This post may contain affiliate links: Earlier today on my Instagram, I shared the boys gushing over their dinosaur Mac and Cheese. And immediately started getting messages about it! Two things – heck yes we used boxed Mac and Cheese. One, it’s delicious. Two, I can’t eat gluten or yeast. Three, whatever – they live on fruit and beets and other hoity-toity healthy foods that mom and dad eat. Boxed Mac and Cheese isn’t the end of the world. PLUS I have found the most awesome little mom hack to make it so much healthier. And I swear, they both eat way more when its green Dino / Hulk Mac and Cheese versus the regular. Mom Hack: Making your boxed Mac and Cheese healthier This seriously takes 5 minutes. While the water is waiting to boil before I pour in the noodles, I grab my 3 ingredients. Spinach, broccoli, and plain (full fat) greek yogurt. I use frozen veggies, because, well, convenience, but you can use fresh as well. For mixing/ blending I use my Nutri Ninja. But you can use a food processor, too! Ours just broke during the move and I haven’t replaced it yet. To the blender […]
This post contains affiliate links. You guys have been clamoring for a post on the boys’ bunk beds. And I finally have the time to sit down and write this out! I’ll probably come back and update pictures as we finish their room. But for now, these will have to do! A few things to note: This was ridiculously easy. We Googled all sorts of Ikea Hacks for the Kura bunk bed, and kept falling in love with every new idea we found. So, we left it up to the boys! I was really surprised, albeit a bit relieved when H said he wanted to keep it simple. That meant I didn’t have to be the one struggling with decals or wallpaper. And Zach wasn’t going to have to try and create anything crazy. Our style is kind of a jumble. I like to describe it as a Scandinavian / Boho mix, with a little eclectic mid-century thrown in for good measure. I LOVE color and jewel tones and everything lush and velvet. Meanwhile, my husband is very drawn to black and white and minimalism. The boys room, I think, is a great melding of all of the above. DIY Ikea […]
I’m sharing Febreze in my life as part of a sponsored series for Socialstars™ Is it just me or has this year flown by? Somehow, we’re already halfway through! Maybe it’s all the insanity and business that’s made it feel so fast. Or the whole trying to keep up with two kids thing? Either way, warm weather, sunshine, and those wonderful warm summer rainstorms are here. And this summer, I’ve decided to take advantage of the time I have with the boys. Being present, without screens, without worrying about other plans. THAT’S my biggest summer bucket list item. However, I sat down with H and we decided to come up with a giant list of awesome stuff for us to do this summer. Because I have 13 or less summers left with my oldest. And if these next 13 years fly by as fast as the last 4.5 have? I’m going to feel how much I missed out on. The Ultimate Summer Bucket List: (As Created By a 4 Year Old) Hunt for fossils in the backyard. (Doing a DIY ice or sand dig out) Library story time. Go camping at a local campsite. Have a camp out […]
This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on behalf of Carter’s; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. This is everything I’ve waited for. The moments I wished and dreamed and crossed everything for. H was obsessed with all things belly when I was pregnant. He was the center of my world for SO long. Three years – his whole life! He knew what life was like, just the two of us. He has memories of life before brother. He reminds me of them constantly. But this. The requesting to take brother on a walk. The asking to help with changing diapers and picking out clothes. The kindness and gentleness. I see his benevolence picking up on everything I’m trying to impart. I’ve always know that I wanted a bigger family. And yes, times right now are really hard. You’ll know, especially if you follow me on IG or watch my stories, you know how hard it is. There is a lot of screaming. A lot of juggling. A lot of struggling and bargaining and begging. However, something in the last week has changed. I can sense a shift in them -“the boys”. They are playing more independently. They are playing TOGETHER. There is […]
Boys are messy. Really, really messy. I had no idea just how dirty the human body could get in less than a three hour timeframe. Or during a meal. Babywipes are always on hand to wipe down faces and hands, but by the end of the day everyone knows what time it is: BATHTIME. Nightly bath time with Baby Dove Sensitive Sometimes I almost feel bad for the water. That poor, clean, innocent liquid. Unsuspectingly forced out, and into the tub. About to be overwhelmed with two little boys and a whole lot of dirt and grime. Because we take baths every single night, and our new build has hard water, we have to be careful with products. Both H, 4, and J, 16 months, have pretty sensitive skin. It’s taken a little trial and error to figure out what works best for us. We need a bath time wash that meets a few criteria. In fact, because both of them have had such issues with their skin sensitivities that for a while… we kind of tried to skip baths. Let’s just say things got extra stinky. I was left with messy kiddos that desperately needed a […]
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. This comes at no additional cost to you, but helps keep MMD up and running! In the spirit of trying to give you more of what you want this year, I thought I would throw together a post all about the reusable pouches I’ve been sharing on my Instagram. On my Insta-stories today I shared a video of H and his always obsession – a pouch. But a lot of you noticed that it didn’t look just like any ole regular run of the mill pouch that you grab at the grocery store. Well… that’s because it’s REUSABLE! Reusable pouches for kids My little crunchy “green” heart found out that there are such things as reusable pouches, and I started buying them in 2015. For the first two years of his life, H hated food. Literally. Hated it. Refused to eat, no matter what. So, rather than fight him on it, I just rolled with it and started coming up with tons of awesome ideas for toddler approved healthy smoothies. But, I was finding that his regular cups just didn’t quite work for us with all the traveling we did. So, I did […]
This post contains affiliate links. Dinosaurs are a main topic of conversation around these parts. My oldest, H, is almost 4 and his days are consumed with those Triassic reptiles. He also loves reading and learning and quizzing me on my dinosaur facts, so our library is never short on dinosaur books. Here are some of our favorite and the best dinosaur books that have been kid and adult tested and approved! (In no particular order) The best (toddler approved) dinosaur books for kids: Discovery Kids “Rumble with the Dinosaurs” sound book: 10 awesome sound buttons and full of vibrant pictures and cool facts, this is a fantastic dinosaur book for kids. I love that the sounds aren’t too loud, and they sound really crisp! “How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends?”: A really cute book with not so secret teaching moments about friendship. The illustrations are fantastic, and I love the lessons its helping teach H about being a good friend and sharing. Gives you an easy “okay, bud, remember – how do dinosaurs play with their friends?” line that serves as a gentle reminder, too! How Do Dinosaurs Go to Sleep?: Another teachable book from Jane Yolen and […]
This carrier was gifted to me in consideration of a review, and this post contains affiliate links. The Lillebaby Carryon Woven Sand Dollar carrier is a caregiver’s best friend. Y’all know my love for Lillebaby started over three years ago when H was just a tiny “little” chunky babe. I make big babies and was struggling with the back pain I was experiencing in my Ergo. Close to giving up on baby wearing, I did a little more research and discovered Lillebaby. The first and original carrier that allows for SIX different carrying positions, including forward facing out, a lumbar support, and NO NEED for an infant insert! If I thought that was magical, than the Lillebaby CarryOn for toddlers and PreSchoolers is otherworldly. When will my child be ready for the Lillebaby CarryOn? The toddler CarryOn is perfect for kiddos once they’ve reached at least a 2T pant size. But pant size isn’t the only factor! You’ll also want to take into account trunk height (how long your child’s torso is), and how long your kiddo’s legs are. Older babies, toddlers, PreSchoolers and older kids will be super comfortable in this carrier from Lillebaby. The weight restrictions for the Lillebaby […]
Thank you to Regalo Baby for sponsoring today’s post! Our family is constantly on the road. This has lead us to have some pretty awesome adventures, but it also reminds me how hard it is to travel with kids sometimes. Namely: having a mobile baby that’s into EVERYTHING. As a second time mom, baby proofing didn’t even cross my mind this time around. Instead of wrapping our home in bubble wrap, we’ve done a lot more redirecting. Rather than keeping locks on all the doors, we keep things up out of baby’s reach. It’s made for a lot less headache and running around. At least, while we’re at home. Baby proofing while traveling It’s a whole new ball game. You’re in someone else house (or hotel), with someone else’s things, that are probably a lot more fragile and a lot more expensive than yours. Your baby is on the move. Your baby is like a little magpie: ooh, shiny! If you watched my Instastories last week than you saw J getting into ALL THE THINGS while we were visiting my parents. And when I say all the things, I literally mean ALL of them. Including a block of cheese he […]
This is a sponsored post and contains affiliate links. This comes at no extra cost to you, but helps keep MMD running. Thank you for your support! My toddler has been to more states than most grown adults. When he was almost 3 months old, I took him on his first flight. And then, right after we got home, we decided to take a road trip to visit more family. The kid has probably spent a quarter of his life at this point in a plane or on the road. The hardest part about all the traveling we do with the kids? Their sleep habits! So we’ve learned a few tips and tricks on how to get our toddler to fall asleep and stay asleep while we travel. Tips to help your toddler sleep while traveling with the Regalo MyCot. Keep your schedule as much as possible. I know vacation is usually about letting loose, having fun, and being more lax about the rules, but that’s the opposite of how you should view vacation sleep. It never fails, the more laissez-faire we are about H’s sleep while we’re traveling, the more of a nightmare it is. That doesn’t necessarily mean that […]