Modern Style Mama

From Buffalo Turkey Burgers To Teacher Gift Ideas…Project C.S.I.’s Weekly Inspirations

Modern Style Mama — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:39:37 PDT

Finding Fabulous Ideas & Tips To Inspire Your Creativity!

Healthy Recipes

Buffalo Turkey Burgers W/ Blue Cheese Broccoli Slaw from Skinny Taste

Asian Lettuce Cups from Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny

Homemade Fun

DIY Lava Lamp from Lil’ Luna

Superhero Mask at Oopsey Daisy

Personalized Superhero Cape from Crazy Little Projects

Adorable Children’s Party Ideas

Little Monster Party from Chickabug

Very Hungry Catepillar 1st Birthday
from Hostess With the Mostess

Teacher Gift ideas:

Monogram Paint Can Teacher Gift from Fit, Crafty, Stylish, & Happy

Take Note Teacher Appreciation Gift Printable at Skip To My Lou

Summer Hair:

Fun Summer Hair In Minutes From Cristi at How Does She

Nursery ideas:

Beckham’s Preppy Nursery from Project Nursery

Vacation Checklist Printable

Modern Style Mama — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:04:51 PDT

With summer just around the corner many families will soon be starting to prepare for their fun family vacation. As a mama of four little ones, planning ahead and staying organized is a must. Below is a great checklist to do just that, allowing you to keep all your important information in one place and make sure you don’t forget a thing.

Family Vacation Checklist

I am always looking for ways to help simplify and organize my life as a mom. That’s why I began making printables for myself in 2010. Now it’s time I shared them with you.

My Little Boy’s Dream Come True…Meeting the Penguins {Wordful Wednesday}

Modern Style Mama — Wed, 23 May 2012 03:59:27 PDT

Somewhere along the way Parker established a serious LOVE for penguins. He officially has a collection of 11 penguins, both small and large, that he sleeps with every night. Below is Becko, his all time favorite penguin that literally goes where ever we go.

Last Thursday we went to the zoo for Parker’s first and last school trip in Pre-K. He is now 5 and doesn’t quite remember seeing the penguins a couple years ago when he was only 3. He was beyond excited to say the least. His entire class was so sweet and shared Parker’s enthusiasm for the countdown to see the penguins.

They ended up being our last stop. He was in heaven!

I really think he could have stayed right there it that moment forever. The two penguins stayed right near him the entire time.

They would swim by and come right back as if they really were interacting with Parker and Becko. I have to admit I did get a little choked up. To see your child was in his glory, grinning cheek to cheek.

Life can’t get much better than that!

Blackberry Merlot Wine Slushie…A Refreshing Summer Twist for Wine Lovers

Modern Style Mama — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:35:14 PDT

Cool off in the summer heat with a Blackberry Merlot Wine Slushie! They are so refreshingly fabulous!!!

If you’re not a fan of red wine * take a look below.

Ingredients:

1 bottle Merlot
1 cup pomegranate juice
1 pint blackberries (or raspberries)

Directions:

Add wine, juice or fresh fruit to blender. Blend ingredients until smooth, and freeze. The wine will prevent the mixture from becoming to solid.

Do you have an electric ice cream maker? If so you can use that and make the slushies even faster. Blend the mixture in electric ice-cream maker and process until desired slushy consistency.

Enjoy every last refreshing drop!

*Not everyone likes red wine, I know. So stop by next Monday for a Strawberry Riesling Wine Slushie!*

Simplify & Balance Modern Motherhood With the New LG Viper 4G LTE

Modern Style Mama — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:58:51 PDT

As a mom blogger and mompreneur my life is very busy. My time is very precious and valuable. Staying connected to social media and the business world while also managing my time with my family at home, can be quite challenging at times. The new LG Viper 4G LTE exceeded my expectations and I believe it’s the “Must Have” phone for busy parents. This 4G phone has so much to offer modern parents today. It will simplify your life and help you balance a lifestyle in modern motherhood.

To make life easier…

The LG Viper is:

on a 4G LTE NETWORK with 1.2 GHZ DUAL-CORE PROCESSOR. In mommy terms that just means it’s super fast!
Built on the Android Platform with Google apps syncing access to their favorite services — calendar, IMs, contacts, Google + and Gmail. I LOVE having access to all my accounts in one touch of a button!

It has…

4″ BRIGHT & CLEAR 700 NIT DISPLAY
ON-THE-GO PURCHASING WITH GOOGLE WALLET
50GB of FREE Box cloud storage that makes saving docs and files a snap (exclusive to LG devices until 7/22)
front-facing camera for video chat when you are on the go or away from your family
5MP rear-facing camera to capture images and record 1080p HD videos of your children.

Some of my favorite features of the LG Viper are:

#1 Favorite – Google Wallet

My days are busy bringing children to pre-k, running to school activites, doing errands, and working hard at home. I regularly switch back and forth between my diaper bag and purse. I always seem to have my phone in hand no matter what. Unfortunately, I either forget my wallet or I seem to spend half of my time searching through my diaper bag or purse to find it. Put all of that aside, I’m really not in love with having to carry around a big wallet to begin with. Thanks to Google Wallet I no longer have to worry.

All you have to do is tap your phone to pay with the virtual credit cards stored on your Google Wallet.

Google Wallet

Supports two specific cards:

Citi MasterCard credit cards
the Google Prepaid Card - a virtual card that you can fund with any of your existing credit cards - no Citi MasterCard required.

It is very SECURE. You are required to set up a Google Wallet PIN that has to be entered before making a purchase. The only downside to Google wallet is that you can’t link every card you own yet but until then you can use the above Google Prepaid Card. Eventually they plan to except all the payment cards.

Offers automatically sync to your Google Wallet, and it can store rewards cards from participating merchants.

#2 Favorite – Life’s Good Fairytale App

The boys and I read storybooks every night before bed. One of their favorite books is the one that their Nana recorded her voice reading it to them. The LIFE’S GOOD FAIRYTALE APP has brought story time to a whole new level.

As LG states “With technology comes a new way to parent at 4G speed” with the LG Viper.

The app was simple to download from Google Play and easy to install. From there you get to customize your bedtimes stories with your own photos, your favorite things, and even your very own voice. I can’t tell you how much fun the boys and I had creating our own unique story. It simply brings a whole new way of interaction between you and your children at story time. You can even save your favorite stories to the cloud and share your fun experience on your social networking sites.

How can you get the LIFE’S GOOD FAIRYTALE APP?

Currently there are 2 ways:

Viper Owners: Get Life’s Good Fairytale’s app from Google Play - The Life’s Good Fairytale app will be available FREE to LG Viper owners on Google Play starting on 4/27/12.
Non-Viper Owners: Can Tweet to Get the App FREE by participating in LG’s “Tweet for an App” promotion from 4/27/12 through 5/25/12.

#3 Favorite – Google Talk

Google Talk has a video and voice plug-in which allows you to have a video chat with your family while you are away from home. You can even talk with colleagues right from your phone, whether they happen to be on a compatible tablet/phone or using Gmail with Goolge Talk on their own computer. You can also make calls over a 3G/4G data network or over Wi-Fi. Now that’s fabulous!

I find it mind blowing how much technology has evolved in the last couple of decades. It seems like yesterday a child had to just use their imagination to play and read stories in paperbacks. A mother’s only options were to keep track of responsibilities on paper and hand write everything. A mother had to trust that her child would call on their home phone when asked and if they didn’t she would most likely yell out funny momisms like:

“Because I said so!”

“Just Wait Until Your Father Gets Home!”

“How Many Times Do I Have To Tell You!”

“If everyone jumped of a cliff, would you do it to?”

In the modern world today everything seems to revolved around technology. So why not get a head start balancing life with a LG Viper 4G LTE. I’ve only had it for a short time and now I can’t live without it.

“The LG Viper 4G LTE enables you to manage your work and social life,

but helps you be a great parent in the process.

“It’s time to parent at 4G speed”. LG

Disclosure: “I have been compensated for this post. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own, as I would never write about a product I didn’t support and love.”

I am More Than “Mom Enough” Today and Everyday

Modern Style Mama — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:22:37 PDT

The newest TIME magazine cover frustrates me. It was so distastefully done. That is not how a mother would hold a breastfeeding child, whether he was a baby or a toddler. And the words “Are You Mom Enough?” are so far beyond uncalled for it’s rediculous. It by no means supported breastfeeding, bottle feeding, attachment parenting, or any other parenting style. In my opinion it created a more negative outlook on extended breastfeeding. This cover was created for one specific reason: to create controversy, in turn increases revenue. Shame on them. This is exactly why I have a love hate relationship with the media. The media can create so much good but in the end many times it exploits people and creates more controversy than is needed. As if our society needs more. It’s disheartening and really needs to change.

Once again someone, possibly not even a parent themselves, is creating controversy between mothers. It’s very unfortunate, really. I thought our society was changing. I have talked about this issue so many times, hoping one day we could actually unite instead of forming judgments against each other. This is just fueling the fire. There is no wrong or right parenting style, as long as a child is safe & thriving. No one should or really can for that matter, compare their lifestyle to another person’s. Every mother is different, every child is different. Every family has different beliefs and circumstances.
I didn’t breastfeed my first two children. To be completely honest, it didn’t interest me and I was uncomfortable with it. I did breastfeed my last two children with every ounce of my being. I tried every tip and trick from breastfeeding gurus. Due to medical issues and waiting to long to start with my third and prematurity with my fourth, I was only able to breastfeed/pump for 8 weeks. I know it was the best decision for me and my babies to stop. But in the moment I didn’t feel that way. I felt defeated, incompetent, and emotionally/physically drained. All partially due to the pressures that “breastfeeding is best.”

I have used baby carriers for outings and when needed for the best interest of my child and my sanity. I actually held my fourth child as he slept for 6 months due to medical issues and my own fears. I choose to NOT have my children in bed with me unless they are sick and I have also let all of my children “cry it out” at some point between the age of 6 months to a year. Am I better or worse than a mother who wholeheartedly chose attachment parenting…absolutely NOT. I support every mothers decision to do what is best for her child and family, as long as their child/children are safe and thriving. I pose no judgments, whether it is something I choose to do or not. Attachment parenting is not for me but I support every mother who it’s working for.

I have been torn apart for my parenting decision to let my children “cry it out”. I have been told I am a terrible mother and my children should be taken from me. My children are happy, healthy, thriving, smart little individuals, who are very much loved. My children are just as smart & healthy (mentally & physically) as those I know who have breastfeed for one plus years. I do believe that attachment parenting should be recognized as a parenting choice and it should not be harshly criticized either.We need to support each other. Instead many mothers are divided because women take their choices to the extreme and believe their way has to be the best way. We should be celebrating all we have accomplished. Not tearing each other apart. Not making each other question if we are doing it right simply because someone is doing it differently. What is anyone learning? What is the positive anyone gaining in that?

We all have so many things in common. At the end of the day we all have the same overall goal in mind. We want to make the best choices we can for our family at any given time. Putting forth every ounce of our being to give our children everything they need to thrive. Every mother in this world who does just that, regardless of there choice in parenting, is more that “Mom Enough!”

We need to Unite, fight back, and say

We all are More Than “Mom Enough,” Today and Everyday!

A Funny Keepsake…One of My Best Moments As A Mother

Modern Style Mama — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:49:28 PDT

A Little Toddler Swag…Cha Cha Booty Slide

This video was taken in April of 2008. I completely forgot all about it until recently. I was in the middle of clearing out our hard drive and there it was on my husband’s desktop. CJ loved doing the Cha Cha Slide. With a little help from mommy, he followed pretty well for a 3 year old.

I remember recording it for daddy to see, as he was at work at the time. I did encourage the booty shake a bit, didn’t I?! Seriously though, how could you not! If only you could have seen him watching himself now, four years later. The poor kid thought it was funny but was a little embarrassed.

Laughter is the very best medicine. This will forever be a funny keepsake as one of my Best Moments as a mother. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

A little inspiration quote for all the mamas trying to balance a lifestyle in modern motherhood with me.

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Cauliflower “Mock” Mashed Potatoes…Healthy Recipe Makeover

Modern Style Mama — Sun, 06 May 2012 03:38:28 PDT

My mother made these just the other day and they were so delicious! This has to be on your “must try” list of recipes.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yields 4 (1-cup) servings

Ingredients
1 cauliflower head, cut into florets
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 to 3/4 cup lower-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup Fat- free cream cheese (can also use light but adds Cal/fat)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Directions:
Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.
Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Add cauliflower to boiling water and cook for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain well but do not let cool. Pat cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels.
In food processor, place cauliflower, garlic, chicken broth (see note below), cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Just before serving, stir in chives. Serve warm.

Note: Slowly add chicken broth 1/4 cup at a time until desired thickness.

Nutritional Value:
Per serving: 80 calories, 1 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 8 g protein, 12 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 183 mg sodium

Staying Sane In The Crazy World We Call Motherhood #vlogmom

Modern Style Mama — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:22:40 PDT

This week’s vlogmom topic is from Desiree at Stress Free Baby (@stressfreebaby). She asks…

“What’s your therapy–What keeps you sane?”

In this crazy world we call Motherhood, What keeps you sane?

Are you interested in joining VlogMom? Stop by VlogMom.com today.

5 Things You Don’t Want In A Sunscreen & Top 5 Best Sunscreens For Kids

Modern Style Mama — Wed, 02 May 2012 05:56:32 PDT

Is Your Sunscreen Safe? That is a very important question to ask yourself as summer is quickly approaching. The use of sunscreen is strongly recommended by all pediatrician as a preventative measure for sun damage and skin cancer. There are many different SPF’s you can buy ranging anywhere from 15+ to 75+. I always thought the higher the SPF the better the protection it would have. Well, I recently learned I was completely wrong.

In my quest to begin using both greener and safer products for my family I found a company called EWG (Environmental Working Group.)

Their research exposes threats to your health and the environment, and finds solutions. EWG’s main focus is to provide useful resources to consumers while also pushing for policy changes nationally. Their database, EWG’s SKIN DEEP Cosmetic Database, provides you with safety ratings and ingredients of a wide range of products (sunscreen, makeup, skincare, hair, eyecare, nail, fragrance, oral care, and baby products) on today’s market. It gives you practical solutions to protect yourself and your family from everyday exposures to chemicals.

EWG has a Skin Deep Sunscreen Guide that gives you a list of the very best and worst sunscreens on the market.

It is based on a scale of:

0-3 Low Toxin Hazard

3-6 Moderate Toxin Hazard

7-10 High Toxin Hazard

During my research I found there are 5 Things to look for that You DON’T Want in a Sunscreen:

oxybenzone - One of the biggest culprits to making the sunscreens more of a toxin hazard. The overall concerns with this ingredient is developmental/reproductive toxicity, Endocrine disruption, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Enhanced skin absorption, Biochemical or cellular level changes.
Vitamin A - The sunscreen industry often adds vitamin A to its products because it is an anti-oxidant that slows skin aging. That may be true for lotions and night creams used indoors, but the FDA study of vitamin A’s photocarcinogenic properties raises the possibility that it results in cancerous tumors when used on skin exposed to sunlight. Scientists have known for some time that vitamin A can spur excess skin growth (hyperplasia), and that in sunlight it can form free radicals that damage DNA. It may also speed the development of skin tumors and lesions. This finding is quite troubling because the sunscreen production companies adds vitamin A to about 30 percent of all sunscreens.
benzophenone-3, homosalate, or octyl-methoxycinnamate - These ingredients not only behave like estrogen and are known to disrupt users’ endocrine systems, they are more readily absorbed through the skin.
Sunscreen that have high SPFs (50+) - Anything higher than SPF 50 may tempt people to stay in the sun too long, suppressing sunburns (a late, key warning of overexposure) while upping the risks of other kinds of skin damage.
Sprays or powders. They have a greater potential to through cuts or inhalation. Choose cream based products instead. Make sure to reapply them often, because sunscreen chemicals break apart in the sun, wash off in pools and rub off on towels and clothing.

I decided to look inside my own cabinet to see what sunscreens I have for my own children. I was both happy and quite disappointed with what I found.

Coppertone

Water Babies - Rank 5
Pure & Simple water Babies - Rank 3
Pure & Simple Kids - Rank 3

Blue Lizard

Sport - Rank 4
Australian Suncream, Sensitive Skin - Rank 2

Aveeno

Baby Natural Protection Mineral Block Face Stick, SPF 50 - Rank 1

I obviously made a BIG MISTAKE recently purchasing:

Neutrogena

Pure & Free baby - RANK 7
Wet skin kids - RANK 7

The Top 5 Best Sunscreens (0-3 Low Toxin Hazard) For Kids are:

Aveeno

Baby Natural Protection Mineral Block Face Stick, SPF 50 RANK 1

BabyGanics

Cover Up Baby Sunscreen for Face & Body, Fragrance Free, SPF 50+ RANK 2

Cover Up Baby Sunscreen Stick, Fragrance Free, SPF 50 RANK 2

Badger

Sunscreen, Unscented, SPF 30+ RANK 1

Baby Sunscreen, SPF 30+ RANK 1

Sunscreen, Lightly Scented Lavender, SPF 30+   RANK 1
Sunscreen Face Stick, Unscented, SPF 30+   RANK 1
Sunscreen, Lightly Scented Lavender, SPF 15  RANK 2

Blue Lizard

Australian Suncream, Sensitive, SPF 30+ - RANK 2

Baby Australian Suncream, SPF 30+ RANK 2

Trukid

New Sunny Days Mineral All Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+ RANK 1

TruKid Sunny Days Water Resistant Unscent Mineral Face & Body Stick, SPF 35+ RANK 1

TruKid Sunny Days Water Resistant Unscented mineral Sunscreen, SPF 30+ RANK 1

TruKid Sunny Days Sport Water Resistant Sunscreen, SPF 30+ RANK 1

TruKid Sunny Days SPORT Unscented, Water Resistant Stick, SPF 35+ RANK 1

Sunny Days Unscented Water Resistant Sunscreen Stick, SPF 35+ - RANK 2

So there you have it. The best and some of the worst sunscreens on the market for kids. I hope you will stop and take a look into your own medicine cabinets. It’s not just about staying protected for the sun. We need to make sure the products we are using has the overall health and safety of our family in mind. For the complete list go to Skin Deep Sunscreen Guide & Check out these great Sun Safety Tips!

Modern Style Mama

From Buffalo Turkey Burgers To Teacher Gift Ideas…Project C.S.I.’s Weekly Inspirations

Finding Fabulous Ideas & Tips To Inspire Your Creativity!

Healthy Recipes

Homemade Fun

Adorable Children’s Party Ideas

Teacher Gift ideas:

Summer Hair:

Nursery ideas:

Related Posts:

Vacation Checklist Printable

Family Vacation Checklist

I am always looking for ways to help simplify and organize my life as a mom. That’s why I began making printables for myself in 2010. Now it’s time I shared them with you.

Related Posts:

My Little Boy’s Dream Come True…Meeting the Penguins {Wordful Wednesday}

Life can’t get much better than that!

Related Posts:

Blackberry Merlot Wine Slushie…A Refreshing Summer Twist for Wine Lovers

If you’re not a fan of red wine * take a look below.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Enjoy every last refreshing drop!

Related Posts:

Simplify & Balance Modern Motherhood With the New LG Viper 4G LTE

To make life easier…

#1 Favorite – Google Wallet

#2 Favorite – Life’s Good Fairytale App

#3 Favorite – Google Talk

“The LG Viper 4G LTE enables you to manage your work and social life,

but helps you be a great parent in the process.

“It’s time to parent at 4G speed”. LG

Related Posts:

I am More Than “Mom Enough” Today and Everyday

We all are More Than “Mom Enough,” Today and Everyday!

Related Posts:

A Funny Keepsake…One of My Best Moments As A Mother

A Little Toddler Swag…Cha Cha Booty Slide

Related Posts:

Cauliflower “Mock” Mashed Potatoes…Healthy Recipe Makeover

Related Posts:

Staying Sane In The Crazy World We Call Motherhood #vlogmom

Related Posts:

5 Things You Don’t Want In A Sunscreen & Top 5 Best Sunscreens For Kids

The Top 5 Best Sunscreens (0-3 Low Toxin Hazard) For Kids are:

Related Posts: