You know you want one!

Or 2 or 3!
Maybe even 2 for your own grown-up head!

Cherie! You have seriously rocked our cute-headed world!
Thank you! 

A Puj Flyte Review!

PUJ Tubs! Have you heard of them?!


If not, you must go check out the stupendous ingeniousness of them at Puj Baby!
I was blessedly privileged to receive one of their hot new items, a Puj Flyte tub, in exchange for a review of their product after use on our new little nugget of love!
Incredibly smooth soft non-slip material, mold and mildew resistant, PVC and BPA-free, ergonomically safe for perfect bathroom sink fitting and little drain holes on the sides (shown directly below) were just a few of the features our little growing family loved about the tub, as we all joined in together for the baby tub fun! This version of the puj tub is referred to as the "flyte" because it is so easily stored in suitcases for a tub on the go! Woot!

note to selves: this is a product that is designed to fit in most standard bathroom sinks and pedestal sinks. It will most likely NOT fit in your kitchen sink, as it did not with ours...

This little ditty pops out of its packaging and POOF, it opens from its sandwiched hold to a tub!
It even has a little round hole for a hang-job for quick dry-outs (it's actually made of material that dries in a few short seconds after use)! They sure thought of it all!

But once we trekked into the bathroom and started the fill, wahlah! Perfect fit for our bathroom duds!

 

We set the little man-baby in here and he didn't even make a peep,
as he usually has to adjust himself into the normal everyday joe tub we bathe him in.
It was like he just knew this was the cradle-me-right-in tub-for-him! :)
This tub can be used until the little chubby monkeys make it to 17 pounds or 6 months of age, whichever comes first. I think my little roly poly will probably make it to the poundage first!
It holds the perfecto amount of water for baby comfort and mama safety concerns!

one small disclaimer as viewed above and below here...
the sink head (depending on the height of your spout) did not make for easy refill of water if freshness was desired. There was no way to turn the water on without turning it directly onto little A's tummy, so we just recycled the water in the tub throughout the whole bath. (maybe part of the Puj company's desire to Go Green for the earth and the family too?!) 

As I said, the whole family got to join in on the fun since it's all right at counter height (no back breaking, lean-over, knee-crushing job for mom, wahoo!)...

 

Daddy used a dixie cup for hair rinse job, ha! Those dads sure know how to get creative in a pinch don't they?!

 

Awwww, look at the daddy baby love going on in the bokeh! 

 

I'd say he's a pretty cozy, content, clean customer.

 

These thoughts are all of my own opinions based on my
review of the Puj Flyte tube given to me for sampling.
Thank you Puj for letting us enjoy your product!

funny things...

you don't usually want to hear or see when you have a
barely 4 day old in the home with an almost 4 year old...

daddy (walking into the living room after steppimg out for 0.2 seconds):
"oh honey, let's make sure we never feed him any food except mama's milk until we tell you it's ok, okay?"

 and the moments caught on tape when foggy brained lovesick mama thinks
big sister is loving on baby brudder,
but...after the moment is captured she looks back and realizes,
she is really eating his head off.
hmmmm....

i guess we'll have to start paying a little better attention eh?
pray for the irwin four on this new venture, haaaaaa!

 the big new baby official announcement page!

Ever wonder...

What you must look like to your almost-4 year old when you're two weeks out from having a babe make his entry into the world?
Just give her an etch-a-sketch and ask her to start drawing her alphabet.
It might just make her think of her pregnant mudder...

Clearly resembles me right?!

which of these things doesn't belong on the potting shelf?!

It took me a while to see this little camoflauged stinker too!
Always wants to find the perfect tucked-in-tight spot...

He's "cozy-izing", in Anna-speak! 

i think we'll keep him...

 

happy haole hula honey!

after 20 yrs of hula dancing on and off, through the years, starting at the ripe age of FIVE,
this mama decided that this little hula honey was gonna have it running through her veins too!
even deemed her with the middle name Malia because of mama's love for all things tropical!

SO, today!
was the big coming out day!
hula-style!!!
with 4 of her little keiki friends too!
what a blessed sight to see your mini-version dancing the same steps you danced,
while in her itty bitty shoes some 30-ish years ago!
here's a live version of the lil
serious-faced-cuz-i-wanna-learn-and-get-this-down-just-right
hula honey (Anna is the 2nd keiki in the video)... this hula mama is just as pleased as punch right about now!

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree...
-Psalm 92:12

Spring Break Spectacular!

while daddy went and played "Guillermo" in Mexico, loving all the little kids to Jesus...

mama and the lovebug went to stay with mimi and papa at their pad for 10 days.
the entertainment, helping hands, activities, and play were non-stop.
what are a mimi and papa good for you may ask?!
may i just enlighten you with a very small handful of "for goods"
that we are SO grateful for with our mimi & papa?!
and this is in only a very short 10 day staycation!
for these things and a million more, they have been deemed the:
BEST PAPA & MIMI OF A LIFETIME AWARD
in our book!!!

a few of the many many goods we experienced this past week in their presence:
reading books
easter egg dyeing & painting party
investing in a big girl bed
assembling said-bed
hanging canopies over said-bed
being our biggest cheerleaders
rainy day walks
organizing very messy big girl rooms
loading up going-home car,
LIFE is beautiful indeed...because you are in it.
papa and mimi, we could never have imagined (well maybe i could)
the deep love and grace and gifts and ways you would pour your lives out on our behalfs.
thank you for loving us so well.

mama's favorite form of discipline...

maybe not so favorite for the girl!

(disclaimer: she claimes it was a serious endeavor to create a flying elephant
out of the paint on the kitchen table. it was serious alright, this mama said.)

 

 i'm not sure if it's quite working as a really-sink-in form-of-discipline anymore.
she used to sob the whole way around the house with this thing.
note: winter ear-covering hat is worn to block out "torturous sounds".

punisher...we may need to be replacing you for a further upgrade on
what really-gets-the-lesson-to-sink-in.

in our house...when you chose to destroy things or make messes,
you work doubly hard to put it back together or clean something else up
(if painting tables is not in your repertoir).
seems to get the job done for the most part, but looking at the face on this little offender,
it may need to be shifted a wee bit.
hmmmm, praying for more creative juices to flow on getting this little heart trained...

hanging onto this one these days...
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. -James 1:5

mamas and their babies and THEIR babies!

What a sweet and special joy it has been to grow in size and number with my treasured sister-in-love!
Babies babies on the way,
in some very very short days! 

 

Mama Kitty is making these 2 grandma's very proud and happy...
she's providing them each with one of their own babies...a boy AND a girl!
We all couldn't be more ready to squeeze the twin-y baby loves!

CONGRATS mama Kate and daddy Thys!
Your new world is going to turn you upside down and right side out
in all the best most unbelievable joy-filled ways!

"it's just too hard to obey!"

We had another 3-yr-old-speaking-louder-truth-volumes-to-mama,

than the other way around, moments the other day.

The little Bug was on mama's bed,
rifling through small choking-hazard items on daddy's nightstand, 

desperately searching for her fav-o-rite 1/8 of a piece of Extra gum.

After much searching (as I'm laying beside her watching the frantic search), 

which ended in futility, she discovers a handful of coinage!

Jackpot!

Only because this mama has had personal experience as a 5 yr old herself, 

swallowing a nickel that had to be surgically removed,

there may be a little heightened paranoia sensitivity 

to playing with small metal valuable round objects in this home.

Anyways, off the point.

Just giving you the scenery.

So, as little one is huurahing with her handful of richness, this mama quickly replies with a...

"Honey, we don't play with money, so please put that back in daddy's junkbox right now."

There may have been a firm tone behind those words spoken.
This mama doesn't mess around with niceties when it comes to choking hazards. 

Especially shiny ones.

The little one quickly obeyed, knowing coins are seriously off-limits in this house 

and that mama reeeeeealy meant business.

Only her response really shocked me,
It wasn't the typical 3-yr old rant of injustice and absolute disgust
with the mama for thwarting her little, but BIG will.

She all out broke down,
but with tears and a heart and cries of absolute defeat
and of one that felt the weight of the world completely crushing her.

I knew it was a different response
so my mama-heart didn't respond immediately to the rebellion
but started questioning the broken-hearted sound,
knowing there was more to the story behind the tears.

"Baby, I need you to use your words and let me know why you are so upset
about not finding gum and having to put those coins back.
What's going on babe? Tell me more."
All I could hear out of defeated mama-heartwrenching sobs were the words...

"it's just too hard!"

"Oh baby, what's too hard?? Tell me more about it."

"it's just too hard to obey!! i don't like to obey!"
More deep breath-stealing sobs ensued.

Oooohhhh, so there was more to the story!
The mama light turned on and I realized
it wasn't just simply that we were out of her favorite gum supply
or that she couldn't play with the coins as she was hoping I'd delight her with...

she was down and out broken-hearted that it was so hard to obey mama
and she just flat didn't want or like to do it.
(yet still chose to do it even in her sheer determination not to...
only GOD folks, could step into moments like that.)

Ohhhhh my, does this mama understand that very real and strong-feeling'd logic.

And isn't there really always more to the story with them? 

More to get to the heart of?
More to help them dig and discover?

Because don't we need that in our grown-up "training to be like Jesus" bodies too?!
Someone to help us dig a little deeper to really see/know what's eating at us,
 more than the small issue in front of our faces?

So, I proceeded...

"Baby, I SO get it. I SO struggle to obey/like/even want to, often, with my Heavenly Father too.

Do you know that Jesus asks mama to do things, and there are times when I want to just shout 'NO!
I don't like that plan. You need to pick another one that fits me and what I like better. I want to play with that thing that isn't good or dangerous for me. I want to have what I want the minute I want it.
I don't want anyone standing in the way of my will and my ways. Don't you get that Jesus?!'

You are NOT alone baby, mama struggles with feeling sad sometimes too,

because to obey, is never the easy way.
But it's always the better way. The safer way. The more fun way.
The more rich way. The more full way. The worth-all-the-hard-work way.

And SOOOOOO, do you know how we talk about you needing to pray
to ask for Jesus to help you obey the things mama and daddy ask you to do
to keep you safe and well and healthy and in a good relationship with us?
Do you know that mama has to pray that He would help her heart obey every day too?!

For different reasons, but the same way.

Can I pray with you honey?
And we can ask Jesus, together, to give us the hearts and the want-to, to obey?
Will you pray for mama too, as I pray for you?
We need each other's prayers and we need God's help."
And we proceeded to go to the GRACE room together,
asking for help in our time of need.
Side by side, admitting our weakness and our dislike sometimes of His ways
(mama and daddy's ways) but knowing that...

HE loves us.

He wants the best for us for our good and His good too.

and therefore we've got to trust Him.

but, really need His help to do so.

Now, I don't know how much of this convo this wee 3 yr old mind
really can grasp or will remember.
(I'm sure I'll find out after the next visit to Mimi's house, my mom's,
cuz that's when all the stuff from home really seems to seep out best.)

But I know I just have to keep being real with her.

Keep reminding her that mama needs Jesus just like she does.

And keep taking us both to that grace room,
asking for all His heavenly wisdom and strength and patience and love
for the obedience and training and molding and loving shaping this wee one needs.

This little trio image that I shot the other day really struck a chord,
after we had survived out little crying out and go-to-Jesus moments together... 

Isn't that just like how our Heavenly Daddy wants us to trust Him in our grown-up training up?
Enough that we let Him put our hands on the "club of life" to do our part,
but tenderly puts His great big and wise and powerful hands over ours
and really ends up doing the bulk of the work for the swing?

And that's when the shots really do end up making it in the hole
with ease and beauty and grace, isn't it?!

I think so.

I think the Bible tells us so too...

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."

-Phil. 2:13, MSG 

Let's keep begging Him for this grace to obey...for us mamas and the littles in our lives.

Amish PB Fiber balls!

When these little ditties make it into the Irwin household, they will officially last about 0.5 days!

I have a slight addiction to reading Amish historical fiction books, thanks to my madre and happened to find this faboooo recipe in the back of one of the books. 

Try it! You must! You must! It may just increase your bust.

Or some other part of your body than needs more lumps and bumps, ha!

Your mini-hands around the house can even help roll the balls!

And maybe even snitch a bite or two or three, after watching mama do the same!

RECIPE
I sold you, didn't I?!

Amish High Fiber Balls
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup coconut
3 cups quick oatmeal
1/2 cup bran
1/4 tsp. salt
Stir and make firm 1" balls.

Ever get your doctrine...

rearranged by a three year old?
I just did.
While starting to crunch into our first bites of leftovers today at lunch, I remembered, mouth wide open, to thank Jesus for "feeding us today and every day."
This little literal learner whom I love the very soul of, stops me mid-prayer...
"Mama (spoken with the huff of a tweenager in all her glory),
Jesus doesn't FEED us.
He GIVES us the food.
We FEED ourselves."
Point taken.
And really unquestionable from this mama's point of view, when looking literally at the mini dimpled hand attached to the pizza slice entering her mini dimpled mouth.
You're right baby, feed on, and Jesus will keep on giving.
Case in point...

and then one more for good measure, just because I think she makes a pretty cute cool chick in shades, in the dentist's chair...

alien behavior...

image credit: buydisneycostumes.com

You know those moments that you never ever really ever want to remember ever again?
But yet you know you will never ever be able to forget?
We had one of those today.
In the diner parking lot...mama was craving a big fat juice burger. Yep, no shame here.
And as we're walking out, she and daddy are walking a little a head of mama, as the burger may or may not have slowed down mama's speed on the walk out.
Mama got about two steps away from the 3 yr old alien-exploring her new planet with strange and impulsive interactions and behaviors, I mean girl, and noticed that she had missed a split second bow down to the ground with a return prize in the hand of said child.
The prize, you ask? What might that have been?
Oh well, just a simple little half used portion of a tampon applicator.
The purple kind.
Does that make it Tampax or Playtex?
I'm not really sure.
Because all I could think of, if you could call what I was doing at that point clear thinking, was how close I was to vomiting on said child's shoes or her daddy's, if he walked any closer.
They still, both, to this point, didn't know, or understand, the horrors of what she was holding in her hand.
You see, I had been let in on the small secret as we entered the diner and saw the other half of the applicator and wondered what kind of sickness someone would have to possess to leave a remnant like this behind, in a public place.
And the horror that rushed through my blood, when realizing my darling golden curly-locked girl was now discovering this secret at a closer distance than I had allowed us on our walk in, was UNSPEAKABLE.
All I could think of at the moment was....GET it OUT of your little squishy germ and STD-free hands right.this.instant.
So, I did what any mother in her right mind would do...started hitting the purple offender with my car keys to knock it out of her hand.
I sure wasn't going to add to the horror by touching it myself!
It took 3 swift tries...and down it fell.
Back to it's destiny it should have discovered already...road kill under this mama's tires.
Blast!
The little alien and her daddy are still gawking at the mama at this point, wondering why in tarnation mama was dry-heaving and swinging her keys madly in the air at the small child's precious tender left hand.
She was only trying to show me her parking lot surprise!
I couldn't produce speech to let them know the grave offense to everything that was holy, that she had just committed.
All I could ponder was if I had left poison control's number in my phone the last time I had to use it...because couldn't they help me with some sort of answer for this sort of travesty?!
Aren't these just the calls they are waiting for, with sheets of cleansing power tips on how to rid the child of the terrors of someone's past refuse?!
Oh my.
All I could do after the heaving settled and the teary eyes (from shock or death-by-freaked-out-laughing, I'm still not sure which) stopped was huff at the dad to put the violated child in the car while profusely scrubbing her body with hand sanitizer 4 times over, vowing to continue the scrub down the second we entered the homestead door.
The cleansing did continue for about 30 minutes in the sink, while the dad kept saying the mom was highly unnecessarily grossed out, as he was sure the rain and previous car encounters had washed off any gross previous remains.
Okay, sure, I said...well then leave me alone to my freakouts!
I'm sure there's some other mama out there who has been through some horror of the sort who will encourage my weary mama-of-daily-alien-behavior-heart or at least freak out and heave with me!
I was right.
Team mama to the rescue!
My handy texting machine rallied the troops and the small gathering of us all lost our lunch together and promised to watch our little aliens more closely while in the local diner parking lot.
Watch them mamas.
The little aliens in our lives will stop at nothing short than total child-imposed/intended freakouts for the mamas who love their little dear hearts.
After a full shower down cleansing, (because following the "incident" and subsequent scourings, there was a need to scoot around the whole toilet seat with a poo-soiled bottom, to see if the whole seat would really turn brown--it did, if you were wondering and the heaving and scouring continued on) we have entered into nap zone in these parts.
Do you think she'll give me an extra long pause and deep breath to myself today?!
Probably not.
Father help us mamas, for they know not what they do, these aliens you have put into our supervisory territory.
We love them deeply and dearly nonetheless.
And what would we do without our recognized moment-by-moment need for You and hearty doses of mama patience, settled nerves and tummies, gentleness and grace?
Amen.
Thank you for joining me for this regularly crazily scheduled moment in my Irwin-adventuresome day!
Never a dull moment here with this darling alien-exploring-her-new-planet on the loose!

that’s all it takes?!

Mr. Bubble and

 4 varying size bowls?!

 

and a fave-o-rite baby doll?!

Why didn’t anybody tell me the giggles and oodles of non-troubling finding fun we’d have?!
We’ll be making these messes much more often in mama’s kitchen!!

“Do you think she likes it mama?!””Oh honey, I think she’s in love with head dunks…wouldn’t you be?! I’ll try it on you in the bath tonight, and you tell me how you think she felt!” “Okay, fun!”

It doesn’t take much folks!

I don’t know why in tarnation we think they need all these new-fangled gadgets!

Oh the joys of the simpler things!

AND an added bonus…a spickin’ span floor after clean-up!