Dental Care Tips for Kids– WITH GIVEAWAY!

April 11, 2014 - Mama 10 Comments

It can be really hard to encourage good dental care habits in kids. For far too many, teeth brushing time becomes a fight. I have 7 great tips to help keep teeth clean and shiny without fuss or fight. Don’t forget to keep scrolling to the bottom of this post for a chance to win the entire product line from Tanner’s Tasty Paste, a great-tasting toothpaste for little giggles and grown-up grins!

Brushing your teeth with your child is a great way to promote healthy brushing habits! When you brush together, you’re showing them the proper way to brush, spit, and rinse, and open the door for conversation about good dental care being a lifelong process. If you and your child use separate bathrooms, try moving your dental care items into their bathroom so you can join in on their brushing fun. It’s a great way to start good dental care habits early.

Find time to add brushing into a certain part of your routine in the morning, for example, getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, putting on shoes, and then going about the rest of your day, to be sure you never miss a brushing! Do the same before bed, such as picking up toys, taking a bath, having a night snack, brushing teeth, and then reading a story together. When you do this routine on a regular basis, it becomes a can’t-miss habit and children will look forward to that part of their routine. Additionally, find a fun brushing song that lasts about two minutes, or set a timer. The one that we love is part of the Daniel Tiger Day and Night app, available from PBS kids, in the Amazon and iTunes app stores. You can set it for 2 minutes and it’ll play a catchy tune. However, any egg timer or 2-minute-ish song will work!

Never make dentists a source of fear by creating threats (like “If you don’t brush your teeth, the dentist will have to fix your cavities with a drill!”) When you make dentists a source of fear, dental visits will start causing some anxiety. Instead, praise your child for a good set of brushing habits, and try a reward for cavity-free dental checkups!

Play pretend with stuffed animals or baby dolls, acting out brushing their teeth with an old toothbrush used for play to encourage more healthy toothbrushing habits. In the same way that you demonstrate healthy brushing habits to your child, they can demonstrate healthy dental care to their stuffed animals. By picking up a worn out toothbrush or a cheap one at a dollar store, they can introduce dental play into their play routine, too.

It is never too early to start discussing the tooth fairy, even though most kids don’t start losing teeth until they’re around 6, and share that the tooth fairy likes clean teeth. You can check out a great book like No Tooth, No Quarter, or a fun movie like the Tooth Fairy, to encourage this conversation, depending on your child’s age and stage. By sharing that the tooth fairy likes clean teeth, and helping kids learn about the process of losing teeth, it encourages an exciting dialogue about dental care!

Start cleaning teeth as soon as teeth start coming in, using a baby-friendly paste and a baby-friendly brush. Early dental care will prevent problems down the road, and establish a pattern of good dental care. Even before teeth come to the surface, it’s good to wipe gums with a clean washcloth or gauze pad to clear off plaque that builds up on the gums.

Help kids anticipate tooth brushing time by letting your child pick out their own toothbrush. Let them choose a color or character they love and have them select a brush they’ll look forward to using.

Also choose a really yummy toothpaste, like Tanner’s Tasty Paste. With flavors like Cha Cha Chocolate, you’ll never have a toothbrushing fight on your hands again. In fact, you might end up trying to use your kids’ toothpaste, too, it’s that tasty! I’ll be honest, when Tanner’s Tasty Paste approached me about trying out their line of toothpaste, I was really skeptical as to whether or not the flavors would be any good, and if they were any good, if they’d taste even remotely like chocolate or vanilla ice cream. Now, my son and I use Tanner’s Toothpaste every day. It really does taste spot-on to chocolate and vanilla flavors and is a great way to get Zach excited about dental care.

One thing I especially love about Tanner’s Tasty Paste is that, beyond listing the ingredients on their website, they tell you what each ingredient does for the paste, so you know exactly what you and your child are putting in your mouth– it’s a great way to feel a little safer about the product you’re using.

Check out the Tanner’s Tasty Paste website here, and see the three flavors they have available! Click Here

Don’t forget to connect with Tanner’s Tasty Paste on Facebook and Twitter!

Now, here’s the big part… a giveaway! Tanner’s Tasty Paste wants to give one of my lucky readers all three of their products: the Cha Cha Chocolate Tasty Paste, the Banilla Bling Tasty Paste, and finally, the Baby Bling tooth paste that is swallow-safe and fluoride free for even the littlest smiles. Would you like to win the product lineup? It’s incredibly easy to enter! Just leave a comment below sharing your top tip for getting kids to brush their teeth, OR let me know which of the Tanner’s Tasty Paste toothpastes you or your kids would most like to try!

The giveaway is open until 4/18/14 at 11:59pm CDT. After that, I’ll email the randomly selected winner!

Disclaimer: Tanner’s Tasty Paste sent me product to try, which is featured in this post. However, all opinions are my own honest views.

The Educational Importance of Planting with Kids

April 9, 2014 - Mama 2 Comments

Kids learn so many things without realizing it. Or really, without us realizing it. Every word spoken, every activity done together, every book read, it all adds up to experiences, educational opportunities, and memories for a child. But when you take time to be intentional about what you’re teaching and really focus on the educational benefits, you’ll be amazed at how much the “little stuff” is really BIG stuff when it comes to teaching children, regardless of their age.

Growing plants together is a big educational opportunity that is very carefully disguised as fun. I can guarantee that if you’re planting with your child, they’ll have no clue that they’re learning, but they’ll be gaining valuable skills, whether they’re 3 or 13 or somewhere in between. And the best part is that now, anyone can grow things. Even if you don’t have a big garden, there are many kits and container gardening options that allow you to grow your own plants, indoors or out, and they’re generally available at a pretty affordable price. We picked up this grow kit for our big kid, featuring sweet basil and parsley, from Buzzy Seeds.

But you can think even smaller with these mini greenhouses that are perfect vegetable starters, available from the Miracle Grow kids product line. Both options are perfect for getting kids (and teens!) involved in the gardening process.

One of the big benefits that is present in gardening, especially with kits, is the thought of following directions. An older student can read the directions themselves and test their reading comprehension as they measure the right amount of water in the right temperature and do the steps in the proper order. A younger child can test their listening skills by listening to when to pour the dirt, when to pour water, when to stir, and how to plant seeds.

Fine motor skills are really worked to their limit when it comes to smaller children and planting. From accurately pouring from one container to another, to pressing the seeds in gently, there’s a lot of fine motor work going on during the gardening process. It is a great opportunity to get those fingers flexing and allow those smaller muscles to get a workout.

Observation plays a huge role throughout the gardening process. When you consider soil factors (young kids can watch the soil pellets in a kit expand, older kids can consider the aspects of the soil that make it viable for plants, and how it undergoes the change from pellet to soil), how light and weather impact plant growth, and the finished plant product as it sprouts, grows, and possibly gets transplanted, there is a lot to be observed. Even during the planting process, it’s a great time to whip out the magnifying glass and take a closer look at the things going on, from the seeds to the soil, and see how all of these parts play a vital role in the plant’s life.

Volume is a lesson that young kids learn but don’t realize they are learning. Anytime a small child pours water from one container to another, scoops rice from a bowl to a cup, or fills a cup with the contents of another cup until it overflows, kids are learning about volume and how it works. This is no different. In the same way that kids should have plenty of time to explore and experience the kitchen, it’s also good to give kids a chance to focus on gardening and how liquid plays a part in the gardening process. If nothing else, the small children are getting the hang of pouring.

Planting is also great for math and logic skills. A younger child can count seeds and consider where to place them. An older student can use spatial reasoning– how far apart is an inch? Can I imagine where to place the next one without getting a ruler, or use knowledge I already have on what an inch looks like to figure out where to place my next seed? How can I use those determinations and measurements to determine how deep to plant my seed?

Planting is an amazing sensory experience for younger children and older students alike. Sometimes, it’s important just to take a step back and really dig into the soil and dirt, feel the texture of it, enjoy the scent of it, and really get your hands dirty. Sensory experiences like that can’t be measured, but they’re infinitely important to a child’s growth and development. By introducing kids to different textures, you’re allowing them to better understand the world around them.

Plus, planting is about long-term responsibility as well as long-term results. By making sure to water and tend to the plants, you’ll reap great rewards of food, flowers, or other plant life in the process. When you make sure you’re watering the plant and caring for it regularly, giving it the long-term maintenance it needs, it’s a great way to learn about how living things take care, whether you’re applying it to how a pet also needs constant care and attention, or helping a child understand that they, as a living thing, need their own care and attention, such as inspiring grooming habits. It’s a really great way to explain that living things need that extra loving care. The best part is the benefit you’ll reap from long-term plant care. When growing food especially, it’s a great opportunity to then include it in a meal. For example, sweet basil is a great ingredient for a pizza or pasta! The hard effort that goes into growing the ingredients instills a sense of pride, and that pride makes the food taste even better.

Finally, planting is a great way to start other discussions. Whether you’re taking it as a good start to jump into books about planting, using it as inspiration to start a compost bin or other green activities, or even launching into a discussion about God’s creation, you’re able to use planting and gardening as a great starting point to many different conversations to come, which makes it an activity you just can’t pass up.

Whether you’re using a grow kit like we did, or you’re getting dirty outside, you’re going to find that planting together is a fantastic way to spend time together, a great way to relax, and just a fun experience all-around that will stick with kids in lifelong ways.

Happy spring… now get planting!

Do you tend a garden at home? And do your kids ever join you in the planting? Let me know in the comments below!

Preserving Flowers Easily and Affordably

April 4, 2014 - Mama 1 Comment

It’s prom season. Can you believe it? It seems like just yesterday was Christmas, then Valentine’s Day, but now, it’s the season of puffy, glittery dresses, limousines, and flowers. I remember my own prom like it was just days ago, and then suddenly realized that it’s been nearly a decade. I find it so hard to believe that I’m closer to my ten year reunion than I am to my high school prom… what’s even more amazing is that I still have the corsage from my senior prom tucked away in a box.

How did the corsage survive almost a decade? With careful preservation. But you don’t need a lot of expensive materials or a difficult process… it’s actually quite simple to preserve flowers from a special occasion like prom in the comfort of your own home.

You only need 3 things: your flowers you’d like to preserve, a shoebox (great opportunity to recycle the box from those pretty prom heels!), and Borax, which you can find at retailers like Walmart in the laundry section. Borax has many great uses around the house, and it’s often in the homemade laundry soap recipes floating around the internet. Borax can be used to unclog drains, deodorize garbage pails, and more. The great thing is that it’s about $0.08-$0.12 per oz, which is incredibly affordable.

Grab your shoebox, pour a nice layer of Borax in the bottom, and gently nest your flower, corsage, or other floral piece onto the Borax. Carefully pour Borax over the flower, covering it. Make sure you’re gentle to not distort the flower.

Close the box (and optionally, tape it to ensure it won’t spill), and mark the date. Let it sit undisturbed for two weeks.

Now, it’s time to unseal the box and see if it worked!

On the left is an unpreserved pink carnation, and on the right, the preserved pink carnation. As you can see, the vibrant color was preserved, the shape and size was preserved, and each fold of the flower was carefully preserved. It looks pretty true to the unpreserved carnation, which you can tell is starting to experience a little bit of wilt.

Now, you never have to worry about a treasured memory going to waste, because preserving a flower at home is easy and affordable.

What memories do you have of your prom? Did you save your corsage? Talk about it in the comments below!

5 Ways To Experience Spring With Your Kids

March 11, 2014 - Mama 1 Comment

Spring is an amazing season filled with all kinds of great sensory experiences for kids. There are new smells, new sights, new life, new tastes… all kinds of amazing things. To help you get a jump start on sharing this awesome season with your kids, here are five ideas on how to experience spring together as a family!

Play piggy! When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do was dress up in old clothes, have my mom water down a dirt patch in our yard, and let me just roll in the muck. It’s a great sensory opportunity to squish the mud, feel it between toes and fingers, and enjoy the texture. With the right consistency of mud, you can even practice writing letters with your fingers in the mud or spelling words. Otherwise, even the mucky texture is a learning experience all by itself! Pretend to make mud pies, listen to the slurpy sucky sound mud makes when your feet stick in it, and experience the smell of fresh mud. Have some towels on hand, and make sure to schedule bathtime afterwards for easy cleanup!

Plant together, or tend a garden. Zach loved cultivating blueberries with me, and then enjoying the fruits of our labor– literally! Whether you’re planting flowers or food, gardening together is a good sensory activity, plus it allows children a chance to experience growth, cause and effect, and weather, and understand how things are grown. You can discuss color, shape, petal count, and more as you watch your plants grow and change. If you live somewhere where you can’t plant a garden, consider doing a small container garden or an indoor herb garden to get that experience, or…

explore plants in a different setting! You can go on a nature walk locally or visit a local garden center to talk about the colors, petal count, and more of different flowers. You can experience different smells and different sights when you see hundreds of flowers together, and get an appreciation for the plants! You can still point out parts of the flower plant, even if you can’t bring them home.

Get in the kitchen and make a delicious springtime treat! Whether you’re making a seasonal fruit salad with the newest seasonal fruits available, or being inspired by the colors of spring with a sprinkle-topped goodie. There are a lot of good spring recipes right here on DigitalEraMom.com, but any recipe that gets you cooking together this spring is great. From chopping with supervision, to measuring, to pouring and scooping, it’s all educational, and best of all, fun. Some possible ideas are chopping fresh spring vegetables for a delicious homemade pizza, making mini fruit pizzas on sugar cookies, or making a delicious chopped salad. This is especially great to save for a rainy day when you can’t do the other activities on the list!

Don’t underestimate favorites like sidewalk chalk and bubbles! They’re favorites for a reason. Whether you’re drawing a hopscotch board to practice numbers, creating a fun scene, or just practicing fine or gross motor skills while jumping from circle to circle or scribbling a picture, chalk teaches so many valuable lessons. Blowing bubbles is another fun activity, and chasing them is a great way to get some extra energy out. Include some other fun like hoola hoops or cones and you can even have a fun relay race!

Splash during a rainstorm. No lightning associated with the falling rain? Then it’s totally safe to go outside and play or dance in the warm spring rains! Talk about how the rain feels wet on your skin, how it falls from the sky, and about gentle rain sprinkles versus a heavier soaking rain. Make sure you have towels on hand just inside the door, then warm up with a little hot cocoa. Of course, if there is even a hint of lightning, stay indoors! Don’t want to splash DURING the rain? Find some fun puddles post-storm and go splashing in those! Other options are investing in a kiddie pool or water table to splash in on a warm day!

What activities do you love celebrating spring with? Share your favorites in the comments below!

A Mom’s Work

March 7, 2014 - Mama 2 Comments

It honestly seems like a mom’s work is never done. I’m not just saying that– it really seems like, at least in my life, I go from getting the kiddo dressed to picking up toys to getting him dressed AGAIN after he’s stripped. While having a child and getting those hugs and kisses is the absolute best reward after a long day, it seems like a lot of the time, moms just go underappreciated.

Today is International Working Woman’s Day. I think a lot of times, we define a working woman as one who works outside of the home. While that’s a completely accurate description, obviously, it also leaves out a huge chunk of women who do the work at home, from parenting and guiding children full-time to cooking the meals and keeping things running smoothly. It’s clear that it’s in women’s nature to work really hard, whether they’re home or away.

I think it might have been the night that I woke up to check on Zach and found that he had taken off his shirt and diaper in his sleep, covering himself only in a Santa Hat, that I realized maybe being a mom was a ton of work most of the time. There was no break, just late nights and long days. I also thought my realization of this could have been the time when I said what I never thought I’d say as a mom– “Zach! Don’t sniff the dog’s butt!” I felt like, to some degree, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to squeeze in work, and cleaning up, and making sure my son was fed, clothed, and cuddled with.

Moms simply do a LOT of work. If anyone needs recognition on International Working Woman’s Day, it’s a mom. In fact, Salary.com does an annual Mom’s Salary survey, asking moms how they spend their time and finding out what they’d be paid in the working world for the tasks they do at home.

They broke down the tasks that every mom does, from cleaning to breaking up squabbles. Between housekeeping, laundry operation, taxi service, daycare teacher, and more, Salary.com determined that the value of a Stay At Home Mom’s 94-hour approximate work week was $113,568 annually.

For working moms? The 58 hours of “Mom Duty” they have on average would add an additional $67,436 on top of their regular work salary.

(For those interested, Salary.com allows you to plug in your own average hours spent doing each task to determine a salary more fitting to your life as a mom. You can find this total here).

Wow.

So I started wondering… What’s in it for the moms? I mean, moms are pulling a work week that would basically bring in six figures if being a mom were a paid position, and moms make, uh, well, nothing, for being a mom.

Then I realized moms DO get paid. Sure, we may not be making over a hundred thousand dollars a year for our mom duties. But think about it. We get paid every time we see our children smile.

We get paid every time we hear “I love you!” or get a sweet kiss. We get paid by every sticky fingerprint, and every “Here, mom, I’ll do it!” We get paid in every homemade ornament, refrigerator art work, and breakfast in bed (even if it’s raw eggs and a pop-tart). We get paid with every bathtime bubble beard, every mastery of the alphabet or potty training, every feverish cuddle.

There’s a saying I’ve seen everywhere. A mom works from Son up to Son down. I think that’s true. Because honestly, a mom’s work is never done.

But I wouldn’t trade a Mom’s work for the world.

In honor of International Working Woman’s Day, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to take a break from my real-world paid work, and spend a little extra time with my unpaid work, the job I REALLY love. That means today, if you need me, I’ll be cuddling with my cutie-pie, reading stacks of books and playing in the mud. Now THAT is a job that pays in the most rewarding ways!

Traveling With Kids: Spring Break Travel Tips that will Save Your Sanity!

March 5, 2014 - Mama 2 Comments

Traveling with kids can be absolutely insane sometimes. A chorus of “Stop touching your sister!” and “Are We There Yet?!” ring out through the car, and eventually, everyone realizes something HAS to give. Whether you’re going by plane, train, or automobile, it helps to have some great ideas to make travel easier!

When I start planning a road trip, or any trip, I consider the old wedding adage and start with…

Something old. A few weeks before a big trip, by plane or car, I make sure to set aside a toy that is oft-played with, a favorite, and hide it someplace safe until the trip. I’ve noticed that kids play with other toys in the meantime, and that specific toy is out of mind for awhile. When things start to get restless on the trip, it’s time to pull out this hidden toy and surprise your child with it. They’ll be so excited to see this old-toy-turned-new that it’ll settle things down for awhile as they enjoy this old favorite again. Plus, it costs you nothing to hide a toy for a few weeks until vacation!

Something new comes next– new things are always an exciting treat! Before a trip, I create a fun trip gift! I buy a small toy (seasonal gift or dollar sections at Target or Walmart are a great resource for finding something small!), a new book, and a small snack and drink, then package it in a gift back. It’s a great way to surprise kids at the start of a trip, with a personal bag just for them filled with an exciting new treat!

Shopping together is a great way to involve everyone in the trip planning. Whether it’s a new bathing suit for the trip, or healthy snacks to enjoy along the ride, it’s important to include your child in the planning and talk about what the trip will be like, including step-by-step discussions of the drive. One thing I love to do in particular is to bring Zach along to pick out great snacks at the grocery store, emphasizing healthy choices, a few days before the trip. Together, we can grab baby carrots and travel-size containers of dip, apples and grapes, and sandwich items, plus his favorite crackers and cookies, to make sure we have some great snacks for the drive and our arrival. It’s a great way to talk about the upcoming trip and get him involved in the planning for what’s going on next.

Play games on the drive! Our family favorite is the “I’m looking for” game, and it gets played on trips short and long. A twist on the classic “I spy,” this is a little easier for younger kids. One player starts, saying something like “I’m looking for a pickup truck!” If someone finds the object, they’re it and get to pick the next one. If a bit of time goes by and no one finds it, the person chooses a second object– “I’m looking for a pick up truck OR a Christmas tree.” For younger players, you can be very general– “A car,” or “A bird” work well. For older kids, you can get more specific “A red pickup truck with a dog in it.” Because this game is easy to tailor to different ages to make it more or less challenging, it’s fun the whole family can play. We’ve gotten really crazy with ours, also– including “A cloud that kind of looks like an elephant,” “A dead raccoon,” and “A blue car with jet skis.”

Plan the route together. You can hang a string through the car with the various points you’ll pass through– major landmarks, special cities, and more– and remove the points as you pass through them. It’s a great visual to show kids that you’re getting through certain points on the road, and to show them that you’re getting closer and closer.

Pick a fun stop along the way. If you’re going by road, it’s a great choice to look at options for stretching your legs. Find a children’s museum, a fun playground, or an exciting restaurant to stop at along the way, particularly about halfway through the trip. It’ll be a great way to get off the road for a few minutes and just enjoy a few minutes. If going by car, even an impromptu choice can be a good one. We had stopped for lunch and had everyone get out to stretch their legs, and found this fantastic coin machine. The goal was to land your quarter exactly right to hopefully push other quarters off! We set a budget of a dollar, and Jeffrey won $2, but then lost them all. Even though he walked away with a dollar loss, it was a fun way to stretch our legs, and we had the whole family and half of Subway cheering him on!

Magnet games are a great way to play with no mess. You can easily find board game boards by doing a Google Image search, or design your own in a program like Paint.Net or Photoshop. Once designed, print the game board and pieces on magnetic paper. Then, pack a small cookie sheet or metal board and allow for hours of magnetic play. No pieces will get lost! You can even create paper dolls or a mini dollhouse in metal mint containers or other small metal containers, allowing for play with no missing pieces and no mess in the car.

A family playlist is a diplomatic way to make sure everyone’s favorites get heard. Before the trip, have every member of the family write down (or dictate) 5-10 of their favorite songs. Track them down and make a mixtape or playlist of the songs on shuffle. During the trip, play the songs and guess who added the songs to the list. With some families who have varied tastes, this game will be incredibly easy, but for families with similar interests, it’ll be challenging! Either way, there will be great tunes, and since everyone picks some songs, there will be no arguments about “How come we only listen to THEIR music?!”

Don’t be afraid to use technology. It’s okay to give your kid a little bit of tech time on a very long trip. It can be sanity saving to pull out an electronic device before you pull out your hair. Before the trip, load up the Kindle, iPad, or other device with some educational games and books, then save it for the last stand– that stretch where NOTHING else is working. Another good option is a brand new DVD. Both Walmart and Target sell a selection for under $5.

When all else fails, follow the rules. Have a tally sheet, and any time someone violates one of the rules of the road (like asking “Are we there yet?!” or pestering a sibling), they get a tally. The person with the fewest tallies gets to pick the next rest stop, or choose an activity while on the trip, or even get a special small treat when you arrive at your destination. Everyone will be working hard to follow the rules and win the Best Traveler Award!

Have any tried-and-true travel tips to keep kids entertained on a long trip? Share them in the comments below!

Memories of My Grandfather (With Oatmeal Raisin Bar Recipe)

February 27, 2014January 21, 2017 - Mama 2 Comments

Please keep reading for a very special recipe from my Grandfather’s collection.

Cholangiocarcinoma. That’s… not an easy word to say, to spell, but once it becomes a part of your life, it’s a word you can’t forget. I like to know my grandfather as someone who wasn’t defined by the cancer that eventually took his life. But truly, I remember so many things before the cancer was a part of his life. Today would have been my grandfather’s birthday.

For a short time in my youngest years, my mother and I lived with my grandparents. I am often told the story of a time when I was very little, on Christmas Eve. I wouldn’t go to sleep at all, wanting to stay up. Then finally, out my grandparents’ house window, someone pointed out the lights from the radio towers nearby… flashing red lights, akin to Rudolph’s nose. I got so excited, knowing Santa was near, and knowing he wouldn’t visit if I was awake, I rushed to bed. I was asleep within minutes.

As a young girl, I had a variety of makeup brushes to play with at my grandparents’ house. I’d sit there for hours looking in the mirror putting on “MakeMuck.” My grandfather was a hairdresser for most of his life, and he formed a lasting bond with all of his regular customers. It seems he continued those friendships with many of them even after his retirement.

My grandfather had a passion for horses. A World Champion in the Missouri Foxtrotters Show circuit, and a Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association Hall of Fame Inductee, he truly loved horses with all of his heart. Because of that, at a young age, I did the whole Stick Horse Circuit, riding around a stick with a stuffed-animal style horse head in the arena. I never got into his passion for horses, but his love of them meant the boot closet in the old house always smelled like worn leather and, others say, manure. When I close my eyes, I can picture the smell of the boot closet, bringing back memories of my grandfather coming in from doing chores.

One of my earliest memories in life was a memory of my grandfather. I had read The Foot Book a million times, listened to it a million more, so when I’d sit and read it, no one would believe that I was really, truly reading it.

I changed everyone’s minds when I crawled up into my granddad’s lap, as he sat in his chair, and started reading that day’s paper. There’s no way I could have memorized it– it was the edition from that day. The things I was reading had been unread by others in the room, and it was clear that I really did know how to read.

When my grandfather was ill, and we’d go down to visit, I loved that we were able to bond over episodes of Jeopardy. He always told me I should go on the show– that I knew so many of the answers. In reality, once there, I’d choke and never get one right. I’d rather be a good couch player.

February is Cholangiocarcinoma awareness month. Cholangiocarcinoma is very rare. It’s not something you expect to take you, especially so quickly. This cancer is rare, arising from tissue in the bile duct. Only about 5% of Cholangiocarcinoma cases are inside the liver, the way my grandfather’s cancer was. There’s a very small chance that people diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma will survive longer than 5 years, and in fact, because it’s caught so late, even 6 months is a long survival rate.

However, The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation is working very hard to find a cure by promoting collaboration, understanding research, and education about Cholangiocarcinoma. You can help them achieve this mission by donating.

When my grandfather passed, he left me the recipes and cookbooks, many of them old family favorites, handwritten on scraps of paper or pulled from newspapers. These incredible recipes are a huge part of my heritage. One special treasured recipe that he loved, that everyone seemed to love, was the recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Bars that my grandfather’s mother would make when he was younger.

With a flaky, buttery crust and crumble top, and a rich raisin filling, these bars are spot-on and perfect for bake sales, potlucks, or even just enjoying on a Sunday afternoon.

You’ll begin by taking 1 cup of raisins, 1/2 a cup of water, and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Right now, you can see all of the little wrinkles on the raisins, and the clarity of the water.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer as you stir constantly, mashing the raisins a bit with a fork. The raisins will get plump, losing some of their wrinkles, and the water will start to disappear, the water darkening into a syrup. You will want to cook them until there is nearly no liquid left. Set the raisins aside to finish soaking up liquid.

In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups instant oats, 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. This will make the start of your crust.

Add in 1/3 cup of melted butter and 1 egg white to create a course crusty dough.

Press half of the crust into a greased pan, making sure it’s well-packed and sturdy.

Spread the raisin mixture evenly over the bottom crust. This will bake nicely in to create a sweet filling.

Press the other half of the crust mixture gently over the raisins. You’ll want to bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned. Cool the bars for a minimum of 1 hour in the pan on a cooling rack before slicing.

Being the Hands and Feet: Seven Ways Kids Can Serve Others

February 26, 2014September 28, 2015 - Mama 1 Comment

It’s made very clear in the Bible how important it is to serve others, and to make sure you’re taking care of the “least of these,” helping out the entire church body, and serving anyone who needs it. The Bible is all about reaching out there and taking care of others.

But no matter what your stance is, or if you are even a Christian, serving others is a huge part of life. When you reach out and make that tangible connection with someone else, everyone is made better in the process.

Studies show that the things you’re taught before the age of seven are the things that you will live for the rest of your life. While there are obviously some exceptions to this, it’s largely true. That’s why teaching kids how to serve in their formative years is SO important on how they’ll serve others for the rest of their lives.

But it isn’t always easy to find tasks that are age appropriate for kids, ways for them to serve others when they’re 4, 5, 6 years old. I’ve compiled a list of tasks that children of various ages, from preschool through the teen years, can do. Obviously, some will require more help and parental supervision than others, and some are better suited to older age groups, but all of these are tasks that your kids can get involved in to serve others.

Homeless care bags are a great way to serve others. You can easily make a bunch, then store them in your car for whenever they’re needed. Start with a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, then tuck in toiletries, like deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, washcloth, even some body spray. Continue with some small food items, like a water bottle, soft granola bars, a pop-tab can of ravioli or another similar food that doesn’t require heating and can be opened without a can opener. If you’re able to, you could even tuck in a small gift card for a fast food restaurant, allowing them to go inside, warm up (or cool down, depending on the season) and have a meal on your dime. If you include non-perishables, you can keep a box of care bags in your car and hand them out whenever you see someone in need. In the winter, consider adding in a pair of warm gloves or socks.

Kids can easily help with these homeless care bags by shopping for the items with you, by assembling the bags with you, and by delivering them to those in need. You’ll find that, once you have the bags made, kids will start noticing people in need more often, and helping to serve more. By being more aware of the need, it’ll open doors for conversations about why it’s important to help others.

Volunteer at your local food pantry. Most communities have a food pantry, which collects food, sorts it, and distributes it. Some food pantries may also have extra goals, like creating lunches for students who get free lunches through school to ensure they have meals during the summer, when many kids go hungry without that school lunch. However, food pantries need a LOT of work to keep them running smoothly! They need donations, and often can give you a list of specific items they’re running low on if you give them a call. They also may need people to help sort, organize, unpack, or repack items for distribution. Of course, you’ll want to call your local food bank first to see what their biggest needs are, and also to confirm that your child can help you serve. Most kids are able to sort items at a fairly young age, but even if you can’t help by serving at the food pantry, you can make a special grocery trip and allow the children to help you locate the most-needed items!

Donate Outgrown Clothing. This one is a great one for opening the door of conversation to show how blessed we truly are. As kids outgrow clothing, they can help go through the closet, find items they no longer wear or have outgrown, and can box them up. Then, you can help them sort the clothing and donate it to a local clothing closet or clothing drive. By doing this, you’re helping kids see that they have items that some kids simply don’t have. A lot of kids don’t have clothing that they need, let alone cute clothing they like, and by donating outgrown clothing, kids can serve other kids and learn how not everyone has access to some of the resources you might have. I’ve found that, even when money was limited and I had very little, this was one area where I could still afford to donate and serve others.

Adopt a Neighbor. You know that neighbor who lives near you, the one who is elderly and doesn’t have family nearby? What about the single mom with several kids who works full time? Maybe the family who just had a major medical event happen and it’s causing them to fall behind a little bit? How about adopting that family or neighbor, taking them under your wing, and finding ways to serve them? Perhaps one week it is getting the whole family together to shovel their snowy driveway. Maybe it means dropping by with a meal, or asking if there are any groceries you can pick up for them when you do your shopping. Your children could deliver a card telling them to get well soon or let them know that you’re thinking of them and praying for them. With permission from the neighbor, an older child could mow their lawn for free. Sometimes, adopting a neighbor can be a short-term thing– helping a family out through a rough patch in life. Sometimes, it can be a long-term commitment to help out a neighbor who needs an extra hand with a little help around the house. Consider an elderly neighbor who lives alone, and think about asking if they need any little tasks done, like changing lightbulbs or testing smoke detectors. Let older kids offer to clean out gutters, or wash windows. By chipping in and doing these little tasks, you’re helping out someone who might not be able to do it themselves, and also forming a lasting bond with someone you live near.

Serve at a nursing home. A nursing home can be a great place to serve, especially as a family! Often, residents have no family or limited family, and could use some interaction from kids. Ask your local nursing home if you can stop by and play games or cards, adopt a resident to spend regular time with, or have your children read to them. It’s a great opportunity to form a lasting connection, again, and also helps you bring some light and joy to someone’s life. Make sure you get permission before bringing items, like flowers or baked goods, to ensure there are no health risks associated with it, but if you get permission, a bouquet of flowers could brighten up someone’s windowsill, and a hand-drawn picture makes all the difference!

Send Cards to Children’s Hospital Patients. Most children’s hospitals have patients who are there for long-term care. It’s a sad reality that there are some kids who are spending weeks, months, or even years within the walls of a hospital, and that can get very monotonous! To help make kids feel a little less sad about missing out on holidays spent at home with family or friends, a lot of children’s hospitals have organizations that are set up to collect cards for the patients. Most will request a card that has a holiday theme and will ask you NOT to send Get Well Soon cards. Around Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and other holidays, or even just for no occasion at all, these organizations deliver handmade greetings to children in the hospital. It’s great to have your child make a greeting that will be delivered to another child!

Make a Spaghetti Dinner for the homeless. Especially when it’s cold, people who don’t have a place to call home find hot meals to be few and far between. A great way to remedy that is to deliver a hot meal of your own that your family worked together to prepare. Spaghetti is great for a couple of reasons. First, most homeless don’t have access to dental care, so some will have trouble with foods that aren’t on the softer side. Second, Spaghetti is something that every age can help prepare. Start by taking a trip to the store and buying 2-3 large packages of spaghetti, 2-3 cans or jars of sauce, some bags of parmesan cheese, and some garlic bread. Also pick up 20-30 takeout boxes and forks while you’re at the store. Don’t forget to buy bottled water, as well. Spend time as a family preparing the spaghetti, then boxing it up in the takeout boxes. Put those in bags, and load up the car with bottled water, parmesan cheese, and the spaghetti and bread. Drive around an area with a larger homeless population and deliver fresh, warm spaghetti, then ask them if they’d like some fresh cheese. After delivering, make sure to sit down and talk to someone one-on-one and ask them their story, or just talk to them about life in general.

Kids of all ages can learn to serve, but when they not only watch you serve, but help you serve, with intention, they’ll learn a lasting history of serving others and begin to really understand what the Bible means when it says to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Looking for more on faith and kids? Here are some ways to pray for your children. You can also show your kids that you love them– without using the words “I love you.”

Medicine Tips for Toddlers

February 11, 2014November 19, 2014 - Mama 2 Comments

Being sick sucks. It especially sucks when a little one is sick, since they can’t always express their feelings or understand why they just feel awful. Zach recently had a teething-related bug, the kind you tend to get when you’re chewing on everything because you just can’t get those molars in fast enough.

While recent studies have suggested that it’s okay for kids to run fevers to a certain degree, since it helps kill whatever bug is ailing them, it’s also widely accepted to give your toddler some meds if they’re lethargic and having other issues, like not eating.

However, when your kiddo is sick, it’s sometimes hard to get them to take their medicine. It seemed with Zach that I’d pour the liquid in his mouth, and he’d spit it back out. I’d try to make sure he got the full dose, sweeping the liquid back into his mouth, but he’d resist so much I’d start fearing he might choke on tears and Tylenol. I would give up, frustrated, and he’d still be miserable after not getting even a few drops into his system.

Finally, something had to give, and I started exploring ideas to get him to take his medicine more easily.

For liquid, a dropper often works better than a spoon or cup. You can squirt the medicine into their cheek near the back of their mouth, and it’ll slide right down. Be careful not to stick the dropper straight back– they can wiggle and end up activating their gag reflex, and you’ll wind up with a lot more of a mess on your hands. By squeezing it into the pocket of their cheek, it goes down without too much taste even hitting their tongue. With that said, some older kids may really enjoy the process of being a big helper and drinking the medicine straight out of the small cup that comes with many medications instead of a dropper. If you go this route, give supervision and have something on hand for them to chase it with (like juice or water).

Mix it with fruit juice if you need to– just a little bit of juice with a similarly flavored medicine (like sticking with grape juice for grape medicine) will help mask the taste as it goes down.

Have water on hand, or another favorite drink, for after the dose is given. The easiest way to quell arguments of nasty medicine taste is to make sure kids can flush it out immediately after taking the medicine with a favorite juice or water.

Switch to chewables, if your child is old enough. I thought you had to wait until 4 for chewables, but I finally discovered that there are some name and off-brand chewables on the market for children as young as two years old. While you should never bill it as being candy-like, the little tablets are quite similar to Smarties, and allow kids a little less fear than a nasty syrup.

Hide the pill in some applesauce or pudding. If your child is still resisting when it comes to tablets, tuck it into some applesauce or pudding and have them eat it that way– they’ll be less likely to taste it as it goes down.

Ask for a different flavor. Some pharmacies can add or change the taste of certain prescription liquids if requested, or can point you in the direction of a different flavor when buying over-the-counter medicine. Most pharmacists are happy to help you find a flavor that works for your child.

With the tips listed above, your child might even become excited about taking their medicine. Because of this, you’ll want to be sure all of your medicine is out of reach and locked away to prevent over-medicating. Also be sure to check dosage instructions with your pharmacist, or consult a website like Dr. Sears’ website if you’ve lost the dosage instructions for an over-the-counter medicine. One of the biggest hospitalization causes for kids is over-medication or accidental overdose, so use caution when dosing and make sure that all medicine is put away where your child cannot access it easily.

As always, I am not a doctor. Be sure to consult with a doctor or pharmacist before trying the tips listed in this article. If you do have a concern that your child accidentally ingested medicine, contact poison control and get them to the nearest emergency room immediately.

Birth Control

January 9, 2014 - Mama 1 Comment

The other day, a facebook friend of mine posted that she’s having her third child in about as many years. I’d say this is an anomaly amongst my facebook friends, but it’s not.

I’m starting to wonder if there’s a reason they’re diving right back into having kids. Because I sit here looking at my two year old, and, despite loving him more than anything else in the entire world, when I see people having a second child so soon after their first, I have to believe that they’re out of their entire stinkin’ mind.

Let me give you a little background about why I feel that way.

About a week ago, my son comes to me and brings me a slinky. “Cool slinky, Zach!” He replies “Mom!” and pats his thingie. “Um, Zach, the slinky doesn’t go there.” He repeats his request again and again. I calmly remind him, “No, we do not put slinkies on our thingy.” He says “Okay!” and I hand him the slinky, thinking he understands. The next thing I know, he’s torn his diaper off, stuck his thingie through the opening of the slinky, and started peeing ALL over the floor.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I’m torn between crying and dying laughing. I grab the slinky and toss it in the sink to be sanitized thoroughly. I go to grab a towel, and then I hear it. “Splash. Splash.” Oh no. Oh no no no no. I run back in and Zach is JUMPING in the pee puddle. Like it’s a rain puddle or something!” I remove him from the situation, wash his feet, and re-diaper him, then I run over and begin cleaning up the puddle as quickly as I can to prevent another Singin In the Rain style incident from him. As I just finish cleaning up the puddle, I see a streak out of the corner of my eye… I turn to look, and there is a bare butt running across the room.

You’ve GOT to be kidding me.

I would say that incidents like this were few and far between, but that would be a lie. The other day, we visited my boyfriend’s apartment for New Years Eve, and Zach was using some chopsticks as drumsticks, like he routinely does, because everything stick-like is a drumstick, obviously. As we went to clean up for the night, one of the chopsticks was missing. Oh well… it must have slipped under a couch or between cushions.

Then, overnight, suddenly things got cold. Like really cold. Because freezing temps outside suddenly crept in when the heater stopped working. Why did it stop working, you ask? Because a chopstick was jamming the fan.

Yup. That’s my boy.

I’m not telling you these stories because I think having kids is crazy. On the contrary, actually. Zach has provided me with so many amazing experiences, so many hilarious stories, and so many cuddles, smiles, and countless laughs. He’s exactly the reason I WILL have more kids someday.

…he’s also the reason that having more kids anytime before he’s at least four and out of this phase is NOT something I want to happen.

I never understood my mom when she’d say “Kids make the best birth control.” I also didn’t understand why she waited 12 years to have my brother after me, and still don’t, because I was a perfect angel of a child.

But I get it now, the kids are the best birth control. Because after an exhausting day of slinky pee, jammed air conditioners, and entire boxes of Goldfish poured out on the floor, I wouldn’t trade my life for anything, but I also couldn’t imagine adding a second child to the list. All I want is to go to bed, pull the covers over my head, and pray for more than 3 hours of sleep so I can wake up and do it all over again the next day.

My son is the best possible blessing that God has ever granted me. He is sweet, adorable, and has the cutest face, especially when it is covered in eggs and bits of chocolate. He has so much compassion, love, and empathy. The other day, I was worn out from a workout and sat on the bed panting and sore. Zach came over to me and said “Mom! Are you okay?” He patted my back, rubbed my arm, and gave me a hug.

I love having a child. I love his energy, spirit, and the way he responds to everyone in love.

And, because of him, I’d like to wait awhile for another, thankyouverymuch. To my Facebook friends who are having another… and another… back-to-back, either your little ones are still in their “cute, silent, baby phase” when you decide to have more, or you are a stronger woman than I am. Because I have no idea how you’re managing without losing your mind.

Mom’s right. Kids DO make the best birth control.

Mama Plus One

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