We have had one heck of a weekend here, and I’m kind of happy that it’s a new week! It involved dogs, ER visits, and goodbyes.
The weekend started on Thursday night when we made a quick decision to adopt a rescue dog – an adorable Maltese who was given up after her owner died. The kids were ecstatic and we were nervous. Unfortunately, after a 3 day weekend at home with the family it was clear the dog would not be a good match for our family.
She was adorable and loved my husband and myself but unfortunately was not suited to being around kids. I feel good about making the decision we did, rather than wait a few weeks or a month. I ached knowing the kids would be disappointed but wanted to avoid devastation after a huge attachment developed. Talk about a roller coaster!
In the middle of all this chaos, my youngest started displaying signs of croup. Again. She just had it about 3 months ago so we knew what it sounded like. Off to the hospital we went (my husband first while I arranged childcare for the older two) and by the time I arrived my husband had already endured one nebulizer treatment (which basically involves a mask on the kid’s face with a breathing treatment that is loud and scary for little ones) which he said went horribly.
When it was time for the second breathing treatment, I held her in my lap and then remembered that I had the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Animal Sounds app on my phone! She loves the app and as soon as I opened it, she was silent and still which allowed the breathing treatment to work without fighting a flailing baby! Hooray for the app saving the day!
Once we returned home, Everleigh played with her puppy that she prefers, the Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Piano. This toy, for ages 6 months to 3 years, has several play functions (music, learning, bilingual) and attracts little ones because of the bright lights and fun songs involved.
She loves the toy because it’s just her size too – the handle makes it easy to tote around and she can play with it on her lap. Maybe I should start packing this in my diaper bag too for emergencies like we encountered today – but thank goodness for that app!
In my role as a Fisher-Price Blogger I receive age-appropriate items for the kids to check out every few months, and the Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Piano was one of them (the iPhone app was my own discovery!) We also recently received the Laugh & Learn Sweet Sounds Picnic (perfect for backyard fun), the Little People Happy Sounds Home (currently owned, and I mean owned, by my 4 year old who will not let anyone else play with it), and a roaring Imaginext Dinosaur for my son who claimed he was ‘over’ dinosaurs until this one came along and I caught him in quite the adventure in the backyard (but I’m probably not allowed to share that!)
While all these fabulous toys have made a difference in my household – a loud, sanity saving, fun, giggling difference – the real life saver for me was our Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Animal Sounds App (get it, now, seriously) and the Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Piano this past weekend. Thank you Fisher Price!
Disclosure: I am part of the Fisher-Price Moms and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog, as always, are my own.
Glad to hear she is better. I will definitely check out that app for my youngest. She’s looking for some new stuff and love to have good recommendations before I buy them. We have the picnic basket too and she loves that as well.