10 Summer Must-Haves for Mom

1. A good book……With children at the pool (older of course!) or camp, it can be a great time to sit down with a good book! Amazon.com has a great list of some summer reading such as The Hollow ($7.99) by Nora Roberts, Something Borrowed ($4.89) by Emily Giffin, and Bikini Season ($7.89) by Sheila Roberts.
2. A good beach towel……..According to Real Simple magazine (my favorite non-parenting magazine), which recently tested over sixty beach towels, the $8 Cabana Fish Towel (pictured), sold at Bed Bath and Beyond, is the best choice under $10. At 30″ x 60″ this big terrycloth towel dries off in an instant! For kids, a good choice is Target’s stripe beach towel (only $12 for two). It’s soft, absorbent, and you can’t beat the price.
3. A cool pair of shoes…… When it comes to cool, flip flops are king. But in the world of flip flops, one pair stands out from them all – the FitFlops. Described as “the flip flop with the gym built in”, the soles of these shoes are created so they challenge the muscles of your calves, thighs and gluteal muscles. They can be found at Macy’s, Bath and Body Works, and Victoria’s Secret. The style shown here are $49.99 + S&H.OK, so I’m having a hard time thinking about $50 flip flops – even if they could magically get me those legs – on my current starving-entrepreneur budget, so for all of you who are watching pennies (like me), you can also buy a pair of pretty darn comfortable flip flops at Old Navy for $3.50 (or $2.50 if you buy 2 or more).
4. A good sunscreen……. Gone are the days when we would bask in the sun in baby oil with lemon juice in our hair (please don’t pretend you never did that). Now, we all are more aware of what damage the sun can do to our skin, so we need a good sunscreen. But, that said, a tan is nice. Australian Gold is a great product that will protect you but also help you – safely – work toward a great bronze shine. Sold in Target or Walmart.
5. A personal misting fan…….. This mini fan comes with a water bottle attached. You can squirt the water on you to cool off and then use the fan. The fan is battery operated. Put some ice cubes in for an even cooler breeze. These are sold at Target, Walmart, and other stores. Only about $7.
6. A good lip balm…… Burt’s Bees is a wee bit pricier than some, but worth it. Smells good, feels good. Yummy, yummy. While these products were once only in the natural food stores, they are now widely available, including Target and Wal-Mart for $3.00.
7. A stylish summer hat…..In that hot summer sun, it’s important to cover up with style! Banana Republic has a great straw hat for $42, and for a less expensive option, Newport News has this great straw sun hat for only $8.99! (Or you can buy a cool pink baseball cap from MomsOutLoud for $15. ☺ )
8. A great beach bag……. Salt Water Canvas has some great options of beach bags! The Whale Bag has enough pockets for all your beach essentials, can hold up to 6 beach towels, and stands up when put in the car so nothing gets spilled out ($39.95). Another option is their Dolphin Bag – which, you guessed it, is smaller – but still holds 2-3 beach towels + extras. It was a named the “Ultimate Beach Bag” by Oprah last year ($32.95).
9. A great cover-up……. Let’s face it, ladies, if you’re still using a t-shirt and shorts as your cover-up, it’s time to grow up a bit. (That barb was targeted directly at me, too, by the way, since I still use the gym shorts from my college intramural basketball team as my fashionable pool attire.) This cover-up from Target has been raved about from some of our Moms for its comfort and style. They also have a smocked option. $17.99.
10. A frozen drink…… One of our Moms suggested that her summer must-have is a blender. Being the lazy – whoops! I mean, busy – Moms that we are, we opt for the Freeze-a-Rita, which is a bucket of margarita mix that you just add alcohol to and freeze overnight. These are sold in specialty stores, but we actually figured out that the maker, El Paso Chile Company, sells an El Paso branded version on their web-site for considerably less than you’ll pay in the stores. Check out some of their cool flavors like Mango Margarita and Cosmopolitan by clicking here. $10 each or 3/$25 (+S&H).