5-things-kids-power-goes

The ideal time for a power outage is during the day. But as fate will show, they usually happen in the dusky hours of the evening. During that time, the light in your house is sparse, and you have to use candles or flashlights just to go to the bathroom.

Even though at the start of each thunderstorm we hope that the power will not go out, it is inevitable that it will at sometime. Not all of us can afford generators and are stuck sitting around staring at each other. Kids are affected the most by a power outage. No television, no internet, and if it is raining, no outside play. Lets face it, when kids are bored, the rest of the family is miserable. I am here to provide some tips that will keep you kids entertained and maintain your sanity throughout a power outage.

Your Dining Room 

Keep some drip-less candles, a deck of cards and board games stored in your dining room. This will provide the perfect place for candle lit games. Not only will your kids enjoy the games, you will finally have the family time you have wanted.

Play Flash Light Hide & Seek
Flash light hide and seek is one of my kids favorite games. They enjoy the thrill of finding people and things in the dark and love playing with flash lights even more. Make sure to set a strict no running rule. You can't see everything with a flashlight and it is easy to bump into things.

Tell a One Sentence At a Time Story 

This is another of my children's favorite things to do. Starting with the oldest person in the family, everyone tells a story, one sentence at a time. This not only lets you bond, it lets you see what your children's interests are.

Have a Slumber Party 

Kids love slumber parties. Staying up and talking until late in the night is a great way to bond with your kids. Telling each other secrets is a great way to build trust. This may actually open the doors of communication for the future and build trust. Just don't use the secrets they tell you against them later, it will cancel out all of the trust you just built.

Enjoy a Snack Together 

Sit at your dining room table and enjoy a snack together. Keep the situation upbeat. Family time is very important, especially if you have younger kids that are afraid of the dark. Being together and enjoying a snack makes the power outage a positive experience and may actually end the fear of the dark.

5-survival-tips-moms

If you're a new mom, you are probably feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. Right now you need to focus on your baby and on yourself. You need as much pampering as the baby does, until your body heals.
Here are five survival tips every new mom needs. Remember to enjoy your baby and take care of both of you. Don't forget yourself. Your baby is counting on you.

Five survival tips for new moms:

Get Help - New moms need as much help as they can get. If you are getting offers of help, take the offer. You need to spend as much time with the baby and by yourself as you can.

If you want to be with your baby, but you need help with the dishes, always tell your helper what you need done. If it is a family member, like a new grandma, she is going to want to help with the baby and may not want to help with anything else. Be prepared. You may want to recruit help before baby arrives so you know who you can call on for what chores. You may want to ask your friends first.

Say "No" - Be prepared to say "no". You will have to tell over eager baby volunteers "no". You are going to want bonding time with baby, and although everyone wants to visit baby, you need to be able to say "no" so you can bond with baby and rest.

Be prepared to say "no" to all types of new telemarketers. You will have to say "no" to strangers who are going to want to touch your baby or hold your baby. You will also need to get used to saying "no" because as your baby grows, you will be telling him or her "no" often.

Sleep - Sleep is a godsend for a new mom. The best advice about sleep is to sleep when baby sleeps. Baby will be taking frequent naps and keeping you up when it is time to sleep. If baby is used to sleeping during the day and is awake all night, you don't want to clean or be busy around the house all day because you are going to be awake all night. You will be exhausted. Adjust your body to sleep during the day. Sleeping will be easy because your body will be exhausted with being up all night. You can do the laundry or wash the dishes during the night and take advantage of spending time with baby. He or she will eventually get into the habit of sleeping during the night.

Exercise - Exercise is important after having a baby. You don't want to overdo the exercise, but you will want to do something for yourself. Exercise will help you feel better and even give you more energy. You will need all the energy you can get with a new baby.

Pamper yourself - If you have a new baby, don't forget to pamper yourself. Your body will be healing and you will need to rest as well. While baby takes one of his or her many naps, jump into a warm bubble bath and relax. Burn your favorite candles. Before long, you will be putting them up so baby cannot reach them. Enjoy them while you can. When you get out of the tub, put on your favorite clothes and fix your hair. Be careful not to use perfume where baby will rub into it. It's best not to use perfume at all around a new baby. He or she may be allergic and may have trouble breathing.

If you use these five survival tips for new moms, you should feel relaxed and heal quickly. You will want to be able to get back on your feet so you and baby can start your new life with the family.

four ways to help develop a child's creative abilities

As a behavioral therapist, I have worked with kids of varying developmental and mental abilities. And after ten years in the field, I still challenge myself to find news ways to foster creativity. Creativity tends to reveal itself most prominently in arts and music, but often in much simpler ways as well. Anytime a child is required to problem solve, come up with a unique idea, or think outside the box, creativity is the driving force at hand. Here are four ways to help develop a child's creative abilities..

Spend Time at the Bookstore

The bookstore is one of the best places to foster creativity in children. You don't even have to go with an agenda; just give them browsing time and see what they gravitate towards. The books they choose may surprise you, but that's the whole point! Being exposed to new ideas and subject matter might just spark something. And don't get discouraged if your child loses interest in some books quickly - that's part of the process. And besides, there are plenty of worse things they could be doing than reading.

Encourage your Children to Ask Questions

Kids have a natural thirst for knowledge. Sometimes this thirst seems to pop up at the most inopportune times, like a sudden interest in the colors of the sunset while you are drive around lost and desperately looking for a gas station. Our gut reaction is to snap and say something like "not now," which can discourage a child's inquisitive nature. Instead, promise to talk later or explore it further at home. Show genuine interest in what the child is inquiring about. Asking questions enhances creativity, so try to reinforce the tendency.

Let Them Unwind

We all want kids to push themselves to try their best, but how much is too much? In his book Imagine, Jonah Lehrer says "a relaxed state and a good mood" are keys to successful patterns of creativity. Encourage kids to take breaks when they start to display frustration. People naturally view down time as unproductive, but in the scope of the larger picture, this is not always true. Finding time to relax doesn't have to be difficult. Activities like a 10 minute walk or a game of catch are simple ways to break up a child's particularly burdensome night of homework.

Construct a Creative Environment

One of the best ways to encourage creativity is through a child's environment. I can't remember the last time I was in a restaurant and didn't see kids playing on their Gameboys and iPads (not to mention parents practically glued to their cell phones.) Having a conversation at mealtime is a simple but effective way to provide a more creative outlet. It doesn't have to be centered around the usual stuff like school and homework; talk about why a new movie looks interesting or where to plan the next family vacation, or even why a particular app or electronic game is so appealing to your child. In a group or school setting, set aside a few minutes each day to talk about "fun stuff." Look for ways to encourage more social forms of interaction and play in the child's environment...and no, Words with Friends doesn't count.

4-steps-to-answer-childrens

How do we as parents answer these types of questions? How do I help my 3 year old son understand that he is not allowed to jump, climb, run or rough house because he has multiple fractures in his neck due to extensive use of Prednisone? How do I help them understand that going to a friends house or school can be dangerous for them when their immune systems are depleated? These are questions that stay on my mind all night...How do I as their mother help them be children, and yet keep them safe from germs and more broken bones?

I want to give four examples as to how I have answered some of these questions with my children, and I hope that they will help you as a mother or father of a child with Chronis Illness....

1) Be truthful with them....I am not sure how to stress this enough....Don't try and shield your children from what is going to happen...As an example, one of the answers to the questions that my children have asked me is " mommy is that needle going to hurt me?" Being honest is hard with this question because you know that if you are honest you are going to have tell them that, yes it will hurt but mommy will not leave you! Another answer would be that while yes the needle is going to hurt if they stay still it will not hurt nearly as bad.Help them stay calm. If you want to cry when they are getting stuck, DON'T!! Wait until you have a moment to yourself without your child to cry...they do not need your anxiety to add to theirs.

2) Help them understand....You may have to take an example from the internet or from nature to show them the answer, but do what you have to in order for them to feel confident about what is going on with them..... One of the questions that my children have asked me many times during our times of isolation is "Mommy, why can't we go outside with our friends?" How do you explain to a 3 and 5 year old what isolation means? I went online and found some movies and articles that were easy for the children to understand regarding germs. We talked about how germs are spread, i.e...passed by a sneeze, caugh, and grocery carts...ect

3) Be honest if you don't know the answer to their questions. My daughter has asked me what is in the medicine that she takes...I have no clue what is in the medication, but I took her to her pharmacist, that I had called and arranged a time with. He sat down and talked and explained some of the medications she was on...She knows what it is now and she has a better understanding...

4) Try and relax!! This is something that has been really hard for me to do...I sometimes think that I have to be so on top of everything that I forget that they are children and one day they will not be home to make these memories with....I want my children to understand, but I also want them to have a fun childhood..

I hope that these few steps help give you some ideas how to answer some of your children's questions. Don't be afraid to ask their Doctor or their Pharmacist questions that you don't the answer to. They want to be able to help...that is part of their job!

3-ways-bride-honor- to-her-step-dad-her-wedding

Regardless of whether you are the bride or the groom, if you have a stepparent, you are likely under a lot of stress, often from being forced to choose between a bio parent and a stepparent for various things concerning your wedding: Who should give the bride away? Should mom or stepmom have the mother/son dance? Should dad or stepdad have the father/daughter dance? How should your parents be seated? How will you handle pictures? Will you expect your divorced bio parents to stand together with you in pictures at the alter with your new bride or groom? The questions seem endless.

Here are a three a bride can honor her stepparent at her wedding.

Giving the bride away - There are a couple of ways you can honor your stepfather at your wedding if you are the bride. One way is to have both your bio dad and your stepdad give you away. One can walk on either side of you as you walk down the aisle. Alternately, you can have one father walk you halfway down the aisle and hand you off to the other dad mid-way down the aisle and that dad can walk you the remaining distance to the alter where your new groom awaits.

Father/Daughter Dance - Similar to having both of your dads give you away, let both of your dads have a dance with you. You can either let each dad have their own dance with you, or have one dad cut in mid-way through the song.

Give your step dad a special role at your wedding. If he is good at photography, ask him to take some extra special pictures. If he is personable, put him in charge of greeting guests at your reception. Is he organized? Put him in charge of overseeing the caterers set up or have him be in charge of keeping track of the flowers when they are delivered.

There are many other ways you can honor your step dad at your wedding, however these are three of the bigger ways you can do this.

Hopefully your mother will not give you grief over wanting to include both her former and current husband in your wedding, however if she does, politely remind her that this is your special day and that you would appreciate if she would be supportive of your choices for how you want your wedding to take place.