What’s In Your Bag? ~ Brooke & Lindsay

We love this first contributor series because y’all will get a glimpse into the lives of our team. The only thing we asked our ACMB Moms is to answer this question: “Tell us what you carry around town in your bag.”

This series is a perfect example of Alamo City Moms Blog – moms with different voices and different experiences right here in San Antonio!

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Brooke

When I first started out as a mom, I started with a real diaper bag.  I remember this being a BIG deal at the time.  I was about 8 months pregnant….in San Antonio….in July….in 100+ weather….and decided that I needed the perfect bag. I dragged my poor mother around town from store to store, frantically searching for just the right one.  I’m sure I looked like a sweating rhinoceros as I charged into stores, baby weight and all, demanding to view their samples and charging right out when I didn’t find just the right one.

But alas, I did find it and while it served it’s purpose for the first 6 months of my daughter’s life, I started to get annoyed at all of the pockets.  I’d go to look for a pacifier when Harper was flipping her lid and I’d end up having to shove my hand in 16 different pockets, finally finding the pacifier in pocket #16.

At some point in her early days, a friend gave us this Land’s End canvas tote with my daughter’s name on it.  We went on a road trip and I packed it full of little toys for the girl.  Somewhere along the way, I realized it was just what I had been missing in my life – one huge area that I could just shove my hand in, wave around for a little while and eventually it would land on the item in need.

I typically carry a small clutch or purse on a daily basis that can fit inside the all purpose bag.  The big bag comes out when we’re headed into a restaurant or somewhere that I can’t just scoot out to my car.  Items always in my bag:

– Great little, green, personalized diaper/wipes carrier that was a gift when my son arrived

– Snacks x2 for 2 kids

– Water x2

– Big water for me that goes everywhere

– Sunscreen

– Extra bag of clothes for my now-potty trained girl, “just in case”

– Summer Infant Tiny Diner Placemat a.k.a. best purchase ever!  Both of my kids have eaten off of this thing when we are out and about and it saves me from evil glares from angry busboys that have to clean a table after my kids have dined in their establishment

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Lindsay

Here at Alamo City Moms Blog, we pride ourselves on providing honest posts from real moms. So, real talk?  A better name for my diaper bag is “a large bag that contains items that may or may not be useful if a child is present”.   And since we’re in the tree of trust, the amount of snack-based crumbles at the bottom of my mom purse is kind of gross.

The good news is that at 3:48pm on Monday, July 1st, I decided to pull myself away from the taped SVU’s that I watch during nap time to grab a few things from my Mary Poppin’s style bag. These items should help you get to know a little bit about me…

I have learned from my past mistakes and most days the things above end up in my bag.  I did have one of those cute diaper and wipe carrying things that are brightly colored and compact, but I don’t know what happened to it. Lately I’ve been toting this super fancy zip-loc that must have contained something from preschool in it because the JACK is his teacher’s handwriting.  This method works well if we have dirty clothes (which is inevitable) because it doubles as an air-tight way to transport said garments home.

Two copies of People magazine are on the left.  I consider this tabloid to be on the higher end of the intellectual scale because it is a mix of celebrity and feel-good stories.  Kind of like marrying E! News with Oxygen Network and converting them into print.  These have been in there since my trip to New Orleans three weeks back and I have yet to read either one, so they are pretty much dead weight.

A lovely pair of heart shaped beads of unknown origin is in the middle.  Also, I didn’t realize how many permanent markers I carry with me.  One would think I’m in the habit of defacing property, but I guess I like the security of knowing I have a Sharpie with me at all times?

Three different types of note cards are on the right, likely put in at various times of the year with hopes of leaving in my classroom for future use.  Clearly that didn’t happen, but if I ever need to write a thank you note on the fly, I’m set.

The good and the bad (which is not pictured because we are encouraging you to come back), that’s me in a bag. I am excited to learn more about you!