the only toys we bring when airstreaming

October 6, 2023

did you hear? we got an airstream. (more details coming soon.)

and given its tiny square footage, we have to be incredibly intentional about what we bring along.

including toys.

here’s what we needed: things to play when the kids first wake up, things to play when it’s raining outside, things to play when it’s sunny outside, things to play in the water, things to play while exploring, things to play at the campground amenities, things to play in sand/dirt/rocks, etc etc etc.

here’s what made the cut.

our first aid boxes

October 6, 2023

we have two clear acrylic boxes.

because I like my first aid stash portable, I like my first stash to be easy to dig around with one hand, and I like my first aid stash to be contained.

so i have two clear acrylic boxes, and it holds allllllllll our first aid stuff.

actually I have four clear acrylic boxes - two for our home, and two for our Airstream.

we keep a few things in the car, too. see more on that here.
in my bag and in my stroller, I also keep this awesome tiny first aid kit with basic necessities. for playground scrapes and neighborhood walk falls, and the like. learned this the hard way. (I also keep premeasured, single-use vials of allergy medicine.)

and all this took a significant amount of work to set up, but we’ve reaped the benefits over and over since then. i thank Past Haley for our first aid boxes multiple upon multiple times a year - especially with our adventurous, active, accident-prone crew (dogs included). not to mention when we’re camping we have to be potentially self-sufficient, and when we’re at home we’re not super close to a hospital.

on our Yearly Tasks and Expenses list, under September and March, I have “check medicine inventory + first aid stash.” this is my easyyyy way to always make sure our first aid stash (and our medicine inventory!) is current and replenished.

ready to see what I keep on hand?

you may have more, you may have less, you may have totally different needs. and that’s okay.

pssssst! I followed this checklist for ideas.
psssssssssst! making (or buying) a good first aid kit is one of my 10 easy things you can do right now for emergency preparedness.
psssssssssssssst! Brett and I are taking a refresher CPR Class + First Aid class as a date night - it was one of the 5 things I’m doing this year for emergency preparedness.

this is what we keep on hand:

this month's amazon bestsellers: september

October 3, 2023

my top ten best sellers for september!

see my amazon board with alllll best sellers - current and past - here.

why we love blueberry pediatrics

September 27, 2023

We have decent insurance. Good, even.

But those sick visits with two kids before we hit our deductible are rough. Not to mention the headache that is scheduling a doctor appointment, wrangling two kids to the appointment, waiting with two kids at the appointment, trying to navigate questions/paperwork/advice/prescriptions while juggling two kids, and basically rearranging our whole day/week around the appointment(s).

When Joey got an ear infection this summer and needed a follow-up visit, those two appointments (and two hefty co-pays) alone sent me over the edge.

There has to be a better way, I lamented.

Enter Blueberry Pediatrics.

(This post isn’t sponsored. They have no idea this post exists. I’m just that grateful for them.)

10 tiny, behind-the-scenes things I did for my family + household this month

September 26, 2023

a new series!

to show a peek into my daily life (and the systems I adore), and to give a gentle reminder that you - and all the tiny, behind-the-scenes work you do - are so important and appreciated.

10 tiny, behind-the scenes things I did for my family + household this week, in no particular order:

our cold and flu favorites for our kids

September 20, 2023

I would say cold and flu season is coming, but I’m somewhat convinced cold season is all year long in our house. Here are our favorite things.

(And as always - whatever works best for you is amazing. Just sharing a few things that work really well for me.)

for my three year-old:

blueberry pediatrics
- the online pediatric membership that saves my bottom time and time again. read more of my thoughts - and why I appreciate this membership so much - here.
liquid zinc
- Whenever KK seems under the weather (or whenever we we want some extra protection), we start taking these drops. I swear by them. I truly think the only reason KK kicked her cold in time for my sister’s wedding was her morning dose of these drops, and her evening vapor bath - more on that soon.
- Technically this liquid zinc is the adult version, but the back of the bottle has dosage instructions for all ages.
- We also take these vitamin d drops and these vitamin c drops - I prefer the liquid since it’s easier for me to know that my toddler has taken them.
this nighttime cough + mucus medicine for 2+
- honestly this is something I am never without.
- I always have the daytime version, too - mainly because I usually buy the combo pack. at the first sign of a cough, I give it - I don’t want to jinx anything, but I do accredit this stuff (and the zinc drops) to why we’ve fared the preschool germs better this year.
this magical stuff for chest congestion + dry coughs for 2+
- I am never without this stuff either. and i love that anyone 2 and older can take it - so I’ll use it when my throat is bothering me, too. anytime it sounds like mucus has settled in KK’s chest - or when her cough is dry and unproductive - we start using this stuff religiously.
- like, I keep this stuff in our Airstream, too. a must-have.
- admittedly I’m sure it’s pretty similar to the cough + mucus medicine I just linked, but I love them both too much to choose between the two. in fact, I keep them both in our Airstream.
the best liquid medicine dispenser
- hard to explain, but now that we have four of them I find them hard to live without. you tell the dispenser how much liquid you need - 2.5ml, 5ml, 7.5 ml, or 10ml - and it helps dispense that exact amount. and as a parent with a sick child, I appreciate all the help I can get.
sore throat spray + immune support
- the best.
sore throat lollipops
- who knows if these actually work, but the fact that they calm down (and quiet) my sick, whiny toddler makes them worth the purchase alone for me.
this humidifier
- one of our other favorite investments. this humidifier is expensive, but it’s awesome. above all else, I’ve never found a humidifier that is both this effective and this easy to clean. we’re looking at investing in another one.
sleep supplement liquid
- I’m not a fan of regular use of melatonin. but when our bodies are fighting something, and I know we need a gooooooood, uninterrupted night’s sleep to really kick it, I break out the melatonin. brett and I keep these gummies on hand for that reason for ourselves, and I have this sleep supplement liquid for KK.
- like I said, we only use this sparingly - but when I think KK is under the weather and either her sleep will be affected and/or she’d benefit from a goooood, uninterrupted night’s rest to fight it off, I’ll give her this sleep supplement liquid and send her off to bed. this sleep supplement liquid also helps when she’s sick and took too long of a nap during the day, and/or when coughing is keeping her awake. I swear this sleep supplement liquid - and the gooooood sleep it assists with - has really helped keep minor colds from turning a two-week debacle.
an evening vapor bath
- I think the day is coming that our favorite vapor bubble bath is discontinuing. which devastates me - at the risk of being completely gross, mucus would pour out of my kids whenever they were in a bath with this stuff. our go-to combo at the earliest signs of a cold was this liquid zinc in the morning for the toddler, and our favorite vapor bubble bath in the evening. and because our favorite vapor bubble bath made “such good bubbles!” according to my toddler, she’d happily stay in the bath for muuuuch longer than normal, which therefore extracted the maximum amount of mucus. (isn’t motherhood magical?)
- however. next we’ll be trying this popular vapor bath product and crossing our fingers for similar results since our favorite vapor bubble bath seems to currently be harder to find and pricy. maybe we’ll try our favorite regular bubble bath and our go-to chest rub, if need be.
- PS here’s KK’s 7 favorite bath toys - none of which are actual bath toys.

for my nine-month old:

an evening vapor bath
- see above.
blueberry pediatrics
- the online pediatric membership that saves my bottom time and time again. read more of my thoughts - and why I appreciate this membership so much - here.
this mucus + cold relief
- eventually he’ll use our other toddler favorites listed above. but for now, I love this stuff.
the best liquid medicine dispenser
- hard to explain, but now that we have four of them I find them hard to live without. you tell the dispenser how much liquid you need - 2.5ml, 5ml, 7.5 ml, or 10ml - and it helps dispense that exact amount. and as a parent with a sick child, I appreciate all the help I can get.
saline spray
- I can’t even count how many bottles of this stuff we go through. the best for loosening all the mucus - especially if I use it right before a bath or right before the nasal aspirator.
our nasal aspirator
- it’s expensive, but gosh has it paid for itself time and time again. Joey was born at the height of RSV season, and in the first six weeks of his life we used our nasal aspirator on him constantly, it seemed. and now, nine months later, we still swear by it - we call it one of our best investments ever.
this humidifier
- one of our other favorite investments. this humidifier is expensive, but it’s awesome. above all else, I’ve never found a humidifier that is both this effective and this easy to clean. we’re looking at investing in another one.

Want more things we keep on hand for when we - both kids and adults! - don’t feel well? Fevers, ear ailments, tummy woes, first aid situations, headaches? Click here!

Stay well, friends.

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7 things we keep on hand for kid gifts

September 20, 2023

Y'all know I love The Lazy Genius. And although I've always loved gift formulas for our own family gifts (ie we do these three things for our family birthday gifts), an Instagram post in The Lazy Genius' feed taught me the brilliance that is Deciding Once on other gifts, too. Meaning: I'm going to Decide Once what I give for baby shower gifts or toddler birthdays or teacher gifts. And Future Haley won't have to waste time and energy coming up with a new gift each and every time.

I keep a list in my Google Keep of all my Decide Once gifts. I update it as needed - nothing is ever set in stone! - but I love having this as a reference. Because while I love gift giving, I found that the art of finding the gift was overwhelming for me, usually ending up with me spending too much time (and money!) last minute to get a gift I felt only lukewarm about (or skipping a gift altogether), only to promise myself I'd "do better" next time. So listing out what I like to give for every occasion and every holiday - and referencing it all year long - really serves me well.

Want a few examples? Click here! You’ll see my Decide Once gifts change over time - like I said, nothing is ever set in stone!

It may all sound a bit robotic and impersonal, but I found that I loved the intentionality of Decide Once Gifts. I no longer was overwhelmed by the infinite options - I knew this is what we were going to get (or do) for this occasion, and that was that. With so much mental space not depleted by the gift finding, I now had energy to give personal things I'd always wanted to do - like a heartfelt note from me or a baked good "from KK." And in doing so, I found I loved gift giving again.

However! This method may not work for those that find joy in choosing new, individualistic gifts. That's just not something I enjoy. I love giving gifts, but I don't love finding them. I get overwhelmed. Same goes for gift wrapping: I keep a stash of simplified gift wrap. And I use this gift wrapping formula for any and all occasions. This works really well for me. But, if you enjoy the art of beautiful gift wrapping, this method would not work for you. Whatever works best for you is amazing.

This is just a system that works really, really well for us. A way for me to lessen my mental load of running a household, but also find joy in gift-giving again.

So here’s seven things we keep on hand for preschooler gifts.

And toddler gifts.

And kindergartener gifts.

And one-year old gifts.

And elementary school gifts.

And and and.

Really this gift formula is super flexible for most ages.

this year's easy halloween costume

September 17, 2023

KK is three, and this is our first year we have Halloween plans.

(To be fair, last year’s Halloween I was 39273 months pregnant with Joe, both immobile and grumpy. So no Halloween plans occurred, and luckily KK was too young to understand Trick or Treating.)

KK has preschool, which throws a Trunk or Treat. We have a very darling friend group, with whom we eat dinner with every Monday, and gather for a playdate every Wednesday, and there’s been excited chatter about maybe a costumed playdate of sorts. We were invited to an adults-only Halloween party. We’ve been eyeing the local Halloween festivities, like at our zoo and our library. Not to mention this is the year I’d love to be the house that has a great Trick-or-Treat situation, and we’re excited to take KK Trick-or-Treating.

Whew! Aren’t holidays fun?

So I’m brainstorming what I can do now to help Future Haley.

And I admit, I haven’t been the biggest fan of Halloween. So, in the past, since Halloween wasn’t my favorite, I never put in any effort. Which not only meant Halloween wasn’t exciting, but it also meant I inevitably had to do things very last minute. Like figure out a costume. Which was never fun. And gah, figuring out a costume last minute wastes so much dang brain power, I swear.

And, as y’all know, I don’t like clutter. So if I’m going to bring a costume into our home, I’d love if it was pretty simple, and if it used materials we could use again. Like clothes we already have. Or if we do buy something, can we use it again and again in the future - like adding it to our dress-up box?

So I came up with an easy costume for this year - a costume that KK loves based on her interests, but also can be turned into a family costume, a baby costume, and/or an adults-only costume. And a costume that we’d love to keep in our dress-up box. And honestly, a costume I’d personally be happy wearing to any costume-situation for years to come. Win, winnnnnnn!