I found this list from The Honest Company that is pretty accurate of the things I packed before.

Top 10 Things To Pack For The Hospital When Having A Baby

I think I definitely travel light to the hospital, and don’t take all the things on this list, but it is pretty good. Especially for first time moms.

What are your “Hospital Essentials?”

I rarely make pasta salad. I’m not sure why, since it’s pretty quick and really easy–plus with all those veggies, so good for you. But, I put it on our menu list for this week and I’m glad I did. This is what we had:

For our 4-5 servings I put in:
1 cup chopped carrots
1 chopped red pepper
1/2 can olives
6-7 broccoli florets, chopped
1/2 cucumber
1 Roma or plum tomato

I always make my own dressing since it’s so easy, and I know just what’s in it.
I put about
1-2 Tbsp white vinegar
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mixed it all up and poured over the salad.
It was really good–my kids loved it!

Shamrock Shake fruit smoothies

We’ve been having smoothies with breakfast a lot recently and this sounds like a great option. We’ll probably leave off the whipped cream, and add spinach too, but looks and sounds so festive!

Handprint Leprehauns

Isn’t this sooooo cute!

Plus, these Rainbow Shortbread Cookies I talked about in September would be great too.

I guess that depends on how long you plan on using a carrier seat. It really is a big question that every parent has at some point before their baby is born, since you’re not allowed to leave the hospital with your baby without one. Parents want their babies to be safe, but there are so many options and reviews to wade through it can sometimes be confusing.

When I was pregnant with my first baby I heard so many stories  about babies growing out of their infant carriers by 6 months old. Parents had to move them to the convertible car seat, which meant their days of easily transporting Baby were in the past. I REALLY didn’t want his to happen to me, so I went in search of an infant seat that would hold the most amount of weight, that still had really good reviews. We found the brand new Chicco Key Fit 30 that everyone said great things about. And we loved it. Except it was a bit heavy.

Little did we know our son would fit comfortably in it until well after his first birthday, he was only 18 lbs. But, that did allow us to put off buying a larger car seat for quite a while.

And then there is the whole “expiration” thing. Now that we’re about to have our third I’m a little bit torn because I don’t want to buy a new infant seat for just one child, (since I think this is our last one.) but it’s set to “expire” when the baby is about 6 months old. And, there are so many more options now than there were the first time I bought one. Do I get a cheap one that’s still safe? Do I get another one that I love? Just keep the one we have and use it?

I DON”T KNOW! But I’d better decide quickly because we’re T-minus 7 weeks and counting.

What do you think? What would you do?

There is only 1 that I used as my “go to” bag because it was actually the best…my basic Skip Hop that I managed to get at Target for like $20 before my first baby was born. Lots of pockets, pretty spacious, front pockets for my things etc. And the stroller clips are awesome. Don’t have to worry about if the strap is big enough to hang around the stroller handles.

This is the closest one they have now to what I have.

My mom, who liked name-brand things got me a fabric Petnia Pickle Bottom (on sale) that didn’t have an adjustable strap. For someone who is 5 feet tall, that didn’t work so well since it went down to my knees unless I wore it across my body.  I gave it to my sister.

Next up was a leather Bumble Collection bag that was supposedly top of the line (gotten on a great deal from Baby Steals). It smelled sooooo gross! Even after a couple of weeks out of the bag the leather smell was so over powering I couldn’t stand to use it. Plus, the special “gold” comfort zippers were anything but. They caught all the time and it was soooo hard to open and close it. I sold it on Ebay after a couple of weeks. (Apparently they don’t carry it anymore because I can’t find a picture of one.)

Then, I got a Maelee bag from a trade show we went to. It sounded all great and wonderful. It has lots of pockets inside–and comes with labels for them so you can keep things organized. But, it’s really heavy–made of cloth and leather–and doesn’t have anywhere to put tall things that I may need, like a papers I need for an appointment or something. One thing I love about my Skip Hop, the changing pad pocket on the back is great for these things. Also none of the pockets are big enough to hold much.

I thought I was done with diaper bags. Even for this new little one coming I didn’t plan on getting a new bag. But my mommy just surprised me with this:

She got the most ridiculously awesome deal on it. And it’s just what I’ve thought I’ve always wanted. I was actually telling people the other day that if I were to go back and do it all over again I’d start out with the Boxy Backpack and then use it with all the kids so it would be worth the price. So, now I’m ready to test this one out and see if it really is the most amazing diaper bag ever.

What do you think? What is your favorite diaper bag? I’d love to hear about it!

They’re a little smaller than the current version, and don’t have a pocket, for parents who want to keep it simple.

All of the fabrics in this collection are also limited edition–so get your favorite while it lasts!

Here are just a few of the new styles. What do you think?

And, the best part, they’ll retail for only $36!

So, I was super excited when I saw this article at HomeMadeSimple.com and I saw all of the different styles and ways to wear them.

I think I may need to go out and get a few scarves now and get practicing!

Do you wear scarves? What is your go-to style?

You could print some for your family and write nice notes on the back. Or deliver them as a gift,  kind of like a Halloween “Boo” when you deliver a treat and notes to a neighbor.

Have fun!

Last week I was at the gym and happened upon HGTV’s show Clean Freaks. Basically the host visits people around the country that have cool organization or cleaning ideas. It may be my new favorite show.

Anyway, I’ve been following I Heart Organizing for a while too, and this contribution by a reader looks pretty cool too. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to find somewhere to put this.

by: I Heart Organizing

I’d pick different colors, but really like the idea. Find the details here: Command Center.

What do you do to keep clutter at bay and organize your life? Let us know in the comments!

I’m not really into complicated crafts, and this is one I can definitely get into. I’m sure you have the materials laying around.

Paper Towel Heart Stamp

By: The Studio by Kiwi Crate

Bend a toilet paper roll into a heart shape.

Squeeze a little paint (acrylic or craft paint) onto  a heavy plate or something sturdy

Dip hearts into paint and stamp onto paper. For something more substantial use cardstock. But, printer paper is fine.

Something a little more complex, but very lovely:

Doily Heart Decoration

by: Morgan Moore

You’ll find detailed directions Here