How We Survive A Snow Day

We live where it doesn't snow too often but when it does, whether it's a little or a lot, the schools all close as a precaution. Even my husband is off from work. Every one is home! For a momma that has come to really appreciate nap time where I get a few hours of peace and quiet, I hate snow days. I'm not a snow person, I've fallen twice on iced sidewalks and when there's ice and snow.... I stay indoors! However, since we are all stuck in the house together, there are a few things I can do to make the day better:

1. Plenty of snacks! The most important thing we need to survive a snow day is food. Most people eat when they are bored, so it helps to have snacks in the house. My kids and myself snack on pretty much the same things all the time. It is my husband that gets bored eating the same stuff. So in order to keep the peace and make sure he doesn't Hulk out and start eating food I need for dinners this pay period, I stocked up on a variety of snacks for us all. Plus plenty of hot teat for me as I'm still getting over being sick.

2. Crock Pot Dinner! Cold days just seem to be the most fitting time to cook delicious dinners in the crock pot and that's doubly certain for snow days! Nothing better than smelling dinner cooking all day while your warm and comfy under a blanket.

3. Comfy clothes! I'm not going outside in this horrible weather so it's perfectly okay for me to stay in my pajamas all day! My mom got me these awesome Peter Pan ones for my birthday and they are superb for a cold day like today! I'm all comfy and warm under a blanket.

4. Snuggle Buddies! Any mom or pet owner will agree, there's nothing better than cuddling with your baby (human or animal). During nap time my favorite fur ball, Scat Cat, curled up with me while I watched Netflix.

5. Something good to watch! Movie marathon is what we normally do during snow days. Our favorites are the Toy Story and Cars trilogies. Put that together with everything else I have listed and we have the perfect snow day! A restful, warm, laid-back snow day.

Happy Mommy-ing! 

Diaper Bags for 2 Under 6

My kids are growing up so fast, it's not something I can stop. But as they can older, there is less and less that I need to have with me at all times. We are going to California in about a week and a half and I decided to go through my diaper bags to see what I need to bring along with us. In going through my diaper bags, yes I have three, I discovered that there are a lot of items that I had packed that I don't really need anymore because my oldest is in school now so it's really just me and my youngest most of the time and my youngest is not a baby anymore.

My Fully Loaded Bag:

This is my JJ Cole messager bag in Leaf Print with matching pacifier pod.

In the front pockets I have my oldest's flush-able wipes.

Sunscreen in stick form because it goes on better than the lotion kind and tissues.

Cardboard book, Monkey Mat, Mamga-Doodle and toy tethers

The blue toothbrush holder has bendy straws and the other container has eating out supplies.

Inside there are tons of pockets that I love! Everything fits perfectly!

I have sipper pouches with first aid needs.

Another zipper pouch with medication.

The back pocket holds my stroller straps that came with the bag and an owl that I loop around a cart for my oldest to have a place to hold on to and stay close.

Here's everything from my bag laid out!

 Top Row: Pacifier wipes, Boogies Wipes, Wipes, small Apple Juice, a clean onesie, a burp rag, a swaddle blanket.

Second Row: Arm and Hammer diaper bags, Clorox wipes, Marshall snack box, Lysol travel spray, toothbrush holder with bendy straws, eating out container, Manga-Doodle.

Third Row: Skip Hop Walk-Along Stroller Handle, diapers, Ipsy bag with medication, Monkey Mat, toy tethers, tissues.

Last Row: Wuby pacifier animal, zipper bag with first aid supplies, cardboard book, sunscreen stick and Flush-able wipes.

 That's a ton of crap! Here's a closer look at what I carry in the zipper pouches and containers:

First Aid Pouch: Pad, Diaper Rash Cream, Band-aids, thermometer, baby lotion, Neo To Go Spray, chap stick and teething gel

Medication Pouch: Gas Drops, Pain Reliever tablet, Pepto Bismol tablets, liquid Pain Reliever and dropper

Snack Box: I love this box! May gifted it one birthday and it's awesome! It's hard so snacks won't turn to crumbs. I keep a pouched baby food, crackers of some type, fruit snacks and cookies.

Eating Out Container: This was a Pin I saw to use a Crystal Light plastic container to hold things. At the bottom is a folded up napkin to keep the bottom clean. May found these toppers for the baby food pouches that screw on so it's easier for my youngest to drink them, toddler spoon and fork, water bottle attachments to make it easier for my kids to drink from and not spill, a fold up spoon that came with my husband's tuna pouches, disposable bib and regular bib. 

That was my normal, use everyday bag. I have a smaller bag that is easier to just grab and go:

I got this from my Aunt when we announced our pregnancy for our oldest! I love this little bag.

It holds just enough!

This is everything from my little bag laid out: Sunglasses for both boys, Ipsy bag, Swaddle blanket, wipes, tissues, toy cars, disposable fork & spoon set, toy tether, diapers, and Flush able wipes

Ipsy Bag: disposable place mat, disposable bib, fold-able spoon, extra pacifier, lollipops, boogie wipes, rash cream, medication for both me (pink case has allergy medicine, pepto bismol and Aleve) and the kids, baby lotion, band aids and a pad.

And finally, I have a back pack that is a cross between a diaper bag and my purse. I use it when we go to the zoo or hiking or whenever I don't feel like carrying 2 bags: 

This is my Thirty One Sling Back Bag and I love it! It looks small but it holds everything I need! On the sides are two mesh pockets that I put sippy cups in.

Inside there is a ton on room! 

The front pockets are perfect for the small stuff. 

Normally I have in this bag: an extra set of clothes for my youngest, diapers, stick sunscreen, tissues, pacifier wipes, hand sanitizer, chap stick, lotion, wipes, Flush able wipes, and my Ipsy pouch. I normally only need to add my keys and my wallet in order to take this bag.

Inside the Ipsy pouch: a pad, disposable bib, boogie wipes, pill case with pepto bismol & allergy medicine, a lollipop, Aleve, diaper rash cream, band aids, antibacterial ointment and kids' pain reliever tablets.

Those are my diaper bags! Next week I'll be posting my carry ons for our trip and in a few weeks, I'll post how I pack my Toddler diaper bag. 

Happy Mommy-ing! 

Easy Mom Halloween Costumes

Halloween is a fun time! I have such great memories dressing up as a child but once I hit about 20 years old, I stopped spending tons of money on a costume. And now that I'm a mom of two boys, all my money goes to them first. But since my oldest is in school and will be trick or treating longer than 7 houses, I wanted to dress up too! Here are some very easy, fairly cheap, throw together ideas:

1. Baby: this costume is so easy! I was a baby for a few years in a row. I have a little mermaid pajama bottoms and a matching shirt, I put my hair in pigtails and bring a stuffed animal.

2. Biker Chick: I wore black pants, black boots, a black shirt, plaid shirt (or leather jacket I'd you have one) and dark bandanna on my head.

3. Pirate: Nearly the same as the Biker Chick but I smeared my eye makeup to look more smoky, painted my nails black, added my black lace gloves i have had over a decade and some skull jewelry.

4. Cat Lady: Wear your jammies (happy dance!) complete with slippers and a robe. I tied together a bunch of stuffed animal cats and wore it like a scraf. And I threw my hair into a messy claw clip. So simple and comfy!

Other easy ideas I don't have all items for:

- A Princess: fancy dress & tiara
- Identity Thief: sweater with a bunch of "Hello...My Name Is" stickers on it with names
-Woods Person: plaid shirt, jeans, boots, beanie and toy axe
-Ghost: white sheet with holes cut out
-Nurse/Doctor: matching scrub top & bottom (I'm sure you can get them cheap someplace)

There are so many awesome, last minute costumes you can whip together in a short time! Pinterest is an amazing source! Don't let your kids gave all the fun! They'll look back and remember you joining in the Halloween fun with them and it'll make that memory all the more special!

Happy Mommy-ing!

Surviving with Two Under 6 At A Hotel

My husband's work was throwing a Parenting Retreat weekend at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Beautiful hotel to say the least! We were only there 2 nights, 3 days and we live an hour away so we didn't need to pack too much...just the necessities:

• Stroller
• Pack n Play
• Diapers & Wipes
• Diaper Bag
• Couple changes of clothes per person
• Snacks for my picky eater
• Items for the bathroom (brush, shampoo/conditioner, soap, toothbrushes, makeup etc)
• My kids favorite stuffed animals

This hotel was HUGE! We got lost the first day trying to find our room, then where we were suppose to have our retreat and then where we wanted to eat. This caused a lot of tension between my husband and I but eventually we learned our way around without a map. 

It was a helpful thing that the hotel was so big because there was too many stairs, we didn't use our stroller at all, so we let our kids walk the majority of the hotel to burn off that boundless supply of energy they always have!

We even allowed our kids to run down the hallway to and from our room in order to help with that energy supply. As long as they were not loud, didn't hit any of the doors that were not ours (our oldest can read the numbers now thanks to Kindergarten) or run into people. 

This was our patio from our room, we allowed our kids to play out there with the few cars we packed for them because my kids love their toy cars. Obviously we were watching them from the chairs out there or on the bed. Allowing them to play helped them not be so hyper in our room because they were not confided in one area. 

This was what our room looked like, 2 queen beds, so the first night we decided to put the baby in bed with me and our oldest slept with my husband. That night was TERRIBLE! I got no sleep because the baby kept getting up or rolling around and I barely slept in fear of him rolling off the bed. So the next day for nap time I had my husband bring up the pack n play because our youngest was so fussy and tired! 

He slept for an hour like that while our oldest sat on a bed with his tablet and headphones and my husband and I ate cheesecake out on our patio with the door cracked. That night we moved the pack n play in between our beds and after our youngest fell asleep in bed with my husband and our oldest while I was showering, he was so tired that when I picked him up to transfer him to his crib, he didn't move at all and slept til almost 2 AM! By that time we where both so tired, our youngest had woken up and hit my husband and I picked him up and put him in bed with me. That night he slept better. We all did thank goodness! The hotel had Starbucks and we took full advantage of that caffeine! 

No our youngest is not peeing in the fountain! Lol but this water / fountain show was a huge help in getting them to settle down and eat. They were so focused on watching the water that we all ate in peace. They are normally nuts, running around or yelling/crying when we go out to eat with them (even with all these Tips) so this distraction was a blessing for a quiet dinner. 

It's stressful being taken out of our normal routines, being away from our beds and throwing kids into the mix is just the cherry on top of the big stressful cake that is parenting. Trying to keep to a nap/bed time routine, allow your kids to burn off energy any (safe) way possible and try to have fun together. It's hotel and you're on vacation: ENJOY YOURSELF!