strategies for planning circle time and ideas for making it fun for kids as well as resources, activities, ideas and printables for your own circle time!

Flourishing Spring by Michele Augur
Make the most of rainy days with over 25 ideas for creating intentional moments with children, including multiple variations, allergy-friendly recipes, and simple resources. With boredom busters, homemade gift ideas, and nourishing meal suggestions, Michele offers plenty of ideas for filling a rainy day!

Finding Educational Activities in the Most Unexpected Places by Angie Kauffman
In Finding Educational Activities in the Most Unexpected Places, Angie features ideas for using commonly found objects in and around your home for educational activities with young children. As a former in-home developmental therapist, Angie was inspired to show families that meaningful learning activities don’t have to come from expensive toys and equipment, but can be found in everyday objects at home.

The Preschool Activities bundle is only available through 8am EST on Monday, 4/8. Get yours today:

Since becoming mom, I’ve become less than a fan of “candy” holidays. And now that I think about it, it seems every holiday has become a candy holiday. When Brooke was little, it was a little easier to avoid candy because for one, she didn’t know what it was and B, she didn’t know to be expecting anything.

It’s gotten a little more challenging as she’s gotten older and the influence from TV, other kids and remember years past but I’ve come up some ideas to keep your kids’ Easter baskets from being a sugar crash waiting to happen.

Dot Paints

Play Dough & Accessories

Stickers

Cookie Cutters

Matchbox Cars

Playing Cards & Card Games

Hair accessories

Bandages

Child’s Bible or Easter books

Movies

Sidewalk Chalk & Bubbles

Jump Rope, Frisbee or other Outdoor Toys

Kid-sized Garden Tools

Seed starter kits or seed packets

Bath Time Fun

Stuffed Animals

What other ideas do you have? Leave me a comment with some of the things you’re planning to put in your kiddos baskets this year!

Linked to:

We made this snack mix for the first time in 2011 when Brooke was 2.5. I happened across the recipe last week and thought it would be fun to make with her again. It will also be a great addition to Pajama Day and Leprechaun Hunt at her school today!!

If I look at these pictures too long, I just might cry. She’s so grown up!!

As you can see, sorting the green M&Ms is a great job for all ages of kiddos as well as crushing the pretzels and measuring out the cereals. This year Brooke was also a big help making the sugar/butter/syrup mixture and spreading the finished snack mix onto the wire racks for cooling.

Do you cook or bake anything special for St. Patrick’s Day?