Portland Parents

Visit your local library and sign your kid (and you!) up for the summer reading program!

The day following Friday Night’s Fireworks (at 9:45PM), the parade is coming to down. It’s the second largest illuminated parade in the NorthWest. If you’ve seen the Disneyland night time parade, you’ve got an idea of how magical a lit parade can be for kids; not only is it a parade, which I think all kids love, it’s at night so they get to stay up, and the lighting of the route is delightful.

Though it’s predicted to rain, bring a blanket and an umbrella and stake out your spot for this wonderful parade. You can get more information on Rose Festival activities here.

It’s finally time to sign your kid up for the Summer reading program at your nearest library. Kids who read do better in school. While you’re there, sign yourself up and show your solidarity- be a terrific role model and enjoy a relaxing pastime. And for your program, audio books count!

If you collect your kid’s game board / passport before June 10, bring it to the Waterfront Village (yes, the Rose Festival), in the Big Top, between 12 and 2 on June 10– there’s a Storybook corner, and your kid can get a free book! (while supplies last).

They may be our kids forever, but they won’t be kids forever. Enjoy what you’ve got when you’ve got it.

It took us three and a half hours to get our nine year old to bed; there was a lot of shouting “go to bed,” there was a lot of crying and whining, there was the not-quite-silent creeping down the stairs because she was “lonely” followed by more shouts of “go to bed.”

But in the middle of all of this, it should have come to me; she’s just a nine year old kid, who wants some more time with her folks. Haven’t we all been there? Ten minutes of cuddling would have gotten her to bed a lot sooner, and would have gotten me to calm down too. There’s something magical about holding onto your kid. Any age, from the baby sleeping on your belly as you lay on the couch and watch television (or doze, yourself), to the nine year old who wants to crawl into your bed in the middle of the night. How much longer will we have them?

So relax, and enjoy your kids while you have them.

Feeling adventurous?

Try this science experiment. For the first week (eight days) it might be kind of boring looking, but on the ninth, you’ll have an egg that’s only contained by the shell membrane. It’s translucent, wobbly, and you can see the yolk sloshing around. Probably not a good thing to throw at people, because the vinegar can seep through the membrane and your egg gets all pickled and gooey.

Last Day of School

With the summer looming in front of us, you may be looking for ideas on what to make for picnics. In Italy, there is a delicious rolled sandwich creation named “stromboli,” a name that summons up “strolling along the pier” for me. We make it here about once a week, and it’s very easy to do. It also travels well and tastes great cold.

Like spaghetti, most anything can go into your stromboli; we use cheese, ham, sun dried tomatoes and marinated artichoke hearts. I boil the tomatoes in water in the microwave for about four minutes to get them to soften up, then chop them up, and chop up the artichoke hearts. Then I take a roll of pizza dough (it’s from Pillsbury; you can get it near the biscuits in your supermarket, on the same aisle as the chilled cookie dough), spread it out on a floured cutting board so that it’s roughly rectangular. Then I spread shredded cheese (my current favorite is the “italian style” with provolone and mozzarela), thin sliced ham from the lunch meat counter, and then the tomatoes and artichoke hearts. When it’s all relatively even, I roll it up, starting from one of the two narrow ends of the rectangle. I roll it to a cylinder and then seal it up by pressing the dough together (and the ends too).

Once I bake it at 375 for 25 minutes (or so), it’s good to eat! And it’s even better the second day.

We family-bedded our firstborn, and even when she was eight it was a drama every night about her sleeping in her own bed (she hogs the covers!). With our second child we were more determined to put her in her crib. Her crib was in our bedroom in a corner, and we’d put her in there. Some nights we’d be a little quick to stick her in the crib, and she’d cry for a long time.

Last weekend, we moved her crib to a more central location; it’s a little room between the rest of the house and our bedroom (we’ve used it for a study and a nursery). It’s strange, because it’s a little noisier and people have to walk past her crib more often, but she’s quieter in there and falls asleep a lot quicker. She’s learning how to get herself to sleep and to sleep through the night (She’s two and has been sleeping through the night for many months). Our now-nine year old is still trying to get herself to sleep.

How do you get your kids to sleep?

New To The Neighborhood has left sunny California and come to … well, sunny Portland Oregon. They’re traipsing around our lovely town discovering fun things to do with their kids. I’ve gotta recommend their site to you.

School’s out — and it’s hot! Is there anything better than cuddling up with your kids in the air conditioned theater, enjoying a free movie? Regal Theaters offer free movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the summer! Check out their site, or look on our calendar here (on your right) for more information.

thanks to urbanmamas for the tip!