First Family Vacation

We are back from sunny Florida. Our first family vacation was AWESOME! We spent time on the beach, relaxed by the pool and hung out with each other, uninterrupted, for an entire week. It was nice. It was a little different from my husband and I's pre-baby days but it was so fun. I mean it had me questioning if we should speed up for baby #2 lol.

But I did learn somethings about traveling with a baby that I thought I would share with you.

1. Beware of berries
SOOOOO I made the HUGE mistake of packing strawberries, blueberries and apple juice for Micah's first trip. These are his favorites so I knew he would enjoy them. And he loved them, BUT... Can you say poop-splosion. Those berries had him pooping every five seconds it seemed. Running back and forth changing him had his bum a little sore from all the poopy action. So on the trip back I opted for water, bananas and watermelon (and less of it). Only one poopy diaper and a much happier bum.

2. Nix the 17 hour drive
At the last minute my husband and I decided against driving 17 hours and opted for plane tickets. Sure they were a bit pricier but I welcomed that expense to car stops every hour cause baby is fussy and needs activity. On the plan we could read books, bounce up and down, look out the window, play with small toys, all from the comfort of mommy's lap. And babies fly free under two so why not take advantage of that.

3. Eating time- Take off and landing
Micah did not cry not one bit during the plane ride. We made sure to time his eating time during take off and landing, because I got advice from a mommy friend of mine that this helps with that annoying ear popping. Either she was right or our baby just really loves planes... but I do think that this really helped.

How about you? what helped you when traveling long distances with baby? Did you drive? Did you fly? Inquiring minds want to know.

What every working mom needs!

This post is a light hearted attempt to share some tips that have worked for me to make the working mommy balancing act a little easier. I use the word "sanity" in this post to show the intensity of the emotion one may feel when out of balance. I do however want to mention that if you are experiencing anxiety attacks or depression please seek help. I had to go to counseling this year for anxiety and God truly pulled me out. If you are looking for some tips to help restore a work life balance the post below may help. Happy reading. 

So this week I discovered something that I lost this year... MY SANITY! Yes everyone it is back and it only took a few days and three things to get it back. Some of you newbie working moms out there, like me, may think that I am joking. You may be saying "is it even possible to get your sanity back?". I am here to tell you that it is possible and with a few simple steps you to can be a sane mommy.

Tip # 1- Grocery Delivery

All you have to do is take out you smart phone and open your computer and you are instantly transported to the grocery store. You can roam the isle from the comfort of your couch, in your moo moo eating bon bons. Let me tell you this has sky rocketed my sanity level. Thank you peapod. Click the picture above and be transported to grocery shopping bliss. 

Tip # 2- House cleaning

So I was against this. Well honestly my  wallet was against this. My wallet and I had plenty of conversations that usually ended with "we cannont spend $300+ twice a week for this." That is until I found home joy. At 25 dollars an hour I think I have found my sanity answer number 2. The cleaner came to my house and spent 3 hours (totaling $75) to deep clean the kitchen and the bathrooms. Those were our yucky spots. But they do whatever you ask them to do. From bathroom cleaning to laundry. The opportunities are endless. 

Tip # 3- A week off/ or a weekend if you are not a teacher

I did the unthinkable. I committed the guilty working mommy no no. I, I, I sent my baby to daycare while I was home (gasp). Yea, that's right, I did it! And it was amazing. He had fun doing water play at daycare and I had fun...sitting! I had so much guilt about doing this that when winter break came I kept my little man home (while still paying for daycare for two weeks), Spring break came along (little dude was with me), finally the first week of summer break and I was EXHAUSTED! so I did the unimaginable. I set my mommy guilt to the side and I sent my little man off to daycare while I sat at home. And guess what, my sanity returned. It just fell right in my lap and said "Hello".

Try one or all three of these tips and I am sure you will be welcoming your sanity back in no time! Next week I will be writing about our first family vacation, which involves a 16 hour drive with a one year old. Hopefully my sanity wont take a vacation on my vacation lol.