Hacks for a Clean Kitchen!

Disclaimer: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias Inc. and it’s adviser. All opinions are mine alone. #PowerofDots #CollectiveBias

Cleaning the kitchen is one of my least favorite chores. Between my kids and my husband, it often feels like the kitchen is never clean. I clean it so many times per day that I may as well give up and let it be forever dirty.

But I must press on! My quest for a clean kitchen will never end! I’ve found a few easy hacks that can make keeping the kitchen clean a less daunting task. Things, that if done regularly, can keep my food fresher and my counters cleaner.

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The Most Popular Registry Items at BuyBuyBaby featured by popular Denver mom blogger, All Things Lovely

The Most Popular Registry Items at BuyBuyBaby

Disclaimer: This popular registry items post is sponsored by BuyBuyBaby. All opinions are my own. Please visit my disclaimer page for more information.

Ah, baby registries. For some reason, when we registered for Sawyer (our firstborn) it was so stressful. Everything made us argue. We spent an hour contemplating strollers. A good 40 minutes discussing the different pack n plays. Half an hour comparing the different features of car seats.

There’s just so much information to take in and when you’ve never actually had a baby before, it can seem so overwhelming.

THE MOST POPULAR REGISTRY ITEMS WITH BUYBUYBABY

BuyBuyBaby wants to come alongside and help you! I recently visited my local BuyBuyBaby and had them walk me through their registry process and I was really impressed! They make everything so easy and put first time parents at ease. When you enter BuyBuyBaby, you’ll locate the registry center and be greeted by a specialist. That’s right, a specialist, there solely to help you find the best products to put on your registry.

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4 Things You Should Never Apologize for as a Parent

 

 

Parenting is hard. By far the hardest thing I have ever done, and I’m sure most would agree. I tend to second guess every decision I make. Is this what’s best for them? Is this somehow going to scar them for life? What is best for their physical and mental health?
All day long.
All day long I constantly question my decisions and tactics because I know these early years will greatly shape their lives. The way we choose to raise them means everything. They will carry it with them forever, and what if we choose wrong?
Should I make sure the house is spotless and completely baby proofed? Should I bend over backwards to soley breastfeed? Should I be planning more enriching activities instead of letting them watch some tv? Should I always be on time with my kids and myself perfectly dressed? Should I stop sleeping late(ish) in the mornings? Should I get up early to prepare everyone’s breakfast?

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Fun Christmas Traditions with Gymboree

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Gymboree. All opinions are my own. Please visit my disclaimer page for more information.

I’m sure you’ve done it too. From about the time I was 15, until I was 22, every holiday season the words “it just doesn’t feel like Christmas!” would escape my mouth. As I got older that magical, wonderful feeling just started to fade away and I started seeing the holidays in a different way: Stressful.

There are rooms to decorate, a tree to chop down, presents to buy, malls to navigate, cookies to bake, and oh so much more. As a teenager and young adult I started to feel the pressure of the holidays more and more and it just not longer felt like Christmas.

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Dealing With Dog Anxiety- Part 2

 

There are few things more heartbreaking than a fur baby in distress. Because our pets don’t speak english, they cannot communicate their fears to us, and we cannot communicate words of comfort and affirmation that everything will be alright.

When Bennett gets anxious, we can usually calm him. Using soothing tones, giving gentle pets and belly rubs, avoiding loud noises, etc. But we can’t be there every second of every day to soothe him, and when we’re driving we can’t have him freaking out with our kids in the backseat. We needed assistance to calm Bennett when we physically could not. I always thought we were alone in our struggle with an anxious dog. I didn’t even realize there were so may other people out there dealing with their pet’s anxiety until I wrote my last post on it (read that here), but it turns out – lots of dogs experience anxiety. In fact, 75 million dogs will experience anxiety at some point, 55 million are afraid of loud noises, and 24 million have anxiety issues.

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Disneyland While Pregnant

Call me crazy, but I did it back in May.

I went to Disneyland when I was 27 weeks pregnant with Oliver. And I actually had a pretty great time.

I’m not superwoman or anything, at the end of the day my feet were screaming and my back hurt so badly I couldn’t stand up straight, but I made it, I made it to the end of the day!

I took a lot of precautions to make sure I could survive the day that I want to share with you

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The Babywearing Guide: Our Day at the Zoo with The LÍllébaby Complete All Seasons

Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with LÍllébaby. All opinions are my own. Please visit my Disclaimer Page for more information. 

We went to the zoo with the boys yesterday and had a fabulous time! Sawyer is starting to get old enough to where he really appreciates and is excited about experiences like that. The whole ride there he kept saying “I’m going to see animals!” over and over. It was so cute!

I knew Oliver wasn’t going to want to be in the stroller the whole time because we were going to be there for quite a few hours. So, I elected to wear him in my LÍllébaby Complete All Seasons carrier.

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Sleep Tips For Newborns

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Nested Bean. All opinions are my own. Please visit my disclaimer page for more information.

Don’t hate me, but both of my boys slept through the night by 6 weeks old! Sawyer still went through the typical sleep regression at 4 months. Then again at 9 months. And then again at one year. And he’s not sleeping super great right now at 2.5, so it hasn’t all been rainbows and ponies. But they were both sleeping through the night (in between regression periods) by 6 weeks!

And it’s not because my kids are super amazing and I am super lucky to be blessed with angels from heaven, it’s because I put in hard work to get them on a schedule from birth to ensure better sleep.

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Failure to Thrive

 

 

I had both my babies prematurely, every pregnant woman’s worst nightmare.
Premature babies are a whole different ball game. They grow and hit milestones on a different timeline, the have to be closely monitored their whole first year of life, they need physical therapies, evaluations, and more. Being a preemie Mama is exhausting.
I’ve breastfed both of  my babies, rather unsuccessfully.
I’ve always been able to fix any supply issues, both babies learned to latch okay, and pumping went as well as it could have, neither of my kids have gained weight they way they should have, and it was devastating. This means seeing the doctor every 2 weeks for weight checks, trying different medications, doing stool and blood tests, etc. If you want your heart to shatter into a million pieces, just watch your 4 month old get blood drawn.

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Your Pets Get Anxious Too

 

We’ve had Bennett for 3 years now.

When we rescued him, we got almost zero information about his previous owners. We have no idea what went on the first 18 months of his life.

Which means we have no idea what causes his almost crippling separation anxiety.

But it’s there, and it’s bad.

When we adopted him, they warned us he was very hyper, so we were prepared for that, but it felt like so much more.

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