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July, 2012

  1. Sugar, Sugar

    July 31, 2012 by admin

    Recently, our family decided to cut out most of our consumption of processed white table sugar.  We did some research on the best substitute for white sugar and settled on honey.

    We didn’t face a big challenge for the majority of our store purchases because we don’t buy a lot of sweet foods.  We shun processed peanut butter, flavored oatmeal, and other products that hide inordinate amounts of sugar.  And soda is never purchased for our home.

    We aren’t perfect.  We allow our kids the treat of chocolate, or some other sugar laden snacks, from time to time.  And we struggle with replacing white sugar in recipes when baking.  We keep a small bag of white sugar tucked away for the recipes we haven’t perfected creating with honey.  But we are confident that we’ll eventually achieve our goal of ridding our home of white sugar.

    For our family, the important part of this decision is to radically reduce our consumption of processed white table sugar and eventually bid its presence in our home a permanent good riddance.  It has been an amazingly simple adjustment thus far.  We encourage you to give it a try!

     

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  2. How to Turn Your Kids Into Great Travelers: Food

    July 30, 2012 by admin

    Any adventure that takes us more than ½ hour away from home requires thought given to snack options.  Our kids are certified grazers.  Even though we sit down for 3 meals a day, our kiddoes seem to be constantly snacking.  The cost of purchasing food while on the road from convenience stores or fast food restaurants can easily add up.  And the quality of options just can’t compete with your home supplies.

    We try to limit liquid intake when on a longer journey as the often exclaimed. ”I need to potty!” can get tiresome.  But we always bring along our watered down juice and recyclable cups for a supervised thirst quench.  When we know we want to stop in a half hour or so, we hand out the juice to all takers.

    We typically follow one of 3 paths for food that are dependent on the length of our journey.  Path 1 consists of a handful of quick and easy snack foods:  curried cashews, pretzels, bananas, or some sliced cheese.  These items get thrown into a lunch sized tote with 2 small containers to hold the snacks and ease the passing of it to the kids.  Path 2 requires a small cooler.  We’ll throw in our little cutting board and a sharp knife.  Then kiwi, apples, pb&j sandwiches, cheese, carrots, etc., can get packed up.  Again, we bring along small containers for the food and a bag for trash.  Path 3 involves a trip that requires a full meal.

    Tip:   Hand-wipes.  Nothing makes snacking on the road more pleasant for our family than being able to wipe off sticky hands and faces without a full-on bathroom stop.  We keep a pack of baby-wipes in the car for this purpose.  The lid snaps shut keeping them moist.  They tuck out of the way when you don’t need them.  (But you have to bring them in during the winter— ice-cold wipes aren’t a fave with anyone in our family!)

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  3. It’s okay to play Dirty!

    July 29, 2012 by admin

    Don’t afraid to explore in the dirt!  There are so many benefits, both physical and mental, to be had from this simple activity.  Here are some of our recommendations for enjoying dirt:

    Gardening:  Our Plum has tended her own tomato plants from seedlings to fruit.  When she recently discovered her first ripe tomato, she could hardly contain her excitement!  Not only has she learned the science of caring for a plant, but she has provided food for the family table.  

    Digging:  Our Bluey has a little patch of ground that he digs in enthusiastically.  He plants yard sticks, digs holes, or just smashes the dirt around with his feet.   It is his patch of dirt and he loves it.

    Mud:  Both kids thoroughly enjoy mud.  It is squishy, cool, and moldable!  Plum creates bowls that she bakes in the sun and then paints.  Bluey creates houses and towers.  Both activities allow for wonderful lessons about history and encourage research.  Do people still create their homes and dishes from these materials?

    Allow your kids to get messy.  You are encouraging creativity, physical activity, and boosting their immune system!  And we’d highly recommend that you throw out all those horrid antibacterial products.  There are few messes they will make that simple soap and water can’t clean up.

    Category Get Outside! | Tags: ,,, | 1 Comment

  4. Recombination Boosts Creativity

    July 28, 2012 by admin

    Our Bluey recently inherited his sister’s 12” Barbie-scaled house.  His first idea was that this would be the home for his 1” tall Garfield figure.  Garfield became a policeman who drives a car designed for a Zhu-zhu pet.  His neighbor is a Beanie-baby dinosaur.

    Sounds normal enough, right?

    Rather than swing in, and try to steer him towards using the toys as they were ‘meant to be used,’ we let him explore and create his own pathways of play.  There is nothing more amazing (or amusing) then witnessing a child’s imagination explode.

    We try not to get locked into the idea that there are certain times of day for your child to ‘be creative.” Creative play is important for your child’s brain development and social skills.  Creativity is always permitted and encouraged whether during a home school lesson or at a specific arts&crafts activity.

    And we definitely don’t steer our kids away from toys that aren’t marketed specifically to their gender.  If Bluey wants a Barbie, great!  If Plum wants a matchbox, excellent!  If you allow your child the freedom to safely explore you are supporting their creativity.

    So when your kid wants to play baseball with a Frisbee, or have Barbie drive a matchbox, don’t interrupt, just let the play go on!

    Category Parenting | Tags: ,, | 1 Comment

  5. A Capitol Idea

    July 27, 2012 by admin

    Explore the Capitol building at Madison and learn about art, architecture, and politics all at the same time.

    We are fortunate to have free access to our State building.  We’ve been there many times to climb the stairs, check out all the artwork, and examine the historic artifacts.  It is a great way to burn off energy!  You can challenge your family to climb the stairs all the way up to the observation deck.  And then you can take the elevator all the way down.

    Tip1: You’ll find several parking ramps located on the ‘outer loop’ (Webster, Doty, Fairchild and Dayton Streets).  These lots are reasonably priced and usually have plenty of spaces available.  Parking is extremely limited on the ‘Capitol Square.’

    The Capitol has tours available, but we usually prefer to just wander and explore on our own.  This allows us to tailor conversations about the role of the governor, State representatives, courts and citizens to the age and understanding of our kids.

    Tip2: The Capitol Square is mostly deserted on Sundays but the Capitol is open.  Go then to avoid all the crowds.

    It’s a lot of fun!  There are plenty of public restrooms within the Capitol and places to eat surrounding the Capitol.  And the Capitol is warm in the winter and cool in the summer; so it’s a great destination when the weather won’t allow outdoor activities.

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  6. Ride Your Bike: City of Madison Bike Paths

    July 26, 2012 by admin

    There is an extensive network of bike paths all through the city of Madison.  They require no trail pass and they get you easily and safely where you need to be.  Skip the parking hassles and take advantage of a bike path on your next trip around town.

    A small selection of cool places you can easily access via bike path:

    Olbrich Park: Take a leisurely tour of the gardens.

    Law Park: Watch the Mad-City Ski Team practice or put on a show.

    Tenney Park: See locks in action!

    UW Geology Museum: Dinosaurs! RAHR!!

    Monona Terrace: Take the bike elevator to the Capitol Square.

    Picnic Point: Woodsy Fun on the UW Campus

    Vilas Park and Zoo: Lions and Tigers and Bears!

    Olin Park: The path along John Nolen Drive is a great outing.

    Keep your eye out for all the treasures along the way:  community gardens, café’s that welcome bikers with the lure of free water, urban sculptures,wild animals and more!  And remember that walkers and families utilize the pathways as well so stay alert! (And stay to the right!)

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  7. Learn And Play: Discovery Center, Rockford, Illinois

    July 25, 2012 by admin

    We love the Discovery Center!  We can’t say enough good things about this hands-on science museum!  It contains 2 floors of interactive exhibits that will appeal to your entire family.  And there is an expansive play ground with a water feature on the rear of the property.

    Your kids will have so much fun with the ingenious displays that they won’t realize they’re learning as they play!  Our favorites include the working crane, the giant pinscreen, and the stairs you can climb through to move from floor to floor.  We have never felt overwhelmed by crowds at this museum no matter the number of visitors on that day (but we always arrive early!)  One of the best things about this place is the staff.  Each floor has employees walking around with disinfectant spray and towels.  Exhibits are constantly cleaned throughout the day.  And the staff reorganizes areas so that the next eager visitor doesn’t have to search around for bits and pieces or break something down to try it from scratch.

    Tip1:  Bring a change of clothes in case your child gets drenched while exploring the hands-on water displays that are located inside and outside!

    Admission to the museum is free if you are an ASTC member.  There is plentiful parking in their lot which is also free of charge (currently under construction so check website for alternate parking ideas).  Coat racks and lockers are available.  And there are child friendly restrooms (including a small, quiet, family room) on the 2nd floor.  There is no café but there are tables inside and out to enjoy a home snack or picnic basket lunch.  The museum has a small but reasonably priced gift shop.

    Tip2:  The playground is incredibly buggy.  (It faces the Rock River.)  There are spiders and wasps, etc.  We’ve never had an incident with these insects but it is a bit unpleasant to play in their company.

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  8. Get On Your Bike and Ride!

    July 24, 2012 by admin

    It is incredibly important to us that our family stays physically active.  We’ve all seen the news on obesity issues in the USA.  And we know that physical education and recess are being dramatically reduced or eliminated in our public schools.

    We are fortunate to live in one of the most bike friendly States.  Wisconsin has far reaching bike paths that make commuting and general recreational bike rides quite pleasant and easy.  The USA is far behind the bike loving country of Denmark (http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2012/07/23/who-needs-bike-trails-denmark-has-a-bicycle-superhighway/) but perhaps we’ll get there one day!

    Our family begins every day with a walk/trike to our local Jenny Street Market.  When school is in session, our daughter walks the .7 miles to her elementary school and back home again.  When this school trip expands to 1.3 miles in middle school, the walk or bike mode of transportation will continue.  There isn’t much that interferes with these daily activities.  Despite the occasional protest from our kids, they actually enjoy these physical excursions.  There is so much to see and discover as you walk about a neighborhood.

    The benefit beyond the exercise that is often overlooked- time to connect as a family.  Some of our best family conversations occur on these outings!

     

    Category Get Outside!, Rambler Ramblings | Tags: ,,, | 1 Comment

  9. Roll With It

    July 23, 2012 by admin

    Nothing will raise the spirits of your family and friends like the smell of fresh bread!  Bread cooking, bread rising—it’s a good thing.

    It’s way easier than you think.  People have been making bread for thousands of years and you can too!

    But even though it is easy to make- it is also easy to mess up.  We haven’t gone to culinary school.  We haven’t taken classes in baking.  We’ve learned to make bread through trial and error.  And we mean Error!  We can’t count the number of failed loaves, messed up breadsticks, and useless piecrusts we have created through the years.

    But Grandma didn’t spring from her crib able to make those awesome cookies either!  She made many mistakes— possibly that’s why her dog was so fat.

    Tip1:  Patience and practice.

    It can be frustrating to spend energy and time in the kitchen only to have your end result inedible.  At times like this, we fall back on our mantra: It’s not the end of the world.  Switch gears, change up the menu, and no one will know that your bread didn’t make it.  Try to figure out what went wrong later.  Right now, try to refocus and relax.

    Tip2: Save those failed bits of bread for duck feeding, scatter them for your backyard friends, or compost it!

    Don’t give up.  Eventually, we found our rhythm.  You will too.  Once you get your rhythm down, and have a few ‘go to’ recipes that usually work for you, you’ll find yourself cranking out bread and impressing your family and friends.

    Our most common error: leaving out an ingredient.  We get distracted by Life and zip along believing that we’re following our recipe, only to find out that our bread has failed.

    Life goes on!  We try to roll with it and improvise.

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  10. Bit by Bit

    July 22, 2012 by admin

    Frequently, we see in our lives that we need a change.   And sometimes change is hard.  Damn hard.  You’re not AT the Destination, you are GOING to the Destination.  It takes time to get there.

    We find that the abrupt change frequently advocated by those offering up a solution to life’s challenges actually just sets people up for failure.  And all these little failures add up to the commonly held belief that change is hard.

    These feelings make us want to give up.  So we don’t advocate abrupt, complete change.

    Instead, we believe that except for cases of health and safety, it usually works best to welcome change in increments.  We can take steps towards improvement and we allow for the minor but inevitable slip-ups here and there.  Life isn’t about living in perfection.  We want things to be as good as we can make them while knowing that they’ll never be perfect.  And that is okay.

    Category Rambler Ramblings | Tags: , | Comments Off on Bit by Bit

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