With 5 boys (6 if you include my husband..) Star Wars is a HUGE hit in our house. Though, truth be told, I loved Star Wars long before I had kids. Always a Leia fan, and a huge sucker for those Ewoks. (Wicket is life!!)
Naturally, this means we love anything related to Star Wars, especially Star Wars Day on May the 4th! I was thrilled when I received these fun printable activities for the new movie “Solo” to help celebrate this May!
I hope you and your kids enjoy them as much as we do! (Click on link below each photo to get saveable image)
I had a very fun opportunity this past week. I recorded a segment for a podcast!
This all came about a couple weeks ago. I noticed I had been tagged a couple times in a post in the gDiapers Facebook community. I clicked to see what I was being called out for, and I instantly laughed upon seeing the post. They were looking for parents of large families (5+ children) to interview for their podcast.
After laughing, I sat and thought for a minute. I’m really the person my friends think of when asked if they know any crazy people who can’t seem to stop having babies?!? Yep. I am. *insert more laughing*
The focus was a lot about how you know when and if you’re done having babies. There were a lot of questions regarding this.. but one actually made me think. What would I say or what advice would I give to someone trying to decide if they’re done.
Considering only ONE of our SIX babies were planned, and one was a birth control baby when we thought we were finished, I have no advice to give on deciding whether you’re done or not. We have been blessed beyond measure – but with very little deciding. (Until now, that is..) That said — I do have a lot of insight on having a large family. So, if you’re sitting there, staring at your all-too-quickly growing baby, trying to decide if you want to set out to procreate like rabbits.. here’s a few things to think about:
•On your worst day, how do you handle the chaos? Large families come with a lot of chaos, even on the good days. You often find yourself running in circles. Like you’re in one of those revolving doors and can’t seems to figure out how to get out of it. Round and round you go. Same stuff, different kid. Over and over until you hit the mattress. (And then a couple times after you’ve hit the mattress. Kids, they just KNOW when you’ve attempted to relax!)
•Do you enjoy shopping at Costco? Costco is one of those things that is no longer a luxury. A trip to Costco used to be one of those “Oh! I can buy our entire months worth of groceries!” Nope. It’s basically a necessity just for a week’s worth of feeding 6 kids. Especially when almost all of them are growing boys with giant appetites. (Have you seen how much a preteen boy can put down?!? And WHERE does it go?????)
•Are you willing to size up your vehicle? Our particular dilemma when we found out that number 6 was on the way was that we would require 5 car seats or boosters to be installed. My gripe is that most large vehicles don’t feel the need to accommodate car seats like they should. We upgraded to a full size van just to fit the amount and types of seats we needed to install, plus give room for all the STUFF that going out with 6 kids requires. It also allows us to not fold our giant stroller (Uppababy Vista) so, yay for being lazy! I mean, uhhh, saving time!
•Are you one of those people who loves doing laundry? Here’s an equation for you. Smelly, sweaty preteen + sticky, snot nosed toddler + slobbery, poop filled infant = A LOT OF LAUNDRY. Along with upgrading the vehicle, you may need to upgrade your washer and dryer capacity. I used to love laundry. I no longer love laundry.
•Cold and flu season.. when one goes down… the entire forest is going down with them. I’ll never forget when I was about 7 months pregnant.. our toddler vomited as we were getting him ready for bed. We thought it was a one off, as he seemed fine after. Put him down to bed and moved on. An hour later, our 3 year old followed suit. Oh no. Okay.. two was tolerable. By 3 am, we had 5 vomiting children and a pile of towels and sheets covering beds and the floor. (Which goes back up to “do you like laundry?” Ha!)
•Are you willing to become best friends with your local baristas? Let’s face it – coffee is my life line. Drink the coffee, do the things. Fairly certain my baristas know what kind of day I’m having based on how many times I roll my giant van through the drive-thru (also a necessity!) and how many children are crying as I do so. They know my drink based on time of day. No joke.
In all seriousness, though..
Do you want a lot of kids? This is probably the only thing that matters. Everything else works itself out. If you want a large family, if you love being a parent and want to keep doing it.. do it! We have our people, our tribes or our villages, whatever you want to call them.. and that’s great. They will all have an opinion on whether you should or shouldn’t have several kids. They’ll probably voice those opinions, too. But as nice as it is to have a support team, this decision is one only you can make, and you shouldn’t let anyone make you feel otherwise.
We love our big family, and our children love our big family. Did we set out thinking we’d have 6 kids? No. It’s been amazing, though. We did make the decision to be done-done (or as done as you can be.. they say nothing is 100%) after baby girl.. We thought we were done after number 5, and she is the whipped cream that topped off our mocha.. We felt ready to make that decision of completion.
Half a dozen kids, one kid, no kids. We all have our ideas of what OUR perfect family is. None of us are right or wrong. Make the decision that works for your family. Also, keep an open mind. Sometimes surprises or tragedies happen and our ideas get changed a bit. Embrace your family, and never apologize for your decisions.
**This post is sponsored by Stonyfield Organic Yogurt and in partnership with Taylor Farms**
It’s finally here! Summer!
With five kids, Summer is busy and exhausting. It’s also HOT. I can’t tell you how often we start thinking about what to fix for dinner and just so do not want to cook. The idea of turning on the stove to make a healthy meal for the family just seems so daunting – not to mention counter productive to running the air conditioner.
So what do you do? Salad!! A great Summer staple. However, getting most kids to eat a salad may take a little finesse. Enter in our kid friendly Simply Sweet Summer Salad.
We love to keep things simple while also keeping things as wholesome, healthy, and nutritious as we can. Organics are a key part of this. We love the opportunities we have working with Stonyfield and other organic collaborators for this very reason. You will find that this salad stays true to a fast, convenient, simple and super healthy meal.. while tasting almost dessert like!
All you need is:
Taylor Farms Power Greens (We loved the Wellness Blend!)
Diced cheese of your choice (optional; Mild Cheddar or Gouda work well)
Fresh, sliced organic strawberries
Fresh, whole, organic seedless red grapes
Start by prepping your ingredients. You can prep as much or as little as you need, depending on what you’re using it for. That’s the nice thing about these particular ingredients. None of them have to be prepped in huge batches. From a small lunch portion to a hearty potluck salad.. you pick how much of what you need and wash and prep accordingly. (You can even dice your chicken and cheese early and just keep them in the fridge, grabbing portions as you need!)
Once your greens, cheese, chicken and fruit is washed, sliced and diced.. it’s time to prep the dressing. Simple is an understatement. Two ingredients. Nothing more. Honey mustard and Vanilla Stonyfield organic whole milk yogurt, blended well with a fork. SO EASY!
3 tablespoons organic honey mustard
1/4 cup Stonyfield Vanilla Whole Milk Yogurt
(Note: for a sweeter dressing, add more honey mustard.. for a tangier, creamier dressing — add more yogurt! Play with it to find the balance you like most!)
Assemble your salad, then drizzle the desired amount of dressing over the top. If packing for a lunch or potluck, I recommend transporting the dressing in a separate container and waiting to drizzle it until just before serving.
Its a bright, fun, incredibly healthy salad that even your kids will crave, and you won’t break a sweat making. Even on those hot summer days. BONUS: the dressing makes an excellent dip! If you have a child who isn’t keen on salad, give them the ingredients seperately and let them dip away! (Sometimes being able to play with their food makes it taste better!)
Happy World Penguin Day!! We love those tuxedo clad flightless birds in our house!
It is with great honor, on a day like today, that I get to share with you that a company I already love for their dedication to the environment, food, and the well being of humans — is sponsoring the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program.
Stonyfield has begun a year long mission to bring awareness to this program. Through the Stonyfield YoKids’ sponsorship of the SAFE program, they will support conservation efforts of TEN (!!) endangered species — Including the African Penguin! What better day to kick this all off than World Penguin Day?! They even hosted a fun interactive FB Live broadcast on the Stonyfield Facebook Page, Live from Mystic Aquarium’s Penguin Encounter.
As part of their efforts to bring awareness to the cause and educate not only parents, but the future generation on the importance of saving our endangered species, Stonyfield YoKids’s packaging will feature most of the AZA SAFE species, as well as an on-package offer to bring families to AZA accredited Zoos and Aquariums. From now through September 2017, families that purchase TWO (2) specially marked YoKids multipacks will receive a FREE kids admission to their local AZA accredited Zoo or Aquarium! (There are 131!! Click here to find one near you!)
Even better news for parents! You arent just helping endangered species when you purchase YoKids yogurt! You’re giving your kids a USDA certified Organic, non-GMO yogurt that now has 40% less sugar than the leading low-fat kids yogurt brand!! Available in cups, squeezers and smoothies, you’re bound to find one (or many) your kids will love.
While you wait for your kids to finish their yogurts and planning your trip to your local zoo or aquarium, spend a few minutes checking out these other resources about Stonyfield’s sponsorship of the AZA SAFE program and also watch these super cute videos!
This post seems so odd for me, a blogger, to write. After all, my “reach” is the measurement of my success, right? Companies email and ask for my stats. How many people read my posts? How many followers do I have on Instagram? I have to work, and work hard, in order to get people to “like” me in order to stay relevant. Every post I make, I hope surpasses the last. How many people saw that? Did it garner enough “likes”? Is my engagement on Instagram strong enough? How can I increase my engagement?
This all seemed normal to me in this “industry” — the cutthroat world of bloggers.. where one day we can be the bees knees and the next day, we’re yesterday’s laundry. I should say, it all seemed normal to me until my children downloaded, after an absurd amount of begging, the LEGO Life app.
It was presented to me as a harmless, safe, and age appropriate social media site for kids *under 13* who love LEGO. A way to share their passion for all things LEGO. Okay. Sounds good! I love me some social media.. I see nothing wrong with it.
Then it started. “HEY!! My picture got 5 likes! I can’t believe it!” I paused. My husband and I both looked at each other and he made a comment about how the “search for likes” was already beginning. I laughed, because I didn’t actually think about it. After all, that is my normal. Then came the conversations back and forth.. “Someone commented on my picture!! So cool! Has anyone commented on your pictures?” Oh. Okay. Now it’s a contest between them? I don’t know how much I’m liking this. However, I’m not a hypocrite. Let’s see how this goes.
Fast forward a week or so.. “I got 28 likes! That’s a first! That’s so crazy that 28 people like my picture! I wonder if I can get more!”
That’s when this all hit me. Is this really an acceptable “normal”? Am *I* teaching them this behavior? Are they hearing me make comments that I hadn’t even thought about having an impact? Why is an 8 year old worried about the reach their picture of a LEGO is getting from other 8 year olds?
Is this behavior actually okay? Am I over thinking it? Right now, it’s relatively harmless.. just a crowd of under-13 aged kids sharing with other under-13 aged kids, giving them likes and emoji filled comments. Right? Or is this a slippery slope in the world of social media I know all too well. The parts of blogging that even I cringe at. Where community suddenly becomes competition.
How many of your kids are using LEGO Life? What are your feelings? I’m especially curious about my fellow blogger friends.
I always swore I’d be a “house proof the baby, not baby proof the house” kind of parent. Honestly? This method worked for our first 3 kids. They were respectful of their boundaries and never pushed them. Then along came little boy number 4. Our daredevil, boundary pushing, toddler tornado. If he can climb it, he will. If he can open it, he will. If he can reach it, he’ll try to eat it. He is the reason why I immediately had to run to the store and buy cabinet locks. Why I had to move everything climbable away from our built-ins… And ultimately the reason we had to start looking at gates for our stairs.
There were two issues when it came to looking at stair gates. First, we have banisters. There aren’t a lot of options on the market that will work with a banister staircase. Second, there are so many ugly gates on the market! When gating your stairs, it’s typically in a place that is highly visible to all who come into your home.
I was asked if we would be interested in reviewing The Stair Barrier and, after looking at them, jumped on the opportunity. When it arrived we were definitely impressed by the quality and the style of it.
It was a little involved to mount. We have a wall-to-banister situation, so we had to drill into our wall to anchor the mounts in. Not a huge deal, because once it was done it was insanely secure.
It is a fabric gate, but it has metal supports inside the fabric to prevent any pushing and bending of the gate when it’s secured and securing it is actually very simple. You wrap the webbing around your banister side and then simply clip it in place.
There are a couple design enhancements that would be great.. Like a way to secure it once it’s rolled up and not in use (though, it rolls nicely and doesn’t fall) but that is a little detail that doesn’t effect my opinion of the product. It’s a gate worth having if you have banister staircases!
I am confident it will keep our little daredevil at bay!
Have you ever heard of The Stair Barrier? Do me a favor and go look at their site (https://www.thestairbarrier.com) and come back and tell me which is your favorite design!
Meal time with a toddler is anything but simple. In our house, it typically involves multiple meal options, yogurt in the hair, a bowl tossed on the floor and a missing spoon. (We’re bound to find them eventually.. right?) With that said, we find dinner to be important family time. Conversing and bonding over food. What could be better?
Thanks to Stonyfield and Tommee Tippee, our dinner time bonding was simplified quite a bit. Sure, we still have to have multiple dining options for our toddler and clearly there will still be yogurt in his hair.. but there were no more interrupted conversations due to a tossed spoon. No more bowls full of pasta dumped on the floor. (Much to our cat’s dismay)
Tommee Tippee’s line of dining products for toddlers is fabulous. My favorite, and meal time simplifier is definitely their Easi-Mat. A simple mat that fits nicely on our high chair tray… and it keeps the bowl stuck to it. Amazing. It’s even small enough to roll up, throw in the diaper bag and take with us. That’s right.. no more tossed food at restaurants, either! (It’s a mother’s dream!) Pair with that the Easy Scoop Feeding Bowls with Lid and spoon and you’re all set. It comes as a set of 2 bowls and the lid works on both with a compartment for the spoon. The bowls stick perfectly to the mat for home use.. and when on the go, the lid fit tightly and kept my diaper bag protected… and the spoon compartment kept the spoon nice and clean. This is especially convenient for us since our toddler is on a special diet, so we are often having to bring his own food and snacks with us. (You can fill these bowls with your favorite Stonyfield YoToddler Yogurt and throw it in your diaper bag to take with you and it will actually stay IN the bowl… not all over your bag! WIN!!)
I am very impressed with the toddler line of Tommee Tippee products. We love them. Our toddler loves them. Even our 3 year old loves them. (He has claimed the spill proof cups as his own… even though he is capable of using normal cups. One less mess for me to clean up, so I shall not argue!) Do you even find yourself thinking that there must be a simpler way to feed a toddler? Especially while you’re hunting down carrots from under a table? Tommee Tippee definitely makes meals less messy. Except for the yogurt.. that will always end up in the hair, but you know what? That’s okay. There’s something really cute (and yummy smelling..) about a little one with a yogurt mohawk.
Thanks to Stonyfield and Tommee Tippee, you have the opportunity to win an amazing toddler feeding prize pack just like the one we received. A set of Tommee Tippee toddler feeding products, and coupons for delicious, healthy and organic Stonyfield YoToddler yogurt. You, too, could enjoy yogurt mohawks and less meal time bowl tossing.
To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below.
Note: This post is sponsored by Stonyfield and Tommee Tippee. I was provided products for review and giveaway. The opinions expressed are my own.
I was honored, once again, to have been selected to host a #disneyside @Home party. This time around, we were chosen to host a “Cars” themed party, much to my children’s delight. What more does a house full of boys love than cars?
I decided to take the party a little healthier this time. Typically when we think about kid parties, they are usually full of candy and cupcakes and kids leave on an epic sugar high. While I did have a sweet treat (chocolate dipped Marshmallows!) the rest of the food was aimed towards balance. Thanks to Stonyfield Farm, the most popular snack was YoKids Organic Yogurt Squeezers. We also had berry muffins instead of cupcakes. Organic Fruit Leather instead of fruit snacks. And a simple chicken salad with pita chips — and by simple, I truly mean simple. Nothing more than rotisserie chicken, apples, grapes, and organic plain yogurt! While the kids enjoyed it, the adults really liked it.
Besides the food, the kids had a blast playing games. In our #disneyside box, we were sent a “Pin the smile on Mickey” game. It was so much fun for the kids. It was definitely most fun for the slightly older kids, but all of the children enjoyed the game very much. Also – what is better entertainment for parents than blindfolded children wandering around the room attempting to stick a smile on random pieces of furniture (or sometimes other children..)?
Another popular game that we were sent was #disneyside Bingo. Even the young kids were really good at finding the matches that were called. They also enjoyed eating the popcorn that they used to mark their spaces once the game was done.
I got creative for one last game. What else does one do with a room full of young kids? Help them burn energy while playing an easy to understand game! So, going with the “Cars” theme, we played “Lightening Says.” This also proved quite entertaining.”Lightning says… jump up and down!”
Pit Stop! It wouldn’t be a social media party if it didn’t include a place to take themed selfies. Starting kids off young, wouldn’t you know? Haha. We had two wall posters where they could pose with the “Cars” stars and hold the #disneyside chalk board. They enjoyed it more than I thought they would. The Radiator Springs characters were the favorite, for sure. The other poster had all of the “Cars 2” characters in it and it was not quite as popular as Lightning and Mater. Even the baby had to show his #disneyside!
Outside of organized games, the kids had fun playing with the Disney Cars we had out and the simple road way I created with Washi Tape on our kids’ table. Amazing how fun something so simple can be! (Naturally, they had to use it for Baymax to save the world, with a little help from The Hulk.) This was incredibly popular with the younger, preschool aged crowd. A place to play alongside one another.. and without all of the grown ups bothering them with instructions.
We ended our fun with some amazing parting gifts. Of course, a lot of #disneyside fun was included thanks to Disney and the #disneyside sponsors. We are all excited to start planning our next Disney Parks Vacation. My kids even filled out their luggage tags. The bags were made even better thanks to my friends at Mattel for helping brings some car fun along and Stonyfield for providing even more yogurt!
Note: This party was sponsored by Disney and the wonderful people at MomSelect, They kindly sent a party kit for this #disneyside @Home party. I was also provided product by Mattel and Stonyfield Farm. All opinions expressed are my own and I was not otherwise compensated for this post.
If there are two things that my children love almost equally, it’s Disney and music. Having kids in the age spans that mine are, it is often hard to find things that they all enjoy and can get into equally. The Disney Junior television show “Sofia the First” is one of those things! My toddler is the biggest fan of the show, but even my 8-year-old loves it. Yes, I have all boys.. but they don’t find the show “too girly” at all.
When I was given the chance to review the new CD from Disney Records, “Sofia the First: Songs from Enchancia” I instantly jumped on it. I knew my boys would love it.. and if I’m completely honest, I knew I would enjoy it as well.
The CD arrived and my children wanted to listen to it immediately. They weren’t disappointed by it in the slightest and so far, we parents aren’t tired of it yet! This is always a good sign. The kids know most of the songs already from watching the television show, so they gleefully sing along. It even helps calm my toddler down when he is in one of his “I am tired of being in the car!!” tantrums. That alone makes it an instant hit, if you ask me.
The Sofia the First songs are catchy and easy to sing along to, but they aren’t irritating or annoying. They tend to have good morals to them and strive to teach a lesson in each upbeat tune. Something I love as a parent.
You can order your own copy of Sofia the First: Songs from Enchancia here and here. I have also been given THREE CD’s to giveaway to you fabulous readers! Feel free to enter below for your chance to win a copy!
Disclaimer: I am a participating Influencer at The Entertainment New Media Network. I have received free product for review and to give to my readers. I was not compensated for this review and all expressed opinions are strictly my own.
That dreaded point of the summer has arrived. I have to come to terms with the fact that I need to start preparing for back to school. I dislike doing it all in a mad rush, especially when our children’s school has a rather specific list of supplies. I need to make sure I get everything we need and in time so I try to start doing it mid to late July.
Our particular school has a uniform for all kids First Grade and up, so worrying about clothes shopping isn’t as critical for us. Though, I do need to make sure that we have the correct shoes and our preschooler is dressed presentably through the year. While the uniform helps us not stress too much about those aspects of returning to school, there are the many other parts of back to school shopping that must be completed. If you asked my soon-to-be-second-grader, he would tell you that there are two very important things to buy. The backpack and the lunch box. Of course he would think this. There are no rules or restrictions on his backpack or lunch box, and while wearing a uniform.. what better way to express yourself? As his parents, however, we do have rules and restrictions on his backpack and lunch box. Sure, I want him to have a way to express what he likes.. but I have a few criteria, mostly for his backpack:
It needs to be adequate in size. What good is a backpack that can’t hold all of your belongings? However, it also needs to be appropriately sized for the child to carry or wear.
While I don’t mind a fun print.. I don’t want it to be a tacky walking advertisement strapped to my child’s back.
It needs to be high quality. I am willing to buy a new backpack each year, but the idea of needing to buy more than one? Or have my child walking around with holes in his back pack? I am not okay with that.
It needs to maximize the usability within it. A rule I have taken from my diaper bag criteria. It needs pockets and places to put things. Not just a big open bag where things sink to the bottom and get lost in an abyss.
I prefer that the lunch box also be practical in use. If it can fit a bento-style box inside it, that is preferred.
I am sure this looks incredibly specific to some people. It might be easier if I just ran to whatever store and grabbed any backpack and lunch box he wanted and made do.. but that’s just not how I, personally, do things. If you’ve read this blog before, you know I like things of quality. I don’t just buy anything. I look into it. Research it. Do my best to make sure the money I am spending is being spent wisely.
When our oldest son went to Kindergarten, we found the perfect backpack that fit my criteria. The Pottery Barn Kids collection of backpacks and lunch boxes. They come in a variety of sizes, so as he grows and the contents of his backpack grows, there are many options. The quality is outstanding. So far, they have lasted through the school year and beyond.
Yes, I do buy a new bag for each new school year, but the previous year’s bag still gets used for things like travel, sleep overs and trips to grandma’s house. Not only do the bags fit my criteria, but my boys love that they can get them in styles they enjoy. (Our oldest is quite fond of his Star Wars one..) The Batman, Spiderman and Star Wars collections draw my kids in with glee, while I don’t shudder upon seeing them. They aren’t overly tacky. I also love that they sell matching backpacks and lunch boxes. Not only do they sell lunch boxes, but they also sell bento boxes that fit inside many of their lunch boxes. You can even get Planet Lunch Boxes to match some of their backpack collections. What eco-friendly mom doesn’t love that?
Also, our son’s school has a “water only” policy. They are allowed to have a water bottle at their desk throughout the day, but that is the only beverage they are allowed, even during lunch. They can also refill it as needed. For this we love that Pottery Barn Kids also sells the Klean Kanteen kids bottles with spouts. You can get them to match the backpack and lunch box collections.
Knowing that I can go to one place to get all of these items and that they are of amazing quality makes me that much happier.
Are you already preparing for back to school? Are you as particular about the school items you purchase for your kids as I am? How many of you are embarking on the school journey for the first time this year?
** This is not a sponsored post. I was not paid for this post and no products were provided to me. We love these items and wanted to share that love with you**
