To gift bag, or not to gift bag? That is the question.
It seems that party gift bags have become the new normal – at least enough of the time to warrant the internal-discussion whether to join the bandwagon or not. When I was a kid, I don’t remember ever getting a gift bag when leaving a birthday party, or whatever. The party was the gift – if it was a good one you were spent and didn’t need anymore.
But times have changed. If it turns out most of your kid’s friends have parents that make the effort to put together post party gift bags, or even if your friends put together the bags after a Christmas or other party event, you should too.
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It can be challenging or even embarrassing to talk with your pre-teen about their hygiene, but it’s important to address this conversation in a positive way. An open and honest discourse will set the tone for your future conversations about more intimate matters, so this conversation requires some preparation.
Be as Specific as Possible
Know what you’re talking about and try to be as specific as you are comfortable being. Instead of just telling a young lady that she will need to start shaving under her arms, lead into the conversation gently with some facts about what is happening to her body. She probably has some questions that she’s wanted to ask and she needs to know that everything happening to her is completely normal and that her feelings are valid. More »
Halloween has long been a time of costumes and candy and chilly evenings. Given the commotion and all of the fun, it’s important to make sure that everyone is safe and aware of situations that can come up. Even teenagers need to be reminded that Halloween is an unusual night and they’ll need to be more alert to their surroundings.
Guidelines For Halloween Safety at Any Age
It’s an oldie, but a goodie….Don’t take candy from strangers. That means that kids and teenagers alike should only go to the homes of people they are familiar with and to homes that are well-lit. An obvious exception to that would be if you are going to be with them the whole time or if it’s a facility of some sort that has been set up to allow trick-or-treating. More »
I admit that baking a fancy cake is not my forte. I’m from the school of Mums who make those “it-tastes-yummy-but-doesn’t-look-it” cakes at home. Luckily my sister is a wonderful baker, so when I need something really good I know where to go. The thing is, she doesn’t make this sort of thing – sugar loaded, multi colored characters meant for kids – but more genteel desserts like her to-die-for “Tres Leches” mini cakes, or the german chocolate, richly laden with coconut, a slice of which still sits on my fridge (beckoning) from her Bday lunch.
So to satisfy my little Goth’s request for a Dracula Cake this Halloween, I’ve been on a mission to find the easiest recipe for Dracula cake out there. And here it is (adapted from Piece of Cake Decorating):
Ingredients:
2 10 inch round cakes (to get into the spirit of things, use Red Velvet)
Green, black, yellow/gold and white buttercream icing
4 Tips # 5 – *Ready-made black is better, as mixing your own is extremely difficult!
*** Tip*** If you do not have four #5 tips, do not worry. You will get the same effect using tips #4 or 6. If you do not want to use a tip at all, just cut the end of the piping bag to size. It will work just as well but your lines will not be as tight. This techniques works best for piping the eyes and nose because of their shape.
Directions:
1. Level, tort and fill the cakes. They can be placed on a 12 or 14 inch cake board. In this picture, the cake is placed on a large cake board (in the pic, Pillsbury Pumpkin Sugar Cookies scattered around for added decoration). Ice the cake with your green buttercream icing.
2. Using a toothpick, outline the vampire’s hair. Next, using tip #5 and black buttercream icing, pipe the outline of the hair and fill in with tight lines.
***Tip*** To smooth out the striped effect you get from filling in an outline using a piping bag, simply put a little cornstarch on your finger and gently pat it flat. Most of the cornstarch will fade into the icing but the excess can be brushed away with a decorating brush.
3. Using tip # 5 and yellow icing, pipe the eyes on the cake. Add the pupils using the extra black icing.
4. Using tip # 5 and green icing, pipe the nose. Next, add the mouth and eyebrows with the left over black icing and the teeth (tip #5) with white icing.
As with most cake mixes, do be aware that monosodium glutamate will be used, an additive helps to bring out natural flavors and make it taste better. Despite many reports from amateurs to the contrary, this is a completely safe ingredient to use- as affirmed by the FDA and many other regulators and scientific agencies around the world.
Fruits
We all know that fruit is the best thing to give our kids. Luckily my three kids love the stuff, although they have varying tastes (my girl loves pineapple, the boys don’t!). Bananas, apples and oranges are the most popular, and so are mangoes. Just yesterday, even baby Wills joined in by wolfing down half a mango in record time.
I’m not really a fan of frozen or canned fruit, but I do buy those mandarin oranges in plastic containers as my son likes to take it to school. Fresh is the best way to go I say, and organic if you can. If you can’t, make sure to wash the fruit with a natural “fruit and veggie” wash and peel it well.
I have to admit though that if I have to buy fruit at the supermarket, I sometimes have difficulty discerning which fruit is good, which isn’t. Isn’t it annoying when you buy a melon that looks perfectly decent, you open it up and it turns out to be tasteless or worse, sour?
Here’s some good advice I found:
Apples: Look for firmness. Brown or tan “scald” marks don’t affect taste, but soft bruises that are discolored indicate damage.
• Avocados: Available year-round, as they are grown in Florida and California. Choose slightly soft fruit, or if bought unripe, allow three to five days at room temperature to ripen. Refrigeration slows ripening.
• Bananas: Best eaten when yellow with brown speckles. Bananas get damaged below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, so never refrigerate.
• Blueberries: In season from May to September. Look for uniform color and plumpness; avoid oozing berries.
• Grapefruit: This fruit is sold ready-to-eat; avoid fruit that is too soft (a sign of decay). Scratches and spots on the peel don’t usually indicate that anything’s wrong.
• Grapes: Select those with green, pliable stems that the grapes don’t fall off of easily — a sign that the grapes themselves are fresh.
• Kiwi: It’s ripe when it yields to the touch but doesn’t leave indentations.
• Melons: A stem that’s still attached may indicate the fruit isn’t ripe. With cantaloupe, avoid those with an overly yellow color and a soft skin, which indicates overripeness. Sniff for a sweet, pleasing smell. Most cantaloupes require two to four days to ripen at room temperature at home.
• Oranges: Should be heavy, indicating juiciness. Brown mottles on Florida or Texas oranges are common and don’t affect flavor.
• Peaches: In season from May to September. Very hard peaches are unlikely to ripen. Choose freestone varieties for eating.
• Pears: Should be firm but slightly soft. Their color depends on the type: Bartletts should be pale to rich yellow, while Boscs are brownish yellow. Shriveled pears will not ripen.
• Raspberries: Stains on the container may indicate mushy or moldy berries inside. Berries should not have their caps attached.
• Strawberries: In peak supply in May and June. Look for the cap stem still attached, and avoid fruit with white shoulders or large discolored patches.
Photo via plumandjello
Organized Mom
I have never been one of those people you’d call “super” organized. But after having my third child early this year, I’ve found that one of the best ways to keep my sanity, and for things to run (relatively) smoothly in my growing household is to try and be as organized as I possibly can. That’s always been a rather daunting word in my vocabulary as no matter how hard I try, there is always some amount of chaos in my home.
But with the “busiest” time of the year upon us, and indeed, a New Year a mere month or so away, its a good time to start, and for somewhat disorganized Moms like myself, the first thing I would do is to create a Weekly Schedule and Menu. I promise, its worked wonders for me! Here’s how:
Tip 1 For the Disorganized: The Weekly Schedule
1. Every Sunday, I set aside about half an hour to make our weekly schedule and menu. I take a cookbook or two and sit with my laptop for about half an hour at a time when the kids are busy (a dvd is a good idea) or better, napping.
2. For simplicity sake, I make a chart like above (sorry I haven’t been able to scan mine!) section off each day onto 3 sections. Morning, afternoon, evening. Each day having its own column.
3. First, I put in the family activities for the week. For example:
Monday- Morning -Oliver has no class/ Cat grooming at vet 11 a.m.
Afternoon – Boys playgroup @ home 3 pm./ Nat, gymnastics 4.30
Evening- Mark (hubby), meeting, home late
4. Then, with my cookbooks (or online), I look for meal ideas for the week and type them in the appropriate time. With the activities of the family already there, I know who’ll be around for what meal (and snacks), and best of all, I can make the weekly grocery list, knowing exactly what I need, which helps keep me in budget. I also look at previous weeks menus (kept neatly in my desktop file), to see what worked well and what didn’t.
5. Edit, print and stick it on the fridge. And voila! The family is set for a week of organized bliss.
Photo via Lullaby Mom
Most first time parents due to inexperience, panic in the face of medical emergencies. Me and my wife for example have two totally different approaches to emergencies such as the frequent bumps and scratches that sends your child running to you so learning to recognize something serious is the key and experience would educate you best. My wife gets into a panicked state every time she sees blood accompanied by the uncontrollable cries of our child, I merely step back, take a look at the situation and analyze the situation if it needs medical attention or if first aid can do the trick. For example, an open wound and compound fracture is always serious so speed to the hospital for care. High fever during teething is normal and can be handled with analgesics while being in constant contact with your pediatrician who would tell you to get help if needed.
Having experienced medical emergencies as a volunteer which developed my abilities to recognize life-threatening and trivial injuries, just hope more people would recognize this as a vital skill to have for it helps you lower your insurance premiums. Do some research on the web for health tips that can add to your knowledge of which emergencies to treat seriously and which are mere casual. Information and knowledge is the key, the more trips you take to the ER, the more a risk you are for the insurance firm so they have the option to ask more for insurance.
Depression, anger, lack of social skills and many more, these are classical signs of either underlying sickness or too much stress. Nope, you’re not crazy but might need help, who needs psychologists who charge tons of money. Get help from people like you who may have overcome these challenges themselves and have ample experience to help you through. From seasoned professionals who are well versed in such cases or merely people who want to help and have dealt with people like you, what’s important is to accept that something is wrong and that help is needed.
Acceptance is one of the most difficult things to do, for no one, and we mean no one wants to admit it outright they have issues. Pent up anger can get out of hand and easily turn violent without therapy and counseling. Have a child who seems out of the game most of the time, get help quick so you can get help on tips how you can help them develop into more lively kids.
Getting help is the first step, recovery is the ultimate goal which we all strive to attain. Learn how people overcome fear, anxiety and dread of things we take fore granted. Learn how your fears can be turned into positive approaches to the most common problems we face. The current economic slump isn’t helping either, lost your job, need help or simply want a sympathetic ear to ease away the pain. Depression is so hard to battle when you’re alone. You sacrifice your health, family and life for something that can be addresses with simple yet effective conversations. Get help, get on your way to a healthier you, inside and out!
Written by brian on July 20th, 2011. 7 Comments »
Filed under Dads, Emotions, Health, Home, Inspiration, News, Relationships, Safety, Sleep, Teens, Tips, Website.
Let’s face it. One of the things we parents have to deal with is our kids getting sick or injured. It’s a part of growing up, especially if you have accident-prone kids like I do.
My four-year-old Ollie gets a bump/wound/scratch almost daily, and a few months ago had a bad accident in our garden where he cut his head open and was rushed to the ER. While playing with his big sister, he fell through the fence constructed by our handyman and nearly fell into our pool (which had just been cleaned out and empty). He was grabbed just in time by the handyman, so didn’t fall into the pool but slammed his head on the tile. My husband saw the whole thing and was going to kill the handyman for his shoddy work (it wasn’t nailed in properly), but he did save Ollie’s life…so it was a hard one. Luckily Ollie didn’t need stitches and aside from my husband being covered in blood ala Carrie, it turned out to be a minor injury. It could have been much much worse though, so we are grateful and have since taken extra precautions to make sure that all areas in our home were safe. Ollie was feeing a bit traumatized for the next few days (as were all of us), but I think he’s recovered now.
Here are some great tips from After The Injury, a really useful website for parents who have to deal with their child’s injuries. Whether your child’s injury is big or small, it helps to remember these things so that your child recovers faster.
While doctors know that injury prevention is the best “medicine,” the sad truth is that kids still do get hurt- lots of them- even with the most vigilant parents. In fact, 9.2 million children are treated in an emergency room for an injury each year, making it equally important for parents to know how to handle what happens after the injury.
1. Let your child know that he or she is safe. In the first days and weeks following an injury many children fear that something bad might happen to them again. Learn more about helping your child with new fears or worries.
2. Allow children to talk about their feelings and worries, if they want to. Let your child know that it’s ok to feel a little upset. The circumstances of an injury can be frightening, and it’s not always easy to know how to talk with your child about it. Here are some things that other parents have found helpful for talking with their child.
3. Go back to normal routines. It is important to help your child get plenty of sleep, eat regular meals, keep up with schoolwork, and spend time with friends. Here are some options to consider if the injury gets in the way of things s/he used to do.
4. Increase time with family and friends. Children who get support from family and friends seem to do better in recovering after upsetting events. Try reading together, playing games, or watching movies together. Listen to what some parents had to say about how to help their children remain connected after an injury.
5. Take time to deal with your own feelings. In addition to all of the things you do to help your child, it’s important to remember to take good care of yourself. Learn more about your own reactions and get tips for taking care of yourself.
6. Keep in mind people in the same family can react in different ways. Your child’s feelings and worries about the injury might be different from yours. It’s important to monitor how your child is doing and when reactions might signal trouble. Learn how to gauge your child’s emotional recovery and identify any reactions that might need special attention.
Visit After the Injury to read full tip sheets, learn more about child injury and pain care, take a quiz to rate your child’s reactions to injury, and create a personalized care plan to help parents help their child recover from injury.
Photo via Ramberg Media
It’s sale season! My favorite time of the year to hit the stores and stock up with some great buys for the whole family (especially Mom!).
Now I’m the first to admit that children and shopping work together about as well as oil and water, but if the circumstances dictate that you must take them to that unmissable-department-store-sale to get that pair of jeans you’ve been lusting for (now half price!), there are some things you can do to avoid meltdown and hopefully snag a few good purchases as well.
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