Heart-warming Easter story

Photograph by: ABC 7 Local News website

As I was watching the news last night I heard the story of an 8 year-old boy in Chicago, Jeremiah Minor, who used his allowance that he was saving for a year to buy Easter baskets for children at a local hospital in Chicago. His family thought he was going to use the money to buy a video game set, but he felt badly for all the sick children who were not able to fully enjoy the holiday. He along with his family delivered the baskets to the children at the Stroger Hospital yesterday. What amazed me the most was that he was only 8!!! WOW! I hope and pray that I will raise my two sons (three and one) to have such wonderful, self-less hearts and to understand the value of giving to others.

There are a lot of ways parents can get their kids involved at any age in volunteer opportunities in their communities:

• Similar to this story, you can create goody bags, baskets, dolls and deliver them to a nearby hospital with your children.
• You can have a play date/activity where all the kid make cards to cheer up sick and lonely kids. You can then call the hospitals and either deliver them yourselves or mail them in!
• Collect your old toys and deliver them to the Salvation Army, Church or other charitable organization – have your kids assist in the process so they are involved.
• Have a bake sale, lemonade sale with your kids and donate the money to your charity of choice
• Older kids can participate in helping at soup kitchens, preparing and serving holiday dinners for those in need. You can search for a soup kitchen in your area through the internet, church, community service organization or contact the Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org). This is a great activity to do as a family and to make it a tradition to do every year before enjoying your own Thanksgiving/Holiday dinner.
• Participate in the Salvation Army Angel tree program with your kids. This is also a great activity to do with your family and a great annual tradition to keep.
  

Homemade White Chocolate Strawberry Ice Cream

One of my favorite wedding gifts is my CuisineArt Ice Cream Maker! With the weather warming up in Chicago, I pulled it out on Saturday and my three year-old and I enjoyed making strawberry ice cream together. (Since strawberries are in season right now, you can often find them on sale.) My son loved pouring all the ingredients into the mixing bowl, blending and watching the mixture transform into ice cream. It’s a great activity for toddlers to help with – they can mix, stir, watch and put yummy toppings on after it’s done. Best of all, we have a fabulous time eating it!

Here is an easy and delicious recipe for strawberry ice cream:

Servings
Makes about seven cup servings

Ingredients
3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1-1/2 cup sugar, divided
1-1/4 cups whole milk
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cups sweetened white chocolate chips
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Combine the strawberries with lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Mix together and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Strain the mixture, reserving juices. Mash or purée half the berries.
2. Combine the milk and remaining sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, reserved strawberry juice, mashed strawberries, and vanilla.
3. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl along with the white chocolate chips and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Five minutes before mixing is completed, add the reserved sliced strawberries and let mix in completely.
5. For a firmer consistency, place in freezer for 2 more hours. Prior to serving from the freezer, let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.

Did you catch Oprah's show on talking to your kid's about sex?

Photograph from Oprah.com website

Did you catch Oprah’s show on “How to Talk to Your Kids about Sex with Dr. Laura Berman?” At first, I agreed with Dr. Berman’s advice that parents need to be more proactive in initiating this conversation with their young daughters because you will be surprised how much they are learning from other sources. I agree, I believe mothers should educate their daughters and sons on these topics and have an open and continuing line of communication with them so they come to you first with their questions. But when Dr. Berman suggested mother’s also begin talking to their daughters at age 15-16 about masturbation and introduce them to vibrators so that they know that it is okay to pleasure themselves and they don’t need to rely on a man to feel this way, I was shocked and upset! REALLY Dr. Berman??? I could sense the audience was uneasy and Gail King also seemed clearly upset about her advice. Dr. Berman’s position was that girls are going to learn about this any way, if not already, so why not hear it from their mother’s first? Call me old fashioned- but I couldn’t even imagine having this conversation and quite frankly, I fundamentally disagree with it. I think a mother’s role is to be a parent not a friend. A mother should ensure their daughters are educated about the subject, but to promote masturbation and vibrators to me really crossed the line between being a parent vs. friend and also unnecessarily overloading them with too much information. Let kids be kids! I think what is more important for mothers to do is to nurture, love and parent their daughters so they feel empowered, have great self-confidence and self-esteem, are raised with great values and have a strong support system so that when they are faced with decisions, they have a strong foundation to make the right decisions for themselves. Mother’s can’t be everywhere at all times. Our children are going to learn and be encountered with tough situations from which we can’t always be there to steer them in the right direction. Rather than having a conversation about encouraging them to pleasure themselves and using tools to do so, I would rather focus on going back to the basics and ensuring they have strong core values of love, respect and self-esteem for themselves and others. Would love to hear your thoughts on this...

Dr. Berman did provide a useful handbook that guides parents on how to have the talk. Take from it what you will, it also includes some useful anatomy diagrams for you to use in your discussions. It can be downloaded for free from Oprah’s website, the link is:

http://media.oprah.com/lberman/talking-to-kids-about-sex-handbook.pdf

Recessionista Mamacitas!

As we are all trying to stay sane in this uncertain economy, I wanted to share some money-saving tips that have been valuable to me:

1. Register yourself on manufacturer’s websites for valuable samples and coupons in the mail (it doesn’t matter when you register). Some great ones that offer super coupons and great size samples are:

-Enfamil- https://www.enfamil.com/app/iwp//ConsumerRegisterLoadConsentInfo.do

-Similac- https://similac.com/signup-similac

-Pampers- https://www.pampers.com/en_US/signup

2. Consider buying diapers, formula, and wipes in bulk from large grocery warehouses such as Sam’s Club or Costco. I’ve been using the Kirkland Diapers and wipes with both of my son’s and they’ve worked fine – no complaints.Or consider buying in bulk from Amazon – they offer free shipping and the convenience of not having to step out of your house!

3. Visit resale shops for clothes, dvds/toys and furniture. A friend of mine just opened one in the Dallas area for all the Dallas mommies – please check it out! http://greenbeansresale.com/

4. Comparison shop and shop online to avoid sales and state tax. I always check out www.froogle.com to compare prices of items I want to purchase on various websites. Often I can get free shipping, no tax and a cheaper price at some of the smaller start-up online stores vs. going to a department store.

5. Go to the library. A lot of the books/dvds I purchase get thrown in the back of my closet weeks after being purchased. Libraries are an excellent way to keep your kids entertained on a budget with books, dvds, music and more. Check out your local libraries website for storytelling and other free children’s activities.

6. Utilize your community’s parks, malls, play groups and other recreational centers for family activities as opposed to places that will put a strain on your wallet. Remember, more than anything, your kids just want to spend quality family time with you.

7. Use generic when it makes sense. I always opt for generic prescriptions, over the counter medicines – if you read the ingredients, they are exactly the same.

8. Get back to the basics on your cable, home phone and internet services.

9. Grow a vegetable/herb garden in your backyard. Michelle Obama just did. This is a fabulous idea. I was watching CNN and just learned buying $50 in seeds can save you up to 2,000 in produce. Start off by keeping it simple and small and see where it grows!

10. Cook at home vs. Dining out– this is not only a healthier option, but more economical for your family. Or pick restaurants that you have coupons for. Restaurant.com offers $25 gift certificates for only $10 at participating restaurants and they have a variety of places to choose from.

Fabulous Find: Fish Colors

To teach our son colors, we bought this Melissa & Doug Fish Colors Puzzleboard and found it fabulous so I wanted to share it with you! We started teaching him at 18 months and at first he simply liked taking apart the pieces and "attempting" to put them back. Soon he grasped the concepts of colors and by 2 years old he knew his colors. Its a great tool to help your kids learn! And be patient, it takes time, repitition is the key. After our first month of teaching him and him not having a clue, my husband was convinced he was colorblind and wanted me to talk to his pediatrician about it (LOL)!

Advice for mommies to be

If you are expecting - congratulations!!! Being pregnant is such a wonderful and exciting time in a woman or nowaday's a MAN's (lol) life. It's filled with joy, fear and anticipation of the new blessing about to enter into your world. I wanted to share some advice through my own experience:

• SLEEP now - I encourage all expectant mommies to rest-up and sleep - for all of us. Sleep until you can't sleep any more....even then, just stay in bed, watch movies, read, relax - you will need it and you will miss it. The lack of sleep was by far the hardest adjustment for me once I had a baby.


• Get a manicure/pedicure a week prior to your delivery date - you will be taking so many pictures with the baby, gotta have great nails! Also, it may be a while before you are able to pamper yourself again.


• Don't be shy about asking for help or accepting it - you will need it! I encourage mommies- to-be to have their mother's, mother-in-law's, friends, sisters, etc. to stay with them for a while after delivery, or arrange for a nanny or babysitter to stay with you for at least a few hours each day so you can un-wind and rest! I pre-arranged for my mother to stay with me for a few week's both times and it was a blessing! Especially with the first baby, I didn't have a clue what to do and my mother was a very calming energy for me. The day after she left - it was just me and my son and I was lost! I didn't know what to do with him - he cried all day long and so did I. When my husband came home he was terrified at seeing both of us crying and distraught, he just grabbed the baby from my arms and rocked him to sleep instantly. The baby and I both fell asleep in his arms.


• After you get home from delivery, make sure you monitor your own temperature, and health for the first few days to ensure you are recovering as well. I was so preoccupied with the baby's needs that I didn't realize that the reason I was so cold and tired was I had a fever of 104 and was fighting an infection from my c-section. By the time I went back to the doctor, I was admitted to the hospital right away and ended up spending another week there.


• When your newborn sleeps - take advantage of this time and sleep as well. Don't worry about cleaning, cooking, chores - just use this precious time to rest up before the next diaper change/feeding. Newborns hardly sleep through the night so it's hard to get a full night's rest for new mommies.


• Stock up on formula, even if you plan to breastfeed - for emergencies. I breastfed both my babies, but had formula just in case and it came in handy. As I mentioned, when I was admitted to the hospital for my c-section infection - I went straight from my doctor's appointment to the hospital and stayed there for 5 days. My mother was home with the baby and feed him formula.


• Try co-sleeping - this can be somewhat controversial, but I loved having my baby sleep in the same room as us. I purchased a Dr. Sear's co-sleeper bassinet which attaches to your mattress and kept the baby with us. It was great since I was breast feeding I only had to get up and pull him near me, feed him, burp him, change his diaper and put him back without getting out of my room and going to the nursery. Through co-sleeping, I felt like I myself was able to sleep better and longer. It was also comforting knowing he was right next to me and I was right there if he needed anything.


• Most importantly, just know that it gets easier with every day and enjoy the ride. Each day, you will become more in tune to your baby's nature and needs and ways of communicating with you.
  

Welcome to Motherhood!