Posh parents are foregoing the traditional Easter baskets filled with candy, plastic toys, and bubbles and opting for baskets with more expensive items inside.
One New York City mom, Laura Rolston, told local station CBS that she is having her son Christopher’s picture taken with the Easter Bunny at Roosevelt Field Mall and then giving him a basket of clothes and more elaborate gifts.
“Stuffed animals and bath toys and stuff like that,” the Patchogue resident told the station. “Little clothing for him. It’s definitely a little more than when I was a kid. I’m a new parent and I’m excited and I don’t mind spoiling my little boy a bit.”
It’s part of a new trend to make Easter baskets that rival the best birthday and Christmas presents — complete with clothing, toys, and even electronics.
Some parents say the extravagant and gift filled Easter basket are a result of parents’ tried to steer their kids away from eating so much candy. Still, others say it’s gone too far.
“We hear that these baskets, parents are putting them online and saying, ‘Look at my basket, my basket is bigger and better than the other basket’ and again, at the end of the day, it should be about tradition, should be about a holiday, shouldn’t be about who has the biggest, better, most awesome, expensive basket,” Lyss Stern of the DivaMoms.com blog told a local Fox station.
“We hear that these baskets, parents are putting them online and saying, ‘Look at my basket, my basket is bigger and better than the other basket’ and again, at the end of the day, it should be about tradition, should be about a holiday, shouldn’t be about who has the biggest, better, most awesome, expensive basket,” Stern told MyFoxZone.
Here is another Flashback Friday gem of a post from the past including a PregnancyZone inforgraphic about how to tell if you’re having a boy or girl that I’m resharing while the kids have me busy during Spring break:
Some old wife beliefs to know if it’s a girl or a boy are given in the following part of the article. If you are having a boy then some of the indications include having a heart beat of more than 140 per minute, an out front bulge, basketball looking belly, large and dark nipples, bright yellow color of the urine and having amazing looks.
Some of the signs indicating a baby girl includes heart rate of less than 140 per minute, bulges in the back and the hips, watermelon looking belly, dull yellow urine color, breasts that are blossom and appearance less than normal.
If your wedding ring movement on belly is in circular motion then it is considered to be a boy whereas the sideways movement indicates baby girl. Craving for salty and sour foods are known to be there in case of baby boy whereas sweets and orange juice cravings indicate baby girl.
Another way to find out is by adding your current age to the month of perception and if the number comes in even then it is a boy and if it comes an odd number then it is considered to be a girl.
If you wish to conceive a baby girl then prescribed diet includes food items like corn, eggs, yogurt, coffee, beans, plums, fish, meat and liver. The restricted food items should be oranges, watermelon, alkaline foods and potatoes.
If you wish to conceive a boy then you should include lentils, pine nuts, sprouts, almonds, avocado and royal jelly in your diet.
Dairy products and foods having calcium and magnesium should be avoided.
I shared this blog post about Facebook tagging rules on one of my old blogs, MsChiefmakers and I’m resharing it here because I thought it was a fun share:
Along with all the positive impact of the social networking tool, Facebook, in bringing old friends, family and colleagues together, another effect is that it created a forum for Fashionistas to show off their uber cute outfits and looking fab photographed with friends on the social circuit.
Unlike celebrities however, the average Fashionista usually can’t afford a closet of outfits she will wear only once, but she has to keep up the appearance of being trendy and fashion-forward.
Also, she cannot be caught in a compromising or unflattering position for fear of it getting out and ruining her Fashonista reputation.
An unintended consequence of Facebook is that it creates a memorial of your outfits that can be easily tracked, making it easy for your fashion nemesis to spot when you’ve repeated an outfit, for example.
What to do? What to do?
Abide by these 5 rules of Facebook Fashionistas that’s what!
1. Never be tagged wearing the same outfit at an event at a party Or keep a healthy 10 event distance before repeating an outfit. If you find yourself in this dilemma and spot a camera aimed in your direction and you know the camera person (like me) will likely upload the photo and TAG you in it, you can play it safe by turning your head so that you are not recognized and get tagged.
People who like to tag random elbows, backs and shoes they recognize in a photo are not good people or pressed to share with their friends that you were at their event.
Notwithstanding the rules, it’s safe to throw a jacket overtop a dress you wore before 10 events especially if the jacket stands out and deflects from the garment underneath that breaks this rule. It’s also safe to rearrange pieces of a repeat outfit into a totally different ensemble. Scarves, hats, and funky earrings also help deflect the attention from a possible repeat.
You can always swap outfits with a friend or sister. That works too!
2. Keep friends who know well enough to NOT tag you looking bloated, cross-eyed, with your mouth open and/or with food in it, looking like a doofus, hunched over, dumpy or caught in an under the chin shot which is a bad angle for all people young, old, short, bald, fat, skinny.
Facebook Fashionistas look out for each other. We crop, edit, photoshop and definitely DO NOT tag friends in unflattering or compromising positions or photos. People who are willing to tag you because they think THEY look good in a shot and totally ignore the fact that you have a dollop of barbecue sauce smeared on your chin should be warned. Privately. Inboxed of the offense. Politely, of course. Put a smiley or “lol” after your warning so not to offend. If they commit the act again, see Rule 4.
3. Do not be afraid to exercise the UNTAG button. Friends, if your Facebook pal untags a photo of herself in a photo you have tagged, do not take offense. It’s what Facebook Fashionistas do.
If there is a friend who insists on tagging you in unflattering photos and does not abide by the Facebook Fashionista rules, feel free to block, unfriend or put them in a group of folks who you ban from seeing all photos or posts by you.
You can take them out of Facebook Jail after a while.
By then, your lack of constant contact with that person would downgrade you on their Facebook feed anyway, saving you from having to deal with them when they discover the last post they read from you was 2 years ago.
5. Always insist on photos being taken at eye level or above to capture your best angles and portray you looking your leanest.
Only super skinny models can get away with that up the nose angle. Since most people, even professional photographers at parties use digital camera, exercise your right to inspect and approve an image.
Don’t risk having a fugly photo posted all over Facebook by not standing over the photographer and insisting he delete an unflattering photo. If you aren’t able to have it deleted, thank God Facebook lets you untag.
If you know the album owner well enough, you can inbox and request they delete the photo from their album. Fellow Facebook Fashionistas usually oblige.
Paige Hathaway, a global fitness icon and entrepreneur, announced today that she is expecting her first child later this year, a press release about the news reads.
Hathaway, who was born and raised in Oklahoma, boasts over 11 million followers across all her social platforms, and has headlined a series of fitness challenges and endeavors including Fitin5 Challenge, LIV Body and is also the face of Australian gyms, F45.
She posted about the expectancy on her Instagram too.
“Here it goes.. WE ARE PREGNANT! ???” she captioned a photo of herself holding up an ultrasound photo while straddling her partner, Jason, on a beach.
She added:
“This is one of my most exciting announcements, but also one of my most vulnerable. I can’t believe I’m finally able to tell you all – I have wanted to share this news for months!! Jason and I are overwhelmed with love, joy and happiness about our baby. ABSOLUTELY OVER THE MOON EXCITED ☺️?? This is a total miracle!! I know you ladies probably have 1 million questions as I have just reached my second trimester ? and I will be making weekly YouTube videos starting next week about everything but for now, let’s celebrate this amazing moment together!! ? “
She talked about the next chapter in the release.
Hathaway said of the news. “Since I began my professional career, I’ve aimed to be a positive role model in the fitness community and have worked tirelessly to succeed in my professional ventures. This new chapter of my life marks a transition to motherhood and I couldn’t be happier.”
The last thing a financially struggling parent wants to see is their child’s teeth coming in crooked. After groceries, school clothes, car payments and the rent or mortgage, there may not be much left to pay for a trip to the orthodontist so the child can be fitted with braces.
But for those determined to help their child improve their smile, there are ways to work around those financial difficulties.
“Sometimes you must be creative, but many families who want to give their children orthodontic care can do so with a little planning and budgeting,” says Dr. Ana Castilla, an orthodontist and author of The Smile of Your Life: Everything You Need to Know for Your Orthodontic Journey (dranacastilla.com).
Dr. Castilla knows from personal experience what it’s like to be a child who needs and wants braces, but whose parents can’t afford them. She had to wait until she was an adult and could pay for them herself.
She says one of the first mistakes parents make is waiting until they think they can afford orthodontic treatment before taking their child in for an evaluation. However, waiting can only make the situation worse as many issues can be corrected easier and less expensively with early treatment.
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends children be seen by an orthodontist no later than age 7. Dr. Castilla encourages all parents to take advantage of free consultations offered by most orthodontists so they can become aware of any issues with their children’s teeth. She also has several recommendations for ways to work orthodontic treatment into the budget:
Flexible financing. “Most orthodontic practices offer zero-interest in-house financing but not all of them are equally flexible in their payment plans,” says Dr. Castilla. She says parents should ask if they offer “extended financing.” This type of financing is longer than the length of treatment. For example, the treatment may last only 24 months, but the last payment may not be due for 36 months.
Insurance. You are not required to have insurance to get orthodontic treatment. However, Dr. Castilla says if you do have insurance, be sure to read the policy. “You need to be your own advocate and learn the rules of your coverage,” she says. Many parents rely on an employer promises instead of reading the policy. “Just because your employer says you have coverage for braces, that doesn’t mean you are fully covered – or even covered at all,” says Dr. Castilla. There are many factors that affect coverage such as age limitations, waiting periods, and insurance payment schedules.
Combine insurance policies if possible. If you and another member of your household have two or more separate insurance policies, there is a chance that both insurances can help pay for treatment. Your employer’s human resources department should be able to help you maximize your benefits.
Use flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts. “Many employers offer these accounts to their employees to help them manage their health expenses,” says Dr. Castilla. Employees can contribute tax-free dollars for payment of qualified medical expenses, such as orthodontics.
Use third-party financing companies (medical credit cards). This is not the No. 1 option that Dr. Castilla recommends because of high interest rates. “I would only consider this option if you cannot find an orthodontist that offers extended financing near you,” she says. “Make sure you read the fine print.”
“I hated my teeth as a child, but I kept it to myself because I knew my parents could not afford braces for me,” Dr. Castilla says. “When I was finally able as an adult to fix my smile, I realized what a negative impact my old smile had on my self esteem. That’s why I want to help as many parents as possible afford a bright smile for their kids.”
Easter brings images of bunnies, jelly beans, crosses and spring to mind! Most families do the traditional Easter basket, egg hunt and church routine, but this Easter shake things up a bit by thinking outside of the box and incorporating a few more meaningful activities into your Easter traditions.
Natural egg dyes – Did you know that you can dye your eggs without chemicals? Annie’s Eats provides a list of different colors that you can easily create at home by using food to provide the color. You can find recipes for grey-blue, blue, yellow, pink and lavender.
Egg dying techniques – Why not make egg dying an artistic process? Spoonful has various techniques to use for your egg dying experience, including using tin foil, string, bubble wrap, thumbprints and tissue paper.
Easter egg hunts – Egg hunts are a traditional Easter activity for most Christian families. A lot of towns or churches will host an egg hunt, but if they don’t you should consider arranging one for your neighborhood or family! You can use real eggs (make sure they are hard-boiled first!) or use plastic eggs filled with various items, such as money, candy or other small trinkets.
Tissue paper egg art – Egg art is an easy way to decorate your house for Easter. This simple project requires some poster board, tissue paper, a pencil and a bit of glue. Have your child cut out an egg shape from poster board, draw a design on the egg with pencil, and then, using small squares of tissue paper, the eraser end of the pencil and a bit of glue, fill in the spaces with the tissue paper to create your Easter egg!
Stained glass crosses – You can easily create a stained glass cross to hang in your window with your child using tissue paper and clear contact paper. Cut the tissue paper into small shapes (have your child help, if it’s age appropriate) and cut out a sheet of contact paper. Draw a cross on the non-sticky side of the contact paper, remove the paper, and have your child fill in the cross with the tissue paper shapes. Once they are done, place another sheet of contact paper over the tissue paper and then cut inside the lines of the cross you drew on the first sheet of contact paper. Hang your creation in the window for the entire family to enjoy!
The jelly bean story – The jelly bean story is a great way to represent what Jesus gave his people and why Easter is celebrated. There is a short story to print out to go along with the project and each jelly bean color represents different things, such as the sun, grace or sorrow.
Envelope bunnies – Envelope bunnies are a great way to welcome guests to your home during the Easter season. Have your children help create them and then fill them with treats!
Egg chickens – Egg chickens are a cute way to spruce up a hard-boiled egg for a centerpiece at your table! You can create other animals too, so let your imaginations go wild!
Egg relay races – If you live in a climate that makes it possible to head outside on Easter day, consider doing some active outdoor activities with the kids. Who doesn’t love an egg relay race? You can place the eggs (hard-boiled!) on spoons and run with them (if they fall, you have to stop and pick it up). You can also pass off the egg to each other or pass the eggs down the line using only your elbows! The possibilities are endless, and the entire family can get involved!
Egg bocce ball – Use your leftover hard-boiled eggs to play a game of egg bocce ball. You’ll need one white egg (the pallino) and each player will need two of the same colors of eggs to play. Roll the pallino in the grass and have players take turns trying to roll their eggs as close to the pallino as possible. The closest egg wins!
Congratulations to TODAY show co-anchor Hoda Kotb who revealed today that she has adopted her second child.
“It’s a girl,” Hoda shared excitedly d during an on-air telephone conversation.
“I can’t believe it,” Hoda said over the air. “I mean look, in your life, you think maybe you’ve gotten what you deserve. But man, I’m so happy she’s here.”
The new baby is named Hope Catherine Kotb.
Kotb welcomed her first child, daughter Haley Joy Kotb, via adoption in February 2017.
In a new study published earlier this year, researchers at Lehigh University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison found a link between the distance a woman travels to work every day while pregnant and the health outcomes for her child, including low birth weight, the likelihood of a C-section, and intrauterine growth restriction, or when a baby doesn’t reach a normal size as measured throughout the pregnancy. While previous research has examined how the distance between a woman’s home and her doctor’s office affects the health of her child, this is the first to home in on the daily travel of pregnant women’s commutes.
For pregnant workers who already travel at least 50 miles to work—the Census definition of a long-distance commute—increasing the distance by 10 miles raises the likelihood of low birth weight and intrauterine growth restriction by 0.9 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively. Commuting these kinds of distances every day also increases the likelihood that those carrying a male fetus will deliver via cesarean section (male fetuses have been shown to be more sensitive during pregnancy.)
A popular 15-year old YouTuber and aspiring singer has released posts in social media suggesting that she and her teen boyfriend are expecting their first child together.
It started when Danielle Cohen, who has 1.4M subscribers on the popular video social platform, tweeted a date on April 11, “8/14/19” which her boyfriend 17-year old actor and model Mikey Tua also tweeted on his account with the hashtag #manibaby, but adding the words “Expecting.”
Naturally, a YouTube video of the shotgun wedding in Vegas followed.
And a photo on Instagram with him kissing her bump 5 days ago, as of this post.
But… The Little Chapel in Las Vegas is known for offering fake weddings including photos for about $200 and on Tik Tok, she captioned those photos fake wedding photos.
It could and most likely is a big publicity stunt to announce something…. and it’s not a real baby.
Children live in an adult world that requires patience, and has strict rules. They don’t always want to play along with the structure that is required for their parents to have a good and successful day.
Tantrums are inevitable at times. But parents can arm themselves with some awareness tactics in advance to head off any problems in advance.
Here are 6 ways to get your child to cooperate
1. Help map out the day as best you can for your child. Often, parents have an idea of what the day will be like, but fail to communicate those plans to their child. When possible, help her envision your day by communicating it with her either that morning or the night before. Younger children will need this to be repeated, so it can help to recap it a few times. It is true that plans might change, but changes will be easier if she knew what the plan was in the first place.
2. Give warnings when time is coming close for transitions to take place. Children tend to live entirely in the present, so they are usually completely engrossed in the activity they are involved in at any given moment. This is obvious for younger children, but is also true of older children. By giving your child warnings when you need to leave in 10 minutes, your child can begin to finish with what she has started. Timers can be a big help for these warnings for both you and your child. A timer can not only keep you on track to follow through with the time you allotted, but will also give your child an auditory clue to listen for.
3. Provide your child with choices so that she feels in control of the situation to some degree. It is very difficult for your child to be at the mercy of the adults in her life. Often times, the errands or activities she is being forced to participate in are not activities she would choose to do. You can ease this frustration by making small parts of the day her choice. Small children do well with two or three choices. “Do you want to wear the blue boots, the red shoes or the purple clogs?” Older children can help you decide where you will go first or what music you will listen to along the way. Simple choices can make the difference between a cranky child who drags her feet and a cooperative child who does what is asked of her. Giving teens the choice can relieve some of the pressure too. “The garbage needs to go out before 6AM tomorrow. Do you want to do it before you go to bed or early in the morning” You may know the most common sense option is to do it now and get it over with. But giving your child the option can ease the tension often felt by parents and teens.
4. Create excitement for the thing you are trying to get your child to cooperate in doing. You might be so caught up in completing your to-do list that you forget to enjoy the process. You are motivated to get the tasks complete because you can see the outcome. Your child could not care less about that outcome, she just wants to have fun. So if you want her to cooperate with you, you will need to bring a little fun to the to-do list. If you are running errands, build a little fun break into every other stop. If you are in the car for a long time, find some games to play, such as I-Spy or 20 questions. Help keep her mind going and you will find she is much more compliant.
5. Make sure all her physical needs are met before asking her to do something you know she will be resistant about. Is your child hungry, thirsty, tired, overstimulated, cold/hot or sick? It is hard for adults to operate when they have these needs. Your child will be understandably cranky when she needs food or has simply had too much. Take a break and don’t expect your child to do too much.
6. Make sure your child has enough time for play in her day. Parents today have a tendency to overschedule their children, filling their time with sports, art and other activities. The thought is that an active mind is a healthy mind. To a degree, this is true. However, if the mind of a child is not given the opportunity to think creatively and freely, it will begin to shut down. This is when children become easily agitated, inflexible and unsatisfied. To ensure that you have a more cooperative and helpful child, make sure that your child is given enough time for free play both with you and by herself.
Parents dream of a child who gets her shoes on the first time they ask or takes the garbage out when it needs to go out. Though it may not be possible for your child to do this with 100% accuracy, it is possible to improve her cooperation level.
