DC Metro Moms

How To Get Exactly What You Want

Ahhh, a question for the ages...

How do you get what you want?

Well I'm here to tell you!  But, first of all-

this does not apply to 'world peace'... 'a cure for cancer'... 'to end homelessness'... 'I want a pony'... well, maybe the last one.

All those 'wants' are great.  I want world peace too.  I want a cancer-free world too.  I want everyone to have a home too...

But we all gotta start somewhere... 'Start Small- End Big', I always say.  So let's master how to get exactly what we want in terms of the 'small stuff', then we can go from there.  After all, if you have little things... and little ones, around you that make you happy- you're going to be a better mom and person and you'll be happier...

Happier?  A Better Person, you may say?  Yes.  And here's how to do it-

I am revealing an age-old philosophy... a formula... a system of beliefs, if you will.

Have you read The Secret?  Yes, so have I...

I can see clearly now the snow has gone, but now I'm kind of a weirdo

 The snow has almost melted and the roads have been clear for more than a week. Kids are back in school and one would think all would be right with the world. "The 11 Days of Captivity" as I have come to call it took a toll on everyone.  The joke wasn't missed that the only day the kids went to school prior to The Big Snow was Groundhog Day, and the 10 days following just seemed like a really bad Bill Murray movie. Same snow, different day.  Earlier today I was talking with our neighbor and something occurred to me, our reality has shifted to include things that earlier we may have eschewed but now embrace as routine, if not totally normal.

1. Inviting your neighbor over to do their laundry since you have a generator and they don't.

2. Wearing flip flops when it is 45 degrees because you consider anything above 19 degrees a "heat wave." This goes along with letting your kids wear shorts to school because you've lost touch with reality and they are going to be successful pushing the envelope, so they do.

3. Writing a "Thank you" note to your children's school because you now fully understand and appreciate why it is your children go to a school and are not home-schooled by you.

And let me break for a moment to say when my son's 4th grade teacher emailed homework for us to print, I went to download the PDF's and wondered, "Why are they studying 5 pages about hormones?"  Homophones. It was HOMOPHONES.

Epiphany In The Dressing Room

Recently, I had the rare opportunity to spend the afternoon at the mall.  By myself.  The place that is known to us native Washingtonian's as Montgomery Mall.  And I didn't have to listen to begging to go to the playground or complaining about being tired or hungry or bored.  It was just me.  Alone.

See I needed the time to buy clothes.  To really buy clothes.  I needed to try clothes on.  My need for pants was reaching epic proportions as most of my pants were too big on me.  And I'm not saying this to be all braggy, braggy, I'm saying it as a fact.

Tuppence a Bag?

I try very hard to be green and environmentally conscious.  I don't always succeed, but I do what I can when I can. 

Using the cool, reusable grocery bags from places like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and my personal favorite from our summer pilgrimage to Hershey Park, makes me feel like I'm doing my little part to help -- even though I don't always remember to bring them with me to the store!  Sure, it's nice when you get five cents off your food bill for each bag you use, but let's face it -- a nickle isn't much of an incentive given what groceries cost these days.

As I was whizzing through the grocery store this morning, trying to get a week's worth of supplies in 15 minutes, I noticed a sign -- starting now, if you're picking up dinner in Washington, D.C. and you don't bring your recyclable bags, and instead rely on the store to provide "disposable" bags, you'll get charged five cents each!  Later in the day, as I popped by the local wine store for a bottle of red to go with dinner, I noticed the same sign!

Smartassery Begets Smartassery In My Family

You know what happens when you make fun of something and you do so repeatedly?  Do you know what will happen if you joke that if you owned such an atrocity you might be inclined to get rid of grounding as a discipline technique  and instead wear that certain something to your sons' soccer games and cheer loudly on the sidelines? What about if you pointed it out that your husband should get one and wear it to the Pentagon work since his office tends to be a little on the chilly side?

What if you were asked to change the channel on the TV and sighed, "I'd love to help you out, but alas, my blanket doesn't have sleeves." Let's say you also theatrically chattered your teeth and accompanied the chattering sound with a "brrr" every time you opened your laptop?  Maybe you make one too many references to how a person could be cast as  Huggy Bear's long lost sister on Starsky & Hutch. You know, the one who lived in the frozen tundra?  If that weren't enough, you continued to insist the thing was nothing more than a long sleeved hospital gown-only made out of fleece.   Do you have any idea what will happen if you do such things?

That's right. You'll receive a bright pink Snuggie as a Chanukkah gift from your children.   

Original post to DC Metro Moms. You can find Devra and her pink Snuggie over at Parentopia.

Shoe Shopping Is My Nemesis

I love shoes.  I love shoe shopping.  I even have a whole category about shoes on my blog.

There is one caveat.  Shoe shopping for my four year old.  Michael has enormous feet.  I take that back.  Michael had ginormous feet.  When he was born the doctor said two thing, it's a boy, and he has a golden retriever feet.  You know how golden retriever puppies have these huge feet that they grow into?  That was Michael as a baby, all hands and feet. 

Not only does he have huge feet, they are, extra, EXTRA WIDE.  We have to go to a children's specialty shoe store to find him shoes.  It takes, I kid you not, hours, to find shoes that fit him.  I can't walk into Payless or Target, or even Stride Rite, and get this kid shoes.  They don't carry shoes wide enough, or they just don't fit him, or something.

Why I Love Women

I love women… 

The other day I found myself in the rare situation of being childless, husbandless, and in the unfamiliar territory of being pretty-much-caught-up-with-stuff… baring laundry, coming up with a new kid craft, cleaning out my car…

And in my possession: a $25 gift card to a new favorite store of mine… 

So what to do?  Why, go shopping of course! 

I embarked on my shopping journey and found 2 pairs of summer crop pants, and $25 off- perfect!  I was leaving the store, when out of the corner of my left eye- a red sign caught my attention… 25% Off. 

And it was in front of another favorite store of mine… I timidly walked over to check it out, and then hesitantly, walked into the store.  I’d already dared to spend money on myself, let alone the time I’d spent ‘frivolously’, instead of cleaning, washing, cooking, or setting up playdates, don’t push it, I thought…

And then an older woman approached me, “Do you have the 20% card?”

An Unexpected Shopping Afternoon!

I just found myself in a situation I haven’t been in for 5 years, since my son was born.  I had an afternoon to myself, and was basically told, in a nice way by my sick husband- not to come home.

Our Little Man had just left for my parents for a ‘Pajama Party’; yep, we have both sets of grandparents in-town: so we get sleepovers!  Yey… fun for our Little Guy and fun for us!

My Big Guy had to go into work for a little while and I had my list of ‘things-to-do’ done (don’t freak out, we have 1 child, I’m organized, but not SuperMommy), so I grabbed gift cards that I got for Christmas and set out for the mall…

Epson Artisan 800 Printer GIVEAWAY!

.... this is a sponsored ad by Epson.

Premium printing can be available at home - and we are giving away the Epson Artisan Series 800 All-in-One Printer to one lucky winner to have it "all".

"Artisan is a line of premium all-in-ones perfect for all your household’s printing needs, including creative projects, photo lab quality prints, and even work taken home from the office. Elegantly designed, they fit seamlessly into the living room or home office. Plus, everyone in the home can easily share one Artisan thanks to the built-in wireless and wired networking."

Here are the Epson Artisan Series 800 features:

"Featuring a smart 7.8” touch panel and 3.5” LCD, premium features, total flexibility, and a sleek and chic appearance, the Artisan 800 is designed to fit the lifestyles and décor of creative households, photo enthusiasts and professionals who bring work home. The Artisan 800 excels at everyday photo and document printing, copying, scanning, and faxing needs, offering Ultra Hi-Definition prints with Epson Claria™ ink, a range of exclusive creative capabilities, and built-in Wi-Fi and wired networking. It also comes with a special Epson PreferredSM program offering a two-year warranty with toll-free support. "

One2One Network provided one Silicon Valley Moms Group blogger from each region an Epson Artisan 800 printer to try it out for themselves, and just look at what they had to say: 

• Michelle from Deep South Moms Blog thinks the Epson printer rules
• Leticia from DC Metro Moms Blog thought the Espon was easy to use, even for a 2 year old!
• MJ from Chicago Moms Blog discussed hearing of the term "smart phones", but said now you'll hear "smart printer"
• Heather S. from LA Moms Blog wanted to marry the printer
• Amy O. - New York City Moms blog can’t imagine another printer in this price range doing more or doing it better
• Sheila from the soon to be launched Rocky Mountain Moms Blog noticed the sleek design and found the Wi-Fi installation to be easy
• Cate from New Jersey Moms Blog thought that it printed remarkably well
• Donna from 50 Something Moms Blog thought the printer ROCKS
• Sarah from Philly Moms Blog livedblogged the install
• Beth B. from Silicon Valley Moms Blog won't need to make late night trips to Kinko's after the kids are asleep because she can print professional level documents at home
  

Interested? CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE CONTEST at the Silicon Valley Moms Blog to win an Epson Artisan 800 Printer.

An Open Letter to the Rude Lady at the Grocery Store

Dear Lady (although I hesitate to call you that after how you behaved this morning):

First off, let me introduce myself. I'm someone who has been shopping at this DC area store since we moved into this area over a year ago, and I was shopping there this morning right along side you. I am fully aware that this store went through a massive renovation that ended about a year ago, and as a result the store is now a nice clean place to shop. Also, I'm fully aware that there are lots of folks in the service industry here in the DC area that aren't interested in being pleasant when they help you, but that's not the case at this particular store. Aside from the occasional employee having a bad day, the employees at this store are generally nice, friendly, and are willing to take a minute to help you out.