Do you make a New Year’s Resolution every year and then falter when February 15th hits, and all the Valentine’s Day chocolate is 75% off? I know I do. I like to have goals that are measureable. Goals that I can make a list for and then a month or so down the road, I can see the progress that I have made. This year, I am making a new resolution.
I want to be a more mentally present and attentive parent.
There are many, many ways that I can do this, but I wanted to share my top 10 that I will be focusing on this year.
I am way worse about this than I really like to admit.
But if you sit back and think about it, how often do you actually turn your phone off? How often are you sitting on the floor with your kids and scrolling through Facebook? Or while they’re watching a movie and you’re reading through emails? Better yet, instead of playing, we are snap chatting with them? Gosh, I do this way too much. So much time is wasted playing with stupid filters. Technology is important this day and age, but we have to learn to limit ourselves as much as we limit our children. How often do you say “okay, that’s enough cartoons for the day” and five minutes later, you’re checking Facebook. Guilty!
I plan on doing this outside of bedtime with my little ones. Not a book here and there, but sit down on the couch after dinner and deliberately focus on extended reading time. Reading is brain food. I hope that by enforcing consistent reading habits for my children that they will learn to love reading and their brains will flourish. You can read more about how important reading daily is here.
My littles love being outside, as most children do. No matter how cold, wet, snowy, hot, muggy, or windy, I plan to get them outside to enjoy and experience the outdoors and encourage their love for nature, before they’re teenagers and I am begging them to go outside and do something!
I
want my children to have favorite memories and activities that we did during their childhood to carry on to their adult life. I am not sure what that will be for sure yet, but I know that we are going to start a “Happy Moments Jar,” planting flowers in the spring, and seeing fireworks in the summer.
Sometimes we just get in our funks with life and forget that our tiny humans are watching us. Do more of what makes you happy and include your littles when doing it. Let them help you with your hobbies, involve them with things that you normally wouldn’t. As crazy as my OCD might be, I plan on letting my littles bang on the piano a little more when I am at it, having helpers when I bake more often, and maybe even letting them play with my yarn, that’s a big maybe. I wrote a post about choosing to be happy last year. Check it out here.
No matter what your religion or what you believe, it is important for children to have strong core values. Here at BurritoBuzz, we respect everyone and don’t really talk about our religions, but I encourage you to focus on what you believe in and what you want to instill into your children as they grow up.
I have to admit, we have a pretty large family and our “village” for our children is pretty big, but my goal is to embrace it a little more and to lean on those who love us. Even more so to clean up o
ur village. Focus on those who focus on us and try not to worry about things that I can’t control. I have learned that I can’t make family behave the way they should. Adulthood and parenthood made it easy for me to realize that friends come and go sometimes, and that’s okay.
This is a big thing for me. Marriage is not always easy and it is so important for our children to have a constant strong foundation to lean on. The only way that our relationship is going to grow, is to make each other a priority daily. It is fairly easy now. We are really happy and life is awesome, but life isn’t always awesome. I want to start having more regular dates and doing more things just daddy and I.
The constant worry about the dishes, the laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping up the dog hair… it just never ends. The sooner that I give up and admit that fact, the happier I will be! I don’t want my kids to look back and say “yeah, mom always cleaned in her free time.” Uh, how about a reading a book or working on a craft? Or going for a walk? The chores aren’t going anywhere. Period.
I mean really, just hop off of Facebook and Instagram for a hot minute and relax. Who cares when Johnny started walking or that your kid drinks mama’s milk and Sally’s kid drinks formula and cloth vs. disposable diapers. Fit and healthy vs. surviving on 2 hours of sleep. Top of the line baby gear vs.being a single parent with barely one income. Organic backyard farm raised vs. pop tarts and McDonalds. Working parent vs. Stay at home parent.
Give it up. Being a parent is hard enough just from reading the pamphlets they send home with you from the hospital, much less if you are making a list in the back of your head about whatever everyone else is doing, what you think you should be doing. I do it, I’ll admit it. We all do it and we don’t even think about it. I’m taking a step back and focusing on how perfect our parenting style is and how my kids are thriving, smart, and healthy. That is all that matters in the end.
Happy New Year! I hope your goal is to focus on what you have and not what you need to do in the New Year!
– Amanda
everything down for my girls so they know everything from when they were little in case anything happens to me. My mom passed away when I was 23, before I ever got pregnant, and I don’t have her here to ask when I got my first tooth or what day I started walking (my dad doesn’t have any idea). So when I find a company and products that make it easier for me to keep track of things for my kids (I love organization) and make it more convenient for me to write down the memories, I have to share it!
world. Milestone offers several different cards, Baby’s First Year – 
little babies and need documented and celebrated! Download and print yours 
st keep her box on her top shelf in her closet and anytime she says something funny or something I want to remember, I just grab a card, jot it down, and I’m done. These cards are a game changer for me. I just wish I found them sooner! Check out all of the Milestone products to document your little one growing up 
When
Canals
my youngest happens to find a tube of diaper rash cream and empties the entire thing on it. Is there any better way to wash something? Just roll it up and toss it in the washer! Easy peasy. 
check out all of the gorgeous Lorena Canals rugs and purchase 
pray, do yoga, have everything just right, and I am still wondering what else I could be doing.
My kids might never sleep, but I have amazing kids to wake up to every single morning.
year. Last year, Pie Face was a huge hit at our get togethers but it was 
Roman do the Mouthguard Challenge 
kids, my husband, or something we need at home. I’m certain I’m not alone in this, so I reached out to an amazing subscription box company called 
re to follow Ivory Clasp on 
boxes from several different companies. They all had different kinds of products and I liked each for different reasons. But I just received a complimentary subscription box from 
paints to their safe to play with and for little ones put them in their mouths (which we all know will happen).
raven and sleeping animal tiles are so you know not to pick the raven. It also helps with recognizing and naming the colors of the flowers and it’s a game that everyone fries to find the cherries together, so it helps foster the “we” concept. It’s for children ages 3-8 and can be played with 1 to 4 players. It’s one of our favorite games to play together! 
box. It’s adorable and comes with little felt envelopes that can actually fit little letters or objects in and close with Velcro. The letter and envelopes even have a “stamp” sewn in the top right hand corner. She loves walking around and giving us our mail! Check it out the mailbag 
bag, backpack, or a stroller so they can be taken anywhere. We like to use them when we’re waiting a the doctors or in line at the store, they make a good distraction for my 4 year old. Be sure to check out all of their amazing Wallet Cards (they have bundles, too) and products 
The statistics revolving around Pregnancy and Infant Loss are absolutely devastating and most people have no idea how common it is until it happens to them or a close friend or family member. Every year, out of the approximate 600,000 pregnancies, almost 200,000 of them end in some type of loss either while pregnant, during delivery, or within the first year of life. TWO. HUNDRED. THOUSAND. And that number isn’t even totally accurate because a percent of those losses occur before a woman even knows she is pregnant.
I desperately wanted to try a Milk Snob cover and was so excited when they offered to send one for me to review. The one I used with my oldest daughter is a very popular “free” car seat cover that is thick, doesn’t circulate air at all, and you can’t see baby unless you flip open the front. The Milk Snob cover is pretty much the best cover I’ve ever seen on the market. It’s made form a thin, breathable stretchy fabric that’s also modern and gorgeous. It fits on any infant car seat and I love that I can peek in on my little one from the top and that she can see me. It also protects baby from unwelcome touching and staring while o
ut in public as we all know that strangers seem to think it’s okay to touch a random baby. 
e their baby food yourself. Well, I don’t have the time or patience to make her food. I know it’s not 
, and they’re then made into unique products and of course the cardboard boxes can be recycled. 
ours their toddlers snacks. I love knowing that both my girls are eating healthy 
It’s motion activated and turns on for 120 seconds (a minute and a half). It’s very sensitive, just walking by the bathroom turns it on so you know it’ll always turn on when entering the bathroom. It’s also splash and waterproof, which I am so thankful for as I dropped it not once, but twice, in the toilet when cleaning.
he purpose of hydrating, replenishing electrolytes, and providing an energy boost was super appealing. I quickly contacted Nuun and lucky for us, they were eager to share their product with the BurritoBuzz Moms.
have a Plus for Nuun (can be added during endurance activities) and Nuun All Day Hydration. Nuun All Day Hydration is perfect for busy, on-the-go individuals, like moms, who want to make sure they are getting all the right minerals and vitamins along with the appropriate hydration to stay healthy for their families. I will definitely be ordering my own 
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, and 
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project just the time, the images and the time or just the images, so there’s options for everyone. They operate on an AC adaptor, which is included, or can be cordless with 3 C batteries.
t one-touch to set the alarm and to snooze if your little one is super stubborn in the mornings.
We are so incredibly thankful for our readers! If it weren’t for all of you, we would not be here today! We have grown so much in just one year and we cannot wait to see what the next year brings!
From:
From:
Four in one Nursing Cover!
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When you are a new mom, there are a lot of facts and products being shoved in your face. You really don’t even know where to begin, what advice is legit, and what products you actually need v. the products that people just loved but would be useless to you. When my doctor prescribed vitamin D drops and suggested probiotic drops (I was EBF my daughter), I followed her advice. But I quickly learned that there are so many options, not only that, but there are so many opinions on your options.
was created to help replenish beneficial bacteria and may help with occasional diarrhea. Antibiotic use may cause occasional diarrhea* and digestive upset.*
o bring a cold home. My family of four all got runny noses, we were sneezing like crazy, had awful sinus pressure, coughing, and had watery eyes, including my poor 6 month old. She got hit the worst and is starting to feel better minus the never ending runny nose. Over the weekend she had a pretty high fever and was overall 
easy and I love not having to think twice about using it around my kids. No gloves needed and you don’t have to have a crazy ventilation system (or open all the windows/doors in your house to air it out). It’s perfect to use with teething babies and after sick kids. 
I was recently looking for new silverware for my toddler, something that was fun, easy to handle, and I wanted to stay away from metal. I found a really cute set of plastic forks and spoons made by 
I decided to reach out to Re-Play to collaborate on a blog review. They were kind enough to send a Complete Toddler Feeding Set (right) for my daughter to try. I soon started learned what an amazing company Re-Play is and I am so excited to share this company with our readers!
choices but I loved it and ultimately decided on it), it was not an easy choice. The Complete Toddler Feeding Set ($22) includes: 1 spoon and 1 fork, 1 divided plate, 1 spill proof cup, 1 drinking cup, 1 snack pod, and 1 bowl. I must say, Re-Play makes fantastic products! They’re so durable and the spill proof sippy is in fact spill proof. My daughter has used a popular brand of sippies with characters on them since ditching the bottle years ago, but they eventually leak and the spout gets cruddy as the plastic piece inside the mouthpiece, which is hard to clean. The Re-
Play spill pr
rd as easily to create crevices that bacteria can grow in. There seems to be a lot of back and forth about this subject, but the simple fact is, wood boards last longer. You can read more about bacteria and cutting boards 
somewhere between my personally improvised grief cycle categories of “not wanting to get out of bed in the morning” and “sitting on the couch in a daze all day.” What has truthfully helped me a teeny tiny bit, is the outreaching of my family and friends who have been there and experienced a loss. The support of my husband is outstanding and people have come out of the woodwork to offer their condolences and share their stories. They’ve offered “tips and tricks” for what has helped them, links to websites, books, songs, blogs, etc. Does it heal the pain? Absolutely not. Does it help by surrounding yourself with others who can truthfully relate? Absolutely. Surround yourself with anyone and everyone you feel comfortable with and bask in the love and support you’ll receive. There have been moments when I want to be 100% alone and just be able to cry and scream without anyone consoling me. There have been moments when I want someone around because I won’t breakdown around others and it’s nice to be able to feel “normal” in the sense of having a casual conversation. It’s a crazy mixture of wanting people around, but wanting to be alone. I’ve found myself locked in my bedroom with a house full of people just to keep myself from having a panic attack. There are other days when I have been at my mother-in-law’s house, laughing and interacting with other members of the family. I do want to take an extra moment and touch on my wonderful husband. Even from over 2000 miles away he has been my rock through all of this. He answers the phone no matter what time of day, he calls numerous times a day to make sure I’m okay and he knows how to make me laugh even through all of this. He even sent me a dozen red roses to ensure I knew he was here for me. I have never doubted his support and do not fault him for being away. If we received even a slight bit of hesitant news on that Sunday, he wouldn’t have left. I strongly encourage you to take comfort in your spouse or significant other. They may not show it as emotionally as you will but trust me, they’re hurting just as bad.
As parents, we know that time management is essential. So essential that we write things down, put alarms on our phones, put sticky notes throughout our homes, we sync our phone’s calendars with your spouse’s and if you’re like me, you also put everything into a physical planner.
About this awesome day planner:
ing code “burritobuzz10” courtesy of our pals at Freemie!