The nearest book store...

Is now maybe twenty miles away.  It totally bums me out that Borders closed and I'll be damned if my kids grow up not knowing what a book or book store is.  I am doing everything I can to advocate for traditional books.  While I cannot deny that the books on our Ipad highly motivate my kids to read, there is something to be said about loving a real, live, book that wears with age and love.

So, we packed up the kids in the van and drove thirty miles to Barnes and Nobles Kahala.  They have a beautiful section for kids that's clean, inviting, and stimulating.  When Dannika entered the kid section she squealed and got so excited seeing all the colorful, pretty books.  She didn't know where to start and could not contain her excitement.  She was grabbing this book and that book and seeing how excited she was made me know that no matter how expensive gas ever gets we'll go back again and again.

So, as we were running around looking at pretty books a family approached me and asked where we were from.  I told them and then they asked if my daughter's name was Dannika.  Turns out that the daughter is Dannika's "buddy" at school and they had also travelled the 30 miles to the nearest book store to get their kids books.  Dannika and her buddy looked for books then say in the Pooh forest and buddy read to Dannika all the books that she had chosen.

It was one of those days that the planets aligned and magic happened.  Priceless.  The power of a book.

Shopping and Mommyhood

Back in the day--before kids, that is if I needed something I could jump in my car and drive to Ala Moana. If said thing that I absolutely NEEDED wasn't to be found at one of Ala Moana's 290 shops (per alammoanacenter.com) I didn't think twice about jumping in my car and driving to Kahala Mall to continue the hunt.  Still not found?  Well there's always Pearlridge and even Windward Mall.

Those days are GONE.  Now that I am a mom with two active kids shopping has become a SPORT.  One that I have had to become a professional at.  One that I have had to become ruthless at.  Now that I am a mom I need to be able to get in and out quick and get the best deal possible.  Now that my kids are five and four years old I have become quite an expert mommy shopper.  If you need some sort of frame of reference I am like the Usain Bolt (fastest man in the world) of shopping.  I can get in and outta the store in record time with some pretty cool things.  So how do I do it?  Read on...

First of all I do a lot of scouting.  The internet and Social Media have become my most important resources for my shopping expertise.  I spend a lot of time "internet shopping" to get an idea of what I want.  The popularity of Facebook shopping has been the best invention.  I simply open my Facebook account, cruise to the pages of my favorite stores and see their latest arrivals.  If I see something I like I either leave a comment to ask questions or save a size or call the Boutique depending on what their level of Facebook customer service is (Fashionista's Boutique with Alyssa Fung and Aly Case are the BEST!).  I can buy over the phone and even get roadside pick up for my goodies at Fashionista's Market or I can go to other boutiques, let them know I have things on hold and try on fast.  Or, if I hadn't contacted the boutique I can ask for the "black one sleeved dress on the Facebook page" like I did at Adore today.  For someone like me who doesn't have time to look through racks, this new Facebook phenomenon has been a GODSEND!!!

Same pretty much goes for internet shopping.  I browse the new arrivals page of Old Navy, Gap, BR and Piperlime once a week.  If I see something I like I either buy online (free shipping) or make a mental note in my head.  With Gap Inc's free shipping I buy, try on at home and take trip to the store if it doesn't fit for free returns.  Piperlime is even better.  They have free MAIL returns. If I don't like, I pack it back into the box and drop it off at the Post Office.  Doesn't get any easier than this.  No need to go to the mall, wait for a dressing room, or be trapped with a crazy kid half-naked in a 2 foot by 2 foot room with bad lighting and skinny mirrors!!

And if you are an online shopping junky like me then make sure you google for online coupons for whatever site you're purchasing at.  I always find great online coupons for White House Black Market.  If you're not into Google, then like the Businesses page on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.  This will give you first hand accounts of sales, deals, and coupons to be had.

An even better tip is to join sites like ebates.  You visit ebates before shopping, go to the site through ebates and you receive cash back for each purchase.  Sometimes it's only 1%, but others it can be 10% and up.  Sure, getting $0.67 back doesn't seem like much, but over time you can get $200 plus dollars back like me!!!  And if you get friends to join you can get $5 back for their first purchase or earn points toward your own Ipad!!!

My last shopping mom praise is a shout out for the Starbucks Drive Through in Waipio.  There are days when you just cannot get out of the car--the kids may be bouncing off the wall, they may be fast asleep, you may have even left the house with two different shoes or sans makeup...and with the day that you're having you need some Caffeine!  A fast drive through the Starbucks can help relieve the jonesing for caffeine.  Believe me, I have driven out of my way many times to hit that drive through for my own sanity.

These are just a few of my shopping tips to save time and money.  More of my little secrets will be revealed...but for now van mommy gotta run and get those kiddies in bed!

Eat Local Challenge!

Kanu Hawaii is a hui that encourages people to make commitments to make the world a better place.  They recently launched their eat local challenge:

http://www.kanuhawaii.org/challenge/details

From their website:

Commit

Kanu Hawai‘i’s Eat Local Challenge will commit thousands of islanders in the effort to build a more sustainable, secure, and healthy local food system.  Building on the successes of the past two years, the Eat Local Challenge is expanding  from one week to the entire month of September. The month will feature weekly mini-challenges:

Week 1: Education: Learn about Hawai'i's local food system
Week 2: Grow your own: Plant/harvest local foods at home and in the community
Week 3: Choose local: Find local food at restaurants and markets
Week 4: Eat strictly local: Strive to eat only locally grown foods for one week

Our family has always had a garden and supported our local businesses by trying to buy local.  I know there is much more that we need to do and we are going to step up to the challenge.  I brought the kids to the Farmer's Market this morning and talked to them about the importance of supporting local farmers.  Not sure if they understood what I was talking about, but at least the Sunday Farmer's Market is a part of their lives!

Here are a few pictures of our day this morning:

Getting ready to shop with our re-usable bags from one of our favorite local businesses "Fighting Eel"

Noah buying water cress from the Nalo Farms truck.  We'll combine with some local tofu to make a yummy and healthy Tofu Salad.

Noah is buying some snap peas.  He loves carrots with Ranch Dressing so I am hoping he'll like these with the dressing too.  Trying to instill within them the importance of eating veggies!

Dannika buying an avocado.  We'll be combining with the tomatoes and Chinese parsley we purchased as well as some red onions and some lime to make a delicious pico de gallo.

Dannika showing us her goodies.

Noah showing us what he bought.

It was a great day.  We saved money and we supported local businesses!!!