Don't call me "Baby"!

I was strolling through the grocery store the other day with my daughters doing a little shopping for snacks for the week. We were having to dodge other carts because the store was very crowded (Spring Break week). We see one of the store managers and decide to say hello like we always do. He was having a conversation with a couple other men and pauses to speak to me. I was thinking he would say "Hello, I hope you found everything you needed" or "have a nice day". Instead he says "Hey Baby, how ya doing?" I was annoyed. I just do not understand why men think it is okay to call a woman baby, baby girl, sweetheart, etc... Maybe I am overreacting but I think it is rude to assume a woman that you have no romantic or personal relationship with likes to be called such names. I am sure he meant no harm but this seems to happen everywhere I go. You should see my girl's faces!! I could just hear the "oooohhh! I'm telling daddy!!!"

NBA star sells affordable shoes

NBA star Stephon Marbury has put out a line of athletic shoes made by Steve & Barry's University Sportswear called the 'Starbury' with the a price tag of $15. Yes, that's right quality shoes that any mom can afford! Marbury grew up in a family of six siblings and had to wear hand-me-downs for most of his childhood. Of course when you are a child you want to wear the shoes that are in style. Marbury feels that all children should have the chance to wear designer shoes and that parents should not have to fork over a small fortune to give it to them. Now I think that is pretty cool and these days it is very rare that you can find a decent pair of sneakers for such a small price. Marbury gets a little bit of smack talk from other players, but right now he is a hero for moms across the US! He did not get paid up front for the product but will receive royalties for each pair sold. Now your kids can have the cool pair of shoes and moms can have the cool price tag!

Mother and daughter

I was at the post office this morning patiently waiting in line to ship a package. I glanced over and noticed a cute little girl (probably about 3 years old) and her equally cute little mom. The mom was filling out a paper while her daughter was squirming around chatting to herself. She had one of those disposable cameras in her hand and was obviously trying to figure out how to take a photo. She was pressing the button but it just would not do anything. Her mom glanced down for a moment and decided to rewind the camera for her child and handed it back to her. The child then aims at her mom and her mom smiles really big and there it went...FLASH! The little girl cheered and smiled and everyone around them did the same. It was so sweet the way this mother and daughter looked at each other. I bet that photo will come out really nice! Well, maybe half of mom's head will be chopped off but I think it will be one of those precious shots you will always remember!

Tempting "Teen-sized" Booze

I was reading an article online this weekend and came accross a new product made by Anheuser-Busch called 'Spykes'. If you look at the photo to the right, it almost looks like cute bottles of nail polish, right? It is a malt beverage with 12% alcohol (like wine) and comes in 4 attractive flavors with caffieine and herbs. The beverage is being marketed as a flavor boost to beer and other drinks and being "the perfect shot". With prom time nearing, some health advocates and law enforcement are viewing it as being a hazard for teens since it is so small in size, it can easily be slipped into purses or pockets to conceal it. Also the retail is about 75 cents to 1 dollar making it more affordable for teens to get their hands on some.

Working Moms

More and more moms are finding it difficult to deal with motherhood and the 40+ hours work week. I recently spoke with a few moms that found going back to work after maternity leave was a very emotional ordeal. I will admit that I was out of touch with being a working mom until last year. My husband launched a real estate financing company and I decided to help out by working for family health insurance. I decided to take a teaching assistant job at my kids' school. I figured this would bring me closer to them while not interfering with my mommy time. I sure wish I had a crystal ball to see how much of a mistake that would have been! I found it really challenging managing my time. I was used to making brownies or cookies for the kids when they got home from school, preparing them for piano lessons, or helping with research projects. However, I had a job so I had to rush home, cook dinner, clean, drive to practice, and it seemed never ending. After making it through the school year, I decided to go back to being a full-time mom. To the mothers out there who are working moms, please leave us a few helpful tips to help other hard working moms get through the everyday grind.