I’m on my 4th pregnancy and I still love a great pregnancy book to reference during my pregnancy.

Yes, I know there are plenty of free resources and apps out there but there is just something about a book in my hand. Not to mention, it’s good to get some non-screen time in our day.

Best Books To Read While Pregnant

I’ve put together some of the best books to read while pregnant!

What to Expect When You’re Expecting this book has been around for as long as I can remember. I had my first child 21 years ago and I had this book in my hand. It’s full of awesome knowledge and thankfully it has been updated with the newest information.

Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy another great book with lots of information. I really like that it’s written by a very trusted source. You can feel good referencing the information in this book.

The Expectant Father is your husband freaking out about your pregnancy? Or maybe he just needs to brush up on his daddy skills? This is a great book for dads.

He can also read my post on how to be a supportive husband during pregnancy.

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What to Eat When You Are Pregnant we all know how important our diet is during pregnancy. Yes, you’ll probably get cravings for some things that aren’t so healthy and that’s fine. However, this book will help keep your diet on track overall. I love seeing all the recipes and ideas for things to eat. It’s been a blessing to have.

Belly Laughs what can I say this book is hilarious. Seriously, check it out! This book doesn’t hold back and tells you how pregnancy really is.

Get Fit For Your Pregnancy I will be honest here and say that I have not read this book but it gets great reviews. I’ve never been a big fitness person so this book just hasn’t been on my list.

If you plan on breastfeeding, I highly suggest you check out this book! Nursing is hard work and this book has came in handy more times than I can count.

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Do you have a favorite pregnancy book? Tell me in the comments!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure to check out some of my other popular posts. 

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One of my biggest marriage tips is to ensure your husband is supportive! However, pregnancy is also hard for our partners. Most husband just don’t know how they can support their pregnant wife. It’s not that they don’t want to, they simply don’t know how.

These pregnancy tips for men will help our partners understand how to better support us during pregnancy.

How to Be a Supportive Husband During Pregnancy

1. Get Educated! One of the best ways to better understand what your wife is going through is by reading books on pregnancy and preparing yourself for what’s ahead.

Here is a great selection of books to learn how to be a supportive husband during pregnancy: Books to read while pregnant.

2. Understand Your Sex Life Might Change. Some women lose all of their sex drive while pregnant and for other women, it goes into over-drive.

Either way, try to be understanding. If your wife isn’t feeling up to being intimate, try talking with her but not pushing her or blaming her. Remember, this stage of life won’t last forever.

3. Help to Reduce Stress. Offer to cook dinner a couple of times a week or maybe pick up her favorite takeout.

Help her around the house or if you have older children have them help, take them for an outing so your pregnant wife can get some quiet time. It’s really those little things that make a big difference.

4. Show Your Love! Even if your wife isn’t feeling intimate, you can still show your love and affection. Snuggle her on the couch, give her hugs, tell her she’s beautiful and just make her feel good about herself during this time.

5. Stay Positive. There are going to be times when your wife is worried Maybe she feels like she’s gained too much weight or maybe she’s worried about the baby.

Stay positive and realize that all of her concerns are valid no matter how trivial they might sound.

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6. Listen! Please, listen to your wife. This is a very exciting time in both of your lives. Your wife will probably want to talk you about her pregnancy concerns, something she read about online, medical decisions or just share the exciting news with you. Please don’t ignore her or act uninterested. This is your baby too so share in her excitement.

7. Get her Food! You know I can’t write a post on being a supportive husband without telling you to grab her some food. There will probably be times when she is craving ice cream, french fries, fruit or whatever it might be. Go get the lady what she wants – for god’s sake, she can’t have her wine!

If you enjoyed this post on pregnancy tips for me, make sure to check out some of my other posts. 

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One thing to keep in mind is assigning your kids chores that are age-appropriate. This post will help you learn what tasks your children can and should be able to do no matter what age they are.

Tips For Getting Kids to do Chores

Now before we start looking at the different chores your children can do at various ages, let’s tackle the hardest part about chores.

Getting them to actually do them!

Getting kids to take on chores can be a struggle when you first start assigning them, especially if your kids are older. The key here is to not give up and do it yourself! Your family is a team and everyone on the team should pitch in and help each other out.

Remain Consistent

Consistency is key when getting your kids to do their chores. Do not do their chores for them! If you’ve asked your child to complete a chore, do not turn around and finish it for them. The chores should stay untouched until your child has completed it. Make sure you have consequences in place if the children do not complete their chores. I have found that by telling my kids no screen time until the chores are completed has helped ensure they get done.

Start Chores at a Young Age

A big mistake that a lot of parents make (myself included) is not starting chores early enough. Yes, even a child as young as 2 or 3 can start doing simple chores. Start your kids young and I promise it will make getting chores done so much easier when they are preteens and teens!

Don’t Worry About Being Perfect

Let me tell you, my son is twenty and still doesn’t do his chores perfectly. Perfection just isn’t going to happen. No-one is ever going to do the job the exact way we want it. The point here is that the effort is put in. Sometimes you might have to redo something that they do and that’s ok! If there is food stuck on the dishes then, by all means, get those dishes clean. However, if they don’t fold the laundry just so, try to just let it go. Try not to judge your children as we don’t want to discourage them from doing their chores.

Keep Praising Your Child

When my children do chores, I want them to know that I recognize their effort. Even if they don’t do the best job, I still give them praise. Even better, if they do a chore without asking, I mark it down on their chore chart and do something special for them at the end of the week. They might get extra screen time, an extra treat or sometimes even a few extra bucks!

Consider Offering an Allowance

Now I know everyone has their own views on this but a lot of parents find that giving their children an allowance works great! It’s really going to be a personal choice based upon what works for your family. There is no right or wrong answer but it’s something think about.

I do expect my tween and teen to manage the money they receive from doing chores. Meaning they are expected to pay for their “extra” activities like buying snacks at the store with their friends, movies, video games, etc.

Chores For Younger Children

Once your child is between 2 to 3 years old, they are usually old enough to do simple chores. It’s a great age to get them used to helping around the house. Most chores you’ll have to do with them but it’s still a great learning experience for them.

Two and Three Year-Olds

I will typically have my younger children pick up their toys when they are done playing with them. This gets them used to picking up after themselves and sets expectations as they get older. I also have the younger kids help with simple things like feeding the pets, cleaning up food messes and even laundry! Now all of this is done with a lot of help from me but it still gets them involved in the process.

Four and Five Year-Olds

Once the kids get a little older, they can start doing more chores on their own. At this age kids should be able to make their bed, clean up their bedroom, help put dishes away (no knives), watering plants and even helping me put groceries away. This is a fun age to get kids involved in chores as they still see it as a fun job.

What School-Aged Children Can Do

Once your kids are in 1st or 2nd grade, they should be pretty comfortable helping around the house. They should now be able to do a lot of the chores they’ve already been doing with little to no supervision. Remember they still won’t be doing their chores perfectly and that’s ok! Let your children make mistakes and learn how to do things on their own.

Six and Seven Year-Olds

Your children a little older now and can start to take on even more responsibility. Here are a few more things your children can start helping with:

* Writing thank-you notes
* Vacuuming, sweeping, and mopping
* Taking out the trash, with your supervision
* Folding and putting away laundry
* More food prep, with your supervision
* Cleaning up their room

Ages 8-10

I find that this is the age when you really start to notice a difference with your children and chores. They are getting better at perfecting their chores and by now they really know what is expected of them. It’s also a great time to start adding in some new chores like meal prep, washing dishes, helping clean the car and possibly even additional yard work.

Chores For Your Pre-Teen

By the time your child reaches their pre-teen stage, which is between 11 and 12 years old, they are doing many things on their own. Your child can now start doing laundry on their own. Of course, you will probably have to supervise a few times to ensure they are using the right settings and the right amount of soap. You don’t want to flood the house!

Pre-teens can also do the following things themselves:

* Dust wood furniture
* Vacuum and mop all rooms
* Change light bulbs
* Change their bed sheets
* Do more yard work, such as pulling weeds or mowing the lawn
* Preparing simple family meals
* Cleaning windows and mirrors
* Doing the dishes without help

Teenager Chore Responsibilities

This is the time when you are really starting to prepare your child for adulthood. This is the time when we want to teach our children as many life skills as possible. Before long they’ll be leaving the nest and we want to make sure they are as prepared as possible

Ages 13 – 15

For your 13 to 15 year-olds, you want to start introducing skills that they will carry with them for life. You’ll probably want to start adding in some additional household duties. At this age, they should be able to replace the bag in the vacuum cleaner, iron their clothes, mow the lawn, and possibly even doing some minor repairs around the house.

Your son or daughter will probably be able to prepare more elaborate meals from recipes and even make the weekly grocery list.

Babysitting is also a great thing to have your children start doing. They can even do this in your own home under your supervision until you are comfortable with them babysitting on their own.

These are life skills that help your teens take care of themselves.

16 and Up

By the time your son or daughter is 16 or 17, they should be doing everything above and more! They should be able to clean out the fridge, do any housework, yard work, wash cars and if they are driving they can run errands.

This is also a great age to start adding in some financial budgeting. Set your child up with a bank account if they don’t already have one. They should be able to budget their own money. You can even have your child help you with paying bills at this age.

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Make sure to check out my other popular posts!

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I came across some awesome fitness apps, hopefully, they help you as well!

*Disclaimer – I have an iPhone, so I’m not sure if all of these apps are available on other devices.

5 Fitness Apps You Need

Charity Miles – This is a really cool app because it donates money on your behalf to different charities for every mile you walk/run/bike. What a cool way to get yourself motivated to work out!

FIT Radio – This is a great app if you like to have music while you work out. You’ll never get tired of hearing the same tunes because it’s always changing up the playlist. You might even find some awesome new songs you like.

MyFitnessPal – This app has always been one of my favorites because you can pretty much do everything with it. You can track your food intake, water intake, calories and much more! It also integrates with a variety of fitness devices making it an awesome app.

Pear Personal Coach – What a fun app this was is! This app takes you through workout routines you can do right in your own home. Everything from Yoga to running! Who needs a gym membership when you have this app.

Vida Health Coach – Another great app but this one does cost as it gives you personal health coaching. Even with the fee, it’s still cheaper than a personal trainer at a gym. It also works great with MyFitnessPal.

What are your favorite fitness apps? Let us know in the comments! 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure to check out some of my other popular posts! 

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10 Ways to Use Lavender Oil

1. One great way to use Lavender is to make a tea which is great for calming. You can find lots of tea recipes here.

2. You can use pressed lavender blooms to decorate cards homemade greeting cards.

3. Try making a homemade lavender bath salt to add to your bath.

4. Add lavender to your dresser drawers and closets for a fresh smell.

5. You can use lavender essential oils for headache relief.

6. Try using lavender oil to soothe a minor sunburn.

7. Plant lavender in your garden for a fresh supply at all times.

8. You can make homemade lavender lemonade with this recipe.

9. Make infused lavender sugar with this simple recipe.

10. You can use lavender to make your own calming spray.

Additional Resources:

• The Lavender Lover’s Handbook
• Learn the Health Benefits of Lavender Oil
• Pure & Natural Lavender Oil

If you enjoyed this post, make sure to check out some of my other popular posts!

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Thankfully, he’s normally a really positive and uplifting person. This works great since I can be Negative Nancy at times – just keepin’ it real! You can find more marriage tips here.

Every now and then our roles reverse and I have to be the one to do the uplifting. This isn’t always an easy task for me but I’ve learned a few tricks that brighten up my husbands day.

7 Ways to Brighten Up Your Husbands Day

1. Try flirting with him a little, even if it feels silly, give it a try! I bet it will put a big ol’ smile on your husband’s face.

2. Leave him a love note or send him a text letting him know that you’re thinking about him. Even better, hide it in his car, briefcase or anything else he carries with him to work. He’ll love finding the sweet gesture during his busy workday.

3. Cook him his favorite dinner AND dessert! Sometimes doing simple things will make the biggest difference.

4. Spend some quality time with your husband. Let him vent about his day without fear of judgment. Women are great about opening up about their feelings most of the time, so try to encourage your husband to do the same. He should know that he can come to you for everything and anything.

5. Give him a compliment. Men love when their wives compliment them. Tell him how good looking he is, tell him what a good dad he is, how thankful you are to have him in your life or any other meaningful compliment you want to give him.

6. Have sex! Seriously, there isn’t much that will brighten your husbands day like sex. Men love it when their wives take charge and initiate sex. Don’t feel like you have time for intimacy? Make sure to read my post on why scheduling intimacy is a good thing!

7. Take your husband to do something different, something out of the ordinary. Spice things up and watch your husband beam from ear to ear. Does he love sports? Get a pair of tickets to a local game. Love beer? Take him beer tasting at a brewery. Love the outdoors? Plan a hike and a day of fishing. Believe me when I say he’ll notice that you went above and beyond to plan a special day for him.

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Here are some of my favorite gender reveal party ideas!

Gender Reveal Party Ideas

If you want a quick and affordable way to announce the gender of your baby then you’ll love this Hershey bar idea!

Having a party to announce the gender of your baby? Give this gender reveal party ideas a try! The balloons are perfect to announce the sex of your baby.

Have your family vote on what they think you’re having then let the balloons soar into the sky.

I almost want to have another baby just to have a gender reveal party as beautiful as this one. I love how they announced the sex of their baby!

There are so many different gender reveal party ideas floating around the internet but this one is so fun and creative.

Need a fun way to announce the gender of your baby? Give this pinata idea a try.

If you have younger children this is a fun way to get them involved in the pregnancy and announcing the gender of their brother or sister.

If you are the crafty type, you’ll love this DIY gender reveal box. So fun and you can get as creative as you’d like.

When researching gender reveal party ideas for this post, I came across a lot of ideas. This has to be the most creative one I’ve ever seen!

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Don’t forget that if you are pregnant or know someone that is pregnant, signing up for the Amazon baby registry is a must and FREE!

Non-Prime members get a 10% completion discount and Prime members get 15%. You also get a box full of awesome products to try out! Sign up below.

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Thankfully, there were some items that helped make pregnancy a little better. I sure hope this list of pregnancy must haves helps you as well.

9 Pregnancy Must Have Items

1. The Pregnancy Belt was a huge help during my pregnancy! Even though I didn’t gain much weight, this still helped give me the support I needed.

2. There are times when it just feels like you can’t be pregnant any longer. During those times, my pregnancy journal helped me! It let me write and focus on the happy moments during my pregnancy.

3. This pregnancy box has creams to help with stretch marks and some wellness tea to help you cope with morning sickness. A pregnancy must have item!

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4. This pregnancy cookbook has some awesome meal ideas for those days when nothing sounds even close to appetizing.

5. I know your doctor has probably told you a million times to drink plenty of water but I’m going it say it again! Staying hydrated really does help you feel better and this bottle helped me with my daily intake.

6. The one item I could not have lived without during my pregnancy was my pregnancy pillow. Seriously, a life saver!

7. I’m a huge worry wort when I’m pregnant so this fetal doppler came in handy!

8. I think I lived in my maternity yoga pants. So comfy and could still look kind of cute.

9. When I was in that in-between stage with clothes, I loved wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans with this belly band.

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Don’t forget to Create an Amazon Baby Registry ! You’ll get a completion discount emailed to you and a fun box with lots of full-sized samples!

What were your favorite items when you were pregnant? Let me know in the comments!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure to check out some of my other popular posts.

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4 Ways to Pay for College

1. Savings – If you’ve been planning for college for your child then savings might be a great option. However, I know a lot of middle-class families simply can’t afford to save up enough money for college, especially if they have more than one child. Here in California, the cost of college keeps going up every year. Even community college is getting unaffordable.

2. Loans – Your child probably doesn’t have the income or credit qualifications to qualify for a loan on their own so as a parent you might need to co-sign or put the loan in your name. This will mean that your credit score and history will determine how much you can borrow and the interest rate.

College Ave Student Loans and Experian are offering an exclusive limited-time College Ave Student Loans and Experian are offering an exclusive limited-time partnership for families that are preparing to pay for college a “credit health check” – this is a personalized credit education session with an Experian Credit Educator^SM College Ave is collaborating with Experian to better support parents who may need to consider borrowing or co-signing a private student loan in the coming months if savings, scholarships and federal aid falls short of higher education costs. Families who may want to explore private financing options should start getting ready now.

The complimentary, personalized, one-on-one credit education session consists of one in-depth 35-minute phone call with an Experian Credit Educator agent. During this phone session, parents will receive a copy of their Experian credit report and score and a personalized, step-by-step walk-through of the report, as well as examples of actions that may improve their credit score and insights for future credit management decisions.

Spend the time to shop around for a student loan. You’ll want to find the best the right one for your family as not all student loans are created equally. Look for a loan, such as the ones from College Ave Student Loans, that offer multiple ways to lower the cost of the loan: low rates, rewarding families for making in-school payments, no origination fees or pre-payment penalties and a choice on terms.

3. Scholarships – There are so many scholarships available to college students. You should keep in mind that most scholarships do not cover the entire cost of college. I would still take the time and have my child apply as every penny helps.

4. Federal Aid – Any aid your child can qualify for will be a huge help when it comes to financing college. However, when applying for financial aid it does go off of the parents taxes, which makes it a little harder to qualify for if you make more than the regulated amount.

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of College Ave Student Loans.

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20 Pantry Staples to Keep on Hand

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Most of the time I do have meat in the freezer, so I use these items in combination with meat. However, there have been plenty of times when I didn’t have meat on hand and was able to make a simple meal using pantry items.

1. Dried Lentils. You can really stretch a meal with dried lentils and they are so easy to make!

2. Pasta. I always keep several boxes of pasta on hand. Every time I go grocery shopping I pick up pasta.

3. Canned Foods. I’m a huge fan of canned vegetables, so I always have several cans on hand. It’s a quick and easy way to add to any meal.

4. Soup Broths. Having a variety of broths on hand are nice to have when making a quick soup or pan sauce.

5. Canned Tomatoes. I love having canned tomatoes on hand, you can do so much with them. Make spaghetti sauce, add it to ground beef and much more.

6. Rice. Having rice on hand is a great way to stretch any meal you make. You can add veggies to rice, meat or anything else that you’d like.

7. Bread Crumbs. These always come in handy when I’m breading meat.

8. Yeast. I have been known to make dinner rolls, sandwich bread and several other baked items. Lesson learned, keep yeast on hand!

9. Flour. If you do any cooking at all then you know how useful flour is. I use flour a lot when cooking. Umm, I love making a good pan sauce.

10. Jarred Sauces. While these aren’t my favorite, I do like to keep a few on hand for those super quick dinners.

11. Powdered Milk. Typically, we always have milk in the house but I have found that having powdered milk on hand comes in handing when baking.

12. Extra-virgin Olive Oil. You can make a great sauce with herb, seasoning and extra-virgin olive oil.

13. Dried Herbs. Herbs can take a boring meal up a notch. I always have dried herbs on hand!

14. A Variety of Seasonings. You can not have enough seasonings in my opinion. I like my food packed with flavor.

15. Canned Tuna. I usually have tuna for lunch but you can definitely make a dinner with a can of tuna.

16. Gravy Mixes. I prefer to make my own gravy and pan sauces but it doesn’t hurt to have a few packs of gravy mixes on hand.

17. Baking Soda. Again, baking soda comes in handy for baking.

18. Coffee. If you know me at all then you know that I LOVE my coffee! However, you can also use coffee for making a quick rub on a steak.

19. Applesauce. I like to keep applesauce on hand for the kids when they want a snack or I just want to add a little something extra to their dinner plate.

20. Tomato Paste. Just like canned tomatoes, tomato paste comes in handy more than you think!

If you enjoyed this post on pantry staples, make sure to check out some of my other posts. 

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