Christina from raisinsandgoldfish.com

We love Christina from raisinsandgoldfish.com! She is a fabulous full time mommy with two young children that live in Colorado. She is one of those writers that you can easily relate to and feel like you have known all your life. Christina takes the every day life of a mother and puts some humor into the chaos. She will keep you laughing the entire time.

Name: Christina
Children: I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 15 month old.
The 17 month age gap was a weight loss strategy. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Instead of losing those leftover 30lbs from the first pregnancy, I masked them under an additional 20lbs in the form of an 8lbs of fetus. I was able to forget about it all for 39 weeks. Of course after baby number two showed up, the former poundage still remained. No one was more surprised than me.
Blog/Company: raisinsandgoldfish.com

What are your favorite baby products?
Baby Pads
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

* I’ve kept them under newborns for midnight sneak pee attacks.
* I’ve kept them under baby’s head for spit up.
* I’ve kept them under sick infants and toddlers in case of minor throw up emergencies.
* I used them over vinyl changing pads to keep things cleaner on the go.
* I’ve used them on changing tables, the floor, counters, couches and my lap.
* I’ve put them under towels after baths.
* I’ve stored them upstairs downstairs, upstairs, in the diaper bag and in the car.

Take and Toss Sippy cups.
Dishwasher safe and spill proof.

If:
* You forget the cup someplace.
* Lose the lids in a tragic dish washing accident, leaving them disfigured beyond practical use.
* They disappear and you won’t find any until you rearrange your living, room sixteen years from now.
* Your teether chews a hole in the mouthpiece.

No worries.
They’re only $4 at Walmart for a set of 5.

A+D Zinc Oxide Diaper Cream
This is the superhero cream of diaper cream and it’s not gritty or grainy. I swear on my cat’s 7th life that the worst diaper rash we ever had only took a day and a half to clear up with this stuff. Red spots generally fade within one or two applications.

A+D should be the Patron Saint of Needy Baby Booties.

Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water
Safe. Natural. Effective. Sweet, sweet, sanity-saving, ginger root. This stuff literally works in minutes to soothe colic. It’s like magic in a bottle.

Dr Zarbees Honey Cough Syrup
** REMEMBER – IF YOUR LITTLE ONE ISN’T OVER A YEAR OLD, THEY CAN’T HAVE ANY HONEY.
For the rest of us with kids who are old enough for honey but aren’t old enough for cough syrup, this stuff is perfect. Grape flavored honey (as weird as it sounds, and smells, it actually tastes pretty good). It pours faster and is easier to drink than regular honey. It coats throats, giving coughing kids a break and allowing them a restful night’s sleep.

Two things you learned that no one could have prepared you for:

1. Sickness
Taking care of sick kids when you are well.
Taking Care of sick kids when you are sick.
Taking care of well kids when you are sick.

It’s all taxing.

2. Colic

* What your doctor says:
Babies who have colic “cry a lot.” Eventually it goes away.
* What veteran parents say:
Colic is awful. Just horrible.
* What I actually experienced:
It’s probably the closest I’ve ever come to losing my marbles.
I had to take time outs in the basement closet to get a break from the inconsolable crying.

I don’t know why the federal government is not using this as an interrogation method.

Best advice you received:
It’s okay to get away, by yourself, for a long weekend.

As long as you come back.

Eventually.

Preferably before anyone graduates from high school.

We all know being a mom is seriously demanding. Finding mommy time is difficult. Emotional breaks are good for everyone. Mommy gets to hit the reset button. Daddy gets to try mommy’s job for a couple days. It’s good for everyone. If you haven’t gotten a few days away from it all yet, find a loved one to watch your kids and go visit friends.

Fill your cup.

Something you struggle with as a mom:
Not having as much alone time or independence that I used to have.

It’s bittersweet.

On one hand, I’m desperate to do stuff I once used to do. On my own. Whenever I want.
On the other hand, I only have a few short years until I’ll be left alone far too often.

Also, I struggle with sharing sweets. For example, the second I sit down in a quiet place and my spoon hits ice cream, I’ve got kids materializing out of no where. It’s like opening a container of Blue Bell plays ice cream truck music only tots can hear. Once everyone has climbed on top of me, I get a single bite, or a series of hurried bites, before I lose the spoon and the entire bowl. Possibly a finger.

How do you balance the demands of your career, family, life, etc.?
I don’t.
The days never balance in an equal direction.
The scale has way too much laundry on it.