Free Healthy Eating for Kids Workshop

I am so happy to have my friend,  fellow twin mom, and blogger Dr. Orlena Kerek writing this guest post today. Like many moms, I struggle with making sure my kids are eating a healthy diet, especially since I have one very picky eater. I attended Dr. Orlena's free healthy eating for kids online workshop last month and loved her ideas and attitude on the subject. She is hosting another workshop on February 24 and I asked her to share her insights here on Sunny Day Family.


This post contains affiliate links.

Do you find feeding your children a healthy diet tricky? You want them to eat lots of lovely tasty fruit and vegetables but they prefer cookies and chips. In the name of variety, you try lots of new and exciting recipes, but they’re always met with howls of ‘yuck’ and unceremoniously shoved away. Eventually they pick out the pasta and leave the vegetables on the side. And time. How do you find the time to cook healthy food?

That’s how my life used to be. Picky eaters, a bad diet, introducing food was a disaster and ALL I thought about was how to get them to eat healthy food. Obsession was the word my husband used.
Things are different now. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you my children have great table manners and that dinners are a sedate, tranquil affair. I have 4 children aged 6 and under. Two year old twins. Their manners are quite frankly a disaster. No going for dinner with the Queen for us!

BUT, I don’t worry any more. I know my kids eat healthily. They eat vegetables. They try new foods. They eat more than just pasta. There are no more howls of yuck and screams of despair. No more fighting over whether or not they get pudding. No more coercing. No more “just one more bite”. And yes, I think about what I’m going to feed them, normally about 5 minutes before I actually cook it. They get healthy, home cooked food every single day. I don’t do junk any more. I spend about 30 minutes every day cooking. I cook easy, healthy tasty food that my children eat, generally without complaint.

How did I do it? How did I transform our lives?

There’s no secret, just a few simple rules. Rules for us, not the kids!

1. NO pressure. If my children don’t want to eat something they don’t have to.
2. I offer them healthy food through out the day. If they want it, they eat it. If not, they wait until the next healthy food opportunity.
3. Dessert is not tied up with how much dinner they ate. We have dessert on Friday and Saturday. It doesn’t matter how much they eat.
4. I offer variety. Lots of different healthy vegetables. They just don’t eat the ones that they don’t like.
5. I KEEP offering variety and new things. It takes time to accept something new and kids don’t like new. They like familiar.

That’s it in short. I have HEAPS more I could tell you. Why not come and join me at the next free workshop?

FREE Healthy Eating for Children Workshop

If you’d like to know more about how you can feed your children a healthy diet without stress, here’s how I can help. Firstly, I have an awesome FREE workshop that you can attend. We’ll look at how you can help your children. It’s totally free, you can come, you can learn and that’s it (there’s a recording if you can’t make the live session.)

Healthy Eating for Children Course

I also do an awesome online course, which is not free. But it is great. It’s $350 which does sound a lot if you compare it to a book. But if you think of giving your children the gift of a healthy life...remember that nothing in life is guaranteed, but there are things that you can do to increase your chances and healthy eating and exercise are up there at the top. If you could give that gift to your children, it’s a small price to pay. Think of it as the road map to stress free healthy eating. If you want to know more about the course... check out this page.

Just want to come along to the free session? It would be great to see you. Just register here.

Dr. Orlena Kerek
I am a paediatric doctor and mother of 4 small scamps. I write about helping children to eat healthily, without lots of stress and worry. It’s all about building healthy habits that last a lifetime.

Read Dr. Orlena's blog at https://snotty-noses.com.

Mom's Memory a Day: Free Printable Journal

Kids grow up so fast. It seems like a blink of an eye and my newborns are already toddling towards 3. I have taken a million pictures of them but I have been terrible at keeping up with baby books and journaling. I always have the best intentions but fall short at the end of a long, tiring day.

I recently tried a new approach to recording my mom memories and it is going so well that I want to share it. It truly works and it only takes 5 minutes a day!



The idea is simple - at the end of every day, take 5 minutes and write down one moment from your day. A funny quote (kids say the BEST things and we never remember them!). Something your kids did that made you smile (or scream). A quick snapshot of your life each day. You don't need to write a lot - there's not enough room for that - because the idea is to record a moment that will become a memory.

All those little moments will soon add up to a lifetime of memories. And when you inevitably feel like time has flown by you will be able to look back and remember all those little moments that make up our lives as moms.

Want to give it a try? It's free! Here's a preview of the three types of pages included - click here to access the files and start your journal today!

Download your free journal now!

The Gift of Life: A True Christmas Miracle

At Christmas time, we hear a lot about miracles and angels. It makes for great movies and storybooks, but I can also tell you that sometimes it actually happens. It happened to me and my family. Our angels didn't have wings or halos, and I will never know their names. I will never have the opportunity to thank them for giving us the greatest gift we could ever receive. But maybe, by telling this story, I can inspire someone to turn their darkest moment into a precious gift and truly, a miracle.

Me and my dad.

My father suffered from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, an incurable lung disease with no known cause. In November 2010, he was placed on the lung transplant waiting list. Though no one wanted to say it, we all feared that 2010 would be his last Christmas. One of our favorite family traditions was a big Christmas Eve lunch. My husband and I were driving to Christmas Eve lunch when my cell phone rang.

"We got the call," my mom said. There was no explanation needed. The call. A lung. It seemed unbelievable. My parents had to be at the hospital right away, and we changed course and sped in that direction.

The transplant doctors had cautioned us that we may experience one or more "false alarms" - where an organ seems to be a match but as they do more extensive testing it is not. Or the donor organ is not viable. We arrived at the hospital, my dad was checked in, and they started the tests. We all kept expecting them to tell us it was a false alarm. It seemed so impossible - he was going to get a lung, on Christmas Eve! But as the hours ticked by they kept doing more tests and no one told us to go home. This was happening.


They took him to pre-op at about 11:00pm. There were two other families and patients in the same area. Though they carefully guard any information about the donor, they did tell us that these two patients were also getting organs from the same person. One the donor's heart and one the other lung. Three families, total strangers, brought together by an amazing gift and with cautious optimism and hope for the future.

But somewhere, I do not know if in that same hospital or even the same city, there was another family. A family experiencing the most devastating and unimaginable loss. On Christmas Eve. My heart still breaks every time I think of them in that moment. And how they were somehow able to put aside their shock and grief and sadness and make the decision to donate their loved one's organs. So that my dad, and many others, could live.

My dad was wheeled into the operating room shortly after midnight on Christmas Day. The nurses later told us that he led them in singing Christmas carols on the way. He loved Christmas and his joy was infectious. I will always remember the doctors and nurses, called away from their homes and families on Christmas, and how happy they seemed to be. They knew the amazing work that they were doing and what it meant to us.

At 5:30am on Christmas Day, the surgeon came to the waiting room and told my family that the transplant was a success. There would be a long road to recovery, but we had hope. My dad had a new lung. He wouldn't be tethered to an oxygen tank. It was a true Christmas miracle.

My dad with my newborn sons.

My dad passed away, suddenly from complications of pneumonia, on March 28, 2014. His new lung gave him 3 years and 3 months of life, a precious and amazing gift that he never once took for granted.  In those 1,188 days he saw the birth of my children, his last 2 grandchildren, and lived to hear them call him "pap-pap." He got to spend 3 more years with my mom, the love of his life for 50 years. He went to the US Open and to his grandkids' sporting events and dance recitals. He made new friends and spent time with family near and far. He watched his children and grandchildren thrive and flourish. He lived every moment of those days, often saying that "today is a good day, even if it rains."

My dad wrote a thank you letter to his donor's family (he was not given any information about the donor, however he was able to give his letter to the transplant center and they then gave it to the family.) The family chose not to contact us, and I completely understand and respect their choice. I will never be able to thank them for their gift to us, this Christmas miracle, but I would like them to know that I think of them often. I think of their loss and how difficult this time of year must be for them. I think of their pain and how they pushed it aside to make their decision. I hope that somehow they know that their gift was treasured and that it gives them some measure of peace.

Transplants are miracles that happen every day, not just on Christmas. And they are miracles that only happen because people choose to give the gift of life. If you are not an organ donor, I ask you to please become one. Become someone's angel. Tell your family of your desire to donate your organs and help them to create a miracle should the unthinkable happen.

For more information on organ donation, visit organdonor.gov. Or consider supporting an amazing organization that assists transplant recipients and their families, the National Foundation for Transplants.

Road Trips with Toddlers: Tips & Tricks

I'm getting ready to go on a road trip with my twin toddlers to visit family before Christmas. Traveling with kids can be tough! I've picked up a few tricks over the past few holidays and I wanted to share them with you. Happy travels!

1.  Plan your trip around your toddler's schedule as much as possible. Toddlers are creatures of habit and keeping them in a routine makes life so much easier.  My kids are good car sleepers, so I always plan to leave right before nap time. They usually fall asleep pretty quickly and then I have a good 2-3 hours of quiet driving time.

2.  Stock up on good audio books and music. I love audio books for the car and there are tons of great choices for even the smallest listener. My kids adore the Eric Carle/Bill Martin bear books and we listen to them on CD all the time.  You can find the CD on Amazon (affiliate link) or check your local library for even more choices.

I'm also a big fan of Amazon Prime Music (affiliate link) for kid's songs in the car - there are thousands of songs to choose from and you can also add in your own music to create your perfect playlist. Plus you can try it free for 30 days!

3.  Find green space along the way. If you're taking a longer trip, plan ahead and map out parks or playgrounds on your route. Allow extra time to stop and let the kids stretch their legs. Yes, it will take longer to get to your destination but everyone will be much happier.

4. Pack snacks.  Skip the fast food and convenience stores and pack some healthy, fresh options. Applesauce pouches, yogurt tubes, fruit slices, cheese sticks, and granola bars are all much better choices to keep your little ones full for the ride. I love to pack my Thirty One Picnic thermal (affiliate link) for long trips - it holds plenty of drinks and food and keeps everything nice and cool.

5. Be flexible. The first rule of traveling with toddlers is that things will not go as planned. They will decide not to nap, or insist on only eating the one snack that you didn't bring. In the words of Elsa, let it go. Take a deep breath and do your best to stay sane and drive safely. It might mean a break for mom at the Starbucks drive through. Or an extra stop at a park. Take your time, you'll get there!

I also have to share one of my FAVORITE road trip helpers - my Timeless Beauty Bag! (affiliate link) Yes, it's normally a cosmetic bag but it can do so much more. You can fill it with crayons, pencils, books, games, even a tablet. Hang it on the back of the front seat for easy video viewing, and when you arrive, fold it up and use it as a busy bag. I never leave home without it.

Looking for more ideas for surviving a road trip with little ones? Try these:

Road Trip Activities for Kids Ages 2-8 - The Measured Mom

Road Trip Snacks - Kids Activities Blog

Best Travel Toys for Kids of All Ages - Nate And Rachael

Cheerios Box DIY Portable Play Board - Toddler Approved

10 Ideas for 2 Year Olds in the Car - Crystal & Co.

Pajama Day

Today I did something I never do - I let the boys stay in their pajamas all day. And it was wonderful.

I'm not one of those moms that over schedules her kids. I believe in down time, and I think kids just need to relax and play. But we are busy, and it seems like lately we have been on the go nearly every day. Even those days when I plan for us to just stay home and relax something always seems to come up. Or I have a never ending to do list, laundry, dishes, dinner... you know the drill.

Today we had nothing on the calendar. It was hot and muggy with thunderstorms forecasted for the afternoon. We had a quiet morning, ate breakfast, watched some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and then they started playing so nicely that I didn't want to interrupt them to get dressed. The morning quickly merged into lunchtime, and they were still in jammies. And happy as clams. We had lunch. Then they went down for nap. And I took a nap too. This is such a rarity and it was glorious.

Our lazy day continued after nap time. We wrestled and laughed our heads off, baked cookies, watched a movie (sort of), looked out the window at the rain, read books, colored... just an all around great day.

My to do list is still sitting on the kitchen table from this morning. There's two baskets of laundry still waiting to be folded.  There are dishes in the sink. But more importantly, there are two happy toddlers who have been smiling and laughing all day - and I have been present and enjoying every minute of it.

I'm writing this to remind myself that sometimes it's OK just to stay in your PJs. It's better than OK, it's important. And really fun. And what family is all about.

Today was a good day. Even though it rained.