March 31, 2016

Shine Blog Hop 90

Welcome friends and Happy Thursday!

The SHINE Blog Hop is a weekly link up of family friendly posts that have been posted on different websites around the internet. You can add your links (if you’re a blogger). If you’re a non-blogger, then please feel free to visit the featured posts and/or visit any of the links that are of interest to you. Comments on this or any posts are always welcome!

SHINE Blog Hop #71

We would love to connect with you on social media!

Hosts for the SHINE Blog Hop

Tiffany | A Touch of Grace can be found on:

Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom can be found on:

Maria | Collecting Moments can be found on:

   {Facebook}  {Pinterest}  {Instagram}  {Google+}  {Twitter}

Feel free to grab one of our fancy buttons too!
<div align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://thedeliberatemom.com" title="The Deliberate Mom" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/deliberatemom/SHINE225.jpg" alt="The SHINE Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

So without further delay, here are the top viewed posts from last week's SHINE Blog Hop:

March 30, 2016

How Would You Define Kindness? (Parenthood and Kindness Series)

How would you define kindness? Join me for inspirational conversations with fellow parents about how kindness can fit into their lives as bit more. Here, you will find interviews with various moms, dads, professionals and the like as we explore the notion of kindness together.


My road to kindness this year has been both challenging and eye-opening. I’ve discovered that though simple gesture promotes its premise, there’s more to kindness than a friendly smile or a quick wave hello. Sure, holding the door for someone at the store, saying an encouraging word to a stranger, these are all acts of kindness, but there’s layers yet to be peeled, and I want to know more.

Part of the reason I started this journey is for self-improvement. I wanted kindness to be the forefront of my attitude because I was lacking. I wouldn’t call myself mean-spirited, but I definitely had a penchant for being unkind on some days. Call it stress or just a plain need of an attitude adjustment, but I quickly realized that I needed to make a change. My daughter is growing up so fast, and she absorbs things like a sponge. So, I wanted to be a great example for her—a role model.  She mimics everything I do anyway, so it might as well be something kind and good, right?


So you could say that my start to this journey was selfish, but like anything I’ve discovered about kindness so far, it quickly evolved to something greater and more complex. Kindness to me, at this moment, is more than just for my own personal gain; others deserve it too. 

And as much as I had an idea of what it means to be kind, and what to do to spread its premise,  there are others out there with a different outlook, a different perspective.

And that’s what I want to explore.
But I need your help.

In May, I’ll be kick starting a series called Parenthood and Kindness. The premise is simple: 1) to discover other people’s definition of kindness and 2) to get the conversation going about how we can spread kindness into parenting and beyond.

To do this, I will be interviewing bloggers from all different niches, and asking them to discuss their thoughts on kindness, how it fits/can fit into their daily lives—parenting or otherwise. My hope is that each interview will inspire a meaningful discussion and a community that both fosters kindness and spreads it around.

http://ctt.ec/a6r58

Here are few more details:

*The piece will run regularly on Collecting Moments

*The interview format will be as follows: I’ll send the featured blogger a set of questions and he/she can answer each as little or as much as he/she wants. I’ll review the responses and have a back and forth discussion to elaborate any points further.

-*osts will be promoted across all my social media accounts (participants can do the same)  

*ALL are welcome—parenting bloggers, style bloggers, etc…  

So if you’re interested in participating or know someone who would be perfect for this series, please give me a shout here.  I will be scheduling May spots this month.

As always, thanks so much for all your support. I wouldn’t have gotten the courage to start this series if it weren’t for all your wonderful words and comments within this humble little space of mine. It may not seem much to you when you impart your words on a post or share my piece of social media, but trust me, that’s the purest gesture of kindness: just support and encouragement for each other.

March 25, 2016

Things They Never Tell You as a Mom: Help Baby Sleep Book Review



I’ve read plenty of parenting books in my young and still-learning stage of being a mother. There’s plenty out there to choose from, but I was never one to follow the masses. In fact, when most buried their noses on the “What to expect…” series I was on the hunt for the Happiest Baby on the Block book. Not to say that What to expect wasn’t useful or informative, some mothers swear by that book and who could blame them? It’s stacked with useful information after all. However, between exhaustion and sleep depravation, the books I’ve been drawn to pre and post pregnancy have been those which are encouraging with pages that are simple to digest and easy to read.
Honestly, one of the best books I've read on helping baby sleep. If you're looking for encouraging words and sound advice about parenting that REALLY works, then this book is totaly worth reading

So, when the author, Janeen Maxwell,  graciously offered me her book, Help BabySleep: The Exhausted Parent’s Guide to a Restful First Year  for a review, I jumped at the chance. Anything that can make me a better parent (not to mention sleep better) and teach me something I have yet to discover is a plus in my book, and this book did that for me. 

The book offers sound advice that is useful for any type of parent, but most especially to those brand new moms of newborns and infants.  From her first chapter of parental encouragement to the all important  tips on how to establish sound sleeping habits, Maxwell was able to not only offer sound suggestions that are practical and useful, but also show understanding of how those first few months of parenting can truly be challenging. Her honesty and transparency through each chapter and section offers new moms, a glimpse of what’s ahead of them, and how to navigate through the long and winding road of children infancy.

However, what I adored most about this book was the delivery of simple and practical advice. Ms. Maxwell’s words were succinct and her tips were anything but complicated. She offered advice that wasn’t trite or ordinary, but something I haven’t thought about or even knew before. For instance the idea of doing the non-essentials (wait, I don’t have to cook?) and the notion that I need to take care of myself as well as my baby (doesn’t the baby always come first?) were completely foreign to me when I became a mom. And had I read Help Baby Sleep… then, and taken her advice, perhaps I would have saved myself the exhaustion of having a newborn all those years ago. It’s one of those lessons I learned the hard way.

And that’s the beauty of this book: new moms will find tips, tricks, suggestions and short cuts that would otherwise be left undiscovered or overlooked within the pages of those What to Expect sagas and even those medical websites. Information is good, yes, but Help Baby Sleep offers more than just statistics and medical facts; it provides tried and true techniques from a mom that’s actually been there (five times over might I add…); it’s like having your very own motherhood coach in your back pocket. Janeen knows what it’s like, so she’ll get to the point, give you the strategies to “win” (or at least take back a bit of your sanity) without having to translate medical jargon or weed through the overwhelming facts.

So yes, the typical pregnancy and baby books offer valuable information, but perhaps a bit of wisdom for one who knows your experience firsthand should also be considered.  Because let’s face it, reading up on the latest studies about the best way to sleep can be as thrilling and informative as they come, but nothing beats a technique that’s been done by someone in your exact shoes just years prior. And if it’s between a doctor’s facts and figures and a mother of 5 who’s been through it all, I’d take my chances and listen to the mom first. After all, she knows best in most cases.

March 24, 2016

Shine Blog Hop 89

Welcome friends and Happy Thursday!

The SHINE Blog Hop is a weekly link up of family friendly posts that have been posted on different websites around the internet. You can add your links (if you’re a blogger). If you’re a non-blogger, then please feel free to visit the featured posts and/or visit any of the links that are of interest to you. Comments on this or any posts are always welcome!

SHINE Blog Hop #71

We would love to connect with you on social media!


Hosts for the SHINE Blog Hop

Tiffany | A Touch of Grace can be found on:

Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom can be found on:

Maria | Collecting Moments can be found on:

   {Facebook}  {Pinterest}  {Instagram}  {Google+}  {Twitter}

Feel free to grab one of our fancy buttons too!

<div align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://thedeliberatemom.com" title="The Deliberate Mom" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/deliberatemom/SHINE225.jpg" alt="The SHINE Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

So without further delay, here are the top viewed posts from last week's SHINE Blog Hop:

March 17, 2016

Shine Blog Hop 88

Welcome friends and Happy Thursday!

The SHINE Blog Hop is a weekly link up of family friendly posts that have been posted on different websites around the internet. You can add your links (if you’re a blogger). If you’re a non-blogger, then please feel free to visit the featured posts and/or visit any of the links that are of interest to you. Comments on this or any posts are always welcome!

SHINE Blog Hop #71

We would love to connect with you on social media!

Hosts for the SHINE Blog Hop

Tiffany | A Touch of Grace can be found on:


Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom can be found on:


Maria | Collecting Moments can be found on:

   {Facebook}  {Pinterest}  {Instagram}  {Google+}  {Twitter}

Feel free to grab one of our fancy buttons too!
<div align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://thedeliberatemom.com" title="The Deliberate Mom" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j452/deliberatemom/SHINE225.jpg" alt="The SHINE Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

So without further delay, here are the top viewed posts from last week's SHINE Blog Hop:

March 14, 2016

4 Phrases Every Daughter Should Hear from Their Moms





"I’m proud of you"
Nothing is more encouraging than daughters being told they are a source of pride for their moms. It gets rid of doubt, of second guessing, of all the fears we may have harbored in us. So long as our moms are proud, we can do no wrong. These four simple words gives us strength; that we can conquer all and beat the odds on just about anything.

"Use your words"
Like I’ve said before words are powerful even more so when they are used correctly. My hope is that someday, my daughter to uses hers to speak up. Whether it’s sticking up for herself or for others, or to encourage her friends and teach peers, even  to spread joy or strength, I want my daughter to be a voice in the room. She doesn’t have to be the loudest nor does she have to be the most timid, I just hope that she is heard loud and clear

http://ctt.ec/JlRw1

"Yes, you can"
Women, time and time again, face plenty of barriers in their lifetime. People left and right will tell them “no” or that they can’t. As moms we have to encourage our daughters to break those barriers down; to let them know that it’s talent and hard-work that will get lead them to success; its dedication and commitment—not their gender or any other factors. Therefore, whether it’s being a writer or a cartoonist, an engineer or an architect, we must learn to support our children in their endeavors, even if we’re the only one telling them, yes you can…

"Enjoy it"
A mom’s constant hope for their children is simple: to live a fruitful life. We try our best to raise them as grateful human beings, allotting them even better opportunities than we had as children, but between our busy lives as moms and the endless encouragement we give them—we often forget that they need to enjoy the process of it all as well. I’ll be the first to admit: I’m guilty of this. Sometimes, I get so caught up in teaching my daughter the ABCs, counting to 10, or even choosing the right crayon to draw with, it often slips my mind that she’s only 2. There’s plenty of time for her to learn these things and then some. However, her time as a carefree child is numbered. Her days without worry and stress, her moments of pure bliss over the simplest things are fleeting. Soon, she’ll be an adult with bigger challenges to conquer. So, while we wait for those grown up years to come about, it’s important for us to let our children be children. Let them play in the dirt and enjoy their childhood. They’re only young once after all.

What about you? What words would you want your daughter to hear?  

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