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.

MiniVan Makeover

Can you believe it, Minivans are coming out with three television equipped with satellite service. This will be marketed as "a mother's dream". The pitch is that kids will be entertained watching television and keeping quiet. Is this the real mothers dream or another way to separate conversation between parents and children. Instead of hearing your children ask "Are we there yet", mothers will hear peace and quiet. Yeah right. What did we do when we were growing before technology took over? We had actual conversation. I can understand if you were going on a very long road trip, having a television would not be a bad idea. On a normal day-to-day running to school, activities, errands, etc.., it seems unnecessary to need the TV on the whole time (let's not even get into the video games!) Maybe I am just too old-fashioned! Parents, you would be surprised what your child has to talk about.

Interesting Gift Idea

I was paying my bills online today and decided to peruse the SCE&G website. I found a link that said 'gift certificates'. Wait a minute, did I see that correctly? You can buy a gift certificate from the same company that provides your electricity and gas? We can now give the "Gift of Comfort" as they phrase it. I have officially seen it all! Actually it is not a bad idea because they can be given as gifts to family members or friends living on fixed incomes, newlyweds, college students, adult children starting out on their own, new homeowners, the person who has everything , graduations, birthdays, weddings, holidays and "just because". You can purchase them in increments of $25-$150. Now, that is one neat gift to give! If my husband is reading this, please note that this does not apply to Anniversaries or Valentines Day! Go to http://www.scana.com/ and choose the SCE&G tab. Check it out!