Baby is on the MOVE! He is crawling everywhere, blissfully exploring and getting into everything. Babyproofing has been a major priority lately, along with keeping Baby entertained on all of his exploits at home. I feel like he gets bored crawling through the same few rooms over and over at home, so I’ve been searching for different places around town for him to roam.

With Baby Storytime and our Mommy & Baby class on hiatus for summer, we’ve needed to find some new haunts. Unfortunately, most of what I’ve found is either for babies not yet crawling (i.e. mommy & baby yoga) or for walkers or one-year-olds and up (i.e. most kids programs at museums, kids climbing gyms, etc). Continue reading →

Baby and I are pretty close. As a stay at home mom, this is probably a good thing considering how much time we spend together. Nevertheless, I still try to provide him with some non-mom time each week (and give myself some quality me-time in the process). He has lots of Daddy dates and hangs out with this grandparents whenever schedules allow.

When I leave the room (or the house), there’s usually little to no protest. I’m rarely gone long, as Baby refused taking a bottle, instead preferring his milk straight from the source. While my heart melts every time I come home and Baby is excited to see me, I never thought that he had much separation anxiety. Yet one morning when he was around eight months old, Baby was accused of exactly that. Continue reading →

When was the last time an email knocked your socks off? A few weeks ago, I received an email invitation to become a BabyLegs.com affiliate. I was so excited that BabyLegs was interested in Reflective Mama! But I was also a little skeptical… Is this for real? I followed a link in the email’s signature to check out the company before responding. Once there, the first thing I noticed was that they also own Happy Socks, a brand that I am very familiar with. My husband is obsessed. He wears Happy Socks to work everyday. Seriously. EVERYDAY. With the source confirmed to be extremely legit, I was in. Continue reading →

I planned to write about our first Parents at Teachers home visit before it even happened, especially because of how nervous I felt. I had no idea what to expect, so I wanted to share with other moms in the same situation what actually happens when a school district official shows up at your house for some one-on-one time.

The night before, I voiced my excitement (and anxiety) on Facebook and asked if there was anything I should do to prep for the visit. I quickly received some reassuring responses: Continue reading →

The Roasterie is an awesome local coffee roasting plant in Kansas City that also has a couple cafes around town. A coffee shop connoisseur, The Roasterie is one of my favorite local landmarks. Their Leawood store is great for meetings, while the one in Brookside is excellent for working and schmoozing, which probably why it can be hard to find a seat.

A few years ago, I went on my first tour of the roasting plant when I worked at a day camp. This was one field trip the counselors may have enjoyed more than the kids (I was completely enthralled). Since then, the factory has expanded to include a larger coffee shop on site and an event space. Unfortunately, the new room was not completed until after my husband and I were married. #weddingfail Continue reading →