School Daze - Labels, School Supplies and Disney, oh my!

You lucky parents with kids that go to school, you get to ship them off for the day.

I'm counting the hours until the day I get to do that. Sigh.

I'm sure school shopping is no picnic so here's a few recommendations to help make your life easier. No, I haven't been there myself, but I am an expert shopper. It's true, ask the employees of Target. They know me by name.

Mabel's Labels - You send your kid off to school with his new Spider Man lunch box and that Patriots sweatshirt that he just had to wear, but he comes home with a Super Man lunch box and a Red Sox sweatshirt. Again. And as a bonus, this time he came home with another kid's bag. Mabel's Labels has personalized iron-on and stick-on tag labels for your kid's clothes and bag tags specially made for their backpacks so at least the other kid's mom can identify who the unfamiliar items belong to.

Mabel's Labels also sells their famous stick-on labels for school books, lunch boxes, and even for your toddler's sippy cup (how many times have I gone to a playgroup where five other kids had the same sippy cup as my child? Oy. I can't even count that high.) that actually stay stuck to the intended item even after they've been through the dishwasher and the microwave a few gajillion times. And like the clothing labels you can personalize the sticky labels with not just your kid's name, but also the color and the icon.

I'm partial to the dog and the guitar myself... I mean, my daughter is partial to the dog and the guitar. Yeah.

No matter, they have household labels too, like the Neat Freak Combo, especially for us parents. It's like they know me. Spooky.

So if you have a kid who comes home with another child's shoes (they have tags for that too) may we recommend you check out Mabel's Labels?


Office Depot - School supplies get expensive, don't they? My friends with older kids complain not only about their cost for supplies but also how their kid's school can barely afford the basics with all the cut-backs. That troubles me.

Office Depot is teaming up with your children's schools to help alleviate that pressure a little bit. The 5% Back to Schools Program lets you earn credits for free school supplies for your school each time you purchase from Office Depot (in store, online or via phone). The program is available to public and private schools, Pre-K through Grade 12. All you need is your school's Back To School Program ID # (if you don't know it, ask an Office Depot customer service rep) when you check-out. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

And if you buy supplies before August 31 (this Friday people!) you can be entered to win a free concert with Gavin DeGraw at your school. Again, you just need your Program ID # when you make a purchase. I hear the kids like him, that Gavin DeGraw. Me, I had to Google him because I'm older than dirt.


Disney’s Little Einsteins: Rocket’s Firebird Rescue - Okay, my daughter is not old enough for school, but she likes the Little Einsteins. Personally, they make me want to drive a nail through my forehead but she is smitten, and she is extremely selective about what cartoons she likes.

I don't believe a cartoon is going to make her any smarter than any other above average, highly intelligent, precocious and ridiculously adorable two year old (Ahem) but Rocket's Firebird Rescue excited her beyond words. Actually that's wrong, when it was over she came running to find me to tell me all about how Rocket saved the bird. She couldn't stop talking about it. She wouldn't stop talking about it.

Damn you Disney. [shaking fist] I can't get the theme song out of my head.

I think this might be her new favorite video, and that's saying something because she has an unnatural fondness for little furry red monsters who speak in the third person and large purple dinosaurs.

Disney's Little Einsteins: Rocket's Firebird Rescue is in stores now.


Cool Mom Picks - The Cool Moms have made their picks for the best back to school items around. Click the button for even more great finds for your kids back to school needs. 'Cause, they're needy and all. Very needy.