High Five for {Christmas Spirit} Friday

I'm breaking down... And decorating for Christmas this weekend. Go ahead, judge me.

Hubs pulled all the boxes of goodies down from the rafters in the garage and they're just lining the hallway, taking up space. Clearly, I have no other option than to decorate, right? Right.

In light of that, here is my Top Five reasons I love the holiday season... Even if it's a bit on the early side:

1) Christmas crafts! Now, I love doing fun artsy things. I love it even more when I do it with friends. Check out my friend Meghan's Etsy shop! This lady has serious talent and puts my crafting to shame. Also awesome? I finally talked her into starting her own blog so that she can share her amazing ideas with you all. Check her out at MaybeMeghan!

2)Three words: Christmas. Tree. Decorating.

3) Christmas cookies! I don't really like to eat them (but I'll take that bowl of queso with a mountain of chips, thanks) but I do love the way they smell baking and all the sparkly sugar crystals and colorful frosting decorations are fun to look at.

Find 25 of the best Christmas cookie recipes here!

4) Sweaters! Even though we live in a Southern border state, it still manages to get chilly here in Texas. For about three months out of the year, I get to pull out fuzzy sweaters, tights, leggings and boots. You know, what 90% of my wardrobe was when we lived in Minneapolis! I love fuzzy sweater time.

5) Fancy holiday coffee drinks! Is there anything better than a latte to warm you on a cold day? Nope! The only bummer is the price tag of those drinks... So if you're looking to get hooked up with a Starbucks gift card (plus a credit to an awesome Etsy shop for gifts!) then enter this giveaway:a Rafflecopter giveaway


I hope everyone has as much fun this weekend as I plan on having as we decorate the house for Christmas!

   
 

November Big Picture InstaLink - Come and Play!

Have you linked up with us yet!?

Making Mrs M and I have been scheming this link up for months and it's up and running. Get in on the November action to win the sweet giveaway below!

Big Picture InstaLink (BPIL) is a little bit different than your run-of-the-mill link up party. Here's how it works:

1) BPIL runs throughout the month, and each month is a different theme.

2) BPIL is an Instagram linkup. Simply link up with your Instagram account (not your blog URL) on the linkytools below and use the current month's hashtag on Instagram to participate (use the hashtag on many photos throughout the month)!

3) BPIL is all about building community and finding common threads that connect us all. Interact, interact, interact!

---

November's Big Picture InstaLink Details:
It's November, and you know what that means. The holidays are officially here! Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. We thought this month we would start the linkup off with a "Give Thanks" theme.

Thanksgiving is all about counting our blessings, so by using this month's hashtag, #GiveThanksBPIL, post photos throughout the month of things you are grateful for! You can post photos of your family, your home, a delicious meal, or even those warm fuzzy socks by the fire. Whatever gives you a sense of thankfulness is fair game!

We cannot wait to see all of your photos and we are eager to start building this community. As a thank you for participating, we are giving a whole bunch of amazing Thanksgiving-themed goodies away!

Winning is simple. all you have to do is link up with us, enter the rafflecopter below, follow both Jaelan and my blog on Bloglovin', and post five photos with the hashtag #GiveThanksBPIL by the end of the giveaway deadline. One winner will be chosen randomly by rafflecopter on November 19th and the prize will be delivered well before Thanksgiving dinner is served. Entries will be verified, so just be honest. :)

Included in the giveaway loot is:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays cookbook - for when you just don't know what's missing on your menu
A festive apron - to help keep your Thanksgiving outfit spotless despite the mess you make in the kitchen
A pumpkin shaped casserole baker - YES, this is oven safe!
Festive dishtowels - to help you keep that kitchen clean (or hey... just to look cute)
Leftovers Stickers - to identify what's in that tupperware your packing full of yummy food for later

---

Now the fun part! Let's get this party started. Grab the button above, link up, and let's start connecting!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lessons In Not Feeling Like A Dork On Your Yoga Mat: Volume 1

Perhaps because I've "fallen out of love" with running for the time being, I've really picked up my slack in going to yoga classes.

When I first started taking yoga classes in 2011, I had NO idea what I was doing. I parked my mat in the back of the class, and would look at the other students when the teacher would say the name of a pose in sanskrit, leaving me thinking, "What in the what did she just say?!" A lot of those first classes were just trying to make it through without falling on my face.

Since then, I've attended a large handful of yoga workshops, and completed my RYT 200 hour training to become a yoga instructor.

I learned that each pose actually has quite a bit going on in it! The more I grow my practice, the more I understand that the "easy" poses are quite possibly the most challenging. I thought I would break down some of the most common postures so that you can head into a yoga class with confidence. I don't list out "correct form" for you to simply look like a rock star on the mat; no, it's important to have correct form so that you don't injure yourself and so that you get maximum benefits from a pose.

And side note for all you runners, yoga is an absolute MUST if you want to improve your running and stay injury free. Go check out a class!

Yoga Pose: Chatturanga

Correct form:

Shoulders should be directly over wrists, elbows pointing forward, abs engaged to hold your body in a straight line.

Before bending elbows, lean forward so that your shoulders are over your wrists.

Bend elbows to 90 degrees, arms hugging the side body the whole time.

Make sure to avoid:

Can you see how my shoulders are behind my wrists and my rump is up in the air so that my abs aren't engaged? Bad form!

My arms are coming out to the side (like a traditional push up) instead of hugging my sides. Bad form!

Because push ups are a ton of work, I flopped down to my belly, bent my arms further than 90 degrees and my arms are still wide. Bad form!

Chatturanga is one of the most difficult yoga poses. (Trust me, taking these photos was a challenge!) If you're not quite strong enough to hold yourself with your elbows only bent to 90 degrees, put your knees down. That's completely okay, and in fact, usually encouraged in the beginning of any yoga flow to allow your body to warm up first! It's when you flop, don't engage your core and hold bad form that you run the risk of injuring yourself.

I hope that helps in better aligning your chatturanga's during class and gives you more confidence as you head on to your mat - whether it's your first yoga class or you're a seasoned pro!

Mommy Monday: Who's Your Mama?!

We dug out the baby pics this weekend! As Henry gets bigger and bigger, it's fun to compare the images. One thing is for sure: Henry is his daddy's son!

Me at about one year old. Hey 80's!

This kid definitely inherited my chubby cheeks. We're talking cheeks for DAYS. We also have the same eye, mouth and lip shape. He got my blonde hair and wacky hairline.  Oddly enough, my husband was blonde until he was about eight, so we'll see if Henry keeps it real, like moi or if he ditches the lighter side of life to darken into brown hair. (Do we call men brunettes?)

Henry, just shy of six months old

Baby Henry, I mean Kirk. This is my husband as a baby. AKA Henry.

Outside of these things, Henry is all my husband! All of it. Same facial expressions. Same skin tone. Same mannerisms. Basically, we have a mini-Kirk. A few people are kind enough to tell me that Henry is starting to look more like me (he was a carbon-copy of Kirk at birth) but really, let's get serious: I carried this kiddo for nine months, labored for 24 hours and endured a emergency c-section... And he has little of my gene pool. After all that work... Maybe the next baby will get more of me?!

It's fun to watch Henry change and grow, and compare pictures to when we were babies! I can't wait to see who's personality Lil' H takes after more. It's also going to be a blast to add to our little family, and note the differences between siblings and ourselves, too!

Ahhhhh, eventually. Eventually. Everyone calm down, we're not up to that challenge yet.

High Five for {Bid'niz} Friday!

This week was FULL of  extreme highs and some crappy lows for An Uncomplicated Life Blog.

First, I had an explosion of business opportunities reach out to me. Some really exciting stuff, y'all! I started this blog to have fun and keep my mind active while I stay home to start a family, and it's exploded into so many business partnerships and marketing collaborations. I never dreamed it would take off like this, and I have all of you to thank for that! Thanks for being my loyal readers, friends. This whole adventure has been nothing but a BLAST.

Second, and less fortunately, I got my first negative comment from an anonymous commenter. This person was on a mission. If you were one of the bloggers I reached out to for tips on how to manage that, a heart felt thank you!

Back to the positives, here's a recap of the other awesome moments of the week:
 
1) Making Mrs. M and I launched our Instagram link up! If you haven't checked it out yet, and are a fan of Insta, make sure to link up with us (and check out our awesome giveaway!)

Come link up at www.anuncomplicatedlifeblog.com

2) My favorite barre teacher is finally back from her maternity leave. Rachel - thank you for coming back! Nobody has the moves, cranks up the tunes, and works the booty like you.

3) The weather has FINALLY cooled off here in Texas. This means soup weather, which is my favorite thing to cook and eat! I threw together this Pinterest recipe (with a few changes) and it was deeeeeelish. {Changes: add 3 bay leaves; use red fingerling potatoes, substitute a real onion for onion powder.}

The beginnings of corn-potato chowder

4) I got the wheels turning to start to teach yoga (again). This place pays for my childcare while I teach. Whhhhhaaaaattttt?!?!?!? #amazeballs

5) Hubs and I were channels surfing one night when we landed on Tosh.0. Now, I don't find this dude remotely funny. His delivery is seriously lacking. But hubs was like, "People tell me I look like him nearly everyday." So I went on a goole-image-rampage, and wouldn't you know... Truth! I was amused.

Same nose, face shape and forehead. Whoa.

I'm going to continue my bloggy-business-high straight into this weekend. I hope you all have an equally awesome time. Make sure to checky-check out these beauties' blogs, too:




 

Launch Party! Big Picture InstaLink

Hey friends, it's finally here! Making Mrs M and I have been scheming this link up for about two months and today it's live on both of our blogs! It's with enormous excitement that we introduce you to a fun new linkup:

Big Picture InstaLink (BPIL) is a little bit different than your run-of-the-mill link up party. Here's how it works:

1) BPIL runs throughout the month, and each month is a different theme.

2) BPIL is an Instagram linkup. Simply link up with your account on the linkytools below and use the current month's hashtag on Instagram to participate (use the hashtag on many photos throughout the month)!

3) BPIL is all about building community and finding common threads that connect us all. Interact, interact, interact!

---

November's Big Picture InstaLink Details:
It's November, and you know what that means. The holidays are officially here! Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. We thought this month we would start the linkup off with a "Give Thanks" theme.

Thanksgiving is all about counting our blessings, so by using this month's hashtag, #GiveThanksBPIL, post photos throughout the month of things you are grateful for! You can post photos of your family, your home, a delicious meal, or even those warm fuzzy socks by the fire. Whatever gives you a sense of thankfulness is fair game!

We cannot wait to see all of your photos and we are eager to start building this community. As a thank you for participating, we are giving a whole bunch of amazing Thanksgiving-themed goodies away!

Winning is simple. all you have to do is link up with us, enter the rafflecopter below, follow both Jaelan and my blog on Bloglovin', and post five photos with the hashtag #GiveThanksBPIL by the end of the giveaway deadline. One winner will be chosen randomly by rafflecopter on November 19th and the prize will be delivered well before Thanksgiving dinner is served. Entries will be verified, so just be honest. :)

Included in the giveaway loot is:
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays cookbook - for when you just don't know what's missing on your menu
A festive apron - to help keep your Thanksgiving outfit spotless despite the mess you make in the kitchen
A pumpkin shaped casserole baker - YES, this is oven safe!
Festive dishtowels - to help you keep that kitchen clean (or hey... just to look cute)
Leftovers Stickers - to identify what's in that tupperware your packing full of yummy food for later

---

Now the fun part! Let's get this party started. Grab the button above, link up, and let's start connecting!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mommy Monday: Torticollis Baby Needs A Helmet

We've known since Henry was about six weeks old that he had torticollis in his neck, likely due to him being in the breech position since 30 weeks gestation.

We were given a number of exercises to do with him. Repositioning his head, stretching the stiff side of his neck, increased tummy time.

We faithfully did all these things with him for months. Finally, at a special appointment with his pediatrician to check on this progress, she referred us to a physical therapist. And also a helmet specialist to measure his distorted head.

What Henry's helmet will look like to correct his misshapen head

See, when a baby constantly lays on one side of his head due to a tight neck, the side that he's always laying on begins to flatten. Babies have soft heads, and when that weight is consistently on one part of the skull, it smushes it flat.

For the past two weeks, we've been having a number of appointments to get Henry assessed, measured, fitted and evaluated. It's been exhausting. The conclusion is that he'll need weekly physical therapy AND a helmet to help reshape his head.

See how Henry's chin is off to one side? He can hold it at mid-line, but usually (and especially in a car seat and in his crib) it drifts off to his side, which is a key sign of torticollis. Also, FOX HAT.

We have no idea how much of this is or isn't covered by insurance - my pedi did a really good job of closely documenting all the exercises and time I spent with him to document that the PT is a "medical necessity" to be covered. The helmet? Hit or miss. An $8,000 hit or miss. Some policies have clauses that exclude this type of "optional" treatment. Some cover it if the baby's measurements are off enough to justify a need.

But, don't get me started on a$$hole health insurance companies.

He'll need to wear the helmet for about two months, give or take a few weeks. I find it rather endearing, but the second some random asks me if my kid is special needs, I will cut that person down. I'm not kidding, y'all save up some bail money for me. I have no idea how long his physical therapy will run, but I do know that we have to drive 45 mins each way for his appointments because the Dallas location is on a three month waiting list. Torticollis is incredibly common, and misshapen heads are too, with all the back sleeping babies are doing these days.

We're thankful that I stay home with Lil' H and therefore have the capacity to deal with all this. I feel for anyone working outside the home who has to struggle to manage all this craziness.