Safety TIp

During the holidays... heading out with your kiddo to a crowded place is almost an every day happening. Malls, pumpkin patches, visiting Santa, trick-or-treating, holiday pictures... there are people everywhere!

Here is a Safety Tip for every mom of children of ALL ages!

Grab your cell phone and take a picture of your child as you walk out the door.
If he/she wanders off while you are out, you'll have an instant up-to-date record of that your child looks like and what they are wearing.

** these pictures are great for safety purposes but they are also downloadable, so in case you get a keeper... you can add it to your collection!

dogs and kids

We just recently got a new pup... and it was all great at first and now I feel like I have 2 bickering toddlers! My son (2 1/2) and my dog (5 months) FIGHT all the time. Funny thing it is NOT always the human kid that starts it!

How do I establish boundaries for both of them?

Birthday Issue

My daughter's birthday party is fast approaching and I have come into an unexpected problem. Let me begin by saying that I wanted her party to be just for her friends and not have all the family in town like I did for her first birthday. Can you see where this is headed?

A month ago I found out that my husband's grandmother, who is more his mother than anything, and her sister were going to come for her birthday. OK, I thought, this was a little expected. Here is what was unexpected. My grandmother passed away this month and after the funeral, unannounced to me, his grandmother invited my other grandmother to ride out here with them for her party. I had not mentioned the party to her because as I mentioned earlier, I wanted it to be for her friends with immediate family only. I was not even asked but am now stuck.

I went to lunch with my mom, sister, husband, daughter, sister-in-law and her parents. They, her parents, began asking me about my plans for the birthday party. I told them that I was throwing a party for all her little friends from our exercise group. She smiled and I kind of got the impression that they wanted to be invited. I am cool with my brother and sister-in-law coming but the little room at the place the party is at is at this point standing room only, little overexageration. If I invite them then I would feel obliged to invite my sister-in-law's twin brother and his wife.

I guess I am asking what I should do. I had thought about going out to dinner after the party with everyone or having them all over to my house for dinner but that becomes to much work for what should be a happy and stress free time.

Sharing with a new babe

My 2 year old son has never been one to share me willingly and makes that very clear to all who are near. He may not have a choice for much longer seeing as how my husband and I recently found out we are going to have another baby. This is very exciting news, but I am very concerned about how my son will handle having to share Mama and Daddy. I could use all the tips and tricks I can get my hands on about preparing a child for a younger sibling! Help!

~Mandy

Hitting

My 16 month old daughter has recently picked up a bad behavior at her sitter's house from another little boy. Hitting.

She at first started hitting things around the house, like the table or the couch and seeing if she could get a reaction out of us. When we didn't say anything and ignored this behavior (hoping it would go away), she took to hitting us! First starting at our legs and will now hit in the face or arm or chest. My first instinct was to pop her hand and tell her "no". But obviously, that would not be teaching her not to hit.

Right now, I am grabbing her hand and telling her "No. We do not hit. It's not nice. It makes me sad". And then if she continues we are putting her in Time Out. I'm not sure that this has helped very much and it's very embarrassing when she hits in public. It's definitely not a behavior we like or encourage.

Has anyone else had issues like this? How did you resolve them?

We'd appreciate any suggestions!

My husband and I recently moved our 2 daughters ages 8 and 2.5 in the same room with bunk beds. The oldest goes to bed very well, however the 2 year old is constantly getting our of bed. 1st it was more kisses and then more hugs and then more water...After a while we got wise to her and we would all pile into the room and give plenty of kisses and plenty of hugs and we would give her,her water right before bed. Now she has no excuses, but she still gets out of bed and stands in the hallway. When I get up to put her back in bed she runs back to her room and crawls in bed and yells nite-nite before I even get there. before when she was in her own room we never had this problem. They have been sharing a room now for a couple of months, so the newness should be waring off by now. How do you reason with a 2 year old to stay in bed at bedtime? HELLLPPP!

NUGGETS.... AHHH!

All My son will eat is nuggets...
It is driving me crazy!
What can I do to get him to eat something else?

Bites, Bites and MORE BITES...

I have heard so many BAD things about Deet, bug sprays and especially OFF being really bad for kiddos!
I have researched and of course found 8 thousand different recommendations.

This past weekend I had sprayed my son DOWN with the Skintastic bug spray that says it is safe enough for even the tiny babies. Ok GREAT... He still got bit by mosquitoes and spider.

Has anyone ever used those Bug Off (or other brand) bracelets for your kids?
Do you know if any spray that WORKS and is safe?

It is about to be summer and the hotter it is the more bugs that pray on little legs.

Here is an interesting article...

Insect repellent: Safe for babies and toddlers?

Make It Stop!

My daughter has begun grinding her teeth. She does not do it when she sleeps but she does seem to do it on purpose. I know she is doing it on purpose because she stops when I tell her to. She looks at me and then does it again. I do not want to ignore it because I do not want to create a habit or mess up her teeth.

Potty regression

My family and I returned from our Florida vacation a couple of weeks ago. I have mention previously we had a wonderful time. Before we left my 2 year old was using the potty pretty frequently, as to where we were going to seriously start her potty training once we returned from our trip.

Except now, she does not want anything to do with her potty chair. She was using the potty everyday before her bath and now she gets in the bath and she pees. I see her start to hide behind our couch to poop and I rush her to the potty chair and she won't sit down. I'm afraid to push to much and don't want her to start to be afraid, but I'm not sure why she regressed like she did. She used to be so excited about her potty chair. Anyone have any suggestions? I thought we were on a roll with her.

Thanks Tasha

Eating Veggies

Fruits seem to be the healthy food of choice for my son... He will eat any type of fruit and even choose an apple over the normal snack food for toddlers (gold fish crackers) Crazy Huh?
Anyways, Does anyone have tips or hints to get him to be more interested in Veggies?!
I got the book Deceptively Delicious I am anxious to see if I can actually cook something from it... HA!
As far as quick meals, lunch, snacks... any advice?

Mamavice helped us!

A while back I asked for some advice on how to drive 1142.12 miles from Michigan to Florida with a 7 year old and a 2 year old, and me being 22 weeks prego. I got some nice responses and some great advice.
Well, I am here to say we survived, and actually enjoyed the drive down. I filled little bags for each of the kids with some crayons and markers and books. We had our portable DVD player and music. The scenery and the drive was so peaceful, that my husband and I have decided to make this trip a once a year type deal and are already looking forward to next years trip. My family and I made several new memories and cannot wait to do it again. I would just like to say thank you to everyone who encouraged us to drive and not be so afraid of the unknown. Our children surprised us more than you know and for that we are grateful...Thanks again, Tasha.

Potty in the Potty...

My daughter will be 4 in 3 months and she just won't go to the bathroom. She's been potty trained since she was 2 1/2. I do not now why she won't go to the toilet but she just pees her pants. I've taken her to the doctor and they say nothing is wrong. She will go about a week without an accident and then all of a sudden she just pees her pants. Does anyone have any advice because I'm at my wits end.

Nyki

Tips for Traveling with Two

In two weeks myself and my two children (daughter is almost 5 and son is 10 months) will be going on a plane to visit family. My husband cant go, hes deployed (Military).
I have a DVD player that will keep my daughter entertained for the most part. My son is very wiggly all the time so I am more worried about having to keep him contained in my lap. I know he is not going to like it. Not to mention, needing a nap during the flight.
I would love to hear any tips and tricks anyone has on flying with two children by yourself. Has anyone else done it or am I the crazy one?

Crib Climbing.... OH NO!

My 2 year old is climbing out of his crib... 

WHAT DO I DO?

Big Boy bed?

Toddler Bed?

Have him sleep in the floor?

AHHHHHH!

Bath Drama!

From a Mama of a 17 month old...

We're not sure what's going on, but if you have any suggestions, they sure would be appreciated.

My daughter has ALWAYS loved the bath.

She plays with her cup and the duck and has a great time. Starting yesterday, she was terrified of the bath. She wasn't even in the tub and she was already screaming.

So, I don't think it is something that hurts her in the tub.Again, yesterday, daddy tried to give her a bath, and she screamed. She was reaching for us and trying to get out of the tub. We don't know what's going on.

Please help!

What all parents should know

I thought this would be a great post for mamavice. Thanks Zoot for linking to it.

The Mama's of Mamavice!

I am Lindsay, I am a work-at-home mom that loves to work out, blog and spend every second with my crazy 2 year old little boy!( I need a new picture of us!) I started Mamavice after I found myself looking up and researching EVERY single thing my son did, just to find the answer after I finally gave in and called a mom friend of mine for advice. After telling my girlfriend how much she helped and her response being... "well you do the same for me" I realized that every mother has unique answers and ideas for almost anything that happens in the first few years of a kiddos life. If we could just get all those ideas in one specific area who would cry over not having an instructions for their kiddo, you would just need a bit of Mamavice! So, with that idea I have created Mamavice... a free little site to help answer questions every mom has. I could never do something like this alone so I have invited some of my most favorite moms and bloggers to help out in my quest to get this site to be one of the best for mamas! My other sites include Splat Creative Designs- a custom template design site & My Splatter Painted Life- My personal site.

***

Tasha is a working mom of 2 girls ages 2 and 7 with another baby coming soon. Shes married and loves hanging with the family. One minute she thinks she has a handle on being a mom the next she has no clue. To visit Tasha check out her blog at A day in the life...

My name is Bethany and I have been married for 5 1/2 years. I have an 18
month old daughter named Neely Kate. I am a fifth grade teacher in North Texas
and a StrollerFit instructor. Visit Bethany at The Benton Bunch.


I'm Joana, a WAHM (work-at-home-mom) who owns a photography business. My husband and I were married in August of 2004 and our daughter was born on December 26, 2006. Photography is my passion, but I also love music, paper crafting (rubber stamps and scrap booking), digital scrap booking, web design, writing, reading, fitness and nutrition. To see Joana in action visit here at a day in the life of Miss Nyssa.







My name is Breanne and I am a 27 year old mother of two amazing and vivacious little boys and a wife to my loving husband Mike.We just recently moved to Frisco Texas from Orange County California.BIG CHANGE, but so far we love it here and feel so blessed to have this opportunity to plant some roots! Gavin is my 27 months old and is a complete spaz! He is hilarious and has a huge heart and compassion for others. Elijah is my ten month old and is my sweet angel boy whose eyes and smile can melt your heart. Elijah has special needs so I am a stay at home Mommy (the toughest job in the world) and I love every spastic moment of it! In the whirlwind that is my life, I love to laugh, paint, draw, sing and try and get the most out of every moment with my family and friends.



My name is Michele and I am a SAHM and LOVE IT. I am married to a WONDERFUL man and have an 18 month old boy named Trevor. We are currently expecting our second child.










Stephanie - married almost 4 years, together for almost 10. Work full time for an oil and gas company. First child Karys (1 yr old on March 1). I'd like a big family - maybe one or two more kiddos someday soon.
To visit Stephanie go to A little bit of Sugar and a WHOLE lotta spice!

pregnancy stories

I'm gonna try something a little different today. I'm not looking for advice, but some great stories. I know you all have some.

I've mentioned before that I am pregnant. This is my 3rd pregnancy. I was thinking yesterday that with my 1st daughter, I had to have cream of broccoli soup from my favorite restaurant Olgas Kitchen. I had to have this everyday and I did. It was delicious. Till this day she also loves the soup. Coincidence? I'm not sure.

With daughter #2, I ate green beans and baked potatoes everyday. Whether it was for breakfast, lunch or dinner I could not get enough green beans. I know I was crazy right? Alanna likes her green beans, but peas are her fav, yuck in my book.

With baby#3, (gender unknown for 3 more weeks), I haven't had any favorite foods that I must eat everyday, but I do have very different food tastes. Now this happened with the 1st pregnancy, but not like this time. Before pregnancy #1 pizza topping of choice was pepperoni and onions and during pregnancy it was mushrooms and mild peppers...Nothing really changed in the 2nd pregnancy. But with baby#3, things have changed majorly. I am a ranch girl..I would eat ranch salad dressing on everything. Salads, chicken, french fries, pizza, you name it I was dipping it in ranch. But now, I cannot stand the taste of ranch, it makes me sick. I must have Italian dressing. Aldo things that used to be soooo good to me, like pizza, I can barely get down. its strange how pregnancy can change so much more than you body.

Now heres where you come in. Do you have any pregnancy cravings, or stories you would like to share..Well come on ladies, share. Theres not a woman out there who doesn't LOVE to talk about when they were prego with their precious little baby.

Fever Questions!

My son woke up with a 104.4 fever last night...
Yes, I flipped and then realized I have NO idea what the rules are for high fevers like that!
I gave him some Motrin which I really things works longer then Tylenol when my kiddo has a fever!
Then I got a wash cloth with a little cooler then luke warm water and rubbed his head.
I put him in light cotton shorts and T-shirt and kept all covers off of him.
The doc says to keep your kid in warmer clothes when they are sick, that can not be good with a fever!

What temperature do you need to go to the ER?
What is the best way to lower a fever? (Meds take about 20 minutes to kick in)
Any tips or hints about how to manage a fever?