Momaha.com magazine - July issue

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DISCOVER YOUR

PASSION HOW TO KEEP YOUR KIDS ACTIVE THIS SUMMER Page 10

April 2010

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July 2010

Mama Time

by Veronica Daehn Stickney

In junior high, my best friend and I had three things we really liked to do: • Hang out with each other.

• Ride our bikes.

• Have sleepovers as often as possible. This included sleeping in until at least 11 a.m.

Summer was perfect for each of these endeavors. We could spend the night together, wake up midmorning and then hop on our bikes to find food, a swimming pool or make it to softball practice on time.

So her parents’ mandatory book reports really cramped our style.

As I remember it, she was required to read a book every couple weeks and then write her father an essay about each book. Her dad would read the essay, ask my friend questions about it and then either

approve it or hand it back for more work.

I thought this was RIDICULOUS. It was summer! Come on, people.

We had fun to find!

But now I totally get it. My best friend’s dad was simply trying to keep her mind working — in a sort of academic mode — even while school was out. I don’t blame him at all. At least not now.

Read more about how parents can keep their kids focused on learning, even during the summer months, in this month’s issue. Thanks to Omaha parents Lynne and Kevin Kush for sharing what they do with their sons Christian and Keegan Kush, pictured on this month’s cover.

Check out momaha.com for blogs written by moms and dads, recipes, a forum to chat with other moms, kid gear for sale, photos, a calendar of events and much more. New content is posted daily.

Have feedback? E-mail Veronica at momaha@owh.com.

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July 2010

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE Cover Story

No-fuss Recipes

Kids don't stop learning once school gets out – keep their minds active over the summer, too!

Too hot to cook? Try this recipe for bread salad.

No oven required.

PAGES 10-11

Mama Talk Miss Erin? Ms. Grace?

Momaha mom Erin Grace debates what title she should use.

Classes taught by a BJJ Black Belt Certified Instructor under the Behring family system from Brazil

Amy LaMar provides helpful hints to tidy up your recipe collection.

PAGE 13

Safe Celebrating

Events for Kids

The Fourth of July can be fun even without setting off dangerous explosives.

PAGE 7

You’ll learn practical self-defense while burning calories! Call now for a free class and see for yourself!

Organize!

PAGE 6 Find a calendar of Omaha-area family fun.

Have you thoug thought about B ili Ji Brazilian Jiu Jit Jitsu (BJJ) training before? Our BJJ classes are FUN, Real, and SAFE.

PAGE 12

Ask the Experts How do I get my child to keep a bedtime routine during the summer?

PAGE 8

Dad Talk Henry Cordes tries to get his twins to enjoy and appreciate piano lessons.

PAGE 9

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Mom Makeover Contest winners Danielle and Jennifer show off their new looks.

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Tater Tots Searching for a quality, kid-friendly restaurant?

Try one of these.

PAGES 17-18

You’ve seen it on TV; now o ttry y itt in pe person! so Volume 1 • Issue 6 • July 2010 Magazine Editor

Veronica Daehn Stickney

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION

Bellevue W. Omaha

36th & Hwy 370 168th & Harrison

(402) 291-4500 (402) 991-0033 www.MartialArtsInternational.com

Cover Story Photographer Kent Sievers

Editorial Director

Melissa Matczak

Special Sections Manager

Designer

Chris Christen

Julia Smith

Copy Editor

Advertising coordinator Sara Kocer

Howard K. Marcus momaha.com magazine is a publication of the Omaha World-Herald, 1314 Douglas St., Suite 700, Omaha, NE 68102. All content copyright 2010 by the Omaha World-Herald. All rights reserved. Find more at www.momaha.com

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July 2010

Mama Talk with Erin Grace We moved to a wonderful street with children galore.

Kids for my kids to play with? Check. Kids to walk to school with? Check. Kids old enough to babysit? Check.

But with all these kids, I find myself in somewhat of an identity crisis. A neighbor mom referred to me as Mrs. H- (Insert husband’s last name here). A different mom referred to me as Mrs. Grace.

I’m neither. So now what? Miss Erin? Miz Grace? Just Erin?

This dilemma is the two-fold result of not changing my name at marriage and, though being at the upper end of 30-something, feeling still too young to be a “Mrs.” I think titles are important distinctions for kids.

Adults are not their peers, and titles help convey that. Yet the lines of demarcation are not so clear.

It was easy when I was a 22-year-old high school teacher in South Louisiana with 18-yearold students. For one, you always use titles with teachers, and I needed every bit of ammo I could get to distinguish myself from the students.

Plus, in the more mannerly South, a “Miss” was followed up by a “ma’am.” Titles were even expected between adults. My mentor was Mrs. Perry in the hallway on Monday and Mrs. Perry in the club on Friday night. The kitchen matriarch

at the restaurant where I moonlighted was Miss Dorothy.

Call her “Dorothy,” especially the young outsider from a state no one had heard of, and expect a ladle upside the head. Or the verbal equivalent.

The rules were easier when I was a kid.

Nearly every unrelated adult was Mr. or Mrs. Soand-So. The big exception was the cool, “Justcall-me-Connie” mom. I wanted to just call her Connie but just couldn’t. I don’t think I called her anything. To this day, I can’t bring myself to call the mothers of my childhood friends by their first names. Ditto when it came to interviewing my old school principal for a news story.

So far, it’s been easier to try out titles on other people with my kids. Of course, 2-year-old Sawyer can’t pronounce those very well. Thus, Mr. Bagel and Mr. iPod. Guess I can’t have this one both ways and need to get used to the “Mrs.” title. I do drive a minivan after all, and if the shoe fits...

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July 1: “Bugsy Malone” at Film Streams

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2010

July 3-5: “Red, White and Zoo” Bring your family to the Henry Doorly Zoo for Independence Day weekend. Find music and patriotic animal activities – including a self-guided tour in search of red, white and blue animals. Event activities are free for zoo members or with regular paid zoo admission.

See “Bugsy Malone” during the Family Film Series at Film Streams’ Ruth Sokolof Theater, 1340 Mike Fahey St. Inspired by “The Godfather,” writer-director Alan Parker made his own gangster picture into a musical cast entirely with children, including Scott Baio as the tough-talking title character and Jodie Foster as a sassy speakeasy songstress.

July 3: Hot air balloons Watch hot air balloons launch at the boat dock at Lake Zorinsky. The Nebraska Balloon Club invites the public to watch for free at sunrise.

Launch is weather permitting. After sunset, turn your eyes toward Rosenblatt Stadium for The World-Herald Fireworks Extravaganza after the Omaha Royals game with the Iowa Cubs.

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4th Anniversary Bash Saturday, July 17th - 9AM-5PM Too Trendi Trunk Show

Featuring designers Jill Rotella and Lisa Kortan

Brighton Trunk Show 10AM-2PM Makeup Demonstrations 9AM-Noon Complimentary Mimosas & Wine Tasting Courtesy of Bob Bolden-72nd Pacific Wine Styles

Join us under the BIG Celebration Tent for a fun-filled day!

Hourly Giveaways and Refreshments!

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July 2010

Ask the Experts

Q.

How do I get my child to sleep in the summer, when the weather is warm, the days are long and the friends are out late?

GET PLENTY OF EXERCISE Playing outside makes kiddos more tired than if they had watched TV or used the computer.

Here are a few suggestions, from Behaven Kids owner Janie Peterson, to keep the bedtime routine, even in the summer.

STICK WITH THE BASICS While summer may accommodate a later bedtime, follow — as closely as possible — your bedtime preparation routine. And if your summer schedule gets turned upside down (which it will because it is summer after all!) just try to get your family back on track as soon as possible.

MAKE BEDTIME ROUTINES FUN For example, play airplane.

After your child gets his jammies on, brushes his teeth and goes to the bathroom, fly him through a room or two and into his bed. Once he is LET YOUR CHILD BE in the “hangar,” he stays there THE LIBRARIAN until his flight departs in the Have your child pick out a book morning. or two to read before bed. If your child would rather tell a story, take turns doing that.

Share something about your life and then have him share a story from his day. Finally, turn the lights off, sing a bedtime song and say goodnight.

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July 2010

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Dad Talk with Henry Cordes A friend of mine was musing on Facebook recently about her desire to get a piano. I responded back that I knew two little girls in Omaha who would love it if she hauled ours away.

Like many parents, we’ve signed our girls up for piano lessons, largely motivated by our own regret that we never learned to play when we were kids. I know few adults who don’t fall into one of two camps: A. They don’t play the piano but wished they knew how. Or B. They play the piano and are now glad their parents forced them to learn it.

But as much as adults love the piano, kids hate it that much more. And no amount of playing seems to change that — at least in our house.

Our twin daughters, Thelma and Lucy, have been taking lessons for a year and a half now, and there are few things they hate more. My wife, Susan, has the unenviable task of ushering them to the piano and sitting with them through their daily practice session. She says it’s just a battle every day. Not once have they sat down for a practice willingly. Ever.

We’ve tried to tell them that they’ll regret it later in life if they quit now — that you can’t just pick up the piano, as they’ve at times suggested, as an adult. My efforts to learn along with them proved that, the girls and their nimble young brains and fingers quickly leaving me in the dust. But such talk hasn’t worked. Your average 11-year-old is not really thinking that far ahead in life.

As much as they’ve learned so far, they seem to get no sense of accomplishment from it. I’m sure that’s partly because as soon as they master a piece, their reward is always an even more challenging one. It’s kind of the nature of

the beast.

We’ve offered praise for both their efforts and abilities. We’ve tried to make it fun, breaking the practice sessions up. We’ve put the hammer down, establishing real consequences for refusing to practice. But still, the daily war persists.

We sometimes wrestle with the question of how long you force a kid to do something they really don’t want to do. We continue to look for suggestions on how we can make the piano a more pleasant experience for all of us. At least as of now, we’re not yet ready to turn our piano into a really expensive plant stand.

One of our friends who expresses gratitude that his parents made him learn the piano did tell Susan he eventually learned to love it. But his words didn’t offer us a lot of encouragement.

All it took, he said, was about six years.

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Making the most of summer TEXT BY VERONICA DAEHN STICKNEY • MOMAHA.COM EDITOR PHOTOS BY KENT SIEVERS / THE WORLD-HERALD

Lynne Kush knows learning doesn’t just happen between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. And it certainly isn’t confined to a classroom, nine months out of the year.

Summer is equally important — and might even provide parents more opportunity to challenge their kids.

Lynne and her husband, Kevin, focus on education with their sons, Keegan, 15, and Christian, 14, throughout the year — summer, too.

“Teachers only see kids for so many hours a day,” said Lynne Kush, a literacy facilitator for the Papillion-La Vista Public Schools. “You have them your whole life. If you don’t take an active role, you are truly missing out.”

When the Kush boys were younger, their parents gave them a variety of activities to keep them learning — the summer reading program at the public library, workbooks, trips to the Children’s Museum, art classes, guitar and piano lessons, camp.

Last summer, Lynne’s niece, who is in college, worked with Christian on math, while Keegan did a PowerPoint presentation for his mom. Christian will be an eighth-grader at La Vista Jr. High, while Keegan will be a sophomore at Papillion-La Vista High. Dad Kevin is the head football coach at Boys Town.

Last year, the boys received $5 for every book they read. This summer, they are earning $100 for every 10 books. The family discusses the book while the boys are reading it.

Tips from educator Scott Butler Reading Ask your child’s teacher for a list of books that would match his or her reading level. Parents can pull up literary analysis of the book online, which helps them talk about the book with their child, even if Mom or Dad hasn’t read the book.

Math Keep math skills sharp by playing interactive math games on the computer. Teachers should also be able to recommend Web sites to help with this.

Service Have them do a service project.

That can be as simple as baking brownies and taking them to the fire station or mowing a neighbor’s yard.

Boredom Lynne Kush realizes some downtime in summer is important, but she also knows the danger of turning the mind off completely.

“If you take the nine weeks of summer and don’t do anything,” she said, “ they’re going to go into that next school year with their minds not as sharp.”

Summer is a great time for parents to help their children discover their interests, or “sparks,” said Scott Butler,

assistant principal at Beadle Middle School in the Millard school district.

Only about 65 percent of kids say they know what their passion is, Butler said. And among that group, only about a third say there are adults who help them build it.

“As parents, the biggest thing we can do is help our kids find and nurture their passions,” Butler said. “It’s not so much about at the age of 12 knowing what

you’re going to do for the rest of your life, but it’s, ‘Wow, this really feeds me.’”

Summer provides ample opportunities for parents to help their children find their passion, Butler said.

Simply, expose them to as many things as possible. Visit Joslyn Art Museum, for example, or sign them up for a camp. Ask them — what one activity or hobby would you want to try? And then investigate that.

Don’t underestimate the power of boredom. “We don’t want kids to be bored all summer long,” Butler said, “but it’s not wrong for them to have to wrestle with it a little bit. Too often, we try to schedule our kids to the point where they get used to other people trying to provide entertainment for them.

‘There’s nothing to do.’ Well, figure something out. That’s an OK thing.

That’s a life skill.”

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July 2010

No-fuss recipes It’s too hot in July to cook. And you can’t grill every night, right? Try this ovenless recipe for a tasty, filling, fairly healthy side dish or entree.

Bread Salad • Half a large, crusty baguette, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 4 cups) • 2 pounds tomatoes (about 4 to 6), cored and cut into rough chunks • 1/2 cup basil leaves, stacked and slivered (a good scissors job for a kid!)

• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cubed • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar • 1/2 cup olive oil • 1 large clove garlic, pressed • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Put bread, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour enough dressing over the salad to moisten, toss it together with your hands and let it sit for around half an hour to get soggy. Taste, add more dressing if needed, and serve.

July 2010

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Organize! with Amy LaMar

MISSION: RECIPE COLLECTION TIME REQUIRED: 30 minutes You have been asked to make your famous potato salad for your husband’s company picnic. You tear up the kitchen looking for the recipe, only to discover that you didn’t write down what you did last time to make it taste so good. You end up guessing incorrectly on the ingredients and what was once delicious is now ordinary.

I don’t know about you, but ordinary recipes don’t deserve a spot in my recipe box — that space is reserved for only the best.

The key to making a recipe taste the same way twice is to write down exactly what you did to make it so fabulous the first time. Have a pen handy as you are cooking, and cross out, add and make notes on the recipe.

Other ideas for organizing Try out the recipes in your recipe box as your meals for the week.

Follow the recipe as is. If it has the potential to be good with a bit of your kitchen magic, make notes

on the recipe and put it back in the box. If it isn’t worth a second thought, toss it.

Print out all of those recipes in your e-mail inbox.

If the recipe came from the side of a bag, container or box, write it on a recipe card.

Do the same with cookbook recipes.

Divide the recipe box into broad categories.

You can narrow the categories later.

Try this idea for coupons, too.

I have two accordion-style files, one for the grocery store and another for retail stores and restaurants. Divide them into categories.

Both of these files are portable, as I have been known to pack the file in the car and flip through it on the way to the place I just know (and hope) I have a coupon for.

The key is to go through your recipe box and coupon files fairly often. Just as you don’t want to hold onto ordinary recipes, you really don’t want to flip through expired coupons in the restaurant parking lot.

Amy LaMar is a stayat-home mom of Zoey, 5, and Elliot, 2 ½. She is also the editor of a magazine and a freelance writer and proofreader.

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July 2010

Fireworks can be dangerous — for adults and kids alike.

But paranoia doesn’t have to take the fun out of the holiday. There are safe ways to celebrate sans booms.

Here are a few ideas.

Organize or participate in a neighborhood parade.

Decorate bikes, wagons, etc., paint your kids’ faces and walk up and down the street. Gather your neighbors to participate, too, of course. Have a picnic or barbecue afterward in your backyard.

Take the family to a community fireworks display.

One of the biggest in the metro area takes place July 3 at Rosenblatt Stadium. Pack a picnic supper, find a viewing spot near the stadium, unfurl the blankets and settle in for some quality family time. The fireworks show immediately follows the Omaha Royals game. Sponsored by The WorldHerald, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year.

Ask your children to help you make a red-white-andblue dessert.

Use strawberries, blueberries and whip cream to make a pie, for example.

Plan a day at the pool or lake. Bring a picnic lunch.

Get “Snaps” for your kids. The tiny white balls simply crack when thrown at the concrete.

No danger here, and a box can last a younger child a long time.

July 2010

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MOM EDITION Winners of the momaha.com makeover contest get new looks.

BY VERONICA DAEHN STICKNEY • MOMAHA.COM EDITOR

Jennifer Litton wasn’t sure her family would recognize her.

Blonde when she woke up that late April morning, the newly shiny brunette was anxious for the big reveal.

Waiting for her at Nebraska Brewing Company that evening was her son, 4-yearold Taylor Allen, among other friends and family.

Litton, 31, devotes nearly all of her time to Taylor, whom she has raised largely by herself since a divorce last fall.

She struggles to spend time or money on herself, she said, because Taylor always comes first.

Litton, who works full time as a quality analyst at a software company, was one of 53 women who entered a momaha.com makeover contest sponsored

by Shadow Lake Towne Center.

Photos by Alyssa Schukar/ THE WORLD-HERALD

She and Danielle Hindel were the winners.

They received their makeovers — new outfits, hair and makeup — April 29 and debuted their new looks in front of friends and family at the Shadow Lake restaurant, 72nd Street and Highway 370.

“I’m extremely grateful and appreciative,” Litton said. “I’m definitely more confident. I feel good.”

Hindel, 25, had taken on full parenting duties for her three children since her husband was deployed to Iraq in January. Both she and her husband are active duty Air Force members.

Hindel does human resources work at Offutt Air Force Base.

Not only was the makeover a lot of fun, Hindel said, she feels great.

“It makes me feel fresh again,” she said, “after being worn down the last couple months.”

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July 2010

exploring NATURE

BY JULIE ANDERSON • WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

In an island of green near 90th Street and West Dodge Road, a handful of children poked sunflower seeds into a bare flower bed.

The seeds eventually will grow into a sunflower tunnel for the tots to run through.

A little dirt, a few seeds, a lot of learning.

That’s the aim of the Early Childhood Center at First Covenant Church and a growing number of child care centers, nature centers and other settings that are creating outdoor classrooms that incorporate nature and play.

The center was one of the first in the Omaha metro area certified through the Nature Explore program, a collaboration of the National Arbor Day Foundation and the Lincoln-based Dimensions Educational Research Foundation.

The Child Saving Institute near 46th and Dodge Streets has a certified nature play area, as does Bellevue’s Gifford Farm and the Bellevue Public Schools’ Early Childhood Program.

They are among 10 in Nebraska and approximately three dozen across the United States. In addition, about 50 spaces across Nebraska and an estimated 125 nationwide are working on certification, said Chris Kiewra, Dimensions’ outreach liaison.

Researchers, educators and conservationists say many children today are missing the opportunity for unstructured play and exploration in nature. The Nature Explore program helps centers design outdoor spaces, train staff to use them to full

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advantage and get families involved.

“A disconnect with nature is a growing phenomenon worldwide,” Kiewra said. “This is the first generation of parents who are parenting without having the benefit of playing outdoors themselves. They may not know how.”

That’s not to say, however, that certified classrooms are the only ones offering nature education. A number of schools in the metro area and beyond have planted gardens or created nature areas.

For example, students at Primrose School of Legacy near 175th Street and West Center Road grow their own vegetables and donate extras to a food bank.

At the church, babies play in a large, shaded sand area. Toddlers pound rocks on a bench near a dry creek bed in a drainage area. The outdoor classroom also features a raised fort, nature sorting tables under a large tree and a building area with logs to sit on and lengths of wood to stack.

Raised garden beds and a 10-foot wooden teepee that supports climbing gourd, bean and pumpkin vines produce organically grown vegetables. A chef prepares lunches using produce grown on site when available.

Kristina Carlson was drawn to the center’s Christian-based instruction. But the nature focus, she said, has proven a bonus for her daughter, Olivia.

July 2010

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Tater Tots Looking for a kid-friendly place to eat? Nichole Aksamit, World-Herald restaurant reviewer, fills us in on what area restaurants have to offer.

THE TROPICS BAR & GRILL

3510 N. 167th Circle (southeast of 168th and Maple Streets) Affordable, better-thanbar food: tasty tacos, Hawaiian meatballs, Cuban sandwiches, apple-spiked cole slaw, plantain chips and one of the best burgers around. Build your own third-pounder with a gourmet selection of toppings — 34 of them free — and a side for $4.

INFORMATION: 934-4902 PRICES: $5 to $10 per person HOURS: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, with a more limited menu from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

INDIAN OVEN

1010 Howard St. INFORMATION: 342-4856.

PRICES: $11 to $15 per person at lunch, $15 to $20 per person at dinner.

HOURS: 11:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

MOM SCOOP: Tacos and burgers are cheap. (Beef tacos are $1 on Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.)

It’s loud and casual, and there’s lots of room for kids to run around.

This pretty 26-year-old Old Market eatery seems to be at a crossroads: It wants to be known as contemporary and cuttingedge but still lets dull versions of traditional Indian dishes dominate its menu.

MOM SCOOP: The restaurant has two off-menu dishes intended for young diners: Jensen Shrimp and Zoe Chicken, but it’s probably too formal (white linens and wine) for all but the best behaved little ones.

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July 2010

Tater Tots

MEXICO LINDO MARKET & RESTAURANT

2210 W. Broadway, Council Bluffs The restaurant, in the east end of a large Latin grocery store, offers a big menu of Mexican-American fare and more traditional Mexican dishes with flavorful sauces. A bonus: You can pick up everything from hot peppers and Mexican cheeses to piñatas and whole fish in the attached market before you head home.

INFORMATION: 712-256-3990 PRICES: $7 to $16 per person HOURS: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. (Market opens one hour earlier.)

MOM SCOOP: A “Little Amigos” menu offers $2 and $3 entrees for children age 12 and younger. There’s plenty of room for restless ones to roam. There’s a whole wall of coinoperated machines, with things like fake mustaches and stickers. And there are good locally made fruit-and-cream Popsicles in the coolers by the register.