Hey Saratoga! Do you have a business that is family friendly and want everyone to know it? Contact me at jenny@mamatoga.com for more information on how to get the Mamatoga Seal of Approval, an easy and fun way to let everyone know that you have a fabulous family friendly establishment!
This is going to be a busy weekend for me, and I’m glad it is going to be beautiful out because a lot of it is going to be spent outdoors: at the park, at lunch, at the party…
First off, I’m going to channel my inner Moho at Mixtapes and Mixology at Max London’s, after this incredibly busy week I could use a vieux carre…
Saturday is going to be non-stop. Food Revolution Day at the Farmers’ Market, lunch in between and then t-ball. I think I might need to have lunch at Maestro’s again, I can’t tell you enough how AMAZING my croque (hold the ham) madame was yesterday. I think I had a dream about it last night…
Saturday night we are heading to Impressions of Saratoga for the Bogey Tees Off book signing from 5-8pm. Finn has become absolutely golf mad and can’t wait to try out the course at McGregor with Sean so I know this will be one of his new favorite books.
Sunday we are having a birthday party for Lev, who will be turning four next week. Everyone says it, but the time really does fly and I can’t believe she is going to be FOUR! It’s going to have a garden party theme: some tea sandwiches, some croquet and party dresses and petit fours. She can’t wait and neither can I.
Need some ideas for YOUR weekend? Check out my Top Fives right here. Lots of great stuff going on around our fabulous town this weekend! xoxo Jenny
Have you heard about the Food Revolution going on? Food Revolution Day on May 19th is a chance for people who love food to come together to share information, talents and resources, to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. All around the globe, people will work together to make a difference. Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers’ markets. The goal is to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone. This Saturday, you can take part in this global effort to challenge everyone to reconsider how and what they eat.
Worldwide, obesity has more than doubled since 1980. For the first time in history, being overweight is killing more people than being underweight, and at least 2.8 million adults around the world die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. We need to get back to basics and start thinking about where our food comes from. We need to become a conscious community and understand the food choices we make on a daily basis. This can be done by improving food education.
Encouraging people to cook from scratch at home is at the heart of this Food Revolution. Making simple changes to our food choices will improve our quality of life and our children’s. Forty-two million children under five are already obese and this needs to be reversed. So let’s make some noise, raise our voices together and have a lasting and positive impact on their lives and ours. Food Revolution Day is our opportunity to get the world to focus on food issues and rally efforts to bring food education back into schools.
Spearheaded by the adorable Jamie Oliver, Food Revolution Day is going to take place worldwide in kitchens, homes and communities. In dining rooms, in restaurants and gardens, and right here in our very own city. Check out the local events happening this Saturday and take part of the Food Revolution!
All events are FREE and open to the public!
9am – 1pm at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market:
12 – 3pm at Four Seasons Natural Foods: Healthy food samples. Try some new foods and ingredients.
2pm at Saratoga Springs Public Library Meet the Experts: Food & Farms Panel Discussion. A discussion on local food issues, with information tables and food samples. The panel includes:
2 p.m. – 3 p.m. at 9 Miles East Farm, 136 Goff Road, Schuylerville: Farm Tour and Planting Party for Kids (weather permitting) Each child will have a chance to help seed a row of spinach, then transplant a lettuce or cabbage plant. Limited to 10 participants; advance reservations required: 695-4158.
4 p.m. at Saratoga Olive Oil 484 Broadway in Saratoga Springs: Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Overview & Tasting. Discover the incredible variety, different levels of quality, and tasting tips in a short overview, and then explore the store.
All day at Saratoga YMCA 290 West Avenue in Saratoga Springs: How Much Sugar is in My Drink?
A large sugar-cube sculpture built by kids will be on display at the Saratoga Regional YMCA’s front-lobby cafe, to demonstrate the amount of sugar in popular beverages. In the week leading up to Food Revolution Day, YMCA staff will be working with 250 kids in the Before- and After-School Enrichment (BASE) program to raise awareness of the amount of sugar in some of the kids’ favorite drinks. The children will use sugar cubes to represent the grams of sugar in each beverage, while learning about nutrition labels and the impact of portion size. The 100 children at the West Ave facility will use their sugar cubes to construct a large “sugar-Y” sculpture to be put on display, accompanied by a video showing the kids at work with this project.
Get tips to make healthy changes in the foods you eat at home, work, and school:
www.foodrevolutionday.com and on Twitter @FoodRevSaratoga #foodrevolution
Saratoga’s Food Revolution Day 2012 events are generously offered by the above community organizations, farms, and businesses, with PR and marketing assistance from Deborah Miles Czech | Miles Ahead Communications | www.milesaheadusa.com | 518.581.0435
THE PREP MOM
Natural Habitat: McGregor Links Country Club, The Pink Paddock, the Saratoga Springs Horse Show, Sperry’s for brunch, Next Summer, the summer Saratoga Hospital benefit, Turf Terrace, The Wishing Well after polo on Sundays, Silverwood.
Prep Mom Diaper Bag:
harper tote, $49.50 on pottery barn kids
Overheard during a Prep Mom conversation:
“I don’t think two is too young to start tennis lessons.”
“Can I monogram that?”
“Is it too early to order a Bloody Mary?”
On the Prep Mom Wishlist:
ikat frame from silverwood
kiel james patrick bracelets available at pink paddock
Prep Mom Hairstyle:
pretty pony
Prep Mom Crush:
JFK Jr., forever and always
In the Prep Mom Diaper Bag:
Prep Mom Style Icon:
gwynnie
Prep Mom Dream Vacation:
newport
Prep Mom Secret:
Once dyed a lock of hair with Kool Aid during a rebellious phase in high school
Classic Prep:
marylou
The morning I left Albany for Rhinebeck, I first had coffee with a friend. I explained with certainty, “I know I don’t have Lyme disease but it will be good to just rule it out.”
That was Tuesday morning, last week, the same day I wrote my last post for Mamatoga. I wrote it in the afternoon after I returned home, and had received my diagnoses. I had only taken one dose of my remedies at that point and I wanted to wait and see what happened before I started announcing to the world (well, actually, just some people in the Capital Region who actually read my blog) that I was cured.
Fingers crossed, it has been somewhat of a miraculous recovery.
That morning I went to see a homeopathic specialist, Deb Walker. Deb used a Bio Meridian machine to check for imbalances in my body. (You can read more about it in this Chronogram article in which Deb and some other Lyme specialists are interviewed) I tested positive for both Lyme and Candida. Candida, it turns out, can be a side effect of Lyme and according to the machine’s readings, I had it pretty bad.
How bad? I thought I was dying. It sounds dramatic and a little comedic now but these last two months have been extremely scary for me.
In addition to a terrible unexplainable skin rash, I was having severe fatigue, swollen glands, back, groin, and hip ache, constipation and diarrhea (not at the same time, of course), serious memory and concentration issues, and awful bloating. Other times I would get really “hyped up” and shaky, like I was having a mild anxiety attack, or had WAY too much caffeine, and I was crying all the time. In addition, toward the end, I had lost all motivation for anything. Things that used to bring me joy and get my juices flowing? I now was just a pile of blobby, lumpy clay.
As I wrote, about a week before seeing Deb, I started to think maybe I was clinically depressed. Although to me, that made no sense, because with everything I have been through in the last couple years, all the difficulties, now that my life was actually coming together, why would I be depressed now?
Deb gave me two homeopathic remedies to take, one for the Lyme and some drops for the Candida. She told me to take them three times a day. As soon as I left her office and got in my car I took my first dose. That evening I took another and I did notice I had a LOT of energy. I knew the remedies couldn’t work that fast so I chalked it up to elated relief that I wasn’t dying.
The next morning I woke up, without an alarm, at 6am. I jumped out of bed and started my day the way I used to. Breakfast, laundry, dishes, lunch for the boys, some writing…like the way I used to be!
I could not believe how good I felt. I kept telling myself, this cannot be. Can it?
That afternoon I gave Deb a call. She had told me I would know if it was working or not, but she didn’t explain exactly what that meant. When she answered the phone I asked her, “is this a placebo affect or can I really be feeling this much better this quickly?” Deb told me it absolutely was possible.
Keep in mind, this is not always the case, and as Deb also explained, I may hit some dips or declines still, but to keep paying attention to how I feel and to keep in touch with her.
For now, it’s working.
The other thing I will say. I had not realized how bad I really was until I actually felt better. I had forgotten what the old me was really like. For so long, because so many of my symptoms and ailments seemed so erratic and random, I tried to validate everything and downplay the seriousness of what was going on.
It’s really good to have the old me back. Really, really, good.
To read more from Jeannine, check out Real [Fit] Life here!
What is a Moho you ask? Why, it’s the Boho Mom of course! Let’s explore the Moho’s style (I’m a part time Moho myself actually). Now remember, all of these Mom Style Files are written with my tongue firmly in cheek. Any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental…xoxo
THE MOHO
Natural Habitat: Four Seasons, the Farmers’ Market, Saratoga Beads, Mixtapes & Mixology at Max London’s on Friday night, Minky Mink, Piper Boutique, Hot Yoga Saratoga
Moho Diaper Bag:
nani originals, $90 on etsy
Overheard during a Moho conversation:
“Is that local organic?”
“Do you know when you’ll get more flax milk in?”
On the Moho Wishlist:
links of london friendship bracelet
Moho Hairstyle:
messy braids
In the Moho Diaper Bag:
Moho Style Icon:
nicole richie
Moho Dream Vacation:
cute caravan camping
Moho Crush:
johnny depp
Moho Secret:
Loves Toddlers and Tiaras
Classic Moho:
jane birkin
I’ve been eating veggie burgers for years and I’ve tried pretty much every brand and every flavor out there. Some are good, some are…not so good. The best ones I have had though are always the homemade ones, especially since you can customize them per person for exactly the right taste. I like mine with sliced jalapenos in them and the kids love them with a little sweet corn mixed in and we all love them topped with avocado slices. Take this simple recipe to start with then check out some ideas at the end for different ways to tweak it. I usually break this recipe up a little to make a couple bigger ones and some “slider” sized ones for the kids.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 tsp. olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and grated (or finely diced)
2 Tbs. onion, chopped
2 Tbs. ketchup
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1/2 cup panko (more as needed for texture)
Olive oil (for pan frying)
Whole-wheat sandwich rolls or buns
Directions:
Cook the quinoa according to package directions using vegetable stock instead of water.
Sauté the onion and carrot in the olive oil until softened, about 8 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix the ketchup, paprika, ground cumin, sea salt and cayenne (if using) together. Set aside.
Pour the black beans, onions and carrots into a large bowl. Using two forks, smash the black beans to break them up as much as possible. (You can also use a food processor for this but be careful to not over blend.) Add in the ketchup and spice mixture and mix well.
Fold in the cooked quinoa and the panko. Form the mixture into six patties (or smaller if making sliders). Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large non-stick skillet. Add the patties and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side. If you’d rather not fry them, you can also bake the patties. Simply place them on a prepared baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (slightly less for smaller patties).
***For a spicy twist, add in sliced jalapenos and top with a sriracha aioli. To boost the veggie content, add in some finely chopped bell peppers or cooked sweet corn. And for a healthier mayo-alternative, try making a cilantro lime aioli with greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise: just 1/4 cup of low fat greek yogurt, 2 tbs. lime juice and 1 tbs. freshly chopped cilantro, mix together and spoon on top!
It was absolutely perfect weather this weekend, we headed out to the Saratoga Springs Horse Show on Saturday after t-ball, and then had some incredible Mexican food at Mexican Connection. The margarita I had there was phenomenal. Sunday we had just the loveliest little picnic in Congress Park with my tried and true classic picnic menu: Pimm’s, cornichons, egg salad, salmon mousse, baguette and some cheese. Most of the baguette wound up going to the ducks, but we also added some amazing salted caramels from Saratoga Caramel Company to round out the picnic basket so it turned out fine. The park was bursting with Saratogians soaking up the sun and celebrating Mothers Day and the kids ran around like crazy, playing hide and seek with new friends, meeting local puppies, watching an impromptu tightrope walk and chasing the aforementioned ducks. Topped off with ice cream, and early bath and early bed it was a really beautiful Mothers Day, and I got to share it with my own mother, which made it even nicer. I hope you all had a great day and a great weekend, and let’s have a fantastic week, need some ideas? Check out my Top Fives for the week here! xoxo
Dear Mom,
I want you to know so many things, but I don’t want them to come out as trite, or to sound like a Hallmark card. I don’t want the feelings I have to be diminished because I can’t put them into the right words, but I want to say it all nonetheless. I want to thank you for being my best friend, now that I’m older, but for being my mom when I was younger and needed just a mom. I want to thank you for making me all of those Halloween costumes. Even though you worked full time and were a single mom you always helped to make the costumes, put together class projects, deliver Girl Scout cookies. At the time I didn’t appreciate the Charlie Chaplin costume as much as I should have, but looking back on it it means so much to me. I’m sure dying that mop red in our basement to make a Raggedy Ann wig for me wasn’t the easiest thing to do but it came out perfect.
I didn't realize clowns wore LL Bean boots...
I want to thank you for “accidentally” sabotaging the laundry that one time when I was in high school and bleaching a pair of my jeans, spurring me into action to take over all of my own laundry so it wouldn’t happen again. Thank you for driving me to/and or coaching my softball team, basketball, horseback riding, swimming, diving, ballet, tennis, soccer, track and everything else I did while growing up, and times that by three for simultaneously doing it for Chris and Ted as well. Thank you for dealing with me for that year when I only wanted to eat shells and cheese, the way YOU made it, the same way, every night. Thank you for all the lunches you made, all the bites from your sandwiches you gave, all the birthday cakes you baked.
Thank you for teaching me that everyone should be treated exactly the same as I expect to be treated, thank you for teaching me that people come in all shapes and sizes and colors and telling me that I looked beautiful after I had the chicken pox and felt anything but. Thanks for telling me I am stronger than I think I am, that I can do whatever I want as long as I work hard, that I have your love no matter what happens.
Thank you for knowing how to do pretty much anything, from putting up drywall and fixing doorknobs, getting stains out of favorite dresses and pulling ticks off without freaking out. Thank you for trying to teach me some of this stuff and being patient with me. Thank you for saving all of my artwork from growing up even though I almost alerted A&E to put you on Hoarders when I realized just how many drawings of mine you still had. I’m so lucky to be able to look back on that old stuff and remember things I thought I had long forgotten. Thank you for passing down your fantastic style, and incredible taste, and for telling me to throw away that crocheted tie dyed sweater vest thing in eighth grade.
Thank you for all the laughs we have had, and still have. The infamous O Henry yard sale incident, the “snake pit” in Minnesota, the “oda” sign on our way to brunch in my old Volvo. Speaking of which, thank you for that old Volvo. It didn’t have a radio but I loved having that old transistor one on the big seat next to me, it was my first car and I will always cherish the time I tooled around college in that silver ’82 sporty thing. Thank you for making up countless nicknames for our dachshund with me, watching Gone with the Wind a zillion times with me, thank you for letting me listen to my Annie record over and over and over and over and over again when I was little. Thank you for letting me push you away when I was a teenager, and for coming back to me when I was ready and over that really special and fun stage.
me as a charming teenager
Thank you for helping me to be the mom I am now, for talking me down when I need to be talked down, for building me up when I need to be built up, for giving me the emotional tools to do that for myself when I need to. Thank you for teaching me that mistakes will be made when raising kids, but what they will remember is the love, the time you spend with them, the smiles and the hugs. Now that I’m an adult I love spending time with you, going on little adventures with you, having dinner together and shopping together and creating fun projects together. I realize how lucky I am to have such a great mom, and I want you to realize it too.
Thank you for being part of my life, and being the Nina to my three kids. I am who I am because of you, I love you more than I can ever tell you. Thank you for being my mom, and thank you for being you. xoxo, me
If you mother, you are a mother. Mother is just as much a verb as it is a noun, if not more so. It is an action, unceasing, deeply satisfying and never ever fully complete. Mothering doesn’t go on a resume, but it should, because being a mother can truly be the most difficult job in the world. Today we’d like to take a break from our regular format to offer up this tribute to all mothers – and we’re quite serious when we say all mothers. Whether you consider yourself a mother, stepmother, adoptive mother, mother-to-be grandmother, half-mother, whole-mother, mother figure, or any other kind of person who makes a child their number one priority in life, you are a mother. We are talking to you.
Here’s to you, moms of the world. Thank you for all that you do.
From your fellow mothers
Thank you for raising socially conscious children who will one day figure out how to actually fix this world.
Thank you for opening that door for me so I didn’t have to do the awkward hold-door-while-wheeling-stroller-with-foot move that is oh-so-attractive.
Thank you for teaching your children manners. A little please and thank-you can go a long way.
Thank you for giving me the “I’ve been there” mom-nod in the middle of Target when my child has decided that this is the perfect location to have a full-on meltdown.
Thank you for looking at my burgeoning baby belly and not saying any of the following things: Wow, are you having twins? You’re pregnant and you’re eating THAT? Let me tell you my traumatic birth story…
Thank you for teaching your children to say “I’m sorry” when they’ve hurt someone, no matter how defensive you might feel about what happened.
Thank you for not telling me the best way to do it, because you know, I may have my own little tricks up my sleeve.
From your children (If they could find the words, this is what they’d say…)
Thank you for worrying about us – every minute of every hour of every day from the moment you knew we were on the way.
Thank you for reading us the same bedtime story three times a night for eighteen nights in a row…and not skipping pages even though we can tell you want to.
Thank you for making us eat our vegetables even though we sometimes put up a fight. Broccoli’s actually not that bad.
Thanks for not leaving us in Target when we have a meltdown in the middle of the aisle and people are staring at you.
Thank you for buying us the incredible amount of “stuff” we need, or think we need, or other people tell you we need.
Thank you for teaching us to take responsibility for our own actions even if, “But Mah-ahm, he made me do it.”
Thank you for letting us have fast food or candy as a treat every now and then.
Thank you for remembering to always keep a sense of humor while parenting us because it’s really fun to laugh along with you.
Thank you for saying you’re proud of us…it’s the best feeling in the world.
So please, go ahead and thank a mother today. Heck, make it your mission to thank a mother every day. As a mom, there’s nothing better than feeling that you’re doing a good job, or an ok job, or even a good-enough job that your child has made it through another day unscathed because sometimes, that’s all that we can manage.
Fellow mothers of all kinds, take a moment and gaze at your little angel sprawled out on the dusty floor of Target, kicking his pudgy legs and flailing his sweet little arms and remember this: he’s yours. You may have birthed him or he may have come to you through some other means, but he is yours and there is no greater gift than that of being able to raise a child to be a contributing, valuable, good-hearted citizen of humanity. After this brief moment of existentialism, scoop him up (yes, this does count as your workout for the day), inform him that, no, he is not allowed to pick out a treat and promptly hightail it out of there before the “judgy eyes” can bore a hole in your back. After bedtime, pour yourself a glass of the good wine, open up a carton of the full-fat ice cream, crack open a salacious read, or watch some trashy reality TV. Whatever your vice is, indulge in it. You deserve it because you’ve done some damn good mothering today.
Julie Cox lives in Saratoga and is a high school English teacher.
She loves being a mom to Jackson (10), Declan (2), and is looking
forward to welcoming a new baby this fall.
Katie Nemer is a true Saratogian who is loving life as an at home mom
to Jackson (10), Zoe (2) and Cocoa (their chocolate lab).
To read more Adventures in Co-Parenting, check out Part One here, Part Two here and Part Three here!
