Mommy Has to Work

Fun Easter Gifts for Kids from Radz and Bullsitoy

April 7, 2019 By Marijean

Easter is definitely my favorite holiday! I love watching my kids hunt for eggs and watching the priceless looks on their faces to see what the bunny left them. I created a list of fun Easter gifts that the bunny can bring to your kids!

Radz Easter Foamz Candy Dispensers

These are adorable little clip on candy dispensers! Each come with candy and are foam so your kiddos can squish them! You can collect white, pink and blue bunnies and also a cute yellow chick! Your kids can clip them on their backpacks or anything they would like to clip it to!

“These EGGciting squishable Easter dispensers are available in three hoppy bunnies – Cookie, Clover, and Cooper and a chick name Conner! The Foamz dispensers can even double as finger puppets so you can add to the Easter festivities by entertaining your family with an amusing show.”

MSRP: $2.99 – $3.99. You can get Radz candy dispensers at stores like Target and Walmart.

Easter Radz Candy Dispensers

Another fun set of candy dispensers! They also have a clip and can be clipped to anything your kiddos like! These come in pink, purple or blue bunnies 🙂

“Each dispenser comes with a 0.7 oz pack of yummy Easter themed candy featuring Bunny Berry Blast, Eggcelent Fruit Jumble, Hoppin’ Bubble Gum and Tropical Spring Time flavors, and a coloring poster!”

MSRP: $2.99 – $3.99. You can get Radz candy dispensers at stores like Target and Walmart.

Cutie Cuffs Unicorns

These are so cute and remind me of slap bracelets I had growing up! These are little plush unicorns that you can put on your wrist and wear! They come in 8 different color varieties. My daughter loves them!

“Did someone say magical?!? Unicorn Cutie Cuffs are guaranteed to bring some sparkle to your day and add some rainbow magic to your wrist! With 8 huggable friends to collect, you’re going to want to take these enchanted creatures with you wherever you go!”

MSRP: $4.99 You can find these at Target stores!

LiL’ Flockers Blind Bags

Blind bags are the rage right now!! LiL’ Flockers come in blind bags and inside each package you will receive a unicorn figurine collectible and a sticker. They are super cute, colorful and fuzzy! They also have a fuzzy coating. Your daughter can collect all 18!

“The Lil’ Flockers fuzzy friends are besties you didn’t know were missing from your life! Each blind bag comes with a secret magical unicorn figure, a colorful unicorn sticker, and a checklist to keep track of your mythical friends! With 18 to collect, you’re going to want to collect them all!”

MSRP: $3.99 You can find these at Target stores!

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

New ARM & HAMMER™ Foot Care Moisturizer + Gentle Exfoliators

March 25, 2019 By Marijean

Help for Heels and Feet

The New ARM & HAMMER™ Foot Care Moisturizer + Gentle Exfoliators

Say hello to smooth feet and goodbye to cracked heels with the new ARM & HAMMER™ Foot Care Moisturizer + Gentle Exfoliators! Nurse tired heels and feet back to optimal health with this new formula that moisturizes and gently exfoliates. Step into smooth skin as the AHA Exfoliators and deep hydrating coconut oil work in tandem to restore and moisturize heels and feet. An easy to use no touch sanitary massaging brush allows for a quick, easy, and clean hands application. Not only is it simple to use and easy to apply to skin on heels and feet, it’s non-greasy formula won’t leave any residue.

ARM & HAMMER™ Foot Care Moisturizer + Gentle Exfoliators, $8.79

Restores and moisturizes feet
Fast acting formula to moisturize and restore skin with gentle AHA Exfoliators and deep hydrating Coconut Oil
Prevents dry cracked heels
No touch sanitary massaging brush allows for quick, easy and mess free application
Gentle enough for daily use

The ARM&HAMMER™ Foot Care Moisturizer + Gentle Exfoliators is available for $8.79 in the foot care aisle at CVS and CVS.com.

Marijean

My name is MJ. I have two wonderful children and work part time as well as volunteer at my children's school.

Family Trip to Vero Beach, Florida @verobeachcvb

March 18, 2019 By Anne

Spring Break is here or will be here shortly depending on where you live. Florida has some wonderful places to visit and spend time in the sun. I recently was asked to visit Vero Beach with my family.

We were asked to stay at The Disney Vero Beach Resort and had a fantastic itinerary set up for us. We were not able to make it down to Vero Beach until Friday evening. We got to the resort and settled in around 9:30pm. The resort staff was very helpful as Disney employees always are. My partner and I hit the lounge after the girls layed down. It was right across the hall from our room!

Vero Beach Sunrise

We woke up early to see the sun rise. It was so pretty to see right over the beach. Then it was off to Goofy’s Beachside Character Breakfast with Donald and Goofy.

We gathered later to head over to the Vero Beach Museum of Art. The director took us on a tour then took us over to the children’s Art Zone. The Art Zone has many hands-on activities that encourage children to play and explore. They have a magnetic wall with colorful geometric shapes and a chalkboard wall for the kids to make artistic creations. Another wall is an interactive sketch aquarium, which was my favorite part of this interactive children’s exhibit, lol. The kids were each able to color in a sea creature then it gets scanned into the computer and magically it appeared on the wall!

Every piece of the Art Zone has been designed with kids in mind. The adults explored the rest of the museum. This was my favorite piece.

Learn more at their website at www.VBMuseum.org.

We had lunch at Mulligan’s Beach House. We sat beachside and enjoyed the beautiful weather, the ocean, music and delicious foods.

We then drove over to the McKee Botanical Garden. The McKee Botanical Garden has 18 acres of tropical terrain bursting with activity. I thoroughly enjoyed the gardens. I miss my South Florida landscape, so this gave me a chance to reminisce. The kids had a blast exploring and checking out all the flowers and plants. McKee’s has a new program called, Garden Discovery Backpacks. Each backpack is filled with exploration tools, guides, journal and an activity guide. There is even a small gift for the children to take home.

I would to have all of this in my backyard.

I am looking forward to coming back to explore more. Learn more at www.mckeegarden.org

We hit the pool for a while and relaxed in the sun before dinner.

For dinner we drove over to Waldo’s Restaurant at Driftwood Resort. Oh my the views were amazing! Right on the beach!

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to relax after a long, fun filled day.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed downstairs to the Disney’s Wind and Waves Grill for breakfast. Then we headed to the pool. The pool had a fun waterslide, jacuzzi, mini golf and a play area. W

It was a fun filled weekend in Vero Beach. I am looking forward to going back. Thank you VisitIndianRiverCounty.com.

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

Mother of Multiples – How to Handle Family Outings as a Parent of Twins

March 18, 2019 By Anne

Twins are an absolute delight, discounting the fact that all your planning and procedures go out the door as soon as you set off for a family outing. Now just because you have no evidence of a perfect outing yet, doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. Take control of your double trouble and start looking forward to family excursions and events, rather than turning them down.

Find a prime pram

A pram is like the third parent, invaluable in keeping things together and always there to hold the little ones. Although it’s not as simple as buying the first double pram model you see, so take your time and do your research so you roll away with the best pram for your family. Beyond the fact that the pram needs to accommodate two babies, you should also look for attributes that will suit your need and lifestyle. Maybe you are after a compact model, a jogger pram, right down to colour and material preference. Whichever double pram you select, get acquainted with it before you roll into your family outing.

Alternate floor to hold

Your family outings are likely taking place in areas that are kid-friendly, which is a good start. This will allow you and your partner to alternate between the two bundles by putting them on the floor and then holding them, letting them explore and be cuddled. Not only does this wear them out and ease them into an afternoon nap, it’s actually a great sensory experience that allows you as parents to take a break share the burden around. Pack your pram with a few floor mats so that you can lay them out and have your little ones roll and recline as they wish.

Sleep train your twins

Sleep training are the two magic words that can tame your two not-so-magical babies, and give you your life back. Sleep training will be critical in creating a routine in your home, that will eventually allow you to stick to plans and attend outings with your extended family. Sleep training is a relatively new concept, tweaked and updated from previous well-known parenting styles. That means whatever parent you identify as, there will be some sleep training wisdom that will resonate and be applied to your life. Unfortunately, it does not happen overnight, and you can probably expect even longer with twins in tow.

Don’t turn down support

In the first few years of parenthood, you can feel isolated in your own circumstances. Unable to get everything done and overwhelmed at the magnitude of the days. It’s imperative that you do not turn down support, and choose to share the load of taking care of your twins. Next time you are planning a family outing, make sure your partner can be there to assist, as well as a few helpful aunts or uncles.

Bring more than you think you need

There is no telling what mood your twins will be in, and just how many times that mood will change. One of your strongest lines of defence is going to be having toys and pacifiers at your disposal to distract and detain your little ones. As a rule of thumb, try and bring a good variation of things to play with, because you know how often the preferences of babies can change.

Well, hopefully you are feeling a little more confident and prepared in your upcoming family outing, armed with the skills and tips to make it a memorable occasion – for all the right reasons! Your pram is going to be a godsend for raising twins, so make sure that is a decision you take time with.

Anne

Simple Ways to Support Your Kid’s School

March 18, 2019 By Anne

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Schools are more than a large building that you take your children to each day. Once they have arrived, the administrators and teachers work hard to provide them with a stable and learning environment that they hope will give students a sense of discipline, and a respect for knowledge. Look at the best performing schools and you will see that they are usually part of a community where the parents and local businesses get involved. You might like to do the same but not be sure what you can do.

Share Your Talents

If you have a talent, consider sharing it with the school. It could be that you are an expert with computers, that you have a knack for engaging children with stories, or are good at a craft such as art or woodwork. These talents can be very useful to schools and they will appreciate you spending time your time in passing them on to their students.

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Free Up Some Teacher Time

You may feel that teachers only work a short day compared to may other professions. However, their work does not finish when the children go home. They have papers to work and lessons to plan and often have to work until late into the evening. You could help them by marking papers perhaps so that they have more time for planning the work ahead. Teachers will really appreciate this help, as the more time they have to plan, the better it is for them and the students.

Make Donations

There are always things schools would like to do with the students that they do not have the funding for. Sometimes they are short of resources or it could be they need some new equipment. You can help a teacher directly, or the school in general. However you donate, it will always be put to good use.

Help With Running The School

Schools have ways that you can help to keep it running smoothly. There is the Parent Teacher Association or the school council, both of which help to keep the school on an even keel. Becoming a member of either of this is a great way to help your local school.

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Arrange Visits

Sometimes, seeing something visually will stay in student’s minds better than being told the same thing. Arrange visits to local businesses that could help in this. If there is a farm locally, for instance, let them see how crops are grown and how the livestock are cared for. That will make a much better impression on their young minds than reading in a book how a farm works.

Help In The Library

One way that a school can save money is if it does not have to hire a librarian. If enough parents take it in turns to run the library, the money saved can be put to better use elsewhere.

There are many ways you could help in a school, and if you are unsure about what help they need, ask them. They always appreciate volunteers and will have some way in which you can assist them.