Parenting and Lifestyle

Growing our Family: How Clearblue® is Helping Us Plan for the Future

January 11, 2018 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

Thank you Clearblue® for sponsoring this post. The new Clearblue® Connected Ovulation Test System is now available at major retailers across the U.S. such as Walmart, Target, Amazon and Meijer. Visit a store near you to try it!

Things are finally starting to settle down a little bit here in the Tucker house. November was quite a whirlwind as we were busy putting the finishing touches on our brand new home that was being built, packing up all of our belongings to move, and hosting my family in our new abode just 2 days after we moved in. Whew, I get a little dizzy all over again just thinking about all of those things again! It’s definitely good to finally be settling down a bit, that’s for sure.

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The Day I Became Okay With My Toddler Being a Picky Eater

October 30, 2017 by Laura Tucker 2 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tyson Foods, Inc. All opinions are entirely my own.

When my daughter started out on solid foods at just 6 months old, I went out of my way to see to it that all of the purees she tried were filled with nothing but good and real ingredients. Quite frankly, I made the majority of her baby food myself, because the semi-control freak inside me wanted to know exactly what my baby was consuming at all times. I also wanted to make sure she was getting a well-rounded selection of foods to try, in hopes that as she became older, she would learn to love all sorts of foods and not become a picky eater in her toddler years.

First lesson learned: I’m hilarious. Second lesson learned: Despite my best efforts, I can’t make my child like something if they really don’t. Sure, I still offer her a well rounded selection of snacks throughout the day for her to munch on, but when it’s all said and done, my vivacious (and very opinionated) little two year old wants one thing, and one thing only: chicken nuggets.

Since my toddler is all about that “nug life,” I made it my personal mission to set out and find a product that I can feel good about serving her on a regular basis. If she’s going to be persistent about eating chicken nuggets nearly every day, I’m going to be persistent about them being high quality, wholesome and free from artificial ingredients.

During my most recent shopping trip at Publix, I made a pitstop by the frozen food aisle to look for specially marked packages of Tyson® chicken products marked with the “No Antibiotics Ever” seal. Tyson chicken products are made with a long-standing dedication to quality, and because their products are 100% all natural (no artificial ingredients and minimally processed) I can feel good about not only serving their chicken to my daughter, but to my whole entire family. The people who make Tyson chicken products have a strong heritage, raising chickens since 1935. This is a brand I trust for my family! Learn about their heritage in the video below!

And now that specially marked Tyson chicken packages are made with no antibiotics ever, I have no problem at all keeping the chicken nuggets coming! My daughter gets downright giddy when she sees me pull out the red Tyson chicken nuggets bag from the freezer, and she often sees to it that I fix myself a plate and partake in the nugget festivities with her, too!

Seeing my daughter laugh and giggle while eating her food makes my heart so happy. Even though she’s proven herself to be quite the picky eater, I’m learning to not stress so much about what my daughter is eating, or if she’s eating enough. I’ve got peace of mind knowing that her very favorite food is wholesome and keeps her smiling from ear to ear, and that makes for a major #momwin in my book!

While I’m a pretty big fan of chicken nuggets myself, my husband and I are partial to Tyson crispy chicken strips. They’re a delicious and convenient dinner option for us, and knowing that they’re also made with no antibiotics ever makes them a #1 pick for us!

Next time you’re out grocery shopping, make sure you fill your shopping cart with the good stuff! Look for the “No Antibiotics Ever” seal on specially marked packages of Tyson chicken nuggets, chicken strips, Any’tizers® snacks and drumsticks!

Do you have a chicken nugget lover on your hands? Are you currently on the hunt for a wholesome and all natural product to serve your family? Make the switch to Tyson chicken raised with no antibiotics ever and feel good about the food you eat!

If You Knew, What Would You Do? Ending Domestic and Financial Abuse with Allstate Foundation Purple Purse

July 5, 2017 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

This post was sponsored by The Allstate Foundation as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I’ll never forget those words. I’ll never forget where I was, or the feelings I felt when I got the news. I woke up early one Saturday morning to drive down to my hometown to visit with my family. Not long after I left, I decided to give a quick call to my dear friend Allie* to see if she would be in the area later that afternoon. I had been carrying around a secret from her for about 10 weeks, and I was SO ready to break the news to her that I was going to become a mother. Growing up together, we always talked and daydreamed about the day that we would become mothers. We’d laugh and smile imagining what our children would be like, and how we’d be in big trouble if their personalities were anything like ours. I had been waiting for this moment for so long, and I just knew she was going to flip when I got to sit down and show her the ultrasound picture.

Only, the way that I had envisioned telling her that news never came to fruition. Instead, my words were stopped cold in their tracks when I called to speak to her that morning. Instead of hearing Allie’s sweet voice on the other end of the phone, I heard the tremble behind her mother’s voice as she told me that Allie was laying right beside her in a hospital bed – alive, but badly beaten.

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Baby on Board? Look before you Lock!

June 5, 2017 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

This post was sponsored by Auto Alliance as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

You’ve probably heard a lot about it on the news over the last few years, and you’ve more than likely seen stories circulating around the internet about an infant or child being left unattended in a vehicle and ultimately perishing due to heatstroke. It’s an incredibly sad topic to talk about, but it’s imperative that we become aware of the extreme dangers that are associated with leaving a child alone in a car – no matter how short their time left in the car may be.

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How We’re Getting our Picky Toddler to Love Fruits and Veggies with Go & Grow by Similac Pouches

May 18, 2017 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

This post was developed in partnership with Similac. All opinions are my own.

When my sweet little two year old was just starting solid foods at 6 months old, I made almost all of her baby food myself. I loved the idea of knowing exactly what was going into her little body, and I wanted to be assured that she was getting the proper nutrients that her body needed to grow big and strong. I also hoped that by me introducing her to a wide variety of foods when she was a baby, that she would develop a love for all different kinds of foods (especially vegetables,) and that we could just totally skip that whole “picky toddler” struggle when she started to become more independent.

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Breastfeeding Questions? See a Lactation Consultant Anytime, Anywhere with Amwell!

May 17, 2017 by Laura Tucker Leave a Comment

Last night after church I was chatting with a friend about how busy life can get sometimes. It’s easy to often feel like we don’t have it all together and just need more hours in the day to get it all done! This week my sweet baby girl is turning the big TWO, and I’ve been running around like a crazy lady just trying to balance my work and home life while wearing many different hats: party planner, personal chef and chicken nugget cooker, chauffeur, potty training police, piggyback ride giver and kisser of boo-boos. (Parents – I know you feel me!)

And because I often have impeccably weird timing, I randomly decided to start thinking about when baby # 2 might come along and join in on all of the busyness we’re already juggling. (Notice I said thinking..not planning. We’re not ready just yet!) My mind started going in numerous different directions about my future pregnancy and all of the things that typically come along with it. I clearly needed one more thing to think about this week! 😉

One thing I know for sure I want to plan for better next time around is building a relationship with a lactation consultant and being proactive about asking questions in hopes that I’ll have a successful breastfeeding journey with my future children. As I was thinking about my previous breastfeeding experience and the things that ultimately made it not as successful as I had hoped for, I realized I actually had quite a few questions and concerns that I definitely wanted to talk to someone about before planning for another child.

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