Why Being A Mom Is Pretty Freakin’ Awesome

A little over two years ago we started this blog to shed light and laughter on the extremely difficult job of being a parent. While we do like to take a more sarcastic approach to all things parenting, one truth remains certain – being a parent is the greatest gift of all.

Because we’re in the season of giving thanks and reflecting on all our blessings, we would like to share some reasons why we think being a mom is actually pretty freakin’ awesome.

Unconditional love. There is nothing your child could do that would make you not love them and vice versa. This kind of love is in the purest form and we are all so lucky to experience it.

You get to know and feel your baby first. There is something truly spiritual about growing a baby in your belly and the love that ensues the minute your eyes meet a positive pregnancy test. Even though pregnancy can be brutal, we are willing to go through it all over again just to experience these magical moments.

preggo belly

You are your baby’s first love. There is no other person on the planet your baby would rather be with other than you. They even memorize your voice while they’re growing in your belly. How unbelievably sweet is that?!

You are addicted to your baby. A newborn smell is as addictive as crack cocaine. It’s the truth, Google it. As a mom we get to smell our newborns as much as we want and people don’t think we’re weird. Well, most people anyway.

Your Children Make You A Better You. Even though kids can induce moments of insanity, the minute they flash you a smile it’s impossible to stay angry. They make us stronger and remind us of what is truly important in life.

Sebe smiling

Kids Make Life Fun – In A Different Way. I’m not going to lie; I kind of love watching cartoons on Saturday morning in bed cuddled up with my boys. I also love eating grilled cheese sandwiches, seeing Mickey Mouse, building forts out of sheets, playing in the rain and seeing their faces light up on Christmas morning. Kids make you act, and feel, like a kid again.

You Are Their Hero. They see the best in you, even when you don’t see it in yourself.

Mom gifts.  A handful of dirty wild flowers and dozens of painted pictures are the best presents your baby boy could give you. Their presents are truly from the heart.

Watching Them Grow. When they take that first step, learn a new word, enter into Kindergarten, learn to read, learn to drive, get into college – YOU helped them get there. It takes a village and you, mom, are the matriarch.

Even though our kids drive us insane, we can all agree there isn’t a minute we would trade (okay maybe a few minutes here and there – but that’s it). Either way, we’re so thankful for all the love and laughter our little one’s give us each and every day. Here’s to being a mom!

 

A Special Thank You:

As we close out another year, we would like to celebrate our triumphs, thank God we made it through the tribulations, and most importantly toast to our new beginnings. Thank you to all of you – our readers! We appreciate the continued support and wish you all a wonderful, healthy, prosperous, and joy-filled 2015!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Becoming A Mom Made Me A Cry Baby

We all know that pregnancy wreaks havoc on our bodies, but I’m pretty sure it alters our brains too.  Not only have I developed Momneisa (where you forget everything), but I’ve also turned into a emotional hot mess since having my kids. I used to pride myself into being the rock everyone leaned on. I was never one to get emotional or cry. Crying, although can be healthy at times, always made me feel weak and out of control so I mostly reserved it for the privacy of my own shower. Once I got it out, I’d pull my big girl pants up and move on.

Since becoming a mother, I’ve apparently misplaced my big girl pants. I essentially cry at anything and everything, especially when it comes to my kids. I would even venture to say I’m one cry away from a permanent role in a bad Hallmark movie.

Sometimes I actually laugh at myself once I’ve realized what I was crying about.  Why does everything pull at my heart strings now? Why does becoming a mom open up the flood gate of tears we used to be able to control? Do our hormones ever balance out? Should I just accept the fact that I’ll need to carry around a slew of tissues in my pocket moving forward?

Here are just some of the things I’ve cried over in the last few weeks – but first let me grab a Kleenex.

Get them ready!
Get them ready!

Pampers commercials – The marketing and advertising team behind these are brilliant! First thing I learned in sales was in order to create loyalty you have to make an emotional connection. Bingo, Pampers! Even though I cloth diaper these commercials make me want to buy Pampers. So enough of the cute babies sleeping and mom’s embracing all the amazing moments of having babies – it’s making me cry!

Lysol commercial – There was an online video that appeared in my newsfeed about bringing home baby from the first time. The video brought me back to that moment when my first son was born and the look on my husband and I’s face like: WHOA, my heart just exploded and by the way, what do we do now? Guys, I’m literally tearing up writing this! What’s wrong with me?

“Appreciating your mom” posts – Raise your hand if you appreciate and love your mom so much more now that you’re a mom! Anytime I see a friend post about their mom, I get emotional.  Love you, mom!!

My son told me he loved me – Every now and again, my older son will walk over and tell me he has a present for me. When I ask him what it is, he grins from ear to ear and says, “I love you, momma”. Then proceeds to hug me tighter than normal. Cue the water works!

I cleaned out my baby’s clothes – My little guy just turned one so it was time to go through all his baby clothes for donation. Looking at all those little onesies and knowing I’ll never use them again made me ugly cry.

My face minus all the make-up
My face minus all the make-up

I sold some baby gear – Same emotion as above. I had to use one hand to pry my other hand off the Jumperoo. My uterus didn’t want to let it go.

I couldn’t get my son in for a haircut – Sometimes parenting is really overwhelming! As a type A, I don’t like my time to be wasted. Time is not a luxury I have so when I took my son in for a hair cut and they told me it would be a 45 minute wait, I went to my car and lost it. I went home and cut his hair myself. Bad idea.

My son helped me decorate the tree for the first time – This was the first year he really understood the holidays. We put all the ornaments on together and after – I cried. Why? I don’t know.

I glanced at my baby in his crib and realized how big he suddenly is – Why do they grow so fast? I feel like every night I look at him he grows another inch. He is losing his “baby-ness” and it makes me emotional, of course.

Any story I saw about a child hurting or that is ill – I literally break down whenever I see a news story about a child that is sick or hurt. Why do I always click to read these stories when I know I’m just going to cry about them? It’s torture!

My “baby” turned one – Baby Center sent me an email calling him a toddler. Lost it.

I can’t be the only one who’s added “sensitive cry baby” to my personal resume, right? Maybe once I stop nursing the tears will subside? Maybe I’m mistaking love for being sensitive? Does loving something so much make you a cry baby? If so, I guess I’ll just continue to cry.

Heartbreak Hotel: Party of One

Over the past few weeks my son has developed a major crush on a fellow student. He can’t stop talking about her and he lights up when you say her name. He also draws her countless pictures. The very first picture he made for her he nonchalantly called me over to him and asked, “Momma how do I draw a heart?” Oh what a sweetheart he wants to put hearts on a picture for me, he sure does love his mommy. I was shocked when I finally looked at the picture because I noticed he wrote in big letters, E-L-L-L-I-E  right above his own name. In between the names he left the perfect space – for a heart.

“Who’s this?”

“Who?”

“This,” pointing at the letters.

“My girlfriend.”

“Your GIRLFRIEND?”

“Yes, I llloooovee her.”

What? Is he kidding? What about me? Who is this chick?

“Um, okay.”

“Can show me how to draw a heart now, please?”

Immediately I felt a punch to the heart. My husband looked on with a boyish grin because he knew I would be festering with jealousy. I did help my son draw a heart though; I just drew it next to my name instead that I had strategically added to the portrait.  What should’ve my response been? Invite her over for dinner? Call her mom and tell her I’m jealous of her daughter? Encourage my son to love other women besides me? Maybe when he’s older fine, however right now I want to be his number one girl. After all I went through having him he owes me, right? Yes, I’m being dramatic but I can’t help it – he’s my heart.

One of the MANY pictures he made for her this week.
One of the MANY pictures he made for her this week.

Apparently a son is a son until he takes a wife, but a daughter is a daughter for all her life. I would like to remind you my son is still a toddler, four to be exact, which means he is still a baby to me.  I’m pretty sure he isn’t “taking a wife” anytime soon, but why only four years in have I lost him already?  This is not his first crush either, (her name was Gabby)  and I know it won’t be his last.

At least it’s comforting to know I have my other son who’s still a baby.  I haven’t seen him trying to sneak a kiss during tummy time on his playdates, so I think I’ve got some more time with him.  As much as I would love to sabotage their future crushes, I know it’s part of life and I just need to get over it.  Deep inside I know I will always be their first love, but how am I, or better yet my heart, going to make it through their teenaged years and adulthood? I guess I’ll go ahead and cancel my original plans of accompanying them to prom.  I may need to start taking sedatives now in preparation.

In the end, I would want nothing more than for both of my boys to experience love and have a partner in life, but I was hoping that person would be me – at least for a little while.

My boys 1
My Angel Pies

Thank God For Modern Conveniences – How Lucky Our Kids Really Are

Post originally featured on Dot Complicated – by Randi Zuckerberg

Last week while on a trip home from the grocery store, I hit a curb and blew a tire. Upon pulling over, I immediately felt panic starting to set in. Not only did I have two small kids with me, but also hundreds of dollars worth of groceries in my trunk that needed refrigeration.

After running through “what to do next” strategies in my head, it suddenly occurred to me: Wait! I can just press the call button on my rearview mirror and roadside assistance will be here in no time. Next, I accessed the Über App on my iPhone to call a cab and had him take my kids, my husband and the groceries home. Fifteen minutes later a nice gentleman showed up, changed my tire and sent me on my way.

Fifteen years ago this situation would’ve played out very differently. In fact, during my teenaged years I had a blow out on an Interstate Highway on my way to my summer lifeguard job. This, of course, was before cell phones were readily available or affordable, so my plan of action was somewhat different. After I pulled over, I had to walk, over a mile, to the next exit wearing nothing more than a bathing suit and some shorts! True story. I was humiliated to say the least. Once I got to the exit, I then begged a vendor at a flea market to use his phone. He watched me closely as each minute used was very costly back then. Luckily, my brother answered our landline phone and told me he would come help. I gave the vendor $5 and hitched a ride with an elderly couple, who I made promise they wouldn’t kidnap me, back to my car. Several hours later I arrived at work and was greeted by a very angry boss. As a mom now, this story makes me cringe at all the things that could’ve happened to me.

Zack-Morris

Each day, I read countless articles about how technology is ruining our youth, creating an “I want every thing yesterday” mentality, taking away from real human connections, and making life more difficult. However, I find these accusations to be the furthest from the truth. I believe technology has given us hope with medical advancements, it’s provided opportunities for businesses to grow exponentially, it’s connected us to long lost relatives, friends and strangers, but most importantly it’s given us back time. The last thing I want to do is waste hours of my day on life’s little inconveniences, like flat tires, when I’d much rather be spending that time with my family.

I feel my kids’ generation is quite lucky to be growing up in this age of technological advancement. I love that they’ll never know what it’s like to dial a number on a rotary phone, or have to wait up all night just to record their favorite song off the radio – only to have several seconds of it ruined by a DJ talking. They won’t have to drive to a store to rent a movie and then worry about racking up hundreds of dollars of late fees. They won’t have to carry their entire music collection around in a big heavy case so they can listen to one song at a time on their Walkman’s. They’ll never get lost because everyone has a GPS on their phone. Finally, they’ll have all the knowledge in the world available at their fingertips, rather then spending hours in a library searching through card catalogs or having to utilize the Dewy Decimal System.

Raise your hand if you had the "sport" one!
Raise your hand if you had the “sport” one!

I, for one, chose to embrace change and advancement, and take solace in knowing my kids will never have to walk down a highway to get help – in their bathing suits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recent Things My Toddler Has Done To Embarrass Me

While I appreciate the bottle of truth serum my toddler seems to over dose on each day, sometimes I wish he knew how to put down the bottle and step away. As someone who gets easily embarrassed in public, having a toddler is pure torture. I’ve definitely toughened up over the past two years, but still struggle to find explanations when he spews out the most inappropriate sh*t (excuse my language) at the most inappropriate times.

Why can’t they have an off switch? Or understand that when I look at them with wide eyes and am turning beet red, that’s code for: shut your mouth immediately.

In hindsight, all of these mishaps are actually quite hilarious – just not so much as they’re happening. On the bright side, at least they make for some good story telling.

Here are all the recent things my toddler said / did to embarrass the hell out of me in public over the past week. Enjoy.

  • At a recent dinner party while everyone was enjoying pasta and meatballs, my toddler exits the bathroom, goes up to the host who is sitting at the dinner table and exclaims, “Hey, I just pooped in your potty!” Awesome.
  • Same dinner party: I exited the room to nurse my baby and my toddler said, “Everyone be quiet brother has to eat mommy’s boobies!”
  • Same dinner party: My toddler turned into a wet noodle and slide out of his seat onto the floor because the host poured sauce on his pasta. Apparently that warranted a super dramatic response.
  • We attended a “Meet the Teacher” event at my toddler’s new school and another mom commented on how cute his shoes were. He looked at her and told her they were broken because a charm fell off. Next, without realizing the connection he said, “They were made in China.” I knew he said that because a few minutes earlier he asked me what the bottom of the shoe said – not because he thinks all items made in China fall apart. The mom just looked at me and rather than launching into a ten-minute explanation – I just let her judge me. Whatever.
  • Last week our water heater broke so I had to boil water to give my kids a bath. I kept telling my son we had to do that so he didn’t have a stinky booty. My mistake! The next morning at school he walked into class and told his teacher, “My mommy made water so I won’t have a stinky booty.” Again, no time for explanations. It is what it is.
  • My son has a newfound admiration for the word Not sure why. Whenever my son asks where he came from I tell him, “Momma’s belly.” I not even going there until he’s older. Recently while at Starbucks he told someone he was from Chicago. Then the person repeated, “Oh is that where you’re from.” My son’s reply, “No I came from mommy’s poopie.” Insert look of horror. Um, I assure you kid – you did not come from there.
  • Lastly, he told a stranger at the park that they were drinking poison because they had a soda in their hand. Yes, I may have said that in the grocery store one time because I didn’t want him drinking soda. However, I never thought that he would go up to random people and repeat what I said! Lesson learned.

While I agree that honesty is a virtue and something we should instill in our children at a young age, but come on, can’t I catch a break? My next plan of action is just to send him out in public with his father more often – or at least until he develops a filter.

Mom-Confessions-Most-Embarrassing-Thing-My-Kid-Has-Done

 

Want To Grow Your Business? Here’s How…

Almost two years ago I left the corporate world to start my own business as a writer and consultant. I loved the company I worked for but knew in order to grow both personally and professionally; it was time for a change. It was going to be a challenge going from a well-respected, globally known brand to a virtually unknown brand – me, Holly Rust. I definitely had my work cut out for me.

The first six months were rough and I questioned my decision daily. Luckily, I scored my first few accounts from leveraging my own local network. To grow my network further I tried to fill my schedule with coffee and cocktail dates and I attended local networking events. These activities were beneficial to growing my business, but unfortunately they took up a lot of time. With two small children and a traveling spouse, time was not a luxury I had. I needed to work smarter – not harder. I starting utilizing what little time I did have to build my network online, from my couch, and it usually involved ice cream. The Internet was always available and I was going to take advantage.

Almost two years in, I have a large network that now expands globally. My business is booming and has even opened doors to new ventures – all because I turned to the Internet to expand my network.

make_money_at_home_1

Helpful tips to build your brand or business online:

Stay Active! If you can’t make it out locally, be active online. Potential clients need to be reminded you’re out there and you’re ready to work. Every day you need to reach out to people personally – even if it’s just to let them know about your new venture or to keep the connection alive. Consistency is key.

Use Social Media. Using free tools that expand your network ten folds – no brainer! Sign up on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc., for your business. Use your personal accounts to promote your brand as well. Update your profile on LinkedIn often. Let people know what you’re doing. Be proud and passionate; this will translate to your audience.

If your friends don’t want to support you or get annoyed by your posts, they can easily hide your notifications. Furthermore, if they can subject you to their life drama and political rants – then they can surely support you in your entrepreneurial aspirations. My rule: If my current friends will not support me, I’ll just find new ones who will!

Proudly display your accomplishments on social media for everyone to see! An old boss always told me, “No one will ever toot your own horn louder than you.” So toot away because this let’s people know your succeeding in your business and will want to follow you more.

Make New Friends. Connect with 5-10 new people a day from any outlet. Post daily if possible about what you’re doing and the services or products you’re providing. Don’t forget to continue with your regular lifestyle posts too if you’re using your personal accounts to promote; otherwise your audience will become desensitized to your business.

Ask Or You Shall Not Receive.  Ask for partnerships. Ask for business. Ask for referrals. Ask for advice. What’s the worst that can happen? They say, “No”? You cannot wait for people to notice you; you have to make them notice you. In my experience most people are willing to share their best practices and love to partner with others. You also must remember that to have a friend, you have to be a friend. Enter each conversation asking how you can help them first. Your good will always comes back to you in one shape or form.

Use Hash Tags. When posting on social media – make your posts work for you. Use hash tags! Hash tags, used correctly, make your posts easily searchable. Also, if you incorporate whatever topics are trending at the time of your post you will broaden your audience.

Become ‘Besties’ with Bloggers. Bloggers are great resources to help spread awareness for your brand or business. Businesses and individuals reach out to me on a daily basis to partner with them or to sponsor a post. Many bloggers also do reviews, referrals and cross promotions. I rarely turn down a chance to be exposed to another individual’s or business’s network.

Join Online Networking Groups. Even if the group has nothing to do with your business, you may uncover some business opportunities. These groups usually have rules about promoting yourself, so be sure to check with the admins before posting. You can, however, reply to other group member’s posts soliciting your business if the post applies to what you offer.

When building your brand or business online you first need to manage your expectations. Rome was not built in a day! Like with any investment, these things take time. Stay consistent and present in the online world, but above all – don’t give up.

Here's to your continued success!
Here’s to your continued success!

20 Parenting Tasks That Truly Suck

Becoming a parent is one of the most rewarding experiences life can offer. As a mom each day is an new adventure; some are filled with laughter, some are filled with chaos, but most are filled with both. The majority of the chaos stems from daily tasks that come along with the job of being a parent. These tasks test our patience, drive us crazy, and make the simplest action feel like you’re trying to figure out an algorithm without any mathematical training.

These obligations I could definitely do without and after surveying dozens of parents; apparently I’m not alone. Here are some tasks that parents say they would be happy to never have to do again:

  • Washing Bottles– What’s with all the parts? And those brushes that spray you in the face when you pull them from inside the bottle? I will never take my dishwasher for granted again.  This was the number one complaint of most parents.
  • Changing Diapers – Changing diapers sucks at all stages. Period.
  • Putting Their Shoes On.  How are you supposed to fit marshmallow man feet into those tiny shoes?  I use the twist and shove method.
  • Cutting Finger / Toe Nails – With paper thin nails and ninja reflexes, cutting their nails can be terrifying.
  • Dressing Them –  Once again, having to shove body parts into tiny pieces of clothing isn’t fun.
  • Feeding Them – Food ends up everywhere else but their mouth.
  • Bath Time – One question: Is bath time more for them or for you because I always end up soaked as well.
  • Putting Them In Car Seats – Between planking, screaming and wiggling, sometimes I’d just rather stay home.
My son the angel.
Late again, thanks to the plank.
  • Cleaning Baby Gear – How does a baby manage to fill every square inch of their high chair with something disgusting.
  • Cleaning a Baby’s Neck – You never know what’s lurking in those fat rolls. Beware.
  • Giving Medicine via Syringes – At least half of the liquid drips down their face and becomes a sticky hot mess.
  • Doing Laundry – Every day. 24 /7.
  • Leaving The House – Might as well pack a suitcase with all the stuff you need to take and don’t plan on being on time. Ever. But you know what sucks worse? Leaving the house in winter.
  • Bedtime Routines – Bath, jammies, water, pee, story, water, pee, water, another story, more water, sleep.
Bedtime excuses
Bedtime excuses
  • Cutting Food Into a Thousand Pieces – Most pieces end up on the floor, in your dog’s stomach, or wedged into a crevice in the high chair.
  • Doctors Appointments – Their fever or symptoms seemed to miraculously disappear once you arrived, or your kid has to get shots and hates you the rest of the day.
  • Helping With Homework – This only tends to make me feel stupid.
  • Brushing Teeth – They usually swallow the toothpaste before a single tooth gets brushed.
  • Wiping Their Nose – The snot usually ends up all over their face.
  • Teaching Them To Aim – This applies to boys. Constantly wiping urine up off the floor, wall, and toilet seat is not my idea of a good time.

One or two of these tasks would be manageable, however all of these are usually a daily occurrence for most parents. At the end of each day when the kids are finally asleep, give yourself a pat on the back because you, my friend, made it through another day. Kudos.

“Momnesia” Is Real – And I Have It

If you’re a mom you’ve heard of the term “baby brain” and have most likely even experienced it yourself. Lately I’ve been living in a constant state of Momnesia, so I can say without a doubt, “baby brain” exists. Ironically this brain fog commonly associated with pregnancy and new motherhood was something my friends forgot to share with me before I had kids. They were clearly suffering from Momnesia too.

momnesia
photo credit: Adrienne Hedger

Before kids I took pride in my ability to never miss a detail. I was that friend who actually remembered to send birthday messages before we had Facebook sending us reminder notifications. Now I can’t seem to remember anything. Recently I forgot it was Superhero day at my son’s school and he was the only one sans costume at drop off. I’ll just nominate myself for Mom of the Year. The sad thing is the forgetfulness and fogginess didn’t stop there. In the past two weeks I’ve worn two different shoes to drop my son off at school, I’ve showed up for a client appointment on the wrong day, I’ve frantically searched for my cell phone only to realize I was speaking on it, and yesterday I forgot how to order my coffee at Starbucks when I’ve been drinking it every morning for the past three years.

Doctors blame hormones for Momnesia, but I blame the pressures of everyday life as a mom. Motherhood requires you to be in 3 different places at once, all the while maintaining that other life you had before kids. Since I love my kids and they’re here to stay I figured it’s time to enlist the help of some great Apps and new procedures to get and stay organized – at least, of course, until I can hire a life assistant.

  • Visual Work / Chore Calendar – I hung a large whiteboard in my kitchen and on it scheduled my business hours because I work from home. I also schedule laundry, cleaning and workouts. This helps me focus on the task at hand without getting overwhelmed.
  • Cozi App – A great App where you can effortlessly manage your family calendar, shopping lists, to-do lists, and family journals while you’re on the go.
  • aCal Lite App – Another great calendar organizer which automatically syncs with all iPhone calendars. You can write your to-do list, create notes with photos, and even get your weather updates.
  • Square Hub – SquareHub is a social network that keeps your family connected, organized and happy. You can send private group messages and photos with each other, share calendars, share to-do lists, share child location information, and create those spontaneous moments of joy with the people who matter most to you – your family.
  • BillMinder – This App simplifies your life by bringing all your bills into one manageable place. You will know at a glance, which need your attention. The nerd in me loves that you can also track your expenses with comprehensive charts and graphs.
  • Moms Daily Planner – This is the ultimate universal family planner. It has all the same features as the ones mentioned above, but this App allows you to assign chores and share them with your family.

 

Now armed with all these great resources, I just hope my brain fog clears enough to remember to use them.

I say this to myself at least 12 times a day.
I say this to myself at least 12 times a day.

 

 

 

 

 

Things I WON’T Miss From The Baby Stage

Now that my little guy is about to turn one I find myself relieved to close the door on the baby phase. Not only do I look like a cast member from the Walking Dead, but I act like one too.  I’m exhausted – mentally and physically. At this point I would have to be insane to consider adding a third to the clan; but because I’m obsessed with babies I change my mind on a daily basis.  Since there are a million things I do love about the baby stage, I figured I would document all the things I loathe about the first year.  In doing so, I’m hoping it will motivate me to keep taking my birth control – every day.

Things I will definitely NOT miss from the baby phase:

Pumping – I hate pumping. I’m that freak of nature who produces enough milk to feed an army.  I’ve actually calculated how many hours of my life have been dedicated to pumping this last year – the total was 6 weeks.  That’s a lot of time.

Blowouts – Always at the most inopportune moments, right? Like right when you put them in their carseat and are already late. Who knew those little bodies could produce so much waste?

No Privacy – I’m looking forward to the day when I can go to the bathroom without little hands on my knees or a baby in my arms.

635399206073590378noprivacy
Every day in my house…

Mimicking A Prisoner When Eating – Not only do you have to shovel every meal in your mouth because of time limitations, but you also have to guard your plate because they want whatever’s on it. Sometimes you just don’t feel like sharing or having your dinner thrown on the floor.

Playing Baby -Charades – Baby-charades is not fun and can be very frustrating. Just tell me what you want, kid!

Carrying Baggage – My diaper bag could double as a small carry-on. I hate carrying around extra clothes, diapers, bottles, snacks, toys, wipes, hand sanitizer, pacifiers and everything else those little minions need every where I go.

Everything Goes In Their Mouth – Dog bone.. sure why not. Dirt..why not? Every germ-infested item other than the toys I bought you to actually chew on.. sure why not.

Baby Gear – My entire house has been taken over by swings, jumpers, bouncy seats, high chairs and a pack-in-play.  I forgot I used to have an adult space.

And finally the worst of all…..

Sleep Deprivation – Babies don’t care if you have to work in the morning. I pretty much haven’t slept a full night in the past year, hence my acceptance onto the Walking Dead series.

I.m
I’m Holly, nice to meet you!

Now why would I want to go through this all over again?  It’s the smell, that damn newborn smell. It gets you every time.  Note to self: Stay away from newborns.

Tips For Road Trippin’ With Small Kids

Recently I embarked on a 15-hour road trip with my husband, my four-year-old and my eight-month-old. Before leaving I asked all of you if I was crazy or just stupid to think this could be done while still maintaining my sanity. Most of you answered “crazy” but I have to admit it turned out to be a little bit of both. I am happy to announce that we did survive, but to call it a “vacation” would be somewhat of a stretch.  Unfortunately road trips just aren’t the same with little ones – or at least with my little ones.  In my younger days I used to love road trips. I once drove from San Antonio to Tampa non-stop. I could stay up around the clock and compete with the truckers as to who could last longer. Not so much any more.  Now I get muscle cramps, nausea and spend most of my time counting down the seconds until we arrive at our destination.

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“Are we there yet?” – me every second…

This trip we did run into a few National Lampoons moments. Our hotel had a blackout and we had to entertain our toddler in pitch dark for hours. I also had to hand-express my milk because I forgot my battery charger for my pump. After about 30 minutes of pumping my hand felt paralyzed, so I had to enlist my husband to fulfill the remaining pumping shifts. My little guy had four diaper blowouts  explosions, which in turn ruined his infant car seat.  The disaster he created could only be cleaned up by The Ghostbusters, but unfortunately they no longer exist.  Let’s just say – the reminder of the trip our car did NOT smell of roses and we had to replace the carseat as soon as we got home.

Overall, the trip was worth it because we were able to spend time with family and make some wonderful memories, however until my baby gets a little older – home is where we’ll stay.

Here’s some tips to help keep your sanity on road trips with little ones.

  • Don’t do it. Just kidding, I know they can be fun and are much more affordable than flying.
  • Plan pit stops.  Check out fun stops along your route to break up the trip and let your kids stretch your legs.
  • Add a couple hours to your agenda. Your trip will take longer than you think, so just plan on it. You’ll have to make a lot of stops with kids to use the restroom, eat, stretch, etc.
  • Research your route. Look up major highways for any construction notices. This can shave hours off of your drive if you’re able to go around all the traffic delay’s.
  • Hot Spot. Having a hot spot in the car for our iPad was a life-saver for my toddler.  We played a lot of games, but when all else failed we handed him the iPad. We also downloaded some Apps that didn’t require an internet connection in case our hot spot went out.
  • Know when to stop. Six hours seemed to be the breaking point for my little guy. After six hours he became a ticking time bomb and it was difficult to console him. Next time this will be our stopping point for the night.
  • Take lots of food. Not only does this save money – but time as well. I took a cooler with several sandwiches and fruit along with a grocery bag of dry snacks. I hate eating fast food on road trips so this was our lunch and dinner.  My digestive system thanked me later.
  • Invest in baby gadgets. Buy one of these immediately for the car if your baby can’t hold his bottle that well yet. This little contraption prevented me from having to sit lodged between two car seats for an hour. Podee Hands Free Bottle

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If you have any tips to add please share in the comments section!