A Mom Blogger’s Advice ~ Week 5

With a new baby on the way, I am planning a virtual baby shower for August complete with tons of baby gear reviews and a massive giveaway. I already have some great companies lined up, and I am working on getting more. (If you have a baby or new mom product and would like to participate, contact me.)

Leading up to the virtual shower, I thought it would be fun to recruit some of my fellow bloggers to share their best parenting advice. So every week from now till August, I will feature A Mom Blogger’s Advice. I hope you enjoy the advice as much as I do (I am printing all of the advice for my baby book).

I’d love to hear from you too. If you have parenting advice you would like to share (whether you are a blogger or not), email me. I’ll feature any advice I get so everyone can enjoy.

Advice from Alyson at TheAverageGirlsGuide.com

Hi friends of absolutely amazing and super-resourceful Jen of The Suburban Mom! It’s Alyson from The Average Girl’s Guide. While my blog is focused on general lifestyle content that every gal loves to know — fashion trends, easy recipes, snack food finds, deals & discounts, plus some inspiration and real-life commentary by me along the way — I’m also the mom of a smart, gorgeous 19-month old girl who keeps me on my toes!  This girl never runs out of energy, hah.

While I’m still pretty new at this suburban mom thing (I’m a mama living in the burbs of South Florida), I have learned a few things along the way. While there’s plenty more I could say, I’ve noticed many of Jen’s other guests have already said it pretty well. Hope you find these few extra tips helpful:

It’s all about the coupons: it’s pricey to have little kiddies! Love The Suburban Mom because she’s always giving me the scoop on great deals. Be sure you also sign-up for coupons at Babies R Us and Publix (southeast grocery store). AND, take advantage of Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons: ones that are NOT EXPIRED can be used at Babies R Us. Woot, woot!  Totally awesome for big-ticket items and registry gifts.

Buy Pirates Booty snack puffs in bulk! I haven’t met a kid (or mom!) who doesn’t lurrrrvvveee this stuff. It’s fairly healthy and tastes great. Buy super-sized amounts of it at your Costco or similar store, or wait until it’s on sale at your local grocery store.

Forget the pricey clothes! While it’s fun to see the trendy clothes — I love some of the colorful, tie-dyed, bedazzled looks — I also refuse to pay $60 for a baby tee. Heck, I won’t even spend that much on me!  While Tarjay is an obvious for cute clothes, I’ve aso found some of the cutest basics and frilly looks at Wal-Mart and K-mart. Plus, even if your budget is small do not think you can’t buy from Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and Macy’s. When they have sales… watch out! I can find the most adorable, well-made clothes for next to nothing. Bloomies is definitely my favorite for a steal!

Make cute flats and wedges your best friend: Are you a gal who loves the four-inch heels? I have a closet full of shoes I rarely wear anymore… though they do make appearances for work meetings and date nights. I’ve stocked my closet in cute flats (everything from Tory Burch to Target) and wedges. Wedges are fab (and totally on-trend this summer) to lengthen legs, make you look stylish… and give you the needed stability to run after little ones!

Enjoy the moments: Sometimes I get so wrapped up in life (I work full-time from home) that I sometimes forget to take a step back and spend the quality time I can with my daughter. All of a sudden, she’s become this little girl. Wasn’t I just holding this little newborn in my arms? The time passes quick. Everyone says it, and with good reason.

Wheh, that’s all from moi! Hope you found these tips useful and if you want more from this gal, head on over to my blog for cool gals like you.