Mommy Valet and and a Learning Super Store

It's not easy being a mom, taxi-driver, entertainer and a teacher, so when a couple of local businesses offer new services to make being a mom a little easier it's worth writing about.

Last summer, a group of moms and I went to Chick-fil-A at Stone Creek Village in Cary for lunch. Each of us had at least 2 kids. Some of the kids ran to the play area, the others wondered around the restaurant, and of course none of them wanted to wait in line to order. Once we all got our trays of food, napkins, ketchup and drink boxes gathered at the same table and the kids corralled back to the their table, we started talking about how much work it takes to have lunch with your girlfriends. My friend Lauren spoke up and told us about a Chick-fil-A in Charlotte that offers Mommy Valet. "What's Mommy Valet?" I asked. She then explained how you place your order in the drive thru and then park, and when you come in the restaurant your food is already at your table. All the moms at the table loved the idea. Then the manager came over to see how our group was doing, and Lauren shared the Mommy Valet idea with him. He asked us if that would be a service we would use, and we unanimously agreed it would. He said he would look into doing it. I hadn't heard anything about it until last week when I was there for lunch and their was a card on the table. The card was advertising the Mommy Valet service. I was so excited that the manager listened to a group of moms and our needs and implemented this service. So if you've had a stressful day, head over to the Stone Creek Village Chick-fil-A, pull into the drive-thru and ask for the Mommy Valet service. Plus they have several delicious salads too.

Once you and your family are nourished and ready to go, head over to the new Stone's Education Super Store. This locally-owned teacher supply store that was once located on Tryon Rd in Raleigh has moved to the corner of Chapel Hill Rd and Trinity Rd in Raleigh, and now offers a larger selection of teacher supplies, books, preschool toys, and story times. Be sure to "Like" their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Stones.Education to make sure you stay updated on their sales, specials, and story times.