Ashling Drew, Author at Joyful Messes

3 Mind Tricks to Lose The Baby Weight For Good

I believe that losing the baby weight offers such a significant struggle because our minds and bodies are totally transformed outside of our control during pregnancy. If we could control what happens, things would be a lot different. Our bodies just start ballooning with all this excess water weight, we get exhausted, yet can’t sleep, our feet double in size (why?!!), and all sorts of other shockers. Pregnancy is a grueling experience, terminated with a painfully frightening labor and delivery trauma. Labor and delivery is traumatic for me. I don’t like pain. I don’t like things just happening that I can’t control. Blood, bodily fluids and yelling like an animal in a public place just don’t sit well with me. These experiences take a toll on our mind. Our bodies are a product of our mind. Did you catch that? Your body is a product of your mind. I want…

Shopping This Summer’s Hottest Fitness Gear and Getting Cash Back with DOSH

Summer is the best motivator to get in shape. The minute you pull on those cut offs and tank tops, you can’t help but want to show some toned skin. The sun is a natural energy booster, so we start getting more active. I was shopping on my DOSH app for some new gear because DOSH offers cash-back when you shop through them! It’s the easiest app to download and use. You check out the current deals, then go to the brand’s site from the app and shop like normal. DOSH puts cash into your wallet once you’ve purchased through the site. Super simple. There aren’t any fees, and you can transfer the DOSH cash to your bank account, or use the DOSH wallet as a savings account for future splurges. Let’s get to some hot fitness gear to keep use motivated this summer. Saucony Cash-Back Deals: Take a look…

What You Need To Know About Losing The Baby Weight After Nursing

Having the ability to breastfeed your baby is a blessing. It’s not all peaches and cream for everyone. Some of us lose the weight quickly while breastfeeding, then it slowly creeps back when our little one isn’t sucking up all those calories anymore. Others of us slowly lose the weight, but don’t get to where we want to be by the time we’re done nursing. this post contains affiliate links Breastfeeding burns calories. That’s a fact. It’s easy to get used to eating a lot while breastfeeding, then have a bit of a reality check when our little one is an independent eater, and we are still gorging ourselves to “keep up the milk supply.” Habits are hard to break. Whether you’re done nursing and you still have pounds left to go, or you are noticing some extra fluff after you’ve stopped breastfeeding, here are some things you need to…

Sharing Memories and Saving Time and Money This Summer

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #SummerIsForSavings #CollectiveBias #WFM2 Most of my family is way across the country. I am in one end, and they are literally in the very opposite end. My boys and I love to share our adventures and milestones with our families, as well as save money on the go! I recently made a switch with my cell phone plan to the Walmart Family Mobile $49.88 PLUS Plan Powered by T-mobile! I grabbed a new, LG Rebel 2, which I am loving more than my Note 3! The battery, even though brand new, was not holding. I am so surprised to look at this phone and have so much power left! I’m going over how we share our memories and save money this summer! Scroll down for my favorite apps that…

Teach Your Toddler To Wipe Their Bottom This Summer

My least favorite part of being a parent is wiping bottoms. I really don’t like it. I do it, with the best, joyful spirit I can muster, but I take my sweet time when they are calling for me to come help. I was determined to teach my oldest to wipe his bottom by this summer because I have my third baby now, and I just can’t be running to the bathroom to wipe when we are out at the beach, in the pool, or on some sort of fun summer adventure. I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to accomplish this, but I came up with a method that worked really well! I’m going over how I was able to accomplish this for the summer, and I hope it helps you get your little one to start wiping too! PS: Because you are a reader on my blog,…

To The Mom That Does Nothing. You’re Doing Everything

I was laying on the floor the other day letting the 9-month old craw all over me, thinking about everything I wanted to accomplish before my other two boys woke up from their nap. I wanted to vacuum and mop, as well as pull the fridge out and hunt for the lizard we failed to catch. He hid behind the fridge days ago, and I am afraid he’s dying back there. Instead of giving the baby some snacks and toys, I just laid there with him. I could’ve occupied him with all sorts of interesting things and a cracker in his mouth, so he wouldn’t notice that I was busy. I feel extra mom guilt for the third little guy because he ends up crawling after us, trying to keep up with the whirl wind of activity around him. He’s so good and happy just watching, but I wanted to…

The Best Healthy Booby Treats For Milky Mamas

I’ve made a list of yummy sweet treats that will increase your milk supply and support you in the journey of breastfeeding. Whether you just had your baby, or you’re an old pro like me, it’s essential to take care of your body and give your milk-makers what they need. Breastfeeding can be hard. It can be annoying, inconvenient, and sometimes the amount of milk you have is less than you need. Here are some fabulous treats that will help you boost your milk supply that are healthy, satisfying and sweet! The first treat I want to tell you about is my Milk Dust! It is a sweet, yummy protein powder with lactation-boosting ingredients!! It is clean, safe and full of nutrients to help you keep your milk supply up, and lose weight by curbing sugar cravings! I can’t wait for it to be available late this Spring, and the…

The Cleanest Protein Powder For You and Your Baby

I am so excited to write this post because I’ve officially chosen my favorite protein powder, specifically for helping to lose the baby weight while breastfeeding. I wrote about the protein powders a couple years ago, and since then I have developed my own protein powder for breastfeeding mamas. I still highly recommend Ora Organics, which is the protein powder I originally wrote this post for. I’ve gotten to know the company, love the product, and think it has a lot of nutritional value. BUT, there were a few things missing from all the proteins powders I tried while breastfeeding, that really made me want to create something highly targeted to breastfeeding mamas. I created Milk Dust to solve a few problems in the market of protein powders: There wasn’t many high-quality, plant-based protein powders that boost lactation: There are very few plant-based protein powders on the market with lactation…

How To Be Behind The Camera and In The Photo: Tutorial On Becoming Your Own Photographer

Blogging and photography go hand-in-hand. Its a tough world out there now for bloggers because your blog’s success relies heavily on not only the content you produce, but also the photos you take. There are some very successful bloggers/social media influencers out there, who have professional photographers take their photos. This post contains affiliate links. Particularly the fashion/lifestyle bloggers. As a new blogger, and a do-it-yourself type, I have taught myself to be my own faux-tographer. I literally don’t know much about camera settings, which I intend to learn more about here soon. I do know that I like a blurred background, and subject in focus, so I bought this lens. It’s a cheaper brand than the Cannon lens, which is probably a bit better, but when you’re a blogger on a budget, you get what you can! Using this lens, I learned to keep my camera in the Aperture…

My Small-Space Learning Corner for Home Schooling

I’ve been slowly embarking/dipping my toes into the big waters of home schooling with mainly my 4.5 year-old. The almost-three-year-old is loving learning as well. I finally got around to setting up a learning corner for my boys to help keep them contained, focused and comfortable. It allows me to make the learning fun, and it’s a place they know they are sitting to learn. I’ve included the 5 items I needed to create my learning space for home schooling. Related: Preschool Curriculum Sets You Can Buy and Use How I’m Teaching My Toddler Kindergarten Early 3 Reading Games to Teach Your Toddler Boy to Read How I am Teaching My Toddler to Read Why is a learning corner important? Well, I don’t think it has to be a corner, that’s just what worked for us. I believe that having a space designated for a specific activity, like the table…

Ashling Drew