Summer Time is Coming

As we enter the last weekend of May, I am looking forward to summertime. I'm not sure that it will feel much different than the last several weeks for the most part, but it is nice to finally be getting back to some more normal things.

As a family, we went out to lunch yesterday and ate at the restaurant, inside because of the rain. It sounds like a small thing but it has probably been almost 3 months since the last time we went out to eat as a family. It was nice to to relax and just hang out.

This past week both kids returned school books and empty out their lockers. The school year is officially over. Online learning was okay at best. It was nice that several teachers would post a recording of the learning. It gave them the opportunity to watch the lesson on demand, on their schedule. I don't know that my kids did it but it also gave them the chance to rewatch the lesson if there was a question or something confusing. I think though that I would have liked them to do the lesson live in an interactive classroom space - like they do at school - where the kids can ask questions and the teacher can get real time feedback on how well the group was responding to the lesson. They all had office hours but they were not always at convenient times and some overlapped. As an example, math classes all had their office hours, a live chat space, from 8 - 9 am. The kids would need to watch the current lesson before the office hours or use the office hours for the last lesson, which was not always convenient. In addition, since all the math class office hours were at the same time, if you had multiple math classes (my son had two), you likely could only get to one or the other. Unfortunately, several teachers didn't do online lessons, video or live. They simply relied on the kids reading the book and shared some notes. I also feel like the lack of classroom discussion was a loss. How many times as a kid did you pick up on something based on what a classmate shared. Whether discussing a classic like Great Gatsby or asking a question about a chemical reaction, sometimes hearing it posed by someone else helps you process or clarify it for yourself. And then for activity driven classes, there was again a loss of opportunity. For my son, we boiled eggs for different lengths as a chemistry experiment but that was really the only experiment that the class did the last 12 weeks of school. I would have expected more labs as part of a chemistry class. And for my daughter, who was in Family and Consumer Sciences the last quarter of the school year, she missed out on so much. They normally make a drawstring bag but with stores on limited operation and most students not having access to a sewing machine, the pattern was simply shared if they wanted to try it. For the kitchen half, the lessons were limited. She made a dish with an egg (souffles for her), a bowl of fruit salad and a vegetable. She still learned from the videos her teacher would post but they normally make so much more in class. The other gap was the absence of spring sports, spring dances, lunch room socialization, after school socialization on the bus or the walk, and so much more together time with fellow students. It is a unique experience that has impacted my kids and something that they will remember always but I do hope that we can return to classroom learning in the fall for the benefit of all students.

Baseball season is restarting for my son. He had three practices this last week and we have games next weekend. I have missed the families and the experience of being at games. It will definitely not be the season we had planned - the boys didn't have their high school season and had limited access to facilities so mostly had to keep in shape on their own. We have already learned that one tournament was being rescheduled which caused the team to drop out of that tournament and pick up another one. Many schools are not opening their fields so there is a scramble to locate fields for games. In the youth program locally, several kids have dropped out (not sure if it is concern, the change in timing for the season or some other factor). I am happy to have baseball back and hope that it is as near normal as possible.

I continue with my daily walks and have done at least 30 minutes (usually closer to 50 minutes lately) each day for the past 77 days (today marks 78 but I haven't gotten out yet). It has been a great way to stay active but also a chance to 'get away', let my mind unwind and destress and a chance to relax and soak in nature and sunshine (and rain on occasion). I have easily 80+ pictures to illustrate the soaking in of nature - I have trees and flowers, blue skies and cloud formations, 'artsy' shots with puddles and capturing the droplets collected on the leaves. It has been nice. I do hope to continue the daily walk. We heard yesterday that the pool at our gym will open in just over a week for lap swimming only. I am very glad to hear that news and will try to get there 4 or 5 mornings each week and likely move my walks to later in the day when I do. I was at almost 100 miles swam since January when the pools were closed with the gyms almost 11 weeks ago. My goal is to complete the 100 mile challenge and then try for another 100 miles yet this year.

My schedule as a whole will be changing here in a couple of weeks. I was offered a job and accepted it (actually, was offered two but one required relocation). It is such a relief after 6 months of being unemployed to have a job lined up. Job seeking during closure was interesting. I did all of my interviewing from home - a mix of phone and video interviews. It will be even stranger starting a new job at a company that is (at least right now) still work from home. I will be doing remote onboarding and orientation. I will meet the team that I will be partnering with by phone. I should have ample opportunity to explore the software and learn about the products on my own. I am a people person though, so it will definitely be strange.

Made some bread last night and it was perhaps the best batch yet. This morning, I am trying a new cinnamon roll / muffin type recipe.

What have you been up to? How are things opening up where you are?

A New Week

Today is the first day of spring break for the kids. With my son being on the high school baseball team, it's been a while since we did something more than a day-trip or stay-cation for spring break. Even though we would only get away one day, we generally filled our time with other fun activities - hanging out with friends, mother-daughter pedicures, laser tag with friends, mini-golf and go-carts, sleepovers, swimming and ice cream. This year we simply are home. I have to say, it feels a little weird.

It's not like spring break is the only unusual thing going on though. One positive of this whole experience is increased family time. I am seeing it at my house and in the neighborhood. This weekend we took a family bike ride, just over 6 miles round trip from home to lunch and back again. We picked up carryout from a local favorite and biked back to the school to use the picnic tables to enjoy our lunch before biking home. We have always loved family bike rides (okay, who am I kidding, my husband and I love them and the kids come along because they have to and sometimes with a bit of whine as we plan for it) but finding time for them lately with two very active children (and parents) has been a challenge. Normally we do closer to 20 or 25 miles round trip but the restaurants we use as destinations on the journey are sit down places, that although I assume are doing carry-out wouldn't be as conducive to finding a picnic table or eating outside. It was nice to get in a bike ride locally and spend some active time together as a family. As we were out biking, I saw a lot of families walking together, biking together, doing yard work together and playing ball in their yards. It really was a nice sight to see.

This weekend we also enjoyed a family movie night in. We are definitely a movie family and have even included destinations like the dine-in theater as part of one of our staycation adventures. We watched Onward on Friday night on Disney+. It wasn't a movie that we had talked about going to see or were anxiously awaiting, in fact, even when we suggested it, my daughter wasn't really interested in watching it but we all did and discovered it was a good movie and everyone enjoyed it.

We also tackled a few projects around the house this weekend. We are entering the eleventh season with our Ultrabuilt playset this year and the kids (my daughter much more so than my son) still enjoy it. In the early years, I was very consistent in making sure that we gave it a fresh coat of paint each spring or at least every other spring to help protect it from the sun and rain. More recently, we have been a lot more busy and it has fallen to every three (or at least that is how long we think it was) years. This was not the best idea as we found a couple of boards that had not maintained the seal created by the paint (or maybe I missed a spot during the last one?) and had a bit of rot within those boards (or was it carpenter ants or something similar?). We made the repairs that were needed and then I used the paint we had on hand to paint the main slide platform and adjacent rails. We will need more paint so I can seal the rest but the store we bought it at doesn't carry that brand anymore and we tried but couldn't figure out how to do an online order for a paint blend - we could get the base gallon but there was no where to enter the color or see/select the color from samples. The rest will just have to wait until we can get back into the stores. We also had a water issue on the frame for our back door. We put in french doors several years ago and it looks like the flashing above the frame wasn't properly overlapped and so we have had a slow trickle of water in around the frame. This caused some of the wood to rot. We used some caulk to address the issue with the flashing and then tackled the frame. We dug out the bad part and filled it with wood filler to rebuild the space, sanded it and will paint it. Again, we don't have the paint we need, so in the short term we will use what we have from the front porch and will have to repaint later when we can select the color we need at the store.

I have found that I have fallen into a steady routine. I know that I am cleaning things more often trying to reduce risk. Each morning, I get up and feed the cats. If I sleep longer than they like, they make sure I am up by climbing up on my bed and sitting on my stomach to cry about eating. Then, I open up the blinds on the first floor to maximize the sunlight we are getting inside. Then, I start by cleaning up the kitchen - put away clean dishes, address any that were soaking from the previous night, take out trash and recycles, and then I wipe down all of the counters. To be fair, I had wiped down the counters and cleaned up after dinner too but I want to make sure that we are starting each day fresh. I then wipe down the counters, the faucet and the toilet in the main floor bathroom. It is the first place we go when we walk in the door to wash up from being outside the house - whether just out for a walk or coming in from the store - so I want to make sure that nothing was left behind on a surface in there. Then, I wipe the inside and outside door handles for all three entry doors and the button on the garage door opener. Then I swap the towels in the kitchen and half bath and add them to the washer to be cleaned with the next load. Then, I will typically work a bit on our puzzle, check e-mail and Facebook, have breakfast, maybe watch a show or movie, check out job postings and hopefully apply to one or two viable options. I typically will go for a walk in the afternoon but adjust based on weather - so far, I have found a way to get in at least a 30 minute walk each of the days that have passed since social distancing began.

We found out last week that school closures have been extended to May 1st and then that the Stay At Home order has also been extended to May 1st. I am glad that they didn't go as far out as some other states; I have heard June 10th for some state(s). I am hopeful and pray that we will be able to start to return to normal come May 1st. I know it may be a gradual return but a start to return is at least a beginning and something to look forward to.

Interestingly, I counted and May 1st represents 40 days of social distancing. I counted because I saw a blurb on Facebook about the number 40 and the significance. It referenced among other things, the 40 days of the great flood, the 40 days of Lent and so on. Of course I left to verify something and couldn't find the post when I went back into Facebook and I can't remember what friend had shared it. My husband found a similar one but it had less of the connections. One of the things it referenced (and one of the things I left to verify) was that even the word quarantine comes from the Italian word meaning 40 days (from Wikipedia: The word quarantine comes from quarantena, meaning "forty days", used in the 14th-15th-century Venetian language and designating the period that all ships were required to be isolated before passengers and crew could go ashore during the Black Death plague epidemic).

This week, I was able to schedule a grocery pick up, so I should be able to stay out of the stores this week but likely will do my own shopping next week. In part because it is so hard to get a time and in part because I still find shopping for myself easier but also a little riskier than I want - we learned this weekend that someone that works at our grocery tested positive. We are on about a 9 - 10 day schedule for groceries at this point. I am buying two weeks worth of bread and milk products each time so that we can stretch the visits out and have partial coverage if they are out of stock. The one thing that is harder to stretch is produce. We just make sure that we get our fruits and veggies fresh when we first shop and then we can move to frozen or canned later in the time between grocery trips. When we have a Friday evening without plans, we like to stop by the store and pick up a fresh baguette to enjoy as a snack. Not wanting to go to the store for one item, this weekend I made bread. I have made bread before but it has been a while. It turned out good and was a nice accompaniment to our dinner on Saturday as well. I will definitely plan to add flour to my shopping list so that I can make more.

How have you been doing? What adaptations have you made? How long are things 'closed' in your area?

Keep on Keeping on

This post contains some sponsored content (or links).

Did you have a good weekend? Were you able to 'break it up' from the everyday?

With the kids back to doing school work, the weekend was a nice break for them from spending their day doing school work. We learned yesterday that the schools will remain closed through April at this time, with a reevaluation towards the end of April. Next week is spring break, so the kids won't have work that week but then will have three more weeks of online learning. They seem to be doing good with keeping up with it and still finding down time.

The weather was pretty good at the end of last week and into the weekend. If we have to be at home, warm and sunny weather is definitely a welcome break. Somehow it makes me feel less 'locked in'. We were able to leave our doors and windows open and get some fresh air in the house. We were able to get out and get some fresh air, on walks and runs. My son got a chance to get out and do a some throwing and a bit of hitting at a nearby field and batting cage. My daughter spent some time playing on the swing set and then did some chalk art on the driveway. Look at the intensity of the colors in that art, I am pleased with the crayola chalk we picked up. (you can see that even following a rain, the color is still pretty intense) On my walks, I took in the sights and sounds of spring. There were daffodils blooming and birds singing, there were people grilling out and and having bonfires. It was also fun to see the different chalk drawings, pictures and encouraging messages. There were several notes written to friends and teachers on the sidewalks. Some made me smile, some made me a little sad - it is not in our nature to be isolated and not interacting, especially the kids.

Being home all day, every day has also caused us to think more creatively with eating and trying to find some old favorites to mix in to avoid feeling like we are always eating the same thing. I also have been saving some new recipes to try that friends are sharing...I am hoping that they leave a review so I know whether to try the recipe or not. I am still trying to cook once and eat multiple times and providing 'flex' options for the protein each night. I am also trying to make sure that we use up everything and don't allow any leftovers or food go bad or be wasted. Last week when I made a chipotle sauce for a restaurant knock off that is a family favorite, I threw in the remaining fresh tomatoes that were starting to get soft and a little bit of enchilada sauce that we had from dinner earlier in the week. Last night, I made homemade drop biscuits (usually use a mix) for having chicken in gravy over biscuits. I made a whole chicken in the pressure cooker and when I cleaned the chicken I set some aside to be used for Chipotle-style bowls and put the rest in the gravy. We are trying to mix up the sweets too. On Sunday, since we couldn't get donuts, we made beignets and this morning we used up some milk to make mini-muffins. When I go shopping (or do grocery pick up), I always include a good amount of fresh fruit, knowing that if it isn't all eaten that we will freeze it. Then, when the fresh stuff is out, the kids can still get fruit by making smoothies. I really appreciate the Ninja blender we got in the fall because each kid can make their own fruit combo and I don't have to hear about she used that or he didn't use that.

The cats are content. They don't seem to mind that we are hanging out more. We continue to tackle our puzzle and to play games. The other night, I even made my kids both answer one of those 'ask your kids' that is out on Facebook. I didn't share their answers on Facebook but I did keep them for my own memories.

This morning, I set an alarm to go to the store. I didn't need it, I was tossing and turning all night worrying about making the trip to the store. Unfortunately, pick up times are all booked so it was the only option that I had. I am trying to stretch time between shopping trips and got a little more than normal today to help facilitate that. They were in stock on most things on my list, except yeast, soap and toilet paper. On other items, I had to use a different brand than normal but things that were out last time I went were back in stock. I'm hoping that I might be able to do a small pick up order sometime early next week to get the couple things that were out of stock and a few things to extend the time to my next visit to the store. Thankfully, I was able to use Scan, Pay and Go and keep my time in the store to a minimum and only handle the groceries once. There were several people at the store wearing masks or scarves to cover their mouth and nose and I saw some wearing gloves as well.

Out of an abundance of caution, I let most of the pantry type items sit outside in my garage for several hours before bringing them in the house. For the refrigerated and frozen, I did what the one doctor suggested and saturated a paper towel with cleaner and gave them a quick wipe down before putting them away. For the fruit, I cleaned it and put it in a bowl, throwing out the original package. I don't know how much is too much or too little. The articles I have read seem to be contradictory (who do you trust - NIH or CDC - normally, I see them both as authorities but the data they have is not consistent) but many have talked about the fact that although the virus can be detected on the different package types that the risk may not be as high because the virus begins to decay right away, so even though it can be detected there is likely a diminishing risk over time; someone would have had to cough or sneeze right on the package or into their hands and touch the package to put virus on the package to be transferred to you; and even then you would have to touch that 'right' spot and then touch your face. So, I feel like giving them a few extra hours for any potential virus to decay before handling the packages again to put them in the pantry and knowing that we aren't going to 'touch' them until we use them which may be a few days or more, I feel I took ample precaution.

How are things in your area? Have you tried any new dishes?

This post contains some sponsored content (or links). All opinions and content are my own.

Red Robin's Burger for Better Schools Program #Giveaway

No compensation was received for this post. The Red Robin information and gift cards (one for my family, one for the giveaway) have been provided by Red Robin. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

When I first graduated from college, I took a job with a company that had a training program that included rotations at two different production locations. It was an awesome experience and gave me the opportunity to live in two different cities and meet a lot of amazing people (including my husband). While on my second rotation, I was living in South Jersey and working in Philadelphia. It was a really fun rotation. I had a roommate that was there for a co-op assignment at the same plant and we had a blast exploring our new community. In addition to meeting new people, it also gave me a chance to catch up with some of my friends from college that had moved to the area years ahead of me. One weekend, I went and spent a couple of days with a sorority sister who lived about an hour away from my apartment. While visiting with her, we went to dinner at a restaurant that was new to me at the time - Red Robin. I remember they had a great hamburger selection and that the food was very good.

It has been several years (several, like 18 years) since I had last been to a Red Robin. For a long time, I didn't live near one and then when I moved 'close' to one, it was still a good half hour away from me and although we shopped in the area, the crowds generally kept us from stopping to eat, instead opting to head home to eat. They would come to mind when we had cravings for a good burger, but we hadn't been.

When Red Robin reached out about their new way to support local schools with their Burgers for Better Schools program, we decided we should make the journey - it helped that I had a work event near the Red Robin and the family came down and met me there for dinner.

Burgers for Better Schools is an extension of Red Robin’s loyalty rewards program, which gives members the opportunity to support local K-12 schools simply by dining at participating Red Robin restaurants and using their Red Robin Royalty member account. When a Red Robin Royalty member’s account is presented at the time of purchase, Red Robin will donate one percent of the total bill (excluding taxes, gratuities and gift card sales) to their school of choice.

Fortunately, since I was close by, I was able to time my arrival just enough in advance of the family, that I was able to wait the wait out by myself and we were seated within minutes of my family arriving. The kids each got kid's menus, which came with the tiniest crayons, they were sort of cute.

They also have tablets at the table, that allow you call the waitress, explore the menu, and play trivia. We were a little bummed that trivia came with a cost, especially since with it being on the tablet, it would be real easy for a kid to start playing without realizing. We asked why they charged for the trivia, when so many other places use the trivia as an additional draw to get crowds to come in and linger longer. The waitress wasn't sure, but agreed that it might be nice for it to be complimentary like it is elsewhere.

Then came time to explore our menus. I was very pleased by the selection and quickly narrowed it down to my top three or four options (I'm not the best decision maker when it comes to what do you want to eat...I want it all). As he explored the regular menu, son's eyes were bigger than his stomach, but fortunately, when we asked they have a plan for that...he was able to get a smaller version of his preferred burger from the adult menu. He went with the Burnin' Love.

He opted to try the cole slaw for his endless side. I have to tell you that we all thought it was really good.

My husband went with a different spicy burger - the Chili Chili Cheeseburger, with a side of fries. He was disappointed that it was not spicy and had to order some ghost pepper sauce to spice it up to what he wanted.

I was torn between the Royal Red Robin, which comes with an over easy egg on it and the Guacamole Burger. I went with the Guacamole Burger and the Garlic Herbed fries for my side. There was an extra charge for the Garlic Herbed Fries, but they are still bottomless.

My daughter chose the Little Red's Burger from the kids menu for her meal. She upgraded her drink to a Root Beer float. It was a small drink, but it was bottomless, which meant that there was enough to meet her expectations.

When you were ready for more sides, all you had to do was ask and they would bring out another basket.

Everyone was very pleased with their meal. We thought about dessert, but the food was so tasty that we all ate our meals and didn't have room for dessert. When we were ready, we were able to use the tablet on our table to pay our bill, including tip and print our receipt.

My husband liked this, he has often talked about how he would love to be able to pay at the table, so that the credit card was never out of of his control.

In addition to enjoying a great meal, we were able to help our local school out to. We had registered before going and the school we chose will get one percent of what we spent.

We are already planning our next visit.

Information about Red Robin’s Burger for Better Schools Program:

· Burgers for Better Schools is an extension of Red Robin’s loyalty rewards program. Red Robin Royalty provides members with added perks when they dine at Red Robin restaurants throughout the year, such as granting every 10th item purchased as free, a free birthday burger, exclusive surprises and more

· Burgers for Better Schools gives Red Robin Royalty members an opportunity to support local K-12 schools simply by dining at participating Red Robin restaurants and using their Red Robin Royalty member account. When a Red Robin Royalty member’s account is presented at the time of purchase, Red Robin will donate one percent of the total bill to their school of choice (excluding taxes, gratuities and gift card sales)

· Participating in Burgers for Better Schools is as easy as becoming a member of Red Robin Royalty. Red Robin Royalty members can sign up for Burgers for Better Schools on their account dashboard on Red Robin’s website or by visiting http://www.redrobin.com/betterschools. If you are not already a Red Robin Royalty member, sign up for free and select your child’s school BEFORE your visit!

· Through the Burgers for Better Schools dashboard, Red Robin Royalty members can select their school of choice to receive support, and change their school selection at any time throughout the year

· Members who have opted into Burgers for Better Schools can follow their progress in supporting a K-12 school of their choice on their Red Robin Royalty account dashboard. Details include individual contributions, how many others are supporting that school, and total donations raised by all supporters

· At any time, Red Robin Royalty members can donate an additional sum to the school of their choice by using the credit card option featured on the Burgers for Better Schools homepage

· Red Robin also makes it easy to help spread the word about the Burgers for Better Schools program at school, online and socially with a variety flyers, website banners and social media-friendly content in the online digital tool kit



Information about Red Robin:

· Red Robin Gourmet Burgers is the Gourmet Burger Authority, a place where families and adults alike can enjoy a great dining experience

· The first Red Robin restaurant opened in Seattle, Wash., in 1969, and now there are more than 500 Red Robin restaurants across the United States and Canada

· Red Robin is famous for serving more than two dozen craveable, high-quality burgers with Bottomless Steak Fries® in a fun environment welcoming to guests of all ages. In addition to its many burger offerings, Red Robin serves a wide variety of salads, soups, appetizers, entrees, desserts and signature Mad Mixology® Beverages

· Red Robin is proud to offer fresh, high quality ingredients and every meal is made-to-order. Red Robin’s commitment to food quality includes Gourmet Burgers made with fresh, never frozen, all-natural, domestic, USDA-inspected beef; hormone free poultry and locally sourced produce that is hand-selected by its suppliers and freshly prepared in-house

· To sign up for the Red Robin Royalty program and become eligible to support your local school through Burgers for Better Schools, visit http://royalty.redrobin.com

You can find and connect with Red Robin
* Red Robin website

* Red Robin Burgers for Better Schools

* Red Robin on Facebook

* Red Robin on Twitter

* Red Robin on Instagram

Giveaway

Thanks to Red Robin, I have the opportunity to give one A Busy Mom of Two Reader a $75 gift card to check out Red Robin.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through October 9th. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winners will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. The Red Robin information and gift cards (one for my family, one for the giveaway) have been provided by Red Robin. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Seasonal Allergies #Claritin

A few weeks back, I heard someone say that this year the allergies were going to be rougher because the summer wasn't hot. I'm not sure I fully understand the correlation, but as a mom to a child that suffers from allergies, I am here to say it certainly seems true.

I can remember the first year that my son suffered from allergies. He was all stuffy, which could have been anything, but when I looked at his eyes, I just knew it wasn't a cold.

Of course, my son's allergies are worst in spring and early fall, which conveniently (NOT!) coincides with soccer and baseball seasons. So, at the peak time of allergies for him, he is also spending extra time outside...and playing and breathing hard, which only seems to exacerbate the issues. Thankfully, for us, Children's Claritin and some eye drops really help to make the allergy seasons more bearable for him.

As a mom crew member, Claritin has shared the following Back to School Allergy Tips:

1. Be sure to have Children’s Claritin, the #1 pediatrician-recommended non-drowsy allergy brand, on hand!

2. Multi-vitamins are building blocks to having a strong immune system. Make taking a multi-vitamin part of your child’s daily routine.

3. Let there be light! Mold doesn't like sunlight, so try to keep your curtains open during the day. Should be easy during the summer months!

4. Did you know that most pillows trap allergens, dust mites, and bacteria? Monitor the cleanliness of the pillow your child with allergies sleeps on and replace if necessary.

5. Back to school season means lots of laundry for many moms. Be sure to remove laundry from the washing machine promptly. Allowing wet clothes to sit in the washer means mold can quickly grow there.

6. Monitor pollen counts and adjust outdoor before and after school activities accordingly. Dry, windy days can be particularly high in pollen.

7. Showering or bathing at the end of the day as opposed to the morning can be helpful in removing allergens from body surfaces and hair.

8. Stay hydrated! Always send your child to school with a bottle of water. Drinking lots of clear fluids through the day can help get rid of toxins and flush out body.

9. Peak pollen production typically occurs in early morning, so try to plan outside activities at other times of the day.

No compensation was received for this post. As a member of the Children's Claritin Mom Crew, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit. All opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience.

Staples Deals - 7/8

While we were out running errands, we decided we should stop at Staples for some of their back to school deals, too.

1 - Staples Paper 8.5x11
1 - Staples Pink Eraser
2 - Bic Dry Erase Markers
2 - Staples School Glue
1 - Bic Roundstick Pens

Total $7.82, plus $.51 tax OOP. Will submit for the Easy Rebate of $6.99 for the paper - making this transaction just over $1 net.

Office Max Deals - 7/8

It really seems a lot too early to be looking at back to school deals. I know, I admitted a few weeks ago that I was using The Children's Place sales and free shipping offers to get my kids their school clothes for next year, but now school supplies! We don't even have our official lists yet, so I had to stick to the 'normal' stuff and/or stuff we can use at home.

2 - 4pk Glue Sticks
2 - Clearpoint Starter Set, .5 MM
2 - 1" Binders
1 - 12 pk Sharpie Fine Black Markers
9 - 2-pocket folders (I thought we had 10?)

Total $5.50 plus $.36 tax.

My son also decided to splurge on a special notebook with a sports theme. I told him that if we waited, we would likely see them for less later this summer, but he wasn't convinced.

Some Fun Deals!

Maybe it is the nerd in me shining through, but I just love this idea: Chalkboard Tee from Class Attire! Today, through Moolala, you can get one for just $12 ($25 value). The shirt includes a shaped chalkboard surface on the front of the shirt and a pocket to hold your chalk. They have them available in a variety of shapes, but I think I would just stick with The Box. The shirts can be washed with regular laundry. What do you think?

I have never done a ropes course, but have always wanted to. I am considering today's Groupon offer, for only $20 you can get a Four-Hour Ropes Course Session at Summit Vision in Westerville, Ohio ($40 Value). Interestingly enough, it shows up on the Cleveland offer page, but I'm not seeing it on Columbus. Maybe they are looking to bring people in from around the area instead of locally?

Also, today you can get a 1 year subscription to Weight Watchers Magazine through Mamapedia Sweet Deals for only $10.