You Know You're Busy, Too.

Moms, let's talk.

I am so busy it's not even funny.  And, it's my fault.  I am one of those people that has trouble saying no...which is probably why I have 3 kids.  Anyway, that is also why I'm PTA President and Sunday School Teacher and Scout Helper and chauffer and babysitter....you know what I'm saying.

So, I'm happy to take a little help where I can get it.  When my first son was born, I spent 4 days making home-made hand-stamped individualized Christmas cards.  Now, however, as a veteran mom (and a veteran Chief Home Officer in charge of where the cards go) I know that the only thing people keep each year is the pictures.  My cards that I spent 4 days on? Those went in the trash.  The cute pictures of the baby that some teenager took at Wally World in under 10 seconds? Those stayed on the fridge for a year.

What I'm saying, is that there is nothing wrong with not wasting your time or your money on something that's going in the trash.  Especially if you're like me and you do not have time.  That's why this year I'm ordering our Christmas Cards from Shutterfly.

We're CHRISTMAS Christmas people (since my other job is Children's Pastor), so I always look for something that references that it's a religious holiday for our family- so we're probably going for the O Holy Night cards here

However, if you celebrate another holiday, they've got you covered, too.  My hubby's family is Jewish, so we also celebrate Hannukah- and although I don't send cards for it, if I did, this would be a winner in my book:

Finally, if you just want to cover all your bases, you know, Bodhi Day on December 8th, Winter Solstice on the 21st, Yule, Diwali, Eid ul-Adha, Kwanza, Festivus, whatever it is that you and your friends and family celebrate- I actually really love this card.  Happy Everything.  Pretty much says it all.

So, Happy Everything to you and your family this holiday season, and, save yourself a little time and send people what they really want- Awesome Fridge Pictures, no need for a card :)

Touch of Gold- Not for kids, but Good for Mommies :)

In the interest of full-disclosure, let me start by saying that I work at Touch of Gold one or two days a month.  It's a great part-time job, and they're actually looking for another part-time sales associate.  It's not a lot of hours, but it's a great time playing with jewelry all day!!

Touch of Gold carries fine jewelry as well as collections like Kameleon (my personal favorite- I love sparkles!!)  and Troll Beads.

Come on in and visit me! I'll be working the weekend of the Troll Beads Trunk Show (September 22nd-25th, but come in before the 25th because the Occoquan Arts and Crafts Festival is the 25th/26th and you will have to shuttle over instead of parking by the store!)

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Contact PWC Moms

Thanks for visiting PWC Moms! If you would like to share an event (it's free!) that families or children in Prince William County would love, you can add it yourself!! Just click "calendar" at the top of this page, and then use the "propose an event" feature found right by the date.  At this point, I get so many requests  for calendar additions that for me to keep up, I ask businesses to help by adding their own events.  I'm happy to help if you encounter problems or have questions, though!! If it's just too much work for you, I do add events for my paying sponsors.

If you're interested in being a giveaway sponsor, or you'd like PWC Moms to do a review of your business, please email me HERE.

If you are interested in finding out about advertising with PWC Moms either on our homepage or our calendar page, please email me HERE.

Other Sites We Love!

Headed to another county?

You can find us at Washington Family Magazine, or, you can visit our friends at Kid Trips: Northern Virginia, who have an entire book of fun family finds in our area!

Need some grown-up time? Check out Real Housewives of Northern Virginia! 

Trying to save a little cash, or want the scoop on local giveaways and deals? BeltwayBargainMom has you covered!

Your source for local news-  PotomacLocal.com

Live in Prince William County? Then you should check out Prince William Living and Haymarket Lifestyle, who also publish me in their family fun sections.

Need info on Prince William County Parks? It's HERE.

Thanks, also, to our previous guest posters.  You can read more about them at their websites! (These are in alphabetical order by first name.  That seemed fair? I love you all!!)
Adrienne Vose, Move More Fitness
Angela Pounders, The Master's Daughter
Jeff's Wife, Surviving After SUDEP
Kamber Petty, NoVA Outdoors
Lisa, Workout Mommy
Molly, Stilettos and Diapers
Nicole Dash, Tiny Steps Mommy
Samantha, Happily a Housewife
Sarah Meisenhelter, The Wild Ruby
Sarah Young, Healthwise Home
Winter Harris, Christ Centered Home Magazine

Review: Barefoot Books

When Prince William County Mom and Barefoot Books Rep Liz Garland emailed me about featuring her business, she told me to start by picking a book.

Which was, seriously Liz, a little bit daunting!

I went to the Barefoot website thinking that it would be the standard books that you see at each and every school bookfair, but I was quickly surprised (and overwhelmed) by the options that were so different. 

I think my favorite thing about Barefoot books is that there is a little something in here for everyone, and the books are produced with such care and quality they are truly heirloom worthy (your grandchildren will love these books) and present worthy (because I doubt that the child you give them to will have anything like them).  With my educational background in comparitive religion, I loved that there was a book of blessings of many faiths- I love teaching my children that we're all more similar than we are different, even if we subscribe to a particular faith (Barefoot's Book of Blessings).  There are also classic tales from many of the world's cultures.  I also really appreciated that there are so many offerings that are forgotten classics, at least at our house.  It seems like even our bookshelf has become overrun by a certain someone whose name rhymes with Dalt Wisney- books about talking animals, cars, jungle creatures, and bugs have taken the place of some of the fairy tales that really should be providing a basic foundation for any child- if not for their moral, for providing a basic cultural background (or maybe I've just been reading a little too much E.D. Hirsch lately.  Either way.)

Back to Barefoot.  As I continued to look through my options, I ran across beautiful books on Pirates, Princesses- complete with dress up outfits!- and even a host of selections for families living natural/health focused lifestyles, including Vegetarian Children's Cookbooks and even books on Yoga.

When I finally decided I couldn't pick, Liz asked me the ages of my children (2, 4, and 6- one girl, two boys) and said she'd be able to help me pick the perfect book.  With a vacation coming up that included a loooong road trip, Liz expertly picked The Three Billy Goats Gruff (one of those forgotten fairy tales!) which came with a beautiful book AND a CD.  This was brilliant! Because I am one of those HORRIBLE mothers that refuses to have a DVD player in her car (and yes, I know that's a gateway to child abuse, my 6 year old tells me all.the.time about how unfair his life is), books are a favorite pasttime in the car.  However, since daddy couldn't come on this trip with us and Grandma gets a little car sick, having this book on CD was great! (The only downside was that I should have, apparently, bought one of the gift packs, because we listened to The Three Billy Goats Gruff from roughly Richmond, Virginia to Charlotte, North Carolina.  Mommy was then ready for more options!!)

Barefoot Books gets a huge thumbs up from me, not only because it saved me on our car trip, but because its local distributor setup allows me to support a fellow local mom, and because of their diverse options.  It also gets a thumbs up from all three of my children- for a grand total of 4 thumbs up from PWC Moms. 

Distributor Liz Garland is graciously giving away a free item of choice ($14.99 or under, please) to a lucky PWC Moms reader.  To win, you may leave a comment here, and also, follow the link below to Liz's Facebook Fanpage and leave a comment there.  (That's 2 chances to win) In your comment either place, please tell us your favorite book from the Barefoot Books website.(Giveaway is closed)

Thanks Liz, and Barefoot Books for this great giveaway!

Click HERE to see Liz's Barefoot Books fanpage.

Kids In Motion

Admittedly, our family needs a 12 step program for Kids in Motion. We've had our oldest's birthday parties there since he turned one.  Why? Beyond the fact that it's one of a few places where you can invite the whole class (a must at our school since they don't hand out contact information and won't give invitations to only select kids), I look like a rockstar because everyone's kids go home tired and take a nap.  A long nap.  What parent wouldn't love that?

Kids in Motion offers such a variety of programs, too! We've used their Moms Day Out/Summer Camp, which is an awesome way for you and a friend to sneak out for a quick pedicure in the middle of the day and live out your "ladies who lunch" fantasies, even if it's just for a few hours.

Of course, the mainstay of Kids in Motion is open play.  It's the perfect place to spend a rainy, overly hot, or snowy day- and a great treat when it's nice outside, too!! If you've never been, it's critical that you BRING SOCKS for everyone, although they usually have a stock there for purchase, too.  In Room 1, there is an inflatable obstacle course, a wooden castle structure, a large inflatable slide, a large inflatable bouncy house, and several smaller Little Tykes style slides and wall-mounted games perfect for younger siblings.  Room 2 has a large wooden train, another LT style slide castle, a large inflatable basketball game, an enormous inflatable obstacle course race, and a 2 sided inflatable slide.  While the larger inflatables can be difficult for toddler to navigate, parents are welcome to help them (with socks on, of course) and owner Linda Bradshaw has really put a lot of thought into making sure younger siblings have fun, even if they're too tiny to self-navigate the obstacle courses.

One final note- if you don't have a trusted babysitter in the area, Kids in Motion also offers an awesome Kids Night Out for ages 3-12.
GIVEAWAY: CLOSED
\
Updates, July 2011
Pros: Fun, indoor playplace that always tires the kids out.  Birthday parties not in your house!!
Cons: Price increases make this a special event rather than an "any old time" event
Caution: Depending on who's working the day you go, you may run into some cleanliness issues.  On our last visit there were dirty band-aids stuck to some of the equipment and the bathrooms needed attention.  We've never had that issue before, but I know other moms have, so I'm assuming it depends on the attendant working that day.