Parenting Archives - Page 19 of 21

Meet our new robot baby, bObsweep

Have you ever looked around your house and thought "I wonder if a robot would be able to get around that"? No? Well, then you probably don't have a robot baby in the house like we do.

Meet Bob, AKA bObsweep PetHair, the newest member of the family.
We've been robot-proofing over the last few days and I can now say that a robot would easily be able to navigate around our living areas without any problem at all. Before becoming a mom I honestly never thought I would have a robotic vacuum – I mean, really, how hard is it to run a vacuum by yourself? I'm all for outsourcing whatever I can, but do you really need that chore automated?

I'm here to tell you, yes, I definitely need that automated. You see, vacuuming has slowly been slipping down the list of chores since baby arrived. Sometimes it would be 2 weeks before I would look around at our wool rug and realize how bad it looked. Our awesome thick wool rug is super soft and cozy, but the bad part is that the wool fibers lift up in between vacuuming sessions, making it look like we have a short-haired dog in the house that sheds like crazy.

When I think of my biggest wishes for my daughters, at the top of that list is that they always understand that their voices are powerful. Their voices unfortunately have the power to hurt others, but they can have the power to make someone feel loved and special. It’s up to them to use their voices for good. And, just like they can choose whether to use their voices to hurt or to help, their voices also have the ability to make a real difference in the world. Melody Ellison™, the newest BeForever™ doll from American Girl, is learning the power of her voice and has arrived just in time for my daughters to really learn from her unique story. Her story is full of life lessons that give us a glimpse back into our past as well as ways to empower our girls to make a difference in the future.

Back to School with AT&T deals

It’s back to school time, and your shopping lists probably look a little like mine do. First, the office supply store, then some clothing basics mix and match separates at the local mall, after that there is backpack shopping at the kids’ store with all three kids, then heading out for a special trip to the organizing store for some lunchbox accessories, and… I’m already glazing over just thinking about all my back to school errands. So, for my own sanity, I needed to add a fun stop for back to school.

For the fun stuff that will actually get them excited about back to school, look no further than AT&T. By now you know that the AT&T store carries everything you need to make the most of your mobile devices, and back to school time means everyone is going to be a whole lot more mobile with school schedules, sports, and extracurricular activities. Whether you are looking for a new smartphone so you can keep in touch, speakers for a dorm room, a tablet so they can do homework when they can’t be at a computer, or an activity tracker to keep up with all those extra steps they will be racking up on campus, AT&T has you covered. Ready to start the fun back to school shopping? Here are just a few great deals for back to school:

Britax Frontier ClickTight Harness to Booster Seat review

It’s a big time in our house! Baby girl has finally reached a really big milestone: she outgrew her infant seat and it’s now time to switch her to a rear facing convertible seat.

But, the problem is that we have three young children in car seats and we own a compact sedan. Knowing what a tight fit the infant car seat had been, I was dreading moving her to an even bigger seat because it was clear it just wasn’t going to work. We looked into numerous convertible seats to transition her to, but they were all just too big.

It began to look like we had two options: 1) buy a new car, or 2) switch my almost 6 year old to a booster seat. Obviously, neither option appealed to me. So, I began to research anything and everything to fit three across in our compact sedan.

When I found the Britax Frontier ClickTight, I realized that it just might be the best of all worlds – a 5 point harness that converts to a booster seat and is slim enough to fit in a compact car easily. With the dimensions of 19" W x 36" H x 21" D at its maximum and only 28” H at minimum, it’s one of the slimmer car seats we found anywhere, and by far the slimmest with the features we were looking for. Add in the fact that it converts and can be used by my son until he no longer needs a seat and it’s the clear choice.

As soon it arrived, the kids went crazy celebrating their “big switch”.Sorry, baby girl. This is your brother’s seat. Your new-to-you Britax convertible seat will hopefully be just as exciting.

Looking for matching clothing for your family? Look no further than our ultimate guide to matching clothing for baby, toddler, siblings, and family. You will find stores to shop at, shopping tips and tricks, and the best way to maximize your matching clothing.

The 12 best ways to enjoy food on a stick

Does anything say "summer" more than eating food on sticks? Think about it: the family camp out, the backyard BBQ, the playdate cool-down, they all have one thing in common… food enjoyed right off the skewer or stick! Thank you to Kraft this sponsored post to share these awesome food on a stick recipes I can't wait to try.

FACT: Food tastes better on a stick. No, we can’t explain it. But like love or um, magnets, sometimes the best things can’t be explained with logic. On that note, allow me to introduce the 12 best “stick with it!” foods to eat this summer.

Imaginations At Play with bright and beautiful MiO toys {DIY schoolhouse}

It’s a rare toy that all of my kids play with together, so when I find one it’s a very happy day. Such was the case when I found the new MiO line from The Manhattan Toy Company. With chunky pieces that my littlest one loves, open-ended building pieces that my son adores, and the fact that it fits my oldest’s love of miniatures, this is the perfect family toy for my crew. But, it’s not just my family who is smitten with the MiO line, it seems like everyone is going crazy for these cute and modern toys that appeal to kids of all ages. Yes, they are technically intended for the preschool crowd, but don’t tell my kids and their friends that.
But can you blame them? Even I want to play with all the different sets and see all the ways I can design a MiO world. The world of MiO consists of beautiful modular wood building pieces that you can configure and redesign as often as you’d like as well as MiO people made of hand painted wood heads and beanbag bodies. The collection is designed to nest and store compactly so you can keep your MiO accessories and pieces together for play at home and away.

20+ kid-friendly activities in Olympic National Park {and 20+ tips to make the most of your stay}

Can you believe that I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest almost my entire life, yet I had never been to Olympic National Park? We travel a lot as a family, but somehow the National Park just hadn’t made it on our radar until earlier this year when our oldest got excited about rain forests and we realized how overdue we were for a trip to ONP.

For this past Father’s Day weekend, we decided to do a somewhat last-minute trip to the peninsula so we could explore the Olympic National Park as a family and finally see what we’ve been missing. It turns out we’ve been missing a lot.

For one, there are actually 4 parks in one in Olympic National Park. From glacier-covered peaks, gorgeous lakes, miles and miles of Pacific Ocean beaches, old growth forests, waterfalls, hot springs, and ancient rain forests, there truly is something for everyone.

21+ things to do with kids in Olympic National Park

Gearing up for a safe and fun summer with SafeSplash Swim School

I’m sure you’ve seen all the articles circulating about drowning, and how it doesn’t look like what you think it does. I saw an article about the dangers of drowning a few years ago and promptly purchased some life jackets for all the kiddos because there is no way I can keep them out of the water when we spend our summers at lakes, rivers, pools, and beaches.

So, for the past few years they have been safe, yes, but unfortunately they haven’t gained any actual swimming skills. I knew I needed to get them out of their jackets and was thrilled when I heard about SafeSplash, a company that believes swimming is a life skill. I love this concept and I couldn’t agree more about the importance of learning swim skills.

Oatmeal banana bread with oatmeal cereal recipe

This is a sponsored recipe post for The Women Bloggers, LLC which is led by the Kendal King Group and #SoapboxInfluence to share the goodness of Nestle Gerber® Cereal. All opinions are 100% my own. #CookingwithGerberEvery parent wants to serve the most nutritious foods possible to their families, but if you’re like me and have a picky eater, you know this can be a huge struggle. I have dreams of my healthy recipes being gobbled up, but more often than not, they just don’t get eaten. That just means I have to get sneaky and hide the good stuff in what might otherwise be considered snack foods.

This quick and easy oatmeal banana bread recipe with a super-secret ingredient is my new favorite quick-grab breakfast for our busy mornings. We rarely have time for a sit-down meal in the mornings, but I hate the idea of them grabbing junk and starting their day off on the wrong foot. This nutritious banana bread is perfect because you can easily grab a slice or a muffin on your way out of the house or you can pair it with fruit and yogurt for a balanced breakfast.

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