Mother's Day Article From April 2009 Issue of Parent and Grandparent Planner



Recipe for a Delightful Mother’s Day

By Angela Antonelli

Pssst! All of you Mothers out there…

Picture yourself spending Mother’s Day enjoying a luxurious, all natural facial treatment, while munching on freshly made cucumber sandwiches or sipping a cup of tea. You can make this happen. Here’s what to do:
Fold this paper so that this article is displayed, and place it somewhere where your partner and/or child will see it (propped against the golf bag, on top of the DS, whatever applies to your family). The use of several strategically placed photocopies, asterisks, and highlighting is encouraged.

Simple Spa Recipes to Make Mom’s Day!

If you are still trying to figure out what your Mom might enjoy for Mother’s Day (besides spending time with you, of course!) why not consider treating her to a relaxing spa treatment? Sound too expensive? Believe it or not, the ingredients for creating many luxurious spa treatments can be found right in your kitchen. Each recipe listed includes ingredients that can be used to make a spa treatment and refreshments.

Spa Menu

Mom’s Going Bananas: Treat yourself to a fun, fruity facial that smoothes and soothes, and enjoy a simply sweet banana-yogurt parfait.

Tea Time: Exfoliate and revitalize your skin with a sweet tea facial scrub, and soothe tired peepers with a calming tea-bag eye treatment. Top off your treatment with a cup of tea, made to order.

Lemon Zest: Revitalize your skin with a refreshing lemon sugar shower scrub, and then treat yourself to one of life’s simple pleasures: fresh-squeezed lemonade.

Cool as a Cucumber: Rejuvenate and moisturize skin with a cucumber facial, enjoy a refreshing eye treatment, and munch on crisp cucumber sandwiches.

Mom’s Going Bananas!

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
1 single serving cup of plain yogurt
Honey

Directions for Banana Facial Mask:

  • Use a fork to mash up half of a banana in a bowl
  • Add one spoonful of yogurt and two spoonfuls of honey
  • Mix well with a spoon
  • Have Mom lie down with her hair pulled back, and her head on a towel
  • Gently spread the mixture onto your Mom’s chin, cheeks, nose, and forehead (be careful not to get any in her eyes).
  • Let your Mom relax for about twenty minutes
  • Gently clean off her face with a warm washcloth
  • Have your Mom rinse her face with cool water and pat it dry

While your Mom is enjoying her facial, you can use the rest of your ingredients to make a banana parfait:

Directions for Banana Parfait:

  • Put the rest of the yogurt into a bowl
  • Add one spoonful of honey, and use a spoon to mix well
  • Slice the other half of the banana into circles (if you’re not allowed to use knives, a spoon will do the job too).
  • Squirt a small bit of honey into a clear glass (any dish or container is fine, but your parfait will look pretty in clear glass)
  • Pour about 2 spoonfuls of the yogurt mixture into the glass (do not stir)
  • Add a layer of banana slices until the yogurt mixture is all covered up (don’t mix them in, just leave them on top of the mixture)
  • Add 2 more spoonfuls of the yogurt mixture
  • Add another layer of banana slices on top of the yogurt (do not mix)
  • Spoon in enough of the yogurt mixture to cover the bananas
  • Drizzle a small amount of honey onto the yogurt to make it look fancy
  • Serve

Tea Time

Ingredients:
2 regular tea bags
½ cup sugar
¼ cup honey
¼ teaspoon of vanilla (optional)

Directions for Tea:

  • Microwave two mugs of water for about 3 minutes (ask an adult for help if you are not allowed to use the microwave)
  • Place one tea bag in each mug
  • Let the tea sit in the microwave for 5-10 minutes (but do not turn the microwave back on)
  • Use a spoon to take the tea bags out, and set them aside on a small plate
  • Ask your Mom how she likes her tea (plain, with honey, or with sugar?)
  • Serve her one of the mugs of tea, and save the other mug of tea for the facial scrub recipe below

Directions for Sweet Tea Facial Scrub and Eye Soother:

  • Mix ½ cup of sugar, a ¼ cup of honey, and ¼ teaspoon of vanilla in a large bowl (it’s fine if you don’t have vanilla)
  • Add 2 tablespoons of the tea that you saved from the facial recipe above
  • Stir well with a spoon (it will be goopy!)
  • Have Mom lie down with her hair pulled back, and her head on a towel
  • Use your fingers to scoop a little bit of the mixture onto Mom’s face, and (very gently) rub it onto her nose, forehead, cheeks, and chin (be careful not to get any in her eyes)
  • Get a warm washcloth, and wipe the mixture off of her face
  • Have your Mom rinse her face with cool water and pat dry with a towel
  • Ask your Mom to lie back down
  • Get the two tea bags that you saved. Make sure that they are not hot, and then squeeze them out over the sink. Place one tea bag over each eye.
  • Let Mom rest for as long as she likes!

(This recipe also makes a great shower and foot scrub!)

Lemon Zest

Ingredients:
One lemon
Sugar
Water

Directions for Fresh Lemonade:

  • Roll the lemon around on the counter, pressing lightly as you roll (just as you would roll a ball of clay)
  • Slice the lemon in half (ask an adult for help if you’re not allowed to use a knife)
  • Squeeze almost all of the lemon juice into a bowl. Use a spoon to remove the seeds from the lemon juice.
  • Pour the lemon juice into a tall glass (save the lemon halves for later)
  • Add 1 ½ cups of cold water and 3 tablespoons of sugar
  • Stir well, add ice, and serve

*Tip: if the lemonade tastes too sour, add a little more sugar. If it tastes too sweet, add a little more water.

Directions for Zesty Lemon Shower Scrub:

  • Squeeze the rest of the lemon juice into a bowl (save the lemon halves)
  • Add ¼ cup of water
  • Add spoonfuls of sugar until the mixture becomes thick (like pudding)
  • Mix well with a spoon, and scoop the mixture into a plastic cup or container that your Mom can bring into the shower. Put the lemon halves in the container too.
  • Give the mixture to your Mom to use in the shower as a body scrub (make sure that you refrigerate the mixture until she’s ready for her shower)
  • When your Mom is done with her shower, she can rub the lemon halves on her elbows, knees and ankles to smooth her skin

Cool as a Cucumber

Ingredients:
2 cucumbers
1 single serving cup of plain yogurt
Whipped cream cheese
White bread, or any soft bread

Directions for Cucumber Cooler Facial Mask:

*Ask an adult for help if you’re not allowed to use a potato peeler, knife, and/or blender

  • Use a potato peeler to peel the cucumbers
  • Carefully slice the first cucumber into thin slices, and place the slices in a bowl in the refrigerator (you will save these for later)
  • Carefully slice the second cucumber into thin slices, and put them into a blender
  • Scoop 2 tablespoons of yogurt into the blender
  • Blend the mixture on a medium setting until it is smooth
  • Pour the mixture into a bowl
  • Have Mom lie down with her hair pulled back, and her head on a towel
  • Put a little bit of the mixture onto Mom’s face, and gently rub it onto her nose, forehead, cheeks, and chin (be careful not to get any in her eyes)
  • Get two of the cucumber slices out of the fridge, and place one slice over each of Mom’s eyes
  • Let your Mom rest for 20 minutes
  • Remove the cucumber slices from her eyes
  • Using a warm, wet washcloth, gently wipe the mixture off of her face
  • Have your Mom rinse her face with cool water and pat it dry with a towel

Directions for Fancy Cucumber Sandwiches:

  • Scoop 6 tablespoons of whipped cream cheese into a bowl
  • Stir in 2 tablespoons of yogurt
  • Mix well with a spoon
  • Cut the crusts off of two slices of bread
  • Spread the yogurt/cream cheese mixture onto each slice of bread (like you would with mayonnaise or peanut butter)
  • Place cucumber slices onto one slice of bread, then cover with the other slice
  • Cut into triangles or squares
  • Serve

Tip: for extra flavor, you can add ½ teaspoon of dill weed to the yogurt and cream cheese mixture, stir it well, and then let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour before making the sandwiches. Dill weed can be found in the herbs/spices section of the grocery store.

Other ideas for making Mom’s spa experience extra special:

  • Make a “do not disturb” door sign
  • Present your Mother with a “gift certificate” entitling her to a day at your spa
  • Prepare a comfortable area for her spa treatments (couch, bed, or floor with soft blankets, pillows, and towels)
  • Play quiet, relaxing music in the background
  • Encourage your Mom to wear her pajamas, her favorite robe, or her most comfortable clothes
  • Have extra towels close by
  • Offer to give your Mom a hand, arm, or foot massage using her favorite lotion
  • Clean up after your spa projects are completed

Remember that your Mom loves you, no matter what you do!