Fashion For Boys

It really bugs me that when my children reached 5T, or extra small the fashion in boy's clothing went out the window. I look over at the girls selection and saw way more options then boys!

I am looking for winter coats. If any of my readers knows of a good place to get a good coat for kids, let me know! Preferably coats with metal zippers and not plastic. I will pay more money for a good coat. Especially when it comes to Mica because the coat will get used through 2 kids!

Childrens Place was great when the boys were little, now their selection is blah! It's pretty much solids, stripes, argyle or sports. I'm not into sports or argyle, so there goes 1/2 their selection. I do like their pjs and sweaters.

Crazy 8 is fun to go to. They do have argyle and sports, but much more added to their selection! Mica and I love their tie tees. For some reason Mica has this new love for vests. Not sure where that came from.

I usually like Gymboree to. It's a sister store to Crazy 8. I know it can be expensive. Again I'd rather spend some dough knowing that the clothes will last through 2 kids. I got 2 pair of pants for Mica at Gyboree for $6 last year. You just have to shop there at the right time I guess. Today when I looked on their site I wasn't that impressed.

Old Navy is hit or miss.

Where do you like to shop for boys clothing? I'm all ears.

Check out this cool hat I just won from My Baby Clothes Boutique for Isaak! I'm so excited to get it!

Cool hat found here.

Praying Mantis

Grandma and Grandpa Spiehs had this huge Praying Mantis outside their house. Grandpa said that he saw it devour a bee.

 

They are both creepy and cool.

I used to think that the Praying Mantis was good because it eats things that are pests to us. That is until I was reading about them today. They are related to the Cock Roach. That kind of makes them more creepy then cool in my book. When I lived in Savannah, Georgia my roommate had me kill all the bugs we saw. I'm the only one that would. There were all kinds of roaches that lived there! YUCK! Cockroaches been around longer then dinosaurs. They basically can live off of anything. Again, YUCK!

One of my fellow graduate students was hired to make a website for Chocolate Covered Cock Roaches. Three times, YUCK! He made the site, got paid and never heard from the lady again. The site disappeared. CRAZY!

I Had to Share

Back in August Daddy had his birthday.  We went to this Mexican restaurant. They sang him Happy Birthday. We couldn't find his photo on their site until now:

This Morning We Had Blueberry Banana Tofu Smoothies

Maybe it's bad, but I didn't tell Daddy that Tofu was in his smoothie until he tried it. He doesn't usually like tofu. This time he liked it, so I told him. I wanted something that had a lot of good things in it because Isaak's been on a feeding, drinking strike. He's had a slight fever for two days and has been pretty moody.

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces soft tofu
• 1 medium banana (Mine was frozen and sliced)
• 2/3 cup milk (I used cows milk this time. I was thinking of using almond milk)
• 1 cup blueberries (Mine were frozen)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 -3 ice cubes (Optional) 

**I thought about adding probiotics to Isaak's smoothie since he's been under the weather. I didn't because he hasn't been drinking much. I thought that he may not finish his. As it turns out, he didn't finish it. I'm going to add that usually Isaak's a good eater. He really just doesn't feel good.

Preparation:

• Drain the soft tofu to remove excess water.
• You can use fresh fruit, but it will make the smoothie more runny.
• Blend the banana, tofu and milk for 30 seconds. 
• Add the frozen blueberries, honey and ice cubes and process until smooth. 
• Enjoy!

Somehow I Missed Constitution Day

I try and post this every Constitution Day. To this day it cracks me up. Here's Mica saying the Preamble at age 2 1/2. By the way he forgets it now. We'll have to reteach it to him.

It's not the best quality of video, but it's CUTE! Just listen to him get those gigantic words out!

Do You Recognize Him?

Mica went to Grandma and Grandpa's this morning to. He didn't have school today. He was hesitant when walking in the door. I'm like, "Go in Mica!" Then he walked awkwardly in. He said to Grandma Spiehs, "Hi you may not remember me. Do you recognize me?" Grandma started laughing. She's like, "I haven't seen you in awhile." Truth is, is that Grandma and Grandpa have been babysitting Mica once or twice a week his whole life. He's just been in school, so he hasn't seen them too much lately.

Backward Trees

Isaak said this morning on the way to dropping him off at Grandma and Grandpa's house, "Hey I never realized that when we drive the trees go backwards!"

Tonight I Played Puppies With Isaak

While Daddy was going over reading with Mica, I played puppies with Isaak.

We have two of these Duplo Puppies:

Isaak and I pretended that his much bigger Melissa and Doug dog was the twin puppies Mommy.

Stuffed animal is much bigger then it appears. Source found here.

Isaak was all giddy. I told him to go get two tissues for Mommy. He did. I wrapped the Duplo puppies in the tissues like they were blankets for real babies. Isaak was super excited! We kept barking back and forth. Silly I know!

Later on I was getting the clothes set out for the boys. I set the two little Duplo puppies in the time-out chair. Isaak said, "Mommy why are my puppies in the time-out chair?" I made up something, "Well Isaak they are in the time-out chair for barking in my face." Isaak walked up to the time-out chair and said, "You're in time-out puppies for barking in Mommy's face! You're also in time-out for barking in my face. You're in time-out for 3 minutes, double!" I had a good laugh.

Last Week Isaak Saw an Owl

They brought in an owl to preschool that had gotten hit by a car. He was hurt. :( The kids loved it though. :) They even got to touch him.

Do you think owls are cute, scary or wise looking?

Cute owl found here.

Isaak called the one at preschool cute! I think it probably depends if they are in their attack mode or not. I'm fascinated with how they turn their heads for sure!

We have some bird lovers in our house! When Mica was Isaak's age he LOVED peacocks! He had to see the peacocks at the zoo. Then when they went on a field trip to a farm; Mica was trying to tell them that there was in fact peacocks there! Aunt Terra kind of nudged him to be quiet. Daddy told Mica later on that there were peacocks on a farm by where he grew up.

Crazy House is giving away {winners choice} of pjs at New Jammies. I think I'd pick this owl pair for Isaak:

Citi Blocks

Our kids love to build! I've never seen these blocks before. They look really fun! I love that they are wooden to!

A Giveaway Addicted Mommy is hosting a giveaway for these! One winner is going to win a set.
I have my mind on Christmas already!

Bee

Here's Mica's newest writing:

He had Daddy's help.

Mica read to me part of a phonics book last night. He could have read more, but got tired of sounding out the words. It ended with, "Mommy can you just read it to me?" I did. He had already read me part of the book. It was at the end of the day.

WW - Plaza {Linky}

They are rubbing his nose for good luck.

Look at Daddy behind the boys! LOL The fun ended.

Tropical Traditions Peppermint Moisturizing Lotion Review and Giveaway!

Tropical Traditions sent me Organic Peppermint Lotion to review and giveaway.

I have to say that Isaak and I get pretty dry skin during this time of year. We both have Keratosis Pilaris (KP) is a very common skin condition often referred to as "chicken skin". It is resembles goosebumps, it is characterized by the appearance of small, rough bumps on the skin. We just have it on the back of our upper arms and top part of our legs. It's pretty common. I didn't realize that 1/2 our population has Keratosis Pilaris. I'm sure some have Keratosis Pilaris, and are not familiar with the name.

I love this lotion because: 

• It's free of harmful chemicals
• Fits in my purse or carry on bag
• Can be used for boy or girl
• Smells good
• It is a thicker lotion

About Tropical Traditions Peppermint Moisturizing Lotion:

• All their lotions are made with organic Virgin Coconut Oil and Virgin Palm Oil
• Their independent laboratory tests show that it has a higher level of antioxidants than other coconut oils
• Is strong in Vitamin E and carotenes 

Giveaway:

One US or Canadian reader is going to win a 8 FL oz. of Tropical Traditions Peppermint Moisturizing Lotion!

1. For your first mandatory entry tell me if you suffer from Keratosis Pilaris (read above if you don't know what this is.) Leave your email address with this entry. One entry

All other entries are optional.

2. Google Friend this blog. One entry

3. Add the Apel Button to your site. Leave me your site link. One entry

4. Like Tropical Traditions on FB. Leave your FB name. One entry

5. Like Apel Mom on FB. Leave your FB name. One entry

6. Leave me a comment on one of my other posts. I love comments, but only one comment here to enter. Leave the post name. It can be a post on one of my other blogs if you'd like. One entry

7. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post and Tropical Traditions. One entry

8. Subscribe to Tropical Traditions Newsletter. One entry

You do not need to enter all the entries to be qualified. Just the top mandatory one. This contest closes in two weeks, October 3 at 10 pm. The winner will be chosen using random.org

Disclaimer: 

The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out. Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustrationAThotmailDOTcom 

KC Part Two

We checked into the Hyatt. Daddy asked for a great view.

We were on the 20 something floor.

A sculpture inside the hotel lobby.

Then we went to our friend's wedding. It was a nice wedding. Everyone looked GREAT! I'm so happy for them!

I got no good pictures where all the action was.  To be honest, I was either talking, going after a child or busy. Receptions are hard with photos because everything is dark.

Isaak had to be taken out of the church. He was trying to drive his little motor coach on the man's back in front of us. BAD! Both boys still had a lot of energy; even when we tried to burn it off with running up and down stairs prior to the wedding.

CAKE

We had a little time for a short nap. Once Isaak finally fell asleep, we had to wake him up again. He wouldn't go potty for me. Daddy promised he'd get cake at the reception to get him to go potty. Then he wanted cake! He fussed for cake all the way to the reception. Then wouldn't let it go at the reception. Daddy brought over an appetizer for Isaak. He said, "Here's your crab cake honey." Then Isaak cried because it wasn't the CAKE he wanted! Daddy offered him another. He didn't realize that this was making Isaak cry. Then Isaak saw the groom's robot cake. Isaak wanted it!!! He went over and poked a finger in the cake. Who could blame him? We kept telling him that he had to wait. To him it took all night to get a little piece of what would make him happy, CAKE!

We talked and danced. It was so nice seeing our friends! I'm glad the boys held out for a late night. They loved the hand made robots on each table! The groom made them all.

KC Part One

Daddy drove us to Kansas City this weekend.

We had a wedding to go to for a college friend. We were super excited to see some of our friends. It's just too bad that we couldn't hang out with them longer.

I'd love to say that the kids were perfect angels, but I would be fibbing. I felt the kids were good; for being in the car for three hours.

We got to KC and ate at Winsteads. It's not the healthiest place, but we ate there a lot in college. There are a lot of memories there.

Image found here.

Then we hung out in the plaza. Shopping in the plaza wasn't the same as I remember it. Adding a grumpy husband and two stir crazy kids to the shopping experience was interesting. The first store the kids were literally all over the place. I apologized to the sales person. I basically said, "Our boy's need to run around a little they've been in the car for 3 hours." She pointed to some steps across the street. We went over and climbed some stairs multiple times. The boys were happy to climb.

Here you can see how Daddy was grumpy not in a good mood. I laughed so hard at this picture. Daddy looks like a homeless man, Mica is lovin' life and Isaak was slow on the steps.

 I should mention that the boys were the reason why Daddy was grumpy not in a good mood.

I climbed the steps to.

Then we walked around the plaza and barely shopped. We mostly walked and looked at their cool fountains. At least I got to go into Restoration Hardware! It's a store we don't have that I love!

Emerson, Iowa

We went through part of Iowa this weekend. Mica asked, "What language do people in Iowa speak?" Daddy and I both had a good laugh. Daddy said, "They speak English Mica. Most of the people in the United States speak English."

We passed a small town in Iowa called Emerson. I thought of my newest little nephew Emerson.

I love when I find towns or streets that have the same name as a family member. It just makes that place important in my mind.

Here is Cousin Emerson without all his tubes. Aunt Terra (Emerson's Mommy) was changing his feeding tube. She took a quick snapshot. He looks like a different baby. A little chunky monkey.