The Fastest Year Ever

My son will be a year old in exactly 3 weeks. Can anybody tell me where the heck this year went??? People told me it would fly by, but sheesh! This was really, REALLY fast.

Theo is walking (has been for almost a month now, actually), and he is officially a toddler. He looks hilariously like an old drunkard as he stumbles about our apartment. He is so fiercely independent, and fearless! He will walk into a dark room, go out to a room I'm not in -- he's master of his world and I love it. Most male children that I have been around are much less independent than their female conterparts, but Theo is my child, independent, fearless, and aggressive. It should be a flippin' BLAST to see how we fare during his adolescence, LOL. All in all I must say, that despite the exhaustion and the emotional turmoil and the bumps along the way, Theo and I have done very well this year. My son is smart and healthy and happy.

I am relatively sane.

So, here's to one heck of an accomplishment! YAY, THEO AND MOMMY!!! YOU GUYS RAWK!!!! :-)

Stop & Shop: Who Knew A Supermarket Would Care That Much About Moms!

I attended a Stop & Shop hosted luncheon at Sarabeth’s last Thursday. It was surprisingly informative -- with a decisive slant towards Moms. It was great to meet other Mom bloggers and to be at an event that was so welcoming.

During our wonderful lunch we listened to Stop & Shop and PeaPod employees talk about the changes they were making with their customers - Moms especially - in mind. We then were treated to a demonstration on how to make really tasty Chocolate Chip cookies by the owner of the restaurant, Sarabeth.

What struck me about Stop & Shop was that this was a company that obviously cares about their customers. They've clearly listened to customer complaints and suggestions. For starters, they are offering two new programs that will minimize shopping time: the Easy Scan program and the Deli Pre-Order program.

The Easy Scan program will allow customers to operate a hand-held device that can scan each item as it is placed into your shopping cart so that you can check out without waiting on those mile-long lines.

The Deli Pre-Order program will allow customers to input their Deli orders into a computer kiosk and then go on with their shopping. When their order is up, they get called over the loud speaker! Moms at the Luncheon commented that the Deli line is almost always a huge time-waster.

What got me very excited though was their affordable organics line!!! I feed my son organic baby food, and once he starts eating table food I want to stay with organic foods. I've never really eaten organics before, but I am committed to do so now. Organics are EXPENSIVE though, aren't they? When I look at the prices at some of these organic super-chain markets, it's a wonder how anyone can afford organics at all!!! So, imagine how thrilled I was when they said that Stop & Shop now has an affordable organics brand called “Nature’s Promise". WHOO HOO!

All in all, it was a great experience. It was great to know that a major company takes the time to do the little things that will positively impact Moms - and therefore whole families. There isn't a Stop & Shop in my borough, but the "Nature's Promise" line might be incentive enough for me to bug my Dad to drive me out to Brooklyn just so I can stock up on organics -- affordably!!!