Screamin Mamas Summer Edition 2014
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The Voice of Everyday Moms... and their kids, sometimes...
Inside this issue: Make Up By Jen Mom Confession Happily Ever After Ms. Independence GirlScouts at Work PMS Hot Flash Fudge Saturday Night Special Living in My Flight Cage Til Milkbone Do Us Part Mystery in Water
A Publication of Harmoni Productions
Letter from the Editor
Let freedom ring, Mamas! We finally got this issue out!!! Hallelujah! Wow, this summer has been challenging. But that’s what being an Everyday Mom is all about. So, Mamas, let’s review: This issue celebrates independence, liberation, summer fun and our talented, creative kids as they get ready to head back to school. We’ll meet our CoverGirl, GirlScouts, Ming & Kai Siebert, and Janine’s delightful kids. We are also thrilled to feature a number of fabulous stories from the divine Linda Seccaspina, truly a gifted writer! Every story had us beaming with laughter. Yes, humor is good! Oh, Mamas, how we need smiles in our delicious old age. We’ll also meet some of our past contest winners. Yes, we have contests! Also a new installment from Sandra Lemire, we recap our sensational Mamas Tale, featuring Makeup by Jen and we end with some good ol’ cotton pickin by Dinah Lou! One last tell, we did feature our friend and oustanding citizen, Beam Furr, as his election nears. So much to tell, so much to share! Let’s get crackin!!!
The Editor,Darlene A HUGE Shout and Thank You to Mattew Carby of Keeper Photography for letting us use his spectacular photos of the ocean, sunsets, and beach to help bring our pages alive. Please visit his site, MatthewCarby.com EDITORIAL Darlene Pistocchi - Editor-in-Chief Denise Weatherby - Postmaster/Books Deanna Wolverton - Director of Ops/Georgia Lena Luig - Submissions/Copy Editor PROMOTIONAL Corinne Ramos - Promotions/Event Coordinator Sandra Lemire - Writer/Consultant/Strategist LaDiDa - Marketing/Sales/Promotions CREATIVE CONTENT Marcella Kumer - Poetry/Recipes/Short Stories Susan Kissinger - Illustrations/Design Studio Janine Taranto - Writer/Kiddy Corner LaDiDa - Stories/Recipes/Poetry/Photography Darlene Pistocchi - *Design/Layout/Graphics
*Please note that some images may be slightly stretched or altered to compensate our layout.
JULY/AUGUST CONTRIBUTORS Linda Seccaspina, Shaina Etcitty, Dinah Lou Benson, Whitney Roosa, Jacqueline Diamond, Patricia Zollmann-Kissinger, Cassandra Lyon, Creation Art Center, Matthew Carby, Beam Furr, Raquel Harmoni Pistocchi, Melanie Liy, Cherie Siebert
DISCLAIMER!
Due to abnormal strain on the eyes, minor typos and/or small grammatical errors may occur, even in this disclaimer!! APOLOGIES!
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 4 Mom Confession Page 5 Mom’s Day Out Page 6-7 Janine’s Kiddy Corner Page 8-9 MakeUp by Jen Page 10 PMS Hot Flash Fudge Page 11 Creation Art Summer Schedule Page 12 Saturday Night Special Page 13 Mystery in Water Page 14 Happily Ever After Page 15 Independence Day - Proclamation E=Girls Page 16-17 Our CoverGirl, Ms. Independence Page 18 Best Little Chin Hair Post on the Prairie Page 19 Til Milkbone do We Part Page 20 SKDS Winning Pet Photo/Portrait Page 21 Ming Kai Illustrations Page 22-23 GirlScouts at Work Page 24-25 Jacqueline Diamond - Mamas Book Corner Page 26-27 Beam Furr for Commissioner Page 28 Greatest show on Earth Page 29 I May not be a Size Six, but... Page 30 Living in My Flight Cage Page 31 Cotton Pickin/Ads Page 32 BackPage Screaming Mamas on the Beach!
SPECIAL THANKS TO: All of our contributors, subscribers and advertisers. As we push into another year, we continue to build our fanbase and we can't thank you enough for your continued support. We pride ourselves on being a very special literary magazine, none of which could be achieved without each and everyone of YOU. We are committed to encouraging, inspiring and promoting moms of all levels, at all stages and of all walks of life. A BIG Thank You to Tim Bain, branch manager of the Dania Beach Library, for believing in our cause and allowing us to host our events each month; a HUGE thank you to our advertisers & sponsors; a HUGE thank you to our subscribers, & followers; and a HUGE thank you to EVERYONE who supports and helps promote our cause and our vision. If you would like to advertise with us, subscribe to us, sponsor us, or share your stories, traditions, heritage, family, talents, please email: screaminmamas@gmail.com. Special Thanks on our back cover. Bless you all xox
*All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, reprinted, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of ScreaminMamas and/or Harmoni Productions, LLC. Authors/artists retain all rights to their work. ScreaminMamas/Harmoni Productions retains all rights for layout & design.
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ScreaminMamas brings joy and delight to Moms of all ages - around the globe into your home! ScreaminMamas March/April 2014 Double Edition
The Magic of Sisters
Inside this Issue:
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A Whale of a Story Illustrator Daniela Frongia The Princess & The Dragon WaterColours by Michele Ask Sandra a publication of Harmoni Productions
The BEST Recipe for Menopause!
PMS Hot Flash Fudge One thousand and twenty five baking pans ago, I used to make and sell fudge at local craft shows. Each week people made the pilgrimage to buy a little piece of chocolate sanity from the woman who always seemed to smell like Willie Wonka. As a PMS sufferer at that particular point in time, the fudge recipe was nothing short of a godsend. Everyone seemed to have an attitude around me every 28 days and adding chocolate chips to scrambled eggs or pancakes no longer seemed to be an option. Making weekly pans of Chocolate Fudge for the masses gave me a continual stock of snacks. One day a regular customer came in and begged me to expand on my basic Fudge recipe as she was suffering from a disease I would not have for a few years called Menopause. She asked quietly if I could create a sweet and savory fudge. I knew exactly what she was talking about as I too had grasped a candy bar in one hand and a bag of salty chips in the other at some points in my life. As she spoke to me a sweat broke out on her forehead and seemed to work its way down. She looked like she had been drenched by a renegade bucket of water and I looked at her in disbelief. I made a personal decision right then and there that I would never end up like that. Of course I eventually hit the land of hot flashes and had to change my underwear after every sneeze. At that point I knew there was no going back; no one ever gets to go back! Feel free to share this and know this recipe is for one person unless you care to share. ❦
Basic Chocolate Fudge with a PMS twist • • • • • • • • Lesson for the Day - Do things that make you Feel Good! For more well remedies and recipies for good health, visit Alternative Medicine Center drgarysnyder.com
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine 2/3 cup evaporated milk 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups (4 ounces) miniature marshmallows (I do NOT use Marshmallow Fluff) 1-1/2 cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 cup cashews bits and pieces 1/2 chopped up maraschino cherries (drained and dried) or baking cherries
Combine butter or margarine, evaporated milk, sugar, and salt in a medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil stirring constantly for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. ... (more) By: Linda Seccaspina
Background Photo of ocean courtesy Keeper Photography
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Art Lessons
Our Summer 2014 schedule is available! Classes run through August 29th. We have our weekly two hour classes, as well as our extremely popular Summer Art Camp! Check out the website for the Summer schedule! CreationArtCenter.com Or stop in - We always love seeing you! 577 Broadway, Massapequa, NY
ScreaminMamas would like to thank Patty & Brian Carroll of Creation Art Center for sharing their awesome work with us and for displaying our magazines in their Rockin Art Studio! Peace, Patty & Brian! xox 5
Mama!!! The Prince is here!! Wake up!
ScreaminMamas
Book Corner THIS MONTH’S SPOTLIGHT JACQUELINE DIAMOND
The Rancher’s Unusual Nanny. Psychologist and college professor Nancy Verano’s spending the summer on a Texas ranch disguised as a nanny, secretly filling in for her unreliable younger sister. She’s also writing an article about sexy cowboys. Nancy never meant to trick handsome rancher Max Richter, but she has to publish or perish, even if it’s a pop culture magazine article. To add to her dilemma, Max has hated psychologists ever since his first wife ran off with their marriage counselor. What’s a phony nanny to do?
One Husband Too Many. Magic sends her through time…to the wrong man. On the verge of divorcing, Jana Edwards wishes to go back six years, before she impulsively married a rogue. But when an heirloom pendant grants her wish, she’s isolated with the same charming rogue, who’s using another name. What’s he up to, and why is she falling in love again with the husband to whom she’s a stranger? Amazon link: One Husband Too Many
Amazon link: The Rancher’s Unusual Nanny
Join the ScreaminMamas Book Club! We'll feature your work throughout the year. For more info, email us at: screaminmamas@gmai.com
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C re at ive Non-Fic t ion C ontest Winner
Mom Confession
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by: Whitney Roosa
must confess that today is a "B" day - meaning we are operating on Plan B. Plan A went out the window about the time all the kids came down for breakfast.
I sincerely wish I could be one of those moms who rises before the kids in the morning, has the breakfast table set, is dressed and groomed all before 7am. I wish that my pancakes came out circular. I wish my pantry and fridge were stocked with only healthy foods. The reality is I'm the mom whose pancakes are anything but circular, delicious though they are. We literally have NO fresh fruit in the house so I quickthawed frozen blueberries - not as tasty as their fresh cousins- to accompany my quadrilateral pancakes. And my youngest is on a hunger strike apparently and will only eat grapes and Pepperidge Farm goldfish. I'm the mom who yelled at her three (and a half) year old son because he (once again) pooped in his Pull-ups. I'm at the end of my rope with his potty training refusal. I made him cry. I cried. I'm the mom whose daughter had an episode of diarrhea this afternoon and my first question, was "Did you get it on my bedspread?" What's up with that? I'm the mom who instituted the "silence policy" in the car all the way to school. Did I mention that my one year old is constipated? Probably because there's no fresh fruit in the house. If you've not read The Tao of Poop, it's a worthwhile read, even if Oprah hasn't chosen it for her book club. What I've learned from the Tao of Poop is two-fold. First it's all poop. That should be plainly evident from the above
paragraph. Second, breathe. I forget to breathe. I learned just last week that a high-school friend died of ovarian cancer at age 32. She was a yogini and a vedanta philosopher/teacher who taught yoga and vedanta at ashrams around the world, including southern India. She knew how to breathe and yet cancer indiscriminately chose to take her. I know we all need oxygen and I know that if I took a deep breath and counted to 10 before I went berserk, my kids would be truly grateful. So what's the lesson in all of this? Try hard as I might to make homemade pancakes, they'll be misshapen as long as I don't get up and get myself ready before the kids. There's no way to make perfectly circular pancakes when you have two preschoolers teasing each other at an unset breakfast table while the toddler is clinging to my legs. As long as I'm awakened during the night by crying babies or kids sneaking into my bed, I will never be able to get up early enough to be totally dressed and groomed before 7am. As long as my middle child continues to refuse the potty, I will probably yell in frustration. As long as my youngest child stridently sticks to eat his strict starch and grape diet, he will have trouble pooping and will cling to me because he hurts. And as long as cancer of any variety takes the lives of friends, I will suspect the value of deep breathing. Tomorrow is another day. Tonight I'm employing a few key strategies. I will set the table for breakfast before I collapse into bed. I will lay out my clothes for the next day. I'll do the same for the kids. I will go grocery shopping and stock up on our staple items like fresh fruit, juice and I'll throw in a few stewed prunes for good measure. I will serve a high fiber cereal and a fruit-packed smoothie for breakfast. I will buy a potty chair and see if that works better for my son. And if I can remember, I will take a deep, cleansing breath and count to 10 before I pull out my hair. Here's hoping for an "A" day tomorrow! ✴•✴ Well, this tale gets an “A” with us. Whitney really hit the nail on the head. Wow, could we relate! Whitney’s story tied with Cassandra’s story, next page. We just couldn’t choose between the two! They both speak so much to the everyday Mom. Each contestant receives a complementary 6 month subscription to ScreaminMamas. We host contests throughout the year. To enter our current contest, or for more info, please visit our website, screaminmamas.com. 7
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Painting of Cutest Pet Photo Winner “Bently came to us a few years ago. He was given to us by my boyfriends coworker. He was already full grown when we got him. At first I was intimidated by him because he was a big dog and energetic. He is by far the most lovable dog I know. We have two other dogs as well, a female Shepard mix named Wuff and a chihuahua mix named Mr Norris. Both of them didn’t like Bently from the beginning but now their one happy pack :) Bently is our first bulldog we have owned and anyone who meets him falls in love with him.
B E N T L Y
Thank you again for the magazine subscription and I look forward to reading them. Thank you.” Shaina Etcitty What we find equally as special as Mr. Bently is Mr. Bentley’s family! From Farmington, New Mexico, please welcome Shaina, Michael & Frankie! Just look at this photo!!! How beautiful is this trio??? GORGEOUS!!!! Thank you Shaina for sharing so much love!!! Shaina, Michael & Frankie -
Mr. Bently’s Portrait is done! And what a beauty it is! The above painting was done by none other than Susan Kissinger of SKDSChicago. Susan is a tremendous artist, illustrator and designer. The original photo of Mr. Bently is pictured to the right. Susan did a fabulous job. Susan’s Mission is to create one of a kind artwork that brings character and purpose to individuals, homes and businesses. Susan Kissinger Design Studio is a creative studio that designs and paints artwork on just about anything! Murals, hand made signs, fine art, portraits, hand painted furniture, commercial art, hand painted shoes, and anything else that involves a paintbrush! SO, YOU CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF
YOUR PETS...
Susan Kissinger Design Studio is here to help! Visit SKDSchicago.com and Þnd out what you and your pets have been missing! Custom pet portraits are purrrfect gifts for friends, family, and even yourself! Order by December 1, 2013 to get your pet portrait in time for Christmas!
On the web at:
WWW.SKDSCHICAGO.COM
Don’t forget to “like” SKDS on Facebook:
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SKDSCHICAGO
You can reach Susan at SKDSChicago. com. She is Fantastic! As winner, Shaina recieved this gorgeous painting and 3 months of ScreaminMamas magazines. Do you have a contest idea? Email us at screaminmamas@gmail.com
Cotton Pickin’
By: Dinah Lou Benson hen my mother Loree was a little girl living with her family on the New Mexico prairie (along about 1916), her father, George Washington Bice, one summer bought up a cotton crop in Clarendon, planning for the family to pick the entire field themselves.
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So, Loree, the youngest, who had just finished fourth grade, picked right along with teenage brothers, Hulett, Frank, and Bailey. Father, mother Julia Ella, “the boys,” and Loree labored long days side by side at the hard work of picking in sizzling July heat. Finally, one mid afternoon, their wagon almost fully reloaded for home, they all gathered while “G.Dubya” stood surveying the field, carefully studying the amount of scraggly cotton still clinging to bolls. The cotton left over and embedded in stickery sun hardened brown shells would require plucking even more punishing to already sore fingers. He studied intently for what seemed an excruciatingly long time consider whether it would be worth picking over the field one last time. The rest of the family, hot, weary and worn, stood about waiting in suspense. At last, he drawled, “Well, I think this is it – we’ll call it quits.” Nine-year-old Loree, overcome with a surge of liberation, leaped high in the air and shouted “Hot dog!” Sixteen-year-old brother Frank, snorted, “See there, Mom, she’s cussin’ already.” - Dinah Remembers
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