4 Memberships Every Mom Needs

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, let's face it, you run the show. Just describing your typical day to another person could leave them feeling exhausted! You cram so much into your day for other people and very rarely give anything back to yourself. Luckily, the female body can somehow manage it all, but who really wants to keep going at full speed everyday for the rest of their adult lives? No sane person, that's who. Fortunately, there are plenty of outlets available (depending on where you live) to revive your life-force and bring back that new mom glow. This is just a short list of the ways to de-stress your life and take more time for yourself.

1. Gym Membership

I know, this one actually sounds terrible. How can getting all sweaty and sore help de-stress my crazy life? Exercising actually releases chemicals in the brain to make you feel happy and, overtime, more energized. Yay science! Tightening up those muscles is another added bonus. Or if you just really hate the gym, keep in mind that children are not allowed to be any where near the exercise equipment. If anything, it's a way to escape on your own for a bit.

2. Massage Membership

I'm an avid promoter that every person should have a massage therapy membership. How it works varies from place to place a bit. Basically, you pay a monthly fee to get a 1 hour massage once a month. If you want more massages you are able to purchase more at a heavily discounted price. I gained 65 pounds during my pregnancy and 2 years later, my knees and lower back still haven't recovered. Seeing my massage therapist for even just an hour per month really helps alleviate pain.

This membership might sound expensive but it can actually be pretty cheap depending on the places in your area.

3. Hot Yoga Membership

This might sound worse to you than the gym membership. I'm not going to lie, hot yoga classes can be hard but they are definitely worth it. The studio I go to even offers pilates and heated bootcamp classes. You will feel relaxed and rejuvenated after heating up and stretching out your muscles.

4. Subscription Boxes

I love this one because you don't even have to leave your house for it! Imagine every month being sent little presents that are just for you. Personally, I find something almost magical about receiving packages in the mail. Anything in the mail that is not a bill shaped envelope is a blessing pretty much but receiving things I need (yes, I NEED that makeup!) in the mail is spectacular. There are many options such as Birchbox, Ipsy, and MommiesFirst. (FYI, MommiesFirst sends products tailored to your child's age or to your pregnancy.)

Being a mom is hard work and you can only give so much of yourself before you get burnt out. When you first had your baby you were constantly told to sleep when baby sleeps to take care of yourself. Once our little one stops being so little, we tend to forget that we still have to take care of ourselves too.

Simple Chai Tea Latte Recipe To Save You Money!

Lately, I'm pretty sure I have ingested more chai tea latte than actual water. If I could live on the stuff I totally would! Unfortunately, at about $5 or $6 a cup at Starbucks, because of course I have to get a venti, they don't really fit into my budget. I actually have no idea what they cost me because I kind of just throw my money at Starbucks and try to not think about it, oops. Let's just say it's $5 for a venti. At $5 a day for 365 days, that comes to a total of $1,825. That's enough to pay for the Louis Vuitton travel bag I've had my eye on and I would even have some left over! I thought to myself one day, "There must be a better way to get my fix." So one night I decided to try making a chai tea latte at home and what do you know, it turned out great! This recipe is to make a whole pitcher because one cup just won't cut it for me.


What You Need:

8 bags of chai tea
4 cups of water
1 cup of milk
1/3 cup of honey
Optional cinnamon
Optional whip cream if you want to drink it hot


The Process:

1. Boil 4 cups of water in a medium pan.
2. Steep 8 bags of chai tea for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in 1 cup of milk and 1/3 cup of honey. I added a little bit of cinnamon but you don't have to since chai tea is already a spiced tea. 
4. Pour into a pitcher and let it chill in the fridge for an hour.

For an iced latte, just pour over ice and enjoy. If you would like a hot latte, pour into your coffee cup and warm in the microwave. Add whip cream and a little bit of cinnamon on top for a cute Instagram picture.


Experiment with different brands of teas and different types of milk until you find something you like. I used Tazo Chai Classic and 2% milk. A fun variation would be vanilla almond milk! Have fun and enjoy!

8 Ways A Woman's Life Changes After Baby

The New Year brings new mothers. Congratulations! You’re embarking on one exciting adventure. Everyone knows that having a baby changes your life in dramatic, and sometimes unbelievable, ways. Knowing that and living it are two completely different things. The following are some ways that your life as a woman will be changed forever once your little bundle of joy arrives.

1. You become a morning person and a late night person all in one.

Guess what, no more sleeping in for you for the next 10 – 18 years! Newborns need to be fed every two hours and have itty-bitty bladders, which means several feedings diaper changings throughout the night. If you’re breastfeeding (and you should be) there isn’t much that daddy can do so you’re on your own for a while.

2. You will no longer rely on a clock; your child will set your schedule for you.

If it’s diaper-changing time at 2am then you’re getting up at 2am. If it’s snack time at 2pm and then again at 3pm, then you’re doing snack time. Of course, it is possible to put kids on somewhat of a schedule but don’t plan on this always working, especially during teething.

3. Nothing belongs to you anymore.

Everything is now shared with baby, whether you want that to happen or not! Having a child is similar to having a pet monkey. For being so small, toddlers sure can climb and get into everything. You have a fancy car? Nope. It’s baby’s new dumpster for unwanted food. You have a nice collection of shoes and purses? Nope. Baby has some nice accessories that he/she will sometimes allow you to use. Once my toddler even decided to dump some applesauce into a lovely designer purse.

4. Instead of buying yourself something nice, you’re buying toys.

Most people actually don’t mind this part. Personally, I would much rather buy my little princess all kinds of things and watch her face light up each time than buy something for myself that I’ll use once or twice. If you live with your parents and would rather spend hundreds on shoes rather than put it into a savings account, you might want to reconsider having children for a few years.

5. Instead of going to the club with your girls, you’re reading bedtime stories.

It is totally normal to miss your independence from pre-baby life. As soon as that little one arrives, your “normal” activities will become reserved for special events. This is even more true of your previous life’s activities that are outside of your new “parent budget.” And to take it one step further…

6. No more spontaneous outings.

You won’t be coming home after work and saying to your partner, “Let’s just go out to eat tonight.” It is not the two of you any more and not every place is child-friendly. Every time Garret and I want to go somewhere we have to either find a sitter, which is nearly impossible on short notice, or figure out a place that the toddler will fit in at.

7. Your childless friends start to disappear.

This is unfortunately almost completely unavoidable. Your friends without children just don’t understand what it takes to be a parent and all the ways in which your life has to change. Don’t worry about being friendless though! Your child will become your new best friend for life plus, through them you will meet plenty of other parents.

8. Taking a shower becomes a luxury.

Yes, this sounds gross. You will understand the plight of mothers around the world once your child begins walking. Like, mothers attempting a shower with a walking toddler around should be an Olympic event! But don’t worry! Taking fewer showers is actually better for your hair. Gotta think positively!

Having a child is one of the most difficult and stressful things you will ever do in your life. The average middle class family spends $225,000 on just one child from birth to the age of 17. That only includes the necessities. Toys, daycare, any fancy child clothing, going to college, that’s all extra. It’s hard being a parent and anyone who tells you otherwise is totally lying, but it is also extremely rewarding. So you have to give up a lot of your freedom and independence (and spend a ton of money) but you’re gaining so much more. You will never understand what it means to truly love another person until you look into your child’s face. You will not be buying a Porsche in your 20’s or hoarding Christian Louboutin’s  anytime soon but you will experience a little slice of heaven on Earth (just add vodka cocktails).

My little demon I mean angel. 

(19 months)

7 Ways A Man's Life Changes After Baby

Everyone knows that having a baby changes your life in dramatic, and sometimes unbelievable, ways. Knowing that and living it are two completely different things! The following are some ways that your life as a man will be changed forever once your little bundle of joy arrives.

1. You become a morning person and a late night person all in one.

Guess what, no more sleeping in for you for the next 10 – 18 years! Newborns need to be fed every two hours. If mommy is breastfeeding then you’re off the hook, but once that newborn becomes a toddler get ready for your world to be turned inside out. Toddlers wake up and go to sleep on their own terms most of the time, which brings us to the next point.

2. You will no longer rely on a clock; your child will set your schedule for you.

If it’s diaper-changing time at 2am then you’re getting up at 2am. If it’s snack time at 2pm and then again at 3pm, then you’re doing snack time. Of course, it is possible to put kids on somewhat of a schedule but don’t plan on this always working, especially during teething.

3. Nothing belongs to you anymore.

Everything is now shared with baby, whether you want that to happen or not! Having a child is similar to having a pet monkey. For being so small, toddlers sure can climb and get into everything. You have a fancy car? Nope. It’s baby’s new dumpster for unwanted food. You have a nice collection of shoes and watches? Nope. Baby has some nice accessories that he/she will sometimes allow you to use. In fact, that leads us to the next point.

4. Instead of buying yourself something nice, you’re buying toys.

Most people actually don’t mind this part. Personally, I would much rather buy my little princess all kinds of things and watch her face light up each time than buy something for myself that I’ll use once or twice. If you live with your parents and would rather spend hundreds on shoes rather than put it into a savings account, you might want to reconsider having children for a few years.

5. Instead of going to the club with your boys, you’re reading bedtime stories.

Men more often than women, miss their independence from pre-baby life. As soon as that little one arrives, your “normal” activities will become reserved for special events. And to take it one step further…

6. No more spontaneous outings.

You won’t be coming home after work and saying to your partner “Let’s just go out to eat tonight.” It is not the two of you any more and not every place is child-friendly. Every time my boyfriend and I want to go somewhere we have to either find a sitter, which is nearly impossible on short notice, or figure out a place that the toddler will fit in at.

7. Your childless friends start to disappear.

This is unfortunately almost completely unavoidable. Your friends without children just don’t understand what it takes to be a parent and all the ways in which your life has to change. Don’t worry about being friendless though! Your child will become your new best friend for life plus, through them you will meet plenty of other parents.

Having a child is one of the most difficult and stressful things you will ever do in your life. The average middle class family spends $225,000 on just one child from birth to the age of 17. That only includes the necessities. Toys, daycare, any fancy child clothing, going to college, that’s all extra. It’s hard being a parent and anyone who tells you otherwise is totally lying but it is also extremely rewarding. So you have to give up a lot of your freedom and independence (and spend a ton of money) but you’re gaining so much more. You will never understand what it means to truly love another person until you look into your child’s face.

Click me! Click me! If your life is getting to be too much to handle, here are 52 ways to reduce stress when you have kids.

Simple Mini Apple Pies

The time for feasting is upon us! Isn't it crazy how quickly time goes by? The older I get, the faster the years seem to zip by. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and the majority of people in the United States will spend the entire day cooking. Those of us that are smart (or lazy, not sure which) will look for ways that we can cut down on cooking time and the amount of dishes that need to be cleaned. These mini apple pies make great appetizers or even great desserts if you want something on the smaller side. The following video gives you my step-by-step instructions.

What you'll need:
1 tablespoon of melted butter
4 tablespoons of brown sugar
3 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 apple
1 can of refrigerated Philsbury crescent rolls

This recipe makes 8 servings but it's really easy to adjust it to fit how many pies you want.


The process:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slice your apple into 8 slices. (8 because that's how many crescent rolls come in the can)
3. Roll out 1 crescent and brush on some melted butter.
4. Next, sprinkle on some brown sugar and cinnamon. I prefer to "eye ball it" and add plenty of both.
5. Place 1 apple slice at the widest part of your crescent and roll it to the top. Your apple doesn't need to be completely covered.
6. Brush on more melted butter to the top of your pie.
7. Sprinkle some cinnamon on the top.

Repeat this process until all of your slices have been rolled. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

I like to serve these warm but they're good at room temperature also. If you're looking for a good dipping sauce, I recommend using plain greek yogurt.


Bon apitit and happy Thanksgiving!

An Unknown Holiday: Family Volunteer Day

23 years ago, a volunteer service company called Points of Life started an awesome holiday called Family Volunteer Day. This day is always the Saturday before Thanksgiving to "kick-off the holiday season with giving and service." This year Family Volunteer Day falls on Saturday the 22nd. Personally, I am in love with this idea! Not only are we giving back to our communities but we're also teaching our children to be outstanding individuals. My daughter is only 19 months old so, sadly, I've got some waiting to do until we can do community service together. But I'm not letting that stop my giving spirit!

When I first realized that I absolutely hate my job and decided to go into business for myself, I knew 100% that I wanted to impact the world in some small way. Yeah yeah, being a business owner is the bee's knees sometimes but I knew that I wanted more than a fancy title. I have always admired companies that give back to the community and actually, Disney Change for Kids is partnered with GernerationOn for this year's Family Volunteer Day. Anyway, the idea hit me one day. I can do that with my business too! But then I had to figure out what exactly I wanted to help with. Since having my daughter, my heart strings have been on super overdrive and literally everything touches me emotionally. That's when I had my next great idea.

I decided that for each month of the year my business would donate to a different organization. Due to November being all about food, I decided that November's Charity of the Month would be Feeding America. For each product purchased I will donate $1 USD to help feed hungry families in the United States. Sure, it's not much but according to Feeding America's website just $1 can help feed 10 families through their network of food pantries!

I love that there is a Family Volunteer Day in existence. By doing a little community service as a family you're not only gaining valuable time with your kids, you're also teaching them how to be awesome adults and the world really needs some more of those! We were all born to do good in the world so I encourage all of my readers to grab the kids and embark on an adventure this Saturday.

Let me know what your family is planning on doing! I would love some future ideas. Don't forget to take plenty of pictures and use #BornToReign on your social media accounts!

You can find more information about my business at borntoreignfashion.com and don't forget to please like us on Facebook.

How To: Make A No Sew Tie Blanket

The colder months are finally upon us which also means that gift giving season is here. I've always believed that homemade gifts mean much more than something that is simply store bought. I'm sure that many of you would agree with me here but who has time to sit down and craft a bunch of gifts?! Maybe if you're the "Stepford Wife" type but then you wouldn't be reading this in the first place. Any project that I don't want little hands helping me on are done during nap times and we all know how short those can be when we have things to do! With time and level of difficulty in mind, I give you the simple no sew tie blanket!

Here is a YouTube video that I made to help you visualize what I'm describing. (There are a few times that I get my wording mixed up but hey, I did this at 2am.)

Supplies

• A good pair of scissors. You will be cutting through a double layer of fleece. Bad scissors will make this process absolutely horrible!
• 2 1/2 yards of two different styled fleece materials. You can do the same for both sides but I've always found it more fun to do a top layer and bottom layer that are different. Whether it's a child's blanket or an adult's blanket, I have always used this much. I like my little one to grow into her blankie. The final result will actually be a little smaller than this because we are cutting and tying.
• A 5X5 piece of paper or box. 

Steps

1. Lay your fleece on top of each other. Keep in mind that some materials have a "good" side and a "bad" side. For example, one side of my 49ers material was very blurring. I wouldn't want that side to be facing up because then that would be the side that I see on the blanket.
2. Put your 5X5 paper or box into the corner of the blanket. Cut around the box and remove the pieces. Do this in all four corners. This step is very important! These cutouts will insure that our blanket remains a rectangle after we tie the fringe. Skipping this will leave you with a somewhat circular blanket.
3. Cut your fringe around the entire blanket. Make sure that the height of your cuts are meeting with how tall your cutout is. Your fringe can be as thin or as wide as you would like.
4. Tie each top layer with it's matching bottom layer. I always double my knot and make sure that it is very secure that way it won't fall apart in the washer. There are several ways to tie them but just doing normal knots is the fastest. 

And there you have it! You now have a beautiful fleece blanket. I usually keep my fringe long but you can cut them to be shorter after you have tied them. I have put mine in both the washer and dryer with low heat and haven't experienced any issues.


Happy crafting!