You Cannot Pack Hot Foods For Lunch Without a Microwave

Because Lily will not have access to a microwave at school, I felt very limited by what I could pack. I was thinking everything had to be room temperature. I worried about packing proteins: milk, cheese, and meat should not be allowed to come to room temperature.

Then I did some research on thermoses and realized they have come a long way since I was kid. I found an amazing thermos that ensures food stays hot for 5 HOURS and cold for even longer! This was such a relief for me as it opened a lot of doors for what kind of food I could send.

I make a lot of soups, pastas, and rice casseroles for meals in our house because they taste great reheated for my husband’s lunch at work. But now I can just make a little extra and send them in my kid’s lunch, too! I learned some quick tips for keeping your food hot inside the thermos for as long as possible.

• First, heat water to almost boiling
• Add it into the empty thermos for 5 minutes
• Meanwhile, heat the food in a microwave (use bowl) or on the stove. Do not heat food in the thermos because metal is not safe inside a microwave
• Empty the thermos of hot water and insert warm food
• Close it up tight and you are done!

I did extensive research to find the best thermos and chose to purchase these ones for packing school lunch. You will want one (or two) that is vacuum insulated and double walled. If you want a slightly cheaper option, choose this one. I also stumbled across a Thermos brand one with tags on, never used at Goodwill for $7! You could try your luck at a thrift store, but since eventually a thermos will leak, it is better to buy new.

I do not have enough options for fruits/veggies my kids will eat

Sometimes it is easier to take the expensive route and let the school take the job of serving your kid a variety of fruits and vegetables. My kid only really likes carrots, every other vegetable I have to encourage her to eat at the dinner table. Without me there, will she eat the fruits and vegetables I pack?

With a little research on these concerns I found two great resources.

First, this chart helps me come up with ideas of what to pack. Big thanks to 5dollardinners.com!

Second, I found this article for ideas to make my kid’s lunch arranged in an appealing, fun way. I know my kids are more willing to eat their food when it’s in the shape of a face or something silly! Just scrolling through those pictures gave me lots of great ideas to make foods that my kids only sometimes eat look more appealing.

You Cannot Pack Hot and Cold Things Together

I was under the impression if you pack cold items and hot items in the same lunch box, they will affect each others’ temperatures. But amazingly, if you buy the right thermos, absolutely NO heat transfers! The thermos does not even condensate or change temperature at all on the outside.

Otherwise, you can opt for a lunch box with two insulated compartments to hold hot and cold food separately. Or, get this new OmieBox from Bento that can hold hot and cold foods in the same box and maintain individual temperatures! Amazing!

With the right equipment, any dilemma you are facing when packing school lunch can be solved. And when you think about the $2.75 per meal you will be saving, the $15 lunch box and two $15 thermoses are worth the investment!

Thanks for reading! I hope if you are wondering how to accomplish packing school lunch every day for your child that I helped! Share this advice to a friend you know who could use one of these tips. Oh, and don’t forget to pin!

Thanks for reading – see you all next Monday!

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Labeling In Boxes

Society has a tendency to put everyone into boxes. We want people to identify attributes about themselves so that we can see where they fit in and belong. The bad thing about this with children is that they change. Kids drastically change from year to year as they grow, influenced by their friends, experiences, successes, failures, and especially their parents. But parents, just like everyone in society, wants their children to be labeled and neatly put into boxes that society accepts. When a child starts to change–for instance, when they were 5 years old they were shy but as they age they become outgoing–children are conflicted between the label they’ve been given by their parents about their personality and what they feel about themselves now.

In this instance, she enjoyed being put in a box.

Labels Are Bad, Even if They Are About Good Things

You might say to your child that they are so smart to praise them, but unfortunately that language will not accomplish the self-worth you are trying to foster in your child. Labeling them as smart gives them an impossible standard to uphold. Your child will undoubtedly face situations they do not feel smart, especially as they age and other children surpass their intelligence for some reason or another. Again, the label makes your child conflicted and scared of failure. If they try something that they will likely fail at, like a difficult math course, they risk not being considered “smart.” Therefore, they stick with safe activities they know they are already good at, completely limiting their potential. More can be found on this concept by reading the book “Mindset” by Carol Dweck.

So what do we do? You stop labeling your kids and change the language you use. There is a way to encourage your child’s self-confidence and give them the freedom to determine their identity without parental influence. Click here to get some insight and change the way you talk to your kids.

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 She has always been a book worm and we have always loved Dr. Seuss.

This post will be slightly different than normal. Instead of dishing out advice, I’d like to take a little time to reflect on the pros and cons of what I imagine will transpire over the next year when Lily starts school.

• Pro: With the eldest gone, I can focus more on connecting with my younger kids. Con: They will lose their leader to direct and facilitate self-play. I’m not looking forward to fielding the question, “When will Lily be home?” numerous times a day.
• Pro: Having a break from her 5-year-old incessant talking. Con: I’ll miss out on numerous stories, jokes, observations, and deep questions she will now tell classmates or teachers instead.
• Pro: She will gain confidence and independence doing so many things by herself. Con: Very soon are the days she will treat her younger brothers like they can’t hang with her because they’re too little.
• Pro: The friends she will acquire from school will bring so much happiness and interest into her life. Con: Those same friends will begin the comparison game. I do not look forward to complaints from Lily about how many toys her friends got at Christmas or that their family goes on vacation during spring break.
• Pro: She will begin the path of structured learning, realizing she has a lot of road ahead of her. Con: The competition is strong with this one. I am hoping Lily can learn to strive for a personal best instead of best in her class.

My point is that every new beginning brings benefits as well as set-backs. I know there will be bad things that come with Lily starting kindergarten, but I’m choosing to focus on the good things. More than anything, I am just excited to watch my little girl grow!

Is your child in kindergarten this year? What are some of your worries and what are some things you are looking forward to with the start of school?!

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When Nick is in a situation where another adult is telling him “no” or instructing him to do something, he throws tantrums. I don’t know where this came from, but I am determined to correct it. He screams and yells at them “Go away!” If they try to hold him in place or stop him from running onto a busy street, it makes matters ten times worse. He will start kicking and hitting them to get away; he will resist yielding to their authority at all costs. Unfortunately, this makes me nervous leaving him under the care of other adults. I worry he will not respect their authority or be a good listener.

Understand the Psychology

Like most parenting problems I have, it comes back to child psychology. I always try to get inside their little heads and figure out what the behavior stems from. When I asked my pediatrician about this behavior, Dr. Schrup said it is common for children to be born with a mentality that the world is out to get them. It could just be a survival tactic, not something I created, that Nick is prone to expect the worst of people. Because my son assumes people have ill intentions, he is mistrusting and does not listen to authority figures. Only people who seem less threatening or his parents who have proven they have his best interest at heart will get compliance from Nick.

Understanding this psychology, I started to see more clearly all the times Nick acts out because he assumes someone is trying to harm him. Any child trying to kiss or hug him is pushed away for trying to fight. Any adult trying to pick him up when he’s hurt is screamed at for trying to touch him. My son is extremely vigilant in protecting himself against bad actions. Perhaps if we were still living in the caveman days, he would be one of the few survivors. But in the world we live in now, I am constantly reminding him that people usually mean well.

Defer To the Authority Figure

I have a hard time not intervening when it is clear to me Nick’s behavior is often a matter of misunderstanding intentions, not actually malicious at all. However, if I want my son to respect and heed another adult’s authority, I need to defer to the authority in question when problems arise. Oftentimes my sister and mother-in-law will struggle getting Nick to listen to them. When he is disregarding their commands, instead of intervening to mediate, I try to stand back so that Nick does not perceive me as undermining their authority. If I want Nick to respect their authority, I need to as well. If an authority figure comes to me to work out a disagreement they’ve had with Nick, it sends the wrong message to my son. It says that he only needs to listen to Mommy or when Mommy is around for someone to tattle on him.

Total Momma’s Boy

So, if we are at a family gathering and Nick approaches me whining that someone told him what to do, I have a process. First, I march him right back to that person. Usually this is one of my siblings or parents. Then, I tell him to ask why they told him what to do. Then I step away. I don’t hold his hand or facilitate the conversation any more. I am not there to enforce, the person who told him what to do in the first place should command authority in his mind. If Nick is disrespectful when that person is trying to talk to him, I do intervene to try again. Otherwise, I stay out of it to be clear that Mommy is not part of the misunderstanding and he needs to talk it out with that adult.

Listening to Authority

One thing we are definitely looking forward to is improvement when Nick starts preschool in the fall. This issue with authority, as well as other reasons, have caused us to decide to put Nick in preschool sooner rather than later. I’m confident the wonderful preschool teacher at the school will gain compliance from Nick. She is trained in early childhood psychology and knows how to talk to young children in a non-threatening way. Hopefully learning to listen to his teacher will help my child listening to authority other than parents across all aspects of life.

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After I talked with many different moms about my troubles, I heard over and over again, “My second child was a hitter.” It seems almost everyone dealt with aggressive physical behavior in their second born, whether that be biting, hitting, pinching, or kicking. The hypothesis I have for this is that your second does not have the words at age 2 or 3 to compete with their older sibling for toys, food, attention, or anything. They resort to physical harm to enact their frustration or gain the attention of their parent.

Obviously, your child will eventually gain the skills to articulate their thoughts in words and the self-control to refrain from hitting, but what do you do in the mean time? Your toddler cannot gain a huge vocabulary overnight. I worked very hard helping Nick to stop aggressive behavior over the last year and I am happy to say he is a LOT better. I do not know for sure if he improved simply because of his age or because of my efforts. Regardless, these are the tactics I use to handle hitting and stop aggressive behavior with my son.

Intervene On Their Behalf

I am more of a detached parent and like to let my kids work out their sibling rivalry on their own. But after a few months of Nick hitting, I realized my older child, Lily, was just getting beat on and things weren’t improving. It occurred to me that Nick was hitting more because of Lily’s instigating than his aggression. While her transgressions were less serious–bossing him around and making fun of him–they were still the catalyst for setting him off. So, I began intervening when my children would fight. First I would make them both sit down and take deep breaths. Then, I would begin explaining to Lily what she did to cause Nick to hit. Last, I would address Nick and give him ideas of the words he could say in response to Lily’s provocation.

Offer a Hug Instead

One day I was thinking about just how incredibly physical my little boy is. He is more athletically inclined than his peers, loves to wrestle and snuggle, and relates to the world in a very physical way. It occurred to me I could substitute a negative physical reaction to his emotions (hitting) with a positive physical reaction (hugging). The next time he was very angry with me, came swinging at me with his open hands to hit me, I offered him a hug. I simply said, “Nick are you trying to hit? Do you want a hug instead?” And I couldn’t believe it, it worked. It worked all the time; it still works today. Nick just needs a physical response when he’s feeling upset. To him, hitting and hugging are one in the same.

Schedule Physical Activity Every Day

Children are all physical, active little people. Their bodies and minds are meant to explore the physical world around them, running through the yard, tromping through the woods, or climbing on the playground. Children who utilize physical outlets like hitting to express their unhappiness need appropriate physical outlets even more than other kids. I make a point to get outside with my children every day to play, as long as it is warmer than 20 degrees outside. If it’s too cold, we go to an indoor play place, inflatables arcade, trampoline park, or open gym to exercise. If there’s absolutely no other option, I make obstacle courses in our basement or wrestle the kids to satiate their need for physicality. I cannot wait until Nick is old enough to play sports; I know it will help him channel his natural aggression more appropriately.

These tactics to stop aggressive behavior with my son have helped. We are looking forward to him starting preschool in the fall so that he can have more practice getting along with others.

Do you struggle with an aggressive child or hitting in your household? I’d love to connect with other parents for support on this issue!

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Those big blue eyes give me so much guilt.

I signed up for an early childhood family education open gym where the listing said the purpose of the class is to get kids and their parents actively playing together. I tried it, but before long found myself just conversing with the teachers and watching other parents play with their kids. This is just something I suck at.

My husband is so good at playing with the kids. He will pretend to be a train and let them ride around on his back through the living room. He will pretend to be the monster and chase them, tickling and wrestling them to no end. He will shoot basketballs and build legos and go down slides and mold play-doh with them. This amplifies my guilt. However, he is the one who pointed out the things I do play with the kids that I seem to enjoy. Yes, there are a handful of things I like to do with my kids to get in that quality time which are probably considered playing.

Right now, Lily is really into pretending to be Cat Noir from Miraculous. Not my idea of fun.

Stories

Reading books is my go-to response when I get asked, “Mommy, will you play with me?” Whenever my kid needs some one-on-one time, I’m happy to snuggle up with a story–or five.

Coloring

I’m a big color-er, as you can imagine. I love drawing or painting and I love sharing that experience with my children. This play can be messy, but it is so worth it to join in. Why do you think adult coloring books have become so popular? Coloring with your kids can be relaxing and enjoyable for both parties involved.

Hide and Seek

Usually, when the kids want to play, they don’t want to do something low-key like I do. Hide and seek is a great solution: it provides down time for you while you are counting or hiding, but is rousing enough for the kids.

Puzzles

Puzzles are one of my favorite ways to spend time playing with the kids. They are rarely interested in doing this with me, but when we get started, they really get into it. Puzzles also teach them critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as spacial awareness and persistence. I’m happy to sit down and do a puzzle to enlarge my kid’s brain anytime.

Dance Parties

Sometimes your kids just really want to do something active with Mom. Of course, their idea is to jump on the bed until one hits their head against a wall. But one thing active I really like doing is dancing. I even do it by myself sometimes. So whenever my kid is hyper and wanting to play, I turn on their favorite music (Frozen, again!?) and we bust a move.

Besides these five ways to play, I also do chores, bake, learn, swim, walk, cook, and snuggle with my kids. Obviously, there is no shortage of quality time. I just can’t stop chastising myself for not being more playful with my littles, especially after reading this adorable article. After all, they are only young once.

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1. Starting Solids With Your 6 Month Old

This comprehensive guide to starting solids with your baby is a result of my endless research. If you’re wondering what age to start feeding solids, how much food to feed, what foods you can safely make at home, how to store homemade baby food, or anything else about baby food, this post is for you!

2. How to Get Baby To Sleep Through the Night

Getting baby to sleep through the night (8+ hours straight) is the ultimate holy grail of parenting. This post includes 6 strategies for getting your baby to sleep longer at night, but it works best the earlier you start. It can get much harder to sleep train baby after they are 6 months old.

My newest baby, Theo. All three of my children slept through the night around 2.5 months old.

3. Advice For New Parents

I love this post, it reminds me of the piece I did on the most important lesson in parenting. It’s an opinionated piece on what I think your husband or partner’s role should be in caring for a newborn. It’s a great article to share with new parents in your life!

4. Why You Should Vaccinate Your Kids

Another topic I did endless amounts of research, my post on vaccinating your children. Uninformed and misinformed parents are at large these days, making decisions for their children that truly impact public health and safety. Read this post with citations and facts to help you make decisions about immunizations for your children.

5. Things to Include in Your Birth Plan

As one of my most popular posts of all time, it is evident parents have loved my advice for what to include in a birth plan. Some suggestions may include information you have never heard before, so definitely give it a read. Do not be afraid to make an informed decision that goes against what the “norm” is for giving birth.

That whole first year of babyhood can be a rollercoaster trying to navigate the new experiences, big decisions, and growing milestones of your child. I know, I am experiencing it for the third time right now with Theo. Let me know what you think is one of the most important subjects when it comes to raising a baby; I would love to know what you think. I’m sure to be writing some more baby advice posts in the future.

These three babies have given me a lot to talk about!

Thanks for reading!

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Parenthood is Not That Exhausting…No Really

Once my best friend asked me, “What’s the hardest part about parenting?” I told him that for me, the hardest part was keeping my temper in check. He said he had asked a few other parents, all in their 30’s I might add, and their answer was “It’s exhausting.” I was surprised to hear this because I have never felt very tired as a parent. I’ve been more tired as a teenager staying up late talking on the phone and in college working on a paper until morning. I realized I have never been truly exhausted because I am so young and my body can still bounce back easily from the late night wake-up calls for milk or monsters. Plus being a parent keeps you home more, so most nights I am able to go to bed as early as 9 pm–if I want to that is.

Everyone Stares at You

It used to be the worst when I just had Lily. When you are toting around a baby and you look like you’re a teenager, everyone stares. Especially in grocery stores. Once you have more than one kid, you get less dirty looks, but more awkward glances. I think at that point people assume you didn’t make “a mistake” and you must be older than you look.

You know you’re a young mom when you take selfies with your kids.

Strangers Say the Darndest Things

At the hospital giving birth to my third child, you should’ve seen the nurse’s faces when they were under the impression it was my first. Wait, you’re 25? Blank stare. It might be worse for the grandparents, they hear, “You don’t look old enough to be a grandma!” about ten times a day. I wonder if people understand what this comment is insinuating and that they are highlighting insecurities ingrained in women’s minds for the last two generations. I was once in an auto shop with just my youngest when the following conversation unfolded. It was the perfect example of how most strangers insert themselves into your situation and judge you because you look too young to know better.

This middle-aged woman said, “What an adorable baby, how old is he?”
I said, “Thank you, 7 months old.”
She said, “Oh he must be crawling all around, just you wait, he’ll start walking in just a few short months.”
I said, “He doesn’t crawl, yet. He is pretty young for that.”
She responded, “Oh honey, no. Most babies crawl around 6 months. But that’s okay, he will catch up. Don’t worry.”

I didn’t respond. I could’ve said that this is my third kid, or that most babies don’t crawl at 6 months, or that she should mind her own business. But I didn’t, because that was just one in a sea of comments I get from strangers every time I’m out that are inappropriate.

You Constantly Question Your Parenting

Of course, the previous point leads right into this one. Society tells us we are too young to be good parents, so we are always left wondering, are we good parents? I don’t think being a young mom disqualifies me from being a good parent. I was once told just the fact you are thinking about ways to improve your parenting shows you are a good parent. It’s true that the brain doesn’t fully develop until humans reach their mid-twenties. Perhaps this is why I am constantly feeling the need to improve and grow in my parenting knowledge and abilities. It’s how my brain has been growing for the last five years of my life.

It’s Easier To Get Your Body In Shape After Pregnancy

I will admit, this is a great benefit of being a young mom. Your metabolism is likely higher than moms that are older than you so your post-partum body can bounce back faster. Your skin is usually more elastic and resilient, so stretch marks are not as noticeable. Your face has fewer wrinkles and shows little in the form of bags under the eyes. It’s true that being young gives you a higher chance of achieving a “hot mom bod,” something I’m grateful for.

In Cozumel with my husband, feeling hot–literally and figuratively.

You Lose Friends, But the Good Ones Stick Around

I had kids before any of my high school friends did. At age 25, I finally have a friend who had a baby near the time I had my third.

Theo & Landon, born 4 weeks apart

I am surprised by how being a young mom has shaped my friendships. I have lost friends that I thought would be around for a lifetime because they felt we were in different places in our lives. I have also gained numerous new friends who are parents and are a great source of support for me, although they are 5-10 years older than myself. And most importantly, I have a few amazing friends who have stuck by my side, even though our lives are starting to look like polar opposites, making an effort to stay interested even if I am unrelatable to them. I love you (you know who you are)!

Though being a young mom has given me many ups and downs, the best thing it has given me are these three children. I wouldn’t change a thing.

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So if you are like me, you have all these bags of breast milk floating in a certain corner of your freezer. Whenever it is time to give the baby a bottle, you search for the oldest date written on the bags in order to cycle the frozen supply (you should not feed breastmilk from a fridge freezer that was pumped more than 3 months ago).

To organize these bags in an easy to access manner, grab a simple gift bag.

Then, cut a slit at the bottom with scissors.

Stack your breastmilk bags in the gift bag starting with the oldest at the bottom, its tag coming out of the slit.

When you pump new milk, freeze the breastmilk bag flat, then add it into the top of the gift bag. When accessing the supply for feedings, grab your breastmilk bag from the bottom slit.

It works so easy! No more digging around that packed freezer!

If you liked this breastmilk storage idea, be sure to pin and share!

Do not forget to check below for other great reads I’ve written on breastfeeding! Big thank you to the commenter who shared this genius idea on Facebook. I have enjoyed utilizing this method for breastmilk storage in my home and I know you will, too.

Stop back next week when I share an opinionated article on what it is like to be a young mother. You will not want to miss it!

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Rule 1: One present at a time

We usually let one person at a time open a present. This is an important rule for children to understand each gift means something in and of itself. It makes everyone focus on what each present is and think about why the person who gave the gift might have chosen it. It also gives your child the stage for a bit so they pay more attention to what they are actually opening; all eyes are on them.

Rule 2: You can’t open the next gift until thank yous are completed

The “What’s next” question really bothers me because it implies the child is ungrateful for the gift they already have, they’re just looking for something better. So this year, after one gift is open, appropriate thanks must be given to the giver of the gift before the next gift is opened. Appropriate thank yous involve eye contact, full sentences: “Thank you for the …” and maybe even hugs.

Rule 3: If there is any complaining about a gift you have received, it is taken away.

I haven’t had to deal much with complaining in regards to gifts, but I do know it’s likely to happen this year as my children experience a little more sibling rivalry than when they were younger. I can almost hear my daughter saying, “But I didn’t get as fun of a present as Nick. Mine was just clothes.” There is nothing that grinds my gears more than entitlement. If one of my kids complains about a gift, or heaven forbid, throws a tantrum over not getting something they wanted, I plan to take away that present for at least a week.

You want your kids opening presents to elicit excitement and spark that Christmas magic to spread across their faces. All too often, our picturesque gift opening is tainted by rude behavior and your kids embarrass you with bad manners. Set these rules ahead of time with your kids opening presents and follow through; gracious and polite behavior is rudimentary in teaching your children to be good people. Christmastime is no exception.

The best gifts under the tree.

On a lighter note, I want to welcome you to tour my holiday home if you haven’t already. Come check out all the DIY decor and inspirational ideas for Christmas, I promise you won’t be disappointed. Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas this Sunday!

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