Starbucks Delicious Pairings: Saving My Bacon On Thanksgiving

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost here.  Again.  Already.  Thanksgiving is when the flurry of activity and must.do.now. really takes off, but stopping to smell the roses - or the coffee - along the way makes for a far more pleasant journey.

Because Thanksgiving is always such a busy day - and there is so much food to eat and then eat again - I always go with a light breakfast that takes no preparation at all.  This year, we're doing Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee and blueberry muffins from the Bakery at Walmart.  It doesn't get any easier than that, and it's pretty darn tasty, too.  I'm not the only one who thinks so.  WalMart actually has a Delicious Pairings display of this combo in its bakeries now.

Silly me, I need to give it a test run before the big day.  Fortunately, I have a few like-minded friends who have no issues getting together to chat about Thanksgiving plans and how to make things a little easier.  The fact that I offered up Starbucks coffee and blueberry muffins didn't hurt either.

Starbucks coffee does deserve its own special preparation, and my friend has the perfect coffee maker for it.  It doesn't just "make coffee."  It carefully presses and crafts the coffee.

This is a coffee maker that can grind its own beans, if needed.  Starbucks has thoughtfully done that for us, so we just sat back and waited for our coffee.  When the first cup was poured, one friend didn't believe it was hers.  "I didn't ask for a latte," she explained.  Apparently when you craft coffee, it looks different from how it does when you brew a pot.  Who knew?

Yep, it really comes out looking like that.  Coffee at my house isn't nearly so fancy.  And regardless of where this coffee is made (or crafted), Starbucks Breakfast Blend is tasty.  It's a medium blend, so not too strong, but there are hints of flavor.

Part of the reason I enjoy drinking good coffee like this is that it's one you savor.  You don't simply gulp it down to get caffeine into your system.  Proof?

Interestingly, we tried the coffee both without the muffins... and while eating the muffins.  There is a reason for the pairing of the blueberry muffins with the Starbucks Breakfast blend.  We all agreed that the coffee itself tastes fruitier with the pairing than it does on its own.  We disagreed a little about the specific notes we felt (we would make great wine connoisseurs, wouldn't we?), but fruit was agreed.  I could taste more the blueberry or blackberry notes, while another friend felt it was more like a sweet lemon hint.  It's another great reminder of why pairing food with what we drink makes a difference.

Yes, my coffee cup is smaller.  Some of us know we can only handle limited amounts of caffeine.

By the end of the morning, all my friends and I felt better about our Thanksgiving preparations.  It didn't seem so daunting knowing that others had the same stress, yet year after year Thanksgiving dinner turns out just fine.  Besides, I know what I'm serving for breakfast on Thanksgiving to make life just a little bit easier for me.  And I have plenty of choices when it comes to the Bakery at WalMart, but I think I'll stick with the blueberry muffins.  They really were #DeliciousPairings with the Breakfast Blend.

And the best part?  I usually only buy my Starbucks at their retail stores, so I didn't know that there is a special bonus when I've finished with my pouch of coffee.  I can bring in the empty bag and exchange it for a free coffee at Starbucks.  Think I can finish it before Black Friday?  You know I'll be doing my best, and my family will definitely help me out!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. As always, all opinions expressed remain my own.  #CBias #SocialFabric

Protein + Del Monte Fruit Cups = After School Win

If you know anything about me at all, you know I care about what the wee ones eat.  It makes a difference to me what we put in our bodies, which is why I cook from scratch most of the time and do what I can to ensure the processed foods we eat aren't filled with ingredients I avoid.  I'm still a busy mom, and I need to find ways to get food to the wee ones faster sometimes.  Discovering the new Del Monte fruit cup flavors is a win all around.

After school tends to be a busy time for us.  Most days, the wee ones are running to activities, leaving them little time for after school snacks.  And on the days we "just" have homework, they get off the bus absolutely starving but dinner isn't for hours yet.  I figured out long ago that the wee ones - especially Mister Man - needs a high protein, healthy snack to over for dinner and ensure the focus and energy is there for any after school activity.

I don't like to give him peanut butter simply because there are so many kids with allergies, and I'm sensitive to the concern about contact allergies because I know he doesn't wash his hands after eating nearly as well as he will someday.  Instead, I usually serve him Greek yogurt because it's quick and has a ton of protein.  I buy the plain kind, and then put preserves in it.  The only challenge is that he eats it slowly, so I have to hurry him along most of the time.

This time around, I decided to give him the yogurt with the Del Monte fruit cup with apples and pears with caramel flavor in place of the preserves.  He thought it was a neat idea, and who am I to challenge him?  It's still only 13 grams of sugar, so I feel ok about it.

I loved the idea of using the Del Monte fruit cups because each cup is a full serving of fruit.  I know the wee ones are good eaters, but I'm always trying to get some more fruit and vegetable servings in them.  This is an easy way.  I know the tablespoon or so of preserves I usually use doesn't have nearly that much fruit in it.  Besides, the fruit cups contain no high fructose corn syrup (we won't eat foods that have it) and use actual sugar and brown sugar - depending on the flavor - to sweeten the fruit.  I'm all over that.  Plus, they're gluten free, which means they're "safe foods" for friends who come over who have gluten issues, and we have plenty of those unfortunately.

When I put the bowl in front of Mister Man, he was excited.  His first reaction was to tell me that, "Mom, this smells so good!"  Trust me, that isn't a normal reaction from my oh-so-picky child.  In fact, he immediately leaned over to smell it and inhale the fruity flavor with a touch of extra yummy caramel hint.

Apparently this snack was a winner.  I'm happy because it's low in calories (each cup is just 60 calories) but packs a great nutritional punch.  Between the protein in the yogurt and the full fruit serving, this is something I definitely feel good about serving Mister Man.  And it must have tasted really good to him because I didn't have to rush him along.  Instead, I turned around and there was an empty bowl.  This does not happen on a normal day, people!

Of course Little Miss was not about to be outdone.  She saw the fruit and figured that what's good for the gander is good for the goose.

She started loving on the package and wouldn't put it down until I agreed that she could have a fruit cup, too.  I let her have the pears with vanilla and spice so that I could try the other fruit cup, too.  All three of us agreed that the fruit was nice and soft but not too mushy and that it actually tasted like apples and pears.  That is definitely a step up from the fruit cocktail I grew up eating.

So remember how I told you that I went to Walmart to buy the Del Monte fruit cups and came home with an extra?  The other new flavor of diced peaches with cinnamon and brown sugar wasn't on the official list, but I couldn't help myself.  These are flavors that just sound really yummy to me, and they make a perfect healthy snack for just over $0.50 per cup.

But it gets better.  There's an online coupon now for $0.50 off any one cup of Del Monte diced pears and apples with caramel flavor or diced pears with vanilla and spice.  Now the cups are an even more affordable healthy snack.  Yep, this #SmartSnack is definitely an after school win in our house!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Del Monte. As always, all opinions expressed remain my own.  #CBias #SocialFabric

We Recycle (More) At School. Do You?

There are definitely things in my life that I'm passionate about.  Doing the right thing for the wee ones is paramount, and in my mind that includes things from eating as healthfully as we can to teaching them to give back to being mindful of the waste we create.  Today, I'm working on a #BagItForward project with Elmer's that combines two of those three passions, and I'm thrilled.

Elmer's has the first glue stick and bottle recycling program in conjunction with WalMart.  The special plastics used in creating glue bottles and glue sticks can't be recycled at just any location, so this partnership ensures that they are appropriately turned into new products.  I love that as part of this project, schools will receive $0.02 per for every glue bottle and glue stick from Terracycle so long as the donation is of at least 250 bottles or glue sticks.  I love "fundraisers" that don't cost parents anything!

Before I can start counting the pennies from the donation, I need to create my donation box.  My first step was to go shopping for my #BagItForward Glue Crew project at WalMart.  I love going through the craft and school supply aisle on a regular basis, but I'm still always surprised by the fun new products I find.  Did you know that Elmer's now makes glitter glue in easy to dispense bottles.  I found it in red, blue, yellow, and green.  I can only imagine what I would have done with this as a child!

I'm sort of sad that with the school year now underway, the giant back to school section has been replaced by fall products because I love back to school shopping, but I'm happy to report that the products are still there.  Well, they were.  Once I bought out the entire stock of glue sticks to donate to our art classroom, the section looked a little more empty.

Once I arrived back home, I started to put together my Glue Crew donation box for the Bag It Forward project.  I had decided to put the collection bin into the art room at the wee ones' school because the specials are so often ignored, and I know our art teacher goes through glue!  Plus, since this project includes making a donation to the classroom, how perfect to get something extra for her when she rarely gets anything from parents?  She was thrilled when I told her about the opportunity.

As I sat sitting with an empty box and some art supplies in front of me, I began to regret my decision a little.  I'm not an artist.  On the Glue Crew website, they provide a ton of information on how to set up a donation project from templates to help you to examples of other schools' donation boxes.  That's when I was officially intimidated because there is truly some awesomeness out there.  I can only imagine what other awesomeness is already out there on the Bag It Forward Pinterest board, too.  After sitting in fear for a little while, I remembered that this is about doing good and not about making sure that this is the best looking box ever created.  I gathered my materials and got started.

I decided to go a classic route, since I am someone who loves things that are simple and still beautiful.  The box I created has the relevant information so the students know what it is, and it incorporates the recycling color of green.  I love that I left the top of the donation box open so that kids can see how much glue they've recycled so far.

The students at our school haven't heard of the Elmer's Glue Crew project before, so it was important that I also include some educational information for them, as well.  Why should they recycle?  And how does this project work?  They need to know that this is for Elmer's glue sticks and glue bottles only, although there are plenty of other things that can and should be recycled elsewhere.  I also made sure they understand that the glue sticks and bottles that go into the donation box need to be clean.  As easy as I discovered this is to do with just a little warm water, I don't want to be the one responsible for cleaning out all of them come April when I bring them into WalMart to be recycled!

I decided that the Elmer's tri fold display board I purchased was the perfect vehicle to communicate this.  Instead of just putting the instructions, I included some recycling information that I hope will encourage them to recycle at home and school.  So what do you think of the fun board?  And yes, that is one of my empties that I glued as an example.  I'll be sure to include it in the bin when I take it for recycling though!

Now that I completed my donation box, it was time to bring it into the school and show the art teacher and students.  One additional benefit to having the open top of the box is that I can put my trifold inside it, along with the items I purchased to donate to her classroom.  Between crayons, colored pencils, markers, and tons of Elmer's glue, she has quality school supplies for her art room to last for at least a few weeks, right?

When I showed up in the classroom, the art teacher beamed.  She knew the box was coming and that I was going to bring her "something," but she had no idea it was going to be a box full of fun stuff for her.  As we chatted, she shared how grateful she was for the Elmer's donation bin.  She hates not being able to recycle them so never throws them away.  She showed me in her classroom where she has a cache of empty glue bottles just waiting for her to discover a way to reuse them.  This is just the glue bottles she has sitting awaiting storage until she can find a use for them.  There is a whole cabinet in her room filled with them.  You can only imagine how thrilled she is that we'll now recycle them.

She placed the bin prominently on a shelf where the students enter her classroom with the display above it so that students know exactly what to do.  As for me, I'm excited to check on it every once in awhile and determine how full our box is getting.  I have a feeling I'm going to have to stock up on more empty boxes to store all the recyclable empty Elmer's glue sticks and bottles I receive before I can start bringing them to WalMart in April!  This is how I love to make a teacher's day, and Elmer's is a huge part of that with the Bag It Forward campaign.

Elmer's is doing more than just the Glue Crew project to recycle glue sticks and bottles.  They have also launched the Elmer's 1st Day app for smart phones and tablets.  It's easy to download and sign up, and once you do, you can use it to capture the school year from both the teacher and the parent perspective.  You can easily take photos and share them securely with just who you choose via the app, rather than having photos of your children more easily accessible online.

It's easy to tag children so you can organize the photos by child.  Each photo is easily captioned so you remember exactly what was happening in the moment.  That's always my failing.  You don't want to know how many years it's been since I've printed photos.  At least with captions I have a chance - you know this is why I blog, right?  I love that the app also sorts photos by date so you can find them, as long as you remember around when you took the photo.

Oh, and did I almost forget to mention?  Elmer's donates one product to the Kids In Need Foundation for every photo that is uploaded using the 1st Day app up to 200,000 products.  Kids In Need distributes free school supplies to students whose parents can't afford them.  So far, Elmer's has donated well over 26,000 products.  How awesome is that?

You know, it's easy to get involved in giving back with this #BagItForward opportunity.  You can download the 1st Day app and upload photos to help Elmer's get to the 200,000 donation level.  And does your school participate in the Glue Crew?  I love that this was so easy to do - and wow was the school receptive!  The more we can get kids involved in helping out, the better off we'll all be.  What can you do to get involved?

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Collective Bias(tm) Social Fabric(r) Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias(tm) and Elmer's, and all opinions remain my own.  #CBias #SocialFabric #BagItForward

School Supply Donation: #BagItForward with Elmer's and #CBias

I love doing nice things for people, especially when it's easy (hey, don't we all like things that are easy?) and when they don't cost too much money.  The #BagItForward campaign sponsored by Elmer's combines not only that but the opportunity to get the wee ones involved.

I realized only now that I haven't (yet) blogged about the end of the school year for Mister Man.  After many of the challenges he faced at his school, we chose to pull him from the Catholic school and enroll him at the public school Little Miss attends.  There were many reasons for that - and trust me, I'll post about them at some point - but we were a little nervous about what his experience would be like.

Before the end of the first day, we were fully relieved.  Mrs. J, his new teacher, was so welcoming of Mister Man, and she sent me two unsolicited emails during the day to reassure me on well he was adjusting and how happy she was to have him as a part of her class.  The rest of the year was better than we ever could have imagined, and my husband and I are kicking ourselves for not having moved Mister Man earlier.

We are so grateful for all she did to help Mister Man - and we jumped on the chance for supporting our teachers.  When we started, Mrs. J refused to let us provide any school supplies; she would give him what was needed.  This school provides all the supplies the students need after parents pay a flat fee at the beginning of the year, but by the end, many of the supplies are low or running out.  How fun for us to be able to give "extras" of quality school supplies (because why give something that won't be useful?) that she can dip into over the next school year?

Even better, school supplies are on sale right now during back to school season, making this the perfect time to collect our donation for Mrs. J.  I put Mister Man in charge of what was needed, and we headed to WalMart to purchase items to Bag It Forward for Mrs. J.

When I told Mister Man he was in charge of the shopping list and what we were planning to do for Mrs. J, he was over the moon.  It was amazing to me to watch him get so excited about the ability to help someone else.  We've done charitable work in the past, but it never fails to surprise me how much the wee ones love doing it.  Mister Man carefully wrote out a list of the items that Mrs. J most frequently used and that were running low by the end of the year.  It was too cute how he told me that Mrs. J only uses glue sticks because they are less messy but also that they have to be Elmer's to ensure that they work the best.

In the store was no different.  Mister Man carefully selected the best items that he thought Mrs. J would appreciate.  Wherever he could, he calculated how many items he would need to ensure that every student would be able to have one.  I thought it was neat that we could use this as a math lesson for Mister Man to figure out which options were the cheapest (do we buy a 6 pack of Elmer's glue for $1.97 or the 2 pack for $0.50?) and how many we could afford to purchase.  He carefully noted the prices of each item and how much we were spending ($1.94 on two packs of markers) on his shopping list and then crossed off each item as it went into the cart.

Once home, Mister Man wrote Mrs. J a note to share what we was doing and how grateful he that he had her as a teacher at the end of the year.

It wasn't expensive to purchase a ton of quality school supplies for her classroom.  For 3 packs of pencils, 13 2-packs of glue, 1 package of erasers, 2 packs of dry erase markers, 3 packs of crayons, 2 packs of markers, and 4 pairs of scissors, we spent just over $20.  How easy is that?  I can only imagine the smile on Mrs. J's face when we present her with all the supplies.

Because this is a gift, we decided to make it look nice.  I found a pretty basket with my supplies in the basement, and Mister Man set to work to make everything fit nicely in there.  I let him run the show and arrange it how he wanted.  It makes me giggle sometimes to see how much my son he is.  He had to take each item from the bag and lay it in order on the floor before putting them neatly into the basket.

I was a little concerned that Mister Man would simply toss the school supplies willy nilly into the basket to be done with it.  I should have known better.  Instead, he worked the basket like a puzzle to ensure that every back to school item we had purchased would fit nicely into the basket.

Once he finished, Mister Man just had the biggest grin on his face.  He loved that he was able to make a difference so easily.  And that's the point.  It really is easy.  How many teachers and students do you know who would appreciate a donation of quality school supplies?  Something always runs out or is forgotten.  And with back to school sales on right now, it's the perfect time to add a little something extra when you go shopping for your school supplies.

And what better was to get ready for the first day of school?  Oh, wait.  There's another way to get ready for that momentous occasion.  Elmer's has created the 1st Day app (and website) that is designed for parents and teachers to capture and share the milestones and other "firsts" for their children.  Unlike programs such as Instagram, it's focused just on parents and the photos are shared much more narrowly. You can create custom keepsakes with quotes or captions to help you remember why those moments were so special, too.

My favorite part, however?  For every photo uploaded via the 1st Day app, Elmer's will donate a product to the Kids In Need Foundation, up to 200,000 products.  What a neat way to capture those memories and for teachers to be able to share with parents what they're doing in the classroom to journal the year!


In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Collective Bias(tm) Social Fabric(r) Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias(tm) and Elmer's, and all opinions remain my own.  #CBias #SocialFabric #BagItForward

Celebrate National Ice Cream Day With #TCBYGrocery #CBias

It is hot in Chicago.  And humid.  So what do we do to keep cool (and sane) during the summer?  My friends and I spend as much time in the pool as possible, both the community pool where we belong and at the pools friends own.  I just found out about National Ice Cream Day (yep, seriously) on the third Sunday in July each year.  That's this Sunday, July 15, so  you still have time to get your ice cream to celebrate.

My friends and I held a little pool party with #TCBYGrocery frozen yogurt a little early to ensure we managed to take part in this holiday thanks to #CBias.  Since my family is out of town on an RV trip and left me by myself, we decided to make this a party just for a the adults.  Or we tried, anyway.

My first step was to pick up some of the TCBY frozen novelties.  I've had them before, and I absolutely adore the orange and vanilla bars.  It took me a little doing, but I managed to find some.  You can read all about my shopping trip at Walmart via Google+, but I'll admit here and now that those three boxes of the orange and vanilla bars weren't all for my friends.  I only shared one box with them.  The other two are purely for me!

And yes, I actually went to two different WalMarts to get to my frozen yogurt.  Not every Walmart carries the TCBY frozen yogurt, and I learned the hard way that not every Walmart carries the same varieties of frozen novelties.  Fortunately, I found which location near me sells my favorite kind, although I'm going to have a little chat with the other Walmart manager to see if they can start carrying the orange and vanilla bars, too!

Once I was all set, I headed over to my friend's house.  She loved the idea of an adults only pool party.  When we head over there, it's usually for a playdate with kids.  She and I (and other friends) may sit near the pool, but our conversations are short and scattered.  We're focused on our children and what they're doing in the pool, trying to keep them safe and from annoying the other children.  It's not restful or relaxing.

And spending the day at the pool should be relaxing.  Doesn't just looking at this view lower your blood pressure?

My friend Maria invited our friend Johna to join us.  The three of us all have special needs children, so it seems like we're always on.  If anyone needs a break, it's us, right?  So we took a break from the work, and before the pool party got started, we enlisted a pool boy to do the work of prepping the pool.  Tell me this isn't the cutest pool boy you've ever seen!

This party to celebrate National Ice Cream Day was designed to be all about us.  We used a tablecloth, something we never do when there are children involved.  And we brought out the wine.

We spent the afternoon chatting and giggling, like we used to before kids.

Sitting by the pool, dangling our feet in the water just isn't enough when it's truly hot in Chicago.  Our heat index is up near 100 again, and it's miserable.  We need to stay cool inside and out.  As lovely as the water was, it just wasn't quite enough.

We drank some wine, and when we got hot... we brought out the TCBY frozen yogurt.

We had plenty to choose from, and interestingly, each of us chose something different.  Johna had the chocolate fudge bar.  She's the chocolate lover in the group.  Maria tried out the orange and vanilla bar on my recommendation.  And I had an ice cream sandwich.  It's amazing how frozen yogurt novelties brings out the child in us.  We haven't laughed this much or felt this relaxed in I can't tell you how long.

Maria agreed with me that the orange and vanilla bar was amazing.  It tastes just like a dreamsicle, but it has far fewer calories.  110 calories is the kind of treat we like.  It's creamy and orange-y and In fact, when I left Maria's house, she begged me to leave some treats behind.  I graciously agreed because well I had my own stash back at home, remember?

And yes, there was plenty of teasing involved.  I was told that apparently I was trying to "class up the joint" because I am unable to eat my ice cream without my pinky raised - just as if I were having tea with the Queen of England.  I had no idea until they took this picture and gave me the photographic proof.  It looks like I'm just that kind of gal.  Errr lady.

We had a blast.  We don't do this often because we forget that we have lives outside our children, too.  This was a good reminder, and we have vowed to do it more often.  And the ice cream?  It's a bonus that we're going to include.  All our children have various dietary restrictions, though I'm lucky to have the fewest issues, so we don't eat like this often.  The next time we get together, we're making sure we have more.  In fact, I think those waffle bowls and the English Toffee Crunch with this whipped cream we didn't eat yesterday has been requested for the next party.  Well, if there's any left, that is!

Want to chat about #TCBYGrocery and possibly win some prizes?  There's a Twitter chat on Thursday, July 26 from 1-2pm EST.  Join in!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and TCBY, and all opinions remain my own. #CBias #SocialFabric #TCBYGrocery