Parades, dancing, food, and drink make up the festivities – and one of the best of these is the margarita! To help get you in the Cinco de Mayo mood, here are some great margarita recipes. 

Frozen margaritas

Margarita (on the rocks)

MargaritaRecipe.org offers numerous margarita recipes from banana, to chocolate, to blue!

¡Viva el cinco de mayo!

She became my go-to in so many new ways; diaper rash remedies, sleep help, discipline ideas, and the caregiver I felt most comfortable with, which is no easy thing in those early days.

More importantly, I discovered that on the days my two-year-old pushes me to my limits (ok, well, every day), I find myself feeling SO bad for pushing my mother to her limits and so grateful she loved me right through it, just as I will do for my son!

The only downside is that Mother’s Day gifts are harder now, finding something that can really convey my love, connection, and gratitude for this amazing woman who made me in to the woman I am.

So if you’re in the same boat and need gift suggestions for your amazing mother or grandmother this year, let us know – we’ve got some great ideas up our sleeve!

In the meantime, tell us what you’re most grateful for this Mother’s Day.

I’m incredibly grateful my family and home escaped unharmed, many living just a few blocks from me weren’t so lucky.  If you’ve been wondering how you can help those affected, WRAL is reporting the following.

Click here for the full article, or check out excerpts below.

People can donate to the Red Cross by calling 1-800-733-2767 or giving online.

Wake County and the City of Raleigh are organizing people for future volunteer efforts. Interested people can call either the Wake County Emergency Operations Center at 919-856-7044 or  send an e-mail to Raleigh Assistant City Manager Dan Howe via daniel.howe@raleighnc.gov.

The county is also collecting storm debris to aid in clean-up efforts at various sites in the area.

International relief organization Samaritan’s Purse is dispatching three disaster relief units…to the eastern part of the state. The emergency teams are based in North Wilkesboro in Wilkes County…  They are seeking additional volunteers to assist with relief efforts. Visit their website to volunteer or make a donation.

Lastly, if you need help finding vendors or other resources to assist in repair, clean-up, or emergency efforts (whether for yourself or others), please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Wedding season is just around the corner (yes, there really is a “season”) and with my own upcoming anniversary, I always think about the useful things people told me before the day arrived.

To that end, I’ve gathered advice from a variety of people and wedding experiences – large, small, local, destination, formal, informal, you name it.

Remember what the day itself will want to feel like when looked back upon and to let go of any very specific expectations… In other words, planning’s great, but don’t forget to go with the flow…
– Onatel

Leave time for yourself before the ceremony. Allow yourself an escape from family and friends so you can take a few moments to reflect on how special this day is and gather your thoughts about the events to come.
–Laurie

Don’t do anything because you think you are “supposed to”. There is no such thing. Just do what you’re both comfortable with and what means something to you.
–Cara

Be sure to eat BEFORE the ceremony because you sure as heck won’t have time to eat at the reception (unless it’s a sit down dinner).
–Melissa

For the wedding day, laugh a lot.
Daniel

Have your wedding planner (friend, or relative) package up food and cake for you and your new spouse to eat when you arrive at the hotel/house after the reception.
Heather

And finally, the best advice I received from a friend: Remember to take your time and look around you as you walk down the aisle, see the faces of all the important people in your life, look at the flowers, and savor that moment.

She was right! This is one of the few memories I have of the ceremony as I was so nervous, excited, and overwhelmed. It’s a memory I’ll really cherish and a moment I’ll never forget.

What’s your best wedding advice or favorite moment?

I promise I have a great sense of humor, just not so much for the usual pranks. This might be partly due to the fact that I’m SO gullible, it really doesn’t take much to surprise or trick me. So anyone who goes through the effort is, in my humble opinion, kind of an underachiever.

That being said, I am entertained by larger scale hoaxes. Ones that seem so unbelievable but I’m sure I would have taken me. The Museum of Hoaxes has compiled The Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time. My faves are the 1957 Swiss Spaghetti Harvest and the 1998 Left-Handed Whopper (seriously?!).

What are your most memorable April Fools’ moments?

It’s easier than you think

If you’ve thought about starting a garden but feel you’re limited on time, money, space, expertise, or patience – don’t worry, there’s a garden to fit every situation and there are many resources out there to help you.

The answer to every gardening objection

My go-to is Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. I used this book for my first veggie garden, and every year since. Simple, straightforward, detailed but not technical, and designed to help you grow great vegetables in minimal space with minimal water. Also check out the web site.

In addition, here are some things that have gardening easier for me…

Weeding. I hate weeding. And who has that kind of time? For this reason, I always use landscape fabric (examples here) purchased from any home improvement or gardening supply store. Don’t forget a box of landscape pins (look like giant, un-stapled staples) to fix the fabric to the ground. Volia! No weeds and no chemicals.

Watering. To prevent your water bill eating up the money you’ll save at the grocery store, remember vegetables plants should be watered directly at the base with a cup (The Square Foot Gardening book above includes plant-specific quantities) or watering can, NOT sprayed or sprinkler-ed (yeah, not a word).

Taking it a step further, and saving my back a bit, I run irrigation hose along the base of the plants, and use more landscape pins to keep it in place.

Vegetable overload. It’s easy for your eyes to be bigger than your stomach and your green thumb. Keep it simple the first year especially, don’t over-plant. Despite this sound advice, I always forget how big those cute little seedlings are going to get and every year I end up with a crazy, vegetable jungle and more zucchini than my family, friends, or the city of Raleigh can possibly eat.

Your turn!

Get your green thumb on and let me know what are you craving in your veggie garden this year!

To combat those feelings of “uselessness”, here’s a quick list of simple and practical ideas to help us help others, whether near or far.

Meal Train 

This fantastic and FREE online service helps organize meals for a person or family for any reason.

Pre-assembled Dinner Entrees

A gift card to a pre-assembled dinner entree store allows the recipient to select the meals and store them in the freezer, ready to cook. Large companies that offer these services in most areas include: Super Suppers, Dream Dinners, or Dinner A’fare (for fully cooked meals).

Care Package or Basket

Put together a small selection of the person or family’s favorite things. For illness, choose items to help pass the time – movies, books, music, games, or personal items such as lip balm or hand lotion. For condolence, choose items to help comfort or relax – selection of fruit or teas, a new book or magazine subscription.

As much as I love flowers, I prefer to send Edible Arrangements for grief or loss. These delicious fresh fruit arrangements are not only cheery and fun, but truly delicious (try the chocolate-dipped pineapple, trust me.)

Gift Cards

Funeral costs, medical bills, time off work, or needing to travel can all put a financial strain on already difficult situations. Help in the form of a grocery store or super store gift card can ease the burden a little bit.

Helping Hand

Offer to help with basic tasks the family may not have the time, energy, or ability to do. Running errands, picking up children, doing laundry, cutting the grass, cleaning the house, etc.

It’s best to offer something specific (“I’d be happy to cut your grass, which day is best for you?”). Just asking the recipient what they need help with will usually result in “I don’t know, I don’t think there’s anything.” – they are overwhelmed and often hesitant to “burden” others.

Last but not least…

I’d love to hear what you’ve done for others, or what made a difficult time for you a bit easier.

Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, and Carnival are some of the best-known and most extravagant parties with parades, music, drinking, dancing, and eating for days on end.  In my corner of the world , we celebrate Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day. A bit less flashy, but an utterly delicious tradition.

Pancake Day involves making thin crepes after dinner (or for dinner if you’re lucky, my mother always made us eat a healthy meal first), complete with a dramatic flip of the crepe out of the frying pan after you’ve cooked the first side!  Once ready, they’re sprinkled with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and sugar, rolled or folded up and eaten hot.  YUM. 

Even though I’m now a dual UK/US citizen, this coming Tuesday will always be pancake day to me. My flipping skills aren’t near my mother’s level, but it’s lots of fun trying.  Everything tastes good with lemon juice and sugar on it, even if it’s mishapen and/or had a brief encounter with the kitchen floor (3 second rule)…

How do you celebrate Fat Tuesday and/or what’s your favorite food indulgence?

Bedtime books are one of my favorite childhood memories and I hope they will be for my son. Like all children, he likes to read the same book again, and again, and again, and again, and yet again. Eventually he’s ready to move on to something else, and exploring new books together is one of my favorite parental rites – definite win over diaper changing or 2am wake up calls! 

We recently moved from Eastman’s Are You My Mother (a great classic!) to Martin/Archambault’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (fun and catchy) and Giles/Parker-Rees’ Giraffes Can’t Dance (sweet message and fun illustrations) and it got me wondering about other children and their parents’ faves. So I asked around and got some classics and less well-known recommendations – check them out!

Please note: Links below are all to Amazon for simplicity, but these books can be purchased in many/most bookstores, through a gajillion vendors online, or found at your local library.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen

Where Do Balloons Go? by Jamie Lee Curtis

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Mother Goose Rhymes by various

Berenstain Bears… books by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Froggy… books by Johnathan London

The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson (simple, beautiful message and some of my favorite illustrations EVER.)

Knuffle Bunny… books by Mo Willems

Pigeon… books by Mo Willems

Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger

The Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown

For more book ideas, check out the National Education Association’s, Teacher’s Top 100 Books for Children or Best Children’s Books by Age from Parents.com (grouped by age and topic).

Tell me your favorite bedtime stories…

That’s right. February 27^th. 83^rd Annual Academy Awards. Your living room.

Let’s set the scene…

Check out this year’s nominees. Kings, Swans, and Fighters, oh my!

Decide on your look.

A classic theme with black and gold colors and star shapes is easy and elegant, or get more creative with balloons, red carpets, or even specific decorations to reflect your favorite actor or film of 2010. Great resources for affordable party supplies can be found at Target, Party City, or Oriental Trading.   

Check with your people.

Send out evite invitations (FREE). Set up a free account, pick a template, and input your guests’ email address. It’s on!

Live on set.

Dress up or as down as you like.  Provide nibbles and drinks, or do pot-luck (be sure to include these details in your invite). Champagne cocktails, mocktails, sparkling water or cider, popcorn (a must!), and chocolates can be all you need. Or check out AllRecipes.com for easy appetizer ideas.

Need more ideas? Check out this great article on the ultimate Oscar party experience. Or let Expedite Group do it for you, just submit a request!

And the Oscar goes to…

Party time! Throw on your diamonds and your best smile, and be sure to get shots of your guests as they arrive. Red carpet optional ($9.99).

[Cue exit music.]