When I was pregnant, I spent inordinate amounts of time reading, singing, playing music, and reciting poems in several languages to my fetus. He's pretty smart... but it turns out my efforts probably have nothing to do with it. I've recently learned a lot about what actually helps your baby's brain develop in the womb... [...]
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 12:26 As you've seen this weekend with millions of women marching all over the country, women are putting up with being second class no longer. We're tired of basing our self-worth off of our beauty; thereby sinking every professional, financial, and emotional resource into [...]
"Life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating." This quote is taken from one of my favorite century-year old short stories, The Gift of The Magi by O. Henry. The story [spoiler alert] takes place in in the early 20th century and involves a woman selling her most prized possession, [...]
The joy of all-inclusive resorts or family-friendly hotels with a baby can't be overstated. Imagine walking out of your hotel room door every day to flower gardens, birds, beautifully manicured lawns, pools, theme parks, dozens of events aimed at kids (if you choose a family-friendly resort), fine dining or fun buffets, shows, lights, and even [...]
When I'm on the road, which is a ton, I love to have kid-friendly snacks with me. Let's face it, even when you have a kitchenette in your hotel or a full kitchen in your rental home, you don't always have time to prepare healthy snacks. Here are a few kid-friendly snacks we always have [...]
Okay, be honest. Have you tried Tom's or another natural deodorant? They totally don't work. It's not just me. I've asked all my friends and smelled my laundry after a day in natural deodorant. Great, I just lost my appetite. Seriously, they do not work and it's no "secret". (pun intended) We all have armpits. Things under [...]
My husband and I have both lived internationally for years. I spent most of my time in Europe and New Zealand with many trips to South and Central America. My husband, however, has lived on almost every continent and traveled to at least 75 countries that we can count. If you’ve already traveled [...]
Before I traveled with my son and family all over creation, I traveled up to 250 days per year for work. It was, surprisingly, not all that much easier than traveling with a baby, once you know the tricks in my comprehensive baby travel book. One thing I’ve become a bit of a fanatic about [...]
My former husband and I became pretty solid travel companions as we spent over 200 day annually traveling for work. But it didn't start out that way! Our first trip together was from Austin, Texas to Washington, D.C. The trip in and of itself isn't all that complicated... But when we arrived at the tiny, [...]
Before I give you these tips, I want to know that the best insurance for any trip is to prepare your heart. While traveling with or without your baby, you’re going to have delayed planes and buses, rainy weather, sickness, lost bags, and many, many diaper blowouts. You can prepare all you want, but at the end [...]
A few years ago on New Years I resolved to do the Whole 30 Cleanse. It was grueling but totally worth the pain. Last year I resolved to begin writing again after allowing my gift to sit dormant while I bathed in the sweetness of my new baby. I hope it's beginning to bless many people. [...]
Warm weather, cold weather, snow, shine, rain, hurricane-like conditions... My baby and I traveled through all of these before he was 9 months old! And I’m happy to tell you that we passed with flying colors. Everywhere we went people asked me how I had such a happy baby. Even teething was a [...]
When I say we never travel without this... I mean it’s the first thing we pick up at the store out of the train, bus, or airport. There’s no sense packing anything that’s easy to obtain at your destination! In this case, it’s coconut oil. That’s right. The first thing I do when I [...]
I've scoured my friend's houses and studied scores of children playing at our local library to find out what the top toys are in 2016. Unlike other toy review lists, I'm not getting paid to write these reviews. So if you're looking for a gift for your kid for the holidays- this is the last place you'll [...]
I can't believe it took me until my son was a year old to figure out this road trip trick. You see, he was fussing in the car and normally I'd sing a song if we got THAT exasperated. (My singing voice sucks.) But finally one day I began reciting his favorite book. It's from [...]
I have spent years paying thousands of dollars on stock photos only to find out that my friends and colleagues were getting way cooler photos than me, and they didn't pay a cent. Last night, because this is what I do on a Sunday night after I put up my Christmas tree, I painstakingly documented the only [...]
The Happy Mom’s Guide to Baby Wearing We’re in San Diego, California, and I want nothing more than to hit the museums, the Botanic Garden, the Self-Realization Meditation Gardens in Encinitas, and especially the farmer’s markets! My son doesn’t quite yet crawl at this time but he’s sitting well and scooting across the room. [...]
There's honestly no reason why you have to stuff your suitcases or car while traveling out-of-state with a baby. It's simply too easy to rent where you go! Here is a comprehensive guide to U.S. Baby Equipment Rental companies. Alabama Baby Equipment Rental Baby Beach Rentals Alabama Baby Gear Rental www.baby-equipment-rentals.com 866.955.2229 Rockabye Baby [...]
If you've seen it once you've seen it a thousand times. Mom and dad are sitting with a wiggly, fussy baby boxing up their half-eaten food and looking around the room with red faces. Are they embarrassed, exhausted, or irate? Probably a mix of all three! From an early age, we brought our son to [...]
The fourth trimester isn't just awesome because of that delicious cuddle hormone oxytocin that's coursing through your veins... It's also the time you'll be able to party the most while keeping your child in tow. You see, my newborn son was three weeks old when I heard something that changed the course of the next [...]
