This post is sponsored by HelloFresh. All opinions are 100% my own.

When Ian was born, the company I worked for gave us a gift card for a meal delivery service, and it was honestly my favorite "welcome baby" gift that we received. It was such a lifesaver for those first few months when going to the grocery store seemed like a daunting task, and I didn't have the energy for meal planning and elaborate cooking. With a second baby on the way, I've been wanting to try out another meal delivery service, so when HelloFresh reached out to me I couldn't say yes fast enough. Our box arrived the week we got our first snowfall here in Spokane, so I was also thrilled that I didn't have to drive to the grocery store on snowy roads. Perfect timing all around!

I enjoy the process of cooking and I like trying out new recipes and new ingredients when I have time. But I hate meal planning, and it stresses me out to make something new when I'm in a rush (which is pretty much every weeknight). So I rarely ever try new recipes, and instead I revert back to our go-to quick & easy meals...over and over again. That was my favorite part of HelloFresh: all the meal planning was done for me, and I got to try out some new recipes in a really fun and easy way!

There are three basic plans to choose from: vegetarian, classic, and family. We went with the classic plan, and all the meals we got were delicious, flavorful, and super approachable. As for portions, you can either get enough for 2 people or 4 people. Since we're a family of three--and I'm eating for two!--we chose the 4 person plan. Each meal was plenty of food for all of us, and I even had a little left over for lunch the next day. However, I think the portions would be a little light for 4 adults, like if we were having another couple over for dinner. When I cook on my own, I like to make a lot of food so we can eat the leftovers for multiple days (and so I don't have to worry about cooking every night). So I kind of wished that I could have had more left over, but I guess that's a good sign that we enjoyed it so much and we wanted more!

My other favorite thing about HelloFresh was that all the meals were really quick to make (each one took under 40 minutes, including prep--which I could do ahead of time if I wanted to). And they each had elements that Ian could help with (like adding tomatoes to the salad), which was fun for him.

I'm always looking for more weeknight meal ideas, and several of these recipes are ones that I would make again on my own in the future. The one I took photos of (Crispy Chicken Milanese) was my favorite. Yummy, healthy, and pretty enough for company too! Mine turned out pretty similar to the photo on the recipe card, which I consider a good sign that anyone can do it. :)

All in all, the delivery was really convenient, the recipes were easy to follow, and the food was delicious--so I would definitely use HelloFresh again. The biggest deterrent for me is the cost...the 4 person plan is $119.88/week for three meals, which is more than I would spend if I went grocery shopping for the same amount of food. However, when the new baby comes I think it would be 100% worth it to have everything come to my door so I don't have to deal with grocery shopping and meal planning. After all, the alternative would probably be eating out or getting pizza a lot, which is even more expensive (and less healthy)! So I'm not signing up for regular HelloFresh boxes quite yet, but I'm definitely keeping them in mind for busy times of life.

Have you ever tried HelloFresh? If it sounds like something you'd be interested in, get $30 off your first box with the promo code ATHOME30. Let me know what you think!

I have been patiently waiting to tell you guys something really exciting...we're having another baby!!! I'm 20 weeks pregnant, due March 25th. We had our anatomy ultrasound on Monday, and found out that little bean is a BOY!!! We did not guess right at all, haha. I've felt pretty different from when I was pregnant with Ian (I was nauseous a lot during the first trimester, and had different cravings) so we totally thought it was a girl. But I'm really excited that Ian will have a brother so close in age! It's going to be fun to see them become buddies. And I'm about to get seriously outnumbered! Oh boy...

I'm at the fun stage of pregnancy now where I have some energy back, my belly actually looks pregnant (but isn't huge), and I can feel the baby moving regularly. Yay for the second trimester! And I'm SO excited to be pregnant during the holidays, aka the best time of the year not to think about how many calories you're consuming. Haha!

Those of you who remember Ian's birth story might be wondering about my chances of having preeclampsia again. I do have a higher risk than the average person (it's somewhere around 25%), but I've always wanted more than one kid so that's a chance I'm willing to take. We've chosen the hospital in Spokane with the best NICU just in case, and I'll have more frequent doctor's appointments going forward. Obviously I really hope I don't develop it this time, but there isn't much you can do ahead of time to prevent it (they still don't even know what causes preeclampsia). I'm taking a low-dose aspirin every day, which has been shown to help, and we have a blood pressure cuff at home that we're using to monitor my blood pressure.

At this point, we're just keeping an eye on things (at least I know what to look out for this time) and planning for a second baby the same as anyone else would. I'm thinking of switching Ian into a twin bed, so we can use the crib for the new baby, and we're making a list of the things we'll need to get this time around...like a double stroller, an infant car seat (we borrowed the one we used with Ian), and of course I'm gonna shop for some new baby clothes! It's nice that we can probably reuse a lot of the same things we already have, but I want this baby to have some new outfits and toys too.

We're also starting to think of names! It took us a long time to come up with Ian's name, and now it's even harder--especially since we're having another boy. I don't to use any of the names we rejected for Ian, so we're trying to think of a whole new batch of boy names, with the added challenge of finding one that "goes" with Ian.

I can't believe that in March, we will be a family of four! It already snowed in Spokane, so I feel like winter is already here...which means March is, like, in no time at all. Ahhh!

I want Ian to grow up loving books, so I've been reading to him since he was really young. Now that he's getting older, it's been fun to see him start interacting with the stories, turning pages himself, and developing favorites. Except...selfishly, I want his favorites to also be ones that I enjoy. ;) It gets old reading the same book over and over (and over) again, especially if it's kind of a boring story. So I've been stocking his shelves with cute kid's books that have silly storylines and endearing illustrations, to increase my chances. These are some books that hit the sweet spot--fun for both kids and adults.

1. Anything by Mac Barrett and Jon Klassen. We have SIX books from this author/illustrator duo because they are all so stinkin' cute and charming. Titles: The Wolf, the Duck & the Mouse, Triangle, We Found a Hat, This is Not My Hat, I Want My Hat Back, and Sam & Dave Dig a Hole.

2. Anything by Sandra Boynton. Short, rhyming, and somewhat educational, these are my favorite board books. We have several, but Belly Button Book is currently my favorite. I think I have it memorized. :)

3. We're Going on a Bear Hunt. This is Ian's favorite book right now, and I especially love the version we have. It has a snow globe on the front cover and pop-up illustrations on every page (Ian loves going "GRRRR" when we flip to the bear).

4. Little Blue Truck. Really cute, rhyming board book that Ian loves because of all the animal noises. There's a good moral in this story too.

5. Anything by Oliver Jeffers. We have several of his books, and they're all silly and fun to read. Stuck is probably my favorite, but I also love Once Upon an Alphabet (beware though, that one's long). The adorable illustrations are at least half the fun!

6. Anything by Chris Haughton. Simple illustrations and sweet stories featuring lovable animals. Titles we own: Oh No, George!, Little Owl Lost, and Shh! We Have a Plan.

7. Home. One of our newer additions, this book by Carson Ellis has a simple concept: introducing kids to all different kinds of homes, ranging from simple to elaborate. But the beautiful, detailed illustrations really make it a winner.

8. Mother Bruce. This is Ben's favorite kid's book. It's a fun story about a grumpy bear who becomes the victim of mistaken identity. Super cute.

What are some of your favorite kid's books and authors? I love finding new ones!

I've been having some phone troubles for the last week, which forced me into an unintentional break from my iPhone addiction (including Instagram). And instead of feeling panicked about being phone-less, I actually felt lighter. I didn't feel a compulsion to check my email or see what's new on social media every five minutes. And since I wasn't receiving any texts, I felt no anxiety about not responding to them right away. I'm going to get a new phone, if for no other reason than I need to be able to call 911 in case of emergency. But I thought it was interesting how much weight it took off me mentally, knowing that there wasn't anything new to see on my phone because my phone was dead. So I've been thinking about how to get (and keep) that feeling of freedom, short of getting a dumbphone (Ben is fully on board with this idea, but I'm not that extreme). Curious to hear if you've had similar experiences, and what you've done to free yourself from obsessive phone checking. It's so sad that this is an actual problem in today's world! And I'm an adult, I can only imagine the teens that have grown up with smartphones...and scarier yet, what struggles my own kids will have with technology.

I'm sure it's different for everyone, but for me, Instagram is probably my biggest problem. I don't post every day, but I still feel like I need to check it every day to see what everyone else is up to. I feel a sense of relief when I finally scroll down to a post I've already seen, like it's a real accomplishment to catch up with my feed (eyeroll). I recognize that this is unhealthy, but somehow I'm not ready to quit...I still enjoy seeing what my friends are up to, and because of this blog I do feel like Instagram is somewhat necessary for my business. I've tried to make a few changes, including unfollowing a lot of bloggers (even ones I still really like). It was giving me anxiety and guilt whenever I saw them share a new blog post--reminding me that I'm falling behind, and I "should" be blogging more often. And that's not even touching Instagram Stories! I feel so exhausted whenever I see someone who posts like thirty Stories a day. How do you have time for that?! That's basically documenting your entire DAY through a screen.

Even though I haven't been able to pull the plug (and I don't think I will anytime soon), I have friends and family that have. Ben deleted all social media apps from his phone and has no regrets. And my brother-in-law deleted his Instagram account entirely. He recently took his family on an epic month-long trip to Australia and New Zealand, and they didn't post a single photo on social media (and I've seen their photos, they did some incredible things that I would have totally wanted to brag about).

I feel like it's a conversation that keeps coming up in my friend circle...trying to live more in the real world and less on the screen. I think that's what we all want. So how do we do it??? Don't tell me that better self-control is the answer, because if so I am screwed. :) Just some thoughts for the day...I'd love to hear what you think!