The Daily Dose: April 13 Edition

The Daily Dose is a look at what you may have missed and what's coming up on St. Peters Patch. This is the April 13, 2011 edition.

Let's get right to it, this is the latest edition of The Daily Dose.  In Case You Missed It Coming Up The Forecast Here's the weather outlook for today and Thursday from the National Weather Service.  Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 72. South wind between 3 and 6 mph.  Wednesday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. Southeast wind around 7 mph.  Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Southeast wind between 7 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.  Thursday night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. Southeast wind between 13 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. Did You Know? On this day in 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer ever to …

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Raising Cain: Thoughts on Motherhood

If He'd Only Stolen My Heart

Lying and stealing: how to talk to your kids about the consequences of taking something that doesn't belong to them.

I was busy this past weekend googling boarding schools and military academies. MJ thought I was joking until the recruiter from Missouri Military Academy called. Unfortunately the school doesn’t start until sixth grade, so E still has a few more years until he’s eligible. E has always been impulsive—it goes along with his ADHD diagnosis. He doesn’t think, he just acts, and that gets him into trouble. We’ve had more than our share of, “What were you thinking?” moments with him. The incident that had me scouring the internet for reform schools happened at school. E found a wallet on the floor of his classroom. He knew who it belonged to and returned it to his classmate. But when the boy looked inside, something was missing. Classroom Cash is…

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Raising Cain: Thoughts on Motherhood

Where To Party Like A 7-Year-Old In St Peters

Trying to find the right location for your child's birthday? St Peter's offers a variety of options.

I envy the mothers whose children were born in the spring and summer months. I would love to be able to rent out a picnic shelter, grill hamburgers while the kids play on the playground, have some cake, open some presents, and call it a day. Having two boys with birthdays in the dead of winter can present some challenges when it comes to planning the party. Having the party at home just isn’t an option, especially after what happened at E’s last big bash. We invited 10 of his friends over for your standard birthday party: party games, cake and ice cream, presents, and I had even bought a Darth Vader piñata that hung, after much deliberation, in front of our glass patio doors. The piñata was filled with candy and had strings that each child…

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Raising Cain: Thoughts on Motherhood

Eat, Drink, And Don’t Kill Bambi

Tips for getting picky vegetarians and finicky meat-eaters to sit down at the dinner table in peace.

When I went to tuck my 6-year-old son C into bed, I was met with tears. “What’s wrong, C?” He hid his face under the covers and his muffled voice replied, “I don’t want to kill animals. I want to be a vegetarian.” I thought I had picky eaters before, but eliminating meat from one child’s diet while keeping it in another’s was going to be tricky.  I like to support my sons, but C’s decision to go vegetarian was going to break MJ’s meat–lovin’ heart. I usually end up making up to three dinners a night in my quest to prepare healthy meals and incorporate something for everyone. We all like different types of food. I love anything with cream or cheese. If you put anything in casserole form, I will eat it. MJ and E hate any food dripping in …

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Jodi Devonshire

11:34 am on Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I, being a vegetarian, raised my children as vegetarians as well. I wanted to set a good foundation when they were young so that when they were teens and 'rebelled' against our food choices, they knew how to eat well. They are all teens now, and do eat some meat. It will be interesting to see if they go back to vegetarian or remain meat eaters.   more ›

Raising Cain: Thoughts on Motherhood

Clippin' With Carie

How a reluctant mother of two was schooled on how to be a coupon queen.

When my husband, MJ and I were first married, our salaries were small as Airmen in the Air Force and we had to stretch every dollar. Growing up on a farm, MJ was taught not to be wasteful. Once when he got a hole in one of his socks, he asked if I could darn it for him. I told him this wasn’t the 1890’s, he could go buy himself some new socks. While he can’t darn socks, my husband can and does cook, sew, and clip coupons.  MJ would receive a package from his Mom a few times a month containing pages of coupons and he would sit at our small kitchen table and clip away. I used to tease him. I thought clipping coupons was for bored housewives. My parents had never used coupons as far as I knew.  After all, who cares if you can save thirty …

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Raising Cain: Thoughts on Motherhood

There’s No Place Like The Pediatrician’s Office For The Holidays

Getting a flu shot is no guarantee you won’t get the flu. Trust me, I know.

Our family had big plans for the two week Christmas break: ice skating with friends at the Rec Plex, catching Despicable Me at St Andrews Cinema and lots of "Halo" on the X-Box 360. But after unwrapping our presents on Christmas morning there was one more surprise waiting to make its grand debut- the flu. I'm a stickler for flu shots. MJ hates needles and would rather chance it. I have to trick him into getting one every year. It's like getting a dog to the car for a visit to the vet. Only instead of promising a trip to the park, I promise a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot ("Come on, boy!  We'll look at hammers!"). I then make up an excuse to stop at Walgreens where, conveniently, they have the flu shot clinic up and running. I'll casually …

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Patti Baratta

11:53 am on Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I love the comment about bribing with a trip to Home Depot! I am glad you gave me that idea ;)   more ›

Raising Cain: Thoughts on Motherhood

A New List For A New Year

This St Peter's mom is making a long list of resolutions- maybe one or two will make through February.

Every year when the Christmas decorations are put away and the candy dish is empty, I look down at the nice layer of padding around my waist and begin to think about New Year's Resolutions. I swear I won't make them, but predictably, I do. My list used to include things like studying more or getting my mom to buy me a pair of Guess jeans. Now, it's getting back to healthier eating and losing the pounds I packed on woofing down tins of homemade fudge almost single-handedly. I'm well aware I'll most likely fail to keep most of my resolutions, but I'll make a long list with the hopes the more I make, the more likely one or two of them will stick. New Year's Resolutions are made to be broken but they're made with the best of intentions. …

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Raising Cain: Thoughts on Motherhood

Childhood Dreams Morph Into Adult Realities for St. Peters Mom

Columnist Holly Hunt has the toughest job in the world: Motherhood.

When I was 10 years old, I had a plan for how my life would turn out: I would grow up and marry one of the Duke Brothers from the Dukes of Hazard (Bo or Luke, I wasn't picky). We would have twins: a boy and a girl, of course. We would drive around town in our silver Corvette and live in a dream mansion, not unlike Barbie's, on the beach. Woody Allen once said, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." Though I didn't marry one of the Duke boys, I did manage to snag me a good ol' farm boy. Our beachside mansion looks more like a cookie-cutter suburban home smack in the middle of America. Our Corvette is suspiciously SUV shaped. While I never had a girl, I was blessed (or cursed, depending on the day) with two rambunctious little…

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