Hearing aids, little kids and camping?

We will be going on our 2nd annual family & friends camping trip to the Pocono Mountains.  Caitlyn is beyond excited and she has already started packing her bag and some snacks for her friends.  This year we will have 5 families joining us camping - I can't wait to see how everyone does.  Last year it was only us and 2 other families and there were many meltdowns (not only from kids but parents too!) and a crazy amount of laughs.

My OCD husband has already created an extensive list of items to bring with us... let's just say it is thorough.  He has actually started crossing some things off as they are ready.  It doesn't surprise me that my 4yo has a forced rank list of her friends.

One thing I have yet to decide is whether or not to bring the kids hearing aids with us.  It is calling for some rain and the campground is attached to a large amusement park. I'd freak if they got wet or lost.  BUT the kids won't be able to hear as well... what should I do?  This is one of those decisions that I hate making and can't wait till they are a little bit older to let me know what they want to do.  What would you do??

Hershey's Syrup Shopping Trip @Wal-Mart

When I learned of #summercelebrations I was beyond excited to participate.  I took the family on a shopping trip to Wal-Mart to shop for a fun way to celebrate summer with Hershey's Syrup.  Check out my Whrrl shopping trip:

More check-ins at Wal-Mart

Powered by Whrrl

My little girl had such a good time shopping and eating the Ice Cream Sundae covered in Hershey's Syrup.  It was the perfect follow-up for our trip to Hershey Park the day prior.

Show Us Your Hearing

As you may know I have 2 small children that were both born with Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss in the mild/moderate range.  My whole world revolves around them and making sure they have the best life possible.  The kids wear hearing aids during all waking hours and that can be quite the challenge at times!  So when I received an email about this contest I was beyond excited and wanted to share it.

Please take a few minutes to enter...

‘Show Us Your Hearing’ Photography Competition DETAILS

WHEN IS THE CONTEST DEADLINE? Monday, July 12th

HOW DO I ENTER? To enter, follow these 5 easy steps:
1. Register here: http://www.hear-the-world.com/en/user/registration.html --You will receive an email registration confirmation from Hear the World. If you don’t receive an email, please check your Junk Mail folder.
2. Visit this URL: http://bit.ly/dblGut , click the “enter the contest” button, and enter the entry form.

• Upload a photograph of you, a friend, or family member in the ‘Conscious Pose of Hearing.’ The photo must be high res (300dpi), between 1MB - 3MB.
• Give your photograph a title and provide a description of up to 100 words describing the importance of being aware of your hearing at every age.
• Click “Send.” Your Entry will not be officially entered into the Competition unless you click the final Send button and receive a confirmation screen that states that your Entry was accepted.

WHY SHOULD I ENTER?
· To take a moment to think about your sense of hearing and the sounds you are grateful to hear every day
· To support the Hear the World initiative which is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of hearing, while also educating the public about the consequences of hearing loss and the available solutions.
· For a chance to win a Polaroid 300 Instant Camera and for a chance to see your photograph published in the award-winning Hear the World magazine.

WHAT ARE THE JUDGES LOOKING FOR?
    Most visually appealing- 50%
    Originality- 30%
    100 word description- 10%
    Self-explanatory- 10%

HOW AND WHEN WILL THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER BE DETERMINED?
1. The public will vote on their favorite photo between July 13th – August 3rd
2. The top five entries that receive the most votes will be judged by a panel of judges between August 4th – August 10th
3. The grand prize winner will be announced on August 16th on the Hear the World website. Winners will be notified by phone and email.

How'd you guess?

"let me guess, you are tired". Well, I get up every morning at 5:45am
and get the kids ready by myself.

Take them to daycare and rush through shitty traffic for 45 min to an
hour.

Work all day.

Rush out of work to pick them up... Sitting in more shitty traffic for
close to an hour. Try to figure out dinner while listening to them
fight and Conor get into absolutely everything. Beg for the kids to
eat dinner... And then around 6:30 he strolls in. I give Conor a bath
at 6:40 and I put him down by 7:30.

So, yes, I am tired.

Now time to play with Cait till I fight with her to go to bed at 8:30.

Naturally Nora Afternoon Happiness

Caitlyn loves to bake every weekend. This may explain my current
situation with excessive weight but the girl is getting good and it is
a great bonding time with us.

She typically wears her little apron and chef hat... So cute. We had
been looking for more natural ingredients and while we were on the 10!
Show they had a segment with Naturally Nora. I had never heard of the
brand before but have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised. We all
LOVE these cupcakes.

Busy times

It has been a few months since I have had time to post... between work, kids and husband getting laid off life has been hectic. 

Conor's 1st birthday is next  month, need to seriously start planning his party. 

We've done so many activities lately that I need to complete posts on.  I will PROMISE to myself to get these out within the next few weeks and set up my site on amplifiedkids.com. 

Hearing Aids - Broken AGAIN

So Caitlyn's Phonak eXtra 211's are in for repair again. I'd say they average repair every other month or so. Thankfully, she has her back-up Oticon Gaia's but the downfall with those is the FM System... her FM works with her Phonak's. She hasn't been able to use her FM for over a week now and she actually misses it.

Conor has had his Phonak Nios Micro's for around 2 months now and we haven't had any major damage to them. They have had a bit of saliva on them at time but I make sure to put them in the dryer. I am afraid of his breaking because he doesn't have a spare set like she does.

When Cait was little we tried everything possible to keep her hearing aids on. One of our favorite products was EarGear: http://www.gearforears.com/ I think it may be time for Conor to get some Ear Gear... I'd try to use Caitlyn's old ones but his hearing aids are much smaller (gotta love how advanced technology can get just in a few years) than hers. Plus the 2 sets we have include pink, it is bad enough that she put a tiara on him the other day!

Having 2 kids with hearing aids is interesting to say the least. You always have to worry about them:

-losing them
-breaking them
-moisture
-general maintenance