MilwaukeeMommies

This Week's Events

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:39:00 +0000

We have a lot of fun things planned for this week! Click on the links below to go to the calendar for more information and to RSVP.

Monday, March 12- Hoffer's Pet Store Tour
Wednesday, March 14- Big Backyard
Friday, March 16- Ugly Coffee
Saturday, March 17- St. Patrick's Day Lunch

March Craft Idea: Lions and Lambs

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:54:00 +0000

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb... so why not make lions and lambs with your little ones at home!

You will need:

paper plates (the flimsy white ones)
paint, markers, or crayons
black, yellow and orange construction paper
cotton balls
googly eyes
glue

Color one paper plate yellow and then add small strips of yellow and/or orange construction paper around the edge. Add a face, complete with googly eyes to make the lion!

Leave one paper plate white for the lamb. Cut a small circle of black for the center of the paper plate, for the lamb's face. Glue cotton balls around the edge. Decorate the face, complete with googly eyes!

If you want ideas on what these could look like, check out this blog. Encourage your children to use their imaginations and make their lions and lambs look like they want them to look!

Wordless Wednesday: A March Snow Storm

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:52:00 +0000

{Photo submitted by MEMO412}

Menu Monday: Mandarin Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:45:00 +0000

This recipe for Mandarin Chicken is a great one for a week night dinner. This recipe comes from the recipe database on MilwaukeeMommies.

Ingredients:
1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
Brown rice or Chinese noodles
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups fresh mandarin orange slices, seeded (or two 11-oz cans, drained)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 Tbsp prepared hoisin sauce
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Cooking instructions:
Combine soy sauce and minced garlic in plastic container or large Ziploc-type baggie. Add chicken pieces and marinate in refrigerator 1-2 hours.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high. Add chicken and saute 3 minutes, until golden. Add salt and pepper and stir to coat chicken. Add mandarin slices, bell pepper, and hoisin sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through, sauce is thick, and oranges have broken down. Meanwhile, prepare rice or noodles. Remove chicken mixture from heat and stir in green onions.

{Recipe submitted to the database by Crystal}

This Week's Events

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 01:37:00 +0000

Check out these fun and exciting events going on this week! Click on the links to go to the calendar for more details and to RSVP. We hope to see you at one of these events this week!

Monday, March 5- The Domes

Tuesday, March 6- Moms' Night Out at Mo's

Wednesday, March 7- New Member Chat

Friday, March 9- Play Date at McDonald's

Saturday, March 10- Gelato or Coffee at Golosi

Moms' Night In Mary Kay Party

Sunday, March 11- Dinner and Frozen Custard at Culver's

How Does Your Garden Grow?

noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:00:00 +0000

MilwaukeeMommies' fabulous Flower Power fundraiser is drawing to a close, so if you haven't placed your order yet, now is the time! It's never too early to plan to improve your curb appeal or beautify your backyard. From begonias to tiger lilies and everything in between, Flower Power is the place for quality flower bulbs with a 100 percent money guarantee. This fundraiser runs until March 20, 2012, and your bulbs will arrive in April and May, just in time for beautiful summer blooms. Time is running out! Save time, money, and gas by planning your perfect garden from the comfort of your computer. Spring over to http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/240221/8RPwWtD3Xz07, and check out the wide array of lovely lilies and pretty peonies, among other bulbs. As a bonus, if you spend $40 or more, Flower Power will send you a free bag of 10 Twilight gladiolus, a $10 value. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay: Grow with us today! Profits made through our fundraising link go toward our chapter's operating expenses.

Wordless Wednesday: Let's LEAP ahead!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:46:00 +0000

What's your caption for this picture?

{Submit your answers here or go to The Mommy Forum and talk about it! A great way to increase your post count for our contest!}

Free Premium Membership Access for a Limited Time

noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Ever wonder what's so special about Premium Access to the National Forum? For a limited time The Mommies Network is offering FREE access to premium content like Debate This and Buy/Sell/Swap to all members.
See what you've been missing by logging on to http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/index.php and get started today.

MNI Tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 14:58:00 +0000

Don't forget our Moms' Night In tonight!

We will be learning about different types of beer, tasting, and getting some new recipes for cooking with beer, too!

Here is the link to the calendar with all the details! We will see you there!

Day Trip: Jelly Belly Warehouse Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:40:00 +0000

We went to the Jelly Belly Visitor Center at the Warehouse in Pleasant Prairie recently. It was lots of fun!

The tour is free and you get to ride a little "train" around the warehouse in a big circle, stopping to see videos of the history of Jelly Belly and learn how the Jelly beans are made. My four year old son loved it! At the end everyone gets a little sample bag of Jelly Bellies to take home.

In the gift shop at the end there is a sample bar where you can go and sample whichever flavors you want. This is a lot of fun, especially if you have a little boy with you that only wants to sample the red ones. There are a lot of red flavors, if you didn't know!

This is a great day trip if you haven't been before! Join us in the Day Trips and Vacations forum to talk about other favorite day trips in southeast Wisconsin!

Dr. Seuss's Birthday is coming up!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:27:00 +0000

Click here to go to the calendar for all the details about this event!

Dr. Seuss is a favorite for so many! Let's celebrate his birthday in style with a play date! We hope to see you there!

Breastfeeding Support

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:33:00 +0000

Tomorrow we are having our monthly breastfeeding support group meeting! Click here for all the details.

Menu Monday: Low-fat Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:54:00 +0000

Brooke (brookebogey) shared this recipe in our Domestic Goddesses forum. She tasted them at a friend's house and had to have the recipe! They are simple to make and a big hit with her family! Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vanilla fat-free yogurt or vanilla fat free Greek yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1/4 cup strawberry jam
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 375º.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Combine yogurt, butter, milk, and egg in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Place 12 foil cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each liner. Top each with 1 teaspoon jam. Top evenly with the remaining batter. Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 375º for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; place on a wire rack.

Do you have a favorite recipe that you want to share? Join us on MilwaukeeMommies and stop in the Domestic Goddesses forum to talk about recipes with us!

This Week's Events

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:42:00 +0000

Are you looking for something fun to do this week? Need to get out of the house for a while? Looking for adult conversation or a playmate for your children?

You are in luck! We have a week full of fun planned. Check out the events below!

Monday 2/20- Story time at the library

Tuesday 2/21- Milwaukee Public Museum

Wednesday 2/22- Breastfeeding Support Group

Thursday 2/23- Cloth Diaper Chat

Friday 2/24- McDonald's Play Date

Doughnut Date!

Friday 2/25- MNI Beer Tasting!

Click on the link for each event to RSVP on the calendar and find out more information. If you aren't a member of MilwaukeeMommies yet you can register today. It is FREE and easy to register, just CLICK HERE! We look forward to meeting you soon.

Learn a New Language During Cultural Awareness Month!

noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Bonjour! Ciao! Hola! Have you been checking the National Chapter and participating in Cultural Awareness Month? In our Multicultural Mommies forum, we’re talking about foreign languages and discovering fun facts about different cultures. Join the celebration, and add some new words and phrases to your linguistic repertoire!

Do you have something to add to the conversation? Share your knowledge with other moms who are learning a language with their children. Go global with TMN as we highlight the many languages and cultures that make our world wonderful!

Happy Valentine's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:24:00 +0000

MilwaukeeMommies wishes you and your family a wonderful Valentine's Day. We love all of our members!

How are you and your family celebrating your love for each other today?

This Week's Events

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Are you looking for something fun to do this week? Need to get out of the house for a while? Looking for adult conversation or a playmate for your children?

You are in luck! We have a week full of fun planned. Check out the events below!

Monday, 2/13- Valentine Craft

Tuesday, 2/14- Valentine's Day Potluck Playdate

Wednesday, 2/15- Betty Brinn Children's Museum

Thursday, 2/16- February Birthday Celebration

Friday, 2/17- Big Backyard

Saturday, 2/18- Brunch at Taco Amigo

Forum Spotlight: Moms on the Clock

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:58:00 +0000

Being a mom is hard: We all know that! Being a working mom is hard, too, and has its own special set of struggles. Balancing time at work, time with your family, and time by yourself to recharge are all important. One of the most valuable things a working mom can have is support. The Mommies Network chapters in cities throughout the United States offer just that: support for all moms, including moms on the clock! You can stop into your MilwaukeeMommies' Moms on the Clock (MOTC) forum to chat about all sorts of things with other mothers just like you.

Cindy says, "It is good to have a forum where working moms can bring up issues that pertain specifically to them." Working moms share all kinds of ideas with each other, offering advice about packing lunches, keeping daycare bags ready to go, and finding time to clean the bathrooms."

Stephanie appreciates all the helpful tips she's been given in her chapter's MOTC forum. "I love all the ideas I get from this forum on how to make my mornings easier,” she says. "Sometimes they are the simplest ideas, but I had never thought of them. Mornings are so stressful for us, so any advice in that area is great to get from other mommies."

"Being a working mom or going to school presents its own unique challenges, and it's comforting to know that you're not the only one facing them!" Carrie says.

Some moms work to help support their families, while others work because they love what they do, and having a successful career is important to them. Mary enjoys working to make a difference. "I am a teacher and truly enjoy making a difference in the lives of moms and children. It is hard leaving my own child to do that, but at the same time, I really do love my job," she says.

Jennifer agrees with several other moms who stop in to read what other moms are saying, but don't post as often as others. "I don't post often, but I appreciate reading comments from others about how they handle the balancing act,” she says. I also appreciate having a separate forum where you don't feel guilty because you feel a need to work—whether it's out of necessity, a passion, or both."

Moms experience mommy guilt, no matter what. Stay-at-home moms sometimes feel guilty about not bringing home a paycheck; working moms sometimes feel the same way about not being able to focus 100 percent of their time on their homes and children.

Carol says, "I like knowing there are a lot of working moms. Makes me feel a little less guilty about it."

The Mommies Network chapters, like our own MilwaukeeMommies, are here to support all moms. If you are a working mom and are looking for support from other moms and other working moms, then you have found the right place!

As Richelle says, "It is really helpful to come to a forum such as this, where others of like minds can come together and easily understand each other’s situations."

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:14:00 +0000

Menu Monday: Beef and Biscuit Casserole

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:10:00 +0000

Here is an easy recipe for a quick one dish meal to share with your family tonight! You can find this and many other family favorites in MilwaukeeMommies Recipe Database!

Ingredients:
1-1 1/4 lb Hamburger 1/2c chopped onion 1/4c green pepper 1 8oz can tomatoe sauce	2tsp chili powder 1/2tsp garilc salt 1 can Buttermilk Buscuits 1.5c cheddar cheese 1/2c sour cream 1 egg lightly beaten
Cooking Instructions:
Brown beef, onion and green pepper, drain. Stir in tom. sauce, chili powder, garlic salt. Simmer while preparing the dough. Separate biscuit dough into 10 biscuit; pull each apart into 2 layers. Press 10 biscuit layers over bottom of ungreased 8oz square baking pan. Combine 1/2c cheese (reserve 1c), sour cream, and egg. Mix well; remove meat mixture from heat. Mix in sour cream mix and spoon overdough. Arrange remaining biscuit layers on top and sprinkle with the ramaining cheese( I love a lot of cheese so add as much on top as you like). Bake at 375 for 25-30min until biscuits are deep golden brown. Submitted to the database by Heather L.

This Week's Events

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:59:00 +0000

Are you looking for something fun to do this week? Need to get out of the house for a while? Looking for adult conversation or a playmate for your children?

You are in luck! We have a week full of fun planned. Check out the events below!

Monday 2/6- Kids in Motion

Tuesday 2/7- Lunch at Chili's

Wednesday 2/8- Messy Fun Play Date

Thursday 2/9- Yo Mama Story Time

MNO Olive Garden

Breastfeeding Chat

Friday 2/10- Just Play Play Date

Saturday 2/11- Sledding (or playing) at Wirth Park

MNI Craft Night

Click on the link for each event to RSVP on the calendar and find out more information. If you aren't a member of MilwaukeeMommies yet you can register today. It is FREE and easy to register, just CLICK HERE! We look forward to meeting you soon.

February Is Cultural Awareness Month!

noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

February is Cultural Awareness Month at The Mommies Network, and we're thinking globally! Share a love for foreign language and different cultures with your child in our Multicultural Mommies forum on our National Chapter. Each week, we'll feature several languages and cultural tidbits. You may also participate and strengthen your language lingo in a special webinar. Additionally, our sponsor will provide information on how you can continue your language-learning experience after the month is over.

According to Associated Content, brain research shows that children are at an optimal age for language learning. Although language study is effective at any age, some studies suggest that the human brain is more open to learning a foreign language from birth to preadolescence. Fortunately, researchers have not found an age in which the language window closes completely, especially in the areas of grammar and vocabulary.

Take advantage of this opportunity to think globally, and join us as we learn about foreign languages and different ways of life during Cultural Awareness Month at TMN!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:30:00 +0000

Tomorrow night we will have this month's new member chat! Join us at 9:00 in the chat room on MilwaukeeMommies.

Click here to RSVP and find more details!

Menu Monday: Rice Krispies Treats

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Rice Krispies Treats- an old favorite, and now a science project!

Move the cooking to the floor or a low table and use your crock pot to make these.

Children can watch the butter melt and learn how adding heat can make the solid butter turn into a liquid.

Add the marshmallows and listen to the predictions of your little ones. Do they think that they will melt, like the butter did?

Once the butter and marshmallows have melted and are smooth you can remove the crock pot from the heat and stir in the Rice Krispies. Older children can help stir, carefully not touching the warm crock. Press the treats into dishes sprayed with cooking spray and talk to your children about how the mixture will now become a solid again as we let it cool.

The best part of this science experiment: getting to eat it!

Enjoy!

This Week's Events

noreply@blogger.com (Mary) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:12:00 +0000

Are you looking for something fun to do this week? Need to get out of the house for a while? Looking for adult conversation or a playmate for your children?

You are in luck! We have a week full of fun planned. Check out the events below!

Monday, 1/30- Play Date and Craft

Monday, 1/30- Book Club and Moms' Night Out

Tuesday, 1/31- Play Time at McDonald's

Wednesday, 2/1- New Member Chat

Thursday, 2/2- Groundhog's Day Play Date

Friday, 2/3- Ugly Coffee

Saturday, 2/4- Moms' Night In