Editor's Blog
05/09/12Weekend Fun in Tulsa & a Mother's Day Brunch RecipeThe weekend is fast approaching. Happy Mothers Day in advance to all you moms reading this blog. As you plan the rest of your week and the weekend, I have some fun ideas for you. It's National Public Gardens Day, and Tulsa is beautiful this time of year. If you want a fun way to get outside to enjoy one of the most gorgeous areas (in my humble opinion) in Tulsa, you can go on a Garden Scavenger Hunt at Woodward Park on either Friday or Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Just go to the Tulsa Garden Center or to the Linnaeus Teaching Gardens on the South side of Woodward Park and get your scavenger hunt cards. It's free and fun. Woodward Park is such a great place to roam with your kids. It's a little different from the "playground equipment" type park but the... |
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05/07/12Mad Mom March: Rally for Education Funding at the Capitol on May 9Fortunately, the Oklahoma Legislature seems to have backed off ever so slightly on eliminating income taxes completely. Do we really want to be dead bottom out of 50 states in everything -- schools, mental health, help for abused and neglected children, fire and police, bridges, roads --- seriously EVERYTHING that our collective taxes pay for? Do our Legislators not understand the function of government? Let's just talk about our schools. What I love is that parents are finally seeing that school funding is important. A few blocks from my office, over at Eugene Fields Elementary School, budget cuts in education mean that they'll have a 5th grade class over there with 58 kids. Maybe one of our Legislators would like to go teach that class for a few weeks. I was having... |
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05/02/12Cinco de Mayo Family Fun in TulsaOur May issue is out, but before I move on to June, I want to let you know about some cool stuff to do in Tulsa this weekend. Saturday is Cinco de Mayo, and there are some special events that you can enjoy with the family. I used to love these opportunities to take my kids to enjoy the sounds, sights and especially the FOOD of other cultures. All I had to do was show up with the kids and soak up the ambiance. So, let's go out there and celebrate our Mexican heritage this weekend. If you want a brief definition of Cinco de Mayo, here's one that I took off of Wikipedia: Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a celebration held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla,[1][2][3][4]... |
04/23/12Parents Grow Grassroots Group to Save SchoolsOnce Carnegie Elementary School mom Emily Dunaway realized that her kindergartener would have almost 40 classmates, Emily got busy. She knew that a large class size would have a negative impact on her daughter's education, not just from the perspective of a parent, but also as a professional with knowledge of the needs of young children. Emily holds graduate degrees in Human Development and Family Science; she has experience as a preschool and a special needs teacher; she serves as adjunct faculty at Oklahoma State University in the College of Human Sciences, and as a Certified Child and Parenting Specialist for Sooner Start. While the Carnegie PTA parents banded together to pay the salary of one teacher, this was just one crisis, temporarily averted at one elementary school... |
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04/20/12Family Fun in Tulsa This WeekendI'm a little late in posting this week -- deadlines. Our May issue goes to the printer today, so look for it next week. We have some great articles and information for you. You can find out about all the cool family and kid stuff going on at Mayfest this year. And the Zarrow Center for Art and Education is opening next month. If you have an artistic teenager, you'll definitely want to find out about their summer programs. Also, TulsaKids and Book Smart Tulsa are teaming up to bring you an entertaining event at Blue Moon Bakery Cafe on Mon., May 14 from 7-9 p.m. We're hosting Katie Workman, author of "The Mom 100 Cookbook." Read our interview with her and get all the info. on her visit to Tulsa. AND, the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus will be in Tulsa... |
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04/16/12Your Child's School is Dying -- Help Save It!I received a letter from a 20-year veteran Tulsa Public Schools teacher and a mom. I wanted to write a blog about the dire straits that our public schools are in, but this letter says it all. Fortunately for my family, my children are now out of public schools and out of Oklahoma. Sadly, I wouldn't encourage them to come back here to live because they would be returning to a state where the legislature and state policy makers are at odds with educators, parents and school administrators. While State Superintendent of Schools Janet Barresi says that she wants our students to be college and career ready, all I've seen from our state lawmakers are cuts, more cuts and more unfunded mandates -- all with her joyful support. I'm glad that my children had the opportunity to take... Posted at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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04/10/12Activities for Families in Tulsa: Events, Baseball, Museums, Markets and More!I know. It's only Tuesday, but there's so much going on that I'm starting the weekend early. You might want to take a look at everything you can do, so you can at least hit the high points. First, I want to start with a little reminder about an event at the end of the month. Sign up for the YWCA's RACE AGAINST RACISM at www.ywcatulsa.org/pages/race_against_racism/ or go to TulsaKids home page and link through. The race starts in the Blue Dome District by John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park and ONEOK Stadium on April 28. Last year's race was really fun, so I hope everyone will come out and support it. There's a 1-mile fun run and a 5K. OK, now on to this week. If you have a high school student, you might want to visit the Great Plains Assoication College... |
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03/29/12Breastfeeding? Moms Say It's Too Much TroubleBreast-feeding isn't easy. At least for me it wasn't the natural love-fest between mom and baby that I naively expected it to be. And, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal, I'm not the only one who found it difficult. A Scottish study(http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/2/e000504) that interviewed 36 mothers said that the recommendation to breast-feed babies for 6 months was "unhelpful" and unrealistic for their families. Breast-feeding recommendations exist because scientific research supports that breast-feeding is the healthiest option for mother and baby. When I think back on my own experience with my first child, I can still feel the pain, frustration and humiliation of trying to get it right. It was physically painful at the... Posted at 01:28 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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03/26/12Growing Things"To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” Ralph Waldo Emerson While I was looking for something to keep myself busy this weekend while I waited impatiently for the new season of "Mad Men," I decided to plant a raised garden. (Can you believe the way they were throwing Joan's baby around when she visited the office?) Anway, back to the garden. I got some scraps of lumber and borrowed an electric screwdriver. After a couple of visits to the hardware store to get those metal things that hold corners together, I managed to cobble together a pretty... |
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03/13/12Husbands Doing Chores and Babysitting: It's Real SimpleLast week I was reading a magazine and watching the ABC Evening News with David Muir when something caught my attention -- a teaser for a story about how men would do more chores at home if women "let" them. Well, that pretty much set my hair on fire, so I sat up, put down my Atlantic Monthly and turned up the TV. Evidently, REAL SIMPLE Magazine had done a survey of (I assume) its readers and found that women don't have enough time for themselves because they do too much of the housework. In fact, 49% of the women said they don't have enough free time. Fifty-two percent say they have less than 90 minures and 23% have less than 45 minutes and 4% say that they don't have ANY free time. And, of the women surveyed, women are twice as likely to trust their kids... |
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Betty Casey started editing TulsaKids when her youngest child was 3 years old. That daughter is now a freshman in college. Her son is 24 and her middle daughter is 21. TulsaKids and her children literally grew up together (and she lived to tell about it)! Betty's blog ranges from commenting on current parenting issues and upcoming articles to personal reflections about being the mom of three children, who are now wonderful young adults.
