Shade of Alyssa: A Morning Person

I am a morning person. It is my favorite time of the day. "The early bird gets the worm" should be my motto because I live it each day. There is something about getting up before anyone else to a quiet house. It's my "me" time. Here's how my routine goes..

4:45 am

My alarm goes off.

4:55 am

Out of bed and headed downstairs.

5:00 am

Make myself a cup of coffee. Start up the computer.

5:05 am

Have my quiet time with God to read my Bible and pray. I listen to Pandora while I do this, sip my coffee and write verses down in a journal that are meaningful to me.

5:30 am

Work on my blog, check email, and read other blogs.

5:55 am

Put my workout DVD in, eat a banana and fill my water bottle.

6-6:30 am

Workout.

6:30 am

Shower and get ready.

7:00 am

Get Ry up & come downstairs, eat breakfast together, and start our day.

I always put my workout clothes out on my dresser and outfit for the day the night before so I'm not trying to find things in the dark in the morning.

When did I start waking up early?

I guess you could say that I started waking up early/being a productive morning person when I was in High School. I had a lot going on with Honors classes, sports, etc. so I felt most productive when I was up and out in the morning. I really started to enjoy waking up early in college. Sometimes I would go and sit in Starbucks at 6 am and get work done. I loved it. Now that I am a parent, I really treasure this time of day to myself.

It runs in my blood.

My parents are both morning people. I don't remember a time where my mom slept past 4:30 am. I would always hear her downstairs making her breakfast and brewing a cup of coffee. My dad has always been an "early bird gets the worm" type of person too. I guess you could say it runs in my blood. My husband, Mike, on the other hand, is definitely not a morning person. He stays up until midnight most nights and trembles at the thought of waking up before 8 am. My husband loves his sleep. It works for us though. When Ry was really little her would do the late night shifts if she woke up and I would do the early morning shifts. 

Why? Why? Why?

I really like doing this because I feel like I have started my day on the right foot. I feel productive and ready to start my day when I get Riley up. This also allows me to focus on her when she's awake rather than using that time to workout and get ready. One disclaimer is that when Ry was really little, my days were slightly different. She was getting up so early so she just watched me work out and get ready. If she slept then I would sleep. We started back up with my morning routine once she was sleeping through the night. I started working out/getting ready without her once she was sleeping until 7 am. I've also found that early mornings work best for me to do my workouts. I am not a evening workout person. I like to get up, get my workout in, and be done. 

Aren't you tired?

People ask me, do I feel more tired throughout the day? Honestly, not more than anyone else with a 1 year old. I am a happier version of myself when I have that time in the morning than if I slept the extra hour or two. I just would rather use my time being productive than sleeping. That's just my personal opinion. I usually just go to bed by 9:30-10 pm and I'm good to go.

Peace, quiet and a grateful, happy heart.

I really do love waking up early. I love my quiet cup of coffee, my time focusing on my relationship with God, and being productive. It allows me to start my day focusing on the most important things and going into the day with a grateful, happy heart. I would encourage you all to try it. It really can change your whole day for the better.

Hope you all have a happy Thursday!

52 Shades of Alyssa: Nike Apparel

For this weeks Shade of Alyssa, I am discussing my obsession with Nike workout gear.

This is my collection.

Yeah, I'd say I'm a little obsessed with Nike apparel. I guess you could say I'm sort of a Nike snob. I wear my Nike stuff to workout everyday and on occasion to run errands, etc.

I own 10 pairs of their shorts. I love them. They fit the way I want them to; not too loose and not too short.

I also love their dri-fit zip ups. I wear them out to run errands all the time or over a tank in the summer on a cold morning.

 I love their long sleeve dri-fit shirts too. They are comfortable, fit great and absorb sweat really well. I wear these out to run errands also.

Here is some of my favorite stuff right now..

Nordstrom//Nike HSC Dri-FIT Hooded Top
$55
Free Shipping

Nordstrom//Pro Hyperwarm Dri-FIT Fitted Top
40% off NOW $38.98
Free Shipping

Nordstrom// Legend Dri-FIT V-Neck
$30
Free Shipping

Nike//3"Tempo Running Short
ON SALE NOW $24.97

Dick's Sporting Goods//Tempo Shorts (15 different color combos)
Free Shipping & Free Returns

I love Nike apparel. It is high quality and has lasted for years. I can't say enough about their products!



Happy Thursday!

Shade of Alyssa/Show and Tell: Organizational Tips & Tricks

I am playing catch up on some of the topics for Show and Tell Tuesdays that I am linking up with some fellow bloggers to bring to you.

In case you missed it, here are the topics we'll be discussing.

Today, is a Shade of Alyssa post too! This topic is DEFINITELY a big part of who I am. I LOVE to be organized. I am a much happier person when everything has a place, it is functional, and neat. An organized home to me is a must! We live on a boarding school campus in a 2 bedroom townhome, so functioning in a small space requires us to organize in a functional way. Today, we'll be discussing entryway & kids toy organization. Here's how we do it..

Our entryway closet houses our outerwear, shoes, and (currently) Winter accessories (ie. hats, scarves, etc). Having these items here makes the most sense because it is all things we need as we're heading out the door. It saves anyone from having to run upstairs to get anything. It is all here and easy to grab without tons of clutter. We have two shoes racks for nicer shoes and sneakers and baskets for flats and sandals because they don't easily stay on the shoe rack. This organizes the shoes so you know where to look for them.

We also have a hook for the back of the door where I keep our reusable grocery bags, and large totes. This makes it easy to just grab on our way out the door. I bought the hook at Dollar Tree for a $1 and it works great! 

Also in our entryway, we have two Ikea shelving units turned on their sides to create an entryway bench for shoe storage, a place to put keys & my purse, and a basket with frequently worn winter gear. // shelving units here.

With small spaces and young children, your living room area tends to be a place where both the adults and the kids play. Riley spend a lot of time playing on the grey rug in front of our coffee table, and we wanted her toys to be easily accessible to her without creating lots of clutter.

Our solution was to use the Ikea shelving again to house all of her toys. This way at the end of the day, or if we have company over, we can just place her toys in the baskets. Out of sight, out of mind. We also picked up a cute wicker basket from Pottery Barn to hold more of her toys she got for Christmas. On top of the shelves larger books are nestled between a basket of small books and a lantern as bookends. This has been a great way to keep things tidy, makes things easy to put away and creates a space within a space for Riley girl.

Ikea Shelving Baskets here//Pottery Barn Basket, similar here.

 Hope you found these tips useful and maybe they'll inspire you to do a little bit of re-ogranizing in your home. I will be doing more posts with tips for home organization throughout the year so be on the lookout!

Happy Thursday!

52 Shades of Alyssa: Cleaning

I decided to make cleaning on of my 52 Shades posts not because it is a major part of who I am (I do however, like a clean and well organized house), but because it is important to me to have natural cleaning products and I am a planner by nature. Every Friday morning, during Riley's morning nap, I clean. Most weeks that involves, scrubbing the kitchen, sweeping and mopping the floors, cleaning the bathrooms, empty the trash, dust and vacuum. Once a month (sometimes more if we have guests coming), I do a really deep clean (all the weekly cleaning tasks plus clean the fridge, scrub every nook and cranny, wash Riley's toys, clean the stove, etc). I like doing my cleaning on Friday's because I go into the weekend feeling relaxed and able to enjoy downtime with my family and Mike comes home to a clean house for his days off. The house is also clean if we have friends come over, so I really like Friday's being my cleaning day.

I work efficiently from room to room, starting by scrubbing/dusting higher surfaces so that way when I sweep and mop the food/dust that falls to the floor gets taken care of. I usually do bathrooms last because the idea of doing the kitchen after the bathrooms grosses me out. I usually do Riley's room before she goes down for her nap and she plays on the floor in her room. If your kids aren't napping in the morning anymore, you can always do it in the afternoon, or maybe while they're at school, or during their down time during the day.

One thing I am very particular about is having natural cleaning products in our home. Riley spends a lot of time putting things in her mouth, or crawling on the floor. I don't want her exposed to a whole bunch of chemicals. I swear by Honest Company cleaning products. They offer an Essentials Bundle where you can ship 5 items for $40. I usually add two more products so that it ends up being over $50 so I can get the free shipping. I have found it is actually cheaper than buying most non-natural products in the store. They offer recurring shipment options of every 2,4 or 6 weeks. I often only need a new shipment every 6 weeks so that works well for us. You can always extend the shipment date even later than 6 weeks but you have to log into your account close to the shipment date for it to process the date change. I've tried doing it a few weeks ahead and it won't let you. I just put a reminder on my calendar to check the shipment date and which items I want them to ship before the shipment date. I also have Clorox wipes for when we have illness go through our home. This is the only time I use them. After we're sick, I just want something that is going to kill germs fast, so Clorox is what I use. Otherwise, my cleaning involves all natural products..

 Here are some of The Honest Company products I use.

Multi-surface cleaner & dishwasher packs

Laundry Detergent (I do laundry once a week with about 6 loads and this lasted me 2 months so far!)

Bathroom cleaner

I also use their dusting spray, window cleaner, dish soap, hand soap & body soap.

I find that dish soap, hand soap, etc runs out a lot quicker than the other products I buy through The Honest Company and in that case it is more expensive than buying other natural brands in-store. So in between 6 week shipments, I pick up these brands in-store.Other products I use are Meyer's dish soap, Method handsoap & Trader Joe's Fruit and Veggie wash.

So there you have it! My cleaning regimen is fairly straightforward. I love a clean home and it makes me feel good to use natural products that aren't harmful to my family. 

In other news..I have been pinning like crazy! Lots of fun fashion ideas, organizing, birthday party decorations, etc. so be on the look out for some fun posts soon!

Happy Tuesday!

-A

52 Shades of Alyssa: What is on my DVR

A lot of Reality TV, HGTV & ABC shows that's for sure.

Watching TV is my way of unwinding and getting some me time. I usually take an hour during one of Riley's naps (usually her afternoon nap, in the morning I am usually blogging) to catch up on my favorite shows.

These three shows will be recording on my DVR tonight! Mike has even gotten into them a bit with me!

Shonda Rhimes is a genius and literally has me yelling at the TV sometimes! ha!

I am also a little obsessed with the Real Housewives series; Beverly Hills, New Jersey, New York, OC and Miami. Beverly Hills is currently on my DVR.

I am obviously also in love with The Bachelor. Chris seems really sweet (but might need to make sure he is kissing girls away from other girls). I really like Jade so far.

Mike and I are also big fans of Downton Abbey. 

I also watch American Idol. I can't sing to save my life, but I really love listening to others sing and seeing someone get their big break into the business. JLo, Keith and Harry are also hilarious together!

Who doesn't love some good HGTV shows?! I record House Hunters, House Hunter Renovations, Income Property & of course, my new FAVE show, Fixer Upper. Chip and Joanna Gaines are so stinkin' cute together, their kiddos are adorable and I LOVE her style. It is incredible the transformations they do on these houses!

AND last but not least PARENTHOOD. Series finale is tonight and it makes me so sad. I love this show and I wish it wasn't over. #teambraverman

What's on your DVR?

TGIT!

-A

52 Shades of Alyssa: Naps & Bedtime

I have been asked often, how I have gotten Riley to nap/sleep so well. I realize it is a major struggle for a lot of parents that involves a lot of tears and exhaustion, and trust me, I have been there too. This is what has worked for us based on my own situation/child and let me be clear that every situation is different and if non-napping kids works that is great! There is absolutely no judgement here. I simply would love to share our story in the hopes of helping others who are desperately trying to get their kids to sleep better.

There is a lot of books out there about how from the get-go as soon their born, you should avoid developing negative sleep associations (ie. rocking to sleep, paci, bottle, falling asleep in your arms, movement, etc). I remember when I was pregnant with Riley I read a book on this very subject and felt that routine and structure would work well for our family and, according to the book, negative sleep associations had to be nipped in the bud right away for that to happen. When Riley was born, we tried to do that. I quickly realized that trying to put her on schedule and not let her be rocked to sleep, etc. was not working for us. I was miserable, she was cranky, and honestly, I wanted to cuddle my baby! So that's what we did. I nursed her to sleep, let her nap/sleep in her swing, took walks with her, etc. In my opinion, they are too young to have a schedule when their first born. Let them nap when and however they choose. The first months it is about bonding and survival. Enjoy your precious baby.

When Riley was about 4 1/2 months old, we were living up at camp where my husband works for the summer. Riley was sleeping in her bassinet attachment on her pack and play, but we were quickly realizing she was too big for it and it was becoming a safety issue so we decided it was time to transition her to the actual pack and play part. We knew she wasn't going to like it because she likes to feel tucked in and comfy. We decided rather than wait a little longer to sleep train, we might as well do both at the same time. So we ventured into the Ferber sleep training method (if you're unfamiliar with the method, follow the link for more info from Babycenter.com). We put her down awake the first night and screamed after each check-in for almost two hours before falling asleep. The second night an hour and by the third night she cried for all of a minute and feel asleep and slept until 3 am when she was ready to feed and that was that! In three days, she had learned how to put herself to sleep at night and she has been doing it ever since. Those night were EXTREMELY difficult. I'm pretty sure I cried as much as she did, but my momma friends who have sleep trained were a wonderful encouragement to me and we got through. You can too! She was still too little to be sleeping through the night, but she immediately dropped to one wake up at around 2:30-3 am each night and then went back to sleep until 6 am. The difference here was we taught her how to fall asleep on her own so she no longer needed me to help her fall back to sleep. We also began doing a routine with her every night so that she would eventually associate that routine with sleep at it provided her a natural wind down time for bed. Ours went like this; bottle, bath, lotion with massage & a song, pjs, book, song, bed. It may seem like a lot, but it lasted all of about a half hour. The key with our routine was separating the bottle from bedtime (about 20 minutes apart) to avoid middle of the night wake ups as she got older and no longer needed the middle of the night feed and would just be doing it for comfort. By the time she was 5 1/2 months old she was sleeping through the night (7:30-6 am). Sleep training may not be something that works for you but I will say that it was worth the short time of suffering for her and my husband and me, to have her where she is now getting quality sleep every night (even through colds and teething). To this day, we still follow the same routine, bath and all, because it works. Her bedtime has pushed up to 7 pm because she dropped that late afternoon power nap and she sleep from 7 pm-6:45 am every night.

Naps were a lot more difficult. 

Babies naturally adjust quicker to nighttime sleep because our bodies are made that way, but daytime sleep isn't as easy for a baby. Up until Riley was about 6 months, we let her nap however we could get her to nap. Most days it was cuddled up with me or my husband or in the car when we were out running errands. We had just moved to our new home and decided it was a good time to start sleep training her for naps. We followed a similar, shorter version, of her bedtime routine. She would feed, play for about 15-20 minutes (to let her belly settle and keep the bottle and naps separate) and then we'd change her while singing a song, read a book, sing one more song and put her down awake. We followed the Ferber method again. It took about a week before she realized that we weren't going to take her out of her crib to play,cuddle, etc. so she might as well sleep. If we gave in, she would get the message that if she cries enough, she'll get what she wants and she'd do it every time. I joked that it was "baby bootcamp". Sounds cruel, but I promise you, she was fine and she is well loved. We still have our ups and downs with naps. She has the occasional gas, teething, overtired, not tired enough-days, but most days she naps like a champ. As I am writing this, she has been napping for over two hours without a peep. She also took a 1 1/2 hour nap this morning. I am not saying this to boast, but to show you it is possible and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

The biggest things for us..

1. Routine: They need structure and ques to help them know when nap time is. Naps at around the same time each day and specific bedtime/naptime routines (ie. diaper, book, bed)

2. Cut poor sleep associations like pacifiers, falling asleep with a bottle/movement/in your arms out and put them to bed awake, which usually means a bit of sleep training. 

3. Understand what is normal by age, certain triggers that may impact their sleep, etc. This lady is a genius, and a blog I read almost everyday when helping Riley learn to sleep. She has A LOT of valuable information and tips.

I hope I am able to help some of you out there help your kids to sleep better! Next week, I will be discussing another aspect of The Lindquist Life so be sure to stay tuned!

-A

52 Shades of Alyssa

Each week, I will talk about an aspect of my life. On everything from motherhood and marriage to organization and fashion. Check back each week for a new topic!

Naps & Bedtime
What's on my DVR
Cleaning
My Nike Obsession
A Morning Person
A Country Music Fanatic
A Pisces Girl
Wall Decor: Photos
Make Up Routine

The Lindquist Life: My thoughts on topics near and dear to my heart

I embarked on this blogging journey a few months ago, and I am really enjoying documenting my family's day to day memories. I recently realized that there is a lot of thoughts I have about topics close to my heart. Marriage, motherhood, fashion, organization, saving money, etc. I thought, why not add them to the blog? I got the idea from a blogger I follow, Mix and Match Family and I thought, what a wonderful idea! Maybe others can benefit from my perspective, so why not right? So I have decided to discuss a new topic every week this year (so 52 in total) about all things Lindquist. Stay tuned for this weeks post!

-A