Put away your sharpie markers, parents! The days of black marker bleeding through your children's clothing or fading off a cup in the dishwasher are over.
The creative minds over at Stuck on You sent me samples of the personalized labels that help parents organize clothing, shoes, school supplies, cell phones, and more. The labels are colorful and come in different shapes and sizes. You can choose from vinyl labels for lunch boxes, waterproof dots for shoes, iron-on clothing transfers and plastic bag tags. They even have security wristbands to protect your child if he or she gets lost.
When you are ready to purchase, include you children in the designing process. Let them choose the shape, color, size and logo themselves. Moms, you can then choose the material: vinyl, cloth, stick-on and iron-on. If only they could by them too!
And don't worry if your child is too young to read their own name. By 
choosing the color and the logo, they will be able to recognize their belongings much easier than if labeled with a marker.
Value packs are also available if you just can't decide what to get or if you want to get a friend on board. 
Have a child going to summer camp? What about food allergies? There are packages for specific childhood occasions and circumstances.
Go from boring black to exciting color! Your kids will enjoy being organized with Stuck on You labels (at least you hope). To shop now, visit www.stuckonyou.biz or call 1-800-236-2800 for a free brochure. Orders are delivered within 2-3 weeks.
Parent Trend Alert: Stuck on You labels
Best maternity tanks
A little bit ago, I blogged about maternity tummy sleeve that can help to hold up too large or too small pants. I have another, even better, product to boast about.
The crib is up
I had a surreal moment today when Rob and I put together the crib. It was a little tough putting that last slat on, but it came together nicely and looks so great!
The crib is the Espresso Pinehurst Single Crib from Babi Italia and it can convert into a toddler daybed so you can get 3 years of use out of it.
The bedding is The Rose Garden collection from My Baby Sam which I got brand new off eBay.
The nursery is still in flux until we find a spot for all of our other stuff and get more baby things from my shower.
Crib Bumper Warning: Even though I have the crib bumper on, I will most likely remove it once the baby is in it. There have been many reports on the risk associated with crib bumpers leading to infant deaths.
Fortunately, there are other (less cute) options. There are various breathable crib bumpers available so you can keep the crib slats protected but allow the baby to breath through the fabric.
Those are words?
I've learned some pretty crazy words that are actually playable in Scrabble. Here is my list thus far (it will continue to grow as I play Scrabulous):
- AL
- YID
- EM
- NE
- ER
- EN
- MUN
- VAC
- ZA
- PAX
- PE
- ET
- PI
- RET
- FA
- TE
- BA
Invisible glue
I discovered the best thing for doing paper crafts with vellum paper: Glue Dots!
I'm sure I'm a little late in finding these, but wow are they great! I made an invitation the other day with a vellum overlay and the dots (actually the one I have is in squares so I cut strips on the paper cutter) are sticky but invisible. The adhesive is strong enough that you don't need a lot.
In the past, when I used vellum paper, I used regular clear glue, but you still saw a spot on the paper especially if it was against a dark background. But with these, you see absolutely NADA!
I found the Glue Dots at Michaels, but you can find them in any craft store.
Totally addicting
If you ever find that you have some time to kill but you don't know what to do, check out www.scrabulous.com.
Scrabulous is an online Scrabble community that is free to join and allows users to either play solo, against the computer or with other people online. Just like chat rooms, there are different types of Scrabble rooms, but I am still discovering all the differences between them.
Not only is Scrabble addicting but it also teaches you a lot of oddly spelled words that really have definitions. Keep these words in mind when you give the game a go: Qi, Xi, Adz, Xat, and Ye.
Trust me, you will not want to leave your computer once you log in. That's why I use my laptop....so I can take the game with me...to the kitchen, to the bedroom or to iron my clothes. Is that pathetic???? Ha!
Busy Busy Busy
Well it was a busy week for me the last 2 weeks!
I knew I'd have a lot of time on my hand once the new year holiday was over since my semester at Rider didn't start until yesterday. Some people may see that lag time as an excellent chance to sit around an do nothing, but I am just the opposite. I was worried I'd go stir crazy for 2 weeks. So, I decided I'd find my own opportunities and that led me to more volunteering.
Since about Jan 14, I've been volunteering at the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce. Every municipality pretty much has one. Chambers serve to provide education and networking opps to local businesses large and small. The Mercer Chamber has sponsored and co-sponsored a slew of events from job fairs to bridal expos to a wine tasting night at the McCarter Theater. Members range from large financial institutions to small business owners and everyone receives the same benefits of being part of the chamber.
When I started there, they were in the midst of trying to get invites out for their hall of fame dinner and preparing for their power luncheon where Brian Hughes, the county executive, was giving the "Sate of the County" address. There were about 500 people in attendance so it was a huge deal! I immediately took on many different tasks like stuffing envelopes, making brochures, updating membership databases, doing registration at the luncheon, etc. And since there is a small staff about about 6, they were just so grateful to have extra hands to do so much busy work. Hey...I just wanted to be out of the house!! I've already had such a fun time there and plan to volunteer until my due date pretty much.
Even though I'm only getting paid for my tutoring work and my once-a-week Computer Tots gig, my volunteer work is giving me the experience of doing PR and event planning work.
Between Morven and the Chamber, I've developed some handy skills that will hopefully lead me in my next endeavor (besides motherhood!!)
If you or someone you know is interested in joining the MRCC, contact them at 609-689-9960 or info@mercerchamber.org
Does this work? (Fake allowance for kids)
Rob and I were talking about whether we want to give our kid an allowance and I came up with an idea that sounds really good in theory but I wonder if it would actually work?
Out: Paying your child real money for doing chores, getting good grades, etc.
In?: "Banking" theoretical money when your child does the above.
Explanation:
Chores are worth $.50 and good grades are worth $1.00 each. As your child does his/her chores, you "bank" the money into an account (which would be written in some sort of ledger) and as the tally increases your child can then use the money to buy something they want. Instead of actually giving your child money (which they can easily waste at a candy shop), they have to save money until they really really want to use it. Here is a scenario, let's say your child really wants a new iPod case and they see that they almost have the money saved in their "bank," but it is close to the holiday season. You can say to them, "what if you wait and see if you get it as a gift and save the money for something else you want." or "are you sure you want to buy it or do you want to wait and save more money to see if something better comes along?"
This gives your child the lesson of personal choice and saving money and buying quality versus quantity. Then, hopefully by the time your child is actually making his/her own money they have the concept of saving and waiting and won't spend frivolously (fingers crossed!)
I'd like to know your thoughts. Obviously, Rob and I are far from employing this practice, but it's always good to be on the same page when the time comes.
An easy margarita pizza
Last night I made my first pizza in a long long time and it was actually really good! I searched for some variety online and found a recipe to use as a base. This time, I used a pre-cooked pizza crust from Mama Mary's. The recipe is easy and takes less than 10 minutes to cook!
Ingredients:
1 Mama Mary's Whole Wheat Crust
EVOO
Grated Romano or Parmesan Cheese
1/4 c-1/2 c Shredded Part-Skim Mozzarella (depends on how cheesy you want your pizza)
2 Plum tomatoes sliced thin
1/4 c Canned mushroom pieces & stems
1 tsp Minced garlic
Oregano
Salt & Pepper
Directions
Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Lay the pizza crust on a baking sheet and spread with a light layer of EVOO.
In a skillet, saute mushrooms and garlic in the mushroom juices and some EVOO. Cook until liquid is evaporated.
While the mushrooms are cooking, lay sliced tomatoes around pizza crust.
Top with sautéed mushrooms.
Sprinkle about 1 handful of the grated cheese and then follow up with the mozzarella.
Add a dash of oregano, salt & pepper.
Lower oven heat to 425 and cook pizza for about 8 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.
Enjoy!!!
RIP Milo
So long Milo. We had a great 12 years with you. You were a great little guy. We loved you and will miss you :(
Pregnancy books that WON'T scare you
I was telling the midwife at my OBGYN center that I was getting anxious about childbirth and had read about different things that could happen in my "What to Expect..." book. She told me that those are terrible books and all they do is scare women! She recommended an alternative book (though it promotes natural childbirth) that is less scary. I was also told of another book from a friend of my sister-in-law that gave a less medical spin on pregnancy and birth.
From the midwife:
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth- Based on reader reviews on Amazon.com it seems that this book calms the nerves of many women whether or not they choose to give birth naturally. It is always helpful to read testimonials from real women rather than assumptions of what you should be going through.
From a real mom:
Great Expectations: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy and Childbirth-She loved this book because it talked of the baby in an inanimate kind of way like comparing it to a fruit at different stages. So instead of using specific measurements she felt better thinking of her baby like a little mango or peach! The Amazon.com reviewers recommended this over other pregnancy books and said it calmed their fears as well.
Must eat here: Monticello's Bistro Cafe
My friend Mara took me to one of her favorite Italian eateries in South Amboy for a little New Year's Eve girl's day. Luckily, she had tried almost everything on the menu to know what to recommend, but there were so many good options it was hard to decide. But first, a little more about Monticello's...
You might think that an Italian restaurant would scream pasta and pizza, but this place had a metropolitan flare to it. Yellow walls and hanging pendant lights were accents for the bistro tables throughout the small but comfortable setting. Along the right wall was a counter full of pastries and homemade gelato!
The menu had some of your classic Italian favorites: Chicken or Veal Parm, Pasta and Pizza. However, the pizzas were more gourmet letting you choose from a shrimp topping to an all veggie palate. There was a full page of panini sandwiches to choose from along with mouth watering salads like a fried calamari, Cesar, or a poached pear and gorgonzola (which I had).
During pregnancy you need to stay away from soft cheeses like gorgonzola, but that's ok...I don't care for it anyway. But the rest of the salad was spectacular. It came with prosciutto, a red wine poached pear on top of mesclun greens and a fig vinaigrette. Mara had a half order of Veal Parm since she wanted to eat light. For drinks, we each had some Sanpellegrino Aranciata . So refreshing! And to top off our lunch feast, we each had our own cone of gelato. I had a Ferrero Rocher flavor and Mara had the Baci. And with all of this food, our bill only came out to about $15 each! What a deal!
Monticello's is sure to become (if it hasn't already) a local gem. If you are in the area or visiting some friends or family near South Amboy, take the trip over. If you're not a gelato person, you can walk across the way to a Baskin Robbins/Dunkin Donuts.
Monticello's Bistro Cafe, 131 N Broadway, South Amboy, 732-721-0055
This is a first in my book!
Ok this never happened to me, but I only gained 2lbs over the holidays...and that is with a growing pregnant belly! It's amazing how much food you DON'T eat when you're NOT drinking!
Challenge yourself to a new body
Discovery Health is bringing their National Body Challenge Contest to New Jersey this coming weekend at the Short Hills Mall. Here are the details:
With the holidays behind us, recovery mode - and reality - is finally setting in. If you and your fellow Jerseyites are looking for some non-alcohol-related activities to keep you busy, Discovery Health is kicking off National Body Challenge 2008 with an event at the Short Hills Mall this weekend, Jan. 5 & 6.
Serious resolution-makers will have the opportunity for a weigh-in, size measurement, and body-fat analysis (scary, I know, but knowledge is the first step, right?). Participants can also talk with a nutritionist, have a milk mustache photo taken, and score some free swag.
You can get more info and register here: http://health.discovery.com/national-body-challenge/promo /events.html
The National Body Challenge is Discovery Health's way to help people finally follow through with the New Years resolutions they've been making and breaking for years. There are lots of online components, including meal plans, a progress tracker, expert tips and advice, games and quizzes, and a discussion forum. Registration is absolutely free, and includes an 8-week trial membership to Bally Total Fitness.
