Documenting mom life, one nap at a time
As I prepare for baby #3, I feel like I need to be more prepared than ever. I know the basics of baby care and have ALL.THE.STUFF… but thinking about taking care of my two other children while also taking care of my newborn has…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. I have written extensively about my journeys preparing for my babies! I have a comprehensive “Baby Stuff List” that is perfect for a first time mom to reference when registering and wondering WHAT IS ALL OF THIS?!?…
***SENSITIVE TOPIC: fertility and infertility*** Since becoming pregnant with my third baby, I have been quieter than I wanted to be when it comes to sharing about my pregnancy and really just pregnancy in general on This is Real Mom. There are a lot of…
Earlier this month, I did a maternity photo session with Camille CD Photography, and it was such a fun and rewarding experience! This was my first experience having professional maternity photos done, with my first pregnancy I did take a few maternity photos that are…
This post contains affiliate links.See more information. One of the things I love to do for my kids is try to make holidays special. Even small holidays can give an excuse to celebrate and have a “party!” At Christmas, we do an Advent Calendar with…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Many of you follow my group, Naptime Deals, for the top daily deals for moms! I thought I would do a round-up post of a few of my personal favorite deals from 2019 that I purchased myself! Biggest…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Here are the top deals from Cyber Monday 2019!! Scroll down for the deals from Cyber Sunday and Small Business Saturday!! More deals can be found daily in my Facebook group, Naptime Deals! E-mail Subscribers are also the…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. I have been rounding up the top Black Friday deals for moms in my Facebook group, and here is a summary of all the best deals that have surfaced starting on Sunday the 24th!!! Prices were current as…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. One of the perks of creating an Amazon Registry is the amazing FREE box of goodies they send you! Some moms find it tricky to figure out how to claim it, so I am outlining the process here,…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Best Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals of 2018 This is a round up of the best deals for moms from Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2018. Deals will vary from year to year, but it can be nice to get an…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Holiday Traditions My favorite time of the year is from Thanksgiving to Christmas! I love everything about the “most wonderful time of the year” including the shopping on Black Friday, the food, the music, the cool, brisk…
This post contains affiliate links.See more information. Holiday Gift Guide 2019 I can’t believe it’s that time of year again!! Here are my top picks this year for babies through preschoolers!! For updates on the biggest sales of the Holiday Season, be sure to follow…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Announcing a New Baby Adding to your family is such an exciting time! Telling your older child(ren) about the new expected arrival can be more fun with a little planning and a few small gifts! When we told…
Black Out Cordless Blinds This post contains affiliate links. See more information. My first solution to blacking out the windows in my kids’ room worked for about 3 years! I purchased black out fabric, cut it to the size of the windows, and secured it using…
Pizzelles This post contains affiliate links. See more information. We love Pizzelles! They are really simple and easy to make! You don’t even need an oven, but you do need this Pizzelle cookie press! Ingredients 3 eggs 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup butter, melted 1…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Toy Storage We moved into our current apartment when our first baby was 2 weeks old! I am a planner, and I spent the last month of my pregnancy planning our new apartment (we moved from 500 square…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. The Best Lightweight Strollers One question I see asked A LOT among moms is: which lightweight stroller is the best? And, like almost every baby item out there, the best one for you depends on a variety of…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Making Food Fun Mealtimes can be stressful for a variety of reasons — picky kids, picky parents, not knowing what to serve, and fussy kids can all come together to create occasional chaos. I find that I always…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Prime Day Tips & Tricks I love shopping! I have pretty much been a life-long shopper of things on sale, as whenever I enter a physical store I run straight to the back to check out the clearance…
I have already written extensively about what I have done with my babies in my baby stories, sleep stories, schedules, and secret to sleeping through the night. I have shared resources for pregnancy, registering, and how to organize the nursery. But I needed to add this…
Photo by Camille CD Photography How is my baby going to be two this week? Looking back at his newborn photos has me feeling very nostalgic about the past two years! I am so happy to be his mama and also so thankful for the…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. When my second baby was about 6 weeks old and my toddler was just over 2, I realized that I was going to need a little extra help in the coming months. I contacted students at the local…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. So much fun! And then… the party is over and everyone goes home! You may have received some things that you have never seen before and don’t know what you will do with! Where will you put everything?…
This is the list of resources I send to my pregnant friends whenever I find out they are expecting! You can view all of the other sections through these links: Pregnancy Resources, The Baby Stuff List, What Do I Really Need?, Nursery Gear, For Baby, Big Purchases, For Mom, Save, Spend,…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. We had a blast this past weekend visiting a new city — Chicago! I love traveling with my family even though traveling with littles is not always easy. I’ve written many of my tips and tricks for traveling…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Here are some travel tips I recently shared with my Facebook group, Naptime Deals! Click here to join and follow along for great baby sales, deals, tips, recommendations, and more! Also, I have written more posts on travel…
Today’s Deals 3-13! Facebook is down! So here are the deals from today! Follow when Facebook is back up at: facebook.com/groups/naptimedeals (Links are Affiliate Links) Basics 35% off Enfamil NeuroPro More Enfamil coupons here! $5 coupons to clip on Contact Solution! Renu and BioTrue Target 14…
It ain’t a party ’till someone poops in the tub… Lunch & Nap I might as well just start serving lunch straight from the floor, since yesterday at lunch, little man sat on his lunch, threw it on the floor, and then asked to get…
There are so many great quality programs for littles on YouTube — one thing we did yesterday that worked amazingly was setting a timer for 15 minutes of playtime and then doing a “brain break” YouTube video and repeating the cycle! Another thing that works…
I posted the story of how I ended up with this cookie recipe over on Instagram 🙂 Here is the Recipe, adapted from Betty Crocker’s Christmas Cookbook: 2 sticks softened butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups flour sprinkles Beat butter, sugar, and…
When I started the @thisisrealmom project, I set out to document everyday realities of motherhood. I was inspired by my own struggles, especially when it comes to expectations vs. reality. Here are some stories from myself as well as other mothers who can also relate…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. My favorite holiday is just around the corner! Over in Naptime Deals I have organized lists of gift ideas by age and other members have added their ideas as well! It’s a great collection of holiday gift ideas! Clicking…
We are sharing activity ideas every day in our Facebook groups Baby and Toddler Activity Time, and Preschool Activity Time! Here are some seasonal activity themes to use for activity inspiration! Fall September Apples School Leaves and Trees Seasons: Fall Shapes October Bats Spiders Pumpkins…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. First Birthday Tradition We started a tradition at my son’s first birthday where we had a book sitting out at his party for everyone to write messages to him in. It is really special to look back and…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Little Airport Sticker Book (pictured above) On the Airplane Here are some photos and notes from our latest airplane trip. For more travel tips, check out Traveling with Littles: Tips and Tricks! These activities kept the littles entertained…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Have You Filled a Bucket Today? I recently pulled Have You Filled a Bucket Today? off the shelf to help my toddler understand why it is important to be kind to others. I wasn’t quite sure if it was…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Favorite Toys for One Year Olds I have written previously about great toys for babies and toddlers: see Favorite Baby Toys and Choosing the Best Toys for Toddlers for ideas for other ages… but what about the in-between stage, from approximately 12-18…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Drinking from a Straw Cup I have been meaning to write this for a month, and it’s such a quick and easy trick that I don’t know why it took me so long! My son turned 11…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Tumbleleaf Coloring Activity My son’s favorite shows right now are Tumbleleaf and “Mouse-Cookie.” His cousin was so sweet and sent him these finger puppets (pictured above) of the characters of Tumbleleaf and we have been having so much…
This post contains affiliate links. See more information. Traveling at age 2 Traveling at age 2 (he was 2.5 when we traveled) was the easiest age yet! I already posted about our airport and airplane experiences here, but I thought I would do a little follow…