parenting Archives - Page 17 of 18

Exploring the Etowah Indian Mounds

By sunshineandholly on July 11, 2017

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Last Friday, my friend and I took our kiddos on a field trip to the Etowah Indian Mounds in Cartersville, Georgia. If you live around Atlanta or North Georgia, it’s definitely worth taking a day trip up there to explore. We learned a lot, and the scenery was gorgeous!

The Etowah Indian Mounds historic site was “home to several thousand Native Americans from 1000 A.D. to 1550 A.D. This 54-acre site protects six earthen mounds, a plaza, village site, borrow pits and defensive ditch. Etowah Mounds is the most intact Mississippian Culture site in the Southeast.” (http://www.gastateparks.org/etowahmounds).

We spent a lot of time climbing up and exploring the mounds that were used as platforms for the village chiefs and priests, and burial grounds for nobility. We also took a tour through the small museum filled with artifacts that were excavated around the area.

10 Ways to Fight Postpartum Depression

By sunshineandholly on July 9, 2017

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*I am not a medical professional. Please talk to your doctor if you are experiencing postpartum depression.*

I’ve mentioned before that I experienced postpartum depression after each of my children were born.

Postpartum depression is something that isn’t talked about enough in our society and something that a lot of people still don’t understand. It’s not just feeling sad and crying all the time. It’s a medical condition, usually caused by a combination of imbalanced hormones, lack of sleep, stress, and lack of support. A mom suffering with postpartum can’t just “cheer up” or “get over it.” Something is wrong in her mind, and being judgmental about the condition will only make things worse.

If you feel like you might be suffering with postpartum depression, please please please reach out for help. Reaching out for help is the hardest part. Once you’ve asked for help (from someone who will take you seriously) everything gets easier from there. It’s scary to admit that something is wrong because of the attitude our culture has regarding depression and mental illness. But for your sake, and for your family’s sake, please get help.

That being said, I wanted to share 10 things I’ve found helpful in my battle with postpartum depression.

10 Ways to Fight Postpartum Depression

Five Skincare Favorites for Adult Acne, Sensitive Skin, and Anti-Aging

By sunshineandholly on July 7, 2017

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Happy Friday!!

This week may have been short, but it felt super long. So ready for the weekend!

I wanted to talk a little about skincare today. I’ve always struggled with acne and eczema, and I currently have both on my face. (Totally unfair!) I’m not sure how it’s possible to have dry, itchy, eczema right next to adult acne…my skin must be extra special. Ha!

I’ve used prescription acne medicine and prescription eczema medicine in the past, but nothing has truly cleared up my skin. Maybe I haven’t found the right dermatologist? Anyway, I wanted to share some of my favorite non-prescription skin care products that you can find in your local drugstore or online.

Five Skincare Favorites for Adult Acne, Sensitive Skin, and Anti-Aging

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5 Tips to Make Playing with Your Kids More Enjoyable

By sunshineandholly on June 26, 2017

I can’t be the only one out there who doesn’t really enjoy playing with their kids, right?

Am I alone in this?

Let me back up a minute before the haters start hatin’.

I love my children. They are the sunshine in my life. I love exploring new places with them, playing outside, taking walks, traveling, going on adventures, doing puzzles, cooking together, doing crafts together, and watching movies with them.

But sitting on the floor in the playroom all afternoon?

No thank you. Not my idea of a good time.

I can’t be the only one who feels this way! In fact, I think playing with our kids for hours is a relatively new thing in our society. I’m sure Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Ma was way too busy milking the cows, washing laundry by hand, and baking bread from scratch to sit down and play with Laura and her sisters for hours. And all I saw Betty Draper do on Mad Men was sit in her kitchen and smoke. Yes, I know it’s just a TV show. And her kids didn’t turn out well anyway… But you see my point!

So with all of that being said, if you’re reading this and you’re the type of mom that loves nothing more than playing dolls, legos, and action figures all day – that’s great! Props to you, mama! But I’m not that type of mom. And please don’t judge me because of it.

I’ve learned over the years there are a few things I can do to make playing with my kiddos a little more bearable.

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10 Times I Should Have STFU as a FTM

By sunshineandholly on June 15, 2017

Before you become a mom, you have this idea in your head of what it’s going to be like and the type of mom you’re going to be.

But every mom knows that all of those ideas go out the window when the nurse places your first baby in your arms.

You realize it’s all about survival in the beginning. And after a while, you end up doing what works for you and your baby. The longer you’re a mom, the less you care about what other people think and the more you rely on your instincts and what is working for your family.

That being said, when I was pregnant with my first child, I had a lot of great ideas about how I’d raise my kids and the type of mom I would be. As a first-time-mom (FTM), I knew that my kids would be different and I would be different. I would be the best mom and my kids would only get the best.

But now that I’m a seasoned mom…I’d like to go back and tell FTM Holly to STFU!

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