Second Trimester Maternity Wardrobe Haul

I have done a good bit of shopping lately. Now that my bump is officially popped it's been a little tough squeezing into all of my clothes. I live for a maxi dress or skirt and pretty much anything made out of a stretchy jersey material.

In the spirit of this being my #grandfinalebaby I really wanted to make sure that I had fun styling my bump. In my previous pregnancies I never got into the whole maternity clothes shopping thing but this time is different. I have learned how to shop and look for deals so I don't feel as guilty about buying clothes that I'll only use for a short time.

Here are some of the items I found during my latest shopping trips...



What do you think of my latest finds?

Mama Boxes: What's inside my Second Trimester box?

I finally got a chance to film the opening of my Mama Boxes second trimester box. Our weekend was crazy busy since we were preparing for a big family visit. Hopefully I can share some of our time around town with you here and on Instagram.

In the meantime, if you missed the Periscope sneak peek check out the YouTube video below to see what was inside my very first box from Mama Boxes!

What did you think of the box? It's a great gift for an expecting Mama! Be sure to check them out online to get a subscription!

CiCi's Pizza Stuffed Crust & Fiery Mango Tango Pizza

Yesterday the kids and I had the opportunity to visit CiCi's Pizza to check out their newest pizza inspired by one of the winning dishes on Food Network Star. I am a fan of that show and was already familiar with Eddie's win so I was extremely excited to trying out this new pizza at CiCi's.

I have to admit, I don't think I've been to a CiCi's Pizza since college. I remember hitting up that buffer for five dollars and some change, getting full and sharing laughs. Those were some good time with my girls. These days I'm hitting up CiCi's with a new crew and I have to say that even though my squad looks a little different we still had just as much fun.

Savannah was so happy to join the other kids and make her own pizza. They learned about baking and ate their masterpieces while the Moms and smaller babies got all the dish on the new Unlimited Stuffed Crust and the Fiery Mango Tango Pizza.

While Sav was busy making new friends, Mikey and I were making our very own Unlimited Stuffed Crust Pizza. The crust on this pizza is so yummy. Between now and October 25 you can treat yourself to 100% real cheese baked right inside a handmade garlic crust topped with pepperoni. 

Here I am giving my pizza some extra love with some parmesan cheese. Don't worry all of the Unlimited Stuffed Crust pizza have lots of cheese, not just mine. (get you some and thank me later)

While my pizza was baking away in the oven I learned all about the new Fiery Mango Tango Pizza. A sweet, tropical blend of pineapple and mango with a cinnamon sugar crust, cream cheese icing and a jalapeño kick - it tastes as good as it sounds. When I first heard all the ingredients I wasn't convinced that I'd love it but I'm eating my words now because it was love at first bite.

This pizza was so sweet and spicy all at once. A pregnant lady's dream. Just when I thought I couldn't be more satisfied my Stuffed Crust Pizza came out of the oven...

Ten extra cheesy slices of pizza just for me (and my Mikes - I shared). Each slice had enough sauce, cheese and pepperoni - soooo good! Little Mike even ate some and I can hardly get him to eat anything covered in sauce. 

CiCi's Pizza is such a great place grab lunch or dinner with your family. They have also made some updates to their salad bar so you can make sure your little ones get some veggies to go along with all that pizza while you're there.

When was the last time you visited CiCi's? Get there soon because the Fiery Mango Tango is only available until August 16!

Introducing: Mama Boxes

Happy Fri-Yay!!!

This has been a great week and I am looking forward to the weekend. My weekend couldn't have gotten a better start than it has. Today my very first subscription box was delivered and I am beyond excited to share it with you!

Have you heard of Mama Boxes? I discovered them on instagram and immediately wanted to get my hands on a box. I love sampling and learning about new products so this box is right up my alley.

I received the second trimester box today. I'll be sharing what's inside next week on YouTube (it'll be live Monday) but if you follow me on Periscope I may do a live unboxing Sunday afternoon so stay tuned! 

I hope everyone has an amazing weekend! Be sure to check out Mama Boxes on instagram and twitter to learn more about this service for moms to be!

First Trimester Survival Kit & Tips

Now that I feel much better I thought it would be a great idea to share how I survived my horrible first trimester with two little kids running around. It was not easy or pretty but we all made it out to the other side.

If you've never experienced morning all day sickness, good for you and I'm slightly jealous. For those of us that have dealt with the sickness that comes along with pregnancy you know how tough it can be to find some relief.

Here are some of the products and survival tips I used to help make it through those tough weeks...

Favorite Products:

Cetaphil - Pregnancy acne happens to the best of us.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Tummy Butter - Itchy skin

Bio-Oil - Safe for use in Second Trimester - Stretch mark

Prenatal Vitamins - This one is a no brainer. :-)

What to Expect When You're Expecting - This pregnancy bible will answer all of your questions and calm your fears.

Journal - Record your milestones.

Ponytail Holders - Wear your hair out of your face. It makes throwing up less messy.

Motion Sickness Bracelets - Some swear by them; give them a shot.

Lemon flavored candy - Sour/bitter candy always helped settle my nausea. (Try making lemonade.)

LBD (Maxi, Maternity - whatever) Black looks good on everyone and will flatter any changing body.

Ginger Tea - Helps with nausea.

Unisom & B6 - Helps with nausea. Ask Doctor before giving this a shot.

Lip Balm - If you become dehydrated a lip balm will keep your lips moisturized.

Body pillow - Sleeping will be so much easier with one of these. Get one and thank me later. :-)

All of the items featured in my First Trimester Kit can be found in my Amazon Store. 

Survival Tips:

Shower - Something about a shower always makes me feel better.

Brush your teeth - Brushing your teeth gets that icky feeling out of your mouth. 

Wash your face 2x a day - This helps fight pregnancy acne. Do it even when you feel tired.

Be slow to rise - Getting up quickly can make you lightheaded/dizzy.

Rest. Rest. Rest. - When you feel tired, rest. Pushing yourself to do more will only make you feel worse.

Eat small meals throughout the day- The too empty or too full struggle is so real. 

Stay hydrated - Get plenty of fluids everyday. If water is tough to keep down try adding lemons to your water.

Get fresh air - Getting off the couch and out of the house helped me a lot during my first trimester.

Exercise - Try a water aerobics class to keep your body moving.

Be weary of Pregnancy apps - The forums on those apps are like the gift and the curse. Proceed with caution. If you've ever been on one you know what I'm talking about.

Treat yourself to something - A pedicure, manicure, hairdo, outfit or something for the baby.

So what were you go-to items during the first trimester? Share some of your survival tips with me in the comments!

Chic Bump Watch: Second Trimester Bump Style

So far I haven't been wearing maternity clothes during this pregnancy. I have been doing the ponytail holder (rubber band) trick on my denim shorts or wearing things with an elastic waist. My boyfriend shorts from H&M have been amazing during these hot Summer days.

Once upon a time they fit loose and comfy. These days they are little snug but they still feel and look great.

A photo posted by chicsahm (tia) (@chicsahm) on Jul 9, 2015 at 11:16am PDT

Black continues to be my color of choice. You know how it is when you're still kind of early in your pregnancy...

Sometimes you look pregnant and sometimes you look like you got extra meat and guacamole at Chipotlé. I fluctuate between the two daily.

A photo posted by chicsahm (tia) (@chicsahm) on Jul 11, 2015 at 1:08pm PDT

Due to the extreme heat that has finally made it's way to San Antonio I probably won't be wearing heels much after this. Maybe I'll pull out some booties in the Fall once it's a bit cooler. Maybe.

My husband and I will be going on a date in a couple weeks. I'm trying to find something cute and comfy to wear for that. We rarely ever get date nights so I always try to bring it with my outfit when we do get to go out. I'll share what put together on Instagram, stay tuned!

What do you think of my maternity style so far? What's your favorite thing to wear while rocking your bump?

Easy Toy Storage for Kid's Room

So I said that I would keep you all up to date with how decluttering and simplifying things around here was going. It has truly been a team effort and I am happy to report that we are pretty much done with everything that was on my to-do list.

I don't know about you but toys being everywhere drives me crazy. There was a point where there was literally a toy every where I looked. I finally had to say enough was enough and figure out a plan to organize them. We started in Savannah's room.

At first I thought about getting one of those popular open shelf cubby hole bucket type storage systems. You've seen them before. In theory, I like what they represent but I knew that wouldn't be a good fit for us. I wanted something that would put the toys completely out of my sight when they aren't being played with. Messy open buckets on a shelf would drive me crazy.

After searching online for what seemed like forever I again decided to take it back to the old school way of doing things again. Once I found these I knew they were for us. Not only were they inexpensive but each drawer is so huge. There's a drawer for each kind of toy. Now Savannah always knows where her toys are and she's being taught to organize her own things. This has been so helpful with getting her to actually clean up after herself. Her room has been clean and there aren't random toys in my living room anymore. Mommy-win.

I also love the fact that these storage units can actually grow with her. When she outgrows toys, as long as these are still in great shape, we can always use them for something. Storage is always so limited in military housing and this is a great solution to one of our many storage problems. 

I should also mention that part of the decluttering process was getting rid of toys. We sat down together and filled a couple boxes with toys she was no longer playing with. I talked to her about giving to other little girls who may not have toys and she happily donated toys to them. She rode with me to Goodwill and helped me dropped them off. So, there was a purging process involved.

My next project for the kid's is finding a better bookshelf to hold their entire library. Any suggestions?

What do you think? Do you like the idea of opting for these drawers over the open shelving options? How do you control the clutter of toys at your house?

Mommy & Me Errands by Chic Mom Blogger Tara

It can be extremely challenging managing 3 children under 5 years old. At such a young age patience is very short and they still need lots of attention from mom. My oldest child is 4, and over the years I have learned how to get the most out of my day. We live in Japan and we don’t have that many options for childcare. We’ve decided as a family that it would be best for me to be a SAHM. Often, I have to take all of the children with me to run my errands. I have been forced to get creative with how I keep the kids busy and calm while I get things done.

So just recently browsing around the ¥100 store(dollar store) I found these food stickers. They were super cute with pictures of basic items that you would find in the supermarket.I thought it would be a great idea for the kids to use these to help me make shopping lists! They cannot write yet at 2 and 4, but they can use stickers. I could keep them busy for a few minutes making their lists while I change the baby, and get everyone ready to leave.

The first time I tried it they naturally took every sticker and put it on their lists, that was ok, but then I started thinking about how this might turn into something expensive. This is when I decide to get the 100 count pack of blank labels and just draw out a few items that I really wanted to get from the grocery store that week or the night before (it does not require sophisticated art skills….I have none). This way if they chose every sticker it would not be a big deal, and I actually had a practical list to use once we got in the store.

This is working extremely well for me and now that my 3 month old baby is here I need those few minutes to get my thoughts together. Three car seats! Amazing how spending just ¥100 can change your life.

See more from Tara on her blog, TaraKamiya.com, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Etsy.

Tara Kamiya

I was born and raised in New York City where I later met my husband.

We were chosen by an American reality TV show to have our wedding shown to the world in the form of a competition (Four Weddings season 2). It was a fun experience that has led to many other opportunities.

I am currently a blogger, YouTuber and freelance writer. I’ve been to Canada, Africa, and Costa Rica. I now live with my husband and 3 children in Japan.

To contact Tara email her at kamiyatara@gmail.com

Thought Bubbles...

I am slowly but surely getting back into the groove of things...

Mommy and me swim lessons are more like water aerobics with a thirty pound weight...

Summer break is halfway over...

I'm not sure how I feel about school starting back in August...

She's gotta go though...

Little Mike is all boy; all the time...

I love it though...

Cheer camp starts again in a couple weeks. I'm ready to meet the campers...

I was going to make spirit sticks for everyone but then I noticed that the Dollar Tree has them so...

I'll still make them certificates though. That was a big hit last year...

My favorite night time fragrance got discontinued before I had a chance to stock up...

That happens every time I fall in love with mist or spray for bedtime...

I still haven't learned to braid. I have until August 24th...

Right now I'm listening Frankie Beverly & Maze via Apple Music. Apple Music is my new favorite thing...

I finally found a good Chinese restaurant here in San Antonio. It only took me almost three years...

You can now shop any of the items featured on my blog along with my favorite Mom Must Haves in my NEW Amazon store...

Simple Family Schedule Idea for Summer & Back to School

July is going to be a busy month for us. I am already confused about what's going and when and it's only the first Monday of the month. Last year I was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers to start using a calendar. Back when I was a student in college I lived by my calendar so the concept of scheduling myself wasn't foreign to me but I had somehow gotten away from making it a part of my life.

I blame the invention of the smartphone.

I'm one of those people that prefers the old school way of doing things. I like seeing everything written out on a piece of paper. Putting appointments in my phone is a great way to be reminded of what's happening but I have come to realize that I need to be able to see everything at a glance. For me personally, I really need to be able to look at the entire month at one time and see it all.

Looking around the internet and at other blogs I noticed that planners were back in style. I have seen some pretty impressive planners all decked out with different highlighter colors, stickers and everything. They are quite impressive. I tried that last year and failed. My planner never looked pretty and I hardly ever used it so when it was time for me to get a new calendar for the family I decided to take it all the way back to the basics.

.

I decided to grab this desk size calendar. Initially, I did have that urge to buy colored sharpies or pens to make this fancy but I fought that urge with a strong, "Nah...". When I got home I got a trusty number two pencil and started filling in all of our July dates. Done and done.

It was easy, effortless and extremely efficient. It may not be the prettiest calendar but it works for me. I am in the process of getting back to a more organized and simple way of living. Pinterest and Instagram will have you all in your feelings thinking you need to do more when you don't. 

Be inspired by this. Be easy on yourself. Sometimes it's really as easy as a pen and paper. Less is really more. I'll continue to share how I'm organizing and simplifying my life over the Summer. My goal is to have everything done before school starts again in August.

How are you keeping up with your family's schedule? Have you found new ways to simplify your life? Share them in the comments!