Can you tell these peanuts apart?
Liv (at almost 3 months) on the top and Kenzie (at almost 7 weeks) on the bottom
Kisses and Chaos
Loving life with my little ladies
When I decided to get the Deluxe Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playset for Olivia, I had no idea what a hot commodity it was. Olivia loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and I knew she would die for this toy. I stumbled upon it on the Disney Store website while looking for Mickey & friends Christmas gift ideas. I noticed that it was sold out, so did quick searches on Amazon and Ebay, only to find that they were only available for $30 more than the Disney store. Out of principle, I decided not to buy one. I mentioned to my mom how disappointed I was that they were sold out, so she quickly jumped on Ebay and purchased one for $30 over retail price, plus nearly $20 in shipping. Insane.
Anyway, the woman she purchased from had more than 20 of them. She has raised the price again and increased her shipping to nearly $40. How does someone find 20 of these toys? Things like this drive me nuts. These people are basically taking toys out of children’s hand to turn a profit. I know people probably think it’s savvy, but I think it’s awful. It will be interesting to see how high prices go as we get closer to the holidays.
Olivia rocked the Foofa costume this year. She had a great time Trick or Treating, while I waddled behind her miserably.
PS - She’s been wearing the hat non-stop for the last 48 hours.
When the Cardinals won five years ago, I was sitting in a bar in Wrigleyville (ironic, I know) screaming like a mad woman. This time, I was laying in bed eight months pregnant. Crazy how life changes!
Anyway, this post is for my Grandpa. I know you’re dancing in heaven! My family was able to stop by his brick at Busch Studium last night for a little good luck.
By the way, I couldn’t be more jealous that my aunt and uncles were at the game. Lucky, lucky :)
Olivia and I discussing her glow worm
Olivia: Where his butt, mommy?
Me: Worms don’t have butts, honey.
Olivia: We go to the store and buy him a butt.
Last week I took Olivia to experience one of my childhood traditions - the Illinois State Fair. She loved all the animals (especially the chicks), and of course, the lemon shakeups! However, she was not a fan of the infamous butter cow, as you can see by the picture.
It’s a…..
GIRL. Baby Girl #2 for us. We’re thrilled…until they turn into two teenage girls.
A Rainy Day and a Little Bully
Earlier this week, my friend and I made plans to take our kids to a Jump Zone! today. Olivia has never been in a bounce house, so I thought this would be fun. Especially since they have a toddler area.
As luck would have it, rain was pouring this morning and the jump facility closest to us was shut down due to a leaky roof. This meant that the place we went to was absolutely packed. I was apprehensive with all the kids around. I didn’t want Olivia to be intimidate or knocked over.
We made our way to the toddler area. She was nervous at first, but warmed up quickly. So she was bouncing, jumping and laughing. The toddler area was completely packed, and kids kept running into one another. I convinced her to try a medium-sized bounce house that was completely empty. She had a ball running around and jumping. Before I knew it, that inflatable was completely packed with big kids, so we moved into another empty medium-sized jumper. This one was princess-themed and had an area just for bouncing and and an obstacle and slide area for older kids. Olivia was in heaven. She bounced happily and did a great job of avoiding the area for big kids.
Soon enough, the big kids were in her area. One boy, who looked about 6 or 7, came up to her and started intentionally bouncing her as hard as he could. He saw me watching him and ran off. Then some wild older girls started chasing each other through the area, so I persuaded her to exit and find another place to bounce.
On her way out, a little boy decided he wanted to enter the castle as she was climbing out the exit. He did not want to wait for her, so he PUNCHED my little princess right in the face! I was shocked and horrified. Olivia immediately began sobbing, so I grabbed her and tried to calm her down. His mother grabbed him and walked away. She did not apologize or ask if Olivia was okay, which infuriated me. I would have been embarrassed if it was my child, but I still would have apologized and made sure the child wasn’t hurt. About five minutes later the dad (who wasn’t there when it happened) brought him over and made him apologize. I accepted the apology, but by then the damage was done. Olivia did not want to jump anymore - she just wanted to be held. Luckily, she wasn’t hurt by the punch, but it really scared her.
As I was getting her shoes on to take her home - we got knocked into two different times by older boys playing tag. I was absolutely done at that point. There were many inflatables made for the bigger kids that I specifically kept Olivia out of because I didn’t want her to get hurt and because I didn’t want a little toddler interfering with their good time. Why couldn’t their parents do the same? No one was watching any of the older children. And they should not have been in the toddler area, or running wild around the facility. Many moms were sitting in groups in the corner chatting and not watching their children. My friend and I didn’t get to visit at all because we were busy actually watching our children.
In the future, I would take Olivia back to a bounce house, but never on a rainy day. If there is a crowd, I will turn around and leave. Sorry for my rant - but nothing insights anger in a mother like seeing their child get hurt!
The video quality isn’t great, but it’s too cute not to share. Olivia is in a major dance phase, so I was delighted that she likes Britney as much as I do! She’s got some moves :)
We just got back from a vacation on Sanibel Island, FL. I went to Sanibel every year growing up, so it was great to return and bring Olivia. We stayed at a new place, the Sea Winds Cottage. This was great for a toddler, because we had our own pool. It was nice that we didn’t have to worry about splashing or crowds. It’s also a ranch level, which is much easier with a little one than the traditional condos we stay in.
We spent most of the time on the beach or eating the wonderful local cuisine. Highlights included:
Lazy Flamingo - Delicious as always. You must go if you’re on the island.
Hungry Heron - This little dive seems to be incredibly underrated. They have an expansive menu, great food, and no wait times.
Mucky Duck - It’s worth the drive to Captiva and the 60 min wait, especially if you get a seat by the window like we did. We had scallops au gratin and mahi mahi with dill sauce. It was amazing. And they have the best key lime pie in the area!
Gramma Dots - This small restaurant at the Sanibel Marina always has amazing fresh seafood.
