happy heart day

I already showed you the Valentines we did this year, but here's another one I helped a friend do. Cute right!

a fav from a favorite

I LOVE it when my friend Dan sends me a new fav for my blog. Dan and his wife have great taste and if they like something, I know I will too. Plus I love any man who doesn't mind sharing great finds with a bunch of women. Thanks Dan!! You rock (and you are a great Godfather too). So here is Dan's new fav, as told by him:

I have a new favorite: I'm a fairly manic running/work-out guy as you know. The biggest challenge for me is finding shorts than can be great for both running/cardio & lifting while offering maximum comfort. I've tried all brands over the years Nike, Under Armor, Target Brand etc. However on a whim (while my ladies were in Forever41, I mean 21) I went in to Lululemon at the Irvine Spectrum. They are mostly known for their Women's yoga apparel but have a Men's line too. The staff were very knowledgeable and helped me pick out the Run: Response Short. I just got them this past weekend, have worn them twice, and they are simply awesome. Ultra comfortable, 3 pockets, built in liner, super wicking & cool. Pricier than other brands but absolutely worth it. Never thought I would get so enthused about a pair of shorts and that they could be Amanda's Favs worthy! I'll be picking up another pair very soon.

Thanks Dan!

two things together

When two good things come together....I'm happy. I love my Pottery Barn Kids Lunch Bag. It's cute and easy to carry. Plus, it has zippered pockets on the outside and inside so I can fit more things in it. I also love my new Bright Bin Lunch Box sent to me by the people at Bright Bin. It's small enough that it fits inside of my Lunch Bag with a small water. The top compartment can fit a sandwich or something larger and then the bottom has trays for separate items. So much better than wasting sandwich bags or having lots of separate containers that get lost and have to all be washed (Mark hates that). Both are BPA free and easy to clean. I like that they can both be used separately or together. When it's summer I am constantly packing snacks and after awhile having loose food in my reusable grocery bags sloshing around everywhere gets old. I am going to try and keep it simple with these two things this summer (I am seriously already thinking about it!).

valentines

Our school Valentine's are done, the teachers wanted them early this year! They were super easy to make. We also made Valentine's for our friends (and for Maddie, read below) with pretty papers and lots of glue sticks. I will post those pictures tomorrow! I LOVE Valentine's Day so much!

a box of love

I just read this blog post. Expect tears when you read it. I am collecting Valentine's to send in a big box to Maddie. Please email me at elhajs@aol.com to contribute any Valentine's from your child or little goodies from you.

new find

These Mighty Pops are great for little sick ones. They are like 3 inches tall and melt slowly. I gave one to my little guy (1 years old) and he happily ate it (the big kids each wanted one too). Good option when they have the flu and you need to keep them hydrated but don't want a gigantic popsicle. Or I guess if you love to have popsicles around in the summer! I found them at Pavilions.

dress it up

Just because I can't afford to give the biggest gift, doesn't mean I can't try and make it the prettiest.

i love other people's ideas

I am LOVING this post on Design Mom's blog by Brooke Reynolds of inchmark. I love her grocery list template!! I was doing this already but everything was separate. Now I can put everything on the same page, awesome!

I also like her dad's new blog. I could only glance at it for a few minutes but I am going to go back for more!

yum

Mark and I REALLY like these Yogi Granola Crisps. They are like little pieces of cereal that you can munch on during the day and they are really good for you! They have oats, barley, spelt, quinoa and much more in them. I didn't expect to like them as much as I do, I just picked them off the shelf because I have been looking for healthier snack foods. I bought them at Target!

good for the planet and fun for kids

My sister introduced me to the world of Green Toys. Green Toys makes children's toys constructed from 100% recycled plastic. Why is that important? It helps reduce fossil fuel use and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improving the overall health and happiness of the planet! Plus, they are made in the USA and they do not contain BPA. Yay for all of that! For more info on how the toys are made you can go here. Also, I just noticed that they recently introduced Green Eats, tableware for kids. Cool! So far we have two of the toy vehicles, but I would love to add more things to our collection. You can shop through them online or they are at a lot of retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, Pottery Barn Kids and more.