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How to Host a Tiger Style National Championship Party!

Posted on by Angie

We never would have dreamed that we would have the opportunity to run this article two years in a row but lo and behold, our Auburn Tigers are giving us a reason to throw a party! We know a lot of people heading to Glendale but for many of us it’s just not in the cards, so we’ll have to make do with these great ideas and throw one heck of a party of our own without breaking the bank… Kids included!

  • Use Evite!
  • Head to the dollar store for orange and blue paper products
  • Purchase some poster board and make a banner to hang at your front door or cut it out in the shape of a football, paint and place on your door!
  • Grab 6-10 balloons (dollar store, grocery store, party store) and place them at the entrance
  • Provide the main course and a few dips & chips, popcorn…, then ask guests to bring a side dish or appetizer.  If appropriate, have it BYOB.  For recipes – check out a wide assortment of food over at Mommadrool’s Blog or check this out!  And don’t forget to dig through those coupons to snag a deal on what you do need to buy!
  • Temporarily move another household TV into the kitchen as this is always a gathering place

For the Kids:

  • Make sugar cookies in the shape of footballs and set up an area to allow the children at the party to decorate
  • Set up an adult free zone and have an area that’s just for the kids, if old enough give them an arsenal of movies they can put in on their own… or set up a movie theater let them have popcorn and candy…
  • if you don’t own one, ask to borrow a pack-n-play to put in a quiet room away from the party – should any small guests need a break.
  • Dig through your craft bin and find some kid-friendly crafts to keep those little hands busy – even spare coloring books can buy you enough time to watch that final touchdown!

Got more ideas?  Please share them!

War Eagle!

BBVA Compass Bowl In Birmingham

Posted on by Angie

College football is winding down, and bowl season is almost over. Fret not! You still have a chance to get in on the action with this weekends BBVA Compass bowl at Legion Field. This Saturday, January 8th, Pittsburgh will take on Kentucky, so you’ll have a chance to pull for an SEC team! Go Wildcats!

There will be a lot of festivities to kick off the bowl game starting with a family friendly street fest on Friday in our 5 points south historic district.

ESPN & BBVA Compass welcome football fans to Birmingham Alabama and invite you to join them for the BBVA Compass Bowl Street Festival & Pep Rally.. The Street Fest & Pep Rally features live music on the Miller Lite Stage, great food, shopping & a Kids Zone for the whole family.

Pep Rally to feature players, coaches, cheerleaders, mascots & marching bands from each school.

All local restaurants & bars will be open before, during and after the street festival.

2:00pm – 5:00pm Live Music by Groove Daddy
5:00pm – 6:00pm Pep Rally
6:00pm – 8:00pm Live Music by Josh Tompson

To purchase your tickets to the game visit their site

Resolutions that all Birmingham-ians Should Make

Posted on by Angie

Whether you’re a fan of resolutions of not we came up with a list of a few things you need to do if you live in Birmingham. Make it a point this year to get out and explore what Birmingham has to offer, you might be surprised at what you find!

1. Visit Railroad Park. We can’t toot this horn enough, it’s a great place for a picnic, a leisurely stroll, a workout or just having fun with your family.

2. Take a hike! With parks like Oak Mountain, Moss Rock and Ruffner Mountain Nature Center in your own back yard you can enjoy over 10,000 acres of nature at it’s finest.

3. Buy Local. Sure the big box retailers may have better pricing on some things but what are they costing our community in the long run? Let’s help support the Mom and Pop shops in our own neighborhood.

4. Attend at least one Birmingham based festival or event. We have so many to choose from each year. “Paint the Town Red” “Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival” “Birmingham Artwalk” “Birmingham Arts and Music Festival (BAAM Fest)” and “Birmingham Restaurant Week” to name a few. No Excuses to not try these out, unless you just don’t like to have fun!

5. Jazz it up! One of the things we love to do during the summer is “Jazz on the Porch” at the historic Rucker Place. This makes a great date night, so plan ahead and get a sitter so you can go and enjoy a beautiful city view on their large wrap around porches with some great music, wine and tapas!

6. Take in a show at the historic Alabama Theater. They have lots of concerts and movies going on throughout the year. In the summer they have a children’s matinee each weekend so take them out and let them enjoy the magic of a theater that maybe their grandparents used to visit when they were young.

7. Share BirminghamMommy.com with your friends! It’s gift that will keep on giving! :o)

Our list really could go on and on but then we might be running you into 2012. If you are new to the city or have lived here all of your life and haven’t done the things we have listed, give at least one of them a try, we dare you!

Birmingham Events Calendar – January 3rd – January 9th

Posted on by Angie

We’re Back! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday break and a very happy new year! It’s time to get back into our regular routines and that means our calendar will be filling up again with things going on around town! So get those big kids back in school and hit the town with some of these local activities!

Be sure to check this page often throughout the week as it’s constantly updated! We hope you have a fantastic week!

It’s Not Our Fault if Your Kids are Bored!

Monday January 3rd

Storytime – Ruffner Mountain Nature Center
Is your child a budding naturalist? Bring them to Storytime to encourage their excitement about the outdoors. We will read a story with a nature theme. Following the story, there will be a short activity. Suited for children 3 – 5. All children must be accompanied by an adult during the program.
$3/ $2 (member)

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Tuesday January 4th

10 Cent Cookie Tuesday – Whole Foods
Barring any cookie monster attacks we’ll have our silver dollar-size chocolate chip cookies, baked fresh in the Bakery, for just 10 cents each. Buy a whole bushel and freeze them for later! While supplies last

Lego Mini Build – Riverchase Galleria
Lego Polar Bear – One free per child. Event is open to children ages 6 to 14 only. Begins at 5:00pm until supplies last

Together Time – Emmet O’Neal Library
Action-packed storytime with Ms. NayNay.
All ages. 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Storytime – Homewood Library
Join us for the fun of it!  All ages welcome.
10:30am

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Wednesday January 5th

Wonderful Wednesday Storytime – Barnes and Noble Summit
Please join us as we read Owl Moon. This is a wonderful story by Jane Yolen.
11:oo am

Family Story Time with Mr Mac – North Shelby Library
Storyteller Extraordinaire – Come join Mr Mac and his musical storytime complete with puppets! All Ages, no registration required.
10:45am

Storytime – Homewood Library
Join us for the fun of it!  All ages welcome.
10:30am
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Thursday January 6th

PJ Storytime – North Shelby Library
“Janubeary Tales”
7pm
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Friday January 7th

BBVA Compass Bowl Street Festival – 5 Points South Historic District
ESPN & BBVA Compass welcome football fans to Birmingham Alabama and invite you to join them for the BBVA Compass Bowl Street Festival & Pep Rally in historic Five Points South. The Street Fest & Pep Rally features live music on the Miller Lite Stage, great food, shopping & a Kids Zone for the whole family.

Pep Rally to feature players, coaches, cheerleaders, mascots & marching bands from each school.

All local restaurants & bars will be open before, during and after the street festival.

2:00pm – 5:00pm Live Music by Groove Daddy
5:00pm – 6:00pm Pep Rally
6:00pm – 8:00pm Live Music by Josh Tompson

For more info, visit www.bbvacompassbowl.com

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Saturday January 8th

Elvis’s Birthday Bash – Chuy’s
Elvis Giveaway’s, Free Twinkies and Cool T-Shirts
All Day!

BBVA Compass Bowl – Legion Field
Kentucky VS Pittsburgh
For more info, visit www.bbvacompassbowl.com
11:00 am

Super Saturday Storytime – Barnes and Noble Summit
Please join us as we read Ten on the Sled! Join ten adventurous friends as they speed down a snowy slope.
11:00am

Barts Art Cart, Spin Your Own Work of Art – Birmingham Museum of Art
Take inspiration from the Museum’s current exhibition, Spiral: Perspectives on an African-American Art Collective, and come spin your own work of art!
11:00am – 1:00pm

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Sunday January 9th

Barts Art Cart, Spin Your Own Work of Art – Birmingham Museum of Art
Take inspiration from the Museum’s current exhibition, Spiral: Perspectives on an African-American Art Collective, and come spin your own work of art!
1pm – 3pm

Scholastic Chess Club at Books-A-Million Brookwood Village
In our upstairs Kids Nook.  Beginners are welcome, lessons
available, K-12, other mind sport activities are available such as
checkers and GO.  Free to attend!
2PM – 5PM

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Open Daily

McWane Science Center

Itty Bitty Magic City –
The Itty Bitty Magic City will be on display this summer in addition to The Adventures of Mr. Potato Head exhibit. The Itty Bitty City is a little bit smaller than usual, but favorite areas including the grocery store, Tot Spot area, crane, and factory are still in the city. The Itty Bitty Golf Course and a few other items were removed temporarily to make room for the new exhibit “The Adventures of Mr. Potato Head” that is also designed for an early childhood audience and they will return in the Fall.

NatureScope –  Explore the great outdoors from inside the museum. McWane Science Center and the Birmingham Audubon Society are partnering to create a new exhibit called NatureScope. Explore the science of the birds and the bugs in this new area! Get up close and personal with some resident creepy crawlies! Learn what role insects play in our ecosystem with the decomposition chamber. Meet large bugs including emperor scorpions, a tarantula, and even a giant African millipede!

Animalopolis at the IMAX – ANIMALOPOLIS will take you on a voyage into the magical world of animals. A bit fanciful, a bit “Seussian” perhaps, a place of good natured humor, beauty and just plain fun for kids and their parents.

Birmingham Zoo

Lorikeet Aviary – Our Lorikeet Aviary has more birds than ever! Zoo guests can feed these exotic birds every day. You and your family will see these birds’ behavior as they eat nectar out of your hand.
Weekends 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

PELICAN FEEDING – A great way to see our pelicans in action is to witness them eating their favorite treats near the pelican boardwalk.

RHINO ENCOUNTER – Embark on an African adventure and experience one of the world’s most extraordinary animals, the Southern White Rhino. Watch from only feet away as our zookeepers engage in hands-on interaction with the animals inside their African-themed exhibit. Don’t miss this exciting encounter with one of the largest mammals on the planet!
Weekdays: 3pm – 3:30pm
Weekends: 11:30am – Noon & 3pm – 3:30 pm

GIRAFFE FEEDING – This up close and personal animal encounter is a memory you and your family will have for a lifetime.
Weekday: 11am – Noon
Weekends: 10am – 11am  & 2pm – 3pm

Southern Museum of Flight

Earn Your Wings – Bring your little pilot and soar above the clouds in our little pilots room. Kids enjoy building aircrafts, flying kites, and more.
Museum Open Tuesday – Thursday
9:30am – 4:30pm

Do you have or know of an event you would like to have added to our weekly calendar? Please email us at contact@birminghammommy.com, subject line “Events Calendar” – We would love to hear from you!

Welcome 2011, Let's Make It A Great Year!

Posted on by Angie

Happy New Year!!

We just wanted to take a moment to say a TREMENDOUS thank you to all of you! Thank you for making us a part of your day and a part of your life.

We have had a wonderful year at BirminghamMommy.com. We’ve enjoyed the many events we’ve hosted and participated in that gave us the opportunity to meet so many of you in person. We have so many ideas and plans for the New Year that we can’t wait to get started!

To all of our readers, our advertisers, our friends, fans, contributors, and family, thank you for your support! We hope that 2011 is a wonderful year for you and yours!

XOXO!

Trish and Angie

Start the new year organized: Haul Couture bag giveaway!

Posted on by Angie

These are the hottest bags of the season, and for good reason.  They are so multifunctional and stylish, we all need one.  Haul Couture bags are sturdy with insulated construction.   They can haul anything from:
Groceries (an entire buggy!) to Game Day Tailgate Dinners
Pizza Pies to Pajamas for an “Overnighter with the girls”
Fabric Swatches to Flower Arrangements
Soccer Game Gear to Sunday School Potluck Dinner…and everything in between!
(It also fits perfectly in the overhead compartment of your favorite airline!)

Oh, and did we mention that it looks absolutely Fabulous?

With more than forty fabrics in the first collection, you can select a bag that reflects your own personal style. Many of our bags are made from hand woven fabrics with great attention given to detail, thus making every bag unique.

The bag up for grabs is the “Samford Hall,” valued at $119.

To enter:
1.  Comment here and tell us how this bag will make 2011 better organized for you. (1 per person)
2.  Browse the Haul Couture website and comment here your favorite style. (1 per person)
3.  Like Haul Couture on Facebook and comment here that you did so.  (1 per person)
4.  Send a friend!  Have a friend comment that you sent them and you both get entries!  (unlimited)

Giveaway will end Wednesday January 5, 2011 at 6pm… Winner will be notified via email and Facebook. It will be the winner’s responsibility to contact us so we can make arrangements for them to claim the prize.

52 New Things. The Wrap Up.

Posted on by Angie

I know it’s cliche’ to say “How time flies” and “Where did this year go” but I just have to say, I cannot believe that we have come to the end of this project that we started 1 whole year ago!

I don’t know what I expected when we started it, I think I was hoping that my life was a little more exciting than new chapsticks and failed recipes but alas, it’s not, this is my life. No sky diving, bungee jumping or tattoos.

What this project taught me is that it doesn’t always have to be something big and grand to get me excited, sometimes it’s just the simplicity of a new broom, mop or hair product that makes me happy.  Whoever said “It’s the little things in life…” couldn’t have been more right.

Without further ado… Our final New Thing for 2010!

Angie:

I unplugged. Something I never do, but over the holidays I almost completely unplugged from my normal world of internet and social media. I put my computer away on Christmas Eve and didn’t get it out again for 3 days. I had my phone (addiction) so I checked things periodically until it died but I didn’t bother to charge it again until the next day. It may not seem “unplugged” to a lot of people but for me it was a huge step, and it felt good to be disconnected in that way for a while.

Trish –

My new thing this week is after Christmas shopping. I avoid high traffic shopping at all costs, but my decorations are raggedy and in dire need of replacement.

We hope you found time to try some new things over this past year, if you did, we would love to hear the best, most favorite thing you did or tried!

Save Now, Ease Stress Later

Posted on by Angie

The holidays are over, our houses are full and our wallets are empty. We came up with a few little things you can do starting now that will help ease the financial burden that can come with the holiday season in 2011. If you start some of these ASAP, you will notice a huge difference in 12 months.

1. Shop now for next year. If your ornaments and decorations are looking a little ragged, now is the time to stock up with most stores offering discounts of at least 50%

2. Wrapping paper is also on sale but something we did this year was homemade wrapping paper. Kraft paper rolls are a staple in my house, like bread and peanut butter.  My girls love to color and when the weather is cold or rainy we roll out a long sheet and go to town, when we finish one side we flip it over and start again. The finished product is of course beautiful, but HUGE. If I could save and display everything I would but who has the space? Throwing out these sheets seemed like a waste, so we started saving them and used them as wrapping paper for our Christmas Gifts. It’s a personal touch, it saves money and is a great way to recycle.

3. Have you heard of Swagbucks yet? It’s a toolbar you install and use for searching, and you earn “swagbucks” that you can cash in for gifts. I started saving mine, (kind of late in the game) but by the time I was ready to shop for Christmas, I had $30 in Amazon Gifts cards, for doing nothing but using their toolbar and occasionally snagging a code they put on their blog, Facebook or Twitter.

I decided to get an early start for next year and have $5 already. Think about letting that ecru for 12 months, I’m shooting for $100+ this year. There are several ways to earn them so it’s definitely something to check out.

4. A lot of banks have a Christmas Club. By becoming a member of this club, your bank will transfer a desired amount out of your checking account into a Christmas Fund Account. Then around October to November most banks will either send you a check in the mail for this amount or they will deposit the amount that you saved into your checking account. $25 a month you probably won’t miss, but it could be a nice little “one lump sum” to get you started next year.

5. Ebay/Craigslist/Yard Sale/Consignment –  With all of the new items that have entered your house this holiday season it’s probably time to clean out some of the old forgotten or outgrown items. Start selling those off and saving the money in a special account or jar. This will only require will power to not spend that cash as soon as it hits your hot little hand.

Are you saving now for next year? What tips do you practice throughout the year to help ease the stress when the holidays hit?

Medical Minute: Infertility

Posted on by Angie

I think we all know someone who has battled infertility.  It is especially hard if you don’t understand the causes.  Even if you haven’t personally dealt with infertility, your friends who have will appreciate you having some background knowledge.

Infertility means a couple has not been able to get pregnant after one year of trying.  It also may refer to situations when a woman is 35 or older and has not been able to get pregnant after six months or if she has not been able to carry a pregnancy to term. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 10 percent, or 6.1 million women, in the United States between the ages of 15 and 44 have problems getting or staying pregnant. But infertility is not just a problem for women. Men can be infertile too. About one-third of infertility problems can be traced to the woman, about one-third to the man, and the rest of the time it is because of either both partners or for no known reason.

There are many reasons why a couple may be infertile. In women, the most common causes include damage or blockage to the fallopian tube (which transports the egg from the ovary to the uterus), endometriosis (when cells lining the uterus grow in other areas of the body), ovulation disorders, elevated prolactin, polycystic ovary syndrome, early menopause, benign uterine fibroids and pelvic adhesions.

Causes of male infertility are commonly associated with problems with the sperm, including impaired shape and movement of sperm, low concentrations of sperm, varicocele (varicose vein in the scrotum), undescended testicle, testosterone deficiency, infections, or genetic defects. Men also may experience problems with the delivery of sperm, such as retrograde ejaculation (semen goes into the bladder), not having any semen, blockage of the ejaculatory ducts, misplaced urinary opening or anti-sperm antibodies.

Both men and women have many of the same risk factors that can contribute to infertility, including age, stress, tobacco smoking, alcohol or drug use, certain medications, environmental toxins, and genetic conditions. Physicians first will check a man’s sperm while a woman is tested to see if her ovaries are working properly. Both partners will undergo a general physical examination and review of their medical histories, including illnesses, medications and sexual habits. Treatment will depend on the cause, time infertile, age of the couple and their personal preferences.

While some causes of infertility cannot be corrected, a woman may still be able to become pregnant by taking fertility drugs to regulate or induce ovulation. Surgery also may be an option if there are blockages or other problems in the fallopian tubes. For men, surgery, hormones, or sometimes assisted reproductive technology (ART) could correct a lack of sperm. The most common form of ART is in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF involves retrieving mature eggs from the woman, fertilizing them with sperm in a dish in a laboratory, and then implanting the embryos in the uterus.

Dealing with infertility can be stressful and time-consuming. Fortunately, there are many safe and effective ways to overcome infertility and approximately two-thirds of couples go on have babies. For more information about infertility, talk with your doctor or visit the American Society for Reproductive Medicine website at www.asrm.org.

Droolicious Cuisine at BirminghamMommy.com: Sunset Punch

Posted on by Angie

You can’t celebrate New Years without champagne so we thought we would consult with Momma Drool for a recipe that’s a little different than drinking it straight up! Happy New Years!!

Sunset Punch

Ingredients:
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 large limes)
9 lime slices
1 (11.5-ounce) can apricot nectar
24 ounces champagne

Directions:
1) Combine first five ingredients in a large pitcher. Cover and chill.
2) Add champagne immediately before serving.

You can find many more droolicious recipes over at her site, “2 Little Chicks”

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