A Package From Home

Calleigh used to love the Peppa Pig magazines in England. They always came with lots of colouring activities and stickers as well as an awesome toy. 

They don't have many magazines like that here, so we have just been buying her colouring books and sheet stickers. 

Yesterday Calleigh received a package addressed to her. It was from Mee-Maw and Auntie Lana and as well as a super cute winter coat it had a Peppa Pig Magazine and a Hello Kitty Magazine. 

Calleigh was at school when it arrived so I opened it and lay out her present on the table for when she got home. As soon as it caught her eye she went running over, smiling all the way. 

Straight away she knew what they were and started showing them to Daddy and I. 

It was so cute. 

We love receiving packages from home. It makes us feel more connected to our family. And Calleigh definitely loves the goodies. 

Playskool Wooden Blocks Review

Calleigh has recently reignited her love with building blocks. She liked to play with them when she was little, however was not very good at stacking them. As we only had a small amount of blocks we decided we should buy her some more so she can really enjoy playing with them. 

We decided on Playskool's wooden blocks as they looked really good and were not expensive. 

The great thing we liked about these blocks is that they are not just your normal ABC blocks. Each side has different letter in lower case and uppercase as well as numbers, maths symbols, animals and you can also build a little house with doors, bricks and windows. 

It also came with a mesh bag so you have somewhere to store them when your child is done playing. 

Calleigh really enjoys playing with them, they are a lot easier to stack than her other blocks as they are a bit bigger and more sturdy. This saves us having to deal with a tantrum when her tower collapses. Every time her tower fell over she would walk over and kick mine too so mine fell (shess so mean). It still happens, but a lot less often. 

They are going to be really great when we start learning more. I will be using them as props to help teach her about letters and numbers as well as Math and English. 

*I am aware that I used an I instead of an L at the end of the word but we only had one L and had to improvise*

This Little Piggy

This weekend we took a trip to the Purina Farm's Visitor Centre. It is a working farm and we got to see lot's of animals and also learn how pet food is made. Calleigh, although she loves seeing them, has always been a bit weary of animals and normally doesn't like to touch them. This time she was a bit braver and managed to put her hand near them but still wouldn't really touch them. 

Here are my favourite photo's from our visit. 

Hay There

Trying to feed the Cow

Daddy stroking the Horses

Here Piggy Piggy

Stroking a Sleeping Chicken

Little Piggy Nibbling Calleigh's Toes

Some of the Animals at the Farm

The Most Amazing Cat House Ever

A Dog Jumping Over a Woman

How To Deal With A Poorly Child

It's a fact of life that children get poorly and if you have them in a nursery or daycare it may happen a little more often as illnesses are easily passed in children with their little immune system. 

We were quite lucky with Calleigh as she didn't get her first illness until she was over a year old. It was a bad one and it broke my heart to see her so ill knowing there was nothing I could really do to make it go away, I just had to let it run it's course. But that doesn't mean there aren't ways to make them feel better or more comfortable. 

Most illnesses can be dealt with at home and a trip to the doctors isn't always necessary but there are times when you should definitely consider taking them to see a doctor. Such things are: An unusual rash, high pitched crying, a stiff neck, difficulty breathing, if your child is very sleepy, a high temperature (above 37.5) or if your child refuses fluids. Calleigh has been to the doctors a few times due to illness. One time she was coughing so much she had trouble breathing and the other (more recent) time she had a really high temperature accompanied by constant crying and stiff body movements. 

Here are some of the best ways I have found to help a child deal with the pain of being ill:

1. Never underestimate the power of children's medicine- When a illness gets really bad, it's important to give your child a little something to help deal with the pain. I find that a dose of Calpol (or Motrin or children's Ibuprofen) works wonders. The last time I remember giving Calleigh a dose of medicine it worked that well that within half an hour she was running around like a mad woman as if nothing was wrong. Always check the dosing chart and never give more than recommended on the packet. Also check that it's okay to use with anything that may have been prescribed by your doctor. If ever in doubt ask a doctor. 
2. Keeping their temperature down- A high temperature is extremely uncomfortable. When your child is experiencing a high temperature it's important to try and keep it down. Try light fitting clothing or even just in a nappy for a while. Cold cloths on the forehead also work really well. 
3. Make sure they drink plenty of water- Very important this one. Fluids are very important!
4. Give them their favourite foods- I find that when Calleigh is poorly she doesn't really want to eat and when she does she doesn't eat much at all. I always try to give her little portions of her favourite meals to keep her happy. 
5. Let them have plenty of rest- When Calleigh is ill I like to let her have as much sleep as possible. When she is well rested I notice that she is much more able to deal with the illness and in a much better mood. 
6. Try to make them laugh- I know it may seem that the last thing you want when you are ill is someone trying to make you laugh. But with Calleigh I find it lifts her mood loads and makes her much happier. Pulling funny faces, tickling her and generally just being an idiot always makes Calleigh laugh even when she is feeling her worst.

These are a few of the things I find helpful to me when Calleigh is poorly. Like I said there is nothing worse than feeling so helpless when they are ill. So doing these little things will make you feel much better. 

Calleigh chilling out in the spare bedroom 

Daddy's Day Off

Yesterday was Labor Day here for us which meant Daddy had the day off work. We had planned to take a trip to the zoo but Calleigh fell ill over the weekend and I didn't think she would enjoy it as much as she normally does so we decided to do something else and save the zoo for another day. 

So instead we took a drive to a nearby wildlife park called Lone Elk Park, this is personally one of our favourites as you are always guaranteed to see something and just around the corner is the Wild Bird Sanctuary. 

Whilst driving through we caught sight of a beautiful Elk taking a drink from the lake which also had quite a lot of ducks and geese so we parked up nearby and took a walk down. A kind family gave us a loaf of bread as they were done with it so Calleigh was able to feed the ducks. 

She loved it, ducks and geese were everywhere all around her. Unfortunately she couldn't throw the bread very far so the brave geese kept coming right up to her feet. Daddy was watching very carefully and even helped Calleigh feed one out of her hand. 

Just around the corner the Elk was still there munching in the grass. He was so beautiful and wasn't at all bothered that we were literally feet away from him. We stopped to take in how amazing it felt to be there with him and then moved on.

After we had finished driving around the park we decided to go the the Bird Sanctuary while we were there. It's free to go in and is home to many different species of birds on display. 

Calleigh loves birds and really enjoyed looking at the different birds of prey. Although her favourite definitely seemed to be the Chickens. Probably because you could feed them, which meant she could get her fingers in the cage. We allowed her to do so for a little while until a little chicken became far too interested in Calleigh's finger rather than the food we were throwing in. 

Back at home Calleigh crashed a little bit, her illness and the excitement of the day obviously taking it's toll on her. So I gave her a nice bath whilst Daddy baked some lovely cookie brownies. Afterwards we sat cuddled on the sofa watching the Bubble Guppies Fairytale Adventure before going up to bed. 

We love spending days like this with Daddy. It makes us realise how lucky we are to have this opportunity to live in America.