Arizona Mama

Parks and pools are great but if you’re like me then Phoenix’s triple digits have you running inside for the air-conditioning. For those days when slides are like branding irons and pools are like bathwater, beat the heat with these 15 fun indoor activities for kids. An idioglossia is a language created and spoken by [...]

The cost of raising a child from birth to age 18, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is upwards of $225,000. The spending starts right away with the need for diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, blankets, and clothing, just to name a few of the essentials. Fortunately, there are simple things you can do to [...]

During this time of high unemployment two Arizona child care companies, Sunrise Preschools and Tots Unlimited, are offering their support to job seeking parents. They have created a program called Interview Care which provides up to four hours of free licensed child care while parents go to job interviews or fill out applications. It is [...]

Phoenix mothers know they need plenty of indoor places for the kids to play in the hot summer months. Imagination Avenue is an indoor play and party center designed for kids up to early elementary school age. They are a shoe free play center but you can grab a free locker for your purse and [...]

You’re older and wiser. You have years of life lessons learned in school or the School of Hard Knocks. When you had a baby you expected to do all the teaching, passing down your knowledge to the next generation. One thing about motherhood is that it’s full of the unexpected. It’s not always an explosive [...]

Every Christmas my family generously gives me gift cards to local eateries and entertainment spots. I get to spend the month of January enjoying them. This week my husband and I lunched at The Cheesecake Factory in Kierland Commons. They are located on Scottsdale Road right next to Crate & Barrel. Self-parking can be difficult [...]

Last night’s dishes are in the sink. Yesterday’s mail is unopened. Toys are strewn throughout the living room and hallway. The sliding glass doors have fingerprint smudges and doggy nose prints. Piles of dirty clothes are overtaking the laundry room. So much work to be done and the little one refuses to nap. These are [...]

I’ve learned from my past two pregnancies that total strangers interpret a visible baby bump as an invitation to ask questions. I’ve been asked everything from the benign “Do you know if you’re having a boy or girl?” to the more prying “Do your kids have the same father?” Worse, based on the huge age [...]