My Little Pony and Pirate Pool Birthday Party

By sunshineandholly on September 6, 2018

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When it comes to the kids’ birthday parties, I feel like we’ve done it all. We’ve done the super-cute Pinterest party, the easy/simple at-home party, the expensive kid’s play-place party.

I’m thinking the only thing left to try is the “hire a party planner and have them do the set-up and clean-up” type party. Maybe next year!

This year, we did a joint My Little Pony and Pirate Pool Party for the kids. They both have September birthdays, so joint parties will be a norm until they specifically request their own parties. Graham was dying to use a pirate pinata we had leftover from his birthday party two years ago, so he wanted a pirate theme. And Maddie is obsessed with My Little Ponies, so that’s what she picked.

I kept things really simple with decorations from Party City, food from Costco, and cakes from Publix. I didn’t make any cute Pinterest-y things this year. But I think the party turned out great anyway!

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family | Family Fun | fun | motherhood | Travel

Fun Things to Do in Chattanooga with Kids

By sunshineandholly on August 24, 2018

A few weekends ago, we decide to take a last minute weekend trip to Chattanooga. We’ve visited a few times in the past few years. It’s a short drive from Atlanta and a great place to spend a night or two when you’re wanting to get away. The city is also super kid-friendly! Here are a few of our favorite kid-friendly Chattanooga attractions.

Fun Things to Do in Chattanooga with Kids

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family | food | kids activities | motherhood | parenting

10 Tips for Raising a Healthy Happy Eater

By sunshineandholly on August 8, 2018

My kids are (thankfully) pretty good eaters. My son, in particular, loves trying new foods! He likes kale, spinach, sushi, raw oysters, quinoa, and lots of other foods that typically aren’t considered “kid-friendly.” Any time I post pictures or videos of my kids eating different kinds of food, other moms will ask, “What did you do to get your kids to try new foods? My kids won’t eat anything!”

The truth?

I got lucky. I don’t really think it was anything I actually did. My husband and I both love food. In fact, I have a really hard time thinking of foods I don’t like! Maybe our kids have a genetic predisposition to love food like we do? Ha!

But looking back, I guess there are a few things I did over the years to get my kids to try new, healthy foods.

10 Tips for Raising a Healthy Happy Eater

1. We (usually) sit down as a family to eat.

Confession time – I really don’t enjoy eating with my kids. They’re messy, loud, don’t stay seated, and tend to ask me for a million things (usually right after I sit down). Mealtime together as a family isn’t exactly relaxing. But I know how important it is to eat together as much as possible. Family meals strengthen relationships, build self-esteem, instill a sense of belonging, and are great opportunities for parents to set examples of healthy eating.

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4 Nut and Dairy Free Ideas for School Lunch

By sunshineandholly on July 20, 2018

This post may contain affiliate links. Purchasing through them helps support this website. (Click on the pictures to shop the links.)

Disclaimer: I was provided with free product from Stuck on You in return for my honest review. All thoughts an opinions are my own.

I know we’re still deep in the thick of summer, especially those of us here in the south where the temperature is way above “glistening” and on to full “sweating.” But back-to-school time will be here before we know it! My son is starting Kindergarten this year and I’m so excited for him. He’s going to an amazing charter school with a wonderful community of teachers and parents. We’ve already had a couple of play-dates and a family picnic this summer to get to know people.

His new school is nut-free, and we’ve also cut out almost all dairy from our diet. So school lunches have been on my brain. My son eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost every single day. (In fact, when he was 2, his teacher at preschool told me he cried that day during lunch when he saw he had a ham sandwich instead of peanut butter!) Needless to say, I’ve been preparing him so that he’ll know he won’t get to have his beloved pb&j at school anymore, but he can have it at home! And I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of healthy, filling school lunches that don’t include dairy or nuts.

Here are a few ideas I’ve come up with so far:

4 Nut and Dairy Free Ideas for School Lunch

Mediterranean favors fill this lunch box. My kids love hummus almost as much as I do, so I know this lunch will be a hit.

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family | motherhood | parenting

Natural Constipation Remedies for Children

By sunshineandholly on July 9, 2018

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I am not a doctor or medical professional. Please speak to your pediatrician if your child is suffering from constipation.

When I decided to have kids, I had no idea that I was going to become an expert on so many topics. When my son was 2, I knew every type of construction vehicle: dump trucks, backhoes, excavators, bulldozers, I knew them all! Before kids, I was already pretty proficient in Disney movie song lyrics, but now that I’ve watched all the movies 1.6 million times each with my children, I’m at an expert level. Quiz me – I’ve memorized them all!

Another topic I never really expected to specialize in was constipation remedies for kids. But here I am, a wealth of knowledge about how to get your little sh**s to take a sh**.

Constipated kids are tough. They don’t feel well so they don’t act well. We’ve all been constipated at some point in our lives, and we know how uncomfortable it can be. Cronic constipation in kids can cause them to associate going to the bathroom with pain, which will make them avoid going, and then they end up even MORE constipated. It’s a cruel cycle and no mom wants to watch her child suffer like that.

The first (and sometimes only) thing pediatricians will recommend for kids who are constipated is Miralax. Please, please, please do your research before giving your child this drug. A simple Google search of “Miralax Aggression” will pull up a ton of articles you can read before making a decision about giving Miralax to your child. I won’t go into detail about our family’s personal experience with this drug, because I’m not comfortable sharing some personal information about my children here on the blog for all the world to see. But know that I will never give Miralax to my kids ever again.

It’s a shame that it’s so quickly prescribed to children because there are so many other things parents can try. Here’s a list of things we have tried that have worked for our family:

Natural Constipation Remedies for Children

Things we’re currently using/doing:

Aloe Juice

My son loves aloe juice! He calls the tiny pieces of aloe “aloe jello.” He has a cup or two a day.

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