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Four Activities That Encourage Cognitive Development Through Play

Four Activities That Encourage Cognitive Development Through Play

I’m no teacher and am definitely not an expert on anything having to do with education. However, since I’ve been home with my girls – my 2 year old is home full-time and my 4 year old goes to preschool 3 days per week – it’s been important for me to see them engage in activities that are not only fun but also help with their cognitive development. It’s no secret that I allow my kids to have screen time, but I try to balance it out with some brain exercise so their minds don’t become total mush and they can one day become contributing members of society. Here are four of my favorite activities that encourage cognitive development in preschoolers (and even older kids). Don’t worry, I validated my list with research. 😉

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Making a Healthy Choice for Lunch When You’re an At-Home Mom and Have No Time

Making a Healthy Choice for Lunch When You’re an At-Home Mom and Have No Time

I’ve never considered myself to be a “healthy” person. Writing that instantly makes me feel bad about myself. I’m not-at-all active and if ever given the choice between cheese fries and a salad, I will hands-down choose cheese fries every single time. Believe it or not, I used to eat really well when I worked full-time, though. I’m a woman of routine and taking a somewhat healthy breakfast and lunch to work every day was part of my routine. I would have yogurt and a banana for breakfast and then for lunch I would have either leftovers from home or a low-cal freezer meal and berries. Every day. Around 2:00 everyday, though, I would find and binge on candy. Offices are always chock-full of sweets, aren’t they? Anyway, now that I’m home full-time, eating healthy has been a challenge. There’s just no time. My meals usually consist of the scraps from my kids’ plates to hold me over and then by time I have a few minutes to sit down and feed myself, I’m starving and gorge myself on whatever junk I can find. It’s a bad cycle and I’ve realized I need to make some changes.

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Last Minute Mother’s Day Gift Ideas Under $50 from Amazon Prime

Last Minute Mother’s Day Gift Ideas Under $50 from Amazon Prime

Still on the lookout for the perfect Mother’s Day gift? Well, you probably missed my previous two posts with ideas and now, with less than a week until Mother’s Day, are running out of time. Luckily for you, I’ve got your back. I scoured Amazon for some great – and inexpensive – ideas that are all Prime eligible. Free 2-day shipping for the win! All of these gifts are less than $50 (some are on sale!) and there’s a little something for everyone. Happy shopping!

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Finding a Morning Routine for Kids That Works. Mine Involves Screen Time.

Finding a Morning Routine for Kids That Works. Mine Involves Screen Time.

Don’t judge me. I let my kids watch YouTube. I know, I know. I’m a terrible parent, but hear me out. Do you remember my daily routine as a full-time working mom? It was bananas (b-a-n-a-n-a-s). Well, now that I’ve left the corporate world for awhile, life is still bananas but in a different way. I pretty much have to re-create new routines for almost everything, including a new morning routine. I feel like I’m re-learning and trying to figure out life. I’m grateful for YouTube to entrance entertain my children while I do super fancy things like wash my face and brush my teeth. Today I’m sharing what my new routine as an at-home mom looks like lately.

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Four Unique Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Four Unique Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Mother’s Day is such a fun time of year! It’s the time of the year when we get to celebrate the most important women in our lives, whether those women are our moms, moms close to us, or even ourselves! Mother’s Day can be tough when it comes to gift-giving but I’ve got your back with some unique and fun ideas!

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Five Reasons Being a Girl Mom is the Best

Five Reasons Being a Girl Mom is the Best

Have I ever mentioned how much I love being a mom of two girls? Growing up, I used to say that I always wanted to have one boy and one girl – one of each to make up the perfect family. I wanted the boy to be older so he could have his little sister’s back. When I was pregnant with A, though, I wanted a girl so badly. In fact, at her gender reveal ultrasound, I thought that the tech thought she was a boy and I was super sad about it; gender disappointment is a real thing. When it was time for #2 to come along, I knew I wanted another girl – a sister for my A, despite my previous wants for one of each. As it turns out, my husband wanted another girl, too. The two of us are now smitten girl parents and neither of us can imagine having boys. There are so many reasons I love being a girl mom so today I’m sharing five.

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Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This. Yesterday Was One of Those Days.

Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This. Yesterday Was One of Those Days.

Mama said there’d be days like this. Yesterday was one of those days I read about in blogs all the time. You know the ones: stay-at-home-mom is flustered and exhausted; she just needs a break. See, my kids weren’t themselves. One was home from school for 2 days because she was sick and the other had what I’m assuming was cabin fever from being stuck in the house with her sick sister. Misery, whining, fighting, and crying all came together to create the theme of the day: frustration. This mama couldn’t deal. I found myself feeling alone. Tired. Aggravated. I raised my voice. I shut down. I put on Netflix and let it play for hours because I didn’t have it in me to do anything else. I counted the minutes until nap time. I wasn’t my best self. Far from it.

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Personalized Mother’s Day Gift Ideas from Things Remembered

Personalized Mother’s Day Gift Ideas from Things Remembered

Ah, Mother’s Day. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite days of the year because it’s one of two when I can lay back, relax, and watch the world move around me (the other being my birthday, of course). I can already taste the sweet sangria I know my husband is going to make on that fabulous Sunday this year. Mother’s Day can be super tough in regard to shopping, though. I mean, buying gifts for me is a challenge because there isn’t really anything that I need. I have the same trouble shopping for my mom – she doesn’t need a thing; I probably get that from her. But I tell ya, I do love me some personalized gifts and I love things that represent my daughters. Mom mom does, too. The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree, I guess. With that in mind, Things Remembered is the perfect Mother’s Day shopping destination. All of their gifts can be personalized and shipped (quickly) to your home. I love Things Remembered because they have a great variety and the quality is top-knotch. Today I’ve rounded up 5 personalized Mother’s Day gift ideas from Things Remembered.

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