CrazyBusy Mama! (Dot Calm)

By Peggy Baron

Thanksgiving can be a little stressful when you have company coming and you have to cook the whole meal. Sure the company is bringing a pie and will help with the dishes and clean up, but you’ve got a whole lot of work ahead of you when you wake up on that special Thursday morning. Don’t despair and stress – rally the troops!

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably got one or two or more children running around that house don’t you? Put them to work and give them all jobs. Just don’t mention the words “work” or “job.” Kids like to be helpful, especially when they see how much you appreciate it. Let them help!

First off, you need to have a plan. Take some time before Thursday morning to plot everything out. Of course you know what you want to prepare and serve – you do the same thing every year, don’t you? So that’s the easy part. Really look at each recipe and see what’s involved. You could probably do it in your sleep, but your kids can’t. Assign a recipe to each child, depending on their skill level. You may even want to find an easier version of the recipe. Go over the steps with your child and explain how it’s all going to work. Do kind of a foodless dress rehearsal with them.

If the child is too young to do a whole recipe, just give them certain tasks in a recipe and have them help you. Little ones can melt butter in the microwave, mash the potatoes, wash the vegetables, toss the salad, and put the marshmallows on the sweet potato casserole.

This is one meal where everything seems to happen at the same time. To help prevent this, the kids can mash the potatoes ahead and keep them warm in the crockpot, ditto with the sweet potato casserole and veggies. If you don’t have a way to keep them warm, time them to come out before the mad rush, put a lid on them and wrap them in several towels. They can stay quite warm that way. The salad can definitely be made earlier in the day or even the night before.

Try to schedule the prep time so there aren’t too many people walking around the kitchen with sharp knives at once.

What about the pies? Kids love to make the pies! Go with the pre-made pie crusts if their pastry skills aren’t quite up to snuff. Maybe they could pick the pies they want this year and shake tradition up a bit. I’m sure a Chocolate Dream pie is a tradition in someone’s home even if it isn’t (yet) in yours.

Keep one step ahead of total chaos by having someone wash the dirty dishes that are accumulating. Perhaps those who are watching football on TV could lend a hand! Not only will there be fewer dishes to do at the end, but it leaves lots more room for the cooks to prepare the grand feast.

If you give it some thought and plan ahead of time, this Thanksgiving could be a lot easier on you and a heck of a lot more fun for the whole family. Have a good attitude and lots of patience and just enjoy yourself. Your kitchen will be filled with those you love, and that’s something to be thankful for.

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Peggy is the editor of the popular Cookin’ Kids Newsletter. Interesting themes, fun facts, silly clip art, easy recipes, kid jokes, cooking terms, and safety tips make this newsletter a hit with kids! Learn more about it at cookinkids.com.

I have a confession to make: I got a little spoiled this summer. With three teens and a four-year-old, it was nice only having to make lunch for one of them. The older ones were on their own when it came to making their lunches, and didn’t seem to mind one bit.

Now that school has begun again (for two of them, anyway — one graduated last June), I’m back to my job as chief lunch maker. They do make their own lunches to take on occasion, but I’m still the one who decides which foods will be in the cupboards and fridge to pick from.

The hardest part, for me, is variety — making sure they don’t get tired of the same-old, same-old. The easiest part is making sure they’re not getting junk, and it’s easy for one reason: I read food packaging labels and I know what I’m looking for.

My “dream lunch” to send to school with my kids would be something like this:

Turkey sandwich on whole wheat
Fruit
Veggies with healthy ranch dip
Crackers with no added MSG, sugar, or high fructose corn syrup
Water or milk

But…that’s not always possible, nor what they want on a daily basis. Sometimes I’ll give in (Doritos, cookies), but only a little, and not too often. It’s easy to throw a lunch together with conveniently-packaged snack foods from the grocery store, but it really doesn’t take that much effort to make it healthier.

At the very least, keep an eye out at the grocery store (yes, read labels while you’re shopping) for the usual criminals: monosodium glutamate (a.k.a. MSG), high fructose corn syrup (HFSC), bad fats, and artificial sweeteners.

Why? MSG is a known neurotoxin that never leaves the human body and has been proven to cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. HFCS can wreak havoc on the body and is thought to make certain people more prone to developing diabetes, and artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose (Splenda), Nutra Sweet, and others are chemically derived, can cause symptoms like headaches and depression, and can contribute to obesity by actually causing you to actually crave real sugar…after all, you can’t really fool your own body — at least not for very long.

I’m always amazed at how many prepackaged foods contain food additives like the ones mentioned above. (MSG is also known by many other names. Read this post to learn more.)

We parents hold our children’s health in our hands…literally. It is vital to make sure we’re feeding them the healthiest foods possible and are teaching them good habits now. I realize it’s not always possible to keep this stuff out of our cupboards (especially if you aren’t the only grocery shopper in your family), but at least getting started — and making changes, no matter how small — is the important thing.

In the spirit of the highly popular book series, Eat This, Not That, I’d like to share with you some good substitutes for your kids’ school lunches. I’ve compiled a list of common not-so-healthy lunchbox items and their more nutritious counterparts (notice I didn’t say “perfect,” just “more nutritious”). You’ll notice that some of the items do contain sugar, but when it comes right down to it, I’d rather my kids have a small amount of sugar than HFCS or chemically-derived artificial sweeteners. Our bodies at least know what to do with regular sugar (eat it or store it as fat), but simply gets confused by the others.

Peanut butter. Here is a good example of choosing “the lesser of two evils.” I know what you’re thinking…how could peanut butter possibly be evil? I love peanut butter as much as the next kid (I’m a kid at heart), but there are two things to watch out for: calories and fats. Rather than do an all-out comparison, I’ll just recommend two brands that I’ve bought, eaten, and fed to my own family.

The first is Skippy Natural Creamy Peanut Butter. The only ingredients are roasted peanuts, sugar (3 g. per 2 tbsp.), palm oil, and salt. There’s much debate about palm oil, but it’s healthier than regular Skippy Peanut Butter, which contains cottonseed, soybean, and rapeseed oils. (Oops, I guess I just did a comparison.) Skippy Natural has 190 calories per two tablespoons; 140 of those are from fat.

The second I’m going to recommend is Adam’s 100% Natural Creamy Peanut Butter. It has more calories at 210 per two tablespoons, 150 of those being from fat. Yikes. However, its only ingredients are roasted peanuts and salt. Adam’s Peanut Butter is an acquired taste, I’ll admit, especially if your kids are used to regular peanut butter, which is sweeter and more processed.

Jelly and/or Jam. Do NOT buy “low sugar” or “sugar free” unless it’s from the nutrition section of the store. I can pretty much guarantee it will contain artificial sweeteners. (Smucker’s Simply Fruit “Low Sugar” variety has the NutraSweet logo right on the label.) Also, avoid jams and jellies with HFCS. My favorite sweetened-with-sugar-only brand is Danish Orchards.

Crackers. Many store-bought cracker varieties contain MSG and HFCS. There’s no need for it! It’s one of my chief frustrations while shopping to see foods that are full of this garbage being marketed toward our children. Even Cheez-It crackers — the regular variety contains MSG. The same brand’s whole grain variety does not, so if your kids like Cheez-Its as much as mine do, get the whole grain ones. They don’t taste ANY different.

Capri Sun. Ah, memories. My mom put Capri Sun pouches in my lunch when I was in junior high school (back in the…ahem…early 80s). There are more varieties of Capri Sun now, so being a vigilant parent is very important if you buy them for your kids. Depending on the variety, you could be giving your kids HFCS or artificial sweeteners (sucralose, in this case, which caused serious depression in me last year…so I know first hand how bad it is). Stay away, for example, from the Roarin’ Waters variety. It’s clear in color, so it makes you think it’s healthier. NOT. Roarin’ Waters contains sucralose, identified as “Splenda brand sweetener” on the ingredients list. If a child can’t have sugar, I can understand why a parent might need to buy items with artificial sweeteners once in a while. HOWEVER, Roarin’ Waters also contains sugar along with the sucralose. If someone could explain the reasoning behind that, go ahead: I’m all ears!

Instead of Roarin’ Waters, buy instead the Original Capri Sun, which is sweetened only with sugar and real juice concentrates. Their Sunrise variety is also sweetened only with sugar, and their 100% Juice line is just as it says…100% juice. See my previous post on Capri Suns here.

Of course, my favorite (and usual) drink to send along with my kids in their lunches is bottled purified water.

I hope this article has given you some “food for thought.” If you remember none of what you read here, at least remember this: READ LABELS before you buy. Steer clear of MSG, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, trans fats (and saturated fats, when possible). If it doesn’t sound natural, it most likely isn’t. Also, when you can, avoid unnecessary sugar. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind when reading labels is this: A long list of ingredients gives you a long list of reasons to not buy that particular product.

Stay tuned this week — I’ll be giving you healthy breakfast options for your kids, healthy sandwich ideas, and more!

©2010 Sally Dinius
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Sally Dinius is writer-in-chief here at CrazyBusyMama.com, a blog created to inspire and motivate busy mamas everywhere to feel healthy, fit, and in control of their lives. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sdinius, and come join the CrazyBusy Mama Facebook page by clicking here.

With three teenagers on Facebook (and a four-year-old who won’t be there for a while, thankfully), I drank up every word of this article by the Krafskys. It’s full of wisdom for those of us who, while we may be social media-savvy ourselves, may not know just how firmly to hold the Facebook reigns when it comes to our kids. Even if your kids are younger, this is great info to read and remember when the time comes. Enjoy! -Ed.

by K. Jason and Kelli Krafsky

We knew the day was coming. “Mom and Dad, can I have a Facebook?”

Silence. The two of us looked at each other waiting for the other one to speak first. More silence gave into that weird moment when no one has said anything for an uncomfortably long period of time.

Rushing through our minds were a hundred stories we’ve heard and another thousand we’ve witnessed with teens and parents on Facebook. We’ve heard (and seen) it all!

A single status update bringing shame to the family name before hundreds, if not thousands of people. A simple online comment causing real-time embarrassment and tension between family members. One quick, thoughtless Wall post erecting huge emotional walls in the parent-child relationship.

When we were writing Facebook and Your Marriage, parents of Facebooking teens were practically begging us to write a book on this topic. And now we know why.

Our dilemma isn’t that we have just one teenager to deal with…but two teenagers (and two more pre-teens in the bay) – which adds a whole other set of scenarios for us to think/stress/worry about.

With whole families now participating in the same online social community, too much is at stake to just throw the kids on Facebook and hope for the best. Good parenting is part trust, part rule maker, and part rule enforcer. As parents, not only do we need to figure out what rules need to be made between the child and parent, but between the siblings as well. And then figure out what the potential consequences are.

After what seemed like an eternity, silence was broken. We looked into those hope-filled eyes and said, “We need to talk about it.” While this was no more than pushing pause on the conversation, we had bought ourselves enough time to discuss all the possible scenarios of having the mom, dad, daughter/sister, and son/brother on Facebook.

What happens on Facebook can and will find itself being a major story plot in the family drama at home. And if that isn’t bad enough, your kid’s Facebook can and will likely be checked by prospective colleges and employers too. This is why it is imperative for parents and kids to talk about some common ground rules while participating in the new favorite American (online) pastime called Facebook.

So we came up with some ground rules for our kids. But ground rules for Facebooking families are not just a one-way street. We discovered there was a need for parents to agree to some ground rules too.

And what happens if the kids break any of the ground rules? Let’s just say their Facebook Friends won’t be seeing their little green dot for awhile.

To save ourselves a lot of headaches and to avoid Facebook-related conversations that include excuses like, “I didn’t know,” “I forgot,” and “You never said that,” we put the ground rules in writing.

Having the parents and kids sign a Facebook Rules Agreement spells out the expectations, and the ground rules everyone will follow.

So here’s seven ground rules we came up with for our kids, and seven ground rules for us as parents, as well as a copy of a Facebook Rules for Our Family Agreement you can easily adapt and customize.

* 7 Facebook Ground Rules for the Kids >>
* 7 Facebook Ground Rules for the Parents >>
* Facebook Rules for Our Family Agreement >>

If your teenager is on (or wanting to get on) Facebook, these ground rules will set in place some clear boundaries, establish some common courtesies, and protect everyone in the family.

DISCUSS THIS ARTICLE ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE >>

READ OTHER ARTICLES BY THE KRAFSKYS >>

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K. Jason and Kelli Krafsky are nationally-recognized specialists in social media and relationships. As “The Facebooking Couple,” they write and speak to bring common sense and healthy boundaries into marriages, families and relationships in this social media age. They are the authors of Facebook and Your Marriage (2010) and have co-written several articles on the topic. Find their articles, tools and tips at FBMarriage.com. The Krafskys live in the foothills of Washington’s Cascade Mountains with their four children. Contact them at FacebookAndYourMarriage.com, on Twitter or through Facebook.

Copyright © 2010 K. Jason and Kelli Krafsky – Permission granted to use and reproduce with proper source citation.

Did you know that it’s not unusual for boys to begin reading at a later age than girls? It doesn’t happen 100% of the time, but can be a source of concern if you find your son struggling in reading.

One of my sons was a “later reader,” not really grabbing a hold of it until he was about 8 years old. We went ’round and ’round plenty of times, until I finally realized one day that continuing to treat reading like a battle ground would just do more harm than good.

My “eureka!” moment occurred the day I came across a really great idea – something that gave his reading abilities the momentum they needed: I bought him a subscription to Sports Illustrated for Kids.

When the first issue arrived, he was so excited. “Mommy, will you read this to me?”

“Nope; it’s yours. If you want to know what the articles say, you’ll have to read them yourself.”

It worked like magic! He began reading to himself, with just a little help from me, from that day on.

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When I was at the doctor with my 13 year-old a couple of weeks ago, he suggested I start her on a daily multi-vitamin. My daughter’s eyebrows went up. I forced a smile. “Okay” is what I heard myself say, but on the inside all I felt was “ugh.”

Vitamins and I go way back. And not in a good way. When I was six, my mother fed my brother and I these strange, round, white-coated vitamins that we had to swallow on a daily basis. I think I tried it once or twice…I was determined to never do it again. Upon my return from a weekend visitation with my dad, my mom told me a “funny” story. It seemed that she and my stepdad had a party while my brother and I were gone, and they had to pull the dining room table apart to insert the leaf. As they did, hundreds of those round white vitamins spilled onto the floor. My vitamins.

Fascinated by new research of what vitamins could do for our bodies (this was the 1970s), my mom wasn’t done with her experimenting. She tried giving us niacin tablets to take. I was seven. I’m gathering I didn’t really need niacin, as every time I was made to take it I felt a painful, prickly burning sensation from the inside out. It hurt so bad I cried. Eventually, she understood that maybe…probably…I shouldn’t take it.

In my teens, she gave me multi-vitamins and B-100 supplements to take. I gagged when I tried. (I’ve never done well trying to take horse pills.) I’m sorry to say I gradually resorted to lying when she asked if I’d taken them.

This may all seem like a form of torture (sure felt like it), but I know my mom meant well and just wanted us to be healthy.

I think having such bad experiences with vitamins myself is why I’ve never forced them on my kids. Nowadays, thankfully, vitamins come in various forms for young and old alike: liquid, chewable, lozenges, and yes, the good old-fashioned (why don’t they learn?) horse pills. If one kind doesn’t work for my kids, I can try another.

To finish my story, I bought a small bottle of multi-vitamins for my daughter. Small bottle=small vitamins, right? Not so. They were huge! She tried to take one and had trouble getting it down. I assured her she didn’t have to finish them and that they’d be going back to the store.

That same day, I bought multi-vitamins for my three year-old. They were gummy bears! When I tried one, I was pleased to learn they didn’t taste like vitamins, and she didn’t seem to mind them either. Why didn’t they have those when I was little?

For my 13 year-old, I will probably try liquid vitamins. They’re a little more expensive, but painless to take when mixed with a glass of juice.

If you’re looking for a good vitamin for your youngins, here are some of my recommendations. (And you can get them by mail-order — that’s a big stress-buster right there!)

Rhino Gummy Bear Vitamins, 190-Count Bottle These are the exact gummy vitamins I bought for my three year-old. They’re definitely tasty…I have to use real self-discipline to not take them myself (be sure to store them up high and out of the reach of your young ones).

Nature’s Plus – Animal Parade – Cherry/Orange/Grape, 180 Chewable TabletsAvailable in cherry, orange, or grape flavors (or all three together), these are ideal for the child who isn’t ready to swallow vitamins but also may not like the gummy bear kind. Highly recommended by many parents. Doesn’t contain yeast, soy, milk, wheat, corn, or artificial colors or preservatives. Score!

Childlife Multi Vitamin & Mineral Liquid 8 oz.
This liquid vitamin supplement is ideal for infants and young children. Liquid vitamins are absorbed faster and more completely than regular vitamins, and are ideal for sensitive tummies. Child Life Vitamin and Mineral Liquid is gluten and dairy free.

Next time: Supplements to help your body fight stress (no horse pills, I promise).

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My little one, just three years old, has been sick since last Thursday. With the swine flu scare so prominent in the news, you can bet I’ve been watching her closely. Her sickness began with vomiting and a fever, which subsided, only to be replaced by a cough, a runny nose, and some serious crankiness.

While scanning the Internet for “stress relievers” today, I came across this little gem. Oh, how I wish he’d been living here these past several days, especially when Bethany complained about her tummy hurting. And how great would this have been years ago when my (now) teens were small!

About 12″ high, the Hot Hugs animals (the Hot Hugs Dog is also available)are made in England and feature removable — and cleanable — covers. The inserts are made of 100% cotton and are filled with natural Cotswald wheat grain and pure lavender and chamomile essential oils. Isn’t that a breath of fresh air, with all the chemicals our children are exposed to on a daily basis?

Just think of all the ways your child will be able to use the Hot Hugs Lion:

• Cuddling with on a cold, stormy night
• Feet warmer
• Tummy soother
• A traveling buddy on a car trip or plane ride
• Something familiar while staying at a friend’s house

I don’t know about you, but I’ll be picking one of these up as soon as I can. He’ll be a great friend to have around!