5 Tips For Getting Out of the House with Two

I remember how terrified I was to leave the house during the first month of brining home my first. With a toddler, there is no time to be terrified of anything! Especially getting out of the house. It's a necessity. Here are some tips I'm using to help get out of the house (super helpful on school days). 

• Choose outfit the night before: Getting dressed can be a nightmare in the morning. Especially now that my toddler has preferences about what she wants to wear. Watch out #diva. We've started to pick out clothes the night before. This way we can spend a little time choosing the perfect outfit without feeling rushed and without feeling pressed for time. 
• Make and pack lunch the night before: This saves me a good 10 minutes. Doesn't sound like much but 10 minutes in the morning is a significant amount of time. And one less thing to think about. 
• Breakfast is what's served: I got into a bad habit of asking my toddler what she wanted for breakfast each morning. Even when I'd give her options, it would take 10 minutes for her to decide between eggs or cereal. Now I make breakfast and let her know when it's time to eat. The caveat here is if I say "I'm going to make breakfast now" and she says "I want to eat..." If she asks for something specific and we have it, I have no problem giving her what she's requested. 
• Bottle feed baby: I'm breastfeeding my newborn, which typically takes about 45 minutes all around. And I don't have 45 minutes to spare on the days Reese has school. So I've started pumping before everyone gets up (yep, kind of a pain but totally worth it) and bottle feeding in the morning. This saves me more than 25 minutes. 
• Use incentives: Call it what you will. An incentive or a bribe but it works. Reese is obsessed with cartoons these days. On school days when we're rushing to get out of the house I explain that after she gets dressed, eats breakfast, clears her plate from the table, brushes hair and teeth, she can then watch cartoons until we have to leave for school. So she gets about 15 minutes of toon time before school. Works like a charm...for now!

I'm still adjusting to two kids. Please share your tips with me. What tips/tricks do you use to get out of the house?

Style Tips for The Expectant Mom (And a great holiday gift)

One hot Victoria Beckham who is always so put together. I’m six months pregnant and for the first half of my pregnancy I lived my uniform, which consisted of black yoga pants, a t-shirt of some sort and a pair of tennis shoes. I felt comfortable and I always felt ready to chase my toddler around but “put together” was not something I felt. Quite honestly I was tired of feeling frumpy so I reached out to my good friend and stylist, Rachel Fawkes over at Fawkes Hunter.

She was amazing! In about two hours she walked through my wardrobe of maternity clothes I had collected, combined with non maternity clothes that still fit and created comfortable every day outfit options – to wear whether I’m chasing my toddler around or out to dinner with friends. She showed me what a difference accessorizing with fun jewelry makes and showed me that I can be “put together” while still being comfortable.

Take a look/read as Rachel shares some smart style choice tips! At the end of our two hours together I had more than a dozen outfits to choose from – pieces I would have never thought to put together. And trust me, on the days when I’m feeling really tired from having been up six times to pee during the night, I am thankful I can quickly grab pull an outfit together without thinking about it.

I can’t thank Rachel enough! Even though I am growing at unexpected rates (or so it feels like it) I don’t feel like I have to live in my yoga uniform.

If you’re still thinking about what you might want for Christmas, I’d highly recommend checking out Rachel’s services. She offers closet auditing, closet shopping/outfit creation and personal shopping. For the holidays she is offering 20% to 40% off of her styling services so a gift certificate would make the perfect gift!

For even more tips and tricks follow Rachel’s Facebook page Fawkes Hunter.  

Are We There Yet? A Few Tips For Traveling With The Kiddos