A peek into our Baby Shark themed second birthday party
Our sweet baby boy turned two on Sunday. I know. I can't believe it. It feels like he was just born. We had a small family get together and I thought I would share with you the ins and outs of our super-simple party.
Our sweet baby boy turned two on Sunday. I know. I can't believe it. It feels like he was just born. We had a small family get together and I thought I would share with you the ins and outs of our super-simple party.
And if you feel like taking a walk down memory lane, here is a look back on Jesse’s Little Blue Truck themed first birthday party.
First things first.
The theme: Baby Shark
Ooooh I am sure you have heard the song. I have no clue why it has made a resurgence. But my toddler is obsessed with all things baby shark. All. The. Things.
I found some free invitations templates on Drevio and used them to create the invites. I actually did this on my phone in between bouts of morning sickness. Because #pregnancyisnojoke. Then I texted out the invitations because #lazy.
Decor: DIY and Use what you have
I really didn’t do much this year in the way of decorations. I did find a few pompons at Party City, and a couple of shark easter baskets. But I kept thins pretty minimal.
I also made a simple chair bunting out of some fabric and yard. Here is a great tutorial on how to make tassel bunting.
Food: The best part
I kept the menu simple. Except for the cake. Oh. Good. Heavens. That cake. It was gorgeous. And it tastes amazing. I will dream about that cake long after it's gone. We got a friend, who bakes cakes as a side business to make it. She charged us a very reasonable rate (I expected to pay a lot more). It was worth every penny.
We also served fruit salad that was just pineapple and strawberries, chips, sub sandwiches from the Walmart deli (best decision ever!), tea and “ocean water” which was just blue Kool-Aid.
How to make baby food in the instant pot
I bought an Instant Pot, but it feels like I joined a cult and honestly I see why people sing the praises of the Instant Pot. It does everything, pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice maker, steamer etc. etc. in one tiny pot.
I use it every single day. And one of my favorite things to do is make baby food in it.
Today I wanted to share how quick and easy it is to make baby food in the Instant Pot.
I bought an Instant Pot, but it feels like I joined a cult and honestly I see why people sing the praises of the Instant Pot. It does everything, pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice maker, steamer etc. etc. in one tiny pot.
I use it every single day. And one of my favorite things to do is make baby food in it.
Today I wanted to share how quick and easy it is to make baby food in the Instant Pot.
Why do you want to make your own food? Other than knowing what's in your baby's food, I love that it saves me money.
I honestly did not know how much baby food cost until our family went on vacation in November. I spent $1.19 on two four-ounce containers of bananas. I can buy a pound of bananas for $.59 and get three times as much baby food.
Note: if you're super busy and you look at making your own baby food as one more thing you have to do, just skip this post. Don't let this be something that makes you feel bad. There are literally hundreds of other ways to save money.
Be sure to check with your child's pediatrician before beginning any solids and do your own research before introducing ANY new foods.
What you'll need:
An instant pot
knife
cutting board
peeler
blender, I reccomend an immersion blender
jars or containers (I love these but they are MUCH cheaper at Walmart)
fresh fruits and veggies of your choice
I recommend carrots, apples, butternut squash, yellow squash, zucchini. peas, sweet potatoes.
I used about 20 carrots to make five cups of baby food (equal to 10 four ounce jars.
1. First I peel and chop my vegetables. (If you're cooking something like butternut squash you can leave the peel on during the cooking process and then scoop.)
You can just roughly chop any vegetables, don't worry about getting them into super small pieces, they will cook.
2. Throw your vegetables into the pot and cover with water.
3. Set your Instant Pot to 15 minutes at high pressure. Allow to cook and then naturally release.
4. Once cooked and the pressure has released open the pot and allow it to cool a little bit. Strain off excess water leaving about 1/2 a cup of water in the pot. Do not toss the water you used to cook your vegetables, you might need it to thin out as you puree.
5. Use your immersion blender to puree the cooked fruits and/or vegetables until velvety smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender you can transfer to a regular blender and blend.
I use the ladle that comes with the Instant Pot to ladle into jars and containers.
A few "recipes" you might want to try:
Apples and Sweet Potatoes
Carrots and Peas
Squash and Zucchini
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Determining birth costs before your baby is born
For those of you who didn't know I am expecting my THIRD baby boy due in March. And one of the things I can cross off my list is the cost of this baby's birth.
I recently got a really great question from a subscriber over on my YouTube channel, so I thought I would share it with you.
"I'm a few weeks behind you (in pregnancy), and in one of your videos you mentioned knowing just how much you'd be paying for hospital bills after insurance. How did you figure this out? We're wanting to prepare."
For those of you who didn't know I am expecting my THIRD baby boy due in March. And one of the things I can cross off my list is the cost of this baby's birth.
Insurance can be really complicated and pretty overwhelming but this is one time when the solution is a lot simpler than one might think. I simply asked my insurance company.
First I say down with the insurance coordinator at my OBGYN's office who told me what portion I would owe to the doctor.
It helps to simply ask. Then I called my insurance provider and they sent me a black and white breakdown of my copay for an average birth with two day hospital stay.
Then we set aside the average plus plus 20% (just in case something happens).
That is generally my rule: whatever the average, plus 20%. So that way, you can be prepared.
We knew in advance what our copay is. We have good insurance for the first time in years. It's actually paying a lot. It's expensive, but it is still going to be paying a lot. So we're not having to pay as much out of pocket.
This is a far cry from when I was pregnant with my first son. We were just beginning to pay off our debt and had very little money to our names. I wrote about that here.
If you want to follow along on my YouTube channel, head over here to subscribe.
Financially preparing for a baby
When I first found out I was pregnant with my oldest son I heard a lot of comments like "sleep while you can" or "it's going to go by so fast" or "be prepared to have no money."
And while it is true that babyhood goes by in the blink of an eye and that sleep is a commodity more precious than coffee or chocolate, the last one I have to disagree with.
When I first found out I was pregnant with my oldest son I heard a lot of comments like "sleep while you can" or "it's going to go by so fast" or "be prepared to have no money."
And while it is true that babyhood goes by in the blink of an eye and that sleep is a commodity more precious than coffee or chocolate, the last one I have to disagree with.
Yes. Babies can be expensive. Childcare is astronomical and hospital bills can be outrageous, but a lot of the expenses of a baby are far more manageable than people realize. The key is getting started before your baby is born.
1. Sock away as much as you can.
Now remember, when I was pregnant with my first child my husband and I were still in debt. So we didn't have a lot of money to play with.
But I just started cutting back where I could and I started putting more and more money into savings each week. It started with just $50 and by the time my maternity leave was wrapping up almost my ENTIRE paycheck went into our savings account. This was especially good since our health insurance was garbage and we ended up owing the hospital $11,000!
2. Get all your insurance information together.
Like I noted in point 1 our insurance was garbage and we ended up paying for most of the expenses out of pocket. I sat down with the insurance person at my doctor's office when I was just a few weeks along.
I am the type of person that needs ALL the facts up front and this helped me make a plan. I was able to work out a payment plan with my doctor and then get a good picture of what kind of bill I would get from the hospital after Ryals was born.
I also learned that the hospital would take 20% off my bill if I paid if all at once rather than in installments after the baby came.
Also, get everything prepared in advance to add your child to your insurance as soon as possible after he or she is born. Heaven forbid your child need extra care and you miss this step and are then stuck with a HUGE out of pocket bill because your child was not added to your insurance.
3. Borrow don't buy.
Register for the things you KNOW you are going to need like a car seat, clothes, bottles and diapers. The bigger items like a crib and pack-n-play can be borrowed. As the need for larger items arise swap with a friend or ask someone to borrow them. Do not purchase a bunch of things you think you need.
You can read this post about baby items you will need and a few you won't.
4. Keep it simple.
Understand that all your baby needs is diapers, something to eat and your love and attention. Don't go crazy buying every clothing item, toy, DVD, swing, chair, wipe warmer people tell you you need. Less is more. Trust me.
Babies are a blessing. Cherish the time and make wise financial decisions.
What about you? How are you preparing for baby?