Archives for March 2018

Easter Egg Hunts At School….So Close To A Success!

March 28, 2018 by Laura

I’m trying over here to be a responsible parent, paying attention to Pre-K and Kindergarten school requests as best as I can. My youngest is in two different Pre-K schools, so that means I need to provide 12 filled eggs for each class to do an egg hunt. Not that big of a request. I can do this…easy.

The teachers made sure to acknowledge food allergies in the class: no red/yellow dyes, no chocolate, no peanuts. As a wife to a man with dietary restrictions, I’m not a stranger to accommodating for others. No problem.

I walked the many Easter seasonal aisles of Wal-Mart looking for the special little something that was both cheap, allergy accommodating, and cute…cause hello….my four-year old will make sure I know if something is special or not.

I stumbled upon some adorable little bunny and chick crayons…perfect! They even fit in the cheaper little plastic eggs…amazing. And being the wonderful mom that I’m trying oh so hard to be, I waited to fill them with the help of both my girls after kindergarten pick up. A task I knew they’d both enjoy.

First thing that came out of my four and five-year old’s mouths, “Mommy, I can’t wait to eat them!”. What?! Is it not obvious that the sturdy, solid bunny/chick figurines are not enticing to the mouth and is better served drawing their typical rainbows, butterflies, or me with no hair (because I guess when you wear your hair in a ponytail most of the time, or all the time, that means you don’t get the opportunity to showcase hair in a family drawing portrait??!) Ugh…I got a little sidetracked there.

In case you’re wondering, my oldest is on the left, then me, daddy, and youngest pulling our dog Rusty on a leash 🙂

Bringing it back to the problem…….

So, now I have an issue that I bought the “perfect” egg filler and am possibly leading to someone’s four-year old child thinking it’s candy and consuming the thing.

Of course, I waited for the night before to put this all together. So, there’s no more grocery store runs for me. I’m done. I choose to print out a little note advising that this little bunny or chick is a crayon….do not eat! Filled all the eggs, showed my husband of my amazing skills at finding a creative solution to the problem…so proud!

Then he informs me, four-year olds can’t read a piece of paper. Ugh. I really should have thought about that as well. Ha! Therefore, I ended up letting the teachers know the importance of guiding the children to not eat the adorable crayon that may or may not look edible to a four year old child.

It’s been fun. I basically should have just bought the little toys that were two dollars more and saved myself the effort of all this solution stuff or just stick with stickers. Oh well….hope your egg hunt prepping is going well!

What are you filling your plastic eggs with?

Micro Mini Deluxe and Micro Maxi Scooters…our favorite outside toy!

March 23, 2018 by Laura

Spring weather is here (or approaching for some of you), which I could not be more happy about! Anyone who knows me, understands I basically hibernate in the winter. No braving the cold for the sake of having fresh air. Nope. Not for me! So when it starts getting warmer, this mama bear and her cubs venture out into the outside world to play! And, my girls go-to outside toy, is always their Micro Mini Deluxe Scooter and Micro Maxi Kick Scooter. There are so many different colors offered. You have to check them out!

Seriously, these scooters are so cool! I am jealous that it’s socially acceptable for my children to just hop on and fly down the road! My husband and I decided to get the girls one big gift for the 2016 Christmas holiday, and I am so happy that we ended up with this purchase. You might be wondering why I’d be talking about something we gave our children over a year ago…….it’s because they still use them…daily! Truly, it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made in the toy genre.

We originally bought two Micro Minis (one pink and one purple), but at the last-minute, returned one and bought the Micro Maxi instead for my older child. We had a freak out moment since my oldest was almost turning five years old at the time that she might quickly outgrow the Micro Mini. The Micro Maxi Kick Starter is bigger, and although it’s pricier, we chose to spend more in hopes that we wouldn’t have to upgrade her to a larger size as she grew. My youngest who was approaching four years old is on the petite side, so we knew she’d be able to ride her Micro Mini for a while (and now as she’s approaching five years old, she is still completely fine with her Micro Mini). That logic definitely was the right decision for us.

I read quite a few reviews on less expensive scooters, and ultimately, I felt the consensus was that by paying about $30-$40ish more (pertaining to the Micro Mini), you can get a very good quality scooter that is designed well for toddlers/young children. I love the comfort of the three wheels. The highest complaint among parents for other scooters I was researching was their unhappiness that many other brands had two wheels located in the rear and their child’s foot kept hitting the wheel in the back. The Mini’s double wheels are located in the front, which alleviates the potential for frustrated crying breakdowns. (And, less face it, that’s worth $30 alone in one afternoon at the park!)

It’s delivered in a small box. It was insanely easy to assemble. And, bottom line, I want one for myself. We keep the scooters inside and when my house is decently picked up, the girls ride them around (surprisingly there is no damage to my hardwood floors). It’s hilarious to hear them say “I need to go to the bathroom” and quickly grab their scooter, ride to the bathroom, get off, use the restroom, hop back on the scooter, and return to their original location. Oh, those girls make me laugh!

Two questions for you…..

Do you have any outside toy suggestions for me to try? I need some more. I tend to like the ones that don’t involve me doing much assistance. 🙂

If you saw a mid-thirties woman scooting down the road with the wind blowing through her hair, the sun shining on her face, and singing Tom Petty Greatest Hits songs, would you be alarmed or join me? Just curious……

SUMMARY:

Products: Micro Mini Deluxe Scooter and Micro Maxi Kick Starter Scooter

Purchased at: Amazon

Pain Points: I don’t have any, but my girls wish it had a basket to carry their stuffed animals and a bell. 🙂 I have been known to tie stuffed animals to the front, so in most cases that is an acceptable alternative for them. I’d also like to mention that no stuffed animals are harmed during the tie up process. It may look like they are being strangled, BUT, I assure you they are not real and not being harmed! 🙂

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission.

I’m Loving My Hoover Windtunnel Vacuum Right Now

March 6, 2018 by Laura

Many of you do not know that I actually first started my blogging journey two years ago with one post. That’s it. Nothing ever came after that until now. I recognize that my Reviews and Randomness blog is simple, non-tech savvy, and not very consistent, BUT, I couldn’t be more proud to actually start something that I’m completely scared and intimidated to do. It gives me a chance to create, learn new skills, and keep tabs on marketing as a whole, which I just love. So, in honor of my humblest of humbling beginnings, here’s my absolute first post about my vacuum….so exciting. 🙂 Ha!

First Post Ever:

It recently dawned on me that most of my parenting memories are being shared with my husband via text, and I’m not saving them. I’m terrible at writing in baby books (in fact, there is zero information in them, but I have them!!), so something needs to change. I made a decision to start emailing myself and below is what naturally came out this morning. I didn’t intend for one of my first blog posts to be about my non-special vacuuming skills, but in the end, here it is.

Dear future little creatures of mine,

After battling with your bad attitudes and entitled requests this morning, I chose to vacuum your rooms. Not because it’s what I would typically do my first day after vacation or even this early in the morning when I’ve only had one cup of coffee! But because, for some strange reason, vacuuming brings you together. The sound of the roaring vacuum instantly bonds your “enemy” attitudes toward each other to an instant “you’re my best friend and if we don’t stick together, we may die a horrible death caused by our mother vacuuming” attitude.” I hear silence and the sound of dress up shoes clanging the hardwood floor. I earned this five minutes of silence! Worth every vacuuming second!
Love your sneaky mother. (Ha! In your face! [said in the most loving way, of course]

P.s. We’ve had our vacuum for at least six years and it’s still going strong. Yes, I’d love to have a fancy Dyson, but this one does the job for us, and I just can’t justify spending the money on a Dyson right now!

March 2018 Vacuum Update:

Now that it’s been two years since I’ve written that post…..guess what? I still have this vacuum and the girls still instantly switch gears from fighting to holding on to each other for dear life when I bust that roaring machine out!

I’ve had our Hoover Windtunnel vacuum for eight years now, and it’s working great. It transitions from hard wood to carpet with a little turn of the knob. I encountered a little hiccup with it about a few months ago where I noticed that it wasn’t vacuuming as well, so I decided to finally clean not only the dispenser, but the entire filter area. After reading the manual online, I found out I was supposed to be doing that every few months….Oops! So, note to self, you can get by with not cleaning it properly for eight years, but eventually it won’t do the job anymore. Ha! You should probably follow Hoover’s cleaning recommendations and not mine. 🙂

For anyone who knows me well, they will NOT be surprised that I never cleaned the filters before. I don’t exactly thrive in cleaning, laundry, cooking, motherhood, wife-hood, makeup, hair…my goodness, the list could go on and on and on. I am a very good movie narrator though, much to my husband’s dismay. 🙂

So, if you’re in the market for a good, average priced vacuum, I’d recommend mine. I will say that if I could have a Dyson, I would get it in a heartbeat. My friend raves about her Dyson Cordless Vacuum. I know my girls would be onboard using that thing all over the house and cut down on my vacuuming time. So, it will probably be an upcoming purchase at some point.

I can’t be the only person who doesn’t follow manufacturer cleaning recommendations…..anyone out there who goes rogue? Or have any product tips that help your kids calm down? I’d love to hear!

SUMMARY

Product: Hoover Windtunnel Vacuum

Purchase at: Amazon (or any other store)

Other suggested links:

Dyson Cordless Vacuum– I linked to Costco because it’s currently on sale as of this date of post. However, I still recommend checking them out if you have a membership.

This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission.