Texas Parenting Magazine- Premier Issue by Jusmine Martin

How to improve your credit score | Help digestion during pregnancy

THE PREMIER ISSUE

ade Homemin C Vitam idant Anti-ox !) inutes

5m (ready in

MAGAZINE

Debbie Ricardo Backal How a mobile

museum is shaping Mexican-American children’s values

Is Genetically Modified Food safe to eat?

PLUS My Dad built

the Astrodome — And taught me to think big! By Dene Hofheinz

Madison cancer survivor

There’s Only One Children’s Hospital Making Cancer History ®

MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital is a place dedicated solely to treating and eliminating childhood cancer. A place where the world’s leading cancer experts work hand in hand with parents. A place where hope and laughter are as important as advanced technologies and treatments. Because here, we specialize in cancer, and focus on family.

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Life is a joy, but also a challenge. It doesn’t always happen on schedule. So it’s nice when furnishing your home does. At Gallery Furniture, we offer everything imaginable to warm up your living environment. And same day delivery lets you enjoy it sooner, rather than later. So when you’re moving at the speed of life, you don’t have to slow down for us. And that gives you more time for the little things that are so precious.

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MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER Misha Davida mdavida@texasparentingmagazine.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dave Garlock dgarlock@texasparentingmagazine.com ART DIRECTOR Jusmine Martin jmartin@texasparentingmagazine.com WRITERS Misha Davida, Casey Nicole Evans, Louise Goldberg, Donovan Greer, Jentry Kelley, Misti Pace-Krahl, Isabel Martínez-Martínez VIDEOGRAPHER | EDITOR Neiman Catley ncatley@texasparentingmagazine.com STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Neiman Catley, David Kozlowski ONLINE CONTENT MANAGER Cameron Hayes chayes@texasparentingmagazine.com CONTENT ADVISERS Jentry Kelley | Beauty jkelley@texasparentingmagazine.com Gigi Lewis | Etiquette glewis@texasparentingmagazine.com Misti Pace-Krahl | Fashion mpkrahl@texasparentingmagazine.com Casey Nicole Evans | Food cevans@texasparentingmagazine.com Louise Goldberg | Nutrition louise@anappleadaynutrition.com EVENTS MANAGER | Gigi Lewis glewis@texasparentingmagazine.com AD SALES Misha Davida | South/West Texas, Panhandle & National mdavida@texasparentingmagazine.com Jim Love | Dallas / Fort Worth jlove@texasparentingmagazine.com Amanda Massay | Directories amassay@texasparentingmagazine.com PUBLISHER & CEO Misha Davida mdavida@texasparentingmagazine.com TEXAS PARENTING™ is published bi-monthly by Texas Parenting Magazine, Inc. | © 2013 Texas Parenting Magazine, Inc., All Rights Reserved. | Titles registered at the U.S. Patent Office | For subscription address changes or inquires, please send in mailing label along with new address to: TEXAS PARENTING MAGAZINE, 5100 Westheimer Road, Suite 200, Houston, Texas 77056 or e-mail us at customercare@texasparentingmagazine.com

contents How to improve your credit score | Help digestion during pregnancy

MAGAZINE de Homema C Vitamin ant Anti-oxid utes!)

(ready in

5 min

Debbie Ricardo Backal How a mobile

museum is shaping Mexican-American children’s values

Is Genetically Modified Food safe to eat?

PLUS

My Dad built the Astrodome — And taught me to think big! BY DENE HOFHEINZ

on the cover 38 DEBBIE AND RICARDO BACKAL 42 DENE HOFHEINZ 29 GMOS & WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR FAMILY’S FOOD 50 HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORE 32 HOW TO HELP DIGESTION DURING PREGNANCY 24 THE EASIEST HOME REMEDY YOU’VE EVER SEEN mom time TURNS PINK: The Granite State’s top elected 10 NH officials are all women FOR THE CARPOOL LANE: Jentry Kelley 12 COSMETICS jokes about every mom’s morning 16 FASHION FOR YOU AND YOUR DAUGHTER 26 DONOVAN GREER: A feminine NFL workout regimen features CANCER, VIRTUALLY: A young leukemia survivor cre46 FIGHTING ates a video game & social network for children fighting cancer parenting SCHOOL CHOICE DEBATE: Two Texas experts sound off 54 THE on options for your child’s learning 57 RUN, BABY, RUN: Tips for dealing with your speedy toddler! yummy 62 THREE SAVORY RECIPES FOR A BUSY COOK

6 6

Texas Parenting magazine | Premier Issue

editor’s letter

How many magazines do you read each month? I mean —really read? Carefully pick up over and over again until you are done with the stories? I’m not asking this as an idle question. If you are like most people, you pay for subscriptions to magazines that could include Texas Monthly, Parenting, Ladies’ Home Journal, O, The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Condé Nast Traveler or thousands of others. These magazines are closely read by readers and highly-sought-after by advertisers who realize paying for the publication makes you much more interested in what is between the covers. Some people also pick up free magazines and carry them away with less interest — from rainsoaked racks in front of the grocery store, retail stores and especially coffee shops. They are good for an hour of your time but not much more. This new Texas Parenting is a consumer/service magazine designed for a carefully targeted “niche” of Texas Parents (young and old; men and women) to carefully read and keep around, for both the writing quality and service information. I’ve written, edited and published Texas magazines for the last 25 years and been part of the UT School of Journalism and headed the magazine sequence nearly that long. Most of that time, I taught a specialized magazine class on why magazines in Texas (and the rest of the country) succeed or fail. If that sounds easy, the state is full of magazine executives who can attest to how hard it really is. Few Texas magazines make it past a year. Why will Texas Parenting be any more successful? Unlike most new magazines, Texas Parenting draws on our executive team’s proven success strategy in starting magazines by following two simple rules:

1. There is an unfilled need for a magazine. 2. The editorial is compelling. If that sounds obvious, the overwhelming majority of new magazines miss one of the two rules … and the number lacking the compelling writing and literary DNA is closer to 90 percent (including the two major national parenting magazines). I’m not making this up. I’ve studied and spoken on launches at magazine industry conferences for most of my career. A quick quiz: Take a second and pick up a magazine you like and decide if it really satisfies your literary cravings. Texas Parenting stories are written by some of the most experienced and seasoned writers in the state, using solid and detailed reporting that presents both sides of a subject. As the editor, I can assure you we will not “trade an ad for a story” or subtly promote an advertiser. Our readers are the only constituency we answer to. I’ve railed against this in UT classrooms for two decades and hardly plan to back down now. When you read a story in these pages, it passed a lot of editing and fact-checking steps and does not have a “hidden agenda,” as so many magazines do. This issue is a good indication of the type of stories and profiles we will publish. We will also have an over-arching ‘theme’ in most issues (such as Pregnancy, Relations, Culture, Your Money and Technology/Video Games), set off by a wellresearched and detailed cover story in each issue. Don’t forget to look at our sensational website: texasparentingmagazine.com and read our biweekly newsletters, loaded with Texas parenting news, tips and features. Let me know what you think or send me a story idea. I promise to answer.

» PHOTOS BY (in order, from page 4): FLICKR USER RELAXINGMUSIC STEFAN POWELL EDUARDO MERILLE D SHARON PRUITT

DAVE GARLOCK, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

dgarlock@texasparentingmagazine.com

» COVER PHOTO BY NICOLAS BACKAL

texasparentingmagazine.com

fiveloaves twofish

“She is not Ordinary, Dress her Extraordinary.”

SPRING 2013 available at Barneys of New York & Zappos.com www.ﬁveloavestwoﬁshclothing.com

PHOTO BY FLICKR USER TAPETENPICS

Mom Time

Politics.......10 Beauty........12 Fashion....16 Health......24

mom time

New Hampshire turns

k n Pi

Top elected officials in Granite State are all women BY DAVE GARLOCK

WHEN I first saw the headline in the New York Times about women winning the top five elected seats in New Hampshire during the November elections, I wondered for a second if I had picked up the Onion newspaper by mistake. Skimming the story, my eye immediately caught the reference to New Hampshire being called a ‘pinko’ state. How could that be? What about the reclusive and iconoclastic state’s license plates that have the state’s motto Live Free or Die stamped on them? Fortunately, after I found my glasses, poured a cup of strong coffee from Whole Foods and read the clever lead in the Times again, I saw my eyes had lied. “Most states are red or blue. A few are purple. After the November election, New Hampshire turned pink,” the lead made clear. Turned pink sounded a lot better than pinko state.

Texas Parenting magazine | Premier Issue

N.H. IS SMALL BUT NOT PUNY Not much about the Granite State indicates a follow-the-crowd or overly-feministic view of the world. The 5th smallest state still only ranks 41st in population but was the first of the British North American colonies to break away from Great Britain in January 1776, later becoming one of the original 13 states. But even as one of the smallest states in the Union, New Hampshire

still ranks No. 4 IN THE WORLD in one way. The state’s 400 congressional members make it the “fourthlargest governing body in the English-speaking world, trailing only the United States Congress, British Parliament and Indian Parliament,” the Times announced with what had to be mock gravity. The odds are probably pretty good you could toss a $20 bill on a bar table and ask people (only after they put their smart phones away) to name the four largest governing bodies in the English-speaking world and double your money every time. All of the newly-elected New Hampshire Congressional members are married and three have law degrees, including U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte. Called “one tough Granite Grizzly” by Sarah Palin from that other ‘outlier’ state, Ayotte has already argued a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and been mentioned as a vice presidential candidate. Ayotte’s new Senate colleague Jeanne Shaheen makes the New Hampshire duo the only ‘split-party’ women to represent a state in the U.S. Senate. Being a trendsetter is not new to Shaheen either: she is the first woman ever elected as both a governor and a senator. The third law school graduate, new House member Ann Kuster, worked for years as an adoption attorney and was involved in more than 300 adoptions. She followed her mother into the New Hampshire state senate. The two them wrote a book about Alzheimer’s disease before her mom died. The other new House member, Carol Shea-Porter, was the first woman elected to national office from New Hampshire The new governor, Maggie Hassan, was majority leader in the State Senate, where she served as the texasparentingmagazine.com

“

I next looked at the Washington Post, NPR and several other sites and learned New Hampshire had indeed become the first state in U.S. history to send an all-female Congressional delegation to Washington in 2012. The new female House members joined two who already held Senate seats. Debbie Walsh, the director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, waxed philosophical about this political earthquake, telling NPR it “may be the biggest milestone for women in politics since Californians sent Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein to the U.S. Senate in 1992.” New Hampshire seems to have gone even further than California, adding females who are also mothers with at least two children each. The four new members of Congress join a governor (who had also been the majority leader of the State Senate) and another as speaker of the state’s House. They will mix with a woman who is chief justice of the State Supreme Court and also served on the New Hampshire bench for more than three decades. These office-holders are not flukes or protest-type candidates who somehow turn up in many elections. It’s business-as-usual for New Hampshire and these politicians have extensive legal, political or managerial experience.

NOT MUCH ABOUT THE GRANITE STATE INDICATES A FOLLOWTHE-CROWD OR OVERLYFEMINISTIC VIEW OF THE WORLD.

assistant whip, president pro tempore and majority leader during her six years in office. Hassan will be the nation's only female Democratic governor after 2012. State Rep. Marilinda Garcia knows women can be elected at an early age in New Hampshire. She was born in 1986 and elected to the House in 2006. Now in her fourth term, she serves as majority whip for the Committee on Legislative Administration and as a co-chair of the House Republican Alliance. Garcia’s family could be called diverse: her mother is Italian American and her father Spanish-American. New Hampshire may only the 5th largest state in the Union, but it’s hard to think of any other one with as many women not only in positions of power — but running everything! ◆

mom time and below the cheekbone, from the middle of the ear to the corner of the nose. It can also be applied to the neck (under the cheek) to create a ‘neck lift,’ if you cast a shadow and have a much lighter skin tone under your chin. Approximately $30.

Look cute in the carpool Professional makeup artist Jentry Kelley says she has perfected the art of makeup application with a series of eight steps any woman can do in less than five minutes. ONE: Tinted primer SPF 20 Tinted primer SPF 20 is your broad spectrum sunscreen, primer and foundation — all in one. This cuts down the prep time for your skin by two thirds. It lightly reduces redness and minimizes the appearance of pores and blackheads instantly by giving an overall veil of color and a glow. Approximately $35. TWO: Quick conceal for face and eyes This mineral-based creamy concealer reflects light and tones down redness under the eye and over blemishes without clogging. Tap after application with your middle finger to add a fingerprint! Approximately $20.

THREE: Medium coverage face powder Do you have four pounds of makeup on your iPhone and have a hard time seeing who’s calling you? Liquid makeup needs to be followed with a setting powder to set the makeup so it doesn’t transfer on your phone, hands or children’s white clothing when you hug them off to school. If your skin is excessively oily, we suggest a mattifying oil blot powder to set the tinted primer and concealer. Approximately $30. FOUR: Bronzer A bronzer will warm your face up and add dimension all in one step. This should normally be applied on

FIVE: Lip gloss Hibiscus lip injection gloss (pictured) may not look like the prettiest lip gloss you have ever seen in the container, but it looks good on almost any skin tone. This is also two steps in one, as the gloss adds pigment where a lipstick isn’t needed. This gloss makes the lips look as if they had been injected with filler without a burning or tingling sensation — a natural reflection of light. Approximately $20. SIX: Brow lift light Tuck this right under the outer two-thirds of the brow to make it look like you had a brow lift. It also conceals any little hair that needs to be tweezed, looking like you were freshly waxed every day of the week. Approximately $25. SEVEN: Eye shadow base natural Use a flesh tone eye shadow base to canvas the eyelid, in order to reduce redness, veins and dark circles. By using a brow lift and eye shadow base alone, the eyes look fresh and clean — even without eye shadow. Approximately $25. EIGHT: Bulletproof mascara Who wants back rings under their eyes by noon? How about a thickening and lengthening mascara with a medium sized stiff wand that is sweat proof and waterproof! Approximately $20. ◆ To see Jentry complete the Cute in Carpool process, here

click

To see Jentry show you how to go from the Cute in Carpool daily routine to a look for that special night out on the town, here

click

» Texas mom Sunni Bienvenu and her daughters eating and leaving for school. Photo courtesy of Jentry Kelley.

mom’s morning As I down the coffee with my right hand, I’m probably creating a record for the world’s worst onehanded braid in my poor daughter’s hair with my left.

”

6:15 A.M. The alarm goes off. I press snooze, hoping to feel alert in just nine minutes, the way I felt in college when I was able to sleep until noon four days a week (life before kids). Oh, how I yearn for just one more day like that again. 6:24. The alarm buzzes again and my heart starts racing. I begin the mental checklist of all the things I can skip doing this morning, just to be able to press snooze once more. How bad do I really need a shower? Eggs and bacon? Nah, its oatmeal or cereal! I press snooze for the second time. 6:33. Alarm goes off for the third time, right as I doze off and begin to dream of that beach vacation in Fiji that I won’t have time to take until the kids are gone to college. I’ve done the math and now anxiety has taken over: I have calculated 37 minutes will allow me to wake up Sydni and get her dress ironed that … ugh … I forgot to put in the dryer! Audri hates mornings, but I give her my first attempt to get going. I’m up and load a K-cup in the Kuerig coffee pot and press start. 6:40. My 150mg of ‘wake me up’ is brewed. As I down the coffee with my right hand, I’m probably creating a record for the world’s worst one-handed braid in my poor daughter’s hair with my left. I press the speed-dry button on my dryer, wondering if I’ll win this year’s award for ‘Mother of the Year’ if I send my daughter to school in a half damp, wrinkled dress. 6:47. What about Audri? I still haven’t gotten her up! I run back upstairs and texasparentingmagazine.com

drag her to the kitchen table (almost literally). 6:50. Two bowls of oatmeal are in the microwave (the ready in one minute kind) and I am rinsing off blueberries to throw on top. This is what I call ‘makin’ it happen.’ It’s better than a protein bar, which is probably all I am going to have time for this morning. My kids take 15 minutes to eat, so this window of opportunity is MY time! 6:55. I run to my room to comb my hair and brush my teeth. I look in the mirror and see a tired, worn out mother of two that just wants to be “CUTE IN CARPOOL.” I can’t let people see me like this (not the other moms)! The ones that look like they spent 45 minutes on hair and makeup alone! Who has that kind of time?!?! I wonder if they just wake up looking like that? 7:10. The final sprint: I grab the empty bowls of oatmeal and place them in the sink before reaching for the lunch I made last night from leftover spaghetti, and we hop in the car. 7:25. I roll up to the school slowly, to avoid being noticed in the carpool lane with my oversized sunglasses and hair a hot mess of what I assume could be called a sock bun? More like an actual sock in my bun …or a sucker… or a wad of bubble gum. You just never know these days. I pray that not ONE of the other fellow-carpool-moms will happen to glance over in my direction with my barely tinted windows, proving I’m the mom who woke up at the LAST possible minute to rush to school!

mom time Looking for a perfect on-the-go outfit — at several different price points? TPM tells you where to find your “Mom Essential” wardrobe. BY MISTI PACE-KRAHL

ESSENTIAL OUTERWEAR A blazer or jacket can make any outfit office appropriate or casual with a pulled together look. Make it casual with a print or bright color then roll up the sleeve a couple of times. Target carries a low-end blazer by Mossimo, which comes in eight colors for every season, including neutrals and brights in six sizes ($29.99). For mid-priced blazers, Zara carries an array of edgy styles that come in basic and unique colors ($39/$89.90). Our pick for the highend blazer has an equestrian feel - a black wool jacket by Ralph Lauren that can be worn casually and formally ($342.30).

BEAUTIFUL SCARVES ARE GREAT FINISHERS A scarf can add the perfect finishing touch to any outfit. They can be large or small, square or rectangular, heavy or lightweight, formal or casual. Forever 21 make cute and trendy inexpensive scarves ($6.80-$15.80). Kate Spade New York has some amazing and unique scarves ($98$158), available at Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor and Kate Spade boutique. If luxury is your inclination, the Hermes traditional 90 centimeter silk twill scarf comes in dozens of styles and colors ($410).

LET’S START WITH THE PERFECT JEAN.

As we all know, the easiest thing to throw on in hurry is a great fitting pair of jeans. For budget shoppers, check out Denizen by Levis, exclusively at Target. These figure-flattering, mid-rise jeans ($27.99) come in skinny, boot-cut and flare. Some flattering, mid-priced jeans are KUT ($79-$89) and Not Your Daughter’s Jeans, aka NYDJ ($98$140), both available at Dillard’s, Macy’s and Nordstrom. Both come in many styles, including skinny, boot-cut, straight-leg and jeggings. Great high-end jeans are 7 For All Mankind, available at stores such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and 7 For All Mankind boutiques. These jeans ($154-$225) come in boot-cut, skinny and straight. And for the soon-to-be-mommies, Paige Denim makes an amazing pair of maternity jeans, available at Nordstrom, and boutiques like Pickles, and Ice Cream, and A Pea in a Pod. These great-fitting, flattering jeans ($189-$199) come in skinny, straight and boot-cut. Also consider leggings by Peace of Cloth, available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and KB Kasuals boutique. These comfortably flattering pants come in coal, bark and black ($178) and are for the ‘Mom-on-thego’ who wants something other than a jean or jegging. A LITTLE SECRET: they are thick enough to not make you wear a shirt long enough to cover the bum! Plus, they hold that tummy in.

Texas Parenting magazine | Premier Issue

» PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAIGE DENIM

sort your style.

shop our at e r o t s e n i l on arenting-p http://texas tore. magazine-s erce.com mybigcomm

photo by D Sharon Pruitt

shopping? We get it.

MAGAZINE

mom time WHO NEEDS SHOES ANYWAY?

THE CLASSIC V-NECK TEE How do I love thee? Let me explain: those with a bit of a chest or tummy want to trick the natural eye with a vertical dip. A great budgetpriced V-Neck Tee is Vintage-Style from Old Navy which comes in 14 colors (including stripes) and six sizes ($8.50). J.Crew offers the Vintage cotton short-sleeve Tee in 12 colors and six sizes ($19.99 - $29.50). If price is not a worry, Splendid at Neiman Marcus has ‘impossibly soft’ classic white tees ($48).

Ballet flats are perfect when you’re in a rush. Quick to slip on, neutral tones can go with any outfit. Payless Shoes has DexFlex flats with memory foam, in black, charcoal and leopard ($24.99). For better quality and tennis shoe comfort try Cole Haan’s Air Bacara ($148). For the crème de la crème, check out the Burberry leather ballet flats in black with their signature plaid ($250). Also, easy to pair with all black, making your shoes sing!

» PHOTO PROVIDED BY GAP

STAPLE JEWELRY LIVES UP TO ITS NAME Jewelry can finish off any outfit and make it unique. The key is to have staple pieces that go with everything you own: pearls, diamond stud earrings, precious metals and simple delicate necklaces. Another staple to add the finishing touch to any look is bangles or cuff bracelets. Forever 21 is great for inexpensive bangles, offering sets of 14 bangles in many colors ($9.80). For a more delicate option, Seasonal Whispers

classy metal ‘whisps’ from Nordstrom are a great choice and come in several styles, including a beautiful turquoise and gold ($58.80). What’s great about Seasonal Whispers is the material moves with you and ends banging bracelets against the computer! A STEAL: Jewelry designer David Smallcombe offers a set of three simple hammered cuffs in gold, rose-gold and sterling silver ($140).

» PHOTO PROVIDED BY COACH

SULTRY SUNGLASSES An essential for any on-the-go woman is a great pair of sunglasses. Target, Kohl’s, and Forever 21 have many inexpensive styles to choose from ($6.99-$16.99). For a unique style, Prada at Nordstrom has the wildly popular curly ‘baroque’- style sunglasses (in black and brown) favored by celebrities and fervent fashion-followers ($290). Tom Ford counters at Nordstrom with the classic ‘Jackie O’style sunglasses in black and brown ($390+). ◆

LE, a Misti Pace-Krahl operates MISTI STY ng Houston and Dallas- based fashion styli ng, company specializing in wardrobe styli on. photo styling and fashion show producti Mististyle.com

» ABOVE: PHOTO PROVIDED BY PRADA » LEFT: PHOTO PROVIDED BY FOREVER 21

old 2013 is all about stripes, patterns and colors for young girls and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tweens BY A TEXAS PARENTING STAFF WRITER

Texas Parenting magazine | Premier Issue

or young and ‘tween girls, Spring 2013 is all about big and bold colors, stripes and patterns, according to a group of fashion distributors, designers and retailers interviewed by Texas Parenting magazine. Nowhere is the movement into bright colors more prevalent than in girl’s pants and shorts for tween girls. Last season, brightly-colored jeans – yellows, oranges, pinks and lime greens – were all the rage in women’s fashion. This year that trend has worked its way down to young women and girls. According to Yvette Casares Willis, founder of AnDi’s Closet, a high-end kid’s consignment boutique in Houston, this trend has moved even further down the leg to a staple of Texas fashion: the boot. “Vibrant and showy boots are very popular this year,” she says. “Young ladies are wearing fuchsia, indigo, gold and silver boots. Sparkly black and violet sequinlooking boots are in right now. The trend toward big and bold colors, patterns, and stripes is all about being noticed.”

» Left: Clothes by fiveloaves twofish » Top: Clothes by Pink Chicken » Right: Clothes by fiveloaves twofish

texasparentingmagazine.com

Lifestyle Âť Left: Clothes by Pink Chicken Âť Right and opposite page: Clothes by Masala Baby

Get the look!

Texas Parenting magazine | Premier Issue

“

Jill Griffith feels the more basic greys and navy blue are also still in, as is color blocking. The owner of the Cultivate Kids showroom in Dallas also points to the popularity of hats, big bows and ruffles, plus a movement toward simple, skinny cuts jeans, away from highly-decorated jeans with buttons, stitching and studs. Tie-dyed jeans in orange, blue and green are also trending in and fedora hats are being replaced by floppy hats, Griffith believes. Dipali Patwa, founder of Masala Baby, a Brooklyn, New York boutique kid’s clothier, also sees indigo trending into clothes, calling it “the new black,” offering the simplicity and slimming features of black with a “spicy kick.” Patwa says her store captures a trend towards globalization in children’s clothing, as her clothes are inspired by Indian roots of “delicious curries, authentic spices, Bollywood movies, beautiful marigold flowers, traditional Indian roses, pink stone architecture and colors of the chaotic Indian bazaars.” Willis also notes the destruction of an old fashion faux pas: the mixing of striped and patterned tops and bottoms, which has become more acceptable (even the norm) for young girls and tweens. Two spring lines that especially capture the trends of the season — large prints and patterns, vibrant colors, and grey, navy blues and indigo — are found in the New York-based design house and retailer Pink Chicken and fiveloaves twofish clothing of California. Pink Chicken is known for its bohemian-chic patterned dresses, tops and bottoms. Fiveloaves twofish specializes in the transition from little girlhood to the teen years. ◆

Patwa says her clothes are inspired by Indian roots of

delicious curries, Bollywood movies,

BEAUTIFUL MARIGOLD FLOWERS,

traditional Indian roses,

pink stone architecture

and colors of the chaotic bazaars.

texasparentingmagazine.com

” 23

mom time

Beauty Meets Alchemy A homemade Vitamin C serum that anyone can make BY A TEXAS PARENTING STAFF WRITER

serums can range from $30 to $100 and even store brands are in the $20 - $30 range. So… not to fear! Think green, economical— and effective. We found a solution devised from the brain of an MIT scientist (not the Mel Brooks - Young Frankenstein type). We also ruled out the everpopular remedies using oatmeal, snail secretions and Preparation H. There is a little alchemy involved in this foolproof, homemade Vitamin C night serum, but it’s as simple as a five-minute microwave food recipe, except this is a recipe for easy beauty! ◆

PHOTO BY STEFAN VAN DER STRAETEN

omen have all the fun buying face creams and fancy concoctions in neat little jars. As Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have made abundantly clear: face creams aren’t for us macho men. Just wait, Justin Bieber, the clock is already ticking. But men can have the same fun as women without having to read Marie Claire, Cosmo or Vogue to get the latest skin and makeup tips. Think Vitamin C! Yes, that Vitamin C— a powerful (and expensive) anti-oxidant that helps promote elastin and collagen. Being beautiful does not come cheap! Name brand Vitamin C

INGREDIENTS  5 teaspoons distilled water  1 teaspoon pure Vitamin C powder or crystals  2 teaspoons of Glycerin DIRECTIONS In a small, opaque container of not more than three ounces, combine the five teaspoons of distilled water and one teaspoon of Vitamin C powder or crystals. Shake until the powder or crystals are completely dissolved. Then add the Glycerin, and shake the solution again (always shake before each use). The opaque bottle is important because Vitamin C in powder or cream form oxidizes rapidly, which causes it to lose its efficacy (if it ages enough, it can even harm the skin). The opaque bottle slows the oxidation process. Remix once every 1-2 weeks. Voila! – A Vitamin C night cream for less than $50 per year – a tenth of the cost of all those magazines that tell you how to halt the aging process and hide age wrinkles. To see TPM Beauty Expert Jentry Kelley prepare the Custom Vitamin C Serum, click here.

Texas Parenting magazine | Premier Issue

mom time » NOTE: Donovan Greer is a native Houstonian who played football at Texas A&M and played cornerback in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions during his six-year career. As the founder of a new personal fitness company in Houston, Texas Parenting asked Donovan for tips on how readers can stay (or get) in better shape.

Donovan Greer’s 3O-minute “NFL style” workout

ne of the biggest excuses that I consistently hear from my clients on not staying fit is: “I just don’t have the time.” That is not hard to believe: whether you’re a stay at home mom and wife, with or without a 9 to 5 job, women in today’s society have very demanding schedules. Most people believe they need to spend at least an hour or two in gym workouts to get fit. NOT TRUE! All you need is 30 minutes per workout, three times a week with very little (or no) equipment. In addition, a good diet is required — and I don’t mean a “fad” diet or something that you will only follow for a few months. It has to be one you stay with forever. How serious am I? Your diet and workout must become a way of life. You’re basically committing to a lifestyle change. I always tell my clients ‘to cheat and eat or drink whatever you “love” — but only once a week.’ The other 5 to 6 days of the week, make good healthy choices.

Your diet makes up 70 to 80 percent of how your body looks and working out makes up the rest. Most people don’t understand that concept.

Texas Parenting magazine | Premier Issue

WATER IS JUST AS IMPORTANT

Water consumption is very important as well. There’s an old cliché: “drink eight ounces of water eight times a day. An even better rule of thumb is: take your body weight and divide by two. Add a few ounces, depending on your level of activity and this is an approximate number of how much water you should consume on a daily basis. The more active you are, the more water your body requires. Water helps muscle performance, the development and function of body organs and skin. Drinking water also helps keep your calories under control.

THE GREER FULL BODY DIET

Limiting your consumption of alcohol and eating more foods that contain a high amount of water,

such as fruits and vegetables, which are also high in fiber, will help your overall body look. Think non-white foods: limit white bread, flour tortillas, enriched pasta and white rice. Whole grains are much better choices and eating monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are good for your heart and cholesterol. A lot of “bad” fats and fast foods (Trans, saturated, etc.) are linked to heart disease and clogged arteries. “Good” fats should comprise 15 to 25 percent of your calories. Not only is it advisable to eat less red meat and more fish and chicken — but bake, grill or broil them instead of frying. Keep in mind: avoid breaded meats and look for proteins and complex carbohydrates. Combining healthy eating and an active life style will lead to a better body and a better you! ◆ To see Fitness Trainer and Ex-NFL Star Donovan Greer lead you through his daily workout routine for moms, click HERE.

THE GREER FULL BODY WORKOUT

1. DUMBBELL SQUAT JUMPS (hold dumbbells down by your sides keeping arms straight). 2. SQUAT CURL PRESS (squat down, come up to perform a bicep curl, and then perform a shoulder press). 3. PUSH UPS 4. ALTERNATING DUMBBELL ROWS (from a pushup position) or walking planks. Perform this workout two times per week and on other days you can perform 20 to 30 minutes of interval cardio training either on a treadmill or jog for three minutes and walk one minute along with abdominal work.

PHOTOS BY NEIM CATLEY

This total workout only takes 20 minutes! It consists of four exercises to be performed for 20 seconds with a 15-20 second rest. Repeat seven times and take a one minute break. Then move on to the next exercise. The only equipment needed is light to medium weight dumbbells. After the workout, take two to three minutes to stretch. Hydration is important when it comes to working out. Hydrate 30 minutes before, during and after all workouts.

NOTE: Before you work out, be sure to warm up for three to five minutes by doing jumping jacks, jump rope, body weight squats and/or light jogging.

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How safe is what you eat? Genetically modified food is everywhere BY LOUISE GOLDBERG PHOTO BY JANOS-CSONGOR KEREKES

t’s hard to miss hearing the term ‘genetically modified food’ today. It continues to be a controversial topic almost 20 years since the Food and Drug Administration first approved their use on the commercial market. Today, approximately 70 percent of processed foods are made with one or more genetically engineered ingredients. Originally developed with the intention to protect crops and provide food security to sustain an expanding world population, the entire concept is now viewed with suspicion by a growing number of people. The World Health Organization defines genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as “those in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally.” Agriculture scientists transfer one or more genes for a specific trait from an organism into another organism’s genetic material. The goal is to end up with desired traits all in one plant. The idea of manipulating and

selecting plant DNA for desired genetic traits is not new. However, prior to genetic engineering, only similar species were able to mix. Scientists were also able to use a variety of techniques, such as radiation and chemicals, to cause alterations in a species’ genetic composition to change its characteristics. The plants that produced the preferred traits (e.g. sweeter, larger, fewer seeds, etc.) were selected and reproduced, but it took a great deal of time and was not always consistent. When genetically engineered organisms are created, scientists splice and combine genes between unrelated organisms. For example, combining the DNA from corn and an insect-killing bacteria found in soil can make future corn crops insect-resistant. This modification is not ‘natural,’ of course and could not occur on its own, but it was done with beneficial goals in mind.

BENEFITS AND RISKS

In theory, the benefits of genetically modified foods are meaningful texasparentingmagazine.com

and far-reaching. Plants that are resistant to herbicides or pesticides have been created, allowing farmers to use more of these chemicals to eliminate weeds and bugs, leading to less crop destruction and bigger yields. In areas of the world with little rainfall, drought-tolerant plants are being created, which could mean a plentiful food supply for populations that might otherwise suffer hunger. Some plant genes have been modified to increase their nutritional value, such as “golden” rice, which contains beta-carotene. Golden rice, “could substantially reduce the prevalence and severity of Vitamin A deficiency, and prevent at least hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths and cases of blindness every year,” Dr. Alfred Sommer believes. Sommer, a professor and Dean Emeritus of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, made his comments on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website. The Gates Foundation supports efforts by the International Rice Research Institute to use golden

Lifestyle

WILL THESE MIXED-BREED FOODS LEAD TO A FURTHER INCREASE IN FOOD ALLERGIES?

PHOTO BY D. SHARON PRUITT

to use golden rice to help improve the health of millions of children and adults across the Philippines and Bangladesh. Nothing comes without a price and there is no question the intended goals for creating genetically modified foods are noble and a true testament to advances in science; however, concerns have been raised about their safety to both humans and the environment. For example: will these mixedbreed foods lead to a further increase in food allergies? Will pesticideresistant plants lead to the evolution of ‘super’ bugs? Will the increased use of pesticide on our produce have a toxic effect on our bodies after we consume them? For many governments, these lingering questions were reason enough to call for a moratorium on genetically modified products in the food supply. Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, Japan, Egypt, Russia and Peru have banned the use of some or all GMO crops. In other countries, where the crops are still produced, labeling is required so consumers can make an informed decision. No such labeling laws have been passed in the United States. Some

manufacturers have voluntarily tagged their products ‘Non-GMO’ but the claim is not regulated yet. (Food with the USDA “Organic” certification contains no more than trace amounts of genetically modified ingredients.) The PLU (price look up) number code on grocery stickers can also provide valuable information. The five-digit code starting with a 9 means the product is organic; one beginning with an 8 identifies a genetically engineered food.

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A THREAT TO HUMANS?

Since the first introduction of genetically engineered food on the market in 1994, no evidence has been shown they are a threat to humans, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. However, the center cautions that consumption is not monitored and studies have not looked at the effect on human health over a lifetime. On the other hand, an Aug. 2, 2012 study published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology received national attention because results showed rats fed GMO corn developed tumors and other serious health issues over their lifespan (approximately 2 years). Lead

researcher, Dr. Gilles-Eric Seralini, told the New York Times: “The results were really alarming … the tumors did not develop until well after 90 days, meaning they might have been missed by shorter studies.” However, the Times’ story added, “numerous scientists had criticized the study’s methods and the ideological manner in which it was being presented. ‘This is not an innocent scientific publication,’ said a professor emeritus of food science at the University of Illinois. “It is a wellplanned and cleverly orchestrated media event.” ◆ Louise Goldberg is a registered dietitian and one of only 60 board certified specialists in pediatric nutrition in Texas. She counsels children and families at her practice, An Apple A Day Nutrition Consulting, and blogs about nutrition, life with two boys and healthy recipes on her website. www.AnAppleADayNutrition.com. For more information: www.CSPI.net www.NonGMOShoppingGuide.com www.NonGMOProject.org www.WHO.int/

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mom time

» Who says health food has to LOOK like health food?

HOW-TO: improve digestion while pregnant BY ISABEL MARTINEZ-MARTINEZ PHOTOS AND RECIPES BY CASEY NICOLE EVANS

ven with that beautiful “pregnant glow,” no one ever said the whole pregnancy process is always pretty. When a mother’s body is trying to adjust to caring for the baby in her belly, body changes are bound to occur naturally. One of the most normal ones is constipation. During pregnancy, bowel movements naturally decrease. “A mother’s body adapts to the needs of her baby,” nutritionist and chef Casey Nicole Evans calmly explains. “The mother’s digestion is slowed so the nutrients stay longer in the gut, since that is where it is most absorbent (and) are given to the baby.” The constipation reduces the number of bowel movements, which are usually hard and difficult to pass. Symptoms such as headaches, swelling, bloating, and flatulence are normal at this time, as are hemorrhoids. Less than three bowel movements a week are telltale signs of constipation. Other thoughts on constipation: • As the unborn baby grows inside the mother’s belly, it can cause the uterus to press on the intestines. • Changes in hormones may occur. • Watch for an insufficient intake of water and fluids (such as tea and fruit juices).

ONE MAGIC WORD: FIBER Constipation may be normal, but it and digestion can be managed by consuming food containing two types of fiber: • Soluble—softens the stool by acting as a gel in the intestine, helping to increase water content and flow. This can be found in beans (especially lentils), nuts, oats, barley, fruits (citrus fruits, apples, figs, plums, all berries, prunes) and many vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and okra. • Insoluble—accelerates the passage of food through the stomach and intestines because it adds bulk and mass to the stool. This type of fiber can be found in whole grains (wheat, oats, barley), many vegetables (peas, broccoli, sweet potatoes, cabbage), fruits (pineapple, apple skins, dates, grapes, melons), and peanuts.

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Also consider eating or drinking: • Whole grain bread, rice, and pasta. • Fruits and raw vegetables with the natural skin/shell. • Plenty of fluids (eight 8-ounce glasses per day, plus another 8-ounce glass per hour of activity). • Olive oil instead of butter while cooking (it helps with nutrient absorption and is a primary ingredient to aid healthy digestion). In addition to fibers: • Include iron-rich foods in your diet: Spinach, almonds, egg yolks, turkey, artichokes, beans, broccoli and milk (plus other calcium rich foods) are foods high in iron. • Consume yogurt and other fermented milk products: They are important because they contain healthy bacteria that help improve intestinal flow. Add wheat bran, oats and fruit (fresh or frozen) to yogurt for extra taste and health benefits. • Eat the peel: Col. Esther Martínez-Peralta, chief RN for the Mexican Military Hospital in Cuernavaca, points out consuming many unpeeled raw vegetables and fruits provides benefits because of the fiber in the peel. • Steaming is the best way to cook fruits/vegetables, as it diminishes nutritional content the least. • Avoid foods that can be irritants: Coffee and any other caffeine products that greatly irritate the stomach should be avoided during pregnancy. “Not only can caffeine irritate the mother’s stomach during pregnancy, but it can also cause serious health issues such as spontaneous abortion and low birth weight,” Evans says. Other stomach irritants include excess sugar, raw meats and high-fat foods such as bacon and sausages. The digestion of fat is slower in the stomach and intestine, which can cause feelings of heaviness and hinders healthy bowel transit. Useful tips: • Try to establish a regular time to go to the bathroom to help educate your gut. • Chew food slowly. • Don’t skip meals—eat regularly. • Walk for at least 30 minutes a minimum of three times a week. • Listen to your body: go to the bathroom when it tells you to and relax and take your time. • Check with your pediatrician before taking any laxatives for constipation, which could damage the intestines … or if constipation doesn’t improve. » PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE BY: FLICKR/ MCCUN934 HEALTHALICIOUSNESS.COM FLICKR/ MIHECO

TIONS DAILY RECOMMllyENincDA orporate 25 to

It’s important to graduaer daily, so your diges30 grams of dietary fibated and flatulence and tive system gets acclim “Drinking water before, swelling are minimized. can smooth the whole during and after mealsEvans recommends. digestive process,”

recipes! » See the recipe for these twice baked potatoes on page 68!

DAY 1

BREAKFAST An Avocado Smoothie made of: • 1 Avocado • 1 Banana • ½ cup Vanilla Yogurt • ½ cup Apple Juice • ¼ cup Honey • 1 ½ cup ice NOON SNACK 2 Graham Crackers with 2 tablespoons chunky Peanut Butter LUNCH Turkey Sandwich made from: • Two slices Whole Wheat toasted bread • 2 slices Pepper Jack Cheese • 1 tablespoon Mayonnaise • 1 teaspoon Mustard • 3 slices Turkey Breast • ¼ cup Bean Sprouts MID-AFTERNOON SNACK 3 cups of natural popcorn DINNER (photo on page 32!) Curried Chicken Quinoa with Vegetables (4 servings)

Ingredients: • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil • 2 Chicken Breasts • 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning • 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder • 2 teaspoons minced garlic • 1 Red Onion, chopped small • 1 15-ounce can of Diced Tomatoes • 1 ½ tablespoons Curry Powder • 1 tablespoon Chili Powder • 1 teaspoon Nutmeg • 1 teaspoon Paprika • 2 cups Chicken Broth (or Water) • 1 cup Quinoa • 6-ounces Frozen Peas • Salt and Pepper to taste Directions: • Heat olive oil on medium-low in large saucepan or Dutch oven. Season chicken breast with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Once oil is hot, place chicken breast in pan and cook through, cooking chicken on both sides. Once cooked through, remove chicken breast onto a cutting board and slice into bite-sized pieces. • In same pot, on medium-low heat, add garlic and onion. Sweat onions until translucent, mixing texasparentingmagazine.com

continuously. Add chicken pieces and the diced tomatoes with their juices. Add the curry powder, chili powder, nutmeg, and paprika. • Add the chicken broth or water. Once at a boil, reduce heat to low and add the quinoa. Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, until quinoa is cooked through. Then add the frozen peas and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until cooked through. Turn off heat and serve.

DAY 2

BREAKFAST Spinach omelet (made from three eggs and ½ cup spinach), 2 slices of buttered, toasted multi-grain bread, 1 Apple, and 1 cup of low fat Milk NOON SNACK 1 cup of Pistachios or 1 cup Edamame LUNCH Black Bean Soup (2 servings) Ingredients: • 1 19-ounce can Black Beans • 1 ½ cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth

mom time • 1 cup Medium Spicy Chunky Salsa • 1 teaspoon Chili Powder • 1 teaspoon Cumin • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder • Salt and Pepper (to taste) • ½ cup Sour Cream • ¼ cup Chives (thinly sliced for garnish) Directions: • Blend together black beans, broth, salsa, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt and pepper until smooth. • Transfer mixture to a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until heated through. • Transfer soup to dinner bowls, top with sour cream and chives, and serve. MID-AFTERNOON SNACK • 1 cup dried prunes

DINNER Twice Baked Potatoes stuffed with Turkey Sausage and Vegetables (serves 2) Ingredients: • 2 Large Russet Potatoes (pierced several times with a fork or knife) • 1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted butter for later • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil • Salt and Pepper (to taste) • 8 ounces of 97% Lean Turkey Sausage • 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder • 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning • 1 ½ teaspoon Worcestershire or Soy Sauce • ¼ of a Red Pepper (chopped small) • ¼ of a Green Pepper (chopped small) • 2 White Button Mushrooms (chopped small)

• 1 small Yellow Onion (chopped small) • ½ cup Sour Cream • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives Directions: • In a preheated oven set to 400 degrees F with rack in the middle, place pierced potatoes on baking sheet in the oven. Cook for 50 minutes to an hour. • While potatoes are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add turkey sausage along with salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and Worchester or soy sauce. Mix seasoning well into meat in » DIGESTION, CONTINUED ON PAGE 68

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For Art’s Sake

USING A MUSEUM-ON-WHEELS TO TEACH MEXICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN ANCIENT VALUES AND HISTORY BY DAVE GARLOCK

any people in Texas volunteer their time to help children adapt to a difficult world, but few reach out to Mexican-American children in South Texas with the passion, panache and cultural fervor of Debbie and Ricardo Backal. Many people in Texas volunteer their time to help children adapt to a difficult world, but few reach out to Mexican-American children in South Texas with the passion, panache and cultural fervor of Debbie and Ricardo Backal. They introduce Mexican-American children to museum-quality art through their “Museum Goes to School” program, coordinated with the La Joya ISD in South Texas. With six children of their own, ranging in age from 8 to 25, the Backals own Half Spoon, a McAllen, Texas organization that promotes art from Mexico and South Texas and features traveling exhibits aimed mainly at children who have had very little or no contact with art and museums. They began work in Texas in 2006, emphasizing a family tradition of collecting, studying and promoting art. “Our main goal is to bring art to as many people as possible, especially students of all ages in order to preserve art (and) preserve history,” Ricardo states. The outgoing Ricardo, with piercing blue eyes and a full, well-trimmed beard, is a dynamic personality who matches well with his wife, who is more reserved yet shares the same vibrancy and passion for the subject. “Many of these children are seeing a museum for the first time,” Ricardo explains. “Children hold art in their own hands. It is no longer something they only read in books,” he says. Ricardo has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the National University in Mexico City and comes from an educated family. He credits his architect father, who is also an art collector, for spurring his interest in art. His mother has a Ph.D. in history and it shows in his conversation and thought process. He also participates in Imagekind, a commercial website that prints and sells his print-on-demand images to the public. It also includes a social networking and marketing site for artists and customers. Debbie is also well educated, holding an English teaching degree from the National University in Mexico City and currently finishing her studies in Jewish education in Gratz College in Philadelphia.

YOU CAN ‘TOUCH’ THE PAINTINGS

The Backals museum-on-wheels for South Texas children features a rotating exhibit of some 30 calendar paintings, both in oil and canvas, their family has collected over half a century. Knowing few museums allow visitors to touch actual paintings, the Backals’ took the opposite approach, encouraging children to touch and feel them at will — not to mention the silver, coins, classic piggy banks and other examples of art they bring with them. “We trust them and they see that,” Debbie explains. “They will remember having it in their hands.” They approach a class with the idea it is a two-way street more than lecturing, Ricardo explains. “When they arrive at the classroom they see something they have never seen before. We are not like regular teachers with a blackboard behind us.” » Even when Ricardo and Debbie Backal work at home, art is not far away. PHOTOS BY NICOLAS BACKAL

texasparentingmagazine.com

» ABOVE: Two beautiful women look out from an anonymous Calendar painting.

That is an understatement. It’s logical to assume these children, many from one of the poorest areas in Texas, have never experienced anything like the ‘Team Backal’ method before. The Mexican couple prepares to show a full art and

tell them ‘not to go out and speak Spanish with everyone (because) you are in the U.S. now,’” Ricardo says with frustration in his voice. “It is so strange why these little children can’t say they come from Mexico. They should be proud of who they are today.” It’s a severe border problem that the well-educated Backals, who live in Mexico City and speak more than four languages, worry about constantly. Debbie also makes sure the students see “La Adelita” in the paintings: strong Mexican women in positive traditional scenes. These include iconic traditional Mexican ‘calendar paintings’ that date back to the 1910 Mexican Revolution, when printing companies hired painters to create nationalistic images.

up by the new, post-revolutionary government.” “Nationalistic pride ran high at the time,” Ricardo now adds. “Most people had a calendar in their homes (which allowed) children to see how art (of their customs and history) is made. This is what we had them make in school. The paintings are almost like a religion for them.” And as a never-ending reminder of the modern digital world, the more tech-savvy kids are also allowed to create a blog if they wish. The Backals admit they do not have much of an opportunity to receive feedback from parents, but vividly remember the time a school principal walked into a class and sat down to listen. “After about five minutes, he asked for permission

UNKNOWINGLY MY STUDENTS HAD BECOME WELL-VERSED ON EXAMINING IMAGERY AND EXTRACTING MEANINGFUL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CULTURE RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH WORKS OF ART. Mexican Calendar painting exhibition, and more subtle — but no less important — elements of Mexican culture and history, plus the values of hard work, pride and self-esteem. The Backals know exactly what awaits them on arrival: a built-in psychological tension seen in some Mexican-American children who live and grow up in a U.S. educational system. “Their self-esteem is often very low. That is the first thing to target,” Debbie says. “Their importance as people comes first. The area we work in (near the border) is its own world and its own specific ideas. Some families are broken apart and the children (feel) they are not exactly Mexican and they are not exactly part of the U.S., either,” Ricardo says. “Some of the children’s parents

In some ways, it appears showing classic Mexican Calendar Paintings is a useful way to teach art history, Mexican social themes and culture all rolled up in one. The original calendars, illustrated by large oil paintings and sponsored by companies such as Coca Cola and Corona, had both a cultural and a commercial angle. They were given away to customers by merchants, Ricardo explains. “This type of artwork has a long and fascinating history,” Debbie once told MySanAntonio.com. “We want to further illuminate how the pieces celebrate ancient Mexican cultures and traditions with the assistance of social and artistic movements set

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MEXICAN CALENDARS ALMOST A RELIGION

to speak and talked about what he remembered growing up in Mexico when he was little. The children were so excited and it was amazing.”

A GRAB BAG OF SENSORY DELIGHTS

When the Backals’ arrive at a South Texas school, they come bearing ‘gifts.’ More accurately, they arrive with paintings and a veritable grab bag of artistic and sensory delights for children to see and feel. “We do it like an arts workshop and develop different options for each school,” Debbie stresses, pointing out they closely follow the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies curriculum for elementary schools, which happily allows room to show ‘traditions and contributions of diverse cultures.’

» ABOVE: Debbie and Ricardo watch Joseph check out their grab bag of sensory delights. » RIGHT: Ricardo finishes hanging some “Mexican Calendar Paintings” for an exhibit in Brownsville.

Sometimes the couple work with traditional clay, silver and coins, but they are also able to offer creative writing, and even web pages and blogs.

RUB GRAVESTONES, LEARN HISTORY

When the students, including the Backal’s young son Joseph, are not touching paintings or silver pieces and piggy banks, they could be rubbing gravestones at local cemeteries to learn more about their culture and history. The gravestones seem to be a classic example of how the Backals’ explain history and ancient values in a memorable way. “Teaching them to pick up a piece of anything can also have a history (lesson),” Ricardo says. “Picking up a rock from your parent’s backyard can bring back a memory. One rock leads to another and (then) leads to a history of your life.” It may also start them on the path to becoming collectors and understanding history, Debbie notes, admitting these types of experiences also help bring them closer to the students, almost like a family. Debbie especially cherishes one story about a little boy who told

them (in private) about his toy car ‘collection.’ “He took a little car from his pocket and it was all broken,” she remembers sadly. He told them it was all he had, and how he took care of his little brother because his parents weren’t home. “We brought him some little hot wheels cars the following day,” she says softly. Ricardo points to some photos of the piggy banks they bring to class for students to interact with them. They look more like pieces of art than small banks. One appropriately titled Trick Dog, has a dog with a coin in its mouth. The animal is being encouraged by a man to leap through a hoop and put it into a barrel that serves as the bank. Other piggy banks are nearly as creative, but the hands-on experience also encourages students to think about saving money and the discussions can also lead to finance and economics in general. A yet-unnamed class on the subject may be called something like the Art of savings, Ricardo promises. Another silver plate, a piece of Viceregal silver called a mancerina, is a creative “chocolate cup and saucer,” that originally dates to the 1600s, can be studied by the students. texasparentingmagazine.com

Even some of the teachers, like Heraclio Flores at Tabasco Elementary in La Joya, learn from the lessons. Flores wrote about creating a program called RAICES (roots in Spanish) — Relics & Art Impacting Classroom Experiences — based on the Backal’s work: The look on their stunned faces was all the proof I needed. As Debbie unveiled the silver artifact, jaws dropped; my 5th Grade Gifted Education Class had become engaged in learning. The week before had been spent preparing for this major event. The kids had already taken on several roles that would aid in their new adventure. Unknowingly my students had become well-versed on examining imagery and extracting meaningful information about the culture responsible for such works of art. On this particular day my students were to become the curators, the historians, the anthropologists. It was up to them to draw meaning and significance from the imagery casted into 10 silver pieces by the peoples of Colonial Mexico. Flores’ students were asked to examine several relics and artifacts from Colonial Mexico and provide CONTINUED ON PAGE 65

“

My dad built the astrodome — and taught me to dream big! BY A TEXAS PARENTING STAFF WRITER

alking into the Post Oak condo of Dene Hofheinz, daughter of former Houston County Judge Roy Hofheinz, is nothing short of a time-warp into Houston’s history. On a board next to her computer, letters from five past presidents are pinned to a corkboard. On the floor, propped against a wall is a picture of Dene’s former beau Frank Sinatra. Another wall has photos of Dene with Clint and Lisa Hartmann Black, George H.W. Bush and Lyndon Baines Johnson. Perhaps, no single family had a greater influence in the past century on the development of Houston, its storied history and politics than the Hofheinz family. After all, Roy Sr. served as a state legislator at the tender age of 21 and county judge at 24 before becoming mayor, and bringing the

”

baseball Astros (then the Colt 45s) to Houston. Roy Jr., Dene’s brother, also served as county judge. Dene’s mom was president of the American Cancer Society. Dene was a county music singing, writing and producing sensation. She found and managed Black and wrote No. 1 hits, including, Saying Hello, Saying I Love You, Saying Goodbye and Even God Must Get the Blues. She was awarded a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars as a “singer-songwriter-actress.” The public image and contributions of the Hofheinz family are well chronicled (perhaps overly so) in Houston. But not the inner workings of Houston’s first family. Texas Parenting sat down with Dene for an insider’s look at Hofheinz family dynamics.

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being hofheinz Photos (clockwise from left) » Dene and Francis Albert Sinatra at the Astrodome (Her father’s cigar is on the right) and powerful opera singer Marguerite Piazza is behind them. » Houston Mayor-elect Roy Hofheinz is congratulated on his 1952 win and gets a winning kiss from Dene and smiles from his wife and brothers Fred and Roy Jr. Hofheinz. Fred was later elected mayor of Houston in the 1970s. » Judge Hofheinz gives Dene and his grandchildren a ride in an antique taxicab at Astroworld in 1968. Photo by Curtis Colburn/Houston Chronicle file.

» Dene’s mother scotch-taped a bow in her 1-year-old daughter’s hair. » Portrait of Dene in the early 1960s. » Dene with “Moon River” singer Andy Williams at The Astrodome. » Dene sitting on Santa’s Lap circa 1947. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY DENE HOFHEINZ

MILESTONE 1: A TOUGH BEGINNING Being Hofheinz meant a life of fame, fortune and privilege for Dene, but also one of tragedy and challenges. Those challenges began at her difficult birth in 1942. Her dad, Roy Sr., then Harris County Judge, was on the road serving as campaign manager for Lyndon Baines Johnson’s Congressional run when Dene was born months premature, a little over three pounds. “Neither Momma nor I was expected to live,” she recalls. “The Texas Highway Patrol found Daddy on the campaign trial, and rushed him back to the hospital. Once it became clear that, miraculously, both of us would survive, Daddy spent days passing out his trademark cigars, visiting Mama (in and out of a coma) and me down the hall in an incubator (while holding court at the courthouse and praying in private at church.” Decades later, Dene would lose her mother at the tender age of 54 and her husband in a tragic house fire, which she herself barely escaped.

MILESTONE 2: THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC SERVICE

Being Hofheinz meant a life of giving, helping, and family service. As a tiny child, Dene fondly recalls her dad serving as judge and then mayor, and then aiding the Lyndon Johnson campaigns. This lesson was taught as strongly by her mother, who ran the American Cancer Society. Dene says she was “tied for life” to her mother since the day of her trying birth: “She had been our everything. “She had balanced managing all of [Dad’s] campaigns … the glue that held the family together. She gave up her career as a lawyer, after graduating top in her class, to serve others. Even people who did not like Daddy, loved Mama.” At the grand opening of the Astrodome, Roy made it clear that the stadium, funded by a multimillion dollar public bond offering, would be for all — rich, middle class and poor alike. In 1965, he told Sports Illustrated, “baseball is the great common denominator. So here we give the bleacher fan air-conditioned comfort for the same price he paid for an eight-inch board in the blazing sun or rain somewhere else.” Hofheinz felt any citizen should be able to drive in, park for 50 cents, pay $1.50 for a bleacher seat with a great view and air-conditioning, and see as great a show as the wealthiest oil man. texasparentingmagazine.com

MILESTONE 3: THE IMPORTANCE OF VISION AND GRAND THINKING

» The Judge, Dene, Roy Jr. and Fred inspect of model of the Astrodome in 1967. Photo by Curtis McGee/Houston Chronicle file. » With Lionel Newman, Frances Preston, Beverly Newman, Dene Hofheinz Anton and Ron Anton. » Below: Dene’s engagement announcement photo in 1962.

Being Hofheinz, meant learning an appreciation for vision, grand thinking, and a can-do attitude. “Daddy thought Texans could excel and dream bigger than anyone else in the world,” Dene believes. “His vision, drive, tireless energy, patience at each and every task and detail were unmatched.” This grand thinking led Roy to build the first, retractable roof stadium – the Astrodome became known as the “eighth wonder of the world.” Dene still clearly recalls her role in helping her father begin the Astrodome project: “going to minor league games at Buff Stadium was my special time with Dad. I wasn’t allowed to go hunting with Dad and my big brothers and it was always disappointing when a bad storm came on and we had to leave the game – Daddy and I particularly loved baseball.” One day, while riding in a thunderstorm in the family car, Dene recalls asking her Dad a question from the backseat: “Daddy, why can’t we play baseball inside?” Six years later, the Astrodome became a reality. The Hofheinz family penchant for grand thinking was not limited to just public life and politics. Dene recalls the family vacation house in Galveston Bay was called the Huckster House, and for good reason: “We had a circus room — with a juke box, player piano, and arcade game replete with a soda fountain. There was a Caribbean room, a Gay ’90’s room, a country and western room … a buccaneer’s room and the French room, each with imaginative motifs.” “He attended to every detail with Mama’s approval. At our house (in Houston) he (also) created a circus room with juke box and soda fountain and encouraged my friends to come to our house after school. The theory, I believe, was to make sure they knew where we were at all times.”

MILESTONE 4: THE UPS AND DOWNS OF POLITICS

Being Hofheinz, meant politics, which meant meeting famous people and going to interesting places. It meant strategy, alliances, policy and political attacks. Dene learned this lesson at the age of 10: “Dad’s election as mayor was euphoric. We had all participated (in) knocking door-to-door,

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making speeches, handing out pamphlets and trying to dodge insults by, as mama would say, ‘letting it roll off our backs like water off a duck’s back.’” On a lighter note, Dene recalls after her father won everyone immediately started calling him mayor and I asked, “can I still call you Daddy?” Later, Dene recalls creating her own newspaper to promote and defend her father. “He was a controversial idealist and reformer. Mama and Daddy bought me my own Smith Corona typewriter and Jelly Roll Press because I wanted to have my own newspaper and endorse Daddy. It came out weekly, and I called it ‘The Scoop.’ Dwight Eisenhower was even one of my subscribers.” Politics also taught her the important lessons of compromise, compassion, and working together with adversaries. She named George H.W. Bush one of her biggest idols, despite his Republican party affiliation. DENE: Politically, George and Barbara made me more of an independent voter. Having been raised Democrat, adoring a Republican was both amusing and delightful to Dad. I joked and told both Dad and George I was going to start the Purple Party. Later, George encouraged my country music career, and I always loved to hear what he thought about a song before I played it for anyone else. His heart was always in the right place. You only need to look to the late blooming relationship between Presidents Bush and Clinton working together … cooperation is the only way to accomplish anything at home, in politics, or out in the world. It took Democrats and Republicans coming together to make the Astrodome happen.

» Above: At Barbara Sinatra’s Walk of Stars dedication in Palm Springs — a Valentine’s Day gift to Frank and Barbara from Dene, shortly before Frank passed away. From left to right: comic Tom Dreesen. Dene, Barbara Anne Sinatra, Robert Wagner, Jill St. John (kneeling), Robert and Rosemary Stack (standing). » Below: Dene and friend Adam West.

MILESTONE 5: LESSONS IN LOVE AND DATING

Being Hofheinz meant being the daughter of a judge, but Dene recalls that Roy Hofheinz usually did not lay down the law with her potential suitors all too harshly. He was more the diplomat, while her mother set the laws, and it was her father’s role to implement them. Most rules were designed to keep Dene in step with Christian biblical values. Of course, every once in and blue moon, the implementation of the rules was not so diplomatic. Dene fondly remembers coming home one night, and spending an hour in the driveway talking with her beau outside the family home, before

noticing the front porch light blinking. “Daddy kept blinking them on and off for minutes until I came in. Curfew was at 10 p.m.” Decades later, after her divorce and the death of her mother, Dene remembers flying into Dallas for a concert late one night and running into her father at the stadium. Roy asked what she was doing there, and then asked, “What would your mother say?” Dene felt that said it all: “She was already in heaven, but I guess she was still the boss.” ◆

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the new PACman A YOUNG CANCER SURVIVOR CREATES A VIDEO GAME AND SOCIAL NETWORK FOR CHILDREN FIGHTING THE DISEASE BY A TEXAS PARENTING MAGAZINE STAFF WRITER

osie and Steven Gonzalez of Houston will never forget the October morning in 2006 when they first heard their 12-year-son had leukemia. Even worse, Steven Jr. had Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML-M6), “a rare and difficult to treat” form of the disease, according to Dr. Michael Rytting of the MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Center. The symptoms had been missed in previous visits to the doctor, the family says. Steven Sr. had chaperoned his son’s Boy Scout trip to Galveston Island and noticed the boy woke up with red dots on his eyelids. The family says the pediatrician noticed the boy didn’t have a fever and recommended a doctor’s visit could wait until after the trip.

However, after Steven fell and cut his hand on rocks, the Gonzalez’s parental instincts kicked in. “Deep down, we knew, despite what the doctor had told us, that something just wasn’t right. As a parent, you just know,” Steven Sr. recalls. He took his son to the emergency room early Sunday. As the boy lacked a fever and any additional symptoms, the emergency room doctor questioned why they were there. His mother Rosie remembers him explaining the red spots were from the pressure of throwing up. Rosie says she demanded blood work and a CAT scan. A few hours later, the very same ER doctor approached the parents with an apologetic attitude, and said blood work indicated extremely low levels of platelets, white blood cells and red blood

» Steven partners with MD Anderson Arts in Medicine director Ian Cion to develop animations of patients’ artwork for a digital film project. Photos courtesy MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital.

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cells. As a result, he ordered the boy taken to the nearby Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world. On Monday, the Gonzalez family received the initial leukemia prognosis. “It seemed appropriate that the same morning the sky opened up and Houston flooded,” Rosie says. “It was as if all of heaven was crying with us as the news sunk into our hearts. During this whole time we went from disbelief to bargaining to hoping the diagnosis was wrong or we would be told that another not so rare disease was the reality.” According to Rytting, Steven’s treatment would first require several rounds of intense chemotherapy (although the leukemia may go into remission, most patients relapse). If remission could be achieved, a bone marrow transplant would be the next course of treatment. Given Steven Jr.’s heritage - part Mexican, Puerto Rican and Native American - a bone marrow match was unlikely, even with 15 million registered donors. When the first two rounds of chemotherapy failed and no good matches were found in the limited donors of Hispanic origin in the registry, the Gonzalez family and friends put their faith into action by organizing bone marrow donor drives across the United States. They organized 14 Texas donor drives — in Houston, El Paso and San Antonio – plus New Jersey, New Mexico and California. The National Marrow Donor Program reports less than 10 percent of registered donors have any form of Hispanic decent and few include a mix of Mexican, Puerto Rican and Native American. While the drives failed to identify a match for Steven Jr., they resulted in a marked increase in the number of registered donors of Hispanic origin. The Gonzalez family helped increase the number of registered Hispanic marrow donors and was notified that one young Hispanic boy received a transplant as a result of their efforts.

THE FAMILY HITS ROCK BOTTOM

The week before Christmas, the family hit rock bottom when they were informed Steven still had zero matches and the third round of chemotherapy was not working. The doctors suggested using marrow from Rosie, who was a half match. Rosie and Steven Sr. rejected this suggestion,

THE GAME: USERS CONTROL WHITE BLOOD CELLS THROUGH SEVERAL LEVELS OR A MAZE TO DESTROY GROWING CANCER CELLS, knowing the probability of success with a half match was low. In addition, a transplant could not be completed anyway, even if one were found, until the chemotherapy was successful in driving the leukemia into remission. Otherwise, the cancer cells would merely take over the new marrow. In response, Rosie says, “we tried to have regular meetings. This is what we have always done whenever an important issue or decision comes our way. We explained the progress to our children through these meetings, as best as we understood.” Along with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, she also organized a team in Steven’s honor to participate in the Houston Marathon. His sister, Sabrina, tried to find peace in the normalcy of daily routines: meeting friends, eating breakfast, going to school and the regular family meetings. As a sibling, she was also the best immediate chance for a donor match. Discovering she was not a match, she felt a sense of desperation and guilt. “When I found out I couldn’t be a donor, I didn’t know what to do. I was terrified, confused and thinking what are we going to do now?” she says. I felt all of this rested on me and I had failed my brother and our family.”

A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, the doctor conducted a bone marrow aspiration and learned the leukemia had gone into remission. A second ray of hope came when a transplant specialist at MD Anderson suggested Steven attempt a new and revolutionary procedure, where the donor cells would be harvested from two umbilical cords that matched Steven’s but not each other. At the time, only three hospitals in the United States had permission to conduct a duel cord transplant procedure, Anderson being one.

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imagine all the powers video games can have for the world of teen cancer, where patients are in desperae need of a sense of belonging. “Since umbilical cords contain more immature cells, cord cells do not have to match as closely as marrow cells transplanted from a donor would have to,” according to Dr. Laura Worth, a stem cell oncologist. “Given that a good donor match could not be obtained, we determined the dual-umbilical procedure would yield the highest probability of success for Steven.” According to Worth, failures in transplants can result from several causes, including the transplanted cells not taking; the body attacking them because they aren’t a good match; or the transplanted cells attack the body (because they are less developed and not as likely to attack body cells than the transplanted marrow cells). For several weeks, Steven Jr. had three blood types: his original O+ and both AB- and A+ cells that were being produced by the two cords. To complicate matters, he developed a high fever, rash and aches similar to the flu. Concerned nurses immediately called a transplant expert who soon announced the best news the Gonzalez family had heard in months – the cells of one of the two cords had engrafted. Steven’s body had accepted the donor cells from the smaller of the two umbilical cords.

VIDEO GAMES TO THE RESCUE

According to Steven, the worst part of the disease was not the obvious – the pain, the aches, the needles, the constant fear of death – but the » Steven was treated by a team of specialists including pediatric oncologist Dr. Michael Rytting.

loneliness. “When I first got to the hospital, I knew no one there. My friends did not know how to react to me when they visited, and wouldn’t look me in the face.” During his chemotherapy, and after the transplant, the boy spent over 100 days in isolated sterile environment isolation as his severely weakened immune system made him highly- susceptible to infection. When Steven first arrived, he remembers seeing “some of the kids playing a video game I was very familiar with. We bonded over the games and over time became great friends.” During his time in isolation, video games became a favored way to pass time and he compared them to a bifröst, a bridge connecting the regular world with the world of the Gods in the movie Thor. Just as the bridge served as means for the gods to travel back and forth between worlds, the video games serve as a bifröst for young cancer patients to access a world of normalcy. Steven received a MacBook from the Make-AWish Foundation and soon decided to work on his own video game: “PAC: Play Against Cancer,” aimed at children with cancer. In Pac Man-like fashion, the user controls white blood cells which travel through several levels or a maze to destroy growing cancer cells, which appear as green ghosts. At the end, the game announces: YOU JUST BEAT CANCER! “Cancer melts away when you start playing” video games, Steven explained at a 2012 TEDx conference in Sugarland. He is also working on a new nonprofit called “The Survivor Games,” geared at children from the 6th – 12th grades. “Imagine all the powers video games can have for the world of teen cancer, where patients are in desperate need of a sense of belonging,” Gonzalez said at his talk and in a blog for the Huffington Post. “I know I am not the only teen who has found comfort through gaming and I that’s why I envision creating a social network that will connect teen cancer patients through the healing power of video games. All it’ll take is a little imagination and an open mind to video games.” Today, with a confident manner and a head full of curly hair, the Woodlands College Park High School senior and Eagle Scout volunteers at MD Anderson and prepares to study video game development and create his own video company after that. ◆

photo by Sharon Pruitt

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BY A TEXAS PARENTING STAFF WRITER any people live in far more fear of applying for a new car or home loan than they do a credit card. Part of the problem are the endless strings of commercials we all see from financial companies offering to provide you a free version of your current credit ‘score’ – and help you monitor it. The health of a current ‘credit score’ seems to be more worrisome to some people than their cholesterol level. In some cases, such fears are understandable: following the current financial crisis, the supply of consumer credit has become exceedingly low. Mortgage, credit card and auto lenders alike are becoming more discerning when reviewing credit applications and extending loans. This trend is fueled by both an increased level of risk within credit markets and restricted funding available to banks themselves. Samantha Isbell, a credit restoration specialist, suggests consumers review their credit reports on a regular basis to ensure accuracy. Sometimes negative items, including late payments and collections, may be applied to the wrong person’s credit report, she points out. Consumers should be aware that paying a late account, or one in collection, can actually harm their credit. “While many of our clients think paying off an old collection account will improve their credit, in fact, it often worsens the score,” she notes. “Paying an old account updates the account to ‘current,’ increasing its relevance in the credit scoring mechanism.” This means a good intention can actually damage your score. “Rachel,” a recent college graduate and one of Isbell’s clients, says she paid off a reduced balance on an old account before seeking credit

counseling. “To my shock, my credit score actually dropped 40 points as the dating on the account (then) was marked to recent,” she says. “I was dismayed to learn that if I waited another year-and-a-half, it would have fully fallen off of my credit and my score would have improved. I would not have had to pay anything!” Rachel learned a hard lesson everyone should know: if you have a collection account five or six years old, it’s probably about to be fully dropped from your report anyway and should not be paid, unless it is a student loan or other account that can’t be removed. Consumers are entitled to one free credit report per year, Isbell adds, and websites such as freecreditreport.com and annualcreditreport.com provide free reports that include all three major credit bureau scores. Monthly paid monitoring services, such as PrivacyGuard and Privacy Assist are also available from most major credit card companies. For the average consumer, credit repair can often be a daunting task. Isbell warns it’s important to research any credit repair agency before paying them and important to check into their bonding, registrations, and willingness to offer a written guarantee. No credible credit-repair agency should guarantee the removal of any legitimate entry less than seven years old, as creditors and credit scoring agencies have the right to report late payments and write-offs incurred within that time. Credit repair agencies are also not permitted to offer contracts in excess of 180 days.

WHAT IS YOUR ‘CREDITWORTHINESS?’

The Fair Isaac Corporation is the best-known and most widely-used statistical model to calculate credit scores in the United States. FICO scores

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improve your credit score

vary from 300 to 850. Two of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax and TransUnion — use the FICO formula, while the third bureau, Experian, uses a slightly different formula to create a score ranging from 330 to 830. Credit bureaus offer different scoring methods depending on the type of loan. When auto lenders pull credit scores, for example, they are more heavily weighted by past auto loan payment history. The important thing to remember, Isbell stresses, is these scores can not only affect your ability to borrow — but even obtain employment. Paying bills on time is one of the most important things you can do improve your credit score. Keep in mind, only late payments of 30 days or more are generally reported by lenders to credit bureaus. Credit bureaus notice the amount of revolving credit (borrowing lines, such as credit cards, against which you can borrow and repay), relative to the amount available. Auto, mortgage and student loans are considered term loans, which have a set principal balance that is paid down over time. Your credit can be improved by paying down credit card balances or opening new credit cards, which increases your overall available limit. Closing accounts is harmful and your ratio of overall credit use versus possible credit available is monitored. It is generally ill advised to use more than 50 percent of your available credit on any card.

‘OLD’ DEBT IS BETTER FOR YOU!

Perhaps surprisingly, older credit accounts are better: a good reason to not close old accounts. They help establish a lengthy credit history. Mortgage term loans are generally looked at more favorably than high ratios of credit card

How lenders make credit decisions Most lenders make credit decisions based on a number of factors. Here are the three most important:

Find out how your credit score is calculated! Visit texasparentingmagazine.com/ creditscore.html

and revolving credit, which are viewed as more risky and can lower your credit score. Ironically, if you or your employer pulls a credit report, it has no impact on your score… BUT if a lender asks about your credit history after you apply for credit, it can reduce your overall score by 3-5 percent per inquiry.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORES:

 Pay down existing balances to reduce the amount of credit you use (against the amount available) to around 20 percent. An amount above 50 percent is considered damaging).  Apply for a credit card if you don’t already have one — or only have one or two.  Open a term (car or mortgage) account, if your credit consists entirely of credit card accounts. Auto or electronics loans can also be good options, if you don’t already have such accounts.  Use your cards sparingly and maintain low balances.  Keep those old accounts, versus cutting up lightly used cards, to maintain a lengthy credit history.  Dispute late payments with both the credit bureau and lender. Remember, only payments of 30 days or later are usually reported to the bureaus. Lenders may not, necessarily, report your history to all three bureaus.  Lenders may also remove late payment entries from the credit bureaus in order to maintain your goodwill as a customer, if you just ask. If your lender is unwilling to budge, you can file a complaint with the credit bureaus regarding the disputed entry. The lender then has 30 days to prove to the credit bureau that the entry is correct. Many lenders will not respond in time.

Debt-Service Coverage – The DSC refers to the ratio of a consumer’s present or projected monthly revenue, less living or other borrowing expenses, divided by the projected monthly payments on the loan.

Available Collateral – Auto and mortgage loan are “collateralized” or “secured” by putting a lien against your assets, vehicles and houses --- which can then be foreclosed by the bank and sold in the case of default. NOTE: Not all loans are collateralized, which explains why unsecured credit card loans generally carry higher rates of interest.

Creditworthiness – The likelihood consumers will pay their bills.

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Texas education leaders debate State Sen. Dan Patrick’s School Choice bill While admitting the test scores for Texas public schools “aren’t so hot,” a writer for Slate magazine concluded in April 2012, “I’m not sure there’s even much of a problem.” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan begs to differ. “Far too few of [Texas’] high school graduates are actually prepared to go on to college,” he said. “I feel very, very badly for the children there.” Consider the following statistics: • The Casey Foundation ranks Texas 35 out of 50 states overall in education. • A Beacon Hill Institute study recently ranks Texas last in the percentage of 25 year olds and older who graduated from high school in 2013, and 37th as a percentage of their population enrolled in degree-granting institutions. In addition, Texas exceeds the national average in incidence of juvenile crime and incarceration, teen pregnancy and single parents. In the backdrop of these figures, a decade-long battle over “school choice” has raged in Texas. Broadly defined, it consists of an array of policies, varying by state, designed to give parents the right and financial wherewithal to choose which school their children will attend: public, private, charter or home school. These advocates feel by promoting alternatives to standard public schools, increased competition will lead to better ‘educational products’ for the State’s children. They argue that private schools can offer more cost-

effective and efficient educational solutions than their public school counterparts and would have to offer a high quality education, commensurate with their price, to survive. Currently, Texas offers a limited array of school choice options relative to other states, including publicly-funded charter schools that meet certain performance standards set by the State, but otherwise free from the traditional public school system. Texas has implemented a hard cap of 215 open enrollment charter schools and, according to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the number of students on wait lists for charter schools burgeoned from 45,000 in 2009 to 120,000 in 2011. The foundation’s web site reports a mission to “promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility and free enterprise by educating and affecting policymakers and the Texas public policy debate with academically sound research and outreach.” Texas has also implemented public school choice, offering largely open enrollment within the public education system through intra-district and inter-district school choice. State Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston), chair of the Texas Senate’s Education Committee, announced he was championing a new “school choice” bill to improve Texas’ education system. He says his bill will lift the 215 cap on the number of charter schools in Texas, tighten standards and offer tax credit scholarships to economically-disadvantaged students.

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FOR BY JAMES GOLSAN, ANALYST FOR THE TEXAS PUBLIC POLICY FOUNDATION

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chool choice promises to be a major issue during the 83rd Texas Legislature in 2013. The reality of the matter is that right now, school choice is very limited in Texas. It’s an area in which we have much room to grow, and for a number of reasons, that growth would be of major benefit to Texas education. First and foremost, school choice could be of substantial academic benefit for many Texas students and not just those who are actively participating in some kind of choice program. When the privately funded Horizon Scholarship Program offered scholarships to every student within the boundaries of San Antonio’s Edgewood ISD from 1998 – 2008, students who received scholarships saw their test scores in math rise by 28 percent, and their reading scores improve by 21.2 percent during the program’s first four years. In that same window, students who remained in Edgewood’s public schools saw their pass rate on the TAAS exam improve by almost 18 percent. This is not an effect limited to Texas. Florida has been running a tax-credit based education scholarship program since 2001. A recent study by the Florida Department of Education concluded the program was a benefit to the public school system as a whole, not just students who received an education scholarship. What becomes clear from studies like this is that, when challenged by competition from outside forces, public schools can rise up and improve their performance. The second reason Texas needs school choice is to satisfy parental demand. We have an increasingly diverse student body in Texas, one that grows substantially every biennium. As good as many of our public schools are, a school’s geographic proximity to a household does not always make it best suited to address the needs of specific students. As much is reflected in data gathered by the Texas Charter Schools Association, which estimates there are over 100,000 students »

BY RITA HAECKER, PRESIDENT OF THE TEXAS STATE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION

he profiteering raid on state tax dollars that Sen. Dan Patrick is proposing offers no real “choice” for most Texas families. Patrick’s socalled “choice” program for Texas students and parents is deliberately misnamed to promote a bad idea. It is nothing but a taxpayer-supported voucher program that would enrich private school owners at the expense of public schools and the vast majority of Texas school children, and that is why the Texas State Teachers Association strongly opposes it. In 2011, Gov. Rick Perry and the legislative majority, including Sen. Patrick, slashed $5.4 billion from the public education budget. At least 25,000 school jobs were lost, thousands of classrooms were overcrowded, electives were trimmed back, some neighborhood schools were closed and some parents had to pay for their children to ride the school bus. Now, instead of moving to repair the damage to public schools, Sen. Patrick wants to use tax credits to drain away more tax dollars for a voucher program that would help very few children. Most parents would have no “choice” because only a handful of you would ever see one dime from a voucher program. But your tax dollars would pay for it, and the ultimate beneficiaries would be private and religious schools. Private schools have their place, but Texas’ strength has been built on its public school system. That is where most children will continue to be educated, and diverting our tax dollars to private school vouchers is another harmful funding cut for public schools. Public schools accept all children, regardless of personal circumstances or family income. Private schools can cherry- pick rejecting children with poor academic or behavioral records or turning down children with special needs. Even if a voucher law were to require private schools to admit special education students or those with limited English-speaking skills, only a small number of children would benefit while tens »

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currently on wait lists to attend charter schools. The third argument in favor of school choice is the fiscal benefits it could bring to both local school districts and the state as a whole. At the local level, private education scholarships could reduce the pressure on school districts to construct new facilities, as well as increase their per-pupil funding, since a school would retain a portion of the money they receive for a student that departs for a private school. The community at large could benefit as well. During the operation of the Horizon Scholarship Program, Edgewood ISD saw its property values and local revenues rise sharply, as well the construction of their first new housing development in decades. At the state level, school choice gives Texas a chance to reduce the growing cost of education without impacting education quality. The Florida tax credit program realized millions in savings for the state, and many advocates for choice in Texas estimate that an education scholarship program could do the same for Texas. A good thing too, since our student population is only going to continue to grow. | jgolsan@texaspolicy.com.

» NO CONTINUED

of thousands more would remain in under-funded public schools. That is not a fair or sound use of our tax dollars. If you plan to use a state voucher to enroll your child in one of the best, most expensive private schools, you may want to think again. A voucher worth $5,000 a year wouldn’t come close to covering tuitions of $15,000 or $20,000 or more. Most public school families can’t afford the difference. Wealthier families can, but why should our tax dollars be spent to subsidize Texans who can already afford private school tuition? Private schools have little public accountability in their financial policies or how they measure student achievement, practices that have contributed to waste and fraud in some existing voucher programs in other states. Numerous studies have failed to provide any convincing evidence that voucher programs in other states have improved student performance. We have no business wasting our tax dollars on an experiment that has done only one thing – improve the financial health of private schools at the expense of public schools. That would be a huge disservice to our public school children, their parents and all Texas taxpayers. | RitaH@tsta.org.

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Run,baby, ESSAY BY MISHA DAVIDA Citlalli (a name of Nahuati Aztec origin, meaning ‘Star’) has made a great discovery at 20 months: running! It is clear she is in a hurry. She runs to the bathroom, the kitchen and leaves the nursery at a gallop — hurrying across the street, leaving the building’s elevator at a run. Her timing is right on the mark: children begin to run between the ages of 18-24 months, according to most experts and will soon be able to jump from a low step to the floor. By the age of 3, children often can jump up and down with their feet together. Citlalli’s parents, Alicia and Juan Carlos, have found a way to monitor this: ‘domestic jogging,’ which allows them to be within walking distance of their daughter 24 hours a day. But even if it involves an extra effort from Mom and Dad, who will have to loosen tired muscles to keep pace with Carmelita Jeter (the new fastest woman in the world). But the truth is: she is helping them to grow as well!

EVOLUTION

» For children of this age, to walk is a waste of time when they discover they can run without stopping.

run! Typically, children self-banish the stroller The arrival of her brother Isaac, or afternoon fatigue at the park can bring back a request for the stroller. It is important not to yield Not only because it would be a step backward, but also because it may be an attention-seeking behavior that must be treated differently. When jealousy is a problem, recognition has to be given for achievements that make them feel valued. Say it as many times as necessary. Help me push the stroller!

In theory, once we control balance and walking They love to feel grown up and we can without staggering, we can start running. But even ask them to help us push the baby in practice, Citlalli must have the strength to pull herself up and forward with one leg, the stroller. When they do, extra helpings of skills to coordinate movements and be able to cuddles and hugs should be dispensed. deal with the occasional fall from the second to third birthday. texasparentingmagazine.com

CADA INTENTO es una victoria

The good news is “children often develop the physical skills in a predictable sequence,” the chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics of a New York hospital told babycenter.com. He also warns that this means toddlers may climb before they jump! On that same subject, running requires a series of well-coordinated jumps; the weight of the body is held by one foot while the other is suspended in the air. Truth be told, it’s not all that simple: consider the staggering loss of balance and vigilant parental support necessary. Some pediatric and motor skills experts suggest parents can help prepare their children for their coming Cirque du Soleil running and jumping days by encouraging them to bounce on a bed or trampoline while holding your hands, or practice jumping into pillows. Babycenter.com suggests “acting out nursery rhymes … like “the mouse ran up the clock, the clock jumped over the moon” to make the motor learning more fun. The only other thing that Mommy and Daddy do during this exciting process of learning is to cuddle the child, provide many kisses for the injuries of war plus endless pampering.

WHY RUN

For starters, because it’s fun! Citlalli begins to experience the speed in her own body, so it was great to ride on the backseat of her Dad’s bike, feeling the speed for herself and allowing a new autonomy. There is no need for anyone to bring a ball to the other side of this park. The major function may be walking, but her running can circumvent some ‘adult control’ and allow her to do some innocent escaping and start measuring her limits. Two-and-a-half-year-old Memo now streaks across the municipal soccer field with its archaic ‘Astroturf ’ feel, as parents, America and Antonio, watch closely. They know children at this age experience the psychological transformation of becoming independent and relatively autonomous people — especially as they learn to run. For Memo, this conquest of space is a great milestone, as he no longer feels the need to be glued to his parents. Citalli can only watch the freedom her first cousin has — for now! ◆

If she asks for the stroller, negotiate with her. We can propose making stops at favorite stores to look in the window, take a break for cuddles, catch the bus, sing and jump, tell her favorite stories...

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three recipes for busy people 1

chorizo and avocado breakfast burritos INGREDIENTS: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped 8 ounces fresh chorizo sausage, casing removed

1 teaspoon garlic powder Salt and pepper, to taste 6 large eggs 4 large flour tortillas 1 tablespoon melted butter 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 2 avocados, cut into slices Mild salsa (optional) Reduced fat sour cream (optional)

PROCEDURE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium nonstick sauté pan, heat olive oil. Sauté onion, red and green bell peppers until tender (about 5-7 minutes). Add chorizo sausage and sauté over medium heat until cooked through (about 5 minutes), breaking up the chorizo into small pieces as it cooks. While chorizo and vegetable mixture are cooking, break eggs into a bowl and wisk well. Once chorizo is cooked, add eggs to the sauté pan and stir softly until eggs are scrambled and set (about 2 minutes). Season mixture with garlic powder, salt, and pepper and take off heat. Place the four flour tortillas apart on a sheet tray, brush a little melted butter on each, and sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese evenly. Pop them in the oven quickly, just until cheese melts (about 1-2 minutes). Remove sheet tray from oven. Place each tortilla on a separate plate and spoon chorizo egg mixture into each cheesy tortilla. Top breakfast burrito with a few avocado slices, salsa, and sour cream and serve.

pumpkin turkey chili INGREDIENTS: 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped 1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped fine 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 lb. lean ground turkey 1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 15-oz. can pumpkin purée 1 cup water 2 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons cayenne 1 tablespoon paprika 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon unsweetened baking cocoa 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 15-oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

TOPPINGS: Reduced fat sour cream Shredded cheddar cheese Green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS: Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, red and yellow bell peppers, jalapeno, and garlic and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add ground turkey and continue cooking until turkey is cooked through, stirring frequently. Once turkey is cooked through, add tomatoes, tomato paste, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cayenne, paprika, cumin, cocoa, salt, and black pepper and stir well until combined. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to medium and add red kidney beans. Bring chili to a simmer for about 30 more minutes, then ladle into bowls and serve with toppings as desired. » LEFT: PHOTO BY BRYAN GUZMAN » RIGHT: PHOTO BY EVAN SWIGART/ CULINARYGEEK.NET

yummy

PHOTO BY GERALD ANGELES

brisket egg rolls with sweet bbq dipping sauce

ROLL INGREDIENTS: 12 egg roll wrappers Water, to moisten egg roll wrapper 2 lb. brisket, fat trimmed 1 oz. envelope onion soup mix (dry) 12 oz. bottle of tomato-based chili sauce 1/2 cup brown sugar 3 tablespoons garlic powder salt and pepper to taste

BBQ SAUCE INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup ketchup 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 5 tablespoons light brown sugar 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce 1/2 tablespoon lemon sauce 1/2 tablespoon onion powder 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 tablespoon ground mustard 2 teaspoons paprika 1/2 tablespoon pepper

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place brisket in deep, glass baking dish. In a bowl, mix together onion soup mix, chili sauce, brown sugar, and garlic powder and pour over brisket. Loosely cover brisket with foil and bake until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. While brisket is cooking, make BBQ sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the ingredients to boil, and then reduce to simmer. Continue cooking for 1 hour, then take off heat and keep warm for service.

Remove brisket and let rest for about 30 minutes to cool and to render its juices. Once cool enough to handle, pull brisket apart and roughly chop. Season with salt and pepper to taste. To assemble, place 2 tablespoons of filling near the corner of the egg roll wrap that is closest to you. Fold over the left and right sides, and then brush the corner that is furthest away from you with water and finish rolling. Press slightly to make sure the rolls stay shut. Repeat procedure with the remaining egg rolls. Deep fry egg rolls at 350 degrees F until golden brown, draining on paper towels once removed. Serve brisket egg rolls with BBQ dipping saunce on the side. â&#x2014;&#x2020;

BACKALS, FROM PAGE 41

preliminary information on their findings: The Copon and the Mancerina By Cristobal, Claudia and Allan “The Copón would have been found in a church, as it would have been used during the ritual of the last supper. The Mancerina could have been used anywhere and most likely belonged to a rich person who could afford to own one made of silver.” The plate and the basket By Rebecca, Bianca and Dominic “The plate seems to be a plaque that was once on a church door. There even seems to be a keyhole on the left side. The basket probably belonged to a person of wealth in Colonial Mexico, and may have even belonged to a Royal Family.” The Benditero and the Brasero By Albert, Adriana and Johnny Joe: “The Bentitero would most likely be found in a Church of Colonial Mexico and would have held the Holy Water used for blessings at the entrance to the church. The Brasero would have probably been owned by a rich person, and would have been used to hold burning coals inside the house for use in daily tasks such as lighting candles or melting wax for seals.” These types of results verify the ability of the Museum-on-Wheels to show Mexican-American children the importance of their history, culture and ancient values. “I’m very confident in what we do,” Debbie says without hesitation. “I’m passionate about teaching art and education to children. I started teaching even before we began this program more than 20 years ago. This passion and generosity was recently recognized in a way that both surprised and touched her. Ricardo recalls a little boy in La Joya looking up at Debbie and saying

» Photos courtesy of the Backals.

something that moved her to the soul: “When I grow up, I want to be you.” “He did not say, ‘I want to be like you,’” Ricardo stresses. “He said I want to be you.” Being able to relate to so many South Texas children is one thing, but as any educator well knows, dealing with the parents requires a totally different set of skills. Ricardo once brought Catholic paintings into a school and some parents weren’t happy about it. “They thought we wanted to give some kind of religious classes to their kids. When they approached us, we told them we were Jewish! — so the problem ended there and they thanked us for teaching their children.” It might be a good thing the couple did not ask about the rest of the Backals ethnic background, as Catholicism might be one of the few things missing. “We both speak Spanish, English, Hebrew and Yiddish, with some understanding of German (because of the Yiddish),” according to Ricardo. “Debbie’s family was expelled by the Nazi’s from Vienna in 1938, with a one-way ‘leave and never come back’ passport,” he explains. “Her grandfather was an important doctor in Vienna. The rest of her family comes from Greece and Mexico. Mine comes from Mexico, Poland, Ukraine and Belarus.”

LA JOYA ISD NOT EASY TO FIND

It’s easy to see why students at La Joya ISD’s 22 elementary schools look forward to a creative way to texasparentingmagazine.com

learn about their heritage, which boosts their self-esteem and pride. As the district is located in the isolated portion of Hidalgo County, some of the schools are “often in the middle of nowhere,” Ricardo says. The district is over 99 percent Hispanic and more than 95 percent are classified as ‘economically disadvantaged.’ Still, there is reason for hope: after a decade of struggling, the La Joya ISD was rated “academically recognized” by the Texas Education Agency in 2011. The Backals also bring some of their children along from time to time, including son Joseph (see cover of this issue) and oldest daughter Cynthia, who is studying education in Mexico City. When asked if Cynthia may one day replace her parents in this venture, Debbie nods enthusiastically before backing down in a way parents all over the world know all too well. The Backals museum-based success has caught the eye of others around Texas who have contacted them about expanding this program further, including school districts in Dallas and San Antonio. “We’re also working on the idea of training teachers,” Debbie says. “We want teachers to learn (our idea) while bringing it into the classroom.” That could even include universities. The Backals say they will be working with the ‘teachers to be’ program at Texas A&M in the summer of 2013. “We’ll be “teaching them our system (called) CreARTive Teaching … and are close to finishing a new book on the subject.” ◆

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» DIGESTION, FROM PAGE 36 the sauté pan until well combined. Cook meat, breaking it up and stirring often, until cooked through (about 10 minutes). • In the same sauté pan with the meat, add chopped red pepper, chopped green pepper, chopped button mushrooms, and chopped onion and cook with the meat until vegetables are cooked through, stirring continuously (about 10 minutes). When finished, turn off heat. • When potatoes are cooked, and a knife easily pierces the potatoes, remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack until rested and cool (about 10 minutes). Set oven to broil. • Slice potatoes in half lengthwise. Spoon out the potato flesh, leaving about ¼ inch of flesh still attached to the skin. Reserve the flesh in a bowl. Brush inside of potatoes with some of the melted butter and season the insides with salt and pepper. Place potatoes back on the baking sheet, skin-side up, and broil for 3 minutes. Flip potatoes over and broil until insides start to brown, about 3-4 more minutes. • Meanwhile, in the bowl of potato flesh, add the turkey sausage and vegetable mixture. Add sour cream, rest of melted butter, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Spoon into potato skins and broil for another 5-6 minutes. Remove hot potatoes, top with chopped chives, and serve.

FLICKR/MO RIZA

Casey Nicole Evans is a graduate of Baylor University, with a major in Family and Consumer Sciences. She also received a certificate in French Classic Culinary Arts from the International Culinary Center in New York City. ◆

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puzzles

Brain Games Surprise! Puzzles and games that keep you sharp and can also help you chill out. Check out our picks. PICTURE THIS » The full-color puzzles featured in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Picture Puzzles, Volume 2 will bring hours of calm ($11, amazon.com). WORD PLAY Unscramble the letters to find two related words in the online game Spliterature at Game Show Network (Free, gsn.com) MENTAL MENTOR Lumosity Brain Trainer acts as an online mind coach as you play games that enhance problem solving, memory and focus. (Free, lumosity.com) « FINDERS KEEPERS Explore beautiful and mysterious scenes to find concealed objects in Hidden Chronicles, from Facebook's Zynga. (Free, facebook.com) SOCIAL NETWORK » Put your vocabulary skills to the test - and score some new buds - with the addictive app Words with Friends. (Free, itunes.com)

Texas Parenting magazine | Premier Issue

PUZZLING PLEASURES Instead of ruminating about work and life’s perplexing twists and turns, solve-and-relax problems by doing crossword puzzles. “Brain-challenging games are wonderful way to allow the mind to focus on something besides the mundane,” says Abigail Matthews, a clinical psychologist in Dallas. Not only do they increase cognitive ability (and boost vocabulary) in a fun way, these puzzles also provide fresh perspective on your problems as you focus on the hereand-now. And flexing other brain “muscles” allows your mind and body to decompress. It’s a smart way to go “across” and “down” the path to relaxation.

When you add Heinz, you add L VE.