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Week #8 Saturday Top Five Laughs – Join the Blog Hop!

Posted by html404 on December 14, 2013
in Animals, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Home, Humor, Saturday Top Five Laughs, Uncategorized

I was not good at writing down the funnies this week. But regardless, join us as we participate in The Mommyhood Chronicles Saturday Top Five Laughs – Week #8 for us – I think we are on a roll with eight weeks in a row!

5. My husband was filling waterers and carrying our dog’s 5 gallon water pail to him and our horse, Blaze, comes right up behind him to steal a drink. My husband was completely unaware until Blaze drank. Blaze didn’t have a care about the dog barking at him or the fact it was not his waterer. He simply knew it was closer than the pasture and barn water! It was funny to watch. Too bad we couldn’t get a photo.

4. Listening to my children’s laughter as they watched the movie “The Croods” was hilarious.

3. Listening to my children’s laughter as they watched the movie “Denise the Menace”….I actually fell asleep. Nothing like laughter to lull a tired mama to sleep, eh?

2. I smile every time I look at the side of the tree our three year old decorated because many of the ornaments are just laid on the branches or are in clusters.

1. We got our Christmas tree last Sunday and it brought back memories of getting last year’s tree, which was so huge it would not fit in the van. We had to shove it in and the children had to sit ducking underneath it’s branches! Getting our tree this year was pretty uneventful.

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Week #7 Saturday Top Five Laughs – Join the Blog Hop!

Posted by html404 on December 7, 2013
in Animals, Blog Stuff, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Humor, Kids Stuff, Saturday Top Five Laughs, Uncategorized

I think I did better writing down funny things as they happened this week so it is officially time to laugh with the Goulds again! We have joined The Mommyhood Chronicles for Week #7 – for us – in the Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week.

5. We were talking about the Prince and Duchess of Wales and our Amelia Bedilia said, “They live in whales?” I believe she knew what we meant but was trying to be funny because she repeated it to her brother next to her and then they high-fived.

4. Love the honest laughs of my children. Nothing makes us smile more than to hear their genuine laugh.

3. The kittens were their playful selves again. Our three year old son was told to clean the crayon off the patio door and while he was wiping, Freckles was trying to grab Jr.’s cloth!

2. We had one of our sons get sick yesterday, which made our older son paranoid about getting sick. My son applied DiGize essential oil to help ward off a tummy ache. My husband pulled a fast one on him by asking him which way he applied the DiGize clockwise or counter clockwise. My son replied, “Counter clockwise.” My husband proceeded to tell him if he circled counter clockwise everything would come up, but if he had of applied it clockwise everything would stay down. My son goes, “Arghhhh!” And my husband comes in our bedroom laughing that he couldn’t believe he fooled our son. I chuckled and told him to go tell him the difference before he thought he’d be sick!

1. Last night while I was working on my laptop our children were all watching the movie “The Croods” next to me. I loved hearing them all burst out laughing. I was listening to their laughter more than the movie so now I have to watch it for myself! Gotta love the sound of children laughing! This is kind of a repetition of #4, oh well! I was doubly blessed this week to think of it twice!

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Bitty Baby American Girl – It’s a Great Gift!

Posted by Brande on December 1, 2013
in Books, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Girl Stuff, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Shopping, Uncategorized

My daughter just started to get into American Girl dolls. Now she’s obsessed! I’m having a hard time spending so much money when my daughter is only 5. She still tends to be still a little “rough” on her babies. Well, my problem has been solved with Bitty Baby American Girl! They are less expensive and geared toward little girls.

Bitty Babies are 15” in length and her body is soft. Her head, arms, & legs are a smooth vinyl. Each Bitty Baby is dressed in an adorable outfit, cloth diaper, book, and “Sparkly Wishing Star”.

I can’t wait to see the look on my daughters face when she opens her Bitty Baby American Girl on Christmas! You can order yours today on the American Girl Website.

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Week #6 Saturday Top Five Laughs – Join the Blog Hop!

Posted by html404 on November 30, 2013
in Animals, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Home, Humor, Kids Stuff, Uncategorized

Ha! Getting into the habit of keeping track of our family’s funnies! These are not all necessarily from this past week though. Can’t believe I made it to six weeks of participating in The Mommyhood Chronicles Saturday Top Five Laughs! I think I’ve made it a habit or at least I hope so!

5. My husband was doing laundry and came out of the laundry room holding a skirt saying, “Really, we are keeping this?” It was “B’s” black skirt. It has a rip down the side. See the photo below. B said, “Yes, I need it” laughing. Then he proceeded to go on a tirade about how I throw out his holey clothes (I don’t throw them all out), but he’s right that I have literally ripped one of his old, holey t-shirts off of him in order to prove my point that it needed to be thrown out. Let’s just say B and I were more humored about the skirt than he was! He thinks it’s ridiculous that B wants to keep the ripped skirt.

4. I forgot this one on one of the other Saturday Top Five Laughs post. Padfoot, our dog, was barking so my husband went to the window of our room to see what he was going on about. Turns out Padfoot was barking at a caterpillar! The caterpillar was just out of his reach and he wanted to get it. Silly dog.

3. My husband has this particular way of raising and wiggling his eyebrows when he’s being goofy. Our youngest has started doing it. It’s very cute, though because his eyebrows are not as dark as his daddy’s it doesn’t have quite the same affect.

2. Our daughter “B” posted the above notice on a couple of our bedroom doors.

1. Bear in the house! We have a couple of those adorable animal hats with the mittens attached and my little guy kept coming up to us with it completely over his eyes growling at us.

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Holiday Craft Ideas from Kid Made Modern

Posted by 278Wife on November 28, 2013
in Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Handmade Items, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Reviews, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized

Arts and crafts projects are always a big hit in our household with my four year old son. They are even a bigger hit around the holidays, since we like to give homemade gifts to grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Kid Made Modern collection is a great affordable option for kids and parents alike, plus they have great holiday craft ideas. Sold exclusively at Target and target.com with nothing over $20! They offer everything from crayons & markers, to craft kits like tie-dye & ornaments.

My son had a blast using the Double-Pointed Crazy Crayons, Mini Colored Pencils, and Washable Markers to color a birthday card. The crazy crayons were nice and thick so they were easy to hold, and had super vibrant colors. My son loved how “crazy” he could color.

I loved how the mini colored pencils were packaged. They came in a tube where the cover easily comes off and you can choose your color. It was way easier for him to get them out of the tube opposed to the traditional box where they are all aligned in a row.

The markers were very unique, too. They had ridges on them like a pencil, but they still felt smooth. It made it very easy to hold and color. Any of these would make great stocking stuffers!

We also had a chance to try one of the Kid Made Modern Faux Stained Glass Ornament Kits. Even though the age on the box says 6+, I figured my four year old could do it with my help. It contained all of the supplies to create six ornaments including the directions.

My son had a great time painting the ornaments and waiting patiently for them to dry so he could see them finished. Each ornament was individually wrapped with a plastic film to protect it from getting scratched. I found this to be very difficult to remove. It took me a couple of minutes for each ornament. I wish I would have removed all of the plastic films before I had my son sit down for the project. I loved how many different color paint choices came with the box as well as two different sized paintbrushes.

It even included string to hang each ornament. We made one for each set of grandparents and a few for some other family members.

Kid Made Modern kits would make great holiday craft ideas and gifts for children this Christmas season. Check out their array of products at

www.Target.com

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LeapPad Ultra Giveaway!

Posted by html404 on November 27, 2013
in Contests, Deals, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Giveaways, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Kids Toys, Uncategorized

I think toys are on every child’s Christmas wish list. What toys does your child want for Christmas? My friend and fellow blogger, Rachel at Yellow Tennessee, is hosting a LeapPad Ultra Giveaway, which is one of the toys on the Kmart Fab 15 list this year! There are a lot of great toys on the list, that’s for sure!

Rachel’s LeapPad Ultra Giveaway started at midnight and ends on December 11th. Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

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Silly Kittens! – Wordless Wednesday

Posted by html404 on November 27, 2013
in Animals, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Fun Stuff, Home, Humor, Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday

In light of Saturday’s Top Five Laughs post, thought I’d share this photo of Freckles at the beginning of her climb and Selene as she looks on because I think they look adorable!

Today the kittens were out in the snow for the first time and they batted at it! Sadly, I didn’t get a photo of it.

The kittens climbing all over the garage and my husband says they think it’s their own jungle gym and I tend to agree.

This week’s Wordless Wednesday is almost….wordless!

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Waiting Again….Miss Moo

Posted by html404 on November 26, 2013
in Animals, Family Stuff, Farm Stuff, Fun Stuff, Home, Uncategorized

Last Monday we had Miss Moo AI’d (artificially inseminated) again. We are hoping it sticks this time. Our vet told us if we see any signs of heat to call him to come back not rather than wait the 60 days, so we’ll do that. “B” is usually pretty good at telling when Miss Moo is in heat, thankfully.

For example, last weekend we had those huge storms with about 70 tornadoes being reported across Illinois. On Sunday, Robert had taken the four older ones to the Chicago Field Museum for the day. That left me with four children 10 an under. Robert had left our son in charge of chickens but we also had to get Blaze in because he does not like to be out in the elements. Remember he’s old. However, when I called Robert to get him to ask about “B” about Miss Moo, “B” told me she’d be fine. And she was. She just stood there chewing her cud in the wind and rain, not bothered at all. However, she did run around a bit kicking up her heals. Something she does when she’s in heat. There were other signs “B” said Miss Moo was exhibiting before they all left for the day too.

So we are anxiously waiting again to see if Miss Moo will be with calf. That means a 2014 late summer or early fall calf. As long as she calves before winter, I’ll be happy.

As a side note, our horse and cow have bonded. It’s been so sweet to watch Blaze follow Miss Moo in the pasture or hear the children tell me one or the other won’t go out or come in without the other one.

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Week #5 Saturday Top Five Laughs – Join the Blog Hop!

Posted by html404 on November 23, 2013
in Animals, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Home, Humor, Uncategorized

I was a little lax this week with writing down funny things as they happened, but then Thursday and Friday I hit the “jackpot” so to speak and several funny things happened! So are you ready to laugh with the Goulds again? Once again we have joined The Mommyhood Chronicles for Week #5 – for us! – in the Saturday Top Five Laughs of the week.

5. I do ask my older children if it’s ok to share their funnies in my Saturday Top Five Laughs. They have even been known to say, “You know that’s going in mom’s blog post!” Hey, I’m making this my number 5 this week!

4. My daughter “B” came into my room on Thursday morning saying she had a bad dream. She called it a nightmare. She started by saying she dreamed she slept in until 9am. I interrupted her to say that most people would not consider that a nightmare, let alone a bad dream. But I knew where she was going because she’s our dairymaid and does the milking so sleeping in until 9am is definitely a bad thing, considering it’s 3 hours past milking time! Then “B” went on to say that wasn’t the worst thing, that I told her she couldn’t have chocolate forever!

3. Our kittens are getting big. Need another photo shoot. Anyhoo….They were up to their cute antics again. Freckles actually climbed the wall of our brick house! They tried during our SHEBA photo shoot but did not succeed. On Thursday, Freckles succeeded. I think her motivation was her mama, who was perched on the kitchen window sill, which is on that wall. The cats like to sit on the ledge and perch or watch whoever is working in the kitchen. Hoping for handouts!

2. We were having sandwiches for lunch the other day and my daughter, “Amelia” or “O”, informed my husband that she liked IF’s (grocery store in the town we use to live in) deli meat better than the stuff he bought at the “Pig” (Piggly Wiggly in our town). Then she said, “It smells like gas (but she used another term).” Sigh. Manners seems to have flown the coop with that child.

1. This one is just plain goofy. I’ve had a pain in my left arm pit most of the week. One day I blurted out, “Does anyone care that my arm pit hurts?” I was answered with a bunch of giggles. Then I said, “So no one cares if my arm pit hurts? Hmpfh.” They all proceeded to state they cared. Like I believed them. Hmpfh.

Guess that’s all I could come up with for laughs this week!

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Vtech InnoTab 3S Kid Connect App and Giveaway

Posted by html404 on November 22, 2013
in Apps, Downloads, Family Stuff, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Giveaways, Kids Stuff, Reviews, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics, Uncategorized

In October we reviewed the Vtech InnoTab 3S tablet for kids, which they continue to use and have fun with every day. So we were thrilled when we were offered Vtech InnoTab 3S Premium Kid Connect App. The InnoTab 3S comes with a one year subscription of Basic Kid Connect, which allows kids and parents to send just text messages and stickers.

Premium Vtech Kid Connect App

The unique thing about the Premium Kid Connect App is it helps kids stay connected to parents at home or on the go. As with the Vtech InnoTab 3S internet connection, the Kid Connect app provides a secure and easy-to-use tablet-to-mobile communication. Parents and children can exchange voice and text messages, as well as photos, drawings and stickers! In addition, children can stay connected to their friends and siblings who also have InnoTab 3S tablets and do so from anywhere in the world (with Wi-Fi).

Premium Kid Connect subscription does cost money. For the first two weeks after registration of the InnoTab 3S, a Deluxe Apps package with Premium Kid Connect is available for $14.99. The package also includes Movie Maker (a $7.99 value), a fun stop-motion animation app that lets kids become movie directors – our kids love to make videos! Once the two week promotional period is over, Premium Kid Connect can be purchased separately for $14.99. Kid Connect is only available on the InnoTab 3S, so if you have other versions of the InnoTab you are unfortunately out of luck until you upgrade to the InnoTab 3S.

Kid Connect App Review

My youngest daughter is having a field day with the Kid Connect App! I have been trying to get this post written today and she keeps interrupting me to tell me she sent me a new message. I have been focused on my laptop screen not my iPhone!

I completely missed the instructions to set up the Kid Connect App subscription so I spent more time than I should have figuring out how to work the app. Once I did though it’s a breeze to use!

Once you have added the Premium Kid Connect app subscription to your account it will show up under downloads in the Vtech Lodge. From there you will have to transfer it to your child’s Vtech InnoTab 3S tablet and for that you have to have the tablet connected to your computer. Then it’s easy for your child to click on the Premium Kids Connect icon to start sending texts and voice messages, stickers and photos or drawings.

I had trouble finding out how to send from the app on my iPhone until I discovered you have to click the icon of your child in your contacts. I am not usually technologically challenged but I just could not find my way out of the contacts or my profile for some reason. By the way it’s fun choosing a profile icon as you can see from mine in the above image.

The contacts are listed in the above photo. The blacked out part is the child’s name, the names shown are just made up screen names.

The stickers are fun for kids to send. I sent this kiss to my daughter – it actually makes a cute smooching sound when you click it to send!

This is a heart I made and sent to Blondie.

Once it’s sent it looks very much like our text messages we send from our phones.

Blondie had fun drawing, texting, sending stickers, lots and lots of stickers and voice messages. She’s been playing my voice message over and over again. Guess she loves hearing my voice!

The Kid Connect App has been a great addition to our children’s Vtech InnoTab 3S tablet. Now when we go out or I am away my children do not have to ask my husband or their older siblings to message me. They can do it themselves. As long as someone logs them onto our Wi-Fi, since the Innotab 3S does not save our home Wi-Fi’s password.