Bedding: Brooklinen | Pillows: Target

Morning friends! 

It has been a very chilly start to the week over here. It’s amazing how quickly I have forgotten what Chicago wind and cold feels like but thankfully Louisville reminded me yesterday :/ It’s supposed to be heating up a bit around here today and I am taking any and all space heater recommendations if you have them. When I’m working from home I don’t really want to blast the heat throughout the house but I also loathe being cold so I figured this was the best solution. 

Today’s post is another installation of ‘Ask Me Anything‘ and I am going to try to get to all your submitted questions! Trevor’s on call and working late this week and my work schedule is a little crazy too so I am going to try to answer the DM’s I haven’t gotten to also! If I miss anything just shoot me an email. 

When should I take my child to the dentist? 

I get asked dental questions a lot and I love to help when I can! The AAP recommends children begin going to the dentist at age 1 and then for a check up every 6 months. I know that sounds early to some people but I promise you the more they go and have a good experience, the better it is! You don’t want to wait till something is wrong and then their first encounter with a dentist is scary and intimidating. Zain loves getting his teeth brushed and he really loves getting his prize at the end! 

One other tidbit: don’t preface dental visits by telling your children not to be scared or that they aren’t getting shots. I often times hear parents telling their kids things in the waiting room that are just making my job harder. I know most people don’t like being at the dentist but try to make it a fun experience as much as you can because they will pick up on that. 

How do you get Zain to brush? 

Another question I get a lot and this advice is totally coming from a mom! We never really set out a real plan but Zain wanted to brush his teeth because he saw us doing it. Trevor used to always carry him while he brushed his teeth and he just became interested. I think getting a toothbrush that will excite them always helps and doing it along with them. They will not do the best job so just make sure you are helping finish up and actually getting to all their teeth. 

We also love the Sesame Street episode about brushing teeth and usually sing that while we brush! If all else fails and Zain isn’t interested I brush for him while he tries to squirm away. As much as I don’t want to torture him I want his teeth brushed more, ha. 

As far as toothpaste I say to hold off on flouride until you know your child has mastered the concept of rinsing and rinsing. You can generally use a tiny pea size amount and help them rinse afterwards! I rounded up some brushes that friends have said they liked and the one we use for Zain below. 

Where is the jute rug in your bedroom from?

This is the rug and we love it! Much softer than traditional jute rugs and super affordable. I included more on it in this post!  

What is in your smoothies? 

I tried to share a brief ingredient list on Instagram stories but it’s really simple. I use about 1/4 cup almond milk, 6-8 cubes of ice, a handful of frozen spinach, 1 banana and 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder. I have tried a lot of protein powder’s in my day (my favorite plant based options here!) and this is my current favorite. My smoothies taste more like a chocolate milkshake to me and I’m down for that. I also recently started using frozen spinach and it’s so much easier. Whenever your fresh stash is winding down just throw it in the freezer before it goes bad and use that for smoothies. 

I top this with chia seeds and will sometimes switch it up and use mangos, berries and/or PB2. This is the more inexpensive system I use for shakes on the go and recently bought this better blender for bigger batches and more use in the kitchen. 

What is your toy changing method? 

For context, I posted a video of me changing out Zain’s toys and got lost of questions on what I was doing. First off, let me say that I limit toys. I don’t know what it is but I am not a fan of having toys everywhere and essentially don’t want to see them. We lucked out that our den has three drawers under our window seat so his toys are organized in there. Besides those drawers we have two bins upstairs with toys. Every few weeks I switch out toys from upstairs to our den and things seems new again. I think decorative bins are a great way to keep things from looking chaotic and you feeling overwhelmed. 

I keep these bins in my drawers to help organize and keep things streamlined and it helps Zain know everything has a place. We always clean up before we leave a room and I’m sure this is just me putting my OCD on him but I can’t help it 😉  

I know things can pile up but I try to limit it by encouraging grandparents to hold off and get books or art supplies, donate things he grows out of and keep giving things away as we get more. I know we technically have space to store things but there’s no need and my goal is to not pile things up in our closets. Fingers crossed guys!  

Where is the fake food Zain plays with from?

We have this set that came with a grocery basket and felt fruits and veggies and this wooden set that has a ton of food and a knife to ‘cut’ everything with. Love this one too!

Where are your plants from? 

The real snake plant in our hallway is from a local store called Mahonia. If you live in Louisville and haven’t been I totally recommend it! The rest of our fake plants are from Pottery Barn. We have this, this and this. 

Hope you guys are all having a great start to the week and if you have any other questions just shoot them over!