Friday, October 9, 2015

That Time the Internet Helped Me Answer 7 Questions

I have the best internet friends ever!

Three weeks ago, I threw a post out there, asking for help with 7 things I just couldn't figure out on my own. And you answered. It was AWESOME!

So now, I give you a follow-up post, in which I reveal how I solved my 7 problems using the help of a bunch of great internet friends.

(For reference, here's the original post.)

--one--

Question: What are your favorite easy recipes?

Answer:

Ok, so as it turns out, there are a ton of delicious, easy recipes out there. Thanks for sharing them with me. Here are some of my favorites:
(Recipes without a link can be found in the comment section of the original post.)

 Lauren suggested eMeals, which I haven't checked out yet but may be interested in if I get in a serious food rut sometime soon.

And Danielle recommended checking out America's Test Kitchen: 30 Minute Meals from the library, which I attempted to do, but someone got fussy in the time it took me to get a library card and I didn't end up with time for book hunting. Next time, library. Next time. 

I've also recently discovered a site called I Am That Lady, which features very easy crockpot meals with ingredients all purchased at Aldi. Easy meals with very affordable ingredients? Yes please!


--two--

Question: Do you know of anyone interested in learning the Creighton Model of natural family planning?

Answer:

YES!

A handful of internet friends have reached out to say they're spreading the word for me. And since that post, I've picked up two new clients! So now I only need four more by December. YAY!


--three--

Question: What's an easy way to style wet hair?

Answer:

I got lots of great suggestions here too! For example:

Unfortunately, most are a bit more complicated than I have time for. :\ Though, they'll be great when I have some extra time preparing for special occasions, like date night.

HOWEVER! I recently got a haircut. I took off a few inches which has made bunning and braiding even easier! So at least there's that. :)


--four--

Question: Why does my baby fight sleep at night? Help!

Answer:

Babies are weird. lololol

No, but seriously, many friends mentioned the dreaded four-month sleep regression, which was likely causing some of our issues. Thanks for reminding me of that lovely milestone. :P

Actually, two days after posting, I realized that if John Paul got a quick cat nap between 8 and 9pm, he fell asleep suuuuper easy when it was time to go down for the overnight. So, solved that one, kinda on accident. Major win!

Letting John Paul play with a shirt I've worn, as suggested by Madeline, has also been a huge help!



And giving him a small dose of Tylenol when he's in pain from teething has helped with a few naps too. Thanks, Anne!

BTW, there are a ton of other great sleep tips in the comment section of the original post if you're needing more sleep wisdom!


--five--

Question: What can I do to make grocery shopping with a 4-month-old easier?

Answer:

I got so many great suggestions here.
  • Several encouraged me to wear John Paul if he's up for it. Check!
  • There's also this awesome baby hammock that Erin shared with me. 
  • Madeline suggested propping John Paul up in the cart seat until he can sit on his own OR putting grocery baskets under the cart and filling those while baby sits in the car seat in the cart.
  • If your cart has hooks under the baby seat, Justine suggested hanging bags there and putting your groceries directly into the bags. 
  • Stephanie recommended Jet.com, which, in her brother's words, is Amazon.com and Costco's love child. I could shop for dry goods and non-perishables from the comfort of my own home.
  • Danielle shared a link to this cart seat thingy, which includes a pillow to prop up babies that need extra support.  

After reading Danielle's suggestion, I realized we already own something exactly like that! My aunt and uncle bought it off our registry for us before John Paul arrived, but it was being stored until he was ready for it. Turns out, he's ready for it! I promptly brought it out of storage and took John Paul to the grocery store with it later that day. It worked perfectly!! Problem solved. :)


And look at how happy it made him!


--six--

Question: What are daily prayer/Bible readings/reflection resources you use?

Answer:

All wonderful resources, friends! 


--seven-- 

Question: How do you remember to drink water throughout the day?

Answer:
  • Amanda suggested leaving several water bottles throughout the house and asking your husband to keep an eye on them (and fill them) for you. She uses nalgene water bottles with the drink insert.
  • Lucky uses infuser water bottles to make drinking water more desirable. 
  • Justine like the water reminder app called Plant Nanny.
  • Kate shared Motivational Bottle with me, which has motivating messages along the side to encourage you to drink more.
  • Lauren uses this Thermos water bottle and a Contigo water bottle that's similar to a Camelbak, but the spout is contained and hopefully less germy.
  • And Cryptic Star recommended this bkr glass water bottle.

In the end, I sorta combined a bunch of these recs and ended up purchasing this glass Contigo water bottle from amazon. I like that it's glass with a stainless steel top, easy to drink from, and has a  carrying loop, which comes in handy when I'm carrying an 17-pound baby around all the time. Oh, and it was also $13. Score.

I'm happy to report that, since my new bottle arrived, my water intake is WAY up and I haven't felt faint (aka dehydrated) ever since. Yay!

---

So, THANK YOU!

Thank you so, so much! It was a blast reading through all your answers. And I'm thrilled that within a week, I had answers to all my big issues. What great support! You guys rock!


 

14 comments:

  1. He looks so happy in that shopping cart! Regarding the library, ours has an electronic hold system through their website that I use ALL. THE. TIME. Not only to reserve books from my own library, but I can have book requests shipped from other libraries in our system. I do this for cookbooks especially. Many times, I find only a handful of recipes from each cookbook that I even like, so I am glad not to waste money on buying them on amazon. I copy them onto recipe cards. But the main point here is that they hold all these books for you at the desk, so you can get in and out super quick! Congratulations on your little guy--he is adorable, and it looks like you are doing great! If you are even wondering what to do with your hair with such a young baby, you are way ahead of most moms at this stage hahahaha

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    1. Genius way to use the library! I'm on it. :) And thanks for the compliment on my momming skills, but pretty sure, while hair is what I worry about, I have plenty of other things that could use some helpin' too. :P It's a learn-as-you-go type gig. Thank goodness I (mostly) love it.

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  2. Internet friends are the BEST for all the questions!! :)

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  3. JohnMark must just now be hitting that 4 month regression a bit late... He woke up three times last night!!!! UGH. I was so spoiled before!

    Also, I use eMeals! It's amazing if you don't like thinking of what to eat!

    And lastly, I just got a haircut too! Twins! I'm glad you posted the answers because I was curious! :)

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    Replies
    1. Yikes! I hope the regression has already run its course. Sleep's important, JM!

      After Here We Geaux's post about eMeals, I'm even more tempted!!

      Doesn't it feel great to have a new 'do? I felt spoiled just to get an hour to myself at the hair dresser. :)

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  4. I love that you did a follow up post to all these questions, because I was totally lurking in your comments to see other people's answers! I'm looking forward to trying the chipotle rubbed pulled pork and checking out I Am That Lady.

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    1. Sweet! Glad the summary post helped. :) And if you like any of those recipes, tell me your faves!

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  5. So glad that you got help with everything!

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  6. So glad that we all actually helped. You never know, you know? Our blog communities are great!

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  7. I'm late to comment but I read this as soon as I saw it! SO glad you were able to get the answers you needed. It's amazing what blogger friends can do for a person! :)

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    Replies
    1. Blogger friends are some of my best friends. :) Thanks for the help!

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