Category Archives: Parenting

New Mom Advice

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When Gabby was only a few weeks old, I received great advice from a very good friend. She said, “make weekly to-do lists, not daily ones.” Sounds simple enough, but it was truly life changing for me.

I have also been a “list-maker” and before Gabby, I was known to make to-do lists for just about everything. I would start each week by making a daily to do list, often with larger weekly and even monthly lists running wild as well.

Now, at the beginning of each week, I only make one list, but with three sections…

  1. Important (usually has a date associated with it)
  2. Needs to happen this week
  3. Would be nice to get done this week

This not only helps me prioritize the really important things I need to do each week, but it also takes the pressure off of getting EVERYTHING done. xxoo

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Toddler Apps

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If you have a toddler, chances are you also have a folder full of toddler apps on your iPhone. At nearly 18 months old, Gabby can unlock the phone and find exactly the app she is looking for in seconds. It’s crazy. What is even more amazing is that we have tried on numerous occasions to give her old devices that we are done using, such as a BlackBerry, but she knows the difference and has no interest. She wants my iPhone and access to the folder full of her apps. Here are some of her favorites at the moment…

Elmo Calls PBS Kids

 Daniel Tiger’s NeighborhoodMonkey Preschool Lunchbox

And here are some more apps from parents.com: The Best iPhone Apps for Babies and Toddlers.

Reality Check

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Before I sat down to write a post this morning, I reread my Happy Weekend post from Friday. After this weekend, I feel that I owe you all a “reality check” post. It all sounded so dreamy on Friday – fun, fall activities and spending time with family doing the things we love. Our weekend included some of those things, but that does not fully describe reality. Let me know share with you what the last three days were like…

On Friday morning, Gabby woke up screaming with a fever. After an hour of holding her limp, tired body, I called the doctor. They said to bring her in ASAP. We were in the waiting room 20 minutes later. She had a fever of 101 (the first fever of her life), but thankfully checked out fine otherwise. It was a just cold virus. And they said to also watch for croup but otherwise just be patient and nurse her back to health. Since we could not go to the Play Cafe, we stopped at Starbucks on the way home for a treat. (I needed caffeine and she deserved some juice!)

Aunt Adrian arrived home from college and we managed to get out of the house for lunch at Panera. While Gabby napped and Adrian settled in, I went to the gym and to the grocery store to buy our ingredients for dinner. But before we could even start cooking, all the smoke detectors in the house went off. Within minutes the fire department and the police department were at our door. It turns out that the steam from Adrian’s shower set the alarms off and they were dispatched via a home alarm system we have. Since our house is still rather new to us, we had no idea! But it’s great to know they are only minutes away!

Once everything settled down, Alex left for the hockey game with a friend and Adrian and I made a delicious dinner. We had salad, broccoli, roasted potatoes and grilled filets. Yum!

After dinner, we called it an early night and went to bed. Luckily, we all got a good night of sleep! On Saturday morning, we had coffee, cinnamon rolls and berries for breakfast.

Gabby was still not feeling great, so we did not go to the Zoo. While Alex played golf, we went to the mall and grabbed lunch at Nordstrom. Their crab bisque is to die for!

When we arrived home, there was a stray dog in our yard. After two unanswered phone calls to the numbers on his collar, we had to let him be. But Gabby loved chasing after him! We hope “Bucky” found his way home!

 

Adrian and I were able to sneak away for a lovely afternoon at the nail salon. (Thanks, Alex!) When we returned home, we lounged around and snuggled with Gabby. Poor thing! We ordered take-out and watched football. However, Saturday night was rough. Gabby was awake from 2:30-4:30am and both Alex and I did all we could to comfort her. My heart broke knowing how icky she felt!

Sunday morning was rather calm, all things considered. Aunt Adrian left to go back to school and I went to a friend’s baby shower. Gabby took a 4-hour nap! Whoa. Alex and I were hopeful that she would wake up feeling better, but she still felt warm and had a cough. Sigh. What a weekend! xxoo

 

{images: Alli Parlin}

Building Self-Esteem

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As a parent, there are a million things that can keep you up at night. Is my child growing and developing as she should? Is she eating enough? Is she happy? And on, and on and on. I am not big on reading parenting articles or books, but every now and again, I find something that is really important. And I think this one is worth sharing…

Help Me Grow is a site dedicated to providing parents information about child development and community resources. The recent post on Nurturing Your Child’s Self-Esteem is excellent. Furthermore, there is a link to Words to Use with Your Kids Everyday that I have permanently memorized… You can use these everyday phrases to instill confidence, self-respect, and thoughtfulness in your children.

  1. Thank you.
  2. Tell me more.
  3. You can do it.
  4. How can I help?
  5. Let’s all pitch in.
  6. How about a hug?
  7. Please.
  8. Good job!
  9. It’s time to…
  10. I love you.

 

“Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.”  -Rosaleen Dickson

 

52 Weeks

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This is an adorable video created by the mom and dad team of Blog a la Cart. It documents the first year of their second daughter, Courtland. They use big sister, Addison, for comparison and comic relief. ”Watch as she goes from wriggly, little blob to full on motor-skilled baby.” Love it!

52 Weeks – Weekly Growth Series from Ashley Cart on Vimeo.

Happy Weekend!

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Hi friends! Happy Friday! How are you? How was your week? Are you ready for the weekend? I am, but I have to admit that I am nervous about our dinner club on Saturday night. We decided to make a dramatic change of plans… instead of serving the Mediterranean menu, we are doing something totally new and different. I promise to tell you all about it on Monday (with photos)! Until then, keep your fingers crossed for us and enjoy these links from around the web…

A cool new place to buy art.

Yum… Milkshakes.

I wished I lived in Seattle so I could try all of these.

Gabby’s school has a blog. It’s so cute!

A parenting guide for the rest of us. LOL

Boden’s Fall Sale (25% off!). And boots! I’m ready for fall!

My alma mater, MSU is playing Notre Dame tomorrow night. GO Green!

And finally, a very BIG Happy Birthday wish to GOOTZ! We are excited to celebrate with you tonight! xxoo

{image of sunset: unknown}

Child’s Own Studio

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This is SO cool! Child’s Own Studio is a place where your child and a craft artist, together, can create a keepsake to be cherished for a lifetime. Simply send in your child’s drawing and Wendy, the softiemaker, will create a soft toy based on the details and colors in the artwork. Child’s Own Studio celebrates children’s art and their imagination with every handcrafted one-of-a-kind soft toy. Sadly, there is currently a very long waiting list, but isn’t this idea grand?! I think it would be a cool DIY for a birthday or Christmas gift!

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Toddler Essentials

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Now that Gabby is a toddler (whoa, when did that happen!?), I realized that we need to update her toy room with some “Toddler Essentials”. Here are a few of my favorites…

A pattern to make felt letters and numbers: Etsy – $6.00

Children’s Table and Two Chairs: IKEA – $19.99

Melissa & Doug Wooden Family Doll Set: Amazon.com – $14.86

And check out this great idea to make a bookcase into a doll house! I will have to make one for Gabby!

Back to School

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It’s that time of year again… back to school is officially happening this week in our neighborhood. It seems to come earlier and earlier each year. I remember always looking forward to the first day of school, but really feeling sad that summer was over. It will be interesting to see what Gabby thinks of school. Alex and I are attending a “Parent’s Night” at Gabby’s school tomorrow. I am nervous but excited for her to start in late October! Also, I just read this fascinating article on the most beautiful and imaginative schools in the world. How cool are these schools!

{images: FlavorWire}

Honest Toddler

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My favorite part about being on Twitter is following @HonestToddler. He loves juice, crackers, cake, attention and tv. And he despises bedtime. He often provides other toddler’s with advice via his “Toddler Tip” tweets. I am not sure exactly who is behind this hilarious kid, but they are creating a captive audience. Here are some of my favorite recent tweets from @HonestToddler:

If you’re at the grocery store, holler at me. Look for the smartly dressed GAP kid. I’m next to him wearing pajamas and bootleg Crocs.

Like I’m the first person to ever take off their clothes in a Starbucks.

Daddy’s home. Mama changed into pajamas. She calls them her wine clothes.

Every week she buys zucchini. Every week we throw away rotten zucchini. Crackers don’t go bad.

I just…I just feel like these pajamas aren’t me. I don’t know.

Toddler Tip: Adults CAN type with one hand while holding you. Just depends on how much love is in their heart.

You can see more from Honest Toddler on facebook and via his blog. This post is one of my favorites!
And I just tweeted my 100th tweet! #Boom

Happy Friday!

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Hi Friends! Happy Friday! I have a quick post today, because as you know, we are off to Fishers Island for the weekend! It’s time for some good times with great friends! I will be sure to take lots of photos and share them with you next week.

We are so lucky that my younger sister, Adrian, is staying with Gabby while we are gone. Thanks so much Aunt A! In preparing for our trip, I asked her to keep in mind some general “rules” while watching Gabby (which felt weird because she is family, but she was very understanding and compliant!)…

  1. Please put Gabby first. Her safety, health and happiness are the most important, above all else.
  2. Please lead by example, she is always watching and absorbing everything you do.
  3. Our goal and dream is for Gabby to:
    • Be kind and compassionate to others
    • Practice patience
    • Have manners
    • Be an individual
  4. We want you to be happy too! Make your self at home!

Do you have “rules” while you are away (for family and non-family alike)?

Have a pretty morning and a great weekend!

{image credit: Cover of St Louis Seasons Magazine by artist Harrison Howard}

No. No. No.

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Some days I feel like all I say is “no”. I hate it. Actually, I should say that I “strongly dislike it”, because “hate” is a powerful word. But you get my point. Instead of spending days saying “no”, here are some simple and effective alternatives…

  1. “I’m not going to change my mind about this”
  2. “No, and that is final”
  3. “I’m not ready for that”
  4. “I’m not going to change my mind about this”
  5. “That is not the issue”
  6. “I’ve given it some thought, and I am going to say no”
  7. “I remember saying no about this”

And a few fun and entertaining ways to say “yes!”…

  1. “Absolutely!”
  2. “I’d be glad to help”
  3. “That sounds like fun!”
  4. “Of course! We can/will/should…”
  5. “Certainly”

{image credit: Sujean Rim}

Say the Right Thing

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I recently read a great article in Parents Magazine about the “right thing” to say to kids. “These go-to phrases are pretty much all you need to keep in your pocket to have a happy, independent kid.” Here they are…

  1. “I need to think about that.”
  2. “How does that make you feel?”
  3. “Wow.”
  4. “Let’s see if we can find something good in this.”
  5. “Listen to your body.”
  6. “Take a breath.”
  7. “Would you like a do-over?”
  8. “That’s a great idea!”

I have an additional rule for parents and grandparents to keep in mind… “Don’t say it unless you mean it.” Kids remember everything, especially promises that are made but not followed through on. So before you respond, make sure you can deliver. Positive parenting creates happy families!