Questionable Choices in Parenting
Laughing at life as a parent so they don't commit me
I LOVE summer. LOVE summer–I love summer so much, I never want it to end. But since all good things (like summer) have to come to an end, why not have a whole lotta fun? If you’re looking for some summer fun with your family and you are in or around the DC Metro area, I’ve got a whole list of summer fun. Click here to see all of the fun roadtrips you and your family can take in and around DC this summer!
When the school year wrapped up, I was really anxious to see both of the kids’ final report cards, but it wasn’t just to see their academic success. With one kid in kindergarten and the other in preschool, a lot of their academic growth is still focused on social growth. So when both kids had notes from their teachers that they are happy, kind, and good friends, I felt like doing back flips.
So all those times of reminding them over and over to say please and thank you, encouraging them to be kind and respectful, and looking for those teachable moments to model the kind of tiny humans we want to bring up in this world, was actually paying off. But, Friends, this isn’t my first rodeo, and I know my job isn’t done around here. But you know how we always joke that we need a manual for raising kids, I feel like I found one that’s going to help me during this journey of raising kind and grateful kids, The Big Life Journal.
The Big Life Journal is a six-month journal that’s designed for you and your children to complete together. It’s broken into 13 different concepts, each covered over a span of two weeks. So don’t worry that it’s going to be ONE MORE THING you have to do, forget to do, and then feel guilty about. Really!
Every concept comes with an illustration, poem, quote, and a story, and all of stories are based on real entrepreneurs, scientists, authors, non-profit founders that you and your kids can really relate to and will want to know more about. YES to positive influences in our kid’s lives, right? Here’s my favorite lesson: Being Persistent with a little story about a book called Harry Potter and how it almost never happened.
After each concept, you help your kids respond to questions that require them to think about things related to and discussed about each section of the journal. So they start talking, you start talking, and the entire family can start talking–brilliant considering I ask my son what he did in school and he says “I forgot.”
Something that encourages you and your children to spend REAL time together, gets everyone talking to each other, and gives you the perfect opportunity help your kids learn about positive influences, which they so need right now, I know you are thinking–“Where do I get this journal?”
As with any great idea, the Big Life Journal needs financial backing through a Kickstarter campaign and I really love how each level of donation can help benefit your child’s life and another child too. So swing over to their Kickstarter page to learn more about The Big Life Journal and to see how you can get your hands on one.
The Big Life Journal is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram too
I was compensated for this post, but all opinions are 100% because I really love this journal.
Usually when I start to pack, everything is neat an organized. Then I start to panic that I don’t have enough clothes, the kids don’t have enough clothes, and surely the dog needs something to wear too, right? Then it happens. My neatly packed bags start to overflow and I have no idea how I’ll fit everything in the car. So I have to backtrack just a bit, unpack A LOT, and follow my own tips for saving space while packing. If you want to check out my ideas, click right here to be magically transported to the article!
#9
“Did I shave today? No, no I did not.”
#7
I’ve had freckles for as long as I can remember, and even though a lot of people don’t like their freckle-face, I’ve always loved mine. It started as a small smattering across my nose and on my cheeks. But after years of worshiping the sun, slathering my skin in baby oil (ugh, I cringe just writing that), and making weekly trips to the tanning bed in my early 20s, that small smattering turned into freckles that covered my entire face, arms, and chest. Still, I thought my freckles, now too many to count, were adorable and a feature that I would seem odd without.
However, in the last few years, my freckles seem to be mixing with all the other lovely side effects of not being in my early 20s: fine lines, red spots, and age spots. After I fell madly in love with my HydraFacial from Nova Plastic Surgery, I wanted to see what other services they offered that could help my skin look and feel younger.
The staff at NOVA Plastic Surgery were so kind and so helpful and were willing to answer my one million questions. Michelle, the Physician Assistant that administered my HydraFacial, suggested a Broad Band Light Facial (BBL) would help me with the freckles, age spots, red spots, and the fine lines and wrinkles.
So what does BBL do you ask? Don’t worry, I had to ask too. Using targeted bursts of filtered light, the BBL, also known as IPL, can penetrate beneath the surface of the skin and help to erase, repair or even eliminate all of those unwanted red and brown spots, evens out your skin tone, reduces the size of lines and wrinkles, and cues the skin to produce more collagen. YES to all of this! All of it!
BBL puts controlled amounts of heat into the areas in need of repair. This gentle heat is recognized by the skin cells as a form of mild damage, and this activates the repair processes that improve and enhance the skin. How cool is that?
Since I’m also a big baby, I was afraid it would hurt, but there was only a mild stinging. Michelle also gave me a wand that I could control that blasts cold air to help distract me from the stinging. The whole procedure took around 15-20 minutes so it was really quick.
Here’s the crazy part, after the treatments any brown spots or patches will become darker and then start to “pepper.” Then they just fall off within 1-2 weeks! It’s really insane how they spots literally fall off. So this is a treatment-diabetes-info that will take a few weeks to see the full effect. However, during that time, you can cover any of the spots that are “peppering” with makeup.
Now I don’t want to scare you, but I’m going to show you my results after just on BBL facial. It’s going to be a true makeup free selfie–not the kind celebrities say they are taking but a real one. So be prepared.
Here’s a true makeup free selfie right after I had the BBL. Don’t be scared, everyone.
And here I am a few weeks later. Again no makeup. Where did all that hyper-pigmentation go?
The results are crazy right? I’m thinking of having one more round done and possible adding my chest next time, but I am really happy with the results.
So for all my MD, DC, and VA friends, swing over the NOVA Plastic Surgery site and find them on Facebook to get all the details and learn about their specials.
For this post I’ve partnered with NOVA Plastic Surgery to tell you all about my new found love for HydraFacials. All opinions are my own
I’m always sharing travel hacks that make traveling with your kiddos easier, but how about a few travel hacks just for you? I’ve got some great packing and travel hacks that you’ll love! Click right here to see them!
Is it possible to be speechless but have SO MUCH to say? I’ve started the first line of this post about a million times and deleted it a million times. So I’ll just start like this… I was invited to the White House and it was a surreal and beyond fantastic day that I will truly cherish forever. Phew, I’ve got that first line out of the way. Now I feel better. Settle in, friends because it’s time for LOTS of pictures. But first, a little back story of how I got the invite to gallivant through the East Wing and the South Lawn.
A few weeks ago I received an email from SheKnows Media asking if I would like to attend an event with the First Lady at the White House. First, I screamed and scared the crap out of my kids. Then I wondered if this was all a ruse to somehow gain access to my social security number. Finally I calmed myself down long enough to RSVP YES, YES, YES. Then I got into business mode and was all “What do you wear to the White House?” Priorities, people.
On the day of the Let’s Move Initiative event, I just kept saying over and over “Is this real life?” and I was a little weepy because I was so excited and so proud and so humbled, and you guys know I cry all the time.
So what do you do if you have a day at the White House? Well, let’s see….
You have coffee with Bill….
You pose with Jackie
You stash a few of these fancy paper towels from the bathroom in your bag. Hey, if they have their name on it, they WANT you to take it. It’s good PR, right?
You send a video to your mom of all the White House China because she is so jealous you didn’t take her with you to the White House and you hope this video helps a little.
You tour the White House Kitchen Garden and strike a little pose because you feel fancy.
You realize those killer heels were a bad choice for walking through the garden…
You somehow snag a front row seat and you say over and over “Be cool, Amanda. Be cool”
Then you settle in because now it’s time to hear from the panel and the First Lady ,and you were one of the 150 influential bloggers invited to this event.
The panel consisted of a powerhouse of ladies that were wicked smart, influential, and making real changes that will benefit our kids. After every woman spoke, I wanted to know more about their organizations and The First Lady’s Initiatives like:
We first heard from Deb Eschmeyer, Executive director for Let’s Move!, and Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition, who told us a bit of background on the Let’s Move! initiative. Did you know that ONE in every THREE children in the United States are considered obese? How scary is that statistic? In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama planted the White House Kitchen Garden and in 2010 she launched Let’s Move! which is an initiative to help kids and families lead healthier and more active lives.
Here’s Olympic Gymnast Dominique Dawes introducing Michelle Obama, White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford wiping up a kale salad, and Ryan Shadrick Wilson the Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel at Partnership for a Healthier America who introduced the super cool Fruits and Veggies (FnV) Campaign.
Then the First Lady Came out to speak, and let me just tell you, she was AMAZING. Smart, funny, and at times, I felt like she was talking RIGHT to me.
Mrs. Obama said that this was an initiative near and dear to her because when she was working full time, she found herself taking the kids to too many drive thrus and heating up too many dinners in the microwave. But after a doctor told her she needed to focus on her kids’ health and weight, she got down to work in her own house, and when he found herself in the White House, she knew creating Lets Move! was going to be where she spent her time as First Lady
Because of the work of Let’s Move!
-1.6 million kids are now attending healthier daycare centers where fruits and vegetables have replaced cookies and juice.
-Over 10 million kids attend Let’s Move! Active schools where they strive to get 60 minutes of physical activity a day
-More than 30 million kids are eating healthier school breakfasts and lunches
-Nearly 80 million people, that’s 1 in 4 Americans, now live in a Let’s Move! city, town or county where kids can walk to school on new sidewalks, participate in a summer meal program, or join a local athletic league.
And as Mrs. Obama said, the 150 bloggers in the room had a social media reach of tens of millions and that the voices of Mommy Bloggers have power and can help to make changes that are important to our kids. And then I got weepy again, because come on, how amazing is that? The First Lady thinks blogs like mine are powerful messengers and that she is proud of us. Excuse me while I cry a little again.
After the event I basically floated all the way home and couldn’t wait to see my kids who were more impressed by the goodie bag that had a beach ball in it then hearing about my day at the White House. Oh well, someday they will get how amazing this day was for their Mamma.
Tic Tac Toe is a crowd pleaser in this house and I think the kids and I have played approximately 354 million rounds while on long car rides. But to change things up a bit, I got a little crafty and made a travel tic tac toe board and it was so easy. Really! It was so easy! Come see how I made it by clicking right here.
If your kids are like mine, they love Legos. And if you are like me, you’ve probably stepped on your fair share of Legos. OUCH! But taking Legos in the car is rarely a good idea, right? One bump in the car and the Legos go flying and you know you’ll be finding Legos for months. But have no fear, Lego lovers, here’s a DIY Lego case that is perfect for car rides! Click right here to get the directions!