Home Maid Simple

Tag: habits

  • Encourage Kids to try new Foods and Giveaway

    Encourage Kids to try new Foods and Giveaway

    *I received free product to facilitate this review. All thoughts are 100% my own*

    Are you all sick of reading advice to get your kids to eat veggies? Tired of the over achieving parents who make amazing lunch creations that their kids love and eat up?

    Honestly I’m not tired of them. I need the advice until I hit on something that will actually jive with my kids. So far we’ve had some small successes here and there, but being consistent about it is so difficult sometimes. You have to keep veggies cut up and in a bowl they can get to, and/or spend time getting real creative with each and every lunch/dinner.

    My kids will eat just about any fruit since most have little prep and they can just grab and eat – apples, bananas, berries – but when we bring out the veggies I get weird looks, and lots and lots of whining.  There was once a time I had a bowl of chopped up broccoli in the fridge that got taste tested periodically because it was easy to grab. As a result some of my kids will now eat broccoli and ask for more.

    I heard about this new DVD Copy-Kids that seemed a little too simple to actually work, but decided we might as well give it a try. I love that it’s separated into chapters so you can pick the fruit or veggie you want your kids to eat, and just play that section of the video. My kids absolutely loved seeing what ages each of the kids in the video were, and comparing them to their own age.

    Check out their sizzle reel for an idea of how this works. 

    What I thought was too simple to work, turned out to be a fun show my kids enjoy, and inspiring to them to give new foods a try.  I took some pictures of my kids to give you an idea of how it worked for us.

    I decided we’d start with 1 fruit and 1 vegetable. My hope was that by having something they liked and something they didn’t really care for, we would find a good balance of trying something new. 

    At 7 years old Princess V is past the recommended age for Copy-Kids, but as you can see she still enjoys watching what her sisters do first. 

    Prince L didn’t quite get the idea to watch the show while eating, his only thought was “Mom just put those yummy red things on a plate in the living room…I’m going in!”

     As you can see, our aftermath isn’t what I was hoping for, but if you look closely to the right side of the cucumbers you will notice 2 have been tasted. That is pretty good for my kids! No begging from me to get them to try it, just watching other kids like them eat and enjoy. 

    We’ll for sure be watching it a couple more times with bell peppers and tomatoes – Mine and Mark’s personal favorites.

    I have to admit, I realized that one thing I did wrong when they were younger was not give them as many choices. I stuck to what I thought they would like, and when coming across things like peppers I would *hang my head* say something like “Oo, I don’t know if you’ll like that. But give it a try”. Yep, I should have taken off that preface and just let them try things. Lesson learned.

    Connect with Copy-Kids
    Enter to win a Copy-Kids DVD
    Open to US residents 18+

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

  • How I overcame my Nail Biting habit with Jamberry

    How I overcame my Nail Biting habit with Jamberry

    *This post contains an affiliate links, and I will be compensated when you click through and make a purchase.*

    Confession time – I bite my nails. It’s been a habit since I was a kid. One I would love to kick, but have struggled on and off with for my whole life. I know I’m not the only one, though. If you struggle with nail biting and are looking for a solution, perhaps these suggestions can help. 

    5 Tips to Help Cure the nail biting habit

    I’ve tried many different solutions over the years. Some have been a temporary fix, while others lasted longer. Every person will be different, though, so try them all until you find one that sticks. 

    Jamberry Nails

     

     
    I’d heard of Jamberry and thought they sounded fun and trendy. I was really worried that I’d just bite them off though. So my friend Jenn and I got together at a frozen yogurt place, and she showed me how they worked. I told her my concern about the nail biting problem I have. She then told me she use to bite her nails as well, but the Jamberry shields have helped her stop. 
    I was still skeptical, but I was desperate to try anything before my kids took up the habit out of sheer example.
     
     
    What was the difference? Jamberry nail shields are not something you paint on. They remind me a lot of vinyl wall stickers, but for your fingers, and with better sticking power. I’d say Jamberry Nails are a long term solution IF you continue to wear them daily. 

    Bad Taste

    Another common solution for nail biters is to paint them with something that tastes bad. There are many products out there that do this, like Thum. For me, it has never helped. My nail biting habit is so ingrained, and so much a part of me, that the bad taste is overlooked. I do think these products will help little kids who are just starting to bite. Even just painting the nails with fingernail polish could be enough of a turn off in the early years. 

    Wear Gloves

    If you wore gloves every day for the rest of your life you would never be able to bite your nails again. That’s not terribly practical of course, but it would work. Instead, if you keep some gloves on hand and find yourself biting your nails, try slipping those precious fingers into a stylish glove to curb the urge. I find I bite when I’m bored, so places like the car are optimal to keep a pair of gloves. Sitting in traffic or carpool…just slip the gloves on. 

    Manicures

    I find if my nails are done professionally than I am less likely to gnaw them off. Having pretty fingers is a visual motivator for me. Unfortunately, it’s also an expensive one that I am not willing to pay for as frequently as I would need them done to keep from biting. If it fits your budget and motivates you to stop biting, definitely give it a try. Every girl deserves a manicure at least periodically right?

    Find Your Triggers

    The biggest key to stopping any bad habit is to figure out what is triggering them. Mine I’ve concluded come from different things. If I’m extremely stressed or anxious about something, I will start biting. There are periods of about a full year where I’ve left my fingers alone. All it takes is one stressful event to bring the habit back to full swing. 

    Once I start biting again, it becomes extremely difficult to stop again. The big stress may have started the biting, but it’s the daily annoyances, anxieties, and even boredom that keep the habit going. This is a hard one for me to change because these events are often out of my control. Instead, I need to find a way to cope better. It starts with being concious of the nail biting.