Posts filed under 'mom'
Mamas!
Add this to your must-do list for Mother’s Day (uh, if it’s not already on your calendar, that’s Sunday, May 9):
After brunching it with the fam, grab your partner, favorite mommy pals, and maybe even your own mom, and head to “Listen to Your Mother.” It’ll be an afternoon of readings from some of “us”—12 Madison-area writerly “moms in the trenches” who read about the “beauty, the beast, and the barely rested that is motherhood” as we know and know and usually love it.
“Listen to Your Mother” kicks off at 3 pm at the Barrymore Theater on Atwood Avenue in Madison. Tickets are $10, available at the door, via phone, or online. Given the nature of some of the readings (aka “the beast” of motherhood), this is a perfect opp to line up a sitter and enjoy a little mommy time sans kiddos. A portion of the proceeds will go to “The Road Home,” a Dane County organization that finds solutions for homeless families.
Event sponsor Happy Bambino is hosting a giveaway—worth $300—that includes brunch for two, tickets to the show, a Happy Bambino gift certificate, and other goodies. Check out Happy Bambino’s blog for more details.
—Mama Kate
May 3rd, 2010
Mamas-
Check out this cool new event … think about submitting/auditioning if you’re a writerly type. There’ll be humor, poignant moments, and just motherly comaraderie. Ann Imig, a cool mommy/writer pal is organizing it. She’s HILARIOUS by the way, and if you don’t yet read her blog, you should! Check it out: www.annsrants.com.
Hope to see you there! Wear your corsage!
—Mama Kate
Dear Friends, Loved ones, and People who may/may not be interested:
I’m directing and producing a show on Mother’s Day: LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER will be an afternoon of readings by Madison writers on Motherhood at 3:00 pm, Sunday 5/9/10 at The Barrymore.
Auditions are scheduled for Saturday April 10th by appointment, and full details can be found here.http://www.listentoyourmothershow.blogspot.com
I am so excited about creating a new Mother’s Day Madison tradition. After brunch and seeing the lilacs, why not celebrate yourself or your Mom, Grandma, Aunt, Sister, Best Friend, or hamster by listening to authentic voices from women who know the beauty, beast and the barely-rested that is MOTHERHOOD.
Thank you for your help and I really hope you’ll come. Now, back to your regularly scheduled screen-time.
With fondest regards and appreciation,
Ann
March 18th, 2010
Hot off the griddle!
I just nabbed a copy of Bean Appétit: Hip and Healthy Ways to Have Fun with Food, and can’t wait to put it to work in the kitchen with my kiddos.
Dynamic duo Shannon Payette Seip and Kelly Parthen—co-owners of Bean Sprouts Cafe and Cooking School, a kid friendly restaurant serving healthy fare to Madison, WI, families—have filled their book with fun, fun, fun. What grown-up cookbook has instructions that tell you to spin in a circle three times before beginning or to waddle like a penguin around the table or shake your hips while the blender’s a whirling?
The book’s design is bright and colorful, filled with a mix of illustration and engaging “food as art” photography kids will love perusing. The recipe instructions are easy for families to follow together, and feature ingredients lists that are reasonable in length and with easily attainable items. Though they run the gamut from breakfast to snacks to outdoor eats and sweet bites, recipes are organized in clever new ways—food fun for a wintry day, book-themed eats, making music and munchies.
The book’s overriding philosophy: Encourage kids to “play” with their food, and you’ll instill a lifelong interest in preparing delicious healthy foods. It’s good for kid giggles, and frustrated parents. Because they’re engaged in the process and having so much fun prepping food in the kitchen, that should translate to fun at the table for mom and dad, as the kids gobble up the new yummy recipes they’ve helped make—perhaps out of foods their tastebuds had previously rejected. Amen to that.
I also dig the cookbook’s fun extras: questions to inspire table talk, games, crafts, and factoids, like favorite pizza toppings, birthday treats, and table manners from around the world. It’s also got handy conversion charts and tips, on top of its just plain good ideas.
So, get cookin’ with your kids. Pick up your copy at a bookstore near you, or order online.
Our Mom Appeal kudos go out to these two busy and creative mompreneurs, who have got the mojo thing going on! Successful cafe and cooking classes, now the fab cookbook, and also a cooking show that’s in the works! Whew! I don’t know how they do it!
—Mama Kate
March 3rd, 2010
Some busy days it’s all I can do to eat something green and leafy, or remember to grab fruit on the way out the door so I don’t hoard the Bunny Crackers I packed for the kids. On tired days, I fall back on chocolate and caffeine, with maybe some raisins for fiber. And, usually, I just end up feeling more tired … and wanting more sugary stuff … and totally cranky by day’s end. I need a new plan.
You are what you eat—right? Maybe, like me, you’d like to rethink things—and think a bit more about yourself when you hit the grocery aisles—and know more about what and how you should eat. What’s more important—overall calories, saturated fat calories, protein, fiber, the ingredients? How do you figure it all out?
Find out at our Tuesday, February 23, 10-11 am Coffee Talk, at Bean Sprouts Cafe in Middleton.
Our expert guest is nutrition consultant Tracie Hittman, owner of It’s Your Plate. Tracie’s primary philosophy is easy to remember and embrace (perfect for us busy mamas): “Eat Real Food.” She is known around Madison for her great and insightful events—from healthy grocery store tours to a slew of educational classes, including her upcoming Balance Your Blood Suagar, Nutrition 101, and Endless Energy.
She’ll focus on nutrition for moms, and fill us in on how to balance food choices to create health—whether it’s about just eating more healthfully, eating smarter, eating to fuel and active lifestyle, or eating to be slimmer.Her great tips and advice will include: How to read nutrition labels to find the right choices for best health, including the importance of how choices—especially poor ones—can affect blood sugar, hormones, behavior/how your feel, weight, etc. We’ll start with an interactive “Know Your Ingredients” quiz, and also share shopping lists, snack choices to keep you in balance, and resources for best foods.
An added morsel: All Coffee Talk attendees can enjoy a free 20-minute session with Tracie, by appointment!!!
See you at Bean Sprouts. Bring your nutrition and food questions for Tracie Hittman. Enjoy a gratis cuppa joe. Stay for some great (and healthy) eats! Kids are welcome!
—Mama Kate
veggie photos by Kate Bast
February 12th, 2010
LOVE THIS BUMPER MAGNET!
It’s produced by The Save the Ta-tas Foundation, a private not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the advancement of breast cancer awareness, education, prevention, and research—and laughter as good medicine.
You can, in fact, clad your entire family in shirts and accessories to proclaim support. Don’t miss the all-natural Boob Loob, to help make breast self-exams easier. With each purchase, 5% of the price is donated to the foundation, to fund its efforts. You also can make a tax-deductible contribution via the foundation’s website. Be sure to check out the “Show Us Yours” link.
For those of you brave enough to permanently affix something to your bumper, the foundation also makes stickers you can attached to your rockin’ kid-hauler.
Heck, “the girls” proceed us all anyway, so why not?
— Mama Kate
January 25th, 2010
The fabulous designer at Amuse Me that makes those great nursing covers with ribbons inside for your baby to play with, has launched adorable Mommy and Toddler aprons in some gorgeous fabrics.
These aprons are totally reversible, chic and whimsical! What little girl doesn’t want everything that mommy has? And what mommy doesn’t want to rock some serious style while in the kitchen or garden?
I absolutely adore these aprons and so does my daughter! You’ll want these aprons hanging in a prominent place in your kitchen. They are a decoration in themselves…
Mama Jen
September 3rd, 2009
Nanny Connections has some great new programs that we thought our fellow busy Wisconsin moms in the Madison, Milwaukee and Fox Valley areas would want to know about. Check out how they can help:
It’s back to school time and you know what that means… room mom duty, soccer practice, parent teacher conference (… without the kids… ugh!).
Or, maybe you’ve got season tickets to the Badgers or Packers—and don’t want to miss a game.
Nanny Connections can step in and guarantee you’ve got child care coverage, so you don’t have to miss a big game, or an important school or social event. Nanny Connections does makes it easy—they match your needs with appropriately experienced nannies. Nanny Connections does initial interviews, evaluations, and reference checks; and completes various other background checks—whew! That’s half the headache of finding a good sitter or nanny!
The fee schedule is pretty easy to follow:
Option #1: Purchase a membership to Nanny Connections for one year for access to our pre-screened pool of On Call Nannies. Yearly Membership Fee: $150.00. Each time you need an On Call Nanny, the fee is $15.00.
Option #2: You can also forgo the $150 membership fee and pay $25 each time you need an On Call Nanny. (A credit card is required to be on file.)
Nannies are paid the same day in cash usually ranging from $10-12 per hour. A four-hour minimum pay is required for on call services.
We’ve told you about Nanny Connections services in the past (from houshold managers, and housekeepers, to dedicate childcare professionals) but love to share updates on businesses masterminded BY moms, FOR moms. Our kudos to founder, president, and director of placement Tiffanie Kinder, the mompreneur extraordinaire who brainstormed this great company!
— Mama Kate
August 27th, 2009
We know the drill. Have a kid or two, feel lumpy and soft. You want to exercise, but where do you find the time or an affordable class or gym?
A couple of years ago, we both started training with Dustin Maher through his MamaTone group fitness classes for moms. We can’t say enough about the experience—particularly the fact that it’s great to work out with gals of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels who know what you’re going through. Dustin’s created a fun and supportive community atmosphere in his MamaTone fitness classes at Supreme Health club, and it’s fantastic to have a workout that is geared toward women’s bodies and getting us mommies back in shape fast. We’ve come to believe that we deserve to carve out time for focused exercise, as it makes us feel and look better, and helps us cope with and de-stress from the everyday aspects of momhood. That’s good stuff.
Together with the gals at Bean Sprouts cafe, we’ve created a monthly mommy chat. It’s an opportunity to gather, grow your community of moms, and talk about topics that are of interest to you. This month’s Coffee Talk, at Bean Sprouts, is loaded with inspiration and tips to make getting into shape easy. Dustin will teach 5 body-transforming
exercises you can easily do at home—whether watching the kids in the yard or Oprah on TV. He’ll also advise on exercises to avoid (yes mamas, it’s crunches!), and share nutrition tips on the top metabolism-boosting foods you can eat. You may have heard of Dustin; his fitness advice has been featured on local news casts for NBC, ABC, and CBS, as well as on Wisconsin Public Radio. He’s also founder of Fit Fun Bootcamps, and has recently launched a series of workout videos.
To learn more about Dustin Maher, his workouts and fitness philosophy, visit dustinmaherfitness.com/about-2/. Be sure to visit his site for more details on attending a MamaTone class free, and receiving a free fitness-related gift from Dustin (sign up for his newsletter). On his site, you’ll also be inspired by some amazing body transformations from some of his clients, and appreciate all the fitness and nutrition advice he offers.
Kids are welcome! They can play while we moms enjoy a complimentary cuppa joe and catch up on getting fit. Stay for lunch afterward, and gnosh on Bean Sprouts delish and healthy eats.
No more excuses — we’ll see you at Coffee Talk!
Date: Tuesday, August 18
Time: 10am-11am
FREE! Bring the kids.
Location: Bean Sprouts cafe, 6719 Frank Lloyd Wright Avenue, Suite 101, Middleton, WI 53562. 608.826.6YUM.
— Mama Kate + Mama Jen
August 9th, 2009
So, what is Mama Jess—one of MomAppeal’s original founders—up to these days, besides chasing around her busy 4 year old? Exploring one of the best careers you’ve probably never heard of! She’s launched a virtual assistance business from her Madison, WI, home. We’re proud to say that Jessica Maes is fast becoming a guru and has just published a book on the subject, Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant and she is currently on virtual tour to promote it!
The book is drawn from Jessica’s own experiences as a virtual assistant, as well as the class she’s taught on the subject via the University of Wisconsin’s Minicourse department. A virtual assistant provides professional administrative, technical, or other specialized assistance to other businesses from a remote location, such as a home office; most have previous administrative experience. The book explores the industry, examples of successful practices, and how to make the leap toward starting your own Virtual Assistant practice.
If you’re looking for an outlet for your skills, one that allows you flexibility a busy mom needs, or maybe looking for a new career, then read a free sample from Jessica’s book by clicking here; to purchase in downloadable eBook format or hard copy, click here. To celebrate the book’s launch, Jessica has a few goodies to offer us. The first is a 20% discount off the purchase of the book. Simply use the promo code THANKYOU during check out.
Also, as part of this tour stop, Jessica is available to us today to answer your burning questions about the Virtual Assistance industry! Post your question by leaving a Comment below. Jessica will respond in the Comments section so be sure to check back!
The second goody from Jessica is that one lucky MomAppeal reader will receive a free copy of the eBook version of the book! To be eligible to win, you simply need to post a question about virtual assistance in the comments section of this post. She’ll choose the winner at random and announce here in a couple of days.
Kudos Mama Jess!
—Mama Kate + Mama Jen
August 3rd, 2009
Have your baby rockin’ the hippest bibs around with a bib from Rock a Bib Baby!
Conjured up by a crafty mom who was tired of the same old cutesy designs found all too often on baby items, Rock a Bib Baby adds much needed rock and roll to the baby world!
The bibs have some amazingly hip patterns and reverse to a soft chenille side as well. Double the use! Functional, soft on baby’s skin and very rockin’!
When your little drooler wears a bib most every waking hour to catch all that is dripping, these bibs add a load of style and function!!!
Enter Promo Code ROCKON for a 20 percent discount!!!
Mama Jen
June 15th, 2009
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