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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

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apps

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 1 comment
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Consider This, Moms: A Solo Staycation For Mother’s Day Or Any Day
ParenthoodTravel

Consider This, Moms: A Solo Staycation For Mother’s Day Or Any Day

by Jill May 9, 2018
written by Jill

You know we sold our house last year and decided to travel fulltime in an RV with our 4 kids because we thought that would make our life… easier? Or… I don’t really know what we were thinking, but I do know I was fully intending on writing MORE here, not less. And hopefully I will soon.

Read on if you are looking for THE BEST last minute Mother’s Day gift for yourself or someone else! 

It’s just that this lifestyle has a pretty steep learning curve and the first 5 months (OMG almost half a year already!) have flown by and we are just now feeling like we finally have things figured out. That’s really just another way of saying LIFE HAS BEEN STRESSFUL. (And glorious and beautiful and amazing, but very stressful.)

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May 9, 2018 5 comments
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What To Do When You Get Tired Of Staring At Your Baby- WeeSchool
BabiesToddlers

What To Do When You Get Tired Of Staring At Your Baby- WeeSchool

by Jill February 27, 2017
written by Jill

Update: The WeeSchool app is now FREE! It is also now available on Google Play for Android as well as in the App Store for iOS.

I took my first baby to baby classes 3 times a week until he was 2. I learned developmentally appropriate songs to sing to him and games to play with him, and I had someone who was trained in child development there to tell me what milestones to look for as he grew.

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February 27, 2017 0 comment
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5 Things I’m Loving This Cyber Monday
BabiesLifestyleTech

5 Things I’m Loving This Cyber Monday

by Jill November 28, 2016
written by Jill

The turkey is officially all gone at our house, thanks to a giant pot of turkey soup I made for dinner last night. (It’s just chicken soup, but with turkey because I am super creative.)  The trees are up. The toddler is sneaking candy canes every chance he gets. Joy! Merry! Bring on the holidays!

So while I’m in holiday prep/nesting mode, I thought I’d share a few things I’m loving right now that you might love, too.

1. First, the Santa’s Bag app is rocking my Christmas list right now, while also holding me accountable to a budget.

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I love that it’s so easy to add gift ideas for each person, then mark them as purchased, wrapped, given, and even allows you to add a note about where it’s stored! How many gifts have I forgotten I’ve purchased until I randomly find them the next year? It’s embarrassing. Only thing to be careful about is there doesn’t seem to be a password function, so prying eyes may be able to easily access all this info if they know how to work their way around your phone.

2. Another great app that I’m checking a lot right now is the Slickdeals app (it’s also on Google Play). Even if you just check the “Frontpage” a few times a day, you’re going to find some really great deals. Be sure to read the comments. You can learn a lot about a deal and if it’s a good fit for what you need.  The biggest con to having this app is the urge to buy stuff just because it’s such a great sale. Related: I’m using an app that holds me to a budget this year.

3. We are about 3 weeks-ish out from baby’s arrival, so it’s this weird place where I don’t want to send out holiday cards before he comes. Plus, I don’t want to stress about birth announcements in addition to holiday cards. I’ve worked with Minted a lot over the years, and they are stepping in to save the day again, this time with combo holiday/birth announcement cards! Here are a few designs I’m currently considering…

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Ideally, I’ll have all my addresses updated in the Address Assistant by the time baby gets here. Then all I have to do is upload our pictures as soon as I have them, and Minted will print the cards AND the envelopes, complete with addresses. Recipient addressing is free! All we’ll have to do is stuff, seal, and stamp. I’m hoping I can pay the kids to do that part.

If you’re in the market for holiday cards still, or anything that Minted sells (and they sell SO much beautiful stuff), their Cyber Monday deal is 20% off EVERYTHING with code CM2016.

4. One of the best stocking stuffers I ever got for Scott was a gift card to Dollar Shave Club. They aren’t having any big CM deals that I can find, but if you’re as stumped as I am about what to put in your partner’s stocking (and this is also EXCELLENT for women, too- I exclusively use their razors), get you one of these.

5. Finally, if you want to get a head start on Giving Tuesday (which is tomorrow) and still want to take advantage of come Cyber Monday free shipping, check out the St. Jude Gift Book. You may remember I got to visit St. Jude Children’s Hospital earlier this year. It was an eye-opening experience in so many ways, and I truly think they are a worthy cause to support.

You can view their gift book here:

And order online here.

They have so much, from cute coffee mugs and t-shirts, to aprons and home decor. And a portion of every sale goes straight to St. Jude.

This Maya Angelou Inspirational Lantern is one of my very favorite pieces.

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Okay, gotta go! To Target! Did you know you get 15% off storewide there today? (A few exclusions apply.) I saved SO much money yesterday, but forgot a few things we…er… need. Yeah, we need them. We need them more than I need to clean this house. Promise.

November 28, 2016 2 comments
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Make Reading Less Scary
ParenthoodSchool Age DaysTech

Make Reading Less Scary

by Jill October 26, 2015
written by Jill

HomeTeam by Panasonic is sponsoring this today to introduce you all to their Make Reading Less Scary campaign and something I KNOW you’re going to love that you can try for free (no credit card needed!) for 30 days. 

Scott travels for work pretty frequently, and the weeks always go the same way. On Monday, I’m a total rock star. The house is clean, the kids get a homemade meal, story time, and I enjoy wine in silence while watching some RomCom after bedtime.

But by Wednesday? I’ve given up on anything other than keeping the kids alive. FORGET story time. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Sorry, kids. We’re going to count that 3 hours of TV I let you watch tonight while I tried to catch up on dishes and deadlines as your “bedtime story.”

Reading to 3 kids can be scary for me those nights. Mostly because I’m afraid I’ll never get to sleep, and I am just plain tired at that point.

Scott always says to me he wishes he could help out from afar, which we both know is impossible, but it’s the thought that counts, I guess.

Except now? Oh, he actually can. (Be careful what you wish for! Muwhahhahahahaha!)

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Because now I can send the bigs to their rooms with their tablets, and he can do the reading for me while I rock Lowell and read to him. Yup, no matter where he is, as long as he has a computer or tablet with him and wifi, he can read to them or play games with them using HomeTeam from Panasonic. 

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“Technology doesn’t have to mean the end of quality family time. HomeTeam was designed to improve social health and promote family connectivity. As a video chat service that lets families separated by distance play games or read together all on the same screen, HomeTeam is bringing families together over thousands of books ands games for kids ages 3-12.” – MakeReadingLessScary.com

This is beyond just him reading a book over  video chat. They can actually scroll through the HomeTeam library together, select a title, and then read it right there on the screen, either with video enabled, or just the microphone.

Screen Shot 2015-10-24 at 3.36.47 PM

Some of the Halloween themed titles. So fun!

The app is available in Google Play and the App Store, but you can also access HomeTeam from a Mac or PC, so no need for anyone or everyone to have a tablet to participate!

We have it easy when it comes to parents being gone for work. Scott and I are never gone for more than a week (maybe 2) at a time. But how great is this for families that miss out on seeing parents or even grandparents for long periods of time?!

And how many times have you tried to have a conversation on the phone or FaceTime with your kid and they don’t really know what to say?

Reading starts conversations, leads to natural questions, and helps kids open up.

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Not to mention, you can play age appropriate games together on HomeTeam, too!

Registration is quick, and inviting friends and family members to join your team is easy. You can add up to 5 people on one family account, and it’s FREE for the first 30 days. You don’t even need a credit card to sign up and give it a try.

After that, it’s just $8.99/month (up to 5 family members). When you think of all the books you have access to in their library alone, that’s a pretty great deal.

Make reading less scary in time for Halloween for the kids AND you. I hear grandparents may be willing to join in the fun and read bedtime stories while you “check” the candy.

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October 26, 2015 1 comment
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