Modern Parents Messy Kids

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Stocking Stuffer idea: Protect Your (or Your Kids’) Tech

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In October we wrote the post Kids & Phones: A Guide for the Newbie Mom so we thought we'd follow up today with how to protect that new phone if you decided this was your child's year. Here's our contributor Kristen, mom of two teens and a tween, with her review of the innovative phone cases made from our newest sponsor, tech21 ... If you're giving the gift of technology this year, don't forget to think about protecting it too.  The holidays seem to be the time when we upgrade our … [Read more...]

Kids & Phones: A Guide for the Newbie Mom (from a Mom In the Trenches)

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Our family is still slowly dipping our toes into the world of having school-aged kids. One of the topics that seems to keep coming up when chatting with my mom friends in the same position is that of the cell phone. And, of course, that one topic leads to a bevy of questions. When are kids ready for one? When might it be a good idea for communication/safety concerns? What rules and limits should be applied? How do we keep our kids, and those expensive phones safe? When questions like these … [Read more...]

Overnight Steel Cut Oats (and How to Get the Kids to Make Their Own Breakfast)

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With that first snap of cool fall weather, all I want to do is cozy up with a warm bowl of oatmeal in the morning. Oatmeal is such a great breakfast option because it helps keep you full until lunch. I also love that oatmeal offers endless flavor combinations, from sweet to savory. My favorite oatmeal company, The Quaker Oats Company, makes the most delicious steel cut oats.  Steel cut oats are simply chopped, while the regular rolled oats are steamed, rolled, steamed again and then … [Read more...]

How to Set up a Healthy Pack-Yourself Lunch Station for Kids

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I'm all about making life easier when possible. As moms we are juggling a million things and making lunches for school is one of those things that seems like it should be an easy task, but ends up being one of the tasks that I avoid until the last minute.  So here's what I've discovered. Just like anything else, preparation is key.  You may have seen our serve-yourself snack station over the summer.  I decided to apply the concept to lunch. If I let the kids have make their own lunches … [Read more...]

Round Up: Teacher Recommended Back-to-School Hacks

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This time of year I find I am usually equal parts excited and anxious for what lays ahead. So many new opportunities, friends, sports, clubs, etc. - so many new schedules to balance (especially now that I have a full day student, a part-time preschooler, and a baby). You may have noticed, in fact, that I'm already in preparation overdrive.  Well, I'm not done yet! Today our contributor Kristin, a former first grade teacher, is here sharing her all-time favorite back-to-school hacks. You … [Read more...]

Tips from a Teacher on Dealing with Back-to-School Anxiety

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*I’m a PediaSure SideKicks Partner and am a sponsored blog partner, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure. Can you believe we're talking First Day of School already?!!? It's so funny to find out that parents kind of feel the same way about it as kids do (I never realized when I was a kid) - not wanting the summer to end but also a little excited about the new schedule and changing of the seasons. I also never realized as a kid how stressful the first day … [Read more...]

How to Have a Successful Family Night for EVERYONE

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Do you guys do family night? I read in one of my favorite parenting books that it was an important thing to establish early on. You know, promotes communication, sibling and parent/child bonding, will make your kiddos confide in you more when they're older, yadda, yadda. So, we established family game night... And it was awful. There was SO MUCH whining and pouting, and lots of the general mayhem and misery that occurs when a preschooler looses an all-important game of Chutes & … [Read more...]

Happy Family Habits #15: The Right Way to Hug your Kids

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One of the things I have loved, loved, LOVED about being momma to baby M are the pre-nap snuggles.  My third baby is the only one who truly loves to snuggle with me. Even as infants, S and C would wiggle in my arms as I rocked and sang to them before nap. They weren't upset, they just wanted to look around - at the room, at the fan, even at me. They were never fully relaxed enough to snuggle up as I had envisioned they would. Eventually I came to terms with it, figuring that's just how … [Read more...]

Nutritious Kid Snacks: Strawberry Banana Coconut Energy Bites

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*I'm a PediaSure SideKicks Partner and am a sponsored blog partner, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure. Are you struggling to get your kids to eat enough fruits and vegetables? You're not alone! 93 percent of kids don’t eat enough vegetables and 60 percent don’t eat enough fruit. At our house it's currently the veggies that are the problem. I try and try but to no avail, it's beyond frustrating and I worry about my kids' nutrition. Which is why I was … [Read more...]