I Have Not Stepped On a Scale Since I Was Pregnant

Dean turned 2 in March. It seems so long ago that I was bursting at the seems with my little guy. The day I found out I was pregnant I put away my scale. Obviously I was going to gain weight but I didn't want that to become something I focused on. There were so many wonderful and exciting things to put my energy into, I didn't want weight to become a source of negative energy. I even told my midwife that I didn't want to know my weight, or how many pounds I gained, unless she was concerned about it. All she ever told me was that I "looked good" so I'll take that as it was a healthy weight.


To this day I have no idea how much weight I gained or what my final weigh in was. I can't even tell you what size pants I wore because I only wore maternity pants with the belly bands built in. It wasn't until right around this last Thanksgiving, that I started wearing my "normal" pants again. (The maternity leggings I won't give up because they are so comfy.) They fit my new body kind of weird but they get the job done.

While I have an idea about how much I weigh now, I can honestly say I don't care to know. It's just a number and that doesn't mean much to me. Right now I am just going by how I feel, and I'm starting to feel good. There was a point last week where I actually felt sexy. Friends, I don't know the last time I felt genuinely sexy. Aaron tells me I'm "sexy" and "smokin' hot" but these aren't words that I would have used (in the last 2+ years) to describe myself. All this time I've settled with "cute" or "ok-sure-whatever". It felt GOOD to feel sexy.

There are days, though, when my thoughts are very far from positive. Those days I try not to focus on it. Instead I'll wear as much black as possible, pick a different feature (eye, hair) & focus on that, or put heels on and say "fake it til you make it, Sarah!". This works most of the time.

My point is, my goal weight isn't a weight at all, but me feeling content with myself. It's about looking in the mirror and smiling at what I see. It doesn't matter to me if that means I'm bigger, smaller, or about the same as before. My body shape has changed (my waist and boobs say hi). Instead of changing the size of my waist line, I am working toward changing my outlook of myself.

This mama has stretch marks, rolls, cellulite, dull skin, and is overall slightly more round, but these things aren't terrible. They are all visible signs of what I have done in my life- not just my pregnancy (but mostly my pregnancy). Aaron finds my body sexy- so should I.

What sort of things do you do to help keep a positive body image post-baby? I would love to hear from you other mama's out there!

What's In My Purse


Living simply and with less has been a topic of conversation recently between my husband and myself. We're looking to move this summer and with that we will be forcing ourselves to let go and to live, and be content, with less. We are collectors so it's hard at times to let things go.

My biggest inspirations for living with a more simple (but amazing and beautiful) home is New Darlings and Taylor Golden [1] [2] [3]. Serious house goals for me right there! Getting rid of stuff for the move is going to be so great! That's not going to be for a while, though, so in the mean time I can focus on something more relevant- my purse.


Isn't it terrible? The eye-opener was when I opened my purse and papers came flying out. What is in there?! How did it become so full? Why do I have all this stuff? In fact, most days I don't use 90% of the items in my purse, so why is it there?

The moment those papers were in the air I knew something must be done. Like, asap. But what though? What do I do when I carry a bag of stuff I'm sure I need. Maybe. At some point. Possibly. This is a perfect example of not living simply. Do I need my planner, deodorant, dry shampoo, hair spray, 6 lip glosses/balms, tissues, a months worth of receipts, food pouches, and who knows what else in my purse?

I don't NEED these items at all. They are there for me to fall back on. If I rush doing my hair or make up in the morning, it's ok because I have products with me. If my makeup isn't finished or perfect that's ok because I have spares with me.

I have come to realize that instead of focusing on getting fully ready in the morning I am actually burdening myself. If I just took a few extra minutes in the morning really focusing on getting myself fully ready, I don't need to bring extra anything with me in my bag. If I planned and timed my errands better I wouldn't need to bring food to tide my son over.


For Mother's Day my husband bought me the Kate Spade clutch I have been pining over. It is exactly what I needed to help me get down to the bare bones and only carry around the necessities. ID, debit card, money pouch, and lip balm. There's room for my phone and a shopping list, and really these are the only items I NEED.


There are moments when I'm slightly panicking in the morning about the necessity of certain items I used to carry in my purse, but ultimately I set them down and walk away. Later on I'm glad I didn't add extra weight to tote around. Using this clutch has been a great experience is doing with less, and one I'm going lean on later when I start letting things go in regards to the house.


Do you carry around a lot of extra stuff or is it just the necessities? Do you have a way to keep the contents of your bag organized so they don't fly out?

Shared Toddler and Mama Meals - Rainbow Buffet

Trying to figure out what solids a little one will eat can be tricky. There are times when it is downright frustrating.

Why don't you like pancakes? They are so good!

While I was trying to loose baby weight, I would eat five small meals a day and time them with my son's meals. One of my favorite meals was (and still is) extremely simple: a smorgasbord of lots of different foods that require little or no preparation. The key with this, though, is to not over do it and eat the rainbow.


The two biggest benefits to it for me are that it can be a very healthy & balanced meal and it ends up being more appealing and appetizing because of the colors. A delicious and happy sight.

Some of the foods I use for this meal:

Red: tomatoes, pepperoni, salami, raspberries, ketchup
Orange: Oranges, cheddar cheese, bell pepper, carrots
Yellow: tamagoyaki, corn, bananas
Green: Pickles, avocado, spinach,
Blue: blueberries,
Purple: blackberries, jelly
Pink: ham, tuna, salmon
Black: olives
White: turkey, cottage cheese, Baby Bell cheese, rice, mayo dish
Brown: Little Smokies, bread, crackers, granola, hummus, peanut butter


I keep the meal balanced by having one portion of protein, one portion of carbs, and how ever many portions I want of fruits and veggies. For example:

- 3-4 cherry tomatoes, 3 baby carrots, a big fork full of pickle slices, olives, one Baby Bell cheese, and 6 Little Smokies.

- One serving size of sliced salami, nectarine slices, couple slices of cheese, stuffed cherry peppers, small handful of blueberries, half an avocado, and a serving size of crackers.

- Peanut butter and jelly sandwich (cut into quarters), bananas, small bowl of spinach with olive oil & red pepper flakes, and carrots.

It may not seem like a lot, but once you plate it up and eat it, you'll find that you really are satiated and contently full.

This works for little ones too. At least it has for my son, and my nieces and nephews. Chopped up into tiny bite size pieces, arranged in a rainbow, shapes, or little designs. My son eats especially well when I make this for lunch. The food is easy for him to pick up and consume all by his independent self.


Do you ever have meals like this? What is your favorite items to use? Does your kiddo have a favorite?

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