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Monday, April 15, 2019

Mom Bag Must Haves

As moms we learned long ago that in order to survive you must carry all the things. It's as if there is some unwritten law that after giving birth you simultaneously become a master of preparedness and organization. Overnight you go from carrying around an adorable little clutch to a large multi-strapped tote that rivals the size of a small carry-on, and lugging around its weight could also count as your daily Cross Fit workout. The contents of this mom bag have you on the ready for any situation your tiny little tot might throw at you - and then some. It's magical existence would make even Macgyver jealous. But then again, we're moms and magic is our thing.

As two moms to six kids, we have some years on us to revise that "mom bag" down to the bare necessities. By now we all know to carry with us diapers, wipes, and everything our kids could possibly want or need during their non-sleeping hours, but that's not what we're talking about. Today we are going to chat about our Mom Bag Must Haves - the things that as moms we need the most.



MOM BAG MUST HAVES


Snacks  
Just like you pack snacks for your kids, your mom bag needs a snack or two for yourself too! And we don't mean the leftover cheesy crackers your child didn't eat. We mean one just. for. you. One that hasn't been pre-tasted and can be claimed as all your own. Pack something in your bag that is delicious, filling or can be seen as a little reward for making carpool on time that day. When the only meal you might have time for that day comes out of a package - make it a good one. 


Our current favorite snacks are these Betty Lou's Fruit Bars. These bars have been gracing our mom bags for the last few weeks and they are oh so yummy. They taste just like pie, but without all the guilt. The Betty Lou's Fruit Bars are non-GMO, vegan, and all the sugars are sourced from natural fruit and fruit juices. 


We also love that they are free of the top 8 allergens identified by the FDA. As moms who have dealt with food allergies, and often find ourselves in places where certain ingredients are prohibited (i.e. preschool), it's nice to know our favorite snack can come along for the ride. 


Healthy dessert packaged for on-the-go goodness - we are so in! 

We found the Betty Lou's Fruit Bars on the breakfast aisle at Walmart, but you can also find them at Betty Lou's Inc. They come in four great flavors - Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Cherry & Blackberry. The last few times we've purchased them we've just added them to our Walmart Curbside Grocery Pick-Up order. Because pro-moms know snacks in your mom bag taste even better when you don't actually have to shop for those snacks. Trust us. 




Water Bottle 
A water bottle or to-go drink cup is a biggie for us. We carry one where every we go, and always have one in our mom bag. Sure there's the need to stay hydrated to live. There's also the whole energy boost you get from consuming the right amount of water each day (and let's be honest we need all the help we can get to keep up). Or we simply need a little something on hand to wash down when we've enjoyed a Betty Lou's bar (or three) during our snack break. 

But it's a little more superficial than all those reasons too.  

Well hydrated skin looks younger and less tired. It's proven fact. And as moms who haven't slept through the night since birth (we're kidding...sort of.), give us all the water. 

 

Reading Material 
One of our big mom bag must haves is reading materials. And here's the kicker - reading material for enjoyment. Life is hectic, and as moms its often tough to find free time between the hours of 6a.m. and 9p.m. We used to get discouraged by this or think that if we had a free five or ten minutes we had to spend it catching up on emails, replying to texts, or scouring Pinterest for ideas for child number three's birthday party next month. 


Carrying around our favorite magazines or a book we thought we would never get around to, gave us the chance to take little breaks to enjoy doing something else when we least expected them. Getting to carpool line fifteen minutes early? Now we could read our magazine while we ate our snack. Headed to an unexpected doctors appointment with a sick little one? Now we had a book on hand to keep us distracted from all the germs we were surrounded by while we waited. 


It became easier to sneak in little breaks here and there if we were prepared with things that we enjoy to facilitate those breaks. 



Self-Care Kit
If you take a peek into our bags, you will almost always notice we carry around a much smaller little bag. This little bag contains our own personal self-care kits. Inside we keep nail polish, nail polish remover wipes, lotion, travel sized dry shampoo, a brush...and you get the idea. 

You just never know when you have to have and impromptu meeting. Or find yourself with a few extra minutes at the end of soccer practice to give yourself a quick little polish change. Some of our best manis are done while waiting in the carpool line - because nothing lets your nails dry better than direct air flow from the vents beside the wheel of your car while playing baseball/soccer/dance mom taxi all afternoon.


Headphones
Headphones - more specifically noise canceling headphones - are a must in our mom bags. Laugh if you will, but we aren't the ones listening to that insanely catchy shark song all afternoon, or the same animated princess movie that we can repeat word for word. 

Nope. 


We simply press play to keep our little ones filled with joy as they sing about turning frozen lands back into summer, and slip on our headphones. Our ears are now filled with our latest audio book, our favorite podcasts, or our favorite 90's rap music that we just can't quit.  


Bonus: the noise canceling feature also comes in quite handy during those "she/he's touching me!!!" moments that seem to occur on the daily. 


What are some of your mom-bag must haves? 





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This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Betty Lou’s, Inc., but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BettyLousAtWalmart  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

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