Happy Meal Sweethearts Plush

As if Red Velvet Oreos weren't already enough, with just a few days left to Valentine's Day, Greta and I stumbled upon these super cute plush Sweethearts at McDonald's! Cool, huh?

Available for a limited time in all “girls” Happy Meals, because you know, what boy would want something that celebrates love. So lame. In fact, one of the boys from Greta's class actually asked for the “girl Happy Meal” so he could get a plushy Sweetheart for his mom. Adorable!

Anyway, Greta and I liked them so much that we actually went back and just bought a heart outright, without the meal, so we could each have one come Valentine's Day. I wanted one that said Rock Star, but hey, I can live with Hug Me too. 🙂

 

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Cadbury Screme Eggs!

OK, I know I just gushed poetic about the current crop of pumpkintastic seasonal food offerings at Trader Joe's, but, Greta and I stumbled upon another fun Halloween-ish treat over the weekend that I simply had to share with you. So, please bear with me as I give you Cadbury Screme Eggs!

That's right, amigos, Cadbury eggs aren't just for Easter anymore! And though Greta swears the oozing green filling tastes like melted mint chocolate chip ice cream. I think they taste pretty much the same as the sugary yellow and white Cadbury goodness we've all come to love (or loathe!) over the years. Except for the fact that they're, you know, a sickly green color!

Anyway, Greta was so excited about these tasty treats that she had me film her eating one for the first time on her Planet Greta blog. We even added a little Halloween movie magic to this shoot too, so, enjoy the clip below and happy October!

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Kindergarten Week One: The New World Order

Yesterday marked the end of the first full week of kindergarten and let me tell ya, whoever said I’d have more time on my hands once Greta started school is full of shit. I haven’t felt this frazzled and out-of-my-element since those first few days after we brought Greta home from the hospital. Seriously, it’s been non-stop since Monday morning.

One of my new mom friends equated this week with starting a new job, and she’s not far off. I was anxious, way too concerned with my hair and what I was wearing, tired as fuck (sorry, but my usual F-word substitute, “fudge,” just didn’t seem to express how truly exhausting this week has been) and completely overwhelmed with paperwork. Insanity!

And though there have been definite highlights and I’ve made fast friends with several very chill moms and dads of students in Greta’s class, I think all three of us are a little overwhelmed by the sweeping sea change washing over us right now.

So far, Greta has been loving school but it’s the getting up in the morning and going there that kills her. However, aside from Wednesday morning, which was just horrific — at one point I was literally dragging her to class! — she really loves her teacher and each new day was better than the last. So, that’s progress in my book.

Personally, I found myself finally getting into the groove around Thursday, which is great because it ended up being one of the longest days of my life. I got up at 7:15 (which, believe it or not, has been my start time all week!), got Greta ready, dropped her off at school at 8:25 and then headed to my first PTA meeting at 8:30. Luckily for me, I managed to squeeze in some breakfast, because it turned out to be a three hour meeting! Yikes…who knew?

Fortunately, the meeting got out a little early (at around 11:00) so I had time to run to Costco and Trader Joe’s before heading back to school to pick up Greta at 1:30. We then headed to the park for a mini reunion with some of our old friends from Greta’s pre-school days, and then headed from there straight to ballet class, where we shared an emotional goodbye with Greta’s beloved ballet teacher who started her maternity leave today.

After ballet, we ran home to change and pick up Mrs. Yeti and then hurried back to Greta’s school for a massive “Back-to-School” picnic. They had food trucks, music, a farmer’s market selling produce grown at the school’s onsite garden (!) and again, many chances to meet new parent friends. Simply put, it was awesome. If all the parents at Stevenson are as hip, artsy and totally diverse as the ones we met this week, this new world order might not be so bad after all!

Now, if we could just get a handle on the constant flow of paperwork coming our way, I think we might be ready to face week two. Wish us luck!

 

 

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