Amelia is Two!

I am working on writing up all about Amelia's birthday party but for now I wanted to share some cute pictures of our little two year old (or is it 15? haha sometimes I'm not so sure!)

And can I just say that she is the most beautiful little lady in all the land? I mean, look at that cheesy smile! All the heart eyes! ALL of them!

She loves her daddy, and it just melts my heart!

 Girl after my own heart, picking out something chocolatey and delicious at the bakery!

She's just the cutest, coolest girl ever! 

Isn't it ridiculous how quickly time flies when your kids are little? I wish I could slow it down a little bit, but all we can do is soak up every beautiful minute we spend with our babes! And I seriously cherish mine. Being a mom is the greatest. 

Short Story!

Earlier this year I self published a short story on Amazon! It was super exciting and a great accomplishment for me. I love talking about mama stuff, but my real passion is writing stories. 

This took me a long time to get this done, mostly because I was so nervous about putting something out there. But I broke out of my comfort zone (thanks to my husband!) and went for it! I've been doing that a lot more lately and I'm really growing as a writer because of it! 

This is my writing Instagram, if you care to follow my journey: @cbateswrites

My short story is available for download on Amazon right now for .99! It's called Away With You: a short story  

and this is the cover: 

I designed it using the program on Amazon! It was so fun and so so easy. 

I'm nearly done writing the novel I've been working on since I published this. It's going to be a good one, and will also be published on Amazon for instant download! If you follow my writing Instagram listed above, you'll get updates on when the release date will be! 

Thanks everyone who has supported me through this and got me to this point. Hopefully one day I'll be the next Jodi Picoult or something 😉 

xo 

Chelsea 

Pregnancy #2

Here are a few of the fun weekly shots we do! I have this amazing chalk board in my living room that I love to incorporate. 

I did this same thing with my first pregnancy and am really glad to have progressive pictures of each pregnancy. No matter how hard they both were, its such an amazing thing that I feel so blessed to experience. 

xo 

Chelsea 

Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Ugh. 

That about sums it up. IVs, medications, herbs, every remedy in the book, and nothing helps. I'm so grateful that I didn't end up in the hospital, but I did spend the majority of my pregnant months in bed, on the couch, and stuck on the bathroom floor. 

It's not pretty. And it's not normal morning sickness. I'm almost to the end, and I still get bad days, bad hours, and bad weeks. I still get nauseous at least once a day. I admire the strength of the women who have it worse than I do. Or those women who have done it so many times. It's not easy to stay strong and keep fighting and keep yourself healthy. 

If you are struggling with this illness, know you're not alone. I know it feels that way so often because it's not common and many people don't understand it or even know what it is! Let's change that. Let's share our stories and not be ashamed that we are struggling to get through each day. Stand together and support each other. Sometimes that's all we need! 

I recently wrote an article on HG for xoJane. You can read it here: http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/hyperemesis-gravidarum-pregnancy

xo 

Chelsea 

Baby Bates Number Two

It's been so long since I've kept up on the blog. I'm busy, and trying to focus more on my novel. 

To fill you all in: we are pregnant with our second babe! We couldn't be more thrilled and excited. The little one will be here after the first of the year (sometime)! 

This pregnancy has been really hard. I have hyperemesis gravidarum and it's not easy to live with especially with a toddler to care for. It's all very much worth it, but I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore. That makes me sad, and to all you mamas struggling with being pregnant, just know this: you are not alone. Just because pregnancy isn't amazing for us doesn't mean we aren't grateful or happy. It's just hard. 

And it's okay to feel however we feel about it! 

Here is a cute announcement photo we did for this baby! I was 20 weeks. 

Amelia loves her sibling already and is so excited to be a big sister! 

xo 

Chelsea  

Good Things Utah: Vegan Pumpkin Bars

Today I had the amazingn opportunity to be a guest in a local program called Good Things Utah! It's an amazing show, and I watch it every morning. I have to admit I was a bit stars truck meeting the talented people I watch from behind my mug of coffee each morning. 

My daughter even dances to the theme song. We are pretty much the biggest fans of GTU, so being on the show was a crazy thing for me! 

One of my closest friends is the associate producer on the show and invited me on to share my vegan pumpkin bar recipe! 

It was an amazing morning. 

Head over to the GTU webpage to watch the full segment! 

http://www.good4utah.com/good-things-utah/gtu-recipes/vegan-pumpkin-bars

Vegan Pumpkin Bars

These are so yummy and SO easy! 

They're also pretty healthy for a dessert, do you won't feel bad eating two, or three, or a whole pan! 

Vegan Pumpkin Bars

6 vegan eggs (1 T. flaxseed meal to 3 T. warm water per egg)

1 1/2 C. Coconut oil

3 C. Brown Sugar 

1 T. Molasses 

2 t. Vanilla 

30 oz. Pumpkin Puree

3 1/4 C. Flour (if gluten free, swap for coconut flour!)

2 t. Baking Soda

1 T. Cinnamon 

1 1/2 t. salt 

(Optional: coconut whipped cream, chocolate chips, powdered sugar.) 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

Mix flaxseed meal with warm water and let sit 5 minutes. Add oil, sugar, molasses, and vanilla. Mix on medium until smooth. 

Spoon in pumpkin puree, and continue to mix until smooth. Slowly add in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt while mixing. 

Pour batter into lightly greased pan (top with chocolate chips if desired, I usually do half the pan with chips) and bake 45-50 minutes. Be sure not to over cook! Let cool 10 minutes before topping with sugar or coconut cream. 

Enjoy!