Tips to Keep Christmas Simple

Tips to Keep Christmas Simple

by | Dec 18, 2018 | Family, Mom Etc, Money Management, Relatable Stories, Uncategorized

Being a mom at Christmas can be a totally draining experience. Let’s face it: everyone else talks about how magical the holiday is and you have the radio crooning about how it’s the “most wonderful time of the year.”

But those joyful Christmas experiences of your childhood have gone the way of the dodo and been replaced by stress and anxiety.

So this year, let’s make a resolution—one that’s only good for the month of December.

Let’s resolve to do everything we can to keep Christmas simple this year!

1. Let the kids handle the “heavy lifting”

 We all know that the holidays are really about the kids and letting them make memories that will last for years to come. So, have them do as much as possible and take some of the stress off of you.

This year, set up the tree for them and then just sit back and watch while they decorate it. (Obviously, if you’ve got older kids and teenagers, they may even be able to do the tree set-up as well.) But just sit back on the couch and supervise while they hang their favorite ornaments and the stockings up

2. Go digital

Every year, I spend hours trying to sign and address individual Christmas cards to my friends and family. Not this year.

Join me in simplifying the holiday and go digital with your Christmas card. You can still take an updated family picture and use that for your card. But just send out an email/digital card and save yourself time, aggravation, and postage money. (And keep in mind: your friends will probably appreciate it just as much since they won’t have to worry about discarding the card. Hey, it’s even more environmentally friendly!)

3. Let someone else do the cooking

If you remember a childhood of wonderful homemade Christmas meals, please don’t feel like you have to live up to those. On the big day, there is no reason why you should be stuck in the kitchen trying to prepare a turkey or ham while everyone else is sitting in the family room playing with presents and watching TV

Instead, consider buying your holiday meal pre-made from a local restaurant or catering service. Then, all you have to do is warm it up and no one has to know the difference.

There is nothing wrong with gift cards

I’m really tired of people getting judgmental about gift cards. Usually, the complaints center around the belief that the card is impersonal. But really, they aren’t!

If you buy someone a gift that doesn’t fit, that they already have, or they just don’t like, then you have given them an extra job—having to trudge back to the mall and exchange it. But with gift cards, your gift recipient can buy whatever they want and will really appreciate the opportunity to pick up the perfect gift.

And that’s a level of stress that you just don’t need. I’ve spent many a day at the mall freaking out about whether a gift was “just right.” This year, I’m cutting out that stress and letting them find the gift that is best for them.

You don’t have to spend your holidays totally stressed out so that you live in dread of next Christmas. Instead, do your best to make the holiday as simple as possible so you can enjoy the time with the rest of your family.
Marian Nguyen, PreparaMom
Preparing for the ” Is Santa Claus Real” Conversation

Preparing for the ” Is Santa Claus Real” Conversation

by | Dec 14, 2018 | Conversations, Family, Mom Etc, Relatable Stories

Which side of the coin do you fall into?

Santa or no Santa?

It’s an ongoing debate that ultimately just boils down to family preference so…

You either fall into the “Santa Claus brings out the magic and fun for kids” or the “We don’t believe in lying to our kids” group.

I’d have to say that from what I’ve seen and heard, this debate is pretty much even on both sides.  And I completely understand the viewpoints from both sides

Personally, I never grew up believing that there was a Santa.  I knew exactly what was under the Christmas for me because I picked it out myself.  Because we didn’t have much money and what was purchased were things of necessity, like clothes and shoes.

But now with 2 kids of my own, I bought into the tradition of creating the fun and magical moments for my kids that I never experienced.  I enjoy seeing them wake up on xmas morning excited to know that Santa came to visit them and left them something special.

At 10 and 8 years old, my kids still believe I think, but I know the time is coming where I’ll need to decide whether to continue to try and keep them believing or tell them what really is going on.

So previously, I’ve been able to get away with their questions with these responses…

  1. “What do you think?”
  2. “How do you think the presents get there?”

It’s usually not confirming or denying but reflecting the question back to them.  My kids never pressed the issue but if you have very inquisitive kids, you might not get away with it so easily.

Some moms have used these responses to continue the tradition…

  1. “I guess you have to figure that out for yourself”
  2. “Santa is only real if you believe and if they don’t, then he isn’t real to them”
  3. “He has a special key that unlocks any door for houses without a chimney”
  4. “If you don’t believe, you don’t receive!”

If your kids stop believing, here are some responses that may help you explain why you been telling them about Santa all these years…

  1. “Santa is a part of the spirit of Christmas”
  2. “Santa may not be real but the magic of Santa is”
  3. “The spirit of Santa was real”
  4. “St Nicholas was real and Santa was a fun story that makes Christmas magical.”  You can even go on the internet together to read up on the history of St. Nicholas.

And if you have kids that take it really hard, I absolutely love this letter that I came across the internet somewhere to help explain the spirit of Santa Claus.  There are many versions of this but I really like this one. (And if this belongs to you, please let me know so that I can give you the proper credit for it)

If you have younger siblings, you could even convince your older child who now knows what really happens that they can help continue on the spirit of Santa to continue making it fun for their younger siblings.

Kids love being a part of something that the adults plan and especially if it means they know something that their siblings don’t.

So I think that is definitely what I will do when the time comes. I have my canned responses but I will also use a response similar to what’s in the letter. It captures exactly what we all aim for when introducing Santa into our kids lives.

“Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness.”

At the end of the day, it really is about enjoying quality time with family and friends, the spirit of giving and creating family traditions and memories.

Insights On the Helicopter Parent Movement

Insights On the Helicopter Parent Movement

by | Nov 17, 2018 | Conversations, Family, Family and Life Skills, Independence, Mom Etc, Relatable Stories

Are you a helicopter parent to your kids?

A lot of moms nowadays identify as a helicopter parent because they want to keep their kids safe. You may sometimes restrict your kids’ movement to ensure their safety, but this doesn’t always equate to helicopter parenting. In my opinion, there’s a big difference between being a helicopter parent and making sure that your kids are safe.

Worrying for your child’s safety is what any responsible parent would do, but going to extreme measures is another story.

Being overprotective and overbearing like any other helicopter parent may be detrimental in the long run. You need to identify the difference between what is a helicopter parent from that of a responsible one.

By doing so, you are letting your child grow, but what is a helicopter parent, exactly?

 

What is a Helicopter Parent?

 

Learning the traits of what a helicopter parent is can be helpful in avoiding becoming/being one. Here is a list of what I think a helicopter parent does:

  1. Doing things for your kids even if they are capable of doing it on their own.
  2. Setting impossibly high standards on your kids.
  3. Not allowing your kids to do what they want even if they are in a perfectly safe environment.
  4. Stopping your kids from experiencing new things because of your irrational fear of the outcomes.
  5. Making decisions for your kids as much as you can.

Do any of the items in the list resonate to you?

I get it, a lot of us can relate to some items on the list, and it’s perfectly normal. We want to make sure our kids have everything they need since It’s our motherly instinct kicking in!

While these feelings are normal, acting on them by being overbearing and overprotective to your kids isn’t gonna help.

 

Effects of Helicopter Parents to their Kids

 

We have the tendency to overlook what the effects of helicopter parents to their kids are and become one, ourselves.

Now that we’ve clarified what is a helicopter parent, learning on the effects of helicopter parents to kids comes next.  

Commonly, the effects of helicopter parents to their kids include:

  1. Their kids become indecisive and helpless.
  2. Their kids have low self-esteem
  3. Their kids finding it difficult to cope
  4. Their kids become too dependent on others and,
  5. Their kids become entitled

These traits may be common in younger children, but these shouldn’t persist as they grow into their adult lives. Hence, it is important to identify early on if you are a helicopter parent or not to prevent these effects.

Are you a Helicopter Parent, or not?

 

There is no perfect parenting style in the world, so we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. More so, we shouldn’t be too hard on our kids as well.

I believe we should assess our parenting styles frequently to come up with an effective style that best fits our kids. By learning what a helicopter parent is and the effects of helicopter parents to their kids, you can adjust accordingly.

We want our kids to grow holistically and become successful, and these things can only be achieved through experience. As Julius Cesar once said, “experience is a great teacher..”  and we shouldn’t be afraid to let our kids learn.

If we let them learn, we are giving them the opportunity to grow into the best citizens that they can be.

Are you a helicopter parent, or not? What are your thoughts on it?

I’d love to hear them; just leave me a message or make a comment below.

New Baby, New Mom…New Life

New Baby, New Mom…New Life

by | Oct 10, 2018 | Challenges, Family, Mom Etc, Relatable Stories

No matter how many stories you hear from your friends, family and coworkers about what to expect with your first child, there’s nothing that will prepare you for the physical, emotional and mental roller coasters that you will need to experience first hand to fully understand what it’s like to be a first time parent.

The story that I’m about to tell you is something I wish I had known but I realized that I wouldn’t have known without having kids of my own.

With our first born, the moment we drove out of the hospital parking lot was the moment we officially were on our own to care for this new human being we brought into this world.  I still remember it as if it happened yesterday. Immense feelings of accomplishment, joy, excitement and fear all wrapped up together. Random thoughts would creep into my head like “oh what if I do something that will hurt the baby, what if I don’t know how to stop them from crying, I have no idea what I am doing, how often should I be feeding the baby, or what if I accidentally drop her?”

“One thing you can count on is that you won’t have the answers to everything.  That’s what family, friends and even your pediatrician is there for. You’re basically learning as you go.  It’s like on the job training at its core”.

 

As we get home and settle into our routines, life does begin to get quite interesting.

The first week was great.  I was still filled with so much joy and excitement that our new bundle of joy was finally here.  We gladly woke up every 1-2 hours throughout the night to tend to our little one. But as the weeks continued on, the lack of sleep took its toll on us.  The continuous cycle of feeding, pumping milk in between feedings to stimulate more milk production, burping, diaper change, sleep, wake up, wash bottles, rinse and repeat.  Oh how I longed to just be able to sleep for a good 3-4 hours straight.

 

“I think if I could impart any wisdom in this area, it would be to arrange between you and your partner to take shifts during the night.  Inevitably, after every feed, there would need to be a diaper change. What we did initially was have Dave wake up with me to help with the diaper change.  That only resulted in both of us walking around like zombies during the day. So what we decided to do was from 10pm-2am, I would let him sleep all the way through.  Then from 2am-6am, I would just need to wake up to feed. Even though I still had to wake up, that allowed Dave to be less tired during the day so that he could be more functional during the day to handle the baby and I would be able to nap more often”.

The most exciting parts of our days is when she opened her eyes and we could finally interact with her somewhat.  She had no idea what was going on of course because at that age, they really can’t see clearly yet, but they do start to learn our voices.

A few months in is when it starts to get even more exciting.  She is awake and alert for longer periods of time now.  She’s starting to coo and smile. She’s able to interact with the toys we bought for her. People coming to visit loved holding and talking to her.  You can’t help but keep telling yourself, “I can’t believe we created this”.

“Once you establish a routine and your baby gets into their own schedule, the sleep deprivation becomes more tolerable.  The days become more predictable and you learn to sneak a power nap in when they nap. Or you learn to take advantage of family who come by to visit and let them take over while you get some much needed shut eye”.  

We also quickly learn that every decision we make now revolves around our baby.  She is already dictating when we can and can’t sleep but now adding to the mix, she dictates when we can shower, eat and drink, and when we can clean the house or even do laundry.

Gone are the days where we can decide on a whim to go out to the movies or go out to eat.  Now, things like that has to be planned for and can only be done during certain time periods.  And when we do go outside of the house with her, we need to be prepared to pack everything! Just run through your day and think of all the things you use on a regular basis and that’s what you will need to bring.

Before we knew it, she was starting to crawl and we find ourselves rushing out to baby proof everything in our house.  We are now having to watch her like a hawk because she will put every single little thing that is on the ground, into her mouth. Then she started walking and now we really can’t take our eyes off of her for even a second!

“There are so many first times during this first year to capture.  So many moments like the first time they started crawling and walking.  Their first word, their first tooth, their first smile. First bath, first nail clipping.  First outing. First baby food. Take pictures, lots of pictures. It is so easy with smartphones these days to do that.  Even better would be to take videos”.  

As a first time mom, it’s quite normal to want your hands on everything that your baby will possibly need.

When asked of moms who have been there and done that, “what are some of the must have items to survive the first year of your child’s life?” the list of items below came highly recommended.  This is of course not a complete list but it’s definitely a good start.

  1. Baby Monitor:  So you can keep an eye on them and know when they wake up from anywhere in the house
  2. Co-sleeper:  This is like a mini crib that you can put right next to your bed.  So during the night, they are within reach and you can easily pick them up without them actually being in bed with you.
  3. Sleeper gowns:  to quickly change their diaper and cover them back up without fumbling around with any buttons or snaps.
  4. Shirts or onesies with covered long sleeves:  Save the hassle of the standard hand mitts constantly falling off
  5. Strong support system (Mom friends who are going through the same experiences as you. Local mom groups, local meetup groups, facebook support groups):  To save your sanity
  6. Night lights for late night feeding/changes
  7. White noise machine:  To lessen the chances of your baby being startled by a loud noise and waking up
  8. Change of clothes always for baby and you:  Accidents will happen
  9. Housekeeper & food prep services if you can afford it:  To decrease your stress and lighten up your workload so you can focus on bonding with your baby
  10. Freezer meals:  You won’t have time to cook but you still need to eat
  11. Trumpet socks: They don’t fall off as easily as the regular ones.  And they are super cute.
  12. Owler:  for peace of mind (SIDS).
  13. Nose Frida:  So much better than the bulb syringes
  14. Baby Brezza if formula feeding:  Makes prep time and feeding a breeze
  15. Gripe water:  Helps with Colic
  16. Lots of Burp Clothes:  Keep them accessible in every room so you have it within reach when you need it
  17. Rocker:  Nice to have to relax and rock your baby to sleep
  18. Swaddles:  Babies are used to being in tight quarters inside your tummy.  When swaddled up, this gives them some comfort in familiarity and can soothe them.
  19. Boppy Pillow:  Makes positioning baby during breastfeeding much easier.
  20. And last but not least, an item I can’t complete this list without mentioning and it’s our very own baby first aid kit that we put together for moms so that they can have more peace of mind knowing they are equipped to handle those everyday emergencies.

You will have tough days, you will have easy days.  Life will be a roller coaster as you adjust to whatever your baby brings your way, the good and the bad. Your baby’s first year of life means a lot of first time experiences for you.  So many joys, so many memories to start collecting.

Take it one day at a time and know that they grow up in what feels like a blink of an eye.  Treasure those moments.

Top 10 Tooth Fairy Bloopers

Top 10 Tooth Fairy Bloopers

by | Oct 5, 2018 | Family, Mom Etc, Relatable Stories

Image by Anthony Tran via Unsplash

Ok fess up, how many times have you forgotten that the tooth fairy was supposed to come get your kid’s tooth only to wake up the next morning in a frenzy?

I think for us, between the two kids, it has been at least 2 dozen times if not more.  I think the worse case was when I forgot 3 days back to back.

Epic mom FAIL!

I felt so horrible but how can anyone blame us right?

After putting the kids to bed, there are still so many things left to do and by the end of the night, all you can think about is climbing into bed yourself and calling it a night.

So what happens the next morning when the kids realize the tooth fairy never came to get their tooth?

It’s time for mommy and daddy to think fast and come up with a believable explanation to give them.

I’ve collected some tooth fairy “bloopers” for everyone to enjoy, including some of my own.  Who knows, some on this list could be added to your arsenal for the next time you forget and need to quickly dodge the bullet.

Enjoy!

“Oh maybe the tooth fairy got really busy last night and couldn’t make it”

or a similar version

“Too many kids lost their tooth last night and the tooth fairy didn’t have time to come get yours.  Let’s wait and see if she will come tonight”

“Your room was too messy the tooth fairy couldn’t make her way to your bed”

“You put your tooth on a different pillow from the one you were laying on so the tooth fairy probably got confused and couldn’t find your tooth”

One year, my husband types out a nice letter from the tooth fairy and signed it as Frances.  So now my daughter always refers to her tooth fairy as Frances. Most recently, she wrote a letter to Frances with her tooth, so of course I had to leave a letter behind.

The next morning, I asked her if the tooth fairy came and she tells me yes, but that it was Francine that left her a letter.

Oh my gosh, I thought it was Francine this whole time!! Whoops!  I had to quickly tell her that maybe she uses a nickname! Phew! So glad she didn’t question that.”

“The tooth fairy couldn’t find you because you weren’t sleeping in your bed”

“Maybe she went on vacation and forgot to tell the other tooth fairy to take over for her when she was gone”

“I’ve casually placed a dollar behind her bed the morning of and told my daughter she must have knocked it off her bed in her sleep”

“She doesn’t work on weekends”

“The tooth fairy was stuck on the east coast because of the hurricane”

“You have to get in line, she can only do so many houses a night.  Lots of kids with teeth to pick up”

“Her bag was probably too full and she would have to come back the next night”

One last story about my son where I for sure thought I was caught.

So as usual, I forgot to take his tooth and didn’t realize this until he climbed into my bed in the morning.  He didn’t say anything about the tooth fairy not coming so I thought maybe he forgot to check. I kept him distracted with his iPad and snuck off to take his tooth.

Later on, he excitedly runs to me and tells me the tooth fairy left him a dollar!  Then he follows it up with, “The tooth fairy just came”.  

I say to him, “What do you mean he just came”.  He answered, “Because I checked when I woke up and the tooth was still there and now it’s gone”.  

Yikes!

“Oh, ok maybe they do come in the mornings too”, I say.  I really had no reasonable explanation to give him.  Thank goodness he didn’t question it any further.

Tooth fairies are fun.  I personally never grew up with it but always encourage my kids to use their imagination to entertain themselves.

It’s all for fun and gives them something to look forward to.  One day they will no longer believe it in but until, then, we’ll all enjoy it.

One thing for sure.

The day they stop believing is the day they no longer get any money!  So I’m sure there are kids out there that still pretends to believe in the tooth fairy.

What are some of your near miss stories or cover ups that you have used?  Please share with the rest of us as I’m pretty certain we all will have more bullets to dodge in the future.

Signs You’re Both a Supermom AND An Okay Mom

Signs You’re Both a Supermom AND An Okay Mom

by | Aug 31, 2018 | Conversations, Family, Inspiration, Mom Etc, Relatable Stories

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of a Supermom is “an exemplary mother; also:  a woman who performs the traditional duties of housekeeping and child-rearing while also having a full-time job.

On the outside looking in, this mom appears to very well organized, crafty, resourceful, cooks, bakes, and still manages to somehow keep herself fit, well dressed and have a social calendar.  When you go over to her house, everything is neat and tidy. She tracks and manages all the household activities without a glitch.

She has her kids under control at all times.   Her kids get read to every night. She is very health conscious and makes sure her family eats well.  There are freshly cut fruits and baked snacks on the kitchen counter for afterschool snack. She is very involved at her kid’s school.

These are the moms you come across and ask yourself, “How the heck does she have time to do all of that?”

Now truly, has anyone really ever come across a mom like that… except in the movies?

I mean there are days I feel like I am supermom because I really do need to juggle everything  and all by myself because my husband is away from work for days at a time. And if you’re a single mom, you are hands down automatically a supermom.

But most days my kids are lucky if they have a hot meal on the table for dinner every night.

Let’s face it, us moms (and dads) have a lot on our plate, especially when you are juggling activities for more than 1 child.  Some days it feels like you can’t even keep your head on straight because you’re being pulled in all sorts of directions.

So I am going to take it one step further to redefine what a supermom is.  My new definition of a supermom is someone who manages to keep the household and family running smoothly, provides a positive environment for their kids to learn and grow and while also contributing to the household income one way or another.

So do Supermoms really exist?

I say Yes!

You’re a supermom if you accomplish any of the following:

  • Your kids are fed, even if it means eating leftovers for 2 days straight.
  • Your kids are clothed, even if it means they need to rewear their socks because you haven’t gotten around to doing the laundry yet
  • You look forward to being able to surprise your kids and see them jumping up and down in excitement when you tell them what you have planned for the weekend for them
  • You read to and with your kids regularly (not necessarily EVERY night)
  • You watch out for all aspects of their safety
  • You make sure things get done, even if it means delegating
  • You bake cupcakes for your kid to bring to school to share with their classmates, or rush out to the store to buy store bought ones. 🙂
  • You support and guide them to make good decisions
  • You teach them, one life lesson at a time

The truth is, we are all supermoms in our own ways.  We each have our own special powers. And it doesn’t mean we have to perform them all at once either.  We all have one main goal for our kids…that we raise them to grow up and live a happy and meaningful life.

We’ll all be taking different paths but at the end, we all want the same outcome.  If we accomplish that, we, as parents have done our jobs and will have really lived out our supermom ways.

Image by skeeze via Pixabay

Stay Prepared for Life’s Accidents

Bumps, bruises and owies – oh my! Parenthood is never boring. Be prepared with a first aid kit designed exclusively with you and your kids in mind.  Check out PreparaKit.com for kits and tools created for busy parents who want to be ready for the unexpected.