MOM ON THE RUN MUST-HAVES

By this point I've mostly perfected the out-and-about-with-a-four-year-old tool kit. At all times, I am exceptionally prepared. By now I'm like a professional junk-toter, it's my super power. My left shoulder has gotten kinds of stronger than my right. Ship me to Paris, I'm doomed to be a hunchback! I try to only ever carry the barest of essentials, because things can get out of hand real fast and suddenly you're carrying your entire house around with you, and that helps nobody. So, should you find yourself on the run in the city with a toddler, or just by yourself and you want to feel prepared, here are the things I never leave home without:

// POST-ITS AND A CLICK PEN // I can't live without a writing implement and somewhere to scratch down a few thoughts. Sometimes the notes app on my phone just doesn't cut it. Rather than toting a small notebook, which I tend to write things in that I never look at again, I keep a small stack of post-its and a click pen with me. The thing about a post-it that's so genius is that it's just the right size, and you can stick it to whatever you need to stick it to in order to remember to read it when you need it--the back of your phone, your keys, your wallet--I've even stuck a post-it on by boob before (I was trying to remember which side I'd nursed on last). The click pen is key, though. No pens with caps! Pens with caps never turn out well.

// BABY WIPES // There ain't nothing a baby wipe can't accomplish.

// A COPY OF THE NEW YORKER // I like to keep a mangled, folded-up magazine in my bag for unexpected playground stops, long train rides, interminable waits on lines, and for looking busy when you need to look busy (sometimes that happens, I don't know). The New Yorker is especially good for this, because there are enough long-form articles to read through without a ton of ad pages to create too much bulk. A slim paperback book works, as well. I've been slowly making my way through the books I was supposed to read in high school that I Cliff's Notes-ed my way out of. There is no cooler or more pretentious feeling than when you can whip out a beat up copy of Lolita while having avocado toast at The Butcher's Daughter by yourself. Cool points, pretension points, holla.

// SMALL WATCH // I'm trying to break myself of the habit of checking my phone for the time. I swear I'm running the battery down every time I do it, or at the very least, increasing the risk that I'll drop it and crack it. My favorite watches of all time have all been cheapie Casio models. This one is slim and pretty and also durable as heck, plus cheap.

// BAGGU // I hate when things swim around all loosey-goosey in my bag and become impossible to find. I keep my small bits + bobs in a gold leather Baggu pouch. It makes me happy every time I pull it out. (I also carry at least one Baggu reusable shopping bag while I'm at it.)

// LIPSTICK // A tube of lipstick or good pot of lip butter is good for on-the-spot touch ups when you're feeling haggard and want to look pretty. A dab on the lips + a dab on the apples of your cheeks, blammo. I love Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate, it's just about the perfect color.

// FIRST AID // I found this adorable little pill box in the Target dollar aisle once. Inside it I keep Advil, peppermint oil capsules, and Benadryl. You never know. You will also want a giant stack of bandaids. You can never have enough bandaids.

// BOTTLED WATER // Bonus points if yours is reusable and pretty. I usually opt for the basic plastic Earth killers, since they're light + easy to get + carry.

// MOPHIE // Oh Mophie my Mophie! I literally, completely literally, do not know what I would do with out my Mophie. It's a life saver and a half. Four charges! Peace of mind in a battery pack.

// EMERGENCY MINI MARSHMALLOWS // Look, this one seems self-explanatory. Know what's oddly really good together? Mini marshmallows and raw almonds. I mean, if you need it to be healthy.

// HAND BALM + SANITIZER // I can't do a sanitizer session without a follow up moisturizer session. Aesop's Resurrection Hand Balm is every bit as good as you've heard it is.

// COMFORTABLE UGLY SHOES THAT MAKE YOU LOOK RAD // Might I suggest a pair of Wallabees? I wore these every day the first year after we moved back to the city, through pregnancy and post-pregnancy. They look like orthopedics which is sort of why I like them, I think.

// PERSPECTIVE // I try to remind myself a few times a day to really relish this funny time in my life. Especially when we're in the grocery store and Huck keep bumping into people and begging for fruit snacks + sugar cereal and we're trying not to get separated + lose each other and I sort of want to tear my hair out. I try to remind myself how cool it is that I get to have this experience. Someday I'll look back on this so fondly, and why not look at it so fondly right now!? Couldn't hurt, right? This works for me 99% of the time, and instantly calms my nerves and boosts my patience. There is always that 1% though . . .  ;)

Fellow city dwellers + all ye who drive in cars, tell me your must-haves! Let's get some good ideas from each other, yeah?