Cheap/Eco-Friendly Kids Water Bottles

I’m always on the hunt for good water bottles. If I could have limitless funds and room for these suckers, I’d be a seriously happy gal.  Yah, my life is that exciting.

Maybe it’s because we live in Florida but I swear I spend at least 8% of my waking hours searching for, filling up, and washing water bottles.  And then my kids seem to lose or break them constantly (i.e. the Camel Back which everyone has and just does NOT work for us).   I hate spending a lot on these but I like to have tons of them around.  I’ve found two new brands recently that have been a great solution.

The first were these super cute ones from Amazon.  They aren’t great for little little kids, as they have a screw top, but they are excellent for school lunch boxes.  Great size and they’re cute. And they come in a stand up holder so they’re not all falling down. bonus.  Only $14 for all five…

The second was at Whole Foods surprisingly (something affordable at Whole Foods?? yes!). I can’t find a link online, but they were a small bottle with a foldable “sucking device” (not a straw, I hate straws).  No BPA. Came in purple, blue, and red and were only $4.  We’ve gotten a lot of use out of them.

Anything you choose is better than re-buying, using, and disposing of the endless branded water bottles!

Funny Video about Being a Parent

This video is a hysterical insight from comedian Michael McIntyre about what it’s really like to have kids…

Yah – while all the “singletons” are sick of hearing about us complain and think they’re lives are stressful, they have NO idea what it’s really like (just like we had NO idea when we were naive non-parents) to be entirely controlled, 24-7, by two to three foot mini-me’s.

Worth a click, it’s a good one…

The Book Fair is Here!

Miami International Book Fair is one of those events that makes me truly proud of our city.  It’s exciting, intellectual, self-promotional in the very best way, and fun! This year, they have some major authors – as in Dan Brown, Erica Jong, Pat Conroy and Anjelica Houston.  And so many more. It kicks off this week (Nov. 17th), and the street fair is Nov.22-24th!

But where to start? Well, for the no-kids options, the “An Evening With” series is where you’ll get to meet and listen to readings from some of your favorite authors.  Click here to see the schedule. Anjelica is making an appearance to talk about her new memoir, “Her Life in Stories”.  I’ve heard it’s really, really good (when your parents are best friends with Marlon Brandon, there’s gotta be some interesting stories!)  Pat Conroy, one of my all-time faves is making an appearance on Tuesday the 19th to talk his book after the book…i.e. what happened after he published The Great Santini (which was based on his abusive father).  Spoiler Alert: things didn’t go down so well with the fam, as one might imagine.   These events have a minimal charge, but many of the others are free.

As for the kiddies, the fair has REALLY stepped it up this year! There are tons of events in various locations.  Check out this link for the list, including the super fun Mad Science Lab (let your kids be their own Mr. Wizard).  The best part of the kids schedule is that they’re offering everything on multiple days and times, as we all have such crazy schedules! “Performances” (i.e. readings with more energy) will take place on the Once Upon a Time and Happily Ever After stages.

So, even if we have another rainy weekend, you can look forward to something awesome to do with the kids!

Awesome Eco-Friendly Replacement for Zip Locks

While I try to keep my disposable-item usage to a minimum as much as possible (tupperware and lunchbox for lunches & snacks), I recently found myself reaching for zip lock bags more than I’d like to.

I realized they’d appear when I needed a few snacks on the go and had nothing to put them all together in (how else to group an apple, rice cake, string cheese, and granola bar all together, then put that in your bag?)

Enter ChicoBag bags. They are the perfect size for a bunch of snacks, or single snacks like nuts, sandwiches, etc. I bought three, then promptly re-ordered three more.  I’ve even found myself using them for stuff like legos and matchbox cars! And the best part, they fold & close to different sizes depending on what you have inside.  Seriously, one of the best products I’ve found in a while…