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Thursday, February 3, 2011

The gang's all here and ready for bed

Lion, Moon, Elmo, and Bunny

Gator is at an age where he's becoming quite attached to his little friends, particularly at nighttime. I remember Violet having her bed covered in stuffed animals and dolls, so either it's a phase or my kids just love their "friends" a lot.

Bunny has been a longtime lovey, or as close to one as my kids get. We were at Target when Gator was little and these were on a clearance endcap. He was really drawn to the pink one. The non-pink one(s) were not very vibrant and pretty blah and this was more of a peachy pink, and besides, there's nothing wrong with my son having a pink bunny. So the pink bamboo velour bunny became his. He would stroke its fur and ears while he was nursing, and this was good. I was determined he'd find comfort from some object that wasn't attached to me, so I'd pull the potential lovey into some of our nursing sessions. It was an idea I got from The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Gentle Ways to Stop Bedtime Battles and Improve Your Child's Sleep in their Nighttime Nursling chapter when I was trying to get Violet to sleep without me. Bunny never grew to grand levels of comfort and security, but there are many times when my little guy is settling down and asks for Bunny.

Elmo seems to draw in young children and mine were no exception. Violet grew bored with him right around the time Gator was falling deeper under his spell, so our Elmo toys transitioned from one child's room to the other. My son seems to view "Melmo" as a true friend.

Lion is a recent addition to the bedtime gang. I picked him up at a card shop that was going out of business when I was pregnant with Gator. It matched his nursery decor. Recently his soft velvety fur has been appreciated at snuggle time.

Woody is not in the picture above, but is very much a part of the family in my children's eyes, as is Violet's Jessie doll. My children are obsessed with Toy Story. Violet has always gravitated toward the cowboy (Woody) and didn't think much of Buzz, but Gator's admiration for him seems to be growing daily. Now everything remotely robotic is called "Buzz" in a soft, sweetly admiring voice. (I know he's a space ranger, but if my kid wants to think he's a robot, so be it...)

And lastly is our Kinderglo Rechargeable Night Light. Violet has a T. Rex (chosen by her because his teeth would scare away monsters) and we love the different light modes, that it's rechargeable, and how easy it is for her to put it on the charger and light it up. Gator doesn't have access to a plugged-in charger yet, but we chose the moon model for him because the shape creates a nice carrying/holding handle. He holds it in his hand to "read" his books after lights out. His latest favorite is the Russell the Sheep book that his sister loved so much. His previous go-to was an animal sounds book...perfect for a child his age to "read" out loud.

If you're considering a Kinderglo night light, note that the moon is quite a bit larger than the dinosaur. T. Rex gets lost in the sheets much more easily.  They've added more shapes since we bought our first one, so you have a lot more to choose from. Maybe my daughter would have still chosen the one with the scary teeth to protect her, or maybe she would have gone with something cuter. They all serve the same purpose. We've been very happy with the choice of night light, even though the price initially made me balk. It's no more expensive than comparable lights by other brands and seems to be the most kid-friendly, and the cost is worth it when my children sleep better!


Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Falling Up

Hi there!

These crazy kiddos of mine, and life in general, have been keeping me busy and I've really fallen off the blogging wagon. I enjoy sharing my thoughts, memories, and deals and reviews I think others might be interested in.

Goals for this year include a lot more focus on creative pursuits, and I'm hoping to share some of them with you! I may reconnect with my inner geek some more and do some techie reviews, especially if there seems to be some interest. Geeky technology put in layman's terms? That's one of my specialities in my outside-the-home work. I love feedback and comments and it helps me to keep blogging if I think someone besides me is reading it. So let me know what you think about topics, what you'd like to see more of, etc. More pics of the kids? More deals? More reviews? Let me know!

So...see that little guy in the picture? He's almost 21 months old, full of energy, and increasingly conversational. He's a skinny little dude because he burns off calories almost as fast as he consumes them. Big sis is almost four years old and is obsessed with planning for her birthday. I hope it is worth all the buildup...and that she doesn't start obsessing about Christmas again as soon as her birthday passes.


P.S. Does "Falling Up" ring a bell for anyone? Especially my fellow Bobcats? You can listen to "Superhero" and a few other tracks from the Cactus Pears here. Time for me to turn on some Snack for Slacks on my iPod...

Magazine Love

There's a great magazine promo going on at Amazon.com. Spend just $20 in their magazine store this month, and you'll get a $10 credit to use on anything sold by Amazon. This might be the perfect time to treat myself to a subscription to my beloved Games magazine. The puzzles, crosswords, etc. are top notch and include varying difficulty levels.  Paint by Numbers is a favorite puzzle of mine, and I tend to buy it at the store every time I see the magazine with new ones. At $4.95 a copy, that adds up. And yes, I already own the book (see link below).

I did a lot of GAMES puzzles, including  Paint by Numbers, when I was on bedrest, then hospital bedrest, before my first baby was born. I did the crosswords in early labor with both of my children. They provided just the right amount of distraction.

My other favorite magazine at the moment is ReadyMade. There are so many creative ideas in it, and it's just my style in so many ways.

I've been enjoying Disney FamilyFun at the doctor's office and will probably subscribe to it at some point. We have Disney Movie Rewards points that can be used for it through that site, though.

I have some Amazon gift cards I earned with SwagBucks, and that makes deals like this that much sweeter!