Mama Says

Satisfy Your LEGO Fans with the LEGO YouTube Channel

January 31, 2013 By Amanda

As I am certain you know by now, our home is over run with LEGO® blocks of all shapes and sizes, not to mention the figurines and finished masterpieces that occupy every available flat space in the house. Jon and the girls are always looking for a new challenge to take on over the weekends, but they often take just as long to find said masterpiece as they do to create it. Thankfully LEGO® has created The Official LEGO® Channel just for parents like us jammed packed with over 600 mom-approved videos made specifically for kids 6-11 years old. It’s the perfect way for my girls to get their LEGO® fix while also being assured that each video is safe for their viewing.

That’s right! Now YOU can create your own LEGO® video play list with all of your kid’s favorite LEGO® videos and minibrands. On the Official LEGO® Channel, parents can add videos from LEGO® Star Wars™, LEGO® Hero Factory, LEGO® DC Universe™ Super Hereos and more. While I would never just allow my children to have free rein on YouTube, with the video list creation so easy to use and so safe for family use. Just this weekend, I created a LEGO® playlist for the girls to satisfy their adventurous spirits and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was and how much fun the girls have had with it since.

So now, when Jon is scouring the ‘net for the next project, the girls will have plenty of fodder (and fodder I can change as needed) to keep their minds safe and entertained. The girls have also found that they get ideas for new inventions and LEGO® creations – now KG is forever making projects she wants to send to the LEGO® club magazine. This latest ability to create playlists will open up lots of opportunities for children everywhere to safely view videos that keep them entertained.

Super Easy Create LEGO® playlist

·     Visit Youtube.com/LEGO and watch one of your favorite videos
·     Click “Video Options”?
·     Select “Add To Playlist”?
·     Sign-In using your YouTube Login ?
·     Add your selected video to an existing playlist or create a new one?

There is a lot of content on web; creating a playlist on the Official LEGO® Channel is a great way to ensure your kids are entertained and watching videos you can feel good about.

Visit the Official LEGO® Channel to build your own playlist to watch with your kids and then reply below for a chance to win one (1) $1,000 gift card to buy your family’s favorite LEGO® products!

Hop over and build your own list then come over and leave your list in the comments, I’d love to check them out!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of LEGO. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Playtime on a Dime: Encourage Learning through Play

January 30, 2013 By Amanda Leave a Comment

It’s no secret that children learn best through play and there have been countless studies done in support of this fact, these days parents everywhere are looking for new ways to pack the most educational benefits into their children’s playtime. While there is certainly a surplus of “educational” toys marketed specifically for children’s enrichment and learning, parents don’t always need to head out to the store for the latest toy when they usually have everything they need to provide endless opportunities for learning already in their home.

Sensory Play

With the recent wave of eco-conscious parenting that has flooded the nation, parents and caregivers are discovering out of the ordinary educational possibilities in every day toys; one parent who really stretches her children’s imaginations through play with household items is Catherine Moss. Catherine regularly fills large shoe boxes with bulk dried beans and small toys like alphabet fridge magnets turning these average items into sensory bean boxes where her children can dig, pour, sort, pretend and more with the beans and box contents. Every day items like these are being used by parents in a variety of ways to encourage and reinforce counting, sensory development, and spatial skills, while simple tricks, like encouraging a child to describe their choice in dress-up clothes for a pretend play, help children develop valuable social and language skills.

Reinforce Life Skills at Home

It’s natural for parents to want their children to succeed in school and in life, which is why the recent push for the mastery certain skills before Kindergarten has propelled parents across socio-economic classes to seek out new ways to help their children be ahead of their peers. Homeschooling parents like Christina Strickland have been incorporating learning into every day activities as a natural extension of their day to day life. Christina suggests that parents talk to their children and explain the processes as they go throughout the day, for example: “When you cook together, explain fractions; when you do laundry, talk about how washing machines work; and when you go for a walk, point out animal prints or how the leaves have changed.” Since children has a deep rooted desire to learn and are sponges for information, parents are learning how every day life can open up the possibility of learning, simply by doing.

Repurpose Toys

Parents are also finding new ways to repurpose some of their children’s older toys or toys that have been passed down over the years. Educational consultant and mother, Candice Lindemann likes to use her son’s old toy cars to reinforce the concept of physics and gravity with ramps and tunnels made from blocks and tubes from other games. She also suggest using animal figurines to learn about the different animal classifications, to reinforce size difference, and more. More and more, parents are finding new ways to sneak learning into playtime. Whether they’re practicing counting and currency skills with the play money that came with their parent’s monopoly game or sorting and building with their blocks, there’s no doubt children have ample sources of education and play surrounding them, not only in their “educational toys” but also in their beloved baby doll. The opportunities for learning through play are endless and parents are just beginning to truly grasp the possibilities found in their every day toys and household items.

How do you think out of the box to encourage learning through play in your home?

Filed Under: Child Education, Life, Mama Says Tagged With: frugal playtime, learning through play, out of the box learning ideas for kids, repurposing toys

Teaching Kids Basic Computer Skills and Digital Safety

January 28, 2013 By Amanda Leave a Comment

As parents of digital citizens, it is our duty to ensure our children grow into responsible computer users; this means making sure they have proficient keyboarding skills, are well versed in digital security, and know how to use various software programs with ease. Even though I’m a digital parent, early last year I found I had failed in doing this on so many accounts – my eldest was unable to proficiently use a keyboard and knew little to nothing about about digital security. It became my mission to make sure I remedied this quickly and to ensure that other parents don’t find themselves in the same place, so I’ve gathered all of the resources for you, as well.

Keyboarding Skills

Learning Games for Kids – Keyboarding Skills: Fun keyboard for early elementary and young learners

Powertyping: QWERTY & Dvorak + lots of typing games

Free Typing Game: 30+ different typing games for learners of all ages

…more typing games from About.com.

Digital Citizenship

Digital Etiquette Lessons: Digital lesson for older elementary students

Stay Safe Online: Teach your children to become good digital citizens with these resources

Digiteen: Online lessons created by teenagers to help students learn digital responsibility

Reputation: Tips for teaching your children how to maintain digital reputation management

Microsoft Learning Suite

TechnoKids: Collection of technology projects through Microsoft Office Suite activities for children from Kindergarten to 12th grade.

How To Do Things: Basic idea of how to teach your child how to use Microsoft Office.

Structured Learning: Basics of how to use Excel

GCF Learn Free: Basic Excel 2010 usage learning guide

ABC Teach: Tons of learning games for young learners to learn how to use PowerPoint

Presentation Software – About.com: Powerpoint tutorial

Running Along: Preparing for Our Next 5K

January 25, 2013 By Amanda Leave a Comment

As you are probably aware, KG and I took part in our first 5K the first weekend in December last year with her Girls on the Run team. What you may not be aware of is her desire to make this more a tradition in the new year. In response to this desire, KG and I have been scouring the web to find just the right race to meet our training needs. Since the last 5K, KG hasn’t really kept up with her running practice and I also need to work on my stamina when it comes to running. After some discussion, we’re going to start the Couch to 5K training this week with plans to run in the Clover Leaf 5K Run/2 mile walk in OC in March this year – the March date should give us plenty of time to acclimate our bodies with the extended amount of running we’ll be doing while also giving us a real date to work towards in our training. I don’t know about you, but I tend to work better once I have a goal date.

Why a 5K?

Why the 5K you ask? KG turns 10 this June and I am always looking for new ways to relate to and connect with my tween…running is something she truly enjoys doing and since it’s also a release for me, I’d like to find a way to incorporate it more into our lives. My reasons don’t only have to do with connections though, you see…I don’t know if you remember, but KG has had to work hard to be able to physically handle running. When she first joined Girls on the Run, I worried all the time that she would have a hard time breathing while she was running and to be honest she did have one time when it got a little scary for a minute; what I really saw over the 2 months KG was involved in this part running group/part self-awareness class was a real strengthening in her body, her lungs, and her confidence…and didn’t only stem from the great lessons or fabulous coaches (though they did play a huge part)…it came from finding her stride in running and pushing herself in a way she hadn’t done before.

I want to continue to stimulate that part of her and because running is something I also love, when my body is trained for it, I was quick to start looking for races for myself & KG and family fun run/walks for the entire family. One of our family resolutions for the year was to spend more time together as a family and combined with Jon & I’s desire to live healthier lives, I couldn’t think of a better way for us to enjoy several weekends a year…also, if we choose carefully, we can participate in races that benefit causes we believe in while also supporting our desire for health and togetherness.

KG and I went ahead and picked out a few races we are interested in running, in addition to the Clover Leaf 5K, which benefits a local park system, over the next several months and in the interest of accountability I wanted to share them with you as well:

March: Clover Leaf 5K
April: I haven’t found one for me and KG, but Jon and I are thinking about signing up to be zombies for the Zombie Run in Louisville.
May: Throo the Zoo @ the Louisville Zoo

5K Training

I officially started the C25K training Monday and KG starts up next week (I wanted to make sure I was a week ahead before she got started)…of course I’ll be running with her as well, so it should be double the bang for my buck I suppose. Heh. One of the things I’ve been struggling with most is trying to find a way to fuel my body without breaking our budget, so I tend to make up recipes whenever possible to try to find ways to use ingredients I already have on hand. This week we had some strawberries, blue berries, and Greek yogurt left over from our recent Costco trip so after my work out Saturday, I threw those in the blender with two scoops of my protein mix and about 8 ounces of milk, then proceeded to blend it really well. The mixture was still really thick so I poured about three-fourths of it into some Mason jars I had laying around the kitchen and through them in the freezer – thirty minutes later (just long enough for a nice cool down yoga dvd) I had creamy “ice cream” that was really good! I added a little bit more milk to the other 1/4th I had left and Jon drank it for an after workout smoothie. Apparently, it was quite tasty.

Here it is in smoothie form.

The Plan

This week I’ll be repeating the first week of the Couch to 5K with KG and trying to focus on my breathing since that’s where I tend to fall behind. Speaking of falling behind, I’ve made it clear to KG that it’s not about how fast we complete the 5Ks, simply that we do complete them.

So what are you up to? Any fitness plans for you and the fam?

Filed Under: Healthy Living, Mama Says Tagged With: clover leaf 5K ky, family fitness, fitfluential, Fitness, mom and daughter running, running a 5k with my daughter

5 Tips for Soothing Your Child’s Earache

January 21, 2013 By Amanda Leave a Comment

There’s nothing worse than the feeling of helplessness that takes over a parent’s heart when their child is in pain, this is especially true when your beloved child has an earache. After a recent bout with earaches and an ear infection, I spent a lot of time researching and trying out home remedies to help stem the tide of pain in my girl.

Here is what I would suggest for any parent who’s child is suffering from ear pain caused by an infection or wax build up.

1) Apply gentle heat. Whether through the use of a warm washcloth, rice pack or heating pad (set to low only and do not leave your child alone while the pad is in use), the heat can help stimulate and dilate the swollen blood vessels found in and around the ear; if there is wax build up in the canal, the heat can help it melt and flow more freely. Make sure you only apply the heat for less than 20 minutes at a time and that you cover the heating pad (if used) with a cloth to keep it from burning the sensitive ear area.

2) Try a diluted mixture of warm water and 3% hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide can help clear up and remove any wax build up, provide temporary pain relief and fight infection, this is usually a first stop for parents. Dilute the hydrogen peroxide with warm (not hot) water and apply to the ear while holding your head tilted to the side. After ten minutes, tilt your child’s head to the other side and allow the mixture to drain out, you may need to gently drop a bit more fresh water into the ear to help rinse any particles out and clean the ear.

3) Defy gravity. You may find that your child’s ear pain is worse when he or she is laying down (YIKES! Bedtime will be a mess!). If this is the case, try propping your child up in the bed with extra pillows (or do what we did and put a bean bag under the pillows to add elevation). Sleeping this way will help relieve the pressure and allow you both to get some rest.

4) Use over-the-counter homeopathic ear drops and medication (only if this is medically safe for you). The ear drops tend to be a little hit or miss for us, but we’ve had them work often enough that would recommend them as an option – I tend to use the Similasan Homeopathic Ear Drops from Amazon (Amazon affiliate link). While I tend to only use them as a last resort, I have found that adding the pain relievers (never aspirin since it can cause Reye Syndrome) can relieve pain and help your child get the rest they need.

5) See a doctor. Even if your child is starting to feel better, it’s a good idea for you to take your small person to the doctors at your earliest convenience. You don’t want to miss something that could be more serious.

Parents hate to see their children in pain and will normally do whatever they can to ease their child’s discomfort, these tricks help us when one of our girls get an earache. I hope they help you the next time your child is suffering from ear pain.

How do you ease your child’s ear pain?

Filed Under: Mama Says Tagged With: child ear pain, parenting, soothe ear ache, tips for soothing ear pain

Family Travel Tips

October 23, 2012 By Amanda Leave a Comment

My family and I do a lot of traveling and along the way have accumulated some tried and true strategies that make traveling with children a pleasant and even an enjoyable adventure. Here are a few travel tips that our family swears by:

- Write a detailed list of everything each member will be taking with them. I find that putting this on top of the clothes just before shutting the suitcase makes them easier to keep up with. I tend to forget something when packing or repacking, but with this list it allows me to go through and mark off what I have already put in the suitcase and what still needs to go.

- Pack plenty of kid friendly snacks! I always put them in leftover babyfood containers to for individual sizing and it keeps me from having to use sandwich bags. As a rule, we try to stay away from salty snacks because they make us thirsty, which in turn makes for more stopping.

- On the subject of stopping: We have found our girls ride better when we are able to stop once an hour for about 15-20 minutes at a time. Children have a short attentions span and very small bladders. They also stand long car trips best with frequent breaks which include physical activity. We like to stop at the rest areas along the way and play tag, have mini races, or just go for a quick nature walk.

- If you’re worried about all the time you’ll be losing from those frequent stops, then you can always leave earlier. We are planning to leave at 4:30 am this time, so that the girls will sleep the first four hours or so. We will also miss most, if not all, rush hour traffic.

- Pack at least one extra outfit for each person! This has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion. We tend to pack one extra outfit for the car ride and one for while we’re there. Of course for the baby we bring a couple more.

- Do your research! I cannot emphasize this enough! We always start our preparations for trips well in advance by comparing hotel rates, finding restaurants and activities. Then we go online and try to find better deals. To me this is the best part. I love to find deals! I am always on the look out for a good coupon or a great discount. One way to save some money is to call the hotel you will be staying at and ask for a better deal. What’s the worst they can say? No?

- Search the net for coupons to all the restaurants and activity venues you will be visiting. You can almost always find a good deal online. We bought $10 gift certificates to a local restaurant online at Restaurants.com for $3 each!

- Last, but certainly not least, bring plenty of car games. I suggest making a last minute stop at your favorite local discount store to pick up some small toys the kids have never seen before, this makes the toys seem more fun. We bought the Brain Quest card set for KG this time and we are really looking forward to giving them a try. We’re taking magnet “paper”dolls and a sheet pan to put them on, colorforms left over from Easter for the windows, coloring books, ColorWonder markers, and plenty of books. Another good investment for us, since we do so much traveling, was a portable DVD player. We bought this years ago and have always felt it was one of the better investments we have made. Our girls only get to watch it if we are going to be in the car for extended amounts of time and we keep special “car” movies for them to watch.

These are just a few of our more “weathered” tips. We know these work because we use them so often! I would love to hear what your great ideas for traveling with kids!!

Filed Under: Family Life, Mama Says Tagged With: car travel with kids, family travel tips, travel tips

Send a Little Note – Spread a Little Joy

October 10, 2012 By Amanda Leave a Comment

Show them you care.

Who doesn’t love to receive little unexpected notes of encouragement? As I mentioned yesterday in my Wordless Wednesday post, last year I received a beautiful Paper Coterie desk calendar from a conference and could not bear to dispose of it after the year had passed and the calendar had been rendered irrelevant. Now to some, this might seem frivolous or maybe even verging on hording…but to me, I knew there would be an opportunity for me to use the adorable and uplifting illustrations included in the calendar. Since the calendar ended in July, I’ve been rolling over a few ideas of what to do with the left-overs – I’d most recently considered framing them in a large collage for the office and admittedly, that is a pretty great use but I think I’ve found a way to breathe new life into this calendar.

Last night after reading Rajean’s fantastic post about Booing your friends, I couldn’t stop thinking of ways I could spread a little joy and positivity to my friends and family scattered around the world and that’s when it hit me. These calendar illustrations are the perfect first step! On the back of each month is a lined area for writing notes about the month, which I hadn’t used (I blog and am a social media addict, trust me it’s all documented already) but which made the perfect spot for a kind note or uplifting thought. I quickly pulled out my desk scissors and snipped off the calendar section of the card and set to work making my first note.

The cards have just enough room to send a short note while still having room to address it so you can mail a note to a friend far a way and the quality of card stock is perfectly suited for note writing as well. I had so much fun thinking of nice things to write to my friends and family and will be sending these out sporadically throughout the year to those who need to hear it. I’m hoping it’ll be a blessing to them, as they have been a blessing to me.

How do you show your friends and family you care?

Filed Under: Inspiration, Mama Says Tagged With: show your friends you care, spread joy, uplifting ideas

Fall Fun with Pumpkins – Paint Your Pumpkin Project

October 9, 2012 By Amanda Leave a Comment

As you all know, I’m not the most crafty of crafty people…but I do have two young and dare I say crafty young ladies, so this often means I have to pull out the paints and pull on dusty old craft hat. One perfect example of this happened this weekend when two pie pumpkins got a makeover with the help of my trusty side-kicks.

If you’re anything like me, you may not be a huge fan of the mess that goes along with carving a pumpkin, but if you’re anything like my small people you may not care. Every year I dread the smell, the icky-stickiness, and the pumpkin parts that I’ll inevitably find strewn around the porch (yes, call me a party pooper) – but I look forward to the girls’ smiling faces and the joy that comes from seeing their masterpieces.

That’s why this year I decided to try something different – and hope it would be just as fun – painting pumpkin faces! This super simple craft is perfect for any child that can hold a paintbrush and will add a splash of Fall fun to your home! This is an incredibly affordable craft too since I was only out the cost of the pumpkins and we used the paints we already had in our craft dresser.

Pick up a pumpkin (we chose pie pumpkins since their size was perfect for carrying) that suits your kiddo and don’t over look the marred or funny shaped ones, those often yield the most fun results!

Paint the pumpkins all over with a base color. We chose white, but you could choose black if you were going to make a zombie or any other color you want.

After they dry, I recommend outlining the facial features with a black permanent marker (apparently I was all out and had to use a ball-point, which scrapes off the paint if you’re not careful.)

Now here comes the fun part, let your kids have fun. Have them fill in the outlines with their favorite colors and add any extras now too so that everything dries at the same time.

Let dry. You’re done! Now sit them outside (or inside) and enjoy your child’s creativity all season long!

What crafts do you like to do with your kids?

Filed Under: Family Life, Impact Living, Life, Mama Says Tagged With: easy fall craft, Halloween craft, kids fall craft, painted pumpkin, preschool fall craft, pumpkin craft, pumpkins

When Children Lie….What Do You Do?

August 30, 2012 By Amanda Leave a Comment

My heart is hurting this morning. Hurts. Aches. As a parent, there is little that hurts us more than to see our children in pain…especially when it feels like you are the cause. Today one of my girls lied to me – about something small. In fact, she’s been lying to me all week…and possibly for longer.

It’s not the first time and she’s not the first one of the girls to do it, so today it just went all over me. I hate lies. I will not tolerate lying. I have said it over and over and over again (often rambling, I’m sure) – Jon & I simply will not accept anything but the truth.

I am always so shocked when they lie and they both do it …with frighteningly more frequency recently. And it does hurt. It hurts when you catch them in a lie – it feels a little like a failure on your part as the parent.

We’ve been through it all before, they both know that it is inappropriate and not at all acceptable behavior. They know they’ll get in less trouble telling the truth than if they lie. And yet, here we are, still we are dealing with these issues.

It’s not even like they’re lying about big things (yet); it’s always small things like who sprayed the water on the mirror or if they took their medicine that day. Today the girls and I had a discussion trust. If I can’t trust them to tell me the truth on the small things, how can I trust them to tell me the truth on the big things or even be away from me afterschool?

How do I get through to them? How do I nip this in the bud?

Today the daughter that lied about her inhaler will miss out on her afterschool activity. I explained that she can’t participate today due to her dishonesty and for her to be allowed to participate further she would need to show me she could be responsible and honest.

So help me, what do you do when your kiddos lie?

Filed Under: Impact Living, Life, Mama Says Tagged With: child lie, family, why do children lie

7 Simple Tips for Making Your Morning Routine Smoother

August 27, 2012 By Amanda 1 Comment

Do you know what time of the day is? Mornings. Especially around back-to-school time, when everyone is still fresh and excited for new beginnings. This is also the perfect time to start implementing a few simple steps into your life to make mornings an enjoyable time that has everyone arriving at their destinations on time and in pleasant ready to learn (or work) moods. In our home, mornings are a time of cheerful attitudes, snuggles, smiles, and family time. If your mornings are something different, it could be your routine…or lack there of…that is creating the issue.

Rise & Shine!

Here are a few of the tricks to keep our home running smoothly during the school year and year round:

Start lunch preparation right after you empty their lunch boxes in the afternoons. You can go on and pack the crackers, chips, cookies, and some fruits in their lunch boxes to save yourself valuable time in the morning. Plus if you pre-pack if the afternoons, you’ll be more likely to pack healthy items that may require a bit more preparation than the prepackaged items.
Get up earlier. This is for everyone. By just setting your family’s alarm clocks for 15 minutes earlier than their regular wake-up time, it allows everyone time time to enjoy the family’s company without feeling rushed. If you’re the parent in charge of waking the children, I also recommend waking 15 minutes earlier than your family so you can at least chug one cup of coffee and maybe get a solitary minute to yourself before the race begins.
Utilize the weekend. This one really takes up three steps; the weekends are like God’s way of giving you two days to prepare for the week. I try to spend some time each day catching up on any housework, laundry, and general house maintenance. I’ve found if we start the week with an organized and clean house, our mornings, and days in general, run smoother and are less stressful because we’re not constantly surrounded by clutter. Doing this makes it easier to to keep the home cleaned up and inviting all week.
Use the weekends for meal prep. I know you’ve probably read this before, but it’s a huge help so it bears repeating: save yourself time and money, not to mention stress, by prepping as much food as possible over the weekend to help you prepare for the coming week. You can wash, cut and store vegetables and some fruits in individual baggies, cook and freeze all of the meat for the week, slice and store cheeses, and more to help you get ready for the coming week’s meals. One of my favorite things to do over the weekend is whip up a huge batch of my family’s favorite pancakes or waffles and then freeze the leftovers (with a piece of wax paper between each pancake or waffle) for a fast and easy breakfast. I find when I take the time to to do the prep on the weekends, I save myself a lot of time while offering my family much healthier meals than a box of cereal or an Eggo waffles.
Use the weekend for style prep. I don’t know about you, but my kids have very particular styles. KG would describe hers as “street”, while KJ would simply shrug…it’s just her style…and while I don’t have to do much of it right now, there will come a time when I’ll need to scan their outfits for appropriateness. Right now, my biggest issues is their indecisiveness when it comes to what they want to wear, that’s why the girls and Jon choose their wardrobes for the week ahead on Sunday night. I feel like this is important for the girls to learn careful planning and the importance of looking ahead, that’s why it’s a good idea to remind them to think about the weather and what activities they’ll have coming up.
Use music. Preferably of the upbeat and wordless variety. I’ve found that if I play an upbeat instrumental or fast tempo nature song, the girls get dressed and ready much faster and in a much more cheerful way. Songs with words are okay too, though I really do insist on the music being upbeat and fast tempo – it’s hard to be in a cheerful and ready-to-learn mood if you don’t give your brain something to wake it up with.
Keep all other electronics off. This goes for you too, Mom & Dad. This is your time together as a family, spend it together. If you are privileged enough to do so, spend what little time you have together in the mornings talking about school, the upcoming week, their goals for the week, your goals for the week. It’s important to spend what time you have with your children engaged with them, truly giving them your attention without any distractions. The girls and I usually have between 15 & 20 minutes to spend together in the mornings after everyone is ready and it truly is the best part of my day. We’re all still so fresh from a good night’s sleep (yes, that tip should be a given…sleep is #1 most important!!) and haven’t had the stresses of the day fall on us yet, so we’re all very happy to be together.

As a morning person myself, mornings are naturally my favorite time of the day, there’s just something amazing about the smell of a new morning and new beginnings. You get to decide how your day will be and with these simple tips, your day can start smoothly and in the company of those you love.

What little tricks have you found that work to keep your homes running smoothly?

Filed Under: Impact Living, Life, Mama Says Tagged With: Back to school, make mornings to smooth in your home, mornings