Real maple syrup. Makes simple banana oatmeal pancakes second level for a simple yummy breakfast.
Local real-estate prices. A few homes in our neighborhood have been put on the market and sold recently, and they indicate a rise in our home value. We are going to be taking steps to get PMI canceled from our mortgage and hoping the comparables help our home value.
Baby rompers. Best summer clothes for babies. Easy, simple, and a full outfit without the belly hanging out.
Hammock in the yard. After my husband installed a fence we now have a few options for hanging a hammock in our back yard, which is just one of my favorite things to do.
Paying attention to my health. Allergy shots, pelvic floor physical therapy, and melatonin when needed. I highly recommend every new mom go to physical therapy for their pelvic floor. If you do it after your first baby, you will have the knowledge to help after future babies.
Traveler’s notebook. I switched from a bullet journal to a traveler’s notebook once I finished my last journal at the end of June. I’ve loved it so far! Current sections/notebooks: bullet journal/daily to-do lists, prayers, gratitude, journal, memories, sketches, for 6 total books. I’m using the personal size and it’s great for lists.
Lastpass. It’s how I keep all my online accounts secure and unique passwords all in once place. The best part: it’s free.
Honeyed lavender ice cream. From a local creamery. It was not something I’d usually go for, but it was delicious. I’ll get it again, no questions asked.
Dr. Brown’s pacifiers. Thank you baby girl for taking a nuk again! Month 4 was rough in parenthood for naps.
Our new-to-us Toyota Highlander. We’ve been hoping to get an SUV for the last 18 months. We found a car in our price range with a reasonable trade-in value for our current sedan so we finally pulled the trigger.
My $6 bouquet! It was the most beautiful roadside bouquet I’ve ever found. Hoping to stop at the same farm again this week for another. This bouquet lasted for two weeks!
Borrowing stuff. Thank you friends for being willing to lend me a few rarely used items for our beach vacation. We borrowed a pool floaty for our little girl from a friend, and a travel high chair (camp chair style) to use for our short 3-day trip. We didn’t even use the high chair, so I’m thankful we didn’t waste resources by buying another one. The floaty was perfect, and if we continue to use my parents’ pool often enough and it is worth the purchase, we know we like that style.
The hose for the basement dehumidifier. This was one of those 30-minute tasks that continued to linger on my to-do list, but once I did it I thought, “Why didn’t I do that sooner?!” It took a daily chore off my to-do list by continually emptying the dehumidifier on its own into the sump pump.
A few other favorite things:
- Everything bagel seasoning
- Hair stick
- Electric milk frother
- My Kindle
- Aldi. Anytime I go into another grocery store I’m reminded of my gratitude to Aldi and its simplicity.
- Layering technique for freezing breast milk
- Homemade granola
- Our chest freezer (for said breast milk)
- Peanut butter cookies with pudding mix in them – so yummy
- Newly designed and installed command center in our kitchen!
