Sales tax holiday in Connecticut

It's that time of year where the kids are going back to school and your little ones are in need of a new wardrobe ready for Fall. If the idea of cost brings you out in cold sweats, don't panic. This week is Connecticut's annual sales tax holiday on clothing costing under $300!

For this week only, sales tax is omitted from shoe and clothing purchases providing the total bill comes to less than $300. This also includes 'Layaway' items, but only if you put your items on layaway during that week. Unfortunately, the tax holiday does not apply to those items that you are waiting to purchase and pick up. Other exclusions from the tax holiday include purchases made by phone, mail-order and internet.

It's the perfect excuse for a trip to the mall and, who knows, you may even find a little something for yourself! There are plenty of great shopping malls to choose from, such as the Crystal Mall in Waterford, West Farms Mall in Hartford, Evergreen Walk in South Windsor etc.

For more information, please visithttp://www.ct.gov/drs/cwp/view.asp?A=1436&Q=419704

Watercolor paints

The Dude had his weekly toddler class today. We experimented with watercolor paints. I have to say I admire his ambition for not getting it on his clothing. I wasn't too happy about the fact that he didn't give a tiny rats ass about mine.

Still, he made his first masterpiece and it has pride of place on my fridge next to his Crayola efforts. At the rate he's knocking them out I think I'm going to need two fridges!

Does your child like to draw or paint? If so tell me about it! Just post a comment below.

Our Favourite Hobby

The Dude and I love visiting the library. He enjoys choosing books for Mommy to read to him and I love watching him make his selections. It's so funny to watch him pull books off of the shelf and discard the ones that don't interest him, while he holds on for dear life to the ones that do. He's only 15 months old.

It reminds me of the visits my Mom and I used to make to the library in London. It was a huge old place, full to bursting with every book imaginable. It was always such a treat when we went with Mom, but now I'd like it to become a habit for our family. It's so much fun to browse the shelves and choose a book that you can't wait to get your teeth into. I could get lost for hours in a good book and not notice where the time has gone. I've always been the same, especially when it comes to library books.

We're a bunch of book worms in our house and it looks as though Little one is following in our footsteps. He loves a certain book called 'Dear Zoo' which funnily enough, I owned when I was a kid. We've already taken it out of the library twice and over the course of a day, he'll bring it to me at least 6 times for me to read with him and each sitting requires us to look through it about 8 or 9 times before he's willing to look at a different book.

What I also think is fab about the library is that there are so many free programs available throughout the year like foreign movie nights and Q&A sessions with local authors. Our local library hosts a kids story time once a week which is followed by a free craft, and in some libraries in the area they host a story time for babies and toddlers too.

Do you enjoy visiting your library? Are there any books in particular that your kids tend to gravitate toward? Share your experiences here and post a comment!

Forever Blowing Bubbles

Little Dude has been attending some toddler classes recently at the Children's Museum of South Eastern Connecticut. (Fabulous place if ever you get the chance to visit!) Every week they have an activity to do such as playing with felt shapes. This week, we played with bubbles and I have to say I've never seen a child so transfixed. He was so in awe of the delicate balls of soapy water floating through the air that he couldn't move. So after class, I bought him a bottle of bubbles to take home.

He still doesn't quite know how they work or where they come from, but I've found that it helps to soothe his tantrums, they help him to relax him before bed and generally keeps him out of trouble.

So to all you Mamas out there who are searching for that one thing that will help distract your little one's and keep them calm and quiet, I recommend blowing a few bubbles. And don't forget to let me know how you get on with it! Just post a comment below.

No place like home

It's a moment in life that I never want to repeat again as long as I live. I'm sure plenty of you have been there and can sympathise. My Hound went missing. It was awful.

Thankfully, four and a half hours later he returned but was covered in bug bites, scratches and all kinds of crap from the woods. Where he went we'll never know. I'm just glad he's home.

But it got me thinking about something our dog trainer told us about how hounds typically follow their noses and easily get too lost to find their way home again. So how did he find his way back? Was it pure determination to return to the ones he loves and who love him so completely and unconditionally? Or was it just luck?

Whatever helped him find his way back, I'm thankful for it.

Growing Veg

I have been growing some herbs for a little while now. I get so excited when I see new seedlings appear. So when our family took a trip to the local 'Home Depot', I took a stroll through the garden center.

It felt like a candy store! All kinds of vegetable packets and grow kits lined the shelves and a variety of bulbs hung on stands. But what amazed me even more were the amount of people buying these little packets ready to take home and nurture.

My Husband and I would like to have a few veggies growing in the garden for a couple of reasons; to be more self-sufficient and to teach our son that food does not grow on shelves in a supermarket. We want him to have a healthy attitude to food and a good understanding of where it comes from. We want to do our bit for the environment and reduce our family's food miles.

So to see other families huddled around the seed section choosing which vegetables to grow, really made my day. I'm so glad to see kids learning about nature and being involved in where their food comes from. It's so important for kids to be out and about learning new things instead of being sat indoors watching television.

Spring is definitely here and I can't wait to tuck into my greens. I'm looking forward to Little Dude being able to enjoy them too - not just by eating them, but by watching the magic as they grow.