busy mom

A Betty Tradition // GIVEAWAY!

November 29, 2015 by Rachel 16 Comments

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!! — the holidays!! I seriously don’t even know who I’ve become over these last few months. I’ve never been this pumped up about the holiday season!

Well, due to the recent concerns surrounding my health and the health of Baby Girl, Chad + I decided to cancel our plans to travel to Columbus Thanksgiving Day. That meant that we didn’t spend the holidays surrounded by tons of family. But that’s okay. Because Chad & I are creating our own traditions, complete with turkey and a mashed potato side dish! Cause that’s really all that matters for Thanksgiving, right!?

Between doctor appointments and work schedules, it was a busy week. So we are planned on keeping the holiday super low-key. Easy was the name of the game! Chad made a smoked turkey and I was in charge of the side dishes! Most important? Mashed potatoes. Obviously. The only problem is, I had other things to cook, too. So instead of laboring over potatoes, I used Betty Crocker Potatoes!

Not only does it save time, but Betty Crocker Potatoes are 100% real potatoes, farmed right here in the United States! I keep a packet or box on hand just in case of dinner emergencies (AKA nearly every night), but this time I planned on mixing a pouch with some green onions and bacon!

They turned out amazing. A wonderful addition to our Thanksgiving feast — even if this child did only allow me to eat a tablespoon of each item! You can use this coupon to save $.50 off two packages of Betty Crocker potatoes!

In addition, one lucky reader will win a Betty Crocker Pototoes prize pack valued at $50!! Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Winners will be notified by email and will need to respond with mailing address within 24 hours (prize pack shipped directly from Betty Crocker).

lies i { regularly } tell my toddler.

November 24, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

Let’s face it: as parents, we will totally take advantage of our small children. I mean, heck!, they owe us. They put us through the ringer with their “demands” and nonsense. It’s no wonder we (occasionally) tell them things that they do not know are false. Like, completely false.

My mother decided to point out to me how often I ‘lie’ to Moosh. So I compiled a list of my go-to ‘lies.’

“They’re closed, baby!” I say this regularly for any place Moosh wants to go that we either: 1. do not have on the agenda; 2. do not have time for; or 3. do not have the patience for. This includes: Cafe O’Play (we pass it every day on our way home from the sitter). The Chick-fil-a play area (as we are sitting down eating and he’s watching other kids play). The movie theater. You get the picture. Pretty much every place he thinks is fun.

“It’s all gone!” Yep. No shame in my food-game! If I don’t want Moosh to have something, I just tell him it’s gone. But I fear he’s catching on to me… He recently started asking “Let me see the ____.” Like, for proof.

“It’s not working. / It needs batteries.” Toy? Needs batteries. Movie he wants to watch for the 800th time? Not working. I’m. Not. Sorry!

“This isn’t candy; it’s medicine.” It’s especially convincing since I’ve been so sick during this pregnancy.

“We’ll go tomorrow.” Biggest. liar. EVER. I most recently used this lie when I was trying to get Ari home from the sitter and he wanted to stop at the library. No, we didn’t go the next day. But I told him we would. Toddlers either remember things for months or forget them within seconds. So I was pretty much playing russian roulette. [PS. I won.]

How can I lie to this adorable face from these pictures?!? Easy. It’s lying for survival. And I’m not ashamed to say I’ll continue to do it until he catches on. I know I’m not alone, friends! Tell me, what are your favorite lies you tell your children?!

life lately //

November 22, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

I swear even when we have “nothing going on,” we have nonstop stuff to do! Does anyone else feel that way!? Well, it’s clear we’ve definitely been plenty busy with doctor appointments and hospital visits, etc. Blah! We’ve had our fill of all of that.

But besides that, we have had a little bit of other stuff going on, too!

Playing outside. We’ve had an unusually warm November. Sure, we’ve had spurts of ‘normal,’ cold weather; but we’ve also had several 70+ degree days… in a row… in November… in OHIO. Amazing! So we’ve been hitting up the local parks and playgrounds. And Ari has been begging to ride his new bicycle! So we’ve done plenty of that, too! [I was totally afraid that he wouldn’t be able to use it until next Spring!]

Cooking class. Chad gave me the gift of cooking for my birthday! And it took me a little while to get a class scheduled at the Western Reserve School of Cooking, but when I finally did, it was awesome! I rarely cook (mostly because my husband is such an awesome cook, so I feel intimidated), so pending my upcoming maternity leave, I decided “quick dinners” would be a good match!

The Quick Dinners class almost got off to a rocky start… the owner of WRSOC seemed a bit pushy and not-at-all welcoming, which was very off-putting for someone who: a.) isn’t feeling well; and b.) is there by themselves. However, I pushed through and had a super enjoyable experience with the chef and other students! Plus? I learned a TON and ate lots of amazing food!

Watching lots of movies in “mommies bed.” It’s seriously the only place that Ari wants to watch movies. And, honestly? It’s totally fine with me. It’s much more comfortable for me to lie in bed and watch a movie than to sit on the couch. And Ari can be such a snuggle-bunny, so it’s super nice to get this time in with him.

The LEGO store. Want to keep a kid entertained by simply going to the mall? Visit the LEGO Store. It will be impossible to get your kid to leave. Luckily, we’ve had a couple of gift cards to use [from Ari’s birthday], so we’ve actually left with items, too! Ha! But mostly he just likes to play with all of the cool LEGO stuff he doesn’t have at home! Why is it that toys, even toys that are much like the ones you have at home, at the store, are WAY more fun!? But seriously. The Lego store is awesome.

Chick-fil-a craft night. Our local Chick-fil-a partners with Michael’s Stores to host Tuesday night family craft nights! I’m not sure if every Chick-fil-a does this, or if just some do, but it’s wonderful! Ari loves doing crafts and he loves Chick-fayyy, so this is a win-win for us!

Lots “Spring Cleaning” and organizing. I wouldn’t call it ‘nesting,’ because, truly, I am not at all energized. But I have been knocking some semi-major things off my house/chores to-do list. Like washing the carpets. Or moving things around.

Sure, things aren’t exactly ‘glamorous,’ but it’s real life! 🙂 And I wouldn’t change it for the world!

but wait! there’s more!

November 18, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

Because just when you think “nothing else can happen,” something does.

Like picking up your prescription and rear ending a girl leaving Target during her lunch break. Yep. That happened. Luckily [and yes, there really is a silver lining here], neither car was damaged — at all! However, I kinda hit her hard. Moosh and I were OK.

…until I was laying in bed with him and realizing my heart was beating out of my chest + it was difficult to take breaths.

Call the doctor and they send me back to triage.

Drag Moosh with me to triage at Akron City Hospital [dude was a champ, by the way]. Of course my blood pressure returns to normal at this point. But I happen to mention that “teeny” fender-bender I was in earlier. So they want to keep me for monitoring … for a minimum of 4 hours.

More blood work, more tests, ultrasounds to check organs, etc, later. I’m released. Exhausted. Had to take a quick shower before bed. Only to be left sleeping with a toddler [because when asked why he is scared to sleep in his room he simply answers, “jumanji”] who wants to be sure he’s touching mommy all night… but that means with his feet… in your face.

I can officially say it… I’m discouraged. Massively, massively, discouraged. I’m in pain. I’m having trouble breathing. I’m feeling sick. And I just don’t feel like myself. And I mentioned before that this pregnancy is causing me to be depressed; but I’m really saying it now — this pregnancy has me depressed. Seriously. I am counting down the weeks, days, hours… until I have a baby in my arms and out of my uterus.

co-sleeping // the good, the bad, and the reality.

November 13, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Before I get into this, let me just say that I have zero comment on the hazards and benefits of co-sleeping, so please do your own research. That being said, I can almost guarantee that within your first few years of parenting, you will end up with a child in your bed.

I remember our first time. Mostly because it was our first night at home after leaving the hospital after having Ari. We (safely) co-slept with a co-sleeper thing in our bed. It was out of necessity for us. I was having a hard time nursing and I was flat out terrified of what our first night at home would bring. We did this for the first few weeks before we got into our routine (which, admittedly, wasn’t any better, sleep-wise, for me and Chad).

Since then we’ve found ourselves co-sleeping at random times: when Ari is sick and we want to keep him close to us; when we are visiting relatives and staying in a new place, and, most recently, when Ari wants to sleep in “mommies bed.”

The good thing about co-sleeping is that I can keep a close eye on him when he needs it, and admittedly when we need it, most. The bad, and oftentimes downright ugly, part of co-sleeping, whether you do it regularly or sporadically, is that no one but the baby/toddler seems to get any actual sleep.

And, in reality, my baby won’t always want to sleep in ‘mommies bed.’ He’ll grow up and want to distance himself from me (and from us, in general). So in the meantime, I’ll take a couple of sleepless and restless nights here and there. Especially if that means I get to watch him sleep. Especially if that means for 5 minutes (of 8 total hours), he is wrapped up in my arms. And I’ll treasure those fleeting moments. Because they won’t last forever. ♥

So before you ‘pass judgment’ on a mom (new, old, or otherwise) for posting about sleeping with their kid, just take a deep breath and remember that we’re all just trying to survive.

Key to the Cure // Wrap Up

November 6, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Before I get into this wrap up I wanted to very quickly give a shout out to one of my favorite local charities, Shoes and Clothes for Kids (SC4k). The mission of SC4K is to provide disadvantaged kids in Greater Cleveland with brand new shoes and clothing. What might surprise you is that two of their most requested items are socks and underwear. It’s so easy to take simple things like these for granted, but many kids in our community are wearing hand-me-downs, giveaways, throwaways – and some just go without.

To get people to think about this topic, they created a catchy video. Take a quick minute and check it out:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdgGqUKW9nA#t]

Right now they are running a crowdfunding campaign to help increase sock and underwear donations! Even better? They’ve received a challenge grant of up to $15k! That means your donation will be MATCHED!

If you are able, please consider donating to the campaign here.

Alright, so, a few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending another charity event, the Key To The Cure event at Saks Fifth Avenue at Beachwood Place! My girlfriend, Carli, and I decided to say buh-bye to our boys for the evening and head out for a night of fun.

Saks Fifth Avenue of Beachwood Place teams up with the Cleveland Clinic each year to host a shopping extravaganza! It’s a chance to give shoppers the opportunity to support women’s reproductive and breast research by offering a percentage of their sales go to the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center from October 15th to October 18th.

Guests were encouraged to purchase presale tickets to the event kickoff, which was the event we attended on October 15th, for $75 per person. Included in the event ticket was a $50 tax deductible write-off, a $25 Saks gift card, live entertainment, and food and drinks supplied by the amazing local talents from the Taste of Cleveland restaurants!

Carli and I arrived and were a tad bit overwhelmed at first. There was a LOT of food. Like, a lot. And, even though I knew I would be sick later, I wanted to eat all of it. We did a quick circle through Saks to check out all of the food offerings (duh. I’m pregnant), before diving in.

The food was amazing. Many of the offerings were from restaurants I have already been to; others I was experiencing for the first time (though we had meant to try them… that whole toddler thing keeps us home a lot as of late). Society Lounge provided cocktails for the evening (and I may have sipped on the most delicious Moscow Mule I’ve ever had), and wine was also provided for guests. I honestly can’t even remember who had the best food (but it was probably Lago).

Oh and I made sure to eat as many delicious donuts as my belly would hold, thanks to Peace, Love and Little Donuts. 🙂

At the end of the night, we waddled our way upstairs to the childrens department (because let’s be real — when a mom is given $25 bucks to spend, she chooses to spend it on her kids, not herself). I bought baby girl an adorable sleeper (that I would have normally never spent $25 on… let’s be real). So thank you, Key to the Cure, for the “free” $25!

Overall, it was an awesome night. I would love to experience the evening again, but this time not pregnant (Umm, HELLO Moscow Mules and see ya next year!)! If you missed it this year, keep an eye out for it October 2016! And see ya there!