Guest Post - Picky Eaters

Today I have a guest post coming at you from Stephanie. Stephanie is a mom to three tiny humans. When she isn't at home mommying, she is at work as a nurse. An oncology nurse. She wrote a day in the life post of an oncology nurse that was amazing. Seriously, those are my favorite posts and to read one from an oncology nurse is even better. Go check it out.

When I asked if anyone was interested in writing a guest post for me while I am traveling for work, Stephanie emailed me right away and I loved her ideas. And the one that jumped out to me was getting picky eaters to actually eat. This one is dear to my heart since Miss Avery is a very picky eater. Sutton can be, but she will try almost anything we put in front of her. And she is a pretty good eater. I definitely needed ideas to implement that could help with Avery. Once I am back from my work trip, we are implementing these. 

Take it away Stephanie.

Every night at dinner time, I wish that I had a time machine. If I did, I would use said machine to go back in time and hug my sweet Nana. I would hold her and thank her for the hundreds of dinners that she prepared for me as a child and I would apologize for being a little jerk and not eating any of them. I would stuff my face with all of the delicious food that she made and I would be sure to go on and on about its tastiness and her amazing-ness. I would oooh and aaah over her macaroni pie and I would squeal with delight at the site of her spaghetti with meatballs. I would basically grovel at her feet and beg for forgiveness for my unappreciative ways.

Before becoming a mom, I would hear stories about kids that would only eat bread or chicken nuggets for every meal and I thought "Wow, get control of your kid." or "Not my kid. My kid will be an eclectic eater." Yea. Famous last words. 

Fast forward 4 years and I am yelling at my 4 year old to please eat a dang bite of chicken or bartering with my 3 year old to taste the littlest piece of broccoli in exchange for a cookie. They refused. I yelled. Dinner time was miserable and the cycle continued day after day.

It's amazing how Disney was able to capture my likeness in this scene. (via)

About 1 year ago, I decided that I could't do it anymore. My picky eaters would eat if it was the last thing I would do and the frustrating dinners would come to an end. With that in mind, I made changes that I feel turned dinner time into a somewhat....dare I say it....enjoyable time? Not only do my kids now eat their food but they also seem to enjoy what I make (including vegetables). Praise hands. Today, I wanted to share what I did to get us to this point. It took time, consistency and patience (a real struggle of mine) and it's not perfect every night but it is miles from where we used to be.

1 //  PREPARE ONE MEAL

Since about 1 year ago, I make ONE meal for dinner with very rare exceptions. When I first initiated this one meal "policy', the kids fussed and complained and just down right would not eat. "I want chicken nuggets!" they whined! "This looks gross!" they wailed!

Instead of losing my cool about them not eating the pricey piece of fish that I so lovingly prepared, they were simply told that this is our dinner and if they do not want to eat it, that is their choice but they get nothing else for the night. Zip. Nada. I don't slide them a piece of bread on the down low or slip them a banana when no one is looking. It is the dinner I have made or nothing. I firmly believe that kids will eat when they are hungry and they will not starve if they miss one meal. My oldest is probably my pickiest eater so she was the most resistant to this new rule but by day 3-4, she stopped refusing her meals and actually started eating!

2 // INCLUDE YOUR KIDS IN GROCERY SHOPPING/MEAL PLANNING

Taking my kids to the grocery store used to be an epic nightmare. The handful of times that I have taken all 3, I left the store sweating. All of the "can I have this?" or "I want this!" requests are enough to make the most patient person want to scream. I did realize one day that my oldest would come home from the store and would only want to eat the grapes that she chose at the store. So, I took that and ran with it. Now, when we go to the store I have them help choose a lot of the food items on our list. They learn how to choose fruit/veggies, which eggs looks the best or to check the expiration date on the milk. They are super excited to grocery shop now and have started requesting us try new foods that they think look pretty or interesting. 

To help with meal prep, I let them each chose a meal that they would like to help make for the week (no "kids" meals). Knowing that they helped pick the meal that they are eating has also been a great way to get them to eat because they are excited it being "their" dinner night.

Meal Planner (that I use)

3 // HAVE YOUR KIDS HELP MAKE DINNER

Depending on the age of your child, the amount of help they can be with this step will vary. My middle child loves to help in the kitchen but he is only 4 so he does a lot of the mixing and pouring of ingredients. My 6 year old is allowed to chop (with a special knife) so she gets to help prep veggies and meats. My kids take a lot of pride in their meals and get so excited to see the look on their dad's and my face when we taste their masterpieces. (We make sure to be very dramatic with our amazed facial expressions). 

They don't help every single night due to my work schedule, but 3 nights a week is a goal that I personally try to hit for helping in the kitchen. Side Note: This will require an insane amount of patience and probably wine. This part is messy and the type A person in me has to back myself off the ledge at times due to the mess they make.)

4 // BUY FUN PLATES AND UTENSILS

Who doesn't love eating from a cute plate or with a fun fork?! Even as an adult, I am more inclined to drink water from my pretty water bottle than from an ugly cup. I find that my kids eat better when they have their fun character plates and utensils. We will say that they need to eat to find whichever character is on their plate that night. It is an easy way to infuse a little bit of fun into dinner time. Amazon, Target and Walmart all have tons of fun options to choose from!

5 // USE A REWARD CHART

We have a reward chart for our kids that we use all through the school year. On the chart, there are 5 things that my kids have to do on a daily basis to get a star. One of them is to eat dinner without fighting/complaining. If they eat everything on their plate without complaining, they get a star. As soon as they eat their dinner, they put their plate in the sink and run over to their chart to place a star. A full chart of stars = an ice cream date or an hour at chuckie cheese or whatever fun activity that I can think of for that week. When they fill their chart and get to do a fun activity, we verbally remind them that this activity is due to them doing an awesome job with eating dinner, waking up nicely in the morning etc.

6 // QUIET DINNER 

My daughter is loud. As in, I'm pretty sure that her mouth is actually a megaphone in disguise, loud. She also likes to talk. A lot. As a result, the first 10 minutes of dinner time is silent dinner. My kids are 6, 4 and 1 1/2 so they lose focus very easily. Quite dinner helps them to focus on eating their meal without distraction, once 10 minutes, or so, is up we start talking about our day. By that time, they have usually eaten a good portion of their dinner! I expect that we will be able to move on from quiet dinners as they get older but for now, I see it as a necessity to help them focus on their meals without too much distraction. 

7 // GET TO DIPPIN'

Dipping sauces are a great way to encourage kids to try new food. When I am introducing my kids to a new veggie, I will put together little cups of 3 different sauces or ketchup or what not so they can "sample" the new food. I think it makes them feel a little bit fancy and it almost tricks them into trying the food because they have to dip and bite at least 3 times before they decided whether they love or hate it. A lot of times they find a dip that they love and end up eating the whole thing! 

8 // BE CONSISTENT

Consistency is key when it comes to trying to implement any new strategy when it comes to kids. They must see that whatever is happening is the new normal and that no amount of whining or complaining will change it. Make sure that your partner or babysitter or whoever is helping with dinner time is sending the same message as well. Be consistent in offering foods even if they have not wanted them the 10 times before. For example, my 6 year old never liked strawberries, I continued to offer them to her and now she decided that she loves them. On the flip side, my son used to love eggs and now he doesn't. I continue to make them for myself and offer him a bite because he could very well change his mind. 

I hope that these tips will help you to find new ways to encourage your picky eater to eat! I don't want this post to give the impression that my kids are always super awesome, sushi and eggplant eating, food stars and that I am over here rocking life. There are more days that I am a hot mess than not. However, the food struggle has decreased significantly since I started to implement the ideas listed in this post and I hope that it will be helpful in your house too!

Thank you Danielle for giving me the opportunity to guest post today!

I hope this post helps you all out as much as it has helped me out. I am definitely ordering some new plates for the girls, going to take them grocery shopping with me (eek!) and even let them help me prep/cook dinner. Thank you Stephanie!!!

Don't forget tomorrow is our Girl Chat link up. The topic is your Fall Bucket List!

Guest Post - 10 Things You Should Do Before You Hit Publish

Today, I am changing it up a bit and having Cait from Cait's Cozy Corner guest posting for me today. Cait contacted me and asked if I was interested in letting her do a guest post on 10 Things You Should Do Before You Hit Publish.

I knew that I would love to read these items and I hope it helps my fellow blogging friends along the way. So Cait, take it away.

A good blogger should have a check list before they hit publish on a blog post. I have to admit, I have moments where I can be over my head, half asleep and after I hit publish on a post, realize that my content is all over the place. #BloggerFail. I thought, why not share some things I do before I hit publish so you can have a great checklist to reference.

1. Start With An Outline - There were moments when I first began blogging where I would just start writing. After a while, I would run out of points or gt what I wanted to write. Sometimes I would get bored all together. I’ve started to write simple outlines on the points I wanted to talk about on my blog post. It’s super simple- just write a few sentences that include some of the main points I want to talk about. It also ensure that I don’t miss out on crucial points that I may have later on. I also tend to write faster when I know what the key points are.

2. High Quality Content - Next, once your outline is finished, you can start to write your post. One of the key points I always look for is making sure that it’s high quality. What exactly do I mean by that? Let’s move on to step 3!

3. Think Of Keywords- I never realized the importance of keywords until I really started to get serious about blogging. They are essential to getting your blog noticed. Google Keyword Planner is a great way tool to help you pick targeted keywords that are relevant to your post.

4. Link To Older Posts/Articles- A great way to get Google to rank your post for targeted keywords is really just by telling Google what your post is about in your own blog. Link to other blog posts or articles using those targeted keywords I just talked about. These will come up when people are searching for those keywords and boom- your blog appears!

5. Attractive Title- Think of your headline as something that will attract readers. Don’t get discouraged- it can be tricky to think of a good blog post headline. Your main point is to generate a click so make sure that it’s specific enough to do just that. For example, I love writing “ Top 10 … “ and then a topic. That gains interest itself and the topic could be anything like “Top 10 Books To Read This Summer” or “ Top 10 Summer Tops Under $40”. Whatever your title- make sure it’s attention worthy.

6. To The Point- Although you do want a lot of great keywords and good content, you also don’t want your topic to be all over the place and writing redundant words. Make sure you go back to your post and relook at what you wrote. I try to make each point about a paragraph long to keep my readers engaged and not feel overwhelmed when looking at my post. Short and sweet am I right?

7. Images- Did you know horizontal images allows your blog and content to more shareable on Facebook on Twitter? I try to add these images on my blog post and I’ve already seen huge results! I actually just have a basic template and use it for the majority of all my posts. Two of my favorite tools to create them are using Canva and Picmonkey plus it’s FREE!

8. When To Use Vertical Images- If you’re not into Twitter or Facebook have you thought of Pinterest? The longer the better for Pinterest images! Make sure to use bright images to gain attention.

9. Add A Call To Action  - Of course this can all depend on your blog niche and how you interact with your audience, but have you thought of adding tweet boxes? Although certain hosts don’t support like this Blogger, adding a Tweet Box is a quick way of sharing quick ‘call to action’ blurbs that can be tweeted out quickly by just one click.

10. Double Check - Before you hit publish, make sure all of the tips and tricks are in your post. It can take a bit to see your blog take off, but staying consistent with all of these tips can pay off. For instance, Matt Anton can attest to the struggles of learning about what it means to hit publish on a post and ranking in a Google Search. A man who used to spend hours playing video games, now was finding a passion in website developing, learning everything  about SEO tips and how to make the most of the internet. He developed his own site, NJ SEO. They can help build a meaningful relationship with clients using social media. They also develop effective content strategies for forward thinking companies, bloggers alike.

Success stories don’t happen overnight but they do happen! Keep doing all you can to build your blog up by incorporating these 10 steps before hitting publish.

I know I didn't have a Confessions post or a Thoughts on Thursday post for you today, but I still have the link up below for those of you who did write one because I still want to read them! So please link up below and I will be back next Thursday with some confessions and thoughts.

Guest Post - You Know You're a Mom When

Today I have Mackensey from Stang&Co guest posting for me. I have absolutely loved following along in her journey through motherhood. From her fashion posts to her birth stories, I know she and I would be amazing friends if we ever get to meet in person. I "met" Mackensey through blogging and I have been following her ever since. Plus she writes some awesome confessions! She has two amazing little boys and I love seeing how different boymoms and girlmoms are. Enjoy!

While Danielle is off experiencing incredible Europe, I am stopping by today and am thrilled to be a guest on her blog! Can I just begin by saying how jealous I am of the travels she gets to do!? She is one awesome mom and lucky lady to experience the world through her job.

My name is Mackensey, and you can find my little corner of the internet over at Stang&Co. I blog about everything, from mommy mishaps, to fashion, to balancing out being a working mom with little ones at home. I live in the Midwest, have purchased more baby pajamas in the past two yeras than I care to admit, and am convinced that nothing is better for the soul than baking a batch of brownies. Stop on over to my page and say hi!

Lately, my life is consumed with motherhood. Having two under the age of two will do that to a person. Sometimes, I catch myself doing or saying something that cuases me to freeze and think, wow, when did I become a real mom? All of those other people are moms, but not me, right? Just because I have two little people attached to my hip doesn't warrant me the status of being an actual mom, does it? While protecting our sweet babies from the moment they are born is instinct, feeling comfortable in our mom skin is a bit more of a gradual process. if you have found yourself doing any number of the things on the list below though, you have most definitely earned yourself the title of MOM.

You know you're a mom when:

1. You look down at your shirt and are unsure whether it is spit up, boogers or food on your shoulder. And then you move on with what you were doing because you really don't care.
2. You have drawers full of burp cloths and towels, but are lazy and when boogers and spit up happen, you use your own sleeve or whatever piece of dirty clothing may be laying around and use that instead.
3. You tell your husband you have to "go to the bathroom" and lock the door for half an hour, using this time to check your phone, tweeze your eyebrows, or just shut your eyes for a few minutes.
4. A legitimate daily task is ensuring that one of your children does not kill the other one.
5. Bedtime is no longer something you look forward to, but rather dread as you know it is going to be a two-hour process, usually ending with someone in tears (and the person in tears is probably you!).
6. Nothing gives you a greater high than stacking coupons and scoring the deal of the year on diapers.
7. You go shopping for yourself, and walk out empty handed but with two new outfits for each of your children.
8. Chicken nuggets are a staple in your freezer, and life will cease to exist if you accidentally run out.
9. You have been pooped on in public, and it almost always happens that one time that you brave a run into Target without the diaper bag.
10. You know all of the words to the children's CD that is in your car. And you catch yourself listening and singing along, even when your children aren't with you.
11. The only vacation you have taken recently was to grab a Starbucks and roam the aisles of Target by yourself...at least until your husband texts you five minutes later asking when you will be home.
12. You find yourself regularly saying things such as "don't stick that in your nose", "get your hands out of your pants", and "No, don't eat that"!
13. Cute home decor is tucked away in your closet because your toddler decided your seasonal pumpkins made great bowling balls to throw down the stairs.
14. You look at stay at home mom's and think nothing but the absolute highest of them, because you know they have the hardest job on the planet.
15. Going to work in the morning often leaves you feeling giddy, because it is when you will finally be able to sip on a hot cup of coffee in peace.
16. You no longer share pictures of nights out or cute outfits, but rather have to refrain from sharing every adorable and precious thing your children do throughout the day.
17. Despite it all, your heart has never been more full, and you find yourself repeating what everyone always told you but you never really understood. That you love those little monsters more and with a deeper fierceness than you ever knew existed.

What are your "a-ha" moments in motherhood when you realized you were officially a member of the club!? I would love to hear about those little experiences that (looking back on) make you laugh!

Thank you so much Mackensey! When I first read this, I was nodding my head along to almost every single one of these. Being a mother is the most challenging and rewarding thing I have ever done in my life. I never knew if I had the mom gene, but now having children, they are what I live for. Through their crazy actions (like throwing mommy's candles and seasonal decor) to their hugs and kisses, I wouldn't change being a mom for anything.

I think we both have totally earned our mom badges!!

Please head over to Mackensey's blog and follow along.

Guest Post - Top 5 Beauty Items at the Drugstore

Hello Everyone! I'm Claudia and I blog over at Justalittleblush.com. It is such a pleasure to be blogging here today! As soon as Danielle posted that she was looking for some guest posts, I jumped at the chance. Her weekly confessions link up is always the best part of my Thursday. Be warned, when I link up, most of my confessions involve something I ate or something I brought.

I am a self-declared beauty junkie and spend an embarrassingly large amount of my spare time researching & buying makeup. I consider it research and development costs for my blog ;)

So, to get something out of all those hours, I want to share with you all my top five beauty items at the drugstore.

This was tough to narrow down! I started with 18 items and slowly, but surely, narrowed it down to just 5. Although I have a TON of drugstore favorites, I really cut down to those favorites that I prefer over any of my high end products. I asked myself: if the drugstore were to disappear, what five products would I want to keep? These are all products I use regularly and many of them I've repurchased over and over.

One

Bottom to top: Mac Cosmo, Wet N Wild Bare it All, Too Faced Chihuahu & Charlotte Tilbury Nude Kate

Wet N Wild Megalast Lip Color in Bare It All - $2.29

The megalast lipsticks are actually the first lipsticks I bought when I was just starting to get into lipsticks. I didn't want to spend a lot of money when I was first experimenting with colors and I can find these for $1.99 at some drugstores. Who knew I started with the best. These lipsticks are pigmented, creamy and stay on forever. Although the actual lipstick itself may seem a little stiff, I don't have any issues gliding them over my lips. Plus, they are all matte but are not drying at all!

I recently purchased a $32 lipstick and honestly it doesn't even compare to the Wet N Wild ones.

Although I have over 10 shades of this formula, my absolute favorite is Bare it All. It's a nude shade with just a hint of peach & brown so it doesn't make me look like I'm sick (which can happen with nude lips). Think Jennifer Lopez at award shows. You can see a swatch above compared to some higher end products.

A coupe of other favorite shares are Just Peachy and Cherry Picking.

Two

Jordana Best Lash Mascara - $3.99

I recently raved about this mascara on my blog (readhere). the formula isn't too liquid or too dry. It lengthens, defines and volumizes with one coat. It doesn't flake or run and basically looks amazing. This mascara is better than any drugstore or high end mascara I have ever tried. It's the most comparable to the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara that everyone loves, but for a fraction of the price. 

If you look at the brush, it doesn't seem like anything special, but somehow it always seems to pick up the perfect amount of product to prevent any clumping.

I will never be without it.

Three

Image Via

L'Oreal Lumi Foundation - $10.99

This is hands down one of the best foundations I have ever tried. The formula is pigmented, blendable and dries to a very natural looking luminous finish. Even though the coverage is medium, you can build it up to full coverage without looking cakey. It has a little SPF and there is a huge range of shades. As a plus, this comes in a plastic bottle with a pump.

I have combination to oily skin so usually I stay far, far away from anything labeled dewy or luminous. But by some miracle, this foundation works great and I do not end up looking like I rubbed baby oil on my face by the end of the day. I just set my T zone with a tiny bit of powder. The most comparable product to this is my Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk foundation. And that is a $64 foundation!

Four

Milani Eyeshadow Primer - $5.99

Talk about underrated products at the drugstore. This little tube of goodness is just as good as the hyped up Urban Decay Primer Potion or Too Faced Insurance Primer for 1/4 of the cost. The formula is creamy/silicone-y consistence just like the UD Primer Potion. A tiny amount is enough as it spreads really easily.

If you don't use eye shadow primer you need to go out and get this asap. It makes such a difference in how eye shadow applies, looks and lasts. I'm talking about extending your eye shadow for hours! Trust me, take an extra 10 seconds of your life and apply this primer.

Five

Wet N Wild Color Icon Blush in Mellow Wine - $2.99

As soon as I started thinking about this post I knew this blush would make the list. I don't even understand how they can price this at $2.99 when it's just as good as my $38 blushes. The formula is ultra-pigmented and long lasting. This color in particular is my absolute favorite. It is like a wine/deep watermelon color that is prefect for the Fall.

There is quite a lot of fall out with this blush so make sure to very gently tap your brush into the pan and then tap out the excess. The tiniest amount goes a LONG WAY with this so be careful to avoid clown face.

Honorable Mention

Image Via

I know I said just five, but I felt so guilty for leaving this out that I wanted to give it an honorable mention. My second favorite drugstore lipsticks are the Milani Color Statement Lipsticks. unlike the Wet N Wild lipsticks, the creamy shades of these have a satin finish so they are a little more moisturizing. They also smell delicious. My favorite shade is Cabernet Blend, a deep burgundy color that I tend to wear on repeat in the fall and winter. 

Alight friends, there you have it! I hope you'll enjoy these products as much as I do. And let us all hope there is never a true life situation that would require I only pick five products from the drugstore ;) If you want more beauty favorites, reviews and general life posts, come say hi to me at Just a Little Blush.

Thanks to Danielle for letting me post on here today!

Have a great day!

Thank you for guest posting Claudia. I learned so much from your post. I am in desperate need of UD Primer and now I am going to opt and try the Milani Eye Shadow Primer. Especially if I can save so much money. And as soon as I need mascara, I am definitely buying the Jordana one. I feel like I can pick up most of this stuff and it would cost the same as one makeup item I purchase. I love a good drugstore find and you nailed it with this post. So thank you so much.

Be sure to pop over to Claudia's blog and follow her.

 

Guest Post - Five Favorite Things About Fall

Hi all! I have Emily from Three Boys and a Girl guest posting for me today. Emily and I "met" through blogging and I have been so honored to help her through her first year blogging. Emily and I have connected over clothes, blogging, our children, all of her monogrammed goodies and life. I really hope to travel back East and meet Emily one day. Emily has so many amazing clothes and shops at Nordstrom often and I totally envy her buys.

I am so excited to be guest posting for Danielle today! When I started my blog back in January Danielle was one of my first blogger friends. Since then she has become a great friend. She has always been willing to help me with any blogger questions I have and I've loved bouncing ideas off of her. Watching her sweet girls grow and change over the past several months has been so fun too! So when she was looking for some guest posters while she is traveling I knew I wanted to do it!

Since fall is upon us, and everyone seems to have it on the brain I thought I would share my top five favorite things about fall!

ONE | Fashion
Who doesn't love the sweaters, the boots and the coziness of fall clothes. I am sharing some of my favorite finds lately.

Tops: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 Bottoms: 1 / 2 / 3 Shoes: 1 / 2 / 3

TWO | Food 

Goodness who doesn't love to eat? Fall foods seriously may be my favorite. Maybe its because so many things can be made in the crockpot {who doesn't love that}. I love soups, chilis and stews. Theres nothing better than getting that going on a chilly day and enjoying some football while eating chili. The toppings are so yummy and adding corn bread makes it even better. 

White Chicken Chili

Chili

Corny Corn Bread

THREE | Football

There is something about the start of football that signals fall. Spending Saturdays at the stadium tailgating, or watching on the back porch at home while the kids play in the backyard. I just adore days like that and can't wait to cheer on our team {NC State Wolfpack} during many games in the coming months! 

FOUR | Weather 

Ok seriously, fall weather is my absolute FAVORITE! I adore being able to throw on some leggings, my boots and a sweater. I hate hate hate being hot, so summertime is never my favorite for that reason. I love winter but it can get super cold and who likes that. But fall, fall is amazing. You can wear all the cozy things you want and still not get too hot or too cold. It's the absolute perfect scenario in my book! 

FIVE | Birthdays and celebrations

I can't talk about my favorite things about fall without talking about birthdays. In my family we have a lot. October starts with mine {I'll be 31!} and we end the month with Grahams, who will be turning O N E!! The we start November celebrating Jack who turns three!! In between the two we will celebrate Halloween as well and lets not forget about Thanksgiving to round out the fall season. So there are so many fun things to celebrate over the next few months!

These two have birthdays within 8 days of each other. We will be celebrating for a solid two weeks!

So there you go. My top five favorite things about fall! I could also include the decor, because right now my house looks like fall exploded. I love it, it feels cozier, my house smells amazing and it overall puts me in a better mood as soon as I walk in the door.

What are your favorite things about fall?

Thanks for letting me be a guest poster Danielle!

And thank you Emily for highlighting some of my favorite things about Fall. I love love love the Fall clothes. I really need to add those first booties to my collection. Who doesn't love Tom's? I have my fair share in my closet. I won't say how much, but let's just say I have more than a weeks worth. I am always looking for new recipes and can't wait to try these out, especially as the cooler weather sets in. And how cute are Emily's boys? I adore their shirts she has made for them for all the special occasions. I even have some coming my way for the girls' 2nd birthday. Thank you again for guest posting, Emily.

Please go check out her blog and follow along on her journey!

Guest Post - 3 Steps to Potty Training Success

Today, I have Lizzie from This Happy Life. Lizzie and I met through blogging and have become fast friends. Lizzie is a mom to three children and one of them happens to be named Avery...just like my little Avery. I love reading about Lizzie's life and her adventures with her family. I am so honored to have her as a guest poster today. Enjoy!

Hey there! I'm Lizzie and I blog over at This Happy Life. I'm so excited to be guest posting on Danielle's blog; it's quickly become one of my favorites!

Today I'm sharing 3 steps to potty training. I've successfully potty trained 2 out of my 3 kids and thought this was a great topic to guest post about since I'm about to start training my 3rd.

1. Make sure they are ready.

How do you know? With my kids, I started noticing they were telling me every time they went pee and poo in their diaper.  That made me realize they understood what was happening and that they could probably start going on the potty.  Also, if my kids got excited when I would talk about going on the potty, I knew it was a good time. If they didn't get excited, I would back off.  Once I had both things (telling me when they are going in their diaper + getting excited about the potty) I knew it was time to start.

2. Go big or go home

When it was time to potty train my first two, I took the approach of just diving in.  I did not use training pants or diapers some of the time, it was straight to underwear. (well except for night time, that took a little while longer) We went to the store and I had each kid pick out their favorite pair.  I chose to start potty training both kids on a Thursday and knew that the upcoming weekend would be spent at home, just training. I gated off our downstairs family room and pretty much confined them to our first floor which has our living room turned playroom and our kitchen (bonus is these rooms are hardwood) I would ask my kids several times an hour, "do you have to go to the bathroom? do you have to go pee?" If it would be a while in between going, I would sit them on the potty but only for a couple of minutes.  I didn't want them sitting on it for so long that they just happened to go and then might not be able to decipher the difference of actually having to go vs just being on the potty and going. I would repeat this several times a day.

3. Be their biggest cheerleader

If people could hear me cheering my kids on when they would go potty, they would probably mistake my excitement for winning the lottery. That's how much emotion I put into praising them.  My kids loved this so much.  I would be jumping up and down screaming "You did it! I knew you could! I'm so proud of you!! Yayyyy!!" and my kids would flash me the biggest smile.  I honestly think making such a huge deal when they went played a big role in their potty training success.

And there you have it, my 3 simple steps to potty training.  Of course this may not work for everyone but it could work for some. And remember, there will be accidents, maybe lots of them, but try not to blame your child (I know that can be hard when you're cleaning up pee or even poop for the upteenth time, but try) Most of all, Good Luck!

Thank you Danielle, for letting me be a part of your blog while on your trip!

Thank you Lizzie for these three steps. We are about to embark on potty training the twins and I know I will need all the help I can get. I love your idea of waiting for them to tell you that they are ready. My girls love to go into the bathroom with me and watch me. They are trying to figure out what is going on and I hope it leads to them wanting to try it soon. Thank you so much for the advice. I know I will make awesome use out of this very soon!

Guest Post - Throw Away Your Scale

Today, I have a real special treat for you all. My dear real life (in person) friend and blogger, Melanie is guest posting for me today. Melanie is hear to talk about learning to love yourself. She has been writing inspirational posts on her blog for awhile now and I couldn't wait to have her do a guest post for me.

I have known Melanie since 2005 when she took over my internship. We only worked together for about a month, but we became fast friends. We have been really close since day one and I wouldn't change a thing. Ok, maybe for her to move back home so we can see each other more often.

Take it away Melanie...

First, a big giant thank you to my dear friend Danielle for the opportunity to do a guest post. I'm excited to be here!

Lately I've been writing more on the topic of learning to love yourself. A huge part of that is learning to love your body. So today I want to share with you one of the first things I did to improve my own body image...throw away your scale!

You may be thinking, she can't be serious! Yes, yes I am. Well it's probably better to give it away, but the point is get it out of your house! Weighing yourself frequently is one of the worst things you can do for your body image. It is also completely unnecessary. The number on the scale does not represent anything important to your health. How you feel is what's most important. Do you feel strong and healthy? Do you feel like you're eating lots of nutritious food and getting enough exercise? If the answer is yes to both of these then you're already taking steps to be healthy. And if you feel healthy then why does it matter what you weigh? It doesn't! Even if your answer is no to those questions, that just means you need to be making your health a bigger priority, it does not mean you need to stress about the number on the scale.

One of the reasons I'm a big proponent of not weighing ourselves is because of how much our weight fluctuates. From one day to the next and even one week to the next, there are so many factors that can make you gain or lose 5-10 pounds, or more, depending on your body. How much water you're drinking, how much salt you're eating, how much your sleeping, where you're at in your menstrual cycle, etc. These are normal, natural things, some of which are out of your control and others, like drinking lots of water, are important to your health and should not be neglected to simply lose a few pounds.

The biggest reason I'm so adamant about staying off the scale is because I know from personal experience how much it helped me in my own search for body love. As someone who has recovered from anorexia, I know oh too well how detrimental poor body image can be. Obsessing about your weight is a step on the path to an eating disorder. It may not seem like a big deal at first, you'll tell yourself you're just being healthy. But there's a fine line between being healthy and having an unhealthy obsession, and trust me when I say, you do not want to cross it. How thin you are should not be your life's focus. There are so many wonderful things in life that are truly important. Your weight is not one of them. Being healthy definitely is, but obsessing over the numbers is not.

If you can't bring yourself to get rid of your scale right away, at least try something for me. Hide it far away, tucked under a bunch of stuff on a high shelf in your garage, or wherever will be really inconvenient to get it out. And just try going for a few weeks or a month without weighing yourself. Then just see how you feel. It may take longer, but after awhile, you'll realize you don't think about it as much and will likely feel better about yourself when you look in the mirror. Eventually you won't give it a second thought that you don't have a scale and aren't positive how much you weigh, because you will realize that it doesn't matter. And big bonus, all that energy you spent thinking about something silly will now be free to be used for something important!

A huge part of my recovery from anorexia has been learning to love myself. And as I learn to love myself, I'm really learning to prioritize my life, and in doing so, learning what is actually important to my happiness. Being healthy will always be an important piece of loving myself, but that not only includes being physically healthy, but mentally as well. Thinking kind thoughts about yourself is just as important as eating healthy and exercising. If you're treating yourself well and listening, and respecting, what your body is telling you, then you won't need a number on a scale to tell you if you're healthy and happy or not.

So here's to loving yourself, all of yourself, and staying off that scale!

Thank you Melanie! I know this hits home with me. I hate the scale and I hate weighing myself. I would rather go off how my body feels than a number. A number that can bring down my self esteem in seconds. I always love a good reminder on loving yourself and your body!

Please go check out Melanie's blog, Mel's Empty Journal where she talks about her children, life, being a mom, the struggles us moms go through, learning to love yourself, exercise and so much more.

Birth Trauma

Since I am out of town for work and I never shared this on my blog (only at Whitney's blog, Work It Mommy), I thought now was as good of a time as any.

Immediately after getting married, we started trying to have a baby. After a few months, it wasn't working. So I started reading books on getting pregnant and fertility. I started using opks (ovulation predictor kits), tracking my cycles and taking prenatal vitamins. A few months later and still nothing was working. So we started seeing a fertility specialist and he determined (through ultrasound) that I had PCOS. My husband's sperm was also tested. I started taking metformin and the side effects were harsh. Plus it made my cycle way longer making me think I was pregnant when I wasn't.

After two months, nothing had changed, so we decided we (with the help of my fertility doctor) were going to try IUI (interuterine insemination). I was to call my doctor once I got my period to start clomid and start the whole process. I had an ultrasound around 8 days post ovulation and said to come back in a week or so when I would start my period.

Well it never came and I took a pregnancy test thinking it was the metformin again. But I was pregnant. How could this be? My doctor said it was a very slim to none chance of it. We had an ultrasound at 6 and 8 weeks and baby was looking great. So I was switched to see my midwife and at 10 weeks, she confirmed that I was pregnant, but pregnant with TWINS.

 

From there it was a whirlwind. We saw our new doctor (since my midwife couldn't deliver our twins) and a perinatologist (high risk doctor) through my pregnancy. We found out we were having identical girls when I was 18 weeks.

At 33 weeks, just a couple days after Christmas, I went into early labor. I tried to deny it because I started labor the day after Christmas, but ignored it until another two days later. I was in so much pain that I knew we had to go to the ER.

After arriving at labor and delivery, they got me hooked up to the monitors and checked me. I was a 4 to 4 1/2 cm. They did an ultrasound of the girls and baby A was head down and baby b was transverse. She was in my ribcage laying sideways. They monitored me over the course of an hour and with no change in the positioning. And at this point I was at a 9 to 9 1/2 cm. I felt every second of pain and every contraction (which were right on top of each other).

At this point, I felt like I needed to push, but they told me I couldn't and they recommended an emergency c-section because baby b was transverse and it would be hard to turn her if she didn't turn herself. You can't pull a preemie baby's legs to get them to turn. I could have birthed baby A vaginally, but would have most likely had baby b c-section. After many tears and hesitation on my part, I went in for a c-section. Emergency.

After I got my spinal, was moved to the operating table and they started, my husband was brought in. He told me that he never wanted to look over the sheet if I ended up c-section, but when the time came, he wanted to look. And I am glad he did because he was able to capture the girls being born.

Baby A, Sutton, entered the world at 2:37 am on December 29, 2014. She was crying and beautiful as ever. Baby B, Avery, followed her seconds later at 2:37 am on December 29th. She cried a little, but had to be stimulated because she wasn't reacting very well to being outside the womb.

While both girls were being monitored and their umbilical cords being cut by my husband, I was being worked on. It was time to deliver my placenta, but it broke inside of me. Once they got my placenta out, they pulled my uterus out and started massaging it trying to get it contract. They were massing it for a long time and at one point mentioned a hysterectomy if it wouldn't contract soon.

I started to go in and out of consciousness. I was losing a bunch of blood, over 2 liters to be exact, and the anesthesiologist kept giving me shots in my shoulder and put another ivy in my right hand (already had one in my left hand). I must have had at least 10 or more shots in my shoulder.

I closed my eyes and remember saying/thinking, I am going to die. I have never felt so scared in my life. I have never felt so weak in my life. I felt like I was slipping away. I was unconscious at one point and my anesthesiologist kept waking me up saying I needed to stay with him. I knew I was going to die and leave my husband with two brand new babies. Babies that would have to be in the NICU. All the while, my husband is watching. He watched me lose a lot of blood and his babies are about to be wheeled off to the NICU.  

The anesthesiologist told him he needed to go to the NICU with the babies. I remember hearing this and my husband asking if he should go or stay with me. The anesthesiologist told him to go.

They worked on me for a long time and were eventually able to get my uterus to contract before having to take it out. Thank you Jesus. I am so happy they saved it because we may want more children and I want that option. I am so grateful the doctors did everything they could to save me and my uterus.  

I had to have a blood transfusion due to the amount of blood loss. I will spare the photos that show the wall of bloody cloths they used on me since it is pretty graphic, but know there was 16 bloody cloths on a pocket wall.  

Once my husband was in the NICU with the girls, he was told that I was in recovery and they saved my uterus.

The delivery was over and it was time to enjoy our babies. My girls spent 26 and 27 days in the NICU. Everyday I would travel to the hospital, after I was discharged, twice a day to spend time with my girls. I didn't get to process my labor and delivery. I stayed strong for my girls and pushed through the physical and mental pain that I had experienced. 

I asked my husband questions about what happened from day one, but I didn't get all the answers until weeks later. It was traumatic for him as well. 

I know I didn't deal with my traumatic birthing experience like I should have. I did ask the questions, but I tried to block it out. But as the months went by, it hurt me more and more. I cried anytime I thought about my experience. I tried to rationalize it. I said it was normal. But in all reality, it isn't normal and I almost died. I almost lost my life giving birth to the two best things that have ever happened to me. 

I didn't get postpartum depression, but what I had was the aftermath of a traumatic birth. I spent many days and nights crying over my experience. Every time I pass the hospital, I get anxious and upset because it brings back the memories. I never got the beautiful vaginal birthing experience that I hoped and dreamed about. I never got pictures with my girls right after birth (not even the ones beside my head after a c-section). I never got the skin to skin with my twins right after birth. I laid there helpless, losing a lot of blood, going in and out of consciousness and almost dying.

Over the last 15 months, I have learned ways to cope with my traumatic birth. First, please talk to someone, anyone about your thoughts and feelings. Whether it is a therapist, your partner/spouse, a friend or your mother. It feels good to talk about the experience. You will shed tears and hurt, but talking about it will get it out there. Ask the questions to anyone who was there during your birth trauma. Get your answers so you can be at peace in your mind.

Write about it. Without my blog and my personal journal, I wouldn't have been able to articulate my thoughts and feelings on the experience. Seek out other women who have had a birthing trauma. Read their stories and get some comfort that you are not alone. 

And drive by the hospital or visit the hospital in your own time. Since giving birth to my girls, I spent 27 days there visiting them in the NICU. And once they were out, I came back to donate their preemie and newborn clothes to the NICU when they grew out of them. We have had doctor appointments there. I have had three surgeries since they were born and every one of them has been at the hospital they were born at. I have walked those halls to get a sense of relief and closure. It helps. Each time it got easier and easier to be there.  

Join a moms group. Either local or online. I am part of a twin mom group on Facebook that is local, and I find that I can relate my experiences, get advice and help when I need it.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or comment below.