Little Bits

Hi There!!

I know. It has been a LONG time. 

I am back with an awesome product review.

**I was given a car seat cover from the very talented Monica Roger's company, Little Bits in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.**

Liza was thrilled to see her new car seat cover. While taking her first ride in it, she said, "Thanks mom for getting me this pink seat. It's my favorite one." So, right off the bat, it was kid approved!

I like it for a few different reasons:

• It does not interfere with the safety straps at all. This was my biggest concern since I am a little bit of a car seat stickler. 
• It will protect the car seat from getting nasty and sticky. Yes, I let Liza eat in the car and you do not even want to know what kinds of things I found stuck under her old cover. 
• It is adorable and very well made.
• It came in the CUTEST package. I wish I would have thought to take a picture.
• It makes my kid happy!

She offers both toddler and infant seat covers-

image found here

and would make the perfect baby shower or Christmas gift for new parents!

You can visit Little Bits on their website or on facebook or contact Monica at Rodgers@me.com to order your very own car seat cover! 

Trust me, she does REALLY love the cover. She just will not look at the dang camera!

You won't be disappointed :)

And I hope to return to the blogging world soon. We have recently learned that Will (my baby) has some life-threatening food allergies and it has turned our world upside down. I hope that I can use this blog as a way to promote food allergy awareness and connect with other families who are facing similar challenges.

Happy Holidays!

XOXO Sarah

The Sensory Child Gets Organized: Book Review

Hi Friends!

I hope you are still out there somewhere! It's been a while, but I took an intentional blogging break while I was working on some other writing (which has yet to be finished!).

Today I wanted to share with about The Sensory Child Gets Organized. Local blogger and writer Carolyn Dalgliesh (learn more about her here!) shares her journey on how getting her home and life organized helped her sensory child to flourish.

A "sensory child" is a child that needs special supports to help them engage and connect with the world around them. Such children may have a diagnosis of a Sensory Processing Disorder, AD/HD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, OCD, or Bipolar Disorder. You can learn more about this here.

She explains that it is, "about learning how to tap into simple systems, routines, and visual guides to support and organize your sensory child: tools that can empower both your child and your entire family."

I appreciated all her tips and tricks and feel strongly that these strategies are tools that will help ALL children to succeed and become important and productive members of their family, classroom, and society.

Some of my favorite tips that I'd like to implement in my own life and home...

• Having a designated space for everything. This not only eliminates clutter, it gives children the ability to know automatically where to find something and where to put it away.
• Using picture labels throughout the house. This is something that I used in my classroom when I was teaching and would love to incorporate into my kids' room and toy area. 

image here

• Creating harmonious spaces within your home so that your child(ren) can relax and escape other overstimulating situations.
• Giving children specific strategies that they can calm down during tantrums or stressful times.

When we give children the right tools, they can accomplish great things. I really wish I would have had this book when I was still teaching because it would have been a wonderful tool to pass on to the parents of my students who were struggling to understand their sensory children. It is a simple, non-threatening, organized resource.

I love that Carolyn Dalgliesh gives her readers tools like picture examples and worksheets to use to begin the process of organizing for their children. This book is a great resource for all parents, teachers, and anyone who works with children. You can grab a copy here and I highly recommend it!

Don't forget to check out Carolyn's blog!

XOXO Sarah

**I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**

Milk and Cookies!!!

Hi friends! 

I was lucky enough to "meet" Zoe from The Cookie Girl Store and she sent me a box of cookies to taste and review! 

The Cookie Girl Store is a Texas based cookie shop. They specialize in custom made sugar cookies for all kinds of events. Visit their website or facebook page to see more pictures of their work, but I can't help  to share this one that caught my eye...

I remember getting my first Rainbow Bright doll as a kid! I loved her!

Back to my review :)

In April, The Cookie Girl Store debuted a new line of Motherhood cookies and I had the privilege to try some samples.

Zoe explains how this line of cookies came about here on her website, but I thought I would share it with you now. This is taken directly from her website. Please follow the above link to find it on her page.

When I was searching for lactation cookie recipes, everything that I found tasted like, for lack of better explanation, “Wow! These must be good for me.” What I really wanted was a cookie. Just a yummy chocolate chip cookie that tasted good AND also boosted my milk supply. Is that too much to ask for?!? So, since I love cookies and I have tons of recipes and I actually think it is fun to create my own recipes, I started baking. I took all the lactation recipes that I could find, and all my “regular” cookie recipes, and baked and ate, and baked and threw away, and baked and ate, and baked and shared, and baked some more, until I finally developed recipes that I wanted to eat AND boosted my supply. My next quest was to share these cookies. All of the moms that have tried them so far have had an increase of some sort. Some moms need to eat 4 cookies a day, and others only need to eat 1 a day before they notice a difference. Every person is different, and we don’t really know why these ingredients cause an increase in breastmilk supply, but for many moms, it does help. I also shared these cookies with non-lactating people to see what would happen. The only thing that happened is that they loved the cookies and thought they were delicious! Which is exactly what I wanted! I wanted a cookie that anyone would enjoy eating without thinking, “well, that’s a little odd!” or “Hmmm. Must be good for me.” Or even “I guess I could eat it, but I’d really just rather eat a chocolate chip cookie.”


Will is the second baby that I have nursed and in my little more than two years of nursing I have been lucky enough to not have significant supply issues. My supply has been (God willing) pretty good, but I do notice a decrease when I do not drink enough water or eat enough calories.

During these dips in supply, I end up researching online the to find things that will help me to increase my milk. I had never tried or made lactation cookies so I was excited to try some.

Now you can laugh at the title of today's post. I couldn't help myself ;)

Lactation cookies contain galactagogues that help to increase supply. The special ingredients in these cookies are brewer's yeast, flaxseed, and yeast.

Here is what I was able to try:

• Chocolate Chip (lactation cookie)-This was pretty good. Especially the first day I received them. I liked it best after warming it up a little.
• Lavender Shortbread (nausea remedy/insomnia relief)-I was surprised that these were my favorite of the bunch. The shortbread cookie was really yummy! I actually ate one on a night that I was having a hard time unwinding from the day and I swear it helped to relax me!
• Almond Apricot (heartburn/reflux relief cookie)-I didn't really like these. There was nothing at all wrong with the cookie. I'm just not really an apricot lover ;)

Here are my thoughts:

• The cookies arrived quickly and the packaging was very cute -which was a fun bonus :) I'm so sorry that I forgot to take some pictures of it to show you, but I was a little too excited to open up the box!
• Each cookie came individually wrapped with a logo sticker on top. I do kind of wish the stickers had the name of the cookie printed on them, but this did not take away from my experience at all. 
• The cookies tasted fresh even after being shipped.
• I did feel like my supply increased when I ate two or more cookies a day (it is very, very possible that I might have eaten 4 in one day on a particularly long day).
• I would absolutely order these cookies (you can customize your dozen of cookies order by calling) if I felt like I needed to boost my supply. 
• Zoe was a sweetheart to work with! 

Make sure you check out The Cookie Girl Store if you ever need morning sickness remedies, lactation cookies, or adorable sugar cookies!

XOXO Sarah

**I was given a dozen cookies, but all opinions are my own.***

Magnet Fun

Happy Monday!!!

A few weeks ago I splurged at Target (gasp!) and bought Liza a really cool $3 horseshoe magnet. Here is the first activity that we used it for.

Fun with Magnets:


Supplies:

• Magnet
• sorting baskets 
• random items from around the house

Procedure:

• Collect random objects from around the house and put in a basket
• Demonstrate to your kiddo how to see if the magnet can pick up an object.
• Sort objects into two piles: Magnet picks up/Magnet does not pick up
• Let your kiddo(s) learn and discover as they play!

Have fun exploring and learning at home! I hope to start a new posting schedule next week so stay tuned for lots of fun :)

XOXO Sarah

Project 52: Weeks 20 & 21

Happy Friday! I am trying to catch up with my project 52 postings. Its been so busy around here lately, so sorry for the lack of blogging! 

The theme for Week 20 is Negative/White Space:

Week 21: Child's Play;

Babies love to play with their feet!

Do you have any pictures on your blog/twitter/ or facebook below? Post the link in the comments section below.

Enjoy your weekend and try to stay cool! 

Hugs,

Katey

Project 52: Week 18 &19

Happy Wednesday! Hope your enjoying the warm spring weather, it sure had been a long time coming!

The themes for the past two weeks are Nature and Motherhood. 

The flowers bloomed on the tree in front of our house. 

Today I am 28 weeks! If only we could decide on a name! 

My 4 year old! 

Happy Mother's Day! 

Hugs,

Katey

What Not to Say...

Here are a few things that I have learned not to say or do to my almost three year old....

Threeanger?

 

This word might as well be a curse word around here. NEVER EVER say little in my house unless you want to witness whining or tantrums.

Me: "Liza would you like a little milk/ice cream/juice/anything?" 

Liza: "Not a little! I want LOTS of it." or "Mooooom, I want a BIG one."

Eye roll. 

If you want to get out of the house at all, never tell this little girl that her clothes don't match or that she is wearing her pants backwards. 

T-Shirt, sweatshirt, garden gloves, too-small sunhat, pants, socks & glitter shoes.

"Noooooo they aren't! They go this way!"

"They DO match!!!!"

The best is the layered look. Sometimes it's 5 shirts, pants, shorts, and a skirt. She is so stylish!

The only acceptable criticism is to giggle and say something like, "You're so silly, your shoes are on the wrong feet! Show me how you fix them."

I love this though.

I don't want to forget about the continuing pajamas fight. She has to have a matching set and insists on wearing short sleeves already. This is my fault since I took out the spring clothes from the attic. I've tried hiding them since and telling her that they are in the dirty clothes, but this stinker doesn't miss a beat. 

We've had meltdowns in the middle of the night because she didn't like her jammies. 

Like strip down naked and throw things meltdowns.

It is hysterical. And maddening.

And never, ever, ever say that something is her little brother's. 

"That was mine when I was a little baby. Not my brother's."

Oh, right. Thanks for the reminder! Now I say "Here Will, sit in Liza's old bouncy seat" and things like that.

Pick your battles, right?! I'm enjoying this stage of her life even though I am so sad to see her baby-ness slowly disappear.

Happy Monday, friends!

XOXO Sarah

Baby Play-Outdoor

A simple post today because the weather is just too gorgeous to sit and write. Plus, my little girl is begging for me to play with her :)

The weather is finally turning into Spring here in Rhode Island and we are enjoying every second of it.

Today Will gets to have play time on the porch. He is going nuts "talking" and kicking his arms and legs around!

Don't forget that a simple change to your baby's normal playtime area can spark big things!

And we won't forget the big girl! It is hard to pull her into the house these days. 

Have a wonderful weekend!!

XOXO Sarah

Project 52: Week 16 & 17

I am little behind in my project so I am trying to catch up. I have been trying to take better pictures with my iPhone. Sometimes I don't always have my DSLR with me or feel like carrying it.





Week 16 theme : Reflection ( I love this picture even though it is a little blurry).

You see the reflection in the sunglasses my boy is wearing. They are his sisters! :)

Week 17: Animals

My lazy doggy Zoey. 

Do you participate in Wordless Wednesday? Please share the link to your pictures in the comments. 

Hugs,

Katey

Sand Paint

Happy Monday!

Sorry for the lack of post on Friday, but I was glued to CNN and terrified and anxious about the big man-hunt.

Anyway, here is a little activity that Liza and my 10 year old niece tried out last week. I saw a pin somewhere on Pinterest about this, but I can't find it to share with you now. If I find it, I will update this post with the link.

Sand Paint:

Materials:

• Elmer's Glue
• Paint (we used finger paint)
• Play sand
• Container
• paper, paint brushes

Procedure:

• Squirt some paint, glue, and sand into a container and mix up. I just eyeballed it, but probably should have added more paint.
• Paint away!

We used a fork to mix everything up.

And we used them to paint with because I could not find two paintbrushes :) I think using fingers and hands would add a whole new level to this sensory experience.

It's such a neat, gritty texture. The kids both enjoyed it.

And it is pretty neat when all dried too.

Just take my word for it and don't turn away from your almost three year old because she might add WAY too much sand to the paint. Sigh.

Have fun!

XOXO Sarah

My Mind

It seems that my mind is always racing. I have a never ending list of things that should be done and things I'd like to accomplish. Like all the things I've pinned on Pinterest. My mind is totally a Pinterest board.

Then there is all the every day things.

Clean the kitchen, take a shower, the kids need a bath. Crap! What's for dinner? S!*t the only pants that fit this post-baby body are in the washer.

Stop.

The baby needs to nurse.

Stop.

The toddler wants me to play.

I'm fairly certain you all know what I am talking about. I guess it's called LIFE.

And I have the itch to write. But I've got writer's block, of course. So, that brings us to this post of randomness.

So, without further ado, here are some random things going on in my mind.

1. Preschool.

Do I send my almost three year old in the fall or keep her home one more year? I'm torn. I see the benefit of both options, but I am leaning towards waiting until she is four. This also means I get to play school at home and plan lessons for her ;)

2. My house.

It's so dang small so I am constantly reorganizing and de-cluttering. I've done three little projects that make me like my house a *teeny* bit more.

I created a chalkboard. I still need to caulk and paint, but I LOVE it and wish I would have made it bigger.

I painted my chandelier.

And I am almost done painting my dinning room table with the DIY chalk paint that I made!

There is also a sliver of a chance that we might re-do our kitchen through Ikea. SO excited.

3. A Pirate Party

A pirate party for Liza's 3rd birthday is brewing in my mind. I've been busy looking for ideas and trying to figure out how do do something amazing for her while spending as little as possible.

source

4. Boston

My other city and somewhere I consider HOME.

source

Feeling scared and sick that things like this happen so close to home.

Feeling thankful that my family wasn't at work that day. My dad, brother, mom, and husband all work right in the city.

Feeling heartbroken for all those who were injured, killed, and otherwise affected.

Feeling pissed at whoever is responsible for this violence.

Feeling fat because I've been stress eating since it happened.

That's all I've got today. Stay tuned for a fun way to paint with your kids tomorrow!!!

God Bless America.

XOXO Sarah

Simple Name Puzzle

Liza has known how to identify her name for quite a while, but she is recently into spelling it.

Her big cousin made up a little chant and now Liza loves to sing it, "L-I-Z-A!"

I figured that now is the perfect time to make some little name games for her. Don't get excited, this is nothing fancy. I literally did this is 5 seconds, and you will totally be able to tell!

Doesn't matter, she loves it. It does the trick for now.

Materials:

• Paper
• Crayons

Procedure:

• I folded and cut a piece of large construction paper in half.
• Next, I divided each half into fours (to match the amount of letters in her name).
• I cut up one half into four squares.
• I wrote her name on all pieces in each space.
• I demonstrated how she would match the letters up and/or put them in order to correctly spell her name.

See, I told you this was nothing fancy.

One more thing, I truly believe that you should teach your children how to identify and/or write thier name properly. This means that they have one uppercase letter and the rest are lowercase (in most cases)! Please, please don't teach your kiddos only uppercase letters :)

XOXO Sarah

Rhody Bloggers

• Simply Mommies is very excited to be a part of an AMAZING group of local bloggers. We'd love for you to check out thier blogs!
  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Alicia- Born Ready Baby
  Audrey – Mom Generations
  Candice – The New Modern Momma
  Carla –allofmenow
  Chelley- A is for Adelaide
  Elizabeth – Documama
  Elizabeth – Learning to Juggle
  Erika-Fox Trot Press
  Heather – Housewife Heather
  Heather – Kraus House Mom
  Jane – Mom Generation
  Jenn – Savoring the Thyme
  Jen-Keekoin
  Jessica – 30 Something Mother Runner
  Jessica – Keeping Mommy Sane

  Julie - Give and Glam

  Joanna – Baby Gators Den
  Jodi –Blushing Mamas
  Kameron – My Wrinkle in Time
  Kerri – Six Until Me
  Kirsten- The Queen of the Earth
  Laura – My So-Called Sensory Life
  Lauren – Don't Lick the Trash Can
  Liza –Cira's Lyrics
  Mary- Tall Mom Tiny Baby
  Megan – A Baby Makes Four
  Melissa - Filling Our Bucket
  Melissa – A Woman of Steel
  Melissa – The Mommyhood Chronicles
  Michele –Dodging Acorns
  Michelle –Wildflower Studio Photo
  Renee – The Lute Family
  Sarah – Soxy's Diamond
  Sarah –Sweet Lil' You
  Sheri – When the Kids go to Bed
  Stephanie – Everyday Family Living
  Tera – Girl Gone Healthy

How to Dye Rice

Hi friends!

A quick tutorial for you on this Friday morning.

Here is how I dye rice for our sensory play.

What You Need:

• rice
• rubbing alcohol
• food coloring
• Ziploc bag
• cookie sheet

Procedure:

1. Dump rice into Ziploc bag.
2. Squeeze a few drops of food coloring onto the rice. The more you add, the darker the color.
3. Pour in a teaspoon or so (eyeball it!) of rubbing alcohol over the rice.
4. Seal the bag and shake the rice until the color seems blended.
5. Pour rice onto a flat surface and allow to air dry

I dye pasta the same way!

XOXO Sarah

Project 52 Week 14: Bloom

Hi there! I am a little behind in my project but I will catch up eventually. Last week's theme was bloom. 

Buds on the tree gettting ready to bloom

Link up below to our project 52 with your Wordless Wednesday pictures. 

Hugs,

Katey

The Ultimate Blog Party 2013

Hello! We are linking up to the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by the lovely ladies over at 5 minutes for Mom.

Simply Mommies was started as a way for Katey and Sarah to share their journey through motherhood and connect (and learn!) from other mothers a long the way. 

We are a few weeks into our second year of blogging and still trying to find our way. We hope to accomplish a little blog makeover and create a solid goal for Simply Mommies in the upcoming months.

We hope you'll stick around as we grow and stretch our blog muscles. Please be sure to leave your blog link below!

Here is a little about us:


Hi there! I am Katey, and I love that spring is finally here! It's been a long winter for my thin Floridian blood. My family just moved back to Massachusetts after living in sunny south Florida for 5 years than Southern Ontario Canada for 2 years! We have had quite a journey, and plan on staying put for a while and raise our little family. I love photography, reading, writing, the beach, warm sunshine, and couldn't make it through the day without coffee!

I have three beautiful children with one more one the way, due in July. I have a crazy house at times but its a lot of fun and I wouldn't change it for the world.  I became a stay at home Mom almost three years ago when we moved from Florida to Canada. It has been wonderful. I used to be an administrative assistant for a large office. 

I find staying home to be challenging at times, but I LOVE it!

Be sure to follow my Project 52 on Wednesdays until December. It is a challenge to take a picture a week. Usually the picture is prompted by a theme of the week. I would love if you joined in!

So that's me in a nutshell! :)

Hugs,

Katey

I'm Sarah, and boy am I excited to be sitting outside on the patio blogging today! I love God, my family, iced coffee, makeup, bags of all kind, making friends, writing, day-dreaming, and getting my hair done. I can seriously never straighten it like my stylist does. 

I am blessed to have married my best friend and together we have two gorgeous kiddos.
My Liza has been my inspiration for this blogging journey and has kept me motivated to create the learning experiences for her that I share here on the blog.

 I am excited to share how important play is for all children and can't wait to look deeper into how infants play through the eyes of my new baby, Will. 

I am a former Early Childhood educator (Kindergarten being my favorite!)  and now stay home with my kiddos. I put myself through college as a bartender and waitress, and I can't understand how I was ever able to stay up till all hours of the night (morning?) while wearing makeup and heels.

I am a terrible housewife, but I like to think I am a pretty good mama. 

Before I had kids I enjoyed manicures, pedicures, leisurely reading, going out for dinner, doing my hair, and finishing an entire cup of coffee. 

Now, I am blessed to enjoy blogging, sleepless nights (not wearing heels), yoga pants, my curly hair, Pinterest, Instagram, and play dates!

Raising a family has been the most wonderful and exhausting experience of my life and I am beyond thankful for it.

XOXO Sarah

We would love to follow you so please leave your blog link below!

Early Easter

Having an early Easter has thrown me off! Where is our spring weather?!

Here is what we've been up to the past week or so--

Frozen yogurt and spring colors.

A chilly walk.

Easter eggs with Liza's favorite big cousin.

The Easter baskets!

Cute baby basket.

Pink ears on my boy.

Easter bonnet courtesy of the Dollar Spot at Target.

I'll be back with a post tomorrow and will pick back up next week with regular posts!!

XOXO Sarah