Bright Light Pillow- A Kid Crazy Moment!

I don't know about you, but everytime we go in a store, my children BEG for this! So, when I was offered the chance to review it, I decided it would totally be worth it!

The packaging was easy to open and the product was well packaged. I didn't feel like I was getting a product that had been opened or "used".

The color is white. I am not sure if it comes in other colors, but as a parent, THAT color wasn't my favorite. White gets dirty and grimy so fast. (Although the kids have hardly let it out of their hands since the got it and it is still white, so that is something!

My 10 year-old daughter saw me open it and was immediately my best friend. She helped me put the three AAA batteries inside and was happy to take it off my hands. It was all I could do the get a few pictures of it lighting up!

These pictures are in daylight. I was surprised at how bright the pillow is. It alternates between all sorts of colors so the pillow really is gender neutral. Even my 13 year-old son was interested in it and wanted to hold it and use it.

Here are the kids attacking it! ha ha.

Our family has been using this pillow for two days now and the kids LOVE IT! They have set up a schedule for who gets to use it each night. I love that is turns off after 15 minutes on its own and that it doesn't heat up at all. My only dislike of this entire product is that the battery pack is fairly large and hurts if your head lands on it when you lie down. Of course, this pillow would by no means replace your child's regular pillow, rather it is a fun version of a nightlight. 

Overall, I would give this pillow 4 stars out of 5, for the reasons mentioned above.

The Kids Reviews. I thought that it would be fun have the kids tell you in their own words their thoughts about the Bright Light Pillow:

There you have it- straight from the kiddo's mouths. As a teacher, I can see having one in the classroom that we turn on and then students read until it turns off (15 minutes). Maybe even let the star student/student of the day keep it at their desk during reading time.

Thanks for stopping by. You can pick one of these fun pillows up on line at retailers like Amazon as well as your local department store.

Cheers-

Mr. Hughes

Summer Fun

I must say that the past few days have been CRAZY and WONDERFUL!

Tuesday-

The day that Venus passed in front of the sun. It was amazing to see just how small we are compared to the sun. I am glad that we got to see it (my family) because it won't happen again for another 200+ years. Thanks dad, for letting us use your welding mask!

Later that same evening, my son had his second to last little league game. We had a good time watching. Here is my daughter being silly. She got a bit cold from the Northern wind that had picked up.

Wednesday-
Woke up early and watered the new back lawn. It has been fun to watch the roots come in and start to glue the grass to the ground. I was watering the garden and noticed that my son's pumpkin plant he started at school had flowered. He has been missing the blooms because the flowers open so early in the morning and then fade before he can get out there. So... Here you are buddy.

My oldest is going to scout camp on Monday (I even get the pleasure of driving him and a few other of the scouts to their camp- Yee Haw!). He was worried because he didn't have a tent and he didn't know who he would be able to share on with. SO....
Of course grandma and grandpa hooked him up with his own tent. He was was very excited and had to set it up and try it out. The family helped set it up (notice our baby girl helping out so well).

Thursday-
Okay, this picture is a bit creepy. I was standing by my wife in our garden and looking at our amazing work when I noticed a huge green patch by our apple tree. When I went to see if it was weeds that I could pull, I found that it was pod of newly hatching grasshoppers. They were all tiny and almost cute. But...yeah.

Later that day, my wife and I decided to make a couple of additions to the kids play area. My oldest daughter had been drawing hopscotch areas all over the patio, so, we decided to add a couple permanent ones. Below are the pictures to show our adventure.

 I think they turned out really well and they kids LOVE them!

That night we had my son's last Little League game. We did one last BBQ at the park. That would be the Olympic looking flame is all about in the background.

My son won his game. They called it after the 4th inning because they were more than 10 runs ahead. After we got home, I had to water the new lawn. This is my little princess being all silly about going on to the new lawn. She was totally cracking me up. I love that little guilty look she has.

I also spent a good portion of the making this resource I have used for years in to a more presentable format for my TpT store. You can click on this picture and be taken to the site where you can read more about it. I think it turned out really well.

Friday-

Woke up early and watered the yard while my wife did her morning walk with her friends. It was nice to be up and going early. After we finished outside, my wife and I started cleaning the house while the kids slept. We got it all finished up and then I headed to the school to work. I have this scheme to rearrange my room again. I figure two years in the same formation is long enough. I am getting rid my corner table. I think we will sell it. My wife brought the kids for free lunch at 11:15 am and we left the school around 4:30 pm. We got a ton done and I am really enjoying how my room is turning out.

We also went on a bike ride this evening. Before we left, I let the kids get on the new lawn and play for a few minutes. THEY LOVED IT!

 My youngest son was cracking me up. He got upset because he wanted to play with the kids but there wasn't enough of the paddles, so he was pouting. I told him I was going to take a picture of his cute apron. He turned around so I couldn't see it.

 Then I told him I was going to take a picture of his cute little butt. So, he backed up to the table and stuck it under it.

 I then told him that I would just take a picture of him.

 He backed around the table. I told him I could still see his feet. He tried standing on one foot at a time and switching them back and forth.

 Then he did this:

 He is so silly.

My baby girl found the boys plastic golf set. Apparently, she has a knack for golf. Watch out golfing world!

I love the black and white look of this one! She is such a cutie. Love you baby girl!

Well, as you can see, it has been a busy week. 

I am excited to see what the rest of the summer brings...

Later...

What a Whirlwind Weekend That Was...

Phew! What a crazy, but enjoyable weekend. The highlight was getting to visit with my sister. We dropped of my oldest in Price on the way up so he could go to the races with his grandparents. We finally made it to Magna after stopping at my wife's wood sets dealer (that sounds so dark and evil, doesn't it?!?!) to get the wood for her special orders. It is always an adventure to visit their store what with 4 little kids running around. We did finally make it to my sisters house, however.  I really enjoyed the time I got to sit and chat with her. She also showed us the "Prince of Persia" movie. It was actually quite good. It is definitely a "buyer". I was glad that there wasn't a lot of visual violence (blood and guts- I mean there was a lot of implied violence).

We stayed Friday night into Saturday. Saturday was a lazy day in that I got to sleep in, but felt like I never got any sleep. We went to DI and found some great scrapbooking "stuff" for my wife and then I went home with my brother-in-law and chilled while the ladies finished shopping. They finally got home around 6pm and we loaded up and headed home. That was quite the trip.

We stopped in Price to shop at Wal-Mart (the kids had to get gifts for their friends birthdays). It was a nice break. The kids had fun shopping in the school clearance isle- lol. We bought quite the array of items, that is for sure. We finally made it home around 10:30pm and by the time we got everything unloaded, unpacked, and put away (okay, my wife did most of that) it was almost 11pm. I attempted to read for my class (thankfully it is a very light load this week, only one chapter between BOTH classes- YEA!) but ended up asleep in the chair.

Church today was nice. There was one less early morning meeting so I got to sleep in today. Church went well, and I was able to visit all the families that I have been assigned to watch over. This afternoon, I watered the yard and garden and we went to visit my parents. The kids had fun picking raspberries with grandma and fresh plums off her tree. She was so cute with the kids. She poured a bowl of sugar and the kids had "sugar plums".  They really enjoyed that time with grandma.

After we came home we all did our own thing for a while before I told everyone we needed to get out of the house and go for a walk. We walked around the block. When we got home, we all stayed outside and played. Below are some great pictures I took of the kids (thanks for unloading the camera honey!):

This is one of my favorite ones. I hid around the corner and jumped out and scared my son and daughter. She about had a heart-attack. Man, that was great! 

 The kids wanted me to get their picture while they were in the air. They were so silly! They kept trying and trying. We mostly succeeded.

I really enjoyed this weekend. I hope that I can have many more in the future that were this productive and relaxing.

Later...

To The Doctor We Go.... Again...

Oh what fun making trips to Provo is...

Well, I guess we DO get to see lots of our friends and that really IS fun. But driving up every other week for some doctor appointment isn't what I would call "fun". After all, my two youngest sons spend the whole trip trying not to barf and the oldest three is back are fighting and bickering and hitting each other. Ah, the joys of six children. What were we thinking???? (and I agree with you sitting there at your computer saying, "And he wouldn't have it any other way!" I wouldn't. But this stage in the game is a bit much for me).

We decided to make the trip up and back in one day. We were tired of packing for multiple days, and despite what everyone says, our family wears quickly on people and we still wanted to have friends when this experience is all over with.

We were up and going yesterday morning by 6:30am and we STILL didn't get out the door until after 8:15. I was highly annoyed because we had a lot to do before we ever made it to the doctor. With traffic and having to stop in Price for an unexpected potty stop (dang kids), we made it to my cousins house in Pleasant Grove about 15 minutes before we had to be leaving to go to the dr. appointment. I thought that was a bit embarrassing- "Hey we are here, now here is our kids and we will be back sometime this afternoon..." They were super good sports about it and very mellow. I was grateful that they were willing to keep the boys. (Thanks Phil and Melissa- you two were lifesavers).

This dr. appointment was in Orem in the Physicians Plaza next to Timpanogos Regional Medical Center. It was pretty easy to find. The purpose of this particular visit was to learn more about how my wife's hysterectomy would affect her and to ensure that she was healing properly. I won't share much of what was discussed as it is personal in nature, but we did learn that she will be on estrogen for the rest of her life. We asked why she needed it if she wasn't showing any menopausal symptoms. He gave lots of really good reasons. So... she has a sample to try which is a gel she just rubs on her arm every day. Pretty low key and easy. We will see how well it works and then go from there. It was a good visit and I think my wife left feeling much better about things.

After the appointment, we headed back to my cousin's house. We had called to see if the boys had killed off my cousin yet and offered to take him and his family to lunch. He just laughed and I said that I would talk to him about it when we got back to his house. Just as we were getting their house he called and said that everyone had eaten and that we were to turn around and go and eat. We argued, but he was certain they would be okay.

Our apartment we had when we lived in Pleasant Grove was just down the street from there so we did a drive by. it still looks the same. It is where we lived with my oldest son when he was just 2 years old. Crazy stuff. We took a picture of it, but I don't feel like uploading it. Takes forever to upload pictures to Blogger anymore, hence the reason I don't do many of them... lol.

Because we were in PG and would be driving by their house, my wife and I decided to do a quick visit to the Perry household (Kelly Perry is the one who came to the hospital to do my wife's nails and visit). They hopped in the van and we went to a fairly quick lunch considering we had my two-year old who took FOREVER to eat. We dropped the Perry's off and raced back to my cousin's house. Unfortunately, just as we arrived back, my cousin's wife had to leave to take some kids swimming. Well, unfortunate for us because we wanted to visit and fortunate for her because she got to escape my children. They were truly on one. Fighting, hitting, jumping off the furniture. It was mortifying. My cousin was totally cool about it, but I was ready to head out ASAP simply because I felt like we were unpleasant to be around.

After we left my cousin's house we headed to Sam's Club to pick up my new glasses. I was excited that they had come in. I mean, I ordered them on Monday after all. Here is a side view. The side bars are way chunky compared to what I would normally wear. Below is a front view (excuse the ugly mug wearing them... lol. Just look at the glasses). I like them, which is good, because I will be wearing these for about 2 year or more before I replace them if I stay on my current plan. However, my wife and I have discussed looking into vision insurance with all the kids we have. Probably a good idea. We will have to see what our money situation will be once everything has settled. I need to ask the district what options I have (if any) through them as well.

After we picked up my glasses and gassed up at the Sam's gas station (talk about cheap fuel- wow!) we headed to Springville to pay a visit to the Mannings. Shockingly they opened their door when we knocked. We wondered if they would close all the blinds and pretend to be gone... lol. we went in and visited for about an hour before deciding to head to Denny's for dinner. I won't even go into detail over that. The kids were decent and it was nice to simply visit with our friends. We headed out from Denny's. My oldest daughter had decided to stay in town so she could hang out with a friend and go swimming. She had spent the night before we left at her friends house and then ALL day. Stacy assured me it was okay but we still wanted to get home.

We made it home around 10:30pm and picked up my daughter and headed to our house (just around the corner). We found all was well and it didn't take long to get everyone in the house, in their PJ's, and sleeping- including me...

Today (Friday) has found me busy, busy, busy. I wasn't up and going very early, but once up I have cleaned both bathroom, swept and mopped the kitchen, watered the garden, took the kids to lunch at the school, got the baby fed, changed and down for a nap, and vacuumed. I still need to mow and water the front lawn, but I will have to wait until my wife returns from her trip to Grand Junction with her friends. They went for a "girl's day". I am glad she went. She needed to escape this jungle. Well, I best go and check on the garden- I am sure that by now I have created the next great flood. Noah might come sailing by any minute.

Oh, one last thought. We got a second bill from Dr. Brady in Price. I tried to call, but his billing assistant is out of the office until Monday. I am waiting to inform them that because of the surgery HE HELPED WITH my wife spent 24 days in the ICU and 3 more days in the regular ward. We have made several trips back to Provo for various appointments, including another ER visit. That I am currently in the midst of paying off major medical bills and deciding on legal action against those involved. So, when I get everything else paid off and have made final decision about legal action I will get around to paying their bill. I can't wait to hear what he/ his billing lady says to that. I will let you know.

Later...

P.S. The whole medical saga will end on Monday with the benefit dinner that is being held for our family Thanks to everyone who has donated, contributed, or helped in any way. We are truly grateful and humbled). After that, I will no longer be tagging these posts in the series. We are ready to move on. It will be months before my wife is back to full strength and ability, but the time has come to focus my posting on other things- so yeah for us all. No more depressing posts about medical stuff, just about teaching...lol.

Happy Birthday (to ME) and Other Random "Stuff"

Okay, Okay, So being 35 isn't as bad as I thought. Maybe it is because I can take comfort knowing that my older sisters and brother will ALWAYS be older- Bwahaha! I had a great birthday. The kids at school told me that their gift to me was to be good all day. They did great. Thanks my dear class. At the end of the day my wife brought cupcakes to share with the whole class (thanks Chow Hound- they were tasty!). My mother had also came in to the building that morning while I was in faculty meeting and hung up a big sign that said" Smile Mr. Hughes! It's your birthday!"- lol. It was stuck to a banner of smiling pumpkin pictures. She had also left a box of full-size candy bars on my desk to share with the students. After school I just headed home knowing that I would have to come back over fall break to finish planning and "stuff". I didn't care. It WAS my birthday after all! :) For dinner I helped my wife make Philly Steak and Cheese. Y-U-M-M-Y! She makes a great sandwich. My mom was able to come over (my dad was in meetings for most of the night). While dinner was cooking, we watched the construction going on outside our front door. My little E was running around enjoying the noise and bedlam. He was really enjoying moving the pumpkins from the steps and benches to the lawn.  The two littler boys were totally enjoying watching the big Kat and diesels. They sat right on the edge of the lawn and were riveted on the action. I think they were REALLY wanting to go and play in the dirt that was being dumped. I guess I can't blame them. It isn't everyday that you get to see that while sitting on your front steps! After dinner we hung out outside for while. It was a beautiful night and the kids were having a blast running  around being crazy. We even got to help a lady who got stuck in the soft dirt (the construction company didn't block off the road where they were working so people kept driving down the road in the soft dirt- a 4-wheeler almost wrecked because of that!).  Then it was PRESENT TIME! YEA! I love that time. Not because I get things, but because the kids are SO funny. They fight and argue about which one I have to open first. It just makes me smile. I have to brag a bit. I am pretty good about holding a present and knowing what is in it. This drives my wife crazy and she usually tries to mask a gift so I can't figure it out. Last year at Christmas she was sneaky. She wrapped it in diapers and THEN wrapped it. Sneaky, dear, sneaky! I did great guessing this year- See below!  My Guess:  some new clothes... Actual Gift: Levis  My Guess: What DVD has come out that we've been wanting??.... Actual Gift:  Prince of Persia My guess: This one is a gift card.... Actual Gift: i tunes gift card I was  stumped on my new wallet My Guess: This one is a bag of Candy...Reisen's ... Actual Gift:  Snickers  I received many cards (thanks to everyone who sent them) and I was very cautious with Great Grandma Milletts (because she gets a little crazy with birthday confetti- lol). They were all great.  My Guess: Something  Mom made me... Actual Gift: Yep, a matchbox full of memories--wallet size pictures from my last birthday to this one. It was wonderful to shuffle through all the picture memories that have happened in one year. I think that was one, if not the, best gifts I received this year. Makes we want to go and look through all the pictures again right now. I think it is a well known fact that I am not a big fan of cake- AT ALL! (Cupcakes sometimes, but very little icing and NO RED- BLECH!) However, that said, I do enjoy a good hunk of German chocolate cake- I love the frosting too-- yum!). Every year my wife, bless her heart, makes me a tasty german chocolate cake. She was nice and only put 6 candles on it (granted one was a candle that said 30- HOW RUDE!). I didn't even get to make a wish before the little boys had my candles blown out. You can see from the picture they didn't even wait for a picture- lol. Love those crazy little boys of mine! (You might also be noticing that a small corner has a little handprint in it. While I was posing for the picture, my little E grabbed a handful to nibble on while he waited for his cut of the cake. It was a good day.  We finished the night snuggled up on the couch watching Ghost Hunters.  I feel asleep by 10:30pm- HOW LAME IS THAT? I AM getting old! lol Thanks to my little family for making it such a wonderful, special day.

Other Random "STUFF" starts NOW! While we were outside watching the road work, my little M  picked up our Bocce (Bot-chee) set, went  over to my wife and asked, "Mom, can we play Chewbacca?"  She told him he had to go ask Me.  He came and asked me the same thing.  Oh my word, we were laughing our heads off. The other kids got quite the kick out of it as well!

The other night I was playing peek-a-boo with Eli.  He was just giggling up a storm.  It was fun to watch. He is such a cutie. He was laughing, and laughing, and laughing.He was getting good at it too. I love those special moments with my babies. What a joy they are! Thursday  we went to my parents and helped to pick apples (that was after I spent the day working on the yard AND going to the school to finish planning, etc.). We got a crude load of apples- we are going to make apple juice this year. Yum. After we picked apples (Greg and Heather came and helped pick too) we had the Parsons over for a hot dog BBQ. It was a little embarrassing when I ran out of propane. It was all good though. We just cooked most of them over the fire pit- See it WAS a good thing I put that in. We had a great time and even roasted some of the GIGANTIC marshmallows they were selling at Wal-Mart. They are about 2" by 2"! They are HUGE! It was great way to end the evening. Thanks for coming Parsons family! :) Friday was GET MY COLLEGE WORK DONE day! I got most of my chapter read, worked on my Case Brief #3, and wished that my classes were done. I am SO ready for this program to end. I am really learning a lot, but I am tired of it cutting into my family time! :( It's okay though. Only 7 more months and 1.5 semesters! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Today is Saturday. My vacation has slipped away from me. I do feel like I accomplished at lot however. We got the garden winterized (just need to till it up), the air conditioners out of the windows, and the lawn watered for one of the last times this year.  I was up (with my wife) at 4:30am to head out to bountiful baskets. They changed the delivery time from 10am to 5am. That was quite the shock this morning. Even though it was early, it was TOTALLY WORTH IT! We got a TON of fresh produce. I love that we can bring that here every other week. Those of you reading that don't order- you really ought to start! For a $15 contribution you get at least $40 worth of produce! We were able to be home by 7:30am and just finished a great breakfast as a family and now we are all doing our "own thing".- lol I have more college work to finish before we head over to the church at 1pm to clean it. Then the rest of the day is ours. We are planning family movie night (with treats of course). I LoVe my LiTtLe family! Hooray for family! Later...