Mommy Maven:Strolling in Style

Ahhh! Just talking about this and I'm so excited.

So I don't know how many times I've had a conversation about the fact that bugaboo has gotten a little behind the eight ball, no double stroller? I mean come on....and...

Bada boom bada bing, they deliver!

This has been rumored for over a year now and it's finally here.

May I present The Donkey

So get this, it expands from a single stroller with a storage case to a double complete with bassinets and toddler seats and all the other goodies we are accustomed to.

Is this totally awesome or a completely unnecessary nonfunctional doing it simply for the need to be new and different sort of thing?

I'm leaning towards totally awesome.

There are certainly times when I have my double and Etta ends up not wanting to ride in it and I end up pushing my monster Limo everywhere unnecessarily and vise versa.

If any of you know me you know I love LOVE my single bugaboo and though have toyed with the idea of selling it (now that we are a bit larger of a crew) but just can't bring myself to do it.

So I don't know about you but I might be a little to anxious to try this ASAP and not so anxious to find out the price tag.

I'm hearing $1200-2000 range talk...yikes!

I'm hoping I can find another half off killer steal of a deal like I did with my Cameleon.

Anyway, whether I just end up dreaming and drooling or if someday I really take the plunge I'll keep you posted.

For now check it out (I love all the videos they do) and tell me what you think about the donkey....btw donkey? Really? What were they thinking...

Homemade "Chicken Nuggets" and Ketchup

So my two year old is an extremely picky eater. So I'm always trying to come up with things she'll actually eat. Now I admit these take a little more effort than going through Wendy's but our kids are worth it right? Well most days anyway and today was one of those days.

Generally speaking if I'm going to this much trouble I like it to work for everyone in the family. This one does but it's not a favorite for me but do the kids ever love it. Also if they don't eat them all (which they won't) you can frig or freeze them.

So here it is:

"Chicken Nuggets"

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 slices whole wheat bread
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1-2 chicken breasts (or ground chicken if you want to make it easier)
• 1 small egg
• 5 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1 1/2 cups corn, fresh, frozen or otherwise (could be substituted with peas, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots whatever your kids like, corn is sweet and blends in)
• s+p

1. Saute onion and garlic in evoo till translucent and tender, set aside.
2. Soak the bread in milk and tear into pieces
3. Place chicken in a food processor or blender. Pulse for a few seconds.
4. Add everything else but corn and blend for a few more seconds till well combine.
5. Transfer to a bowl and stir in corn.
6. At this point you could store this in your fridge overnight or make it immediately.
7. Put some flour out on a plate. (You could also use bread crumbs or panko) With one hand/spoon scoop a golf ball size of chicken into flour and roll around until coated. Pat softly to remove excess flour and form into "nugget" shape.
8. Heat veg oil in a pan over medium to medium/low heat.
9. Make one fritter to test for seasoning and adjust.
10. Cook about 4-5 minutes per side until cooked through.
11. Serve with Homemade Ketchup.

Homemade Ketchup

• 2 cans hunts tomato sauce
• 1 (heaping) tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1. Put all the ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium/low and cook, uncovered for about 15 minutes.

Mommy Maven: Books to live By

Maven: a trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. The word maven comes from the Hebrew, via Yiddish, and means one who understands, based on an accumulation of knowledge.

Ok, so I'm definitely, definitely not an expert on being a mom but I do feel like I've gained better understanding by accumulating knowledge through different books, parents, and experience. If you know me, you know I love nothing more than passing on that knowledge. So I say I almost fit the bill.

I'd love to start posting information that I've learned and felt has been vital to my parenting skills and most certainly my sanity. For my first post I'd like to give a list of books that have been most helpful to my learning and that I'm sure I unknowingly quote in most conversations(after a while I can't remember if I read something somewhere or if it was my own genius...;)

So here's a short list of books to get me started in my Mommy Maven posts.

Twelve Hours Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old - Suzy Giordano (An absolute must for us on sleep, scheduling, and good habits).

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child - Marc Weissbluth (A good companion to the first for further info, ideas, and problem solving).
- A partner to this book is Your Fussy Baby which we used more as a reference for problems.

Children's First Steps - A. Lynn Scoresby (Child development, awesome.)
- Bringing Up Moral Children
- The Real Power of Parenthood: How to find and use it successfully
- In the Heart of a Child (I love anything and everything by this man on parenting and marriage alike, he also has a great website/blog with discussions, further material etc).

Positive Discipline: The First Three Years - Jane Nelsen (Most books don't address discipline for babies so I love this one, it helps you gain better understanding from a child's perspective).

Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World - H. Stephen Glenn (Title says it all, this book is great).

Slow and Steady Get Me Ready - June R. Oberlander (Gives developmentally appropriate activities for each week of life from birth until age 5...sort of an at home preschool).
- Things to Do with Toddlers and Twos - Karen Miller (Similar to above, just more at home "trash to treasures" sort of crafts.)

Books are masters who instruct us without rods or ferules,

without words or anger, without bread or money.

If you approach them, they are not asleep;

if you seek them,they do not hide;

if you blunder, they do not scold;

if you are ignorant, they do not laugh at you.

~ Richard De Bury ~

Please post any advice, words of wisdom, books, or whatever you've found helpful so we can all share and grow together as amazing women and mothers!