Rough Two Weeks

It has been a very crazy and tiring two weeks. It started with my husband being out of town for a week for work. We did fine at home without Daddy though we did miss him very much. In the middle of his trip he called to tell my he hurt his ankle/foot running. He said it really hurt but did not want to go to the emergency room. When he finally got home late Friday of that week his foot was swollen to twice its normal size. We had planned on going to the Pacific Science Center for the last day of our membership but that did not happen. My darling husband actually said we could still go but I said "No." We iced the foot all weekend and kept it up but it did not improve much. I was able to talk him into going to the doctors after work on Monday. They took an x-ray and gave him crutches. He got back just in time to stay with Princess G so that did not have to take her to her sister's Brownie meeting. I got a call from a nurse the next morning and she reluctantly told me that the x-ray showed a misalignment of a foot bone. (I am not sure why she was so reluctant my husband listed in his medical files that medical information can be released to me also.) I then spent the day contacting our new insurance about the orthopedic recommended to us to make sure he was on our plan. Then I spent a long time trying to get him an appointment. At first they wanted him to wait over a week but finally they said they could see him if he could be at their office with in the hour. I called him at work and had him leave right then. He was able to make it in time and he received a walking cast and since his foot and ankle were still so swollen the doctor wants him to come back Wednesday and take another x-ray. The one he already had taken showed a possible bone chip but they need another x-ray to be sure. The best part is that this doctor really got him to understand that he need to stay off his foot so it will heal. It has been hard keeping him resting as I keep finding him trying to clean. Even today I caught him vacuuming. To add to all of this Princess G became very sick and the 3rd night she cried all night because her ears hurt. She has a horrible earache in both ears. The doctor said that if she was in the Olympics her ears would get a 9.9 they were so bad. The antibiotic is messing with her intestines so lets just say she has been in the bathroom many, many times and I have had to clean her up in the shower. Princess A now has the cold and I am hoping it will only be sneezing, coughing, fever and runny nose but not an earache. I can feel the cold trying to get me too. And to add to everything else it is Girl Scout cookie time!! Thankfully I am not the cookie mom for either troop but last weekend I had to pick up over 150 boxes of cookies from two different places (the girls each had about 75 pre-orders for cookies.) I was able to deliver most before they both had to stay home sick from school but I still have a few left. I have a whole pile of posts that I just need to polish up and check one more time before posting. Hopefully I will find sometime between taking care of my sickies to get to that tomorrow. I will also have to get a picture of my darling husband and his huge walking cast!

Sharing Happiness

I am generally a happy person and I like to share that with those around me. The easiest way to share happiness is to just share a smile. When I drop my girls off a school (or half the time sign-in for volunteering) I say "hello" or "good morning" and give them a smile. It is the simplest way share happiness. As for my family I like to make them things. Sometimes it is baking them a favorite treat such as cookies, cupcakes or even toffee. Lately I have been making fresh bread to have with dinner. Last night I started baking the bread and everyone decided they wanted waffles for dinner. We ended up eating a fresh baguette and homemade waffles for dinner. An interesting combination but it made my family happy. I love baking and I love to share what I bake even more. The girls and I like to make treats and share with friends and family. We sometimes make toffee or friendship bread for their teachers. I always make my mom her favorite cookies when she is coming for a visit. I even make my mother-in-law her favorite molasses cookies. Last week I surprised my family with Madeline's and it was an extra surprise since I had never made them before. My darling husband mentioned that he was hoping I would make a cake next time. Well I made him one that night while he was upstairs with the girls. He was so happy and surprised that I made them that very night. Of course the only frosting I had in the house was orange from Halloween but he did not mind. I also enjoy making non food items to spread a little happiness. Right after I was married I taught myself how to knit and crochet. My girls (and their friends) love when I make them a little something. For a while I was crocheting cupcakes all the time so the girls could share them with their friends. Making something from your heart is a great way to share happiness which is why last month I had my Daisy troop make bracelets and cards to go with each bracelet. After the girls made the cute bracelets (they made them with beads and one large heart bead) we sent them to the Global Genes Project to be handed out to kids with rare diseases and disorders. The girls felt happiness to make something for other kids and the shared that happiness with the kids who will know someone is thinking of them. Sharing happiness is easy, how do you share happiness?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hershey's blogging program, for a gift card worth $25 and some product. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Wordless Wednesday: New Glasses

Princess A just got glasses and she loves them.

Daddy also got her the giant pink puppy (and another for her sister) to celebrate this momentous occasion.

She is just too cute!!!!!

Dapper Snappers Review

Both of my girls are thin so it is hard to find pants that fit them or at least not droop. I was sent a pink Dapper Snapper which worked great for Princess G. I usually try to purchase adjustable pants but I can't always find them in the style the girls will wear. The Dapper Snapper has two snaps on each side so you can adjust the Dapper Snapper for two different sizes. The girls almost always wear dresses or skirts over their pants but sometimes they don't. It is nice to know that when Princess G sits or squats people will only see her pants and nothing else. I know we will be using the Dapper Snapper when Princess G wears pants, especially for the Kindergarten Round-up (a school concert.)What I really like about them is that they are elastic! Since they stretch Princess G can still take her pants on and off to use the bathroom without touching the Dapper Snapper. Obviously she needs to be able to use the restroom without any help. The Dapper Snapper keeps her pants on snugger similar to a belt but since it is only on the back she does not have to deal with it at all. They also make Dapper Snappers for Moms to be too. The Dapper Snapper is perfect for kids who are on the narrow side so their pants don't droop. They are also great for kids who are skinnier than the kid they are getting hand-me-downs from. My sister has given up lots of clothes my niece wore and she is more solid than my girls so the pants are always too wide. Now Princess G can wears all of the clothes from my niece, especially the pants.

This post was written for Family Review Network & Dapper Snappers who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

Punflaykids App Review

My darling husband bought me an iPhone for Christmas and I have been having fun trying out apps for the first time. I started out with free ones since if your don't like them you only wasted the time to download them. I have a few games for myself but even more for my little princesses. I think they like my phone even more than I do! Whenever we are in the car, waiting somewhere or just because they want to play with my phone. Just today Princess G came in my room while I was cleaning and asked if she could play a game on my phone. I told her she could and she picked Mathomatix: Measurement and played until it was time to pick up her sister. The app has 5 games: Crazy Clock, Scale Tale (which they have not tried yet), Fill Me Up (you drag objects such as sand to fill-up to containers and then answer which has more), Long and Short (Princess G favorite, you pick the longest or shortest, she loves laughing at the really long candy cane, worm and others), and Action Months (Princess G's 2nd favorite, you drag the letters of the month and when you catch all the letters for the month does an action such as dancing or swimming.)

I was also able to review two other apps: Who will rule? (an interactive story) and Mathomatix: Alzebra – Time for fun with Algebra! The girls listened to the story Who will rule? and did not seem that interested (and I did find the child's voice reading the story a little annoying, I would of preferred and older child or adult). A few days later Princess G started listening to the story over and over. She really likes that during the story (she always picks the Read to Me option) that she can touch the illustrations and they do something (she really likes when the ray darts away and the puffer fish puffs.) The same thing happen with the Mathomatic: Alzebra the first time they played it they did not seem to excited but later I found Princess G playing the games a lot. Princess G really likes all of the games but Princess A not so much. She likes the games but unless I specifically ask her if she would like to try them she prefers to play something else. Of course Princess A is 7 and is advanced in reading (currently 6 grade level) and math. I think that the three apps from Punflaykids are perfect for kids 4 to 6 years old, or at least my five year old. The games are perfect for her, fun, not too hard, a little easy and silly. Do you have a great app I should check out, for my kids or myself?

This post was written for Family Review Network & PunflayKids who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinions.

First Reconciliation

This weekend Princess A had her first Reconciliation in preparation for her First Holy Communion later this Spring. Her sister wore the same dress so they could be twins. We has a small ceremony in the church with songs, readings and a homily followed by cookies and juice. There were suppose to be two additional priest to hear the children's confessions (one was lost and the other's car broke down) so our priest listened to all 45 kids. All together it took almost two hours but in the end it was a nice ceremony and Princess A is one step closer to her First Holy Communion. I just need to find her a dress (I have the veil my mom and myself wore but the dress yellowed and needs to be replaced.)

Wordless Wednesday: Asleep in Their Fort

Over the weekend the girls made a fort on the couch (the sides fell off) and wanted a pretend sleepover in it (in our house that means they pretend they are going to sleep and an hour later I really make them go to sleep in their own bed.) Well I was reading and thought they went to bed themselves. Two hours later I found them sleeping in the fort. I carried Princess G to bed and Princess A woke up and climbed in her own bed.