Disclaimer – This is a sponsored post & giveaway brought to you by Bitsy’s Brainfood.  All opinions are 100% my own. 

It’s BRAIN day in the Bower house – something we have been trying to do regularly once a week.  It’s nothing crazy – we aren’t sitting the kids down to do SAT training courses….but we as parents are trying to make the effort to get out of the house, take the kids to a museum, library or nature center and get their little minds engaged in something more global or at least something more stimulating than MatchBox cars and blocks.

This past week our big adventure was to hit up The Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, Georgia.  It is FREEEEEE!

I love love love art and this particular museum was the perfect spot to introduce my kids to the idea of QUIET.  It’s a foreign concept in our house.  We also exposed them to the notion of NOT TOUCHING, NOT RUNNING, and NOT SPITTING.  You may think I am joking but seriously….this was a test of every source of self-control in their little bodies.

  

It was completely empty except for one other dad and his daughter so we felt at least like we weren’t disturbing art experts or visiting dignitaries.  We prepped the kids with the school rule of “zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket”….aka, keep your mouth closed and quiet and put your hands in your pockets.  It’s hard to touch expensive priceless art when your hands are in your pants 🙂

Overall, it was a somewhat stressful success.  Weston did outstanding –  I was super proud of his calm-ish behavior and his ability to pick out artwork and tell me in his 3 year old way what he liked about it!   He might end up being the artistic one of the group.

The wild child baton has been officially passed to LJ and he was so excited to be able to reach his pockets 🙂 haha!

  

The entire exhibit hall was laid out really well and we found out the boys really gravitated to the folk art and the pop art the most….there was one exception where Weston found a picture of a wharf that he loved.  He is really quiet at times.  And this time, he just stood there, wanting to tell us about it.  I love that he picked such a serious piece 🙂

After it was all said and done, the helpful staff made the boys paper airplanes and we went to the sculpture garden to see them fly!  It was so fun for them to let loose after being so quiet and calm 🙂  I am sure their little bodies were just ACHING to run and jump and bounce!

We headed outside to a shaded area to have a snack and I gotta tell you….this was the highlight of the whole trip.  You know me and a good theme are like BFF’s.  Well, I thought Brain day for the Bowers would be perfect time to tell you about the Bitsy’s Brainfood Organic Smart Crackers and their Smart Cookies.  Little did I know that these snacks were the main event to the boys.  The museum was nothing….the Smart Crackers and Smart Cookies were EVERYTHING.  They are obsessed.

So here’s the backstory – Bitsy’s was founded by two moms who believe that minds and bodies are connected and that learning to eat smart should be FUN.   They actually started one of the first federally funded after school programs to combat childhood obesity – they are well versed in taking action to make a difference!  Then they came up with a natural, organic and sustainable brand called Bitsy’s!  You can read more about their story here.

Each serving of the Smart Crackers is made with a half serving of organic veggies!  They are cut into fun Tangram shapes so your kids can make all sorts of things (Will made houses and of course, I immediately called him Builder Will and was so proud of my DIYer).

They come in 3 yummy flavors – Cheddar Chia Veggie, Maple Carrot Crisp and Sweet Potato Cinna-Graham (that was our fav!).

All three flavors of the Smart Cookies are alphabet-shaped and are baked with organic fruits and veggies and fortified with vitamins and minerals.  The kids loved the Zucchini Gingerbread Carrot.  But my favorite was the Orange Chocolate Beet.

The letter shapes were a serious hit.  I mean like the boys didn’t want to leave because they kept spelling stuff.  (Weston doesn’t quite understand letters yet but since Will thought they were awesome, he also would “spell” things and tell me what it said!)

All of the snacks are nut-free and are made in a peanut-free and tree-nut-free facility….so YAY!  School safe!

I am such a huge fan and we are definitely going to be picking up more of these at Target.  Only Smart Crackers are sold exclusively at Target. So pick some up next time you are there and make sure you hug the poster of Nate Berkus for me!  The Smart Cookies are sold at other retailers.   I love when brands meet the needs of real families and are accessible to the masses.  I truly believe that most moms are trying to do the best they can for their kids – and it’s such a huge responsibility to train up these little ones.  I know that it falls on me to teach my boys to be calm in museums and I am also training those little taste buds to appreciate a big variety of flavors and Bitsy’s is helping me do just that!   And they want to help another mom do the same….so here is the giveaway!

 

• PRIZE: (1) Prize Pack of Bitsy’s Snacks AND a $25 Target gift card
• NUMBER OF WINNERS : (1) ONE
• TO ENTER : Enter your email address to join Bitsy’s Smart Cookie Community. You’ll receive exclusive information and coupons, learn about fun campaigns and even get samples from time to time!
• Bitsy’s Brainfood & Bower Power Giveaway
  
• PRIZE SHIPS :  Continental U.S.
• NITTY GRITTY :  This giveaway closes on Friday, June 10th at 11:59pm EDT.  Only one contest entry per email address.  The winner will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced in an update to this post the following Friday morning. We will email the winner directly, so please make sure you use your regularly checked email address.

 

GOOD LUCK!

“This giveaway is not affiliated with or sponsored by Target.”