Fun with Kids for St. Patrick’s Day

March 9, 2016

Growing up, St. Patrick’s Day was always such a wonderful day for my Irish-American family. Not only do we all love our Irish heritage, my grandfather was also born on St. Patrick’s Day, which made the holiday even more special. As kids, we would wake up on St. Patrick’s Day already dressed in green — from head to toe — and spend the day playing games, watching NCAA basketball, eating treats, and, in general, reveling in our Irish pride. When my grandfather passed away, the priest at his funeral said, “He was proud to be Irish… and felt sorry for anyone who wasn’t.” Those are great words to live by.

For some, St. Patrick’s Day has become nothing more than an excuse for a pub crawl. Don’t get me wrong — that’s super fun… but not with kids. I want to make this holiday just as special for my boys as it was for me growing up. I also want them to love and appreciate their Irish heritage. Even though my boys are still little, I have a few fun things planned that will help get them — and your children — into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit!

Crafts

Since I have a toddler and an infant, I look for fairly simple crafts. Here a few that are easy to do and will create some great St. Patrick’s Day decorations:

Paint chip shamrocks

We absolutely love paint chip art in our house! First of all, I’m so appreciative of Lowe’s and Home Depot for providing my art supplies… for free! It really is quite fun to visit the paint department and pick out every paint chip sample of green paint. This craft is incredibly easy for kids of all ages, and afterwards, you’re left with a bright and colorful decoration for the holiday.

Shamrock stamps

Water bottles, wine corks, marshmallows, bell peppers — it’s amazing the number of items you have lying around your house that could be turned into shamrock stamps. All you need to do is grab some green paint and prep your stamps, depending on which medium you choose. With this activity, you can both recycle and make art! That’s a win-win, if you ask me.

Hand shamrocks

After you make your stamps, save some green paint to make these adorable shamrock handprints. For as long as my kids will let me, we will be making this craft so that I can track their growth through each St. Patrick’s Day and reminisce about when they were once so little.

Eraser-stamped T-shirt

This shamrock T-shirt is perfect for all skill levels. Make one for all the kids, and your family will be totally ready to hit up the Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade in style!

Four leaf clover potato stamp

Learn how to make your own four-leaf-clover stamp with this tutorial. Use it to stamp out shamrocks on cards, banners, wrapping paper — whatever you and your child are inspired to make!

Food

I don’t know about you, but there is no way my children are touching corned beef and cabbage. I’m probably going to dye pasta green, and that’s about the best I’ll be able to do to make a St. Patrick’s Day meal. Luckily, there are a few yummy treats we can make together.

Shamrock cookies

Cookies are a great treat for any holiday! For St. Patrick’s Day, grab your favorite sugar cookie recipe and dye some icing green. If you have a shamrock cookie cutter, great! If not, you can use your heart-shaped cookie cutter from Valentine’s Day to create shamrock petals. Sugar cookies are such a neat way to express your creativity. You can decorate these cookies as simply or intricately as you like.

Lucky Charms treats

Lucky Charms treats are just like Rice Krispies treats — only 1,000 times better! I craved these snacks so many times during my last pregnancy that we were eating them well past St. Patrick’s Day. All you need is a pot, Lucky Charms, butter, and marshmallows, and in about 10 minutes you’ll have a tasty treat. Sure, you’ll give your kids a sugar high to last until Easter, but you’ll have a ton of fun working together to make this unique dessert.

Chocolate Guinness cake

If you’re going to buy Guinness for St. Patrick’s Day, save one bottle to make this fantastic cake. Yes, this may sound like more of a mommy and daddy dessert — however, the baking burns off the alcohol, and what you’re left with is a very moist, super chocolatey cake. The recipe is fairly simple, and this cake is always a big hit for us!

I hope these activities will help you enjoy a family-friendly St. Patrick’s Day! Erin go Braugh!

Events Coordinator

Boston Moms

March 8, 2016

We are looking for someone to join our team as our Events Coordinator! We love connecting moms both online and offline and seek to do this through lots of fun events. We are hoping to plan everything from smaller playdates to larger moms nights out and family days, but we need your help.

Events Coordinator

Along with owner, serve as point of contact for all Boston Moms Blog events:

With guidance from owner, own and manage all aspects of swag and giveaway sponsors for Boston Moms Blog events, as well as table sponsors, food, and beverage
Solicit swag and giveaway partners, as well as table sponsors, for events via phone, email, and social media, continually brainstorming and pursuing new partners with assistance from owner
Manage all aspects of communication with swag and giveaway sponsors, as well as table sponsors, including reminder emails, setting deadlines for delivery, and cultivating relationships through event updates, teasers, and post-event follow up
Assist in social media promotion (both BMB’s and the team’s) for swag and giveaway sponsors, as well as table sponsors, leading up to and at events
Within event blog posts (e.g., to announce moms night out and to recap events past), ensure accurate inclusion of swag and giveaway partners (as needed and/or promised to partnering brands), as well as table sponsors
Brainstorm new ideas for Boston Moms Blog events with owner
Respond to emails in a timely manner (48 hours)
Represent Boston Moms Blog in a positive and professional manner at all times

Qualifications

Impeccable attention to detail
Ability to communicate clearly and concisely (written and verbal)
Ability to meet deadlines and follow through on commitments

Compensation

Events :: 30% of all event proceeds after expenses, paid within 30 days of the event’s completion
New sales :: 15% of new business solicited (i.e., image ads, sponsored posts, etc). New business is defined as a business that has not contacted Boston Moms Blog in the past (i.e., via the info account or previous owner outreach) and that the owner does not have an existing relationship with. New sales to be paid upon receipt of payment from the partner.

Interested?

Send an email to info(at)bostonmomsblog.org
Tell us a bit about yourself — why are you perfect for this job? Share some ideas with us! Be creative, and be you!

Horrifying Mother-in-Law Comments Revealed

Cindy Hutter

March 8, 2016

We Boston Moms Blog contributors got together recently on a Saturday morning, and let’s just say, it didn’t take long to start swapping mother-in-law (MIL) horror stories. There is just something dreadful about the comments and parenting advice that comes from a MIL.

Let’s be honest — if you heard the same comment from your own mother or a friend and thought it was ridiculous, you’d just brush it off. BUT, from a MIL, it’s not so easy. The comment somehow manages to burrow its way through your skin, eat away at your confidence, and snag a piece of your heart.

For a good laugh, we’ve pulled together the most appalling comments we’ve heard. (And yes, we’re ready for the passive-aggressive emails and calls when our MILs get angry with this post!) Be sure to add your doozies in the comments.

The ridiculous

“You should let the kids swear. It helps to express feelings and improves a kid’s vocabulary.”
“Feed him sugar so he builds up a tolerance to sugar rushes.”
“You’re stunting his development by not giving him enough bath toys.” (Child was 1.)
“Eat pig’s feet soup to boost your breast milk.”
“You can never love a second kid as much. It’s unfair to have more kids.”

The anti-supporter

“You were supposed to be a girl!” (MIL says to grandson repeatedly.)
“I wouldn’t have a kid if I were you. You’ll just get fat again.” (MIL says to mom who had lost a lot of weight before starting a family.)
“He won’t remember any of this. He doesn’t even know what’s going on.” (Said by a MIL about taking a young child on vacation.)
“I never did that (insert: cry-it-out, baby-led weaning, time outs, etc.) and my kids came out great.”

The guilt tripper

“You’ll never be as good of a mom as you could be because you work.”
“I never put my kids in daycare. It’s just the choice we made.”
“If you keep holding him so much, he’ll never be independent.” (MIL has no relationship with her family.)
“I raised three kids without any help.” (Said by a MIL who will only watch one of three grandchildren at a time because it is too much for her.)

What about those comments from your MIL? Let’s hear ’em!

Becoming More at Peace {GUEST POST}

Boston Moms

March 7, 2016

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Yesterday someone asked me how my twins are doing. “You have four children, right? The babies must be getting so big.” I get this question less often these days, nearly 16 months after I gave birth to a healthy baby girl and her stillborn twin brother. At the beginning, I got that question all the time, so much that I was afraid to go out in public for fear of receiving unwanted questions. “My baby boy died,” I started to tell people, and their faces instantaneously showed shock and horror.

“Oh, you didn’t want me to be so blunt in my answer?” I want to say. “Next time think twice before you ask the question.”

We have a picture of our boy Gavi hanging on the wall in my bedroom, a portrait made by a wonderfully talented artist. My daughter points to the picture and talks to it. “E-yee,” she says, referring to her older brother. No, that’s not Eli. “Ju-dah? Dah-ya?” She carefully enunciates — in toddler speak — as she tries to pronounce her own name. “No, honey,” I tell her, “That’s not Judah. That’s not Dahlia. That’s baby Gavi. That’s your brother.” I hope she remembers him, in some way, on some level. How it felt to grow inside me together with a playmate, and how she and I are the only people that our Gavi knew in his life that he never lived. How because of her, Gavi was never alone.

I don’t think of my baby Gavi nearly as often as I used to, when the thoughts of my baby boy buried in the ground nearly consumed me, although there are still triggering moments (a high school acquaintance giving birth to stillborn twins, a friend announcing a new pregnancy, a well-meaning but ill-intentioned comment from an older relative, a casual encounter at the Y with a mother and her boy-girl toddler twins).

With every day that passes, this becomes more of a “something that happened to me” rather than something that is still happening. When I do think of it, though, I have trouble finding words to adequately describe the experience of my pregnancy. First, the unadulterated joy at finding out I was pregnant, how amazingly grateful we were that this pregnancy had happened so quickly after the difficult months of fertility struggles that preceded each of my other two pregnancies. Then the slightly overwhelming but still joyful feeling when we found out I was pregnant with twins. “Twins!” we thought. “Twins!” How will we ever cope?

Then there was the nightmare of the summer of 2014, starting with the 20-week ultrasound that first revealed something was wrong with our boy, progressing through countless scans, doctors’ appointments, specialist consults, all the way to the final and fatal diagnosis, suddenly ending with Gavi’s untimely late-term in utero passing at the beginning of September 2014. For Dahlia, the story ended a few weeks later, when I went into precipitous labor at 35 weeks and 5 days, with a known breech baby A and a stillborn baby B. Luckily this wasn’t my first precipitous labor, and I learned enough from my experience of nearly giving birth to my second child in the car. “Call 911,” I told my husband as I woke him at 3:50 in the morning. “Call 911 NOW.” And 43 minutes later, my babies were born via emergency C-section at the local community hospital, my daughter remarkably healthy, my son all too silent and still.

So to the dental hygienist who asked me about my twins, I say, “My daughter is precocious, strong, and beautiful. Remarkably healthy and strong-willed, as 16-month-olds tend to be. My son is at peace, in a way that he was unable to be in his life that was cut too short. As for the rest of us? We are still trying to navigate a complicated emotional aftermath, to find a place for an experience that is appropriate and fitting for our son’s memory but is not all consuming for the rest of our family. With each day that passes, we are becoming more at peace.”

Mindy Levine lives in Sharon, MA, together with her husband of nine years and three living children. She is a professor of organic chemistry at the University of Rhode Island. In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, biking, and conducting formal and informal science outreach.

Springtime Adventures in Boston

Kate Cotter

March 6, 2016

Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring last month, and despite the inches of snow and polar vortex that followed a few days after his forecast, I’m siding with Phil and am very hopeful that spring weather is indeed just around the corner — we moms have little ones eager to play outside all day long!

Soon, cabin fever and stir-craziness will be replaced with outdoor fun and many a spring adventure in our beautiful city of Boston. Here are a few outside activities my family and I love to partake in when the sunshine is abundant and the temps become mild:

Riding carousels

My older son discovered carousels last summer, and he’s now a tried-and-true fan — he would ride them all day long if it were up to him! As soon as it’s warm enough for a light jacket and sneakers, to the carousels we will go. He loves the aquatic-themed carousel on Atlantic Avenue in Boston (across from the New England Aquarium). And last summer he was thrilled to be riding the Paragon carousel right by the ocean! The Boston Common carousel is another favorite.

Feeding the ducks and swans in the Public Garden

My kids love sharing some of their favorite snacks with the ducks and swans in the Public Garden, when the birds return from their winter hiatus. And while in the Public Garden, we also love to…

Public-Gardens — Image credit: Tourists Book

Pay homage to the “Make Way for Ducklings” statue

Ducklings and spring are synonymous, and “Make Way for Ducklings,” by Robert McCloskey, is a classic Boston tale. And, fun fact, it’s the official children’s book of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts! It’s always fun to visit the statue of Mrs. Mallard and Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, etc., and snap a photo with them as the trees in the Public Garden start budding and the flowers begin popping up.

People watching in Faneuil Hall

With the mild temps and the sunshine bouncing off the cobblestones in Faneuil Hall, this open marketplace offers an excellent opportunity to sit on the welcoming benches and watch the bustle of all who come and go. With entertainers playing music, performing magic tricks, and providing laughs for everyone in the family, Faneuil Hall is a fun place to enjoy the spring season before heat and humidity take over.

Long walks with the stroller, going out for ice cream for the first time of the season, kicking the ball around outside, going down slides and flying high on swings, bringing the flip flops out of hiding, and watching the days grow longer and longer are some of my most favorite parts of this imminent season.

What are your favorite spring adventures in and around Boston?

My Body, My Frenemy

Jessie Keppeler

March 4, 2016

Up until the part where I almost died, it was a normal Friday. We had school and work. We ate pizza for dinner, as one does on a Friday. Then at 1:30 a.m., the baby began coughing in the room next to ours, and I was awake. And then realized something. My belly hurt.

It wasn’t an “oops, too much pizza” kind of hurt. It was a “call my brother to stay with the girls” kind of hurt. A “let me nurse the baby one more time” kind of hurt. A “what the f*ck is happening to me” kind of hurt.

We rushed to Brigham & Women’s, a merciful distance of two miles, where I was like a case from the show “House” for a few hours.

Gallbladder? Nope.

Appendix? Uh-uh.

Pregnant? NO.

It would have been kind of cool, the mystery of it all, except that I was too busy begging for morphine to notice. When my arms began to feel paralyzed and my mouth went numb, I just wanted them to fix it. Fix me. Come on, body. Hold it together.

The CT scan solved the mystery. There was a tiny hole in the tissue lining my intestine, and apparently my small intestine, that little rascal, had snuck into that hole, twisted himself up, and died. There was no choice but to operate. Immediately. Another 10-12 hours, and I could be a goner. Really, body? You were going to try to kill me today?

So around 7:30 a.m., when I’d normally be feeding little mouths at the breakfast table, sipping my second cup of coffee, I was bidding Nick a teary goodbye, relaying ill-prepared final messages for our girls, and rolling into the operating room.

When I came to, things were looking up. I was alive. And my belly felt better. I did, however, have a huge incision (no dainty little laparoscopic scar for me!), not unlike the caesarean cut turned up on its side. It was like a little joke on me after three natural, vaginal childbirths. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Head Surgeon told us that he removed 14 inches of my small intestine, which seemed like an alarming amount to Nick and me, but he waved his hand casually, saying the whole thing was close to 20 feet. Who knew you could give some up?! Maybe my food-to-waste process would simply be more efficient now, without all that extra winding. Things were definitely looking up.

But once the feel-good drugs wore off a bit, and I found myself attached to a dozen different devices, including an NG (nasogastric) tube, which runs down the nose and into the stomach (delightful!), I stopped whistling my happy tune. What in the world just happened? How could I go from dinner table to operating table in the span of a few hours? There had been no warning, no time to think. I hadn’t even kissed the girls one last “just in case” time as they slept.

Yeah, I was scared. And I was pissed off, too. At my body. My body, who I had treated pretty well, all things considered. I had played competitive sports in college. Had run the Boston Marathon. Was still active, healthy. Ate my veggies. Drank in moderation. Always wore a seatbelt.

And my body had always been good to me in return. I rarely got sick. I was strong, had good balance. And over the last six years, my body had grown three beautiful little girls inside it. So why was it turning on me now?

"Well, hello there, stranger!" Reunited with my baby for the first time post-surgery. — “Well, hello there, stranger!” Reunited with my baby for the first time post-surgery.

I imagine many of you have felt this way at one time or another. And I can only imagine the intensity of this feeling for those of you who have had cancer or have suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth. How can such bad things happen within our own selves?

I stared up at the hospital room’s white ceiling tiles, listening to the whine of my NG tube. And since I was still here, still breathing, and still buddied up with this one body, I decided to forgive it.

All right, body. That was a good one. You really had me there. Now here’s what we’re going to do: We’re going to accept these ice chips without vomiting. Tolerate the numerous blood draws and heparin shots. Not eat for 90 hours and then be grateful for that first nibble of lukewarm eggs. And we’re going to walk the hospital halls again and again so the nurses see how strong we are, and how much we want to go home. How we have too much waiting for us there to be here.

If you do all that for me, body, I’ll do my best to trust that you won’t pull another stunt like this for awhile. And maybe I’ll even treat you to some yoga.

Deal? Deal.

Why I Stopped Being Polite to My Husband

Hannah Nersasian

March 3, 2016

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We British are polite, which is not the same as being nice. We may be the ones to apologize if someone stands on our collective foot, but don’t be fooled into believing the apology doesn’t contain disdain at its core. (This chart on what we British say versus what we mean is scarily accurate.)

We say please and thank you — often, and normally within the same sentence:

“Would you like some tea?”
“Yes please, thank you.”

Compared to the more efficient American:

“Tea?”
“Sure.”

And that’s if you’re lucky. Thirteen years together and my husband still hasn’t grasped the emphatic rudeness of making oneself tea without offering it to everybody in the room (this makes for lengthy tea breaks in open-plan offices). Although I think my family has finally stopped waiting for his casual “sure” to take heed of the silent pause which follows and magically morph itself into “please, thank you.”

All this is to say that, for me, please and thank you act as punctuation to my speech and do not always even mean please or thank you so much as just being the thing you say as a normal respectable (British) human being. So it was natural for me to ask my husband to please change our son’s diaper. Or to please watch him while I nip to the loo. Or thank you for getting up with him this morning so I could sleep in (after being up with him on my own all night).

But in those early weeks and months it’s so easy to start keeping score. To feel hard done by. To start to weigh a week of sleepless nights against a week of work in an office. Or a day of repetition, screams, and diaper changes against the coming home from work to a house in chaos and a wife near despair. So I began to notice that I was the only one saying please, and the only one saying thank you.

“Why do I feel like you’re doing me a favor whenever you’re with him? He’s your son, too.”

My husband looked at me blankly. “Huh?”

“Why do I feel the need to thank you every time you do anything with the baby?”

He shrugged and went back to blowing raspberries at our son. And I realized that this was all on me. I was the one casting him as the babysitter and me as the primary parent. I was the one feeling guilty for taking a shower or not handling the most recent diaper blowout. He was just getting on with being a dad, not noticing my pleases and thank yous, because they were just a part of how I speak. And he wasn’t caring if I didn’t say them, either. I realized that if I wasn’t careful, I’d establish a pattern, a mold, for how we parented, and resentment would start growing bitter roots.

So I resolved to stop saying please, to stop saying thank you for all the times my husband simply fulfills his role as a dad and to start simply assuming it’s something he should be doing — and that he’s happy and willing to do it. I stopped being polite to my husband.

I daresay he hasn’t noticed.

Spice Up Your Look, Hot Mama! {5 Quick Tips for Killer Confidence}

Lynzi Clyde

March 2, 2016

If you are like me, every four months or so the crazy will strike and you’ll look at yourself in the mirror and think, “I am so BORED with myself.” You know you are amazing, you know you are accomplishing so much, but for some reason it’s not coming through on the outside. Help yourself to my five tried-and-true ways to spice up your look without breaking the bank!

1. Cut your bangs

This is my go-to change up when I’m bored with my look. Just grab a pair of haircutting scissors, and watch a few YouTube videos on the style you want. Voila! Now, cutting your own bangs might not be a good solution for everyone (it takes some guts), but you can just as easily go to your salon and get a bang trim. Most salons will offer bang trims or cuts for cheaper than a regular cut. Getting bangs is one of the most noticeable ways to to say, “New year, new me!”

2. Try new lipstick

A new shade of lipstick can really boost your confidence and make your boyfriend tee and leggings look like an intentional ensemble, instead of what you’ve been wearing for the last four days. I suggest buying a cheaper set of different colors to see which hues look best with your skin tone. Then when you find your perfect match, splurge and buy a nicer brand in the same shade. Go ahead and channel that inner T Swift!

3. Paint your nails

If you have the time and money, go out to a salon and let them pamper your cuticles! But if you are like me and don’t have time OR money, choosing a fun new polish from the drugstore can be a special treat. Pick something out of your comfort zone, and don’t forget a clear top coat. Every time you look down at your hands, you’ll be reminded of what a spunky, hot mama you are!

4. Take care of your skin

As moms, our skin takes a beating — especially during the winter months. Invest $7 on a medical-grade, scentless lotion for your hands, put some in a travel-sized container, and take it wherever you go. When you wash your hands, lotion up! Don’t forget lip balm and facial moisturizer, and drink tons of water. When your skin feels hydrated, you’ll feel pumped! There’s nothing a mom with happy skin can’t handle.

5. Go through your closet

Find something you haven’t worn in a while and give it a second chance. After wearing it for a day, if you still don’t like it, give it away! If you love it, make it a part of your day-to-day wardrobe! Systematically going through your closet like this can help switch up your outfits with old pieces (saving money) while also making room for the new ones from your next shopping spree (spending money). See how that works?

What are some ways you like to spice up your mom look? Got before and after pictures? Post in the comments below!

This Mom’s Dinner Plan :: Easy Weeknight Meal Ideas

Alexandra Etscovitz

March 1, 2016

Positive family preparing lunch together in the kitchen

We all know the family dinner has proven to be one of the most important parts of a kid’s day, providing children with a time to bond and talk with siblings and parents. It has also been shown that grades improve and families eat healthier foods when they’re together at the dinner table. It is easily my favorite part of my day and something that is a non-negotiable in our house.

I love to read about nutrition and do my best to raise healthy eaters. I am gonna pat myself on the back here for a minute (props to my amazingly cool kids, too), as this was a goal of mine and it seems to be working. Confirmation comes each time my girls cheer for Brussels sprouts or ask for more broccoli. You’ve heard the rules: We all eat the same dinner, and that goes for all the ideas below.

When I’m on my A-game and am staying committed to my family goal of cooking as much of our food as possible, I try to use this strategy each week for dinners:

1. Stir-fry night

This can be a mix of vegetables and meat over any grain (quinoa, rice). It is so easy, so fast, and so delicious! I usually keep it as an Asian-inspired meal, with soy sauce, freshly grated ginger, garlic, and a little coconut sugar. You could easily mix in any other spices — think Italian herbs, curry, or even salsa and beans to make it into a burrito bowl!

2. Grain bowl night

Inspired by Tom and Gisele, I have started to make meals like this, and my family is loving it! Start with a grain like rice or farro or quinoa at the bottom of the bowl. In a pinch, I use this from Trader Joe’s and add some sautéed onions, roasted garlic, or some other flavor profile. Then add some roasted veggies (we like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beets, or all of the above), or you could do raw veggies to make it a salad, topped with an avocado or a lean protein like grilled chicken, salmon, or a fried egg. Yum!

3. Soup/chili or grill and salad night

This can be seasonal — soups or stews in the fall and winter, grilled dinners in the spring and summer. Truth be told, our family loves our favorite chili recipe year round, though! Want to try a new chili recipe? Check out President Obama’s favorite here — it appears his and mine are similar, which makes me smile. Chili and soup nights are perfect to let your slow cooker shine, and then throw in a little salad or some peppers and carrots on the side.

4. Pasta night

In our house, and especially with my daughters, it’s all about sprinkling cheese and whatever I can serve as a vehicle for more cheese (see chili above!), so pasta obviously fits the bill here. You can use white pasta, go whole grain, or try an ancient grain — or even make a zoodle! Red sauce, butter, or pesto make it delicious, and we throw in as many veggies as we can here (you can even do this in the meatballs if you are topping your pasta that way).

5, 6, 7. Wild card or repeat nights

The other three nights of the week are either repeat nights or wild card nights. Sometimes it’s a date night, if we’re lucky, and then there is frozen pizza or takeout for the littles. Other times we all venture out to a restaurant. For us, wild card nights in our house are family favorites, like taco Tuesday, breakfast for dinner, chicken picatta (totally grown-up chicken fingers!), or a special recipe I’m excited to try. It helps to have a little list of our favorite dinners to refer to as well — such a fun thing to brainstorm as a family, and this exercise completely empowers everyone to be part of the healthy eating process.

My hints to make it easier in a pinch:

Roast tomorrow’s vegetables while you’re eating tonight’s dinner.
Slow cookers are amazing, and using one every day as a way to create a side is a genius approach I am still working on.
Try a pressure cooker, and you’ll have soup made in five minutes (literally).
Use a salad bar at the supermarket for a shortcut; I buy roasted garlic at the antipasto bar as my favorite shortcut!
Cook dinner as early as you can (midday or weekend batch cooking) — you don’t have to start dinner at 5 p.m. and feel like you are on a Top Chef Quickfire Challenge! For example, I try to make a batch of roasted veggies or a pot of quinoa during naptime or playtime on the weekend that I can use a couple days later.

What are your tips or tricks for dinner? Inspired by this post? Use our hashtag so we can see what you make with #bmbdinner!

True Story :: I’m Out of Shape!

Rebecca Couture

February 29, 2016

I’m about to get REAL up in here about weight gain and exercise. I’ve fallen way off the wagon on caring for myself, and it’s catching up with me. I like cream and sugar in my coffee, I can’t seem to live without sweets, we eat more takeout than we should, and nothing goes better with a Pats game than an ice-cold beer. I have a million excuses for my lifestyle choices, and they’re good ones — I swear! I commute, I work long hours, I have two small children, gym memberships are expensive, I could go on and on. I generally feel good about myself and haven’t worried too much about gaining close to 20 pounds (gulp), but it’s time to get moving! So what’s holding me back?

Making a lifestyle change takes time. I certainly didn’t gain weight overnight, so it won’t come off that quickly, either. Short-term fad diets don’t work for me, and I want to eat real food! Raising kids is a constant state of change — each week or month in their first years seems to bring something new. Just being me seems to be the only constant I’ve had, so I suppose I’ve hung on to that to feel stable in the midst of chaos. But change is healthy and necessary, and I’m overdue. My boys are growing up and playing on their own, and my current part-time work schedule does afford some “me time.” It feels like the right time to start making myself a priority again.

While my kids are a great reason to get in shape, they aren’t my only motivator. I would like to look better and, more importantly, feel better. My clothes are a little snug, I feel sluggish, and it’s starting to bother me. It’s been longer than I care to admit since I’ve had an exercise routine, and I’m not even sure what kind of exercise I like to do! I do know that I have an elliptical machine collecting dust in my basement and a YouTube app on my television, and I’m running out of reasons why I can’t fit in a workout. Ultimately, I have to want to. I have to make the choice to take the first step. So what am I doing to get this party started?

1. Bring coffee from home!

This is a huge one. When I make my own coffee, I control what goes in it. I use far less sugar, and 1% milk over half-and-half can really reduce the caloric intake.

2. Bring my own lunch!

When I bring my own food, I make a conscious choice ahead of time to bring healthy options. When I’m rushed, it’s very easy to grab a bag of chips and a sandwich. Wait, how many slices of ham did I just eat???

3. Walk more!

As a commuter, I’m forced to walk from the train station, and while the weather is cold and snowy I tend to pick the closest stop to my office. As the days get lighter and the air warms up, I’ll start choosing a stop further away. Not only is it a wonderful way to start the day, walking is great exercise and there’s nothing like a stroll through Boston before the city wakes up!

What motivates you to stay in shape? What’s your favorite exercise routine?

Transatlantic Love :: Traveling Home and Back Again

Hannah Nersasian

February 28, 2016

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I met my husband in Sorrento, Italy, when I was 19 and he was 22. I was taking three weeks to “do” the western coast of Italy. He was taking three weeks to do the entirety of Europe. I was English, and he was American. Still am… still is. We were both young and stupid enough to not foresee the numerous and very obvious pitfalls to transatlantic dating.

And so we began. Seven years and a lifetime of heartache later (surprisingly, transatlantic dating is hard), in 2010 I moved to Boston. To his mice-infested apartment in Waltham. To the coldest winter with the deepest snow I’d ever experienced. We were going to stay for two years and then move back to England. If there was subtext to our wedding vows, that was it.

But winter ended, and the snow melted, and we left the Waltham apartment with mice for a Framingham house with a cat. I got used to not being understood, to driving on the wrong side of the road, to having to specify that I want my coffee hot and without sugar, with milk not cream.

I’m still here.

We’re still here.

And in February 2015 I gave birth to an American — a fact I’m still processing. He’s my favorite American so far. The very best and cutest with the least inclination to sleep.

But all of this — the husband and the Atlantic and the American offspring and even the American cat — means that in this newest phase of my life, in motherhood, I am 3,000 miles away from my own mother.

My family is close. Possibly too close, except of course that they are wholly themselves and wholly perfect. Little goes unsaid, and a secret shared with one is shared with them all by default. Since moving to America I have missed them fiercely. But since becoming a mum I have missed them more. Which is why in my son’s 11 months of life we have crossed the Atlantic four times, and two of those flights have been undertaken by me alone.

Here is some of the traveling wisdom I have thus far gleaned:

The car seat attachments on the stroller are attachments and can detach and be lost forever in the bowels of the plane, leaving you to navigate the airport with a heavy carseat, an unusable stroller, and a screaming infant.

It is not possible to eat or watch TV while using bassinet seats on an Aer Lingus flight. It’s barely possible to breathe.

If your flight is delayed for eight hours in Europe, there’s a law obligating the airline to give you 600 Euros in compensation. Whether you feel this, in fact, compensates you for six extra hours spent in the Dublin airport and two on the runway is another matter.

You have to call the airline to get the bassinet seats. Calling the day before you fly is not early enough time. A couple years before you fly should do it.

The Heathrow airport has a soft play area! It’s free! I never thought in a million years I’d be excited about this!

American Airlines doesn’t do free alcohol. Nor does Aer Lingus.

If flying with Delta, be sure to drink all your wine before asking for more, as they’ll just top up your glass.

If flying British Airways, ask for an extra wine for dinner. Sometimes the drinks only come by once.

If your child is asleep on you, your bladder will find a capacity never before known, even with the extra wine.

You’ve never known jet lag until you’ve experienced it with an 11-month-old — 2 a.m. is the new 7 a.m., don’tcha know.

It’s all worth it.

Staying Fit at Home

Nancy LeBosquain

February 26, 2016

I never thought I’d have to work out at home. EVER. But now I have no choice. I’m a stay-at-home mom with limited resources and a real need to stay healthy and fit. I’ve worked out since I was about 15 years old. I’ve always felt better when I worked out — not only physically, but mentally as well. And after becoming a mom, this has never been more true. I need to work out now for my sanity!

Here are a few resources I’ve found helpful in setting up a decent at-home workout program.

Online workouts

I use mostly free workouts I’ve found online. There are also a few paid programs that are worth checking out:

Fitness Blender

You’ll find a plethora of free workouts here that are legitimately really good. Hosted by Daniel and Kelly, you’ll be doing mostly HIIT (high intensity interval training), yoga, pilates, and boxing. They use free weights in their program — more on that below.

Kayla Itsines

This is a paid program, and I started with the seven-day free trial to test it out. It was tough, but very good. And quick. And time is of the essence, isn’t it?

Crunch Live

After reading an article right here on BMB, I decided to try it out. There were some really great barre workouts that left my legs and butt aching (a good ache) — a great way to change it up if you’re getting bored with your usual workouts.

Jillian Michaels

OK, so I haven’t actually done her workouts, but I’ve seen the results on my sister, and wowza! She looks amazing. So there’s gotta be something to that. You can even get her DVDs at the library.

Equipment

I always have two things on hand. One is an elastic band (versa loop), the other is a classic exercise band. You can get a pretty good workout with these two things.

Try a travelling squat with this around your ankles. Ouch! — Try a traveling squat with this around your ankles. Ouch!

If you want more, or are used to lifting heavier weight, you can splurge and get power block weights. They’re amazing because they take up minimal space, they’re easy to use, and they’ll give you a really good workout — just like at the gym!

Doesn't take up much space...love these!

Cardio is my other problem. I’m not a runner. Some people look like gazelles when they run. I look like a large elephant, lumbering along, trying to look like a gazelle. I wish I was a runner, because I could then get a cheap running stroller, throw the kids in, and go. But I loathe it. So, time for another solution. A treadmill would be nice, but they take so much space and can be costly. What I’ve found to be effective and relatively cost efficient, is a spin bike. After plenty of research I found one that was fairly inexpensive (half the cost of the average yearly gym membership) and had it shipped. It has a fairly small footprint and fits nicely in our walk-in closet (space is at a premium at our place). Put on some really good music, and off you go — in 30 minutes you’re drenched in sweat and ready to start your day.

So there you have it! A few ideas for you to kickstart your at-home workout program — no excuses! Has anyone else discovered other programs or workout gear that’s effective? Let me know!

Crafts

Food

Events Coordinator

Qualifications

Compensation

Interested?

The ridiculous

The anti-supporter

The guilt tripper

What about those comments from your MIL? Let’s hear ’em!

Riding carousels

Feeding the ducks and swans in the Public Garden

Pay homage to the “Make Way for Ducklings” statue

People watching in Faneuil Hall

What are your favorite spring adventures in and around Boston?

Deal? Deal.

1. Cut your bangs

2. Try new lipstick

3. Paint your nails

4. Take care of your skin

5. Go through your closet

What are some ways you like to spice up your mom look? Got before and after pictures? Post in the comments below!

1. Stir-fry night

2. Grain bowl night

3. Soup/chili or grill and salad night

4. Pasta night

5, 6, 7. Wild card or repeat nights

My hints to make it easier in a pinch:

What are your tips or tricks for dinner? Inspired by this post? Use our hashtag so we can see what you make with #bmbdinner!

1. Bring coffee from home!

2. Bring my own lunch!

3. Walk more!

What motivates you to stay in shape? What’s your favorite exercise routine?

Online workouts

Equipment

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