As a mom, I have done things I never thought I would such as sucking the snot out of my child’s nose. old.  I swore before ever having children that I would never use the NoseFrida Snotsucker. Yes, I said Snotsucker. Really, why and I talking about snot much less sucking snot out?   Unfortunately, one of the responsibilities listed in my job description as mommy is “snotsucker” and I take it serious when my baby gets a cold.  I am sure as you are reading this, you are either saying, “eww gross” or “I would never” because like me, the thought of sucking snot out from your child’s nose with your mouth grosses you out .  Well, I said in the past, “Never say never” and I have written in previous post that I have done things as a parent I “never” thought I would, this being one of them. We had our second child in September and since her birth, she has always been stuffed up, which made for breathing difficulty. After using several aspirators over the course of the last three months to help clear the snot and “boogies” out of her nose, I decided there had to be a better solution. Using the bulb aspirators, I would spend minutes just trying to get some of the snot out and not enough to even make her breathe easier.  Plus, I am not sure if you ever tried getting snot out of a moving infant, it is like trying to play pin the tail on the donkey after you had a few glasses of wine. Lil’ Ace (of course not her real name) would squirm anytime she saw me come close to her nose with an aspirator and it would take, what seemed...

This is trending on the Internet today, and I thought it was awesome post. Especially because Brett and I are trying to raise C2 to be a good man that respects himself and others and to be a great contributor to society. C2 this is for you!     TWENTY THINGS A MOM SHOULD TELL HER SON 1. Play a sport. It will teach you how to win honorably, lose gracefully, respect authority, work with others, manage your time and stay out of trouble. And maybe even throw or catch. Of course, if you are anything like your mommy and daddy you will also like to win. 2. You will set the tone for the sexual relationship, so don’t take something away from her that you can’t give back. 3. Use careful aim when you pee. Somebody’s got to clean that up, you know. You won’t be happy when you have to start cleaning the bathroom. 4. Save money when you’re young because you’re going to need it someday. I really want you to be a good saver and investor because I was not and it has made for some tough times. 5. Allow me to introduce you to the dishwasher, oven, washing machine, iron, vacuum, mop and broom. Now please go use them. Thank goodness you think cleaning is fun now, but I am sure this won’t last. 6. Pray and be a spiritual leader. Remember, this does not mean that you have to belong to a church or a certain affiliation to be spiritual and/or to pray. Not, that I am dissuading you, but I want you to chose your own path. 7. Don’t ever be a bully and don’t ever start a fight, but if some idiot clocks you, please defend...

Does your toddler get sand chafing while playing on the beach? Mine does. After spending a couple of days at the beach with my son who loves to play in the sand and the water, I needed to come up with a solution to fix his sand chafing rash. After playing in the sand for two hours with a wet swim diaper from the salt water, my son would come home with bright red chafing rash on the inside of both his little legs. He would tell me, “That hurts me” when I put him in the bath. Being an athlete and having to deal with chafing issues myself, I knew what I did to prevent chafing while running, on a bike, etc; I would use body glide, Aquaphor or chemise cream. So the next day before going to the beach, I put Boudreaux’s Butt Paste® where he was getting the rash. Then lathered him in sunscreen, got the swim diaper, shirt and swim trunks on and we were off. Low and behold after spending two hours digging and building sand castles in the dirt – no rash. The next day, I repeated the same steps, but with Aquaphor Healing Ointment and it worked as well. After trial and error, both Boudreaux’s Butt Paste or Aquaphor work well to prevent sand chafing. Ensure you put the chafing prevention ointment on prior to putting their sunscreen on; apply the sunscreen afterwards. Good luck and happy beach...

In honor of Title IX 40th Anniversary, here is Nike’s new commercial uses “empowerment” to sell us stuff, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love it anyway.

Toddler protection from the sun and bugs. Now that the first “unofficial” weekend of summer just passed us by, most of us and our families will be out in the sun a great deal more, especially at the pools and beaches.  I wanted to share with you two great products that I have found that are so helpful in protecting my toddler (1 years old and up) from the sun and bugs. No Mess Sunscreen Wipes My new summer favorite is the Baby Silk Babysafe Sunscreen Towelettes Sunscreen Spf 30. In my house, we no longer have the sunscreen battle; my two year old does not mind having sunscreen put on his face anymore. I only need one or two towelettes for full coverage on my two year old. They are not messy and so easy to carry around. They are more expensive than regular sunscreen, but what you are paying for is convenience, no mess and no more fights. Great toddler sun protection. According to the packaging, the product features are: Contains no phthalates, lanolin, mineral oil, petroleum or waxes Contains physical sunscreens, titanium and zinc oxide, as the only active ingredients Protects against UVA and UVB rays Clinically tested & hypoallergenic Made in the USA. No animal testing The Babysilk Babysafe Sunscreen Towelettes Spf 30 are $26.00 for 20 on Amazon.com (does not include taxes, shipping or handling).  I would suggest doing price comparison at a couple stores in order to get the best price. This product can be purchased at Amazon.com, Diapers.com, Drugstore.com, etc. Natural, Chemical Free Bug Repellent Another new favorite is the non-toxic, non-chemical, non-invasive and non-irritating California Baby Bug Repellant Spray, 6.5 Ounce.  The bugs already seem to be out in droves’ this summer and my two year...