family

Tips to Get Picky Eaters to Eat More Vegetables

December 12, 2019 by Rachel 27 Comments

This post is sponsored by CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortilla but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Before having kids I was convinced my children would have a sophisticated palette. I mean, Chad and I have always been adventurous eaters. We weren’t going to change our eating habits for our kids. Nope!

For all of the parents in the room, you can totally eye roll and laugh with me now. Because the parent I thought I would be and the parent that I actually am? Those are two totally different people.

As babies, all three of our kids would actually eat anything and everything! But as they group from toddlers to preschoolers, they decided they only wanted ‘kid’ things. So I got creative.

Picky Eaters Will Be Picky Eaters

We make our kids try bites of foods they “don’t like,” but it often ends there. In my experience, creating a battle for the full length of a meal can be exhausting and lead to few results. I, for one, recall endless fights with my parents over my refusal to eat what they had prepared. I also recall having won those battles several times. It’s a battle of wills. And, guys… kids can be really strong-willed.

Beyond making them try the “gross” foods, we then allow them to have an alternative. I realize that this isn’t always a viable option. Preparing separate meals for the kids versus the adults can be exhausting, too.

Other Options

The good news is this — you have other options!

Mix it in!

I’ve come to love the option of pureeing vegetables, like carrots, and adding it to whatever I’m preparing. Our macaroni and cheese isn’t just any mac and cheese. It has pureed veggies in it! (Mom hack: You can sneak it in the boxed kind, too!)

If you don’t have the option to puree your own veggies, you can find dehydrated powder at the store to mix in.

Get creative with alternatives!

CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortillas have been a game-changer for our family. Since we are always on the go, we eat a lot of quick and easy meals like tacos and quesadillas.

My kids cannot tell the difference between a traditional grain tortilla and these CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortillas. They are vegan and dairy-freeand are available in both Original and Grain Free versions. And the best part? The first ingredient is cauliflower!

I picked up three bags from our local grocers freezer or refrigerated section, where I scored $2 off with this coupon! It’s also nice to know that they’re better for me, too. CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortillas contain less fat, fewer calories, and more fiber than traditional tortillas.

If they like it, give it to them!

My three-year-old has been on a near-hunger strike lately if she doesn’t get exactly the food she wants. But the one vegetable that she has decided she likes is brocolli. Sometimes her request for broccoli comes at breakfast.

My gut reaction was to say “no, we don’t eat broccoli for breakfast,” but I decided that if she wants it at 7:00 am, she can have it. So if your child is clinging to one vegetable, let them have it!

The Good News

The good news, friends, is that we all go through this phase. I went through it, my sister went through it, my husband went through it, and I’m sure his siblings did, too.

But it’s just that — a phase! Keep offering new foods, keep introducing new vegetables, and stay creative.

And don’t forget to save $2 off CAULIPOWER Cauliflower Tortillas by clicking here.

Amwell Urgent Care Services: Get Back to Your Routine Faster

December 4, 2019 by Rachel 36 Comments

Compensation was provided by Amwell via Momtrends. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of Amwell or Momtrends.

Tis the season! Not just for the holidays, but for sickness, too! Between the inclement weather, work and life commitments, and just general busy-ness of the season, there is basically zero time to get to the doctor for an office visit.

Thanks to technology, we don’t have to worry about leaving the house for Urgent Care visits. Amwell offers online and mobile urgent care visits. They make it easy to be seen by doctors in just minutes to help combat illnesses like pink eye or the stomach flu.

I’ve been using mobile doctors for the last couple of years. Sure, we see our primary care doctor and pediatrician regularly. However, sometimes it just isn’t possible. Last week I was suffering from a headache that I just couldn’t get rid of. At first I thought it was just a headache, but when the pain moved to my jaw, I knew I needed to act.

I took a break while I was at work and I downloaded the Amwell app on my phone. Within minutes, I was connected with a board certified physician. She helped determine that, yes, it was likely an infection. An antibiotic prescription was called into my pharmacy and I was good to go.

That was it.

Why use Amwell for Urgent Care Services?

An urgent care visit can be expensive. And, unfortunately, most Urgent Care clinics are not open 24/7. Amwell is available day or night, at home or on the go.

What can I be seen for?

You can be seen for things like Fevers, Colds & Flu, Allergies, Sinus Infections, Stomach Bugs, UTIs, Rashes, Pink Eye, and more. They will not see you for an emergent situation (seizures, chest pain, broken bones, etc).

What can I expect during an Amwell telehealth visit?

You’ll need to create an account and enter in some of your personal information like insurance and health history. You can do this on either your phone or computer.

Then you can browse available doctors, review their credentials, and choose your preferred pharmacy.

Next, your video visit will start. The doctor will review your symptoms and assess your condition and set into motion next steps.

Complimentary Care

It’s still important to establish care with a regularly visited physician. Amwell is great for Urgent Care situations, but they are not a replacement for in-person care nor are they emergency care doctors.

Save on Urgent Care

The cost of an Amwell visit is $69, but if you click here and use the code itsahero you’ll receive 50% off!

Getting sick care shouldn’t be stressful. Don’t let it slow you down. Use Amwell to get your health back on track while you stay focused on everything else.

Experience Holiday Family Fun at Pinecrest

November 25, 2019 by Rachel 34 Comments

This post has been sponsored by Pinecrest. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Now that I’m a mom of three little kids, I’ve found that gift-giving to adults can be difficult, to say the least. We have two sets of grandparents to ‘buy’ for and, quite honestly, none of them need any more ‘stuff.’

But the act of gift-giving is still important. As is creating a magical holiday season for our children. So, as a family of 5, we are creating ways that our children can both have fun this season and make and create gifts that their relatives will enjoy for years to come.

Family-Friendly Events

There are so many opportunities for family fun at Pinecrest this holiday season.

Tomorrow, November 26th marks the beginning of Skate in Central Park and this event is open daily through January 5th, 2020! Bring your own skates, or rent at the rink!

If ice skating isn’t your thing, there are other events to check out. Mingle with Kringle while you’re out shopping, or check out the choreographed light show, Pinecrest Nights of Lights.

Check out the full holiday event schedule here.

Creative Gift-Giving

Gifts made with love are the best types of gifts, am I right? This year we decided to make all of our grandparents’ gifts at Pinecrest.

Color Me Mine

My kids ADORE painting. I, on the other hand, would prefer not to have them ruin my kitchen table. Color Me Mine brings both my desire for cleanliness and my children’s desire to paint together in perfect harmony!

Color Me Mine, a DIY paint-your-own pottery studio. Their options of pieces range from small to extra-large, and they offer over 60 colors.

My children took approximately five hundred minutes picking out their pieces to paint. But, where they lacked in decision making, they made up for in creativity.

I have to include major props to the employees of Pinecrest Color Me Mine. See, I had Mila with me and I was unable to be as hands-on with the big kids as I originally intended. But the employees helped my big littles bring their visions to fruition.

We picked up our finished pieces after the glazing process was complete (within just a few days). My kids are obsessed and they cannot wait to give them away as gifts to their grandparents.

The Candle Studio

Making candles is one of my favorite experiences. My kids have been dying to try their hand at it, so we decided to try The Candle Studio.

The employees at the Candle Studio were incredibly patient with my kids. They explained the steps from picking out their scents, to deciding on a container, and then mixing it all together. It was adorable to see them run back and forth to find scents they liked. It turns out they both like watermelon and bubble gum (shocker).

I sipped on a local craft beer as my kids decided the perfect watermelon to bubble gum ratio for each of their respective candles. Surprisingly, both of their candles smell different, despite both using the same two scents! Mixing is everything, friends!

I, on the other hand, mixed my own candle with a variation of hops and pine scent. Basically, it smells like Christmas beer.

I was surprised at how easy (and fun!) the Candle Studio was with young kids. I fully expected them to have zero interest and for me to be doing all of the work. But that wasn’t the case at all! They loved it. And just ninety-minutes later, we picked up our finished soy candles for the grandparents.

Making Memories Through Experiences

I know that these gifts aren’t extravagant, but they are perfect. Their grandparents will know full-well what kind of effort they put into these handcrafted presents. They will see the joy in the eyes of their grandchildren as they open up these gifts made by teeny hands.

The memories we’ve created will last a lifetime. Long after the soy candle has been burned down and well after the dust has settled on the unicorn tealight holder Remy made (sorry, Mimi — hope you like bright pink unicorn tealight holders! 😛 ).

Make your own memories this holiday season and discover all of the holiday magic at Pinecrest.

How to To Honor Veterans With Your Child This Veteran’s Day

November 4, 2019 by Rachel 42 Comments

Ways to Teach Your Kids How and Why They Should Honor Veterans

Veterans have served us all. This is our chance to honor them. Photo courtesy of macleans.ca.

There are 18.2 million living American veterans. That is almost eight percent of our population. These men and women have sacrificed so much for us to be able to have the freedoms that we do. After all they have done for us, we dedicate one day a year to them. It is our duty to honor vets and their sacrifices, and to teach children to do the same. It can feel overwhelming, especially for kids to think about that kind of stuff. But it does not have to be that complicated. Often times, it’s the simplest gestures of kindness and gratitude, which help a veteran feel appreciated. Here are just a few ways to help your kids this Veteran’s Day.

Teaching kids about Veteran’s Day honors veterans. It lets them know their sacrifices will never be forgotten. Photo courtesy of liherald.com.

Teach Kids The History of Veteran’s Day

Often children look over Veteran’s Day as a day they get off of school. They really do not register what it means. It is important for kids to know why we celebrate when we do and who we are celebrating. You don’t need to take your child through all of American war history for them to be able to understand the holiday. You can teach your child in simple ways.

Start by telling them that we celebrate the holiday on November 11th every year. Then, explain to them why. WWI involved most of the countries in the world fighting on one side or another. They fought really hard and a lot of people died fighting and the war destroyed a lot of things. Then finally, on November 11th all of the countries signed a peace treaty. So they called this day Armistice Day. This war was thought to be the war that ended all wars and that was something to celebrate. Unfortunately, that was not the case and another war happened. So the name was changed to Veteran’s Day, to honor those who fought in the war.

Then, you can explain to your child what a veteran is. Many children confuse this often. Explain to them that a veteran is anyone who has honorably served in the military. You can use this chance to teach them about the five branches of the military. Kids love to be quizzed on this. Explain the difference between an active-duty soldier and a veteran. Remind them that on

Veteran’s Day, we celebrate those veterans who are still living. There is a separate day, Memorial Day, where we honor those who have died. It is important that you teach your children that a veteran or soldier does not mean a person with a gun shooting bad guys. There is a wide variety of military jobs and each of them is equally important.

Most children don’t know that a ton of people in their daily lives are actually veterans. Photo courtesy of military.com.

Show Children the Veteran’s Around Them

Part of teaching children about the holiday is telling them about the Veterans around them. Tell them of any family member or close friend that is a veteran. Children get excited and want to hear stories from them. If there are no veterans close to your family, tell them of one of their friend’s parents or siblings that is a veteran or active-duty service member. It can help kids realize that veterans are all around them. Teach them to wave and smile when they see someone in uniform. Teach them the importance of thanking them for their service.

Another very important topic to teach children is about the hardships that veterans go through. It can be hard to explain this aspect of things to a child, but it is very necessary. You may want to hold off on certain topics until they are a little older. Start by telling them the hardships veterans went through when they were in service. Explain that they were in really dangerous conditions. Tell them that they had to be away from their families for really long periods of time and couldn’t talk to them much. Older veterans didn’t even get to talk on the phone.

Slowly get into how that affects them after they finally come home. Explain that it can be really hard for many soldiers to adjust back to a normal lifestyle after so many years of service. This can be lightly touched on by explaining that it can be hard for many vets to get jobs because they are not very qualified for things outside of the military, meaning that many veterans end up homeless. You can explain PTSD to children by telling them that veterans often have really bad nightmares about the things that they went through while serving in war.

It is so important to teach children about these sacrifices that these men and women have made for our freedom. This will help your child be compassionate and appreciative of veterans.

Having your child send a Veteran’s Day care package to any veteran will let them know they are appreciated. Photo courtesy of newarkadvocate.com.

Send A Care Package

One way to teach children to be appreciative of veterans and their sacrifices is to teach them to serve themselves. No, this does not mean pressure your kid into enlisting when they turn eighteen. Just encourage them to be of service to those who are or who have. A great way for you and your child to do this is to send a care package to a veteran or someone who is still serving.

There are a few different ways you can get started with this. First, you have to decide who you are going to send a care package to. Think of anyone you know who is a veteran. It could be a family member, friend, someone at your child’s school, or even someone at your church. If you cannot think of anyone, you can get a veteran’s information from your local VA medical facility.

When thanking a veteran with a care package, it does not necessarily need to be American themed or anything or the sort. The contents are not as important as the action. Try sending a tin of Mrs.Fields Cookies with a note thanking them for their service. There are great online options for sending gourmet care packages that include personalized notes. If you do not want to send a premade package, opt to make one yourself. Pick up a few things to throw in a gift basket or even just bake a cake. Veterans just like to know that they are appreciated.

If you decide to send a care package to someone on active duty, the procedure is a little bit different. These men and women are in conflict areas and have real needs. The most requested item is $25 Visa gift cards. This is how soldiers pay for wifi to get on the satellite for personal communications to home. Other highly requested items are personal hygiene-related like wet wipes, disposable razors, chapstick, body wash, lotion, face wash, mouth wash, deodorant, Q-tips, shampoo, conditioner, etc. Posters and calendars are needed for “dressing the place up”. You can also send USB thumb drives with downloaded TV or movies. This is really the only way soldiers can view this stuff.

Packing these items is very important. Care goods that aren’t packed right ruins everything in the box. You must double-bag individual liquid and gel items. Soap has to be bagged or it ruins the taste of the food items. You can send packages to an organization like Support Our Troops, where they fulfill soldier requests or you can obviously send a package to someone you know. Whenever sending a care package to a veteran or someone on active duty, you always have to send a note or card thanking them for their service. This sentence may be simple, but it packs a punch. Have your children write their own note, it will put a smile on someone’s face. If you are sending overseas, include a photo of you and your child. Soldiers like to see the faces they are fighting for and the people behind the packages.

Fall Family Bucket List + Printable Checklist!

September 27, 2019 by Rachel 26 Comments

I’ve never been to keen on Summer. But Fall? Fall is my dream come true. It’s something that I’ve also passed on to my children. They love all things pumpkin, all things sweater, and all things

Instead of trying to meet impossible standards (thanks, Pinterest), try and focus on the simplicity of the season.

I’ve rounded up a small list of my favorite Fall Family Bucketlist Items for you to check out. Make sure to pin and save the printable below!

Visit a Pumpkin Patch

What could be more basic than a pumpkin patch?! Nothing! But that’s the beauty of the season. My husband and I bought our pumpkins from the store once. And, at the time, that was fine. But there’s just something about picking out your own pumpkin — flaws and all — that makes the carving and painting process that much more special.

Go on a Hayride

One of my favorite memories as a child is my families annual hayride. The hayride was actually a “haunted hayride” at our towns Century Village. Truth be told, it was always a bit spooky, but it was also incredibly fun.

Over the last several years, the little family of my own has done a more traditional hayride. And every year the kids love it more and more.

Does it matter that we’re only going through the pumpkin patch? Heck no! It’s amazing to them nonetheless.

Jump in a Leaf Pile

If I could name my top three most-despised adult chores they would rank the following: 1. Laundry. 2. Dishes. 3. Raking leaves.

Funny enough, until recently we’ve never had a large yard. But year after year we would spend countless hours raking (and blowing) the leaves in our yard. It felt like an impossible task, as there were always, always, more leaves to rake.

Now, with kids, I see things much differently. The idea of raking leaves actually brings me joy… because I know how much my kids love jumping into leaf piles.

Pumpkin Painting or Carving

I’m going to admit something to you right now — I am not great at carving pumpkins. And also? The whole process can be a bit exhausting.

The tracing, the gutting, the cutting… I’m not the best or most patient with this process. So there have been years where we opt for pumpkin painting instead. And guess what? The kids still adore it. That’s what I call a win-win, folks!

Trick-or-Treating

Okay, so maybe this one seems like a given. But when my kids were teeny I considered not taking them. And that would have been a huge mistake. There’s nothing cuter than a teeny tiny first-time trick-or-treater. It’s, like, a fact. Everyone will ooh and ahh over how cute your little pumpkin looks.

So suit them up, take them out for approximately 20-minutes, get a few pictures and a handful of candy, and call it a night.

Bake Cookies

I know that the holidays are generally the time for baking all of the things. But, for me, Christmas is just too busy of a season to truly enjoy baking. It feels more like a chore than a fun event.

Instead, my kids and I bake cookies and other treats in the Fall. We decorate cutout cookies to look like mummies and ghosts; throw together a Fall-themed trail mix; and snack on goodies like Chocolate-mummy-pretzel rods!

Apple Picking

I’m sure we’ve all recently seen the meme about buying apples from the store for $5 versus taking your family on a grand excursion to pick their own apples for $25, but there’s something to be said about seeing where our food comes from.

We are lucky to have several apple orchards within a few minutes of our house, so we’ll pick a nice day in early Fall (during honeycrisp season) and go to an orchard.

Drink Apple Cider

Is there anything better than warm, mulled, apple cider? The answer is no. Definitely not.

Grab a couple of mulled cider recipes from here and here and enjoy with the family on a cool, Fall evening.

Be sure to print this handy checklist to keep track of all of your Fall Family Fun!

Tell me — what’s your favorite Fall family activity?

Why Wait? Open an Ohio 529 Plan Today

September 19, 2019 by Rachel 50 Comments

September is already upon us and the school year is back in full swing! Moms everywhere are already tired of packing lunches, helping with homework, and scrambling for outfits every morning.

But the thing is is that the end of the school year will be here before we know it. And then another Summer will fly by. Then we’ll be starting another school year. And soon enough, those kids we were sending off to kindergarten will be graduating high school. It will all happen before we know it.

As a parent still struggling with their own student loan debt, I knew I wanted to set my own children up for success from the start. So Chad and I started a 529 Plan for Ari when he started school.

What is a 529 Plan?

A 529 Savings Plan is a lot like a 401k. It’s an easy, tax-friendly way to save for your children’s higher education. Ohio’s 529 Plan can be used across the country for 2-year and 4-year programs as well as technical schools.

Ohio’s 529 plan makes it incredibly easy to open and start saving for the future. They offer tools like the College Savings Planner to help you figure out how much your investment will impact your students’ future education. You can also check out this Cost Of Waiting Tool to see just how inaction can negatively impact your higher education finances.

Right now my first grader wants to be a YouTuber. But, heck, at his age I wanted to be a singer. Things change… quickly. In 5 years he may want to be a doctor or even a welder. Who knows.

But I do know that he will have options. He can decide whether a two or 4-year school is in his cards. He can decide if a trade school will be best for him.

It’s so easy to get started.

There are only a few things you truly need to start Ohio’s 529 plan.

Your ID, social security number, telephone number, address, your date of birth, and your mothers maiden name.
The telephone number, social security number, address, and date of birth of your successor (someone to take over the account should something happen to you).
And lastly, the date of birth, telephone number, address, and social security number of the person you’re saving for.

That’s it. Easy peasy, right? Exactly.

So why wait?

Don’t. Give your children the tools they need to be successful. Engage them in learning and nurture their passions. But also provide them with the financial support they will need in the future, now.

Click here to get started with your very own Ohio 529 Plan.