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Saying Goodbye To Gymboree But Not Gymbo! Gymboree Play & Music Is NOT CLOSING
BabiesParenthood

Saying Goodbye To Gymboree But Not Gymbo! Gymboree Play & Music Is NOT CLOSING

by Jill
written by Jill

The first thing I ever bought for my first baby (whom I hadn’t even conceived yet) was a shirt and matching blanket with appliquéd donkeys and cacti on them. I also got the small donkey plush to go with them. Just a year before, Scott and I had donkeys at our wedding. They delivered cold Shiner beers to guests during cocktail hour. We had a thing for donkeys.

I happened upon that sweet donkey set in Gymboree, and it left a lasting impression. What other baby store was selling stuff with donkeys on it amongst the predictable ducks and puppies? None. Nobody. 

Less than a year later I became a mom, and shortly after that I would gladly call myself a Gymboree mom. I bought a lot of clothes for Kendall at Gymboree, especially the first few years- never at full price. I’d wait until they had a great sale and I knew how to work my Gymbucks. I took so much pride in dressing him.

Whatever I saved at Gymboree on clothes I spent at Gymboree Play & Music. From the time Kendall was 3 months old until he was 18 months old, he and I went to Gymboree classes 2-3x a week. We bought the special Gymboree bubbles, and sang all the songs together at home and in the car.

Was Gymboree Play & Music a necessity? No.  As a mom of 4 now, it’s a little laughable to think of taking my 4th to a music and play class 2-3x a week. The only songs we sing with him are Spotify playlist favorites that we sometimes try to censor. 

But back when I just had one, and I was so new to being a mom, so worried about doing the mom thing “right,” and not having a single clue what “right” even looked like, it was a nice outlet for me. It gave me a reason to put on clothes and be somewhere by 10:30 am every few days. It helped me feel more in control of this runaway train called motherhood. 

When I heard that Gymboree is closing all it’s stores and filing bankruptcy, I felt a little sad thinking of all the adorable outfits I found there that became a part of the fabric of our family’s memories and moments. But then I thought, “oh no, not the classes!” That was even sadder to me- all the moms and dads who feel like those classes help them figure out what to do with a baby who just, like, lays there, and all the caregivers who love seeing their babies and toddlers learn new songs and skills week after week- how sad for them.

GREAT NEWS! The classes aren’t going anywhere. This statement from Jenna Tarleton from Ogilvy, on behalf of Gymboree Play & Music just landed in my inbox and I ran here to share:

“While we are sad to see our friends at Gymboree clothing stores going through hard times, we want to make sure you and your readers are aware that Gymboree Play & Music is – and has been since 2016 – a separate company from GymboreeGroup.  In fact, Gymboree Play & Music continues to grow, with plans to open additional locations throughout the country in 2019.”

I’ve been out of the Gymboree loop for a while now. The clothes aren’t what they used to be (probably a big reason the stores are closing), and we have plenty of hand-me-downs to choose from now. So I had no idea they were 2 different companies, and I’m SO HAPPY to hear that I was wrong to assume that Gymboree Play & Music would be closing it’s doors, too. 

If you’d like to take advantage of Gymboree’s big clearance sales, I’d love if you’d click through my affiliate link. Currently everything is 50% off, including sale and clearance, and shipping is free.

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My Favorite SIMPLE Organization System
LifestyleParenthood

My Favorite SIMPLE Organization System

by Jill
written by Jill

This time of year feels both motivating and paralyzing to me. Everyone’s out there rolling their matched socks into cute little bundles that they then line up in an actual drawer, and my socks have not lived anywhere other than a jumbled heap inside the family communal “sock basket” in a decade. 

I don’t want to start caring about my socks!

I think most of us can get serious organization burnout if we take a running leap into the new year vowing to sort our way to happiness in 30 days. That said, I do think this is a great time of year (just like ANY OTHER time of year) to consider new systems and habits that will help you feel more in control of the clutter and chaos in your life.

I’m partnering with the #TalkEarly program on this post, which encourages parents to talk to kids about alcohol responsibility early and often. They have a ton of resources at Responsibility.org to help foster those conversations, and I’ve enjoyed partnering with them for years because of the valuable discussions they’ve sparked for me and my kids about underage drinking and responsible alcohol consumption. 

What does organizing have to do with alcohol?  When life feels chaotic, sometimes we may feel like turning to alcohol to cope, and that’s not healthy.

So instead of feeling overwhelmed by clutter OR overwhelmed by the pressure to tame the clutter, I thought I’d share my favorite SIMPLE way you can calm some of the chaos in your home- without having to match your socks. I’ve been doing this single thing for almost 8 years, and it’s effective and easy to stick with.

The Save Box

Dedicate a clear plastic box to each child. I like clear because I can see what’s in it and how full it’s getting without digging through it. Something like this:


Moving forward, this is the ONLY place you will keep anything you wish to give to your kid when they are an adult.

I’m not saying you can only have one box for their whole life, but I am saying you are going to feel ridiculous if you have 50 and they need a U-Haul to take them all away when they buy their first house.  So for now, just the one box, and try to make it last a few years!

When they are babies, this is the box you put the toys and baby clothes you want to save for them. It’s gonna fill up really fast if you decide to save more than a couple of those things a year, so you have to be intentional about what you choose to put in it, and this next part is KEY. 

Whatever doesn’t go in that box? GET RID OF IT ASAP. Donate to friends, family, drop off centers, etc. (Unless, of course, you are saving things for another baby.) The point is to keep stuff out of purgatory- where it just waits around for you to figure out what to do with it. If it’s not in the box, then you know it needs to go. Boom. Simple. Make it happen.

When they are school-age, this is where you put all the artwork, certificates, report cards, and any of the other treasured pieces of paper that come home in their backpacks. 

My Favorite SIMPLE Organization System

Home organization expert Rachel Rosenthal has great advice when it comes to the avalanche of paperwork you have to deal with once your kids are in school:

When it comes to papers, I subscribe to the “touch-once” principle, which means that each incoming item is dealt with as it comes in. I try not to let papers pile up without taking action, whether that be signing, filing, or recycling. The idea is to avoid holding onto things that you don’t need. It takes two minutes! I treat my kids paperwork like the daily mail. Seriously, when my daughters get home I go through the papers with them to identify what is To Do, To Read, To File. Once the “To File” folder gets full we do a once-over to make sure that they still want to keep what they’ve included inside the folder, and then I transfer the contents over to each of the girls’ “Save” boxes.

I’ll add that sometimes kids, given the choice, will want to save every single piece of “art.” Personally, I feel like I get to make the final call. I’m happy to display anything they are super proud of. We have a designated space on the wall, and something must come down before something new goes up. 

But not even half of those pieces make it into their Save boxes. If you’re feeling really guilty about trashing that glitter macaroni poster they made, you can always take a photo of it or use something like Artkive to remember it in a way that takes up less space. (But really, you guys, don’t feel guilty throwing stuff away!)

As you move through the year, go through the piles and stacks you have from the past, but try to stay on top of everything coming in from now on. Don’t overcomplicate it. Don’t decorate the box. Don’t think too much about what makes the cut into the box. Keep it simple and make it a habit. It will help so much!

If you’re interested in more realistic home organization tips, check out Rosenthal’s online course “Your Home, Organized.”

And don’t forget to head to Responsibility.org for more resources to help you talk to your kids about alcohol responsibility from as young as age 6. 

Thanks to #TalkEarly for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.

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Saying Goodbye To The Mom I Needed To Be To Raise Babies
BabiesParenthoodToddlers

Saying Goodbye To The Mom I Needed To Be To Raise Babies

by Jill
written by Jill

My 4th and final baby just turned 2, and beyond being deeply grateful 2019 is a year we get to ring in with him despite visions of a somber midnight countdown while I watched him seize on the side of a highway last week, I am equal parts excited and sad that this will probably be the year I climb out of the baby trench for the first time in over a decade.

2019 will very likely be the year that we stop changing diapers, and stop buying them altogether, and the year I breastfeed a baby for the last time. 

When we return from our year+ RV roadtrip adventure and our big kids go back to a traditional school, our oldest will be in 6th grade- Jr. High… or maybe they will call it middle school, and the other 2 will be in 3rd and kindergarten. I will have just a few years left of one little at home with me during the week, and we will be far more concerned about things like peer pressure and puberty and internet safety than we will be about sleep training and pacifier weaning. 

It feels a little like being pregnant for the first time, and knowing my life is about to transform but not really comprehending how. I don’t know how the next volume of MOTHERHOOD is going to go, but I do know that as I make my way through it, I will grow, and I will become a different person.

Some may tell you that motherhood is all about love and learning and growing and giving yourself in ways you didn’t think you’d be capable of. And all of that is true, I think.

But mostly, for me, motherhood is about changing. And so I guess every 8 or 10 or some increment of years I will molt and I will shake off what motherhood once meant, what it needed to mean when I was in that iteration of parenting.

And I will be scared of the new form I will take, and what it will do to my body and my mind, but I will also be excited because maybe this new form of motherhood gives me better eyes to really see my children’s hearts with.

Maybe this new form of motherhood, while slightly shortening my arms because they are no longer needed to hold all 4 children at once, will give me stronger legs to keep up with them as they race faster and faster toward their teenage  and  adult years.

Maybe this new form of motherhood will harden my heart a little so I can withstand the emotional blows of my no-longer-babies learning how to navigate boundaries with someone they know will love them unconditionally.

And maybe this new form of motherhood will help me take back some of the space I once held for me and only me. 

2019 will be a year of change, a year of transformation, and a year of saying goodbye to the mom I needed to be to raise babies. 

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Nothing Prepared Me For My 2 Year Old’s Febrile Seizure
BabiesParenthoodToddlers

Nothing Prepared Me For My 2 Year Old’s Febrile Seizure

by Jill
written by Jill

Trigger warning: This post is about a toddler experiencing a seizure. He is okay, but I’m going to describe some scary things. If that’s too much for you to take in right now, please know I understand and hope you will click away. 

“Mom, the baby is acting… funny.” 

It wasn’t what Leyna said but how she said it that caused concern. We were hauling our RV down the highway, making our way from Charleston, South Carolina to Florida the day after Christmas. It was a long travel day, but Wallace, who just turned two on the 21st (and I hate that I haven’t been able to blog about that yet!) is usually the easiest traveler of the 4. 

He’s still rear-facing, so we rely on Leyna (who will be 8 tomorrow) a lot to give him the things he needs and let us know when he gets fussy. She’s seen him in some moods, you know? And she’s never said he was “acting funny,” especially not with a quizzical tone. 

I reached my hand back and thought I felt him throwing up on himself. He did that in the truck nearly a year ago to the day, and I figured it was a repeat performance. But then I felt him jerk his head forward and back and forward and back. Scott urged me to unbuckle and get eyes on him as he moved across a couple lanes of traffic to find an exit. 

I immediately noticed how rigid Wallace was. It was hard to get him out of the seat because his legs and arms were stuck straight out. He kept lunging forward and back, not making a noise. As I hoisted him over the seat, I saw his eyes rolling back in his head.

It was as horrific as it sounds. We immediately thought he must be choking. Scott grabbed him from me, while also navigating an exit with a 43 foot fifth wheel behind us, laid him on his knee, and began performing the Heimlich.

I… stared at my phone. 

I don’t know what happened. My brain could not figure out how to dial from my iPhone. I think I tried pressing the “keypad” function and it didn’t come up. I can’t remember. I just know that by the time we pulled over on an access road, Scott was shouting, “JILL, WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHAT IS HAPPENING??” While he pounded on our non-responsive toddler’s back over and over with fear in his voice that I have NEVER heard in all the 18 years we’ve been together.

I don’t know if he was asking that in reference to Wallace or in reference to me suddenly finding myself unable to operate my own phone for the simple task of calling 911, but I didn’t waste time asking. As soon as the RV stopped, I jumped out and screamed at the people stopped behind us to help. I feel like I screamed forever until someone finally came out of the car. I’m sure they were super confused as to what was going on, but once they saw Scott appear next to me on the sidewalk with our toddler’s limp body, they ran out with phone in hand. They were already on the line with 911 directing them to our intersection.

At that moment, I turned back to Scott and he said, “He’s breathing. Oh my God. He’s breathing. He opened his eyes. Thank God. He’s going to be okay, Jill.”

He still didn’t look “okay” though. He was totally out of it, not responding, limp. But yes, breathing. 

Scott told me tonight that at that point he breathed a sigh of relief simply because he wasn’t prepared to say goodbye to his baby on the side of a road. That at least the breathing bought us a little more time with him. That “okay” just meant he wasn’t dead. Yet.

We truly thought he was dying.

The fire department arrived first, and fast. Time is hard to mark, but I really think they were there within a minute or two. I walked him down to the intersection to meet them and Scott got back in the truck to pull  the RV into a parking lot nearby. 

Anytime I’m really scared on an airplane, I watch the flight attendants and tell myself I can’t freak out until they do. And this time I watched the calm and collected helpers- the firefighters and the EMTs. They were constantly in communication with me, asking if he’d ever done this before, what his health history was, had he been sick?

Yes. He had a fever the night of his birthday that I thought would turn into an awful flu because Lowell was dealing with it and he had been so sick for a week. Lowell was the one we were worried about. Just two nights before, we debated if we should take him to urgent care because the flu was kicking his ass so hard. 

But Wallace had that one high fever, and then a couple doses of Motrin seemed to set him right. Yeah, he had a runny nose and a cough, but he was full of energy, and his fever never seemed to spike again.

We usually shy away from using fever medication if the fevers aren’t too high and the kids don’t seem bothered by them. That was Wallace. He had a low grade fever off and on from the 21st, and we gave him Motrin mostly at night to help him sleep. By the time the 26th rolled around, it had been 36 hours since we last gave him Motrin and I honestly thought he got lucky and just had a cold, not the flu. Or maybe a mild flu that had passed.

When the EMT explained to me that he was exhibiting classic symptoms of post-seizure, I kinda freaked internally. SEIZURE. That sounds so so scary. Something is wrong with his brain, I thought. She said they wanted to start an IV before they began driving so they could administer meds if he had another one on the way to the hospital. ANOTHER? I couldn’t imagine watching that again.

After about 15 minutes and 3 failed attempts to start a tiny baby IV, she told the driver she felt pretty confident he was going to be ok on the drive there, and that calmed me a lot.  She explained a little to me about febrile seizures, but I kept telling her he hadn’t had a fever in over a day.

In fact, I was just holding him at a rest stop 15 minutes before this all started. He did not feel warm to me at all. 

Here’s the most important thing I learned about febrile seizures- they are brought on by a fever spiking FAST, not necessarily high fevers. So it’s very likely he had a normal temp when I buckled him in the truck and minutes later it began rapidly increasing. 

He was in fleece jammies and fleece lined boots, rear-facing without much air circulation in the back. I do wonder if that played a role. Scott and I are seriously considering turning him forward facing now, and please don’t comment with any kind of car seat evangelism, okay? We know. We will take it all into consideration, knowing that he’s at risk for more seizures in the future.

As we headed to the ER, I asked the EMT “Where are we?” After you’ve been traveling for a year, it’s really easy to lose track of where you are in the country. She told me they picked us up in Pooler, Georgia, and we were on the way to an ER in Savannah.

Pooler, Georgia, thank you. Your people were SO kind to us. By the time the ambulance arrived, there were about 10-15 people waiting with us. Some were checking on me and watching from a distance as the EMTs worked on Wallace, and some were over at the truck, talking to Scott and the kids. 

I found out later in the night that a man had prayed with the kids for Wallace and gave them a $10 bill while he watched them for Scott so he could come talk to me in the ambulance. He asked Scott to please text him an update. A good day in the village, indeed.

The ambulance ride was maybe 15 minutes? I can’t recall, but in that time Wallace went from mostly non-responsive to agitated and awake. I’ve never been so happy to hear him cry. Not even the day of his birth. 

I was able to carry him into the ER and he was totally lucid for all of the nurses to weigh him and check him in, though he didn’t say a word. He cried and was clearly really confused about where he was and how he got there. The rectal temperature check super pissed him off,  but I’m glad our nurse insisted on it. His initial forehead temp reading said 97, but the rectal temp read out 102. 

Is that a thing? Do some kids not get warm foreheads when they are sick? Is that maybe why I didn’t think he had a fever that day?

They did a nose swab to test for the flu, which he also detested and screamed about. Then the Child Life specialist showed up with a goodie bag for him. She asked me at check in what kind of toys he liked, and I told her he was pretty excited about cars and trucks. 

His goodie bag had a soft little teddy bear and a new Hot Wheels. He tossed the teddy bear aside, and his eyes lit up when I pulled the car out. His first coherent word post seizure was “CAR!”

Let me tell you, I will find a way to send all the toy cars to Child Life specialists across this country. Don’t think I’m not emailing my contacts tomorrow at Barbie, owned by Mattel, maker of Hot Wheels. It was MAGIC. That car brought him back to me. I took videos to send to Scott. He told me tonight that those videos of Wallace playing with his car was the first moment he felt like he really was going to be OKAY okay, not just breathing again ok.

So the tests came back, and he was Flu A positive. His 102 fever broke quickly with some Motrin and Tylenol. The doctor told me that basically everyone gets one free pass at having a seizure, especially when they also have a fever and a logical reason for a fever. All signs point to this being a febrile seizure, including the fact that I had febrile seizures as a toddler. 

So we are in watch mode. He got through the first 24 hours without another one, which is a good sign that hopefully it was a random, one-time thing. But he is at risk for more brought on by fever through age 4-5. We will need to be more vigilant about treating his fevers in the future. 

If he has more and they aren’t associated with fevers, then we will do more tests to rule out anything else, like childhood epilepsy. 

The ER doctor (Memorial Health University Medical Center pediatric ER in Savannah, Georgia) said that 6-7% of kids experience febrile seizures. That’s not a large percentage, but it’s certainly enough that it seems to affect more people than you think. Wallace is my 4th baby, and this is the first time something has happened with him that I’ve felt like I had no idea what’s going on.

So I hope by sharing this someone out there may have a frame of reference when this happens to their baby. For as terrifying as it is, it’s actually benign. There are no major complications from febrile seizures, and kids bounce right back from them within an hour usually. 

This is a very insightful Febrile Seizure Fact Sheet by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

If anything, had I even known enough about them to consider  that’s what was happening, I may not have been standing on the side of an access road in Pooler, Georgia, terrified my 2 year old was dying, wondering if I should go tell my other 3 babies to close their eyes, to not watch him die.

24 hours later, Wallace is back to his Danger Baby ways- bouncing off couches and climbing onto counters. We are vigilant about taking his temperature and are giving him anything and everything he asks for. His dinner was nothing but Rolos and BBQ potato chips and I don’t even care. 

It feels slimy to end this post this way, but we are facing a pricey medical bill for an ambulance ride and ER visit on less than stellar self-employed insurance. If you would like to support us, please consider buying my eBook Picture Play (ShopBabyRabies.com). I’ve extended my Christmas sale. Use code HOLIDAYPIX to save $5 off the $19 price. We also have a gift card option if you’d like to gift it to someone else.

Picture Play will teach you how to use your phone and free & cheap apps to take and edit photos you will love, want to print & frame. Over 700 people have bought it in 4 weeks, and it’s getting rave reviews.  I’m very proud of it, and so grateful it can help us pay off these unforeseen medical costs. 

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The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For Nearly Anyone
Fashion & FitnessGift IdeasLifestyleParenthoodReviews

The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For Nearly Anyone

by Jill
written by Jill

Do you have grandparents, aunts and uncles frantically texting you to ask what they should get for your kids for the holidays? What should they get for you, for your partner? Are you totally stumped as to what to gift to your mother-in-law or that cousin you drew for the family gift exchange?

Stitch Fix is an AWESOME last minute holiday gifting option for nearly ANYONE! It’s so easy to gift Stitch Fix to someone by buying a gift card, which you can either print off and wrap or simply email to the recipient. Stitch Fix offers plus size and maternity options for women. There’s also Stitch Fix Men AND now there’s Stitch Fix Kids!

As a parent, if you’re dreading the onslaught of toys, but know your kids could totally use some fresh clothes next season, this is a WIN! They will have the joy of opening the gift of Stitch Fix on Christmas (maybe gift the card along with some stickers or other small trinket), they will get to help you create a fun style profile, and then they can re-live the excitement all over again when their box of clothes arrives.

Photo by Ginger Snaps Pictures

In October, Stitch Fix styled our ENTIRE FAMILY! And not only did it make family photos a breeze since they made sure to coordinate our pieces so that I could easily throw together a cohesive look for all 6 of us, but they also made our fall/winter wardrobe refresh simple. 

Photo by Ginger Snaps Pictures

Keeping 4 growing kids properly clothed is not a small amount of work, especially now that the older kids have actual opinions about what they want to wear and I can’t just grab whatever is cute and on sale at Target and throw it on them. 

Here are some photos of us rocking the pieces they sent us. From winter coats to boots to sweaters- these were all pieces I specifically asked for because we needed cold weather staples. 

I’ve used Stitch Fix for years, even when I was pregnant last time. I LOVED their maternity clothes! Scott has used Stitch Fix Men before. This was the first time we tried their newly launched Stitch Fix Kids service, though, and it was a HUGE hit!

I did an unboxing video with 3 of the 4 kiddos, and their excitement levels are off the charts and adorable.

If you’d like to see everything Scott and I got, we have another unboxing video of just the two of us.

If you’re not familiar with how Stitch Fix works, it goes like this: 

  • You create an account, and then you can add your kids to your account if you’d like.
  • You fill out a style profile for each person, including color and fit preferences, any likes and dislikes, favorite and least favorite colors and patterns, your measurements, body type, and any notes you’d like your stylist to take into consideration before styling you.
  • You pay a small styling fee, which is applied toward anything you decide to keep from your fix, and schedule your fix to arrive.
  • Your stylist consults your profile, any notes you left for them, and even checks out your Pinterest board of ideas (if you link one), and puts together 5 pieces for adults or 10 pieces for kids in your “fix.” 
  • You get your box, try everything on, put whatever doesn’t work for you back into a pre-paid envelope and send it back for free. 
  • You’re only charged for what you keep.
  • If you keep everything, you get a 25% discount off the entire box!

Re: pricing– sure, you can probably get pieces cheaper at Target or on sales racks by shopping yourself. That said, I didn’t think the children’s prices were too much higher than what I’d typically pay at Gymboree or elsewhere, and they are much more affordable with the 25% discount if you keep everything. They send you some brands you probably already know and love. For example, we got shoes from Stride Rite and jeans from Lucky. They also have Stitch Fix exclusive brands. 

And my final bit of advice is to be very, very, very detailed when filling out your style profiles. When giving measurements for your kids, consider sizing up.  I found that most of the pieces they sent the kids were very true to size, bordering on the small end. I wish I would have actually sized up to get more longevity from the pieces, which is how I would shop for them personally anyway. I never buy my kids something in their current size. They grow too fast!

And don’t forget about yourself! Seriously, if your partner is currently begging you to please tell them what to buy for you and you are pretty sure you’re going to get a wrapped end-cap-special from the first store they walk into on 12-23, send them the link to buy you a Stitch Fix gift card! 

Thank you to Stitch Fix for sending our family fixes in exchange for blog and video coverage. All opinions are my own, and links are affiliate.

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Word Of The Year Ideas For Parents
ParenthoodPrintables

Word Of The Year Ideas For Parents

by Jill
written by Jill

Right around the middle of December is when our feeds start filling up with everyone’s end of the year Facebook highlights videos, which literally nobody else will watch except maybe their mothers, and proclamations of what their “word of the year” will be come January 1.

I’ve tried the word of the year. I usually forget about it come February, but maybe that’s just because I’m not really connecting with the words people generally claim for this kind of thing: success, focus, power, growth, joy, inspire, etc. etc. etc.

Maybe I need to set my bar lower. Don’t we all? Aren’t we all consistently trying to live up to the unattainable as parents?

May I suggest some words of the year for your consideration, fellow parents, especially parents of small children:

 

CLEANISH– As in, you strive to keep your home, your car, your children, and your hair clean-ISH- like, at least not a biohazard or oil slick on 4 out of 7 days.

AWAKE– Ideally, you’re awake because you’re well-rested or at least well-caffeinated, and that’s really all we can ask for from 2019.

FED– Your kids are fed, your dog is fed, YOU ARE FED. GOALS, friends. Keep everyone fed, and you are killing the game.

NOPE– Nope is the new YASSS. All that stuff that you immediately scream “NOPE!” to in your head before you open your smiling face and say yes? STOP. THAT. Go back to nope. Stick to nope.

DRESSED– Even with a low bar, this one will still be aspirational for many. Strive to put on pants, but forgive yourself for the days you spend in your PJs. Nobody’s perfect.

HYDRATE– This is mine. My word of the year for 2019 shall be HYDRATE. I thought I was actually dying a couple times in 2018 only because I hadn’t had a sip of water all day. Just drink more water. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but you gotta put these things out in the universe, right?

REAL– In the era of fake news and fake influencers and fake followers, it’s bold and imperative to embrace realness. Do not let the un-reality of others cast a shadow of doubt over your lived, beautiful, imperfect, messy reality- not on or offline.

Click here to download your free Word Of The Year cards printable >>

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Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your Phone
Photography

Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your Phone

by Jill
written by Jill

We got caught in a big snow storm in Virginia this week, and while it was kind of a nightmare to get the RV out of, our kids had such a fun time playing in the GIANT snowflakes. (I’ve never seen them so big and fluffy!)

I remember the first time I took photos of my son in the snow years ago, I was so disappointed that they didn’t look as bright and crisp as I was seeing with my own eyes. But I had no idea how, nor the tools to fix that so they just remained gray and dim. 

Now, I know exactly how to use my favorite apps to make our snow photos look bright and happy, and I’m going to show you how I edited this one, and how you can use these same steps on your own snow photos.

First, I opened the photo in Snapseed and pulled up the Curves tool.

Snapseed is a free app available in the App Store and Google Play.

I pulled my midtones and light tones up, and then dropped only the very darkest tones at the bottom of the curve. This brightened my whites, kept the boys’ skin tones natural, and added depth by darkening the darkest colors.

Confused by curves? I have a whole chapter dedicated to understanding this powerful editing tool in my eBook Picture Play!

When editing your snow photos, try a similar approach of pulling that top 1/3 of the line up just a bit to brighten and whiten the snow. 

Next I opened the Details tool and selected Structure.

I increased Structure by 29 which made the snowflakes stand out more and brought out detail and contrast in their hats and the building behind them.

Structure is a really fun tool to play with to add a little extra magic to your photos!

Next, I wanted to create a bit of a light and airy feel so I opened the Vignette tool.

But instead of creating a dark vignette around my subjects, I created a reverse/bright vignette- meaning I made the outside of the circle brighter than the inside. This draws attention to my subjects, who are still properly exposed- their skin tones look great, they aren’t too washed out or too shadowy. The area outside the vignette is just a little brighter. 

Try this when your subject is mostly surrounded by bright whites and lighter colors!

The white balance looks pretty good to me, but sometimes snow photos can look really blue or cold. So head to the White Balance tool.

I clicked the eye-dropper tool and put my crosshairs over my white snow. It suggests I make it 3 degrees cooler, and I think that looks good.

When you’re using the eye-dropper tool, just be sure to put those crosshairs over anything white or neutral gray in your photo. See how it automatically adjusts for you. If it looks off, try moving it around to another white or gray spot on your photo to see if you can find a better match.

After that, I saved a copy of my photo from Snapseed and headed to A Color Story for a quick filter. There are two in the free Essentials pack that I think will work well with this and many other snow photos. 

A Color Story is a free app with some free features and some in app purchases. It’s available in the App Store and Google Play.

The first is appropriately named Ice Ice. I applied it at about 65%.

Ice Ice is more muted, cool and less saturated than Pop, which is applied below at about 50%. You can really tell the difference between the two when you look at the red in the bricks.

Both are great for clean, crisp edits with bright whites that will play nice with your subject’s skin. (No turning anyone orange!) 

Again, here is the before:

Here are the finals:

Pop

Ice Ice

RECAP: Tips For Editing Photos Of Snow on Your Phone

  • Use your curves tool (both Snapseed and A Color Story have these) to bring up your light tones and midtones by pulling up the top right side of the curves line-  whitening your whites and brightening your subjects’ skin.
  • Play with the Details->Structure tool in Snapseed to increase or decrease detail, contrast, saturation, and clarity.
  • Try a revere vignette in Snapseed by placing the Vignette tool circle over your subject and increasing the outside of the vignette (dragging the slider to the right) and making it brighter instead of darker. 
  • Check your photo’s color temperature with Snapseed’s White Balance tool. Use the eye dropper and select a part of your photo that is or should be white (like your snow) or neutral gray.
  • Try filters in A Color Story-> Essentials pack. These come free with ACS. Two of my favorites for snow are Ice Ice and Pop. Personally, I rarely ever apply filters at 100%. Try pulling it down to 50-60% to see how that works for you.

If you liked this and would like to learn more about how to take and edit photos you will LOVE with only your phone and free/cheap apps, purchase my eBook Picture Play! 
It’s 161 pages of tutorials, examples, and some of my favorite tips for making my own photos pop. It’s a digital download that you will receive immediately. AND IT MAKES A GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT! There is a digital gift card option at checkout. 

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I Wrote An eBook And Here's What People Have To Say About It
Photography

I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is What People Are Saying About It

by Jill
written by Jill

Over the last year, as we’ve been travelling in our RV, I’ve had it in my head that I would write an eBook teaching people techniques for taking and editing photos using only their phones.

Last Friday, that book, Picture Play, officially released to the world and the response has been incredible.

Photography is something I get asked about a lot on the @babyrabies Instagram account and on @happy.loud.life as well. People will ask what camera I’m using and what settings. Most of the time I’m shooting with my iPhone (not even the newest iPhone) and editing with a few apps I’ve fallen in love with over the years.

Sometimes I will post pictures to IG that I took with my DSLR, but even then, I’m bringing it over to my phone to edit. It’s just easier and more effective than busting out Lightroom or Photoshop. Especially on the go.

Related: Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great Photos Even When It’s Dark Outside

Inside Picture Play (delivered to you as a 161-page eBook that you can read on your phone, tablet, or computer) I go over how to take and edit photos using cheap or free apps, in a way that will help you discover your own style so that you can start making your photos look exactly how you want them to look- and bring new life to old photos waiting in the depths of your phone storage.

I Wrote An eBook And Here's What People Have To Say About It

When you purchase Picture Play, you’ll also get access to the exclusive Facebook group where we share our photos, go over edits together, and I share even more advanced techniques and demonstrations.

The eBook already has 20+ amazing reviews over at ShopBabyRabies.com. Here are just a few:

I know life changing seems a little dramatic but I’m so in awe of what this has helped me do. We live in Washington so we often have dark overcast skies and it can be hard to get the right picture. But this taught me about what curves actually were and how to adjust lighting and warm or cool a picture. And now I don’t have to freak out over a rubberband on a wrist because I have learned how to remove it just from this book! – Katie

I highly recommend this book! Everything is broken down and easy to understand. I love that it has actual pictures as examples to walk you through it. I’m always taking pictures of my kids on my phone due to convenience and looking for ways to make them pop later. This is definitely a game changer! It’s great being able to go back to the book as a reference. I’ve been using the book and apps every day since I downloaded them! Great Job Jill! – Kimmy

I’ve always been so impressed with Jill’s photos on her blog and her insta pages, and assumed she used costly programs for editing. Within a few minutes of reading this book, I’ve started making some amazing edits of my own photos! The e-book is beautiful, with easy-to-follow tips and app recommendations. I can’t wait to keep practicing with old and new photos! – Andrea

You don’t need all the fancy equipment to make beautiful edits happen, and when so many of us are relying on just our phones to capture our lives, it really feels like less pressure knowing you can photograph on the go and still make it look amazing.

I wrote more about why and how I wrote Picture Play over at Happy Loud Life if you want to read on. I’ve also shared a coupon code for readers that will be available until December 20, 2018.

Baby Rabies Picture Play eBook | Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On Your Phone Like A Boss

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Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great Photos Even When It’s Dark Outside
Photography

Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great Photos Even When It’s Dark Outside

by Jill
written by Jill

Today I’m sharing an excerpt from my new eBook, Picture Play, coming out November 30th and available for pre-sale at $5 off the regular price. Order your copy at ShopBabyRabies.com. Since it’s the time of year where the days are getting shorter and darker, I wanted to help you find creative light sources in your home! Enjoy!

So, it’s not daylight outside, or you can’t get much sunlight to stream into the room you’re in. Now what? There’s nothing wrong with using other light sources to light your photos. This is a great time to get creative with what those light sources can be.

A well-placed lamp that illuminates your subject can make a beautiful, moody photo. Imagine if I’d turned on the overhead lights for this too. This photo would feel less dramatic and it would have less depth and interest than it does with this single, focused light source.

Just like sunlight, creative lighting is all about where the light comes from in relation to your subject. In this photo, you can see how the lamp is directly behind my head making my face dark, my hair too bright (notice the complete loss of detail in those bright white parts of my hair), and the overall feel of the photo very messy and grainy.

By simply repositioning my phone so that the light source was off to the right side of the frame instead of directly behind me, I was able to light my face properly and even capture some catchlights in my eyes. The shadows and highlights fall naturally across my face and the top of my baby’s head.

With a little editing, I can brighten the photo a bit more.

Here’s a great example of using a lamp to create a silhouette of subjects—very excited subjects who were listening to a hockey game way past bedtime when their favorite team won. The mood and the motion are more important than the subjects’ faces here.

Tip: Your light sources don’t have to be traditional lamps. Consider a TV, a lava lamp, an iPad, or a computer screen.

Sometimes all you need is an open door and lights on in the room next to you. This photo of my daughter and husband at bedtime is lit by an adjacent bathroom with the lights on.

You can still get well-lit photos with incandescent, fluorescent, or LED overhead lighting. A common issue when relying on interior lighting is that your white balance may be off. Do you see how the white bed in this photo is taking on a yellow tint?

That’s a white balance issue. When you have proper white balance, the whites of your photos will appear, well, white. There’s a proper balance of temperature and tint: warm yellows and magentas and cool greens and blues. When this is not balanced, your photo can look more yellow, magenta, blue, or green than the real scene appears to the eye.

There are simple fixes for this we’ll get into later on in the apps section, so don’t stress too much over it now.

Tip: One easy way to deal with white balance AND low light? Convert the photo to black and white. (We’ll get into black and white conversions more in the eBook.)

Many of the indoor photos you take without natural light can still look awesome with just a little brightness and contrast added.

I hope you found these tips helpful! Be sure to pre-order your copy of Picture Play before November 30th so you can save $5 off the regular price! Head over to ShopBabyRabies.com to get your order in today.

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It’s Small Business Saturday And These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Places To Shop
Gift Ideas

It’s Small Business Saturday And These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Places To Shop

by Jill
written by Jill

Today is Small Business Saturday, which means it’s the perfect time to show your love for small businesses in your own neighbourhood, downtown, online, and across the country.

We wanted to share some shops that we think you’ll love just as much as we do– along with some deals to help you save while supporting these amazing families.

Shop White Loft | Beautiful, handcrafted growth charts- BOGO 50% on Nov 24 (check their website for more sales through Nov 26)

Pip & Grow | Their Thanks & Giving Bundle is a $150 value for only $85 this weekend

A Pocket Full Of Posey

Hmschld | Fun apparel and accessories for homeschoolers and lifelong learners- 30% off all orders through Nov 26 with the code FAMILY

Auburn Jewelry | Beautiful jewelry and custom designs (click here to see the one I had made of Arlo’s noseprint!)

Baby Jack & Company | Super soft learning loveys (check their site for holiday sales!)

Brave New World Designs | Stylish, cool, advocacy-oriented t-shirts

The Brave Mama Co. | Awesome tees for mamas (they also do the Zookeeper tee we featured a while back!)

And a HUGE thank you to everyone who has already purchased by new eBook, Picture Play, this week! When you grab it up before November 30th, you’ll save $5 and get an invite to the exclusive Facebook group.

I’ve set a big goal to hit this week and your excitement about this new book has already got us about 1/2 way there- thank YOU for all your support!

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