Saturday, March 30, 2013
The traditional deviled eggs served with my family’s Easter meal can be even more delightful with a few twists.
Easter brings people together for special meals like other religious and cultural celebrations we share with family and friends. My memories of that Sunday remind me that we were among the fortunate children. We had Easter baskets filled with decorated eggs, candy and an Easter bunny waiting for us after church. The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ also meant a spread of delicious dishes would be served at our home. My mother usually made roasted lamb, mashed potatoes and asparagus or baked ham, sweet potatoes and green beans. Whatever menu she decided on, we always had deviled eggs with Easter dinner. Our family recipe was southern-style with mayonnaise, mustard and pickle relish. Now, cooking large quantities of meat and …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Spring break is the time for adventure! The only problem is figuring out where to go.
This week is spring break for Montgomery County Public Schools students. All too often for my family, spring break turns into a long slog through an unexciting week wherein my kids desperately want to just play video games and I desperately want my kids to just do anything other than play video games. This year, I decided to get ahead of the game and make plans to keep us busy for much of the week. Step one? Plan an adventure! Because I am really good at thinking ahead, I started planning for our overnight Monday adventure on Sunday. The hardest part was finding a destination. With my three kiddos, once we have a place to go, we automatically have an adventure. The problem was finding a location within a couple of hours of DC that all …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The death of a family pet can be devastating for kids. Hopefully my family's story can give you some ideas to help your own children with pet loss.
My family had a sad weekend. Cassidy, our 13-year-old dog, has been in declining health for a long time. On Saturday, we had our vet come to our home to put her to sleep while she sat on her dog bed and my husband and I petted her head. It was the hardest thing I've done in a long time. Even worse, it was emotionally wrenching for my kids. Losing a pet is difficult for anyone, but it is especially hard for children who don't necessarily understand euthanasia or what happens after death. Sadly, my kids have become experienced at losing furry family members. Over the past couple of years, we have lost five mice and a beloved cat. It has been heartbreaking every time. I believe in being honest and straightforward with my kids even when the …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Nothing will make you more grateful for childcare help as having your partner go out of town for a week.
I am primarily a stay-at-home mom, which means that most of my kids' care falls on me. I'm the parent who packs school lunches, makes sure they do their homework, contacts teachers, goes to doctor appointments, makes dinner, and does all of the other tasks that fall on whomever happens to be home between the hours of 8 in the morning and 7:30 at night. Even though I manage their lives pretty well, there is nothing more exhausting and demoralizing than when my husband, Alex, goes on a trip for work and leaves me to do all of the work. His absence just adds about two hours to my child care day, but those two hours (7-8 a.m. and 7:30-8:30 p.m.) are hard. Alex was out of town for almost all of last week, which left me to solo parent. I …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The Metro trip with my kids that I expected to be a hassle and a half turned out to be an exciting adventure. It turns out that even older kids can find magic in ordinary places.
One of the really wonderful things about having kids is seeing the world through their eyes. For instance, when they're babies and they see a cat and it is like, "Oh, good lord, what is THAT? Because it is AMAZEBALLS!" Then they are toddlers and the little wooden climbing structure at the playground turns into an epic pirate ship that transports their little imaginations around the world and you are reminded of what it is like to be able to see the possibility in anything. Once your kids are a little older—say ages 7 through 11, like mine are—these moments come less often. Don't you worry though, because they still happen. I took all three of my kids on a Metro trip last Friday. Living in the DC area, this may not seem like that big of a …
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Here are the best of this week's Local Voices posts from Maryland Patch sites.
Here are some of the best Local Voices posts in the past week from around Maryland's Patch sites. Remember, if you have something on your mind, it's quick and easy to join the conversation. Just click "Start a Blog" under the top story on our front page. Sequestration: We Have a Choice: U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin talks about the impact budget cuts mandated by sequestration will have on Maryland. Gratia Benedictus XVI: In Montgomery County, a reader wonders what the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI will be. Benedict stepped down from the papacy on Thursday. Starting School Later Does Not Have to Cost More: A Howard County dad points out other jurisdictions that have later start times for schools. Marks Changes Position On County Cars for …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Parents have decades of hard-won experience and knowledge, yet our kids seem to think we know nothing at all. Here's what we know, kids. Here's what we know.
I had a little mental scuffle with my oldest son last weekend. I was trying to impart wisdom to him and he was emphatically doubting my ideas—with tears. I lost the skirmish; it turns out that his ironclad grip on delusion and his sad little face were stronger than my years of experience. It got me thinking though about the things that I have learned over the course of my many years that my kids are convinced they know better about. I made a handy little list that I can stow away and pull out in 30 years to show them that I was right all along. 1. Being edited makes you a better writer. Being edited can also feel like the worst thing in the world, but it almost always improves what you produce. This is the scuffle I had with my son last …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Penelope Doyle Johnson shares her thoughts on the beauty of Brookside Gardens.
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Wednesday, February 20
By Penelope Johnson Editor's Note: This poem about Brookside Gardens in Wheaton was first published on Potomac Patch. I worked in Potomac for quite a few years (Bullis and Potomac United Methodist Church) and got to know a lot about its history and the people who live here now. Fascinated by the early history from when Potomac was an Indian trail and through the Civil War skirmishes right here in Potomac and how it affected families and church congregations, I am drawn back often. I live in Rockville and spend every waking minute writing or spending time with family, grandchildren and our dogs, some of whom come with rescue tales (tails!) of their own. _______ Gold hazel catkins in the wood and Lenten roses hovering at our feet bloomed …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Did your kids have a Valentine's Day party at school last week? See how you do on our quiz about the joy that is the classroom party.
Valentine's Day came and went last week, which means that sugar-fueled Valentine's Day class parties have come and gone as well. After attending two of them last week, I got to thinking about these parties. I have been to something close to six million and four of them, so I feel like I am something of an expert. Are you? Take the quiz! 1. Classroom parties should consist of: (a) a snack, an activity, and some mayhem (b) goodie bags and organized activities (c) at least one child under a desk chanting, "more sugar, more sugar, more sugar..." Answer: (a) If we're being honest here, you could also have answered with option (c) and I would have counted you right. I've seen it happen at more than one party. 2. Snacks at a classroom party …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Kids grow up so fast. And every stage they go through seems harder to parent through than the last.
One of the most obnoxious things about parenting is that just as you (mostly) master one stage of your kids' lives, they move on to another one. This is an excellent reason to have more than one kid. This is also why everyone (mostly) jokes about how they wreck their first child. So far, the level of difficulty of each life stage my kids has gone through is harder than the one before it. The exception is that "big kid" is easier than "little kid." However, I am something like four days into "puberty" and it's already 16 times harder than "big kid," so the difficulty curve is still headed sharply up. I'm hopeful that at some point, that trend inverts and those stages start to get easier. Stop laughing at me. I've created a handy dandy guide…
Jessica McFadden
9:15 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
I love the dog party and the poster and that you shared this intimate family moment with us all. more ›