Category Archives: Top Five List

So What Did I Do with all the Strawberries?

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Besides eating them plain and giving some to friends and family….

1. The first night I was able to make them appealing with simple additives. Dessert for the family was strawberries with chocolate syrup, strawberries with a side of sugar for dipping, strawberries and vanilla ice cream and for myself … Strawberry Daiquiri! Simply made with ice, strawberries, raspberry vodka (but I hear most people use rum), dash of lemon juice, and a packet of Splenda.

2. The next morning, Crepes. I can’t believe how easy it was! I used this simple crepe recipe, which I changed to 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 all purpose flour. Inside I either put nutella and strawberries or strawberries and whatever jelly you have in your fridge. I had Orange Fig jam. We also used them in morning for Strawberry and Oatmeal Smoothies.

3. For dinner we had Strawberry and Mozzarella Salad as a side.

4. Since my husband’s birthday was the next day, we made birthday cake with fresh strawberry and jam filling…

Adam's Birthday Cake

Then I let Jack decorate it…

Cake with Jack's Artistic touches

5. My sister called after seeing all the strawberries to tell me JAM! According to her, if it makes 5 cups squished then I’m in business. After hearing her out, I realized that would involve a whole new level of kitchen savvy. And a bunch of utensils I don’t have if I want to can. But in the end I couldn’t resist, I found a recipe that just used sugar, strawberries and lemon juice. I also didn’t can it, just made a small, 3 cup batch, baked up some whole wheat biscuits and ate them up for breakfast. Yummy!

I’m down to 1/2 a basket. Wish me luck. My goal, after seeing how hard it is to pick them, is NOT TO WASTE ONE SINGLE STRAWBERRY.

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A Musical Summer

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Last Thursday afternoon we met some friends in the park. As it turns out, they were having a concert that evening.

At first I was apprehensive about staying for a concert that started at 6:30pm, on a day where the kids hardly napped, and they needed a bath, and my husband had a work dinner that night. The thought of an early bedtime and a cocktail with mindless girly TV was calling me.

Still I was curious how they would react. After all, we just booked a singer for Ben’s 2nd birthday…

Dancing with Super Stolie

As you can see, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Which made me wonder, what other music can we seek out this summer?

1. The band at Adam’s park that evening actually has a summer schedule … Super Stolie Summer Schedule.

2. Mr Singer. This is the person coming to Ben’ birthday. Sometimes we go see him at the farm at the Zoo. Kids love him! The Sharp Cookies Schedule. A small donation is suggested but not necessary.

3. Whole Foods. For rainy days or days you need to shop, the Whole Foods in Lincoln Park welcomes Bubbles Academy to it’s stage from 10 to 10:30. It gets crowded so go early if you want a good spot.

4. Millienium Park. They put on the The Family Fun Festival from June 13 to August 21st. The free show, by Wiggleworms (Old Town School of Folk Music) has a show every day at 10am. There is also a whole pavilion of stuff to do.

5. Ravinia. Every so often they have a kids concert. For city folk, it’s quite exciting to have a big lawn to spread out on. Here is the full Ravinia Schedule, all the kids concerts are shown with parentheses.

This summer I’m going to try to hit all of the above at least once. If anyone wants to join me for some of these activities, let’s set it up!

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First Five Iphone Apps for your 4 Year Old

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Seeing the picture in my last blog made me want to share the first five games that Jack successfully used on the iPhone. These games gave him the confidence to use the computer and some of them were actually educational too!

At this age, he was able to find these games and figure them out on his own without much supervision or tears of frustration.

1. Scoops. You tilt the phone to catch the falling scoops of ice cream.

2. Handy Manny. Four games in one. Match it, Find it, Color it and a Puzzle.

3. iWriteWords. Trace the letters with your finger.

4. Fruit Ninja. Slash the fruit with your finger as it comes on screen. So easy your kid will love it, but strangely so addictive that once I woke up in the middle of the night to the bed shaking as my husband tried to get a new high score.

5. Cut the Rope. Cut the ropes and some other simple things to feed the candy to the creature.

Stay tuned for the next level of Apps…

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Top Five Infant books

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Recently a friend of mine announced they were pregnant. It is their first child. As I move on in the world of parenting, their announcement made me reflect on how far I’ve come.

Baby Jack March 2007

The learning curve is so big, and it doesn’t stop curving. Sometimes I think becoming a parent is like getting on a huge loopy roller coaster ride with no end in sight.

Though I feel more comfortable in my mom skin now, I haven’t forgotten the things that brought me relief while I was acclimating in that confusing first year.

So I decided to go off the registry. Instead I wanted to give them as much comfort and guidance as possible without being overbearing. What better way then to pick some of my top 5 best infant books?

1. The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp. Nothing could get Jack to stop crying in those first six weeks, it started a few nights after he came home and escalated each night until it was going on for up to four hours. It was colic. Karp showed us skills to calm him that we would never have been able to figure out on our own. If you are reading this and are to tired and defeated too read a book, I’ve heard from other mom friends the DVD is very good.

2. The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg. I liked her approach. Very gentle and loving. It encompassed lots of aspects of infant rearing. The most important thing I took away from it was the schedule. Once we had one we were both happier.

3. The Baby Book by William and Martha Sears. I’m not ready to stop shaving my arm pits or anything but this book was a welcome change from the rigid approach of some other books. I did a lot more baby carrying after reading it.

4. At some point almost all parents have to face the inevitable. You are at your wits end from lack of sleep and have no idea how to get it to stop. The methods can seem harsh but they can be extremely effective if you stick with it. I used both Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth or Solve Your Child\’s Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber.

5. First Meals by Annabel Karmel. By the time Ben was born I was not testing each food. The second child just got whatever dinner happen to have leftovers whizzed together in a food processor. But our first born prince got a lot of great meals from this book.

Stay tuned for a blog on top five toddler books. I’m still in the throws of research but definitely already have a few favorites.

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What’s on your Facebook newsfeed?

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Mostly pictures of kids and food, travel, with the occasional alcoholic beverage mixed in. Is this what my life has become? How did everyone become as boring as I have? Ten years ago my face would have been loaded with pictures of me dancing on bars and junk trips in Hong Kong.

Facebook is a funny thing. There is no one out there without an opinion on it.

Personally I love it. My life and perhaps everyone’s life (which is why it’s so popular) has made it the most incredible, perfect thing for the times.

Here is why…

1. As a stay at home mom, I have no free time. I do my job 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. If there is a moment to myself, it is but a moment. Facebook only takes a moment. I can be distracted and even drunk and still find something that makes me smile.

2.  I hate to lose people. But I’ve lived so many lives in so many different places. Boca, Gainesville, Hong Kong, Shanghai and now Chicago. At our wedding we had people from at least 12 countries and over 14 different states. I miss my friends from across the globe. And I have no time for lengthy emails or time difference phone calls. But I love when they post important news. I want to hear it. I hope they realize that.

3. I was trying to explain how great I needed to look for my high school reunion this July. My husband, whose reunion we went to three years ago, pointed out to me that people at his reunion looked older, fatter, divorced, more unhappy so he was sure it would be the same at my reunion. Did I mention he’s a bit of a dinosaur? He’s not on facebook. If you are, you would know that I’M FROM BOCA! People may be divorced but they are NOT fatter! It’s SOUTH FLORIDA for goodness sake! Thank you facebook for spying for me.

4. Entertainment value. What is greater than reality TV with your own friends on?

5.  I hardly ever post things, but I do use it to keep up my monthly photos. It’s so easy! Everyone, even non-facebookies can see it.  It’s a very passive and non-intrusive way to keep news on your life updated for anyone who is interested, available anytime they have time or interest.

Anyone else out there want to talk about facebook? I’m curious to know what people’s befriending criteria is. And what sort of censors they have for posting. And how they discovered it. And honestly, how much time do you waste on it? If you aren’t on it, why not?!

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Top Five Ways to Sneak the Fruit and Veg

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Mom friends, I know everyone has their own way to make their kids eat fruit and vegetables. Ben is still at the age where you can just put something in front of him he’ll pretty much eat it. Jack is borderline OCD when it comes to food. Too hot, he doesn’t like the texture, carrots are icky, he’ll only eat it if it’s sliced a certain way, if it is the right amount – four mini muffins or nothing, ugh!

So over time I’ve developed ways for him to eat stuff he normally wouldn’t. By the way girls, this works for husbands as well.

1. Cooked in ground meat. I stick spinach in my turkey meatballs Baked Meatballs, my meatloaf will have red peppers or mushrooms chopped in . I absolutely love Trump’s Mar-a-Lago burger, with added celery and apples. Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burger.

2. Mixed in with carbs. The trick is to use very small carbs so they can’t avoid the veg. With a big corkscrew or bow pasta they can eat right around vegetables. Brown rice becomes fried rice with corn, peas, bits of carrot, mushroom, really anything you have leftover in your fridge you need to purge. I try to make it colorful. Edamame too! Fried Rice. Or whole wheat Orzo gets spinach and a tin of diced tomatoes in it and some feta on top.

3. Quiche. Another purge your fridge favorite. Broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, mushroom, asparagus, whatever is in there that needs a home. Adam needs to watch cholesterol and I need less calories so we use egg substitute or mostly egg whites, maybe with one yolk thrown in for color. I don’t have a standing recipe, just crust with veggies in it topped with some cheese then whisked eggs with some milk. Baked at 350.

4. Baked in bread. Carrot Apple Muffins, Zucchini Bread. There are load of recipes on the net that you can download. I try hard to keep white carbs out of the house. My favorite two muffin recipes I’ve been using lately are Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins Oatmeal Muffins & Morning Glory Muffins Morning Glory Muffins.

5. In a Blender. If I make a smoothie in the morning Ben will gulp the entire thing down. I always start with a yogurt or kefir base and banana. After that I toss in any kind of frozen fruit or fruit on it’s last legs in the fridge with some ice. Any kind of berry. They sell great Acai packs at whole foods that I love. Acai Frozen Fruit Packs. Sometimes frozen mango and pineapple for a tropical treat.

Another trick I like – when I seem them winding down dinner I will pull out a fruit I need chopped up like cantalope, watermelon or pineapple. When they see it they ask for it and sometimes fill up on it and completely forget about dessert.

If you have any tips let me know!

Nikki

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