The Poke Box

Last year around this time, I noticed my son had really puffy eyes. My husband and I attributed it to allergies, and started him on medication. The bags under his eyes continued to get worse, and a few other weird symptoms presented. Long story short, the day after Halloween we found out that he was severely anemic.

Because it is a blood disorder, his blood had to be drawn....a lot.

I remember back to the first day of trying to figure out how bad it was. By the third blood draw, I was bawling. Not pretty bawling either. Beat red face, nose running--sobbing.

One of the things that really helped get both of us through that first week was the "Poke Box". Every time you need blood drawn at the the Devos Children's Hospital Hematology/Oncology unit, you get to pick something from the poke box.

All sorts of treasures line the drawers- dolls, matchbox cars, pencil and pen sets, tractors, stuffed animals. Not just your average gumball prize; the poke box is full of goodies that really helped get us through a lot of blood draws.

Ever since then, I have been meaning to donate some things to the poke box. From now until September 10, for every new facebook member I will donate one new matchbox car to the poke box.

Update: I am already at 15, thanks for suggesting me to your friends! I appreciate it!

iSuck

I came across this joke pacifier today, and thought I would share.

Too bad it will probably be an invention in the near future! :-)

Re-usable Coloring Mat

Cars, Trucks, Trains, and Planes.

Whatever the flavor, my boys love them all.

This morning was turning into a rather loooonnngggg morning with lots of fighting, so I racked my brain on what we could do for a change of pace.

I had a bunch of PUL from the Wet Happened? wet bags leftover, so I unrolled enough to cover the kitchen table. Washable markers were put in front of the boys, with instructions to color while I drew some roads for them.

They were so excited to dictate where each road should be. I wouldn't say the Michigan Department of Transportation is going to hire me anytime soon (no Michigan U-Turns), but the boys appreciated having loops in front of where they were sitting and "rocky" roads.

A police department, an airport complete with runway, and some parking lots for their cars were added next to the Coloring Mat. They would run back and forth to the playroom to grab more and more planes and trains to play with on their special roads.

We did this for almost two hours! Even better, because they are washable markers, I can simply throw it in the wash for the next time we want to create.

Good drawing skills optional :-)






Side note: I think vinyl would work just as well, if you have that.

Aden and Anais is here!

I have heard the Aden and Anais raves for the past few years. Loud and clear.

Let me be the first to say: I now get it.



I see what all the hype is about.

Soft, stretchy, large, lightweight.

I am feeling the aden + anais love :-)

Back to School

My husband is home all summer.

Which makes it pretty hard to be excited about going back to school. If I lived in a state where the majority of winter wasn't spent holed up in my house, it might be different. But come January, there is nothing but time and gray snow for the next three months. It is my slowest season on the website, and my husband's busiest time at school. Time creeps by at a snail's pace, with some weeks feeling like they will never be checked off the calendar.

So to me, fall and school represents the onslaught of winter.

And I hate it.

I just bought a backpack, and even that is a hard task for me to accomplish. I want to wait til the last minute and savor every last sweet drop of summer.

I guess the upside is that the backpacks/lunch packs I have to offer are so darn cute, they make it hard to not be excited:

They are running out fast, so if you are interested, please hurry!

Babylegs, Babylegs, Babylegs!

My eyes have gone Babyleg buggy.

Their new fall catalog came out, so I just spent the day updating my site. There are a ton of cute newbies, and I couldn't wait to get them uploaded...

Over 100 new babylegs.

Really Cute new socks.

Fabulous New Tights

Delicious Seasonal Babylegs, Tights, and Socks

and my personal favorite- newborn babylegs! All of the best selling babylegs, just mini.

Closed Thursday and Friday

My little brother is getting married!

Can you tell I am excited?:-)

As such, I will be taking Thursday and Friday off to help with all the fixings- get the church decorated, set out the favors...you know, all the little details that take a while to complete.

Anything ordered during that time will be processed over the weekend, so you shouldn't notice any delay.

Thanks for your understanding and wish me luck- I am giving a speech! LOL

Huggalugs are here!

Huggalugs are here, and they couldn't be cuter! Retail for $14.50 each, available in a bunch of colors.

Also, I am running a Cutest Kid Contest again for the month of August. Simply go to the MiniMe BabyGear facebook page and enter your child for a chance to win!