Staying Home Sawyer

Real Life Living on a Real Life Budget

Holidays!

Reuben Gets Old

The days of Reuben making his appearance for 24 days before Christmas are definitely gone. Before he had to share the scene with Sawyer, he was always getting into things. But now, with Sawyer and a new little sister, we’ll be lucky if he gets into five or ten scenarios.

Because Reuben isn’t as active as he used to be, we thought we’d create a little Instagram page for him so you could follow along easily. We’ll be adding all his old antics throughout November and then we’ll add new ones in December. Follow him here.

For now, let’s take a little trip through last years experiences!

Carol Baskin is always watching…
The year: 2020. The issue: Toilet Paper Hoarding.
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
Looks like I wasn’t the only one who got knocked up last year!
And they said there were no stolen ballots.
He’s got the right idea.
It feels just like apple pie…
“I don’t know, Margo!”
Lifestyle, Products I Love

Mom Life

This post is sponsored by Tru Niagen®.

Mom life, amiright? Anyone else feel like they’re always trying to keep up? At this point I’m ready to drink a cup of coffee every hour on the hour. But since my coffee inevitably turns cold, it’s not that appealing.


I had the opportunity to try Tru Niagen recently, and I’m happy that I did.


When I first looked into this nutrient, I was intrigued by a few things. Number one was the cellular energy of course, but number two was the fact that it supports healthy aging (and as I approach 40 I’m looking for all the help I can get). To get technical on you, Tru Niagen targets the 37+ trillion cells in our bodies and reduces the cellular effect of aging by elevating NAD+, a key coenzyme your body uses for healthy cellular metabolism. If you’re like me, that made little sense to you. To be honest, they had me at cellular energy. Again, mom life, amiright?

Basically, this girl wants to live long so I can stick around to torment these girls into adulthood. I need all the cellular energy, healthy aging, and healthy metabolism I can get. And did I mention it’s available at Walmart? Mom win. Here’s to adding health to my years! Shop Tru Niagen in-stores at Walmart or visit Walmart.com.

DIY

Gift Baskets for Your Nurses

As if I don’t have enough going on before giving birth, I had to add gift baskets to my list. When Sawyer was born, I made little gift bags for the nurses that helped us throughout labor and delivery. But after asking around, I realized a big gift basket might be the way to go this time. Much easier for me, except perhaps carrying it into the hospital while in labor maybe…

Should we take a little poll as to if we’ll even remember to bring this basket when we’re on our way to the hospital?!

I asked a few nurses what they’d like to see in their gift baskets and went on my way. I think I overdid it a little bit, especially because some of the stuff I bought didn’t even fit in the basket I bought. But I’m sure Sawyer won’t mind eating all of the extras!

Basket Fillers:

Non-food items: pens, lotions, nail polish, bath bombs, nail files, hair ties/scrunchies, face masks, mini flashlights, hand soaps, hand sanitizer (and holders/clips), lanyards, Epsom salts, water bottles.

Food items: coffee/tea (and gift cards), gum, custom nurse cookies, apples, oranges, crackers, cookies, lifesavers, candy, granola bars.

If you want to check out the individual bags we made last time, head here.

DIY, Holidays!, Lifestyle

Inexpensive (or Free) Ways to Show Mom Some Love This Mother’s Day

I don’t know about you, but whenever Mother’s Day rolls around I start to panic trying to come up with some fun and easy gift ideas for my mom, Sawyer’s grandmas, and some of my best friends who are also mothers. I always want to do something special and I want it to come from the heart. But I also can’t afford to spend the money on personalized gifts for each one of them (sorry guys, when I win the lottery I’ll make it up to you), so I tend to opt for handmade or inexpensive gifts.

Handprint Flowers

Last year we made these handprint bouquets for all of Sawyer’s grandmas (she has three grandmas and three great-grandmas). We had fun making them in all different ways: Just as a flower alone, as a flower pot, or as a flower bouquet. All three were greatly appreciated.

Here’s the easy way to do them: paint your child’s hand, make handprints (and footprints for the flower pots). Wait for them to dry, tape on a paper straw. You can cut leaves if you’d like, and then tie a little tag on as well. For the pot, we just taped the sticks onto a cutout pot.

For the bouquet, we just made stick flowers and wrapped them in brown paper. They were a hit for everyone we sent them to!

Can we also take a second to wonder where my little baby girl went?

MyPostcard.com – Snail Mail

Everyone loves a little snail mail every now and then, so why not send your mom/grandma/sister/best friend a little happy mail? I’ve used MyPostcard.com in the past, and I’ve always been really happy with the quality. For a few bucks you can send a personalized postcard to the mothers in your life and put a smile on their faces. Is there anything better than that? Thoughtful, considerate, and inexpensive!

I checked out their website for their Mother’s Day selection and found that they have quite the selection. I chose a few as examples (the wine one is my favorite, seeing as how I’m currently pregnant and can attest to this sacrifice), so you could see some of the options. Check out their website to see for yourself. My bet is you’ll find yourself thinking of all the women in your life you can send these cards to, because they’re that cute and that easy.

The best part is the personalization, you get to choose your own photos and you get to write your own message on the back. Trust me, if you’re looking for a good way to show someone you’re thinking of them, this is the way. And you can’t beat the price either!

DIY Personalized Candle

Okay if your mom is anything like mine, she has everything she needs. But she might still collect a candle or two (especially if she lives in the Midwest and it gets cold as heck in the winter), so why not make her a personalized one so she can be reminded of how amazing her child is every time she lights it?

Take a simple jar candle (Michael’s has cheap ones), remove the label. Print your photo in black and white (and just on regular paper, don’t use cardstock). Use Mod Podge to stick your photo to the candle, and then do a thin layer over the top of the photo as well. Use twine to tie a little tag on and voila!

Mom & Me Print

Etsy Image, owned by lilEMIshop

These fun prints from Etsy are such an easy, inexpensive option for a personalized gift for mom. Not only are they under $10, but it’s delivered to your inbox in less than a week (shipping time says 1-3 business days). You can’t beat that (especially if you’re like me, and you wait until the last minute to shop for gifts). Order the print, and head out to buy a frame in the meantime! Trust me, it’ll look like you put a lot of time into this thoughtful gift (win win!).

Toddler Suncatcher Project

Let’s be honest, our kids can make anything for their grandmas, and they’ll love them. As they should, because I treasure just about anything mine makes for me as well (in a box, on a shelf, in the closet. You can’t possibly keep all the projects can you?).

This is such an easy project. You can make it in any shape/color/size. We chose to do some flowers for all of Sawyer’s grandmas. It’s easy, it’s inexpensive, and guess what, it’s NOT messy (if you have toddlers, you know).

Supplies: Contact paper, tissue paper, hole punch, twine, shape tracer. Cut your contact paper to size (make sure your shape can fit inside), and cut two exact pieces for each suncatcher. Peel one contact paper from it’s backing, and use tissue paper to fill the sticky side. When it’s covered, use the other matching piece of contact paper to cover it. Trace your shape, cut-out, and hole punch to hang with twine. Done!!