Caldrea Sweet Pea Laundry Products

I first heard about Caldrea Laundry Products from my sister-in-law who was working at a fancy boutique during her summer break from college. She went back to school taking with her a bottle of Caldrea stain remover since she liked the smell. While finishing up a pen and ink project for an art class she knocked over an entire bottle of black ink onto her dorm room carpet. Ewe. Anyway, she promptly squirt a bunch of the stuff on the nasty blackness that was now sure to be her lost deposit, and 10 minutes later the stain was gone. She got that deposit back in full at the end of the year, too!

So after hearing the rave reviews of this miracle stain remover I had to try it for myself. I’ve got two kids, and a husband after all... I absolutely love the stuff. We have the whole “Sweet Pea” line from the laundry soap to the diaper Surface wipes....it smells incredible, and it does a great job of cleaning up after the mess that is my family’s wearables.

My mother-in-law is still trafficking it down to me from Oregon (no sales tax!), but I do know Giggle in SF and Walnut Creek both carry a complete line.

Baby Those Legs!

I absolutely love BabyLegs®! They’re so practical and have such fresh and cool fabric colors and designs. When Alexander was crawling they were great for protecting his chubby knees! Lately, since he’s outgrown his winter wear, we’ve been using them as additional layers during cooler evenings at the park.

I recently saw BabyLegs® for sale at Target, but I’ve also seen them sold at Nanoo at Santana Row in San Jose. Lullabye Lane in San Bruno also sells them!

UPDATE: I'm wearing these as arm-wamers at ZUMBA class...Love them!

Happy Hollow

Happy Hollow is a little amusement/theme park and zoo in San Jose. It has been around for like 50 years...I have friends who are lifetime locals that remember going here as children. Lacking any nostalgic attachment, it's a little strange seeing this place as a grown up. The park is very dated, and the buildings looked like they needed a fresh coat of paint. Food was standard vendor fair. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't anything to rave about either. BUT, I will say the puppet show captured the kids attention, and it was lovely to stroll around the grounds on a nice sunny day.

Boys waiting for the show to start.

Love the booties

The Stage

UPDATE: Happy Hollow is currently closed down for a complete redesign and will be re-opened Fall 2009.

Young Chefs' Academy

When our son turned 7 he asked for a Ratatouille Party. I highly suspected most kids his age wouldn't want a bowl full of eggplant - I could be wrong, though! So we went with a Pizza party at Young Chefs' Academy in Sunnyvale. Chefs' Academy is a cooking school that is equipped with kid sized tables, cooking utensils/hardware, and great teachers.

When the kids came in they were given a chef hat to design. We had the soundtrack from the movie playing the background, and a Wisconsin Cheese hat as a decorative centerpiece. Then the real work began...the kids started by washing their hands (my MIL teaches nutrition - this is a very important first step!). Then they were taught how to make pizza dough. The kids were able to roll out their dough and add the toppings they liked. I was shocked how many kids tried adding things most wouldn't expect a kid to eat: olives, mushrooms, onions, etc. While the pizzas were baking the kids played some games, and the adults partook in the appetizers I brought for them. When pizzas were finished the kids got to cut up their pizzas with pizza wheels, and then ate some very yummy ice cream cake :0)

Z-Vibe

Okay, so the name just sounds dirty...like something that should be found in a sex shop. It sounds even dirtier when inquisitive people ask what it does. "It's an oral stimulator." The looks I've gotten! Anyway...

The back story: Our older son had sensory integration issues when he was younger (just another aspect of raising a special needs child), but I must say this thing really helped him a lot. He stopped chewing on his sleeves and his neckband for one. He also stopped gagging from eating certain textured foods like applesauce.

The Z-Vibe is a pen-like wand that vibrates, offering oral sensory input. It was designed by a speech pathologist, and has been used by Occupational Therapists and SLPs for a long time. It's FDA approved, made of aluminum and medical grade plastic, and latex free.

So then comes young Master Alexander. Teething was a pain in the neck....so I dug back out the Z-Vibe. He loved, loved this thing for his sore gums. It was also a great distraction at restaurants when he'd just about had it and was on the brink of a fussy fit, too :0)

Beyond Play in Berkley sells them via their on-line website.