The Motherload

It worked for me once as I was shedding for the wedding. It worked for me again as I was shedding Blake's baby weight.  And, gosh darn it, I am going to make it work a third time to shed Emily's baby weight.

As a new mom, we rarely have time for ourselves.  We're constantly tired, irritable, and most likely stressed out about our current post baby weight. It's hard enough to find time to get dressed in the morning, the last thing we want to worry about is whether or not we have any clothes that fit. Reality is, until we can finally fit in our old clothes, we probably wont feel like ourselves again.

Post partum (Blake)
When I was pregnant with Blake, I gained a whopping 46lbs.  Every OB visit I cringed when I had to weigh-in.  I was embarrassed by how much I gained, despite the fact that a lot of it was water weight, evidenced by my swollen hands, feet, face, you name it.  After Blake was born, I lost 22lbs in one week.  I was amazed and feeling confident the rest would come off just as easy.  Well, I was flat out wrong.  I was in my maternity pants for close to 3 months post partum.  I was miserable and uncomfortable with all that extra weight on my body.  I couldn't get back to the gym until Blake was old enough for the gym daycare, and I desperately wanted to feel like myself again.  I have always been into fitness, and I longed for a good run or really just any consistent sweat session would have been fine.  However, I knew the only way to kick-start the rest of the weight loss was to change my eating habits.

Post partum (Emily)
I was lucky to only gain 30lbs this last pregnancy.  I can thank a 2nd trimester stomach bug (that lasted 2 weeks), and 3rd trimester nausea (lasted a month) for that one.  The first week post partum I lost 17lbs.  For the first time in 9 months, I actually looked forward to getting on the scale to see how much closer I was to my pre-baby self.  I thought to myself, well, I only have 13lbs left to go.  But again, reality sets in, 13lbs is a lot!!! I was hoping breastfeeding would melt away the remainder but that didn't seem to be happening.  One would assume that as a mother of 2 kids, you just lose the weight from chasing kids around the house.  But I found it to be the complete opposite.

I didn't have much time to eat, so I found myself starving until I was in hands-shaking-mode.  Then I would raid the pantry for anything that was quick and caloric to stop the shakes.  I was so hungry by the time both kids were asleep that I would consume the majority of my calories at night.  Here I was supposed to be losing weight, and found that my number was creeping up again. Something needed to change, and that was my diet.

The Diet
I stumbled across the diet (or should I call it a "Lifestyle Plan") when reading Health Magazine over 5 years ago.  It is coined, The Carb Lovers Diet.  The crux of the plan is that you eat carbs, but the good carbs.  The ones that help keep you fuller for longer, called Resistant Starches (RS). 

Includes meal plan and recipes

The plan is divided into 2 phases.  The first phase is a 7-day plan where you follow a strict meal plan.  Meals/snacks include things like smoothies, apples with almond butter, Amy's frozen enchiladas, and chicken pasta primavera.  You are allowed 3 meals a day and 1 snack. 

Phase 1 sample meal plan

The second phase is a 21-day plan where you are able to expand the menu to include additional foods that are high in Resistant Starch.  The book comes with a handful of new recipes and you can buy a Carb Lovers cookbook if you get bored of the initial recipes. 

Loaded with delicious recipes

Personalizing the plan
1. The plan recommends you clean out your pantry of trigger foods - the ones you know you can easily binge on.  This part was tough for me since Blake eats enough snack foods to keep Nabisco in business.  Rather than purge our pantry, I divided up the shelves so that all of Blake's snacks are together and I know to not even bother reaching there.

2. The plan also recommends keeping a food journal, something that I have done in the past and seen success on.  If you eat it, you have to write it down no matter what.  No one wants to write down "12 Oreos" when they are trying to lose weight so that really helps moderate your food intake.  I also added the times of my meals to get a sense of how often I was eating or not eating for that matter.

3. Since I am breastfeeding, I need to eat more often so I have 2-3 snacks a day but they are small snacks and are all packed with RS.

4. I don't eat the wide variety of foods that are on this plan (red meat, fish), so I end up repeating the same meals over and over.  This can get extremely monotonous so I try to use different spices on recipes to make it seem unique.

5. When deciding to do this diet plan again, I knew there was one thing I just couldn't give up: my morning coffee.  I take my coffee with cream and sugar.  Cream and sugar are both pretty much the devil on this diet plan.  So I switched using cream for unsweetened almond milk but I am not giving up the 1 tsp of sugar in my coffee.  So if you decide to do this diet, recognize if there is something in your life that you just cant give up and try to modify it as best you can.

I am planning to update my blog with my progress as well as some of my favorite meals from the diet plan.  I hope you follow along and maybe even join me on this fun journey.

Phase 1 Stats (7 days total)
-3lbs


Let Phase 2 begin!

The wonderful sound of silence

I am not the mom that knows it all.  I have tried and failed and adjusted my parenting along the way.  But there is 1 thing that I think I got right from the very beginning, and that is sound machines.

In my non-medical opinion, babies need help soothing themselves.  They rely on sucking (hence the creation of pacifiers), they like to feel confined like they were inside the womb (enter swaddles), and they like to hear sounds like they once heard in your belly (cue sound machines). 

So far, I found that no matter what age my kids are, sound machines are critical in calming them down and helping them sleep. Here is a round-up of the sound machines that helped me get through the past two years of motherhood.

NEWBORN PHASE

We relied on 2 different sound machines during this phase. The first is a basic, battery-operated white noise machine.  It has various sounds, but the one we gravitated to the most is the heartbeat one.  I felt that it was the closest to what babies hear in the womb.  I placed the device inside the crib/bassinet to help both of my kids fall asleep.  It has a 45 minute timer so it shuts off on its own once your baby is fast asleep. You can find it for sale on Amazon - Conair Sound Machine

The next sound machine we relied on was actually our iPhone. We made a Spotify Baby Playlist of instrumental songs called Rockabye Baby.  Popular songs by Billy Joel and U2 etc. are recreated into instrumental versions and meant to lull your baby to sleep.  Blake's favorite is the Lady Gaga album, but there are several artists to choose from.  This sound machine is perfect for when you are on-the-go, and especially great in the car.  This might be the only sound machine that I don't actually mind listening to.

BABY PHASE

I am a huge believer in crib mobiles.  I would put Blake in the crib awake, and he would fall asleep to the sound and movement of his mobile.  The mobile I love the most is the Fisher Price Mobile because it not only has the spinning animals dangling over him, but also has a detachable music box as well.  Once Blake was able to stand up, we removed the animals and he was able to keep listening to the music box. This worked so well for us that we still bring the music box on overnight trips.  I planned on using his baby mobile in Emily's room once she was fully transitioned into her crib, but Blake found it and now it is back in his room.

TODDLER PHASE

Before Blake rediscovered his original baby mobile, he loved the next generation sound machine that his aunt bought for him.  I call it the aquarium since it tries to mimic the sounds of being underwater.  It has a nice little glow and 4 different song/motion/light settings to choose from. The only downside is that this little device sucks batteries like crazy.  I suppose that's a testament to how much Blake uses it, but it is still annoying to replace batteries every other week.

So there it is folks, my favorite sound machines of all time. Hope you found this round up helpful.  These sound machines have truly been lifesavers.  I seriously credit all of these sound machines in helping Blake sleep like a champ. We are still working on Emily's sleep schedules.  As of now, we know she likes Rockabye Baby.  We put her in the crib awake (but sleepy), and she will pass out to Lady Gaga.

I would love to hear any sound machines that you cant live without!

What a weekend...Emily's Birth Story

My biggest fear was not being able to recognize a real contraction vs. a Braxton hick contraction.  I feared that because I wouldn’t know the difference, I would arrive at the hospital too late for the epidural and have no choice but to endure the REAL pain of childbirth (or worse: deliver her on the highway).

FALSE ALARM

As a result, I was on high alert starting at week 39 (my water broke with Blake at 39wks).  Around 4am Saturday morning, I was rudely awakened by what felt like a terrible period cramp.  I was laying on my side in bed, and had to grip the edge of the bed for relief.  And then the pain returned in about 15minutes.  Since this weird feeling (aka real contractions) were so far apart, I decided not to wake up Brooke until 8am when they were about 12min apart.  I called my OB and she said to wait until they were 6-7min apart to come to the hospital.  She also warned me that they could slow down and to continue timing them.

We called my sister in law ready to activate our plan for Blake once my contractions sped up.  What I didn’t think would happen is that my contractions would stop altogether.  I was so disappointed.  Not that I wanted to be in pain, but the excitement of meeting my baby girl that day was fading into the distance.

THE REAL DEAL

I went to bed early that night, hoping that I would wake up in a puddle of water (water breaking).  That didn’t happen. I woke up at 4am again with even stronger contractions than the day before.  This time they were 10min apart.  I waited until 6am to wake Brooke up.  This was the real deal, my contractions were more intense and not slowing down.  We woke Blake up at 7am and drove to my sister in laws who was waiting with cartoons and pancakes – what more could a toddler want?

I called my OB again and he suggested I come to the hospital to be sure my water hadn’t broken/been leaking.  The drive to the hospital wasn’t as bad as I imagined. I had 2 bad contractions and just gripped the door and breathed thru them in utter silence.

When we got to the hospital, they confirmed I wasn’t leaking any fluid and that my contractions weren’t close enough to admit me.  Here I was again, deflated and in pain.  My fear of not knowing a contraction was replaced by being told to go home.

The OB suggested I walk around the maternity floor for an hour to see if my contractions sped up.  While walking the floor, I actually felt them slowing down.  I didn’t understand what was happening! I thought walking was supposed to bring on labor.  I was exhausted and just wanted to lay down.  After 50min of walking, we walked back to our room, had a little snack, and tried to rest.  As soon as I put my feet up, I felt 2 major contractions.  At that point, the OB came into the room to see how dilated I was. 

The doctor who was on call was an OB that I had only met once.  I met him when I had the stomach bug and he sent me to the hospital to get fluids.  I didn’t know him well, and certainly didn’t know his bedside manner or sense of humor.   After the vaginal check, he says, “You are 4-5cm dilated, so were going to send you home and have you come back next week.”  I literally burst into tears while Brooke is laughing in the chair next to me.  My OB had a totally straight face until he realized I was crying and then tried to convince me that they were actually going to admit me and not send me home.  What he was saying didn’t really register, and I continued crying.  I can laugh about it now, but definitely not the best joke to tell me at the time.

FINALLY ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL

I was admitted a little after 9am.  It took about 45minutes for the nurses to move me to a delivery room, get an IV started, hook me up to fluids and call the anesthesiologist.  Shortly after, I got the glorious epidural and I stopped feeling the pain of the contractions.  I was given some Pitocin to speed up contractions, and within the hour they were around 3minutes apart. 

Brooke was getting hungry so I told him to go to the cafeteria and eat lunch down there.  While he was gone, I started to feel some pressure and minor pain.  The nurses must have noticed what was going on and they came into the room to see how I was.  I said how I was pushing the epidural button and I wasn’t getting any relief.  I asked if I could have more epidural.  The nurses said let’s have the OB check you before we do anything. 

My OB was in the room within minutes to check me.  I was 10cm dilated and he said the baby was ready to come.  I started crying again (every time this man sees me I am crying).  I was crying because Brooke was downstairs eating and his phone was almost dead.  I had my fingers crossed there was just enough juice in his phone to let my call go through.  He picked up, and I said, “I am ready to push, get up here!!”

The OB went to put on his scrubs while the nurses set-up the room (i.e. overhead lights, stirrup things for my feet, and lots of other things that go into delivering a baby). Brooke was back and it was go time.

I couldn’t quite feel the pain of the contraction, but I knew they were happening.  I pushed when they told me to push and after 3 pushes baby girl was out.  The OB even had me reach down to pull baby girl out and onto my chest. 

I couldn’t believe how fast everything happened.  My baby girl entered the world around 1:30p.  I was only in labor for about 5 hours.  This was incredibly short given I was in labor for 22 hours with Blake.

After the nurses cleaned her up and took her vitals, she remained on my chest for the next hour, rooting and feeding from the start.  Meanwhile, I fell immediately in love with her.  We named our baby girl Emily Hope after my maternal grandmother whose middle name was Hope.

And that’s Emily’s birth story, one that I will never ever forget.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

Long day for everyone

Sweet baby girl just an hour old

First picture of father and daughter

Having some down time with Emily

I could kiss her all day long

First day in the recovery room

So happy to be leaving the hospital

Home at last!

One of the best days ever!

Curbside Assistance

At first I thought I was just being lazy.  I didn't want to deal with the hassle of taking Blake out of the car seat just to grab a cup of fresh coffee or run a simple errand.  I would often analyze the cost vs. benefit of said errand.  Is it really worth dealing with getting Blake in and out of the car?

I suppose at times it was actually me just being lazy.  But once my pregnant belly became a hindrance to getting Blake in and out of the car, I began to think...there is a huge missed business opportunity here!  Starbucks and Dunkin both have a drive-thru at select locations (nothing super close to me of course).  If a coffee shop can do this, what's stopping other local businesses?

Back in the day when I would sit in my driveway waiting for Blake to wake up from a nap, I came up with a list of businesses that I believe could greatly benefit from offering drive-thru options, or even just a sales person willing to come out to my car to deliver goods.

Here are just a few places I have in mind...

Post Office

- Maybe if they offered this new curbside service, they wouldn't be worried about going bankrupt in a few years.  I am sure there are folks out there willing to pay a premium for this luxury.

Dry Cleaners
- I cant tell you how many times my husbands bag of dress clothes have sat in my trunk before I managed to actually take them inside the dry cleaners.  My latest tactic is to wait until I see a parking spot right in front of the cleaners, and then I wave someone down from inside.  They take my bag of clothes and credit card, and bring me out a receipt.  The place we take our clothes to actually delivers which is a huge plus in my book. All the while, Blake is happily playing in the backseat and I don't look like a bad parent for leaving my child unattended.

Sandwich Shop
- Sometimes (ok several times), I just don't feel like cooking.  When you don't feel like cooking, there aren't too many options aside from fast food.  Ever since I got food poisoning from Taco Bell (circa Dec 2004, Breckenridge), I try to avoid fast food options as much as possible.  Wouldn't it be nice if Panera Bread or a local deli offered sandwiches delivered to your car door? I bet this would be a huge hit among SAHM whose kids are napping in the backseat (just sayin...)

Pharmacy
- I don't know what it is about pharmacies that Blake despises, but I have yet to take him into one without a complete meltdown.  It could be the combination of the harsh lighting or the long aisles of items he is not allowed to touch.  Either way, its pretty much the worst experience for anyone involved.  How amazing would it be if a pharmacist (or sales associate) could bring my prescription out to the car, along with any other necessities?  I would definitely be open to paying a premium just to avoid meltdown city.

If I ever opened a local businesses, this would be among my top offerings to advertise! Maybe one day I will get that opportunity. 

Holiday Wreath

You can buy a pre-made wreath pretty much anywhere this time of year.  But what fun is that, right?

I follow a few DIY blogs and came across a country-chic buffalo check fabric wreath that I was determined to make.  Unfortunately, I was limited in the supplies available at the craft store (and I am too tired to run around Westchester) so I couldn't quite replicate this one.  However, I put my own spin on it to make it fun and festive.

What you need:
1x large Styrofoam circle
25 feet of holiday ribbon
Pre-made coordinating holiday bow
Glue gun

Directions:
1. Secure the ribbon to the Styrofoam with hot glue
2. Begin wrapping the ribbon around the circle, making sure to overlap the pieces so that no white shows through
3. Secure the last piece with hot glue
4. Tie the pre-made bow to the wreath

Given these extremely simple directions, you can tell that this is pretty much the easiest holiday project you can do this season. 

Estimated cost:
Estimated $20 (Michael's was having a massive holiday sale today)

Time Spent:
About 15-20 minutes

If you are looking for wreath inspiration, check these guys out.  Maybe next year I will step up my DIY game!

Second Trimester Essentials

The second trimester is definitely the best for multiple reasons...

The anxiety filled weeks of early pregnancy are few and far between.  You can still workout (at the same intensity as before) since you haven't gained too much weight yet.  Maternity clothes actually look cute on you vs. making you look like a blimp.  And of course, you start to actually feel the baby move, deepening your connection to the baby.

Despite the 2nd trimester being the best (and easiest), there are 5 essential items I needed to get me through the past 12 weeks.

Maternity Bathing Suit
Words cant even describe how good it feels to be suspended in water and take the extra weight off your joints for even just 30 minutes.  I waited as long as possible to buy a maternity suit, actually thinking I could get away with my normal one throughout the whole pregnancy.  I quickly realized that wouldn't be possible, and that being comfortable was worth the $90 expense.  Here is the link to the one I bought that is comfortable and cute!

Loose chemise nightgowns
There is nothing worse than being uncomfortable when it comes to bedtime.  I was wearing my usual pajama pants to bed, and would constantly tug at them throughout the night to get the elastic band off my bump.  I happily transitioned to loose chemises to let my bump breathe.  I had a few nursing ones from before, but they were looking old and ragged.  I stopped by Target to pick these ones up, and I must say that they are extremely comfortable.  Gilligan & O'Malley makes some of the softest sleepwear around!

Snoogle Pillow
I discovered this little (I mean MASSIVE) contraption when I was pregnant with Blake.  The snoogle is essentially a full body pillow that hugs you throughout the night.  The one I had last time around was completely deflated after 7 months of abuse.  Once we saw our baby girl's heart beating on the ultrasound, I headed to BuyBuyBaby to pick up a brand new one.  I didn't quite need it until week 15 or so, but now it is a staple in our bed.  My poor husband has been sleeping in the little sliver that remains of the bed.

Prilosec OTC
I was hoping I would escape the dreaded second trimester heartburn, but I wasn't quite so lucky.  I knew from last time around that popping a Tums would have little to no impact.  My OB recommended taking Prilosec once a day to eliminate heartburn altogether.  This one magic pill has been a total game changer for me.  The days I forget to take it, I will get the worst heartburn even from just a glass of water. 

Prenatal Massages
As my bump gets bigger, I have been feeling all of the stress in my lower back.  I experienced terrible sciatica while pregnant with Blake, and no surprise, I have it again.  If you are one of the lucky ones to never get this, I can tell you it feels like someone is squeezing a nerve in your back rendering you useless and unable to walk.  The only treatment while pregnant is to stretch a lot, physical therapy, and prenatal massages.  I recently started working with a PT in addition to weekly yoga classes.  In addition to these, I have gotten a few prenatal massages that really seem to help.  This one masseuse digs her elbow in the nerve ending, causing the excruciating pain to turn into complete euphoria.  If only these were cheaper, I would get them every few days.

Would love to hear any of the essential items you needed to get through the second trimester! Feel free to comment here or on social media.

I am 1 in 4

Chances are, if you know 4 women, one of those 4 women has a story to tell.  Whether or not she has told this story is a different thing altogether.  I am one of those 4 women, and here is my story.

OCTOBER 2013
I was sitting in a dirty old clinic in the middle in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica wondering what the hell was happening.  I was scared, shaking, and happened to be sitting in a pool of blood.  I was almost 7 weeks pregnant at the time. 

My husband and I were on a 2 week long vacation that would take us from one coast of Costa Rica to the other.  We were only 2 days into our trip, and loving every second of it.  We were getting ready to go to a coffee plantation when I noticed a small amount of blood on my bathing suit.  I didn't think much of it since it was so small, and I honestly didn't know if this was normal or not since it was my first pregnancy.  I almost didn't even mention it.  Finally as we were walking to our tour, I casually told my husband about what I saw.  He stopped in his tracks and said we had to go back to our cabin and call my doctor. 

While waiting for my doctor to return my call, I stayed in bed with my legs up.  I would run to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so to see if it was getting worse, which it was.  My OB said we needed to find a clinic as soon as possible to get an ultrasound done.  Given that we were in an old resort town, there weren't a ton of options at our disposal.  A nice gentleman at our lodge offered to drive us to the only clinic nearby.  He wasn't even certain if they would have the tools to examine me or not, that's how old this place was. 

We waited in the clinic which had a lobby and an adjacent patient room with no door.  We sat there for over an hour waiting for a qualified doctor to show up.  Finally I was taken to the doorless room where the doctor dusted off an ultrasound machine from 1975.  I was in disbelief that this device was even functioning properly.  The exam went on for maybe 10 minutes or so, with the doctor trying desperately to locate a heartbeat.  He didn't murmur a single word until he removed the scanner from my stomach.  Then he told me the news that he couldn't find the heartbeat and that it could be a result of the old device.  Given the amount of blood I was sitting in, I was pretty confident that I had lost the baby.  He suggested we go to San Jose (the capitol of CR) to an accredited hospital.  The only problem is that San Jose was a 5 hour drive and we had no car.

We called our driver who lived in San Jose.  He knew the severity of my situation, and offered to pick us up at 8am the following morning.  We knew he would be driving throughout the night to pick us up, and yet he didn't complain once.  He even booked us a room at one of the most beautiful hotels in the capitol while cancelling our other hotel room with no problem whatsoever.  I really cant thank this man enough for everything he did for us.

We checked into our hotel and then headed for the hospital.  I was seen almost immediately, and the doctor confirmed I had miscarried.  They actually call it an "abortion" in Costa Rica which got me even more upset.  I was scheduled for a D&C that afternoon.

Since we were so early in the pregnancy, we hadn't really told anyone yet.  I told my husband to wait until I was taken to the Operating Room before he called my mom.  I know that was not an easy call to make.  The nurses barely spoke English to me, and I remember specifically being asked what kind of anesthesia I wanted -- in fact, I was asked to check a box with the type I preferred.  I recall telling them I had no idea what kind I want, and that the doctor should probably decide that.

The procedure was quick and painless, but extremely scary when you are in a foreign country and barely anyone understands you.  The only person who spoke good enough English was the doctor himself.  A few days after the procedure I had to go back to see him for a check-up.  I had a breakdown in his office, and he assured me, "You will have a baby one day."

We had considered cutting our trip short, and heading home.  After much back and forth ,we decided to continue on our trip and try to make the most of the time we had left there.  It was really hard to enjoy our vacation knowing what we just went through.  After a few solemn days, we were able to find joy and the experience we shared brought us closer than I ever thought possible.

Miscarrying a baby is one of the most awful experiences any woman could ever go through.  I didn't even realize how common it was until I began to share my story with close friends and family.  Turns out, most people I spoke with either suffered one themselves, or knew someone that had.  People just don't talk about it, and they deal with the loss on their own.

MARCH 2015
I got pregnant again almost 9 months after the miscarriage.  Reality is, I was hesitant to even try because I didn't want the chance of miscarrying again.  But, I remained hopeful that I was destined to be a mother and carry a healthy baby.  The Costa Rican doctor was right...I delivered our first son in March 2015.

I am just one of the thousands of women with a story.  I hope that my story can shed some hope to any woman that has experienced a loss and desperate to be a mother one day.  Stay positive, and know that your rainbow baby is out there. 

Hello Fall

In my little suburban bubble, a new season means a new opportunity to decorate around the house. 

While living in Manhattan, I had to be very selective of which holidays and seasons I decorated for, mainly because I didn't have anywhere to store all that décor off-season.  Well, I can say that one major plus about owning a home is the ability to stash all your décor in a basement where no one (aside from you) will ever go.

Fall is definitely my favorite season too, so I couldn't be more excited to start decorating and get the house smelling like pumpkin.  While I tend to gravitate to the blue and white family, Fall just isn't Fall without sprinkling some oranges and reds around the house.  Since I didn't own any Fall items, I took to HomeGoods where the magic began!

I started with 2 tablecloths, one for the deck and a runner for our farm table.  I went a bit more vibrant for the deck decor, and kept it more subdued indoors.  Every great table needs candlelight so I scored two wine cup inspired candle holders with coordinating pumpkin candles. 

The next matter of business was to bring the "idea of nature" indoors with some fake pumpkin-scented pinecones.  I tossed these in a white bowl to bring some elegance to the space. 

I then topped it off with 4 mini pumpkins that I picked up at an orchard yesterday.  My plan is to let Blake decorate the pumpkins as we get closer to Halloween, hoping to start a seasonal tradition for years to come.

I am considering decorating for Halloween, but it's just not one of my favorite holidays so I may pass and save our money for Christmas/Hanukkah décor.

Also, I have been pretty absent from blogging lately but I have a pretty good reason!  I used to do all my DIY projects and writing during Blake's naptime.  The past 6 weeks I have been so exhausted from the pregnancy and trying to keep up with Blake.  I have been using his naptime as my naptime as well.  I love to write and stay connected to my friends and family, so you will definitely see more posts in the future...just maybe not as frequent.  Hope anyone who is reading this has a wonderful Fall season!

Months later, and I am still obsessed with our chandelier!

The house smells like pumpkin!

Beautiful candleholder from HomeGoods, only $12.99!

Getting the table set-up for a S'mores night, hosted at my house

S'mores spread under the candlelight!

First Moms Craft Night

The Backstory
All of the stars aligned one afternoon when I met a fellow Pleasantville mom, also named Jenifer.  We hit it off instantly - bonding over our love of all things DIY and throwing get-togethers.  We were both new to the area, and spent a few months hosting play dates and moms nights out to get to know each other (and other local moms) better. 

One day Jen approached me with an idea to co-host a Moms Craft Night where I come up with a featured craft while Jen organizes the party.  It would allow us an opportunity to meet even more area moms while doing something fun and creative for the evening.  From the moment I heard her idea, I was sold.  We started tossing out dates and craft ideas that same week.

We posted about this new idea on our local Facebook group, and within a few days, we were at full capacity.  We spent 2 weeks ordering supplies, doing a test run of the craft, and creating excel spreadsheets to track our expenses (gosh I missed working in excel!!). 

The evening turned out better than expected in my opinion.  It was large enough to have various personalities mesh, but intimate enough to get to know everyone.

The Craft
As a DIY junkie, I stalk Hometalk on a regular basis.  Most of the projects come with detailed tutorials on how to replicate at home.  I came across this idea for watermelon painted coasters using wood slices.  If you have been following my blog, you may remember I went through quite a wood slice phase so this was totally up my alley.  It also ties in perfectly with summertime, and we knew we could build a party around a watermelon theme. 

Click here to see the full tutorial from the blogger herself.

The Evening
Guests were greeted by an adorable chalk sign welcoming you to the party.  Candles were lit and light music played throughout the house. The table screamed watermelon with the cutest themed tablecloth and perfectly laid out paint settings. Mini jelly bean mason jars adorned with each moms name were placed at the top of her paint setting, functioning as a favor and an assigned seat.

Moms sipped on the most amazing watermelon cocktails, white wine, and cucumber mint spa water.  Chocolate truffles and mini cupcakes were also on display, along with flat bread pizza and dips.

The night started at 8p with a light meet & greet and then we spent the next 2.5 hours crafting and chatting.  Being on my feet for that long was a bit tough, so I wasn't probably as much help as I could have been.  I hope if nothing else, that all the local moms got to enjoy an evening out meeting other moms.  Pleastantville (and Mt. Pleasant) is such a small community, it is so nice to mingle and bond with fellow moms in the area.

Future Plans
We modeled the evening a bit after the popular Paint Night, and we hope to continue this with even more moms down the road.  When Jen is not party planning or taking care of her 2 kiddos, she finds time to pursue a hobby of hers.  Check out Jen's site to see some of the amazing hand-painted letters she sells for Bedrooms and Playrooms!!