Sienna List December 2018

INSIDE

parent life

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the guide

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h e a lt h r e p o r t

decembER 2018

5 Holiday Traditions

to Leave Lasting Memories with Dr. Urvi Jadav and Family

Ask the Doc

in this issue

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THE LIST

MEAGHAN BARSAMIAN

Top 10 to Do In December

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C o F ounder - P ublisher

PARENT LIFE Ask the Doc

@MeaghanBarsamian

ALLEN BARSAMIAN C o F ounder - A ccount M anager

T O L U FA L A D E P ublication A ssistant

THE GUIDE 5 Holiday Traditions

with Dr. Urvi Jadav and Family

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HEALTH REPORT New Device for Treating aFIB

MARJORIE MCCLENDON G raphic D esigner @Margiebargie

C ONTRIBUTORS :

JASON LUTHOR C olumnist

ALISA MURRAY The List | info@siennalist.com | www.thelist.city | 281-201-5998

Lake Olympia Farmers Market

December 15th | 10am until 2pm | Lakefront Business Center | 2700 Lake Olympia Pkwy Enjoy locally grown produce and homemade products from local vendors and craftsmen.

Pajama Night Story Time

December 17th | 6:30 until 7:30pm | Sienna Branch Library | 8411 Sienna Springs Blvd, 77459 Stories and other activities for the whole family. Don’t forget your blanket!

C olumnist

@AlisaMurray

On the Cover 5 holiday traditions to Leave Lasting Memories

6th Annual Snowdrop ULTRA 55 Hour Race & Relay

December 30th | 7:00am until Tuesday, January 1st at 2:00pm | Buffalo Run Park | 1122 Buffalo Run Blvd, 77489 Run, walk, or crawl as many laps as you can in 55 hours.

Bring-A-Blanket Sunday

January 13th – 8:00am until 10:30am – St. Catherine of Sienna Episcopal Church | 4747 Sienna Parkway, 77459 Drop off your warm blankets to benefit the Jurassic Bark Mission Outreach Hungry and Homeless Project. Help keep the homeless women and men and their pets warm this season!

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Photography courtesy of PETER IAN FAZON

guide to giving

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No Surgery For Santa

by Sara Adams

t’s hard to be jolly when you’re in a lot of pain. So when Santa’s back hurt so bad that he could hardly get in the Christmas spirit, he called his long-time friend and local helper, David Doyle for advice. Santa knew that David had been suffering with herniated discs in his back and neuropathy that caused him to start losing feeling in his legs. He’d seen how the pain was keeping David from an active lifestyle and he also noticed when David’s energy level improved. David told Santa, “I used to dread going to the grocery store. Fifteen minutes into it I’d be struggling. I couldn’t finish my grocery shopping without stopping to sit two or three times. Now I am able to finish my shopping without taking any breaks and I’m not even hurting after I unload my truck.””

David credits Dr. Steve Harris of Sugar Land Health Center for his improved mobility and his increased energy level. When David noticed the pain in his back becoming chronic and stronger, he was told that he would have to have back surgery; but he and his wife, Vicki, decided they wanted to try natural chiropractic care with Dr. Harris first. Vicki and her mother have been loyal patients of Dr. Harris for years. They all knew Dr. Harris from their church. David said, “I know Steve. I trust him…okay I’ll give it a shot.” After being treated by Dr. Harris, David says, “I didn’t realize how much energy was being robbed by my pain. I’m feeling so much better. I’m convinced that I won’t have to have surgery.”

Dr. Harris offers a wide variety of chiropractic care modalities and associated therapies to help people with chronic pain or to help improve their overall musculoskeletal function and health. Dr. Harris opened Sugar Land Health Center in 1982, and has been in practice for over 40 years. Known for incorporating new technology and techniques that complement his safe and holistic approach, Dr. Harris offers gentle chiropractic care, pain relief, spinal disc decompression, rehabilitation, neuropathy treatment, and so much more.

If you’re pain is robbing you of your holiday spirit, call Dr. Steve Harris for a consultation today. He not only will

Follow us! sugarlandhealthcenter @sugarlandhealthcenter DrSteveHarrisDC

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make a list and check it twice; he will conduct a thorough examination and explain your options in easy to understand terminology. If you would like a personal visit from Santa, contact David Doyle at: sugarlandsanta@comcast.net.

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december 2018

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silver screen the favourite DECEMBER 14th In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah.

AQUAMAN december 21st Arthur Curry is the reluctant ruler of Atlantis and King of the Seven Seas, who finds himself as the heir to the underwater kingdom.

Caught between a surface world constantly ravaging the sea and Atlanteans looking to lash out in revolt, Aquaman must step forward to lead his people and be a hero to the world.

on the basis of sex DECEMBER 25th The film tells an inspiring and spirited true story that follows young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she teams with her husband, Marty, to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of gender discrimination.

vice DECEMBER 25th Gov. George W. Bush of Texas picks Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co., to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election. When Bush becomes victorious, Cheney uses his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world.

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On my nightside table… “Where the Crawdads Sing”

by Delia Owens and "Meet Me at the Museum” by Anne Youngson.

I have found that committing myself to reading each day not only keeps my mind “working” better but also curbs the television watching at night!

4 December

to Do In

In the garden, keep all bird feeders and baths full. Put out suet cakes so you are providing the much-needed protein that our sweet friends need during the winter months.

Have frost cloths on hand for those few nights where we dip into the 30’s.

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In the house, select an area that you will ruthlessly be committed to organizing and give yourself 6 months to complete.

This next year I am focused on my closet and anything classified as a “wearable” item. Everything in the attic right down to the boxes of baby clothes I have stored for 20 years is coming down, being sorted and either sold or packed back up for grand babies yet to arrive.

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Set yourself up a store online at Poshmark where you can sell these items to others who are looking for gently used and sometimes never worn items.

I have heard of people making a nice sum of change having done so and I am going to keep all the money from this endeavor in one place and set about buying something entirely selfish and just for me when I am done!

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Pick 6 couples that you and your husband like to spend time with and schedule dinners twice for 2019. Pick different restaurants than each of you know so that you can take in all the Town has to offer in the culinary scene. This next year I am finally going to try African food!

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As you are packing up the holiday decorations go through them and gently remove anything that you did not use this year. Label ornaments based on color so they are easier to find next year and easier for you to come up with a new way to use and combine them in your home.

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Consider having a chili night for friends over New Years.

Gather the children for a sleepover and everyone plan to stay in, perhaps if it’s cold enough build a little fire and roast some marshmallows and make hot chocolate. I would always rather ring the new year with a handful of friends than be out with a bunch of strangers and if you choose the latter …don’t forget to Uber or Lyft.

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the list

BY ALISA MURRAY

WWW.ALISAMURRAY.COM

NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PORTRAIT ARTIST & AWARD WINNING COLUMNIST.

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With the children out of school now is the perfect time to renew your family membership to the Museum of Fine Arts and spend a day or more touring the different exhibitions. If your children are so inclined... encourage them to bring their sketchbooks and do some art themselves!

With all the hustle and bustle surrounding the holidays it can become easy to forget to spend quality time with your spouse.

Schedule an afternoon couples’ massage and a dinner just for the two of you between Santa and the ringing in of the new year. On a budget? Stay at home and cuddle with a bottle of wine and a movie and get the children either to bed early or off to grandma’s house!

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As always spend time with the children, have meals in an electronicfree zone, call a friend at least once per week and enjoy the life you’re living! Cheers to a new one ahead!

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december 2018

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Ask the Doc Tired of sleepless nights and want help getting your kids on a sleep routine?

Or maybe your child has recently been diagnosed with ADHD, and you want trusted guidance to help you make necessary adjustments.

Lindsay Asawa, PhD is The List Magazine’s trusted resource for all parenting topics related to behavior and development, as well as general mental health. As part of our effort to be ever present and involved in our community, we are interested in what questions you want to “Ask the Doc.” So, ask away. Submissions always remain anonymous and if you can’t wait for the publication to come to your mailbox to get your answer, let us know and we can try to facilitate a quicker response for you. Email us info@siennalist.com, subject line: ASK THE DOC.

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parent life

We have a 2 ½ year old son and are expecting a second child in a few months. What’s the best way to prepare our toddler for the new baby and tips for an easier transition?

My daughter has always been a good student, but she recently A new baby sibling brings started lying about her homework so many changes into a and missing assignments. Why toddler’s world – new routines, would she do this? How do I help baby toys and necessities, different her be more honest and responsible sounds and smells, and more about her schoolwork? people in and out. Most importantly, it changes the family dynamics. Your son will have to share mom and dad’s attention and some of that attention may be different than before (ex: asking for his help, reminding him to be quiet, exhaustion and frustration). It is important for all children to have time to mentally prepare for big changes. Talk about the new baby often and involve your son as you prepare for the baby’s arrival. Use toys to demonstrate and roleplay having a baby in the home. This is a great way to teach your son appropriate behavior and boundaries with the baby.

Use lots of praise and rewards for his gentle and kind behavior toward the “baby” and his help as a big brother.

Plan ahead to ensure that your son is familiar with many of the changes he will experience. For example, if grandparents will be keeping him more often after the baby arrives, start that transition now with occasional visits. Introduce a consistent bedtime routine, including rituals that will bring him comfort and a sense of belonging. Both parents can take turns doing the bedtime routine to encourage flexibility. Read picture books and watch cartoons about becoming a big brother. When the baby arrives, it will be important to keep your son’s world as stable and consistent as possible.

Involve him whenever you can in helping to care for the baby. Make an effort to set aside special time for your son. Make sure it is “quality time” filled with praise, affection, and fun.

There could be a number of reasons why she is not being honest about her work. Lying can be an indication of underlying anxiety, perfectionism, fear of failure, and feelings of pressure.

Students sometimes feel overwhelmed and unable to keep up with the work, but continue to feel pressure (selfimposed or from others) to reach a certain academic standard. It is often easier to avoid and ignore the work than to put in the effort without the desired results. Some students may truly have difficulty with organization, forgetfulness, and impulsivity. If these concerns are present in other aspects of her life as well, it may be worth seeking an evaluation to identify an underlying neurological difference. Lying is typically an impulsive behavior to avoid a negative consequence (ex: getting in trouble) or gain a positive consequence (ex: getting a reward). The best way to start is by talking to your daughter. Have an honest, calm conversation about your concerns and get her input on why this is happening. Find out more about her fears and concerns. She may need help problem-solving to handle her stress.

Give her an opportunity to own up to her dishonesty and tell the truth. Hold her accountable by communicating with her teachers about upcoming assignments that are due and previous missed assignments. If she is staying on track with homework and turning in assignments, give her plenty of praise and encouragement for her effort!

Our son does not respond to timeouts as a discipline. We’ve tried understanding his feelings, whether he’s acting out due to fatigue, hunger, etc. but it seems his bad behavior is associated with testing boundaries. He’s strong willed. What can we do to get through to him before his bad behavior, such as hitting the dogs, gets him injured?

With strong willed children, never underestimate the power of attention! Time Out is tricky and there are many ways it can go wrong.

However, the most common reason for ineffective Time Outs is unintentionally giving the child attention. Time Out will only be effective if it is truly a time out from all attention. If your son leaves Time Out, take him back without talking, scolding, or even making eye contact.

Any attention at all can be rewarding to children and causes their behaviors to continue (and even escalate). Use your attention as a tool during other situations when your son is testing limits.

It is best to intentionally ignore behaviors that are not dangerous or destructive.

The moment he makes a move in the right direction, shower on the praise!

Practice good behaviors with your son and give him lots of positive attention.

For those dangerous and destructive behaviors, he will need an immediate consequence (ex: putting toy in Time Out, taking away privilege). When your son tests boundaries, be sure to make them clear and consistent. If you give a warning, always follow through to let him know that your warnings should be taken seriously. By setting limits and using constant praise, you can make big changes in even the most difficult behaviors!.

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the guide 5 Holiday Traditions

to Leave Lasting Memories By: Meaghan Barsamian

The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year and also the most stressful. We get lost in checking people off of our gift buying lists and make sure we attend all the parties, but are we scheduling time to enjoy the ones we cherish the most? We came up with a list of the Top 5 Holiday Traditions to make lasting memories. We urge you to schedule these on your calendar in advance, so you know what invites you will need to decline.

1. Christmas Cookies: bake from scratch, bake pre-made cookies, or even pick up un-iced sugar cookies to take home and decorate. Take your time, make a mess and enjoy the company of your family. Or instead build and decorate a gingerbread house.

2. Shop for ornaments: go to your favorite ornament store and shop for a special ornament to represent the year.

Talk about your highs and lows from the year with your family and pick out an ornament to represent the year.

3. Serve: contact local shelters, food banks or even the Fort Bend Women's Center and ask if you can help. Feed the homeless or something of the like to get you and your family out of the house and give back together.

4. Lights-a-gazing: grab your favorite cup of hot chocolate and maybe make some popcorn, grab your coziest blanket and jump in the car. Drive around the neighborhood or even venture off to another neighborhood and enjoy your snacks while you drive and look at Christmas lights. Don’t forget the Christmas music!

5. Get a holiday dose of the arts: buy tickets to The Nutcracker or another holiday performing arts favorite, get your family dressed up and enjoy a night out. If you go to the matinee you can talk about your what you liked or disliked at dinner. If that isn’t your thing, then snuggle up on the couch and watch a favorite old Christmas movie.

It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you are having fun and interacting.

Put your phones down and spend some quality time with the ones you love the most and make memories. Happy Holidays!

Models: Hiren Patel, Dr. Urvi Jadav, Meera and Priya Patel

Special thanks to: Shea Homes and Sweets in the Sky

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molding minds Keeping kids prepared for their return to school

even during the holidays

while still letting them enjoy their time away from their normal schoolwork.

When it comes to keeping your kids engaged during the holidays, the focus of your efforts should be on keeping things entertaining and engaging. There are a couple of ways to do this. If you want to keep your kids’ reading skills up during the holidays, find things that they’ll enjoy reading once the holidays start. These don’t need to be towering classics of literature. The goal is just to keep them reading. Fortunately, these days, kids have all sorts of reading options to choose from. The past two decades have seen an explosion is books aimed at kids from the elementary school level all the way through high school.

It can be a little be harder to keep your kids engaged in math and science topics over the holidays. It’s harder to find materials that will appeal to them. However, even with math and science, it’s easier than ever to find ways to keep your kids engaged. A simple search of the internet reveals plenty of websites that deal with math and science topics. Kids are also more tech savvy than ever, and it’s not unusual for them to have something like an iPad at home. These digital tablets can download apps and programs that deliver challenging but entertaining problems for your kids to solve.

by: JASON LUTHOR The holidays are a time for families to come together and enjoy time with each other.

For kids, this means time off from school.

While that time off is great to help reduce stress and make cherished memories, it can also mean forgetting a lot of what a child learned during the school year. Extended time off can leave kids rusty and struggling when they return to their courses. However, as a parent, you can help them to stay sharp even during the holiday break. Here are just a few tips about how to do just that.

To get something out of the way first, you don’t want to make the holidays all about studying. A little time away to vacation is healthy for everyone, so you don’t want to give your kids so much work that they feel they never left school. Instead, you want to do just enough to keep their lessons fresh

You can also help your kids stay sharp just by keeping them away from too much time in front of the tv or playing video games.

Involving your kids with basic things around the house can help them keep their brains engaged. You can keep them dealing with basic math by having them deal with their own finances, balancing their allowance against their expenses and introducing them to budgeting. You can get them involved in hands-on activities in the kitchen, where they can measure out ingredients for cooking. These aren’t activities that will have your kids doing calculus, but it will keep their brains engaged in creative activities. Importantly, it’ll keep them from getting too disengaged by just vegetating in front of the tv. This will help them to stay prepared for the return of the school year.

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health report Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital Physician Treats aFib with Unique Implantable Device Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital is the first in Fort Bend County to treat atrial fibrillation (aFib) not caused by a heart valve problem with a tiny, permanent implant called the Watchman™.

The procedure was successfully implanted in a patient on Nov. 2 by electrophysiologist and cardiologist, Jie Cheng, M.D. The Watchman is an FDAapproved alternative to blood thinning drugs such as warfarin, which are typically prescribed to people who suffer from aFib to prevent strokes.

“Because of their irregular heartbeat pattern, patients with aFib often experience blood pooling in a pocket of the heart called the left atrial appendage,” said Cheng. “Over time, that pooled blood can coagulate and cause clots to form. If a blood clot escapes the appendage and moves into an artery, it can eventually block the flow of blood to the brain and cause an ischemic stroke.”

Research shows that 90 percent of the stroke-causing blood clots that come from the heart formed in the left atrial appendage. The Watchman works by plugging off the appendage and

preventing blood from pooling and clotting.

Cheng says the Watchman is designed for patients who can no longer take blood thinners due to complications, such as people with a history of major bleeding due to the drug’s side effects, or those who are at higher risk of bleeding from an injury due to active lifestyles or hazardous work.

“The long-term use of a blood thinner creates a higher risk of major bleeding in patients, so the Watchman is a welcome alternative,” said Cheng.

In fact, clinical studies show that 99 out of 100 people fitted with a Watchman can stop taking a blood thinner one year after the procedure.

Cheng plans to continue implanting the Watchman in aFib patients who need an alternative to blood thinners to reduce their risk of stroke.

“The Watchman has been studied for more than 10 years, and more than 50,000 people have received the implant,” Cheng said. “It’s a safe alternative that can provide a very significant benefit for patients.”

To schedule an appointment with Jie Cheng, M.D., call 281.205.4514. To learn more about Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, visit houstonmethodist. org/sugarland or our Facebook page at fb.com/methodistsugarland for the latest news, events and information.

The Watchman is implanted through a narrow tube that is inserted through a small incision in the patient’s leg and guided to the left atrial appendage. It takes Cheng about an hour to implant the device, and most patients will go home the next day.

“Eventually, heart tissue grows over the Watchman to form a natural barrier against blood clots,” said Cheng.

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