Friday Favorite - Mayden Inspired

Happy Friday to all! Today I am bringing you an amazing product review for my Friday Favorite. When Danielle and I were approached by Mayden Inspired, to try out some of their awesome baby/toddler booties, we jumped at the chance. As a mom and nannies, we are always in search of shoes that babies and toddlers will actually keep on their feet! Makenna is one of those children that NEVER keeps anything on her feet. As soon as she is at home or gets in the car, off come her shoes and socks. We are forever losing them.

The owner and sole maker of booties, Danielle Murphy, is a local New Jersey mom. She started making booties for her own children and the word of her cute booties quickly spread. Mayden Inspired booties run from sizes newborn to 18/24 months, which I will say is about a size toddler's size 6. You can order them in a variety of designs and patterns. We were sent four pairs, two 18/24 months and two newborn sizes. 

As you can see, Makenna was very excited to receive her booties! 

Lucky for her, she has small feet. The size 18/24 months just fit her. That's why I am guessing they even out to a size 6. I thought she would tell me they were too tight but she just said over and over, "I love my new slippers!" She wore them the entire day and I had to force her to take them off for bed that night. That has never happened before! Two months later, her foot grew and the booties are very tight on her now :( But she loves them so much she still wants to wear them! 

The booties have held up extremely well. She wore them for the last week of school (she has to wear slippers at school) and all around the house. They show no signs of wear and are sewn very well. Considering Makenna's foot is about to bust out of them, and they are still holding up, I would give them an A+ for quality! :) I can't wait to put the newborn pair on baby #2 when she is born in September! I have them packed in my hospital bag waiting to go! 

The other newborn pair we received ended up being to small for the baby we wanted to test them. Our mistake since baby Celia was almost 3 months old. Danielle M. quickly switched out the booties for us. Celia and her Mom were huge fans of them! She kept them on and didn't pull them off at all. They are tight enough to stay on snug, but are not so tight that they leave marks or cut off circulation. And have I added that they are ridiculously cute?! 

We loved her booties so much, that we decided to gift them to a certain NJ based celebrity mom. We will keep you all updated if we spot them out and about when her baby is born! :)

The above picture shows the two different styles Mayden Inspired makes. A Maryjane type booties and a classic Moccasin style. 

Be sure to check out Mayden Inspired's Etsy shop. You can see all the different patterns and styles that they offer. If you don't see exactly what you are looking for, email Danielle M. through Etsy. She is always getting new fabrics in stock. 

We know you will all love these booties just as much as we did!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

xoxo- K

Disclaimer: We were not paid to do this review. We received the booties free, but if they sucked we would NOT have written a good review about them! :) 

Book Review Tuesday!

YAYYY! I always get so excited when Tuesday rolls around. Keri and I have received so much wonderful and positive feedback about our book reviews. Without further a due here is my favorite book of choice for this week....

This children's book is amazing for so many reasons. The moral behind Pete the Cat's story is, "No matter what you step in, keep walking along and singing your song... because it's all good." I love how Pete the Cat finds a fun way to say don't sweat the small stuff! Throughout the entire book Pete showcases such a positive attitude. The illustrations are fun, colorful and rustic. Pete the Cat undergoes a couple of shoe transformations. Whether he stepped in mud, strawberries or blueberries Pete keeps the same casual face and just keeps strolling all and singing his song. This book teaches children the art of just being able to chill out. Whether that means that mommy won't be able to refill your sippy cup right away, or you spilled something on your new shirt. No worries, it will all be okay.  

I truly do not want to ruin the book for anyone however this story comes with a CD where all the kids are able to sing along with Pete the Cat. This book is perfect for a story time or circle time. I have talked to teachers who have used this book and they all said it was a winner in their eyes. You can find it in your local library minus the fun CD or you can order it offline CD and all! 

I hope you all enjoy it! 

XOXO,

-D

Tackling the Terrible Two's!

Being a nanny I face a lot of hurdles with children. I really want to talk about one that I am currently facing. We are officially approaching the "terrible two's!" I know a lot of parents have gone through this stage with their child. It is a very trying time for everyone. I wanted to give a few different tips and tricks to attempt to help get you and your child through this difficult stage.

I am a BIG believer in using words. Real words. I never speak to a baby or young toddler in baby talk. It will never do them any good. Let's face it, they scream at the top of their lungs because they want to communicate. Some kids talk sooner than others and no worries if your child isn't speaking at the rate you want them to. I promise they will talk and then they will never stop :) In a case where I have a child who will just scream at me I will always say to them, "use your words." I will go through their mini vocabulary with them until I can figure out what they are trying to say. You may need to go through a total of 50 words but I look at it as great review.

If you have a child who points to everything and grunts (which, for a bit every child does) never walk them over to everything. They won't learn to talk that way. You can tell them the object they are pointing to and then either take them to it OR you can say, "That is the pantry. You may open it . But first I will put you down and we will walk  over there together." Because well, let's face it, they are a big kid. It really helps to promote their independence.

As a nanny I have been lucky to be with my little guy since he was just a little bit :) I believe he was going on four months when I started with my awesome family! Very shortly after I started with him I began teaching him baby sign. By the time he was seven/eight months he began to sign back to me. Baby signing has really helped him through this difficult stage. Even if he can't fully express the word he is looking for, he can surely sign a great deal of words. It has truly helped to lessen his levels of frustration. For some great references for baby sign there's a wonderful program called, "baby signing time" which can be a bit pricey but it's just fabulous! Also, if you check out YouTube you may be able to find some free signing videos!

When your child has a tantrum, there are two ways you can go about dealing with this stage. Everyone has different beliefs so please do what fits your family and your lifestyle. The first thing you can do when your child throws themselves on the ground and begins ther tantrum you can literally just walk away into the other room. Most likely they will follow you however, if you do not feed into them then they tend to give up the charade in a timely fashion. The second approach you may use is to hug it out with them. I used this technique on another child I nannied for. Everytime she went into tantrum mode I would grab her and hug her, hold her and help her to work through it. You can tell your child to take deep breaths. Show them how to breathe properly and do it with them. This approach may work for some and for others it may anger them more. I would try both approaches to see what works best for your child. Last week, Keri had blogged about making "hush bottles." It is a craft that is used when your child begins to get flustered. It grabs their attention and literally calms them down and snaps them out of their funk. Check it out!

Another great approach Ito help extend their vocabulary is to READ, READ, READ!! There is a great starter book called, the "Alpha Block." It's by, Christopher Franceschelli. It's one of the best alphabet books I have seen in awhile. The words are basic and simple, and the illustrations are great! I go through that book with my little guy at least three times a day and he loves it! He has already began to say new words from using that book! Plus it aids to a growing imagination!

I really hope that some of these approaches will work well for you and your family. I am always looking for new approaches to help coach my little ones through their hard times. As a parent what approaches have worked well for you? Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! It's always wonderful to hear from you all!

Xoxo
-D

How To Stop Baby Godzilla

My daughter Makenna has quite the little attitude and temper when she doesn't get her own way. Instead of using her words, lately she immediately goes into Baby Godzilla mode. Kicking or pushing over anything in her way while she screams and yells. Last week, she destroyed a whole Thomas the Train City we built while Matthew and I looked on. All because she wanted a train Matthew already had. Matthew looked over at me and said, "Ka is crazy!" lol Yes, yes she is Buddy. 

Danielle found this craft on Pinterest a while ago and sent it to me. 

It's been called a Hush Bottle, Timeout Bottle and Timeout Timer, but I think we will call ours a Sparkle Bottle since Makenna is into all things sparkle and princess. What it is, is a sensory bottle that is supposed to help relax and calm. We can use a little relax and calm in our daily routine, so we decided to make it. 

   

I would say this is more of a grown-up craft. I started doing it alone, until Makenna woke up and wanted to help. She helped pour some glue in and quickly moved on to something else thank God. 

Here is what you need (sorry for the horrible lighting)

Per Sparkle Bottle:

• Half a bottle of Clear Tacky Clue
• Tube of glitter glue
• Small tube of extra fine glitter
• Water bottle (I used a large Smart Water bottle)
• Hot Water
• Some sort or funnel or large pouring mixing cup
• Goo Be Gone or anything to help take off the sticky lable

Steps to make a Sparkle Bottle:

• Drink all the water in your bottles so you can use them for a craft and then realize that you need water in the bottle anyway. 
• Fill bottle with HOT but not boiling water. If your faucet water gets really hot then just use that, if you use original water heat up in a cooking pot on the stove till hot but again not boiling! You don't want to melt the bottle or burn yourself. 
• However you get your full bottle of hot water, pour it in a pot or large enough measuring cup and add entire bottle of glitter glue.
• Stir glitter glue until no more clumps. (if it's not de-clumping, heat up water a tiny bit and stir some more)

• Add in the little tube of extra fine glitter and stir until all mixed in
• If mixture is in a pot, pour it into the mix cup or use a funnel to pour it into your water bottle. (it's probably easier to use a funnel so you can get all the glitter water out of pot/measuring cup easier) (CAUTION WATER BOTTLE WILL BE HOT FROM THE HOT WATER :) ) 
• Add about half a bottle of clear tacky glue.
• Put the lid on and shake until all the glue is melted in

• Shake bottle and time how long it takes for glitter to settle. For Makenna and Matthew I wanted about 4-5 mins. If you want more time, add more glue. (Wait for entire mixture to cool down before gaging how long it takes for mixture to settle. Because water is hot it will settle faster than when it cold.)
• EDIT: PLEASE GLUE CAPS SHUT ONCE PERFECTED. Use a permanent type of bonding glue. First thing Makenna and Matthew both did was try to take off the cap. Glitter water everywhere would not be calm and relaxing!  

Right after a good shaking

1 Minute

2 Minutes

3 Minutes (red/gold bottle settled a lot faster than the blue bottle)

4 Minutes

They look really cool when finished. A lot better than my craptastic pictures. I have yet to use them in the mist of a meltdown, but I will keep you all updated on how it works. I'm not sure how I'm going to mix it into Matthew's routine yet, maybe as a Thomas (the train) relax bottle. He is not the Baby Godzilla type at all. More of the 'put his head down and quietly pout in the corner type.' But being a boy he is constantly on the go, so this bottle might help him just have a few moments of quite time or work for those rare timeout moments for him.

It will probably take a few times to get them to actually use them accordingly, but I'm sure it won't be long before it becomes their routine. When Makenna becomes Baby Godzilla, I usually let her go until she calms down enough where I can get her to take a few deep breaths. Sometimes I ask her to take the deep breaths, but lately she starts doing it on her own after she realizes she's not getting her way. Now i'll just shake her bottle and hand it to her, tell her to take a deep breath, and come see me when she and her bottle settles down. Wish me luck!!!

Any advice on how to get a screaming child to calm down? What works for your kid(s)? What would you use you "Sparkle Bottle" as? Please feel free to share below!!

-K

Heaven for Breakfast!

Keri and I have been receiving such wonderful and positive feedback about our blog! We could not be more excited to keep sharing all of our ideas & experiences with you. With that being said, I have received some requests of what people would love for us to blog about! Today, I will be introducing to you another favorite recipe of mine.

 Cottage Cheese Pancakes!!

Cottage cheese is packed with protein and such an inexpensive item at the grocery store. I have found that you can use both whole wheat flour or white flour when making this recipe. Either way, they are both wonderful. If you decide to use white flour the pancakes come out tasting more like funnel cake! I do not hate it nor does the little guy I nanny for ;) This recipe is wonderful for not only toddlers but EVERYONE! I believe these pancakes work out to 35 calories a pancake! UMMMM, YES PLEASE!!

Without further a due, I give you, THE recipe :)

COTTAGE CHEESE PANCAKES:

Prep Time: 5 Mins

Cook Time: 15 Mins

INGREDIENTS:

1. 3 Eggs
2. 1 Cup Cottage Cheese
3. 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
4. 2 Tablespoons honey or agave
5. 1/2 Cup Flour
6. 1 Teaspoon baking powder
7. 1/4 Teaspoon salt
8. Butter, oil or oil spray

PREPARATION:

1. Place the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
2. In a separate bowl whisk the dry ingredients.
3. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and stir until combined.
4. Heat a large sauté pan or griddle over medium heat. Lightly coat with butter or oil. 
5. Pour about 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto the griddle for each pancake.
6. Cook for two minutes on each side or until the pancake is set and golden.
7. Serve.

You May freeze these pancakes for up to three months! To freeze properly, allow pancakes to come to room temperature & store in a ziplock bag.

These pancakes are beyond amazing! I am personally such a big fan of them if you couldn't already tell! Thomas absolutely hates to eat cottage cheese plain. He will taste it and spit it out. However, he will eat these pancakes until every last bite is gone. I hope your toddler enjoys them just as much as Thomas does! I also can't thank my employer enough for always swapping recipes with me! She found this amazing recipe at Weelicious. Together, we have come up with so many fun things to serve Thomas.

If you have any great and fun toddler recipes that you would like to share with everyone PLEASE comment on this post to tell us all about it! We look forward to hearing from you!

-D

The fun world of toddler defiance

How do I stop my child from putting the cat in a headlock?

Funny? I let out a small chuckle when someone first brought us this topic. However, being a nanny this is just one of the many questions Keri and I have received. We grouped this question under discipline. How exactly do you properly discipline a toddler without wanting to pull your hair out? Or worse, let out a good cry yourself! 

The most important part about proper discipline is CONSISTENCY. You must make sure whoever is around your child is ALWAYS on the same page with you! Whether it is your partner, parents, or your caregiver, it is key to have a system set in place. The more consistent you are, the faster your child will realize that bad behavior is not acceptable.

When your child yells, or worse... screams at you, try hard to say calm (very hard at times, we know!) and get down to their eye level. You can simple say, "Please do not yell." Or, "Yelling is not nice." Then, stand up. When they proceed to scream again (oh, they will!) it will be in your best interest and theirs to simply walk away. Your child will not like when you do walk away, but it will get the message across to them that yelling is not acceptable behavior. Mommy, or whomever is in charge, will not put up with it.

For the Parents who put their child in time outs; DO NOT allow your child to be in time out for any longer then their age. If your child is two years old, then you place them in time out for two minutes. Why do you match up their age with the time you may ask? If you put your child in time out any longer than their age,  their mind will start to wander and they will forget why they are in time out in the first place. Tell your child that they are getting a "time out," set a timer and explain to them that they can get up when the timer goes off. I would also make sure that you put them in a time out somewhere in the same vicinity as you and your family. You do not want to send them off to their room because you do not want them to associate their room (which is their own personal space) with anything negative. You want your child to enjoy their room so they feel comfortable retreating there. Place your child in eye distance of you. It can be anywhere from the bottom step or maybe a chair in the kitchen. Discipline and consistency is very important but do not make them feel like an outcast from the family.  If they get up from time out, the first time reset timer and tell them are in time out. Put them back in their spot. Every time after that simple pick them up, without communication, and place them back in time out. When the timer goes off once again, get down to their eye level and ask them if they know why they had received a time out and explain to your child the reason why if they do not understand. Give them a hug and send them on their way. Until next time, and there will be a next time. One glorious day, it will just click for them that they will not get away with it anymore. 

I promise, a small amount of the right form of  positive discipline, along with consistency is a LIFE SAVER & A GAME CHANGER.

Obviously this will not work for every child and you as a parent know your child best. What are some ways you would react in a similar situation? We would love to hear from our readers!

With lots of love and new found patience,

-D