MamaManagement

So, it is ridiculously cold outside right now. Like single-digits-to-teens cold, plus a windchill. And it's snowing. Which is kind of a slap in the face for my daughter, because it's actually too cold to go out and play in the snow. She can just watch longingly from the window as it falls to the ground. And it's been like this all week. So I have a couple of stir-crazy kids who need a little physical activity. A while back I remember seeing something on Pinterest about "masking tape games." I'm not even sure if I looked at the actual link, or if I just saw a picture on the pin and that was enough to plant the seed in my brain, but when I was a Target earlier in the week I picked up a fresh roll of masking tape and then got to work on some games. As you can see, I wasn't going for perfection here. Kids usually don't care so much about how straight your lines are or how neatly you tear the tape...they just want to get jumping. So here we go! Port...

As I've mentioned before, we are a family of readers. And, though my son was a little slower to start, now, all four of us can regularly be found with our noses in books...and I love it! Right now I am finishing up a book club book (about 80 pages to go, and the book club meeting is tomorrow night...here's hoping I make it!), Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (a decent read, so far). And I finally read Fifty Shades of Grey last month (more on that, and my final four reviews of my niece's top ten book list, all to come in a later post!). And I've got a whole stack of new books from Christmas sitting on my nightstand just waiting to be devoured! My husband is halfway through The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (detective/mystery). I got him the book for Christmas...his second read by this author. He really liked the first one he read ( The Leopard ) and says this one is an equally good read. Both my husband and my dad are big detective/mystery genre readers, so I...

I just made this recipe last week and we all liked it so much that I had to share it with all of you...it's Sesame Chicken. Nothing totally new and different, nothing you haven't had before, but uber good and relatively easy. I found the recipe, via pinterest, on the How Sweet It Is blog (www.howsweeteats.com). And because I wasn't planning on sharing the recipe at the time I made it, I didn't take any pictures, so I had to borrow one from How Sweet It Is too, so all the credit goes to Jessica--Kudos on a yummy recipe! So, here it is... Sesame Chicken 2 lbs. chicken breast, chopped into bite-size pieces 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 3 tbsp flour 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp brown sugar 1 tbsp white vinegar (I used white wine vinegar because I was out of regular white) 1/2 c. chicken stock 2-3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds Rice Veggies Preheat oven to 400 degr...

This is a totally random post, but my kids love laundry basket rides so much these days that I just had to share... Here's all you need: a sturdy, smooth-bottomed, plastic laundry basket and something to tie to it that is strong enough to act as your tow rope. I've had a fabric-lined, wooden laundry basket for a long time that is not kid-appropriate and they were always trying to climb in it. So I went out and bought this guy for around 5 bucks, on sale. Our "tow rope" is the fabric sash from a pirate costume which I just looped through the basket and tied at the other end. They climb in one at a time or together for rides just about every day. (My son climbs in it and chants, "Ride! Ride!" until you come pull him around.) And they love it! They also load it up with toys and take them for rides. My daughter even uses the tow rope to attach it to other things, like her doll stroller or our ride-on Pooh train to create trains, or, in this case, she atta...

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are ready for an amazing 2013! I took a self-imposed "chaos and sanity management" hiatus from blogging this holiday (more on that later), but am back and ready to roll for 2013. I have many goals and resolutions for 2013, which I'll talk more about in another post, one of which is to write, write, write and blog, blog, blog. So I hope to be visiting here with you often in the weeks and months to come! But before we get into all of that, I'd like to start the year off with a project that is close to my heart...Snowflakes for Sandy Hook. I first read about this project last week on the Simple Kids blog, and promptly set to it! Here was the idea: The students and faculty of Sandy Hook Elementary will be relocated to another school building when they return from the holidays. No one wants them to walk into a school with empty, stark walls-- no decoration anywhere, so in preparation for th...

I have not posted anything to this blog in over a month. Not because I don't want to, and not because I don't have things to say and share. I'd like to say that I haven't posted anything because I just haven't had time. But, let's be honest, people far busier than me manage to fit blog posting into their daily or weekly schedules. And I've somehow managed to find time to wander pinterest and watch a few dvr'ed shows and read my current book. So why "can't" I find time to do a few of the things that I currently deem important...namely, writing on this blog, working out, and some fun, creative projects? My best guess? My "daily life" has taken over my "Big L" Life. (And maybe a little dose of general malaise.) And the psychologist in me would also venture that my "real life" (aka "errand-running, task-accomplishing Mommy") trumps my "fantasy life" (aka "my pinterest life") whe...

Activity Sticks. I love this idea! I'll just get that out of the way from the start. It's so versatile. Anyone can use these. Looking to mix things up a bit in some area of your life? Activity Sticks may be just the thing for you. Want to try new, fun activities with the kids, but gotten stuck in a rut? Try Activity Sticks. Want to do something different for date night, but gotten stuck in the "What do you want to do? I don't know, what do you want to do? I guess we'll just go to dinner." rut? Try Activity Sticks. Want to mix up your workouts for better results and less boredom? Try Activity Sticks. The examples I'll show here are specific to young kid activities, but you can do this for kids of any age, for yourself, or for you and your partner. First, here's what you need: a jar or other container (I used a washed-out Ball canning jar. But you could use a cup, a mug, a small vase, a small bucket or whatever else you can find around the ...