We couldn’t be more excited to be hosting an event with the Northville City Fire Station! We are looking forward to honoring our local heroes while teaching children about fire safety. Our local heroes risk their lives every day to make sure we’re safe and what better way to repay them then hanging out with them for a couple hours. Our local heroes aren’t the only heroes you and your family will enjoy. Fairytale Entertainment will be there dressed to impress in their best superhero attire. We encourage you to bring your child dressed as their favorite superhero to hang out. They’ll be photographed by Wildflower Photography in their superhero costumes with their favorite superhero. If that doesn’t sound fun enough what little boy {or girl} wouldn’t love to be up close and personal with a fire truck?! Don’t forget to grab your superhero cupcake from Love & Buttercream! 

Join our Facebook event page to keep up with everything going on with this event! All details will be placed in there. 

 :: Lets get to know our fabulous sponsors ::

Food Sponsors:

Love & Buttercream

This made-to-order, all-from-scratch bakery is located in Royal Oak and is bound to make your mouth water.  Brooke, the owner of this amazing little bakery strives to give her customers a one of a kind experience while putting a creative twist on those beloved classics. Get ready to experience Love & Buttercream’s delicious cupcakes at our Hanging with Heroes event!

Entertainment Sponsors:

Fairytale Entertainment

Fairytale Entertainment knows how special birthdays and other events are. They truly pride themselves in being one of the best character party entertainers around. You can find almost any character your child is absolutely in love with. They will do everything they can to make sure your child has an experience of a lifetime. Are you ready to watch your child’s face light up when they meet one of their beloved superheroes?! Click here to see all of the characters they have to offer. 

Purchase tickets today!

We only have a limited amount and we’d hate for you to miss out! When purchasing your ticket please let us know how many are in your family so that we can plan accordingly. We look forward to seeing you SOON! 

I’ve dubbed these last few months the “Summer of Murphy’s Law” because it seemed that anything that could go wrong did. I know in the grand scheme of life, I’m still very, very lucky, but in the part-time-professional-full-time-mom world, I feel totally overwhelmed.

If you’ll believe it, this is the abbreviated version of the last few weeks: my childcare situation completely fell apart, both of my parents landed in the hospital, I had to find last minute child care on several occasions, using people who had only just met my kids, my kids have each swapped nights throwing up (mostly in our bed!), we had an ER visit for the baby due to a rough fall from the couch on my watch (cue the mom guilt), and my husband and I have each had to take off work (that I don’t get paid for) to fill in childcare gaps. I had to hire a new nanny to watch my baby very quickly, and she seems lovely, but also called to let me know that the baby had howled for a good hour shortly after I left.

Please, God, I need this to work out.

How in the world do you ever get your footing and make it to work on time, let alone keep up with things like laundry and a semi clean house? Seven months in, and I still haven’t figured it out. Our families are helpful, but none are closer than thirty minutes away, and they work and lead active lives, and can’t come over for every mini crisis. Are we incompetent? Do we have unrealistic expectations? Is this EVER going to get easier? How am I feeling so overwhelmed with two when I know people with four or more kids that seem to have things totally under control? Will I ever remember to thaw meat in time for dinner, or switch laundry without fluffing it three times?

Please, please, please tell me “this too, shall pass.” That it gets easier, that I’ll one day have a handle on this, that I’ll get to sit and talk to my husband about more than putting out the latest fire.

I need to know this will pass.

Surprisingly (or not?) my children themselves aren’t the main source of this stress. Like any baby or (almost!) three year old, they have their moments, but I’m finding that I actually love being a mom of two. It’s just all that other “being a responsible adult stuff” that is so darn hard.

I generally hate posts that rant and rant but then tie things up neatly and say something like “but it’s all worth it and I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” but offer no helpful advice. But I’m learning that’s just the reality. There’s not much helpful advice on this stuff. It just sucks.

And you really would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

My little man might not be back to school with the rest of Metro Detroit but he’s definitely focused on learning! One of the most exciting {and terrifying} events we’re currently experiencing is learning how to walk. Between the lack of balance, falling, tears and flailing of the arms, some days I feel like all I do is scoop him off the floor. 

I’ve learned that a toddler’s first pair of shoes is super important for coordination and development, so I made sure to do my research on what brand(s) to try. While I typically try not to buy the most expensive clothes, shoes or accessories for Holden since there’s a good chance he’ll outgrow it quickly or he’ll ruin it.

I’ve learned that if the shoe fits, buy it!

After a few recommendations from family and friends, I decided to check out Mooshu Trainers, a family-owned, family-tested, and family-loved company out of Austin, TX {HOOK EM}. They offer a nice selection of stylish training shoes, boots and sandals for toddlers while promoting proper gait when they’re learning to walk, run, dance and skip! The Mooshu’s are pretty unique, too, with a {removable!} squeaker built into the heel of each shoe, allowing the new walker to hear when he’s walking properly {and not on his tip toes}. 

Mooshu Trainers’ website categorizes the styles by gender {boys or girls}, and then again by color once you decide on the style. The styles are fun and whimsy and can be worn in any situation — at the park, around the house or at the grocery store. I chose the Bowler Boys Toddler Squeaky Shoes {in blue & black} since they’ll likely match most of his wardrobe for the upcoming seasons. Because the company puts such an emphasis on proper fit for each child, you’ll need to measure both feet and follow their sizing guide. {Which, by theway, is super cute and breaks it down by saying the “This Little Piggy” nursery rhyme}.

When I received the package in the mail, I was anxious to see how they’d fit Holden’s feet… his are fairly chubby on top and quite wide; I usually struggle getting shoes on his feet. I didn’t have much time to inspect the shoes before they grabbed the attention of Holden and our dog with the sound of the squeaker. Holden smiled and handed one of the shoes to me to put on his feet. The outside of the shoe is made of a soft leather that provides the flexibility to move with his feet while feeling sturdy and durable. The rubber soles have a nice chevron-like texture on the bottom that allows for a nice grip on the floor beneath.

The shoes truly slipped onto his feet so easily, we didn’t have our usual wrestling match to get them on before he unbuckles the other shoe. Once they were on, he stood up and off he went. And I knew exactly where he was going as the squeakiness was amplified by the tall ceilings in our house. For a while he walked in circles because he was loving the squeaky sound he made with each step. He even wore them on our trip to the farm and showed his cousins his cool new kicks! The best part about the shoe’s squeaker is that when you’re in a more quiet environment you can replace the it with a silent insert and no one is disrupted.

VERDICT:

I can honestly say I became a big fan of the Mooshu Trainers brand after a few minutes of watching Holden walk with confidence and a smile on his face. He seemed to balance better with the support provided in the shoes; He had been wobbly the last week or so. When the the shoes were on, he only fell when he tried walking too fast for his little legs. 

Thank you, Mooshu Trainers, for providing the non-squeaky inserts for each pair of shoes. Having this option, depending on the environment {or mood} you’re in, is appreciated by parents everywhere.

I’ve been browsing their website a bit more to see where I can find Mooshu Trainers locally and to decide on what style I want to get him in the next size up. I know I will be making Holden’s next shoe purchase from Mooshu Trainers and by signing up for their emails, you can get a coupon code for 10 percent off of your next purchase with them, too!

But what’s even better than 10 percent off? A FREE pair of shoes, of course! We’re so excited that Mooshu Trainers has partnered with DMB for a great giveaway — now YOU have the opportunity to bring home a pair of Mooshu Trainers to your little one! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to learn more about Mooshu Trainers? Follow them on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram and be sure to sign up for their newsletter to receive 10 percent off your next purchase with them. Let us know which style is your favorite by commenting below as well as on our Instagram & Facebook posts, too!

Love what you read here? You don’t have to take my word for it, Mooshu Trainers is offering a FREE pair of shoes to one of our lucky readers!

And don’t forget everyone can get a 10% off coupon code to use on their first purchase by signing up for the Mooshu Trainers newsletter.

I always knew that having a baby would change things. I would be a mom. We would be parents. Our lives would be forever changed. But, one change I didn’t consider was what would happen to my parents.

When my daughter was born, my parents instantly became grandparents. Did that mean that they were old? My siblings and I have started to scatter across the country and my parents threaten to move to be close to us. Where would they live once they left our childhood home?

In all the advice columns people complain about their in-laws trying to parent their children. I bristled to think of how my parents might try to interfere. I didn’t really understand what living with, or near them would mean until I thought about my own grandmother.

When I was nine years old, my grandmother, who we called Meme, moved in to our home. It wasn’t because she was too sick or old to take care of herself. She had all of her faculties and plenty of friends and hobbies. In fact, although she emmigrated from France in the 60s, she still kept in touch with childhood friends and other women she met along her life’s journey. She attended church, exercise class, a French conversation group, and many other activities at the senior center and beyond. In short, she had a full and rich life. I wondered why she never re-married, or went back to her native country. I often thought of her international past as glamorous and her new life in the American Midwest as bland. What could be keeping her here when she had lived a life with fancy parties, fur coats and Parisian glamour.

At the same time, there were times when I couldn’t stand living with her. “Its like living with another mom,” I would complain to my friends. “She makes me clean and yells at me when I’m fighting with my siblings.” Worse still, she cooked weird food, like goose, or even escargot! She was another person telling us to clean our plate, and reminding us that there were starving children in Bosnia who would be thankful to have just a portion of our meal.

As I became a teenager, I noticed her aging as well. I hated repeating myself, and told her, harshly, that she needed a hearing aid. But, like the second mother I saw her as, she was selfless. Meme made special treats, drove us to events, and showered us with love. But most of the time, we were too close to the situation to appreciate her sacrifices. 

It is probably clear by now that my grandmother has passed on. I hope I have also made clear the deep love I have for my Meme. The grumpy in-law is a funny trope on TV shows or comic strips, but if you ask my father, it just isn’t always true.  The biggest struggle between them (her regular re-arranging of kitchen cabinets and drawers) is now a fond memory. 

I recently asked my mother what it felt like to be a grandmother. “I love Linnea like I love my own children,” she said.

I have to forgive myself for being thoughtless as a child but I cannot be thoughtless as an adult. I don’t have a perfect relationship with my parents, and I am not sure that I would jump to live in the same home with them, but I am so thankful for their presence in my daughters life. In memory of Meme, I can overlook minor annoyances and appreciate that my daughter has a true gift in the form of four grandparents. For that I am truly thankful.

Well I had my ways, they were all in vain,

But she waited patiently.

It was all the same, all my pride and shame,

And she put me on my feet.

They call her love

…

She is love, and she is all I need.

“She Is Love” by Parachute