The weather is beautiful and we live in wine country, so why not plan a fun day with your family and enjoy a day in the vineyards! There are many great options for families in this area and we've created a great resource guide to help you find the right location for your family. Check it out: Family Friendly Wineries.xlsx
One of my personal favorites is Foley Sonoma located in the Alexander Valley in Geyserville. They have a large property where you can bring a picnic and play provided lawn games or enjoy their beautiful tasting room complete with an outdoor patio. No matter where you choose to picnic and taste, this property boasts picturesque views and is very family friendly!
Did we miss a winery in our roundup? Please send an email to resources@petalumamothersclub.org and we'll update our guide!
Submitted by: Amy Cathcart
My 4 year old has been super into science experiments lately, and one we recently did was teaching about capillary action- as we were playing with ink and water I got the idea to transfer this new knowledge into an art project for her!
1- We drew on coffee filters with markers making spirals of different colors on each one.
2- Then, we worked on folding skills and folded each coffee filter into a triangle shape by folding in half twice.
3- I lined up cups with about 1” of water in each one, and she put the folded coffee filter into the cup with just the tip of the triangle in the water.
4- We watched the water “climb” and blur the colors together, leaving us with beautifully colored coffee filters!
After they dried (24 hours later) we tied the bottom of the triangle with pipe cleaners and made a bouquet of spring flowers. This clearly wasn’t fancy enough for my fancy four year old, so we had to give them a quick spritz with perfume to make them smell pretty too
I'll admit it - I'm a little afraid of cooking fish. It's so simple, but in my head I make it crazy complicated. I'm filled with unfounded paranoia about over or under cooking it, forgetting a bone, making the house reek of fish, or turning my kids off seafood for good.
My point here is that, while I feel confident in cooking most dishes, fish just doesn't come naturally to me.
That being said, I'm really good at making this one, and my family likes it.
Ingredients:
2/3 Cup panko
2 T minced parsley
1 T lemon zest
1/2 t salt & 1/2 t pepper
1 t Old Bay seasoning (optional, but necessary in my opinion)
Olive oil
4 salmon fillets, with skin
2 T dijon mustard
lemon wedges
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.
In a small bowl, combine panko, parsley, lemon zest, and seasonings. Drizzle 2 T of olive in and toss to mix.
With salmon fillets skin side down, brush each with dijon mustard, then salt & pepper.
Press a thick layer of panko over mustard.
Heat oil over medium high in an oven safe skillet. Cook salmon, skin side down, for 3-4 minutes.
Put pan in 425 degree oven for 5-7 minutes, then cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
- Caitlin McSorley
Karen (Mom), Jarrod (Dad), and Walter (big bro) are delighted to announce the arrival of the newest member of their family - Winston Robert Butts. Winston arrived 9 days early on Tuesday, March 12 at 7lbs 1oz. We're loving getting to know the new little guy, and so far we think he is awesome!
Born to proud parents Jessica & Blake Bryant, March 20, 2019 at 1:18pm. 9 lbs. 8 oz and 21 inches long. Big brother Austin is loving “baby sister.”
You guys. I think this is my favorite of all the crafts we’ve ever done - in the top five at least. Prep was minimal; process was easy and fun; finished product is a gorgeous display we can all enjoy. Here’s what we used:
Coffee filters
Dot markers
Window crayons
Scissors and tape
Here’s what I did:
Folded coffee filters in half, then half again, then half again. Cut them so that, when unfolded, the filter will be flower shaped. (Click here for pictures of this from the original post. It took me a few tries to get it how I wanted.) Gave the kids the folded filters and had them “tie-dye” designs with the dot markers. It's important to get the paint through all layers of the filters, so it comes through when unfolded. We turned some of them over and used a little marker on the other side to achieve this.
Unfolded. The filters were super soaked with paint, so this has to be done carefully. Let the flowers dry all the way. We dried them overnight, then did the rest the next day; I’m so on board with two part crafts. The next day we taped them to the window (sliding glass door, actually). We used the window crayons to complete the picture!
~ Caitlin McSorley, your crafty-because-my-kids-make-me blog editor
Originally posted on: http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com
It’s a privilege to be recognized as the PMC board member of the month! I joined in 2016 shortly after my son Austin was born and am the administrator for our 2019 Babies group. My husband and I have lived in Petaluma since we were born; though, having gone to rival high schools, we didn’t start dating until years later.
We absolutely love it here. It has been wonderful to watch our little town blossom into the thriving place we all appreciate today. Being in the PMC makes us feel even more connected to our community.
As a family, we enjoy participating in local events and getting outside together on the weekends. We love to hike and explore county parks and beaches. My husband and I both enjoy cooking and eating, and you can often find us at the farmer’s market or trying out a new restaurant. Music is huge for us too. We try to expose our son to as much as possible. The more diverse the better! I also love to garden and read.
I studied child development in college and have worked professionally with children in one form or another for 15 years; being a mama feels like the culmination of that experience. My plan is to work as a preschool teacher as soon as our second child is old enough to attend.
I feel thankful for the travel and thrill-seeking life experiences I had before settling into my current role, as it has given me wonderful perspective in motherhood. I’m so very grateful to be parenting alongside this dynamic group of people in the Petaluma Mothers Club and I look forward to what’s to come!
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Spending quality time with family and friends
What is your greatest fear? Well this changed once I became a mother! my fear is something happening to my loved ones especially my husband and child.
Which living person do you most admire? I admire my mom for her strength through tough times and faith.
What has been your greatest journey? Being a mother for sure! A lot of ups and downs with many tears of happiness and frustrations and a lot of smiles, laughter and full hearts.
On what occasion do you lie? I try my best to be honest or keep my comments to myself if I’m not being true to myself.
What is your greatest regret? Not doing more for myself before I became a mom because it’s even harder now with a baby. Although I still believe I have to do what I believe feels right.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? I am proud of the mother and wife I am even if it feels that I’m doing nothing right sometimes!
What or who is the greatest love of your life? My first love of course is my husband and forever will be my first love but the love I feel for my son is unexplainable!
When and where were you happiest? I’ve always tried to be a positive person but I would say I am my happiest now especially because I am able to say home with Hector and I wouldn’t change that for the world even if we have rough days!
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? Nothing I’m perfectly happy with my family! My husband works hard to make us happy and spend quality time with us any chance he has.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I still continue to work on my patience especially with dealing with Hectors ever changing character
What is your most treasured possession? My family
Where would you like to live? I love living here in Petaluma but my husband and I sometimes talk about moving to Mexico so that our children grow up with the traditions of Mexico that we don’t experience so much here.
What is your most marked characteristic? Loving,caring and that I put others before myself (my husbands words, not mine lol).
What do you most value in your friends? Loyalty and being there when I need them.
Who are your heroes in real life? My father, he passed 20 years ago but when he was alive he taught classical music classes (violin, guitar, and cello) to children of low income and would let them borrow the instruments. He did this in the evenings after his 8 hour office job which is just amazing and there is still an award that goes out in his name every year through the Marin Hispanic chamber of commerce.
What are your favorite names? Héctor, Anastasia
What do you most dislike? When people take advantage of me. I’ve been told that I can be “too nice” and that sometimes backfires so I am now learning to speak up when necessary.
It’s SPRING! And although the weather has been a little wet lately, summer will be here before we know it, and in my family Spring and Summer mean it’s CAMPING SEASON! My husband and I grew up camping and we vowed that we would raise our kids the same way. Some ages are tougher than others out in the dirt and elements, and I admit we are cheating a bit since we now trailer camp instead of totally roughing it in a tent….but every camping trip has been such an adventure, and so worth the lost sleep, dirty kids, and days of clean up upon returning home. Here’s some tips I’ve found helpful for camping with kids!
1 - (And this is the most important one) GIVE UP on being clean. It’s ok if your kid is covered in dirt all weekend. I PROMISE.
2 - Bring at least 5 extra outfits. At least. Especially if there’s a forecast of rain. Because you know what you can’t do while camping in the rain? Hunker down inside. Nope. You will end up jumping in mud puddles all day, and cleaning off with a copious amount of baby wipes before you put on the next outfit that’s going to get ruined
3 - Bring baby wipes. A LOT of baby wipes.
4 - Try and bring a few comforts from home for sleeping- lovies, sleep sack, bedtime books, and most importantly- sound machine! We have a battery operated one so that it can run all night and we can stay up and enjoy the campfire after the kids go to bed.
5 - DON’T bring a bunch of toys, activites, excess stuff from home. Limit the amount of cleaning of all the toys by just bringing the outdoor stuff- bikes, balls, shovels. I promise, they’ll have more fun digging in the dirt and climbing trees than playing with the same toys they get at home.
6 - Let loose. Forget your nap schedule. Skip nap, nap while babywearing, push bedtime back by an hour...or three… chances are your toddler won’t nap as well in a new, exciting location, or in a tent. So don’t stress, and just know it may take a couple days to catch up when you get home. After all, what’s a couple days of catch up on sleep to create memories that will last a lifetime!
7 - Have a crawler? Buy or borrow a play yard. We borrowed a Summer pop-up play yard and it was the BEST for a crawling baby. Big enough they didn’t feel trapped, but has a floor so they’re not crawling around on the ground 100% of the time. But also, don’t forget tip #1.
8 - An empty tupperware bin makes a great bath tub! Or just look back to tip #1….
9 - Make easy, one-pan meals for less clean up and more family fun time! We often chop/prep meals ahead of time for trips to make dinners easier after a long day of hiking, swimming, or playing in the dirt.
10 - Don’t forget the marshmallows!
So this spring and summer, I challenge you to get out there and camp! It may sound daunting, or exhausting, but I promise you it will be worth the extreme dirt, the lost sleep, and the clean-up time to watch your kids explore nature and create lifelong memories with family!
We seem to have constant banana buying issues in our house. Either we buy tons and no one gets in a banana groove, or we don't buy many and suddenly they're the only thing we all want. This often leads to overripe bananas, which then leads to banana bread.
Last week I used the Healthy Banana Bread recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod to bring muffins to my daughter's school. When I found it, this one also caught my eye and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. So Sunday morning, with overripe bananas and under-stimulated children, we whipped it up. Best decision all day.
It's basically cake. And I want to hog it all from the rest of my family. We didn't have peanut butter chips for the top, but I'm sure they would add another layer of dreamy goodness.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread
yield: 1 LOAF
prep time: 10 MINUTES
cook time: 60 MINUTES
total time: 1 HOUR 10 MINUTES
Note-the bread will keep on the counter, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 4 days. This bread also freezes well. To freeze, cool the bread completely and wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost before slicing.
P.O. Box 521 Petaluma, CA 94953-0521
