It's been a wild ride these past few weeks. Lots of shoppers is always a good thing but combine that with Icemageddon in Dallas that shut down the city for a good 4 days and potty training a toddler and its just complete chaos!    Potty training a little boy has to be easier in the summer time when you can just teach them to go pee in the yard. Lets be honest boys have a fascination us moms will never understand. But I knew we shouldn't wait any longer to start potty training because our little guy kept having accidents with his diaper on because he was holding his pee. When it final ..read more

I went into labor on a Sunday Night February 23, 2020. My husband and kids were all asleep at 10pm that night and I knew my contractions were real coming every 9 minutes for over an hour....by 11:45 they were 6 minutes apart so I woke my husband up and told him it was go time. Flash forward to 12:56PM Monday February 24 and Mr. Bode was born!  The following week was a blur at home taking care of baby, going to the pediatrician, etc. I would get store updates and things were going great, lots of sales and traffic in the store. Then 2.5 weeks later everything totally came to a standstill. N ..read more

At 35 weeks pregnant, the 4th time around (I have 3 kids and am expecting my 4th) nothing seems that much different than before. Constantly sore, constantly peeing myself, thirsty, hungry but not too hungry. If it's not maternity it doesn't cover my belly unless it's something I borrow from my husband (more tees please and thank you)! Heels are worn on rare occasion otherwise it's comfy sneaker time.  I've saved all the baby clothes from my other 2 boys, so baby boy #3 will have plenty to go through. Crib and bassinet are ready, new carseat is purchased and installed (we went with the Nuna Pip ..read more

Traveling with Kids on an airplane to a destination city is no easy task. After a trip to Southern California with all 3 of our kids (8, 4, & 2) I'll give you my top tips to ease your fears and help you enjoy your vacation more. 1. Have a "bribe" bag. I packed dum dums, m&ms, and light up rings in mine but basically its my arsenal to get decent behavior when there are so many distractions and ways things can go south that have your neighbors on the airplane giving you the stink eye. 2. SNACKS  Sure you can buy whatever at the airport but you need to have their favorite, always keeps th ..read more

When your child suddenly drops on the floor flailing over you not letting him play with a Sharpie. When your child pulls your hair or slaps your face and you just want to lose your cool (or you do because we are all human). When you tell your sweet toddler it's time to go and they bolt in the other direction. <Sigh> Our third child hasn't been a super angelic, innocent, I want a fourth baby right now just like him child. The almost two or 2-3year old phase is the hardest because they can't fully communicate their feelings and their frustration drives them to do the silly/stupid/ridiculou ..read more

Amazon deliveries happen ALL THE TIME. I see their trucks with drivers donning bright orange traffic vests and think this is the future of retail. No need to leave the house/work to grab anything just place an order for same day or next day delivery on Amazon. Almost everyone I know has a Prime membership. From groceries to fascinators to diapers to socks who needs to visit a physical storefront?  This is the scary part of short term quick fix thinking. I'm all for supporting online shopping but when we all start to move away from interacting in a physical space and just gluing ourselves to ou ..read more