For a while now, Maranda and I have wanted to do an entire show on babies. Whether you have a child or not, who doesn’t love a cute, cuddly baby….right? After talking about it for a while, it’s finally here. This weekend on Where You Live we’re talking to moms with newborns, looking at the latest in baby gear and gadgets and getting advice from experts about how to deal with all the changes that come with an addition to the family.
One of the things we did in our show was ask moms their best advice for a mom to be. Here are my three best pieces of advice:
1. Take advantage of sleep while you can. Sleep in, take naps and just be lazy because once that baby comes, you’ll NEVER get a chance to sleep in again. Don’t be scared, it will be okay.
2. It’s okay to ask for help sometimes. Those first few weeks can be a huge challenge. Running on little sleep, dealing with constant crying and just figuring out how to be a mom can be hard. Don’t be afraid to ask family and friends for a helping hand.
3. Don’t sweat the small things. I was obsessed with reading every baby book known to man and wanted to make sure Sophia was hitting every milestone ahead of time (hey, who doesn’t want an overachiever baby), but sometime you have to just chill out and enjoy the moment.
It seems like just yesterday my three-year-old daughter Sophia was born. In the blink of an eye that 7 lb. 7 oz. bundle of joy has turned into a fun loving, strong-willed preschooler. It sounds so cliché, but remember those special times with your baby because before you know it, they won’t be so little anymore!
Posted Feb 9th 2010 11:18 AM by Jamie Allen
Filed under: Maranda's Go-To Gal
Most of you who know me, know that I’m not great in the kitchen. My husband loves to cook and does a great job at it, so most evenings I’m on clean-up duty. Since we’ve had our daughter and my husband is working longer hours, I’ve tried to take a most active role at dinner time, but my three staples of turkey burgers, chicken breasts and spaghetti are starting to get old.
I went online a while back to Meijer Mealbox and browsed through the recipes. I started in the “quick meals” section not wanting to step too far out of my comfort zone. I printed out several recipes and was all fired up to start cooking, but as of last week they were still sitting in the bottom of my recipe box (the fact that I even have a recipe box is huge!).
Two weeks ago, we did a segment with Shari Steinbach and the Meijer Mealbox program. Afterwards I told myself I had to kick it in gear and quit making up excuses as to way we were having “cereal night” once again at my house. Having everything in the house I needed, I pulled out the recipe for Curry Chicken Rice and gave it a whirl last night.
To my surprise it was both quick and easy! I made a great meal in fifteen minutes that looked like it came straight from the local Chinese take-out place. My family loved it and my husband even had seconds. I’ve linked to the recipe below for you guys to try. If I can make it, anyone can!
Planning is something that most people either enjoy doing or they don’t. Whether it’s my next vacation, a friend’s wedding shower or something as simple as my weekly trip to the grocery store, I enjoy making a “to do” list of action items and getting organized. Call me strange, but I recall making lists already at a young age. I remember my parents talking to me about making a list of pros and cons when planning a big decision and to this day I still do it (and my husband teases me for it).
This week our show is all about family wellness. From eating better to jumpstarting your fitness regimen, our experts share ways that you can make simple changes in your routine for a healthier 2010.
I try to eat pretty healthy and hit the gym once or twice a week if I can, but after having my daughter some things just aren’t the same. For all you moms out there, you know what I mean. Those spots that make you cringe when you hear the words “pool party.” The jiggle that I think is adorable on my three your old daughter’s buns, but not on my 30 year old backside!
I know that there is no quick fix, but I may have discovered a short-cut in the form of a new pair of tennis shoes. Or, I may have been totally brainwashed by the advertisements….we’ll see. I’ve been seeing the ads for the new Reebok Easy Tone for a while now. All the tabloid magazines are reporting the stars wear them and according to the ads, you “get better legs and buns with every step.” Even Oprah featured them on her show, so you know they have to be good, right?
Now that my daughter Sophia is old enough to understand this special time of year I want to start a holiday tradition with her. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year and it has been since I was a kid. There are so many things that I loved growing up about this time of year. Every December, my grandparents would take me, my sister and two cousins downtown to the City Center and we’d eat at the McDonalds, ride the train and then we’d walk over to the Amway Grand Plaza to see the gingerbread houses. It’s kind of a strange combination of things, but we loved it and looked forward to it every year.
Another thing that’s special in my family is Christmas Eve. Each year my mom’s side of the family gathers for an appetizer party and open presents. Still at the age of 29, I bug my mom every year to make her famous mushroom and cream cheese puffs and her chocolate covered toffee I love so much. I think there is something comforting about a yearly tradition and it’s something you’ll never outgrow and will always be special.
I’m looking for some fun suggestions of things that I could start with my daughter this year. I’d love to hear about some of your holiday traditions or things you did as a kid you loved………who knows, it may just spark some ideas and become my new Christmas tradition!
Normally I wouldn’t consider myself a bargain shopper. I have lots of girlfriends who save tons of money cliping coupons or making the garage sale rounds each summer, but for some reason I just can’t get into it.
Last week I was out running some errands and passed Once Upon A Child, a children’s consignment shop in Grand Rapids. I wasn’t sure what quality of stuff I would find inside, but I decided to stop and check it out. To my surprise I found some really cute stuff, many of it with the tags still on it.
This week our show is focused on Giving Back. Through out the past few weeks, our crew has been out and about in the community capturing ways that kids, families and corporations are generously giving back. We filmed portions of our show at Kids Food Basket, which is a non-profit organization here in Grand Rapids that provides nutritious sack suppers to children at local schools, so they have a meal to eat at home that night.
As a child I remember coming home to a house each night where there was always a hot meal on the table. Looking back, I’m embarrassed to think about the times I grumbled about that gross meatloaf or those yucky vegetables. If I only realized then how lucky I was to actually have a meal. Right here in Kent County there are thousands of kids who would go to bed hungry each night if they didn’t have a sack supper from Kids Food Basket.
This weekend’s show is all about ways to get your kids to try new things. For some parents it’s getting their kids to branch out at mealtime and try new foods. For others it’s helping their kids find the fun in tough subjects like math. When Maranda and I selected the topic we started to brainstorm things that kids often don’t like and decided to enlist our experts to find simple solutions to make parent’s lives a little easier.
At age 14, I got my first taste of a big city when my family took a trip to Chicago. I’ll never forget sitting in the backseat with my younger sister and watching the skyline as we drove in. I was immediately memorized by skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of the big city. From that point on, I told myself I was moving out of Grand Rapids when I got older.
I remember being in high school and thinking, “Grand Rapids is so boring.” Or, “there is nothing fun to do around here.” But as I got older and wiser I learned to appreciate the things that really matter and make Grand Rapids such a cool city. Over the past 10 years I’ve seen Grand Rapids transform into a place with excellent schools and health care, diverse restaurants, music and art institutions, growing tourism, innovative “green” initiatives and a caring community. In fact, it makes me proud to be raising my daughter in a place that is the best of both worlds…..a big city feel and strong mid-west values.
I recently came across an article in Rapid Growth Media and it sparked my interest. Do you think Grand Rapids has the potential to be the next Chicago? We shall see…..
For the past few weeks I’ve been procrastinating about getting outside and raking the blanket of leaves that cover our front yard. As I looked out the window last Sunday I realized that my house was the only one on the block without a neatly lined row of yard waste bags along the curb. The time had come and I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer, so I got the troops up off the couch and the three of us headed outside to work.
I’ve been a part of the WOOD TV8 team since 2005. As a producer, I work side by side with Maranda making things happen behind the scenes. I coordinate Maranda’s Park Parties each summer and work on various station projects through out the year. I also serve as the producer of Maranda’s weekly half-hour show, Where You Live. My blog inspirations come from stories on the job and my life as a busy mom of a three year old daughter.
Now that my daughter Sophia is old enough to understand this special time of year I want to start a holiday tradition with her. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year and it has been since I was a kid. There are so many things that I loved growing up about this time of year. Every December, my grandparents would take me, my sister and two cousins downtown to the City Center and we’d eat at the McDonalds, ride the train and then we’d walk over to the Amway Grand Plaza to see the gingerbread houses. It’s kind of a strange combination of things, but we loved it and looked forward to it every year.
Normally I wouldn’t consider myself a bargain shopper. I have lots of girlfriends who save tons of money cliping coupons or making the garage sale rounds each summer, but for some reason I just can’t get into it.
This week our show is focused on Giving Back. Through out the past few weeks, our crew has been out and about in the community capturing ways that kids, families and corporations are generously giving back. We filmed portions of our show at Kids Food Basket, which is a non-profit organization here in Grand Rapids that provides nutritious sack suppers to children at local schools, so they have a meal to eat at home that night. 
This weekend’s show is all about ways to get your kids to try new things. For some parents it’s getting their kids to branch out at mealtime and try new foods. For others it’s helping their kids find the fun in tough subjects like math. When Maranda and I selected the topic we started to brainstorm things that kids often don’t like and decided to enlist our experts to find simple solutions to make parent’s lives a little easier.
At age 14, I got my first taste of a big city when my family took a trip to Chicago. I’ll never forget sitting in the backseat with my younger sister and watching the skyline as we drove in. I was immediately memorized by skyscrapers and the hustle and bustle of the big city. From that point on, I told myself I was moving out of Grand Rapids when I got older.
I’ve been a part of the WOOD TV8 team since 2005. As a producer, I work side by side with Maranda making things happen behind the scenes. I coordinate Maranda’s Park Parties each summer and work on various station projects through out the year. I also serve as the producer of Maranda’s weekly half-hour show, Where You Live. My blog inspirations come from stories on the job and my life as a busy mom of a three year old daughter.