Featured Mama

Each week we will feature an amazing, marvelous mama. You will get a peek into the daily lives of other local mamas, see pics of their family and learn some fun facts. This week we feature...

Nicole Paczesny

~Age- 30 yrs
~Birthday- January 20th
~#2 profession (mommy is #1)- I went to UW LaCrosse where I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology. I was originally planning to go on and get my Master's Degree in Social Work at UW-Milwaukee, but as it got closer I wasn't sure that's what I wanted to do. From there I decided to attend massage therapy school. All through college that is what I really wanted to do so I decided to just do it! I worked as a massage therapist in a downtown Milwaukee spa for about 16 months, up until Brady was born. I had planned to go back after a few months but it's now 4 years later and I am still at home! I still hold my national license and and continue to take continuing education courses.

~Names/Ages of Kiddos- Brady Michael 4yrs on June 6th, Nathan Michael 2yrs, #3 is due January 1st, 2012!
~Favorite Nap time Pastime- Well Brady very rarely naps so I never get complete quiet but I sometimes let him watch an episode (or two!) on Disney Junior so I can have some mommy time at the computer or take a shower.
~Guilty pleasure food item- I have absolutely no self control and some of my weaknesses are Cool Ranch Doritos, ice cream and most chewy fruity candy.











~Most Challenging Hour of the day- The hour before Mike comes home from work. By that time I am just spent and ready for daddy to get home and take over while I make dinner.
~Favorite Baby/Child Product- I'd have to say the baby product we've gotten the most use out of was a crib soother. We were given one when Brady was 4 months old and he used it until he was almost 3 1/2 and Nathan has had one since birth. It gives them something to watch and listen to as they settle to sleep on their own.

~Blogs you like, follow or have- We do have a Paczesny family blog however it has been almost a year and a half since I updated it! Two blogs I follow daily are Enjoying the Small Things and Young House Love, and of course PB & J!
~Favorite local place to take kids- We love the zoo when the weather allows, Bouncy Town and are members at the Madison Children's Museum.
~Your mommy style in 3 words- Eat, Sleep, Learn. I figure if I can get my kids to do at least a little of those each day, it's a good day!

Summer Park Tour

A really good friend of mine and PB & J mama was talking about the summer and what she could do to entertain her four year old without spending a lot of money. At the time we didn't come up with much but as I was sewing that afternoon my mind was of course going faster than they machine and I got an idea. What about a summer park tour... a list of really cool parks all over the Madison area that moms could take their kids to each week. You could visit a new park each week or two in one, pack a picnic, invite others and the only cost would be gas for the car. This option is flexible for weather, works with kids of all ages and could always be combined with mommy errands.

So after my sewing time I created the "Summer Park Tour". I researched and found some awesome parks around the Madison, WI area, included their address and made a table listing out common park features. This way your kids can check off the park features when found making it a little more thought provoking and like a scavenger hunt.

At the end of summer any family who participates can turn in their Summer Park Tour table for a fantastic prize! Have fun.

Homemade Granola Bars

We've become slightly obsessed with homemade granola bars (Earth Day Bars) in our house. Most of you know I am not a cook, don't like food and for sure don't want to spend time making food. However I do like to bake and enjoy finding things my kids like to eat. A few months ago I came across this Earth Day Bars recipe, whipped it up and tried it out on the PB & J group. They were a hit with all and now they've become a weekly occurrence here.

Not only do they taste great, are pretty healthy and super easy you can get creative adding in your own ingredients. Today I added raisins and blueberry craisins. Yummy!

All About Animals

This week has been all about animals. Week #2 of themes and it is going well. I have decided to only plan three days filled with games, crafts, fun foods, books and simple spelling words. Thursdays are going to be "Nama Days" where the boys go to my moms for a few hours to play with their friends and then Fridays are PB & J Days.

Monday was farm animal day which is basically our normal around here. They played with tractors, lined up all the animals, pretended to be cows, made cotton ball sheep pictures and we took a run to visit some live cows.

Tuesday rolled around and we celebrated pet animal day. I didn't plan much for this day as we get together with friends every Tuesday but we made puppy chow for the play date, looked through Bella's (our dog) baby book and pretended to be dogs.

Today, Wednesday, was zoo animal day and let me tell you my house was a zoo! It started really rough, Pace decided 3:30 this morning would be bedtime so I was exhausted which is never a good way to start zoo day. Some friends came over for the morning to play and chat which was wonderful. After that it all went downhill. Naps were terrible, lots of crying, whining and watching the minutes slowly tick by. We did manage to paint lion masks, watch some penguin videos on youtube, practice walking like penguins and read books about monkeys.

These weekly themes have been fun, make me feel better and definitely a great time filler during the most challenging hours. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Featured Mama

Each week we will feature an amazing, marvelous mama. You will get a peek into the daily lives of other local mamas, see pics of their family and learn some fun facts. This week we feature...

Jenny Dickinson














~Age- 30 yrs
~Birthday- April 4th
~#2 profession (mommy is #1)- Hmm... First I went to UW Eau Claire for Communications and Web Development. I worked as a computer programmer for 3 years before deciding it wasn't for me and went back to school at MATC to become a Certified Veterinary Technician. I worked as a surgical nurse for a specialty clinic on the west side of Madison for 2 1/2 years before deciding to be a stay at home mom when Elin was born. I am currently doing some free-lance web page support for a couple of places in my free time and plan to go back to being a veterinary technician when Elin is around 2 or 3, but who knows where I'll end up to be honest. You never know what opportunities life may throw your way!

~Names/Ages of Kiddos- Elin 5 months
~Favorite Nap time Pastime- Staring at the food porn on Smitten Kitchen and deciding which of her recipes I'm going to try next and/or trying a new recipe.
~Guilty pleasure food item- Sugary cereal, I don't eat the whole box but definitely way too.














~Most Challenging Hour of the day- Between 2 and 3pm, usually I am bouncing Elin pleading with her to go to sleep for one more nap because if she doesn't she will be crabby when Garret gets home and dinner will be rushed. This is also the time she is least likely to want to nap.
~Favorite Baby/Child Product- Baby Bjorn. I would never get the dishes done/dinner cooked/laundry done/vacuuming done/etc, etc, etc without it.

~Blogs you like, follow or have- Smitten Kitchen and of course PB & J.
~Favorite local place to take kids- So far we haven't gone to tons of places since the weather is just now starting to get nice, but going downtown Madison and walking around the Union/Monona Terrace is nice.
~Your mommy style in 3 words- Structured attempt at chaos (ok that was four)

As a new mom I love advice and meeting/talking with other moms!

The Great Outdoors

The goats were talking, sun shining and kids running through apple trees, the great outdoors sure were great this week. Lapacek's Orchard offered a wonderful adventure and another successful playdate. The kids loved being able to run wild, sprinting ahead of the mamas thinking it was so cool to lead the way. Chocolate mini cupcakes were the perfect treat to celebrate Mia's birthday and the warm air was much appreciated after our unusually cold spring. We met little Pip and swooned over the two cutest babies.

Thanks for another fantastic PB & J Day.

Mid-Week

Our mid-week day was filled with green and blue activities, lots of whining, a fun play date, way too short naps, helping my mama out with her daycare kiddos and an anything but peaceful dinner. It hit me today how God's timing really is absolutely perfect. A year ago, heck six months ago, there is no way I could have stayed at home full-time with my boys. We dealt with colic, crying and no sleep for almost two and a half years making my time away at work necessary and restful. We needed my mom during the day so we could stay sane at night.

Life is different now, they are generally sleeping and we have a consistent bedtime. Just knowing there will be an end to the day, a time just for me, some quiet helps get me through the day. Yes my kids are still difficult (if you've ever come for a play date you know:) but they are easier when I get to sleep, so thankful for this time.

A few tips from my current read, The House that Cleans Itself:

• Determine a floor plan and flow- prioritize your spaces and determine what to clean 1st, 2nd, etc. Follow this same flow each time you clean.
• Decide on your "Home Base Zone"- what is the one spot in your house that makes you crazy when dirty??? (kitchen sink, closet, bathroom, pantry, etc.) Keep that one spot clean at all times, this will relieve stress and anxiety.

More to come along with a fun new "Meet Mama..." feature thanks to miss creative Kim L!

See you at the orchard Friday.