$uper Bowl = The Big Game

I'm having a lot of fun managing the Creative and Editorial direction for Kellogg's Snackpicks.com. When it came time to create a $uper Bowl guide with recipes, menus, party tips, etc. I was reminded that Kellogg's is not an official sponsor of the $uper Bowl, and I couldn't use that name, I had to refer to it as "The Big Game."

"What?," I thought to myself,  "Nobody will know what we're talking about." But then I starting looking around and noticed "The Big Game" is the unofficial name that all marketers (that aren't official sponsors of the $uper Bowl) have adopted.

See below for some examples showing how "The Big Game" is being marketed. Then check out what I've done on Snackpicks.com to get around this hurdle.

 

Crate and Barrel

FoodNetwork.com

Hebrew National

 

Target

I'm impressed with their "Two big dates to love" campaign. It gets around the challenge of marketing both The Big Game and Valentine's Day separately when they are so close together on the calendar.

I don't have room to show the whole image here but you can check it out at Target.com and in stores.

 

Publix

 

Epicurious

They actually write the "unmentionable"...maybe they are an official sponsor. I need to verify.

Now check out what I've done on Snackpicks.com to get around this hurdle. Enjoy the recipes (I love the guacamole dip. I think it's so clever.) and the party tips shouldn't be missed.

Super Easy Birthday Parties at Day Care

My son will be two next week and after a the catastrophe of his first birthday party, I vowed to go minimal this year. No party. Then, just cupcakes at school. Then maybe a goodie bag, balloons? music? And as time grew near I started feeling guilty for not doing a "party". Am I bad mom because I'm not renting out a jumpy place or music class in his honor? And then I was saved from my guilt.

My saving grace was the director of my son's school. She's accredited in Early Education, wise and an expert for many, many years in making young children feel special.

Here were her suggestions:

• Set the stage to let the little ones know that something special is happening with decorations like a banner, fun plates and a tablecloth.
• She encouraged bringing fruit for a snack. And asked that I not bring anything sugary, like cake or cupcakes. However, if I wanted something cakey to bring mini muffins.
• Read your child's favorite book to their classmates and/or bring in your child's photo album or photo book to share their story with his friends.
• She reminded me that the most important thing would be to make the birthday boy feel special and celebrated and she's found having the parent(s) at school for snack time, setting the stage with decorations and reading a story in their honor makes them feel really special.
•  I asked about goodie bags and she discourage that. There's no need.

She shook her head when talking about how parents go through so much time, energy and money to have a big birthday party and the children are to over stimulated to enjoy themselves.

A final piece of advice she gave me: The rule of thumb for the number of children to be invited to your child's birthday parties is equal to their age. Mentally that's what they can best handle and enjoy. So, for the first birthday, no friends. Just them. For their second birthday, your child + one friend =2. And so on.  I love that rule. It makes things much easier.

So, for all you working moms with children in day care, I hope this helps. If you have any additional ideas, please share. I plan on taking some photos and sharing them with the other parents. And then I'm going to call it a day. A very special day ;)

Best Todder iphone Apps

The iphone is my savior when traveling with my toddler or when we are in the waiting room at the doctor's office. Here are our favorites:

1. Wheels on the Bus

Ages: 1+  |  Cost: $0.99

This app brings all toddlers favorite song to life. Children can make the wheels spin, doors open, wind shield wipers swish, plus much more than what you'd expect from the traditional song verses. The application has the option for different music styles including the ability for you to record your child singing. Also try Old MacDonald which is very similar.

 

2. Peekaboo Barn

Ages: 1+  |  Cost: $1.99

Super cute app! Inside a bouncing barn are farm animals hiding inside. Your toddler is to guess the animal by the sounds that they make. When the barn is touched it opens up to reveal the animal. Then it zooms in for a close up and the word appears and is announced. My son is fascinated by this app. I wish they had more than eight animals but my son doesn't mind, he just wants to play it again and again. Check out the super cute sequence when you've guessed all the animals.

3. Zoo Box

Ages: 1+  |  Cost: $0.99

Turn your iphone upside down, then back up to hear one of 36 different animal sounds and accompanying picture.

4. My First Words: Animals

Ages: 2+  |  Cost: $0.99

Children drag letters to make words. Letters are pronounced when touch. Great for letter recognition.

5. Giraffe's Matching Zoo

Ages: 2+  |  Cost: Free

Fun "Memory" style matching game with animal noises

 

6. Talking Carl

Cost: $0.99  |  Ages: 1+

This app has the best graphics I've seen among all iphone apps and keeps children of all ages fascinated. Pinch, tickle, poke and talk to Carl. He'll respond and even mimic your toddlers voice.

7. Preschool Adventure 

Ages: 2+  |  Cost: $0.99

Six simple activities for parents to play with their young toddlers and preschoolers. Including Shapes, numbers, sounds, matching, body parts and colors.

8. Tozzle

Ages: 2+  |  Cost: $1.99

Keeps toddlers entertained with this 20 different puzzle games. Teaches shape recognition.

The Van Halen "No Brown M&Ms" Story

Did you ever hear the story about Van Halen being so outrageously demanding that their contracts required a bowl of M&Ms being present backstage-with all the brown M&Ms picked out or else the show would be canceled?

Well, get this, it's true. Yes, completely true and they even canceled a show in Colorado because of David Lee Roth found a brown M&M.

Now, granted I may be a bit biased being that back in 8th grade I won tickets to see Roth in concert--thank you, 96 WTIC FM, but I'm impressed by the M&M clause. It's pretty brilliant.

Roth explains the rationale in his memoir, Crazy From the Heat, "Van Halen was the first band to take huge productions into tertiary, third-level markets. We'd pull up with nine 18 wheeler trucks, full of gear where the standard was three trucks, max...The contract rider read like a version of the Chinese Yellow Pages because there was so many human beings to make it function," So just as a little test, buried somewhere in the middle of the rider, would be Article 126, the no brown M&M in the bowl,... we'd line-check the entire production.  Guaranteed you'd run into a problem." In Colorado, where they cancelled the show, the band found that the local promoters had failed to read the weight requirements and that the staging would have fallen through the arena.

I first heard this story a few months back on an episode of This American Life and found it fascinating, considering how infamous and misunderstood the story had become over the years. Then last week, I read about it in The Week and thought you'd find it interesting too.

Great Book: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Recently I was catching up with my friend Tara and she told me "I can't wait to get home and read. I'm reading a really great book." Instantly I had book envy (I'm such a nerd) and asked her what she was reading. It was The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Tara was right, it's so good.

The novel features two black housekeepers, Aibileen and Minny, who work for white families in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early '60s. The story takes off when a privileged white woman named Skeeter Phelan returns home from college. Skeeter wants to write a book about black maids's experience working for white families. And she questions why black woman can't use the family bathroom and yet are trusted to raise that same family's children.

Apparently Tara and I aren't the only ones that love this book, recently Michelle Norris of All Things Considered interviewed Stockett. Here's how she opened the interview: We're going to spend some time now talking about a book I can't seem to escape. For months, women have called or emailed me or approached me in the frozen food aisle - no kidding - saying that they needed to talk about a novel called "The Help." It seems to be a conversation starter, compelling white women to seek out conversations with black women about race and privilege.

Stockett, the first-time author,  is from Mississippi and grew up with a black maid or "domestic". The woman's name was Demetrie. She had a separate bathroom that to this day, Stockett has never entered. It creeps me out to think how recently black woman were treated this way. We have a black president, but still a long way to go for equality.

In that interview Stockett claims her family treated Demetrie like a "queen" which I find hard to believe considering "[we] expected her to use a separate bathroom, [and] to use separate utensils." Regardless, the two black woman characters she created are realistic and lovable heroines that I find myself thinking throughout the day. And I don't want it to end. What will I read next? 

Suggestions needed, please post your favorite books.

Flight of the Conchords: It's Business Time

These guys are hilarious.

Review: Oral B SmartSeries 5000

I recently started using the Oral B SmartSeries 5000 Rechargeable Toothbrush. And I promise you, unless you too are using this toothbrush, my teeth are healthier than yours.

Bold statement I know. But I have to tell you, IT ROCKS.

For those of you who don't know, my mom is a dental hygienist, and she keeps me up on the latest and greatest oral health products. So if you don't like to floss, buy REACH Ultraclean from Johnson & Johnson, it slides easy.

So what's so great about my toothbrush, that I feel the need to tell the world about it? It comes with two brush heads (gentle and "FlossAction") and a clock. The clock times your brushing for the dentist-recommeded 2 minutes (now when was the last time you brushed for 2 minutes?). It also has a visual guide for while you brush, and shows which quadrant you should brush and when to move on to the next. When I'm done, I feel like I just got my teeth professional cleaned.

Other Features

• Deep Clean mode removes up to 99.7% of plaque from hard to reach areas
• Gentle on teeth and gums
• Improves gum health better than Sonicare FlexCare
• Outstanding whitening and polishing in 3 weeks
• Flossaction technology for superior overall clean
  

It retails for $105.99. Your teeth are worth it. It can save you a painful visit at the dentist's office,  and it's a whole lot cheaper than the cost of a sealant, cavity or root canal.

Goodbye Frizz, Hello Silky Smooth Hair

If you have frizzy or wavy hair and depend on your flat iron, I recommend you considering getting a keratin hair treament.

My sister's hair alway looks great. I kept asking her for her secret. I mean, come on, she works full-time and has 4 kids (a 3 year old, and 8 month old TRIPLETS). Clearly she must have a secret. And she does, it's a Keratin treatment. She told me my cousin told her about  (who also has great hair) and that I needed to do it. But I kept shying away, it's pricey. Ranging from $250-$500, depending on where you go. So she and my parents teamed up and generously paid for me to get a treatment for Christmas. WOW. What a difference. I'm hooked. And I think all frizzy moms deserve it.

With just a quick blow dry, your hair will look like it's been flat ironed. I spend less than two minutes on my hair, and it looks better now than when I used to spend 20+ mins on it. And the treatment lasts 3-5+ months. See here for more information
If you live in the Hartford, CT area check out La Bella Salon in Glastonbury. Chelsea is great.

Warning: Watch out for the Brazilian Keratin Hair Treatments. They contain formaledhyde, you don't want that. On the web there are also horror stories about women's hair falling out. Yikes.

Christmas cookies are my crack

I have no control over Christmas cookies. I try not to eat them because once I start, I can't stop. They are totally addictive.

In the beginning of December I went to my friend Michelle's cookie swap. I came home with a tin full of decadent Christmas cookies. My plan was to give them to my colleagues as holiday gifts. So I safely kept the tin closed like Pandora's box and didn't eat any of them. Then I discovered my DH ate all of them, well not all, but over half-- and the best tasting ones. I was so mad, I dramatically threw the remaining cookies into the garbage. Later that night I complained to my mom and she told me, "Jenn, honey, Christmas cookies are like crack. They are irresistible, go easy on him."

Then yesterday, I thought I was home free from any Christmas cookie binges...until I went to my friend Allison's house for dinner. She mentioned Christmas cookies for dessert. She said she baked and they had way too many. We had to eat them. She had three tins each with it's own mouth watering homemade cookie: chocolate chips, ginger spice and sugar cookies with yummy icing.

"I'm okay", I thought, "I can have one or two...if I don't eat them, then I'll just feel deprived, unfestive and just plain rude. Then I'll safely go back to my cookie-free home. "

The chocolate chip was divine. And the bite of my DH's ginger spice was delicious. I was in control, satisfied, satiated, safe from that too-much-cookie feeling.

Then when we were getting ready to leave and she begged me to take some home. "No, I can't..." But somehow I wound up with "just a small bag."

She convinced me I could handle it "Just allow yourself one in the morning, and one at night." I accepted with us both knowing A. That's ridiculous, what kind of healthy way to start the day is a Christmas Cookie? It's a recipe for growing a muffin top, and B. Having those delicious cookies in my house is pure torture, I'm more likely to eat all of them in one day-- just to get those delicacies out of my house and move on with my diet.

I had one cookie at lunch, and then after work knowing I couldn't control myself, I brought all but four to my friend, Katherine. She told me she suffers from the same Christmas Cookie addiction. I felt guilty but she's super fit and runs everyday so I they won't do her any damage.

Then I came home and immediately went for another Chocolate Chip. Mmmm. And then my addiction kicked in. My mouth watering...I wanted all of them. Then, I did the unthinkable... I threw them out. Allison, I'm sorry. They were uncontrollably delicious, please take this as a compliment.

Now on with my diet. Jillian Michaels, Shred 2, I'll be seeing you at 6:45 am tomorrow.

Newborn Essientials

I have several close friends about to have their first baby so I put this list together for them. I hope you find it helpful. And all you experienced moms out there, please email me or post a comment with any additional essientials. Thanks and Happy New Years.

• Before the baby is born Watch The Happiest Baby On The Block DVD. Dr. Karp is a cheeseball--and a genius. In 20 minutes he teaches you how to soothe a screaming baby with the 5 S-es. It's really empowering. Yes, there's a book too, but why read the book when you can get all of the information in 20 minutes? Besides, your partner needs to watch this too.
• Car seat: Britax is the cadillac and highest in safety standards
• Stroller that the car seat can click into. Great for when you first start leaving the house with your infant
• Crib
  
• Infant to toddler rocker: great for when you need to put the baby down so you can go to the bathroom, take a shower, etc
• 2-3 Miracle Blankets The "miracle blanket" is the only swaddling blanket you'll need. It's the best and easiest one out there. If anyone tells you different, it's because they've never tried the miracle blanket. 
• Burp Cloths: cloth diapers make for the best burp clothes
• Kitchen sink: best bath tub
• Onesies
• T-shirts (see above in photo)
• Sleepers
  
• Hats (if they are born in the winter and you live up north)
  
• Socks
• Diapers I'm partial to huggies. Stock up when the prices are good. Check http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/ for stockuportunities. If  you buy before you have the baby, don't buy a lot of newborn size diapers. You may not get the opportunity to use them, my baby was too big for them. If your baby starts leaking through their diapers it's time to go up a size. Don't trust the sizes on the box. 
• Wipes 
• Baby washcloths for washing the baby, and just wet them and they are better then baby wipes for cleaning their bums  
• Pacifers 
• Bassinet Check with friends for a loaner, you should only need this for a maxium of 12 weeks. 
• Ergo Baby Carrier or sling: you'll need to buy the infant insert. It's more expensive than the bjorn because it's more comfortable, much easier to get on and off, and supports a child's weigh up to 40 pounds! Babies loved to be held close to you, and it's great for you to have your hands free. I used it for walks and even around the house.
• Soft cuddly blankets My son loves these muslin blankets  
• Ear thermometers
• Nail clippers or nail file Babies nails grow super fast 
• Baby tylenol 
• Gripe water  
• Aquaphor or Eucerin moisturizer in a tub 
• California Baby Non-Burning & Calming Diaper Area Wash Much better than desitin and bodreaux's diaper cream which will sting your baby's bum when their diaper rash gets bad.
   

Sleep Time

• CD player for the baby's room
  Lullaby CD When I was pregnant I saw a bunch of CDs that had rock songs turned into lullabies like the Beatles, Coldplay, and Radiohead. I love those bands and bought them. Don't. They just sound weird and they are not soothing. Buy traditional lullaby CDs. 
• SUPER comfortable upholstered rocking chair with a high back (for a head rest), and ottoman that you can fall asleep in. You will have a good number of rough nights were your baby has you up during the night, multiple times and you will be in the rocking chair at 1am, 2am, 3am, 4am... Something like this
  
• Nightlight great for you when your walking in the middle of the night
   

Feeding Time

• Bottles even if your planning on breast feeding, it's good to have a few on hand. Make sure the bottles are BPA free: Only buy a few bottles to start. Some babies are picky about the shape of the nipples, and you don't want to find yourself stuck with 12 bottles that your baby refuses.
• Breast Pump If you plan on breast feeding, you can either buy or rent a pump the hospital. I used the Medela Pump In Style. If you use a medella pump I recommend using medella bottles 
• Breast pads 
• Nipple cream
• Munchkin Baby bottle
• Boppy (pro: when babies are starting to sit up by themselves, you can prop them on the floor by inside the bobby) or my breast friend (pro: has a snap so it stays in place and can be adjusted to be higher or lower on you)
  
• Nursing tank tops/camisole

join our mailing list for more essiential lists

Email Address

Close