Anne is a 30-something full-time SAHM mom of 5 ranging from 3 to 17 and grandma of 1 who resides in Ashwaubenon (Green Bay) Wisconsin. She started blogging in 2008 as a way to regain her sanity. She enjoys coffee, chocolate, cheeseburgers and vodka along with spending time with her husband and kids.
*This information was provided to me by Mabel’s Labels. This post may contain affiliate links.*
As you know, I like to be prepared for things and with a new baby arriving right before the new school year kicks off it’s never too early to begin planning for the next school year and as the saying goes “the early bird catches the worm!” Help the little scholars in your life stay organized with Mabel’s Labels. Identify clothes, footwear, books, backpacks and more with the Ultimate Back to School Combo. Save $3 and receive a coupon for $5 off a Laptop Lunches Bento Box (while supplies last) when you purchase the Ultimate Back to School Combo. Hurry, because this early bird pricing expires on 7/31.
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I can’t believe I’m already 31 weeks into this pregnancy. It is CRAZY!
Last week Thursday, I had my 3 hour Glucose Tolerance Test (since I failed the 1 hour 2 weeks prior). I went to my OB’s office that morning, and after being there for 25 minutes and the lab not able to successfully draw my fasting level intravenously, I opted to head over to our family doctor’s office and complete the test there as they were setup to draw via finger pokes whereas my OB’s office was not.
I survived the test, barely…..I do not do well with fasting and it’s even worse when I am pregnant. After 3 hours, at my family doctor’s office, scooped me up and we made our way home so I could finally eat. I was STARVING!
The next morning, I had an appointment with my OB for an ultrasound to check on Baby Joey’s brain once again and a regular checkup as well. Joey was extremely active during his ultrasound and was very uncooperative and didn’t let the technician see both ventricles of his brain and the left side was a little larger than normal once again.
After the ultrasound, we sat down with my OB and discovered that I failed (barely) the 3 hour GTT and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. On top of that, it was also decided that we will be seeing Dr. S in Maternal Fetal Medicine for a ultrasound again to get a better look at the little dude and make sure all is well on the inside.
Yesterday I met with the diabetes counselor at my family doctor’s office and got my meter, and was educated about gestational diabetes and nutrition. Thankfully my numbers were really bad and my gestational diabetes can be diet controlled. The sad part is that I have to watch my carb intake, which for me, is NOT an easy task. I LOVE my carbs! But, it is what it is and I am doing what I can to make sure the little guy and I are both safe and healthy.
On the 1st, we will be seeing Dr. S for an ultrasound and hopefully Baby Joey decides to cooperate at that time.
Until then, here is a look at the dude growing inside of me.
And just in case you are having a hard time seeing him, here is a guide to spotting him!
I will be sure to update again next week after our appointment with Dr. S. In the meantime, prayers are appreciated!
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Worldwide Janitor for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
As a mom who lives in a house filled with kids, you can imagine the daily messes, spills etc. and all of the cleaning that does go on. In order to keep up with the house and the kids, we also tend to go through A LOT of cleaning supplies.
With kids, there are constantly fingerprints on doors, windows and even the walls and that drives me CRAZY as well. Since there are so many kids in the house and another on the way I like to do my best to ensure that the products we are using in our home are safe as well as ecofriendly.
Thankfully, there are places like Worldwide Janitor that carry organic, biodegradable cleaning products (manufacturedalong the Gulf Coast by Snee Chemical) that are not carried in other online stores and are affordable for families who are trying to save.
Since we have such a large family, I love to purchase products in bulk because it really does help us save money in the end and really, can a HUGE family ever have too many cleaning supplies on hand? There are days that I worry we don’t have enough!
Have you ever used products from Worldwide Janitor? What are your thoughts?
Anyone who makes bread at home knows it can be a challenge. But if you follow our tips below, we think you will learn how to make great bread at home in no time:
Use a Baking Stone: Most people use a pan, and that is fine. But if you invest in a baking or pizza stone, your bread is going to get a lot better. A baking stone will give you more heat, and more heat will form a crisp crust like on the bread you buy at the bakery. To use your stone, you should preheat the oven with the stone inside for 30 minutes. Put your bread on the stone directly. Another possibility is to use unglazed ceramic tiles, if the bread stone is too expensive.
Ice: What does ice have to do with baking bread? A lot! Getting good results with baking bread has much to do with creating steam. But most ovens do not have a steaming ability, so we have to get creative. When you preheat, put a metal pan on the lower rack. When you put the dough in the oven, throw some ice in the pan. The steam will ensure that the bread rises more and you will get a great crust.
Try a Dutch Oven: Many bakers know to use a Dutch oven for no-knead breads, but you can use it for all types of bread, as long as you don’t mind it being round. The Dutch oven makes an oven inside your oven, so you will get a great crust on the bread.
Try a Lid: Just like the Dutch oven, using a lid can help to create a much hotter atmosphere around your bread to get you a thick crust. Preheat your large, domed lid, and when you put the dough in the oven, cover it with the lid.
Misting: Just like with ice, misting your bread works in very much the same way. It will help to create steam to help the bread to rise and make a good crust. After you put the bread in the oven, you should mist it 5-6 times with water from a spray bottle. Make sure that the spray bottle is clean of course and does not have any cleaning solutions inside. Close your oven door right away and mist it a few minutes later. Then, mist it a few minutes after that. If you are using a lid on your bread, you can spray the dough before you cover it with a lid. But, you do not need to mist it more than once, as you do not want to raise the lid over and over.
Weigh, Don’t Measure: When you are able to, use a scale to make sure you are using the precise amounts of flour and salt. Professional bakeries use baker’s percentages to ensure they get the same results every time. You can do the same. It is very important to not put too much flour into your recipe. This is what usually causes tough, dry loaves of bread at home.
Add Salt: Salt has many important chemical interactions with flour and yeast that will really add to the flavor of your bread. Many breads in Europe have a lot of salt which helps to give their breads so much flavor. Of course, government authorities do not like that much salt going into the bread and have tried to limit how much salt bakers can use there. But there is no doubt that adding enough salt is critical to get great tasting bread at home.
We hope you find these homemade bread tips useful!
Hamilton Beach is a kitchen appliance company offering a large selection of toasters, blenders and slow cookers as well as an extensive recipe collection
Yesterday for Father’s Day, we spent the entire day together as a family. We started the day off by loading up the van and heading to Point Beach State Park to soak up some sun and have fun playing on the beach and in Lake Michigan.
Everyone had an absolutely blast! This was also Ellie’s first time at the beach and she did a pretty good job playing the role of beach bum. She really enjoyed playing in the sand and dipping her toes in the water. I’m sure if the lake would have been warmer she would have enjoyed the day even more!
After our time at the beach, we drove into Two Rivers looking for a place to enjoy a late lunch and stumbled upon the Two Rivers Family Restaurant. We were so happy to find a place that had a great menu and was within the budget for feeding 6 people. Lunch was great, we laughed, filled our bellies and enjoyed being together.
Once we were done with lunch and all loaded back up we made our way back to Green Bay, made a few pitstops, including one by my dad to deliver his gift before heading home to take a break and rest up for dessert and dinner.
Yes. Dessert and then dinner.
Alex took a little nap, the kids and I chilled out and then the inlaws popped over for a quick visit.
Once everything was settled down we made a plan to head to Frāluz Frozen Treats, a new fro-yo and custard shop in DePere. We were all happy with our decision and we had some of the best fro-yo, custard and sorbet EVER! We will definitely be going back for more!
The nice thing about having dessert first is that it made it easier to decide what we wanted for dinner since Papa Murphy’s Pizza was right nextdoor. So, after scarfing down dessert, we grab some pizzas, stopped at the store for some root beer and came home to stuff our faces and then enjoy the rest of our night.
All in all, it was a very successful Father’s Day and we all had a great time!
Hopefully next time I can get a pick with Alex with all of the kids!
