Family Entertainment on a Budget

We, as so many, are trying to cut back costs everywhere possible. We have cut out as many “luxuries” as possible and accounted for almost every penny that goes out. Have we given up everything from morning lattes to dry cleaning. One area we haven’t sacrificed is our addiction to good movies. Do we buy them? Not anymore. Do we go to the movies? No, on that one too. However, we have become totally enamoured with Netflix . One reason? We don’t have to get organized enough to get the movie back on time - instead we just mail it in when we are done (even if it takes us weeks to get it back). Another reason? For just over ten dollars a month we can watch as many movies as we like, and now Netflix offers a “watch instantly” feature, which means you now have the choice of watching over 10,000 movies on your computer with the click of a button. Now that is what we call bang for the buck.

Mom’s Favorite Is Back!

Yes, we have had quite a long respite, but finally Mom’s Favorite is back. Our little family has been busy over the last few months  - mom and dad are working overtime, our son is growing up too quickly, and we are expecting our next child. So please forgive the absence, but as many of you know, things out there are hairy, and we are just trying to keep those balls in the air, and stay fiscally sound too, and that takes a lot of work!

Favorite New Children’s Books

Our son recently turned two, and he received some great items for his birthday. One of our favorites are several “hide & slide” books from Priddy. At night our son now rushes to bed because he wants to get back to his new set of books. His favorite? Probably all of them - but for now the Slide and Find - Colors wins!

5 Realizations of a Working Mom Recently Back at Work

You will have to forgive the lack of posts lately - I have been getting “back into the saddle” of being a full-time mom and full-time employee. My last month has consisted of me dropping quite a few balls (the ones we try to keep up in the air) and coming to some stark realizations:

1. The label “working mom,” “stay at home mom,” or “working mom staying at home” - all describe the same phenomenon - no matter what work you do, where you do it, or for how long you work- you are still a full-time mom and full-time worker.

2. When you work full-time your budget goes out the window. As many of you know we attempted a budget challenge this summer - WHEN I WAS OFF WORK - and I had the time to try and save money. Now I hardly have the time to shop (which I guess saves money in the long run) let alone check receipts, or use coupons, when I do.

3. When you work full-time you might feel like you are dressing up and getting out of the house, but you might just look like more of a slob then you did when staying at home in your sweats. Why? Well obviously more people see you AND you are way more likely to forget a key item of your outfit (earrings? nope; watch? oops; lipstick? forgot that too; messy hair? yep; mismatched socks? of course; smeared in food on slacks? yes, I did manage to get that).

4. While back at work I have developed a horrible personality transplant. I feel more ditsy (”Hello Dad? Yes, I almost forgot your birthday because I can’t keep track of when the bills are due, let alone remember important dates”); more grumpy (”Please don’t tell me your problems, because I have my own and half the time I am wracked with guilt about being at work”), and less patient (”Are you really going to make me pay for child care to sit through this pointless meeting”)?

5. On the upside when back working I have new found respect and empathy for every other parent experiencing the same apprehension that I do when saying good-bye to a very sad toddler that I leave every morning. In some ways this has made me more open to others and sharing the war stories of parenthood with all those that have survived before me - so God Bless you all, if you have survived so can I.

Sleek, Durable, and Portable Baby Gear

We recently went on vacation with one of those moms that I know other people are, but I am not - a cool mom. This post is a shout out to this mom, LSS, her her little red head cutie of a son. Not too long ago we were “holidaying” with them and they introduced us to the wonderful world of Phil & Teds. When my “cool mom” friend asked me if I knew of their products I sheepishly said no. As I watched her easily put up the Phil & Teds Pack and Play or simply attach the Phil & Teds highchair to the counter, I realized I just might be missing something here. She had with her these two portable, sleek, and durable items which seemed to just “appear” from nowhere. After struggling with the bulky items we had brought with us, I knew that my little green eyed monster was spouting out as I longingly coveted each and every Phil & Teds item she had. So although we don’t own any yet, I know these might just have to make it onto Mom’s Favorite Wish-list!

Back to Life…

Back to reality. You have to excuse the absence of posts lately - but this quite legitimately can be blamed on what I have been dreading all summer - my return to work. Yes, it is here and I am in shock. I have now gone from full-time soccer mom who enjoyed baking bread for my family to full-time mom and employee who is lucky to remember to eat a granola bar in the morning. Work is upon me and leaves me feeling the same guilt and apprehension as it does every time I step back into work - welcome to the world of working moms all over the world. So though the posts will keep coming, they might just have to be a bit more brief - as family comes first, work second, and I am sad to say blogging might just have to find a smaller place to squeeze into. But keep those comments and product suggestions coming, because goodness knows working moms have little time to buy items, let alone return them, so it is important to find good, safe, and reliable items and that is what Mom’s Favorite is all about!

The Only Item Needed When Traveling with a Toddler

Our family recently returned from a trip overseas. We have traveled on a plane before this and yes, we made it. This time our toddler is more active so prior to the trip I researched tips and items that would be helpful in entertaining him during the flight. I packed some of his favorite toys a week before we left so that they would seem like “new ones.” I purchased a few activity books for him, and we brought some of his favorite small cuddly toys as well. When we boarded our plane we even discovered that the airplane had a small screen in front of him where he could watch his favorite character - Pooh.  Regardless of arming ourselves with this arsenal of “entertaining weapons” our son found it far more interesting to look at the people behind us and to greet them every five minutes with a chorus of “hellos.” On the way back from our trip he decided not to sleep for one minute on a nine hour flight and quickly disregarded every single toy we had brought. And then I realized the most obvious oversight I had made before leaving for our trip - mom needed to arm herself with a few things as well - patience, mellowness, and a whole lot of love.  I had just assumed that these toys would do the job and that our son would eventually fall asleep as well. Well they didn’t and he didn’t. So be it.  He was fine - but his parent’s probably weren’t. We were too concerned that he wasn’t sleeping or that he was disturbing others. I finally told myself to “take a chill pill” and just be happy he wasn’t screaming his head off.  I overlooked the only item really needed when traveling with a toddler - less structure and a more carefree spirit which decides its okay to “go with the flow.”

A Wagon Full of Blocks and a Day Full of Fun

I recently wrote about three great companies that are producing quality American made toys, and lucky for us we have very generous grandparents who went ahead and sent us one of these toys. It is the Mega Bloks Fill & Dump Wagon and honestly has to be one of biggest hits in our household. This mom is all about “multli-functional” toys - and this one truly is - it is a wagon, dump truck, platform for building blocks, and a bin for any toy needing a place to be stored. I am not too proud to say even I have found myself enjoying it…