Are You Ready? Back to School Guide 2011

It’s that time of year again. Are your kids ready to go back to school? More importantly…Are you ready for them to go back to school? When you’re ready to do some back to school shopping, here are some things you may want to check out.

Crunch Pak Foodles

After attending this year’s Disney Social Media Moms Celebration in Walt Disney World, I was contacted by a company that helps support the Magic of Healthy Living by providing Disney branded produced to supermarkets nationwide. Crunch Pak Foodles are distributed regionally for freshness, and my family got to try Apples with Cheese & Grapes, Apples with Cheese & Pretzels, and the Phineas & Ferb Sweet Sliced Apples Multi-Pak. They were a hit! Getting TJ to eat his fruits and veggies can be a struggle, but he begged me to let him eat these! I would highly recommend putting Foodles into your kid’s lunch bag this school year.

The store locator on their website tells me I can buy Foodles at my local Target and Sam’s Club. I haven’t yet purchased them, so I can’t tell you how much they cost, but having my son not fight me about eating healthy snacks may be worth any price!

77Kids Apparel

I feel guilty because I never got around to posting about the awesome store opening TJ and I attended at our local 77Kids store in Crossgates Mall back in April – we had so much fun! They treated us to breakfast, a store tour, and a $20 gift card. I ended up spending far more than $20 on clothes for TJ! A truly kid-friendly store, TJ was having a ball jumping on the moving lights projected onto the floor, using the photo booth, and hanging out in the dressing room. He told me that the dressing room was his favorite place ever – and I literally had to drag him out of there when it was time to leave.

During our tour, I was told that 77Kids by American Eagle guarantees their clothes will last through 77 washes. That’s pretty impressive, considering I don’t think most of TJ’s clothes get worn that many times before he outgrows them! I get so many compliments on his outfits when he wears the jeans and button down shirts we picked up at the grand opening. They make him look so grown up!

Tom and Drew Boys Apparel

I was contacted about checking out Tom and Drew clothing to review on my blog. I’d never heard of them, but the adorable preppy clothes in their online catalog reeled me in. (They really need to work on the usability of their website, but you would love their printed style book!) I’d been hoping for a little preppy outfit to review for TJ, but I was sent something that did not appear in any of the catalog spreads I’d looked at. Still? Really cute.

I love the bright color of the shark t-shirt he got. My mom’s first comment was that she liked how the shark applique was double-stitched, since that is a sign of higher quality. I would’ve agreed with her if the second line of stitching didn’t mostly unravel after the first time I washed the shirt – on the gentle cycle. So my advice? I love the shirt on him, but I would recommend handwashing Tom and Drew clothing even if the care tag says it’s safe for the washing machine. The clothing tends to be on the pricier side, so you’ll want to protect your investment.

 SOFT Clothing

I feel guilty about this one, because I really thought I reviewed them quite some time ago. SOFT Clothing is an innovative line of children’s apparel with no seams and no tags – perfect for kids with sensory issues. We were sent one of their tagless t-shirts for TJ a while back, and I was very impressed with the quality. (Apparently, it’s been a year and a half since I received the shirt, and it hasn’t worn out!) He used to be so sensitive about clothing that he couldn’t wear anything with buttons on it – his preschool teachers actually told me not to dress him in one particular shirt because he would fidget with the buttons on the cuffs all day long. He still has some sensory issues (much like his mommy does) but he can tolerate buttons now. If he didn’t though? They have a lot of options for kids, some snap clothing that looks like buttons, etc. Tagless t-shirts are a blessing, though. Sure beats having to cut the tags out and hope I don’t ruin the shirt!

If you have a special needs child with sensory issues, it would be worth browsing SOFT Clothing’s selection of soft denim, t-shirts, dressy clothes, cardigans, skirts, seamless socks, and seamless underwear. (Don’t you wish they made some of this stuff for adults?) Click on my banner to the right to browse their site.

Quick Philly Cheese Steak Pizza Snacks

As a little bonus, here’s a quick recipe I was sent by a representative from Steak-umms. (You know them. They make frozen sandwich steaks.) They haven’t compensated me in any way for including them in here, so I don’t feel guilty mentioning that you could substitute your favorite brand of sandwich steaks for Steak-umms in this recipe. 😉

Combine diced onions, diced green peppers and thinly sliced mushrooms in a frypan, break Steak-umm Sliced Steaks into pan and heat, tossing until meat is no longer red. Do not overcook. Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce (optional) on a refrigerated pizza crust. Spread meat mixture over the pizza and top with pizza cheese. Bake according to pizza crust directions. Serve to your hungy children – and any of their friends who may have followed them home!

Would you like your brand to be represented on my next blog guide? I’ve already been contacted by a few brands about my 2011 holiday gift guide. Email me at twilightsun at gmail dot com with the subject line “Cutest Kid Ever Holiday Gift Guide” if you’d like to talk about why your product would be a good fit. I must be able to personally review your product(s) myself so I can stand by my words, so no “spray and pray” press releases, please.

Disclosure: Most of these items were provided to me in exchange for review on my site. No monetary compensation exchanged hands.

Christina Gleason (976 Posts)

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.