Making Dinner Is Hard

October 15, 2015 by Aliesha

If you’re not following me on Instagram, you should be, because you’re missing out on REAL LIFE gems like this one from last night:

6:36 Making dinner is hard. Thought you may get some enjoyment out of a brief chronology of the last hour at our house! 😂 (Intended purely for humor, not to complain.) I thought I was ahead of the game today because I had already marinated the chicken, so all I would need to do to make dinner was cook the chicken and throw together the tacos. Easy enough, right? After his nap, Theodore takes a longer time nursing and then doesn’t want to be set down. So I decide to start cooking dinner one-handed. I find Jude eating deodorant and writing with it on the windows. He quickly abandons this activity to “help” me grate cheese. (Putting grated cheese into a bowl faster than your toddler can grab it and eat it should be its own gameshow. Actually completing ANY task faster than your toddler should be.) All this while I’m still cooking chicken with one hand and holding Theodore who won’t be set down. Theodore finally falls asleep so I go lay him down and I come back to find Jude and CC eating butter. Yes, with their fingers. While I’m cleaning that up I hear water running in the bathroom and it’s Jude (IS HE OMNIPRESENT?!!?). Come back to the kitchen and all the cheese has been eaten. I smell burning chicken! Finally get everything cooked and plated (while Jude is strapped into his high chair). The kids are finished eating just as I sit down and they immediately want seconds. I get their food and eat standing up. It’s now t-minus 14 minutes until Tad gets off work, and as far as I’m concerned, Jude can just hang out in his high chair until then. I’m off to eat secret chocolate in the bathroom! #momconfessions #momlife

Please tell me I’m not the only one eating secret chocolate in the bathroom!

Fall Porch Party

October 14, 2015 by Aliesha

Sometimes I allow excuses to keep me from showing hospitality. Things like:

-my house is not clean enough
-our schedule is too crazy
-our budget doesn’t allow it
-etc.!

Maybe these thoughts deter you from having people in your home as well. Enter… the porch party! A great way to show southern hospitality in a way that is doable!

Porch parties are laid back and fun, plus they don’t require you to clean your whole house, you can have them any time (morning, afternoon, evening… over a meal or not!), and you can spend time talking with friends and catching up on life!

We had a fall porch party recently and it was so much fun! I drug all of our furniture (not quite) outside and set up a “living room” on the front porch. If you don’t have a porch, you can have a patio party or a lawn party!

I took these pictures in the afternoon, but the party was actually after the kids were in bed. Many of my friends who came are moms, so it works better for us to schedule stuff post-bedtime so we can talk and actually finish a complete sentence!

The weather was cool, so I told everyone to dress warmly and I had blankets ready for some added warmth.

We had coffee, of course, as well as some snacks. (Easy stuff: a cheese board, apples & dip, a no-bake pumpkin cheesecake, etc.)

I wasn’t sure if we would have enough light, but with the cafe lights, the porch light, and a lamp I brought out, we were fine.

Sweet friends!

Hoping to have another porch party before it gets too cold! They’re so much fun!

I would like to point out that while I thoroughly enjoy decorating my porch for parties like this, it’s not necessary to decorate in order to show hospitality on your porch. I had the time this week to do it (and my girls loved helping me with it), but there may be other times I host porch parties that look much simpler! Hospitality is about loving others through the ministry of your home, not about appearances. We all have varying gifts and speak love differently!

For more posts I’ve previously written on hospitality, click here.

Covered Goods Nursing Cover Review

October 13, 2015 by Aliesha

If there’s one item in my “baby arsenal” that has gotten more compliments than any other, it is my Covered Goods Nursing Cover! This product is actually four products in one, which is super awesome! I could probably sell these to my friends and to random strangers… that’s how many comments I get about it! I love all of the versatility (and the fact that I only need one item for four uses). The buttery-soft fabric rolls up quite tightly so it takes up very little space in my bag.

Here are the four different uses!

Way #1 – Nursing Cover

I love how this cover actually covers everything! My back and sides aren’t exposed while I’m nursing in public, but I’m easily able to see Theodore and keep eye contact with him while he’s nursing. It’s also very lightweight, so I don’t worry about him smothering in there.

Way #2 – Scarf

Yep… this can be worn as a cute scarf! Just twist it around your neck the way you would any infinity scarf, and you’ve got a lovely accessory! This is a nice way to keep the cover handy for nursing sessions.

Way #3 – Cart Cover

If you’re worried about germs on the shopping cart (gross!), just slide your Covered Goods Nursing Cover over the seat and buckle your tot in like normal! Jude was happy to model this for me at the store last week.

Way #4 – Car Seat/Stroller Canopy

I love that I don’t need to carry around another product… I can just use my Covered Goods Cover as a car seat or stroller canopy! It’s great for protecting their little faces from the sun, bugs, or wind. It’s easy to peek in on Theodore. Plus, it just looks pretty!

The exact Covered Goods Cover I have is floral, but you can check out all of their patterns (including their brand-new fall collection) right here!

Follow Covered Goods on Instagram and Facebook!

Disclosure: I received a Covered Goods Nursing Cover in order to facilitate this review/showcase. All opinions are my own.

Making Dinner Is Hard

Fall Porch Party