F-U recession. We'll be fine.

I haven’t written in quite a while. I just haven’t made the time. Between dropping the little off at preschool, running home to get some cleaning in, and running to the office to be consistent enough with our marketing efforts with the firm while at the same time developing some new ideas for new endeavors and trying to get home early enough to share some quality time with Emily, so we can play, have dinner, bathe, read and ultimately, go to sleep. Actually, SHE goes to sleep and I try to catch 10 or 15 minutes of CNN just to make sure the world hasn’t ended just yet. . .well, it’s been crazy.

Anyway, is the economy catching up with just about everyone, or is it me?

The positive spin on this whole recession, possibly soon-to-be-depression thing is that we can all learn some things to lead more responsible lives and learn to appreciate what is truly important.

Dave and I have worked our butts off for a long time to be “ahead of the curve” financially at a young age. We own our own business; we live in a nice house. We drive nice cars and send our child to a beautiful private preschool she loves. But as we are quickly learning, all that can vanish in an instant. We’ve lost neighbors to foreclosure and are seeing the value of our home drop. We’re holding off on vacation this year (other than a couple of Disney trips and what not) But, I am beginning to understand that all that “stuff” we work for is not really that important. We’ve seen some tragic and trying times around us – more than one set of friends who have lost a child in the past year, family members filing for bankruptcy, a leukemia diagnosis for my daughter’s cousin (thankfully now in remission), and countless other much more trying times than seeing our bank and retirement accounts shrink. This puts things in perspective.

In times like these, some people decide that the world is coming to an end and cross their arms to wait for Armageddon. Others, like myself – like so many of you, we decide we have to fight harder than ever. In times like these, we’ll come up with the best marketing ideas, with the best new business ideas and take on the world. So, F-U recession. F-U.

Thankfully, we’re still doing OK by most standards. Paying our bills on time, keeping a roof over our heads and our child fed. But to do so in the most responsible manner, we’ve cut unnecessary expenses and are maximizing our money as much as possible.

I wanted to share some of the ways I’m saving money every month:

Magic Jack. Forget your $100 a month bill for phone and long distance service. With Magic Jack, you have phone service with all the little add ons like voicemail, call waiting, etc for about $30 per YEAR. Yes, per year. You do need a fast internet connection, but most of us have this already. MagicJack.com

Downgrading the car, possibly going down to just one car. The lease on my Mercedes 500E is up in April (thank G-d!) So when I turn it in, I will not be getting another expensive car. In fact, since Dave and I work together, we’re going to test how it works with just one car. If it doesn’t work, I’ll be getting a more economical car. Between lease payment and insurance, I’ll be saving about a grand. Chaching!

No more cleaning lady. This was hard. It takes some discipline, especially with a 2-year old, but because I have a flexible schedule, I clean a little bit everyday and believe it or not, the house is actually cleaner than when I would let hell break loose in the house for a week until the night before the cleaning lady was due to come. I would then proceed to spend a couple of hours, picking up the whole house for her. Yeah, I know. It makes no sense. With this, I’m saving about $400 a month!

I’m also paying the minimums on my credit cards. It is important to conserve as much cash as possible while keeping up with your bills. I got this one from one of the many “money experts” on CNN or the Today show, or one of those.

This next one, I’m not sure about yet, but I’m considering cutting down Emily’s pre-school to part time – which would save me about $400 per month. The truth is, she’s 2. She doesn’t need to be in school, and my schedule is flexible enough. I’m also lucky enough to have my mom’s help.

We’re also spending A LOT LESS on lunch during the work week. For the most part, we go home and eat leftovers from dinner, or if we go out, making sure we spend a reasonable amount of money. No more $50 lunches between the 2 of us. And yes, it seems ridiculous to me too now.

So I have figured out that with just these changes, we’ll be saving more than $25,000 of post tax dollars a year, so about $30,000 of our hard earned money that we don’t HAVE to spend. I feel really good about that. In fact, I feel great about that!

Anybody have any other ideas or things you’re doing to save money during these tough economic times?

discount code for Baby Loves Disco

OK! I finally have that discount code for Baby Loves Disco. If you buy the tickets online (which already saves money) use the discount code "mom" and it lowers the price from $12 to $11 AND it saves you the $1.40 service fee. Again, their website is http://www.babylovesdisco.com/locations/fortlauderdale/

I hope to see you there!!!

We're giving away 4 tickets to Baby Loves Disco!

Wow! It’s been a while since my last post, I know. Sorry! I’ve been very busy trying to stay ahead of this crappy economy. More on that in a post to follow.

Anyway, as a lot of you know (through our Facebook group South Florida Mom Reviews), we’re giving away 4 tickets to the next Baby Loves Disco in Ft. Lauderdale. If you don’t know what BLD is just read my previous post on it.

Here’s what you have to do to score these tix:

1) Go on the BLD website: www.babylovesdisco.com/locations/fortlauderdale/
2) Check out their sponsors listed under the upcoming dates and tell me which of them you’d be interested in me writing a review on and why (please be brief). Write your response as a comment on the blog, along with your email OR if you’d rather keep your email private, comment on the wall in our facebook group (not on my personal facebook inbox or wall, please J)
3) I will choose a winner at random from the responses sent by midnight on Feb 20, 2009 and contact you via facebook or email.

GOOD LUCK!!!

IT IS POSSIBLE I’LL BE ABLE TO POST A DISCOUNT CODE FOR THE FEB 28th EVENT, SO PLEASE HANG TIGHT! I’LL LET EVERYONE KNOW IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

Here’s some additional info on BLD:

It’s a party for families and their kids ages: 6 months to 7 years.
Fun stuff: A full spread of healthy snacks and juice boxes, stroller parking, a changing station and chill-out area with books and kid-friendly activities, hula hoops, rhythm instruments, swirly scarves and giveaways for parents and kids.

Tickets: $12 online advance purchase, $15 at the door. Price is for each “walking human”. You can buy tickets online at www.babylovesdisco.com. Limited tickets may be available at the door, but advance purchase is highly recommended. Again, my blog back in a few days for a discount code.

Also, for those of you in other parts of Florida, I have great news! Baby Loves Disco opens February 15 in Tampa, at the Blue Martini Lounge. Visit www.babylovesdisco.com/locations/tampabay/ for information. They also have a new location in Orlando - http://www.babylovesdisco.com/locations/orlando/, the Rix Lounge at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort.

Second baby coming?

OK, so this is not exactly a review, just a musing of sorts.

Before having Emily, I never even considered having just one child. I even wanted twins, and would have welcomed them. But now, I'm not so sure.

My daughter just turned 2 and of course everyone's starting to ask. . ."when's the second one coming?," which is a bit annoying, because the HONEST answer to that is complex:
1) I don't know
2) In fact, I don't know if I even want a second one
3) What's it to you?

Somebody even told me recently that you haven't really experienced being a parent until you have either a boy or more than one kid. Yeah right. I wish you had told me that when Emily was still an infant and not sleeping through the night. Or when I had to run to my car to breastfeed because she HAD to have the boob. . .NOW. Or when we went to New York and Emily got up at 2 AM with a 106 fever so we had to find a pediatrician in the middle of Brooklyn.

And the years that are coming? the birds and the bees talk, the tweens, the teens, the financial drains of a "quince," or "sweet sixteen," (we'll see what she prefers), the wedding? The sadness. . .and joys of an empty nest. You're going to tell me that because she's a girl or only child, I will not have experienced "parenthood? Come on!

But anyway, on to the real topic. I'm in my thirties. I'm having a great time with my ONE kid -- but I certainly have my hands full. And, oh yeah, the economy SUCKS with no end in sight.

Following conventional wisdom, I've considered this issue carefully by making a list of pros and cons . The pros are of course, all centered around Emily: It's nice to grow up with siblings, she'll learn that the world doesn't revolve around her, etc, etc. They "need" a sibling. I have to say that the most convincing argument came from someone who said to me that on Sunday mornings, to hear the giggles of the kids running around the house, playing with each other is just priceless.

The cons, are all things that apply to me. I don't have a lot of time. I'm in my thirties and have lost all the baby weight. I won't be able to stay at home with the new baby as I did with the first (I stayed at home 100% until she turned 1, and then worked part-time with my husband, which eventually turned to full time). It's not that I don't want to stay home and breastfeed all day again, and sing and swing. It's just that we're in a different situation now. I need to work. I'd feel guilty not being able to do it the same way (RELAX! I'm not criticizing those of you who have an infant and work. You gotta do what you gotta do)

I recently downloaded a study on how being an only child affect personality. I haven't read it yet, but rest assured I'll put my thoughts here when I do.

It's funny, because as the youngest of 3, I don't have first hand experience about only children, so every time I find one, I interrogate them. . ."did you grow up wishing you had siblings?" "would you have only one child yourself?

For the most part, my very unscientific research tells me that most WOULD have wanted siblings (although I'm sure there's people with siblings that will tell you they could have done without them!). However, my glimmer of hope is the mom of one of my daughter's friends from preschool. What she told me is very true: It really depends on how you're raised. An only child can grow up without being spoiled, without a sense of entitlement and grateful for the love and things she gets. IT depends on how you raise your kid. I know a lot of kids with siblings who are spoiled little brats.

My next step? I'll read that study and tell you what I think. So far, I'm leaning toward Emily growing up an only princess. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Do you have more than one? Are you an only child? What can you tell me?

Baby Loves Disco

I had seen several ads for Baby Loves Disco in local parenting magazines and even some postcards, I think, at the pediatrician's office. Essentially, they take a regular nightclub and schedule a party for parents and their young kids. There are approximately 30 locations nationwide and several international ones.

The first thing that struck me was that it was a pretty ingenious idea in times of recession to generate additional revenues for a nightclub during hours it usually only generates expenses. But let me put that marketing nonsense aside.

We went to the last party in Ft. Lauderdale and really enjoyed it! Although the cover seemed a little excessive at first ($15 "per walking human"), I quickly realized that those 45 bucks were well worth it, considering there is food, great music and some quality time with adult friends that as we know is so priceless but often forgotten. There are different areas with activities that incorporate music instruments, art, toys and of course, the dance floor. The snacks are included. They have juice and milk, and some healthy options such as fruit salad. You can also buy beer and other adult beverages.

As expected, they had other businesses there that were targeting parents with young children, but it was not annoying at all and it was actually great to get some samples, like organic prepared food, which came in very handy.

I must warn you, though, THAT SOME KIDS WERE NOT HAVING AS GOOD A TIME AS MY DAUGHTER DID. SOME WERE ASLEEP, OR NOT REALLY INTO IT. YOU KNOW YOUR KIDS BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE, SO YOU SHOULD THINK ABOUT WHETHER THEY'LL BE INTO THE LOUD MUSIC, ETC.

IN OUR CASE, EMILY LOVES TO DANCE AND HAD A GREAT TIME -- but I think we had even more fun breaking the routine and having a couple of beers with friends. Definitely go with friends. (please drink responsibly!)

We're definitely going back on Feb 28.

Check out their website for a location near you! http://www.babylovesdico.com/