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Story of a Stay at Home Mom

Image from http://www.kitchenmonki.com

Story of a Stay at Home Mom

If a mom pours a cup of coffee,
Then the toddler will ask for eggs.
You make her eggs and cheese, but then she decides she would rather have oatmeal and pineapple.

You decide to not fight about it because eggs sound good to you… With your coffee – that is cold now. So you put it in the microwave.

Just as you sit down with your eggs and coffee, the baby wakes up and needs to be changed and fed.

You run upstairs, change baby, come back downstairs and sit to nurse. Feeling hungry and thirsty now because nursing does that… read more

Does Your Doctor Respect You? Part One

Does Your Doctor Respect You?

Adapted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/maunzy/5531925035/

Does Your Doctor Respect You

Doctor’s are great sources of information. They are good at decision-making when they are presented with your common health issues. They are great at emergency situations. They are vital to our communities…

What doctor’s are not good at is respecting you.

The Waiting Room

I was not very good at taking Aidalyn to her well baby check-ups. I think we made it to 2 total? Since we aren’t vaccinating the girls yet, there was really no point to expose her to more germs at the doctor’s office. read more

5 Best Gifts: Craft Kits for Toddlers

Christmas gifts, crafts, toddlers

Christmas is almost here

and everyone is making lists for toys and gifts to get their kids. Here is a list of my pick of Craft Kits that I know would be so much fun for the little toddler in your family. 

These Craft kits are also good for learning and creativity. So instead of a new toy, think about getting your toddler some art supplies or one of these all in one craft kits. I know Aidalyn loves working on crafts on a rainy day or when we are having a slow morning. 

1). Sticky Mosaics:

Craft Mosaics

You can purchase here:

  read more

Story of a Waterbirth: Happy 3rd Birthday Aidalyn!

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This is Aidalyn’s water birth story and a 3 year update! I thought it was appropriate to share on her 3rd birthday. This was the day I became a Mama.

3 Years after my Water Birth Story

Aidalyn is such a joy. She is so full of energy and and spunk. She is so stubborn and will fight you to the death that her dress is actually a shirt (or vise versa depending on her mood). I think she would be a great lawyer.

She loves My little pony and Go Diego Go! oh and don’t forget Disney Princesses!

Her favorite foods are black beans and cheese, almond butter sandwiches, and muffins. Favorite snacks are popcorn, nuts, yogurt, cheese, and fruit. read more

10 Tips for Going to Disney with Small Children and Saving Money

disney saving money kids

 

10 Tips for Going to Disney with Small Children and Saving Money

 

Disney is the most magical place! All that magic comes with a price.

You don’t have to break the bank to enjoy the perfect Disney Vacation with your family.

Here are my 10 Tips for Going to Disney with Small Children and Saving Money!

Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom, Walt D...

Lodging: We were so lucky to be able to stay at my parents 2 bedroom condo at Orlando Breeze Silverleaf Resort with a full kitchen for free! This really helped us lower our cost in many different ways.

First, we cooked breakfast in the condo each morning before heading into Disney. This saved us time and money! We also ate most lunches outside the park and dinner too.

Second, it was 2 bedrooms – This saved us some sanity by allowing Aidalyn to have her own bedroom, so we could stay up or wake up early without bothering her.

=&0=&We decided to drive the 11 hour trip from Richmond to Orlando. It was really an easy drive. We woke up super early (4:30 am) and were on the road by 5. We made it to Orlando by dinner.

If we had flown we would have had to buy 3 tickets since Aidalyn is over 2 and also would have had to rent a car once we arrived in Orlando.

Tickets: We bought our tickets early on www.undercovertourist.com  The prices of tickets just went up and we were able to purchase ours $30 cheaper each by buying early.

All children under 3 are free, so we purposely decided to go one month before Aidalyn’s 3rd birthday. This saved us over $200.

When to go: We decided to go the first week of November. This is historically a low season time and it was noticeable. The longest wait time for a ride was 15 minutes – I think for Buzz lightyear. Most times we waited less than 5 minutes for anything.

It was also during the Food and Wine festival at Epcot – which was certainly a highlight of the trip! The festival runs for 45 days through the end of September to the beginning of November.

Food: We decided to eat most of our meals outside of Disney. We ate breakfast in the condo and usually ate at a restaurant for lunch and dinner. Some days we only ate one main meal like a late lunch and then just snacks for dinner in the condo after we got in late from the park.

We also took snacks into Disney to cure any munchies. We brought protein bars, breakfast bars, Annie’s Bunnies, apples, fruit gummies, and pretzels. We also brought our own water bottles that we just refilled throughout the day at the park.

That is one nice thing that Disney doesn’t mind you bringing food or drinks into the park – and that definitely saves money!

Toys: Before we left, I purchased a few new small toys to give to Aidalyn each morning on our way to Disney so she would have something new and wouldn’t be tempted to shop in the stores (luckily these also kept her busy through any line waiting we had to do). I bought a few My Little Ponies on ebay and a few small princess figurines.

I also bought some light up toys for her to have once it got dark in the park. We all enjoyed the light up bracelets and necklaces. She had special light up rings and hair extensions.

Gear: We didn’t need to use it during our trip, but I packed a plastic rain cover for our double stroller. We brought hats and sunscreen for during the day and jackets for at night.

Annaleigh is almost 5 months old. We brought a carrier for her which ended up being almost as important as the stroller was! She would take naps in it while we rode rides or walked to the next land. I used a Baby Bjorn because it is easy to strap on and doesn’t take up much room.

Schedule: Our plan was to be at the park 30 minutes before it opened, then leave for a late lunch, catch a nap, then head back to the park for more fun in the evening (probably my favorite time). We stayed all day at Epcot the first day without leaving and surprisingly Aidalyn did great. The rest of the days, it was pretty obvious that she needed the nap – and we didn’t mind a break from the hottest part of the day either. We usually made it back to the park by 5 or 6 and were able to stay as late as we wanted.

We did one day at Epcot, 3 days at Magic Kingdom, and our final day at Hollywood Studios. It ended up working out well for us. Magic Kingdom was certainly our favorite, so we were glad we spent the most time there.

Since the crowds were lower, we didn’t have to use any fast passes during our trip. We did however, go straight for attractions that were popular first before a line developed. We did this for Enchanted Tales with Belle, Meeting the Princesses, and the Toy Story ride at Hollywood Studios.

We were able to also park so close to the park that we didn’t have to ride the tram (avoiding another wait line when ready to go). Every day we were able to get a great parking spot when we returned to.

Aidalyn’s favorite rides were the People mover in Tomorrow land, The carousel, and the Tea cups.

Costumes: The kids love to dress up at Disney. If you look to buy something there, the dresses will cost over $60… We were SO incredibly lucky to be able to borrow 2 dress up dresses for our trip, one Ariel and one Minnie Mouse. I did by a crown for Aidalyn on Amazon.

Apps: I used undercover tourist app on my iPhone to help with maps, scheduling attractions based on location or what has short or long lines, and managing parade times or shows. It is a great app! I would totally recommend having an app on your phone before going to Disney.

Disney is such a magical place to go for anyone – couples, singles, families, young or old. I can’t imagine anyone being there not having a great time. We honestly can’t wait to go back! I hope that this post helps you plan your trip to Disney with small children and makes it a great trip for you as well!

 

Have you gone to Disney or another Theme Park with kids? Do you have any Disney Tips to share?

How to Make Cloud Dough

Hey moms, are you ready to take your kids’ sensory play to a whole new level? Get ready to dive into the wonderful world of cloud dough! This magical concoction is not only incredibly fun to play with but also super easy to make right in the comfort of your own home. In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the simple steps to create your very own batch of cloud dough, using just a few basic ingredients you probably already have on hand. So, roll up your sleeves, gather the kiddos, and let’s get ready to unleash our creativity with this delightful and sensory-rich activity! read more

Your Love Never Fails… It’s a Girl!!!

I still can’t believe it. We found out 3 days ago and I’m still pinching myself.

We are having a girl!!!

Introductions

She looked so perfect on the ultrasound. We saw her little legs kicking, her heart pumping… it all made my heart melt.

This pregnancy has been much different for me emotionally than with Aidalyn. With Aidalyn, we were just so excited about adding this mystical thing called a baby into our lives. Neither of us really had much experience with babies. We didn’t know what we were getting into, but we were thrilled! read more

6 Tips for Flying with a Toddler

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6 Tips for Flying with a Toddler

 

Adam and I took our first flight back to Louisiana from Virginia last week with Aidalyn.  We have both had the privilege to fly numerous time (including several international flights), so we consider ourselves pros at it. This time was different, though, because we were traveling with a 21 month old. Here are our 6 tips for flying with a toddler that we learned through our experience. 

It is always horrible to sit next to the crying baby on the plane. However, nothing is worse than being the parents of said crying baby. We wanted to be prepared for every possible reaction. 

On the Plane:

1) Bring Snacks and a Sippy cup

Our first stop to prepare for the flight was the grocery store. I bought several of the popular baby smoothies they have at almost every grocery store. You can take the smoothies on the plane if they are under 3.5 oz with no questions asked  (if they are larger, you just get patted down really well). Secondly, we bought some all natural gummy bears. Aidalyn had never had these before, so they were quite popular. “More, more.” I would say always bring something that is interesting and will take a while to eat (like the gummy bears). Bring an empty sippy cup and fill it with water once you get through security.  Help your kids drink during take off and landing so that the pressure in their ears won’t build and cause pain (eating also helps this, they just need to be swallowing). 

2) Videos and Media

Aidalyn has an obsession with Elmo (Melmo) right now, so we knew a video would be a good tool to have handy. Adam was able to download a few episodes of Sesame Street on his Kindle for Aidalyn to watch during the flight.

3) New small toys

We also took a trip to the dollar store to find some little things that may be fun to play with – we left with a silly little duck (Quack, Quack) that lights up.

4) Colors and Paper

I packed colors and paper as well as paper dolls – but these weren’t used much at all.

5) Favorite pillow or stuffed animal

Aidalyn surprised us both with how good she was during the flight. She was better on the trip back to Virginia than to Louisiana because she was able to get a short nap on the first flight. We remembered to bring the secret weapon – her pillow pet. She loved looking out of the window and opening and closing the shade.

In the Airport:

6) Bring your stroller

You can gate check your stroller and carseat right before you load the plane. Having your stroller with you in the airport helps contain your toddler and also helps carry your bags. The airline will return your gate checked items as soon as you land, so you are only without it during the time you are on the plane. 

All in all, I would say that next trip we will have her pillow, Charlie (her lovey), snacks, the kindle and her iPhone and leave everything else at home.

What tips have you learned about traveling with toddlers?

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Swaying for a Girl – Updated

Swaying for a girl is the process of following diet, lifestyle changes, and maybe supplements around conception to push your chances more towards conceiving a girl.

Angela of Grassfed Mama shares healthy tips for busy moms.
Angela of Grassfed Mama shares healthy tips for busy moms.

Swaying… What does that mean?

So, I’m not sure the origins of swaying (creating certain environments to favor a specific gender outcome). But my experience with it started in 2009 when my husband and I started talking about trying to have a baby. When we swayed, we followed the “Shettles” method – I wasn’t putting too much faith into what we did: diet, supplements, sexual position, timing… read more

Vitamins For Kids

Aidalyn's Vitamins

Vitamins I added in the smoothie