Now I'm sure all of you are just sitting around thinking, "This time of year is crazy with a contested elections, increasing COVID cases, and the holidays right around the corner! But you know what I really wonder about? I need to know what a random mom blogger's favorite things are!" Well, you are in luck because I'm here to tell you!
Gadgets
During my last pregnancy I became impressively anemic and along with it came my obsession with chewing ice. Not only was I able to simultaneously annoy everyone around me, I ended up chipping a tooth and needing to have dental work done. My anemia resolved, but the ice habit lingered. Luckily, I found this magical ice machine on Amazon that makes the perfect, chewy nugget ice that's even better than my former favorite, Sonic ice! It's definitely an investment but it's cheaper than the crown you'll need if you crack a molar like I did.
Snacks
Once, as a starving college student, I ate a slightly burned bag of microwave popcorn, felt sick all day, and it has ruined popcorn for me ever since. Bu a few weeks ago, a friend brought over a bag of Boom Chicka Pop Kettle Corn and now it's my favorite! Not only is it delicious but it's the perfect mix of sweet and salty when you want a light snack. And bonus: it only has 4 ingredients and they are all natural so none of those unhealthy chemicals you find in traditional microwave popcorn.
Clothes
I am a sucker for a comfy pant! I think one of the main reasons I became a nurse was because scrubs are basically glorified pajamas. I live in leggings, over-sized sweaters, and uggs all winter (with the coordinating messy bun because I really am that much of a cliche), so imagine my delight when I was gifted the most comfy PJ pants I've ever driven carpool in. Hello Mello lounge pants are my favorite: soft, stretchy, and wonderful. If you've never heard of them, you're welcome for the introduction!
Headgear
I'm not sure if I was dropped on my head one too many times as a baby or if maybe I spent too many hours in the birth canal, but I have quite the oddly-shaped noggin. Thankfully, I have enough hair to cover all the lumps and bumps that make up my unique scalp topography so it hasn't been an issue until I started needing headbands for my workouts. After years of cycling through the fancy velvet-backed headbands that never stayed put, headbands that were so tight they made my eyes bulge out of my head, and all the other cute ones that didn't stand a chance on this melon, I heard about Junk brand headbands. I was sold the first time I wore one! So many cute designs and the miraculous ability to adapt to any variety of head shape. Trust me.
Music
I've loved Pandora since it was a thing. I have my Nappy Roots station that I work out to, my Railroad Earth station that I cook to, and my Grateful Dead station that I roadtrip to. Recently, I went with some girlfriends to a 90's music trivia night. We had such a great time reminiscing to bands and songs that we hadn't thought about in years and it inspired me to listen to more 90's music. Since I am too cheap to actually pay for music, enter the 90's Pandora station! Instead of spending long carpools flipping through terrible radio stations, I have introduced my kids to music greats like Better than Ezra, Weezer, Sister Hazel, and Phish. My toddler's current favorite band is Blink 182 and even my pre-teen likes the calming voice of Dave Matthews. So if we are in Target and you happen to hear my 8 year old singing, "Teenage Dirtbag," just mind your business, okay?
