Fall is dandy.

It really is.  Dandy.  Fall is.  I love this time of year.  Absolutely love it.  I think that I’ve always been a fan of fall.  There’s just something about this time of year that draws me in.  It reminds me of things.  For starters it tells me that everything is going to be okay and eventually will become anew.  After a very long, hot summer the temperatures will start to drop, brilliant colors will form on my favorite trees, leaves will begin to fall, snow will eventually cleanse, and then spring will burst forth The newness happens all because of fall.  All because of it.  Without fall we would miss out on so much!  (If you’ve never experienced a Midwest fall then I highly recommend it.  Visit a place that has a real and true fall just once.  You will see exactly what I’m talking about.  The beauty of it all.  Truly breathtaking.)

Everything about this season for me is a memory.  My childhood is a big part of this memory.  I remember going with my grandparents to stomp through piles of leaves in the parks near Jefferson Barracks.  We would leave the pathways to find the biggest clusters of leaves.  The crispness in the air was often filled with silence that was then broken by our feet crunching through the giant, untouched leaves.  My grandparents would positively glow at the happiness that I expressed on our leaf walks.  I knew that they were happy and, as their only granddaughter, I reveled in the attention.  The walks were filled with love.  They taught me the joy that is leaf stomping and I can never look at falling leaves in the same way again because of it.

This year the change of season has taken on new meaning for me.  My feelings toward fall are now bitter sweet.  Seven years ago next month my grandfather (the inspiration for the dandy blog) passed away while raking leaves.  In a strange way it was almost meant to happen that way.  Despite the fact that I was thousands of miles away when it happened… It happened while he was doing something that was so closely connected to me.  Something that tied us together.  Maybe that sounds silly, but it has become a comfort to me.  We lost my grandmother earlier this year.  I’ll forever miss our walks together in the fall.

Despite the sadness that I feel this time of year I can still feel the joy of the season.  I’ll always have the wonderful memories and I’ve come to love sharing this season with my own family.  Spending time out in the fall weather with my husband and children, teaching them about the dandiness that is leaf walks, and taking part in all the fun of the season.  There truly is so much to enjoy this time of year.  Last weekend we found ourselves at a corn maze with friends.  Always a fall gem.  It has become a tradition for us to go to this specific maze.  Our dandy kids had a great time while building their own fall memories and I was able to reflect on all the many reasons why I love this time of year.

A dandy fall to all!

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Little Tikes recently gave my family the gift of the Cozy Coupe Wagon.  It’s perfect for all of your fall outings.  Stay tuned for the Halloween review. 

Joovy theBabaSling {Review}

Remember how I told you there would be an upcoming review from Joovy?  Well, well, well.  Now is the time.  First I have to take you back to the beginning of May…  If you follow us at all on Facebook then you will remember that we were vacationing in WDW at that time.  (Yes, we busted Banjo out of school to hit Disney before the crowds got crazy.)  Joovy sent us theBabaSling before we left on our trip.

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I’ve always liked to do the whole baby wearing thing, so was ecstatic to take it with us on our pre summer vacation.  Plus, theBabaSling is uber chic looking, so I’d be styling.  But then I got to thinking that I wouldn’t use it all that much, because we were after all taking our Joovy Caboose stroller.  Cache would just sleep in the main seat of the stroller, Ruby would sit/stand on the platform, and Banjo would walk.  That was the plan.  And all went according to plan…

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For about half of our first day in the magical world of mouse.

At first all was right in the world.  Baby Cache just road along sleeping, Ruby was more entertained by jumping off of her seat on the “train” and running around before getting back “all aboard”, and Banjo was quite content to walk along with his cousins.  Then EVERYTHING deviated from the plan!

Ruby became a hot mess and didn’t want to ride on the platform any longer.

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She wanted to SLEEP.

Need I remind you that this was our very first day in the most magical kingdom on earth?  And Banjo?  Well, he grew tired of walking.  He grew tired very fast.

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What happened?  Where did we go wrong?  Well, for starters we should have purchased a Joovy Big Caboose Triple stroller before heading Orlando.  That would have been the solution.  However already being in Florida when we made this discovery… We didn’t have that option.  We will definitely know for next time.  But since I had the handy, dandy BabaSling all was right again in the world!

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The hammock style of the sling was perfect for carrying tiny Cache and the  comfort padding… perfect for my bum shoulder.  The shoulder I’ve had surgery on twice and I’m now a candidate for a total shoulder replacement.  What?  I’ve never told you about that before?  Yeah.  Remind me to tell you sometime all about my shoulder problem.  😉

This sling carried Cache all over the parks.

He was able to meet all the characters just like the big kids.

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Can you believe that Stitch actually sports a Dandy Giveaway logo???  😉

TheBabaSling comes in sooooo many beautiful and vibrant colors.

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As you can see from our vacation photos we have it in Scarlet Red.  I can’t tell you how many compliments I received on it while at WDW.  Too many to count.  One stranger just came up to me to say, “That’s a nice looking sling!”  Why, yes.  Yes it is.  🙂

Since Disney I’ve been using the BabaSling all over the place.  Particularly on the 4th of July at the lake.

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It was a long day.  The BabaSling put Cache right to sleep.

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It’s my hero.

*This posting and review are sponsored by Joovy, but all opinions are strictly my own.

Cache Memory

Have I got a cache memory for you!  Shortly after the baby boy’s birth I requested that people help to give him a blog name.  Did you catch the announcement on the Facebook page where his name was chosen???  Well, in case you missed it… The name that was randomly selected…

Drum roll please…

Baby Cache!

I took the liberty of changing the suggested name’s spelling from “Cash” to “Cache”.  Mainly because I thought it would be fitting being that this is a blog, on the computer, and his birth was so very memorable.  Get it?  Cache memory?  Ha ha!  I know.  I crack myself up sometimes.  And it’s totally fine if I’m the only one laughing.  That happens a lot.

So now is the time for the dandy introduction of:

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And here is why his birth was just so memorable.

The Story of Cache

Let’s go back to the night of Super Bowl XLVIII… February 2, 2014.  I was 38 weeks and tired of being pregnant.  So very tired.  Just a couple days prior I had been to the doctor and was given the news that I was nowhere near having a baby.  Like probably weeks out.  I know.  Devastating news for a mom wanting to deliver stat.  My body hurt.  My back hurt.  I basically hurt all over.  You get the idea.  So there I was trying to enjoy the Super Bowl food…  Yes, I like the Super Bowl most of all not for the game itself or the commercials, but for the food.  No lie.  I spend weeks planning out the menu of snack food items.  So you’d think that this year would have been a pregnant gals delight.  No sir.  This was not so.  I was sick to my stomach.  (The entire pregnancy was spent with bouts of nausea because of the progesterone injections I received weekly to prevent pre term labor.)  I had the worst lower back pain.  I barely ate anything.  I went to sleep that night feeling sick, slightly hungry, and defeated.  All at the same time.

I awoke on Monday, February 3rd at 5:45 AM to the sound of my husband’s alarm clock.  He headed to the basement to get his workout in for the day and I headed to the bathroom before crawling back into bed.  As I got back into bed I felt a very strange sensation.  Was that a contraction?  I really didn’t know.  With Banjo I was induced at 37 weeks due to pregnancy induced hypertension and immediately given an epidural.  Ruby came at 36 weeks with the only sign of her arrival being that I started bleeding.  At 6 cm I wasn’t feeling anything.  Nothing.  No contractions.  I didn’t want to go without an epidural so I got it at that point.  I can honestly say that after birthing 2 children I still had no idea what a contraction felt like.  Until now.  In the early morning hours of February 3rd.

After getting back into bed I had another one and another.  It was painful.  Enough so that the thought of going down two flights of stairs to the basement didn’t appeal to me.  I fumbled for my cell phone on my nightstand and called Audi’s cell phone.  Silently praying that I wouldn’t hear it ring from his nightstand.  Fortunately he answered.  He assured me that we needed to see first if this was really what it was.  Told me to just try to rest and fall back asleep.  This was at 6 AM.  I called him again just before 6:10 AM to report that I had TWO of those tightening sensations since we had last spoke.  Remembering that my doctor had said something about heading to the hospital when the contractions were 5 minutes apart… I started to become a little bit frantic.  Audi assured me over the phone that it had been way longer than 5 minutes.  After that conversation ended I decided to watch my alarm clock.  I watched as my alarm clock arrived at 6:14 AM and another sharp pain occurred.

How could this be?  I only felt the first sign of these “contractions” at 5:45 AM.  Maybe it was something else?  I called Audi again and told him that we needed to leave for the hospital.  Like STAT.  Of course I had to take a quick shower first.  Why not?  Every pregnant lady takes a shower before heading to the hospital, right?  I had TWO huge contractions while in the shower.  Yes, I knew then that these were indeed contractions.  Nothing else could possibly feel like that!  I quickly got out of the shower, brushed my teeth, and threw on some clothes.  There was no time to fix my hair or do my makeup.  It’s totally overrated anyway, right?

At 6:30 AM I called my sister-in-law to come and sit with our older kids.  No answer.  I then called my brother.  No answer.  It felt like that hilarious moment on ‘Who Wants  To Be A Millionaire’ when the contestant uses the “Phone A Friend” lifeline and only hears an eternal ring.  Yeah.  Only this was so very far from hilarious.  I called my sister-in-law again and got voicemail.  I called my mom who lives a hour away (she answered).  I called my brother again and got voicemail.  At this point I was beyond frantic.  I think the anxiety of the situation we were in was out of control.  I was screaming.  I was in major pain. This was not part of any birth plan.  This was not good.

Audi and I decided that we would have to take the older kids with us to the hospital.  Lovely, right?  He started getting them awake and dressed while I was paralyzed in fear.  Then my brother called.  Hallelujah!  He was on his way to work, but was turning around to head in our direction.  I think my mom had called him, too.

We will forever know that we left our house for the hospital just after 7:16 AM.  Why do we know this?  Because my brother’s warning ticket for SPEEDING was documented as being that time.  Yes, you heard that right.  A police officer followed my brother into our neighborhood and pulled him over right in front of our house!  Audi had to tell the kids to sit tight in front of the television while we left for the hospital.  He then had to tell the officer to please move his squad car from blocking OUR DRIVEWAY so we could leave.  Not sure why that needed to be explained to the officer, but whatevs.  On second thought… I still need to write that official complaint letter to the Police Chief for the fact that our older children had to stay in the house all alone while my brother was getting his “written warning” from Officer Gray.  Oh and that Officer Gray didn’t ask how I was or even offer to call an ambulance or give us a police escort.  Oh and Audi came this close to delivering our baby in the car, on the freeway.  Wait… I’m getting ahead of myself…

So off we were to the hospital.  In morning RUSH. HOUR. TRAFFIC.  Yeah.  That police escort was sounding really good right about then.  Oh and Mr. Officer Gray?  It’s probably a good idea to remember that next time a labor crazed woman is screaming at you from the top of her driveway (Oh did I leave that part out?  Yeah, that happened.) to move your squad car you probably shouldn’t be worried about continuing to write that written warning.  You move the squad car and then go with the kid’s uncle into the house and then finish writing that warning slip of paper.  Just FYI.  For next time you find yourself in this type of situation.  Otherwise that labor crazed woman just might write about you on her blog.

The entire way to the hospital I kept screaming for Audi to drive on the shoulder, call an ambulance, drive faster, take the next exit, run the red lights.  You know.  All that jazz that a labor crazed woman yells at her husband.  We (Audi and I) experienced it all.  The contractions were unbearable.  Several times along the way I felt the need to push and I did.  Pushed.  I couldn’t help it.  My body was not my own.  It belonged to the baby inside of me.  He was ready to be born.

Everything was in slow motion.  I was drenched in sweat.  I was shaking.  I was in transition.  We arrived at the hospital.  Audi parked the car in the hospital garage.  We walked to and entered the elevator.  I leaned into the elevator wall with another contraction.  We exited the elevator and Audi grabbed a wheelchair for me to sit down in.  He ran for the next elevator banks.  Yelling to those getting on the elevator to hold the doors.  We went up.  The doors opened at the L&D registration desk.  I yelled that I need to PUSH.  A nurse grabbed the wheelchair and rushed me towards the back.  We are going to room 11 she yelled.  Another nurse yelled no.  Not that room.  We took a hard left.

I found myself in a room full of nurses.  Audi was pulled out to the hallway to talk with the registration clerk.  Seriously?  Couldn’t that have waited?  Two nurses stood me up from the wheelchair, one pulled off my pants, one stood at the foot of the bed, and two were at the warmer.  When the two on either side got me up on the bed I heard the nurse at the foot of the bed say, “The baby’s head is out!”  At this point I knew what that meant.  My worst fear (way worse than the clown fear) was coming true.  I was going to have this baby WITHOUT an epidural.

The nurses yelled for Audi to get back in the room.  I closed my eyes tight.  The next second and our baby was born.  There wasn’t a doctor in the room.  The nurses did amazing.  When the house doctor came in she found a baby boy lying on the bed waiting for her to cut the cord.  Registration clocked our arrival at 7:45 AM and our son entered the world at 7:50 AM.  According to the nurses the registration time was off, because it hadn’t taken them 5 minutes to get me to a delivery room.  They estimated our son’s arrival as being 2-3 minutes after we exited the elevator.  There was no time for monitors or an IV.  It was that fast and so close to being in the car.  Here I am with my baby.  The only picture I have of him and I when he was born.

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I have no shame.  In this day of deletable photos and camera phones most women get a very endearingly, precious photo seconds after giving birth.  I, however, get a Kodak film age shot from a camera phone.  Yep.  The husband only took ONE picture!  At least it’s a testament to just how fast everything happened.  Hooded SIUE sweatshirt… No time to gown me up!

My recovery was amazing.  Fast recovery just like the delivery.  Since I didn’t have an epidural I could get up and walk around immediately after.  It was awesome.  I think I would actually do it that way again.  Just minus the parts getting us up to the point of the natural delivery. *wink*   Cache was the perfect newborn.  A real dream.  He is the most perfect baby.  We are all in love.

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As I write this I can’t help but think of tomorrow.  I’m anxious about our trip into the hospital in the morning.  It’s like deja vu.  Because it is.  Kind of.  Our baby is going into the OR for a laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy at St. Louis Children’s hospital.  He has 7 visible hemangiomas and there is concern that he has one growing in his airway.  I have faith that all will go well.  It’s not in my hands and I have to accept that.  Our baby is followed by one of the best team of doctors in the country.  They will take care of him.  They will have Heavenly Father’s hands guiding them.

One thing is for sure… Officer Gray better not cross paths with me at 6 AM tomorrow when I’m picking up the babysitter to watch our older two.

Getting bigger he is!

The littlest one recently turned 3 months old.  On Easter Sunday we finally broke him out of confinement to attend church.  He had been out a few times since his birth, but NEVER to church.  I had just been staying home with him on Sundays while my Audi husband took the older kids.  There’s just too many people at those types of places.  Too many sick people.  Well, potentially sick people.  You get the idea.  I’m super particular about when my babies can be around the general population.  Especially when the date of birth is during cold and flu season.  It’s hard enough to keep the littlest from catching something from his older siblings so why quadruple the exposing him to hundreds of people at one time?  Now that you know that I’m a major germaphobe then I’m sure it’s not surprising that we didn’t having his blessing until he was 3 months old!  We had the blessed day on Sunday, May 4th and here he is in his white attire:

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He’s just getting so big!  With his little rolls of baby fat…  It’s like he’s not a newborn anymore and it makes me start to wonder if he will be my last newborn.  *sniff*  All of my babies have been formula fed.  That does tend to bulk ’em up.  This little guy is no exception.

I sincerely hope that I don’t get some major flack from the announcement that I just made.  About the formula.  Not that I have to explain anything, but I will.  😉   I most definitely know that breast is best and was devastated that it just didn’t work out the way I would have liked.  So maybe in some ways my proclamation will be beneficial to someone out there.  One of my readers somewhere.  Or a friend of yours.  My battle and decision to go with formula came not from a lack of trying.   I tried.  I tried hard.  I visited countless lactation specialists with baby Banjo.  He was not gaining weight.  It wasn’t working.  He was at risk for complications from not gaining weight.  After much deliberation and supplementation we decided to go to formula only.  I was stressed.  I wasn’t sleeping.  I’d try to nurse… Then I’d pump… Then we’d (my husband and I) bottle feed the breast milk… Then we’d bottle feed the formula… Then we’d clean the pump parts… Then the process would start all over an hour later.  I was exhausted.  My husband was exhausted.  It was a nightmare.  Going to exclusively formula for Banjo was a difficult decision, but it was a good decision.  It’s what worked best for our family.  If you happen to be in a similar situation… No one can blame you and you don’t need to blame yourself.  Everyone is different.  We all make different decisions.  Breastfeeding just doesn’t work for everyone and that’s okay.  I’m glad that there are options.  Options that are best for the baby.  So if I helped just one person today…  I’m glad that I made my announcement.

Now about Ruby.  Remember she was born a month early.  She struggled with feedings due to her own medical reasons.  We went to formula.  Both times I felt a sense of devastation.  I felt like a bad mother.  I had to Let. It. Go.  It took some time and I honestly didn’t get to enjoy being the mom of a newborn.  I felt stressed about the breastfeeding not working.  With this baby my husband and I both decided we weren’t going to go down that path again.  The baby is healthy.  I’m healthy.  My family is happy.  Sometimes we have to do what is best for everyone.  For the entire family.  We are good.

With the birth of a new baby came some gifts from my friends over at Joovy.  I love reviewing items for Joovy, because they have so many great items for baby!  Strollers.  Highchairs.  Slings.  Potty chairs.  You name it and they got it.  🙂    Joovy has now entered the world of glass baby bottles.  Just fyi… Joovy also has BPA free plastic baby bottles, but my heart belongs to the glass ones.  I think I’m just drawn to the look of them:

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And those fun silicone sleeves in a selection of different colors!  Isn’t it pretty?

What’s also so great about the Boob baby bottle from Joovy is the specially designed nipple.  Sure it works great for babies who are exclusively formula fed.  Like my baby.  But at the same time it’s perfect (I’ve heard from my breastfeeding friends) for babies who receive nourishment from both breast and bottle.  The baby doesn’t get confused going back and forth.  So the bottle is a win-win for all babies.  Pay no attention to the tired looking momma in the picture:

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My little guy is thriving and I’m grateful for the Joovy Boob baby bottle.  The bottles are durable and easy to clean.

As in go in the dishwasher easy to clean.

Going. Going.

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Stay tuned for another great product from Joovy…

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The BabaSling

*This posting is a review for Joovy.  I did receive the above products to conduct the review, but all opinions are strictly my own. 

 

Saranoni Muslin Receiving Blanket {Giveaway} -CLOSED

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A new baby in the house is such a blessing, but always brings some new and interesting challenges.  Adjustments abound around here!  The two olders are getting used to the newest little and so are mom and dad.  🙂  Overall I think we are all transitioning nicely.  Sometimes.  Okay I’m not going to lie to you.  Some days are better than others.  Some days are hard.  Today was especially hard.  Who knew that three children would be so challenging???  I thought we had things all figured out and then wham-o we are back to square one.  It’s one big adjustment and it’s probably going to be this way for some time.  Will it get easier?  Sure it will.  For now I just need to take it a day at a time.  In addition to the big changes in our family number came other things that I hadn’t thought about in a while.  With the new baby came the need for additional baby necessities.  The essentials.  Things that baby absolutely needs to have outside of the womb.  Things like receiving blankets.  You can never have enough of those!  Babies go through blankets on a daily basis.  Practically more often than clothing.  So having the an adequate amount of receiving blankets… Okay an abundance of receiving blankets is a definite NEED.  That’s why when Saranoni offered to send us the below set of muslin blankets I jumped for joy!

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Isn’t he darling?

Saranoni selected to send the stripe and the solid blue that’s in the background.  And let me tell you… These blankets are a necessity!  Super soft.  I mean it’s muslin.  Super durable.  Double layers of muslin.  Super dandy.  Plus, the set is perfect color wise for my little guy.  Good choice, Saranoni!  🙂

In terms of muslin swaddling blankets there are actually a few options to choose from:

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Saranoni also has some other gorgeous blankets that look super luxurious:

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Basically I’ve decided that Saranoni can’t create an ugly blanket.  It’s not possible.  They are all just so, so cute and totally unique!

Who wants to win one???  The winner of this giveaway is going to receive his or her very own…

2-Pack Double Layer Muslin Set in Blue Stripes/Blue Solid.  Just like mine!  

(Enter on the Rafflecopter below.)

*This giveaway is open to US entries only.
*The winner of this giveaway will be drawn no later than the evening of May 12th and will be emailed.  If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.
*This posting and giveaway are sponsored by Saranoni, but all opinions are strictly my own.

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LEGOLAND Kansas City {Giveaway} – CLOSED

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My Banjo is now 6-years-old.  It’s weird to think that my first born is that old.  He’s like a little man who is almost finished with kindergarten.  So very strange for me!  In past years we have always had a birthday party for him.  I was trying to be that mom who threw those big, fabulous parties with lots of friends invited.  Yes, that mom.  I even invited the siblings of the friends, because I didn’t want anyone to feel left out.  Is that a little crazy?  Maybe a little excessive?  (Now there’s nothing really wrong with being that mom.  There are plenty of moms who can pull it off and more power to them.  I’m just not good at being that mom.  For sanity sake I had to take a step back, evaluate what’s truly important, and just say no.)

This year?  No more.  We have three littles now.  All will have a birthday.  All will eventually want to have a party.  All cannot have a party in the same year.  That would be maddening.  I can’t plan for such things.  I can’t decorate for such things.  I can’t organize for such things.  I can’t do such things.  It’s just not going to happen times three every year.  Nope.  Not going to do it.  So I’m thinking that each child has a “friend party” every other year.  Maybe every 3rd year.  Just. Not. Every. Year.

That’s why this year we decided to take Banjo (and the other two littles) out of town for a surprise birthday weekend extravaganza.  Banjo expected to have a party.  We told him we had a special adventure planned instead of a party.  It was a weekend all about him, things he likes, and together as a family.  The best part of celebrating in this way?  Family time!

We went to LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Kansas City!  LEGOLAND agreed on us coming for a visit, my doing a review on the blog, and giveaway away FOUR tickets.  You will find that giveaway below.  First, here are just a few of our favorite highlights from the place Banjo now thinks is the bestest birthday celebration ever.  At the LEGOLAND in Kansas City you can…

Find out how many LEGO bricks you weigh and your height in LEGO bricks:

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Travel to a distant land:

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Meet your favorite LEGO characters:

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Build and race LEGO cars:

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And just have a fantastically dandy time!

Of course you can’t visit LEGOLAND without getting some LEGOS.  Audi came out of the shop with this on my keys:

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He said it’s because I’m Wonder Woman.

As I already mentioned, the winner of this giveaway will receive FOUR tickets to LEGOLAND in Kansas City!

*This giveaway is open to US entries only.
*The winner of this giveaway will be drawn no later than the evening of May 2nd and will be emailed.  If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.
*This posting and giveaway are sponsored by the Kansas City LEGOLAND Discovery Center, but all opinions are strictly my own.

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