My Favorite Things

Even though I haven't seen it in years, I always used to love watching the episode where Oprah shared her favorite things (and then of course gave them to everyone in the audience!). Anyway, as I was making a typical peanut butter and jelly sandwich for Makenna for lunch I got to thinking about how much I love the bread and jelly that I was using. So I decided to make a Favorite Things list regarding the things that this particular mom can't live without :) Some of these ideas were passed on to me from other moms so I thought I'd pass them along to anyone else out there who might be interested. And no, my list is not as extravagant as Oprah's :)

When it comes to food...
Sara Lee Whole Grain White Bread - Perfect combination for our family... we LOVE the taste of white bread but I can't stand that it has absolutely no nutritional value. This product has all the nutrients and dietary fiber of whole grain wheat bread.
Birds Eye Steamfresh Vegetables - Easy, delicious vegetables in just a matter of minutes. You take the bag directly out the freezer (don't need to dirty any pots or pans!) and put it in the microwave for 5 minutes or so and you have delicious vegetables for dinner! Our favorites are the broccoli and peas!
Squeezable Jelly - Doesn't matter the brand, I just hate trying to get jelly out of a regular jar with a knife. This is a much cleaner option.
Kraft Macaroni N Cheese Whole Grain - This is a new product that I love! Now that I can actually make a kiddo favorite with some dietary fiber in it I don't feel quite so guilty when they ask for this for lunch!
Eggo Frozen Whole Grain Waffles - Quick, easy and very healthy breakfast or snack! Also comes in Whole Grain blueberry waffles now too!
Morningstar Chicken Nuggets (and other frozen products) - Another product I just recently discovered. Again, chicken nuggets were a kiddo favorite that I hated serving to my kids because they are so unhealthy but now I have Morningstar. Keep in mind they are actually made with soy protein and they're vegetarian but they actually taste better than the real thing and they're loaded with nutrients and all that stuff that makes kids grow!
Petite Carrots - Makenna loves carrots but I am always so leery because I'm afraid she's going to choke. So just recently I found a bag of Petite Carrots in the store. Basically they are the same thing as Baby Carrots only much smaller and skinnier and thus less of a risk of choking.

Cleaning Products...
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
Hand Sanitizer/Wipes - Josh would probably tell you that I'm obsessed about hand sanitizing...
Foam Hand Soap - Helps kids really learn to lather the soap for good handwashing skills.
Shout Spray
Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface Daily Sanitizing Spray- Safe around kids... you can use it on high chairs, toys, etc and don't have to worry about your kids ingesting the chemicals like in other harsh cleaning products.
Microsteam Bags - Couldn't have lived with out these bags when I was breastfeeding and had to constantly boil and sterilize all the equipment and bottle parts. Three easy minutes in the microwave with these bags and you're set to go!

Toys...
Leap Frog ABC Frig Magnets - I am convinced that this toy (along with parent interaction of course) helped Makenna to learn to identify over half of the alphabet before she was 3 and the rest of it within a few weeks of her 3rd birthday. The toy is now helping her to sound out words and getting her excited about spelling words.
Color Wonder products - Genius!
Washable Crayons, Markers, Paints - Once again, Genius!
Anything by the brand Melissa & Doug - This brand of toy typically is all hard wood and is kind of a throw back to some of the toys you would have seen in the past. I love the durability and simplicity of these toys.

Books...
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child - This book is the basis for all my decisions regarding sleep with my children. My kids have sleep schedules that most people only dream of and I give all the credit to this book.

Clothes...
Adjustable Waist Band Pants - Don't know what I would have done without these for my extremely tall and skinny toddler
Old Navy Socks - I don't know about anyone else but I have just piles of kid socks that don't have matches or know what sizes they are. All Old Navy socks (and I believe Target might make the same thing now too) have the skids on the bottom of the socks (which totally helps prevent my girls from slipping on the wood floors) and the skids spell out what size they are so you aren't constantly guessing!
Carter's Fleece Sleepers - I love footie sleepers for babies and young toddlers and I think Carter's makes some of the best (softest) sleepers out there. Since Makenna's been potty-trained I don't like her to wear one-piece sleepers (she always looked too cold taking off all her clothes in the winter to go to the bathroom!) so Carter's also makes nice fleece 2 piece pajamas for the older kids as well.
Gerber short-sleeved onesies - I'm kind of a nut about keeping my kids warm when they're babies so I have piles and piles of Gerber white short-sleeved onesies. My kids wear them under everything (during the winter at least) until they're about 2. I'm still using the same onesies I bought with Makenna and for the amount of wear and washing they have gone through they have held up considerably well.

Other Random Products...
Sippy Cups - My carpet and couch say thank you!
Aveeno Sunscreen - Only sunscreen that allows Makenna to go out in the sun without breaking out into a horrible rash.
A & D Ointment - Clears up a diaper rash in less than a day.

There are probably lots more but that's what I could come up with off the top of my head. If anyone has anything else to add, please feel free to leave it in the comments section.