Sass and Sippy Cups

It seems that in recent years, all anyone is concerned with is the ability of children to read at an early age. How many commercials have you seen for baby reading programs? Forcing kids to read is only going to make them hate reading. I truly feel that this is why many adults end up hating to read. I truly feel that adults who love reading began as children who loved reading, and were exposed to it before it became mandatory. Think about it, if your only exposure to books were the ones you had to read in English class, you'd probably hate it too. That's why it's SO important to get little ones into reading without forcing it on them.  So here are my tips for getting kids to love books (and maybe spend some more time away from that tablet). 1. Just read to them!   The easiest way to get your children to love reading is to read to them. I've been reading to my toddler since the day she came home from the hospital. Now she will crack open a book and say "mommy, I...

Hi, everyone! Today is more of a rant-y post, so feel free to skip this one if you’re not in the mood.   Everyone (including myself, of course) is just full of advice. No one’s situation is the same, and apparently mine is more unique than most, considering what I’ve read online.   Here are a few of my limitations: I have a toddler who has a mind of her own and fights routine tooth-and-nail I have a job as a caretaker which requires me to be out of my house a couple hours a day I don’t drive, and even if I did, my husband takes our car to work My fellow mommy bloggers have a wealth of advice for others (we wouldn’t have started our blogs otherwise, right?) when it comes to being productive as a stay-at-home mom. Even though I do technically work outside the home, I can take my daughter with me and it’s only 2-3 hours a day, so I do still think of myself as a stay-at-home mom. The first thing everyone and their mother advocates is a morning and nighttime...

Hi everyone! I'm SO ready for real fall/winter weather, how about you? Today I'm coming to you with something that has intrigued me for a while: a capsule wardrobe. I've seen a lot of these pieces specifically targeted toward "stay at home" moms, but I honestly think I would have the same wardrobe even if I was still working outside the home (I'd obviously have to add work clothes). I got most of the list from www.nowthaticando.com . It's a great resource for those of us who want to NOT look like hot messes on a daily basis, but also accept the fact that our clothes will eventually be covered in all manner of bodily fluids by the end of the day.  Her style is classic and kind of preppy like mine, so I loved the majority of the pieces she uses in her capsules. She  does include pieces that don't really suit my personal style or body type, so I switched them out for something else. And let's get real, I LIVE in boots in the fall and winter...

That's right, the author of some of our favorite childhood stories would have been 102 years old today! So in honor of his birthday, I'll share some parenting motivation from the always loved and ever-wise Willy Wonka.  Yes, work is important. Of course motherhood is hard (my kid chews wires and tried to play with her own turds in the tub the other day, for Christ's sake)! But when you're at your most exhausted and at the end of your rope, you need to remember: embrace the chaos and enjoy the silly . In the end, the nonsense and the memories that come from it are what make this whole mommy thing worthwhile (and at the very least will provide you with some future blackmail material!)

My soon-to-be two year old is just a bundle of curious energy, which leaves mommy a little haggard and insane sometimes. She gets so bored (or mad) when I leave her alone for five minutes that her toys just end up thrown around and not actually played with. She had a ton of toys out in her room, which made cleaning up a Herculean feat sometimes (because this mama refuses to clean up after a little girl who is perfectly capable of doing it herself). So recently I tapped into my early childhood education background, and tried a tactic we used when I was working in a daycare: toy rotation.  This involves only allowing your child a small selection of toys and swapping them out every once in a while. This is what my daughter's toy rack looks like now. I put all her other toys in bins in her closet, separated into the following categories: pretend play puzzles and games blocks tech toys (VTech or pretty much anything that talks) She also has a stuffed animal hammock,...

Hi everyone! Today we're continuing our series about something I've been doing lately to satisfy my love of stationery and organization:  bullet journaling.   I am not one for trends, but when everyone and their mother was talking about bullet journaling and how it kept their life in order, I looked into it. I googled it and was immediately put off by all the insanely intricate layouts and drawings. A few months ago, my best friend asked me about whether or not I had heard of bullet journaling. I told her it all looked so complicated and that my OCD would stop me from actually enjoying it. Then I went through a period of daily anxiety and worry, and I decided I would try it to get my mind off the things that were bothering me. I've been through 4 journals and am now on my 5th, not because I have a lot to write, but because I was right about my OCD- I end up making layouts and hating them because there was something I wanted to add or I didn't like the order in wh...

Hi everyone! Today we're continuing our series about something I've been doing lately to satisfy my love of stationery and organization:  bullet journaling.   I am not one for trends, but when everyone and their mother was talking about bullet journaling and how it kept their life in order, I looked into it. I googled it and was immediately put off by all the insanely intricate layouts and drawings. A few months ago, my best friend asked me about whether or not I had heard of bullet journaling. I told her it all looked so complicated and that my OCD would stop me from actually enjoying it. Then I went through a period of daily anxiety and worry, and I decided I would try it to get my mind off the things that were bothering me. I've been through 4 journals and am now on my 5th, not because I have a lot to write, but because I was right about my OCD- I end up making layouts and hating them because there was something I wanted to add or I didn't like the order in which I...

Hi everyone! Today we're continuing our series about something I've been doing lately to satisfy my love of stationery and organization:  bullet journaling.   I am not one for trends, but when everyone and their mother was talking about bullet journaling and how it kept their life in order, I looked into it. I googled it and was immediately put off by all the insanely intricate layouts and drawings. A few months ago, my best friend asked me about whether or not I had heard of bullet journaling. I told her it all looked so complicated and that my OCD would stop me from actually enjoying it. Then I went through a period of daily anxiety and worry, and I decided I would try it to get my mind off the things that were bothering me. I've been through 4 journals and am now on my 5th, not because I have a lot to write, but because I was right about my OCD- I end up making layouts and hating them because there was something I wanted to add or I didn't like the order in which I ...