This week’s Featured Mama of the Week is Jessica Mudrick, a Realtor, owner of the blog Delaware County Moms, and mom to two amazing kids, Olivia, 8 and Ryan, 4. Jessica’s kids both enjoy to doing arts and crafts, gymnastics, and playing baseball, by their own rules! Jessica said, “Olivia loves to read and is into fashion and Ryan is into cars, dinos & digging in the dirt.” Watching her kids become their own people with their own opinions is Jessica’s favorite thing about being a parent. She finds her kids to be very funny, keeping the family laughing all the time. The challenges she faces as a parent are similar to most parents, dealing with keeping the kids’ rooms clean and talking back to mom and dad. As parents, they set clear consequences for not following the house rules, but they also accept that they really do have great kids and having a messy room isn’t all that bad! Jessica also mentioned Respect is a big thing our home. We want our kids to respect us, teachers, each other and themselves. Respect is hard to teach, but we often ask how they would feel if we said or did X to them…we also try to respect them & let them have options and choices when possible.
Jessica is able to balance being a Realtor and a website owner around her children’s and husband’s schedules. She is able to schedule office time during the day while her kids are at school and schedules appointments to show houses and meet clients in the evening or weekend when her husband is home. She also is able to rely upon her neighbor or brother (who lives down the street) for childcare, in addition to friends and her in-laws. Jessica’s website, Delaware County Moms, is a resource for parents in and around Delaware County to find fun activities, family deals and some awesome local giveaways. She recently co-hosted an annual Philadelphia Costume Swap with Trina O’Boyle from O’boy Organic last Friday, which is a great event to check out next year to find and recycle Halloween Costumes!
Using Social Media tools, like Facebook, help stay connected!
To stay in touch with friends, or to connect with new clients, Jessica uses social media to help. Facebook has been the most helpful for her, and she is starting to use Twitter more now that she knows other to connect with there. Jessica mentioned that she finds she is most effective making connections on Facebook out of all the social media platforms. It helps her share photos, view friends’ photos and remember birthdays easily. She also is able to post new house listings on her Facebook page, which is a big help with her business too. The downfall of Facebook is how much time one spends on it without realizing it. Jessica said, “But I really have to watch how much time I spend on it…because I can sit there for an hour and not realize it, so I am now very aware!”
Parenting is a fun and rewarding job for Jessica and she enjoys spending time exploring the world with her kids. They visit the arboretum in their neighborhood where exploring the outdoors is fun for all. They also live in a neighborhood filled with kids so there are always lots of playmates around to run around with or ride bikes. Jessica works on instilling in her kids kindness and charity for others by setting examples of volunteering for Cradles to Crayons and Philabundance. She likes to show her kids how to help others in the community, since there are so many struggling. She said, “I feel that even I only help one person, that is one person whose life has been made easier and that makes me feel so great!”
Jessica shared a family favorite recipe with Mama’s Little Helper readers. She said, “This is my Grandma’s recipe and she makes it every year for Christmas breakfast and if we can’t make it back to my home state of Ohio, I make it Christmas morning for my family. It is also a great go to dinner because you make it the night before.”
Ham & Cheese Strada
Sliced Italian Bread (you can use any bread but heartier bread holds up better)
Ham
American cheese
Grease a pan and make sandwiches with bread, ham & cheese. Mix 1 egg, ½ cup of milk per sandwich and add 1 tsp. of mustard (add more if you like mustard J) Take egg mixture and pour over sandwiches cover for at least 1 hour or overnight. Cook @ 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.
We like to eat ours with fresh sliced tomato.
Thank you Jessica, for being a feature mama of the week on Mama’s Little Helper!
Today was my daughter’s very first day of volunteering. We gave our time to @ReUseYourShoes, a great charity program started by @KevinFKane that collects shoes for people in need. We came together at @WeLoveSubaru at Reedman Toll in Langhorne PA to help sort through thousands of donated shoes for feet in need. It felt great knowing we were helping to get people’s feet back on the ground (yes, I thought of that myself). I got to see some people I know like @JudySueFarms @ashleykanoff @nratner and meet new people I’ve been following on Twitter and Facebook, like Big Joe McCarthy (Stacy’s hubby). I loved Stacy’s avatar ever since I started my Facebook page for Mama’s Little Helper. It’s a huge flower in front of her face, for Smart Girls Real Estate. Love it! The colors are bold pink and caught my attention immediately and I see it everywhere. Check out the video that was aired on @Good_Day_Philly yesterday!
Visit the Philadelphia Zoo and help Cradles to Crayons help kids!
Cradles to Crayons is sponsoring a “Spring Greening” event this Saturday, May 7th, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm at the Philadelphia Zoo. Before you head to the zoo, clean out your closets and bag up outgrown children’s clothing, shoes, toys and even old cell phones. Bring your bags as a donation and your zoo admission will only be $7! This 1st annual spring greening event will help local children and the planet by recycling clothing and helping this regions neediest children. Your entry fee will include complimentary snacks and beverages along with entry to the “energy fair.” For all the details please see this post by Cradles to Crayons, along with info about purchasing your tickets.
While your at the Zoo on Saturday, look out for Joey Fortman and Tara Bucci from MomsOnTheSpot.com!
Recently my son’s preschool sent home a flyer stating that throughout the month of March they would be a collection site for donations for the organization Cradles to Crayons. I had heard of them here and there, but didn’t know too much about this non-profit, so I did a bit of research. I thought I’d share the info I learned about Cradles to Crayons with Mama’s readers so that if you would like to donate or volunteer, you can find out how.
From the website I learned:
Cradles to Crayons Philadelphia was founded in 2006. We provide, free of charge, low-income and homeless children from birth to pre-teen the basic essentials they need to be safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued. We also set a foundation for lasting change through the meaningful, tangible volunteer opportunities we provide to thousands of youth and adults each year. The essentials we collect and distribute include clothing, shoes, school supplies, and much more. In other words, we provide all the material goods that children need to be safe, protected from the elements, and ready to learn. And by supplying them with high-quality used or new goods, we make children feel valued. How does it work? We partner with social-service organizations in the Philadelphia area to connect communities that have surplus resources—new or used items in good condition—with communities that desperately need access to those resources. When you donate to Cradles to Crayons, you can be absolutely sure that your donation will go to a deserving local child, for whom the donation was specifically requested.
I really appreciate that Cradles to Crayons is helping the neediest in the Philadelphia area. Before I was a SAHM, I worked in the mental health field in Philadelphia with many children affected by poverty. Many of those kids did not have new clothes ever. Their shoes were worn down and they didn’t usually have the luxury to get new ones when needed. The agency I worked for was able to help provide holiday gifts to the kids that were enrolled in programs there, but I always knew there were so many kids that were not being helped. It is so nice that organizations like Cradles to Crayons exists, with the help of the public, to provide the basic needs to kids. The fact that the Philadelphia branch of Cradles to Crayons was started by a mom who wanted to help kids shows the power of what mother’s can do for kids!
Right now Cradles to Crayons is in need of jeans! Kids sizes infant through 14/16 are needed. They have a top ten list of the most needed items:
This spring, there are Spring Greening events being held to help collect needed items for Cradles to Crayons. That is what my son’s preschool is participating in and any organization, mom’s group, etc, can hold a Spring Greening event. If you are interested in hosting a drive please see the Cradles to Crayons website for detailed information. It seems fairly easy to set up and the rewards of helping so many kids is tenfold. If you would just like to donate goods or money, please see here for more information.
For over several years, the 1619house in Williamstown, NJ has hosted over a 100+ drug/alcohol-free events. These living room shows range in attendance from 40-80 kids from show to show and have featured not only local acts, but also performers from across the US (signed & unsigned) and several from around the world (Canada, UK, Australia, France, Italy). All shows are donation-based ($1-5) to help with gas money for touring bands and/or for charities. The 1619house has organized successful benefits for Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, Books Through Bars, Sister Jean’s Kitchen, Invisible Children, PA Abolitionists, SERV (Service Empowering Rape Victims), Food Not Bombs, and dozens of blanket drives/distributions.
The 1619house in need of some repairs to keep the Living Room Concerts going.
Last year Jenna, Daddy & Mommy walked in the Breast Cancer Mother’s Day walk in Philadelphia. This year Daddy is recovering from knee surgery, so he wont be able to join us. Jenna & Mommy will be walking together. I plan on making it a yearly tradition for Jenna & I (well for as long as she thinks it’s cool to hang with Mama anyway). Everyone’s family has been touched by cancer in some form or another. We all have our stories and reasons for what we do. Our main reason for walking in the Suan G. Komen walk is, Jenna’s Aunt MoMo. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer a few years ago and is doing well now thanks to all the advances in treatment. Those advances were made with the help of fundraisers like this walk. We are walking for her and everyone who has had Breast Cancer or will have Breast Cancer in the future! Every little bit helps!
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