Monday, December 30, 2013

Christmas Day!

This year Nolan was very excited for Christmas and loved learning about all the fun traditions. Even though it's almost a week later he's asking to watch a Christmas movie with a cookie and hot chocolate every single night. We had a little bit of tears once his elf Darby left but he's excited to see him next year again. Carter figured out unwrapping pretty fast but was content to play with the wrapping paper and first toy he unwrapped. Seeing the holidays through the eyes of a child is so much fun!!

Spreading the reindeer food for Santa

Putting out gluten free cookies

Lainey guards the presents

Santa came

Santa came

Nolan wakes up.. hasn't discovered the rest of the presents yet

The loot

Sharing!

Woody - what he asked Santa for


Thanks Emily!!

Thanks Grandma C!
Thanks Grandma D!

Thanks Grandma D!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Lotus Bumz cloth diaper review and GIVEAWAY

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.


Ya'all know I'm pretty obsessed with cloth diapers. I recently had the opportunity to review and test out a Lotus Bumz cloth diaper. These diapers were designed here in the US and are manufactured in China. The first striking difference from many cloth diapers is the use of black snaps versus the normal white. While it's simply a cosmetic difference, it does give a unique look!

Lotus Bumz are a one size adjustable pocket cloth diaper. They come with a three layer microfiber insert and have a soft fleece inner lining. The outer cover is made of PUL and waterproof.  Available in a huge array of prints, each diaper retails for $22.95. Some of my favorites include the chevron print and the Green Holiday version! In addition, the diapers have been tested and received passing marks by the SGS as specified by the CPSIA.

Carter has had a chance to wear his new Louts Bumz a few times now. The PUL is durable, has washed well, and hasn't had any leaks so far! He is a skinny baby and the three rows of snaps allowed for perfect adjustment. We loved the hip snap and this allowed for no sagging and drooping. The fleece inside is super soft and perfect for baby's delicate areas. Overall a fun, cute, and well working diaper.




Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/lotusbumz

Would you like to try out a Lotus Bumz yourself? Enter our giveaway below! We also have a great coupon code to share with you. Enter Blogger20 to receive 20% off your order at Lotus Bumz!

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I tried personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Nolan's Christmas Wishlist


Last night we visited Santa and on our walk home I asked Nolan what he had asked for. I expected the normal things we had talked about already such as a triceratops and a t-rex for Imaginext, games for his MobiGo, and transformers rescue bot stuff. Nope, he said he wants a talwander.


Insert his giggles here.... "Mommy, Santa already knows what I want," is what he keeps telling me when I ask more!  I know talwander isn't a word but that's what it sounds like he is saying. Help me out and listen and give me your best guess. What's he asking for??? It's not skylander as he doesn't even know what that is and just in case I asked. It's not a calendar either. The video is below!!





Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Condor Trek Kids Review

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

I jumped at the opportunity to share a copy of Condor Trek Kids with my moms' group friends recently and wanted to be sure to post about our fun here. Condor Trek Kids is a book based on the first story in the Storyland Yoga DVD series.  It tells a tale of special baby condor eggs that need to be brought back to the mountain to be with their mama.  Throughout the story fun yoga poses are encouraged and clearly illustrated. It's a great way to enjoy literacy and get your child stretching and moving.


I let Nolan open the package when it came in the mail and he was excited. Nolan loves mail and gets a magazine every few months so he was ecstatic to get a book now too. To test it out with my friends, we took the book to the park and let the kids explore. Nolan started by exhibiting the poses from the top of the playground and of course with a stick!


The book takes you on a journey to return some condor eggs back to their mommy. Along the way, it encourages stretching and balance through child friendly yoga poses which are clearly illustrated by real kids in the book. It has very ecologically friendly overtones too which fit right in with our family. Seeing the young kids do yoga poses was pretty adorable. The book also fits the Common Core English, Language, and Arts standards. What a fun tool for teachers to get some extra energy out of their students all while learning! You can check it out on Amazon or visit Playful Planet for additional fun products!




I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Kahn, our German shepherd


We lost our sweet big goofy oaf of a German shepherd yesterday. He would have celebrated his 9th birthday this week. Kahn came to us at about 16 weeks old. His previous family took him in to be neutered and when they came to pick him up decided he couldn't live with them anymore. They walked next door to the grooming shop where I worked and asked if anyone could take him. If not he was going to the pound. Having also worked at the pound I decided that couldn't happen. It was a holiday weekend so I figured Kahn could come home with us for the weekend and we'd find him a suitable home. Tim agreed. At the time I wasn't sure how old Kahn was and hadn't even seen him yet. I was expecting a full grown shepherd but was pleasantly surprised when I went ot grab him after work and here was a tiny big eared little boy. When Tim got home from work that night I opened the door to the garage. Lainey went bounding to see her favorite person. Kahn just strolled around the car sat next to Tim and looked up at him. We decided a few hours later that he was home and named him Kahn.



Like so many unfortunate dogs, Kahn was the product of a random backyard breeder. No genetic testing on his parents or proven health lines to try and maximize his chances of a long healthy life. He suffered from pano as a puppy, had allergies, and at a very young age was diagnosed with arthritis in his back. Through it all we tried to keep him happy and feeling well. Kahn brought about our trial into raw feeding. Being a deep chested breed we knew his chance of suffering from bloat was high. As soon as I learned about shepherds, I purchased a pack of phazyme (gasX) and had it on hand. I knew at the first sign of bloat to give it to him. We didn't let him exercise after eating and restricted large amounts of water too. Unfortunately in the end Kahn did bloat and it all just wasn't enough.

Friday night around 10pm Kahn started whining. We came out to see what was wrong with him and he was panting with his tongue out and pacing around the kitchen. He was trying to vomit but nothing came up. We let him outside and watched him. He would lay down then whine and get right back up. After a few minutes i grabbed the phaZyme and we gave him the first dose. Some of it came back up but some of the pills managed to stay down. Over the next hour he started to calm down and stopped panting. We also gave a dose of pepto bismol now wondering if he just had an upset stomach. About 20 minutes after that dose, he was calm enough to lay down and had stopped panting. We watched him throughout the night and he seemed better. He did vomit a few more times int he night and was very thirsty in the morning. I gave him water and within second it came back up. At that point it was morning and we called the vet and took him right in. Xrays confirmed that he had indeed bloated and they were hoping it was a simple case that would simply take him being tubed and the excess gas relieved. A few hours later we got the call that it wasn't that simple and he had experienced torsion. His stomach/intestines had twisted likely as soon as the bloating started. There was a good chance portions of the tissue had died and his organs were also affected. His blood pressure was falling and they did not think he would survive the surgery. The doctor gave low odds of the surgery working if he did make it through. In the end we decided not to put our old boy through that trauma. We went in and held him until the end. Sadly, when he left for the vet that morning we did not think it would be his last time at our house. Lainey and Kaya didn't get to say goodbye. Poor Kaya was Kahn's buddy and tag-a-long partner. She's pretty lost without him. Even with 150lbs of dog still in our house it's amazing how empty it seems.

So now that I've shared our sad news, I want to show what a wonderful dog he was. Kahn was 90lbs of of gentle goofiness. Unless you were a strange dog or a cat he wouldn't even dare play rough with you. Kahn didn't understand play fighting with a person and would let the boys do anything to him. He'd lay there while being loved on and climbed on.

Kahn with baby Nolan.


We found out early on that Kahn was allergic to corn. I came home form work one day and Tim was making cornbread for dinner. I ran in our room and changed, walked back out and exclaimed "What happened to Kahn?" Tim had let him lick the cornbread bowl and within seconds this happened.



Kahn loved chips and crackers. Most dogs come running for meat and don't get me wrong he liked that too but if you opened a box of crackers or chips his giant nose would be in your way. Even in his old age he loved chasing frisbees and squeaky tennis balls. He even annoyed the heck out of me by trying to steal all of Carter's finished babyfood pouches and destroying them (yep, they are supposed to be reuseable).

Kahn loved to swim and until we got a second fence around the pool at our old house he would get in the dang thing every day cold or not and regardless of if I was about to leave and only letting him out to potty. We couldn't swim without him getting in and tried to leave him in the house while swimming once. He got up on top of our kitchen table and sat staring out the window until we let him outside. Even as big as he was, he was a total pushover when it came to his ladies Lainey and Kaya. We had to stop the girls from taking his food because he'd just walk away and give it to them.




Keep our little guy Nolan in your thoughts. He's taking the loss of his dog pretty rough.

Thanks for being such a great dog Kahn. We miss you!!




Kahn's second birthday 12/10/2006

Kahn's second birthday 12/10/2006






Friday, December 6, 2013

Christmas Bloopers

If you thought it was fun taking one child's pictures, that fun is magnified when you add in a second and a third. And no, I didn't suddenly birth a six year old. Nolan's best buddy joined us so her mommy could get some pictures for their cards too. Carter's newly mobile status just added to the chaos. Here are some of the wonderful shots we got on our recent shoot.

Carter on the move... doesn't sit still for even a second.

Goofy faces!

Followed by some weird GQ pose.

...then we play in the dirt. Yep, we eat it too.

"Mom, why do I have to be near HIM?"

Scream about holding hands and throw ourselves to the floor.

It's just too hard to smile.

Then we give our serious faces.

Three kids, three different directions!
You'll see the few okay shots we managed ot grab on the upcoming Christmas cards!!!