When I first started thinking about teaching my 2 and-half-year-old son the alphabet, I thought the easiest approach would be to just sing the ABC song over and over and he’d eventually catch on. Wrong. He couldn’t even stand to hear me sing the ABC song let alone sing it over and over again. I’d get about 5 letters in and I’d hear my sweet boy say, “Mommy stop, stop singing!” Ugh! After being thoroughly offended for about 2 minutes, I had to think of a different approach. I decided to try using the Letter of the Week strategy and after about 4 weeks he was hooked on letters and singing his ABC’s anywhere and everywhere! My favorite is when he sings at the top of his lungs while we’re in the stall of a public restroom…it makes my heart smile every time! [Read more…]
11 Must Have Potty Training Tools To Make the Process Easier
Potty training can be a dreadful time for toddlers and parents. I’ve heard horror stories from friends and family about the awful process. Some parents warned me it could take months or years to get my son out of pull-ups and into underwear full time.
So, before I started the potty training process with my son, I did a lot of research on what to expect and how to prepare myself (and him). After endless reading and stressing, I came to the conclusion that no matter how many blogs I read, my process and my experience would be different because no child or family situation is the same. I just had to dive in, expect the worst, and hope for the best. [Read more…]
Shape Recognition Activity
When I first started teaching my son how to recognize different shapes, I would draw them on a piece of paper, point, and tell him what each shape was. Before too long he would get bored and move on to a toy with wheels or sound and leave me in the dust. It didn’t take me long to realize I was going about my teaching style all wrong. He needed something to touch and feel in his hands to be more interested in learning his shapes. So I turned my original boring shape activity into a reusable, hands-on, and very easy-to-make Shape Recognition Activity with colorful felt shapes that can be stuck on and peeled off over and over. [Read more…]
Toddler Bath Caddy
My 2-and-half-year-old son has gone through stages of loving bath time and hating bath time and now loving it again. When he was an infant, bath time was new to him and he was still discovering the whole water and bubble situation. Now, he knows bathtime signifies the end of play time which ultimately leads to bedtime. So sometimes getting him to the bath is tough. Sometimes it takes bribing and trickery. Other times it takes throwing him over my shoulder and hauling him upstairs. Either way, I was tired of the begging and pleading so I got a little inventive in my trickery and got him to remember how much fun bath time can be. [Read more…]
Tips for Child Proofing Your Home
As a fairly new parent, I worry incessantly about my 2-year-old getting hurt, sick, bullied, abducted, or drowning. Sometimes I forget about how dangerous my own house can be. Chemicals, hot stoves, pools, ponds, electrical outlets, and heavy furniture are just a few of the looming dangers lurking in plain sight. As my son gets older and becomes more curious, I fear less about bumps and bruises, and more about ingesting chemicals or wandering to the pond behind our home. This is why I baby proof everything! [Read more…]
Holiday Turkey Candy Bowl
To me, the holidays are about slowing down and taking time to enjoy friends and family. They’re also about cooking big meals, baking cookies, shopping, throwing on a jacket to play outside with the kids, and snuggling up with a warm blanket and hot cocoa. More than all of that, to me, the holidays are about giving. And [Read more…]
DIY Calming Glitter Jar
I’ve been looking for a way to help calm my 2-year-old son when his temper gets the best of him. About 7 years ago a family member made this DIY Calming Glitter Jar for her daughter to serve the same purpose. I made a mental note to give it a try when my own child came along, you know if I needed it.
Fast forward 7 years, the terrible twos in full swing, and I’ve quickly learned that toddler tantrums are tough to deal with. When your crazed child is [Read more…]
DIY Cars Theme Cake Pop Stand
We just celebrated my son’s 2nd birthday a few weeks ago, which was perfectly themed “Cars.” He’s a typical little boy who loves anything with 4 wheels! After spending months of planning his 1st birthday party, I decided to make the second-year celebration a little more low key. So, this time around I bought most of the decorations instead of making them. I was able to find a lot of the Cars themed party décor at Party City and Walmart (which you can check out below). The one party décor item I made was this DIY Cars Theme Cake Pop Stand. J loves cake pops from Starbucks (a horrible thing I blame myself for) so I decided on cake pops this year instead of a cake.
Don’t be intimidated by the all the steps, it’s actually quite [Read more…]
How to Survive a Long Car Ride with Your Kids
Road trips are tough on everyone. Especially little kids. Wait, no they’re tougher on the parents. When my little J was an infant, he hated his car seat so car rides were very stressful for Mommy. Even a 2-mile ride to the grocery store felt like a 20-mile ride. I tried everything that I could think of to soothe his cries and keep him entertained. Mirrors, squeaky toys, rattles, teething toys. Nothing worked.
I even took one blogger’s advice and made a [Read more…]
5 Easy Ways to Donate to Schools
It’s back to school for kids across the country. While this may be an exciting time for most, it’s also stressful for many kids. Why? Because there are countless families who can’t afford the basics when it comes to the dreaded back to school supplies list. Many children aren’t equipped with the basics: backpacks, pens, pencils, paper, and binders. According to Adopt a Classroom.org, K-12 teachers spend [Read more…]
Independence Day No-Bake Playdoh
With the fourth of July just around the corner, I know a lot of us will be visiting family and friends for pool parties, cook-outs, camping, and probably fireworks. Ahh fireworks!! As a kid, I loved them and always looked forward to the family outing at the local mall where our town gathered to watch the beautiful display of what we, as Americans, associate our Independence Day with. But as an adult and new mom, I’ve come to [Read more…]
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