Shirley's Prepackaged Crafts (review and giveaway!)

My girls love craft projects!  Even Esther (age 1) will sit and color for a good portion of school time every morning.  I sometimes find it hard to come up with enough to keep them busy.  When I came across Shirley's Prepackaged Crafts, I knew we had to try it out.  We were sent a kit to review, and have another to give away.  :)

A kit from Shirley's Prepackaged Crafts includes craft materials (aside from scissors, crayons, etc) for 12 preschool age projects, mailed right to your home.  These are absolutely perfect for Julia to do while I am helping Lucy with her schoolwork.  Our kit focused on the color red and the shape trapezoid, both of which appeared in various projects.  Julia worked on coloring, cutting, gluing, and more.  She was proud of her creations and enjoyed showing them off.  I liked that the kit includes a list of books to read relating to the themes, as well as some snack ideas.  The crafts were very relevant to the month/ season, and fun to do.

While we received two kits, Lucy (age 6) chose not to do some of the projects because they were too simple for her.  These were right on Julia's level (age 4), and challenged her but kept her interested.  Having some sample activities posted on the website would have been helpful in determining the age and skill level appropriate for the kits.  I would also like to see a greater discount for families ordering multiple kits.  The papers are not intended to be copied, and the kit does contain some consumable items (a brad fastener, swatch of fabric, popsicle stick, etc).  They are definitely worthwhile, but pricey if you bought several of each.  Right now Esther is too young for one anyway.  :)

I am looking forward to ordering a few more of these for Julia.  It was so nice to have a box of ready to go crafts on hand.  Instead of spending time searching the internet, printing things out, and gathering supplies, I could focus on my day and feel prepared for those crafty moments whenever they struck!  Not only were we creating fun projects, but I felt good about the shape/ color/ cutting lessons involved as well.

Are you interested?  If you'd like to order a kit, use the code (one little word) for $2 off your first order.  Keep in mind that each kit needs to be ordered by the 15th of the previous month (ie order December before November 15th) and is no longer available after that point.

Shirley is giving away a January box to one of you!  To enter, leave a comment letting me know you've done one of the following (one comment for each entry, with a total of three possible):
- follow my blog or email subscribe
- like Shirley's Prepackaged Crafts on Facebook
- tell me your favorite easy holiday craft!

The giveaway will close on November 19th at midnight and the winner will be contacted by email.  Happy crafting!

*Giveaway closed.  Congrats Erika!*

Menu Plan In Reverse

I always enjoy reading Menu Plan Monday posts, it is inspiring and helps me plan our meals.  I've never posted my own though, because my menu plan is not quite set in stone.  I generally make a list of 6-7 meals and buy ingredients for them.  What I make on which day depends on if Ross is going to be home late, what I remembered to take out of the freezer to thaw, or how well behaved my kids are that day (meaning: are they going to let me cook a more involved dinner or should I just do something quick?).  This week I decided to write down our meals after the fact and post them, doh!  Of course by posting these, I can always look back and have a ready made meal plan whenever I need one.  :)

I started with Tuesday:
B- oatmeal topped with blueberries, yogurt, and brown sugar
L- homemade pizza (had soggy crust, needs to bake longer)
D- scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage, ranch potatoes, and smoothies (pineapple, orange, banana, yogurt)

Wednesday:
B- pumpkin donuts (leftover from our field trip Monday!)
L- whole wheat muffins, apple slices
D- chicken tortilla soup, topped with sour cream, cheese, and avocado chunks, tortilla chips

Thursday:
B- bread with butter and honey
L- macaroni and cheese (with hidden carrot juice), grapes
D- BBQ meatballs, mashed potatoes, corn

Friday:
B- granola bars
L- pretzel crisps, cheese, pickles, orange slices
D- baked zitti (with more hidden carrot juice), salad (lettuce, carrots, peppers, radishes)

Saturday:
B- toast with almond butter and honey
L- scrambled eggs, potato pancakes (with leftover mashed potatoes)
D- leftover baked zitti, green beans

Sunday:
B- toast with almond butter and honey (I'm all out of eggs!)
L- bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwiches, smoothies with kale, apple, and raspberries
D- pepper chicken, quinoa, and salad

There, are you inspired?  :)  Check out Menu Plan Monday for more inspiration.  and here too.

Undercover Mama

When I nursed my first baby, I wore the nursing tanks from Target constantly.  They covered my tummy when I nursed, but there was not much support in them.  I ended up looking kind of really flat.  Since then I've tried various nursing tops, but I usually end up getting frustrated with the baggy look and all of the layers.  I've enjoyed wearing belly band type things under my normal shirts, but then I'm still fiddling a bit to be sure the band is pulled all the way up before I lift my shirt.  I tried a milkshirt, but felt dorky and the seam kind of showed through my shirts.

Enter: Undercover Mama!  I recently got to try one of these out and really liked it.  Undercover Mama is a nursing shirt that attaches to your normal nursing bra.  When you unhook the bra to nurse, the tank unhooks right along with it, keeping your tummy covered of course.  I enjoyed being able to wear my regular nursing bra with this.  The shirt is just a bit stretchy and a great length.  A size small fit me well.  The top of the Undercover Mama shirt did show at the neckline if I was wearing a V-neck top, but that's fine.  I was worried the back of the shirt might fall down since it only attached at the bra strap in front, but it actually stayed in place just fine.

I used the loop to attach to my bras, but there is also a hook option on each shirt, making it quite versatile.  Having a couple of Undercover Mama shirts allows me to continue wearing my normal tops and eliminates the need for an expensive nursing wardrobe.  I'll definitely be purchasing at least one more before the new baby comes.  I think I need a pink one!  ;)

Would you like to win one?  To enter, do any of the following and leave one comment for each, being sure to include your email address so that I can contact you:
- follow my blog or email subscribe
- like Undercover Mama on Facebook
- follow Undercover Mama on Twitter
That's a total of three possible entries.  The giveaway will close November 7 at midnight and the winner will be contacted by email.  Happy Nursing!  :)
*Giveaway closed.*

Nursing Break

Esther is done nursing.  Around 13 weeks into my pregnancy it was just really uncomfortable.  While I loved being able to nurse her, I knew that we were at the end of our nursing days.  I cried and was upset, not because I love breastfeeding (I was ready for a break.), but because I felt bad for Esther, she's still my baby!  She actually did really well with stopping, and just needed a few extra snuggles with Daddy in the evenings when she was used to nursing to sleep.

Although I do not fit in it anymore, one of my favorite tops is this V-neck from Boob Nursing Wear.  I absolutely love the opening, so easy and no extra layers of fabric to mess with.  I've ended up getting rid of most of my other nursing tops in favor of this simple style.  (Just lift up the overlap part and nurse.)  I enjoy feeling like I am wearing a normal fitted shirt instead of baggy layers that many other nursing tops have.  The length on this one is also great, just a bit long, which is nice.
                                   
I posted about my nursing hoodie last fall - it was probably worn several times a week and it still looks great.  The fabric has held up perfectly.  (I'm going to cry... Esther is so tiny in that post!)  Both the hoodie and the v-neck shirt are size small.  The shirt is more fitted than the hoodie, almost tight, even before my belly started growing, so you may want to choose a size up in that one.  I'm sure these tops will be getting tons of use once our new little one arrives in a few months.  :)  Boob Nursing Wear is a great, high quality, functional choice for a nursing wardrobe!

I received the nursing top pictured above for review.  All opinions expressed are my own of course.