Adorable and bigger than average

Yes, Simon is adorable and he's bigger than the average baby his age. But that's not what this post is about. It's about his bath towel by Speesees. This is my favorite of Simonski's towels. It's soft organic cotton--knit on the outside and terry on the inside. It started out soft and gets softer every time I wash it! But best of all, it's big enough to cover Simonski head to toe and keep him warm after his bath. While standard baby hooded towels are 30 x 30", the Speesees towel measures 34 x 34".

Currently, the towels are on sale on the Speesees website for $25 (original price is $30).

Pink Pearl Apples

Last year while I was pregnant, I found myself addicted to apples. Every Sunday and Thursday morning, I went to the Civic Center Farmer's Market and visited the same vendor--Hale's Apple Farm, I think--and bought apples. It was a treat to watch the varieties of apples change from the beginning of the season to the end. Hales' apple season ends around late November and when they told me that they were not going to be back til the next season, I was so disappointed! Then I told Dave and his helpers that next time I saw them, they'd meet Simon. Sure enough, last week, Dave and his crew were back at the Farmer's Market and I was able to introduce them to Simon.

I was delighted to see the Hale's Crew back at the market. I was just as happy to see my favorite apple was already in season: the Pink Pearl. Wowzers. I think this is the tastiest apple I've ever had! It's tart and crisp and light, and a beatiful marbled pink inside.
At yesterday's market, Dave sliced and peeled a chunk of Pink Pearl apple for Simon. Appropriately, it was Simon's first taste of apple, and he adored it. Every time he dropped it into the side of his stroller, he cried til I put it back into his hands so he could go back to scraping it with his one little tooth.

If you want to try Pink Pearl apples, hurry down to the Farmer's Market and visit Dave Hale. (He's in the center produce aisle at the Sunday Market.) Pink Pearls are too fragile to sell in supermarkets, and Hale's will only have them available for the next two or three weeks.

JAMaROO!

Today was Simon's first JAMaROO Kids music class. He loved it! Jamaica led the group--her voice and energy were wonderful and the kiddos responded really well to her. The class included songs with hand motions and clapping; songs where the kiddos could play basic percussion instruments; a song where you could follow along in a book; and a song during which we tossed around brightly-colored scarves--the boys loved that!
Simon, Grayson, Tyson, Henry, Bobby and Renzo attended today. Here's a video of our darling little men enjoying their first JAMaROO.

I like poop removers

Simon still has the occasional (and by "occasional" I mean "daily") blowout, so I need to have a stain-remover I can count on. That stain remover is Oxy Clean Baby Stain Remover. Just wet the garment with warm water, spray with Oxy Clean, scrub with an old toothbrush (or Jim's--only kidding!) and repeat and the stain comes right out.
Simon's clothes are all in good shape--neither stained nor ruined by harsh detergents--but I don't have to spend hours getting them that way!
Love it!

Gap basic tees (onesies) for Simonski on BIG sale!

I fell into the Baby Gap yesterday and picked up four great basic onesies for Simon on major sale.

Solid pocket onesies are regularly $12.50 each, but they were marked down to $5.99-$7.97 plus an additional 40% off! It's nice to find Gap at Old Navy prices! I bought Simon ones in red, navy, brown and white.

Coupon codes!

Charlie's Soap--my favorite laundry soap!--has 5 coupon promotions right now. I think you can only use one at a time.

1) Tired of paying Shipping and Handling when you just wanted a small order? If you said “yes”, then use the Promo Code “freeship” after you purchase at least one (1) bag of Laundry Powder (41601...the new non-clumping kind) and one (1) 16 oz Sprayer of All Purpose Cleaner (11201) and get an Instant $5 Coupon to counteract the shipping charge.

2) Cheap is good, but Free is better. Stock up on at least three (3) Laundry Liquid gallons (21401), use the Promo Code “freespray” and get a Free 16 oz Sprayer of All Purpose Cleaner.

3) We still haven’t come up with a medium sized Laundry Powder, but now’s your chance to stock up and save! Purchase five (5) bags of Laundry Powder (41601), use the Promo Code “freebag” and get a 6^th bag Absolutely Free! These are the NEW bags that do not clump up in your pantry.

4) And if you just have to have one more shirt to get dirty, spread the love with a Charlie’s Soap T-shirt with the purchase of Any Bucket (11505, 21505, or 41505) of Charlie’s Soap products. Just use the Promo Code “freeshirt”. Please make sure to specify size, men’s or women’s, black or white in the Comments section.

5) And last but not least, get $35 worth of Charlie’s Soap, enter the Promo Code “freetote” and get a Free non-woven grocery tote free with your order.

Olliebollen is a fab kids' clothing website that sells brands like Zutano, Claesen's, Kumquat and Tea. They have a great clearance section! I just got a coupon for 15% off the entire purchase that is good through the end of September. Just put in the coupon code COOLMOM at checkout and the discount will be applied.
I like these things:
Zutano fleece hat. Simon lives in these hats--they're so cute on!
Claesen's grey and white stripe tank. Perfect for layering!

Kumquat brown and white hooded romper. As-is for the summer and under pants (as a shirt) come fall and winter.

The tank and the romper are already on sale--plus the 15% off!

Oh my god, yum!

I've been trying to avoid dairy, wheat and sugar--not always easy or even possible. Ice cream poses particular problems, of course. Neither soy nor rice cream measure up, but I've found a "non-dairy frozen dessert" that measures up: Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss. Not only is it dairy-free, but it is also sweetened with agave instead of processed sugar. And it is deeeeeelicious! So far, I've only had the Naked Coconut (see below), but Coconut Bliss comes in tons of flavors: Pineapple Coconut, Naked Almond Fudge, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Dark Chocolate, Vanilla Island, Mint Galactica, Cappucino, Cherry Amaretto, Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge, and Strawberry Lemon Love.
I bought my first pint at Whole Paycheck--it was under $5 and well worth every cent.

Naked Coconut

The pure coconut experience

Ingredients: Organic Coconut Milk (Organic Coconut, Water, Guar Gum), Organic Agave Syrup, Organic Dried Coconut, Organic Coconut Extract, Organic Fair Trade Vanilla Extract
(view nutrition label)