Baby's 1st Christmas Ornament

What family traditions would you like to start for your new family? From the time we had our first child, we've made it a family tradition to give our children a special ornament that reflected that year of their life. At birth, it was a baby foot print, and as the years progressed, it ranged from their favorite sport or animal. Now that our three children are grown and soon to start their own families, they have a special collection of ornaments to hang on their Christmas Tree. These precious baby footprint ornaments are available now at ModMomMaternity.com & make a special gift for the new baby in your life!

  New Year's Day is a great day to have a crock pot of chili for your family and friends to enjoy.
                                                          It's easy and delicious!

                                                 New Year's Day Crock Pot Chili Recipe

Brown 1 pound of ground turkey in large skillet, mixing in 1 packet of mild chili seasoning & 1/4 cup water. Stir in diced sweet onion & celery, cooking until tender. Stir in meat mixture to crock pot of beans. Set crock pot to high for 1-2 hours, then set to low to keep chili hot through out the day. Set out bowls, spoons, hot sauce, garnish, & corn bread for your family and friends to enjoy a delicious meal at their leisure! Happy New Year from ModMomMaternity!

Make pumpkin chip cookies, wrap in clear bag, add personal gift tag

                             "Signature Dish," a Great Family Tradition!

Do you have a particular recipe that others really like and that you are repeatedly asked to bring for special family occasions and holiday feasts? Creamed corn has become my "signature dish." It has been a family favorite for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I would like to share it with you!

To make corn mixture, heat the following ingredients in a large sauce pan over the stove. Bring to a boil & simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Corn Mixture Ingredients:

2-1/2 bags of frozen corn (16 ounce size bags)
16 ounces (1 pint) whipping cream
16 ounces (1pint) whole milk
2 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 pinches white pepper
2 pinches of cayenne pepper

Thickening Agent:

In separate small sauce pan, mix 4 Tablespoons of melted butter & 4 Tablespoons of flour together. Then add to the corn mixture, as a thickening agent.

Put mixture in a 9x13 casserole dish & dust with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Broil in the oven until cheese is lightly browned. May take 8-10 minutes, but keep a close watch!

From the time I was a new mom, I have found cooking to be a very special part of motherhood. Since children love to help in the kitchen, cooking is a great way to create fun & special memories. Think of a favorite recipe or ask a family member or friend for a recipe idea that you can make this year. If you have children, they would love to help you prepare this new recipe! Soon, it may be your family's "Signature Dish" and become a great family tradition!

But Mom, It's Tradition...

When I was a new mom, I didn't think intentionally about the idea of creating special family traditions, mostly because I didn't realize the importance of them in the lives of my children.  It wasn't until my 17 year old daughter expressed, "But Mom, It's a Family Tradition!" that I realized the importance of simple family traditions.

From the time my daughter was born, she had participated in our family's annual "Christmas Cookie Party," with her siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. In 2010, not only was she, her older siblings, and many of her cousins reaching adulthood, but it was an especially busy & stressful Christmas season. My sister and I reasoned, "the kids are getting too old for this tradition anyway and it would make our lives a whole lot easier if we just skipped the Christmas Cookie Party this year." I know, you can probably see the writing on the wall and you are right, our announcement did not go over too well, to say the least! Not only did my daughter sigh the words I mentioned earlier, but her older sister and a few of the cousins, were not pleased either! It didn't take long for my sister and I to change our attitude and muster up the energy to begin the cookie party preparations! Next week, I will share about some of our Thanksgiving family traditions.  And after Thanksgiving, I will blog about the details of our family Cookie Party Tradition! But for now, I just wanted to share how I believe that creating simple & fun family traditions become a very special part of the legacy we create as moms in building happy family memories! I hope I have sparked some interest in you to start being intentional about the idea of creating special family traditions! You won't regret it and either will your children!