Tag Archives: Thursday Thirteen

This summer has certainly been chock full of activities and events, and my ‘to-do’ has gotten a little smaller. However, there are still a number of things that I, as a Smart Mama, must get done before the end of August!

Weed through the closet and put together bags of old clothes to give to the church.
Organize my jewelry box…I spent more than a half hour last week untangling a necklace because it was stored in such a sloppy manner.
Print out summer photos.
Block out the week vacation for next summer.
Organize closet in guest room – there is so much junk in there!
Practice making bows for the munchkin.
Polish my silver jewelry and frames.
Buy a new coffee machine.
Figure out a way to organize the munchkin’s craft materials (paper, crayons…).
Go to Jungle Island at least one more time to make the annual pass worth it.
Organize my coupon binder – it’s a mess …

A VERY smart mama move by me this summer was enrolling my 21 month old in swimming lessons. Down here in South Florida, drowning is the leading cause of death for young children. I was recommended to Little Swimmers (http://www.littleswimmers.net/). Their program is intensive and works! After my munchkin’s 1st 5 days of lessons she could successfully manage herself to the pool wall if she were to fall in! We’re completing our 2nd set of lessons this week and her progress is remarkable! She’s already learning how to swim/kick to the wall from more than 5 feet away! I truly thank the dedication and patience of the awesome Little Swimmers staff!

What a great morning! Today I headed to a local new “hot spot” called Cool-de-Sac. It’s a play-cafe for mom’s to enjoy a nice yummy lunch while munchkins run around playing with all sorts of cool things. There is a coloring station, computers, a train set and more. My daughter had a blast and so did I!
Do you have something like that by you? How often do you go on playdates?
Here are 13 moments where she had a blast today and a few from earlier in the week with her friend Drew!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday!For today’s Tursday Thirteen, I will list 13 items I ALWAYS have with me!

cellphone – remember life before cellphones??
hair rubber band – in the South Florida heat my hair is up in minutes!
a baggie of Cheerios, Goldfish and raisins – this comes to the rescue during mini fits of rage!
water – for both the munchkin and me!
diapers – need I say more?
wipes – again, need I say more?
desitin – my munchkin’s life would be ouchy without it!
books – my munchkin LOVES to page through and “read”!
camera – you never know when the next special moment will be!
bib – I used to be better about having her wear one.
crayons – the perfect distraction at a restaurant!
suntan lotion – a must in Florida!
non-noise producing today – more distraction!

What different in your bag? What am I missing in mine?
Share!
Smiles,Caroline

What a thoughtful husband…I just got an email from him, mentioning that I hadn’t posted today! How good is he!!! I’m often impressed that he actually takes the time to read my blog!I’ve been so caught up with things today that I had checked it off in my mind as I had done it, but in reality – no posting!
Anyway, here’s my 13 Thursday…
13 Things I Look Forward to this Weekend!

Giving my husband time to play golf!
Going shopping with my munchkin!
Going to the beach with my cousins!
Having a BBQ with the neighbors.
Taking my daughter to the pool so she can show her daddy how well she can swim underwater!
Review next week’s Smarty Pants Product of the Week!
Packing & sending my eBay sells for the week.
Going to church.
Uploading some funny photos from the past week.
Dusting the dust off the video camera and recording so videos of the munchkin.
Uploading …

As Smarty Pants Product of the Week continues I want to share some shhhh sneak peeks with you, my wonderful readers!Here are 13 products that are scheduled to be reviewed, and many, if not most, will be made available to YOU in a giveaway at some point in the upcoming weeks!!!

Puddle Jumper Shoes
Crayola TaDoodles
Forms4Parents
Bunch of Bows
Dirt Road Sisters
Baby Einstein
Freckle Box
Crayola Color Wonder
Dream Baby CD
Street Science Notebook
Loveable Labels
Momazing Kreations
Nui Kid Water

If you are a creator/seller of a product that you believe all Smart Mamas should have at home, please email me so we can begin the review process!!!
Smiles,Caroline

How do you spend 13 minutes? For me…reading the paper, watching TV….but most of the time chasing my 20 month old!!! Here is how my daughter spent 13 minutes today.

Thirteen things I like to do before noon…

Drink coffee.
Take my daughter on a walk.
Enjoy some breakfast.
Check email.
Check eBay listings.
Drink more coffee.
Check bank accounts.
Play with my munchkin.
Shower.
Post on my blog.
Visit some of my daily blog visits.
Research on Smarty Pants Product of the Week.
Play with my munchkin some more!

How about you? How do you spend 6 AM – 12 PM?

I don’t mean to bore you with my list of things to do but it’s all that’s on my mind this morning!Here are 13 things that I need to get done today before I pass out!

Take my dad to the dentist.
Go to Costco to buy milk and get gas.
Post items on eBay – I do this on Mondays and Thursdays.
Send invoices and pack items of auctions that ended today.
Continue to research an affordable graphic designer for my blog.

This weekend I’ll be hosting a BBQ Going Away party for a coworker of my husband. With about 20 or so expected to come, and the vast majority being men, I’ve decided to make the food simple, and of course, yummy. Here are 13 items that I’ll be serving. Much of the food will be placed at 2 tables where they’ll be sitting around. I’ll have a 3rd table set as the “bar” and the larger items, like the salads.

Tortilla chips and salsa/queso
Chips and dip
Veggies and dip
Hard pretzels
Nuts
Crackers
French Potato Salad (yummy Barefoot Contessa recipe!)
Pasta salad
Garden salad
Churassco (skirt steak) – cut into bite size pieces and set at tables
Hot and mild sausage – cut into bite size pieces and set at tables
BBQ Chicken
Cookies & brownies

Don’t forget to enter your munchkin for chance to be Munchkin Monday! Simply email me a photo, 1st name, birthday, likes and …

If 19 month old little girls ruled the world, days would be spent…

Watching Diego.

Coloring – books, floors and walls.

Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Eating Play-Doh.

Asking Mami to put the dolly’s hat back on.

Eating random Cheerios found in the car seat.

Eating only Cheerios, fruit, waffles and cookies.

Dancing!

Wearing a dirty diaper.

Watching Dora the Explorer!

Bringing Mami the remote to change the channel.

Playing with Glad-ware.

Reading the Baby Einstein books!

Don’t forget to enter your munchkin for chance to be Munchkin Monday! Simply email me a photo, 1st name, birthday, likes and dislikes. Your munchkin will have some 15 minutes of fame as you get to share the posting with friends and family.Email: SmartyPantsMama @ gmail . com

Ok, we all have seen it, the crazy prices at the supermarket, the gas station and just about everywhere else! This year I have decided to do my own “green” way of helping the country and my family – I have started my own garden. The garden serves a couple of different purposes. First, my 18 month old LOVES it! She is learning little by little how I take care of it – watering, removing dead leaves and picking the veggies when they’re ready. Second of all – it’s now one less thing to buy at the store – could amount to one less trip – which could amount to less gas – which means less $$$ spent! Go ahead, be a SMART MAMA and try it out!
I promise that I DO NOT HAVE A GREEN THUMB. I have just had some luck and some great help at the beginning …

Happy Thursday!

I can’t believe that it is already Thursday – this week has flown by!
I’ve stumbled over what to list for Thursday Thirteen. I was nearly going to share thirteen things my 18 month daughter would do if she ruled the world – i.e. play with play-doh all day or watch Dora for hours straight! But, instead I’m going to share 13 of my favorite pictures of her from the last 18 months. Enjoy!

Thursday Thirteen has a theme this week, but as usual I’m very bad at following directions Actually, I had thought up what I wanted to write up before I read about the theme.
Yesterday, I visited one of my daily blog visits, Carrie’s Cooking. She wrote again about something called The Grocery Game. She’s mentioned it before, but I had never had the chance to really sit down and check it out. Well, I did and I’m SOOOOOOOO excited. I joined the game yesterday!
So what is it? I know we all agree that the price of everything keeps going up and up and up. I can’t even admit how much we spent on groceries last week. You would have thought I was feeding the Army! I’m good with coupons, and trying to buy things on sale, but I never really feel organized, as if …

I remember being forewarned that DVR would change how we view television. They were right! I now, and even more so my husband, can’t stand having to sit through commercials. Will purposely start watching a show 20 minutes after it started so that we can fast forward through commercials or boring parts. Today I have compiled a list of 13 programs on our DVR ‘to do list.’

House – At last this will be back on next Monday!!!
Ghost Hunters – Thanks to an iVillage message board buddy, I am now hooked!
American Idol – Need I say more?
Survivor
Jon & Kate Plus 8 – She makes me feel sane!
Little People Big World – I’m not sure with my fascination with little people these days!
Deadliest Catch – This is my husband’s favorite!
Law & Order SVU – Great show.
CSI – Another favorite.
CSI Miami – I think I really only watch this because it …

First words. We get so excited. We can’t believe what we’re hearing! This Thursday Thirteen I will share my daughter’s 1st 13 words and meanings- in no particular order! Keep in mind that she is raised in a bilingual home – Spanish & English. She hears Spanish 75% of the time.

dada = daddy

mama = mami

coo coo = cookie

silla = this is how you say chair in spanish

bub bol = bubbles

bol = ball

boo = book

hi = hi

bye = bye

an you – thank you

ayaa yaa = strangley enough this is her yes

awa – agua (water)

choo – shoes

Come by tomorrow to learn how to make the most delicious Cuban black beans! This recipe has proven to be such a hit! My munchkin hates chewing meat, so I rely on beans to provide much of her protien!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to …

Sometime soon after my college graduation, I received a free one-year membership from Costco. I guess it was their way of congratulating local graduates. I took them up on their offer.
I would go on occasion and without a doubt buy much too much for a 22 year old living in a tiny apartment. Times have changed. I now shop for my family – husband and daughter. We try to stay on a pretty tight budget. Our trips to Costco occur about every 6 – 8 weeks. This week I have organized my 13 top reason why I maintain my now near $50 membership.

Diapers!!!! You can purchase Huggies size 5 for 17 cents a piece! This is even a teeny bit cheaper than the Kirkland ones. This alone is a reason to have a membership!
Milk – I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the cost of milk continues to …

As I spend so much of my day singing – no I’m no American Idol wannabe – I simply have quickly learned the power of music with my munchkin. Since her 1st days, music has soothed her. It could be my husband’s self-created “Say goodnight and go to sleep” song or the classical music CD, she would be fast asleep.
I have realized as she is now approaching her toddler years that music still holds quite a bit of power. When she has her form of a “temper tantrum” I quickly suggest that we sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat, she smiles and forgets about what was bothering her. The best songs are the ones that have movements, i.e. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. We sing during breakfast, lunch and dinner. We sing as she gets her diaper changed and during her splash splash time. Below is a list of our …

So we all certainly have at least 1 thing in life that drives us bonkers! It may be a neighbor, an in-law, a disorganized garage. Bill Cosby once said, “You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything – even poverty – you can survive it.” Isn’t that the truth?? With that in mind, here are my thirteen things that I miss as I recuperate from knee surgery – in no particular order!
1. Walking – without crutches, without a walker, all I want is one leg after the other!2. Curling up in bed – leg elevated with huge a brace to keep it straight stinks!3. Standing up in the shower – sitting on the edge doesn’t really cut it!4. Driving – although being chauffeured is nice, I’d rather be in control.5. Carrying my daughter – I miss …