Best Organic Vitamin for Kids
The Absolute Best Organic Vitamin for Kids
Are you looking for the best organic vitamin for kids? Well I’ve found some that have worked SO well for our family, specifically my 4 year old! My little guy used to complain daily that his stomach hurt. We thought that maybe it could be a food intolerance of some sort. We tracked his food for a few weeks and slowly started making changes. We took him into the doctor and he thought it was constipation. So we tried to see if Miralax could help him, but it didn’t. I then came across an Instagram ad about Llama Naturals Probiotic Vitamins and how they helped with stomach pain in kids. I bought the vitamins right then and there because I needed to find a solution!
And let me tell you, this was the solution! His stomach pain was gone within about a week or so. These probiotics saved the day.
Llama Natural Probiotics are clinically proven to help stomach aches and constipation, as well as improve overall gut health. And not only do they actually work, but they taste great too! My kids take the probiotics, multivitamin, and elderberry. I love that there are made with real fruit and have no added sugars.
Best Organic Vitamin for Adults?
Ok let’s be real.. I hate swallowing pills. So you better believe I grabbed some probiotics and multivitamins for me too! After having my third baby I noticed that my stomach was a lot more sensitive than it used to be. So when I saw the probiotics work for my son, I knew I needed to try them for myself. I strive to eat healthy foods, but these probiotics are definitely making a big difference!
Try them at a discount $
Ready to give them a try?? Llama Naturals offers a money back guarantee. So you really have nothing to lose! Plus I have a discount code that will save you 20% off your order! Just use the code SIMPLYCINE at checkout to save.
Be sure to come back and let me know how you and your family like the vitamins!!
-Maurcine
Yoto Create Your Own Card
Yoto Create Your Own Card
Ready to create your own Yoto card? You can make your own cards with any mp3 file you have. But today I’m going to show you how to do it with the Little Blue Truck books!
First, you’ll need a MYO card.
Next, download the Little Blue Truck books here. These files are read by the author and are free!! (If you’re on your phone, you’ll need to turn your phone horizontally so that you can see the download button!)
After you’ve done that, open up your Yoto app. Go to My Library and then swipe until it says Make Your Own. Click Make Playlist and title your book. Then hit add audio files. You’ll then add the Little Blue Truck audio files that you just downloaded. After that loads, hit create playlist.
Finally, you’ll then want to link it to a card. You can do this with your phone or with the Yoto player.
And that’s it! Super easy process once you have the mp3 files.
You’ll want to make sure you label your Yoto cards as well. I used one of the free images from littlebluetruckbooks.com to make ours. You can print it out on sticker paper or use regular paper and seal it with tape. I just did it with tape this time, but I think I’ll replace it with the sticker paper so it looks a little better.
Here is a link to the card I made on Canva. Feel free to use it for your own personal use.
Your kids also might love reading along or looking at the pictures while listening to the stories! Here are the hardcover books that go along with the audio. We’ve had all three of these books for a while now and we have sure loved them!
Little Blue Truck Leads the Way
Hopefully this was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions.
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What is a Yoto Player + How to Use it
What is a Yoto Player + How to Use it
What is a Yoto Player?
What exactly is a Yoto player? The Yoto is a screen-free audio player for kids. It is a fun way for them to listen to audio books, kid-friendly podcasts, music, and so much more. It is customizable, meaning you can make any kind of audio file available for your little ones to listen to. The possibilities with the Yoto Player really are endless. It’s recommended for kids ages 3 and up. My two oldest (ages 7 and 4) each have their own Yoto Mini and they listen to them EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. We have had our Yoto Players for about a year and a half now and have absolutely loved them!
As a parent, one of my favorite things about the Yoto is the fact that it does not have free access to the internet. It does connect to wifi for some of the streaming services listed below, but there is no way for kids to surf the internet or get into content that is not appropriate for them. It is ad-free and safe listening. I really wanted something that my kids could use and have fun with, but not have to worry about what they are getting exposed to on the internet. So I was so excited when I heard about the Yoto player! They love the feeling of being in control of what they’re listening to, and I love the safety that comes along with that freedom for them.
Our Yotos have been a staple in our daily routine. We implement quiet time in our home, and each of the kids go to their separate rooms and listen to their favorite books for an hour each day. These have also been a lifesaver on long car rides. The Yoto Players have essentially replaced the DVD player in our van, which helps the kids to enjoy using their imaginations more.
How To Use the Yoto Player
The Yoto player is super simple to use. We have the Yoto Player minis, which have just three buttons. A power button on the side, a volume control button, and a chapter skip button. Our son was 3 years old when he first got his, and he had it all figured out in no time. Your Yoto will also come with a Welcome Card, which you can put in to the player and it will teach you all of the features available to you and how to use them.
You’ll need to use wifi when you first set up your Yoto Player. You can learn all about the setup process here. It is very easy to set up, and ours were up and running in a matter of minutes. After going through this quick process, using your Yoto is as simple as putting in a card and pressing play.
You can use the audio players with or without headphones. They also have a Bluetooth option as well!
The Yoto Player also has a rechargeable battery, utilizing a USB-C port. We’ve found the battery life on them to be excellent, averaging about 30 hours of playing time before needing to recharge.
Yoto Cards
The Yoto cards are what you’ll put into the Yoto to play the audio books. You can buy the cards or make your own using the Make Your Own cards. You can link any mp3 file to the MYO cards to create your own custom card. You can even record yourself or a loved one reading a story and connect it to the cards. We have a sweet 88 year-old neighbor, and our kids absolutely love to read with her. We have recorded her reading some of the kids’ favorite books and turned these into Yoto Cards.
Something that I did to build up our collection was joining the Yoto Club. It’s $10 a month and you get to pick 2 cards + get free shipping. The one downside to this was that not every Yoto Card was part of the Yoto Club. But we did get a lot of fun books that the kids enjoy. So I think it was worth it for a few months to get more cards for cheaper!
These cards are a great thing to ask for for birthdays and holidays though! It’s a simple and perfect gift that your kids will love to get!
Card-Free Listening
There are also a couple of options to listen to your Yoto Player without using a card. There are two built-in features called Yoto Daily and Yoto Radio, which do require a wifi connection to use. You can also use the Yoto App for card-free listening, which I will explain in the next section.
Yoto Daily is a short daily podcast that has fun facts, jokes, games, and other fun activities. We love listening to Jake on here! To access Yoto Daily just press down the orange button on the right side once.
Yoto Radio is a curated family-friendly music station, which is constantly being refreshed and updated. This station plays a variety of fun songs, nursery rhymes, classic Disney songs, Holiday music, and much more. To give you a good idea, Yoto has a feature on its website here that will show you the most recent songs that have been played on the radio station. To access Yoto Radio, press down the orange button on the right twice.
Yoto App
The Yoto App gets downloaded to your phone and has some really cool features!
Card Storage/Card-Free Listening: The app will store all of your cards that you have purchased, allowing you to be able to use the Yoto Player card-free. My kids have misplaced a Yoto card on more than one occasion, and the Yoto App really saved us in those situations. If you ever misplace a card, you can stream it from your phone directly onto the Yoto Player without a card.
Volume Limits: You can also control the maximum volume limit of the players for both day and night time. During the day, I have ours set to be able to play a bit louder. But at night, I turn it down a few extra notches. My 4 year old often listens to his at bedtime when he’s having a hard time falling asleep, so I let him listen to it quietly in his room. To access the volume control, just go to ‘players’ and then ‘settings’.
Sound machine: The Yoto also doubles as a sound machine! You can listen to the sleep radio, white noise, or other natural sounds. You can even link these free audios onto a Make Your Own Card so that you don’t have to stream it from your phone!
Podcasts: There are lots of different kids podcasts available to listen to. We’ve honestly never used this feature(except the Yoto Daily), but there may be some podcasts that your kids will enjoy! You can find these within My Library when you swipe over to the right.
Seasonal/Promotional Offers: During the month of December you will find the 24 Days of Yoto. From now until Christmas, you’ll have access to listen to some fun free Christmas audio and activities. Open the app and go to ‘My Library’ and then swipe over to ‘Discover’ section. I think they do something like this for every holiday!
What to Buy
There are different accessories for the Yoto Player, but here are a few things that we’ve really loved.
First, the adventure jacket. This is a must-have to give some added protection to your Yoto Player. I didn’t buy it in my first order and quickly realized we needed them! The adventure jacket is made of silicone and fits nicely around the Yoto Player. On top of protection, it also offers a better grip for the kids to hang on to, and helps keep the Yoto clean, as it easily wipes clean if it gets dirty.
Next, a card holder. We bought the travel case which holds the Yoto Player, cards, charger, and headphones. I would say to get that or the card case so that you can keep all the cards together. It has really helped our kids a lot to have an organized place for them to store their Yotos.
Headphones are also a good idea if you want them. My kids used their headphones more in the beginning, but prefer to listen to them without now. Any headphones you have will work!
Lastly, your favorite Yoto cards! My 7 year old loves The Boxcar Children cards and my 4 year old has been loving the 5 Minute Mickey Mouse stories. There are so many great options!
That’s a quick rundown of what the Yoto is and how to use it. Honestly my kids can probably explain it all better than I can! Haha they love these things and it has been such a good investment for us.
Comment any questions you have below! I’d love to chat more with you about them.
Banana Bread Muffins
You all loved the 2 Minute Banana Bread, so here’s a version made into muffins!
Banana Bread Muffins
1.5 cups Kodiak Cakes @kodiakcakes
(or flour with 1 tsp baking powder)
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup milk
Cinnamon
Chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F
Mash bananas and then add eggs, honey, and milk.
Stir in Kodiak cakes, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. I also would’ve added walnuts if I had them!
Divide batter into muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for a minute or two before removing. Enjoy!
2 Minute Banana Bread
I absolutely love banana bread, but I hate how long it takes to make! So often times I’d make banana muffins instead. But lately I’ve been cooking it in the microwave just to make it even quicker. And let me tell ya. My kids ask for it almost every day! We’re big fans of it. Give it a try! I hope you love it too. :)
You can see a video of how I make it here.
2 Minute Banana Bread
Ingredients
1 small, ripe banana mashed
1 egg
3 T Kodiak Cakes Buttermilk Pancake Mix
Optional add ins:
Cinnamon
Chocolate chips
Walnuts
Instructions:
To a microwavable safe bowl, add banana and mash with a fork.
Add in an egg and mix well with the banana.
Stir in the Kodiak Cakes until smooth.
Mix in any add ins.
Cook in the microwave for 2 minutes or until done.
Enjoy!
-MaurcineKindergarten At Home
*I wrote this post last year, but it needed a home on my new website.
A few months ago, it was time to register my daughter for Kindergarten and I felt sick. We looked into the different schools in the area, but nothing was feeling right! I didn't know if I was just in denial that I had a kid old enough to start school, or if Heavenly Father was trying to tell me something. So I started registering her for our local public school because I knew she had to go to school somewhere!
Or did she?
Then the Spirit whispered to me that I should look into Homeschooling. This wasn't a new thought. It's actually one that I first had about 7 years ago before we even had kids!
Long story short, I met an amazing family as I was serving as a missionary for my church. (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) I was shocked when I found out that they were homeschooled because, well... all the homeschool kids that I knew were weird. But this family was so different. They truly just had the best family dynamic! They got along so well with each other, had fun together, and just loved each other. They were such an adventurous family and always looked for opportunities to serve. I knew then that that's exactly what I wanted for my future family! So I told the mom that I would come back to her with questions when I had kids old enough for school. :)
Well fast forward to now and I have a 5 year old who is about to start Kindergarten! I don't even know how it happened so fast. But here we are! And we are doing this thing. I've prayed and researched a lot about homeschooling and we feel like it's the best direction to go for what we want for our family.
Baby sister is joining our family right around the time that school will be starting. Plus Dakota will be graduating PA school and taking his PANCE test. Which is like a really big deal. Haha. So we've got a lot happening all at once! But we're just going for it and know that everything will work out just right. :)
So why homeschool? There are a lot of reasons, but here are a few of mine:
Faith filled education. I love that we will continue to have the ability to bring God into everything we learn about.
Strong family relationships. And a home filled with love.
To know exactly what my children are being taught.
Custom learning. We get to teach to their needs and go at the pace that is right for each of our children.
Flexibility. I'm all about a good routine, but I love that we get to adjust and be flexible in each day when and where we need to!
I get the best of them. I get to enjoy them at their best instead of getting what's "leftover" after getting home from school.
I could go on, but those are some of my main reasons. I'm excited for this journey because we are going to learn and grow so much along the way. :)
Let me know if you have any questions about homeschooling! I'm happy to talk more about it.
Love,
Maurcine