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Me and My Family Photos

February 27, 2014 by Laura Lohr Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, we went up to Temecula Wine Country to meet up with Mr. Bear’s sweet and very talented cousin, DeAnn.  A long while back, I had helped her get her website together for her photography business.  As a reward for helping her, DeAnn offered to take our family photos together.  With our busy schedules, it has taken about two years for us to finally get together for a photo session.

I couldn’t be happier with the result!  These photos are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  She has such a good eye for what works.  Thank you so much, DeAnn!

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There are many more to come, but these are some of our favorites.  I really enjoyed taking these photos!  Mr. Bear always gives me a hard time about taking family pictures and usually I am not in any of the photos.  I am always the one TAKING the photos.  He was happy after we had them done though and has sworn that he won’t complain so much about taking family pics together.

Now, to send these belated Christmas presents out before next Christmas!

Filed Under: Allison Weekly, Family, Parenthood

The Delivery Man Movie

July 2, 2013 by Laura Lohr Leave a Comment

I recently watched the trailer of The Delivery Man movie, starring Vince Vaughn. It got me to thinking what family means to me. Family means everything to me. It is the most important thing in my life. I count my blessings everyday for my family. When I was younger, I didn’t think it would be possible to have children after going through cancer at the young age of 21. I still remember getting the news from the doctor that it would be very unlikely for me to carry a child full-term, as a result. It was devastating at the time, but eventually reconciled with what was believed to be the inevitable.

God had another plan. I would have a family! Today, I have this beautiful daughter that was both a surprise and a blessing. Fortunately, she is here and healthy. Mr. Bear and I have this amazing family around us. We celebrate it each and every day. You never know what God and fate have in store for your life!

The Delivery Man
The Delivery Man Movie

Vince Vaughn is one of my favorite actors and The Delivery Man movie, is in true Vaughn form, fun and lighthearted. It’s about an irresponsible guy that anonymously donates to a sperm bank and discovers 20 years later he has fathered 533 children.

I cannot wait for the movie to come out!

DELIVERY MAN stars Vince Vaughn, Cobie Smulders and Chris Pratt and will be in theaters November 22. And just so you know, this movie is for adults and not small children. It’s rated PG-13 for mature themes.

Filed Under: Disney, Entertainment, Family, Parenthood, Reviews Tagged With: Delivery Man Movie, Disney, family, parenthood

How to Make a Bottle Buddy

March 8, 2013 by Laura Lohr 14 Comments

When Allie brought home the latest school project I sighed at the prospect.  The task seemed daunting for a second grade project.  She had to choose a U.S. President to report on and create a “bottle buddy” replica of her president she chose.  We had two weeks to complete it. We’ve included the steps we took and the Bottle Buddy instructions to create your very own Bottle Buddy.

Bottle Buddy Project
My daughter and her Bottle Buddy.

We were given a gentle suggestion from the teacher to choose a president that was not George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Barrack Obama.  The teacher was looking to have some variety in the project.  We began searching for a president that would spark our little scholar’s interest and search we did.  I suggested my favorite president—Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  We suggested Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Thomas Jefferson and Ulysses S. Grant.  Mr. Bear’s dad’s name is Grant, so we were really pushing for Grant or FDR.  Nothing seemed to suit her.

Finally, she saw the picture of Grover Cleveland and she was sold.  She loved that he was a big guy and she thought he would suit her needs.  Mr. Bear and I couldn’t think of anything concrete that we knew about Grover Cleveland, so we acquiesced.  Grover Cleveland it is!

On the following library day, Allie came home with her Grover Cleveland biography book and she eagerly began learning all she could, while taking notes.  Who is this kid?  She did a great job retelling all she could about our 22nd and 24th president, which left the bottle buddy.

According to the instructions, a bottle buddy is made out of a plastic bottle and is fashioned to look like the president of one’s choosing.  We knew right away it was going to be a big project.  I headed over to Michaels and got all the supplies to make our fancy guy.

What You’ll Need:

  • Black felt for the suit jacket and pants
  • White felt for the white dress shirt
  • Styrofoam like these round ones, but chose these egg-shaped ones instead
  • Buttons
  • Yarn for the hair
  • Googly wiggle eyes and we found these creepy ones with a colored iris in green. AWESOME!

We came home with our loot and I immediately questioned how we were going to do this.  Mr. Bear had some great ideas for the head.  I had no ideas.  They began by fashioning yarn “hair” to the Styrofoam egg “head.”  I don’t know how Mr. Bear did it, but it turned out amazing!

I began trying to figure out how to make clothing out of felt to dress a 2 liter bottle.  To say it was a huge task is an understatement, especially since I really didn’t have an experience with making clothes for a beverage bottle.  Try as I might, I was able to come up with some pretty good ideas.  Allie wanted a hat of course and she got it!  I hand sewed all the felt and even made the hat by hand.  It was a lot of work, but it was a success and she loved working on it.

So, yeah.  Allie’s project became our project.  She did a great job on her project and while my fingers were sore from poking myself with the sewing needle OVER and OVER, it was well-worthwhile!

Bottle Buddy Project
This is basically what our kitchen island looked like every night for at least a week.
Bottle Buddy Project
Here is what the outfit ended up looking like—well, before we added the final touch of buttons.
Bottle Buddy Project
Here is how Mr. Cleveland travelled to school.  Yes, those are plastic shoes in the lower right, from a Halloween pumpkin Mr. Pumpkinhead (a spin-off from Mr. Potatohead).
Bottle Buddy Project
My silly little girl giving Mr. President a kiss.  What a goof!

Have you done a bottle buddy project? What bottle buddy personality have you or will you create? Let me know in comments!

Filed Under: Allie School, Family, Kid Stuff, Parenthood, School Tagged With: Bottle Buddy, Bottle Buddy Instructions, Bottle Buddy Project, family, Kid Stuff, Kids Projects, parenthood, Presidents, School Project

Are We There Yet? Good Times with the #Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tablet

March 6, 2013 by Laura Lohr 1 Comment

Allison playing with the Galaxy 2

GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) Product Image (1)

"Are we there yet?"

“Why can’t we just be THERE?”

“Why does Grandma live so far away?”

"How much further to Grandma’s?"

"How long is an hour?" (It’s two Phineas and Ferb episodes—FYI.)

Sound familiar? Yea. Fun times.

When you are seven years old, sitting in the car for long drives is, in a word, B O R I N G. It is also frustrating to us, as parents to answer the same questions over and over. We love our kiddo, but when she is bored, we are responsible to bring on the entertainment, or suffer the incessant questions. I remember how it felt on long drives. When I was a kid, we drove to Texas from California many times. My dad was not the "Pull-over! I got to pee" sort of accommodator. If you went to the restroom in New Mexico, you were holding it until the Texas State line. I remember it being a pretty boring drive, in some parts and I am assured that I drove my parents crazy with the incessant questions, just as my daughter does on long drives now.

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Mr. Bear and I make a lot of long drives to our parents’ houses. My parents live 2 1/2 hours away and Mr. Bear’s parents live about an hour away, depending on traffic. We make these drives several times a year, usually with our animals in tow. The last couple times we went to visit our parents, we had the Samsung Galaxy 7 inch tablet. To say it is a life-changer, it is an understatement. We put Allie in the backseat with the tablet fully loaded with educational (and not-so-educational) games to help pass the time when we were on the long drive. It sure beat the “Counting Call Boxes” game we tried to get her to play the last drive (she wasn’t falling for it!). We hardly heard a peep from her, in the back seat. Happy kid, happy parents! The drive went by so quickly for all of us.

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It really is amazing to think we ever travelled without one of these!

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Not only does the tablet keep her busy in the car, she really enjoyed using it for homework. It’s so simple to use, she was able to figure out how to find the information she needed for her most recent project on Grover Cleveland. We are very careful with appropriate viewing on the internet and monitor what we can, whenever we can. Of course, as parents, we need to monitor what websites and information kids have access to. We were able to find some helpful tips on setting up the Parental Controls, which helped us manage and create a positive digital experience for Allie. There are so many amazing applications out there that help to assist with homework. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. It made homework just a little more fun!

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The great part, is that the Samsung Galaxy Tablet is so portable and lightweight.  It fits nicely in the back pocket of Mr Bear’s pants and tucks nicely into my purse.  It is easy for Allie’s little hands to hold.  I was a bit concerned at first that the screen would not be large enough to view videos (Like our Netflix!), however, the screen is just the right size.  We have the 10 inch Samsung Galaxy Tablet and we love it—I didn’t think it was going to be possible to love the smaller screen, nonetheless, it’s perfect!

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The latest trip we took, Mr. Bear and I were able to have a pleasant conversation.  Allie was entertained and time passed by so quickly.  I don’t think we can ever travel without one of these again.  Please, don’t make us!

Disclaimer: I am a Verizon Wireless Ambassador, and I was sent the Samsung Galaxy 2, 7-inch Tablet to review on behalf of Verizon Wireless, for my honest review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I honestly love the Samsung Galaxy 2, 7-inch Tablet and enjoyed using it.

Filed Under: Allie School, Allison Weekly, Daily, Entertainment, Family, Gadgets, Just For Fun, Kid Stuff, Parenthood, Reviews, School, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: Education, Entertainment, family, Kids, Samsung Galaxy Tablet, Travel, Verizon, VZW, VZWireless

Happy Halloween

October 31, 2012 by Laura Lohr Leave a Comment

Last week, Allie had the coolest opportunity to show off her Halloween costume to all of San Diego with a few of my fellow San Diego blogging moms and their kiddos. They all looked so cute. Mr. Bear’s mom made most of Allie’s costume, including the cape, the skirt and the boots. It turned out so cute!

Thank you, Fox Channel 5 Morning Show for having us!

Happy Halloween, everyone! Be safe, have fun!

Filed Under: Allison Weekly, Blogging, Community, Entertainment, Events, Family, Holiday Cheer, Just For Fun, Kid Stuff, Parenthood Tagged With: blogging, DIY Costumes, Fox Channel 5 San Diego, Halloween, Holiday fun, Supergirl

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About Laura:

Wife, mom, runner, geek, lifestyle blogger, fitness badass, world traveler, social media lover. San Diego transplant, living in Temecula's wine country.

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