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      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

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      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

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Baby Rabies

pregnancy & parenting

  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

  • Subscribe

Lifestyle

Where Am I Now? Come Say Hi!
Blogging

Where Am I Now? Come Say Hi!

by Jill May 21, 2019
written by Jill

A couple months ago, I asked if I could come back to this space, but fully me- not just a pregnancy and baby blogger. And you all were so supportive of that move.

And then I didn’t come back and this space just sat here, unchanged.

If you’ve solely been following me on this blog, you might be confused and maybe worried about me? LOL. 

I’m BLOGGING and I’m LOVING IT more than I have in a long time. I just decided to start totally fresh instead of coming back here and trying to turn it into a whole other thing.

Where Am I Now? Come Say Hi!

A dot com name change is actually kinda a GIANT deal, and it would put the money I’m making off the content here on Baby Rabies at risk. My ad network was basically like OMG NO STOP when I told them I was just going to redirect everything to JillKrause.com.

Photo of Jill Krause

So I listened to them because I like paying bills. 

If you didn’t know, now you do- you can find me at JillKrause.com now! And Baby Rabies is totally staying up as is, and I’ll probably keep adding new content here, too. I’ll be promoting both sites on my social channels, so make sure you’ve liked my FB page and you’re following me on Instagram- that’s actually changed to @JillKrau.se now. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by Jill Krause (@jillkrau.se) on May 11, 2019 at 9:50am PDT

Some of my fav. pieces on JillKrause.com have been:
Talking about how I’m managing all this late-30s gray hair
Lots of posts about my anxiety
And even a really open post about abortion and women’s rights

I hope you’ll come find me over there, and also check out my Google Doc! Oh yeah, totally making Google Docs a thing. Read all about how that works here, and find my doc here.

May 21, 2019 4 comments
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Can I Come Home?
LifestyleParenthood

Can I Come Home?

by Jill March 7, 2019
written by Jill

Can I Come Home

A couple years ago, when we decided to sell our house and head out for a year+ trip around the country in an RV with our 4 kids, I planned to transform this space into a hub for pregnant mommas to come, and hoped to take our personal story to another platform- Happy Loud Life. It was a business decision- I’d have two streams of income and two more narrow niches to work with brands on. It was also a personal decision. After my first baby turned one, and with no plans of having more babies, I just felt stuck here in this space that’s always been, mostly, about my life pregnant or with babies.Baby Rabies is a weird name to become linked to when you think about it. I get looks and laughter when I tell people I write a blog called Baby Rabies. I have to explain it all the time. Brands have refused to work with me because it’s “off color.” And yet, it’s memorable. It stuck. It’s funny. People who know me get it. People who don’t? The confusion can get tiresome. 

More and more, this space didn’t feel like home, but the problem was the other space didn’t either. And the last year, as we moved around the country in an RV, I felt just as transient online.

I didn’t have the time to turn this space into something like Scary Mommy with contributors- not in a way that felt authentic and in a way I would have full control over. And I didn’t know what part of my story to tell on Happy Loud Life. Were we just an RV blog? Were we travel bloggers? Where could I write about the swimsuit I found and loved? Where could I write about my mental health struggles that were brought on by the stress of freelance and growing a businesses and not pregnancy this time?

So I’m doing something wild and I’m listening to my gut- it’s been screaming at me about this for years and I just refused to pay it any attention until now. 

I’m saying goodbye to Baby Rabies. I’ll own the trademark and will set up redirects and nothing will happen to the old content. It’s going to be a whole lot of work, but I’ve hired a team to help me and we’ve hit the ground running. 

When everyone is advising to niche down online, I’m going to expand this place. I’m not going to stop talking about parenting, from toddlers to parenting tweens and (eventually) teens. I’m just also not going to stop myself from talking about other things here, too- like photography, travel, and home renovations we’ll likely be starting up when we get back into a house, and anything else I find personally important. Me and my wandering through the phases of my life- that’s my new niche. That’s what you’ll find here.

Like I said, there’s a lot of work to be done, and I’m still figuring out what to do with all my digital spaces. I’ll update you along the way, for sure. I hope you’ll stick around, and I appreciate you riding it out with me while I was lost in transition over the last 18ish months. I am confident this will be a wholly positive move for me, for my content, and for my connection with all of you- especially those of you who are right there with me in this weird spot as we say goodbye to being the moms we needed to be to raise babies. 

I’m genuinely thankful for the conversations that sparked after I shared a rude comment left on my last post about Disney World. I realized that there are a lot of people who are here for the long-term, who are experiencing their own version of an identity crisis, who are excited to hear about anything I’m excited to share. That was the push I needed to feel like it’s going to be okay to let go of Baby Rabies and move on.

I’m @JillKrau.se on IG now. If you already following me as @BabyRabies, then no worries! I just changed that account name. If you’re not, I’d love if you’d follow me now. I’m not done sharing on @Happy.Loud.Life, but as our RV adventure comes to a close, I think it will make sense to move most of that story back to one IG account. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by Jill Krause (@jillkrau.se) on Mar 3, 2019 at 4:20pm PST

The dot com hasn’t changed here yet. Baby Rabies will be phasing out over the next month-ish and my new home will be JillKrause.com. But I am going to start treating this place like the home I want it to be right away. So I have a ton of Disney content that I’m going to get up soon, but fear not! This is not becoming a “Disney blog.” It’s just becoming Jill Krause’s blog. Again. 

March 7, 2019 30 comments
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One Of My Favorite Travel Apps Just Got Better For Families!
TechTravel

One Of My Favorite Travel Apps Just Got Better For Families!

by Jill February 14, 2019
written by Jill

I can’t stop procrastinating, and that’s ok! I’m done guilting myself over it. It’s how I operate and honestly procrastination has it’s perks sometimes.

There are even companies completely dedicated to living that last-minute life, like HotelTonight. The longer you wait to book a hotel room through their app, the more you save! That means you are right on time to book something for tonight, and even this coming weekend. You can use the app to book hotels for future dates, too.

We had a chance to take a very last minute trip to Fort Lauderdale last weekend and got to hop on over to the Everglades. 

I’ve worked with HotelTonight a few times before, and they are sponsoring this post, too. You know a brand is awesome when we team up long-term, you guys.

In the past, though, I had to be careful about messaging, only promoting their last-minute hotel reservation app as an option for a solo or couples getaway or staycation because the app didn’t have the option to book multiple rooms at one time for larger groups or families. 

THAT ALL CHANGED! HotelTonight is now an incredible option for last-minute-lifers who want to book rooms for their whole family or big group! This is a brand new update. 

On the iOS app, you can book up to 4 rooms in a single booking. Just open the customized search menu located on the top of the screen and select the number of rooms you’d like to book. If you’d like more than 2 people to stay in a room, that’s still up to the discretion of the hotel and could be subject to additional fees. I’d call just to be sure. 

In Fort Lauderdale, we stayed at the Pelican Grand Beach Resort in two rooms. It was boys vs. girls!If you’d like to save $25 off your next HotelTonight booking, use my referral code JIKRAUSE.

The two rooms were not connected, but we did manage to get on the same floor with just one room separating us, and that room wasn’t occupied. It was being renovated.

When you book more than room, it will note in your reservation, but it’s best to call the hotel ahead of time or a HotelTonight rep to ask that they work to get your rooms next to each other. 

Leyna was not complaining about the silence and solitude in our suite. We kept all the clothes and toiletries and general mess in the boys room so our room really felt like a quiet escape at the end of the day.

I love this option for larger groups just as much as I love it for solo or couples getaways and staycations. HotelTonight partners with hotels at a variety of levels- from basic to super luxe. I always discover quirky boutique hotels in great locations through their app, but you also have the big brand chains to choose from, too. 

If you haven’t downloaded the HotelTonight app, be sure you do that. It’s free and even when I’m not planning to escape somewhere that night (though the idea is always tempting), I love to see what their Daily Drop is.  This feature offers up to 30% off HT’s already low prices, but the catch is after you swipe you only have 15 minutes to book it. Sometimes it’s SO good that I want to make up an excuse to get away.

Thank you to HotelTonight for sponsoring this post. If you’d like to save $25 off your next HotelTonight booking, use my referral code JIKRAUSE.

February 14, 2019 2 comments
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My Favorite SIMPLE Organization System
LifestyleParenthood

My Favorite SIMPLE Organization System

by Jill January 4, 2019
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.

January 4, 2019 0 comment
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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 December 19, 2018
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.

December 19, 2018 2 comments
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25 Movies To Watch With Your Kids This Halloween
Entertaining

25 Movies To Watch With Your Kids This Halloween

by Désirée October 31, 2018
written by Désirée

Looking for a movie idea to watch after the trick-or-treaters have settled in to sort (and eat??) their candy tonight?

We asked our readers to share their favorite movies (and shows) that they love watching with their kids around Halloween, so we could put them altogether for you here.

A lot of these choices are available on Amazon Prime (woo!) so we’ve linked them up, but you will find some of these on Netflix and iTunes too! Also, some of these are for older kids- but we’ve tried to share as many that will work for the whole family. Save Beetlejuice for a bit later. 😉

25 Movies To Watch With Your Kids This Halloween

25 Movies To Watch With Your Kids This Halloween

  1. Hocus Pocus
  2. Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest
  3. Halloweentown
  4. It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
  5. The Nightmare Before Christmas
  6. ZOMBIES
  7. Garfield’s Halloween Adventure
  8. Room on the Broom
  9. Hotel Transylvania (all of them!)
  10. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
  11. The Witches
  12. Beetlejuice
  13. Casper
  14. Spookley the Square Pumpkin
  15. Book of Life
  16. The Addams Family
  17. Alvin & The Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein
  18. Shrek’s Thrilling Tales
  19. Ghostbusters
  20. Mickey’s House of Villains
  21. Frankenweenie
  22. Coco
  23. Pocoyo Halloween
  24. Ernest Scared Stupid
  25. Monster House

Do you have any more favorite Halloween-ish movies you love to watch each year? Comment below! Happy Halloween!

This post contains affiliate links.

October 31, 2018 1 comment
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8 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes For Kids
Crafty!

8 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes For Kids

by Désirée October 25, 2018
written by Désirée

Looking for a cute (and easy to make) Halloween costume for your kid this year?

We’ve got your back.

Keep reading for a collection of our favourite DIY Halloween costumes that anyone can make… Even if you’re not the Queen or King of DIY.

8 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes For Kids

Pin your faves and make sure to click through for more info on each costume!


Black Bat Costume from 5 Minutes for Mom


Baby Mummy Costume from Small Fry


Skein of Yarn Costume from Dukes & Duchesses


Baby Cow Costume from Make It and Love It


Scuba Diver Costume from Delineate Your Dwelling


Flower Costume from Your Wishcake


Snail Costume from Oh Happy Day


Pineapple Costume from Delia Creates

BONUS: If you have a costume that needs a pair of ears, you can make pretty much ANY type with this simple no-sew animal ears how-to from 5 Minutes for Mom.

You can also reuse these costumes as dress-up clothes for the rest of the year! Toss them in a plastic storage tote or hang them where kids can reach for playtime. Totally worth it! Happy Halloween!

October 25, 2018 0 comment
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A Free Nursery Art Print For Anyone Who Is Obsessed With Fall
Home Decor & DIY

A Free Nursery Art Print For Anyone Who Is Obsessed With Fall

by Désirée September 23, 2018
written by Désirée

If you’re having a baby this fall, or if you just LOVE this season as much as we do, consider this printable our little gift to you for surviving another summer. Or making it to the final days of your pregnancy!

This art print will look amazing up in your nursery, or maybe in your home office, or entryway. You can frame it, or print as is (looks great on a thicker card stock) and mount it on a clipboard for a super quick update to any room in your house.

Related: Thom The Turkey Tulle Wreath Tutorial

You can download both versions for free and print them however you like. The recommended size is your average 8.5 x 11, but you can resize or crop it to fit a frame that you love. When you print, click “fit to page” for the best results.

Download your free Hello, Autumn art print below:

Black and white “Hello, Autumn” art print- click to download
Watercolor “Hello, Autumn” art print- click to download

A few more DIYs for fall:

  • The Turkey Wreath Gets Sophisticated
  • Bixby The Black Cat Halloween Wreath Tutorial
  • Spray Paint Grapevine Wreaths For A Modern Update
September 23, 2018 0 comment
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If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage Trucks, They’ll Love These
Baby Rabies FavesReviewsSchool Age DaysToddlers

If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage Trucks, They’ll Love These

by Jill August 13, 2018
written by Jill

Lowell, my 5 year old, has been obsessed with wheels since he could sit up. He was pushing trucks before he could crawl.

OMG it’s now been 45 minutes since I started writing this post because I just fell down a rabbit hole looking at widdle LoLo pictures! 

He quickly gravitated to construction and digging and building and trash-hauling toys, and has been playing with them for a solid 4 years and still going. I feel I’m an expert at having a construction and garbage truck obsessed kiddo now, so I’ve got some opinions to share with those of you with a child in your life into these things. They’re going to love all of this!

Links may be affiliate links. Please see our disclosure page for more details.

TOYS

The metal Tonka dump truck will last forever and live up to anything they can throw in it or at it. We have two- the Tonka Classic Steel Mighty Dump Truck is a bit smaller (though still pretty big), but kept Lowell occupied for years. He actually picked it out for his first birthday!

We only recently added the Tonka Toughest Mighty Dump Truck when his grandpa found an old one in a barn, cleaned it up and gave it to him. It’s seen some use and it’s STILL going strong. I’d spend the money on a new one if this one disappeared.

A post shared by Jill Krause — RV Family Travel (@happy.loud.life) on Jun 11, 2018 at 11:40am PDT

We’ve had some luck with some of the other Tonka Classic Steel toys, but many of them are mostly plastic, and with such high price points, it’s disappointing when those plastic pieces break.

But plastic toys have their place, and we have bought THIS SET of Caterpillar Mini Machines probably 5 times in 3 years. Not because they break easily (they are pretty tough), but because he hoards them. He requests these often when he’s allowed to pick a reward from the toy aisle. They are his water toys and dirt toys. He packs them  in his backpack for overnights at NaNa’s,  and I used to have to stop him from sneaking them to Mother’s Day Out.  You can buy them on Amazon for less than $13, but we also regularly picked them up at Target for closer to $10.

SHOWS

We are all SO EXCITED for TOMORROW’S  (August 14th, 2018) launch of season 3 of The Stinky & Dirty Show on Amazon Prime Video! It’s a show about a garbage truck (Stinky) and a backhoe (Dirty) and their adventures that come from asking “What if?” We came for the adorable animation and stayed for the awesome message about success and growth from failure.

Fun fact: Jessica Lahey, author of The Gift Of Failure: How The Best Parents Learn To Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed (it’s SO good, read this if you haven’t yet), consults for the show.

I strongly feel that giving our kids permission to fail and even celebrating their failures is so important, so I love that this show is not just Lowell’s favorite, but one that even the big kids will watch.

We now call all these construction and digging and trash-hauling things MIGHTY MACHINES because of the show that used to be on Netflix. (It looks like it’s not on there anymore, which is such a shame! It was our best babysitter for almost a year.) The concept of the show is they follow around these mighty machines doing what they normally do- picking up trash, digging ditches, planting fields, etc. And all of the machines have voices. The narration is pretty cheesy sometimes, but it’s cute and definitely educational.

If you’d still like to watch full episodes online, you can find some on YouTube. I recommend the YouTube Kids interface for safe(er) YouTube watching for kids, but I also think YouTube Kids needs adult supervision.

You can see more of Lowell’s construction-themed 4th birthday party, complete with lots of simple and quick DIYs here.

We wound up buying a Mighty Machines DVD for Lowell’s birthday last year, and it’s one of his favorite shows to zone out to when he needs some chill-out time.

BOOKS

When we moved into our RV for our year-long American road trip, we had to scale way back on books, but we were able to pack all of our very favorites. Every one of these made the cut.

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site


And Where Do Diggers Sleep At Night are two popular bedtime books in our family.

If you have toddlers, I highly recommend getting the board book version of each so they can “help” turn the pages.

We have been Anna Dewdney fans since our oldest was a baby when we fell in love with her Llama Llama book series. Sadly, Dewdney passed away in 2016 from brain cancer, but her book Little Excavator was already in production and was released in 2017.

Just like her Llama Llama books, it’s a fun and catchy book to read, and the message is all about how being small doesn’t have to mean you can’t do special things.

This isn’t a comprehensive list of all the machine toys and books and shows Lowell has loved and still plays with, but these are some solid favorites. I hope I get to come back and add one more thing to this list soon- DIGGERLAND! We have plans to hit it up in 2-3 months when we make our way over to New Jersey.

Have you been to Diggerland? Any tips? Also, chime in with what YOUR machine-loving kiddo loves! I’m always on the lookout for new bribes  rewards.

August 13, 2018 12 comments
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The Perfect Tee For Moms Who Feel Like They Live In A Zoo
Baby Rabies FavesFashion & FitnessParenthood

The Perfect Tee For Moms Who Feel Like They Live In A Zoo

by Désirée July 27, 2018
written by Désirée

If you’ve ever uttered the phrase “THIS PLACE IS A ZOO!”, you might want to add this Zookeeper Tee from The Brave Mama Co. to your wardrobe.

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What’s in your mom survival kit? ??comfy tee ??yoga pants ??toddler chasing shoes ??dry shampoo (#batiste is my fave) ??mascara ??concealer (for those designer bags under my eyes) ??coffee ?? (cuz…those bags ??) ??most importantly, the word (because this mama can’t do it without Him!)

A post shared by The Brave Mama Co • Haley (@thebravemamaco) on Feb 6, 2018 at 3:47pm PST

The description on their shop reads: “Motherhood is crazy but its best done with a sense of humor!”

Yup. Sounds about right! 😉

We also love this tee and this one.

Images via thebravemamaco.com and @thebravemamaco

July 27, 2018 0 comment
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