Author Archives: go Mama O

About go Mama O

Marketer and Mom of 2, balancing work, life, and kids on the go.

Newsflash: Things will get Trashed in your Car

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I give you Exhibit A: trashed backseat kick mats & organizers:

Backseat Kick mats

Backseat Kick Mats & Organizer after several years of use and abuse

I took this picture after our road trip to Washington D.C. because my SUV ends up being a huge mess after road trips.  It occurred to me then that these seat protectors / organizers have really seen better days.  The one on the right has held up slightly better, but the organizer pockets on the top are velcro-ed to the back.  The velcro doesn’t hold that well, so the top flap of pockets flops down and hits my daughter’s knees. Seeing the state of these kick mats, I thought two things:

  1. Wow, they are really trashed. I should probably buy some new ones.
  2. How old are they anyway?

I looked up my purchase history in Amazon (isn’t Amazon great?!) and saw that they were ordered in 2014 and 2013! These kick mats arrived when my kids were around 4 and 2. They have lived through a lot of tantrums and backseat shenanigans.

Here are the product links if you are curious:

Britax Back of Front Seat Kick Mats

Prince Lionheart Backseat Organizer

Now that my kids are 5 and 7, they don’t need much of the gear that they had when they were babies. My car, on the other hand, DOES still require some child-proofing to help minimize the amount of stains and wear and tear that happens in the back seat. I may have to reorder one of these.

 

 

So Many Stars: The Price of Freedom

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This spring I saw the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. for the first time. It was beautiful and moving to say the least. This part of the monument hit me the hardest.

WWII Memorial Stars

Wall of Stars on the WWII Memorial. So Many Stars.

The plaque reads:

Freedom Walls hold 4,048 gold stars. Each gold star represents one hundred American service personnel who died or remain missing in the war. The 405,399 American dead or missing from World War II are second only to the loss of more than 620,000 Americans during our Civil War.

Powerful.

My grandpa was a lucky one, who was able to come home after serving in the Pacific in WWII.  So many others had their lives cut short. This is true of any conflict or military operation. It is those whom we remember today on Memorial Day.

Here’s another part of the WWII Memorial on the opposite side of the Freedom Wall of stars.

WWII Memorial Quote Nimitz

WWII Memorial Quote by Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

We visited on a splendid, sunny day during the week. A few more pictures captured the full monument and the Pacific side, including New Guinea and Buna, where my grandpa served in the Army.

WWII collage

WWII Memorial Monument, you can see the Lincoln Memorial behind it.  Sparkling fountains and gray columns and stone make for a moving and reverent tribute to the fallen.

Blessings to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to their friends and families. May we all remember and honor them.

 

My Morning Brew Makes Me Smile

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I took this picture yesterday morning when I was enjoying my green tea. Coffee came later in the morning. Caffeine is a good thing.

Go Mama O coffee mug 2017

My Mother’s Day present

Isn’t this the best mug?

It makes me smile for several reasons:

  1. My seven year old mini-me drew it.
  2. It’s either a younger me or her self-portrait
  3. I emailed the gift idea to my husband prior to Mother’s Day.
  4. He “surprised me” with it.
  5. I accidentally opened the box it shipped in because I’m usually the only one who does online shopping. Oops – surprise!

Here’s to hoping you’re drinking your own favorite beverage from a mug that is as meaningful and fun as mine.  Cheers!