Back-to-School Review: California Innovations Lunch Bag

It’s that time of year again … back-to-school time. Or in other words … back to homework. Back to new clothes shopping. Back to schedules. Back to setting the alarm clock earlier. And back to planning sack lunches. And if you’re like me, that’s one of the hardest parts of the whole back-to-school season. It’s hard trying to maintain that healthy balance of food choices vs. foods your kids will love - all while ensuring s/he is happy with how they’re carrying their lunch. 
That’s where California Innovations comes in.

California Innovations opened their doors in 1986 with a pretty simple idea: to make products that people love. And they’re doing just that. They focus on making great products that are unique, practical and have integrity.

This school year my little preschooler will be starting school in style with his new Eco-friendly Toy Story lunch bag. The high-density thermal insulation helps keep meals cool until lunchtime. And what’s in it for me? The ultra-safe easy clean lining with Microban that is PVC free and lead safe gives me one less thing to worry about when I’m sending the little man off to school.

We’re in the back-to-school zone and California Innovations is the way to go for sack lunches. With their wide variety of styles and designs, you’re sure to find one that fits your child.
Overall, I am thrilled with our new lunch bag and look forward to my boys carrying them for years to come! It is cute, trendy, durable, and more than anything - ensures that he has a perfectly fresh lunch each and every day!

That’s not all California Innovations carries though. There are many, many other fun and stylish cool lunch bags, coolers, hydration products, and even diaper bags. Their coolers and lunch bags are like nothing else out there. They are insulated for better performance, more versatile, and much easier to use. 
26 years after they opened their doors, they haven’t changed what they’ve done since the beginning – create the best soft-sided insulated products in the world.

Not only are their products great for back-to-school ... but they're also usefull for travel, work, sports, and play.
To check out the super awesome selection of California lunch bags and other products, be sure to visit their website.

Disclosure:  I am a freelance writer, editor, and professional lunch packer.  I am available for hire for the first two.  I was not monetarily compensated. Sample was provided by California Innovations PR reps at Truth Be Told, Inc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Exclusive Interview: Bethenny Frankel

Make sure to check out my one-on-one interview on TravelingMom with Skinnygirl mogul, bestselling fiction book author, and mom to a toddler: Bethenny Frankel.

She shares her tips and stories on traveling with her toddler, Bryn.


Check it out by clicking HERE.

Telling it like it is...

Cale and I watch the Olympics every night.  And we have really great, intelligent conversations about them.  Conversations like the one below as we're watching the men's rings-nastic thingies...


Me:  Holy crap ... look at his arms.  That's almost kind of disgusting.

Cale:  So you wouldn't like it if I were that big?

Me:  We are still talking about his arms, right?

Cale:  {makes a "you're an ass" face}

Me:  That is insane what they're doing! INSANE!!

Cale:  I could do that.  If we had rings, I could do that right now.

Me:  {rolls eyes} ... okay Mr. Manly Man.  Your arms would fall off.

Cale:  Psshh.  Yeah right.  But I would probably fart though.

Me:  Honey, at your age, you'd flat out shit your pants.


Gotta keep the romance alive somehow, you know?

[Disclaimer: No husbands or wives were harmed during this conversation. However, upon posting this, one wife may become missing]

A lie of a 4-year-old

My son will be 5 in three months.  While anyone that knows him would say he's 4 going on 20 ... he is still a four-year-old.  A loving, sweet, still-mispronounces-many-many-words, just learning to ride his bike without training wheels, still sucks his thumb, four-year-old little boy.

But lately ... we've been catching him in lies.  I say "lies" but it's one lie ... over and over.

Cash knows how to wipe his butt.  We taught him as soon as he started pooping in the potty at three.  So for nearly 2 years now, he's been wiping his own ass.  Until recently.  When we noticed that not until has he not been flushing after he pooped .... but there was no toilet paper in there. Not to mention the stains in his undies.

He said he "just forgot to".  So he'd been warned that if he doesn't start wiping his hiney ... he would have to stay in his room for the rest of the day. And that Mommy and Daddy WILL know if he's not wiping.

So a week ago, when he came out of the bathroom after a decent amount of time in there, Cale asked him if he wiped.  Cash told him he never even went poop, he was just in there peeing a long time.  Cash was smart in flushing the toilet so that we didn't know if he wiped or not.  But Cale could smell that Cash had just lied to him.  Now if the kid wasn't such a newbie at lying, he could've easily covered his ass (literally) and said: "Yes Daddy, I wiped" and Cale never would have known because Cash actually flushed the toilet for once.
But instead, he set himself up and didn't think that Daddy would get up and do the smell test.  [Repeat again a couple days later - the exact same thing]

While my heart breaks {and scares me to death} because it seems like "it's starting soooo young" ... it's still a teeny tiny little lie ... from a four-year-old boy who still needs a nightlight on and is too scared to walk down the dark hallway ... over wiping and pooping.

Things This Mom Says...

Add to the list: "Bet you won't do THAT again..."

Thanks to Shell over at: Things I can't Say ... who is a Mom of THREE boys ... I have made my OWN list of "Things This Mom Says."

1. How did a lego piece end up in your underwear?


2. Just because Mommy and Daddy say "Damn" all the time – does not mean it’s ok for you to.


3. No you can’t go to Target in just your t-shirt, underwear, and cowboy boots.


4. Please quit using my wine opener to drill a hole through that.


5. No you can’t sleep in the dog’s kennel.


6. If you keep touching it … you’re either going to go blind or it’s going to fall off.


7. Yes, I still love Daddy when he toots.


8. See that man over there [nodding my head in a certain direction] … I’m going to make him lick your arm if you don’t stop licking mine!


9. Did you just put baby powder on your brother’s head?


10. One of these days, that toilet seat is going to get stuck on your head.


11. I told you if you used Super Glue it would never come unglued. You’re lucky you only touched your toe.


12. What happened to the cereal that was in this unopened box of Cheerios?


13. No you can’t pee in the Walmart trash can!


14. You didn’t flush the toilet. On another note … I see poop but no toilet paper.


15. Your fishing pole is for the lake and the pond. Not the aquarium.

My boys are only 1 and 4.   I'm sure I’ll be adding to this list…..