Mommy Diaries: Is there Suburbia Splendor?

The girls hit the road this weekend to visit with Mimi and Pop-pop. We were packed in the car, DVD's, CD's, coloring books and snacks galore. My mom and stepdad live in a suburb of Dallas where I grew up. It is one of those idyllic places with perfectly manicured lawns, people and places. Everything is perfect and planned and that's the exact reason we hated it growing up.

My sister and I have always sneered at the thought of ever going back to our seemingly perfect hometown to live. But, we both found ourselves talking about how nice it would be to live in the perfect suburb. Everything in the town seems set up for children. The neighborhoods have wide streets, sidewalks, parks, libraries and you can be walking distance from a grocery store or other restaurants if you choose. The shopping is heavenly and even the malls have lots of kid activities to keep little ones happy.

As Lillie gets older and I find all those conveniences, well just darn more convenient and helpful, I start to have different feelings about a place in which I felt I would never return. Julia and I both thought, how easy would it be to live in a place like this. But, as those feelings start to emerge, I wonder, have I started down the slippery slope of becoming not cool? Could I trade in my young, hip, music-loving town for the big city burbs?

Children change the way you look at life in so many ways. From the moment your little pea comes home from the hospital, you are truly living your life for someone else completely. But, who is doing right? The perfect families in perfect suburbia or the young ones living in up and coming neighborhoods in remodeled 1940's houses?

I don't have the answer yet. I just hope Sarah starts to tell me when my Joe's jeans start being traded for tapered leg mom pants.

Mom’s the word.

Here I sit 1,000 miles away from my Mom. Missing birthdays stings a little. Missing holidays is rough. But not being able to spend time with my sister and Mom – my best friends in the world – on Mother’s Day is truly heartbreaking.

We talk every day, we’re open with our love, and very little goes unsaid between us. We trade thoughtful gifts and pour our hearts out in cards, yet still it doesn’t seem like nearly enough.

Even if we lived next door, would it ever be enough? Could we ever spend enough time, say enough words, or utter enough thank yous to let our Mom know what she means to us?

My guess is no. I bet even you lucky dogs living near your Moms feel the same.

When I was digging around for some gift ideas to suggest in today’s post, I stumbled upon a quote that couldn’t possibly sum my mom up any better. It made me realize that gifts and words are not the way to show your true appreciation for who she is and what she’s done for you.

It’s returning the favor and recognizing the love and sacrifice she has so instinctually given since the day you were born. It’s letting her know those acts have not gone unnoticed and that you’re forever grateful.

“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.”

If I could be there on Sunday, I would more than gladly take the “tough piece of steak” for you Mom. It’s the least I can do. Happy, happy Mother's Day. We love you!

Things we love: taming the toy zoo

With the onslaught of toxic toy scares, finding safe varieties for little ones to shake, rattle, and lick with reckless abandon pretty much became every mom’s life mission.

Anything marked “made in the USA” or “certified lead-free” was thrown into the shopping cart regardless of whether your child really needed – or wanted for that matter – the toy or not.

No doubt your hunt for harmless play things made your peanut the happiest kid on the block. But it also probably resulted in a glut of toys that have completely taken over your household.

Whether you’ve managed to keep them fairly contained in your child’s room, or they’ve spilled into the adult spaces, there are some really creative storage solutions out there to help you get some humble back into your abode.

	Animal Swing-Lid Cans: $9.99 ea These little Container Store critters are intended for trash, but are perfect for tiny toys and treasures.
	NJOE: $4.99 ea Leave it to IKEA to make a cheap, fun way to encourage kids to clean up after playing. And did I say cheap?
	KidKraft Locker: $84.99 ea Lock up little messes with two-drawer, modular locker units for each kiddo. Available in red, white, and blue.
	KidKraft Table/Benches: $97.50 Doodle and play, then tuck and store. The benches nest neatly under the table, which has a jumbo drawer for organizing toys.

Culture Shot: Play-doh's and dont's

Our old friend Play-Doh has gone high-tech. Really, I'm serious. The digital age has reached into the depths of even the most low-tech items, Play-Doh.

I finally broke down and bought Lillie some Play-Doh the other week. And, even though the packaging says for 2 years plus, I had to give it a try. She loves it. I mean really loves it. She calls it "toys", I'm not quite sure why, but at any given moment she's toting the little plastic bag around begging me to open it.

That first whiff of the Play-Doh smell took me right back to my childhood. It smells exactly how you remember it. And, I could even remember some of my old tricks. Roll a worm, make taco shells; I even remembered how to make spaghetti with the presser tool. I felt like a real pro until I reached the end of my tricks and my little one was bored.

So, where do you turn in times of desperation? Google, of course. And thanks to my search, I found that Play-Doh has its own web site. And as if they were reading my mind, it is full of Play-Doh ideas. You can learn how to make eggs and bacon, build a car, or how to mix colors to make brand new ones. It is a cornucopia of ideas and I hope you have a chance to check it out. If only the internet was scratch and sniff, then we could all transport back to our childhood.

http://www.hasbro.com/playdoh

Mommy Diaries: Time flies when...

The old adage "time flies when you’re having fun" certainly is pertinent to child-rearing. I battle time everyday. Is it time for lunch, diaper changes, naps or playtime? The word is on the tip of my tongue at all times, see I did it again.

Mostly I wish I had more time. Being a stay-at-home mom and work-at-home mom, most of every second of my day is filled with something. And, when the day is finally over around 8 pm, then it's time for my husband. The poor cats don't get any time; they've been dropped from the schedule. And, my household duties, well, those get probably as much time as the cats. How can we do-it-all moms manage?

As ridiculous as it seems, I have started to treat my weeks like I am back managing clients at an ad agency. I make to do lists and I organize them by importance. I even put Lillie activities on the list, so at least I have a fresh batch of ideas to pull from for the week. The most insignificant items go on the list, do laundry, wash and chop fruit, call daycare.

When I do stay on top of my lists, my weeks are so much better. I'll actually get things done that have been weighing on my mind, and every once in awhile I have something super precious, free time.

Style file: splendid stationary

One year ago (late, late, late) last night marked the birth of Two Blue Peas! After pouring our hearts, souls, and every waking moment into it for the nine months leading up to the launch, I swear we were as giddy and relieved as proud new parents.

If we weren’t worried about the weirdness factor of announcing the arrival of our brainchild together, we would have sent birth announcements to every person we know. Instead, we opted for a champagne-buzzed email and a couple of phone calls.

Had we gone the paper route, here’s where we would have shopped. Birth announcements, shower invites, and thank you cards have certainly come a long way since your standard fill-in-the-blanks Big Bird packs from Wal-Mart.


> tiny*prints
> stationary style
> sprinkles invitations
> finestationary.com
> papyrus custom printing
> sarah and Abraham (an etsy favorite)

Things we love: Angel Dear Monograms

Lovies are a toddler essential. Trips to the doctor, a relief with a babysitter and times when mom isn't around. A lovie is the perfect toddler comfort item. And, gone are the days of plain blankets. Lovies come in all shapes, sizes and species.

Angel Dear makes, in my opinion, one of the best lovies. They are the perfect size, 14” square, and made of the softest, most durable material. These guys can be rubbed, loved, dragged on the floor and still look impeccable. They come in adorable animal shapes - puppies, lions, frogs, bunnies, ducks, monkeys, giraffes, you name it, and Two Blue Peas carries it.

Best of all, these lovies can be monogrammed. Siblings won’t confuse their lovies, and forget about it being swiped at daycare. Your child’s name can be emblazoned on the side with pride. My little one has been drooling on her duck lovie for a year and a half. And, each time I can pry it out of her hands for a wash and dry, her Angel Dear looks brand new!