You all know that I am a huge fan of treasure baskets and Layla has been really interested in songs and when Lincoln and I dance to music so I decided to make a musical treasure basket. ​

I often get judged or questioned for how I parent my children. It comes with the territory of living with my grandma and mom, who are from different generations and have very different parenting styles than me. I also feel the vibes of others who wonder why my kids go to bed early or don't eat out much or are always naked. I'm pretty damn confident in my parenting which is why I'm going to explain my hybrid style of parenting that sometimes leaves people rolling their eyes. 

Lincoln really wanted to make playdough but I didn't have some of the ingredients I normally use so we figured we'd do a science project and wing it. It came out better than my regular recipe!! 

2 cups flour
1.5 cup salt
1.5 cup water
Cap-full of vegetable oil
​5 drops of food coloring (we did blue)

Mix it all together. I recommend mixing the water and food coloring first so it doesn't get on your child's hands. Add more flour if it's sticky or more water if it's too crumbly.

Put the two toilet paper rolls side by side and tape together. I've seen them stapled before as well. Wrap a few times to make sure they can't separate. Poke one hole on each side and thread string through. 

Treasure baskets are an amazing way to expose your child to real tools and items that are easily found in your house. I like picking a theme and making a basket around that. You'll quickly discover that children LOVE to manipulate and explore items they see you use. ​

As many of you know, our family dog passed away. Two days after his passing, my son Lincoln who is 22 months old, asked about Beau. I figured I would share our first conversation about death. Below you will read a quick transcript of the conversation and then explanation why I said what I did. 

As a background statement, I don't deal with death well. I don't really show emotions in general but when it comes to those I love passing, I get weird about it. I really make an effort to not pass my own issues onto my children and my background in psychology is able to help a lot. My goal from this is to remove the taboo/ don't talk about it stigma that death sometimes carries no matter how uncomfortable or sad it makes us feel.

There's something uniquely devastating about losing your family dog. I am lucky to have spent the last 8 months at home to get that time with Beau before having to say goodbye. But now that he's gone, the hole seems to magnify when realizing the little empty spots in our day-to-day life. 

I got Beau from our local dog pound for $5 in 2010. I was 19 years old, had just left college, really had no direction, but when I saw him, we bonded instantly. My first hurdle was convincing my mom and grandma to let me get him since I had moved back home. At first they didn't like that he was barking but they warmed up to the little guy fast because he had these soulful, kind eyes. ​

While the mess of cooking with a toddler can be stressful, there are so many benefits to cooking projects. I absolutely love cooking with my little man and while the thought of his messy fingers, drool, and whatever other things he throws in isn't necessarily yummy, it's beyond fun for him. On top of the sheer joy of food, there are so many other beneficial aspects of cooking.

​Let's lay them out...

Obviously while cooking children hear and understand simple math and science concepts. I won't dig into numbers, measuring, weight, and all of that. We know cooking involves science and math, but it's not unique to toddlers.