by gillian claire: asher

SOCIAL MEDIA

2.28.2018

Teaching Children Responsibility through Pet Care

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WhatFuelsRight #CollectiveBias

I can't express enough how positive the experience of adopting a pet has been for our family! I was really nervous about adding another living thing to our lives but it has so much easier than I anticipated and adds immeasurable joy to my kids' everyday!

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My boys have truly enjoyed the experience of having their first pet and I have loved walking through this special time with them! They are at perfect ages (6&10) to help out with pet care; in fact they love getting involved and taking on the extra responsibility. I'm partnering with  Purina® and PetSmart today to share a few ways to get your kids involved and teach responsibility by caring for a pet! I love that not only am I strengthening their bond with Finn but am also helping them mature by learning to serve and care for someone besides themselves!

Involve your Kids from the Beginning!

Our decision to get a cat was kind of spur of the moment but also something that had been pressing on my heart for about a year prior. The kids were over the moon when I announced that we would be spending the weekend looking for a cat and they were with me every step of the way!


If bringing home a pet is something you plan for in advance, you can get your kids involved by having them help research pet care online or by looking for books at the library. Even though we didn't plan far in advance for Finn, the boys were with me at the pet store to help choose what we needed (vs. what we wanted) to care for our new kitty! We also started talking about what they would be doing to help out and I made it clear that they would need to show responsibility from the start!

Play Time

This is one of the easiest ways to get your kids involved in pet care because hello, kids love to play and so do animals! I've taught the boys that sometimes when Finny starts biting or getting a little too rambunctious, he is telling us that he needs to play. They love tossing toys for him in the living room or even creating cat toys out of cardboard. Asher was making forts for Finn the other day in the bedroom and I love seeing our cat bring out their creative side!


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Feeding

Feeding is another easy way to involve your children and teach them some responsibility! Asher, my 6 year old, especially loves feeding Finn. When he gets home from school, he always makes sure Finn's food and water bowls are filled! Finn gets especially excited about his morning meal because that's when we give him wet food and Roman loves helping with that!


We like mixing it up and offering Finn different foods and have recently tried the Purina® Beyond Natural and Purina® Beyond Simple Origins lines that we picked up at PetSmart! PetSmart has the widest variety of premium quality Purina products available at amazing prices. We love and trust the Purina brand (check out my last post with Purina here!) because they provide complete and balanced diets for pets!

Rome and Ash love our visits to PetSmart and we always seem to come home with a few extra things that we didn't come in for... During this trip, Roman tried to convince me that we should get a Chinchilla, ha! PetSmart allows pets in store and I really want to bring Finn on one of our trips to see how he does!


Click on the image above to shop the Purina Beyond Natural cat food for your kitties! We tried the Indoor Grain Free cat food in the flavor Salmon, Egg & Sweet Potato and as you can see,
it is Finn-approved!

The Dirty Work

Honestly, most of pet care is pretty fun and enjoyable in my opinion but of course there are a few aspects that take a little more encouragement when getting the kids involved! I am definitely dropping the ball a little in this area. I usually clean out the litter box myself because it's just so easy but this is an area that is perfect for teaching my boys responsibility! I also need to involve the boys a little more in making sure they brush Finn regularly because the cat hair situation is starting to get real around here!


Best of All, Cuddling!

I really feel like giving our kids more responsibility in pet care helps to strengthen the bonding process! Feeding, grooming and attention are all ways my cat feels love and giving my boys a nudge in those areas has helped them to connect!

The cuddles between my boys and Finn are the sweetest part of owning a pet. It's literally priceless to see how Finn will lay on his back and let Asher bury his face on his tummy because as Ash says, "it just feels so good!" Roman is not a great sleeper but now Finn likes to hop onto his bunk bed with him some nights and those are the nights that Roman always falls asleep the fastest! 

Well, I'm literally getting a little emotional because honestly having a friendly furry animal in the house is one of the best decisions I've made as a parent so far! I hope this post has helped spark a couple ideas for you if you are planning to get a pet or have just brought one home! 


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I'd love to hear your stories of adding a pet to the family in the comments below! For more cute cat pictures, follow me on Instagram: @bygillianclaire




Check out your local PetSmart to try the Purina Beyond Natural and Beyond Simple Origins cat food for yourself! 

Other Kitty Posts:



XOXO, Gillian



10.19.2017

Summer Portraits, Part 2.

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I finally edited this second set of photos that I took of the boys on a summer day in Somerset, Kentucky. 
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I am so in love with these photos. This old wall, the random U hanging on a wire, my little boys.... these just scream childhood to me and fill my heart. I hope you enjoy them as well. :)

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xoxo,
Gillian
6.13.2017

Little Style // with Little Gypsy Finery.

Little Gypsy Finery provided product for this post.; all opinions of my own.
Thanks for providing for my family by reading along!
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Summer is here which means a few new clothes for my little boys! Some of you  might remember when I used to do a ton of "Little Style" posts featuring clothing brands for kids. Roman, my 9 year old, is now officially in the stage of only wearing athletic clothes all day everyday. (We love Old Navy's active line for him!) But, my little Asher is still totally into wearing the cutest little boys clothes and I have a few fun styled posts planned for him this summer!
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I'm literally in love with this top from Little Gypsy Finery. It is so soft and thin and reminds me exactly of an 80s vintage tee which is just everything my dreams are made of basically. Luckily Asher agreed with me and had to have this shirt because he is dino-obsessed and "turquoise" is his favorite color. :)

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All the heart eyes at these pictures!!!
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Dinosaur Pocket Tee: c/o Little Gypsy Finery
Pants: Target
Sneakers: Cat + Jack line at Target


Be sure to check out the Little Gypsy Finery shop as well as their Instagram; they have some of the cutest things.

Use code: GYPSYFRIEND for 15% off!
3.14.2017

Pi Day Celebration!


Sponsored Post: This post is sponsored by Edwards Desserts, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
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     I picked up my Edwards Pie at my local Safeway. There were several flavors to choose from but I thought that this Hershey's chocolate creme pie would be perfect for my little guys! 

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     Asher and Roman were pretty psyched when I surprised them with the pie and told them we were having a little Pi Day celebration! Asher is a picky eater but he devoured two pieces and Roman even stayed in from playing with his friends to share a piece with us! You would never guess that this pie came from the frozen foods section; it is so good!


     I'd say that my Pi Day Piece Offering certainly did the trick. It was such a good feeling to take a moment to relax and enjoy myself with my sweet little boys.

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     This definitely reminded me that I need to look for more opportunities to surprise my kids with something special. It doesn't take much to make peace and a little bit goes a long way!  

Are you celebrating Pi Day with your kids? Why not run to the store and grab an Edwards Pie and some cute paper plates and have a party of your own? Checkout the Edwards Desserts Facebook page for more inspiration!
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12.01.2016

middle of nowhere, nebraska.

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 (Fall Road Trip, 2015)
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I was pretty elated honestly to find this perfect junkyard / corn field behind our hotel in the middle of nowhere, Nebraksa last fall. These are the settings that photographers' dreams are made of. I finally found time to edit these and I have to share because they are my absolute favorite kind of photos: adventuring with my little boys and chasing them around in the setting golden light.
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1.26.2016

little style: FamLove Clothing

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    Okay, so I'm secretly obsessed with Valentine's Day. I'm not really a huge holiday person honestly but it gets me every year when stores start filling up with all the cute heart things. As if the Target dollar spot could even get any more tempting!
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    FamLove Clothing sent us this adorable tee shirt and it's absolutely perfect for Asher to wear this year for Valentine's Day! I love that it has the sign language sign for "I love you." We taught both of our boys some sign language when they were babies and the "I love you" sign has lasted all of these years and they still use it to this day. FamLove is a family owned brand run by 3 cousins whose mission is to spread positivity and love through trendy clothes! Their shirts are super soft and high quality and of course absolutely adorable.
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You can use my code: bygillianclaire to get 20% off  your purchase!
Be sure to check out their site 
and grab one of these adorable shirts for your little one's Valentine's Day. 
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shirt: c/o FamLove Clothing
camo jogger pants: Old Navy clearance (sold out, similar here)
car slip ons: Old Navy clearance (sold out)
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*I received this shirt for free as part of my work as a Brand Ambassador for the FamLove Clothing brand. I never accept clothing from or support brands that I do not honestly admire and love! 
Thanks for reading along!*
12.15.2015

FabKids // november picks!

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I'm finally getting up my pictures from our November FabKids picks! Time is going by super fast and I can't believe that we are half way through December already, eek! As usual, I'm super happy with the adorable outfits we picked this month. Asher was over the moon about this t-rex shirt; he loves dinosaurs and the football tee was perfect for my little sports obsessed 8 year old. 
( Yes, I said 8 year old, can you even believe it!? )
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The boys each received a pair of high top sneakers with their outfits this month and oh my goodness, I just can't even, they are too cute for words. Be sure to check out FabKids, a subscription clothing company for kids, for yourself.
Use my link to get 20% off your first outfit! 
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Happy Tuesday!
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*Ie received these clothes in exchange for my work as a FabKids Brand Ambassador. 
All opinions are of course, my own! 
Thanks for reading along; I truly appreciate it!*
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