mommyzine

HollyJollyHolidays!

contents MOMMY MAGIC™mommyzine

HOLIDAYS 2012

Publisher: Mary Susan Buhner Editor: Jen Alderman

Contributing Writers: Kara Tamulonis Mindy Fleming Molly Tittle Jen Kampmeier Paige Miller Michelle Freed Photos & Design: Jen Alderman ©2012 Mommy Magic Publishing

What’s Inside

Features:Welcome

Party It Up

Mommy Magic

Witty in Pink

All I Need to Know...

Favorite Things

Amazing Holiday Race

Hot Holiday ToysIn Every IssueWhat’s HotQuick CraftsQuote Page

Fitness Fabulous

I Almost CookFamous FacesA Friend’s StoryMommy Magic Bulletin Board

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Welcome!

It is here—the holiday season! I hope this season finds you, your family, and your loved ones filled with joy and peace. For moms,especially, this time of year can be hectic and even more busy than usual. I hope you find small moments throughout the holiday season to enjoy the holi-day magic you have worked so hard to create for your family. Take note of your children’s giggles and their sweet anticipation for the magic that the season holds.

Wishing you and your family bless-ings and joy and a very Merry Christ-mas!

‒Mary Susan Buhner

My family and I with Santa in 2012

Every year the holidays seem to sneak up on me and catch me by surprise. One of the downsides to being a photog-rapher and designer is that your busiest time of year is also, well, the busiest time of year. I spend most of my time between the beginning of November and the end of December either behind a camera or with my nose buried in a computer. I love working with my clients to create holidays portraits and cards, and I know I make lots of parents and grandparents happy with my work when they receive some form of those photos as gifts. But I can easily get caught up in my work and for-get that I need to be making and preserv-ing those memories for my family as well.And I think we are all guilty of some form of this during the holiday season - getting so busy doing all the things that Moms have to do to make the holidays success-ful that we forget to take a moment and enjoy the season with our loved ones. I hope that this issue of the Mommyzine provides you with some inspiration and tips to help you “capture the small mo-ments in a big life.”

Jen with Santa at age 4

‘Tis The Season!

Jen & family in Christmas PJs, 2011

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Party It Up! by Kara Tamulonus

Baking with kids is a fantastic way to get them in the kitchen, and can even be a teachingopportunity for skills like measuring and math. But what to do with the fruits of your labor? Acookie exchange is a fun family event that allows you to celebrate the season, spend time withfamily and friends, unload your goodies, and stock up on holiday treats made by others!0 0A cookieexchange is also a great way to get your kiddos involved in 0party planning, set0up, 0and clean-up.Hosting a party with your kiddos encourages them to learn generosity and develop organizationalskills, and responsibility!Here are a few helpful tips on how to host one:

* Regardless of how you invite others to your cookie exchange—by calling, sending an evite, or mailing paper in-vitations—be sure to include a brief description of what a cookie exchange is (i.e., each guest brings 3‒4 dozen cookies).* As the host, you are responsible for providing your guests with a take-home container.This can be anything from holiday-themed paper plates from the dollar store, to bakery boxes, to sea-sonal tins.* Have some appetizers or finger foods on hand to balance out all the sweets. Fresh fruit or veggies are a great choice. Classic holiday drinks will also add to the party’s atmosphere.Hot chocolate, egg nog, or a kid-friendly holiday punch are fun!* When guests arrive, have them place their cookies on a separate table from the other refreshments. It should have plenty of room for their cookies and be accessible from all sides to make the exchange easy!* After your guests have mingled a bit, pass out the take-home containers and instruct guests to collect cookies

one at a time. I’ve found it’s easiest to start each guest at her own platter and circle the table, taking a cookie from each, including her own, until all thecookies are gone!

Favorite Things!

We polled our Mommy Magic audience, and these were their top-five favorite things about Christmas!!!

1. Watching funny Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Elf2. Christmas music (favorites include Bing Crosby and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas”)3. Hot chocolate4. Homemade Christmas cookies5. Christmas lights

The holidays always conjure up such excitement and anticipation as we prepare for the most special of times with family, friends, and those most dear. It’s a time when we put favorite recipes to the test, when we check and recheck lists to make sure the perfect gifts are purchased and wrapped. It’s a time of great traditions, of remem-

What’s Hot

Say thanks:The holiday season kicks off with Thanksgiving, making it a wonderful time to give thanks for those most dear and all your blessings. To that end, a beautiful gratitude journal is a gift that will continue to bring joy for years to come! Choose one that shows the personality of the recipient: hot pink, leopard, or classic. Add a monogram to make it extra special!potterybarn.com

You take the cake:What a better way to say “Thank you!” or “We’re looking forward to spend-ing the holidays together!” than a delicious sweet treat? Caroline’s Cakes are seven decadent layers of delicious flavors. Our favorite is the seven-layer caramel cake, decked out for the holidays.carolinescakes.com

brance, and most of all, of giving.The holidays are filled with love, laughter, faith;with all the excitement of the littlest of us squealing with delight and wonder; and in that,great comfort and abundant joy!

Sparkle: The holidays are the best time to add a little sparkle. Whether it’s on your footwear, your handbag, or your nails, add something that glistens! Nothing is more festive than a little shine. Try adding a spar-kled red heel with jeans and a white shirt or a delicate clutch with the same. Less is more, but make it count. ’Tis the season!dsw.com

Be charitable: During this season, we’re all called to do and give more—which explains why most on-line donations are made during the month of De-cember. Give a gift in honor of a special someone by donating a gift to her charity of choice. It’s a lovely way to honor that friend or family member on your list, and it sure makes holiday shopping hassle-free! Do your research and find the charities nearest and dearest to those you’re gifting, such as actionagainsthunger.org, humanesociety.org, savethechildren.org, or the Smithsonian Institution at si.edu. As well, act locally at local food pantries and shelters.

Comfort &Joy by Paige Miller

If I had one piece of advice for all moms this month, it would be this: There is, in-deed, magic in imperfection—especially during the holiday season!It’s not about being happy as long as things are perfect, but rather being perfectly happy no matter what the outcome of things might be over the season.Like many moms, I am in charge of mak-ing a lot of the holiday magic this month. I have to admit, I do love all the family tra-ditions—baking cookies with my kiddos, trimming our Christmas tree together, all the special school Christmas programs. I love the countdown of magic in Decem-ber!Knowing my kids are growing up too fast, I try to embrace all the fun traditions like sprinkling reindeer “food” on our lawn and sending their Christmas letter to the “North Pole.” What I have learned, however, is that what I think is making an impression on my kids may not be what they define as “Christmas magic.” Case in point: Every year that my husband and I had been mar-ried, we had gone to Lowe’s for our Christ-

mas tree. It’s not very Norman Rockwell, I know, but we’d always had good luck find-ing a decent tree that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. And each year, my husband se-cured the tree on the roof of our car with twine, stringing the excess into the inside of the car so it doesn’t flap around outside.One year, he handed the excess twine to my oldest daughter, who was three at the time, and jokingly instructed her to hold onto it to make sure the tree stayed on the roof. When she expressed her concern that she wasn’t strong enough to hold onto it, we told her that her Christmas magic would give her strength.She held on tight, and when we got home without incident, she said, overjoyed, that she couldn’t wait to do it next year. And so, year after year, we have loaded up the car and headed to Lowe’s for our tree, and each year our daughter has assumed this sacred re-sponsibility, ultimately sharing it with her baby sisters. “Don’t worry,” she’d say, all big-sister authority. “Your Christmas mag-ic will make the tree stay on.” And year after year, my husband and I have chuck-led to each other as their white knuckles grasped the twine.Fast-forward to Christmas a few years ago. We had been going to Lowe’s for a long time. And nothing against Lowe’s, but I was ready to change it up a bit. So I spent weeks researching Christmas-tree farms. I called, I Googled. I looked into every tree farm in the area to find the one that would yield the perfect Christmas experi-ence for our family. We had three kids by

by Mary Susan Buhner

then; it was time to start the perfect fam-ily tradition! When I was satisfied that I’d done enough leg work, I announced with some excitement that we were going to start a new family tradition: picking out our Christmas tree at a tree farm. We would cut down our own tree, sip hot chocolate, and have our picture taken with Santa’s reindeer. It would be—you guessed it—the perfect Christmas tradition...the ulti-mate magical moment!In one second flat, my two oldest daugh-ters dissolved into tears. “No, Mommy!” they cried, barely able to spit out their plea between their sobs. “We don’t want to go!” “What?” I said,shocked. I couldn’t make sense of the moment. Had they misheard me? Did they miss the bit about the hot cocoa and the reindeer? Did they not know about all my hard work, all my planning? I asked, “Why?” “We want to go to Lowe’s and hold the twine!” wailed my

seven- year-old. My five-year-old second-ed that: “Yeah! We want to use our Christ-mas magic to keep the tree on the roof!”I was floored. Lowe’s, with its bright, flu-orescent lights, its metal shopping carts, and its vast parking lot, was hardly a per-fect tradition to me—but total perfection to my children. So needless to say, we went back to Lowe’s to get our tree. Unbe-knownst to me, a perfect Christmas family tradition had been born!So with that, I encourage you to take notice of how your kiddos view things through their eyes this holiday season. Most of the time, they couldn’t care less if the bow matches the wrapping paper or if the cookies are correctly placed on the-special Christmas plate. In fact, what they store in their memory bank and remember when they get older is the magic of being together and creating it in the first place!

My girls getting cozy after the annual tree trip to Lowes

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All I Really Need to Know...The dawning of a new year always makes me twitch a bit. After all, it is that annual time of making the traditional New Year’s resolutions. Although I believe that most of us have the best intentions for ourselves when we create them, I myself have never been able to adhere to any that I create. For example, take the resolution to lose weight. We dash off to the gym, buy a membership, and within three weeks we have lost that oomph. Personally, I can find a thousand excuses to not work out. Too cold, too tired, too far to drive...the list goes on.Now that I am a mom to a seven-year-old my New Year’s resolutions take on a whole new meaning. Sure, I could go to the extreme of creating an entire list that does nothing but involve my child and how I should spend more time with him or get him to eat his vegetables without bribing. But no. This year, I am going to keep it simple and reflect on what a wise author wrote in one of his books.I had a wonderful opportunity many years ago to meet Robert Fulghum. He is the author of many best sellers, including All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kin-dergarten. In this book, Fulghum taught us the following:* Share everything.* Play fair.* Don’t hit people.

* Put thing back where you found them.* Clean up your own mess.* Don’t take things that aren’t yours.* Say you’re sorry when you hurt some-body.* Wash your hands before you eat.* Flush.* Warm cookies and milk are good for you.* Take a nap every afternoon.* When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick to-gether.* Be aware of wonder.I honestly think that if we could all apply one or many of these as our New Year’s resolutions, our personal and professional lives would benefit greatly. I plan to teach my son in 2013 that simple is better, be nice to everyone, and say please and thank you.Wishing you and your family a prosperous and healthy 2013!

Jenn Kampmeier is a MomPreneur and founder of PurplePail.TV

For Parents. By Parents.

by Jenn Kampmeier

Fitness Fabulous by MollyTittle

Are you Holiday shopping for someone who likes to workout this year? Well, I have some suggestions for you! Gift cer-tificates are always a great option when buying for the fitness enthusiast. Here are my best suggestions on several gift certifi-cates to consider:1. A certificate from Yoga Vibes (www.Yo-gavibes.com). This website allows you to take 100’s of Yoga, Pilates and Bar class-es from any location because they are all offered online! Many top instructors from around the world offer classes on this site. You can find my Bar Effect class on this site as well. They offer a gift card/gift certificate options found here on the site: http://www.yogavibes.com/pages/corpo-rate-memberships/2. A certificate from ITunes. You cannot go wrong with offering someone the option to buy music, apps, classes and many more goodies available on ITunes.3. A certificate from a clothing store or online retailer. Lululemon and Lucy are fitness freaks dream stores. Also, Nord-strom has some great options for fitness wear. Online, Athleta (www.athleta.com )and Impact Fitness Wear (www.impact-fitnesswear.com) have some really great options as well.Outside of the gift certificate realm, I would suggest purchasing fitness DVD’s or magazine subscriptions. Collage video

(www.collagevideo.com) offers 1000’s of fitness DVD’s in many categories of which you can preview all offerings. My DVD, Quick Cuts Pilates Practice, is available at Collage Video and it is also available on my website, www.mfitnessonline.com. Magazine subscriptions are the gifts that keep on giving! SELF Magazine, Shape Magazine, Oxygen Magazine and Pilates Style Magazine are some of my personal favorites!Hope this helps make your shopping a bit easier this year! Happy Holidays, Exhale and abs in!

For more workouts with Molly Tittle and to find her Quick Cuts DVD, check out mfitnessonline.

com

I am a fairly organized person. I keep a hard copy of my calendar in my purse be-cause I don’t trust the one on my comput-er to keep me on track. I may not always be totally successful at it, but I do love a place for everything and everything in its place. (Maybe this is the result of being married to a former Army Captain.) Not convinced? This should do it: I bought my-self a labeler for my birthday a few years ago. Naturally, Christmas shopping is no exception, as I strive to stay on top of what has been purchased for whom, what remains to be purchased, how much we have spent, and so on. I even keep a run-ning spreadsheet of our Christmas shop-ping. I know, if I were trying to earn cool points, I’d be in the negative right now. But maintaining this kind of order became a necessity when I had three kids in three years—three years during which I maybe slept a total of 17 hours.But the Christmas I had cancer was the exception to the organized rule. I was di-agnosed with the cancer in late October and had six weeks to prepare for major surgery in early December. I knew I would not be able to drive, lift my arms over my head, or function as a normal human be-

ing for several weeks after the surgery. As a mom, this meant only one thing:I had to prepare for Christmas before my sur-gery. Otherwise, there would be nothing for anyone to open on Christmas morning.I set out to conquer Christmas in November, and quickly made a nice dent in the shopping list. And as I found items and added them to the pot, I felt so good about my progress that I just kept going. And going. And go-

ing. I didn’t make huge purchases, but when I saw something I thought the kids would love, I bought it. Most years, there would have been at least a small amount of internal debate. Will they really like it? Will actually they play with it? How long will it take for them to completely destroy it? But not this year. Nope. I kept remind-ing myself what a lousy hand my kids had been dealt. The least I could do to make up for it was to give them a great Christ-mas. So I didn’t make my list, and I sure as heck didn’t check it twice.And then, on the cold and snowy morn-ing of December 7, my husband drove me to the hospital, and I underwent a seven-hour surgery to remove the cancer from my breast and begin the reconstruction process. The two weeks that followed my surgery were a complete blur of pain, drugs, visitors, and follow-up appoint-ments with all my doctors. The fog began to lift as Christmas approached, however; in fact, by Christmas Eve, I was feeling pretty good. We got the kids to bed, and my husband and I began bringing out gifts from the multiple hiding places throughout the house and depositing them on the liv-ing-room floor to be wrapped. Much to our

surprise, the gifts just kept coming. Before too long, a massive pile of toys, clothes, and other goodies covered the floor. We had, in a word, over-shopped. It looked like Santa’s workshop had thrown up all over the living room. This was over-com-pensation out of control. All we could do was stare at the pile of gifts in disbelief. “Wow. What should we do?” my husband asked, “Should we put some of this up for their birthdays?” That seemed like the log-ical answer, and I started to sort out what would go under the tree and what would go back in the hiding spot.The problem was, I couldn’t decide what to give now and what to save. Even though we had over-bought, there seemed to be a special significance to every item on the floor. With each gift I bought, I could see their little faces lighting up with glee on Christmas morning, and I wanted to see enough smiles to power the lights on our tree. “Let’s give it all to them now. To hell with putting any away,” I said to Rob, and he agreed. We stayed up until the wee hours, wrapping gifts, assembling toys, and installing batteries while drinking egg-nog and watching all the old Christmas classics on TV.The next morning, the kids woke us up full of excitement, which was matched by our own anticipation of Christmas morn-ing. We headed downstairs to see what Santa had left for our good boys and girl. They were delighted! The morning was filled with, “This is just what I wanted!” and “Wow! This is awesome!”It was filled with the smiles I had seen in my mind as I shopped six weeks earlier. I felt happy and proud of a job well done. I had given my children a Christmas they would re-member— and not because it was the one when their mom was sick.

Seems like a happy ending, right? And it was. But as I realized the following Christ-mas, when I was back to my normal list-making and gift-debating, that Christmas after my surgery was about so much more than I originally thought. I convinced my-self that all the extra gifts were for the kids, but in truth, they were really for me. In the deep dark corner of my heart I held a secret fear: that I might not get another Christmas with my kids. I didn’t want to admit it out loud, or even to myself, but buying all those presents was my way of coping with that fear. If it was to be my last Christmas with my children, then I was going to make damn sure it was a good one— not for them as much as for my own peace of mind. I couldn’t control the cancer or the surgeries or the side effects, but I could give them the best memories I could afford. Without even knowing it, I had engaged in retail therapy at its finest. Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy a ton of Legos— and when you’re a mom going through a rough time, that’s pretty darned close.So, many years from now, when my kids are grown and we’re sitting around telling old stories, will any of them remember that Christmas as being any different from the rest? Probably not. In the big picture of life, I doubt0\ any of them will remember the extra baby doll or board games. But I will remember the smiling faces from that Christmas morning and the feeling of hav-ing given them a Christmas to remember, even if the memories were really for me.

Get Crafty! by Jen Alderman

HOLIDAY CARD DISPLAY

Materials: hole punch, ribbon, tree or swag

Instructions: As cards arrive, punch a hole in the top and thread with ribbon. Hang on the tree or swag

Results: A super easy way to show off all those cute photos of family and friends!

Looking for a way to display all those amazing holiday cards that friends and family send you? And easy and elegant way to show them off is to turn them into orna-ments and hang them from a special tree or other greenery.

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I Almost CookBlog Presents...

Holiday Favorites!MAMO’S CREPE PANCAKES - serves 4

This is my grandmother’s amazing pancake recipe.These pancakes are thin and crêpe like—perfect with any holiday topping or just traditional butter and syrup!

Ingredients:2 eggs1 1/2 cups milk1 cup flour1 tsp salt1 tsp baking powder

Instructions:Heat frying pan. Add a little bacon grease to the pan before adding batter. .

MINDY’S CHICKEN POT PIE - serves 5

Ingredients:1 large can Veg-All (Homestyle) canned vegetables 1 can cream of chicken soup (fat-free)1 cup cooked diced chicken breast1 package refrigerated piecrust (unroll-and-fill type) pepper (optional)Splash of milk (optional)

Instructions:Roll out one crust into a pie pan and put aside.In a medium bowl, mix the vegetables, chicken, and soup.Optionally, add a dash of pepper and a splash of milk.Pour the mixture into the crust- filled pan and place the remaining piecrust on top of the pie-pan mixture,pinching the edges to form a seal and cutting a few slits in the top.Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes or until the crust is brown.Cool for 5‒010 minutes before serving. by Mindy FlemingMACADAMIA, CRANBERRY, AND WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES - makes 3-4 dozenIngredients:1 package refrigerated sugar cookie dough 1 cup dried cranberries1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped 1/2 cup flour4 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped 2 tbsp grated orange peel Instructions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, work together the cookie dough, cranberries, nuts, flour, chocolate, and orange peel until well blended. Drop by0the tablespoon full onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 10‒012 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

Famous Faces, Real Parents

What inspires you most?My children. It sounds very cliché, but it is so true. I take the fact that they are watch-ing and listening to every move I make very seriously. I see how the smallest things get them so excited, and their lack of fear is something I wish I still had.

Do you have a favorite piece of advice to offer other moms?My mom is the best at giving advice. She would laugh and say, “I don’t give you ad-vice. I just listen to you and let you figure out what is best for you.” I respect her so much. So, one piece of advice is to really listen to your children. Go into their room with the lights out before bed and really listen to what they have to say. That’s when they open up and tell you their hopes and fears.

What do you want to teach your children?To have passion for something and to stand up for what they believe in! There are so many pressures out there on our children, and I really see it in young girls and young women. I just want Ashlyn and Brock to have a love or connection to some aspect of their life. My children love hiking, nature, and horses. That passion is having an ef-fect on our family. We just bought acreage in North Salem. On the weekends, we are cutting down dead trees, feeding horses, and riding four-wheelers. I would not have guessed 10 years ago this is where my life would be.

A revealing in-terview with Indianapolis’

Fox 59 Morning News Anchor

Angela Ganote

What have your children taught you?

My children have taught me to be unselfish. I think back to my life before children and everything was so much more about me, what I was doing, how high I could climb the career ladder, etc. Now, I just want to make them happy, secure, and good human be-ings.

How do you balance your career with being a mom?I have learned to say no! That was very hard in my 20s and even my 30s. I know so many of your readers can relate to wanting to make everyone happy. Now, I put things in this order (or try to): God, family, work. I used to feel so guilty telling someone no, but my kids and husband truly come first.

What is your greatest achievement?Being a mother. It’s a huge responsibility. I pray every day I am not screwing them up! Right now they are very polite, very caring, and I hope a portion of this sticks around into those teenage years I hear so much about.

What is your favorite thing about being a mom?I love rocking my kids! They are nine and almost five, and yes, they still let me. I say, “Oh, this is how I used to hold you when you were a little baby.” Then they want me to tell them stories about what they would say or do. We pull out their little books (not filled up as much as I wish) and read their cute stories. They love that!

What is your favorite holiday tradition with your kids?We get a hotel room downtown to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree. We walk around, maybe shop a little, drink hot chocolate, go on a carriage ride. No plans—we just explore. They love all the activities the hotels offer with Santa and crafts...and oh yeah, they get to swim.

What do are you most looking forward to this Christmas?A week off of work. It’s been several years since I have been able to take the full week between Christmas and New Year’s off. I can’t wait to sleep, do nothing, or be crazy busy having sleepovers with all the kids’ friends. I can’t wait to wake up and make them breakfast in bed. It’s the little things, and they love that!

If you had one Christmas wish, what would it be?My wish is for my children to have a personal relationship with God. I am a very spiri-tual person and we celebrate the meaning of the holidays for Christians. As I answer these questions, the words to the song “Jesus Paid It All” come to my mind.The song goes,”Jesus paid it all/all to him I owe/sin had left a crimson stain/he washed it white as snow.” I fear admitting that because of how I could be judged, but then again I teach my children,if your gut really tells you to say something, you probably should!

A Friend’s Story by Mindy Fleming

The month of December is not only known for lots of festive holidays, but it is also Diabetes Aware-ness Month. I interviewed a friend and neighbor whose daughter has diabetes, and I found that it is very important to be educated about diabetes and know what to look for. Sue Eckl is a mother of three beautiful daughters and keeps very busy…below is her story.

How did Brooke find out she was diabetic?:At a regular wellness checkup with her pediatri-cian when she had just turned 7 years old. On top of all the regular yearly examinations, her doctor had my three girls do a urine test for sugar in the urine and I remember the nurse came in and said, “Who was the 3rd girl to leave the sample? We need to retest her.” After a positive test the sec-ond time, they checked her blood and concluded they would have to do a fasting blood draw the next morning. Because I grew up with a Type 1 diabetic best friend and a Type 2 diabetic dad, I was well aware what it meant - a blood draw to determine for sure if she was diabetic. If that was positive then that would mean a lifetime of shots and finger blood tests and other potential health complications.

As a parent you hope and pray for a healthy child, but you handle whatever comes your way because you love your child.

How has it changed your life and hers?Like I said, you adjust because you have to. As a parent you go to the classes and oversee her diabetes management and day to day care, be-cause we want to keep her healthy and grow up as normal as she can. Our goal as parents is to make Brooke as inde-pendent as possible in the care and management of her diabetes, so she does not grow dependent on me for knowing when to check her blood or change her infusion kit, or download her pump, to look for trends so she can adjust her insulin dos-ing programs. She’s come a long way in 5 years. For two years she took shots from syringes and

for the past three is doing very well with her in-sulin pump. She has much more flexibility and control with it.

What advice do you have for families new to diabetes?Take all the classes your diabetic educators offer. Ask lots of questions, and never feel foolish for asking them. Record the important numbers in your phone, because when you are a new parent to a diabetic child, you need an answer fast, it’s good to have the numbers handy. Include your child in all discussions and help them regain con-trol by feeling that they can help make their future health better by making educated choices today. Focus on the blessings and not in feeling sorry for the child or yourself. All it takes is a quick trip to Riley Hospital downtown to see children who are in medical situations much worse. Find a support group for diabetic parents or at least one other family that is going through the same thing. Encourage the child to go to diabetic camp. It’s a fantastic camping experience; camaraderie with other diabetic kids their age as well as a great developmental time for the child to learn inde-pendence and new control over the disease. And most importantly, have hope. Brooke’s doctors have assured her and us that there will be a cure for diabetes in her lifetime.

Is it getting easier to cope with diabetes, or is it always a challenge?It’s amazing when situations that are cast upon you, it becomes the new “normal”. You simply work it into your life. She was also recently diag-nosed with Celiac Disease which is more com-monplace with Type 1 diabetics than the regu-lar population. For Brooke, eating gluten free is more bothersome than being diabetic. She has done an amazing job taking control and gaining independence of her diabetes. She is a feisty girl that God gave an extra helping of strength to face any challenge that comes her way. I’m proud of her, and I know she can do anything she wants to in life!

Happy and healthy Brooke (far left) with sisters Emily and Kristen

Warning Signs of Juvenile Diabetes

Extreme thirstFrequent urination

Sudden vision changesSugar in urine

Fruity, sweet, or wine-like odor on breathIncreased appetite

Sudden weight lossDrowsiness, lethargy

Heavy, labored breathingStupor, unconsciousness

For more information visit www.jdrf.org

A Few of MyElf on the Shelf.

This is one of our family’s favorite tradi-tions during Christmas! Our elf moves each night to a new location, and every morning the house if filled with giggles as the kids find him in funny and unexpected places!

My grandmother’s ornamentsChristmas brings back so many great memoriesfrom being a child. I loved be-ing at my grandparents’ home. My grand-mother, who I called “Mamo,” always let me help with her holiday baking and trim-ming the tree. I have many of her original Christmas ornaments. Now, every Christ-mas, I look forward to taking each one out of the box and hanging it on my tree. They are a treasure to me and a wonder-ful sentimental reminder of my Mamo, who I loved so much.

Christmas treatsI love to bake with my girls, and I love the holiday magic and family fun that takes place in the kitchen! At the same time, I love a fun, quick treat that is easy and clever, too.Reindeer Peeps are just that—a fun and festive treat. Just place them on a cake pop stick and put them in a container. They look fun and taste yummy!

Candy CanesI love everything about candy canes dur-ing Christmas! You can’t go wrong with just sticking them in a silver cup and put-ting them out as decoration and a treat!

Christmas PJs I love the warm and cozy feeling of spending snowy nights curled up by the tree. Every year, I have my kiddos put on their Christmas PJs on Christmas eve. They resist this tradition more and more the older they get, but it makes me so happy to see them all cozy and filled with the anticipation of Christmas magic in their Christmas PJs!

Merry Christmas!

Favorite Things! by Mary SusanBuhner

PO Box 347Zionsville, IN 46077(317) 828-0211info@hearindiana.orgwww.hearindiana.org

Hear Indiana is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering and supporting individuals and families with hearing loss who communicate through spoken language. We believe in early detection, intensive ampli-fication, and ongoing intervention. Hear Indiana offers informational resources, educational programming, support for families and professionals, advocacy, and a summer camp for deaf and hard of hearing children.

Did You Know?Hearing loss is the most common birth defect.Every 48 hours…a baby in Indiana is diagnosed with a hearing loss.

Early diagnosis…is critical for a child’s success in speech and language development.

Most children…with hearing loss (even those who are profoundly deaf) can learn to listen and talk.

The Amazing (Holiday Shopping) Race by Michelle Freed

The idea is simple, really—if you don’t count the bribery, flow-charts, congested traffic patterns and conflicting sales flyers.The challenge? To complete all holiday shopping in one single day. Without any children on your heels saying, “Can I buy that? I need that.” Without a husband wan-dering off and sending random text messages about tool sets and motor oil. Without mental breakdowns, emotional outbursts, or temper tantrums.Is it possible? I decided to find out.On a frosty Saturday morning, with an ice chest full of caf-feine (and an intricate, color-coded shopping packet), I grabbed a stale bagel and embarked on my own version of The Amazing Race.It was only 10 minutes before I encountered my first road block: a cell-phone call. “Are we out of peanut butter?” my husband asked. “I don’t think so,” I answered. “Did you actually look?” My husband’s version of “looking for food” goes like this: Open pantry or refrigerator door, quickly glance at shelves, ask nearest human for help. “Please look again,” I said. “Also, clean uniforms are on the bed, and don’t forget we’re in charge of snacks today. Oh, and get a movie. I prom-ised the kids a movie.” His response: “Okay. So are we out of snacks?”My first stop was Target, and I was in and out in an hour, with a small bundle of electronics for my kids (and a handful of goodies especially for me, officially off the record). I was making progress. After gulping down a diet soda and expertly avoiding road construction, I arrived at my next destination: The Mall. This was not by preference. If there’s one place in the world you shouldn’t go during the holiday season, it’s where all of humanity converges to battle for parking spaces, scramble for sale items, and feast on buttered pretzels.The first rule? Always take documentation. Un-fortunately, I forgot my sales flyers in the car, so I couldn’t remember which stores had the best prices. Naturally, I went to all of them, and then doubled back for savings.The second rule? Avoid making eye contact with

other people. I ran into three different acquain-tances, who each wanted to chat. I carried on respectable conversations (I’m racing against the clock, people!) and resumed speed-shop-ping as quickly as possible. I saw one toddler vomit in the middle of the food court, a mar-ried couple argue over smoked sausages, and a senior citizen berate a sales associate over expired coupons.After three long hours, I left the mall juggling my packages only to realize I had forgotten about the third rule: Always write down where you park. This was an unexpected detour, and I panicked. For the next 30 minutes, I zigzagged through a sea of metal, whimpering and praying for a mall cop with X-ray vision. When I finally found my car, I fell to my knees in tears and em-braced the bumper.With sweaty palms and another hit of caffeine, I left for my final destinations: Home Depot and a string of independent boutiques. I got lost twice, asked for directions once, and gleefully checked items off my list, deviating only when I had to ac-cept a rain check (and not counting a few more gifts especially for me).When I finally puttered into my driveway, I was exhausted, grumpy, and ready for a hot bath. But when my family came out to greet me, I felt like a winner. My husband smiled, gave me a warm hug, and said, “I hope you had a good time! Now, do we have any food for dinner?”

Michelle Freed is a humor writer, blogger, and speaker. She once had a dog, but it didn’t work out

Hot Holiday Toys!TOY LADY JANET’S TOP 5 PICKS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS!

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Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet: Grab the pen, jot a note, press the button, and with a flash the screen magically erases and is ready for more fun! Perfect for car trips, for practicing spelling words, keeping a grocery list on the go, and more! $39.99. Available in black, green, blue, and pink.

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Bubber: Brace yourself when you first touch this new molding clay. It’s so surpris-ing, we’ve actually had customer give an audible gasp and drop it! Best of all, it’s non-toxic, gluten free, won’t dry out, and won’t stick to your carpet. It’s flying off the shelves! $12.99 for 12 oz. bucket. Gift set of0four colors, tools, and idea book for $34.99.

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Spooner Board: Part surfboard, part skate-board, part snowboard,the Spooner Board is the anyone, anywhere, anytime balance board! It’s perfect for developing core strength and creativity. In fact,PE programs everywhere are adding them to their curriculum. Visit www.spoonerboards.com for tons of amazing ideas on how to use it! Available in two sizes: small for under 4 ft. tall ($54.99) and large for over 4 ft. tall ($59.99).

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by Janet Pillsbury

Tenzi: It’s a Tenzi frenzy at My Toy Garden! With Tenzi, 40 dice get you rolling to a ton of fun. Everyone grabs 10 dice and rolls. Set aside all the dice that come up twos, roll again, and keep going until you get all twos. With Tenzi, kids develop eye/hand coordination and visual discrimi-nation—and its guaranteed to make them laugh! There are tons of ways to play, including Splitz, Pairzi, Thumbzi, Oddzi, and more.0$14.99.

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Bric Tek:Oh my. Ready for this one? Brand-new on the market,Lego-compatible build-ing bricks—that cost 30% less than Lego. Bric Tek kits come in fabulous themes includ-ing space, construction, and pirate—all with no licensed characters. Available only in specialty stores!

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Please support your local independent toy store, like Toy Lady Janet’s My Toy Garden in Car-mel, Indiana. To find an0independent toy retailer in your area, visit www.your neighborhoodtoys-tore.org

Janet Pillsbury, AKA Toy Lady Janet, owns My Toy Garden in Carmel, IN where she lives with her husband and two children

... And a Happy New Year!I have a sign at my desk propped against my computer. I see it every day. But I am usually so distracted when I sit down for 2.5 seconds to read an email (sound familiar?), I rarely find myself actually comprehending the words on it. Today, however, as I sat down to write this month’s column, it caught my attention. I read it a loud as I sometimes do to help my-self process something important. It reads, “What would you do if you knew your could not fail?”

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I daydream about what I would or could do while at a stoplight, pumping gas, or checking out at the store. Many of us are fortunate enough have the opportunity to maintain life with food, gas in our car, and shelter— all of which are very much blessings that many around the world do not know. For many of us, simply maintaining this has become a way of life. Granted, it is a vital component to existing and having a happy, healthy family life. For that, I am grateful. But sometimes I do stop and think to myself, “What would you do if you knew your could not fail?”

I would do a lot, I always tell myself. Run a marathon? Maybe. Have an amazing gar-den that I could harvest for fresh ingredients? Yeah, for sure! Travel more? Sign me up! It dawned on me that to maintain or life, there will always be bills to pay, laundry to do, and so on. The zest, the sparkle, the extra seasoning, the sizzle on the steak— well, that would have to come from me making the choice to push beyond maintaining and actually try some of the things on my daydream list. I also dawned on me it doesn’t matter if I fail or not. What matters is that I try.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with someone who just celebrated his 95th birthday. I asked him what he thought the secret to a happy life was. His first comment made me chuckle. He said, “Happy wife, happy life.” “Smart man,” I thought to myself. The second bit of advice was profound. He said, “Life is not the year you were born or the year you die. Life is the dash in between those two dates.” As I drove home, it occurred to me trying, fail-ing, not failing — whatever the outcome, it does not matter, for there is learning regardless of how things turn out. The point is to try, push past the “just maintaining” mind set and live in the dash!

In the spirit of the holiday season and the approaching New Year, like you, I count my blessings. I am grateful for my home, my children, my health, my husband’s job, my work, and living in a our wonderful country. I do, however, have some work to do to make sure my dash— you know, the one between the two big dates— is significant. I hope you’ll join me to in identifying those things and giving them a try in this year. Big, small, medium— no matter what the size of the goal, it is worth working toward it. As moms, we should sup-port, encourage, and cheer each other to be the best we can be and seek out ways to live in the dash!

by Mary Susan Buhner