LancMoms - February 2011
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LancMoms.com | February 12, 2011
MOM’S THE WORD:
Toddlers and their grownup terrors
Lisa Fegley Meet Dr. Pia Fenimore
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Barbara Hough Roda
Toddlers and their grown-up terrors
On a recent Wednesday, I forced myself to sit through a full episode of TLC’s “Toddlers & Tiaras.’’ Maybe the show’s promos about driven — who’s at the wheel is a matter of opinion — little beauty pageant contenders finally got the best of my curiosity. Maybe I was too weary to get off the couch. Either way, I was hooked the moment the camera panned an Oklahoma turtle farm that is home to still-in-diapers contestant SamiJo. I met 4-year-old Jaclynn, a precocious redhead who promised to “rock that stage’’ in the talent competition. And there was Alexis, 5, who despite tearful pleas, endured grown-up pain to be the kind of “Ultimate Grand Supreme’’ beauty contender her mother envisions. I watched Alexis squirm and scream as hot wax was applied to her face and then ripped away — along with the brow hair that her mother insisted so impairs her appearance. All this after Alexis’ mom confided that skin came off in a previous waxing. No wonder the child wailed at the prospect; she knew what was coming. I felt like the accessory to a crime. And I’m not even getting into the fake eyelashes, or the Cleopatra costume. Meanwhile, SamiJo’s mother contemplated artificial nails for the toddler. She gave her “special juice’’ from a soda can. She stuck duct tape to the tot’s arms to keep an off-the-shoulders costume in place. Did I mention the spray tan? The mascara? “I don’t know how SamiJo would react today if she didn’t win,’’ said her mother, obviously annoyed by her daughter’s childish behavior on competition day. Uh, Mom: SamiJo is 15 months old. Keep in mind that the toddler was this parent’s fourth attempt at conceiving her only girl. Now Mom is adamant that SamiJo will, most definitely, wear a Miss America or Miss Universe crown. For SamiJo’s sake, her dreams better mirror her mother’s ambitions. I won’t watch “Toddlers & Tiaras’’ again. I’m better off with “Cake Boss.’’ Or maybe a Jeannette Walls book. I didn’t like seeing preschoolers strut around in provocative hairstyles, makeup and costumes that are better left, if at all, to adults a decade or two older. And this, as girls struggle with body image, selfesteem and conflicting societal expectations. The show cast a glaring spotlight on parents, many of whom live vicariously through children who have no choice but to acquiesce to the rabid obsessions of their moms and dads. They are poster parents for the extreme, and it’s not a pretty picture. But as I turned off the TV, I thought about the many ways we adults too often impose our desires on kids. I wanted my daughter to take piano lessons, just like I did, from second grade well into high school. But by her third year of study, I begrudgingly accepted what she’d discovered much sooner: Piano was less about her and much more about me. Now, she’s happy with her own dreams made tangible through ballet shoes, watercolors and books, books, books. I recall one Saturday, many years ago, when she was still playing soccer. The opposing team’s coach loudly and mercilessly berated one of his players: his own young daughter. He was a parental terror, and his ridiculous display would have been laughable but for the relentless emotional abuse he inflicted upon his child. Fighting back tears, she chased that soccer ball with a heartbreaking mix of courage and fear. Dad needed to get over himself. And to this day I’m ashamed that I, or some other adult, didn’t walk onto the field and put an arm around that child. I did see a snippet of what I’d hoped for in “Toddlers & Tiaras.” Jaclynn, whose pageant attributes include a competitive spirit and what appears to be a grounded, supportive family. After she fell in the talent competition, got up, rediscovered her smile and went on to have a terrific time, I smiled back. The important thing, her older sister said later, was that Jaclynn had fun. I’m not going to tell you where she placed in the competition; it doesn’t matter. What does, is that her beaming dad, through it all, couldn’t have been more proud. Imagine that. Barbara Hough Roda is mom to Faith and managing editor of the Sunday News. Contact her at [email protected] or 481-7335. Check out her blog at LancMoms.com.
The North Museum of Natural History & Science offers a new exhibit, “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway,” which examines early life on Earth with wacky and wild visuals. The exhibit opened Feb. 1 and continues through May 1. See page 6 for details.
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Mom of the Month
By Maureen Leader Special Features Writer
Lisa Fegley
Lisa Fegley is a mom on the move. Whether she is driving her two children to their various activities or she is volunteering at their school or she is attending a board meeting or she is skiing or hiking … Fegley is definitely on the move. Fegley and her husband, Tim have been married for 18 years and they are the parents of Ellen, 13, and Ryan, 10. When Tim nominated his wife for Mom of the Month he said one of the best things about her was, “her ability to organize a hectic household with two busy kids and a husband seemingly going in three different directions.” When Fegley first had her children she worked outside the home in medical billing. “It would have been very hard for me to stay home fulltime,” Fegley remembers. But as her children grew they quickly became interested in doing more. Ellen was in kindergarten and Ryan was about a year old when Fegley decided to become a fulltime mother. She wanted to be more involved and she wanted
to be able to take the children to their various activities. The change was a “really hard decision,” she said. Things were working well. “I had them in a really good daycare. They really liked it there and they never got sick.” But she wanted to be more active in her children’s lives and also more involved in their school. “I wanted to know more about what my kids were doing,” she said. Since Fegley made the decision to be a stay at home mother, she hasn’t missed a beat. And neither have her children. Currently the Fegleys are involved with dance, scouting, football, baseball and cheering. Lisa is on the Board of Christian Education at her church where she helps coordinate various children’s activities like Vacation Bible School. She also recently became co-president of her son’s school Parent Teacher Organization. Fegley says that without working fulltime outside the home she now has the time to volunteer and she does as much as she can. “I want to do my part,” she said. She believes
Lisa Fegley with her children, Ellen and Ryan.
volunteering at school is the right thing to do. “If each person just does one thing then that lightens the load for the others.” She also explained how volunteering sets a good example for her children and how it teaches them service to others. Though it may seem like Fegley is pulled in many different directions, she’s able to handle it all. She says she is a “detail oriented person” and she has a very organized calendar. Still there are times when things don’t always go as smoothly as she planned. Fegley admits there are times when “I get crazy. I do get frantic.” When the kid’s schedules are really ramped up… when there’s sports and board meetings to juggle, Fegley has learned that her family can only keep that sort of busy schedule going for six weeks or so at a time. That’s when she knows she is reaching her limit. “Then,” Fegley says, “something’s got to give!” But at the same time she says that if her life wasn’t like this she would get bored. Busy moms like Fegley
often see dinnertime as a daily “Sometimes we just don’t challenge. How can they get eat… or we eat at 8 p.m.!” their families fed while getting Every family needs down to all activities and events on time and for the Fegleys that is time? Wednesday and Friday nights Fegley has an easy attitude - continued on page 4 about this:
Mom details
Fegley loves to read and she enjoys Harlequin romances. “They’re quick and easy to read.” Fegley takes a ZUMBA Latin exercise class but admits it is a bit challenging for her. She says, “I just can’t shake quite like that!” Fegley grew up in Manheim. Fegley doesn’t worry about her children growing up too fast. She says, “I never minded the natural progression of my children.” Burgundy is Fegley’s favorite color. Fegley has one younger sister.
with Artist Ray Troll and Paleontologist Kirk Johnson
Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway
Now through May 1
400 College Ave. Lancaster 291-3941 www.northmuseum.org
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My child can’t concentrate — Why?
Phillip was only in first grade when school problems surfaced. By second grade he was falling further behind in reading and no one could figure out why. His I.Q. scores were in the 98th percentile. A standard eye examination had revealed a mild case of farsightedness and he wore glasses to “correct“ the condition. Still he reversed letters and numbers, skipped and/or reread words, couldn’t concentrate, his mind wandered and he became frustrated and angry during reading group. He made no improvement even working with a reading tutor. The school psychologist determined that he was suffering from an “incipient learning disability.” Phillip’s case is not unique. This happens frequently. While traditional eye care has advanced significantly in the areas of pathology and surgery, the regular eye exam is, in many ways, stuck in the early 1900s. In fact the Snellen chart, used to measure 20/20 eyesight was invented during the Civil War. Many people have the idea that certain learning disabilities will be outgrown. and vision are crucial to the understanding of ADD/ADH, reading and learning disabilities, Autism, etc. Sight occurs in the eyes: and, vision occurs in the brain. Since vision is our dominant sense (80 percent of learning occurs thru the visual sense), the importance of that interplay between eyes and brain is critical. If children begin to fall behind, it can effect their self confidence and affect the rest of their lives. Many will develop the “I can’t do it” syndrome. This is a sort of “learned helpfulness” where the child becomes accustomed to failure, and thinks of himself as unable to achieve and learn. The symptoms of binocular dysfunctions include: can’t concentrate, mind wanders, short attention span, easily distractible, etc. Sounds like ADD/ADHD, doesn’t it? This is why so many kids are MISdiagnosed with ADD/ADHD and placed on drugs. Many parents are frustrated because no one can tell them why. So it is easy to accept medication as the answer. In Phillip’s case, like many other children, he was unable to make his eyes work together as a team (convergence insufficiency). Phillip was unable to get the two images from his two eyes to fuse into one. He reported seeing double at a distance of 10 inches from his nose. Imagine trying to concentrate on reading or homework while seeing double. Phillip began a non-invasive program of vision therapy. After about 20 sessions, Phillip was reading at grade level and his school work improved dramatically, allowing him to fulfill his intellectual potential. We see a significant improvement with about 90 percent of these patients. Parents report not only seeing vast improvement in concentration, reading, and learning but also vast changes in self confidence. When I last spoke to Phillip, he related to me that he had gone on to attend and graduate from an Ivy league college. Today
he is successful, confident, and above all else, happy and a very well adjusted adult.
Dr. Arthur Seiderman
The research tells us that 73 percent of all children with reading/learning disorders have binocular and/or perceptual dysfunctions. Most parents believe if their child has 20/20 eyesight — perfect. Not true. The difference between sight
For questions or more information, call (717) 6560534 (ask for Missy). Dr. Arthur Seiderman (Leola, PA) an optometrist and psychologist, who is a graduate of The Gesell Institute’s program of Child Developent at Yale University, has written several books, lectured throughout the USA, Canada, and Europe. His work has been translated into six languages. He taught graduate level courses at Penn State University for many years, is a past president of The Disabled Reader Group of The International Reading Association (IRA), and maintains his private practice in Leola.
A very helpful web site is: www.helpaddvisiontherapy.com
Mom of the Month
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when they spend time together with nothing scheduled. During these evenings they like to watch movies together or play games. Fegley remembers what it was like before she had children. She and her husband were always very active even then. Fegley says the two would meet at home after work and ride bikes together. Something else they enjoyed was renovating their home together. “We would paint a room just because we wanted
2010 Central Penn Parent Family Favorite
to,” Fegley recalls. But now home projects like that require much more planning. “Now it is a big production,” she said. Though the Fegleys are very busy and sometimes frazzled, they wouldn’t change a thing. Fegley is not yearning for the
days when her children are moved out of the house. But, what will she do when that time comes? “Well, we’ll just have to find something else to do!”
Here’s what you missed ...
If you haven’t visited resource for children’s health LancMoms.com in the last issues. month, you haven’t entered the contest for a free iPad. A calendar chock full of special events, local theater You don’t have the recipe for offerings and other family Chocolate Chip Cake. entertainment has commenced without you. Or another for Oreo Balls. You can’t answer the question, Disney’s newest cruise ship “Will My Kids Eat It?’’ left the harbor without you. Photos of your children And you weren’t privy to aren’t posted online. lots of advice from local parents about Spanish classes for young You haven’t tried your hand children. at a blog. It’s too bad you don’t know And you don’t know why how easy it is to ask pediatrician your neighbor won’t let her Dr. Pia Fenimore about your teens watch “Skins’’ on MTV. daughter’s dry cough or your son’s poor eating habits. See what you’re missing? LancMoms.com, after all, is a Visit LancMoms.com today.
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Meet ~ Dr. Pia Fenimore
By Amy Balestier LancMoms.com moderator It’s an internal debate familiar to every parent. “Should I? Shouldn’t I? Should I take my child to the doctor? Or is this nothing to worry about? What if it is? What if it REALLY is? Why in the world didn’t I ask about it the last time we were there?!” And on it goes. Pediatrician Pia Fenimore of Lancaster Pediatric Associates is ready to silence the nagging health concerns that keep parents up at night. Through the new “Ask an Expert” forum on LancMoms.com, Dr. Fenimore will directly answer parents’ questions about their children’s health. It’s an online service that may allay parents’ fears, as well as give them valuable information for their children’s well-being. “This column will give people a starting point,” Fenimore says. “It’s perhaps the first thing [parents] can do.” Over the years, changes in the health care system have diminished the amount of time doctors and patients spend together during appointments. Non-vital health questions are often left unasked, Fenimore says. It’s these types of issues that she especially hopes to address through the online forum, as well as through a monthly column in LancMoms Magazine. “People often don’t feel connected with their health care provider.” she explains. [Doctors] feel it too. We want to be there for our patients, but the system is not perfect. And this [column] is one way to bridge the gap.” No question is off-limits, Fenimore emphasizes. Her frank discussion of puberty, to appear in the March 12 issue of LancMoms Magazine, is one example of her intention to create an open dialogue about all health issues. The conversations Fenimore encourages in her work extend well into her family life. Dinner times (“completely underrated in the world,” she notes)
Dr. Pia Fenimore will answer your questions on “Ask the Expert” on LancMoms.com.
Dr. Pia Fenimore with her sons, George, left, and William, right.
are opportunities to discuss pediatrics with her husband, Mitch, and two young sons, William and George. James Buchanan Elementary School — where her sons attend — has been a place to share her medical knowledge with students. And lunch is a chance to talk shop with Dr. William Boben Jr., her father and fellow practitioner at Lancaster Pediatrics. “It’s one of the best perks of the job!,” she declares. While some people draw definitive lines between work and family, Fenimore, a native and resident of Lancaster, continuously blurs those boundaries, and likes it that way. She does not feel guilty taking work calls at home - she has banished the word “guilt” from her vocabulary - and feels her children benefit from her commitment to her job. “When I’m at work, I’m doing something for my kids.,” she says. “I’m confident, happy … I get validation from my kids when they brag about what I do. They understand that it’s important.” So as a parent who is ready to give online advice to worrisome parents, one has to ask, does Dr. Fenimore worry about the same things other
More about Dr. Pia Fenimore …
Hobbies: She loves to ski, garden and, most passionately, travel.
Fun with the family includes: watching things explode and fizzle with home chemistry experiments; tending to their backyard veggie garden; hiking; and dancing in the living room to any type of music. An interesting and random fact: There is always a bag of Swedish Fish in her desk drawer. And, she is unlikely to share them. Other reliable health-focused Web sites she recommends: www.kidshealth.org and aap.org Some advice from the doctor: “Let your children know you value what they say and think by listening to them. We don’t always need to solve their problems. Just listen.”
parents worry about? “No,” she says with a smile. ‘I don’t worry about serious illness in my children. I don’t spend nights looking at my boys with a fever, thinking they have meningitis. What a gift not to worry about that! I try to educate parents so they can stop worrying too.” And with a click of a mouse, that’s just what she intends to do.
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Day Trippin’ North Museum combines family, fun, learning
By Rochelle A. Shenk Special Features Writer The North Museum of Natural History & Science provides opportunities for adults and children of all ages to learn about science, nature and history in a fun and often interactive way. A new exhibit, “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway,” examines early life on Earth with wacky and wild visuals. The exhibit opened Feb. 1 and continues through May 1. “Fossils are all around us.” That’s the message paleontologist Kirk Johnson and artist Ray Troll share in the exhibit. A lot of children are fascinated by dinosaurs “I think it’s because they’re no longer around, so there’s a mystery about them. That mystery and a child’s curiosity can spark the interest,” says Amanda Eckinger, marketing and membership coordinator at the North Museum. Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway features 20 framed pieces of Troll’s whimsical artwork, which were created for a book of the same title, published by Troll and Johnson in 2007. The book records the tale of the duo’s 5,000-mile road trip through the American West as they sought to explore the fossil record. Eckinger explains that the exhibit combines wacky and wild visuals and stories from the book with real fossil specimens from the museum’s paleontology collection. “Kids will enjoy the artwork since it features bright colors, and adults will appreciate the humor in it,” she says. In addition to enjoying the vivid artwork, visitors will also be able to try on some fossilized footprints, dig for dinosaur clues, or just relax at the Fossil Freeway rest stop. Visitors will also be able to participate in a Hamburger Hunt. Ray Troll has drawn and hidden hamburgers throughout the artwork in the exhibition. Guests who complete the Hamburger Hunt can enter to win prizes and coupons from the museum and DJ’s Taste of the 50s restaurant, Lancaster. In conjunction with the exhibit, a very “prehistoric” Volvo will be cruising through the county. Those who spot the North Museum’s “E-Volvo” can also enter to win prizes. Details of both contests can be found at www.northmuseum.org. In association with the exhibit, the museum is offering a special lecture program: Wednesday, March 16, at 7 p.m. in the Adams Auditorium on the F&M campus, Ray Troll, the artist behind the Cruisin’ exhibition, and his companion in crime, Dr. Kirk Johnson, will share their experiences on the road to discover the prehistoric past, and take audience members on a traveling road show full of humor and curiosity with lots of science thrown in for good measure. Following the lecture, which is the second in the EisererHickey Lecture series, Ray and Kirk will be available to sign copies of their book, which will be available for purchase in the North Museum Gift Shop. The program is free to the public. “Both adults and children may find the lecture interesting, however it’s not suitable for preschoolers,” Eckinger says. In addition to special exhibits, the North Museum also has a planetarium as well as a number of permanent exhibits including a dinosaur gallery, Hall of the Cosmos (explore the solar system, the cosmos and beyond), light and sound gallery (explore the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma waves), and Natives of the Susquehanna, which traces the history of the earliest inhabitants along the Susquehanna River. “The North Museum is geared toward families — we have a lot of touchable exhibits in the various galleries,” Eckinger explains. She adds that the museum recently unveiled a new live theater program for the planetarium, “Mars Interrupted”, that’s been in the works for three years. It combines live actors with digital characters and hi-def
Above: a volunteer helps children discover something new. Right: Children play in the Discovery boxes. Below: artwork from the “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway” exhibit.
multi-media and tells the story of two astronauts that are on a journey to Mars to look for life on that planet. Additionally there’s the Live Animal Room and the Discovery Room. The Live Animal Room provides children with an opportunity to get up close to the various animals including snakes and millipedes. The Discovery Room is geared for pre-school age children. They can explore a variety of nature and science topics through guided activities. “The signature piece of the Discovery Room is the Discovery Boxes that include touchable specimens and a guided activity. Since they’re on a variety of topics, the Discovery Boxes are a great way for parents and grandparents to work together with a child,” she says. Eckinger notes that the
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Valentine’s Day on a shoestring budget
By Meredith Aul Special Features Writer Got a very special someone that deserves some very special treatment on Valentine’s Day? Got a tight budget this year? It isn’t necessary to wine and dine your sweetheart at an expensive restaurant to prove your love and devotion. Showing our love is all about setting the mood and choosing words that speak from the heart. The mood you create is the key to romance. While tablecloths, candlelight, and roses certainly set the tone for Valentine’s Day, it’s also important to personalize the event by incorporating some things that hold meaning or memories for the two of you: a photograph of the place you met, a funny or romantic quote said by your partner that made an impact on you, an inside joke, or the first song you danced to as a married couple at your wedding. If dinner for two is the venue, set the table (preferably a small one for intimacy) with linens and your best china and silverware, dim the lights and light some candles. Candles softly illuminate your faces and keep the focus on each other. Base the menu on personal preference. Make your loved one’s favorite meal, whether it’s steak and baked potatoes or pasta with seafood. For a simple, but elegant (and definitely Valentine themed) dessert try Strawberries Romanoff, Coeurs A La Crème, or Fudge Brownies with White Chocolate, Toffee, and Pecans (see recipes). Flowers add beauty and fragrance. A single rose or carnation, lovingly presented, can be as effective as a dozen long-stemmed roses. Turn on some background music. There are many classical and contemporary pieces, depending on your preference, that set the mood for romance. Piano teacher and classical pianist Linda Rasmussen of Lancaster, suggested some of her personal favorites. Classical music lovers will enjoy the strains of Clair de Lune (Debussy), Ravel’s Bolero, Venetian Gondola Song (Mendelssohn), Barcarolle (Jacques Offenbach), Trois Gymnopedies by Satie, Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), or Of Foreign Lands and People by Schuman. If contemporary music has more appeal, Rasmussen recommends Serenade, Angel Eyes, “or anything” by Jim Brickman; The Notebook Theme by Aaron Zigman, Theme from Love Story (Mancini), As Tears Go By (Mick Jagger), Nights in White Satin (Moody Blues), or Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again and All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Weber), or Memories. Khayyam, Rod McKuen, Edna St. Vincent Millay, John Keats, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Some perennial valentine favorites include e. e. cummings, “I Carry Your Heart With Me” and “The Life that I Have,” by Leo Marks, which was recently read at Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. If whispering poetry to your beloved is out of your comfort zone, a handwritten note is the quintessential romantic gesture. A love note need not wax poetic. The important thing, in whatever form you write, is sincerity. Are you first up in the morning? Write an “I love you” message on the bathroom mirror with lipstick. Put a romantic card or invitation to dinner, or a playful or suggestive clue to a surprise to be revealed later, inside your beloved’s briefcase or lunchbox. However you decide to celebrate Valentine’s Day remember that you are the ‘heart’ of the mood you create and the focus of his or her attention. The music, the poetry, the flowers and a love note help to set the scene, but you are the valentine that makes your partner feel special. Strawberries Romanoff Coeurs A La Crème (taken (from the New McCall’s from a magazine long ago!) Cookbook, 1973) Six six-inch squares cheesecloth, moistened 2 pint boxes fresh One eight-ounce package strawberries cream cheese, softened 1 cup confectioner’s sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 cup heavy cream ½ cup sifted powdered sugar 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup whipping cream 2 tablespoons Cointreau or 1 recipe Peach sauce or orange juice Raspberry Sauce Gently wash strawberries in cold water. Drain and hull. In medium bowl, sprinkle sugar over berries and toss gently. Refrigerate one hour, stirring occasionally. In chilled bowl with rotary beater, whip cream until stiff. Add almond extract and Cointreau. Fold into strawberries. Serve at once in wine goblets or brandy snifters.
Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers. Celebrate it with friends and family and especially your kids. Special cards, handmade if possible, along with a special dinner and/or dessert are fun for everyone!
For a romantic mix, download your favorites inexpensively on your IPod; or, put on a romantic album featuring Jim Brickman, Chris Botti, or Kenny G. In lieu of a self-prepared romantic dinner for two, you can still enjoy a quiet evening at home. Light a fire in the fireplace if you have one. Order Chinese take-out and get out the chopsticks. Cuddle up on the couch and dine over a romantic movie, say The Notebook, Dirty Dancing, Jerry Maguire, An Officer and a Gentleman, or the all-time favorite, Casablanca. Poetry is arguably the purest form of romantic expression. Read aloud, in the right setting, it can touch any heart. Bookstores and libraries carry collections of love poems. If you don’t know what you like, here’s a short list of poets worth investigating: W. H. Auden, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, John Keats, Omar
cream dishes). Holding onto cheesecloth ends, lift off mold; peel off cheesecloth. Serve with Peach or Raspberry sauce. Serves 6.
Peach Sauce Heat ¼ cup apricot preserves until melted; stir in one 10-ounce package frozen peaches thawed, very well drained and chopped, and two tablespoons orange Line six half cup molds liqueur. (muffin tin works well) with Cover and chill. Makes about cheesecloth squares, allowing one cup sauce. the cheesecloth to overhang. In small mixer bowl, blend cheese Raspberry Sauce and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, Heat ¼ cup currant jelly until beating at high speed of electric melted; stir in one 10-ounce mixer until light and fluffy. In separate bowl beat the whipping package frozen raspberries, cream just to soft peaks; fold thawed and well drained, and into cheese mixture. Spoon the two tablespoons dry red wine. Cover and chill. mixture into molds. Makes about one cup sauce. Cover and chill several hours or overnight. To serve, invert on - continued on page 11 plate (I use small pedestal ice
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Visit Room at Lancaster Children and Youth gets makeover
By Maureen Leader Special Features Writer Sometimes all it takes to make a difference in a child’s life is a small, simple gesture. Something like sensitivity, understanding or just a new place to hang out with your family. For the foster children with the Lancaster County Children and Youth Social Service Agency a big difference was made through a room newly-designed and decorated just for them. Lancaster Children and Youth is located at 900 E. King St. and Krystal Wnek is a senior case worker there. She explains that the agency “works to improve the various areas of life for Lancaster County foster children.” The “Visit Room” at the agency is the room where parents meet with their children for quality time together. Because their children are currently residing with foster parents for a variety of reasons, the visits don’t happen very often and can be emotional and stressful. The agency is sensitive to that and wanted the Visit Room to be a place of peace to encourage family togetherness. Wnek said the room gets used on a daily basis. However, according to Wnek, “The Visit Room needed help.” It was first designed with a Veggie Tales theme. But over the years the Veggie Tales toys were broken or lost and the furniture started to show wear. It got to the point where all that was left of the theme in the room were bright red and bright yellow walls. With those colors, it was not a calming place to be and did not help meet the goal of the room: to encourage nurturing family meetings. Wnek said, “We want the visits to go as well as they can.” And those colors did not help. Lancaster artist and interior designer, Jackie Fritsch stepped in to help. Fritsch, who is a mother herself, understood the seriousness of the job and wanted to use her skills in art, color and design to create a new room for the foster children of Lancaster County. She knew the bright yellow and the bright red in the room could create an overly stimulating atmosphere — not the atmosphere the agency wanted. Wnek and Fritsch agreed that the room needed big changes in order to create a more soothing, relaxing place for visiting families. Fritsch got to work and did some research. In order to reach the agency’s goals for the room, she knew she had to pick a theme and colors that would be pleasing to parents and their children who range in age from six months to 17 years. And she knew she had to make it work using colors that were calming and soothing. Fritsch finally settled on a Safari Jungle theme. The theme appeals
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Jackie Fritsch, Interior — Donated a Safari Game, Designer, 717-285-5897 Monkeys, Rhino & Giraffe stuffed animals Lowe’s — Donated a shelf 241 W. Roseville Road # 3 with baskets, lights & bulbs so (717) 560-9628 autistic children can use this Interiors Furniture Store room without being disturbed by and FlexSteel Industries Inc. buzzing lights) — Donated a Flexsteel Leather Lowe’s of Lancaster love seat 25 Rohrerstown Road Interiors Furniture Store www.lowes.com 3130 Columbia Avenue www.interiors-furniture.com Garden Spot Furniture — Flexsteel Industries Inc. Donated a table and chairs set 107 Pitney Road 701 E. Main St., Ephrata www.flexsteel.com (717) 733-8309 Walmart — Donated a $50 Education Station Inc. gift card
to a wide range of ages and the jungle is easily portrayed using earth tones. Fritsch also designed and painted murals for the walls herself. The murals show mother animals with their babies. All the animals have soft loving faces that Fritsch designed. The browns and greens that Fritsch used are also more subdued than the bright Veggie Tales colors In addition to volunteering countless hours of her time to research, paint and create the new room, Fritsch also contacted area businesses for donations to help Krystal Wnek, left, and Jackie Fritsch look over plans to complete it. She was successful makeover the Visit Room. On the wall behind them, and on getting new lighting fixtures, below, are murals painted by Fritsch. accessories, toys and furnishings for the room. Local painting contractor, Island Painting helped Fritsch by priming the walls before she painted her murals. The newly decorated Lancaster County Children and Youth Visit Room was recently completed and Wnek said that it is “beyond belief.” The agency is “thrilled.” She added, “When you imagine seeing your children only a couple of hours a month, you want it under the best of circumstances and this room helps achieve that.” Fritsch, though, downplays her involvement stating simply, “This is the stuff I love to do.” She said she had a lot of fun with the project and acknowledges all the help she got from other businesses to decorate the room.
2030 Fruitville Pike www.Walmart.com Phillips Paint & Decorating — Donated 1 can of primer & 6 gallons of environmentally friendly paint 136 South Centerville Road www. phillipspaint.com Island Painting — Donated labor to prime walls for murals Island Painting Incorporated Bruce Grace, owner 3806 Concordia Rd Columbia (717) 285-9074
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Power Packs Project helps feed hungry school kids
By Wendy Komancheck Special Features Writer The Chinese proverb,“Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime,” motivates Joan Espenshade, founder and director of the Power Packs Project. In 2005, Espenshade learned about a food insecurity problem in Lancaster city. She noticed that children, who get free or reduced lunches at school, were not eating healthy meals at home over the weekend. She devised a program called the Power Packs Project to end childhood malnutrition in Lancaster County. She began by researching how other food programs around the U.S. organized their food charities. Unfortunately, she found many programs provided prepackaged foods, such as granola bars, pudding cups, and the like. Not only are these foods higher in sugars and lack essential nutrition, but they are also not solving the problem — rather they are masking it. Thus, Espenshade designed a program where parents can pick up a simple recipe, complete with inexpensive, nutritious ingredients, to make a sit-down meal over the weekend. The Power Packs Project provides binders for parents to store their recipes; thus, enabling them to collect a cookbook of sorts to refer to at another time. In addition to recipes and ingredients, Power Packs also supplies simple, nutritious foods, such as peanut butter and cereal. They get their food from Amelia Grocery Outlets and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. “We thought that those (other) models would teach children to hoard, to covet expensive, highly processed food and that eating was a solitary activity. We wanted a program that had a longterm impact. So, we designed a program that not only provided weekend food to bridge the gap between Friday’s school lunch and Monday’s breakfast, but also empowered the parents to regularly provide healthy, low-cost meals for the families. The binders encourage the families to save the recipes and reuse them — 85 percent say they do. The saying ‘Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and he eats for a lifetime’ truly captures the goal of the project,” says Espenshade. In 2005, Espenshade started with one school. Five years later, her organization provides recipes and food packs to 21 schools in six Lancaster County school districts. It takes more than 250 volunteers to service the 500 families that receive the Power Packs. There are many schools on waiting lists for the Power Packs Project. “When we start at a new school, we contact an existing organization, often at a church, but we also have groups from F&M’s Hillel organization, students from Lancaster Country Day, Lancaster Rotary Club and retired teacher groups. And they become the distribution partners for that school. They recruit and schedule volunteers from within their organization. “At the beginning of the school year, all of the families in the schools are given information about Power Packs, income guidelines, and a participant agreement. If they are income eligible and think the program
It takes more than 250 volunteers to service the 500 families that receive the Power Packs.
Joan Espenshade with Power Packs Project supplies.
will help their family, they sign the agreement and that’s all it takes!” explains Espenshade. During the past five years, the Power Packs Project has grown significantly. And with that growth, there have been some bumps along the way. Espenshade credits Power Packs for the ability to meet a tangible need, along with a well-thought out business plan, and the simple concept of providing ingredients for a recipe. “We have been very thoughtful in making sure our infrastructure could support the growth. But there are ‘humps’ to get over during the growth, like when we struggled to operate out of an overcrowded warehouse until we found a bigger one, or (when) our volunteers’ vehicles were too small to pick up the larger amount of food until we arranged with vendors for direct delivery,” Espenshade says. Espenshade wishes that she could end all childhood hunger in the county, but finds solace that her program is meeting an immediate need and having a long-term impact on low income Lancaster County families. “Hungry children cannot learn and Power Packs Project is making sure that children are going to school, well-fed and ready to learn. Witnessing the support of the community
and working with wonderful volunteers has also been rewarding,” she states. In the future, Espenshade hopes to offer food distribution sites at after-school programs. If you or your group wants to volunteer with the Power Packs Project or donate food items, please contact the Power Packs Project at (717) 989-2450 or visit www.powerpacksproject.org.
Recently, the Power Packs Project won a Capacity Building Grant from the Lancaster Community Foundation to expand its reach to other non-profits. Power Packs won $20,000 to develop affiliate Power Packs programs. Joan Espenshade, the founder and director of the Power Packs Project, explains that the grant money will be used to help other Lancaster County non-profits start their own Power Packs Project. This would extend to Lancaster County communities that would benefit from having a Power Packs Project in their school districts. The affiliate program ends up being a win-win for Power Packs and for other Lancaster County non-profits. Power Packs can share its knowledge, operational tips, recipes, and how to open an account with the Central Pa. Food Bank. And the non-profits would organize their own volunteers, purchase food, and maintain their own warehouses. This keeps overhead low for Power Packs and for the non-profits, as well as extending Power Packs’ reach in helping hungry school kids over the weekends throughout Lancaster County.
Power Packs shares with other non-profits
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Valentine’s Day
- continued from page 7
Fudge Brownies with White Chocolate, Toffee, and Pecans (for the chocolate lover) from the complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook Brownies: 1 cup all purpose flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 12 ounces unsweetened chocolate 1 cup unsalted butter 3 cups sugar 6 large eggs at room temperature 2 tablespoons vanilla extract Topping ¾ cup toffee pieces ¾ cup finely chopped pecans
1½ cups white chocolate, a cake tester inserted into the coarsely chopped center of pan comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not Preheat oven to 350 degrees. overbake. Let cool for 20 minutes, then Grease a 12x18 inch jelly roll sprinkle the white chocolate pan. To make the brownie: In a chunks over the brownies. Allow to cool to room large bowl, sift together the or overnight, flour, baking powder, and salt. temperature before cutting and serving. Set aside. In a medium-size saucepan Makes twenty-four three-inch over low heat, melt the chocolate brownies. with the butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Cool 5-10 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and mix in the sugar, the eggs, and the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the toffee and pecans evenly over the batter. Bake 25-28 minutes or until
TV viewing
- continued from page 9
They weren’t. So I started to overlook their TV viewing just to see what it was about and that it was appropriate. For the most part the shows were ok but Disney’s situation comedies like Zack and Cody’s Suite Life On Deck, Hannah Montana, The Wizards of Waverly Place and Nickelodeon’s I-Carly can be entertaining but soon became annoying. Zack and Cody are not as funny and cute as when they were younger and the witchcraft on Wizards can be downright creepy to me. Some of the characters on these shows are also rude. The Lancaster Book Club Mom mentioned earlier also had an interesting observation about some kids’ situation comedies: “The kid actors seem to be screaming all the time. Every situation is a crisis. I find my own children sometimes talk like that. They can get so loud and they sound just like those kid actors. I have to say to them, ‘Mommy is right here. There is no need to shout.’” As my daughters have gotten a bit older they have gotten into some reality shows like Say Yes to the Dress, What Not to Wear, Man VS. Food, The
Inevitable
- continued from page 9
Too many snow days? Here are some ways to keep your kids occupied. * Teach kids some practical lessons. Kids likely won’t miss the classroom during their days off but that doesn’t mean there aren’t enjoyable ways for kids to learn while they’re away from school. Teach kids practical lessons, like how to cook a favorite meal or how to fix things around the house. This gives parents a chance to spend some quality time with their kids while encouraging kids to learn beyond the classroom. And who knows, such lessons at home may uncover a child’s hidden talent. * Encourage kids to read for pleasure. Reading improves vocabulary and can stimulate a child’s imagination. On snow days, encourage kids to read a book or the daily newspaper for Little Couple and Cake Boss. For the most part pleasure, assuring them there these shows are not too heavy or inappropriate. won’t be any quizzes or tests after Some have some real life situations that we could talk about, but for the most part they are pretty innocent. And some shows have actually given us something we could do as a family. I would never have watched 30 seconds of America’s Got Talent - continued from page 6 when I was a D.I.N.K. (Double Income No Kids) But my daughters started watching it this season museum offers a variety of and every Tuesday and Wednesday night we different experiences. “One would wait to see who would be voted off. On of our goals is to keep science the night that the season winner was announced I alive and fresh for our visitors. found myself racing home from a dinner out with We always want to provide a girlfriends to get home in time to watch it live. new and unique experience for And though, because of my daughters I have visitors,” she stresses. missed some episodes of the Sopranos and Sex The North Museum of Natural and the City, it is because of them that I got to History & Science is located at enjoy Letters to Juliet, Mama Mia, Julie and Julia, 400 College Ave. in Lancaster. Monsters, Inc, Confessions of a Shopoholic, Admission to the Museum is Princess Diaries and the entire Shrek series. And besides, before I know it, my daughters $7.50 for adults, and $6.50 for will be all grown up and gone and I‘ll have all the juniors (ages 3-17) and seniors time in the world to watch all my television shows (65 and over). Planetarium shows are an additional $2.50 all by myself. to the price of admission. The Museum is free for children under three. For information,
Keeping kids busy
each chapter. Get the ball rolling with the books they were given as presents during Christmas or Chanukah. Or, when the forecast predicts snow and/or ice take a trip to the local library and let kids choose their own books. * Soak up some snow. Parents who work from home can liven up the day by heading outside with the kids to build a snowman or have a snowball fight. Moms and Dads will enjoy the break from work while kids get some fun in the snow.
* Make snow ice cream. Here’s Paula Deen’s recipe: 8 cups snow, or shaved ice 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions Place snow or shaved ice into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.
Museum
call (717) 291-3941 or visit www.northmuseum.org.
Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway was organized by the Burke Museum at the University of Washington, Seattle in collaboration with Ray Troll and Kirk Johnson. Major sponsorship for the traveling exhibition has been provided by Microsoft Corporation, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation, and Wells Fargo. Locally, it is sponsored by Ellen A. and Robert F. Groff, with Stadel Volvo and WITF.
And in many ways that is true. It could be the older sibling of a playmate, the Viagra commercial, The Sopranos rerun you were watching with your husband or your Uncle Charlie who had too much to drink at your Thanksgiving dinner table. Chances are at some point your kid is going to hear and see something you wish they hadn’t. So it’s up to us as parents to be there with an explanation. Don’t ignore the situation. Keep it simple, keep it light, keep it age appropriate. And stay calm. For older children some shows and yes, some
commercials can be those perfect “teachable moments” we are always reading about in parenting magazines. Use them. Don’t be embarrassed — chances are your child is and it’s time for you to step up and be the grown up. Start talking. Ask and answer questions. And after giving the facts on the subjects ask your child what his or her opinion is. Use this as an opportunity to share your opinion and your family’s values on it, as well. Awkward? Yes. But sometimes awkward moments can be just the gateway we need to open up an entire discussion on some very important subjects with our children.
Educating Lancaster’s Children for over 25 years!
2750 Weaver Road, Lancaster www.montlanc.com
Karen Rubenstein, Director ~ [email protected]
717-560-0815 Ph • 717-560-0817 Fax Ages 20 months thru 6th grade
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Barbara Hough Roda
Toddlers and their grown-up terrors
On a recent Wednesday, I forced myself to sit through a full episode of TLC’s “Toddlers & Tiaras.’’ Maybe the show’s promos about driven — who’s at the wheel is a matter of opinion — little beauty pageant contenders finally got the best of my curiosity. Maybe I was too weary to get off the couch. Either way, I was hooked the moment the camera panned an Oklahoma turtle farm that is home to still-in-diapers contestant SamiJo. I met 4-year-old Jaclynn, a precocious redhead who promised to “rock that stage’’ in the talent competition. And there was Alexis, 5, who despite tearful pleas, endured grown-up pain to be the kind of “Ultimate Grand Supreme’’ beauty contender her mother envisions. I watched Alexis squirm and scream as hot wax was applied to her face and then ripped away — along with the brow hair that her mother insisted so impairs her appearance. All this after Alexis’ mom confided that skin came off in a previous waxing. No wonder the child wailed at the prospect; she knew what was coming. I felt like the accessory to a crime. And I’m not even getting into the fake eyelashes, or the Cleopatra costume. Meanwhile, SamiJo’s mother contemplated artificial nails for the toddler. She gave her “special juice’’ from a soda can. She stuck duct tape to the tot’s arms to keep an off-the-shoulders costume in place. Did I mention the spray tan? The mascara? “I don’t know how SamiJo would react today if she didn’t win,’’ said her mother, obviously annoyed by her daughter’s childish behavior on competition day. Uh, Mom: SamiJo is 15 months old. Keep in mind that the toddler was this parent’s fourth attempt at conceiving her only girl. Now Mom is adamant that SamiJo will, most definitely, wear a Miss America or Miss Universe crown. For SamiJo’s sake, her dreams better mirror her mother’s ambitions. I won’t watch “Toddlers & Tiaras’’ again. I’m better off with “Cake Boss.’’ Or maybe a Jeannette Walls book. I didn’t like seeing preschoolers strut around in provocative hairstyles, makeup and costumes that are better left, if at all, to adults a decade or two older. And this, as girls struggle with body image, selfesteem and conflicting societal expectations. The show cast a glaring spotlight on parents, many of whom live vicariously through children who have no choice but to acquiesce to the rabid obsessions of their moms and dads. They are poster parents for the extreme, and it’s not a pretty picture. But as I turned off the TV, I thought about the many ways we adults too often impose our desires on kids. I wanted my daughter to take piano lessons, just like I did, from second grade well into high school. But by her third year of study, I begrudgingly accepted what she’d discovered much sooner: Piano was less about her and much more about me. Now, she’s happy with her own dreams made tangible through ballet shoes, watercolors and books, books, books. I recall one Saturday, many years ago, when she was still playing soccer. The opposing team’s coach loudly and mercilessly berated one of his players: his own young daughter. He was a parental terror, and his ridiculous display would have been laughable but for the relentless emotional abuse he inflicted upon his child. Fighting back tears, she chased that soccer ball with a heartbreaking mix of courage and fear. Dad needed to get over himself. And to this day I’m ashamed that I, or some other adult, didn’t walk onto the field and put an arm around that child. I did see a snippet of what I’d hoped for in “Toddlers & Tiaras.” Jaclynn, whose pageant attributes include a competitive spirit and what appears to be a grounded, supportive family. After she fell in the talent competition, got up, rediscovered her smile and went on to have a terrific time, I smiled back. The important thing, her older sister said later, was that Jaclynn had fun. I’m not going to tell you where she placed in the competition; it doesn’t matter. What does, is that her beaming dad, through it all, couldn’t have been more proud. Imagine that. Barbara Hough Roda is mom to Faith and managing editor of the Sunday News. Contact her at [email protected] or 481-7335. Check out her blog at LancMoms.com.
The North Museum of Natural History & Science offers a new exhibit, “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway,” which examines early life on Earth with wacky and wild visuals. The exhibit opened Feb. 1 and continues through May 1. See page 6 for details.
Check out LancMoms.com’s Recipe Finder Everything from Almond Joy Cheesecake to Pumpkin Apple Waffles.
Check out what other Lancaster Moms (and Dads) are doing and saying. Forums, blogs, questions, and answers all can be found at LancMoms.com. Get a LancMoms.com card, good for discounts and services. Need a recipe?
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FebruAry 12, 2011 •
Mom of the Month
By Maureen Leader Special Features Writer
Lisa Fegley
Lisa Fegley is a mom on the move. Whether she is driving her two children to their various activities or she is volunteering at their school or she is attending a board meeting or she is skiing or hiking … Fegley is definitely on the move. Fegley and her husband, Tim have been married for 18 years and they are the parents of Ellen, 13, and Ryan, 10. When Tim nominated his wife for Mom of the Month he said one of the best things about her was, “her ability to organize a hectic household with two busy kids and a husband seemingly going in three different directions.” When Fegley first had her children she worked outside the home in medical billing. “It would have been very hard for me to stay home fulltime,” Fegley remembers. But as her children grew they quickly became interested in doing more. Ellen was in kindergarten and Ryan was about a year old when Fegley decided to become a fulltime mother. She wanted to be more involved and she wanted
to be able to take the children to their various activities. The change was a “really hard decision,” she said. Things were working well. “I had them in a really good daycare. They really liked it there and they never got sick.” But she wanted to be more active in her children’s lives and also more involved in their school. “I wanted to know more about what my kids were doing,” she said. Since Fegley made the decision to be a stay at home mother, she hasn’t missed a beat. And neither have her children. Currently the Fegleys are involved with dance, scouting, football, baseball and cheering. Lisa is on the Board of Christian Education at her church where she helps coordinate various children’s activities like Vacation Bible School. She also recently became co-president of her son’s school Parent Teacher Organization. Fegley says that without working fulltime outside the home she now has the time to volunteer and she does as much as she can. “I want to do my part,” she said. She believes
Lisa Fegley with her children, Ellen and Ryan.
volunteering at school is the right thing to do. “If each person just does one thing then that lightens the load for the others.” She also explained how volunteering sets a good example for her children and how it teaches them service to others. Though it may seem like Fegley is pulled in many different directions, she’s able to handle it all. She says she is a “detail oriented person” and she has a very organized calendar. Still there are times when things don’t always go as smoothly as she planned. Fegley admits there are times when “I get crazy. I do get frantic.” When the kid’s schedules are really ramped up… when there’s sports and board meetings to juggle, Fegley has learned that her family can only keep that sort of busy schedule going for six weeks or so at a time. That’s when she knows she is reaching her limit. “Then,” Fegley says, “something’s got to give!” But at the same time she says that if her life wasn’t like this she would get bored. Busy moms like Fegley
often see dinnertime as a daily “Sometimes we just don’t challenge. How can they get eat… or we eat at 8 p.m.!” their families fed while getting Every family needs down to all activities and events on time and for the Fegleys that is time? Wednesday and Friday nights Fegley has an easy attitude - continued on page 4 about this:
Mom details
Fegley loves to read and she enjoys Harlequin romances. “They’re quick and easy to read.” Fegley takes a ZUMBA Latin exercise class but admits it is a bit challenging for her. She says, “I just can’t shake quite like that!” Fegley grew up in Manheim. Fegley doesn’t worry about her children growing up too fast. She says, “I never minded the natural progression of my children.” Burgundy is Fegley’s favorite color. Fegley has one younger sister.
with Artist Ray Troll and Paleontologist Kirk Johnson
Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway
Now through May 1
400 College Ave. Lancaster 291-3941 www.northmuseum.org
• FebruAry 12, 2011
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My child can’t concentrate — Why?
Phillip was only in first grade when school problems surfaced. By second grade he was falling further behind in reading and no one could figure out why. His I.Q. scores were in the 98th percentile. A standard eye examination had revealed a mild case of farsightedness and he wore glasses to “correct“ the condition. Still he reversed letters and numbers, skipped and/or reread words, couldn’t concentrate, his mind wandered and he became frustrated and angry during reading group. He made no improvement even working with a reading tutor. The school psychologist determined that he was suffering from an “incipient learning disability.” Phillip’s case is not unique. This happens frequently. While traditional eye care has advanced significantly in the areas of pathology and surgery, the regular eye exam is, in many ways, stuck in the early 1900s. In fact the Snellen chart, used to measure 20/20 eyesight was invented during the Civil War. Many people have the idea that certain learning disabilities will be outgrown. and vision are crucial to the understanding of ADD/ADH, reading and learning disabilities, Autism, etc. Sight occurs in the eyes: and, vision occurs in the brain. Since vision is our dominant sense (80 percent of learning occurs thru the visual sense), the importance of that interplay between eyes and brain is critical. If children begin to fall behind, it can effect their self confidence and affect the rest of their lives. Many will develop the “I can’t do it” syndrome. This is a sort of “learned helpfulness” where the child becomes accustomed to failure, and thinks of himself as unable to achieve and learn. The symptoms of binocular dysfunctions include: can’t concentrate, mind wanders, short attention span, easily distractible, etc. Sounds like ADD/ADHD, doesn’t it? This is why so many kids are MISdiagnosed with ADD/ADHD and placed on drugs. Many parents are frustrated because no one can tell them why. So it is easy to accept medication as the answer. In Phillip’s case, like many other children, he was unable to make his eyes work together as a team (convergence insufficiency). Phillip was unable to get the two images from his two eyes to fuse into one. He reported seeing double at a distance of 10 inches from his nose. Imagine trying to concentrate on reading or homework while seeing double. Phillip began a non-invasive program of vision therapy. After about 20 sessions, Phillip was reading at grade level and his school work improved dramatically, allowing him to fulfill his intellectual potential. We see a significant improvement with about 90 percent of these patients. Parents report not only seeing vast improvement in concentration, reading, and learning but also vast changes in self confidence. When I last spoke to Phillip, he related to me that he had gone on to attend and graduate from an Ivy league college. Today
he is successful, confident, and above all else, happy and a very well adjusted adult.
Dr. Arthur Seiderman
The research tells us that 73 percent of all children with reading/learning disorders have binocular and/or perceptual dysfunctions. Most parents believe if their child has 20/20 eyesight — perfect. Not true. The difference between sight
For questions or more information, call (717) 6560534 (ask for Missy). Dr. Arthur Seiderman (Leola, PA) an optometrist and psychologist, who is a graduate of The Gesell Institute’s program of Child Developent at Yale University, has written several books, lectured throughout the USA, Canada, and Europe. His work has been translated into six languages. He taught graduate level courses at Penn State University for many years, is a past president of The Disabled Reader Group of The International Reading Association (IRA), and maintains his private practice in Leola.
A very helpful web site is: www.helpaddvisiontherapy.com
Mom of the Month
- continued from page 3
when they spend time together with nothing scheduled. During these evenings they like to watch movies together or play games. Fegley remembers what it was like before she had children. She and her husband were always very active even then. Fegley says the two would meet at home after work and ride bikes together. Something else they enjoyed was renovating their home together. “We would paint a room just because we wanted
2010 Central Penn Parent Family Favorite
to,” Fegley recalls. But now home projects like that require much more planning. “Now it is a big production,” she said. Though the Fegleys are very busy and sometimes frazzled, they wouldn’t change a thing. Fegley is not yearning for the
days when her children are moved out of the house. But, what will she do when that time comes? “Well, we’ll just have to find something else to do!”
Here’s what you missed ...
If you haven’t visited resource for children’s health LancMoms.com in the last issues. month, you haven’t entered the contest for a free iPad. A calendar chock full of special events, local theater You don’t have the recipe for offerings and other family Chocolate Chip Cake. entertainment has commenced without you. Or another for Oreo Balls. You can’t answer the question, Disney’s newest cruise ship “Will My Kids Eat It?’’ left the harbor without you. Photos of your children And you weren’t privy to aren’t posted online. lots of advice from local parents about Spanish classes for young You haven’t tried your hand children. at a blog. It’s too bad you don’t know And you don’t know why how easy it is to ask pediatrician your neighbor won’t let her Dr. Pia Fenimore about your teens watch “Skins’’ on MTV. daughter’s dry cough or your son’s poor eating habits. See what you’re missing? LancMoms.com, after all, is a Visit LancMoms.com today.
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FebruAry 12, 2011 •
Meet ~ Dr. Pia Fenimore
By Amy Balestier LancMoms.com moderator It’s an internal debate familiar to every parent. “Should I? Shouldn’t I? Should I take my child to the doctor? Or is this nothing to worry about? What if it is? What if it REALLY is? Why in the world didn’t I ask about it the last time we were there?!” And on it goes. Pediatrician Pia Fenimore of Lancaster Pediatric Associates is ready to silence the nagging health concerns that keep parents up at night. Through the new “Ask an Expert” forum on LancMoms.com, Dr. Fenimore will directly answer parents’ questions about their children’s health. It’s an online service that may allay parents’ fears, as well as give them valuable information for their children’s well-being. “This column will give people a starting point,” Fenimore says. “It’s perhaps the first thing [parents] can do.” Over the years, changes in the health care system have diminished the amount of time doctors and patients spend together during appointments. Non-vital health questions are often left unasked, Fenimore says. It’s these types of issues that she especially hopes to address through the online forum, as well as through a monthly column in LancMoms Magazine. “People often don’t feel connected with their health care provider.” she explains. [Doctors] feel it too. We want to be there for our patients, but the system is not perfect. And this [column] is one way to bridge the gap.” No question is off-limits, Fenimore emphasizes. Her frank discussion of puberty, to appear in the March 12 issue of LancMoms Magazine, is one example of her intention to create an open dialogue about all health issues. The conversations Fenimore encourages in her work extend well into her family life. Dinner times (“completely underrated in the world,” she notes)
Dr. Pia Fenimore will answer your questions on “Ask the Expert” on LancMoms.com.
Dr. Pia Fenimore with her sons, George, left, and William, right.
are opportunities to discuss pediatrics with her husband, Mitch, and two young sons, William and George. James Buchanan Elementary School — where her sons attend — has been a place to share her medical knowledge with students. And lunch is a chance to talk shop with Dr. William Boben Jr., her father and fellow practitioner at Lancaster Pediatrics. “It’s one of the best perks of the job!,” she declares. While some people draw definitive lines between work and family, Fenimore, a native and resident of Lancaster, continuously blurs those boundaries, and likes it that way. She does not feel guilty taking work calls at home - she has banished the word “guilt” from her vocabulary - and feels her children benefit from her commitment to her job. “When I’m at work, I’m doing something for my kids.,” she says. “I’m confident, happy … I get validation from my kids when they brag about what I do. They understand that it’s important.” So as a parent who is ready to give online advice to worrisome parents, one has to ask, does Dr. Fenimore worry about the same things other
More about Dr. Pia Fenimore …
Hobbies: She loves to ski, garden and, most passionately, travel.
Fun with the family includes: watching things explode and fizzle with home chemistry experiments; tending to their backyard veggie garden; hiking; and dancing in the living room to any type of music. An interesting and random fact: There is always a bag of Swedish Fish in her desk drawer. And, she is unlikely to share them. Other reliable health-focused Web sites she recommends: www.kidshealth.org and aap.org Some advice from the doctor: “Let your children know you value what they say and think by listening to them. We don’t always need to solve their problems. Just listen.”
parents worry about? “No,” she says with a smile. ‘I don’t worry about serious illness in my children. I don’t spend nights looking at my boys with a fever, thinking they have meningitis. What a gift not to worry about that! I try to educate parents so they can stop worrying too.” And with a click of a mouse, that’s just what she intends to do.
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Day Trippin’ North Museum combines family, fun, learning
By Rochelle A. Shenk Special Features Writer The North Museum of Natural History & Science provides opportunities for adults and children of all ages to learn about science, nature and history in a fun and often interactive way. A new exhibit, “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway,” examines early life on Earth with wacky and wild visuals. The exhibit opened Feb. 1 and continues through May 1. “Fossils are all around us.” That’s the message paleontologist Kirk Johnson and artist Ray Troll share in the exhibit. A lot of children are fascinated by dinosaurs “I think it’s because they’re no longer around, so there’s a mystery about them. That mystery and a child’s curiosity can spark the interest,” says Amanda Eckinger, marketing and membership coordinator at the North Museum. Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway features 20 framed pieces of Troll’s whimsical artwork, which were created for a book of the same title, published by Troll and Johnson in 2007. The book records the tale of the duo’s 5,000-mile road trip through the American West as they sought to explore the fossil record. Eckinger explains that the exhibit combines wacky and wild visuals and stories from the book with real fossil specimens from the museum’s paleontology collection. “Kids will enjoy the artwork since it features bright colors, and adults will appreciate the humor in it,” she says. In addition to enjoying the vivid artwork, visitors will also be able to try on some fossilized footprints, dig for dinosaur clues, or just relax at the Fossil Freeway rest stop. Visitors will also be able to participate in a Hamburger Hunt. Ray Troll has drawn and hidden hamburgers throughout the artwork in the exhibition. Guests who complete the Hamburger Hunt can enter to win prizes and coupons from the museum and DJ’s Taste of the 50s restaurant, Lancaster. In conjunction with the exhibit, a very “prehistoric” Volvo will be cruising through the county. Those who spot the North Museum’s “E-Volvo” can also enter to win prizes. Details of both contests can be found at www.northmuseum.org. In association with the exhibit, the museum is offering a special lecture program: Wednesday, March 16, at 7 p.m. in the Adams Auditorium on the F&M campus, Ray Troll, the artist behind the Cruisin’ exhibition, and his companion in crime, Dr. Kirk Johnson, will share their experiences on the road to discover the prehistoric past, and take audience members on a traveling road show full of humor and curiosity with lots of science thrown in for good measure. Following the lecture, which is the second in the EisererHickey Lecture series, Ray and Kirk will be available to sign copies of their book, which will be available for purchase in the North Museum Gift Shop. The program is free to the public. “Both adults and children may find the lecture interesting, however it’s not suitable for preschoolers,” Eckinger says. In addition to special exhibits, the North Museum also has a planetarium as well as a number of permanent exhibits including a dinosaur gallery, Hall of the Cosmos (explore the solar system, the cosmos and beyond), light and sound gallery (explore the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma waves), and Natives of the Susquehanna, which traces the history of the earliest inhabitants along the Susquehanna River. “The North Museum is geared toward families — we have a lot of touchable exhibits in the various galleries,” Eckinger explains. She adds that the museum recently unveiled a new live theater program for the planetarium, “Mars Interrupted”, that’s been in the works for three years. It combines live actors with digital characters and hi-def
Above: a volunteer helps children discover something new. Right: Children play in the Discovery boxes. Below: artwork from the “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway” exhibit.
multi-media and tells the story of two astronauts that are on a journey to Mars to look for life on that planet. Additionally there’s the Live Animal Room and the Discovery Room. The Live Animal Room provides children with an opportunity to get up close to the various animals including snakes and millipedes. The Discovery Room is geared for pre-school age children. They can explore a variety of nature and science topics through guided activities. “The signature piece of the Discovery Room is the Discovery Boxes that include touchable specimens and a guided activity. Since they’re on a variety of topics, the Discovery Boxes are a great way for parents and grandparents to work together with a child,” she says. Eckinger notes that the
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FebruAry 12, 2011 •
Valentine’s Day on a shoestring budget
By Meredith Aul Special Features Writer Got a very special someone that deserves some very special treatment on Valentine’s Day? Got a tight budget this year? It isn’t necessary to wine and dine your sweetheart at an expensive restaurant to prove your love and devotion. Showing our love is all about setting the mood and choosing words that speak from the heart. The mood you create is the key to romance. While tablecloths, candlelight, and roses certainly set the tone for Valentine’s Day, it’s also important to personalize the event by incorporating some things that hold meaning or memories for the two of you: a photograph of the place you met, a funny or romantic quote said by your partner that made an impact on you, an inside joke, or the first song you danced to as a married couple at your wedding. If dinner for two is the venue, set the table (preferably a small one for intimacy) with linens and your best china and silverware, dim the lights and light some candles. Candles softly illuminate your faces and keep the focus on each other. Base the menu on personal preference. Make your loved one’s favorite meal, whether it’s steak and baked potatoes or pasta with seafood. For a simple, but elegant (and definitely Valentine themed) dessert try Strawberries Romanoff, Coeurs A La Crème, or Fudge Brownies with White Chocolate, Toffee, and Pecans (see recipes). Flowers add beauty and fragrance. A single rose or carnation, lovingly presented, can be as effective as a dozen long-stemmed roses. Turn on some background music. There are many classical and contemporary pieces, depending on your preference, that set the mood for romance. Piano teacher and classical pianist Linda Rasmussen of Lancaster, suggested some of her personal favorites. Classical music lovers will enjoy the strains of Clair de Lune (Debussy), Ravel’s Bolero, Venetian Gondola Song (Mendelssohn), Barcarolle (Jacques Offenbach), Trois Gymnopedies by Satie, Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev), or Of Foreign Lands and People by Schuman. If contemporary music has more appeal, Rasmussen recommends Serenade, Angel Eyes, “or anything” by Jim Brickman; The Notebook Theme by Aaron Zigman, Theme from Love Story (Mancini), As Tears Go By (Mick Jagger), Nights in White Satin (Moody Blues), or Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again and All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Weber), or Memories. Khayyam, Rod McKuen, Edna St. Vincent Millay, John Keats, and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Some perennial valentine favorites include e. e. cummings, “I Carry Your Heart With Me” and “The Life that I Have,” by Leo Marks, which was recently read at Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. If whispering poetry to your beloved is out of your comfort zone, a handwritten note is the quintessential romantic gesture. A love note need not wax poetic. The important thing, in whatever form you write, is sincerity. Are you first up in the morning? Write an “I love you” message on the bathroom mirror with lipstick. Put a romantic card or invitation to dinner, or a playful or suggestive clue to a surprise to be revealed later, inside your beloved’s briefcase or lunchbox. However you decide to celebrate Valentine’s Day remember that you are the ‘heart’ of the mood you create and the focus of his or her attention. The music, the poetry, the flowers and a love note help to set the scene, but you are the valentine that makes your partner feel special. Strawberries Romanoff Coeurs A La Crème (taken (from the New McCall’s from a magazine long ago!) Cookbook, 1973) Six six-inch squares cheesecloth, moistened 2 pint boxes fresh One eight-ounce package strawberries cream cheese, softened 1 cup confectioner’s sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla 1 cup heavy cream ½ cup sifted powdered sugar 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup whipping cream 2 tablespoons Cointreau or 1 recipe Peach sauce or orange juice Raspberry Sauce Gently wash strawberries in cold water. Drain and hull. In medium bowl, sprinkle sugar over berries and toss gently. Refrigerate one hour, stirring occasionally. In chilled bowl with rotary beater, whip cream until stiff. Add almond extract and Cointreau. Fold into strawberries. Serve at once in wine goblets or brandy snifters.
Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers. Celebrate it with friends and family and especially your kids. Special cards, handmade if possible, along with a special dinner and/or dessert are fun for everyone!
For a romantic mix, download your favorites inexpensively on your IPod; or, put on a romantic album featuring Jim Brickman, Chris Botti, or Kenny G. In lieu of a self-prepared romantic dinner for two, you can still enjoy a quiet evening at home. Light a fire in the fireplace if you have one. Order Chinese take-out and get out the chopsticks. Cuddle up on the couch and dine over a romantic movie, say The Notebook, Dirty Dancing, Jerry Maguire, An Officer and a Gentleman, or the all-time favorite, Casablanca. Poetry is arguably the purest form of romantic expression. Read aloud, in the right setting, it can touch any heart. Bookstores and libraries carry collections of love poems. If you don’t know what you like, here’s a short list of poets worth investigating: W. H. Auden, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, John Keats, Omar
cream dishes). Holding onto cheesecloth ends, lift off mold; peel off cheesecloth. Serve with Peach or Raspberry sauce. Serves 6.
Peach Sauce Heat ¼ cup apricot preserves until melted; stir in one 10-ounce package frozen peaches thawed, very well drained and chopped, and two tablespoons orange Line six half cup molds liqueur. (muffin tin works well) with Cover and chill. Makes about cheesecloth squares, allowing one cup sauce. the cheesecloth to overhang. In small mixer bowl, blend cheese Raspberry Sauce and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, Heat ¼ cup currant jelly until beating at high speed of electric melted; stir in one 10-ounce mixer until light and fluffy. In separate bowl beat the whipping package frozen raspberries, cream just to soft peaks; fold thawed and well drained, and into cheese mixture. Spoon the two tablespoons dry red wine. Cover and chill. mixture into molds. Makes about one cup sauce. Cover and chill several hours or overnight. To serve, invert on - continued on page 11 plate (I use small pedestal ice
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Visit Room at Lancaster Children and Youth gets makeover
By Maureen Leader Special Features Writer Sometimes all it takes to make a difference in a child’s life is a small, simple gesture. Something like sensitivity, understanding or just a new place to hang out with your family. For the foster children with the Lancaster County Children and Youth Social Service Agency a big difference was made through a room newly-designed and decorated just for them. Lancaster Children and Youth is located at 900 E. King St. and Krystal Wnek is a senior case worker there. She explains that the agency “works to improve the various areas of life for Lancaster County foster children.” The “Visit Room” at the agency is the room where parents meet with their children for quality time together. Because their children are currently residing with foster parents for a variety of reasons, the visits don’t happen very often and can be emotional and stressful. The agency is sensitive to that and wanted the Visit Room to be a place of peace to encourage family togetherness. Wnek said the room gets used on a daily basis. However, according to Wnek, “The Visit Room needed help.” It was first designed with a Veggie Tales theme. But over the years the Veggie Tales toys were broken or lost and the furniture started to show wear. It got to the point where all that was left of the theme in the room were bright red and bright yellow walls. With those colors, it was not a calming place to be and did not help meet the goal of the room: to encourage nurturing family meetings. Wnek said, “We want the visits to go as well as they can.” And those colors did not help. Lancaster artist and interior designer, Jackie Fritsch stepped in to help. Fritsch, who is a mother herself, understood the seriousness of the job and wanted to use her skills in art, color and design to create a new room for the foster children of Lancaster County. She knew the bright yellow and the bright red in the room could create an overly stimulating atmosphere — not the atmosphere the agency wanted. Wnek and Fritsch agreed that the room needed big changes in order to create a more soothing, relaxing place for visiting families. Fritsch got to work and did some research. In order to reach the agency’s goals for the room, she knew she had to pick a theme and colors that would be pleasing to parents and their children who range in age from six months to 17 years. And she knew she had to make it work using colors that were calming and soothing. Fritsch finally settled on a Safari Jungle theme. The theme appeals
Sponsors and donations
Jackie Fritsch, Interior — Donated a Safari Game, Designer, 717-285-5897 Monkeys, Rhino & Giraffe stuffed animals Lowe’s — Donated a shelf 241 W. Roseville Road # 3 with baskets, lights & bulbs so (717) 560-9628 autistic children can use this Interiors Furniture Store room without being disturbed by and FlexSteel Industries Inc. buzzing lights) — Donated a Flexsteel Leather Lowe’s of Lancaster love seat 25 Rohrerstown Road Interiors Furniture Store www.lowes.com 3130 Columbia Avenue www.interiors-furniture.com Garden Spot Furniture — Flexsteel Industries Inc. Donated a table and chairs set 107 Pitney Road 701 E. Main St., Ephrata www.flexsteel.com (717) 733-8309 Walmart — Donated a $50 Education Station Inc. gift card
to a wide range of ages and the jungle is easily portrayed using earth tones. Fritsch also designed and painted murals for the walls herself. The murals show mother animals with their babies. All the animals have soft loving faces that Fritsch designed. The browns and greens that Fritsch used are also more subdued than the bright Veggie Tales colors In addition to volunteering countless hours of her time to research, paint and create the new room, Fritsch also contacted area businesses for donations to help Krystal Wnek, left, and Jackie Fritsch look over plans to complete it. She was successful makeover the Visit Room. On the wall behind them, and on getting new lighting fixtures, below, are murals painted by Fritsch. accessories, toys and furnishings for the room. Local painting contractor, Island Painting helped Fritsch by priming the walls before she painted her murals. The newly decorated Lancaster County Children and Youth Visit Room was recently completed and Wnek said that it is “beyond belief.” The agency is “thrilled.” She added, “When you imagine seeing your children only a couple of hours a month, you want it under the best of circumstances and this room helps achieve that.” Fritsch, though, downplays her involvement stating simply, “This is the stuff I love to do.” She said she had a lot of fun with the project and acknowledges all the help she got from other businesses to decorate the room.
2030 Fruitville Pike www.Walmart.com Phillips Paint & Decorating — Donated 1 can of primer & 6 gallons of environmentally friendly paint 136 South Centerville Road www. phillipspaint.com Island Painting — Donated labor to prime walls for murals Island Painting Incorporated Bruce Grace, owner 3806 Concordia Rd Columbia (717) 285-9074
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Power Packs Project helps feed hungry school kids
By Wendy Komancheck Special Features Writer The Chinese proverb,“Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime,” motivates Joan Espenshade, founder and director of the Power Packs Project. In 2005, Espenshade learned about a food insecurity problem in Lancaster city. She noticed that children, who get free or reduced lunches at school, were not eating healthy meals at home over the weekend. She devised a program called the Power Packs Project to end childhood malnutrition in Lancaster County. She began by researching how other food programs around the U.S. organized their food charities. Unfortunately, she found many programs provided prepackaged foods, such as granola bars, pudding cups, and the like. Not only are these foods higher in sugars and lack essential nutrition, but they are also not solving the problem — rather they are masking it. Thus, Espenshade designed a program where parents can pick up a simple recipe, complete with inexpensive, nutritious ingredients, to make a sit-down meal over the weekend. The Power Packs Project provides binders for parents to store their recipes; thus, enabling them to collect a cookbook of sorts to refer to at another time. In addition to recipes and ingredients, Power Packs also supplies simple, nutritious foods, such as peanut butter and cereal. They get their food from Amelia Grocery Outlets and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. “We thought that those (other) models would teach children to hoard, to covet expensive, highly processed food and that eating was a solitary activity. We wanted a program that had a longterm impact. So, we designed a program that not only provided weekend food to bridge the gap between Friday’s school lunch and Monday’s breakfast, but also empowered the parents to regularly provide healthy, low-cost meals for the families. The binders encourage the families to save the recipes and reuse them — 85 percent say they do. The saying ‘Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and he eats for a lifetime’ truly captures the goal of the project,” says Espenshade. In 2005, Espenshade started with one school. Five years later, her organization provides recipes and food packs to 21 schools in six Lancaster County school districts. It takes more than 250 volunteers to service the 500 families that receive the Power Packs. There are many schools on waiting lists for the Power Packs Project. “When we start at a new school, we contact an existing organization, often at a church, but we also have groups from F&M’s Hillel organization, students from Lancaster Country Day, Lancaster Rotary Club and retired teacher groups. And they become the distribution partners for that school. They recruit and schedule volunteers from within their organization. “At the beginning of the school year, all of the families in the schools are given information about Power Packs, income guidelines, and a participant agreement. If they are income eligible and think the program
It takes more than 250 volunteers to service the 500 families that receive the Power Packs.
Joan Espenshade with Power Packs Project supplies.
will help their family, they sign the agreement and that’s all it takes!” explains Espenshade. During the past five years, the Power Packs Project has grown significantly. And with that growth, there have been some bumps along the way. Espenshade credits Power Packs for the ability to meet a tangible need, along with a well-thought out business plan, and the simple concept of providing ingredients for a recipe. “We have been very thoughtful in making sure our infrastructure could support the growth. But there are ‘humps’ to get over during the growth, like when we struggled to operate out of an overcrowded warehouse until we found a bigger one, or (when) our volunteers’ vehicles were too small to pick up the larger amount of food until we arranged with vendors for direct delivery,” Espenshade says. Espenshade wishes that she could end all childhood hunger in the county, but finds solace that her program is meeting an immediate need and having a long-term impact on low income Lancaster County families. “Hungry children cannot learn and Power Packs Project is making sure that children are going to school, well-fed and ready to learn. Witnessing the support of the community
and working with wonderful volunteers has also been rewarding,” she states. In the future, Espenshade hopes to offer food distribution sites at after-school programs. If you or your group wants to volunteer with the Power Packs Project or donate food items, please contact the Power Packs Project at (717) 989-2450 or visit www.powerpacksproject.org.
Recently, the Power Packs Project won a Capacity Building Grant from the Lancaster Community Foundation to expand its reach to other non-profits. Power Packs won $20,000 to develop affiliate Power Packs programs. Joan Espenshade, the founder and director of the Power Packs Project, explains that the grant money will be used to help other Lancaster County non-profits start their own Power Packs Project. This would extend to Lancaster County communities that would benefit from having a Power Packs Project in their school districts. The affiliate program ends up being a win-win for Power Packs and for other Lancaster County non-profits. Power Packs can share its knowledge, operational tips, recipes, and how to open an account with the Central Pa. Food Bank. And the non-profits would organize their own volunteers, purchase food, and maintain their own warehouses. This keeps overhead low for Power Packs and for the non-profits, as well as extending Power Packs’ reach in helping hungry school kids over the weekends throughout Lancaster County.
Power Packs shares with other non-profits
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Valentine’s Day
- continued from page 7
Fudge Brownies with White Chocolate, Toffee, and Pecans (for the chocolate lover) from the complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook Brownies: 1 cup all purpose flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 12 ounces unsweetened chocolate 1 cup unsalted butter 3 cups sugar 6 large eggs at room temperature 2 tablespoons vanilla extract Topping ¾ cup toffee pieces ¾ cup finely chopped pecans
1½ cups white chocolate, a cake tester inserted into the coarsely chopped center of pan comes out with moist crumbs attached. Do not Preheat oven to 350 degrees. overbake. Let cool for 20 minutes, then Grease a 12x18 inch jelly roll sprinkle the white chocolate pan. To make the brownie: In a chunks over the brownies. Allow to cool to room large bowl, sift together the or overnight, flour, baking powder, and salt. temperature before cutting and serving. Set aside. In a medium-size saucepan Makes twenty-four three-inch over low heat, melt the chocolate brownies. with the butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Cool 5-10 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and mix in the sugar, the eggs, and the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the toffee and pecans evenly over the batter. Bake 25-28 minutes or until
TV viewing
- continued from page 9
They weren’t. So I started to overlook their TV viewing just to see what it was about and that it was appropriate. For the most part the shows were ok but Disney’s situation comedies like Zack and Cody’s Suite Life On Deck, Hannah Montana, The Wizards of Waverly Place and Nickelodeon’s I-Carly can be entertaining but soon became annoying. Zack and Cody are not as funny and cute as when they were younger and the witchcraft on Wizards can be downright creepy to me. Some of the characters on these shows are also rude. The Lancaster Book Club Mom mentioned earlier also had an interesting observation about some kids’ situation comedies: “The kid actors seem to be screaming all the time. Every situation is a crisis. I find my own children sometimes talk like that. They can get so loud and they sound just like those kid actors. I have to say to them, ‘Mommy is right here. There is no need to shout.’” As my daughters have gotten a bit older they have gotten into some reality shows like Say Yes to the Dress, What Not to Wear, Man VS. Food, The
Inevitable
- continued from page 9
Too many snow days? Here are some ways to keep your kids occupied. * Teach kids some practical lessons. Kids likely won’t miss the classroom during their days off but that doesn’t mean there aren’t enjoyable ways for kids to learn while they’re away from school. Teach kids practical lessons, like how to cook a favorite meal or how to fix things around the house. This gives parents a chance to spend some quality time with their kids while encouraging kids to learn beyond the classroom. And who knows, such lessons at home may uncover a child’s hidden talent. * Encourage kids to read for pleasure. Reading improves vocabulary and can stimulate a child’s imagination. On snow days, encourage kids to read a book or the daily newspaper for Little Couple and Cake Boss. For the most part pleasure, assuring them there these shows are not too heavy or inappropriate. won’t be any quizzes or tests after Some have some real life situations that we could talk about, but for the most part they are pretty innocent. And some shows have actually given us something we could do as a family. I would never have watched 30 seconds of America’s Got Talent - continued from page 6 when I was a D.I.N.K. (Double Income No Kids) But my daughters started watching it this season museum offers a variety of and every Tuesday and Wednesday night we different experiences. “One would wait to see who would be voted off. On of our goals is to keep science the night that the season winner was announced I alive and fresh for our visitors. found myself racing home from a dinner out with We always want to provide a girlfriends to get home in time to watch it live. new and unique experience for And though, because of my daughters I have visitors,” she stresses. missed some episodes of the Sopranos and Sex The North Museum of Natural and the City, it is because of them that I got to History & Science is located at enjoy Letters to Juliet, Mama Mia, Julie and Julia, 400 College Ave. in Lancaster. Monsters, Inc, Confessions of a Shopoholic, Admission to the Museum is Princess Diaries and the entire Shrek series. And besides, before I know it, my daughters $7.50 for adults, and $6.50 for will be all grown up and gone and I‘ll have all the juniors (ages 3-17) and seniors time in the world to watch all my television shows (65 and over). Planetarium shows are an additional $2.50 all by myself. to the price of admission. The Museum is free for children under three. For information,
Keeping kids busy
each chapter. Get the ball rolling with the books they were given as presents during Christmas or Chanukah. Or, when the forecast predicts snow and/or ice take a trip to the local library and let kids choose their own books. * Soak up some snow. Parents who work from home can liven up the day by heading outside with the kids to build a snowman or have a snowball fight. Moms and Dads will enjoy the break from work while kids get some fun in the snow.
* Make snow ice cream. Here’s Paula Deen’s recipe: 8 cups snow, or shaved ice 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Directions Place snow or shaved ice into a large bowl. Pour condensed milk over and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately in bowls.
Museum
call (717) 291-3941 or visit www.northmuseum.org.
Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway was organized by the Burke Museum at the University of Washington, Seattle in collaboration with Ray Troll and Kirk Johnson. Major sponsorship for the traveling exhibition has been provided by Microsoft Corporation, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation, and Wells Fargo. Locally, it is sponsored by Ellen A. and Robert F. Groff, with Stadel Volvo and WITF.
And in many ways that is true. It could be the older sibling of a playmate, the Viagra commercial, The Sopranos rerun you were watching with your husband or your Uncle Charlie who had too much to drink at your Thanksgiving dinner table. Chances are at some point your kid is going to hear and see something you wish they hadn’t. So it’s up to us as parents to be there with an explanation. Don’t ignore the situation. Keep it simple, keep it light, keep it age appropriate. And stay calm. For older children some shows and yes, some
commercials can be those perfect “teachable moments” we are always reading about in parenting magazines. Use them. Don’t be embarrassed — chances are your child is and it’s time for you to step up and be the grown up. Start talking. Ask and answer questions. And after giving the facts on the subjects ask your child what his or her opinion is. Use this as an opportunity to share your opinion and your family’s values on it, as well. Awkward? Yes. But sometimes awkward moments can be just the gateway we need to open up an entire discussion on some very important subjects with our children.
Educating Lancaster’s Children for over 25 years!
2750 Weaver Road, Lancaster www.montlanc.com
Karen Rubenstein, Director ~ [email protected]
717-560-0815 Ph • 717-560-0817 Fax Ages 20 months thru 6th grade
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B•O•B Strollers Choose from our large selection
Made In The USA
2060 Bennett Ave • Lancaster, PA • 717-299-3485 • 1-800-432-2020
www.justforkidsfurnituresales.com • Mon-Fri 10-8 ~ Sat 10-5 ~ Sun 12-4
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