family Archives - Sunshine and Holly

Surprise! Baby Davis – Take 3!

By sunshineandholly on September 1, 2022

If you don’t follow me on social media – this will be a huge surprise. I’m pregnant! We decided to try for one more baby – our bonus baby. I’m due late January/early February (17 weeks as I type this!) and we’re having another girl. I’ve been taking notes on my phone each week about how I’ve been feeling but wanted to get everything down here on the blog. I documented everything so well with Graham but really dropped the ball with Maddie’s pregnancy. Poor second child! Hoping to do better this time around since the other two are older and so much more self-sufficient.

Surprise! Baby Davis - Take 3!

We started trying for this baby in February of 2022 and actually got pregnant right away. Unfortunately, I had an early miscarriage the day after I got a positive test. We tried again each month and I was so happy to finally see another two lines on a pregnancy test on May 26th! I woke up early to pee at 5:30 and took the test. (My period was due the next day.) It showed up positive right away! My heart started pounding and of course, when I tried to go back to sleep I couldn’t. I was way too wired! So I went ahead and got up, made some coffee, and watched some tv.

When the kids woke up I made us all some eggs. Josh said he saw the test wrapper in the trash but not the test, so he was suspicious. Then I texted him when he was in the shower to ask if he wanted eggs. He knew that something was up since I was awake early and making eggs for everyone. I’m not a morning person. So when I gave him the test when he walked into the kitchen, he was already smiling and knew what was up!

We’re so excited to add another awesome kid to our family! But this definitely wasn’t an easy decision. I’ve been waffling for years about whether or not to try for a third. It’s such a scary decision. My body doesn’t do pregnancy well and I’m so much older than I was with my first two babies. Trying for a third was all I talked about with my therapist for months! But I knew I’d regret not trying. I never felt “done” in my heart and despite all the awful parts of pregnancy and the tough newborn and toddler years, I knew I wanted one more. One more chance to experience all the firsts. One more amazing kid to raise. I mean my other two are so awesome so I can’t wait to see what this one is like!

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5 Ways to Prepare Your Backyard for Summer Fun

By sunshineandholly on May 13, 2022

5 Ways to Prepare Your Backyard for Summer Fun

Summer break is almost here! There’s only one week of school left and believe it or not, I’m pumped! I know it won’t take me long to start counting down the days until school starts back. But for now, I’m looking forward to lazy mornings, lots of pool time, a couple of beach vacations, and spending more time with my kiddos.

(This post was sponsored by MissQuito Mosquito Control Company, but all thoughts and opinions are my own!)

To prepare for the long summer days ahead, I knew we needed to go ahead and get our backyard ready for fun. For years, our backyard has been an escape for us. When the minutes seem like hours and I’m exhausted and drained from entertaining my two wild things all day long, we head outside for a change of scenery and some sunshine. Kids need to be outside, and honestly, so do grownups! Going outside can do wonders for everyone’s mood when we’re grumpy and bored. And with summer break just around the corner, we need to make sure the backyard is ready! Here are some things we did to prepare:

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family | happiness | motherhood | parenting

I’d Rather Be a Lazy Mom than an Angry Mom

By sunshineandholly on March 1, 2022

I’d Rather Be a Lazy Mom than an Angry Mom

I always knew I wanted to be a mom. It was the one thing I knew for sure that I was going to do once I was an adult. And like most people without kids, I knew I was going to be the best mom ever. I had super high expectations for myself and I’ll admit, I was a little judgemental towards other parents that didn’t do things the way that I thought was best.

But after having 2 kids in 2 years, I quickly realized that I wasn’t going to live up to my unreasonable expectations. Trying to do it all was slowly driving me crazy. I was angry all the time. Angry at myself for not living up to my expectations, angry at my kids for being so needy, angry at my husband for not being home to help out. I knew I was going to have to let some things go.

But I had a really hard time with the guilt of not being able to do it all. And to be honest, I still struggle so much with the (completely unjustified) shame I feel when I think about everything I *should* be doing. (I know, I know – it’s silly. I know I’m a great mom. It’s that perfectionist side of me coming out!) The hard lesson I had to learn is that no matter what expectations you put on yourself for motherhood, moms are still human. We still have our own needs and wants, past trauma and baggage, flaws and shortcomings. We want what’s best for our kids, but we can’t destroy ourselves in order to give them the best. Because first and foremost, our kids need a mom. A mentally healthy, present, caring mom.

I knew I had to start letting some things go that in the grand scheme of things, weren’t that important. And I received some judgment. I’m sure some people thought I was just being lazy. But I would rather be a lazy mom than an angry mom. And if skipping out on some small things gave me the energy and mental capacity to be able to handle the important stuff, that was the way things were going to be for our family.

What things have you had to let go to keep your sanity during the last few years?

I'd Rather Be a Lazy Mom than an Angry Mom | sunshineandholly.com

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family | Family Fun | motherhood | parenting

5 Fun Ways to Get Your Kids to Brush Their Teeth

By sunshineandholly on August 12, 2021

When my kids were toddlers, they actually liked brushing their teeth. It was new and exciting for them, and something they could (mostly) do by themselves. And that made them feel like big kids! But once they got a little older and realized that brushing their teeth twice a day wasn’t very exciting, they started to whine and fuss about having to do it. When they both ended up with cavities at a routine dentist appointment, I knew I had to do something. So I brainstormed some ways to make brushing your teeth seem more fun. Here are 5 fun ways to get your kids to brush their teeth:

(This post was sponsored by Smile Brilliant, but all thoughts and opinions are my own!)

1. Let them pick out a fun toothbrush.

We headed to Target and let the kids each pick out a couple of fun toothbrushes. Graham chose a pack of Star Wars toothbrushes and Maddie picked out a pack of light-up toothbrushes. They were both excited to use them when we got home!

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Safety Tips for Road Trips with Children

By sunshineandholly on April 20, 2021

My family loves to travel. When I was young, my mom and dad were always tossing a bag into the car and taking me on quick weekend adventures. I’m sure that’s where my love for traveling started! Now that I’m a mom and I’m in charge of all the travel planning, I’ve realized how hard it is to travel with children. Gone are the days of relaxing vacations with just my husband. Traveling with children is really just “parenting in a different location.” But even through all of the challenges, it’s worth it to me. I love experiencing things through my children’s eyes and making memories with my family. When we travel, I’m always a little anxious and worried about safety. We typically drive to our destination, and I’ve gathered a few safety tips for road trips with children that I wanted to share.

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