Ages & Stages

Healthy Snacks For Toddlers Healthy snacks help manage your little one’s hunger and boost nutrition. Snacks may also help prevent overeating at meals, especially for our picky eaters. Snack time is also the perfect time to add more nutrients to your child’s diet. When picking out snacks, you should always choose food that are high in fiber and protein. Foods with these nutrients take more time to digest. Fiber comes from vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Protein comes from milk, meats, eggs, nuts, beans, cheese and nut butters. During snack time, I offer my daughter whole foods that provide energy and nutrition. Some of her favorite snacks are :: Bananas • are high in potassium and magnesium. They also contain carotenoids that are...

Disclosure :: this post contains affiliate links. Watch for Exploding Kittens and Flying Burritos :: Family Game Night Ideas Gone are the days of Candyland and Chutes and Ladders in my house, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Now that my kids are older, family game night has become much more exciting. If your family hasn’t made this a tradition yet or if you’re looking to take things up a notch, here are some games to consider: Exploding Kittens (ages 7 and up): This one is a fan favorite in my house, and despite the name, no kittens are actually harmed. Exploding Kittens is all about strategy, and unless you want to lose, your strategy needs to be to annihilate the competition. To...

9 Ways To Save On School Supplies School supply shopping was once my absolute favorite time of year... and then I became the person footing the bill for school supplies. Suddenly the joy and excitement of walking down an aisle of notebooks, folders, and colorful pens turned into dread. With inflation what it is today, money saving tips are always appreciated, but especially so when you're shopping for multiple kids while also trying to budget for uniforms, shoes, and all the other things that come with the start of a new school year. To save a few bucks this year (and hopefully some anxiety as well), I put together a list of tips when you tackle school supplies this summer! 1. Set...

Inside Out 2 - Why Every Tween (and Parent) Needs to See It When my now twelve-year-old son was a toddler, Inside Out came out in theaters. My "honesty island" would be firing on all cylinders by saying I probably enjoyed the original movie more than my own child. So, when it was announced that Inside Out 2 would be released the same weekend as my toddler's 3rd birthday, taking him to see the sequel for his birthday weekend was a no brainer. I arrived to the theatre expecting a fun, humorous, somewhat light plot line, but I left with a new perspective on my own preteen's complex, new emotions. The Emotions are New (and Complex) to Your Kids Early into the movie,...

The Postpartum Ride Home From The Hospital Most moms remember the ride home from the hospital as a beautiful experience. The nurse wheels you wheel you to the car, you put the baby in the car seat and climb into the backseat with your little one. You and your husband are gushing over the newborn scrunch and looking forward to the cuddles once you get home. You all may talk about sharing roles of washing bottles, changing diapers, etc. Leaving the hospital was different for me. I can laugh about it now but it was very much a reality check for me. I was scared to leave the hospital. I stayed in the hospital for almost a week. We didn’t have any complications,...