no, i am not talking about mine (for once!), what i am talking about is creating something wonderful and useful, out of practically nothing!  if you are like this modern mama, your life is consumed by party after party, each and every weekend…now, unfortunately i am not talking about fabulous charity benefits and jet-setting around the world rubbing elbows with the rich and famous – these parties are more of the pizza and punch variety, rubbing kneecaps with the tired and cranky.  if your wee ones attend daycare or are already in school, your weekends most likely revolve around kids’ birthday parties.  i know mine does. times two!  at the conclusion of each party, besides leaving home with tired, sugar-infused wee ones, your precious offspring usually also get a goody-bag full of ‘stuff’.  this stuff ranges from candy, snacks, trinkets, and everything in between…  so what is a modern mama to do?!  here is my advice:  create a ‘pirates chest’, and after each party, let you child pick one item out of the goody bag and then put the remaining ‘booty’ into the chest for later.  then, each time you want to reward your wee ones for doing something above and beyond, let them pick out something from the pirate’s chest!  this works wonders for the little ones – think pirates chest at the dentist’s office…my 4 year old went tearless through a root canal because all he could think about was - afterwards, he got to pick out a treasure from the pirate’s chest at the dentist’s office!  this idea also helps keep your house organized and trinket-free for the most part since you won’t have a million bouncy balls roaming recklessly around the floors of your house. …now if only i can lose my own ‘booty’ as fast as the pirate’s chest!

*(originally featured on poshmama.com…in addition to my full-time job, the kids, the house, and my blog (and my blob!), i have taken on the role as a feature contributor to the fabulous and ‘haute’ site, poshmama.com) …yes, i am crazy, but i think we had established that already a long time ago!

as i mentioned in an earlier post about ‘normal’ weekends…three-day weekends are a double edge sword.  love them. hate them.

on one hand, it is great that you get an extra day off from ‘work’, but with most of us working for global corporations, do you really get ‘three days OFF from work’?  you may not have to drive in to the office, but chances are, you are still working.  …but this time, the kids are home – for all three days.  and most likely, there is some crucial 3-hour sporting event on at least one of those days that your husband/sig other will glue himself to the TV for and render himself completely useless to you and the kids during the entire time. even during commercials thanks to direct tv.  for those newlyweds reading this – this is called a ‘blackout’, as in ‘honey, the game is on – i can’t go to billy’s birthday party or put the dishes away, i’m on a blackout.” 

now, i have heard it is a lot different with a house full of boys vs. a house full of girls, and who knows if that is true – all i know is that come sunday night, my slogan is ‘TGIM’, because i can’t wait to get the kids back in daycare, the house back in order, and some or at least part of my sanity back into place.

so now here we are again, at that ever crucial paragraph and you are wondering – so what’s your point?! and my point is this:  the only way to make three-day weekends a win-win situation for everyone in your household, including you – is by using advanced planning and negotiation.  plan get-togethers with friends or family who have kids similar in age.  this way, your kids can blow off a lot of steam and have fun, while you can engage in some adult conversation and have fun yourself.  in addition, plan a family event that your kids WANT to do – and leave the blackberry at home for those 3-4 hours or so.  YOU’RE not that important, but your kids ARE  – so get over it.  finally, negotiate with your husband so each of you have a little alone time.  most likely, he won’t want to waste his 3-hour hall pass watching the game, and you can actually get some time to regroup and re-energize to get you through the long weekend.  now that’s a win-win situation for any modern mama!

ps. happy turkey day - let me know how your upcoming FOUR DAY weekend goes (thanksgiving + 3)!

although we really can’t completely avoid shopping with our precious offspring in tow, now that the holidays are upon us, here is my advice and must-have amo when taking the little ones shopping.

1. shopping cart: since my kids are 4 and 2 (and are on the tall side), they no longer fit in strollers which regulates me to only shopping at stores that have carts that they can sit in.  carts AND a toy section is an added bonus.
2. lollipops:  lollipops are the best – like my american express card, i don’t leave home without them since it takes about 20 minutes for my kids to finish a lollipop while sitting, calmly and content – and  contained in a shopping cart.

most of my shopping with the kids revolves around grocery shopping, or a quick run to supertarget, but if i have to go clothing shopping with them, nordstrom rack and marshalls are pretty much the only places i know of that have cute clothes AND shopping carts.  of course, with the kids, you are guaranteed a return trip back since i don’t recommend trying on attempting to try on clothes while they are with you – this only cuts significantly into your lollipop time!

so next time when you are out shopping with the wee ones, don’t be a ‘sucker’ - grab a pack of ‘dum-dums’ (they are the smaller version of the tootsie pops with no gum/tootsie roll inside) – throw the kids in the cart and start shopping…after all, you’ve got 20 minutes – and for the modern mama and uber multi-tasker, we can accomplish a lot in 20 minutes!

i know when i came back to the blog-osphere, i vowed to try and post at least two times per week…however, lately my day job has been seeming to get in the way of my blogging (and mad ranting!), so this week i only have a quickie post (and apology) that this week’s post is going ’solo-mio’…since i gotta continue to support my diet coke and shoe addiction.

now i know i have home decor listed as one of my topics, and home decor is really my passion - so here goes…here is a fabulous new site (or at least new to ME!) - called wall candy arts.  they adversitse themselves as offering ‘hip surface graphics’ and i think they deliver!  the wallies for kids are cute and modern, and the chalkboard removable decals are the coolest things ever.  i am putting the rococo down on my santa wish list - at 31″ x 18″ - size does matter as this erasable chalkboard can help any modern mama’s life and home be organized and stylish without breaking the bank!

stay-tuned for my holiday wish list that all modern mama’s can use!  from the fabulous to the practical, this list will have it ALL…because we deserve it, right?!