random tips from Bridgemom

Every now and then I feel compelled to share a product, place, or service that is a must-have for my family.

1. Sam's Club's "Fresh Salsa". I am admittedly a salsa snob. I love all these new restaurants with salsa bars (the food, not the dance). Regular jarred grocery salsa is almost repulsive to me now. Then, I found this salsa several years back. Don't worry about the large container - if you are like me, it won't last long. I got some last Friday night and I finished it Tuesday. I am even ashamed to say that I ran out of chips, so I just ate the last bit with a spoon. Yes, it's that good. It's a bit spicy, so I temper that by mixing it with a little sour cream or guacamole, because I am a bit of a weenie.

2. Realty websites (like realtor.com or fmrealty.com or whatever big local realtor company in your area). I like these for many reasons. First, I am just intrigued by real estate. Secondly, I like to look at the pictures of houses in my neighborhood (and others) to see how they decorate it. Or, how they have re-modeled and updated their homes. Amazingly, though, is the state of some houses. When your house is one the market, especially with this type of economy, you want it to look its best. It's surprising to me how many people have plain white walls with no art or pictures on them. Or clothes left on the floor for the internet-world to see. Come on, people.

3. Pull-Ups. After potty training my son, I will never use the pamper's Easy Ups. They easily tear when pulling up or down (especially by toddler hands), and thus are useless and a waste of my money. The Pull Ups, however, have Velcro-like sides that you can reattach. Which is good for me, since when my son was training and was dry, I could reuse the pull up the next nap or night. Is that gross or money-savvy? :)

4. My son, Jackson, is becoming fasinated with computer games. We only allow the very kid-friendly and educational ones. His 2 new favorite sites are Word World and the children's game on The Bridge's website (especially Moses and the tablets and Pacman).

spring wardrobe must-have

If you are like me, than you probably evaluate your wardrobe each season for areas that need updating. And, I know, you are probably thinking, "I wish I had a really fun & new t-shirt to wear this spring". Right? ;)

Mike and I have been fans of this site for some time. Absolute hilarious t-shirts. In fact, a good portion of the folks from our church now have one of their shirts.

I have this one:

Hubby sports this one as often as I can keep it clean:

There are few on clearance that totally crack me up. Like this one, although I don't know if I'm brave enough to wear that out in public. Or this one. I also really like this new one.

Or there's this one that is not funny at all, but rather retro-chic.

Mike finds this shirt really funny, but realizes that not everyone has a since of humor, and so has shown restraint from purchasing it.

...By the way, I am not getting paid for this - I'm just spreading my fashion wisdom. What little I have.

Any thoughts on which one I should get?

Escape from Men's Town

My hubby had his fantasy football league over for a wing-fest today. Which means my furniture was re-arranged so that every seat had optimal viewing of the TVs (yes, he had 2 going inside and one in the garage). In addition, my house was filled with testosterone and the smell of grease. He & a friend had 2 deep fryers going and made a ton of wings with 5-6 different sauces (3 traditional wing sauces, teriyaki, honey barbecue, etc). And, he attempted to deep fry candy bars, like at the fair.

All this to say... after making sure Jack was kept away from the fryers and tucked away for a nap, I left! I started the Christmas shopping. Whoo-hoo!

Also, since I am not a wing kind of girl, I got "chick food". I went to Roly Poly - my new FAVORITE - and got the kind of food that my husband would gag over.... Pesto Chicken with sauteed onions, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes & fabulous pesto sauce. Oh, and I didn't stop there! I used a buy one get one free coupon and got another wrap for dinner! (An incredible chicken salad wrap). Ya'll, it was heavenly!!

Court's favorites - kid activity websites

So, I get asked often, "What do you DO with Jackson all day?". I would love to say that I am the creative type and have our days filled with adventure and fun. I get in ruts of the same old thing over and over. But, I have these resources to do the creative thinking FOR ME. Thought some of you might enjoy as well. And, if you have favorites site of your own, please SHARE!

1. http://www.bozthebear.com/church/ - meant for church groups (I've already got it for ours), this site has activity pages and cute coloring pages. And lessons that go along with their DVDs. Jack loves his B-O-Z! Can also go to http://www.bozthebear.com/ and play games online.
2. http://www.123child.com/ - great activity suggestions for when you get in the activity rut with your kids.
3. http://preschoolrock.com/ - everything for your preschooler - songs, books, crafts, etc. Bonus: My friend, Monica, is one of their writers.
4. http://www.dltk-kids.com/coloring.htm - tons of free coloring pages... Bible, seasonal, you name it.
5. http://momma2beans.blogspot.com/2007/09/wfmw-bum-print-pumpkins.html - Oh my word. I can't decide if this is a cute idea or gross. At the least, it gave me quite a laugh. You must check this out and tell me your thoughts.
6. http://atv.disney.go.com/playhouse/index.html - games and fun activities for kids to do online. Jackson loves fishing with Donald Duck and matching instruments with the Little Einsteins.
   

Courtney's Favorites - Part 2

Favorite place to shop for kids:

Kids Everywear - This HUGE consignment sale occurs twice a year. The Fall one is September 15-21 and registration is now open. This sale is different from other consignment sales that I have been to because they are particular about what can be consigned – stain free, in season, not out-dated clothes. And there are TONS of namebrand clothes there usually priced between $1-$5. My friend Stacy and I go every time, and we have this sale down to a science! We purchase the bulk of our sons’ clothing needs for the next season – pjs, play clothes, swimsuits, coats, you name it. And, we usually pick up some toys, books, etc. In fact, last time we went, I bought a humongous stack of clothing, training potty, musical instrument set, shoes, and some toys for Jackson and left spending less than $100!! Also, if you are looking for equipment (IE cribs, strollers, exersaucers, etc) they have a huge selection.
Some recommendations:
1. If you can, volunteer or be a consignor. This enables you to shop before the general public, which gives you the better chance at the good deals on cute stuff!
2. When going through the clothing, grab EVERYTHING you think is cute. When you are done grabbing all the clothes in your child’s size, find a free space on the floor and sort through the stack – make sure clothing is stain free, practical, a good deal, etc. Stacy and I do this together and then help weed out until we have all we need.
3. If possible, DON’T bring your children. Trust me, you will need to move quickly and space is limited.
4. You might want to bring something to stack your goods in – I see mom’s using empty strollers, wagons, those crates with long handles, etc. I borrowed Lynn’s mom’s crate last year and it was so handy!!

Courtney's Favorites - Part 1

I am a firm believer that if a product/store/place is found to be truly remarkable, it should be "passed on". I love to share great deals and products - and I love to hear about things that others have found worthy of praise. So, I thought I'd post a series of "Courtney's Favorites" and I'd share the things, places, stores, etc that have proven to be a God-send to me. Please feel free to reciprocate and share yours!!

Courtney's Favorite Products:
1. Magic Eraser - ingenious little "sponge" that will take away the grime off of walls, white shoes/sandals, refrigerators, etc. It will "erase" the marks left on doors and walls left from furniture and people banging into it.

2. Libman Wonder Mop - I have struggled for years to find a mop that I felt
worked AND didn't get so gross that I felt it left my floors worse than before I mopped. Ask Mike - I have a collection of mops that have failed the test. This new mop, however, is great. It's greatest feature - the mop-head comes off and can be thrown into the washing machine to get totally clean.


3. Jackson's booster seat. We took back the high chair we registered for and just used this exclusively. This seat has been great and has stood up through the years. Easy to travel with, easy to clean (dishwasher safe tray!!) and it adjusts with height/age.



4. DVR. I admit it... I'm obsessed. When we moved last August, we got a deal and they gave us FREE DVR for a year. Which is almost up, and my mind my change next month when our bill increases... But, this product enables us to record whole seasons of shows that we can watch when it is most convenient -- and fast-forward through ALL commercials. Which means less time. And, I can record exercise shows from Fit TV, Jackson's favorite shows, etc. Easy to record, and easy to erase when done. Oh... and you can pause live TV for phone calls and you can rewind to catch that line you missed when your toddler decided to scream out all the names of the Thomas trains that he owns.

5. Toddler Drinkable Yogart. This stuff is great for car trips - just pour it into your child's sippy cup and you don't have to stop to feed them or worry about the crumby mess stuck to your carseat.

What's your favorite movie?

My husband and I are semi-watching (I am also perusing Craig's list...per usual) a special on the top 100 movies of all time...which is reminding me of some really fantastic movies that I had forgotten about. They named Citizen Kane as the best ever. Never seen it. The Godfather got 2nd.

So, I'm trying to decide which movie is my favorite... here's some of the top-runners...

Singing in the rain
St. Elmo's Fire
You've Got Mail - Mike and I can practically quote the whole movie.
Hitch - totally makes me crack up.
Gone With the Wind
The English Patient
Monty Python's The Holy Grail - another fun one to quote
The Power of One
Schindler's List
The Usual Suspects
Shawshank Redemption

What would you say is the best movie ever made?