THE REAL {AND OFTEN TERRIFYING} SIDE OF PARENTING, AS TOLD BY THREE-TIME POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION SURVIVOR, MAMA SAIGH: FORMER TV REPORTER + PRODUCER, TURNED FULL-TIME MOM, WIFE, BLOGGER + CONTRIBUTOR FOR THE JASON SHOW. WE WERE MINNESOTA EXPATS LIVING IN SINGAPORE FROM 2012-2015, AND ARE NOW BACK IN MN AS A FAMILY OF FIVE {2 PARENTS + 3 KIDS}. FOLLOW THE EVERYDAY REALITY SHOW THAT IS OUR LIFE, ON INSTAGRAM (@MELISSASAIGH). IS IT WINE O'CLOCK YET?!
I love love. And while I think that Valentine's Day is pretty much a "Hallmark Holiday", it's also a good excuse to tell your loved ones how important they are, and spread some much-needed love. Everyone could use an extra cuddle, or random act of kindness, soooooo... start lovin' up on someone! And while you're at it, why not "wear your heart on your sleeve" with this adorable love gear for the whole family...
When our littles are tiny, they mispronounce words left and right. "Yellow" comes out as "Lellow", and compound nouns such as "fire truck" can spill from their little mouths as "fire f*ck" (two of my mom's favorite expressions from my childhood). As our babies grow, they figure out the "correct" way to say these words and phrases.
However, there are a handful of words that our 5-year-old still mispronounces, and I refuse to correct her, because these personal expressions keep her... Well, little.
For instance, Linna still calls "pancakes", "pan-a-cakes". She's called them "pan-a-cakes" since she was able to put a name to one of her favorite foods. She also says "marsh-yellows" when she refers to "marshmallows", and at the age of 5, the word "maybe" still comes out as "nay-be". Hearing Linna say her versions of these words is especially heart-warming when she's speaking to me like she's a sophisticated 20-year-old.
When Linna was learning how to talk, I pounced on every word that she'd mispronounce, in an attempt to get her to speak "properly". Now, as I watch our first-born grow into a young lady right before my very eyes, I can still see her as my little toddler when she uses her version of certain words.
"Nay-be" one day when she's a grown woman giving her valedictorian speech, the State of the Union address, or her farewell speech as Miss America, she'll still be using her word "flubs". A mother can only dream, right?! No matter what, I'll always be there to make her "pan-a-cakes" in the morning, and put extra "marsh-yellows" in her hot chocolate.
Whatever I can do to keep her little for as long as I can, consider it done. So, "flub" away, baby girl!
* Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links, and I may receive compensation if you purchase products mentioned in this post. However, all thoughts are my own.
I've discovered a game-changer... A MAJOR game-changer for my family.
I don't think there's anything more annoying than clicking the "print" button on my iPhone or computer, only to find out that the printer is out of ink. I've had this happen to me more times than I care to count, and it always happens after I've procrastinated and have something that needs to be printed immediately. With two little ones, I just don't have the time or the patience to put them in the car and drive to the store to buy an ink cartridge.
Last year, we signed up for the HP Instant Ink program. It's an ink replacement service that is seriously life-changing. Let me break it down for you...
I waited to write about this new program until my family used it for at least three months, as I wanted to see if there were any "hidden fees", gimmicks, or issues with the plan we selected. Honestly, I have yet to discover a problem or issue with the HP Instant Ink program. We selected the $2.99/month plan (Occasional Printing Plan), which includes 50 pages per month. We have yet to go over our monthly page limit, but if we do the cost is just $1 for every 15 additional pages. If we find ourselves consistently going over the 50-page limit, we can change to the Moderate Printing Plan (100 pages per month) for $4.99, or the Frequent Printing Plan (300 pages per month) for $9.99. But again, the $2.99/month plan works for our family of four.
Whether we're printing high-quality color photos, or just black text... Our monthly cost stays the same, as long as we stay within our page limit. Also, any unused pages can be rolled over to the next month. Now that we've enrolled in the HP Instant Ink program, we get a FREE month of printing for every person we refer to the program... And you can too. Plus, if you use the code INSTANT3 when you sign up, you'll get your first three months FREE!
This is simply a program that you need to try for yourself. so you can start saving money (save up to 50% on ink), time, and your sanity. I'm not kidding when I say that this program has been a game-changer for our family. Let me know what you think!
