Wishing you a warm welcome to UltimateMama, the "ultimate" resource guide for today's busy, caring parents who want one-stop solutions, recommendations, and parenting advice.
UltimateMama was recently treated to a delightful, decadent afternoon lunch at KDHamptons founder Kelli Delaney and Dr. Mark Kot’s beautiful Water Mill home, Maple Shade. The radiant hostess gave me a tour of this home’s his (Mark’s) and hers (Kelli’s) expansive gardens which include grand silver maple trees and the most elegant hydrangeas on the East End of Long Island. Kelli and Mark’s ultimate summer garden is accentuated by a drizzle of blue and white pillows, vases, and urns surrounding their outdoor furniture which makes for a dazzling, sophisticated, yet comfortable atmosphere.
UltimateMama’s girls are always excited to make these clever, easy, minimalist, nutritious, and tasty avocado boats. The best thing about them is that they can be eaten right out of the avocado! Avocados are high in healthy fats and great anytime of day.
Ultimate Avocado Boat recipe (for 8 people):
-4 avocados
-6 plum tomatoes cut into cubes (or use a pint of washed cherry tomatoes which you won’t need to cut)
-1 container of fresh mozzarella balls (bocconcini) or you can cube one larger mozzarella ball
-4 tablespoons diced red onion (scallions work well too)
-2 tablespoons of lime juice
To do: scoop out the “meat” from each avocado but remember to keep the “shell”. In a large bowl, gently stir cubed avocado chunks, tomatoes, mozzarella, onions, and lime juice. Carefully, spoon into each of your eight avocado “shells” and serve!
UltimateMama and her girls love to make this refreshing summer salad for lunch guests. It is quick, easy, delicious, and filled with nutrients. Best of all, it is colorful as well as easy to eat poolside.
Ultimate Pineapple and Chicken Summer Salad recipe
-Fresh kale
-Pineapple chunks
-Red (or yellow) potatoes cut in chunks
-Grilled chicken cubed (UltimateMama usually uses leftovers from the prior evening)
-Balsamic vinegar
To do: wash and dry the kale, add the rest of the ingredients, and lightly drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve in pretty summer bowls.
UltimateMama and her family took a quick trip to Lisbon, Portugal and discovered the beauty of the city. The amazing food (and wine for the grown ups) was an incredible treat! UltimateMama’s kids still rave about the Pasteis de Belem–a MUST!
A few tips on Lisbon:
-Stay at the Sofitel Lisbon Liberdade in Lisbon, Portugal. The rooms are pristine and the buffet breakfast (included in our room rate) was out of this world!
UltimateMama and her kids thought Greece was the perfect blend of education and relaxation. Although it was extremely hot in early June at 95 degree F, Athens was an absolute delight of a city. A few tips to enjoy Athens with kids:
-Stay at the Hotel Grande Bretagne as it is central to everything. The rooftop pool is perfect for a late afternoon dip and the spa/indoor pool is truly a pleasure. In the evening hours one has a wonderful view of the Acropolis lit up from the hotel’s lovely restaurant. The Syntagma Square was ideal for touring, eating, and catching the underground subway.
-Have a quick lunch at Kosmikon in the Plaka area (and grab some inexpensive souvenirs afterwards).
-Watch the changing of the guards across the street at the Parliament Building (in Syntagma Square). Just make sure you ask your hotel for the exact times.
-For dinner visit Erato restaurant café in the Plaka area and then browse the silver jewelry in the Monastiraki flea market.
-Visit the Acropolis Museum BEFORE touring the Acropolis. Grab a kids guide scavenger hunt to keep your children engaged!
-If you need a great kebab place try Thanasis in the Monastiraki which is near the Plaka area
-Near the Acropolis at an outdoor booth window purchase a 5 day special ticket for 30 Euro for adults (as of June 2018) which includes admission to must visit locations such as: Acropolis of Athens, Ancient Agora of Athens, Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos, Archaeological Site of Lykeion, Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos, Museum of the Ancient Agora, North slope of Acropolis, Olympieio, Roman Agora of Athens, South Slope of Acropolis
-Arrange a guided tour of the Acropolis through Context Travel, including the Parthenon, Acropolis, and the Agora. UltimateMama’s kids enjoyed the “Acropolis for Families: Drama and Sacrifice in Ancient Athens” 3 hour long tour. The tour begins with a visit to the theater of Dionysus on the south slope of the Acropolis and goes from there!
-Have dinner in Kolonaki at OIKEIO which was a superb, traditional Greek food experience with home style cooking at the address: Ploutarchou 15
-Visit and tour the stadium of the first modern Olympic games, the Panathenaic Stadium and be amazed at all the beautiful marble that was used in its creation.
-Walk around the War Museum in Athens and see the collection.
-A favorite dinner spot was in Kolonaki at Barbounaki which was a traditional fish tavern. Definitely a must do!
-Take the cable car to Mount Lycabettus which is the highest hill in Athens (the gift shop at the bottom was a nice surprise as was the restaurant at the top which we didn’t try but were tempted).
UltimateMama and her family have lots of visitors all summer long. As hosts it is always the goal to make a great impression, however, we all want to enjoy the day too! A quick and easy dessert that looks fancy but takes no time at all is the classic sundae. Sundaes look a bit more decadent compared to ice cream cones but basically have all the components. Best of all, they can be made ahead of time and stored in your freezer. Here’s what you need:
For those who don’t want to waffle bowl experience UltimateMama and her girls love making sundaes in depression glass sherbet desert bowls (blue bowls are our favorite color for summer fun)!
UltimateMama’s children get tempted each and every time they walk past a donut shop. The smell of the sweet, greasy treat just fills their hearts with joy. Not wanting them to miss out, UltimateMama purchased the Babycakes nonstick coated donut maker and the kids have been creating all sorts of sweet and somewhat healthy, not fried donut varieties.
Many donut recipes can be found online or in cookbooks, however, UltimateMama has cut down on time by using pancake mix, waffle mix, muffin mix, cake mix, and even splurged recently with a mix from Sur La Table.
UltimateMama and her family hit Costa Rica in March and did a terrific day trip to Nicaragua as well. Perfect weather, ideal scenery, and terrific food made for a great vacation for all in Central America.
A few tips:
-Stay at the Andaz Costa Rica hotel in Guanacaste and make sure you get the breakfast included in your room rate as it is expansive and delicious (monkeys even stop to take notice).
-Take advantage of the kayaks and paddleboards at the hotel’s private beach which you can reach by shuttle bus. UltimateMama and her two kids even hit the Nature Center Papagayo Explorers Club.
-Use Tropical Comfort Tours through the Andaz to book excursions. The Buena Vista Extreme trip didn’t disappoint with zip lining, the longest waterslide in Costa Rica, horseback riding, mud baths, hot springs, and lunch. All near the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano National Park.
-Look into Tropical Comfort’s day trip to Nicaragua where one can take in breakfast, Lake Apoyo (a crater lake), Mombacho Volcano, Masaya Volcano National Park (active volcano), a carriage ride in Granada, and a boat ride on Lake Nicaragua. The Garden Café was delightful for lunch and included Thousand Cranes, a great shop for local crafts and goods.
UltimateMama and her girls enjoy getting everyone who walks through their door into the holiday spirit through decorations. A clever way to re-use a small metal Christmas tree is to add Easter eggs to it! Any remaining eggs could spruce up the otherwise boring base. Quick, easy, inexpensive, and incredibly pleasing to the eye!
Everywhere you turn, you hear debates surrounding kids and technology usage. Every family has different rules and boundaries relating to technology, but most agree that technology is not going away, and it is best to teach our kids how to navigate it safely early on.
The internet has amazing advantages as it relates to children who explore it in a safe manner. Numerous creative, user-friendly, inexpensive (sometimes FREE!), and unique websites exist for children to gain expertise in certain areas, explore new territories, or further their education in specific subjects. Today’s children can use the internet to do everything from honing their culinary skills to exploring countries across the globe to learning another language to perfecting their math facts.
However, parents are not always around to patrol their child’s usage of technology, and the policing inevitably falls into the hands of caregivers. It is a terrific idea to clearly communicate your expectations surrounding technology in your household upfront to both your caregiver and your child. A few house rules to think about as your child navigates the internet include:
• Do not download attachments or install software without the supervision of an adult.
• Do not agree to meet with people you interact with online.
• If you notice anything online that makes you uncomfortable, bring it to the attention of an adult.
• If someone asks to meet you in person, ignore the request and alert an adult immediately.
• Never give out any personal information or details about yourself, family members, or friends (including name, address, phone numbers, age, school, camp, extracurriculars, teams, photos, or passwords).
• If you use a public computer, make sure you log out of all accounts you accessed during the session.
• Be careful of any screen names you create and make sure these names do not include any of your personal information such as your first or last names.
• Do not compromise other people’s online work or accounts.
• Do not bully, gossip, or post anything inappropriate about anyone online.
• Be mindful of your tone if you post online comments.
• Never post your image or personal video clips online (those of your friends, family members, and acquaintances are off limits as well).
• Beware of minimum age limits on many social media websites and respect them.
• Avoid clicking online ads and pop-up ads, as they can contain viruses or expect you to provide your personal contact information.
• Understand that not everything you read online is true or accurate, and if you are conducting school research online, you should ask an adult (teacher, librarian, or guardian) for respectable websites to use.
• Limit your usage of the internet and be aware that spending time in person with friends or family members is the best way for you to socialize.
• When in doubt, grab an adult for guidance, advice, and supervision.
Whether you print a list of rules and post it to your refrigerator, or create a technology contract signed by all (you, your child, and your caregiver), you will want to be forthcoming about the importance of online safety. Clearly state to your caregiver that your end goal is to make sure your child is protected when he is online under her supervision while you are not present.
You may also want to make it clear to the caregiver that you do not want any personal information or images about your family posted online in any capacity for privacy concerns. Additionally, if your child brings a friend home, you should tell your caregiver that you expect her to relay your house rules regarding technology to him so everyone is on the same page.
Bottom line: it is important that parents and caregivers work together to teach children about safety and responsibility as it relates to technology. Remember, technology will be a big part of our children’s lives for years to come!
Kristen Duca and her husband are the parents of two girls in New York City. She has served as a contributing writer for New York Parenting and Long Island Special Child magazines, and she’s author of “Ultimate Nanny: How to Find, Interview, and Manage the Most Important Person You Will Ever Hire – Your Child’s Nanny,” which is available on amazon.com. She blogs at ultimatemama.com.
