We’re down to mere weeks before Mineola elementary schools starts and it’s hard to believe. On the one hand, YAY SCHOOL! Our town offers public pre-k , so Evan will be going 5 mornings a week. On a bus. Apparently typical four year olds are better at public transportation than I am, since I barely managed to catch the bus in high school, let alone pre-K. On the other hand, 5 days a week is a lot of school. And it never really goes back – it gets worse. Next year he’ll have full day kindergarten, followed by 12 YEARS of school at least 180 days a year. It almost makes me want to keep Caroline home instead of sending her back to preschool.

Almost. But not really, since going to doctor’s appointments alone is an indulgence I can’t live without anymore. Although I haven’t officially registered her at all, so I hope there’s a spot at her current program. File that under Things I Always Forget To Take Care Of In A Timely Manner, although that file might be kind of full since Find Out When Evan’s Classroom Orientation Is, Buy School Uniforms, Get A Copy Of The School Supply List, and Update Both Kids’ Health Forms are already in there.

I learned a lot of lessons in the last year at preschool: Never underestimate a child’s talent for getting paint on the ONE outfit you like best. Putting a note in a backpack does not mean the teacher will get it, ever. And label everything. LABEL. EVERYTHING.

Last year I relied on my shoddy memory and the availability of a Sharpie to label all the kids’ stuff. We lost a lot of cups. I also got a lot of “Just a reminder! Smiley Face!” notes home when I forgot, and nothing makes me feel worse than Smiley Face! notes from the teachers. Might as well write “Failing As A Mother! Smiley Face!” on them.

This year, I’m getting a little help from Stuck on You. They have a huge selection of products you can personalize – not just labels, but pretty much anything you can imagine. They sent me a family starter pack (with 2 kids, everything gets shared) and it is faaaaantastic.

Shoe labels that stick in the heels – this picture was taken right after I stuck them in. I wasn’t 100% convinced they were going to stay but after a week of hard wear (including leaving them out in the rain) they still look exactly like that.

Mini/pencil labels on our sippies spotted out in the wild! This one has been through the dishwasher several times already.

Perfect for summer school lunches!

Iron in clothing labels. LOOOOOOOVE. Once I got the hang on it (stick a towel under the jacket/shirt so you can press down nice and hard) it took 5 minutes to knock out every fall coat and sweatshirt. BOOM.

These have been in for a week. Notice how you can still read them?! Amazing. PLUSALSO, they use non-toxic eco-friendly inks.

These are some well-labeled children right here: lunches, cups, folders, shoes, and sweatshirts.

If I was really smart, I’d order another set with my phone number on it and stick them on all Caroline’s favorite toys and dolls, so when she leaves them at the beach/aquarium/mall/playground/library there’s a chance we could get them back.

She likes that idea.

Sigh. This is what happens when I say “Make a cute face!” It has nothing to do with labels, except that I’m labeling her a weirdo.

The gingers say “What are you waiting for?! These labels are the coolest!”

To help you get ready for school, Stuck On You has two $20 gift certificates to give to my readers! Just leave a comment telling me what you’re doing to get ready for the school year to enter for a chance to win. And definitely go check out their site, they’ve got everything from place mats to puzzles. You’ll be stuck on them (ba-dum-ching!)

Disclaimer: Stuck On You gave me a family pack of labels so I could try them out. No other compensation was provided and I swear I really, really love these labels. One entry per family. Two winners will be chosen using Random.org on August 14th and contacted via email so please use a real one.

If you tracked down a copy of my high school senior year yearbook, there’s a mini-interview with me where I declare I’m going to be a marine biologist when I grow up. I didn’t want to study dolphins or train whales or anything – I just really really liked the ocean. After just ONE college-level biology class I realized the actual sciencey biology stuff wasn’t something I wanted to make a career out of, but that didn’t changed how much I love the ocean one bit. It’s why we go to the aquarium at least once a week and why my kids have seen the episode of Diego with Baby Humpback Whale more times than any other episode and why Star Trek IV is indisputably the best (original) Star Trek movie. It might also have something to do with why I married someone in the Navy, but don’t tell him.

Sterling Publishing sent me – well, the kids – a copy of Shimmer & Splash: The Sparkling World of Sea Life a couple weeks ago and it’s been in heavy read and fake-read rotation ever since. Caroline likes to lie on the floor and open up all the cool fold-out pages while she points out all the animals she knows. “Look! Orca! Look! Barracuda! Look! Fishy!” (she’s only two, I can’t expect her to know the proper name for EVERYTHING yet.)

It’s more of a reference book than a story book, with interesting facts and information on various types of sea life from jelly fish to whales and everything in between. The pictures are very detailed and include cool stuff like life-size shark teeth and big fold-out pages. The drawings are gorgeous and life-like – besides the amazing color drawings there are pencil sketches of extras, like the anatomy of a sting ray. It’s like a visit to the aquarium without leaving our house.

I can already tell it’s going to be a much-loved book for many many years. I recommend it to anyone who has marine biologist dreams (past or future), loves the ocean or even just really loves beautiful drawings.

Sterling has kindly offered a copy to one of my readers. To enter just leave a comment on this post and I’ll draw a winner randomly on Monday. You can find the book on Amazon here, and check out the author’s website here.

Reading about whales in her narwhal shirt. LOVE.

I received a review copy of Shimmer & Splash for the kids but no other compensation was provided for this post. Links are not affiliate links.

I love when a company reaches out with a brand and an idea I’m happy to support – and it doesn’t hurt when my kids love their product too.

KinderStuff is the kind of company you can stand up a cheer for. They make organic, eco-friendly and socially conscious kids’ clothes, made from marine recovered ocean plastic material yarn, in America and Germany. Then they cut out the middleman and sell them straight to you to keep the costs down – so you don’t have to take out a second mortgage to dress your kids in a way you can feel good about.

On top of selling super-cute, fashionable clothes, they’re working to solve one of the most frustrating kids’ clothes problems – they grow out of them so fast! From KinderStuff:

Kids grow, clothes don’t. Some say that children outgrow almost 1,500 articles of clothing in their first 18 years. That’s a problem!

With KinderStuff, every item you purchase gets you a discount in the future. When the clothes no longer fit, send them back and get a discount coupon for your next purchase. We even pay for the shipping back to us! Returned clothing is then donated to charity, recycled, or resold as hand-me-down on our website. All this doesn’t only benefit you, but society as a whole.

KinderStuff just launched at the beginning of the month and right now they’ve got designs for babies and toddlers up to size 24 months but they’ll be rolling out new designs and products up to size six years over the next few months. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for 4 year olds (and if you have a good idea, they’d love to hear from you!)

Caroline has worn her Stella shirt four times since we got it (which means it’s been washed 3 times) and it still looks great. The cotton is thick and obviously very high quality. There wasn’t any significant shrinking or fading. The colors are still bright and the “oonie-corn” is still the cutest. I’m very impressed.

Now I’m going to post a bunch of pictures of Caroline in her shirt, but you can scroll to the bottom to enter my giveaway to win the item of your choice from KinderStuff!

KinderStuff is a new company in the US and they would really love your support on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I was sent the Stella shirt to review but no compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Argh! Ahoy Mateys!

Evan is kind of a big fan of pirates. “Kind of” might be an understatement – he is obsessed with pirates. It might be a universal boy stage, or it might be thanks to Jake, Cubby and Izzy on Disney Jr. So you can pretty much imagine how excited he was when he found this on the kitchen counter:

That is our very favorite snack – Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar – combined with our very favorite show – Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

The Limited Edition Jake and the Never Land Pirates multipack features Pirate’s Booty’s best-selling product – Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar.  The pack also features Jake and the Never Land Pirates characters and games to keep the crew engaged during snack time.  The little treasures half-ounce size of Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar is just 65-calories and is the perfect portion for the lunchbox or when on-the-go.

Our treasure chest came with some pirate swag too – an eye patch, some temporary tattoos and a super cool foam sword, perfect for all your toddler swashbuckling needs. The kids loved all of it. But the biggest hit was definitely the booty.

Caroline takes her puffed snacks very seriously.

Well, the pirate’s booty AND the eyepatch:

I was going to send the adorable little single-serving bags to Evan’s school for his special helper day (which means he brings snack) but they’re…mostly gone. The kids ate the first 12 within 24 hours. OK, maybe I helped a little. But it’s Pirate’s Booty! It’s so delicious!

Do you want to win your own treasure chest of new limited edition Jake and the Never Land Pirates Pirate’s Booty Aged White Cheddar snacks? Plus the other fun swag? Of course you do!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was sent a prize pack to eat and enjoy but no other compensation was received in exchange for this post. We just really love Pirate’s Booty. All opinions and photos are my own. Winner will be chosen by random.org and Rafflecopter.

It looks like we’re getting another winter storm this week which, COME ON MOTHER NATURE. Even if it’s 75% ice (ugh) and sleet (UGH) it’s going to mean another weekend of inside activity with 2 kids desperate for a day at the park. Where’s my early spring, Punxsutawny Phil? Imma about to take off my earrings and make myself a nice groundhog fur hat. I need it for the storm, obviously.

I have fond memories of spending my early-April birthday at the beach in South Carolina back in college. And not “at the beach” in the sense that we were on a beach in winter coats, but at the beach meaning bikinis and trashy magazines and trying to get a nice even tan long before Memorial Day. In New England you’re lucky if you’ve pulled out your capri pants before Memorial Day, never mind a bathing suit. It’s going to be cold here for a while, is what I’m saying.

Luckily I have two hardy Yankee children who are happy to put on 6 layers of clothing and stomp around in the snow and ice for as long as their wimpy mother will let them.

A few weeks ago the kind people from One Step Ahead asked if we’d be interested in some winter gear to help keep Caroline warm for these next few looooong months. They sent us the Cozy Cub Vest and a Stay-Put Reversible Fleece Hat with Earflaps. She loves them both and I know they’re keeping her warm and cozy while she plays – especially since she asks for the hat and keeps it on her head.

I’m a huge fan of One Step Ahead (their catalog might be the only thing I ever read cover-to-cover these days) and the Cozy Cub products are the same great quality you would expect from their baby and kid’s gear (lifetime guarantee ?? I think so!). The vest is great now and is going to be perfect as we (hopefully) transition into spring. She can wear it over a sweater as an extra layer on the playground or under an unlined raincoat on cool, drizzly days. Plus it’s pink, which makes it an automatic favorite in her wardrobe. Pink is her jam. You can check out the whole Cozy Cub collection here!

To help you make it until spring too, One Step Ahead is offering a hat and vest to one of my readers! Leave me a comment on this post telling me what you’re most looking forward about spring. Honestly, I just want to see the grass again – although our first trip down to the beach is going to be a highlight too. I’ll pick a winner on Friday, March 1st using Random.org and notify them via email so be sure to use a valid one when you comment. Good luck!!

Fine print: Giveaway open to residents of the United States ages 18 and over. Winner can chose size and style of in-stock products. I receive a hat and vest to review but no other compensation. Links are not affiliate links. All opinions and photos are my own.