Inside ToteSavvy

 

 

  Traveling around the holidays is NOT a zen experience. From delayed flights to overcrowded airports, holiday travel tends to put a damper on the beginning and end of your vacation. Because it's not a reasonable solution to forego traveling all together, we're offering some tips to help keep you cool, calm and collected.    Pack Smart Know your destination and activities planned for your trip. If you're traveling to a tropical location you can get by on a few dresses, shorts, swimwear and sun accessories. Try not to overpack. You'll want to take the least amount of suitcases possible.  If your destination calls for packing extra layers, be smart about your outfits. Utilize the same components for numerous ensembles. My general rule of thumb is to pack 3-4 tops per bottom. You can create 7-10 outfits out of only a few key pieces. To mix it up, pack smaller accessories (like jewelry and scarves) to distinguish each look.  Don't Overpack Activities for Toddler or Baby  Though it may sound appealing to pack the entire playroom for your flight, opt for smaller (and compact) toys that have a variety of features. For babies I love packing a teether that's also a fun shape (like Sophie the Giraffe) and a colorful book that makes crunching noises. Toddlers do well with books (think light and thin paperbacks) and a small magnetic play set. This is great for travel because the magnets keep the pieces from flying all over. We love Tegu because they're suitable for ages 1+. Organization Is Key to Keeping Yourself Together Your handbag will become your arsenal of tools for the trip so make sure it's impeccably organized with ToteSavvy. You'll want every item within reach and easily accessible. If you're traveling with a baby or small child, it's a good idea to pack their essentials in your handbag. This way you can be confident nothing will be left behind or lost.    

  I was elated when my daughter first expressed interest in potty training. "This is the end of diapers!" I thought to myself. I had already been reading about potty training and had a great strategy at home. It wasn't until the potty training coincided with our daily routine that I realized, we won't always be home and within 15 steps of a toilet! How would I handle our potty training strategy outside of our house? And more importantly, what would I need to bring with me to ensure I didn't end up with a pee soaked (or worse!) toddler at Target??  After a little trial and error, I put together the perfect diaper bag packing list for being out-and-about with my toddler while potty training. Some of you may be asking, "can't you potty train in one weekend?". The answer is simple. All children are different. Some may kick the diaper habit in 48 hours, while others take a lot longer. Some may even show interest, yet resist actually moving away from diapers for months. If this sounds like your little one, be prepared with potty training essentials at all times :) The Perfected Potty Training Packing List: Pull ups or training underwear (x2) - Instead of packing diapers, you will now be packing training underwear or pull ups. I suggest packing a few pairs in your diaper bag to ensure you always have a spare pair on hand.  Wet wipes - While toilet paper is available in all restrooms, you'll want wet wipes just in case the accident is a dreaded poop.  Full change of clothing - Pack a full outfit instead of just the bottoms. If your little one does have an accident, they may feel more comfortable completely changing rather than only one piece of clothing.  Hand sanitizer - This is a must for me! Hand sanitizer can be easier to use in some restrooms. You never know how equipped a restroom will be until it's too late.  Reward snack - While slightly controversial, I find my toddler is motivated by a small reward. If she makes it through our outing without having an accident, I'm happy to offer one of her favorite snacks as a treat.  Sippy cup with water - I always have a sippy cup with water in my diaper bag. Hydration is very important and I can't expect my daughter to use the potty if she doesn't have to go! Now for the organization part. I, of course, organize everything inside my ToteSavvy. It's a great handbag organizer because it holds everything I need, while keeping each item easily accessible. Being made from a water repellant nylon fabric, the entire insert is essentially a "wet bag". It even boasts a large exterior pocket marketed as a "dirty pocket" for soiled clothing or diapers. This comes in VERY handy when you're looking for a place to stash those pee-soaked clothes! Check out ToteSavvy here, and see how I organize it below.     

If you missed PART 1, you can read it here.       The News of Twins The news of twins came with such mixed emotions. My initial reaction was laughter and tears of joy. I had no idea twins were even a possibility for me. I wasn’t aware at the time, twins run in my family (both sides). The fact that I was pregnant with twins seemed to be such a miracle. I happened to be solo at the initial ultrasound, which made for A LOT of thinking before I was able to tell anyone (including my husband). I knew I didn’t want to share this type of news over the phone, so I used every ounce of strength I had to hold in this HUGE development, and text my husband back with “yep everything looks good!”. As I drove home, I was pleasantly surprised with the fact that 1.) I wasn’t completely freaking out (remember I was currently running a 9-month old company), and 2.) I was genuinely excited by this news. Sure, being a mom to a toddler, I knew just how hard it was with one baby, and the difficulty was sure to grow exponentially as you add another baby to that equation. To my relief, I was able just to enjoy the news of this miracle. I should probably tell you this reaction is completely outside of my personality. I’m the person who is ALWAYS planning ahead and thinks of every worst-case scenario to prepare myself. It was very refreshing just to enjoy the news and not think about what this meant for the future. I made it the additional hour or so until my husband arrived home. I know he could tell by the look on my face that something was up. It would be fun to do a blog post from his perspective on the twin news. Soon to come! I laid the ultrasound photo out on the counter and told him to come over and look at it. I filmed a video of this whole interaction, below are a few screenshots. The look on his face is awesome. I’m pretty sure his gut reaction was along the same line as mine. Shear joy of this amazing miracle.     Fast forward a week or two and I began to think about the implications of twins and running a business. Prior to trying to conceive for this pregnancy, my husband and I budgeted everything for a new baby. We knew exactly the type of childcare we’d need and the approximate cost to cover the additional child. We knew that I could easily work from home while I cared for the newborn while our daughter was still enrolled in her preschool program a few days a week, and with her grandparents the remaining days. I had been working full time again for a little over a year and a half, so we had our routine down.   How Do You Plan for the Unexpected? Now of course we could “easily” plan for baby #2, but when baby #2 and #3 come at the same time, that’s a little different! After the honeymoon phase of our news had worn off, I began to question how in the world I could handle two babies while still working. We weren’t able or willing to put the twins in day care as infants, but also knew I wasn’t able to take 4- 6 months off and put the business on hold during that time. It was a bittersweet feeling for me. On one hand, the business was at a point where it was growing and continuing to grow into something amazing - which is a great “problem” to have! On the other hand, I would have two more children at the end of this pregnancy. Two beautiful babies that I want to nurture and spend time with. The hardest part of this whole situation for me, was figuring out how to split my time without feeling like I was letting my family or my business down. Does that sound familiar? Yep. I was right back at square one. The same feelings I felt while my first daughter was an infant came crashing back.   Seeing I had been through this once before, I knew feeling guilty would get me nowhere. The best solution for my family and myself was to plan everything out. Luckily, I like to plan. Unluckily, planning for three children and a full-time job isn't easy to do. Unless I could magically add 5 hours to the day AND train my twins to get on a perfect eat/sleep/sit peacefully schedule from the get-go, I was screwed. This didn’t even account for the housework, cooking, and caring for a 3-year-old. So on top of the additional five hours in the day, and magical infant schedule, I needed a smart house that did all of the cooking and cleaning. Sounds possible right??   As I'm writing this, i’m currently 30 weeks pregnant with twins, running a business full-time and praying that I can somehow figure out how to make this all work. Of course, I do have a plan. Though, I've learned over the past 2.5 years of being a parent that plans don't always go as planned. It's impossible to plan for every scenario, and even when you think you have it all figured out, something changes to throw you off course. So, part of my plan is to try to go with the flow. There may be days I can't start working until 10pm. There may be days everyone is in sync, and I'm able to take an hour to focus solely on the business. Please let there be those days! I’m sure it will still be a crazy ride but my hope and belief is that doing my best will be enough. Even if my best isn't "perfect", that's okay. I think I finally believe that statement, and it feels amazing.