Mamma Time

The end to the birthday bash

Sonia McSweeney — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:30:51 +0000

Ah… Last year when my daughter was in 2nd grade the huge group birthday parties started to taper off, thank God! I know for a fact that the birthday we spent the most $ on was a “creative” one where we booked a place (no name mentioned) and the kids painted a t-shirt. That also happens to be the birthday that my daughter remembers least.

So – last year we splurged and took her to Lion King on Broadway. Oohhh – great tip – check out mousesavers.com for discount Disney everything including shows.

This year we are playing down even more by going out to her restaurant of choice after school gets out one day with her two closest friends.

As parents, we know the lunacy of birthday parties and what $ people spend. Let me add here that the best birthday party we had was when we brought in some animals from a nearby nature center to the house. That really was fun – kids loved it and it was definitely affordable.

That’s it for now. I see that I still have many visitors and I feel awful that I’m not as regular with this blog as I should be.

Just want to remind everyone that I also do websites (thus my soniamcsweeney.com site) as well as raw food and body image coaching (rawreconnect.com)

Thank you for stopping by!!

Mamma Sonia

First Aid Info for Parents

Sonia McSweeney — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:39:37 +0000

Lots of it…

http://firstaid.about.com/od/injuriesathome/tp/10_Parent_First_Aid_Skills.htm?nl=1

Why was I the only mom crying?

Sonia McSweeney — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:55:48 +0000

Why was it only me crying this morning as my daughter walked through the doors of the school into her kindergarten classroom for the first time? Do all of you people have no heart? Wow – she was so happy and proud. I will see that same face the day she leaves for college. Oops, am I being too dramatic??

~ mamma sonia

Raw Food and Body Image Coaching

Sonia McSweeney — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:15:44 +0000

Hi Everyone, I’ve mentioned this before but I’m going to post it again here because I have some FREE stuff I’m giving away on my Raw ReConnect site right now. A 21-Day program, some affirmation cards and a few items for sale, such as a recipe book and new program starting January 1, 2011 .The idea of the site is to learn about raw food but also to connect with your body for any reason that might have caused some sort of disconnect – illness, etc.

Talk soon!

~ Sonia

Unbelievable story

Sonia McSweeney — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:12:49 +0000

Hi Everyone – The craziest thing happened on the weekend and I’ve got to tell you all about it. We were at a pool that is really big and it was really crowded this past Sunday. They announced on the loudspeaker that there was a missing child and could everyone please leave the pool so they could find that little girl. When everyone left the pool they discovered another little girl floating on her back with no pulse. It took a good amount of CPR and a defibrillator to get her back. The lost girl was found. Can you believe that – if the one girl hadn’t been lost the other girl would not have been discovered and would have drowned. Hold on to your kids, people. I don’t let them out of my site but it only takes a second…

Yikes!

Sonia McSweeney — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:08:46 +0000

The summer is almost over?? Wow – I’ve had it so good not having to drop anyone off at school in the morning. The kids are going to bed at 10pm and lazily rising at 8 am or so. A rude awakening awaits us next week. We did end up taking vacation up in the Adirondacks earlier this month and it was great. We really relaxed. This year we spent a whole day at the horse races in Saratoga which was an absolute blast. Then, we went to a drive-in where we pulled the jeep in backwards and we laid in the back with blankets and watched Despicable Me. Good kid flick. The little one is off to kindergarten and I’ve already had my moment of tears. Why didn’t I stay home from work? I didn’t get to enjoy her as much as I could have. I want all of those days back. My husband was quick to remind me that those days would have been spent out on the street without my income – ha ha not exactly but certainly a tougher time of it. He says I’m making up my past. I’m thinking it was all rose-colored days spent lounging at the playground for the four years that I did take off when my oldest was younger. He says I forget losing my mind and crying that I wish I were at work thinking like a grown up and making $ to travel, etc. Alas, we are never satisfied with what we have. Well – $120 of school supplies later, we are off to start a new era.

Summer Fun and Vacations

Sonia McSweeney — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:12:47 +0000

Here we go… Last year was my first year at my new job and I got guess how many days off in the summer… none! So, this year I’ve squirreled away the days and have about 11 left which is pretty awesome. I’ll be checking back on family vacations. I just had one at the Adirondacks that we shared with my husband’s mother and his brother and brother’s wife and niece… It was the LAST time I’ll do that, let me tell you! I’m not the fighting kind but my sister-in-law started a fight about bed sheets before I even set down my bag. No, no, no and I am sticking to it!!

In the meantime, some good ol’ fashioned fun!

Every end is a new beginning

Sonia McSweeney — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:14:58 +0000

This time of year is full of endings – Pre-k 4 graduation, violin recital, ballet recital, end of year field day, end of second grade, end of swimming lessons, end of life as we know it!! I am having a major problem with the fact that my little one is going into kindergarten. If I can offer anyone out there a tip – if yours is entering grade 1 and up…. do some bridge exercises over the summer. Ease up into the next grade. We had a fun summer last year but it wasn’t fun when our first grader entered second grade unprepared. I take full responsibility for her sinking a few weeks before swimming. Well, we all learn by mistakes. I’m already at the point where I’m googling answers behind her back when she asks me questions – science, conversions, on and on!

**New Mamma Time News!!!
I am a Raw Food Coach!! That’s right – I became interested in raw food about two years ago. The positive shifts in energy, clarity, and weight loss were magic to me. This has been one of the most important changes I’ve made in my life and my health and it continues to be so as I venture on to sharing what I’ve learned with you all!!
Don’t be taken aback by the images of carrots and celery. There is a WORLD involved in eating raw that includes a tremendous amount of body work, delicious recipes, a wonderful, growing community and you have to live it to believe the physical effects.
New Beginnings, Right?
Check out my sites: http://rawreconnect.com/

http://soniamcsweeney.wordpress.com

Love, Mamma XOXOXOXOX

10 Secrets of an Unflappable Mom

Sonia McSweeney — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:43:36 +0000

I’m checking out Real Simple’s online article with said title…

Some things I like – Do work at home; do home at work. There are a number of things that have to get done and if you are lucky you can switch up a few. I hope my boss isn’t reading this but I do take advantage of lunch or downtime to handle a few important things – paying bills, making some calls, etc. And the flip side is that when I’m home I’ll jump online and make that pdf or answer emails from work. Of course, this is only while icarly is on and the kids don’t care what I’m doing (but I do love that show!)

BIG ONE!! BIG ONE!! Getting out the door in the morning (without anyone in tears) is the only thing you have to achieve before 8:30 a.m.

I mess this up all the time. I’ll try to get a jump on laundry or get involved in something and we all lose. I leave the house with wet hair, we are all crying b/c of the fight we’ve just had. We forget to brush our teeth. It’s a total disastrous start to the day and it happens about… every other day. Take my own advice!!

Hey, Cupcake!

Sonia McSweeney — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:52:15 +0000

According to CNN the cupcake trend once a kid staple and now a grown-up treat has morphed into a way of life. Local shop makes CNN News:

Lucky Charms cupcake
Flour & Sun Bakery, Pleasantville, New York
This suburban bakery north of New York celebrated St. Patrick’s Day this year by topping both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes in marshmallow icing and rolling them in Lucky Charms. Magically delicious!

And now this – one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen - bacon? http://www.romanblas.com/Wild_Side_Menu.html?cnn=yes