If you’re a fan of Norah Jones or John Mayer this is an easy enough list to compile on you’re own, but why not let us do the work for you? Here is a playlist 
sure to soothe your little angels right into what we hope is a deep, sleep through the night, slumber.
What a Wonderful World – Lous Armstrong
Dreamland – Mary Chapin Carpenter
You can find all of these songs on itunes, imix is unavailable for this list but we hope to have it back for next month!
Thanks to all of the Moms that entered the contest for the upcoming Disney Live! Rockin Road Show coming through Birmingham. We appreciate the support and all of you who helped spread the word about this giveaway.
We received more that 150 entries and are pleased to announce our 2 winners:
Rory Jenkins and Missy from 2 Little Monkeys!!
Congratulations, you’ve both one a family 4 pack. Please email us immediately so we can get your information over to Disney as soon as possible.
Don’t forget, we have a discount code for everyone to use:
Discount Info:
Tickets $15!
Discount not available on Front Row or VIP price levels
2 Easy ways to receive the discount: Enter code MICKEY at www.ticketmaster.com or over the phone when calling 800-745-3000
Thanks again to everyone who entered, and stay tuned we have more giveaways coming soon!
Get those baskets ready and let the kids loose for these Easter Egg Hunts in and around the Birmingham Area! This list was such a big hit last year, we decided to put one together for you again – We will continue to update this list as we learn more, if you know of a hunt that you would like to have added to our list, please email us at contact@birminghammommy.com
Albert Scott Library
10:30 a.m. Families can bring their baskets and cameras to hunt eggs and meet the Easter Bunny. This program begins in the mobile unit with a short, special story time followed by egg hunting fun on the library grounds. Children 6 years old and younger must be accompanied by an adult. Wednesday, March 31st
Tigers for Tomorrow
Untamed Mountain Egg Hunt
Sunday April 4th 1:30 – 5:00
Age appropriate hunts – ages 2 – 12
Starts at 2:00pm (Registration at 1:30pm)
Over 2000 Eggs! GO FOR THE GOLD! Money and Gift Eggs! Lots of Candy!
Location: 710 County Road 345, Attalla, AL 35954
Contact: Call (256) 524-4150 for more information Admission is $12.50 for adults, $7.50 for Kids! (Admission includes free visit to the Wild Animal Park)
Second annual night time Easter Egg Hunt. See all the “little ones” with their flashlights scurrying throughout the field. This event will be held behind the tennis courts on Moncrief Road. Food and prizes are included.
Sunday, April 5th
Mt Olive Road
The Great Egg Drop will take place Saturday March 27th, in the field located on Mount Olive Road about 1 1/2 miles west of I-65. There will be inflatables and free drinks and snacks while we wait on the helicopter to arrive. The eggs will be stuffed with candy and many of them with certificates for prizes from local merchants. All kids are welcome! For more information and times call 631-4525 or visit www.church2911.com.
Helena Amphitheater
Ages 0-2 at 9 am. Ages 3-5 at 9:30 am. Ages 6-8 at 10 am. They’ll have goody bags, refreshments, and an Easter Bunny so you can take pics.
Saturday March 27th
Dawson Memorial Baptist
Saturday April 4th
11:00a – 1:00p
Families will enjoy pony rides, inflatables, rides, egg hunts, crafts, puppet, and ponies!
Website
Homewood Park
The Homewood Easter Egg Hunt is for toddlers up to twelve years of age. Children will hunt for eggs with children of their on age group. There is also a section for children with special needs.
Date: Saturday April 4, 2009
Time: Hunt begins at 11am sharp. It does not take to long for all of the eggs to disappear! Moon Walk, Train Ride and Merry Go Round will be available prior to and just after the event. Live music on the stage beginning at Noon.
Aldridge Gardens
Saturday April 3, 8-10am
Ages 2-8
You must pick up a free pass from the “Egg and I” – On HWY 31, Riverchase.
Bass Pro Shops
Easter Egg Hunts
Thursday and Friday, March 27th and 28th
Saturday and Sunday, April 3rd and 4th
2pm-3pm
Leeds Memorial Park – Walking Track
Sponsored by Overton Church
Over 2000 eggs! Inflatables, Candy, Games and prizes
Saturday April 3rd, 2-4pm
Crestline
Easter is a popular children’s event in Crestline which includes a hunt for easter eggs filled with candy and prizes, followed by a spontaneous parade led by the Easter Bunny in which kids of all ages participate dressed in their Easter hats & finery and carrying their baskets. This year it will be held on the Saturday before Easter in the grassy lawn across from Emmet O’Neal Library from 1PM to 3PM. Please plan to attend and bring your baskets as well as your cameras!
Saturday April 3rd
Anne Henig Memorial Park
Community Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, April 4th 12:00pm
Asbury United Methodist Church-
Saturday, April 3rd 10:ooam
Oak Mountain State Park will hold its 3rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt. 10,000 eggs hidden, as well as other activities such as face painting, hayride, moonwalk, cake hop, sack races, and more. Some activities have an additional charge after admission into the park. There will be a separate area for the younger kids to hunt.
Saturday April 3rd, 11am
Walk Park Pavillion
Saturday March 27th –
9:30am – 1100am
People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one. ~Leo J. Burke
I have a full day, everyday; errands, laundry, chauffering – you name it – it gets done at some point. And as we sit here at the end of winter, with it’s short days, there never seems to be enough time to get it all done. Add to that the fact that by the time my husband gets home, we have dinner and get the kids bathed – it’s their bedtime. Or it should be. But that means little to no time with their father. Oh how I long for those lengthy summer days – we have plenty of time for everything, but right now, not so much.
I am however concerned with the amount of sleep my children get. It’s always been important to me. I remember reading early on about the importance of adequate sleep and it’s one of the only things that stuck with me from those infinite “how to be a parent” books I read. It mostly “stuck” because it made sense. It was from – Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weisbluth. In it, he notes:
“Sleep is the power source that keeps your mind alert and calm. Every night and at every nap, sleep recharges the brain’s battery. Sleeping well increases brainpower just as weight lifting builds stronger muscles, because sleeping well increases your attention span and allows you to be physically relaxed and mentally alert at the same time. Then you are at your personal best.”
I know how much I can drag when I don’t get enough sleep. Because children need different amounts of sleep at different ages, I can’t expect them to perform optimally if I’m not encouraging that target amount (and don’t we all want optimally performing kids ? 🙂 And let’s not even look at my performance v. sleep situation, um, k.
The following amounts are noted on WebMD as optimal targets for amount of sleep in children:
| Sleep needed: | 1-3 years old | 12-14 hours / day |
| 3-6 years old | 10-12 hours/day | |
| 7-12 years old | 10-11 hours/day | |
| 12-18 years old | 8-9 hours/day |
I can say that 14 hours for my one year old is just about what she gets. But we’ve been very lucky with her as she’s a natural sleeper. But what if you struggle to help your child sleep – as we did with my older daughter? If your young child won’t sleep, how can you make sure she’s getting what she needs?
And as children get older and they stop napping – as has my older daughter – how do you encourage good sleeping habits then? Once I get her to sleep at night, she sleeps soundly – but she doesn’t go down easy – at times she’s still up 2 hours after she’s “gone to bed”. She’s often groggy in the morning and could obviously use at least an additional hour of sleep – but unfortunately due to time constraints, we just don’t have it.
As parents, we all do the best we can. We all read the same guidelines and cross our fingers we’re doing it all right. So, I think half the battle of fighting sleep deprivation in children is just being aware of how much they need. And if we can all encourage the little darlings to nod off – that means we can all have a peaceful night too, right?
My new plan is to rearrange our nights a little. I plan on giving baths in the afternoon, thus buying us a few extra minutes with Daddy in the evening. We’ve been doing this now for 3 nights and it’s working. We’ve gotten an additional hour of playtime with Dad because we’re not spending it bathing, drying hair… So, for us, we may have solved the problem – for now, anyway.
Do you have any scheduling secrets that satisfy both your hectic schedule and your child’s need for sleep?
by Holly Syx
Have you ever looked at the clock around 4 or 5 & had a sinking feeling when you realize you don’t know what you’re feeding your family for dinner?
I have and it’s not a good feeling. At that point you either a) eat out or b) rush around at the last minute to throw a meal together = stressful situation. Option a can get expensive, and option b is not good for your (or your family’s) sanity.
Here are a few ideas that might make that time of the day go a bit smoother.
Plan your Meals at least 1 day ahead
There are some who plan a week’s worth of meals at once, or a month’s worth, or more, or less.
I say do what works for you.
At the very least just decide what you’ll have for dinner the night before. If you decide you’re having chicken & it’s frozen, then you can go ahead & take it out. Also go ahead & make a mental note of the ingredients you’ll need.
If you already know what’s for dinner you’ll be able to focus on other things without worrying about it. Money Saving Mom has some great menu planning worksheets that are free to download.
Use a Crockpot
I have 2 crockpots, and they are 2 items that I could not live without. It is so awesome to be able to throw a few things in a pot in the morning, turn it on, and serve it for supper.
Crockpots are excellent if you know you’re going to have a busy day ahead or planning to be gone away from home for the day.
Here are a few sites where you can find some great Crock Pot Meal ideas.
Pick one day a month for Bulk cooking
Bulk Cooking or Once a Month Cooking has become quite popular recently. The basic idea is that you chose 1 day during the month, and just cook like mad until you have several meals to put in your freezer. I’ve done it a few times and I love it! I enjoy cooking so it’s nice to be able to focus an entire day or 2 to it.
The great thing about bulk cooking is that you can just pull something out of the freezer, reheat or prepare it, add a side or 2, and your meal is done. Even if you can’t set aside an entire day you can still practice bulk cooking. For example, if you’re having lasagna, go ahead & cook 2, one to eat now & one to freeze. Chili or soup freezes well too so you can make a huge batch & freeze half in a freezer bag . Life as mom and Once a Month Mom are my favorite go-to resources for Freezer cooking inspiration.
Keep your pantry well-stocked
Having a well-stocked pantry is essential in making meal time easier. It can be very aggravating to plan a meal only to find out you’re missing a key ingredient. If you find something you’re running low on just add it to your list so you can pick it up next time you head to the grocery store.
Reheat Leftovers
Just a little warning, but I’m about to sound a little like a mom. There are so many starving people all over the world who would love to have a bowl of whatever it was you had for dinner yesterday. Don’t take it for granted. If you have food left over from tonight’s meal, don’t throw it away(unless it’s spoiled of course). Plan to use it for the following night. You can either reheat it as or re-purpose it. Some of the most delicious meals we’ve eaten have come from repurposed leftovers.
For Grocery deals, Coupons, Shopping, and more articles like this go check out My Blog or follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
Hey Birmingham Moms – here’s a great event we can all participate in (including the itty bitties) and help bring awareness to a problem close to everyone’s heart at the same time!
UAB will host the Shaken Baby Prevention 4K Stroll on Saturday, April 10 at the UAB Campus Green. This is a wonderful new event that is open to the entire family – but with an emphasis on the stroller babies! ” Every stroller present, every step taken and every dollar raised helps to fund shaken baby syndrome prevention.”
Honoring National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the event is being hosted to raise awareness of child abuse in our region and to raise money for prevention efforts and other resources.
The stroll is a rain or shine event.
UAB Shaken Bany Prevention 4K Stroll
1530 3rd Avenue South FOT 1231
Birmingham, AL 35294-3412
205-975-5659
Email: stroll@uab.edu
For more information, please visit the events website: UAB Shaken Baby Prevention 4K Stroll
What’s new? What’s new? 
Jamie –
I made a DELICIOUS dinner with less than 5 minutes prep time and 20 minutes bake time. My kids raved about it, I actually ate it and the husband did too – although that’s not saying much, he’s like Mikey.
Anyway, without further adieu, my:
“5 minute Pesto Pizza”
Ingredients:
Baby spinach
Pesto sauce
roasted chicken
pre-made pizza crust
mozzerrella or other cheese
(feel free to throw any other old thing you’ve got on it – I went with what was in the fridgy!)
Cover the pizza crust in pesto, add the chicken and spinach, coat with lots and lots (that’s a technical term) of your desired cheese and back for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and gooey. Yum!
Angie –
This week again was something I wasn’t really planning or wanting to do, but I did. In the midst of planning our Elmo birthday party our cupcake lady extraordinaire came down with that pesky stomach flu that has been going around and was unable to do our cupcakes. So, me losing track of time didn’t get around to ordering from anywhere else and I decided to make them myself. So what right? Cupcakes. Hmmph! Well, I’m not a cook.. I’m not a baker, not a cupcake maker… I’ve made cupcakes before, and I’ve thrown birthday parties before, but I’ve never made cupcakes for a birthday party. So I pulled myself up by the egg beaters and bought a couple of boxes of mix, I bought every single Elmo candy topper I could find and viola’ I made cupcakes for a birthday party. It’s been 3 days and there have been no reports of food poisoning.
Trish –
My new thing this week was “Simplicity Parenting.” It’s a book I’m reading that has ideas about making your childrens’ environment more simple and therefore leading to an easier learning environment. There are several steps, and my next few weeks may be each one of those! The first step is to rid your house of clutter, specifically toy clutter. It says to throw away all broken toys or toys with missing pieces, then save about 10 of the basics that get played with a lot. Things like wooden blocks, dolls, trucks, and any toy that encourages imaginative play. I have started that process, and I confess- we have too many toys.
For more New Things or if you’d like to participate in 52 new things along with BirminghamMommy and many others – please join in by posting your new thing to your blog, facebook or on twitter (use #52newthings) – Also, you can head over to www.willblogforshoes.com to link up every Thursday!
So, I’m probably not pronouncing it correctly as I say it, but that won’t stop me from savoring every droolicious bite. Mommadrool says it’s one of her favorites, and once again, she has graciously shared it with us.
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 drops sesame oil (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, grated
1/4 cup lemongrass, minced
1 tablespoon cilantro
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 sliced chicken breast or 1 cup of raw shrimp
1 cup bok choy
1 cup broccoli florets
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup bamboo shoots
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1 cup straw or button mushrooms
1 cup cut baby corn
2 cans (10 ounce) coconut milk
1/4 cup fish sauce (find it on the ethnic food aisle)
Directions:
1) In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and sesame oil over medium heat. Stir in garlic, ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, and red pepper and cook until fragrant, approximately 2 minutes.
2) Stir in shrimp (or chicken), broccoli, onion, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, mushrooms, and baby corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked through and onion is translucent.
3) Stir in bok choy and cook until it begins to wilt, approximately 5 to 10 minutes.
4) Add coconut milk and fish sauce to vegetable mixture and stir well. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes until flavors are well blended. Enjoy!
You can find many more droolicious recipes over at Mommadrools blog “2 Little Chicks”
***Contest is now closed ***
Hey Moms! Disney Live! Mickey’s Rockin’ Road show is coming to Birmingham and BirminghamMommy.com has tickets, we want to make them yours!
Hit the road with Mickey Mouse and your favorite Disney friends for a hilarious talent search in the all-new Disney Live! Mickey’s Rockin’ Road Show! Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy set out on a zany road trip where audiences join in and help find the coolest acts around. Along the way, hit a high note with Cinderella; get your bounce on with Tigger; and shout out your loudest “yee-haw” at a hoedown with Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear from Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story! Grab your family for a fun-filled getaway at this live, show-stopping adventure jam-packed with unexpected twists, turns and hijinks —right in your hometown!
Special bonus! Starting fifteen minutes before every show, sing, dance and play along at the Playhouse Disney Pre-Show Party! This interactive experience features a live host and video highlights from “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,” “Handy Manny,” “Imagination Movers,” “Special Agent Oso” and “Jungle Junction.” Free to all ticket holders.
BJCC – March 27th and 28th
We have 2 Family Four Packs up for grabs. That’s right! 2 winners will be selected at random. Here’s the rundown on the rules and how to enter.
1. Leave a comment here (One entry per day allowed)
2. Subscribe to our newsletter (come back and leave a comment that you subscribed)
3. Tweet this: @BirminghamMommy has tickets to Disney Live! Enter to win! (Come back and leave a comment that you tweeted. One entry per day allowed)
The contest will run from Monday March 15th at 8:00am – Sunday March 21st at Midnight. Late entries will not be counted. Winners will be announced on Monday March 22nd, the winners names will be submitted to Disney and will be placed on the Will Call list. You will be updated on show times via email, please make sure that we can contact you. If we cannot reach you by email or you don’t reply, tickets will be forfeited and another name will be chosen.
If you don’t win, don’t worry, we have a discount code for everyone to use:
Discount Info:
Tickets $15!
Discount not available on Front Row or VIP price levels
2 Easy ways to receive the discount: Enter code MICKEY at www.ticketmaster.com or over the phone when calling 800-745-3000.
Amanda Bosque!! Amanda, just email us at contact@birminghammommy.com and we’ll get your info!
Happy Shopping!
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