Back to school shopping with Cookie’s Kids

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Jackie

Just in case you didn’t know it’s almost time to head back to school or your kids are already back in school. Either way kids are going to need new clothes whether they’re regular street clothes or uniforms.

Back to school shopping is not one of my favorite things to do especially with three girls who have definite opinions about what they like and what they don’t like. Honestly, if they just wore school uniforms I’d be all set but since they don’t we’ve been to the stores a few times checking out all the new kids styles & new fashions for the fall and winter season.

With the internet and online shopping things are a lot easier! This year I went to Cookie’s Kids and meandered through their website at all the cute clothes they have and was wondering how I could get all the things I wanted without breaking the bank.

One of the things that I love about online shopping is the chat support that so many companies are starting to use. It’s great… I can ask any question I have and get an answer right away. It’s just like having a sales associate there without being pushy!

And I had questions to ask…. a couple of them as a matter of fact. But the problem is that the chat support was never on and I came back more than once to check. So I proceeded with my order sort of blindly and hoped that what I was buying would work.

They had everything from uniforms, kids clothes, shoes, and the thing I was most happy to see… suits for little boys! We have a wedding coming up this fall and my son is going to need something to wear! I will be going back for sure to check them out more.

I love these shoes! And I ordered them for my son in the 9 toddler size thinking he wears an 8 right now and by time fall/winter rolls around these will probably fit him. Boy.. was I wrong! He won’t be wearing these for a couple years! He loves them though!

Since Andrew isn’t heading to school I made sure that I got a few things for his sister. It seems that every time I turn around that girl has grown!

When I gave Lauren her sweater she immediately had to try it on and then went on and on about all the different things that she can wear with it! She had two or three outfits planned out around the sweater.

Of course being the practical mom I am I had to find a jacket that she could wear this fall because the one from last year is way to small.

She loved it! I was really happy about that because I picked the jacket out without her input!

Ordering and checking out at #CookiesKids was just as easy as it was with any other site and the best part of it all was that my order qualified for a free $25 restaurants.com gift card! Score! Cute clothes for the kids and dinner for mom and dad!

Want to know more about Cookie’s Kids?

In 1972, a young man named Cookie and his brother Marvin went into business together. They rented a 1600 square foot store in Jamaica, Queens, fixed it up, bought inventory and Summer and Fall, and opened a day after Thanksgiving with a full stock of holiday toys. The toys were a success and they put the extra money toward buying children’s clothing for the next season. When that did well, they bought more clothing. The business was on it’s way.

As the brothers Cookie, Marvin and Sonny, who had come in as a third partner in the business, began to open new stores in new locations, inventory expanded. Besides the latest fashions, our customers wanted shoes, toys, backpacks and accessories and we were prepared to deliver.

By the late 1990’s there were six superstores throughout the NYC area, and though they previously had different names, by that time they were all named Cookie’s Kids. Also in the late ’90s came an important addition to Cookie’s Kids’ inventory: school uniforms. It was the steady success in uniform sales that paved the way for founding CookiesKids.com in 2007, which originally sold uniforms and soon after the entire Cookie’s Kids Inventory.

You can check out Cookie’s Kids on Facebook & Twitter! If you want to see more of my shopping trip you can check out my Google+ album and the cute outfits I created on Polyvore!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and CookiesKids.com #CBias #SocialFabric

After School Snacking’ with Hot Pockets

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Jackie

I’m counting down the days until the kids head back to school for what I’m sure will be another exciting year! 21 days to be exact.

Between the after school activities, sports, and band (band is HUGE here) the kids will be busy and of course hungry. With lunch around 11am for the kids and then they get out a couple of hours later the first thing that they do when they get home is to start rummaging through the fridge & pantry. I get the inevitable question soon after… What can I eat mom?

Hot Pockets are the perfect after school snack (or lunch if you can talk a teacher into letting you use their microwave) because they’re small but just enough to tide the kids over until dinner time a few hours later. So to get ready for back to school I headed to Walmart to pick up some groceries, a few back to school supplies, and of course Hot Pockets!

My kids LOVE Hot Pockets though and as soon as they see that I bought them they disappear quickly! And with so many varieties I doubt that they’ll ever get bored with them! I think that within 3 days of buying them they ate 3 boxes… lunch every day was Hot Pockets.

What I love is how fast & simple they are! Grab a box out of the freezer and pop ’em in the microwave for a minute or two and then eat them! They’re so simple that even my 10 year old has them all figured out and is making them for herself when she wants one. We picked up the sloppy joe Hot Pockets and it’s been her favorite all week!

With so many options out there what is your favorite after school snack ideas for your kids? Next time you’re out shopping head to the frozen food department and pick up a package of Hot Pockets and give them a try! I’m sure that your kids will love them!

That one right there…. yea, that picture just above…. that one is my favorite one! It’s like warm, cheesy spinach dip wrapped up in a delicious pretzel roll. This one is almost to good to share with the kids!

Plain old ham & cheese…. that what my husband like. No taste adventure there!

Want to know more about #HotPocketSnacks? Check them out on Facebook and Twitter! You can also check out our shopping trip in my Google + album!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Nestle #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are my own!

Snackin’ Del Monte & Diary of a Wimpy Kid Style!

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Jackie

Well… it’s almost time to head back to school here (Yes, I’m counting the days). And with school comes packing lunches and of course after school healthy snacks and one of my kids favorites are the fruit cups from Del Monte , especially the mandarin oranges! I honestly can’t keep enough of them around the house for the kids.

Andrew lining up the fruit cups

With summer coming to an end here soon I’m stocking up on the things that I know the kids like best! See that big empty space down there… yea, that’s from me. Actually, the fruit cups are perfect anytime… while out back-to-school shopping, before a movie (so you don’t fill up on sugary snacks), and while you’re enjoying picnics this summer.

Snacks on the shelf

I wanted to try something different with Del Monte fruit cups so I bought some of the peaches with cinnamon and I used them to make a peach cobbler! It was super easy too… all I did was thicken up the juice, top it with some butter and a pre-made pie crust.

Ready for the oven

I sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on top and then popped it into the oven for about 30 minutes or so (until the crust was brown). Everyone could smell it baking throughout the house. It smelled wonderful!

Peach Cobbler

It was delicious too! Topped with some whipped topping it tasted like it was a homemade dessert that took much longer than the 5 minutes it took me to put it all together!

Now, did you know that Del Monte has teamed up with Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Besides helping promote a great movie (my kids LOVE the books… don’t yours?) they also have a fun contest that you can enter. Take a look at these prizes!

1 Grand Prize: Hand-drawn family sketch from Jeff Kinney
25 First Prizes: Del Monte^® Fruit Cup^® snacks for a year
150 Second Prizes: Two Hollywood Movie Money^® Concession Certificates valid for up to $5.00 each

So in celebration of such a fun contest my kids got in the mood and drew some pictures in the fun style of Diary of a Wimpy Kid!

Lauren & her DOAWK drawing

Alright… so Lauren took almost the entire day with her drawing but I think she missed the part where I said make it look like the characters in the book. I don’t mind though because she made a great drawing of our family and even came up with a great name for her story (yes, there’s a story for it too), Diary of a Cool Family!

Natalie & her DOAWK drawing

Natalie totally got into it… I mean she went all out with her drawing and of course she spent most of the day working on hers too. She grabbed one of the DOAWK books, studied it, and then went to work!

So similar!

Check this out! She even went to far to draw herself & her cool cat on lined paper and then taped them to her cover. Of course she named her’s too… Diary of a Kool Kat. It’s a bit hard to see but the cat is wearing a Hawaiian style shirt and shades!

Don’t forget to check Del Monte out on Facebook or follow them on Twitter!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias
All opinions are my own.

Bag It Forward School Donation

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Jackie

It’s that time of year again! Yes, back to school time…. I think that maybe the stores started a bit early but right now is the best time to get some great deals on all the things that your kids will need for a successful school year! Even I like going back to school shopping because I love getting new paper… pens… stationary…. all of it really and each year it seems that they come out with some new stuff that is really great! It makes me wonder how I got by with just a plain old yellow pencil!

Every year when the kids go back to school the teachers always send home “wish lists” with all the supplies that they need for the classroom. Some of the things are every day items that they really need… like pencils & paper! So often I’ve seen the teachers at the stores filling their carts full of school supplies and paying with them with their own money.

Well, I went to Walmart and I participated in the Bag It Forward movement. I filled my cart with all the supplies that I knew the kids would need in the classroom this year! Crayons, paper, pencils, tissues, glue, and even hand sanitizer!

When I was there at the front of the store was huge Elmer’s display and a QR code the 1st Day app! The Elmer’s 1st Day™ app is a FREE mobile app that enables parents to capture those priceless “1st day” moments year after year. It also provides teachers a unique platform to share photos of their classrooms, school projects and more with family and friends.

You can watch a video about the 1st Day app and download it here and best of all it works on both the iPhone and Android.

Helping out was really inexpensive too… I didn’t spend more than $30 and I know that the teachers are going to love our donation this fall when we bring in on the first day of school.

Elmer’s is committed to the education of children and innovation for educators who inspire them to learn. With that in mind, the company is a proud sponsor of The Kids In Need Foundation and currently supports the Elmer’s Teacher Tool Kit Program to provide much-needed funding and supplied to educators. Based on the success of this partnership, Elmer’s chose to donate additional resources to The Kids in Need Foundation through this1st Day™ initiative.

You can follow the #BagItForward movement too! Check out Elmer’s on Facebook, Twitter and our #BagItForward Pinterest board!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Elmer’s. #BagItForward #CBias #SocialFabric

Silk Fruit and Protein Smoothies

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Jackie

When I first saw that Social Fabric had a shop available for Silk Fruit & Protein I had to sign up for it because we love Silk here at my house! Ever since we first bought it a few months ago it’s been a regular item on my grocery list.

Normally we just drink it plain for a quick breakfast… pour it in a cup and drink it down! But I wanted to try something different with it. My first thought was to use it for homemade ice cream but I was having trouble finding a good recipe and when I did they called for ingredients that weren’t readily available at my local Walmart store. I decided to hold off on the ice cream…. I didn’t want to ruin the Silk Fruit & Protein! Instead we settled for a traditional smoothie.

Off to the store we went to collect all the things that we needed to make a tasty & healthy treat for dessert.

Strawberries were at the top of our list! They’ve been really good lately and we had to add them to our smoothie.

Of course we ended up getting more than what was on our shopping list but that always happens.

The ingredients were simple and few for our smoothies.

Ice
Vanilla ice cream
Strawberries
Silk Fruit & Protein

The instructions are just as easy! Toss it all into the blender and blend until smooth and top with a bit of whipped cream.

Honestly this stuff is great alone or as an extra boost to your homemade smoothies and best of all they’re really healthy!

You can check out #SilkFruit on Facebook for great coupons or Twitter! And if you want to check out more pictures from my shopping trip and our smoothies check out my Google+ Album.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias Feel free to add any additional wording you would like such as “all opinions are my own