Almost every mom I know has been through at least three diaper bags, if not four or five. I thought this was a ridiculous statistic until I allowed myself to buy a second diaper bag after realizing that the first one was deteriorating quickly. The second one was an improvement on the first one in many ways, thus planting an idea in my head: was it possible to achieve diaper bag nirvana? Could I continue to improve on each successive new bag? Would angels sing when at last I opened up that final perfect tote?
Without further ado, here’s the rundown of all the diaper bags I’ve tried. I’ll post my list of diaper bag essentials in another post, so you’ll know what I was trying to fit into all of these bags.
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March 23rd, 2007
This past January we took both kids to Disneyland for an official dose of Disney madness. Gloria was 7 months, Frances was 3.5… we flew into Orange County from Oakland and stayed at the Grand Californian. Apart from a freakish cold snap (freeeezing cold weather), we had a great trip. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’ve learned about visiting the “Big D” with kids:
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March 22nd, 2007
This morning I found myself in Urban Outfitters with a baby strapped to my chest. I browsed through the tank tops and smiled gamely at the salesperson folding clothes next to me who was easily fifteen years younger than I am. “Mamamama!” cried Gloria, over the din of blaring indie pop. I felt like an alien invader. How did I end up so far from the playground, the grocery store, from Gymboree?
It all started with one phrase from my preschooler a few weeks ago: “Mom, why do you wear the same clothes every single day?”
It’s true: I have fallen victim to the Mommy Uniform, and I am striving to break out. Or at least liven things up a little bit. The Mommy Uniform in my case consists of a v-neck t-shirt (short or long-sleeved), jeans or capri pants, and a black fleece vest. Plain colors, playground-ready, no ironing or dry-cleaning required. But I need new stuff. And it’s not just because I’m in a rut; it’s because at the moment, after two pregnancies, I actually have no clothes.
Earlier this winter I cleaned out my closet. I mean, really cleaned it out. Bags and bags of clothing: gone. With all my maternity gear stashed away in the attic hopefully forever, I got rid of everything. Donated to Magic Johnson’s big purple charity shop. Dozens of pairs of stretchy dress pants from my last job five years ago? Gonzo. “Biz-dev blue” work shirts? Gone. Gross t-shirts from Old Navy in a dozen unrecognizable shades of black and whitish-grey? Buh-bye. If I never missed it in five years, I tossed it. If I wore it last when I was in college, I bid it a fond farewell. It was highly satisfying and a little bit scary.
Anyway, the New Me is waiting to be discovered and hopefully purchased on sale. But what to get? The sad thing is, I spend so much (enjoyable) time and energy outfitting my kids that I have not thought about my own clothes in years. I have also vowed not to accumulate lots of crap; I don’t want to end up with dozens of white and black t-shirts again. So this is how I arrived at Urban Outfitters this morning, wondering whether it was acceptable for a minivan-driving mommy of two to be checking out the babydoll tops and sparkly ballet flats.
I bought some tank tops. Also, alas, some v-neck t-shirts, but hopefully they’re slightly more interesting than the Old Navy variety. And one sort of offbeat patterned t-shirt, just to see if I can pull it off. This will be a work in progress, because I’m not quite sure where I fit in: one part Urban, one part North Face Outlet, one part J.Crew, nothing too nice in case Gloria wipes her nose on my shoulder.
March 14th, 2007
I am a little bit insane. I just ordered Frances’ birthday party favors almost two months ahead of time.
In my former, pre-child life I was not so crazy, but now that I have kids I get some sort of absurd pleasure from accomplishing a task in advance. It’s like, yes, I only got two hours of sleep last night, and my baby’s nose is dripping everywhere, and I got pizza for dinner, but! I HAVE PARTY FAVORS! Those kids will take home little plastic baggies with stickers and crayons and I will have assembled those baggies in a — dare I say it — leisurely amount of time. Ah, the thrill of doing anything in a relaxed manner. Small victories are sweet.
Incidentally, my small victory was due mostly to Orientaltrading.com, home of every small plastic item you ever wanted to fish out from under your couch. For the truly interested, the loot bags will include:
Heart shaped notepads
Rainbow crayons
Ice cream erasers
Iridescent stickers
March 8th, 2007
When Gloria started sitting up at 6 months, for the longest time I wasn’t sure how to allow her to play on the ice-cold, rock-hard tile floor of our kitchen while we cooked or ate at the table. Blankets just slipped and slid everywhere. A yoga mat didn’t slide, but was too thin. A little kids’ gym mat would have been ideal, but those things are expensive. We tried the exersaucer in the kitchen, or just sat her in the highchair, but Gloria had little tolerance for those over long periods of time.
Finally I hit upon the answer at Bed, Bath & Beyond: I picked up an inexpensive bathroom rug with a non-skid rubber backing. Voila! Instant cushy baby play space on the inhospitable kitchen floor. It may not be lovely, but it’s much softer on the noggin. We now keep a pair of non-skid bath rugs next to our kitchen table and a pile of baby toys, and Gloria is happy and entertained while the rest of the family eats dinner.
Of course, I only wish I’d thought of this sooner, because Gloria is about to crawl at any minute, thus rendering this hack much less useful!
March 5th, 2007
Welcome to my new and very sparkly blog. Please pardon my dust; I’m just learning the ropes. My About page should explain things somewhat. I hope to get into the swing of things soon, once I’m done changing my design fifty or sixty times. Hello, new procrastination tool!
March 4th, 2007
Great Pick-Up Foods (for babies just learning to eat with their fingers)
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March 3rd, 2007
General Tips:
- Buy some new toys for the plane. The novelty factor goes a long way, compared to toys that have already been used a lot at home.
- Wrap a few special items in wrapping paper for the fun of unwrapping
- Fly JetBlue whenever possible; they have individual tv screens on seat backs with DirecTV. They also have a diaper change surface in their bathrooms. You do have to bring your own food, though.
- Even if you have a JetBlue TV, a portable DVD player is a very worthwhile investment if you travel frequently.
- The seat-back tray is very entertaining, as are the magazines and safety instructions in the seat pocket
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March 3rd, 2007
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