Just a mom's take on things...

Never say Never

Deb — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:37:57 +0000

If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout this whole process with Hannah’s knee tumor it’s to never count on any answer being the ‘final’ one. The whole process has been a rollercoaster and every time we think everything’s done and taken care of (for now), we get referred to yet another specialist.

Not that I’m complaining necessarily – believe me, I want to make sure that every possible thing is being done to ensure that this tumor doesn’t come back or spread anywhere else. It’s just been very nerve-wracking. I’ve now learned not to promise anyone (and especially Hannah) that we’re done with doctors, appointments – or apparently with surgeries either.

At the beginning of March, we’d gotten the ‘all clear’ on the scans that were done, which was a huge relief. Hannah’s oncologist (Dr. M) was recommending that we wait 3 months and repeat the MRI and then repeat the CT scan in 6 months. Ron and I breathed easy for the first time in over a month and I happily reassured everyone who asked that Hannah was doing great and back to being her normal 10-year-old self.

Then last week, I got a call from Dr. M, who very apologetically explained that Hannah’s case had been presented at ‘tumor board’ several times and there was some ‘trepidation’ and controversy among the oncologist on the boards as to whether the surgical approach that had been taken was actually enough. In particular, one of the doctors felt that he wanted to see Hannah in person and talk to us about whether another surgery would be warranted. Dr. S is an Osteopathic Oncologist, who specializes in tumors.

It was hard to tell Hannah that we were going to have to take her out of school for yet another appointment with another doctor for her knee. This knee of hers is apparently becoming quite well-known! We weren’t sure exactly what to expect, but we scheduled the appointment and drove back into downtown Grand Rapids yesterday morning to find out.

After the usual taking of weight and height and such. we were seen by Dr. S’s PA and then Dr. S came in, took a look over Hannah, asked a lot of questions and explained his concerns to us. Now I’m not a doctor by any means so I apologize if I’m not totally accurate in trying to recount what was discussed. This is my understanding of it though.

Dr. S sat with us for quite a while and was very thorough in his explanations, which we really appreciated. He answered all of our questions and the one question that Hannah had. She’s so quiet during these appointments – it’s hard to know what she’s thinking and feeling. Unlike both of her sisters, Hannah doesn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve, so we tend to keep asking her if she understands and if she’s ok. She takes all of this so well – but during this visit we saw her brave façade crack a little bit.

Essentially… Hemangiopericytomas are a rare tumor, which we knew. I don’t think we knew how rare though – according to Dr. S, when you compare it to a more commonly seen type of cancer like breast cancer, if there are 20,000 cases of breast cancer a year, there are maybe 20-30 hemangiopericytomas. And many of those occur in infants or adults, so when you’re comparing kids Hannah’s age, there are very few cases and not much research. What little research there is however, indicates that in kids this tends to be a very aggressive tumor, which indicates an aggressive approach in treating it.

All hemangiopericytomas that occur in people under the age of 18 get classified as Infantile Hemangiopericytoma, which is somewhat misleading since obviously Hannah is not an infant. And this type of tumor acts differently in infants – when it occurs in an infant, it can tend to become benign on its own over time. My guess is that this is why the dermatologist and original surgeon did not seem overly concerned about the tumor since it was classified this way. But since Dr. S specializes in tumors and has researched this type specifically and even seen a few of them before, he is better equipped to know how best to treat it.

What Dr. S is recommending is a ‘wide resection’ of the tumor – which means taking out the tumor itself (or in this case the original scar and scar tissue since the tumor is already gone), along with the skin and tissue around it. Although the original surgeon felt confident that he got all of the tumor, it seems that there can be microscopic tumor cells that ‘seed’ the tissue surrounding it, especially during any bleeding that took place during the original biopsy. Dr. S was very glad to have the photos that I took of the tumor and had previously sent to Dr. M – he said it was extremely helpful to see the original size of the tumor and how the area looked right after the original shave biopsy.

If Dr. S had originally seen Hannah, he would have done this type of surgery to begin with. And he feels strongly that this is the best approach. While radiation also could be a possibility, he doesn’t recommend it right now because a) we’re talking about an area right at two growth plates and he would be concerned with radiation affecting the growth in her leg, which could lead to leg length discrepancy and potential surgery for that down the road and b) radiation can cause stiffness in the joint, which can sometimes be permanent. In his opinion, surgery is the best option for Hannah right now – if we make sure to get a wide margin around the original tumor area, then she has the best chance for the tumor to be completely gone and not reoccur.

This next surgery will be a lot more invasive than the first, since he’ll be clearing out a lot more area of skin, tissue and muscle. This means that the recovery will be a lot more difficult as well. Ron and I are in complete agreement that this is the best option – we want to do everything possible to make sure that Hannah remains cancer-free, of course. It’s just going to be difficult to see a normally very active little girl be sidelined for weeks, if not months.

We don’t fully know the extent of what Hannah’s recovery will be like yet either, since until Dr. S actually gets in there and sees how much area he needs to take, he can’t tell us for sure if he’ll be able to simply close the incision over using the existing skin. If he can do so, then Hannah will likely only be in the hospital overnight and then home with a brace on her knee to keep it straight and using crutches for 4-6 weeks. In that scenario, she could go back to school as soon as she felt ready.

However, it may be that Dr. S needs to remove enough of the knee muscle that he’ll have to use a portion of her calf muscle to replace it. Apparently there are three muscles in the calf, and one of them is redundant – so that it can be used to replace lost muscle in the knee if necessary. With some physical therapy, the leg retrains itself to function just fine, especially in kids. Also, if there’s not enough skin left to use over the incision area, he’ll have to do a skin graft. If that’s the case, then we’re looking at a much longer recovery time, with 4-5 days in the hospital and they’d want her to be home from school for four weeks, plus time in the brace and crutches afterward.

Either way, Hannah’s going to be unable to finish out her season for Girls on the Run this spring – and won’t be able to participate in the spring soccer season either. It was at this point when Hannah realized that soccer was going to be affected, that she came close to tears. The only question she asked of Dr. S was how long it will take for her to be ‘back to normal’. He thinks that after 3 months she’ll be probably walking normally again and in 6 months will be back to herself and able to play sports again. I think Hannah was getting at whether she’d be able to play soccer again in the fall, and it seems likely she will if everything goes as well as expected.

At this point, the surgery has been scheduled for April 11th, but that may change since Dr. S will need to coordinate with the plastic surgeon as well. He felt that there’s about a 4-6 week window that he was comfortable waiting – Ron and I had asked that question since we were thinking it might be possible to wait and do the surgery after school and spring activities are done. But given that it will already have been almost 2-1/2 months since the original surgery, Dr. S just doesn’t feel we can wait that long. So we’re going to go with as soon as we can so that she’ll be more recovered for the summertime and hopefully able to still enjoy summer activities and such. I will be gone in early April for the annual TravelingMom blogger retreat, so we’re going to do the surgery right after I get back.

I feel comfortable that this is the right approach and I’m glad that we’ll be giving Hannah the very best shot at remaining cancer-free. I still hate even thinking the word ‘cancer’ in conjunction with one of my kids – it seems so surreal. The only hard part right now is not knowing beforehand about her recovery – I’m a planner by nature, so it’s driving me crazy that we can’t really plan ahead very much. I figure that we’ll need to at least be prepared for the skin graft/longer recovery option in case it does go that route, but am definitely hoping and praying for things to go the easier, faster direction.

Between now and surgery day, my goal is to give Hannah as many opportunities to be active and run around as possible – although Mother Nature is not very cooperative right now. Tomorrow’s the first day of spring, and today we’re having several inches of snow fall with heavy winds. Since Hannah’s soccer team won’t start practices until after her surgery (actually the first scheduled practice is the same day as her surgery, sigh), I’m going to try and see if I can get a scrimmage together with some of her friends and current and former teammates, maybe during spring break in a couple of weeks. Hannah would love that – she absolutely loves to play soccer and is a pretty good player. Last fall she came to many of Becca’s practices and helped the coach out and even played goalie for Becca’s team during one game when they were short several players.

We’re planning on having Hannah attend any of her soccer team’s practices and games that she can after her surgery, to cheer on the team from the sidelines. And hopefully her Girls on the Run coaches will let her stay as involved as possible there too, and I’m hopeful that she might even be able to at least walk part of the 5K in May, but we’ll have to wait and see on that.

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Never say Never

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A (hopefully) final knee-related update!

Deb — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 07:15:05 +0000

We’ve gotten to know our local children’s hospital rather well lately – better than I ever really cared to. Thankfully we’ve made our last trip there – at least for a little while, but it definitely makes you consider what the families go through who spend a considerable amount of time navigating the corridors of hospitals like this one on a regular basis.

Almost two weeks ago, Ron, Hannah and I made our third trip downtown to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital (first was for her surgery, and the second for the oncology visit). It’s odd how you feel like an old pro by that point – we knew exactly where to park, that we had to stop at the information booth on the main floor after we crossed the bridge, and even handed over our parking pass for validation before they could ask for it.

On this trip though, we headed downward to Level C – the home of the radiology department and the imaging machines. Hannah’s scans were separated into two days – on Sunday she had her MRI and then on Monday we spend most of the day at the hospital for her CT scan and her bone scan. Lots of stuff that could potentially be scary for a 10-year-old (not to mention her parents) but the hospital staff did a great job of putting us all at ease and explaining exactly what they were going to be doing.

You can definitely tell the difference in a hospital that’s not only used to dealing with kids, but which deals ONLY with kids all day every day. Really, I can’t say enough about the benefits of going to a children’s hospital if you have that option available to you.

On Sundays, the hospital is pretty much deserted on the public levels. We were the only ones in the waiting room in the radiology department, so we got checked in right away. Being the only ones there, we also had sole control over the television, and Hannah picked out a recent movie to watch – Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3. Not a big surprise considering how dog-crazy this little girl is.

After a bit, we got called back. Hannah changed into loose clothes just like the ones she’d worn a few weeks earlier for her surgery at this same hospital. The technician walked us to the MRI room, and showed all of us exactly what it looked like. Ron and I had to stay outside since the magnet is turned on at all times and we were in normal street clothes with metal parts, but we were able to watch from the doorway as Hannah was settled in. One cool thing about having an MRI here is that they have video goggles that the kids can wear with headphones, so they can watch a movie during the actual MRI itself. Hannah chose the same movie she’d been watching in the waiting room, and Ron and I headed back out there during the 45-minute wait until she was done.

Of course, Hannah got another blue slushy afterward and we headed home with our happily blue-tongued child.

We had to be back at the hospital early the next morning, so sent Becca over to a neighbor’s house to wait there until the bus came (Abbi rides an earlier bus) and headed back downtown yet again. Hannah was scheduled for a contrast dye injection (for the bone scan) at 8am. We also brought with us the contrast dye fluid that she was supposed to drink before the CT scan since she needed to drink 12 ounces at 8am and then another 12 ounces at 9am before the CT scan at 10am. Then she’d have the bone scan at noon.

Being a Monday morning, the hospital was a lot busier this time and the waiting room in radiology was full. Hannah chose not to watch the movie playing, but instead buried herself inside a book she’d brought since we knew we’d have down time throughout the day. We were brought back after a little while by one of the hospital’s Child Life Specialists, and she got us settled into a cubicle and explained how the day was going to proceed. Since injections would be required for a couple of the scans, they were going to go ahead and simply put in an IV so that Hannah would only have to experience one poke instead of multiple ones.

As the nurse came in to do the IV, the Child Life Specialist came back and showed Hannah an iPad with photos of the different machines that would do her tests, plus gave her a couple of prizes – a book and a puzzle. The nurse was able to use a numbing spray in Hannah’s arm so that she wouldn’t even feel the IV poke, which was nice. They put in the IV and taped her arm to a board so she’d have to keep her arm straight. It was cool to see the little touches they used, like making sure that the tape wouldn’t stick to the hair on her arm.

After the IV was put in, the technicians from the nuclear medicine department came to do the injection for the bone scan. The injection was done right through the IV and the technicians were friendly and great with Hannah. After that, we were done for a little while so decided to head up to the main floor to check out the hospital’s library.

The library is a great area if you need to kill some time at the hospital – not only does it have a ton of books for every age group, including adults, but there are plenty of games for kids of all ages and even computers they can play on. Hannah and Ron decided on a game of Scrabble, so I watched and knit while Hannah played one-handed and managed to tie her father (with a lot of his assistance – I stink at Scrabble). When it was time, we headed back downstairs for the CT scan.

This time Ron and I were able to be right in the room with Hannah. This scan didn’t take long at all, and once it was done, they were able to take out the IV since it wouldn’t be needed anymore. Hannah was thrilled to get the use of her right arm back. Since she’d had to fast all morning for the CT scan, we all went upstairs to get a bite to eat afterward – as another prize, we were given a gift certificate to the little café area that serves pastries, coffee and such. Hannah chose a donut and had some mint hot chocolate. I had a scone and regular hot chocolate and Ron got a donut and orange juice. After we ate, we went back into the library since we still had about an hour left to wait before the bone scan. This time Ron and Hannah played several different games to pass the time while I knitted. Several other parents and kids wandered through as well.

At noon, we made our last trip downstairs, this time for the bone scan. Again Ron and I were able to be right in there with Hannah, and again she was able to watch a movie – this time on a television screen off to the side. They didn’t have quite as current of choices so Hannah opted for Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2. It was really interesting to watch this scan, because we could see a diagram of her skeleton on the monitors – not at the same quality as the actual scan itself (they use the monitors just to verify placement) but it was pretty cool to see her skull and bones on there.

After the bone scan was complete, Hannah was presented with yet another giant blue slushie – this time as much to keep her hydrated and wash the contrast dye out of her system as anything else, but she was of course, thrilled to turn her tongue bright blue again. We made one last stop in the cafeteria for some lunch and were finally able to head out. By this time it was about 1:30pm – I’d given Hannah the option to just miss the rest of the school day, but she was adamant that she needed to go so she wouldn’t miss library. Yes, she’s our little bookworm!

The next morning before the girls went off to the bus stop, I pointed out to Hannah that she’d actually have to go a day without a slushy. However would she survive?? LOL She simply stuck her (non-blue) tongue out at me.

We didn’t have to wait long for the test results. Around lunchtime on Tuesday I got a call from the oncologist letting us know that both the CT and bone scans were completely clear. On the MRI they did see a little bit of ‘stranding’ below her knee, but she was confident that this was most likely due to tissue change from Hannah’s surgery. Her recommendation was that no treatment would be needed and that we’ll just repeat the MRI in 3 months and then the CT scan in 6 months. Just to be sure, she planned to present the test results at the next tumor board meeting on Friday morning – so that we’d get consensus from 10 oncologists instead of just one, as she put it. She said that if we didn’t hear from her on Friday, then we’d know that they all agreed with her recommendation.

This was a huge relief to Ron and I – and to Hannah when we told her after school that day. Abbi had also picked up on a lot of what had been going on so we were able to fill her in and give her the good news as well. The next few days were still a little nervous for me as we didn’t have a final recommendation yet, but Friday came and went with no call from the doctor, so we know that at this point anyway – there is no cause for concern. And no need for chemotherapy or radiation.

After the whole roller coaster of emotion we’ve been on for the past couple of months, it’s so good to finally know for sure that at this point in time, Hannah is cancer-free. We’ll watch her knee and repeat the scans as necessary – but I’m feeling so much better about everything and hopefully the next scans will continue to be clear as well.

We’ve gotten so much support from friends and family during all of this whole process, which is so greatly appreciated. It’s good to put the stressful weeks behind us and be able to concentrate on just regular stuff like school conferences and attending birthday parties. And looking forward to the sunshine and warm days that are just around the corner with spring.

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Slushies and Scans

Deb — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 21:14:59 +0000

You know how you have moments where suddenly your whole perspective changes? I can remember very specifically a few of those in my life – most notably the four times I’ve seen positive pregnancy tests, the moment I said ‘I do’ on my wedding day, when I saw each of the girls’ scrunched up baby faces for the very first time…

On Wednesday I had another one of those moments, and I’m still working through processing it. I mean, it’s not that the whole ‘c’ word hasn’t been at the back of my mind – really ever since the first time I looked at that ugly growth on Hannah’s knee. But up until now, it’s only been a possibility and one that everyone’s been careful to avoid talking about.

Not that I’m complaining about finally being further down the road to answers. It’s good to have everything out there on the table and be addressing the giant elephant that’s been in the room. Yes, our child had a malignant, cancerous tumor. Fine. It’s been removed and is gone. Now we just have to deal with everything that this fact entails.

So Wednesday’s appointment was a strange one in that neither Ron or I really had any idea of what exactly was going to happen. We knew we were going to see an oncologist for ‘further follow-up’, but what that meant, we weren’t sure.

Arriving back at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital was kind of like déjà vu from Hannah’s surgery day. We knew exactly where to park, how to get to the bridge over from the parking ramp to the hospital proper, and everything looked exactly the same. This time we headed up to the 10th floor though – the Oncology/Hematology Center.

We got checked in and they took Hannah’s vitals. She’s exactly 4’ 8-1/2” tall and weighs 80 pounds. They got us settled in an exam room, complete with Hannah’s name written on the dry-erase board on the wall. Everything was clean and bright and kid-sized. The nurse stopped in and made sure we knew that we were welcome to check out the snack station while we were waiting, so Hannah and I took a walk down there – and we remedied something that Hannah had lamented on after her surgery. After hearing that the hospital has slushy bars, she’d never had the chance to have one that day.

Not so on this day – she was soon ensconced back in the exam room with a bright blue slushy and a snack package of cookies. I opted for hot chocolate.

After a long-enough wait that Hannah had almost finished her slushy, one of the doctors came in. We described everything that had already been done to this point and he took a complete medical history. He also did a complete physical exam on Hannah, focusing especially on checking over her lymph nodes, glands and of course the surgical site on her right knee. A little while later, we were joined by a second doctor – together they are the team that will focus on whatever care she needs.

I’m going to go into a lot of detail here – mainly for my own purposes of having a good record about this whole experience. I apologize for the lengthy post – feel free to skip to the bottom if you’d like, especially since I’ll probably repeat things I’ve already covered in previous posts. And I’m also probably going to butcher medical terms and explanations – I’m going solely from memory here and there was a lot to process. Sorry!

The doctors explained that they are a team of a pediatric oncology attending and a pediatric oncology fellow who work together to bring both the experience and the fresh perspective. We felt comfortable with both of them and they were very thorough and honest in their explanations. Hannah was there for this discussion and the doctors specifically told her that they will never keep anything from her and will be entirely honest with her at all times. They did have her go down to the activity center for a little while at the end so we could ask any questions we wanted to.

The three pathology reports on the tumor all agree that it’s consistent with an infantile hemangiopericytoma. Obviously the tumor has been removed at this point and the surgeon is very confident that he got a good margin of healthy tissue around it. However, the final pathology report does have one discrepancy that these doctors explained to us. When a tumor like this one is processed for samples for testing, the tumor is sliced and the slices are prepared on slides. There are three portions on each slide – the tumor, the healthy tissue beyond it and then an ink mark that is made to distinguish the edge of the sample. On one of Hannah’s samples, there is no ink line – and the tumor goes right up to the edge of the sample. The doctor’s educated guess is that the tumor had likely split or broken in that area, so that this portion was probably an interior piece of the tumor, not an outside edge. That would explain why there was no healthy tissue margin and no ink. But – because of this, they cannot say with 100% certainty (not that anything’s ever 100% in medicine anyway, but still…) that the entire tumor was contained within what was removed from Hannah’s knee.

The doctors are recommending three further tests at this point, to make sure that there are no other malignancies. They are going to do 1) an MRI of her entire right leg, 2) a CT scan of her from neck to pelvis, and 3) a bone scan. If everything comes back clear on these, they’ll do repeat tests (not as extensive) in 3 months, and then will continue to do repeat tests for a period of 3 years, getting progressively further apart. And obviously we’ll continue to watch her knee for any signs of the tumor growing back. If it does grow back, it would almost certainly do so in the same spot. The concern though is to make sure that nothing has spread into either her lungs, her lymph nodes or her bones.

If something does show up on these initial scans (or any of the future ones), what is done will depend on what they find. If the tumor reoccurs at the same spot, they would surgically remove it again and then do radiation therapy at that location. If it’s spread elsewhere, then they would do chemotherapy and possible radiation as well, depending on where it spread to.

Basically this tumor was a soft tissue sarcoma – a malignancy. At this point, Ron and I specifically asked about the ‘c’ word – cancer. Because we had previously asked the surgeon whether the tumor was benign or malignant and he had told us it was benign. At Hannah’s follow-up appointment with the dermatologist (for her facial sores), that doctor had mentioned that the pathology reports were unclear about whether or not it was malignant or benign.

According to the oncologists, this type of tumor is by definition a malignant one. We’re not sure why nobody had come right out and told us this before, but it’s good to have everything out there on the table so we can begin to process and deal with it. Yes, this was a cancerous tumor. We were fortunate in several ways though – these tumors can often appear deeper in the soft tissue so aren’t as easily found until they get much larger. This one was right at the edge of the skin and was visibly apparent.

Does that mean that Hannah ‘has’ cancer? At this point Ron and I are using the past tense to refer to it. She HAD a cancerous tumor. Does she HAVE cancer? That’s what these scans will tell us. Obviously we’re hoping that there will be nothing, but I guess we won’t totally be able to breathe easily until the next three years have passed with scans that are all clear. And if something does show up – whether now or at some point in the future, we’ll focus on what to do and how to handle things then.

Hannah herself is doing fine. She’s in no pain and never has been. The physical exam was very encouraging and the doctors told her specifically that they are not worried about her at this point. She drank 2 blue slushies that morning and started a bead friendship bracelet in the activity center. I didn’t think she was going to want to leave, lol! All she asked when we told her we’d have to come back for more tests is whether she can have another slushy then.

We’ve talked to her about everything, including explaining what malignant means and using the word ‘cancer’. We want her to understand what’s going on, but not frighten her. I used Ron’s thyroid cancer as an example for her – he had cancer, they removed his tumor (and his thyroid) and he had one treatment and then has been absolutely fine ever since. Most likely, this will be the same for her – she had a cancerous tumor, it was removed. They’ll do some tests and she’ll likely be fine ever afterward. She had no questions and hasn’t seemed overly concerned. We made sure she knows she can ask us anything at any time. I kind of think that she likes all of this extra attention though, especially having Ron and I to herself for all of these appointments.

I feel cautiously optimistic – but still slightly worried about what the scans will find, of course. We’ll know soon – the MRI is scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon and we’ll be at the hospital most of the day on Monday for the CT and bone scan. We should have the results within a day or two of each test. After thinking that everything was done and over with, it’s been a process to suddenly not only have to deal with more tests, but now knowing for sure that this was cancer. Ron feels blindsided – me not so much, probably because I’d done more research on this type of tumor as well and had seen the word sarcoma used in conjunction with it. Although, there’s not a lot out there online about it, and most of what you do find deals with tumors in the brain or lungs, so not really comparable to this situation. It is a really rare tumor. Trust our kid to grow weird things out of nowhere.

There’s no specific genetic link – we did have that conversation with the doctors as well. But they are curious about the fact of Ron’s thyroid cancer and that both his mom and grandmother had their thyroids removed at an early age as well, so are going to research an possible links there further. There’s no evidence of an environmental or other type of link as a cause – it’s just one of those things that happens and nobody really knows why.

So now we do the tests and we wait – again. But at least at the end of this wait we’ll have a full answer to the question of whether or not there’s anything to worry about at this point in time. It’s good to have some answers and to know more are forthcoming.

I think that’s everything up-to-date. We’ve had so much support from family and friends when Ron and I have posted updates on Facebook and on my blog posts here, as well as from my fellow bloggers in the TravelingMom network. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives and we’re incredibly thankful.

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And the roller coaster ride continues…

Deb — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:05:57 +0000

I swear that the ups and downs of this whole process are going to give me an ulcer – or something. I guess that’s just life though – it is what it is.

Every time we think that we’re done worrying about Hannah’s knee tumor, something else pops up. First, it was shaved off by the dermatologist and we think – great, it’s gone and that’s it. Then we find out that she needs surgery to remove the rest of it. Ok. The surgery goes well, she got her stitches out on Monday, everything’s healing well – great!

But…

Then we got a call from the surgeon on Wednesday afternoon.

First, let me explain exactly what the pathologist reports found on the tumor. Hannah’s surgeon gave us a call last Tuesday to explain. The reports state that it’s ‘most consistent with’…

Infantile Hemangiopericytoma.

Yeah, try saying that 5 times fast! It took me several tries to pronounce it at all. And when I took Becca into our pediatrician for her well-child checkup last week, our doctor said she’d never even heard of it.

Which seems to be part of the reason for the roller-coaster ride – it’s an extremely rare type of tumor, so there’s no specific course of treatment. And opinions seem to be mixed on whether it’s actually benign or malignant. Ron and I listened together on speaker to Hannah’s surgeon’s explanation and each of us came away from the conversation with a totally different opinion of what he meant.

There have been 3 different pathology reports on this tumor. First, the original shave biopsy done by the dermatologist. Which was sent to a dermatologic lab – who referred it to another pathologist, Dr. Weiss at Emory University for a second opinion. She is apparently THE authority on soft tissue tumors (having literally written the book of that name), so that’s definitely reassuring. Then, after the remainder of the tumor was removed via surgery, a local pathologist did a third report – which I have a copy of. She agreed with the previous findings – so after three concurring opinions, at least we can be glad that everyone agrees on what the tumor is.

The issue now seems to be that hemangiopericytomas can be benign – or they may not. Basically it’s an extremely rare, fast-growing tumor. And it’s the ‘fast-growing’ part that gets concerning. Because malignant tumors are fast-growing by nature. So even though no cancer cells were specifically found in this tumor, the fact that it shows such quick growth is maybe an issue.

Hannah’s surgeon was very careful to reassure us that there’s most likely no cause for concern. The entire tumor was removed and he’s confident that he got all of it. His recommendation was for us to watch the area over the next year or two to see if anything grows back, but not to worry about it otherwise. Since Ron and I had come away from the phone conversation with such different opinions (Ron took away that the tumor was entirely benign, and I heard that it was most likely benign but they weren’t totally sure), we asked at Hannah’s follow-up appointment. The surgeon was very definitely of the opinion that the tumor is entirely benign, so that was good to hear, and we were glad that this whole thing seemed to be over. Her incision is healing well and she’s back to full activity level with no restrictions.

That brings me back to Wednesday’s phone call. The surgeon (who I am extremely impressed with), called to let us know that even though he’s confident in his recommendation for follow-up, he wanted to be thorough and get a second opinion from the oncology and hematology practice at the local children’s hospital as well. He gave Hannah’s file to them and just wanted to give us a heads-up in case they decided any further testing or imaging was necessary.

This morning I got a call from the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology practice. They reviewed Hannah’s case at their weekly tumor board meeting and would like to see her for further follow-up.

Back on the roller coaster of emotions…

Again, it’s likely that this is nothing. Everybody’s being very careful to be thorough so that we know for sure – and that’s a very good thing. We WANT them to be thorough so we know once and for all whether there’s more to this thing or not. It’s just that this means more days of waiting until another appointment, which of course means more days of worrying about that (probably small) chance that there IS more to this thing.

Like I said, it’s been a roller coaster of emotions – and we’re still riding.

I may have jinxed things by assuring Hannah’s teacher that we were done taking her out of school for appointments finally. Now I get to eat those words and let her teacher know we’ll be bringing her in late next Wednesday morning. I have no idea what they’re going to do at this appointment, so I have no idea how much of the day she’ll miss.

We’re hoping (and praying) that this is just everyone being extra thorough – and everything will turn out to be fine. But either way, it’ll be good to know for sure.

Finally.

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New Knee News

Deb — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:11:14 +0000

Yes, that’s a dorky title, but I like it.

So a lot’s happened since my last post about the funky thing that was growing on Hannah’s knee. The main word there being ‘was’, of course. Last Thursday we spent the day at the new Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in downtown Grand Rapids, for an outpatient surgery to remove the tumor.

Let me back up a bit. A week ago was our appointment with the pediatric surgeon, which went about as we expected – he looked over the spot on the knee where the outer portion of the tumor had been removed (he called it a scrape biopsy) and reviewed the pathology report that had been received. There wasn’t much he could tell us – the pathology report was inconclusive and couldn’t tell us exactly what the tumor was. All we knew is that there were no malignant cells found in the portions tested, but with most of the tumor still in Hannah’s knee, they couldn’t say for sure that there was no malignancy there at all.

The bottom line – the tumor had to come out. Both to get it out of there and so that the rest of it could be tested. It would be a fairly simple surgery – the only complicating factor being that the tumor was residing right on her knee joint, so the surgeon had to get creative in how to stitch the incision up afterward. No dissolvable stitches – just in case, since knees are joints that get a lot of flex just in daily activities.

We left the appointment with surgery set just two days afterward, this past Thursday. Ron and I were both glad it would be done quickly so we wouldn’t have to wait long and so Hannah wouldn’t have to sit around being nervous. She’d never had surgery before so was understandably scared.

Surgery day brought a ton of snow with it – we’d worried that the other kids would end up with a snow day but the buses ran and school was in session. We arrived at the hospital at 10am for Hannah’s 11:30am surgery.

I have to say – our new children’s hospital facility is wonderful! Ron and I had both had surgery in the past (mine was outpatient, to remove an ovarian cyst a few years ago and Ron had a one-night stay after his thyroidectomy a couple of years ago) and both of those experiences were fine. But I felt that the staff here did an exceptional job with putting Hannah at ease, which is exactly what you want to see in a facility dedicated to working with kids. The process for intake and discharge was smooth, and we really liked the tracking system that let us see exactly where Hannah was at all times that we weren’t there with her. We had given her a new stuffed animal friend that morning to bring with her (we did something similar when Abbi had eye surgery several years ago) and the staff let ‘Buttercup’ go with Hannah right even into surgery, and it was tucked in with her when she woke up afterward.

Hannah generally tends to love the spotlight and is fairly bouncy and energetic. But on this day she was extremely quiet and self-possessed. We knew she was nervous – she didn’t really show it, but she was very, very quiet the whole time. And very brave. She never shed a tear or complained about anything – she was cooperative and polite. We were so proud of her!

We got Hannah settled in her pre-op room and there was a selection of movies to pick from on the in-room tv. Hannah immediately chose Arthur Christmas – she’d seen it once before and had really liked the movie so she wanted to see it again. I think concentrating on the funny movie helped offset her nerves and it also gave Ron something to do as we waited. I got a lot of work done on the socks I was knitting.

The staff did a great job of explaining exactly what was going to happen and who was going to come in and talk to us – both the surgeon and anesthesiologist. A Child Life Specialist also came in and showed Hannah the mask that would be used to administer the anesthesia, and helped her pick a flavor of chapstick to coat the inside of the mask with to help offset the ‘bad smell’ that the gas would have. She also explained how they wouldn’t put in the IV until after Hannah was already asleep, so she wouldn’t feel a single prick or poke the whole time.

I think the highlight of the day was after the Child Life Specialist explained the entire process of how the surgery would go – and then asked Hannah if she had any questions. Hannah said yes, and we waited to see which aspect of the surgery she was unsure about. But Hannah simply looked up at the tv screen (with the movie that had been paused during this whole visit) and asked, “how do I un-pause the movie?” The adults in the room all got a good chuckle out of that.

We got to stay with Hannah right up until they took her into surgery and then relaxed in the comfy waiting room for about an hour until the surgeon came in to update us afterward. He explained that he’d excised the tumor and that he felt confident he’d gotten it all as well as a good margin around it. He had put in a series of stitches lengthwise along the incision, before closing up the skin, with the two ends the string (or whatever it’s called) left out.

He closed the skin with bandages (to leave less of a scar) then knotted the two ends of the string together and covered that with additional bandages so it wouldn’t catch on anything. In the end, she’s got about 5 layers of bandage covering the spot, but we only have to concern ourselves with changing the top layer. She’ll go in next Monday to have the stitches removed – until then there’s also an ace bandage covering her knee to help with limiting the mobility so there’s as little pressure on the stitches as possible.

We were home right at 4pm that day, only a few minutes before Abbi and Becca arrived home on the bus. Hannah was pretty alert – she’d been a little groggy after she woke up, but we hung out in her post-op room (the same room as for pre-op, with her movie still paused in the same spot which was nice). We watched the rest of Arthur Christmas and most of Gnomeo and Juliet before she was discharged. Hannah did wonderfully – she never even complained of pain. She rested for the rest of that day and was up and around like normal on Friday.

On Friday, we got the snow day so didn’t have to worry about deciding whether or not to send Hannah to school that day. The kids played on their electronics, read and generally all took it easy and then Hannah even went to a friend’s house for a sleepover that night. She’s been doing great – the only problem we’re having is reminding her constantly that she’s supposed to take it easy and not be very active on that knee. No gym class – although she did talk me into letting her go outside for recess as long as she promised not to run, climb, crawl or do anything other than walk.

Follow-up from the hospital has been great too – they gave Hannah a stuffed bear when she left since she’d done such a great job. Plus we got a phone call a few days afterward to check in – and yesterday Hannah got a card in the mail, addressed specifically to her and signed by the nurses and everyone who helped care for her. After this experience with a fairly minor outpatient surgery, I have a lot of confidence in what things would be like if we ever needed something on a larger scale done there.

We’re expecting a final lab result on the tumor any time now – so far all they’ve been able to tell us is that they still don’t know what it was or if it’s benign or malignant. The surgeon did say that nothing about it was a huge red flag for him in terms of malignancy, which was somewhat good to hear. He also said that even if the tumor does end up malignant, there wouldn’t likely be any further course of treatment since the entire tumor was already removed. So that’s reassuring as well. Hopefully we’ll get final results today or tomorrow, get the stitches out on Monday and then be able to put this whole thing behind us.

I think we’re all ready for that.

I wasn’t asked to write about our experience at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital but wanted to share how everything went went since it’s a new facility and this was our first experience there.

Posted using my laptop with the NetZero 4G mobile hotspot!

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That funky-looking thing on Hannah’s knee

Deb — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 03:27:00 +0000

In October of last year, the little red bump on Hannah’s knee wasn’t anything we were terribly worried about. Ron thought it was a large pimple and although I didn’t agree with him, I figured it was probably just some weird type of blister or maybe at worst, similar to the hermangioma that was removed from Hannah’s right temple when she was a toddler. Nothing to panic over in any case – with her birthday a little over a month away and next well-child checkup soon afterward, I figured we’d just ask the doctor about it then. It wasn’t shorts weather anyway, so she wouldn’t be feeling self-conscious about it.

In November, we saw the doctor to get flu shots for the girls and I mentioned the funky-looking thing growing on Hannah’s knee – yes, that’s my technical term for it – the ‘funky-looking thing’. The doctor agreed that yes, it was strange and should be looked at by a specialist, so we got a referral to a dermatologist. The doctor wasn’t overly concerned so when the earliest dermatologist appointment was a couple of months out, I didn’t worry too much. After all, it was still winter and long pants weather, so the funky-looking thing wasn’t making Hannah’s life any more difficult. It didn’t itch, it didn’t hurt (unless she pressed on it) and most of the time she simply ignored it. And so did I.

Last week we finally had our appointment with the dermatologist – which was good because our level of concern regarding the funky-looking thing on Hannah’s knee was growing, just as the funky-looking thing itself was. It no longer resembled just a red bump – it was big, it was ugly, and after she crawled around on her knees at the YMCA pool one day without thinking about it, the thing bled quite a bit. I was glad that we had the dermatologist appointment the next week to get it dealt with.

The dermatologist wasn’t exactly sure what to make of the funky-looking thing either. She preliminarily decided that it was probably either a) a wart or b) something called a pyogenic granuloma (which is the term our pediatrician had used). Neither of which are anything to really worry about, and after numbing the area, the dermatologist simply sliced off the funky-looking thing with a scalpel. But just to make sure, she sent it out for testing. Hannah went home with a pressure bandage to control any leftover bleeding and a quarter-sized crater on her knee. We changed to just covering it with band-aids that night and the area hasn’t been giving Hannah any trouble since.

Then… today Ron got a call from a pediatric surgeon – the kids had a snow day and he was home with them while I was at work. Apparently we’d missed a call yesterday from the dermatologist, so we immediately called her back to see what was going on. So here’s what we know so far – and what we don’t know as well.

The funky-looking thing definitely looked weird to the dermatologist (never a good sign, right?). The lab she sent it to was able to determine that it was a tumor of some sort, but they couldn’t do further testing on it because they deal with skin issues only and apparently the funky-looking thing was not a skin tumor, but was growing out of the soft tissue underneath the skin. So that lab sent the funky-looking thing over to a different lab for more testing to figure out exactly what kind of tumor it is, which is what we’re waiting to hear back about now.

All we know at this point is that yes, there was a tumor growing on Hannah’s knee, and the tumor was either benign or malignant. Either way she’ll need to have the rest of it surgically removed, so we have an appointment with the pediatric surgeon next week. Plus, we have to wait to find out exactly what the funky-looking thing was before they can figure out if she’ll need any further treatment or what that would entail.

It’s a little hard not to panic right now – I hate being in waiting mode, but we have to wait for the additional lab results, which won’t be available for a few days and we have to wait a week for the next appointment to find out what the surgeon thinks. I hate waiting! And I definitely don’t like not knowing how much of that thing is left beneath her skin.

So far all we’ve told Hannah is that she’s got another appointment to talk to a different doctor about the funky-looking thing on her knee since they’ll have to get rid of the rest of it. There’s not any point in worrying her until we know more about what’s going on. I don’t want to hide anything from her, so once we get some definitive answers we’ll explain as best as we can, but at this point there’s no reason to put her into panic mode. Ron and I are there already.

Right now I’m mainly just trying to stay calm and think positively. We’ll have answers of some sort soon – and hopefully a game plan in place to deal with the rest of whatever that funky-looking thing was. I’m hopeful that it will just be a quick and easy surgery and then we’ll be done, but part of me worries that it’s not going to be that easy.

More to come as we find out additional information.

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The first day back

Deb — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 03:40:37 +0000

Yawn, whine, rub sleepy eyes, run for the bus stop…

That’s what the first morning back to school after a 2-week break entails. Complaining kids who are tired and cranky and don’t want to get up – plus a tired mom who feels the same way but knows it’ll get easier after the first few days of adjustment.

Trying to remember what has to get done, what needs to go in lunches and backpacks, and navigating around a house that’s not only filled with the usual after-break mess, but piled high with dishes since we’re operating on manual labor for dishwashing at the moment and nothing’s getting washed in a timely manner lately.

But then… ah. A quiet house as I get my shower and take a few minutes to get myself ready for work. Oh the silence, how I’ve missed you… As much as I love every moment spent with kids and family, there’s nothing like those few minutes to yourself whenever you can snatch them.

Way before I’m ready to give up my quiet alone time, I have to head out myself. Poor Tessa looks up at me with sad eyes – she’s gotten used to having people home all day and the quiet isn’t so exciting for a small doggie who loves her kids and big people. No belly rubs until lunchtime, poor thing.

Back to the hectic routine of real life… Filled with a lot of yawns and an early bedtime tonight. For all of us.

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Holidays, Happy New Year (and so on)

Deb — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 06:22:39 +0000

Such a cliché, right – where has the time gone? I blink and a whole month has gone by…

But a true saying, at least lately. I swear just yesterday I was thinking that it was way too early to be starting to think about dealing with the holiday season yet – and now here it is already into 2013 and another Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukah are behind us.

I know much of my current time warp-ishness has to do with the past 2-1/2 months of working two jobs as well as taking care of kids, family and home – and trying to squeeze in time for knitting, reading and other ‘me’ stuff.

Like naps. There have been lots of naps going on lately. Which I’m sure has to do with the fact that I’m now getting up (and staying up at 7am) and often staying up much later at night than I should to find that little bit of me time. As much as I hate to be sleeping through some of the evening time that I get to spend with the girls, naps are definitely my friend nowadays.

Sleep issues aside, we had a good time this holiday season. The girls are older now and the “I want!” attitude is much less than it used to be. Abbi only had four things on her Christmas list altogether and 90% of Hannah’s list was made up of books. My whole process for shopping has changed – instead of picking up items on sale and clearance throughout the year and then having to get the specific things the girls wanted on top of all those, I did all almost all of my shopping the weekend before Christmas and only bought things I knew they specifically wanted (or needed). Although I did go out shopping on Black Friday, I was hunting only for a few things. Other than a few DVDs, pajamas and gloves, the girls’ lists just don’t match the big toy sales anymore. In fact, I bought very few toys overall, which is a trend that I’m sure will keep up as we move more into the tween and teen years.

Abbi asked for peace sign wall stickers for her room, a penguin ‘dream light’ Pillow Pet, apps for her tablet and a gray Webkinz cat. She got all of those things, plus I also got her peace sign sheets for her bed, which she was thrilled with. She also spent all her Christmas money on a matching comforter.

Hannah asked for books – we got her the Percy Jackson series that she’s read and loved, as well as a bunny Webkinz, dog and pawprint wall stickers for her room, a Barbie beach house (one of the few toys), and a Twilight Turtle (similar to a dream light, except the projected stars have 8 actual constellations you can find).

Each of them also got a Google Play Store gift card – up until now we’ve only let them download free apps on their android tablets, so they were thrilled to be able to purchase a few (with our approval).

Becca got My Little Pony figurines, a puppy ‘dream light’ Pillow Pet, a spotted leopard Webkinz, a game from the movie Brave, a Barbie paper doll set, and a couple of DVDs she wanted.

Ron and I spent our Christmas money we received from his parents (plus a gift card from his work) to replace our dead Wii. We got a great deal on a new one, that also included a starter pack for the Skylanders Giants game, which Ron and the girls are having a lot of fun with. It’s been great to be able to play our Wii games again and I’m always happy to have another way for our family to stay more active during these cold winter months.

I managed to squeeze in time to knit ornaments for family and friends as gifts this year (thankfully I began back in October!), which was a lot of fun. I even broke out the sewing machine and made little gift bags to store them in. They turned out wonderfully and I’m looking forward to hopefully being able to do more with sewing this coming year. Abbi learned to use the sewing machine too, and made a pillow for my mom for Christmas.

And so now it’s 2013 and we’re up to the final weekend of Christmas break. The girls have had fun – we made cookies, visited friends last weekend, have sent kids to and hosted sleepovers, and had some good family time together. I took Christmas week off and Ron’s had New Year’s week off, so we each had a week home with the girls.

Happy New Year!

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Get great deals this holiday season at the P&G eStore!

Deb — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:20:00 +0000

This holiday season it is easier than ever to shop right from home for your favorite Proctor & Gamble products! The P&G eStore has a large variety of the products we all use and love – and some special deals are in place to help make your holidays even merrier.

Not only can you get free shipping on orders over $25 – but they also are giving free samples with every order and if you are a new customer making a first-time order, you can save 15% by using the promo code: A9Z-MN5-KY3-ISA.

I’m a big fan of many P&G products to begin with – our whole family brushes with Crest toothpastes (as I have since childhood – my mom swears that’s why I never had cavities), we prefer Tide laundry detergent and Downy fabric softener over many others that we’ve tried throughout the years and I always keep a bottle of Dawn dish soap on-hand because I’ve found that it works better than anything else I’ve tried. Right now P&G is offering over $85 in savings in their eStore – and every bit you save on household staples like these is more money to put toward making your holidays the best they can be.

One of my favorite go-to P&G products are Duracell batteries – and this is one time of year when we really make sure to stock up. It seems like every toy under the tree nowadays needs batteries, and you can break little hearts if they can’t open up a box and play with something right away because you’re out of batteries! The P&G eStore is a great place to get plenty of Duracell batteries – with several deals going on right now:

You can get a 28ct Value Pack of either Duracell AA or Duracell AAA batteries for $17.99 each.
Enter Duracell’s Bundle of Batteries sweepstakes for a chance to be one of three lucky winners who will each receive a $100 prize pack of Duracell batteries.
Buy in bundles and save with the Power Xmas Day Fun Cruisers Bundle that includes both Pampers Cruisers diapers as well as Duracell batteries – and you also will receive 400 bonus Pampers Gifts to Grow points as well.

Plus if you pair these Duracell deals with the free shipping and new customer offers, you’ll save even more. So don’t forget to power up with Duracell and the P&G eStore this holiday season!

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Review & Giveaway: #MegaBloksBarbie Build ‘n Style Luxury Mansion (ends 12/22)

Deb — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:21:42 +0000

With three girls in our house, we are quite inundated with all things Barbie, as you might expect. Both Hannah and Becca have been playing with them for several years, and even Abbi (who has never really played much with toys) counts a few Barbies among her possessions. But although we’ve got plenty of dolls, many Barbie pets, accessories and even a few stray pieces of furniture, we’ve never had a full play set for the girls to use with them. So when I had the chance to review the Barbie Build ‘n Style Luxury Mansion from Mega Bloks®, I knew the girls would be very excited.

What it is:

The Mega Bloks® Barbie Build ‘n Style Luxury Mansion is a full play set that includes everything needed to both build the mansion and to have a fun time playing with it afterward. The mansion comes with clear, illustrated instructions that show how to create the initial mansion design and layout, but also show several other options and encourage kids to use their own creativity and imagination to design and style the house in any way that they like.

The set includes eight rooms, a working elevator and two mini figurines (Barbie and Teresa). There are plenty of accessories from tableware to pets and even fashion changes for the figures. Everything snaps or fits together interchangeably. Here is more information about Mega Bloks Barbie and this set in particular:

Young girls will be empowered to build ‘n style their very own Mega Bloks Barbie world, with over 300 specially-designed pieces and tons of detailed accessories. Collect up to 19 mini fashion dolls — including Barbie, Teresa, Nikki and of course Ken — with changeable hair, accessories and clothing styles! There’s lots of great places to shop, like the Fashion Boutique and the Pet Shop. Hang out at home in the personalized Luxury Mansion, relax at the pool or hop in your convertible and head to the beach house!

Design a dream-house-come-true with the Mega Bloks Barbie Build ‘n Style Luxury Mansion. Decorate eight interchangeable rooms that can be built any way you want! Barbie can build a bedroom with a beautiful canopy bed, a fun living room where Barbie and friends can relax or a bathroom with a “bubbly” tub! – It’s totally up to you! Take the working elevator all the way to the top floor for a super fun party with Mini-Fashion Figures Barbie, Teresa and all their friends!

Here’s our take on it:

When the set arrived, the girls were thrilled. I sat down with them to see what was in the box and if they needed any help putting things together. It turned out to be one of the most fun times I’ve had with them in a while. So often nowadays they don’t need my help (or want it), so this was some good, quality time that was wonderful to have. Hannah and Becca (and later Abbi after she joined us as well), put stickers on pieces and we took turns snapping parts together until we had built the whole mansion together. The instructions were clear enough that Hannah especially could follow them easily, but she liked the excuse to have me there to help. Becca was too impatient to start playing to sit down and look through the instructions much.

Then I watched the girls take turns with the figures and play contentedly in a way that doesn’t happen much lately. Not that there haven’t been a few spats, but Hannah doesn’t always deign to sit down and play with her little sister so it’s good to have something that they can play with and enjoy together, at least sometimes.

As I said, the set comes with everything that Barbie needs – even decorative plants, purses, kitchen appliances like a blender and toaster and more. Plus, each room and its furniture are made up of smaller building blocks fit together. It is A LOT of very tiny pieces – over 300 pieces just in this one set, which kind of scares me a little bit, especially with a puppy, two cats and three little girls who aren’t always very good at picking up after themselves. What we’ve found so far though is that the box for this set is handy to keep around for two reasons: 1) because the box opens up in such a way that the larger side can act as a stable base for the house to sit on instead of carpet when the girls are playing with it on their bedroom floors and 2) the box closes back up to make a good storage option for all of the tiny pieces. So far we’ve kept everything together pretty well and the girls don’t mind taking the house apart to put it back in the box, because re-building the house is half the fun.

The bottom line:

While this play set is definitely not for kids under the age of five (due to the small pieces), it’s a fun way for girls to use their imaginations and interact with the Barbie characters they already know and love. The Mega Bloks Barbie Build ‘n Style Luxury Mansion gives them the opportunity to follow written instructions to build something, but also gives them the freedom to use their own creativity to fashion their own designs and engage their imaginations. Even if kids don’t want to do the actual building themselves, it provides a good opportunity for parents and kids to interact together to take on a challenge and there’s plenty of imaginative pretend play to be had with the finished house as well.

Where can you find it?:

The entire line of Mega Bloks Barbie toys hit the stores on December 12th, just in time for the holidays. You can find them at a retailer near you where other Mega Bloks and/or Barbie toys are sold, including Toys-R-Us, a target and Walmart and online at Amazon.com. Prices vary depending on retailer and location, the the suggested retail price for the Mega Bloks Barbie Build ‘n Style Luxury Mansion is $79.99.

For more information, you can like Mega Bloks on Facebook, follow @MegaBloks on Twitter or visit Mega Bloks’ Official Site.

Would you like to try it?:

I’m so glad to have the opportunity to give another family the chance to have the same fun my girls have had with this set. I have one Mega Bloks Barbie Build ‘n Style Luxury Mansion to give away to a lucky reader! Please enter via the Rafflecopter widget below and I will draw a winner after 12:00am on Sunday, December 23, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post courtesy of: Mega Bloks, who provided the product(s) for both review and giveaway. No payment or compensation, other than product samples as described above, was received for this post. All opinions given here are solely my own or those of my family.

Posted with Blogsy using the NetZero 4G mobile hotspot.

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Holiday Gift Idea: Shutterfly Photo Books #SFLYphotobook (Giveaway – closed)

Deb — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 03:02:00 +0000

Pictures are worth a thousand words, right? Whether it’s to commemorate a special family moment or just capture the everyday memories, snapping photos of our lives is as easy as pulling out the cell phone that we all seem to have right on-hand nowadays. And while sharing pictures online is quick and easy – and a great way to keep family and friends updated, there’s still nothing quite like sitting down and looking through a book of family memories together.

This holiday season, we are going to be putting together photo books on Shutterfly for both my husband’s and my families. My husband has been working on one for several weeks already for his mom, and this will be a gift that has a bittersweet meaning for him and his siblings. Their mother has early-onset Alzheimer’s and already has difficulty remembering her kids and grandkids. They’re hoping that a photo book filled with pictures of her family members will make it easier for her to remember them and keep those memories close for just a little longer yet.

My own photo book will be for my mom – who does not own a computer and so misses out on seeing the pictures of her granddaughters that I post on Facebook and here on my blog. I’ve used Shutterfly to create photo books for her in the past and am looking forward to making one for her this year as well, especially since I have so many fun vacation photos to share. The hardest part will be choosing only a few to include out of the hundreds that I took this year!

I’ve used Shutterfly to share our family photos for many years now – whether on their share sites (especially the ones they create for AYSO soccer teams every season) or by creating special gifts like calendars, posters, holiday cards and photo books. The quality is always first-rate and I love seeing how the pictures turn out. It’s easy to create a photo book and either have Shutterfly design and arrange the photos for you, or customize your book’s look yourself.

Take a look and see – this short video (Shutterfly Photo Books: The Best Gift Ever) gives a great overview!

Would you like to give a Shutterfly as a holiday gift this year? I’m thrilled to have the chance to give away codes for two winners to each receive an 8×8 hardcover Photo Book from Shutterfly (20 pages, shipping not included). Please enter via the Rafflecopter widget below – and good luck! This giveaway will run until 12:00am on Sunday, December 16th, after which time the winner will be randomly drawn and contacted. The winner will have 24 hours to respond and claim his/her prize or an alternate winner will be randomly selected instead.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post courtesy of: Shutterfly and The Global Influence Network, who is providing the codes for the giveaway. As a thank-you for posting, I will also receive a code for a free 20-page, hardcover photo book from Shutterfly. All opinions given here are solely my own or those of my family.

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A decade ago…

Deb — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 03:15:00 +0000

I gave birth to a sweet baby girl – my second daughter, Hannah. It was Black Friday 2002 and obviously I didn’t get any shopping done that day. But I ended up with the best holiday gift of all – and she’s been a dramatic, funny, sweet, caring, cute, lovely and 100% Hannah-ish addition to our family.

On Thursday, Hannah turned 10 years old. A full decade – double digits! I still can’t believe that my girls are getting to be such grown-up young ladies. Abbi turning 10 was incredibly hard to believe and now we’re here again with Hannah. At least we have a few years yet before Becca hits the big 1-0, but she’s well on her way too.

Hannah’s birthday was a nice family day spent together (the after-school portion anyway). We ate out for dinner at Red Robin (her choice) and Ron’s aunt joined us. Hannah’s list of birthday gift ideas was actually very reasonable (other than a couple of things she stuck on there just to see if we were paying attention, like ‘giant chicken’ and ‘pet rabbit’ – see photo at bottom). I love that the top things she wanted were dog posters for her walls and books. Another reminder that we’re growing out of the ‘toy’ phase around here. Not completely – but it’s getting there.

Over this past weekend we held Hannah’s birthday party – nine 4th graders running around plus Abbi, Becca and my friend Mary’s little boy Eric. And it was actually very quiet for a good portion of the party. I’d struggled with what to do with this age group – they’re too old for the usual party games like pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs and such. Hannah’s party theme was ocean/dolphins and in December, there’s just nothing to be found that works with that. All of the craft ideas I could find on Pinterest were either summerish or too young for tweens. I even stumped my go-to person for creative party ideas (aforementioned friend, Mary). At least I stumped her for a while, until she found a great idea (on Pinterest, of course).

Introducing – indoor snowball fight kits! Which involve white yarn pom-poms that kids can throw at each other without them melting or hurting anyone (or any furniture either). We picked up a mix of sparkly white and regular white yarn along with some fabric that I quickly (ok so not ‘quickly’ – it was a late Saturday night for Mary and I to do the cake, cupcakes and the bags) sewed into simple drawstring bags for the girls to decorate and keep their ‘snowballs’ in.

It went over really well – we split the girls into groups with Mary showing the girls how to make pom-poms and me overseeing the bag decoration. It made for a very quiet party – but the girls had fun and they made up for the quiet by getting goaded into a tissue paper fight with Ron after the presents were opened. So much for pom-pom snowballs!

Mary decorated the cake as usual – we are so spoiled to have her to make amazing cakes for the girls every year. This one was wonderful – Hannah loved having two dolphins on top and the rice krispie treat dolphins were devoured more quickly than the cake and cupcakes were.

Here’s Hannah’s birthday list – note the crossed out first version of #14. She also stuck #13 and #17 on there, just in case. And no, she didn’t get a pet rabbit or another kitten.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter – who hates to be called cute or adorable, even though she is both.

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Give the gift of #BarbiePhotoFashion for the holidays!

Deb — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 06:57:28 +0000

I’ve seen it mentioned a few times in both the online and traditional media so far this holiday season – that the Barbie Photo Fashion Doll is one of the hottest gift ideas this holiday season. And I can definitely understand why – it’s certainly a huge hit around our house. In fact I know it would be on top of my girls’ lists if we didn’t already have one.

Our Barbie Photo Fashion Doll has been with us on many occasions this fall – everywhere from my college reunion to Halloween. But I think that the most fun that Hannah’s had with the doll has been just hanging out at home when she’s got a friend over to play. They take turns taking photos of themselves, each other, and anything else that catches their interest around Hannah’s room or the rest of the house.

The dog is always a popular subject, especially when she’s curled up asleep and it’s easy to get a good picture to play around with. Which is something that the girls can do right on the doll itself – Barbie’s silver belt is home to several tool buttons that allow Hannah to not only view the pictures she’s taken, but she can scroll through, delete, and even add fun effects right there without even having to download the photos off the doll.

Since we don’t usually let our girls have computer time during the school week, I love that Hannah can use this doll as a stand-alone camera and editing tool whenever she wants without having to wait until the weekend, and then can download her pictures once she does get on the computer, to edit them further online or just enjoy and share with her friends.

The above pics are some of my favorite photos that Hannah’s taken and added effects to using the Barbie Photo Fashion Doll’s “tool belt”. Not every effect is successful, but that’s part of the fun – experimenting to see what looks good and what looks cool or funky – or just plain strange.

Hannah turns 10 just a couple of days, so I’m sure that our Barbie Photo Fashion Doll will help the girls take tons of photos to celebrate her big day. I can’t wait to see what their creative minds will come up with and how they’ll use the doll’s tools to make their pics their own unique creations.

This is a sponsored post from One2One Network. Mattel product and additional incentives were provided to me. All opinions stated are my own.

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Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho….

Deb — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 06:52:26 +0000

Yes, it’s off to work I go – or rather have been going. This is actually my 6th week of work – and yes, it’s taken me this long to find the time, energy and desire to post about it.

I go back and forth as to how I feel about rejoining the workforce, even if on a (hopefully) temporary basis. After four years of being at home, I’m so used to being able to set my own schedule, run errands when I want to and work in time to help out at the girls’ school when I can. With all three of them in school full-time this year, I was really looking forward to being able to help out in each of their classes a lot more than I’ve been able to when I had kid(s) at home during the days. I suppose I got kind of spoiled over the first couple of months of school this year, so it’s been hard to lose that freedom and flexibility. Very hard.

But, I am very fortunate in a lot of ways. First, to have a job – especially in a state where so many can’t find one. Also, I’m working part-time hours on a schedule that accommodates the girls’ school hours, so I’m home when they leave in the morning and when they get back in the afternoons. And since I’m part-time, I can take off an hour or two if I need to and either make it up later or just take a short paycheck that week. Not that I can take too much advantage of that – but it’s nice to have the option if I really need it. Somehow the girls seem to have had all kinds of appointments in the past 6 weeks – or maybe it’s just that I’m more aware of them now that I have to work around both my and Ron’s work schedules to figure out how to get everybody where they need to be.

It’s a very basic administrative job – nothing career-furthering at all, but very easy work to do. Making folders for work orders, filing, data entry… Nothing too difficult, which is ok. I think my biggest issue so far is that I don’t have an office space of my own – right now I sit in the copy room, which can be convenient, but loud at times, and I’d love to have some space to claim as my own so I could bring in a few things to keep there. But I guess this works for now.

Even though this is part-time – it feels more like full-time, mainly because I don’t get any time at home without the kids, other than a half hour to get ready after they leave in the mornings and a few minutes before the bus drops them off in the afternoons. Thirty hours a week feels like forty – although I know that forty hours a week would feel probably more like fifty or sixty if I were to actually have to try and work a true full-time schedule right now. Especially since I am still doing the online work for TravelingMom.com that I’d been doing for the past couple of years as well. Working two jobs (essentially) is creating a few logistical issues, but I’m very fortunate to have a very awesome and understanding team at TMOM to work with there.

So yes, I am very lucky to have the new job right now when we needed it, and we’re hoping that this will allow us to finally pull our finances out of the black hole they’ve been in for the past several years. I don’t know if it’s going to be a permanent thing or not – right now I’m helping to fill in for someone who’s gone on maternity leave so I don’t know if there’s a permanent opportunity even available once she returns or not. I don’t know if I’d want to take it even if there were – my goal is to build the online, at-home work up to where we need for it to be for me to stay home again. Fingers crossed on that one!

I actually think the hardest adjustment has been for Tessa – the poor dog had been so used to me being home all day and now she’s relegated to the kitchen by herself most of the time. It’s nice that Ron and I work close enough to home that we can take turns coming home at lunch to let her out and play with her a bit, but she’s definitely still adjusting and has become very clingy to me when I am home in the evenings. The girls don’t seem to hardly notice, other than my being more tired than usual when they get home from school and the house not being as picked up as it used to be. They’re doing a very good job of keeping up with their chores (with reminders), which helps a lot though.

I know this isn’t much of an interesting update – but it’s late and I wanted to finally at least get something up to explain why I’m not posting as often right now. My goal is to set up a more regular posting schedule over the next few weeks – and I have several reviews pending to share with you too, so stay tuned.

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#BarbiePhotoFashion Doll for Fall-Time Fun

Deb — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 01:46:25 +0000

Last month I reviewed the Barbie Photo Fashion fun doll that’s been a big hit in our house with my 9-year-old and her sisters. The girls love taking pictures of anything and everything (although mostly of each other and our dog, who’s always content to pose for them, lol) and seeing how creative they can get with editing the photos on the doll to display as an ever-changing graphic t-shirt.

Lately the girls have discovered an additional way to get even more creative with their pics – by visiting the Barbie Photo Fashion Doll website, you can download the free software that lets you edit your photos on your computer – and gives you over a hundred additional effects to use. You can view your finished photos on a virtual Barbie plus they sync right onto your actual doll to be viewed on her t-shirt display screen as well. You can also create a ‘lookbook’ of your designs that you can print.

The software is easy for kids to navigate with simple drag-and-drop options, colorful graphics and fun sound and visual effects. You can easily choose a photo to edit, resize and rotate it, then add whatever effects you want.

My girls have had a lot of fun taking pictures this fall – their Jack O’Lanterns were a popular target both for photo-taking and editing. Hannah wanted to take the Photo Fashion doll trick-or-treating with us, but I vetoed that since the day was spitting rain and I didn’t want the doll to get wet.

I think my favorite thing about the Barbie Photo Fashion Doll is that it allows Hannah to not only express her creativity, but to tell her own stories. The doll is easy to carry around where she goes and I love seeing what catches her eye to take a picture of – whether it’s Halloween pumpkins, 40 shots of the dog, or a dozen of her favorite stuffed animals. Or her sisters in silly poses…

I can’t wait to find out what she’ll take pictures of next!

This is a sponsored post from One2One Network. Mattel product and additional incentives were provided to me. All opinions stated are my own.

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Review: Mattel Fijit Friends Newbies

Deb — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:39:03 +0000

Last year my girls were thrilled when we had the chance to not only review one of Mattel’s new Fijit Friends, but also invite several of their friends over for a fun dance party. They still get our Fijit Friend, Sage, out on a regular basis and dance with her (which reminds me that Sage is in dire need of new batteries since they’ve worn her out completely, lol). The girls had seen commercials for some of the newer Fijit Friends products and the little Newbies were already on each of their Christmas lists for this year.

And Fijit Friends Newbies are still on their lists – because even though we’ve been reviewing them for a few weeks now, the girls keep seeing new ones that they want whenever we hit the toy aisle. I can see why – the Fijit Friends Newbies are darn cute, they sing (and get better and better as you play with them more), and even perform duets together or with our original Fijit Friend.

Courtesy of Fijit Friends and Mom Central, we were sent three Fijit Friends Newbies to try out and review. This was perfect, since we were able to divvy them up with each of my girls picking out one. These are seasonal-themed toys – we received a Halloween Newbie (perfect for Abbi, whose favorite holiday is Halloween), a Christmas Newbie, Zinzie (which Hannah eagerly claimed) and a regular pink Newbie, Kenzie (Becca’s favorite color).

The little Newbies aren’t only cute – but they each seem to have their own personality. They hum or sing for you, and as you spend time with them (and pet them), their singing gets better and better. As a parent, I appreciate that as the Newbies learn, they move from one song to another so I don’t get totally burned out on hearing the same few tunes over and over again. The girls interact with, talk to and sing along with them, and since the Newbies are small, they’re easy to carry around the house.

It’s really cute to watch the Newbies sing duets together – all you have to do is push their duet buttons at the same time and they harmonize together. Plus with the Sonic Chirp technology, they can interact with our original Fijit Friend as well. Sage seems to like having some more friends around, and it’s really fun to watch the girls playing and dancing with the Newbies and Sage all together. Having only one Fijit Friend has necessitated some lessons in sharing – but having the Newbies around really helps them all play together instead of fighting taking turns.

When I ask the girls what their favorite thing(s) about the Newbies are, they immediately respond, “singing with them!” Becca also likes playing together with Kenzie and her stuffed animals – Kenzie has been accepted into the flock (gaggle? kennel? or whatever else you call her massive pile of plush animals, lol) very easily. I’m not sure I would want every single one of my girls’ toys to be interactive ones like this, but I do like that these offer a level of interaction while still allowing for imaginative play. I think the only thing that drives me nuts about the Fijit Friends Newbies are the little tails that come separately – you insert them, but ours keep falling off when the girls play with them. The tails aren’t really necessary, but they are cute.

I think these will definitely be on my radar for holiday gifts – I love that Mattel is offering smaller and more affordable options of their popular toys like this. We love Sage, our original Fijit Friend, but she’s expensive enough that we just can’t justify the cost to buy one for each of our girls. The Newbies are cute, they interact with Sage (and each other), and they’re much more in our price range at around $14.99 each (at our local Target). You can find them in general where other Mattel toys are sold, and they’re also available at online retailers like Amazon (affiliate link). I love the seasonal ones – they can act as holiday decorations when they’re not being used, which the girls think is awesome.

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Mattel Fijit Friends. I received product samples to facilitate my review.

Smart solutions for everyday moms!

Posted using my laptop with the NetZero 4G mobile hotspot!

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Staying Active as a Family this Fall #TogetherCounts

Deb — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 19:19:21 +0000

Although I haven’t posted about it yet this fall, there is one activity that takes over our household from the end of August until mid-October – youth soccer. Like last year, all three of our girls are playing again, which makes for a crazy schedule during the week (they each have had practices on different days) and especially on Saturdays. Last year we got a bit spoiled with few conflicts between the girls’ games, but this fall has been totally different. We’ve had at least two of the girls playing at the same time (at different locations) almost every Saturday and as a result, Ron and I have had to split the game-watching duties and there was one week where we both missed Abbi’s game since all three girls played at the same time, each at a different school.

I love being active in our local AYSO program – along with being the Team Parent for all three girls’ teams, I’m also on the AYSO board as Girls Registrar. It’s a ton of work during the summer and up through the first few weeks of the season, but I love giving back to this program that’s brought so much fun and joy into my kids’ lives and gives us a great outdoor activity to do together as a family during the fall and spring. There’s just nothing like cheering on your child’s team, whether they win or lose. And the girls love having our support. Even this fall when we’ve had to juggle which parent has gone to which game, the girls know we both would be at every single game if we could.

Together Counts™ is a campaign from the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF), whose goal is to work to reduce obesity (especially in kids) by 2015. The purpose of Together Counts is to encourage families to eat and get active together. Here is more information from their website:

Together Counts is a nationwide program inspiring active and healthy living. The principle behind our program is Energy Balance, which means balancing the calories we consume with the calories we burn. Calories in, calories out. It’s that simple.

It’s a first-of-its kind coalition that brings together more than 200 retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, restaurants, sporting goods and insurance companies, trade associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and professional sports organizations.

The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation promotes ways to help people achieve a healthy weight through energy balance–calories in and calories out. It focuses its efforts on two critical areas – families and schools.

I love this message about families working together to eat healthier and get active together. Along with soccer, my family joined our local Y this past summer and we’ve had a blast going there together. Whether we’re all in the pool or I’m walking on the track with my older girls, it’s a wonderful way to not only become more active as a family, but spend some quality time together as well. This busy soccer season has derailed our Y visits some, but now that soccer’s winding down, it’ll be great to transition our weekly activities back there over the next several months again.

Want to learn more about Together Counts and their message of energy balance and moderation? Join them tonight (10/17) from 8-9pm EST for a Twitter party – just follow the hashtag #TogetherCounts for some great conversation and prizes. You can get more details and RSVP at http://resourcefulmommy.com/10604/together-counts-fall-twitter-party/.

For more information, you can also find Together Counts on the web, visit their blog, check out their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter or Pinterest. There are also a few options you can check out where you can enter to win prizes for your child’s school!

This post courtesy of: Together Counts and the Global Influence Network. Although I am being compensate for this post, all opinions given here are solely my own.

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2012 Vacation Road Trip – Days 20 & 21 (Georgia)

Deb — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 03:09:00 +0000

After three full weeks away from home for the girls and I (and 8 weeks for Ron), our trip was beginning to wind down. We left Clearwater on Saturday morning and soon afterward we said goodbye to the state of Florida as well. Heading north, we were on the road pretty much all day – with two notable exceptions.

First, we stopped off at Pier 60 in Clearwater Beach to see the display of dolphin statues that was being put on by the City of Clearwater and the local CVB. Each dolphin was sponsored by a local business – and each one was decorated in a totally unique (and fun) fashion. Hannah and I walked through the park and saw the dozens and dozens of dolphins. The Wydham Garden where we’d stayed the previous night had sponsored a dolphin and it was one of my favorites. Below are a few pictures of some of our other favorites as well.

Back on the road, we drove for several hours before making our next stop. One of my fellow TravelingMom bloggers lives right off of I-75 in southern Georgia, and had invited us to stop by for a break from driving. We gladly took her up on the offer – it was going to be a long day of driving from Clearwater through to Atlanta and everyone was definitely ready for some leg-stretching.

Christine and her husband have a beautiful home and they were wonderful hosts, even to supplying the girls with coloring materials. Becca created a whole multi-page vacation ‘diary’ while we were there – on pink paper, no less. And Christine even mailed the pages to me afterward when she realized that Becca had forgotten and left them at her house. I’d worked with Christine for a while through TMOM and had met her on our blogger retreat Fantasy cruise in the spring – but it was so nice to be able to have a longer period of time to talk and visit.

But eventually we had to get back on the road – especially since we knew we had comfy accommodations waiting for us at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in the heart of downtown Atlanta. I’d heard wonderful things about the Omni from other TMOMs – and have to say that after experiencing one for myself, I wholeheartedly see why. We arrived late Saturday night, but I have never felt so welcomed at any other hotel I’ve ever stayed at. They had Omni Sensational Kids backpacks for each of the girls, filled with activities. And the girls were also welcomed with cookies and milk waiting in our rooms after we checked in. Not only that, but there were other snacks and drinks for us as well, all with personalized notes welcoming us to the Omni.

We had two adjoining rooms – a king room for Ron and I and a double queen room for the girls. This was a wonderful arrangement as we could open the double doors between the rooms during the day, but keep them closed (or slightly cracked) at night so that Ron and I had some privacy and could talk or get online without having to worry about keeping the girls up. After such a long day on the road though, we all were asleep not too long after we got there.

Sunday morning, we got up and had breakfast at the Omni’s Prime Meridian Restaurant. They have a full breakfast buffet – and a chef right there to make your eggs or omelet right to your order. I think we all got a little spoiled over the three mornings we were at the Omni! But it also offered my kids a chance to try some foods they hadn’t before. Hannah and Becca discovered they like bagels toasted with butter or cream cheese, and it was refreshing to see all three of them eating something other than simply a bowl of cereal in the mornings. I was very impressed by the breakfast offerings – especially the gluten-free section. We don’t eat a gluten-free diet, but I know people who do so I tend to keep an eye out when I notice someplace that does a great job accommodating it.

Knowing this was probably the last opportunity to swim during this trip, the girls and I made sure to visit the pool at the Omni. They swam – and I relaxed. We also explored the hotel a bit – there’s a lot to see, with two separate towers and a connecting bridge. The hotel is also connected to CNN headquarters, which the girls thought was very cool – especially the huge escalator that goes up and exits inside a globe. We’d learn more about that the next day during our CNN Tour.

Later that afternoon, we headed out to Marietta, just outside of Atlanta. My aunt lives there, as well as my cousin and her husband. The last time I’d seen any of them was also the last time Ron and I had driven through Atlanta on our way home from Florida – on our honeymoon, 12 years ago. So my girls had never met my dad’s only sibling or any of her kids (I also have 2 cousins in New York and one in San Francisco).

We all got together at my aunt’s condo and visited, went out to dinner, and then headed back to my aunt’s for dessert and some more family stories. My cousin had brought each of my girls a bag filled with coloring stuff, snacks, and puzzle books so the girls were in heaven. Her daughter is another Becca – who had to work so couldn’t make it to see us, but sent each of my girls a small ring she’d made for them. My girls were excited to get a present from the ‘other Becca’, lol.

My aunt is a few years older than my dad – and both of them are now in their 80’s. I don’t know if this will be the last time I’ll have a chance to have seen and visited with my aunt or not – but I’m so thankful that we had the opportunity to spend this time with her and for her to meet my girls.

That night we made our way back to our comfy Omni hotel rooms and relaxed a little before heading to bed. The next day was to be our last in Atlanta – and we had a lot of fun and exciting things planned to explore the Luckie Marietta district of downtown. Not only were the girls thrilled to visit an aquarium (one with an amazing dolphin show, no less) but the Omni had arranged for us to go on a tour of CNN and we planned to visit the World of Coca Cola as well. Atlanta is such a beautiful city – both during the day and as the view from our Omni hotel room windows shows, it’s gorgeous at night as well. I really miss that nighttime view.

Thank you to Omni Hotels for helping make our visit to Atlanta possible. We received accommodations and breakfast from the Omni Hotel at CNN Center, as well as admission to several area attractions – but were on our own for everything else during our stay. All opinions stated here are 100% my own or those of my family.

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Review: #BarbiePhotoFashion Doll (aka my college reunion through my 9yo’s lens)

Deb — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:58:10 +0000

Barbie + fashion + photos + technology = tons of fun! Especially for my 9-year-old daughter, who is right in the thick of loving everything to do with all of those things. So when I had the chance for her to try out the new Barbie Photo Fashion Doll, she was ecstatic to combine all these things that she loves. And Barbie has been her sidekick ever since, no matter where we go. Even to my college reunion a couple of weeks ago when I took the girls and headed an hour south to my alma mater – the campus of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI, where the Wesley Foundation was hosting an informal reunion for alumni.

It was a lot of fun for me – to catch up with friends that I hadn’t seen in (gulp) almost 20 years. But for my kids it was a different kind of experience. First, they got to see my friend Mary’s kids, who we are very close to and do see several times throughout the year. But we’d never really taken any of the kids back to WMU to spend any kind of time there with them, other than a brief drive-through tour or two and a quick stop last summer. For the kids then, this was an adventure – to get to explore the center of campus. Since it’s open and walkable, Mary and I let the kids range a ways from us – as long as they stayed in sight. Hannah had her Barbie Photo Fashion doll with her, and I’ve had a blast seeing campus through her eyes – or rather her lens.

What’s very cool about this doll is that it not only is a normal Barbie doll with poseable arms and legs, and Barbie’s traditional blond locks – but there’s a camera embedded into the doll (incorporated into the back of her necklace) and the front of her t-shirt also doubles as an LED screen to be able to view what you’re photographing and be able to see your photos afterward. This makes for a fun fashion statement – as you are essentially able to change Barbie’s graphic tee whenever you want, to show off your favorite photos and your own sense of style.

Combining technology and fashion with a simple click, Barbie Photo Fashion doll is a Barbie doll and a digital camera with a graphic tee twist. Featuring a built-in, 0.3 megapixel camera in her back and an LED backlit screen as her t-shirt, the Barbie Photo Fashion doll makes it easy for girls to point, click, shoot and edit their own photo-to-fashion statement.

After a photo is taken with Barbie Photo Fashion doll, it is instantly displayed on Barbie doll’s t-shirt. With the ability to add photo frames and effects, girls have endless possibilities for customizing new looks for Barbie!

A selection of Barbie- inspired images come preloaded on the doll to help spark creativity and inspiration. Using the pink USB cable that comes with the doll, girls can save the photos to their computer and further customize them with the Barbie Photo Fashion doll software.

Barbie Photo Fashion doll is compatible with both Mac and PC and is powered by an internal battery that can be recharged with the included pink USB cable. Doll has 4 MB of internal memory, and can store up to 200+ images.

ARP: $49.99 | Age: 6+ | Available: September 2012

Hannah has had a total blast using the different graphic options to enhance her photos – there are fun borders and graphics that you can incorporate into your pictures, or you can use several different enhancement techniques to make the pictures your own as well. Barbie’s belt holds several buttons – for power and item selection, scrolling, and the usb connection for the doll. The most fun part, at least to me, is being able to turn Barbie’s t-shirt into a customizable graphic tee, personalized with the photos that you take.

Hannah had no trouble at all picking the doll up and immediately starting to take pictures with it – creatively. She’s taken tons of pictures (well, 158 and counting) – of everything from her sisters, our dog, her dad (he won’t let me post the pic of him in a blond Barbie-hair wig graphic, lol), and me. And yes, at the reunion.

In fact, I didn’t get a chance to take hardly any photos at the reunion at all, so I’ve loved seeing Hannah’s. And unlike a traditional camera, where I would normally worry that she would accidentally set it down somewhere and forget about it – I don’t think Barbie left her hands or her side the entire time. It’s great that it can be used as a traditional Barbie doll as well as a camera.

Below are my favorite photos that the kids took during the day that we were down at WMU. Most of these are Hannah’s photos, except for the ones that she’s in, of course.

Hannah and her best friend, Mary’s daughter, Emma:

My oldest daughter, Abbi loves posing in silly ways and the reunion was no exception:

Either by using the effects, or just the plain camera, Hannah got some very interesting and creative shots – as well as a group shot that I took with the Barbie Photo Fashion doll of all four of Mary’s and my girls:

One of my girls’ favorite things to do with the Barbie Photo Fashion doll is to pose their stuffed animals and use the effects to take cute or silly pictures of them. I guess that works well since stuffed animals generally tend to sit still and pose nicely, lol. And you don’t have to worry about getting a good smile out of them! So as Mary and I spent some time hanging out and visiting together after the ‘official’ college reunion ended, the girls and Barbie all set up a mini photo session with the stuffed friends that my and Mary’s kids had brought along, resulting in some very cute pics:

Another thing you can do with this doll is to use the Barbie Fashion Photo doll software to edit the photos once they’re downloaded onto the computer. We haven’t had a chance to play with this yet, but can’t wait to. Stay tuned for more Barbie Photo Fashion doll fun!

This is a sponsored post from One2One Network. Mattel product and additional incentives were provided to me. All opinions stated are my own.

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By the 3rd kid, you’d think you’ve got the tooth fairy thing down, right?

Deb — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 22:12:27 +0000

Tooth Fairy FAIL…

When you wake up out of a sound sleep at 4am realizing that not only have you totally forgotten to perform Tooth Fairy duties for your 6-year-old, but you don't have a dollar bill anywhere in the house to use.

So you scrounge through everywhere you can think of where change might be hiding… Your wallet, husband's pants pocket, drawers, baskets – and even the kids' piggy banks, to finally come up with a full dollar in coins. As well as waking your husband up to help – since the 6-year-old in question sleeps on a top bunk and you can't reach to get under her pillow for the precious tooth.

Tooth Fairy WIN…

When your 6-year-old is totally excited to wake up and find a variety of coins under her pillow instead of a dollar bill and, “they all add up

to a whole dollar, Mom!” And she not only spends all morning sorting, counting and recounting them, but is very proud to bring them to the store to help pay for a friend's birthday party gift with 'her' change.

And as you watch her count out 64 cents to put down the slot at the self-checkout counter, you silently give yourself totally unearned praise for turning the whole thing into a great first-grade educational experience.

Because you completely 'meant' to do it that way, right?

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2012 Vacation Road Trip – Day 19 (Clearwater)

Deb — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 20:57:34 +0000

Having spent over a week in Orlando, we regretfully had said goodbye to our awesome vacation rental home, headed over toward the gulf side of the state and squished our family into a nice but tiny hotel room for one night, thanks to the reward points Ron had earned during his 5-week stay in North Carolina. The hotel breakfast was over before we were up and around so we decided to splurge a bit and stopped at a Bob Evans next to the hotel on our way out for a family-style full breakfast (ok, more like brunch by that point). I think this was the only time we stopped out for breakfast on this whole 3+ week trip!

After breakfast brunch, it was only a short drive over to our next stop – Clearwater Beach, Florida. We had a fun day planned there and were excited to check out the Wyndham Garden Clearwater Beach – our hotel for the one night we’d be staying in Clearwater. Not only is this hotel located right on the beach (a fully private beach no less), but the rooms have been renovated to be fully hypo allergenic – something that excited me in particular since I suffer from allergies, and am pretty certain that Hannah and Becca do as well. We’d come on this trip armed with various allergy medications, so it was a good feeling to know we’d be able to sleep (and breathe) comfortably while we were enjoying our stay in Clearwater.

I was treated to a tour of the hotel, and was very impressed. The private beach is accessible right out the door and you can rent a cabana area with umbrella and comfy chaise lounges. The fitness room has a direct view of the pool and beach area as well. Our room also had a beach view – and the very first thing that Hannah spied out the window as we walked in was a dolphin out in the bay. The room was spacious with two queen beds, a separate vanity area with mirror (very helpful for a family to get ready in the mornings), and a balcony with a small table and a couple of chairs. I think I could have spent a whole day just taking in the view… But it was even more enjoyable to head out to the beach for a little while with Becca to wade and hunt for shells. This beach is awesome for shells and both she and I collected quite a few.

We had a very important meeting planned for the afternoon and we eagerly headed over to a stop that all 3 of the girls had been eagerly awaiting – the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. This isn’t a typical aquarium as you’d normally think of one – the CMA is a working animal rescue center, and their most famous resident is the dolphin called Winter, the star of the movie Winter’s Tale. This is a movie that my girls adore and they’d been so looking forward to actually seeing Winter in person. It was amazing to see this dolphin and think of everything that the CMA has done to help her – and what they continue to do for marine animals in the greater Clearwater area. They not only rescue dolphins, but also sea turtles, otters and even manatees (although they do not house manatees at their facility). The aquarium offers a rare opportunity to see a working animal hospital, and we loved being able to visit and explore.

I had the chance to speak with a staff member (click on the link to see a video with tons of photos I took that day) from the CMA to learn more about the facility, their staff and how they utilize today’s technology to spread the word about Winter and how they help animals in need of rescue and/or rehabilitation. We also spent time exploring the CMA facility, although we didn’t have a chance to make it over to their newer area – the Winter’s Dolphin Tale Adventure (WDTA) facility, which offers a behind-the-scenes experience from the movie. My girls didn’t care though – they were there to see Winter, and they loved being able to watch her. I had a very difficult time dragging Hannah away when it was time to leave, but a stop in the gift shop helped. We purchased the movie itself since we didn’t own it yet, as well as a few other souvenirs of our stay. The net proceeds from every purchase go to help the CMA’s mission to restore and preserve our marine environment, so it felt good to let the girls spend a little more money than we normally would.

When we returned to the Wyndham Garden, it was time for dinner. We were treated to a wonderful meal in the hotel’s restaurant – which has since been rebranded as the Sands Beach Bar & Grill. The food was delicious and we had some of the best overall service from our entire trip. The restaurant opens out onto an outside patio/lounge area where there’s seating and live music, and then opens right out onto the private beach area.

Normally the girls are begging for coloring materials or some other way to keep amused while waiting for their meals when we’re out to eat. Not necessary here – not only did we make another trip down to the water to hunt for shells, but the girls had a blast dancing out on the patio – the live musician even played an electro version of I’m a Barbie Girl specifically for them. And our server brought them each a plastic cup to keep their shells in while we ate. It was truly an enjoyable experience.

After dinner, it was time to hit the beach and the pool. With Ron’s broken toe, he had no desire to get in the water, so he sat and read on the pool deck while Abbi swam. She’s more of a pool than a beach fan – this hotel is wonderful since it offers both right in the same area so you can move from pool to beach and back very easily. Hannah, Becca and I swam until the sun went down – the sunset was gorgeous and it was so relaxing to watch it while floating in the warm gulf water. It was the kind of evening that I never wanted to end.

The girls and I moved from beach to pool after the sun went down and we swam right up until the pool closed. Becca and Hannah each made a friend and they splashed, swam and had so much fun together. Afterward, we headed upstairs to our room and I relaxed out on the balcony with Becca and my laptop until it was time to put the girls to bed and head that way myself. The beds in this room were so comfy – the hotel has memory foam mattresses that are manufactured specifically for them and not available anywhere else. The pillows too – I so wanted to take one home with me.

One way in which the hotel rooms are hypo-allergenic is the flooring. Instead of carpeting, the rooms have a floor that looks like hardwood in appearance, but is actually made from recycled tires. Not only does this help with allergy issues, but it’s great when dealing with drippy kids full of beach sand. It was so easy to just grab a towel and dry off the floor. The whole room felt really open and airy, and I think that the floor had a lot to do with that too. Our 2-queen room slept all five of us comfortably enough – but you can get an adjoining room with a king bed and pull-out couch as well if you prefer or if mom and dad want some privacy from the kids.

This was one of our later nights, but we wanted to enjoy the amenities of the pool and beach while we could, during our last night in Florida. The next day we took off north – beginning the trek home, but with one more stop in Atlanta for a few days. Having had the chance to relax at the Wyndham Garden, it was much easier to face the idea of spending the next full day on the road…

Thank you to the Clearwater CVB, the Wyndham Garden Clearwater Beach and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium for making our visit to Clearwater possible. We received accommodations and dinner from the Wyndham Garden as well as admission to the CMA but were on our own for everything else during our stay. All opinions stated here are 100% my own or those of my family.

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Yep, all three of my kids got on the bus…

Deb — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:54:00 +0000

Yesterday was a day that I’d joked about, yearned toward, dreaded and dreamed of at various times over the past 11+ years of being a parent. Back when I was working full-time, it was the magical ‘end of daycare’ day when suddenly the obscene-feeling amounts of money we were paying out for daycare would end and our financial woes would be cured overnight. Since I’ve been unemployed and now working from home, it’s had a different kind of meaning – now I can work more hours and earn more money to eventually get us out of the financial hole we’ve been in for the past several years.

But as I watched all three of my daughters dash off to the bus stop, I realized that it’s a very strange feeling to have all of them gone all day every weekday. It’s kind of – well, lonely. I miss the little rugrats. Ok, so not so little anymore, especially now that Abbi is within only inches of topping my height. But still… They’re my babies. But yet they’re not babies anymore. They’re big grade-school kids, and next year I’ll have a middle schooler even.

Yikes.

Tomorrow will be strange yet again in a different way, as Abbi will get up an hour early to catch the middle/high school bus since she’s signed up for both sixth-grade band and choir this year. She’ll be riding the early bus every day from now on, which means that these past two days of seeing all three girls get on the bus at the same time was a very short-lived thing – but the effect is the same. With Becca in first grade now, my daily calendar has suddenly become very open. Not that I don’t have things to fill it with – my role at Traveling Mom is changing, from Social Media Manager to Director of Operations. Not that there’s really a pay bump there, but the site is growing and that’s so exciting to see. Plus I have lots and lots of posts to write from our recent 3-week long vacation. And now I can expand and take on other clients as well, so there’s opportunity there too. It’s a very cool, very funny feeling. But one that I think I’m going to like.

The first day of school went well – after a slightly rushed start as we weren’t quite into the swing of the new schedule yet. Ok, to be honest it was definitely not one of our better first days, with rain, a knocked-over box of cereal all over the floor, and a slightly mad rush to get everyone out the door on time. Becca forgot to grab her lunch, but luckily I was headed over to meet them at school when they got off the bus, so I just took it with me. Overall, we did fine, and every day it’ll get easier until we’re back in the routine again. Becca’s not used to having to get up and dressed and ready to go right away, but so far she’s done great. She loves school just as much as her big sisters do and it’s exciting to see how happy she is there so far. She had her first homework today and finished it quickly with a smile. I’m hoping she’ll keep loving homework as the years go on, like Hannah does.

Hannah and Becca gave the first day an enthusiastic thumbs-up, while Abbi was a bit more hesitant, finally giving the day a thumb-in-the-middle rating. Sixth grade’s going to be a lot more challenging so I think the jury’s going to be out for a little while yet. Unlike last year she doesn’t have her best friend in her class, so we’ll see. Hannah’s friends are split between her class and the other, but she’s happy to be seeing them all at recess and she likes her teacher, who is the same one she had last year for math and who Abbi had for fourth grade too. This year Hannah will be doing fifth grade math and is again in the gifted IMAGE program which will kick off in a couple of weeks.

I remember back to when Abbi and Hannah were a toddler and baby and we would drive by the local elementary schools thinking, wow someday we’ll send these little girls off there but that seems so far away – so many long years before they’ll be ready for that. Even when Abbi finally did go off to kindergarten, I had another toddler at home then and couldn’t imagine Becca ever being big enough to join her sisters in riding that big yellow bus off to school.

I know it’s a cliché that time goes by so quickly when your kids are young – but it’s one with much truth to it. Every year I take the obligatory back-to-school pictures of the girls and every year I marvel at how much they’ve grown since the previous year’s photos. Someday they’ll be too old to pose willingly for me out on the front porch. At that point I’ll likely have to resort to threats and/or bribery like I did to get Hannah to smile for me at her desk (so I would leave the classroom more quickly) yesterday morning.

Hey, a mom does what she has to and when it comes to first-day-of-school pictures, all bets are off. After all, someday these photos and memories are all I’ll have to remember these busy, hectic days of their childhoods by.

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2012 Vacation Road Trip – Day 18 (Wizarding World of Harry Potter)

Deb — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 03:49:35 +0000

Wands, spells, dragons, potions… The Harry Potter books and movies have been a big part of our family for quite some time, ever since a friend convinced me to read the first book years and years ago, and I then convinced Ron. He was hooked immediately and became pretty obsessed with reading the Harry Potter message boards, seeing (and buying) all of the movies and to this day the books remain the only series I’m aware of that he’s finished. And even read over again. It was inevitable that our kids would get introduced to Harry Potter as well, and as of this summer, both of our older girls have also read all of the books and seen all of the movies too. So we knew we wanted to make a stop at Universal Orlando Resort a must-do on our trip, to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWoHP) for ourselves.

Our last day in Orlando was bittersweet – we checked out of our wonderful vacation rental home in the morning, loaded up the minivan and headed off. The first stop of the day was to meet Ron’s cousin, who was going to watch Becca for us while the rest of us hit Universal’s Islands of Adventure park. Becca had never been a Harry Potter fan (something Ron’s been working on rectifying since we’ve been home though) and since we had to purchase tickets for the kids we decided that it would not only be a waste of money to buy her a ticket, but it would also not be much fun for her (or us) to bring her to experience someplace she had no interest in. So she went off to play with her cousins, and the rest of us made our way to Universal.

There are three sections to the Universal Orlando Resort – the two theme parks (Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure) plus the Universal CityWalk that connects them. The CityWalk was very cool to walk through, with lots of interesting restaurants, such as Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Emeril’s, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, and more. Plus entertainment like the Blue Man Group – I would’ve loved to have been able to see that show, but we just weren’t able to afford tickets. The CityWalk seems like a very lively nightspot too – there are bars and clubs and it looks like a ton of fun things going on.

When we got to the Islands of Adventure park, we got our tickets and headed straight back for the Harry Potter section – although that didn’t stop us from enjoying other parts of the park that we walked through, especially Seuss Landing. Having grown up with those books and read them to my own kids, it was so much fun to see the Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham and other of those fun books brought to life as rides, shops, restaurants and more. My girls loved seeing it all, but didn’t feel it was right to stop and go on any rides since Becca wasn’t with us since she would have liked this area of the park. It had been a hard decision to leave her behind, but I still feel it was the right thing to do so that everyone was able to enjoy the day, especially the WWoHP part of it.

We got our first glimpse of Harry’s universe from across the park – the towers of Hogwarts soar over other areas. And as we got closer, we got more and more excited – until we finally caught our first glimpse inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. At the Hogwarts Express, parked at platform 9-3/4 of course. And right after that the girls saw Zonko’s joke shop and Honeydukes sweet shop so we had to explore both of those. Seeing so many of the things we’d only read about or gotten glimpses of in the movies was so very cool – you can actually buy Extendable Ears, Pumpkin Juice, Chocolate Frogs, Sneakoscopes, and Fever Fudge. We bought a jar of peppermints and I had to get myself a Chocolate Frog. The girls wanted to buy everything, so we had to rein them in a little. Ok, a lot. Which was hard because everything was so much like we’d seen in the movies.

The stores were crowded but not terribly so, but that wasn’t the case when we caught sight of Ollivander’s wand shop. The line there wrapped around the building several times and we were told it was a 2-hour wait. I’d heard both how small the shop is and how cool the wand choosing the wizard interactive experience is – but we just didn’t have the patience to wait in a line that long, especially with it being an extremely hot and humid day. So instead, Hannah and I headed over to the Dragon Challenge roller coaster – which had a much shorter wait time posted, only 10 minutes.

The walk up to the start of the coaster was so much fun as the forest sported signs straight out of the TriWizard Challenge, as well as the flying car featured in the second movie. This roller coaster is one where you’re suspended and there are two different tracks – you can ride either the Chinese Fireball or a Hungarian Horntail. Hannah picked the Chinese Fireball for us – and I think this was the most aggressive roller coaster I’ve ever been on. It loops and twists and I thought I was going to lose my shoes – or my stomach, lol. I can generally do roller coasters but this one was a doozy for sure. Hannah loved it though!

The other ride that we absolutely had to do was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. We waited in line for an hour, but this one was something we just couldn’t miss. And as with the coaster – the wait alone was worth it just to see the different sections of Hogwarts castle, complete with talking pictures, Dumbledore’s office, the sorting hat, the herbology greenhouse and more. The actual ride itself was incredible – Ron said it was worth the wait, and believe me, that’s saying something. I probably should have heeded the (many) posted warnings about people sensitive to motion sickness and dizziness avoiding the ride, especially just after the wild coaster ride, but I just couldn’t miss this one because it’s supposed to be so incredible. I did fine – but my eyes were closed through a good portion of it so I didn’t get the full effect. The rest of my family raved about it though, so I know it definitely must have been amazing.

Walking through the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – you do really feel like you’re in Hogsmeade, even to crooked chimneys and the snow-tipped rooftops. Even the little details are there – like the ATMs labeled as Gringott’s Bank, and the voice of Moaning Myrtle in the bathrooms. You can buy wands (and other souvenirs) at several areas outside of Ollivander’s shop, plus you can try Butterbeer (no, it’s not alcoholic, remember in the movies kids drank it). I bought a cup and it was totally delicious. The foam never seems to stop – I had foam left even after the drink was completely gone. It tasted exactly like you would expect – buttery. And so good.

By now it was well past lunchtime and we were starving, plus the heat was getting to us and my stomach wasn’t totally ok after the two rides, so we regretfully said goodbye to the WWoHP and started making our way back to the front of the park, where we’d seen a restaurant on our way in that we thought would be great for lunch. Confisco Grille had really good food and we loved the break of sitting down in the a/c. Afterward, we spent some time browsing through the main gift shop at the front of the park and picked out some souvenirs before heading out.

We each left with a ‘big’ Harry Potter-themed souvenir. Abbi got a Hedwig puppet, Hannah got a plush Fluffy the three-headed dog (for our dog-lover, of course), Ron got a Ron Weasley pin, and I got a Hogwarts t-shirt and keychain. Abbi managed to lose her favorite Hello Kitty sunglasses, but unlike our earlier experience with lost items, this time they were turned in to the lost-and-found and our happy kids were finally ready to go.

After picking Becca up, we began our drive to our next stop on this amazing road trip journey – Clearwater, Florida. This was another must-do stop since it’s the home of Winter the dolphin from the Dolphin Tale movie – and someplace all three kids were extremely excited to visit, especially our dolphin-loving Hannah. We stopped for a quick dinner at an Arby’s on the way and were treated to a beautiful rainbow after having driven through a rain shower. That night we used some of the rewards points that Ron had earned by staying at a LaQuinta Inn & Suites for so long in North Carolina, and stopped at a LaQuinta outside of Tampa. This was a very basic room – just two double beds. It worked out fine for one night, but squishing all five of us into two small beds isn’t something I want to try very often.

The next day we hit the beach for the first time since North Carolina, as well as the Clearwater Marine Aquarium – and had a restful night at our first ever experience with a hypo-allergenic hotel. Stay tuned for more!

Thank you to VisitOrlando and Universal Orlando Resort for helping my family with the opportunity to visit Universal’s Islands of Adventure park. Two adult two-park, one-day passes were provided to us and we paid for two child one-park, one-day passes along with everything else during our day at the park, including parking, souvenirs and meals. All opinions stated here are 100% my own or those of my family.

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Review: Dove Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner

Deb — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 05:03:39 +0000

Between the ages of 2 and 20, I somehow ended up going from thin, barely-there hair to very thick, bulky hair with lots of wave. And gray, but we’re not going to talk about that part right now. Over the years I’ve tried all kinds of styles – permed (yes I was a teenager in the 80’s), short and tousled, long and well, just long. But no matter how I cut, style or wear my hair, there’s one thing that I absolutely cannot forget to use, and that’s a good conditioner. Especially in the summer, when the temperatures, humidity – and pool chemicals take a harsh toll.

Without conditioning, I can barely get a brush or comb through my hair – so it’s something I can’t forget or run out of. And as I’m realizing at this point in my life – making sure I’m using a good, moisturizing conditioner is just as important as using one to begin with. It’s odd – I always thought that for someone with hair tending on the oily side, moisturizing was the last thing I needed in terms of hair conditioner. So I’ve always used a ‘light’ or barely there kind so that it washed out easily and didn’t leave a residue. But then it didn’t exactly condition much either.

When I was asked to try out a conditioner from Dove, I said yes immediately since I’m a big fan of the brand in general. They make the only deodorant/anti-perspirant that I can wear (without tearing up my underarms or giving me a rash), and I love their sensitive skin body wash too. But I’d never tried any of their hair products before, so I was curious to see what I would think.

The conditioner I was sent was their Nourishing Oil Care – which smoothes dry, rough and frizzy hair. Hmm, dry? Not really, except for the ends. Rough and frizzy though – yup I can see that. At least I used to – lately even the ends that totally need to be trimmed off are feeling a lot less dry and my hair is overall not nearly as frizzy as usual, even in the summer humidity. I’m now realizing that having a conditioner that actually works – and moisturizes – is a pretty good thing.

The first thing I noticed when I poured the Dove Nourishing Oil Care conditioner into my hand is that it’s thick. I only need to use a small amount even when my hair’s this long at the moment. It’s not the best smelling conditioner I’ve ever used – but not the worst either. And I’m definitely not using it for the scent. It goes in well and covers my hair, and rinses out easily enough that I’m not extending my shower time – but difficult enough that it’s actually accomplishing something. The best part though, is that it doesn’t weigh my hair down or make it feel overly conditioned – which was my biggest worry before trying it.

As I’m discovering, the key to repairing dry and rough hair is nourishment – and Dove’s conditioners use a patented technology to repair and nourish dry hair, including:

Fiber Active technology penetrates deep inside the hair strand, helping rebind damaged proteins (Intensive Repair and Color Repair only)

Patented Micromoisture Serum targets damage, repairing the surface of hair by sealing lifted cuticles

End benefits: smoothness, softness, shine and frizz control with no surface greasiness

I’ve been using the Dove conditioner since we got home from our road trip, for a little over two weeks now. That’s about the minimum I need to use a new hair product to really be able to decide if I like it or not – a lot of times I’ll try something and really like it for the first week or so and then end up hating it after the second week. But this one is still going strong and I’m still liking it just as much.

The bottle of conditioner came with a bonus – a sample of Dove’s Style + Care Extra Hold hairspray. I use a few squirts of hairspray every day on my bangs so I figured I’d give this one a try. So far I’m a fan – it holds well without making my hair feel stiff or sticky. So now I’m curious enough to think – if I like the conditioner and hairspray this much, I might just have to try out their shampoos. Which is really saying something because I tend to stick with a shampoo until they stop making it (which is the only reason I’ve changed shampoos in the past 20 years – once). But I’m definitely going to look into giving Dove’s a try.

You can find Dove’s conditioners at most retailers where hair products are sold. Prices vary depending on location.

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This post courtesy of: Dove and BlogHer, who provided the product for review. This is a compensated post but as always, all opinions given here are solely my own or those of my family.

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2012 Vacation Road Trip – Day 17 (SeaWorld)

Deb — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 03:02:00 +0000

When Ron and I were planning our vacation, there were several things we were hoping to do, a few that would be nice if we could squeeze them in – and a few very big ‘must-do’ items. One of those was Disney, of course. And another – was SeaWorld, especially for Hannah.

Hannah loves animals – her favorite three (in equal parts) are dogs, polar bears, and dolphins. Dogs are pretty much covered – we see them everywhere we go. Polar bears and dolphins though – are definitely a bit more difficult. And Hannah had never seen a dolphin in real life before – not until we got a glimpse of one in North Carolina on one of our boat cruises. But that was just a glimpse.

SeaWorld offered so much more than a glimpse. It had been years since I had been there – not since I was a kid. And it was way more than I remembered – and everything that we hoped. Not that this stop was solely for Hannah’s sake – all three girls were excited about seeing real dolphins up-close. And wow did we.

Our first stop that day was at the Dolphin Nursery where we watched mom and baby dolphins swimming around. There were a few of each in the nursery – plus a babysitter. I think the girls could have stayed and watched for hours – this was our first time seeing dolphins actually come out of the water, and it’s amazing how expressive they are. And how cute.

After we convinced the girls that there was a whole theme park yet to see, we moved on. It took a bit to get the lay of the land (so to speak) but we were easily able to find our way to our second stop – Dolphin Cove. We’d looked over the options for getting up close to the dolphins – and while we would have loved to have given Hannah one of the more interactive experiences, that wouldn’t be fair if her sisters couldn’t participate too. And we definitely couldn’t afford that. But we were very pleasantly surprised to find out that SeaWorld offers the chance to feed the dolphins at specific times during the day – and for only $7/person. That was affordable and so Ron and Becca waited in line while I took Hannah and Abbi into Dolphin Cove for a closer look.

Talk about dolphins – there had to have been at least a dozen in Dolphin Cove! Abbi, Hannah and I got a great spot up against the wall, right next to the rope separating the public area from an empty one. We found out a few minutes after we got there what the empty area was for – the ‘special’ events take place there, such as the ‘Trainer for a Day’ experience. We couldn’t participate, of course – but we had an amazing front-row type of view as the trainers and their helpers put the dolphins through a series of exercises. And we got to see them jump out of the water, perch on the outside of the wall, and more. It was amazing.

But – even more amazing, was a little while later when it was our turn to file into that special section to help feed the dolphins. Each person gets a small tray with a few fish in it and you hold the fish down near the water (not up in the air unless you want birds to steal your dolphin food). You can even touch the dolphins as they eat – stroking under their chins, since apparently they don’t like to be touched on the tops of their heads. Ron and I watched the girls feed dolphins, and then took our turns – by then the rest of the group had finished and it took a few minutes to convince some dolphins that more food was available for them. Once they got the news – it only took a few minutes for our fish to be gone. But oh, what an experience.

Hannah said before this trip that her dream was to see a real dolphin. Then after we saw the glimpses of one in North Carolina, her dream became to touch one and to be splashed by one. Check! Her dream now? To swim with dolphins. I guess it’s good to have a dream to aim for – because that one’s going to be a while yet, lol.

It was hard to believe but there was still so much of SeaWorld yet to experience. First we spent some time in the underwater viewing area of Dolphin Cove – while from the top we’d been able to see the dolphins as they surfaced or jumped out of the water, this area lets you get a great look at what they’re doing under the water. And what they were doing – was playing, chasing, and just plain having fun.

After taking a break from dolphins to get a fix of some of the girls’ other favorite animals in the Pets Ahoy! show (such a lot of fun to see cute dogs and cats doing all sorts of amazing tricks), and then stopping for lunch, we headed over to the Dolphin Theatre for the Blue Horizons show. We got there early enough that we had great seats and the show was a lot of fun. It’s a beautiful combination of dolphins, aerial maneuvers, diving and more that all together tell a wonderful story. The girls really enjoyed it – the dolphins were the best part, of course.

Next we headed over to the other side of the park, stopping to see the sharks and go on a few small rides. SeaWorld has some big roller coasters too – we kept using the Manta as a focal point when figuring out where we were on the map. But while we like coasters – our focus on this trip was to see the animals and shows, so we skipped the big rides. SeaWorld in general wasn’t anywhere near as crowded as the Magic Kingdom had been a couple of days before, but there were still some long lines – for the coasters, and also for the Sky Tower. I was really hoping to have the chance to go up in the Sky Tower – but we figured that we’d rather not wait, but instead would see as much of the rest of the park as we could.

Our next stop was the Shamu One Ocean show. I was really looking forward to this one – I love watching the beautiful orcas. I remember my mom buying my brother and I small stuffed Shamus when we were kids – I think I still have mine packed away somewhere. We were running a bit later for this show so ended up way in the back – while it was a good view, there were a lot of people in front of us so it was hard to see around them. But once the show began, it didn’t matter – it was incredible.

The last stop for us at SeaWorld was at Wild Arctic – definitely something the girls had requested to see, since Hannah loves polar bears and ones of Abbi’s favorite animals are penguins. There weren’t any penguins there – but Becca was thrilled by the Beluga Whales and ended up taking a stuffed one home. And we got to see a very sleepy polar bear too, which made Hannah extremely happy.

With Ron walking around on a bruised and broken toe, we decided that we were done for the day at around dinnertime. I would have liked to have stayed to see the Shamu Rocks show and the Reflections fountain and fireworks show, but I had to agree that we’d definitely had a day of a lifetime already, and it was time to give Ron’s toe a rest. The other things we would have liked to have done if we’d had time were to do the Turtle Trek, and to see the sea lions and otters (Ron’s favorite animal) – I think SeaWorld could easily be a 2-day stop in order to see and experience everything, including the roller coasters. Next time, we’ll remember that.

Our time in Orlando was coming to an end very quickly – we stopped at a Waffle House for dinner on the way back to our vacation rental home (the girls are now huge fans of Waffle House – they love sitting at the counter and watching the cook make all the food), and then worked on getting everything packed up and ready to check out the next morning. We had one day left – and on the agenda was Universal Orlando Resort, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

But before Ron and I turned in that night, we headed outside for a nighttime swim to enjoy the pool one last time – without the girls splashing around. It was so relaxing to float and chat and just enjoy the peace and quiet in the Florida evening. Plus, Ron and I wanted to give the pool area one last good search to see if we could find the earring Hannah had lost the previous day. We’d looked again that morning but with no luck. Trying to figure out how to fit in a quick trip to Claire’s to replace the lost starter earring was going to be a challenge – but then all of a sudden, Ron felt something sharp beneath his foot in the pool, and when he went down for a closer look… He found Hannah’s blue flower starter earring stuck in a little pile of gunk at the bottom of the pool. Right about where Hannah had been standing when it was knocked out.

We were flabbergasted – and so happy. It made the end of our stay in that gorgeous home so much better, and both Ron and I were able to relax and enjoy our last little bit of pool time before heading inside for some final laundry, packing and finally… bed. I knew I was going to miss the space, the privacy and the pool in this house – it really was so hard to pack everything up and say goodbye the next morning.

Next… what did we think of our first taste of Butterbeer? And did Hannah and I survive the Dragon Challenge? Stay tuned to find out…

Thank you to VisitOrlando and SeaWorld for the opportunity for my family to visit SeaWorld Orlando. Our one-day passes were provided to us but we paid for everything else during our day at the park, including parking and meals. All opinions stated here are 100% my own or those of my family.

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