Hellobee

Friday is here, and here are my Friday Favorites! It’s always fun to hear about what everyone is enjoying with these posts. I like the mix of different types of favorites that people share, whether it’s products, TV shows, or hobbies. Hope that’s the case for you because here’s my mix of favorites!

1/ Date night exchanges with a friend  – At this moment, I am writing at my friend’s house while her three kids are sleeping so that her and her husband can go out and enjoy a date night together.  Once Baby Pizza started sleeping through the night, I suggested to my friend that we take turns helping each other have date nights once a month.  My friend and I both didn’t have any consistent babysitters and rarely went out on date nights so this has been a great benefit to both of us.  Since we started doing these date night exchanges, we have gone over a year and a half with having consistent date nights every other month.  I think that’s pretty impressive, considering that before that Mr. Pizza and I only went out for our birthdays and our anniversary.  My friend and I both put our own kids to sleep before we leave, so we are pretty much house sitting for a few hours.  I definitely recommend this to any couple with young kids!

2/ Tile Mate – If you are like me, then you are always looking for your phone.  My friend gifted me the Tile and it has been so useful. My girls even love helping me locate my phone by pressing the tile and running around the house to find my phone. Someone mentioned that you could use the Echo to locate your phone too, so I gave it a try. The Echo calls your phone like any other person calling you, which is helpful when you are the only adult in the house with a phone.  However, it’s not as useful when the phone is silenced or if you are someplace else, like a friend’s house. The Tile solves both these problems and the phone still makes a sound even when it is silenced and it can be located outside the home.

3/ Trader Joe’s – I know a lot of people love Trader Joe’s but I think there are so many reasons why it’s a favorite for a mom with two little ones. Lil’ Pizza and Baby Pizza are both almost always with me when I need to go grocery shopping.  Trader Joe’s is especially nice for parents with little ones because it’s a small and compact grocery store, the check out lines are quick, the kids can get snacks in the sample area and request animal crackers every visit. My girls love getting stickers at the check out line and searching for the stuffed pony in the store (I don’t think it’s a pony at every store). The staff are always so friendly and helpful. And if you ever need help taking the groceries out to the car, an employee will gladly help you. Not everyone likes the small child shopping carts but it works well with my two girls and limits me from getting too much. Here are some items I love particularly for my kids:

• Vegetable Fried Rice – Thankfully, I have improved in making my own fried rice, but it’s definitely a good one to have in the freezer for when I need to make a meal in 5 minutes!
• Scallion Pancakes (Pa Jeon) – This is a popular Korean side dish.  I haven’t tried to make pa jeon myself, so I’m glad this can be an option for my kids to eat.
• Organic Hummus – There are so many hummus options at TJ’s.  I tried a couple but have gone to this basic one for the kids.  It’s a good consistency that my kids seem to enjoy.  They usually ask for hummus when I give them veggies.  Our family loves hummus.  We put it on our eggs, salads, and sandwiches.
• Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend – Our family loves this seasoning and uses it almost everyday.  The girls will request it for their avocado toast.  They enjoy their eggs (hard boiled and scrambled) with a little bit of this seasoning.  Lately my husband has been making avocado toast with a little hummus, an egg, a little bit of sriracha and this seasoning.  Mmm….it’s so tasty!
• Hold the Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones – These ice cream cones are so small that I don’t mind giving it to the kids after dinner and don’t feel so guilty eating it myself.
• Organic Silver Dollar Pancakes – These go so fast in our house and when we need to get ready quickly in the morning, it’s an easy one to give to the girls.

4/ Working – Before I had my own kids, I was a child life specialist, helping kids and their families cope with hospitalization and illness. It was a rewarding job that I was so thankful for because of the meaningful encounters that I had with the children, families, and medical staff on a daily basis. It was a struggle for me to transition from full time to part-time to eventually leaving the job to be a SAHM but it made the most sense for our family. I’m at peace with the decision to be a SAHM now but there were aspects of working that I missed. I didn’t really consider working as a viable option while my kids were little and not yet in school so I was thankful to find a job that I could do at home. About six months ago, I started working just a couple hours a day before the girls wake up, teaching English online to kids on the other side of the world. It feels good to work again and contribute to society by teaching and to my family financially. I also like that my own kids recognize this new development in my life and accept it in a positive way.

5/ Eyebrow pencil – I have a best friend from college who has taught me about make up probably from the first day I met her. And every birthday, she gets me make up that falls on her favorite list. Her latest gift included the Anastasia Brow Wiz eyebrow pencil. Prior to getting it, I never did anything to my eyebrows.  Now I feel like I can’t leave home without using it!  I ran out of the eyebrow pencil recently and decided to try the dupe I often hear about, the NYX Micro Brow eyebrow pencil.  It doesn’t feel as soft going on, but I’m happy with the similar results.

Hope you enjoyed my five Friday favorites! Happy Friday!