Loving Local Food

To Market: Loving Local Food

Summer is a ripe opportunity to teach kids about loving local food. When it’s time to close the school books in our town, the farmers market opens.  With the open market comes lessons about diet and the quality of food we choose for a healthy lifestyle.  Moms can use the market as a classroom for a lifetime of wellness. During our family visits to our local farmers market, we’ve enjoyed a bounty of benefits. The obvious ones fit into my market basket, but others grow in the habits, understanding, and hearts of our kids. Market days show our kids that …

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Freezer Waffle Recipes (plus other freeze ahead breakfast ideas)

Mornings… SIGH. I am so not a morning person, I used to be before I had kids. This means I’m not exactly awake in the mornings, not to mention the challenge to get everyone out the door (on time!) to work and school makes for an interesting morning. This means I need to find ways to save time and still serve my kids a healthy breakfast. Freezer waffles are the perfect solution. You can make large batches ahead of time. Then in the morning, grab the desired amount of waffles and place in your toaster or oven. Viola! Breakfast is …

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EXCITING NEWS from The M.O.M. Initiative for YOU!

It was in a gas station parking lot when the vision for The M.O.M. Initiative and The Making of a Mom was conceived. As I sat and watched a very pregnant teen girl walk by and light up a cigarette, I reflected on my teen pregnancy and how motherhood was like a messy experiment for me and how my kids ended up being the guinea pigs. And how I thought I was ready but didn’t have a clue. I couldn’t help but wonder if she understood the significance of her newfound roll. Did she understand that everything she now did would affect …

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Juicing Once a Day for a Healthier Me & for Healthier Kids

I LOVE food! All food! Well, almost ALL food. But the older I get the more my food shows up on my hips, my thighs, and unfortunately all that yummy stuff affects my heart and my health. When I was younger, I could eat what I wanted and then just watch my intake for a few days and lose the weight I had gained. But those days are LONG GONE and my body is now in need of a little makeover. Okay…so a big makeover. And it’s not about my weight…it’s about my health. So, I started juicing.  At first, …

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Tips to De-Clutter and Organize before & after Christmas

  I don’t know about your home little mama but when it’s time to put up the Christmas tree, our living room gets rearranged. And the smallest mess seems like mountains of clutter on top of the kids’ indoor adventures from negative temperatures.  And if you’re already wondering how to reorganize your home, the loot, and de-clutter with little ones under foot, here are some fun tips for you.    Christmas Ornaments You can either save the boxes each ornament comes in, or save space and time with egg cartons.                           …

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Mom’s Winter Emergency Survival Kit

Ice is frosting the view outside our front door and soon, we will be scurrying to and from cities to visit family, friends and maybe even do a little shopping; but are you prepared in case of an emergency  Do you what to do if your car slides off the road and do you know what you should carry in your car for you and your kids? It pays to keep your trunk packed with a winter survival kit for you and your kids AND to keep your cell phone with you. Before we get to your packing list, take a …

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3 Ways to Teach Kids Outdoors

Before we start on today’s powerful post by Christen Price, we want to announce the winner of NOT ALONE by Dineen Miller and Lynn Donovan. CONGRATULATIONS to Jennifer Gearheart! You will be receiving an email today! Thank you for participating in the giveaway! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Fall is here and its a great time than to get outside to teach our kids. I have preschoolers and some of our favorite activities recently have all been taught outside.  Here are three fun ways to teach your kids outdoors: 1. Teach Kids About Farming It is harvest season and there are so many crops being …

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DIY T-Shirt Trick or Treat Bags

Earlier this year, we discovered a great way to re-purpose old t-shirts.  We made bags out of them and use them for library books, beach gear, etc and with Halloween a few days away, I opted to find cheap t-shirts to make trick or treat bags.  I found cute, bright orange t-shirts which will help my kids carry their loot and make them more visible in the dark.  This project is easy, simple and requires NO SEWING, your kids can help you and the bags are ready in 20 minutes.  Other ways to make your bags more visible could include glow …

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5 B’s for Being the “Bad Guy” Moms Sometimes Need to Be

A few weeks ago I posted 5 B’s to a Better Day. Today? 5 B’s for the “Being the Bad Guy” moms need to BE! BE the ONE TO SAY “NO” to UNWHOLESOME TV I remember well when at a gathering, all the kids were going to watch a movie. However, when my husband and I found out the movie that had been turned on, we told our kids, NO. Their same aged friends stayed “tuned in.” We were the “bad guys.” Some adults thought we were silly. We’ve never been sorry for being the “bad guy” and saying NO to …

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Technology & your child’s brain development

Our kids will never know what it is to live in an unwired world. We’ve moved from the technology of the light bulb to the microwave, to the CD player, to the answering machine, and now to the mobile phone. Just doing homework research opens Pandora ’s Box of distractions like YouTube and Facebook, for starters. Today, moms find it hard to imagine what kind of tech will be commonplace to our kids when they grow up. Some parents feel overwhelmed by the waves of change and try to shut out the digital invasion. When adults check out, kids miss …

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