Taking 2 Under 6 to the Dentist

I hate the Dentist! I've always hated going! They never tell you you're doing anything right, it's always what you're doing wrong in my experience. Until I was about six I went to an adult dentist and did not enjoy it one bit. Then my mom found a children's dentist for me and my two younger siblings and he was a sweet old man that was gentle and talked me through the whole thing in order to calm my nerves. I do not want my past unpleasant experiences to dictate how my children perceive the dentist. After a lot of research, I found a children's dentist that's in the same building as my dentist. Again he is a sweet old man, he is very patient with my kids. All the hygienists are extremely patient, they talk to my kids like they're the most important people in the room and I'm allowed to be in there with them which was very very important to me. So how do I do it by myself?

1. I make the appointment at the end of the school day, just late enough that my son only misses the last 20 minutes of school so hopefully there aren't a bunch of kids there or a long wait time.

2. I get there early to fill out paperwork, because there always seems to be more paperwork I have to fill out at every visit.

3. In the waiting room they have video games  but I also brought along snacks, juice cups and tablets with headphones just in case.

4. To make things easier on myself for after the appointment I decided to make dinner using the crock pot that way no matter how long it takes (with a 5 year old and a screaming Terrible Two Toddler, extra time is always a good idea!) the main component of dinner will be done and ready for us when we get home. I just have to heat up the taco shells, my husband already shredded the cheese from earlier in the week and set the table.

Mom Tip: When we used to go to the dentist as kids my mom would pick us up from school and have us brush our teeth in the car. I didn't understand the reason then because they made you brush your teeth again when you got there and then they brushed them with their dentist tools. As a mom though I completely understand where she was coming from. Not that my kids are old enough to understand and brush their teeth before we go - so I just gave them breath mints and hoped that their teeth aren't so bad.

Their visit went great! We honestly spent more time in the waiting room than we did in the exam area. My youngest screamed when they counted his teeth, so that was all they could do for him. The hygienist did give him a treat bag with a new tooth brush, sticker and bathtub toy. She also gave him a plastic mouth mirror, hoping it would allow them to do more. It did not but my youngest liked his new toys. My oldest was very good! Since they examined my kids at the same time, my focus was on holding my youngest and helping the dentist, and my oldest was left with his hygienist. He did everything he was told and they both had no cavities!

Happy Mommy-ing!

Mom Bag: No More Diaper Bag

There's a new trend going on these where moms of older toddlers (above the age for 2 years old) are letting go of carrying around a huge, fully loaded diaper bag. I know I have stopped doing so, unless we are going super far away from our house. I used to have a smaller diaper bag always packed and ready to go (link here) but it got to the point that I hated carrying around 2 bags still. Mom of 2, running after a toddler that refuses to sit in the cart or hold your hand - juggling 2 bags was NOT working for me. Or I would leave the small diaper bag in the car and then he would need a diaper change - so that did not work out either. So there are lot of moms on YouTube that were doing "What's in my bag" videos calling them "Mommy Editions". There are also a few Pins on Pinterest about "Ditching the Diaper bag" and "Mom Bag Essentials", both of which are good things to Pin and read later.
So what is a "Mom Bag"?! It is a diaper bag and a purse all in one! There are numerous versions out there but in my case it is a pouch for my kids' needs inside my everyday purse. Stuff that I may need when we are out grocery shopping or other errands. Mine is very basic, very bare minim because I have redone my car to have more of the kids' needs inside it so I can carry less on me (post coming soon on Mommy Car).

When we are out running errands there's really only 3 things that will keep my youngest happy (most of the time my oldest is in school while we are running errands) 1. a sippy cup of juice, 2. my phone or my Kindle Fire with kids apps on it and finally 3. tons of snacks! As long as he's eating, he's happy. So like I said, there is not a lot I carry with me at all times. My new purse is from Thirty One and it's the Cross-body Organizing Tote and I love it! It took some moving around to get use to it but I love it! Everything that I had in my purse (post link here) is in my Thirty One Super Swap It Pocket, so I just took that thing out and placed it in my new purse no problem. This new tote has 2 mesh side pockets which are perfect for my youngest's sippy cup and I bottle of soda for me (mom of a toddler - we need caffeine!). Then it has 2 outside front pockets for my cell phone, sunglasses, mittens because it's February, and Ipod. Even the Kindle in a case fits in these front pockets! Not sounding like too much kids' stuff right?

I carry with me at all times a Thirty One Pocket a Tote, clear zipper pouch with 2 size 4 diapers, a travel pack of wipes (when this runs out, instead of spending $2 for 18 wipes, I am just going to put some wipes from home in a Ziploc baggie to save some money), some fruit snacks to stop those terrible-two meltdowns and small suckers as a last resort.

In addition to that clear zipper pouch and sippy cup, when I know we are going out to run errands I throw in tons of snacks for him: cereals bars, crackers, cereal, cookies and a pouched food of some sort (not all of these but a few things) and I'm all set! So as long as I have a sippy cup, snacks, entertainment and diapering needs for my youngest.. my purse is the perfect Mom Bag!

Happy Mommy-ing! 

Pregnancy/Big Sister Care Package

When I was pregnant with my second baby nothing made me happier than when people got my oldest stuff to help him become a big brother. I live away from the majority of my family and friends, so one of my very dear family friends is having her second baby and I decided to send her and her little girl a care package. I honestly shopped around my house for everything in this kit, well just about everything in the kit. I have been blessed with so many people that love getting us stuff that I have duplicates of a lot of things. 

One of my go-to things is crocheting. I love making crocheted gifts for people. So I made the new baby a camo colored blanket and I made his sister a Oklahoma Sooners colored headband with bow.

For my friend who's having the baby I have a pack of Jolly Ranchers, because when you are are in active labor you cannot have anything solid so that helped when I had my second baby. And these awesome labor socks that I got from a couple different people when I was pregnant with my second baby and I wanted to share the love - they're amazing!

For the big sister I decided to make a tiny, I wouldn't say busy bag, but just a bunch of activities that she can take with her if she's at the hospital or just things for her in general. I have water colors, counting of flashcards, a pack of markers, a pack of Color Wonder paper and Color Wonder markers, plain white paper, cardboard books, some Dum Dum little suckers (because every little kid loves suckers) and finally a cute little bag to put all in.

All of this I had in my house! I have that many doubles!

I had to buy these things but I only spent 8$ total with the Color Wonder markers being the most expensive.  

And that is it! A simple care package for someone special since I cannot be there in person. I am shipping it to my parents and they will be delivering it to the mommy-of-almost-2 and the big-sister-to-be for me! 

Happy Mommy-ing!

My Cures for the Hun-Angry Mommy Monster

I'm a mommy of two, as many of you know, and like many mommies out there there's not always time for me to sit down and eat a meal without having to share it with my youngest or make both kids something too. The new lingo is putting hungry and angry together to make hun-angry, and I think that describes the majority of the hungry mommies out there! We have to share our food with our children and many of us hide the foods we don't want to share and eat them during nap time or behind a closed door or when our back is turned and stuff it all in our mouth quickly. These are a few of my quick go-to food that I love. They're not necessarily the best thing but they're quick so yummy to eat.

I suffer, not suffer - live with PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, like severe PMS -a blog on that coming soon!) after my second pregnancy so I get cravings like I'm pregnant, but I'm not, and some of these are my current cravings that I've had for about 6 weeks.

So from the photo above I'll start left to right:
• Easy Mac/Rice A Roni Instant: these are my go-to hot/microwave lunches. If I have the time, I do prefer to make Mac and cheese from the box because, in my opinion, it tastes WAY better. But the instant is good when I'm in a time crunch. The Rice A Roni is super good and I like eating the chicken flavor with ketchup. I can't make this from the box to safe the life of me, I always burn it, so I love this! About 3 to 4 minutes for each in the microwave with a little water and I have a hot lunch!

• Dr Pepper/Mnt Dew Kickstart: I always drink one of these a day. I haven't met a mom yet that doesn't need some form of daily caffeine, especially moms of toddlers. Dr Pepper has one of the highest contains of caffeine for a soda per can and I love these tiny bottles so I can re-close them and take them in my bag without the fear for them spilling or needing to drink it quickly. The Kickstarts are wonderful! It's an energy drink without the added chemical junk most other energy drinks have added to them. It's only 80 calories and tastes great!

• Hormel Gatherings Snack Tray: above is what is left of my "grown up Lunchables". I absolutely love these in the honey ham/mild cheddar cheese flavor. They last about 3 times eating and although it's probably not the best thing for me to be eating, the way I see it is I'm eating protein which is always a good thing.

• Naked Brand- Green Machine/Sparkling Ice- Cherry Limeade: I don't drink these every day, these on on occasion because they are a little pricey. I love Naked Brand Green Machine in the mornings when I want to feel healthy, I feel like I'm doing something good for my body by drinking it. I hate green foods! I don't eat salads, rabbit food I call it, so this drink has all those green salad-y veggies inside it along with fruits to make it taste yummy! I love cherry limeade! I prefer the Walmart brand Clear Sparkling water because it's clear and cheap but the bottle is 32oz, heavy and huge, it doesn't fit in my bag or my car cup holders. So I do like that this bottle is smaller and easier to take along with me and I just recently found them in an 8 pack of cans so I a excited to start getting those soon.

• Little Debbie Snack Cakes: I am currently obsessed with these yummy, oh-so-bad for you cakes! They are 300 calories per pack of two, as my husband likes to point out since we are trying to exercise and be healthier as a family. But these are another craving from PMDD and I can't go a day without eating these.

•BelVita Breakfast Cookies/Stash Fusion Breakfast Black & Green tea: these are a morning staple for me! The breakfast cookies we have Monday thru Friday in the car while we wait to drop off my oldest at school, I have 2 and my youngest has 2. They are very tasty, have whole grains and are very easy to take with us. They are messy when they break but other than that I love these! The Stash Fusion Breakfast Black and Green Tea is a morning staple for both me and my husband. I have it every morning, I'm a mess without it. I do not like coffee and I like that it has green tea in it but it doesn't taste like green tea. I do put too much sugar in it but I am slowly cutting back the amount I put into my morning tea (I drink decaf black tea at night). We have to order it on Amazon but it's well worth it.

•PEZ Candies: I absolutely love PEZ candy!  I use to buy the dispensers with three candies, sometimes you can find the refill hanging pack that has six candies and that's okay too if you can find it. I ran across this huge bag at my local Toys R Us and bought two bags of it!! I love these candies because they're so small, I stash them in my car for meltdowns, I stash them in my purse for me or to calm my kids. I can hide these under a blanket if I am crocheting on the couch and eat them right in front of my kids. I love these candies!

• Not pictured: some of my other favorite snacks are Fiber One strawberry cheesecake bar, Quaker mini rice cakes in Caramel, Simply Balanced fruit leather in strawberry from Target, drinkable yogurt  in a strawberry flavor and whole grain Goldfish/Cheez-itz (I mean, what mom of a toddler doesn't eat Goldfish crackers?!). I need to drink more water so I do like Crush brand grape water enhancer packets. I keep one in my purse, I really need to get better at drinking one or two a day. They do contain aspartame which is not good for you but I hate drinking plain water so a little bit of aspartame is better than no water at all in my opinion.
Well those are my cures for the Hun-Angry Mommy Monster. What are your cures for your Hun-Angry mommy monster?

Happy Mommy-ing