Politics, Stories
Sarah Holland
Campaign Update: March

"How's the campaign going?"

It's the question I get most often. It's also the question I'm never quite sure how to answer.

Good? ... Great! ... Your guess is as good as mine. ... We'll see May 17th!

The truth - I suppose - all depends on what you're measuring. 

Campaign Update: March
Celebrations
Sarah Holland
Felix's Winter ONE-derland

This weekend we hosted a Winter ONE-derland party in honor of Felix's first birthday. Considering this child was born during a snow, it seemed like an appropriate theme. Well, the weather had other plans and it was 70 and sunny! I could have hosted the dang party outside! 

Felix's Winter ONE-derland
Stories
Sarah Holland
Ruby

For my 30th birthday, I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do. One was to write a historical fiction short story. This is the story and as Ruby keeps calling to me here lately. I thought I'd share it here. 

Ruby
Food
Sarah Holland
Nicholas's Freezer to Crockpot Meals

One of Nicholas's New Year's resolutions was to try freezer meals. He'd prepped meals for the week on and off through 2015 and wanted to see how it would work to prepare an entire month's worth. Then, we could just pull a meal from the deep freeze, throw it in the crockpot, and on a busy day dinner would be waiting for us.

Nicholas's Freezer to Crockpot Meals
What I Learned
Sarah Holland
5 things I learned in January

Dear 2016, Slow. Up. I just picked my word for the year and finished off my New Year's Eve champagne like five minutes ago and now it's two days until February!

Whew.

5 things I learned in January
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My thoughts on the Duggar sex abuse scandal

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Let me be clear from the beginning. I have never liked the Duggars. I remember watching their first couple of specials when they were still 14 Kids and Pregnant Again! and their particular brand of wholesome never sat well with me. 

I don't believe God uses miscarriages to communicate his dislike of birth control. I don't believe God sends daughters first to help take care of the sons who come later. I don't believe a woman's hair is her "glory" or that modesty is important not to "tempt" men. 

I don't believe a lot of these things. I also don't begrudge Michelle Duggar's right to subscribe to this particular set of beliefs. To me, feminism means choice. If you want to vacuum every day in pearls like June Cleaver, go for it! Just don't tell me - or your daughters - they have to.

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Baby products I'm trying out for the first time

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On a stroll in our Britax B-Agile 3.

On a stroll in our Britax B-Agile 3.

Recently, I stopped by News-3 This Morning to talk about baby products I'm STILL using five years later AND baby products I decided to upgrade or try out for the first time with Baby Felix. I like to think that after three kids I'm savvier consumer and can spot the products that will really make a difference in my life - as opposed to the ones with empty promises. 

Britax B-Agile 3

After five years, I decided it was time for a stroller upgrade. I loved my previous stroller, but I knew that there had been a ton of improvements in stroller engineering that I wanted to try out.

I started by checking out the newest edition of Baby Bargains (the baby products BIBLE) which had high praise for the Britax B-Agile 3. I also talked to several friends who loved their Britax B-Agile 3. If you want something lighter, check out these Umbrella Strollers.

The biggest selling point for me was the one-hand quick fold. My old stroller came in two pieces and was a pain to get in and out of the car. This baby collapses in second EVEN with the car seat adaptor still attached. It's lightweight, has a reclining seat, and a huge canopy. I've been using it daily since Felix was born and I'm so happy with it.

Britax is giving one lucky reader a B-SAFE 35 car seat!

The next thing I knew I wanted to upgrade was our diaper pail. I absolutely hated the pail we had before. It was stinky and hard to use. And yet I didn't want to give up on the idea of a diaper pail altogether.

I had been intrigued by the Ubbi diaper pail since it came on the market a few years ago. The idea of steel pail that wouldn't soak up the smells like plastic made since to me and I like the fact that you can use your own bags. I also discovered Ubbi made cloth diaper liners, which was a revelation after using a regular trash can for my cloth diapers in the past. In fact, I've been using the Ubbi primarily for cloth diapers and think it's a great fit for that purpose.

My closest friend recommended I also try out the Dekor Plus. This baby holds a TON of dipaers and has a hands free design which is incredibly "handy" in the messiest of situations. It also can be used with regular trash bags, as well as having a cloth diaper liner. However, because the Dekor Plus holds so much and contains the smell so well I've found it works really well for disposable diapers.

UBBI World is giving away one UBBI pail to a lucky reader!

Boob® Nursing Wear

I had ONE nursing dress with Griffin and Amos and I about wore that piece out. It was the only one I could find at the time and I was desperately hoping there would be more options this time around.

Boob® to the rescue!

This company has been around for a while but has greatly expanded their offerings in recent years. They have cute stylish options in all styles for all seasons. The best part is that many of the items you can wear while pregnant as well. The B.Warmer Dress became one of my staples during the colder months and now that it's turned warmer I'm wearing the heck out of the Simone. 

I know for a FACT I have nursed in these dresses and people around me had no idea what I was doing. They offer great access without feeling like you are either showing your breast or your stomach. In fact, when I'm wearing one of their designs, I don't even bother with a nursing cover!

What new baby products do you want to try?

What to do when your child fails

I became a mother six years ago and I'll always remember one of the first truths my own mother told me about raising a child.

The second you figure your child and a particular phase out - the second you think "I got this!" - they change. 

I should have known kindergarten was going a little too smoothly. Despite my own misgivings about the beginning of elementary school, Griffin handled it well. We quickly established a morning routine that worked well for our family. Except for the occasional hunt for a rogue shoe, we have breakfast without too much yelling or prompting. There were never any tears or separation anxiety at drop off. We tackled homework easily and only had one day where Griffin went beyond "yellow" or a single warning for bad behavior. Most days he was on "green" for good behavior and seemed to sincerely enjoy going to school. 

In full disclosure, Griffin's kindergarten teacher is one of the best. She is warm, fun, and stays cool and calm at every turn. She also happens to be one of my dearest friends so we were more than a little bit spoiled on that front.

Between the great teacher and drama-free days, I had JUST started to pat myself on the back for a successful year. 

That was stupid. 

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Top 5 Pregnancy Must Haves

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Top 5 Pregnancy Must Haves

We've spent a lot of time recently talking about baby products (the good and the bad) but I have a TON of pregnant friends right now so I thought I'd take a step back and talk about the products that helped me survive pregnancy.

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Baby products I'm still using after 3 kids

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Recently, I stopped by News 3 This Morning to talk about baby product I'm still using five years after the birth of my first son. These are the products I've carefully packed away and pulled out to use with Amos and again with Felix because they are JUST. THAT. GOOD.

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