Matthew's Big Day Out

Matt and I took an extra day off this week to extend the holiday weekend just a little bit longer. We decided to venture out for the day on Tuesday to run some errands on the other side of the Tappan Zee Bridge and we let Ish tag along.

Our first stop was The Christmas Tree Shop to pick up another kiddie pool. Ish insisted that Bob come along for the trip.
He even insisted on pushing Bob in the shopping cart.
There was much concern when Bob almost slipped through the leg holes. Don't worry - Bob's fine now.
Bob was abandoned for a Big Bird and Elmo that we picked up at our second stop (and my second home), Target. We found a great water mat there - in the aisle next to the Back to School section. Seriously, it's July and there was ONE summer aisle at Target.
Since it was oppressively hot, we decided to stop at the Palisades Mall on the way home. It was even hot in the mall. Ish insisted (he does that now - he insists) on taking a spin on one of the little car rides. Notice Big Bird and Elmo wanted to ride too.
After a quick ride, we treated ourselves to some Wendy's for lunch.
After lunch we stopped at The Disney Store (we don't have one near us and since we're rarely at this particular mall, we took advantage of the 60% off sale they were having). Ish picked out two "Mupps" - his new crib mates.
At the end of the day, we came full circle. Bob was back to his #1 spot in Ish's heart. And head.

CSN Stores - Stay Tuned!

I have been offered a great opportunity - to become a CSN Preferred Blogger. This means that, from time to time, I will be able to do reviews and giveaways from the vast selection of products from CSN Stores. You've seen them mentioned on my blog before in my Cars Toy Bin Review.

As I've become more familiar with CSN, the more I like what I see. I love that they offer Little Tikes and Melissa & Doug toys - among other names that I trust and know are great quality. Their toy selection is really quite impressive.

And besides the kiddie items, they also offer wonderful household items as well. Great cookware from Rachel Ray, Kipling accessories, even bathroom sinks.

Yes, bathroom sinks. Thousands of bathroom sinks. I can't believe the variety. Re-doing our master bath is on our "to-do remodel at some point because the previous owner went the cheapie ugly route that is now slowly falling apart" list (you have one of those lists, right?). So, I've bookmarked the CSN bathroom sinks link. And if you have any suggestions for what I should buy, tell me! I'm no Vern Yip.

I kinda like this idea:
Yes? No? Maybe?

Wishlist Wednesday

It's hot. Nasty, disgusting, oppressive hot. The kind of hot that makes you think ConEd made some sort of pact with the devil (and I'm not completely sure they didn't based on my last bill).

So today I will wish for cool things.

Like a lifetime supply of Starbucks Frappuchinos.

And some good old fashioned cold hard cash.
That's all I got for today. It's too hot to Google any more. Yes, it's that hot.

Here's hoping your heat index is lower than mine! :-)

4th of July Fun

Ish was in good spirits today. After breakfast he was more than happy to model the 4th of July shirt I bought for him.
We headed out to Grandma and Pop Pop's in the afternoon for some good old fashioned American fun.
Ish made a beeline for the water table (I knew he would, so a quick change into his trunks and swim diaper was the first order of the day).
Then he decided to check out the Thomas ball pit.
Then, the whirlwind of activity that he is, he decided to go for a little ride in his Little Tikes Fire Truck.
He took a break from solo play to play ball with Daddy and Pop Pop for a bit.
Then it was back to the water table.
Daddy decided to take a break on the swing - watching Ish be so active is very tiring!
Cousins Alex and Ashley showed up and Ish decided to chill out with them on the glider.
And he made sure to put Auntie Dana to work - it was swing time!
He will do anything/everything his cousins do.
The only thing that could lure him away from his partners in crime was a hot dog and mac and cheese. Can't get anymore American than that!
After lunch it was pool time.
Then it was time to play on the water mat.
We abandoned pants at one point. His shirt was so wet it hung on him like a dress!
So, when the long, wet shirt started to annoy him, we abandoned clothes all together. Swim diapers have cute little pictures on them for a reason - to show off!
And after all that fun in the sun, Ish fell asleep on the 30-second ride home. At 6:30PM. It's tough being so cute all day!

All American Team

We made a baseball today at Build A Bear.
Ish calls him "Mets"
"Mets" is the newest member of the family sleeping in Ish's crib.

Free Stuff Friday

It's getting harder to find images on Google for "free stuff" (at least for a family friendly blog). I might have to resort to making my own soon!

Here are a few things from around the web I thought you would like:

11 Free Huggies Enjoy The Ride Rewards Points:
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20 Free Pampers Gifts To Grow Points:
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Coupons.com published their July coupons and they have some pretty good baby/toddler deals:
$3.00 off Huggies
$2.00 off any Wubzzy DVD
$2.00 off Huggies Wipes
$1.50 off Huggies Little Swimmers
$3.00 off any Tag book (my Walmart has a ton of Tag books on clearance, you can score a good deal with this coupon if yours is doing the same)

Stonyfield.com has also published their July coupons (including Yobaby and YoKids coupons).

15% Off Everything at Kohl's with this coupon. Thanks to Saving with Shellie for the link!

Old Navy is doing $1 Flip Flops again (I stocked up last time!). You will need to be a fan on Facebook to print this coupon.

Here are some fun 4th of July coloring pages.

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And last, but not least, a few shout-outs before I sign off for the holiday weekend:
The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom - thanks for passing along The Versatile Blogger and Sugar Doll award - you are one of my favorites and it means a lot to me that you passed these on to me!

And Potato Makes Three - thanks for The Versatile Blogger award! I can't believe how far you've come in the blogging world in such a short time - keep up the good work - I love keeping up with Potato!

HAVE A HAPPY & SAFE 4TH EVERYONE!!

Bob The Builder Boogie

Ish has become OBSESSED with Bob the Builder lately. So obsessed that he insists on doing a little dance every time the theme song plays. I'm hoping there's some sort of support group out there for him. Or at least one for me - I've already been caught singing this song this morning in the office.