The holidays are filled with traditions, joy and tons of hilarious moments when you have kids. Whether you’re already worn out from winter break or if you’re just trying to keep up with that dang Elf on the Shelf, there are plenty of Twitter parents sharing in the same Christmas magic. Keep reading to see some of our fave tweets about surviving the holidays with kids.

 

1. Have kids, they said.

2. Ohh, the stress eating.

3. When all the holiday things break the bank before Christmas morning. 

 

4. What a lovely 30 minutes it is.

5. #parentperks

6. It’ll be much easier.

7. Why, tho?

8. The big man is on speed dial.

9. Not it!

10. They’ll love the center-cut filet.

11. True story.

12. Dasher, Prancer, Rudolph!

13. Double-edged sword.

14. #elffail

15. Same.

16. What is it about squirrels? 

 

––Karly Wood

Feature image: Gratisography

 

RELATED STORIES

10+ Hilarious Yet True Tweets about Toddlers

Flamingo Witches, Cat Pools & Wet Drops of Sad: Weird Ways Kids Describe Common Things

20 Hilarious Tweets on Surviving Summer Break with Kids

I was recently asked about my story and if I could pass one thing on to my children, what would it be? Without hesitation, I said, it would be a work ethic built around resilience. 

That one word, resilience, has been the cornerstone of my life, and I want it to be a foundation for all my children throughout their lives as well.

I was born to two high schoolers who fell in love a little too early. Raised in a small town in poor conditions, I watched my dad work 60 hours a week to put food on the table and saw my mom work part-time while raising three little boys. She eventually worked her way through college and became a nurse, and then a nurse practitioner long after I had moved on. 

In high school, my dad started his own company, but due to a skimming accountant, the IRS shut him down. Without hesitation, he got a job and paid every penny he owed to the IRS and his business vendors. My dad could have quit, but he did not. 

I watched both my parents demonstrate a tremendous work ethic built around getting back up and finding a way. That’s resilience.

In my own life, I’ve worked hard and achieved dreams I never thought possible. But my own version of resilience—demonstrated to my children—is personal. In 2011, my wife and my sons’ mom, was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She had no symptoms. There were no signs. In 36 hours, our entire world changed.

I spent the next five months with her while caring for our boys as she went through treatment. Most of it was experimental and produced no positive result. And on the exact day she was dismissed from MD Anderson Cancer Center and told to go home—there was no hope left—I was diagnosed with stage 2-3 renal cancer. 

Knowing she needed me and knowing my children and family needed me, I did not do chemotherapy as recommended. I simply had the doctors open me up and remove the tumor, kidney, and anything else that looked bad.

I walked out of the hospital after 19 hours to be with my wife and my boys. She made it six more days, with her family, and me, by her side until the end.

Without question, that was the saddest day of my life and in the lives of my children. 

But when looking back on it, I am proud of the fact that I was able to, if not forced to, demonstrate extreme resilience. Nine years later, my children are doing great and are super achievers in their own right. I’ve also chosen to move on with my life and have created a beautiful, blended family with a wonderful woman and mother. My children and her children are close, and my deceased wife’s family have totally embraced us all with complete love.

You see, resilience is not just about getting back up after getting knocked down. Resilience is also about getting up, finding a new path, and moving forward to ultimately achieve your goals and dreams. That is the true lesson I learned, and one that I hope I’ve demonstrated and given to my children.

RELATED:
“We Can Do Hard Things:” Building Resilience in Kids
5 Ways You Can Help Kids Build Resilience during Stressful Times

James' life is the American dream in a nutshell. Born to teenage parents in Laurel, MS & faced with a future working in one of the town's two factories, James chose to change his fate and forge his own path–to become a wildly successful entrepreneur.

My husband and I were married on July 2, 2011 in Red Bank, New Jersey. A few months after being married, I found out that I would need a kidney transplant. While this was somewhat of a surprise, it wasn’t something that hadn’t crossed my mind. My Mom was diagnosed with Medullary Cystic Kidney Disease when I was in middle school. She eventually went on to need a kidney transplant. At the time, my Dad was not a match to donate to my Mom, so she went on the UNOS waiting list. Several months of dialysis, she then received a call that there was a kidney for her. My Mom is by far the strongest woman I know. Seeing her strength is what helped me to get through my own transplant.

My symptoms of high blood pressure and rapid elevated kidney function were not the same as my mom’s kidney disease, I had, what our nephrologist  called, “Chronic kidney disease.” We then began our trek in January 2012 to getting listed on the UNOS lists at one hospital per state. My Mom, my Dad, my husband and I would make the drive together where they tried to make me laugh and make light of the long car rides. It was at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where I was getting over 30 vials of blood drawn to prepare for what was ahead when my husband said he wanted to be my donor. We had never even talked about him being a donor. I was shocked and honored that my husband of only a few months was willing to sacrifice his own life to save mine. That was not something that I had never expected of him. I always envisioned waiting like my Mom had done for a kidney from the UNOS list.

A month later, I was driving to work when I received a call from one of the transplant coordinators that my husband was in fact a candidate to be my donor.  After all of the tears poured down my face, I was parked in the parking lot of my school and I looked up to find the most beautiful rainbow right in front of me. I knew at that moment that this wasn’t by chance, this was fate. I called my husband to tell him the news and we both breathed a sigh of relief. After many trips from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, we decided that the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania was going to be the place we had our kidney transplant. This was the same hospital with the same team of doctors that my Mom had when she had her transplant. When the doctors all remembered her and her transplant, we knew we weren’t just a number and that we are in good hands.

The morning of our transplants, almost one year after getting married, my Dad, my Mom and my sister came to pick up my husband and me to take us to the hospital. My husband’s parents followed us. It was hard knowing our lives were about to change forever. My husband was called in first to be prepped and have surgery first. I remember going in to see him before his surgery and just sobbing that if he wanted to back out, it was OK and that we could just go home and I would wait for a kidney. He told me no, and that he was doing this for me and for our family. He tried to make me laugh with the silly hairnet he was wearing, but I couldn’t help but cry. My husband was about to sacrifice his life and it was all for me. That is the kind of love that every girl dreams of, but just not quite like this.

As I sat in the waiting room with my Mom on one side and my mother-in-law on the other side of me staring at the screen with updates on where my husband was, those minutes felt like an eternity. They both kept telling me to stop looking at the screen and that everything was going to be fine. Well, they were right. When I went in for surgery, all I asked was to see my husband as soon as it was over. I wanted to make sure he was OK. I woke up in the recovery room and my Mom was standing over me and holding my hand. I asked to see my husband and sure enough, they wheeled my bed over to his where he was awake and waiting to go to his room. I was so relieved to see him and so happy that we were both OK.

The next morning when I woke up, I was on a mission to see my husband. They had put us on opposite sides of the floor so we would get up and go see each other. My mom pushed my IV cart as we slowly walked over to his room. When I got to the doorway, he said “Oh man, you’re up and walking already?” It made me laugh and that was when I felt the pain of the transplant. We joke that he made me laugh so hard it hurt. We spent our first wedding anniversary recovering from our transplant. My husband’s kidney is the greatest gift I will ever receive. He gave me a second chance at life and for that, I will be eternally grateful. He is not only my husband, but he is my best friend, my soul mate (by every definition of the word), and the father to our beautiful son.

 

feature image Fernanda Nuso via Unsplash

Melissa Christopher
Tinybeans Voices Contributor

My name is Melissa. I am a mom to an incredible 5 year old boy. My husband, my son, and I live in the same town that I grew up in. In those 5 years of being a mom, I have learned a lot about myself and can't wait to share it with you. 

As new parents we live for the developmental milestones of our babies. Smiling at six weeks, starting solids at six months, potty training… and on and on. Our excitment even starts while baby is still in the womb: “Look honey, she’s the size of a kidney bean this week!” As time goes on though, we realize that we as parents have milestones, too!

Below is a completely unscientific and yet 100 percent accurate chart of Baby Milestones for Parents.

Milestone: The day your baby can hold his or her own bottle

  • Typically occurs: Around 10 to 11months old
  • What it’s really like for parents: Confusion and disorientation in parent; for several days you will not know what to do with your free hands and lap.  Then expect a feeling of liberation. Parents report their homes become moderately cleaner upon reaching this stage.

Milestone: The day breastfeeding feels as natural as everyone keeps telling you it should be

  • Typically occurs: Anytime between day 1 and day 90
  • What it’s really like for breastfeeding moms: Overwhelming joy.

Milestone: The day your baby sleeps through the night for the first time

  • Typically occurs: Anywhere between 12 weeks to 5 years old
  • What it’s really like for parents: Also known as “The Holy Grail of Parenting,” once parents feel what it’s like to have a child go to sleep from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., they can never go back.  Parents report feelings of wanting a second child upon reaching this milestone.

Milestone: The day you decide your child watching “a show” is okay

  • Typically occurs: Most frequently once toddler drops their nap or when toddler welcomes newborn sibling
  • What it’s really like for parents: Slight guilt followed by urge to allow child to watch “just one more.” There are LOTS of opinions on this one but only you know the right decision for your family. (Just go with it.)

Milestone: The day that diapers are no longer on your Costco list

  • Typically occurs: Varies
  • What it’s really like for parents: Utter disbelief. Parents later report sadness as there are no more babies in the house.

What Parenting Milestones have you reached? Which ones are you excited about? Let us know in the comments!

With twin girls and a boy born 17 months apart, I'm the owner of the world's most ironically named business, Let Mommy Sleep. Let Mommy Sleep provides nurturing postpartum care to newborns and evidence based education to parents by Registered Nurses and Newborn Care Providers.  

Do you feel like you’ve aged overnight since having children? That feeling may not be just in your head. A new study led by Penn State researchers found that the number of times a person gives birth may also affect the body’s aging process. 

Pregnant

Researchers examined several different measures that represent how a person’s body is aging and found that people who had few births or many seemed to have aged quicker than those who had given birth three or four times. However, these effects were found only after a person had gone through menopause.

“Our findings suggest that pregnancy and birth may contribute to the changing and dysregulation of several different physiological systems that may affect aging once a person is post-menopause,” said Talia Shirazi, a doctoral candidate in biological anthropology at Penn State. “This is consistent with the metabolic, immunological, and endocrinological changes that occur in the body during pregnancy and lactation, as well as the various disease risks that are associated with pregnancy and reproductive investment more generally.”

Pregnancy and breastfeeding use a large amount of the body’s energy and can affect many of its systems, including immune function, metabolism, and blood pressure, among others. Additionally, people who have given birth are more likely to die from diabetes, kidney disease and hypertension, among other conditions, than those who have not.

The researchers were curious about how the body balances these “costs of reproduction” and whether it affects how the body ages.

“We think there’s something going on, some sort of trade-off, between aging and reproduction,” Shirazi said. “This makes sense from an evolutionary biology point of view, because if you’re spending energy in pregnancy and breastfeeding, you probably don’t have as much energy to allocate towards things like physiological maintenance and defense.”

For the study, the researchers used data on 4418 participants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Data included information about reproductive health including the number of live births and whether they had gone through menopause or not. They measured biological aging in several ways based on nine biomarkers designed to assess metabolic health, kidney and liver function, anemia and red blood cell disorders, immune function and inflammation.

“We wanted to look at measures that would help capture the age and functioning of the body’s major organ systems, instead of looking at aging at the cellular level,” said Waylon Hastings, postdoctoral researcher at Penn State. “When we think about pregnancy, we don’t think about changes to individual cells but instead about how the immune system or metabolism changes, for example.”

The researchers found a “U-shaped relationship” between the number of live births and accelerated biological aging. Those reporting zero or few live births, or reporting many live births, had markers of quicker biological aging than those who reported three or four live births. This was true even when controlling for chronological age, lifestyle and other health related and demographic factors.

Shirazi said that because the data was taken at one point in time, it’s not currently possible to know what caused these associations. But she said one possible explanation for the findings recently published in Scientific Reports is the presence, or lack, of ovarian hormones in post-menopausal people.

“Previous research has found that generally, ovarian hormones are protective against some cellular level processes that might accelerate aging,” Shirazi said. “So it’s possible that in pre-menopausal women the effect of hormones are buffering the potential negative effect of pregnancy and reproduction on biological age acceleration. And then perhaps when the hormones are gone, the effects can show themselves.”

Hastings said the study also suggests that additional research can be done to understand the processes that may be involved in the connection between aging and having children, as well as how these processes work over time.

“This transition into menopause, and female reproductive health in general, is very much under researched and not as well understood as it should be at this time,” Hastings said. “So if we can see that there are these changes in aging as a function of reproduction and menopause, and we don’t have a great explanation for why, then that’s a sign we should investigate this more.”

—Jennifer Swartvagher

Featured photo: Camylla Battani on Unsplash

RELATED STORIES

Study Finds Screen Fatigue Is Taking a Toll on Work from Home Productivity

How to Keep Your Routine with the Kids at Home

Survey Looks into Challenges Moms are Facing Due to Extended Working from Home

This Study Shows the Stress Working Parents Face Could Actually Cost Them Their Jobs

New Study Reveals How Praise Affects Students’ Behavior

Check your fridge and freezer. Lakeside Refrigerated Services, a Swedesboro, N.J. establishment, is recalling approximately 42,922 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The raw ground beef items were produced on Jun. 1, 2020. 

Ground beef

The following products are subject to recall: 

 

  • 1-lb. vacuum packages containing “MARKETSIDE BUTCHER ORGANIC GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF” and a use or freeze by date of 07/01/20 and lot code P-53298-82.
  • 1-lb. vacuum packages containing four ¼ lb. pieces of “MARKETSIDE BUTCHER ORGANIC GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF PATTIES” and a use or freeze by date of June 27, 2020 and lot code P-53934-28.
  • 3-lb. vacuum packages containing three 1 lb. pieces of “MARKETSIDE BUTCHER ORGANIC GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF 93% LEAN / 7% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 07/01/20 and lot code P53929-70.
  • 1-lb. tray packages containing four ¼ lb. pieces of “THOMAS FARMS GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF PATTIES 85% LEAN / 15% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 06/25/20 and lot code P53944-10.
  • 4-lb. tray packages containing 10 ¼ lb. pieces of “THOMAS FARMS GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF PATTIES 80% LEAN / 20% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 06/25/20 and lot code P53937-45.
  • 1-lb. vacuum packages containing four ¼ lb. pieces of “THOMAS FARMS GRASS-FED GROUND BEEF PATTIES 85% LEAN / 15% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 06/27/20 and lot code P53935-25.
  • 1-lb. vacuum packages containing “VALUE PACK FRESH GROUND BEEF 76% LEAN / 24% FAT” and a use or freeze by date of 07/01/20 and lot code P53930-18.
  • The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 46841” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide.

The problem was discovered during routine FSIS testing. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider. E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2–8 days (3–4 days, on average) after exposure to the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5-years old and older adults. It is marked by easy bruising, pallor, and decreased urine output. Persons who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.

FSIS is concerned that some products may be in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.

FSIS advises all consumers to safely prepare their raw meat products, including fresh and frozen, and only consume ground beef that has been cooked to a temperature of 160°F. The only way to confirm that ground beef is cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria is to use a food thermometer that measures internal temperature, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/safetempchart.

Consumers and members of the media with questions about the recall can contact the Lakeside Processing Center Call Center at (856) 832-3881.

Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or live chat via Ask USDA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages at Ask USDA or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/.

—Jennifer Swartvagher

Featured photo:

Photo by Angele J from Pexels

RELATED STORIES

Conagra Brands, Inc. Recalls Frozen Chicken & Turkey Bowl Products Due to Possible Foreign Matter Contamination

Recall Alert: Baby Trend Tango Mini Strollers Recalled Due to Potential Fall Hazard

Recall Alert: Toysmith Light-Up Magic Wands Recalled Due to Possible Choking Hazard

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a food safety alert for Fresh Express Sunflower Crisp Chopped Salad Kits related to a multi-state E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. The CDC is investigating the outbreak and isn’t sure if it’s connected to the current Salinas, California romaine lettuce recall.

The affected salad kits have a lot code beginning with Z, “best before” dates up to and including Dec. 7, 2019 and the UPC code 0 71279 30906 4. You can find this information printed on the upper right corner of the bag.

What should you do if you have the salad? To start with, don’t eat it. Throw the salad away and sanitize anything that touched it. This means you need to thoroughly clean your fridge, countertop or anything else that may have come in contact with the salad.

As of now, there are eight diagnosed E. coli infections related to this outbreak across three states. Three of the eight people infected have been hospitalized, one with hemolytic uremic syndrome—a type of kidney failure related to this type of infection.

—Erica Loop

Featured photo: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

RELATED STORIES

Recall Alert: Mann Packing Co. Vegetables Recalled for Potential Listeria Contamination

The CDC & FDA Issue Recall Alert for Romaine Lettuce from Salinas, California

Recall Alert: Cheese Nips Recalled Due to Contamination Concern

The Wing’s CEO Audrey Gelman recently made history. The then-pregnant mama appeared on the cover of Inc.—along with her baby bump.

As if being the first obviously preggo woman to grace the mag’s cover wasn’t enough excitement for the week, Gelman has even better news.

The CEO, along with husband and Genius co-founder Ilan Zechory, welcomed a baby boy earlier this week!

Gelman posted a sweet pic of her new son and an even cuter family photo. The new mom added the caption, “sidney allen zechory (a.k.a “sid the kid”, “sidney the kidney”) born at 2:18am 7lbs 11oz he is so beautiful we are over the moon.”

Congrats to the new parents!

—Erica Loop

Featured photo: Audrey Gelman via Instagram

 

RELATED STORIES

Jenna Dewan & Steve Kazee Announce Pregnancy

Kieran Culkin & Jazz Charton Welcome Their First Child

Chris Noth & Wife Tara Wilson Announce Their Second Baby Is On the Way

 

Dannette Giltz got the surprise of a lifetime. The South Dakota mom though kidney stones were the culprit behind sharp back pains, but as it turns out something much larger was the cause.

Giltz did what most of us would when she experienced unexplained pain—she went to the hospital. The mama expected to hear that she’d need surgery, telling KOTA News, “I started getting pains, I figured it was kidney stones because I’ve went through them before.”

When Giltz arrived at the hospital the doctors informed her that kidney stones weren’t the root of her problem. Instead, she was in labor—with twins!

As if the news of twins wasn’t a shock in itself, Giltz was about to get an even bigger surprise. The mom told KOTA News, of her labor and delivery, “It was quiet, we thought they were done. He’s over there, kind of like rocking like, thinking of the names and then she’s like well we need another blanket and his reaction is like excuse me, put it back, no, I was told I have twins, I’m not doing triplets. She’s like no, there’s three babies in here, there’s triplets.”

Not only did Giltz have no idea she was pregnant. The mama had naturally conceived triplets and carried them to 34 weeks. Giltz added, “Everyone’s like I can’t believe it, I’m like we’re still in shock, trust me, we know what you mean like I go to the doctor’s thinking I’ll have surgery for kidney stones and end up going into labor with a c-section that night. It’s crazy.”

Even though Giltz didn’t know she was pregnant, the triplets are thriving. According to her Facebook page, “Updated picture of the triplets they are 5 days old tonight doing good progression is perfect hopefully they keep it up and next couple of days they should be coming home.”

—Erica Loop

Featured photo: Wish TV via YouTube

 

RELATED STORIES

This Mom Celebrated the First Day of School By Going to Disney World… Alone

9 Nurses Who Work Together Just Had 9 Babies & the Pics Are Adorable

This Baby Celebrated Turning 2 Months with an Epic “Toy Story” Party