There is no argument here, kids and travel is hard, no matter what mode of transportation. Car and plane trips have many different difficulties but there are ways to make the experience less stressful.
Travel in the Morning.
Kids are generally happier in the morning providing that you do not disturb too much of their sleep to leave very early. Making travel an adventure for both you and them helps
Empathize With Your Kids, Not Other Passengers.
If you are traveling by plane shift your focus away from what other people think. Think about your children and how they are actually feeling. Empathy can go a long way to relieve your children’s boredom and anxiety about being confined to a seat for x numbers of hours.
Be Prepared. Kids in the House
Pack interesting snacks and small toys to distract your little ones. Take them out periodically during the trip. These little surprises will definitely help and buy segments of peaceful time during your trip.
Think of Kids and Travel as Family Time, not a Vacation.
Challenging and stressful are words to describe holidays and travel. Try to view it as important time with your kids and family time which is different that a vacation for yourself. By changing your expectations you will avoid anger about being disappointed that this is not a relaxing time away from home
This week I have been at the “beach” house in Rhode Island. We are heading into a somewhat rainy few days so hopefully I can catch up on some reading and writing while sitting and spending time with my pregnant daughter and her husband as they prepare for their first baby.
It is officially a “baby” watch weekend for us…my daughter’s due date is September 1st and we have already made one trip to the hospital this week in the wee hours of the morning for false labor.
“Baby Watch”…
My thoughts have been racing this week and when that happens one of the ways I calm and comfort myself is to cook. Preparing a good dinner is my way of comforting and loving my family. Enjoying a good meal at the end of the day allows the family to relax and enjoy each other while sharing some really delicious food around the table of plenty.
So today, I am posting some favorites of mine related to creating recipes and involving children in the preparation. Kids are natural creators. Food and the kitchen go together to fuel their creativity.
Taco Tuesday
I have chosen this post from Motherlode because if you link to it you will see a very short video of a smiling child making “Chermoula” a Middle Eastern pesto which I have never tasted. You can also follow Kids in the Kitchen and get your own ideas for involving the children in cooking adventures during the weekend.
The master plan? Raising children who can be independent in the kitchen, able to prepare a few healthy meals and snacks and with the confidence to tackle a new recipe or task. In our Kids in the Kitchen series, Motherlode’s KJ Dell’Antonia and Cooking’s Margaux Laskey move their very differently aged families toward that goal. Margaux finds ways for her 3-year-old and toddler to help cook, while KJ stands back and coaches her two 9-year-olds and her 11- and 14-year-olds in cooking on their own.
What better food to share but a loaf of bread. Make this easy one with your children and enjoy the fruits of your effort together with some butter and jam.
Who wouldn’t want children who can be independent in the kitchen, able to prepare a few healthy meals and snacks and with the confidence to tackle a new recipe or task? In our Kids in the Kitchen series, Motherlode’s KJ Dell’Antonia and Cooking’s Margaux Laskey work toward that long term goal with their very differently aged families. Margaux finds ways for her 3-year-old and toddler to help cook, while KJ stands back and coaches her two 9-year-olds and her 11 and 14-year-olds in cooking on their own. This week, both families tried simple bread-making. KJ: Us
I was so happy for this weekend find on the cookbook shelves at Eataly here in Chicago. It is an authentically good source for Italian food geared for kids and adults alike.It is not finger foods made easy but a real Italian recipe book anyone can enjoy.
Silver Spoon for Children
Review: The Silver Spoon for Children – Favorite Italian Recipes January 31, 2010 in Uncategorized We got this cookbook for our eight year old for Christmas. Till today, we had only used the pizza recipe and we mainly took the lazy route and bought pre-made pizza dough. That did not test the quality of the book too much. Today, we embarked on a two-hour extravaganza and made gnocchi with tomato sauce and an orange cake. We used canned tomatoes but, apart from that shortcut, we made everything else from scratch. It was a huge success. The gnocchi tasted totally authentic. It was really fun to make them, much easier than fresh egg pasta. The potato and flour combination has the same consistency as play dough. You roll it into a thin sausage and chop it into gnocchi. It’s perfect for all age groups. I think we had a first all family cooking epiphany with the four-year old to the four+ year olds working together like a fairly well-oiled machine. Gnocchi cook really quickly and you have to scoop them out as soon as they float to the top. We made enough to freeze half of them for a future dinner.
As I sip my morning coffee and nibble on my Portuguese raisin muffin from Amarals Bakery this morning, many thoughts run through my head.
It is a beautiful sun filled view of the Sakonnet River outside my window here in Rhode Island.
My mind is reflective about my younger daughter who is about to be married tomorrow.
She came into to the world a tiny little newborn, struggling for her first ten minutes of life to catch her breath and open up her lungs to the world around her in a Miami Hospital.
Her dad held his breath until she finally let him know she was along for the ride.
What a wonderful ride it has been these years.
I am so proud to be her mom and be here this weekend ready to celebrate the beginning of her newest journey.
Years ago, a very astute clinical social worker made this simple statement at one of my supervision sessions…”life is a series of attachments and losses” and it is important how we form attachments and how we deal with eventual losses.
The year 2013 has come to a close and along with it some life moments of attachment and loss.
Family attachments are really my most important and this year we welcomed my daughter’s fiancé into our family. We give him our love and support and wish the very best to them as a couple for a long, happy and healthy future.
Together as a family, we are stronger than the sum of the individuals. Helping and supporting each other to the best of our ability given distance and our own separate lives is something we try to never forget.
Attachment at work.
My granddaughter still continues to amaze me. I anxiously look forward to sharing her “firsts” during 2014.
I love looking through her eyes as she welcomes new experiences. It brings back memories of my own childhood as well as those of my own children’s experiences.
Friends are dear to me and during 2013 our family lost one of our nearest and dearest.
It is a loss that we are still grieving. It will be a year of “magical thinking” as we go through firsts without him. His family suffers most and this is so hard to witness. They are grieving the loss of the deepest attachment, a father and a husband.
The year 2013 has brought me into contact with many new “virtual friends” and social media has kept me in touch with many old attachments. I love blogging and FB for this reason. It allows me to share with those that live across the country on a daily basis…even if it is just a simple photo. I love seeing the mundane as well as the fantastic.
After all isn’t the mundane what it is mostly about as we age?
I feel like I have just rambled but after two weeks of holiday…at home with a five year old it is where my mind is at…we have all been nursing varying degrees of winter illnesses and a severe bout of “cabin fever”.
Today…it is 24F and perhaps we will venture outside…if only to prepare for subzero deep freeze and the snow that is promised for tonight.
Puke Fest, I think all of us have experienced this but not to the extent of this mom. She has developed and shared a strategy for dealing with the flu in her family of six children.
Get some tips to be ready if “puke fest” comes to your home.
If you like taking photos of your family when they are not sick…this is a wonderful site that will take your photography to new level without even leaving your home. You will need a real camera…not just your phone. Have fun and enjoy the view.
Welcome! I am so excited that you are here and eager to learn more about photography! I want to share with you everything I have learned over the past couple of years and help you along your journey! Whether you just got your first DSLR or you have been shooting for years, we have something for everyone.
Play is one of the most important things our kids do that add positively to their growth and development. Here are six gifts that will encourage your child to direct their own play.
Learning to be a responsive play observer takes thoughtfulness, restraint and practice, but once we get this down, we’ll discover more delightful moments of joy, humor and surprise than we ever thought possible. And we need these daily parenting “bonuses” to balance the more difficult moments and break up the monotony. We’ll also get more guilt-free breaks from parenting because we’ve encouraged our children to hone their independent play skills in our presence (but that’s another post).
I always find that cake is well suited to every occasion. This lemon frosted cake makes a perfect Easter treat, as yellow themed goods seem to fit nicely with an Easter theme. It’s basically a madeira cake which is smothered with a creamy lemon topping and filled with lemon curd; perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea anytime.
After dessert, here are my picks for the rest of Easter.
Easy is my motto for all holidays. Easy does not imply not made with love and delicious…it simply means that I can enjoy the holiday with my family.
Cool Mom Picks
Some great suggestions from Cool Mom Picks for Easter Brunch!
Quick Brunch Recipes ….and by that I mean 30 minute ones, are always good even if you are not having anyone over for Easter…here are a few from Cool Mom.
Allrecipes
Allrecipes is my go to website for quick, easy and delicious favorites. Easter is a sweet spring holiday and these Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes are right up my alley if you know what I mean.
Although I love breakfast sometimes I prefer the European approach which is to indulge in something sweet with a really good cup of coffee!
A more classical definition from the Mayo Clinic: “Optimism is the belief that good things will happen to you and that negative events are temporary setbacks to be overcome.”
I am a glass full person…although I am fairly realistic about what I can actually accomplish in any given day. There is no end to the list of my things to do on my personal “bucket list”
Having a successful blog is one of my to do’s. The question that looms in my head is, “How does one measure a blog’s success?”
Is it by numbers of readers, numbers of comments, quality of discussions or is by what the writer, in this case me, derives from publishing meaningful content on a regular basis.
There are many blogs that I admire and enjoy. The reason I read these blogs is because they are well written and I enjoy what the writers have to say. Some of these blogs are “mom” blogs…they talk about family, parenting, they share personal stories and pictures…they are sort of autobiography crossed with a personal diary. I find these blogs entertaining, heartwarming and sometimes heart wrenching.
Some other favorite blogs of mine are photographic ones…by talented amateur photographers…then there are the blogs that are educational.
I always need to be educated about something…social media, blogging, medicine, parenting, etc.
What are some of your favorite blogs…why do you read them and if you write one why do you do it?
I love taking pictures of all kinds of things…my favorite subjects are people especially babies. Babies are beautiful and photographing them with a telephoto lens can really capture some wonderful ‘shots’ without disturbing their moment. Here are some tips on photographing those tiny baby hands and feet….nothing cuter!
It’s an adorable way to share something precious and personal with your friends, family, and followers, especially if you haven’t published photos of your lil one’s face yet. Here are a few tips on getting a great shot of those tiny feet and hands to share on social media.
I don’t think I’m ready for finger pointing, and I’m starting to wonder — is sibling rivalry unavoidable? Are brothers destined to bicker with, resent, blame, ignore, irritate or annoy each other? Is fighting just part of the deal? Could it be that even having kids 12 years apart might not be enough to save us?
Remember the party hostess who warned me to not be sidelined by non-issues? Well she’s got to be feeling smug this week. You can’t listen to a newscast or read an item without an explosion of the Red versus Blue Mommy Wars.
I’m a pediatric urologist, and here’s my response to the parents of Izabella Oniciuc, the famous potty-trained 6-month-old: I know you are excited about your precocious pooper, but watch your daughter closely, because she may be headed for trouble.
Potty training is and has always been a topic up for discussion…after potty training two girls of my own and helping with my granddaughter, I feel comfortable saying that each child is different.
My statement, that each child is different in and of itself, is not earth shattering, But if you deeply believe that every child is unique it is my opinion that potty training will viewed as more of a natural process without the pressure that some parents feel with all the well meaning advice that they read and hear.
I think that this particular article has a lot to say to parents about some of the ideas that are ‘floating’ around potty training.
“My son wasn’t trained until he was 3.5 and it just clicked. My daughter is 3 and is giving me a hard time, but I have a feeling it will be the same way. Rest assured, they will not be going off to school still wearing diapers, so I don’t push it. There are more important things in life to stress over.”
Tantrums are not easy to deal with…even though you love your child and grandchild to the moon and back!
During a tantrum you might want to send them to the moon!
It sometimes can seem that they are possessed by something or someone when having a tantrum…but who or what has set this usually charming child into an uncontrollable rage?
We have experienced our share of tantrums in our house…and what I have learned as a grandmother I only wish that I knew as a mom of two children less than two years apart in age.
There is always one or two events that stand out in the family tantrum history…one was my own memory of tearing a newspaper to shreds when my working mother told me she had not brought me home anything from work that evening. I was not so much spoiled as I was unhappy that she forgotten about me. I was left alone until I calmed down and the paper was completely shredded.
With my own kids…the sentinel tantrum was one at the entrance to the Miami Zoo when my younger daughter did not want to go and see any animals. She was around 3 years old. We were hoping to have a family outing on a very hot Miami day.
I recall trying the old standby…”bye, we are leaving…you can stay here if you want”. Is that wishful thinking on the part of parents during a horrible tantrum.
Of course, nothing worked until she was ready to put her anger aside after what seemed an eternity. We then visited a pond where the resident Koi made us all laugh as they fought over food that visitors were encouraged to throw into theirwater. It was the Koi version of ‘Hunger Games“.
Usually temper tantrums and anger in children is induced by stress. Young children do not know how to handle stress and do not have the verbal skills to explain why they are so upset.
Even if they try to tell a grown up …commonly it is about something that many times parents do not have patience to listen to nor attempt to understand.
I am no different. At least I wasn’t when my kids were young.
Anger in children often comes from stress. Yes. Stress is part of a child’s life as much as it is a part of an adult’s life. Teaching a child how to handle stress is one of the best things we as parents can do for our children. A healthy dose of stress actually builds resilience …and optimism. At the same time, parents must also be aware that anger is a sign of child anxieties. There are ways to address child anxieties.
The most important thing to keep in mind when you’re faced with a child in the throes of a tantrum, no matter what the cause, is simple and crucial: Keep cool. Don’t complicate the problem with your own frustration. Kids can sense when parents are becoming frustrated. This can just make their frustration worse, and you may have an escalated tantrum on your hands. Instead, take deep breaths and try to think clearly. via Temper Tantrums.
Dr. Karp’s advice is simple and easy to follow. It is called the “fast food rule“
Follow the Fast-Food Rule. This rule is simple: When your child is upset, you should take a lesson from the order-takers at a burger joint — always repeat back his “order” (what he wants) before you tell him your “price” (what you want). Toddlers who are in the middle of a meltdown are incapable of hearing our message (our reasons, reassurance, distraction or warning) until they’re sure we understand and respect their message. So when your tot is upset, before you mention your ideas, take a minute to sincerely describe what he’s doing and how you think he feels.
Janet Lansbury who writes her own blog has this to say to a mom regarding tantrums. In this particular situation there is a ‘new baby’ that a toddler is trying to accept.
Don’t feel responsible when your daughter doesn’t get her way and falls apart…. What she needs most of all (especially right now) are confident, stable, unruffled parents who project calm in the face of her storms (and the freedom you are giving her to have them).
Clarify the situation and make a plan. During more peaceful moments together, talk about life after new baby. Give her details about the changes that will occur, an imagined play-by-play of the day with the new baby. Be honest and realistic. Toddlers are way too perceptive to believe any whitewashing, and that won’t help her feel settled. Tell her that although you will be very busy taking care of the baby and not be available for her all the time, you’ll make sure she always gets what she needs (through daddy, grandma, etc.). Tell her that you two will have some special time together each day and maybe once (or twice) a week a special outing that she picks.
Then, later, when you are busy with the baby and she’s upset you can say to her calmly and confidently, “I know you want me to do such-in-such with you now, but I can’t. I know it’s hard to wait, but we will have our time together in an hour (or whatever). I’m looking forward to it.” She may have to keep testing that limit until she is certain you will hold your ground.
If you can make the outings work, I highly recommend them, even if you can only give her a choice between a walk down the street and a half-hour outing to the park. It’s not about what you do (or even the amount of time), just about being together. From my experience, those little one-on-one dates with your big girl will be very special, just the way dinner dates with a husband feel extra special once you’ve become parents.
Encourage her to process the feelings. Another thing to do in peaceful moments together is to check in with her about her feelings. The goal is not to get her to label them, but to assure her that anything and everything she is feeling is normal, expected, perfectly all right. You might put it this way, “When children have a baby brother or sister they have all kinds of feelings.
