Mary Cornforth Cawood: Teacher Gifts

Posted on 8 May, 2013 by mcawood

The end of the school year is quickly approaching and students and teachers alike are counting the days until their release – I was informed last night that there were exactly 10 days of school left!  How best we thank the teachers, coaches and special people who tirelessly give their time and efforts to help our children learn, grow and develop?

Over the years I have seen many crafty ideas from magazines and other parents for teacher gifts, ranging from simple to extraordinaire, but I still think the most meaningful gift is a heartfelt “thanks” from both the parent and the student.  That said, it always nice to receive a little something with that thank you!

My philosophy is teacher gifts need not be pricey or require dusting!   There are only so many knick-knacks that fit on a desk, so I tend to gravitate towards gifts that can be used.  I also try and choose something that my children are able to help make or assemble, and I ALWAYS have them write (or when they were little) sign a thank you note.

Some of my favorite teacher gifts include:

  • Gift cards – personalized to teacher’s interest whether it is a bookstore, coffee shop, restaurant, or hobby, give them an opportunity to treat themselves.  One year my girls decorated mugs and included a coffee card with a note that said, “Thanks a latte!”

 

  • Flowers – fresh or potted, they always brighten someone’s day.  When my girls were in preschool, they painted clay pots that we filled with annuals and wrote notes that said, “Thanks for helping me grow!”

 

  • Themed containers – fill with fun items to enjoy over the summer.  I just love the dollar section at Target!  I have found popcorn containers (they go great with a Red Box certificate and movie candy), spa items and summer housewares.    This year I am taking a page out of a friend’s book and filling a large beverage dispenser with coasters, napkins, drink stirrers and Popsicle makers for summer gatherings.

If you are able to personalize your gift, all the better!  If your child has had a student teacher, a basket with school supplies for their new classroom would be greatly appreciated.  A young teacher who is getting married?  Fun summer housewares for entertaining will get much use.  A teacher with young children would appreciate a summer fun basket or a trip to the local ice cream shop.

Often at preschools or small schools many parents and teachers develop close relationships and form their own little community.  In these situations, it is nice for everyone to chip-in and present a gift as a group.  A pedicure, restaurant certificate or a round of golf is a welcome surprise for summer.

Group gifts are also a great idea for that special teacher who is retiring.  With a little planning, their time and dedication can honored in a way they will never forget.  Digital technology can turn students’ artwork, writing and pictures into quilt blocks, framed wall hangings, books and much more.

Whatever you choose, be sure to include your children in the process, it is more meaningful for both them and the person they are thanking.  Don’t feel pressured to extend your budget with your gifts; buying for multiple teachers, coaches and special helpers can really add up!  I guarantee a handwritten note from your child with a single cut flower or bouquet from your garden will mean more to them than a pricey gift.

Thank you teachers!  By the end of July we will be counting the days until the kids go back to school!

Posted in Family, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Mary Cornforth Cawood: Helping hands in the kitchen

Posted on 16 April, 2013 by mcawood

My oldest and I were doing some shopping at Target the other day when she noticed a KitchenAid display on the end of one of the aisles.  Sitting there, gleaming on the shelf, was a fuchsia-colored stand mixer - her favorite color no less.  She looked up at me and said, “Mom, can you buy this for me and save it for when I go to college?  I don’t think I will need it ‘til then.”

I suppressed a laugh because she was looking at me so earnestly.  But, this was my non-cooking child, the one who shows virtually no interest in spending time in the kitchen.  Not to mention the fact, that most college students do not include KitchenAid mixers in their list of needed supplies!

Lately, however, both my girls have wanted to become more involved in meal preparation.  I’m not just talking about setting the table, getting drinks, etc.  They want to chop, cook, bake and get their hands dirty, literally.  Don’t get me wrong, this is great.  And, as my oldest pointed out, “I don’t just want to be microwaving my food in college, Mom.”

But, I have found with their enthusiasm comes unabashed bravery.  I am forever warning them about cutting or burning themselves.  I nearly fainted when my daughter proudly showed me which knife she used to slice an orange – it might as well have been a saber!

So… what to do?  How can I teaching these budding chefs the tricks of the trade without a trip to the emergency room and still let them feel like they are doing it themselves?

First, I have laid some basic ground rules.  No climbing on counters to reach things; use the stool or ask for help!   Microwave is okay; oven and stove supervision is required.  Paring knives on the bottom row of the knife block are theirs to use.  We also had a discussion about how to safely use the garbage disposal.

I am trying to give them kitchen tasks based on their age and stage.

My fifth grader helped me make lasagna for dinner one afternoon before her sister’s piano lesson.  She is now starting to stay home for bits of time by herself, so this was a great opportunity for her help out with dinner preparations.  We went over how to turn the oven on, etc. so she could get dinner baking while we were gone.  I didn’t want her lifting a heavy pan into a hot oven, so I had her put the pan in the oven, close the door and then turn on the oven.  This method worked great and she was so proud of herself!

My second grader is learning fractions in school.  She reads the recipes out lout and measures ingredients for me.  Baking is a great way to put those math skills to work!  A basic recipe such as a cereal snack mix is something she can do with very little help; all the way from measuring to stirring in the slow cooker as it bakes.  This type of project gives her a sense of independence without me worrying about her getting cut or burned.

(You can use a slow cooker without the lid on to make snack mixes; for newer cookers use the low heat setting.  Warning: the aroma is addictive and you may have very little left in the cooker by the time it is done!)

I am so glad my girls are starting to take an interest in learning to cook.  With a few deep breaths, some extra patience (from all of us) and some safety sense, this is becoming a fund way to spend time together.  Hopefully they will learn their way around the kitchen and enjoy it as much as I do.

I think I see a fuchsia mixer in the future…

Posted in Food, Home, Kids, Meal planning, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Karah Levely-Rinaldi: The dresser, episode II – “Return of the Stinkeye”

Posted on 16 April, 2013 by krinaldi

So, here I find it two weeks since my last update on the dresser project with my 13-year-old. There’s no empire or light sabers but plenty of clashing to go around.

I don’t want to get all negative about this project. I do have faith that it’s going to be very cool in the end. I will say, though, that a roofing job I recently assisted on – literally, backbreaking labor, all weekend – was “easier” than a mom and daughter trying to make progress on this little DIY deal.

It started with my request for Alexis to begin the “fun” part of penciling in some designs, which she could paint later. Then, I realized neither of us had cleaned up the brushes after the last base layer. And these were borrowed brushes. Oops.

I sent her out to the garage to get them, soak them in a bucket of warm water, and try to loosen up what was on the brushes. I knew we might very well have to replace the brushes, but I’m not flush with cash. Hours of elbow grease would be much better financially, and in the Learning Experience Department. Do that idiot check at the end of the night. Make sure everything’s been cleaned up and put away.

When I sent Alexis out there, it was in the spirit of “divide and conquer;” I was not asking her to help with the dishes, and just hammering through cleaning up the kitchen, so she could attack the paintbrushes, and then, hopefully, really get into to the fun part of the project. About 60 seconds later, though, she was back inside.

I said, “What’s up? You need to clean those some more.”

“No, Mom, they’re RUINED,” she said to me in the key of “You are dumb, Mom.”

I said, “Uh, no, you didn’t even give that effort enough time to know that.”

I will spare you the blow by blow, but this devolved in a hurry. Soon, we’re yelling back and forth, and it’s moving away from the painting into very raw, emotional reactions about everything that was bothering each of us about the other. This was no longer about working on a home improvement project.

There finally came a point, and I knew, as a parent, I was going to have to let the ego go, and not be right to prove a point. And I also recognized that being able to argue with me is some sort of strange “gift” – she is here, expressing herself to my face. I didn’t like it, but there are worse things.

This clashing of wills came to a screeching halt when, in no particular order (I really don’t remember the order, but we both turned back in the right direction all at once), Alexis told me she was simply tired and wanted to sleep. I told her that was totally understandable and reasonable to just speak up and say that. And I explained to her some things about where my motivation is when I tell her to do stuff. That I AM very proud of her when she makes good choices, and works hard. And that running to me is dancing to her; if I do talk about it a lot, it’s because I do want her to see what gets me going, and that hard work at whatever you love to do pays off.

I realized she didn’t know that when I do run with others, the conversation is almost always about kids and family. Not running yada yada run yada race. I shouldn’t have assumed she knew, and said, straight up, “I pretty much talk about how proud I am of you and your siblings.”

She also seemed to REALLY listen when I mentioned past hurtful behavior of hers toward me – and that I AM human. Or that there had been times when she’d been disrespectful toward me at dance-related events, and that if I became less of an involved spectator, that was exactly why. And that the door was always, always open. That I’d love to have her at any running events if she wanted to be there to watch me. It’s awesome to have family standing by for that. Only if she wanted to be there, though. And that I wanted to be there to support her at dance activities, but that I was also not going to enable or stick around for rude and entitled behavior.

We were kind of stripped down to our raw base layer – much like the dresser before we put on that first coat of color. I held my arms out and she kind of melted into mine, crying, saying, “I’m sorry.”

I said, “Me, too.”

We stood there for a long, long time. When we finally let go, I told her to take off her makeup and take a good shower – that it would feel good – and she said “OK” as if this whole blowup never happened. I found myself asking if she would like a bowl of the watermelon I’d just chopped up (usually I’m more of a “quit messing around, get your butt in here to eat” kind of mom), and said I’d bring it to her after she got out of the shower.

After she’d showered and had a bowl or two of the watermelon, we somehow ended up chatting music and Lady GaGa (the two may or may not be mutually inclusive). She asked if people in the entertainment biz had always dressed weird for attention. From that awful fight earlier in the night, we’d somehow done a 180 degree turn into an hour or more of Cyndi Lauper, Boy George and Madonna videos, plus original and updated versions of “We Are The World.”

We never did another thing that night with the dresser. And that’s OK.

I know we’ll get started on the dresser again soon. I’m not sure what to do about the paint brushes, and in fact, that’s my project once I finish this blog entry. Google and ask around to see if there’s a way to get the dried paint off the brushes. And then, we’ll start the next chapter. There might not be intergalactic peace and harmony, but maybe we can start with a little harmony on the homefront.

Karah Levely-Rinaldi is a Grand Junction mom of four children and an ultramarathon runner.

Posted in Being a grown-up, Being happy, Crafts, Dance, Family, Fitness, Kids | Leave a comment

Mary Cornforth Cawood: ‘Iron Chef,’ the home edition

Posted on 9 April, 2013 by mcawood

Ever feel like assembling dinner feels like an episode of “Iron Chef America?” Yet, instead of only battling the secret ingredient, you have other challenges issued to you as well: must be ready for the table when we walk through the door, must use slow cooker and family will eat it.

For this week’s edition of Iron Chef Mom, I found myself scrambling to put together dinner when I realized there weren’t as many leftovers in the fridge as I thought.  I had meat in the freezer, but there wasn’t enough time to thaw it. I had to make it ahead, and it needed to be ready when we came home from practices, thus eliminating the rice cooker or baking anything in the oven.

Slow cooker it is.

Oh, and did I mention that now my oldest can’t have dairy or gluten?  So instead of being issued a secret ingredient, the list of what I can’t use just got longer!

Now what to make? Time to rummage through the freezer and pantry. I determined that my secret ingredient was a small container of frozen meatballs with an even smaller amount of sauce (i.e. not enough to feed family with spaghetti) – they had definitely been there for a while!  While digging through the freezer, I also found some green and lima beans.

Next stop was the pantry.  I had a jar of pasta sauce, some kidney beans and some gluten free pasta spirals.  The vegetable drawer in the fridge revealed jarred garlic, half an onion, a red pepper, carrots and spinach.

Hmm….it looked like I could pull a batch of soup together.  But what to call it?  Names are important; kids become very suspicious when you feed them something that doesn’t have a name!  It was starting to look a lot like minestrone except for the meatballs, lima beans and spinach.  Lacking in originality, I decided I was making meatball soup.

I put the meatball container in the microwave to thaw it enough to dump in the crock.  Meanwhile, I diced up the onion half, a couple carrots and the red pepper and put them in the crock.  I added the frozen green and lima beans.  Then I rinsed and drained the kidney beans and added them along with the jar of pasta sauce.  The semi-frozen meatballs were added and I filled the crock to the top with water by rinsing out the pasta jar and meatball container (you might as well get as much flavor as you can in there).

The soup was finally starting to look like something!  I finished it off with some salt and pepper and a teaspoon of the jarred garlic.  For good measure, I also threw in a piece of a parmesan cheese rind I had been saving in the fridge (I know, dairy, but aged cheese doesn’t seem to bother her and it adds nice flavor).

My pot of soup cooked away for the remainder of the day, and when we got home I added the dried pasta while my little gymnast showered.  To serve my meatball soup, I placed a handful of baby spinach leaves in the bowl and then ladled the soup over them.  The heat from the soup instantly wilted the spinach without overcooking it.  I also added a sprinkle of shredded parmesan cheese to the top.

The results?  Well, I’m not going to win any culinary awards or take down Bobby Flay with the recipe, but it tasted pretty darn good.

It is amazing what you can come up with when you have to feed your family.  I think we are all worthy of the “Iron Mom” title, and not just for our cooking!

Mary Cornforth Cawood is a married Fruita mom of two daughters.

Posted in Food, Meal planning | 2 Comments

Karah Levely-Rinaldi: Zen and the art of parent/teenager relationships

Posted on 28 March, 2013 by krinaldi

I have a part-time nanny job several days a week. When the family I help offered me a free dresser, replacing it with a built-in bookshelf their toddler daughter could not reach, my brain went a little hog wild thinking about creative things to do with it. A DIY furniture project when you’ve never done anything like that before – what could go wrong? And, if I’m going to go all-out, why not ask my 13-year-old daughter if she’d like to collaborate?

Hold your laughter for just a moment. I know this seems like a Bad Ideas Club hall-of-fame submission.

I’d never painted a piece of furniture. I’ve done a little wall and house painting, though. Recently, I helped a friend repaint a rental unit and found the whole process rather zen. It didn’t feel like “work,” and in the end, we’d left things looking much better than we found them, even with little mistakes and spills to correct along the way.

Alexis, my 13-year-old, enjoys painting and drawing. She also helped a bunch with re-painting when her dance studio moved into a new space last summer, and had fun with it.

When I brought up the dresser idea, she was quite enthused. We pored over Google Images and DIY furniture painting blogs. I asked for advice from a couple of gals who are quite handy with this sort of thing. I borrowed painting supplies from another friend. We hit Lowe’s and selected our paint. Smooth sailing toward beautifully painted, shabby chic furniture by mother and daughter.

Hold on there. Not so fast, my friends.

Things got off to a rocky start when it was obvious that we both wanted to take control of this project, and that neither of us wanted to give much credence to what the other knew. Certain things were non-negotiable; we were going to sand it down first, then paint the first layer. When Ava came in to ask to help, I wasn’t going to allow Alexis to get too bossy with how much water her little sister was dripping on the ground while wiping down drawers with a damp cloth. Silently, almost begrudgingly, we prepped.

Then, it came time to paint that first coat. Things were going along quite swimmingly. Alexis was working on one side, and I was on the other. I learned quickly that if I suggested using a brush, and not the medium paint roller, Alexis was just going to dig in more with using the roller. I decided to just let her go with that. If there were drips of paint, though, I planned to make her fix the work.

I tried to not get irritated when she’d tell me, “No, Mom, you have to do it like ____,” or bristle when I’d suggest something only to hear, “I KNOW, Mom,” before I even got the words out of my mouth. This is FUN, remember?

As I worked on one side, I called Alexis over to see the difference in painted wood versus the plain, sanded brownish wood. Instantly, she got very upset. “But we were going to color block that!” she exclaimed. I could see she was mad, and that the tears were also welling up in the eyes. I said nope, we discussed a lot of things but never decided anything. This is a collaboration, after all.

“No!” she insisted. “We.said.we.were.going.to.do.color.blocks! I’m going in to eat dinner!” she exclaimed.

No, no, you’re not, I said. We’re going to see this night through, finish the layer. Clean the brushes. Stay the course and every other bad cliché. But we’re not quitting now.

Begrudgingly, she moved back toward the dresser. And then, we resumed painting.

It was quiet – really quiet – in there. She was pissed off, and so was I. We kept going, though. I didn’t want to argue about who said what to who about color blocking, nor did I want to promise we’d do what she wanted. I did say, though, that we’d discuss it later, after the paint dried and we had a chance to let it set, and let our minds become less set. We finished for the night, and there it sat for a week.

Then, yesterday, we got going on it again. Two sandings, two more layers painted, and nary a hint of conflict. The color blocking? Yesterday’s news. There were a few moments, sure, when the “I know, Mom,” came out of her, and I would fight the urge to tell her to listen because I’m not the moron every teenager believes his or her parent to be.

But, mostly, it was a drama-free process. Moment of zen? Not the whole time. But there were moments in there.

For starters, we both agreed that we don’t care for distressing, that technique that makes newer stuff look old and aged. When painting was finished, we selected a bright pink paint that Alexis would use to hand-paint flowers on the dresser. Other than my suggestion that she add a red accent paint (too busy, Alexis said – and a day later, I think she might be right), we were finding agreement more often than not.

The paint is now dry from last night. Alexis is off to Denver with her dad and her siblings for a day or two, and we’re taking a short break from on our work in progress.

This weekend, she’ll get to start the “fun” part of penciling in and painting the flowers, and I’ll be backing off and letting her take charge of that portion of the project. A big part of me doesn’t want to just hand things off to her, but it’s going to be cool to see what she does, and how she resolves issues along the way. (Maybe she’ll even ask for help at some point! But I am not holding my breath on that one.)

While working together on the dresser hasn’t been magical, it’s definitely been pretty cool thus far. It also hasn’t gone at all how I expected. I’m looking forward to the next stage in the project with that in mind. Expect the unexpected, be willing to see her point of view, but also let her hear my voice.

Hopefully, when the dresser is all finished, it’ll be better than how we found it.

The same goes for Alexis and I.

Karah Levely-Rinaldi is a Grand Junction mother of four and an ultramarathon runner. Read her every other week on Fruita Moms.

Posted in Balance, Being happy, Crafts, Kids | Leave a comment

Mary Cornforth Cawood: What I did for a Reuben

Posted on 27 March, 2013 by mcawood

I have given up many things over the past three years all because of gluten. For the most part, I’m OK with it, and I have found many equal substitutes.

There are some things, however, that aren’t replaceable. I came to terms with gluten-free pizza crust (it’s OK but not the same) and sandwich bread (very few decent tasting ones out there).

But for the last three years, I haven’t had a Reuben sandwich. Despite not being a big meat eater, I really like Reubens. So much so that my husband knew I was pregnant with our firstborn when I said I was really craving a Reuben.

A traditional Reuben sandwich is made with rye bread, sauerkraut, Russian dressing, Swiss cheese and corned beef. The biggest obstacle has been the rye bread, as rye contains gluten.

This past year, I came across some gluten-free caraway seed bread that actually tastes good, and has some of the same flavors as rye. I thought to myself, “Yes, a Reuben at last!”  Then, I discovered that finding gluten-free corned beef in the deli case at any of our grocery stores was all but impossible.

So once again I resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be eating a Reuben anytime soon.

Along comes St. Patrick’s Day, with sale fliers advertising corned beef briskets. I know, I know…  Just two weeks ago, I proclaimed my family (including me) does not like corned beef and cabbage (we still don’t). Despite this, a light bulb flickered in my head, “What if I made my own corned beef?”

Fortunately, I didn’t have to go to the lengths of actually “corning” a beef brisket; one of the natural grocery stores was advertising corned beef briskets that were gluten-free.  I procured my meat and proceeded to sell my family on a traditional Irish dinner.

Next, I poured through my recipe books to find the best recipe possible for corned beef and cabbage (if I am going to get them to eat it, it had better be good). Wouldn’t you know, the recipe claiming to be “the best ever” cooked in the slow cooker and called for a bottle of beer. Yep, beer is chock full of gluten.

I refused to be deterred. I did a little online research and came up with a list of gluten-free beers. New Planet got the best reviews and is made right here in Colorado. Fortunately, it is carried here locally.

Brisket – check. Beer – check. I am on my way to a Reuben!

St. Patrick’s Day came, and I have to admit, the family was very open-minded and tried corned beef and cabbage, as well as Irish Soda bread. The chocolate cake I made for dessert probably played some role in that. Nonetheless, I now had my corned beef!

Why didn’t I just make a Reuben then and there? The corned beef (in my opinion) tastes better the next day, after it has rested and cooled.

The next day, I finally had my Reuben, and it was sooo good. Well worth the three-year wait! No, I didn’t torture the kids twice; I made them “Rubys” (turkey, provolone, Russian dressing).

Since I was successful in my mission, I returned to the grocery store and bought two more briskets to put in the freezer. I really don’t want to wait until St. Patrick’s Day rolls around again. And besides, I still have gluten-free beer in the fridge (no, I am not a beer drinker either).

The next time, I will skip the corned beef and cabbage dinner and just cook the meat. I know you think I am crazy (I probably am, but for other reasons), the lengths I went to, all for a Reuben.

And no, I am not pregnant!

Mary Cornforth Cawood is a Fruita mom who is married with two daughters. Read her Tuesdays on Fruita Moms.

Posted in Food | Leave a comment

Sara Todd: Meeting Taylor Swift was a dream come true

Posted on 21 March, 2013 by vdaehn1

My daughter is a Taylor Swift fan.

No, fan’s not a big enough word. My 5 1/2 year old daughter is Taylor Swift’s BIGGEST fan. She loves everything about Taylor and has for years.

When Taylor made a stop in Omaha during her “Speak Now” tour, we went. Callie was just shy of 4 years old. She knew every word to every song of every Taylor Swift CD. She watched her videos on YouTube. She’d mimic Taylor’s moves, claps and expressions. Totally adorable.

When she turned 4, we bought her a pink guitar, along with a microphone stand (she already had the karaoke machine.) She loved strumming her guitar and belting out Taylor Swift songs in the mirror or for any audience she may have had at the time.

The concert was awesome. Taylor really is a great performer. At one point, she walked right by our seats and was giving high fives. Callie reached for one, but Taylor didn’t see her.

She cried.

After the show, Callie wanted so badly to go backstage and say hello to her idol. I had to try to explain celebrity to her for the first time.

She cried.

Last week, Taylor Swift was back in Omaha for her RED Tour. Callie had studied all of the songs. She knew every single one by heart and was still strumming along with her pink guitar, held up by a jump rope, since I haven’t been able to find a kids’ guitar strap. The week of the concert, Callie’s aunt Caity nominated her for a contest to be named Swift’s biggest fan in Omaha. She won! We thought we were lucky then…

The concert night came. Callie’s aunt Lindsay made Callie and her friends floor length, poofy red tutus, and I sewed battery operated LED lights through the skirts so they would light up during the show. We had T-shirts that said “Trouble” on them, which is one of Taylor’s songs. Callie has a pair of “Taylor Swift Glasses,” as she calls them, and she had to wear those, as well. She had her friend Leah with her, all dressed up and ready to roll. Another friend joined us as well. We went out to dinner and everyone in the restaurant just couldn’t believe how cute the girls were.

We finally arrived at the concert, very excited to start what was sure to be a memorable night. We walked in, went upstairs and we were waiting for my sister to get done in the bathroom when it happened. One of Taylor’s “people” came up to us, crouched down on the girls’ level, and asked if we’d like to meet Taylor Swift.

Now, being the awesome (ha! ha!) mom I am, I knew that Taylor Swift had T-Party time at the end of each concert, which means a few lucky fans get the chance to meet Miss Swift. I was holding back my tears. See, we had a long talk before the concert this time, and I explained how Taylor can’t meet everyone because there’s just too many people. And I think she understood.

Out of nearly 14,000 people, only 20 were selected for T-Party. And we were four of those 20. Of course, we said yes, we’d love to meet Taylor Swift. Callie was SO excited.

We walked around trying to find our seats, and the girls’ outfits were a huge hit. Strangers were coming up to us, asking us to take photos with the girls. Callie was on cloud nine. During the concert, she just couldn’t wait for it to be over, so she could meet her idol.

As the last song ended, around 10:30 p.m., Callie’s eyes got bright and energized. I told her it was the last song, and the next thing we’d be doing is meeting Taylor. I was holding back tears, again.

We were put into a group of about 20 people – the rest were all teenagers. We were given a list of rules, and some time to get some food and drink before Taylor would be in. The girls didn’t want to eat. They didn’t want a drink. They didn’t want to do the photo booth. They just wanted to wait to meet Taylor.

When Taylor walked in, there were a lot of screams, tears and clapping. Taylor was so very nice. She worked her way around the room, along with her parents. She hugged each one of the girls. She adjusted Callie’s glasses and told her how much she loved them. She gushed over how cute the girls were in their tutus. She signed something for each of them and we posed for a photo.

Callie was stunned to near silence. She told Taylor how she loves to play guitar and sing her songs. Taylor’s dad came over and gave Callie a bunch of Taylor Swift guitar picks. Her mom came over and hugged the girls and chatted with them. The band members, dancers and opening acts all came over as well.

It was such a magical experience. And I hope Callie remembers it for the rest of her life… I know I will.

Sara Todd is an Omaha mom who is married with two children and another on the way. She blogs for FruitaMoms.com.

Posted in Blogs, Celebrities | 2 Comments

Mary Cornforth Cawood: Traveling with food allergies

Posted on 19 March, 2013 by mcawood

This upcoming spring break will be our first traveling with both girls not being able to eat gluten. While I have become a seasoned veteran at traveling with dietary restrictions, I realize that the girls are a little less willing to deal with limited choices than I am.

I have certainly had to think about what we will be doing and how to keep everyone happy because upset stomachs on vacation are the last thing we need!

What is on the agenda? A day trip to Arches National Park. We can pack a picnic lunch and plenty of snacks while we take in the scenery and get some exercise hiking around.

Next up… a couple of nights in Denver. I did my research ahead of time and selected a hotel with a microwave and fridge, as well as being located near restaurants with kid-friendly gluten-free menus.

And if we can squeeze it in…one more day trip to a living farm and restaurant in Paonia.  I read about the farm this past holiday season, but we never got the chance to visit. The girls will love visiting the farm, and springtime is always the best for seeing baby animals! The restaurant serves from farm to table, and their menu advertises many gluten- and dairy-free options for breakfast and lunch.

Having food allergies is no reason to be home bound! I remember when I was first diagnosed, I thought I would never travel again, but through trial and error, I have learned how to make the most of vacation time.

1) Choose your hotel carefully. Once you know where you are going, look for accommodations that will allow you to store food because it is unlikely you will be able to eat anything at the complimentary breakfasts. Hotels/condos with kitchenettes or even fridges and microwaves will allow you to bring milk, yogurt, cereal, fruit and snacks so there is always something you are able to eat. Even if the hotel doesn’t list fridges in their amenities, chances are you can request one. Many hotels keep “medical” fridges on hand so that guests can refrigerate medicine in their rooms.

2) Plan ahead. Scope out restaurants ahead of time. That way, you know exactly what your options are. There is nothing worse than searching for a place to eat when everyone is starving! I have found a couple helpful smart phone apps that allow me to search for restaurants with gluten-free menus based on my location. One even lists menus of popular chain restaurants, and another allows me to scan bar-codes on products at the grocery store!

3) Pack plenty of snacks. Don’t count on gas stations, fast-food restaurants or the snack bar at the zoo or museum having food you can eat. Make sure you leave for your daily outings with plenty of snacks that can see your family through to the next meal. There is nothing worse than stopping what you are doing to search for food. I always make sure to have water bottles, fresh fruit, granola/energy bars, and if possible, a little cooler with yogurt or cheese.

4) Invest in an electric cooler. If you plan on traveling a lot, this is a must. Our full-size cooler can either plug into the a/c adapter in the car or into a standard outlet in a hotel room. This is great for those times when you have a long drive or can’t find accommodations with fridges. It is also handy in the summer because we always have cold beverages readily available!

5) Have fun! Don’t let food allergies stop you from adventuring! Do your research, plan ahead and you will soon discover that many hotels, restaurants and attractions are happy to make accommodations for you and your family.

Mary Cornforth Cawood is a Fruita mom who is married with two daughters. Read her Tuesdays on Fruita Moms.

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Judy Purser: The oddest relationship in the world

Posted on 14 March, 2013 by vdaehn1

I have a confession to make: My daughters-in-law and I are WEIRD.

There are four of us: me, the dreaded MOTHER-IN-LAW (cue the screeching violins from “Psycho”), and my three near-perfect daughters of the in-law persuasion.

And here’s another confession I am confident would have their approval: We not only love each other, we actually LIKE each other! Is that scary or WHAT?

And REALLY weird.

I know, I know, you are saying “Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

So perhaps I should go back in time a bit to set up this “impossible dream.”

Three sons were born to me in the latter 60s and early 70s. And much to my dismay not a one of them wanted to dress up like a girl! So I just braved motherhood with the strength and determination it takes any mom to raise multiple male children. Having grown up with two older brothers (no sisters), it wasn’t that big of a stretch, but I admit to secretly being a bit envious of my friends who could shop for those cute little frilly things their daughters wore.

Side note: There used to be a really wonderful children’s clothing store back then (about where “Big Lots” is now). I’ll never forget when I walked in the first time to buy some “church” clothes for my boys. Rack after rack of the cutest girl clothes I had ever seen greeted my eager eyes. But when I revealed my need for boys’ items, the clerk’s eyes took on a steely glare as she pointed her boney hand back, back, back, back into the darkest fog-enshrouded recesses of the room.  And there it was. THE…BOYS’…LONE…RACK… (screeching violins…again).

OK, so I’m prone to exaggeration.

Anyway, fast forward to the teenage years when young ladies began to be invited into our home and into my sons’ hearts. Eeeeeek!

As I watched the interaction between my boys and their girlfriends, I wondered if it would be difficult for me to allow any of them to be turned over to “another woman.” I mean, I had been their one and only for so long, hadn’t I…and what if (gasp) one of these girls actually BROKE THEIR HEARTS? (Violins? Oh, yeah…AND…oh dear).

Time went by and one after the other, youngest to oldest, my sons took their wives ‘til death do they part, I hoped. So, the “other women” had, in fact, taken my place as primary female in my sons’ lives. OK. Buck up, mom.

The tale takes an interesting turn here. I mean, can you just imagine my shock when the realization came that I really LIKED these girls? REALLY, REALLY, REALLY LIKED THEM? How is any self-respecting mother-in-law supposed to process THAT information??

The truth is, the first one was easy because, you see, I actually told my young son of about 14 that he was going to marry a young lady we saw at a newly attended church. I didn’t even know her name. But, somehow, I just KNEW. (And, no, my pants are not on fire!)

The second son’s bride, I hardly knew at all… so naturally, there was NO WAY she was going to be OK, was there?

The third young woman to enter our family did so by increments, and because her main focus in life, besides my son, was the world of art, I found a great commonality with her, so she sort of got a pass.

But, you know, how good could they be? All of them? Let’s get real here. So it was a wait-and-see deal.

And we DID.

Back to the future:

Sure enough son #3 became “interested” in the foretold lovely lady, as his mother had predicted. (Give me a call. For the right price I will “predict” your son’s bride, too.  On second thought: Nevermind, you might try to sue me later!) Jeannine was smart and fun, respectful, with a clear gift of discernment that can detect inauthentic behavior down to a single word. And she is not bashful about zapping the perpetrator. Zzzzzap!

And she adored our son.

Eventually, after several years of friendship, then courtship, they made it official. I had plenty of time to get to love this girl, and she was everything I had hoped for this particular son.

Daughter #2 presented us with our first grandchild, but before that dear little girl began to invade my heart, her mother already had and, wonder of wonders, this daughter-in-law, whom I didn’t even know before she married my son, turned out to be one of the best wives and moms EVER! Intelligent, with a sweet nurturing nature, an ever-present smile, Maria, with the blue eyes that just say “all’s right with the world,” was the PERFECT wife for son #2. She was IN!

Son #3, the oldest, never one to get in a hurry, always had (has) multiples of friends, and had gone through a couple of major long-term relationships already. They were not at all bad, but there were aspects of those girls’ personalities that just didn’t fit hand in glove, as I would have liked (either my son’s “glove”…or mine!), so I, like any potential mother-in-law, couldn’t be blamed for feeling a bit of nervousness about any future attachment, could I?

But, then, along came the artiste, the painter, pianist/singer/songwriter, the one with the hilariously speedy “returns” to whatever talk could be turned from serious to pun-ish, and the one with the creative mind that is always set on Clever and Original. OK, Ami, you’ve got this mom’s stamp of approval, too!  (And, like the mythical glass slipper, she had the perfectly matching “glove”!) A beautiful wedding in an old church in Eckert sealed that deal.

Since then, the time has flown and grandbabies have been added to my “quiver,” if grandmas are allowed to claim such a thing. But in the intervening years, there has been an extraordinary “something” that has developed between my daughters-in-law and me.

I don’t even remember exactly how it all began, these times when we all just decided we HAD to have some “away” time with each other. In time, we began to speak of ourselves as a support group, with a humorous title to match.  All we knew was we really enjoyed our times together.  No, we needed our times together!  To laugh.  To talk.  To play games.  To talk.  To cook and to eat what we cooked.  To watch movies.  To talk.  To raid Goodwill and to go to art shows.  To talk.  To share in Bible Studies.  To retreat to a local hotel for the night, or a borrowed cabin on Grand Mesa.  Most of all, to talk.  To encourage each other.  To offer “new-mom” advice.  To pray for each other.  Maybe, even, to wipe away a tear or two.

Along the way, we have had a few unexpected “adventures,” which included a car break-in, and detective work the next day to retrieve a snatched purse…a fall that nearly broke a leg…and a strange call in the wee hours of one of our sleepovers.  But it has all been WONDERFUL and so unique that most people (including my own mother until she viewed it up close and personal) have simply found it difficult to comprehend, much less believe.

But IT IS TRUE.

The “liking” aspect has allowed us to be true friends/sisters/mothers/wives/and daughters in all the complex and extraordinary ways females can relate.  The “loving” has gifted us with an inseparable bond that has carried us through the most difficult of times.

We, and many others, have often struggled to understand how such a unique relationship could ever come to be.

There are several reasons that come to my mind right away:

(1) If I had birthed a daughter, this scenario would not have been possible. As it is, I have no pre-conceived notions about what having a daughter means, insofar as the inevitable adult vs. child dynamic as it might have been had I raised a daughter of my own.

(2) The mothers of these “borrowed” daughters were all wonderful moms to their own girls, made obvious by the excellent moms they, themselves, have become.

3) My daughters-in-law are each even-tempered with no “dramatists” in the group.

(4) There is NO opposition from any of the husbands. (And the grandchildren just accept it as though all moms take off, periodically, for a weekend with their mothers-in-law!)

(5) I have been fortunate to have formed genuine friendships with each of the “real” moms and have never…repeat…NEVER…sensed anything approaching jealousy from any of them.  To the contrary, I have received nothing but love, support and even gratitude. No surprise. These are classy ladies. And my love for, respect for, and thanksgiving to each of them is everlasting.

So there you have it: the recipe for THE ODDEST RELATIONSHIP IN THE WORLD!

I do admit to a bit of blatant conceit in wondering if my sons may have “seen something” of their mom in each of these chosen life-partners, these wonderful women who have so enriched my own life.  That could certainly lend a positive contribution to our abilities to so thoroughly enjoy each other’s company.  But what of the very real sisterly love they have for each other?  Isn’t there ALWAYS an “odd-man-out” in most family in-law dynamics?  Well, not in this one.

But, I tell myself, I dare not over-think this wonderful mix of feminine personalities.  I don’t want to break the spell, do I? Absolutely not!

So is it a “spell”?  I don’t think so.  No, I think that, for whatever reason, it is a sheer gift of Grace that has only one Source. And only the Source knows why.

This I do know:  It is a Bless-ed thing.  It is a Holy thing.

I work very hard to not dishonor this gift. And to always…ALWAYS…be thankful for it.

And to my daughters-in-law I would say:  Jeannine, Maria, Ami, I love you immeasurably.  I gladly give you, each one, a piece of my heart, for now and for all time.

(Toss those screechy violins).

Judy Purser is mom to three grown sons, the inheritor of three amazing daughters-in-law and grandmama to seven more-than-amazing grandchildren. She graduated from Grand Junction High School, Mesa Jr. College and the University of Colorado-Boulder.

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Carolyn Fallon: Spring into better health

Posted on 13 March, 2013 by vdaehn1

You may not be aware that March is National Nutrition Month.

To be honest, this fact escaped my knowledge until recently, when my 13-year-old cousin was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. This motivated me to do some research on how better eating and exercising habits could ward off diabetes for the rest of my family.

Every January, my gym swells with new members determined to keep their New Year’s resolutions. I even see some old faces that I haven’t seen for roughly a year, returning to presumably join the resolution craze. The fight to secure a parking space doesn’t bother me because I know that come March, I’ll be able to park right by the front door.

All joking aside, the nation’s growing obesity epidemic has nothing to do with age, gender or race.

Determined to join the battle against Type 2 Diabetes, here are some great nutrition and fitness tips that I am using with my family this spring.

Nutrition Boosters:

1. Eat your veggies!

Vegetables are loaded with essential vitamins and minerals while containing miniscule amounts of carbohydrates and sugars. Salads and smoothies are a great way to sneak in some greens.

2. Kick the can!

Sodas are loaded with calories, sugar and chemicals. Don’t be fooled into thinking diet sodas are better with their artificial sweeteners and toxic chemicals.

3. Eat more (lean) meat!

Protein is essential to developing lean muscle mass, which burns far more calories than fat mass. Protein can be found in sources such as fish, lean meats, poultry, nuts and dairy products.

4. Satisfy your sweet tooth!

Yes, you read that right! Reach for fruit when you are craving sweets. The natural sugars won’t spike your insulin levels and you also get more vitamins while satisfying that craving for something sweet and tasty.

Try this recipe for a great smoothie:

Sunrise Smoothie

1 cup almond milk or plain yogurt
½ cup berries
1 orange
¼ cup frozen vegetables, such as spinach or kale

Blend all ingredients into desired texture and consistency. Enjoy!

Fitness Boosters:

1. Make fitness fun!

Find ways to stay active with your family. Walks and bike rides are great opportunities to get outdoors and play together.

2. Start lifting!

Muscle is leaner than fat and also burns far more calories. Aim to get in 2 – 3 strength training sessions per week. Even the youngest members of your family can begin resistance training through safe exercises, such as lifting household items and using resistance bands.

3. Utilize commercial breaks!

Instead of tolerating commercials, use that time to do some jumping jacks, lunges or even yoga. Doctors from Syracuse’s Orthopedic Center describe how yoga, an activity that can be tailored to each person’s level and time-frame, increases bone health, joint health, posture, balance, flexibility and even stress and emotional health!

4. Get Your Groove On!

Turn up the tunes and dance with your kids. You’ll blast away calories and not even know you’re exercising.

Carolyn Fallon is a 20-something-year-old guest blogger with a passion for life, fitness and overall well-being. She is an avid cycler, golfer and has been known to bust some serious moves on the dance floor. Check out Carolyn’s blog here.

 

Posted in Fitness, Food, Health | Leave a comment