Parenting Under the Stars

Summer holidays have begun. It was so funny watching the kids fly out of school like a shotgun. They look forward to this every year only to tell me they’re bored a couple weeks into it.

So far, we haven’t had any complaints and the basketball police haven’t bothered us. I wonder how long that will last. Speaking of complaints, I was reading about a six-year-old girl who was busted for drawing in chalk on her front stoop. (Brooklyn Paper: New face of vandalism?)

What next, bubble blowing, yo-yos, gum chewing and hockey bans perhaps? I suppose hopscotch is no longer an approved game if you have to draw it with chalk. It seems too nit picky to me and insane to criminalize children for something they have been doing for years. There are more serious issues people could be stressed out over.

Check out this gorgeous sidewalk chalk art. It is from Justin Rudd’s fourth annual sidewalk chalk art contest held on Long Beach. Here’s a slide show of some wild sidewalkchalk art . Amazing what those kids grow up to create.

In case you haven’t noticed, we have been having server troubles here on the network. We have been assured that they will be fixed soon. Sometimes I can get on and sometimes I can’t. Within a week or two, we’ll be back in business.

In the meantime, I’m feeling rebellious so going to draw hopscotch for the kids. Maybe I’ll even rig up a net so the kids can throw a ball into it.

Scientists want to rename the hygiene hypothesis because they’re concerned we’ll all simply stop scrubbing our homes, let our children roll around in the mud and handle raw chicken or something. (Dirty homes bug hygiene scientists)

The hygiene hypothesis is that exposure to germs can actually strengthen our immune systems, while being overly sanitized can contribute towards more allergies and health problems.

The gist of it is that when children are exposed to things such as strange foods and germs, their immune system overreacts because it doesn’t have enough previous practice.

It’s sensible to wash before handling food or eating but there does seem to be more hand sanitizing going on than there was in the past. It is coincidental that allergies have increased. Could less dirt mean more allergies?

We now have immunizations for major diseases but the trade off has been an increase of allergies like hay fever, food allergies, asthma and eczema.

Pets boost immune system

Simply having a pet can make your immune system stronger according to a study at Warwick University in Coventry. They tested 138 children and the ones with pets had higher levels of the antibody immunoglobulin A, giving them a stronger immune system.

Other factors that contribute towards a stronger immune system are the size of your family and/or exposure to other children. It makes sense because when they’re exposed to other children and germs, it can help them build up antibodies for bigger things.

Pets will definitely expose you to more germs around the house but maybe that’s a good thing. See BBC News, Pets boost children’s health for more information.

Today I made Sheppard’s pie and my family made me feel like a movie star because of it. It was quite plain really because I didn’t have that many ingredients. Those seem to be the ones they go nuts over.

I mixed the cooked ground beef with some onion soup mix, about a cup and a half of water, a spoon of cornstarch and a can of tomato paste.

The next layer was cream of corn, which nobody likes on its own. The final layer, mashed potatoes of course. I put a lot of milk in them because otherwise they’re too stiff to spread over the top.

A few days ago I blended some onion soup mix with orzo pasta and mixed vegetables and they acted like it was some great gourmet meal. Maybe I’m just catching them when they’re really hungry or they’re just relieved that I’m making something different.

We had a fun filled Father’s Day weekend and the kids gave their dad a ton of fishing paraphernalia. I even found a pair of flip-flops with fish all over them.

I hope all the other fathers out there had a good one. We couldn’t actually go fishing because it was raining but we will be prepared anyway.

I have been slightly snarky because my husband is snoring up a storm but some of the neighbors seem even crankier. There are a lot of kids living here and sometimes it gets loud but for the most part, they get along. It’s the parents that seem to have more issues and there have been complaints about the sound of basketballs bouncing.

Initially I thought they were concerned about their safety because of course they’re often bouncing balls in the parking lot. No, they don’t like the noise in the daytime. So apparently, basketballs are banned in our complex. Soccer balls and beach balls are alright I guess. It just seems slightly insane to me and I don’t know how they plan to enforce this. Perhaps someone will come to the door confiscating all basketballs.

I do understand being disturbed by noise because I’m a light sleeper and have a snorer here. On the other hand, people were quite aware there was a ton of kids living here and they’re not required to be muzzled in the daytime. So, does anyone else have a rule about not bouncing basketballs? If this is their biggest beef with all the children living here, I think they’re lucky to have such well behaved children.

I think we have a Coleman stove, a cooler and one sleeping bag so we will need to purchase plenty of camping gear. It would probably be cheaper to go to a hotel but I really want to go camping as a family. Once we have enough for everyone, we can do it more often.

There are some cute sleeping bags to choose from online like this personalized fire engine from Fantasy Toyland.

Something like this cool camo-forest green sleeping bag would probably be a better choice for an older child. I found it at Fuss Budget in the big kids section.

You can help protect the environment and get a heavy duty sleeping bag at the same time with this kids EcoPro +30. It’s made with 100% recycled fabrics and 80% recycled insulation.

For smaller children or bedwetters there are water proof bag liners that fit any sleeping bag. This is a great idea especially if you’re planning to spend more than one night out camping.

Tents

One year someone leaned into our tent wall and we woke up soaked from the rain. That wasn’t fun but it wasn’t cold and the sun came out later.

We just hung up our sleeping bags on trees and they were fine after a few hours. Our family has grown since then so we’ll need a new tent.

It seems like the easier a tent is to set up, the more it will cost. If you know where to get an easy to set up tent at a reasonable price, let me know. We will need at least a six person tent.

If they’re divided that also seems to jack up the price but I like the ones that have two rooms. I did find an article called Best Family Camping Tents that was helpful. The Coleman Weathermast Elite is my favorite so far. It has three rooms and sleeps 6 to 8 people.

We don’t have a definite date yet but I’m looking forward to it. Planning is half the fun and I’m looking forward to the challenge of deciding what else to bring.

Derek from The Man Page had some wonderful ideas on his post 10 Things to Do With Your Kids This Summer and he got me thinking about more.

Hit the beach. Kids of all ages love hanging out in the water. Bring along balls, beach toys and shovels to make sandcastles.

Don’t forget to pack a yummy picnic with lots to drink. Foods that are popular for our picnics include grapes, strawberries, cucumbers, cheese, buns, sliced meats and tomatoes. We like making our own sandwich buns when we get there so that the tomatoes don’t make everything all mushy.

If you can’t get to the beach, make a picnic anyway and set up a little swimming pool if you don’t have a big one. We usually end up having water fights with those super soaker guns too.

Organize a neighborhood barbecue. Make it a potluck and get the kids to help design and hand out the fliers.

Make sure they let everyone know the date, location and whether to bring a salad, desert or barbecue item. It’s a great way to meet the neighbors and try new foods.

Have a giant garage sale and get rid of some of the stuff you don’t want at the same time. Include neighbors on your street and get the kids to sell lemonade.

Make sure you check everything before it goes out the door though. Our children have fun with this one but they tend to get overexcited and want to give all their stuff away.

Another offshoot of this is to have a book swap.

Go to the drive in if you have one. We have one left in a nearby town and it’s always a blast. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and play at the playground before the movie starts.

Go rollerskating. I think I love this one more than my children. The flashing lights, the catchy tunes and the fancy moves. I hadn’t been in so long I thought I would forget but it’s like riding a bike.

Plant a garden together. Even the smallest child enjoys helping by digging in the soil and watering the plants. Later when the fruits and vegetables are ready, everyone can take pride in the fact that they helped plant them.

Other things we have fun doing while we’re out there are collecting pretty rocks, picking wildflowers, drawing pictures with chalk, blowing bubbles and collecting leaves to press. If you have some more ideas, let us know.

If you’re looking for ideas for crafts that your kids can make on Father’s day, check out some of these projects.

Crafts for fishermen

• Here are a few for fishing freaks. We happen to have one here and I think he would love this fish craft card. Get the pattern and full instructions on Kaboose. This project is for ages 4 and up.

Decorate a mini tackle box for dad at Makingfriends.com. You just need glue, foam letters, shapes and some tacky glue. It’s a great way of dressing up those boring little boxes.

Father’s Day Photo Frames

• How about a printable Father’s Day frame with a wale, fish, beach and sun from FamilyFun.com.

• DLTK have several printable photo frames with themes. There’s basketball, fish, golf, soccer or simply say “I love you.” That’s my favorite and I think it would make a cute card as well.

• I like this simple handpainted finger frame craft from Amazing Moms. All you need is construction paper, tempera paint and a photo.

• Don’t forget the classic popsicle stick frame from Kaboose. It’s very easy so would be fun for all ages. Multicolored popsicle sticks would be even better.

• Here’s a fun foam picture frame from Enchanted Learning. You could personalize it further by decorating with sparkles, buttons, nuts, bolts or stickers. It would also make a great magnet.

Further Father’s Day Craft Ideas

• Danielle’s Place has a large listing of Father’s Day crafts for ideas and instructions.

• Family Crafts at About.com has quite a few in their collection.

• All Free Crafts is another good resource.

• There are many other free Father’s Day crafts listed at 4CraftyKids.com. I like the decorated can found under the “tool caddy” link. My dad used to have rows and rows of those cans full of nuts and bolts in his workshop. Decorating a couple cans will be fun and we can find pictures in magazines.

Making your own baby food really isn’t that hard and it’s much healthier for your baby. Most jarred foods are very watered down, have added sugar, chemicals, additives and cost more.

Some baby foods that are easy to prepare and good for first foods include sweet potatoes, avocados, pears, apples, butternut squash and rice.

• Sweet potatoes are yummy baked; the insides scoop out easily and usually don’t require much extra blending. Bananas mash up easily when they’re ripe as well but it’s best to use a blender to puree them. You can add either a little baby formula or water to help it blend because otherwise it might be too thick.

• Cook peeled cored apples and pears with a little water on low over the stove for a yummy fruit blend. Once your child has tried a few foods you can experiment by blending a couple other ones together.

It’s better to make up a big batch and freeze it so that you can stock up ahead of time. I used ice cube trays and once they were frozen, just put them in zip lock bags.

Once your baby is around eight months you can start adding a little texture so don’t need to blend the food quite as much. Many babies can tolerate a little herbs and spices for flavor but that’s a personal preference.

• There’s an excellent blog called Simply Baby Food Recipes dedicated to homemade baby food with recipes, instructions and videos for babies from four months to toddlers.