Ashling Drew, Author at Joyful Messes

5 Things You Can Do To Help Your Baby Sleep Longer

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone#ad #GetJohnsonsBaby #ChooseGentle Getting your baby to sleep longer through the night can seem impossible in the early months of motherhood. Sleep becomes this commodity we will do almost anything for. I remember with my first baby, he was wide awake in the middle of the night, and I had tried everything to get him tired. I had him swinging for a good hour with music on just staring at him with my eyes drooping shut every 10 seconds. Since the early days, and two babies later, I’ve found some things that work really well to help get babies to sleep longer through the night. A Warm Bubble Bath: Make sure to click on the item above to shop! This actually makes a huge difference in relaxing the baby, their muscles and allowing for…

Ab Rehab and Pelvic Floor Restore Program: 3 Weeks to Healing Your Abs After Pregnancy

Healing your abs after pregnancy can be a daunting task. I developed the Ab Rehab and Pelvic Floor Restore program to include in my full breastfeeding diet and nutrition program because all mamas need it!! I can’t tell you how many of us suffer bladder leakage, ab separation, back pain and balance issues because our abs have been so stretched and weakened during pregnancy. My Pre-Post Natal Exercises Specialist Certification is complete, and I am putting all my knowledge into this program! In the program, I don’t just give you list of exercises to complete. I give you a plan for each week with specific tasks to accomplish, and videos to show you EXACTLY what I mean. I want you to heal, find strength again and stop experiencing accidents like I did (especially after running!!) Check out the program, and you can also grab my full program, The Postpartum Cure,…

How I Made Over 10k My First Year Blogging With Sponsored Posts

Landing sponsored posts as a new blogger can seem totally overwhelming. I was able to figure out how to reach brands with a small Instagram account, as well as a new blogger. I made over 10k my first year blogging in purely sponsored posts. Landing sponsored posts can actually be a large part of your income strategy, if you do it correctly. If not, it can be a huge headache with little return on your energy. Here is why I love sponsored posts: I am a huge fan of photography. If I had the time, I would study and learn everything about photography. I love styling a photo, taking a photo and editing a photo. A sponsored post gives me another chance to do this. Photography is a HUGE portion of landing sponsored posts, and I give you all my tips and tricks, and how I am my own blog…

The Only 2 Postpartum Workout Apps You Need To Get Your Body Back After Baby

Some amazing postpartum workout apps will help you get your body back in shape after a baby. And, the postpartum workout apps that I’ve found and used also target your core, abs, pelvic floor and offer diets and meal plans. I’ve found that the best apps are premium apps because they offer the best workouts and content out there. I chose my two favorite postpartum workout apps because there honestly aren’t that many great ones out there. I also have personal experience with both of these, so I can answer questions and give you the full details of how I use them. These are postpartum workout apps I LOVE and use! I am not just listing postpartum workout apps that exist, but the ones that I use daily to stay fit with three boys, and find my body again after baby. One of the postpartum workout apps I created, which…

5 Ways To Help Your Kids Be In Charge Of Recycling + Free Printable

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company. All opinions are mine alone. #HonestKidsRecycle #CollectiveBias Getting your kids involved with recycling can be super fun, and it makes things into less than a chore, and more of a learning experience. The reason I love to put kids in charge is because it takes some of the pressure off of me! I make it super fun for my kids to take charge and be in charge of sorting, and their favorite – smashing the boxes! Make sure to click the image below, to shop the juice boxes and join the recycle program! I have 5 ways you can help you kids be in charge of recycling, and I was super excited to find out about the Honest Kids® at Walmart and the recycling program. I had no idea this existed, and I thin it is PURE GENIUS!!…

The Top 13 Make-Ahead Healthy + High-Protein Breakfast Ideas Little Kids Will Love

Make-ahead breakfast solutions that are healthy and yummy are so important! I had a few mornings of cooking up eggs, slicing up fruit, and dishing out toast to realize that adding cooking to the hectic school mornings was not a good idea. I would leave the kids to “eat,” so I could brush my teeth or find shoes, and come back to them playing and not eating. I learned quickly that breakfast needs to be handled the night before, not the morning of. I also know how important protein is to sustaining my kid’s energy throughout the school day. My oldest especially, burns through energy fast, and protein and fat will sustain their little brains to keep learning much longer. Make-ahead breakfast sandwiches are my go-to! Here is the variety I make, which all work well for my kids and husband! I do a combination of fried eggs with cheese,…

Back To School Organizing Ideas For A Tidy Home and Stress-Free School Year

Organizing your home for back to school season can make your mornings and afternoons a million times easier. I had my first school season experience last year, and I learned a lot of lessons…the hard way. Having organized spaces for school work, back packs, shoes, socks and papers is incredibly helpful! I can’t tell you the papers I lost, the shoes I couldn’t find and the mis-matched socks my oldest wore. He even wore a uniform, and I still struggled to keep him appropriately dressed. Luckily, my middle one didn’t need a uniform, but he did need a snack, which was more like a full-on lunch. Let’s get into some amazing, and simple organization tips and tricks for getting ahead of the game for the school year: First, plan a backpack center like these. They are simple, and allow for a special place kids can hang their backpacks up on…

The Nursing Mama Snack List: My Favorite Healthy Snacks for Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding snacks are a B.I.G. deal. Nursing mamas need snacks on-hand 24/7, and they need to be healthy to ensure great nutrition for mama and baby. Snacks can help keep you happy and baby happy in more ways than one, and ensure you don’t turn into one hangry milk mama. Let’s go over this amazing list of healthy snacks for breastfeeding mamas, and the first three are my all-time favorites because they are full of nutrients that help your body heal postpartum, promote a healthy milk supply, while also being naturally sweet, for those endless sweet cravings! In my years of helping mamas lose weight while breastfeeding, there was a protein powder missing that was specifically designed for breastfeeding mamas to combat these sugar cravings and fully nourish mamas. I am a firm believer in nutrition for milk supply, so I created Milk Dust. Milk Dust is literally your best friend for lactation…

The Best Watermelon Pizza with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Glaze

This watermelon pizza is so good, and so perfect for your Fourth of July festivities. It was husband and kid-approved, which actually means a lot in our house hold because everyone is picky. The watermelon salad is also super, super simple! The hardest part is cutting up the watermelon. I really don’t like to cut watermelon up. It is just hard and messy. The other wonderful thing about this watermelon pizza is that it is super healthy!! Literally all super foods, full of amazing ingredients to have you feeling light and fresh on your holiday. Watermelon is full of water, which will help you flush out any of the extra calories, sugar or alcohol that may or may not be consumed underneath the fireworks. Let’s get into how to create this magic, which doesn’t take much at all: Here’s what you need: 1 watermelon (small or medium) makes 5-6 pizzas…

Addicting Mango Jalapeno Salsa

This mango jalapeno salsa is so addicting, it literally disappears in minutes. You can’t stop eating it. It is a super fresh, spicy-sweet side you can bring to any summer bbq, or pair with my light and fresh fish tacos! I am a HUGE fan of any pico de gallo/ salsa dishes that are FULL OF FLAVOR. That’s exactly what you get with this mango jalapeno salsa. It isn’t too spicy either. I tested it on my mom, who is super sensitive to spicy. There’s just a little kick that makes the spicy-sweet combination perfect. Let’s get to the recipe: 4-5 mangos cut into chunks 1/4 of a large red onion chopped up super small 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro 3 Roma tomatoes diced 1 1/2 avocados sliced and chopped 1 medium cucumber chopped and diced 1 jalapeno de-seeded and diced Juice of one lime 1 tsp salt 1 tsp…

Ashling Drew