Schedule / Routine
You are on your third attempt to run errands with two kids. Two kids. That’s it. Everyone makes it seem so easy, then you actually try it first hand and it feels like you’re on minute to win it—except the minute takes more like an hour. It goes something like this… You fed the baby, changed the diaper, asked your toddler to go [...]
toddler
Raising KidsThe Magic Tip That Teaches Kids to Be Kind
From the time my son was 12 months old until he reached age 24 months, it’s conservative to estimate he bit nearly fifty other children. Yes. Fifty. It brings tears to my eyes sharing that with you right now because that is an insane number of children to bite. And because working through a year of biting is an insanely long time. [...]
15 Creative Ways to Keep Your Toddler Busy Indoors
There are the days when your toddler maintains bottomless energy. You take them outside and keep them active--rain or shine. But then there are the days when you just can't get outside and that's when things start to get a bit tricky. We are tired moms. We are worn down and many days our energy cannot keep up with a toddlers endless [...]
Toddler Listening Hacks That Actually Work
Does your toddler listen well? Yeah, mine doesn't either. It's okay though. It's totally normal to struggle with how to make kids listen. During the developmental period of 18 months to 3 years of age, toddlers are in a period of growth where they are learning to become good listeners, but they aren't really following through in the [...]
Mom LifeHow to Potty Train a Toddler Without a Hazmat Suit
Oh, the dreaded toddler potty training. If you ask parents of small children about their biggest struggles, most will say helping kids sleep and teaching kids to go on the potty. It’s an adventure, and teaching a young child to do just about anything takes time and endless patience. This is why another huge struggle is learning [...]
Do Kids Really Need Routines and Schedules?
I was traveling on a month long summer vacation with my son not too long ago. Things were going pretty well considering we were frequently staying at different homes throughout the trip. I aim to keep a pretty consistent stay-at-home mom schedule for my son regardless if we are on the road or at home and have found that using a printable [...]
Why Every Mom Should Use a Timer (And No, It’s Not for Time-Out)
Parenting feels a bit overwhelming sometimes. I mean, it’s hard to really know if you’re doing an amazing job or screwing up your kids for life. Have a parenting problem? Just Google it and you’ll find about 1.3 million results in 2.4 seconds sharing completely different ways that are the “perfect” solution to your parenting problem. You [...]
What Really Goes Down on an International Flight with a 2-Year-Old
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to travel internationally with kids, you’re in the right place because I’m going to tell you. When our family first moved to Okinawa, Japan I swore up and down I was never going to leave the island until my husband’s tour was finished. It's hard to tame temper tantrums at home, let alone when [...]
DeploymentWhat a 2 Year Old Will Teach You About Surviving Deployment
My husband left not too long ago on another military deployment, and we are in the season of separation. I wish I could say that it gets easier. It doesn’t. When my husband left this time around it was tough. Saying goodbye pregnant with a two-year old in tow has a way of pulling at the heartstrings. Our apartment felt a bit lonely. [...]
MilSpouse LifeHow to Help Kids Feel at Home After a PCS Move
Moving with kids is a difficult transition. Even if you spend your days cross-checking a moving overseas checklist or a regular PCS checklist, moving remains a big life change. When we moved to Japan, it took our son a good month to fully transition back to normal everyday life. Between night-waking and behavioral issues, I know the move [...]
