Friday Things
1. Our little Isabelle is two weeks old today! She is seriously a dream baby, which has been a blessing with two toddlers running around! She eats well, sleeps well, and is just generally so content and not fussy (knocking on every piece of wood imaginable as I type this!). We had her last weight check this week and got the green light that she was good until her 1-month checkup. Yay!
The boys seem to be adjusting well, too. Joseph really loves Isabelle and gets so excited when she wakes up and he sees her eyes open; he still wants to help with everything. He understands that “mommy has a boo boo on her belly from where baby sister came out” and that’s why I can’t drive him to school or do other things around the house, which is so helpful. Dominic has been wanting to give Isabelle more and more kisses; he obviously doesn’t quite understand and I think he could definitely benefit from more one-on-one time (the grandparents have been great for this so far!), but he has been doing wonderfully. I did sign us up for a summer music class; I’m looking forward to doing something special every week with just him :)
2. My recovery has been going really, really well. I’d venture to say it’s been the easiest c-section recovery of the three, astonishingly. My best friend from high school had three as well and she told me a few years ago that the recovery from each subsequent one was easier. It sounded so counter-intuitive, but now having experienced it, I’m wondering if it’s because there just isn’t the opportunity to lay around all day like when you have just one newborn and no other responsibilities; I’ve definitely been up and moving around a lot more (which is what the doctors tell you to do!).
I washed my hair for the first time on Sunday, which made me feel human again, whew!
One last crazy fact – I got weighed at the hospital before I was prepped for surgery and my last weigh in before EVERY SINGLE BIRTH has been exactly the same. Like, weighed EXACTLY the same all three times. How insane is that?! I started at a lower weight with Joseph and gained more (38 lbs), and with Dominic and Isabelle my weight never got back to where it was pre-Joseph, but I gained 26 and 27 lbs with each of them. Apparently my body just likes being that weight at peak pregnancy?? So weird!
3. Talk to me about Amazon’s Prime Pantry. I went to order my regular OxiClean last week and now it’s under Prime Pantry. What all do you order from there? Fill me in on the best deals!
4. The Sephora VIB sale is this weekend! I need to stock up on a few things I’m low on (Tarte tinted moisturizer, Fresh Sugar lip therapy, and Lancome eye makeup remover), and have a few other things I might order that have been on my “want to try” list for awhile (Marc Jacobs eye palette, Benefit Goof Proof brow pencil, and Bite Beauty lipstick, to name a few). What are your favorites?
5. I decided to start eating salads again last week and be all healthy, aaaaaaaaaand then romaine got recalled, so I had to pitch the bag that was in the fridge. Womp womp. I tried, ha!
6. Fancy butter taste test, mmmmm! Do you have a favorite? I stock Kerrygold for both everyday use and baking; it’s my all-time favorite and love that it doesn’t get super hard in the fridge!
7. I saw garlic fries pop up in my Instagram feed a few days ago and I immediately started craving the legendary garlic fries from Gordon Biersch. One of my all-time favorite restaurants to visit when my husband used to live outside of DC; he took me there I think the second time I ever went out for the weekend and it quickly became a favorite. And oh my, those fries. I could eat them all day long!
8. I LOVE how Sally broke down her one big yearly goal into simple monthly goals/activities. Totally inspiring for someone like me who gets bogged down making those big goals actionable and come to life, it really hit home!
9. We’re watching the same stuff here – Blacklist, Homeland, The Americans, The Crown – all between NHL playoff games, of course! GO PENS!
10. TGIF! This trio sat in front of the garage door for a full five minutes before Joseph got home from preschool yesterday, waiting for him. So sweet!
I have feelings about Prime Pantry so please excuse my vent, haha. I might be in the minority, but I absolutely hate Prime Pantry. The ever changing list of five things you have to buy in order to just get regular speed free shipping is a total rip off. Or I think now you can pay extra to always get free shipping on pantry. No thanks, I already pay way too much for prime. Unless you regularly order a ton of stuff that is pantry, it doesn’t seem to be worth it. It comes in a huge box, no matter how much you order. Oh and did I mention it isn’t two day ship which is mainly why I have prime. I will usually spend 5 minutes browsing the free shipping items to see if I actually need them, get annoyed that I’m paying them to waste my time to earn free shipping, and buy what I need at target.com!
Isabelle is beautiful! All of you are, dogs included. I’ve been following your blog for a long time, and I enjoy it tremendously. I’ve been watching your kids grow up and look forward to watching Isabelle as she grows. You’re a good mother and wonderful cook. Thank you for all the enjoyment I get from reading your blog.
What a beautiful baby girl! I’m a faithful reader but have never posted before. Love your site, your recipes, watching your beautiful family grow and my gosh the pups just melt me :)
Thanks for all you do!!
If you ever make it to Clearwater Beach, Florida… go to Frenchy’s and get their crabby garlic fries!
Michelle, congratulations to you and your family on another beautiful addition. Isabelle is adorable, and I just love the way her brothers are involved and interested in trying to help you with their little sister. Too cute. Wishing all your children long life and good health.
Congrats for Isabelle!
The “I” letter makes her a person who gets intellectually curios about all things… and she’ll be someone who likes high ideals… and interested in the humanity at whole…
Cheers!
Michelle she is gorgeous!! Blessings to your beautiful family…<3
Vaoov. He is very sweet. Thanks
Target carries the Oxy Clean Free. I would think they could ship it. Plus if you have a Red Card you save 5%, the Red Card is free and it pulls from your checking account.
Always look forward to your recipes, recommendations, and pics of your adorable noodlemuffins and pupsters. Just wanted to direct you to an effective possible replacement for your oxy product. Molly’s Suds out of FL offers an earth- and skin-friendly line of laundry products, including an oxy whitener. We tried the liquid and powder laundry detergents and they just didn’t work for us, we have very very hard well water. But the oxy whitening powder and the wool dryer balls??!! Love, love, love! Delivery to central NC is usually within 2–3 days!! Their line is also available from other online stores, as well.
https://www.mollyssuds.com/product/oxygen-whitener/
Those garlic fries sound amazing…maybe you could come up,with a recipe for them? I loooove garlic and potatoes. All those fancy butters sound amazing. Not sure how many I could find where I live in a small town in western Canada but I will try. There was a beautiful easily accessible cultured butter at the supermarket where I lived in Australia, a local brand. I will be searching for the ones I thought sounded good by the descriptions. Have you tried watching Designated Survivor? I am enjoying it. And I’m very happy the new season of The Handmaid’s Tale will soon be on…cannot wait for that.
Isabelle is a doll. I LOVE the picture of “the trio” waiting at the door for big brother! What wonderful memories. My grandson “decorated” one of our GOLDENS in Christmas lights one year! I would not recommend it but she sat patiently and it was pretty adorable!
Glad you are recovering quickly! Isabelle is beautiful and it looks like you have lots of great help!!!! Love the pictures!!!
Michelle, for the safety/health of your precious family, I urge you not to ever purchase romaine lettuce again. I subscribe to Consumer Reports alerts and recently received this:
“Avoid Eating Romaine Lettuce Again, Consumer Reports Says”
A new E. coli outbreak has sickened 35 people across the U.S., April 17, 2018
A new outbreak of E. coli in 11 states has been linked by government investigators to bagged, chopped romaine lettuce grown in Yuma, Ariz. Consumer Reports is recommending—for the second time since January—that consumers avoid all romaine lettuce for now.
Consumer Reports’ advice goes beyond that of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is recommending that consumers buy or order bagged romaine lettuce at a supermarket or restaurant only after confirming that it didn’t originate in the Yuma growing region. Investigators haven’t pointed to any particular romaine suppliers or growers, but many domestic greens are grown in the Yuma region at this time of year.
https://www.consumerreports.org/e-coli/avoid-eating-romaine-lettuce-again-consumer-reports-says/
BTW, I so very much enjoy your Friday Things, absolutely love all the photos of your babies and wonderful stories about their interaction with each other – that puts me in my happy place.
Wow, way to scare us. Maybe I better check out what else is on the “do not eat list,” because my stomach sure could use some relief. Are there any safe leafy greens?
I have also found Amish Buttler from Minerva, OH. It’s very good and is 84% butter fat. And I have another brand of Amish roll butter. Kerrygold is fantastic in my book! I noticed that butter from Vermont Creamery came in 2nd on the test. I’d like to try Cabot butter, but I’ve never seen it here in Pittsburgh. The next trip we make to New England will include a trip to Cabot Creamery because I plan to bring some of their butter home (their cheese is pretty fantastic too!).
I’m hoping the Pens wrap it up tonight. I am so thrilled for the VGK and my absolute favorite MAF sweeping LA! As much as I would love to see a VGK vs Pens Stanley Cup, the thought of it makes me a little anxious not being able to cheer against my Pens, but not being able to cheer against MAF either. I definitely have divided allegiance when it comes to these 2 teams. GO PENS!
Love following your life’s adventures. We found a really good butter that’s made just over the state line in Ohio. Amish Roll Butter. It’s so yummy but a bit pricey. We usually buy the 3 pound roll but just recently I found it, I think, at Shop n Save in the 8 oz stick. I highly recommend it!
Hi Michelle, Glad your recovery is going well! Thanks for sharing the joys of your beauttiful family with us! Hmmm… I thought all butter tasted the same, LOL. I didn’t know Kerrygold butter didn’t get super hard in the fridge– I will have to try that–K Thanks!
It’s too bad they don’t have Amazon Fresh in our area yet. Is pantry worth the convenience? I’ve been going back and forth about it since there is a GE at every corner. :)
I haven’t done it yet, I just wanted my OxiClean that I can’t get at the grocery store, argh!
Oh my goodness, baby Isabelle is just adorable!!!! Her pics give me baby fever!!! HAHA!!! I can’t wait to her the responses on Amazon Prime Pantry. I have done one Pantry order & it was an awful experience…not sure I’ll ever place one again.
Thank you Julie! HA! I just want my OxiClean (it’s the free version without dyes or perfumes and I can’t get it at my grocery store) and didn’t necessarily want to buy other stuff!
Just wanted to provide insight into the greatest lipstick of all time: BITE BEAUTY Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Pastille. I can’t imagine this colour not looking good on anyone, it’s super hydrating and the colour lasts pretty well even after eating/drinking. Sooo worth it, my favourite lipstick ever!
Oooh I’m adding it to my list, thanks for the rec!