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!

Raising Sons and Daughters

The TWC Family Network recently held two parenting workshops entitled Raising Sons and Raising Daughters presented by Families First Parenting Programs. If you were not able to attend these fabulous trainings, here are a few tidbits that may help you in your parenting role.

With boys:
1. Rather than directing your son's behavior, ask him questions about it. For example, "Can you see how upset Sarah is by taking her toy? How can we make her feel better?"
2. Boys have an innate drive to move! Expect this behavior, plan for physical activity throughout the day, and to help school-age boys focus during homework time-let them chew gum.
3. Boys tend to learn better by using all of their senses. Instead of coloring the letter S, hold your son's index finger and together draw this letter in sand. Also, let him sniff a cup of syrup and then trace the word as written on a flash card.

With girls:
1. Be aware that there are some slight differences between baby girls and boys: girls tend to react more to loud noises, girls tend to have more discomfort with coldness and dampness, and girls tend to be more sensitive to touch (socks, shoes, diapers/undies, t-shirt tags, seams, etc.).
2. Girls prefer activities that promote interaction with other people, usually with other girls.
3. Limit girls' exposure to media's negative influences (must be skinny, gorgeous, and dainty). Remind them daily that is not about how they look, but to be the special person they are!

Whether you have a boy or a girl or both, as parents we must understand our own expectations of our children. Make sure they are realistic. Allow your child to experience the world free from social pressures with few, fair and firm rules. For further information on these topics, visit our resource library for books mentioned by the specialist and for new ones to arrive by fall.

Dear Ma

Dear Ma,
I haven't seen you in almost six years. We all miss and love you so much! The boys miss your memere hugs and kisses. I miss all the above and more from you. I will always cherish our "coffee talks", shopping expeditions, and planning/executing family events. My biggest admission is that I miss being your daughter. I truly miss the times when you played in my hair, cooked me steak, mashed potatoes and green beans, or gave me the perfect gift (I still have the moon and stars slippers).

I am so grateful to have had you as a mother. You shared such unconditional love, patience, and gentle guidance with a foundation of boundaries and consequences. I attribute all of my mothering ways to you and pray I am meeting your standards. Each year brings new and different challenges in raising the boys, but I approach them with your heart in mind. I may not see the fruits of my efforts until I am blessed with grandchildren and witness my own children raising theirs. I hope you were delighted in watching yours. I miss you, love you, and thank you always.
Love Your Cindi-Pie

Registration is tomorrow!

On Wednesday, April 7th, 9am-12pm the TWCFN will be holding registration for the parent/child literacy playgroups for spring sessions I & II. Please feel free to register through this website or swing by the family center to drop off your form. We have some extra forms too! Programs begin next Monday. Hope to see you soon.

It's Not Just A Pet, It's Family

Tigger (1), Bootsie (19), Gramps (3), Pooder (17), Max (1), Outside Kitty (1), and MJ (3). These are the names of all the cats that have been a part of life. The numbers represent the amount of years we shared as family. Of these seven cats, some of them left our home as quickly as they came in, but Bootsie and Pooder were the "lifers."
Bootsie was the sister I never had. We grew up together through parts of three decades. We snuggled through the Blizzard of '78, "cried" when I lost my first and then second boyfriend in the mid-eighties, and lounged in the sun during the summer of 1990 after I graduated college. She was always there for me.
If Bootsie was my sister, then Poody was truly my first baby boy. He fit in the palm of my hand when I adopted him and he grew into a strong, fifteen pound cat. He was always so loving and cuddly. He would sense if I were sick or sad and jump up to my chest to rub my face. Every night he would sleep on or next to my pillow. He would follow me around the house or around the yard. We were connected on so many levels.
Some of the saddest moments in my life were having to say goodbye to Bootsie and Pooder because they weren't just my pets, they were my loving family members.

Mothering Without A Mother

My mother, Beverly Paulino, instilled in me the foundations of my faith, character, and genuine concern for others. I cherished her unconditional love every day of my life. She gave me strength when my own children needed boundaries. She gave me relief when I needed to take care of myself. She was my best friend with whom I shared my joys and frustrations of my marriage and my mothering. She cared for my children Monday through Friday, every week since they were each three months old. There was absolutely no way for me to fully express my gratitude for her angelic ways. On the day she died, I remember being driven to her house and all I could think was, "Why her? Why now? What am I going to do without her?" I know, how selfish of me. But honestly, it was the beginning of my realization of my role as a mother. I truly became my children's mom when I no longer could be dependent on my own mom. And now, I depend on her never-ending love to carry me through all I face as a parent. My mom is with me every day. She lives on in our traditions, recipes, and funny stories. If you can, hug or call your mom today. And after writing this, I may need a hug too!

Meet Nevante, My Second Son

My eleven year old believes it is only fair that I introduce him for my thrid blog. I suppose I could share how I had an easy pregnancy or how his labor lasted only 45 minutes (9lbs., 9oz. and no drugs!) or how breastfeeding was a breeze. But then you would not really know Nevante. He truly is a second child. He is always trying to physically "out-do" or academically "keep-up" with his older brother. He uses his quirky sense of humor to get and keep our attention all on him. And he relentlessly barrages us with requests for anything that he wants, even though we said "no" one hundred times. He will ask again! So at 11 years old, 5 feet tall and almost 100 pounds, Nevante is my BIG baby, my shy mama's boy, and my sensitive snuggle-bunny! Find out more about your own child's characteristics as related to their BIRTH ORDER with Jack Agati on March 31, 6:30-8pm, at The Boroughs YMCA in Westborough on Rt. 20. Call me to register. IT'S FREE! Oh, and Nevante really likes vanilla milk shakes!

Love One Another

My husband and I are celebrating 19 years of "dating" this weekend. Couples do not acheive this accomplishment easily. The fire needs constant attention. When you add children to the mix, the attention is diverted endlessly. Balancing work, family, and fun is always a challenge. As parents and as couples, it is important to refocus on the love that brought you together and keeps you together. I remember our first date consisted of an Italian dinner in Cambridge, Chinese drinks in Brookline, and dancing at a Tex-Mex club near the New England Aquarium in Boston. So every year my husband and I honor each other over dinner in Boston. Actually, every month we try to have a date. Whether it is a quick dinner, an R&B concert, or visiting the neighbors without the kids, we try to focus on ourselves and on our relationship so we can better face the job of parenting together. This weekend take care of yourselves so you can better care for the ones you love!

First Day

Hello Everyone! This is not just our first day with our new website, but my first attempt at blogging! My 12 year old will be so proud of me! Please stay tuned for future postings of interesting updates and unique parenting tips to support you as your child's first teacher. It is my hope to share my stories, along with other families' stories regarding child development, family-life balance, family literacy, and parenting joys and concerns.
My first story begins on the day my first son, Armani, was born. After 33 hours of breathing, pushing, and pain, my 10 lb., 10oz. bundle of joy was finally a part of our young family. He was so beautiful, so round, and so easy-going. He was worth the wait, especially being 8 days late. As soon as he was handed to me, I whispered to him, "Happy Birthday, honeypie! I love you." It is amazing to feel love so strong for someone you just met! I cherish the kisses, hugs, and snuggles my boys share with me almost every day, even when I am dropping them off at school. I know there will be a day that these special moments may subside but understand that my babies know I love them today, tomorrow, and every day! Say "I love you" to your child every day!