Tag Archives: family

An emergency room visit with a friend

Always bring a book and a bear to the E.R.

There was a time when Quinnlin’s family didn’t know about anti-rejection drugs and IV antibiotics and near monthly E.R. visits for her or her brother, Gage. Quinnlin and Gage survived kidney failure, dialysis and kidney transplants, both at the age of eight and now are in the phase where things like twice daily drugs and IVs and regular E.R. visits are (their) normal.

Last month when Quinnlin had a simple bump on her arm turn into an infection that was growing, her mom knew they’d end up in the E.R. and probably admitted before she even called their doctor to discuss the color, shape and size of the area.

Always helpful…a friend and electronics.

“It looks red and it’s growing. It looks exactly like Gage’s did when it was MRSA.” Quinnlin’s mom said to the care team. MRSA is a resistant staph infection that sends fear into just about any medical professional, but many doctors, including organ transplant teams, are particularly worried about MRSA in their patients.

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Recycled wall art for the whole family!

by Molly Saunders, Digital Bear

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for unique and useful ways to breathe new life into recyclables. Recycling things is great, but reusing is the best way to recycle. It doesn’t take any extra energy, other than your own elbow grease and creativity, to create something new from something that’s already been used.  Toilet paper rolls are perfect for lots of different kid-friendly crafts. But if you’re looking for something to satisfy your more sophisticated tastes, follow along with me to find out how to make your very own wall sculpture. Anyone can do this!

Recycled Wall Art the entire family can make

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Enter the #SocialBear Giveaway! Twice!

If you’re reading this blog, then you are probably a pretty social bear. So why not enter our Social Bear Giveaway? You have two chances to win one of four of these official Build-A-Bear Workshop Social Bears.

1. Go to our Facebook page, click on our Friends Count tab under our background image and enter there. Or just enter here.

2. Be sure you’re set up with a Twitter account. Then compose a tweet that includes our Twitter handle, @buildabear, plus the social bear giveaway hash tag, #socialbear.

You have until Sept. 14 (this Friday!) at 11:59 p.m. Central Time to enter. Copy and paste this link http://wp.me/p26MWY-Tj into an email and send it to your friends and family so they have a chance to win this little guy too! Good luck!


Bears love to party!

By Margie Brill of My Springfield Mommy

A party at a Build-A-Bear Workshop can be for so much more than just a birthday. No matter what brings your family together, whether your children are part of a sports team, club, or church group, there is always room to celebrate.  For example, just this month I invited a few children and their families from the local Ronald McDonald House to come to the Springfield, Ill. store for an unforgettable afternoon.

kids from the ronald mcdonald house party in springfield, illinois

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Lunchbox notes: good for more than just lunch!

by Maricris from ZensibleMama.com

Download and print your beary own lunchbox notes!

What unique ways can you think of to use these adorable lunchbox notes?


Tips for transitioning back to school schedules

By Candy Tai from mommypalooza

Another summer break has flown by and my kids are off to start yet another fantastic school year full of learning, personal growth, friendships, and fun!  I’d be lying if I said that this new season and the transition it brings didn’t scare me a little. It does.  Not only is it a change in routine for the kids, but for me as a mom as well.  I’ve sorta gotten used to sleeping in a tad bit later and relaxing by the pool as the kids practice for their someday trips to the Olympics.  And, after talking with several other moms, I’ve realized that there are a few things that I could do to help start us all of on the right foot.  I’m committed to making the start of my children’s new school year a great one, and here’s how I’m doing it:

1. Get organized – This may seem like a no-brainer but there are specific areas of my home and life that I struggle to keep organized and on-task.  One of the things that always seems to stress me out is how to handle the paperwork, forms, worksheets, and artwork that come home each day.  Multiply that by my two school-aged kids and that is A LOT of “paper chaos” to deal with!  So, getting organized with my little “clutter counter” {i.e., the counter space in my kitchen that seems to be a catchall for papers} is imperative!  Continue reading


First Day of School

By Caitlin Noblitt, Social Media Intern

How do you make your child’s first day of school beary special? What if they are going to a new school? Share your tips!


Send a Smile with Red Stamp

By Caitlin Noblitt, Social Media Intern

Today is your best friend’s birthday and you’re scrambling to the nearest store to get her a card full of well wishes just in time for the celebration. You scour through the endless rows of cards and quickly pick one that seems to be about right. You hand over five dollars for a card you hope she will like.

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The Traveling Smallfrys™

By Maricris of Zensible Mama


Traveling is probably my family’s best skill, if it’s a skill at all. We can pack a mean luggage at any given time and just go! Frequent traveling will do that to you. It also sharpens your ability to pack right and to bring only what is sensible and easy to carry.  The key is to travel light but not deprived.

This holds true when you’re traveling with your child(ren) like we do. And with children come toys! Not just toys but their favorite toys. And oh boy! Some of them can be big. Fortunately, my daughter prefers to bring her Build-A-Bear animals when she travels, which sometimes double as her “travel pillow”. The only problem with it, is that sometimes because they’re large, she can’t really hold on to them well when she’s dragging her own luggage and there have been instances where she drops them or the worst, almost lost some of them in one of our plane trips.

Thank goodness though, and I do mean real goodness, for Build-A-Bear Workshops’ cute and adorable smallfrys™. They’re small, yet not lacking in the cute factor and travel really well. I can easily stuff them in my shoulder or carry-on bags and they’re great for small hands to hold on to when we’re on the go, on the road, or trying to catch our next plane!

In our recent travel to the beach, we opted to bring only our army, yes army, of smallfrys with us. All four of them, including Pedro, my very own little monkey doo. The great thing about having just them in this trip was that my daughter can easily stuff them in our beach bag and transport them on to the beach. And because they’re small, they’re easily manageable, they don’t take up that much space and it was relatively safe from getting too much sand in the process!

Though my favorite thing was that because the smallfrys are small enough, they fit perfectly in either my hubby’s pocket or my daughter’s to keep them safe when her little hands are busy checking out souvenir items at the shops at the beach.

But I think the best thing about the smallfrys is that we were able to bring all our favorite animal collections but in its smaller versions, creating less hassle because we didn’t have to pack a bulky bag to accommodate them. They’re perfectly-sized and my daughter was happy to have them and was surrounded by them each night while she slept! Now that is what you call perfect complement to a wonderful vacation!

Personal note:

Now, it’s needless to say, that during this trip we detoured, like we always do at every place we go to, at a Build-A-Bear Workshop store in Myrtle Beach and my daughter ended up going home with a store-exclusive animal, the Stingray, as part of her excellent academic achievement rewards and eyed the Lime Leopard smallfrys that she might just get soon enough to add to our growing collections.

And I tell you, the new smallfrys collections are all so adorable, it’s so hard not to get your hands on one of them if not all. They’re great “mini-me” version of your favorite regular-sized Build-A-Bear animals, just ask my daughter…


Teaching Your Kids to be Patriotic

By Brandy Walleshauser of No Time Mommy


I met my husband a few weeks before he left for basic training. It was one of the toughest decisions he ever made, but after 2001 he felt like he had to defend his country. We welcomed our first daughter while he was still in the Army and he deployed to Iraq a second time two weeks after she was born. Just three short months later, we lost some incredible friends by an IED. It was at that point that we decided it was important for our kids to know the true meaning of Memorial Day and Independence Day, letting them know what it means to be patriotic. After all, for most people it is a day of fun and barbecues, but to us it’s so much more.

I think it’s hard for my kids to really understand the true meaning of being patriotic because they are so young, but we have taught them a few simple things.

Flying the flag: The American flag is a big part of being Patriotic, and while we can’t fly one where we live we make sure our kids know what it means and the proper etiquette when holding or hanging a flag. We do have a flag across from us along with a POW/MIA flag in honor of those missing. The kids love looking at it.

Showing your spirit: You can buy a child’s flag shirt for just $5, it’s the perfect way for your child to show off their spirit.

Read a book about our country: My daughter came home one day from school and was teaching me about patriotism and our founding fathers, etc. It was really amazing how much she knew, all from a children’s book.

Showing self respect: This could be the most important thing to teach your children. For a child to learn what it really means to be patriotic they need to show respect to our culture and country. We would not have freedom without responsibility. Teaching your kids not to liter or damage their surroundings is a great way to show respect for themselves and the world around them.

There is also the option of taking them to a concert or a fireworks show, to show your child how patriotic others are.

My son decided that he wanted to show you his spirit by getting a star style teddy from Build A Bear Workshop and dress it up as a soldier.


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