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It's Not about the Meatballs...

8/31/2016

This is going to be our dinner tonight - I didn't plan on posting this but it goes along with the blog post "First Friends!" I learned of this recipe from one of my first pre-school mom friends!! I know you could go on any number of websites and find an awesome recipe for meatballs, but this one is special in our house - read on and you'll see why!

Eleanora’s Favorite Meatballs

This recipe was added to our dinner rotation when Eleanora was in pre-school. As the kids packed up at the end of the school day I would chat with the other parents. We definitely weren’t in the pick-up line sharing recipes, but we did throw out a few dinner ideas. Sarah is one of the parents that I will always remember – we spent a great deal of time at the park with the kids after school. She had a great sense of humor and helped me laugh at the trials and tribulations of a four year old. She wasn’t exactly a “Suzy homemaker” type, but after sharing that meatballs were her son Oliver’s favorite, she gave me her recipe for meatballs and it has been a weekly dinner in our house ever since! Eleanora doesn’t go to school with Oliver anymore and I don’t see Sarah often, but more often than not, when we mix up a batch of Spaghetti and meatballs I think of Sarah and her great sense of humor and the fun days of chatting outside the preschool classroom and at Welles Park.

1 pound ground lean turkey
1 large egg – lightly beaten
¾ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (more for serving)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup chopped basil (or flat-leaf Italian parsley)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the above ingredients together until blended and shape mixture into one-inch balls.

1 TBS olive oil
24 ounce jar of your favorite marinara sauce (we LOVE Roa’s Marinara Sauce)
1 pound package of spaghetti or linguini

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 TBS. olive oil. Swirl pan to cover bottom of pan with oil. Add meatballs to pan and cook 5 minutes turning with tongs to brown meatballs on all ‘sides.’ Add your favorite 24-ounce jar of marinara sauce, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer meatballs for 20-25 minutes.

Prepare noodles according to package, reserving one cup of the pasta water. Drain noodles, place in large bowl and combine with meatballs and sauce. If sauce is thick you can add some of the pasta water to your liking. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

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First Friends

8/30/2016

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Teddy, Teddy One, or The Tedsters – all names for Eleanora’s first friend, her teddy bear. He is a story in and of himself, but that is not for this blog. Here you will read about Italy….

She was 20 years old when we first met her. Her eyes are red, not a glowing red, just red. She has green hair and wears a striped shirt and shoes that are all the colors of the rainbow. She has lived in numerous places throughout the city of Chicago. Her last rental was in a condo building on inner Lake Shore Drive. She has had several weddings. The groom was never considered in the planning of any of these weddings – the planning consisted of creating detailed and colorful invitations to be sent to the guests and designing elaborate wedding attire adorned with pink feathers and accessorized with satin capes and plastic jewelry. Italy would show up at the house unannounced, often times ringing our doorbell only to be heard by our daughter. She would sit with us for dinner and Eleanora would make sure she was always given a serving of blueberries and a glass of milk. Italy traveled with our family on numerous occasions – I remember the one time she was running along the side of our car as we drove along a quiet road in Florida. Eleanora gave a shout out that she saw Italy and we needed to stop and pick her up. Of course her dad obliged and pulled the car over to the side of the road. Italy opened the car door and jumped in the backseat with Eleanora. She was such a colorful part of our daughter’s life, our lives, for about three years. Eleanora could talk to her for hours. She retold stories to Italy that had been read to her, told her about adventures with her grandparents and cousins. Called her on her “princess phone” and chatted away about nothing and everything. Eleanora and Italy shared something that was real – friendship. But when our daughter started kindergarten, Italy moved and we never heard from her again.

Italy was one of our daughter’s first friends – her imaginary friend.

While Italy no longer visits and is a faded memory for Eleanora, something about that friendship lingers. The first day of fourth grade is moments away and Eleanora, like many kids, looks forward to the posting of class lists. Seeing these lists to learn of the friends who will be with her in her class for the coming year is an exciting time around here. It is typical for kids to want to be placed with a few specific friends for the school year, but Matt and I don’t place much emphasis on this as we encourage Eleanora to branch out and make new friends regardless of who is in her class. We realize that Eleanora spends seven hours each school day with a group of individuals that help shape and form our daughter. And while Eleanora may not see all of the kids in her class as a best friend, where she is planning their weddings, inviting them over to hang out and have dinner, taking them on vacation, as she did with her imaginary friend Italy, each child in her class is unique and plays an important role in her life.

Italy taught Eleanora many things, but most importantly, she taught her how to be a good friend as well as what it is like to have a good friend. One thing her dad and I have noticed over the years is that friendships can get complicated. But even as they get complicated, friendships with good friends remain simple and true. Good friends are there when you need them. They are always willing to listen to your stories and provide encouragement when most needed.

While this year’s fourth grade class list may not look as Eleanora had hoped, Eleanora is blessed to have so many wonderful kids to share her school year with. This school year provides her with another opportunity to strengthen current friendships and make new friendships with those who share her time in fourth grade. This school year will be filled with many opportunities to spend time with friends, old and new. Eleanora learned authentic qualities of being a good friend with her first friend Italy and we know that the unique qualities of their friendship, while imaginary in many people’s eyes, are some of the same things she shares in her “real-life” friendships and uses to make new friends.

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Why NBC won gold with bringing @Lesdoggg Leslie Jones to the Olympics in rio

8/12/2016

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As I watched the Olympics awestruck at the massive 22 gold medal domination of Michael Phelps, the sheer power of Simone Biles, and the radiant joy of Katie Ledecky, I also thought that NBC won gold by bringing SNL star Leslie Jones to the Olympics.

The lead up to the Olympics was clouded by fears of the zika virus, concerns about the safety of the water for some sports, and issues with facilities. The large number of empty seats was surprising at some of the early events. As the athletic competitions began, the spotlight swiftly shifted to the brilliance of the fierce competitors. And, Leslie Jones was tweeting along with her own gold medal style. Her thunderous enthusiasm, hilarious videos, and awesome patriotic spirit quickly exploded on social media. Thankfully, Mike Shoemaker, @shoemakermike from Late Night with Seth Meyers noticed and tweeted to Jim Bill, the NBC Olympics executive producer, @jfb that he should get Leslie Jones to Rio. Fortunately, Jim agreed and Leslie sprinted to Rio.

Leslie’s onsite live tweeting is epic. There is no celebrity holdback, she is all in. Her rapid fire coverage is dazzlingly patriotic, funny, and so close to the action. The USA swimmers invited Leslie to sit with them last night!

I’m sure NBC has been meticulously planning every element of coverage for the Olympics for a very long time and from my perspective they have been doing an awesome job. I love the Today show team and Ryan Seacrest as well as the other Olympic correspondents! I’m sure it was not in NBC’s plans though to bring down an SNL correspondent. Luckily for us, Jim recognized this unique opportunity and invited Leslie via Twitter.

Beyond Leslie being hilarious, NBC won gold in my book for recognizing that Leslie shares the values and character of many Olympians. Now, if you’ve read some of her tweets you may be thinking that I didn’t notice the profanity and some of the crazy comments. I did. More importantly, I’m sure the lawyers at NBC did too but Jim still invited Leslie along. And, this is truly amazing in corporate America, Leslie has not dialed back her language or comments since arriving in Rio. The lawyers must still be freaking out. Her love of America and our athletes seems to have trumped any concerns.

A short time ago, when Ghostbusters was coming out, Leslie was the victim of cyber bullying on Twitter. I’m not talking just a few mean tweets. I’m talking intentional, hateful attacks on Leslie. She could have been beaten down by the meanness of people who did not even know her. Instead, she ignored her haters and dove full force into covering the Olympics from her home. She chose to spread patriotism, laughter, and hope in a time when our country has had way to much anger and pessimism.

While we are only a week into the Olympics, not only have the Olympic athletes captured our hearts so have super fans like Aly Raisman’s animated parents, Michael Phelps baby, Boomer, and Simone Biles’ kissing mom and dad. As a super fan, Leslie has become an awesome addition to the 2016 Olympic storyline. Leslie also represents the Olympic creed: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take park, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

Jim, and the NBC team, thanks for making this happen. With Leslie, you all have won gold!

Meg @MargueriteTort

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Sleepy Time Fia: The struggle is real

8/8/2016

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My little girl absolutely loves to shop. While most 5-year-old's look miserable at the mall, shopping makes my Fia burst at the seems with excitement. She's all about the next store and potential buy. Too bad she's not prone to hit the sale rack first like myself. It's definitely something we'll be working on. No -- we can't leave without spending money on a new notebook, book, outfit or...in this case... the best thing ever.

So, Fia and I popped into Claire's a few weeks ago to find a birthday gift for a friend. Thankfully, they had this ridiculously awesome sale going on where you buy three things and get three cheaper things for free. This is genius... Go Claire's!! I highly recommend taking advantage of this sale. If you have a little girl and have several birthday parties, like we do, this is a fabulous way to pick up a few extra gifts for all those birthday parties over the year. I've lost count of how many birthday parties I've been to this Summer. I always think to myself... how do you have this many kids in your class? We literally have a birthday party every weekend.

Of course, "the shopaholic" asked if she could get one thing. An hour later, she finally decided on this sleeping kit.

A quick side note: I'd like to point out that sleep, whether you're a parent or not, is precious. Once you have a kid, it becomes more elusive than ever. So when this simple solution came into my life, it was the makings of a miracle or at the very least a Lifetime movie.

At the time of the purchase, I didn't think anything of it. It was another junky toy that would just add to the cluttering of my home. It wasn't until the next morning, when she slept until 8:30, that I thought maybe this was the best purchase I had made in 5 years.

For those of you who don't know Fia... let me paint you a picture. Our little girl is as sweet as a kitten with the energy of a Category 5 Hurricane. No matter what time she goes to bed, she's up and ready to wreak a path of destruction at 6:30 maybe 7 -- if I'm lucky!

At first, I was skeptical. I thought this must have been a fluke.

Nope! Sweet Hypnos had sent me the gift of time.

The next morning she woke up at 9.

I got up, had coffee and watched a few minutes of CBS Sunday Morning. I'm pretty sure I've not done that in 6 years and I wish I was kidding.

Josh and I have spent ridiculous amounts of money on black out shades in all the upstairs rooms, placed life size "Frozen" characters on her walls, bought countless night lights and noise makers but it was a $10 eye mask that did the trick. (Go figure)

Here's the kicker: She didn't even climb into our bed throughout the entire weekend...which, for her, is a huge deal!

You see, since we graduated to the big girl bed years ago she's not really had a solid night of sleep... that is until the eye mask. As you can imagine, neither did we! I was so excited I thought about going to hug everyone at Claire's and thank them for my 8 hours!

While it doesn't work every night and I know it could just be a phase....we are loving every minute of it!!

This is where my sister, who has no kids, thinks I'm crazy -- but I must admit that I miss her.

If you have a child who comes into your bed at night or needs you to lie down with them and play with their hair like me.... I hope you enjoy it. Before you know it, they won't need you to fall asleep.

Hug those babies tight and trust me, the extra cup of joe or shot of espresso is worth it. While some days I might seem like the walking dead due to sleep deprivation, I know it's not forever. In the meantime, get a Claire's eye mask! You never know, you might get a full 8 hours every once in a while.

Cheers friends!!

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We need how many glue sticks?! A few back to school savings from a rookie and lots from a pro!

8/6/2016

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Last August I had the opportunity to meet Sophia and Stella’s preschool 3 teacher a few days before school started. New to the school scene, I wanted to make sure I was reading the back to school list correctly so the girls would be ready. I asked the teacher if she really meant each student needed 20 glue sticks. Surely, this could not be true. Little did I know how fast a bunch of energetic 3-year-olds could plow through glue sticks. Somehow, I still ended up short in my glue stick purchasing and fortunately the teacher was very kind as I tried to navigate starting school with the girls. Since the girls won’t wear uniforms until they hit kindergarten I also had a lot to learn about back to school clothes. In my mind I was thinking fall is back to school so leggings, cute tops, tunics, etc. Clearly, the blazing heat of Catholic schools in late August and early September had been scorched from my mind somehow. I didn’t think to buy end of the summer clothes deals so the girls would be cool and look slightly more presentable. Instead, last year we largely headed to school on those hot days in our faded summer clothes.

This year, I at least have a tiny idea of what to expect with the back to school madness. I have my lists, I have a better idea of what school supplies the girls need and will use, and I have a better idea of what I may be able to persuade them to wear to school. While I have a few thoughts on how to save with back to school shopping, I turned to a pro, my good friend Tami Salentine who blogs for the DuPage Credit Union. I asked Tami if I could share her recent post with you all and she graciously said yes! Happy shopping!

Meg’s Back to School Tips

Gift Cards - Now is the time to search your house for gift cards and use them for back to school shopping. Search your desk, stacks of old birthday and holiday cards, purses, and other places where you tuck away gift cards. Use gift cards first to purchase back to school clothes and supplies. Now is also the time to use your restaurant gift cards. While you are spending more on back to school supplies, use your restaurant gift cards on dinner out to help ease the spending pain.
Cash Back - Before you hit the stores, check out your bank website and credit card websites and see if they are offering back to school cash back bonuses. Since you have to spend money on back to school supplies, it can help if you are at least making your money go further with cash back rewards. Some banks and credit card companies also offer additional coupons or savings with certain stores that you can factor in to your shopping plans.
Target Cartwheel and Red Card - If you are a Target shopper the Cartwheel app and Target Red Card are must haves. I know you may think you don’t need another app or another credit card but seriously, these two gems have already saved me so much money. The Target Red Card gives you 5% off immediately at check out. Target is never a $20 dollar shopping experience so 5% off can quickly add up to solid savings. The Target Cartwheel app is excellent. I wish I could tell you I’m a great coupon shopper. I'm not. I’m also in awe of the extreme coupon people. I’m just not that organized. The Target Cartwheel app is so easy though that even I can scan the offers, click a few buttons to save my coupons, and then present my phone at check out for more savings. The Red Card and Cartwheel combo will help you save big bucks.

So that is all I have on back to school savings. I know you are probably laughing but clearly I’m just a rookie trying to figure out how to send my kids to school successfully. Now, let’s hear from a real pro, my great friend Tami! Tami thanks to you and the DuPage Credit Union for the great tips below!

Back-to-School Shopping Tips
Where has the summer gone? Before you know it, the kids will be back in school. So if you’re thinking about hitting the stores this weekend to start your back-to-school shopping check out these helpful tips and Apps. And before you go, make sure you have a DuPage Credit Union Visa® Credit Card – all cardholders will receive a 2.9% APR purchase rate on every purchase for a limited time. This offer is good 8/1 through 9/30/16.

Beat the Heat- Stay inside and shop online at sites like EBATES, ShopAtHome.com and Amazon – where you can receive exclusive offers, discounts, cash back and even free shipping.

Social Savings – Look for advance sales notices and exclusive coupon links from your favorite stores on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to ask your friends to invite you to Facebook groups like Kidz Steals and Deals, which provide sales notifications, recalls and links to coupons.

Inbox Moolah – Take advantage of special Promo Codes, free shipping and special offer emails from stores like Gap, Land’s End and Nordstromto purchase clothing and shoes.

Download the App – Save with rebates, coupons, hot deals and more by downloading mobile Apps such as Krazy Coupon Lady , Shopkick andRetailMeNot , where you can download over 500,000 coupons for 50,000 stores.

Backpack Stash- Comb through your child’s backpack and pencil box, you may find unused glue sticks, note cards and other supplies; which can be recycled for this year’s use. Not to mention rulers, scissors, calculators and other items that can be used for several years in a row.

Clip, Clip, Clip – Before throwing out Sunday’s paper make sure to clip coupons and grab sales flyers for that week’s sales.

Happy Bargain Hunting! Have other tips or suggestions for back-to-school shoppers? Share them below.

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Messy Mommies In The City

It's Not about the Meatballs...

First Friends

Why NBC won gold with bringing @Lesdoggg Leslie Jones to the Olympics in rio

Sleepy Time Fia: The struggle is real

We need how many glue sticks?! A few back to school savings from a rookie and lots from a pro!

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