Staying Connected

Read and discuss a book together.

Light candles with family each night, read bible verses, open advent doors. Bake cookies together or virtually.

“We were together. I forgot the rest.”

Walt Witman

Staying Connected

Finding ways you can do something together.

Set the tone with holiday sing alongs.

Board or interactives games are great for families.

Huddle together for holiday special together. Host a classic Zoom cocktail hour. Write to someone to tell them you are thinking of them.

What’s in Season? The Mislabeled Sweet Potato The Mislabeled Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are the perfect winter food. Often mislabeled as yams, technically what you see in the grocery stores are sweet potatoes. Related to the common potato, there are five basic varieties of sweet potatoes: Purple (purple flesh), Jewel and Garnet, (both orange interiors), Hannah, (white interior), and Japanese (rounder with red flesh). (A true yam has white flesh, dark, rustic skin, is dry, starchy and native to Africa and Asia.)

Originating in Central and South America, the sweet potato was cultivated and consumed before its white potato cousin and brought to Europe by Columbus. While loved for its flavor, these tuberous root vegetables are packed with fiber, beta-carotene, complex carbohydrates, manganese, and vitamins A, B6 and B12 and no fat. For all their sweet flavor, they are one of the healthiest foods around. They can be baked (275º for 2 1/2 hours), mashed, grilled, microwaved or roasted. The skin and leaves are edible.

Sweet potatoes are more delicate than potatoes. Choose small to medium size, firm sweet potatoes with unwrinkled skins; they become starchier as they grow larger. Store with care (they bruise easily) in a cool, dark place and plan to use within 4-7 days. Do not store in the refrigerator. You can freeze cooked sweet potato, but not raw.

Add a healthy, delicious sweet potato or two to your cart and enjoy!

155 Orange Avenue 619.435.0776 Open 8:30 am - 9:00 Daily

Come, gather around this dumpster fire of a year and let us debrief. To be clear, it wasn’t all bad. I’ve become an expert in mask acne treatments, Tiger King, and where to buy the best tie dye loungewear. We have had to get creative with holidays and it has been so fun to see all the different ways everyone came up with to celebrate. My birthday is March 19, literally the first few days of when the you know what hit the fan. I remember sitting on my very first Zoom call with my friends and drinking a glass of champagne, all of us shell-shocked about what was going down. Well, at least it will be over by like, Easter, beginning of summer max, we said.

LOL.

As the year wore on, we navigated our new normal and started finding the joy in ways we may have rushed by previously. The day after Halloween, I ripped my spiderwebs down, poured a tall glass of Santa’s special eggnog and started decking the halls, because there are no rules these days.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to decorate my home like the North Pole on steroids and hunker down with my family. COVID-19 has forced us to slow down, and for that I am grateful. I want to bake not just gingerbread men, but a gingerbread village with my kids. I want my husband to light up the house like Clark Griswold. Who knows, I might even knit my whole alley matching holiday sweaters! I will be intentional with my holiday shopping, purchasing locally and supporting all of our beautiful shops and restaurants in town.

I like to joke about the hardships of pandemic life, because if I’m not laughing, I’m crying. Being a parent is hard, being a parent during a pandemic is harder. Make sure you are taking care of yourselves and ask for help when you need it.

My final parent of the year that I want to introduce to you is truly an inspiration to me. My dear friend Lauren Mulloy has been holding down the fort with her three kids while her husband Ben has been deployed this year. She is very open and real when she describes her experience, which I appreciate. I have watched in awe as she has literally done it all on her own, and during these insane times, too. Not to mention she still finds the time to shower; I wish I could say the same!

The Mulloys, along with so many other families that sacrifice for our country, are 100 percent at the top of the Nice List.

Tell us a little about yourself and your family.

Hi! We’re the Mulloys! I’m Lauren and my husband, Ben, is a Navy Pilot who has been deployed since the spring. We have three kiddos- Tenley (5), Tate (3) and Laken (1). We are originally from the East Coast but have been lucky enough to call Coronado home since 2019!

Describe motherhood in three words.

Beautiful, challenging, rewarding.

What is a big mom fail that sticks out to you?

Motherhood is full of mom fails, but the most recent one has to be when I put Laken’s shorts on Tate and sent him off to school. Later realizing Tate was wearing shorts three sizes too small that day…

What are your favorite things about raising kids in Coronado?

The weather is my favorite part about living here! And being able to just walk or zip around in the golf cart with ease is something you don’t get to experience anywhere else. The Coronado community has been so welcoming of our “East Coast” family and serve as a constant reminder of why we are so thankful to live here.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new mom, what would it be?

This is tough because after three babies, there are so many things I’ve learned that are the “wish I knew then, what I know now” kind of thing. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. You know that saying, “it takes a village”? It’s 100% true, lean on your support network!

I know I speak for the whole community when I say thank you for your dedication and service Mulloy Family; you are so appreciated and loved.

Well that is a wrap on 2020!

Writing this column brings me so much joy, and I hope it makes you smile. I truly love meeting so many interesting people and sweet families through it. Wishing you all a beautiful, peaceful, healthy holiday. Let’s raise our glasses and bleach spray bottles and cheers to a fresh new year ahead.