2020 Easter Gift Guide

Easter is quickly approaching and after being quarantined for a couple of weeks, I've been on the hunt for different activities to keep my kids occupied this year. Here are a few fun things I've been looking at. The different items are bound to keep any child busy which is a win-win for everyone in the family.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links and sales made through such links will reward me a small commission - at no extra cost to you. 

1 - Butterfly Garden Kit. We bought this for our kids a few years ago and they loved it! It was so cool to watch the process, name them, and let them fly free at the end. Its the perfect science experiment for your kids since we all are suddenly home school parents!

2 - Sweaters. I found this website of kids clothes and I'm obsessed. Its for ages 0 months - 12 years.  I smile every time I see the new releases.  These sweaters are so fun for Spring as we transition to Summer.

3 - Bunny Kit. What a fun craft project for your tween girl (or boy). They have a few different kits to choose from.

4- Color Wonder. I love Color Wonder and as my kids have gotten older, they still love it too. I get the blank pages now so they can create whatever design they want!

5- Diving Gear. Summer is sneaking up on us and Easter is the perfect time to stock up on swimming supplies for your kids. This diving gear is my kids favorite!

6- Swim Thru Rings.These are fun for the pool to make obstacle courses.

7- Scripture Stickers. In the church I belong to, (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) we are studying the Book of Mormon this year. I love these scripture stickers and markers to mark them up. Perfect to keep your older kids engaged.

8-Board Game. This game was recommended to us and I love to play it as much as my kids do. It keeps me engaged and is challenging but fun for kids. Great for the whole family!

9-Puzzles. Puzzles are a good challenge for kids, time consuming, and makes them use their brains!  It's a good addition to learning and 300 piece puzzles are the perfect amount for kids of all ages. Also if you are missing Disneyland and the new Star Wars exhibit, maybe this puzzle will help feel the void.

10- Watercolor. It's so good for kids to learn new skills (and maybe you can try it out too). These watercolor pens and pad will keep your kids engaged for hours and create beautiful art for their room.

11-T- shirts. Every year I buy my kids a new white shirt and fabric markers.  We turn on https://www.artforkidshub.com/ and they choose what they want to draw and then they fill it in with markers. Its a fun tradition and easy to get started with your own kids.

12 - Egg Decorating. Do you hate the mess and time it takes to decorate real eggs?  This is a great option and can be kept for years to come. 

13- Bracelet Kit. These have been around forever and if your kids haven't been hooked already, it's the perfect craft edition for your house.  My kids think of new friends they can create bracelets for.  

I hope this helps create a fun Holiday for you and your family!

12 Ways to Help Someone Who is in the Hospital

In 2010 we were living in Idaho and our 18 month old daughter, Preslee fell into a canal. She was found over a mile downstream by a farmer who immediately called 911. You can read more about her story here. She was flown to a hospital in SLC, UT and stayed for a week before she passed away. After writing 12 Ways to Help A Family Planning A Funeral, I had multiple requests to share how to help a person or family who is in the hospital. So I've compiled what we learned from our week stay at Primary Children's Hospital.

Note: We left a camera out on the table and I'm not sure who took all of these pictures. Sometimes it was a nurse, other times it was family. Years later, I'm so grateful for every picture we have with her.

1. Basic Needs - Everyone needs to eat and everyone needs clothing. We were so grateful when people dropped off food for us. Whether they ran and grabbed something at a restaurant or purchased something from the cafeteria, we always appreciated it. My cousin brought fruit and muffins and those were a hit because we could leave them in the room with us and snack when we wanted. My friend who was a nurse at the same hospital cooked us a homemade meal and ate with us in the cafeteria. My aunt who lived close to the hospital came and grabbed our dirty laundry and washed it for us. We were grateful for those who took care of our basic needs so we could give our full attention to Preslee.



2. Transportation - Once the decision was made to send Preslee on a helicopter to SLC, my aunt without being asked immediately reached out to an old college friend who owned an airplane. We had never met him before and were blown away when he agreed to fly us to Utah in the middle of the night with very little notice. We flew right in front of Preslee and he helped us track her on his GPS. We landed at a different airport than Preslee around 3:00 AM and my uncle was waiting for us and drove us to Primary Children's Hospital. Just in case Preslee arrived at the hospital before us, my brother was there waiting for her so she wouldn't be alone. So many people helped us with transportation that day. We didn't have a car during the hospital stay, so we were grateful when people ran errands for us or let us borrow their car. Be aware if the patient arrives on life flight or ambulance the person who accompanies them most likely won't have a car. 

3. Personal Items - When we learned Preslee was going to be transported by life flight to another state, we quickly went home and threw some clothes into a bag and left. It was clear the next day that we didn't pack everything we needed. I wore daily contacts and after a few days in the same pair I desperately needed some new ones. I was grateful when Patrick's step brother called and asked if he could bring us anything. He stopped by our house to grab a few extra things for us and drove 3 1/2 hours to deliver them to us. 

4. Posters and Pictures - We had multiple blog readers tell us to put up pictures of Preslee in her hospital room. They explained that it would help the doctors remember she was more than just a sick patient. My cousin's wife printed off pictures and brought tape to hang them up for us. The pictures and posters helped cheer up her room a little bit as well.

5. Send Money or Gift Cards - When the accident happened, we were college students, so finances were tight. Once the decision was made to fly Preslee to a larger hospital, a family friend who had arrived at the hospital, stopped Patrick and handed him a lot of money in cash. He had obviously thought ahead and told Pat he didn't want us to worry about anything we didn't need to. Pat just cried. I hadn't even thought about finances, but with Preslee being life flighted and knowing a long hospital stay was in our future, Pat later told me he had begun to panic about how we would be able to afford it. My mom later showed up with a check from her neighbors and told us they sent it so we could eat at the cafeteria without worrying. We were grateful for big hearts that really made a big difference!

Preslee with Grandpa Sullenger

6. Take A Shift - Patrick and I were reluctant to leave Preslee alone. We wanted to protect her, and it quickly became obvious our parents were doing the same for us. They strongly encouraged us to go get some sleep so we could focus and make important decisions for Preslee. When they realized that we didn't want to leave her alone, we had multiple family members offer to stay the night with her. Each night, someone different took a shift. From Pat's brothers, to our parents, we were so grateful for their help. If a family has other children and can't be there around the clock, I suggest calling and offering to go and visit the person in the hospital during the day. Family members did this for us when our twin boys were in the NICU and it was incredibly helpful.

Preslee with Grandma Siddoway

7. Send a Gift - Before our hospital stay, I didn't know you could send things other than flowers to the hospital. I had just never thought about it. My uncle's sister sent us a picture of Preslee with an encouraging note. Our ward and neighbors sent a blanket with the signatures of all the young children who attended our local church. My old high school teacher sent an encouraging letter telling me it was okay to take care of myself at times. So if you live far away, don't feel like you can't help. I've sent Crumbl cookies more than once to be delivered to friends.

8. Be Mindful of their Situation -  This one is hard for me to share, because we truly appreciated everyone who came to the hospital, and I NEVER want to stop anyone from supporting someone in a time of need. But I ask you to take a minute and think about how close you really are to the person or family and what role you should play.

Preslee with Great Grandma Wightman, Great Grandma Siddoway, Great Grandpa Siddoway

In the PICU, only three people were allowed to be in Preslee's hospital room at one time. So if visitors came we either had to leave Preslee and visit with them in the hall or one of us needed to leave the room to let the visitors in. Though every once in a while we didn't mind,  I remember there were a few times I felt upset as I waited in the hallway for a long time hoping someone in her room would walk out. I know I could have gone in at any time, but I really didn't want to be rude, especially when so many traveled over three hours to get there. What I learned from this experience is to do one of two things.

1. Call or text a family member. If you aren't immediate family, call or text to see if they would like a visit. This gives them an out if they really don't want one. I've had multiple people thank me for reaching out, but say today just isn't a good day. And that's fine! Please don't be offended. If I get this response, I usually move onto #2. But if they do want a visit, I always ask if they need me to bring anything to them. I also try to keep my visit relatively short. But if you are immediate family or their best friend, I would show up and help in any way I could.
2. Drop something off. This is usually my go to. If I don't know the person extremely well, I will create a care package (I'll share what I bring at the end of this post) and drop it off at the front desk with the patient's name and room number along with a note to be delivered. I know the things I drop will help in some way, but yet, I won't be intruding. I realize time is precious in the hospital and I don't want to take that away from them. 

9. Journal -  This coincides with the ideas above. Over the years I've been asked a surprising amount of times how to handle a lot of visitors at the hospital. I've come to learn that not everyone knows how to handle the situation. We didn't either. There was one day when it seemed like everyone came to visit. We were constantly being pulled out of the room and Preslee was struggling that day and it was stressful. I can't remember if I said something, but my dad quickly read the situation. He went down to the hospital gift shop and purchased a journal and pen. From that moment on, if it wasn't immediate family or really close friends, he was the one to greet them and explain that Preslee was having a hard day and that we needed to be by her side. He would hand them the journal and encourage them to leave a note. Though it wasn't optimal, I'm sure they wanted to talk to us, it allowed people to leave an encouraging message and allowed us to stay with Preslee. I still remember reading the messages in the journal and crying later that night. 

Also, please be aware that if someone is about to pass away their last minutes on earth are precious. If everyone that ever knew them came to say goodbye, it wouldn't leave any time for the family. I once received a phone call from a mom in this situation and my heart broke for her. She was so grateful for the support and didn't want to be rude, but with only hours left with her son, she didn't know what to do or say to the people who kept knocking on their door.

Again, I don't want to deter anyone from visiting and supporting anyone, but please stop and think through a few different things before you go. 

10. Take Care of their Home - While we were away in Utah, the people back home in Idaho stepped up and took care of everything at our house. I still can't get over what people did for us. People are so good! We ran a Sno Shack at the time, and my extended family and best friend jumped in and figured out how to run it for us. My SIL called her dad and asked him to mow our lawn. He later called her back and said someone had already beat him to it. My aunt and cousin went into our home and cleaned the entire house, did our laundry, and had the fridge stocked for us when we returned home. Talk about a humbling experience. It was such a blessing knowing we didn't need to worry about what was happening at home while we were at the hospital.

11. Child Care - Many units in the hospital don't allow children under 12. Therefore, if a family has children at home, they can't visit the hospital. The nurses told us that many times children are left alone in the PICU because families can't find or afford sitters on a regular basis. This broke my heart, because I know we were a rare case with having so many people there to support Preslee. If you know a family with small children, offering to babysit could be an incredible gift.

12. Make Arrangements to Help Them Sleep - The first night we flew down to the hospital and when the second night came around we were exhausted. We tried to sleep in the hospital and it just didn't go well. My parents noticed and without hesitation booked a hotel room close by. About five days later, my parents started looking into different options for us to stay, (The Ronald McDonald House) but Preslee passed away before we finalized anything. I think doing the research or giving the family different options of places to stay could be very helpful. We really did sleep better in the hotel, and having a shower there was nice. It also gave us some privacy to discuss and make important decisions regarding Preslee without others weighing in. Having family members looking out for our well being was a blessing.

Though we were only there a week, it seemed like a lifetime. I'm not sure Patrick and I would have survived without all the help we received during that week. I hope these ideas will help you show up for the people you love during a hospital stay.
  

Please note that this post contains affiliate links and sales made through such links will reward me a small commission - at no extra cost to you. 

Gift Ideas:

• Presentlee's Sending Love Care Package - With all these experiences in mind I've worked hard to create a package for people to send to someone in the hospital. Whether it is sent to the patient or to the parents who have a child in the hospital, our new package will be a useful and uplifting gift! The package includes a sleep mask, fuzzy socks, scrunchie, chapstick, jolly ranchers, and a custom handwritten card. And don't worry, a male version will be released soon! 
• Journal - I wrote quite a bit down while we were there. This one from Amazon is a great option as well. 
• Thank You Cards - I asked for these so I could thank our favorite nurses and doctors. 
• Noise Cancelling Headphones - Our good friend recommended these after he experienced a brain injury.
• Blanket - Hospital rooms get cold!
• Stuffed Animals - Many people sent one for Preslee along with necklaces and books.
• Amazon Gift Card - There's a lot of waiting time. Audio books or renting a movie might be a nice gift. 
• Cash/Money for food and gas.
• Uplifting Items - I see you necklace, I can do hard things necklace, Hope necklace, Hug Box.  

Hospital Bags:

These are the bags we compile for the Give Presentlee Foundation and what I usually drop off if I know someone unexpectedly ends up in the hospital.

• Tote bag
• Blanket
• Fuzzy socks (I look for the ones with grippers on the bottom)
• Chapstick
• Treats - Granola bars, Cliff Bars, Gold fish, jerky, trail mix,
• Journal or Notepad 
• Pens
• Hair Elastics 
• Contact Case and Solution
• Altoids or gum
• Children's Book - If there will be kids there, I'll often add kid items like books, small toys, and coloring books.
• Travel Size Toiletry Items
• Handwritten note

Have you experienced a long hospital stay? What did you learn? What things helped you? Please share with us below!

St. Patrick's Day Scavenger Hunt (Round 2)

While growing up, leprechauns always visited our house on St. Patrick's Day. I can still vividly remember spending hours searching for them and convinced I saw at least one or two every year. They would often leave clues hidden around the house with a big bowl filled with green items at the end. I was convinced that one day I would a big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

Now with kids of my own, I've kept up the tradition. A couple years ago I was leaving for St. Patrick's Day and made up a scavenger hunt in advance for my husband to use. I ended up sharing it online. It was such a big hit that I decided to share an updated version! This one is a little bit longer and a whole lot of fun. 

Freebie: St. Patrick's Day Scavenger Hunt

For the prize, you can put anything at the end! I often fill a big bowl with gold chocolate coins and a few green items. I pretty much just walk up and down the isles at the grocery store and grab anything green, but here are a few ideas. 

• Green apples
• Chocolate gold coins
• A box of lucky charms
• A green can of Pringles chips
• Green Kool-Aid
• Green bag of skittles
• Gum
• Sunflower seeds
• Pop rocks
• Bubbles
• Box of Mike and Ike's
• Small cans of 7-up or sprite

I hope this helps to create a little fun in your home! Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Grief vs. Mourning

Grief can be such an isolating journey, but every now and then I seem to connect to someone who seems to understand. Sometimes it's in person and other times it's online. Either way, I'm grateful they choose to share their difficult journey with others because it reminds me that we aren't always alone.

Over the years there have been a few articles on grief that have really spoken to me. The first was the piano post, the second, a post describing grief is like a child who needs to be taken care of, and then I read a new one today. It's titled:

"Our Experience of Grief is Unique as a Fingerprint"

The article helped me make new connections that I had never made before. I hope you enjoy the author's insights as much as I did.

Do you have a favorite article on grief? If so, I'd love to know what it is. 

Random Acts of Kindness Day

Years ago, we asked our readers to leave random acts of kindness cards in their community for Preslee's 4th Birthday. It was a big hit and something our family was so grateful for. Read about it here. 

Did you know that February 17th is RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY?

We want to celebrate, and hope you'll join in with us!

To celebrate, we are offering you a freebie.  You can download these cards and when you do an act of kindness, leave one of these cards with it. Please tag us in your acts of kindness to be entered into a giveaway with #presentleerakd for a chance to win $25 store credit to Presentlee!

Here's to spreading kindness all over the world!

And if you need some ideas on how and where to leave your cards, here are a few.

• Pay for someone's food at a restaurant or drive-thru.
• Tape some money on a toy in a store.
• Leave a card with a treat or gift on someone's doorstep.
• Complete a chore for someone else in your home.
• Leave laundry soap in bag at the laundromat.
• Drop a treat off at the local police or fire station.
• Leave a coloring book/crayons in your hospital's emergency room.
• Leave $1.07 taped by the hot wheels section. 
• Leave a generous tip.
• Write an encouraging note to someone.
• Run a treat out to your garbage man.
• Leave a gift card in someone's mailbox or doorstep.
• Pay for someone's popcorn at a movie theater.
• Leave a treat for your UPS/FED EX delivery person.
• Leave a gift card or funny note in a book at the library.
• Leave a nice note on someone's car.
• Leave a package of wipes at a diaper changing station.
• Send a treat through to a bank teller.
• Buy flowers for a friend or stranger.
• Leave a gift or treat for your mailman.
• Leave a gift for a teacher in the school's office.
• Hide free bubbles in the park.
• Leave popcorn taped to a Red Box machine.
• Leave enough money to cover an item at the grocery store.
• Leave dollar bills all around the dollar store.
• Donate diapers to a women's shelter.
• Donate food to the homeless. 
• Leave tennis balls at a dog park.
• Tape change to a vending machine.
• Leave an anonymous note for someone.

What's your favorite way to serve? Let us know below!