Mess-Free Play for Traveling with Kids

One of the biggest things we put a lot of thought into when traveling with our kids is what to pack to keep the kids entertained. No matter their age, toys are a must for kids. Whenever we take a road trip, it’s easier because we can bring more…but during our recent flight in April, I had to rethink what to bring based on getting through security and having minimal space.

It was trickier, but we did it. You may have to get more creative with what you bring, but there are still plenty of mess-free toy options to keep the kids happy! Here’s my top list of our favorite mess-free toys for traveling!

Moldable Clay

My son loves playing with magnetic sand, Play-Doh, and molding clay. While the sand is his favorite, I knew we could travel with it because of the mess. So we opted to bring our moldable clay. He can still build and shape it, but it doesn’t crumble and leave a giant mess everywhere.

Magnetic Toys

Magnetic puzzles, books, or character story boards are another great option for kids who want to play with multiple pieces, but you don’t want to constantly be losing them. I’ve also heard of someone who took a cookie sheet pan to have her kids play with magnets on so they didn’t fall.

Window Cling-On Decals

There are so many great reusable sticker/window cling-on options these days. I’ve even gotten some at the dollar store. You could get some books or just the window cling-on decals/stickers, and the kids can play with them on car windows and/or airplane windows.

Fidget Toys

The current obsession with little fidget toys like the spinners, poppers, etc. is another great option to keep your kids entertained and in one spot, mess-free.

Writing Tablets

Probably our favorite mess-free toy options are the erasable writing tablets. Both of my kids love drawing and coloring and could do it all day. These tablets are great because they can draw and erase and draw again over and over. You can also play games on them like tic-tac-toe, hangman, etc. So many options for ways to use them. No more crayon or marker mess. My kids used these on every flight and layover we had during our trip in April. We don’t go on a trip without them!

I hope these tips help to keep your little ones entertained during long travels and keep you sane with no messes! Do you have any other mess-free play ideas for traveling that I didn’t mention? Let me know in the comments below!

8 Benefits of Baby Wearing

I have always loved baby wearing. With my daughter, I just liked having her close, but as I had more kids, it became more essential so that I could get stuff done and still spend quality time with each of my kids. My youngest has been my biggest baby-wearing fan–he is obsessed!

Baby wearing is popular for many reasons. And there are different reasons why you may choose to do it. It is good for a baby’s physical and mental development and health in many ways…some that I only recently learned. So I wanted to share what I have learned with you. These are my top reasons why baby wearing can benefit not only your baby but also you!

Being Hands-Free

The biggest reason for me when it comes to baby wearing is having your hands free! If you have a baby who is clingy, or older children that need your help, having your hands free to do other tasks is a huge plus! My littlest guy takes a regular morning nap in the carrier while I clean and get stuff done around the house.

Bonding

Baby wearing builds that bond with your baby. You can easily talk or sing to your baby. You get extra snuggles, and they get the extra time with you even when you are busy.

Security for Baby

Your baby will feel more secure and safe when snug against you in a baby carrier. Think about it: they are snug against you for 9 months and are used to hearing your voice and heartbeat. Being able to do that again after they are born into the world brings an added security for them.

Peace of Mind for Mom

Along with security for the baby, baby wearing also gives mom peace of mind. When I have a newborn, I am more anxious and constantly checking if they are breathing. Baby wearing gives me a sense of relief because I can easily check if the baby is breathing when they are on my chest.

Out of Reach for Others

Baby wearing is great if you want to keep strangers or people from trying to touch/hold the baby when out and about. With my youngest, I wear him in a carrier often, especially when I don’t want people touching or spreading germs to him. You can easily cover baby and/or move away if people get too close to baby.

Reflux & Gas Relief

Baby wearing is also known to help babies with reflux, gas, and colic relief. Being in the upright position helps baby get burps out easier, which helps prevent gas buildup in the belly.

Regulate Functions

Holding baby close helps them regulate their breathing, temperature, and heart rate. Studies have also shown babies who are routinely carried cry less and are generally happier.

Can Help with Breastfeeding

If you are a breastfeeding mom, baby wearing can help with that in a couple of ways. The hormones released when moms hold their babies close trigger milk release (let-down). Having that close physical contact with your baby can help with milk production and help you learn your baby’s hunger cues up close. Women who baby wear are twice as likely to successfully breastfeed.

The ease of use when it comes to baby wearing should be enough to convince you to give it a try. Baby wearing when I travel is a lifesaver for me–especially when flying! What is your biggest reason to baby wear? Let me know in the comments below!

How to Prepare Your Body for Labor

Labor and delivery is a very exciting time, but it can also be a very stressful and overwhelming time. It is true what they say: “you don’t know what you don’t know”, meaning you can’t fully prepare or know what to expect until you’ve been through it. And while you can never 100% prepare or know what will happen (because anything can happen), there are ways to help prepare your body for it ahead of time.

With my first pregnancy, I tried to read and research different ways to help prepare my body for labor early on. I wanted to do my best to be ready for the task of birthing a child. While every person and pregnancy is different, these are the things I still do every pregnancy that I think contribute to a smoother delivery for me.

Exercise

The biggest one for me is exercise. Just moving your body can be a huge help! It doesn’t have to be anything too crazy either. Squats and lunges are great for helping your body prepare for birth. Swimming is great for exercise and alleviating the weight of your body. Even just walking is good for you. My personal go-to is yoga. It is more relaxed but still gets the job done. It’s easy to modify when needed to accommodate your growing belly, and you can do pregnancy/labor specific routines too. In all three of my pregnancies, I walked/chased kids around and did yoga regularly.

Hydration

It might not seem important, but anyone who has ever been pregnant knows hydration is very important during pregnancy. Staying hydrated helps both mom and baby and can help prevent preterm labor. I carry around a water bottle all day. If you need help drinking more water, try out a bottle that has time stamps on it to make sure you are drinking it throughout the day based on the times. Another of my favorites is to simply add cucumbers or fruit to the water for when you want something with taste.

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

In my research for labor prep, I came across red raspberry leaf tea. I love tea, so it was an easy thing for me to try with my first. Studies have shown drinking red raspberry leaf tea during pregnancy can help make labor faster and reduce complications and interventions during birth. I personally have drunk it for all 3 of my pregnancies. I start taking it in the third trimester (1 cup a day until 32 weeks, and then I increase it to 2 cups a day). If you are unsure or have any questions, ask your doctor about it.

Yoga Ball

Another thing I take up in my 3rd trimester is my yoga ball exercises. I try to sit and do hip circles, slight bouncing, rocking back and forth, etc., a little bit every day. It will not make you go into labor, but it will help your body prepare for labor, and it is also good to help the baby get into the optimal head-down birthing position.

Bonus Tips:

Two other tips I have heard can help (but I have personally never tried) are perineal massages to help prevent tearing and also eating dates at the end of pregnancy.

With my first two babies, I had 2nd-degree and then 1st-degree tearing. With my 3rd, I didn’t tear at all, and he was my biggest baby. These are the methods I used to help prepare my body each time. Just keep in mind every person and pregnancy is different. There is no guarantee of an easy and tear-free childbirth. But my philosophy is that it doesn’t hurt, and anything is better than nothing when it comes to labor prep! If you have any other suggestions that I didn’t mention above, comment below!

5 Ways edTonomy Helps Homeschool Moms

This blog post was sponsored by edTonomy. All opinions are my own.

As many of you know, I am a new homeschool mom. My kids are just wrapping up kindergarten and preschool at home this past year. I come from a homeschool family and was homeschooled myself my whole life. When I was younger, I never thought I would homeschool, mainly because I’m not big into teaching and didn’t think I’d want to attempt it. However, once I had my own kids, I decided I did want to homeschool them.

Homeschooling can seem daunting and overwhelming when you don’t come from a teacher background. I want to make sure I am doing everything right for my kids and that they are learning all they need to know, a task I know will get harder as they get older. So as a new homeschooling mom, I am always looking for ways to help with our studies and homeschool life.

I recently came across edTonomy – a new software made by a former teacher to help teachers and homeschooling moms. It officially launches May 1st. But I wanted to share with you what you can expect and how it is helping change my homeschooling game. Every little bit helps, and this program is definitely that: a help! Check out the top 5 ways edTonomy can also help you on your homeschooling journey!

1. Ease of Use

edTonomy’s program is simple to use and navigate, which in a world that is big on technology is a huge plus for me! It is easy to figure out, play around with, and put to use. This is reflected in their mission, which is also simple: to help teachers. It was designed by a former 5th-grade teacher, keeping teachers at the forefront. They believe teachers are also entrepreneurs. They want to help empower teachers with the tools to launch, manage, and scale their private educational businesses, side-hustles, or homeschooling journeys. I have no formal teaching background but have a strong desire to learn and teach my children at home. edTonomy is a huge help with that and aids in my personal schooling goals at home. After all, teachers are their first and last, so they are here to help.

2. Organization

Do you struggle to keep all lesson plans in order for multiple kids or different courses? edTonomy’s Planbook helps to keep things simple and all in one place for organization. It is a customizable calendar to keep track of daily and weekly lessons. You can easily keep track of progress all in one place. You can add family vacations and holidays, days off, or special activities like field trips, etc. If you’re not sure if you have done all lessons for the week, simply take a look and check it off. It is my favorite feature to help make sure I stay on track for the year with my kids.

3) Invoicing/Billing

If you are a part of a co-op as a teacher and/or run a private side hustle with your teaching services and need help, edTonomy has got you covered! The Booking Page simplifies registration, promotion, and payments/fees. Homeschool leaders can extend their reach and start learning pods, clubs, or groups with their personal Homeschool Booking Page. You can create classes, camps, holiday events, groups, drop-ins, parent meetings, or social meetups and make them available for public registration. You can share your booking page links with local homeschool groups across social media. You can charge for events or keep them free and customize how you charge (per event, per class hour or class package, per student, per student group). It is such a great tool that I’m sure I will need in the future.

4) Contacts

The Contacts setting is another useful tool to help keep co-op, classes, pods, etc. straight. You can add students, parents, and/or other leads. Keep all your fellow homeschool friend contacts in one place. You can also schedule conferences, etc.

5) Community

You’ve heard it takes a village…and that is true even in homeschooling. The goal of edTonomy is not only to build a software tool but to also build a community of like-minded individuals to support and empower each other. You can join edTonomy’s community on Facebook: Teachers as Entrepreneurs – Start Your Own Private Practice and get connected with fellow teachers/homeschooling moms.

edTonomy launches on May 1st! Sign up now for the waitlist here to get early bird promos and be the first to know all about the launch on May 1st! Learn more about edTonomy now on their website here; follow along on their socials: @edtonomy on Instagram & edTonomy for Teachers on Facebook!

Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle

On our recent trip to Seattle, our friends were eager to do a zoo day for the kids. With how much our kids love animals, we knew it would be a good fit. So we decided to check out Woodland Park Zoo.

Nestled in the middle of housing, the zoo seems a bit out of place as you arrive. But don’t let that fool you…this zoo is big! Plenty of walking to be done and animals to see once inside. They also offer a gift shop (we weren’t able to go because we stayed until closing and ran out of time…but we did get our zoo smooshed penny souvenir) and restaurants throughout the zoo. Many of the restaurants were closed at the time we walked through – guessing it was because it was off season. There is also a giant playground for kids outside the zoo near some of the parking lots.

Parking

There are 3 parking lots around the zoo. The zoo itself is close to downtown, so the parking can fill quickly. The first two lots we tried were full. Luckily, we got parking in the 3rd one. You do pay hourly for parking in the lots as well, with a fixed maximum day rate. If all parking is full, there is street parking around the zoo as well.

Tickets

If you purchase full-price tickets 4 days or more in advance, you can receive a 10% discount. The Zoo also offers discounts for military and persons with disabilities. If you have a membership with another zoo or aquarium, check and see if you qualify for any discounts through your membership to this zoo. For example, we have a membership to our local aquarium in North Carolina, and with our membership we get 50% discounts on tickets for most major zoos. Woodland Park Zoo was one of those included, so we got a big discount, which was a huge help for our family of four.

Note:

The Zoo does recommend you purchase tickets in advance but we waited and got ours at the Zoo and didn’t have any issues getting them.

Animals

The Zoo has many exhibits with animals based on their home geographical locations. Some of the exhibits are only open during warmer seasonal times, but we were able to see most of the animals during our visit in early April.

African Savanna

Home to animals from East Africa. We saw the lions, giraffes, hippo & Patas monkey. We didn’t see the zebra & ostrich.

Assam Rhino Reserve

We saw the rhinos. We didn’t see the Asian Brown Tortoise & Demoiselle Crane.

Australia

Home to animals from the Pacific Ocean area that includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea & Islands of the South Pacific. We saw the Kookaburra, Snow Leopard & Wallaroo/Wallaby. We didn’t see the Emu.

Molbak’s Butterfly Garden

Home to hundreds of free-flying North American butterflies. This is a seasonal exhibit. It was not open yet during our trip in April, so we unfortunately didn’t get to see it.

Humboldt Penguin Exhibit

Home to penguins from the desert coast of Peru. We were able to see them (it was my son’s favorite animal we saw), but I didn’t get any photos.

Living Northwest Trail

Home of many animals from the Northwest in the US/Canada. We saw the Gray Wolves, Lynx, River Otters, Snowy Owl, Steller’s Sea Eagle & Western Pond Turtle. We didn’t see the Brown Bear, Elk & Mountain Goat.

Temperate Forest

We saw the Chilean Flamingos, Hornbill, Kunekune Pig, Maned Wolf, Red Panda, Red-crowned Crane, White-naped Crane & the family farm. There is also a Bug World, but it was closed for renovations during our visit. We also didn’t see the Partula Snail.

Trail of Adaptations

We didn’t make it through this area during our visit, but it features: Indian Flying Fox, Komodo Dragon, Meerkats & an Egyptian Tortoise.

Tropical Asia

We saw the Malayan Tiger, Sloth Bears, Asian Small-clawed Otter, Orangutans, Malayan Tapir, Warty Pig. We didn’t see the Langur & Siamang.

Tropical Rainforest

We saw the Jaguar, Gorillas, Poison Dart Frog, Saki Monkey, Toucan, Yellow Anaconda & Colobus Monkey. We didn’t see the Ring-tailed Lemur, Red Ruffed Lemur, Golden Lion Tamarin & Tarantula.

Woodland Park Zoo is located at 5500 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103. For more information about the zoo and/or to plan your visit, check out their website here: https://www.zoo.org/

There is plenty to keep you busy at this zoo all day! So many animals to see and fun little statues for photo ops. Some animals may not be out depending on the cold/weather. We didn’t see all the animals they have, as some weren’t out when we walked by. But we would still love to go again during the summer to experience the butterfly exhibit!

If you’re in the Seattle area and have kids or just love animals, then you should give Woodland Park Zoo a try!

Baby Names Inspired by Baseball

Finding the right name for your baby can be tough. There are so many options out there. Are you a fan of sports? Do you love baseball? If so, I have just the thing for you! I have compiled a list of about 32 names (for both genders) inspired by a love for America’s favorite pastime for all my fellow baseball lovers. You might find the perfect name for your little one.

Ace

A nickname for an elite pitcher.

Alex

After Alex Rodriguez, “A-Rod”, a shortstop for the New York Yankees.

Angel

After the team: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Barry

After Barry Bonds, the prolific home run hitter.

Chase

After Chase Field. The home of the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix, AZ.

Chipper

After Chipper Jones, third baseman for the Atlanta Braves.

Clemens

After Roger Clemens, “Rocket”, pitcher primarily for the Boston Red Socks.

Cy

After Cy Young, MLB pitcher. The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitcher in MLB.

Derek

After Derek Jeter, shortstop primarily for the New York Yankees.

Dottie

After Dottie Hinson, lead character in the true-story baseball movie “A League of Their Own”.

Fenway

After Fenway Park. Home of the Boston Red Socks in Boston, MA.

Glover

After a baseball glove.

Griffey

After Ken Griffey Jr “Junior/The Kid”, an outfielder primarily with the Seattle Mariners & Cincinnati Reds.

Gwynn

After Tony Gwynn, “Mr. Padre”, a right fielder for the San Diego Padres.

Hank

After Hank Aaron, “Hammer”, a right fielder primarily for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves.

Jackie

After Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in MLB.

Jackson

After Joe Jackson, “Shoeless Joe”, an outfielder for the Chicago White Sox who was banned after the fixed World Series in 1919.

Joe

After Joe DiMaggio, a center fielder for the New York Yankees who was once married to Marilyn Monroe.

Kevin

After Kevin Costner, who has starred in many baseball movies.

Kinsella

After Ray Kinsella, lead character in the baseball movie “Field of Dreams”.

Kit

After Kit Keller, one of the lead characters in the true-story baseball movie “A League of Their Own”.

Mitt

After a catcher's glove, referred to as a catcher’s mitt.

Nolan

After Nolan Ryan, an MLB pitcher.

Parker

After ballparks, the home of baseball teams.

Ranger

After the Texas Rangers team.

Rogers

After Rogers Centre. The home of the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, Canada.

Ruth

After Babe Ruth, “the Bambino”, a star left-handed pitcher & slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees.

Sandy

After Sandy Koufax, a left-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Scott/Scotty

After Scotty Smalls, the lead character in the baseball movie “The Sandlot”.

Sosa

After Sammy Sosa, a right fielder primarily for the Chicago Cubs.

Vaughn

After Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn, a lead character in the baseball movie “Major League”.

Wrigley

After Wrigley Field. Home of the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, IL.

I hope these names give you some inspiration while picking out the perfect name for your baby. I love names with special meanings, and if you love baseball, these are great options to consider.

If you are still looking for other options, check out these lists: Baby Names Inspired by Love, Baby Names Inspired by the East Coast, Baby Names Inspired by the West Coast, Baby Names Inspired by Flowers, Baby Names Inspired by the Sea, Baby Names Inspired by Christmas, Baby Names Inspired by Summer, and Baby Names Inspired by the Fall.