Monday, May 31, 2010

Pottery Barn Kids – Beach Wraps

potterybarnkids I attended a Blogger Brunch hosted by Child’s Play Communications last month and met with some representatives from Williams-Sonoma, Inc.  It just so happens that I love every single brand that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has and have their stuff all over my house.  Their brands are: Williams-Sonoma, Williams-Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PB Teen, and West Elm.  I especially love this time of year at Pottery Barn Kids because they always have super cool surf related kids stuff.  We live near the beach in LA and, well, I am married to Surfer Guy, so themanywraps “surfer kid” motif plays heavily in Chip and Lulu’s rooms and bathroom gear.  When Chip was born, I was so excited to order him monogrammed surf towels.  I’ve been waiting to get Lulu hers and I’m thrilled to see they have a girl one this year.  Needless to say, we spend a lot of time at the beach AND using towels.  We also spend time at the pool AND using towels and taking baths AND using towels.

OctopusWrap So back to the Blogger Brunch and the nice representatives from Williams-Sonoma!  When they heard I had two toddlers, a boy and girl, they kindly gifted me with a pair of Beach Wraps from theirSharkWrap Pottery Barn Kids Early Summer Catalog.  An octopus for Lulu and a shark for Chip.  I can’t believe how awesome these have been.  Six weeks in, they have gotten constant use and have laundered like champs.  They are used getting out of the bath, I see the kids flying by with the hoods on their heads and the towels like capes flying behind them with their post-bath silliness.  Surfer Guy really likes these maybe even more than I do because he tends to take them to the beach more than I do.  So he can literally plop the towel on their heads and wrap them up and not worry about the towel falling off them, then make their way up the sand.  The other time Surfer Guy uses the wrap is when the takes Lulu to “Parent and Me” swim at the club pool.  He actually uses the wrap as their ONLY towel!  First he wraps Lulu up, dries her up and dresses her and then he says he can use it to get dried off himself!  These are so useful and seasonless that I’m planning on giving these as presents for a bunch of upcoming birthdays.  The wraps are only $25 and come in four designs for boys and four designs for girls.  Here is more total awesomeness: these wraps come with free shipping and personalization!  Just looking at the Pottery Barn Kids website and catalogs puts me in a good mood.  I’m off to order some more wraps…and check out their new surf collection!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Hello, neighbor

I'm on the Los Angeles Moms Blog today with my Hello, neighbor post.  You never know what you'll find just over the fence in your own backyard...

Friday in May - Food & Drink Review

I get offered a lot of stuff to review and I pass a lot of it up.  I’m not just telling you this to be a show off.  Rather I’m hoping to make a point that if I agree to review something it’s because I’m interested in trying it out.  I don’t get paid for this.

PFVanillaGoldfishGrahams First up: Pepperidge Farm Vanilla Goldfish Grahams, which are available now and sold with a suggested retail price of $2.19 for a 6.6 oz package.  I wanted to try these out because I was intrigued and I love the original cheesy goldfish crackers.  In fact, I remember the first time I ate the goldfish crackers at a distant cousin’s beach house on Cape Cod when I was a preschooler and I was so amazed by the shape.  Yes, I remember being amazed by the goldfish shape.  Goldfish are comfort food.  I now have preschoolers.  I wanted in on the Vanilla Goldfish Grahams even though I was skeptical.  I mean, it seemed kind of wrong to be sweet.  So I received ONE 6.6 oz paper pouch.  I actually think I did get to try about three goldfish.  Chip and Lulu and some friends devoured them over a few days.  They loved them.  They wanted more.  The vanilla and graham combo was declared delicious.  They are made with whole grain and considering 50 of the crackers is 140 calories, that’s pretty good in my book.  The press release says that less than 10% of a serving’s calories are from saturated fat.  So if a serving is 50 goldfish, again, that is noteworthy.  No way Chip or Lulu ate 50 each even over two days.  For more info, please visit www.pepperidgefarm.com

Next Up: Fruit 2o Essentials described as a refreshing beverage that combines several nutrients found in two servings of fruit with crisp, clear water, with zero calories and zero sugar.  That sounded good to me because I don’t need calories and seem to always be dehydrated.  Living in a dry climate and being active, it’s a real challenge for me to keep enough water on board.  I thought this might befruit2oessentialsgroup something to add to my intake list.  Sugar is a huge evil in our culture.  This summer, Fruit 2o and local chapters of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) are working together to help women make small changes that create lifelong results for improved health.  Beginning May 14, you can visit them online or at a local event.  For every small change you pledge to make, Fruit 2o will donate $1 to your local ADA chapter to help fight diabetes.  Visit www.facebook.com/fruit2o for updates.  So back to the drinks themselves! They sent me eight bottles to try out some different flavors: Peach Mango, Blueberry Pomegranate, Citrus and Cherry Acai.  I like all of them but would have to say Peach Mango is my favorite.  They also make other flavors.  You can buy Fruit 2o Essentials in many parts of the US.  The bottles are 18 oz and retail for $1.00-$1.19 and club store 15 packs are priced from $8.99-$10.99.  You can find out about their flavors, nutrition and where to buy info at www.fruit2o.com

Monday, May 24, 2010

Chip’s First Field Trip – Lunchables “Field Trips for All”

Lunchables Today was Chip’s first field trip.  More on that in a bit.  Field trips are some of my favorite memories from childhood.  I recall the scenarios vividly: the teacher would talk about the upcoming field trip, you needed your permission slip signed by your parents, that day you would need a “partner” for the trip for lining up and sitting on the bus, a packed lunch with a drink and maybe some money for a souvenir.  Oh, yay!  My first breaths of busting out of a routine and a little taste of independence.  Getting the chance to see something new.  How I love field trips.  When my friends at Lunchables contacted me about their new campaign, “Field Trips for All”, I was interested in hearing all about it.  Here is a sad statistic: According to a 2009 report from The American Association of School Administrators, it’s estimated that over the course of the current school year, the number of school districts eliminating field trips will increase by 56%. That’s more than 30,000 schools.  Lunchables lunch combinations wants to help deserving kids all over the country go on inspiring educational experiences to help empower kids to realize their full potential.

To help spread the word about the field trip campaign, Lunchables offered to sponsor a local field trip for my family to go on with another family.  But, I had a different idea: How about sponsoring a field trip for several of Chip’s friends?  Lunchables loved the idea and so I was off creating a plan!  Let me stop here for a moment and say that I, Elizabeth, love opportunities like this when big companies step in locally and see how they can make a difference in the community.  If more big companies reached out to the parent groups at schools and found out what needed to be funded, that could be a great way to solve some of our budget problems and keep government out of it.  But anyway, I digress.  So, I remembered I had met “The Animal Guys” from The Wildlife Learning Center at an event about a year ago.  The guys had some native California snakes and I though I remembered a Bobcat.WLC-logo   So I put a call into Paul, one of the “guys”.  Paul said he’d be happy to get onboard with the Lunchables “Field Trips for All” program and give us a deal that would cover his costs only and allow me to invite a lot more of Chip's friends to participate!  The Wildlife Learning Center provides outreach and onsite education in wildlife biology.  The Center is located in Lake View Terrace, CA (Northern Los Angeles) nestled in an old olive grove where more than 70 different species of rescued and zoo-born wild animals call this shady, natural environment home.  With support from the Wildlife Learning Foundation, the Center reaches out to Los Angeles area communities to teach California State Science Standards for the natural sciences through the use of rescued and zoo-born wild animals.  The Wildlife Learning Center works to educate youth of all socioeconomic levels about the wildlife we share the planet with.  If you are in the Los Angeles area you can visit their facility or have them come to your school.  They even have a summer camp program.

The Fieldtrip
This morning, once Lulu’s babysitter arrived, I headed over to the appointed meeting area and met up with Christine our “Animal Gal” from The Wildlife Learning Center.  I already knew from my knowledge of the center that all their classes are taught by friendly and knowledgeable teachers, each of whom has a Bachelor’s degree in biology and is trained to teach the California State Science Standards for the life sciences utilizing wildlife as living visual aids.  Christine was getting set up and one of Chip's Nursery School directors had volunteered to help and was setting up the area for the kids to sit.  I quickly chugged down the rest of my coffee in my commuter cup and got the camera, courtesy of Lunchables, ready to take some pictures.  The kids started filing in and taking their spots in front of the presentation area.  They had all been prepped a bit that they would be meeting some animals so there was some preschooler buzz in the audience.  Then Christine stepped up and led us all on a magical lesson with some typical Southern California animals.  She started by saying we might very well find these animals in our own yards!  We met a porcupine, walking stick, red fox, gray fox, gopher snake, king snake and a prairie dog.  My favorite was the porcupine, it was so cute.  I also love foxes.  We learned that there is a big difference between the red and gray fox, the gray one can climb trees while the red one spends its time on the ground.  The king snake is a good snake to know about as well because it is totally harmless to humans but they kill rattlesnakes and keep the rodent population down.  Surfer Guy just told me tonight he has seen king snakes in the canyon near Chip’s nursery school.  Any of the kids who wanted to was allowed to touch the king snake and almost all of the kids did.  Then we were off for the actual “Field Trip Portion” of the event.  The kids headed out into the canyon to look for the animals they just saw in the presentation.

What a fun day!  I’d like to thank Lunchables for sponsoring the field trip for Chip and his pals today and “The Animal Guys” from The Wildlife Learning Center for giving us such a fabulous presentation.  It was so great to hear the little preschoolers chatting about the animals even after the presentation was over.  I heard one little kid say to another little kid, “Do you see a red fox?  Do you see a gray fox?”  I love field trips. We sure had an inspiring, educational experience today.  Do you know a classroom that could use one too?

Through June 1, 2010, to nominate a deserving classroom, go to Lunchables and submit a nomination. From all nominations received, 50 deserving classrooms will be selected to go on an inspiring, educational experience.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

AJ Wright Grand Opening

AJWright Logo illus You know when you hear those stories of celebrities or royals having entire stores closed down so they can shop alone, at their leisure, during regular business hours?  Well, that happened to me!  So here’s the story: I’m a huge fan of TJ Maxx and Marshalls especially due to the fact that I’m a native of Massachusetts which is home turf for those stores.  I’ve grown up shopping them.  Another member of the TJX family which I had heard of, but never shopped in, is AJ Wright.  I was invited along with some other local Southern California bloggers to come in this past Thursday, the day before the Norwalk, CA store’s Grand Opening, to learn about the store and shop!  AJ Wright sells the same range of categories as TJ Maxx and Marshalls: shoes, babies & children’s clothes/toys, men’s & women’s clothing, home furnishings and small electronics/accessories.  The representatives on hand from AJ Wright who gave us a tour explained that prices are about 20-70% below regular store prices.

One really neat feature of AJ Wright is that there are a lot of photographs of people all over the store, hanging on the walls and from the ceilings.  These are all customers who participated in the AJ Wright Model Search contest.  In conjunction with each new store opening, A.J. Wright conducts a model search.  The Norwalk store will be holding their search on May 29th.  For info go to AJWrightModelSearch.com where you can also see where upcoming model searches will be held.

Next came our challenge!  The six of us bloggers were each presented with a $100 A.J. Wright gift card and the fully stocked, brand new, closed to the public store before us!  Woo hoo!  Off we went with about one hour to spend it all.  Interestingly, it wasn’t easy to spend it for me, because there was so much to choose from!  Did I go to kids for Chip and Lulu?  Something for the house?  A DVD?  Videogame?  Here is what I settled on: two short summer pajama sets, one Dora the Explorer, one Disney Princesses, $5.99 each, a bubble making kit $4.99, a pair of Dora the Explorer jelly ballet flats $3.99, a pair of Nike sneakers $24.99, two 2-packs of boxer briefs $4.99 each, a barbecue scrubbing brush $2.99, a black long draping cardigan $8.99, a brown long draping cardigan $9.99, a black short sleeve tunic $6.99, a brown short sleeve tunic $6.99.  Grand total with tax = $100.84.  Not a bad haul for a private shopping event!  I’d like to thank AJ Wright for inviting me to check their new store out and for their generosity.  Good luck to everyone entering the model search!

Photos courtesy of Caryn Bailey, Rockin’ Mama

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Bosch from Hamper to Hanger

BoschGal I have appliance envy.  I just returned from a blogger trip courtesy of Bosch Appliances and have become a groupie.  Let me start by saying Bosch was already on my radar because my mother owns a Bosch dishwasher which she raves about.  In the US, Bosch is best known for their really quiet dishwashers.  They however, make literally every appliance you could use in your home, including appliances you’ve probably never heard of (more on that later).  I was invited to participate in Bosch’s “Hamper to Hanger” Blogger Retreat which centered on visiting The BSH Gallery & Training Center located in Scottsdale, AZ.  The gallery is an amazing space with every appliance in the Bosch family installed and fully functioning.  My fellow Bosch Vision Laundry - 4 bloggers and I split up into two of the kitchen areas.  Our assignment?  To use a variety of food items to stain cotton t-shirts.  We were going to put Bosch washing machines to a real test!  Eggs, chocolate syrup, Coke, raw meat and salsa—we thrashed and then signed our shirts with sharpies.  Next stop was the laundry room where they had several Bosch washers and dryers set up.  We watched as our thrashed shirts were tossed in a washer for the “blogger test wash”.  With our shirts spinning and cycling behind him, Chris from Bosch was introduced and gave us a great overview and demonstration of the Bosch Vision Series.

Here are some key things about Bosch washers and dryers that I really thought were awesome.  Bosch’s Vision line of washers are the most energy and water efficient brand of full size front-load washers in the U.S.  This is huge especially here in California where we are in a water crisis.  A lot of what contributes to Bosch’s eco-friendliness is that their appliances are “smart” and are able to monitor water, temperature and suds levels.  The washers use 70% less water per load than the industry average.  In Vision dryers, ActiveDry sensors detect remaining moisture throughout the cycle to lower the energy usage.  Not only is this earth friendly but it translates into lower energy and water bills for you. 

My readers know that safety is a big deal to me.  Front loading washers and dryers are easily accessible for kids to crawl inside.  There have been accidental deaths of children inside front loading washing machines in homes.  As front loading machines are gaining popularity in this country, I was really, really interested to hear Chris explain a feature available on the Vision 800 series washer.  When an adult uses the washer, they unlock it via the menu screen on the front.  When the washer is actually in use, it is locked anyway (you don’t want to flood your house, right?!).  When the adult is finished using the washer, they then enable the locking of the washer via the menu screen on the front.  That’s it, it is locked.  The Vision 800 series is the absolute safest choice if you have children in your home.  Continuing on my safety spiel, let’s talk flood.  Not the kind from rain.  The kind when a pipe or a hose or a valve in your house lets go and your house is flooded.  Misery.  Bosch has a back up system to a back up system in its exclusive AquaStop Leak Protection System to make sure that doesn’t happen to you.

Now let’s get to the actual functionality of the washers and dryers.  Like, what do they do?  I have a washing machine that is about twelve years old that I inherited with this house.  I don’t have the owner’s manual and I have no idea what all the various stops on the dials really mean.  So theoretically, I’m not really using the machine to its full potential, I guess.  I’m not happy with how well it cleans my clothes (see my opening sentence) but I’m getting by.  So, if you had a brand new Bosch washer and dryer, could you just get by?  I suppose you could, the models all seem very easy to use.  But, I must say you’d be missing out on some great features!  You can program in what kinds of stains you have on your clothes via the Stain Removal option, even if your load has all different kinds of stains, and the wash will cover each type of stain in one cycle!  Over on the dryer, I was impressed that The Vision Dryer offers three steam cycles, Steam Touch-up for when you left your clothes sitting in the dryer, Steam Refresh which is a quick way to touch refresh a garment and remove odors in just a few minutes and my favorite, Steam Wrinkle Relax which lets you toss something in (say Surfer Guy’s shirt before work?) and relax the wrinkles without having to iron!

I touched on the fact that Bosch is famous for their super quiet dishwashers, but their washers and dryers are also really, really quiet.  In the room where we were sitting, the floor was tiled and we could not hear the machines going at all.  Bosch’s Anti-Vibration System (AVS) makes Vision one of the lowest vibration washers on the market.  AVS was designed and tested with second story installations in mind, making it a low vibration quiet solution for house and condo owners looking to move their laundry room upstairs or closer to the living area.  This was something we talked about at the event, how it makes sense to have your laundry room on the second floor if you live in a two story house and that is where your bedrooms are.

One of my favorite stores is The Container Store.  Every time I go in there I find something amazingly awesome and useful to buy.  I was really excited that the manager of the Scottsdale store came out to the Bosch Gallery to give us some tips about getting organized in the laundry room:  Use a laundry hamper that has 3 sections: lights, darks and colors so you aren’t constantly sorting just to get a load going.  Having a laundry rack that allows you to hang garments straight out of the dryer really helps to minimize wrinkling.  Assign each member of the family their own color clothes hanger, which I also realized has the added bonus of making their closet look organized.  Use Sock Cops to clip pairs of socks together in the wash, you will never lose socks and will save time matching pairs!  The Container Store carries the Elfa line of storage and organization systems which you can actually design with their help in store.  Just bring in the dimensions of the space you are trying to organize and a Container Store expert will help you design your dream storage system at no extra charge.  Even if you aren’t looking to re-do your laundry room, you can still benefit by getting modular pieces like the Elfa laundry storage a simple yet useful unit.  We were each given a FlipFOLD to help us fold our laundry perfectly when we got back home and a $25 gift card to visit our local Container Store.  I’m really excited because I keep meaning to re-do my office closet with an Elfa system and this is just the motivation I needed!  My thanks to The Container Store for such great ideas and for a wonderful store filled with useful things!

So after learning so much about Bosch washers and dryers and getting organized with The Container Store, we then got to use some of the other appliances in the Bosch Gallery.  Bosch also has Thermador and Gaggenau brands in its lineup.  I was familiar with Thermador having actually had a vintage 1950’s Thermador oven in our kitchen before we remodeled two years ago.  We cooked our own lunch, under the guidance of a couple of chefs,  in two of the gallery kitchens, which was really fun.  Then we toured around the rest of the gallery checking out all the amazing appliances like wall-installed espresso makers, burners that are dedicated to woks, and space saving ovens that are installed on a wall.  You load from below and then the bottom raises up like an elevator to bring the food to the heating area.  I was really blown away and decided I needed to remodel my kitchen again.

Vision washers and dryers have a MSRP range of $999 to $1,549.  Before you run out to buy yours though, I strongly suggest you do a little online research to see if there are any rebates available to you.  For example, some states offer a “cash for clunkers” type of incentive for appliances.  Some utility companies will also give you a rebate if you buy an energy efficient appliance.  You can sometimes even “double dip” and get another rebate from your utility by having them pick up your old appliance.  This could be $200-$300 in rebates, again, depending on where you live.  Definitely worth spending a few minutes looking to see what’s available.  If you add up all the rebates you can score it may actually allow you to get a higher level Bosch than you thought you originally could afford.

For more information on any of the Bosch products I’ve covered above, visit www.bosch-home.com/us or call 800.921.9622 to request a catalog.  Connect with Bosch on Twitter at @BoschAppliances or become a fan at Facebook.com/BoschAppliances.

Wow, lots of info.  I was in overload.  As I walked out of the Bosch Gallery scribbling some notes, I was a bit dazed in the bright Arizona sun but realized how lucky I was to have the opportunity to see this amazing design award nominated gallery.  High end designers, custom home builders and major appliance stores come to the BSH gallery to learn about these products.  Here I was just a simple blogger who got the chance to report back to her readers.  We headed back to The Intercontinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley where we were staying.  Our afternoon was perfect with spa treatments at Joya Spa, which is definitely in the top tier of spas I have been to.  I can’t wait to get back to the Montelucia, the pool, restaurant, views, oy, I could go on and on.  The bathroom in my room was pretty amazing.  It was really, really nice to be in Arizona with the glowing red sunsets and the mountains surrounding the hotel.  It felt totally southwest!

So, what about those t-shirts we thrashed?  Just before we headed to dinner that night, some of our t-shirts were brought out for our inspection.  Keeping in mind that a dozen totally thrashed t-shirts were thrown into the wash without being so much as rinsed off, I would say they fared pretty well, most totally clean.  There were some slightly visible stains, mainly the ground in chocolate syrup, but I would have pre-treated and had some other clothing in the wash in a real world test.  In my book, Bosch wins on water efficiency, energy efficiency, safety, quietness and washing and drying features.  My next appliance purchase will be a washer and I am going to seriously consider a Bosch.

Because I always think it’s good to get as much perspective as possible here are some links to posts by all the lovely ladies and new friends I made on this trip: Jen at The Dirty Shirt, Caryn at Rockin’ Mama, Sugar at Sugar Jones, Jamie at Blonde Mom Blog, Jennifer at Tiny Oranges, Jocelyn at Hip Mamas Place, Julie at Angry Julie Monday, Katie at La Jolla Mom, Sarah at Technology for Mommies, and Shanna at My Favorite Everything

Album photos courtesy of Caryn Bailey aka Rockin’ Mama

Bosch paid for my trip to the Bosch Hamper to Hanger Blogger Event.  The content of this post is entirely my own.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

My Thankful List

I am thankful for:
1) my ancestors who left places like Poland, Ireland and Scotland and “went for it”.  It is with their genes running through my cells that I am thankful and find inspiration to continue to “go for it”
2) my two healthy kids
3) Dunkin Donuts hazelnut coffee
4) all the people along the way who have given me encouragement, many of them minor walk-on characters who have no idea the role they played
5) Ronald Reagan
6) freedom
7) ranch dressing
8) mint chocolate chip ice cream
9) opportunities that have been given to me
10) all the people who put up with me even when I’m really annoying
11) Twitter!  The resources, help and information received within minutes of asking is incredible
12) my supportive, awesome husband, Surfer Guy
13) Fox News
14) my minivan
15) my blog readers, that’s YOU!
16) the obstacles that taught me how to get creative and figure out how to win anyway
17) whoever invented epidurals
18) my ability to speak Spanish and Italian, oh the conversations I've had....
19) the World War II vet I met at the supermarket a couple of weeks ago who gave me some perspective at a much needed moment
20) the fact that I usually know who to call

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Mother’s Day at Dodger Stadium

Growing up in Boston, my father used to take us kids to Red Sox games a few times a season.  We’d always sit in the bleachers, with some real hard core Bostonians, if you get my drift.  I’d inevitably end up with beer spilled on me by some guy named Vinnie.  I loved it and those are the the memories of my youth.  However, I’ve noticed that Major League Baseball has been making some real efforts to bring families out to the games.  Modernized ballparks with family bathrooms, healthier menu options and kid friendly activities are examples.  It’s interesting to see that in any given ballpark nowadays, there really is a section for almost any baseball fan.  Here in LA at Dodger games they have sections like Bleacher Beach, the All-You-Can-Eat Pavilion and My Town.  For Mother’s Day, The Dodgers are doing something really awesome and turning My Town into Dodgertown, Mothers

Fans who buy seats in My Town on Sunday, May 9 will get pink Dodgertown, Mothers t-shirts and a special all-you-can-eat menu of grilled chicken sandwiches with marinated artichokes and parmesan cheese, seasonal fruit, Dodger Dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and soft drinks. But most importantly, $2 from every ticket sold in the section will go to ThinkCure!, the Dodgers’ official charity, to help fight breast cancer and find a cure.  The Dodgers will also wear pink ribbons on their uniforms and several players will use pink bats, including Andre Ethier, Casey Blake, Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Russell Martin. Can I just say that I gotta wonder how the players feel about using pink bats?  But, hey, good for them supporting ThinkCure!  Special pink Dodger merchandise will be sold throughout the stadium as well.  After the game, the Dodgers will host a Mother’s Day Walk in the Park where mothers and their families can take a walk around the warning track.  Being allowed on the field is really unusual and something very special for Mother’s Day.  To find out all the info about Dodgertown, Mothers happening this Sunday, May 9, click here.

I’ve been a big sports fan my whole life and look forward to getting Chip and Lulu very involved in sports both as participants and as fans.  You can’t get much more culturally All-American than baseball.  Both of my parents are big baseball fans.  They even went to Cooperstown, NY (home of the Baseball Hall of Fame in case you didn’t know that!) during their honeymoon.  Surfer Guy is an LA native and Dodger Fan big time.  This is my blog so I’m going to have to say that if it’s ever an LA-Boston World Series (how awesomely awesome would THAT BE?!), I’m going with my tribe and Red Sox Nation.  But LA is my home now and Chip and Lulu both have their Dodger hats and have been to Dodger games so we are a Dodger family for sure.  Mother’s Day at Dodger Stadium is a fun way for a mom baseball fan to spend the day with her family.  But, even if you can’t make it on Mother’s Day, the season is definitely long enough to find a game that works for your schedule.  Ticket prices can be as low as $7 for same day ticket purchases which makes baseball a sport that is still affordable for the average family.  Visit the Dodger website to see the schedule and ticket prices.  For my dear readers who don’t live in LA, but do live near a Major or Minor League Baseball team, how about you tell your family to “take me out to the ballgame” this Mother’s Day?