Things I Love: Lands’ End School Uniforms

Well, happy Thursday! This week for Things I love Thursday (hosted by the lovely Jill at the Diaper Diaries), I will share some of my back-to-school EXCITEMENT with you.  Because I am suuuuuuuuuuper excited that my kids are going back to school in a mere 19 days. Holla if you HEARD ME!!!  Joshua wears uniforms to his school, and so I am excited to bring you a Lands’ End school uniform review, because as you all know if you have read this blog EVER, WE.LOVE.LANDS’.END!!  And I have been clothing Joshua in their uniforms for three years now.  They are fantastic!  Here’s my cute little 2nd grader all decked out in Lands’ End and ready for school!

Uniform1

He’s wearing:

Short-sleeve Mesh Polo – this classic has recently been re-vamped and will now look like new for much longer!  The 100% cotton mesh resists shrinkage and fading and stains wash out easier than ever before. I love the monogram with Joshua’s school logo.  It looks awesome and it was easy for me to search online for Joshua’s school.  It is part of the Preferred School Program so when I purchase uniform items with the preferred school number, the school earns cash back!

Plain front Iron-Knees Stain & Wrinkle Resistant Chinos – Iron Knees!! I love it! This is a new product that I am really excited about.  Little boys are tough on the knees of their uniform pants, and these pants combat that with a hidden interior knee patch that is undetectable from the outside.  Pretty sweet if you ask me!  Can’t wait to see how these last when Joshua puts them through the paces!

fleece

Microfleece half-zip jacket: I love this because it looks super-sharp with the school logo, and it is just as warm as a sweater but more lightweight.  Perfect to layer over the uniform polos, or alone for “dress down day” that Joshua’s school has a couple Friday’s a year.

shoes

School Uniform Boys’ All-Weather Oxford Shoes – I LOVE these shoes!  My kids always wear Lands’ End shoes but before these there were no uniform shoes that Joshua and I both liked.  These Oxfords are perfect. They are the oxford version of the famous Lands’ End All-Weather Mocs.  They are tough and comfy but have that dressier look and laces.  I love the durability of Lands’ End shoes and I am sure these are going to last Joshua all year!

backpack

Boys’ Solid ClassMate StudyHaul Backpack – I LOVE how Lands’ End has so many different sizes of backpacks!  Joshua has used a Lands’ End backpack for the past two years but it was really too big for him (although it still looks like NEW) – I wanted to get him a smaller one for the next couple of years, and we’ll put the big one back in rotation when he needs to haul more than just his homework folders and lunch box.  The StudyHaul (which really is for a smaller kid, I would say kindergarten to third grade-ish) has two big compartments to organize stuff, plus a removable pouch for school supplies, and mesh pockets for water bottles, etc.  And I love the way it looks with Joshua’s name on it!  There are lots of other ways you can personalize, too!

Lands’ End has lots of adorable girls uniform options too!  Next week I’ll share those with you.  My niece Murrin, is going from homeschool to junior high so her first day of 8th grade will be her first day of SCHOOL, and she will be looking great in her Lands’ End uniform.  Come back next week and you’ll see why I also love Lands’ End girls uniforms.

Don’t forget to check out Things I Love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries!

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Lands’ End provided me with these uniform items to review.  All opinions are my own.

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Things I Love Thursday: BabyEtte Water Wrap

A few months ago when I started thinking about summer, I started thinking about the POOL, which Joshua, Sophie, and I have enjoyed big time the last couple of years, and my brain was all, “HOW THE HECK AM I GOING TO DO THE POOL WITH A BABY IN THE MIX!?”

And this was before I knew that the new, re-designed pool was going to be ridiculously crazy this year.

I saw my friend Steph wearing this very cool baby wrap (with her toddler in it!) at BlissDom, and she told me, “it’s a water wrap. You can also wear it in the pool.”  TA-DA!  The answer to all my problems!  Steph had gotten her wrap from BabyEtte, so when pool time approached, I contacted them to see if I could review a water wrap.

And I am happy to say, it is pretty much the best invention EVER!  Thanks to the BabyEtte wrap, I’ve been able to wear Jonah at the pool and still keep my hands free to keep a hold of the other two in the water.  The water wrap is made of a gorgeous, shimmery mesh, so it doesn’t get heavy in the water.  It dries out really fast, and it’s SO secure.  I even wear it for non-water situations, because it’s not stretchy like some other wraps I’ve tried.  So it doesn’t get loose.  It stays snug the whole time you’re wearing it.

Jonah is happy as a clam in the BabyEtte water wrap and I don’t know what I would have done without it.  And, I am getting all kinds of looks and comments about how CUTE he is and how COOL the wrap is. 🙂 We didn’t get to the pool this week because we had swimming lessons elsewhere (ironic, eh?) but when we hit it next week my BabyEtte wrap will be saving the day once again!

I love my BabyEtte water wrap!  To see what other bloggers love,  check out Things I love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries.

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Ain’t No Party Like a Baby Food Party!

When I found out I was pregnant with Jonah, one of the many things I thought I’d do differently with this baby was make my own baby food. Back in the dark ages when I had the other two, I didn’t even know you could make your own baby food!  I was your classic ignoramus.  (And I should note, I still retain that title on many, many subjects!)

So anyhoo, a couple of months ago I enlisted Cortney to help me with baby food making, since she made food for her little guys, and she had a food processor she was willing to let me borrow.  But then about 3 weeks before Jonah was going to start solid foods, I got an email from Mom Select asking if I wanted to review and throw a party for the Baby Brezza one-step baby food maker.

Heck yes I did!!

As soon as my Baby Brezza baby food  maker arrived I got busy making Jonah food.  And let me tell you, this thing is the SHIZZLE.  It steams hard foods and then blends them ALL IN ONE DEVICE!!  That’s right, one-step baby!  No more steaming foods on the stove and then transferring them to a food processor.  You just dice, add water to the steam tank, throw the fruits or veggies in, press a button, and walk away.  The Baby Brezza steams and blends the food while you get on with your life.  A-MAZING. I love, love, love it.  I have steamed everything possible that we have in the house, and gone to the grocery for more, even foods Jonah isn’t ready for yet, because it’s SO FUN!  Then, I freeze my baby food creations in ice cube trays and store them ’til Jonah’s ready to eat, at which time I heat & serve.  YAY!

So, anyhoo, to celebrate the Baby Brezza’s awesomeness, I had a little party for some friends and their babies!  The Baby Brezza and the cutting boards they sent for my party guests  were my centerpiece!

Here’s Jonah enjoying some carrots I made in the Baby Brezza while his pal Archie looks on jealously.

Gimme some of those carrots!

We had a great time at the party and it was fun for me to demonstrate to my friends how EASY and FAST the Baby Brezza makes cookin’ up your own baby food.  Because, really, people, I am just that lazy.  If I had to steam the food separately, I MIGHT just give up making  my own food. Maybe I’d stick with it regardless, I don’t know. But I do know for SURE there is no way I will buy baby food at the store now that I have my Baby Brezza!  It is saving us SO MUCH MONEY!  It costs around $100 (again, mine was free to me for reviewing and throwing the party) and since I can make 10 servings of bananas out of about 55 cents worth of bananas instead of the 50 cents plus it would cost me for ONE serving of store-bought, I know the Baby Brezza is saving us a ton.  I made 10 servings of sweet potatoes out of a sweet potato that cost me a dollar!  Woo hoo!  It is simply amazingly cheap to make your own baby food vs. buying.

I had a blast at my baby food party and I am loving making food for Jonah.  I even brought the Baby Brezza with us on vacation, and it’s working out great!  I cannot recommend this product any more enthusiastically. GETCHA ONE!!

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I received a Baby Brezza baby food maker for review and cutting boards to give away to my friends from Baby Brezza and Mom Select. All opinions on this (totally AMAZING) product are my own!

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This post is linked up to Things I Love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries!

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