February Chuggington News
Name That Chugger!- We have found that our Twitter followers love to play games and interact with the Chuggington brand for chances to win traintastic Chuggington prizes! Starting in February, we will be hosting a weekly Twitter game at 2pm EST every Thursday. Be sure to follow @Chuggington and when we tweet out a partial image and a hint of a Chuggington character, be the first to tweet their name and the hashtag ‘#NameThatTrainee’ for your chance to win a prize!
Brewster’s Little Helper DVD- This month, Anchor Bay Entertainment will be releasing a new Chuggington DVD- ‘Brewster’s Little Helper!’ Be sure to keep your bumpers peeled for this traintastic compilation of Chuggington episodes, available wherever DVDs are sold beginning February 14!
* Disclosure: This post was written as part of the Chuggington Conductor campaign, which I am proud to be a part of! I was provided with some tools from Chuggington to help facilitate my review, but the post and all opinions in them are purely my own and my kiddo’s.
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Friday, Friday, Friday!
I love Fridays. My love/hate relationship with Fridays has evolved over time.
Before kids, my Fridays started like many of yours. That bell would ring and I do believe us teachers were way more excited and ready to hear it then the kids. My work week would be over!
Up until about six months ago, I HATED Fridays. I mean LOATHED them, especially during the winter months and rainy days. It was the last day of the week. The boys (and I) would be ready for their daddy to be home for the weekend. They would be antsy and “bored”. I would be tired and impatient. We all were kinda sick of each other by the end of the week.
Fridays now are low key with no schedule, except for Evan’s weekly 30 minute speech therapy, which isn’t until 11:15 so we don’t have to rush out the door in the mornings.
But then it happened!
I may have mentioned a time or two that Evan has been obsessed with Mario. We have a rule in the house that Friday is Wii day.
This way, Evan knows not to even ask to play, although sometimes he looks at me with devilish eyes and says, “you know what I’m thinking mom?”
“No, Evan, you may not play Wii.”
“Mom, how did you know I was going to ask?”
So Fridays with Evan pretty much mean, I don’t see him most of the day, except when he comes up for air, food or potty breaks. Because, you know, even though there is a bathroom downstairs, he still comes up and tells me he is going. Oh my Evan!
Maybe about October, Carter got in on the action too. He doesn’t like to play, but he LOVES to sit and watch Evan, talk with Evan and goes about his playing with his trains and cars while Evan plays the Wii.
{This next part is going to make me sound like a horrible mom, but remember it only happens once a week, so keep your judgements to yourself!}
So pretty much, I don’t see the kids all day on Friday. It’s beautiful. Yeah, I’m admitting it! On Fridays, the boys disappear into the basement and I see them only when they get hungry, thirsty or one throws a punch. And it has made Friday’s something we ALL look forward to! The boys get to veg out and stay in their jammies if they want, and I get to do the same!
Sick of Being Sick {I Hate The Winter Time 2012 Edition}
Copyright All rights reserved by alshepmcr Flick.com
This is going to be a full-blown rant about the amount of sick that is in my house right now! Just warning you all, I am completely feeling sorry for my self and my family! Just sayin’
The boys have been sick for 3 weeks now! 3 WEEKS people. Not that 3 weeks is a big deal in and of itself. But before that, they were probably well for a week or two after another bout of illness.
You see, starting in about November at least one person has been sick in this house at any given time.
Carter, Evan and myself have all finished z packs this month. And yet, I got sick again. Evan had walking pneumonia two weeks ago and was put on a z pack, Carter then followed last week. They started feeling better when I started getting sick. I tried to fight it off, because really what mom has time to get sick!
Yesterday my fever spiked at 102 and I literally couldn’t get out of bed. So I got ANOTHER z pack (2 in one month because I am an over achiever!) and some good ol’ cough syrup with codeine.
While in a codeine sleep coma last night, apparently Carter threw up twice and Jeremy took care of him without bothering me. And this morning Evan woke up with another 102 temperature and coughing.
Fortunately, Jeremy NEVER gets sick! (You know since I officially wrote that, he will be the next victim) But thank God, Jeremy has an immune system of steal!
I’m almost to the point of giving up. I mean, come on! Enough is enough. I take amazing care of my family – not that I am tooting my own horn – but I do. We eat well in this house – whole foods majority of the time – with the occasional eating out. I make sure the kids eat their fruits and veggies and drink plenty of fluids. I don’t even let them fill up on juice, it’s water or milk with the one cup of orange juice in the morning. We exercise. We get enough rest. Jeremy and I make sure to keep a peaceful home.
So I don’t know why my kids are the sickest kids I know!
I’m done with sickness. And yet, we are one of the few families who have not experienced the apukealypse yet! As each one of my friends mention on Facebook that their family has been hit, the stress of knowing that it’s just a matter of time before I hear the dreaded, “mmmoooooommmm I threw up” in the middle of the night, keeps me awake at night!
How can one healthy family, be so unhealthy during the winter time? {throwing my hands up in the air}
Happy Birthday E – the Big 5!
I can’t believe I have a 5 year old! I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since you, my lil’ E came into our lives, changing it forever!
You are our very special gift from God. “Evan” meaning God is good! God blessed us January 24th, five years ago.
You are bright, silly, stubborn, enthusiastic, loyal, energetic, loud, boisterous, crazy, spirited, discerning, perceptive, clever.
Evan Charles
You are you! And we love you so very, very much and wouldn’t have you any other way!
Psalm 33:8: Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 52:9: I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.
Brrrrrr…..Beach Dreaming
As I sit here looking out the window, it is cold. It is blah. It is bleak.
Not that I am going to complain. I am not. We have had a warm and snowless winter up until this week. We have been spoiled. Except for the endless sickness going on in our house.
But on this Friday, I do admit, when I was snuggled up under my blanket drinking my coffee this morning, even though I am not complaining about the weather I am dreaming of this…
I NEED a beach, the sun, and sand between my toes!
Happy Friday! Where would you like to be today?
How Much Is Too Much?
If you are a parent, I know you have asked yourself this question, if not multiple times, at least once. How much is too much?
We live in a society that is fast paced and never stopping. And we as parents have been impacted greatly by this.
We want the best for our children. But what is the best?
This question has been swirling around in my head for months. It taunts me during sleepless nights, it aggravates me when we are rushed to get out the door, it guilts me when I can’t do everything that the boys want to do. And trust me, I have had to say “no” to many activities because we already do too much.
I long for the kids to have my childhood. Shoot I want my boys to have the childhood of my parent’s generation. Boys need to be busy. They need to explore. They need to be dangerous. They need to be free. But we can’t give them that in today’s environment. We can’t let them out the door first thing in the morning and not see them until dinner time. Oh how I wish we could!
My childhood wasn’t a scheduled mess. Yes, I remember swimming lessons. I started basketball at age 9. But I also remember long summer days of playing and exploring. I don’t remember watching a lot of t.v. or video games during the winter time and of course DID NOT have all the technology that inundates our children today. I was in 5th grade when my parents bought me an Atari. And that was all the technology we had. We didn’t have a home computer until after I graduated from high school. And cell phones? Ha I had a pager when I was 17 so that my parents could at least get ahold of me if they needed to.
I want the best for our children.
Monday morning, oh about 4:00, after being awakened by Carter’s coughing, I immediately started stressing over how this was going to impact my day’s schedule. This wasn’t the first morning I was fretting before the sun came up. It started last week when I was home alone with Evan getting sick and Jeremy away on a business trip. How was I going to get Carter out of the house, when Evan wasn’t up for all the scheduled (and paid for) activities on our days’ itinerary.
Fortunately, my dad and mother-in-law came to the rescue last week. And Monday my mom didn’t have work so I frantically called her to help me out (on her day off!)
I didn’t think much of it until Monday after Jeremy questioned my judgement on how I was going to handle the situation. As Carter lay coughing, the stress hit. How was I going to get Evan (and myself) to the Y for exercise and also get Carter to the doctor. Then there was basketball practice on Monday night. Then what about school on Tuesday morning? Oh the questions and the guilt! Are they too sick for exercise? Are they too sick to play basketball? Are they too sick for school? (And I have to admit that there was slightly selfish reasons involved also. I have schedule my workouts and appointments during these times also.) How much do you push a child to do so they can learn that life doesn’t stop when you are sick. And trust me, they weren’t lethargic sick. They were bouncing off the walls yet coughing non-stop and dark circles under the eyes sick. There is a difference, and no this wouldn’t even be an issue if it was the first scenario.
But then the guilt hit me on how much planned, paid activities are too much?
I wouldn’t be at stressing at 4 in the morning if I didn’t have them in these activities. I don’t like missing things that I’ve already paid for!
I know many of my friends disagree with the amount of activities I have the boys in. I know many friends who have their children in more activities then me. So I know there is a wide range of opinions and beliefs.
I truly believe I NEED these activities as much as the boys do! I have tried to find a balance between what is needed and what is excessive, for me and my family!
I honestly feel that each activity that the boys are in, is beneficial for them and not just babysitting to give me a break. Each activity is important and has specific physical, spiritual, emotional and educational goals attached. And as I mentioned earlier, I have had to say “no” to some activities that the boys have wanted to do because I don’t want to be in the truck all day long, transporting them from here to there and spending money that we do not have.
So I pose these questions to you, out of curiosity, my fellow parents. How many activities are you’re kids in? How much stress do you feel these activities cause you? What is your motivation for being as busy as you are?
2012 Basketball Season Begins
This year we put both boys in the YMCA basketball league. For the first basketball practice we were hoping for two things: 
1. that Evan would be able to hit the rim and 
2. that Carter would not be too goofy.
Well we got one out of our two wishes.
Carter’s season is going to be pretty entertaining. He is such a goof ball and it did exactly what we anticipated.
Evan’s confidence got a boost with him hitting his first 3 layups! Whew!
Cough, Cough, Yawn
Two years ago it was a lovely visit to the ER with Evan for Croup.
Last year it was a lovely visit to the ER with Carter. Proving once again how glamorous parenthood can be.
Fortunately, no ER visits yet, but in true tradition of being sick and indoors ALL.WINTER.LONG, Evan was diagnosed with walking pneumonia last Friday after feeling like crap all week and hacking up a storm. And the best part, Jeremy was on a business trip all week. This mama didn’t get any sleep. And of course after I took Evan to the doctor on Friday, Carter started coughing Saturday night. So we took him in today and the doctor assumed he was suffering from the same illness but had not turned into pneumonia yet {thank goodness}.
So two boys on antibiotics and one tired mama!
Counting down the days until Spring!
Don’t Lick the Trash Can
I believe Carter has finally hit the terrible twos. He is only 3 years and 6 months old. But I guess it’s better late then never. My sweet, precious, adorable, always wanting to make mama happy boy has decided that that life is completely overrated.
In the last two weeks, he has decided that he will no longer obey ANYTHING I tell him.
“Carter, no running”
{Carter running through the parking lot}
“Carter, stay in your bed”
{Carter out of his bed at least 10 times.}
“Carter, don’t shut the door”
{Carter slams the door}
Okay, so you get my drift. I don’t know how this happened. Ha! Who am I kidding, I know this is normal, but just didn’t think that Carter had it in him! Ha! That’s just funny even to admit! I know how silly I am sounding right now!
But it is seriously wearing me out! Each night, I am emotionally drained. All day long, it is a constant battle with him. It doesn’t matter what I tell him to do, from the littlest things to important things, it doesn’t matter. At least he is staying consistent!
So I have been very, VERY tempted to play his little game with him.
“Carter, don’t lick the trash can”
“Carter, don’t shut your bedroom door and lock it” (then leave the house)
“Carter, don’t touch the stove while I’m cooking” (okay that might just be down right evil, I know!)
But then he says things like this, that can’t keep me mad at him for very long.
Jeremy sat him down earlier this week and told him that he was going out of town for a few days. Now this throws Evan into a massive meltdown! But Carter, “is mommy going with you? Oh that’s okay then Daddy, as long as I have my mommy!”
He totally knows how to work me! And I totally let him!
I have tried everything! I’ve even tried letting him learn how is actions have consequences. Like the time he shut himself outside the house, after I told him not to go outside. I sat there for a moment and didn’t let him back in, since he can’t get the front door opened by himself. He panicked for a moment while I “pretended” to leave the front room and ignore him, then he started running freely down through the front yard of my neighbor. That is as far as I let him go before panicking myself! I did that with Evan, ONLY 1 TIME. It freaked him out, not being able to get back in the house. And he never tried that again!
Or the time that I told him that the cat does not like her tail pulled. The cat turned around and nipped him on his finger. He whaled and tears were flowing. I showed no sympathy and explained that is why I told him not to pull her tail. He then went and pulled her tail again. There is a reason why he is her favorite human, but he is quickly loosening his ground with her.
HELP!!! Where did my little perfect boy go? Oh yeah, he has learned of his free will and independence.
Surreal Reality
Have you ever had one of those moments (of course you have) when you are watching one of your kids, my moments are usually when I’m not the one in charge of them 
, that time stands still and your ask yourself (just go ahead and fill in the personal parts with your own inside the parentheses),
“how did this happen?”
“how do I have a kid that is nearly (5) years old?”
“how did (Jeremy) and I create such amazingly beautiful children?”
“how did the time pass so quickly?”
“how did I get to this point in my life?”
These are the moments that creep in unexpectedly and suddenly, amongst the hustle and bustle of daily craziness. The moments that knock you down with humbleness that God would bless you so deeply. The moments that are so needed when you are tired beyond tired.
I had one of these moments yesterday. We were at the Y for our normal routine of classes. I was finishing up my workout, having to get Evan into the pool for his swim lesson and head back to Carter’s class to get a little bit of time to watch him exercise. You know, the normal crazy! We are on a slightly different schedule which began last week, so I am still trying to work out all the bugs. As I am entering the gym, horrendously sweaty and still a little frazzled, the moment hit!
I sat down and bam!
I watched Carter, who didn’t know I was there, head fluidly down the balance beam with his arms stretched out for balance and his head held high with confidence. One foot easily guiding in front of the other as he moved with ease and agility. His hands oh-so-slightly playful waving back and forth as he moved.
At that moment, my time stood still. And I watched in slow motion the boy Carter is becoming. How in the world did I get here? How did I become a mother of two preschoolers? How the heck are my boys growing up big and strong and smart and funny and talented and sweet and… Because I sure don’t know what the heck I’m doing in this parenting gig!
The moment was short, yet amazingly sweet!
After pondering on this moment all day yesterday, I was reminded of the verse that always gets me now that I am a mom, when reading the Christmas story. Luke 2:19, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” I love the feeling of this verse, even though I may not know the true meaning of it. Each time I read the Christmas story, the journey, the birth, the visitors, etc, I love getting to this verse! I always think that this is how Mary felt in that moment, maybe on a grander scale of course, but still she realized during that moment the surreality of her new reality.
Because Mary was now a mom, yes she was the mom of our Saviour, and kind of an important mom, yet still human and still a mom. I think in these small moments when I witness the beauty of raising my own children, her and I are much alike. I want to be able to slow down these moments, hit the pause button, and treasure up all these things and ponder them in my heart!
What Goes Around, Comes Around
On New Year’s Eve, we took the boys to our local Rec Center. They were having a family night with ice skating and swimming. We were a little skeptical and was worried that it would be packed out! But fortunately the crowds were manageable and the mass of teenagers behaved themselves – ha! The boys had a blast!
But of course, this isn’t just a recap of what we did on New Year’s. It is a story of a valuable lesson that Evan taught me. But before we get to that, I must rewind and give you some background info.
Up until last weekend, I had an irrational fear of ice skating. The thought of getting out on the ice made me break out in a cold sweat. How did this fear happen? It’s not a horror story per say, but it did leave an impact. The last time I got out on the ice, I was a teenager. At least 18 years ago! I remember it being awkward and hard. I also remember not having much fun at it, once I did get the hang of it. I probably went ice skating no more than five times in my childhood. So each time I went, it took me some time to get comfortable on the ice.
I remember it was a youth group outing. After some time and some confidence boosting, I started racing around the rink with my friends. Not being the most graceful person, I lost my balance and went crashing into the wall. Going knee first into the wall, then falling on the same knee. The pain was pretty intense. I didn’t need first aid, because let’s face it, I was an athlete and was too proud to admit I was injured. I have had knee problems forever. It didn’t help that I played basketball for 10 years nor did slamming my knee into an ice rink wall.
Fast forward to 2 years ago. Remember Evan started ice skating lessons? Fortunately an Ice Skating Angel came to the rescue. And also Jeremy came and got out on the ice with him after that lesson to get him more comfortable. Because there was NO way I was going to do it! And fortunately Evan never asked me to get out on the ice, nor did he question why I didn’t. Besides I usually had Carter with me, so I had a great excuse with having to take care of him.
Fast forward to this last week. We took the boys ice skating over their break. Right before we left the house, something was said and I re-informed Jeremy that I wasn’t getting out on the ice. What was he thinking? He was dumbfounded and thought I was joking. Because really, how was he going to get both boys on the rink at the same time. I didn’t know and I didn’t care, because this mama wasn’t getting on the ice. They managed as they usually do. All three of them had a great time ice skating. I watched from the side lines. Neither boy asked me to get out on the ice!
That was until New Year’s Eve. We get into the Rec center and I was in line to get all the boys’ skates. Evan came over and told me I was skating too. I waved him off and reminded him that I wasn’t.
Then it happened.
Side story: I’m the “bad” parent in this family. I am the one that throws Evan on a “roller coaster” aka the slow moving cars at the carnival, when he was adamently saying “no” and screaming his head off that he didn’t want to go. As soon as the ride started, Evan started laughing hysterically. Afterward, grinning ear to ear, he informed me that he loved the ride. Or the time that I threw him in the water when he was too afraid to get in. Again, with the outcome of him enjoying himself. I know my child. He is his mother’s child. I regret not taking more chances growing up and I am trying to encourage him not to go down that path. He is a typical first born. He is very hestitant to try anything new and usually needs to be forced into it before realizing that it’s okay. He has learned to trust me. He has learned that I won’t let him wuss out!
Then there was this post…back in February 2010. Evan was afraid of taking ice skating lessons, but after encouraging him to continue and not taking “no” for an answer. He continued and faced his fears.
I never thought that my little Evan would ever use my technique against me… oh I thought wrong. What was I thinking? But I guess what goes around comes around. And it came around on New Year’s Eve.
After reminding him that I was not getting out on the ice. He pulled me close to him, looked me straight in the eye and said firmly, “No mom, you ARE getting some skates and ARE putting them on and GETTING out on that ice and skating with me!”
Whoa there boy! How dare you use my tactics against me! Who do you think you are? And how does a mom say no to that?
Then he went a little further and said, “mom if you fall, I will be there to pick you up! HA HA HA HA!”
Now before you think that was a sappy, sweet moment between a mother and son. Not so fast! He started giggling uncontrollably and under his breath informed me that he was hoping I would fall! What a little stinker. And I wouldn’t have him any other way.
So what is a mom to do?
Yep! I had to overcome a fear! At first, I got out on the ice and remembered what Evan’s teacher taught him. “Step, step, step” After several minutes and 30 or so feet, Jeremy jokingly told me to pick up the pace and start skating. I made it around the first time without holding on to the wall or falling! So thankful I paid attention to the teacher’s in Evan class! Who knew they would be so knowledgeable? AFter the first time around, my fear lifted and Evan and I enjoyed skating with each other!
We laughed, we raced, we held hands.
I earned some respect on New Year’s Eve. For once, I was the “fun” parent! And it felt good!
2012 – The Year of the Five Year Old
Happy New Year! With a new year starting, I am looking forward to a fresh start and like many of you, I have some goals I would like to work towards. But that’s for another post this week. Because there is one thing that has had my attention since the strike of midnight New Years Day! In less than 22 days now, I will be a mom of a 5 year old! For some reason, that hits me hard. And Evan is reminding me of often, now that Christmas is over, his birthday is coming up! Several things are running through my mind:
a.) How did this happen? (Because I know I am NOT that old!)
b.) Five, to me, seems like a huge deal. No more “preschool”, no more baby time left. My little man, the one that made me a mom, is a big boy. An all out boy! There really is no more “baby” about him. He is growing by leaps and bounds which is so exciting to watch but yet saddening at the same time, because these 5 years FLEW by!
c.) Once again, even though he complained during Carter gets all the cool birthday parties, he doesn’t want a big party. He just wants a sleepover with his 2 best friends and the Wii. Last year was hard enough, controlling my inner party planner. But this year, I have to admit I am super disappointed that he doesn’t want a party because this is a momentous birthday (in my opinion). He is going to be the BIG 5! But I must hold back and respect his wishes. Even though I have asked multiple times if he is sure he doesn’t want a bigger party.
d.) This is the year of Kindergarten. SCHOOL! No more crazy busy days of entertaining him from 8 to 3. This year he learns to read, learn math, do homework. EEK! I become a mom of a school-aged kid. Again, how did I get so old?
There you have it! My preoccupation these first couple days of the new year! I’m just curious, did you guys make a bigger deal about the “5″ birthday, or was it just another birthday? Trying to keep some perspective…you know.
Christmas Tradition-Disco Pants!
This story begins with Pinterest. Oh Pinterest – how I love all your inspirational ideas (and the time sucking you cause too). After all, because of Pinterest I decided I could attempt making my own curtains – which I conquered after years of a sewing machine phobia caused by my freshman year of Home Ec class which was my only C ever in High School.
One day while on Pinterest, I saw a tutorial for Christmas Pajama Pants. I had seen several Tweets and Facebook statuses about yearly traditions of making pajama bottoms for the fam and so I decided that this would be fun to attempt. I usually do get the boys matching Christmas jammies anyway. So I headed to the fabric store with the boys in tow to pick out their own fabric.
They both decided to get the same print – Christmas candy! What kid doesn’t enjoy candy?
We headed home and I got started right away. Everything was going so smoothly until I started sewing the waist together, I realized that I had made a mistake. I cut the waists to small – forgetting that the template pair of bottoms I was using were elastic. I didn’t take that into consideration so when it was time to sew in the elastic, there was no extra fabric to gather, the waists were the exact size of Evan’s waist. As you can see I don’t know the technical terms of sewing, hopefully you are following along! If not, see pics below and you will get it. But I decided to go ahead and finish since there was nothing I could do, the fabric was already cut.
So hoping my mistake wouldn’t be that big of a deal, I enthusiastically asked Evan to try on his new pajama pants. He was sooooo excited.
“Thank you, Mom! I love them.” Evan exclaimed as I showed him the final product.
He went to put them on, and just as I suspected, the waist was too small. He grunted and groaned as he struggled to get them past his hips. He managed to get them on and declared, “These ARE AWESOME!”
Gotta love the innocence of a child.
My son, besides him being white and 40 years too late, looked like he should be part of the Jackson Five:
Needless to say, the boys wore them and loved them, but i just couldn’t handle having them wear pajama bottoms that they had to grunt and groan to get themselves in them and then head out to the Disco after Jeremy and I went to bed!
So off to the fabric store I went, and of course they were sold out of the candy print. So I opted for a Rudolph print that I thought was cute. They did not agree, after I got home and showed them.
But I went ahead and made them their “new” and “improved” Christmas pajama pants. I waited several days to show them their new pajama pants in hopes that they forgot about not liking the new print. Thankfully they fit perfectly – with some extra wiggle room – and not perfect for going to the disco. And they did forgot that the print was not approved orginally.
I think I should go back to my high school Home Ec Teacher and try to get that grade reversed! And I do think, I have started a new tradition! These were fun and super easy to make (the second time around )! And my kids kinda think I’m cool for making them their very own pants! Now off to make their cousins matching ones for Christmas Eve. Nothing like 4 super cute cousins all wearing matching Christmas Disco pants pajamas.
Chuggington Lets Ride the Rails Playtable (Review and Giveaway)
Did you know that Chuggington has it’s very own train table? We didn’t either until one day the boys and I were in a local small village having lunch. There is a small specialty toy shop that I took the boys in, and lo and behold, there it was in all of it’s glory. Carter immediately asked if we could buy it! Silly kid! We didn’t, but a few weeks ago, I was sent one to review!
I received it about 2 weeks ago. A week and a half ago, after raining for a week straight my basement flooded!
What do these two things have in common? Well unfortunately, due to lack of space, the train table was going to fit perfectly down in our basement. We physically do not have any other space for it in our main living areas. So after a week of drying out (and yes it took a full week – UGH! and several days that I have steam cleaned one small area (left in the photo but can’t see it) over and over and over again trying to salvage the carpet) this is what our basement still looks like! A COMPLETE disaster zone, which doesn’t appear to be cleaned up any time soon, especially with the holiday craziness going on! And in an effort to save as much as we could while the water was rising, I threw everything that I could up on the sofa and the table. I have realized how much I love our finished basement – especially since the winter has hit and I can tell the boys to go downstairs and run around! And for the last 2 weeks, I have had no reprieve from 2 little whirlwinds!
So our Chuggington playtable is still in the box, in our garage! So, unfortunately, I can’t give a first hand review of the product 
!
If you have a Chuggington fan in your house, and haven’t purchased a train table yet, this is perfect for your little chugger! The quality, I know, that comes from Chuggington and from what I have seen in the stores this is the perfect train table for your little chugger!
Here is some details:
Chuggington Let’s Ride The Rails Playtable
(LEARNING CURVE/Ages 3 years and up/ Approx. Retail Price: $249.99/Available: Now)
Build a world of Chuggington on this fun, kid-friendly table. Just the right height for little engineers to create and play for hours of fun! The Chuggington Wooden Railway features fun, kid-attractive colors, super-simple magnetic couplings, and chunky designs just right for those adorable little toddler hands.
Giveaway:
One Evan Has Landed Reader will win a “Let’s Ride the Rails Chuggington Play Table” for their little trainee! Here’s how:
To enter:
- Leave me a comment about anything Chuggington (Pretty difficult I know)
- Become an Evan Has Landed Subscriber (Subscribe to my blog feed via RSS or email and leave a comment letting me know you did or already do.)
- If you are on Facebook, go “Like” Chuggington on Facebook. Leave them a comment letting them know I sent you . Then come back here and leave a separate comment that you did. If you already follow Chuggington on FB let me know that too.
- Post this giveaway on your Facebook page. Then come back here and let me know in a separate comment.
- Follow @Chuggington on Twitter. Then leave me a comment letting me know that you did.
- Tweet about this giveaway – Please make sure you have @Cortney_plus2 and @chuggington. Then come back here and let me know that you did. Here is an example: “Win a Let’s Ride the Rails #Chuggington Play Table from @Cortney_plus2 and @Chuggington http://bit.ly/tmfovn”
Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry (You can enter up to 6 times from the above list). This giveaway is open to all U.S. residents age 18 or older and will end Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. EST. The winner will be selected by random.org.
* Disclosure: This post was written as part of the Chuggington Conductor campaign, which I am proud to be a part of! I was provided with some tools from Chuggington to help facilitate my review, but the post and all opinions in them are purely my own and my kiddo’s. This post does include an affiliate link for Amazon.
Chuggington December News
I have lots of traintastic Chuggington news for you this week!
Annie Awards- This week it was announced that Chuggington has been nominated for a 2012 Annie Award in the Best Animated TV Production- Preschool category! The Annie Awards are one of Animation’s highest honors, so our bumpers are bursting with excitement over this traintastic opportunity!
Groupon- In case you haven’t seen it yet- Chuggington is on Groupon! The Chuggington Wooden Railway Trainee Set from Learning Curve is on Groupon right now for $69 (that is 47% savings!). You can follow this link to view the deal:
New Episode- A new Chuggington episode will air on Disney Junior next Friday, December 16! Tune in to watch the premiere of Snowstruck Wilson!
Chuggington App- the new ‘Chuggington: Terrific Trainee!’ app is available now, here at the iTunes store!
Holiday Sweepstakes- Chuggington is hosting a holiday sweepstakes for U.S. fans this week! There are lots of traintastic prizes for fans to win, including die-cast sets, books, DVDs, games, balls and more! Visit Chuggington’s Facebook page often as they will be giving one lucky fan an iPod Touch loaded with Chuggington episodes and apps from iTunes this week! (Is that traintastic or what!?)
* Disclosure: This post was written as part of the Chuggington Conductor campaign, which I am proud to be a part of! I was provided with some tools from Chuggington to help facilitate my review, but the post and all opinions in them are purely my own and my kiddo’s.
The Bible says what?
Yesterday while we were learning the boys’ memory verse for Awana – yep I am raising two procrastinators – nothing like learning the memory verse hours before church – Evan’s speech issues really took over.
You see, I haven’t mentioned it for awhile, even though I did promise to keep you posted on the speech decisions for Evan, Evan has been going to an amazing speech therapist for several months. He has made great strides in his speech. They have a game plan to fix his “L” first, then “th”, and finally the “R” sound. He is pretty much finished with the “L” and “th”. Even though he has made amazing progress, we still are working on those sounds in every day conversation, because of the habit it has created. He is able to correct himself on the “L” and “TH” if we inform him that he just said an “L” or “TH” word. The other thing that has come from it is that when in doubt (when a word doesn’t sound correct to Evan) he self corrects by adding an “L” to the beginning of it. Most of the time putting the “L” in front makes the word not a word, you know like “rooster” would be “looster”, which immediately he hears it not correct.
But yesterday was the most challenging speech lesson as of yet.
We were learning Psalm 33:4 – For the word of the Lord is right.
Now say that to yourselves as if you are a child who, up until a month ago, had all “Ls” and “Rs” make the “w” sound. Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute…
The first attempt:
“The word of the word is white”
As you can hear and see, in this instance, his speech problems did not make nonsense words. All words are correct making the verse sound silly.
Evan does an amazing job with synonyms and definitions when someone can’t understand what he is saying. So immediately I changed the verse to make more sense to him to see if he could correct the verse on his own. “The Bible is from God and it’s correct/true.”
Okay let’s try it again:
“The Lord of the Lord is light”
So this time he used that ol’ standby of putting “Ls” in front of all the words he couldn’t say correctly. And again, all the words were words although the sentence made no sense.
Then it progressed to:
“The word of the Lord is light”
Okay, getting better! At least the sentence makes sense although incorrect.
We practiced for 10 minutes at least, and if you have a child with speech problems, you know 10 minutes is eternity for them. By the end, he was frustrated and tired. I was able to squeak out one correct verse, not all the words together but each individual word on it’s own.
“Mom, I know the verse, will you leave me alone now.”
“Okay Evan, you have done an awesome job trying to say it correctly! And you did! Just to make sure, can you say it for me one last time.”
“Fine mom, For the word of the word is white.”
Perfect!
A Family Who Runs Together…
After agonizing whether or not to sign the boys up for their first race (and of course throwing the idea up on Twitter), I decided it “could” be fun to just dive right in and sign them up for one of the biggest races in the area! The Turkey Trot! Why not? My theory was that the boys would see a boat load of people running (8,000 to be exact) and love running amongst the chaos!
Two things I learned from this event:
1. Carter DOES NOT like running first thing in the morning. He was looking forward to running but once we got there, after waking him up about an hour and a half earlier than his normal wake up time, he decided he was too tired to participate in the actual “running” of the event! HA! But he did enjoy sitting on daddy’s shoulders for most of the 1 mile fun run. And at one point to catch up to us, Jeremy ran with Carter on his shoulders! After the finish line, several older women came up to Jeremy and praised his ability to run with a 35 pound boy on his shoulders! Show Off – Whatever – I could have done that too – sheesh!
2. It doesn’t matter how much Evan hates running, you throw a friend in the mix, even better a friend who is a girl, and all of a sudden running (AND WINNING) is his passion. The boy ran probably 8 or 9 tenths of the total mile. The only time he stopped was when his friend Abigail and he agreed to take a breather! He is so flipping competitive -because he could NOT have a girl beat him at anything! *will need to keep that in mind for future use*
So we did it! And had a great time! I asked the boys if they wanted to race again and Carter immediately said, “YES” – ha! – and Evan said, “yes but when I get bigger!”
So I think running the Turkey Trot with the fam may be a new tradition!
Games for the Holidays – Gift Ideas
Last Christmas I fell in love with Wonder Forge. I had found some games to buy the boys and as luck would have it, over the last year I have had the opportunity to work with the crew at Wonder Forge, letting the boys test many of the new games that came out over the last 12 months.
Let me just say this – I still LOVE WONDER FORGE. If you have preschoolers – you NEED to get your hands on some of the games they produce. And NO I AM not being paid to say that! Every game we have tried the boys have LOVED! And as a parent, I have loved them because they are easy to play, easy to explain and they are developed for short attention spans with game times being around 10 minutes each! Gotta love that. Another feature I have found in many of the Wonder Forge preschool games is that many have movement incorporated in them, to help with “the squirmies factor” (yeah, I totally made that up but if you have a kid with the squirmies you totally understandd what I am saying!)
Wonder Forge just doesn’t do preschool games, they also make games for the adults in your preschooler’s life! HA! When I was asked to review some more preschool games for the holiday season, I admit, I asked to try Konexi (click for product info) too! Yeah, I know, it’s not for preschoolers but I begged asked to give it a try.
You NEED to buy this game! It was so much fun. Over the Thanksgiving break, we had friends from out of town staying with us. Along with our friends, our 13 year old neighbor spends a lot of time over at out house. So one evening we brought out Konexi to try and we had so much fun!
It is such a unique game because you want to win (of course) but you also find yourself encouraging and helping your opponents because you want to see how tall you can get the tower of letters before it topples. I can say that 4 adults and a 13 year old all loved playing together. My friends and my neighbor want this game for their house. {But then they won’t want to come over and play with us – ha!}
Okay back to the preschoolers in your life:
Richard Scarry’s Busytown Busy, Busy Airport (click for product info):
This game gets your kids up and flying their planes around the room (or if you feel a little lazy, cough cough, you can place all the destinations near by. Not that I tried this, this week ) getting passengers to their destinations. This is a great game to teach your kids some basic math skills and an opportunity to look at 4 different environments (beach, city, forest and mountain). It is a great way to talk about the differences between these four destinations with your preschooler. And what little boys doesn’t like making airplane sounds while flying through the living room?
Chuggington Traintastic Cargo Game (click for product info):
Although I didn’t get a picture with Carter, Carter LOVED this game! But by the time I thought about getting a photo, Carter was asleep and Evan was enjoying some one – on- one time with mom. Both boys loved this game also. I loved this game because it taught some very important math fundamentals: Pattern matching, Shape, number and color recognition and deductive reasoning (each player must remember the location of corresponding images to fill up their boxcars). Each player gets a pattern card they need to complete to win the game. This game was fun and easy for Evan. He got the concept right away and knew that it was a pattern game. But with Carter, this game was a great teaching tool for pattern matching and deductive reasoning. Although Carter knows his shapes and colors he had a challenging time determining where to place the pieces according to his pattern card! But both boys were able to play at the same time, and I was able to help Carter and Evan stayed perfectly content to be independent!
These are the latest games we have had the opportunity to test out, but I believe you can’t go wrong with any game with the Wonder Forge logo on it! As I said earlier, if you have preschoolers in your life, get them some Wonder Forge games. You can thank me later !
Disclaimer: As I said early, I fell in LOVE with the Wonder Forge. I was given each game to review. But all opinions are my own (and the kiddos)!
The Perfect Gift: Salvation (Carter’s Story)
Today was an amazing day. It was a rainy, dreary, cold day with me and Carter battling some serious head colds. But today was perfect?
You wanna know why?
My little baby boy, Carter, asked Jesus into his heart today!
With the beginning of the Christmas season upon us, this season reminds us what the most perfect gift is. The gift of Jesus, brought to us as a baby, our Saviour!
Jesus: our perfect gift.
This morning started like any other morning, but for some reason, Carter kept having this conservation with me mulitple times:
Carter: I love you mommy!
Me: I love you too, Carter!
Carter: And you know who else loves me?
Me: Who?
Carter: Jesus loves me!
Me: You’re right Carter. Jesus loves you so much!
This conversation happened at least 3 times before we headed out for a quick run to JoAnn Fabrics after lunch. After the second conversation, I thought it was odd that he kept bringing it up. By the third, I was kinda intrigued what was going on in his little mind. After all he is my little rebel.
A couple of months ago, my MIL and Evan had a chance to talk to Carter about salvation, which you can read the AWESOME story over on her blog, but at the time he wasn’t ready to ask Jesus into his heart. And quite frankly, the whole idea freaked him out, A LOT!
So Jeremy and I haven’t pushed the topic with him. And quite frankly, didn’t expect it to be any time soon.
But today, something must have clicked. Upon arriving at JoAnn’s, we paused for a moment to look at ribbon. Carter, out of the blue, asked if Jesus was there with us.
I said He was and He is always with us. He is everywhere. He pondered for a moment and pointed to his heart and asked me if He was in his heart.
That is when my evangelical Evan stepped in and reminded him that “No, Jesus isn’t in your heart unless you ask Him in your heart. And you haven’t asked him yet.” (In true blunt Evan form. Thanks Evan for stepping up – ha!)
Carter looked at me and said, “I want Jesus in my heart!”
Evan’s reply, “Well Carter, you have to ask Him in your heart.”
Oh my word! Right there in JoAnn Fabrics! Wow!
So I pulled him aside, down one of the isles, bent down on my knees, looked him straight in the eyes and asked him if he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart.
He said, “yes I want Jesus in my heart.”
So right there in JoAnn Fabrics I prayed with Carter! It was short, yet sweet (and yes slightly awkward considering during our prayer someone came up behind us and was looking at the stickers above our heads – HA).
“I got Jesus in my heart now!”
Thank you God for our most perfect gift. The gift of Jesus! And thank you God for moving in Carter’s heart and soul and that Carter listened. Thank you for allowing me to witness the moving of your spirit in such a beautiful and humbling way.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
Chuggington Cyber Monday Deal
Starting today, Chuggington is offering an exclusive coupon to chuggingtonstore.com on the Chuggington Facebook page!
U.S. Chuggington fans go ‘like’ Chuggington on Facebook to sign up for the coupon (valid for $10 off a $25 purchase online), which is limited to the first 1,500 fans (redemption period begins week of December 5). This traintastic coupon is valid for any Chuggington product on chuggingtonstore.com, including DVDs, wooden and die-cast play sets, and more – all great gifts for preschoolers this holiday season!
* Disclosure: This post was written as part of the Chuggington Conductor campaign, which I am proud to be a part of! I was provided with some tools from Chuggington to help facilitate my review, but the post and all opinions in them are purely my own and my kiddo’s.
Of Dress Up and Soldiers
Last week, I had a “Black Friday” in my own way. The day after Halloween couldn’t come soon enough. You see Evan has never been into dress up or pretend play so I have never bought any dress up clothes for the boys. But he is now getting into super heros and over the last couple of months he has gotten more into pretend play. Especially since our weekend in VA, where his friend Anden had many super hero costumes.
I have been waiting for the After – Halloween Sales since August. So the morning after halloween, I got up and got out of the house early to scoop up some deals. I was a mom on a mission!
While I was at Target, I was frantically scooping up all costumes that were size 4-6 when a conversation started up amongst some of us moms. We were chit-chatting about the ages of our kids, the costumes we were looking for and sizes. When one of the moms found a soldier costume. She asked if anyone wanted it.
Another mom spoke up very quickly and said, “Oh no, I don’t want my boys dressing up like soldiers.”
I wanted to spout off something sarcastic considering she didn’t want her boys to dress up like soldiers, but apparantly by what she was holding, it was perfectly acceptable to dress up like a demonic figure.
So instead of saying something that I might regret, I told the first mom that I would take the costume. (Even though I already had one in my pile).
That exchange really bothered me! But after I thought about it some more, I had a second idea of what she meant. I am hoping that this is what she meant. Being a mom of boys, it isn’t ever far from my mind that one day, my babies, the babies that God entrusted me with, will sign those draft cards and be called into War. Or that one day, one of my precious little baby boys will choose to make it a career. Although I would be one proud mama, the thought of my sweet baby boys, old enough to defend our country. makes my heart ache and tears form in my eyes!
So dear Marine, Airman, Soldier, Seaman thank you for being the ultimate superhero in my book.
And although I think my Lil’ C looks perfect in his Soldier Costume now:
Serious Soldier
If that day will come and Carter follows that path, I believe he will always look like this in my eyes:
My Sweet Soldier Boy
Happy Veterans Day to all who have served, is serving and will serve! Thank you all for being superheros!
Chuggington Rev n’ Race Railway Review and Giveaway!
As you know, as a Chuggington Conductor I get to review all the newest of Chuggington! When I was asked for my boys to review the new Rev n’ Race Railway of course I said yes.
But I have to let you in on a little secret…after I thought about it some more while I was waiting to get it in the mail, I decided to wait to give it for Christmas. So this my friends isn’t a normal review. I’m not going to say what we love about it and show you pics of my boys playing with it. I wanted to be honest and let you know that I haven’t tried it out yet.
BUT, while my boys were watching t.v. (*cough cough not that they sit around and watch cartoons) a commercial came on for the new Rev n’ Race Railway and Carter immediately asked for it! SCORE! I immediately wanted to run up and pull it out of the closet and let him play with it.
Besides trying to hold it for Christmas, we have had a beautiful warm November so far, so I have had the boys outside as much as I can. Trying to eek out as much outdoor play as possible before the lovely Ohio winter sets in. So we haven’t had time to even play with much indoors. So I didn’t want to open up a new toy just to have my kids stay inside during the nice weather. You know what I mean? But who knows, as soon as the weather turns cold and dreary I may pull out the new Rev n’ Race ‘-)!
So that’s where we are right now! But I decided instead of this being a review post, it could be a “what’s new” post for Christmas ideas!
There are pros and cons to the purchasing sets, I have discovered. I never was one for buying train sets up until last Christmas. In my mind, having the kids make there own railways were so much more interactive and educational – really getting their minds going. But then I discovered with Carter (and Evan at his age) that by the time I “help” lay out a track, they were done playing. But when I received and reviewed the Launch and Go Roundhouse Chuggington Playset I realized that Carter would play for hours if the track was already set up and didn’t fall apart easily (especially the wooden tracks). Shoot I get frustrated when the wooden tracks come apart while the boys are playing – especially if I spent a lot of time putting it together. After reviewing the Launch and Go, I had a new respect for the Die Cast playsets. I put them together and they don’t come apart easily. The boys play quietly and don’t call for me every minute to fix the track. Who knew? I didn’t, since I was kinda a wooden track snob. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place and age for the wooden tracks to come out and stay, but right now, Carter would rather play independently with our die cast sets, which gives me time to you know cook dinner, take a shower or any thing else I need to get done !
So here are some features of the new Rev n’ Race Railway:
- Over 4′ layout
- Can race 2 Chuggers at a time
- Includes unique Chugger Championship Koko
- Kid powered, no battiers required
- Compatible with other Chuggington Die-Cast engines and products.
Giveaway:
One Evan Has Landed Reader will win a Traintastic Rev n’ Race Railway for their little trainee! Here’s how:
To enter:
- Did you enter my “Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!” Giveaway? If you participated already, leave me a comment letting me know. If not, head on over to the “Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!” Giveaway and get entered. Then come back here and leave me a comment that you signed the “Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!” Pledge (You better hurry on this one, it ends this Friday, November 11, 2011)
- Leave me a comment (Pretty difficult I know)
- If you are on Facebook, go “Like” Chuggington on Facebook. Leave them a comment letting them know I sent you . Then come back here and leave a separate comment that you did. If you already follow Chuggington on FB let me know that too.
- Post this giveaway on your Facebook page. Then come back here and let me know in a separate comment.
- Follow @Chuggington on Twitter. Then leave me a comment letting me know that you did.
- Tweet about this giveaway – Please make sure you have @Cortney_plus2 and @chuggington. Then come back here and let me know that you did. Here is an example: “Win a #Chuggington Rev n’ Go Raceway just in time for Christmas from @Cortney_plus2 and @Chuggington http://bit.ly/vZZynl”
- Subscribe to my blog feed via RSS or email and leave a comment letting me know you did or already do.
Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry (You can enter up to 7 times from the above list). This giveaway is open to all U.S. residents age 18 or older and will end Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. EST. The winner will be selected by random.org.
* Disclosure: This post was written as part of the Chuggington Conductor campaign, which I am proud to be a part of! I was provided with some tools from Chuggington to help facilitate my review, but the post and all opinions in them are purely my own and my kiddo’s.
The Angry Bird Obsession
Have you seen the new Angry Birds commercial – I think it’s for Google – don’t remember don’t care. But they mention in it that 1 BILLION apps have been sold! Who knew that a silly game would be so popular.
I have a confession to make. I have NEVER played it. It is on my phone but it’s not for me.
My wonderful Jeremy broke open the flood gates of Angry Birds with Evan shortly after the game was released. And the obsession has exponentially grown since!
I made the mistake of throwing out the idea of the boys being Angry Birds for Halloween way back in August. And at the time, I had NO idea that costumes existed. I really didn’t think that many kids knew what Angry Birds was. Boy was I wrong! All of a sudden, Angry Birds are everywhere: t-shirts, stuffed animals, posters (I should know we now have 6 stuffed birds and a poster so far).
In August, I googled “how to make an Angry Birds costume” and was elated to find out that I didn’t have to make one! But instead of purchasing them right away, I thought I would procrastinate like I usually do and let the kids think about it. By October 1st, I frantically got online to purchase the Red Angry Bird and the Green Pig – per the boys request.
To my dismay – every online store was SOLD OUT! I panicked! The boys were banking on these costumes! And let’s face it, I don’t even know how to turn on a sewing machine – do you turn it on? Anyway. After several days of searching, I had an idea- to check out the actual Angry Birds site and sure enough they had them. AND THEY HAD THEM FOR $15 MORE then anywhere else! I was completely screwed and had to fork over A LOT of money for opening my stupid mouth in August. But it serves me right, I do like my kids to coordinate and I know this is probably the last year I will actually get to “encourage” them too. So I bit the bullet. I had some money saved in my personal account and purchased them.
And this year, last minute, a few of our friends asked to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. They boys were super excited! Jeremy and I were too !
Here is the motley crew:
And Green pig with his arch nemesis Red Bird:
Green Pig
Red Bird
Are your kids Angry Bird obsessed? I know many of you probably are. Best quote of the night from a neighbor, “hey Angry Birds (talking to the boys), that’s how I spend most my time at work.”
I’m Doing It Again
I’ve mentioned before the budding romance between Carter and running. And if you have been checking out this ol’ blog for awhile you know that I had a personal goal to run a race a couple of years back.
What I haven’t talked about (at least I don’t think I have yet) is the fact that I totally gave up on all things fitness and taking care of myself back in April when my doctor revealed that he couldn’t find anything AT ALL that was causing my ongoing joint and muscle pain. So I gave up! After 4 years of trying to find out what is wrong with me, I gave up. I mean come on, if I’m in pain all the time and nothing seems to help, why not just do nothing and eat whatever I want and be lazy!
Okay, so probably right about now, many of you are shaking your heads and asking what the heck I was thinking with that logic. I know, I know! But at the time, I was done trying!
So fast forward 4 months, 10 extra pounds and ongoing pain, I came to a sad and embarrassing conclusion of my actions.
Jeremy and I enjoy taking the boys on walks whenever the weather permits. But our walks soon became “runs” with Carter. He wanted to run the whole time. After 4 months of taking crappy care of myself, walks with the boys were getting more and more difficult. Then you add in that running that Carter wanted to do and I could barely keep up! I mean, I was completely winded after “running” with Carter around our block.
The embarrassment and the shame kicked in real quickly.
How could I NOT keep up with a 3 year old! Seriously?
Now if you recall, I HATE RUNNING! I don’t look good running! But I came to a conclusion. I HAVE to do it for Carter! Jeremy is naturally athletic and will run around with the boys, but he HATES running for exercise! Carter needs someone that runs. I would hate to think that he would stop running if he didn’t have anyone to look up to. Am I making sense? Probably not! But I’ll continue…
I realized in August that my health choices I was making were extremely selfish on my part! I NEED to be healthy for my family. I couldn’t continue allowing myself to dig deeper and deeper into that unhealthy lifestyle. My kids need me to be healthy, whether I’m in pain or not!
I mean come on, I’m in pain whether I work out and I ‘m in pain if I don’t. So why not at least be healthier and in pain!
So I have rededicated myself into running. I am currently in the seventh week of the Couch-to-5k program. I was hoping to get myself and Carter into a 5k before the winter (Carter in a “fun run” associated with a 5k, not an actual 5k yet), but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. But by next spring I should be fully ready to jump into the 5k circuit so that Carter can see his mama running and he can join in on the kid runs too!
Am I crazy? Yes! I am crazy for Carter! And if he wants to run, this mama will run with him until his heart’s content! Then come home and take a large dose of ibuprofen!
