We are a snack-loving family. At any given moment my purse contains at least three granola bars, string cheese, baby squeeze pouches, three sippy cups, fruit snacks, and apple and two snack traps. Snacks are great for keeping the kids busy while I focus on my workout at Stroller Strides. Carrying around extra snacks mean we don’t have to rush home in time for lunch if we’re having fun at the playground or want to make an impromptu trip to the aquarium. Snacks work well for both kids’ eating styles – Caroline eats TONS OF FOOD and needs snacks between meals while Evan is meh about eating his meals but is much more likely to snack. And bringing my own snacks for all of us means I am much less likely to swing through a drive-thru for “just a snack” and end up with an entire double cheeseburger meal and a milkshake (how does that happen?!)

So when my friend Alena asked if I’d be interested in trying out a PackIt lunch bag I said yes immediately. PackIt is a freezable personal cooler that keeps your food colder, fresher and safer for up to ten hours – no ice or bulky toxic ice packs needed. You just store the folded PackIt bag in your freezer until you’re ready to fill it and go!

I tried out a Personal Cooler and a Shop Cooler last week and loved them both. The Shop Cooler was perfect for keeping my ice cream, chicken nuggets and Cool Whip cold on the way home from the grocery store – even though I stopped to pick up a couple dozen bottles of wine on the way. Plus my Stop & Shop gives a 5 cent discount for every reusable bag you bring. Score!

The Personal Cooler was perfect for carrying the daily snacks that are better kept cool – cheese, yogurt, juice boxes, fruit, veggies, and milk. You know, the healthy stuff.

The yogurt is for me. And don't judge the disgusting American cheese slices or Caroline will come scream in YOUR face.

Still plenty of room for a sippy cup.

It fits in my bag! OK, so my bag is on the hugemongous side but it's still super handy.

My snacks stayed refrigerator-cold all morning, which was definitely more pleasant than eating soft, warm cheese that got squished in the bottom of my bag. And when we got home I just stuck the PackIt back in the freezer so it would be ready for the next day!

PackIt Coolers are PVC-free, BPA-free, lead-free, non-toxic, earth-safe and reusable. They fold compactly in the freezer for storage and keeps food cold at USDA-safe temperatures. They come in six sizes and tons of cute colors and patterns. PackIt even has a size for wine bottles – it’s like the KNOW ME. Check out all their products and get more information on their website.

How would you like to win a free PackIt Social Cooler? It’s perfect for picnics, a day at the beach, ball games, day trips and all the summer fun that’s quickly approaching.

To enter, just like PackIt on Facebook then come back and leave a comment telling me you did. So easy! I’ll leave the comments open until Friday April 6th at 5 pm and choose a winner using Random.org. Make sure you use a real email when you comment so I can notify you if you win. Good luck!

Over the summer, there were a zillion of those 1,000,001 Fun Things To Do lists floating around. Go to the beach! Build a sand castle! Pick strawberries! Can your own jam! Discover cold fusion! Let the good times roll! But the truth is summer is hot and sweaty and putting sunscreen on two squirmy children is exhausting and I hate getting sand in my lady parts so I’d just be setting myself up for failure. Who wants to look at their Super! Fun! Awesometimes! list on September 1st and realize they only thing you managed to check off is “eat ice cream”?

But fall? Fall I can handle. Fall is easy and breezy and lets you wear stretchy jeans so you can eat apple cider donuts and hot cocoa after a summer of stressing about the size of your thighs in shorts. And instead of a bazillion and one things, let’s stick with a nice reasonable number so there’s still lots of time for naps with the windows open. But I still need a list because checking things off is MY FAVORITE.

Pin It

And just in case you might also want to check things off (CHECK!), you can download my list as a PDF and print it out. That’s right, I’ve popped my printable cherry, which is the first step to becoming a full-blown craft blogger. Or maybe that happened like a zillion years ago and I’ve just been in denial.

 Since now that there’s A List Of Things I Must Do, I crossed off “make a fall craft” today with a super cute, super quick leaf lantern project.

After his success in collecting pine cones, I had high hopes that Little Evan would be really into helping me find pretty colored leaves for this project, but unfortunately he thinks ALL the leaves are pretty. He’s like the Jesus of leaf collecting – every one is special and beautiful and precious in his eyes! So I threw all his in the yard (lovingly, of course) and wandered down the street to pick up a few colorful ones.

 You probably already have everything you need for this project (besides the leaves, which are out in your yard)(unless you live somewhere without autumn, in which case this would also work with flowers, ferns or other growing things). Here’s the entire supply list: wax paper, scissors, and iron and some clear tape.

 Tear off a piece of wax paper. Now you have two options – cut it in half or fold it in half. Either way, the idea is to have a wax side facing up. Arrange your leaves on the wax side.

 Then fold/lay the other part of the paper over it wax side down and press lightly with a medium-hot iron.

 If you’re lazy and have messy edges like mine, trim them up once the paper cools off a little. Then bend it into a circle and use a piece of clear tape to make it stay – I found that cutting the tape longer than the lantern and then folding the ends over made it stick really well.

 They don’t look like much now…

 …but with a little candle light, you’ve got fall magic.

Pin It
BOOM. Now take a hike. Because it’s on the list, not because I don’t like you.