FOODIE: GETTING YOUR KIDS TO COOK

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I am planning a menu and dividing up the duties for the family. This year I am including the kids and have put the 10 year old on homemade bisciut duty and the 7 year old as my assistant, as she had a general love for cooking - the 10 year old not so much. I still have my first cookbook: New Junior Cookbook by Better Homes and Gardens which has my all time favorite pancake recipe and has super easy cooking instructions for kids. Here are a few children's cookbook in our house that we love. I hope you and your family have a good Thanksgiving and get the kiddos involved in the process!

1. New Junior Cook Book: 1955 Classic Edition by Better Homes & Gardens

2. Honest Pretzels: And 64 Other Amazing Recipes for Cooks Ages 8 & Up

3. The Silver Spoon for Children: Favorite Italian Recipes

4. Fanny at Chez Panisse: A Child's Restaurant Adventures with 46 Recipes

MOM RANT: QUOTES THAT CALM ME DOWN

image via Pinterest

Today I spent the first hour of my morning following my 10 year old around the house barking demands at her. “Eat your Fruit Loops!” “Put your shoes and socks on!” “Did you pack your dance bag?” Or “Did you brush your teeth yet?” By the time 7:15 rolled around I was tired of hearing my voice, and I am sure she was too. I was trying to explain to her that if she can get these tasks done on her own I would stop nagging her. Instead, there is no sense of urgency. She was sitting there reading a book, half dressed, while the clock ticked away and the school hour approached. Then I came across this quote on Pinterest and it made me reflect on my actions. I often think I am too hard on my daughter, but then the voice inside my head says, "Well, someone needs to teach her to be self sufficient.” I wish I was that soft-spoken mother with the patience of a saint, but I'm not. I'm loud, opinionated and have been known to drop an F-Bomb here and there. I think I need to relax and let my daughter get ready for school on her own terms and stop being so critical of her way of doing things. Would it be the end of the world if she showed up to school once in a while disheveled with unbrushed hair and teeth?

IN OUR HOME: GOING OLD SCHOOL

Combined my husband and I had a gazillion records collecting dust in our garage so we finally purchased one of those Crosley suitcase turntables from Urban Outfitters and our kids are obsessed. They have been listening to music like crazy since we set up the player in our dining room. My 7 year old discovered her love for Dolly Parton and the art of scouring used records at Half Price Books. For some reason it's just easier to put on a record. I love how your forced to listen to the whole side because it's not so easy to skip around. Now every night we have a wonderful soundtrack along with our dinner. It's often pretty heavy on Dolly because we always let the kids choose - they are still not into my old Cure records.

vote for 2014 best for mom & baby

It's that time of year - We want to know your favorites on all things Mother and Baby for our 2014 Best for Mom and Baby issue.

Take this quick survey and you'll be entered to win a 2-Night DreamWorks Experience at the Gaylord Texan. Vote for your favorites and remember, every vote counts!

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five things I love right now : Jennifer Vallez from Sophie & Lili

The term internet friends is weird I know. But I do have one - her name is Jennifer Vallez and based on her Instagram photos we live parallel lives. Our kids are the same ages and like the same stuff, her and I like the same stuff... if we lived close to each other we would totally hang out. Jennifer is a woman who wears many hats. By day she is an art director and on the side (I have no idea where she finds the time) she does these amazing custom watercolor illustrations (see my profile pic) and also crafts a signature collection of  dolls called Sophie & Lili.

So I had to ask Jennifer to share with us what five things she is loving right now:
1. Coach Car Coat - Out of my budget, but on my dream wish list!
2. Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial - It's got a very strong rose scent which I admit I don't love, but it feels like a soufflé and my skin seems clearer, softer & brighter.
3. J Crew Flannel Pajama Sets in Gray Gingham - I can't get enough of these!
4. The Fall  - A British TV Series - Jamie Dornan is scary good and gorgeous.
5. Anything by Ace & Jig - I'm obsessed with the fabrics & textures.

friday inspiration: for the boys

I am gathering up inspiration for our January covers - this photo is from a shoot called Penny For The Boys is by kids photographer Sheena Bose and stylist Ashlyn Gibson.

local love: holiday markets

What's better than shopping local handmade goods for holiday gifts? Finding it all in once place.  Here are a few markets we will be hitting this month to stock up.

Dowdy Studio & Napkin Art Studio Party 

 

Etsy Dallas Jingle Bash

 

Design District Market at Community Beer Garden

 

 

Jingle Bells on Bishop

guest mom rant: Julie Fisk of KVIL

 

 

Sucking the Fun out of the Holidays

 Remember when the holidays were fun? I do, with perfect clarity. I remember writing letters to Santa and dreaming about those awesome Christmas cookies Granny made out of mashed potatoes. Seriously, mashed potatoes & peanut butter and they were freaking delicious. I remember searching the house, looking desperately for presents until the year I found them and it kind of ruined everything.

Christmas was pretty wonderful when I was a child, which is why it’s even more apparent today how much the holidays suck.

Look, don’t pull a Linus on me and start talking about the TRUE spirit of Christmas. That’s not what I’m talking about, but thank you for adding a dose of guilt to what is already a meltdown-waiting-to-happen. Furthermore, it’s difficult to be reverential when I’m busily writing lists. Oh yeah, you should SEE all the piles of paper on my kitchen counter and I’m not just talking about gift lists. I have calendars and recipes and menu plans and…this one might even be left over from last year.

There’s also the nagging question of the budget. Maybe you’ve been a good human and planned your gift budget this year, but things always pop up like holiday-light carriage rides or presents for teachers or omigosh! We’re supposed to give something to the mailman too, right?

My children also informed me that this year, they saved their high-dollar gift requests for Christmas so SANTA could incur the cost. I appreciate the thought, but I reminded them that Santa won’t bring gifts they don’t NEED regardless of the cost. My 9-year-old looked genuinely confused and said, “Are you sure about that? Because he brings us stuff we don’t need all the time. Sometimes stuff we don’t even WANT.”

Not to suck the fun out of the holidays, but what happened? That space between Thanksgiving & New Years went from being my favorite time of year to a black hole of anxiety.  No wonder I gain 10 pounds each year because I stress-eat my way through November & December. I wish I could talk to my Mom & ask her how she handled the holidays. They had to be even harder for her, since she was a single mother doing the Holly Jolly all by herself.  Then I recalled one of my FAVORITE photos of my Mom.

I don’t remember if it was Thanksgiving or Christmas but she’s standing in my Granny’s kitchen wearing a crisp white dress shirt & some nice black slacks. It also appears that a bag of powdered sugar Donettes has exploded all over her pants. It’s her holiday best but it now looks like something Cruella Deville would wear. Mom is faking a frown but you can tell she’s cracking up.
That’s how Mom did the holidays. She always had the best intentions but when everything went down the crapper (or spilled on her nice black pants), she didn’t have a Mommy Meltdown. She laughed. No matter how bad things got, Mom always looked for the joke in it.

Maybe THAT’s the vital thing I lose during the holidays: my sense of humor. Maybe I need to dig that photo out of the archives & keep it in my purse so I can look at Mom & laugh anytime I get twisted in knots. Giggling at someone else’s misfortune might not be the true spirit of the holidays, but I think that Mom would be OK with it.  And how much fun would it be to write a Christmas carol about "schadenfreude?" Oooo, I'm going to get to work on that one right now!


Hang with Julie on her show Zazza & Julie on 103.7 from 5:30am - 10am. She will be our guest ranting about being a mom of two here on Mom.Edit. every month.

foodie: the pizza maker

Our new Pizza Maker has been the best addition to our house since Apple TV. The girls love rolling out the dough and putting an assortment of toppings on before it goes in the pizza maker. Plus there is a little window they can peek through to watch it bake. You can go your own route and make the dough from scratch or stop into Jimmy's in East Dallas and get dough all the way from Jersey for $2.00 which makes about 4 small pizzas.

A few toppings we love:
Jimmy's Marinara
Prosciutto - diced and fried in a pan
Fresh Mozzerella
Shredded Mozzerella
Capers
Anchovies - chopped
Fresh Basil

five things I love right now : editor's picks

Every week we will check in with a mom who inspires us and see what they are in love with right this minute. Since we focus on local moms in our magazines I would love to connect with moms in other places in this series...with the internet are we all really that far apart these days?

To kick this off here our my five things:

1. Lace Bralette from Target. I see expensive versions of these all over but these are such a good price.
2. BB Cream by Clinique. Light but fantastic coverage and has SPF.
3.Sport Tea available at Whole Foods. It tastes amazing and is so good for you.
4. Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York by Sari Botton. Funny and heartbreaking collection of essays about leaving...I can relate because I left too.
5. Coats! I love coats and long blazers. Zara is my go to - so affordable so it's easy to build a collection. 

crafty: vintage board games

The best part of our Nesting feature is going into the homes of the coolest families around town and seeing up close all the details. Last week we were photographing Brooke Fish's home. She has such clever vignettes and wall hangings throughout her mid-century gem. You will get to see more in our December issue but to hold you over here is one of the many ideas I will be stealing - vintage game boards hung on the wall. What a great idea! Simply hung up with a big ol' clip.
I always spot these at estate sale super cheap. Perfect for a play room.

photo via Pure and Noble

Oh and check out Brooke's sewing classes. She teaches right in her home - a very small and intimate setting. Get your craft on before the holiday so you can make everyone on your list handmade gifts.
Check out the class info here.

behind the pages: will bryant + james bamford

You have probably noticed in every issue our feature stories are accompanied by illustrated artwork. We feel so strongly about supporting this art form that when we brainstorm ideas for articles we always think about the imagery that will go along with it, and who will do it. I want to introduce to you this months featured illustrators:

Will Bryant

Will Bryant is an East Texas born artist now based out of Portland, OR. His work is super colorful mixed with a bit of humor. He has done a ton of cool stuff - check out his website right here!

James Bamford

Mr. Bamford is another Texas Native (we heart our Texans!) who is now designing and illustrating in Brooklyn, NY. He loves the art of lettering, printmaking and beer. Check out his work here...