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Toddler Approved Restaurants in the East Valley

We love eating out and do it at least twice a week. We have tried a variety of restaurants but have found our favorites and wanted to share them with you so you can try them out too! Since we have a toddler (that is almost TWO!) we had to be unique with our choices but it’s easy to do in Gilbert and Mesa. We always like to make sure that the wait time is minimal, booths are large and it is loud enough so my daughter can talk our ears off while we wait for our food. Presley loves, pizza, chicken, french fries, rice and hummus. So it’s pretty easy to find one of these items on the menu. Below are our favorites in the east valley that are TODDLER APPROVED (and parent approved)!

The new Bobby Q located in Mesa off the US60 is our number one choice for most kid friendly restaurant in the east valley. To top it off the food is amazing, kids menu is great and the cinnamon sugar donuts is a bonus.

Liberty Market located in downtown Gilbert is one of Presley’s favorites (especially their kids menu pizza). The service is great, prices are affordable and the wait is minimal. There is seating inside and outside (perfect for the hot summer months) and it’s loud enough that if your kid has a tantrum it won’t disrupt anyone’s meal 🙂

Kona Grill located at San Tan Mall is great because there are large booths, great kids menu and crayons! They have a great patio that we love to sit at during the cooler months but they also have a large inside seating area and then is rarely a wait (which is a plus when you have hungry kids). We typically order Presley’s food when we place our drink order so she isn’t antsy (and she takes forever to eat).

Postino located in downtown Gilbert is another fan-favorite because they have an amazing protein kids plate and fun picnic-style play area outside with blocks and botchy-ball. We usually take some of Presley’s toys and a blanket to eat on the floor outside, she plays with the other kids while we chat with their parents and enjoy a bruschetta board a bottle of wine.

Our last favorite kid friendly restaurant in the east valley is Oregon Stop Pizza. Our friends introduced us to this place and Presley fell in love (and we fell in love with the yummy, inexpensive salad bar). The vibe is fun, music is awesome and there is no wait to sit and eat.

So there you have it, our 5 favorite kid friendly places to eat in the east valley! Eat and enjoy!

 

Style on ladies and gents!

xo

Ro

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Breast-Milk Jewelry

My breastfeeding journey was a lot of blood, sweat and tears but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I was lucky enough to be able to breastfeed my daughter until she was 18 months old and we both loved every minute of it. As soon as I went back to work I started my pumping journey when I was away and then I would store away my breast-milk in the freezer. Surprisngly, I was able to store away over 1000 ounces of milk and donated some of it to a baby that was in need of it.

I then was introduced to a breastfeeding group on Facebook and that was a huge support for me (especially since I was a working mom). From this group I found out about breast-milk jewelry and how you can preserve your milk into a stone, so of course I had to find out more about it.

Breast milk jewelry is jewelry made of breast milk and is a keepsake. Various methods are used to make the jewelry. To preserve and protect it, the piece may be covered in a clear resin or glaze. No matter the process used for preservation, there seems to be a long and tedious process involved in creating the keepsakes leading to long waits for order fulfillment. My ring took 10 weeks but it was truly worth the wait and it actually came one week before I stopped nursing, so it was very bittersweet to receive my ring. I bought my milk ring from Precious Milk Drops, she sells more than just rings. She also sells lockets, Pandora like charms, earrings, bracelets as well as custom orders.

I will truly treasure this piece forever and hope to give it to her one day!

 

Style on ladies and gents!

 

xo

Ro

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Mom Life Essentials

Being a mom not only means caring for your little one, loving them unconditionally and putting them first in your life but it also means that you can’t do it alone. I am lucky enough to have my family and close friends but on top of that I need my “essentials” to get through the “I got 3 hours of sleep,” kind of day. So below are my top 7 items I needed to survive as a first time mom.

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New moms often worry about every little thing when it comes to their baby (I am definitely one of those moms). So I ask a lot of questions and while asking those questions I found out about the app (that is also a book) The Wonder Weeks. It has more than 35 years of international scientific research that will keep you informed about the (mental) leaps and bounds of your baby. This app won prizes in several countries as the best parenting app! Think of it as a portable, at-a-glance version of the leap chart in weeks. The app is the perfect companion element to track your baby’s mental development (during the first 20 months). This has helped us on so many levels and let’s us know how long the good or bad leap is going to last and how we can help our babies through them. I paid $1.99 for this app and it was well worth it!

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Boppy. When I was first registering I had no idea what a boppy was and never thought I would really use it, but I listened to some friends and registered for it anyway. Fast forward 10 months and I can honestly say that I use it every day. Not only do I use it when I am breastfeeding but it was great when my daughter was learning how to sit and practicing her tummy time. It has also saved her from many (almost) falls when she would lay back.

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Coffee. I was never a big fan, I always liked tea or smoothies but never coffee….until I became a mom. When I would see comments scrolling through Facebook or Instagram reading “But First Coffee” I never really understood. But now? I get it! I need a caffeine fix every morning before I go to work but I have to be careful because I still breastfeed and I can only have a certain amount of caffeine a day. So my “go to” drink at Starbucks is an iced chai, coconut milk with a single shot. It is truly the little things in life that make all of the difference (and keep me awake).

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I work full-time and sometimes have to travel, all while breastfeeding/pumping full time. This nursing poncho from Milkmaid Goods is amazing and is my ultimate essential. In this picture I am pumping at Sky Harbor Airport and feel completely comfortable because I am covered (if only it eliminated the loud pumping sound too). This cover is light weight and roomy for nursing and also doubles as a cover to put over the car set when my daughter is sleeping or a high chair when we are at a restaurant.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYPR5IQh_Tw&w=560&h=315]

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Pumping, we all LOVE to HATE it but it’s what keeps the process going (if you know what I mean?!) My goal is one year of nursing so I pump when I am at work and before I go to bed….EVERY SINGLE DAY! With that being said I would keep track of how many minutes I pump for and how many ounces I get. Then about 4 months into pumping I found this free app from the Apple App Store called Pump Log. This log is amazing because it keeps track of how long I pump and how many ounces I have (freezer stash) and how many ounces I still need to hit my goal for nursing. You can also set a timer that reminds you when to pump during the day. #itspumpingtime

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Car seat handles are very odd and you can never really feel comfortable when you are carrying your little one. Being only 5″1 I look pretty funny trying to carry my daughter in her car seat until now. LugBug came out with this nifty handle that connects to your car seat handle. It takes the straining away and is uniquely shaped to make it easy to maneuver your little tike around. The person that invented this device lives here in Arizona, he was also a first time dad when he thought of this concept. The cost is $39.99 and it comes in a wide variety of colors and is easy to attach to the baby carrier.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpnIxrMAxS0&w=560&h=315]

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Mommy and Me Photos were a must for us because I noticed that when I would scroll through my pictures on my phone I had a lot of photos of her by herself or photos with her daddy (I was always taking the picture). This was fun for us and I would recommend it to any mom (especially a first time mom) because the first year goes by so fast and you want to look back and remember everything about your child at that very moment.

My mom recently brought my baby book over and I noticed that the baby book was filled with photos of me by myself and not enough photos with my mom in them. So, now it’s a birthday tradition every year during my birthday month I will get mommy and me photos with her. I will cherish these photos forever. Thank you Jenna Donato Photography!

So there we have it the 7 essentials that have helped me as a first time mom. Some of them were pretty easy to figure out (like the coffee) but I hope some of these really help you out whether you are a first time mom or are one kid number 5!

Style on ladies and gents!

xo,
Ro

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Mom Life (is the best life)

This has been my first blog post since October and I am sad that I have not been documenting (through my blog) the last 8 1/2 months of my now “mom stylist life.” It has been a journey and boy do I give all of the moms out there a lot of credit because being a mom is hard but so fulfilling. I have never been so in love, challenged, determined and overjoyed all at the same time. She is 8 1/2 months and has already taught me to be patient, live in the moment, love unconditionally and not to care that the house isn’t perfectly clean.

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Mom life is nothing that I ever thought it would be; it is truly so much more. That is why I am taking some time off from styling clients so I can spend more time with my love bug. I will continue to work with my existing clients but will not be taking on any new clients or jobs at this time. I hope to start meeting with new clients the first of the year (2017). But be sure to check back in for posts about breastfeeding fashion in the next couple of days because breastfeeding momma’s have to look stylish too 🙂

Rochelle York Personal Stylist

Style on ladies and gents!

xo
Ro

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