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It's a party on Wednesday morning as the Old Capitol Farmers' Market returns to Adams street (between 5th and 2nd streets) in downtown Springfield starting at 8:00 a.m.
Not only will you be able to shop produce, cheese, baked goods, plants, meats and other specialty items from area farmers and local vendors, but there will be complimentary cake from Incredibly Delicious (get there early!), music and more!
There are also new vendors west of the railroad tracks this summer as well as a Local Artisan Market every Saturday and "Super Saturdays" on the 3rd Saturday of each month with local artisans, celebrity chef demonstrations and live entertainment. Don't miss it!
Starting June 2nd, vendors will accept credit, debit and LINK cards as well.
Be sure to jot down on your summer calendar these other "Don't Miss" festivities:
My family loves the YMCA, and I know many of yours do, too! Whether you are driving out to the UIS soccer fields on the weekends to watch your kids play in the Y soccer leagues or your little ones are learning how to swim or heading off to summer camp, the YMCA is an important thread in the fabric of this community for people from all walks of life.
The volunteers and staff at the Springfield YMCA work tirelessly to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the health and well-being of all those in our community and support our neighbors. The Y welcomes all — regardless of age, income or background.
That is why we at Springfield Moms plan to support the "Bright Futures" program as part of the Y's annual Strong Kids annual giving initiative. Please join us! Your $50 donation gives two kids the opportunity to learn how to swim. $100 gives three kids the opportunity to learn gymnastics skills. $200 gives ten kids the chance to learn together on a basketball team. $500 gives 28 kids a season of playing soccer together as a team.
When you give to the YMCA, you make an immediate, positive influence in the lives of our kids. For more information, check out the YMCA "Bright Futures" brochure.
Join the Family Service Center on Saturday May 19th for a fun day event or dress up and enjoy the evening event…or both! Their efforts support foster and adoptive families in our community, here's the scoop.
Visit their facebook page for more or download a registration form at www.service2families.org or by calling (217)528-8406.
I know, I know. Our lives are busy – especially this month – but start making plans now to invite out-of-town friends and family to Springfield this summer to check out OUR hot tourist spots.
As "hometowners," it's easy to take our amazing museums, historical sites and just plain fun places to visit for granted. Not only are they world class, but they are affordable, too!
Here are some links to share with your favorite people:
If there is anyone who needs inspiration in the kitchen, it's me! I've burned soup, made lumpy, bumpy pudding and don't ask how many times I have used the microwave to "cook."
My kids like basic staples I can handle like PB&J, cheese quesadillas, hot dogs, pizza, tacos and Mac n cheese. I make delicious pumpkin muffins (they have two ingredients), and I can order take out like a pro.
So what's my new obsession? Watching the Food Network and the array of fun competitive cooking shows that pit one chef against another (throw down with Bobby Flay, Chopped and Cupcake Wars). Not only do I learn by watching, but I become inspired (and hungry for dinner 
.
Lately, I've been taking baby steps to planning meals, taking the time to buy all of the ingredients and trying to be more thoughtful about what our dinner plates look like.
I was thrilled when my efforts rubbed off on my 8 year-old. While I was cooking dinner one night, she and her sister had their own episode of "Chopped" and created an appetizer, main dish and dessert. Their only rule was…cook with what's on hand here at home 'cause we don't have time to go to the store right now!
I will always smile when I see this photo. It shows love, creativity and my daughters having fun and pride in the kitchen. The food translation? Fruit smoothie, mini sandwich bites, cheese for garnish, smoothie for "decoration," muffin with icing and a red hot for flair.
I want to foster more of these memories in the kitchen, so I'll keep trying and involving them along the way!
Email us your favorite dishes you prepare with the kids or any other funny, humbling kitchen stories!
The Powerworks Kids have helped plant a "Garden of Change" this spring. The garden includes tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, green beans, radishes, lettuce, sweet potatoes, asparagus and herbs. Once the plants mature, the kids will help pick fruits and vegetables for their organic snacks at PowerWorks Kids. This is a great way to teach them first hand about eating healthy and show them how easy and rewarding it is to grow your own fruits and vegetables.
The goal of the garden ties into our overall goal of changing the culture of the kids in our community and teaching them that being healthy can be fun and rewarding. These innovative programs created at CT Twisters and PowerWorks Kids help kids learn that activity is important but it's also vital to pay attention to how we nourish our bodies as well.
The garden was created by Carrie Schreyer who is a licensed massage therapist for PowerWorks Fitness's sister company, Chatham Chiropractic. Like all of our staff, she has taken her passion of growing healthy organic food for herself and her family throughout her life and given it to the community. Garden plot is donated by Ken White of CT Twister's.
Submitted by Springfield Moms bronze sponsor Powerworks Kids. For more information on their programs, visit our Mom's Choice Directory.
Photo by Ted Schurter
Now this is helpful! If you have a wedding coming up, and you are hoping to fit into the dress, tuxedo or just be able to dance the night away without losing your breath, join the YMCA's "Wedding Boot Camp."
"Wedding Boot Camp" is a 6-week program designed to help people shape up, shed a few pounds and look and feel great before the big event. Sign up the whole wedding party, and have fun working out together!
Registration is extended for Springfield Moms readers until Friday, May 4th, and the program begins May 7th, ending June 11th. Orientation is May 6th. Weigh-ins and work-outs will be on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:30 – 8:45 p.m. at the Kerasotes YMCA facility. Registration form here.
Additional questions? For more information, contact the
Are you and your family looking for a morning of fun that involves physical activity? Look no further! On Saturday, May 19th, 500 "Girls on the Run" participants will celebrate the completion of their spring program season by running and/or walking in a non-competitive 5K (3.1 miles) event. All are welcome to join the girls' celebration as participants or spectators!
A "Girls on the Run" 5K event is like no other. It's a big party that includes hair painting, skin marker tattoos, photo stations, cheers and a post-race dance. The event is appropriate and inspiring for everyone — girls, boys, women, men, walkers, runners.
The May 19th event will be held at Washington Park in Springfield. Celebration activities begin at 8:30 a.m. and the 5K start time is at 10:00 a.m. Detailed information about the 5K event and online registration can be found on our local "Girls on the Run" website here. Early online registration pricing is $25 and available through May 4th. Paper registrations and online registrations received after May 4th are $30. Race day registration is $35. Registrations received by May 4th are guaranteed a t-shirt. (Strollers and pets are not allowed on the race course.)
So what is "Girls on the Run"? It's a program that helps girls (3rd through 8th grades) take charge of their lives and define the future on their terms. You can also think of it as "Can University" – a place where girls learn that they can. We teach girls that there are no limits and no constraints to whom and what they can be – and there are so many opportunities to be remarkable.
We incorporate running into our curriculum to inspire and motivate girls throughout the 10-week program, encourage lifelong health and fitness, and build confidence through accomplishments. At each season's conclusion, the girls and their coaches participate in a 5K running event. This culminating celebratory event is the moment when the girls realize that the seemingly impossible IS possible.
Come join us for our 5K and help us inspire girls to be healthy, joyful and confident!
Shortly after Greta’s first birthday, she broke her leg (insert gasps here). Yes, it was horrible and yes, I was actually in the same room less than six inches away from her when it happened. I wince anytime I think about how I was taking off her shoes and her sister’s shoes and sister asked me a question, and I turned quickly and THEN there went Greta, sliding off the bench in our family room, and my nine-fingered self couldn’t save her in time.
I missed the save.
Mother’s Day is around the corner, and Mother of the Year has eluded me once again. In a split second, I saw my sweet little girl on the floor in a modified splits-position crying a high-pitched, never-heard-before-wail with humungous, panic-stricken eyes. I’m clearly not a doctor, but I knew right away something was wrong. I mean, I’m a MOM. So of COURSE I know when something is wrong.
I knew because a couple weeks before that I broke my first bone. Ever. Oddly enough, carrying Greta, when our garage door slammed on my finger. I’ve spent the better part of my life drinking milk, so broken bones aren’t usually on my radar screen, and suddenly they’ve been flashing in neon brights around here. I had been operating pretty well with nine functional fingers, or so I had thought. I vacuumed and washed dishes and gave baths and changed diapers and buckled and unbuckled carseats with a missing digit and without missing a beat.
But I missed the save. I.still.missed.the.save.
Any mom who has witnessed an accident knows the “what ifs” and “if only’s” that consume our thoughts when we rethink / dwell on / obsess over / excessively guilt-rid ourselves about the experience.
After Greta and I got home from the hospital, she sporting a full-leg cast and me sporting a full-sized heartache, my adrenaline crashed and I cried. And cried. She was clearly no worse for the wear, snuggled right into her crib and slept soundly through the night, but I couldn’t close my eyes without playing the fall in my head over.andover.andover.again.
Terms like “growth plates” and “buckle breaks” and “cast care” echoed in my tired little skull. My mother-in-law told me to write down my feelings and then burn the piece of paper. My mom assured me Greta would never remember anything and love me just the same. And then, one friend reminded me of this: “……think of all the accidents you have prevented! You're a warrior mom!”
WAIT! She was SO right. We ARE warriors! I’ve saved sister from being hit by a car and saved brother from running into a pole and saved Greta from eating a water bug and saved sister from drowning in the bath and saved brother from falling down the stairs. I’m sure for every one save I’m remembering, there are ten that I’m forgetting – in part because being a Mom means acting on instinct and reflexes.
We automatically do so many things each day to help our little people that we don’t stop to give ourselves credit for half of it. And that’s ok – we don’t need constant reassurance. Mothers instinctively ‘just know’ and automatically ‘just do.’
I may not be Mother of the Year, but I have learned a lot more about mothering this year. This gig isn’t easy, and it’s full of missed saves, but if I have the privilege of raising a tribe of future warriors?
That’s absolutely the best honor there is.
Submitted by Springfield Moms contributor Jennifer Handrich Madiar. Jen is a Wisconsin Badger, Green Bay Packer. Chicago Cubs rooting mom of three kids ages four and under. In her previous life, she worked in Advertising, then Education, then Marketing. Now she combines the three and has added at least 271 additional areas of expertise in her current job of Mom. She, her husband and their family live in Springfield, Illinois.
The Mom Bribe: a donut for getting ready for school in under 15 minutes ...
Ah yes, the ole "do as I say" not as I do has come to play again! For me it's the chronic challenge of having a balanced life. It's easy to say to others: "take time for yourself" or "don't let that get the best of you" or "just stay focused in your priorities." But living a balanced life when you're juggling your kids' needs, your career, your own needs, your family, your friends, your volunteer commitments, etc. Let's just agree that it's inevitably a balancing act that rarely feels in synch!
So rather than doing as I say, my advice now is do as I do. This means that some days it will just be out of synch, and that's okay! On other days, things will be highly productive and seamless…terrific, let's have more of those!
But ultimately, I'm working hard to keep my positive attitude ready to roll. This is one thing I can do and will do more consistently. I will be more resilient to the rough days and pull from the energy and empowerment of the days that do synch so nicely!
There's no perfect system, nobody has it down seamlessly; so celebrate the quirkiness of life and remember the old Nike campaign that told us "just do it!"
