Home Sweet Home Again

We've been in our new location for about a month now and starting to feel settled. Thank you to all who supported in some way. Whether a customer, donor to our fundraiser campaign or physically helped move - THANK YOU!

Be sure to visit as soon as possible. We are now at 993 Main St, Suite 1U, Bridgeport, CT 06604. We didn't move far. If you are familiar with our old location we just moved from in side the Arcade Mall to the outside, right across from Jimmy's. Our street location makes it a lot easier to unload and load for swapping. If you haven't checked out our new digs, here are some photos to wet your palette.

The Best Day Ever!

My daughter told me today was "the best day ever". I admit, it warmed my heart on such a frigid day. I thought my allergies were to blame for my stuffy nose the last few days. But today my nose was dripping like a faucet and I feel "under the weather" for sure. How come no one ever says "above the weather" when they feel great? But I digress...

So the northeast got dumped with snow yesterday and since I don't live on a main road, my street doesn't get priority plowing. So I knew we'd be indoors today. I woke up and we made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Then, I snuck back upstairs for a quick nap while my daughter (soon to be 4) watched tv with her dad. About an hour later I emerged from the bedroom and I was immediately bombarded with requests to go outside. My daughter's agenda: snow angel, snowman, snowball fight. Previous winters I was able to distract her and avoid snow activities but this year it was unavoidable. Thankfully, we have had much snow this winter. So I bundle her up. When I was zipping up her coat I thought to ask if she needed to potty. Thankfully not. But she kept falling down outside and couldn't get up without my help. She was cracking up!

Disclaimer: its been at least 20 years since I made a snowman. I'm from the Midwest. I don't remember snow being so powdery. It wouldn't stick together to make a ball so we pressed it into a hill. Can I get an A for effort?

Snow lady: we found vines with red berries so we gave her lips and hair.

We came in for hot cocoa and that's when she said this was "the best day ever" lol. I felt like an awesome mom. But now I'm using the heating pad on my back from all the bending I did earlier. It was totally worth it. Its supposed to rain tomorrow. I hope she won't take it too hard when her "snow lady" washes away.

Santa Claus is coming to (down)town!

You know the song! Well, this year avoid the long lines at the mega-malls and get your portrait with out without Santa in front of a beautiful winter wonderland backdrop. Photography and props by Connecticut Photography Plus. This photographer specializes in daycare portraits so Carmen Nieves is very good with children. You can RSVP on Facebook if you like. Dec 3 and Dec 10. No appointment necessary. Here are a few from last year!

Summer Fun Project: Making Healthy Yogurt Fruit Popsicles

As I gear up for a heat wave with estimates of 100 degrees with the heat index I figure what better way to beat the heat than a popsicle? I saw some fancy schmancy popsicle molds in a magazine about a month ago and planned to order online. Of course I was going to look for a bargain because $30 seemed pricey for popsicle molds. So, I was perusing the newly opened Whole Foods market in Fairfield, CT to see what all the hype was about. Talk about pricey! The things I sprang for were gourmet and worth every penny because you can't get them elsewhere, like the poppy seed chicken salad in the deli. I justified my purchases in my mind by telling myself "it's cheaper than a meal eating out at a restaurant". But I'm a frugalista so will continue buy my produce and canned goods at a discount store like Price Rite. But I digress, on my way to the checkout line I see an endcap display with nothing other than POPSICLE molds! $11.99? Ok, I'm in Whole Foods so I'm sure I could hunt down a  better price if I looked. But if I consider the precious time spent bargain hunting online or gas used to drive elsewhere, I'd probably break even. So, Tovolo popsicle molds it was. They came in a few shapes. I chose the star shaped mold. I knew my 3 yr old would be stoked!

We used fresh strawberries, a banana (both easy for toddlers to cut with a butter knife which also exercises fine motor skills).  

And We used lowfat Dannon yogurt with blueberries. She loved dumping everything in and licking the utensils.

 

 She loves being my kitchen helper. And I recently began letting her press the buttons on the blender. Who doesn't like that?

The hard part is waiting the suggested 4 hours for the pops to harden before enjoying. Run them under hot water for a few seconds if you have trouble with them releasing from the molds.

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Another Positive Review!

When your run your own business, it's always validating to get positive feedback. I stumbled upon a blog last month named "This Mama Works It" and mom blogger, Tammy, shares how she sells her kids clothing on ebay. She has a following and I thought her audience was similar to my target demographic. Maybe her readers are unsure if ebay is the right option for them to get rid of gently used kids clothing. Let's face it, posting those auctions take time which is a limited commodity for most parents. Gumdrop Swap is a guaranteed sale as opposed to waiting for a possible sale by online auction end. 

Tammy was excited to try the service. And she posted her review today. I gave her a free month to try this service and I am allowing her to give away the same offer to a lucky winner. Go read her review and giveaway rules.

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