Welcome to Lil Boy Blu News!

1 small Mango

1 tab of Honey

1/2 Cup plain low fat yogurt

3/4 Cup Plain Soy Milk

1Cup of ice

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Great energy booster after school or a workout.

Parenting tips can help ease the stress of the holidays.
By Jean LawrenceWebMD Feature

You know the drill: The “gimmes,” the sugar meltdowns, the “are we there yets?” Then there is the awkward problem of divorce and how to apportion time and attention. Kids reach a high pitch of excitement and sometimes invent surprising new behaviors that require your best holiday parenting skills.

“Parents should start with their own expectations,” advises Susan Newman, PhD, a social psychology professor at Rutgers University in News Brunswick, NJ, and author of Make Your Children Feel Special Everyday, tells WebMD. “Some parents want to be sure their children get everything they want so there will be no tears. This is an unrealistic goal. Parents, especially with younger kids get lost in the hype.”

Don’t try to please everyone, Newman continues. Someone — a parent, grandparent or in-law –will be unhappy. But, as a rule, the children will not be — and it’s the little things that they will remember, like time spent playing a board game or teaching you to operate their toys. “We played Chutes and Ladders last Christmas with my older kids,” Newman says, “and it was so funny!”

Give the Pleasure of Giving
“Children will model your behavior,” Newman says. “If you bake for the homeless shelter (and they help) or if you visit people in the hospital, they will remember that. These patterns stick.”
“I like cooking with kids,” Bunni Tobias, host of the syndicated radio show, Solutions for Simple Sanity, tells WebMD. “At my house, each child has a specialty, one was King of Cookies; one was on top of the veggies.” Over time, each household develops a list of favorite holiday cookies and treats — these are repeated each year.

Many schools and churches have programs for kids to make gifts or contribute to the less fortunate — you can suggest some of the kids’ allowance be used, instead of just a handout from dad.
Children can also help wrap presents — so what if they aren’t straight out of Vogue? “Kids have to see that everything doesn’t come from a store,” Newman says. Wrapping also creates a sense of excitement and is a good time to talk.

Making gifts is also a good way to give kids a deeper sense of the holidays. Going to the craft store, planning a project, and gathering around to make things is also a good time for parents to give kids extra attention. So often the holidays involve grown-ups reuniting and catching up — kids get shunted to the sidelines.

Tobias recommends that children should be encouraged to make their own wish lists — but to also describe why they want each item, to think a little. This way, parents can gently modify expectations before the fateful unwrapping.

Start Your Own Traditions
Go to the Nutcracker, a lighting ceremony or just drive around to see house lighting
Build a snowman
Open an Advent card
Go to church or synagogue
Let kids’ choose holiday music and parents can dance with them
Start a tradition of holiday meditation geared to short attention spans
Bring out the ornaments, if you have a tree, and reminisce about each one

Some other suggestions:
Put the kids in charge of videotaping or picture taking. Let them interview everyone each year. Landscape photographer Franklin B. Way suggests starting with disposable cameras. Encourage several shots of each subject before offering advice. Send kids out to take pictures of objects of one color. It will give you some free time.
Be flexible — if kids want a traditional candy cane and gingerbread man tree, alternate that each year with your designer special covered in fiberglass and festooned with your collection of antique racing car ornaments.

Encourage kids to make New Year’s resolutions. Share your own hopes for the coming year.

Coping With Divorce
The best time to consciously create new traditions, Newman says, is when the family has been touched by divorce, death, or some major change. “Even if it only means having dinner at a different time, try to differentiate between the past and now.”

Marilyn Coleman, PhD, professor of human development and family studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, suggests divorced parents create a separate holiday just for the family, one that is neither Christmas or Hanukkah, so kids won’t feel guilty for spending time with one parent and not the other.

Mary Jo McCurley of the Dallas law firm McCurley, Orsinger, McCurley & Nelson, also suggests parents firm up the visitation schedule in advance, no surprises. Try not to overschedule kids, she advises — they are already moving around. Help you child shop for your ex-spouse and be positive about the other parent. Don’t convey feelings of anxiousness about your being alone on “the big day.” Also — don’t compete for the affections of the child by breaking the bank with a “big gift.”

Keep Routines as Best You Can
Newman suggests bedtimes be maintained, even if relatives plead, “Let them stay up, it’s the holiday.” People need sleep, she says, even adult people. “The next day is a holiday, too,” Newman says, “no one wants to deal with sleep-deprived kids. You do them a disservice if you allow them to stay up.”

Kids also should not be allowed to OD on sugar and snack food. “Ask the grandparents to go easy,” smiles Newman.

Most of all, be inclusive – if kids are included in an event, introduce them, coach them to use proper manners, and if they need you off alone for a few minutes, make the time.
There’s a payoff. If the kids are less stressed, you will be, too. That’s the best present of all.
Star Lawrence is a medical journalist based in the Phoenix area.

This article comes from WebMD.com Better Information. Better Health and I highly suggest takinging a look at other wonderful articles concering parenting to current health concerns.

By Tina Cho
Topics: Cooking, Desserts, Kindergarten

Does your little one like to help you in the kitchen? If so, she’ll love making and decorating these hamburger cookies! Made of simple Nilla wafers and frosting, these hamburger cookies will be sure to please. Make a plate full of these and serve them at your next BBQ or picnic for dessert, or pack it as a snack in her lunch for a special treat. Not only will she get practice developing her fine motor skills as she frosts the cookies, but she’ll also be proud to share these with loved ones and friends!

What You Need:

• 1 box of Nilla Wafers
• 1 box of chocolate mint cookies (like Keebler Grasshopper Cookies)
• 1 can of white frosting
• Food coloring
• 3 small bowls
• 3 spoons
• 1 butter knife
• 1 plate

What You Do:

1. Spoon some white frosting into each of the three bowls. Add red food coloring to the first bowl for the ketchup, yellow to the second bowl for mustard, and green to the third bowl for lettuce. Stir each one. Leave the remaining white frosting for the mayo.
2. With the knife, spread a little white frosting (mayo) on a Nilla Wafer (bun). Add 1 chocolate mint cookie for the burger. Spoon a dab of red frosting (ketchup), yellow frosting (mustard), and green frosting (lettuce) onto the Grasshopper Cookie (burger).
3.  Add another Nilla Wafer on top of the frosting for the top bun.

Voila! Now your hamburger is finished. Enjoy!

Tina Cho has been an elementary teacher for 11 years, mainly in the kindergarten classroom. She is currently a freelance writer.

http://www.education.com/activity/article/hamburger-cookies/

Everyone talks about going green and I know our family has become more aware of our carbon footprint. But let’s be honest, it is a pain most of the time to recycle, reduce, and go without.  We try to recycle, but our waste management company has all kinds of restrictions and requirements that sometimes make it feel not worth it.  However, I realized that these feelings are from years of not being aware of the importance of green living.

With this said, I decided to suck it up and start making it a part of our everyday life. This way when my kids grow up this will be a natural part of who they are. They will not look at it as an inconvenience or as a sacrifice; it will simply be a natural part of who they are. So, how did I get them involved, I asked and with all the talk about the importance of going green they where happy and on board to making a difference.

These are the things I ask of them:

Recycle- Remove all recyclable items from your room and backpack weekly. This may include: Magazines, completed homework, and soda cans. I encourage them to go to the local park or walk our neighborhood picking up recyclable materials which helps keep our neighborhood clean. These items are taken to the recycling plant and they split the money received for these Items.

Lights- Turn out all lights when not in the room or in use. This includes cable boxes, stereos, and games systems all with residual energy usage. If we walk by their rooms and they are not in them with the lights on I remind them to go back and turn things off.

Water- Having teens in the house, showers can be extra long and sometimes more than one a day, do to their active life styles. So, I put a timer in the bathroom and encourage them to set it for 15 minutes. When it goes off its time to get out, and I have noticed using this method actually encourages you to speed up and get out even sooner. Brushing teeth we have a small sign that reminds us to turn off the water while brushing minimizing all that wasted water that just runs while you brush.

Compost- We started a compost and everyone places their scraps, yard materials and other items to reduce landfill waste and it makes great fertilizer for our winter grass.

Walk- We walk to the store and local merchants when possible. It not only saves gas, it is a great way to stay healthy. These efforts minimize the pollutants our cars produce and encourages us to get out in our communities.

Getting your kids involved in recycling, reducing and thinking about their impact on the earth now will make it second nature to them later.  I feel good about encouraging them to be a part of a healthier tomorrow and I know these small changes will have a big impact on their future.

Boys are different than girls and as mother’s we play a key role in developing boys into men. I used to think it was my husband’s role to teach my son everything he needed to know. Why not? He’s a boy; he should have all the answers, Right? Wrong, my husband’s role is extremely important for my son’s development and yes, he will answer questions my son would rather ask him than his mom but our role as mothers is just as important.

So, we want to raise well rounded boys, let’s get started….

Encourage your son to follow directions and finish what he has started. Boys have a tendency to develop these skills slower than girls. Encouraging responsibility at an early age teaches them to be accountable for their actions. As mothers we sometimes baby our boys in hopes of teaching them to be sensitive, stop. Sensitivity has nothing to do with responsibility. As boys grow they become harder to handle and it is important to teach them control over their actions.

Ways to encourage responsibility:

· Start early; toddlers can help put their toys away, get something for mom or help in the kitchen.
· Give age appropriate chores and don’t expect perfection.
· If your son does something wrong remain calm and look at it as a lesson not something to fix right away to prevent embarrassment. Try using this method, stop, and think, before
you react.

Example: Your son hits a child on the play ground.

Stop: Stop the action (have him apologize)

Think: Ask your son why he hit the child and encourage him to express his feelings while
engaging him in being responsible for his actions.. Help him discover a better
way to handle the situations, provide examples (walk away, talk to an adult)

Before you React: Provide your son with an action plan on how to handle the situation in the future. Review the plan each time your son may be faced with that situation (playgrounds, playgroups, school).

These steps help encourage your son to think on his own and provide him with the beginning tools needed to take responsibility for his own actions. I have used this with my own son and now in his teens he is responsible and uses the stop, think before you react when faced with teen issues. It is second nature to him and he really doesn’t realize he is processing on this level.

Shop lilboyblu.com for stylish and trendy products for boys, we offer boy’s clothing for baby to toddlers age, baby shower gifts, mom and dad clothes and much more. For a unique selection of everything fun and stylish for boys shop www.lilboyblu.com

Supplies:

Finger paints in fall colors

Brown, orange, yellow, green

White construction paper

Paint cups

Crayons-optional

Directions:

This activity is great for little ones and lots of fun when you get your hands a little messy. Place the white construction paper long ways in front of you. Place paint in paint cups and dip thumb in the brown paint. Make a line for the trunk or you can use crayons to draw a trunk for the tree Now add foliage using your thumbs make thumb prints in a variety of colors making the top of the tree.

Lilboyblu.com is expanding its site to include lil girl products. Mom’s everywhere have asked for trendy styles and hip looks for their lil girls as well. So look for more cool stuff for both boys and girls.

This super cute baby one piece is a huge hit for the parent who loves a little edge. This pink Argyle Skull One piece will rock your lil girl’s world, its soft, thick, and durable. Made with 100% cotton, we know your going to love them.

Size:0/3m-12/18m

Price $18.95

http://www.lilboyblu.com/item_633/Argyle-Skull-One-Piece-Pink.htm

Ingredients:

12 oz uncooked spaghetti

2 tsp. olive oil

2 medium zucchini cut in half long ways thinly sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into long strips

1 small onion, cut into thin wedges

3 cups small broccoli florets

¼ Cup Water

10 oz four cheese pasta sauce refrigerate

Directions:

Cook spaghetti until cooked, set a side. In a large skillet pour in olive oil then heat skillet to medium-high temperature. Add Zucchini, bell peppers, onions, broccoli and water. Cover and simmer 4 to 6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp, yet tender. Remember to stir occasionally. Stir in cheese pasta sauce and cook over medium heat for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Serve over spaghetti noodles. Add French bread if desired.

Supplies:

Aluminum Soda Can

Spray Paint-Black

Acrylic Paint- Red, White

Clear Acrylic Spray

Craft Foam

Craft Glue

Paint Brush

Pen

Scissors

Directions:

Crush your can; first remove the tab at the top of the can. Now try crushing your can where the top of the can folds over and lays flat against the body of the can and the bottom bent in the opposite direction. You may want to have a couple of cans so you can get the desired look for your can. Remove or bend in all sharp edges on can.

Paint the body of the can black and allow to dry for 24hrs or until dry. Try not to get paint into the hole of the soda can; this will take longer to dry.

Paint the hole of the can red, for the mouth of the bat. Paint eyes and teeth using white paint. When all painting is done spray a thin coat of clear acrylics spray paint to seal your paint job.

Now let’s make the wings, take your craft foam and cut out wings approximately 3 to 4 times the length of the can. Be creative here, your wings can be flowing, scalloped or any other shape you would like. Glue wings to back of can and complete your bat.

Skull Onesies – http://www.lilboyblu.com/item_537/Scribble-Skull.htm

                          http://www.lilboyblu.com/item_119/Skull-Onesie–Blue.htm

Skull Beanies- http://www.lilboyblu.com/item_548/Scribble-Skull-Pink.htm

                        http://www.lilboyblu.com/item_392/White-Skull-Beanie.htm

                        http://www.lilboyblu.com/item_112/Blue-Skull-Organic-Baby-Hat.htm