Archive for January, 2012
Amazon Mom Changes Its Program
Posted by: | CommentsMany parents have embraced Amazon’s “Amazon Mom” program since its launch. Amazon Mom offers discounts on lots of baby products, including diapers, wipes, and baby food. In particular, parents can sign up for the ”Subscribe & Save” option, which gives them a 15% discount when they agree to continue buying the product at a particular interval (i.e. every month). I have used Amazon Mom for diapers and fruit and veggie pouches, and I’ve found the discount to be very good–often beating the best price I could find elsewhere.
Unfortunately, Amazon recently announced that it is making changes to its Amazon Mom program. Beginning on January 24, users will need to sign up for Amazon Prime (an expedited shipping service for $79/year) in order to receive the Amazon Mom discounts. So, while the discounts were great when there was no membership fee, I don’t think many parents will find the program competitive when they consider the additional $79 yearly fee. The one positive change is that the Subscribe & Save discount has been increased to 20%.
So, if you buy lots of baby supplies from Amazon, you can run the numbers and see if you might still save money through the program. But for casual buyers like me, these new program changes mean significantly reduced savings. I still love Amazon for other things, of course!
I May be a Parent But…
Posted by: | CommentsI had a very funny conversation with a friend this weekend. We both became moms around the same time, and we were catching up on our parenting adventures over the last two years. We found ourselves saying “Well, yeah, I’m a mom but…” several times. We realized that there are lots of things that other parents do (or at least stereotypes about parents) that we don’t do ourselves.
For example, I swear I will never wear “mom jeans.” (Heaven forbid there ever comes a day when my normal jeans are considered “mom jeans”! Perish the thought!) She swore that she would never get a “mom haircut.” (I second that.) And we both feel a stronger need now to hang out with friends or have girls-nights-out than we did before having a child.
And even though someone recently told me that I’m “rockin’ the whole mom thing,” which made me feel so OLD, I generally don’t feel old at all. I guess part of me thought I would become an adult when I had a child of my own, but I still feel like a kid myself sometimes.
How about you? Are there any parental stereotypes that you are trying to avoid? Have you changed in ways you thought you would since becoming a parent, or have you managed to stay mostly the same?
Also, if you’re looking for a little inspiration or just interesting reading, check out these two blog posts that friends of mine found:
If you ever find any great blog posts, let me know and I’ll post them here.
How Do You Want Your Kids to Address Adults?
Posted by: | CommentsFirst, I have to apologize for the hiatus. I didn’t mean to take over 2 weeks off from the blog, but the holidays came, and it just happened that way. But I’m back on track now!
Second, happy New Year! I hope you all will have a wonderful 2012!
Ok, now back to blogging 
As most of you know, I live in Virginia. While it doesn’t generally feel like “the South” to me, at times it does feel distinctly different than Pennsylvania, where I grew up. One thing that I’ve found different here is the way in which adults are introduced to children. My friends introduce me as “Miss Jen,” and then their kids call me that. When I grew up, I called all of my parents’ friends Mrs. Smith or Mrs. Johnson. Or, in rare cases of a super-cool adult, I would simply call them by their first name (i.e. Linda or Susan). This whole “Miss Firstname” thing has caught me off guard.
Not that I mind it, really, but if a child wants to call me by my first name, they are welcome to do so without adding the “Miss” in front. Maybe some adults feel that’s not respectful enough. Also, it seems that no one is introduced as “Mrs. Brown” or “Mrs. Drake” anymore. Is that reserved only for more formal settings (like teachers in a classroom)?
What do you think of this convention? I’m assuming it’s a Southern thing, but maybe it’s just a modern way of introducing adults to children. Do you introduce your friends as “Miss Firstname” to your kids or do you just opt for their first name? And when do you introduce an adult as “Mrs. Lastname”? Which do you prefer?
