Printable Potty Training Sticker Charts

I know not all children are the same, so what works for one, may not work for another. I did find sticker charts so helpful when my one of my children was potty training. I tried to give her space, let her pick out cute underwear, remind her frequently, and even gave her candy as reward--nothing worked. Then, one day we tried a sticker chart with cute kitty stickers that she loved (and could only use for her potty chart) and it worked. I was surprised that a simple sticker chart worked for her, but it did.

Simply print these out and let your child pick out his or her favorite stickers, then every time your child uses the potty-- he or she gets to add a sticker to the chart.

I will update this post as soon I create more. If you would like a certain theme, please let me know in the comment section or send me an email (jessica@arebutterfliesticklish.com). 




Fairy Chart 

PDF Download

Car Chart

PDF Download

Have a Secret to share? Get to Know the Person Behind the Blog Week 2

So, I am a bit late in posting this, but I am trying to make more of an effort to follow through with things I want to write about, so I am going to try to keep this going. The first week of "Have a Secret to Share? Get to Know The Person Behind the Blog" I shared a secret about my lack of domestication. Each week I will share a secret or just fun facts about me, the person behind the blog, so my readers can get to know me better.

This week I am going to share a secret about something I have briefly mentioned on the blog, but have never really talked about in detail. This is not an especially easy post for me, but it is real and it is part of who I am, so I do want to share it. OK, deep breath, here it goes.

Win it For Mom Mother's Day Event iPad2 Giveaway

 

Welcome to our fun annual Win It For Mom Mother's Day giveaway event! This year we are giving away an iPad2 to one very lucky mom out there!

 Grandma Juice and The Kids Are Grown Now What  are the awesome hosts of this fun event and they have teamed up with a wonderful group of bloggers to bring you this amazing giveaway for an  iPad2 for Mother's Day.

It's a Great Day to be a Dog #iLoveMyK9 #CBias

When I moved in with my husband years ago, I had wanted a cat. My husband was at work a lot and I was home alone some evenings. I had always had a love for cats, and we often had a few while I was growing up in my parent's home. My husband is allergic to cats, so he decided to get me a dog instead.

This is Vegas when she was a puppy.

We got Vegas in the Fall of 2004. She was such a sweet little puppy that turned into a much larger puppy that just seemed to keep growing. I can admit that times have been difficult with adding new members to our family, as she was our baby and then when we had our babies, it took some time to transition. She was always great with the babies and she still seems like a baby herself most of the time.

I have really loved seeing her interactions with my children as they have grown. My oldest son absolutely loves her and wants to play with her everyday after school now. He will just sit and pet her, walk around with her, or play a game of fetch. I truly think she has become a type of therapy for my son who has special needs, as he always seems happier and more relaxed after playing with her for a while. We all like to give her treats every now and then too, and she truly is such a loving dog that just loves attention.

This is Vegas now. She has gotten so big, and she is so sweet.

Even though she is starting to get older, she still greets you with plenty of excitement.  I was recently given the chance to go shop for some new dog treats for her, so we all decided to head to Walmart and look for some tasty treats for Vegas. We were also there to purchase some dog treats that we are making into a gift basket for my mom. It was nice to go out as a family. My husband is often on-call or at work, so he rarely comes shopping with us. He was on-call, but he brought a tow truck with him so he could leave quickly if he needed too.

We browsed through Walmart, and of course we had to make a stop at the toy section. We also picked up a few items we needed for the home as we shopped.

My little one loved this cute little bunny.

Sometimes, I think my husband likes the toy aisles as much as my children.

When we reached the pet aisle, I was surprised by how many treats there are to choose from. Some of the shelves were a bit bare, but there were still tons of treats there that we could select from. I was hoping to check out some of the new items offered by Milk Bone and Pup-Peroni.

My children tried to buy all of the dog treats they could reach, because everything was so cool!

 I was also looking for a brand that we have never tried before-Milo's Kitchen Homestyle Treats. I quickly found the Milo's Treats on the top shelf, but I was having a difficult time finding Milk Bone Trail Mix or Pup-Peroni Mix Stix. Thankfully, my husband has a good eye and can always find what he's looking for. He found the Milk Bone Trail Mix hanging from the middle of a shelf near the bags of dog food, and he found the Pup-Peroni Mix Stix on an end cap.

There really was a lot to choose from.

Finally, my husband spots one bag of Pup-Peroni Mix Stix on an end cap. At the next aisle, he found a full end cap packed with Pup-Peroni Mix Stix.

We grabbed a few bags of treats and browsed a bit more then headed home. We are making a gift basket with some of the treat items we picked up for my mom. Myself, my sister, and my aunt all pitched in to buy my mom a dog, as she has always dreamed of owning either a full blooded German Shepherd or Husky. I searched for a long time to find a full blooded German Shepherd that was within the price we could afford. I finally found one and my sister took my mom to pick him up. She has been in love with him ever since, and he is such a sweet dog. She has been going through some difficult times with the economy and really has to budget what she spends, as my Dad is currently laid off and she is a stay at home mom. So, I was really excited to get her some new treats that she may not otherwise have been able to get for her dog, who is named Cooper (After Alice Cooper--her favorite musician).

This is a picture of my mom's dog Cooper who will be receiving a gift basket of new treats!

I really wanted to drop off the basket the evening we went to Walmart, but she wasn't home. So, I am hoping we will be able to do that today. As soon as I do get to drop it off, I will be updating my post with a picture of her and Cooper.

Our gift basket has Pup-Peroni Mix Stix, Milk Bone Trail Mix, Milo's Kitchen Chicken Grillers, and a few new balls. It is packed in a cute water/food dish.

We picked up a few new treats for Vegas, as well. We have already given her plenty of Milk Bone treats and we have tried Pup-Peroni, but Milo's Homestyle treats were new for us, and for her. She loved them! The Chicken Grillers look like real pieces of chicken and they were definitely a special treat for her. Milo's Kitchen also has meatballs, sausage slices, and jerky, but none of those options were available at my store. It was OK, since the chicken style seemed wonderful, as well.

Pup-Peroni Mix Stix in beef/sweet potato flavor and egg/bacon flavor. Milo's Kitchen Chicken Grillers and Milk Bone Trail Mix.

I think the Trail Mix from Milk Bone looks really interesting and it is made from rolled oats, real beef, and sweet potatoes. The pieces of trail mix are designed in cute little shapes and would be perfect for small dogs or for just a small reward or treat. The Pup-Peroni Mix Stix were new to us, but we do know the Pup-Peroni brand. The Mix Stix are unique, as they have real pieces of meat in each stick. We found two yummy varieties for dogs, and we bought one bag of each--beef and sweet potato and bacon and eggs. I thought bacon and eggs sounded so cool, who doesn't like a yummy breakfast?

I was happy to buy the all the treats as they were each about $3.00 a bag, which is much cheaper than our regular grocery store. I do think it would have been nice if some of the treats we were looking for had been on the actual shelves with the dog treats and not set-up on end caps, but it wasn't too hard to find and my husband was awesome for helping me out.

We had a fun time during our shopping trip as a family and we are so excited to show Cooper and my mom the gift basket packed full of new treats. I am sure Cooper will love them as much as our Vegas did!

My oldest son and Vegas after he shared some new treats with her. I tried to get a picture of him giving her some new treats, but she was so excited that I couldn't get a picture that wasn't blurry.

 Here are some great ways you can connect with the brands mentioned in this post! To read more stories about people who love their dogs, follow the hashtag #iLoveMyK9 on Twitter. 


To see my full shopping story, please view my Google Plus album.


Milk Bone on Twitter


Pup-Peroni on Twitter


Milk Bone on Facebook

Milk Bone Website

Pup-Peroni Website

Milo's Kitchen Website


Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric Regardless, all thoughts and opinions expressed are always my own. Please visit my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Parsimonious Pash's 5K Giveaway for a Kitchen Aid Mixer

Parsimonious Pash started blogging just a few months ago, and she has has quickly been growing a following. This giveaway is in celebration of her page on Facebook reaching 5,000 fans! She is so thankful to her fans for helping her get where she is that she decided to host a  giveaway to celebrate!

I have teamed up with her, as well as several other bloggers to bring you this fun giveaway! I am so excited to help her celebrate this achievement with her, as I think her blog is awesome! 

When You Just Don't Know What to Say

 It isn't often that I don't have some type of comeback or reply to something my children say to me. I often listen to protests and whines, as they try to explain why they can't clean their room, take a shower, or do any chores. I also hear plenty of remarks and comments about why they should be allowed to do something they want.

Leaked Kraft Oreo Breastfeeding Ad Was Never Meant for Public Eyes

As I sit here watching a media frenzy take over the Internet, it saddens me that it is once again over something as normal as breastfeeding. I am not shocked, as I have come to expect this type of reaction from the public, especially in the US where breastfeeding is still not seen as the norm. Women are repeatedly told to "cover up" when breastfeeding out in public, and while Facebook claims they are supportive of breastfeeding--they have continued to remove breastfeeding pictures that are less than revealing.

I recently saw the new Kraft ad for Oreo's and it actually made me smile. I thought, wow there is a company that is finally showing some open support of breastfeeding. I had read that the ad was meant for Korea, and was not something that would be used throughout the rest of the world. That part was a bit of a let down, as I think the US needs more breastfeeding ads, but nevertheless, I thought it was cute and creative. I was happy to know that a company as big as Kraft would create something that helped normalize breastfeeding.

(I would love to share a picture of the ad here, but  due to copyright restrictions, I cannot. To view the ad for yourself, please visit this link. The ad depicts a baby breastfeeding while holding an Oreo in one hand, with a tagline that reads "Milk's Favorite Cookie." I also want to note that I appreciate the design and willingness to show breastfeeding, even if was mostly advertising a cookie. So, thanks Cheil Worldwide, the advertising agency for Kraft.)

Last night, I became aware that Kraft released statements about the ad and what it was supposed to be used for. Apparently, the ad was never meant for the public to see--not the public of Korea nor the public of the rest of the world. This is when I felt a big let down, as I had thought the company was making a change to help normalize breastfeeding, instead, they were trying to cover up this "leaked" ad that was never supposed to see the light of day, at least not in public.