tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58168965077757644632024-02-20T05:53:33.714-08:00moments with melissaAll Of Life's Moments Through The Eyes of a MommaMoments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-68008300616939347372022-03-27T21:29:00.003-07:002022-03-27T21:29:43.933-07:00Creamy Pasta Avec Mushrooms & Peas<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUq9bS8AmWzTQSzK4WqW94yMlU7qRnySq1ls3vEqAV0Qyvo-usErxYHVhqdEaYwT4kC2oLWMRsCtzzBUCua_1AKASUb5LDwSMNlARNGJOWQBhUwdl6pEqq_N2lCGq06MUwLuaI4y5L8yQ_r7wDzNxc624Om8e0zvlv4HogURPtyObPTmIvtPn5_v7x/s4032/PXL_20220209_003626180%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUq9bS8AmWzTQSzK4WqW94yMlU7qRnySq1ls3vEqAV0Qyvo-usErxYHVhqdEaYwT4kC2oLWMRsCtzzBUCua_1AKASUb5LDwSMNlARNGJOWQBhUwdl6pEqq_N2lCGq06MUwLuaI4y5L8yQ_r7wDzNxc624Om8e0zvlv4HogURPtyObPTmIvtPn5_v7x/w225-h400/PXL_20220209_003626180%20(1).jpg" width="225" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p style="text-align: center;">Another family fave recipe coming your way! </p><p style="text-align: center;">I don't know about you, but anything pasta is always a major hit in our home! With that being said, it is the best time to try and throw in as many veggies and other goodness because it could be easy to hide! This creamy mushroom & pea pasta is super easy - which is the number one MUST in any recipe or meal we cook - but so delicious. As well, it is good for your toddler and even baby-led weaned baby!<br /> </p><p style="text-align: center;">******</p><p><b><i>Ingredients </i></b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>3 cups of frozen peas</li><li>2 garlic cloves; or minced garlic equivalent; alternatively, to taste</li><li>2 ounces of prosciutto, diced</li><li>whole wheat pasta of choice; alternatively rice pasta (this is my fave) we love fusilli</li><li>cremini mushrooms, sliced; 2 cups or to your liking</li><li>1/4 cup of white wine</li><li>1/4 cup of whipping cream; I use the lactose free one</li><li>1 cup of chicken broth</li><li>olive oil</li><li>1 table spoon of all purpose flour or any alternative </li><li>salt & pepper</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><p><b><i>Steps</i></b></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Off the hop, get your pasta cooked! A tip is to boil your water first, add some salt and then throw in your pasta & peas! Remove and rinse in cold water once cooked to your liking. <br /><br /></li><li>Dice your prosciutto, chop your cremini mushrooms & garlic if you are using cloves. Measure out our peas, white win, whipping cream & chicken broth.<br /><br /></li><li> In a large nonstick skillet add some olive oil & add in your prosciutto, cooking it got about 4-5 minutes, or until it starts getting brown. Throw in your garlic for half a minute and then add in your mushrooms. Mushrooms should release some liquid but if not, add in a bit of water so things don't dry up. Cook for about 4 minutes. Add your flour over the mushrooms, stirring to coat. Add in your white wine & let it simmer for a minute. Finally, add in your broth, allowing it to simmer again; approximately 3 minutes. I also like to add a little bit of the pasta water in here about 1/4 of a cup. Remove skillet off the heat and stir in your whipping cream & pepper. <br /><br /></li><li>Strain your pasta & peas and toss it in with the cream sauce! <br /><br /></li><li>Now you're ready to serve! You can always top with some cheese & voila! </li></ol><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">******<br /></span></div><div><b>XOXO</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYDuXvVYdIldntpxvIZZI50PN5FNI43BRsN7uhdvmAF13qDtur8oYrToXI5Jx1YcKYtA-d1qaSypP_iEY9DdGxVfo75ZwpXvlFTlttEg8_g1egn5tyXqC6YNYEidMXfrBDJQ2gx7430bB_8v4PUMyc0gfMiAKyEwP0iwXQUka0UozVodbw6MWfxVfa=s319" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="319" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYDuXvVYdIldntpxvIZZI50PN5FNI43BRsN7uhdvmAF13qDtur8oYrToXI5Jx1YcKYtA-d1qaSypP_iEY9DdGxVfo75ZwpXvlFTlttEg8_g1egn5tyXqC6YNYEidMXfrBDJQ2gx7430bB_8v4PUMyc0gfMiAKyEwP0iwXQUka0UozVodbw6MWfxVfa" width="319" /></a></div></b></div></div><p></p><p><br /></p>Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-10055815139721848952022-03-20T22:18:00.002-07:002022-03-20T22:18:42.759-07:00Burrito Meets Lasagna<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgz6BaQuEzopfymJYttksEgHMcfJifjSYnflE1m7YQuO9880m42i3O0aGhOctqNt2SKxlAWVQ3ruc-sGWRt0dNv7A4jq2mXl6WEOp-3xF8piY3RMKVoJE1H-QblPhEk-2SWkFm0nOkcHlU2HWEGbJ2E6n0y-4YCV2-Y1DrfnXsZZcYoRhDOn9AY1ldZ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgz6BaQuEzopfymJYttksEgHMcfJifjSYnflE1m7YQuO9880m42i3O0aGhOctqNt2SKxlAWVQ3ruc-sGWRt0dNv7A4jq2mXl6WEOp-3xF8piY3RMKVoJE1H-QblPhEk-2SWkFm0nOkcHlU2HWEGbJ2E6n0y-4YCV2-Y1DrfnXsZZcYoRhDOn9AY1ldZ=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /> </span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This dish is the easiest and it was a total hit in our house! <br />We are all about easy meals that are quick but delicious! And something that the kiddos will eat too! </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Monday nights are usually our Taco Nights, but sometimes we like to change things up! So, we decided why not just put together a burrito and layer it like a lasagna! </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Easy prep, little to no dirty dishes but delicious!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">******</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ingredients</span></i></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 white onion</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 garlic clove or 2 tsp of minced garlic (jar)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 can of refried beans</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">1 can of diced tomatoes (10z can)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">2 pounds of desired protein (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, whatever you fancy)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">black olives (as much or as little as you'd like)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">approx. 10-16 soft tortillas depending on size of </span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">approx. 2 cups of shredded cheese</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">green chile peppers; I usually add them at the end because of the kiddos</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">taco seasoning or sauce</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">sour cream</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">cilantro</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">salsa</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Steps</span></i></b></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gather all your ingredients and chop everything that needs chopping; onions, garlic (if using clove), green chile peppers, shred your cheese if you didn't buy shredded, trim your tortillas to start your base layers because they likely will be larger unless you're using a square dish.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Preheat your oven to 350F! <br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">First I cooked the meat in a large skillet over medium heat. Break up the meat as it cooks so that there are no clumps. Add in your onions and garlic. Once meat is cooked - no more pink - drain out the grease and add in beans, taco seasoning, tomatoes, chile peppers (if using) & olives. Lower the heat and allow mix to simmer to allow it to thicken a bit, approximately 30-40 mins.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">From here, the rest is easy! Simply layer as if you were making lasagna! Start with some of your meat mixture, approximately 2-3 tortillas stacked, meat, cheese, tortillas, etc.! Repeat until you are close to the top of your dish! Remember to leave some room for your final layer of cheese on the top!<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Baking until cheese starts browning and bubbling; this should take about 20-30 minutes so get the table set, get your fixin's (sour cream, cilantro, fave tortilla chips, salsa, whatever you'd like!) and of course get your kiddos ready to eat! </span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Serve, enjoy and let me know what you think!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">******<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">XOXO</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYDuXvVYdIldntpxvIZZI50PN5FNI43BRsN7uhdvmAF13qDtur8oYrToXI5Jx1YcKYtA-d1qaSypP_iEY9DdGxVfo75ZwpXvlFTlttEg8_g1egn5tyXqC6YNYEidMXfrBDJQ2gx7430bB_8v4PUMyc0gfMiAKyEwP0iwXQUka0UozVodbw6MWfxVfa=s319" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="139" data-original-width="319" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYDuXvVYdIldntpxvIZZI50PN5FNI43BRsN7uhdvmAF13qDtur8oYrToXI5Jx1YcKYtA-d1qaSypP_iEY9DdGxVfo75ZwpXvlFTlttEg8_g1egn5tyXqC6YNYEidMXfrBDJQ2gx7430bB_8v4PUMyc0gfMiAKyEwP0iwXQUka0UozVodbw6MWfxVfa" width="319" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-62288277145646250822021-11-24T23:21:00.002-08:002021-11-24T23:21:22.400-08:00"Breastfeeding Equals Better Mom" Syndrome<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b>"Breastfeeding Equals Better Mom" Syndrome</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvQk5derclLqYXvoP8oPVbkOxFT8fBiCQ2CQFFZ-X7stmXJMZn1EXfPgIM5eco4pD5vjwHKxvrETwL8CreGP3viZG_gfCZa-uyoo4cWSIOg-7SHi_AWMoP0D7cFBoMzd1XicKynRHjgup4OvdFtU7hiEDOraNJEA5GscLNdow7z4xfJuF5S4BldHAe=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvQk5derclLqYXvoP8oPVbkOxFT8fBiCQ2CQFFZ-X7stmXJMZn1EXfPgIM5eco4pD5vjwHKxvrETwL8CreGP3viZG_gfCZa-uyoo4cWSIOg-7SHi_AWMoP0D7cFBoMzd1XicKynRHjgup4OvdFtU7hiEDOraNJEA5GscLNdow7z4xfJuF5S4BldHAe=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><br /><br /></b></div>When you think of the words "good mom" what are some things that come to mind? <p></p><p>In the past - especially with my first - I believed and felt that to be a good mom meant that I had to produce enough milk supply for my daughter and be able to breastfeed. I did get caught up in the "breast is best" mindset. Actually, I believed that was the best so much so, that I didn't even think about how hard it would be. How emotionally, mentally and physically draining it was. Once I experienced this - along with so many other factors that impacted my milk supply - my mindset around breastfeeding versus bottle feeding changed! I called this mindset...the "breastfeeding = better mom" syndrome.</p><p>Breastfeeding truly is the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life. Emotionally it had me crying when I couldn't produce for my first and she was crying out of hunger. Physically I felt I had to watch everything I did to try and rule out what wasn't work, plus when emotionally you are strained, there will always be a physical impact. And mentally it really put me in a dark place. I constantly questioned my ability as a mom, I questioned if I was doing enough, if I tried enough, etc. So, in short...breastfeeding with my first was the determination of whether or not I was a good enough mom.</p><p>The reality is this, postpartum hormones are real and there is so much guilt, question and doubt like ALL THE TIME! So first step for me was to normalize these feelings and reassure myself that they were okay to feel and express. Once I was able to accept that, I was able to accept that breastfeeding wasn't easy and that it may not be the journey I was destined to take with my first. </p><p>Now, with my second, the experience was different. I got to experience the other side of things. Breastfeeding was going well. My baby latched very well, and things just flowed as they were meant to. It felt amazing to be able to provide for my daughter, but I still was not by any means an over producer so I had to top up for some feeds. Now, fast forward to when my dear baby was 5 weeks old, I got sick with COVID and that impacted my milk supply as my daughter was not wanting to nurse as often. And then just when I thought we would be back on track and I would go out to seek some support, our baby was positive for COVID and ended up in the hospital. At first, I wasn't even allowed to have been at the hospital<span></span></p><a name='more'></a> with her, so all the stress, anxiety had my milk supply impacted quite a bit. And then her having to be on IV and antibiotics to get better meant she wasn't feeding as much either which too impacted my supply. <p></p><p>Throw a few other things in the mix, it became very discouraging every time I breastfed her. While this was a tough time for me emotionally, mentally and physically it was also a time where I came to my second realization and when I finally was able to answer the question..."what makes me a good mom"?</p><p>A good mom is not about being able to breastfeed. A good mom isn't about being perfect. chill and relaxed all the time. A good mom isn't about having a perfect, clean home. A good mom is not about having fancy gourmet meals every night. A good mom is actually about firstly being in a good state of mind mentally and emotionally which in turn puts you in a better place physically. A good mom now is about being calm, crying when needed, accepting when things don't work, not being able to breastfeed, having a messy home, because the less anxiety, stress and worry in our lives means we are living more in the moment. Being a good mom, is about knowing when we are doing too much; for example doing too much, to try making breastfeeding work when maybe it won't, and that is okay. Being able to establish when breastfeeding is taking over our emotional, mental and physical state and taking away from living in that moment. At the end of the day, the more moments we are living the best versions of Mom we could be for our kids. </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Baby Brezza & how it helped me rid of my "breastfeeding = better mom" syndrome</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEha39rnWMaxWwUNekg9XLexiZDwPyEprq8Ch4OGKxwk0wFog7_Fpy6WfqJt_q0coQuKB27p_BAXn9jg9hETHIE3pAFiBqU_iXS4d2r44HltHT2IpVtgkaaObn8zi0N2DeSPumv9icy3iwISl6xYlSyvuGCGhf5fwXaBU7Uy1jTM2gaw-eR7ISjpLNeX=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEha39rnWMaxWwUNekg9XLexiZDwPyEprq8Ch4OGKxwk0wFog7_Fpy6WfqJt_q0coQuKB27p_BAXn9jg9hETHIE3pAFiBqU_iXS4d2r44HltHT2IpVtgkaaObn8zi0N2DeSPumv9icy3iwISl6xYlSyvuGCGhf5fwXaBU7Uy1jTM2gaw-eR7ISjpLNeX=s320" width="320" /></a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><p></p><p>With all that being said, a must have item that helped me through my experience with both kids was the Baby Brezza Formula Pro Machine. With everything I was dealing with emotionally, the Formula Pro took the guess work out of bottle feeding. With it's ability to quickly make a warm bottle for your baby, night feeds became easier, day feeds created way shorter crying periods, and even when having to switch formula, Baby Brezza makes it super easy to find the correct setting for each brand so that the ratio is dispensed appropriately! </p><p>Fast forward to post hospital admittance, we have had to make more changes...Eliana continued to gain VERY slowly, she continued to drink very low volumes which means having to increase her caloric intake. We now are having to fortify our formula so she gets more calories with what she is able to drink on our own. Baby Brezza STILL had us covered. We did not have to go and get rid of our beloved machine, or invest in a different product. With it's versatility, we were actually able to continue using just the water option! This still made for quicker bottles to be made, less crying to be had and warm water to quickly be accessible for each feed. Which meant, as the water was dispensing, we were ready with the fortified formula! Easy as literally 1...2...3! And it meant, night feeds were still easier, no having to wait for the formula to warm up, and Mama could get back to bed sooner! </p><p>If you haven't yet heard of Baby Brezza, they have an assortment of amazing products that are definitely worth looking at, especially their Formula Pro...it's become my life saver and has helped me rid of the guilt I was experiencing with my "breastfeeding = better mom" syndrome. </p>Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-10666459703409606032020-11-03T22:47:00.002-08:002020-11-03T22:47:08.899-08:00No Bake Healthier Brownies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtmgtfY49HOjwFu-TCRb_20Te0W2a71_N6VxitJ3BVAcyNBp_MtMH-ryOfCnEStKsT1-6zW0K06qZbrh7c0Hx6U4FFCBAKAXX7ODhyPq7w1nFsC0mNF6fgzPGCB0aUJmKNboyrnHF2Ec/s2016/123265395_398078948268190_8239005294398134430_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtmgtfY49HOjwFu-TCRb_20Te0W2a71_N6VxitJ3BVAcyNBp_MtMH-ryOfCnEStKsT1-6zW0K06qZbrh7c0Hx6U4FFCBAKAXX7ODhyPq7w1nFsC0mNF6fgzPGCB0aUJmKNboyrnHF2Ec/s320/123265395_398078948268190_8239005294398134430_n.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Baking plays a big part in my life. It is something I spent a lot of time doing with my mom and grandma for many occasions, or just because! This is something I want to continue to do as Emilia grows up. Plus who doesn't like a little sugar after dinner! </p><p>Reality is this, we are trying to cut out some sugar and choose healthier options because we definitely consume more sugar than we actually need. So this of course contradicts my love for baking! Will I quit...heck no! Just means I need to get creative. </p><p>I love easy recipes, that could be adapted to a variety of things like having a 16 month old who wants to be fully involved - no complaints here! </p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><u><b>Ingredients</b></u></span></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 1 cup raw almonds </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 1 cup walnuts or pecans</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 2.5 cups of dates; pitted for less steps! (If dry soak for 10 min in warm water) </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 3/4 of cacao powder</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 2 tbsp of cacao nibs (plus more for topping) </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 1/4 tsp of sea salt</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• <span class="il"><a href="https://organika.com/products/macacacao-powder" target="_blank">Organika</a></span> Cacao Maca Powder or plain Maca Powder</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 1/4 cup of your desired milk </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 1 cup of chocolate (I really enjoy dark chocolate, and you can buy dairy free chips for vegan option!) </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 2 tbsp of coconut oil (I use the liquid one)</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">• 1/4 cup of powdered sugar (to thicken your chocolate ganache but I didn't use it as I added the maca powder instead)</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u>Steps</u></b></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In a food processor (or pre-bought), chop up the walnuts and almonds. You can add in the cacao powder here or mix in a bowl the powder and nuts. After soaking the dates (if needed) otherwise place dates in food processor and chop. Slowly add the dates to the powder and but mixture; do this in food processor or in the bowl by hand (you can hand mix and apply some pressure to the ingredients mix). Add this mix to an 8x8 pan (insert parchment paper), and press in the mixture. Apply pressure so that it creates a solid piece. Sprinkle some.chopped walnuts and cacao nibs. Put in the fridge for 25-30 mins. Remove and apply ganache. </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>Chocolate Ganache: </i>warm up 1/4 of your desired milk. Add in the cup of chocolate and cover to allow for heat to melt the chocolate; about 2 min. Mix with a whisk. Add in 2tbsp of coconut oil, the desired amount (1 scoop I used) of the <span class="il">Organika</span> Cacao Maca Powder. Mix and put in the fridge for 8-10 mins. Remove and whisk again to maintain thickness. Add some of the powdered sugar (or replace with some Maca Powder insteas this is what I did) if desired and needed to thicken up. Spread generously over the base layer. Add some crushed walnuts and Cacao nibs or add your own Halloween flair and return to the fridge for another 20 mins. </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Remove and cut into pieces; each 8x8 should make 12 servings!! </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Enjoy with a cold glass of milk or a warm cup of <span class="il">Organika</span> Mylk Latte Powder!! </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;">******</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><b><i>XOXO</i></b></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9h1ZtHcf5JkUTq2ZSQNlj2TIVyxYj2bJDo9i631oPg-EjXR3cnxbALAEhIGi_GHdpbZTN2fafYo_uU90z09c2_3C29gw7fgP3qG5EOG-wTHvIOoQuGhyphenhyphenrPLZJy5LluE7nmeL9zetMlHA/s201/Signaturee.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9h1ZtHcf5JkUTq2ZSQNlj2TIVyxYj2bJDo9i631oPg-EjXR3cnxbALAEhIGi_GHdpbZTN2fafYo_uU90z09c2_3C29gw7fgP3qG5EOG-wTHvIOoQuGhyphenhyphenrPLZJy5LluE7nmeL9zetMlHA/s0/Signaturee.png" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></b></div>Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-13589164309154380782020-10-28T22:42:00.006-07:002020-10-30T07:37:54.480-07:00Crock-Pot Love: Chicken Chili <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ptjij3q7yQjGuZ9qj9UQEj3LP3oLCLzldYUGGy3XFk2SV3y9ugvbE1Ws78GKiWhU-KjZIM6AoChKArTJKH91uuVD5aQV2E4Otx-_ef5Xm7N_ACN8I0lRZ1FJI7Gca1N6WRwTjAecODU/s1970/122771753_2287081974771537_7205042529548351003_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1970" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ptjij3q7yQjGuZ9qj9UQEj3LP3oLCLzldYUGGy3XFk2SV3y9ugvbE1Ws78GKiWhU-KjZIM6AoChKArTJKH91uuVD5aQV2E4Otx-_ef5Xm7N_ACN8I0lRZ1FJI7Gca1N6WRwTjAecODU/w293-h400/122771753_2287081974771537_7205042529548351003_n.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This recipe is definitely a winner! And what deems a meal a success is if my babe eats TONS and still asks for more! Ding, ding, ding we have a winner! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You definitely need to try this one! Usually for a chili, I always throw in some jalapeños but with our little miss we have had to improvise with spices in our own individual plates! It was honestly still amazing without the heat! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">***** </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ingredients</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>4 bonesless chickens, thawed</li><li>1 onion; yellow </li><li>2 cloves of garlic minced </li><li>24oz (or 1 container) of chicken broth; I use the low sodium</li><li>2 15oz cans of Cannellini beans</li><li>1 large can (or more if you'd like) of kernel corn</li><li>salt to taste</li><li>black pepper to taste</li><li>1 tsp of cumin - or more to taste. I prefer 1.5 tsp</li><li>3/4 tsp of oregano</li><li>1/2 tsp of chili powder</li><li>1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper</li><li>cilantro</li><li>4oz of low fat cream cheese</li><li>1/4 cup of half and half </li><li>avocado</li><li>tortilla chips</li><li>shredded cheese of choice</li></ul>Steps: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Place the chicken breasts at the bottom of the Crock-Pot. Adding to that your salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, chili powder and cayenne pepper. </li><li>Dice up your onion and mince your garlic then add to the pot along with your beans, corn, cilantro (quanitity to taste...I love A LOT) and chicken broth and then stir. </li><li>Cook on low for 8hrs or 4hrs on high. </li><li>Reove the chicken and shred then return to the slow cooker. </li><li>Add cream cheese and the half&half, and stir, covering </li></ol></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBImFKCOOsS74qNWIgEEKAZ-rXE1RkzIR4OUCbkxLwwyXkxmYTCHg4a6mqY9AJle8NfhqTLDMjB7mVhpynFPfb3KQG5vbXME5dw8O7WKaqWV2gkthaSQUD_lqP5YP3pHmkWvCCFp9EBh0/s201/Signaturee.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBImFKCOOsS74qNWIgEEKAZ-rXE1RkzIR4OUCbkxLwwyXkxmYTCHg4a6mqY9AJle8NfhqTLDMjB7mVhpynFPfb3KQG5vbXME5dw8O7WKaqWV2gkthaSQUD_lqP5YP3pHmkWvCCFp9EBh0/s0/Signaturee.png" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-77818232787349875672020-10-28T22:27:00.004-07:002020-10-28T22:27:55.091-07:00Crock-Pot Love: Chicken Dinner & Fixings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1L99ESbOpB_o92Qo_r65KEIppZcMCj25XQkR7RfB2DGaCmYoPBW7BDPvLdJErQMElAqf3L3kmG_kflVYDVGzGoOgTTFjkS4dn1YkdeoymW1zrWs3TCRbQ09eomzFXs06VMCCc56YvBqE/s2048/123136829_736403760288150_1591994944375337227_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1L99ESbOpB_o92Qo_r65KEIppZcMCj25XQkR7RfB2DGaCmYoPBW7BDPvLdJErQMElAqf3L3kmG_kflVYDVGzGoOgTTFjkS4dn1YkdeoymW1zrWs3TCRbQ09eomzFXs06VMCCc56YvBqE/w400-h300/123136829_736403760288150_1591994944375337227_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;">It has been a tough, long week and my Crock-Pot has been my saving grace. I have come to really appreciate and learn how to make full dinners in one pot and coming home to a ready-made dinner! No more stress of rushing to figure out what to make and instead, just enjoy family time with a delicious meal!</p><p style="text-align: center;">This meal was simple, with little to no prep time and was super tasty! </p><p style="text-align: center;">******</p><p><b><i>Ingredients </i></b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>4 chicken thighs</li><li>1.5 - 2 lbs of potatoes diced (I really like Yukon)</li><li>1 - 1.5lbs of green beans or asparagus</li><li>2 Tbsp of olive oil</li><li>2 garlic cloves minced</li><li>8 oz. can of tomato sauce</li><li>1 tsp of salt or to your liking</li><li>1/4 tsp pepper</li><li>1/2 tsp dried thyme</li><li>1/2 tsp dried rosemary </li><li>Chicken broth</li></ul><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Steps</i></b></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Add your olive oil to a pan after heating over medium to high heat. Once your oil is hot, place your chicken thighs and focus just on browning both sides. No need to cook it through as it will be cooking in the Crock-Pot. </li><li>Dice your potatoes and trim your green beans; mix them and add them to the bottom of the Crock-Pot. </li><li>Once chicken thighs are browned, add them on top of the beans and potato mix. Add the garlic on top and drizzle the tomato sauce on top along with your salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary. </li><li>Smear the tomato sauce to help the seasoning to combine. </li><li>Add a little bit of chicken broth to the bottom - I like to add this for extra flavour, and to ensure the chicken doesn't dry out.</li><li>Cover, turn on the Crock-Pot on low for 8hrs or high for 4.5 hours.</li></ol><div><br /></div></div><div>Serve, enjoy and let me know what you think! </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">******</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>XOXO</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3serHNhGux1J5UneQk_q9i1pZooY-g9Vk84oLb5tV_kEGNRjX17KW-7rpjmnGsDXj7sDyhqZsrOk0q0oeeU3tTM8zoUapyKkn2jeEMjSrbI5Pd_bJQbWWMQ9YLIuBTuJwL-kmmfFkVE/s201/Signaturee.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3serHNhGux1J5UneQk_q9i1pZooY-g9Vk84oLb5tV_kEGNRjX17KW-7rpjmnGsDXj7sDyhqZsrOk0q0oeeU3tTM8zoUapyKkn2jeEMjSrbI5Pd_bJQbWWMQ9YLIuBTuJwL-kmmfFkVE/s0/Signaturee.png" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><p></p>Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-73192970069796813382020-10-27T21:30:00.001-07:002020-10-27T21:30:21.099-07:00DIY Halloween Ghost Frame<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNO9HlDfVjoRAH3ADhadsk9hX07I2iZH7DQRkKzMHdKyqqtQAjY6rsiXPdLRGd0dVw0bG2DwrAXFn5KukB9t5W_o-PFCJbuR01-UKByQFtJhAsKjWZGboqZSsb_ei82N5I3Yn-6sb75_M/s600/6cf970a4-e3eb-489a-963f-2fd804eee8af.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNO9HlDfVjoRAH3ADhadsk9hX07I2iZH7DQRkKzMHdKyqqtQAjY6rsiXPdLRGd0dVw0bG2DwrAXFn5KukB9t5W_o-PFCJbuR01-UKByQFtJhAsKjWZGboqZSsb_ei82N5I3Yn-6sb75_M/w400-h266/6cf970a4-e3eb-489a-963f-2fd804eee8af.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Nothing says "new normal" like finding some cute crafts to do with your family for Halloween. It doesn't all have to be about the candy! But you can always pair a bowl of your favourite treats while crafting!! </span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ff24f9fa-7fff-6787-8c57-34f19b90ac54"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Halloween might look different this year, but maybe look at that in a positive mindset that you possibly have never looked at before! How special is it to spend Halloween with all your fave people instead of just a select few! Hop on a video call with your family near or far and do this craft together! Might as well make the best of it and it'll definitely go down as the most memorable Halloween yet!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This craft is super easy and really you can make it your own! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">******</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcls6eC7wWGo4zShVIlEoup4FLyP8_3XEl3m9mnmd6DLPESrtSny4-uuGPYMO6_1w4eBXvjs9TqCD1S062afsou2iJvkcuGqpjonawzV0NNHem3ZPMCd25UhvmjmUU3oHFj0X24Jes9sg/s2048/00ad1716-1ca8-4b22-8613-f6f9bcd7b9c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcls6eC7wWGo4zShVIlEoup4FLyP8_3XEl3m9mnmd6DLPESrtSny4-uuGPYMO6_1w4eBXvjs9TqCD1S062afsou2iJvkcuGqpjonawzV0NNHem3ZPMCd25UhvmjmUU3oHFj0X24Jes9sg/s320/00ad1716-1ca8-4b22-8613-f6f9bcd7b9c1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What you'll need for this cute little ghost!</b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">• frame (choose whichever frame you'd like) </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">• white, red and black paint (be sure to at least have a chalk and acrylic white paint the rest can be acrylic)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">• brushes </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">• pencil </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Steps: </b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">• take the backing off your frame and paint it white to get a base coat. The photo above has a blush pink background by mixing white chalk paint, some white & red acrylic. The chalk paint is just thicker but by mixing it with the acrylic it's not too lumpy giving you a nice smooth finish. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">• let completely dry. Next draw on the ghost </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">! Paint white using same technique as above with acrylic and chalk. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">• let completely dry. Trace the outside of your ghost, add the eyes and then use a thin brush to brush on the black lines with paint. Let dry and then so a thin layer of white again over some parts so the lines aren't too defined. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That's all! Display in your favourite place! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">******</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">XOXO</span></i></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWQ7pjs5OvS38cnjZBQBQY5SiWi3649X6Q9KBrrtDbDA1JsAWHPHGkrT08AHX2DuredS_1ABM-0ZBJYhF5NUGgHCT0LOi6-FFCV3eW1h5aoRiwJYUg-tpVm0rKmzegdVf9mTJ10SzZ8A/s201/Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPWQ7pjs5OvS38cnjZBQBQY5SiWi3649X6Q9KBrrtDbDA1JsAWHPHGkrT08AHX2DuredS_1ABM-0ZBJYhF5NUGgHCT0LOi6-FFCV3eW1h5aoRiwJYUg-tpVm0rKmzegdVf9mTJ10SzZ8A/s0/Signature.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-61187321552602828162020-08-16T19:14:00.001-07:002020-08-16T19:14:23.902-07:00All About Vitamins<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkn8dn1LtcYI5147Ej8fTfY-5NRWzDqKTxKenFu6ebBiPLAIBI-4Z2V4YoQHhs8AVIFEr8cuES4TWHYC-2oaxu3mvEjo9s0p0GLsGQgTqTuaJF8ny7tfQARF8P8k6KPTIbY-GouoYEEk/s2048/00100trPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200731142615650_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbkn8dn1LtcYI5147Ej8fTfY-5NRWzDqKTxKenFu6ebBiPLAIBI-4Z2V4YoQHhs8AVIFEr8cuES4TWHYC-2oaxu3mvEjo9s0p0GLsGQgTqTuaJF8ny7tfQARF8P8k6KPTIbY-GouoYEEk/w307-h410/00100trPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200731142615650_COVER.jpg" width="307" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let's talk vitamins! I personally have always been a big vitamin person because I see the benefits and prefer the natural means of finding equilibrium in my body versus being dependent on medication. Biggest thing is finding the brand's that offer what you need and that you know you can trust! Especially when it comes to your kiddos! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When Emília was born, I was sure to ask the doctor all the questions around vitamins, the benefits of taking what when and of course did a bit of my own research. I had come across <a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/" target="_blank">AllKidz</a> vitamins and appreciated firstly that they are a Canadian company! Secondly, I really loved that they focus on age specific products so there's no guessing and of course they use nothing but natural ingredients and are completely transparent about it. As mentioned above, AllKidz focuses on age specific products because they value and understand that at each stage, kids require different supplements and nutrition to help support their growth and development. They explain that, "<span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d;">As fellow parents, we at allKiDz® know that you’re looking to provide the exact nutrition that your child needs, nothing more and nothing less. That’s why we strive to give you products with ingredients you’re familiar with – ingredients you can pronounce." (<a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/why-allkidz/" target="_blank">AllKidz About Page</a>). And this is a thousand percent true, which is why I gravitated towards them. You can read more about their ingredients <a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/why-allkidz/" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of my other favourite things about AllKidz:<br /></span></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They have a variety of products from multi-vitamins, probiotics, vitamin D and more!</span></span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">They're gluten free</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No artificial colouring or flavours</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And they are Health Canada-Approved formulations</span></li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Side Note: To all my Vegan friends, you're in luck I know it might often be hard to find Vegan products, but AllKidz actually offers Vegan options which is amazing! </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JB08FK6HuKnjHq69PchFdwK69nMdw6XA9Tf7aj7RpQyIQULB6HwJppAv1rOG51CmUq4ZWs9j3eq0lKEYoXx9C4SsV_K1OjGofKVwK4w5dLNp9PapAlUNrAW6lTk1yb3tVMGQj76qVfQ/s2048/00100trPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200731142735702_COVER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JB08FK6HuKnjHq69PchFdwK69nMdw6XA9Tf7aj7RpQyIQULB6HwJppAv1rOG51CmUq4ZWs9j3eq0lKEYoXx9C4SsV_K1OjGofKVwK4w5dLNp9PapAlUNrAW6lTk1yb3tVMGQj76qVfQ/w246-h328/00100trPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20200731142735702_COVER.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">____________________________________________</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: arial;"><br />My Favourite Products: </b></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: arial;">1. </span><a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/product/allkidz_vitamin_d3_400iu/" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Vitamin D</a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Living in Alberta this was the number one thing that was recommended to us, since our winters are so long. It also helps with building strong bones and teeth and is usually recommended by doctors starting from birth. The dropper it comes with makes it super easy to administer to your kiddos. And again, they are labelled with the age so you're not left with question or how much and how long you should be giving this to your kiddo. Here's the </span><a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/product/allkidz-vegan-vitamin-d3-drops/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Vegan</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> option.</span></div></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. </span><a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/product/allkidz_probiotic_gummies/" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Probiotics</a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This was another supplement suggested to us because Emilia had a lot of bad tummy pains as a baby and still struggles with some digestion now. Some foods really upset her belly and she become super gassy and uncomfortable and often very constipated. I notice a big difference when she does not take her probiotics! </div></span><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. </span><a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/product/allkidz_multi_vitamin_sachet/" style="font-family: arial;">Multivitamins</a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Now that Emilia is a year old, this was something I started to look into. It still has the vitamin D within it, which is great. However, along with this, it also has calcium, vitamin A (great for vision & skin), vitamin B (supports metabolism which my babe definitely needs as well as supports mental development), Zinc and Vitamin C (immune support). It's an amazing blend and is specialized specifically for babes aged 1-3! It comes in little packets that you just mix with water. If you don't like this, they also have them in <a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/product/allkidz_junior_multivitamin_drop/" target="_blank">drops</a>! Once your babe is old enough, you can transition them to the Multi <a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/product/allkidz_multi_gummy_vegetarian/" target="_blank">Gummy Bears Vegetarian</a> which provide a set of vitamins appropriate for ages 4-13 and the Multi <a href="https://allkidzcanada.com/product/allkidz_multi_gummy/" target="_blank">Gummy Bears</a> which are for ages 6 and above. <span style="background-color: white; color: #3d3d3d;"> </span></div></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: arial;"><span style="background-color: white;">____________________________________________<br /></span></span><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />Where to buy</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Luckily there is a large variety of places, and a lot of them are all online which means you don't have to worry about leaving your home! You can find AllKidz supplements at: </span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.walmart.ca/search?q=allkidz" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Walmart Canada</span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/s?rh=n%3A6205177011%2Cp_4%3AallKiDz&ref=bl_dp_s_web_6205177011" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Amazon</span></a></li><li><a href="https://well.ca/brand/allkidz-naturals.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">Well.ca</span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.buywell.com/allkidz-naturals-inc" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">BuyWell</span></a></li><li><a href="https://vitarock.ca/brand/allkidz" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">VitaRock</span></a></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.healthyplanetcanada.com/products/allkidz-naturals.html" target="_blank">Healthy Planet</a></span></li></ul><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Hope this was informative!! Thanks so much for stopping by and reading! <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">XOXO</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwlEZ2Cpp9QHl9Mr6M08uGvUmkK1xwpuNwYNxvt4BuGbUq7JoLkBIGaG6T2r-StS1pw8iUwEtMasrbt09LBNMHbT5xia5Ssds1DW-_Z23vmF6VxYPhQIyP2B7ienKL99EFuD_9oZR4TY/s201/Signature.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="201" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwlEZ2Cpp9QHl9Mr6M08uGvUmkK1xwpuNwYNxvt4BuGbUq7JoLkBIGaG6T2r-StS1pw8iUwEtMasrbt09LBNMHbT5xia5Ssds1DW-_Z23vmF6VxYPhQIyP2B7ienKL99EFuD_9oZR4TY/w161-h78/Signature.png" width="161" /></a></div><p></p>Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-59002721014343020182020-06-09T11:14:00.005-07:002020-06-09T11:14:32.784-07:00Healthy & Delish - Kiddie Pancakes<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Finding something to feed Emilia these days is hard, and I am going to go ahead and share that I feel I am not alone in this. Emilia is at a stage right now where she does not want any food that requires us to feed her. She is so into the self-feeding thing right now (which is amazing) which makes it difficult for us some days. The worst question I face almost every day is "what are we going to eat for ________ (insert meal time here)". I dread this question most days because of how much of a struggle it is! </div>
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I find for us, the hardest meal to plan for is breakfast, I am not sure why, but it is definitely the one I struggle with. She isn't into a lot of meat at the moment, but loves veggies and fruit. So of course this leaves us with some spaces that need to be filled as far as getting her to have the necessary nutrients daily. </div>
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We usually try to give her eggs, but like anyone else, there are days she just isn't in the mood for eggs and refuses to eat them, or doesn't even touch them on her plate. So, as mentioned, I have had to get creative. I tried to find some items online and then what I did was added some protein to the recipe. This way if she has not having eggs or any other protein, I know these pancakes have it! By the way she absolutely loves them which is a bonus! So, I made a bunch and then freeze them and toast or microwave some in the morning for her to have!</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Protein Packed Smoothie Pancakes<br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><i>What you'll need</i></b><br />
<ul>
<li>2 ripe bananas</li>
<li>1 egg</li>
<li> 2 cups of spinach</li>
<li>1 cup of flour (wholemeal, whole-wheat, gluten free, etc. whatever works for your family)</li>
<li>1 tsp of coconut oil</li>
<li>1 1/8 cup of Milk (or preferred, we use 3% for her right now)</li>
</ul>
<div>
And my personal touch in adding the protein </div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://profiprohealth.com/product/protein-booster/">ProFi Pro</a> Health Protein Booster </li>
<ul>
<li>This protein is safe for kiddos and you can put it on anything. It is a Vegan product and made from pea protein. It is unflavoured too which is a plus! It is so easy to mask into things. We also add it into our meatless pasta sauce! </li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><i>How to make it</i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
<ul>
<li>Take all your ingredients and place them into a blender. Once items are fully dissolved it will look like the texture of a smoothie - just a bit thicker because of the flour.</li>
<li>Be sure to spray your hot pan, cook over low heat to allow time to fully cook without burning.<br /> </li>
<li>Serve, and enjoy! </li>
</ul>
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Let me know what you think, and hope your kiddos like it as much as ours does!</div>
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<b><i>XOXO</i></b></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-30761161876625842242020-05-11T09:49:00.000-07:002020-05-11T09:49:57.669-07:00The Dalgona Coffee Trend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am sure by now, you have heard of the Dalgona Coffee that has been trending pretty well everywhere! We first saw it a number of months ago on good old TikTok and well decided to try it. YUP definitely fell in love! Of course now, it is my go to drink when I am home and feeling my sweet tooth asking for something. </div>
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I have been trying a few different - little changes - things in my Dalgona Coffee, and thought I would give you some inspo! I would also love to hear about how you've been experimenting with your Dalgona coffee. Or if you haven't yet, when you do try it and fall in love with it, I want to hear about anything you are doing different!! </div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>What you will need</i></b><br />
- Cup (I like using a mason jar)<br />
- 1 Cup of Milk of choice; I use <a href="https://silk.com/plant-based-products/oatmilk/vanilla-oatmilk/">Silk Vanilla Oat</a><br />
- Ice - whatever amount you like<br />
- 1 Tbsp of instant coffee; I use <a href="https://www.madewithnestle.ca/nescafe/nescaf%C3%A9-tasters-choice-classic">Nestle</a> or <a href="http://www.hastycoffee.com/">Hasty Coffee</a><br />
- 1 Tbsp of brown sugar; this is my preference<br />
- 1 Tbsp of water<br />
- Whisk<br />
- Bowl<br />
- My Touch: Chocolate/Vanilla Pudding Mix Powder<br />
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<br />
<b><i>Let's get to it! </i></b><br />
<br />
1. In a bowl, place the 1 tbsp of instant coffee, 1 tbsp of brown sugar and 1 tbsp of water. Depending on how strong you like it, you may want to double up the ingredients. I always do double as I found the ratio of milk to coffee wasn't enough for me.<br />
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2. With your whisk, you will mix the ingredients for about 2-5 mins depending on how fluffy you want the coffee to be. I usually don't do it too long as I find in the end it is a bit difficult to mix afterwards. So I usually just eye it, and check to see the consistency and once I am happy with it I stop.<br />
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3. Put desired amount of ice in your glass and add the cup of milk. At this point, this is when I would add a little bit of vanilla or chocolate powder. I don't measure this amount, I kind of add until I feel I met the flavour I like but usually about a teaspoon or two.<br />
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4. Add the coffee mixture to the top. Snap a photo! haha And then if you would like you could mix it a bit otherwise I find I am just with the straw drinking the milk or coffee foam on top.<br />
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******</div>
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Thank its, that's all! It has been the best addition to my time in isolation when I know the coffee shop hours are limited and line ups are long!</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">XOXO</span></i></b></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-51408495000900073352020-04-09T10:37:00.000-07:002020-05-11T09:28:32.361-07:00Post-Birth Recovery Tips<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>Post-Birth Tips</i></b><br />
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There are so many tips out there that could be done, however I found these to be the best. All of these ideas I got from my friend Lucy who honestly has had three kiddos and is in the most amazing shape post delivery every time! She is like a magical unicorn! So with that being said, I live by her tips and such because they obviously worked for her! Without a surprise, they too worked for me and were so worth the work to get everything ready ahead of time! She is from British Columbia so a lot of the items she recommended to me are from a local shop in Kimberly, BC. You could find some items at your local health food store but I did not waste time looking for some items as they were essential oils created by a mama after she had her own kids - her shop is called <a href="https://healinghollow.com/">Healing Hollow</a> her products are incredible! </div>
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***<br />
<br /></div>
So, how the hell do I get my you know, to look like normal again? I think this is a question that many women ask and become concerned with once the baby is finally here! You kind of think about it before the baby but you still have the anticipation of the baby so it comes and goes as a thought. But now the baby is here and you know there's been some damage to say the least! Ps. I couldn't not laugh when I finished this sentence!<br />
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<ul>
<li>But real talk, again my friend Lucy was so amazing to share with me her post birth tips to help fix up the damage, or at least "fix" it with some duct-tape! Don't actually apply duct-tape that isn't the tip!</li>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Tip #1</b>: this isn't so much as tip as it is a piece of advice or even a disclaimer for post-birth. DO NOT look down there until you're actually healed. Lucy did share this with me, but I decided to go against that and became way too curious. MISTAKE. I think I cried and said "oh my gosh it looks so ugly". This was only about like 4-5 days postpartum; not a good idea and I totally knew better considering I know Lucy would never lie to me and she knows!! haha <br />
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<b>Tip #2: </b>Try to find healthy snacks, the energy balls in the previous post were amazing and have amazing fats in them! Fruit is another good one, my favourite were frozen grapes!</div>
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Alright so here is the information I know I was excited to receive! Lucy was honestly amazing and I am so thankful to have her in my life. Especially when it comes to anything pregnancy, baby and well anything really!<br />
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If you're looking for a one stop shop for majority of the items, check out <a href="https://www.midwiferysupplies.ca/">Midwifery Supplies</a>, they have everything including pre-made kits you could buy. Personally, I prefer to buy individual items and make it myself. I found the below worked for me, so I bought some items online or from the shop if I couldn't find it else where. They are an amazing resource! </div>
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<b>- Padsicles Recipe -</b></div>
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<b><i>What you need</i></b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Heavy day pads (<a href="https://well.ca/products/organyc-100-organic-cotton-panty_61963.html">Organyc</a> were my favourite or Natracare)</li>
<li>3-4 drops <a href="https://healinghollow.com/product/lavender-population/">lavender population oil</a></li>
<li>3-4 drops <a href="https://healinghollow.com/product/eucalyptus-globulus-organic/">eucalyptus globulus oil</a></li>
<li>3-4 drops <a href="https://healinghollow.com/product/beautiful-birth/">beautiful birth oil</a></li>
<li><a href="https://well.ca/products/earthwise-natural-witch-hazel_103259.html">witch hazel</a> (many different products, I ordered this one)</li>
<li>99% Aloe Vera - I used <a href="https://lilyofthedesert.com/product/aloe-gelly/">Lily of the Desert</a> brand I really liked it</li>
<li>Aluminum foil</li>
<li>Ziploc Bag</li>
</ul>
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<b><i>Steps</i></b></div>
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1. Open your pads but DO NOT remove them form the sticky part. Spray with witch hazel</div>
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2. Add the various oils as listed above. </div>
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4. Spread on some Aloe Vera - I did one small squeeze of the bottle and had a plastic butter knife to spread.</div>
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5. Wrap each pad individually with aluminum foil; try not to pat it down or squish it. </div>
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6. Put the pads in a Ziploc and place in the freezer ready to use.</div>
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<b><i>Additional Information</i></b><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
These will feel AMAZING on, and you will know when you no longer need them...hint, it will no longer feel soothing but super cold and not so nice! At this point if you want you can switch to the non-frozen version.<br />
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The oils you buy cannot be a low grade oil. You must purchase a higher grade essential oil as they will be in contact with your skin and in this case your vagina. The products I have linked above are great items and are safe to be used for this purpose! Please purchase the items wherever you see fit; I supported local health food stores and if I could not find it there, then I did purchase from <a href="https://well.ca/index.html">Well.ca</a> as they are a Canadian distributor out of Ontario!</div>
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<b><i>***</i></b></div>
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<b>Peri Bottle Cleanse </b></div>
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You will likely be told to have a peri bottle on hand, and if not well, you're welcome. This was something recommended to me by my midwives and honestly it was the best thing ever and SO simple. </div>
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<b><i>What you need </i></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Peri Bottle - I really liked the <a href="https://www.midwiferysupplies.ca/">FridaBaby Upside Down Peri Bottle</a> only because it has the angular nozzle </li>
<li>6-8 drops of <a href="https://www.midwiferysupplies.ca/collections/postpartum-supplies/products/calendula-tincture?variant=33319167951">Calendula Tincture</a> (your midwife will advise on the amounts this was what I was given)</li>
<li>Warm Water</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><i>Steps</i></b></div>
<div>
EVERY TIME you go pee, you will do this! You will fill your peri bottle with warm water - I filled it pretty much full - and then you will put your drops of calendula in it. After or even as you are reaching the end of your pee, you start to squeeze this mixture to your vagina. It will cleanse any bacteria from getting to your stitches. And the warms of the water will sooth it! The tincture is strong so it may sting a bit but literally for a few seconds in the beginning. </div>
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The calendula has natural healing properties and it is amazing to fight off any bacteria!</div>
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***</div>
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<b>Arnica Montana </b></div>
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Helps with swelling and bruising. </div>
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This is a homeopathic product, and could be found at natural food stores or online - I usually use <a href="http://www.well.ca/">Well.ca</a> . This was recommended to me by my friend as well as my midwives. </div>
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***</div>
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<b><i>Postpartum Belly Wrap </i></b></div>
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Helps with swelling and expelling the lochia quicker. As well, it made me feel very comfortable because without it, it felt like everything was hanging so heavy and my midsection felt very weighted.</div>
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Note: Please before using this note that in using this, it will release the lochia (blood) quicker and you will notice the bleeding will be heavier. Ask your midwife about it, and ask how to monitor regular compared to too much lochia. </div>
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Where to find: <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B078V1SKS9/?ref=exp_momentswithmellissa_dp_vv_d">Amazon</a> (this is the exact one I bought)</div>
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***</div>
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<b><i>Compression Leggings</i></b></div>
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These are amazing, move to these when you feel up for not wearing the wraps! I switched to these once my bleeding stopped. They will help keep everything tight and in place. Whenever I did not wear these, I just felt very heavy in my stomach area and actually at times made it hard to breath. With gravity everything hangs lower and everything has shifted inside so this was just a nice comfort piece for me.</div>
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Where to find: Snap Back from <a href="https://www.preggoleggings.com/collections/postpartum-leggings/products/black-postpartum-leggings">Preggo Leggings</a></div>
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***</div>
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<b><i>1 Week Postpartum </i></b></div>
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Alright so, as you will be told by your midwife or doctor, you will not be able to bath until you are healed. This is due to the chance of infection if you're not entirely healed up. I also tore a bit which is why I wasn't allowed to take a bath for a bit. <i>If you are unsure, please ask your midwife or doctor about when you can bath.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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What you could do instead is do a little soak bath until you're allowed a real bath. I started doing this one week postpartum - as per my midwives checks - you need to ask your midwives about when you could start these. BUT they are AMAZING!</div>
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<b><i>What you will need</i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Some sort of sitz bath </li>
<ul>
<li>Perineal Bath Salts by <a href="https://www.midwiferysupplies.ca/collections/postpartum-supplies/products/sittin-pretty-perineal-salts?variant=18641443586110">Peas in a Pod</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.midwiferysupplies.ca/collections/postpartum-supplies/products/perineal-wash-herbs?variant=30315943034942">After Birth</a> Perineal Healing Herb</li>
</ul>
<li>Warm Water </li>
<li>Sitz Bath<a href="https://www.midwiferysupplies.ca/collections/postpartum-supplies/products/sitz-baths?variant=18479926018110"> Seat</a></li>
</ul>
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<div>
<b><i>Steps</i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Place the sitz bath seat on your toilet and you could place the sitz right into the seat with warm water, or you could also have the mixture already made up and the sitz disolved in the water bag and also can squeeze to the desired area. I preferred to just sit in it. The bag I found was really good to use as a replacement for the peri bottle. </div>
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***</div>
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Again you guys, everyone is different and of course everyone also has their own comfort levels! Be sure to always ask your midwife or doctor before using anything. The things above were all recommendations given by my friend who had a midwife and also approved by my midwives. It is important to understand the purpose of each remedy. </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">XOXO</span></i></b></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-55553319032448888482020-04-09T09:31:00.000-07:002020-05-11T09:29:44.545-07:00Pre-Labour & Delivery Tips<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, I did a lot of research when it came to this. I wanted to be prepared - shocker right! - and be sure to have all the necessary products. Even though I didn't know what the final outcome would be, I figured I would have it regardless and then just pass them along to another mom friend if I didn't end up using any of it!</div>
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I had a list of things I wanted to have prepared; a lot of these things came from the information I received from <a href="https://www.healthybirthchoices.com/">Healthy Birth Choices</a> and from my friend Lucy who is a wealth of information! So I plan to share some of these things with you but I cannot take credit for any of it!</div>
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<b><i>Labour & Delivery Tips</i></b></div>
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<b>Have Water within Reach!</b></div>
At <a href="https://www.healthybirthchoices.com/">Healthy Birth Choices</a> we were told to have water near by during the first stage of labour. It is important to keep hydrated between contractions in order to keep your bladder active so that it does not stay full which could actually become a challenge when you are in labour and trying to push the baby out. Many times, women can go into an emergency c-section because the baby does not seem to be progressing into the canal. There have been cases where women actually have had a full bladder which caused a block and the baby was unable to get things progressing in order to start the descend. By drinking water after every contraction (like a few sips from a straw) and then trying to pee, it will keep you hydrated and help maintain an empty bladder!<br />
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<i>Tip: have some sort of sip type cup, I got mine from Starbucks! </i></div>
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<b>Ener-C Drink & Popsicles</b><br />
Once you are in active labour, drinking water on its own won't do much nor will you have the desire to be drinking water. During this time however it is still important to keep hydrated but also important to remember you will be burning energy. By this time, you will not by very interested in food either so having some water with <a href="https://well.ca/products/ener-c-1000-mg-vitamin-c_91761.html">Ener-C</a> mixed in or making some Ener-C popsicle sticks will assist in keeping hydration up as well as giving you a little boost of energy.<br />
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<i>You could find Ener-C at your local health food store and/or in the health food section at your grocery store.</i></div>
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<b>Red Raspberry Leaf Tea & Evening Primrose</b><br />
At about 34 weeks you could start drinking <a href="https://well.ca/products/traditional-medicinals-organic_7892.html">Red Raspberry Leaf Tea</a> and at about 36 weeks you could start Evening Primrose. Both of these methods are encouraged by Midwives and always be sure to confirm with your midwives and other healthcare practitioners when it is safe with your pregnancy to take these items and/or if recommended. Everyone is different and therefore may require different timelines and guidance. The timelines above were given to me by my midwives, and I am sure based on my appointments with them. The red raspberry leaf tea is good to drink as it actually helps to prepare your uterus for birth. You may experience some contractions - not real ones! - as this tea will get your muscles moving. If the contractions are too strong, then of course either refrain from drinking (if you're only doing one cup a day) but you could drink up to 3 cups a day. I actually pre-made a bunch and had it in the fridge. I added a little bit of honey to sweeten it a little and it was nice especially when it was super hot!<br />
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With the <a href="https://well.ca/products/sisu-evening-primrose-oil_57035.html">Evening Primrose</a>, you ingest one pill in the morning and in the evening you poke a hole in the gel capsule and insert the pill vaginally. This will help to soften your cervix and start preparing your body for birth. This helped me tremendously, and helped to soften my cervix even leading up to delivery. When I went for my appointment at 38 weeks, I was already about 1 centimeter dilated already! During delivery I believe having done this really helped speed the process for me with dilating and maintaining a soft cervix. Again, make sure to speak to a health practitioner about both these products before using!<br />
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<i>Tip: You can find the tea at many grocery stores in the natural food section; I purchased the primrose from Well.ca as the brand has great reviews and I couldn't locate it elsewhere. </i></div>
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<b>EZ Birth </b><br />
So, <a href="https://well.ca/products/mederi-ez-birth_102832.html">EZ Birth</a>, so much I could say about this product, and so much others have said. All good of course! This item was also recommended to me by my midwives. I had heard about this product before my midwives had recommended it as I had a number of friends who went with midwives. This item also helps prepare your body for labour and allows for labour. I have nothing bad to say about this product as I do find it helped and probably played a big part in the positive experience I faced with labour.<br />
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<b>Eating is Actually Important!</b><br />
My midwives and many moms who took the midwifery route actually discuss and express that eating until you lose the urge to do so - usually when you're in active labour - is actually good because you will have an energy reserve that you will definitely need when you're delivering the baby! I have to share that while in first stage of labour, I ate an entire meal consisting of chicken, salad and some sort of carb! It was glorious and actually never tasted so good! In my mind I think it was thinking or knowing it would have been my last real meal before learning to scarf down food once the baby was in the picture! With this mindset, think quick, easy and something that is still tasty! My friend Lucy gave me a recipe for some energy bites which I ate during labour as well as after delivery as a snack whenever I was hungry.<br />
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<b>- Energy Bites Recipe - </b></div>
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<b><i>Ingredients</i></b><br />
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<li>1/2 cup cashew butter</li>
<li>1/2 cup organic peanut butter</li>
<li>1/2 cup almond butter </li>
<li><b>Alternatively; I used 1.5 cups of <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Nuts-nature-Seed-Butter-737g/dp/B078HYZXC7/ref=asc_df_B078HYZXC7/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292939331507&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8711604333625786628&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001346&hvtargid=pla-567180089660&psc=1">Nuts for Nature: Nut & Seed Butter</a></b></li>
<li>1/4 cup raw honey (when you're in labour it is totally okay to have this as well as post delivery)</li>
<li>1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut + extra for coating</li>
<li>large handful of dates (I would have the dates sitting in warm water for a few minutes first I found this helped when putting them in the food processor)</li>
<li>1 tsp vanilla extract</li>
<li>1.5 cups rolled oats</li>
<li>1/4 cup organic coco powder</li>
<li>1/8 cup chia seeds</li>
<li>1/4 cup hemp hearts</li>
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<b><i>Steps</i></b></div>
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Super easy! Place ingredients in a food processor and pulse. Then roll them out into whatever size balls you would like and rolled them in the shredded coconut. I used Ziploc bags to portion out and to keep them fresh and stored them in my fridge. </div>
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<i><b>Where to buy? </b> </i></div>
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All the items I either bought at Costco or Bulk Barn. I found it was easier and cheaper to buy in bulk quantities as I would actually double or triple this recipe so I didn't have to worry about making them again for a few weeks! </div>
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<b>'Oil Pads' are not just for Post-Birth!</b></div>
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I had heard of using padsicles for post-birth recovery, however my friend Lucy actually advised me to make some non-frozen pads with the same ingredients to use 30 days prior to my due date. Using these 'oil pads' will help your perineum stay lubricated and stretchy which could help with tearing during birth!</div>
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<b>- 'Oil Pads' Recipe -</b></div>
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<b><i>Ingredients</i></b></div>
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<li>Light day pads (<a href="https://well.ca/products/organyc-100-organic-cotton-panty_61963.html">Organyc</a> were my favourite or Natracare)</li>
<li>2-3 drops <a href="https://healinghollow.com/product/lavender-population/">lavender population oil</a></li>
<li>2-3 drops <a href="https://healinghollow.com/product/eucalyptus-globulus-organic/">eucalyptus globulus oil</a></li>
<li>2-3 drops <a href="https://healinghollow.com/product/beautiful-birth/">beautiful birth oil</a></li>
<li><a href="https://well.ca/products/earthwise-natural-witch-hazel_103259.html">witch hazel</a> (many different products, I ordered this one)</li>
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<b><i>Steps</i></b></div>
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On each pad you will spray with witch hazel plus add each of the oils listed above. The smell will be strong so make sure to make these in a place where you could open a window! </div>
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<b><i>Additional Information</i></b></div>
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The oils you buy cannot be a low grade oil. You must purchase a higher grade essential oil as they will be in contact with your skin and in this case your vagina. The products I have linked above are great items and are safe to be used for this purpose! Please purchase the items wherever you see fit; I supported local health food stores and if I could not find it there, then I did purchase from <a href="https://well.ca/index.html">Well.ca</a> as they are a Canadian distributor out of Ontario!</div>
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<b><i>Other Helpful Tips</i></b><br />
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I am sure you have heard this a lot but REST as much as possible the days leading up to your due date or delivery. I cannot stress enough how much this helped me! I made sure to be in bed by 8:30/9pm every day and I would take a nice warm bath every night to help me sleep better at night. I could sometimes be a night owl but honestly I really had to change my mindset and force myself into this new routine and I am so thankful that I did!<br />
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Another helpful tip that I have which was offered to me by my midwives is the use of "hot compresses". It sounds complicated but literally NOT! If you are planning for a home birth, all you'll need is a crock-pot, some small cloths, water and coconut oil! You keep these in the crock-pot and when you're ready and are crowning you apply the cloths with the water and coconut oil and hold it to maintain lubrication. If you are planning a hospital birth, it won't actually be difficult. You are more than welcome to travel with your crock-pot although I am not sure how many would do this haha. Essentially every room under the sink will usually have a metal-like bowl - otherwise ask for one. You can get the water as hot as possible and then do the same thing with the oil, water and cloths. Now the only difference is you may have to put in more water and redo it as the water could cool off quickly. But totally still doable! Again, another difference is at the hospital they will NOT offer this and you will have to have someone do it for you; so make sure to in advance ask someone who will be in the room during delivery who could provide this service haha!<br />
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Now, of course I am sure there are so many things out there that could work or have worked for you. However, these are the things that worked for me and I truly believe provided me with a successful home birth. My entire labour was only about five hours and I confidently will say these things played a part I am sure. Again I am not able to take credit for any of these things as I had amazing women in my life who provided me with these great tips and tricks that they have used or provided to other women. Know that if you use these, and they work to praise the amazing women behind these ideas because they were my wealth of information! </div>
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<b><i>XOXO</i></b></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-48021236045004921132020-04-01T06:23:00.006-07:002020-05-11T09:40:55.394-07:00Simple Easter DIY<div>
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It is bazarre to think that Easter this year will look a little different. Not only are we quarantined - potentially until Easter or longer - but as a family we have a little nugget who will be celebrating her first Easter ever! </div>
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The teacher in me cannot go without putting together some sort of craft. We try to do something with Emilia for every seasonal event, so we could throw it all into her memory book! And then the baker in me, of course, is all about putting together some delicious baked goods! </div>
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<b>Easter Craft </b></div>
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Emilia is quite little, so there are limits to what we could do with her. With that being said, this was an easy craft which could be modified based on age as well. I allowed for Emilia to actually 'paint' but what I did was, used a Ziploc bag to put the canvas in and we avoided a big mess, HOWEVER it was a great sensory activity for her!<br />
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<b>What you will need</b></div>
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- Various paint colours (up to you on the colours) </div>
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- Canvas or cardstock sheet of paper </div>
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- Ziploc or plastic wrap </div>
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- Vinyl bunny cut out; use a Silhouette or Cricuit or easy buy a roll or Protector from Dollarama and <br />
it is super sticky, use this it works great!</div>
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<b>Easy Steps </b></div>
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1. Cut out the bunny or whatever shape you'd like to use</div>
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2. Stick it some where on your canvas/cardstock </div>
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3. Droplets of various paint colours on the canvas; nontoxic</div>
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4. Infants could finger paint by spreading the paint, or this could be modified for age for example</div>
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- sponges, paint brushes, rollers, etc.</div>
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5. Allow paint to dry and peel the cut out shape! </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">XOXO</span></i></b></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-80093606000985726942020-04-01T06:21:00.006-07:002020-05-11T09:41:04.206-07:00Easy & Quick Easter Baking<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I usually go all out for events, I love to bake! However, being quarantined, this is not the best idea because there is no one else but my husband and I to eat all the goodies. That of course would NOT turn out so well! This year I went a bit more basic and just made some cute little bunny cookies! </div>
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Best part...the dough does NOT need to be refrigerated! You could make the dough and use right away. Or, if you have time use your regular sugar cookie or short bread cookie recipe and skip the first part! </div>
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<b>Easter Bunny Cookies</b></div>
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I stumbled upon the easiest and quickest cookie recipe a few years ago on Pinterest, and it is my go to when I am in a rush and don't have time to make sugar cookie dough and chill over night. I will include that recipe here so you don't have to get lost in the Pinterest hole! </div>
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<b>What You Will Need</b></div>
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- Cadbury Eggs or Eggies (or any format of this) </div>
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- A gingerbread man cookie cutter </div>
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- tooth pick </div>
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- <a href="https://www.inkatrinaskitchen.com/best-sugar-cookie-recipe-ever/print/">Quick Ready to Use Cookie Recipe</a></div>
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1. Make your dough; make sure to put your dry ingredients together first and then mix them in to the wet ingredients. Might seem like a silly step, but allows for perfect, even baking and dispersion of ingredients.</div>
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2. Roll out the dough, 1/4" thick . Use Gingerbread Man cookie cutter. Flip the Gingerbread man upside down (so the legs are up to be the ears and the head is down to be bunny's bottom) and reshape the feet to look more like ears. How do you do this? just elongate the legs a bit to get rid of the squared look.<br />
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3. Place a Cadbury Egg center of the arms and bring the arms up to be holding the Cadbury Egg. Take your toothpick and make some eyes and a nose. It is okay to go in the oven, the candy outside will protect the chocolate; the candy shell may crack a bit from the heat but that is all.</div>
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7. Place cookies on the sheet and bake for 6 minutes on 350! I have a convection oven and this time is the best for my cookies to be soft and not burnt. Might need to change based on your oven. When they come out of the oven let them sit for a few minutes to cool and then move them to a cooling rack.</div>
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8. Look at your bunnies and say awwwww, and then enjoy these divine little treats!<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">XOXO</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmSTeRsiycC9YW4PEGQaM1MZ1_RtCGoR-pF0lx1bcRvL0KPHA2-xE6YPrW5X23inV_V_qQFVqESxHd4_qeLHtwOCv6IcBa94-o53TOIXBNOQH5YqfmcnO_wMeCUrBY5oMIOizGIEyhTpQ/s1600/Signaturee.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmSTeRsiycC9YW4PEGQaM1MZ1_RtCGoR-pF0lx1bcRvL0KPHA2-xE6YPrW5X23inV_V_qQFVqESxHd4_qeLHtwOCv6IcBa94-o53TOIXBNOQH5YqfmcnO_wMeCUrBY5oMIOizGIEyhTpQ/s1600/Signaturee.png" /></a></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-12885405475825476972020-03-31T07:50:00.003-07:002020-05-11T09:44:09.787-07:00Baby Skin Always is so Awwww-Inducing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHA6CscIfH7cvcCmAJ3nW0fsxE3IBGKqkJKTJXeonUhlfNtBE4PSbki7oAmpX9FwhStGL907OBu_3Shoy0wilQZCqQxXSI7IHddQ3eIDzEWg6MjiCw06MWW1cl3L8qYs9khcXN1NHKXQ/s1600/90394486_496675467880931_8417958427816361984_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHA6CscIfH7cvcCmAJ3nW0fsxE3IBGKqkJKTJXeonUhlfNtBE4PSbki7oAmpX9FwhStGL907OBu_3Shoy0wilQZCqQxXSI7IHddQ3eIDzEWg6MjiCw06MWW1cl3L8qYs9khcXN1NHKXQ/s400/90394486_496675467880931_8417958427816361984_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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One thing is true, when holding a new baby or any baby, there is always an <i>aww</i> shared especially when touching their skin. The reality however, is that this isn't always the case for our poor little baby girl. She definitely gets her sensitive skin from her mama and then prone to eczema from her dad. She definitely did not get very lucky in this department. </div>
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Babies are born of course very wrinkly and as days pass after birth, you will notice flaking. Many times you will see the flaking happen on their face and their scalp, other times it could travel down to their arms and legs. </div>
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For the first year of a baby's life, it is important to understand that their skin is still developing which means they will be extra sensitive and susceptible to skin damage from too much sun exposure, wind, cold weather and heat. Not only natural elements, but also other irritants such as scents in lotions, detergents, bubble bath, etc. </div>
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<b>Things to Avoid</b></div>
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As a mom, I know I always want my baby looking like she is in tip-top shape, smelling clean and looking presentable. When you are thinking about adulthood you think about having to shower everyday otherwise you may scare people off - which depending on the day might not be a bad thing! Reality is that, this is not the same when it comes to a baby. As an adult our skin is fully developed therefore the sensitivity isn't as high.</div>
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I remember it was a big struggle for me when little E was experiencing the bad baby skin flakes. It was so hard for me to NOT rub or scratch it off. I would apply lotions to help had to really make a conscious effort to just let it be. The scratching and rubbing of this dry skin is actually not going to help and this flaking is a natural process as the baby is not in a new environment compared to the past nine months. </div>
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Although bathing seems like a means of cleansing and ridding of dirt, it actually isn't the best thing for your babe especially in the first few weeks. It is actually more important to try and prolong a bath for as long as you can. If you do this, your baby in the long run will actually have smoother, softer skin. This may not make sense, but if you are constantly washing your baby then you are ridding of the characteristics of their skin that is actually important in their transition and exposure to their new environment - the healthy and necessary oils for example. </div>
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This was the most difficult for me to comprehend. Babies do not need baths every.single.day. In fact, in doing so you can damage skin and dry them out even more. So think about 'mini baths' between actual baths. Minimizing how often can be a big game changer and this was something we learned with Emilia because we were bathing her every single day and it caused a lot more dryness to her skin. </div>
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<b>Some Tips & Tricks </b></div>
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A few things we picked up from friends as well as from our midwives. </div>
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1. At birth, wait if possible up to 2 weeks to do a full body wash. You could wash baby's head but avoid washing the body to give their skin a chance to develop a bit. This will help keep babies skin a lot softer.</div>
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2. Do not bathe baby every day. Maybe do a full soak about 2-3 times a week and in-between use wash clothes in warm water to just rinse the folds, clean off any drool or milk. This will help keep rashes from appearing but also keeping baby clean without getting rid of the natural oils they need. </div>
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3. After a bath - especially for a baby with eczema - try to lightly pat-dry their skin with a towel and apply cream right away. By allowing some water to remain on their skin it will help lock in the moisture from the lotion a lot better which will help with dryness. </div>
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4. Washing baby clothes before they wear it, is so important as you do not know what products or other environments the clothing has come into contact with. Pre-washing everything will ensure that any possible toxins that can cause a rash or outbreak will be avoided. </div>
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5. We use a diaper rash cream that has calendula in it because it is great for rashes especially in the genital areas or related to milk getting trapped in creases and causing a rash. </div>
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6. Having a humidifier will also help keep baby's skin away from dryness. Especially in a province like Alberta where the winters are super dry, a humidifier is a must have! We have Emilia's on every night during the winter months and we notice that her skin does not become dry as there is constant moisture. </div>
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<b>Favourite Baby Products</b></div>
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There are so many things we have tried since having Emilia, but these are our top must haves when it comes to baby products and sensitive skin </div>
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- <a href="https://www.babyganics.ca/en-ca">Babyganics</a>: they provide hypoallergenic products ranging from bath products, lotions, detergents, and even diapers. They have very mild scents or products that are completely fragrance free which is great especially for babies that have super sensitive skin.</div>
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- <a href="https://www.aveeno.ca/baby/all-products">Aveeno Baby</a>: They too have very mild scents, however the product specifically we use from them is their eczema lotion because Emilia often will get spots of super dry skin. </div>
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- <a href="https://fridababy.com/collections/grooming">Frida Baby</a>: They have a variety of items but our favourite for sure was their SKINSOOTHER. It is a silicone pad which is to be used during bath time.</div>
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- <a href="https://www.ivorysnow.ca/en-ca">Ivory Snow</a>: Great detergent for sensitive skin - I even use this for me because of how sensitive my skin is. </div>
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- <a href="https://bbluvgroup.com/">Bbluv Group</a>: They have amazing products and for us we found their humidifers to be the best as they also have built in air purifiers which are great for when babies have a cold. We enjoy the size of the tank it has which allows it to last an entire 8 hours or longer. They have a variety of settings and has a built in night-light. </div>
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XOXO</div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-91221621382898582292020-03-27T10:10:00.000-07:002020-05-11T09:43:59.868-07:00My Favourite Baby Romper - Lil Boop Boop<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWnHXyy9BUMVnoExHzRUNO370MlLDhvsJWVFf5XvtnjMoBv-JesKxDQ5jAiGQDIbws-o1-Crg_oyWUt53DrWTr-Zf8id0vWJXTNQW6Laj8-aguh0VjUKWOHg9LTcW1DzN8QUk7X1M_rPc/s1600/91285054_248651519630848_5992293089538998272_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWnHXyy9BUMVnoExHzRUNO370MlLDhvsJWVFf5XvtnjMoBv-JesKxDQ5jAiGQDIbws-o1-Crg_oyWUt53DrWTr-Zf8id0vWJXTNQW6Laj8-aguh0VjUKWOHg9LTcW1DzN8QUk7X1M_rPc/s400/91285054_248651519630848_5992293089538998272_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As a mom, I am constantly looking for the best of the best for my little. I have to honestly say, I cannot remember the last time I cared this much about my own products and items since baby E arrived. Reality is, as parents, I am sure not one person can deny they want the best for their kids because we have this mindset that thinks of them as being so fragile and therefore, getting the best is the only solution! </div>
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I have recently come into contact with Adi from <a href="https://lilboopboop.com/">Lil Boop Boop</a> and she is an amazing human being! We connected right away over my initial interest and attraction to her product but then my interest peaked once she told me everything about her company, product quality and well her just being her! </div>
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The most important aspect of any company as a mom, is finding ethical, local companies who have a face behind their name that makes them relatable and this mama is all things motherhood!</div>
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<b>The Story...My Favourite Part ALWAYS</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih90cee8dBVTDbzMuy06HDurj60fDJxsuMdlFEuVbNhQmndPkn6bfnV3ywYz-eu9fR3RM6epsEdWTEiOk6rxmEoMhdTU7lJ-6zbn7iOMkNhv9hNlkw_UGAVLWE-HxfJa2lYeoIkM1YIus/s1600/91706344_219493592718845_5385824130882863104_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih90cee8dBVTDbzMuy06HDurj60fDJxsuMdlFEuVbNhQmndPkn6bfnV3ywYz-eu9fR3RM6epsEdWTEiOk6rxmEoMhdTU7lJ-6zbn7iOMkNhv9hNlkw_UGAVLWE-HxfJa2lYeoIkM1YIus/s400/91706344_219493592718845_5385824130882863104_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Just as mentioned above and like any other mom, this company is relatable. Her inspiration and motivation to create this clothing line came from her "desire to dress her daughter is quality garments" (lilboopboop.com) and not being a fan of all the buttons that come with standard onesie's and baby clothing in general. Not only that, but this mama was also thinking about the issue around light clothing that showed all stains, the issues with blowouts and how difficult sometimes some baby clothing could be to remove while trying to keep the mess contained, and all the in-between's of what it means to have a baby.</div>
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Lil Boop Boop is a Canadian company, located in British Columbia! This may seem like a small piece of information but actually a key ingredient in their purpose! If you have never visited BC, it is a must. You are surrounded by nature everywhere you look! So many lush forests and the beautiful Rockies! It is hard not to fall in love with the scenery and therefore, want to be sure that products are being made with sustainable practice. As mentioned on their website, "sustainability is top of mind for [them]. You will notice that [their] apparel is Made in Canada, and that [they] have chosen fabrics that are made with sustainable practices" (lilboopboop.com). Not only this, Lil Boop Boop is a Conservation Partner of <a href="https://www.rainforesttrust.org/">Rainforest Trust</a> , they donate from every sale to protect endangered species & habitats all over the world!</div>
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<b><i>I told you she is amazing!!</i></b></div>
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<b>My Favourite Things About Her Brand </b><br />
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Of course, having a beautiful soul behind a brand makes things all that more positive and enjoyable when shopping! This is why I love shopping local. It is not just a brand you're picking off the shelf, you really get to talk to the face behind the name and learn so much about who they are, what they have to offer and how it all started. The passion behind their fire is so big for me and really makes a difference in my shopping experience. I love supporting other moms who hustle and are in my eyes super heroes, accomplishing amazing things on top of being moms!</div>
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But now about her product! Honestly, there is nothing about her stuff I don't love. I actually love it so much so, that I mentioned to her I wanted one for myself! The rompers are so soft to the touch and the colours are perfect. She really made a conscious effort to choose colours that were not gender specific because it is the most difficult thing as a mom when you have multiple kids; having to re-buy everything when the genders aren't the same. I would have to say that there isn't one colour she hasn't chosen that wouldn't look good on your baby!</div>
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<i><b>Our favourite features include:</b></i><br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Fabric: </i>I have already emphasized how soft her product is! But you'll have to get some of her rompers to believe me! All her clothing is made fro<span style="font-family: inherit;">m <span style="background-color: white; font-weight: 600; text-align: center;">TENCEL™ </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">fibers which are super breathable and allow for body temperature to be regulated which is amazing for our little grow babes who don't necessarily have that ability right off the hop. </span></span></span></div>
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<b><i>Grow with you</i></b>: this is absolutely a MUST HAVE in baby clothing because it really minimizes how much you have to purchase! It will last you longer and can help save money for sure! She has placed some extension on the cuffs around the wrists and ankles to provide room for baby to grow while still being able to fit into her garments.</div>
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Two-way Zipper: </i>Firstly, the zipper is a much smarter piece to add to any baby clothing. My least favourite thing about baby clothes are all the darn buttons people place on them. It really turned me off as a mom having to dress my baby up every day because I knew the struggle it was going to be to have Emilia lay there until all 5000 buttons were done up! So this was a seller for me, and the fact that it zips two ways makes it so easy for diaper changes!</div>
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<b style="font-style: italic;">Cuff Flaps: </b>On each of the cuffs there is extra fabric. This was probably my favourite part because very rarely do you find rompers that have built in mitts and footies! Emilia was a scratcher, especially when she would sleep; waking up some days looking like a cat attacked her! No matter how many gloves we bought, she always found a way to get ride of them! Plus one more item to get eaten by the washer/dryer! Her rompers come complete with built in so you don't have to worry about extra accessories, or forgetting to put socks on those cute little feet! For us, the pull over footies are a life saver because for sleeping E gets so warm and sweats, so it's nice to be able to have her feet out but then at home when it's a bit cold we could easily cover up those cute toes!</div>
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Remember, when you find a brand you love, especially if it's local, stay loyal because remember that momma has been working her buns off to bring you the best of the best! </div>
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<b><i>Checkout her video, so heartwarming!</i></b></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FFnWRPm205Q/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FFnWRPm205Q?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">XOXO</span></i></b></div>
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<br />Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-19784944618127292142020-02-20T08:42:00.000-08:002020-05-11T09:40:26.466-07:00Chocolate Zucchini Protein Muffins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPNr4xahNlXz1un4gdFVv3PM1oFBnuk3HJWwY04Lyk6iqads1m9-HEArHLm_-H5lVy8jnSUsL93VmGx0bm8cOJ1f2zVIJY7MLP7NcYpT-CG6xfES28703ARlt5MXNtcFNL4OP7TXF7bQ/s1600/IMG_1756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPNr4xahNlXz1un4gdFVv3PM1oFBnuk3HJWwY04Lyk6iqads1m9-HEArHLm_-H5lVy8jnSUsL93VmGx0bm8cOJ1f2zVIJY7MLP7NcYpT-CG6xfES28703ARlt5MXNtcFNL4OP7TXF7bQ/s400/IMG_1756.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><i>Trying to life a healthier lifestyle is difficult when <br />you're surrounded by temptation.</i></b></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">I have been making a better effort of trying to choose healthier snack options. It definitely is difficult some days especially when going out with friends. Temptation is all around you! So my tip for you, what has helped me, is try to plan and make healthier snack and food options, and pack all your food with you before going out. This way you feel bad NOT eating your food and you'll be more inclined to do so. I mean Chocolate Muffins, who wouldn't want to eat those! </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">I have included the recipe below for the chocolate zucchini muffins I made. They are absolutely amazing! I did use the protein from <a href="https://youraura.ca/">Your Aura Nutrition</a> because I enjoy the flavour, the fact that it's Canadian but most importantly, the way they have made this protein it is specifically for women's health! Plus it actually tastes really good! </span></div>
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<b>Chocolate Zucchini Muffins</b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">For the full recipe and details for serving size visit <a href="https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/459156124507037448/?nic_v1=1awYRUUWKhybz8JzCO7YQMEFR%2FrziN0S%2FiEGPyUsnXDlsSeF6BNOV1B%2B%2FomzJFg7II">Pinterest</a> or to find similar recipes</span></i></div>
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4 cups of shredded zucchini</div>
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2 scoops of chocolate protein powder</div>
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1 cup of ground oats</div>
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4 eggs</div>
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2 tsp vanilla extract</div>
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2 tsp cinnamon</div>
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3/4 tsp of baking soda</div>
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1/4 tsp of baking powder</div>
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1/4 tsp of salt</div>
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For best results make sure after you have shredded the zucchini, place it on some paper towel and try to take out some of the water but not too much as you will need some to maintain moisture in the muffins. You will then mix all the ingredients together and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Depending on your oven of course, mine only takes about 15 because it is convection. </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">XOXO</span></i></b></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-90365278069130042182020-02-06T22:22:00.002-08:002020-05-11T09:43:33.628-07:00Baby Aqua Therapy Say What!<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8i04NKhh_vsmguaoEXshFXUgrwN1oLpP-U2-TJKx42EnqVRzQvEfqCDt-61o3unMRMIhB3cj0SjHT_8rkWAjYxiK_uB9Pac6XthbdbZL_VEwM0vSn0Q3odXI9wCic8okWy7o_2hntXM/s1600/IMG_20200103_110854+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8i04NKhh_vsmguaoEXshFXUgrwN1oLpP-U2-TJKx42EnqVRzQvEfqCDt-61o3unMRMIhB3cj0SjHT_8rkWAjYxiK_uB9Pac6XthbdbZL_VEwM0vSn0Q3odXI9wCic8okWy7o_2hntXM/s400/IMG_20200103_110854+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Water
is such a beautiful thing; the adult body is made up of 60% water, newborn body is
about 74% and the earth is 71%. It is something that is important for our
health and has so many benefits. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When
I first read up on aqua therapy for children and infants, I was instantly
intrigued by it. I started reading up and trying to locate a source here in
Calgary, Alberta. No matter how much I researched, I was not able to locate any
such facility. It seems like something silly to be fascinated by but honestly
there is so much that aqua therapy could provide for children! </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where did this all start for me?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I started worrying a
little bit about Emilia because it seemed that for her age, she was interested
in food and was already at pretty solid food by 5 months, but she had no
interest in self-feeding or even putting toys to her mouth. I know for many
parents it's like don't complain that she isn't stuffing absolutely everything
in her mouth. I worried most because Emilia since about a month hold absolutely
hated - and still does - tummy time. She developed acid reflex and that is what
really caused her to not like it because it would cause her to feel the acidity
more! I continued to put her on her belly for some tummy time, but within
minutes she would grow irritated and would lose it. I started to look the value
tummy time has for babies, especially with spinal development as well as arm
muscle development from being able to lift themselves up. I would notice Emilia
struggling a little bit to lift herself up even for short periods of time and
when it came to lifting her arms some times she seemed uncomfortable. So I
started to research and look for some support and this is when Aqua Therapy
came up on my radar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since
Calgary did not have any such facility, I knew with my upcoming visit home to
Toronto, I would find something there for sure. This is when I came
across <a href="https://alternativehealingmt.com/">Little One's Aqua
Therapy</a>. I started to speak to Christina and it was like we were meant to
cross paths. I was so mesmerized by her knowledge and her passion for what she
does. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">******<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Emilia's Experience<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGm3hAiZa3zgFYHqx5QA9466UqWrxXzU5pP9emKvcsLGabYaWOem023c3mVqjKd0OF7r3NFU4qHv0NargbYh4foY49XAAfTGAgRXPXHNbw6vVdNmXfLtLQi7jrhJCShbvvAjWC2fpXso/s1600/IMG_20200103_111032+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGm3hAiZa3zgFYHqx5QA9466UqWrxXzU5pP9emKvcsLGabYaWOem023c3mVqjKd0OF7r3NFU4qHv0NargbYh4foY49XAAfTGAgRXPXHNbw6vVdNmXfLtLQi7jrhJCShbvvAjWC2fpXso/s400/IMG_20200103_111032+%25281%2529.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">First off, when we walked in, right away the vibe of the facility was amazing. Christina has done such a good job of creating a welcoming and calming vibe. But the cherry on the cake was when we walked into the Aqua Therapy room and she explained everything to us. It is such a relaxing space, with simple decor that really does allow this space to be so amazing for therapy as it minimizes distractions and children/babies from being overstimulated. She has an amazing sensory table there and buckets of toys to make your little ones feel comfortable! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My favourite part? Well they make sure to make the experience special so they greet your child by placing their name on the plaque by the tubs. It is something very small, but when it comes to a business, these little details really say a lot about the experience they are wanting you to have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EbRrq1YAM_eIsuscxgxDmAIE0UszAErbyL_1tEpOto6k04YhiO2_ZMZR2MchvcGxZQfNrUiUQBvi4EOxcNbfx6Z7tLokDaFd05NgVBd7fC8lyb4pu99vIzwjuP0q4w0l_fQ0EOoUI-E/s1600/IMG_20200103_113151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2EbRrq1YAM_eIsuscxgxDmAIE0UszAErbyL_1tEpOto6k04YhiO2_ZMZR2MchvcGxZQfNrUiUQBvi4EOxcNbfx6Z7tLokDaFd05NgVBd7fC8lyb4pu99vIzwjuP0q4w0l_fQ0EOoUI-E/s320/IMG_20200103_113151.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH6fee3meUMBsASHpDzLdzx9X3qkc-QtZlbFgStgVgIaOA4B8NCcXnn1Nt8W_8SSw_GA7zNvY6eBkfSYFJ2P7nR0FSzaxCK2pcvnQV8ltN-JTZWIyiXeXOLHXI4480-Sa0aDXMJWyx5hs/s1600/IMG_20200103_113120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH6fee3meUMBsASHpDzLdzx9X3qkc-QtZlbFgStgVgIaOA4B8NCcXnn1Nt8W_8SSw_GA7zNvY6eBkfSYFJ2P7nR0FSzaxCK2pcvnQV8ltN-JTZWIyiXeXOLHXI4480-Sa0aDXMJWyx5hs/s320/IMG_20200103_113120.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was a little nervous as
I was afraid to find out if there was anything wrong with E. Luckily through
Christina's analysis of Emilia's movements it was concluded that everything was
good and that she was likely just playing the lazy game! Go figure right! But I do have to
say I absolutely loved our visit and Emilia I know absolutely loved this
opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We started by introducing Emilia in the hydro tub. She was fitted for her neck
floatie, we then placed her into the tub and added some toys. From there we
gave her a few minutes to adjust and realize that she was in fact floating and
could freely move. It took her a few minutes but eventually she figured it out
and started to reach for toys. I could definitely tell she was still a little
bit skeptical about the whole thing because she was playing the good old shy
game but I know if we were to bring her more often she would end up ripping
around in there!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Christina introduced things like cups with holes and would fill them with
water, moving them from one side to the other to encourage Emilia to move from
side to side, in hopes to encourage leg and/or arm movement to support it. I
could tell how knowledgeable Christina was because she just kept encouraging
Emilia and would try things in different ways to support her learning ability
and style! It was amazing to see how quickly E would pick things up and felt
the confidence through Christina's vibes! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After we finished the hydrotherapy Emilia got a nice massage by the fireplace.
Talk about the most relaxing scene ever right! I was so jealous! Through the
massage Christina was able to pinpoint areas on Emilia that were tense - for
example she noticed how cramped her belly was from being constipated and
focused some of her energy on that. Again, through the entire massage Christina
was explaining things as she did them to provide that sense of trust with us
and also providing us some really great tips and information to better support
us as parents to help Emilia!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwDEfSFqkOcNfZgtvF2aCrQtIPSZ_1tU5RiS41Vbcq3EuWLzqho46RfM4b6GhYCr_8rAWy5WII7M46LQ_QlLI1n_tE23tc4ViGPO3R3dGZ16fl2SHuTF3dZSt_8ItKTm58GAjX1l5KJo/s1600/IMG_20200103_112626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwDEfSFqkOcNfZgtvF2aCrQtIPSZ_1tU5RiS41Vbcq3EuWLzqho46RfM4b6GhYCr_8rAWy5WII7M46LQ_QlLI1n_tE23tc4ViGPO3R3dGZ16fl2SHuTF3dZSt_8ItKTm58GAjX1l5KJo/s320/IMG_20200103_112626.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally we got a chance to go up to the sensory room. It was like a candy shop!
She had so many resources, it was absolutely amazing! Christina usually hosts
classes for moms. She keeps them small which is nice and parents of course are
encouraged to bring their babies to learn and play. Christina walked us through
what a typical class would look like. The fee that is being charged is for the
materials - which you get to take home the finished product - and the lesson that
comes with the sensory or fine motor skill topic. Christina goes through the
exercise of how to encourage certain sensory and fine motor skills to be
developed. You then get a chance to make your own and then take it home. I know
if I lived closer I would be going to every single workshop she offers because
nothing beats gaining the important knowledge needed to better support the
development and learning of your child(ren). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have to say I was so impressed with my experience! As mentioned previously,
Christina is so knowledgeable and to beat she is the worlds sweetest woman!
She is so personable and through her compassionate heart she provides nothing
but an amazing, calm and relaxing experience for both children and families. I
could tell how passionate she was about what she does, and the efforts she went
to, in order to be fully knowledgeable so that she could provide a very unique
and rich experience to families. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">******<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<b>About Little Ones Aqua Therapy<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Christina started to
research about hydrotherapy due to one of her clients who has Lissencephaly. Michaela and her family have been clients of Christina's for
several years and through massage Christina felt there was more she could
potentially do and offer Michaela to support her in her development.
Lissencephaly if you don't know causes global cognitive delays because the
folds of the brain remain smooth which in-turn effects development. Through
research Christina was able to learn that through the use of water therapy it
could actually compliment her existing treatment plan so she set forth with a
big idea and made it come true! </span></div>
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<b><i>What does Hydrotherapy Support?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "inherit" , serif;"><br />
</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "inherit" , serif;">Having your baby or
child exercise in water through buoyancy allows for free movement and
encourages your baby or child to freely discover, interact, and exert energy
with no impact on their joints.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hydrotherapy is the act of doing exercise while being immersed in water. Since
the child or infant is using a floating device, they are able to freely move
without all the extra body weight. Through buoyancy it allows for a large array
of things to trigger the brain and allow the child/infant to move and therefore
with continuous exposure to the treatment they can encourage neurological and
physical development as well improves muscle development, sensory development,
coordination, balance and cardiovascular function. But that isn't it! Having
your baby/child participate in hydrotherapy it is a form of exercise - in fact,
just about 10 minutes is equivalent to about 30 minutes of a run for adults! -
it also help to get things moving internally so it helps with relieving gas,
appetite and improves sleep! </span></div>
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<b><i>Who can benefit?<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is designed for
babies and toddlers ranging from 2 months to 6 years of age. It is also used
and beneficial for all abilities. Each child is different so Christina and her
team would assess your child and then provide you with a hydrotherapy plan to
best suit your baby/child's needs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">All in all, it was so amazing
meeting Christina and her team and I would highly recommend her if you are
looking for services like hers. There is nothing more important than finding a
service provider who cares about your children’s well-being as much as you do!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Checkout my <a href="https://www.instagram.com/momentswithmellissa">Instagram Page</a> for a video!</span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">XOXO</span></span></i></b></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-66668186141996573472020-01-15T08:12:00.003-08:002020-05-11T09:30:02.325-07:00Life Since Baby Emília Joined Us<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photos By: <a href="https://lucyhamiltonphotography.com/">The Hamiltons Photographers</a></span></div>
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Since Emília was born, life definitely seemed to be non-existent before her. I often sit and wonder to myself how incomplete life would be without this little miracle and that I truly didn't no the beauty life held until I met her. Things went very well with the delivery and I couldn't have asked for things to have gone any other way. Every time I look down at her, I am in complete awe that this was the little human who was inside my big round belly and grew inside for nine months! It all still feels so surreal and as though it never actually happened! Looking at these photos taken by <a href="http://www.lucyhamiltonphotography.com/">Portraits by Lucy</a> I can't help but smile because I waited nine whole months to meet our little peanut and I now have transitioned those hands holding the perfect baby bump, to be holding the most beautiful baby girl.<br />
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<i><b>Days before she arrived</b> </i>I was extremely emotional and grew anxious to meet her. Everything leading up to labour and delivery seemed to have irritated me or made me cry. I was not settled and I kept wondering why the baby wasn't here yet. Especially as the days got closer to her due date, I would wonder to myself if I was doing something wrong, and why my body was not having this baby. I logically knew that there was honestly no control on my part, that the baby made the final decision of when she would come into the world, but emotionally I felt I was lacking in something and doing something wrong. Truth is, a lot of women actually become very emotional leading up to their labour and delivery date as your body goes through some hormonal changes! I couldn't believe the roller coaster this was though. Now we laugh about it but in the moment I know for a fact my husband was a saint to have put up with me!<br />
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<i><b>Delivery and labour</b> </i>went better then I expected. It was actually crazy because I had put together a birth plan which I feel is something people do as more of a wish list for themselves, but I actually had my birth plan followed to a "t". I wanted a home-birth and was able to successfully have this, no drugs, nothing; all natural! We ended up having a water birth and that was incredible and the warm water was so great to help keep the pain under control. Honestly, this day couldn't have gone better. I felt I was mentally and emotionally prepared for this day which is why I grew so emotional along with the hormonal roller-coaster. Either way, there isn't a thing that I would change about my delivery and I would do it over and over again if it meant I got to embrace in that moment of meeting my daughter over and over as well!<br />
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<i><b>Recovery</b> </i>was probably the most difficult for me. Not the actual recovery itself because I was actually doing very well in that aspect. For me, the most difficult aspect of recovery was having to be in bed and doing essentially little to nothing. I am a busy body and very independent so having to depend on someone else for things was something I had to wrap my brain around. I have to say, the recovery was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Healing happened quickly and I was lucky enough to not have a lot of postpartum bleeding; within 3-4 days I was finished! I have to say though what saved my life were some homemade 'padsicles' that I had prepared months in advanced! These I truly believed helped a lot with my healing process. Checkout my post about pre & post labour tips that I'll be posting about!<br />
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<b style="font-style: italic;">Breastfeeding</b>, I don't even know where to start with this? The night she was born she latched very well but I had help from the midwives. The next day when I did it myself was actually difficult and hurt. Now thanks to the prenatal classes I took with <a href="https://www.healthybirthchoices.com/">Healthy Birth Choices</a> I knew that if it felt like a bunch of paper-cuts happening baby was not latching well. I definitely needed help and called my midwives. It was so bad that I would cry with the thought of having to feed her again. Emotionally and physically I was not coping well. My midwives were amazing and helped my with my latch. Things went well, but then my milk supply never increased and we ended up finding out that our peanut had a high palette plus slightly tongue tied. Needless to say breastfeeding ended at about three months, it was short-lived and hard for me to accept it but it was what it was.<br />
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<b><i>First few days after she arrived</i></b> were a little scary. The first night we woke up to her choking - literally turned purple! - on amniotic fluids. We knew this was going to happen because our midwives did warn us about it but it was still scary to deal with it. I also knew that she would be cluster feeding especially to try getting my milk supply in, but I didn't realize that sometimes cluster feeding would mean babies could feed for long periods of time in one sitting, so to speak. Having an idea but not knowing the extent of it did make things a little difficult at times. Once we got over that, motherhood didn't appear to be that bad. But gosh was I EVER exhausted the first little bit. I know they say to sleep when the baby sleeps but I have a hard time doing that because I am not a napper. I think since the baby was born I maybe took one nap with her and it didn't last very long! Regardless, I have found a way to make it work and still holding up strong nearly seven months later!<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">Half a year </i>and our little angel is doing amazing! I celebrate the little wins everyday. I have learned so much but most of all, I am mostly pleased that we've been successful at keeping this little human alive and she seems to be thriving! I love hearing her giggle, I love the cuddles I get, and most of all, I still love looking down at her, still in complete and total awe that this was the little human I waited nine whole months to hold in my arms and now, I am blessed every.single.day to hold her in my arms.<br />
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One take away for me in all this was the power of patience. I honestly learned so much about myself during the nine months and still after baby. I have learned to let go of things I cannot control - like breastfeeding - because wasting time being upset about those things is only taking time away from embracing in the amazing things motherhood brings.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">XOXO</span></b></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-47896986672620560732020-01-15T08:09:00.000-08:002020-05-11T09:30:37.413-07:00The Day We Met Sweet Emilia<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><i>"A baby fills a place in your heart you never knew was empty" ~Unknown</i></b></div>
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The day I got to meet my sweetest Emília was probably one of the best days of my life. It was a day filled with so many different emotions and until this day, still feels so surreal.</div>
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It has taken me a while to write this because I don't think I could ever find the perfect words to express and explain how elated I felt the day I went into labour. I know there is a stigma around labour and fearing it, but truthfully, I embraced every aspect of labour and found it all quite rewarding! Call me crazy I know! </div>
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<b><i>Days leading up to her arrival; get ready to laugh!</i></b></div>
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My due date was June 23, 2019. The few days leading up to the birth of our baby girl literally felt like being on a roller-coaster. One day I was happy, next minute within that day I was crying and didn't know why. I was literally doing everything to help with the birth. I was doing acupuncture, yoga, gong for walks, EVERYTHING! And still nothing happened. It started to cause me so much anxiety because I was so ready to have this baby and the anticipation was killing me. I started to feel inadequate, like something was wrong with me - why wasn't this baby coming, she should've been here by now, what am I doing wrong. Saturday rolls around. We went out for the day to the Calgary Farmers Market. My husband asks me what I wanted for lunch and I literally broke into tears crying in the middle of the food court saying I didn't know what I wanted and to stop asking me questions. Yes I know my poor husband, but don't worry it gets worse...for him haha. We spend a few hours there try to walk as much as possible to help with maybe encouraging labour. We come home, nothing. Sunday finally arrives, the baby's due date. I wake up feeling excited and saying to myself...today's the day! Something felt different however. I wanted to be alone, I wanted nothing to do with anyone but of course this would pose an issue in a house where your mom and husband are both in your space! My attempt to isolate myself was to play games on my phone. But of course it wasn't really accepted by my husband because he felt I was ignoring him; especially after he made the effort to make us a wonderful breakfast. I remember he asked me to go to the table for breakfast and I did...but with my phone still playing my game. Well this didn't go over well - LOL - and he expressed that he made a nice breakfast and just wanted to have a nice breakfast with me so for me to put my phone away. WEELLLLLLLLLL, this didn't go over well! I turned my phone off, started bawling and shouted "stop telling me what to do, I don't need another father in my life". I left the table and stormed up to our bedroom, locking the door behind me, laid in bed and cried. Logically, I didn't even know why I had reacted the way I did or why I was even crying but then as I sat - still crying - I knew why...it was my due date, everyone said baby would be early FOR SURE, but they were wrong, I had convinced myself of something that I had ZERO control over and now I felt I had failed or was doing something wrong. WHOA talk about hormones am I right haha! I will not forget texting my acupuncturist sharing my feelings and she sent me a message telling me "girl you are having this baby any day. Many times women face a very emotional few days of unexplainable tears just before going into labour". I welcomed what she shared but deep down I was like, yeah right another person giving me false hope. I am NOT believing her! And at this moment just gave it up...I finally got ready for the day and just said, I didn't want to talk about labour or anything!<br />
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<b><i>She's Coming!! Definitely some guaranteed laughter in here plus a happy moment!</i></b><br />
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Okay you guys 8am on the dot I wake up from being in the best sleep of my life worried I was peeing alllllll over the bed. I shot up, placed my hands between my legs - as if this would stop the 'pee' - and ran to the toilet. My underwear fell to the ground and I quickly realized my water had definitely broke! I started giggling, but almost in relief that this might be it, she may be on her way! Wait a minute...where's Kurt? He would've followed me to the bathroom if he was here! Great, now what! Had to put my hands between my legs again and back to the bedroom I went - no husband - grabbed my phone and ran into the tub. Guys truth: I was doing this because I was so worried to dirty our new light grey carpet! Kurt hadn't put plastic down to look like a scene from Dexter haha. Called him, he was out for a walk with Luna, he rushed back and got right down to...putting plastic down in our bedroom covering the precious carpet haha. Midwife showed up around 10am checked me, said my water had only partially broke, but that I was about 5cm dilated. I went about my day...yes guys I went about my day. I had NO contractions at all, all day! Around 4pm the midwife came back and said I was essentially 9cm dilated and broke the rest of my water, she gave me this magic drink to help move things along. We took the dog to daycare, we stopped for a coffee, we came back home and went for a twenty minute walk. When I left my house for the walk my contractions were about 6 minutes apart...when we got home something inside said "go hide in your room" I literally turned all the lights off, closed all the blinds and it was then that I finally was getting contractions; they quickly were at about 3 min apart!<br />
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Midwife made her way over and the second she did, I was ready to head into the shower and was in active labour with contractions. I was in the shower for a short period of time until my midwife felt I was ready to get into the tub. Within minutes of getting into the warm tub, I was in transition and on my way to pushing. In total, my pushing lasted about an hour and forty minutes and my entire labour was 5 hours!<br />
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Sure enough at 10:19pm our little miss Emilia Maria was born and in that moment of seeing her I was speechless. I didn't know what to do but look at her in awe that I waited 9 months for this moment to hold her in my hands and finally see what she looked like! My husband was very emotional and was in tears, but for me I didn't get a chance to have my emotions flood in until the morning when I woke up. I held her in my arms and just cried saying to my husband "she is so cute". Nothing could ever compare the feelings and rush of emotions I had the day Emilia was born. It was, and still is an unexplained experience. It is something that has no words good enough to describe it's true feelings.<br />
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It's crazy to think how your brain could shut out all the pain from labour, but that moment you meet your child is a memory that can be replayed over and over again as if it had just happened every time you hold your baby.<br />
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All in all, I have to say every contraction, every push every bit of pain was worth finally holding my baby girl in my arms!<br />
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<b>Little Miss Emilia Maria</b></div>
<b><i>Born June 24 2019 - 10:19pm - 7lbs 13oz - 20.5 inches</i></b><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">XOXO</span></i></b></div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-26108083206500378792019-11-18T11:24:00.001-08:002020-05-11T09:41:33.899-07:00A Fruity Snack!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Okay so when I am planning out my snacks, I always try to find simple items! This one is great because it is easy and quick to get done! All you need is some fruit, nuts and a little herbs! A lot of the snacks and meals I get are inspired by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kayla_itsines/">Kayla Itsines</a>, finding recipes I enjoy from <a href="http://www.pinterest.ca/">Pinterest</a> or essentially making things up...well my husband makes things up I then proceed to go through the recipe again and write it down! haha<br />
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Alright so for this snack, it was inspired by Kayla Itsines. She has a great way of offering simple but great tasting snacks! I love this one because if I feel like having something sweet, I could get the sugar craving dealt with by eating some fruit! I also like that this snack is easy often times you likely will have strawberries and blueberries laying around! </div>
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<b>Fruity Snack </b></div>
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What do you need? </div>
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<li>Strawberries</li>
<li>Blueberries</li>
<li>Nuts (pick what you prefer, I like almonds or cashews) </li>
<li>Basil (optional, I just like the extra flavour this offers)</li>
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<i>Preparation: </i></div>
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I like to wash all the fruit and herbs and then pre-cut the strawberries to make it easier to eat if I am on the run. I then place the strawberries, blueberries, nuts into a bowl or glassware. I then cut up the the basil and mix that in. That's all!! Easy and super delicious!</div>
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XOXO</div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-78052549370107374042019-11-08T09:43:00.001-08:002020-05-11T09:41:42.951-07:00Meal Prep Say What?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "oxygen" , "cantarell" , "helvetica neue" , "ubuntu" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">Photo by </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "oxygen" , "cantarell" , "helvetica neue" , "ubuntu" , sans-serif; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/@shamia-casiano-183672?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Shamia Casiano </a></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "oxygen" , "cantarell" , "helvetica neue" , "ubuntu" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">from </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "oxygen" , "cantarell" , "helvetica neue" , "ubuntu" , sans-serif; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/food-is-bae-wooden-decor-944735/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Pexels</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Let's get real for a minute! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Meal prepping for some seems like a very extensive chore that takes up a lot of time, especially over the weekend when you could be engaging in more fun activities! Although it can take up a few hours to get everything ready, it actually isn't as bad as some people think or envision it to be. I also think that when people hear meal prep, they associate it with people who workout and are trying to keep themselves in line to achieve personal physical success. Again, this is true and yes many people do meal prep to support their workout regime in order to avoid too many cheat days. Reality is, it isn't just for this purpose! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i>So how could meal prepping support my busy life as a mama and how could it benefit my already so busy schedule? </i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Prior to becoming a mom, I had a fairly busy schedule with work, plus I also had my wedding that I was determined to slim down for! So yes, this was motivation enough for me! I did during this time in my life, use meal prepping to provide a sense of organization so that I did not have temptation to fill my hungry belly with sugary snacks. It definitely helped me to achieve my weight goal for the wedding and definitely helped with keeping me on the right track. And then I got preggers! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i>So now what?</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Although I continued to meal prep during the week during my pregnancy, I was obviously no longer using it for the purpose of losing weight. Instead, I continued to meal prep for the purpose of time. Having a forty minute drive to and from work and my husband often being out of town, there were nights I knew I would not want to cook so meal prepping made it easy for me to still eat a proper nutritional meal. This became vital during pregnancy because there were days that I easily craved other things, but then remembered..."oh right I made supper". </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i>Meal Prepping for a Busy Mama</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So now, meal prepping has continued to play a vital role in my life. Especially being a mama, I am constantly busy running around changing diapers, feeding the baby, playing with the baby, building skills with the baby, and of course to add into the mix, also dealing with the everyday things of similar tasks with our husky! Along with this, being a mama your baby at a young age is pretty unpredictable! So, just when you think you might have an hour, or two to get some food ready and sit down for lunch, baby is awake after twenty minutes and ready to do everything all over again! This was the life I was living and I would end up just snacking all day; but not good, healthy snacks, they were the quickest and usually snacks that were full of sugar and fat! Skip the Dishes is a great thing in Canada, but also terrifying how addictive it could get because it makes getting food easy and fairly quickly, especially if it means you don't have to leave the house! I caught myself getting into the situation where all I was craving a lot of the times was junk food! And why? Well, when you don't have enough energy to get you through the day, which you normally would get from eating a good balanced diet - carbs, meats, veggie, etc. - your body needs to find another source to gather enough energy to get you through so where to find a quick fix...junk food and foods with sugar! This was not working for me, as I was becoming sluggish and could not keep up with my unpredictable baby! I was definitely NOT living my best life! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">With this being said, although meal prepping sounds too complicated, like too much work or that it would take up time, it is important to look beyond some of this and look at the good side! Just learn to make adjustments so that it doesn't appear to be yet another chore! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i>Incorporating Meal Prepping Into Family Time</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">My husband and I love to spend time together as a family, and with his work schedule sometimes this could be difficult. So when we meal prep, we ALWAYS do it together and have made it a family thing! We plan out our week for meals and snacks and then we divide and conquer; we even cook some meals together! Our little also joins us, and even though she is still so young, seeing this from a young age will actually encourage her to do the same, and she will value this as something we do as a family. After all, food brings people together right! This has workout so well for us, and has provided that extra time together! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><i>Meals to Prep and Ideas</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">We literally plan everything! Breakfasts, snacks, lunches and dinners. Although yes I am home all the time life is unpredictable with a baby. So this is my recommendation if your baby is like ours! The thing you have to remember however when planning, is to always add some protein to your meal. This way you are filling yourself up with good fuel to allow yourself to burn throughout the day and your body will not crave bad foods to try grasping for energy. You also have to incorporate some type of healthy carb as well! And of course a veggie or fruit. Okay so pretty much follow the food guide haha!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Breakfast - choose simply but healthy. I like going with smoothies (used to do smoothie bowls but I ain't got time for that now haha), overnight oats, quiche, omelette with toast, etc. My breakfasts are usually always made ahead of time. Obviously with smoothies I do not prepare ahead because they get foamy, but instead, I cut up all the fruit, add the oats and such all into a container and then when it's time to make it, I just place this into the blender and add milk and usually a protein enriched yogurt. Quiche I make ahead of time, and omelet I cut up all the veggies in advance and then just make it in the morning.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Snacks - again simple is easy and way more encouraging. With my snacks I try to add something sweet so that my body doesn't crave it throughout the day! Fruit and nuts, a protein shake with fruit, a form of hummus (I usually make a carrot or beet one or regular). My key with snacks is that they are not only quick to make, but also easy to pack and take with you on the go! I always prepare all of my snacks for the go, this way I do not have to worry about making anything when I am rushing out the door.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Lunch - with lunches, my key is one handed meals! If I have to be feeding my baby, or holding her in the case she is having an off day, it is vital to have these one handed meals! I try for salads, quesadillas, wraps (but you have to be a good wrap wrapper haha otherwise it'll fall apart!), etc. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Dinner - we sometimes will pre-cook a dinner if it is something like a paella, or a meat sauce for pasta. Other than that, if we are having some form of tacos or an oven roasted meal, I usually just pre-cut all the veggies and then when it is time to prepare supper, we just throw everything into the oven. I also try to find meals that I could just throw all the items on to one tray and cook it all at the same time. As well, our smoker has been a life saver as we can toss a nice roast, or brisket on the smoker and allow for it to slowly cook all day! And then it is just a matter of quickly tossing on the veggies and voila, dinner is served! Again, we love fancy meals BUT with a baby we don't always have the time for this, so we have opted for more practical dinner plans and then we usually do a fancy meal out once or twice a month to get in our quota of fanciness once in a while! </span></div>
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<i>Clean Up! </i></div>
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Yes the part everyone hates doing! Here is our trick, we try to clean things as we go. Once we are done one meal, we do the clean up for that. This way at the end there is little to nothing left to clean. Not to mention, if you are cleaning as you go, you might need to actually reuse something so then you are not inclined to dirty yet another dish or bowl! It is a lot more efficient we find and we usually rinse off the things we know we won't use anymore and toss it into the dishwasher and this way we could run it while we are having supper and then before bed we put everything away and have the dishwasher ready for the morning to load in anything we now will be eating from in the morning! Easy!! Okay it wasn't that easy at first, it is a learned thing and we just started to figure out little tricks as we meal prepped time and time again! So it was definitely a learning progress but again worth all the mess if it means minimal cleaning and tidying up during the week!</div>
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******</div>
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<i style="font-weight: 700; text-align: center;">I hope this post has provided you some insight on meal prepping! I will post some of my favourite snacks and links from which I gathered my favourite recipes that have been working well for me with being a busy full-time mama! If you have any questions please reach out via email or on instagram! I would love to also have any insights on some meal ideas that I'd love to feature on my recipe posts!</i></div>
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XOXO,</div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-33531977893781748032019-10-18T10:08:00.002-07:002020-05-11T09:31:48.396-07:00Normalizing All Feeding, Not Just Breastfeeding<div style="text-align: center;">
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Does it really matter how you choose to feed your baby? Or is it more important to ensure your baby is happy, healthy and growing? Although the answer seems very obvious, it was easier said then done when I feared not being able to breastfeed.<br />
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I have previously written about my struggles with breastfeeding. It certainly was one of the most difficult things I have had to face in my entire life. The moment I realized that my milk supply was not increasing regardless of all efforts made, and that it would actually cause my daughter to throw it up, I knew a change needed to come about but in a lot of ways I was feeling guilty, embarrassed and as though I was failing my daughter. </div>
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Seems silly I know, but the truth is this. There is an amazing movement to encourage more women to breastfeed and to not be ashamed of breastfeeding especially in public. This is amazing, and I am so amazed and admire women for taking the stand and breastfeeding whenever, wherever. I have to say that for me when I first started off I was a little self-conscious but I think it was because I wasn't confident in what I was doing. After a little bit of help, I literally 'whipped' it out wherever and whenever my daughter needed to eat. I had little care or time to worry about what everyone else was thinking because truthfully all that mattered was that my daughter was being fed. I am all for breastfeeding and at times can get a little jealous of women who are still breastfeeding or have so much supply because of how difficult it was for me. But why? Why do I feel defeated, why do I feel embarrassed, guilty, ashamed...these words should never exist in the vocabulary of a mom because to your child, you are the best thing that has ever happened to them and everything you do for them is perfect and exactly what they need.</div>
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As I got thinking I figured out why those words were highlighted and associated with my experience of motherhood. With the changes in society pushing breastfeeding as being the best for babies, it really does place this pressure on mothers to breastfeed. I think every woman should definitely strive for this, but there has been lack of conversation around not being able to. </div>
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During my entire pregnancy, when I spoke to mom's breastfeeding seemed to never be a topic. If it ever did come up, it was more of a "you definitely should breastfeed" or "breastfeeding could be hard but so worth it". I never had a conversation with anyone who told me "breastfeeding was hard" or "I struggled with breastfeeding" or "my milk supply never came in and it was devastating". Anytime there was talk about not breastfeeding however, it was always "it was a choice" or "I tried it and it just wasn't for me". It is great that women feel confident enough to share what they did, what worked, etc. or simply share that it wasn't something they were interested in doing - because we all know that making a comment like that could ALSO be very detrimental in the sense that you could possibly be chewed apart for it by pro breastfeeding women. </div>
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<b>-REALITY-</b></div>
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When I realized that breastfeeding wasn't working, and my milk supply just was never going to be there, I instantly felt like I needed to hide what was going on. I would go out and continue about breastfeeding and play it off like no big deal and things are going great, or at least were getting better. It took me a while to admit and speak out loud about my difficulties and struggles. I was too ashamed to admit or share that I might have to stop breastfeeding altogether, that it was making my daughter throw up and that I never have been able to get enough supply.</div>
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Women do not admit and have a hard time admitting to the struggles around breastfeeding because there has been such a push to breastfeed. Women are ashamed and worried to talk about how hard it is, or that they simply couldn't do it because it might make them seem as though they didn't try hard enough, or do enough, or that they are not good moms because they aren't able to breastfeed. I know this is nothing that has ever been said out loud - although some women may have experienced it - but it is surely something I felt during my entire process. Again, there weren't ever any moms that I met who made me feel this way, but I think the societal pressure got to me which led to this insecurity.</div>
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With the push for breastfeeding, it made me feel like I didn't have a choice. I simply had to get it figured out and make it work because nothing else would do. I just wish someone would have stepped up to say "hey listen, of course there are a lot of benefits to breastfeeding, but you should know that it isn't easy, you have to be calm and relaxed and not stress if it doesn't workout because it doesn't always workout for everyone". I think it would have also been helpful to be told that yes there are some women who straight up just don't want to breastfeed for their own reasons, but that there are actually more women who can't breastfeed, or had a difficult time breastfeeding and it just didn't work out. These are the things pregnant women and new moms need to hear because without this information and this reassurance, there is this added pressure before the baby is even here. How could you feel confident in supporting milk supply when you're already exhausted from the new baby and then trying to try and do different things to actually encourage milk supply? Women already have so much going on, so many changes, breastfeeding shouldn't be another thing they feel pressured about. </div>
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I want to make it clear that by any means am I bashing or shaming the fact that there is a push towards breastfeeding because that is not the case. All I am preaching here is that, although there is this push, there also needs to be an open-mind about the inability or struggles of breastfeeding. So while we can be encouraging and pushing for breastfeeding, I think the wording needs to be changed from "breast is best" to "fed is best". While encouraging women to TRY breastfeeding instead of, DEFINITELY should do it. Simply changing these words I think would help alleviate the pressure from a lot of women who are unable to breastfeed, or struggled to breastfeed. I know for me, something as simple as changing the wording would make me feel better about the journey I went through for sure.<br />
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Be sure always speak up about your struggles, and know that whatever the circumstance, your choices and what you think works best, WILL in fact be ENOUGH, it will in fact be the BEST choice for you and your babe! At the end of the day all that matters is that you have a happy, healthy baby!<br />
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xoxo<br />
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-35397906084047408692019-10-15T20:01:00.000-07:002020-05-11T09:49:47.002-07:00My Breastfeeding Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How many times have you as a new or soon-to-be momma heard the tag line "breast is best"? I bet you have been hearing it a lot. I know I did throughout my entire pregnancy and honestly have to say I am so happy and excited that our society is in fact moving towards a more open-mind about breastfeeding. Problem is this, we are talking about breastfeeding but never about the potential difficulties that could come with this statement of "breast is best".</div>
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Throughout my entire pregnancy, I prepared myself for the worst case scenario. I mean from researching, to bombarding my midwives with tons of questions, to putting together a birth plan and even mentally/emotionally preparing myself for potentially having to have a different plan around having a homebirth because anything could happen. The one thing I did not prepare for was breastfeeding. For me, it was to be a natural thing, organic even that I didn't think I ever had to worry about, think about or even discuss because well hey...baby is born, baby is hungry, baby latches, BOOM, done! Unfortunately, this isn't the case and breastfeeding is not as organic as it is easily assumed to be.</div>
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My experience with breastfeeding was interesting to say the least. I truly and whole heartedly believe in breastfeeding and actually worked up to gaining the confidence to feed whenever and wherever if it meant that my daughter was getting what she needed. I also absolutely love how society is bringing back the beauty and art of breastfeeding and starting to normalize it instead of putting mothers down for wanting to do this in public spaces - that topic however is an entirely other topic! From the day my daughter was born, I did what I could to get her latched instantly. It was in fact a successful latch the night of her arrival and I was relieved of this. Another thing no one ever told me was how painful it could be to breastfeed - especially the initial steps in preparing your body for this as it's never had to do it before. I also must tell you that the pain I endured from latching was horrendous. It felt like tiny paper cuts on my nipples as my daughter was latching. Yes, if you've gotten this far you're probably thinking...umm Melissa, the latch wasn't right. I know this now but of course in the moment I did not know why breastfeeding hurt so bad and nevertheless I was determined and did not give up.</div>
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Moving a bit forward, my daughter was also super determined and she got my milk in after three days of being with us! As time went on and our little peanut was starting to demand a little more to eat, things started to get ugly. I was stressed out that my milk supply wasn't increasing, I was losing sleep over it and I felt like I was failing as a mother. My little became very fussy, she wasn't sleeping, and it was so hard to bond with her. I took her to see a chiropractor to see if it would help with her latching, I made changes to my diet to help increase supply, you name it, I did it. It wasn't until week five/six that my midwife noticed that my daughter was slightly tongue-tied which could've been the cause to why my milk supply wasn't coming in because she wasn't able to work the milk out properly. At this point I was still motivated to fix the "problem". We went to see lactation consultants and they firstly confirmed that she was in fact tongue-tied and in addition also had a high palette which could also impact her ability tp latch appropriately and feed effectively to bring in my milk supply. I left this appointment feeling relieved that finally we had answers, but really all we had what some information to help support, not a definitive answer.</div>
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Consultation after consultation, I tried absolutely everything that they suggested to me. Don't get me wrong my appointments with the lactation consultants were amazing, I learned so much and I appreciate all of the support I was getting. Only problem is, every time I left and tried the new things and saw no result, it almost put a damper on me and made me feel more and more like a failure because now I was wondering what I was doing wrong and confirming that I was in fact the problem in all of this. It put me in a really bad place, crying all the time, crying when my babe would get frustrated that she couldn't get the milk out or that there wasn't anymore.</div>
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As I sat thinking about the number of weeks leading up to today as I sit here writing this post, I can say things that I do know for sure...</div>
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1. Part of the problem could've been that we didn't know she was tongue-tied and that she had a high palette and by the time we did might've been too late</div>
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2. High stress and anxiety led to my milk supply never increasing</div>
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3. The more I tried pumping and locking myself up at home the more depressed I became and feared I would fall into postpartum depression and the idea of this caused anxiety which also may have impacted my milk supply.</div>
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4. Simple...my breasts just do not create and could not hold a lot of milk.</div>
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There isn't one straight answer unfortunately because milk supply could be connected to a number of things and often times it is hard to pinpoint the exact issue.</div>
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Fast forward to the first time I ever handed Emilia a bottle, it absolutely broke my heart. I felt defeated and as though I failed. I didn't know how to handle this change and all I could feel was as though I was losing an important aspect of motherhood. I cried for several days and tried to breastfeed once a day to just get that bonding time with her. This did not help me, it actually made things worse and every time I thought about possibly completely letting go of breastfeeding, I cried for what felt like forever.<br />
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The reality is this, I know and knew at the time that although breastfeeding does create a bond, it is certainly NOT the only way a mother could bond with her child. But in the emotional moment of putting that bottle nipple to her mouth, it surely felt as though that bond had been broken and forever gone and nothing else in the world would provide the same sense connection. Here is the truth, I had to see things and experience things on my own and at my own time in order to fully let go of this feeling that I was failing my daughter. The truth in all of this is that I wasn't failing her or myself, I was merely transitioning from one way of doing things to another. This transition is what I had to accept. It was difficult because I hadn't mentally prepared myself yet for this transition, it wasn't even something I had thought of before. This acceptance phase was probably the most difficult but like anything else in life, I did get through it and I was able to accept it and move forward.<br />
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I believe the most difficult aspect of why transition from breastfeeding to bottle feeding was in fact so hard for me, was because I had felt I was not given a fair chance to breastfeed. From day one having so many issues, I just felt I was never given a chance to have a positive experience with breastfeeding and all of a sudden it was being taken away. I also know a big reason why I had a hard time with this was because throughout my pregnancy, I prepared for worst case scenario with absolutely everything EXCEPT for breastfeeding. I assumed it to be organic and would naturally happen therefore I didn't feel I HAD to think about it or have a plan b ready to go. I think if I had better prepared myself or knew a bit more about the fact that breastfeeding isn't as easy or organic as people think that it would have been an easier, less stressful journey for me.<br />
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At the end of the day, my daughter's health and being fed is the most important, and I had to learn the hard way that breastfed is not best but rather that fed is best. I have come to terms with having to formula feed - I had to quit breastfeeding altogether at about 3 months because it was making my daughter throw up a lot, my milk did not sit well with her - and now that I have accepted these changes and necessities, I am feeling a lot better and understand the circumstances of what has led me here.<br />
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All in all, it was a journey that was definitely difficult, but also necessary for me as a parent. Being Type A, I often feel everything is in my control and I think this was a sign to guide and support me in maybe trying to back off on that mentality a little bit and understand that there are somethings I just cannot control and have to accept.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>XOXO</i></b></span><br />
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5816896507775764463.post-89743650696965290032019-10-15T12:05:00.004-07:002020-05-11T09:49:17.393-07:00"The Wonder Weeks" - The One Parenting Book That ACTUALLY Saved Me!<div style="text-align: center;">
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I have had my baby, now what?! I remember when I was at Indigo in the parenting section. I found so many different books. It became overwhelming because all of these books just seemed like a long list of things to expect and the things you need to do...or not do. I remember just looking around, trying to skim through a few to see if one would actually help me but instead I just ended up saying "screw it, honestly how do I know if these books are going to relate to my baby, I mean to whose standards has this book been written". I knew if I went down the rabbit hole of reading all of these parent books, I would end up questioning my ability as a parent, and constantly worrying if there was something wrong with my baby.</div>
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Long story short, I walked out of Indigo without a single book in hand and I think it was the best decision I had made at that time.</div>
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Once I started to join some mom groups, I started to talk to moms about things I was observing about my babe and if they had seen the same. Soon enough they started to talk about <a href="https://www.thewonderweeks.com/">"The Wonder Weeks"</a> and I had not clue what they were talking about but sort of just sat around listening. I finally asked them what the heck they were talking about and I was in awe of this without even having yet read the book and immediately headed over to Indigo after class.</div>
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Honestly guys, I am not one to preach about much when it comes to any sort of reading material that is some form of a guide, advice, etc. only because I know it could come off as unsolicited advice. I also know that one resource is not going to be great for a multitude of people so it is important to always find what works for you and not worry about anything or anyone else. But I have to actually put a halt on that for this one thing. Call it what you want, unsolicited advice or me trying to "shove resources down your throat", this is one book that I highly recommend to everyone!! It has honestly saved me from going in the path of being a helicopter parent.</div>
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I will not tell you too much as I am not doing some sort of write up, or review, or advertising for the book, and I am surely not being paid to write this for them, I simply loved this book so much and have seen a multitude of moms using it which comes to show how versatile it actually this. This resource is actually gold and it is a book that I highly recommend to absolutely EVERYONE. Especially if you are a brand new parent, or a parent who waited a few years between having kids and needs a little refresher!</div>
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<b>A little bit about the book</b></div>
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<b><br /></b>Alright, I will not be going into any specifics or into deep on this resource, but I will share a little bit about the book with you. "The Wonder Weeks" is a book that looks at the developmental leaps a child has. I know, if you're like me when I first started reading this book, I was like what the heck is this! I had only previously read about growth spurts. Along side the growth spurts babies all go through developmental leaps which in hindsight seems pretty obvious because we know that babies grow developmentally, I mean if they didn't that would be weird; just think about it, being an adult with no skills....weird! Okay back on track here! So, to start you go on their website and you essentially type in your babes due date - it doesn't matter if they were earlier or later than the due date, you MUST use the actual due date of the baby (I won't go into specifics of this but they explain it all). Once you have done this, it will place your baby on the developmental leap schedule. You can get reminders of when your babe is close to reaching a new developmental leap. Why do you need a reminder? Well usually before they start the leap there is always a "stormy" phase that they go through which could help understand a lot of your baby's behaviours. See this is where it gets interesting and where the information truly SAVED my life as a new time mom.</div>
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As each leap started with a stormy phase, I would be sure to read about the upcoming leap before everything started so that it all made sense to me ahead of time and I could make a plan to best support our babe during her stormy phase. I say this because prior to purchasing the book when she was super crabby and fussy I didn't know why it was happening or what was causing it. I was literally playing a guessing game with her, trying to figure her out and all the moms out there know how impossible that is to do! As I got more into the book and read it, the information is so thorough but simple, and it really puts things into perspective so that you could better support your babe. I really enjoy finally having some sort of understanding of her behaviour. I mean when she seems fussier then usual, I go into my book and I see where she is at and then instantly I am like "oh okay I get it, she is going through a stormy phase".</div>
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What is also cool is that if you do not want to purchase the book, they have an app that you could download and it gives you a shorter version of what to expect. It also has the schedule for you with dates for when they are to be going through a stormy phase and when they are close to achieving or getting through their developmental leap. I use both! Usually the book for more in-depth but then the app to just refresh if I read the chapter too early and to use the calendar to see where she is at.</div>
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Guys, for anyone who knows me, they know that I am not one to push anything on anyone as I believe it is important for everyone to just do what works for them but when I come across an amazing resource, it is so hard to NOT share it; especially if I have gotten really great outcome from it!<br />
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<b>Where to find the book?</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.thewonderweeks.com/">The Wonder Weeks Website</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-wonder-weeks-how-to/9789491882166-item.html?ref=item-page%3aother-books-byauthor">Indigo / Chapters</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Wonder-Weeks-Stimulate-Development-Predictable/dp/9491882163/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+wonder+weeks&qid=1572312133&sr=8-1">Amazon.ca</a></div>
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XOXO</div>
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Moments With Mellissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06291921656693718627noreply@blogger.com