I saw this picture of an awesome snack for kids on pinterest and had to share:
I just thought it was so creative and cute. In my dinosaur-obsessed household it would be a sure hit. What are some of the favorite, pretty, and nutritious snacks in your house? What’s the top request from your kiddos? I’m always looking for ideas to get me through these summer days! Have an awesome week!
I came across an awesome facebook post today about how one mother is intentionally limiting her kids’ use of electronics. She wants them to hone social skills, the art of conversation, and not miss teachable moments because they are too buried in technology to interact with her. Her post can be found here. A lot of what she said resonated with me. We try to monitor and limit our kids’ use of technology (i.e., our oldest is able to play angry birds once his homework is done, etc…) but I know it is a crutch I use at times. Recently we were at a friend’s BBQ and the kids had played outside for the first hour or so we were there. After eating, I let them go in the house and watch a movie. She didn’t have children of her own yet, so there wasn’t much for them to play with beyond what we had brought with us. I think of that type of technology use as “survival,” so to speak. I definitely don’t want to give the impression that my kids never have screen time, but I like to think that it is a reasonable amount for a 4 and 6 year old.
The other day we were heading home from one of our many appointments (speech and OT) and the kids were upset because they wanted to watch a movie on the DVD player in our van. “Look out the window,” I told them, “watch the movie called ‘Life’.”
They didn’t understand what I meant, but they did hush up and we did not watch a movie on the way home. Instead they chatted, fought over some toys in the backseat, and sang Farmer in the Dell. And I felt good about that.
Thoughts? How do you limit your kids’ use of technology? Are there certain lengths of time you follow? Certain games you encourage over others? Have a great day!
I think I have read that title phrase a million times and sadly it is still true. So here to entertain you on your Monday is the first story from PCS hell.
Our first PCS was a overseas tour four years and one kid ago. Of course there was a lot of stress in anxiety trying to move our entire lives and two kids (one with a life threatening medical condition) two under two years of age across an oceans and away from family. Joy oh glorious joy how I was so thrilled to be taking that trip that involved three layovers and over 24 hours of travel. Needless to say by the time the movers showed up at 10, I already needed a drink. However, that had to wait since Diva woke up THAT morning with a 105 fever. She was not herself and we decided that we didn’t want to chance her getting worse and with a fever for the first time that high and not knowing at the time if she shared Bugs medical condition, a trip to the ER was needed.
However, before I could load her up in the car, we needed to pack it.
Here is a little PCS pointer: anything you DO NOT want the movers to pack you need to isolate. I have heard of people designating certain rooms with “do not pack” signs on the doors, people standing 24 guard over the items to make sure they are not packed by mistake and more. We chose to pack everything not going crated into our car. After our belongings were loaded and driven off, we were driving 15 hours to our families house. So it was easier and made since to pack the car before the movers got there. What ever method you choose; choose one!
So the epic day arrived, pack out day. Diva woke up with a 105 fever and the movers were due at any moment. Hubs and I threw all our luggage into the luggage topper we bought and used on top of out vehicle. The movers arrived and I left with Diva barely lucent in the back seat.
Strike one: Hail. Yes, hail. I drove over to the nearest emergency room in the neighboring town through a hail storm. I was scared out of my mind, but Diva needed medical attention. I arrived and tornado sirens where screaming at us. Not only giving us a warning of the storm but also more to come for our family.
Strike two: We spent 6 hours in the ER with no cell phone service. I have a slight problem with needing to be in control. Not knowing how the move was progressing was sending me into a panic attack. Being locked in a mouse hole sized white sterile room was taking its toll. I held it together for Diva. Finally, she was discharged after her fever was under control and tests showed nothing serious. So I ran her out to the car in the storm. Luckily the hail and sirens stopped. But not the sheets of rain.
Strike 3: We arrived home just as the rain stopped. I walked in the house and instantly realized one flaw with our plan of loading up the car pre trip- standing there with only a PINK pull-up on was Bug. Diapers. I forgot to leave diapers. Hubs was smart enough to call one of my friends with a small child and asked to borrow any diapers she had. Sadly for us, her daughter was potty training. I just kept reassuring Hubs that all real men wear pink. He then informed me of how it all happened and strangely kept reassuring me that Bug was ok. . Never start off a story by reassuring me the kid is ok.
Apparently Hubs was busy helping the movers. He knew Bug would be content watching tv. Bug was content. He was also content drinking the 6 cups of juice Hubs kept feeding him. Needless to say, the one and only diaper in the house filled up fast. Leaking through his clothes and my favorite embroidered silk thread pillow (which promptly went into the trash). He tells me how he called my friend to get diapers and how she showed up quickly only to discover that Bug must have still been thirsty because they found him and the floor covered in weed killer! Bug must have been searching for a drink and thought the weed killer was a tasty choice. However, poison control didn’t feel that was a humorous conclusion. We had no way of knowing if he actually ingested any and how much. Try advised us to watch him, which we did much more carefully. Lucky enough, he never reacted.
And the home run: After the lecture and lesson from poison control I felt we needed to get the some clothes on the kid. Hubs scaled the car to get into the car topper and our suitcase. After he opened it up he discovered our “waterproof” car topper wasn’t. He further found out that everything in it was drenched. He opened up the black suit case and here it is folks… The grand slam… All our clothes in the suitcase were dyed black; an entire and only suitcase full our our clothes ruined… All our clothes we had with us for the next two months.
Yup. It was a glorious experience. Obviously we all survived and we got a new wardrobe to boot.
** keep us in mind the next two days as we travel across the United States on the longest and almost last leg of our PCS. From St. Louis to Richmond, VA. What I love best as I drive is knowing I am every kids road trip bingo dream ~ Hawaii plates!
Here is a great recipe for refreshingly yummy lemonade. Would be perfect for your next BBQ or backyard get-together. Have an awesome weekend!
From: www.foodnetwork.com
Ingredients
4 cups fresh lemon juice
3 cups sugar
1 bag frozen raspberries
Ice cubes, for serving
Directions
Squeeze the lemons and pour the juice into a pitcher. Mix together the sugar with 3 cups water and stir to dissolve to make a syrup. Add the syrup to the lemon juice and top it up with 8 cups water. Taste to make sure it’s sweet enough for you, and then add the raspberries. Mix the lemonade together and let chill in thefridge. (Keep inmind that the raspberries are tart, so be sure to sweetenenough!)
Fill mason jars with ice cubes and top them off with the lemonade.
We, as parents of children with special needs, boarded this roller coaster of emotion sometime back, assumed at one point we could get off. Ok, maybe I am the only parent who thought this and now reality has adjusted my once jaded view, but I am getting tired of these hills and valleys we ride. And I am not talking in reference to my children. I am talking about what we all must do to provide them with the treatments they might need.
So prepare yourself this coming July 25th when Tricare once again throws another 360 loop onto our rails.
In an article published June 18, “Tricare is consolidating its disparate autism therapy programs into one Autism Care Demonstration Project for children of active-duty, retired and reserve component personnel starting July 25.”
So there you have it folks. Make sure that seat belt are tightened and all arms and legs remain inside the cart at all times. Although it appears for now the ride won’t get much more bumpier; it’s never smooth sailing.
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