Fathers are typically underserved in a majority of programs for low-income families with young children, but getting fathers more involved in parenting leads to physically and emotionally healthier children, a new study has found.

The Supporting Father Involvement study, funded by the California Department of Social Services' Office of Child Abuse Prevention, was conducted through several family resources organizations throughout the state. The randomized, controlled clinical trial began in 2003, and the final stage will conclude in 2012.

The study examined what happens when agencies encourage dads to get more involved in parenting after a child is born. The study also looked at the results of agencies with programs aimed at helping fathers foster positive relationship and parenting styles, the executive summary states.

Programs serving families with young children, especially low-income families, typically focus primarily on mothers.

One of the key findings researchers discovered was that children of father who went through the program alone or alongside their wives were "less aggressive, hyperactive, depressed or socially withdrawn," the document states.

Researchers also found that parenting stress decreased when fathers and mothers participated in the groups together and behavioral and psychological involvement of dads increased when they were given tools to be more effective parents either alone or with their wives.

Rick Millhollin, 41, of Yuba City, was one of several fathers to participate in the study through the ABC Family Resource Centers, which has locations in Olivehurst and Linda.

The father of five and his wife, Bobette, had taken parenting classes before through the Salvation Army's substance abuse rehabilitation program, but enjoyed and learned from the community approach of the Supporting Father Involvement group.

"It wasn't so much a commanded directive of parenting, with someone telling us what we should do," Millhollin said. "It was awesome."

Millhollin said one of the things he learned was to discipline his children through taking things away, instead of his former "spare the rod, spoil the child" approach.

Roy Martin, executive director of Gracesource Inc., the nonprofit organization which runs the ABC Family Resource Centers, said the holistic curriculum didn't point out that the father wasn't doing a good job. Instead, it asked the dads to think about their daily routines, their roles and their involvement with their children in a group setting that fostered lively discussions.

"What makes this approach so good is that it was inclusive from the beginning," Martin said. "It didn't take a punitive approach and it wasn't just a bag of tricks, it really was a system change."

The results have forever altered the attitude and approach of the organization, he said.

Social workers now actively interact with the fathers and try to engage them in conversation. The decorations of the two resource centers have been altered to be more inviting to dads. Fathers are even calling the centers to ask for services now, he said.

"It's changed the way we do business," he said. "We couldn't go back."

To read the study, click the link below.
Father_Engagement_Study_.pdf

The school year is drawing near and for many mothers that also means the start of keeping an entire family organized.

Sure you can use an iPhone to digitally organize your life (heck, there's probably an app for that), but for the rest of us, a day planner or calendar remains the go-to method.

There's another option, however.

Say hello to momAgenda, a company that offers a collection of organizational tools and stationary to help moms find order in the sometimes frenetic pace of parenthood.

One of the most popular products in the line is the momAgenda Desktop, a planner that offers a 17-month calendar (the calendar for the 2009-2010 version begins in August and runs through December 2010) in week-at-a-glance format.

The company sent The Bee one a momAgenda Desktop planner, along with a separate chore list and babysitter notes tablet.

We passed it to Leigh Anne Burford-Petersen, 41, a work-at-home mother of three boys, ages 2, 6 and 8, who also homeschools her sons.

Burford-Petersen, of Placer County, said the planner has many good features, and for some moms could provide "a stylish, fun way to keep a busy life organized," but she likely will stay with her current planner.

"The one drawback of the momAgenda planner is that it does not permit me to tailor the planner to my needs," Burford-Petersen wrote in her e-mailed review. "For example, I need less party planning and more meal planning."

Here are other highlights from Burford-Petersen's review:

• The look - Burford-Petersen was immediately struck by the planner's aesthetic quality. "Rather than my dour, utilitarian black planner, the momAgenda planner comes in a cheerful shade of light green," she said.
  

• The layout - The planner is well-organized for the most part. The calendar begins with a month-at-a-glance section, followed by a week-at-a-glance section. Burford-Petersen really liked the layout of the latter. The top half of every two pages provides a typical week layout. The bottom half of those pages, however, is a grid of boxes for recording what up to four children are doing each day of the week. A blank is provided to plan dinner for each night of the week. "I need to plan three meals a day for a week and create a grocery list, so that last feature is lacking," she said.
  

• The extra features - The planner devotes one page each to books, movies, music, fashion, restaurants, wines, health and fitness, two pages each to gift records and entertaining resources, six pages to parties and eight pages to vacation planning. "Truthfully, this section of the planner confuses me ... six pages for parties and eight pages for vacation planning could only be useful to me in my wildest fantasies. At the same time, one page each to record my nutrition and exercise plans is rather useless," Burford-Petersen said.
  

• The momEssentials pamphlet - The detachable address book at the back is well-designed for mothers. It can be moved to the next year's edition of the planner, making transfer of the information very easy... "It keeps the information a mother may need in a hurry at her fingertips."

• The chore list - "I think I like the chore list, in part, because I would like to think that my children would be this dutiful and somehow the very organized chart gives me hope," she said. Furford-Petersen also added that as a homeschooling mother, she could also use the chore chart to help the children record their weekly progress through their subjects.

• The babysitter notes - The pre-printed form ensures that a busy parent does not forget to give pertinent information to the sitter.

Nina Restieri, who was using a doctor's scheduling pad to keep track of her family's activities before founding momAgenda, said the company's products are better than other day planners because they are centered around a mothers' organizational needs.

"The biggest difference is that we offer everything in one place, providing moms with the piece of mind that all aspects of their personal puzzle - family, career, home and social life - come together," she wrote in an e-mail.

The collection of momAgenda planners and tools are available online and in retail stores.

My colleague, business reporter Darrell Smith, is looking to speak with stay-at-home parents trying to re-enter the workforce.

If you fall into that category, he'd like to hear from you for an upcoming story.

How are you approaching the jobhunt?

Please contact Darrell at (916) 321-1040 or e-mail him.

Today is National Lasagna Day and to commemorate the cheesy occasion, Buca di Beppo is offering customers a free serving of its popular lasagna.

Any guest who purchases a Buca small or Buca large pasta or entree today will receive a free lunch-sized portion of the family-style restaurant's lasagna, a news release states.

The offer is available at Buca di Beppo's 87 locations nationwide, including its restaurants at 1249 Howe Ave., Sacramento and 1212 Galleria Blvd., Roseville.

The free lasagna offer is not valid with other coupons, offers or to-go orders, but can be boxed and taken home for dine-in guests, the release states.

Mangia!

Looking for an easy, delicious lasagna recipe? Check out my entry on our Appetizers blog.

While not an entire meal, this spinach dip can serve as an appetizer to tide over the hungry masses until dinner is ready or a condiment to perk up supper staples such as burgers or grilled chicken breasts. The vibrant green color of the dip is alluring to little ones, who likely won't be the wiser to the dip's nutritious phytochemical properties. The recipe is from "The New American Plate Cookbook" (University of California Press, $25.95, 306 pages), arguably the best healthy eating cookbook in my collection.

Spinach and feta dip

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: None
Serves: 8
Notes: This nutritious dip is fabulous served with warm pita wedges and crackers. For an extra boost of nutrients, serve with sliced red and green bell peppers. If serving to children, you may want to cut the amount of horseradish in half. Store the dip in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients
4 cups stemmed fresh spinach, loosely packed
1/2 cup coarsely crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
2 scallions, trimmed and chopped
1/4 cup fat-free or light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons drained prepared white horseradish
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Salt and ground black pepper

Instructions
In a food processor or blender, finely chop spinach. Add the cheese and scallions and process the mixture until well blended. Add the mayonnaise, horseradish, and lemon juice and process to blend until smooth. Add the dill and process for another 15 seconds. Season the dip with salt and pepper to taste.

Looking for a fun, free activity to entertain your family this weekend?

Head to Fremont Park Saturday night for children's games, food and a free showing of "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa."

The free event, hosted by The Capitol Area Development Authority (CADA),begins at 6 p.m. and includes balloon art, face and hair painting and games for kids. Free hot dogs, popcorn and rootbeer floats also will be served, said Karen Koehn, a CADA spokeswoman said.

The movie is rated PG and will begin at dusk, about 8:30 p.m.

People are encouraged bring lawn chairs and blankets and to walk to the event or ride their bikes. The Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates will be providing free bike valet service at the event.

Alcohol and coolers are prohibited. Children under 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult.

Fremont Park is located at the corner of 16th and P Streets in Sacramento.

Child-proofing a home is a necessity for anyone with an infant or toddler in the house, but just how many safety precautions does a parent need to take?

As many as possible.

"There's only one area in which children have a mental deficiency and that's their sense of self-preservation," said Dr. Anatoly Belilovsky, a New York pediatrician and child-safety expert who I interviewed recently for a story about summer safety issues.

Belilovsky's recommendation for parents looking to remove household hazards is simple, yet clever: watch the first four minutes of the 1988 movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."

"They did a good job of hitting household hazards," he said of the opening scene, in which Roger is attempting to babysit Baby Herman. "Watch very carefully with an eye to all the hazards the baby sees - it's a really good primer for household safety."

Baby Herman starts off in a playpen but quickly escapes, using drawers to climb atop the kitchen counter, inadvertently turning on stove burners with his foot and falling face down in a sink full of water and dishes in his quest to reach the cookie jar.

To watch for yourself, go to this You Tube clip.

There are also loads of kid safety products on the market.

One of the handiest kid-proofing items came to The Bee from Australian-based Dream Baby, a child safety product company.

It's a simple cable combination lock intended to help keep children out of cabinets and sells for $9.99.

We discovered another great use for the device: It also locks side-by-side refrigerator doors, thus helping keep kids safe from ingesting spicy condiments or pulling glass jars off shelves.

For more information, go to Dream Baby's Web site.

The best piece of child-proofing equipment, however, is an attentive parent and common sense, Belilovsky said.

"There is no substitute for thinking," he said.

The Sacramento River Cats are offering a deal that's sure to be a home run with families.

The new promotion offers a free meal for every child 12 years old and younger at all remaining Tuesday night home games at Raley Field, a River Cats news release states.

The first of the "kids eat free" game nights is Tuesday, when the River Cats are scheduled to play the Salt Lake Bees. The free meal deal also will be in place Aug. 11 and Aug. 25.

Each meal voucher, which will be passed out until the first pitch, is good for a hot dog, snack and a 12-ounce Coke. The vouchers can be used throughout the game.

The promotion is intended to help area families enjoy a fun, affordable outing, said Gabe Ross, vice president of media relations for the River Cats.

"It's a lot cheaper than going to a movie and you get dinner with it," he said.

Game tickets, the cheapest of which are lawn seats for $7 per person, are available at the Raley Field Ticket Office or through the River Cats Web site.

Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services is hosting a free barbecue and information fair for families Saturday.

More than 500 people are expected to attend the third annual Fun in the Sun Fair, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Saca Community Learning Center, 2469 Rio Linda Blvd., Sacramento, a food bank news release states.

The event includes a free barbecue lunch, snacks, prizes, face painting, games, exercise class demonstrations, multicultural dancing and a bounce house.

Dozens of community agencies, including the Child Abuse Prevention Council, Meals on Wheels and the Greater Sacramento Urban League, will provide free information for families, the release states.

The event is open to all families.

There's something that just seems unfair about catching a cold or flu in the middle of summer, and apparently a nasty cold is making its way around the Sacramento region.

Dr. Julie Vails, a physician with a family practice in Elk Grove, said she has seen a lot of colds this month, and many ear infections in both children and adults.

"You can get a cold at any time, but a nice solid boost of cold is not that common in July," she said.

While a bad cold in summer isn't necessarily indicative of a worse cold and flu season in the fall and winter, doctors are expecting a tough season due to the H1N1 virus due to its ability to spread rapidly.

"We think it's going to spread like the flu, but it tends to wreak a little more havoc and is a little more dangerous," Vails said.

If you do happen to catch a cold this summer, treat it as you would a cold caught in the winter - rest, chicken soup, sleep.

"We tend to let illness drag us down because we're trying hard to pretend like it's not there," she said.

And remember - just because its sunny and warm outside doesn't mean you can slack on cold prevention.

Wash your hands often, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth and stay away from people who are sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends.

For other prevention tips, go to the CDC's Web site.

It took about a month and more than 5,500 votes, but the Spare the Air mascot now has a name: Scooter.

Kennedy Kell, 10, of Sacramento, came up with the winning moniker for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District's mascot naming contest, which was open to area children children ages 12 and under.

Sacramento residents could vote online for one of four names. The contest and mascot were intended to teach children about the importance of reducing air pollution.

Kell chose the name Scooter "because riding on a scooter uses less gas then driving a car," a district news release states.

Kennedy will receive a Nintendo Wii system and Wii Fit package, courtesy of Radio Disney AM 1470. The runners up also will receive prizes.

For more information about Spare the Air days, go to the district's Web site.

To read more about the contest, check out my previous blog post.

Apparently matte is the new black.

Zoya Nail Polish, popular for its durability and vegan-friendly properties, has released its Fall 2009 line of polish, which includes the MatteVelvet Collection, a trifecta of uber-hip shimmery matte shades.

The collection was designed to dry to a flat, shimmery shade and while Zoya's glossy polishes typically last two weeks, the matte polishes are intended for one-time "high-fashion look," Zoya Vice President Leo Reyzis wrote in an e-mail to The Bee.

Zoya sent The Bee the three shades - Dovima (black), Loredana (gunmetal gray) and Posh (wine red) - to test out.

Amita Patel, a Sacramento mom of a 2-year-old, tried the Loredana and Posh polishes. Patel usually does weekly manicures and pedicures at home, and swapped her typical shades for the matte ones.

"Both of the colors are great," she said, but didn't like that the color turned dull upon drying.

The gray polish had a pasty texture while applying and the brush was lumpy, she wrote in an e-mail. The brush for the wine polish was fine, however.

The polish lasted about 8 to 10 days on Patel's toes and two days on her nails before chipping, about the same as the durability of other polishes she's used, Patel said.

Patel said she would "maybe" consider buying the polish in the store and rated it a 5 out of 10.

I tried the black polish, Dovima, this week. The rich, dark shade was a little off-putting at first (like I should be back in high school, listening to Kurt Cobain and pondering alternatives to going to prom), but it grew on me after a few hours.

Like Patel, I found the polish pretty goopy and somewhat hard to apply with the brush provided - perhaps a result of it being free of formaldehyde and other smelly chemicals.

The color lasted about a day without chipping, but was also subjected to two loads of laundry, dishwasher duty, diaper changes, kid meal prep and a Wiggles concert.

The hipster factor is definitely there, however. Don one of these polishes and you are sure to be the coolest mom at the neighborhood barbecue.

Just don't use the polish to accessorize your mom jeans.

A New York company has come out with a new birthday party kit for Nintendo Wii and we are looking for a family with (wee) Wii enthusiasts to try it.

Birthday Party Bash includes the game, which is rated "E" for everyone and contains more than 20 party games and 10 party themes, 12 invitations and a box of Duncan Hines cupcake mix. The kit, from 2K Play, retails for $39.99 and also includes coupons from Duncan Hines, Party City and Evite.

We are looking for a local family with a Wii system and a child with an upcoming birthday to try the kit and write a little review of the experience. The test family must be willing to throw a birthday party using the entire kit.

If you are interested in the party kit, e-mail me your name, city of residence, kids' ages and a contact phone number. A parent needs to be able to pick up the kit from The Bee's main office at 2100 Q St., Sacramento.

Sometimes it just gets too hot and too chaotic to cook.

Such was the case this week for my family. We've eaten pizza, takeout Mexican food and uninspired salads.

There is a much better option out there that I should have remembered, however - Dream Dinners.

Dream Dinners is a meal-assembly franchise, which has a location in Natomas, where a flat rate fee and about 30 minutes of prepping easy-to-cook meals yields several nights of dinner (many of which are healthy) that freeze well and are ridiculously convenient during hectic weeks.

For more about Dream Dinners and other meal-assembly businesses in the region, check out my story from earlier this year.

Dream Dinners also is calling on home cooks to come up with recipes to help expand its menu options.

The company is holding its 3rd Annual Recipe Contest through Aug. 28 and is looking for four dishes featuring the following proteins: London Broil, chicken breast, pork chops and cod. One winner from each category will receive $500 towards Dream Dinners meals (that translates to about two months worth of meals).

Judging takes place Oct. 30 and winners will be announced in January. The winning recipes will appear on the March menu, with credit to the recipe's author, a news release states.

For more information, contest rules and entry forms, go to Dream Dinner's Web site.

Do you have a dinner recipe that your family enjoys and want to share it with us? Post your recipe here or e-mail me and your dish may be featured in an upcoming "What's for dinner"  post.

They came, they sang, they conquered (almost everyone).

Little eyes widened and applause filled Arco Arena as each of the four Wiggles made their appearance on the stage, greeting the audience with huge smiles and waves.

While the first song - an upbeat instrumental tune reminiscent of a modernized classical piece - entertained and the Wiggly dancers wowed the crowd with their acrobatics, the second, the Wiggles classic "Big Red Car" instantly sent the crowd into sing-along mode.

The roughly one-and-a-half hour concert was the first of two shows Jeff Fatt, Murray Cook, Sam Moran and Anthony Field, a.k.a. the Wiggles, played at the Sacramento venue Tuesday, part of the northern California leg of their American "Go Bananas" tour.

The preschool rock band is scheduled to play San Jose today, then on to San Diego Thursday and Universal City this weekend.

Rupert and Terri Johnson, of Sacramento, brought their 20-month-old son Dylan, an avid Wiggles watcher, to the concert along with his grandparents, Jim and Donna Sochor.

The family was a little disappointed their son's favorite song, "Wobby Camel," wasn't among the songs performed Tuesday, but he still "loved the concert," Rupert Johnson said.

"The concert was amazing," he said. "It reminded me a lot of Paul McCartney in the way they take the Hollywood wall down. It's spontaneous and very human."

About midway through the show, the Wiggles took a break from singing and Murray Cook (the Red Wiggle) read handmade signs held up by children and parents in the audience.

Nicole McArthur and her daughter Chloe, 2, came to the concert with friends.

While Chloe "spent zero attention to the Wiggles" during the concert - instead choosing to climb the stairs - McArthur said she enjoyed the music.

"I was dreading it, but it actually was very nice," McArthur said.

My two children, both Wiggles fans, were captivated during the first 45 minutes of the concert, and were particularly entertained by the Wiggly dancers' gymnastic feats. It became hard to keep them engaged, however, the final 30 minutes of the show, making me second-guess their readiness for a live concert.

But for Jordan LaBranch, 5, who ventured to the concert with four other friends - and parents - from Carson City, Nev., the concert's length and content was just right (Jordan, left, is shown taking a break after the show with friends Alva and Devin Zervoulakos, Hunter Machal and Dylan Clinger).

Jordan's favorite part?

"When they said 'cold spaghetti, cold spaghetti," Jordan said, referring to the song "Hot Potato," the final one performed Tuesday. "It was like TV."

To read more about the Wiggles phenomenon and how to navigate a live Wiggles concert, check out my story, which appeared in The Bee's Family section last month.

Esquire Imax Theatre is holding a Flickr photo contest for the best Harry Potter costumed pose in front of the K Street theatre in downtown Sacramento.

Check out my entry on The Bee's entertainment blog, 21Q for details.

Winning entry gets 10 tickets to see "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" at the theatre on Aug. 11.

Tough economic times doesn't have to translate to summer months devoid of fun activities.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell recently released some tips for parents on inexpensive ways to keep kids active and learning during the summer months.

"When children are inactive mentally and physically during the summer, they often have to take time to get back up to speed in the fall," O'Connell stated in a news release from the state Department of Education. "This wastes students' valuable learning time and schools' scarce resources."

Here are some of O'Connell's recommendations:

• Step away from the TV and computer and get outside - Get a game of volleyball going with neighbors or dust off water toys like Slip 'N Slides. Benefits include physical activity, which help stave off childhood obesity, and lessons in teamwork.

• Read, read, read - Read the newspaper with your kids or go to the library. "Reading keeps children's minds active and engaged and ready to learn when they go back to school," the release states. For ideas on age-appropriate literature, go to the state Department of Education's online database.

• Encourage self-employed kids - Are your children clamoring for extra cash? Make them earn it by mowing lawns or pet sitting for neighbors on vacation. Local chapters of the American Red Cross even offer lessons on babysitting for 11- to 15-year-olds. The lesson involved here is responsibility and financial literacy, the release states.

• Cook with your kids - Let your kids help make a meal. Teach them how to measure and how ingredients interact, which will bolster math and chemistry skills.

For more of O'Connell's tips, go to the state Department of Education's Web site.

What are some cheap, fun things that you do in the summer with your kids? Post your ideas here.

Want more ideas on how to avoid summer brain drain? Check out an earlier story I did for The Bee's Family section. 

The company behind a popular line of infant products has initiated a nationwide recall of its gel-filled teethers.

Luv n' care of Monroe, La. launched the recall of its "Nuby," "Cottontails" and "Playschool" teething devices Friday because the liquid inside was found to contain Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus circulans bacteria, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration news release.

The bacteria doesn't generally cause illness in adults, but can cause stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea in infants and children with weakened immune systems, the releases states. The FDA found the bacteria in samples of gel from two lots collected by government researchers.

No illnesses have yet been reported.

The company has stopped producing and distributing the products, which were available in stores and online, and is notifying distributors to return the products. Consumers are asked to return products to the place of purchase for a full refund, the release states.

The recall includes the following products bearing these UPC codes:

Nuby: 48526-00451, 48526-00452, 48526-00453, 48526-00454, 48526-00455, 48526-00459, 48526-00467, 48526-00472, 48526-00473, 48526-00482, 48526-00483, 48526-00487, 48526-00490, 48526-00519, 48526-00521.

Cottontails: 41520-87115, 41520-91660.

Playschool: 50428-91511.

Consumers with questions are asked to call the company from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at (800) 256-2399 extension 3106.

To report adverse reactions with these products, go to the FDA's online MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting Program.

In a quaint Victorian nestled in midtown Sacramento, creativity and social change have found a welcoming home - and they're looking for families to come visit.

Art Beast Children's Studio, which opened July 2, is a drop-in art studio and play center geared toward children ages 7 and under.

The studio was born out of the desire to provide a safe, reasonably-priced place for children to experience fun, imaginative play and help raise money for a local charity.

Proceeds from the studio help fund Tubman House, a transitional living program for young, homeless families.

"With the economy the way it is, we could see ourselves becoming the next sad story," said Bridget Alexander, co-founding director of Art Beast. Alexander and Blithe Raines also run Waking the Village, the nonprofit organization that oversees Tubman House and Art Beast.

So the two women got to work transforming the four-story Victorian at 2226 K Street into a children's imagination wonderland, complete with an open art studio, six play spaces and a classroom. The hope is to secure at least a 20 percent profit to donate to Tubman House.

The open studio offers kids an opportunity to create works of art using a variety of mediums and tools. It affords parents a chance to relax, given that the painting is occurring in a setting where smearing purple paint on a table is fine, if not expected.

I took my kids to Art Beast one day last week to test it out and wound up spending nearly three hours there without realizing how much time had passed. Here's a testament to how much fun we had: there was not one request for snacks or juice the entire time (which honestly, I hadn't packed since I didn't think we'd be there that long). Next time, I'll come prepared and we'll have an even longer adventure.

My 2-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter (Elle is pictured at right) loved smearing paint on the plexiglass wall and using foam brushes to splotch orange and green paint on construction paper.

The highlight of the painting, however, came at the expense of my face and shirt, which got sprayed with yellow paint while I was trying to pump the paint into a little palate. Note to parents: You will want to dress everyone heading to Art Beast in play clothes, but the paint does wash out with a little stain remover, trust me.

The courtyard of Art Beast also is a treasure trove of exploration. Sand begs to be poured and pushed through little fingers. Mountains of tiny pebbles can be sifted and washed.

A hit with many of the kids, including mine, that day were mounted pots, muffin tins and other metal objects, which children could bang or tap with sticks for their music-making merriment (my son Lex, pictured at left, said he was "playing Mama a song").

Nicola Miller, of Sacramento, learned about Art Beast through Facebook and brought her son Lane, 3, and daughter Tillie, 9 months, to the studio Monday to explore.

"I think it's fabulous," Miller said. "I'd definitely come back."

While families can pay the drop-in admission of $8 per person (children under 1 years old are free), open studio memberships are available for $60 per month for one child and adult. Family passes are $90 per month.

Monthly membership packages that include weekly art classes start at $90.

For more information, visit Art Beast's Web site.

Looking for a physical activity to do with your kids, but don't want to wind up sweaty and sunburned?

Just bounce.

At Sky Zone in Rocklin, you can get a workout, keep your kids entertained and beat the heat.

Sky Zone has several wall-to-wall, three-dimensional trampoline "courts" for jumpers to enjoy.

While the majority of the business is made up of kids, parents also are starting to get into jumping because it's a fun family activity and good exercise, said Jeff Platt, Sky Zone's president.

"Jumping on a trampoline has always been regarded as one of the best forms of exercise," he said. "It's great for your heart and for every muscle group in your body. It takes balance, so you're incorporating all of your muscle groups to stay upright."

Playing around on the Sky Zone trampolines burns about 300 calories an hour, Platt estimated.

"The beauty of it is you're laughing, you're falling all over the place, your enjoying yourself, but all the while you're getting a good workout," he said.

Cost is $11 an hour per person to jump, including trampoline rental shoes. Look for coupons in parents magazines and the 2009 Entertainment Book.

Reservations are encouraged, but not required.

For more information, go to Sky Zone's Web site or call (916) 644-9966.

My colleague and Bee health and fitness writer Sam McManis' took a SkyRobics workout class at Sky Zone and lived to write about it last summer. To learn how he fared, check out his story.

Breaking news on the toy front: one little trip to an unlikely store can yield a bounty of wooden train tracks at a bargain price.

Ikea, college dorm room outfitter and inexpensive furniture retailer extraordinaire, offers a range of cute, cheap kids furniture, accessories and toys, including wooden train tracks that sync with beloved Thomas & Friends wood tracks and trains.

The best part is the Ikea tracks are a fraction of the cost of the Thomas variety. The "Lillabo" 12-piece train set with bridge pieces and a tunnel cost $9.99. A package of additional tracks is just $6.99 and a pack of three trains is $3.99, according to Ikea's Web site.

While the Thomas sets are undoubtedly cool, the steep costs can cause heart palpitations in many parents (including this one). Here's an example: a Thomas & Friends "Thomas and Percy" Starter Set is listed at $29.99 on Toys R Us' Web site.

It includes Thomas, Percy, the Sodor Line Caboose and 10 pieces of track.

I bought two sets of the Ikea tracks for my son, who loves playing "train tracks" with the Thomas sets at Grandma's house. He hasn't stopped playing with the Ikea set since.

They fit perfectly with the few wood Thomas tracks and trains we have and he gets a kick out of building elevated railways and hills with the special block lifts that accompanied the Ikea set (writer's note: the set I purchased at the West Sacramento Ikea came with wood blocks to serve as lifts and a handful of trains for $14.99, but the store's Web site doesn't currently show that set for sale).

Have you ever stumbled upon a similar deal on toys and want to share your findings? Post your tips and tricks in the comments section below.

What can be better than a main course that essentially cooks itself? A fabulous salad and icy mojitos on the side.

The following recipe for carnitas, from Bon Appetit magazine, has been a staple in my house for several years now, both as a weeknight dinner and as crowd-pleasing party fare.

The beauty of this pork dish is that it's flavorful, easy to prepare (a slow cooker does the work for you) and it's mild enough that kids like it.

I whipped up a batch of the juicy meat while on vacation in Lake Tahoe and paired it with a jicama citrus salad and rounds of mojitos. We've been invited back.

The recipe for the salad is from the cookbook "Cooking Club: Great Ideas and Delicious Recipes for Fabulous Get-Togethers" (Sasquatch Books, $23.95, 224 pages). The local authors, Dina Guillen and Michelle Lowrey, are featured in a story about cooking clubs in today's Food & Wine section. The recipe for the salad accompanies the story.

Slow Cooker Carnitas
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 6 hours (inactive)
Serves: 6
Notes: This recipe is from the April 2008 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. Many butchers will cut the pork for you, which can be a major time saver.

Ingredients
2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs or pork shoulder (Boston butt), cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1/2 large onion, cut into 4 large pieces
1 avocado, halved, pitted and sliced
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Corn or flour tortillas
Salsa (tomatillo is best, but traditional salsa or pico de gallo tastes fine too)

Instructions
Toss pork in bowl of slow cooker with salt, black pepper, and dried oregano to coat. Place onion pieces atop pork. Cover slow cooker and cook pork on low setting until meat is very tender and falling apart, about 6 hours.

Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to cutting board. Discard onion pieces. Using fingers (or forks), shred pork; transfer carnitas to platter. Place avocado slices, cilantro sprigs, and sliced red bell peppers, if desired, alongside. Wrap corn tortillas in damp kitchen towel; microwave until warm, about 1 minute. Serve carnitas with warm tortillas and tomatillo salsa.

Calling all parents:I need your input for a story I'm doing on how to talk to teens honestly about sex.

Did you tell your kids the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Did you spare them the grisly details? Whatever your methodology, I'd like to hear how you approached the conversation.If your teen would be willing to share how the chat impacted them, all the better.

Please e-mail me your contact information. I look forward to hearing from you.

A local charity is collecting backpacks for low-income children in the Sacramento region.

Volunteers of America's Greater Sacramento & Northern Nevada affiliate is holding the "Operation Backpack" community drive through July 24 and asking residents to donate new backpacks filled with school supplies, the organization's Web site states.

Last year, the organization gathered 1,300 filled backpacks for area children and officials say the need is even greater this year.

According to the Sacramento County Office of Education, homelessness among Sacramento school children jumped 19 percent this past school year, from 5,120 in 2007-2008 to 6,111 during the 2008-2009 year, Bee staff writer Julie Johnson reported last week.

Volunteers of America has set up more than 100 drop-off locations, including five Macy's stores and dozens of Starbucks locations in the area.

The Web site has three grade-specific school supply lists ready for people to download, along with information on holding a backpack drive at your work, church or service club.

For more information, go to the organization's Web site.

Tickets go on sale today for Maria Shriver's annual Women's Conference, which this year will feature speakers ranging from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to reality TV megamom Kate Gosselin.

Gosselin, of TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8" fame, signed on for the conference months before her split from husband Jon Gosselin, the Associated Press reports.

The mother of twin girls and sextuplets will hold a 15-minute chat at a fair where she will be selling her latest book, according to AP.

In what likely will be an interesting, and heartbreaking, discussion, Shriver will host a panel on grief featuring three famous mothers who have lost teenage sons: actress Kelly Preston; Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards; and actress Susan Saint James.

Here's what AP's Samantha Young reports:

Preston has agreed to be interviewed for the first time about the death of her 16-year-old son with husband John Travolta. Both actors have kept low profiles since Jett Travolta died following a seizure in January.

Shriver said she will interview Preston as part of a panel on grief, along with Elizabeth Edwards and actress Susan Saint James, whose teenage sons were killed in accidents. The panel will be the only session not broadcast on the Internet.

"All three of them lost sons. All are at different stages of the grief," Shriver said.

To read the entire story, click here.

Shriver's conference will be Oct. 26-27 in Long Beach. Tickets cost $125 to $200 and are being sold on the conference's Web site. Much of the conference also will be streamed online.

For an earlier blog post about Gosselin's split from her husband, click here.

Staycationing with your children?

Don't let the state offices, courthouses and business offices that dominate the downtown landscape fool you - there are plenty of things to do with kids in the central city.

To prove it, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership is hosting its first annual Downtown Kid's Week, a week-long event that starts Saturday.

"We have a lot of stuff downtown that is family friendly and you can truly make a day of it," said Jennifer Snyder, the partnership's marketing manager.

The event is intended to spur families to spend time at state and local museums, some of which have been hard hit by the economy.

Participating venues include the Crocker Art Museum, California Museum, Governor's Mansion State Historic Park and Sacramento History Museum.

Esquire Imax Theatre is offering eight free screenings of "Wild California" Saturday. For details, see my earlier blog post.

Also available for exploration are farmers' markets and downtown walking tours.

Several downtown eateries also are offering specials for families during Kid's Week.

California Pizza Kitchen and 4th Street Grille are offering free kids meals with an adult purchase, while at The Melting Pot, children 12 years old and under can have an entrée and a child's portion of cheese and chocolate fondue (the cheese and chocolate are separate - unless your kid likes that odd flavor combination) for $15.

Morgan's Central Valley Bistro at The Sheraton Grand is offering kids a 3-course menu and a free toy and is hosting entertainment from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Don't worry kids - Bee restaurant critic Blair Anthony Robertson likely won't be anywhere near the Morgan's dining room during Kid's Week, so you're free to have thumb fights and giggle all you want (check out Robertson's review if you don't get my snarky reference).

Organizers hope to repeat the event next year.

For more details about Kid's Week, go to the partnership's Web site.

Fifty low-income pregnant women will receive much-needed baby gifts and supplies at a community baby shower Saturday hosted by two local organizations.

The mothers were selected for the shower by area non-profit agencies. Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services and Switch Community Outreach Association are hosting the event, which will include food, games, gifts and raffles, a food bank news release states.

The baby shower also will provide information about health and dental care, breastfeeding, immunizations and child development.

The event is intended to provide the mothers with much-needed baby items and help "minimize the risk of child abuse and neglect through education," the release states.

The baby shower will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the food bank's Saca Community Learning Center, 2469 Rio Linda Blvd., Sacramento.

While the slots for the baby shower have been filled, expectant moms or new parents who need free services can contact the food bank's Mother-Baby program at (916) 456-1980.

For more information about donating gently-used children's items, go to the food bank's Web site.

Here's a crafty activity to do with your children that's fun, will save you money and make other moms think "How does she find the time?"

Making your own play clay is ridiculously easy and yields fantastic, non-toxic clay that lasts for weeks or longer.

I've switched between recipes over the past few years, but the one I seem to use the most is from Paula Deen's "Paula Deen's My First Cookbook," (Simon & Schuster, 21.99, 176 pages). The cookbook is adorable and has food and craft recipes intended to inspire children in the kitchen.

Deen has found success with my son, who loves making the play clay with me and has been caught on numerous occasions lying tummy-down on the floor, flipping through Deen's cookbook and talking about "my recipes."

This is an extremely fun activity, but be prepared - the results are so great, you just might become the go-to play clay gal among your friends and kids' teachers.

Paula Deen's play clay
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 3 to 5 minutes
Serves: Makes about 2 cups
Notes: Using more than a few drops of food coloring is fine and usually imparts a stronger color. For brighter colors, try neon food coloring.

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 to 3 drops food coloring

Instructions
Stir flour, salt and cream of tartar in a pot. In a separate bowl, stir water, oil and food coloring. Add wet mixture to the dry mixture in the pot and turn the heat on medium, stirring together the ingredients until incorporated. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring it. Once it starts to glob together, you're almost done. Stir until the goo clumps together and becomes a play clay consistency. Pour onto the counter and let cool for about 10 minutes. Knead the dough until it's workable and store in a plastic bag or container.

Want to kick off the school year with $5,000?

Office Depot and Sharpie are holding a contest to find the nation's best backpack art design and are offering $5,000 to the grand prize winner.

The winning backpack design will be reproduced and sold in Office Depot stores during the 2010 back-to-school season. There's also cash for runners up. The first place prize is $3,000, and second place is $2,000, an Office Depot news release states.

Participants can purchase one of four canvas backpacks for $14.99 - which come in blue, pink, olive or khaki and include two free Sharpie markers - decorate it, take a photo of it and upload the photo to the contest's Web site.

Participants also may enter by downloading the Sharpie backpack template, decorating it and uploading the design, the contest Web site states.

Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. central time Sept. 19. The top finalists' entries will be posted online on the Web site and the country will vote on the winner.

For more information, go the contest Web site.

Office Depot sent The Bee a pink canvas backpack, along with two Sharpie markers, to try out.

If you're local and interested in designing the backpack, e-mail me. The first person to send me their information can have it, provided they send The Bee a digital picture of the final product that we can post on this blog.

Please include your name, age, kids' ages (if any), city of residence and phone number in your e-mail.

Pressed for time and looking for a delicious summer meal shortcut?

Head to Ikedas California Country Market in Auburn or Davis, where you can pick up fantastic pre-seasoned tri-tip, locally grown produce and fabulous pie.

I'm usually not one to spring for pre-marinated meats, since I enjoy cooking and find that to be part of the fun, but Ikedas' tri-tips are so tender, so wonderfully seasoned, why mess with perfection?

The store sells a tri-tip made with Ikedas seasoning, as well as one with Ikedas marinade. The seasoned tri-tip is slightly spicy, while the marinated tri-tip has a touch of sweetness to it that makes the flavor dance in your mouth.

Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, I cooked my 2 1/2 pound Ikedas seasoned tri-tip over medium heat on the grill for about 45 minutes, which, after resting for about 15 minutes, resulted in the meat being cooked to medium.

Served alongside grilled white corn and a tangy and sweet summer salad, it made for a beautiful, simple summer meal.

Ikedas has two locations: 3500 Lincoln Way, Auburn and 26295 Mace Blvd., Davis.

Here's my recipe for the salad, which is delicious on its own as a light meal or as a side dish.

Tangy and sweet summer salad

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 9 minutes
Serves: 4
Notes: You can purchase glazed pecans at many markets if you're too busy to make them at home. Add slices of Granny Smith apples for an extra kick of crunchiness that kids will love.

Ingredients
1 cup pecans
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 cups spring mix lettuce
About 4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Consorzio Raspberry and Balsamic Fat-free dressing

Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and scatter pecans on the tray, making a single layer. Bake in the oven for about 4 minutes. Remove pecans to a medium-size bowl and let cool for about 2 minutes. Drizzle honey over the pecans and stir with a spoon, coating them. Sprinkle the sugar over the pecans and stir again. Pour the pecans back onto the cookie sheet and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven, breaking apart nuts that may be stuck together, and add to a big salad serving bowl.
Add lettuce, blue cheese, cranberries and just enough salad dressing to lightly dampen the leaves (start with about 1/4 cup and add to taste).

What did you grill for the Fourth of July? Have you discovered a great dinner shortcut? Share your ideas and recipes here.

Heading to Disneyland and fearing long wait lines? There's an app for that.

Meet "Wait Watchers," a new sanity-saving App available in the Apple iPhone App Store that allows iPhone users to view and update wait times of attractions at Disney and Universal Studios theme parks in California and Florida.

Brent Pope, the app's creator and a father of four, came up with the idea after getting laid off from his advertising job.

"They say necessity is the mother of recession," he said during a phone interview from a reconnessance mission at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Fla. "In my case, I think recession is the mother of invention."

Here's how it works: iPhone users purchase the app for $1 per Disney or Universal park. Once it loads, an alphabetical list of attractions at that park appear, along with user-uploaded wait times, a timestamp of when the wait time was updated and the area location of the attraction.

I convinced a coworker to purchase it Monday and tried it out here in the office.

At 11:45 a.m., the wait time for Pirates of the Caribbean was just 5 minutes, while the wait time for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was 35 minutes. Had I been at the park, I would have dumped plans to explore the coral reef in Davy Jones' locker and made a break for New Orleans Square.

Uploading a wait time takes "about 8 seconds" Pope said, and the app has a built-in GPS feature intended to prevent people from erroneously entering wait times when not at the theme park.

Pope, who just launched the Disneyland app in late June, said he is working on adding other features to the app, such as an additional screen that would count down the time to a certain parade or show. He also is toying with the idea of expanding the app to other smartphones.

"If you hate waiting in line, this is a great app for you," he said. "If helps you decide what to do next and helps you make a more informed decision."

If it helps thwart kiddie meltdowns on Main Street and preserve parental peace-of-mind, Pope just might earn himself a new job title: Prince Charming.

What's the longest wait time you've experienced for a ride at a theme park? Was the ride worth it? Post your memories (fond or not) here.

The best birthdays are the ones you get to celebrate several times. Esquire Imax Theatre is doing just that this week with celebrations today and Saturday.

The theatre's 10th anniversary is Wednesday, but officials will commemorate the occasion at 11 a.m. today with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and other community leaders, who will welcome 400 children from the city's Fourth R youth programs to a free film, theatre officials announced in news release.

The theatre's anniversary bash continues Saturday with eight free screenings of "Wild California!"

The first show begins at 10 a.m., with subsequent screenings every hour on the hour until 5 p.m., theatre officials announced in a news release.

The theatre holds 400 seats and tickets will be available on a first-come basis.

The event also is part of Downtown Sacramento Partnership's Kid's Week, a host of family-friendly activities and events that runs July 11 through 18 (check back here Friday morning for details).

To learn more about Esquire Imax Theatre or the film "Wild California!" go to the theater's Web site.

Remember what that first pregnancy was like? The excitement, the anticipation, the fear?

Though her oldest daughter is 9, the memories are still vivid for cartoonist Terri Libenson, who has funneled some of her experiences - coupled with creative license of course - into a five-week series flashback for her comic strip "The Pajama Diaries."

The series, which launches today in the comic strip (you can find the strip in The Bee's Fun & Games section), chronicles protagonist Jill Kaplan's first pregnancy, from the sonogram to the delivery room.

I recently interviewed Libenson, who has two daughters, about the series from her home in Cleveland, Ohio. Here is some of our conversation.

Q: Why did you decide to do a flashback now?

A: It wasn't something that I consciously decided. It was sparked by a strip that I did for Mother's Day, (which) involved a flashback in the delivery room. Because the strip is in a diary format, it allows going forward and back ... Why not just spice things up a little?

Q: What kind of trials will Jill be remembering?

A: It's really an overview of when she first realizes she gets pregnant with her first child to the first delivery - nothing too specific or traumatic, but there is the idea of her kind of having reservations about her job situation and how that's going to change and just about being a good mom. It something that a lot of women face nowadays.

Q: Is some of this inspired by your life?

A: To an extent, but some of it is creative license. When I was pregnant, it was a little different situation. But I was playing with the idea of working part-time. I worked full-time for American Greetings back then. Right now, I work for them one day a week.

Q: How do you balance children and work?

A: It's gotten easier. It was pretty difficult when I first started the comic strip because I was balancing that job, which was so new to me at the time, with the American Greetings job. The kids were much smaller. My youngest was 2 or 3 years old. I didn't get much sleep ... I'm working long hours but it's not as bad as when the strip first launched.

Q: Any advice for working moms?

A: Personally, I think just taking things one step at a time is a good idea. It's hard for me to say that because I tend to want to do 20 things at once.

Q: Can you give us a peek at what we might see Jill go through during the series?

A: Jill finds out that two of her best friends get pregnant at the exact same time. One strip that kind of stands out in my mind that I think is kinda funny is when Jill and her friends are out shopping for breast pumps.

What was your first pregnancy like? Post a comment here.

Do you remember how you told friends and family you were pregnant? Read my blog post on sharing the big news with loved ones.

Wondering where all the hours in your day go?

Apparently work, household chores, leisure activities and child-rearing account for most of them, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey.

The results from the 2008 survey indicate that working takes up a good chunk of an employed person's day, with people working an average of 7.6 hours per day.

Men work slightly longer days than do women who work - 52 minutes longer to be exact, the survey reports.

When it comes to time at home, 83 percent of women and 64 percent of men spent time doing household activities, such as housework, cooking or lawn care, on an average day.

Women outpaced men in the number of hours they spent doing such household activities on those days, spending 2.6 hours on cleaning and the like, versus men spending two hours on household activities.

The survey also found that on an average day, nearly everyone 15 and older engaged in some kind of leisure activity, such as watching television, socializing or exercising, the survey reports. Men spent 5.7 hours in these activities, while women spent 5.1 hours on leisure activities.

Caring for children also accounts for a good chunk of our day.

Adults living in homes with children under 6 years old spend an average of two hours each day providing primary childcare, which is defined as physical care of children or reading or talking with children.

Adults in households with children between 6 and 17 years old spend about 47 minutes per day providing primary childcare, the survey found.

But wait, there's more when it comes to kids.

If you live in a household with kids under 13 years old and at least one child is under 6 years old, you spend an average of 5.6 hours per day providing secondary childcare. In other words, there was at least one child in their care while doing activities other than primary childcare. This means secondary childcare was provided while doing leisure activities or household activities.

What do you wish there was more time in your day for? Post a comment below.

Adolescents who suffer from migraine headaches are more likely to get lower grades and have trouble attending school, according to a new study of sibling pairs.

Suffering from migraines was associated with a 5 percent drop in high school GPA, a 5 percent drop in the likelihood of graduating high school and a 15 percent reduction in the likelihood that a teen-ager would attend college, the researchers reported.

It should be noted, however, that 30 to 40 percent of the reductions could be explained by excused absences from school, difficulty paying attention in class and trouble completing homework.

Joseph Sabia, a public policy professor at American University in Washington, D.C., and Daniel Rees, an economics professor at University of Colorado Denver, conducted the study by examining data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, according to a news release from American University.

Sabia and Rees said that teens who had nonmigraine headaches didn't suffer the same drops in academic performance.

By focusing on differences between siblings, Rees stated in the news release, "we can rule out the possibility that family-level factors such as socioeconomic status are driving the relationship between migraine headache and academic performance."

The findings were presented earlier this week at the Western Economic Association International's annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was the first study of its kind to examine the effect of migraine headaches on adolescents in regard to future academic achievement.

Sabia and Rees conducted the study by analyzing migraine experiences and high school grades of 214 siblings from 105 families. They obtained information on high school completion and college attendance from 280 siblings belonging to 137 families, according to the news release.

The No. 1 myth pediatricians want parents to know: There is no such thing as a fever that is too high, and it won't damage your child's brain.

The myth is so rampant that Dr. Lara Zibners dedicated an entire chapter to fevers in her new book, "if your kid eats this book, everything will still be okay" (Grand Central Publishing, $14.99, 320 pages).

Zibners, a pediatrician and Carmichael native, wrote the book to serve as a kind of crash-course handbook for parents on how to discern whether a child's ailment is truly an emergency.

Is your child suffering from abdominal pain? Try the potty before the pediatrician - it's likely due to constipation.

Pulling on the ears? This could mean a number of things, not just ear infection.

And the only thing that teething produces is teeth, not fever, diarrhea or a runny nose.

It was Zibners' husband who came up with the idea for the book, after hearing his frustrated wife have the same conversations over and over with patients.

"People were coming into the emergency room with things that shouldn't be in the ER," Zibners said, during a phone interview from her home in London, England.

Zibners, who did a three-year fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine in Columbus, Ohio before working in New York City, said parents would come in wanting to know the difference between Tylenol or Motrin.

One of the more memorable cases from her time in New York was a family who came into the packed ER on Thanksgiving Day. Their 15-year-old daughter had a callous on her foot.

"Most people, when they come in with inappropriate things, it's well intentioned," she said.

Another one of her favorite cases was when a frantic mother brought in her young daughter into the ER with a huge red streak down the child's arm.

"The little girl had eaten a Popsicle and fallen asleep," Zibners said. "I got a wash cloth and wiped it off."

Zibners' book, which has a great index section so parents can quickly reference their child's ailment or situation, covers everything from poop colors to procedures, all in an informative, yet approachable, tone.

"It's meant to be humorous and meant to make you stop and laugh at your own neurotic thinking," she said.

Zibners said her best advice to parents is to "close your ears to all the nonsense that is buzzing out there."

The Internet and even family and friends are chockfull of misinformation and myths, she said.

"You have to rely on your pediatrician and your common sense," she said. "Be very wary of the stuff you hear on the playground and in moms groups."

Writer's note: Before you get feverish over the fever myth and e-mail me in a fit of outrage, here's what Zibners - and other pediatricians I consulted - said about fevers: Fevers should be handled differently depending on the child's age.

Your 1-month-old or younger newborn should see a doctor if the infant is running a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Many babies 1 to 3 months old also should be seen by a doctor if the temperature hits 100.4 degrees.

Fever in a child older than 3 months? Look at how the child is acting to discern whether there's a bigger problem. If the child has a temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit and is happy and bursting with energy, not a problem. If they are miserable with the fever and continue to be pathetic after the fever has dropped, call the doctor.

Two concerned parents recently wrote me after reading my article "An ounce of prevention: Apply often," which appeared in Tuesday's Family section.

They were troubled that the photo showed a 4-month-old boy being slathered with sunscreen, since using large amounts of sunscreen on infants is contrary to the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) recommendations.

For the record, here's what the AAP states on its Web site about sunscreen and babies under 6 months old:

• The two main recommendations from the AAP to prevent sunburn are to avoid sun exposure, and dress infants in lightweight long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and brimmed hats that shade the neck to prevent sunburn. However when adequate clothing and shade are not available, parents can apply a minimal amount of suncreen with at least 15 SPF (sun protection factor) to small areas, such as the infant's face and the back of the hands. If an infant gets sunburn, apply cold compresses to the affected area.
  

Thank you to the watchful Bee readers who pointed out the AAP's recommendations.

Today, a close friend sent me an e-mail that left me grinning from ear to ear.

The subject line read "Check this out!" and had three photos attached. I opened the first one, which showed her sweet little girl smiling big. "How cute," I thought. "I can't wait to see them next weekend."

I clicked open the second photo and noticed her shirt read: "Big Sister." I thought it an odd shirt for her to wear since she's an only child.

"How funny!  I wonder if she's wearing one of her cousins' hand-me-down shirts," I mused to myself. (Am I the only mommy who talks out loud to herself? I think it's a coping mechanism developed while at home, sleep-deprived and yearning for a shower, during those tough first months after our babies are born.)

By the third photo, the light bulb went off in my head. Duh Niesha.

Goosebumps covered my arms as I giddily dialed my friend's phone number, left a congratulatory message and then issued a pleading directive to call me. Ah, the excitement of welcoming a new life into this world.

I wish I had been as clever when my husband and I announced our children's impending births. I blurted out the news of my first pregnancy to anyone who would pick up the phone. (At right is my son's first picture - the ultrasound). When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter (Shock and awe doesn't begin to cover it), I gave my husband an early Father's Day card from his newest child. That's as imaginative as I got.

How did you share your pregnancy news with your friends and family? Post a comment here and share your stories.

Truth be told, I landed this recipe by sheer accident. I haven't been able to stop thinking about a delicious halibut ceviche I had while having dinner with a local cooking club Sunday.

I assembled all the ingredients, eager to re-create the dish but underestimated the cook time for the fish. The pieces of fish I had cut were too large, and the lime juice hadn't had time to "cook" fully. It was nothing that a little creative thinking and a 5-minute roll in a hot skillet couldn't fix.

 

These fish fajitas are an adaptation of that ceviche, and turned out to be an easy, flavorful and healthy midweek dinner.

 

Be sure to check out my story on cooking clubs on July 15 in The Bee's Food & Wine section. In the meantime, enjoy this fantastic fish feast.

 

Fish fajitas

 

Prep time: 5 minutes active, 30 minutes inactive

Cook time: 10 minutes or less

Serves: 4

Notes: A little Tabasco sauce adds a nice heat to these moist fish fajitas, which were inspired by halibut ceviche. The lime juice marinade starts to cook the fish, thus reducing the amount of cook time in the pan, and lends a nice acidity without being too strong of a flavor for children.

 

Ingredients

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 small red onion

10 sweet grape tomatoes

1 ½ pounds fresh halibut, trimmed of skin and cut into ½-inch pieces

Juice of 3 limes (about ½ cup juice)

Handful cilantro

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Corn or flour tortillas

Tabasco sauce or salsa, to taste

 

Instructions

Chop the three bell peppers and onion into 1-inch strips and place in a medium-size bowl. Halve each grape tomato and add to peppers. Add the cut halibut to the bowl, along with the lime juice. Coarsely chop the cilantro and add to the bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the marinated fish and vegetables, discarding the leftover lime juice, and sauté for about 10 minutes, cooking until fish is just starting to get a little firm. Be careful not to overcook the fish. Take off the heat and let rest while getting the tortillas ready.

Warm the tortillas over a burner on the stove, taking care not to burn them.

Spoon the fish fajita mixture into the tortillas and splash with a little Tabasco or salsa if desired.

 

Have you ever created a great recipe when intending to make something else? I'd love to hear your stories. Post a comment here or e-mail me, and your recipe could be featured in the "What's for dinner" feature on my blog.