One Quiet Moment

I have not blogged in a few months. So sorry. I juggle many other priorities here at TWC, that finding a moment to compose myself and a meaningful blog is a rare occurrence lately. Currently I am counting down the remaining minutes of my YMCA Director-On-Duty shift (2-10:30pm) and just now have a few quiet moments to myself. Wow, I almost want to just drink in the silent serenity. There are no crying babies. No fighting siblings. No blaring horns in traffic. No husband pushing my buttons.
I am realizing that another day has whizzed by me and I am not exactly sure what I have accomplished today. Let's review. Kids to school, check. Laundry, check. 5K training run, check. Talk to dad, brother, aunt, cousin, and husband, check. Facebook, check. And I am ending my day at the YMCA, hosting a parent workshop and fulfilling my director duties. In a few minutes I will head out for a 45 minute drive home, kiss my boys, and off to slumberland after Leno.
So in these minutes, I am able to appreciate that:

• I have a wonderful family.
• I have a cozy home with working appliances.
• I am physically capable of exercising my body (and enjoy it).
• I am surrounded by people who care for me and appreciate me for who I am.
• I have a fulfilling job with a great employer, supportive coworkers, and the opportunity to make a difference in other families' lives.
• And even though it is a wagon, I have suitable and reliable transportation.

I am blessed! I hope you are too! If you do anything for yourself today, take a moment to review your blessings and find joy! I just did.

Thanks to You!

As we approach that thankful time of year and our first anniversary of opening our family center doors, I realize how many people have touched my life over the past year. I'd like to share my appreciation for all of you for helping me get through a successful first year!

First, a huge hug and kiss to my husband, Bill, and to our two boys, Armani and Nevante. My schedule has changed a lot with this new position and I am always thinking of new things to do with the grant. I may not always be "present" for you guys, but thank you for loving me anyways.

To Tina-The Network Organizer-I thank you dearly for your friendship, never-ending support, and fabulous ideas! We really miss you!

Thank you to all of the TWC facilitators! Without you (Kara, Alex, Darleen, Kelly, Jen A., Dana, Deb C., Christine, Jenn, Rosie, Jannine, Lisa, and the other Deb C.) we would truly not be a Family Network! Your hard work and dedication are greatly appreciated.

Thank you to our webmaster, Anne, who is constantly making website updates, uploading pictures, and always thinking of ways to streamline the registration process. You are the greatest!

Thank you to our favorite volunteers, David and Terrance, who zip the vacuum around every Thursday afternoon. Thanks for keeping our center super clean for all of the families! Great job!

Thank you to my friend, Beth. With your endless support and advice, you keep me positive and on the right track. You allow me to better serve families with an open heart!

Thank you to all of my YMCA coworkers! You helped me move in, clean, and have given me direction when I needed it. You make me "more efficient." And you know how I love that!

Thank you to all of the child care programs and community stakeholders of the TWC Family Network. I appreciate your support in this new role. Your respect and gratitude mean so much to me!

Lastly, to all of the families who utilize our programs, I appreciate that you have opened your hearts to welcome me in the TWC communities. Your relationships are so very special! I am so lucky to watch all of you (parents and children) grow and learn every week.

I wish everyone another great year together! And to begin on the right foot, I hope you will join us at the Just Ducky First Birthday Party for TWC this Saturday, 11am to 1pm, here at the center. The Tumblebus will be here for a fun, jumping-jolly, good time!

Come See Cindi Run

This weekend, Sunday, October 24th at 11am I will attempt to complete my fourth 5k of this year. I would love for my TWC families to come cheer me on! It will be held at Hopkinton State Park, off of Rt. 85. I am confident that with your help I will beat my personal race time! I began running back in January with the Cool Running Couch-to-5k plan. I did the plan at my own pace and completed the 9-week training in 14 weeks. Some weeks I just had to do twice in order to completely accomplish the challenges! With stretching and sticking to an every other day running schedule, I have kept my body strong and in shape. And you can do it too! If you have ever thought about running as a workout, just follow through with your thought and make it happen! You can do it! I did! Now, go buy yourself a fabulous pair of running shoes!

I Love Birthday Party Planning

I just finished planning and celebrating both of my sons' birthdays in August and September. Armani turned 13 and he asked for a water slide party. Nevante turned 12 and he asked for a ghost-themed party. I accepted the challenges and dove right into organizing many ideas on each theme. It gives me great pleasure to provide fantastic parties for my children and to watch them create great memories with their friends.

Here is a simple format I use to plan parties:
THEME: Choose a theme that you know your child will just love and you know it is age-appropriate. Infants and toddlers would not be able to fully enjoy the water slide theme, but they could enjoy baby pools in your backyard. Or preschoolers would be terrified by the ghost tour, but could fully participate in a pumpkin patch party.

DECORATIONS: Following suit with your theme, find or make decorations accordingly. For example, I used my halloween decorations (the ghostly ones) for the ghost party; two large spirits haunted the kitchen walls and tiny apparitions greeted the guests at the front door. Try not to go overboard with decorations as you can quickly go over your budget!

FOOD: Decide whether you are having a meal with your party or just fun snacks, of course, along with your festive cake. Many themes lend to coordinating meal or snack ideas. These can easily be researched through books or on websites (see below). For the water slide party, which was held at a water park, we consumed sandwiches and chips before splashing into a tropical water slide cake, http://www.flickr.com/photos/57442074@N00/2800917879. The ghost party was held in Salem so we went out for pizza and buffalo wings, but the boys ate ghostly white cupcakes with ghost marshmallows on top. For the family party I will be creating the full ghost cake from Martha Stewart, http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chocolate-marshmallow-ghost-cake-and-mini-cupcakes. For the long ride home I found ghost cookies at Target.

GAMES/ACTIVITIES:
The same websites below will provide you with games to match your themes-or you can go with the same old stand-bys-Pin The Tail On the Donkey or musical chairs. Some of the activities for the water slide party included an outdoor scavenger hunt and Pixie Stix sand art. Since the ghost tour was an hour and a half drive away, I had to find car activities which included a scary crossword puzzle, a ghostly jumbles game, and creating a word list from the two words, ghost adventure. Then, of course, on the way home we read true local ghost stories by flashlight.

GOODY BAGS:
To complete the event, send off your party-goers with creative goody bags. Remember to try to stay consistent with your theme. Water Slide Party: sunglasses, pixie stick activity, and blue air heads. Ghost party: ghost candy bracelets, gummy ghost candy, white air heads, boo bracelets, and ghost tatoos.

Websites: http://www.orientaltrading.com/, www.rinovelty.com, www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com, www.birthdaypartyideas.com, www.familyfun.com, and my favorite, www.coolest-kid-birthday-parties.com.

Books: Birthday Parties: Best Party Tips and Ideas by Vicki Lansky, Williams-Sonoma Kids Parties:Creative Ideas and Recipes for making celebrations special by Lisa Atwood, Great Parties for Kids: Fabulous and Creative Ideas for Children aged 0-10 by Rose Hammick, Hit of the Party: The Complete Planner for Children's Theme Birthday Parties by Amy Vangsgard.

Honoring Thy Mother

Today would have been my mom's 67th birthday. As mentioned in a Mother's Day blog, my mom passed away suddenly seven years ago. We will not be enjoying cake or icecream with her, but will be sending her a special message. It is not eco-friendly, but we will write a loving note to her, attach it to a helium balloon, and release it up to her in heaven. Even in the rain! The first time we did this, a cloud formed into a perfectly shaped heart! It was so amazing! And sorry, no pictures.
Here are some other ways we have honored my mother over the past few years:

My brother and I wrote goodbye letters to her, celebrating her, rather than explaining how we were horrible without her.

We framed our favorite photos of her and hung them in prominent places around our home.

On one anniversary, we held a family/friend bonfire. Each of us wrote down one favorite memory of her, shared it with the group, and then tossed it in the fire.

My children and I wrote a book about her called "Shadow Moments." She had 15 surgeries on her left ankle and often walked very slow, allowing her to notice shadow formations. Whether they were during quiet or silly moments or if the shadows were in a crazy animal shape or scary monster shape, she loved these moments.

I ran a 5K in her name.

Planted a tree, rose shrub, flowers, and variuos plants around our yard.

She was a crafty lady and I own (and inherited) many of her creations. They are on display year round, especially during Christmas. Actually, every year since her passing, we purchase an angel ornament for our tree.

I try to make her "thrown together" recipes: Mom's stuffed mushrooms, Bev's teriyaki sauce, Dog Doo Cookies as printed in the fall newsletter, and her Ginger Ale/Sherbet Spritzers.

These are ways I keep my mom close to my heart and I hope you are able to honor your loved ones in healthy ways too! Share your ideas here in a comment!

A Family Network Vacation

The Family Network finished its first fiscal year in June! We started the new year with a cleaning week, as well as, a vacation week. During my time off I was able to clean my house multiple times, throw a Fourth of July party, rent some movies, bob in the ocean waves, enjoy Iggy's seafood in Narragansett, and visit family in New Hampshire.

Being in New Hampshire with my aunt, two cousins and their two sons, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, husband and my own two boys really made me appreciate being a part of a family. Time with my family always brings me much laughter, joy, and relaxation. I am truly blessed to be a part of many families; my husband's family, my mother's family, my father's family, neighborhood family, and work family. All these relationships give me a great sense of belonging. Each one with its own language, stories, humor, and culture. Of course, the acceptance within my family and extended family allows me to be my truest self. I wore no make-up. I did not iron my clothes. I sat around in just my bathing suit. You will never witness any of this at the Family Network (except for the make-up sometimes). However, you will witness empathy, professionalism, and an open heart and mind.

If you are a family with no close relatives, we hope you come by the Family Network and spend some summer time with us. We accept you for you. We want to laugh with you. We want to bring you joy. We want you to relax while your children safely play in a cool environment. We want you to become a part of our global culture where you are able to share your language, your stories, and your concerns. Vacation with us during our drop-in playgroups on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Doors open at 10am. You belong at the Together We Can Family Network!

Good Ol' Fashion Summer Fun

There are many places you can find free fun activities and events for families during the summer months. In fact, here at the family center we have a community board that shows many of the free offerings within our state. If you check out our Family Fun Blog on this website there are many ideas for each month. Our webmaster, Anne, offers many ideas, tips, and suggestions at www.kidplacetogo.blogspot.com. So I'd like to share some summer fun activities from my childhood that you can enjoy at home.
Young Children:
Make Mud Pies-Dirt, water, and pie tins! It is OK to get dirty!
Sidewalk Chalk-Another way to artistically express oneself.
Bubbles-Experiment with different wands or even make your own bubble solution. Search the web for many easy recipes.
Hopscotch-Hand/eye coordination, large motor development, and counting.

Slightly Older Children:
Make Your Own Popsicles-Ice trays + lemonade + toothpicks!
Water Balloon or Squirt Gun Fights (in the most non-violent sense).
Host a Neighborhood Dog Show-Give awards for best hairdo, best trot, or best behaved.
Catch Fireflies-Watch their magnificent glow!
Flashlight Tag-You're it!
Blanket Tents-Turn your living room into a campsite.

All Ages:
Sprinkler or Open Hose-So easy and so much fun!
Cloud Watching-What do they look like to you?
Rain Dancing-Cool off in the summer rains.
Picnic-In your backyard or on your deck.
SMORES-Microwave or fire pit-a summer must!
Star Gazing-Especially during the August meteor showers. Get ready to make a wish!

My wish for all of you is to have sunshiny days with balmy breezes and cool ice cream dripping down to your elbow!