a letter to my child’s daycare…

From that first day, and every day I am dropping off the most important thing in my life, my child. That is my heart walking through that door and sitting down to breakfast or to play with his friends. That is my whole world and I leave him with you.

Some days it takes all I have not to hold back tears as I leave him in your care. Some days I worry that maybe he is not happy there and should be home with me, that I’ve got this whole parenting thing all wrong. Some days I skip away because finally getting some time to myself is oh so necessary after some of the mornings we have had. And sometimes it takes everything I have not to run back in and give him one more hug before I go.

Please be good to him, he is my sweetheart. Please don’t let him cry too long when he is upset, please comfort him when he is sad or not feeling well. Please teach him right when he is wrong. Please help him to grow into the sweet and caring boy I know he can become.

Please tell me all about his day. Tell me about his interactions with other children, songs, games, and stories he enjoyed. Tell me all of this because I miss every one of these moments when I am gone. The mornings, nights, and weekends go by in a blur and I worry that you know more about my child than I do. Please tell me that he is happy, laughing, and smiling. Please tell me that he is ok without me.

Everyday, I leave him with you. And everyday I question my decision to do so.  Please let me know that I am doing the right thing. Please take good care of my heart.

A Review of the Boon Snug...

This past weekend while at lunch at one of our favorite barbecue places in Atlanta, we tried out the Boon Snug - a silicone lid that will fit on any cup.  I love the idea of throwing one of these lids in your diaper bag and turning any cup into a sippy cup with a spout or straw.  We have been transitioning Mason from spouts to straws these past few weeks so I opted for the straw version.  My advice, only buy the straw lid option if your child is ready for a straw.  The straw easily pops in and out and my son thought is was quite a fun game to pull the straw out quickly spraying milk everywhere.  Also, even with the straw, when turned upside down milk leaks out from where the straw is placed.  Mason also chewed and flattened out one of the straws within a few seconds.  While I love the concept and know we will get a ton of use out of it later on...my 22 month old was just not ready for a straw that isn't welded to the cup with a leak proof contraption.  I will definitely be trying out the version of this lid that has a spout, since I love the mobility of this product, and hopefully the straw will get more use down the road...     The Boon Snug is available at Babies R Us

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(please note that while this is a sponsored post, the words and review are all my own)

A letter to my 1st child...

You made me a mom...that first minute when I held you, I knew my life would never be the same.  Everyday I still can't believe how much you have grown, how sweet you are, and how you seem to get cuter with every second.  I have watched you become best friends with your dad, laugh harder than I thought possible, and fall madly in love with books.  I have felt you hug me like you might never let go.  I have watched your face completely light up when I pick you up from school and it takes everything I have not to tear up each time you run so fast into my arms.  It makes the entire day...worth it.

Your little brother is going to be here in a few short months and while I worry about life with two children, changing 100 diapers a day, and when to move you out of the nursery...I worry most about you.  You are my heart, my everything, my sweet sweet boy.  I worry that for one millisecond you won't feel as loved as you do now, I worry that you will feel neglected, even for just a moment when the baby comes.  And my goodness if you do, I won't know how I will forgive myself.  

You deserve the world and your world is about to change...luckily you don't have any idea right now how much...and there are days I wish I could truly explain it to you.  But the thing is...I don't really know myself.

I promise to always hug you the minute I see you.  I promise to always make time for you, even on the busiest of days.  I promise to always read that extra book, sing that extra song, or take that extra time to just snuggle with you.  I promise to still be the best mom I can be to you, even though my heart and hands will be a little fuller.

I worry so much...some days I feel like you don't deserve this.  You don't deserve to have your life turned upside down so soon...you deserve more time as an only child.  Other times I think about what an amazing gift it will be to have a brother to look up to you, to build forts with, and to most importantly be your best friend.  

I truly hope that the good will outweigh the bad and our family growing by one more will bring with it more snuggles, more laughter, and more love.  I hope that you feel just as loved every second of the day as you do now and always know that you will always be my baby.

love, mom

a bath time necessity...

A bath time necessity in our home is toys...and lots of them.  Mason loves playing with bath toys and chatting along to himself while he winds down the day.  

When we were asked to try out some Finding Nemo bath toys from The First Years we jumped at the chance since we are always looking to improve upon our much loved bath time.  

Mason instantly recognized the toys from the movie since we have been watching a lot of Finding Nemo in our house lately and kept saying "wow" as he picked up each toy.  The squirt toys were a perfect size for little hands and the spout cover did a great job at protecting against any accidental bumps into the spout.  The biggest hit by far was the nest and pour cups which he had so much fun with (when he wasn't trying to drink out of them) but we ended up with a pretty wet floor at the end of the bath...

The First Years Disney Baby Bath products are available at Babies R Us & Amazon.

why i am not (and will never be) a stay at home mom...

During maternity leave I would have done ANYTHING to be a stay at home mom and raise my sweet newborn son for years if not decades.  I looked into how to pull it off financially with side jobs, etsy shops, even selling our home in our expensive neighborhood and moving to the sticks to raise our brood of children.  My hormones were on fire and I was determined to be a stay at home mom.  

Now I realize why 6 weeks, 8 weeks, or even 12 weeks is not enough maternity leave for new moms, we are hormonal, delusional, and not even in the right mindset to return to the workforce, but we do.  We may cry on the way to work, in the bathroom, and even quietly at our desks, but we return to work before we are ready.

Days turned into weeks back at work and probably a month or so before my son's first birthday, everything began to find its balance.  Bedtime for my son evened out finally to 7pm so he was no longer napping the minute he got home from daycare and mornings became an easy routine where we all managed to get out the door somewhat on time.  Then when he started on whole milk & the school food plan at one year, all that time dealing with bottles and mini containers of chopped up f00d became time gained and we all started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Going to work started to feel like a vacation compared to staying home with my ever growing son who needed more and more stimulation as each day passed.  

Today was the end of a very long 3 day weekend and I realize more than ever that for 40 hours a week, I am meant to be at work.  I love my son...madly.  I love every moment we have together.  But taking care of a child, even if it is my own, full time, is truly not for me.  Honestly, I feel it is way harder to be a stay at home mom than a working mom.  I enjoy adult conversations. going to the bathroom by myself, and eating lunch.  All things that do not take place at home with a toddler.  Sometimes when I am on the elevator alone at work I can't help but smile, the feeling of truly being alone is not something that you come by too often as the mother of young children.

I am now a little excited for Mondays.  Yes I am jealous of the stay at home moms for brief moments when I am tired and feel like I can't keep this life together anymore, but I know that this is the right life for me.  And if you are a stay at home mom right now and happy with what you do, it is indeed the right life for you...we are so lucky that we get to choose our life.  It wasn't that long ago that staying home with the kids was the only option for a mother.

As spring break approaches, I am honestly a little intimidated by a week off with my son as I know I can't provide him the stimulation and exertion of energy that he requires and receives at school in a classroom filled with 15 kids connected to a playground.  But I plan to spend every waking minute with him and take in every second because I am a working mom whose time is limited with my son, but at the same time is just enough.

Need the Perfect Holiday Gift? Give the Gift of Reading

I have recently had the amazing opportunity to collaborate with Bookroo - a monthly book subscription service helping me to build Mason's library.  I asked one of the founders of Bookroo, Jane Tanner, to write a guest post for little bean baby now that the holiday season is upon us and we are all looking for that perfect gift...

Written by:  Jane Tanner

With the holiday season just around the corner, the tingling anticipation of friends, family, parties, presents, and celebrations is becoming ever more tangible. Finding the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday list can be stressful and intimidating. (I know because I’m one of those very type A people who’s been agonizing what I should gift my family for three weeks already-- don’t worry, I’m almost done!) It can be a struggle to find something that’s heartfelt, and meaningful, and useful, and (in the case of gifting to kids) will be appreciated by parents and children alike. But it doesn’t have to be. Enter Bookroo.

I was lucky enough to connect with Megan about a month or so ago, and she’s been gracious enough to already give you a little preview of what Bookroo is, but in case you missed it, Bookroo helps foster a love of reading in children by making the experience of receiving children’s books an exciting one for children and an affordable and convenient one for parents. Win-win-win.

Bookroo creates excitement around reading by helping children to associate the thrill and anticipation of unwrapping surprise gifts with reading, and by exposing them to new and different books that they can be proud to have in their very own personal collections. Basically, each month a box containing either 3 board or 2 picture books (each individually wrapped!) arrives with a handwritten note.

My three-year-old nephew can often be found pushing a toy wheelbarrow filled with books around the house, but recently his mom noticed that in addition to the wheelbarrow, he was also clutching several books to his chest on his journey through the house. When she asked him what was so special about those books, he told her that those were the ones that had come all wrapped up in his Bookroo box. Weeks later, he had a special attachment to those books in particular because of the experience he’d had with them.

The holidays are often a time when presents abound, so it’s a particularly important time to send the signal to our children that reading is important, and books are fun and worthy of being gifted. They aren’t a boring or second rate gift, their magical stories are a gift that can be enjoyed again and again. Cliche perhaps, but true.

Give the gift of reading this holiday season. Give the children in your life access to the printed word, and the opportunity to fall in love with it. A Bookroo subscription is a gift that will remind them of you and your love every time they read the books that have come thus far, and every month a new box arrives. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

Ready to gift your first Bookroo box? Feel free to this link to get $4 off from Megan’s first post!

a love of reading...

I will never forget Mason's one month appointment.  The pediatrician stressed starting a bedtime routine that included a bath and a book before bedtime.  I remember looking at my 8lb son that could barely hold up his head thinking how in the world could we possibly read a book to this tiny thing...but we did... every. single. night.  

He barely noticed the book was even there at first, but as time went on his love for books grew and grew.  He started to put his face real close up to the pictures and would study every detail.  Then he started to turn the pages himself.  And now with the peekaboo or touch and feel books, he knows exactly what part of the book to open, touch, turn, push, and scratch.  

There are certain books that he snuggles up to me immediately when he sees the cover and and other books he sits up tall and straight so he can interact with every page.  We have started to put books in his bed each night so he can read before falling asleep or when he wakes up in the morning.  We read at the beach, during diaper changes, on airplanes, in the car, his stroller, wherever we go, we bring books.  He doesn't just love books, he is enthralled by them.  

I was thrilled to stumble upon Bookroo, a monthly children's book subscription that will help grow Mason's library.  We have a TON of books already but not too many make it into the nightly rotation so I am always looking for more books Mason might love.  Luckily Bookroo does the work for me, carefully selecting the books and sending them to us monthly to nurture his love of reading in the hopes of finding new books we will all love to read each night.  You can choose between picture books and board books and if you receive a book you already have in your library, send them a picture of you gifting the book to someone else and they will take $5 off your next month...pretty awesome...

Beyond just being an amazing concept, the experience from the website to the hand wrapped books that arrive perfectly packaged is fantastic.  And I am definitely going to be gifting a Bookroo subscription or two for birthdays and holidays because I know a lot of moms like me who might go crazy if their child receives one more toy...books are so much easier to clean up at the end of the day...

I hope Mason always loves to read the way he does today.  I hope that even when he is older he still can't wait for the next book, the next page, the next word.  And I kind of hope he always wants to snuggle while we read our books before bedtime...

our 1st month of Bookroo!

I have partnered with Bookroo to offer a discount to my readers of $4 off your subscription using the below link...it is so worth a try!

http://bit.ly/1Ngdpik

(please note that while this is a sponsored post, the words and review are all my own)