Ever have one of those high stress periods when dinner hasn’t blessed your table in days?  We’ve found ourselves in this situation often lately as we stayed at the side of several close family members who needed hospital care.  What about those weeks when a spouse is out of town?  How about that month or so after a baby is born? Sometimes families just needs extra support!  It is during such times that I wish for a special 9-1-1 line for moms in need of immediate help.

And guess what?  Sonoma County has at least one fantastic resource for moms:  Ruthy’s Real Meals.  Ruthy’s weekly meal delivery grants families a stress-free way to enjoy delicious, organic, healthy meals when mom and dad can’t play chef.  They also make a terrific Mother’s Day gift for moms who might enjoy a relaxing respite from kitchen duties!  Read on for more about Ruthy’s.

When You Need It: Weekly Meal Delivery

Our family served up Ruthy’s Real Meals on many occasions.  (Read the full account here.)  What a treat (and a relief) to sit down to a family-friendly meal lovingly crafted by someone else!

Do you need support near meal time? Ruthy’s Real Meals offers weekly home delivered, meal packages including:

1. Meal planning with healthy, organic selections your family is sure to love
2. Grocery shopping for local and seasonal items
3. Food preparation by an expert chef, ready for you to heat and proudly serve in minutes
4. Satisfaction guarantee

Ruthy’s website makes it easy to pick and choose from Entrées (Both Omnivore and Vegetarian/ Vegan), Side Dishes, Soups, Salads, Rolls, and Desserts.  Order by Friday for a delivery next Tuesday!  (Delivery is free within central Sonoma County with a $75 minimum order).

Ruthy’s is now extending an incredible offer to Sono-Ma friends:  Order before Mother’s Day get 20% off your weekly meal pricing.

My mommy friends with newborns recommend Ruthy, too!  Two of my gal pals registered with Ruthy for their baby showers, and enjoyed fresh, prepared meals for weeks after baby arrived!

When You Want It:  Holiday Meal Offerings

Bake at home sticky buns are just one special item in the à la carte Mother’s Day brunch; avoid the crowds and enjoy a delicious, organic meal. Most items just heat and serve.

Order by Wednesday, May 9th for delivery on Saturday afternoon, May 12th.  $75 minimum order for delivery.

Entrees

Mushroom and Leek Quiche with Ham or Vegetarian $14 pp $24/two $45/four
(Organic eggs, farmers’ market leeks, Diestel ham, flaky pastry crust)

Egg and Green Chili Strata $12 pp $21/two $40/four
(Savory egg bake with layers of bread, chilies and cheese)

Cheese Blintzes with Sour Cream and Jam $12 pp $21/two $40/four
(Egg crepe filled with cottage cheese, cinnamon and raisins)

Tofu Scramble with Spring Onions and Mushrooms $13 pp $23/two $42/four
(Tofu and veggies with a Tamari miso dressing)

Sides

Yukon Gold Home Fries $8 pp $14/two $24/four
Roasted Asparagus $10 pp $17/two $32/four
Grilled Chicken Apple Sausage $8 pp $14/two $24/four
Wilted Kale or Green Salad $12 pp $20/two $40/four

Dessert

Bake at home Pecan Sticky Buns $15 (pan with four buns)
Chocolate Orange Pistachio Torte $8 pp $14/two $24/four

More on Ruthy’s Real Meals

Ruthy’s Real Meals, located in Rohnert Park, was launched in 2007. Owner and chef Ruth Lefkowitz has a degree in Horticulture, and an MA in Community Food Systems. She has been a pastry chef and catering manager as well as a health educator and community resource developer.

Ruthy’s Real Meals home delivery provides high quality, organic, and hand prepared meal items to stock the fridge throughout the week. Whole grains and pastas, organic and local meats, high quality vegetarian proteins, and lots of fresh farmers’ market vegetables and herbs make up each delivery.  Check out Ruthy’s website for current menus at ruthysrealmeals.com.

Put down the laundry basket and send the kids outside for a moment.  Mariah Smith Photography is going to take you on a photo journey that just may entice you to carve out even more time for yourself!  Follow along as Mariah reveals the local blissful retreat experience offered by Leslie Gude’s Bellies N Bloom (and Beyond!) Boutique Studio.

Let’s start with this picture of  our mommy friend, Marina,  finding her center on massage table.  If you’ve ever had a massage you can conjure up exactly how it feels to be tucked between those cool brown sheets.  Your thoughts slow, and your shoulders relax as strong, yet gentle hands tease out those knots in your shoulders.

But there is more to your Bellies N Bloom experience.  Much more.  And every added detail is intentionally chosen to help nurture and pamper the women who give the most – moms!  I booked my first  Bellies N Bloom massage two years ago (read about the details here), and have since returned many times to my new found peaceful haven.  Or should I say heaven?

In the Studio

What can you expect during your personal session with Bellies N Bloom?  All treatments begin with a relaxing, fragrant foot bath followed by a luxurious, moisturizing treatment.  While you calm your thoughts, Leslie serves you herbal tea and some small delicious treats (e.g. almonds or chocolate.)  Leslie wants you rested and nourished so you can truly lose yourself in your body treatment.

As you soak your toes, notice the softly flickering candles and the rose petals trailing along the surfaces.  Yes, Leslie is that committed to making sure you feel pampered and surrounded by beauty!

Bellies N Bloom offers a menu of nurturing services as well as a full product line of amazing creams, lotions, and other fun potions custom created to meet a mother’s unique needs.  Allow me to suggest a few of my special favorite services:

Treat yourself with a relaxing massage.  Leslie’s custom made table has a tummy cut-out so even mommy’s with a bump in the front can get a back massage – truly a necessity with the baby’s growing weight tugging on a mommy-to-be’s back.

“At Bellies N Bloom we pride ourselves in using the finest quality products and pure essential oils.”   Leslie can give you a tummy toning treatment and even a chest lifting serum during your massage – be sure to ask for one of these wonderful add-ons.

Celebrate your baby belly and preserve this miraculous and beautiful time in your life with a Belly Cast.

Don’t want to break away from your new baby?  Don’t count yourself out of a terrific nurturing session!  “We are a baby friendly studio equipped with a Nature’s Sway Hammock swing for a baby,” offers Leslie thoughtfully.

Baby Shower

“Pregnancy is a magical journey that I believe should be celebrated, enjoyed and cherished. At Bellies N Bloom it is our goal to do just this.” says passionate Leslie who is mother of four of her own beautiful children.

Bring Leslie out for a baby shower and you can give your celebrated mommy-to-be an experience she’ll truly enjoy.  Sono-Ma friend Annalyce LaSource recently hired Bellies N Bloom to join in a lovely shower in honor of her best friend.   Leslie arrived with her copper bowl, scrubs, lotions and other products to sample, and quickly became the center of our party.  Our guest of honor indulged in a foot bath and leg massage.  Grandma-to-be also received a neck massage.  The guests all sampled the yummy smelling coconut lotions and other fun potions.

After a wonderful, relaxing afternoon, our mommy-to-be also took home a gift from us ladies – another private session with Bellies N Bloom.  Our gal pal was thrilled, and we felt great knowing we’d treated her to a truly special experience that could give back some of the soul nourishing she’ll soon be pouring into her new baby.

Sono-Ma Scoop:  Check Out the Bellies N Bloom Mother’s Day Special

Head on over to the Bellies N Bloom website and click on their specials tab today.  You’ll find out you can book yourself a well deserved indulgent experience for just $95!  (Regular price is $145) Or better yet, print out the specials page and leave it in an obvious place for as a big hint for dad and the kids…

Mother’s Day Offering:

Your treatment will begin with a rose petal foot bath, followed by lower leg exfoliation and mask.

A 50 minute custom aromatherapy massage that’s promised to leave you blissed out and in a state of total relaxation…

Oh and not to forget a special take home gift for her special day…

Let me know how you feel after your first session!  And don’t forget to sign up for the Blissful email list to be sure you hear about Bellies N Bloom specials!

More About Bellies N Bloom

Bellies N Bloom was born in 2006 in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand where Leslie and her family lived for 3 amazing years.

Leslie is a Registered Nurse with work experience in a variety of settings including Labor and Delivery, Mother Baby, and Pediatrics.  She also served as a midwife assistant and lactation consultant. She is a certified prenatal massage therapist, and has been practicing prenatal massage for the last 13 years. She is the proud mother of four who have been the inspiration behind Bellies N Bloom.

“Working with pregnant moms and their babies is my true passion: there is nothing more beautiful than helping to bridge the bond between the two.”

Sono-Ma Soiree:  Delight Night

Attendees of the upcoming Sono-Ma Soiree “Delight Night” on April 26, 2012 get a chance to meet Leslie and receive a mini-treatment.  Guests will additionally find her lotion and potion samples in their take home gift bags.

Mariah Smith Photography will also be on site offering pregnancy studio portraits to guests boasting a belly bump.  All attending moms will receive a a certificate for a free Brag Book when they book a portrait session.  Moms can also sign up for Mariah’s Mother’s Day Sepcial – Family Portrait and Keepsake Album for $550 (regularly $625).

See you there!