Baby Products We Love: GroVia

Baby Products We Love: GroVia

For all my mamas and mamas to be I love sharing my personal review on baby products. GroVia sent us these new Hybrid Cloth diapers to try and we LOVE them! They come in so many colors and styles, which is fun in and of itself, but they are also super absorbant and can fit your baby from 8-30 lbs!!! Thats a savings i'm worth listening to! These are so easy, you simply pick out a shell (the color or style) and then choose if you'd like a disposable "BioSoaker pad" or a "Organic Cotton Soaker" that is reusable.  Im all about anything organic, so i chose the organic cotton soakers (here) that are reusable after you wash them.  The BioSoaker pads you can simply throw them away (here).

We had no leaks and both the shell (the green outer layer) and the organic cotton soaker (the inside liner) were really easy to wash! Check out some adorable pictures of little Cash wearing the GroVia Hybrid diaper (Grovia link).  I also put some of GroVia's easy to understand diagrams to show you how simple these are.  

Lastly, we they sent us their Grovia Magic Stick Diaper Balm (here). This is one of my favorites! First of all its ALL NATURAL (A++!!!).  This is easily and cleanly applied because it is a twist-up tube! The balm is colorless (you cannot see a thing! it applies thinly, i have a picture below of it on my hand but that is after me applying it several times to show you), its all organic, and petroleum-free..so basically the best balm ever for your babies booty!

Heres how they work!

Love this print for girls!

And i mean, who doesnt love little pandas!

You can only see it because I applied a thick layer! Its really not visible when you put it on your babies bottom.

Heres the diaper balm stick. It is amazing!

Here are the Organic Cotton reusable inserts. They snap in like the picture shows below.

For those of you mamas that love organic and baby friendly products here is a company you will love! No more wasting money on diapers you just toss in the trash. 

*I have to include that this is a product review. We use all sorts of diapers from Pampers, Huggies, Lovies, and Honest diapers (all sorts). i am really not picky and do no discriminate any diaper or against a mother's choice for her child. 

Enjoy!

What I've Been Eating Lately: Butternut Squash & Granny Smith Apple Soup

What I've Been Eating Lately: Butternut Squash And Tangy Granny Smith Apple Soup

This recipe is absolutely delicious!!! It also happens to be healthy and leaves your home spelling wonderful.  I don't know how I was missing out on Butternut Squash soup but I hadn't tried it until this year when my mother in law brought it over and I instantly fell in love. I made this over the holidays a bunch (sorry, im just now getting around to sharing it but we have plenty of time to enjoy more soup..at least through February right?!). You'll have plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day ..this is edible liquid gold!(:

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash (peeled, seeded, and chopped)

1 medium onion, diced

1 tbspn unsalted butter

2 Granny Smith green apples chopped to puree inside the soup, 1 green apple chopped for topping

2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock (i used vegetable stock)

2 1/2 cups water

[[you can also add in  Pinches of nutmeg & cinnamon if you'd like]]

Recipe:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add squash, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.

Add apples, salt, cumin, coriander, black pepper, stock, and the water (just enough to cover). Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until vegetables are very soft, about 30 minutes.

Puree (you can use a food processor or blender) in vitamix until smooth, and return to saucepan. Heat over low, thinning with more water if necessary. 

Pour into bowls and top with sliced of green apple. I made a side Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Sour Dough bread topped with cheddar cheese. SO YUMMY!

Once its cooked for a while I start to smoosh the squash with the ladle a bit. 

Puree in the vitamix

Serve with apples on top and a side of cheese bread (YES PLEASE!)

What have you been making lately that you love? Share below

xo

What We Wear: Threads And Arrows Plus A Discount

 What We Wear: Threads And Arrows

I have been away in Aspen so I apologize for the lack of posts as of late.. we came home on Sunday and Monday I woke up to the stomach flu (thought maybe it was delayed altitude sickness or food poisoning but now my dad and husband have been hit with it). 

Anywho, i have been OBSESSING over these moccosins! Threads And Arrows has the best deal and makes the cutest moccs. We are mocc crazy over here! I just love this color they sell called "Toast Brown" in suede leather. They are elastic around the ankle for a secure fit and so so comfty for my little ones soft little feetsies. They have a great selection of colors, both bright colors like Magenta Purple and neautrals like these Toast Brown ones. 

Threads And Arrows is offering free shipping (for domestic shipping) with COUPON CODE: TESSARAYANNE

Check out their shop here: Threads And Arrows

Follow on instagram for the latest styles and colors: @threadsandarrows

I cant get enough of my little cutie pie! But seriously, look at these cute mocs!


Fox Onsie by Baby Gap
Moccosins c/o ThreadsandArrows

xo

Babies First Cold & Babies First Tooth!

Babies First Cold & Babies First Tooth!:

My sweet angel picked up a nasty cold virus from his cousins up in Big Bear. When you're sharing a home with 14 people and 10 of them are sick, the other 4 are bound to catch it. Those other four people, included me, Cash, my husband and my dad. So basically my whole family left vacation starting to feel ill. We arrived home Sunday and Cash had already caught it bad! By monday we were calling the Dr asking if we should bring him in or what we could do to remedy his cold.  The Dr. advised we come in, with a baby only 5 1/2 months old they're so young still and the Dr. was concerned his cough (and choking on flem) could mean that fluid was settling in his lungs. AKA Pneumonia. Yikes.  We took him in right away to see the Dr.. not our Doc but the morning doctor.  I preface it with "not our Doc" because this lady was cold, clinical, unfriendly, and short. Nothing like our sweet Dr. Mike.  Anyhow, she didn't really say or do much. She confirmed he didnt have a fever, that he didnt have an ear infection, and that he had a cold, his throat was really red and sore, and would most likely be sick for close to two weeks.  She also told us the great news that his lungs were fluid free.  What she didnt say was how we could help him, or ease his aches and pains. Or tell us anything to help him for that matter.

I asked a bunch of you on instagram as well as all of my mama family and friends. You guys gave me great suggestions. So we went out and bough a humidifier for his room to help his congestion and to help him breathe, we bought Maty's all natural chest rub to put on his chest and his feet (with socks) at night to help ease his cough, we gave him tylenol for the aches and pains and to help his sore throat (he kept waking up all night long crying and was extremely fussy but the tylenol seemed to help).  We went out and bought infant Motrin because someone told us that helped with inflamation (his throat) more than Tylenol would.  We gave him baths to help soothe his achey body and help his nose clear up. I sat in the bathroom with the shower on HOT HOT HOT water so the steam would help him breathe and get rid of his sad little cough.  We used the Nose Frieda with baby saline spray (worked like a charm but he hated it).  And of course, we cuddled him all day long to help comfort him. He would only sleep in my arms the first few days during naps.  A week into his cold i discovered a tooth coming in! My poor baby was battling teething and a nasty cold all for the first time.

His tooth broke through within three  days but now we are waiting on the  tooth next to it to cut through. We are giving him Motrin, because that seems to be the best for inflammation. We also have all natural gel to out on his gums for those moments whn the medicine hasn't kicked in yet.

cash getting his first tooth is bittersweet. It makes me excited an chapped but also sad that he's becoming a little boy instead of little baby. Any of you mamas feel that way?

Family Vacation: Big Bear

 Family Vacation: Big Bear

After Christmas we headed to Big bear to spend time in the snow with my entire family and their little families. My oldest sister Courtney and her husband have 3 kids, a 10 year old, 3 year old, and a 2 year old. My middle sis kelsey and her husband have a 14 month old boy and then there's my parents and my brother and his sweet girlfriend who we met for the first time on this trip. Way to go Garrett, it could've been a lot for his gf to handle but she was a champ and fit right in! My sweet boy slept all 3 houris that it took us to drive to Big Bear, only waking up to nurse once and then went right back down. My husband and I lOVE road trips because it gives us a chance to just sit and talk without any distractions, we enjoy each other's company so much. He truly is my best friend. I lucked out big time. 

We spent the first day getting situated and then took all the kiddos on a walk to see the snow for the first time. I wore my little guy and bundled him up well so he wouldn't be cold. We sat out on touching and playing in the snow, but had a blast watching all the cousins. We headed back and ended the day playing games like 'Apples to Apples' and making dinner together. 

The following day half of us went snowboarding (I stayed home to nurse my little guy) and the rest of us headed out for another walk and then the zoo. The zoo was my favorite. We all had a great show of a huge wolf fight of around 20 wolves against 1 mighty wolf. It was insanity!! I don't think Cash knew exactly what was going on but he definitely has a huge interest in animals as of this past month. We saw a ton of animals, some of my other favorites were the black bears and grizzly bears, the fox's, bob cats, the cutest little owls, and these poor mountain lions that were HUGE (I'm talking SO BiG that there was a sign posted clarifying that they were not pregnant & in need of some donations for exercise equipment). So sad! But they were pretty cute and cuddly to look at. We headed home as the zoo was just about to close and relaxed and hung out with the whole crew. Some of us played games, others watched games (lol the men) and then there was the outdoor jacuzzi, SCORE! 

The next day we dedicated to going sledding (SO FUN, I was terrified at first but we all went down on inner tubes together holding hands and it was a great time), then walked around The a Village (a huge outdoor shopping center) and went out to dinner (which was nearly impossible with my sons 6pm bed time, and my nephews 6:30 bed time). We aimed for an early dinner but the restaurant was so packed that it took over an hour to get any food and by that time the kids were bored and overtired (shortage of naps didn't help the situation). So my sis and I left together with our two kids and had the rest of the gang stay and get our food to-go. We headed back to our cabin and put our little boys down. I'd say That was the most difficult part of the trip.. Cash was freezing at night and everyone else was hot in their rooms so we'd put him down in the pack n play and then he'd keep waking up from being cold.  I finally would end up bringing him into bed with my hubs and I. That seemed to work great for Cash but not so much for mommy.. My sleep was terrible but that's just what the life of a parent is all about.. Making sacrifices. He slept great for most of his naps though. So unfortunate but everyone except my dad, my hubby cash and I were all sick. So I knew we'd most likely catch what they had.. And Saturday the day before we left to go home, we all got sick. My poor baby was coughing up a storm. He slept the entire way home again, thank God, but When we got home to Orange County all of our sick symptoms intensified. Poor Cash has been sick since! And this mommy is having a hard time getting well with all of these crazy sleepless nights. On Friday of this week I discovered his first tooth was visible! So some of this sleepless night stuff, fever and fussiness is probably from him teething too! Today (Sunday) I can see it citing through. Ouch! I cant believe my little baby has a tooth! So needless to say this past week back home has been difficult and restless! 

Any of you mamas have any tips to help him and I both get well quickly? We leave for Aspen for one of my best friends weddings on Thursday! Hoping we are healthy by then since we are 8 days 'in' of being sick! 

We appreciate any suggestions. Love. love.

Xo

Road trip pit stop at starbucks

Stairing out the window at the cars going by

Are you kidding me with this face?!

Playing games

napping in our bed

walking around looking for snow!

My little snow bunny all bundled up

Cannan is LOVING the snow

And becoming more and more confident at walking

Caught this sweet moment of my niece holding my little boy so sweetly

Alpine Zoo 

Cuddling up close to this hansome fella

Little snow angel

All the cousins ready for sledding

this sweet angel fell asleep on me in his carrier while everyone else was sledding

These two just melt my heart

Im pretty sure we had the biggest group of people that all went down the sloap together

So handsome

Passed out on the way home after attempting to go to dinner with everyone. He knows right when 6pm hits that its bed time. 

My sweet nephew Parker is such a cuddler and i can only hope that Cash still cuddles me this close when hes 2

That smile just gets me every time.