FaVe Archives - The Diaper Bag Confessions

When I first started this blog, I never actually thought it would catch anyone’s attention. I figured that my readers would likely be limited to the few friends asking me for advice to begin with. It is clear to me now, that is not the case. People are actually reading.. and noticing.. and enjoying… and that makes me extremely happy. My blog is still technically a baby. It’s roughly only 9 months old. If it really were a baby, it would be trotting around the floor on all fours.. perhaps even still doing the notorious army crawl. However, it is not a real baby.. it’s a blog.. and it has decided to fly by the seat of its pants and earn itself an invitation to the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration “On-the-Road” – Quite possibly my first real “squeeeee” moment as a blogger. I was so thrilled.. excited.. honored.. to be invited to this event. I decided to use the chance to meet up with some fabulous other mama’s that I’ve come to know via the internet and have some fun. (Like FaVe Mom) It is going to be so exciting!! We plotted which hotel to stay at. More excitement. I got my confirmation email. Still excited. Booked my flight. Wait.. this is real. Insert panic.

Why panic, you ask? You see.. in my almost 8 years of motherhood, I can count the number of times I have been without my children for any reason, on one hand. My youngest? Well, the longest I’ve ever left him (and only with his dad!) was 3 hours. He’s a bit of a mama’s boy. (Okay, I’m lying.. he’s extremely a mama’s boy!) I am about to board a plane.. fly a state away.. and be gone for a good 38 hours. I know, I know. It doesn’t seem like much.. but in my mind it’s an eternity.
I keep going over all these dramatic scenarios in my head. Will my husband really be able to handle our THREE children, by himself, for TWO DAYS? Will he manage to balance bed time for all three boys without sending someone into a crying fit that lasts until I come home the following night? What if he decides to venture out? I know this is all ridiculous. My husband is a fabulous father and my children will be in very capable hands. Will I be okay, though?

I think I rely on my daily moments with my kids more than they rely on them. Watching my toddler drift off to sleep. Listening to my oldest do his daily reading.. listening to the giggling coming from our play room. Can I really go two whole days without those little moments? What if I miss something? What if they need me? What if something happens and I’m not there?

Deep down, I know that this will all be fine. Deep down I know that the opportunity that has been placed before me is so fabulous and I get a chance to go somewhere I have never been before (San Francisco!) but the mama in me can’t help but be sad. Nervous. A little scared, even. And when I come home, I will look back on this post and laugh while eating my Ghiradelli chocolate.

How old were your kids when you left them overnight for the first time? Were you scared? Nervous? Ecstatic?

You see advertisements for dating websites every where. The idea that you input a handful of facts about yourself and you are shown a list of people that best compliment you.

Well, I’m married. I no longer need to find my compatible love match. I do, however, constantly find myself searching for my compatible consumer match. This is where Lela.com comes in. Lela.com has shown me a new way to find the perfect products for my family and myself.

I’m incredibly picky about baby gear. I am willing to spend a little more to get a better product, if I need to. I also have a fairly modern style, with a love of all things new and high tech. Finding the “perfect baby gear” has been an adventure. I’ve gone through many strollers because they simply didn’t fit my criteria in the end.

Lela.com linked to my Facebook profile, looking at my likes. It also asked me a handful of questions, then Lela.com became my baby gear match maker. I was impressed almost instantly. I clicked on strollers. I have an addiction to strollers. What did I find? Not only had Lela.com matched me with a stroller I lust after, but it also matched me with a stroller I currently own.

Okay, so it works for strollers. What about car seats? The world of car seats is insane. There are a million and one car seats. Some hideously old fashioned and some are far more advanced than I’d even know what to do with. Like strollers, having three kids has given me the opportunity to know what works for me. Again, matched me with a few car seats I currently own, one I lust for, and the ones I don’t care to own are far down the list.

Better than just showing you your ideal match, Lela.com also shows you where you can buy the product and which retailer has the best price, as well as link you directly to those retailers.

This is very promising. I can see it being especially helpful for new parents who are looking for a certain style, but unsure of brands and where to shop.

To put Lela.com to the ultimate test, I unleashed my husband on it. You see, Lela.com doesn’t just match you with baby gear, but also with tech products and home goods. It matched me with a gorgeous LG television, but outside of being pretty, I don’t know if that television is a good match for me. This is where my IT professional, tech-loving, geek of a husband really helped. I made him also sign up. What were his matches like? Well, he was appropriately matched with an enormous Samsung television and iPhones. He was also matched with a Blackberry which made him scoff, but overall, he was impressed by the design and matching ability.

Blackberry aside, Lela.com is a very helpful site for shopping. Especially when shopping for product categories you aren’t too familiar with. Now, I need to convince my husband that since Lela.com matched me with a Stokke Tripp Trapp and an Orbit G2, these items should be purchased immediately. Let’s just hope he doesn’t try the same with the Samsung television. 🙂

I have one request of you readers. Click this link to Lela.com, sign up, answer the questions and let me know: What are your favorite matches? Did Lela.com successfully find products you were happy with?

You can also go “Like” Lela.com on FB here: Lela
And, while you’re at it, go “Like” my friend, FaVe Mom, who introduced me to Lela.com, here: FaVe Mom