Monday, September 28, 2020

Early Potty Training

 I have made several videos regarding early potty training so check those out on Youtube. For now, you can read up on a few tips if you want to try it yourself! 

- First of all, be realistic and don’t set the bar too high. Early potty training, in my opinion, is potty training your child anywhere below the age of 18 months. After that, children tend to develop an aversion to potty training and that’s when the bribing, candy, sticker charts and, frankly, desperation kicks in! Before that age, you have a window of time where you can basically teach your baby the habit of going to the bathroom on the toilet, versus the diaper. But be careful not to be too hard on your child or yourself when (not if!) they have accidents. I have three children and started them all potty training around six months.

- Prepare for accidents. You will not be able to prevent all accidents but will be able to prevent most of them by taking baby to the toilet every 15-20 minutes or so. No, you won’t be stuck doing this forever so don’t panic. For the first few months, however, be ready to take them frequently. For the accidents that will happen, stock up on lots of baby blankets and comfy cotton shorts or pants so you can change baby quickly. Once you start potty training, you will eventually be able to pick up on cues your baby gives you before they have to go. Some cues are stopping in the middle of an activity and staying still, grabbing their crotch, or starting to grunt or make efforts to poop!

- Don’t go back to diapers once you commit. Don’t even buy pull-ups for “just at night” because pull-ups are just glorified diapers. The goal is to get baby totally potty trained, even at night. You’ll be surprised how quickly your baby will stay dry at night. For those middle of the night accidents, keep blankets and extra clothing nearby for quick changes and consider layering a thicker blanket or towel under baby.

That’s it! Get ready for a few months of work with a great reward at the end! You will save money that would have been spent on diapers, you won’t have to worry about diaper rash and ultimately, you will save yourself trouble later when baby develops that strong-willed aversion to going on the potty. Good luck!


Saturday, September 26, 2020

Saving at the Supermarket

 Have you ever wondered how your grocery bill got so high? You innocently grabbed your list, your shopping bags, your purse and headed out the door with a budget in mind and then bam! You go waaay over at the checkout line! I’ve been there too many times to count. But what I realized over time, is that I wasn’t sticking to hard and fast rules and was allowing for too much margin. If my kiddos wanted a snack or treat, in the basket it would go. If I noticed something we loved to eat was on sale, in the basket it would go. Or, if I suddenly had inspiration for a meal idea, the ingredients would make their way into the basket, on sale or not. 

After spending WAY too much money for WAY too long, I finally decided something had to give. My hubby and I have dreams of a bigger house with a bigger yard and that ain’t gonna happen if Mama keeps flushing money down the drain. So we decided to talk budget. We sat down and realistically set a budget for all the main categories of spending...household (haircuts, dry cleaning, home repairs), fast food and groceries. We decided that for our family, $500 for groceries, $100 for fast food, and $300 for household per month would be sufficient.

It has worked! Check out your grocery store online coupons, digital ads and yes, even the old-school paper ad that comes in the mail is worth checking out! If you base your shopping solely on the ads and what’s on sale, you will always save! Get creative and figure out new ways to use affordable staples such as rice and potatoes, buy on sale and freeze for later and turn those leftovers into tasty lunches for the week or as additions to salads or soups. Check out my video for more info!

Grocery budget!