Two GREAT websites

Tara I turned me on to both of these and they are great:
diapers.com - the best part: free and fast shipping! I compared the price of my pampers from babies r us and diapers.com; babies was about a dollar cheaper but you've got to drive to babies r us and of course, actually go inside. yuck.
There is an ad running on Facebook - put FACE in the promo code spot and you get $10 off of your first order.
peapod.com - get your groceries delivered :) I havent actually used this yet but I checked it out and they have a huge selection and deliver very quickly - next day. Tara has used and loves it...
She spoke to them and if you type peapod1 in the promo code you get $15 off of your first order and $5 off of your next 4 orders - can't beat it. For those of you who live elsewhere this may not seem like a big deal but this is huge for us :)

Delicious Bread Recipes

Here is a great sweet bread recipe. My two year old loves this!

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup oil (or lower the fat sub = 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce)
1/2 cup milk or soy milk
1 1/2 cups sugar (or substitute Splenda baking blends)
2 1/2 cups flour (can use 1/2 whole wheat if desired)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 small boxes of french vanilla pudding mix (can buy sugar-free)
1/2 cup mashed sweet potatoes
Optional: add 1 cup raisins and/or 1 cup chopped nuts.

Mix all ingredients together. Spray 2 loaf pans or 5 mini-loaf pans liberally with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the pans.

Topping:

1/3 cup oats
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar (or Splenda blend)
1/3 cup granulated sugar (or Splenda baking blend)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter/margarine or reduced fat margarine, cut into small bits and chilled
2 oz almonds or other nuts
Place first 6 ingredients into food processor and pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture has pea-sized pieces of butter mixed in. Toss in nuts and pulse until finely chopped. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle topping over bread batter. Bake in middle rack for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Slow Cooker Season

Here are two ridiculously easy slow cooker recipes (courtesy of Kristin R):

Fiesta Chicken:
Chicken breasts
1 can black beans, drained
1 jar salsa
1 can white corn, drained
Layer the chicken and dump the rest on top. Cook on low 6-8 or High 4-6 or however your cooker works. Cant mess this up and it is yummy.
Delicious with brown rice or made into a burrito etc...the chicken shreds so it is perfect for mexican dishes...

Pulled Pork:
porkloin
1 jar BBq sauce
water (maybe 1/2 cup?)
Dump it all in the slow cooker and cook as above. It shreds and is delish (apparently, not my style but the hubby loved it) as a sandwich or however...

Great Website for things to do with your kids

I found this website when I moved back to NJ recently.

www.gokidsnj.com

It lists lots of fun things to do with your kids. With the Fall approaching and Winter not too far behind, having some indoor activities will keep the kids entertained.

Enjoy! and Happy Fall!

 

What Makes a Good Mom?

What makes a good Mom? 

How do you raise kids that are happy and successful? 

I ask myself these questions over and over again now that I am a Mom. In my quest to find an answer I came across a book, Mother Nuture, written by Stephanie Hirsch. In it the author interviews Mothers of successful people - Matt Lauer, Lance Armstrong, Cindy Crawford, Uma Thurman, Justin Timberlake and Steven Spielberg - just to name a few that are included in the book. As you read the book, you can gain "Life lessons from the Mothers of America's Best and Brightest". Hmm...I thought maybe I can learn something I didn't know. Maybe I will get my answer.

After reading the book, I did get my answer...

Every child is unique and special in their OWN way -Each has his/her special qualities; likes and dislikes, set of gifts and talents. And every Mom has her OWN way of raising a happy, successful child. There is no PERFECT way. What may work for one kid, may not work for another. And what may work for one family, may not work for another.

At the end of the day you do what you think is best for your child - mistakes and all. Trial and error.

So, am I a bad Mom because my son gets to be late a few nights? Or am I a better Mom if he plays all day and does not have to run errands with me? Am I neglecting him if he goes to his Grandparents so I can get a break once in awhile? Or am I a better Mom if we spend the entire day together? 

No - I do what I need to do to get through each day - and by bedtime as long as my son is HAPPY I can go to bed knowing that I did the best I could that day as his Mom. :) 

We shouldn't be so hard on ourselves....lesson learned and some knowledge gained.

Upcoming kid fun events

OK, Fall is here so I will start posting again! And if anyone has anything to add, please post! I'm not interesting enough to keep this going on my own...

1) Allaire Village Fall Festival: Sunday, September 21st. 1:00-4:00. Hay rides, puppet shows, apple cider etc

2) Pirate Ship Trip: Friday, September 26th. 3:30-5:00. Meet at the Sand bar restaurant in Brielle. The Manasquan Water taxi daecorates their boat and hosts The Pirates of Treasure Island Trip. We reserved the whole boat so anyone who wants to come, please do! Just let me know if you're in...the boat can hold 30 people and if we have more (which it looks like we do at this point) they can do a second run so we can have 60. It sounds really cute - they cruise over to Treasure Island and do a Treasure Hunt tour. You land back at Sand Bar at 5:00. Its $20 per person (including moms unfortunately)