Forget Willy Wonka's proverbial Golden Ticket; all your sweet tooth needs is the new shop in Vestavia on Rocky Ridge,  Serendipity Sweets.  The kids will think they have hit the candy mother lode when they walk in the door to see:

Churned ice cream, yogurt, and sorbets - 36 flavors in all

Glass cases full of locally-made chocolates

A wall full of bulk candies

Bins of small toys - wind-ups, rubber duckies, novelty items, etc.

Classics - lollipops, stick candy, gumballs

Waffle cones are made fresh on site. There are no-sugar-added ice cream selections as well as smoothies with add-ins.  Serendipity Sweets has premade buckets of toys and candy or you can build your own and have the staff complete the celophane wrapping and ribbons.  (Cute idea: A coed painted her greek letters on a bucket and filled it with jelly beans in her sorority colors.) Bucket building parties start at $10 per person.

This shop has outdoor seating near a fountain in the newly renovated Rocky Ridge business district so the younger kids can get out and wiggle all they want (ice cream drips are also more manageable). Sandwiched between Cafe Iz and Leonardo's, it's also an ideal spot for dessert, and its proximity to Vestavia Hills High School makes it an easy stop after a game. Everyone in the family can be satisfied whether they want a double scoop of ice cream or just a tiny bite of something sweet.

BirminghamMom tip: Set a limit on number or allowance for the small toys before entering.  With a limit established, you'll be able to enjoy the abundant selection and save something for the next visit.

 

When you become a Mom you develop a new perspective on education. You realize that education is so much bigger than the usual talk about property values; it is the deciding factor in not only your child's future, but also in the vitality of the entire community.  Even If you sacrifice to afford the best private education Birmingham has to offer or if your own children are in a highly rated school system, are you satisfied that anyone else has to settle for so much less?

Yes We Can Birmingham! is a grass roots initiative to develop and articulate the community's vision for Birmingham's public schools. By hosting Community Conversations, which are facilitated and open to the public, Yes We Can Birmingham! is preparing a community agreement to serve as the collective voice.  The ultimate goal is to establish a foundation partner, as has been done successfully for other local school systems, to help ensure that the collective vision becomes a reality.

Community conversations are scheduled around town at several locations through August, and you can also speak up online.  This is your opportunity to be heard without the clamor of city hall and politics. If you are a Birmingham citizen, your input is encouraged even if you are not served by the Birmingham City School System.  

Upromise has been mentioned previously as a way to put money aside for college when buying from vendors you would patronize anyway.  It's time to update the list of participating restaurants that offer you two to four percent for your Upromise account when you dine with them and pay with a Upromise registered card. Unfortunately, some old favorites have left the program but there are some new participants that are just as exciting:

Dale's Southern Grill, Vestavia and Hoover - this is a good location for including grandparents; see the detailed description below.

Five Points Grill

- Five Points Southside (that's their kids' menu pizza on the left)

Harry's Place - Hoover off Hwy 31

Cafe Ciao - Mountain Brook

Billy's Bar and Grill - Mountain Brook English Village

OT's Sports Grill - Lakeview District

Icon - Tutwiler Hotel downtown

Jackson's Bar and Bistro - Soho, Homewood

As a reminder, you must pay with a debit or credit card you have registered with Upromise (it can be your own bank card; it is not necessary to use a Upromise credit card) for credit.  No further action is required of you and you'll receive an electronic statement of your Upromise balance at regular intervals.

If you're dining out anyway, why not favor these restaurants?  You have so many options represented here: Burgers, meat and two, fine dining, working lunch. All offer you an opportunity to see a small amount of your dining purchase put away for college.  It's easier than saving change in a jar! 

Some girly-girls just seem to be born ready to sport big, bright hairbows along with flounces, french lace, and frothy trims.  But if your daughter isn't the gingham-and-monogram type, or if she's starting to outgrow the bows that were once so cute on her, look to Rock-A-Bow-Baby hair bows for feminine but less traditional options.

These hair accessories are handmade by BirminghamMom Alison Frenzel, who searched for alternatives to typical hair bows and wound up creating her own.  Her hair accessories feature buttons covered in trendy fabrics, felt in whimsical shapes (see photo), and colorful ribbons that emphasize texture over loops and volume. These bows stay put even in thin hair and help pull together an outfit while serving the original purpose of holding hair in place.

Even if traditional hair bows suit your daughter to a "T",  Rock-a-Bow-Baby creations may help inject some variety in her hair bow wardrobe (moms of boys, believe us, it is indeed a wardrobe).  Rock-a-Bow-Baby accessories are available at Red Wagon (18th Street) and Sassafras (Linden Avenue) in Homewood as well as Aunt Kim's Attic in Calera. 

Let's admit it:  As a BirminghamMom, you buy all the greeting cards on behalf of your family, even your husband's birthday card for his grandmother. If it weren't for you, would anyone receive their well wishes?  And while a box of assorted cards is a tempting convenience, you can't always be sure you will have a card that appropriately conveys your sentiments.

Dollar store cards are your answer.  Before you object, let me testify that I was once a card snob, grimacing at the flimsy paper and bleeding colors that were typical.  Now cards from Dollar General and Dollar Tree are comparable in quality to those of large stationery stores and you can give them without feeling at all apologetic.

First, the card stock is heavy, with clear print and sharp images. The choices are broad, too, with cards for a range of relationships (from step relatives to godparents) and card-worthy events (new house, promotion, baptism).  Cards are displayed in well-organized racks and best of all are 2/$1, a fraction of the cost of stationery shop cards. 

How many times have you seen a birthday kid (maybe your own!) rip through a card just to get to the gift certificate?  Can you blame him? Buy a less expensive card and put the difference toward the gift itself. 

Dollar Tree stores are all around Birmingham and Dollar General stores are plentiful even in rural areas. Just stock up a couple of times a year and grandma will be delighted that her grandson remembered her birthday (wink). 

These wonderful hooks by 3M's Command brand will help you create a place for your frequently needed items in storage spots you never knew you had.  

No tools are needed to attach them and you don't have to make a commitment to keep them; they'll come right off without a trace when you pull the adhesive strip.  They attach very well to interior cabinets and the hooks are long enough to keep things from bouncing off when you close the cabinet door. They can also be reused (extra adhesive pads are included in every package).

Here are some suggested uses: 

Inside cabinet doors beneath bathroom sinks so each person's favored hair brush is always handy

Cabinet above the dryer or next to pet supplies to hold a lint roller

Inside a cabinet beneath the cooktop for utensils

Inside a closet shelf so to hold a small pair of scissors for removing tags and stray threads

Hooks are also available to support three and five pounds and come in decorative finishes like pewter and bronze.  You can hang a robe near the shower or tuck a hand towel beneath the kitchen sink without glaring white plastic.  The less obtrusive type shown to the left are also wonderful around the holidays to hold up garland around interior doors or mount wreaths on mirrors and windows.  

Command Adhesive Hooks are available all around Birmingham in just about every retail category: Lowe's and Home Depot, Office Depot and Staples, Target and WalMart, and Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and CVS. A package of three costs less than four dollars. 

You've probably got some useful maternity, baby, or kids items that you know you won't use again but want to see put to good use.  Freepeats.org is an online forum that allows local moms to pay it forward by posting items they no longer need or even post the used items they wish to find.

As expected, baby gear and kids' toys are traded briskly, but Freepeats.org is a suitable venue for items that can hardly be traded otherwise, such as diapers or unopened baby food.  Maybe you've bought a case of formula and discovered halfway into the first can that your child requires the soy version.  And who among us hasn't celebrated successful potty training but thought it was a shame that the last box of disposable training pants wasn't needed?  Unless you have a friend with kids right behind yours, there's seldom an efficient way to do something with these perfectly useful items. Aside from the environmental issue, it hurts to feel like you've thrown away good money.

Freepeats.org can help avoid that waste. It already operates in 24 other US cities and opened in Birmingham on August 1.  Typically there is a one-time membership fee of $4.95 to join the forum, but that fee is being waived for Birmingham-area moms who join by September 1st.

 

While McDonald's claims "Billions Served" beneath its golden arches, most BirminghamMoms don't feel too far behind, serving dozens of meals and snacks over the course of a typical week. We can take a lesson from these big guys, who expect their patrons to gather their napkins and bus their own tables at the end of each meal. 

One of the handiest ways I have found to serve finger foods like sandwiches, pizza, or popcorn is with these restaurant-quality baskets lined with a sheet of Kabinet Wax.  Even the youngest child can place a liner in his or her basket with minimal assistance, and the baskets are sturdier than most paper plates.  Other advantages:

Cheap!  A 500-sheet box of cabinet wax is around $7 at Sam's; Baskets are less than $2 apiece at Bresco (see below)

Clean-up is a breeze - roll up crumbs in the paper and toss in the trash

Dessert?  Just whip out another wax liner for the basket and start fresh, no ketchup blots to avoid 

Baskets are dishwasher safe in top rack

Minimal cabinet space and less trash volume

The wax liners are also useful for serving on the go. On the practical side, the liners allow you to grab a food item and then pass it to another or enjoy it yourself without having to handle the food directly.  You avoid sticky fingers and have a built-in crumb catcher. 

Baskets are available in several colors and sizes at Bresco, a restaurant supplier on 6th Avenue South (Full Moon BBQ is next door; grab a half-moon cookie while you're there). I recommend the large size basket, priced at $1.40, because it accommodates bigger entrees like nachos and is easier to handle on your lap. 

If you've ever had the pleasure of eating at the original Momma Goldberg's Deli location in Auburn, you know that this thriving sandwich shop is close to campus, has great sandwiches, and your own momma might wonder what made it so special.  After all, what a college student considers a cozy atmosphere - an aging building with posters and handbills covering dark interior walls -is not necessarily the ambiance preferred by a seasoned mom. 

BirminghamMoms, however, are bound to like the Momma Goldberg's location that opened on 18th Street in Homewood this spring.  Its interior is bright and family friendly.  The menu has all the favorites of the original, in particular the Momma's Love. With sandwich shops appearing on every corner, Momma G's is distinguished by its hot, steamed selections and its signature Momma's Sauce. 

The kids menu has four sandwich choices at $1.99.  Even older kids love the casual atmosphere, with graffitti on ceiling tiles and a large television. 

Right now on Friday nights kids eat for $1 from the kids menu, including a drink and chips. Maybe you didn't envision the day you'd look forward to a Friday night date with the family at a sandwich shop, but that's just what a momma's love will do to you. 

 

Get ready for the Alabama Sales Tax Holiday August 1st - 3rd, when qualifying purchases will be exempt from state sales tax.  Even better, most local governments in the Birmingham area are participating, so they will not be collecting taxes either. 

Qualifying purchases include things like clothing ($100 or less per article of clothing), DIAPERS (yes, diapers; see for yourself on the Sales Tax Holiday Quick Sheet) and of course, the mother-of-all back to school purchases, personal computers. 

If you aren't purchasing for kids but could use some things yourself, note that the tax exclusion also includes hosiery, underwear, and shoes. (Sneakers are acceptable, sport shoes are specifically excluded; no mention of stillettos?  Let's not point this out). The holiday even includes books at $30 or less.

The sales tax holiday can mean you save a combined 10% on your purchases, depending on location, but do consider your overall purchase price. I'd rather pay a reduced sale price with 10% tax helping to fund my highways and schools than a higher purchase price with no tax.

Following is a list of Birmingham-area governments, with most participating. For more details, see the List of participants.

Alabaster                        Helena                    Mountain Brook

Birmingham City             Homewood               Trussville

Center Point                   Hoover                     Vestavia Hills

Calera                            Irondale

Gardendale - NOT PARTICIPATING

The big retail complexes will be buzzing, so plan your shopping strategy accordingly.  On the other hand, if you don't need to make purchases this weekend, I suggest you reschedule your SuperTarget and Wal Mart runs for after the sales tax holiday ends Sunday at midnight.