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Episode 16- YOUinterview with My Daughters, Ellie & Hannah

August 1, 2019 by Laura

YOUinterview episodes are where I highlight everyday, normal women (like yourself), and see what products/services are being used, any pondering purchases, etc and see where the conversation leads us.

However, Episode 16 is a SPECIAL YOUinterview featuring my daughters, Ellie and Hannah. They are six and seven years old, just under 14 months apart and act silly as can be in this recording. I naively set out to have an informative conversation with these two and quickly realized I was way wrong in thinking this would be a simple episode to put together for you! 🙂

You can listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app or click the play button below. Hope you enjoy getting a sneak peek into my daily life living with these two little things, I affectionally call “my creatures”. 🙂

SHOW NOTES This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay any extra, and I earn a small commission. I’d also like to call attention if prices I mentioned in this episode were prices I paid at the current time and may not reflect the prices you would pay at the time of reading or listening to this.

TREX (Crunch) TY Flippables – This link says it’s a dragon….it is not! 🙂
Barbie Newborn Dog (birthing mom dog toy)
Barbie Doggy Daycare Doll & Pets
Crayola 140 Count Art Set, Rainbow Inspiration Art Case
Moonlight Owl TY Flippables (Ellie calls hers “Hootie”)
Skechers Shoes– I can’t find Ellie’s shoes online! 🙁
Shoe String King Shiny Metallic Shoelaces for Sneakers and Shoes
Fila Gammatize Girls Shoe
Haktoys HAK101 Blue Upgraded Invincible Tornado Acrobatic Stunt RC Car

Gifts and Products I’m Looking at for Cyber Monday 2018

November 25, 2018 by Laura

I am always curious what other people are buying on two of the biggest shopping days of the year. Cyber Monday 2018 is happening tomorrow! I’m not really into fighting crowds, so this online shopping bonanza majorly appeals way more to me than Black Friday in-store deals. Although, I did some online shopping on that day too…just can’t help myself. Check out this post where I show you everything I purchased.

Keep in mind, this is just what I can think of at this point in time. I’m sure I’ll think of a billion other products I should have thought about next week. Alright, on with my list!

For my 5 and 6-Year-Old Girls: 

Fisher-Price Little People Disney Princess, Rapunzel & Friends: My youngest received the Little People Disney Princess Castle last year. This Little People set doesn’t necessarily go with it, but I think it’ll help bring new life to an old toy that’s just sitting in her room.

Tea Set…I mentioned before they love tea parties. I think it’s time to upgrade their set. Of course, they’re each going to want their own & they’ll fight if one is different, so ultimately I”m deciding between these two:

Lucy Locket Magical Unicorn Kids Tin Tea Set & Carry Case (14 Piece Tea Set for Kids)

Toysmith 17-Piece Li’l Tea Tote Set

My Fairy Garden – Tree Hollow Not that we’ll actually grow anything, but I guess we can try!

Little Live Wrapples: Unfortunately, these are on my list. I’m already regretting this.

Barbie Newborn Pups Doll: This boggles my mind, but my girls are just insane for this. Have you seen the commercial for it? You squeeze the dog’s belly and out pops newborn pups. Am I the only one who is disturbed by this action? Then you can take a wet cloth and wipe the eyes so the pups can see. Weird. I’m on the fence. We’ll see.

Echo Dot: I’ll have to do a whole other post on this, but we’ve really enjoyed having “Alexa” in our home. I’d like to get one for each of the girl’s rooms so they can listen to music (you can put parental controls on it). I could also set it up like an intercom system to call them to come to the kitchen and get their toys out of the way!

Crayola Inspiration Art Case: 140 Pieces, Art Set

 

For my Husband (FYI..he’s a golfer!) :

Super Speed Men’s Golf Men’s Training System

The Navigator Putting Aid by Dirty Larry Golf 

Every Shot Counts: Using the Revolutionary Strokes Gained Approach to Improve Your Golf Performance and Strategy (BOOK)

The Flexible Golf Swing: A Cutting-Edge Guide to Improving Flexibility and Mastering Golf’s True Fundamentals (BOOK)

Pima Cotton Crew Undershirts: My husband LOVED the Kirkland Pima Cotton Undershirts sold at Costco, but they stopped selling them a while ago. He’s in complete denial. Hoping these might be an acceptable replacement….

 

For the Home: 

pureFlow QT7- Bladeless 90 degree Oscillation Fan-Safe Energy Efficient-Powerful-Quiet Airflow-12 Fan Speeds I need a fan for my youngest’s room, but I don’t trust her. She’s an inquisitive little thing, and I can’t help but think she’ll be way too curious to see what happens if she puts her finger near a blade or wouldn’t put it past her to get her hair caught in it. This might be just what I’m looking for that’s not a pricey Dyson.

I linked to Amazon on most of these purchases (if not all) for the convenience of knowing that you have access to the product wherever you live. Just google the product to make sure you’re getting the lowest price you want! I am an Amazon Affiliate, but just remember, there’s no cost to you by clicking on any of these links.

I’m excited to see how many of these will have deals tomorrow. Let me know in the comments if you are looking for anything in particular. I’d love to know!

Happy Cyber Monday Shopping! 

 

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

What I Purchased on Black Friday 2018

November 25, 2018 by Laura

Alright, Black Friday 2018 came and went…fast! I wasn’t prepared. It’s like it hit me out of nowhere, even though it’s one of the most predictable days of the year. I just had very little desire to get on the computer or my phone that day and shopping in the chaos of the stores was not an option. Ultimately, I did end up buying some things…all on Amazon of course.

Here’s a little peek to what I purchased. Get ready…it’s nothing glamorous, but we did get some good deals on everyday items and some gifts for the kids too. I’m pleased! Keep in mind that I most likely didn’t purchase these products at the current price. Just might spur some thoughts as to items you may want to add to your Christmas shopping!

For our Cars:

Windshield Wiper Blades: the ones I purchased sold out, so I’m not linking. But, maybe you need new windshield wipers? Check!

For my 5 and 6 Year-Old-Girls:

Pop the Pig Game: For for any gender…great family game! All you do is stuff hamburgers into the pig until its belt pops. It’s great. The girls have been asking for it, so they’ll get it for Christmas.

10 piece Dog Set: This is actually apart of the Sophia Doll Collection, but my girls don’t know that. My youngest loves caring for puppies or pretending to be a puppy. This is right up her alley.

10 piece Kitten Set: My oldest doesn’t like puppies, but she loves kittens. So, the same idea as sister, but catered to her interests. I think this is going to be a winner!

Barbie Convertible & Doll Pack: It’s weird that my girls are starting to like Barbie. I still won’t let them watch a Barbie Movie on Netflix, because what I saw, I felt like they made Barbie look stupid, but I’ll still let them do some creative play on their own. 🙂 They’ll love these cars to go with the new Barbies.

For the Home:

Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional Vacuum: I can’t believe it, but I’ll be saying goodbye to my trusty Hoover tomorrow when this bad boy is delivered. You can read my vacuum post here. After 8ish years, I’m saying bye-bye after I saw this on sale and received its recommendation from Kendra Hennessy over at Mother Like a Boss. I’m sure I’ll write up a tribute post to my old vacuum, so stay tuned for that!

Amazon Smart Plug: While I had mixed feelings when my husband put this in the cart, I have to admit, I love it. He hooked it up to our Christmas tree, so now all we have to say is “Alexa, turn on Christmas tree” and the lights turn on. The girls love that they can do it because I’m not crazy about them fiddling with electrical outlets right now. So, it’s a winner…we’ve had it for maybe one day. Great purchase!

Amazon Echo Dot: We purchased another echo dot for the house. It was on insane sale, so we just went for it.

 

Did you end up scoring a super incredible deal? Let me know what I missed out on!

 

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

Toddler/Kid Dentist Visit Recaps- Dental Series Part 2 of 2

May 2, 2018 by Laura

Welcome back to my exciting Two-Part Dental Series…haha! 🙂 Here is Part 1 in case you missed it.

Since one of my goals with this blog is to make your life just a tad easier, I’m including a summary below of our three dental visits along with references to check out prior to the fun dental cleanings. I always find it’s helpful to hear what others have gone through. I hope this serves you well.

THE BIG FIRST DENTAL CLEANING (Daughters’ ages: three and two years old):

PREP WORK
1. I called the dentist office about two weeks ahead of time. I asked them these questions:

-What will the experience be like for them?

-Will I be accompanying them?

-Do you have any suggestions on how I can prepare them for the visit?

2. Started talking to the girls in a positive manner about going to the dentist a few days prior to the visit

3. My pediatric dentist has a few pictures of what the office looks like on their website. I showed the girls how cool the office looks.

4. We played dentist together for three days prior to the visit. (THIS WAS HUGE for the first visit….highly recommend doing this!)

-I explained our dining room is the waiting room or lobby. When I call your name that means it’s your appointment time.

-I called my oldest’s name, greeted her like I was the technician, “Hi. How are you? You’ll be sitting right here today.”

-Led her to our Ikea Poang chair (or if you have a recliner or just laying flat on the couch…I tried to find a chair that somewhat resembled a dentist chair that is currently in my house).

-Showed her my dentist tools, which at the time, I had a little dental mirror and I actually used a cuticle filer to pretend it was a scalpel thingy.

-I asked her to open her mouth wide and told her “I’ll now be checking your teeth with my tools”. Basically, I just used the mirror and tapped her teeth a little and moved it around in her mouth all the while telling her that she was doing a great job keeping her mouth open! I should have brought some floss out and practiced that too, but as you can probably guess, I don’t do a good job of flossing, so the thought didn’t even occur to me.

-Said “The dentist is now going to come and look at your teeth.” Left the room and returned as the “dentist” and since our dentist is a man, I talked in a deeper voice and explained that they’ll have a man dentist (kinda like daddy).

-Checked her mouth with the tools again and said “Great. You’re all done.”

-Then I repeated the same process with the youngest. She had been waiting in the “lobby” the whole time.

-After the youngest was done, then I had them repeat the whole thing, except now the roles were reversed, and they each had a turn being the dentist for mommy. (They loved that)

DAY OF VISIT
-Talked positive about the upcoming visit (excited even)

-Since I had already called the dentist office, I knew they’d get a few prizes after they were done. I played this up to them.

-They brought their favorite stuffed animal or blanket with them.

-I let my oldest know that because she’s such a big girl and three years old, they said she can go by herself. She was a little hesitant, but she was up for the challenge.

-I let my youngest know that because she’s not three years old, I’d be with her for her cleaning.

SUMMARY OF FIRST VISIT
It went so good. All the preparation really paid off. (now, the next recaps are not so great)

 

2nd Dentist Cleaning (Daughters’ ages: four and three years old)

PREP WORK
-I didn’t do as much prep work for this one. I told them about a week before the appointment that we’d be going soon, and they were so excited about going back.

-I reenacted the first visit prep work with my youngest, since she was now three and would be able to go back by herself.

SUMMARY OF SECOND VISIT
-Terrible. It was not as fun the second time a year later.

-My oldest was a lot more aware that she didn’t particularly like what they were doing in her mouth.

-My youngest would not go back by herself. Not for a second, and definitely knew this was not her normal day-to-day thing.

 

3rd DENTIST CLEANING (Daughters’ ages: five and four years old)

PREP WORK

-Told them two weeks ahead about their upcoming appointment. Then reminded them at one week, three days, and then each day after that.

-In a panic, purchased Peppa Visits the Dentist book at the school book fair that day. Read book in the parking lot of dentist office. Ha!

-Reminded my youngest that she’s a big girl now and that she’ll be going to her cleaning by herself while Mommy waits in the lobby.

-Let my youngest bring one of her favorite stuffed animals and reminded her that George (Peppa’s little brother) was nervous about the dentist, but that it ended up ok. His dinosaur even got a check up! She liked that part.

SUMMARY OF THIRD VISIT

-Better than the second visit. (progress!)

-Really both kids were rock stars. There was even a dental emergency going on, so our wait was longer. Given the fact this cleaning was scheduled for late in the day and all the sitting around they did, I’m so proud!

 

Here are some resources for you to keep your internet searching to a minimal:

  • Peppa Pig Dentist Trip book
  • Peppa Pig Dentist video clip on Nick Jr. (note, this doesn’t go into George being scared…just happy Peppa)
  • The Berenstein Bears Visit the Dentist book (a classic!)
  • Dora goes to the Doctor/Dora goes to the Dentist book (wow, you get a TWO in one here 🙂
  • The Fred Rogers Company website has a parent resource section
  • You should check out your local library to see if there are any children books on this topic. It might save you some money!

Well, that’s it. I don’t think I have any other dental advice for you. 🙂 If you have any advice for me or for any other readers, please leave a comment. Have a great week!

 

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

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Hi, I'm Laura! I absolutely love sharing all the things I LOVE with anyone who can benefit from hearing. So, whether you're in the mood to learn about a product/service or just want a little randomness thrown into your life, you've come to the right place! Read More…

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