Coast 2 Coast Mom

July 4th Treats: Red, White & You

We had one of our first few sunny days this summer in North Jersey (finally!), and we were been busy enjoying the sunshine -  gardening, hitting some balls in the driveway, washing the car and spraying each other with the hose - having quintessential summer family fun. When we came inside for drinks, we were talking about our plans for the Fourth of July and I remembered the Necco Sweethearts Red, White & You patriotic candies that I was saving for this week.

Through TwitterMoms, I received some samples of the Red, White & You conversation hearts to try and I was excited about it for two reasons. One, as I was growing up, my dad used to always have treats like Sweethearts, SweetTarts or Smarties around. (Li'l Boo's sweet tooth comes from this side of the family. ;-) ) Two, this is the first time in Sweethearts 140-year history that they've expanded their conversation hearts beyond Valentine's Day. The Red, White & You hearts come in red, white and blue and feature such patriotic sentiments as "My Hero," "Honor," "Thank You," "Home Safe," "Brave One," "Miss You," "Glory," "Proud," "USO" ,"Valor" and "I <3 You" - they wouldn't be Sweethearts conversation hearts without an "I Love You" in the bunch ;-) Through a partnership with the United Service Organizations (USO), Necco is distributing care packages inclusing the Red, White & You Sweethearts in June and July to American troops in the U.S. and overseas. You can even sponsor a care package through the Operation USO care package program where for a $25 donation, a package of needed and requested items valued at $75 will be sent to a servicemember.

I should also mention that these hearts are flavored. When Li'l Boo tasted a red heart, he chewed away thoughtfully, "Ooh, strawberry!" Then a white one, "and this one tastes like banana!" (The flavor is actually vanilla creme, but I agree that they taste like banana.)  Then came the blue one "and blueberry!" he said. Lil Boo helped put the sprinkles on our mini cupcakes and put the heart on each one - here are our treats for the playdate tomorrow. 

 

The Red, White and You hearts are available for purchase nationwide. Ooh - and in case you're looking for something to get the kids excited about the Fourth of July (or you're in rainy New Jersey like us and need project ideas for indoors), Sweethearts has even assembled some craft ideas using the Red, White & You hearts for kids that are appropriate for the Fourth of July, Labor Day or Veteran's Day (or even Memorial Day next year!). Check out Abby's cake made with these at Steals&Deals too! 

Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Cakes for Only $9.99!

I just caught the news this morning that

Baskin Robbins is offering their ice cream cakes for only $9.99 right now. Talk about a sweet deal! Just had to let you know so you keep it in mind for your next celebration. A great summer treat, and one that we probably wouldn't think twice about except for this $10 deal. We spend $10 just going to get ice cream cones these days!

I checked out the Baskin Robbins website and am liking the Brownies a la mode cake, and would love to try one of the fudge crunch cakes w/ mint chocolate chip ice cream . . . or maybe the ice cream float cake. Yummm.

I think I'm gonna have to run in and nab one of these for our family 4th of July celebration. Er . . .that's too far away, I just may have to run out later this week and pick one up for this weekend. Li'l Boo would just love the McQueen race scene cake or this doggie cake, so we'll have to try one of those. He'll be SO excited! The kiddo has a sweet tooth to end all sweet tooths . . . worse than mine!

Don't Forget S'mores for the Ark

Today marks the first day of summer, though we can't really tell here in New Jersey. It has rained 16 out of the last 20 days in Manhattan, although it feels like it's been raining for months. So wet. So dreary. The gray clouds have a way of dampening plans even when it's not actually raining. It sucks the energy and motivation right out of you and it drives kids batty stuck indoors all day. Our grill has gone nearly ignored (unheard of!) for May and June. Everywhere we turn, we hear people greeting each other with references to "building an ark" to escape the deluge of water.

What to do when all else fails and I've exhausted Li'l Boo's patience for drawing, coloring, painting, play-doh, kid yoga, baking with me and "fun" cleaning, our usual playdates aren't available . . . SHOP! (Yes, even with a son.) We actually picked up a great find this past week at Chef Centralthat has provided smiles and treats for mere pennies during these rainy days. . . what we're calling the rainy day s'mores maker. It's a microwaveable s'mores maker made by Progressive and it's the best $7.99 we've spent in a while! (Though I did find it on Amazon for $7.19 here.)

It wasn't something I normally would have purchased, but it looked fun, was inexpensive and I was desperate for something new, so yes - even this gourmet-vanilla-bean-marshmallow, homemade- graham-cracker-lovin' gal can be seduced by the 30-second microwaveable s'mores maker. With just a little water to fill the back of the maker, we assembled the s'mores (we changed things up a bit and tried making some of the s'mores with Reese's peanut butter cups too as per @SelfishMom'sidea and they were yummy too.) They were quick, easy (GREAT for kids!), and made perfectly tasty ooey gooey s'mores. So no, we weren't outside, and <sigh> no, we didn't make them over a campfire or grill, but they did bring messy chocolatey smiles to us all indoors these past few dreary damp days.

So if you're as close to wit's end as I was last week, head on over to Target, Stop 'n Shop, or A&P for sale-priced marshmallows, Hershey's chocolate bars and graham crackers and pick one of these pups up - just don't forget the wet wipes!

Making My Day

Li'l Boo has said several things lately that I don't want to forget, so I'm jotting them here before I do:

Yesterday Lil Boo told me he loved me. I hugged him and said 'Aww...I love you too sweetie." He looked up at me and asked, "Mom, did I just make your day?"

Yep,that makes my day. I know it won't happen as often - if at all - in the future, so I'm stamping these times on my brain.

It has rained 15 of the last 19 days in Manhattan and we have been making a break for it outside every time the rain stops. On a particularly windy and rainy Saturday, we were out running errands and Li'l Boo fell asleep in the car on the way home. He awoke as my husband unbuckled him, and I held the kitchen door open for them to rush inside amid a particularly hard rain.

I yelled "Just carry him, it''s too windy for him to walk." Li'l Boo stated in his surprisingly alert, yet innocent just-woke-up mode, "Yeah, because I might blow away Daddy. And then you and mommy won't have a little kid to play with."

Exactly.

Li'l Boo jumped into our bed this morning and as he was laying between us, my husband told him "I can hear your heart beating." Li'l Boo replied "No you can't, you're not a doctor!"

PBSKids Makes TV Viewing OK

When I think about how my son spends each day, I am embarrassed to admit just how much television he watches each day. Other than when he's at preschool, Li'l Boo's TV time is the only uninterrupted time I get to check email, look things up online, make calls, write, complete complicated projects around the house - basically focus on and complete anything!

I ran the numbers this morning and an average day for Li'l Boo usually adds up to something like this:

·   1-2 hours of getting dressed, making bed, bathtime, brushing teeth, bedtime reading, etc.

·    3 hours of traveling to and attending preschool

·    2-3 hours of TV (<1 hr. before preschool, 1-2 hours before/after dinner, or a DVD movie)

·    2 hours of free play in the house w/ cars, dinosaurs, trains, masks, etc.

·   1 hour of puzzles, Play-doh, drawing, games, projects/experiments, reading, etc. with me

·   1-3 hours outside – playground, walk, park, soccer, swimming, baseball, bike, etc. with me

·   1-2 hours of errands/cooking/cleaning activities with me

Which left me thinking, if I'm relying on TV to occupy my son for three hours a day, that's up to 25% of his "awake" time. How much do I really know about what it's doing to him? Now, I know the American Academy of Pediatrics says to avoid television as a babysitter and that the recommended maximum amount of television viewing for children is two hours a day. However, I feel the studies are not representative of my son's viewing habits. For instance, he often plays while the TV is on. Also, I'm always nearby when my son watches TV: either chopping and mixing in the kitchen, or typing away at my laptop on the dining room table where I set up shop during the day. That way I can participate in the shows with him - interjecting "Abajo! Abajo!" in response to Diego, or pointing out mismatches with Moose A Moose between shows on Noggin, or dancing along with the Word World or Sid the Science Kid songs. I make it a habit to ask him about things he's watched in the shows later throughout our day (ex. while on our walk, I'll point out a squashed apple on the ground and ask him if he remember which animal likes to eat soft, squishy fruit on Go Diego Go.)

So when I received an invitation through SVMoms to learn more about PBSKids programming and attend a lunch with Angela Santomero, the creator of SuperWHY and Blue's Clues a couple of weeks ago, I immediately RSVP'd! What an opportunity to learn about the process of developing children's television programming, the research behind the show and to find out about the learning objectives that SuperWHY was developed to address!

The event exceeded my expectations on many levels, but I was most struck by all of the resources PBS has available online that I did not know existed. It's a GOLDMINE! Resources, guides and ideas for parents to use to supplement the viewing of SuperWHY, CyberChase, Word World and more. (Yes, even for ol' favorites like Sesame Street!) In fact, you could practically homeschool your kids using ONLY the resources PBSKids has available for parents online! They've even expanded the materials to include educational and interactive toys. There really is a plethora of information there: http://www.pbs.org/parents/

Perhaps the other key takeaway for me was learning that I don't have to feel as guilty for turning on PBSKids programming while Li'l Boo relaxes and I pack his lunch or respond to emails. Research has shown that kids ARE learning from shows like SuperWHY. I learned so many things from the lunch that I'll be focusing my posts for the next week on what I discovered - experimenting and testing the resources along the way. I've even teamed up with another New Jersey mommy blogger to complement my posts as a parent/child utilizing the PBSKids resources, with her posts from the perspective of an educator. You can read MrsMoNJ's posts here: http://www.mrsmonj.com Why not take a peek and join me on this experiment? Check out http://www.pbs.org/parents

Wanna Get Your Kid On TV?

And no - I'm not talking about waving outside of a morning news show program here people. I'm talking about your child being cast in an episode of an upcoming children's program, Raggs. Or maybe appearing in a movie like High Fidelity, Ali or Zathura are more of what you have in mind? Then be sure to join The Media Moms Twitter Party tonight from 7-9 p.m. CST. Casting agents and experts "in the biz" will attend to dole out advice and explain processes to parents interested. Visit The Media Moms site for more info.

By the way, if you haven't heard about it already, The Raggs Rockin' Kids Search is underway now through June 30th. Raggs.com is searching for children to star in an upcoming episode of the show! All you have to do to be considered, is enter a video of your child(ren) acting like him/herself and upload it onto their secure site. Videos should be one - two minutes in length and winners will be selected based on the video of your child answering questions or showing off their playful creativity. Winners will be treated like li'l rock stars with an all-expense paid trip for themselves and one adult to Charlotte, NC for the taping of the Raggs episode. What do you have to lose?

Li'l Boo's National Television Debut with SuperWHY

In case you didn't catch Li'l Boo's national television debut this morning (he-he!) we stood outside in the rain during CBS's The Early Show to meet the SuperWHYcharacters. We checked our TiVo when we returned home and confirmed that the kiddo was on TV three times - all pans of the crowd (the second time he was jumping up and down and clapping - if only for two seconds). Then Li'l Boo was featured playing with two SuperWHY toysstanding in front of the Super Readers the third time.

Li'l Boo LOVED seeing the characters and playing with the toys, even if I did have to wake him at 5:30 a.m. to make it to CBS plaza in time! On the way in I asked him what questions he had for the characters and he told me he wanted to ask Princess Presto if she had a prince. (Aww...) Several Toys R Us stores are hosting SuperWHY playdateevents this Saturday from Noon-2 p.m. where you can see the debut of the toys, meet some characters, hear a story, color and other activities. (Both the Times Square and Paramus store on Route 17 are hosting events.) You can also take advantage of PBS appreciation week until June 15th as parents and teachers get 25% off all items your purchases http://www.shoppbs.org 

It rained and drizzled pretty much the entire morning, so although I used special anti-frizz lotion in my hair, I was a total frizz ball by the end when I nabbed a pic with Angela Santomero, the creator of SuperWHY (and Blues Clues). I first met her when she presented the research behind the show at a lunch a couple of weeks ago. (Isn't Angela gorgeous? . . . even after spending an hour in the rain!?) I'll have more about that lunch in my post this Sunday.

It was fun to meet NYCityMama'sfamily at the event as our boys are so close in age and I always get ideas of things to do with Li'l Boo from her site. Anyway, as I've learned so much about PBSKids this past month, I am ready to announce that I am collaborating with MrsMoNJ and dedicating a week's worth of posts to PBSKids programming and children's literacy research. Check back next week for more on this . . .

Making It His Own: Compromising on Fruit-Flavored Snacks

Li’l Boo started attending a preschool “summer camp” this week that requires him to take his own lunch for the first time (we haven't had to take a lunch to his previous preschools or daycare facilities).  It’s only day two, and I can already see his confidence shining through with the new mix of kids in his camp class.  While we were driving toward Route 17  to run errands this afternoon, Li’l Boo asked me “Mom, did you know some kids call ‘fruities,’ ‘fruit snacks?’”

I glanced in the rearview mirror to see his wheels turning and could see that this was something he had been contemplating since lunchtime. “All the other kids at camp call them fruit snacks,” he continued. 

I asked how it came up, as I immediately began to worry that our family word for the fruit-flavored gummy snacks (“shark bites,” etc. from Kellogg’s or Betty Crocker) may have caused some conflict today. He said another kid brought them for snack and all the other kids called them fruit snacks. I started to envision a heated verbal exchange over the lunch table at preschool camp as Li’l Boo vehemently defended his use of the term “fruities.” I could just see him commenting  – naively -  that another kid had “fruities” in his lunch, and gesturing excitedly with his hands. Then the rest of the table/class ganging up to set him straight: “No! They’re called FRUIT SNACKS!” they’d chime in forcefully as preschoolers tend to do when someone else disagrees with what they know to be true.

So I said, “Well I think they’re OFFICIALLY called fruit snacks, but we call them ‘fruities’ because you first had them when you were younger - like a baby (pry @ 18-20 months old which = baby to Li’l Boo right now). We can call them fruit snacks too. Would you like us to call them fruit snacks from now on?”

Li’l Boo considered this then shook his head “No. I want to call them . . . FRUITY fruit snacks.”

(That’s my boy! Making it his own. Standing his ground yet accommodating his friends and the new truth he learned.)

“Fruity fruit snacks, Mom” he said again smiling.

I couldn’t help but beam too.

A House is a House, But a Home Is What You Make It

Having moved as much as I have in my lifetime, I subscribe to the philosophy that a house is just a house, but a home is what you make it. If I close my eyes, I can picture each of the homes I have lived in, but if you ask me to define home, I wouldn't describe what the houses look like, I would explain home using each five of my senses. 

For me, it's the smell of banana bread baking, or burgers on the grill . . . maybe pumpkin carving at Halloween, etc.; it's the sound of the air conditioner or heat kicking on as I lay snuggled in bed; it's the taste of ice-cold Kool-Aid after working in the yard; the feel of carpet under my bare feet; it's seeing my son patter into our bedroom at dawn. It's all of these things and more. Home is where I hope my son recognizes as an eternal "Cheers" bar where we all know everything about him and love him just as he is. A place where he can feel comfortable, safe, secure and loved no matter where he may be.

Why the introspection on my interpretation of home? There's a new movie that opens nationwide on June 25th with Maya Rudoph and John Krasinski called Away We Go. It's about an expectant couple traveling the country to find the perfect place to settle down and call home. And at TwitterMoms, they want to hear about what home means to you. So head on over there and share a post about your meaning of "home." Prizes including Fandango tickets and Away We Go merchandise are up for grabs.