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.

Natural Constipation Remedies for Children

By sunshineandholly on July 9, 2018

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

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.

Steel City Pops – the BEST Popsicles in Atlanta (Plus a fun kids activity!)

By sunshineandholly on June 27, 2018

UPDATE: I’m so sad to say that our Decatur Steel City Pops location has closed as of November 2019. We sure will miss these yummy pops! If you’re looking for other fun kid-friendly things to do in Decatur, click here!

This post was sponsored by Steel City Pops, but all opinions are my own!

Imagine this:

A sweet and tangy buttermilk popsicle dipped in decadent dark chocolate, sprinkled with crunchy chocolate cookie crumbs, and drizzled with smooth and creamy caramel sauce…

How about a coffee flavored popsicle with a chocolate brownie hidden inside, dipped in creamy milk chocolate, drizzled with dense dark chocolate, and dusted with espresso…

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5 Summer Break Survival Tips

By sunshineandholly on June 8, 2018

Bad-mom confession: for the past few years I have dreaded the summer. As soon as the end-of-the-school-year activities start, and the “countdown ’til summer” begins, I would start thinking about all those long summer days alone with my kids with no “mom-breaks” or me-time. I’d feel a pit in my stomach. My anxiety would skyrocket. I would frantically start pinning summer crafts and activities on Pinterest.

“What am I going to do with these kids all summer long?!?!?!”

The old saying that goes, “the days are long, but the years are short” is especially true for stay-at-home moms during the summer. Those summer days are looooooong! It’s hard to keep the kids entertained. I know all the experts say, “Let them be bored! It’s good for them!” But those experts aren’t with my kids for hours and hours at a time. I spend all summer breaking up fights, refereeing arguments, cleaning up millions of messes, and fixing snacks after snacks after snacks after snacks. Sure, naptime can be a reprieve for some moms. But my kids have never been big on naptime. And trying to get them to stay in their rooms for “quiet time” is more work for me than it’s worth.

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Packing for the Pool: 10 Pool Essentials and Tips for Taking Kids to the Pool

By sunshineandholly on May 25, 2018

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

We love spending time at our neighborhood pool during the summer. There’s nothing like sunshine and water to wear your kiddos out! (And to be totally honest, sometimes I even need a nap after spending some time at the pool!)

We’ve been members of our neighborhood pool for 3 years now and I’ve finally got a good system down for getting out the door and to the pool quickly and efficiently. The first summer, my kids were still little, and getting ready for the pool seemed like more work than it was worth! But now that they’re 3 and 5, we’re finally at a point where we can grab our bag, towels, a few snacks, and head to the pool for some fun in the sun!

Here’s a list of the things that I always keep on hand during the summer to make getting ready to go to the pool easy-breezy.

Pool Essentials for Preschoolers

1. A Big-A** Bag

I hate having multiple bags to bring to the pool. It ends up being way too much to carry. I have one huge bag that I throw everything in when we’re headed to the pool. My bag is a Lands’ End extra large canvas tote bag, but there are some great options on Amazon!