Tag: family

Mom and Daughter Pearl Bracelet Set

As moms, we love to be spoiled by our little ones on Mother’s Day. Breakfast in bed with maybe an eggshell or two, cuddles, and a homemade card. But asking for gifts for something we love so very much is not something we do. But what if it was for something sentimental and a keepsake? Perfect for Mother’s Day: Mom and Daughter Pearl Bracelet Sets are a great way to share something sweet and simple with your little girl that will last over time. Then someday, she can pass it down to her little girl. But this gift could also be for a goddaughter, niece, or any little girl that is special in your life. They could even be used for a flower girl! The possibilities are endless for something that is timeless and meaningful.

I remember those simple gifts over the years at memorable events that really made a difference for me. Things that I want my daughters to be able to see/use and know that I love them so much that I want them to enjoy something that I hold so dear to me. Those small glimpses in their memories will last forever and be a wonderful connection we’ll have through the years, even after they’re grown up.

Mother Child Pearl Bracelet Set

Find the bracelets here for purchase.

These bracelets are made of freshwater pearls, and a sterling silver closure, and are made right here in the USA. If you have more than one little princess, you have the option to order more to go on everyone’s wrists. If this darling gift is for a Christening or Baptism we offer the ability to attach a cross charm as well. Mom and Daughter Pearl Bracelet Sets are a great start to traditions as well as one to begin even if they are not so little.

Spring Break Staycation Ideas for Your Family

We’re celebrating Spring Break at One Small Child this week! Many families take advantage of this vacation time to travel together. But we’re opting to stay in town this year. Let’s talk about some fun spring break staycation ideas for your family:

-Plan a themed movie night. With a little planning on your part, put together an activity and dinner (with dessert) based on a movie theme. For Cinderella, have a room cleaning contest and then serve their favorite pumpkin treat. etc. You could even let the kids pick the movie ahead of time.

-Check out the local museum or art gallery. Many art galleries even offer kids classes or workshops. Check into registration early.

-Do a project as a family. Let the kids choose from a few family projects like: plant the garden, clean out the garage together, fix the broken playhouse door, paint a room, etc. Working together on a project that benefits everyone will bring your family closer together.

-Build couch forts. Remember doing this as a kid? This is a great rainy day activity that gets kids up and moving. Why not join them? When mom and dad get into these activities, the kids enjoy them so much more.

-Have a family video game party. This may not be most parent’s first choice, but the point is that you’re spending time together doing something that your kids enjoy. Set a time limit and give it your all for that long.

-Visit the local zoo or aquarium. To make it extra special, look up some fun facts to share about a few of the animals before hand.

-Go to the matinee together. Enjoy an afternoon at the theatre with your little ones! Indulge in some popcorn and laugh with them at all the one-liners.

-Have a family game night. Drag out those board games that you hardly use and play one together. Put some finger foods out and make it a real treat!

-Plan a family walk or hike with a picnic lunch. Go to a favorite park spot, or explore a new one. Bring along a blanket, some pb+j’s and trail mix. You’re all set for a fun afternoon enjoying nature together.

-Enjoy a day at the local pool. What’s Spring Break without a little water fun, right? Stay in town and support the local pool or water park.

-Try something new together. Whether it’s baking a cake or riding a horse, let the kids experience something they’ve never tried before.

-Visit a local historic site. I recently heard of a family who lived in France that had never visited the Eiffel Tower. Crazy, right? How many historical sites are within driving distance for your family? Why not pack a lunch and take a day trip to visit one or two of them?

-Take a tour of a local business or factory. Have your kids seen how the local dairy farmers make cheese and ice cream? Many facilities offer public tours. This is a great way to keep their little minds working.

-Check out the community events calendar. Don’t forget to take a look at the local events during your spring break!

-Have an indoor campout/slumber party. If the weather where you are is anything like here, you may be stuck inside more than you’d like. Make the most of it with a slumber party in the family room. Drag out your sleeping bags. Set out all their stuffed wild animals. Turn off all the lights and tell ghost stories by flashlights. They’ll love it!

-Put on an indoor scavenger hunt. Make a simple list of ten items for each child to search for and find hidden in the house. The first one to gather all ten items is the winner!

Share with us! What other spring break staycation ideas do you have?

Kids Easter Activities 2015

It’s always fun to try something new around the holidays. With a million kids Easter activities to choose from, we’re shooting for three new ones this year.

I love the idea of growing our own Easter grass. I know my kids would enjoy watering it every day and watching it grow. …And wouldn’t it be fun to decorate with? Here’s a great tutorial from How Does She?.

These cascarones look like so much fun! I know I’d be in for a mess, but the kids would have a blast making and breaking them. Mom.me has a great picture tutorial on how to make these.

I really enjoy doing fun service activities as a family. I think it’s important to incorporate service into our family time. Especially around holidays. I love the idea of ‘egg’ing someone for Easter! I’ve seen several variations of this: scatter treat-filled eggs in their yard and leave the sign on their door; leave a basket of candy-filled eggs; or my favorite-put together a simple plate of home-made Easter treats and do the ring and run. This activity offers extra family time since we’ll make the treats together. Family Ever After has a cute “You’ve Been Egged” free printable.

My St. Patrick’s Day Tradition

Growing up I knew what our St. Patrick’s Day tradition was. There would be green everywhere I turned. Green decor, green milk, green biscuits at dinner and of course green clothes. But something that never happened on St. Patrick’s Day was my mother wearing green. Ever.

My mother is half Irish and just so happens to have green eyes. (Being adopted that never was an excuse I could use). She took great pride in trying to keep up Irish traditions even though her mother died when she was 16 and her father just after she enlisted in Vietnam as a nurse. Her source for family traditions was gone so early in her life that she kind of had to improvise and come up with something new to make the holiday fun for the kids.

Every year she would prepare breakfast with as many items she could put green food coloring in. When I would come home from school I could always smell the Corned Beef and Cabbage cooking. Do I like Corned Beef and Cabbage? Not even close, but the taste and smell will always bring me back to my mom. She served it with vinegar, green biscuits many years and sweet iced tea, being that not only was she half Irish, but she was also from the South. There is just something special about the nostalgia that comes from sitting down to a meal you’ve had so many times over.

But there is also something exciting that comes from changing those traditions just a little and making it into something new with your own family. I love to cook to celebrate holidays, like my mom, and always look for something new and fun to try. The best kinds of recipes are the ones the littles can help with because you can talk while you cook, teach them a skill and get a wonderful treat out of it!

One of my favorite places to get recipe ideas is the blog Oh So Delicioso. They have several recipes for St. Patrick’s Day but by my favorite is the Neon Green Punch since I have small children that love the color! Electric green is a head turner and since it’s not too sweet I don’t have to worry about giving a second glass to my kids. Another one of my favorite sites for recipes is Weelicious as well (you can see the natural green recipes here).

I have found that with modern traditions, it’s not necessarily about having the exact same thing each year but that you do something each year so your kids know about the holiday and what fun you can have with it. My kids are all preschool age and younger so the big school parties won’t happen until this coming fall. Until then we have the opportunity to make each holiday unique to us and what we love.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Mom Talk Monday: Momtrepreneur Christi Kotter

We are so happy to introduce you all to Christi Kotter of Lily’s Closet for Mom Talk Monday! She is a friend of ours and we love her darling children’s line. The fun geometrics and feathers are adorable and we love all of it from the scarves, skirts, dresses, headbands, burp cloths and slouchy beanies. Get to know this amazing Momtrepreneur and how she makes time with her family count. When we started Mom Talk Monday we knew she was a woman we wanted to feature!

-Tell us a little about your family and why it is special?

Our family started out with Kevin and I as high school sweethearts which I think is pretty special. We have been blessed with two darling little boys, and then were pleasantly surprised with a little baby girl 2 years ago. They are my whole universe.

-What do you do for work/volunteer outside of being a wife and mom?

I recently chose to be a stay at home mom and at the same time opened my own sewing business so that I could both support my family and be home when my children need me the most. The clothing is modern children’s clothing and we named the shop after my little girl, Lily’s Closet. It has been the greatest blessing to be able to work from home. I am so grateful for the bonding time with my children. Aside from that I constantly devote a lot of my time to my church and I love every minute of it.

-Is there something your family does on a regular basis for quality time?

Yes we are devoted San Francisco 49er fans! We love making great food and watching the games as a family. When it’s not Football season we love the outdoors we love to go hunting and fishing together. Family time is our favorite time.

-How do you take time for yourself to recharge?

This is something I think we all as mothers need to work on. We devote so much of our time and ourselves to our family that it’s hard to take time for yourself. But I suppose if there is anything I do it would just be a simple relaxing bath with lots of bubbles and some warm hot chocolate. 🙂 And the occasional pedicure sure is nice.

-What is your go to, never fail and in a pinch recipe?

Oh my goodness this happens way more often then I would like to admit but my “Oh no what’s for dinner” go to recipe is believe it or not Shepard’s Pie. Good old comfort food. However most recipes call for red sauce when making this, but we do it differently and I think it tastes way better!

Ingredients:

1 lb Hamburger

1 Can Green Beans Drained

1 Can Corn Drained

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Cup Milk

1-2 Cups Mashed Potatoes (Instant works just fine!)

1 Cup Shredded Cheese

Brown Hamburger and drain the fat. Put cooked hamburger in a casserole dish, layer on the green beans then the corn. In a separate bowl mix both the soup and the milk, then pour on top the other ingredients. Lastly top with mashed potatoes and then spread the cheese on top. Cook at 350 for 35-40 minutes and enjoy!

-What is the one product you can not live without?

Disposable Diapers! LOL, just kidding, this is going to sound funny but recently I have developed a love for lipstick. Which I never thought I would say however, as a mom of young children you are constantly running errands and half the time you have a questionable mysterious substance on your clothing. You don’t always have time to fix your hair perfectly or put on your makeup so frequently on those occasions I find that if I put on a dab of lipstick it makes me feel a little prettier and like a lady.

Thanks for the opportunity to let me share a little bit about myself. We absolutely LOVE One Small Child, it’s such a wonderful family business. Thanks for all you do. xoxoxoxo

See for yourself some of Christi’s amazing designs!

Arizona Dreamin’ Dress for Baby

Modern Knit Knot Headband (Set of 3)

Lily’s Closet Shop || Facebook || Instagram

If your interested in being featured on Mom Talk Monday, email us at [email protected]. Subject line “MOM TALK”.

Day in the Life of Mom: Bethany

Highlighting one of our own One Small Child Moms and what a not always normal, but somewhat regular Day in the life of Mom looks like.

5:00am – Accidentally hit “dismiss” instead of “Snooze”. I’ll totally get up….

6:00am – Feed the baby. Finally get up.

6:30am – Bring myself downstairs to eat breakfast and do my daily devotional. Somehow even when I am alone I eat standing up. I stare at the overflowing dishes in the sink from last night. I lay my bowl on top.

7:00am – Exercise to either Jillian Micheals or Richard Simmons. Feeling lazy, Richard it is.

7:30am – “Mommy! Where are you?” I get the kids cereal and turn on a show for them. After a few snuggles I do some laundry, the dishes and feed the dog. Throw away a business card my husband wrote on years ago, no way it’s any good. The garbage man takes it away. Bathe the kids and get them dressed for Preschool. There is at least 1 meltdown and 1 toddler argument. Forget on the way out it’s Show and Tell day. Pick a toy, of course for both it’s the wrong one. Go back in and get new ones.

8:55am – Finally getting in the car, good thing Preschool is only a mile from our house.

9:05am – Get home and feed the baby. Cuddle him tight and really enjoy our alone time together since he is our last. Do a little bit of work and hopefully put on “real” clothes. I don’t…

11:15am – Get home, get lunch ready and do some reading/homework. More laundry.

1:15pm – “Quiet time”. My older two no longer nap. I want to cry uncontrollably over this.

1:30pm – Cleaning and de-cluttering. Doing a “Minimalist Challenge” since all of our junk stuff is starting to drive me crazy. I throw away a few more things I hope my husband doesn’t notice. Husband texts me to ask if I have seen a business card with writing on it, there is a lock combo on it for his work locker. He can’t remember the numbers… “I don’t know where it is.”

2:00pm – Sit down to work. Suddenly hear running water upstairs I don’t recognize… my kids put a whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet and flushed.

4:30pm – Start dinner. Husband calls to say he is on his way home and will promptly be called back to work in about 10 hours. Great. Confess to my card crime.

7:00pm – Get the older two in bed. Praise all that is good and holy.

7:30pm – Dishes/work/attempt to watch a show on Hulu. I get half way through one and promise I’ll finish it tomorrow; probably won’t.

10:30pm – Bed finally. Write my “to do” list on the ceiling like Sarah Jessica Parker did in “I don’t know how She does it”. Maybe I’ll try to watch that tomorrow…

Bethany is our social media consultant and works from home. She has 3 children, ages 4,3 and 4 months. Her husband works on call and is away 2 days at a time, so she has a lot of non-alone time. She dreams of a beach vacation, paying someone to clean her house every week and fall year round. Being with her kids and husband is her favorite way to spend any day.

Mom Talk Monday: Christmas Traditions

Today we are rounding up some of our featured moms for Mom Talk Monday: Christmas Traditions. Every family has traditions they look forward to for the whole month of December. But sometimes adding something new can be fun and inspiring.

Katie Lindsay, and her husband set up a fort in their living room with cameo coverings and Christmas lights. Her four boys sleep in it on Christmas Eve while the wait for Santa.

Our own Bethany has a tradition that many families do. Her children receive pajamas on Christmas Eve each year, but they come from a few special someones. Santa’s elves leave the pajamas on the front door step and ding dong ditch so they are not seen.

Jen Haderlie, the new mom of twin girls, loves to go to Starbucks for a cocoa and driving to see the Christmas lights where she lives. After they get home they read the story of Christ’s birth before going to bed.

We hope you take time to make new traditions, while still enjoying the old ones, with your family this holiday.

4 ways to De-Stress this Holiday Season

I hear from a lot of other moms that their husbands have to constantly remind them that they need to “relax”, “do less” and “don’t stress so much”. Do any of us actually do anything to check these items off our never ending to do lists? No. With all of the activities, festivities, driving and cooking to do in the month of December I sometimes wonder if I will make it to January.

De-stressing your holidays might bring thoughts like, “I can’t do that”, “We do that every year” and “so and so will be so disappointed”. But who, besides yourself, said so many things had to be done? Be better to yourself, simplify the to do list. Say “no” to the countless festivities offers. Schedule time with the ones that really matter, and remind yourself that sitting on the couch with a cup of cocoa, a blanket, a movie and watching the snow fall out your window with your honey is a perfect way to spend an evening. Need a few other ideas?

We offer 4 ways to de-stress this Holiday season:

1. Simplify your gift giving with this simple poem: Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. Add a couple of things to their stockings and there you have a simple and meaningful list to fill for your loved ones.

2. It’s okay to buy store made treats to give your neighbors. Just add a simple note wishing them happy holidays. Put a cute ribbon on it and deliver. The only thing they will remember is how nice it was to be thought of.

3. Instead of cooking everything at the family dinner, do a pot luck style. Have everyone sign up to bring what they would like, make sure it makes a meal, and enjoy a little more time catching up with those you love at the counter instead of over the stove.

4. Most importantly, if what you have planned to do and give this year takes away from the time you have with your children, let it go. The time we have with our kids is limited and fading away. Let’s all try to remember to not let it waste away.

There will be some busy days over the holidays, lists to make and you will feel like it is never ending. But there is also great joy this time of year. Remember to cultivate an attitude of joy and your busy days will seem to flow better, your lists will not be so daunting and you will sit and enjoy this wonderful season and feel renewed for the coming year.

How to Entertain Guests during the Holidays

Holiday get-togethers are memory makers. You catch up with family you haven’t seen in some time, eat as if calories don’t count and enjoy the spirit of the season. But some of us have the absolute pleasure of hosting some of that family for multiple days in our homes and the cooking, cleaning and pure joy that comes with it. Today we offer how to entertain guests during the holidays in small ways to make your life a little easier while you host those you love most.

While your grocery bill is going to go up, make sure that part of that is easy finger foods and drinks for all the kids that will be constantly asking for a snack, and adults. If your kids are anything like mine, if one asks for something to eat, they all do. Purchasing a large vegetable tray is a great way to go because you can set it out and everyone can take from it as they want. Even if it is in the fridge, everyone can take it out, take a few pieces and put it back. No preparation necessary. Add to it crackers, the mini cheese squares and flavored sparkling water and juice boxes and your all set.

Make a meal plan for every meal. Ask guests to contribute to the meals with a side or dessert and then they feel like they have helped in some way and you avoid them potentially offering you money to cover the costs of all the food. Also, clean out your fridge before everyone comes and leave room for your guests to put their own food, especially if they have a special diet.

Have activities in mind to go to or do at your home. Bringing out the board games are great, but knowing about special events happening in your area before your guests arrive is nice to choose from to break up the several game nights in a row.

Finally, offer those you love a room with a lock on the door. Having some kind of privacy will really help them feel better about staying over instead of a hotel. Knowing you can fully relax while vacationing is a gift in itself.

Enjoy your time with family and friends. Here’s to many nights of staying up late, too much cocoa and filling your heart with memories.

Take Out Bag for Sick Moms

Sick moms don’t get sick days; the cooking, laundry, playtime and homework still need to be done. But it’s hard taking care of everything when we can’t let go of the tissue box. Plus, I would rather cook the can of sweetened condensed milk and the bag of Ramen that are left in my cabinet than go to the store.

What if the baby needs diapers? What if you run out of medicine? What on earth is for dinner? All of these questions can be answered with today’s post: a Take Out Bag for Sick Moms!

When your friend, sister, or neighbor are down with the cold or flu it’s understandable you want to help them, but that you also don’t want to expose your family. Give a quick text asking if they need anything like diapers/wipes, laundry soap and tissues. Then put together a quick bag to set on their front door step. No exposure for your family and you’ll feel more satisfied knowing you were able to help someone you care about.

Basic items that could be helpful:

-Alkaseltzer cold/flu medicine

-Tissues

-Cough drops

-Laundry soap

-Diapers/wipes

-Anti-bacterial wipes

-Tea

-Can of chicken noodle soup

-Ginger ale

-Coloring book and crayons for the little ones

Any combo of these items in a cute basket and a card will brighten their day and make things a little easier until they are feeling well enough to venture outside the home. This is also a great way to involve your children in some kind of a service project so they can start to build an understanding of giving to others and being helpful, at times, without being asked. Someday when you and your kids are sick, the favor will be returned. Hopefully with chocolate.