Zoo Pals

It's been some kinda week folks. Yes, I totally and completely realize it's only Wednesday :)

I am most thankful for my stay-at-home mommy day that rolls around every Wednesday. It's like a breath of fresh air right smack in the middle of the week. Coop and I get to stay in our pjs until shamefully late, have lunchdates and playdates, take TLC naps, and splash at the pool.

We got some unexpected news on Friday. It's ok though because again, our God is bigger than any tough news we will ever receive. Right in the middle of our not-so-great news, I landed myself in the ER at Northside. Totally unrelated and totally equally not-so-great. It's just been a roll up your sleeves (and crawl into bed) kind of week.

Chris is the best best best hubby in all the world. He is a super dad/super husband extraordinaire. He takes the best care of me and Coop. He did the grocery shopping this week, wheeled Coop around the lobby of the hospital with animal crackers and fruit punch at 10 o'clock at night, picked him up from school early two days in a row in order to rescue him from the doom of preschool adjustment, and hasn't uttered a single complaint about any of it.

In other news, we've been battling a certain little 13 month old as he has mastered the art of food-slinging. Man, he is good. Drives us bonkers. Nutsos. Fling. Fling.

He's got the casual-over-the-shoulder drop, when he thinks no one's watching. He's got the wind-up-and-let 'em-have-it catapult that lands food in the living room. And in the foyer. He's got the let-me-give-mama-a-bite-fake-out that allows him to plop food right on my lap. But this one only happens when I am wearing white or khaki. He's good, I tell you.

Today, he met his match.

Hefty's Zoo Pals Plates. Oh, Coop. Mama got you on this one.

He LOVES his Zoo Pal plates so very very much that he won't DARE fling his plate. Or sling his food. He sits and eats his dinner like a good boy, admiring his frog or his dog or his hog. Bite by bite he gobbles his food up, cheese-ballin it as I praise him and sing him songs like "Our food goes in our mouth, our food goes in our mouth, hi ho the dairio our food goes in our mouth."

Love these plates so much that I even stuck a pack in the diaper bag. No more plastic table cover at Chick-fil-a for us. It's Zoo Pals all the way.

As a speech therapist, I get oober excited about the language stimulation wrapped up within these little beauties. We sit and make animal noises, point to the doggie/froggie/hoggie's nose, talk about where the doggie/froggie/hoggie lives and so on and so on. A product that helps control the goo on our hardwoods AND promotes language development? Get out of town.

My hat's off to you super-geniuses over at Hefty. Thankyouveryverymuch!