The San Marcos Community Celebration and Health Fair will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the school, 451 W. Frye Road. The event is free. There will be games and inflatable bounce houses for younger kids. The first 500 families get free groceries. Children can receive a free flouride varnish treatment good for 3 months. Hot dog lunches will be sold for $1. The Chandler Care Center and Chandler Christian Church are sponsoring the event.
 Archive for November, 2008Pancake peopleNovember 18th, 2008, 12:05 pm by Michelle Reese
In the last two days I’ve read, not one, but two separate books to my kids that involve creatively shaped pancakes. One refers to them as “pancake people.” I’m especially proud of a dinosaur you don’t see because my son ate it before I could grab my camera! Hmmm…. As the holidays come up maybe I’ll try reindeer or snowmen next. News for parents: Internship possibilities for high school seniorsNovember 10th, 2008, 12:43 pm by Michelle ReeseThis news came into the Tribune last week: The Arizona Dream Foundation’s Dream Scholar program was launched at the Dream Dinner last week. During the event, a call to action was issued to the Foundation’s sponsors and supporters. This call to action – what the Foundation calls ISOS (Internships Strengthen Opportunities for Success) – asked companies, small businesses and other supporters to commit to its six-week, $2,500.00 high school internship program. Companies who commit to the program and become involved with student interns will pay the students directly, as to replicate a real-world work environment. The Dream Intern Program is structured so each student taken on as an intern will earn $2,500.00. Being it is the first year, the internship program will work primarily with high school seniors. The Foundation hopes to expand the program from there. Currently, the Maricopa Community College District has agreed to take on 4 students. DP Electric currently has agreed to take on one student. The Foundation is still accepting sponsors from a variety of industries and businesses, as the internships will not be limited to a specific market. Applications will be made available to students on January 15, 2009. For more information see www.azdreambuilder.org or call (480) 557-4734. Fun day for Nie at local salonNovember 10th, 2008, 11:27 am by Michelle ReeseMesa’s Habit Salon, 3454 E. Southern Ave., Ste. 102, will hold a fundraiser for the Nielson family 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22. All proceeds will benefit Stephanie and Christian Nielson, who were critically injured in a private plane crash in August. Patrons can donate $40 for a wash, cut and style; $25 for a wash and style or $15 for an eyebrow waxing. Homemade treats as well as hair accessories and raffle tickets will be sold. Bring cash for donations. Make appointments at hopefornie.com.
Christian and Stephanie’s sisters each have their own personal blogs, and sometimes offer tidbits about the couple. I love the post on Alice’s blog - she includes a photo of Christian dressed up at Darth Vadar with his son, Oliver, as Luke Skywalker, for Halloween! Check it out. And C Jane Run, a blog by Stephanie’s sister, reports she sat up last week with the help of therapists at Maricopa Medical Center’s Arizona Burn Center. Good news indeed. Parent question: What would you do?November 10th, 2008, 10:26 am by Michelle ReeseI sat down with my son’s teacher a few weeks back to discuss his progress. He’s only in kindergarten; so much of the discussion was on behavior. And, well, apparently there’s room for improvement. He’s a very sweet, social kid. He would rather play than work. This really came to show the week prior to our conference apparently. We went to Indiana for a family reunion and he missed a few days of school. I didn’t plan when the reunion took place, so that was out of my hands. We returned in the middle of the week prior to fall break. So he was back two days then off for another five. When he came back after fall break, he wasn’t ready to work. It took a few days for him to get back in the groove. So his teacher asked, “You don’t have any vacations between now and Christmas holiday, do you?” Somewhat defensively I’m sure, I answered, “No.” Then remembered…. Thanksgiving week. Our original plan was to hit Disneyland before going to see my dad and siblings for the holiday. But I was kind of being asked not to do that for fear a full week off from school would cause my son to go into another motivation tailspin. Ends up, we’ve changed our plans. Not entirely because of this discussion with the teacher. But it surely was an underlining factor. Kids in tow, I voted this morningNovember 4th, 2008, 9:14 am by Michelle Reese Grace Covenant Church, Gilbert, 7 a.m. The alarm went off at 6:15 a.m. My husband snoozed it. I got up, started breakfast, dragged out clothes for the little ones and dressed myself. Because they were still asleep, my husband went to our polling spot at 6:35 without me, but by 7:15 we were all there. My son and daughter were learning a lesson in America. My fellow voters were very nice about having two schoolage kids asking lots of questions. “Why are you here?” “Are you going to vote?” “Mommy, do we get stickers?” The polling station volunteers indeed gave them stickers and chatted to them while my husband and I stood next to each other casting our ballots. I talked to one gentleman who got to what he thought was his polling station at 5:45 a.m. He waited more than an hour only to learn he was at the wrong spot. So, fold up chair in hand, he drove to the right one with us. “This election means that much to me,” he said. Afterward, the kids and I went to Starbucks down the road and got a free coffee. Everytime someone ordered the free brew, the crew yelled, “Thanks for voting.”  Starbucks, Mesa I hope the kids - ages nearly 4 and 6 - remember today. They seemed to enjoy the atmosphere at the polling station. My son did ask several times where the “boat” was though (I told him we were going to “vote.” But finally get got it. We showed the kids the sample ballot. There’s something electric in the air on this Nov. 4 - I hope we all remember it the next time there’s an election without a presidential race. No matter what’s on the ballot, get out and have your say. Web site gives parents insight into literatureNovember 3rd, 2008, 11:57 am by Michelle ReeseI’ve found a Web site I really enjoy so I thought I would share it. It’s called The Literate Mother. I love to read. My kids love to be read to. They are quite young – 6 and nearly 4 – so our selections are usually Magic School Bus, Dora, Little Bill and other television characters (though I don’t have cable. So the kids know these characters mostly from our readings). On this Web site, books for kids of all ages are ranked for language, violence and sexual content. It does have some spoilers, but it lets parents know what’s really in the books their kids are reading (especially teens and preteens I would imagine). It includes some books I’ve read personally (not to my kids) – including Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books. The books are ranked by grades (starting with grade 4) and type (romance, fantasy, adventure, historical fiction). But there are a few that my kids will probably enjoy (”The Last Dragon” comes to mind). Maybe you’ll find something for your kids (or if you like youth literature like me, something for yourself!) or at least you’ll know what questions to ask your children about their books. Nielson family updateNovember 3rd, 2008, 11:13 am by Michelle Reese Nielson family In case you missed it, I wrote a story updating readers on the Nielson family of Mesa. See it here. Christian and Stephanie Nielson, parents to four young children, were critically injured in a private plane crash in August. Several fundraisers have taken place to help the family. The cookies in the picture below were made by Good Apple and sold during a Mindy Gledhill concert last week. Christian is home recovering at his parents, his mom told me. And doctors are slowing waking Stephanie from her medically induced coma. Since the story ran, I’ve had a few calls from people who want to help them out. Donations can be completed online to the Maricopa Health Foundation or mailed to Maricopa Health Foundation, 2601 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix, AZ 85008 with directions to give the funds to the Burn and Trauma Fund for Stephanie and Christian Nielson.
‘I’m glad you’re my mommy’November 3rd, 2008, 11:07 am by Michelle Reese Photospin Last night while sitting down for dinner of yogurt and microwaved taquitos - it was Sunday! - my daughter leaned over to me, grabbed my earlobe and said, “I’m glad you’re my mommy.” Ohhh! It made my day, my weekend, my week. My little angel, yes, she wore the angel costume Friday night, was giving me reassurance after a long day. On Sunday we lounged at home: movies in bed, computer games, a bit of time at the park. But really, I was trying to catch up on housework! I realized I hadn’t done laundry in two weeks. I started doing basket after basket and throwing the clean clothes on the floor. The clean laundry was creeping up to the dirty laundry and it was getting to be the point where I couldn’t tell the difference between the two piles. I had to put clothes away, clean the toilets and the showers (gee - when was the last time I did that?). So really, I was just trying to keep them busy. My daughter helped a bit, but there were times when I tried to put her off. “Mommy, play with me.” Give me 5 minutes I responded… several times. I finally gave up and we went to the park outside. When we came in for dinner, I felt like I hadn’t done enough with them. Those little words made me shine. And we spent the rest of the evening playing robots and tag in the living room. |
