Friday, September 3, 2010 at 07:15 AM
Someone please get me a box of tissues. This is the saddest day of the year for me. Oh, how I love summer and oh, how I hate to see it come to an end. Back in the days B.C. (Before Children), my husband and I would really stretch out our enjoyment of everything summer had to offer. We would hit Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard to celebrate our September 13th anniversary – sans crowds – but still with the last glory days of summer. No more. With two children in grade school, summer now comes to a screeching halt with Labor Day Weekend. It’s time to put away the white pants, store the beach chairs and boogie boards, and brace ourselves for the madness that is the School Year.
Sob.
The worst part? Saying Good-Bye to our Pool Club. 
My son tries to apply his own sunscreen
We have been very fortunate to have been able to join a local Pool Club, the Park Terrace Swim Club, for four years now and it is the best thing we ever did. Back in the days B.C., we went to the beach on the weekends. We’re only 1 hour from Newport, RI, so we did it just about every weekend. And even when the kids were babies, we did the same thing. But then, when they started entering the pre-school years, we became inundated with birthday parties and activities. It became harder and harder to escape to the beach. Additionally, gas prices had soared due to Hurricane Katrina, and traffic was crazy. So instead, we joined the Pool Club. Like I said, it’s the Best Thing Ever!
Whenever we’re not working, we go to the Pool Club. Yes, we pay a substantial fee for the summer, but it is worth it. Although the Pool Club has a snack bar, they allow you to bring in your own food, so we always pack healthy lunches and sometimes even dinner. You can even have pizza or other takeout delivered while you are there!
We’ve had four memory-filled summers at Park Terrace. There have been so many firsts:
First Time Down the Slide
First Time Off the High Dive
Honestly, I could write about our Pool Club all day, but I’ve stuff to do, so I’ll just make it short.
Top Ten Reasons Why We Love Our Pool Club
- The kids get a ton of exercise (there’s basketball and tennis too) all summer long and they’ve become great swimmers.
- The kids get lots of socialization and they make great friends.
- We get to sit. In chairs. With cocktails.
- This goes back to #3. While there is a no glass policy, there is not a no alcohol policy. We have lots of little cocktail hours with friends.
- We get to talk to people other than our kids – because our kids are off playing with their friends, but we can still see them.
- It’s our escape from our house, from the constant to-do list.
- They have free Wi Fi – in case you have an emergency at work – and you need to whip out your laptop.
- They play ’80s tunes most of the time, so you feel like you’re 16 again – until you try to get up out of your chair.
- You feel like you went to the beach, but there is no sand to clean out of your car.
- They have a fantastic Labor Day party.
And Number 10 is why this post will be short. You see, at the Labor Day party, there are contests. Like the kids have swim races. And my daughter has been practicing for weeks!
And the Dads face off in a Cannonball contest.
This was my husband in the Dad Division of the Cannonball contest. No, he did not win. His form was a little off that day.
He did a little better in the Dad’s Division of the Hula Hoop Contest:
But, alas, he did not win that either.
I, however, did win the Mom’s Division of the Hula Hoop contest last year and I am hoping to defend my title. It was so much fun and the kids still talk about it.
This is the stuff that memories are made of.
My husband and I always say that our pool club is like a place and time gone by. It’s just some good old-fashioned family fun – a place where we can enjoy the best that summer has to offer, close to home.
Come Monday, we’ll pack up our stuff that we got to leave at the Pool Club all summer – our chairs, our little cocktail tables, our big green umbrella. We’ll say a sad good-bye and begin our 9 month countdown, until the gates open again next June of 2011.
I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend.
Now I’m off to practice my Hula Hoop!
The Best of This Summer’s Recipes
I was going to wrap up summer with the best of this summer’s recipes, but my friend Tina did a fantastic job doing that yesterday. So instead I got to blab on about my Pool Club instead and you can just click on over to Trading Up Downtown. Tina gathered all the best of all the summer recipes we made here on A Better Bag of Groceries and Trading Up Downtown, so if you’re cooking this weekend, enjoy!
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Uncategorized
Friday, August 27, 2010 at 07:02 AM
This is the question my seven-year-old son asked this morning as we were rushing around to get the kids to summer camp, my husband to his train on time and me to the office. It definitely made my husband and I stop and have a good laugh for a minute.
I can see why my son would think that ravioli comes from cows. My kids love ravioli and by Thursday – when I am dead tired from a long week – it’s a meal solution that sounds great to me. Boil some water, open bag, plunk it in, stir. Also, our milk delivery service comes on Thursday – in a truck that is painted like a cow.
In addition to glass-bottled milk and Rhode Island farm fresh eggs, we often buy ravioli from our milk man because they get it from the famous Venda Ravioli on Federal Hill in Providence. So, it makes sense that my son would think that ravioli comes from cows, since we get ours from our milk man!
We have not scored Venda ravioli at NuVal. It is a local product that is not stocked at any of our Retailer partners (yet!). However, as you might guess, most run-of-the-mill ravioli does not do so well on the NuVal scale:
- Mama Rosie’s Round Cheese Ravioli: NuVal score of 4
- Louise Frozen Cheese Ravioli: NuVal score of 9
However, if your kids are huge ravioli fans and you would like to trade up for better nutrition, you could consider the following:
- Mama Rosie’s Low Fat Cheese Ravioli: NuVal score of 27
And sometimes I buy that kind at the supermarket too.
My son’s question this morning did make me think, though, while driving to work. Do our children really know where their food comes from? Should we have spent more time visiting some farms this summer instead of swimming at the pool? I always get so frustrated with teenage cashiers who don’t know their asparagus from their Belgian endive, but my son just asked me if ravioli comes from cows!?! I think that we all have a lot of educating to do.
Interestingly, my son has also started to read nutrition facts panels on products this summer. He likes to read calories and vitamins, but he is most focused on calcium and he believes that the more he can get in his diet, the sooner we will become a true Jedi fighter. Yesterday, he was sipping a juice box and he said, “Hey Mom. This box says that is is a good source of calcium on the front. But it only says 10% on the side.” Hmmmmmm. He may think that ravioli comes from cows, but he is one smart cookie.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Uncategorized
Tags: ravioli
Monday, August 16, 2010 at 07:18 AM
Welcome to Cart Confessions, a frequent feature here at A Better Bag of Groceries, when I ‘fess up that, hey, I’m no Super-Mom and sometimes often some less-than-nutritious products end up in my shopping cart. I have to tell you that I don’t make this stuff up. Many people in my hometown know that I write ABBG and know me as the teacher of Boot Camp and Pilates classes, so there are times when I’m covering certain products up in my shopping cart lest I bump into someone while grocery shopping! When I found out the NuVal score on these Late July cookies, I found that these were one of those products.
I blame my 7-year-old son for this one. He first spied these at Stop & Shop about a year ago – in a snack pack. He is born on the 4th of July and he just loves his July birthday and anything at all to do with the month of July, so he asked if he could get these cookies as a special treat. I looked at the label. Lots of great health claims:
- 2 g whole grain per serving
- anti-oxidants
- processed without dangerous pesticides
- no trans-fat or high fructose corn syrup
- no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives
I figured they must be at least a little bit more nutritious than a regular cookie, right? No. They score an 8 on the NuVal scale. They get the same score as a Double Stuff Oreo. A Keebler Chips Deluxe Soft and Chewy Cookie with a score of 12 would be a better choice.
Can I just add here that I paid over $4 for this box at Shaw’s? Crazy.
Bottom line. A cookie that you buy in the “Healthy” section of your grocery store is still a cookie.
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Cart Confessions, Cookies, Uncategorized
Friday, August 13, 2010 at 07:05 AM
Fridays call for a fun blog post. This has been the Summer of Social Events for us, including, (drum roll, please) my little sister is getting married! And for her Bridal Shower, we were asked to bring one of our Favorite Kitchen Things for the Bride-To-Be.
First, let’s review the Family Tree.
There are three of us “older” sisters who are already married:
Melissa, Julie and April
And now, our baby sister Kristin will walk down the aisle on 10-10-10!
Kristin
So back to her Bridal Shower and these Kitchen Things. As I mentioned, Kristin’s BFF, Cammie,
Kristin and Cammie
made the invitations and in them she asked party-goers to bring a Favorite Thing for Kristin’s kitchen basket. It could be a gadget, a recipe, a spice, etc. This was a great idea. However, as a a self-proclaimed “Kitchen Person”, I had a hard time deciding what I would put in the Bride’s basket. I have so many favorite things. I often say that if stranded on a desert island, I would bring my Pampered Chef garlic press. Or OXO measuring cups. As for recipes, where would I even begin? Oh, the pressure of it all.
I was very curious to see what Favorite Things the other Shower-Goers brought for Kristin’s basket. No one seemed to mind that I was taking pictures of everything in there!
There was the Leopard Ice Cream Scoop:
The Mr. Clean Magic Erasers (one of my favorites!):
The “Eggsact Egg-Timer”
And a Brushing Beauty for scrubbing those pots and pans.
There were cookbooks…
and recipes.
So, what Favorite Kitchen Thing did I put in Kristin’s Kitchen Basket? After a lot of deliberation, I decided on a beautiful rubber scraper from Williams-Sonoma in a lovely shade of green (her favorite).
This is no ordinary rubber scraper. It is heavy duty, much like the Pampered Chef Mix’N Scraper, you can use it to mix things and scrape things. It’s one of my most-used kitchen gadgets. I think Kristin is going to love it!
Question of the Day
What Favorite Thing would you put in the Bride’s Kitchen Basket?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Uncategorized
Tags: Favorite Things, Kitchen Gadgets
Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 06:57 AM
Let’s play a guessing game today! Yesterday, I traveled out to visit one of our newest supermarket retailers to come on board with NuVal. They are planning to launch NuVal scores in all their stores in September, but they haven’t announced this in the press yet, so I can’t tell you who it is.
I can let you guess though!
Here are some clues.
I drove there – in my car.
They have a lovely produce section.
Yum. I bought some locally grown blueberries before I left.
They also have a great specialty foods section.
Lots of interesting things to try!
But I was here to check out one thing – their shelf tag!
It looks awesome, doesn’t it?
So, who do you think this Mystery Market is?
Posted by: Melissa
Posted in: Uncategorized
