mamasaysmine

There are some great deals out there in the internet universe for Mother’s Day… here are a few of my favorites.

Brooklyn Industries is offering 30% off all handbags through May 10 with code HANDBAG30 (online only). Plus, if you order before Sunday (May 3), you’ll get free shipping on orders over $40. Their H Bags are perfect diaper bags without actually being diaper bags.

Darlybird is offering a delicious 20% off of any order with code DARLYMAMA through May 10. Darlybird is a perfect place to shop for all things girly and fabulous. My personal favorite? The Darlybird Bag o’Goodies. $45 worth of random merchandise for $15. Makes me happy just thinking about it.

Los Pollitos Dicen is offering 20% off of all orders of $25 or more with code May19 (discount good through May 8). Perfect for mami y bebita.

What are you hoping to get for Mother’s Day?

As a mom, I’m partial to handmade gifts from my daughter and gifts in small, robin’s egg blue boxes from my husband.  Sure, Hurricane Eva would rather be water boarded than make crafts most days and the economy really puts a damper on the high-end gift shopping, but a girl can dream, right? 

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Tiffany & Company is offering free shipping on orders of $150 or more.  Just shop before midnight on Friday, May 8.

On my dark days as a stay-at-home mom, I sometimes feel like all the brilliant ideas and dreams that I keep in my (yellow sparkly) idea folder are destined to just sit there until they one day become compost. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone here, and that this feeling of inertia isn’t exclusive to stay at home parents.

Enter John C. Maxwell’s Put Your Dream to the Test: 10 Questions to Help You See It and Seize It.

This book would be a quick read if you didn’t actually think about the lessons in each chapter, which kind of defeats the purpose. It IS easy to pick up and put down, which is a must if you’re short on time.

Here are the 10 questions addressed in the book:

1. The Ownership Question: Is my dream really my dream?
2. The Clarity Question: Do I clearly see my dream?
3. The Reality Question: Am I depending on factors within my control to achieve my dream?
4. The Passion Question: Does my dream compel me to follow it?
5. The Pathway Question: Do I have a strategy to reach my dream?
6. The People Question: Have I included the people I need to realize my dream?
7. The Cost Question: Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?
8. The Tenacity Question: Am I moving closer to my dream?
9. The Fulfillment Question: Does working toward my dream bring satisfaction?
10. The Significance Question: Does my dream benefit others?

I definitely recommend this book if you’re feeling scattered and like your dreams aren’t achievable. It’s a great pick-me-up and has absolutely helped me organize my plan.

Enjoy!

Alternate post title:  You had me at “restores normal bowel function.”

It is no secret that my daughter, affectionately known as Hurricane Eva, struggles with constipation, especially when we travel. And we travel A LOT.

This last time, it was so bad that I was planning to get off the plane and consult with her doctor prior to unpacking. Luckily, I checked the mail first. Waiting for me was a 10-day supply of Florastor Kids, a probiotic supplement designed for babies and kids.

While I have no qualms about using “alternative” remedies on myself (and probiotics are found naturally anyway), I checked with Eva’s pediatrician before giving her any. I’ve used probiotics to combat nasty side effects from taking antibiotics, so I wasn’t surprised to get the green light from the pediatrician.

To use Florastor Kids, you just mix a packet into a noncarbonated beverage. You’re supposed to use two a day, but I started with one and haven’t needed to increase the dose. I added it to Eva’s milk and she drank it every time without any problems. You can give it to babies in formula or in soft baby food.

Here’s what Florastor Kids is supposed to do:
- Maintains the balance of intestinal flora (essentially, the good bacteria in your intestines)
- Keeps intestines functioning wel
l- Promotes intestinal health
- Strengthens the intestinal immune system
- Restores normal bowel function (my personal favorite, in my daughter’s case)

How did it work? Well, whether it’s being home, her reconnection with her princess potty seat or the Florastor, Eva’s been pooping every day without needing a laxative. Success! (and more poop talk than I ever intended for this blog!)

The good people at Florastor Kids have provided me with a 10-day sample to share with you, along with a goofy book to help kids learn more about probiotics and a plush Florastor doll. Ha!

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment (make sure to include your email address) by midnight on Sunday, May 3. If you want to include a story about your child’s intestinal health, just make it funny.

For extra entries, blog this giveaway or subscribe to my feed (make sure and let me know you did!).

Good luck!

Go here to join Aveda’s birthday club and get a swanky free gift for your birthday.  You’ll get a free personal blend Pure Fume or Body Care product. Aveda products are some of my favorites, but they’re so pricey that I frequently have to skip them. For this, they’ll actually send you a postcard so you don’t have to think about it when you’re busy celebrating.

Enjoy!

(and thanks to Frugal Freebies & Deals for the tip!)

Internet, here’s a little secret.  I love the Real Housewives of New York City and I love Bethenny Frankel most of all.

Here’s another secret. When I got a copy of Bethenny’s new book Naturally Thin, I expected that I’d read it, enjoy it and give it away. But mamas, this one, for me, is a keeper.

Bethenny, a natural foods chef, offers 10 simple rules for developing a healthy relationship with food, plus over 30 recipes which are actually good. She tells you to satisfy your cravings with “real food” instead of processed crapola and doesn’t promise that you’ll lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks or anything crazy. This isn’t rocket science, but I could hear Bethenny’s voice in this book, and she is both funny and a gal you’d like to be friends with. Um, and her recipe for a “Skinnygirl Margarita” is to die for.

I’m happy to say that since I’ve read Bethenny’s book, I’ve heard her voice in my head repeating her 10 tips as I’ve been out and about. It’s a pretty empowering feeling to be staring at a plate of french fries and be mindful enough to ask if I’m really enjoying them or if we’ve approached the point of diminishing returns.

Because I love this book so much, I actually bought another copy to give away to a lucky reader! To enter, just leave me a comment with your favorite guilty pleasure (because I would never have read this book if I didn’t treat myself to the Real Housewives every week. Want extra entries? Blog this giveaway and leave me a link! Want another entry? Subscribe to my feed and let me know you did.

The giveaway will end Monday, April 20 and is only open to my US readers (sorry, Canada!).

Sorry for no posts last week - I’m hoping to be back on track this week!

There’s always lots of chatter on blogs about special wedding gifts, and I’m taking part in that myself this week.

But before I do, I have to ask, what the heck is wrong with the registry?

If you’ve ever shopped for my father, you would appreciate the luxury of someone telling you EXACTLY what they want, down to colors and sizes.

Why don’t people just buy gifts off of the registry?

I’ve encountered a couple of reasons:

1. You don’t like gift registries. I can understand this for things like graduations (really? a registry for a graduation? that IS a bit much, I’ll admit). But for weddings and baby showers, get over it and shop off of the registry.

2. You don’t like anything the couple has registered for. I get this, I really do. It’s happened to me. Crazy as it may be, I prefer to give gifts that I actually like. HOWEVER, if you find yourself in this situation, repeat: “This is not for me. This is not for me.”

3. The store isn’t local. I can almost guarantee that the store has a website. And you’re shipping the gift anyway, right? So just buy it online. (if the couple registered at a little boutique store with no website, you’re officially off the hook)

4. You don’t want them to know how much you spent. Ok, fine. I get that the amount you spend on a wedding gift is political in certain circles (particularly among my mother-in-law’s set, where they all try and give gifts of the same amount, without just talking about it and agreeing on an amount. seriously, it gives me a headache.). If your friends are going to think less of you because of what you spent on a wedding gift, you have friendship issues that this post cannot solve.

5. You can’t afford anything on the registry. This has happened to me too, especially in college. (I’ll never forget a friend’s registry, where an $80 shower curtain was one of the cheapest things left by the time I arrived at the store.) There’s no need to get into debt over a wedding gift - just get the couple a gift card to the store where they’ve registered. They’ll appreciate it.

6. You’ve found something off of the registry cheaper somewhere else. This one is tricky. If it is EXACTLY the same AND you are comfortable telling the bride or groom what you’ve done, go ahead. Otherwise, they may end up with multiple items that they now have to return (and, in case you haven’t noticed, stores’ return policies are uber-strict these days) or an item that isn’t what they want. For one of my baby showers, someone gave me a baby carrier that was similar to, but not the same as, the one I’d registered for. The thing is, I had done an insane amount of research on which carrier would be best for me and my neck injury, and there was only one that fit the bill.

Must I repeat myself? USE THE REGISTRY. Make everyone’s life easier.

I am a firm believer in the simple fact that if you go to someone’s wedding, you bring a gift.

If you’re invited to the wedding and don’t go, you get to pick.  (I always send a gift, personally.  If I ever thought someone had invited me because they were “fishing” for a gift, I would seriously rethink that relationship.)

If you’ve ever gotten married, you know that weddings are expensive, even when you do it on the cheap.  Not only that, but people often have a limited number of guests they can invite, so the simple fact that you “made the cut” is worthy of a little token of your appreciation, I think.

Now, here’s the kicker.

For the wedding I’m headed off to next week?  Not bringing a gift.

First, my friends have specifically asked all of us who are traveling to the wedding NOT to give a gift (the gift of our presence meaning more than any presents we could give, etc.).

Second, I’m flying out early to help with preparations, so I have kind of convinced myself that that’s kind of a gift.

Third, these friends have lived together for years, and on their own for years before that. They already have their household set up and have clearly stated that they don’t want more “stuff.”

While this is a little painful for my Ms. Manners side, I think it’s incredibly classy on my friends’ part. We’re all a group of young families, so the cost of travel is significant, and they realize that.

HOWEVER, unless you have friends who have asked you not to bring a gift, SEND SOMETHING. (don’t bring it to the wedding. Gifts get stolen all the time, cards get separated from packages and the bride and groom have to haul everything around when they have more important things to deal with. Send a gift before or after the wedding.)

and, p.s. FROM THE REGISTRY.

“Los Pollitos Dicen” is perhaps my kiddo’s favorite song in Spanish, and Los Pollitos Dicen is definitely my favorite site for cute Spanish-themed baby gifts.

Los Pollitos Dicen is a small, start-up company, everything is made in the USA and they’re giving away a free onesie with every order through April 6. Every order. Even a bib. While supplies last, you can choose between “Upa” (a little hard to translate… basically means “pick me up!”), “Candela” (spitfire) or “Pio Pio Pio” (that’s what los pollitos dicen, or what the chicks say). Just note your preference in the notes to seller.

Added bonus: Take an extra 25% off with code AMIGOS2009.

Get ‘em while they’re hot, mamitas!

Brooklyn Industries, my favorite place to buy diaper bags that don’t look like diaper bags, is offering free shipping with a $40 purchase through Sunday with code APRILSHIP.

Shop well, mamas!