S.S. Mommy

Television Alternatives

July 24, 2008

The further we get into July the hotter it seems to get outside. My kids are not interested in playing out in the heat any longer and I don’t like the idea of them vegging out in front of the tv all day either. In fact I have removed the cable package and we now just get the local channels; that doesn’t stop the kids from trying to pop in a movie to keep them from being bored in this heat. Of course I can understand how they feel and don’t want to make them go outside either. I’ve let my kids know that movie time is limited and that the can start spending more time reading.

As you know from some previous posts our library has a summer reading program that they have been participating in; the program has actually now ended but I’ve started an incentive program of my own with them. They each have a set minimum amount of time which they are required to read each day after 15 days everyone who has met their minimum gets their choice of treat at the ice cream stand.

As temperatures soar during the summer, many people prefer to remain indoors in the cool air conditioning. Unfortunately, that means children and teens will be spending more time in front of a screen and less time using their minds. Encourage your children to plan for summertime reading to keep their minds sharp.

We continue to make a weekly trip to our library every Monday and since my daughter reads faster than everyone else she has the privilege of walking to the library on her own on Thursday to pick out more books. Buddy has difficulty reading and even though he is entering 7th grade in the fall he only reads at a 2nd grade reading level. One of things I did before I started taking the kids to the library this summer was to find out what sort of books he likes to read; once we went to the library I started looking up books with topics about the things he likes to read and made sure they were at his reading level. I also allow him to check out books that are below his reading level as a sort of incentive to read the books that he able to read.

Another incentive that my kids enjoy is that they are allowed to pick out 1 comic book to read each week. This is a good way to motivate a reluctant reader because the text is large, the sentences are short, and the full story isn’t very long. Since the pictures help tell the story they feel they are better able to read and understand the story.

Another thing we do is have a set time for reading every night. First of all we all sit and read to ourselves for a little bit and then I have one book that I read aloud to everyone. Lastly I have another book at everyone’s reading level that I have them read a couple pages from each night as well. They truly enjoy this reading time together and it really promotes my goal of family togetherness as well.

Posted in: Tips for Single Moms | 1 Comment »

Citrus Sirloins on the Grill with Italian Pasta Salad

July 22, 2008

Summer time means gillin’ time for many people. For me any time is grillin’ time — stop by on Christmas Eve and you’ll find me cooking steaks on the grill as has been my tradition for the past several years. Here’s a recipe I tried over the weekend and it tasted delicious. I thought you might like it as well.

Citrus Sirloins

Ingredients:
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons steak seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 1 1/2 lb sirloin steaks, trimmed

Instructions:
Place the orange juice, lime juice and vegetable oil in a large zippered bag. In a small bowl combine the steak seasoning, oregano and cumin.

Rub seasoning mixture on both side of the steak and add any remaining seasoning to the juice mixture in the bag. Place the steaks in the bag and seal. Refrigerate 1 hour. Be sure to turn the bag a few times to marinade all sides of the steaks well.
Remove the steaks and discard the marinade. Heat grill to medium high. Grill steaks 6-8 minutes on each side or until desired doneness is reached. Can be served with some grilled lemon, lime or oranges slices as a garnish.

Here’s a great pasta salad that would accompany the steaks well:

Italian Summer Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

6-8 fresh plum tomatoes
¼ cup olive oil
3-4 cloves fresh chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup fresh chopped basil
1 lb. bow tie pasta
½ cup fresh chopped flat leaf parsley
¼ cup grated Romano cheese

Cook pasta as directed on the package. When it’s al dente, remove the pasta and drain. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the cheese and mix well. Add the pasta to the tomato mixture. Finish the dish by grating Romano cheese directly over the mixture.

If you happen to have someone special to share the meal you can add wine or your favorite beverage and some candles.

Posted in: Delicious Recipes | No Comments »

First Aid Tips for Single Moms

July 22, 2008

For a single mom — well any parent for that matter — having a properly stocked first aid kit is extremely important. I’ve found that having a few essentials on hand can make a difference when you’re faced with an emergency situation and can help you to stay calmer than if you had to run around searching for stuff.

Phone numbers - these should be programmed on your phone, posted on the fridge, or put in some convenient place that you can remember and readily access

ice packs - I have a couple that I picked up that work great as hot or cold packs. I keep them in the freezer all the time; if I need to warm them up it’s quick and easy to pop in the microwave.

thermometer

Vaseline - to use with rectal thermometer

pain reliever - ibuprofen or acetaminophen

measuring syringe - you might prefer to use a spoon or dropper whichever will work best for your child

elastic and adhesive bandages

tape and gauze

small scissors

alcohol pads

tweezers

pocket flashlight

A few other things you might want to add to your first aid kit would be:

calamine lotion
hydrocortisone ointment
Benadryl
antibiotic ointment
epinephrine
and of course some wire cutters.

Wire cutters? Well take a look and you’ll see why I think a decent pair of wire cutters should be included in your first aid kit.

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Crushing Cans

July 20, 2008

We’ve all read the comic sections of our newspapers, and watched Saturday morning cartoons. Sometimes as adults these forms of entertainment wear off and we need to look to other amusing things to give us a really good laugh.

A friend of mine posted this video on his MySpace page; he says that he’s a huge Red Green fan. I don’t know who he is but for me this video is just downright hilarious but what makes it even funnier for me is that I KNOW this guy!

Dad teaches Kids how to crush soda cans

Posted in: Just for Fun | No Comments »

Slumber Parties

July 18, 2008

Within a week after school let out for the summer Sissy and Buddy started asking me to sleep over at their friend’s houses. It wasn’t too long before these requests started getting out of hand and I was simply turning them down because I hadn’t planned ahead for this and I didn’t want to figure out some ground rules on a spur of the moment basis. Of course turning down their every request for a sleep over didn’t stop them and I finally had to buckle down and put some structure in place just so I could have some peace about this matter.

 

With school out for the summer I can understand that the kids just want to keep in touch with their friends and for them this seems to be the perfect opportunity to have some fun together. For me it seems like a lot of work and time even if they are going to someone else’s house. Since the two kids were asking to sleep over at their friend’s house as well as to host a sleepover I decided that I needed rules that fit both circumstances.

 

Here are some of the things I considered in regards to sleep over’s both at my house and at their friend’s house:

 

One Specific Day

I chose one night in which they would be allowed to host or attend a sleep over – for me, Friday night works best; this applies to a sleep over here or at another person’s house. I’ve only had to be flexible and make a change once.

 

Limited Number

My house - Since I’m only one person and I already have 4 kids living in this house I decided that only 2 guests could sleep over at a time and only one child was allowed to have guests over at a time.  

 

Someone else’s house - I also like to know how many children will be sleeping over when my child is away from home. I wouldn’t feel too comfortable if my daughter was going to a slumber party where there was only one adult and five or more kids. It becomes difficult to attend to all their needs and keep track of what’s happening with everyone.

 

Co-Ed?

My house - I will not allow boy friends of my daughter or girl friends of my son to spend the night; to me this is just asking for trouble. I also make sure the other parent’s are aware that I have children of the opposite sex living in my home and what ages so that they are aware of who their child will be around. When my daughter had two of her friends spend the night Buddy was not allowed upstairs while the girls were upstairs. Since he is 13 this eliminated any problems that might result from that situation.

 

Their house - I will also not allow my children to attend a sleep over at a friend’s house that would be a co-ed party. I make sure I know what other children live in their house as well as their ages.

 

Bedtime Curfew

My house - I’m a night owl and like to work on various projects, message boards, and other stuff in the evenings so I decided that the kids could stay up as late as midnight. I tend to go to bed around 1 am or so in the summer so this gave them time to get settled in and hopefully asleep by the time I was ready to go to bed.

 

Their house - I do not set any limitations for my kids on this matter when they are sleeping at someone’s house.

 

Wake up Call

My house - You also might want to decide what time they have to be up by in the morning; for me I just prefer to let them sleep as late as they wish. I just informed my son or daughter that if they woke up before me to come in and wake me up. My kids are pretty much fine by themselves if I sleep in a bit later than them but it’s not a good idea when you have other children in the house.

 

Their house - This is another area that I don’t choose to set any limitations; I know both my kids come home from their friend’s houses so tired and wiped out that they usually go straight to bed and sleep pretty much the entire day.

 

Adult Supervision

My house - With many children living in single parent homes today another consideration is having a parent or adult of the same sex as the child/children sleeping over. My children’s friends and parents are aware that I am a single mom and that any girls sleeping over will not be around any male adults and any boys sleeping over will have me to answer to for the evening.

 

Their house - My daughter has one friend who spends every other weekend with her dad; the weekends she is with her dad are the weekends my daughter is home with me so they are the only times that she could spend the night with her. I am comfortable with my daughter spending the night with them. This is something you will want to take into consideration when allowing your child to spend the night at the home of a single parent and make sure you are comfortable with this situation.

 

Special Instructions

My house - Find out from the other parent about any special instructions or rules they might have for their child as well as any medication they need to take or are allowed to take. Other parents may not allow their child to play certain video games, watch some movies, or listen to different types of music. They may also want their child in bed and up by a certain time as well. It is also important to know what types of medication their child takes or is allowed to take. My daughter had a friend sleep over who came to me at 11:30 pm and said she had an upset tummy and wanted some Tums. I told her I couldn’t give them to her without her parent’s permission; she wasn’t to happy with that answer and told me her dad was sleeping. I told her I was sorry but that I could not give her anything without his okay; she did finally give him a call and ask him and he verified to me that she could have them. You don’t want to take any chances with the health of someone else’s child when you don’t know their special circumstances.

 

Their house - My daughter takes allergy medication in the summer and I make sure she takes this along with her and that the other parents know that she takes this and why; I also let them know that if she misses a dose she’s not going suffer any adverse reactions that they’ll have to handle.

 

Summer months seem like the perfect opportunity for your children to spend more time with their friends. When your child starts asking that inevitable question you may get visions of staying up late (maybe even all night long if you could stay awake that long), eating popcorn and other junk food, watching movies or just talking and giggling the night away from when you were a kid. Are you ready to deal with all that “fun” while you host a sleep over for your kid? By setting up some ground rules you can be the “cool” parent who’s willing to host a sleep over and even get a chance to get to know your children’s friends.

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