product review~strider bikes

I have been putting this review off for quiet sometime and in away I am happy that I did. Keep reading you will find out why.  Sorry it has taken me so long to write this post.

 

Last year we bought our two older kids new bikes and poor Jacob was just going to use the hand me down bikes till he got bigger and was ready for a big boy bike. I was searching the internet and came across Strider bikes. I contacted them and for awhile I didn’t hear back from them so I at first thought they didn’t want to do a review with me. Yes I was bummed but also understood. Then I contacted them again and they said YES! Needless to say I was excited when I found out.  The day the bike came Jacob and I were at the store and my mom was at our house. She called my phone and told me a box arrived, thinking it was something else I wasn’t very excited till she told me it was green. I wanted to grab  Jacob run out of the store and leave what my mom needed at the store and hurry home. And  of course on the way home Jacob fell asleep.  While we were still at the store she put his bike together so it would be ready when we got home.  She said it was very simple and even came with its own tool to help!  I let him sleep for a bit then made him get up to play with his new bike. He was very excited to see it was green his favorite color, they have 7 different colors to choose from. At first he was a bit bewildered that it didn’t have any pedals and it was all his!  Since its now winter time here and we can’t use our bike outside its small enough for Jacob to bring his bike inside and it doesn’t use up a lot of space.

 

Now some information about the strider bikes then I will tell you why I am glad I waited to write this review~

~designed for ages 1-5 yrs old up to 50lbs

~ you can buy a taller seat post for your growing child.

~no pedals or sprockets for your young rider to get caught in

~little assembly! just attach the handle bars, wheels and seat and ride! Loved that one

~ Light weight, just weighs 7lbs

~check out youtube.com and type in strider pre-bikes to see how easy it is for kids to learn how to ride.

 

The box his bike came in

Jacob’s bike all put together. The seat is in the lowest spot when mom put it together but it does go way higher

 

Jacob’s first ride, see we still have the seat too low.

He is trying to run the ball over.

 

See even in Michigan you can still ride in the winter.  

 

Why I waited---Jacob has had many ear infections and this year he received his 3rd set of ear tubes. When he got his bike it was shortly after his tubes fell out, he did ride his bike but not much. Since he received these last set of ear tubes he has been riding his bike indoors all day long.  On January 22 he received his tubes and today is February 27 and he is starting to pick his feet up off the ground for a few seconds! I can’t  wait till spring comes around and we can go outside and ride more and see what he does. I don’t think he will have a hard time keeping up with his sister this year and he might get a big boy bike sooner than I think.  I love this bike and would recommend this bike to everyone who is looking for a bike for their kids!

 

**Thanks to strider who  gave me this great opportunity to review this bike**

t’was the night before school…

Tomorrow is the kids first day of school tomorrow.  Yes I wanted to do the whole rhyming thing but I am not a good at rhyming.  So this year is gonna be a busy one I think. Katey is now in 2nd grade and she goes all day(8-3:10pm) SO Jerry will drop her off before he goes to work. Camron is in young 5’s. He will go from 11:50-3:30 pm. I will have to take him in. Jacob is in special education due to all those ear infections, so he is going for the extra help with his speech. He will go 8:35-11:25 But the bus will pick him up around 8:15am and drop him off, well I guess I am not really sure since the bus driver told me that she was going to drop him off at 11:25 but that is the time school gets out.  So  I am not sure what time its gonna be. I will have to see what time he gets home so I will know if I will be picking up Jacob before I take Camron to school or wait until he gets home and then quickly load everyone up in the van, since I still have to take the daycare kids with me when I drop off Camron  and when I pick up Katey and Camron. I am excited for the kids first day of school but then also nervous for Jacob since he more attached to me than what the other two have been.  I can’t wait to take all 3 pictures tomorrow before they leave and hope to get one of all three after school. I can’t wait to have the house a tad bit quieter, but yet miss the kids all day. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Kyle!!

I really want to post this post this memorial weekend to honor Kyle Miller. Kyle gave his life to help save other children from going into booster seats too young. Thanks Kyle for everything that you have done for us and all the other families that you have touched!!! Rest in peace sweet boy.

 

 

Last year I was searching on the web for something and came across this video, about Kyle Miller who was killed when he was only 3 yrs old. After I watched the video I went to Kyle’s website, and began to look around it. I found a place where they donated higher weight seats to children who’s parents can’t normally afford these seats, which are well over $200.00 each.  Our kids have outgrown their car seats at about  2- 2.5 yr old since they are so dang tall, so both Katey and Camron went  into booster seat at that age.  Jacob is still rear facing and he is 2 1/2 yrs old.(he’s in Graco’s My Ride 65) and he still has about 5-8 lbs before he really has to be forward facing, which by the way rear facing is 5x safer then forward facing! Something that I didn’t know before I began learning more about car seats.   As I researched about extended harnessing I wanted my kids back into a 5pt harness, so I contacted Laura at Kyle David Miller. So we were placed on a waiting list. Finally our name came up and they shipped us 2 Britax car seats that hold up to 80 lbs. Angela, the Child Passenger Safety Instructor, and I met to install the seats. I have Jacob in the middle of the van in a bucket seat, and I planned on putting the new seats in the back together since at that point I had just one extra daycare baby who I would put behind me in the middle. We put one seat in and ran into a problem, these seats needed to be top tethered, the strap the wraps up behind the seat. I only had one anchor point and needed two. I do have 3 anchor points in my van, both buckets and the back middle, but since from time to time I do have to take some of the daycare kids with me it would be a pain to  have lets say Katey and Camron in the middle bucket seats, Jacob who is still rear facing and the other daycare baby, who at the time was still rear facing in the back. Which would be a huge pain in the butt to load them two thru the back hatch. So Angela contacted Laura and explained our problem to her. I was thinking our kids were going to have to stay in their booster seats since most higher weight car seats require a top tether.  Our name was placed back on a waiting list for a Sunshine Kids Radian seat. This seat also goes to 80 lbs, but it doesn’t require a top tether. The neat things about this seat is it folds up, once your child is on the top slot, the harness can be below their shoulders (most seats the harness has to be AT OR ABOVE the child’s shoulders), the seat is good for 5-80lbs, the seat is good for 8yrs, super comfy! My kids both have said these seats are more comfortable than their old boosters! I am just soo happy I found Kyle David Miller and I was able to make my kids safer in my van!  Katey can buckle her self up, with me checking it every time, Camron needs just a little bit of help, but he can put his harness on and snap the chest clip but needs help with the other one.  By the time Jacob out grows his car seat I am sure either Katey or Camron will be 80 lbs and he will be able to use this seat after them since this seat is good for 8yr from the time it was made. So we will get a lot of use out of our new seats. When Camron first sat in this seat he called it a baby seat, but i quickly told him that its a race car seat, all race car drivers sit in the same type of seat. And now he loves it!

 

 

Checking Camron for harness height before we put the seat into the van

 

Camron and Katey trying out their new seats. Yeah Katey don’t look too happy but it was HOT in the van that day. After the van cooled down she was much happier to sit in her seat. What is nice is since both Katey and Camron are on the same harness height they can sit in each others seat with no problem, which makes it nice for me.

 

Camron being a ham.

 

Since this seat folds up it has a little crease and the harness fits perfectly in it to hold it open for when they get into their seats its easier for them.

 

Thanks again Kyle, you will always have a special place in our family and hearts. I will continue to spread information to others about car seat safety.

Thanks to Angela for teaching me out to properly install these seats.

Plugged

 

For some time the toilet upstairs hasn’t been flushing all that great.  I was thinking maybe the kids used too much toilet paper and plugged it up. So i began to plunge the darn toilet. Nothing really happened, water did go down but it went very slow.  So I began plunging it every time the kids used it to “keep”  clean water in the toilet. Then about a week of plunging Katey told me told me that she thinks that Jacob flushed a  toy down the potty the other day and he flushed it before daddy was able to catch it.  Man that bit of information would’ve been nice to know about a week earlier it would’ve saved me a lot of time.  So I called some plumbers, so see how much it would be to rescue  a dino in the toilet. I can’t believe how much it would’ve cost! One plumber did tell me how to do it so, thank goodness Jerry and my dad were able to go fishing a few day later.   After they took the toilet off we could see the dino that was causing all the problems.

 

Can you see his tail?? While I went to get our camera  Jacob shoved the dino up so all i was able to get his tail.

 

He’s OUT. Camron was upset to hear that this little guy had to go in the trash.

Now if our toilet is slow we know how to fix it, I just hope they have learned NOT to flush toys down the toilet.

Happy Mothers Day

 

 

Moments like these make my heart melt. I hope everyone has a great Mothers Day.

 

 

 

Band-its

Since Jacob just had his tube put back in recently, I knew I needed to find new ear plugs again. The last time he had his tubes put in we just went to the store and looked for ear plugs.  I bought some, came home tried to put them into his ears.They were hard to put in. I pulled one pair in half, rolled them between my fingers in hoping to make them softer to make it easier to put them into his ears, no such luck.  Back to the store again, found some that said “children and ladies” size. They were smaller and they came in different colors, cool I thought. Still the same problem they were hard to put into his ears. The package said “soft” but they were hard from soft. This time when he had his tube inserted  I jumped to the internet and did a search for ear plugs and come across Earbandit.com.  I contacted them about doing a review for them. I was thinking they were going to just send me one Band system (the band and one set of ear plugs) but instead they sent me 3 bands, plus 2 different color ear plugs, one for each of our kids!!!  Needless to say I was waiting by our mailbox everyday when I seen the mail truck coming down the road. I was very impressed with customer service, by email. My emails were answered very fast! I contacted them on a Monday, they sent out our ear bands on Tues and by Friday we received them. Just in time, since Jacob had his ear tube put in on Friday. These are plug are very SOFT,they remind me of fresh soft playdo they are that soft, and easy to put into my kids ears.  For all 3 of my kids I tear the plugs in half so they fit better.  Jacob’s band is teal and he received 2 green plugs, Camron’s band is blue and he recieved orange and yellow plugs, Katey’s band is purple and her plugs are purple and pink, (magenta)  All together they have 5 different color bands to choose from in 3 different sizes. 1-3 yrs, 4-9yrs and 10-adult.  They also have 10 different colors to choose from in their ear plugs, and two types. One that floats then they fall out or should i say when your child pulls them out, much easier to find. The other type is still silicone but doesn’t float.  I love the names to their ear plugs~Splash puppy (Blue), Tube Dwag(purple) and more. On Friday when I recieved them in the mail I brought them with me to my parents since I knew that day Jacob would be wanting a bath with his older siblings that night.  Before we had a chance to use them in the tub we used them outside(,these are not advertised to be used outside while playing), He wanted to go outside but with them living out in the county it was windy and I didn’t want the wind in his ears, so we placed cotton balls in his ears, since it was time for his ear drops and put on his band. It worked great! Later after he came in he loved that he had the chance to wear his green, his favorite color, ear plugs. They were easy to put in and very very soft! After I put them in he ran around to show everyone his new ears.  After Camron found out that he also has a band and ear plugs he wanted his in also. Now when ever he gets ready for a bath tub he asks for his band and plugs! Katey, with her being 7 she thinks she’s too cool for ear plugs when she’s in the bath tub.  But this summer when we go to Great Wolf Lodge, I am sure she will change her mind about using them. I know for those few days we will get a lot of use out of these. I love the fact you can use the color side out or the black side out. The material reminds me of a wet suit since it does stretch when you put it on. They dry out very fast which makes it nice for after tubs at night or even I am sure this summer after playing in the water.

Jacob using his band while playing outside  (Jayco does not advertised this band to be used outside to keep wind out of ears)

 

Even with only half of the putty in his ears you still have a lot of putty to fill his ears. He leaves them alone after you put them in. They do have some tackiness to them which helps them stay put. Again I love how SOFT they are!

 

Camron wearing his band and he loves it!

 

As you can see Katey did not want her picture taken today.

 

 

 

The back of the band. Even if you were in the pool you can still slide your water goggles over the band.

 

The 5 different colors that we recieved.  Yellow, orange, green, purple, and pink. Its great having many colors to choose from you will have a better chance of your child wearing them if you let them pick out their color. If you have more than one person using the putty buddies you can color code everyone so no mixing up ear plugs!

 

Here are my kids bands.  Camron has blue, Katey has  purple and Jacob has teal. Each band does have a size tag attached so even if you have two of the same color its easy to tell the difference between them.

As you can see the difference between a small(the teal) and the med (purple). 

 

The back of the band, you get “two” looks in one.

I really wish that I had these ear plugs the first time around because, I know if I did, I never would’ve battled Jacob to put his ear plugs in. I would recommend these to anyone who needs earplugs due to ear tubes or just want to keep water out, to make sure that they buy these ear plugs, they are everything and more. Check out earbandits.com also because they have more than just ear plugs and ear bands.

 

   Jacob lovin’ his band and ear plugs in the tub!

wordless Wednesday

ice carvings

 

I read in the paper that in downtown they were doing ice carving, games,  and carriage rides a few Saturdays ago, and since our winters have been so mild, well until a few weeks ago more on that later, I bundled Katey and Jacob up and downtown we headed. Jerry and Camron chickened out they didn’t want to go. By the time we arrived all the ice carving was done, yeah I was bummed that we didn’t get to watch them carve the ice I think Katey would’ve thought it was neat how they do it. But this way we beat the crowds.  I hope to go back next year and take Camron with us I think he would’ve had fun also

 

One of ice carvings was a piggy bank. Yes you see my sweet daughter trying to rob the bank. Talk about cold cash.

I tried to get their picture together but Jacob didn't want to sit still. Its amazing how much detail they can add to the ice.

The 3 of us on the carriage ride around the block. It was nice and warm since they gave us all blankets. I am sure the horse was tired by the time it left.

 

They had a “warming” tent sat up to “warm” you up. Not sure why they really had the tent since it wasn’t warm at all. But here the kids are Ice Fishing in a sled. After they caught the fish they received some candy.  By the time we left Jacob had little ice hands since he took all the fish from the one sled and put them all into the other sled.

About half way thru Jacob ditched the gloves and stuck his hands into his pockets.

While we waited for the horse Katey played on the snow piles downtown.

you found me where?

For  awhile now its been a bedtime battle with Jacob. I think for the most part its just I get tired of taking him upstairs all the time while Jerry just sits and watches me go up the stairs for the 100th time, that yes I do give up and that is  when my husband should step in but normally he just lets him stay up with him or lay in our bed until he falls asleep. But this one night when I headed back downstairs I went into the our bedroom expecting Jacob to be laying in our bed curled up under the blanket hiding from me. I could tell something was behind the door since it didn’t open all the way up, thinking it was a pack of diapers that fell or something else was blocking the door. To my surprise  it was Jacob hiding behind the door and he fell asleep.

 

 

Gosh he looks so cute curled into his little ball. Almost didn’t want to move him.

and the bowl goes to...........

NOT FOR THE FAINT STOMACHS. You have been warned.



Starting Sunday about 4ish pm Jacob threw up. But acted normal so I thought maybe something didn't settle in his belly or maybe too much candy. Since he is potty training and if he pee's on the potty he get a sucker, so maybe too many suckers in one day?? Oh NO!! We cuddled after the 3rd puke, and he took a little nap. Then more vomit. All I can say is CRAP! After getting the other two kids to bed and putting a load of a laundry in the washer not to mention our bedsheets, yes he blessed our bed with his chunks, we put him on the couch to sleep. We went to bed hoping for a quiet night. Yeah right!! I woke up a few hours later having the same problem. ERRRRR. So yeah any mother knows how the rest of the night would go. Either I was up with Jacob or up with my own problems. Then about sometime early,ok maybe about 6am, Monday morning I got up to call my daycare parent to tell them that I AM CLOSED! Since Jacob woke up with me he wanted something to drink. I gave him a cup of kool-aid and off to bed we went again, only to be woken about 20 later to Jacob burping up the kool-aid, needless to say kool-aid at 6:30am is not the smell I wanted to smell. Off comes the bedsheets AGAIN, down goes towels and clean sheets again. So rest of the day Katey, Jacob and my super-hero for the day took care of us. Camron we to grandma and grandpas for the night. Camron can be a great helper but that day he just wanted to be a butt head, so out the door he went. Where was Jerry, well he had to work that day, where I am a mom and I can take the day off. LOL. So all day we just layed around watching tv and movies. Katey would get me some more water or whatever I needed. She is such a great helper. Did I ever mention that she can do, err help with the laundry, by running the washer and dryer?? SWEET! SO by the time we woke up from our naps we felt great. Jacob was much better also. We all went to bed, thinking it would be a good night. Oh so wrong. Katey comes down at 11, "i puked". "Go in the bathroom" up I get. Hubby just lays their in bed, "i think she got some on the floor, you can turn the light on if you need to." What?!?!? IF I need to?? I am thinking well get up and either pick your daughter or find the puke. So I clean up Katey get her on the couch then a puke hunting I go while my husband just lays like a bump on a log. Clean that mess up, while wanting to puke myself again. I settle back into bed just wanting to sleep. I hear Katey. Off goes super mom. She goes to sleep I go to sleep. Tues morning comes and of course she stays home from school. Trying to rest while all she wants to do is play. All day goes good, then lunch time comes. She eats some lunch and then it comes back. Darn. Kids jump in the tub later that night,"MOM Jacob puked". DRAT. more to clean, by this time I wanna run away. Put kids to bed normal time and Camron starts to whine that his bed is wet, his cup leaked, told him more or less to get over it and go to bed. Then all of a sudden his tummy hurts. I am thinking either A: his tummy really hurts OR he is using this as a reason to sleep on the couch. SO he heads downstairs to sit with Jerry after Camron and I talked about if he thinks hes gonna puke he better make it in the toilet or a bowl or some other bucket cuz I am done cleaning up puke. Maybe 15 mins later,"hes getting sick" Can I take CRY for a $1000 Pat? Clean more bowls and I crawl into bed,letting Jerry take care of his son. So now today is Wed, I think, Yeah it is and so far today everybody has held their own. I just hope this darn bug has left the house because if I find the darn thing I am gonna squash it and then flush it so it never comes back.

jacobs doc appt

Well today I once again took Jacob to the doctors. I thought he had a yeast infection on his bottom again, and come to find out that yes its a yeast infection but also a strep infection also. I asked how does a baby get a strep infection on his bottom? Well Dr. Smith told me that babies don't get strep throats but they will get strep on the bottoms, and why they really dont' know. So he is on another antibiotic once again. So since June 10 this poor kid has been on medicine for over a month. He now has 2 molors in his mouth. I guess hes ready for steak now huh?

Katey's first day of school is sept 2, i think she is ready to go, I know iam ready for her to go to school. This year is gonna seem kinda quiet around our house. As of right now Katey of course will be gone everyday from 8-11:15am and Amiyah will be going into headstart and Saune's mom is trying to get him into headstart also. SO if Amiayh and Saune are in school in the morning then it will be just the boys and me. What will i do with my time?? I know when mom takes Katey and Camron over night and Iam left with Jacob I dont' know what to do with myself with just one baby. I look back when it was just Katey and I have no idea what i did with all my time. Seems like 5 years ago when it was just her it was busy, busy trying to keep her busy, getting laundry done, picking up the house and etc. But now that i have 3 kids it seems like i have more time to do laundry, dishes, well try to pick up the house, or maybe i have just learned how to multi task better who knows, but would i trade all this in? NO not for the world, I love the messy fingers, sticky fingers,poopy butts, the kisses, hugs, and everything that goes on with being a mom.