Flashlight Friends Review

Silas: Oh Mommy...is that a dragon?

Me: It is bud. And it's just for you. Your very own flashlight.

Silas: Reawwy??

My son is three and a half. He is fascinated with flashlights. He loves turning out all the lights and "hunting for treasure" with a flashlight all around the house. I don't mind usually, it's fun. But one night I found a hot flashlight in his blanket when I did blanket checks before I went to bed, and that was the end of that. Most flashlights get hot when left on, and can cause a hazard.

Enter the Flashlight Friend. I received this product from Idea Village to review and the information in this post is my honest and personal review.

Flashlight Friends - Dragon

The first night we had him, Silas took his Friend to bed with him. Usually he's up two or three times before he falls asleep. He didn't get up once (and I checked, he was looking around his room with the flashlight). 

Silas and his Dragon

Silas loves his dragon. And I do too. Here's why. This thing has some great features. The light is an LED which is cool to the touch. It goes off by itself after 10 minutes. I personally found it slightly difficult to turn on the first time (you push the light twice) but my son took it and turned it on in two seconds. Mommy's feeling slightly techno-delayed.

Bright light but cool to the touch

The Flashlight Friend comes in four options: the Dragon (what Silas received), Penguin, Unicorn, and Puppy. My youngest son has been toting the Dragon around the house as well using the handle on the back that's the perfect size for little hands to hold on to it. I have a feeling that the youngest has informed us of his Christmas wish.

Super soft and apparently a good hugger

Flashlight Friends can be purchased online and in-store for about $19.99. They require three AAA batteries (which are not included). When we received this the only concern I had was safety - I feared someone might whack a sibling (ahem Silas) with the Dragon but the parts for the light are inside of all the squishyness. I tried throwing it at my husband. He was unscathed.

Overall I would definitely suggest this toy. My sons enjoy it, and if you have a child who is afraid of the dark then this could be very helpful. It can also be used in the car when it gets dark for entertaining the Littles on drives.

Which do you think your child would enjoy most - the Dragon, the Penguin, the Unicorn, or the Puppy? Would it be something they'd be interested in? 

I received this product from Idea Village to review and the information in this post came from my honest and personal review.

What We've Learned This Week (Monday, September 16th Late Version)

After our announcement about a great giveaway yesterday, we're doing our What We Learned post a little late this week. So without further ado, I give you...the Mamas.

Liz:

1) What we once loved can become the bane of our existence. Take my dissertation for example. I spent the week focusing on finishing it. I loved this topic intensely when I started this project. Now I do not want to hear about anyone's environmental identity development for at least 6 months. And if one more committee member tells me to do something that goes against what I have learned throughout my program, I may just send them my sources.

"Destroy Buzz Lightyear"

2) Toddler cognition is both interesting and limited. Silas watched Toy Story 3 this week. The next day he took his Buzz Lightyear and removed his jetpack which broke him. Nobody can get Buzz to talk again. When I asked why Silas did this he said, "Spanish Buzz?" Thanks Pixar. My kid thought you could really make Buzz speak Spanish and so he did exactly what you showed him in the movie. And people say kids don't pay attention to movies...Silas now wants a new Buzz. I told him we would ask Santa Clause. "Where he live?" Um the North Pole. "Let's go get him Mommy!" Uh no.

Sage is getting tallllll.

3) It's time for the Great Push Back. If you're a parent you know you distinctly recognize the day when a small person gets tall enough that counters are no longer an obstacle. Sage has reached the "don't leave a plate or knife or anything on the counter" stage. We had to push everything back and be super vigilant with Silas, then he got old enough to know better. So it begins. Again. Thankful this is our last go round with this game as my husband is not good at remembering these things.

Lisa:
1) Sometimes the best thing to do is just to be quiet and listen. I learned that after the girls were busy trying to tell me something and apparently, I wasn't listening. I got a scolding from my spawn and I really felt bad. I mean, what was so important about washing the dishes that I didn't hear them trying to tell me that there was a groundhog in the backyard? I have no idea, but my priorities were not in the right place.

2) I need to pace myself and just enjoy the moment. The Sailor and I put together the girls' swingset that my father had purchased for them before his death in March. We wanted to hurry and get it done as fast as we could, because we wanted to have the afternoon to do other things in the house. Well, it didn't quite work out that way and we spent 5 hours putting it together. You'd think that it was a tedious 5 hours, but strangely and thankfully, we joked and laughed the whole time! It felt really nice to be able to connect again with my hubby on something other than our busy to-dos. The girls still got to play on the swingset and the wolves guarded them...you know, in case a breeze blew a little too close to where the spawn was playing. Sheesh!

3) I finished my bookclub book and man was it good! It was a great gothic-style novel set in the present and past(due to some time travel), and there was a huge cliffhanger which killed me! Because of this, I learned to attempt to calm down and carry on with life, even though I really feel like the world is over after I finish a good book. I love to read, so I go through a mourning period after I finish a book

Robyn:

1. I've learned that back to school also means back to school colds. One of the turds brought it home and gave it to Dad, Mom and Reagan. Thankfully, it's not a stomach bug! It still blows (pun intended) when 'that time of year' is here. 

2.

Sleepy lil' girl

I've also learned how once Reagan goes down for a nap, I can take a few minutes and pick up the house. All Sean's trains go in the basket by the stairs for him to take upstairs when he gets home. Geez! When did the front foyer get so dirty? What's.....yeah, that's a dead scorpion. Get broom, sweep foyer. Gotta flush the scorpion because you can't REALLY trust those things are dead anyway. Ok, it's noon, I'm just gonna nuke up a quick lunch. While the timer is going on the microwave, It's motivation to get other stuff done before it beeps. Run to put broom away. Slide into kitchen while wearing socks before it....BEEP BEEP BEEP.  Heh heh, I smile and nod to Usher's "Yeah" in the background. My lunch is then inhaled as I hear baby stirring over the monitor. Wait, how did that ONE thing turn into 2 hours?!? 

Mama and Baby Reagan

3. I've learned that when Reagan comes close to feeding time, and I'm on the road, I turn into one of 'those' drivers. Get outta my way fellas! I'm passing on the left, and passing on the right. (Still using blinkers, mind you!) I'm running yellow lights, and white knuckling the steering wheel when I'm forced to stop. Ill politely 'shoo' you to the side, and romp on the gas to pass you too! Please comply, or I'll be using one finger to 'shoo' you away! Be on the look out, Woman on a mission here!

What did you learn this week?

Night Time Cloth Diapering - What Works for Us

Most parents who cloth diaper eventually realize that cloth diapering (CDing) at night can be a challenge. After 3 years and two children, I (Liz) have found what works for us. But what works for one child may not work for another. Some kiddos are heavy wetters. Some kids change what works for them at different parts of their small lives. So what have worked for your littles?

Liz: Silas (age 3) was almost always a heavy wetter. For most of his diapering nights I used Sustainablebabyish (Sbish) organic bamboo fitteds (OBFs), a Gen-Y Classic cover (a PUL waterproof cover), and Sbish wool of some sort (shorties or covers mostly). If I didn't use the PUL layer then I would have to wash wet bedsheets every night but now that he's almost potty trainined, he can go without the PUL layer. For Sage (14m) I used the same combo until he finally slept through the night. I realized that the PUL layer was probably making him hot so he'd wake up, so I only use an OBF and lanolinized wool for Sage for nighttime.

Lisa: I had a challenge with overnight diapering because both girls were in cloth diapers at the same time. Eep! Pixy(then 2) and Banshee( then infant) had very different body types: one was skinny-Minnie and the other was built like a quarterback--even in infancy! I found the best thing for both was a Tiny Tush OS pocket diaper, stuffed with the Tiny Tush inserts and an additional Joeybunz hemp insert. It was bulletproof, as it kept Pixy's toddler pee from saturating her diaper, and it kept Banshee dry and comfortable through most of the night(or at least through that nighttime feeding). Nighttime diapering is probably the part that takes the most experimentation, since no child is the same. Even in the same family! 

Robyn- So far, we are only 2 months into CD'ing with baby #4. Thankfully, she is not an overflowing waterfall of a mess at night. The boys, on the other hand, would have to be pointed down (hey, that's important!) and changed every two hours. Their kidneys functioned at full capacity!!! For Reagan, we use a fitted cloth pocket diaper, with an insert. Then, we use an old school, white plastic cover to keep in the wetness. It holds up overnight, so we must be doing something right. Holla!

What has worked well for your CD'd little one? Share with us in the comments - give some new options to some mamas who may be tired of the wet sheets!

"Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy"

The title of this post is from a book I (Liz) read to my kids about sleepy animal babies ("Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy" by Denise Fleming, $14ish at Amazon.com). It's supposed to lull them to sleep I think. But they're not feeling it. But whenever I read it, I think about how sleepy parenting makes you and how we do stupid stuff when we're so sleepy. Have you ever been this sleepy? Read on...

"I think the #1 most tired I've ever been was when Silas was a baby and he was still sleeping in our bed on our chests (so maybe 3 or 4 weeks old). He was actually, that night, sleeping in his bassinet by the bottom of our bed. He woke up and cried. I gingerly picked up the baby from my bed and passed him to my husband because it was his turn to quiet the crying baby. Both of us became frustrated when the baby didn't quiet. That's because 'the baby' I'd just passed Mike was a pillow, and Silas was still crying in his bassinet." - Liz


"The sleepiest I've ever been...was shortly after Pixy's third month. I
woke up during the night to use the bathroom. The baby started to cry and I was lolling asleep as I was sitting on the toilet. I still don't know how I did it, but I managed to walk to the nursery with panties around my ankles and pick up the baby. Sailor woke up to figure out what I was doing, because he heard the toilet flush and the baby stop crying, but we were not in our room. He ended up laughing at me. It took me all of two minutes to figure out what was so funny. His laughter, though, kept the baby awake. Fun times!" - Lisa

"You know what real sleep is? Like hours of interrupted bliss and the. waking up while smiling from an amazing dream, while the sun plays peek-a-boo into the window with you. Well, after a long night of couch dozing, Reagan wouldn't fall into real sleep. Hell, she wouldn't even fall into an hour of fake sleep. (She's a newborn, remember?!) She fussed and fussed. Mike had given her Gripe Water and it seemed to relieve gas in her belly. At least that's what I picture is little ninja's popping bubbles with their swords once she swallows a dropper full. So, she started crying after a feeding and I ran over to the kitchen counter to find half the dropper still full. I instantly put it in her mouth and she swallowed. As I'm in the darkness,  I peer all squinty eyed and see something move on my counter top. Ah, sugar ants...why would we have.... THE GRIPE WATER! It's sugar water and that's what those mooches are after!! There was a little black spot when I had put the dropper into my baby's mouth but didn't think anything of it. Omg, AN ANT!!! I'm horrible, I fed my baby a sugar ant!" -Robyn

You know you have a story. Share. Make us all feel better. Did you make sandwiches with just mayonnaise? Did you send the kids to daycare with no diaper on? Share your story in the comments at the bottom.

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This Little Boy Has Got to Go (to sleep)

Lack-o-sleeper

A few months back Sage was still waking two or three times at night. We did "sleep training" for a week and he slept through the night for a bit. It was awesome. Then he had an ear infection and woke up every night screaming, and that set us all back to waking up a few times a night. I was so tired I gave in to giving him milk when he woke up, and now we're back at square one (1 a.m.?).

This afternoon when I picked up the boys from school Silas was moody and told me as we climbed into the car, "I so tired Mommy I want to cry." Me too buddy. We both looked at Sage, our reason for being tired, and he was...already asleep in his car seat.

Sleep training starts again tonight. My 3 year old should not have bags under his eyes. He has many years to do that to himself.

**Update: Sage woke up only once last night and fell back asleep alone. He only woke up and stayed awake at 5:40 a.m. and I figured if he made it that long he could have some milk. Hopefully this will continue to a trend.**

"Dis my sad face Mommy."
 

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

Mmm toddler. Mmmm screwed up night time routine since we've been on vacation from school.

I. Will. Not. Sleep.

Shoot me.

For many months Silas (30 months) would be great - bath, milk on the couch, teeth brushing, bed at 8:15, bam. We wouldn't hear from him again until 7 am. Now on vacation it's been delayed a bit and he's still awake at 9:30, 10...Tonight I was making breakfast muffins at 10 and while I was doing the dishes he appeared in the kitchen with Blue (his blanket). "Me help you?" He asked with a small smile. You can help me tomorrow but tonight get your tushy back in bed.

I will be very happy once vacation is over and we'll be back to his regular schedule. It doesn't help that Daddy thinks staying up until 9:30 is ok.

How do you get kids back on schedule after vacation?