Resources

I remember trying to find places to shop when we went dairy free, and I have seen many more moms go through the same transition when allergies took over their pantries. Now that we have grown out of our dairy issues I have found the perfect resource. Check out the Loudoun Allergy Network for lists of places to shop, restaurants, and lots of other support!

227 Maple Avenue
Vienna, VA 22180 (map it)
(703) 255-1566

Now that I have been to three of the weekday morning Tot Rock shows that Jammin’ Java offers, I feel somewhat qualified to talk this venue up. I get the sense that Jammin’ Java would be a great place for a night out sans kids, but I haven’t gotten there in that capacity yet! Maybe the grown up venue is part of what I like about taking the kids there. Despite my uncool clothes and my permanent post-partum tummy, I feel hipper the moment I walk in the door. We have seen Rocknoceros, The Banjo Man, and Mr. Knick Knack. All are totally different types of shows, and either have been or will be reviewed individually on our blog.

The more kids you bring, the steeper the $5 per kid entry fee feels, but in my opinion it is a great morning out so is totally worth it. If you need a place for a picnic afterwards, check out Glyndon Park. It’s been a few years since my kids and I have been there, but we remember it fondly.

Speaking of eating, Jammin’ Java sells snacks geared towards kids and asks you not to bring your own food and drink, but no one is checking your sippy cups at the door. As with many cafes that offer more than just food and drink, the coffee service is slow, but that’s OK by me.

Bonus tidbit: Since they offer beer, wine, and liquor during their evening shows, Jammin’ Java also falls into my new unofficial category of bars with changing tables. I wonder if there’s a demand for a nationwide listing of these? www.barswithchangingtables.com might be a profitable endeavor….

I know that even the most privileged moms can feel like their hands are tied when they’re sleep deprived, drowning in diapers, and learning to live on one income or two incomes minus childcare. In my personal journey to continue helping others — even with small children — I have learned a lot of lessons and experienced many false starts:

• Showing up to fix a meal at a shelter with a baby on your back can lead to whooping cough - even if you vaccinate your kids.
• Kids are not welcome in the Red Cross mobile donation vehicles.
• Ditching your partner and kids to volunteer may not lead to domestic bliss.
• While protesting during the first trimester, there will not always be a bathroom handy when you need to pee or throw up.
• Others may not be comfortable when you show up at community meeting with a fussy baby in arms and start to breastfeed.

There’s a great new group of Ashburn and Leesburg moms out there pondering how to make a positive impact on our community by helping other moms in need. This group is convinced that we moms can find a way to help each other, especially those moms who are facing bigger challenges than most. Come join us now while we are still defining our goals and figuring out how to make an impact right here in Loudoun County.

My family and I are preparing for the end of a ten year relationship with a well-loved station wagon. In replacing it we are saying goodbye to the vehicle that carried us through our twenties and are embracing a new type of family adventure vehicle for our thirties, which we hope will facilitate carpools, daycare field trips — 5 carseats (ack!) — and an evolved version of the road trips of past years.

Like many others out there, we are trying to do the impossible: minimize the price and fuel usage and maximize the passenger capacity and durability of the vehicle. We also want to make sure we have space inside for dogs and room on top for boats, skis and large pieces of furniture bought via craigslist. In a perfect world, maybe we could even find a way to not give up the all-wheel drive…. It goes without saying that we require a safe and dependable vehicle.

I googled and googled and couldn’t find a great online solution to appease our obsessive need to analyze and research without pressure from a salesperson. When I didn’t find what I wanted I went to the wise women of the local moms clubs and was given a list of useful websites. The one that seemed to be exactly what I could not find on my own was motherproof.com. It is an excellent resource for researching a mommy car that combines the raw numbers with readable narrative from actual moms.

I would still like to find a database or spreadsheet listing what carseat combinations fit in what vehicles…. if anyone knows of one I would appreciate a tip. Until I find one I would love to use the comments feature on this post to collect your impressive carseat combinations. Please include make, model, year, order of carseats, and any tips you have for fitting them in there.

While we are talking recalls… there’s yet another list you can join to receive info on infant & child products. This one is put out by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Here’s a cool tool to clutter your inbox and help keep your little ones safe! The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers an e-mail notification system for car seat recalls.

lilaguide.com

I just came across The Lila Guide tonight, and it is a work in progress far more advanced than my own. The guide has labeled itself as a word of mouth resource for parents, and it looks like it could be a useful resource depending on where you live and what you are after. If you want to read good things about the Ergo Baby Carrier you’ll find them there. If you are looking for something fun to do in San Francisco you’ll find that too. But if you are looking for geographic specific stuff in other places you may or may not find what you need. The good news is that they realize that their databases need filling, and they are currently offering a $5 Target gift certificate to folks who complete 10 reviews. Sucker for free things that I am I have participated in this exercise in data entry, and you’ll find my two cents on the site. My reviews were held up by the fact that many of the places I wanted to review were not in their system yet so I had to recommend them first. Also some of the products took some work to find. So it was a little bit of work, but aren’t all co-operative endeavors?

Update: I had to remind them, but I DID receive that $5 Target giftcard.

trixietracker.com

I admit that I never used Trixie Tracker. I couldn’t even manage to keep track of which side my babies had fed on last, let alone when they slept or how often I changed their diapers. But I was just starting to discover that the internet was more than just a tool for finding zip codes, bus schedules, and jobs back then….

The analytical side of me just loves the idea of charting a baby’s sleep patterns. I think it could be a really useful tool for many sleep deprived families and a fun project for folks adjusting to life at home with a babe and wanting to track, quantify and analyze.