DC Metro Moms

Top 100 Finger Foods and Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel - A SV Moms Group Book Club

One of the things us parents must do on a daily basis - whether you find it a joy or an annoyance - is to feed our kids. For babies just starting out in the food world beyond milk, it is just the beginning. As our kids get older, there can be the classic toddler picky eater syndrome and the excitement when we discover something they like. Join us today as we discuss the books Top 100 Baby Purees and Top 100 Finger Foods by Annabel Karmel. 

Special thanks to Elizabeth from Los Angeles Moms Blog, who sourced this book club for us, following her lunch date last summer with Annabel Karmel.

• Eunice from Random Walk Down Mommy Street says it's all in a day's work
• Sophia Leto from Moody Mommy reviews Annabel Karmel's books from an organic and vegetarian perspective
  
• Tiffany from Lattes And Life thinks she'll just never be that mom
• Robin from The Not-Ever-Still Life is complicating the diet
• Melanie from Tales From the Crib is baby's top chef? probably not...
• Thien-Kim from Cup of Creativi-Tea finds kid-friendly recipes from Anabel
• Linsey from Me Too You is The Cooking Mom...but only at preschool
• Jennifer M. from Ramblings of a Semi-Conscious Mastermind Mommy has a son that is picky-picky
• Elizabeth from Traded My BMW for a Minivan made Annable Karmel's Welsh "Rabbits" 
• Helen P from Milf Alert opened these books with hesitation
• Bonggamom from Finding Bonggamom finds new traditions, new dishes, new experiences
• Julie from Just Precious determines that yes, she can make baby food
• Amy from Occupation: Mommy asks what to feed baby
• Nicole from Not Just a Working Mom muses about the best laid plans
• Cristie from The Traveling Circus is sick to death of chicken nuggets and mini carrots!
• Alma from Marketing Mommy does twice the work for half the appreciation
• Grace from Formerly Gracie asks are you going to eat that?
• Stacy from Fabulous Miss S. will be kept busy for weeks with these books
• Heidi from Coast to Coast Mom is cooking her with kiddo
• Lisa H. from Hannemaniacs is a self-confessed baby food making lover and her kid eats anything finger food or not
• Maxine from The french Mommy born in California is cooking with her daughter and sometimes her friends too
• Paige from Canning with Kids has kids who were perfect victims testers
• Kristie from Real Mommy Reviews finds real yummy, real easy healthy recipes for baby and kids

Los Angeles Moms Blog is hosting the book club discussion this month. Please go here to leave a comment below to join in the discussion.

Past SV Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman
• The Mominatrix's Guide to Sex by Kristen Chase
• Coco Chanel & Igr Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh
• See Mom Run by Beth Feldman
• Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind by Phillip Done
• This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Topper
• Do One Nice Thing by Debbie Tenzer
• Birth Day by Mark Sloan, M.D.
• What Happened to the Girl I Married? by Michael Miller
• Testimony by Anita Shreve
  
• Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
  
• Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
  
• It Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
  
• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Click here to read all about the SV Moms Group Book Club.

I can see clearly now the snow has gone, but now I'm kind of a weirdo

 The snow has almost melted and the roads have been clear for more than a week. Kids are back in school and one would think all would be right with the world. "The 11 Days of Captivity" as I have come to call it took a toll on everyone.  The joke wasn't missed that the only day the kids went to school prior to The Big Snow was Groundhog Day, and the 10 days following just seemed like a really bad Bill Murray movie. Same snow, different day.  Earlier today I was talking with our neighbor and something occurred to me, our reality has shifted to include things that earlier we may have eschewed but now embrace as routine, if not totally normal.

1. Inviting your neighbor over to do their laundry since you have a generator and they don't.

2. Wearing flip flops when it is 45 degrees because you consider anything above 19 degrees a "heat wave." This goes along with letting your kids wear shorts to school because you've lost touch with reality and they are going to be successful pushing the envelope, so they do.

3. Writing a "Thank you" note to your children's school because you now fully understand and appreciate why it is your children go to a school and are not home-schooled by you.

And let me break for a moment to say when my son's 4th grade teacher emailed homework for us to print, I went to download the PDF's and wondered, "Why are they studying 5 pages about hormones?"  Homophones. It was HOMOPHONES.

Dieting While Married to a Skinny Husband

When my husband and I go out in public these days, I sometimes imagine people are reciting that nursery rhyme behind our backs, "Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean..."  Although I am the overweight one and he's the scrawny one, he's the one who has a steady diet of vending machine snacks from the office and other artery-hardening things I don't even want to think about and I'm the one gnawing on carrots like a bunny rabbit.  Yet he never gains and ounce and I seem to gain weight merely by breathing.  (Seriously, does AIR have calories?)

Although I always try to keep healthy food in our house for the entire family, I have renewed my efforts to lose weight and have tried to engage my husband in the process by explaining some of the things to look out for when we grocery shop.  Because we have two small children, grocery shopping often falls to whomever is less tired at night or doesn't have children with them at the moment we realize we have run out of milk or races out the front door faster so they can have a few moments of peace and quiet.  This means that what is in our pantry may vary greatly depending on who did the shopping.

We had a conversation about how I wanted to try to follow Dr. Oz's Rule of 5s and how we're going to focus on non-processed foods because those tend to be the ones that are worse for you.  JavaDad, being a terrific husband, went to the grocery store a few days later and planned several nights of dinner because he knew I had several tough nights of meetings ahead of me.  Yep, he told me, as he pulled out the groceries, he had it all planned out... Hamburger Helper, a taco pie kit, a Tuna Helper kit. 

Uh, Houston, we have a problem.

Turkey and Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce: Oh My

This will be my ninth year hosting Thanksgiving for a large crowd.  Ninth year.  Every year I promise myself I will not stress.  I will plan better.  I will start earlier.  I will, something.....

Ha!

This year we moved, twice, and now my son is having significant problems in preschool, and I work part-time, and all of a sudden I turn around and Thanksgiving is a week and a half away.  A week and a half away.  I have ordered a very large turkey and discovered that I have no idea where my recipe folder is.  Good times!

Look, I know the holidays are supposed to be filled with the wonderment of cinnamon and vanilla smells throughout your home and the laughter and love of family and friends.  But really, does anyone who HOSTS the holidays feel this way?  And if you do, how?  Other than Xanax and wine?

I'm not trying to complain.  It's lovely that my son has both sets of grandparents alive and that our sisters come and everyone gets to be together.  It is, and I am not trying to trivialize that.  I just don't remember the last time I ate on Thanksgiving.  Oh wait, it was 10 years ago, before I started hosting it.

Where the hell is National Harbor?

I was fairly certain National Harbor was somewhere near DC, but then something happened and I wasn't so confident.  I had planned a Pre-BlogHer gathering at a brand new gallery, arranged for a fabulous sponsor for the soiree, even arranged for a fancy schmancy caterer. I'd gone crazy in the wine store.  Everything was in place for a fabulous evening of getting to know other bloggers from DC, VA and MD.  The day of the event,  I had everything packed in my car and ready to roll. I plugged the information into my GPS and then I felt my stomach lurch. 

 Staring back at me were the words "Oxon Hill, MD."  Not being from DC, I read "Maryland" and instantly began to hyperventilate as my mind began to race, "Uh oh. Did I plan a DC, VA and MD event in Baltimore by accident. Who does that? Who plans an event accidentally in the wrong locale over an hour away?"  Thankfully, not I.

I Didn't Know My French Fries Were a Metaphor

My husband, Alex, and I were sitting in a booth at Gordon Biersch the other night when he asked if I wanted to share some garlic fries. I said no, because my sandwich was going to come with fries. Then Alex asked if he could share my fries.

Obviously I said no.

Well, what I said was that he could have a couple of them. So he got all huffy, and when the waiter came by he ordered a salad with a side of garlic fries. Then the waiter piped up with, "She won't share her fries with you, huh?" When my husband agreed, the waiter looked at me, shook his head, cast his eyes down, said, "Selfish," and wandered off.

What's Cooking - A Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Club on "Comfort Food" by Kate Jacobs

There are quite a lot of foodies among us, but we are also readers, writers, mothers, friends, colleagues...rivals, people who are searching for themselves?

Today, Silicon Valley Moms Group bloggers are enjoying our monthly book club, eating...and discussing the book Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs.

• Chicago Moms Blog's Serena leads us off with some food for the soul
• Chefdruck from Chefdruck Musings reflects on her comfort food evolutions
• Bonggamom from Finding Bonggamom was surprised by reincarnations
• Jenn from Kids and a Keyboard steps outside her comfort zone
• Robyn from Who's The Boss asks if you're passionate about your job
• MamaNeena from The Carpool Reader takes comfort in the simple things
  
• Silicon Valley Diva from Blog on the Wall talks about her (dis)comfort with some French food
• Jennifer from Connect with your Teens combines work with kids
• Melanie from Tales from the Crib is finding comfort
• Kim from Passion & Art is happy to be enjoying her Vietnamese comfort food
• Rose from It's My Life wonders if applying childhood labels translate to grown-up characteristics
• Roxane from Rox and Roll on comfort food
  
• Nicole from Not Just a Working Mom says Mmmmm.....
  
• Stacy from Laptop TV Mom says pass the cream of mushroom soup
  
• Amy from Occupation Mommy asks what's your favorite comfort food?
• Jessico from This Mom Rocks It talks about when life gives you lemons
• April from Its All About Balance does some kitchen bonding
  
• Laughing at Chaos from Never a Dull Moment thinks about her transformation
  

More posts will be put up throughout the day on our writer's personal sites, so be sure to check back to follow along.

.... and if you have a post up on YOUR personal site on this topic, please leave a comment here and we will add your link!

Past Silicon Valley Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
  
• It Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

The DC Metro Moms Un-Election Party!

This past Friday evening, DC Metro Mom Contributors gathered from all over the area and converged on Clyde's in Tysons Corner for an Un-Election Party.

5 DC Metro Mom contributors drove Chevy Traverses to pick up other DC Metro Mom bloggers for the party.  We all arrived about the same time and there was an abundance of food and drink for everyone.  Thank you to Chevy for sponsoring our party and also providing designated drivers to get everyone home!

Politics were left at the door. 

We talked and ate and drank and listened to one another.  We re-introduced ourselves to people and welcomed new contributors.  We talked about children (of course), and shopping, and everything in-between.  I even heard the word ‘uterus’ mentioned a couple of times in conversation…
yes, you have to love a mom blogger party!

I Went To Sleep Away Camp, With Wine

My husband and I spent the past weekend at a resort that offered a "Food and Wine Camp."  It was our anniversary present to each other.  We are major "foodies" and I am an amateur wine sommelier so this was right up our ally. We drank wine and learned about wine and food pairings and spent the weekend with a wine sommelier and a 4 star chef. I gained 10 pounds, easily.

The weekend was all about "wonderfully crafted herb and wine pairings, experiential hands-on cooking classes and expertly prepared and paired Chef's Table Dinners."  But for me, it was about so much more than that.

I have spent the past weeks incredibly ill, bed ridden actually.  It's been a long haul, and I was eventually diagnosed with Lyme's disease. We went back and forth about even going, but eventually decided we could probably never find another weekend where my parents could watch my son the whole weekend  when they were offering the camp and decided just to do it.  if I needed to skip out on one of the activities and sleep, I would.

Is It Really Passover if the Goyum Mom Makes Dinner?

"Momma, what's je-filt fish?"

"That's gefilte fish.  Um, well, it's sort of like fish meatloaf."

"Can we have some?  And what's a SEE-der plate?"

"That's SAY-der plate.  Go ask your daddy."

My marriage and family are mixed in many ways, including religion.  Mr. PunditMom is Jewish and I am... well ... not.

We celebrate all our respective holidays in our family -- Christmas & Chanukah, Easter & Passover.  We haven't gotten around to Festivus yet, though.