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Contents
Posts
Kids Halloween Art
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009Here’s some Halloween artwork my daughter and her friends did this week. I thought you might enjoy seeing it to help get you in the mood for Halloween!
“Bones” by Lila
“Skeleton” by Lila…
“Witch” by Sarina
“Graveyard” by Melisa
“Graveyard II” by Melisa
“R.I.P.” by Marisa
Have a Spooky Fun Halloween!
Mama Lisa
Childhood Food Memories – Bananas
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009It’s fascinating to me how different foods can bring back memories. I think that’s why I loved the book and movie “Like Water for Chocolate” so much.
Bananas will always remind me of specific times and people:
In Infancy: I distinctly remember the smell of banana baby food – it reminds me of being a very little child. Then when I was an older kid, I remember buying a jar of banana baby food with friends and eating it… a flood of memories came back – or more like the feeling of babyhood came back to me… I was there momentarily. Interestingly, I expected the banana baby food to taste great – I must have loved it as a baby – but it was gross!
In Childhood in General: When I was growing up, my mother fried sliced bananas in butter for breakfast sometimes and put them on the side with fried eggs – it was a major childhood treat. This is now one of my comfort foods I make on occasions to feel warm and loved! (My own children haven’t taken to the fried bananas too much.)
The Tween Years: I remember making chocolate coated bananas with those kits you’d buy in the store with my mother. The chocolate was artificial, but if was fun nevertheless!
The Teenage Years: When I was a teenager, my grandparents would stay with us in the summer for about a month every year. I remember my grandfather eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches. This will always remind me of him.
Late teens: In college I studied in France for a few months, in Chinese restaurants in France they serve a banana flambé dessert that’s just out of this world! Funny that I think of a Chinese restaurant dessert in connection to France! (Obviously, I have lots of other food memories in France. But I’m limiting this conversation to bananas!)
And no, I’m not a skinny person! Someone who has this many food memories is not bound to be skinny! ;)
Feel free to share any food memories you have in the comments below. I welcome hearing about how other people enjoy bananas (feel free to include recipes).
To fry bananas, you literally slice them and fry them in butter in a frying pan on low to medium heat until lightly brown on both sides. They get caramelized. Then serve.
I thought my mother’s version was a Spanish or Puerto Rican recipe from her friend, but when I looked around the internet, I saw that it’s very American. There seem to be different recipes for fried bananas around the world. The flambé version in France probably includes liquor.
Soon I’ll post some correspondence between Gloria and me about the German cuisine we remember growing up with – it may be interesting for any of you children and grandchildren of German immigrants.
Bon appetit!
Mama Lisa
Mama Lisa’s Puppy Hunt Blues
Saturday, October 17th, 2009I’m a bit dismayed at how difficult it can be to find a puppy. I mentioned in a previous blog post how we’re looking for a hypoallergenic dog that’s good with kids. That’s not such an easy task! Hypoallergenic dogs are generally purebreds. Many purebred dogs have genetic health problems. So we’ve been trying to narrow down our search to dogs that don’t have too many health problems… or if it can be determined if they’re healthy based on the health of their parents and genetic testing. Bichon frises seem to fit the bill, but we wanted a slightly larger dog – about 30 to 40 pounds.
We’ve narrowed our search down to Lagottos (which are very hard to find) and either 2nd generation Goldendoodles or Labradoodles. But now we’re having a hard time finding a puppy in these breeds. If anyone knows of any good breeders where we can find these types of puppies, please email me at lisa@mamalisa.com .
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Geocaching – Fun Treasure Hunting with the Kids and a GPS
Sunday, October 11th, 2009This weekend we geocached with our daughter and a couple of her friends. Geocaching is “a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches…” with the help of your GPS guidance system.
We used my husband’s iPhone to guide us on our adventure. We knew there were a couple of geocaches in a nearby park. So we headed there.
My husband had previously downloaded a geocaching app for his iPhone called Geocaching.com Intro. At the park, the app finds the closest geocache and guides you to it.
The app found a geogache for us to find. The girls took turns with the iPhone pointing the direction on a compass.
Eventually you usually go off the path. (If they were on the path, people who didn’t know about the game might take them.) Then you follow the directions until you (hopefully) find the cache. The two we found today were in small plastic tubs. You’re supposed to sign the log that you find inside the tub. There are also trinkets inside the tub. You’re supposed to leave a trinket and you can take a trinket in return. We made sure all the girls had trinkets to exchange.
It was a lot of fun!
We had tried this last weekend in a more public park and never found the geocaches. Our theory is that people who didn’t know how the game might have found the caches because it was a more public place and took them. The game seems to work better in larger parks with more vegetation.
If you have a regular GPS system you can go to geocache.com and type in the zip code for the area you are going to. Then you can find different geocaches nearby. Pick one and find hints for finding it. I think it will give you the final coordinates too. You’ll need to sign up and read all about it!
Have fun!
Mama Lisa
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – It’s Really about a Kid’s Drawing!
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009I clearly remember being seven years old and listening to Elton John’s rendition of the Beatle’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds in my suburban backyard… Looking up at the sky and imagining a girl there, possibly me, floating with diamonds, a rainbow in the background (I guess due to the colorful imagery in the song), and clouds, in a jungle of tall flowers.
That’s the image I saw in my head every time I heard the song… until years later, when I became a teenager, it was dashed to the ground, and shattered upon being told that the song was about drug use. Somehow that tainted the song for me and made it less interesting… somehow mundane… not of a person’s own, pure imagination, but drug induced.
Today, my childhood image has been redeemed. I learned that the song actually came from a childhood drawing by John Lennon’s son Julian. You can see the drawing below. When John asked his son what the drawing was about, Julian said, “It’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” Lucy was Julian’s playmate in school.
The song “Lucy in the Song with Diamonds” was also influenced by Lewis Carroll. Paul McCartney said, “We did the whole thing like an Alice in Wonderland idea, being in a boat on the river, slowly drifting downstream with those great cellophane flowers towering over your head. Every so often it broke off and you saw Lucy with Diamonds all over the sky.”
That is a much more interesting origin of this song! What’s more, it lets me remember my original conception of it… and feel like that’s what it was really about… the feeling of the innocent, colorful, originality of childhood.
Oh happy day! To regain a childhood perspective!
Hattip: Steve Bunche’s Blog
*****
On a sadder note, the real Lucy Vodden (née O’Donnell), Julian’s playmate, recently passed away from Lupus at the age of 46.
Hypoallergenic Dogs for Families with Dog Allergies
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
We are considering getting a hypoallergenic dog since we have dog allergies in our house. Here are the breeds the American Kennel Club lists as the dogs that allergy sufferers generally do well with:
Bedlington Terrier
Bichon Frise
Chinese Crested
Irish Water Spaniel
Kerry Blue Terrier
Maltese
Poodles (Toy, Miniature or Standard)
Portuguese Water Dog
Schnauzer (Miniature, Standard or Giant)
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier
XoloitzcuintliThese dogs don’t shed – so they don’t produce a lot of dander (which is what most allergy sufferers are allergic to). The AKC recommends against the mixed breeds of poodles that are so popular these days for allergy sufferers… you won’t know for sure if the dog’s coat with be shedding or not in these dogs.
We’re considering getting a Bichon Frise or a Schnauzer. Both seem to be good with kids. Though Schnauzers are better with older kids. I need to find out how old they mean. My son is 15, so presumably he’s old enough. My daughter is 8. Would she grow with a puppy and be old enough by the time it’s mature to play actively with it? Some people say Schnauzers can be snappy. The Bichon Frise seems to be a gentle dog for kids of all ages. I wonder if it would bark at strangers on my property (which we would like). Next I hope to visit a breeder of both types of dogs with my family to see how we like the dogs’ temperament and see what the owners have to say about each type of dog.
If you’re getting a dog it’s a good idea to research the different breeds to make sure you choose one that’s right for your family.
If you’d like to share any personal experiences with any of the breeds above, we’d love to hear about it.
If you’d like to learn about different dog breeds, you can look them up at the American Kennel Club’s site.
UPDATE: We’ve added Standard Poodles to the dogs we’re considering – they’re supposed to be very smart and good with kids – though they can grow to be 70 pounds. Also, some people love Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers. Though you need to make sure the temperament is good with children. They require a lot of grooming.
Here’s a list of the Hypoallergenic Dogs in size order by weight (at the end are the 3 dogs with three size variations):
Hypoallergenic Dogs in Size Order…
Maltese (under 7 lbs.)
Chinese Crested (under 10 lbs.)
Bichon Frise (7 to 12 lbs.)
Bedlington Terrier (17 to 23 lbs.)
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier (30 to 40 lbs.)
Kerry Blue Terrier (33 to 40 lbs.)
Portuguese Water Dog (35 to 60 lbs.)
Irish Water Spaniel (45 to 65 lbs.)***
Poodles (Toy 6 to 9 lbs., Miniature 15 to 17 lbs. or Standard 45 to 70 lbs.)
Schnauzer (Miniature 10 to 15 lbs., Standard 30 to 45 lbs. or Giant 55 to 80 lbs.)
Xoloitzcuintli (Toy 5 to 15 lbs., Miniature 15 to 30 lbs. or Standard 25 to 40 lbs.)
Is Your Water Supply Safe?
Saturday, September 12th, 2009It’s sad to read about how many chemicals companies are dumping into the environment… and guess what? They’re ending up in our water supply. Check out the New York Times article about how Pollution Grows With Little Fear of Punishment. This has been a world-wide issue – but it’s becoming more of a concern here in the US. Come on people… go check out your area on the NY times site and see the violations… isn’t it time we all complain to our congressmen and congresswomen and senators? The minimum the government should do is ensure its citizens have safe drinking water!
Parenting the Kid Who Likes to Eat A Lot!
Saturday, September 5th, 2009The New York Times has an interesting article about Parenting and Food. It talks about what to do with the child who wants to eat a lot. The dilemma is that telling your kid not to eat too much can cause eating disorders in the future. Yet, if you don’t help them control their habits, they might just eat everything they want: including lots of junk food!
Here are some possible ways to help your child:
1) Eat right and exercise yourself as an example to your child (most of us could improve our habits!)
2) Have lots of fruit in your house as an alternative to junk food and limit the junk food and soda in your house. (The NY Times article points out that your child will just find the junk food elsewhere. But meanwhile, if s/he’s grazing on healthy snacks presumably your child would be less hungry for other food.)
3) Eat Family Meals together
4) Less Take-in Food
5) Have them Bring Lunch to School (cafeteria lunches leave much to be desired)
6) Find an alternate activity to snacking – like a hobby
7) Have your child help you plan the meals for the family, thus helping them learn how to think about food in a healthy way.
8) Smaller dishes lead to smaller portions. When my friend visited us from France, she was amazed by the huge sizes of our dishes here in the US. If you have smaller dishes and you fill them up, you feel like you’re eating the same amount as a larger dish filled up. Yet your portion is less.
9) Make less carbohydrates. My husband is over 6 feet tall and my 15 year old son is almost 6 feet tall. Sometimes, I find myself making larger and larger amounts of pasta or rice to keep up with them. Lately, I’ve been trying to make less pasta, so we all eat less carbs, rather than making more and having leftovers.
10) We try to take long walks at parks together as a family.
11) We’re considering getting a dog – with the understanding that our kids would have to help walk it. That would be a daily walk for all of us!Please feel free to let us know any advice you might have, in the comments below, for helping children eat healthy food and eat healthy amounts of food, without causing eating disorders down the road.
Creating a Sensory Garden
Saturday, June 27th, 2009
We visited a very kid friendly nature preserve today with a lovely garden. The gardeners there were in the middle of planting a sensory garden, as a nice addition to their main garden. A sensory garden should have plants that stimulate each of the five senses: smell, taste, sight, sound and touch. Sensory gardens are wonderful for children to help them learn about the five senses.
Sight is easy in a garden…
So is smell. They were planting mint…
Taste is pretty easy too. They were planting blueberry bushes…
The sense of touch is pretty easy too. You need to have safe plants to touch near the pathway. Different textured leaves work nicely. I noticed they were planting some ornamental grasses…
Now sound in a garden I find interesting. They were planting something called Clethra Hummingbird. The gardener I spoke to said it makes a crackling noise in the Fall.
Even if you don’t plant a full sensory garden, you can use these ideas in your garden, around your yard or on your balcony if you’re in an apartment, even on a windowsill. It’s just another way to be creative in your life and think of things another way!
Check out Sensory Garden for Kids for more on building a sensory garden with children and Sensory Gardens which talks about other reasons to create a sensory garden (i.e. for healing, socializing, etc.)
Enjoy your gardening experience with all your senses!
Mama Lisa
There Are Many Ways to Be Creative
Friday, March 27th, 2009Never forget, creativity is only limited by your own imagination. One guy played all these parts…
blue and yellow from edison on Vimeo.…Important to remember with children too!
Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for pointing out this cool video!
Mama Lisa
Broken Rhymes
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009Kids love this stuff. Come to think of it, so do I!
BROKEN RHYMES.
Scold, cold, old.
Skate, Kate, ate.
Brink, rink, ink.
Trice, rice, ice.
Crash, rash, ash.
Sledge, ledge, edge.It’s from 1880… Harper’s Young People, March 9, 1880
.If you, your kids, grandkids or students think of any others, feel free to share them in the comments below!
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Fun Sweet “Sushi” to Make for Kids
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009
Yuta, Yoji and Miki made this awesome “sushi” for a school birthday party. It’s made out of homemade rice crispy treats, gummy fish and fruit roll-ups. How cute and cool!
The one question everyone’s asking is: How did they get the rice crispy treats to be soooo pure white? Any ideas? If so, please let us know in the comments below! (I also wonder where you get the faux lacquer boxes?)
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Chocolate Hershey Kiss Pretzel Sandwich Candy a.k.a. "Grids"
Monday, March 16th, 2009Here’s a yummy recipe given to me by Corrine Lewack. Corrine pointed out that it’s a good “math” teaching recipe to make with kids, since it involves counting out candy kisses and then doubling the amount of pretzels per kiss to make “sandwiches”.
What you will need:
25 Hershey Kisses (Plain)
50 Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzel Snaps (they are little 3 square x 4 square rectangular pretzels)
1 large sheet pan
Aluminum Foil or Parchment Paper (to cover the sheet pan… who wants to clean? LOL)Math: You will need 2 unbroken pretzel snaps for every 1 kiss. You will probably want to make more. (This is good for the kiddies, they can count out the kisses and double the amount of pretzels per kiss).
What to do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Unwrap the kisses. Foil is not tasty.
Place parchment paper or aluminum foil on the sheet pan.
Place pretzel snaps on the sheet pan.
Place a Hershey Kiss in the center of each snap. (See Photo 1)
Put kiss/pretzel in the oven for only TWO MINUTES… NO MORE! Remove from oven.
Place a Pretzel snap on top of melted kiss, push down slightly to make a sandwich. (See Photo 2)
Allow Grids to cool… or place in the refrigerator for quick cooling.
Getting ready for their quick melt in the oven. (They will retain there kiss shape but will be soft).
Voila! These are soo good… perfect for those salty/sweet moments!
Corrine wrote, “I must thank my wonderful sister-in-law, Jenny for bringing this recipe into our lives… Enjoy! xo xo”
Here are some variations to the recipe given by Corrine’s friends:
Cindy Roter wrote: “How clever! I can so see topping those little babies with peanut butter… Thanks for the share. Cindy”
Chelle Baldwin wrote: “I can top this one! Same idea but different ingredients. Get the pretzels, top with a rolo. Heat on low in the oven for a few minutes, then take it out and smoosh the rolo down with either a pecan or another pretzel. Super yummy!”
Susan Leonard Evans wrote: “Hahhaa, AWESOME! Thanks for sharing, I’m definitely going to try these. Also, I’ve had similar treats using "pastel-colored" chocolate wafers. Someone made them around Easter – they were yummy AND festive! Just an option :) Thanks again – xo xo xo xo”
Thanks to all of you for the great, yummy ideas!
Mama Lisa
A Poem about a Baby
Thursday, March 12th, 2009I know sometimes people are looking for poems to give when a baby is born. I just came across this one today…
BABY’S EYES.
When the baby’s eyes are blue,
Think we of a summer day,
Violets, and dancing rills*.
When the baby’s eyes are gray,
Doves and dawn are brought to mind.
Brown—of gentle fawns we dream,
And ripe nuts in shady woods.
Black—of midnight skies that gleam
With bright stars. But blue or gray,
Black or brown, like flower or star,
Sweeter eyes can never be
To mamma than baby’s are.*little brooks
This poem can be found in Harper’s Young People, January 20, 1880.
Strange Take on Childhood Back in the Late 1800’s
Friday, March 6th, 2009Harper’s Young People was an illustrated weekly published in New York in the late 1800’s. I came across this poem called Spoon-faces from an 1879 issue.
It’s hard to imagine this poem being written in the US today. Parents might still want to dissuade their kids from whining and frowning… but from giggling? If a kid is frowning, shouldn’t the parent figure find out what’s wrong in the first place? Not many American parents today would want to try to stop their children from laughing and giggling or disregard a frown. Here’s the poem…
SPOON-FACES.
When they’re bright and shining
Like the summer moons,
Two queer faces look at you
From the silver spoons.
One is very long, and one
Broad as it can be,
And both of them are grewsome things,
As ever you did see.Then careful be, young people,
And do not whine or frown,
Lest some day you discover
Your chin’s a-growing down.
Nor must you giggle all the time
As though you were but loons;
We want no children’s faces
Like those in silver spoons.It’s interesting to see how parenting ideas change over time. What will people say about how we parent in 100 years? Just this week I read an article in the New York Times about how our generation is making our kids obsessed about eating healthy foods (organic only, no trans-fats, low salt, etc.) – potentially encouraging eating disorders down the road. Maybe the key is not to push anything too hard on kids of any generation.
Feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below.
This poem can be found online at Project Gutenberg: Harper’s Young People, December 16, 1879.
-Mama Lisa
How to Draw a Pig – for Kids – with Poetic Instructions
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
Interview with Mama Lisa
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009I recently did an interview with PeopleJam about Mama Lisa’s World. I was asked questions ranging from…
“What are the benefits of exposing children to nursery rhymes and songs outside of their own culture?”
To…
“What inspired you to create a site catered to children’s songs from around the globe?”
If you’d like to read more, you can check out the interview online now!
It’s Berry Wonderful News
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
If you like berries like I do, you’ll be berry happy to hear yet another report extolling their healthy benefits – especially raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and elderberries. They’re good for you fresh or frozen. So, however you have them, eat those berries and make sure your family gets them too!
Martin Luther King Jr. Activities to Do with Kids
Monday, January 19th, 2009Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the US. It celebrates the life of such an important American who had the courage to speak up for equal rights for all. Here are some activities to do with children to help them learn more about him…
You can listen to his I Have a Dream Speech online with your children. It’s his most well-known speech.
You can have your kids do an animated Martin Luther King Jr. Jigsaw Puzzle – choose Easy, Medium or Hard.
Let your school-age kid go to the site called America’s Story to read about Martin Luther King Jr. (with your help if needed).
A Five Year Old with a Cooking Show!
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009This is so cute! A 5 year old kid with a cooking show in Portland called “The Big Kitchen With Food”. It may give you ideas about how to cook with kids. Though it shows one kid, Julian Kreusser, cooking a recipe by himself.
Check it out and share it with kids you know….
Enjoy and bon appétit!
Mama Lisa
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