Month: August 2012

Vacationing with a Two Year Old

We had so much fun at Shrek Fest this past weekend, but let me tell you vacationing with a two year old is crazy town!  Anytime you are away from home and in a new place your child is going to get excited and over stimulated.  That’s just the way it is. 
I would suggest bringing lots of snacks.  Hotels are expensive and I’m not buying Connor a $4 beverage everywhere we go.  Also, I know this sounds silly, but a child “leash” is good as well.  Connor tends to run off.  It scares me because there people everywhere!  It makes me feel better knowing I can hang onto him. 
If we are going to be in the car for a significant amount of time we bring the DVD player.  That thing is a life saver!  Lots of books and toys are always on hand as well.  We keep a stash of extra diapers and wipes in our car for emergencies.  Don’t forget your child’s favorite lovey or blanket, because they’ll be away from home these items can be comforting to them.
We had such a great trip and I loved seeing the excitement in Connor’s eyes.   It made it all worthwhile.  While some things didn’t go how I had expected, we had a blast!  I am a major planner and our dinner lasted longer than expected so we missed the meet and greet with Shrek.  While you can’t prepare for everything you can try and make life a little easier.  I know we aren’t going to be eating our best while on vacation.  We brought along some Culturelle Kids! Packets.   They help reduce digestive upset, support natural defenses, and provide a solution for digestive discomfort and poor health. 

I take probiotics and I was excited to learn that Culturelle Kids! Had one for Connor too!  Probiotics are a great thing to take daily.  Probiotics are good for you microorganisms. They help your body with certain functions especially in the digestive area.  I mix one packet with Connor’s drink and he doesn’t even know it’s in there!  I know I’m giving him something beneficial to his health and that makes me happy.

I hope you all have great summer vacations and enjoy the time with your family and friends because school is right around the corner! 

“I was given Culturelle Kids! To try for this post.  All opinions expressed are my own.”

Shrek Fest at The Gaylord Texan

We had a great time this weekend at the Gaylord Texan for Fun with Shrek and Friends.  I entered a contest with Fort Worth Child Magazine and WON!!!  They called me last week and yesterday after work off we went…..

If you are attending Blissdom 2013 this is where you’ll be!  The Gaylord is HUGE!  Like so big you’ll need a map to get around.  It’s a super nice hotel with lots of great restaurants.  Everything is right there so you’ll hardly have to leave.  If you aren’t getting a room parking is $17 a day…just FYI.  If you have a room parking is free with your room card.  The amenities are great and the food is wonderful, but I’d say the average plate at each restaurant is around $15-$20.  So unless you plan on driving off the grounds or bringing snacks plan to budget for food.
Okay so here is a recap of our trip (Prepare for picture overload!)

 Our Room
 The Bathroom

The view from our room.  Last night they had an amazing fireworks show we could see from our balcony.

 Connor checking out his Shrek book
 Connor got some Shrek ears 🙂
 This is check in area

 Off we go!
 The atrium in the middle of the hotel

 A statue…no wait he’s real!  This dude was funny he would scare little girls and jump up really fast.

 They also had a huge train set in the atrium.  Connor was obsessed with the trains.

 Fiona’s Cookie Castle

 These chocolate chip cookies were bigger than my hand
 Waiting for the parade to start

 Here he comes….it’s SHREK!!!
 along with Puss & Boots and King Julian!!!

 Those sneaky penguins from Madagascar

 We forgot the child leash…
 In the elevator on the way to our room

 This morning we all got up and got ready for breakfast with Shrek and Friends

 We got initiated as official ogars for the day
 Connor was a little bit afraid of Shrek, but we got a photo with Daddy 🙂
 Drinking our green slime!!!!

The breakfast buffet was amazing!  Complete with everything you could ask for including a made to order omelet bar. 

 Shrek waffles

 The green chocolate fountain
 Puss and Boots came by to say hi!

Thank you Gaylord and Fort Worth Child Magazine we had a GREAT time!!!
xoxo

Friday Mish Mash

Today’s Show Us Your Life houses is back patios…..er….ours is not much to look at right now, but I’m hoping someday we can spruce this baby up.  Right now we just have firewood, the mower, grill, and looky!  A trampoline!  Ha ha!

Any ideas on what you would do out here?  I haven’t a clue…..
I know a lot of you are great decorators.  I think even a bistro set like this one would be awesome.  My favorite are those bouncy chairs….whatever table and chair set we do get someday.  It must have the bouncy chairs.
Our front yard is white and purple because we are TCU fans!

I’m also linking up today with Fabulous But Evil’s Nail Files
I’m wearing a light coat of NYC gray in “Sidewalkers”
&
Essie Luxe Effects silver glitter 🙂
In other news…
This is Connor and Ellie sharing an ice cream cone yesterday.
They love each other so much and share EVERYTHING 🙂 
Including ice cream licks!

We won a 2 night stay at the Gaylord Texan for Shrek Feast!  I am SOOOOO excited!  Connor is going to be beside himself.  I’ll take lots of pics and if you’re coming for Blissdom next spring then I will take some pics of the hotel so you can see where you’ll be staying.

 Happy Weekend Everyone!!!
 AND- Last but not least…..

Dear Santa please bring me a Sprinkles cupcakes ATM.  I really REALLY want one. You can have one too at $4 a cupcake!  Geesh! 

Potty Training: HELP!

Yes, that is yours truly in the potty training chair.  I don’t know where this was taken but obviously somebody wasn’t too happy about it!  Judging from the shag carpet and the rock wall behind me it was a looooooong time ago and now I feel old. 

So the time has come and we’ve been talking about the issue of “potty training”.  Honestly I think this scares me more than Connor.  First time parent nerves I guess.  He has used the potty several times.  It’s just not consistent. 

Do ya’ll have any potty training tips or advice you would like to give this Mama that helped you out?

I know everyone says it will happen when they are ready, but he seems genuinely interesting in using the potty right now so we thought why not?  He also spends all day with his cousin Ellie who is already potty trained.  He sees her using the potty and knows she doesn’t wear diapers, so he’s already exposed to “this is what you do when you use the potty” type things.

I would never push him….that is not my goal here.  I’m just saying if he’s taken interest then why not try?  And lets face it…..not buying diapers anymore would be awesome too 🙂

Connor’s Favorite DVD Giveaway

My baby boy is growing up.  I took a few pics last night.  T and I often disagree about what to do with Connor’s hair.  I know at times it gets a little afro-esque.  But I love his lil fro.  I mean I’m not going to let it get all “lil Hank” on me….but you know what I mean? 

He’s been such a blessing to our lives and is so funny right now.  I’m loving this stage.  He’s been so sweet about saying “bless you” or “thank you”.  He’s a keeper that’s for sure.

Connor wanted to give away one of his favorite choo choo DVDs.  He loves Chuggington and would like for one of YOU to have one 🙂 

Just enter using Rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Traintastic Adventures” – a colorful new “Chuggington” DVD coming down the tracks from Anchor Bay on August 14. 

“Traintastic Adventures” includes six episodes – plus a bonus Badge Quest short – that deliver action and fun along with positive messages that are just the ticket for preschoolers as they learn and grow.  There’s also an exciting surprise included in each DVD: four collectible trading cards featuring everyone’s favorite young trainees!  With a series of 22 different trading cards, preschoolers will be honking their horns for all the “Chuggington” characters. 

Enter the sweeps at www.chuggington.com/adventures, where you can also participate for a chance to win weekly prizes.

Don’t Believe What you See

These are all the same model and she’s photographed at different angles and lighting to depict aging.  Makeup and Photoshop I’m sure has a lot to do with it as well.  Isn’t this crazy….just goes to show you gals….never believe what you see in magazines.  Everyone is Photoshopped these days!

Original article HERE

Monday Mish Mash

Well, the Olympics are over.  I sure did enjoy the closing ceremony….the Olympics are great and I’m sad they are over.  There were several memorable moments.  Check out McKayla’s Not Impressed if you want a good laugh.  I’m ready to watch MasterChef….I’ve been waiting patiently to see who wins!

Donna is coming back to SUITS! Yay!  The show is not the same without her.  I guess all that #savedonna tweeting was totally worth it 😉
What the heck did Miley do to her hair???

I am really wondering what is going on with this girl?  Is she pulling a Britney right now or going through some kind of mental crisis?  Why Miley…WHY?

OUR WEEKEND:
We went to Paxton’s 5th birthday party
Didn’t his Mom do such a good job on his bat cave?

Connor spent the night with his Grana & Pop. He has such a good time with them. Terence and I were able to go out on a date to see Batman and we ate at the Outback. A little anniversary celebration-better late than never!!!! Thank you Grana & Pop!

Every time I look at him he seems a little more grown up….time’s going too fast!
Oh and we had a little bit of this goodness as well 🙂
T’was a fab weekend indeed…..and now back to the daily grind!