Motherhood, Mischief, and Mayhem

Hey there, mini scholars and future geniuses! It's that time of the year again – back-to-school excitement is in the air! Time to shake off those lazy summer vibes and gear up for a fantastic new academic adventure! First things first – dust off those backpacks and fill 'em up with essential goodies! From funky stationery to super cool lunch boxes, let your creativity soar. Don't forget the snazzy outfits; let's style up and strut into the classroom like runway models! Ready for early mornings? Nah, but we've got a plan! Set a sleep routine with fun alarms and wake-up dance parties! A new school year, a new chance to make awesome memories, ace those quizzes, and learn incredible things! Are you pumped up, kids? Let's dive in, laugh together, and make this academic year the best one yet! Teachers, pencils, and friendships – here we come! School rocks! 🚀🎒😄 Click here to find the best back to school finds on Amazon!

Sometimes as a mommy and wife, I think I'm superwoman. I want to do everything and neglect the little things. Then I start to see why I shouldn't. For me, the thing I seem to put on the back burner the most is my health. I have hypothyroidism and RA, so in the back of my mind I know I need to take care of things. Then that supermom instinct hits and I start thinking about the kids and my husband and our home. I think that it's starting to take a toll now, so I'm going to make it a point to take care of me. I'm doing it for myself and for my family. The wake up call came when I was getting out of bed. My sheets and pillow were covered in hair. Yep, my hair is falling out. It's a classic symptom of thyroid problems. At first I just pulled back my hair and kept plowing ahead. I'm now getting super tired really fast and I feel cranky too. Those are things telling me, it's time to stop procrastinating. I'm writing about it because i'm hoping that I

Now that the summer months are here, it's time to think about first aid. From scrapes, to bee stings and everything in between, it all seems to happen more in the summertime. The first thing to do is make a first aid kit. There are always the staples of Band Aids and Neosporin. I can thank my freebie from Influenster again, I got my Neo to go. For those of you that don't, it is a great thing to have on hand. We have a great Pinterest board you can check out for more ideas on how to build your first aid kit. Summer also brings heat. When the kids hit the pool my second tip is valuable. Take a class. Learn CPR. You may just save your child's life or even somebody else's. Places like the Red Cross , the American Heart Association  and the YMCA are great places to start if you are looking for a class in your area.  Now for the hard part. Don't Panic. Even if you don't have a first aid kit on hand and you do not know CPR, the best thing you can do for

**DISCLAIMER** I got these products from Influnster complimentary for testing purposes.  If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter , you saw my excitement when this lovely gem came in the mail. This was my first chance to review some awesome products! Puffs To Go Shortly after I got the box, I got a cold. I had tissues, but my nose was so red and sore. Then I remembered I had Puffs in my voxbox.  I got them out and to my pleasant surprise, they had lotion!! Score! So one of my favorite things in the box...these tissues! #PassthePuffs For sure!! Breyers Gelato Indulgences What can I say? They had me at triple chocolate! This was such a treat for the summer weather. There were chocolate swirls in it and it was YUMMY!  #GelatoLove                                                  Ivory Bar Soap   Another product we got was Ivory Soap. Since we already use it, we decided to have some fun with it. I have always seen the pins on pinterest when you put it i

photo credit: Chicago's North Shore Conventions & Visitors Burea via photopin cc As parents there is one truth that is universal. Say it with me, we are not perfect. We try. There are Moms out there that attend every playgroup and have every possible thing their child (or somebody else's child) could need. I see you! There are the moms that are part of every school organization that exists in their area. Then there are some of us who are doing well to get the kids dressed in the morning and keep up with the demands of our day. All of those Moms and Dads too share one common thread because we are all doing the best we can. Being human though, we are bound to make mistakes. We will slip from time to time. How you handle those slip ups is the important part. Our children are a reflection of us.  That is bold for a reason. They are. When we sneak snacks from the kitchen thinking the kids aren't looking, chances are our kids are doing it too. When we stub our toe an

Go crazy, get excited. Cinnabon has FREE iced coffee TODAY!! So from 1pm to 5pm, you can get your coffee fix for FREE!  To find your nearest location, check out Cinnabon's website .  Mommy loves free stuff!!

**Disclaimer** Neither myself nor Momtools blog was paid or in any other way affiliated with this review. The opinions stated in this blog are my own and not of NurturMe.  This is my first review and it's a good one :). We had a sample of NurturMe baby food to try.Since my daughter had an unsuccessful first attempt at bananas with another brand,  I felt this may be a good second try. So first the product:   The first thing I noticed is that this product was dry, but in our case this was a plus. My daughter liked it mixed with her formula more than the jar brand. Another thing I noticed was the smell, it didn't have the strong and almost fake smell that almost seems standard with bananas when it comes to baby food. That made mommy happy!! We went on with our feeding and my daughter got adorably messy as usual, but there were no sour faces and even better yet she didn't reject the food. On our last attempt with the jar brand, she did both. I really was convinced

Every year it's the same thing. The kids grow. Then we are left with the dilemma of what to do with all the outgrown clothes that we end up with. For some of this it's easy. We can simply pass down what is too small to the younger child. In my case I have a boy and a girl, so for the most part, that isn't an option. Here are some ways to utilize those clothes.  This year I made 2 boxes. 1 box for the consignment shop and the other for donation. While most people probably do the same thing, i've came across some great alternatives. So if you want to maybe keep the outgrown clothes, here are some ideas:  Keep the old clothes for patches. I've seen some really cool quilts made from shirts people's kid's have outgrown.  A girl and a gluegun shares the cutest quilts made with baby's clothes, you can find out how to make one yourself here . Another great idea is a program I discovered at H&M . Find out more about  Garment collecting  at H

                                       photo credit: The World According To Marty via photopin cc   This year, I experienced the joys of preschool. The good, the bad, and the really annoying. It was very exciting for my son to enter a school enviornment, don't get me wrong. My son writes his name, he counts to 20, he sings a ton of cute songs too. So there is a lot to be proud of. Let me start with the good. I love that he has a structured day. He gets to play with other children and even gets recess. I really like his teacher and he is in a great school. He has made friends too. So overall, preschool is a hit. Then there's the bad. Sickness. SO. MUCH. SICKNESS. We have had 3 colds, the flu, and hand foot and mouth disease in a matter of 6 months! Pair that with the yucky winter that gave us a snow day a week for quite a while and it's safe to say he missed a lot of school. With that said, I think i'll apply just a little more hand sanitizer. Who knew having

When we make mistakes, it is best to grow from them than to let them define you. There are so many times in life that I really think everybody falls into that hole. We screw up, and we know we did. Sometimes we dig a hole so deep, we really can not get out of it.We can not always reverse things. I'm not going to share my story yet, but I do want to share my journey. I want to share that when life gives you a million lemons, you don't have to drown in them. You can get back up. You can turn the lemons into something more. So, the first thing I have to say is when I've faced hard times- I cry. Sounds like a child, doesn't it? The truth is research shows crying is good for you. No, I don't force myself. On the other hand,  I don't try to be a superwoman about it either. It is not good to hold things in. Admittedly, I'm guilty of holding in some things. The point is, there's no shame in having to cry it out sometimes. Is crying all there is to it? No. We

If you want to get the hair..here's a tutorial Then there's the boys, and they can celebrate May the 4th with this: A Death Star pinata! How fun is that?? And if that isn't enough for you, you can always have a movie marathon with the family! Don't forget the popcorn!  Enjoy!!

I try to be superwoman all the time and let me tell you...i'm not superwoman. I am learning that going back to work can be very hard to do when you have a new baby. I am also learning that it is a nice chance to interact with people outside of children. With that being said, it's not so bad. I do miss my kids. I miss them a ton, actually. I am always grateful for the time I have with them and at the end of the day going back to work made me appreciate that time even more. Now I have to ask you, what's your take on going back to work after baby? Love it or hate it?

Every time I went to bed over the past month, I had this fantasy of a full nights' sleep. Then the harsh reality set in, I'm the mom of a newborn and sleep was more a dream than having time to have a dream. It seems like everytime my head hit the pillow one of my children needed something. My son would need water. My daughter would want held. I'd have them both happy, then it would be time to feed my daughter. I am now in my 30's so i'm realizing more just how precious sleep really is. By the time my son who is 5 is ready for bed, i'm ready too.  This is one thing I have no helpful tools for. What about you? When you have 2 kids, how to you find time to sleep well? Leave your comments!

Since my daughter has been born, I have remembered how nice having a newborn was. It goes so fast and I had forgotten how cuddly and sweet they can be. Before I had her, I had not wanted to have any more children. I just wanted to spoil my son. Now that she's here, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll update on the new baby journey as she grows, and of course, my son too. Now I need a nap! The one baby thing I did remember is there is very little sleep in the first few months. But it was worth it!

I've spent this week with a nasty cold. (My Facebook friends can probably attest to that with my whining about that fact over the past few days!) After first trying cold pills, I was desperate for any means to breathe. I tried my humidifier. I added vapor steam to it after the humidifier alone was unsuccessful. I even sat at our desk with a bowl of boiling water and a towel! Still stuffy. Still really annoyed. Then a couple nights ago I had the news on and heard them talking about a program where you can buy an air filter and it sends you one when you need to replace it and a light bulb went off. Since we moved into our home in November, we hadn't changed our air filter. Today, it's changed. The filter that was there was FULL of dust and other allergens. Needless to say, I don't feel quite as stuffy. My tool of choice for today- the air filter. Make sure you know when to change it and check it. Cold and flu season may be a little less painful with a clean air filter in

Since I've never had a girl, I never thought that I could be a girly girl, let alone have one. Now that I do, I am learning many things. The latest thing-- Making tutus!! They are easy, I promise. Simply use a crocheted headband and tie tulle through the loops. I used about 8 inches and it was adorable!! Here's my finished product: