Quaker Oatmeal to Go

Let me preface by saying, I love oatmeal! During winter I start out almost every day with a big, hot bowl of oatmeal and a huge ass cup of coffee. Maybe now you can understand my disappointment when I have to say I do not like Quaker Oatmeal to Go. Not that I was really looking for a replacement to my big, hot bowl of oatmeal. I was looking for a quick, easy, healthy-ish, out-of-the-box breakfast for those mornings when me & the kids were running late. Pop-Tarts were not cutting it.

Of course, being a huge sweet tooth, I had to try one the second day I'd stocked my pantry. Being a huge sweet tooth I don't buy cookies and junk, bad for my ever-expanding waistline, so when I get a craving I scramble for anything and everything that looks remotely sweet. And these looked sweet. And they are. Sort of.

The icing on top is sweet and there's definitely sugar in the bar itself, but, really, the whole thing is almost as bad as biting into a dog biscuit (don't ask). It's saved from being just like a dog biscuit by 1) the icing; and 2) it's not as hard as a dog biscuit. It's like Quaker glued a bunch of dry oatmeal together and drizzled it with icing in the hopes no one would notice the pablum underneath.

Robeez, Bobux and Ministar Baby Shoes

I realize I'm a little baby heavy here, and, NO, I don't mean my personal extra padding thankyouverymuch. But babies just need more. For beings so tiny they require an awful lot of "stuff" to keep them healthy, safe, dressed, entertained, fed, loved, transported and so much more. Yet as I panicked today because I couldn't find my very favorite Robeez anywhere I realized this was a post that couldn't wait.

I resisted buying Robeez because, frankly, they are very spendy ($27.95-$38.95 on their website). However, I had so many mommies rave to me about how wonderful Robeez are and how they wouldn't put anything else on their babe's feet that I got sucked in. Still, being me, I went with the cheapest, used, pair I could find on Ebay. Have I mentioned I love Ebay?

My sisters friend had informed me that she loves Robeez because you can just toss them in the washer and then the dryer and... TaDA! Good as new. So I took my Ebay Robeez ($2.99 + $5.95 S+H), tossed them in the washer, and then the dryer and... TaDA! Good as new. Albeit a little worn looking.

Turns out, I too, love Robeez! After six kids I've finally found the secret to keeping socks on babies feet. Robeez! Absolute magic. I needed more. A friend on that wonderful message board I posted about led me to Endless Shoes and their fantastic negative overnight shipping. Plus they had Robeez on sale. I got the above pictured Elephant Robeez for about $17, including free, woooohooo, matching socks and shipping. Still, $17 for a pair of baby shoes seems quite pricey. So I tried the cheaper option too, Ministars by Bobux for Target.

Really it's just because I love Giraffe's, not because I needed them. Plus, they were only $10+tax on sale. They're not bad, but they are not Robeez. While they're leather they are much stiffer, and maybe because of that their shape just doesn't fit baby's feet as well. I'm also not as thrilled with the elastic. These do not stay on like Robeez.

Finally, I also have a pair of Bobux. Not because I'm shoe happy, though I am, for me, not baby, but because my Aunt gave us a pair as a baby gift:

These are better quality leather that their Ministars by Bobux for Target. The price reflects the better quality, $25.50 - $46.00 on their website. I also love how the appliqued designs are facing baby. Not that my baby cares about that, he loves to chew on his Robeez, Ministars, Bobux, whenever I leave them laying within reach, not look at the pretty designs. A bonus with soft-soled baby shoes is their ability to multi-task as a teething ring. However, while these are better quality than the Ministars they still do not hold up as well as Robeez, more importantly they do not stay on as well. Something about the elastic placement, elastic design or even the elastic itself in Robeez allows for a better shoe than Ministars or Bobux.

As a final word of persuasion, for those of you still hesitant to drop the good-sized bundle of dough on Robeez; Robeez have a fantastic resale value on Ebay. Unless you are planning on handing them down to future children, cousins, neighbors, etc. Or bronzing them as my mom wants to do with my first, Ebay-bought, worn Robeez, then reselling them on Ebay will give you a nice chunk of change back on the original purchase price. Certainly something to consider when choosing which brand to go with.

Gerber NUK Learner Cups

My kids are breast-fed. But this is not about breast feeding vs. formula feeding, I mention it because it matters in my recommendation of this next product: The Gerber NUK Learner Cup. You see, I not only breastfeed but my kids seem to have a deeply ingrained aversion to bottles. I'm just going to say it here, my boobies must be yummy. Still, there comes a time in every mom's life where some time away from babe is much needed and desired. And regardless of mom's wishes, baby still needs to eat, drink and, pleasegod, be merry.

Up until my bigger kids became teenagers I considered myself a techie, someone on the edge of the technological revolution. Nowadays (good GOD I'm old, I typed nowadays. Seriously.), I'm happy that I can tell the difference between the big ones ipods, psps and cells. Forget knowing exactly how to use each one. I did, however, start to use messageboards, bulletinboards, whatever-they-call-them nowadays, well before they were out of diapers. There were days during my early parenting years that they were solely responsible for my sanity.

This go-around, with #6, I again have the blessing of an online community. Thanks to the wonderful ladies on my current "mommy board" I discovered the Gerber NUK Learner Cup, the exact one pictured above is currently drying next to my sink. Now #6 did not like this cup right away. Of course he also didn't like bottles or any other cup. Lately though he's finally expressed an interest in things-that-don't-come-from-boobs and this, this is a winner.

I think the nipple/sippy-part makes the transition from boob to cup easier. It's the softest, read most breast-like, sippy nipple out there. I even recommended it to my sister, before #6 himself actually liked it, and her little one loved it from the get go. Much like all the other adorable babes on my mommy board. It was just mine who was a little obstinate. I'm again gonna go with my boobs being extra yummy here.

Bottomline, if you breastfeed, or even if you don't, and are ready to give baby a cup, this is an excellent cup to get baby started.

Bella Sara

I'm assuming all of you readers out there have kids. Right? Why else read me? So as you all know, kids have eyes where we have none. I can walk across a parking lot, a store, a room and through my eyes the floors will be, while not sparkling clean, devoid of interesting objects. A child, yours, mine, it doesn't matter, will spot a million-and-one different, interesting objects. The smaller the child, the smaller the object, the quicker the hand and the quicker we are.

No sense choking over a small object we've never seen before.

However, this isn't about one of those small, chokeable objects. And it isn't about a tiny child. This is about my six-year-old daughter, walking across a parking lot and spying some wonderful cards laying half-buried under a car. Before I could say "peep" she'd jumped down, thrown her body on the floor and grabbed the cards. Holding on for dear life to a new treasure that was hers.

I'm not usually one to be bullied by my kids, or one to let them play with dirty stuff they find on the ground, but I like unicorns too and this was a very shiny card. Shiny = clean. Right? So home the cards came.

By now you've guessed that these were Bella Sara cards. I can not say enough good things about Bella Sara cards. Bella Sara cards are for girls. They are for girls like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards are for boys (and Magic cards are for adults, but this is for kids so no Magic adoration here). Bella Sara was especially developed to send a positive message to girls, something sadly lacking in so many of todays toys for girls (forget Barbie, Bratz anyone?). Each card comes with a positive message for the girl as well as an online activation code that allows girls to go online in a safe and loving environment to "play" with her new friend.

There is no chat. There is no trading. It is just horses and rainbows and tons of pink. Daughter just loves it, and as an added bonus, it has improved her slightly dismal reading skills.