Spunky, funny kids

Kids really so say the darnedest things. When you have a spunky second child you often wonder how your third child could possibly surprise you... and then they do.

O is newly 4 years old now and due to his mainly liquid tube fed diet potty training isn't 100%. We are both working hard on that. Yesterday, he came home from preschool and I forgot to prompt him. A few seconds later he's singing a favorite annoying YouTube song, Johnny Johnny. I hear, "Johnny, Johnny eating sugar? No papa. Johnny, Johnny peeing in your pants," and look over to sure enough see the wet spot spreading down his legs. So now I 100% know it's not all innocent accidents!!

His older brother C had one Oreo left from his special Lunchable lunch on this same day. We placed it high up on the counter out of reach of everyone. He warned everyone (except O who was already at preschool) not to touch it and kept harping about this sacred saved Oreo. A few minutes later after the infamous Johnny Johnny episode, in walks a chocolate faced O who says, "was I supposed to eat an Oreo, mom?" Needless to say he wasn't supposed to eat an Oreo and we hid all evidence that said Oreo ever existed and so far C hasn't remembered it!!

What have your crazy kids been up to lately?

First Day Printable - Kindergarten

I'll add to this post as I create more but here's a quick 1st day of Kindergarten printable I created for my middle child. It's a big week here in our house!! Available for download here.

Click the link above to download a printable .pdf. 

Connecting with Kid Knex!

We were fortunate enough to be chosen to host a Kid K'nex exploration party through Tryazon. We got to explore their building sets aimed at the preschool market and it was pure LOVE. I have to admit I already owned two sets of these building block type toys that I had scavenged form garage sales. At the time of purchase I checked online and couldn't find more. I'm so glad to see them readily available and a new focus point for K'nex brands. THEY ARE AMAZING. Our local science museum has them out for free play and they are always busy. If you have a toddler through early elementary school age child they will enjoy them.

How are they different than other building sets??

Like other K'nex products, the pieces connect easily to make 3-d builds. These sets include pieces like eyeballs, fins, feet, and more. My children build geometric masterpieces along with crazy animal monsters.

You're luckier than I was years ago searching for Kid K'nex because they're available online through Amazon! These would be a perfect Christmas gift for grandparents wanting to make parents happy with a stimulating choice and children happy with fun!!

Did you miss our live unboxing on Facebook?? Check out the short clip here.

Learning with Lauri

We were picked to host a Learning with Lauri party through Tryazon! This means our family received a box of their products in order to share and explore it with our friends. I hosted the party at the local elementary school which serves as a great meeting space for friends!!

Lauri was founded by a school teacher in 1961. They're a staple in most preschools these days and the classic Lauri stacker is a favorite. I was so excited to see the new twist on the classic stacker set, Action Stackers! Even my 8yr old who swears he was way to old to play with preschool toys has been busy building and playing. The addition of the moveable pieces were key!

In addition to the Action Stackers, we got to sample tall stackers with a peg board, objects magnetic set, actions language cards, create-a-scene magnetic farm, shape and color sorter, and a crepe rubber puzzle.

The actions cards are perfect for any number of language and movement exploration games. I have actually used them with even older children to play charades. All little ones seem to love magnets. We use a large magnet board at home and a portable one on car rides. They tell stories and play games all using the picture magnets.

I love Lauri products, we love Lauri products!! Lauri products by Playmonster were already a staple on our preschool learning shelves and through Tryazon we've found new favorites too!!

Tube Feeding 101: NG Tubes

I'm starting a series of posts using knowledge we've personally gained in the last 6 months. Having medical equipment thrust into your life is hard. It's even harder trying to figure out how to make it all work once you're out of the hospital and you don't have an appointment or Dr. to ask every day.

An NG Tube is a naso-gastric tube inserted through the nose down into the stomach. Every facility has it's own standards and practices. Ours, from our local and world renowned Children's Hospital, included teaching competent parents how to replace and reinstall an NG tube before their child is discharged. Babies, toddlers, and children will likely have them come out due to pulling or even vomiting so being able to replace is a key help to avoid repeat ER trips. Otherwise the medial tube was rated for 30 day insertion and the tape was redone as needed. Even if you're not replacing the full tube yourself, you'll need to know how to re-tape and secure.

We prefer DuoDerm tape and Cavillion barrier wipes. To get prepped I precut the DuoDerm into two pieces. The first is a rounded edge square or a circle. The second is a small circle with a mustache line off of it. My awesome artwork below shows what I mean.

Starting with a fresh clean face we wipe the barrier wipe on the spots where tape will be placed, each cheek and under the nose above the lip. Then we choose the cheek closest to the nostril side the tube is inserted into. we measure and hold the NG tube secure across the cheek and back to the base of the ear. The first piece to be place is the small circle with mustache. secure the end of the mustache line over the NG tube itself on the side where NG is waiting. Stretch the line under the nostril and across then secure small circle on check. Piece one is placed.

Piece 2 secure the end of the mustache line and the cheek area where the NG tube is crossing. Place it and you're done! We only changed tape when it was completely necessary and not even time a corner started to turn up or a splash of food got on it. Removing the tape can make the skin more sensitive and injured so we tried to hold off.

NG Tubes can often be quite long so we used a homemade pacifier clip to roll the excess and pin on the back of his shirt when not in use!

Strictly having fun with StrictlyBriks

*I received these products in order to review with them and share with my family. No compensation was received.

If you're like us, building bricks are the hottest toy in the house. We have specific sets but we also have random free play bins. 

Strictly Briks prides itself on integrating their products with everything you already own and encourages random free play building. These items fit standard Lego bricks and take building to new heights. They have stackable baseplates which mean your kids can build in 3D. They can make ramps wit the cutouts situated in the baseplates, throw in some car fun and build a whole kingdom even. For a fun beginner set of baseplates we LOVE the Trap & Gap.

AlphaBriks are a cool new way to make writing fun. When used as a learning tool spelling lessons, sentence formation and more can be done. When sat outside a bedroom door a fun note can be conveyed and when hung on the wall an ever changing sign board is had. Seriously these are so much fun and integrate literacy into play.

They also make baseplates and fun accessories that fit with the large size bricks (Duplo brand). these are perfect for toddlers just starting to build and make creativity easier for those preschoolers not yet able to manipulate the smaller pieces.

Check out everything they have to offer with Strictly Briks!!

Brain Teasers and more!!

If you've read my past posts you know I have a house full of kiddo (and adults) who enjoy challenging puzzle type games. During the summer specifically, when I create a daily task check list for Nolan, 20 minutes of brainteaser activities or games is a must. Last year his favorite was a group game Blokus but I'm always looking for challenging but interesting games he can play alone that will make him think but also make him forget he's learning.

In steps SmartGames. When we were picked to host a SmartGames party I ran to our game cabinet and immediately found 4 games by them we already owned. I'm sure if I dug around we'd have even more! You really can't go wrong with their products. Even better, most of them are 1 player so I can set them up and encourage the activity yet keep on cooking dinner!!

We trailed three new SmartGames out. The first is a preschool to early elementary aged game. Yes you read that right!! Finally your not yet reading but feels like they're as big as their sibling 5 year old can play!! Carter went to town with Little Red Riding Hood right away. He can also continue to set up the next game once he clears a level. It really is heaven!! Not to be undone even my math crazy 8yr old enjoyed playing!!

Color Code

This tile based game works on visual and spatial recognition. It shows you a picture and using clear outlined pieces you stack different shapes and color to form he exact picture. The age range says 5 and up but the amazing thing is the advanced games are challenging for even adult puzzle lovers while the beginning ones are perfect for a new 5 year old.

IQ Puzzler Pro was our third sponsored game and is a classic with a twist. We've played the 2D version before in other forms and loved it. I jumped to the 3D puzzles and was quickly stumped. They are extremely challenging but fun! Even the seasoned brain teaser fan will be challenged. Hubby does forms of these challenges for a living and still had to think when playing. I recommend this for the extreme puzzle lover in your life down to a novice. It's also a smaller price point and in a travel type case which makes it the perfect stocking stuffer or birthday gift!!

In addition to the featured games here we LOVE Quadrillion, IQ Twist, and IQ Fit also. Our Christmas wish list includes Penguins on Ice!!

For my blog pictures I am featuring my kiddos and even a school friend who all on their day off school mid week played educational games!!! Yes, they chose these over Minecraft even with a friend over. We also partied/played these games with 10 rowdy Cub Scouts and they were begging for more time!! Tomorrow our extra copies of each game are heading in to second grade to challenge 45 8 year olds.

SaveSave