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What I Purchased on Black Friday 2018

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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.

Amazon Prime Day – 10 Products I Wish I Was Buying

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Amazon Prime Day is here. Whether you admit it or not, there is definitely an aura in the air of “Spend Money” today. I’ll own up to the fact that at 2pm CST I was anxiously awaiting to see what deals I could land while my girls were finishing up swim lessons. It was an extremely inconvenient time for me. Obviously, Amazon didn’t consult with my schedule to see if their launch coincided with my availability…sigh.

This year, I’m trying to hold myself back and think through purchases, but I have to say it’s hard today. Instead, I’m taking this time to jot down a few items in some various categories to ponder later….or at least until the 36-hour time frame is up.

Take a look at what I’m perusing on Amazon…Maybe you’ll find something too!

For The Home:

Ring Video Doorbell Pro– I’ve been contemplating this for a while! It’s on sale for $174 at the time of this post. Hmmm…….

 

Echo Dot (2nd Generation) Smart Speaker with Alexa— I’m a little hesitant to get this because I don’t know how I feel about saying “Alexa” all the time, but I actually think my husband has already purchased it. We’ll see if this ends up being a future post.

 

For My Kids:

Math for Love Prime Climb– So, I stumbled on this. It’s for ages 10+, which we are nowhere near that. However, I somehow feel like I could instantly be a better parent if I purchased this (even if I never opened the box). That’s probably not a good thing, but it’s on my radar. 🙂

 

ALEX Spa Glitzy Locks Hair Sparkle – My girls would go nuts for this! I’ll probably have to buy this one.

 

For The Husband:

Tactical Vest Kit for Nerf Guns N-Strike Elite Series– Is it weird I want to buy this for my husband? And for me? And for each of my girls?

New Set of Golf Clubs– I know new golf clubs for my man are in our future. I’m posting these up because they’re $100 off. However, I can already hear my husband saying that we probably need to keep looking. We’ll see….again. 🙂

 

For Me:

Staedtler calligraphy pen set, Complete 33 piece tin, ideal for all skill levels- I don’t know why…..but I feel like I should start up calligraphy. 🙂

Urban Gardening for Beginners: I actually don’t even think this is a prime deal, but I’d like to grow something…anything. I honestly should search for a book that is titled “How to stop killing every plant that you come across”. Hmmmm…….

 

For Rusty: (can’t forget Rusty!)

Furbo Dog Camera: Treat Tossing, Full HD Wifi Pet Camera and 2-Way Audio, Designed for Dogs, Works with Amazon Alexa (As Seen On Ellen)…. HOLD THE PHONE!!! If I was still working during the day, I’d be seriously talking my husband into getting this!

Balichun Luxury 330 GSM Fleece Blanket Super Soft Warm Fuzzy Lightweight Bed or Couch Blanket— Ha! This may seem weird, but Rusty is a blanket snob. He loves a good cozy blanket. Don’t we all?!

 

Well that’s it for Prime Day perusals. Maybe next year, I’ll be on top of this a little more! 🙂 Have a good rest of the week! Oh, and please let me know if you have any comments on the items I picked out. I’d love to see!

 

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

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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:

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.