I have several good friends that deal with food allergies in their families.  Not until you are close to someone facing this challenge do you realize just how consuming and overwhelming a food allergy diagnosis can be.  There is a lot of worry, perpetual research and constant planning involved, typically with no end in sight.  Fortunately, there are resources to turn to that help families cope, thrive and educate.  Here are just a few good ones I have come across recently:

The Food Allergy Mama , Kelly Rudnicki, is raising four kids in a Chicago suburb.  Her son, John, was diagnosed at age one with severe dairy, egg, peanut, tree nut and legume allergy.  She writes:  ”It has become my life’s purpose to raise awareness and increase funding for food allergy research. I am passionate about not only keeping my son safe, but alive. A food allergy diagnosis is scary; it is the fear of the unknown that keeps us moms of food allergic children awake at night. Class parties, birthday parties, family celebrations, skate night, or even date night…these are all things I think about in regard to my son.”

Check out Kelly’s blog at: www.foodallergymama.com and find everything from advocacy opportunities and recommendations to 504 plan examples and recipes!

You can also order Kelly’s book, The Food Allergy Mama’s Baking Book for your own shelf or for a friend or relative.

Speaking of recipes, you have to check out the gluten-free goddess….

Karina Allrich offers this summary of her gluten-free section of the blogosphere:  ”Each week I share my latest gluten-free recipes, focusing on fresh, seasonal ingredients. Living gluten-free has inspired me to get creative in the kitchen. I hope my recipes inspire you to make your day delicious.”

Don’t you worry about not being inspired if you click over to her site:

See?

And:

I have more sites to share so don’t rush over to www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com just yet!

When there isn’t time to experiment with new recipes or when you’re planning meals during travel, consider consulting Allergy Eats when you’re choosing where to dine:

AllergyEats is another great resource born from the ingenuity of a concerned parent of food-allergic children.  This Dad has five kids, three of them with food allergies.  He also has an economics degree from MIT and almost two decades of experience as a business analyst.

As defined on www.allergyeats.com, “AllergyEats is a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to allergy-friendly restaurants across the United States.  It is a peer-reviewed directory of restaurants – rated by people with food allergies, for people with food allergies.

Our database has over 600,000 restaurant listings across the U.S. – from large chains to small mom and pops, from gourmet to greasy spoons. We’ve laid the groundwork by providing you with menus (including gluten-free), allergen lists, certifications, nutritional info, phone numbers, website links, and more, where available, as well as other relevant information from restaurants.”

Conveniently, this information is available to you through a new mobile app you can download for your iPhone or Android!  What a wealth of valuable information to have at your fingertips, all in one place!

This last site I’m sharing today is a direct sales company called Wildtree.  Their goal is to help parents serve up “natural, nutritious foods that do not aggravate existing medical conditions or food allergies and sensitivities.”   They differentiate their products in the marketplace by affirming that they are free of preservatives, additives, MSGs and food colorants and dyes.

For example,  ”…add one tablespoon of our Hearty Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning to a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes and heat. The sauce is great and does not contain any undesirable additives. You can also use your own garden fresh tomatoes. Add mushrooms, onions, a little Grapeseed oil or olive oil or anything else to personalize the sauce. Cost? about $1.50 for 28 ounces – not $2.49 for 10 ounces.

Wildtree was founded by Leslie Montie when she discovered that her children required special dietary restrictions because of medical conditions.  She says:  ”It was amazing how this impacted our entire family.  I needed to come up with meals that my children would not react to, yet still enjoy. And since I was a full-time working mom, they had to be easy to make.”  She set out experimenting with her parents, Frank and Judy, and remembers ”It was really a hit and miss sort of process and we came up with some great ideas.  I remember thinking that others could benefit from what we discovered; how to make mealtime an enjoyable and effortless experience, dietary restrictions or not!”

In 1999 Wildtree officially launched as a party plan company and has grown tremendously over the last decade.

Check out their products or place orders at  www.mywildtree.com

There are other sites that are a great resource for adults and children with food allergies- if you know about one, let us know!

One of my greatest pleasures is finding a blog or column, anything updated regularly, by a talented, insightful writer that speaks to my soul with their writing.  What a treat it is to be able to turn to their little section of cyberspace for support, consolation, inspiration or humor whenever I need it.

I first found Kristin Armstrong on the Runner’s World website when a friend familiar with my affinity for writing by strong women recommended I take a look.  I fell in love with her style immediately and I am more impressed with her insight and satisfied with her metaphors every time I read her work.

For instance, she recently wrote a wonderful piece about what she refers to as “Redwood Friendships” about long-standing friendships that endure the ups and downs, ins and outs that are inevitable in life and relationships.  In this piece she wrote “I got to meet Christi’s best friend and experience the always wonderful phenomenon of past-present-collision, otherwise known as the transitive property of friendship, when friend A and friend C automatically love each other because friend B is beloved to both.”  The transitive property of friendship.  Isn’t that great?  What a wonderful lens Kristen uses to view her world and the people around her.  Her positivity is contagious.

It is with great anticipation that I look forward to reading Kristin’s book (she has several!), Mile Markers.  You can get your hands on a copy from Amazon for $11!

Whether or not you run, I think you’ll find her insights meaningful.  I highly encourage you to follow her (for free!) through Runners World at http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com

I know you’ll love this post about dealing with messes in life, it’s one of my recent favorites:  http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com/2011/05/mess.html

Do you have a favorite blog or column that speaks to you?  Share it with us, we might love it as much as you do!

With so many hours of daylight during summer months, it’s not uncommon for my family to be out riding bikes or playing in the backyard so late into the afternoon that dinner sneaks up on us.  I have a few quick and easy chicken recipes that are my go-to meals when this happens and I thought you might like to have them in your collection too; I only have them myself because friends and family have shared them with me!

Chicken and Rice
1 1/4 cup long grain white rice
14 ounces chicken broth
5 tablespoons premium lemon pepper
6 tablespoons of melted butter
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1.Preheat oven to 350.
2. Sprinkle lemon Pepper liberally to both sides of breasts.
3. Using a non-greased 9″x13″ glass baking dish place the chicken, melted butter and the chicken broth or chicken boullion inside.
4. Bake for 10-15 Minutes.
5. Remove the baking pan and the chicken from it. Add the rice in the pan and distribute evenly. Place the chicken breasts back inside and COVER WITH FOIL!
6. Put pan back in the oven.
7. Bake 35 Minutes.

*You will never again use water to make rice after you taste this goodness.  Always chicken stock!

Chicken Enchiladas

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 TBS butter, softened

1 can green chilies (more if desired)

1 8 oz package cream cheese

¼ cup minced onion (more if desired)

6 flour tortillas

2 cans enchilada sauce (your favorite)

grated cheese to top (your favorite)

green onions to top (if desired)

1. Cook, cool and chop chicken- food processor works well.
2. In one tablespoon of butter, sauté onion for two minutes.
3. Add green chilies.
4. Cut cream cheese into chunks and add to onion and green chilies.
5. When cream cheese is softened, turn heat off and add chicken.
6. Using the other tablespoon of butter, coat casserole dish (or just spray with cooking spray and get it over with!).
7. Cut tortillas into quarters with kitchen shears.  Layer tortillas, enchilada sauce, chicken mixture and cheese repeatedly (lasagna style).
8. Cover with enchilada sauce and top with cheese.
9. Bake for 10 -20 minutes until heated through and cheese has melted.

* Sometimes I throw the chicken in the oven for 25 min. at 350 in the morning so this is a snap to pull together in the afternoon and only cooks for about 15 minutes!

**It will seem like there is not enough sauce or mixture to cover, but the layers do not need to be thick or complete, it will be just right.

Salsa Chicken

(*a Pillsbury recipe)

3  cups hot cooked couscous or rice

1  tablespoon oil

¼  cup coarsely chopped almonds

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 chicken thighs, skin removed

1 cup Old El Paso® Salsa

¼ cup water

2  tablespoons dried currants or raisins

1  tablespoon honey

¾  teaspoon cumin

½  teaspoon cinnamon

1. Cook couscous or rice as directed on package.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add almonds; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from skillet; set aside.
3. Add garlic and chicken to skillet; cook 4 to 5 minutes until chicken is browned, turning once.
4. In small bowl, combine salsa and all remaining ingredients; mix well. Add to chicken.
5. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.
6. Stir in almonds. Serve over couscous or rice.

If you have a quick and easy dinner recipe, by all means share it with us!

Finding time to take care of ourselves is a challenge most parents of young children have in common.   I find this ironic because when else in our lives do we need the energy that staying healthy provides more than when our children are little?!

I have been focusing on improving my overall health and making a serious effort to somehow fit regular exercise into my weekly routine.  For me it has to be working out from home; it’s just not feasible any other way in our house.   Every family schedule is different but no matter how you slice it, working out from home is a convenience that’s hard to beat.   Whether it’s a walk, a run or a workout video in the house, there’s no commute and, unless you decide to invest in serious exercise equipment, the cost is minimal!

In the summer and fall I did well because I could get out with the kids on their bikes and get a pretty good walk in.  Then the temperature dropped and I needed another plan.   I decided to try Jillian Michaels – 30 Day Shred dvd, available for $9!!, and I love it.

Here’s what I like about it:

• It has three levels of workouts and each workout is less than a half hour and moves you quickly through cardio, strength and ab circuits so it has never felt monotonous.
• There is an ‘easy’ person to follow and a ‘hard’ person to, well, not follow in my case!
• I can select a music only option and not have to listen every time to instruction that I’ve heard before.

What I’m excited to add to my routine next is Zumba.  Conveniently, there are Zumba classes for adults at the gymnastics academy 2 minutes from our house.  Unfortunately, they don’t start early enough for me to get there before my husband leaves for work.   So instead, I will be trying this:

Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation System DVD Set

My aunt and cousins love this dvd set and they stress how much fun it is to do with your family.  They feature the inventor of Zumba, “Beto” Perez, as the instructor.  I like the idea of learning from the person that started it and isn’t it so nice to have someone else try before you buy?  There was also some mention of learning new dance moves for the club, which is hilarious because I’m sure I have usually been sleeping for 4 hours by the time clubs even open, hah!

We polled our fans on facebook and here’s what else they are doing at home to keep fit:

• Insanity: The Ultimate Cardio Workout and Fitness DVD Program
• Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board
• Just Dance 2
• P90X Plus – Workout DVD(I know two people who have experienced incredible weight loss results with this one.)
• OnDemand workouts  (I never even thought of checking for this!)

Have you tried any of these?   I would love to hear what works for you at home and why you like it!

Photo by Ed Yourdon

Being a mom is a full-time job in itself! As a mother of two energetic boys with a full time career in fitness, Kristy DiScipio, of Equinox Fitness, shares tips that have helped her lose the baby weight, reduce stress and balance home and work life.  Below, please find some tips to help you slim down and calm down:

SCHEDULE IT IN: As a mom, you are the ultimate multi-tasker, NASA comes to you for advice on how to run the Command Center. But, do you put everyone else’s needs ahead of your own? Put yourself on the top of the to-do list and schedule your workouts on the calendar just like any other commitment. Make an appointment with yourself and keep it.

OH PLEASE TAKE MY BABY (WELL ONLY FOR A LITTLE WHILE): NO Guilt, NO Regret. Before you join a health club, make sure it has child care that’s safe and fun for your little one and also will keep them entertained as they get older. Be sure to ask about age ranges as some clubs begin accepting babies as soon as 3 months and others 6 months. I use kids’ clubs here at Equinox and my kids LOVE it, they have computers, books, creative play toys, arts and crafts, and DVDS so even older kids can play while you work out. Typically, gyms set a two-hour maximum on babysitting. While your little ones are happily playing, aim to exercise three to five times a week for 30 to 60 minutes each time and do a combination of cardio and strength work. Or better yet, take a class. Get your heart pumping with Cycling, Boxing Boot Camp or a cardio/sculpt workout such as Chisel’d or get your Zen on with a yoga class.

EXPRESS YOURSELF: Get your Vogue on and Dance. Dancing is a super calorie burner and cardio workout. Crank up your iPod, toss in a DVD, or take a dance class at your gym or dance studio. The key ingredient is to keep moving.  According to the Mayo Clinic, for a 140-pound woman, one hour of dancing burns about 300 calories.

DOWN-DOG PUSH-UPS: Whether you are a Yogi or want to get down and play, try the down dog push -up. From Downward facing dog Push-up with 1 leg lifted. Keep the elbows in, hips high, lower your chest to the floor between your hands on the exhale and inhale back up to down dog split – 5 on each side. It’s ROUGH! But very efficient if you have about 30 sec.

SCHLEP BETTER: When carrying you baby, the diaper bag, the stroller and all the other necessities, make it a point to alternate sides to even out the balance of your working muscles.

INVEST IN A JOGGER STROLLER AND A BABY CARRIER: Walk, jog or bike whenever possible, and place your children in a stroller or child carrier. The extra resistance will make the workout all the more efficient. Great cardiovascular benefits, toning for the legs and core. You can also use the stroller as extra balance so you can do plie squats to tone the inner leg muscles, two hands on facing the bar and get in some squats to hit the glutes and turn side ways with one hand on the bar for leg swings, a great dynamic stretch for the hip flexors.

USE BABY AS WEIGHT: No time to fit a workout in at the gym? Work out at home. Incorporate your little one into your workout. Walk up and down the stairs with your child on your back in an infant carrier. Hold baby in front of you as you do squats and lunges, great for glutes, core and leg strength. Sit baby in front of you as you lie on your side and do leg lifts, gear up for summer swim suits. Find your inner comedienne, laugh and joke with your baby as you do burpees, jumping jacks or while running in place, laugh your butt off! If your baby is in its walking stages, play follow the leader and have them march in line with you. Simon Says is also a big favorite of mine when your child is in their toddler years. Be silly, outrageous and most importantly have fun!

GOODNIGHT MOON, PRE-BEDTIME RITUALS: Down regulate both yourself and you little ones with some child friendly yoga. Let your imagination run wild as you become the down-dog, angry cat, wild child, silly monkey, yawning lion, and the lounging buddah. Tell stories of imagination as you work through each posture, creating an environment of serenity and imagination. My kids loved this while I read to them Where the Wild Things Are and I Love You This Much and also Curious George.

PLAYTIME: Get out of house and head to the playground or local park. Swing across the monkey bars, climb stairs, do step-ups, triceps dips, and push-ups on the park bench. Some city parks have built-in circuit training, called parcourses, there is one in my neighbor hood at Seaside Park in Marblehead. Both I and my kids love this outdoor challenge. We make it a game and have lots of fun and it doesn’t seem like exercise at all. There are multiple stations throughout the park/trail, with equipment and suggested exercises, such as doing push-ups, ab curls, ladder drills or climbing stairs. Each station offers a suggested number of repetitions based on your fitness level and even has pictures/diagrams of the exercises.

EVERYDAY TIPS:

Wear a pedometer and get to 10.000 steps! I just downloaded an Application for my iPhone called, All-In Pedometer. It is super easy to use and makes it easy to track your daily activity

Stop eating all the kids’ leftovers!

Walk kids to school. Jog back home to get an extra cardio/calorie burn.

Use a stability ball instead of a chair at your computer. Great way to tone the core muscles.

Cut down what you eat by 1/3

Take stairs no escalators

Hula hoop with the kids.

Get 8 hours of sleep a night and most importantly have fun!

************

When I read these tips it just seems so easy!  So why am I off-track most of the time??

What ideas do you have to add?  What works for you?  Share your goods, friends!

Have you been watching celebrities and the uber-elite having fun in the Hamptons this summer?  Now you can take a little of the Hamptons home with you via Southampton-based The Elegant Setting.  The Elegant Setting has a store on Main Street in Southampton, but more accessibly, a website where you can shop directly from your home.  There you’ll find the finishing touches to bring that relaxed yet elegant Hamptons style home with you.

And you get a chance to win a $100 shopping spree, so let’s start shopping…

Seersucker Makeup Bags ($64.00)
These cosmetic bags offer a fashionable solution for storing toiletries and cosmetics for travel or for a touch-up kit to leave in the office or car, or smaller items such as hair accessories and baby supplies. Each bag is vinyl covered inside and out for easy cleaning.

Flag Tote ($85.00)
A stylish accessory for the earth conscientious teenager. This natural canvas tote has royal blue handles, trim, with American flag icon is a patriotic way to bring extra clothes to a weekend BBQ or swimsuits to the pool. Tote is sold as is, or may be personalized for an additional $20.00.

Embroidered Cocktail Napkin (Set of 6, $48.00)
These nautical themed, embroidered white linen napkins add a great touch of style to serving cocktails on the boat or hosting a dinner party with an ocean view. They are also a thoughtful hostess gift.

Elegant Setting Calendars ($68.00)
A top-seller, our desktop calendar with easel is made exclusively for The Elegant Setting. Each sturdy, 6×6 card displays a different artistic image that you are sure to love, whether you flip through immediately or you save as special surprise every month. Makes a wonderful gift or a delightful addition to your own work space. Refill calendars available each year.

Embroidered Beach Towels ($65.00)
Perfect gift item for a beach house, these 100% cotton terry embroidered beach towels are striped and have a woven border. Personalize with a monogram, beach name or house name.
Available colors: Sand/White, Periwinkle/White, Orange/White, Lime Green/White, Lemon/White, Red/White

Natural Bamboo Picture Frames ($36.00 and up)
Made of authentic bamboo wood, these charming pictures frames are a great gift for anyone looking for a unique photo display. Perfect for beach or vacation photos. Available in four sizes and two color shades of dark or light bamboo. Due to the authenticity of the wood, please expect shape and color variations.

Giveaway

You can win a $100 The Elegant Setting shopping spree just by leaving a comment by Friday, August 20th and I’ll choose the winner using Random.org on Saturday, the 21st.

Here’s how to gain extra entries (please leave them as separate entries):

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!
2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is.  We’d love to have them join us!
3. “Like” The Good Stuff Guide on Facebook and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways. (I LIKE you too!)

(Feel free to do them all – that’s a total of 4 entries!)

Good luck!

Be sure to check out The Elegant Setting to see more tips on elegant living!   Special thanks to the website for this excellent giveaway!

Honestly, this is like Christmas for me to be able to give all this fun stuff away…

And I’m sure you secretly love it too.

So to start things off with a bang, I’d like you to meet the Flip UltraHD 2Hour (2nd Generation):

Isn’t she purdy??

Several years ago we sold our big video camera because we just never had it around, or never had the batteries charged, or we couldn’t get it all set up by the time the real action occurred.

We opted instead for this little beauty (except ours is 1Hour – so last generation) and we never looked back…

Here’s what I love:

1. It is sooo light and easy to toss in a purse, bag, pocket.

2. Takes 2 AA batteries – so no more chargers – and inexplicably, they last a really long time.

3. Hello easy!  You turn it on, push the red button (idiot-proof!) and you’re in business.

I’ve also been really impressed with the zoom.  I haven’t missed my big elephant of a video camera once.

Then you plug it in to your USB port, and download.  From there, you can easily upload to YouTube, Facebook, or any other place you view videos.

Giveaway

You can win one Flip UltraHD 2Hour (2nd Generation)  just by leaving a comment by Tuesday, June 22nd and I’ll choose the winner using Random.org on Wednesday, the 23rd.

You can even choose your color: white or black.

Here’s how to gain extra entries:

1. Do you subscribe by email or RSS to The Good Stuff Guide? I love my subscribers, so you get an extra entry. Wahoo!
2. Email 5 of your friends about The Good Stuff Guide and tell them what a rockin’ website this is.  We’d love to have them join us!
3. Tweet about this Father’s Day Week of Giveaways (Just cut and paste): It’s a whole week of #Giveaway for Father’s Day at The Good Stuff Guide @GoodStuffGuide http://su.pr/2TJPO2
4. Share the news of this giveaway on your Facebook status (Just cut and paste): It’s a whole week of Giveaways for Father’s Day @The Good Stuff Guide http://su.pr/2TJPO2
5. Become a Facebook fan of The Good Stuff Guide and receive the latest news and your chance at additional giveaways.

(Feel free to do them all – that’s a total of 6 entries!)

Good luck!

And many thanks to Flip Video for this awesome giveaway!

Photo by D Sharon Pruitt

I’m hoping I’m not too late with this  – I know the schools in the South start their summers uber-early.  My elder adorable’s last day is coming up very soon so I’m getting my gifts for his terrific teachers ready now.

I’ve been polling friends for their favorite gift ideas (teachers agreed: no more mugs!) and here’s my short-and-sweet list:

1.  Personalized pre-loaded Visa cards from Giftcards.com

The last couple of years, all the moms in my adorable’s class have been pooling their money for one large gift.  Giftcards.com provides a personalized pre-loaded Visa card (in any amount) for a fee of $3.95-5.95.  I love this idea because teachers can use it anywhere for anything.

2.  A gift certificate to a local restaurant or book store

Treat your teacher to a new book, a meal, or “coffee on me”.

3. Gear for the beach or pool

How about a new beach towel, flip flops, book and sunscreen for their relaxing time?

4. Something sweet and baked by you and your adorable

Lemon bars, chocolate chip cookies, cakes, breads, you name it.  Your adorable’s pride will shine through.

5. Movie Night!

Fill a popcorn bowl with microwave popcorn, seasonings, movie theater candy and a Blockbuster or Netflix gift card.

6. A gift certificate for a mani and/or pedi

Need I say more??

7. A donation of some of your adorable’s favorite books for the class library

Be sure to inscribe the books with something like “A favorite book of Your Adorable’s Name: 2010″ so other students can be delighted to find it later.

8. A gift certificate to your local Teacher store

We all know teachers often spend their own money for teaching supplies, and wouldn’t this be appreciated?

9. A monogrammed tote bag from Land’s End for carting all their papers to grade, plan book, etc

Am I the only one who just adores these?  I use them for everything and I can’t have enough of them.

10.  An invitation to dinner in your home

Have your adorable help you create the menu and cook.  A friend of mine’s brother taught Meatloaf (the singer)’s adorables and they invited him to dinner at their home to get to know him.  #1: He got to have dinner at Meatloaf’s house, and #2: what a great way to really get to know your teachers.  Make sure to include your teacher’s spouse and perhaps their adorables.

I hope these ideas help!  Please share your great ideas below too.

The Running Man and I sat down to make sure we had the same procedures come bedtime.  Bath and teeth, followed by books and then lights out.  We came up with some strategies that we would both use if Plan A didn’t produce sleep.  The logic was, if our approach was consistent, our adorable would eventually quit trying all the funny business and just go to sleep.

Around the same time,  I went to a discipline workshop at our preschool looking for some ideas.  The speaker provided some sound advice on many different issues that parents were having but what really stuck with me was the mantra,

“Reward the behavior you would like repeated.”

This, I later realized, is perhaps the over-arching answer to any problem you are having with your adorables (or anyone, as I think of it).

So I immediately put these reward charts into play…

Really anything that you’d like your adorables to practice warrants the reward chart.  In our home, adorable #1 gets stickers for clean-up and a good bedtime routine.  Adorable #2, who is only 2 1/2 and doesn’t fully understand (or frankly care about) the sticker concept, receives them for clean-up.  This type of reward cards are available in any teacher store or office supply store that has a teacher aisle.

When the chart is full, the adorables receive a special treat, sometimes a very small toy, or a special outing.  Because he has the opportunity to receive 2 stickers/day, he’s on track to finish his card about every 12-13 days, so plan the reward accordingly.

Whatever the reward, the collecting of stickers is WORKING!  We haven’t had a multi-hour bedtime marathon in a long time, and clean-up is often initiated by them to get their stickers.

Since his card was full, we made a very special outing to a huge indoor play area nearby:

Kid heaven!

And needless to say, bedtime was a breeze after this place…

“Reward the behavior you would like repeated.”

What type of reward systems do you have in place in your home?  What’s worked for you?

*Heaven*

It’s just 45 minutes away, but it’s not on the way to any of my usual haunts, so it feels like a trek.

Here’s my rule I repeat to myself as I walk through the door (while focusing on my deep breaths): I need to have a place for it at home before I buy it.

None of this, “I’ll just figure out where to put it.”

It needs to have a place and fit there perfectly.

This saves The Running Man large credit card bills. (Boy, does he love the small ones the best.)

Okay, so here some of my favorites to check out next time you’re there:

1) Dristans food storage containers – $1.99 for 3

I’m using them for drawer organizers for Bakugan, Pokeman the multitude of other little pieces that the adorables find priceless.

2) Legitim Cutting Boards – $2.99 for one large and one small

I have 4 sets of these and we use them several times a day.  I love the small ones for cutting up fruit snacks for the adorables.

3) Trojka Scissors – $1.99

These are the best scissors, even better than the $15 kitchen shears I registered for that are too good to use and throw into the dishwasher.  So they sit on the shelf while I beat the heck out of these.  I bought several sets thinking I would just replace them when they gave out from all of my abuse.  And as always happens, after 6 years,  I’m still using the original pair.  But now I’ve stowed the rest around the house (up above the adorables reach because these are wicked sharp): in the bathroom, at my mail area, in my wrapping area, in my toolbox, and I replenish every year at IKEA *just in case*.

4) Akut Kitchen Utensil set – $.79 for 3, yes that was 79 cents

These make a trip through the dishwasher every day.  These very small utensils are the perfect size for my one-man scrambled eggs in the morning, Ramen noodles or Mac & Cheese at lunch for the adorables.  I bought an extra set because the spatula is worth it alone.

5) Sortera Recycling Bin – $18.99

This is the best recycling station ever.  They stack, so I use one for my paper recycling and one for my bottles and cans to return for my coveted 5 cents (oh to be back in Michigan where I could really make the big bucks with this endeavor!).

5) I drooled over this kitchen for the adorables, but I haven’t bitten yet.  – $138 for the top and bottom.

I’m still thinking… and talking to the Running Man, so we’ll see, but I had to share.

What are your IKEA wonders?  Do you have one nearby?  Do you make a big trip out of it?  Can’t wait to hear!