This weekend’s weather forecast is sounding more ominous every minute! The threat of hurricane Irene, due to arrive to the Philadelphia, Bucks County, Montgomery County and New Jersey regions Sunday morning, means lots of cancellations and evacuations. While everyone hopes that this storm is being hyped more serious than it really will be, it is so important to be safer than sorry. I can’t help but think of those tragic news stories that followed hurricane Katrina, when people were not as prepared as they could have been. There are many resources online that provide helpful information on how to prepare for a storm. Here are a few resources for Mama’s Little Helper readers:
If your area has not been evacuated, there are a few things you can do to help your family shelter at home during and after the storm, when power outages are possible. While this list is not inclusive, here are a few tips I learned about from reading various places online to help deal with this storm:
Have a good supply of drinking water on hand. Approximately one gallon per person for at least three days, up to seven.
Set your refrigerators and freezers to the coldest setting in case of a power failure.
Freeze extra ice packs or even bottles of water to use to help keep your freezer contents cold in case of a power outage.
Be sure to have a good supply of any prescriptions you need on hand.
Have some extra cash on hand. If there is a power failure in the area, ATMs will not work.
Fill your gas tanks of your car and generator if you have one.
Keep non perishable foods on hand, such as peanut butter and jelly, bread, snack bars, fruit, and your kids’ favorite snacks!
If there are babies at home, be sure to have diapers, food, milk/formula supplies for them.
Have flashlights with batteries on hand, as they are safer than candles.
Keep a box of activities that can be used to entertain your kids during a power outage. Games, crayons and coloring books, and even something new to be a nice surprise for the kids during this stressful time.
Clear your yard and decks/porches of potential hazards…store lawn furniture, bird feeders, toys indoors if possible.
Natural disasters are scary for adults and confusing for children. It is important to teach your kids about how to be safe without frightening them. It’s good for the adults to have a plan for evacuation from the home if necessary and share as much as that plan as is appropriate for your children based upon their age. Watching the news with kids can provoke anxiety for some kids. Share with your kids just enough information about what is going on with out going in to too much detail to curb anxiety. Some kids won’t care, but there are lots of kids who will be scared. Plan to have a little fun while you are stuck inside during the storm. It might help relieve everyone’s anxiety or stir-craziness!
Be safe during the storm! I hope that everyone who has been evacuated from the Jersey shore is able to return home safely soon.
Question of the week: How do you keep kids entertained during the heatwave!
The weather forecast for this week has been downright dreadful. The Montgomery County Health Department has declared a Code Red beginning Wednesday July 20th through Sunday July 24th. That means a Hot Weather Health Warning is issued in anticipation of an oppressively hot airmass with a heat index of 100º F or greater. With the heat that hot, it makes everyone cranky! Mama’s question of the week is, if your kids are not enrolled in a camp program or you don’t have a pool to go to, what do you do on these really hot days to keep your kids entertained?
I keep a mental list of free or low cost places to go when the weather is lousy. I have a preschool age son, so some of these places may not be entertaining for older kids, but for the four and under crowd, they seem to work! Also, I find that during the week, many of these places are not that busy.
Ikea: the kids department is fun to play in, there are lots of maze-like floor plans to weave through, there are Humongous ceiling fans in the warehouse part of the store, and the restaurant offers ridiculously cheap meals for kids, with some healthy options. And bonus: if your kids are of a certain height/age, they can stay in the kids play area while you can shop/drink coffee for a bit. If you can manage to not purchase anything, then this is a cheap place to visit!
Lowe’s or Home Depot: I am not sure why, but the hardware stores fascinate most little kids I know. Check out the forklift, the seasonal aisles, and the paint chips display. The staff there has been happy to accommodate my son’s fascination with the forklift.
Play date at a friend’s house: It’s nice to take turns hosting and giving the kids a chance to play with “new to them” toys at a buddy’s house. Make it a theme day, such as a pajama play date, or a craft play date.
Craft Stores: Check out their schedules online to see when they are featuring a free craft. For example, AC Moore has Blumenthal Button Bookworm Bookmark as a Free Make & Take, today, Wednesday July 20th, from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Many craft stores also have train tables, which can be entertaining.
Book Stores: Many book stores feature story times during the week. Check with your local store for details. The children’s department of many book stores often have train tables and other activities for little ones too.
Your local Library: Check out the library’s websites to see what their schedule of kids activities are, many include age-specific story times or other activities. Spend a few hours in the air conditioning of the library reading with your kids or letting them play on the kid-friendly computers.
For lots of other ideas, check out Mama’s Little Helper’s calendar of events!
So what are your ideas for keeping your kids entertained during the heatwave?? Stay cool!!
And remember, no matter what activity you engage in with your kids, make sure everyone stays hydrated! Keep lots of cold water on hand for you and your kids.
Mama Diane blogs about her adventures in parenting, cooking, and crafting at Knitting Zeal.
Jessica Cohen brings experience from Condé Nast to blogging & small business consulting in Bucks County
This week’s Featured Mama of the Week is Jessica Cohen, of the website Look Who Found the Marbles. She is the mother of two children, ages 7 and 4 who are big sports enthusiasts! Jessica enjoys cuddling with her kids and seeing them learn and watching them grow. She also loves watching them play together. She said, “my biggest challenge right now is teaching them to make good decisions and to have thick skin. However, just getting them out the door in the morning can be a challenge too!” So true!
In regards to the values Jessica works upon instilling in her children she mentioned “there are a lot of things that happen in life, both big and small, which we have no control over. Yet we can control the way we handle the situation, react to it and whether we learn from it. Even as adults that is sometimes difficult for us to remember! My son and I have been talking about this concept a lot lately. I am hoping that by talking about it now, he will be able to recognize it himself someday.” She also mentioned that her kids are fairly empathetic without having to be taught about empathy, as her older son has some health issues of his own so he has a strong empathy towards others.
A favorite neighbor place to go for Jessica is the Wrightstown Farmer’s Market. She said, “I love going there on Saturday mornings. It’s peaceful, the people are friendly and you can get amazingly fresh, local, organic food.” Another local farmer’s market for Mama’s Little Helper readers to visit! Their family also enjoys visiting the Please Touch Museum and the Crayola Factory for a fun time.
Jessica has been a work at home mom for the past five years, initially for her previous employer and now she is self-employed. She launched a website, BucksMontStyle in 2009 and then this year she launched Look who Found the Marbles, a human interest blog about social good, life and giving back. Jessica mentioned that her “background is in media research and strategy. I started out at an advertising agency in New York and then moved to magazine publishing. I spent a couple of years at Hearst Magazines and a decade at Condé Nast Publications, doing Marketing Research for such titles as: Self, Esquire, Mademoiselle, Condé Nast Portfolio, House & Garden, Cookie, and Lucky.” She has now taken her knowledge from both worlds and now does small business strategy consulting.
Social Media is a Great Way to Connect with People
When asked is she uses social media, Jessica replied, “absolutely! I love the power of social media to connect people, whether it be like-minded people or connecting brands with their advocates. Social media has made the world a much smaller place. I think I have enjoyed Twitter the most and always love when I get to meet Twitter handles in real life!” You can find Jessica on Twitter at @FoundtheMarbles and @IamJessicaCohen and on her Facebook page.
As to what tip Jessica would give to new parents, she replied “Trust your instincts. If you suspect that something is wrong, be it a health concern or otherwise, get it checked out. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel badly about going with your gut. The maternal instinct is really powerful.” She said that the best tip she ever received about parenting “sounds so cliché but getting your rest is an important piece of advice. Sometimes we forego sleep in order to get everything done, whether it is housework or business. Yet I know that I am a more patient mom when I get a good night’s sleep. Now, if I could only follow my own advice!”
Every parent needs time to de-stress and Jessica has found that Pilates helps her do so. She said, “I also get out with my girlfriends when I can. My friends in the neighborhood are amazing and I am fortunate to have them in my life. I also meet my college girlfriends once a month for dinner. There’s nothing like having good friends.”
Stay at home mom Julie-Ann Stimmel shares her struggles and achievements with parenting
This week’s Featured Mama of the Week is Montgomery County area mom, Julie-Ann Stimmel. She is “the tired mother or two silly, silly daughters, four years old and two years old. Also, we are expecting another child in August but have chosen not to find out the gender at this time, (though I am getting a GREAT deal of peer pressure to find out at my next ultrasound!)” Since the weather has warmed up, Julie-Ann and her girls can be found outdoors a lot, often playing in the sandbox or digging for worms in the dirt. The girls are currently obessed with collecting worms and designing little homes for them out of flowers, grass, sand, and water. “Basically, the girls are happiest getting dirty while creating something.” When asked about what she likes most about being a mom, Julie-Ann replied, “I can only address this question with a trite, clichéd answer… I love being able to see the world through my babies’ eyes! Their boundless enthusiasm is contagious and a privilege to behold!”
Julie-Ann finds parenting presents it’s own challenges, much different from what she anticipated and from the challenges she faced when working in the special education field as a teacher and therapist. She mentioned, “I think the most difficult adjustment I had to make as a new mom, is the loss of freedom that becoming a parent brings. Unfortunately, this is something I continue to be frustrated by! I know my children need to stick to a schedule, however I would love to be spontaneous and meet a friend for coffee, or to just run “one more” errand before getting the girls home for lunch and nap. However, this is a lesson I have learned the hard way, NO ONE wants to be around a cranky tired tot and it is just better for all if I shelve my plans for another day.” Julie-Ann is currently a Stay at Home Mom and receives support from her husband and mom that help make staying home go more smoothly. She mentioned that she is continually surprised by how hard it is to be home full time. Switching roles from an employee in a career of choice where having thoughts and ideas were respected and valued as part of a team to the isolation of motherhood where tiny dictators rule her was a very difficult adjustment.
While Julie-Ann does not use social media for business purposes, she remarked that she has found a way to receive support from her online social circle, especially at challenging parenting moments. She uses Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends, as well as using text messaging to communicate or send photos to her sister or best friend. “Staying at home can be such an isolating endeavor, I can’t imagine parenting without this diverse, global group of women! There is something very comforting in knowing your child is not the only one to have a crazed tantrum because they can’t wear their rain boots to bed!”
Julie-Ann enjoys cooking for her family, even more so since becoming a mom. She is fearless with trying out new recipes and her family enjoys her cooking. A recently added favorite recipe is Sticky Chicken in a crock pot, an extremely easy to make recipe that yields enough chicken for several meals. Another family favorite is salmon, cooked various ways, along with crabs from Maryland, a place near and dear to her family’s heart. She also enjoys baking, and recently baked summer beach themed cupcakes for her daughter’s last day of preschool. She said, “Easily, baking is my favorite activity to do with my children. As soon as I take out the mixer, the girls drag chairs up to the counter and try to get their hands into whatever is being made. My husband jokes that our two year old knows more about making cookies than he does and frankly, he’s right!”
A family favorite place to visit, besides the local playgrounds or friends’ homes for play dates, is the Delmarva Discovery Museum in Pokemoke, MD. It is a small hands-on museum that explores the history of the Chesapeake Bay. “My children LOVE being able to feed horseshoe crabs, touch sea stars, and pretend to captain a river boat. The staff of the Discovery Museum are so patient and willing to entertain every last question my curious four year old can come up with, it is always a pleasure to visit.”
Having two children (soon three) so close in age gives them the opportunity to practice and learn about empathy on a daily basis. Julie-Ann mentioned “My girls always seem to want the same thing at the same time so I seem to constantly be talking about our feelings, sharing, and using our kind words. My oldest daughter takes great pride in passing on clothes and toys to others that might not have as much as her. Unfortunately, sometimes she tries to give away her sister’s toys, but we are working on that!!!”
When asked what she would tell a new parent to help them survive this life-changing role, she replied, “The best survival tactic I can think of is find like-minded friends! There are so many transitions, hormones, crazy media stories that a new parent needs to process on very little sleep that an adult sounding board is necessary. I had a tough adjustment with my first daughter, as much as my husband tried to help he just couldn’t understand what a fellow mother could instantly! A few months after I had my first child my friend had a son, I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have called her and started a conversation with the phrase, “is this crazy…” she has become such an important part of my life, honestly I don’t know what I would do without her support!” What is the worst advice someone told her about parenting? Julie-Ann stated that reading the glossy parenting guides and magazines undermined her confidence the most as a new parent. She said, “Suddenly, i would find myself awake at 4 AM thinking I was causing cognitive delays to my child because I did not get her the right “developmental” toy! Craziness! Our children need us, they don’t need these gadgets and “educational” video games! They need TLC- Our Time, Our unconditional love, and our consistency!”
Thanks Julie-Ann for participating in Mama’s Little Helper’s Featured Mama of the Week!
If you know a mom you would like to see featured here, (or even yourself) email Diane@mamaslittlehelper.org.
Masons Mill Park, located at 3500 Masons Mill Road in Huntingdon Valley, Upper Moreland township, PA, is a public park that covers 76 acres of land in Montgomery County. It includes a large playground area for kids with two modular play areas. There is a fun ship, complete with slide, telescope and a plank to walk for kids to use their imaginations and play “pirates.” In the summer, near the ship playground, is a water spray pole that kids love to cool off under. There is a larger play area with two different sized playground equipment sets. The one area is for younger/smaller children and has a series of smaller slides, steps and ramps. The larger play set has a “rock” wall, a variety of larger slides, ramps, a tunnel, a bridge, and monkey bars of different shapes. It is designed for older children. There are plenty of swings around the perimeter, including bucket swings for the smaller kids and babies. The playground surface is covered in squishy rubber matting to provide a cushioned fall. There always seems to be a great group of little one’s playing at this park, providing hours of fun!
Safety Town is fun for the smallest drivers!
Nearby the playground is the Safety Town Complex. This fenced in area includes a miniature replication of many businesses in nearby Willow Grove with roads, traffic lights, and parking lots for tots to ride their tricycles and tiny bikes. The buildings are made out of concrete blocks and are painted to look like the Upper Moreland Library, Abington Hospital, Willow Grove Park, Sam’s Market, Home Depot, Kremp Florist, to just name a few. The buildings are arranged in clusters and connected by “streets” for little riders to drive on. It’s also a great place for little kids to run around, as the fence has only one opening so kids are safe running around without worrying about them escaping!
Exploring Safety Town at Masons Mill Park in Upper Moreland
Masons Mill Park also includes a lighted basketball and volleyball courts, softball fields, baseball field, football field, 7 tennis courts, a fitness trail, wooded walking paths, an archery range, a fishing pond, horseshoes, picnic tables, grills, picnic pavilions, water fountains and restrooms. There are benches situated around the park, as well. When my son was an infant, this was the park I visited frequently to walk him in his stroller. The lap around the park on the fitness trail was a great way to get outside for some exercise. We have also used empty fields to play soccer or just to run off extra energy. There is plenty of free parking. During park hours there are park staff present. During the summer, there is a township camp program that uses the playgrounds, but non-camp visitors are allowed too.
Picnic pavilions are available for rental, as is Safety Town, which would be a fun place to have a birthday party in warm weather. Contact the township’s recreation department for details.
Free Concert Series at Masons Mill Park all summer long!
Summer brings a great FREE concert series, held on Sunday evenings at 6:30 at the Gazebo. What a great way to relax listening to music and enjoying a nice summer evening. Pack a picnic dinner to make it a great night out for your family. Last summer we enjoyed a fun kids concert that had my son up and dancing with lots of other kids. Be sure to get there early and bring a lawn chair or blanket. This series begins on June 19th with The Mango Men, a Jimmy Buffet style group. Check out the complete concert series here at the township’s website.
Summer Concert series at Masons Mill Park
Exploring the neighborhood playground series will feature area playgrounds that are free to the public to use. We’ll try to cover a range of neighborhoods in Mama’s Little Helper territory, but it certainly will not be inclusive. Feel free to send suggestions of playgrounds you’d like to see featured or your kids’ favorite playgrounds in a comment below or email Diane@mamaslittlehelper.org
Thanks for all of the great restaurant suggestions on last week’s question!
This week is Spring Break for many schools. Some people take advantage of Spring Break/Vacations to travel with their families, while others tend to visit local attractions to entertain the kids. What are some of your favorite local (Bucks/Montgomery/Philadelphia region) places to visit with kids for a day trip?
When my son heard that his school was closed for “spring vacation” this week he wanted to know which hotel we would be staying in and where! It’s his first year in preschool, so the concept of spring vacation is new to him. While our family doesn’t typically travel during spring break, we did spend one day visiting the Please Touch Museum, which is a family favorite. Another local place we like to visit is the Morris Arboretum. For a longer trip, we like to drive to Lancaster County to visit the Strasbourg Rail Road and see the Amish farmlands.
Enjoy your spring break, however you spend it!
If you have a question or topic you’d like to see covered here in the future, please email your ideas to Diane@mamaslittlehelper.org.
Mama Kicks It at B & R Fitness with Kickboxing with Julius King
So, this week I walked into B & R Fitness Center in Feasterville located in Bucks County PA for my appointment with my personal trainer, Julius King, from All Fitness Customized Training. They have an office located inside B & R Fitness Center. Every week I never know what Julius has planned for my training session, which keeps me interested and motivated to go. Each week it’s something new I’m learning for example, one week it was a fun workout learning racquetball, some weeks it’s working out my core with various weights and movements, other weeks it’s working the machines and now this week it was kickboxing, hands wrapped with tape and in punching gloves and all! Check Mama out in this video below. Although I took Karate Classes when I was a child, I had never done Kickboxing and must admit I was a little scared getting started. It was an intense workout and I felt empowered after it was over!
If you decide to check out either B & R Fitness Center or All Fitness Customized Training for yourself or your children, be sure to tell them Mama sent you.
More Information on All Fitness Customized Training
All Fitness Customized Training has locations in PA: Chester County, Main Line, Montgomery County, Delaware County, and Lower Bucks County. They have programs geared towards everyone including our kids starting at age 7. Whatever sport your child is into, they will customize a program to fit towards their weaknesses to prevent injury and of course to encourage success. I can’t wait till my daughter is old enough to reap the benefits of Julius’s training. I’m eager to instill the love and knowledge of fitness into her mind. I figure if I can raise her with the attitude that fitness and taking care of her health is essential and not an option, then she will think it’s just as important as any other part of her everyday life.
More Information on B & R Fitness Center in Bucks County PA
B & R Fitness Center is finishing up their renovations and the gym is looking better than ever! The children’s nursery is beautiful and as always my daughter and I love the staff. Her favorite part is all the social time she gets with the other children and the different toys that she doesn’t have at home. My favorite part is the loving atmosphere the staff give her and the glass front wall, both make me feel so safe when I drop my daughter off. If my daughter even thinks about having separation anxiety, the staff come right over and make her feel special and give me the nod to go ahead and leave for my workout. I love that they look out for her. Compared to other local gyms in Bucks or Montgomery County, B & R Fitness is the best bang for your buck with the least inexpensive fees and a huge selection of classes, machines and other amenities. They have super camps in the summer and awesome birthday party packages, especially the sports related themes!
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