Redshirting kindergarten is a term given when parents hold their child back a year before starting kindergarten, or in some cases, give them an extra year of kindergarten. The term comes from college athletics when freshmen take a year off from competitive play to gain an extra year of eligibility ...
Parenting
How to Grow a Reader
Although I don't consider Happy Healthy Mama exclusively a food blog, food talk does tend to dominate around here. Â I'm passionate about health, nutrition, and feeding my family well, so you'll always find healthy recipes and some fitness talk when you visit. But I want to share another one of my ...
funny things kids say, vol. 1
When I was teaching, one of my favorite parts of the job was hearing all the funny things the kids would say. Â It is just so darn cute to see the way kids see the world and express themselves. Â Now that I'm a mom, I get to hear the funny things 24/7. Â And I love it. I thought it'd be fun to share ...
Chronicles of a Very. Cold. Day.
I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so I'm no stranger to cold weather. Â Sub zero temperatures were not uncommon, but this Arctic blast is insane. Â I can't actually say I've felt it, since I didn't leave the house today. Â It sure looked cold, though. With Meghan's Christmas break ...
The baby boy is 2
Wednesday we celebrated this little man's 2nd birthday. Â Can you believe Luke's 2 already? Â Me, either! Having his birthday so close to Christmas adds an additional level of busyness to the season, but despite this I want to slow down today and reflect on this little boy's life and how much ...
The Halloween Candy Dilemma: 3 years later
Three years ago, when Meghan was just two years old, I wrote about my dilemma with Halloween candy. Â With Meghan being my first child, I really had no idea how I was going to handle her getting so much junk that I know I don't want her body littered with. A lot has changed since then. Â At two ...
7 ways I’m definitely crunchy
A while ago I did a post outlining why I am only sorta crunchy. Â I told you all the things I do that make me not crunchy. Â I guess that got you curious because a lot of you asked me to do a post telling about the things that do make me crunchy. Â I brainstormed and found seven things that put me in ...
To Meghan on her 5th birthday
I woke up feeling different on Saturday. Â Just like that, I was the mom of a five year old. Â It doesn't seem possible that it was five years ago that I looked at Tim holding that tiniest little baby, wondering how I would be able to show her just how much love I was feeling. I had no idea what ...
What ever happened to orange slices? An open letter to parents about kids and snacks
Dear Parents, This was my 4 1/2 year old daughter's second year playing soccer through the local YMCA league. Â As much as I have loved watching some of her first athletic endevours, there was a part of the experience that was disturbing. Â The whole snack thing. Every week a child's parents ...
What my milk-soy protein intolerant toddler eats in a day
Feeding toddlers is tricky. Â They change their mind about what they like daily. Â They want to exert their independence at mealtime. Â All you want is them to eat nutritious foods that will aide optimal growth and development. Â Not easy! Feeding a toddler with intolerances or allergies is even ...
10 reasons why I’m only sorta crunchy
So I stumbled upon this YouTube video called Sh*t Crunchy Mamas Say. I watched it thinking it didn't apply to me.  Like at all.  Me?  Crunchy?  Umm...no.  I shave my legs everyday.  Even in the winter.  I'm not kidding. But then I saw more than one thing that applied to me. ...
An update on breastfeeding and food intolerances: 15 months
It's been a full 10 months since I last posted on my journey breastfeeding Luke and his diagnosis of milk-soy protein intolerance (MSPI).  That post has become one of my most popular and I still get comments and emails weekly from women sharing their stories and looking for answers.  Since Luke was ...