E. L. Lane Writer

I got in contact with Dot to Dot Connections because their Instagram feed is full of activities to do with children that seem fun and educational, and they sent me their “Making Tracks Connections Box.” WHAT’S IN THE BOX? This is what you see when you first open the box. I had no idea that I would be getting so many activities in one box! The envelope that says "Thank you!" contains the activity instruction cards and a book. All of the activities are clearly explained on small cardstock sheets and all of the items needed for each activity are neatly packaged and labeled inside the box. Look at how beautifully organized this box is!  There are nine different activities, but this box could easily last you two to three weeks if you spread out the activities. We did three activities every week, so this box lasted us about three weeks. MY REVIEW OF THE ACTIVITIES You can read the rest of this post at  ellanewriter.com.

**I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. EVERYTHING CONTAINED IN THIS POST IS JUST ADVICE THAT I AM GIVING BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. ALWAYS FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.** My previous post was all about what happened that one time my daughter needed seven stitches , but now, I’d like to share with you what I learned from the experience that may help parents in a similar situation: 1. Prevention is the best form of treatment. Always tell your child not to run! Specifically at times where it could be dangerous for them to do run.  I never really worried about Leia running because she’s a kid, and kids are always running, but after this incident, I will definitely be more watchful and not hesitate to tell her not to run. You can read the rest of this post at  ellanewriter.com.

Thanksgiving 2017 Family Photo Above is our Thanksgiving 2017 family photo. Cute, right? But look at those bandaids on my daughter’s forehead. These are covering up what remains of our visit to the Science Museum just four days prior, which is also the day I consider the worst day of my life as a mom. If you follow me on Instagram , you’ve probably already read an abbreviated version of what happened that fateful day, but I’m writing this now with the hope that if you ever find yourself in a similar situation (but I pray that you never do), you’ll be able to deal with it like a champ. On the day in question, my daughter had woken up a bit fussier than usual, but I thought, “Eh, she’ll lighten up and start having fun at the museum when she sees all of the fun stuff there.” We packed up the day’s snacks, drinks, lunch, and pull-ups, and drove to the museum. Once there, she seemed to be getting in a better mood. She was awed by the fish, and she was ecstatic while petting a...

The exterior of the Museum of Ice Cream. If you look closely, you can see Little Leia and her "Dada." Before I went to the Museum of Ice Cream, I read a few reviews from other moms in one of the Facebook mom groups that I frequent. They weren’t shining reviews by any stretch of the imagination, so I was a bit nervous about going with Leia and my husband. The first thing I took note of was that parking was a pain. The installation is in Miami Beach, so that means that only street parking is available. So here’s the first tip... 1. Get there early to look for parking, but not too early! We got tickets for December 22nd. My husband took the day off of work, and we left our house an hour and a half before the time on our ticket (11:30am). We got there an hour early (10:30am), and found parking two blocks from the building. We tried to enter the museum early, but they explained that they couldn’t let us in until 20 minutes before our ticket time. So we went across the street ...

On the left is the graphic that Gabby made for my guest post on nerdy/geeky fall/winter fashion. On the right is a photo I made for my social media accounts to advertise my Disney monorail ride down memory lane on Romina's Mini Mummi Blog. I have a two-part post outlined, and mostly ready to go about my worst day as a mom, but seeing as how it’s the holidays, and the subject matter of those posts is a bit heavy, I’m going to post something that is much more lighthearted and in-tune with the warm-and-fuzzy feeling of the holidays. You might be wondering why I’ve been so quiet on my blog lately. Well, I’ve been guest posting on a couple of other blogs. If you’re a newbie blogger, you might be asking yourself, “Why write something for someone else’s blog?” or “Why let someone else write on my blog?” Keep reading, and I’ll tell you. The holidays are all about kindness, collaboration, and goodwill toward your fellow man, and that’s exactly what collaborating with ot...

First, I want to give a huge thank you to  Jessica Burgess . Thank you! I am truly honored and excited to be nominated. Jessica is a homeschool, motherhood, and product review blogger. She loves her family, all-natural products and treatments, and homeschooling her kids. She writes about homeschooling her five children, product reviews, interviews entrepreneurs, and more. Get to know her better on her blog  What's happening with Jessica?!  She's a genuine person and it really comes through in her writing. I am excited to get to know other bloggers through this exciting opportunity. I also see this as an opportunity to continue to learn and grow as a blogger so that I can make better content for you, my beloved readers. Check out the rules and my nominees below. The Rules “The award is a way to be discovered but also to connect and support the blogging community. A great idea in promoting your own blog and others. Originally it was given out to blog...

Do you remember a time before you became a mom? A time when you’d see moms giving their children a tablet to watch cartoons while having lunch? Or changing their babies’ diapers right in the booth where they were eating? And you thought, “I will never do that when I have a kid.” But then, you find yourself with a shrieking human being in your arms that depends on you for everything, and you find yourself slowly letting go of all those expectations and doing all of those same things you said you’d never do. Well, it turns out that you’re not alone. I asked other moms this question: What is something you said you’d never do as a parent, but ended up doing? I started off the #momconfessions, “I said I’d never put a leash on my child. I bought one when she turned two.” Below are the #momconfessions that some honest, kickass Instagram moms shared: Le t Me Count the Ways “Gosh. Haha... What a great question! Where do I start? Bed sharing, breastfeeding past one year, ...