The Professional Mama

When we toured daycare centers for Oliver we looked at various types of care centers: a church school, a nature-based facility, in-homes, traditional centers, and a Montessori. We ultimately chose an in-home provider, but we still talk about the Montessori school and the ideals of Montessori. For those unfamiliar with Montessori (i.e. me a few years ago!), here is a great definition: Montessori is a method of education that is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. In Montessori classrooms children make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the highly trained teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process. Children work in groups and individually to discover and explore knowledge of the world and to develop their maximum potential.     Taken from:  https://montessori-nw.org/what-is-montessori-education Basically, to really simplify it for myself, I refer to it as "letting your toddlers (or babies, or

We've all undoubtedly seen loads of job descriptions and applied or interviewed for some that caught our eyes. My professional history is varied: ski lift operator, nannying, lifeguarding, swim instructor, retail, waitressing, bartending, camp counselor,  working in a butcher shop, and finally in an assisted living community as a Life Enrichment Specialist (aka activities). Overall, I've had pretty good jobs over the years. However, when I assumed the role of stay-at-home-mom I never realized the amount of work, responsibility, and duty required to all parents. Inspired by a video I saw years ago I've made my own parenthood job description. Job Title: Chaos Chief of Operations Hours: 24/7, 365 days per year. Vacations limited and you will probably feel guilty the entire time. Hours include overnights, weekends, and holidays (in fact, probably more work during the holidays) About Your Client(s): Your client (or clients) is the number one priority, even above you

Getting Out & About with a Toddler and a Baby One of my biggest recommendations for stay at home parents (or parents who are exhausted from being home with their kids by the end of the weekend) is to get out of the house. This can be done without getting in the car, for example, family walks, going to the park, or playing in your backyard. But, when you have to load in and out of the car, it can feel incredibly daunting, especially when you have more than one child. Here are my best tips for getting out with kids and keeping your cool while doing it! J is for Jeep Diaper Bag Back Pack Step One- Prepare your diaper bag (or as we call it, nappy bag!). Make sure that you are not throwing things in as you are trying to leave. Try to always have a well-stocked, ready to go, bag handy right near the door. We personally have a few different nappy bags, two backpack style bags, and one tote style. Our favorite is our Jeep brand backpack bag. It has loads of compartments, inc

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