Works like magic!

When it comes to dealing with kids there are few things that really work like magic when they are hurt.  Of course an ice cream cone can typically raise a kid's spirit, but what if you don't have any ice cream at home?  Sending the offending brother or sister to time out usually does the trick in our house if the victim isn't "really" hurt.  But what can you do for all those monster owies your child gets throughout a typical day?   

As you can imagine, since I have three young kids, there are many bumps and bruises to deal with on a typical day.  That is why I created Hot/Cold Ouchy Bags.  They are perfect for when your little one feels they have a monster owie!  Just keep them in the freezer and get them out when needed.  I have found my kids will usually immediately calm down when I give them the ouchy bag.

They are great for bruises, bumps, muscle aches, headaches, ear aches, bug bites, bee stings, sunburns, fever relief, or just to cool down from a hard day of playing. Don’t limit these little monsters for just the kids! Adults can use them too for sinus headaches, backaches, muscle tension, and even to help reduce soreness and clogged milk ducts for the breast feeding mama.

With summer upon us, you might want to stock up on these little life savers.  Five new Hot/Cold Ouchy Bags were just listed in my baby boutique Two Zany Zebras!  Hurry in before they POOF and disappear!

If a tree falls in the forest...

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"  If I was the philosophical type, that may have been what I asked myself right after Papa Z announced we were going to go hiking in Forest Falls.  But alas I am not and I think my immediate thought was, "What?!  It's 10ish we will need food!  We will need to eat!  Will there be food?!  I need food in my belly if we are going on mountain roads!  You know how I get car sick on mountain roads!  Hmmm....What do I feel like puking up in the car today?"-or something to that effect.  I am happy to announce the mountain roads were not as curvy as I had  imagined and I got through the trip with minimal dizziness. 

Prior to this trip, I had never heard of Forest Falls.  Papa Z was drawn to it because he wanted to take the family on a hike and the web page for Forest Falls proclaimed  that "Many refer to Forest Falls as "little Yosemite".  Really?  That's a big proclamation!  We shall see!

So we packed some snacks, food, and drinks and began our journey.  But not without a stop to KFC for some finger lickin' goodness. 

Forest Falls has a beautiful area with day camping sites.  We enjoyed our pre-hike meal under enormous trees while listening to rushing water. 

Feeling energized from our energy packed meal of KFC, Cheetos, and watermelon, we began our hike.  I assumed since we were taking three young children-two of whom were hoofing it and one which was tethered to Papa Z's chest-it was going to be an easy hike.  It wasn't too bad at the beginning, it was a dirt/sand path.  Then the path became sprinkled with boulders you had to climb over or go around.  This wasn't even too bad as long as you kept the thought of rattlesnakes out of your mind.  I didn't become concerned until I saw the log we had to cross to get over to the other side. For those of you that don't know, I am probably considered an anxious mom.  I'll admit it, I can look at a situation and immediately gauge all the things that could possibly go wrong.  So you can imagine the scenarios going through my mind as I watched this little scene: 

Wacky Zacky being pulled across while Silly Jilly dangled helplessly from Papa Z's chest. It did get my adrenaline flowing and raised my anxiety level.  I will admit I did have the camera ready to capture any missteps causing one or all three of them to take a swim in the creek. 

Then we came upon a beautiful area with a small waterfall.  This was just a bonus one because the "Little Yosemite" fall was further up the hill!

After a very terrifying hike (for me) we made it to the look out point for the bigger falls.  The hike consisted of me attempting to keep Zany Janie from falling off the cliff just inches off the path.  I don't know why she turns into Mr. Peepers at the most inopportune times!  While the falls were not exactly like Yosemite, it was beautiful and worth the hike.

The kids were not impressed with the waterfalls, but couldn't keep their hands out of the water and would have spent the whole day there playing.

Overall, I would recommend this hike to anyone who plans to be in the near vicinity of Forest Falls. 

Zany thought of the day:  So back to the original question-If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Hmmm....That's a tough one, oh wait!  What's that shiny thing?

Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair!

Zany Janie turned the Big 0-4!  To celebrate this monumental birthday she insisted on having a Rapunzel themed birthday party.  We had fun planning the party and found the Internet to have a wealth of ideas on this theme. 

I have never made invitations in the past and quite frankly really didn't want to make some sort of Rapunzel invitation, until I came across this idea.  I think they turned out super cute!  See here for a tutorial.

Besides hanging lots of yellow, green, and purple balloons around the house, I tried to be creative with the decorations.  I made four very long (probably 15 feet long) yarn braids which I placed on the door and throughout the house.  The kids loved them and by the end of the party they had taken them down and were having fun playing with them.

I also made lanterns to symbolize the lanterns from the movie.  I had planned on making several and having them throughout the house, but decided since it was a day time party we really didn't need glowing lanterns.  For a tutorial to make the lanterns go here.

I do have a Cricut machine and used it to make some decorations, but was disappointed that there is not a Rapunzel cartridge.  I ended up using the Paper Doll Dress up Cartridge to make a princess, then used yarn to make "Rapunzel" hair.  I also used the Cricut to make the flag banner.

Since Pascal is a main part of the movie, I wanted to use him in some games and as decorations.  The only problem was I didn't have a Chameleon on any of my cartridges.  I had to get really creative.  I used the Zooballoo cartridge to cut out an iguana then cut out a monkey (using just the tail) for the tail and tongue of Pascal.  I know they are kinda funky, but you have to admit they are cute!

Going along with the Rapunzel/Pascal theme, I made these cute party blowers for a game.  The kids really seemed to love them.  You can find the tutorial to make them here.

We didn't get all that creative with the food.  We had your typical hamburgers/hot dogs.  We did have an assortment of fruit and skewers so everyone could make their own Fruit "Tower" kabobs.  We also made these adorable jello boats to represent when Rapunzel and Flynn were watching the lanterns in the sky.

One game we played was pin the frying pan on Flynn.  I got this idea, as well as several other ideas for the party from the Super Mom Moments Blog. 

The kids thought it was hilarious to try to put the frying pan on Flynn's face. After the game some of them were trying to put the frying pan on each other's face.

We also made a Rapunzel Scavenger Hunt separating the boys and girls into groups.  Each group had to find colored "Pascals" hidden throughout the house/outside.  In order to earn a prize they had to do an activity related to the movie Tangled at each Pascal.  Some of the activities included:  Yelling the line "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let your hair down!"; holding your breath; Using a frying pan to hit a balloon with a face drawn on it; using the Pascal party blower's tongue to hit Flynn in the ear; testing ones sense of smell; and finding a hidden tiara.

Since Rapunzel loves to paint we decided to be brave and let 10 kids under the age of 6 loose with paint and paint brushes.  They loved creating their own masterpieces and actually kept all the paint on the plastic tarp below them-at least we have yet to find paint on the walls!

 

Finally, no party is complete until a Pinata has been broken!  I found this cute star Pinata at none other than Walmart.  It was cheaper than any other Pinata we have had at parties and it actually held up twice as long!

And as an added bonus, the ends of the star could be broken off into several princess hats!  You can't beat that with a stick...or can you?

Of course we had a cake, but it was a store bought cake.  Despite having the "Crazed Cricut Mom" (see her blog here) as my good friend, I just couldn't stomach the stress it would take to attempt to make my own cake.  Maybe in the future...Probably not, but maybe...

I think it turned out to be a wonderful party for Zany Janie!  The theme was a fun one and both girls and boys could enjoy it.

Zany thought of the day:  What's your favorite theme for a party?

Good Vibrations

Over the weekend my sweet little Zany Janie turned four.  I am not unlike every other parent out there that sits in shock on their kid's birthday shaking their head and asking themselves, "Where on earth did the time go?"  My only answer is I have no idea, it's just one big four year blur. 

To celebrate Zany Janie's big day, the Zany family went to the San Diego Zoo.  We still drove to the zoo through scattered showers and knowing San Diego had a 40 mph wind advisory.  Despite the forecast it turned out to be a great day at the zoo.  We even took a guided bus tour throughout the zoo seeing most of the animals without having to hoof it up and down all the hills.

It was an exciting day for the birthday girl.  There were so many highlights of the trip.  That's why you can imagine my shock when Zany Janie told me her favorite part of the zoo. 

It wasn't seeing a Polar Bear play with a ball.

Or an enormous Brown Bear pacing back and forth.

Nor seeing the Panda Bear that she insisted on seeing despite having to wait in a 30 minute line just to catch a glimpse of the persnickety little beast.

It wasn't even riding on the Skyfari Aerial Tram, however this did come in a close second.

My sweet little Zany Janie's favorite part of the day was sitting on a vibrating chair while Papa Z and I finished our lunch.  You know the chairs they have at malls and apparently zoos where you feed it quarters and it vibrates to help relax your body.  I didn't know it would be such a significant part of her day so I didn't even take a picture of it.  Go figure!

One zany free for all!

It was a wild weekend at our house!  I wish I could say it was from a crazy, fun and wild party, but unfortunately that is just not the case.  Papa Z was lucky enough to escape town and miss all the fun, he was camping in Yosemite throughout the weekend.  There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary until Friday night when I had a hard time staying asleep.  I rarely have problems falling or staying asleep, but for some reason I kept waking up feeling "a little funny".  I attempted several times to chalk it up to Papa Z being gone and would roll over to go back to sleep until yet again I found myself awake.  Then I began to feel that odd little lump in the back of my throat.  You know the one you can barely feel and are unsure if you are imagining it even being there, that is until you begin tasting that odd metallic taste dripping in the back of your throat.  I found myself playing the "if I just stay in bed and don't move it will all go away" game pretending like I have any control over the situation.  Waiting until the last possible second, holding onto all hope that it won't actually happen, I had to run to the bathroom and get sick.  I will spare you the details, but will say I had a long night of tummy problems that unfortunately did not end at 6:00 AM when the kids came sauntering into my room ready for an action packed day.

I'm sure they were speaking at a normal level, but at the time it seemed like both Zany Janie and Wacky Zacky were talking into megaphones at the highest possible volume.  Each shrill tone pounded into my head and made my stomach lurch.  Thankfully the remote control was within reach and I knew the number of the one channel which could possibly make this all stop....Ahhh....Sweet silence....That is until Silly Jilly woke up and began crying. 

I hobble down the hall to get her, open her door, and am permeated with the rancid smell of vomit.  Guess who else is sick?  Really?  It's not enough that I'm barely able to function with three little ones in my care, but now one of them is sick too?

I'd love to tell you about my day, I'm sure it was a riot to watch safely from the outside looking in, but it's just a blur of trips to the bathroom and views from the couch.  While Silly Jilly and I cuddled on the couch, Wacky Zacky and Zany Janie had free reign of the house and they took full advantage!  Those two little turkeys would sit at the bathroom door making heaving and retching noises as I got sick, giggling and cackling about how they hoped I'd never get better!  They also got to have their fill of candy and were somehow able to reach it from shelves we thought were "unreachable" to them. 

Thankfully the next day I was feeling a bit better and was able to take back the little control I had to begin with!  I definitely don't recommend getting sick when your hubby is out of town!

Zany thought of the day:  Is it just me or do you not fully appreciate a clean toilet until you are praying to the porcelain gods?

Slide Baby Slide!

Baseball season is quickly coming to an end.  It was a good year-No injuries, the kids had lots of fun, and I somehow managed to get two kids at two different practices in two different locations.  Wacky Zacky recently received his FOURTH trophy and in a few short days Zany Janie will receive her very first trophy.

Wacky Zacky thinks he's in the Big League now that he started doing coaches pitch.  He's actually a good little ball player, but I found myself cringing every time he played the pitcher because I was sure he was going to take a line drive to the face.  He seemed to alternate playing first base, the pitcher, and the catcher.  Throughout the season he did some serious work on perfecting his slide to home base-Nothing impresses the ladies like a dramatic slide to home plate.

It's hard to say what Zany Janie thinks about t-ball.  She just seems happy to be there.  She would chase after the ball with the pack of other kids, but I'm not really certain she wanted to actually make contact with the ball.  She had a great time when she decided to combine ballet with t-ball for the "ultimate sport".  She stood on the pitchers mound twirling and doing plies in her cleats.  During her last two games she decided to slide home, the only problem is she slides about 6 feet away from the plate, but boy does it look impressive!

Zany thought of the day:  So for old times sake, let's sing:

Take me out to the ball game,

Take me out with the crowd.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,

I don't care if I never get back,

Let me root, root, root for the home team,

If they don't win it's a shame.

For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,

At the old ball game.

Hey, do you have any cracker jack?  I'm having a hankering for cracker jack!  I wonder why?  Hmmm....I wonder where I can get some?  

Wet 'N Wild at Whitewater

This weekend we went on an adventure to the Whitewater Preserve.  We had heard others talk about it, but had never ventured there for ourselves. Unfortunately for me once you get off the interstate you have to drive down a curvy road for several miles.  Luckily for both Papa Z and me I didn't get carsick, but was dizzy and felt like I was staggering around for a little while.  Once we stopped we all jumped out and started exploring the area. 

                                             

It was a beautiful area and I felt at one with nature until I saw the menacing sign which warned of Bears, Mountain Lions, and Rattlesnakes!  Nothing like the fear of venomous hungry animals to put your mind at ease!

There were several crystal clear pools throughout the area filled with what appeared to be huge trout.  I say they were trout because I'm no fish expert and trout are one of the few "freshwater fish" names I know.  Sorry people, but no fishing!  Come on, it's a nature preserve!

The nature preserve claims the canyon has a robust population of bighorn sheep.  Trying to see any of them was just like going to the bighorn sheep exhibit at the zoo-None of those "mythical creatures" were to be seen!

We hiked on the Pacific Crest Trail for a few miles.  Somehow I always get stuck being the follower and never the leader...But that's okay, I was busy keeping a keen eye and ear out for bears, mountain lions, and rattlesnakes.

The highlight of the trip was playing in the river.  We had to walk a long way, but we finally found an area without rapids that would take out the children.  After the initial shock of feeling wet cold squishy mud between their toes passed, the kids were happily splashing and playing in the river.  Zany Janie even learned how to pee in the wilderness.  I'm hoping she doesn't decide to try it at our pool this summer!

Overall, it was a great experience and I'm sure we will be back to visit again soon.  Maybe next time if we come across a nasty rattlesnake, a bighorn sheep will gallop down a sheer cliff and come to our rescue!  Maybe, but I doubt it!

Monsters! Monsters! Everywhere!

I wanted to give a big thank you to Jaclyn-Kate-Photography for taking these adorable pictures of my Zany creations! I also wanted to thank While you sleep, I crochet for making the adorable matching hats!  See her shop for ordering information.  You can order your own Zany Monster shirt in my baby boutique, Two Zany Zebras.

Happy Easter!

May your eggs be filled with jelly beans and your Chocolate Bunnies be hollow!