On Center Street
03/11/13How One Family Manages Technology“I’m not sure you want to interview us,” Sharron Hanisch said with a laugh. “We don’t even have cable!” Sharron, a stay-at-home mom who has a master’s degree in Theological Studies from Boston College, and her husband John, a computer consultant, are parents to four children, Matt, 16; Anna, 14; Michael, 12; and Noah, 8. “When John and I got married, we made a conscious decision not to have a TV,” Sharron said. “We thought it was more important to get out and do things instead of just sit and watch TV.” Both Sharron and John grew up in families with the TV on in the background all the time. “We both enjoyed TV—we were almost addicted to it—but when I was in grad school, there was support for... |
|
03/11/13When Teens Come Home From CollegeQ: My 18-year-old daughter has been exposed to the freedom that college living allows. She didn’t come home for fall break, and we all took a vacation away from home over winter break. She is coming home for spring break. It feels like now it’s time to set “house rules” for spring break and summer. How do we, as her parents, come across to her as firm, but open-armed at the same time? A: It is clear that you have a history of setting expectations for appropriate behavior for your daughter in the household. It also sounds as though those rules were understood and followed. Now your question is about establishing realistic expectations for an 18-year-old who has lived away from home and is used to operating as an adult rather than your child in her daily... |
|
03/11/13Students Go Face to FaithIf you close your eyes and just listen to the students talking, you would think Tulsa Holland Hall seventh graders are in the same classroom with middle school students from Quebec, Canada’s Noranda School. Holland Hall and Noranda students are chatting about their schools, the towns they live in and the activities they enjoy. The catch is, the Noranda students are over 1,000 miles away. The Noranda School is the only English-focused, private school tucked in the remote, French-speaking town of Rouyn-Noranda in Northwest Quebec. Holland Hall and Noranda middle school students are participating in a program created by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Foundation, Face to Faith. The program enables students who are miles and time zones apart to take part in a... |
|
 |
03/11/13Meet Jennifer Zeppelin: KTUL’s Meteorologist MomLegend has it that Will Rogers said, “If you don’t like the weather in Oklahoma, wait a minute and it’ll change.” KTUL Channel 8 Chief Meteorologist Jennifer Zeppelin is prepared for any type of change in Tulsa’s weather. Jennifer has forecast hurricanes in Shreveport, Louisiana, torrential rains in San Antonio, Texas and blizzards in Denver, Colorado. And when it comes to Oklahoma tornados, Jennifer has not only seen them, but chased a few across the Midwest. “Chasing storms is one of the most exciting and scariest things I have ever done in my life,” said Jennifer, Tulsa’s first female chief meteorologist. “I say that because it took almost 12 hours of driving across Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas before we saw any... |
03/07/13My Two Cents on Working RemotelyYou know you have blog material when you find yourself typing insanely long responses to Facebook comment threads. Yeah, apparently I have an opinion about Yahoo's CEO banning the practice of allowing employees to work remotely. I recently responded to a thread on Tulsa Kids Facebook page about the topic. So here's my deal. There are plenty of jobs that simply cannot allow employees to work remotely, manual labor jobs in particular. A plumber can't fix my pipes from a computer in his living room. Similarly, I can't assist a woman in labor while sipping coffee in my pjs from my iPad. In cases where I can't get to a client in labor, I have to send my backup and forfeit a portion of my fee to her. There are plenty of professions, though, where employees are... |
|
 |
03/07/13Tough Love with BreastfeedingNow before I start offending people, let me say that breastfeeding is your own personal choice. It's all about what you're comfortable with, etc. But, for those expectant mothers who have made the choice to breastfeed their babies - sometimes, you just need a litte tough love. Recently, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who is trying to get pregnant for the first time. We're super close, so we can have those candid, real conversations that you can only have with your super close friends. We were talking about what kind of mother she wants to be and deciding what her baby may look like, etc. She said she definitely wanted to breastfeed and asked if I would help coach her through it. I said of course I would, but then I asked if she wanted me to be a Bob... Posted at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
03/05/13No, My Kids Are Not the Center of My Universe.Did anyone see the recent celebrity news about Giuliana Rancic catching flack for saying that her marriage comes before her child on her priority list? Not surprisingly, people went crazy on social media either praising or criticizing her for her statement. I guess I take it for granted when I learn little life lessons, or hear of new scientific or psychological findings in the news, assuming we as a society are all learning together. I mean, have we not yet learned that it's unhealthy for your life to revolve around your children? I thought that was already common knowledge. My bad. I've heard it said one of the greatest gifts you can give your children is to love your spouse. With divorce rates so high in our country, especially in our fine state of Oklahoma, it... |
|
03/05/13Talking to Your Young Driver about AlcoholAlcohol-related crashes are the number one cause of teen deaths. The teenage years are when a young person is most likely to experiment with alcohol, either through curiosity or social pressure. A lot of parents think that their teen would never get behind the wheel of a car while drunk -- but Oklahoma drunk driving statistics show that more than 240 alcohol-related accidents occurred in Oklahoma in 2011, and of those, over ten percent of alcohol-related fatalities happen to drivers under 21. So how can you talk to your teenager about alcohol and the dangers of drinking and driving? Start Early The best time to start talking with your teen about alcohol? As soon as possible -- even before they get behind the wheel of a car for the first time. Emphasize to your teenager the... |
|
 |
03/05/13Make Homemade Dog TreatsIt's National Pet Sitters' Week (who knew there was one?) and, to honor all the pet-sitters and our fluffy friends out there, I'm going to give you a recipe for Homemade Dog Treats. We've made dog treats in our family for years. When my son was in elementary school, he had a dog treat business. He made the treats, and put them in attractive packaging (a zip-lock bag inside of a lunch-size paper bag with a dog bone picture on it, tied with a heavy string through two holes punched through the folded top). He also created a flier on the computer with a description of the product and pricing for large and small bags. He figured the cost to make the treats and marked them up accordingly to make a profit. He also enlisted the help of his youngest sister in making the... |
 |
03/03/13The Hip Mom Does the Dome DistrictOne of my favorite destinations while living in the Northwest was any one of the family-friendly pubs owned by the McMenamin brothers. The McMenamins would buy a dilapidated barn, school or otherwise old structure, renovate it while preserving its quirky character, and then place one of their wonderful pubs there. Our favorite, the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse, was a historical house with bucolic grounds; we would sit at the picnic benches and watch the kids frolic, while I sipped a glass of their reasonably priced wine, and PVT enjoyed one of the million and seven delicious microbrews. When the kids finally got hungry, we would order some “haute” pub food: a hummus plate, burgers, salads, chicken for the kids. And then I arrived in Tulsa, where it seemed if you... |
