Summer 2017 Favorites

Our summer months this year look a bit different than in year's past.  Reason being, we decided to hire a nanny!  Normally, both kids spend their summers with their daycare providers.  However, to give Rowen a fun summer before kindergarten, and to lessen the burden of having two kids at two separate daycare facilities, it was the best choice! So far it’s gone very well, and the kids are having a blast!

When we were packing to move last summer I ended up donating a lot of toys we weren’t using.  Included in the donation box was a lot of their summer toys, pool noodles, water guns, etc.  By that point we’d had them for a number of years and they were starting to get gross so I just decided to do away with them to help lessen the load for the move.  Well, fast forward another summer and I realized I needed new stuff to keep the kids entertained!  So today I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite summer items (links for everything in descriptions below)...

1. Intex Wishing Well Pool -  I initially bought this pool because I liked the idea of having two pools in one.  I liked the fact that Wyatt could easily play in the middle portion and Rowen could swim in circles around the outer ring. So far both kids love the outer area the most!  Wyatt loves to put his cars and trucks in the pool and drive them along the edge!  It's the perfect pool for toddlers because they can easily step in and out without assistance.

2. Aruba Mesh Beach Tote Bag -  We use this as our pool toy bag.  It's a cooler/bag combo!  The top 3/4 features a mesh bag (perfect for wet toys) and the bottom 1/4 is an insulated cooler. Whenever the kids visit the pool or splash pad they want to take along toys and it's usually pushing lunch time or dinner time when we are there so this is the perfect solution!

3. WooHoo Toys Big Children Playhouse Pop-Up Play Tent -  My oldest loves to play pretend so I thought this would be fun. Some of the other fold-able tents I found weren't very big, but this one is huge - you can easily fit multiple kids inside!  Unlike other play tents, it doesn't require poles, it simply pops up and folds back down for easy storage.  Bonus is that it comes with stakes so that we can take it outside as well!

4. Splash Balls -  An obvious necessity when it comes to summertime and the occasional water fight with dad! :)

5. Sportspower My 1st Waterslide - We've only put this up a handful of times this summer, but it's a lot of fun, my neighbor kids love it, too!  Much like a bounce house it uses a blower and inflates within minutes.  So far the quality seems to be great!

6. Dew Drop Ocean Beads Ocean Animals Adventure Kit - These water beads are a total hit with my kids!  They're cheap and great for sensory play.  I keep them in a plastic tote out on our deck, under the umbrella and send the kids out to play daily.  This particular pack of beads comes with small ocean animals to play with.  I love to play with these too, there's something very relaxing about them! I bought these Squeezy Tweezers, which are great for little hands, too!

7. Wiggle Car by Lil' Rider - This is by far my daughter's favorite thing to play with outside when we are not in the pool.  The speed she has when she's on this thing is crazy - they are low to the ground, very easy to ride, and come in a bunch of different colors. I highly recommend it for younger kids!

Friday Favorites - Toddler Art Supplies

Art activities are one of Rowen and I's favorite things to do together.  I loved art as a kid (and I still do) so I try to do as much art with her as I can!  Aside from your regular crayons, coloring books, stickers, etc, I thought I'd share with you my favorite art supplies for toddlers!  These are items we use that are fairly inexpensive, good quality, low mess and would be great gifts for any toddler! Check it out...

1/ Melissa and Doug No Spill Paint Cups and Paint Brushes - Melissa and Doug is one of my favorite brands for kids.  Everything is so well made and these no spill paint cups and brushes are terrific!  I swear, no matter how many times they tip over, they don't spill!  The paint brushes fit perfectly inside the cup and color coordinate so that she isn't mixing paint colors all the time.

2/ IKEA PRICKAR Bib - Technically, I think this is supposed to be used as a feeding bib, but we use it as an art smock.  I love that it's made of waterproof material and has long sleeves to protect her clothes from getting messy during art activities.  

3/ Dollar Tree Dough - AKA imitation Playdoh.  Don't get me wrong, I love Playdoh, I think it's fun, but the quality of it (it doesn't keep very long) and the smell really got to me after awhile.  Then I found Dough at my local Dollar Tree!  In my opinion, Dough keeps longer, doesn't smell (as bad) and is half the price!  I highly recommend it!

4/ Craft Pom Poms - We use pom poms in a lot of our art activities.  Rowen loves to glue them to paper, sort them into cups, and use them in sensory play.  Definitely a staple item in our art bin!

5/ Pipe Cleaners - Another staple item!  It's amazing how many craft activities you can find online that use pipe cleaners!  Rowen's favorite way to use them is to string them with beads!

6/ Melissa and Doug Bead Bundle - Speaking of beads, the beads by Melissa and Doug are wonderful!  Rowen is actually getting this particular set as a "big sister" gift when the baby is born.  I love that the beads are big enough for her little hands to use (hello fine motor skills), and help serve as a quiet activity when I need a little bit of a break! 

7/ Melissa and Doug Animal Stamp Set -  We were gifted this set of stamps at Christmas and Rowen is quite fond of it!  She loves to use the ink pad and give herself stamps as well as stamp on every coloring book she owns!

Shared with:

Friday Favorites with:  A Little Bit of Everything, Momfessionals, Grace and Love

Toddler Favorites: Springtime 2015

It's Friday again that means more "Friday Favorites".  Last week I showed you some of my favorite items to use with toddlers in the kitchen, and this week I'm posting about five of my favorite Springtime items for toddlers!  Check it out...

1/  Princess GardeningGloves – I bought these at Menards a couple of months ago.  They fit my daughter’s tiny hands perfectly and will come in handy this spring when we start planting our flowers!

2/ Kite – Before this Spring, I hadn't flown a kite in probably 15+ years.  We actually bought this exact Cinderella kite (at the Dollar Store) last year for Rowen's Easter basket, but never even thought to use it until this year.  She absolutely loves it!

3/ Jumping Beans Casual Sequin Shoe – My daughter’s feet have grown like crazy since last summer so about a month ago I set out to find some decently priced shoes she could run around in this Spring.  I came home with these adorable, sequin shoes.  I love that the colors go with everything, too!

4/ Magic Grow Capsules – Rowen received these in her Easter basket from a family member and is fascinated by them! Perfect indoor or outdoor activity!  

5/ Marshmallow Fruit Salad – Love making this in the Springtime!  It’s so good + Rowen loves it and is an easy way to get some fruit down her throat (after she picks out the marshmallows, of course).

Shared with:

Oh Hey Friday with: September Farm & The Farmer's Wife

Friday Favorites with: Momfessionals Little Bit of Everything & Grace and Love

Five on Friday with:  A. Liz Adventures Carolina Charm Hello! Happiness and The Good Life

Cold and Flu Must-Haves for Toddlers

This past week Rowen has been battling a nasty upper respiratory infection aka a bad cold.  Her poor eyes are glazed over and watery, her nose is chapped and cracked from all the wiping, and she’s just plain miserable looking.  I feel so bad for her, but she’s been a trouper and I think she’s finally on the mend!

To go along with the “sick” theme in our house this week, I thought I’d share my Cold and Flu Season Must-Haves!  Here are the remedies we keep on hand just in case…

1// Llama Llama Home with Mama – This is the perfect book to save for a sick day at home!  The rhymes are playful and so easy for little ones to remember (Rowen recites it often)! 

2// Crane Cool Mist Humidifier, Elephant – We actually run this humidifier every night while Rowen sleeps, but it is especially handy for when she’s sick!  Just knowing that it’s allowing her to breathe easier at night when she’s congested gives me peace of mind!

3// Boogie Wipes – These are a godsend when you have a kid whose nose is a faucet.  I love the smell and the aloe on the wipes helps to reduce redness (see #6). 

4// Wet-Ones – I went out last night and bought a large container of these.  They’re great for wiping hands and surfaces when your little one is sick.  Knowing I am at least trying to keep the germs at bay (even though it’s probably inevitable I’ll get sick) makes me feel better!

5// Children’s Dimetapp – Yes, we use medicines on our kid and yes, they work!  Growing up with a pharmacist as a father I’ve always known medicine to help ease my pains when I’m sick and I won’t keep Rowen from knowing that ease, too.  I’m not opposed to things like Essential Oils, but honestly I prefer to go to the drug store!

6// Burt’s Bees Lip Balm – Rowen’s poor nose is being wiped so often that its become red and swollen.  We’ve been using this lip balm to help ease the redness, and so far it’s working!

7// Dr. Teals Bubble Bath – Nothing beats a warm bath when you’re sick and this soap makes your bath that much more enjoyable!  A friend of mine gifted us a bottle when she found out I was pregnant and ever since we’ve been using it on Rowen.  It smells wonderful and is so relaxing – perfect for sick days!

8// Honest Kids Juice – We don’t do a lot of juice in our house (it’s mostly water and milk), but we usually make an exception when she’s sick just so we can ensure she’s getting enough fluids.  I love this juice because there are only 9 grams of sugar compared to the 16-20 grams most juice pouches/boxes have (seriously, you might as well just give them a can of pop)!

9// Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars – We keep a lot of these breakfast bars on hand.  I figure it’s a decent way to get some food into her system when she’s not very hungry, plus she loves them!

10// Vapo Rubs – Vapo rubs like this one are my “go to” when I am sick with a cold.  Because the scent is so strong, instead of rubbing it on Rowen’s chest or under her nose, I put it on the bottoms of her feet and on her humidifier so it dispenses throughout the room…works great!

Adventures in potty training a 2 year old!

Potty training.  

Two words that used to make me cringe.  Before last weekend Rowen was not a big fan of the potty.  Every time we asked her to try to sit she’d throw a mini hissy fit.  Well, I knew it was time to do away with diapers, but I needed to figure out a way to engage her and get her excited about trying to sit on the potty.

So…enter our Elf, Lonnie!

Last Saturday morning, Rowen woke up (like any other day) to go run through the house looking for her Elf.  Only on this particular day she happened to find him in the bathroom, on the potty, with a gift from Santa!  I knew instantly just by seeing the look on her face that I had her right where I wanted her (insert evil laugh here).  Haha!

This conversation then followed:

Rowen: “Lonnie is going potty!”

Me:  “Yes he is and look, he brought you a gift from Santa!”

Rowen (as she’s tearing into the bag): “New books!  Can we read them?”

Me:  “Sure, but Lonnie says we can only read these books if we are sitting on the potty, deal?”

Rowen: “Deal!”

And so it began…

The rest of the weekend was spent hunkered down in the house with Cinderella undies, lots of liquids and salty snacks!  We set a timer, and every 30 minutes when it went off she sat on the potty while reading her new books.

To keep her excitement we also implemented a potty chart (you can find that here) with stickers and M&M’s.  She loved the idea of getting a sticker and a “treat” for every time she went potty!

Those first two days were pretty rough (five accidents total).   I was scared to death to keep going especially because the next five days that followed were daycare days, but we were in too deep to quit so on we went!  Our daycare provider has been wonderful about sitting her multiple times a day to try to potty.

It’s been a week since we started and she’s been doing GREAT!  The accidents are getting fewer and fewer (the other day she didn’t have ANY)!  She’s still having a hard time telling us exactly when she has to go so we still use the timer, but I think she’s close and has even graduated to using the regular potty (with the help of her Little Mermaid potty seat). 

The next step is figuring out how to train her outside of the house while we are running errands, going out to eat, library visits, etc…that will be interesting!  If anyone has any tips on this please let me know, I am eager to hear!

For now though we’re just taking it one step at a time and saying, “hooray for big girl underpants!”

Shared with:

Toddler Gift Guide

1.  Toy State CAT Caterpillar Construction Mini Machines // Rowen loves watching the construction in our neighborhood so we thought this miniature construction set would be perfect for her!

2. IKEA LILLABO Train Set // Rowen has a lot of girly toys so we thought it'd be fun to get her something more gender neutral - this inexpensive train set was perfect!

3. Fairy Wings // Ever since we took her to see Disney on Ice she has been obsessed with Tinkerbell - I'm so excited to see her play with these!

4.  Disney Princess Magic Clips Gift Set // She saw these in the store one random day and wanted them.  This was the very first item on her list!

5.  IKEA MALA Easel // She's very into arts and crafts so this will be a great addition!

6.  Crayola Pip Squeaks Marker Tower // Right now coloring with markers is her #1 "go-to" when it comes to free play!  I love that this set is meant for small hands and comes with it's own storage container, too!

7. Crayola Kids Neon Paint Set // To go with her new easel...just hoping I can keep my carpets clean! 

Shared with:
5 Minutes for Mom

DIY Toddler Busy Box

I'm excited to be linking up with one of my favorite blogs, Schue Love today for a DIY Toddler Busy Box activity!  

This toddler activity was first presented to my daughter via her daycare provider and ever since, it’s been a go to activity for us at home, too!    

For this, all you need are craft beads and pipe cleaners…easy enough, right!?

Just have your little one string the beads one by one onto the pipe cleaner!  Rowen's favorite things to create are her very own princess crowns, bracelets and necklaces!  Oooh la-la! 

I highly recommend this activity as it's great for developing fine motor skills!  However, I will say, if your child is young you will want to make sure to monitor them while playing as the pieces are small and can easily be put into the mouths of little ones (side note, the larger foam beads work great, too!).

While I'm at it, check out these adorable Halloween crafts using beads and pipe cleaners - we're totally going to have to try these!

Halloween Spider: 

Beaded Pumpkin:

Enjoy!

The swticheroo...

For the last couple of weeks, Ryan and I have been going back and forth trying to decide when is the right time for Rowen to make the transition from a crib to a “big girl” bed.  Lately, when we put her to bed at night, she almost seems “too big” for her crib.  Even though she has yet to climb out, we think it might be time.  In the next month or so we plan to crack down hard on potty training, but before we do, we want to be sure Rowen is out of her crib and can easily access the potty at night when needed.

So, for the past couple of days I have been pondering ideas for her room, and last night I spent a good two hours on Pinterest "oooh-ing and awww-ing" over adorable bedroom designs.  Here are a few of my favorites:

I am so so so IN LOVE with the Jenny Lind spindle bed from Land of Nod.  In fact, this is the bed I am leaning toward going with for her room, but I hate the price.  

I also love the idea of hanging a bunting banner on the wall above her bed and scattering adorable frames and paintings.  So cute!

Check out this bed and all of its storage space, which I think would work well as Rowen gets older, too!

Right now Rowen’s room is pink and blue, but I am about 10 seconds away from changing it after seeing the color scheme in this photo!  Gorgeous!

I am also considering doing something a bit out of my comfort zone with one of the walls in her room.  I love this chevron pattern, but can’t imagine the eye rolls I will get when I tell Ryan that he’ll have to be the one to figure out how to make it happen, haha.

Even though I am excited to have her make the switch, the Nervous Nelly in me still has a lot of questions..

1. What age is the right age to transition?
2. Do we just take the rails off her crib and convert to a toddler bed or should we just bite the bullet and move her straight to a regular bed?
3. What size bed would we get her?  Twin or Full?
4. How will the transition affect her sleeping habits?

Eeeek, I guess only time will tell!  

Shared With:

Bath Time Fun!

Bath time is an every night event in our house.  Rowen is a sweaty, sunscreen covered mess when she gets home from daycare, but that’s ok because luckily she loves being in the tub!  If Rowen had her way, she’d spend her entire day there and would only get out due to the "weird wrinkles" on her hands and feet!  

Below are our favorite products at bath time, check it out...

1// Munchkin Spout Guard – Rowen loves elephants, so this is a big hit in the tub.  My favorite part is filling the trunk to make bubbles! 

2// Bath Crayons – These are awesome!   They come in vibrant colors, and are easy to clean up!

3// Pottery Barn Kids’ Bath Wraps – Soft towel with hood, cute designs, great quality

4// Munchkin Letters – Letters that stick to the sides of the tub when wet!  Lots of fun!

5// Safety 1^st Bath Toy Bag – Great for toy storage, suctions to the corner of the tub

6// Munchkin Shampoo Rinser – Been using this since Rowen was an infant!  Soft plastic and holds a lot of water.

7// Disney Princess Bubble Bath – Smells great, good price, makes a ton of bubbles!

8// Johnson's Baby - I want to stop here a minute and talk about the hair products we've been using for the past few weeks.  Earlier in the month, I was sent (complementary) the following Johnson's Baby "No More Tangles" line of baby products to try!    

Leave in Conditioner: Since Rowen's hair has grown quite a bit in length over the past few months, she's often seen sporting little ponytails!  They're super cute, but at the same time, I'm reluctant to put her hair up due to the pain those those tiny, pesky ponytail bands cause when trying the take them out.  Not anymore though!  The other night I discovered that if I apply a tiny squirt of the leave-in conditioner around the ponytail holder (while still in her hair), I can just slip it right off...no pain whatsoever!  This product is great for dry or wet hair and smells awesome!  Hooray for ponytails all day long!

Shampoo & Conditioner: We've also been using the Johnson's Baby shampoo and conditioner combo, which leaves Rowen's hair feeling super soft after bath! A little bit goes a very long way as it lathers well and smells wonderful, too!  

Detangling Spray: Out of the three products I was given to try, the detangling spray was the one I was most excited for, and that's probably because my mom used it on me as a kid!  Over the past few months, Rowen's hair has really started to curl in the back, and we've noticed that brushing it out after her bath is not as easy as it used to be. Now that we have the detangling spray though, we simply just spray a couple squirts onto her hair and comb though...easy as pie!  No tears, no complaining - just clean smelling, neatly brushed hair!  Happy kid = happy mom!

That being said, if you have a little one at home I would definitely recommended these three products!  Two thumbs up from me!

Disclaimer: "I received these products complimentary from Influenster for review purposes.  Although the products were free, my opinions are all my own."

Shared with: