being a mom

get crafty // alternative easter crafts

April 3, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Easter in our house is a touchy subject. First of all, we don’t really *do* Easter. I mean, we do; we just don’t the church part. Because — surprise — we’re not churchy people. [PS. Let’s not get into the thick of it. It’s OK if you are; we just aren’t.] Also? Moosh has an egg allergy that definitely puts a damper on Easter related crafts. Dying hard-boiled eggs? That’s scary stuff ’round these parts.

So we found alternative “craffs,” as Moosh likes to call them, to do in our house. Turns out, this kid loves to help bake vegan sugar cookies. Luckily we have an egg cookie cutter and sprinkles. Which is all this kid needed to hold his attention.

PS. These sprinkles ended up ALL OVER the floor about 3 minutes after this photo was taken. Many bloggers wouldn’t be honest about this, but real life happens, y’all. And real life means thousands or sprinkles all over your kitchen floor. (Also? These cookies are incredible.)

I also found other inexpensive things to “craft” (thanks, Target!). Not excluding those silly little capsule-to-sponge animal thingys. We decided to try this “craft” (I’m using the term “craft” lightly here. ‘Cause let’s be real — this wasn’t truly a craft. It was a [welcomed] distraction).

He loved every second of it — which turns out to be lots of seconds. That warm water you’re supposed to use? Well, it doesn’t work. You need scalding hot water. Also? Every single one of these little sponges was affectionately named “Nemo.” Ha!

Our other go-to Easter craft is painting pottery. We are lucky to have not one, but TWO, paint your own pottery studios in close proximity to us.

We painted a LOT of pottery, friends. A lot. See those globs of paint? They do no justice to the actual globs of paint that were used during this paint sesh! 🙂

Besides that Choo Choo Train bank we also painted 2 eggs and a fish. Also named Nemo. Sigh. This kid watches Finding Nemo once and every sea creature is now named Nemo…

So, no, we haven’t seen the Easter bunny (yet). No, we haven’t dyed eggs. But we have celebrated in our own way. And that’s all that matters! 🙂

weekly mantra //

March 23, 2015 by Rachel 2 Comments

TRUTH. We are all doing the best we can. And we’re not giving ourselves nearly as much credit as we deserves. So today, moms (and dads), I pat you on the back. You deserve it. And you’re not screwing it all up. xo

Getting a Toddler to Eat // Easy Anywhere Pouches Review

March 12, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Confession: When Moosh was starting on solid foods, we spent a boatload of money on those organic baby food pouches for a couple of reasons: pouches are way more convenient than canned baby food; and also because we knew they were full of healthy ingredients. Next to making our own baby food, they were the best thing.

But, let me reiterate — they are crazy expensive — between $2 – $3 per pouch. PER POUCH! Some days Moosh would eat 5 (he was a hungry, hungry little dude).

Nowadays little man is eating all big people food, but our great eater has become increasingly picky as of late. I’ll try just about anything to get him to eat nutritious foods. He’s such a busybody toddler that he doesn’t want to slow down to eat.

The other day I mixed up some apples and bananas in the Vitamix and poured the mix directly into Easy Anywhere Reusable Baby Food Pouches. I had tried other reusable pouches previously and they all proved to be incredibly messy at filling. But in all honesty, I didn’t even have to break out a spoon. The pouches were wide enough to where I just held it open and poured the fruit mix in!

Moosh was deeply enthralled in an intense Jake and the Neverland Pirates episode while playing with his own pirate ship and choo-choo trains at the time. But I just walked in, handed him a full pouch, and he went to town.

Hallelujah! The kid is eating actual food and not just crackers (his desired food of the moment – ha).

I loved the fact that I could see how much was left in the pouch (because low and behold he handed it to me saying “More please?” and I just had to push some up and tell him there was still more left. (Also? Mommy success! He asked for MORE!)

And of course the hippy-granola-chick in me loves that these are BPA, PVC, and phthalate-free AND easy to clean.

If you’re looking to snag a couple for yourself, head on over to Amazon here. You can get four for $12.99 with free amazon prime shipping.

So moms (and dads) — any other tricks up your sleeve for a “too-busy-to-stop-and-eat” toddler!? HELP!

Disclosure: I was selected to receive four pouches for my honest opinion and review of this product. The content and opinions expressed here are all my own. Thank you to Easy Anywhere for sponsoring this post.