The other day, while washing a giant sink full of plastic cups and containers for what felt like the gazillionth time, I realized our babushka doll Stuck On You labels have been solidly stuck on Gracen’s drink bottles and bento boxes for the better part of a year now. They’ve been used daily, chucked into bags and purses, hauled to sandy beaches, and left in freezing cars overnight. They’ve been stored in the refrigerator for days at a time, soaked in soapy water for hours, and put through the dishwasher several times. Yet somehow, 9 months later, they look exactly as they did when we first applied them. How that’s even possible, I don’t know.
Besides our stick anywhere name labels, we also got these adorable woodland animal-themed iron on clothing labels last summer too. The verdict? They’re just as great as their stick-on counterparts. This little quilted jacket is a favourite of Gracen’s, and thus has been washed countless times over the course of the fall and winter. And despite countless washes, they are still perfectly adhered and looking new.
In addition to being very durable and ridiculously cute, these labels will be so great for when Miss G begins school or preschool (yes, I count on them lasting that long ☺). As a teacher, I see the overflowing lost and found bins at the end of the school year, and though we do try to return as much of it as possible, it’s nearly impossible as most of it is not properly labeled. But if every student had Stuck On You labels adhered onto their clothing items, books, and lunch containers, finding the items’ rightful owners would be no problem at all.
That being said, if you’ve got a munchkin headed off to camp this summer, quickly sticking some Stuck On You labels onto their belongings before dropping them off would probably be extremely helpful. And what would be more special than sending them off with a personalized toiletry kit, backpack, water bottle, or my personal favourite, a camp sleepaway pack?
Stuck On You has generously offered to give FOUR Mama.Papa.Bubba. readers a $50 voucher to purchase the products of their choosing. This contest is open to Canadian and US readers and a winner will be selected at random on Friday, May 31st.
There are multiple ways to enter. Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each. To enter to win a $50 voucher to Stuck On You:
-> Visit the Stuck On You website and tell us one item you love
-> ‘Like’ Stuck On You on Facebook, then come back here and leave a separate comment saying you did so (or previously did)
-> ‘Like’ Mama.Papa.Bubba. on Facebook, then come back here and leave a separate comment saying you did so (or previously did)
-> Follow Mama.Papa.Bubba. on Twitter, then come back here and leave a separate comment saying you did so (or previously did)
-> Follow Mama.Papa.Bubba. on Pinterest, then come back here and leave a separate comment saying you did so (or previously did)
Obviously the more times you enter, the better your chances of winning. ☺ Don’t forget to leave your email address! The winner will be announced on May 31st and contacted via email. Good luck!!
♥
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Last month, Gracen and I were lucky enough to receive a discovery kit from 
Gracen was thrilled to receive a bright and beautiful package full of fun goodies and I was thrilled with how quickly it arrived and how professional the package looked.
Sparked discovery kits come with everything you need to complete several projects right there inside the box – markers, paper, pencils and instructions included! Our kit was pirate-themed and came with four easy activities… A folded paper pirate hat to make, a wooden treasure chest to decorate, a treasure map to create, and a popsicle stick parrot puppet to assemble.
Grae was super excited to get started and chose to make the paper pirate hat first (talk about taking me back to my childhood!)
Though the finished product wouldn’t quite stay on her head, for us, projects like these are all about the process. We spent time together, we worked as a team, and we had fun together, and that’s what’s important. If we wanted to, we could attach some sort of elastic easily enough and add the hat to her 
Next up, Gracen chose to decorate her treasure box. At first she began adding splashes of colour here and there and then she requested that I draw some shapes for her to colour in. She thought decorating a wooden box was a blast and I loved that Sparked had included high-quality crafting products for us to use.
While we haven’t had a chance to make our treasure map yet, there are already plenty of things I love about Sparked Kids Crafts…
When I learned about 
The story, which was originally a lullaby written by singer songwriter 
Accompanying the soft, lyrical words are gorgeous, dream-like watercolour illustrations done by artist Shari-Anne Vis. Gracen and I were lucky enough to meet Shari-Anne {and her little boy} a while back and not only is she absolutely lovely {and obviously remarkably talented}, but she’s a real mom, which I just adore.
Grae and I have enjoyed this book time and again over the course of the last few weeks. She loves the whimsical little animals throughout and the book is the perfect size to take along with us in the car.
And as an added bonus, included is a link so you can enjoy Sheree’s song and the book {and a little drum session if you’re Grae} at once.
I love having Miss G make decisions for herself (age appropriate ones of course), so we sat down at the computer together and scrolled through the 
The polish arrived at our doorstep just two days after ordering, and of course my little mail lover was more than thrilled to open up the package and find her new polishes.
Grae decided that she’d like to try the teal paint on her toes first (and I tried the sparkly one on my fingernails just for fun). Besides the ridiculously quick shipping, there were many things I loved about the polish right away. First off, there’s no reeky smell involved. If anything, the scent reminded me of being in my Grade 12 art class during our clay / sculpting unit, and rightfully so as Piggy Paint’s tagline is ‘natural as mud’. 
Now… The one thing I don’t love about Piggy Polish is that it doesn’t last that long. These are Miss G’s toes 4 days after applying the polish, and in all honesty, it started to chip off a day and half to two days in. Buuuuuut, in its defence, although we did blow dry the polish for one to two minutes as recommended, we did not have the base or top coat to try, both of which increase its durability. And here’s the other thing… Can one really expect polish that is free of all toxins to last as long as its chemical-filled cousin? I think not. And frankly, I’m fine with a little girl’s nail polish only last a couple of days… It’s just for fun after all. ☺
I’ve seen 
This afternoon we took out our crate, opened it up, and found all of the materials needed to put together a window garden. Needless to say, my little gardening enthusiast was thrilled.
Included was a clearly laid out instruction card complete with diagrams, and a sweet little observation booklet for Miss G to draw in. 
We carefully set up the garden, referring back to the instruction card after each step. Gracen, Miss ‘Let’s Do a Project!’, loved it and took her work very seriously.
With the exception of really making sure the suction cups were stuck to the window and printing the words “mint” and “basil”, Grae was able to do everything on her own, which was lovely.
We now have a sweet little garden set up right in our living room and I can’t wait to help Grae water it each day and watch as our fresh herbs grow. ☺
Though still early, our Halloween festivities began this afternoon when our little family of three headed down to the PNE Forum to take in 
We arrived to the Forum, selected aisle seats four rows from the front (score!), settled in, and waited for the show to begin. 
Despite the fact that the show is intended to be non-scary and suitable for children of all ages, I’d be fibbing if I said Grae wasn’t a little bit frightened by a few of the characters (mainly Wendela the witch, but also Cranium the Mad Scientist and Vinne the Vampire). It was enough for her to ask to go for an unneeded bathroom break, as well as for her to tell us that she was sleepy and wanted to go home, but then again this is our ultra-sensitive little girl we’re talking about… The one who has been known to burst into big alligator tears during ‘Five Little Ducks’ because she feels so sad for the mama duck who’s lost her ducklings.
Luckily the “scary” parts were broken up by fun, upbeat dances and didn’t last very long. Before we knew it, Priscilla the {very cheerful and not at all scary} Princess was on stage and Gracen was happy to continue watching the show while eating her dinner.
Of course, with the help of her friends, Wendella the Witch eventually discovers the true spirit of Halloween (because we attended the very last show of five, I don’t feel badly about sharing how it ended), and all is right in Boo Alley once again. The cast celebrates with a giant high-energy dance number and at the end, kids are invited to get up and dance alongside the characters.
The show was just over an hour long with a 15 minute intermission included, which was perfect for Gracen. Afterwards, children were invited to visit the cast of characters in a separate area of the arena to trick-or-treat. Grae happily collected a couple of little goodies and then we were on our way.
Overall, I’d highly recommend this show to those thinking about attending next year. The show length was perfect, the intermission was great for bathroom breaks, the aisles were nice and wide so kids could get up and move, and the show itself was fun and engaging.
Mama. Papa. Bubba. 