Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Things the Tooth Fairy Never Told Me

Yesterday, Isabelle lost her first tooth which meant the Tooth Fairy would be making an appearance. A tooth under the pillow, some cash, and it's a done deal, right? Not so much. I found myself beginning to panic around 11pm when I realized I was totally unprepared for the whole Tooth Fairy thing. Did I throw the tooth away? Did I keep it? Did I let her keep it? Did I leave a note? Did I leave dollars? Did I leave change? So I did what any smart person would do in this situation and I asked my Facebook fans. Of course, the variety of answers and hearing about how some people had pretty kick ass Tooth Fairies in their lives only made it worse. So many options and such little time! So I now give you the top things the Tooth Fairy never told me...

  • The first lost tooth is TINY. I'm not sure if it's extra tiny because she's only four or what but it is so, so small. I had to take a picture so I'd always remember just how small it was.



  • That little bit of dried blood in the bottom of the tooth doesn't come out. Nope, not even if you're anal and try to clean it out with a Qtip (iiicccckkkkk! I'm still shuddering over the fact that I did this.)
  • You have to save the first lost tooth or all Facebook will make you feel very guilty.
  • In the end, your child is going to be SO excited that the Tooth Fairy came that it doesn't really matter what you leave in exchange for the tooth. I went with a note with her favorite stickers on it and coins in a smiley face. She still thinks coins are more cool than dollars and doesn't understand the whole concept of money yet so I'm going to take advantage of it while I can! The little yellow box is what I used to put my teeth in as a child - my mom saved it!



Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Big Happenings: First Lost Tooth!

Isabelle lost her first tooth today! It had been wiggly for a bit and was SUPER loose this morning. She gave it one little pull and it came right out. I still can't believe it - she's only 4! She is so very, very excited. We left it out by her bed and looks like the Tooth Fairy will be making a visit tonight. Wow - just wow.


When Masshole Mommy and Dollops unite!

I am SUPER excited to be guest posting today over at Masshole Mommy. So if you're looking for a Dollop then click HERE to check out my post entitled, "Ridiculous Things I Thought as a Kid." With a title like that, how could you not head on over?!


Monday, August 27, 2012

Find Edible Arrangements 'Summer Strawberry' - Week 3

Last week 'Summer Strawberry' was hanging out in Worcester, MA. Did you guess correctly? If so, you've been entered to win the grand prize! Want a chance to enter for this week? Well here you go...

Clues:
Wednesday, August 29 from 11 A.M.- 1 P.M.
- This week, ‘Summer Strawberry’ is venturing to the state that shares Massachusetts’ northern border with Vermont.

- This city is about 20 miles north of Lowell, MA and is the second largest city in its state, behind Manchester. Nick-named ‘The Gate City,’ it is home to shopping havens such as Pheasant Lane Mall and Amherst Street.

- ‘Summer Strawberry’ will be visiting the Edible Arrangements store located in a large shopping plaza off of Main Street.

- This Edible Arrangements is the healthiest one on the block, as it is neighbors with Colonel Sanders’ major fast food chain and a large coffee and donut retailer founded in Quincy, MA. 


 
Free Fruit and Fun!
Anyone who correctly deciphers the clues and finds ‘Summer Strawberry’ within the designated 2-hour time period will receive free samples of smoothies, dipped fruit or fresh fruit salad when they mention the scavenger hunt. Emailing a picture of ‘Summer Strawberry’ to jkaye@carltonprmarketing.com or commenting on this blog post the address/ store location where you found ‘Summer Strawberry’ will enter you to win the grand prize, a $200 Amazon gift card, or one of four arrangements ! Doing both will get you two entries! Tweeting a picture of ‘Summer Strawberry’ with a caption that includes the hashtag #IFoundFruit and showing it to the cashier will get you an additional entry and a 6-piece box of dipped fruit!

Live far from the selected store?
If you correctly decipher the clues but cannot make it to the selected location, you can still enter the contest by commenting the address/ store location of ‘Summer Strawberry’ on this blog post. Better yet, you can visit your local Edible Arrangements during the pre-selected 2-hour time period and mention that you are there because of scavenger hunt and you will receive a 6-piece box of dipped fruit! 

Good luck!



Sunday, August 26, 2012

Country Fest 2012

Yesterday, I escaped from mom duty to head to the Brothers of the Sun Tour starring Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney. 

I'm not sure if it was the drinks...



Or the music....
Tim
Tim and Faith

Or the company...

Or the drinks...

Or the music...
Kenny

But it was one hell of a night!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

One Last Beach Day!

The kids and I had one last beach day with friends before the back to school madness begins. We headed to Scusset Beach which has $7 parking, large bathrooms, showers, and a snack bar. The weather was perfect, the snacks were plentiful, and the smiles were endless. We could have stayed forever. Oh, summer beachin'...had me a blast...









Thursday, August 23, 2012

NoraJane Reusable Snack Bags


If you follow me on Facebook, you may know that I was recently looking for reusable snack bags. Isabelle will be bringing her lunch to school three days a week, Tim brings his lunch, and I bribe the kids when we are out places with snacks so we go through lots of bags. I wanted to go reusable but also wanted them to be convenient, easy for the kids to open (yet not so easy that they spill all over my bag), and a cinch to clean. Well, NoraJane Crafts came to my rescue! Nora provided me with just what I was looking for in some cool patterns that the kids love. 




I was skeptical that the Velcro would stay gunk-free but we’ve been using the bags like crazy and the Velcro is as clean as the day we got them. I just wash them in the sink with the dishes but you can also throw them in the washing machine if that’s more your style. And to be honest, they clean so easily that I’ve been known to simply shake out the crumbs and put them away for another day’s use!

Also, if you have a certain design, fabric, style that you like she will gladly make you whatever kind of bag you want (assuming she can find the fabric). Talk about service!

Nora also let me know that in addition to using the bags for snacks, you could also use them for makeup, toys, puzzles, video games, party favors, camera bags, medication, and much more. I’d never even considered using the bags for stuff like that but I just might now. I’m kind of becoming obsessed with them. So when you see me on an episode of Hoarders with reusable bags all over my house, you can refer back to this post to see where the madness began.

So why not stop by NoraJane’s Facebook page and give her a like, place an order, or just tell her that Dollops says hi!

*NoraJane Crafts provided me the reusable bags. As always, all opinions are my own.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Post Where I Rave About Joe's American Bar and Grill

I recently had the opportunity to attend a dinner for bloggers at Joe’s American Bar and Grill. If you’ve seen me within the last week, you probably already know this since I’ve been telling everyone I see about it. I was so impressed with the food, hospitality, and story of Joe’s.  

The one thing that really stuck with me was the fact that Joe’s does not have a microwave in the kitchen and only a small freezer for ice cream. This is virtually unheard of in the restaurant business but they don’t need them because they truly make everything fresh. Amazing.

Now I’ve been to Joe’s before but it had been a while. It’s honestly not somewhere that I would really think to go and I definitely wouldn’t have considered bringing the kids there. Hello…bringing a 4, 3, and 2 year old to a place with real napkins? That’s crazy talk, or so I thought. After my night at Joe’s, I’ll definitely be bringing the kids there now. They have 9 items on the kids menu for $6 which includes a drink and dessert (or fresh fruit). You pay that (if not more) at chain restaurants where the food is not nearly as good (in my opinion).

Okay, okay so now that I’ve covered the kid stuff. Let’s talk about the grown up stuff. The Back Bay Sangria I had was DELICIOUS and I’m not even a huge sangria fan! I was also able to sample all sorts of appetizers with my favorite being the Spinach and Artichoke Dip complete with fresh pita and tortilla chips. Oh, and of course I had tons of their baked fresh bread.

Spinach Artichoke Amazingness

For the main course, I had the Angel Hair Primavera with chicken. It was delicious and the serving was large enough that I had plenty to take home for the next day as well – score!

Believe it or not this was great even with all those vegetables ;)

The desserts, ahhhhh the desserts. I sampled every.single.one.of.them. They were delicious with my favorite being the Cheesecake and the Cookie Skillet Pie.

So if you’re like me and hadn’t really thought about going in to Joe’s American Bar and Grill (especially with kids) then I highly suggest you give it a try. Everything was seriously SO good. You can click here to find a location near you. Also, Joe’s is running some great contests, including their Celebrate America Sweepstake, so I’d go give them a like on Facebook if I were you!

*Photos courtesy of Stowed Stuff

Monday, August 20, 2012

Find Edible Arrangements’ ‘Summer Strawberry!’ - Week 2

"Summer Strawberry' was hanging out last week in South Yarmouth, MA. Did you guess correctly? If so, you've been entered to win the grand prize! Didn't guess where he was last week? Well you've got another chance.


Here are this week's clues:

Wednesday, August 22 from 2 P.M.-4 P.M.

- ‘Summer Strawberry’
will be stopping by the second largest city in New England on its tour of Massachusetts and New Hampshire! The city, which is about 40 miles west of Boston, was named after a city in England.

- This city is home to 10 colleges and universities including College of the Holy Cross, Assumption College and a Massachusetts state university whose mascot is the Lancers.

- ‘Summer Strawberry’ will be visiting the Edible Arrangements store off of Rte. 122, in between Ingleside Avenue Historic Park and Lake Avenue. 

- The store is located in XXXXXXX Plaza, a plaza that is named after the town in Cape Cod that was made famous by the Kennedy’s vacation compound. After stopping in to visit ‘Summer Strawberry,’ you can grab a slice at a popular pizza chain whose slogan is, ‘Better Ingredients. Better Pizza,’ or stop by a tax prep company located in the plaza.

Free Fruit and Fun!
Anyone who correctly deciphers the clues and finds ‘Summer Strawberry’ within the designated 2-hour time period will receive free samples of smoothies, dipped fruit or fresh fruit salad when they mention the scavenger hunt. Emailing a picture of ‘Summer Strawberry’ to jkaye@carltonprmarketing.com or commenting on this blog post the address/ store location where you found ‘Summer Strawberry’ will enter you to win the grand prize, a $200 Amazon gift card, or one of four arrangements ! Doing both will get you two entries! Tweeting a picture of ‘Summer Strawberry’ with a caption that includes the hashtag #IFoundFruit and showing it to the cashier will get you an additional entry and a 6-piece box of dipped fruit! 

Live far from the selected store?
If you correctly decipher the clues but cannot make it to the selected location, you can still enter the contest by commenting the address/ store location of ‘Summer Strawberry’ on this blog post. Better yet, you can visit your local Edible Arrangements during the pre-selected 2-hour time period and mention that you are there because of scavenger hunt and you will receive a 6-piece box of dipped fruit! 

Good luck!

Top Things I Heard Repeatedly at My 15 Year Reunion


This past Saturday night, my high school class had a small 15 year reunion. It’s actually our first reunion since we never got our act together for a 5 or 10 year.  There’s a more formal reunion trying to be planned for later in the year but in the meantime a classmate opened up her house for us to come over for a low key get together.  I have a group of girlfriends that I remain close with but beyond that it was the first time I had seen most people since the day we graduated. The top things I heard repeatedly at the reunion were:
  • “You look exactly the same!” Clearly, people must have had their beer goggles on but hey I will take compliments anyway that I can get them!
  •  “Your daughter looks just like you!” Thank you Facebook for keeping everyone up to date on my mini-me!
  •  “I need some help here…who is that??” Okay, okay, it was me whispering this one. I’m not good with faces or names never mind adding 15 years in to the mix.
  •  “You used to be so shy in high school.” Very true. I didn’t come out of my shell until after college. Now I feel like there’s no shell that could contain me.
  •  “I love your Dollops.” I’m sure glad they like my Dollops because now they are being featured in one!
The picture is a bit hazy - kind of like the memories.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Where’s the Beef?

For a couple of years, Tim had been on a kick that we should purchase bulk, farm fresh meat. I finally gave in to his crazy idea mainly to stop hearing about it. Now to be honest, I had absolutely no idea what it meant to buy a quarter of a cow. I envisioned driving to the farm and coming home with a cow’s head strapped to our roof or something along those lines. When I found out the meat was all cut, labeled, and vacuum sealed in portion sized bags I started to think the idea may not be so bad.

So early last summer, on our way home from a trip to Vermont, we stopped at Wheel-View Farm in Shelburne, MA to pick up the meat. The farm was beautiful and the owners were super nice. Of course, I was sneezing like a maniac because Mother Nature and I don’t really get along but beyond that it was a great experience. We were able to easily pack up the meat in coolers and bring it home with us.

We purchased 100 pounds of beef and did a 60/40 split with another family. So ever since then, we’ve had meat - lots and lots of meat. The only problem that we came across with it was when we lost power twice last summer for extended periods of time. We had to move the meat to family/friends’ houses until we got power back. Clearly, that wasn’t the poor dead cow’s fault so we can’t really complain. Note to self: Must buy generator.

So yeah, it’s been great to never really have to think about buying meat since it’s always there. So today, I went down to the freezer and found that we only have about 5 pounds of beef left. Gasp! I'm starting to panic. What on earth will we do? Go to the grocery store to buy meat? Who does that?! It might just be time to make another trip to the farm (something I never thought I’d say!).

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Buttonwood Park Zoo – New Bedford, MA


Tim had the day off on Monday so we decided to head out for some family fun. The problem? Family fun is expensive! Our kids are 4, 3, and 2 years old so their attention span is limited and our timeframe is limited (with lunch/naps) so I hate to spend a lot of money going places. Oh, and I’m cheap, too. That’s why I was pretty pumped when I found the Buttonwood Zoo in New Bedford, MA. It was PERFECT for us!

It is small enough that the kids can walk around pretty easily but still has great animals in large displays. There were bears, mountain lions, elephants, bison, lots of amphibian/reptiles, a large farm area, and more! On top of that they have a small train that you can ride around the zoo, a carousel, and pony rides. We also went on a Monday so they had the Toe Jam Puppet Band performing at 10:30am and 12:30pm. Although there are small additional charges for the rides and concert, it is still reasonably priced. Our family of five did the zoo admission, train ride, and concert and we still spent $20 less than general admission alone at neighboring, larger zoos.

The Buttonwood Zoo also has lots of tables and shady open spaces for you to have a picnic. I LOVE places that let you bring your own food and don’t force you to purchase their food. That being said, if purchasing food is more your thing, they have the Bear’s Den CafĂ© that you can buy whatever you may need. There is also a large playground next door to the zoo if you want to check that out after your trip. We were wiped out so we didn’t get a chance to but maybe next time. We’ll definitely be heading back!

Me and the kiddos checking out the bison

Isabelle and the elephants

Henry loving the train ride!

*I received no compensation from the zoo. We enjoyed our trip so I'm simply sharing with you!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Find Edible Arrangements’ ‘Summer Strawberry!’

The scavenger hunt is on to decipher the clues and determine which Edible Arrangements store ‘Summer Strawberry’ is visiting and I'm excited to be part of the game! The scavenger hunt will only be taking place in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire stores*. There will be four consecutive Wednesdays, from August 15-September 5, where ‘Summer Strawberry’ will be making an appearance during a pre-selected 2-hour time period.




Free Fruit and Fun!
Anyone who correctly deciphers the clues and finds ‘Summer Strawberry’ at the Edible Arrangements location within the designated 2-hour time period will receive free samples of smoothies, dipped fruit or fresh fruit salad. Want to win prizes? Commenting on this blog post with the correct address/ store location where you found ‘Summer Strawberry’  OR emailing a picture of ‘Summer Strawberry’ to jkaye@carltonprmarketing.com will enter you to win the grand prize, a $200 Amazon gift card, or one of four arrangements!** Doing both will get you two entries! If you are on Twitter and follow @DoFruitNE, tweeting a picture of ‘Summer Strawberry’ with a caption that includes the hashtag #ILoveFruit and will get you an additional entry. That is 3 chances to win!

Live too far from the selected store?
If you correctly decipher the clues but cannot make it to the selected location, you can still enter the contest by commenting the address/store location of ‘Summer Strawberry’ on this blog post. Better yet, you can visit YOUR local Edible Arrangements during the pre-selected 2-hour time period and mention that you are there because of the scavenger hunt and you will receive a 6-piece box of dipped fruit!

And now without further ado here are this week's clues...

Clues: Wednesday, August 15 from 11 A.M.- 1 P.M.

- ‘Summer Strawberry’
will be stopping by the easternmost portion of Massachusetts which is a huge New England tourist destination, especially during the summer months!
- This town has the initials ‘SY’ and is located between West Yarmouth and Dennis Port.
- The first traffic rotary in the United States is in this village at the intersection of River Street and Pleasant Street.
- This village is home to the Red Sox, no not the Boston Red Sox, the Red Sox that play in the Cape Cod Baseball League.
- ‘Summer Strawberry’ will be at the Edible Arrangements store located in a plaza near a popular pizza chain that shares its name with a classic game (if you get this answer, you’re spot on!) and songs by Van Morrison and most recently, Jessie J. 


Not sure where the locations are? Click here to find a store location!

Ready...set...hunt!


* The scavenger hunt and its affiliated promotions will only be taking place in Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire stores. **Edible Arrangements and its public relations agency will not retain any email addresses during this promotion, other than to notify winners of the prizes awarded.
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