My mother travels every year from Arizona to Michigan and back again. She is what is referred to as a ‘snowbird’. That’s right, she flees at the first chill in the air. I can’t blame her; the winters in Michigan can be terrible.

So Mom packs up and brings whatever she can in two to three humungous suitcases. No one can lift them, but somehow she manages. So this year she will be coming to Michigan after Mother’s Day and I wanted to send a personalized Mother’s Day gift, something rather light to her, but something she won’t have to toss out like flowers, or kill like a plant. I’m thoughtful that way.

I received a gift code from Personal Creations and decided to see what gift ideas for Mother’s Day I could find that my Mom might actually use and like. I was actually shocked to find not one, but two affordable items!

The first is a monogrammed cosmetic bag. What a great idea for her! She can use it travelling and stash whatever she likes into it – you know the small things like jewelry that always gets lost! I had it monogrammed with her initials and honestly, when it came I was really impressed! I ordered the white with pink lettering.

Item Description:

Cosmetic Bag
Soft, waffle-knit fabric is extra absorbent, lightweight and durable. Cosmetic bag is plastic-lined and has a durable zip closure. Choose from pink, white, blue or black. We embroider with any single letter, or 3-letter monogram (please specify order of initials) or name, up to 9 characters with choice of pink, black or white thread color. Measures 7″ L x 4 1/2″ W. Machine washable.

Actually, this is a very LARGE makeup case – I was surprised just how big it was. Here is a photo of the one I got Mom. (The photo came out a little yellow, but the bag is pure white!)

The second item I purchased was an Ultra Soft Travel Shawl. How many times do we freeze on a plane? And I thought Mom would love it and the color purple! The only hesitation I had was that the Monogram on the site looked, well, bunched up and not nice. But I took the chance thinking that would be the last thing my Mom would care about and was not disappointed. The Monogram (MOMogram?) was perfect.

And I must say this shawl is HUGE! She can use this instead of getting a blanket – and on some flights you have to pay for those now. Plus I thought she could use it when she’s reading at night, or watching TV too. I KNOW she will love it!

It came in it’s own travel bag too!

Item Description:

Travel Shawl
Made of super-comfy t-shirt fabric, our pretty purple travel shawl works great on a plane or in a car as a wrap, blanket, or pillow. We embroider her 3 letter monogram in the corner. Made of lightweight 100% polyester. Measures 70″ L x 40″ W. Machine washable.
Item #30064844

If you are looking for gift ideas for Mother’s Day, be sure to look at all that Personal Creations has to offer – you won’t be disappointed, I wasn’t!

Giveaway

We are giving away a Red Envelope gift code valued at $50.00 to one lucky winner just in time for Mother’s Day! The winner will be announced here on our blog and on our Facebook page.

There are two ways to win

1. Sign up for our newsletter
or

2. Like us on Facebook, AND comment on our wall.

Deadline is Sunday, May 13, 2012 – Mother’s Day!

If you are traveling with other, each of you place one or two day’s worth of clothing in each other’s suitcases; then if one bag gets lost, that person will have at least one day’s worth of clothing until it is found!

When traveling abroad, make sure copies of your passport, visas, itinerary etc. are scanned and in your email in case you need to access in an emergency.

If you are traveling with little children, create outfits from underwear to socks and put in large plastic bags. When they change into pajamas at the end of the day, put the clothes back in the plastic bags, but turn them inside out; then you will know what clothes are dirty and which ones are fresh and clean.

The best thing you can do for your clothes when on a trip is unpack immediately! Hang things up and see what will need a quick pressing, or if a little steam from the shower will have wrinkles fall out.

Keep your itinerary paperwork with you and not packed in your suitcase. It won’t help you locate your car rental reservation if your baggage gets misplaced.

No matter what mode of travel you use, pack anything that can leak, or break and get all over your clothing in a sealed plastic baggie, such as makeup, lotion, pens, sunscreen, etc.

Traveling in a car can be boring and tedious for kids, even if they have their electronic games. To keep it interesting, invest in some travel car games and switch it up with the electronics, movies and music.

Travel smart with the Cord Wrap To-Go!

The Cord Wrap To-Go easily stores cords from your portable electronic device or chargers in your purse, backpack, luggage, or even in your pocket. No more hassle to untangle multiple cords in your bag. Just wrap each cord with the Cord Wrap To-Go to keep organized while on the go. Minimize cord mess while traveling! So cool! Learn more.

The winner of the $100 Diapers.com giveaway, selected using Random.org, is Kemesha Salmon. Congratulations Kemesha!

$100 Diapers.com giveaway!

I used to be a on the road for work. A lot.

So naturally, I had the whole packing efficiently thing down to a science. Only room in that carry on bag for two or three items but need 10 outfits for the trip? No problem! I was like a little fashion MacGyver.

And then I had kids.

Now when it comes to packing for a trip, I’m a chronic over-packer.

It’s like parenthood has turned my travel brain to mush.

I’ve been THAT woman in line at the airport taking things out of a bag so it would make the 50 pound weight cut-off.

I’ve been THAT woman on the side of the road with and entire mountain of stuff strewn on the grass so that I could change a tire.

This summer’s vacation is going to be different, though thanks to a little help from my friends at Diapers.com. I order items I need from them, they ship them to my destination so they’re there when we arrive. FOR FREE! Yep, they have free shipping on orders of $49 or more.

The boys and I are headed up to visit Pop Pop in his cabin next week. No TVs, no internet, basic, basic cabin amenities and tons of outside adventures to have. We can’t wait!

But the cabin (and the boys) needed some basics like bowls, sippy cups, shampoo, books, PJs, and the like.

So I hopped on Diapers.com and ordered away. I put the order in on Wednesday and the box arrived on Pop Pop’s cabin door on Thursday.

Here’s what Pop Pop found inside the box:

Some new cool Toy Story bowls & sippy cups for hungry boys. They’re obsessed so I expect some whooping and hollering when they see those on the dinner table that first night. Who knew Diapers.com had things like this for sale?

My favorite shampoo.

It’s so my favorite shampoo, it inspired a haiku:
Lachlan fresh from bath
Fine hair smelling of Burt’s Bees
Fills my lap and heart

Neat jammies for my almost two-year-old who has outgrown nearly every pair of his summer PJs. Already. Needless to say, I was thrilled to see Diapers.com had them – never would have known they had those too!

Some swim diapers…of course!

And finally books. Because bedtime without books just isn’t bedtime. I got 2 for Will (the “original” Toy Story – The Velveteen Rabbit and Puff the Magic Dragon. And 2 fun ones for Lachlan.

Diapers.com is currently having their semi-annual sale where lots of items from Carter’s clothes to Britax car seats are discounted – I got all of the above for less than $100. Be sure to check it out. They also have a year round discount program for loyal customers called Take 5. It’s free to sign up and new customers get $10 off their first order and $5 off every order after that.

***GIVEAWAY ALERT!***

Want in on the Diapers.com fun? One lucky GetButtonedUp.com reader will win a $100 diapers.com shopping spree. To enter, tell us by commenting on this article what you’d buy from diapers.com for your baby/kid/yourself. Diapers? Cute bathing suit? Maternity pillow? Toys?

All entries must be received by Friday, July 15th at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will be selected by random drawing and announced at the top of this post on Monday, July 18th.

Don’t want to wait until next week? Join @BabyCenter and the lovely @resourcefulmommy tonight (Friday, July 8 ) from 9-10 PM EST for a #diapersdotcom Twitter party and participate in a scavenger hunt to win prizes. To attend go to tweetchat.com and enter #diapersdotcom in the search box at the top. More details here.

Legal: US residents only. Employees of BabyCenter and Diapers.com are not eligible.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by BabyCenter in conjunction with the BabyCenter blog Network. I also received a $100 shopping spree. BabyCenter did not edit our post or direct our content in any way, so the ideas & opinions are entirely my own.