May 28, 2018
folks, answer quickly, what a monarchy have that is better than democracy???? It's for a school debate
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folks, answer quickly, what a monarchy have that is better than democracy???? It's for a school debate
2 cities down, 30 to go. #summersurvival #themomontherun #momarchy (at Buckhead/ Midtown Atlanta, Georgia)
Family Vacation Travel Tips from the Mom on the Run More than one third of us are planning to take a family vacation, this year. The idea of a vacation sounds wonderful, but the whole process can be stressful. How do you pick the perfect destination? And then the hotel, the restaurants and excursions. January 31st is National Plan for Vacation Day – and that's the perfect opportunity to plan ahead, so you can minimize stress and maximize family memories. Like anything, planning reduces stress. It can help you save money, and time, and make the actual trip more relaxing. I like to use the "flexible dates" option when booking flights, then using a combination of Miles and no-frills seats, to save money. Home and apartment rentals instead of hotels are becoming much more popular in 2017. And, especially for me when my family includes growing boys, all-inclusive properties can make a lot of sense. Don't forget all-inclusives include cruises. Cruises also have the added benefit of built in excursion ideas, so you don't have to do all the homework. I'll be perfectly honest, my husband and I didn't think we were cruise people, and you know what? It's kind of perfect. There's always something to see, great food, you get to see a lot of places instead of just one destination, and your kids, depending on their ages can hang out safely on different parts of the ship. And it can be so economical! Carnival Cruise Line for example is offering some of its best prices of the year, with more than 15 different deals through January 31st. It's part of their say YES to FUN, promotion, and who doesn't want to do that? I you can take a three day or a fifteen day cruise, or anything in between to places like the Caribbean, Mexico and the Bahamas. And you may not want to even get off the ship! Carnival's brand new Vista which sails from Miami offers an IMAX theater and its own brewery onboard. There's also a unique experience called SkyRide, where you can pedal high above the ship and take in views like you’ve never seen before. You can get more info on some of the best prices of the year, and free upgrades at carnival.com There are a number of free ways to get the most out of your vacation. First-- wake up early. You can pack more in your day, and the lines are shorter at tourist hot spots Pack light-- save on baggage fees and skip the carousel. Wear your bulkiest clothes on plane and roll instead of laying flat your bagged items Talk to locals-- of all my travel memories, the ones that stick out the most are those created by getting to know local people and their culture. So educational and eye-opening! A local street party with food and music as absolutely the highlight of our trip to Turks and Caicos! And a last tip, because colds seem to happen when everything else is working out. There is a way to get better faster - Cold-EEZE lozenges are clinically proven to shorten your cold by almost half. And now Cold-EEZE has introduced Multi-Symptom lozenges, and gummies. They shorten your cold PLUS provide relief for cold & flu symptoms, including cough, congestion and sore throat. I use these all the time, and honestly, if I use these lozenges or gummies at the very first sign of a cold, I'm better within a day or two. Definitely worth packing, just in case! Wherever your vacation plans take you, safe travels!
Summer Survival Tips
SUMMER SURVIVAL TIPS FROM THE MOM ON THE RUN
Summer is fleeting, and in addition to all the other mom duties, there’s the added pressure of creating lasting family memories. Obviously we can’t play hooky from the rest of our responsibilities and just play with the kids all summer, but my advice is to make standing appointments for fun memory-making excursions. This could be every Thursday, or every day at noon, whatever your schedule allows. But this way kids are more patient and you feel less guilty when you have to do the other stuff.
There are ways to make the most of your time off. I like to keep pre-packed excursion bags at the ready, with items like towels, goggles, water bottles and shelf safe snacks. Snacks are so important to keep energy levels up and to mitigate meltdowns . Popcorn is a great example of a lower calorie, but filling snack. Smart food Delight popcorn, for example, has just 35 calories per cup, but you don’t have to give up flavor. This summer look for their newest flavor, you’ll be hooked! Sweet and Spicy Barbecue. It tastes a heck of a lot more indulgent than it is.
On those days you want to hit the ground running, it makes sense to grab breakfast on the go. Fast food doesn’t have to mean bad food choices. Chick-Fil-A for example, as of today, is offering a grilled chicken breakfast sandwich with just 300 calories but packed with 25 grams of protein. It’s called the Egg White Grill, look for it. On the mornings I want something lighter, I love the fruit cup, I don’t know any other fast food restaurant that has its employees hand cut fruit throughout the day. And because I’m all about convenience, I use the restaurant’s app, so I can order and pay before I get there. And I can also check out nutrition and ingredients. Uber helpful if you have food allergies in your family.
Caffeine is perhaps the most important tool in a mom’s summer survival arsenal, I definitely need my morning coffee before I can do anything useful, but I also like a little afternoon Iced coffee pick me up! Now, I can keep them front and center in my refrigerator. Caribou Coffee has a brand new premium iced coffee, available right at your grocery or convenience store. The flavors are of course fabulous - Chocolate Mocha, Vanilla and Sea Salt Caramel – But they’re made with REAL milk and chocolate and caramel and handcrafted coffee. That’s not easy to find!
It sounds like making memories is all about dashing around, but what kids really need is for you to be present. The novelty of reading a bedtime story during the day, or eating breakfast in bed is enough to make memories without much planning or time.
And along those lines –I love to cook, and during the school year we eat dinner together as a family almost every night. But the summer is a different story. Kids are coming and going so often, instead of spending time cooking when I could be engaged with the family I will throw something in the slow cooker in the morning, or get take out, and eat on paper plates, so prep and clean up time can be family time, instead.
I think I’ve seen a paper plate commercial with this same idea, but I swear they got it from me.
For more tips, visit tipsontv.com
In Praise of the Kitchen
One of the happy bonuses of growing older is the realization that activities you viewed as pesky as a younger parent have become easier to tolerate, and in some blessed cases, you’ve actually come to appreciate and even love them.
So is the case with cooking. In earlier years, this was not a wellspring of joy. It felt grievous to take pride in putting such culinary fodder as chicken nuggets or macaroni on the table. Which isn’t to say I didn’t take pride in getting absolutely anything on the table with woefully little experience feeding a family, whilst small children and large pets were underfoot,
No, cooking is now to me what The Big Show is to Little Leaguers. It’s exciting, it keeps me sharp, and my crowd goes wild. That last bit is almost the biggest reason I love that well-worn spot in front of my la Cornue. My crowd is big. Six sons and a husband. And thanks to my boredom with the basics, they are quite game to try edgy dishes, and likely because they don’t have to do the work, quite loose with praise. But, there’s also the Remy from Ratatouille moment of discovering what new flavor I can create. And, stirring a giant pot of red sauce is better than an hour at the therapist. But, there is a secret that has unfolded over the years, and it beats out any other reason the kitchen is now my happy place. Everyone comes to the kitchen.
All day, in and out, grabbing a snack, washing an apple, throwing away trash. Even when the boys were in the angst-y teen year phases and wanted nothing to do with family they still were hungry. And thirsty. They still had trash. Many times I will catch the kids one-on-one and they’ll chat me up. Easy conversations because I’m looking distracted and not boring into them with my Mom eyes. Sometimes I can pull a conversation from them with a ruse of needing help with a dish. And, the best moments are when I’m as much a fixture as the sink I become invisible. Then I hear the unfiltered conversations between brothers and friends. It’s the first place they come to brag about a school test, or other feat. And the redolence of the kitchen will be among the most lasting and fondest memories for the boys as they grow up and move out. As I sit here, I realize there are such potent emotions attached to my kitchen, I could be describing a living, breathing thing.In a way, it is. If a home can have a heart, can’t a kitchen have a soul?
Moms Should Own the Humble Brag
Mother’s Day is almost upon us, and it strikes me as one of the few days ( the only day? ) a nicely crafted and well-placed humble brag isn’t needed by mom. As moms, we are overwhelmed with daily, often tedious and largely unnoticed, tasks. I’d like to think we do a pretty good job of accepting this. We know the finish line is still well over the horizon. We get that our countless nudges toward successful children, blissful family life, beautiful home, happy partner, meaningful friends and world change are significant and as inevitable as breathing, even if no one notices. But, sometimes. Sometimes, we crave recognition. Since Passive-Agressive Mom is frankly not very pleasant, I think moms should own the humble brag. It’s an easy almost impalpable change in our vernacular, but it leaves everyone involved feeling much better.
An illustration:
P-A Mom “Well, of course son, nothing would give me more joy than to bring your forgotten homework to school before noon, because I oddly have absolutely nothing to do, today”
HB Mom “ Sure, that will be perfect! I’ll need a nice skinny latte at the Starbucks by your school by then, anyway. I usually start to drag a little after making everyone’s beds, doing dishes and laundry, work emails, scheduling and grocery shopping”
Right? P-A Mom guilts son and resents executing the task. Although, she’ll do it anyway. There’s also a risk, hinging on delivery, her son may think she’s serious, and then it’s just a greek tragedy. But, HB Mom gets to vent and impart a gentle reminder of all she does. Not gentle, really. But, not offensively blatant. And that’s the brilliant part. We are all now familiar with the Humble Brag. We know this is a vehicle for much needed attention. And it can be tiresome. But, offensive? No, it usually sets you off toward a bit of empathy. The Humble Brag neither attracts pity. It’s in that perfect little sweet spot. And moms should live there. Pity goes to Martyr Mom, which is not worth all the hand-wringing. Yet, still a better use of time than Shameless Self-Promoting Mom, which you should never employ even on your bleakest days.
So, keep those Humble Brags in your quiver, for those days of need. But, not Sunday. This is the day everyone stops to notice the Wizard behind the curtain. Drink it in. And then pick up the nudging where you left off.
Moms Should Own the Humble Brag
Mother’s Day is almost upon us, and it strikes me as one of the few days ( the only day? ) a nicely crafted and well-placed humble brag isn’t needed by mom. As moms, we are overwhelmed with daily, often tedious and largely unnoticed, tasks. I’d like to think we do a pretty good job of accepting this. We know the finish line is still well over the horizon. We get that our countless nudges toward successful children, blissful family life, beautiful home, happy partner, meaningful friends and world change are significant and as inevitable as breathing, even if no one notices. But, sometimes. Sometimes, we crave recognition. Since Passive-Agressive Mom is frankly not very pleasant, I think moms should own the humble brag. It’s an easy almost impalpable change in our vernacular, but it leaves everyone involved feeling much better.
An illustration:
P-A Mom “Well, of course son, nothing would give me more joy than to bring your forgotten homework to school before noon, because I oddly have absolutely nothing to do, today”
HB Mom “ Sure, that will be perfect! I’ll need a nice skinny latte at the Starbucks by your school by then, anyway. I usually start to drag a little after making everyone’s beds, doing dishes and laundry, work emails, scheduling and grocery shopping”
Right? P-A Mom guilts son and resents executing the task. Although, she’ll do it anyway. There’s also a risk, hinging on delivery, her son may think she’s serious, and then it’s just a greek tragedy. But, HB Mom gets to vent and impart a gentle reminder of all she does. Not gentle, really. But, not offensively blatant. And that’s the brilliant part. We are all now familiar with the Humble Brag. We know this is a vehicle for much needed attention. And it can be tiresome. But, offensive? No, it usually sets you off toward a bit of empathy. The Humble Brag neither attracts pity. It’s in that perfect little sweet spot. And moms should live there. Pity goes to Martyr Mom, which is not worth all the hand-wringing. Yet, still a better use of time than Shameless Self-Promoting Mom, which you should never employ even on your bleakest days.
So, keep those Humble Brags in your quiver, for those days of need. But, not Sunday. This is the day everyone stops to notice the Wizard behind the curtain. Drink it in. And then pick up the nudging where you left off.