Weekend Happiness on a Budget…With Meatballs on the Side

At the end of this past summer, on a rainy Sunday, I packed up the kids and headed for IKEA in Conshohocken. I guess my guys can’t really grow up with a foreign-born mom without learning to appreciate two dollar minifängsts (I have two; they are great!).

It’s sad, yes, but whenever I receive the catalog, I read it like a magazine, with a cup of good coffee in hand. Sometimes I even tag the fifty-cent coffee mugs in the catalog that I’d like to add to my Swedish cupboard repertoire, or the five-dollar vase with the cumbersome first name. (“White vase” works for me, but then again, I don’t design these things.) While I sip my coffee and indulge in a smörgåsbord of perplexing products, I often plan my next trip to the store with the kids. It’s fun for all of us (or maybe they are simply still too young to question the store’s entertainment value).

So with the kids excited about heading inside the super warehouse of endless bargains and incomprehensible merchandise tags, we delved right into the children’s section during our last trip there. My son promptly tried out every single toddler bed, stool, and rocking-something (sure didn’t look like a horse to me). We also threw around snuggly plush broccoli florets and chocolate-covered strawberries (teddy bears are so I går). Genius. Who designs this stuff? Maybe the same people who write Phineas & Ferb episodes. Awesome.

After working our way through the ultra-sleek, perfectly geometric design spaces, I found myself with an armful of items I didn’t exactly need, but were too much fun to pass up. No one really travels for forty-five minutes for the sole purpose of purchasing a one-dollar garlic press. And no trip to the cheery yellow and blue mega-land is complete without stopping at the bistro. It’s the crowning achievement of our shopping adventure. You would think that the euro stops at the cafeteria counter, but IKEA’s food is also amazingly cheap (but good). In fact, kids’ meals were free the day we visited, so we enjoyed meatballs and pommes frites for next to nothing. I read that the color yellow can elicit headaches, but can it stimulate an appetite as well? Maybe their marketers are on to something here…

It’s not just the merchandise, of course, or the joy of watching my kids getting a complete kick out of the store that brings me back for three-hour visits at a time. It’s the memory of growing up overseas, I guess. As absurd as it sounds, this part of Conshohocken connects me to Europe, one meatball at a time.

We all carry around associations with certain places. While pommes, meatballs, and lingon berry jam on the side may seem a bit far-fetched for some, they work for me in every regard. And if I can pick up a new garlic press for pennies in the process, while my kids have a ball, that’s even better.

By Marion Kase
Marion Kase is a working mother who lives, plays, and, well, works out in the burbs. She captures a dirty sock laundry list of mundane, sometimes hair-pulling observations, as seen from the brim of my coffee cup, for all the unsung heroes in our wonderful community on her blog, Helicopter-Caterpillar.

Win it Wednesday: Ticket Giveaway – Wings Lacrosse

He Shoots…He Scores! Lacrosse is an exciting game to watch and play! The Philadelphia Wings are among the hottest teams to watch when it comes to the sport. They have a full schedule for the 2012 season which began with a season opener on Dec. 11, 2011 and the home opener on Jan. 14, 2012. Their games are full of excitement as the players try to gain control of the game and do whatever it takes to keep it! For the Wings schedule, please click here. If you would like to purchase tickets to see a Wings game, please click here. The Home of the Philadelphia Wings is at the Wells Fargo Center, a part of Comcast – Spectacor.

For a chance to win 4 Lower Level Seats to the second game of the season on Jan. 12, 2012 please fill in the form below.

Crafting with Little Kids: Marshmallow pops

Making edible crafts can be a lot of fun with your preschooler, granted the project is age appropriate and you have a plan. This is a simple project with tasty results that can be turned into gifts for friends, family or even the preschool classmates. It was a bit messy, but that was part of the fun. We made chocolate dipped marshmallow pops that we dipped in crushed peppermint candy canes. My little guy had a blast making these. All supplies were purchased at A.C. Moore, except for the marshmallows.

Supplies:
one bag of chocolate melts, found in craft stores, in the flavor of choice. (We used dark chocolate.)
pack of lollipop sticks.
bag of marshmallows, regular size or jumbo
candy canes, about four or five, or sprinkles
cellophane treat bags (optional)

Tools required:
microwavable bowl or measuring cup to melt the chocolate or
mini crockpot or
chocolate melter
spoon
cookie sheet covered with parchment or wax paper
rolling pin
sealable/zipper plastic bag
small bowl

Directions:

I used a mini crockpot to melt the chocolate, but it is just as easy to melt it in the microwave. Follow the instructions on the bag. (Tip: its very important to not get any water in the chocolate, so make sure the container you are using is dry.) While the chocolate was melting, we prepared the candy canes.

My son loved this part! I unwrapped four candy canes and put them in a bag. My son used a rolling pin to smash the candy canes into little pieces. I put the crushed candy canes in a small bowl for dipping later. You can use sprinkles instead of candy canes for decoration instead.

As the chocolate is melting, stir it well to make sure it is completely smooth. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper line up the marshmallows and push a lollipop stick into each one without poking through to the top. Once the chocolate is completely melted, dip each marshmallow into the chocolate and swirl/spin the marshmallow around to completely coat it while also getting the excess chocolate off. Immediately dip the chocolate marshmallow into the crushed candy canes or sprinkles, if using, then set the marshmallow on the parchment paper to set while you continue to work on the next marshmallow.

If you can fit the cookie sheet in your freezer, the chocolate will set faster. I had no room, so I let it sit out and harden on it’s own. After a taste test, we wrapped each pop in a holiday themed cellophane bag to use as gifts for friends and cousins.



Happy holiday crafting!

You can find other preschool crafts and activities on Diane’s blog, Knitting Zeal.

Ask Shelby, Self-Care

Here is December’s installment of “Ask Shelby” from Chester County’s own Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Shelby Riley.

Dear Shelby,

I feel like this has been the longest year of my life. I’m so burned out, I can barely enjoy the holidays. I’m cranky, resentful, and exhausted. What am I doing wrong?

Signed, Spent

Dear Spent,

I can think of a few different reasons you may be feeling the way you do. Without knowing more about your situation, my best guess is that you have fallen to the bottom of your priority list. I see this often with clients in my practice, especially women. Women tend to be amazing caregivers….to everyone but themselves. We volunteer at school, church, and sports. We overfunction at work and home. Our kids, partners, work teams, extended family and neighbors all come before ourselves.

Many women express a sense of guilt about taking care of themselves. They can feel a sense of pride for a friend who runs a 10k, but they feel guilty even thinking about going out for a 30 minute run themselves. Sitting and reading a book for a bit before the kids come home from school? Are you crazy?! There’s laundry to do and toilets to clean!

By now I am guessing you have heard the adage about the airplane-oxygen mask: put yours on FIRST, then help your child or seat-mate with theirs. It’s a tired example, but incredibly true—if you are on your last legs, you are not going to be any good for anybody. Would your family rather have two hours with a refreshed, energized, patient woman or three hours with a cranky, bitter, angry woman? The hour that you “take away” from your family to give to yourself (that’s the guilt talking) is really a gift you give to everyone.

My advice for you is to come up with a list of self-care activities that can be done in 10 seconds, 10 minutes, one hour, half a day, whole day, and a whole weekend. Then, engage in several smaller (10 seconds to one hour) activities a day. Some of my clients even keep a self-care calendar, logging their self-care activities every day to keep themselves accountable. Every so often, throw in a bigger one (half day to weekend) for good measure. Here are some examples to get you started:

10 seconds: Several deep breaths; smelling roses at the grocery store; stopping to look at interesting art in a store window; quick, deep stretch; smiling at a good memory

10 minutes: mini-yoga session; walk; leafing through a magazine; listening to two favorite songs; talking on the phone with a friend

One hour: good, solid workout; long bubble bath; reading a great book; knitting/jewelry making/creative endeavor; cooking a gourmet meal; mani/pedi; massage

Half day: kayaking at Marsh Creek; hiking in Valley Forge; reading an entire book; wine tasting with friends/partner; movie and lunch

Good luck—and remember—self-care is not a luxury…it’s a necessity!

Yours, Shelby

Shelby Riley, LMFT is the owner of the family therapy practice, Shelby Riley, LMFT and Associates, LLC in Chester Springs, PA. She is also the incoming President of the PA Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (PAMFT). Remember to check out Shelby’s website http://www.shelbyrileymft.com for useful information about therapy for individuals, couples, and families.

Life in 60 Second Increments

Long-distance relationships are hard. Such relationships among working mothers are nearly impossible, but feasible with a good-calling plan and an occasional Facebook visit.

My husband and I had a long-distance relationship before we got married, one that spanned the Atlantic Ocean. That was nearly twenty years ago, just as people started saying “World Wide Web” with a twinkle in their eyes. Alas, we are living proof that long-distance anything is quite possible, no matter the color of your passport, the deadlines at work, or the mommy commitments after office hours.

One of my best friends lives in Colorado. Judging by the amazing pictures on her FB wall, she truly lives a world away from my backyard here. Our view of Monocacy Hill pales in comparison to her rustic outings. Her backyard critters have sharper teeth than the snuggly ones who frequent ours.

My friend usually calls from her long commute to work on weekends. Her travel along the highway often coincides with our Sunday morning breakfast, a family tradition I have maintained through the years. I try to make up for rushed, two-minute phone calls by trying to call back during my lunch hour the following week, but work often gets in the way. Sometimes I barely have a lunch, let alone energy to do anything but space out while waiting for the microwave to signal that the frozen, high-sodium treat is done. So in voicemail we trust. It actually works better for us than social media, and there’s no corporate firewall to keep me away. (Visit FB at home, on my own time? That’s not exactly high on my to-do-list.) It’s also free of distractions. I can leave a summary of my life up to that point without getting sucked into viewing other friends’ comments about this and that.

With voicemail, we go all out, leaving nothing to chance or misinterpretation. Long after our respective monologs stop ringing in our own ears, we take mental notes of other updates that didn’t fit into the allotted message time and save it for next week. Sometimes the phone cuts off our stream-of-consciousness. If we were really clever, we would build in deliberate, well-timed cliffhangers to assure a more prompt return phone call, but we are not that devious.

Our voicemails are accompanied by familiar background activity: my office’s parking lot clearing out during lunch and her kids getting ready for school. The time difference offers a variety of noises that range from mid-day bustling to morning rush, depending on the message sender’s longitude.

We all carry around enough guilt while trying to juggle it all. I’d rather not add friendship maintenance to the list of “things to improve.” Instead, we rock our long-distance friendship and corner the market on voicemail blogs – when we have the time and energy to do so. Occasionally, we are flat out flabbergasted when we actually connect, often during a “luxurious” one-hour trip to the supermarket, pouring our hearts out while considering the store-brand alternative to overpriced floor cleaners. Would I rather fly out there and spend a weekend chatting? Sure. But the grocery store will have to serve as a backdrop for our girl talk for the time being.

Love you, my friend (you know who you are!), and I promise I’ll TRY to call next Tuesday, while dashing out of the office to catch you before school/work/life ties up our respective phone lines.

By Marion Kase
Marion Kase is a working mother who lives, plays, and, well, works out in the burbs. She captures a dirty sock laundry list of mundane, sometimes hair-pulling observations, as seen from the brim of her coffee cup, for all the unsung heroes in our wonderful community on her blog, Helicopter-Caterpillar.

The Virtual Scavenger Hunt is ON!!!

****Thanks for Playing. Our Virtual Scavenger Hunt is now over****

Welcome to tonight’s Scavenger Hunt everyone! We’re proud to partner with the production of The Wizard of Oz for tonight’s fun contest!

Scavenger Hunt Details
Let’s get down to Scavenger Hunt business! Tonight’s fabulous prize is a 4-pack of tickets to The Wizard of Oz at the Merriam Theater. Thanks so much The Wizard of Oz for this amazing prize!

For those that are new to our Scavenger Hunts, below you will find an entry form for tonight’s Hunt. All you need to do is go to http://kimmelcenter.org/events/?id=4177 and find the answer to the questions on the entry form. When you submit the form, we will check responses for correct entries. If you have a complete and correct entry form, you will be put into the random drawing for tonight’s awesome prize.

PLEASE READ! Contest rules:

1. Please only submit your entry once. All duplicate entries will be deleted.
2. This contest will be live from 8pm to 10pm this evening. The contest will close at 10pm promptly and then a winner will be notified this evening 10:15pm.
3. The winning entry is non-transferable. Please only play along if you yourself (and your child of course) are able to take advantage of the prize being offered.

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by The Wizard of Oz. Tickets will be held at Will-Call for winner.

Math and Spelling Fun for the Whole Family!

Math and Spelling Fun for the Whole Family!

Who says reinforcing math and spelling skills has to be tedious and boring? My girls and I have blast with these fun and inventive ways to foster math and spelling concepts. What I love most about these activities is that the whole family can get involved!

SPELLING FUN

Shaving cream – spray it on a flat surface, smooth it out and let them write their words in it.

Finger paint – let them spell out his words with finger paint.

Sidewalk chalk – have them spell out his words on the driveway with colorful chalk.

Keyboarding – let them type their words out on the computer.

Hangman -– play hangman using the spelling words.

Tiles – grab some letter tiles and have them spell the words you dictate.

“Guess the Word” – spell the word for them and give them a chance to guess what it is.

As far as on-line spelling resources, there are many to choose from. One of my favorites iswww.spellingcity.com

MATH FUN

Grocery Shopping – let your child help you take items off the shelf and place them in your cart. While doing so, she will learn about weight, shape and size. Point out labels and prices and explain the differences.

Clean-up – as you and your child clean-up her toys, talk about the different colors, shapes, weights and sizes of each item as you put them away. Talk about the number of items you are putting away, for example, “Let’s put these two books in the bookshelf”.

Baking – cooking and baking allows your child to weigh and measure various ingredients. Together you can count the number of spoonfuls, cupfuls, and tablespoons required for the recipe. She can also experience first-hand what happens when you mix different ingredients together.

Wash & Dry – have your little one help with the laundry. She can measure out and pour the detergent. She can also help sort items by color, texture, type of clothing, etc.

Daily reinforcement is the best way to learn and retain math and spelling concepts. Give these a try and let me know how you make out!

Yolanda is the mom of 3 young children in the Delaware Valley. She is the Founder of Team Tutor.

TONIGHT: Virtual Scavenger Hunt!

Get ready for another one of our fabulous and fun Scavenger Hunts TONIGHT, December 15th! This hunt is sponsored by The Wizard of Oz and they are giving away tickets to the Philadelphia performance at the Merriam Theater!

The Hunt will go live on our site tonight (12/15) at 8pm. As with Philly Burb Moms previous Scavenger Hunts, you will have between 8pm and 10pm to complete your entry (entry form will be part of the Chester, Delaware and Montgomery County Moms blog post). Then, at 10pm we will use Random.org to select a random winner from among the correct and complete entries. We will announce the winner LIVE on our Facebook and Twitter Pages as well as here on our Blog around 10:15pm.

So, come on back and play with us tonight! We’d love to see you!

*Disclosure: This is a sponsored scavenger hunt. Prize fulfillment is the responsibility of the PR firm sponsoring this contest and will be held at Will-Call.

Wednesday Wellness: 6 Healthy Holiday Party Tips

This healthy holiday post has been provided by The Chester County Hospital and Health System. The Hospital offers a variety of nutrition and weight management programs to help the community live a healthier lifestyle.

1. Eat well during the day. Skipping meals during the day to save up for a party is a bad idea. You will get overly hungry and overeat. Eat a good breakfast and lunch and then go on to tip number 2!

2. Eat a healthful meal before you go to the party. Eating a healthful meal (lowfat, high fiber), such as a baked potato with vegetarian chili and a salad, before going to a party is insurance that you won’t end up eating too much of the wrong thing. You will be in better control when you see all those tempting appetizers and desserts!

3. Limit or avoid alcohol. Alcohol is a double-edged sword if you are trying to watch your weight. It is high in calories AND it affects your judgment on choosing foods that are lower in calories. If you have more than one party to attend, this can spell disaster for a weight-loss agenda. One way to avoid drinking at a party is to be the designated driver. If you must drink, have one drink then switch to soda with lime for the rest of the evening.

4. Bring a dish. Offer to bring a dish to the party. Make it a large tossed salad or a low-cal appetizer. This way you will have at least one healthful dish you can eat while you are there.

5. Fill up on salad first. Fill up a large dinner plate with salad or raw veggies before you go through the rest of the buffet. This way you will fill up on fewer calories. On the next trip to the buffet, use a smaller plate and fill it with a few lean options. Enjoy a few of your favorite items but keep portions small.

6. Focus on conversation. Make an effort to meet new friends and circulate with those you know instead of eyeing the food.

Hot Chocolate Gift Jars; Easy, Free and Green

By: Heather Bitzer

Okay… I admit it. I haven’t posted anything for a really looong time! In fact, Montcomom herself is probably on the floor in shock after seeing my name pop up on the Blogger account today.

So, what in the world is exciting enough to pluck me from my novel writing to shout from the Suburban Social Media rooftop?

Hot Chocolate Gift Jars! (Yes, I AM serious.)

If you’re anything like me, you’ve known about these little mix projects for years, but filed the idea away in the “looks cute, but I’ll probably never get around to it,” box…along with all of that scrapbooking you keep promising yourself you’ll catch up on….
Anyway, my BFF and I rescued a bunch of spaghetti sauce jars from the recycle bin today and got to work with the kids. Our kids are 18mos, 3 and 4. This craft was age-appropriate fun for everyone and best of all… practically FREE!
I already told you about the sauce jars (Classico’s are the prettiest), but the other free/re-purposed items we used were:

• 2 Bags of powdered milk left over from Hurricane Irene (use them before they expire, ladies!).
• Nesquik chocolate powder that I already had in my pantry.
• Berry picks pulled from an old garland in my Christmas decoration graveyard.
• Colorful fabric squares cut from one of my husband’s old flannels.
• Ribbon…. I have enough ribbon in the basement to get me on an episode of Hoarders.

The only thing we had to buy was mini marshmallows… and turns out they were free for me too since Carly bought them on her way over and I forgot to pay her back!

Using a mix ratio of 6 tablespoons of chocolate for every 1 1/2 cups of powdered milk, we layered the ingredients into our 1 pint jars. Then the kids loaded marshmallows all the way up to the top. To finish, we decorated the lid using the ribbon, berries and a hand written label.

The big thing for the older kids was pouring the dry ingredients. Once everything was measured into the pitcher, they were able to do it themselves, resulting in a real sense of accomplishment. Adding the marshmallows was the high point for my littlest one. The look of pride on her sweet little face was what I kept in my head during the cleanup phase. Excessive milk dust was the only drawback of an otherwise enjoyable activity!

Montco Mom Heather is a former pediatric nurse turned mom to two lovely little ladies.

*add contents of jar to 4 cups hot water to yield 4 servings