Our Big E Adventure: Grizzly Bears, Big Potatoes, Getting Peed On And Cats In The Circus!

I always look forward to Big E season. Who doesn’t around here? But having a kid makes the Big E all that MUCH more exciting!! Why? Because everything is suddenly a million times cooler than before. Big cows create shock and awe, the toddler rides in the carnival area just make a kids eyes HUGE in amazement and you bet I’m suddenly knocking people over with my stroller to wait an hour and 15 minutes to get into the circus for my princess. 

Some people that live nearby get season passes to the Big E but my family opts for the discounted Big Y pass that we get before the fair starts and we spend an ENTIRE day there. That means one day of parking, one day of food and not going back to spend any more money! Cost effective plan. My goal for the day was to make sure we got to see the Grizzly Experience show and the Big E circus. That alone makes the ticket to get in all worth it. Besides, I saw they listed that there were cats performing in the circus. CATS?! SOLD. I’M THERE.

We headed straight for the Grizzly experience and luckily snagged a seat in the bleachers so Aubrey had a great view and she loved it! She thought the Grizzly was “SO CUTE,” of course. They went over every safety tip you need to know if you encounter a bear, especially if you hike and I was happy to say I knew all of them! I’m alway prepared when out on hikes with Aubrey although I did learn they actually make a product called bear spray if you need it….who knew? 

Tried to get into the circus and it was already full so we would have to try again later. But we went over to spend a lot of time in the farm building with all the animals. Aubrey LOVED it there. She had full on conversations with all the sheep and couldn’t get over all the cute baby cows and goats there. She just keep going up and down the aisles all over to make friends with every animal. It was pretty adorable.

We ran into the Big E “Biggie” Bear and I was in shock at that love encounter. I thought she might be afraid of him, but ran into his arms and didn’t want to let go! We literally had to usher her away and she kept lingering, waving good bye to him, saying, “See you soon bear!” Definitely tugged at the heart strings. I’m gonna have to bring multiple changes of clothing for the day we hit Disneyland because I’m confident she is gonna poop herself multiple times encountering those characters in person if she reacted this way to a simple bear!

At the Midway, I let her pick one ride. Carnival rides are expensive $$$. So of course she begged to go on the “Magic Horsey’s!” (That would be the carousel) She was delighted!

Now time for food. Now I know many people hit up the Maine building for the potato but we have been going to CT for a few years now. Apparently this year we weren’t the only people that discovered how much better the potatoes are at the CT building. It’s our big meal of the day and lasts us all day while there so we aren’t spending money on food all day. They have a HUGE potato with all the fixings AND you can add pulled pork or chili on top. So I get a potato with the fixings and the pulled pork for $8.50, that feeds me AND Aubrey AND I still couldn’t finish it all. It’s AH-MAZING. 

After filling baby girl’s tummy, it way way past her nap time and I finally got her to sleep in the stroller. Gave my arms a break and some quiet time which meant I hit up the Chevy area to check out the new prospective SUV that may be in my future and determine how much I need to save. Ahhh that new car smell. We went browsing around all the shopping booths and unfortunately missed the parade since Aubrey was sleeping still. She was still asleep but we headed over at 5:40 to check out the situation at the circus for the final 7pm showing. If you haven’t tried to see the circus before, it FILLS UP FAST. You HAVE to get there early to try to get in. We made it in line and were guaranteed to get in. She woke up from her nap as they were finally letting us in around 6pm. I parked the stroller and here’s where I made a mistake that I will revert back to in a bit….

She did great waiting for the show and we had phenomenal seats. She was a little scared of how loud it got in the beginning with the whole tent cheering and clapping and made me put my hands over her ears. But she thought the clown was funny and was simply in awe of the lights and everything going on! There was a juggling act that was out of this world and then this cute dog act came out. During this act I suddenly felt a warm liquid in my lap that was soaking into my jeans. Am I getting peed on right now? AM I GETTING PEED ON?! Yep. That’s how exciting the circus was. Aubrey peed ALL OVER MY LAP. A LOT. 

Let’s revert to that mistake I made earlier. I parked the stroller to get into the circus after she just woke up from a nap. She pees a lot during a nap and in the rush to get a seat at the circus I forgot I should have changed her diaper. She didn’t have one of her “good” ones on, it was a brand that can soak through and boy it did. Luckily she had a change of pants I brought so she got a dry diaper and dry pants and me….well I got pee soaked pants and bottom of my shirt for the remainder of the night. And it was humid out so that wasn’t drying AT ALL for me like I hoped. Oh well….she was loving the circus so what’s some pee? Welcome to parenthood. As for the remainder of the circus she truly loved it. I loved the act with the cats. Because I love anything with cats and I apologize in advance to my cat, Cali, for all the tricks I’m planning on attempting to teach her. She keeps telling me about the funny clown, the cats, the dogs, the motorcycle, all the acts she saw at the circus. It's so cute!

I PEED ON MY MOM!

It was a great day. Ended it with some soft serve for Aubrey, more visits with animals like the elephants, zebra and camels. She was happy to bring home some free mardi gras beads too. I will definitely miss the Big E when I move. It’s been an annual visit for so long but there will be plenty of other fairs, carnivals and circuses to look forward to throughout the year and I can’t wait! The Big E experience changes when you become a parent but as every experience changes, I’ve noticed one thing, it’s always a change for the better. There's nothing like seeing everything you once knew through the eyes of a child again.

PLEASE Register Your Child For A FREE Amber Alert Child ID !!!

*UPDATED: Apparently I was misinformed and the Big E is not doing the Amber Alert event in the CT building this year! But you can still use the following information to get this down at your local police department!

I wanted to make everyone aware of the Amber Alert Child ID Project. Bring your child to your local police department or Amber Alert Event and register them for FREE and receive a free child ID card. If you would like any additional cards, it is $2.00 each and that money is a donation that goes directly into the Amber accounts. I have been doing this with Aubrey the past two years and it is an amazing service that I will be using again soon to update her information.

• There are 159 non-family (stranger) child abductions per day. That is 1 child, every 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
• 74% of children were abducted and later found murdered were killed within 3 hours.                                                                                                               (Source - United States Justice Department) 

As parents, we NEVER want to ever have to use this service. No one wants anything bad to happen to their child. Yet it is important to take any steps necessary to put the appropriate measures in place ahead of time. (Just in case) God forbid anything ever happened to a child, if they were already registered with this program, by a simple push of a button, their information would be out everywhere, INSTANTLY.  That is incredible and could save a life. Time is everything in these cases.

Aubrey's First Card at 2 Months Old!

I keep Aubrey's Amber alert card on hand and in a lockbox I have an additional safety kit filled out with her fingerprints. I pray to God nothing happens to anyone's child or mine everyday but please be a proactive parent and take these precautions. You would be doing such a great thing for the safety of your child.

At an event/police station you will fill out a pertinent information form, your child will be measured and weighed, and a digital photo will be taken of them. This is the only program where you can hand over the card with your unique ID to law enforcement as soon as a child is discovered missing.

Please share and pass this information along. I'm sure there are many parents that do not realize this service exists! Please make it a point!

What is the AMBER Alert Safe Child ID Project?
It is a voluntary program for all children under the age of 18. Parents/Guardian of participating children receive a wallet sized, plastic card with a picture of the child, a unique AMBER ID number and only minimal, yet essential information needed to identify the child. This information is stored in a secure data base. This card can be presented to law enforcement in the event a child is abducted. The information can be transmitted to law enforcement and to the public via Television, Radio and Traffic Signs. This assists law enforcement by providing additional eyes of the public to look for the vehicle and occupants listed in the alert.

Curious about an event near you? Please visit this link to find an Amber Alert Event near you! AMBER Alert Events

To Us, It's Hair, But To Women With Cancer, It's HOPE.

Anyone that knows me knows how frugal I am. Cheapskate, bargain hunter, whatever you want to call it, I simply don’t like to spend my money frivolously. If I ever make a “big” purchase it’s usually an investment item. So obviously this crosses even into the beauty department. I rarely get my hair cut. RARELY. I am a hair stylist’s worst client because I won’t be booking another appointment to see you in 6 weeks….it’s gonna be a minimum 6 months realistically…minimum. I don’t get my nails done, cause I have nail polish at home and two perfectly capable hands that can apply polish to my nails, why would I go pay $20 for someone else to do it? I envision buying a pack of diapers in my mind instead. I know, I’m a little bit of an oddball when it comes to pampering myself. Although by all means this makes a great gift if anyone ever needs an idea! (hint, hint, Christmas will be here soon) Nonetheless, it’s a fact that I also have an attachment to my hair. I love it long, always have. I’m a simple client in the chair, just re-layering and cutting off dead ends is usually my request. But this time was different, this time I did not just cut off the dead ends…

The last time I saw my hair stylist Kristine was at the end of October LAST YEAR. Whoooops. I made an appointment because I knew I desperately needed a cut. I should be back in the work force soon and I couldn't imagine dealing with my hair at it’s length, (and lack of any style lately), getting it ready to get out the door with a toddler early in the morning. Last thing I want is to be the woman at work with her hair always in a bun. I want to be slightly cooler than that. So I felt like this was a legit request for my first official “Mom” cut. That day I took a blow dryer to my hair to prep it for the cut while my daughter was napping and it took me 20 mins to dry it all. TWENTY MINUTES. JUST FOR DRYING. #aintnobodygottimeforthat So I needed a practical, easy to style, manageable but in a hot mom way, not soccer mom, I made that clear. I’m still 26 for goodness sakes, I want to have some edge to me. 

Before

After

My hair is long, so very very long. Almost down to my bootay. At first I only wanted to cut maybe 6 inches, maybe. Then I thought well if I’m going to cut that amount I might as well cut a few inches more and donate it to charity. So I googled some charities, “Locks for Love” and the “Pantene Beautiful Lengths” programs specifically to see what their requirements were for length in the donated ponytails. Locks needs a minimum 10 inches and Pantene a mere 8 inches. No problem. I have that. I have “virgin” hair as they call it. Never processed, no chemicals, dyes, highlights, bleach, etc. I have naturally healthy and thick hair. The last thing I wanted was to get my hair cut and see that swept away into the trash when it can actually do some good and help someone else going through a rough time. I did this once before in high school. My first ever hair cut in a salon and I donated to Locks of Love then. So this would surprisingly only be my second time…but certainly not my last.

Kristine is amazing and practically the only person I would trust to do this, she’s not just my hair stylist but a friend. So my hair was in her hands….literally. She separated it into four ponytails and snip, snip, snip, snip….suddenly all my hair was in my hands! I already felt like I lost 5 lbs. My hair had been seriously dragging me down lately from the sheer weight of it. We put it in a plastic ziploc bag and she continued on with washing and then cutting my hair. I was surprised my anxiety level wasn’t higher after the initial cut. But when you know you’re doing it for a good cause, it definitely lowers that. 

As my style was being blow dried, I had a minor panic attack on the inside…I haven’t had my hair this short in…EVER. Never EVER in my life. (Except for my birth when I was practically bald but that doesn’t count) Thankfully Kristine gave me the style and edge I was looking for. I fully let her know it will take me a couple days to a week to fully get used to this new cut but I did love it! It was a major change for me. Showering is gonna be so much easier, I’ll be saving on the amount of shampoo and conditioner I’ve had to use and I’ll be out the door in no time now. But most importantly someone out there will have a wig of  healthy hair to boost their confidence as they go through cancer. As one breast cancer survivor stated on the Pantene website, “It was very hard when my hair started falling out. It really takes away who you are when you look in the mirror.” Putting on a wig made of healthy hair helps make these women feel like themselves again. For that cause alone this made my cut so worth it. I couldn’t imagine going through such a terrible disease and on top of that lose your hair. 

So my hair will be mailed off to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program with a note and a pic of me sporting my new short style. So far, they have donated 24,000 free real-hair wigs to the American Cancer Society’s wig banks which distribute wigs to cancer patients across the country. It takes at least 8 to 15 ponytails to create one wig so I highly recommend that if you have ever considered donating then please do. Or grow your hair out some more so that you can donate it to such an incredible cause like this. 

To top it off when I walked in the door, Aubrey reacted to my hair by saying, “It’s so cute!” while referring to me as Rapunzel. If she thinks it’s cute, then it’s definitely a win! A big thank you to Kristine Bodman at Hairworks in Southwick, MA for my new amazing cut! Check out how the cut went down in the salon below! 

48 Needle Scratches And 10 Needle Injections Later, I'm Allergic To...

Trees.  Flippin' tree pollen.

Yup. All that for tree pollen being the only thing showing up on my allergy testing. I feel like a lot of people seem to get allergies to tree pollen during the April - June period that it is dominant in the area.

Thanks for the kids top...I'm so excited.

So this is good and this is bad news. With allergy testing, you don't really want to find something wrong but at that same time if you do that means you may have found an answer to what has been giving your body trouble.  For me, this answers nothing. Nada. Zilch. 

What led me to allergy testing? Welllll that's a longer explanation that I have time for right now. I'll have to take the time to find the monstrous photos of me having a "reaction" to who know's what that landed me in the hospital TWO times in the past three years due to it's severity. Let's just say the first time, I woke up in the hospital in Los Angeles to at least 5 doctors surrounding me, staring at me like a case out of "House" and none of them had any idea what was going on with me. Still to this I have no answers. But I promise to share that story and those stunning photos with you another time.

48 Needle Scratches

My appointment started off with them giving me a hospital top to put on...and not a gown, no, some paper towel item that they consider a top. I've wiped my boogers off on a thicker tissue. The doctor came in and said, "Oh they gave you the pediatric top, for kids! Well it fits, so that's good." So being confused for a 12 year still occurs to me at this age. Today consisted of 48 needle scratches. So they were split up into big graphs with 8 needles each and the nurse just kind of plops it on to your back. It didn't hurt. (And I hate needles) It really felt like I was being scratched and slightly tickled at the same time....I know that sounds odd but that's the best way I can put in. I did give a little jump each time as it just felt so odd. After all graphs are done, they tell you to sit still for 15 and whatever you do, DON'T SCRATCH.

She walked out the door and all I wanted to do was scratch!!! AHHHH! Imagine having an itch and not being able to relieve it by scratching. Kind of one of the most annoying things ever. Thank god for Wifi and my cellphone to distract me....

When two small bumps reacted out of the 48, the doctor then moved onto more specific testing in the "tree and plant" department to test on me. This meant 10 needles. And yes I mean actual needles that were injected into my arm this time. All I could do was keep holding a conversation with the nurse to keep my mind off of what she was doing. A lot of the conversation consisted of exchanging stories about where we gave birth to our children. A gentle reminder that if I survived childbirth, what's a few needles...or ten? No biggie! Another 15 min wait....

10 Needle Injections

Honestly after she left the room, I look at my arm and just started laughing. I couldn't help it. This was so absurd. I looked absolutely ridiculous. Were more needles heading my way after this? I looked so ridiculous with all these injections! Better yet my phone died so onto the boring magazine in the room.

The doctor confirmed that was the last round of testing. He suggested some allergy medicine if I seem to be acting up. Said chewable pills act faster so I'll keep that in mind and he was sorry he didn't seem to find out what has been affecting my body previously.  At the end of that day at least I ruled out a whole bunch of possibilities. So now I'm left with a pretty sore shoulder and arm, and when I sneeze during high pollen seasons, now I know why...

Kid's Sunglasses Recall Due to Excessive LEAD Paint!!!

A kid's sunglasses recall was just announced affecting designs that include 20 styles of Disney, Marvel and Sears/Kmart brand children’s sunglasses. They come in a variety of colors and with printed images of characters on the frames. The surface paint on the children's shades contains excessive levels of lead, which is prohibited under federal law.

Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems in little ones, and can also cause stomach and intestinal problems, loss of appetite, anemia, headaches, constipation, hearing loss and even short stature.

PLEASE check your child's sunglasses right away, if they are part of the recall take them away immediately and you can contact FGX International at their recall site here: FGXI Recall Website

Here are the images of recalled sunglasses:

Style number which can be found on the arm of the sunglasses: 

Style#	Brand	Colors
S00014SVS999	Marvel Spider-Man	Red, blue
S00014SVSBLU	Marvel Spider-Man	Blue
S00014SVSRED	Marvel Spider-Man	Red
S00021LKC999	SK2 Sears /Kmart Private Label	Blue
S00021SVS999	Marvel Spider-Man	Red/black, silver/blue
S01551SDB999	Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse	Red/white, silver/black
S02964SJN440	Disney Jake and the Never Land Pirates	Blue
S02964SJN999	Disney Jake and the Never Land Pirates	Blue
S03683SDC999	Disney Cars	Blue, black, red
S04611SDC001	Disney Cars	Red/black
S04611SDC080	Disney Cars	Red/Silver
S04611SDC400	Disney Cars	Blue/teal/yellow
S04611SDC999	Disney Cars	Blue/teal/yellow, red/black, red/silver
S07786SMS500	Disney Doc McStuffins	Purple/pink
S07786SMS650	Disney Doc McStuffins	Pink/blue
S07786SMS999	Disney Doc McStuffins	Purple/pink, pink/blue
S07840SDC999	Disney Cars	Red/black
S07841SDC001	Disney Cars	Black/silver
S07841SDC440	Disney Cars	Blue/red
S07841SDC999	Disney Cars	Blue/red, black/silver, black/red

  

For any additional information, please refer to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

I Just Got A FREE Rachel Ray Cookware Item On Rue La La! Another Free $25 Credit Deal! Easy Peasy!

....ok, well PRACTICALLY FREE. Seriously though let me explain. I flipping love Rue La La because I keep getting free $25 credits to them randomly and using them for items that add up to that total! I received an email from them promoting their new app that is available via iTunes. It simply said that by downloading the app, you get a $25 credit added to your account AUTOMATICALLY after the download. Well that seems easy...and it WAS. I went to iTunes on my laptop, downloaded and BAM $25 credit was on my Rue La La Account.

I say practically free because the item I choose, the total was just above $25. BUT considering some other items I was looking at that would have been totally free, I was happy to pay a couple bucks for this! I knew it was something I needed and would actually get a lot of use out of.

SO I checked my other emails and didn't see this there, so I don't know how long this promotion is going on for or if it works for everyone but I would think it would! Worst case you shoot them an email saying you downloaded the app and didn't see the credit applied yet if it doesn't go through right away.

If you don't have an account go sign up here through this invite: Rue La La Invite

THEN go to iTunes or if you have an iPhone/iPad download there with the email address that matches your Rue La La, they need to be the same email address. It's how it shows you downloaded. Bam, $25 credit. You have 30 days to use it usually. It counts towards the TOTAL of any purchase, you can always find something for free. Shipping is always $9.95 but after that for the next 30 days, it is free if you ever buy anything else you like there. So once again that credit counts towards the total, $14 plus $9.95 shipping still equals free item. Hope this works for you all!!!

Proof I did this and it worked!

To Pierce Or Not To Pierce. The Great Bling Debate.

When to get your baby girl’s ears pierced….this was a debate I had with myself when I had my daughter. Seeing baby girl’s with earrings was so freakin’ adorable, I loved it but wasn’t sure what I was going to do. There is the debate of waiting til they are old enough so that they can make this decision themselves if they want pierced ears, is it “mean” to force them upon her at such a young age. I was back and forth. Then I recalled my ear piercing experience.

I was in second grade when I got my ears pierced. It was part of my First Communion gift that I could get them done and I wanted it. Like most girl’s who went to get their ears pierced I would up at Claire’s, in the chair right at the front of the store, ready to get my bling. But have you seen those guns?! SCARY. So clearly I wussed out. Peace out lady with the gun, stay away from my ears! 

First picture of her ears pierced! 12-12-12 

Eventually I went back. Time to suck it up. Good news, I survived!!! I still have pierced ears to this day and I loved it once it was all done and over with. But it was a frightening experience!! Recalling this, I found this was a common denominator in why many parents actually choose to get their daughter’s ears pierced when they were still a baby. They simply wouldn’t remember it. It’s like they would have always been there. I thought this was a valid point….she will probably want them someday and seriously….I really think they look so adorable. 

I made the decision and went forward to make the appointment to get it done. The requirements were she had to be at least four months old and be up to date on all of her shots. It was done at her Pediatrician’s office by a nurse that handles all the piercings. Cash payment of $25 flat which includes the special gold baby earrings studs they put in. 

Time to change earrings!

I was nervous for the whole procedure, hoping she wouldn’t hate me for this. But it was honestly a breeze! I think it was better than when she would get her routine check-up shots! The nurse marked her ears with a marker, another nurse and I held her down for the earrings to go in. It was one ear at a time, not like how they sometimes double team you in Claire’s. She cried. She was 5 months old so she totally cried BUT as soon as I picked her up to hold her, she started calming down and by the time we were walking out to the car she completely forgot what just happened and was happy and laughing!!! Went WAY better than I expected. Because she was so little, she never touched it or bothered with the stud. I would turn it and treat it but never had any problems with it. It was adorable. I was happy with my decision to go ahead and get earrings done so early and I was happy I did it at 5 months because at 6 months she was moving all over the place, rolling everywhere and it would have been way harder to keep her still at the doctor’s office.

New earrings in!

So earrings were great. I even changed them out after a few months and her doctor said it was ok. Got some new cute flower studs from Kohl’s. A pair of hearts and a clear cubic zirconia stud! It was exciting! I only changed her earrings when she was asleep though. When she was completely in a deep snooze, with ease I could take out earrings, treat the ear (I like to use coconut oil to make it easy to slip earrings in and treat the ear hole) and insert a new pair like a ninja and she would never know. 

Recently a few months back, I noticed her right ear hole got infected. So I treated it thinking it would get better but it wasn’t. What the heck?! I decided to put back in her original baby gold studs and the ear healed and had no problems. So a bit later I tried the old type of earrings she had been wearing again….and guess what…..right infection again! Gold studs back in. Tried sensitive earrings that are nickel free from Claire’s and that was another fail. Doctor said I should stick with gold. Ugh, my worst fear. Simply cause this eliminates all the REALLY multiple cute pairs I could buy for cheap because have you seen the cost of real gold earrings?!?!! I was going to be so limited!! She was going to have nicer earrings than me! Her baby studs are back in and I am expecting a delivery of a set of 10K gold earrings I actually got a great deal on, $30 for a three set of colored studs. Mind you if it wasn’t gold I would have paid like $8 for three pairs but I don’t want her holes to close up and I love the earrings.
She even shows her earrings to people and knows now she has them. It’s odd to me that it’s only ONE ear having this reaction all of a sudden but at least there is a solution. My grandmother can only wear gold so maybe it runs in the family. And maybe one day she will miraculously be able to wear cheap earrings again. For now, anyone asks what they can get my daughter for a gift….send her gold earrings! ;)

Give me the gold Mom! My ear hurts!

P.S. - Many people have asked WHERE to go get ears pierced and what age which is why I share this. Check your pediatricians office. My other advice is don’t go to the mall to get your child’s ears pierced. I read a phenomenal article that resonated with me about taking your child to a Tattoo shop!! There they are PROFESSIONALS, not a random teenager who was probably quickly showed how to put an earring in. They do piercings all day long. If your child is older, it is also an experience to show that people with piercings and tattoos are not scary and are nice, regular people. It would be a fun experience and you are guaranteed a PROPER piercing.

Also if you are going to get your child's ears pierced or already have and don't have these "safety clutches" for backings, I highly recommend them. They are a much stronger hold on the earring, it has prevented me from losing any additional earrings (I didn't have them at first). I suggest buying a pack like these at Wal-Mart at the jewelry counter. They are usually in the "Kid's Jewelry" spin around rack on the counter and you have to ask an associate to open the case to get them. They are maybe $5 for a pack like this with three pairs. They are also more comfortable for young children so the post doesn't poke them or bother them especially when they are sleeping!