MamaManagement

I am not one to comment on the passing of a famous person. I feel sad for them and their families when I hear of a death, just the same as I would any other, non-famous person, I have never met. But I feel moved to comment on the passing of this special woman. Maya Angelou. As a voracious reader, as a writer, as a woman, I have felt a certain kinship with this particular phenomenal woman. I have been moved by her writing and I have learned from her words. She is an amazing spirit who touched my life without ever knowing me. I remember reading on old, yellowed, used copy of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and feeling awe for this woman and her words...for this teacher. I remember reading Phenomenal Woman over and over and over again, feeling its power and courage and spirit. Feeling empowered and emboldened. Feeling a new kind of love and respect for myself. I have listened to her speak with wisdom and truth and love. I have read her story, the heartbreak and the pain and the tri...

Don't forget to lay in the grass and just look at the clouds It's Top Ten Tuesday , folks. Woot! And it's summer in our house...I know this because the kids are both out of school and I got a sunburn on my back doing yard work yesterday. Yep. Definitely summer. By August I will probably be complaining about mowing the lawn, but right now, I'm loving it. Believe it or not, mowing the lawn gives me a little time to myself...and an opportunity to listen to music other than the Frozen soundtrack. Plus, it comes with exercise and fresh air built right in. I always get 15-16,000 steps on my Fitbit on lawn mowing days. Score! Anyway, now that we've made it through preschool graduation and teacher gifts, and 3rd birthday celebrations for my littlest, I've put "Summer Planning" on my to-do list. First I want to map out all of our summer trips--I'm spending a weekend in NYC with my sister-in-law and niece, we'll be road tripping to visit family an...

These are divine. Truly. Crispy on the outside. Chewy on the inside. Just under-bake them a tad and they set to perfection. Delish! I will say, they are more like a chocolate chip cookie with oatmeal in them than a traditional oatmeal cookie. Which is good for us since my husband isn't a huge oatmeal cookie fan. And, by the way, if you're like me and tend to swipe the dough a few times while you're baking...this dough is the bomb-diggety! So, here you go...you can thank me later. Amazing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip (or Oatmeal Raisin) Cookies 1 c. butter, room temperature 1 c. brown sugar 1 c. sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 2 c. flour 2 3/4 c. old fashioned or steel cut oats 2 c. chocolate chips (or 2 c. raisins or craisins; or 1 c. choc chips + 1 c. chopped walnuts; or 1 c. choc chips + 1 c. shredded coconut; or, really, whatever tickles your fancy) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream togethe...

Stop and Smell the Flowers. It's Top Ten Tuesday! I know, I know, it's exciting. While you try to calm down, I'll tell you where we're headed with this week's top ten list... My husband and I have been talking more and more about what our real priorities are and how we want to spend our time together as a family. We are both in a place of recognizing how fast time is going and how soon our kids will no longer really want to hang out with us. (We're going to blink and they won't even live in our house any more!) Right now we are their world. But that's not going to last. So maybe we ought to be taking better advantage of it. Maybe all of those urgent things on our to-do lists aren't all that important. Maybe playing IS important. Maybe making memories IS  important. Maybe slowing down and not acting (or feeling or being) SO busy all the time IS important. In the spirit of these notions, here is my list of the Top Ten Rules for a Happy Fam...

Today my beautiful baby girl graduated from preschool. It was fun and exciting and bittersweet and, because I was room mom, a little bit stressful. But everything went off without a hitch and I can check all that graduation planning stuff off my list. After an incredibly crazy (and rainy) morning...topping off an incredibly crazy week...I was pleased to come home, put everything away, put a show on for the kids, and change into sweatpants. Yay! But before I completely check-out for the weekend, and since I had all kinds of recipe requests at graduation, I thought I'd share the recipes for the two desserts I brought to the graduation celebration: Sprinkle Sticks and Mini Cheesecake Tarts . The Mini Cheesecakes I've been making since I was a kid...first with my mom and then on my own. They are super simple and are always a hit. I mean, who doesn't love a little taste of cheesecake without the commitment to a giant slice! And they are the perfect dessert to bring to a f...

What's up Top Ten Tuesday ?! Nice to see you again. This week I'm sharing my totally random (and somewhat weird) list of the Top Ten Things I Want...and didn't get for Mother's Day . There should be a great big *asterisk* here denoting that 1) I didn't actually ask for any of these things for Mother's Day, so it would've been tough to know that I wanted any of them; and 2) We haven't even celebrated Mother's Day in our house yet. So, technically, I could still get one of these items for Mother's Day...belated. You see, my husband was on a business trip all the week prior to and up until 4:30pm on actual Mother's Day. Plus we had out-of-town guests that day (which was awesome, but I didn't feel it was appropriate to ask them to wait on me hand-and-foot). So, we are planning to celebrate Mother's Day (complete with sleeping in) this Saturday instead. Being a business-travel-induced-single-mom on Mother's Day inspired this b...

Just a quick note to all the Mama's out there to say: Happy Mother's Day! I hope it is a wonderful day for each of you, one that honors the amazing mother and woman that you are. May everyone around you simply bask in your awesomeness and may you spend your day doing absolutely and only that which pleases you.  MamaManagement honors you and wishes you all good things on this Mother's Day and every day. Namaste.

As I sit down at a table in my favorite coffee shop today, the moment of peace in an otherwise rather loud and chaotic day, I have so many thoughts swirling in my head that I am not sure where to focus. So, we're gonna say this post is about patience. But it's really about so much more. ...................... I'm reading a book about letting go of our constant connectedness to the less-meaningful world in our computers and smartphones and focusing on the real world (and people) right in front of us. I am also part of one online discussion group on living simply and another on banning busy. My brain is knee-deep in this subject-matter right now. And then I found out that our neighbor's little girl was just diagnosed with leukemia. It's like being hit over the head with a rock. ("Pay Attention!!" It screams, right in my ear. "This Is Important!") And it's not even my child. And they are not even close friends. We just moved her...

Top Ten Tuesday again? So soon? Dang, those weeks go by fast. Crazy. So, I have an ulterior motive for this week's top ten post. I figure that if I actually put out there, on display, my top ten crafty Pinterest projects, maybe it will actually light a fire under my ample ass to ACTUALLY DO THEM! Imagine that. Actually doing some of the cool things we see on Pinterest! Well, the time has come. And what better time than amidst the rebirth of Spring to creatively blossom all over the dang place. You'll also notice that the title says "I Want To Do For Me." That wasn't by accident. I'm not talking about getting crafty for the kids. I'm not talking about new recipes for the family or a school function or a party. I'm not talking about gift ideas for others. I'm talking about gettin' my craft on Just. For. Me. These are projects that I want to do. These are projects for ME. (I know. Gasp.) So, here we go...it's about to get all Pinteresty ...

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 3/4 c. butter, softened 1 1/4 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. white sugar 2/3 c. peanut butter (I used an all-natural chunky PB) 1 egg + 1 yolk 2 tsp (real) vanilla extract 1 1/4 c. all purpose flour 1 c. old fashioned oats 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips Combine butter, brown sugar and white sugar until thoroughly mixed or creamed. (You can use a mixer. I like to do it by hand with my trusty old wooden spoon.) Then stir in the peanut butter (you can microwave it a bit if it needs softening), followed by the egg + yolk and vanilla extract, stirring to combine after each addition. Then mix in the oats. Next add the baking soda and salt; then slowly add the flour, mixing as you go. Finally add the chocolate chips. You want to end up with a typical cookie dough consistency. If you feel it's too wet, add a little more flour. If you feel it's too dry or stiff, add a little more softened butter or...