Buying and Selling for Baby

Consigning has been one of the biggest trends in the last 5 years. The increase in consigning  may have been due to the recent recession but This Mom can see the greater good that may have resulted from terrible economic conditions.

I have been an avid supporter of the franchise Just Between Friends since my son was born. There are great bargains and I even wait until the last day of the sale to get an additional 1/2 off items. There are still plenty of great items even after the stock has been picked through. So if you are looking for some really great deals definitely try that strategy! One tip if you wait until the last day of the sale is DO NOT go with a list of "must have's" . Of course you should bring a list of things you would like to find but if you think you'll find everything on that list on the last day of the sale you will just leave feeling deflated.

In Pennsylvania there are a few upcoming sales in the region. Visit the following site find a sale in your area and don't forget to download a free admission ticket and get ready to have fun! 

Final note: Bring a spouse, family member or friend to the sale to help with managing kiddos. It can get kinda crazy in there and you don't want to have to fight with your kids as you are fighting through other parents to grab the best stuff!

http://www.jbfsale.com/default.cfm

Sleep positions

YEP! Our little Buggie was the worst...but I kind of miss it.

Mom-volution

So I have evolved in the world of Mommy. I no longer carry around a cumbersome diaper bag. I have now graduated to a "mommy bag" or "mommy tote". Ok, maybe it's not as practical as a diaper bag but it's big enough to carry all of the essentials AND it looks great too. Right now this is what I have with tons of extra space:

• Diapers and wipes ( of course)
• Wallet
• Snacks/juice boxes
• Small books
• Memory cards
• A LeapPad
• My cell phone
• First aid stuffs
• Keys

You'll notice make-up isn't on that list. I haven't made it to that point yet, I still feel very lucky to get out the door most days without something on my shirt and not forgetting to put an article of clothing on. I secretly always give myself a once over when I take my coat off in a public place to make sure I remembered to put my top on :)

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you get a chance to get outside and be active even if it's only for 15 minutes!

Darn the internet!

Always a little too late

This story has happened one to many times now. At least if there were no internet, I wouldn't know immediately that someone else already thought of my idea first. Here is how it typically goes...

I like to think of myself as creative and an idea generator, I mean I didn't choose to be a marketer by accident. I love strategizing about ideas then putting together a plan and carefully monitoring and tweaking the plan until we have a WIN!

The pieces don't fall into place as easily for me domestically speaking. I have come up with some killer ideas over the past one and a half years that I have been home with my kids. I get super excited, start to plan ( in my head) what I will be doing to kick-off this brilliant plan, then I turn to the internet to research and VOILA, some other domestic goddess has already done it!

My latest idea was to have a Pinterest Party, inviting my girlfriends over for a relaxing afternoon filled with home-made spa type concoctions such as this Spiced Sugar Scrub, So you can understand how annoyed I was to see that other women were already throwing these "Pinterest Parties".

In my defense, I have yet to find a Spa Pinterest Party, they have all been for crafting or cooking, so maybe I have a niche here after all!

Simple, yummy snacks!

Peanut Butter Balls

I am all about simplicity these days. These little snacks are packed with protein, goodness and let's not forget about the delicious taste. All of that and you can make them in under 5 minutes!

Ingredients ( ok, ya'll know I don't measure )
- A scoop of peanut butter, it is probably equivalent to 3/4 cup
- Rolled oats ( raw) about 1.5 cups
- Chocolate chips ( I prefer raisins but we didn't have them in the cupboard this week)

You just dump all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until the peanut butter coats the oats and chocolate chips ( or raisins).

Roll them into little balls and place on a plate.

Then move them to the fridge to gel together. Eat and Enjoy! I know my little ones do .

What is your Super Power?

I'm a (former)milk producing, diaper slinging, dream delivering,baby whispering, boo boo kissing, Super Mom...

So I write this as my family suffers with yet another illness. It all started around Halloween and since then there has been at least one sick person in our humble abode.

This weeks germ of choice is Streptococcus!

Now, I know that writing this down on "paper" will only burst my Super Mommy bubble that has kept me safe from all the dirty germs in this house, but  I find it so amazing that through all the colds, viruses, bacterial infections, I am somehow staying healthy so I can take care of the rest of the family. 

I think there is something in a mother's make-up ( and I'm not talking about the stuff we slather on our face to hide the weeks or years of sleep deprivation) that allows us to keep the germs at bay while our family is sick. That's why I think we need to change our name from plain Jane "Mom" and don the title "Super Mom". Now don't get me wrong, Dads. You have your own super powers ( giggle creating, football playing, grill food making, Super Dad!) These are equally important powers but right now Super Dad has the super cold... so he'll resume his heroic efforts momentarily.

However, every mom out there knows the moment everyone feels better and is running around, making a mess of the house, you will notice that all familiar tickle in the back of the throat, the little cough, and as the fatigue sets in the germs take hold of Good Ol', "Super Mom"!

Crayola...oh how I love you.

As a mom of two small children, there are obvious reasons why I love Crayola. Crayola has created little color gems that our kids use and play with for hours. They help give us priceless artwork that covers the refrigerator,( and if you live in our house) the table, doors and walls.

But the reason I love Crayola today is because somehow they just knew our kids ( or husbands) would unknowingly put a crayon in their pocket for one reason or another and that piece of clothing would make its way to the washer and subsequently to the dryer where the red crayon would melt and cover everything that was just newly laundered. 

So Crayola, today I thank you for being forward thinking enough to make your products washable. After a brief freak-out and nearly throwing all the clothes away I thought I might TRY to re-wash all the clothes to get rid of the red stains which laden every piece of clothing in the batch of laundry. 

Well, it worked. I am still in disbelief but I happily threw them in the dryer and vow ( again) to make sure I check all pockets before I do a load of laundry!

-Erin