Sponsored Stories Archives - Kirsten Oliphant

May 31 2017

Baby Shower Tips to Keep You Stress-Free

After having approximately one million (okay five) children and attending one billion baby showers, I have a number of baby shower tips to keep you stress free! These baby shower tips will help you throw a killer shower or help you, if you are the mom-to-be, know what things you might say you’re into. Or NOT into.

Thanks to Basic Invite for sponsoring this post! All opinions are, as always, my own.

Baby Shower Tips to Keep You Stress Free

Cut Down on the Cooks in the Kitchen

I love this expression, which I’ve been trying to teach my kids. Planning a shower with multiple people can mean a better split of the costs (see the next tip for more on that), but it can also mean more power struggles, more conflict, and more difficulty planning. If you are asked to be one of more than three hosts, consider opting out of a full hosting, but ask what you can contribute instead. This might keep you out of the fray and actually make it easier to have fewer voices, but still allow you to participate.

Be Up Front about Costs

Even if you are planning with your besties, be clear about what the cost will be and what you can contribute. Money is hard talk, but it can become ugly talk when it comes to something like this. I once helped with a shower when Rob was out of work and said I could only help if it was affordable. I wasn’t clear about what that meant, exactly. So the other shower planners came back with a $150 cost per hostess PLUS the cost of the things we were making. That was beyond our reach at that time! And because I hadn’t been super clear, it caused some issues. (Which we worked out!)

It’s awkward to talk about money, but MORE awkward if you have to talk about it later on in the process.

Plan Based on the Mom-to-Be, Not YOU

Even though as adults, we know this more, it can still be hard. Especially if the mom-to-be has really different tastes! But it is HER day. Keep in mind that this is about her taste and her wishes, not yours. Even if you really don’t love what she chooses!

Make Invitations Simple

A lot of people have moved to online invitations, which can work really well. But there is something special about an actual card that you can hold in your hand and put inside of a baby book or keepsake album. The goal is to find baby shower thank you card that don’t LOOK cheap. You don’t want to blow the budget on the invites. (If you blow it anywhere, it should be on FOOD.) Here are a few examples I loved (they also have twin baby shower invitations):

more baby boy shower invitations

more baby girl shower invitations

If you ARE going to order cards, I love the options with Basic Invite because you can order a custom sample before you place your order. As in: a printed sample of YOUR invitation. Pretty neat, right? This will mean thinking ahead, but it would be neat to see this. And also, being someone who has had my name misspelled even on wedding invites, you can check for typos.

Don’t Make Your Own Petit Fours (aka: Hire Some Stuff Out)

I learned the hard way that petit fours (you know, those cute little decorative cakes) are NOT easy to make at home. No matter what anyone or the internet tells you. Just don’t. Some things you should not attempt at home. Hire them out. Or do what I did: make something else that you rock at making. My go-to recipe is my iced sugar cookies. They are adorable and turn out well every time. I have a set of baby shower cookie cutters I bought on Amazon that have gotten a ton of use over the years!

Think Outside the Box

Don’t feel like you HAVE to do games. I mean, don’t skip them if the mom-to-be wants them, but some of these guessing the baby food out of the diaper games are a little gross for some people. You can see my post on out-of-the-box baby shower ideas that has some games that I thought were REALLY fun (that I made up).

Remember that it’s all about the mom-to-be and whatever celebrating looks like for HER. I’ve had big showers thrown for me that were lovely and a few that were just family and more of a prayer time with food (food is probably the only MUST). It doesn’t have to look like the traditional punch and flowers with fancy dresses.

Stress-free baby shower tips include: think outside the box for games and activities! — My favorite baby shower game: Don’t Have a Baby. 😉

Make Thank You Notes Easy

One way that Basic Invite rocks with this is that they offer a simple address collection + free envelope printing. Basically, you share a link with guests to get addresses added to a list so you aren’t scrambling for them when it’s time to write thank-you notes. You can also order a baby shower thank you card through Basic Invite!

Another way to make this easy is to purchase thank you notes FOR the mom to be and put the envelopes out on the greeting table where you might have a guest book. Each guest self addresses his or her own envelope. Genius!

How’d I do? What did I miss? Let me know your baby shower tips in the comments! I’m sure I missed some and would love to hear your input! Or feel free to share horror stories. We all learn a lot from those!

Thanks again to Basic Invite for sponsoring this post! Like their invitations? Want to connect online? Find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Jun 21 2016

Summer Swim Safety

SafeSplash Swim School offered my family a month of lessons to share an honest review of our experience! We had a great experience, so I’m talking about the school and also summer swim safety.

Summer. The time of sun, maybe sand & surf, and almost always swimming. Or water. We traded in our pool two years ago for half an acre. Now we have hoses in tree houses and baby pools.

But water, even a LITTLE water, is dangerous.

I’m not the paranoid parent, but at the same time, drowning seems way easier than we’d like to think. Our toilets. An inch of water in the bathtub. An unattended baby pool in the backyard. I hate even thinking about it. And, as a perk of pregnancy, I recently had an extremely vivid dream where Cooper drowned in our bathtub. You guys: WORST. DREAM. EVER.

So let’s talk summer swim safety, shall we? And really, just all around WATER safety. As we do, don’t get overwhelmed with worry and what-ifs. Even researching this got me panicky thinking of all the things that could happen or could HAVE happened. Don’t let your mind go nuts like mine does! Just take the tips, y’all. TAKE THE TIPS.

Summer Swim Safety

Talk about It

From the time our kids were babies, we made a habit of talking to our kids even if they didn’t understand it all. Now our boys understand a lot and the girls…well, they’re working on it. So the conversations we’ve had with the boys for years are even MORE important: keep the bathroom door shut, drain the tub all the way, shut the back door, never go swimming alone. We repeat things to them and they repeat them to their sisters.

Not that we trust THEM to be the safe ones. That’s our job. But they need to know, too. The importance. The way water is so amazing, so much fun—but also very serious. You can’t ever start this conversation too early. Make it common.

Be Educated

Have you seen the video about what drowning actually looks like? This has been making the rounds and is so important to know. It’s really almost never like the movies with all the splashing and shouting. Read what drowning looks like and know the signs.

Know what to do if an infant is drowning and how this is different if a toddler or older child is drowning. Teach your kids important rules about swim safety before you are near the water. Make your own sets of rules and communicate openly with your kids about water, both in terms of times where you plan to swim and

Equip Your Kids

Here is where swim lessons become important. Before Rob’s mom died, she gave the boys swim lessons in our backyard pool every summer. It was a safe space and she was someone they already trusted, so this was vital to the boys getting comfortable in the water and learning how to get to the side. (Lynn also had years of experience as a swimmer and coach.)

Without her (and without a pool in the backyard), it’s been harder. My parents have worked with our kids in their pool, but the girls still don’t have the foundation the boys did when we had a pool in our yard or weekly lessons from Lynn.

And I’m not trusting of all lessons, either. I have two friends whose kids almost drowned at swim lessons— read Marianne’s story HERE. If you get lessons, they need to be SOLID.

Before summer started, we got to experience a month of lessons with SafeSplash Swim School. What I loved:

There were two instructors whenever there were more than two kids. (I’m not sure if that’s the policy or just our experience!)
They were super patient with my kids, even Cooper, who was super hesitant in the water, and Lincoln, who is a nut.
The lessons were fun, but also taught great foundations for basic swimming (for Cooper) and strokes (for the boys).
My kids were safe. They learned things. And they had a great time doing it. I would absolutely recommend checking out SafeSplash Swim School!

Be Vigilant

I read of so many stories where a child drowned within reach of a parent or other adult, like this story from Bobbie of the Clumsy Crafter. (And, again, Marianne’s daughter almost died right at swim lessons!) Sometimes when there are a LOT of adults around, everyone assumes someone else is watching the kids. When we are in comfortable situations, it’s easy to let our guard down. We simply CAN’T.

When we all swim at my parents’ house, I always ask to make sure someone has eyes on the kids if I have to go inside. We try to keep it one-to-one, so if my mom has Quin, my dad has Cooper. (The boys now do swim team and need supervision, but not the same eagle eyes that the girls do.) Never assume. Always be sure someone is responsible and that they KNOW they are responsible. Don’t let your guard down, even around your own house and pool.

What are you doing for swim safety? What are some of the tips and things that have worked for you?

Apr 29 2016

Eggplant and Olive Tapenade

I remember the first time I tried tapenade. It was New York, pre-kids, pre-marriage, pre-adventurous eating. I was in my friend Jennie’s cramped Manhattan apartment, in New York on a whirlwind visit. I had already ridden to the top of the Empire State Building where I caught snow from a surprise snow flurry on my tongue and walked the slanted twist of the Guggenheim by myself. So when Jennie held out the jar of tapenade and some small crackers, I decided that yes, I WOULD try something I’d never heard of, made with two things I did not (yet) like: olives and eggplant.

The taste surprised me. The rustic warmth of the eggplant and the bright briny-ness of the olives combined into something wholly new to me and wholly delicious. This tapenade eaten straight from a jar may have been the beginning of my love affair with olives and eggplants, together and alone.

What in the world did I eat before I loved everything?? (Except, of course, pickles.)

The word tapenade actually comes from tapeno, which was the name for the capers preserved in olive oil, traditionally used in this Mediterranean dish, whose main ingredient is olives. Traditionally, it features anchovies as well. There are many variations with ingredients like artichokes or mushrooms or eggplant. You know from my recipes (like this simple jambalaya) that I love variations.

The inspiration for me to make this dish came from an unexpected place: The 2nd Annual Seven Seas Food Festival at Sea World San Antonio. This post is sponsored by Sea World. (As always, all opinions and content are my own!) The Festival runs on weekends through May 15th in the Sea World San Antonio Park, where you can sample 65 chef-created dishes and unique wines, craft cocktails & beer from 12 countries around the world. Sound tasty? Here’s a peek at some of the recipes!

For my Seven Seas inspired dish, I sauteed eggplant and garlic, then processed it in our Ninja blender with olive oil, a little lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. So simple. So good. Perfect with pita bread or pita chips or even on a slice of crusty french bread. If you want to be a purist, just use a spoon.

Eggplant and Olive Tapenade

Eggplant Tapenade

2016-04-29 15:00:19

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Ingredients

1 eggplant
1 cup green olives with pimentos
1/2 Parmesan
4 cloves garlic
4-5 T olive oil
1/8 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Peel and chop the eggplant. Saute in about 1 T of olive oil until soft. Remove and saute chopped garlic cloves until soft. Using a food processor, blend the eggplant, olives, garlic, salt, and Parmesan together with 3 T of olive oil. Add more olive oil or a little water until you achieve a chunky consistency that is still spreadable. Chill or eat immediately, served with pita.

Kirsten Oliphant https://kirstenoliphant.com/

Print the recipe to try your own tapenade for a unique and delicious twist on a normal appetizer or dip. You can either refrigerate for a bit to let the flavors settle, or eat while it’s still warm from the eggplant. I like it both ways!

Try this simple eggplant and olive tapenade for a rustic Mediterranean appetizer.

Dec 05 2015

Gingerbread Sugar Scrub

This Gingerbread Sugar Scrub is another post in partnership with Imperial Sugar, in nearby Sugar Land Texas (just southwest of Houston proper). I truly love their products, which is why I love working with them!

Before I get to the Gingerbread Sugar Scrub recipe, I have to share a story. A few years ago I found a really cool recipe for a coffee scrub. It smelled heavenly, used coffee grounds from your morning coffee, and was supposed to be great for your skin. AND IT DESTROYED MY SHOWER. I was cleaning coffee grounds out of it for weeks and definitely affected our drain. Lesson: make things from people you trust. (And don’t put coffee grounds in your shower.)

This is why I LOVE the Imperial light brown sugar: they are tried and true. You can trust they aren’t going to destroy your house. Plus you can download printable tags for them in case you want to gift them!

I wanted to make a holiday sugar scrub to give family and friends, so I bought cute mason jars at Kroger (you can find mason jars like them on Amazon- affiliate link!) and got to work. I use Young Living essential oils and thought it would especially helpful to add a few that are great for supporting general wellness. (Thieves is my FAVORITE of all time for this!) I used Imperial light brown sugar, olive oil (because it was on hand), vanilla, Young Living Ginger Essential Oil, & Thieves Essential Oil. It smells amazing and feels great on your body!

Gingerbread Sugar Scrub

1/2 cup Imperial Light Brown Sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp vanilla
3 drops Ginger Young Living Essential Oil
2 drops Thieves Young Living Essential Oil

You may play around with the amount of sugar to oil to get your favorite consistency, but generally it’s 1 part oil to 2 parts sugar. Some people like their scrub more dry and some people prefer that they are more fluid—totally up to you!

Don’t use essential oils? Try this Gingerbread Spice Sugar Scrub from Imperial Sugar or any of their fantastic flavors!

Nov 20 2015

The Little Things That Make Moms Beautiful

As a mom, I don’t feel glamorous very often. Let’s take it down a notch: I don’t feel remotely put together most days. I am in a season of life where showers are a luxury (in which little people are often banging on the door) and activewear or pajamas are my uniform.

So when I get the chance to be a little fancy, I love it. Especially if I can feel fancy but also practical. Meaning: it’s safe for my kids. Enter Jord Wood Watches.

Not only do I feel elevated in my normal mom-life wearing this beautiful watch, but my kids were totally FASCINATED. (And they didn’t break it.) Jord watches are made of wood, which makes them totally unique and especially neat to look at and touch. We are all about the touching here!

The face is what drew me into this one, because I’m such a sucker for all things blue. (Confession: In college I decided to arrange the clothes in my closet by color and realized all but one shirt was a shade of blue.) With the turquoise face and the wood surround, this watch channels the beach to me.

I love the details: turn it over and you can see the gears working behind. Talk about fascinating for my kids!

There is something about having a new piece of jewelry or clothing that elevates you in the middle of your day. This Jord wood watch TOTALLY did that for me. I carried myself differently. This one accent made a difference in how I felt in the middle of my child-filled day.

Moms, sometimes we leave out the fancy. Sometimes we are a little too practical. Sometimes we miss out on feeling beautiful in the middle of an ordinary day.

And sometimes it just takes one beautiful thing to change your day.

If you love the look of this Jord wood watch (seriously, it’s made of wood), then check out the full line. They are all beautiful, quality watches! They provided one for me, but all opinions in this post are totally my own, as always.

Wood Watch