MMM.... Butter

It's official. Peanut is his grandmother's grandson.  His Paternal grandmother is a certified butter addict.  At dinner, the woman can go through multiple packs of butter on a single dinner roll.  Butter on steak, extra butter on the mashed potatoes... you get the idea.  In all fairness, my own family members are strong proponents of the creamy light yellow pats of heavenly delight as well. 
Little Man recently found two ways to express his fondness for this cholesterol inducing miracle food. Last week Jack learned to move and climb chairs.  While I was out of the kitchen, he moved the chair, climbed to the table and acquired a spatula from the counter top.  He proceeded to turn and attack the butter dish left on the table, which here to fore, had been beyond his grasp.  Next thing I know, I return to the kitchen to find Jack licking butter by the spatula full.
Last night Jack and I visited my parents where we partook in some of the first sweet corn of the season, which was surprisingly delightful for being so early in the year.   Anyway, Peanut doesn't do hot foods--so Grandpa gave him a half eaten half cob, that had previously been buttered and salted, while I pulled a hot cob to begin cooling.  Little Man is absolutely mad about his corn--on the cob any way.  He smashes in to the corn.  I'm not sure exactly how much he actually gets in his mouth, but he has the best time using all of his amazing teeth.  Anyway, when the second unflavored cob was cool, I offered it to Jack.  After just a few bites, he handed it back to me--a very odd occurrence, given how much the kid loves his corn.  Apparently his love of corn, is now second only to his love of butter, which he instantly began pointing at.  Once I'd slathered a light coating over the cob, he ferociously attacked his cob with the zest of a true victor.
 Unfortunately, not even butter will make him love broccoli.

Getting on the Move with Duck Tape Brand from Shoplet #shopletreviews

 For regular readers, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been a little absent lately.  We’ve just had so much going on—more on that in another post.  One of the million things happening is my parent’s recent selling of their own house and purchase of a new house.  My parents have lived in this house since before I was born and they have tons of treasures which need to be boxed up and moved. 
Even with the many moves we made from apartment to apartment in Savannah, I noticed how much “stuff” gathers in a short amount of time—and how much we typically weeded from our “stuff” collection with each move.  My parents have 32 years of treasures subtracting zero moves.  That means a whole whole lot of boxes.
You have no idea how elated I was to be approached by Shoplet.com to review duck brand duct  tapes!  Seriously, their timing could not have been better. Shoplet is an amazing online store that carries everything you could want for your office supply needs.

This weekend, I help my mother pack up the spare closets.  We broke out some book boxes from job and I assembled them with the  Duck EZ Start Premium Packaging Tape.  The package I received contains 2 larger sized rolls with dispensers (60 yards) and an extra bonus roll (30 yards).  In truth, in all my moves, we never used “Duck Tape Brand” duct tape. We always just bought some super cheap generic brand.  I could instantly tell the difference.  Duck brand is so much thicker and durable than the generic stuff.  I used only one or two strips and really have no fear of the boxes opening. 
 The dispenser was super easy to use too.  With the generic stuff, you don’t usually get a dispenser—which means keeping track of a pair of scissors too.  If you do get a dispenser, it doesn’t usually work, or you spend so much time restarting the tape after each use.  Not so with the   Duck EZ Start Premium Packaging Tape dispensers.  They have this unique feature that keeps your tape in place every time. What a time saver.  The cut feature worked great too, and the tape didn’t peel apart or tear.  I genuinely love this product.

Next I tried out the Duck EZ Start Premium Packaging Tape w/ Dispenser.  Measuring in at 55 yards, and with a much smaller core I was afraid I wouldn’t find nearly as many uses for this roll.  Of course, I soon discovered how wrong I could be.  I loved that the smaller size made it easier for me to keep track of—in my large pockets sometimes.  It was also faster to use and I could handle it with just one hand.  The tape still maintained a high quality and the built in dispenser worked well.  While I was afraid to use it on the big boxes, it was a perfect fit for the smaller ones.  I also used small pieces to tape the edges of board games together and to bind bundles of miscellaneous junk.

The most exciting addition to the Duck Tape bundle I received was definitely the 10 yards of Zebra printed  Duck Tape.  I aspire to be a crafty genius, but sometimes lack the time.  Never the less, I still marvel at all of the creative and crafty things I see my students do.  My students love to top their pens with duct tape flowers, accessorize their crutches in cool duct tape wrappings, and even make wallets completely from the stuff (not like my dad who used to prolong the life of a faded wallet with duct tape repairs).  Although I’ve never seen a duck tape dress personally, I know there’s a contest out there for designing your prom ensemble from the stuff.   I love that duck tape comes in so many colors and patterns, that this no longer sounds as hopelessly ridiculous as I once thought.  I love that the duct tape is extra durable, water resistant, and so easy to use.   I look forward to getting fun and crafty.  

Many, many thanks to Shoplet.com for providing the awesome products for this review.
I received the products mentioned above in exchange for my fair and honest review of the products.  I received no additional compensation. All opinions are 100% my own.

Getting Ready for Day Care with Sticky Monkey Labels

Talk about perfect timing.  Before Christmas, the possibility of needing childcare was so far from my thoughts.  After Christmas, things moved pretty quickly and Rich landed an awesome sports writing job.  I'm still working, which means we've had to find child. So far we love where he's at.  It's on the same campus I work on, which makes me a little more comfortable knowing he's right there if he needs me. His teachers seem super nice, and he's adjusting to their schedule pretty well.

For a first time day care participant, the amount of extra effort to get your child ready can some times be a little daunting.  There was this huge packet of information we had to fill out, with tons of forms.  There was also a long list of items we needed to pack.  For example, several blankets, bippers, box of wipes, diapers (cloth in our case--which is super cool), wet bag, 2 shirts, pants, onsies, outdoor clothing (coats mittens....) you get the point.  Lots of stuff, and it all needed to be labelled.

I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to review Sticky Monkey's Personalized labels.  They really were a lifesaver as we were preparing peanut to leave our nest each day.  The labels come in a good variety of designs for boys and girls of all ages.  They'd be great for sending kids off to summer camp, or getting ready for school in the fall too.  They even offer allergy and medical alert labels, which I think is neat and probably super helpful.

We picked the Monster Design and have been super happy with the amazing bright colors.  The labels come in a great assortment of sizes.  There are some small enough to fit on his pacifier, while other large labels stand out on his wipes box.  The labels are waterproof, dishwasher and microwave safe, so we've added a few to his sippy cups with no problem.  We've even tried  a few clothing labels on his blankets and stuffed puppy for day care, and they hold up great in the laundry.

I think the labels I like the most are his shoe labels.  You place the self-adhesive label on the inside of the shoe, then a clear coat label that is slightly larger over and around the edge of the personalized label.  They hold up great and have been amazingly helpful since little man is the sort who is constantly taking his shoes off!

In short, Sticky Monkey Labels are a great time-saver, they are amazingly cute and they alleviate some of the getting ready for daycare stress.  I'll be adding more to our collection as little man grows.

If you'd like to get your hands on a few Sticky Monkey Labels of your own you can shop their website: http://stickymonkeylabels.com

Follow on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/StickyMonkeyLabels
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Read their Blog:  http://stickymonkeylabels.blogspot.com/

Adventures in Day Care

Oh goodness. People do this all the time. I keep telling myself that he will be perfectly fine. Thousands of kids go to daycare everyday. Thousands of mothers trust thousands of professionally trained, well-qualified people to watch their children everyday. It's still a big step for us. My husband has been blessed with finding a great job. While this means finally attaining financial stability, I can't help but feel a little guilty that we'll be leaving little man in the hands of strangers. Okay, they aren't complete strangers; I mean we did shop around for a child care we were comfortable with. The first place we saw was near home. It seemed okay at first, but upon visiting places closer to work, it the first looked dingy, dirty and definately not as friendly. The second place we visited was closer to my job. All and all, it was an okay daycare, and we probably could have been very happy there. The big down side: age restrictions. Due to corporate regulations, little man would have been placed in the infant room. We looked at those other infants in the infant room. Some were barely sitting up. Then there's little man, the bull in the china shop, curiously running from station to station. He was much more suited to the toddler room, but wouldn't be permitted there until he was 18 months to the day.This obviously wasn't an ideal fit. Final stop, a religiously sponsored day care on the campus of my school. All the parents and children we saw were so happy. Even though it was the end of a long day, the teachers still seemed very positive and upbeat. Sure we asked the obligatory questions, but more than anything, it felt very homelike. Peanut seemed to really fit in. So I know he'll be safe. I know he will have tons of fun playing with the other kids. And I'm hoping that he'll be glad to see me right after work. I don't understand why I then feel so anxious about his first day. I think I hope the teachers see him for the very brilliant little guy he is, and not the very super active mister doesn't-sit-still that someone who doesn't love him like we do might see. I hope he doesn't break anything, or hurt anyone. I hope he doesn't become too clingy or miss us too much. People do this everyday. He'll be fine. I'll be fine. It will all be okay. Wish us luck!

Safe Driving this Winter #Esurance

It’s been a challenge getting around to writing lately.  We’ve been on the road quite a bit.  First it was holiday travel; we did Christmas with my family at my sister’s—two and half hours south of here.  Then we did Christmas with my husband’s family, an hour and a half north of here.  Then, because we hadn’t had a chance to spend time in my husband’s home town, we ventured 4 ½ hours north over the three day weekend.   It didn’t help that it was the Friday of a three day weekend when we headed North, or that this was the first real snow they had gotten there this season, or that every snowmobiler in a 300 mile radius was headed that way too.

With all of our running, we’ve learned to observe several tips for staying safe while driving in winter conditions.

Slow Down.--  You aren’t really in that big of a hurry anyway.  And you’d rather arrive safely.

Vehichle Upkeep.-- Before hitting the road on one of our adventures, we always make sure our tires are filled, oil is changed and all fluids (especially the windshield wiper fluids are full.  In our case, we use windshield fluid with antifreeze included.  In the winter, it makes a huge difference.  On winter trip back from college in Tennessee, I learned the value of antifreeze in the wiper fluid.  Salt and road grime gathered on my windshield because the regular stuff froze in the lines, yuck!  Nothing can be worse than breaking down and having to change a tire in a blizzard.

Keep your eyes on the road—You will see much better if you plan to travel in daylight.  I recommend a pair of sunglasses for that snow glare.  Besides, you really don’t want to get stuck in a snow bank, with the kids in the car in the dark. Bring plenty of snacks and toys for the kids, so they can stay entertained and you can keep your eyes where they should be. 

Safe distance—Keep some distance between you and the car in front of you.  It’s easy to slip and slide in icy conditions, so give yourself plenty of space to slow down and stop.

Seatbelt—Always buckle up.   Always make sure your kids are securely and properly buckled it.

Cell phone.—Have it on you and have it well charged in case of an emergency

Emergency kit—Things happen, so be prepared.  Have blankets, water and food in your car.  Don’t forget a simple first aide kit.  When I first learned to drive, my father always had 50 lbs. bags of kitty litter or  road salt over the rear axle.  This helped keep the rear axle from fish tailing, but could also be used to help gain traction if I got stuck.

Take the time to warm and clear your car.  Warming up your vehicle will both help your engine run smoother and will help keep you windows clear for better visibility.

  All and all, we have been pretty blessed with a mild winter this year and I hope it lasts.  I wish you all safe driving, where ever your adventures take you.  If you have more suggestions for safe winter driving, be sure to share them on the esurance facebook page.

{I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Esurance blogging program for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.}