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

My son has been an Army child his entire life. He’s no stranger to goodbyes, and time away from family and friends. It wasn’t a choice he made; it was a life he was born into and I try to make goodbyes as easy as possible for him. It’s gotten worse since his father and I divorced, and we now live several counties away from him. He goes to visit him every other weekend and holidays, and he’s slowly getting into a routine. Our lives are complicated by the fact that my fiance is a commuting professor who is gone several days a week. I can’t always make a five year old understand why everyone must come and go, but I can help make his transitions a little easier with his new CloudPets™ toy.

Every week during the semester, my fiance flies back and forth from Kentucky to New Jersey. It isn’t easy on our family, but it certainly isn’t easy for Gabe. When Gabe isn’t with his father, Jeremy fills in as dad. He frequently asks him about work and when does he have to go back. Jeremy can record messages for Gabe, and I can send them to his CloudPet while he is away. He gets so excited about getting new messages. I also set it up so that his father and grandparents can send him messages too. Sometimes just hearing a family members voice can be reassuring.

What are CloudPets™? They’re new one-of-a-kind bluetooth enabled plush animals available at Walmart. Gabe chose the kitty which he named Cake the Cat. They also have a bear, puppy, bunny,  and a unicorn. You have to download the free CloudPets™ app to your smartphone to register and control your pet. The app also includes parental controls which allows you to control who can send your child a message. You can watch a detailed explanation of how the CloudPets™ and app works in a video series in this link.  You will need a smartphone or compatible bluetooth device, and 3 AA batteries to use the CloudPets™