Trick-Or-Treat! Halloween 2012

Our little Rapunzel (and Pascal).

Katy and Baby Daniel O'Donnell.

Ready for some CANDY!

Katy and Daddy, handing out treats!

 Happy Halloween! Today was a busy day for Lil' Miss!

It started out with Pajama Day and Harvest Party at Preschool. Our contribution to the fall-centered party were pumpkin muffins. Of course, in true Fancy Nancy style, they were fancy muffins- complete with frosting and sprinkles ;-P.

Then, after Preschool, some friends came over so that we could do the Downtown Concord Candy Crawl together. We lucked out with some nice- if a bit chilly- weather. The kids had fun going trick-or-treating at each downtown shop. We saw lots of other MOMs Club friends and friends from preschool.

Everybody came back to our house after the Candy Crawl for a nice, hearty chili dinner. The kids played, the adults ate- we had a good time!

After our little "party" had dispersed, and Ted got home from work, we sat outside on the steps to hand out candy. Typically, we have a TON of trick-or-treaters! However, this year, we felt the crowds were a little light. So, while we ended up giving away all 450 pieces of candy/temporary tattoos, some kids lucked out with more than a couple of pieces of loot.

Halloween isn't a whole lot of fun for a food-allergic kid. Even though her recent allergy tests came back negative for soy and nuts, we had a hive incident, yesterday. So, I wanted to play it safe and not introduce a whole lot of new/different candy to her diet. Instead, Katy helped us hand out our candy to the trick-or-treaters. She did a great job giving each child some candy and she was so enthralled by all of the activity, costumes and commotion going on!

I'd say Lil' Miss had a busy and fun Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday- Black Thumb

Sentence of the Day- Dangerous

While flipping and twirling and somersaulting on, around and under her Daddy, Katy yells out to me, "We be dangerous!!" *giggle, giggle*

Muffin Tin Monday- Fall

Pretzel Crackers, Carrot Sticks (If I keep putting them in her lunch, one of these days, girly will eat them.... right?!), Applesauce, "FALL" Chocolate Cookies, Veggie Straws and Turkey and Cheese roll-ups.

It's another week of fall fun at Preschool, this week, so I did another "fall" themed lunch for Lil' Miss. I hope she eats more of this one than she did the other one! Last time, she came home with most of her lunch untouched. She later finished it, but I think she sometimes gets distracted at Preschool and doesn't want to focus on eating her own lunch.

Outdoor Movie

"Last night, Mommy, Daddy and I saw a movie.... OUTSIDE! 

Afton Village was showing The Lorax out on the lawn."

"I got to sit in my Dora chair from Nana and PopPop."

"While I was waiting for the movie to start, I decided to fit in a little exercise. Every step counts! ;-P"

"Mommy even brought along some yummy snacks for us to munch on during the show. Daddy and I liked the popcorn the best!"

"Here I am grooving along to the pre-show music. 

I was a good girl and stayed still (and quiet!) throughout the whole movie. Mommy and Daddy thought it was because I enjoyed the movie. Secretly, though, I was just excited to be staying up past my bedtime...."

Drew Family Halloween Bash 2012

"I went to my friends, Jackson and Macy's Halloween party, this weekend."

"I'm dressing up as an Ice Cream Cone for Halloween, this year. Mommy and Daddy had to beg coax me to wear my costume. I'm glad I finally did put my costume on because I won a prize for "best girl."

"There were all sorts of yummy treats at the party!"

"This is my friend Nolan- isn't he the cutest little pirate?"

"Look! Even Mommy and Daddy dressed up for the party! They won a prize "best couple."

"This is my friend, Mackenzie. We both got tired of wearing our costumes, so we took them off. Halloween is so much fun!"

Sentence of the Day- Guac and Roll

Driving home from a shopping trip and lunch at Whole Foods, I asked Katy if she had a fun day.

Katy replied, "I like eating cheese and chippies and yucky-mole." (samples)

What is "yucky-mole," you ask? Guacamole, of course!

Nuby Mommy Blogger- Step Up Stool

Getting a little "boost" from the Nuby  Step Up Stool.

It's a stool AND a seat!

I was pretty excited to get the Step Up Stool from Nuby to review because Lil' Miss really needed a stool for the upstairs bathroom sink. As she gets older and more independent, she doesn't always want my help accomplish various tasks- even if she has physical limitations (i.e. she can't reach the sink to wash her hands by herself).

So, as soon as we opened our box of items to review, we put the stool in the bathroom. Katy immediately wanted to wash her hands. So, she tested it out. The stool gives her just enough boost to reach the faucet handles and wash her hand independently. Yay!!

We like the rubberized stool top that allows for some traction (and less chance of falling). Also, the product claims to hold up to 800 pounds, so that means that even I can use the stool to reach a little higher (no short jokes, please ;0). One of the limitations I've found with other children's step stools is that they have a very low weight limit that doesn't always seem practical for everyday, family use.

As you can see from the picture above, not only does Lil' Miss use the stool for it's intended use- giving her a boost- but she also likes to sit on it and turn it over and use it as a bed for her baby dolls. So versatile!

“I did not receive any compensation for this post, although as part of this program I may receive items to sample or review.”

Wordless Wednesday- Freebird!

21 Days to a More Disciplined Life

Click here for more information.

"Do you have ideas, hopes, and dreams for what you want to accomplish in your life, but you feel like you’re being held back by a lack of personal discipline?"

Crystal Paine's new ebook, titled 21 Days To A More Disciplined Life, seeks to help readers create discipline habits in their life. While it doesn't claim to have all the answers, this book does promise you that readers will learn the following points:

• How to prioritize and name your goals so that you can accomplish them faster than ever.

• How to expose the obstacles that will come up, and then make a plan to conquer them.

• How to break up a goal that feels insurmountable into bite-sized pieces.

• How to stop making excuses and get the job done now — and then enjoy the rest of your day!

• How to put accountability in place to help you stay on task and motivated.

So, if you need more order and priorities in your life, go ahead and check out 21 Days To A More Disciplined Life.


*This post is sponsored by the author.*

Sentence of the Day- Wardrobe Malfunction

While on a walk this afternoon, a gentleman walked past us. His pants were way below his waist, being held up by a loose fitting belt practically around his knees.

Katy exclaims (at a volume loud enough for the man to hear her), "Oh no! That man pants is falling down!"

I responded, "Yes, Honey, they kind of are but that's the style."

Horrified, Katy proclaims, "But, Mommy- what if they fall down & we see his tushy?!"

Muffin Tin Monday- Fall Fun

Pumpkin Bread cut into leaf shapes, Roast Beef with a leaf-shaped Cheese garnish, Ants on a Log, Raisins, Veggie Straws, Apple with Sunbutter.

Fall has arrived in the Carolinas! Cooler temps and colorful, falling leaves! Time for a Lil' Miss lunch that reflects the changing seasons. :-)

I Love My Daddy!

"I love my Daddy!"

"His shoulders make the perfect perch for me to see the world from above!"

"My Daddy is a good teacher- he is patient and protective- teaching me about God and nature and love."

"Most of all, my Daddy is the perfect silly play-thing! I love my Daddy!"

Back To Nature- Reedy Creek Nature Center

"Look, Mom! This is called a stick. And the leaves and trees behind me are called 'Nature.'"

Run, Katy, run!

Today was one of the few Saturdays in October where we didn't have anything planned- no birthday parties, no company, no places to be, things to do. So, we decided to be "spontaneous" (or, as spur-of-the-moment as you can be with a two-year old) and enjoy a crisp, cool, fall day at the Reedy Creek Nature Center.

Ted donned his flannel, we packed an eco-friendly lunch (in reusable lunch sacks and reusable water bottles), I grabbed an address to put into Garmin and we were on our way! Once we (finally!) parked, we decided to take the one mile "Dragonfly Pond" path. After a little coaxing, Katy got down and ran free along the path. She enjoyed picking up leaves and sticks and not being required to hold a parent's hand. She liked throwing leaves and pebbles into the pond. It took us about an hour to finish the loop (remember, we were walking with a toddler- her path tends to be a bit circuitous and not very direct). 

After our walk, we enjoyed the Nature Center where Katy got to explore the exhibits and "Kids Corner." Then, after she tired of that, we found a picnic table and ate our lunch.

It was a perfect Fall Day!

Sentence of the Day- Lullaby

It was Ted's turn to put Katy to bed, tonight and here's a snippet of their bedtime conversation:

Katy, in a sleepy-but-fighting-it voice, "Daddy sing me Lullaby."
Ted starts to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star...."
Katy interrupts, "No, Daddy- the other lullaby."
Slightly confused, Ted starts singing another song.
Katy interrupts, "No Daddy! Do you not know the words?!"
Stifling a laugh, Ted says, "No, I guess not, Katy. Why don't you sing me the lullaby and teach it to me?"
Katy starts singing the "La-La-Lullaby" song from Jim Henson's Pajanimals...

OH! That Lullaby! Silly Daddy!

Nuby Mommy Blogger- Flower Child™ Feeding Set

Flower Power Princess

Ever the little princess- as evidenced by the tiara and pink, frilly dress-up gown pictured above- Lil' Miss loves all things girly. So, the pink Nuby Flower Child™ Feeding Set is right up her alley! As soon as we opened our box of Nuby Mommy Blogger goodies, Katy immediately gravitated toward the pink, flowery plate, bowl and silverware set.

After a somewhat traumatic morning of allergy testing, we chose to do something "special" for dinner and eat dinner in the living room (living on the wild side, I know ;-P) while watching Madagascar 3. Of course, Katy's pizza dinner had to be plated on her new Nuby Flower Child™ Feeding Set. Not only did Katy have fun eating off her new dishes, but I have nothing but praises for it!

Here's what I liked about  Nuby Flower Child™ Feeding Set:
-Cute, fun flower design that appealed to my daughter and encouraged her to eat her meal.
-Rubber "feet" on the bottom of the bowl and plate that allowed for them to stay put (even with the constant ball of motion my two-year old can *sometimes* be).
-I still cut up Katy's food into bite-sized pieces. I used a regular butter knife on the plate and didn't notice any scrapes or scratches after the first use. I'm sure that some will appear after time, but I've also experienced plastic plates that look scratched up after only one use.
-As I mentioned above, we were eating pizza for dinner. I didn't notice any red leftover stains on the plate that sometimes appear on plasticware.
-The chunky, rubberized fork and spoon were ergonomic to my daughter's smaller hands. (If I were to say anything slightly negative about this set, it would only be to point out that I don't feel that the rounded fork tines would be sufficient in piercing through tougher meats and harder foods.)

“I did not receive any compensation for this post, although as part of this program I may receive items to sample or review.”

Color Inside the Lines

According the Katy, this says, "Mommy, I love you. Love, Katy Grace Jones."

"'care cow" (aka, Scarecrow)

Do you see those picture, above? Do you see how only very specific elements in each picture are colored? See those scribbles in between the lines in the bee hive? Katy surprised me yesterday when she colored these pictures for myself and Ted. She was very deliberate in what she colored and how. They are by no means perfect, but they are specific (in where she colored). I don't know how old children typically start to "color inside the lines" but I felt this was very advanced for her age! It also showed her advanced fine motor skills in the way she controlled the pen. 

Of course, being the child and an artist and a designer, it didn't surprise me too much! Katy definitely has a couple creative genes floating around, inside her!

Food Allergy Retesting

A much happier girl....

Way back when Katy was first diagnosed with food allergies in May 2011, we were told that she would need to be retested every year in order to evaluate if she would potentially outgrow some and/or all of them.

SOOOOooo.... today, a year and a half later, we found ourselves back at the allergist's all set to be retested. I came armed with Angry Birds, Color Wonder and Fancy Nancy; steeled for a long wait (last time we were there, it took three and a half LONG hours at the doctor's office- RIDICULOUS!). In addition to having Katy retested for her documented food allergies to eggs, nuts and soy, I asked that she be tested for seasonal/indoor allergies, strawberries, cinnamon and apples (An awful long list, I know, but I had to know for sure).

Last year's visit obviously made a pretty big impression on Lil' Miss because as soon as we walked into the patient room, Katy started fussing, squirming and saying, "They (the nurses) no write on my back. That hurt my back." (Don't tell me that children can only start to form memories when they are four years old and older- Katy clearly remembered the back scratch tests from over a year ago when she was only 15 months old!).

When the nurse came in with all the vials of things to test her with, Katy went ballistic (and I do not use that word lightly!). It took two nurses and myself to literally pin Katy to the observation table while another nurse frantically marked Katy's back and did the appropriate "scratches." Katy was thrashing and screaming and crying so loud that I'm sure that not only did everyone in the allergist's office hear her, but so did all of Concord (and I am by no means exaggerating as to the decidable level of Katy's terror!). All the while this was going on, Katy was sobbing, "Mommy, keep me safe!" (Break my heart!!)

After all of the marks were done and the nurses left the room, Katy calmed down a bit (not much), but didn't want to do anything but cling to me. Thankfully, she didn't try to scratch her back, though. We were able to walk around the halls for a bit while we waited for the results.

As for the results.... I was very surprised to find that the only food allergy that Katy tested positive to was egg yolks and whites! Nuts, soy, apples, strawberries and cinnamon were all negative. Dust mites were very strongly reactive (no big surprise there since I'm pretty allergic to dust mites, myself), but thankfully the other seasonal allergies were all negative.

SOOOOooo.... where does that leave us now? Well, for now, we are to keep the status quo- meaning, keep avoiding any known and suspected allergens until we can get a "food challenge" scheduled at the allergist's main office in Uptown Charlotte (fun, fun!). What is a "food challenge," you ask? Well, basically, we block out a whole morning or afternoon where the doctor's feed Katy the suspected allergen every fifteen to twenty minutes until the doctors are sufficiently satisfied that a) Katy is no longer allergic to that particular food or, b) Katy reacts to the food. Fun times, fun times.... I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to that....! *sigh*

Katy's doctor said that he has had patients that don't react to the skin test, yet do react to eating the food. So, for now, we are not out of the woods, yet (until we can get the food challenges completed). Dr. Patel was surprised that nuts was negative since that is usually a lifetime allergy. We were told that we could have a blood test done to double check the results of the back test, but there was no way on God's green earth or H-E-double Hockey sticks that that was going to happen after Katy's complete and utter meltdown!

Even with the negative results of Katy's food allergies, I know that there is still SOMETHING that she is allergic to because from time to time, she breaks out in a rash on her chin and face. Avoiding strawberries really does seem to help- I'm not just imagining it- the results are written on (or not) Katy's face in the form of hives (or lack thereof). Dr. Patel did mention that some people are sensitive to a food, but no necessarily allergic to it. Foods with high acidity could be causes of a rash on the chin and face (think Ketchup, BBQ sauce, Spaghetti sauce- staples in any toddler's diet).

In conclusion, I would love for Katy to have outgrown some (if not all) of her food allergies. Life would not only taste better for her, but I could also rest a little easier knowing that food is not a potential threat. However, part of me is concerned because for the past year and a half, I have been so vigilant in keeping certain foods from touching Katy's lips for fear of an allergic reaction and now, I'm just supposed to feed it to her?!? I guess we'll just have to wait and see....

On a happier note.... Our time at the doctor's only last two hours-not three and a half- thank goodness for small miracles! After our *fun* morning, we met Ted for lunch at Katy's favorite place, Chick-Fil-A. Katy did a great job ordering not only her lunch, but Ted's as well. She marched right up to the counter and told the cashier that she wanted, "French fries, chicken nuggets, 'weet tea and Speecy Spicy for my Daddy (translated, Spicy Chicken Sandwich)." (Don't judge- the kid and I had just survived a very traumatic morning!) After eating most of her lunch and some play time in the play place, we went to Harris Teeter so Katy could walk around with a shopping cart. She loves to push the mini carts around the grocery store and it's free entertainment, so, why not?

Stopping to Smell the Roses

My Little Rosebud :-)

Coming off a sleepless, restless night (not of my own accord), it's so nice to be reminded by my daughter that there is a lot in life to be appreciated. Take, for example, the other day. We were walking into Target and Katy stopped to smell the roses- literally. It was rainy and gloomy out and we were in the middle of a shopping plaza parking lot, and Katy reminded me that it's okay to take a little time to appreciate the things- big and small- around you. So, at the risk of sounding cheesy, I'm so glad that Katy can remind me to take pause and appreciate my surroundings- including her smiling face!!

Wordless Wednesday- Sleeping Beauty

MOMs Club Of Concord- Fall Festival/Open House

Fall Table Decorations

Katy and Connor, enjoying a snack together.

Today was the MOMs Club of Concord's Fall Festival/Open House. Coordinating the Open House falls under one of my "duties" as Membership VP of the club. So, responsibilities were divvied up and everything came together pretty smoothly (I can say that now that it's over :-). The board bought the food and our playgroup was in charge of decorations.

We had 16 moms and all of their kiddies present for the event. Of that, four were visitors- two of which, decided to join. We had about 34 people, total! That's a GREAT turnout for any MOMs Club event!!!!

While things were a bit chaotic (that's what you get when you put that many kids together!), we did manage to play "Pin the Nose on the Jack-O-Lantern" and "Guess How Many Candy Corn." Halloween Bingo never got around to being played- oh well- I don't think the kids missed it!

It was nice to socialize and get to know some new moms.

Muffin Tin Monday- Chicken Nuggets

Red Grapes, Carrots, Cheese Rice Cakes, Babybel Cheese Wheels, Ian's All Natural Chicken Nuggets

So, I was shopping at Target a couple of weeks ago and I stumbled upon Ian's All Natural Chicken Nuggets. When I saw the words, "Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Milk Free, Casein Free, Egg Free, Peanut Free, Tree Nut Free and Soy Free" on the front of the packaging, I immediately stuck a box in my cart for my egg/nut/soy allergic daughter. Yes, please!

The real test, though, was will Lil' Miss eat these free-of-everything (and possibly free of taste?!) nuggets...? When I opened up her lunchbox after school I was sad to see that only one nugget was eaten. On the walk home from school, I decided to put two more nuggets in her stroller tray to see she'd eat some more- she ate them. However, add BBQ sauce and she gobbled them right up!

I later tried a nugget and I've got to admit- it's no Chick-Fil-A...

Meet Addyson

Addyson and Katy- Best Buds!

Meet Addyson. Blonde-haired, blue eyes and rosy cheeks- she could not look more different from Katy, if she tried. However, don't let looks deceive you because Addyson and Katy are best buds at Preshool. From sitting together at lunch, to playing together at centers, Katy loves her little friend.

Up until this point, Katy's "friends" have been the children of our friends. Katy didn't really get a say in the matter. So, it's fun and interesting to see what kind of people Katy chooses as friends.

Happy Birthday, Lucas!

Playing with Lucas

Lucas and Co.

Another weekend, another birthday....! This time, we attended Lucas' 3rd birthday at the park. Lucas and Katy are classmates at Forest Hill Christian Preschool. Apparently, Lucas has a little crush on Katy.... ;-)

1,000 Blog Post!!

We have hit a big milestone here at All Things Katy! This is our 1,000 blog post!! Can you believe it?! Two and a half years and 1,000 posts later, we're still going strong and evolving and growing along with our Katy Grace. To commemorate this momentous occasion  I thought that it'd be fun to take a little walk down memory lane, blog style... :-)

-Our very first blog post was "Happy New Year, Little One." I was still pregnant with Katy and she wasn't even born, yet.

-As I type, we've had 38,313 all time history pageviews.

-The most popular post (as shown by number of pageviews) was "The Money Saving Mom's Budget- Book Review." It was viewed 523 times.

-The second most popular post was the "Cookie Monster Birthday Bash," detailing Katy's first birthday party.

-Google searches have proven to be the most popular way viewers have come to All Things Katy! 

-Some common searches that have led viewers to our neck of the blogosphere are: "cookie monster," "All Things Katy," and "cheddar bunnies."

-Our viewers hail from all over the globe- Russia, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, India, Brazil, France, Netherlands and especially right here in the good ol' US of A.

-Up until January 2012, we had the same old look. We updated the overall template with "A New Year, A New Blog Template."

-"Wordless Wednesdays" started January 2012 with "Wordless Wednesday- Ernie for Lunch."

-On February 22, 2012, we launched a series called, "Sentence of the Day," recording all the funny, silly and sometimes embarrassing things Lil' Miss tends to say.

-April 2, 2012, "Muffin Tin Mondays" joined the round-up, as a weekly feature displaying the fun, creative and allergy friendly lunches that Katy enjoys. Slowly, MTM has evolved into more of a bento-style lunch as Katy entered Preschool, this past fall (more portable).

-"Katy's Playroom" was the first blog post where I went from writing TO Katy and writing ABOUT her. Originally, I had started the blog as a kind of "Baby Keepsake Book" and a way to share about Katy to friends far and wide. So, I wanted to write TO her. However, as the blog has evolved, I've found it to not only be a source of recording our lives together as a family, but also a platform to share new books, new products, opinions and various other things tangible and non-tangible.

-"Muppets" has been either in the title or the topic of only 16 (out of 1,000) blog posts. With a Muppet-adoring father like Ted, this surprised even me!

So, here's to 1,000 good posts and many more to come....!!

Forest HIll Christian Preschool- Children's Sabbath Service

"Jesus Loves Me!"

"Too Loud!"

Today, we had the opportunity to watch Katy sing with the rest of her Preschool during church. So, we decided to be Methodist for the day and watch Lil' Miss sing. The kids sang "Jesus Loves Me" and "This Little Light of Mine." While she didn't really sing (at least, not that we could tell), Katy did far better than I had first expected. Katy was the stereotypical kid who was waving to her parents in the audience. She stood up front of the church, with her classmates, she didn't try to run towards us and she didn't cry. Katy was pretty interested in watching the other kids sing, so oftentimes, she was turned around watching her friends sing, instead of singing herself. Overall, though, I'd consider that a win!

(Pancake) Batter's Up!

Our little "sous chef."

Saturday morning breakfasts are Ted's specialty  Today's menu included pancakes, bacon and eggs (for those who could enjoy). Katy loves to help in the kitchen. She scoots the stool right up to the counter and jumps right in.

Today, her task was to mix the pancake batter and mix, she did! You never saw batter mixed so smooth- no lumps! She also did a lovely job of adding (egg/nut/soy free) chocolate chips to the pancakes, as well (because, seriously, what's better than Saturday morning pancakes but CHOCOLATE CHIP pancakes?!?).

Not only did Katy do a great job acting as Ted's "sous chef," but she also did a great job consuming the end results- yummy!

Gin Blossoms- Hey Jealousy

"Tell me do you think it'd be all right..."

"If I could just crash here tonight..."

Katy didn't let a really bad cover of Gin Blossoms' "Hey Jealousy" at the Time Warner Cable BBQ and Blues Festival get in the way of her groove!

Time Warner Cable BBQ and Blues Festival

Ready for some BBQ!

Since the grandparents were in town and the weather was nice, we decided to go to the Time Warner Cable BBQ and Blues Festival, today. In the past, this festival was held in Uptown Charlotte was called "Blues, Brews and BBQ." However, now that it has a sponsor the name and location has changed. It's okay though, all the locals still refer to it by it's old name.

Typically, this festival is held around in September, around Ted's birthday. This year, however, since the DNC was being held in Uptown at that time, the festival was moved back. Turns out, it was better weather this way! (Remember all those bummed Democratic supporters that had to miss Obama's speech when the closing ceremonies were moved indoors, due to rain?)

I have to say, though, this year's festivities were a bit of a let-down. I don't know if we got there too early, or what- but there wasn't much of a crowd (not complaining!) and there wasn't a whole lot to do. There weren't many places to sit and enjoy some 'que and the music on the main stage was CRANKING (and not in a good way!!!!

We didn't let the loud music deter us from enjoying some really good ribs and brisket from Mac's, though! We just found a grassy curb and dug right in- delish!

As we were walking out of the festival, I took a spin at the 5/3 Bank wheel and ended up winning a hat and a chair! So, I'd have to say we had fun despite the lack of entertainment and in spite of the loud (bad) music!

Sentence of the Day- Preschool

Today, Nana and PopPop Jones came with me to pick Katy up from Preschool. While we were driving home, I asked her what she learned today, in class. She replied, "Let's not talk about it right now." Ha!

On a related note, Katy had a GREAT day, today, at Preschool! She said, "Present" at roll call (all the other kids just say, "Here," but leave it to our Fancy Nancy to say something fancier!) AND she held the flag AND said the Pledge of Allegiance! YAYAYAYAYA! This is a big win for us, as I've recently been getting reports of a little girl who doesn't want to participate in class.

Sentence of the Day- Fashion Statement

We were walking out of Hobby Lobby, tonight, when a young girl sporting the "goth" look and ripped up, hole-y jeans walked into the store.

Katy loudly proclaimed, "Daddy, somebody's pants are broken!"

Yes, Katy- they were broken- may you never fall victim to such a fashion trend...!

Nuby Mommy Blogger- Insulated No-Spill™ Flip-it™

 Insulated No-Spill™ Flip-it™

When Lil' Miss was little and just starting to learn how to use sippy cups (around six months old), we had the hardest time finding one that would work for her. After much trial and error (and a cupboard full of sippy cups), we finally figured out that she preferred straws over spouts. We've since moved past that stage (thank goodness!) but Katy still prefers her drinks with a straw. So, when we got the opportunity to review the Insulated No-Spill™ Flip-it™ cup, I was pretty excited and had high hopes!

Pros:

-I like that the straw can be "flipped" closed when not in use. This helps protect the mouthpiece from unwanted germs.

-Fun cup designs and patterns- we have the ladybug.

-Easy to hold and easy to carry around.

Con:

-When opening this "flip top"- WATCH OUT!! Every single time we opened the part that protected the straw, water would spray out go everywhere! (Water didn't leak from where the lid matched the cup- just from the straw/flip mechanism.)

Overall, I'd probably only give this cup a mediocre score since the spraying water got old pretty quick. However, Lil' Miss seems to gravitate toward the design and color, so that's favorable.

“I did not receive any compensation for this post, although as part of this program I may receive items to sample or review.”

Pirate and Princess Night at Chick-Fil-A

Our Lil' Princess

Our local Chick-Fil-A had Pirate and Princess night, tonight. So, Lil' Miss donned a princess costume and tiara and we had dinner out. There was coloring and nail painting and photos with Jack Sparrow and a Princess. Katy wasn't too fond of Jack Sparrow, but she did want to get her picture taken with the princess (as long as Daddy was holding her).

Great-Grandpa Tinkey Would Be Proud!

The next new food craze- Sunbutter and Onions!

My paternal grandfather was known for his love of Peanut Butter and Onion Sandwiches. We all liked to tease him about it but he always replied, "Don't knock it until you've tried it." So, today, when I caught Katy dipping her raw onions (yes, my child LOVES to eat raw onions- they are high in vitamin C!) in Sunbutter (peanut butter alternative), I had to smile. Pop-Pop Tinkey would be proud- it must be genetic ;-P.

MOMs Club- Fire Station Visit

Firewoman Katy, to the rescue!

Doing What Katy Does Best- Pushing Buttons! 

(Love the "Danger" sign in the lower right corner)

Fire Safety Demonstration

Katy and Elizabeth with their new hats! (Yay, for a pink fire hat!)

This past Tuesday, we joined the rest of the MOMs Club for a visit to the Fire Station. I couldn't quite convince Katy to don her cool fireman outfit from the Jones Grandparents, but we had fun, nonetheless. The kids were allowed to climb and roam the trucks to their hearts content. They had so much fun exploring and pushing button (literally and figuratively, if you know what I mean ;-P). Katy especially had fun "driving" the big trucks! There was also a fire safety demonstration and one of the women got suited up in full turn-out gear. It was neat to see a fire woman, up close, in a non-threatening setting. We had a good turnout of kids (and moms) and I know that all the kids had a good time!!