Mom deserves a break, so put trips and travel gear on the itinerary for her day

Listen, mister, you're not waiting until the Saturday before Mother's Day to round up the kids and frantically look for gifts that are proportionate to the family's gratitude for this woman's existence, right?

Remember how the boxed set of Seinfeld DVDs went over for her 40th birthday? I thought so.

Even mothers who adore being at home with the family all the time, yearn or dream to get away and that's where this column comes in: unlikely ideas that should kindle the wanderlust that flickers in the hearts of mothers everywhere.

"If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?" asked comedian Milton Berle. The inventor of Xubaz surely saw a mother at the airport and mistook her for a sherpa.

Xubaz is a cool-looking, functional scarf that has pockets perfectly sized for passports, boarding passes, tech gadgets, credit cards, hotel keys, sunglasses and more, allowing you to have hands free for kids, babies, strollers or luggage. It's reversible (can be worn with the pockets in or out), has tiny straps so it won't fall off or blow away, folds up to be itty-bitty in your bag and it comes in a variety of fabrics, including "green" materials such as organic cotton, hemp or silk.

The scarf costs between $30 and $55 depending upon fabric/style and is available online at www.xubaz.com and in Illinois at Clare A Bella Boutique, 115 Kansa St., Frankfort; What the Traveler Saw, 1508 E. 55th St., Chicago; and the Field Museum, 1400 S. Lakeshore Drive, Chicago.

Every mom's middle name is "multitasking." She can catch a glass of grape juice midair before it hits the carpet while putting on her mascara. Ergo, the stylish, eco-minded mom will be thrilled with Envirosax, multipurpose reusable bags with bold prints in a range of lively colors that are available as single bags or as part of a pouch containing five cool bags from a design series.

The reusable totes roll up to be quite small, so she can pop a couple in her purse or stow in a glove compartment while traveling and have the sturdy bags at hand when she's traveling, shopping and bringing extra stuff back home. The fashionable bags cost $8.50 for one or $37.95 for a pouch of five. Take a look at http://usa.envirosax.com. She won't believe you discovered something so useful and chic.

"She never quite leaves her children at home, even when she doesn't take them along." opined author Margaret Culkin Banning. That's exactly why she'll love Coby Electronics' portable Digital Photo Frame Keychain for an easy $29.99.

The 1.2-inch LCD brag book holds up to 60 images so she won't have to search for the tattered and crumb-mottled photos of junior in her wallet on her next trip. Find the DP-151, which comes in a variety of colors, at many retailers, including Kmart, Macy's, Sears and www.amazon.com.

Take one mother, a camera and the Taj Mahal and what do you get? Pictures of the kids with a fuzzy image of a castle-looking thingy in the background. The kid's the thing.

There are hundreds of choices in the camera department and experts who cover gadgets can guide you to the perfect model for your particular purposes and budget. I know that mothers will love the brand-new Nikon COOLPIX S550 digital camera. Sure, it comes in hipster colors, offers 10 megapixels of sharp resolution, a 5x zoom lens and Electronic Vibration Reduction Image Stabilization, but it also features two new modes that help her get the best shots of her youngins: Smile Mode and Blink Warning.

Smile mode automatically fires the shutter when Junior smiles and the Blink Warning displays a message when the little rascal has blinked. For a complete listing of all the camera's features, go to www.nikonusa.com. The Nikon COOLPIX S550 is available in stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City as well as online.

I believe it was one of TV's "The Golden Girls" who said, "It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it." In that vein, my daughter reports that my birthday and Mother's Day are the most chaotic, crazy days of the year for the family -- because I'm not planning them. If you have the budget to send her on a getaway, trust me when I say don't give her another event to plan.

Consider using www.imin.com, a site designed for organizing group travel with friends and family, but you can also use it to put together a trip for Mom alone. Search for trip itineraries by using a map to find something close to home. The pre-planned itinerary format makes it easy for dads and kids to give mom a fully planned weekend away.

Check out the "momcation" trip ideas page that will take her on a Girls Shopping Trip in St. Louis; Have a Heart -- A Healthy Heart at the All-Inclusive Heartland Spa; A Girl's Spa Trip in Indianapolis; and many other far-flung and nearby trips. Book a spa escape for her to enjoy solo or use the site to get a girlfriend's getaway together using the hundreds of expert-created trip itineraries.

I'm in! is not a travel agency, so when you book a trip on the site you are booking directly through the travel supplier. Just explore www.imin.com; the site's service is free.