toddler boys

5 tips for an Easy Toddler Bedtime Routine //

July 29, 2017 by Rachel 15 Comments

Neither of my children were good sleepers as babies. It’s one of those things that I was alwasy really resentful of. A new mom needs a lot of rest, and I was hardly getting any rest, let alone “lots.” Hearing about other moms experiences with their kdis sleeping through the night as soon as they were home from the hospital or, heck, anytime in that first year?? It felt like a slap in the face.

But if there’s one thing that can be said about life with kids, it’s that nothing is constant. Thank goodness, am I right?!

We’ve had a bit of luck in the toddler sleep department, that’s for sure. But I know that not everyone has toddlers that are good sleepers. So I’m sharing the 5 tips that have really worked for us.

1. Establish a regular evening meal time. It may seem silly, but we’ve been incredibly consistent about the time of day our kiddos eat their last meal and this beginning of the ‘wind down’ hours has helped to create some stability at the end of crazy days. It really sets the initial boundary and start of ‘bedtime’ when they recognize that

2. Create a way to get the sillies out. For us, it’s a game of ‘attack daddy’ or tickle the kiddos. They love it and it gets that last bit of any pent up energy out of their systems. Also? It’s super fun for everyone.

3. Connect with your kids. I’m with my kids all day long, but it’s hard to truly be present all of the time. So my husband and I find a way to connect with each of our kids for at least a half hour every night, whether it be by talking about our day and what we did, or by doing an activity with them. It gives them what they crave — attention — and it helps to recenter us for the evening as well. It’s a win-win for everyone!

4. Limit television in the evenings. Children can be so overstimulated with the bright lights of a giant television screen, so after 6:30 PM, we really limit the use of TV. Luckily both of our kids are huge fans of reading books, so we generally settle in with a book and some snuggles.

5. Do not let them get overtired. One would think that completely wearing a child out means that bedtime will be easy peasy, right? Wrong. Ohhh, so wrong. Learn to sense when your child has had enough and make the move for bed right then. Do not wait. Do not give it more time. I’ve learned that toddlers easily go from tired to overtired, and they become restless. And bedtime will become increasingly difficult.

Bottom line — it won’t always be easy to stick to this kind of routine, but it will be worth it. I promise. I’ve come to terms that I’m not always the popular friend because my evening routine is dictated by two tiny (and very demanding, very cute,) humans; but this is the best way to make it through the tough sleep stuff of the toddler years.

What are your thoughts?? What else would you suggest to ease the pain of toddler bedtime routines?!

For more on sleep and parenting, visit Parenting the Principal!

Busy Livin’ with Lil’ Beanies //

June 18, 2016 by Rachel Leave a Comment

It’s no secret that being a mom to a toddler and a newborn baby is hard work. Now, more than ever, I have to stick to my routine and my plan to make sure our days run as smoothly as possible. For me, that means writing out a schedule each night for the following day. Planning, most importantly, our meals and snacks, naptimes, and playdates (as well as work and other errands).

See, I’m a creature of habit. And so is Ari. And, hopefully, Remy will follow suit — soon! But for Ari and I? We work best as a well-oiled, scheduled and planned, machine.

When we head to the YMCA each morning, I have to pack snacks for Ari to make it through to lunch time. He isn’t a big breakfast eater, so it takes him some time to warm up in the morning. A healthy, on-the-go snack is perfect for us because it provides the nutrition that’s important for his health and development, alongside the ease of being travel-ready!

Enter Gerbers Lil’ Beanies. An easy (and nutritious!) toddler snack, free from GMOs, and consisting of 2 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber per serving!

Healthy. Easy. Perfect for on-the-go/health-conscious Mamas like me! I throw two kinds (because, toddlers can be fickle and picky) into my diaper bag — Original and and White Cheddar with Broccoli! Easy peasy!

I’m super grateful for no-fuss snacks because then I tend not to worry about the fact that Ari likes to skip his breakfast. I know that when he’s ready for his snack (which is almost 10:30 on the dot every darn day!), I can pull these out of the diaper bag and be a-okay!

As hectic as our life may get, it’s nice to have one less thing to worry about. We just swing by Target and grab a couple of packs. Healthy, easy, fuss-free, and easy to find!

Find Gerbers Lil’ Beanies at a store near you — locate them here! And tell me, what’s your favorite on-the-go toddler snack??

Thank you to Gerber for sponsoring today’s post and inspiring my little one to eat healthy!

Weekend Wrap Up //

June 9, 2016 by Rachel Leave a Comment

I mentioned yesterday that I got really sick on Friday afternoon. Truthfully, I was feeling a bit ‘off’ on Friday morning. I thought it was from just lack of sleep. Turns out, I had a ‘bug’ of sorts.

I took both kids upstairs to my bed and turned on the TV. I thought if I could just get Ari to relax and watch a movie and get Remy to nap, I would be OK. But Ari wouldn’t stop talking. And Remy wouldn’t stop screaming. So I called in the big guns — Chad. I kindly asked begged him to come home early from work so I could dry-heave in silence.

He obliged. Thank G-O-D. Seriously. If I could have told Ari to shut up, I would have. But he would have told me “We don’t say that! That’s a bad word!” Truth, kid. Truth!

So I spent from 1pm Friday through Saturday morning in bed. And even then, I wasn’t feeling 100%. So I woke up late. I handed Remy off to Chad for a little while. And then when I finally woke up, we all headed over to Home Depot for their kids’ workshop.

Ari usually makes Chad do all of the work for him, but this time he actually used the hammer himself!

It was adorable. Straight up… adorable!

And then we napped. Cause, exhaustion.

Post-nap we gathered the kids and went to a graduation party. I still wasn’t 100%, but I was feeling OK-ish enough to go.

PS. I totally didn’t believe my husband that Bob Seger was at this party. He was at another party with us (3 years ago) and I was like “haha, yeah. Ok.” and he said the same thing this time. And I was convinced he was messing with me. I thought “OK. It’s just a dude with the *name* Bob Seger, right?” But no. It’s the actual Bob Seger. I guess the first time I just didn’t know I was meeting Bob Seger. Cool, right? Well, my mom thinks so. 😛

Regardless, Ari wore himself out. Completely.

And we were all asleep by 8:30. #MomLife

Sunday we didn’t do a darn thing. Except, of course, go to Earth Fare.

We love Earth Fare. We especially love Earth Fare when they have BOGO deals. And Remy loves to be worn at Earth Fare.

We did the BOGO deals hard, friends. HARD. And then we passed out (well, everyone else did. I, on the other hand, made meatballs at midnight and cleaned the whole house.).

Regardless of illness, it was a glorious weekend. Truly, glorious.

And yes, I realize that it’s now Thursday and I’m posting my weekend wrapup. But, hey,… life, ya’ll. Life.

Kid-Friendly Kitchen Crafts!

April 14, 2016 by Rachel Leave a Comment

When I found out I was going to be a mom, I had visions of what Motherhood would be. You know, not just rainbows and butterflies. Or even meltdowns and panic attacks. Honestly, I had visions and dreams of coloring, painting, and other crafts! You know, typical kid stuff, right??

Wrong. Oh-so-wrong! It turns out boys are … different, to say the least! OK, OK. Before you want to punch me, hear me out. I totally was all about the “it’s nurture, not nature” side of the debate. Buuuut, try as I might to have a gender-neutral child, the rough and tumble is totally built into this kids’ DNA.

But my rough and tumbly kid still likes to do ‘craffffs.’ Yep. He’s definitely a crafty kid! However, I have to carefully plan our crafty projects because he’s still a boy. He has a fairly short attention span, so I keep him ‘tied down’ for the absolute shortest period of time possible. And the way that I do that is by choosing to do Kid-Friendly Kitchen Crafts!

Why? Because they not only produce delicious results, but they can also be prepped ahead of time and are done on a surface that can be cleaned easily — the kitchen counter! 😛

Ari’s Mimi (my mom) recently bought Ari a Star Wars apron for when we do crafts and he was so excited to put it to good use!

Our first adventure in kitchen crafts was the ever-so-popular Unicorn Bark! I saw this on Facebook a while back and I knew Ari would love to try his hand at making it!

Like so many kids activities, there was a lot of Mommy prep for a fairly short kitchen craft! I purchased four different colors of pastel colored melting chocolates from the local craft store (I prefer Pat Catan’s!) and a 6-flavor pack of brightly-colored sprinkles. That’s it.

I melted the chocolates according to the directions on the bag (which means slowly and steadily). And I had Ari waiting patiently to do his part. He had his mini-baking sheet ready for the melted chocolates! I greased the baking sheets (besides Ari’s mini-baking sheet, I had a regular sized baking sheet) with coconut oil. As soon as the chocolates were melted, I hurried and dropped dollops of color randomly and sporadically on the baking sheet. Once the baking sheet was covered, Ari used a spoon to drag the colors and swirl them together.

Once the colors were swirled together to his liking, we went crazy with the sprinkles! Post-sprinkles we shoved the baking sheets into the freezer for about an hour to harden the chocolate. The result? This glamorous looking gem!

Totally cute and totally fun! Ari absolutely loved doing this kitchen craft and we are still reaping the deliciously edible benefits!

Another one of our favorite, easy, and slightly more messy kitchen crafts is homemade pizza. For this kitchen craft I purchase some ready-made pizza dough. My personal favorite is from Corbo’s Bakery in Little Italy. I picked up a couple of them recently and then let Ari play around with one.

I spread some flour on the kitchen counter and told Ari to just spread it out. He did a great job and, most importantly, he had SO much fun! I was impressed at how quickly he learned to pound on the dough and roll it out! It was awesome!

Our pizza was lopsided and delicious! We topped it with some Trader Joe’s Pizza Sauce, Basil, and Organic Mozzarella Cheese! Yum, yum, yum! It was so delicious that I somehow forgot to snap a picture of that lopsided monstrosity. Ha!

Of all the different types of crafts we have available, kitchen crafts will always be my favorite. Next week I have a ‘slow’ week at work and I plan on getting Ari in the kitchen with me every single day. I’ll be sure to update you with our future kitchen endeavors! 🙂

finding my mommy zen.

February 19, 2016 by Rachel Leave a Comment

I realized last night that from the sounds of my rants lately, it would appear that I hate everything and everyone and that nothing good or happy has been going on. Well, the new baby struggles are real and I cope by just putting it all out there and sharing my experiences. Buuuut there have been a lot of awesome experiences, too.

For every toddler fit that exhausts me; for every colicky moment with Remy; for every spilled meal; there are handfuls of little moments that fill my heart with happiness and purpose.

For instance, yesterday we bounced between a lot of those tough moments and moments of ‘mommy zen.’ Ari ate a huge breakfast and a big healthy lunch; I cleaned the entire kitchen, bathroom and living room, including the dishes and vacuuming; every person in our household had at least one shower/bath; Ari napped while I made Rice Krispy treats; I had a hot cup of coffee; and Ari asked for bed at 7:30pm.

So yeah, not everything is perfect. But some things are — and that helps.

And I’m celebrating!

Also? Today there was sunshine. And coffee (thanks to a dear old friend for sending me a virtual gift card/hug the other day to lift my spirits!). Hip, hip, hooray! The makings of a perfect Friday, if I do say so myself!

But let’s be real… this is really what my zen looks like…

Yep. A sleeping baby.

xo and happy weekend!

lessons learned in parenting 2 kids for only 2 weeks. AKA i know NOTHING.

February 10, 2016 by Rachel 1 Comment

I’d be lying if I said adjusting to two children has been… easy. ‘Cause it hasn’t. I feel pushed and pulled in so many different directions. And I’ve mentioned to so many Mommy-friends that I feel super busy, but I’m not actually ‘doing’ anything. [and then those friends gently remind me that I’m keeping an infant AND a toddler alive, fed, and healthy…]

But seriously. It seems like I have these moments where everything is going well… and then Remy Bea starts to wail and at that very moment, Ari starts screaming about something from the other room that he ‘needs’ right this second. And I feel torn. My immediate concern, of course, is feeding Remy Bea [since I’m the only person able to do so]; but I also feel so guilty for not being available for Ari when he ‘needs’ me.

In short, that part def sucks.

Oh – and Chad went back to work Monday. I’m SO happy [and lucky!] to have had him home for two whole weeks to help us get adjusted. At the same time, with him getting back into his routine, we’re starting to find our own routine at home during the day. Luckily, my mom came in from Kentucky to help us for this week. Thank goodness, because it certainly has had its challenging moments.

And then there’s the errands…

This is where I’m super happy to have my mom in town. I had to run like 2 errands with both kids… and of course, it was an epic failure. Remy Bea was screaming; Ari was being a mega-jerk whilst picking his nose in public; and I was just like “HI JUST GIVE ME MY PRESCRIPTION BEFORE I MURDER SOMEONE.”

But I’m celebrating the small victories… like keeping both kids alive. And making dinner before Chad got home from work [like, actually making dinner, ya’ll…]. And having clean dishes and clean laundry [but don’t ask me to vacuum].

I don’t think it’s harder, per se, because being a new parent to one child sucks probably a little bit more… but it’s been way different than I expected. We shall see what this week of transitions brings!

Also? Please send wine… this being torn in two, three, four and more different directions at once is no joke.