I’m not a fan of having characters on everything in my child’s room — I prefer themes that aren’t outgrown with each new movie that comes out. But I am a big fan of aspirational themes like this month’s kids room design — an outer space kids room for the little astronaut in your life. Keep reading for all the details! Read more
Like a lot of moms-to-be, I had a lot of expectations for my third birth. As a trained doula, I knew quite well that the only thing you can expect in birth is the unexpected, but I still put a lot of stock in the hope that this birth would give me closure to heal the trauma from previous experiences. I had to, it was my last pregnancy. Of course, nothing went as planned — in fact, a lot of things were quite the opposite — but this unplanned birth story turned out to be a good birth experience.
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To celebrate our son, Thayer, turning one we did a royal woodland birthday party theme. We have always enjoyed nature as a family and wanted to reflect that in his party. The magic of the forest and the beautiful creatures that roam it was the inspiration for our little prince’s big day with close friends and family. My brother Jesse Le Vasseur did a wonderful job photographing the whole event.
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Whenever I think about the 4th of July, fireworks always come to mind. I’ve been going to see them since I was a kid. I’d walk to a local lake with my family and all the other families (some first or second generation from places like India, Germany, China, Philippines, Taiwan and so on) then curl up in a blanket while I ate some snacks and waited for the nighttime fireworks to start. Though that city doesn’t host fireworks anymore, Bay Area families of all cultures still come together to gaze in wonder at the celebration of USA’s independence. I’ve taken my daughter to be a part of this tradition since she was a baby, but she usually fell asleep, so last year was her first July 4th fireworks show and the first time we could start a tradition to carry over this year — the July 4th snack. A fun S’mores spinoff to be exact. Keep reading for my July 4th family tradition, and an easy recipe the kiddos can help with (if they don’t eat all the ingredients first). Read more
Thank you Brawny® Tear-A-Square® for sponsoring this post. Think of all the ways you can “Put a Square There”!
Having kids means encountering a LOT of messes of all types and sizes. On a normal day, my 2-year-old son is both accidentally making messes and purposely pouring cups of juice and water on the floor, or in toys, just to watch what happens. My floor is pretty much always sticky. I try to encourage this exploration and hands-on learning to an extent, so I decided to host a messy playdate with some local mom’s group mamas. Giving toddlers, babies, and big kids an opportunity to make a huge mess within a safe space fosters learning, exploration, and fun without added stress on the parents! So how do you host one? Keep reading!
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Now that we’re officially in summer, the you-pick (or U-Pick) farms are open for the season! Some already have peaches, strawberries, and blueberries available, while others offer a variety of cherries and other fruits later in the season. Though every farm has its own rules, there are some universal tips for taking the family out for a day of fruit picking. Before you head out for a basket of berries, keep reading. Read more
Mother’s Day is fast approaching. Though the core of what moms really want for Mother’s Day is love, appreciation, and respect, mamas really need some self-care. But not all mamas are alike — this post covers a variety of self-care gifts so that the right one for the mama in your life is bound to be included. Keep reading for the perfect gift.
Do you know fact from fiction when it comes to breastfeeding? The rules of breastfeeding have changed so much in our history that it isn’t surprising that many mamas (myself included for most of my life) believe some things about breastfeeding that aren’t true —even after nursing several babies. You might have nursed two babies and learned something new with baby three or four, or maybe still never learned what I’m about to tell you. Right now, I’m nursing baby number three and completing a program to become a breastfeeding educator. This program is how I learned a lot about breastfeeding that I had no clue about, even though I breastfed my daughter to age 4.5, son to age 2, and am still nursing my last little one. Keep reading to see if you believe these breastfeeding myths and let me know if I missed some! Read more
We wanted to travel somewhere as a family during the big kid’s spring break but weren’t feeling ready to take all three kids on the airplane together just yet so we opted for getting some things done at home then venturing on a 3-day vacation in San Francisco. The only problem was that our kids have such different needs and interests due to their ages (newborn, 2 and 8) so I needed to plan a trip that would entertain all the kids. We’re not big fans of crowds because it’s harder to maneuver around with a stroller — or when chasing a runaway toddler — so we skipped things like Pier 39 and shopping in Union Square and went for a few of my favorite areas instead and some well-planned activities instead. Read more
We had just rushed to the hospital and I was worried we wouldn’t make it into labor and delivery in time before the baby started to come. When I got there, everything was rushed and my son was born within minutes of my kneeling on the bed. But when he was in my arms a relief washed over me — I did it. I had a drastically different birth than with my firstborn (a birth experience I was still bitter about 6 years later). But the journey didn’t end there. Postpartum after my second birth was nothing I’d expected. Read more
