Babies

I had all these plans for maternity leave. Plans to go to my first Austin farmers market. Plans to take my daughter to swimming lessons. Plans to take a mini vacation to a nearby town. None of these things happened. I only have a week and a day left, and I have no idea where the time went. Most days were spent hanging out at home, a neighborhood park, or meeting up with friends. Most evenings were spent cuddling with my babies as they drifted off to sleep. Then of course my nights were spent watching TV show marathons on Netflix. I had plans to reorganize my daughter’s closet, revamp my websites, and complete a multi-backup system for all of my digital photos. I’m only beginning to make a dent in all of these goals. Instead, I’ve spent much of my time making up stories with my daughter, and getting acquainted with my sweet baby boy. I’d hoped I’d be some kind of master chef by now. Instead I’ve discovered I love to bake, and I’m still not very fond of cooking. I thought I’d be able to keep a cleaner house since I’d be home more to clean it. But I’ve learned being home more just means there’s more of a mess to clean up. Cleaning then leaving the house is the trick. I thought I’d still enjoy quality time more than quantity, and now I’m not so sure. I hoped I’d be able to knock out at least a hundred Pinterest projects but I think I’ve done two. Maternity leave is about recovery, and getting to know my new baby, but I’ve spent just as much time growing even closer to my daughter. One thing I’ve learned during this experience is sometimes simple is better. After work I’d try to make up for lost time by planning fun activities and projects for us to do. Now, coloring a picture together, practicing writing our ABCs, or making up stories can be as fun as anything. Lately my daughter asks me to make up stories about herself as a princess. The first one I told was a rendition of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Since then, she’s enjoyed telling the story herself to family and friends. Last week we were sent an HP ENVY X2 and an HP ENVY 120 e-all-in-one printer to try out and review, courtesy of HP. We were encouraged to make a craft or project together, so I thought it would be fun to draw out her story and print it for her to have. I could tell you all about it, but instead I made a video of the experience, complete with a blooper reel at the end. The video was probably just as fun to make with her as the story book (in case you’re wondering… Little boy was attached to me during most of the shoot, but quiet and asleep for most of the filming). I’ve been thinking a lot about quality vs quantity time. I don’t feel like I see my daughter any more than I do when I’m working, but reality is I’m with her nine more hour a day five days a week. That’s insane. And you’d think she’d be tiring of me by now, but she’s attached more than ever, and always reluctant to go anywhere with her daddy when I’m not going too. She’s my little buddy, my tiny friend. My maternity leave hasn’t been all it was cracked up to be. It’s been better. Twelve weeks just isn’t enough. I’m just now getting the hang of things–into a routine, and now I’m going to change it all up again. Great. Like our video? I’ll be giving you more details about the HP products in an upcoming post. I’ll also be doing a giveaway for the laptop/tablet, printer and a $50 Snapfish gift card. I did this video review while participating in a program on behalf of HP and received an HP ENVY x2, and HP ENVY 120 All-in-One Printer, and a Sapfish Giftcard as a part of my participation. The post My maternity leave: Not all it was cracked up to be appeared first on Baby Making Machine.

I am very excited to be invited back to share another round of my summer camp. There are big changes since last summer’s camp! My camp has since grown to include the younger siblings of our original campers, since they all have younger siblings now! How fun to have another group of littles come and enjoy some stories, songs and snacks! While I was planning for the younger kids version of camp I was astonished to realize just how young Dominic and his friends were when we hosted the first camp session. Dominic was a mere 20 months old and he was the oldest!! In my eyes my little lady is still a baby and yet she was the same age as her big brother when we started. Crazy!! This time around since the older siblings are out of school for the summer and as I am needing a routine desperately to get me through the long summer days, I came up with a special “Siblings” version of camp, wherein the campers are siblings who must work together to complete a project and/or craft. I revamped the structure of the camp so that we have a two hour camp every Thursday of summer. Each week the theme will change and campers will be able to pick and choose which week to attend. I have some really fun themes planned so far. The first theme of our siblings camp was “Summertime!” Siblings joined together to hear stories about summertime, we sang special summertime songs and danced and then we headed to the kitchen table to work on our artwork! I found this idea on Pinterest (surprise!!) and instantly knew that I HAD TO DO IT!! It will be such a special keepsake one day and I have already hung it proudly in our playroom for all to see. Here is how we did it: 1. Get your cute older sibling assistant to paint your canvas the background color. The beauty of this is that you can use any color scheme you’d like! We chose white, baby blue and two shades of yellow, one a little lighter than the other. 2. Next use your handy dandy Disney princess hair dryer to expedite the drying process. Little sister was more than happy to help with this step. 3. Now it is on to your sun: we chose the darker yellow for the large sun circle. I painted the outline and had big brother paint in the inside. 4. For this next step you need one sibling at a time. I utilized big brother first and had him sit on the floor while sister and I painted the bottom of his left foot. Both kids LOVED this step! Big brother loved the tickles and little sister loved making big brother laugh! Win-win!! Once his foot was coated well, we had him place his foot on the canvas and I pressed on the backside to ensure it transferred completely. 5. Repeat this step several times, staggering the footprints about 6″ around the large yellow circle. 6. Now it is time for little sibling to get tickled. 7. Press their foot in the spaces between big siblings footprints. Allow time to dry!! 8. Using the blue paint I then swirled the paint in circles until I had a pretty good cloud shape. Big brother helped me with this step. Again it was time to dry. 9. Lastly I used white letter stickers to spell out “You Are My Sunshine”. I traced around them with a black permanent scrapbooking pen and removed the stickers. I liked the way it looked better, but you could always go in and paint the letters, too. 10. My last step, as with any artwork we make, was to put their names around the cloud to make an outline. At the very edge of the canvas I put the date. This is such an easy and CUTE, UNIQUE piece of art that your siblings can cooperate on together. Since we have a 2 and 4 year old this was an important concept for me to focus on right now. I hope that you will try this with your own little ones this summer!!” Jolea Broome The Friendship Odyssey We are hosting Summer Camp Mon- Fri June 3rd to July 3rd (weekends will be for our regular posts). We are featuring awesome “Camp Counselors” (blogging friends) who ha

(Photo by Julie Michelle) I just wanted to take a quick moment today to encourage any of you in the NYC area to come out and see Brent play in the city this weekend. He will be on this Saturday night, June 22 at midnight at The Living Room , opening for a very cool band, Star & Micey . The Living Room is an amazing venue and Brent has loads of new material to try out. Go cheer him on for me! Love, M

Last week I shared news about an upcoming event called the Drive It Home Show. The Allstate Foundation and the National Safety Council teamed up to travel across the country and present in 14 different cities. Their goal? Keeping teen drivers safe. They helped raise awareness for teen car accidents, gave tips on how to help your teen, and shared some grim statistics. I attended our local show at Rockford College last night. My mom won a $25 gas gift card at the Drive it Home Show in Rockford, IL! My kids are years away from driving a car, but I walked away thinking they might never be allowed to drive a car, haha. But really… it’s not funny… although the Drive It Home Show did present with comedians from Second City in Chicago! They did various skits (that were very funny!) on teens driving with their parents (we all remember how much fun that was, right?!), offered STUD-tistics from some hot men (got my attention!), and even sang and danced. We even heard from a mom at the Drive it Home Show whose daughter was the passenger in a terrible car accident after homecoming (no drugs or alcohol were involved) and the driver was killed. Heartbreaking. Drive it Home Show The reality is that the first year of driving is the most dangerous and over half of high-school kids will be in an accident before they graduate. I’m thankful to say I’ve never been in a car crash… although my side mirror did have a bad run in with the drive-thru sign at Culvers :/ When I was in high school we had an exchange student visit for a year from Norway. Her name was Laura and she was always smiling. We played on the tennis team together and I’m also Norwegian so we became good friends. The following summer our family even vacationed in Norway and we stopped in Laura’s hometown to visit her and her family. A year later I learned that Laura was driving on a gravel road, swerved to miss a deer, and instead hit a tree. She died and she was just a teenager. At Drive It Home’s website you can find more statistics and facts, tips on talking and driving with your teen, and video resources. Here are some stats and some information about our state of IL: The number one cause of teen fatalities is car crashes. The NUMBER ONE cause of teen car crashes is not talking on the phone, texting, reckless driving, etc… it’s INEXPERIENCE. Nearly half of parents express regret about not monitoring their teen driver after they get a license and more than two-thirds wish they spent more time practicing driving with their teen in high-risk situations. Parents and teens agree (they AGREE?!) that they should have spent more time practicing in dangerous conditions, according to The Allstate Foundation survey. More than half of Illinois teens (55%) wish their parents had spent more time teaching them to drive in demanding situations. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 310 fatalities in crashes involving at least one 15– to 19-year-old driver in IL from 2009 to 2011. A total of 128 teen drivers (15–19), 57 teen passengers (15–19), 29 other age passengers in the teen’s vehicle, and 96 others were killed in those crashes. Illinois teens must log a minimum of 50 hours of driving practice before they can obtain a driver’s license. A note about that last one… 50 hours might sound like a lot. To a teenager I’m sure it’s an eternity. But do you know how many hours of practice you need in the state of IL for a barbering license?! That is, a license to cut hair.… 1500 hours. 1500!!!! And only 50 to get behind the wheel of a car. It’s entirely possible that in those 50 hours, you never experience driving in the snow or rain. You never experience driving with a car full of people or merging at rush hour or driving downtown in a major city. You’re likely driving during the day and are unprepared for night driving when there are different risks and everything looks different. How much are you really experiencing in 50  hours of practice with your mom? Here are so

We have teamed up with some great bloggers to bring you this awesome giveaway to help save money and make healthier food for your baby. It's great for eating at home or for filling those reusable pouches! Giveaway Hosted by: Elitemama and Sponsored by: Capital BrandsCo-Hosts: A Purpose Driven Wife, The Minister's Wife Stamps and Saves, Diva's POV, My Dairy Free Gluten Free Life, Cluttered Genius, Simply Sherryl, The Deal Match Maker, Its The Simple Things, WEMAKE7, Mami's 3 Little Monkeys, A Purpose Driven Wife, Cloth Diaper Addicts, The Secret Life of a SAHMThe Baby Bullet Care System has revolutionized the way you'll feed your baby for the first 3 years of life. Jarred baby food is a big expense compared to homemade food and jarred food contains unhealthy sugars, fillers and also preservatives. Even those jarred foods that are labeled organic! With the Baby Bullet, you can make and store an entire weeks worth of food that is healthy for the little ones in under 5 minutes. The all-new Baby Blend Blade is specially designed to blend fruits, vegetables and a combination of meals from baby's first "stage one" purees to stage 3 toddler meals. Here's how the Baby Bullet works:What the Baby Bullet set comes with:1. One Short Cup - Makes small servings2. One Baby Blend Blade + One Milling Blade - Blend perfect food textures3. Six Date-Dial Storage cups + Tip Proof Tray - Cups are refrigerator and freezer friendly4. Easy Pop Batch Tray - Pop-out one or many servings at a time5. Spatula - The soft tip spatula is used for easy scooping6. One Stay Fresh Re-Sealable Lid - Keeps your baby food fresh for travel and storage7.. The Baby Bullet User Manual and CookbookGiveawayOne lucky reader will win a Baby Bullet set. Open to the US and Canada. You must be 18+ or older to enter. Giveaway begins 6/19 and ends 6/28. Enter the rafflecopter form to win. Good luck!a Rafflecopter giveawayDisclosure: Eco-Babyz is not responsible for the shipment of the prize. If you have any questions the giveaway, please send an email to elitemama89@gmail.com. Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com!

Me time? What the crap is that?! Sometimes I have to make a conscious effort to remember the pre-kid me and all the things I loved to do. The me that jumped out of a plane, the me that read books all the time (Stephen King, not “Goodnight Moon”), the me that loved animals so much I went to school for it. The ME now? Has been breastfeeding for 3.5 years, spends every day with two little ones pretending to be a dinosaur and singing the Thomas theme song, kissing boo-boos and giving baths. The me now, goes by “Mom” and doesn’t shower every day. The me now, loves Sandra Boynton instead of John Grisham and Raffi instead of Aerosmith. Don’t get me wrong, I love and adore my kids. They make me laugh everyday, they make me smile if I’m sad, they’re my best little buddies and are always by my side–I can’t imagine the ME now without them. But sometimes? Mama needs a break. My kids aren’t in school yet. They don’t go to daycare or a babysitter. They are mine all day, every day. I fully admit it can be fun, but exhausting… it tries my patience like never before (and I thought I was a patient person, ha!)… and some days I want to pull my hair out and run away. Me time? I mean the kind of pre-kid me time. Is a MUST. It saves my sanity. It refreshes me and stops me from actually running away, lol. It took me a long time (too long) to realize that ME time was not only ok, but a necessity. It’s OKAY to step away for a moment. It’s OKAY to want a night out. It’s OKAY to not enjoy EVERY moment with your kids. And I don’t mean I need a weekend away or even a trip to the spa for a mani/pedi (although that would be AWESOME). Sometimes my ME time can be as super simple as a shower sans kids. RIGHT?! After the husband gets home from work–or on the weekends–if I get a solo shower and 30 minutes alone in the bathroom, I’m refreshed. A morning cup of coffee on the deck in the sunshine while the kids play or eat their breakfast? That works, too. Heading to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual to cuddle up with a good (adult) book. And, guys, I mean a chapter book with 300+ pages, not adult book. Unless we’re talking about 50 Shade of Grey. Because yes, I have found time to read that Sneaking into the closet to eat some cookies without having to share with the kids who, goodness, don’t need any more cookies. And because, really, I don’t want to share. And those rare times I do actually get OUT of the house alone? Something that used to seem like a chore is now heaven. A trip alone to Target?!?!? BLISS. A hair cut? A stop at the post office WITHOUT KIDS?! And, lucky me, I also have a monthly girls night with some wonderful friends. We don’t fake it and call it a “book club” or anything like that… it’s a straight up “Wine Night.” I also get out once a month without the kids to our local ICAN meeting. What do you do for a little bit of ME time? Do you have monthly or weekly plans? Do you do little things during each day to escape? And a little tip for those sneaky trips to your pantry: Quaker® Chocolate Chip Cookies are a perfect snack for you that you don’t have to share with the kids Treat yourself, Quaker Up.™ Share how celebrate your me-time and go to Everyday Health for more fun stories. This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Quaker®. The opinions and text are all mine. The post sneaking in some me time any way I can appeared first on Baby Dickey | Chicago, IL Mom Blogger.

“Sunscreen slatherer, strawberry distributor, face wiper, knee bandager, tee-ball watcher, finger food server, swimming lesson chauffer, human incubator. These are the roles my outfit and I filled today…” Read the rest here. Happy Wednesday, friends!

The post Sweet brothers appeared first on pyjammy's {identical} triplets.

It's not as squeamish of a recipe as you may think and if you've never tried it, you're missing out! If you can get a beef tongue from a local, grass fed farm animal - this is one of the most delicious things you will ever eat. In the country where I come from, we always ate all parts of the animal. There are a ton of minerals and vitamins to be found there, beef tongue is healthy in so many ways. The taste resembles roast beef and the texture is buttery soft, it's so delicious I can't even describe. Beef tongue is very easy to prepare in the crockpot and it's perfect for summer to have on hand for making sandwiches. In my humble opinion, it's way better than roast beef in a sandwich! I just love that it's so easy and requires minimal time in the kitchen on my part. This is one of the kids' favorite meat dishes. This recipe serves 4-6 people as part of a dinner, or more if used as a sandwich fillingIngredients:1 grassfed beef tongue 6 celery stalks1 large onions, sliced6-10 garlic cloves, sliced1/4 tsp real saltpepperwater, enough to cover the tongueDirections: 1. Place the celery stalks and large slices of onion on the bottom of the crock pot.2. Place the whole beef tongue on top of the celery. Rub with salt and pepper.3. Pierce the tongue with a knife and insert slivers of garlic into each hole. 4. Cover with filtered water to the very top of the tongue. 5. Cover and cook in crockpot on low for 8 hours.6. Enjoy with dinner or in a sandwich! If you make this recipe, we would love to know what you served it with or if you put a different spin on it! If you adapt this recipe and post it on your own blog, please link to Eco-Babyz, we would appreciate it :)Contains affiliate links to where we usually shop, your purchase supports Eco-Babyz at no extra cost to you. Thank you!Top Mommy Blogs - Vote for us @ TopMommyBlogs.Com!

You just finished reading I Sneak In Educational Apps Too {WW}! Consider leaving a comment!This post is written by Penelope Guzman from Penelope's Oasis. If you are not currently reading this via e-mail or an RSS feed directly from Penelope's Oasis, then this post has been stolen or scraped. Stolen content can be reported here [...]You just finished reading I Sneak In Educational Apps Too {WW}! Consider leaving a comment!This post is written by Penelope Guzman from Penelope's Oasis. If you are not currently reading this via e-mail or an RSS feed directly from Penelope's Oasis, then this post has been stolen or scraped. Stolen content can be reported here .