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If you want to treat your kids to ice cream, tonight is the night to do it for less. Baskin-Robbins stores are having a "31 Cent Scoop Night," with 2.5 ounce scoops of ice cream available for 31 cents each between 5 and 10 p.m.
The event honors firefighters, and some locations may be collecting donations for firefighter charities. Limit of 10 scoops per person, so don't go too crazy.
(Photo courtesy of Baskin-Robbins)
You may have missed it, but the other day Annelies asked a good Green Week question:
I would love to see a list of all natural, bio-degradeable shampoos for children, where when we hear the ingredients we actually know what it is, yet still tear-free (rules out my favorite brand Dr. Bronners), non-potentially carcinogenic (rules out Johnson & Johnson, but chemical ingredients rule them out anyway), and allergy-tested (rules out California Baby). Unless I am wrong about any of them above? Thanks for any insight.
I've been searching around the 'net for reliable reviews of products that meet all of her criteria, and I've come up empty. I'll keep looking, but in the meantime I'm throwing it out to you. Do you have any natural/biodegradeable/tear-free/non-carcinogenic/allergy-tested kid shampoos (or homemade recipes for same) that you like? Bonus points if it's detangling, too!
There may be no greener chef than Alice Waters, the Berkeley, Calif., creator of Chez Panisse restaurant who is often considered the mother of the sustainable food movement. More important to this blog's readers, she also started the Edible Schoolyard project to get more healthful food into school lunchrooms and curricula.
So for our Green Week, I decided to make the family a chock-full-of-chard frittata from Waters' latest cookbook, The Art of Simple Food.
There are at least two "green" things about this easy dinner: Not only does it have a lot of chard, but it uses the whole bunch -- even the tough, colorful stems, which would often be thrown away. Here, they're cooked gently with onions to become a tender, flavorful addition to the dish. And a frittata is an easy way to use up leftover vegetables, pasta, or meat.
I had a bit of a cooking crisis in the middle of making this. ...
(Photo by me)
I ran into the store on the way home from work for chard, but thought we were covered on eggs. Opened the fridge in the middle of cooking (yeah, I know, I'm supposed to get everything out beforehand) to find only four eggs. I need one of those talking refrigerators that are supposedly going to run our kitchens one day.
I punted by adding 1/4 cup of Egg Beaters and 1/2 cup of half and half to compensate for the missing 2 eggs. Fortunately, the frittata turned out fine, though it didn't look as pretty as I'm sure Waters' original recipe would.
Chard Frittata
Serves 4
1 bunch chard, mustard greens or other greens of your choice
4 tablespoons olive oil (divided use)
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced thin
Salt to taste
6 eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash the chard or greens and separate the stems. Cut stems into ¼ inch slices. Coarsely chop the leaves. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy pan, over medium heat. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes and add the chard stems. Season with salt. Cook for 4 minutes and add the leaves. Cook until the leaves are tender, adding a splash of water if the pan dries out. Turn out of the pan onto a plate.
Crack eggs into a large bowl. Add salt to taste, 2 teaspoons olive oil, black pepper and cayenne pepper, and garlic. Beat lightly. Gently squeeze the chard with your hands, wringing out most, but not all, of the liquid. Stir the chard into the beaten eggs.
Thoroughly preheat a 10-inch oven proof pan over medium-low heat. Pour in 2 tablespoons olive oil. After a few seconds, pour in the egg mixture. As the eggs set on the bottom, lift the edges to allow the uncooked egg to flow underneath. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes, then put the pan in the oven until the frittata is set on top, about 7 to 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.
--Adapted from "The Art of Simple Food," by Alice Waters
Per serving: 257 calories, 11 grams protein, 21 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 8 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 317 milligrams cholesterol, 274 milligrams sodium. Analysis by registered dietitian Jodie Shield.
I'm thinking about a Green Week Tip Sheet on making birthday parties green, with ideas for earth-friendly activities; cutting down on the waste of wrapping paper; etc.
Do you like this one, or do you have other topics you'd like to see for this week's tip sheet? Please post below. And please share your green party tips so we can get a good list together.
The clamor is growing about the upcoming Vanity Fair photo spread of Miley Cyrus-Hannah Montana, which shows the 15-year-old Disney Channel star staring over her shoulder, wearing (at least that's implied) nothing more than a bedsheet.
Cyrus says she's embarrassed by the Annie Leibovitz shoot, which she thought would be "artistic." And she's apologized to her fans.
This comes on the heels of several smaller Cyrus photo tempests on the Internet recently. A couple of pictures showed her frolicking with underwear visible.
MomLogic has a few tips about talking with your tweens about these photos.
My kids are much younger, and we don't get Vanity Fair at home (phew), but I'm still wondering about what to say to them. Even though they don't watch Hannah Montana, they hear about it at school, and my son even knows some of the music through friends. (He's been known to sing: "Nobody's perfect/I gotta work it," over and over. Maybe we should stop finding this hilarious.)
I know that if the subject comes up, I'll stress what I have always told my now 7-year-old girl -- that your body is private, not for public display; and that being grown-up has more to do with how you act and what's going on in your mind and heart than how you look.
What are you going to say?
(Photo of Miley Cyrus at the 2008 Academy Awards by Kevork Djansezian, Associated Press)
I asked Scott Carlson, a senior reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education and a writer for various local publications, to be our Guest Dad for Green Week. He lives in Rodgers Forge and has two children (his wife is Kristine Henry, who runs The Forge Flyer and shows up in the comments here from time to time).
Scott wrote a piece about building his own solar cooker for The Sun's Taste section last year, and now he's teaching local kids about growing their own food. One of them asked him a question I thought was revealing about where our kids get their notions about food these days.
To read and react to Scott's post, click the link below. ...
(Photo of Scott Carlson and son Jack Carlson courtesy of Kristine Henry)
"I'm a bit of an oddity in my Rodgers Forge neighborhood because I've dug up part of my front yard and turned it into a small, crowded vegetable garden. I started the garden because I find digging in the dirt therapeutic and I like fresh salad greens, tomatoes, and basil. But I've also used the little plot to teach my kids and their friends (and their friends' parents) a little about super-local agriculture, soil critters, and plant varieties.
"One afternoon last weekend I was dealing with a tenacious pot of peppermint that had survived the winter. (The clay pot did not.) I decided to rip the plant apart at the roots, replant it in some old pots I had lying around, and give it to my son's friends, these 7- and 8-year-old boys. As I was repotting the plant, one of the boys asked me a confounding question.
" 'Do they call that mint because it smells like mint?' he asked, as if "mint" was some artificial flavoring he'd encountered only through Orbit or Crest.
"Researchers and environmentalists worry that young people suffer from a "nature-deficit disorder," but consequences of this separation from the outdoors are probably far greater than we realize right now. Look closely at the news headlines and you'll quickly realize that our kids will need to know something about nature and agriculture to thrive in the future. We're facing a food crisis and an expanding global population. We're facing climate change, with a good deal of greenhouse gases coming from agriculture. We face an energy crisis, in a country that trucks its food an average of 1,500 miles from field to plate. We're facing a loss of biodiversity, both off the farm and on it, in terms of a loss of plant varieties. And amid all of this, over the past 50 years we have seen food production come under the control of fewer and fewer farmers.
"That afternoon, I took my son and his friends out to the yard, picked a handful of spearmint, and said, "This is mint." Then I showed them chocolate mint, then mountain mint, then peppermint -- all with slightly different menthol tones. I reached over to a clump of wild garlic, picked off a pungent stem, and held it up to their noses. These are smells you should recognize, I said, because you eat them all the time, and here they are growing around you.
"When the boy who asked the confounding question left that day, carrying his pot of mint, he ran into another boy who hadn't been with us that afternoon. "What's that?" the late-arriving boy said, pointing at the pot.
" 'It's mint. It's where mint comes from," my son's friend responded, very authoritatively.
"When I was their age, a farmer near my home took me out to a watermelon field at the height of summer, and as we cut up a melon with his jackknife, he talked to me about the importance of the land, air, and water. I've never forgotten that day. I don't know if I'm giving my son or his friends any useful lessons with my tiny garden. I hope it's a start."
The Sun ran a Los Angeles Times story this morning that has some interesting statistics about all the high-priced plastic toys and other items we buy for kids -- and how to deal with them when our kids have grown out of them (in what seems like about 2 minutes, in retrospect).
The story is about L.A. moms who buy pricey ExerSaucers and Bugaboo strollers for their little ones, then unload them at a huge kids' consignment sale for about half the price they paid (or, of course, less). The story talks about parents selling all sorts of items at these sales, including -- gulp -- breast pumps.
I gulp because I really wanted to give my old Medela Pump n' Style to a close relative when she had a baby. The motor was still working fine, and I had found a web site where the new mom could purchase some of the parts that touch the milk -- such as bottles and tubing -- brand-new. Passing on the motor would have saved her a couple hundred bucks. But after looking on the Medela web site, I balked; it said you could never really be sure that the internal components had gotten completely clean. (Pumps designed specifically for rental, it said, were safe for multiple users.) Even though I wondered whether this was a convenient way of selling more breast pumps, I didn't want to chance it.
I think this is a big reason more baby stuff doesn't get recycled. No matter how clean you get a used item, it's still used. Sometimes our zeal for conserving resources today is matched only by our fear of germs. And you frequently see warnings not to buy used cribs or car seats because the cribs might not meet current safety standards, and the car seats might have been in a crash you didn't know about.
What kid items would you buy or accept used?
(Associated Press photo of toy car assembly in China, 2007)
Here are those cupcakes I promised you to celebrate 400 comments.
I chose these because if you're going to have a treat, in my opinion "Barefoot Contessa" Ina Garten is the chef to see. She does it up right.
I also chose them because Susan K likes chocolate, and because the cupcake plays kind of an interesting role in the current state of parenting. We're constantly either making them for one school event/birthday/party or another; or we're buying them but secretly feeling that perhaps we should have made them from scratch; or we're worrying that our children are consuming altogether too many of them anyway, so we're trying to be strong by not taking them someplace, and taking carrot sticks instead.
Then we are so overcome with this inner wrangling that we simply must have a cupcake for ourselves. As local blogger Sweetney observes: "Mommy Guilt: It's What's For Dinner." Also dessert.
But I digress. ...(Click below for recipes.)
(Photo by me)
Back to the treat!
I know that peanut butter is a loaded item these days, too; unfortunately, it seems that half the kids out there are allergic, and the other half can't live without it. That's why I made these with chocolate icing, too. The cupcakes, which get a flavor boost from a little coffee, taste great both ways.
I didn't have nutritional analysis done on this, because with all Ina's butter and sugar, along with cream in the frosting, I don't think we really want to know. But if enough of you feel differently and tell me so below, I'll post it later.
Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 14 to 18 cupcakes
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it’s completely blended.
Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (one rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from pans, and cool completely before frosting.
Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural-style)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
Place the sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.
--From “Barefoot Contessa at Home,” by Ina Garten 
Our Monday expert this week is Gretchen Wolff Pritchard, author, illustrator and publisher of the Sunday Paper lectionary series for children and children’s missioner at the Episcopal Church of St. Paul and St. James in New Haven, Conn. (I found her through the Yale Divinity School, which I called for help on this one.)
She was asked to help CKisMom with ideas about how to help a 6-year-old behave in church. Though she uses the word "church," I asked Pritchard to make her comments general enough to apply to all kinds of worship services, and I think she has done that.
Just to let you know, her post is a bit long, but valuable. Click below to read it.
(Photo of Gretchen Wolff Pritchard courtesy of Gretchen Wolff Pritchard)
“Religious gatherings can be a challenge for families with young children. They are usually designed for adults. Nearly all the words and concepts may go right over your child’s head. Typically, the program includes prayers, where an atmosphere of reverence is expected; a sermon (sometimes quite long!) where quiet is essential so that others can hear; and singing, where the words and music may be difficult or unfamiliar. And if worship is important to us, we don’t want our child to hate it!
The best guide I know for parents facing the challenge of bringing kids to worship is in a little book called Going to Church with Children, by Stan Stewart, Pauline Stewart and Richard Green, published in Australia in 1989 and now out of print. It uses the acronym “CALM SHEEP” as a framework for planning ahead for success at your family’s house of worship.
CALM is for teaching children about worship. SHEEP is a set of practical tips for once you get there.
C is for “Calm them at home.” Family life needs to provide quiet times and show that it values them, so that children understand what is meant when they are asked to be quiet in church.
A is for “Anticipate.” Learn what stories and themes your church will be featuring this week or this month, and go over them with your children ahead of time, so they will know what to look for. Plan ahead so that getting out the door isn’t stressful. Pack a “worship bag” with quiet toys, books, non-messy snacks, and wipes.
L is for “Love worship.” Watch how you, as parents, talk about worship: do you give the message that it’s a chore and a bore, or that it’s not for children anyway, that their only role is to keep quiet till it’s over? Your child will pick that up. Instead, convey feelings of reverence and awe; tell stories of cherished worship experiences in your own life. In church, be a teacher. Encourage your children to notice things that are happening around them, to learn what is coming next, to take part as they are able.
M is for “Music.” Expose children at home to the music they will hear in church. Learn the words of hymns and songs that are used frequently. Teach them the special reading skills for negotiating your congregation’s hymnal.
S is for “Sit with care.” Find a place where children can see and hear, and from which they can reach an exit with a minimum of fuss. Plan your family’s seating arrangement to keep peace.
H is for “Helpers.” A great benefit of belonging to a faith community is that it expands your child’s circle of caring. Teens and older adults may enjoy getting to know your child, or he or she may enjoy sitting with the family of a friend. Kids often behave better with people who are not their parents! This may be one way that your faith community can help you, by giving you back some breathing time during worship.
EE is for “Exit when necessary” and “Enter again when ready.” Sometimes a distressed child needs a break. Lengthy whispered conflict and elaborate shushing are more disruptive than a quick, simple exit. But make the time-out brief and businesslike: it’s not a vacation or play time. Remind your child that you want to be with your worshipping family, and your child is part of that family too.
And P is for “Persevere.” Children will sometimes whine and complain. They do that about a lot of things. Going to worship is not all golden moments, for either parents or kids. That is no reason to give up. Good luck!"
Do you have tips for what worked with your children in a worship setting? Please share them.
It seems fitting to kick off Green Week with a web site about green parenting. The Green Parent, written by an environmentalist mom, is dedicated full-time to the subject, with posts about recycling, eco-friendly crafts, saving water, and more.
Speaking of Green Week, please don't forget to answer my call for images of your kids' fantastic art to showcase on the blog. E-mail them to me here. Or you can snail-mail to:
Kate Shatzkin, The Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278.
But please send only copies if you want to keep the art; I wouldn't want to lose anything precious.
Since nobody came up with a green question for the Monday Consult, lucky CKisMom gets an answer for the second week in a row. A specialist in children's worship will tackle this problem:
How do I get my six year old to behave at church? I send the two year old to the nursery, but I feel the six year old should be able sit through an hour-long mass (especially when he gets to go to the children's liturgy for part of the time). Instead, he cries and whines the whole time and says how much he hates church and doesn't want to go. Part of me feels like consistency is the key, but the other part of me just doesn't feel like dealing with this ongoing behavior week after week. Any help or advice?
Now it's your turn. What would you ask an expert about children or parenting if you had a free chance? Please post early and often so I can start finding the best people for you.
Thanks to Susan K, our little debate with the Dining at Large readers, and the posts from other commenters yesterday afternoon, we hit our 400th-comment benchmark with some to spare. So look for your virtual treat early next week. You can use the recipe next time you're hit up for a bake-sale contribution.
Best thing about a virtual treat: No calories. That is, until you bake it yourself. ...
Baby Mama, the new film about a single woman who hires a surrogate mother that stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, opens today. Our critic Michael Sragow gives it a C. Here's his review, along with a trailer of the movie, if you haven't seen that yet.
Even before Sragow weighed in, I wasn't very hopeful for this movie, even though both Fey and Poehler can be wickedly funny. Fey plays Kate, a single, "Type A-plus" (according to Sragow) businesswoman who commissions a baby from the character played by Poehler, who is less moneyed and more fertile.
I've had enough friends suffer through fertility problems that I know there's really nothing funny about it, so that colors my view. What do you think about making fun of this subject?
One thing I'd like to discuss during Green Week next week is kids' art, and how to handle it in ways that preserve both Earth and sanity. You know what I'm talking about, right? From the first scribble, art is a major (and wonderful, please don't get me wrong) pastime for most children. It also creates a potentially huge pile of paper and related products around the house.
Yet throwing any of it away -- even if you are careful to recycle -- is fraught. Sneak it into the recycling and you feel like a heel, especially when your kid catches you doing it and wails. Keep it all, and soon you won't be able to find the door.
There are a lot of creative solutions to this, of course, and we'll talk about them next week. What I want to do now is provide one of those solutions by inviting you to recycle your child's art on this blog. Scan it or photograph it and e-mail it to me. (If you'd like your artist identified, please send name and age.) I'll run pictures I get all week with our green posts. Kids get to see their work displayed on the blog, and you get to pack off the original to be turned into something new.
Like, perhaps, another art project?
(Art by my Sam, 4)
Hey, people. When I talked about Turnoff Week, I didn't mean you should turn off me. Yet here I am, feeling the silence even after posting a Tip Sheet Thursday with advice for new parents. And here we are, so tantalizingly close to 400 comments. Not to mention Green Week, for which I'm still soliciting ideas.
I won't bribe my kids, but I'm not above bribing you. So here's a deal. If we hit 400 comments by 6 p.m. tonight, I'll bake you a virtual treat and post it next week.
Hungry?
Thanks for all the great comments, gear recommendations and other pieces of advice for Amy and other moms (and dads) to be. I'm sure we all appreciate them, with the possible exception of Amy's friends and relatives, who will now have to deal with a supersized registry of all your suggested items.
Even with all those recommendations I found myself wanting to know more about some of the gear (Lea Orlando, what's a bumbo seat?). So I'll do a little more research and save that list for later. Meanwhile, with your comments and some advice I've been thinking about, there's more than enough for a tip sheet on Things We Wish We'd Known before that first baby came.
Here goes. (Click below for the list and see why in the world Coco Chanel is pictured in her little black dress. ...):
We wish we'd known:
--To keep a little black dress fund. When you're carefree and single (or married without kids), there's usually a little money available for splurges on stuff that makes you feel sexy, great, or just utterly yourself. When a baby comes, there's less money to spend on yourself, yet more need than ever for those beautiful things. Set aside the dollars now, and keep feeding that fund for both parents. (Even if your black dress is no longer so little. It's a concept, not a size.)
--Not to be intimidated in the delivery room. As Jenny says, "it's your body." This doesn't mean necessarily going against solid medical advice, but having a plan for what you want and letting it be known. During my first labor, I ended up kind of tethered to the bed; during the second, I knew enough to ask if I could walk the halls as long as possible. It went much better.
--To plan beyond birth. Momof2 notes that she felt overprepared for delivery and underprepared for the next six weeks. I'm still laughing at my plan to learn Spanish in my "free time" on maternity leave. I think I would have felt less jolted by the reality of the first few months if I'd known more what to really expect, and that...
--"This too shall pass." Thanks to SZ for this one. Baby time is not real time. The first three months of the first baby's life seem to take approximately five years. The first five minutes of crying during Ferberizing? At least three hours. Only the fun times go fast. So hold them in your mind, firmly, when madness lurks.
--To think carefully about when to invite live-in family 'help.' This depends on the dynamics within your family and some other factors, but it's an important decision either way. Debra points out that things can actually get tougher a few weeks after birth, and that's when you'll want help. Also, you may want a little time to feel confident and bond with your new family. But m wishes she'd had the help sooner.
--To join a group of brand-new moms (or dads) where no one minds the crying. Yours or the baby's. Leeann mentions, and I heartily second, the group run at Greater Baltimore Medical Center by Deedee Franke. There are others; ask your ob/gyn for a good one near you. Dads can now consider their own program at Anne Arundel Medical Center. The upside: You get bonding now, potential friends-with-kids-the-same-age for later.
--To ask for help and to say no. "If people don't offer help, ask for it and tell them specifically what you need," writes m. If folks want to come over and "see the baby," it's fine to tell them it's not a good time, as Kayris says. And for God's sake, don't go making cookies for them.
--To be a team with our husbands/partners. They often feel left out during this early stage of babyhood, when infant and mom are usually inseparable. (Guys, chime in below.) If moms don't give them a chance to muddle through and find their way (like most of the women are doing), they can lose confidence and opt out of a lot of tasks. No good for anybody.
--That you might actually be able to have a civilized meal in a nice restaurant with a weeks-old baby. The sandboxers over at Dining at Large may cry foul (bring it on), but babies that new really do sleep a lot. And parents that new really, really need a treat. Tuck Junior into the little car seat basket, don't linger too long over dinner, go at an uncrowded time, and you just might make it through a meal. Of course, if there's screaming, be prepared for a quick exit.
--That motherhood is like a boot camp that can break you down and make you someone new. But don't worry. You'll probably really dig her.
Here's the latest short list of things to do this week. Remember to check the Activities calendar on the right rail for more. If you have something to add, please post it below; if it's for next week and beyond, please send it to Jennifer Choi, who compiles the list.
Thursday (April 24):
“Towson Gardens Day”: Flower mart, plants, crafts, exhibits, garden tours, entertainment, food. Event takes place at the Courthouse Fountain Plaza, at Pennsylvania and Baltimore Avenues. Free admission. Entrance to “The Secret Garden” is $1. 10am-3pm. The rain date is Friday. 410-823-6383.
Friday (April 25):
“Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour”: Thomas the Tank Engine chugs his way into the B&O Railroad Museum through Sunday. Families can enjoy activities such as a ride with Thomas, arts, crafts and live music. Visitors can also meet Sir Topham Hatt and Sprout TV’s Fifi from Fifi and the Flowertots. The event runs 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. each day. The museum is at 901 W. Pratt St. $18 for ages 2 and older. Call 866-468-7630 or go to borail.org.
“Bad Hair Day”: Storytelling, song-singing and craftmaking at the Elkridge branch of the Howard County Library, 6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge. 2 p.m. Ages 3-5. Free. Reservations required. Call 410-313-5085 or visit hclibrary.org.
(2000 Sun photo of Thomas the Tank Engine by Steve Ruark)
Saturday (April 26):
“Backyardigans”: In their touring show “The Tale of the Mighty Knights!” the five friends from the television show tell the story of a quest that involves dragons, fairies and kings. Performances are 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Hippodrome, 12 N. Eutaw St. Tickets $15-$38. Call 410-547-7328 or go to ticketmaster.com.
Earth Day Celebration: Goucher College aims to raise awareness of environmental issues while celebrating Earth with live music, food, activities and games. The festival begins 11:30 a.m. on the residential quad of Goucher College, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road. Free. Call 410-337-6000 or visit goucher.edu.
“Maryland Day”: The 10th annual Maryland Day at the University of Maryland, College Park includes more than 400 activities, and the first 50,000 attendees receive a cupcake. Events across campus include dancing, live music, workshops and lectures. The events are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the University of Maryland, 7600 Baltimore Ave., College Park. Free. Call 301-405-1000 or go to marylandday.umd.edu.
“RobotFest”: From 10 a.m.-3 p.m., the Historical Electronics Museum, 1745 W. Nursery Road, Linthicum, hosts an exhibition of a variety of technological devices created by primary school, secondary school and college students. Free admission. Call 410-765-0230 or go to robotfest.com.
Zoo Celebration: The Cross Keys Village Square, 5100 Falls Road, welcomes animals and their keepers to educate and offer a chance to meet the zoo’s residents up close. Games, prizes, crafts and other entertainment. The celebration is noon-2 p.m. Free, but donations encouraged. Call 410-323-1000 or go to villageofcrosskeys.com.
Sunday (April 27):
“El Gran Dia de Leer”: A program devoted to promoting public libraries’ use of Spanish books. Crafts, games and refreshments 2 p.m.-5 p.m. at the Chesapeake Children’s Museum, 25 Silopanna Road, Annapolis. Free. 410-990-1993 or theccm.org.
“Free Family Sundays: Family Sketching: Pattern”: Interactive art workshops, tours, and more. The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive. 2 p.m. Free. 443-573-1700 or artbma.org.
“Fairy Tale Festival Extravaganza”: The event includes crafts, music, and activities. There will be a Fairy Tale Ball for preschoolers, with live music and special events. Activities run 1 p.m.-3 p.m. at the Enoch Pratt Free Library Central branch, 400 Cathedral St. 410-396-5402 or go to prattlibrary.org.
“Navigate this Place: Family Scavenger Hunt”: Families can use maps from the Walters’ special exhibition and the outdoor works of MICA’s exhibition Beyond the Compass, Beyond the Square in a scavenger hunt directed by artists involved with the outdoor exhibit. 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Free. The event takes place at the Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. and in the parks of Mount Vernon. Call 410-225-2300 or go to mica.edu/beyond.
There's an insightful essay by an Owings Mills woman in the Sun today about so-called "helicopter" parenting. It's a response to a page one story the Sun had in March about teachers feeling harassed by overbearing parents.
Here's my earlier post about that story. Any thoughts?
This week I had my kids choose a recipe together, from one of Emeril Lagasse's books for kid chefs. "Emeril's There's a Chef in My World" -- yes, "Emeril's" is part of the title -- has an international theme.
The children liked this recipe because of its Irish influence (they've got a fair amount of Irish blood). It had not only salmon (which my son likes) but bacon (which my son likes). My daughter just liked the idea of an Irish-themed dish, and probably the concept of pie for dinner. ...(Read on for the recipe.)
(Photo by me)
Did she like the finished product? Not so much. Sam was not a big fan either. But my husband and I both recommend this, though it might be best for a weekend project. Kids can help you layer the ingredients in the pie and crimp the edges.
Irish Salmon Pie
Serves 6 to 8
Store-bought piecrust for a double-crust savory pie
¾ pound (1-2) Idaho potato, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices
1 pound skinless salmon fillets
¾ teaspoon salt (divided use)
½ teaspoon ground white pepper (black will work if you don’t have white) (divided use)
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
¼ pound thickly cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup sliced leeks, white parts only, rinsed well
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream (divided use)
Lemon wedges for serving
In a small pot, cover potatoes with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are just fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold running water, being careful not to break the pieces.
Season salmon lightly on both sides with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. In a medium skillet, bring the chicken broth to a simmer. Add the salmon and cook until just cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and, using a skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer salmon to a large mixing bowl to cool. Gently break into bite-size pieces.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until it is crisp and has released almost all of its fat, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels to drain. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat from the skillet. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat; add parsley and set aside to cool.
Add the leek mixture to the salmon and mix gently. In a small mixing bowl, with a fork or whisk, beat together the eggs, egg yolk, ½ cup of the cream, the remaining salt and remaining pepper.
Position rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Roll out one piecrust and transfer to a 10-inch pie pan. Lay bacon pieces across the bottom and top with the potato slices. Spoon the salmon mixture over the potatoes and top with the cream mixture. Transfer top crust to the pie. Trim excess dough and crimp the edges of the crusts with your fingers or a fork to seal completely. Cut several thin vents in the crust with the knife and, with a pastry brush, paint the top crust with the remaining tablespoon of cream.
Bake the pie until golden brown, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.
--From "Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My World”
Per slice: 408 calories, 20 grams protein, 24 grams fat, 9 grams saturated fat, 26 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 142 milligrams cholesterol, 726 milligrams sodium. Analysis by registered dietitian Jodie Shield.
Today is Earth Day, of course, and in honor of the occasion, I'm announcing our first themed week on the blog -- Green Week. No, it's not this week. That's too soon for me to get it together predictable. And this way, our Green Week will coincide with next week's Baltimore Green Week, which kicks off this weekend with an Ecofestival and some other events.
I'm hoping that many of our regular features will have green themes, and I could use your help. Do you have:
--Questions for a green Monday Consult?
--A green-themed post for Father's Day Tuesday consideration that you dads could offer up by email, complete with a picture of you with your adorable kids?
--Ideas for a green Tip Sheet Thursday?
I've already got a "green" Dinner Together recipe to try, but welcome your ideas on the food front, too.
What else would you like to see covered during CCM's Green Week?
(Sun file photo courtesy of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
My colleague Susan Reimer weighs in today on the latest research about men contributing to household chores. We talked about this a bit here a few weeks ago, but I thought you might be interested in her take.
Susan laments that our busy lives have made housework the chief battleground and bargaining chip (men who pitch in get more sex, the researchers say) in modern marriage. She wishes we were taking more time to wrestle as couples with bigger issues, like how much college debt to saddle for the kids and shared family goals.
There's an interesting thread over at BlogHer, started by the mom blogger Rocks In My Dryer, that I thought might provoke some Father's Day Tuesday discussion. Shannon (from Rocks) reacts to an article by an obstetrician who thinks men don't really have a place in the birthing room, despite the current conventional wisdom that they've got to be there. His reasons, according to the thread: It's too stressful for him, too distracting for mother.
Fathers, what do you think about this? If you were in the delivery room, what was your experience like? Mothers, did you find it essential, helpful or distracting to have fathers there? Or all of the above at once?
For the record, I don't think I could have gotten through labor without my husband's steady presence. In our house, he's generally the calm one.
Our Guest Dad today is Peter Sabonis, a Baltimore-based attorney who's been representing low-income and homeless people, unaccompanied youth and Native Americans for nearly a quarter-century. (His current title is a mouthful: Deputy Director of Advocacy for Public Benefits & Economic Security at the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau.)
Peter also has a 7-year-old son, Jacob. He (the father, not the son) has written what I think is a very interesting post on telling a good story. It's particularly appropriate during Turnoff Week. ...
(Click below to read his post.)
(Photo of Peter Sabonis and son Jacob courtesy of Peter Sabonis)
"Everyone, of course, loves a good story. My son Jacob, however, simply loves a story—regardless of its quality. Unfortunately, there are times when the last thing I want to hear is, "Dad, tell me a story!"
"That’s because telling a story requires me to stop my obsessive thought patterns and rest in the moment, however mundane it seems. My wife says I’m a good story teller because I have a good imagination. That’s not true. I tell good stories and I tell lousy stories. The difference between the two has to do with my being mentally present to the possibilities of the moment.
"To tell a good story, I need to be patient, deliberate, and be willing to explore every meaningless tangent that’s possible. The tangents are produced by my own reactions to my own words. A story may start with, "There once was a snail named Sammy who lived in East Baltimore," but a good story will then stop and divert to how Sammy got his name -- which naturally would involve something about his parents, and perhaps how they came to live in East Baltimore. Each of these diversions may offer short stories of their own. The beauty of going down these side streets is that if I get caught in a dead end, I simply return to the main story with a simple, "but that’s another story for another time, where was I?" Somehow, Jacob always knows.
"What I’ve learned is that these digressions are actually the key to pulling off a good story. As Sammy’s story progresses, there are countless opportunities to pull items or themes or ideas I’ve created and left on the side streets. For instance, Sammy may live in East Baltimore because his parents are Latino and his Father’s name is Ferdinand—named by his parents after the great Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Now that is a meaningless tidbit at the point I speak it—one produced by nothing but silly reflexive associations in my flea-like brain. But later, I may have Sammy go exploring himself, because of the power of my own suggestion.
"The other key for me is to have no end in sight when I begin. When I start a story with a moral or biblical truth in mind for story’s end, the story flops. When Sammy the snail starts without any ending in mind, he ends up jump-roping his way into some moral discovery that surprises even me. "Begin with the end in mind" is not one of my seven habits of good story telling. It’s like taking a walk in the park just to get to the other side. In striving to get to the end, I miss the journey. And the journey is always the story."
Share your reactions to Peter's post -- and your own secrets for telling stories -- in the comments section below.
Today marks the beginning of National Turnoff Week, sponsored by the Center for Screen Time Awareness. The campaign is in its 14th year, and encourages families to spend less time in front of televisions, computers and video games.
This web site is trying to sell you a tv-turnoff kit, but it also has some free printable tools, such as an activity planning chart, that could help children get into the spirit of a project they may initially oppose. It might be more fun, though, to have them design their own charts detailing what they will do instead of watching.
Here's a U.S. government page with more information and ideas about Turnoff Week. I have to say I thought it was interesting that the page includes two videos of Acting U.S. Surgeon General Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson talking about the importance of reducing screen time. The fact that they'd use videos to spread the word about turning off the screen tells you just what a challenge this effort is, for both kids and adults. (Then again, we're talking about this on a blog.)
How are you responding in your house?
(Associated Press photo, 2006)
It's time to suggest topics for the next Tip Sheet Thursday. This week I've been trying to come up with ways to help Amy, the mom-to-be who wrote in to the blog several weeks ago.
Here are some of my ideas for a new-mom-themed list. Let me know what you think of them, and also pass along your suggestions for what items should be on each list.
--Ten pieces of baby gear you'll actually use.
--Ten bits of most useless advice we've ever heard about having a baby.
--Ten things we wish we'd known when having our first babies.
Please vote below.
(Photo of Scandinavian furniture collection by Babi Italia and Mod Pod bedding set from Babies "R" Us, distributed by the Associated Press)
This week's Monday Consult features a question from CKisMom, who asked about how many activities are too many for her 6-year-old son. She wrote:
How do you pick what activities your child(ren) do? How many is too many? I want my sons to experience a diverse set of activities, but I also don't want to over do it. Right now, my 6 year old is in Cub Scouts and starts t-ball this week (he also goes to Sunday School at church, does that count as an activity?). In the past, he has done soccer, dance, art class, and swimming. I'd like to get him back in swimming and for him to learn how to ice skate. He is also starting to ask if he can do karate and piano lessons (we don't own a piano). I just don't know where to draw the line, especially since I (or actually more likely my husband) am the one who has to take him to these activities.
I got in touch with Dr. Alvin Rosenfeld, a child and adult psychiatrist who is a lecturer on psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the book The Overscheduled Child. He emailed back some thoughts. ...
(Click below to read Dr. Rosenfeld's reply.)
(Photo courtesy of Alvin Rosenfeld)
"Parenting is a higher calling than being a cruise ship activities director. Although enrichment activities can add a great deal to a child’s growth and well being, many parents have become convinced that the more activities they add, the more likely their child is to eventually succeed at life. Unfortunately, that approach often makes the family’s pace frenetic and turns Mom into a near full-time chauffeur. What gets lost in this “race to nowhere” is the sense of balance, balance between scheduled activities and down time, between the parents’ need to sacrifice for their child’s well-being and their need to spend undemanding time together as a family. Sometimes, children get enriched while their parents’ marriage erodes because Mom and Dad have no free time to spend together as a couple.
In my experience as a child psychiatrist, it is warm, close relationships – not activities – that make all the difference. If child feels that Mom and Dad love him or her for whom they are – rather than for what they can accomplish, life will never defeat them however difficult it may become. So as a parent, I would urge you to aim for a balanced family life in which everyone – including you and your husband -- feels they are getting something for themselves.
"But I don’t want to sidestep the question you asked about the number of activities. Each family differs in what is optimal for them. It is great that while your child is so young, you want to expose him to several activities. Don’t feel you have to include everything. He seems to have expressed a personal interest, karate and piano. With the right sensei, karate is a wonderful exercise, sport, and a great way to learn self-discipline; with an encouraging teacher, piano speaks for itself. I would choose those above all the others because it would be worth giving your son what he feels would suit him, and to simultaneously give him the message that I – your Mom – want you to be the author of your own life and to pursue the interests you have rather than just doing the ones the neighbors say are “good for you.” If you can afford to, numerous companies rent pianos while sophisticated electronic keyboards are within many families’ reach.
"With two or three scheduled activities plus Sunday school, he has a pretty busy schedule. Being sure he also has some free time would be beneficial. Don’t be concerned if he gets a bit bored. Boredom in moderation is not your enemy. It can stimulate kids to hear the soft murmurings of their inner voice, the one that makes them write this unusual story or draw that unique picture.
"That creativity is critical. America’s economic success is based on people who bucked conventional wisdom, followed their inner passions, tinkered, and created, people like Alexander Graham Bell, David Packard, Matt Groening and college dropouts Michael Dell and Bill Gates. Had Alexander Graham Bell been as over-scheduled as our kids we might still be using carrier pigeons to communicate!
"So aim for a balance between the scheduled and free time, between time you sacrifice for your kids and times you enjoy together, time for them and time for your marriage. Kids who have happier parents do far better. So what is one of the best things you can do to help your child? Have more fun in bed!"
Ahem.
So what do you think of Dr. Rosenfeld's comments? Please post your own ideas and experiences with the activities dilemma below.
Tuesday is Earth Day. There are lots of sites around for kids, but a surprisingly nice one comes from the folks at the EPA. It's a jump-off point for science experiments, lessons about earth and water, and more. You can figure out how recycling works at Recycle City. In the Energy Quest Room, learn how to avoid being an "energy vampire."
Parents might learn a thing or two from the quiz about chemicals around your house.
Do you have favorite sites to help us all get ready for Earth Day? Please share below.
I've been searching for answers to your questions on the emerging news about possible hazards in baby bottles and other containers from bisphenol-A. Here are a few resources for learning more:
--The Environmental Working Group has a guide to safe feeding for babies, including how to spot a bottle with BPA. In general, it says, avoid hard, plastic bottles labeled "7" or "PC."
--Julie's Health Club, a blog by a Chicago Tribune health writer who's also a mom, has a number of posts and links about this subject, including info about a new kind of bottle that is no. 7 plastic but is BPA-free.
--The Washington Post reports today that Wal-Mart will pull bottles and other products with BPA from its shelves in the U.S. soon.
Vindication. Growing up as the oldest child in my little family, I always felt that my parents were a little harder on me -- and expected more of me -- than my little brother. (Dad, don't read this.) And as much as I try not to, sometimes I think I'm a little harder on my daughter than my son, partly because she's more grown up and should be able to handle more responsibility.
Now researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland and Duke University have concluded that what may seem unfair to a kid is a natural pattern of parenthood. Their study in the April issue of Economic Journal analyzed survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth. It found that parents were less likely to take into their homes or financially support first-born children who had dropped out of high school or become pregnant than they were younger children who had done the same things.
They also found that disparate discipline actually made sense, because it deters younger siblings from following the older child's bad example.
Do you agree? How do you treat your older children compared to the younger ones? And how's that working out?
Parents have been talking today about increasing evidence that a chemical widely used in plastic baby bottles and other food and beverage containers can cause harm to humans.
Here's our story from yesterday, in which the federal National Toxicology Program reported that the compound bisphenol-a, or B.P.A., could be linked to precancerous prostate tumors, early puberty and urinary system problems in rats injected with it. The New York Times report today that Canada is about to label B.P.A. as toxic was the second most-emailed story on the Times' Web site when I checked just now.
We talked a bit earlier about glass baby bottles making a comeback, and now there's more reason for a parent to fret about this. When I saw one of my best mom pals this morning, it was at the top of her list of worries.
What do you think? Have you combed through your house to get rid of plastics you're worried about?
Here are some things to do tomorrow and over the weekend. The big news is that admission to Ladew Topiary Gardens (pictured) is free this Saturday and Sunday. And there's more...
Friday (April 18):
Rainbow Theatre: Puppet shows for pre-kindergarteners 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Slayton House, 10400 Cross Fox Lane, Columbia. $5 in advance. $6 at the door. Children younger than 1 free. 410-730-3987.
Cylburn's Nature Story Hour: Children and parents can hear nature stories and, weather permitting, go for a nature walk at Cylburn Arboretum, 4915 Greenspring Ave. The event begins 10 a.m. For ages 3-6 with parents. Free. 410-367-2217.
Saturday (April 19):
Privateer Day: Fells Point celebrates the unruly characters of the Age of Sail with costume contests, music, sword fights, vendors, storytelling, ship tours and a naval battle. The new Living History Camp offers period food as well as demonstrations in seamanship and weaponry. The event runs 11 a.m-6 p.m. at 900 S. Broadway. Free. Call 410-675-8900 or go to fellspointdevelopment.com.
Ladew Topiary Gardens offers entrance to its 22 acres of blooming bulbs, shrubs, trees and sculpted topiaries for free throughout the weekend. Inspired by English and Italian gardens, Harvey Ladew purchased Pleasant Valley Farm in 1929 and set about turning it into a European garden and topiary. The estate’s other features include an antique-decorated home and a 1.5-mile nature trail. The gardens, 3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton, are open 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m Saturday and Sunday. Call 410-557-9466.
Click below to read on for more events Saturday and Sunday. ...
Boundary Block Party: From 1 p.m.-4 p.m., local residents can enjoy music, food, community art and family activites in the park median of Eutaw and McMechen streets in Baltimore. Free. Call 410-225-2300 or go to boundaryblockparty.com.
CityLit Festival V: The all-day festival seeks to increase public appreciation for quality literature and to enhance the ability of local and area writers to create literature and reach larger audiences. Children’s events include Carole Boston Weatherford sharing her books about the African American experience and Jonathan Scott Fuqua and Steve Parke talking about Medusa’s Daughter, a book being released in three different formats, including a graphic novel and a YA chapter book. Authors, poets, self-published writers, lit mags and journals, academic programs related to the literary arts, and literary arts organizations will showcase themselves at the Literary Marketplace. Free. The event runs 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Central Library, 400 Cathedral St. Call 410-274-5691 or go to citylitproject.org.
Sunday (April 20):
Doodlebops Live!: Deedee, Rooney and Moe Doodle play music on piano, drums, guitar and even ukulele 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Lyric Opera House, 140 Mount Royal Ave. Tickets are $19.50-$39.50. Call 410-547-7328 or go to ticketmaster.com.
Free Family Sundays: “Mapping from Antioch to Baltimore” – Participate in interactive art workshops, tours, and more at 2 p.m. at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive. Call 443-573-1700.
(Photo by Sun photographer Lloyd Fox, 2006, at Ladew Topiary Gardens)
Getting a child's hair cut can be a dreaded experience or something to look forward to, and the right setting often makes all the difference. Here's our short list, roughly by location, of area places that know how to deal with wriggling, fearful little ones. Thanks to all who sent their tips.
By the way, for those of you just taking kids for their first haircuts now, be sure to have the barber/stylist save a lock of hair for you. Many of these places will make a certificate for your child's official first haircut.
Please let us know about other great places by posting a comment below. And tell us how you get a reluctant child into the barber's chair.
--Salon 36 Kids, Pikesville. Annelies and her family visit this kid-focused salon. Check out the salon's blog for pictures of first haircuts and birthday parties. Standard kids' cut: $18 for 10 and under; $22 for those 11-14; $25 for those 15-18. (Here's the Sun's recent story that detailed the rush for haircuts there before Passover.)
--Studio S, Timonium. This salon has a separate kids' area with toys and movies. Thanks to Sharon for the tip. Standard kids' cut: starts at $14 for kids 3 and under, up to $22 and up for teenage girls.
--Cartoon Cuts, White Marsh Mall, The Mall in Columbia, and Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie, along with a couple of other locations in the Washington area. According to the Web site you can watch cartoons and videos while you're being clipped, or bring your own. Standard kids' cut: $15.99; promotions and discounts on the Web site.
-- Martin's Hairport Inc., 7628 Belair Road, Nottingham, 410-668-5400. Robert's family likes to visit Vittorio, who works at the salon a couple of days a week. Standard kids' cut: About $10 for younger kids.
--Gennuso's, 6803 York Road, Stoneleigh, 410-377-4610. This is a great old-time Baltimore barber shop where the staff loves kids. There's a box of toys to play with while you wait, lollipops for every child customer, and kind treatment. This is where my kids (and my husband) get their hair cut; then we head down the street for bagels. Standard kids' cut: $14.
--Hair Cuttery, various locations around the area. Several folks on and off the blog told me this chain is quick, easy and inexpensive, especially for adults who like to get an affordable cut at the same time. Standard kids' cut: $9 for 8 and under; $13 for 9 and over.
--The Beatnik Barber Shop, 241 W. Read Street, Mount Vernon, 410-669-3033. This place gets the nod from Lila and earned a mention in Baltimore Magazine's 2007 Best of Baltimore issue -- though that writeup didn't say anything about the kids' experience. It did praise the coffee and jazz, which sounds pretty good, actually. Standard kids' cut: $16.
--Sal's Barber Shop, 9338 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City, 410-461-9887. LIVE restaurant reviewer Karen Nitkin, author of the book Fun with the Family in Maryland, says this is a boy-friendly old-fashioned barber shop (generally no girls or women can get haircuts there, though.) Standard kids' cut: $13.
(2005 photo by the Associated Press)
Next Wednesday, the Taste section will have a story on the rising price of food, with tips from experts and regular folks about how to keep eating well when everything's getting more expensive. To add to the story, we're looking for tips from readers about how they save money on meals.
I know this blog's readership is extra-savvy about such matters, so I'd love for you to participate. If you'd like your comments published, please send an email to food@baltsun.com, and we'll put a selection on our website with the story next week. You can also talk about it in the comments section below.
(Photo of John Garcia, of JJ&F Market, as he organizes vegetables on display at a grocery store in Palo Alto, Calif., by Associated Press photographer Paul Sakuma)
While I've been writing about Dinner Together, faithful commenter Annelies has started a new blog about the lunches she sends to preschool with her son, whom she calls Nugget (on the blog, anyway). She packs his fare in very cute bento boxes. Annelies has an added challenge in preparing tasty, healthful lunches: Nugget has food allergies, which will make her blog particularly useful to many of you.
There are other dishes besides lunch. I'm going to try the Xetzels she made as a school snack sometime.
How do you deal with lunch and food allergies?
Thought I'd give sneaking in some good stuff another try.
Though she generally passes up meat for moral reasons, my daughter loves hamburgers and occasionally eats them. This recipe from the latest cookbook by Missy Chase Lapine, the "Sneaky Chef," slips in spinach, blueberries and oat bran.
This cookbook is designed to help you fool your man into eating healthfully, which isn't an issue in my house. (That explains the "barbell" title.) But this recipe worked on the kids. These tasted like regular homemade hamburgers, though the texture was much softer (I'm not actually sure it would fool a grown-up guy.)
(Photo by me)
(Read on for the recipe...)
Though we all liked the taste -- and my husband and I definitely liked the added boost of nutrients -- I do recommend taking Lapine's suggestion to chill the patties first to make them firmer when you grill. I'll do that next time. Even cooked thoroughly, they're definitely much moister than your average burger, which can make them hard for little ones to eat.
Barbell Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
Note: If time allows, make the burger patties ahead of time and chill them for an hour before grilling so they’re firmer and easier to handle.
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup Purple Puree (see recipe below)
¼ cup oat bran, plus more if needed
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon salt
1 pound lean ground beef
4 hamburger buns or English muffins, preferably whole-grain
Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high, or heat an indoor grill pan to medium-high and spray with oil.
In a large bowl, mix tomato paste, Purple Puree, oat bran, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Add the ground beef, mixing with your hands until well combined. If the mixture is too sticky, add a bit more oat bran.
Using damp hands, shape mixture into four ¼-pound patties. (At this point, the burgers may be prepared a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator or frozen.)
Spray both sides of the burgers with oil and place them on the prepared grill. Cook for 4 to 7 minutes on each side, or to desired doneness. Serve on buns.
--From “The Sneaky Chef: How to Cheat on Your Man (In the Kitchen)” by Missy Chase Lapine
Per serving: 331 calories, 28 grams protein, 12 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 32 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams fiber, 69 milligrams cholesterol, 225 milligrams sodium
Purple Puree
Makes about 1 cup puree
3 cups raw baby spinach leaves
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries, no syrup or sugar added
½ teaspoon lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons water
Thoroughly wash the spinach, even if the package says “prewashed.” If using frozen blueberries, quickly rinse them under cold water to thaw a little, and then drain.
Fill the bowl of your food processor or blender with the spinach, blueberries, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water; puree on high until as smooth as possible. Stop occasionally to push the contents to the bottom. If necessary use another tablespoon of water to smooth out the puree.
Puree will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days, or you can freeze ¼-cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers.
Per 1/4 cup: 37 calories, 1 gram protein, 0 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 9 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 18 milligrams sodium. Analysis by registered dietitian Jodie Shield.
Here are six books for Edamommy to choose from for making our 300th comment. Have you read any of them? Which one would you choose, and why?
Here are the titles, from bottom to top:
1. "Making Up With Mom," by Julie Halpert and Deborah Carr;
2. "Mama Rock's Rules," by Rose Rock (mother of comedian Chris Rock);
3. "The Future of Your Only Child," by Carl E. Pickhardt;
4. "Mothers Need Time-Outs, Too," by Susan Callahan, Anne Nolen, and Katrin Schumann;
5. "To Catch A Predator: Protecting Your Kids from Online Enemies Already in Your Home," by Chris Hansen (the Dateline NBC reporter who specializes in catching Internet predators on the creepy show of the same name);
6. "Questions to Bring You Closer to Mom," a book of conversation starters for mothers and kids by Stuart Gustafson and Robyn Freedman Spizman.
As for you, Edamommy, after we've had time to hear some suggestions, comment below or send me an e-mail with your selection and I'll mail it off to you.
(Photo by me)
Unless there is overwhelming sentiment for another topic, I'm leaning toward making this Thursday's tip sheet about great places to get your kids' hair cut in the area. Bonus points if it doesn't cost a fortune.
Again, I need your help with suggestions. Please post places where you've had good haircut experiences below, and tell us where they are and why you like them. If you have another idea for Tip Sheet Thursday, post that, too. And if you don't see it this week, there's always another Thursday around the bend. ...
Today's Guest Dad is David Kohn, a Sun reporter who writes our Maryland Med blog about all things health-related. He's the man of his house -- quite literally. Here's his post:
"I'm the only guy in a house of three girls -- my wife and two girls, 2 and 6. What's that like? Lots of talk about sparkly things, princess dresses and shoes.
"How to avoid being overwhelmed? My wife is hopelessly uninterested in sports. But young kids can be brainwashed.
"So when they were days old, I started on a campaign to get them into football, and especially the Redskins, my favorite team. How I've done it:
--Every time the older daughter correctly identifies Joe Gibbs on TV, she gets a treat.
--While watching a game, chant Red-skins, Red-skins, Red-skins cheer over and over. The 2-year old is in a repetition stage, and so, even now, months after the season, she bursts into the chant at random moments.
--If necessary, discuss uniform color schemes.
--Try not to scream too loud at the TV when the refs or Redskins screw up. It will make the 2 year old cry."
I'm sure many of you fathers are in the same all-female boat. Tell us how you deal. (P.S. David, I want you to know I bear no responsibility for the grief you may get for admitting your Redskins allegiance on a Baltimore blog.)
Edamommy is the winner of our 300th comment prize, with this comment under suburbancorrespondent's tongue-in-cheek list about how you know when you have too many kids:
I'm one of 7 kids and my only child is one of 19 grandkids. I think my cousins had some sort of bizarre fertility contest among them because each one has 6 or more kids.
I really wanted more but I love having one and being able to really enjoy each and every phase with her. And, we have some wonderful friends whom we see often who are like siblings to my daughter (but I don't have to care for or feed them).
Now, two dogs is too many : )
Tomorrow I'll take and post a photo of the books she gets to choose from. Even if you didn't win, you might help out a fellow CCM reader by telling us whether you've read any, and which one you'd pick if you had won.
Congratulations, CCM readers: We're rapidly approaching our 300th comment. In honor of the occasion, the author of comment 300 will be able to choose a parenting book from the many titles that have been piling up on my desk.
I'll announce the winner and the prize after the 300th comment arrives. Good luck!
(Photo by Mauricio Rubio, Sun photographer, 2007)
I was catching up with our new friend suburbancorrespondent's blog over the weekend and spotted a post some of you might like, especially if you've got three kids or more. (Suburbancorrespondent has six.) It's a list called "How To Know You May Have Too Many Kids."
Even though I only have two kids, I will cop to #7 ("Going to the grocery store alone counts as 'me-time' ") and #2 ("When you call the doctor to tell him that the toddler has croup, and he asks if she's ever had it before, you say, "I don't know, but somebody has.")
I will say, however, that my pediatrician has actually recommended the book "Siblings Without Rivalry" on a number of occasions when I've asked her how to help my kids do better at sharing. Here's where I have to admit I never got time to read it -- sorry, Dr. B -- but one of the recommendations from the doctor that I believe came from it did work. More on that in my siblings post later (I promised you a follow-up to last Monday's consult.)
Meanwhile, would love to hear what you'd add to suburbancorrespondent's list. Tell us below.
Thanks for all the great questions submitted for this Monday's consult. While I wait for experts to get back to me with answers to a couple of them, this week's problem comes from my house, where a certain almost-5-year-old boy loves fruit. Normally that's a great thing, but when I have fresh lemons on the counter -- as I often do when cooking -- he invariably reaches for a wedge.
And wants to eat the whole thing, including the peel.
This seemed yucky and probably unhealthful to me, so I have been discouraging him. And with Baltimore spring events looming with their lemon sticks, it seemed like a good time to ask an expert. So I called Robin Spence, a registered dietitian at Union Memorial Hospital who worked with us last year on The Sun's Make Over My Meal series.
This was a new question for Spence, but after doing a little research, she told me my instincts were right. ...
(Read on for more about kids and lemons)
(Photo by Bob Fila/Chicago Tribune)
The biggest hazard of eating lemons regularly, she said, would be to Sam's teeth.
"It definitely it seems that the acid in the lemon juice breaks down the enamel," she said. "The longer it's held in the mouth, as in sucking, the more damage is done."
Lemon peels, she said, "are not terrible," though they should be well-washed to remove bacteria, and organic to prevent the consumption of pesticides.
A once-in-a-while treat like a lemon stick is probably OK, she said; "everything is quantity and frequency." But because my son's teeth are young, she thinks it's better for him not to get into a lemon-sucking habit.
Do you have a question for a future Monday Consult? Please post it below.
Spring is here -- and your school-age kids are probably bringing home buds in baggies, earthworms to feed, and other charming signs of the season. They're probably itching to get outside, and full of questions about what's growing there -- questions for which you've probably forgotten the answers. (At least I have, if I ever knew them.)
Backyardnature.net is a fun source for projects and knowledge about the backyard, with subjects ranging from "the many kinds of fungi" to 101 Things to Do This Spring.
(Photo of the fallen blossoms my children gathered in a pile in our front yard, by me)
In this time of economic trouble, a survey by the Federal Reserve has found that high school seniors are pretty clueless about personal finances, according to this story from the Washington Post. College students didn't do much better.
This makes me lean toward giving my son a weekly allowance when he turns 5, as we did with my daughter. I thought it really helped educate her about money; she started to learn quickly what things cost, and that she had to make choices about what she bought. We gave her this great Money Savvy pig (hers is pink), which has clear compartments marked Save, Spend, Donate and Invest.
The problem is, we've fallen out of the habit of actually delivering on her allowance each week. I'd hate to know how much we owe her by now.
What's the policy on allowances in your family? How much do you give? Do you relate the amount to chores, grades, or anything else?
(Sun file photo of the Money Savvy Pig courtesy of Money Savvy Generation)
Looks like I started something I didn't intend here.
From the comments under my Dooce and Sweetney posts, and from a thread on Sweetney today, I can see some folks thought I was trying to make fun of these two parenting bloggers. When, actually, I was trying to make fun of myself while noting how well they've done with readers, and trying to explore with you why.
That went well.
So, for the record, please know that I didn't mean to insult anyone, and that I'm sorry if anyone took it that way. Because Dooce was in the news, it seemed logical to introduce those of you who might not have known about her to Sweetney, a local blogger who's achieved success as well. I thought their similarities were interesting, and might say something about what attracts readers to their blogs. If you read their blogs, you already know that they obviously do have their own personalities and their own takes on things.
That said, I'd still like to get back to the larger issue of what draws readers to parenting blogs, and what parenting blogs you'd like to share with others. Please comment below.
On the subject of successful mom bloggers, it occurs to me that the writer of Baltimore's own Sweetney --Tracey Gaughran-Perez -- bears no small resemblance to Dooce. Like Heather Armstrong, she's been invited to appear on parent-blogger panels, gotten her blog linked on ParentCenter, and started recommending products, on a separate blog in Gaughran-Perez's case.
She's got the same cool blond bob, salty language, a little girl she takes lots of pictures of, and -- key -- a dog.
This is a newspaper blog, so cursing's out for me. But if only Rex were still here, I could compete. If I got a blond wig.
(Photo of Tracey Gaughran-Perez by Sun photographer Kim Hairston, 2006)
According to the Wall Street Journal, a Salt Lake City mom named Heather Armstrong is the nation's top parenting blogger. I was in a raving jealous rage over impressed with her numbers: her site, Dooce.com, gets about 4 million page views a month. (I get nowhere near almost that many. OK, only in my dreams. But I'm new. We'll get there, right?)
Back to the point. ...With all those page views, some of you must be reading Dooce. A lot. I'd like to know why. And I'd like to know what other mom and dad blogs/sites you read, and why. We're phenomenally busy people, we parents, and yet we make time to read even more about parenting. (And please don't stop doing that. See above.) What makes one parenting site stand out over the other 200,000 out there?
One feature I like on Dooce is Armstrong's monthly newsletters to her daughter, Leta. For one thing, even though they're quite personal, they're a bit of a window on how kids of a certain age can change from month to month. For another, they'll be a great record for her family some day. Haven't we all vowed to write down all the wonderful things our kids say and the bizarre things they do, only to forget?
Couldn't resist linking to this WebMD account of a new study that finds picky eating may be more related to genetics than to the food you're offering, especially for boys. The study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia followed the eating habits of nearly 800 pairs of twins and found that identical twins tended to share the same preferences for food and drink, according to the article.
Interestingly, girls seemed more influenced by "environmental" factors, such as what snacks are available in the home.
For parents of very selective eaters (even though I've used the term picky eater before, I don't really like it), does this news bring any comfort? Or are you more confused than ever about how to help your child eat well?
Here are some things to do tomorrow and through the weekend, thanks to Jennifer Choi. We'll hope for good weather and wind for the kite event, which sounds fun:
Friday (April 11):
Family Fun Day: Gigglesmith Puppet Productions performs 10 a.m.-11 a.m. in Macy’s court, on the third level of Towson Town Center, 825 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson. Call 410-494-8800 or go to towsontowncenter.com.
Saturday (April 12):
The Great Kite Fly: The event offers kids younger than 12 and their families the chance to participate in a day of "soaring activities." Bring your own kite or build one at kite workshops. Events throughout the day include displays by the Maryland Kite Society, competitions and food vendors. The event runs 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Goucher College, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson. The event and workshops are free, but registration is required. Call 410-337-6159 or go to goucher.edu/kitefly.
The Great Scale Model Train Show: Tiny trains abound as the Maryland State Fairgrounds turns into a miniature train yard. There will be more than 500 tables of merchandise and more than 25,000 square feet of functioning train layouts. Other attractions include seminars, consignment tables, train movies and a Thomas the Tank Engine play area. The show runs 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday in the Maryland State Fairgrounds’ Cow Palace. $7. Children younger than 13 are admitted free. The fairgrounds are at 2200 York Road, Timonium. Call 410-730-1036 or go to gsmts.com.
Click below to read about more events this weekend. ...
Enchanted Forest Weekend: Clark's Elioak Farm, 10500 Route 108, Ellicott City, hosts many new characters that have arrived. Special activities include costumed characters, story times, and face painting. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call 410-730-4049 or go to clarklandfarm.com. $4.50 per person. Younger than 1 free.
Free Family Festival of Exploration: The event, which includes dance, music, storytelling, and a scavenger hunt, takes place from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. at the Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St., Baltimore. Call 410-547-9000 or go to thewalters.org.
Sunday (April 13):
Free Family Sundays: Bring in a special family photograph to share and examine how artists portray family relationships, then create your own family portrait, 2 p.m. at the The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive. Call 443-573-1700 or go to artbma.org.
(Photo of Enchanted Forest theme park items being moved to Clark's Elioak Farm in 2005 by Sun photographer David Hobby)
Here's our first Tip Sheet Thursday, on great local public playgrounds. Thanks to all who contributed ideas.
These are roughly grouped by location, and not at all ranked. Please tell us your favorites in the comments section, and also which great ones I didn't list:
--Meadowood Regional Park, Brooklandville. This big park wins kudos for its multi-age appeal, with bike paths, play equipment, and as (the other) Kate mentioned, bathrooms.
--Oregon Ridge Park, Cockeysville. Not only can you play, but as MGB said, you can go for a hike.
--Rodgers Forge Tot Lot, on the median between Dunkirk and Blenheim roads, Rodgers Forge. This is community cooperation at its best; in addition to the playground and sandbox, neighbors leave lots of old toys and playhouses for everyone to use.
--Annie's Playground, Fallston. This huge playground was built in memory of Annie McGann Cumpston, who died after being hit by a car in Baltimore in 2003. It has a treehouse, amphitheater/outdoor classroom, puppet theater, dragon and elephant slides, baseball area and Memorial Garden, according to the web site.
--Lyn Stacie Getz Creative Playground, Bel Air. This was the mystery playground that was pictured in the photo the other day.
--Our Playground at Stadium Place, next to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg YMCA, Baltimore. My kids call this Waverly playground, built by the community several years ago, the "castle park" after its design. There are lots of fun nooks and crannies for imaginative play. The downside: We've sometimes gone only to find it locked, and getting someone from the nearby Y who has the key can be a hassle.
--Patterson Park, 200 S. Linwood Ave., Baltimore. With urban pioneers (some with kids) flocking to the neighborhood, this wide-open space should only get more fun. There are two playgrounds; the one along Eastern Avenue between Milton and Montford avenues was revamped three years ago.
--The two-acre "tire park" in the Hilton area of Patapsco Valley State Park. Several colleagues mentioned how much fun their children have had there on the recycled tires. The only downside, they say, is that it's a little hard to find. (Directions here.)
--Several colleagues mentioned the tot lot at the south end of Centennial Park in Ellicott City, along Route 108.
--Quiet Waters Park, Annapolis. In addition to the playground, there are lots of trails. Boats can be rented starting in mid-April, according to the web site.
Two things occurred to me as I was compiling this list, and you'll see them as Future Tip Sheets. One is that we need a list of playgrounds that are especially accommodating to disabled children. And the other is that indoor playgrounds, which aren't included here, will be welcome when it gets either unbearably hot or cooler still than it has been.
(Photo of the Patapsco Valley State Park tire playground by Jed Kirschbaum, 2000)
I've been meaning to get a chance to read the new book Parenting Inc. and tell you what I think about it. So I was glad to see this excerpt on NPR's website, which will probably be all I -- and you -- will have time to read this week. Judging from the beginning, the book looks promising, though just reading about the financial binds facing parents today is enough to make my head ache. And that's even knowing these problems quite well from my own experience.
I'm sure we'll talk more about the book in general, but there was one thing at the very beginning of the excerpt that interested me. The author, Pamela Paul, talks about anguishing over whether she should enroll her baby girl in baby sign language classes to help her communicate before she learned to talk. You'll probably remember that baby signing was all the rage a few years ago, but Paul reports that after doing lots of research, she concluded that having her daughter learn sign language wouldn't be worth the effort; some research told her it could even do more harm than good.
I've been wanting to ask about your experience with baby sign language classes. (Neither of my children took them, and fortunately both learned to speak on a normal schedule.) Did your children learn to sign, or are you considering signing up a baby? What went into your decision? Did you see benefits?
Here are a couple of things to do today. I wish I could sneak out of work and find out what the Beowulf T. Wonderbunny Traveling Show of Mystery is all about. (Never mind that my kids will be busy....) Great name. Tell us about it if you go or have seen it before, will you?
Family Fun Day: At 10 a.m., the Beowulf T. Wonderbunny Traveling Show of Mystery performs on the lower level of the Macy’s wing at Owings Mills Mall, 10300 Mill Run Circle, Owings Mills. Call 410-363-7000 or go to owingsmillsmall.com.
Children's Story Time: Preschoolers are invited to share in story time featuring a short story, art project, music, and snack, Ukazoo Books, Dulaney Valley Plaza, 730 Dulaney Valley Rd., Towson, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Ages: 2-up. Call 410-832-2665.
Rumplestiltskin and Noddaberry Good Day: Kaydee Puppet Theater presents this work at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Walbrook, 3203 W. North Ave., at 12:30 p.m. Free. Call 410-396-0935 or go to prattlibrary.org.
All I can say is, hooray for Mollie Katzen.
She's the vegetable-loving author of the string of wildly successful Moosewood Restaurant cookbooks. Several years ago, she published a cookbook for preschoolers and up called Salad People, which I picked up recently at the library to inspire my picky 7-year-old daughter to try new foods.
Several of you have suggested getting the kids involved in choosing our meals, and I think it's a great idea. I've had Leah help me at the market before, but this time I gave her the book and told her to pick something for dinner.
Even though Leah really has a hard time trying new things, Katzen's whimsical drawings and kid-friendly step-by-step directions captivated her. She not only chose this recipe for tiny tacos, but wanted to make it herself.
The original recipe calls for packaged tortilla chips, but we made our own. It's very easy -- not to mention cheaper and more healthful. ...
(Read on for the recipe. ...)
(Photo by me)
You can always make a batch of just the chips to have on hand for the lunch box or after school.
These tiny tacos are billed as a snack (and they would be great for a party), but we made them a dinner. You can eat them open-faced as in the photo (which makes them more like tiny tostadas), or put another chip on top to complete the shell. You can also add leftover meat, veggies or any other fixings you like; we happened to have some grilled flank steak on hand, which made a tasty addition.
For Leah, these were almost as successful as the Linguine with Tuna from several weeks ago. Assembling the tacos gave her pride of ownership, so she didn't fuss about trying the salsa, guacamole and refried beans that she has never wanted to eat before. And she even ate some edamame on the side without complaining.
Tiny Tacos
Makes 2 dozen tacos with 2 chips each, or 4 dozen open-faced
(Enough for a family of 4)
For the chips:
12 corn tortillas, cut into quarters
Cooking spray
For the tacos:
One 15-ounce can refried beans
1 cup guacamole
1 cup fresh salsa
1/3 pound jack cheese, grated
To make the chips, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, then lay the tortilla quarters flat on top and spray them lightly. Bake for 6-10 minutes until chips are golden-brown and crisp. Watch carefully to make sure they don’t burn. Cool on a wire rack.
To assemble tacos: Scoop the beans into a microwave-safe bowl, stir, and warm slightly in the microwave. Lay the cooled chips on a plate. Spoon a small amount of beans on each chip, then spoon on dabs of guacamole and salsa. Sprinkle on cheese. Eat open-faced, or add chips on top to make “sandwiches.”
--Adapted from Salad People by Mollie Katzen
Per serving (12 open-faced tacos or 6 sandwich tacos): 517 calories, 20 grams protein, 23 grams fat, 9 grams saturated fat, 60 grams carbohydrate, 14 grams fiber, 42 milligrams cholesterol, 1,278 milligrams sodium
The people have spoken (well, several people, anyway.) Great local playgrounds will be the subject of this Thursday's Tip Sheet, our first.
Time to flood me with your recommendations for places in the city as well as Baltimore, Harford, Howard, Anne Arundel and Carroll counties. Tell us where the playground is, what's distinctive about it, and what ages it seems best for. I'll do some reporting and pull together the list for Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, can anyone guess the name and location of the playground in the photo?
(Sun staff photo by Lloyd Fox)
Thought this article the other day from the Wall Street Journal about men receiving alimony might stimulate some discussion. As men take greater roles in supporting their wives' careers, perhaps staying home to take care of children and house for a while, they're also becoming less shy about asking for alimony from their spouses when a marriage ends.
We haven't talked much about divorce and families on the blog yet, though it's obviously an important fact of life for some of the readers here. So here's an opening. What are your feelings about men receiving alimony from estranged wives who earn more? And even if a marriage is healthy and intact, how do you balance whose career comes first, and whose will take a back seat for a while?
Today my colleague features reporter Joe Burris returns for an encore performance as Guest Dad. (If you missed it, go back and read his previous post on hugging his kids, which got lots of good response.) This time, Joe's post is about the awkward questions children sometimes ask:
"I have friends who believe that whatever parenting issues arise, the answers can be found by simply clicking a computer mouse. That is, they say how fortunate today's parents are: Child psychologists have placed so much at our fingertips - via books, magazines, DVDs, journals and the Internet - that there's no need for any parent to be left clueless on any topic.
"I'm not so sure about that. The truth is that in 11 years of parenting, I'm come across moments that I haven't seen covered anwhere.
"For example: A few years ago, my wife Mpho, my then 7-year-old daughter Nyaniso and I were traveling along a stretch of Interstate 95 South in North Carolina which was loaded with adult-themed establishments just off the highway. The businesses were advertised in colorful, suggestive billboards - each of which was about the size of Rhode Island.
"Adult Toys and Videos, 5 miles."
"Adult Toys and Videos, 2 miles."
"Adult Toys and Videos, Next Exit."
Initially, I thought my daughter hadn't paid attention to the signs. But then …
"Mommy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"What kind of toys do adults play with?"
"Um, er, well, um …"
My normally garrulous wife nudged me as if to say, "Help me out over here." Suffice to say that the person who coined the adage, "father knows best," has never been along that stretch of I-95 South.
"She asked you," I whispered sheepishly.
"We managed to segue to another subject. To this day, I don't know the best way to address those annoying signs. I guess when my 2-year-old daughter Onalenna is old enough to read, we may take back roads in North Carolina."
Fathers (and mothers): What would you have done? Please give us some ideas below for the next awkward situation that comes along.
(Sun file photo of Joe Burris)
Drum roll, please. Charm City Moms is starting a new feature I hope you'll love. Every Thursday, with your help, I'll produce a roundup of great local parent destinations or ideas on a theme that you can use.
This will be a lot like the Top Ten Tuesdays on Elizabeth Large's wonderful blog, where I stole the idea got the inspiration for this feature. Sometimes our tip sheet will resemble her restaurant list, with the lowdown on great public playgrounds, old-time carousels, places to experience nature or grab an ice cream cone, sources for good-quality but affordable kids' clothes, etc.
Other times, I'll be looking less for destinations and more for, well, tips. Like themes for a 5-year-old's birthday party. Or ideas for helping your child's teacher in 30 minutes or less a week.
Now let me reiterate what I said before -- that this feature will depend largely on you. It just won't be possible for me to check out every destination or try every tip personally. The success of the tip sheets will depend greatly on your suggestions for the list. This will be parents helping parents; I'm here to bring it together and add some reporting to the mix.
Now that you've stopped jumping for joy over this new addition to our blog, it's time to vote. Do you any of the above themes appeal to you for our first Tip Sheet next Thursday? Or do you have your own suggestion? Speak up now by posting a comment below. Remember that even if yours isn't chosen, there's a good chance it will show up soon.
Goucher professor and writer Madison Smartt Bell has a post on the Open Society Institute-Baltimore's Audacious Ideas blog today, suggesting that community martial-arts schools would help grow better kids in Baltimore's trouble spots. He mentions that children and teenagers from middle-class families have been flocking to martial-arts classes.
What do you think about his idea? Have your children benefitted from martial-arts training? How do you think it has helped them (or not), and which schools do you recommend?
(Photo of Chinese athletes performing martial arts routines for visiting U.S Olympic athletes in Beijing last year by Stephen Shaver/Bloomberg News)
Last week Kayris posed this problem:
My three-year-old will not stop snatching toys from his 16 month old sister. He wants what she has, even if it's a baby toy that he has long outgrown, simply because she has it. If she abandons it and leaves whatever it is on the floor, he has no interest. But if she picks it up? He's grabbing it from her, which makes her cry. He has toys that are exclusively his that she is not allowed to play with and he gets plenty of one on one time with both parents.I've tried everything I can think of and he's still snatching and she's still screaming. It's driving me batty and I'd love an expert to tell me how to handle it.
I called Ned Gaylin, professor emeritus and former director of the graduate program in marriage and family therapy at the University of Maryland. Gaylin, a father of four and grandfather of three, cautioned that he couldn't give really specific advice because he hadn't met Kayris's children to observe what's going on. But he offered these general thoughts and approaches to try:
--Whose toys are they really? Are the toys in question the boy's toys from when he was a baby? Even though he's outgrown them, he might still feel they're 'his' on some level, Gaylin says. "There may be a question of, who's the owner?" Gaylin says. If this is the problem, it might help to buy a few new toys expressly for the toddler.
--How does the 3-year-old act with other kids? Is he able to share well with children his own age, or is this a problem with them, too? That may affect how you handle it. Either way, Gaylin says, 3-year-olds are ready to learn social skills, which include sharing and showing respect for others' things. ...
(Click below to read more from Gaylin.)
--Praise and consequences. Consequences -- don't call them punishment, Gaylin says -- should closely follow and fit the 'crime.' If the older sibling keeps snatching his sister's toy after being told not to do it, one of his own big-kid toys might be taken away for a while. "I would say, 'This is what it feels like when you have taken a toy away from her,' " Gaylin says. " 'It's not nice.' "
By the same token, make a point of noticing and praising positive behavior as soon as you see it. You might reward good behavior by returning a toy that had been taken away for bad behavior.
--Stay calm. Even though the kids are probably screaming when this happens, which can easily cause a parent's temper to rise, it's important to explain and enforce the consequences firmly but dispassionately, Gaylin says.
Sibling disputes are a big topic, and I know you readers probably have plenty of advice of your own to share with Kayris and Karen, whose slightly older children have been going at it, too. I'll pass on some of my own thoughts and more resources in another post. Meanwhile, what has worked for you?
Today's web site comes from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, which has an excellent kids' site. Through the interactive art component, a child can create his own still life, abstract painting, virtual mobile, or geometric sculpture, etc., while learning about various art forms.
Elsewhere on the site are other activities, such as counting the colors in a Kandinsky painting.
You never know; your young artist might become another Marla Olmstead, the 4-year-old prodigy whose paintings were featured in last year's film "My Kid Could Paint That."
Do you have favorite art-making sites? Please tell us in a comment below.
(Sun file photo of "The Painting Ocean," by Marla Olmstead)
Well, ladies, we can't say that on some level we haven't wished for this....
Did you see the pregnant man on Oprah yesterday? If not, you can catch up on Thomas Beatie's story here. Beattie says he is a transgender male from Oregon who kept his female reproductive organs. Because his previously-married wife could no longer conceive, he told Oprah, they had him artificially inseminated. The baby girl is due this summer.
The couple are also telling their story in this week's People magazine.
Obviously this is a very unique case, but do you think it will give men more awareness of what mothers go through to bear children?
My son was 3 years old when he turned to me in the bath one night with an accusatory look.
"Martin Luther King Jr. died," he said emphatically. "And my dog died!"
And it was obviously all my fault.
Sam had just learned in preschool about King's violent death, and he suddenly understood the concept of dying without natural cause before you are very old. Even though our beloved dog, Rex, died of an unexplained illness when Sam was 2, Sam didn't seem to really understand death until that moment in the tub.
With so many kids going to preschool these days, it occurs to me that lots of children may get their first awareness of premature death through lessons about Dr. King. Today is the 40th anniversary of his assassination.
Have you talked about King's death and legacy in your house? How do you handle the tough questions that come up? Please tell us by posting a comment below.
(School art project by Leah)
It's that time again, when you get to send in your most important questions about parenting. Not only that, but you get them answered by an expert, for free.
Or -- whaddya think -- should I start charging? ;) Sometimes the more expensive advice is, the more people trust it.
Anyway, the more questions the better, because I'm trying to get ahead on finding experts. So comment early and often in the posting section below. Don't know how to post a comment or question? Follow this link for answers.
Here's our short list of things to do the rest of this week and weekend. If we missed something good, please send it to Jennifer Choi, who compiles the list, or post it below:
Thursday (April 3):
Smuckers Stars on Ice: This event stars Olympian Sasha Cohen and more than a dozen other national and world champions, including Marylander Kimmie Meissner and Evan Lysacek. A portion of the ticket sales benefits Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The show is at 7 p.m. at the 1st Mariner Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St. $23-$108. Call 410-547-7328 or go to starsonice.com.
Friday (April 4):
Art Blooms: All Mapped Out With Flowers: About 30 regional garden clubs interpret artworks and represent different nations through flower arrangements at the Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. Exhibit is free and open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free tours noon-3 p.m. Friday, noon-4 p.m. Saturday and noon-2 p.m. Sunday. Free demonstrations and workshops 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Call 410-547-9000 or go to thewalters.org.
Cylburn's Nature Story Hour: Nature stories for preschoolers, followed by a nature walk (weather permitting) at Cylburn Arboretum, 4915 Greenspring Ave., Baltimore. 10 - 11:30 a.m. Ages 3-6. Free. Call 410-367-2217 or go to cylburnassociation.org.
“First Fridays Family Movie Night”: Hear a lecture on bees from a naturalist and watch Bee Movie at 7 p.m. at Marshy Point Nature Center, 7130 Marshy Point Road, Chase. Popcorn and drinks provided. $2 for individuals and $5 for families. Call 410-887-2817 or go to marshypoint.org.
Read on for weekend events...
Saturday (April 5):
A Seussical of Musicals on Ice: Show features songs from Toy Story, Seussical the Musical, Cats, High School Musical 2, Willy Wonka, Hannah Montana and Hairspray. 2 p.m. $10. 3 years and younger free with adult. Columbia Ice Rink, 5876 Thunder Hill Road, Columbia. Tickets going fast! Call 410-730-0322.
Children's Discovery Fair: Our Living World: Free math and science activities, including interactive games, crafts, and stories at Howard County Library, East Columbia Branch, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. 9 a.m.-noon. Ages 3 - 5 with adult. Call 410-313-7730 or go to hclibrary.org.
Drop-in Art Activities: Spot it, Plot it, Map it!: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. Free. Call 410-547-9000 or go to thewalters.org.
Fairy Tale Fling: Dress in royal clothing and get your picture taken on a throne. Activities include crown decorating, magic wand-making, and designing family crests. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Watch magic and puppets during Horn's Punch and Judy Show at 1 p.m. Southeast Anchor branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 3601 Eastern Ave. All ages. Call 410-396-1580 or go to prattlibrary.org.
Petting Zoo: Visit goats, sheep, calves, chicks, piglets, turkeys, bunnies, ponies, horses and more from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. today and tomorrow. Hay rides available to all and pony rides available for children. Admission $4.50 per person. $2 per ride. Clark’s Elioak Farm, 10500 Route 108, Ellicott City. Call 410-730-4049 or go to clarklandfarm.com.
“The Berries”: Chesapeake Childrens Museum, 25 Silopanna Road, Annapolis hosts children’s activities from the 1920s, including tinkertoys, hopscotch, marbles, hide-and-seek and music. Families encouraged to dress in the style of the 1920s. Program runs 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Admission to the museum is $3 for age 1 and older. Call 410-990-1993 or go to theccm.org. (Folks at the museum tell us "the berries" meant something was great, back in the '20s.)
Sunday (April 6):
A Seussical of Musicals on Ice: Show features songs from Toy Story, Seussical the Musical, Cats, High School Musical 2, Willy Wonka, Hannah Montana and Hairspray. 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. $10. 3 years and younger free with adult. Columbia Ice Rink, 5876 Thunder Hill Road, Columbia. Tickets going fast! Call 410-730-0322.
Free Family Sundays: African Textiles: Interactive art workshops, gallery tours, and more startgin at 2 p.m. at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. Call 443-573-1700 or go to artbma.org.
Passover Fair: Children’s activities from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. at the event, which has Seder plates, wine cups, childrens gifts, cookbooks, haggadahs and more for sale 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission free; kids’ activities cost $1 per project. Rosenbloom Owings Mills JCC, 3506 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills. Call 410-356-5200, ext. 324 or go to jcc.org.
Dinner Together day is a good time to mention a new campaign from The Family Tree, a Baltimore nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing child abuse.
The initiative, which runs through April to coincide with National Child Abuse Prevention Month, is called "Mealtime -- The Great Family Time." Sponsored by Provident Bank, the campaign will advertise what we've already been talking about here: that studies show eating meals regularly with the family helps kids do better in school; resist smoking, drinking and drugs; and have a better sense of identity.
You can find some recipes to enjoy together on the organization's web site. Even more interesting to me was the list of 20 "conversation starters" to get the family talking around the table. Two I plan to try are:
"What is one item you own that you really should throw away -- but probably never will?"
"If snow could fall in any flavor, what flavor would you choose?"
What helps get you talking with your children at meal time?
A colleague of mine is looking into a story about schools having fewer field trips where they actually leave the building -- and more that take place in the school itself, with visitors coming in.
Is this happening in your school? If so, how do you feel about it? Please comment below, and if you'd be willing to talk to the reporter, you can e-mail me with your contact info or email the reporter, Jill Rosen, directly.
Thought we might have more success if we went back to pasta, but tried it in a fun shape -- little pillows of tortellini.
You'll see lots of variations on this recipe around; I've made this one less creamy than some traditional versions, but it still has a tasty sauce that benefits from some reserved pasta-cooking water.
It comes together quickly with frozen tortellini and frozen vegetables; I use peas because they're the only vegetable my daughter will taste at the moment, but you could easily substitute another vegetable or two. Asparagus would be a nice seasonal touch; just blanch it separately and toss with pasta at the end.
My son loved this dish, especially the savory prosciutto...
(Photo by me)
My daughter, not so much. But I'm hoping you'll like it. Let me know what you think.
Cheese Tortellini with Prosciutto and Rosemary
Serves 4
16 ounces frozen cheese tortellini
one 16-ounce package frozen peas
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon rosemary, crumbled
1/4 pound prosciutto or bacon, cut in 1/4 inch strips
1/2 cup grated parmesan or Gruyere (divided use)
2 tablespoons butter
Cook tortellini and peas together according to package directions in salted boiling water. Before draining, reserve ½ cup of cooking water. In a skillet, heat olive oil and cook garlic and rosemary. Stir in prosciutto and cook for 2 minutes (if using bacon, cook until crisp, then remove from pan and set on paper towels). Stir in 1/4 cup cheese and butter, then whisk in cooking water gradually, being careful not to break the sauce. Add to cooked tortellini and peas and toss to coat. If using bacon, crumble it into the tortellini. Serve with fresh pepper and remaining cheese.
Per serving: 642 calories, 29 grams protein, 28 grams fat, 12 grams saturated fat, 70 grams carbohydrate, 7 grams fiber, 82 milligrams cholesterol, 887 milligrams sodium
Since it's still Father's Day Tuesday, thought I'd pass along this cool site I found, aimed at expectant dads. I particularly like the logo, which I haven't gotten permission yet to reproduce here, and the name -- The Funky Stork.
There are some useful articles on the site, including a list of books for new fathers and "Top Ten New Dad Mistakes."
What are/were your top 10 new dad mistakes?
It's April Fool's Day, which kicks off a month of fairy-tale activities at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The first event is today at 3:30 p.m; the Herring Run branch will have a "fairy tale fools" event for kids ages 6 to 12. Call 410-396-0996.
You can get the full calendar of fairy-tale events here.
(Sun file photo of "Once Upon a Fairy Tale")
Today's Guest Dad is probably well known to many of you; he's Sun columnist Kevin Cowherd, a father of three. Here's his post:
"What do they say about parenting that third child? You’d let him (or her) juggle chainsaws? But how do you feel about handing over the car keys?
"If it’s true that many parents are overly-cautious with their first child, loosen up considerably when the second comes along and adopt an oh-what-the-hell attitude with the third, that doesn’t necessarily hold true when the youngest gets his driver’s license. In fact, there's even more to worry about when every teen seems to be talking or texting on a cell.
"Our 16-year-old, Jamie, has been driving for five months. He’s a good driver and has his own car, generously handed down by his older brother. Still, my wife and I worry. And we grill him about his driving like he’s an al-Qaida operative.
"We want to know where he’s going at all times. We limit who he can have in the car with him. He has to call when he gets to his destination, and again when he’s leaving. One of us stays up until he’s home, and thank God the state mandates that new drivers can’t drive after midnight. We also told him if we ever see him driving and talking on his cell phone, we’ll take the keys away and he won’t drive again until he’s 35.
"Come to think of it, we’d be less stressed out if he was juggling chainsaws."
How are you monitoring your teen driver these days, and what rules have you put on his or her cell phone use when driving? Please tell us by posting a comment below.
(Sun photo of Kevin Cowherd)
