Friday's Fabulous Mom: Laurel MacDougall from Ducks in a Row

Cashmere & Carrot Sticks fabulous Mom for this week is Laurel MacDougall. Laurel has a wonderful blog - Ducks in a Row - that is a "must visit" for all of you out there.

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I am Laurel MacDougall.  I have 3 darling children - my oldest daughter will be 9 next month, my son is the middle child and he is 6 and my youngest daughter is 3.  I've been married to Tom, a geo technical engineer for 12 years and we live in Colorado.  Tom works very hard and I am a stay-at-home mom.  I teach piano lessons out of our home to 12 students, plus my own kids.  I love to blog, run and exercise, read, make my home a special place, organize and de-clutter everything, and try to keep us all healthy and active.



Our fabulous Mom Laurel and her family



How does a day start for you and what’s being served for breakfast?

I just wrote a post about our breakfast routines, click here to view it.  A typical day for me usually starts between 5 - 5:30 am and goes something like this.

Favorite bedtime story(ies) currently on the must-read list for your little ones?

I am not sure we have must-reads.  We visit the library about once a week and we fill up a basket of books.  I also organize our books by month.  This helps us rotate through all the books we have.  My oldest usually reads on her own and she is into Harry Potter right now.  My middle son is just starting to be an independent reader and my youngest loves any book.  We usually do have some Dora ones from the library that she loves to check out.

What’s on your bedside table right now?

Oy, I have way too many books on my nightstand.  I just finished Mindless Eating and found it fascinating.  I've been trying to get through the Chronicles of Narnia all year.  I always read my scriptures.

Tip or Trick for getting those daily vegetable servings in

I think if there was a tip that was always successful, someone would be a millionaire!  My first piece of advice is to be an example.  I eat salads almost every day for lunch and my kids see that.  I always serve vegetables, usually a salad, at dinner.  It's not really an option - they have to eat it.  They usually wait for me to say "eat your veggies" but they don't usually complain and know they have to eat them and why.  I also make sure there are veggies that I know they like.  I.'s favorite is lettuce, G. likes beets and cucumbers and broccoli, M. likes carrots.  I asked my kids what advice they have and my oldest say "drench them in ranch - they're way better that way."  We don't do that, but I guess that might work.

Any words of advice for keeping all the clutter and toys from overtaking?

My biggest piece of advice is to not have so much!  My kiddos have their favorites, but getting something new is a VERY special occasion!  Second, have a place for everythingand make sure you put the toys away together several times to teach them where they go.  If there isn't a specific place (it helps if it is labeled) then they are going to end up all over the house on the floor - guaranteed!

Something special unique thing that you do for your family that you hope they remember fondly in the future

Most of what they do, I hope they will remember.  Building memories is a big motivator for me.  Our favorite times are Family Movie Nights on Friday nights.  We make pizza together and watch a movie.  We also have Family Night every Monday night.  I am not sure how unique those are though.  I have found that my kids are just as happy, if not more, when we spend time together.  They love going to the park, playing in our back yard, building Legos - probably more than going to a movie theater, going out to eat, or spending a lot of money.  They do talk fondly, though, of our Disney world trip that we took last year.

Your go-to family meal that you know will be loved by all, eaten by all and serve some nutrients too!

Tacos - everyone customizes how they want it.  My youngest has a ton of allergies and tacos allow her to eat gluten, egg and peanut free.  My son loves meat, but not cheese - so that's how he makes his.  My oldest thinks tacos are "awesome."  My husband eats them with everything on them and I eat them more as a salad.   They're always served with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, black beans, ground turkey or chicken, cheese, sour cream and tortillas.  They are quick and everyone eats them.  In fact, we are having them for dinner tonight! 

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Thank you so much Laurel for being one of our Fabulous Moms - it's a well-deserved title.  Please do take the time to check out Laurel's blog - Ducks in a Row - where you will learn even more amazing stuff about this woman and her family.

Reminder to everyone that the giveaway for this week ends today at noon with winners being announced either this afternoon or on Monday (depending on my schedule :)). Click here to learn more about the giveaways and here for information on how to enter - hurry!