parenting Archives - Page 14 of 18

When Maddie Cut her Foot and Why We Should Always Offer to Help

By sunshineandholly on January 4, 2018

I’ve had this post in my drafts for months. I’ve never hit publish on it because it’s super negative. And while Maddie and her foot are fine, this story doesn’t have a happy ending. I still get riled up when I think about that day. It still hurts my heart that I had to go through all of this without one single person offering to help…

But I’m going to publish it now and hope that by sharing this story, it’ll make us all think twice when we see another mom in public, struggling. We need to help each other. Because moms get it – we can tell when another mom has had it. When she’s in over her head. When she needs help. What stops us from offering a hand? What stops us from offering to help? The worst that can happen is that she’ll say no…

We were at the pool one day this summer, trying to beat the heat and pass some time since those long summer days seem to go on forever. It wasn’t too crowded that day, just about 4-5 other moms or grandmothers that I didn’t know with their kids or grandchildren.

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family | motherhood | Motherhood Humor | parenting

Our Trip to the Emergency Room

By sunshineandholly on January 2, 2018

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One morning a few weeks ago I was busy packing lunches in the kitchen and the kids we’re playing together in our playroom. Just as I finish zipping up the lunch boxes, Graham comes running in the kitchen and tells me that Maddie has a ring stuck on her finger.

When she walks in, I see that it’s not a ring, but a grommet (like a washer for a bolt) that’s stuck tight on her pinkie finger.

I roll my eyes, and tell her not to put things like that on her finger. I sit down, and try to pull it off. No-go. She screams like a feral cat when I pull. So I grab some Vaseline and try again. Nope. More screaming – like I’m cutting off her finger. And the grommet doesn’t budge. It’s stuck.

I try to keep my cool, but I can feel the anxiety building in my chest. It was the last day of a long week. I had a manicure planned for the morning, and a lunch with friends scheduled for 11am. But I knew none of that was going to happen that morning.

I called Josh, and asked him what I should do. He said to try to wrap some floss around the finger, as close to the grommet as possible so I could make the finger smaller and be able to pull the grommet off. It worked once on YouTube! I tried that, but it was a huge, peppermint scented mess. It didn’t work at all, and Maddie was screaming and crying even more.

I called the pediatrician, and the conversation went like this:

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My Real Christmas Wish List

By sunshineandholly on December 1, 2017

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It’s finally December! Time to start making our lists and checking them twice. Have you started your Christmas shopping? What’s on your list this year?

As for my Christmas wish list, sure, new clothes, makeup, jewelry, cooking tools, and home decor would be great. But you know what I really want? Here’s my real Christmas wish list.

1. A live-in maid.

I’m currently typing up this post at my kitchen table while Maddie colors beside me. There’s a half eaten banana, with peel sitting to my right. 5 dirty tissues to my left. A bunch of markers with the tops left off behind the laptop. And an empty juice box, 4 Cherrios, about 6 smushed Cherrios, and a piece of dried up mac and cheese on the floor. #gross #reallife It’ll all get cleaned up eventually, but it sure would be nice if someone else would do it…

2. A Disney Vacation Club Membership

You guys know I’m a huge Disney nerd. I love that magical place where all your dreams come true. I wish we could have season tickets and go a bunch all year long. Or own a Disney Vacation Club membership. That would be my dream gift!

3. A Personal Trainer with Babysitting Services

This one might be the most realistic thing on my list. I’m still not completely happy with where my “mom bod” is right now. I have a million excuses, but the biggest one is that I hate taking time out of my kid-free mornings to work out. So a personal trainer would be great, but I only want one that will also have someone to babysit my kids.

4. A Magical Immunity Pill

I’ve been sick twice the last two weeks. My kids have also already been sick a couple of times this fall. I wish there was a magical pill we could all take that would prevent us all from getting sick. (Yes, we use oils, but someone always still seems to catch something!)

5. A Later Wake Up Time

My kids used to sleep until at least 7am. But lately, my daughter has been thinking that 6am is a better wake up time. We’ve got the “ok to wake clock,” but, she’s a three-year-old, so you know how well that works for her. It does work for my 5-year-old, though. Unless his sister wakes up first. Just that one extra hour in the morning would be glorious.

Ok, Santa. My list is a tough one. Think you can make any of it happen?

What do you REALLY want for Christmas?

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10 Simple Tips to Survive Solo Parenting When Your Spouse is Traveling

By sunshineandholly on November 20, 2017

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Solo parenting isn’t for the weak. Single parents, military parents – they’re my heroes. I have no idea how they do it. They really are super moms and super dads!

When you’re solo parenting, everything falls on you. There’s no one there to help with the chores, help with the kids, or even keep you company at night. The days I’m solo parenting are long, stressful, exhausting, anxiety-filled, lonely days. And the nights? They’re pretty miserable. Luckily, my husband doesn’t travel too much. Usually just 2-3 days every other week. I can’t imagine what it would be like if he was gone months at a time.

Since he’s started traveling, I’ve figured out a few tricks and tips that have helped me while he’s gone. So if your husband or wife is about to head out on a business trip, check out these 10 simple tips to survive solo parenting when your spouse is traveling.

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fall | family | home | motherhood | parenting

How to Prepare a Fully Stocked Medicine Box

By sunshineandholly on November 13, 2017

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., Breathe Right, DIAL®, Halls, Kleenex, Theraflu and TYLENOL®. All opinions are mine alone. #HappilyStocked #CollectiveBias

Where there are kids, there are germs. All the parents out there know what I’m talking about! In the fall and winter, someone is almost always sick in our house. The kids bring home so many germs from school and we end up passing around all different types of sicknesses and ailments. I do my best to prevent sickness by making sure the kids are washing their hands and not having any play dates with children that are recovering from an illness. But no matter how hard I try, someone is bound to catch something and bring it home to infect us all!

Having a fully stocked medicine box in our kitchen has come in handy so many times the past few years. You never know when someone is going to come down with something, and having different medicines and remedies readily available is great for when a bug hits our house. Because there’s nothing worse than having to take a sick child to the grocery store. Except for taking two sick children to the grocery store when you’re also not feeling well. Being prepared is key! Here’s how I prepare our medicine box.

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