Posted in Mom life, Two Cents Worth of...

Public Eyes

I’m not refereeing to your children in this post. I’m talking about the people around you everywhere you go with your kids.

As a new parent, most of us are really nervous about taking your children out and worrying what others think of you or think of the baby that may cry or coo or have a tantrum.

I remember being so nervous about it and sweating like crazy. I wouldn’t go places by myself in such worry of what may happen. I let that get to me too much.


I remember the one evening we went to dinner and he was fussy so I quickly grabbed him and walked outside to rock him until he would calm. I try to be considerate to the best I can be. I’m not there to make anyone uncomfortable or listen to my baby cry like crazy while we all want to enjoy a nice evening out.

Another time we were in Target and our son did have a meltdown. We made a plan since I only had a few items to get. I quickly went for all the items while my husband took our son to the car and drove around while he calmed down. He still tells people how embarrassed he felt, though there is nothing you can do when they have tantrums, especially as an infant. I could hear my son all the way across the store he was so loud. WOOF!

Now that he’s a toddler, my nerves have calmed a bit and I have more of a “deal with it” attitude. He doesn’t cry like a newborn anymore, but he is a toddler and a busy guy at that. I don’t have the mentality of worrying what others think because well, most of them are parents themselves and understand that we’re doing the best we can in the situation. Also, toddlers can be jerks.


A few scenarios that have happened to us that I want to share because I’m certain you all have experienced it too.

First one, we went out a few months back when restrictions were starting to lift and had dinner with our neighbors. We went to a new restaurant together to try out and it’s a touch more upscale than other restaurants in the area but not a reason for me to think my child wouldn’t be welcomed there. Our neighbors raised two boys, so they know what it’s like going out with kids and I felt very comfortable going with them.

However, my son likes to be busy, so we brought crayons and coloring items as we usually do to occupy him. That doesn’t always work though. He was chatty with his noises and crawling around the booth a bit between us. I kept seeing this woman at a table near us give me those looks of judgement. She was there with her husband and when I say she was giving me looks, I was getting heated inside and wanted to make a comment.

I refrained because it’s always not worth it. My son wasn’t screaming, he wasn’t throwing a tantrum and he was staying within our booth. It’s up to her to stare and not enjoy herself because she’s too worried about how my kid is acting. This occurs more than you’d like it too, but I really try to not pay attention to them. I also have my husband hitting my arm saying, “knock it off.”


There’s another scenario we run into often and that is with the judgement of the younger people who do not have kids or are not around them. When I say younger, I mean 20 an under. I don’t think I’m old by any means. 😜

We went to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium on Father’s Day. It was HOT! I’m so glad we went early because it only got hotter too and we were all sweaty by the time we left.

My son has enjoyed the zoo more every time we have gone! This time he was so excited to walk on his own most of the time and would become overwhelmed and excited with the animals he saw so he would squeal in excitement.

It was hilarious to us that he thought the animals were that cool and most parents thought it was funny too. The part where this turns is when we go into the monkey building. That cute squeal echoes inside there. We kept telling him to say “wow” or we would do the “shhh” finger move. I had one mom laugh and tell us, “Oh, he is just excited!!” Then we had a teenager and her mom eyeballing us.

To be totally fair here, we were passing people and not around most of the same people for long because he was too excited to stand still long enough to oodle at any of the monkeys. He quickly moved on to the next one! But this teenager and her mom somehow stayed close to us and I noticed the looks. I happened to fall back, and my son and husband got ahead of me. As I passed them, I hear the teenager say, “why would you let your kid keep squealing like that?” and I kept moving along.

I didn’t stick around for the mother’s response because as irritated as I was to hear that, we again were attempting to correct him since it was loud and we recognized that. She is also a teenager and I know I had once made those comments too not knowing much. There is some grace to be given in those situations.

I would really like to do a PSA for everyone around us when our kids are loud or acting out that the parents are TRYING and we don’t want to ruin your time either. Also, if you think they’re annoying, we probably already rolled our eyes and realized it ourselves. So nothing you do or say is making the situation better for anyone, especially the parents.


The last scenario is the best one and not often do not happen to us because I believe people are more afraid to say the nice things than they are to be mean to people.

We go out to dinner here and there. It’s not always easy to keep a toddler occupied and happy. We have a little pack of crayons, matchbox cars, and learning cards on hand in his diaper bag to pull out and play with at the table.

For Father’s Day we went out to Texas Roadhouse and it’s always loud in there so I’m never worried about how loud he would be. But this night, of course, had a giant backup in their kitchen for the food and it was coming out late. We were waiting much longer than usual.

My husband and I stayed on edge a little knowing we only have X amount of time until he loses all interest in sitting in that booth. We both kept playing with him whether it was passing the cars across the table, coloring, picking at the blooming onion or he pretended to tickle us. He is NOT always that pleasant and we were very thankful that he was being so good with us being there for so long.

The entire situation was solidified when a lady, who I noticed was a mom too with her husband and 2 daughters that were maybe in their early 20s. She stopped at our table before they left to tell us how good our son was being and how cute he was.

A big sigh of relief came over me and my husband as we said thank you to them. That small comment to us really means a lot when they see we were doing what we could to keep him busy during that long wait for dinner.


Again, every time we go out as a family, we are looking to enjoy ourselves as much as the next table. The public eye is always on you as a parent to make sure you’re “doing it right.”

The hardest part is to not let that pressure take over enjoying your time out together. Keep your heads up, bring some things to enjoy with the kids at the table, and understand not everyone is accepting of our choice of bringing kids to dinner but that is on them. They can be miserable if they choose to be. 😉

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Posted in Favorite Things, Two Cents Worth of...

Favorite Things – 2 years old

It has been a long while since I did a favorite things list! Now that we’re 2 whole years old, I figured we could share some of the fun things he loves. It’s geared towards summer a little and our travel life with going somewhere almost every weekend. These things are what he and we love!


Please know that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.


Click on any of the linked items below to be taken
to the page in Amazon to purchase!

  1. Water table – He absolutely loves to splash and make a mess in his water table. His aunt and one of my long-time friends bought him this for his 1st birthday but he can now reach all of the fun things on it. The water cannon is his absolute favorite part since he can “hit” mom and dad with it! “FIRE IN THE HOLE!”

  2. Amazon Fire Tablet – This is his “TV” as he calls it. We only use it for car rides that are longer than an hour usually. We do not intend to be sticklers, but because that’s a long time we ask a toddler to ride with us and we do it very often. We don’t use our tablet inside the house usually, mainly because we don’t use one ourselves. This is a perfect size and does what we need it to do for him! Not too costly and keeps up with the current streaming apps we use.

  3. Stasher bags – These bags are my favorite for snacks and a million other things outside of only kid’s stuff. We have been buying them for a few years now to create a nice collection. They are not super cheap, but they are cost savers in the long run. The best part about them, they’re dishwasher safe! They come in all sorts of colors and sizes too. Our favorite are any of the standup ones! I recently saw a hack that you put the bag over your herbs, like cilantro, and place the stems into a water jar so they create their own greenhouse and stay fresh longer! Who knew?!

  4. Water WOW books – They use a water pen that keeps this activity clean and mess free! We like to use them on trips and to occupy him while waiting in a doctors office for the ridiculous amount of time you sit there. They sell them all over. I’ve bought them on Amazon and in TJ Maxx or Marshalls for quick gifts. He loves all the different ones out there.

  5. Lego DUPLOs – This is a new favorite for him! His aunt & uncle got him these for his birthday knowing he’s just like his cousin. He enjoys picking all the different kinds of legos out and stacking random creations. They’re great for getting creative and letting him explore his imagination. Also, the big ones are best for parents so you don’t die on the smaller ones when you step on them.

  6. Kid Recliner – This is by far his favorite thing in the house. We got this for Christmas last year, but his rear end is in it every morning and evening! He lounges like a little old man and will ask for it to be “up” with his feet kicked back and hands behind his head with his favorite cartoon on.

  7. Fishing Sets – He received two different sets of these and both are so much fun for him and us. His dad is a big fisherman so he already knows fishing is part of his life. Now that he has his own play rods, we catch fish most mornings! The one set is magnets with colors and numbers on the fish. The other set has plastic hooks and rings on the fish to catch. That set even has a measuring tape and booklet to know which fish you caught! These are right up his alley to enjoy some indoor play!

  8. Large Puzzles by Melissa & Doug – We have enjoyed playing with puzzles for a while now. The chunky ones like this are certainly a young toddler’s favorite to position into place and learn what they are. We have a few different ones that include his name, Disney Mickey set, and a zoo animal set.

  9. OXO Tot Perch Booster Seat with Straps, Taupe – This seat is a perfect transition for us from highchair to the table with us. Now our kid likes to tell us when he’s ready for things and we haven’t used our highchair in almost a year. We love this booster because it gives him independence at the table with us and lets him sit high enough to enjoy his meals, when he wants them.  It’s small and easy enough to remove and travel with if need be too!

Let us know if you snag any of these items or have them already and how you like them! They also serve as great gifts for those in your life with littles. I am sure my list to continue to grow, but we don’t need to overwhelm anyone with how many items are actually in and around our house!

Posted in Mom life, Two Cents Worth of...

Raise A Good Person by Being A Good Person

Do you ever hear the bad news in the world or one story hits you harder than another and you just wonder, “why? Why does so much bad exists? Why are there bad people? Why?”

I believe I question this more now as a mother than I did before he was here.

How are we supposed to shield our children from the world that surrounds us? I mean what we see on the news, the local events around us, and even those close to us we would like to protect them from.

No, I’m not perfect. I’ve grown a lot from who I was years ago and what I was when I was younger. I imagine most people have or at least I hope they have.

All I want in life now is to raise a good human. I want my son to be a good person. To be nice to everyone. To smile at someone who is having a bad day. To sit with the kid who sits alone at lunch. To help someone who needs a hand, like his dad always does.

I pray for him to be a good person. That’s it. Please be a good person. I don’t need him to be anything more than who he is and a GOOD PERSON.

I fondly and vividly remember my grandfather always telling me when I left his house as I said goodbye, “be good, and you know what I mean!”


There is so much people worry about with their kids being this or that. Worrying about the small stuff that in the larger picture, won’t matter. I hear people worrying about if they’re the popular kids, if they are advanced, if they’re the star, if they’re making straight A’s, or if they wear the best clothes.

Of course, I want him to be everything he can be and succeed in life. Being any of those things I listed above are not the things someone will remember him by as he grows.


I am guilty of judging people, I’m human. I try my best to not do that as I continue to grow.

We all think we could do better than another parent we see, especially before we were parents.

Truly, I hope every parent wants the same end result of raising their babies. For them to be good humans. Some parents won’t and that’s a damn shame for them, the parents that is. Simply because every child has the possibility to be and put so much good into our crazy world.


So much is out of our control. I think that’s what scares me most. I can only try my best to teach and instill being a good human into him. The rest is up to him.

Please do the same and do your best to be a good human and raise good humans.

We all know this world needs it.