Ding, dong, ditched... by a 5 year old and his Mom.

We recently had some extra cut flowers in the house. I gathered them together in a repurposed Starbucks frap bottle. As they sat on my counter for a few minutes I thought about a few of my neighbors and who might enjoy them the most (as we were heading out of town). My glance was dawn next to a tiny pile of yellow cards my hubby designed for his work. The yellow matched the daisy's perfectly. So I found a piece of ribbon and tied the card to the bottle. Perfect. And I knew exactly which neighbor deserved this adorable package. 

So here's the fun part. I sent our 5 year old out with the package and instructions to leave them on the neighbors door step and run home as fast as he could. He was eager for the challenge and it reminded him of the Halloween 'spooking' we did with bags of treats for our friends. 

I never did get to see or hear what happened to our package, but I hope and pray it brought a smile to their faces and some sunshine to their home. 

I hope we can keep finding ways to surprise our neighbors with sunshine like this. Have any suggestions?

Mom Tip Monday: Record keeping- tracking the race horse pace of childhood one letter at a time.

:Tips for tracking the race horse pace of your child's life:

With kindergarten looming on our horizon I've been a bit nostaligic lately. Trying to remember the sound of his baby coos, what his first words were and how they sounded, the first time he dressed himself, those first free thoughts that I had nothing to do with.... you know the moments that count in their life that never make it to the doctors chart or records. 

I started a small journal I keep by my bed when he was still in the womb. Now every few months it seems,  I pull it out before bed and try to catch up. Or when something really funny happens I try to write it down. I'm so bad at remembering to do it and I feel those memories slipping away. Both equally disappointing. And the second child is worse off than the first, my own fault I know, but still a burden I can't seem to lift.

So for those of you just starting off, or wanting to catch up, here are a few great products to help you get writing and stop having to spin your wheels remembering those "adorable-nesses" of your little ones.

1. Baby and Toddler Tales by Tiny Tales [Perfect for jotting down quick thoughts, any event, anywhere! We heart Lara at Tiny Tales.]
2. Baby Gift Book Set by Loralin Design [Stylish journals for tracking events, feedings, and gifts]
3. School Years keepsake book by Chronicle Books [I had a book almost identical growing up, and I've got this one on it's way here for each of my boys.] 
4. Baby's Life Calendar by Pulp Factory [The most stylish yet affordable baby calendar I've seen on the market- no sheep, no ducks, just coolness and a simple way to mark daily or special events.]

WIN: Leave a comment on any of this month's (May) Mom Tips and be entered to win an Organic Reusable Tote from Bel-Kai Designs.  Comments must be left by 5.30.09 11pm CST. Winner chosen at random and announced on this blog and by twitter on 6.01.09. Winner will have 3 business days to claim prize. Must live reside in USA to win.

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Just when your baby stops making messes... it's time for potty training.

It's that time of parenting again at our house, time to potty train our youngest. I have to say as much as I was dreading it, it wasn't as bad as the first time around. We are about 2 weeks in, and I just got brave enough to leave the house without a diaper on the little man. You know what that means- a mess. 

About midway through our outing he created a puddle and soaked through his training pants and shorts. I had the foresight before I left home to pack 2 changes of clothes and my Wet Happened wet bag. So off with the wet clothes, into the water tight bag, and on with the clean ones. A little clean up on aisle 1 and we were set to carry on with our day. Which reminds me those clothes are still sitting in the wet bag. Guess I'll be doing laundry tonight.

I don't know how I got through potty training the first time without this bag. I think I went through a lot of disposable ones. It feels so much better knowing I can just wash the bag and not add to the trash. Plus the additional uses for this bag are endless...wet swim suits, gym clothes, dirty shoes, baby explosions, cloth diapering, ... 

You can pick up at Wet Happened bag in our store here or buy direct here.

Celebrate your mommy friends with Resa Design

I'm not usually a paper crafty girl and I don't scrapbook. But the prints I see on paper are as addicting as fabric. I have one small pad of this cool paper and have I have been totally craving some non-fabric crafting lately. The smell of glue and paper. There is something about it. So I thought about Mother's Day and my wonderful mommy friends who deserved some celebrating.

I had everything but the magnets I needed packed away in a box for just such an occasion. My crafty night turned into a mix of projects which I thought looked great together. So I wrapped them all up for a few of my friends. I might just whip up a few more of these little sets because they would be great for teacher gifts, thank you gifts, or just as little surprises for those that I adore. 

I hope you find some inspiration to make something for those girls in your life this weekend. And for those I'm sending these too, sorry they won't be there in time for Mom's Day! Better late then never? 

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Mom Tip Monday: Solving the Dinner Dilemma

:: Feeding your family without a lot of fuss ::

I don't know about you, but my lifestyle doesn't leave a lot of time for meal prep. Seems like dinner time sneaks up on me almost everyday along with the awful question of what to make. I'm not much of a foodie, but in my heart I really do want to prepare something healthy and tasty for my guys. 

Over the past five years of parenting I've noticed I developed a bit of a no fuss method to feeding the gang. 

1. Meal must be easy to prepare, cook, and serve.
   
2. I like to try new things, but I must be able to find everything at one store, recipe should have less than 10 ingredients and must have a photo.
   
3. I make one meal. Eat it, or make your own. [This is a good rule for those preschool years but didn't always work before then.]
   

I also found a two very helpful resources that help me stick to 1 & 2. (both are available online and in print)

Everyday Foods Magazine

Kraft Food and Family Magazine [free]

These magazines come about once a month. I scour the pages, and mark recipes that look tasty with a sticky note. And attempt to try one new recipe a month. I also created online accounts at their sites, so I can quickly find a recipe when I can't find the magazine.

Here are a few of our favorites (some of which we eat weekly).

Italian Pot Pies

Tomato and Spinach Pasta Toss

Whole Wheat Pizza 

Slow Cooker Tex Mex

Marvelous Mini Meat-loaves 

What tips do you have for feeding your family without a lot of fuss? Have any great fresh summer recipes? I'm ready for a few new menu's for the warm weather.

WIN: Leave a comment on any of this month's Mom Tips and be entered to win an Organic Reusable Tote from Bel-Kai Designs.  Comments must be left by 5.30.09 11pm CST. Winner chosen at random and announced on this blog and by twitter.

Lots of winners in April...

Winners of our April Burp Cloth Giveaway:

1. Sarah

2. Tara Jane

3. April

$30 Resa Design Gift Certificate Comment Giveaway:

Heather Slater

All winners drawn at random. We used random.org for the burp cloth giveaway, and the old paper in the bowl for the $30 GC. 

[If you won, please contact me by Wednesday 5pm CST, at customerservice AT resadesign DOT com.]

Thanks to everyone for participating. Stay tuned for more giveaways. I've been trying to give stuff away on Twitter, but I'm not sure anyone is listening :) Follow me at @resadesign. You never know what I might have to say (or giveaway).

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